New Year, New Loot - Part One

Thanks to a mystery bug I've had a fair bit of time on my hands today so, aside from napping and the odd bout of nausea, I've been playing with my camera and all the lovely new treats that came my way over Christmas*.

This year, Christmas stocking aside, Mother Ship-Shape took me shopping in Bournemouth to find a few festive goodies. I love surprises - planning them, being on the receiving end, knowing about somebody else's surprise (I'm not fussy) - and usually insist on knowing nothing about gifts that might be coming my way. Year after year I've had some cracking surprises but this year the shopping trip saved my poor mother from the hassle and panic of buying for a surprise-aholic and also guaranteed everything would fit properly.

I tried on numerous pairs of tailored jodhpur style trousers before finding this stone-coloured pair from New Look. Thanks to my pre-wedding health kick they suit sitting both high on the waist or lower on my hips. They also go rather nicely with my gorgeous new Dorothy Perkins blazer, below. I adore the slight ruching on the pockets and the slouchy feel of the lightweight cotton, and the taupe colour is close enough to beige to be a wardrobe staple, but far enough away from camel to make it too A/W 10.

I also finally managed to get myself a pair of brogues from River Island. A cross between a loafer and brogue, the hidden laces make these shoes far more versatile and I can't wait till Spring to pair them with bare legs and summer dresses.

Somewhat surprisingly, I gravitated towards very similar garments and came away from Christmas with a practically complete outfit - a rare feat for my shopping trips, as Part Two of this post will show you...

Slouchy pockets and turned up cuffs make a perfect S/S blazer

My new stone coloured trousers came complete with brown knotted belt

Brogue + loafer =?

*Sadly not the new Jamie Oliver cookbook - at the moment that is only adding to the nausea feeling : (