Minnie Cuckoo

I am a shoe addict.

I lusted after Irregular Choice every time I went in Schuh for several years and then one day I stumbled upon an Irregular Choice fan page on Facebook; I've never looked back.

My favourite Irregular Choice shoes are always the Disney launches. I even love queuing online for blimmin' ages and opening hundreds of tabs to make sure I get the pair I want. The buzz before a launch of not knowing what there will be or how quickly they will sell is so much fun.

I didn't actually manage to get any in the Alice launches, but I found these on Amazon in the sale a few months ago (£80 down from the original price of £220! Definitely worth keeping an eye on the ever-changing prices on Amazon). Everybody said, "But where will you ever where them?" Everywhere, is the answer!! I have had some strange looks and some people pointing at my shoes, but I have also had compliments from strangers and even someone asking to take a photo of them.

The boot is not very flexible which can make walking up and down stairs tricky, but they are generally comfortable as the character heel isn't too high. You have to be careful not to knock the heel against your other foot, or the paint from the dress can transfer and is very tricky to get off.

The 'Who in the world am I?' boots are also available in blue sequin with a black bow. I prefer the shiny, smooth feel of these ones, although the blue sequin would probably go with more.

I hope to make Irregular Choice a regular feature of my blog over the next few weeks, so if you are a fan, check back for more reviews. Do you think you prefer the stripes, or the blue sequins?

It might seem very early to be talking about Valentine's day, but I'm posting this now for two reasons:

1. Walking around the shops I am already seeing Valentine's themed things. I even had a 'Valentine's Love Potion' hot chocolate in Hotel Chocolat yesterday (it was delicious).

2. This idea takes a long time to organise and put together so if you want to do it, it's a good idea to get started now!



I always struggle to think of ideas for Valentine's Day because I like them to be sentimental or meaningful, rather than t-shirts or video games like I might buy for birthdays or Christmas.

Last year, I discovered some fantastic groups on Facebook that let you swap love notes with other people from around the world. You post on the group to let people know where you are from and then people message you for a trade. I spent a very cold day in my local town taking photos of notes for other people with pretty background scenery, and in exchange I got some lovely photos back to give to my partner.



I have shown just a few examples here to explain what I mean, but I actually managed to get 81 different photos. (You will notice that it doesn't say Minnie on these notes! Check out my 'About Me' section to see why).

I put them together in a scrap book for my partner with washi tapes and embellishments to make it look pretty, but you could also put them together in a slideshow, a YouTube video or on a DVD.

If you want to find the Facebook groups, search for 'Love Notes From Around the World' and a few will come up.

Let me know if try this. I'd love to know what your loved ones thought!

My everyday eyeshadow routine has been pretty much the same for a few months now. The products I have been loving have all been from Benefit Cosmetics and they came in the kits above.

After I have used the creamy shadow as a base, I apply 'call my bluff' which is the white/cream shade in the 'It's a Gal's World!' kit pictured above. Then I go for some 'it's complicated' (the pinky shade - I never ever used pink eyeshadows before I found this one and now I'm hooked). Occasionally, if I want a slightly darker look, I add a bit of the 'thanks a latte' light brown shade in the outer crease.

The packaging of the Benefit kits always catches my eye and I love keeping them on my dressing table with their bright colours (although I am starting to run out of room now!) I also find that even though the mascaras/eyeliners are mini, they still last a good while.

Have you tried any of the Benefit make up kits? Which ones did you like?

The Audrey Hepburn earrings were bought on holiday from a market stall in Barcelona, and the brooch came in a lucky dip bag at a Ruby's Vintage Fair. There are lots of similar earrings and some Audrey brooches available on Etsy, but also keep an eye out at any vintage fairs near you as I see them regularly.

The coasters were also a vintage fair find, this time at Lou Lou's - I see them there often, so you will be likely to find them if you go for a browse. The stall had coasters featuring loads of different vintage superstars. You can check out the Facebook page for Lou Lou's here to see if there are any coming up near you, or check out Ruby's here.

Finally the magnets were a gift at Christmas and they came from Clintons. I don't think that is actually an image of Audrey Hepburn in the magnet, but the style is very similar, so they are still a great accessory for my fridge!

And now I leave you with this picture of me as a wannabe-Marilyn for my movie themed 25th birthday party last April - wish I felt this glam everyday!!

This December I was very excited to be opening a door on a Body Shop advent calendar every day (thanks to my OH!)

I've always loved Body Shop, but had drifted away from buying their products lately. This calendar reminded me about some products I love and introduced me to some new products. Here is a little selection of what was inside.

Firstly, the body butter is a firm favourite of mine. In trying other body lotions from various different brands I had forgotten how much I used to love this stuff when I was younger. The advent calendar came with 'British Rose Instant Glow Body Butter' and it smells DIVINE.



When I am working, I often neglect my skincare routine through lack of time. Since I've been off work for a couple of weeks over the holidays, I've been remembering to lather up the body butter and it has made such a difference to my skin, particularly on my upper arms where my skin gets quite dry. I also had to give a shoutout to the Mango and White Musk body lotions because they smell soooo good.



The camomile eye make up remover was something I had never tried before and I have really liked it. It's much softer on my skin than the Nivea I have been using recently. I think I will repurchase when I have finished this bottle.

The hand creams and lip balms were lovely additions to the calendar and have again reminded me how great these products are. When things have been around for years I feel like there is often a tendency to go for the newest stuff, but it's good to remember that the tried and tested is often still around for a reason!

The lash brush and comb plus the eyelash curler were very much needed to replace my old ones and the eyelash curler came with replacement pads too.

I think perhaps a sales trip to Body Shop is in order, so I can stock up on some more of this stuff for the new year!

What Body Shop products do you love?