Ta-da! My Mega Glitzy Ultimate Christmas Party Dress

Okay, so in my George at Asda post this week I ran through the benefits of wearing jeggings and a huge Christmas tee or jumper on the 25th, for maximum food intake. I still stand by that statement, but I do have other Christmas events to attend that might frown upon me showing up in my comfies. 

I love shopping, but more so shopping for clothes without the trying on part, but when I spotted this stripy sequin dress in the window of TK Maxx in Bangor, I knew I had to have it. 

Horizontal stripes are sort of my trademark, but I've never had anything so sequinned in my life. 

The dress was £24.99 and although I'm a size 12-14 at the moment, I went for the 16 for the aforementioned, all important food intake! The dress's style allows for going up a size & a half without losing shape, as there aren't any fitted areas; I've plenty of room for the carvery at La Mon for my family's annual meal out.

ASOS seem to be the main online store for Club L, with dresses in plus size as well as the usual high street sizes 8-16, so everyone can be a stupid amount of glittery this Christmas.

Lidl Are Launching a Fashion Range. Would You Wear It?

This morning Lidl NI launched their very first fashion range, in a stylish event held in Made In Belfast. You know my Lidl love runs deep, but even I was surprised how affordable, wearable and how many of the pieces I loved. 

All those stripes and spots! My favourite! The Venice Collection is tailored for me! 

The accessories and shoes are great, and sure to be snapped up quickly in your local store.  

There wasn't a traditional catwalk show, instead a stylist talked us through some of the pieces as we had a chance to feel the quality and textures of the pieces. We all agreed that we were happily surprised. The fabric quality isn't budget at all. The pieces would look right at home in Mango or Zara, rather than in a supermarket aisle. They haven't snipped corners, some of the vests and singlets are lined! You wouldn't see that in some high street stores. And the price points are cheaper even than other supermarket clothing ranges. 

I think this is the year for a floppy straw hat, and it might as well be an affordable one.

The ranges also extend to men's wear and children's pieces for the summer. 

Ranges will preview on  

http://www.lidl-ni.co.uk/

I have my eye on these purple pumps. Sure they are for kids, but they might go up to a size 4, right?? 

And would you believe, even Lidl lingerie. 

It was also lovely to see some of my blogger pals, as I haven't been working much recently. Now I'm throwing myself back into The World of Kitsch, so hopefully we will see each other again soon! 

The Ultimate Onesie from Marks & Spencer

I'm a big fan of onesies. I spied this beauty last week on the Marks & Spencer Instagram feed, and knew it had to be mine. I picked one up thanks to M&S yesterday, and it's everything I could have wanted. The faux-fur is super soft, and the anti-bobble fleecy material that makes up the body of the sleep suit is peachy, velveteen delicate yet cosy. I'm calling it the Ultimate Onesie.

It costs £27.50 and you can order online and have it delivered in your size (ranging from 8 - 22) with FREE DELIVERY to your local M&S. Now when I picked mine up in store I was a little worried (excuse the pun) as I'm only 5ft4" and it's a TALL one size fits all type garment. But somehow it works. The onesie is lightly elasticated at the waist and ankles, so it doesn't sag or trail, even on tiny ladies like me. While I'm talking about it, I'm going to admit something that's probably not very cool,  but I get all my jeans from M&S Denim Collection. They have a comprehensive sizing guide and three different leg lengths available for each dress size. So I can wear a 12/short and not have my jeans soaking up rain water, trailing along the pavement.

But back to onesies, check out the kids' and men's jammies they also have available. All non-bobbling, all soft and snuggly. Perhaps get everyone a new onesie for Christmas Eve night, then they'll all look smart in he Christmas Morning photos. 

Monty... is that you?

There's even a onesie Christmas card!

Marks & Spencer are Making Me Want Pyjammas with a Cape

Flicking through my inbox of PR emails this morning, this cosy selection of onesies and jim jams looked very appealing. Marks & Spencer have a great selection for the whole family, which can be ordered online and delivered for free to your local branch. Here are some of my favourite kids' pyjamas.

Girls' Batman jammies!

Anyone else going Frozen crazy this Christmas? Can't wait.

Two pack of pandas.

Jammies with a cape. A cape. You didn't know you wanted jammies with a cape until this morning, but now you do.

And yes, it's got a big, red, baboon bum.

Very sweet baby onesies too.

Mum doesn't get left out. Look at this super soft, cosy jammie top.

These are slippers! They look good enough to wear outside!

OH MY LITTLE PONY! Look What Tesco Have For Us Eighties' Kids

I spotted this for £12 in Tesco yesterday and it's online too if you haven't a huge Tesco Extra close to you.

Original 80s' My Little Pony Print nighty. 

Care Bear fans, don't feel left out. They also have a play suit, also £12. I'll be buying both.

I've Added to my Rodnik Band Collection!

The past four years I've blogged often about The Rodnik Band, Philip Colbert's London-based, pop art, fashion label. They provided me with the perfect outfit for the 2012 Cosmopolitan Blog Awards, a floaty charcoal tunic with an old man's pipe print all over. I like to think of them as my favourite designer label, and I've tried to pick up pieces when I can, as I think they'll increase in price as Philip's work goes mainstream. Rita Ora & Cara Delevingne are fans of the quirky street wear already, so get yourself involved.

I managed to pick up their Cod Save the Sea vest this week, to add to my collection. 

My 'bestest' piece however is their classic, iconic, yellow submarine rain mac. This blurry photo will make you relieved I'm not a fashion blogger usually.

This is how it looks when worn.

My other item is a linen jacket with anchor print. I bought it in size 16 when I was that size, but it was still too big. I'm now a size 12 but I still don't want to part with it.

Check out The Rodnik Band site for their latest collection including home ware!

Super Duper Summertime at Heatons- WIN £75 to Spend In Store!

Heatons are all geared up for a super summer. All the ingredients of a happy afternoon in the garden, including tableware and BBQs.

The new fashion lines are bright, crisp and smart and I'm in love with the glitter kitty shoes, if only they did them up to adult size 4 I'd be having a pair! 

The new children's collection is very smart, and reminds me of Baby Gap ranges. The boy's selection is Americana themed.

How sweet is this cabin luggage? Boys' suitcases available too. Priced at €10

Lots of very reasonably priced swimwear in store too, and paddling pools. I'd recommend picking the latter up early, as we've all been caught out by the shops selling out of pools once the heat wave arrives.

There is a great selection of summer bright tableware and accessories too. I love the photorealistic kiwi fruit.

It's not only the kids who get stylish clothing, this classic dress caught my eye at €25

For summery back garden BBQs how about one of these tops, teamed with Capri denims and flip flops?

Now the part you've been waiting for. Heatons have given me a £75 gift card to give away to one lucky reader, but please read these details first- 

The £75 gift card is not exchangeable for cash, or anything else. The gift card ONLY WORKS IN STORE, IN NORTHERN IRELAND. It doesn't work for the Heatons' online store, or in the south. Good luck! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

T-shirt Fun with Ikea Textile Pens

We bought a white t-shirt each from H&M (£2.99 & £3.99) to try out the Ikea Loppstarr Textile Pens. They can be found in the textile department for £1.75 a pack.

Son asked me what sort of t-shirt he should make. I said, "what would you really love on a t-shirt that you can't buy in the shops?" So, of course, he drew a giant ham & cheese Subway, a stage, and a disco. 

I picked a t-shirt which was more stretchy than his plain, white cotton one, which proved to be a mistake. Plain tees are easy to draw on, but stretch fabric is really tricky. My t-shirt didn't come out too well, I couldn't draw lines just make dots to put together a picture. So my advice is go for very basic cotton tees, or fabric. I gave mine a Ridgway Homemaker plate design.