Happy New Year!

Above: New Year, new loot! Some gems from Christmas and January sales

Today started with such good intentions. After a whirlwind of Christmas and New Year celebrations (which always passes by so quickly doesn’t it?) I decided I should sort my life out and freshen up for the new year. Cue manic tidying, multiple loads of washing and lots of ideas for revamping this blog and my other web projects.

All good in theory, but when I haven’t been on ‘blog watch’ for a couple of weeks, I find a whole gallon of exciting posts I’ve missed, from some of my fave blogs, below. Now four hours later I have just about caught up but left very little in the way of time for my own posts!

It’s been a very busy festive Ship-Shape season, what with Christmas stockings, January sales and the obligatory annual health kick (complete with new gym kit) so while I flex my fingers and start typing, why don’t you check out some of the gems you might have missed over the festive season on my reading list…

Rock & Roll Bride – 2010 The Year That Was… Part One & Part Two – an extensive rock and roll round up of some of the best weddings/engagements/photo shoots of 2010 from one of my fave bridal blogs.
Bargainista Fashionista – Make it your own Christmas! – nowt to do with bargains but actually a gorgeous (and cheap) idea for an alternative wreath. This is so sweet I think you could have it up all year round…
IFB – Setting Blog Resolutions For The New Year – this time of year it can be tough to keep up the blogging momentum so this is a great read to reignite your passion for your blog and perhaps inspire you to create your own.
The Bristol Beauty Blog – The Beauty Diet Reboot for 2011 – An alternative diet for the year ahead – using up/getting rid of all those smellies and make-up bits and bobs that you never use!
Fashionising – Zoolander 2 on the way: rumormonger – by far and way my favourite rumour of the new year. Fact.

>Blog of The Week: Bargainista Fashionista

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For the first Blog of The Week of 2010 I was won over by a teddy bear, or rather a teddy bear beanie hat to be precise. Bargainista Fashionista caught my eye in Sunday’s Observer Magazine as part of a ‘New Year, New You style feature called 30 Ways To A Better Life, which is definitely worth a read if you’re stuck for a New Years resolution.

Anywho, there was Susie Wong in the cutest woolly hat I’ve seen all season (from River Island in case you’re interested), chatting about her blog and how to be a savvy shopper on the high street. The concept of her blog is simple: bargains on the high street in ‘real time’ – if Susie blogs about it on her lunch break then you can guarantee it will still be there by the time you finish work.

The reason this blog works is because the fashion on show is accessible to everyone. High street, eBay and etsy pieces crop up and River Island, Topshop and New Look all make regular appearances. Susie’s genuine passion for fashion extends past item must-haves to how one could where the pieces and what trends they go well with, and of course, every post is about what is in stores NOW, this very second.

The only downside of reading this blog is the likely hood that you will turn into a raging shopaholic…