Just a mini shopping spree...

So yesterday I took myself to Dublin to hit up a few shops. For those of you who don't know, I am about 15 weeks pregnant. You're thinking, 'yay good for you, but why is this relevant?!'

Well, from what I have learnt, I am not the only one who, during this time, finds getting dressed in the morning a bit of a struggle. I don't have a full- blown bump, but I can't wear a lot of my regular clothes either. Combine that, with constant jet-lag style lethargy and moody outbursts that have been making me feel like I'm actually going insane, and you can understand why retail therapy sounded like a good idea! Now, bear with me throughout this post, as I always find these more personal ones difficult. I guess I find it hard to believe that anybody cares what I get up to in my free time! But, I am a blogger now, and this is all part of it, so here goes!
I always go to Dublin with gobus(gobus.ie). No particular reason why I choose them over citylink, but I've always found them reliable. I timed the bus to arrive at 12:15 just as the shops open- perfect too because I find that these days I enjoy a nap at around 10:30 :-)
I headed to Jervis first to check out forever 21. I had spotted some bits I liked online at forever21.com so wanted to suss them out. If I'm honest, I always get a little overwhelmed by the amount of stuff there. Their jewellery dept is amazing...yet I didn't get any!! Its just all so nice and all cheap- I couldn't narrow it down! But they do a great online store where I would recommend you take a look at their selection of statement necklaces, they had loads of nice ones going for between €8-€13. Here's a selection of ones I liked when I saw them in real-life! Nothing here is over €12.90(pics from forever21.com/eu).

 

What I did end up getting, was a really cute pair of sandals and a lovely sunhat. I'm always on the hunt for cute summertime accessories and these fit that bill perfectly...

hat: €12.90

flats: €21.90

After a quick refuel at Costa(the old reliable!) I headed to Penneys Mary street, which if you didn't know, is the republic's flagship store. There were loads of nice summery pieces, despite the rainy weather outside. I usually focus on accessories and shoes when u visit a 'foreign' Penneys, but this maxi did make me do a double take...

Penneys Maxi €15(pic from stealmystyle.ie)

At only €15 its a stunner...but alas, not for me- I am not a huge maxi fan on myself! I was very impressed with their swimwear range as well, which was huge! But it was quite padded out with rather tacky cover-ups. I managed to walk away fairly unscathed, spending only €18 on these lovely tan sandals. I am super fussy about sandals as my feet and legs ache if I wear dead-flat ones, these have just a nice little heel and I reckon they look more expensive than they were!

Penneys Sandals €18

Next to h&m. It was a bit of an unsuccessful mission to replace a broken pair of sunnies belonging to my husband John. I had no joy getting those for him, but I did get myself the cutest little granny-style bag for only €6.95! It will be perfect for toting my dance gear around or for bringing to the beach. I got a couple of little pressies for Sinéad's birthday too but I can't show you those! I got the bag in pink but there are other colours available- total bargain!!

 

While in the Ilac centre to use the loo(I'm preggers, when I gotta go I gotta go!) I stuck my head into a super cheapy(and in some cases tacky)shoe shop called motive(www.ilac.ie/stores/motive-shoes). Look, the shoes seem to be terrible quality, but some of them are super on-trend. And while I say terrible quality, I imagine its about the same as Boohoo or Missguided. No real leather in sight, but loads of nods to the 90's with chunky heels and hologram, as well as Topshop-esque dolly shoes. Nothing seemed to be over €45 so you get the quality you pay for! Here are a few examples of styles I spotted in there...

 

From there I armed myself with some fruit pastels for stamina and headed for Grafton Street. Like I said, I was on as bit of a mission to replace some sunnies, so I tried another h&m. No sunnies but I wanted to check out their maternity gear. I was super disappointed as they didn't seem to have any jeans left any smaller than a size 16. They lost a sale there because I was gonna invest in a couple of pairs! I couldn't help but look at their gorgeous baby gear- but no purchases allowed until we find out the gender in about a month :-)

I went to Zara next where I tried on this amazing dress. Unfortunately because of my growing tummy I was in between 2 sizes and it didn't sit right :-( But I had to share it with you all because its just beautiful!

Zara dress €49.95

The other thing I have to mention is their shoes! I always fall in love with a pair or 2 while I'm there and today was no exception! Check out these slides!

I can't remember the price of these but google tells me they are £39.90 so I put them around €50. Stunning!

After spending so much time on myself I thought I should get John a present. He needed some new thongs(flip flops!!) so I headed to Tribe in Stephens Green Shopping Centre(http://www.tribe-clothing.com/) and picked him up these by Quicksilver. He has been putting up with a lot from me lately so he deserved something- even something small!!

Quicksilver thongs/flip flops €12.90

Lastly but certainly not least, I headed for Topshop St. Stephens Green. As I work for Topshop in Galway, its pretty easy to justify a purchase or two, given I get a discount and because 'I can wear it to work!'. I have wanted these shoes for ages and constantly visit them online. After trying them on and deeming them comfy, I decided they were a must-purchase!

 I checked out swimwear too as I have my eye on this gorgeous one-piece. I decided to hold off on it though as I'm not sure when I will get on a sun holiday yet and the bump-size will be an important factor!

Topshop one-piece €55(topshop.com)

I did pick up some maternity leggings though in a lovely heavy jersey which I thought would be perfect for work(so I did get something practical...so practical I'm not even going to bore you with a picture!).
I decided to treat myself before heading for the bus so I went to Starbucks for a hot choccy and a slice of their new cranberry topped brownie. It was sooo rich, so be warned!! Its not just topped with cranberry, but runny caramel, white choc chunks and reg choc chunks! Talk about indulgent! But I did do a lot of walking...that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Then I ran in the pouring rain for the bus, where to kill time I wrote this post!!!
Oh and as for what I wore? Well it wasn't super exciting. Lets be honest, it was all about comfort as I knew I would be doing a combination of gallivanting around the town and snoozing on the bus! T-shirt by tee and cake at Topshop, Topshop 'Jamie' jeans, Boohoo.com over-sized blazer, Topman necklace and sunnies, trainers from TK MAXX and Topshop handbag(converts to rucksack).

Apologies for the terrible photo- I was just off the bus, and I asked John to take another one but he said this one was fine...its really not!!
I hope that didn't bore you too much- I know I didn't exactly head off the beaten track, but I only had a few hours! All in all I had a great day and it was just what the doctor ordered. And if there's a lesson to be learnt here its that even if you have a growing bump(or you're just having a fat day!) you can always turn to shoes and accessories for that feel-good-factor...at least until your feet swell and go up a size...but I've got that to look forward to!
Toodles!
x Emily