Marc by Marc Jacobs

I love Marc Jacobs. Need I say more? Personally, I love the bags and purses. For me, they are more within my reach than his clothing line. Although, his clothes are very chic. 

Horizon Georgette Blouse

This gorgeous classic blouse is $278 on Marc Jacobs. In the 'Marc by Marc Jacobs' section. 

Edgemont Sweater Top 

This is a simple knitted jumper which I am just addicted to at the moment. It is $268. As a student, this is definitely out of my reach but I love admiring the clothes and dreaming that one day I will be able to afford such luxuries! 

On to the bags!! 

I am loving the 'Too Hot to Handle' range at the moment. If I were to pick one, I would go for the Too Hot to Handle satchel. It is currently €395 in Brown Thomas. 

Satchel in black

Satchel in tan

The Bentley in blue

The Bentley in green

The Hobo in mink

Sarah Hyland from Modern Family with the Hobo in black 

What I love about all of these bags is that they each come in a great range of colours, they feel expensive in your hand, the quality is great and they are timeless. I really am looking forward to the day that I can buy my own one. 

My purse

My parents bought me this purse in Brown Thomas as a Christmas present one year. I LOVE it. It is still currently available and is priced at €198. This is one of Marc Jacobs classic pieces that will never date.  

Girly Night!

Last night, myself and a few of my friends decided to go for dinner. We chose 'Captain Americas' in Cork City. This is a go-to place for students as it can be very affordable. At the start of every college year they hand out concessions for Captain Americas with a 'buy 1 main course, get one free offer'. 

So our night started with a short journey in on the bus. We jumped off and made our way to the restaurant. When we arrived there were no tables free, much to our despair! However, when I asked could we book a table for around 9pm (it was 8pm at this stage) a table was made available. We were thrilled. We ended up with a large booth so we had loads of room at our table and we could just totally relax. First up were a round of cocktails. You can't have a girls night without cocktails! Then, although we had been told that our food wouldn't come for ages, it came nearly straight away! We were all so full but we were having such a good time that we just HAD to order dessert and another round of cocktails! I mean, of course we did! Our scrumptious desserts arrived! To be honest, I don't know how we finished them....but we did! Once we finished our cocktails, cleared our dessert plates we headed for the Mardyke Bar! Here, we met up with more friends and enjoyed more cocktails. We had a good laugh, singing along to songs and telling a few stories! I will follow this up with an outfit post soon! :) 

The first round of cocktails

Enjoying our cocktails

My pizza (it was delish!)

The girls Goujons

Gemma's burger!

The Captain himself

Death by triple chocolate... the name doesn't lie!

The Captains Brownie

Shopping

Today, I went to Wilton Shopping Centre with full intentions of tackling Penneys. I got there at 11.55, five minutes before opening to find about 30 people waiting outside. I thought I was going to be one of the first there and that it would be a peaceful shopping experience. Unfortunately, I was wrong. Even worse all I came home with is fluffy socks. I tried a few things on but I just felt that none of them were worthy of my money. Also, the sizes that I needed in those items weren't available. I guess I will just have to try again another day. 

Make-Up Brushes

Hey guys, for a very long time all I had in my make up bag was your traditional foundation brush and a powder brush. I was aware of the various brushes that are out there but, I guess I couldn't really afford them. Then I began watching YouTube videos. From these, you can learn SO much! However, I began to get frustrated when watching them because in each video the make up artists used what seemed like 1000 brushes to achieve the look that they wanted. One evening, I decided to try and do my eye make up with just two brushes. 

The first look I tried

For this look I tried to do a brown smokey eye. Using colours in the Urban Decay palette like 'Virgin', 'Naked', 'Half Baked', 'Smog' and 'Darkhorse'. As you can see from the picture I only had the use of two brushes. I also used the 'NYC' black eye liner. I'm not sure of the price but it is very affordable. I just wanted to prove that you can do a smokey eye using what is already in your make up bag! Darkhorse is one of my favourite colours on the palette. I have Hazel coloured eyes so I think it really makes my eyes stand out.

Naked Palette

I highly recommend this palette!! You can create a million different looks with it. Transitioning from day to night! I love it for just wearing to college, work and going out with my friends. Its €44 at the moment in Debenhams. But, you will have it forever. And these colours are timeless. They will always be in fashion! Often Debenhams have a 10% off sale so if you can try and wait for this you'll get the palette a little bit cheaper!

The second look I tried

For this look I tried to use the colours that are on the other end of the Naked palette. So, 'Hustle', 'Toasted' and 'Gunmetal'. This look aimed to create your typical grey smokey eye look. I added a vibrant blue eyeliner that I bought on my holiday to France. 'Kiko' is a brand that I have yet to see in Ireland but I did see it in the November edition of the Glamour Mag so hopefully it is on the way! I really enjoyed trying to create these looks. For people who are just starting out don't be afraid to play around with the palette and your make up. After all, one wipe and nobody ever has to know what you put on your face!

Naked Palette

Once I had finished these looks it was annoying me that I couldn't get the adequate brushes to create a more polished look at a reasonable price. So, I grabbed my laptop and started googling brushes. For Christmas I had asked my Mum for make up brushes and she had gone to Urban Decay and spent nearly €50 on two brushes! That was crazy!!! Then she heard about 'Real Techniques'. She found a Powder brush for €16. A whole €10 cheaper!! I googled that brand again. It was the best thing I ever did. The Real Techniques website is here. However, they only deliver within America. Luckily for us the Real Techniques brushes can be bought in Boots or online. I purchased the Real Techniques Starter Set 1406. You get 5 brilliant and high quality brushes for only €28.99. It is the one of the best sets that I have!! In a few weeks I am travelling to Dublin. There, I plan to purchase some make up brands that I have never used before and purchase some new Real Techniques brushes! I can't wait to tell you all about it. I hope this post has helped you in some way. Please let me know how you get on!

Olivia <3

Alfie

Alfie

I can't believe it has taken me this long to tell you about our dog, Alfie. He is a very special member of our family and one that myself and my brother fought hard to get. For years and years we wanted a dog. First, we lived in the suburbs in London. My parents deemed this not a very adequate location or home for a dog. But, we were young so we just accepted what our parents told us. Then we moved to Ireland. We moved to a rural town and thought 'Hey, let's get a dog now!' but no, our parents told us that the house was too small. So, again myself and my brother just accepted that. We then moved to another house. We still wanted a dog but the house we moved in to was, unfortunately, smaller than the one we were living in. Of course, we asked and asked. Then our cousins got a dog and it just seemed more and more unfair. After living in that house for 5 years we moved again. This time in to my Mums dream house. Myself and my mum worked a lot together in picking out furniture, colour schemes, kitchen design and lots more. It was brilliant. I loved the experience. Listening in on conversations with builders, negotiating and having a bit of banter.

Our garden in the snow

As you can see from the picture we have a big garden and our house is much bigger than the previous houses that we lived in. Now, my parents didn't have any excuses. The house was no longer too small and neither was the garden. However, my Dad was still adamant that we were not getting a dog. Much to our despair. Every few months the idea of getting a dog kept coming up in conversation. I had met my Boyfriends fabulous two dogs Happy and Milly. This just made me want one even more. As if that was even possible! 

Happy, Milly & I

I had had enough of hearing no. If my boyfriend could have two dogs and they didn't give any trouble and they weren't a burden to anyone then why couldn't I?? Myself and Shane created this picture ^^ to show my parents how much I loved dogs. I plagued them with picture messages. I even set the wallpaper on our family iMac to a picture of Milly and stuck post-its all around the screen begging for a dog. One of them read 'A new puppy would be wuf-ly!' Written by Shane. To add to all of this, I knew that I was going in to my second year of college and that I might not have much time left at home. Maybe 2 or 3 years. If I didn't get a puppy then, we were never going to get one. 

One weekend in July my parents headed away together to County Waterford. Myself and Peter had the house to ourselves for a few days. Bliss. A few days previous myself and my mum had seen an irresistible Goldendoodle. 

Goldendoodle

He was just gorgeous. This set off my want for a dog once again. I came home and within 10 minutes of sitting down I was on DoneDeal searching for a puppy. I found gorgeous Goldendoodles but they were quite expensive and I knew that they grew to a big size. Then it dawned on me that maybe a ShihTzu would be the perfect dog for our home. I found some located about 50 minutes from our home. While my parents were away, I called the seller. I arranged to meet her with the puppy and we agreed on a price. My parents were in Waterford and they could not stop me. It was my only chance. I was very scared and very worried. What if it all went wrong? There was a million thoughts running through my head. We reached our destination. There was Alfie. I was so nervous to agree to the purchase of the dog. But, I did. 

When he arrived home

Keeping him safe

The second day, I rushed home from work

He loves Dads slippers

Getting used to his bed

Playing with the sliotar

He also loves my Ugg boots

Trying his best to jump up on the couch

Crazy hair!

Wanting scraps!

After his first bath

Being adorable

Add caption

I love him 

Digging in the garden

Being extra safe with his bandana

When I washed him for the first time

Studying with me

Alfie

Oreo and Nutella Brownies

So, I thought it was time for another recipe. Since being back at college, I have found it difficult to find time to bake. However, I did a few very special recipes during the summer. 

My Recipe Book

If you love chocolate, brownies, Nutella and Oreos then this is the recipe for you. When I initially started baking I was considering creating a baking blog and this is where I found this recipe. You can find this and loads of amazing more recipes here. If you want to surprise or wow friends and family this recipe is great! I made these with my boyfriend and my brother watched on. We had great fun trying to figure them out. 

The Recipe

This recipe is so easy. Here it is:

Ingredients: 

• 280g/10oz Nutella
• 2 eggs
• 10 tbsp of flour
• Pinch of salt
• 12 yummy whole Oreos

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a 12 hole muffin tray with cupcake liners. (I made the mistake of using muffin liners and they didm't turn out very well. They require a small liner.) 
2. Mix the nutella, eggs, flour and salt in a bowl. (Be careful with the flour. Do not add too much.)
3. Scoop a small tablespoon of Nutella mixture into each case. 
4. Top each one with an Oreo. Press down so that the mixture comes up around the sides of the Oreo. 
5. Divide the remaining mixture amongst the 12 cupcake liners. Covering the Oreo completely with mixture. 
6. Bake for 12 minutes or until you feel they are finished.

Our Oreo Nutella Brownie

This was our finished product. We were very happy with the end result. Enjoy warm with a lovely cup of tea. What more could you want??? Let me know how this recipe goes for you!

Olivia <3