Neat Neutrals

 

Hello my dears , sorry for being late with the outfit post again, but I had my cousins over for a week and I have been super busy entertaining them. We had a great time playing tennis, ping-pong, basketball , relaxing in the hammock at the countryside, watching the semifinals of Euro2012 and last but not least, I really enjoyed the role of a tourist guide when I showed them my town.

This is what I wore exactly one week ago, on the last day of school when I was awarded a scholarship and I figured I should dress smarter than usual. I don't only invest in the things which are 'IN' for the season (i.e. those mint pants I'm wearing all over the blog), but I also consider how many times and on how many occasions would that item be appropriate. This outfit is exclusively a mix of this kind of clothing, that I am certain that will go a long way. Take the black skirt for example: it has a fancy cut so it can be trendy this season, but in three years I can still picture myself wearing it. The white top tucked in is the same from this outfit post. I know, it's so versatile!

Have a wonderful weekend! x

Oasap necklace, Mango Skirt, Mango top, Zara wedges, Zara bag, Musette belt

Cute Bunny& Skulls

WEEKEND ACTIVITIES And it's finally holiday!!!  I have time to read at last (I 'm on the 'read a book a day' mode) and also to see all my old & new friends. This weekend I had tons of fun with my best friend/cousin and our good friend from childhood. It's really amazing because we had the Euro 2012 matches to watch among other activities and, although I am a girl , I have just as much football knowledge as them ha!

And don't worry, there was a major shopping session involved while they went to play tennis! I spent all my savings and scholarship on two dresses, a sweater, a necklace and last but not least a pair of punky chic flats from Zara which cost a fortune!!!  I didn't plan on buying them but I tried them on and they are so comfortable and fitted me so well! I was shoked when I saw the price tag, but let's look on the bright side: they are perfect for school as well. They might have tricked you that those silver things are spikes but they're in fact skulls which I find super awesome! I'm not really into these kind of things, but ever since Ioana launched BONE the idea of owning some skull-printed accessory appealed to me more and more.

Also, how cool is my new loose T-shirt? It has such a cute message and the print&fabric are fabulous! I actually like the contrast resulted from pairing it with the edgy flats !

OASAP T-shirt, Zara flats, Marks&Spencer shorts

We are golden!

                      

♪Mika- We are Golden ♪

'We are not what you think we are- we are golden! '

I've been a bad blogger I know, but I had many events in my life lately! So yes, I am thinking that 'Chatty Cathy' may be my alter ego because everytime I blog I feel like I could write a novel. It's hard for me to stop, yet there is a thin line between sharing your life with your readers and your safety and privacy. Well, I've been gone because I had the Speaking Examination for my CAE exam and although it went quite well, I was so nervous!! Good thing shopping releases tension, the Mango store was the only one to comfort me after this important exam and this awesome white top I got from there is the greatest reward I could get!

I remember how I was complaining about the rain couple of weeks ago. Well, heat please go away!! I love wearing sunglasses, but as an accessory and not a necessity (yes, I am aware of how this may sound) and I can only wear ponytails and buns right now! Don't get me wrong, I love how fashionable everything looks but fewer degrees wouldn't hurt anybody.

Also, today I had my pre-birthday party! My birthday is actually on 12th of August but my incredible mates bought me a gift already, because I was always sad I don't get to celebrate my birthday at school. I made 36 chocolate cupcakes for them which you can see after the break and I got as a present the 'Hunger Games' trilogy.

Now, about the outfit of the day: the central piece is obviously my amazing statement necklace but I also really love the yellow&mint combination, I would have never thought they would go so well toghether. Also, I love the lenght of my new top and the details, it's just the perfect thing to wear for any ocasion! The floral printed flats are so comfortable, they have been my favorites these past few days.

Huge thanks to Diana & Simona for the incredible photos!

Oasap necklace, Mango top, Zara pants, Stradivarius flats, Accessorize ring, Bag sent to me by Wholesale, H&M sunnies

Seriously, what were the odds to sit on the most horrible bench ? haha! Still, I had to post this .

And the cupcakes( phot taken from my Instagram: @marymanaila):

Casual Cobalt

♪ The Kooks- Naive ♪

I'm super tired as I am writing this right now, so I want to apologise for the potential mistakes. I wanted to post yesterday, after the Cambridge CAE exam, but I'm no superwoman. It was such an overhelming experience, and I still have the Speaking Examination on Sunday. There is one thing I know for sure: having this blog contributed a lot in my preparation for the exam. I feel more confident about what I have acknowledged and I'm now aware that I just love love love English!

Now, about the outfit of the day: This is my new dress from H&M, I love it how it somehow reminds me of cobalt which, by the way, is mentioned several times in the May Issue of British Vogue ! And you can finally see my magnificent bracelets- all of them!!! They're from New Look, a brand which I found super affordable and lovely and I am so happy there is one in Iasi , recently opened.

One more experience I want to share: when I arrived home last night I found three lovely comments (2 on Lookbook and one around here) and it just made me realise how much I love you all, because no matter how life can be, there are always going to be some people to comfort me around here!

H&M dress, Zara leggings, H&M flats, H&M sunnies, New Look bracelets, Pull&Bear wallet

Mint Madness

♪ Primadonna- Marina and the Diamonds ♪

Why , hello there! Shocked to see me posting so soon? I was going through my old posts yesterday (I  know, I can be a little nostalgic at times- yet it's so great to have an online archieve of all my trips!) and I noticed that ever since I saw the mint colour in the trend report I have been obsessing over it!  It all started from this post, then it was followed by this and this. Oh, but what about that one?

Well, my mint madness is still lasting and now I am the proud and happy owner of a mint dress!! I know you what you might be thinking: 'this girl does even know the shades? This is light blue!' but I can assure you it's actually mint. The thing is that when I shot the photos it was a really sunny day so that's why you can't see the colour properly. I promise to show you another ensemble with it though, in the near future.

I chose to wear it with my  mint (oh! what a surprise haha) owl necklace which is super cute. This owl has some incredible orange eyes, so I thought mixing this whole pastel look with some colorblocking accents like the bracelets, wallet and the belt. The flats don't match, I know, but I couldn't find my lavender toned ones so..you can't always wear a pefect outfit!

And...I finally found the sunglasses I have always been dreaming of!!! They are from H&M, vintage shaped and with leopard print.

H&M dress, Bershka belt, H&M sunnies, Pull&Bear wallet, Stradivarius wallet, New Look bracelets

I know, funny face but the dress is too beautiful so I had to post this!

The single photo where the dress actually seems like a pseudo-mint haha

And now, have a closer look at my sunnies (photo from my Instagram : @marymanaila)

L.i.f.e.g.o.e.s.o.n

♪ Noah and the Whale- L.i.f.e.g.o.e.s.o.n ♪

Chatty Cathy strikes again, just saying!

I took these photos today with my phone because I feel like a horrible blogger. Actually, my baby sister did which is kind of a rare encounter, because she hates taking pictures for my blog, but she is stubborn. It's funny actually where it all started: I got a lovely comment from a reader asking me who takes my pictures. Now, she doesn't know that much English but while I was replying she saw that her name didn't appear anywhere. She was outraged by the fact she hadn't been mentioned and she specifically reminded me of how she used to be the 'official' photographer in the early days of the blog haha .

Anyways, I want to talk more about the title now, if you are still following. Lately I found myself reading lots of books, all emphasizing the quality of life and it got me thinking. I'm not sure whether this is just because I am still a teenager and I am still trying to know myself better or that I finally acknowledged the philosophy of my life. First of all, I am in a peaceful state. When I was younger, I used to come across to all these motivational quotes like 'Live life with no regrets'. I couldn't understand this notion. What did they mean with 'no regrets'? I regretted not buying a certain dress or not being friends with somebody, so how would I be able to reach the absolute of happiness?

I'm not sure what changed in my nature but in the last few weeks when many things happened to me- including ending a long friendship- I looked back and I had no regrets! I actually have no regret right now as I am posting so late on the blog because if it weren't for this, I wouldn't be sharing this with you. The main idea is that I like it this way , I love how life seems to me right now and I have come to the conclusion that this quote represents my mood exactly:

“When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” -Paulo Coelho

ZARA skirt, ZARA crop top, Accessorize bracelet, Stradivarius floral flats

Iaşi is where my heart is

Beware! I'm on 'Chatty Cathy' mode today

For those who don't live in Romania or simply don't watch the news there has hapened some major changes in my most favorite city in the world- Iaşi . A new complex called 'Palas' has just opened few days ago and this implied some incredible events which I also attended. It's not just the huuuge mall I love (with the most incredible Zara store-seriously, it beats the one from Prague) but also the gardens which are in front of the Palace of Culture and the lake. I had to take pictures, it's just a complete madness, it looks like a whole different city!

Back to the events I attended there was one which has a certain impact on me: Saturday night we tried to achieve a Guiness record by lighting the most sky-lanterns in the world! Needless to say, we made it and it felt just amazing knowing that one of the 12740 fairy lights was mine (there's a picture after the break).  Also, I ate for the first time at Subway. I know, silly me, I felt like a tourist when I took a picture in front of the restaurant but it was something I have been craving for ever since last August when I was in Budapest and we didn't have time to stop at one and grab a sandwich. This experience kind of reminded me of a post I saw on 9gag a while ago because when I was being asked about the ingredients I kept saying random things. The result was delicious , though.

Now, about the outfit of the day: I bought this  dress from Zara at the last sales, when I also bought this versatile wallet and my most loved belt. Also, the leopard flats are the most comfortable in the world!
Against a monster proceeds an intentional unfortunate.



Zara dress, Bershka belt, Pull&Bear wallet, H&M flats

I know, I know creepy lights but I had to show you the lake!

And a picture of me before lthe sky-lanterns launch (follow me on Instagram @marymanaila)