A reading list

I had two awards passed on to me this week by the very lovely Porcelain Complexion. 

The idea is that I write seven facts about myself, and then nominate 15 awesome blogs I love, who can do the same thing and pass on the awards if they'd like to.

It's so easy to think of 15 amazing blogs, I've come across so many that inspire me. These are all brilliant so have a look if you're looking for new reading material.

♥ Porcelain Complexion! Check out her blog if you haven't already, it's not just a clever name.. she has the most beautiful pale skin I've ever seen (and dresses to compliment it really well)

♥ The Headless Mannequin
♥ Modern Dollies
♥ Fleur d'Elise
♥ Pearls, Lace and Ruffles
♥ Mini Penny
♥ Cupcake's Clothes
♥ Ok, Bones!
♥ Scathingly Brilliant
♥ Rose tinted uncertainty
♥ homerunballerina
♥ one hundred and eleven words per minute
♥ the girl never gets older
♥ Taffeta Ramblings
♥ Lulu Letty

Now for 7 facts (hope they weren't meant to be very exciting)
★ I work as a librarian at the moment but I'm actually a qualified archivist.
★ I was an extra in a movie called Disco Pigs, in two scenes with Cillian Murphy (swoon!)
★ I have a rescue gerbil called Brittany Murphy.
★ I'm a fashion design school dropout.
★ I love knitting and this blog was supposed to include my projects but I haven't got round to adding any crafty stuff yet!
★ I'm 28 but everyone thinks I'm about 17, and I'm asked for ID every time I go to the pub.
★ I lost 25lbs in the last year, completely inspired by this amazing lady, and it's the best thing I ever did!


I hope you enjoy the blogs I posted, there were many many that I missed out! I didn't think it would be so difficult to limit it to 15!

I heart hearts

I've been wanting a heart jumper for at least a year. Originally I had my eye on the Sonia Rykiel heart and keyhole cashmere version. It even went on sale on Net-a-Porter, but I couldn't justify spending so much on something that I couldn't try on.

Asos jumper // thrifted scarf

When I saw the Asos angora mix version  I knew it had to be mine - plus ASOS have a generous 20% off new season stock at the moment. It's lovely, and very soft, but I don't understand retailers' obsession with three quarter length sleeves. It just means that I have to wear something underneath in a matching colour, or have cold forearms. Does anyone really prefer only getting three quarters of a sleeve?

H&M skirt // Converse shoes & laces

Hello! ♥

One of my favourite things about style blogs (apart from the styles!) is reading about other bloggers' lives, what they do, where they live, the music they love.. maybe I'm just nosy?


Anyway in that spirit I thought I should post a little bit about my life in Dublin!

This is my house, it's a gate lodge. It's very cute and bijou (that means small). We're renting it, which in Ireland means that you can't paint or decorate and you're stuck with someone else's furniture. But I've done my best to make it cosy! 


I live there with my boyfriend, we've been together for 7 years. He doesn't understand blogging so I will protect his anonymity for now!

My favourite place in the world is New York. I was there in June and it was fantastic (despite experiencing the highest temperatures ever recorded there). I've been trying to figure out a way that I could move there but there's really no way unless you win the green card lottery, or finished college recently and can get a J1 visa.

The moment I discovered a machine that makes peanut butter in NYC

My current style crush is Summer Finn from (500) Days of Summer.. and of course, Zooey Deschanel. I love her style, I think, but her lovely hair is so distracting, I don't know what she's wearing half the time!

My blog name comes from the Joanna Newsom song "Inflammatory Writ" - if you haven't heard her, check her out. She has a voice that divides opinion but she's an incredible musician and lyricist. I've seen her play live about 10 times now, and followed her around the UK (just a little!)

So is it just me? Or are you as curious about other bloggers' lives as I am?

Thrifting

Thrifted dress // Urban Outfitters belt // Oasis brooch

I got this dress at a Pop Up Style swap which was held as part of the Dublin Fashion Festival. I'm usually very skeptical about events like this where you bring items and swap them for other peoples' clothes. I was right to be wary - I brought a Topshop blouse, a Motel dress and an Urban Outfitters dress and the clothes that were on offer for swapping were the most random selection of junk I've ever seen. Lucky for me I kept my eye on the swapping rail and when someone brought in this lovely dress I snapped it up! 

White whales

I'm so in love with a certain style of shoe at the moment. I'm not even sure what they're called, so it's hard to find images of them. Basically they're a wedge ankle boot, with a wedge that doesn't look like a separate part of the shoe. I've seen them in a couple of shops, but don't seem to be on any websites yet (I swear I saw them in New Look in London, but I can't find them anywhere else!) Similar to this but a nicer shape:

Why so tall, shoe?

Aside from not being able to find these beauties, the other problem is that I can't wear heels. Not that I can't walk in them - I have a pinched nerve in my toe which means if I wear heels that are too high, it puts pressure on the nerve and it's agony. So what I am looking for is a wedge ankle boot, with a low heel. This does not exist!!

How come you want to expose my flabby flanks, jeans?

It's the same as my never-ending quest for high waisted, red skinny jeans. Did I make them up? Are they so obscure? I can't find them ANYWHERE! I even emailed an Irish fashion journalist who replied and said she would find them for me and write about it in her column. Needless to say, this did not happen.

So low wedge ankle boots go on my list, along with high waisted red skinnies, black silk trousers WITHOUT a pleated waist, a plain hooded wool coat that's not a duffel, a simple round necked knitted jumper. Please tell me if you have spotted any of these!

Are there any clothes you've been searching for for so long that you think they might not exist?

Workwear

H&M jacket // Next jeans

When I first started work as Librarian I was told I needed to dress more "officey". I had some office-appropriate clothes, but nothing I felt comfortable wearing. Dressing for the office implies dressing in a bland, conformist way, and it seems to me like a complete waste of clothes-wearing time! Since I spend most of my waking week at work, I don't want to spend my days wearing clothes I dislike. I've slowly managed to expand the range of items I wear (I only started wearing jeans to work in the past year) and I haven't had any complaints so far, from management, researchers or otherwise!

Cos shirt

What do you wear to work? Do you feel constrained by the job you do?

Mini Haul

I had an absolutely lovely time in London last weekend. I was struck by three things while I was there:

1. Vintage clothing in London is just amazing. In Dublin, vintage clothing is usually an assortment of horrible 80s junk that you can only wear in an ironic way. And if something is genuinely nice, it's incredibly expensive. In London if you're rummaging at a carboot sale or market, the clothes are actually wearable.
2. When, oh when will COS open a proper shop in Ireland? I could happily dress in COS-only outfits for the rest of my life. A small concession store is not enough.
3. Why is it that when you have a bit of money to spend, you can never find anything you want to buy?

I bought a few nice things in London, but I came home with a pretty empty suitcase unfortunately.

Some of my buys:

Cute, simple wooden necklace from Go Go Philip at Westfield

Handmade necklace from Broadway Market, Hackney

Angora mix cardie from Topshop