Memorable things I did in Venice:

Went on my first ever waterbus ride from Marco Polo airport.

Lived in an apartment with 12 other people. (Not easy - we clogged the sink.)

Tried pistachio flavoured gelato from an actual Gelateria. 

Stood up at the back of a speedboat. Felt very cool

Took a bath in a dungeon. Well not really, but almost. 

Visited the place where Mozart once lived. 

Dropped my phone in the canal whilst stepping into a gondola. Because that would only ever happen to me. 

Was refused entry to the Basilica because my knees weren't covered. I'm too slutty!

Purchased a wrap from a priest in order to cover my knees so that I could go into the Basilica. 

Accidentally got drunk with my friend Tommy from just one mojito at 7PM because elsewhere in Europe bar staff are apparently quite generous. 

Was harassed by many a salesman to buy fake Gucci handbags, sunglasses and useless rubbery-looking toys.

Got given a red rose by my boyfriend. 

Witnessed a proposal whilst having a fancy coffee and vanilla parfait at Florian (the best dessert place known to man). She said yes and jumped into his arms. 

Sat on the floor and ate cherries with my cousin, whilst we watched a bride and groom taking their wedding pictures in the square. 

Met an American couple who tried to drag us into their cult whose beliefs involved playing cards and astronomy. (errr..)

Attempted to slow dance in front of a quartet in the middle of the Square. I'm not very coordinated.

Locked my friends out of their apartment and cried about it to all of them for a good twenty minutes. Oops. 

Played volleyball and piggyback wrestling at the Lido island during one of our beach days. 

Adopted an Australian girl that we met at an architecture exhibition. Her name was Claire. 

Had Italian McDonald's. And totally regretted it afterwards. 

Went on a dinner date to Venice's Hard Rock Cafe. Then sat on a bench at the coastline on the way back because my feet hurt so much in my heels.

Drank a few too many glasses of our complimentary Bellini at a restaurant because my friends weren't keen. 

Sang High School Musical songs in the streets of Rialto with Trisha and Diany. Because we still do that everywhere we go. 

We rented bikes and I spent the entire time trying to keep up with all of the boys whilst simultaneously trying not to get run over by angry Italian people in cars. 

Drank shots of Limoncello and Jaegermeister over Monopoly (the drinking game version). 

Got through 5 packs of film for my Polaroid camera because everything was too pretty not to take photos of. 

Watched Brazil lose 7-1 to Germany in the airport before our flight back. Ouch.

Ate that ricotta and spinach pastry thing that I had been craving since the very first day and fell in love with it.

Got kissed on the cheek by an Italian street artist. Needless to say, my friends were rather jealous.

Played I-spy-with-my-little-eye with my friends at the Doge Palace. Because we're children.

And, well, that's all I can think of as of right now. But there's definitely a lot to talk about when it comes to reliving this particular trip. 

That's all for now though,

I. x

How to Survive an Overnight Shift

So, last Sunday at 8PM, I arrived to work for my 11 hour overnight shift. During my interview for the job, I was asked if I'd ever consider doing one of these and I gave a straight 'no' without hesitation because the thought of working through the night for me - a girl who gets into bed at 11:30PM most nights - is absolutely insane! Anyway, after hearing a lot of funny things from my friends who have done one and being given the opportunity by my manager... I agreed. Usually in retail doing an overnight shift will mean that you get double pay after it hits midnight and you'll normally have the next two days off as well. Not too shabby!

You will need:
1) An energy-fuelled packed lunch of your choice
You can do the healthy option and have a pre-cooked meat dish in the microwave, or grab a McDonald's from the local 24-hour one. Doesn't really matter too much, as long as it gives you some kind of boost, but it is very necessary that you eat. Most importantly, it HAS to be something you really enjoy/look forward to because you'll need a pick-me-up when it gets to your lunch time, as that will be when you first start to get tired.
2) A lie in the morning before your shift
Now THIS I didn't do the morning before my shift. I woke up at 9ish because that's unfortunately the time that my body naturally wakes. Do try to stay in bed for a little longer, getting up at maybe 11AM or even in the afternoon. You could also go to bed ridiculously late the night before if that'll help you sleep longer! If you're like me and you can't help the fact that you go to bed early-ish and you wake up early, you could always take a short nap in the afternoon but make sure you wake up with enough time to refresh and get ready for your shift. Sometimes I find that if I nap, it only makes me more tired - so be careful of that!
3) Plenty of caffeine and/or water
If you're the type of person who enjoys coffee, like I am, I would say this plays a massive role. I had a total of three coffees before my shift throughout the day when I would normally have one. Having one just before my shift helped prepare! If you're not a coffee drinker, go for an energy drink as a subtitute or coke, these will provide a similar boost I'm sure. Also, make sure you bring a big bottle of water with you. You need to be well hydrated and in most places you'll be allowed to take your drink down to the shop floor/stock room with you. You won't have to wait until lunch.
4) Snacks and/or change for the vending machine
You will normally have two breaks depending on the length of your shift. I started at 8PM, had a 1-hour break at 12AM and a 45 minute break at 4AM. I ate all of my lunch during my midnight break but you will be EXHAUSTED on your second break as it will be in the middle of the night when you would normally be asleep, plus you've been working hard for hours. For this break, I brought with me some assorted nuts (walnuts, cashews and pistachios). Nuts are a healthy source of energy, and I think they're regarded as a 'super food', too! I also couldn't resist a chocolate bar from the vending machine, so I would advise you guys to make sure you have some change!
5) A source of entertainment
During your shift and your breaks, if you are sitting down, you will be sooo tempted to have a snooze! Odds are, you won't be allowed to do this unless you're a nurse or doctor. This may not be possible depending on your workplace, but as my team were just doing sale prep, we had the radio on through an iPhone, and this kept us excited and energized while we worked. Of course, this also means bring a charger! Your staff room will most likely have places to plug it in so you can do this during your breaks. When on your breaks and not working, you will be even more tempted to sleep, so have the TV on if you have one, or else bring your phones and something like playing cards/magazines or whatever will keep you and your team happy.
6) Toiletries
Once it hits 6AM or whatever time you finish, you're gonna feel and probably look gross. Bring a hairbrush, makeup wipes, a toothbrush and toothpaste, deodorant, dry shampoo maybe - just bring your essentials! If like me, you had somewhere to go from your shift (I won't advise this, I would say go straight home and to bed!!!), you'll want to bring makeup with you too but of course this is optional. If you can have a little wash in your staff room, you'll feel more refreshed and woken up. Some places have a shower - take one! Although this might wake you up so much that you won't want to sleep once you get home. Trivial.

Those are the most important things you need in order to prepare for your overnight shift. But everybody is different, I would say on top of all these things, make sure you bring what makes you comfortable. Don't stray too much from normality. It also helps if you're on the overnight with people you LIKE - I'm lucky enough to have a team who all get along - but if someone you can't stand is going to be on it with you, you might not enjoy it at all. There are lots of things to consider, but I hope this helped! :-)

That's all,
I. x

Miniature shopping haul: moody girl retail therapy.

Hey guys! 

You know when you just wake up and you know that it's going to be a crappy day? And it doesn't help that you're on your period (sorry to be blunt but don't pretend you don't relate), and you start your day by dropping the unfinished mug of tea you took up to bed with you last night down the stairs (okay, maybe that's not as relatable).... but the point is, yesterday was an annoying day to begin with. Anyway, I couldn't just sit and dwell on my grumpiness because I had to go out to collect some shoes that I ordered for myself because they arrived in store and I'm in love with them. Needless to say, not all the things I brought back home with me yesterday were pre-paid for! Oops!

I didn't go crazy though! Just a few little bits. Here's the info:

Pale blue lace body - Topshop, £7 (on sale)

Cream peter pan collared vest - Topshop, £10 (also on sale)

Black and white polka dot headband - Bare Necessities, £2.50

Silver daisy anklet - Accessorize, £5

Lace footsies - Primark, £2.50

'Hotel Image' cut-out brogues in cotton leather - Clarks, £65 

Right. These shoes. As I said, I've been in love with them since the new season started. If you've read my introductory post, you'd know that I work in a shoe department. This means that I'm shoe crazy and since starting there I have bought way more shoes than I would have otherwise. Anyway, I've always liked Clarks. You can trust them as well - they're so comfy and fashionable! Being a bit of a vintage fashion enthusiast, I lovelovelove a brogue. I don't have any white shoes and I always go for black but I made an exception here because they are just lovely! And they're leather so I'll be able to polish over them. (Just need to find white shoe polish, er...) Also, being frighteningly pale, white things generally make my skin look a little less ghostly (wah!) and bring out any ounce of a tan that I'm lucky enough to get, so that's another positive. They also come in a mushroomy colour and I navy but I was set on these! 

I can never resist a Topshop visit. Let alone a Topshop visit during a sale. And it was a Tuesday morning, so they had SO MUCH STOCK which is such a rarity for me because I always get there late and my size is probably the most common. So yeah. I had to. (This is me justifying my purchases.) I almost bought an oversized jumper for £20 but resisted at the last minute. See, I'm sensible... Oh and I also bought some light grey nail polish for 50p! Love! I'm proud of my purchases because both items of clothing are so me! A body is such an easy way to put together a simple outfit for a night out by twinning it with black discopants (my go-to) and I only have black ones thus far so I'm pretty excited to wear this blue one! I also really like that the lace is see-through at the back but you're completely covered on the front so you don't have to worry about what bra to wear or anything like that (although obviously you can see the fastening strap at the back so make sure it's a pretty one). And everyone who knows me knows that I'm a sucker for a collar and the peter pan style is my absolute favourite. I feel like this vest will just put a vintage stamp on any casual outfit. Wearable with practically anything! 

As for the accessories, Bare Necessities is a cute little boutique that sells hair accessories and jewellery and I always go there for scrunchies, bows and headbands. Unlike some stores, the material headbands aren't wired so they're way easier to wear and not so awkward to shape. I was so into the headband thing last summer and now I'm getting back into them - I lose everything so I lost my other ones that I had by BN but the patterns are always so classic and the colour schemes are great. I'll probably wear the polka dot one loads because it's black and white and will go with my entire wardrobe basically. 

Now for the anklet. I kept seeing people wear them with bare legs and have needed to get one for this summer for aaaages but they don't really sell any (that I've seen) in Urban Outfitters or Topshop - where I usually do my shopping, so I'm very happy to have found one! And I prefer this one to the colourful cotton friendship bracelet type looking ones because I think it'll just go with so much more and it's not as casual either. 

Lastly the footsies! I just needed those. I always go to Primark for them because their lacy ones are so delicate looking and pretty and I tend to lose them in my messy horrible sock drawer all the time so I like to buy them cheap, haha. 

So that's my mini haul. Safe to say, it cheered me up! :-)

That's all, 

I. x

Your typical introductory post.... Er, yeah.

Hey everybody! (Or better yet, nobody.)

...The likelihood is I'm probably addressing nobody because I don't think I'm cool enough, pretty enough or fashionable enough to ever be a well-known blogger. But it would be rude not to introduce myself now, wouldn't it? 

The image on the right is an obnoxious picture of myself. I took this yesterday and about three hours later, hated it/laughed at myself/wanted to delete it off of my Instagram. This happens with pretty much every photo I take - is it just me who does that? Probs.

ANYWAY! My name's Isabel. I prefer Izzy, but only a handful of people call me that as much as I try and force it. I'm eighteen going on nineteen (because durrr) and I'm a summer baby, born August 17th. I'm half Spanish - and I always feel the need to point this out to people, as I don't look Spanish at all - being pale, blonde and without curves. Wah!

A soon-to-be Criminology student, I'm currently on a gap year at home in London, where I've lived all my life. To save up for university, I work pretty much full time in a department store on Oxford Street in the women's shoe department. I'm the girl who gets the sizes. Yep.

I suppose my blog will be a mix of things. I'm a really big vintage lover and I enjoy expressing that in what I wear so I may be posting shopping hauls, outfits of the day and other typically fashion bloggy type things. I'm a bit of a sad excuse for a girl as I'm not very good at makeup or beauty OR hair for that matter so don't expect too much from either category...but who knows, maybe one day! Other than that I guess I'll post reviews and things as well! I don't know. As I said, mix of things. Some posts may just be me complaining about life because I apparently enjoy doing that too. We'll just have to see.

That's all,
I. x