Today's crush 270110

Interlocking gold and sterling bangles from Tiffany's
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Dream of shopping on net-a-porter.com?

I know I do!  Pretty much everything on the site is out of my current price range.  But there's a tiny twinkle of hope - in celebration of the site's 1millionth order, one lucky lady (or gentleman of course) will win a 25,000 GBP shopping spree on the site.  I've entered, and although it'll diminish my chances, you should too.  Good luck!
I'm off to enjoy my friday night now, first with a lovely bottle of white vino at home, followed by blinis with roe and more vino.  One new thing I've learned to love about Helsinki - Blini Viikot take place every year during January and February in numerous restaurants across the city, and I'm loving it!

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Best winter boots ever ever ever!

My boyfriend is the greatest - we headed up to Lapland for New Years, and as I was panicking about turning into an icicle, or at the very least a very unflattering shade of blue, he very kindly got me the best ever winter boots.  Made by Helly Hansen and available at Stockmann, these are a size too big for me, but that's great!  More than enough space for that extra pair of wool socks... My toes haven't been cold since!  If I could afford it, I would get these in black as well as it's definitely more slush and sleet friendly.
Thanks baby - I love my booties!

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Wedding dress shopping in Helsinki...

I've been looking for that perfect wedding gown for a few months now, and I've got a firm favourite in a store just down the street from where we live.  Exciting stuff!  Thought I would share some of my dress hunting experiences, as they might be helpful to others on the lookout for their perfect dress!

Some good hints and tips:
- Start well in advance!  Delivery times for dresses can range from 3 to up to 6 months, and you'll probably need to put time aside for a seamstress to do some work on it as well.  Our wedding is at the end of August, and I don't think I'm looking a day too early.
- If you can, try to book fittings at some stores, to ensure that they have time to see you.  Mornings and early afternoons, and all day Friday are really busy times!
- Wear tights if you don't want to be seen in your underwear!
- Have a look through websites and magazines before going into stores, to get an idea of what style you like.  Show it to the girls in the stores.  Also it's a good idea to ask the shop personnel what their favourite dresses are.  They know the dresses really well, and can make some great recommendations.
- Think about the colour of your dress.  Some people's skin tones are better suited to off-white, while others look better in bright white. I can't wear off-white, I look totally washed out!

Highly recommended stores:
- Seremonia.  Great service, and gorgeous dresses, particularly from Pronovias and Atelier Diagonal.
- Niinatar.  Super sweet service, and lots of dresses at great prices.
- Stockmann.  Selection lightly old-fashioned, but worth a look.  Best space and great mirrors to see your dress.
- Stilissima.  Lovely service.  Stocks Cymbelline dresses, which are just gorgeous!

Not so highly recommended stores:
- Meslewi.  The most bizarre service I've ever received.  Don't waste your time.
- Lavem.  The ladies working there completely ignored me and my mom.

I might still have a quick look in Morsmaikku, and will be checking out the dresses etc. at this weekend's wedding fair!

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(Dress: Pronovias)

Aqua couture at asos.com - buy nothing today?

How cute are all these dresses!  I would love to put in an order for just one on asos.com, but which one to choose, and I'm also trying to save!  I may just have to admire from afar...

By the way, isn't today the international (??) Buy Nothing Day?  So I thought, but isn't it also the infamous Black Friday in the US, where the crazy post-Thanksgiving, pre-Christmas sales start at 4am, and shoppers scramble, trample and run over each other to get all the best deals at Wal-Mart and friends, queueing for hours and fighting with total strangers?
Which team are you on?

Check out more from Aqua Couture here.

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