The Final Wedding bash - The Pool Party

After a weekend filled with celebrations and partying, you'd have thought that we'd all had our fill of fun.

Well, you'd be wrong.

We all gathered again on the Sunday morning for a post-wedding brunch and pool party. Anticipating lots of sore heads, we provided guests with a delicious buffet and plenty of hair-of-the-dog bubbly!

So much for the sore heads - we all drank the bar dry!!


Here's what went down:

 Everyone cooling off in the golf-course facing infinity pool

 Just before the dessert table got fully munched at Dar Ennassim restaurant, Palmeraie Golf Palace

Dress numero 1: D&G tartan maxi dress with train (it was my wedding after all)

My gorge new Miu Miu wedges - officially the most comfortable pair of shoes I have ever owned!

Dress numero 2: A Jaeger silk chiffon babydoll dress

The wedding swimsuit. Yes, I did go there. 

Over-excited on my beau's shoulders. Not so excited when he proceeded to dunk me under the water.

Hanging out with the best men and ushers...

 

My new hubby and I striking one of our final wedding poses!

(Courtesy of Joe Lasky Photography)

So, there you have it. At about 6pm, we all reluctantly left the poolside and said our goodbyes :-(

Our wedding weekend in Marrakech had come to an end. We had the most amazing time of our lives and can not thank everyone enough for making the effort to make it so memorable for us.

I will never ever forget it. And I don't think I will ever have a weekend to compete with it.

Love Mrs Magpie

xxx

Sale through the new year!

Happy New Year dear readers! I hope your 2011 has started well,  diets have not yet been broken, sobriety still seems achievable and you've bagged a few sale bargains.

If you haven't managed the latter however, Miss Magpie is on hand to show you the top sale bargains to be found:

Sequin leggings, Was £1,385, Now £831, Isabel Marant at Net-a-Porter

Everyone wants a piece of Marant at the mo, so bag these sparkle-tastic trews for the ultimate statement.

Strapless gown, Was £1,150, Now £460, Temperley London at Browns

When don't you need a full-length evening gown? With the level of this discount, it's not even worth sparing a thought. Buy it now!

Shearling jacket, Was £1,560, Now £780, Acne at My-Wardrobe

I love this take on this season's popular shearling jacket. I know it's still over £700 but it is leather and lamb's wool, so it's a piece of luxury at a snip of the original price!

Glimmer dress, Was £3,478, Now £698, Thakoon at Matches

An 80% discount - you don't see that much these days, plus it's a glam day dress that everyone's wardrobe could squeeze in. Sold.

Sequin dress, Was £120, Now £36, Asos.com

This dress is a piece of old school glamour - I can just imagine standing in a smoky jazz bar posing in this number. Buy it!

Court shoes, Was £355, Now £215, Viktor & Rolf at Selfridges

A sensible pair of heels!! At last! There's no way you'll fall over in any snow with those grips - plus they are sparkly, so Miss Magpie can give them the real thumbs up.

Taffeta dress, Was £175, Now £70, Jaeger

A cute little party dress that'll carry you through the whole year. Wear with tights now and go solo come summer. A wardrobe staple for sure!

Happy New Year Shopping....

Bargain central!

Ooh, I love a bargain I do...and the past few weeks have been full of them!

Let me share with you my fabulously frugal finds:

This Manoush cardi is 100% merino wool, so incredibly snuggly and makes such a statement (I could have tried to get a better picture, but that's snow on the floor of my balcony there and I was freezing my ass off!).

Originally £570, I bagged it at the bargain price of £70. Thank you TK Maxx, Kensington High Street. FYI it is officially the best TK Maxx I've ever been to - it has a whole designer section which is always bursting at the seams with amazing finds. Don't say I never give you anything!

When I saw this little piece of summer hanging on the rails at the Jaeger sample sale, I knew it had to be mine. As you can see, it'll serve me well all year round. I particularly love the frilly tie-up neck.

I love even more what I paid for it. £20. Yes, you did read that right. £20 for a 100% silk blouse. Bargaintastic I'd say!

Another TK Maxx find, this Dents clutch was just irresistible. It'll go with my saris as well as my party dresses and is perfect for the festive season. At £12 it wasn't even worth debating!

This is the most exciting bargain of the lot. I could not believe my luck when, at the Aquascutum sample sale, I found this iconic trench coat sitting all on its lonesome. Once I had it in my hand, I could not let go if it; I was surrounded by Aquascutum-trench-coat-hungry vultures.

Not to rub salt in to their wounds or anything, but I purchased this piece of fashion past, present and future, at the purse-friendly price of £75. Price per wear comes in at about about 20p, for we all know that a classic trench like this lasts a lifetime. Read it and weep, dear readers. Boy did I have a spring in my step that day!

And here's the one that got away:

TK Maxx Edinburgh. How mental is this bag! I adore it. Can't remember the designer now (something Italian and unknown) but at £179.99, I decided to give it a miss. Practicality took hold - imagine lugging that around on the tube.

Today I say practicality, schmacticality!

Oh well, never mind. You win some, you lose some.

So what do you think? Has Miss Magpie done well?

Miss Magpie buys 2 & 3

Miss Magpie and her beau are up in bonnie Scotland visiting Daddy Magpie (though i'm sure his stomach would churn at being called that). Edinburgh is a treasure trove of culture, architecture, beautiful scenery and SHOPPING!!

Miss Magpie's bargain hunting isn't always confined to designer outlets. Sometimes a good charity or vintage find can do the trick. So, first stop today was Living & Giving - Mary Portas's (Queen of Shops) charity venture.

I was literally brimming with excitement on our approach to the shop - who knows what sartorial treasures lay in this most fashionable of charity shops. With celebrity donors backing Portas and an incredibly tempting window, I just knew this was going to be a fun afternoon.

Or not.

Article 1: "Look here for designer labels donated by Grazia". What did I find? An H&M waterproof jacket and matching skirt (blurgh!), a topshop sun dress circa 1996 (not even vintage cool) and a Maria Grachvogel peach satin number donated by Carole Smillie (enough said). Not exactly chic, certainly not exciting and definitely not entering my wardrobe. It was a real disappointment after all the hype surrounding Portas. I'm sure it was just a bad day for Living & Giving, but I won't be going back any time soon.

Next came Shelter, Oxfam, Cancer Research and the only contestant was a vintage fuschia Jaeger coat with fab buttons...but at several sizes too big, it was never really going to work.

So, I was left with one last resort...TK Maxx. I'm always up for a treasure hunt and sometimes old TK can put the smile back on my face. And look what it turned out this time:

A patent black leather tote courtesy of Calvin Klein. I am desperado for a new day bag and this baby is big enough for all my kitchen sink needs, wipe clean and totally chic. At £49.99, I am loving TK Maxx today.

Since I was on a bit of a roll, I thought i'd try my chances at the antique market. Miss Magpie is always sourcing crockery for her soya candles (if you haven't tuned in recently, see the below post) and where better to look than the best antique market in well-to-do Edinburgh.

I love this bone china cup and saucer, especially the dazzling gold pattern - it'll make the most beautiful candle. (If you love it as much as I do, place your order at stephieholding@hotmail.com asap).

All in all, a very good day for Miss Magpie. And with my sartorial needs sated, i'm retiring to the sofa for an evening of movies, wine and my dad's mental dog. Perfect.