Resolutions..I'll start them tomorrow..

Happy New Year my lovelies! I have been most remiss in my blogging activities but I got somewhat caught up in the festivities and work and all that! Anyway I’m back with lots and lots of random rubbish to fill your heads with including two balls (of the dancing kind, not the sports or male anatomical kind), a £10 Karen Millen jacket, shooting and mais oui, the terrible New Year’s Resolutions!

Now this year I leave my terrible teens and become a terribly grown up, sophisticated twenty something so I feel that my resolutions ought to reflect this. Yet again I have resolved to do more exercise, so I shall enrol in a salsa class (next month…or the month after…or the month after…).  I shall actually keep up with the news and become well informed about politics, economics and all those other ‘ics that are rather useful at drinks parties/ dinner parties/ those other lovely soirees that I shall be invited to one day. I shall learn to speak Italian (despite the fact I am not yet fluent in French and have actually forgotten most of it…someone take me to Paris please so I can practice?). I will finish my cross stitch which I’ve been doing for 3 years (or is it 4?). Oh and I will find a second follower for my blog (and try to improve the quality so it actually deserves a second follower…)! Come on people…you must have a friend who wants to follow my drivel, even if you yourself don’t!

RVC Christmas Ball...the compulsory "before we leave and get a little tipsy photo"

Anyway away from the dreaded resolutions! I have previously said how much I adore Christmas and all that comes with it. I have eaten far too much and will possibly scream or faint if I have to eat turkey ever again. I did get to dance off some of the calories at not one but TWO balls which made me feel wonderfully sophisticated. The RVC Christmas Ball was jolly good fun especially after a few drinks from the free bar and a last minute masked ball the weekend before NYE ensured that my long dress has been thoroughly worn and now needs mending after I repeatedly trod on the hem while attempting to not dance on my friends’ toes! I may have made the most of the sales by treating myself to another long dress (which still hasn’t arrived much to my chagrin) so I feel that I must go to more formal black tie events to wear it; Hunt Ball anyone?

Another "before we have a tipple or two" photo...at least with a masked ball I can hide my face!

Apart from being a complete glutton and drunken dancing I did actually brave the atrocious weather that we’ve had to spend some time outdoors! Working at the vets and a research project have meant that my normal dog walking didn’t happen (much to my sorrow) but I made up for it by spending all of Boxing Day in the rain finding excuses not to take a turn clay pigeon shooting; I successfully avoided humiliating myself by taking the role of chief dog holder but even managed to fail at that by being dragged across the field…by a spaniel. On the bright side I got to wear a tweed item of clothing and drink mulled wine! I also went on the compulsory New Year’s Day walk to the pub which was thoroughly enjoyable despite getting lost, a closed footpath and far too much mud.

Now of course one of the best things about Christmas are (or should that be is?) the post-Christmas sales; however as a poor student I have had to resist the lure of Oxford Street and Bluewater and the numerous tempting websites. This has taken much will power (the long dress doesn’t count…it was necessary and beautiful) but to try and cheer myself I went for a bit of a foray into the local charity shops. I don’t know what it is about charity shops but there’s always this rather off putting smell which makes me want to leave as soon as I cross the threshold but after finding a £10 Joules dress this summer I felt I really ought to force myself inside to hunt for goodies! After a fairly unsuccessful start, the goddess of bargains must’ve been watching over me as I found a burgundy/ maroon, velvet jacket for £10. Not bad I hear you say? Even better though was it was a burgundy/ maroon, velvet, Karen Millen jacket. Hoorah for Oxfam! That was the only catch of the day but I think that’s probably for the best as it may mean I can eat for another week or two at uni…

I didn't have a photo of the jacket (yet)...so here's a photo of my dog destroying a toy to make up for it...

Back to the real world and work for me now anyway (well after a sneaky, cheeky glass of Baileys and a few more pages of my new book).  I hope you all had a spiffing Christmas and that the New Year brings us all lots of lovely new experiences, people and places. 13 doesn’t have to be unlucky after all!