Holidays are coming....

Thought it might be nice to share a couple of photos of my chrimbo decorations as I was just sat here feeling all cosy and festive.



This is our first christmas in this house so weve had to buy and source all the decorations from scratch.



We were lucky to find some really lovely bits in charity shops (the pretty framed cross stitch was found by my lovely man on our recent trawl of the Edinburgh Charity shops) and it looks perfect in our lounge.



Weve been collecting all the baubles for the last couple of months as we wanted to fill the tree with individual treasures. We did have to add some cheap fillers to make it look fuller for the moment but the plan is to raid the sales to stock up on bits for next year!



I just absolutely love being at home at christmas, surrounded by pretty lights and gorgeous festive scented candles and stuffing my face with mince pies. It really does put a big smile on my face!

Are you all in the festive spirit yet?

Modern Milly xx

Leopard love-in at Zara....

As you know if you’ve read my previous post, I am a bit of a Zara addict but I’m also secretly a bit of a lover of all things leopard print too. ….

Just look at all these lovelies Zara have online and in-store at the moment!


Skirt ₤29.99

I came across the skirt combo first which really caught my eye as it would be perfect for every day wear. Stylish yet comfy.


Blazer ₤79.99

Loving the blazer as a dressier option…


Dress ₤69.99

And the dress is just too cute, teamed with the skinny belt, so flattering.

Throw in couple of accessories and Pat Butcher eat your heart out! Only joking….these pieces just prove that leopard print can look really chic and fabulous when paired with other simple black pieces or accessories.

Belt ₤17.99

And if you don’t want to go the whole hog, the belt, brogues or clutch bag are fabulous by themselves. Or should I say purr-fect! Sorry couldnt resist!


Buck skin clutch ₤69.99

Moccasins ₤49.99

Happy weekend!

Modern Milly xx

All about the dresses...

TFNC Peter Pan Collar Chiffon Pleat Dress ₤42.00


Asos Peter Pan Collar Lace Waisted Dress ₤40.00


Asos Embellished Collar Shift Dress ₤46.00


River Island Blouson Sleeve Mini Dress ₤59.99


Asos Premium Cut-work Leather Swing Dress ₤55.00


With all this cold weather and snow all I've been wanting to wear lately is warm, woolly layers and thick socks but I'm not feeling my most stylish! I decided to have a little browse online for some inspiration for outfits over xmas and found myself perusing the pages of ASOS, which I hadn't visited for a while.

To my delight, they have sooooo many gorgeous dresses at the moment, that I feel inspired to get girly again and ditch the pratical warm clothing for something a bit more glamorous! The above are my favourite picks and are all available online. I'm just loving the different colours, shapes and fabrics and dont know about you, but I'm a bit enamoured with all of the embellished peter pan collars that are around at the moment. So pretty!

Hope you are all well!

Modern Milly xx

The Perfect Irish Martini ....

Take one old bank in the centre of Belfast city and re-invent it as an eccentrically decorated, fabulous bar and restaurant......





and add the below ingredients……

Grey Goose Pear Vodka
Bombay Saphire Gin
Ginger
Elderflower Cordial
Lemon
Sugar



to make the perfect Martini at Café Vaudeville, Belfast.

Fabulous, especially after 3! Perfect for after work drinks on a cold winters evening. See their website www.cafevaudeville.com for more details.

Modern Milly xx

Lunch at Avoca, Belfast City

For the past 2 years I have been visiting Belfast for work and have many a time walked past a lovely looking store called Avoca but not had time to explore. The brightly dressed window styling and displays of cute home-ware really sparked my curiosity so last week myself and my work friend Suzi, finally ventured inside for a good look around and a spot of lunch in their cosy, warm café.

Avoca sell an array of pretty homeware, fashion and accessories and also house a deliciously stocked foodhall situated next to their quirkily decorated café. Think Cath Kidston crossed with Anthropologie and you kind of get the idea of what Avoca is all about.


Image taken from Avoca website.

The food on offer in the café consists of yummy homemade recipes, some of which are included in their new cookbook ‘A Year at Avoca’.

I went for a light dish which was grilled goats cheese with a rocket and pumpkin seed salad served with a peach dressing followed by a pot of tea and the biggest, fluffiest fruit scone I’ve ever seen! It was absolutely scrummy!



Suzi opted for a thirst quenching elderflower presse which looked so pretty and a warming bowl of butternut squash, coconut and coriander soup with homemade bread. Again delicious and not too pricey either.



Unfortunately I didn’t have any spare room in my suitcase to indulge in some shopping but that was definitely a good thing for my bank balance. Oh well maybe next trip!

For more information visit their website www.avoca.ie

Modern Milly xx