Christmas Gift Guide 2014: Friends

            Gift Guide 2014: Friends by rionadoherty

         Clockwise:

Urbanears Humlan Julep

 Headphones £42.10

Easily the most fashionable (affordable)

headphone at the moment for those of us who can't 
afford rose gold Frends. They come in all colours
and they're also, unsurprisingly, cheaper on Amazon
than Urban Outfitters.

ASOS iPhone 5 Tres Amaze

 Case £8

A chic, safe option for that £10 budget present.

Not That Kind of Girl 

by Lena Dunham £11.89

The 2014 wish list's take on Alexa Chung's 

'It', though I should hope far less vacuous and 

a little more insightful... The feminist

book du jour has taken the world by storm and if 
you haven't read it yet, give it to a friend
(preferably a Girls fan)and then  borrow it. I STILL 
haven't read it and will probably be 

purchasing it for myself.

Beautyblender Make-up 

Sponge £16

A perfect, practical gift for a make-up

obsessed friend. (Is it just me who  had never seen
this before and was completely amazed?!)

Monki French fries tote £4.50

For a food and fashion loving pal.

ASOS Cloud Clutch Bag £12

Very cute and can be taken right through to summer.

The Leather Satchel Co satchel £60 

(reduced from £130!)

For reasons I remain unsure of, this 

Leather Satchel Co satchel is currently

 better than half price on ASOS?!?! Admittedly 
not a Cambridge satchel, but have you ever seen 
them at that price?! If you're looking for a 
big present, your friend needn't know...

Benefit ASOS Exclusive Cheek Me Out

£9.50

They're only 4ml, but with 31% off, this

 adorable Benefit set is another perfect

 item for a £10 limit kinda present. And

 everyone loves Benefit.

River Island Embossed Leather 

Gloves £17.50

A classic Christmas gift. I always feel 

like something I'm missing in life is a 

decent pair of gloves. Investing in a 

demure set of leather ones is worth it when you
think of how many £2 Primark ones you've picked
up, and then inevitably  lost, over the years 
as it's gotten cold. I'll leave you to decide 
whether they're for a friend or not.

Sloane Stationery Social Butterfly A5 

Desk Journal £25

A bit pricey for a journal (what do you

 expect from an item from a company called

 'Sloane'), but for a keen writer/scribbler/

social butterfly, a nice journal can make

 a very thoughtful present.

Vogue Subscription / 12 issues £29.99 / 

10 issues £19.99

I received the year's subscription as a 

gift from my parents last year and it is always 
always an escapist surprise when  it's posted 
through the door of my freezing student digs. 
Plus, a present that lasts a whole year = top friend.

Flamingo Candles Lemon & Lime Mojito Classic Jar

 Candle 400g £12

A mojito scented candle? Who needs Jo Malone or 
Diptyque???

ASOS floral briefs £6

Always a v cute present in a goody bag or

stocking. Everyone loves receiving underwear.

6 Coats of Nail Polish, 30 Roast Potatoes and 24 Glasses of ProseccoLater...

So here we are... Chilli Heatwave Doritos, a cup of tea and Milka chocolate Santa in hand listening to The Police, I'm blogging post-Christmas (you may expect a typical Christmas round up, Instagrammed organised piles of presents, the huge dinner, the lot).

I did fairly well on the present front, my main present being the new phone but a few other things like CAITLIN MORAN'S BOOK that I've wanted to read for ages but just never got round to it (yes, this is how eventful my life is). That woman so funny. You can also see I received Miranda Hart's book where she navigates the awkwardness of adult life. As much as I love Miranda, I'm not completely sure if I want to read a 323 page book about her, by her, that makes you feel as if she is literally reading aloud next to you... "Because frankly, where is the manual? The much needed manual to life... A Miran-ual. I thank you."

Can you tell I like florals?

Coming from a family who have an extravagant roast dinner every. Single. Sunday, I look forward to the Christmas Day breakfast far more than the dinner. This, in my house, is toasted bagels with smoked salmon, cream cheese and poached eggs mmmmmm.

Breakfast

After I got in from work (11:30 - 5:30, followed by Secret Santa and free drinks from the bar) we had dinner which was absolutely huge and impossible to finish but vair nice and after that went round my Nan's for what can only be described as a big family "sesh" which involved belting out Irish classics and 80s anthems until 4am. This was followed the next day by work *crey* after battling a 'Paralyser' induced hangover and then once again round to my Nan's for FOOD.

Boxing Day outfit. No comment on the parents' bedroom. Skirt, River Island £20

Aaaand today I've literally done nothing so here is a one photo summary:

Drinking game 'Paralyser'... My Mum and I (playsuit - Miss Selfridge, £50), the table, The Dinner avec capitalised D.

It's pretty depressing to be blogging post-Christmas, I never want it to end, but it's onwards and upwards as we all look forward to New Year's Eve...

Bises,

Riona

P.S. Profuse apologies for the incredibly generic blog post and also for the highly likely upcoming photos of clothes I've bought with Christmas money...

Joyeux Noël!

I'm on a roll with the blog posts recently. I figured I haven't really written anything about Christmas so for anyone who cares (no one), here's what I've been up to in the last few days...

I went into town purely in search of a Christmas jumper and this is what I bought:

Christmas jumper, Peacocks... I looked in so many shops and strangely enough thought Peacocks had the best selection.

A few of us went down to Hyde Park's Winter Wonderland on the Friday which was fun. I really wanted to go ice skating but, being me, left booking til the day before and, surprise surprise, it was all booked out. I won't bombard you with photos as I took loads, so here's a few...

Christmas lights on Oxford Street and Hannah and Ellie tucking into their German sausage...

Ellie, Hannah and I

Hannah being adorbz.

Some really cute Indian elephants I picked up in the Winter Wonderland Christmas market for a fiver, who are now hanging on the coat stand in my bedroom.

If you visit Winter Wonderland, be sure to try the mulled wine with Amaretto and their candied walnuts. It's kinda overpriced but IT'S CHRISTMASLAND, 'tis the season and all that. After leaving Hyde Park, we wandered along Oxford Street, went into Topshop and Selfridges (obvs) where I picked up some Pierre Hermé macarons for my Nan. As overpriced as macarons are (cheapest gift set option is £15 for 7), I'd be pretty happy with these scrumptious Parisian delicacies as a Christmas present. The box and bag they come in are also gorgeous, making them a very ideal present for those friends/relatives who like the finer things in life...

After coming out of Selfridges we only saw DANNY  BOYLE walk past us!!! Tiya and I tried to run after him but lost him in the crowd. Pretty cool moment though.

Saturday and Sunday I was working, then today I was doing standard Christmas Eve things, such as wrapping these gifts...

Yes, including my dog Sweep.

I've come to accept that gift wrapping itself is a gift. A gift that I was not born with. So apologies, anyone whose present looks like it's been vommed over by Card Factory.

Making trifles with Mama.

And to round it off here's a photo of my nice festive lounge which, bar the Christmas tree and mantle piece leaf decoration, pretty much looks that festive all year round. Macauley Culkin on the TV screen is also a permanent fixture.

Aw, how cute. I just got in from Christmas Eve mass like the good ol' Catholic I am (I go on Easter and Christmas) and had some cocktails with Ma like the sophisticates we are. ........

Here's a refreshing minty cocktail that's easy to make and ALWAYS pleases:

The Mojito

You can get the recipe here.

Anyway, as far as I'm concerned Christmas doesn't start until Millie slaps Spencer round the face on Made In Chelsea's Christmas special tonight, which is like right now.

Have a good Christmas! You probably won't hear from me until after Boxing Day because of all the festivities and *sigh*  work...

Bises,

Riona

SNOW!

It's finally here! Even if it is only about two inches, snow is a sure fire way to put everyone in the Christmassy mood. Of course there are downs as well as ups, E.G. the menacing group of boys standing outside college waiting to bombard innocent students with snow balls.

How else can you get in the Christmassy mood?

1) Order your Christmas dress, if you haven't already - ASOS currently have free next day delivery, if you want to get in there ASAP.
2) Try Starbucks' winter range. Four words - salted caramel hot chocolate. Who'd have thought salt and caramel would make such a great combination?
3) Buy an embarrassing Christmas jumper in a charity shop. Jolly Brown in Hitchin also sells some great ones. (Although Christmas jumpers don't actually seem to be labelled as 'embarrassing' anymore, as every second person seems to have one...)
4) Decorate some ginger bread men. I'm not really sure why gingerbread men are associated with Christmas but they're still fun.
5) Try going to a Christmas carol service! They're so cute and traditional and almost always are followed by refreshments.

This is my road and garden today (I have no idea whose green banger of a car is outside my house) and my outfit. Yes I'm wearing shorts, I will not be beaten.

Bises,

Riona