Instagram!

Guess what guys?! I am FINALLY on Instagram! It's taken me literally ages but since yesterday you can find me on http://instagram.com/msveveve (I was kinda bummed that msveve was already taken but whatever, an extra "ve" ain't that bad..). You'll basically find photos of my pig and loads of shoes. Like the ones below (yesterday's score over at Topshop)

Asos Fail

As I hinted before, I have been having a problem with Asos.com. Well, since the people from their customer service have still not replied me, it's time to get things off my chest here on my blog. I am quite displeased with the situation!!

Here's what happened:

Asos was having a one day discount (20% with the code SAVVY20) and I really wanted to use it, but due to too many people using the code (it was a one day discount) their site was unable to grant everyone the discount. Anyways, I was kind of surprised that this happened but didn't really panic or anything, I just wrote to Asos@care and stated my problem, that I was not able to use their discount even though I should have been.

They replied me back right away that they were having problems and that I will be contacted with a new code. A day or so later I received an email from Asos with a new code (SORRYSAVVY20) that was supposed to work until the 18th of December. I waited until the 16th to use it BUT it didn't work, again! Upon trying to pay for my order it said I had already used the code or that the code wasn't active, both of which were not true. I contacted Asos@care AGAIN to let them know I was having this problem and what should I do.

They wrote me back on the 19th with a new code that was supposed to be valid until the 18th. WTF??! I obviously couldn't use this code. I was also surprised at how late they replied to my issue. I wrote them again saying that although I do thank them for the code, but given that I was replied to on the 19th I couldn't use it and if they could send me a new code which I could actually use. They still (to this day) haven't replied me.

I wrote them again about this issue two more times and in both cases I just got the automatic email that they are working hard and will reply me soon. It has been DAYS and still no reply (to none of my emails).

Thus all I can think as a customer is that 1) their discount codes were FALSE ADVERTIZING, 2) their customer service do not give a shit about their customers and 3) Asos has been lying to me and to any other customers who were unable to use the code and have not been replied to. Which actually would be a case of FRAUD.

I am SO DISSAPOINTED in Asos since I have always been a good customer and have been recommending Asos to all my friends for the past two years. In light of the recent events I can only see this situation as a scam from Asos and I am not one that likes to get duped.

Anyways, it's one day before Christmas so I don't want to go on and on about this situation but I promised to tell what happened, so here it is. If anything should change I will post it asap, though to be honest, I have lost faith in Asos. Time will tell...

Happy Holidays!

Everyone celebrates the holidays differently and for me this upcoming Christmas is all about loved ones, family and friends, the food (best part) and of course the gifts. I feel lucky to have all of my shopping and crafting done and be really able to enjoy the upcoming days.

Things are almost ideal. Well, I am having one issue with Asos.com but I'm still giving them one more day to address and make right the problem that arose from their side. If not, you'll hear all the details here tomorrow. (I will hint that it has to do with false advertizing and non-functioning discount codes and poor customer service.)

Anyway, to keep this on a light and happy holiday note with a bit of an edge, here's

Ana Beatriz Barros

and her naughty Christmas 

No one does naughty like Ana... Ho Ho Ho.

NEW SHOES

A few days ago I was on the prowl for some Christmas gifts and came across these boots - on sale! - the last pair and in my size. It was destiny. So, yeah, I bought them... I am a firm believer that while buying presents you should also buy something for yourself. That's what really gets me into the spirit ;)

* I usually buy myself something smaller, but these boots were really on ridiculous sale and I knew it was a once and only offer right there and then, so I went for it. They aren't perhaps the most wearable shoes - that plexi glass wedge heel is fierce - but I love their kookiness and the levitating effect they have. They are the MMM for H&M leather boots btw.

DIY Felt Pizza

So as promised here is a DIY post of how to make a felt pizza. I'm giving it to my boyfriend's niece (she's almost two) who is getting a kitchenette as a Christmas present from her parents so I thought a pizza would be a nice additional gift. I was inspired to do this when I saw the DIY kitchenette post over on a beautiful mess - an awesome blog filled with loads of DIYs and inspiration posts.

Supplies needed: scissors, needle, different colored threads, different colored felt, cotton balls (for stuffing), pizza box, paper, pencil (for the templates)

1. I first made paper templates for the pizza slices: a crust, cheese topping and tomato sauce template.

2. Copy the templates onto the felt by using a pencil and then cut out the felt pieces.

3. Cut out the cheese toppings and the tomato sauce from the different colored felt pieces and make sure that the pieces fit unto the crust felt piece.

4. Sew the cheese onto the tomato sauce piece and then sew this piece onto the crust piece. I used yellow thread to sew on the cheese part and red to sew on the tomato sauce. After you have the "base" of the pizza sewed, you will want to add the toppings. *

 5. Add any toppings that you think should be on the pizza: I mainly used mushrooms, basil, olives (black & green), also some pepperoni slices, an anchovy, onion, an egg, even truffles! After sewing on the toppings, you will want to sew the bottom crush part of the pizza onto the top part. I first sewed one side, then the counter side - leaving the top "crust" side open - stuffed the pizza with cotton balls; and then sewed the last part.

And there you have it. I think it's a nice touch to decorate the pizza box. I glued in some nice paper I had leftover (from a pair of Irregular Choice shoes) and added stickers before fixing it all with wide see-through tape. I also decorated the top part of the box with felt cut-outs. (Her name is Justina.)

 I really hope she enjoys her new pizza! If I have to be honest I'll say it was quite a lot of work. I also made a few cookies but then gave up because I'm not used to sewing and my hand was beginning to hurt like hell. Also if I was giving this to my kid (I don't have kids) I probably wouldn't have put the pepperoni and ham toppings on the pizza - since I do not eat pork - but since the boy's family loves pork-based toppings on their pizzas, I thought I should do it as they would like.

I'll let you know how Justa liked it after Christmas!

* I originally thought I would make just plain pizza slices and have the toppings not sewed on, so that she could play with the toppings herself and create her own pizza flavors but she's still too young for such small pieces, so I had to sew them on as well.

Happy Holidays!

Howdy..

Wow. I haven't been here in such a long time! I am truly sorry for neglecting this here blog but I was sick with a bad case of angina. I was basically bed locked for the past two three weeks. And now that I'm back to functioning I'm frantically trying to get the rest of my Christmas gifts settled. I'll be honest and say that I'm buying most of the presents and making only a tiny tiny portion of them but it still feels like Christmas has crept up on me and I'm so not prepared.

In other news I was at a party not long ago and here are a few pictures. (It feels I haven't posted any photos in ages..)

While I was on facebook today, I came upon a "your year" summary feature and it showed the following photo and I just couldn't not share it with you. It's me & Dracul on the annual Sedmihorky Pig-club trip. I can't believe I could still lift him up in the summer (I can't anymore).

 Man, I miss the summer! (Nowadays Dracul doesn't even want to go outside at all so I have to force him and he always makes a sense/ screams and it is so annoying...) Anyhoo, I have a DIY Christmas gift post planned that I will post tomorrow. So stay tuned and have a lovely Thursday! Bya!

Typically unusual

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who is celebrating! I'm home with angina (tonsillitis) and after just two days home I feel like I'm losing my mind. So to keep myself occupied I'm drawing stuff. Above - dream shoe.

 Fancy dress with feather like detailing and below a casual look. I'm in no shape to be taking pictures (the bags under my eyes are far too big) so in order to have something to post, I thought I'd share this. I realized that I got my scanner/printer last year for Christmas from my sis and have hardly used it since! Was definitely time to fix that! I can't believe it's almost Christmas again - and so behind, usually I'd already have some gifts bought but this year I only have two gifts for the boy and that's it! I like to have everything ready ahead of time so that I don't stress myself out. Any gift ideas for parents and the boy's parents?? I find those the hardest to pick out!!

Lady in Red

 It's gotten uber cold here in Prague - which I guess is a mixed blessing. On one hand I love layering and I adore my boots (the ones I'm wearing today are a recent purchase - yesterday at a thrift store: new never-worn boots for less than $14? yes please - "Just Women" heeled boots in tan) but on the other hand, I hate the cold.

 So basically I suffer through the winter months and pray for an early spring and a long summer. Sadly, spring time comes late to Prague and summer is never very long. But, nevertheless, I'm trying to enjoy the time before the snow comes and the freezing cold sets in. Today I took a walk to the Pankrac mall (I went in to buy a cookbook that the boy wanted) and was super happy that I took my camera with me. The sky was lovely and so were all the leaves everywhere!

 My red coat was a really nice contrast against the background. Unfortunately, people kept walking by and it got a bit awkward. The blogger's curse of taking self-photos, what a cross to bare! (The close-up pictured above was taken while I was idly standing too close to my cam so that the passersby wouldn't walk next to my camera, but at least you can really see the texture of my coat, right?)

Wearing: Camad. coat; Esprit shawl; Zara jeans; Bershka sweater; Bershka t-shirt (not seen); H&M tank top (not seen); thrifted Just Women boots; Mark B for Topshop bag (bought in Dubai <3>

Favorites

 A while ago my Kindle died, it was a sad sad day. But on the plus side, I got to order a new one. After a stressful wait, my new Kindles arrived. Yup, that's right: kindleS. I got two: one for reading (as I find the ink display to be best for reading e-books) and one for playing (the new Kindle Fire, I have been lusting after a tablet for so long...). Although I had higher expectations for the tablet Kindle (which weren't met mainly because I live in the Czech Republic and there are A LOT of area restrictions) all-in-all I'm quite happy with my purchases (but I am still hoping that Amazon will fix the apps so that they will be downloadable in the rest of Europe).

 Another fun part of buying the new devices was picking out cases for them. For my old kindle I had a really boring black cover and it had gotten all grubby over time. I was quite excited about throwing it away and getting new covers with a bit of fun to them. So I got one in hot pink and one in bright red. They are so me. And they go well with my Piglet cell phone cover too.

What can I say? I love a happy ending!! (*there's a cover on my kindle fire display to protect it, that's why it looks so weird.)

Swimmers and Bananas

 Today I opted for a fun outfit. It was very grey outside and I wanted to lighten the mood while walking the pig: so I put on my "swimmers" Zara skirt. Here's a close-up of the print:

 I don't think I've ever worn it before. To be honest, it's not the easiest of skirts to wear. The problem is with the styling - you want something simple with it and yet it can't be too boring either. Enter my favorite Zara V-neck sweater:

 I love the color of this sweater, but sadly it has a permanent stain on it (from the washing machine - totally the boy's fault!). So I had to add a pin onto it to hide the stain and what better pin than Mr. Banana?

 Mr. Banana is awesome. You can't see my shoes but trust me I'm wearing a pair (of leopard print flats). Oh and have you noticed I colored my hair? It's a darker brown now. So now my hair is more or less all the same color. Totally unexpected, right? Till next time, xo, Miss V

Currently...

Reading this book for my Minority Lit. class:

Going to watch the film over the weekend but I doubt it will be like the novel. The start of the book was so... harsh. Plus the way it's written (as letters to God), it's, well, you just can't do that in a movie. But still, I want to see it.
Speaking of "want", I bought these shoes two weeks ago and have worn them once but it's already way too cold for them:/

Otherwise I would be wearing them non-stop. I love studded slipper flats! (These are from Topshop.)

As some of you may know, my kindle broke during the weekend. It was a sad affair, but the good news is I'm getting a new one and it's gonna be the fire hd!!! I cannot wait for it to arrive!!! So excited! The only down side and uber annoying factor is that amazon.co.uk doesn't ship kindles to Prague, Czech Rep. and amazon.com only ships the older versions. So I'm shipping it to relatives in the UK and then hopefully they'll ship it asap to me. Which basically means the wait will be a tad longer but still, I'm happy with the outcome for it was the best possible one given the situation. On a completely different subject, I'm currently inspired by:

The Twigster. I'll be attending a Halloween party over the weekend so maybe I'll go as her, maybe. I also really loved this couple's costume idea:

Kinsey and her beau as Mr. & Mrs. Fox, just perfect! For more ideas check out abeautifulmess :)

ASOS haul

Asos creepers, ordered yesterday

 About a week or so ago and yesterday I purchased a couple of things over on Asos. I have been spending a little too much money lately but sometimes you need to go all out in order to really enjoy the shopping moment. Anyways, I wanted to share what I bought (although the items have not arrived yet). Above is a pair of Asos creepers. Those who know me, know I love me some creepers and I only have a few pairs (a tartan pair, a black suede pair and a black leather pair), so when I saw these were on sale, I thought "add to bag". It was the only rational thought that could have been, trust.

Asos quilted mini skirt with heart pockets, ordered last week

 Something I'm really into at the moment is quilted materials. So when I saw this quilted mini skirt with heart pockets (=awesome), it quickly found its way into my shopping bag. I do wonder how it will look in real life, but I think it will get its fair share of wear during the colder months. Plus I could wear it on Valentine's Day... Will keep you posted.

Tortoise belt, Asos, ordered last week

 How cute are those turtles, right?? and for only £4.50? I'd call that a bargain.

Asos wedge trainers, ordered last week

 I had been ogling these wedges for ages. I was a bit torn between needing another pair of wedge trainers and well, not needing them. In the end I decided I obviously did need them after all and happily added them to the list.

Ssusan Caplan for Asos vintage snake ring, ordered yesterday

Last but not least is this two-headed snake ring. I sure hope it fits (the size wasn't mentioned), but the thing is, I used to have a two-snakes ring (the anniversary ring of my grandma) but I lost it like five years ago (it simply slipped off my finger, I still morn the loss to this day) and this ring sort of reminded me of it (though my original ring was much much MUCH nicer, it was silver and it was actually two snakes not a two-headed snake but whatever) so I'm going to give it a try. I cannot wait for the items to arrive (the first order should arrive any day now). To be honest, if I could have I would have bought like a million more things but I'm happy with what I have ordered so far and hopefully the items will match my expectations of them. Hope you all have a lovely weekend, till next time, xo, V

Killer Heels

 I wore these shoes to school yesterday and something horrible happened. For the very first time a pair of shoes caused me to fall down, in the middle of the street no less. This has never happened to me before (without the external cause of alcohol) and I've worn some crazy heeled shoes! It'd true that these are quite high (almost 13cm without a platform) and the fact that I was hurrying in order to catch a tram might have also contributed to my fall or the damned cobblestones that are everywhere near my school but still, it was a shock. It'll definitely be a (long) while before I wear these babies again.

Gamloong lace-up heels in dark green suede

Very New York

 Yesterday I was drawn to an all-black outfit with the exception of shoes and bag. My favorite leather jacket, a trifted Zara turtleneck, the amazing Zara tassel miniskirt. I also wore one of my favorite necklaces - it features a piggie and I added a doggie charm to it, to make it just right...

 Sherling detail is another favorite this time of year. It's especially rare on flat ankle boots!

 I couldn't not add this photo from two weeks ago when I bothered to actually do my hair. It looks so neat, right?? But I have to be honest and admit that I burned my little finger a tiny bit with the hot iron - guess I'm just a bit clumsy.

Lastly how I styled my one-size-too-small Eden creeper shoes. I love these shoes to bits if only they were a tad roomier! Ah well, you can't have it all. Till next time, xoxo, V

Everyday Veve

 When it gets cold and grey and blah I tend to wear comfy casual pieces (like these Asos lace-up boots or my fave Topshop bag) with a bit of oomph to add to the mix, namely my Topshop fake leopard print coat. This coat may not be the most practical (it has 3/4 sleeves so when it gets really really cold, you cannot wear it) but it is just lovely. And sometimes you need lovely pieces to get through the bleakness of the cold.

 Last week I was waiting for the boy over at the Harfa mall and I fell in love with their lego statue collection. Especially this bear, he stole the show! And look how cute his butt is!

 Told you so...

I found this photo on my phone and I had been planning to post it ages ago (=when it was still warm enough to wear sandals). These are one of my favorite pairs of sandals and like most good things were a chance buy. They're from Pull&Bear and they make me miss the summer so bad. Ah well, till next year babes. It's way past time to dig out the winter arsenal..