..meaning a good excuse to go out for wine more often and as a result get to buy new clothes because you're going out more often and you've got nothing to wear! ;) This is what happened to me Saturday night - mulled wine and Vergani chocolates, a nice chat and a couple of Matchbox 20 tracks in the background. All in the name of black, grey and red (as you can see from the photos

I'm sure that at some point in time we've all made fun of friends, acquaintances or celebrities for the amount of selfies they take and post on facebook, twitter or the like. Yet since I got me my new phone and instagram account (look me up as askdorianne) I'm noticing I've become a selfie-freak myself!! Here's the proof; what I've managed to snap this week. Shame on me...:D

Will definetely speak to my parents more. Less time spent on facebook and glued to my cell phone. Oh, and I can certainly get by with buying less clothes given that I have 4 wardrobes and a chest of drawers full to the brim with clothes, some of which still carry the garment's price tag. Plus I will absolutely cut down on the 200 grams of wine gums I consume daily! These are only some of the resolutions I make at the beginning of every year, the same ones I

My boyfriend always points out to me how 'time flies when you're having fun'. And here we are again, less than two days before Christmas Day, my favourite time of the year for various reasons and memories mostly attributed to my childhood. Can't believe 2013 is over already...

Read more: Happy Christmas, happy holidays

Picture this; me happily strolling around the streets of Florence and trying to decide between going for a glass of wine first followed by ice-cream from Gelateria Santa Trinita or whether to start off with two scoops of vanilla and melon ice-cream then head for some wine tasting later. This dilemma of mine is interrupted by the sight of an inviting Bistro and I find my feet leading me inside to savour some cheeses and sip on a glass of Chardonnay. 

Over the years I've learnt that despite the fact that I lack many qualities, I happen to be quite a good listener. At least, that's what my friends tell me; when I'm not in a world-of-my-own mode I'm one of the best listeners you can find :) Willing to give you all the time on my hands whilst trying to spare some encouraging words of advice and all that (and I'm in no way

Last Sunday was Patches Fair time! In my books that means admiring the work of many talented artisans and craftspeople whilst enjoying a warm cup of coffee and purchasing some bits and bobs as a nice token.  Just like with the previous editions, last Sunday's fair was definetely worth visiting, the only difference being some hot, tasty mulled wine instead of the usual coffee...:)

I have a meeting which I'm keen to get over and done with so I go enjoy my first cup of coffee for the day.  I've never actually seen the guy I'm about to meet so I don't give it much thought until I see this impeccable looking man walk in. He makes his way to the first office, probably to see where his meeting is going to be held, and I secretly hope he's the guy I ought to meet to be able to take a closer look at what he's wearing. Luckily for me he asks for 'Dorianne'!

...

Lately, it's been more about beauty and fashion over lifestyle at askdorianne.com, and that's due to the many beauty and fashion events being launched prior to the Christmas period (implying more options and shopping - yesssss!!) Apart from that, it's still been a super

Some of you loyal, lovely followers of this blog have asked about my whereabouts given that I've been quite absent these past two weeks. I'm still alive and kicking (yeah, hence the actual blog :P), still going strong ;)

It's been a while. 

But there was nothing I could get myself to write, really. Not that there was nothing to write about, don't get me wrong.  But I just couldn't get myself to actually get it out. Or maybe I wanted to keep it for myself. 

Anyway, enough with the complications :) No more useless words, just some beautiful photos I took last week. 

Yep, askdorianne.com is now also on Beauty and Fitness Malta!  Mine is a personal Back-to-School post, all about how mini-me enjoyed this back to school period almost as much as Christmas! :)

...

Goo Goo Dolls Iris' is a great song which I've always loved but which became even more special to me some 9 years ago.  It really reminds me of two great people I knew; two great guys which we can no longer live here on Earth because they're way too busy entertaining angels in Heaven.

It’s quite unusual of me to have blogs with titles such as this one - ‘Anxiety’, and going into the definition, causes and effects of anxiety is neither this post’s objective nor is it within my competence - definitely. Yet as much as I tried to write about some other subject – any other would have done, really – I just couldn’t divert my thoughts from what I was feeling this

Bittersweet - that's how I feel this morning.

So I remind myself that it will be over soon, that it's highly unlikely I'll cry heaps these upcoming days, that the small bottle of red wine I've been saving up for such an occassion will indeed cheer me up. And maybe I'll treat myself to some chocolates or coffee with a friend.

I'm sure I've said this already in a previous post - Mondays don't do anything to me but Tuesdays do, in a bad way. I have Tuesday blues! I've woken up in one of the grumpiest of moods ever after a night full of nightmares, to be stuck in traffic right after for more than an hour. I don't really have much to look forward to today either.

So far it's been a great summer; got to enjoy the beach more than I usually do during this time of the year, got to know some lovely people and fellow bloggers and started going to fitness aerobics classes (which may not sound that exciting to you but which happens to be a great personal achievement of which I've grown really fond). I've even invested in a number of fashion items and accessories, a phone which allows me to use my beloved instagram app (look me

Woke up in the greatest of moods. OK, waking up to go to work after 5 days out and about is not the easiest of things, but I'm  still not going to go complaining today.

Read more: On the 30th day of February

It's finally blogging time again. Why 'finally' when there's nothing to stop me from blogging? Well, it was quite an emotional, at times confusing week, and I consciously chose to postpone writing, because usually when I'm this overwhelmed I find that, even in writing, pessimism gets the best of me. 

Read more: Moments worth remembering these past few days

I've noticed that the penniless I am, the greater the urge to go and buy stuff - necessary stuff, of course. I'm into everything these days: anything which has to do with homeware, kitchenware, beauty products and most importantly, clothes and accessories!

I've always been a big fan and follower of the