TMC

Too Much Cava.  Oh well.

Last night was MM's birthday cocktail-extravaganza in the ever-obliging RJ's flat.  It's one of those big new flats down in Finnieston: big living room, big windows with big view, a mezzanine and two bathrooms.  What more do you need in a party?  I'll tell you what else: cupcakes.  There were little piles of cupcakes all over the place and they were uber tasty.  I wish I'd thought to steal some and bring them home.  I did get a party bag, though, which was a genius touch.  No-one seemed to be taking them so I think me and LW both got about 3.  Wouldn't want them to go to waste y'know!

Everyone was all glammed up and looking very nice, I stuck some pics on my Facebook but somehow managed to not get a pic of my own dress!  How did this happen!?  I can't quite believe it but I think LW took one so I'll have to harangue her into posting them online.  And now that I work opposite her, this shouldn't be too hard.  Ha!  Slowly but surely me and my gals are taking over Byres Road.  We need someone down the other end now, though.  Who wants a job in Oran Mor?!  So far we're sorted for clothes, shoes and snackables (KM works in Little Italy) so all we need now is a beer connoisseur and we're sorted!

Anyway, woke up with a bit of a Cava head this morning, but a good strong cup of coffee (cup number 2 is due about now) and a killer bacon sandwich (Spanish tomato-toast meets Scottish bacon sandwich = one happy Clara) sorted me right out.

Back working in the shop 2-6 today, and I'm trying to decide what to wear.  Hmmm.  Might go for the tiger top my granny gave me, but not sure what to wear with it.  To much pressure, too little sleep.  Damn.

I think I'm starting to ramble.  The one thing I am going to wear is my Crown Jewell ring.  I'm thinking I should maybe take the security with me and have them watch the door, wouldn't want anyone to steal it.  You might be thinking that it looks a bit familiar:  I can't believe that Kate Middleton had the nerve to copy my ring.  If you take a proper look though, you might notice that mine is actually bigger than her's...

Dresses and exercise!

In light of being unemployed and actually not having all that much money to throw about on new clothes (not that you can really tell, to be fair), this blog has started give me my fashion fix.  I really like putting up pics of new bargins, rediscovered gems and generally fash-forward outfits, so that's why I've changed the title of my blog up there.  I also feel that my dreams of London aren't exactly off to a running start, so the name was a bit misleading anyway.

Glad you all seem to like the turban, I love it and wore it all day and night, even when I was just sitting in the house.  My granny also loves it and that, as we know, is enough to cement the style status of any item.

After Tenerife, the next thing on the Clara agenda is MM's birthday cocktail party.  I am starting to get very excited about this for three reasons, all under one roof: 
1. My amigas
2. A chance, nay, a command, to get dressed up to the nines and
3. Cocktails.

With this in mind, I've been musing over which dress to wear.  Although you might have thought that I'd be champing at the bit (weird expresson, where did I get it from?) to buy something new, in actual fact I have several lovely dresses that are too formal for everyday use and don't often get to see the light of day.  Or the disco lights of a good party.  So, I love a chance like this to dust one of them off and let it know it's still loved.  I have made a final decision, and I just tried it on to make sure.  Still love it, and I think it's perfect, so I've found a winner.

I pranced about my room in it for about 10 mins, just because.  If you go to all the trouble of putting it on, you might as well enjoy it for a few minutes, right?  I even have a pair of shoes that are the ideal height for it, though the colour isn't the best match.  Still, in the name of being cheap 'n' chic, I think I'll just wear them.

I should really head to bed, I'm up early tomorrow to go to a meeting in the Glasgow Women's Library, I'm going to be helping to organise some events with the Glasgow Feminist Network, so I'm really looking forward to it.  I'm already a member but I'm well chuffed at being able to get more involved in it!

After the meeting I'm going to hit the gym, too.  Gotta keep going with the arms routine!  I can see a small bit of definition in my upper arms now, though I accept that it's probably invisible to everyone else.  But I'm determined to stick with it anyway!  I'd love to be able to do the Tracy Anderson Method, but I don't feel like splashing out on the DVDs and books and stuff, to be honest.

Anyone got any good tips for toning up the shoulders and back?   There's a machine in the gym that I know how to use (kind of) but I'm not sure which muscles it actually targets.  Might do a bit of online research and see what I come up with.

I just did e quick Googling, and stumbled across this wee set of exercises by Tracy Anderson for Marie Claire.  They look bloody tough!  I'm not sure I'd even get through one set but I'll give it a go anyway!  If anyone else has a shot, let me know how you get on!

A bit of a cheerier post...

Well, after being a bit of a grump most of the day and having an annoying and long journey through to Uddingston (long ticket queues, missed train, Pret a Manger closed when I'd planned to hop in for some Miso soup...), I made it to MM's and had a lovely night, hanging with the gurls.  LH & RJ were there too, and Mrs M made amazo steaks and chips for dinner.  I don't know how she does it, she always whips up such tasty meals for whoever happens to have popped in at a meal time!

I did get in to Boots before I got the train and I got my tinted moisturiser (using my Advantage Card points - hello, bargin!) and a bright pink glitter from Barry M.  I had a little pot of a silvery grey Dazzle Dust, but it was unopened, and still sealed, because when I bought it I got two at the same time and, despite testing them all up my arm, I managed to come away with two in a very similar shade.  The thing is, I think I got them in Superdrug, who had a bigger range than Boots... but today I chanced my arm, and returned the grey one and asked to swap it for the hot pink, which they did without any bother at all!  So, all in all, a very cheap and cheerful makeup shopping trip!

KM is having her flat-warming party tomorrow, so that's what I wanted the glitter for.  I don't know what my outfit will be yet, but I do know that I'm going for a kitchsy, dramatic make-up look that I've seen on the Lisa Eldridge blog, which is fantastic.  If you're into make-up and trying out new ideas/products/looks then I totally recommend it!  The videos are also great for passing a bored hour - something about her calm manner and slightly posh voice/accent makes them quite soothing!  I'm really looking forward to the party, and it seemed like the perfect time to go all out and get dressed up!

So, this is the look I'm going for:  I gave the glitter a quick trial at MM's, over the matching lipstick I already had, and it worked quite well, so I think it'll be even better when I do it all properly tomorrow.  Awesome. 

From this photo the glitter doesn't look all that fierce, but once it's on it really shows, and has quite an impact.  Loves it!  Think I'll take a straw to the party though, so I can drink without shedding sparkles all over the place, like some kind of half-cut Tinkerbell.