26 November 2011

How to #1

I've been meaning to write a post on blog design for a while now, and this awesome post by Kate Gabrielle guest-posting on Laughing with Broken Eyes has reminded me that it's been languishing on my to-do list.


Basically, trying to make a blog (on Blogger at least) look halfway decent is a total nightmare. The  pre-made themes are fine but they're also so bland. And style bloggers tend to be creative types, so it's frustrating to know how you want your blog to look but not be able to do it. 


When you start out with a Blogger template there are so many simple things that need to be changed to start making your blog look your own. For example, why is there an annoying little line that separates all the Gadgets in your sidebar? Who wants that? It's the first thing that needs to go! Of course you can Google for tutorials (which is what I did) but often the hardest part is trying to figure out the name for what you're trying to do - it took me about a week to find the correct phrase to Google when I was looking for a way to put a horizontal list of links under my blog header. And I'm still not sure what that list of links is called..


Pretty much every blog I've seen seems to be very well designed and attractive, but I'm sure there are some newbies like me out there trying to figure out how on earth you can post two photos beside each other (and why on earth Blogger makes it so hard to do).


Instead of trying to give my own explanation of all of the different things you might want to do with your blog design, I've compiled a list of a few of the tweaks you can make, with links to the very helpful tutorials I used that worked for me:


Huge thanks to the sites which posted the tutorials above, without them, who knows what this blog would look like!

I have plenty more tips so please let me know if you found them helpful, if there's anything you see on my blog that you'd like to know how to do or if you have some tips yourself.


DISCLAIMER: all of these tips are useful only if you are very new to blogging or if you have zero html experience like myself. I'm sure they are laughably simple to a lot of people though! And I in no way claim to be an expert, or to know what I'm doing really - but if I can point someone in the right direction I will try!

18 November 2011

Little black riding hood

The weather has been really strange for November. It's very mild still, and rainy, and the leaves are just falling from the trees. It doesn't feel wintry at all. The drizzle does make it difficult to take pictures though. 


Penneys cape // Next jeans // Aldo shoes
This is my garden, it's so leafy all of a sudden!
Yes, it was raining on me when I was taking these pictures. As soon as I had the tripod set up the rain started! It seems like it's going to be tricky taking outfit photos during the winter, no light and rain rain rain!
So does anyone have any tips for bad weather blogging? And did you manage to buy any Versace at H&M gear? I was at H&M last night and the place had been stripped bare!


11 November 2011

Lovely things

I really like when bloggers post nice things/interiors/products/food that they've found online, so I thought I would do the same! I'm sure this process is a lot easier if you're on Pinterest, but these are just things I've found in my general web browsing.

What do you guys think of Pinterest anyway? I kind of like the idea but it also seems really addictive, and sort of like chewing gum for the brain.. as though you could click through endlessly and mindlessly and waste hours. And I do that already online without a site to make the whole process easier!

First off, here's one of the super-cool professional photos taken at the Film Fatale event mentioned in this post. What a difference a pro with a lovely flattering flash makes! 
We had an amazing night, the next one will be Singin' in the Rain which I haven't seen yet, and I can't wait!

Photo by Chris Whiteside via Film Fatale

Now, on to much lovelier things!

Original artwork by Lee May Foster-Wilson at Bonbi Forest

Original artwork by Nigel Peake at Advice to sink in slowly

Silk travel bag by RummyHandmade on Etsy

Cushion cover by Leah Duncan on Etsy


Where do you guys go to find cute products online? Pinterest? Etsy browsing? Or some other site I don't even know about yet?!

06 November 2011

Brrr brrr brrr

It's absolutely freezing! According to the weather forecast it's 11 celsius today (51F) but it feels a couple of degrees above freezing in the shade. There was frost on the ground yesterday afternoon.. truly, it is Winter! In Dublin the Christmas lights have gone up on the main shopping streets in the past week, which is pretty exciting.
Penneys cardigan // Vero Moda shorts // Topshop tights

Apart from Christmas, the best part about Winter is obviously the opportunity to wear cosy knits and wool tights. I bought this Penneys* cardie last December for a trip to Berlin and it's fairly warm (although it couldn't withstand the -20 degree temperatures in Berlin - I've never been so cold in my life). When you can get proper wool knitwear in Penneys it's surprisingly good quality though.

*Penneys = Primark in the UK!
Accesorize ring // Tatty Devine brooch

And then I had to go back inside for some hot chocolate...!

Is it starting to get chilly where you are? If you're in the UK, are you looking forward to another "big snow".. or dreading it?
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