Bande a Part

Hello, lovely birds! How have you been during this lovely Spring weather? Have you been travelling or relaxing yourselves as you should? Or are you planning your future trips as we speak? If so, I have the destination for you!

I was tellin you a while back (here) about how amazing Craiova is and the many places I saw during my stay there. After spending a whole week in Le boulevard, my dearest Catalina showed me a little piece of Heaven called Bande a Part *heart,heart,heart*. As you can see, it's the fashionista paradise, with walls filled with fashion in it's greatest form: the magazine.

What do I love so much about it? 

(In case you are still wondering)

I have to say that I love, most of all, the atmosphere. I saw a lot of boheme people, smoking their cigarettes and cigars while talking about arts (yes, I eavesdropped, oupsy), a couple of actors and models and even one famous photographer (Catalina told me he was and I believe her. I cannot, by all means, remember his name!).
I also adored the decor. Everything was white, "sprinkled" with vintage items, such as an old phone and wooden white chairs. La pie de resistance was, of course, the wall filled with magazines. I recognised some of the latest issues of Haarper's Bazaar, but also retro Vogue numbers.
Another thing I fell for? (There are countless anyway, no need for numbering) The alcohol tea! I drank Irish Tea for the first time in my life. It was no surprise I loved it, as I also adore Irish Coffee so much. But yes, tea just got into a whole new dimension of awesomness for me!

Hippie Hippo

And here's yet another old shoot with the same jeans you saw in the past post (which are now saddly ripped and un-wearable for eternity).

However, this time I'm simply going to let the pictures speak for themselves and let you enjoy one of my favorite (and oldest) pair of heels ever!

A woman's affair

Oups! Seems like I said I would post this yesterday and I kind of missed the deadline. It's been happening to me lately: skiping deadlines, missing appointments, forgeting promises. I'm just too stressed. I'm even too tired and lifeless that I can't strike a pose for an outfit post. However, it seems like I'm not always that careless (thank you so much, past me, for taking these gorgeous pics!!). Upon rearranging my computer files (because yes, procrastination), I discovered that I had yet to unleash some of my past looks, even one from the Basic Item series I was promising before I left for Craiova.

As for the look, you might say it's not that me. And it actually isn't. I am in love with color, more or less, and I always add that touch of crazy and chic in all of my outfits, but it seems like I went for a more mature look in this one. I don't really remember the story I wanted to tell with this outfit, not because it was too long ago, but because it's so simple, yet refined, that it invites anyone that sees it to think of a story.

Today, I think that this semi-transparent blouse is the perfect item for a business woman: soft and delicate in the front, and edgy in the back. You know, like in that quote. Who's quote? The Iron Lady's, of course!

Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't.

Mission Statement

Apologies are to be avoided, right? Therefore let us start fresh!

However, I will try to motivate my prolongued absence through the fact that my life has suddenly become a life that is no longer mine. Silly as it might sound, it's frightening to see how all of my passions are now changing or, to say the least, transforming. On top of this, I have the pressure of final exams (which are only a month and a half away => double the scare). And the very reason for which I am sitting here today and typing away my thought and ideas of the moment (or actually the month), is that I have gotten the time to reflect upon the real reasons of why I even spend a second of my time thinking about this blog and the reasons I choose to continue. This is also the reason I'm not accompanying these gorgeous pictures with some fantastic words of wisdom or fabulousness. You will have to wait until future posts for that ( aka for me discussing 100 Years of Fashion ).

1. I started this blog out of a craving for success. I knew what I wanted and then I did what I wanted. It didn't turn out great though. I'm not a match for Chiara Ferragni or for the Fabulous Muses, that's for sure, but for me, personally, it's probably one of the biggest accomplishments of my life. No, I don't have a sad and weird life, but that's exactly it. I am always in search for something new and I get bored as fast as you can say "parrot" or "carrot". My blog has been around here for more than 2 years and that's probably the only thing I've done with such consistency.

2. But why didn't I start over fresh, with already gained knowledge and skills, so that I can become a match for the above mentioned? I have to confess, I have given that idea too much thought. Starting fresh, with a new name and valuable information and gadgets, it would seem easy-peasy. But I won't. Because every time I get this thought, I go to my blog and surf it, randomly, and I get to re-live so many of those fabulous moments I've shared with so many readers and it's always showing me from where I started and towards where I'm getting. It's been tracking my progress for the past 2 years and something and that is what makes it so special, both for me and for the loyal reader.

3. I am going to start fresh, but not in that way: I am adding rambling and removing planning. Hopefully, this will turn The Shoe Pendant back into something that represents me, and not the average fashion blogger (concept about which I will be talking shortly, in one of the next couple of posts).

Until my next entry, stay strong and believe in your accopmlishments, no matter how small they are to Madonna. They are probably the world to you!

Le Boulevard

I told you I had tons of content from Craiova! But did you believe me? No? Yes?

Well here is the second post, this time featuring one of my now favorite spots to hang out in Craiova. I discovered it while in desperate need for a coffee in a lovely place and let me tell you, this pretty much sums it up. We entered the place very tired after the journey to the Olympiad and went out fresher than ever. Not only thanks to the great tea, that is.

What I love most about it is the decor,filled with a very girly, Belle Epoque and... girly air. The colors are really light and warm, consisting mostly out of nuances of green and beige. An unique aspect is brought to you by the chairs: there aren't 2 chairs alike: they are all different, in aproximately the same style, but mostly out of different materials. A cabinet filled with photo frames and a cabinet adorned with candle sticks and some more photo frames gives the place a cosy, home-y feeling and the glass case filled with sweets is simply mouthwatering(!!!). Also, half of the restaurant is placed above ground, with a wall made of glass, facing the street, exactly like a French cafe.

I am seriously planning of revisiting it as soon as I get back to Craiova and in case you get there before I get the chance to try some more delicious things, try the pizza with fries (do no ew me, it's quite delicious if you do give it a try!!), the Irish coffee and the Tiramisu (you're getting it served in tall glasses).

Until next time, stay fabulous!

Olympic Diary

Hello, female lads! It's been quite some time (almost 1 month) since my last post and I am truly sorry for that, but together with a week of no internet service and my laptop suddenly deciding he needs a spa treatment (aka some new windows software), the blog became an unhabitated place. However, I will now let you enjoy an avalanche of content, as I have gathered a lot of lovely information from Craiova that I will be sharing with you shortly. Furthermore, I have 2 things that I believe are crucially, let's say, shareable. For starters...

I got 4th place in the English National Olympics, with a staggering 100/100 points in the Speaking task. I've been waiting to get a prize like this for quite some while and now, in my Senior Year, I am so proud to finally see myself as an English Olympic.

Secondly, I dyed my hair a chocolate brown, with lighter roots and darker ends. However, you will see this probably in a couple of weeks' time, in case you aren't following me on Instagram :)

Besides this, what else can I say? I spent a wonderful week with my fellow Olympic mates, had a thriving re-encounter with one of my dearest (and most loveable, quirky) friends and managed to spend some quality time at my cousin's. Another couple of days were spent procrastinating in Bucharest and now I'm back to my diet life sprinkled with the ocasional exercise and serious finals study.

Until next time, stay fabulous!

A new: March Instadiary

Shoe sketch / Harper's Bazaar and new H&M necklace / Elle Magazine and Takko Tees / Yesterday's outfit

Between face masks, luggage packing and trying to understand how to fit 5 pairs of shoes into the littlest of suitcases, I decided that it was about time to integrate my Instagram account into my blog. I am doing this thanks to 2 reasons: today I hit 300 followers on Instagram and it's also my favorite thing to do away from my computer. I'm wondering how I hadn't done this earlier, but later is better than never. Or so they say. However, it's going to be my only fixed column and you will be able to see my monthly Instadiary on the last day of each month!

For now, enjoy!

Spring?

It seems like spring is just passing by these days, one hour at a time. Today, while looking for a present for a friend's birthday, I got the opportunity of snapping some pics with my newest T-shirt, that I got for Takko. It was a whole lot of a bargain, costing only about 5 euros and it's made entirely out of cotton. I'm also loving the simple text message: Why not?. Besides this, you can see my Chuck Taylor's, comic book edition.

What is more, I'm leaving for Craiova this Monday and will be spending around a week there. I'm not going to promise any posts, as I usually do, but if you want to stay up to date, check my instagram feed, over at @shoependant .

Rocks in the city

It's obviously Spring in the calendar but I guess train tickets were so expensive that it didn't quite reach Romania yet. Still, this didn't prevent me from walking the streets of one of my favorite cities in the world, Bucharest. See how I styled myself for a lovely day of walking around ( P.S. I brought some boots with me too) and enjoy some city-specific locations that, in an abstract way, fascinate me.

One handsome pooch

My dear darlings, it's been a while since I last posted. And I truly apologize for that. However, I'm here to make it up to you by showing one of the most personal posts I have to offer. Ever. This is my best-friend, my companion for almost 13 years and my little angel: Oli. Not to be too sappy or cuddly, I have to say that this little creature has been here for worse and for better, much more than a spouse would.

I always wanted a puppy, like any kid back then, so when a coworker of my mom announced her dog had given birth to 4 adorable white little doggies, I somehow managed to convince my mom to get this little piece of fluff for me. I was entering 1st grade and as I'm approaching my high school graduation, I have to say that she has been the sister I never wanted my mom to give me. All the fun and smooshiness without the extra care.

She's also one heck of a beauty and a lady. She never bites, she barks like a mad man when she doesn't like something and she acts like a true queen. Not a princess, a queen. She's also wearing make-up. No, don't think of me as a complete nut job, just take a look at her perfectly contoured eyes and her lovely pink muzzle.

All in all, she's been my companion for so much time now, I believe it was time for someone to give her some credit. After all, a dog is a man's best friend.