Gilet – All Saints

Fluffy gilet – All Saints (on sale!). (DIY Slashed) jeans – Supertrash. Bootes – Kurt Geiger. Bag – Couronne. Silk & mohair sweater – Hoss Intropia. Watch – Lasson & Jennings. Rings – Monica Vinader. Silk bracelet – Hermes Petit h. Gold bracelet – Kenzo. Thank you Kit for helping with the outfit pics!

So… I may have skipped out on the annual rumble with desperate last-minute shoppers by finding gifts earlier in the month, but turns out none of that mattered because I was that person with the bulging Santa sack at the post office on the very last working day before Christmas begging for stamps. I don’t even get points for joining a 50-strong queue that snaked around the building because none of the gifts will arrive on time anyway. I was also the person fighting a lady with three kids over the last orange in Tesco’s thinking if I don’t buy this now we will get starve and DIE over Christmas, or get scurvy, then die. Oh, and the girl that got carried away buying winter essentials as if preparing for a snow disaster, and by essentials I mean fluffy gilets from All Saints (on sale, no less) that probably aren’t very practical for any disaster, really, unless I’m doing a style-off with the snow. In any case, I do hope for a bit of weather drama over the next few days, just so I can blame it for the gifts not arriving on time and hope no one will check the date on the stamp, or this blogpost. Oh I’ve screwed up this year, haven’t I.

Since I’m probably getting whips/handcuffs again for being naughty this year, let me know if you’re as bad as me with Christmas and maybe we can start a business together by selling them all. What do you think?

Plus, the winners for the 5th Anniversary giveaway!

White coat – Charlie May AW13. Leather trousers – Topshop (similar Topshop). Shoes – Kurt Geiger. Sweater – H&M.

I’m a simple person, not minimalist simple, just tea in a mug, juice in a glass type of simple, in fact, I may be one of society’s flock of sheep that buy things with louder packaging. I’ll even add a beeehhh while I’m at it. Is it just me, or minimalist simple seems a somewhat superior form of lifestyle – I mean, how do you deal with so much white with all the food flying around in life? I have orange bedsheets for when I feel like taking my Spaghetti Bolognese dinner to bed, for example – which is every day except curry day. Curry day is green sheets day. I pinched this coat (Charlie May AW13) off Charlie’s studio the other morning when I’d arrived completely underdressed for a coffee date, and given my history with food/drinks and how famously it orbits the massive body that is, well, me, naturally I was hesitant to take it out. Alas, it was freezing and eventually I convinced myself that since I’m craving a flat white anyway it could as well be fine. I don’t know about the chocolate brownie though.

Thank you so much to those who entered the 5th Anniversary giveaway. Here are the five winners by random selection, congratulations!* Additionally, I’ve decided to pick 8 extra winners because I figured that’s the least I can do for the beyond amazing response I’ve had in the past week. I’m sorry if you weren’t one of the 13 to be picked, but if my love is worth anything you can download some here.

*Winners will be notified by email, please make sure you add shini@parkandcube.com to your contacts so that none of them end up next to ‘you win £3 million’ emails by Nigerian princesses, I can’t compete with that.

And here are some of things up for grabs…

One box contains: a heap of (seven!) YSL beauty goodies for the festive season!

One sack contains: One classic-red YSL lipstick, to wear with a tartan hat that comes as a knit-yourself kit by Wool and the Gang (or I can knit it up for you!)

Wearing: Dress – ASOS. Bag – Kurt Geiger. Shoes – Mango. Coat – Zara. Watch – Sekonda. Necklace – Mikimoto

Woof, five years! Before I get all sentimental about what five years ago felt like for me in terms of how many more stairs I was able to climb without throwing up my lungs, let me just say, FIVE!? Come on, vaccinations, play dates, potty training… don’t you get some kind of medal for this? Oh I forgot, this bundle of joy of mine lives on the internet. Can we just pretend for the sake for things, that it’s a living, screaming, kicking, pooping child – because thanks to you, loyal readers + occasional swing by-ers + first time visitors, this kid is fat and very happy. And it’s his 5th birthday today. (Well, it was technically back sometime in November but I’m a shitty parent, remember) Thank you for feeding bacon through the cage, and thank you most of all, for your support for the past five years. I’m very lucky to have you all. Oh there goes the emotions, paypal me some tissues will ya.

I’ve prepared some gifts for you, and while I’m sad that I cannot gift each and every one of my readers, I will sure strive to create content that hopefully will educate/entertain/inspire you, even accidentally, in the coming five years. In the meantime, do stick around!

Sunday, 15th December 2013 23:59 GMT

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♥ YSL Beauty and Wool and the Gang have so generously offered to send the prizes, so it would be nice, out of respect but not requirement, to show support by visiting their sites and social media platforms! YSL | Wool and the Gang ♥

5 x YSL Rouge Pur Couture The Mats lipstick shades 201, 202, 204, 205, 206
1 x La Laque Couture nail polish shade 01 Rouge Pop Art
1 x Le Teint Touche Éclat foundation shade BD 40

1 x Wool and the Gang tartan Zion Lion hat – knit-yourself kit,
OR pre-knitted by Park & Cube
1 x YSL Rouge Pur Couture The Mats lipstick (Shade 203)

Well, good luck!

A wee holiday gathering…

Sweater by Sonia Rykiel

Gorgeous Reem of Five Five Fabulous

Wearing: Sweater – Sonia Rykiel. Skirt – Alexander McQueen. Boots – Sergio Rossi. Rings – mix of ASOS, StreetBauble. Clutch – JinYoo103684

As captain of Lazy club, I’m obliged to say that I don’t do Christmas. Not in a conventional, fairy-lights-lined walls, itchy glittery leggings and dead tree in the corner type of way, at least. Well, there is at least one dead plant in our flat at any point in the year, and on some glamorous years we wrap that with fairy lights and hope it changes its mind and photosynthesise back to life. True spirit of Christmas right there, no? (or is that Easter) No, we go to church and leave it at that, all the goodness in one. I do love seeing how others do it though, especially if I get to deplete the baked goods like a ravished raccoon and then have the jingle balls to ask for a take-away box for the left-overs. Team Apartment threw a wee holiday get-together last night for some of my favourite girls, which was exactly the dose of others’ Christmas I needed this year. They’d gone over and beyond: Oversized knitted blankets and pillows strewn across the furry carpet floor, fairy lights to set the mood, and cosy Odd Molly pieces to keep everyone warm while the cakes gradually became crumbs between the wood boards throughout the evening. No Santa present, but we were all Santas after a each sip from the hot chocolate mug filled with whipping cream. I wore a glittery Sonia Rykiel jumper that I had saved for the perfect occasion and promptly filled it with mini sausages and home-made shortbread cookies. And, as they didn’t have a take-away box big enough to fit more marshmallows, I had to stuff some in my bra which made the cherries quite 3D by the time I was leaving.

Also speaking of Sonia Rykiel, thought I’d share the holiday collection video because I’m in the mood, why not.

Thank you to The Apartment for a great night, s’more pleaase! Thank you Kit for helping with the shots; Sonia Rykiel x Park & Cube

Navy bag – L.K.Bennett. Scarf – Johnstons of Elgin. Wheely suitcase – Samsonite

If you’re like me and spend more alone-time with your suitcase than with the significant other, this might be for you. Because last time I checked you can’t win a tattooed Ryan Gosling off the internet, let alone password protect him with a TSA-approved lock. Clever luggage got even cleverer, yo. I’ve teamed up with Fashiolista and Samsonite this month to give away a handsome limited edition roller suitcase from their Cosmolite range, just follow the instructions here and cross your fingers it’s yours before the bells jingle.

Fashiolista x Samsonite x Park & Cube