I ordered my dream dress in November and while I’m keeping the shop & designer under wraps. I was sharing my experience in the Bridal Dress shops I visited, one good, one bad. The other 3 shops I went to were; Moreland Dublin, Northern Cross, Malahide, which I would recommend for a visit. When you arrive you are handed tags, so you swoop around the gowns picking which ones you’d like to try… Then the assistant can make some suggestions based on the ones choose. There was one dress here that was in my top 3. It was called Macey but I don’t know who the designer was & no photos where aloud.

Having won Bridal Shop of the Year from Weddings Online the past two years, I couldn’t help but be excited about my visit to White Orchid in Swords, it’s just across the road from Bridal Heaven. I should have done my research better & booked in the same day but I only spotted it while attending Bridal Heaven so I made the trip back out to Swords. Anyhoo, they do the tagging thing too… The dress above from Art Couture was nice but nothing stood out as the ONE.

My final shop was Butterfly Bride in Blackrock. A very good friend had her dress here & all the ladies from Mum’s tennis club had got their daughters dress here BUT I even found it hard to pick a few to try on! It was mostly sale stock, maybe that was the problem. I visited in early November and a lot of new stock was due in Dec / Jan as far as I can remember. The lady suggested I come back then but to be honest. I’d already seen the ONE, I was actually just trying to see if there was anything else out there that would come close…

Nothing did & although it was significantly over budget… I just HAD TO HAVE it. I ordered it on 29th Nov and it’s due in end of July…

Have I made the right decision? Well, I regularly google image the dress to gawk at it. I <3 it and I can’t wait to wear it!

Did you feel the same about your dress? Bridesmaids dress are next on my hit list. We are booked to go to Bridal Heaven to check out the Dessy collection & also Town Bride in Powerscourt Townhouse Centre for Maggie Sottero. Any other suggestions of where to go?

Mwah

While I was shopping for Autumn Winter 2011, I didn’t really have to look much further than Oasis.

Years ago, Oasis was a firm favourite and as I slowly started to expand I unfortunately had to walk by the windows…

Now, luckily, it’s been my one stop shop for my Holiday Season wardrobe! As you can see from the images above, I like it a lot!

1. Black Jean Jeggings – €50 – Very comfy & soft. I live in these in work however after a lot of washing the black is slowly fading. I might even try re-dying them as they are so handy
2. Sequin Vest – €47 – Bling Bling! I wore this out on a couple of Christmas nights out including my school reunion & New Years Eve. Very comfy to wear & I usually team it with coloured jeans & high heels
3. Ribbed Belted Babydoll Dress – sale €37 – The colour is Powder Pink but it’s very near a red. It also comes in a purple shade. So comfy & easy to wear. I wore this on Christmas Day
4. Spot Frill Front Tunic – €60 – I spotted this on Lisa Cannon on Xposé and I HAD to have it. Comfy & easy to wear, dress it up with heels & down with flat boots & a cardi for the office
5. Stripe Sunray Skirt Fit & Flare – €69 – Another comfy dress, style is very flattering for a pear shape like myself
6. Coloured Cherry Jeans – since my first styling session with Sally Anne in House of Fraser, I have loved my dark denim Cherry jeans so I HAD to have these bright blue ones! In fact, I think I need them in every single colour they come in. Super comfortable flattering jeans. Perfect tucked into boots or with shoe boots or heels.
7. Spot Print Boat Neck – €28 – Casual, warm, long sleeved top, lovely paired with the black jeggings and chunky cream cardi I got in Mango

I probably wouldn’t have bought so much stuff for one season but because I’m starting my wardrobe from scratch, I had to! I shop online a lot of the time with Oasis. Their delivery service to Dublin is amazing and there is usually offers for free delivery in newsletters that you can sign up to however after a small issue I had, don’t rely on their Customer Service emails. They mentioned during busy times it could take 24 hours for a reply, mine took nearly 2 weeks!!!

While I was at Weight Watchers on Wednesday, Assumpta had a special guest with her, Justine King who is the Personal Stylist from Oasis Dundrum. Unfortunately I couldn’t stay for the whole class but Justine, is available for Personal Shopping in Oasis Dundrum, free of charge and with no obligation to buy. To book an appointment, call Justine on 086 0200420 or email justinekin at oasis-stores.co.uk. You can mention you saw her details on Mwah.ie!

Mwah

I have been struck down with an awful flu since New Years Eve but I am slowly getting better. I haven’t been able to bounce back into my exercise as I’d hoped but where there is a will, there is a way weigh!!! ( babum tish bing!).

I popped along to a meeting this morning. It was great to see Assumpta again although morto for me, as I stuck my head in towards the end of a class, she happened to be holding up a double page spread of yours truly!!! She asked in front of everyone how I was getting on, let’s just say, I explain than maintenance isn’t easy!

I took a deep breath before stepping on the Weight Watcher scales and…. I had lost 5.5lbs since my home weigh in last Wednesday… I am thrilled.

Maybe some of the weight I was carrying was only temporary and after Christmas & TOTM it vanished. Who cares?! It’s gone…

I’ll probably sick to a home weigh in next week after some planned birthday indulgence but I’m glad I faced the scales head on & now it’s given me the motivation to get back to goal!

The other reason I attended a class sooner than planned is because of all the talk on Twitter about the ProPoints program changing… Well, has it? Below is information I received from Weight Watcher Ireland themselves…

There have been a couple of changes to the plan including the reduction of the minimum daily allowance to 26 rather than 29. As members get their first weigh in at class this January they will be advised if they have the option to reduce their Daily ProPoints Values to 29, 28, 27 or 26.

We are constantly looking for ways to member’s experience of losing weight with the Weight Watchers program. Over the past year we’ve been monitoring the real-life experiences of our members and as a result, we’ve found it’s possible to reduce the minimum daily ProPoints allowance slightly from 29 to 28, 27 and 26 ProPoints values with no adverse impact on health and weight loss. This reduced minimum still allows for a safe rate of weight loss, without compromising flexibility or room to satisfy the recommended intake of vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients.

The other changes to the plan include:

Kick-start your weight loss with meal plans

Get your weight loss off to a flying start with our Easy Start meal plans available now in your class. Based on 7 days of delicious, Filling & Healthy foods, each day features meal ideas, recipes and treats.

Try a relaxed approach to counting

Sometimes you can’t, or don’t want to, count ProPoints values in everything you eat and drink. For those days we give you the option to relax your counting with a Filling & Healthy day. Focusing only on eating Filling & Healthy foods, a day-at-a-time, means you can drop your daily allowance for that day, bringing a new level of flexibility to the way you can follow the plan and still enjoy great weight loss results. There will be a booklet available on ‘Filling and Healthy’ Days in class in the next few weeks.

I hope this information will help you all going forward. Due to many requests I am going to do up a few sample daily meals of what I have to try and give you all some inspiration.

I can’t wait to get back walking hopefully in a few days! Hope you all had a good week!

Mwah

When I called & found out the sample had gone into sale I pegged it down the next day.

When it comes to shopping online, I would consider myself quite savvy, I know what suits my shape but even though it was an A Line shirt & one shoulder design, it was just all wrong.

Do you want to see it? It’s Pronovias Alcazar & I still love it, it just didn’t suit me. It seems to be still available in B Couture, sample size 14 reduced from €1450 to €750.

The designer was Pronovias, a Spanish designer, I actually love most of his designs but NONE of them suited me.

I must of had about 25 dresses on during my 1 hour appointment and NOTHING looked nice. While the shop was lovely and bright, spacious & luxurious, I found the Assistant to be rather unhelpful. She didn’t listen to a word I said about what I wanted & didn’t want.

I left the shop upset… How had I lost so much weight and not one dress looked nice? After some research, I believe as a Spanish designer Pronovias doesn’t design for curves. Tall & pretty straight up & down, which is totally not me

I also loved the look of Fauna but not with my boobies!

Have you had the same experience with Pronovias dresses? Are you a lucky ducker who actual got to wear one? Did you manage to find the dress of your dreams at B Couture?

Don’t forget to enter our Wedding Journal Show competition here, closes Tuesday 10th Jan.

Mwah

First of all, Happy New Year to everyone & welcome to all new readers who have found me since Monday’s Weight Watcher Ireland newsletter

My last weigh in was October and it’s safe to say I have been completely out of control since then. I’ve turned back into a couch potato…

There is no excuse but as my day job got busier, my exercise was non existent & my eating habits went back to old habits.

I am currently (gulp) 11lbs over my goal weight…

Christmas Holidays didn’t help although I think the damage was nearly done in the lead up to Christmas.

Since yesterday, I have been back to pointing and tracking my food & also forcing water down my neck! I find it so hard to drink cold water this time of year but I’ve been sipping hot water at my desk in work and I find it much better.

I chose not to go to a Weight Watcher’s meeting this week. It’s not like I don’t know the Pro Points Program or what I’ve been doing wrong. I didn’t need to stand on their scales and pay €10 to be told so instead I have decided that the next few week’s weigh ins will take place in my own home. It’s also my birthday soon so if it’s a slow start to the weight loss I know why. I’m an awful one for dragging out birthday celebrations for a week

The only thing that’s not back on track are my  walks, I’ve a rotten sore throat at the moment and I’m fighting it as best I can but after a day in the office, I’m not fit to go & it probably wouldn’t help my flu symptoms to out in the cold. Hopefully I’ll be better by the weekend to tackle Killiney Hill!

Anyone else in the same boat as me? I really never thought I’d get to goal & then undo so much of my hard work but I’m only human.

On a positive note, I am still weighing in a lot less than before Weight Watchers but I know how hard my last stone was to loose and I know I have to shift these 11lbs again! Aggghhhhhh

Having now officially ordered my wedding dress, I have to regain my focus. I need to be back at goal before May when my final measurements are required.

Please share any tips, new recipes etc. My New Years Resolution is to learn to cook more and I’m busy reading the lovely Aoife’s blog; www.babaduck.com & trying to pick out something “easy” for me to attempt at the weekend.

Here, we go, take two!

Mwah

Engaged over Christmas?

Start 2012 with a bang by winning an amazing 25k wedding courtesy of The Wedding Journal Show! Taking place in the Citywest Complex from the 13th-15th January, each bride who attends the show or buys a ticket online will be entered into a draw to win a fabulous dream wedding which includes a wedding reception from Ballymagarvey Village, a luxury honeymoon with Sunway Holidays and Cyprus Tourism Organisation, wedding dress and Two Birds bridesmaid dresses from Frilly Frocks, room dressing from Frog Prince, photography by Laura Faherty and wedding rings from The Wedding Ring Shop! For loved up brides who don’t win there is everything else you could possibly need to make your big day fabulous! For further information or to book tickets please visit www.weddingjournalonline.com

Pictured below recently married Suzanne McCabe celebrating the competition launch in Dublin’s city centre.

The fabulous Wedding Journal Show returns once again to the Citywest Complex in Dublin offering brides the chance to win a €25k dream wedding!

MWAH.ie have teamed up with the Wedding Journal Show to offer 2 lucky brides a pair of tickets each to the show.

To be in with a chance to win simply answer the question below:

Q: Where is the Wedding Journal Show being held?

How to enter: send your answer along with your name and contact details to competitions (at) mwah.ie with Wedding Journal Show in the subject.

The Rules: One entry per person, competition will close on Tuesday 10th January 2012. No entries via third party sites will be accepted. Competition is open residents of the Republic of Ireland.

For more information log on to www.weddingjournalonline.com

Mwah

Hot off the press, we are delighted to share the New Shellac colours for 2012. The launch, due in March has now been brought forward to February 2012. Woo hoo!

Shellac are my favourite 2 week manicure however sometimes I had been disappointed with the colour selection now with the Fall 2011 range plus these bad boys, I think they have the colours sussed!

Dark Lava looks like a dupe for Chanel’s Rouge Noir and Rubble may take the place of my beloved Chanel Particuliére…

Roll on February, I can’t wait to try them!

Mwah

A couple of weeks ago I was sent a Micro – Pedi to try. Unfortunately with the Christmas rush I haven’t had a second to try it out. I’ll tell you why I like the idea of a home treatment… As soon as April arrives I’m the first one down to a beauty salon for a pedi & people usually laugh at my excitement to be back in my flip flops but over the Winter months, let’s face it, our feet suffer.

The poor little toosties are thrown into tights & sludging around in boots, and while I never leave my toe nails unpainted for longer than 24 hrs my feet deserve some sorta loving too. So that said, I plan to take my Micro-Pedi out over the Christmas holidays and pamper myself at home. I can see it now, hot bubble bath & mani & pedi… I do have my 10 year school reunion to prepare for between Christmas & New Year.

I will of course let you know how I get on but hey, if it’s good enough for Rosie, I’m sure it’ll be good enough for me.

Have you heard about or tried the Medi – Pedi yet?

Below is some information on the Micro – Pedi from their Press Release.

LIFES2GOOD PROFESSIONAL HOME-SPA MICR0-PEDI HAS JUST LAUNCHED IN ITS STORES NATIONWIDE

Lifes2good and Boots stores nationwide have just launched the perfect, professional purse-friendly pedi to ensure that you can still afford to indulge in professional spa like beauty treatments in the comfort of your own home for a fraction of the cost.

Pedi-perfect Rosanna Davison is a huge fan of this nifty little innovative device and was on-hand to show off her footsies recessionista style to help lucky Boots shoppers to escape the budget doom & gloom.

This professional-at-home pedicure system works on all areas of your feet removing dead skin cells safely and quickly, leaving your feet soft, supple and beautiful for year-round comfort in seconds! It comes with two different rollers – one for coarse skin and one for the seriously coarse skin. You use the appropriate roller head on your tootsies and your feet are dramatically different in moments. It does all this without pain, without health related risks, without the risk of nicks and cuts from scraper blades and without costly trips to the chiropodist.

The Micro-Pedi is safe and is ideal for smoothing dry, rough, calloused skin on feet with its unique roller which spins 360 degrees at 30 times per second. Its quick and gentle action gives immediate results and it is portable and easy to use. It runs on two AA batteries and is pretty much ready to go out of the box. You can clean it easily by running it under water.

So forget about fish and harsh scrapers & graters this season and think Micro-Pedi! This little device works like a charm to smooth your heels before getting into your party stilettos! The Micro-Pedi is available to buy now at Boots stores, pharmacies and health stores nationwide, direct from Lifes2good on 1890 25 24 31 or www.lifes2good.ie where it is currently reduced from €49.90 to €35.95.

Mwah

This year, I can’t believe how fast Christmas has come in. This time next week we will be starting to wind down in the office and get ready to enjoy family time. If you’re like me and still have a few presents to get, why not avoid the crowds around Dublin and escape to Kildare Village.

With up to 60% reductions in over 60 luxury outlet boutiques, including brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, Ted Baker and Thomas Pink for Him and Karen Millen, Coast & LK Bennett for Her, it’s the ideal place to go.

Recently Kildare Village welcomed global jewellery brand Pandora and contemporary British fashion label, Hobbs, have recently opened boutiques at Kildare Village while uber chic French label Gerard Darel also opened last weekend.

For the chef in the family look no further than Le Creuset and for the cutesy girl, like myself head to Cath Kidson or my haven the Juicy Courture store!

Enjoy their wonderful Christmas lights, late-night shopping over the Christmas period, and the usual exceptional in-store offers available at their boutiques. As Christmas is a time of giving, Kildare Village has a veritable Santa’s sack-load of gifts just waiting to be won in their Festive Secrets competition online. Simply ‘Like’ Kildare Village on Facebook and click on their Festive Secrets app to discover a bronze reindeer which puts you in line to win great treats and reductions on some of your favourite brands. Recommend a friend to stand the chance to click on the silver reindeer – to win amazing gifts. And the grand prize…find the gold reindeer on the website and stand a chance to win one of four luxury weekends away for two. Check out the Kildare Village Festive Secrets site for more details and win, win, win!

Kildare Village also share their news, special offers and competitions on their Facebook page all year round so take a look.

MWAH

Sponsored Post

I explained it was my first every Bridal shop experience… I was keeping an open mind about what I wanted but I kinda knew what I didn’t want.

Áine suggested we try one of every shape and to be honest, this was the best idea.

My Mum & Mother in Law to be sat anxiously waiting for me to come out of the dressing room.

The first gown was a “ball gown” shape from Ellis Bridals while initially it felt huge around me, I think it was the shock of being in a wedding dress. The large skirt made my waist look teeny tiny. With all my hard Weight Watchers work, this was the moment I knew it had all been worthwhile. I did however feel like the skirt was too big (toilet roll cover) and although I loved the shape of the top, it wasn’t going to be THE ONE for me.

I was in Ballgowns, A-Line, Empire, Fishtail, Trumpet, Mermaid, Straight, Fitted, Dropped Waist. You name it, we tried it. After Bridal Heaven I certainly had a clearer picture of what shapes suited me.

Another dress that really surprised me was also from Ellis Bridals, a boat necked, a-line dress. Pictured below, you can see how the elegant neckline with it’s simple design was most flattering around my tummy area.

I would thoroughly recommend every bride to visit Bridal Heaven. Although I found my dream dress elsewhere I’m looking forward to going back to see Aine about bridesmaid dresses as they are a Dessy stockist and I have seen a few I like on their website.

Bridal Heaven, Carnegie Court, Swords, Co. Dublin – 01 810 7907 – bridalheavenonline.com *appointments necessary