Item of the Week: Dress the 50s Way.

French Connection Floral 50′s Dress- ASOS: £125.00

I don’t know if you know, but I have a massive soft spot for florals. It drives my other half nuts. He claims the bedding is too ‘grandma-ish’, but I think it is simply beautiful. Some men just don’t appreciate a stunning pattern when it covers them every night.

Anyway. I love this dress. It is amazing, and I want it pretty bad. Unfortunately, it is against my moral code to spend that much on an item of clothing. Especially while I am a poor teacher who is saving to travel the world. There would be no place for this fancy frock on a trek around Asia. (Well, I’m pretty sure I would find a way, but it’s just not practical!) I pride myself on the fact that most of my outfits are put together on £50 or less. But for those of you who have a bit of spare cash flying about and are drooling over this dress as much as I am, more good news! ASOS have free international shipping. No minimum order. Can you believe that? I may or may not have already placed a few orders of some more modestly priced items… ahem. Happy Friday everyone!

Winging It.

Oh, how nice it is to be in a warm, sunny country working on my tan (mind you, it’s raining as I type…) The sea air makes the sun deceptive though, and my thighs turned an interesting shade of purple before deciding to go pink. They better go brown soon. God, I’m so ‘English’ and pale.

Otherwise, nothing much to report. We are planning on purchasing a little car next week which we test drove yesterday. I tell you, I have never driven on the right side of the road or the left side of the car before. We nearly lost a wing mirror very early on. Everyone was extremely calm about the whole situation though, surprisingly. What is your news? Sorry I haven’t been visiting you all recently. I intend to be back on it soon!

Flip-flops: Havaianas, Skirt: H&M, Top: Internacionale

Couple of the Week: ‘Check’-ing it Out!

When I left Korea last September, I was so sad to say goodbye to the ‘Couple of the Week’ section of my blog. These couples made me smile. Made me laugh. Made me realise the sacrifices some men will make for real love. Not my man, of course. He dismissed it as an Asian craze and vetoed the suggestion before he could even tell I was joking in my request. I would never actually want to mirror my boyfriend; but his immediate refusal hurt me a little bit. These men don’t mind emulating their other halves. In fact, it is the norm. Back home they would be stripped of their manhood, but here in Korea, it’s fashionable to declare to the world ‘I am with this person and I am proud.’ I suppose it helps ‘she’ does the shopping, too.

The furthest my boyfriend and I made it into this trend was in a gift from my Korean friend, Han Sol. These porroro couple rings made me happy in my last week in Daegu, South Korea. Of course, at that time, we had no intention of returning to the home of Samsung, Park JiSung and kimchi. These rings were a memory of a craze which would never fail to make me smile.

The economic situation at home and the sweet deal of being a teacher in this amazing country quickly turned us around, and when we arrived back in Korea three weeks ago, (this time to Jeju Island) I was ecstatic when I saw my first offending ‘couple-wear’ pair. I don’t know how often I will be posting these gems, but if you like it, I’ll try my damn hardest to ask these couples awkwardly if I can take their pictures, for reasons I cannot explain (because my Korean sucks…). What do you think?

Isn’t it Ironic?

With the best intentions in the world, I still failed in my ambitions to make a smooth transition of blogging as soon as I arrived back in Korea. A few things got in the way of this. The first involved a visit from gastric flu. The second involved a nasty cold. The third was a matter of a ‘glitch’ in my drugs test. If you know me, you’ll know I’m not at all ‘that way inclined’. I’m paranoid enough naturally before adding an intoxicating substance into the mix. Alas, apparently my pain killers for my ankle and ever annoying IBS have something from the ‘opium’ family in them. I can hear you chuckling already– because if you know me, this kind of thing is just my luck. I mean; to be caught out by co-codamol (a.ka.-Tylenol 3; or paracetamol and codeine). You can buy it over the counter in the UK, for crying out loud. And being accused of opium only made me think ‘Hang on a minute– no-one’s done opium since the Victorian era, I’m not in an Oscar Wilde novel am I?’ I am an unlucky person. Like, if I go to a concert, the tallest person in the world will be in front of me. Or if all I want is a knife, then all I’ll have is ten thousand spoons. And if anyone ends up with a fly in their drink, it’ll be in MY chardonnay. I’m pretty sure it’ll rain if I ever get married, too*. Anyway, I’ve not been deported yet, and I passed my second drug test, so things are gradually looking up.

Otherwise we have been trying to get our bearings in our beautiful new city. And we’ve been trying to make friends. And making our house a home. All those imperative things you must do when you move your entire life half way around the world. It leaves little time for my fashion and internet life, but I’m sure I’ll get back in the swing of things soon. Here is what I wore yesterday. As you can see, our roof is maybe not the best location for a shoot. And I need to start wearing my hair up, cause that sea air is a b***h. I hope you all had an lovely Easter weekend.

Shoes: Toms, Tights and Cardigan: Marks and Spencer, Shorts: Forever 21, Floral Top: New Look.

* I think I’ve heard anecdotes like this before– Have you? Sorry for stealing your stuff Alanis.

Canny Granny.

Well, when I heard that my boyfriend’s Gran no longer required some of her amazing jumpers, what was I supposed to do? Seriously, I love Granny clothes. I think Grannys are some of the best dressed people out there today. Of course they are, because they lived through the elegance of the 50s, the swinging 60s, the disco 70s and the rocker 80s. I love to hear about my Mum in her kaftan when she was a hippy in the 70s. Us in our 20s can’t compete with all that. The wildest thing I ever did was get a Karen O bowl cut when I was 18. And, of course, defied the fashion world and copied the Grannies. Every time my boyfriend looked at me today he laughed his head off, but with the super comfort and the attractive lack of price tag of my new jumper, I think I know who’s winning.

What decade would you like to have lived through?

Trainers: Converse, Tights: M&S, Skirt: H&M, Jumper: Hand-me-down from my boyfriend’s Gran.

Watch This Space.

Our flights are officially booked for the 25th March, at which time we will take a mammoth 24 hr(ish) journey to Jeju, South Korea via Turkey and Seoul. I have a new lease of life since we got this news and when our visas arrived I could hardly control myself. At the moment the people in my book still have a more exciting life than I do, but that will all be changing soon. Oh yeah. Watch this space.

Shoes: Toms, Tights: M&S, Shorts: Forever 21, Blue Under Vest: American Apparel, Black tee: ModCloth, Cardigan: Topshop, Headband: ASDA.

Time Goes By So Slowly.

Being unemployed is not all it’s cracked up to be. I am poor. And bored. And anxious. I find myself wearing really dull outfits and not a drop of make-up, like this one here. I’m obsessing about what’s to come in the books I’m reading as oppose to real life. (The Hunger Games trilogy- has anyone else given them a go?)

All of my clothes are packed away in storage until we get back from our next adventure, for which I am only taking a back-pack. I am living off less than two drawers of clothes and my creativity is wearing thin. On the flip side though- we’ll be in Korea by the end of the month, and I will be ready to make a few purchases on arrival. And maybe, just maybe, I’ll start up my Couple of the Week category again- which I adored. Any couples that decide to wear matching outfits from head-to-toe, are people that I’d really like to know. (How’s about my rhyming skills there? Oh yeahhh). If you are blissfully unaware of this Asian trend- go and check it out now please. It’s A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.

Boots: Barratts, Tights: Marks and Spencer, Skirt: Primark, Tee-shirt: Cath Kidston, Cardigan: Korean Boutique.

Black and White.

I received this marvellous ModCloth frock for Christmas from my ace brother and sister-in-law. Let’s just say, I am feeling brave today and have decided to crack it out for the first time. You see, I am clumsy. Like, massively clumsy. Like, I spill food down my front on a daily basis; clumsy. And I fall in potholes and end up requiring surgery; clumsy. (OK- that one has only happened once).

Today though, today is a new day. And I will try to keep this darling dress as close to it’s original white as possible. Wish me extreme amounts of luck- I’m gonna need it!

Boots: Tesco, Tights: Korean Boutique, Dress: ModCloth.

Sweetness, I Was Only Joking.

 

Did everyone eat loads of pancakes on Shrove Tuesday? I hope so, because I did. I stuffed my face with sugar and lemon sweetness, so much so that my tongue stung for about a day afterwards due to the sourness. It was totally worth it though. I called my parents to see how they were and asked them if they too were partaking in a bit of religious binging. My Dad informed me they weren’t, and that they haven’t really celebrated pancake day since I left home because ‘[I] was such a good little tosser’. I know I should be mature enough to pass over that comment by now, but I’m really not. hahaha.

And for Ash Wednesday- did you make any resolutions? My boyfriend insisted we give up long lies for lent, to which I am already resisting. What’s the point in getting up early when we aren’t working until March? It just makes more time to fill. We’ve been watching a LOT of films, including every single Rocky ever made.

Boots: ModCloth (2009), Leggings: Korean shop, Skirt: New Look, Under-top & Cardigan: Marks and Spencer, Blue Floral Top: Topshop (years ago).

I Fell in Love at the Seaside.

Can you tell my teeth are chattering? I bet you can’t, because I really am the best actress in the world. I will admit, when my better half suggested taking some pictures at the seaside this morning, I was all for it. Now I realise he just wanted me to get frostbite or trench foot or something. That’s ok though, because I love the seaside, no matter how cold it is. I find it so soothing. Maybe I was a dolphin in a past life. Or a tuna.

I didn’t really fall in love at the seaside, but I had that old Kooks song in my head on our jaunt today. Really, I fell in love in a grungy bar in South Korea that you had to walk down gross stairs to get to. What can I say, he wooed me over a pint of lager as we stood next to a darts machine. Beautiful story, eh? Have you got any romantic stories about how you met your other half? My brother met his gorgeous wife on an aeroplane, I like that story. Ours isn’t quite so romantic, although I do relish in the fact that I fell for a fellow Brit on the other side of the world. Weird to think if we had both stayed in our native England, our paths would probably never have crossed. Tell me your story. Go on.

Boots: Tesco, Tights: Topshop, Maxi-Dress: Korean Boutique, Floral Tee: New Look.