Bonne Année mes merveilleux amis

To my dearest readers,

I know I promised you a few projects and I haven't delivered the results (yet). Truth be told, my dissertation is currently taking the majority of my time. But once that's out of the way, I will be making plenty of time for you.

But that's not why I'm writing this post. It's the last day of 2013 and a day like this will get one thinking of the highlights of her year. So here it is, the highlights of my year, the days that will always remain memorable to me. 2013 was the year Pain Oh Chocolat was created, the year I was fortunate enough to attend London Fashion Week. This year I was also provided the amazing opportunity to work/study abroad, therefore I moved back to Iran for the period of 3 and a half months. These few months gave me the chance to bond with my family and childhood friends, make many new friends, travel around my home country, gain work experience and be offered various job opportunities for the future.

As a little girl growing up in Iran, I was never able to fully experience the joys of New Year's Day as I had exams during this time of the year. So I would wake up earlier than usual on the day of my exam just to see the fireworks in London and New York on CNN. I now count myself as one of the luckiest people to be able to spend my 7th New Years in London to watch the amazing fireworks display up close!

I am grateful for the 365 days I was given this year and I hope you are to. I know every year has its ups and downs that's what makes a year memorable; besides you should always look on the bright side on things.

This time of the year is when we all start thinking of New Years resolutions. I used to make so many promises to myself and it made it hard to keep those promises. So I'm keeping it simple this year and here they are:

• To take better care of myself with a clean and healthy diet
• To be more adventurous and spontaneous
• To learn/continue learning another language
• To travel more
• To pursue photography 

I hope you enjoy the photos showing some of the highlights of my year. Here's hoping for a great year. Happy New Year! I wish you all success and happiness in 2014. Until next year...

Xo

London Fashion Week

February 2013

Brunch at Dior, Harrods

March 2013

My 20th birthday, Beach Blanket Babylon

April 2013

University field trip to Oban, Scotland

June 2013

Sushi Samba

July 2013

Tehran's Grand Bazaar

September 2013

My stylish grandfather

Golestan Palace

September 2013

Shemshak with friends

October 2013

One of my closest friend's 21st birthday

October 2013

Me and the girls who have been in my life since I was 7 years old

October 2013

Urmia Lake

November 2013

International Development Christmas ball

December 2013

International Development Christmas ball

December 2013

Last outfit post of the year

December 2013

Istanbul selamlar - Greetings from Istanbul

Good morning/afternoon/evening depending on where you are. I am currently in Istanbul waiting for my next flight. Seeing as I have another 3/4 hours in the airport, I thought I'd check in with you guys. I know up until now I haven't really been public in regards to the location I am travelling to but I thought - enough suspense - I should finally share the secret I am going back to Iran for a semester. I know that it was probably not what you thought I was going to say.

Although my university course has absolutely nothing to do with fashion, but that doesn't mean that fashion articles will not be posted throughout my time abroad. This simply means that I will have a variety of topics to discuss with you guys.

I am excited for the projects I am currently working on and they will take place once I arrive in Tehran. I am also looking forward to writing about the difference between fashion in London and Tehran. I understand that this might sound odd but believe me, it is something I have picked up on from going back and forth during the past seven years. These future articles will not only be looking at the differences in trends but the meaning of fashion to the people of the two cities and how they choose the present themselves. I hope you enjoy these articles and I can't wait to share them with you...

During my time abroad I also hope to travel within the Middle Eastern region to places such as Dubai and Istanbul (this time I'll be leaving the airport). But enough talk about travelling, I am currently so tired and jet-lagged it is unreal. I have hardly slept in the past few days, but not too worry, I have kept my word and stuck to my 'How to: travel in style' tips from my previous post. I've already had my green tea and I am wearing comfortable clothes. At this point, I just cannot wait to arrive at my childhood home and be greeted with lots of delicious foods. Don't worry you'll probably see the photos on the blog and Instagram soon.

How to: travel in style

As most of you know by now, I am travelling for around three months for a semester abroad. I thought it would be nice to share some of my travel tips with you. I have never been able to pack light, so, but that should never stop someone from travelling in style. I know that this seems like a very long post, but it is more of an article than a regular blog post.

Comfort first

First and foremost, it is important to keep in mind that it is better to arrive looking stylish. I know in a perfect world we would all travel with our G5s, in heels with perfectly done hair and make-up. But let's face it, that isn't really the case.

In my experience, I usually wear my walking shoes (or flats) in order to be more mobile and comfortable around the airport. That's right! If you're about to miss your flight you can't exactly run in your Laboutins. So take it easy on your feet.

I also would like to stress that unless you're travel takes less than 2-3 hours, do not wear anything that's too tight and fitted. Once the sleep deprivation and long distance gets to you, it is the little things like your tight super skinny jeans that will begin to irritate you. Maybe a flared skirt or chinos would be a good alternative for you?

Eating habits

It is completely natural for your diet to change during your travel. However, it is important to take extra care of yourself. You may look tired on the outside, but your body will be exhausted on the inside. So always always always drink plenty of water when you're traveling. This is the number one rule for you from now on...

Recently I have also been carrying 1-2 green teabags with me and have it on the plane. I am a green tea fanatic but I have heard that it is so good to drink it when you're travelling. So when the air hostess is offering "tea or coffee" don't be shy, perhaps ask for some hot water instead and make yourself a nice, hot cup of green tea.

Keeping fit

If you're anything like me than you cannot sit somewhere for very long. I feel like I constantly have to move around and get at least some form of exercise. This is essential when you're travelling. So if you don't have a lot of hand luggage  take a walk around the terminal while you're waiting for your flight to board. Even when you're on the plane, get up, walk a few steps and stretch. Trust me it'll help you be more refreshed and decreases the chances of your feet swelling.

Do your research

I have always been a planner. And so I always do my research before I leave the house. For example, I always do a little digging about what shops, brands and cafes I might find in the duty-free of the terminal I am travelling from. That way I can determine how long I need to do some shopping. I've made a list already (yes I know it's silly but it has to be done). The list includes products like my usual Chanel foundation, a new perfume I must get (I am open to suggestions by the way) and an Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat highlighter among many other things.

Flight-time reading

The majority of you like to listen to music when you're travelling. Trust me, I feel the same way. But let's face it, if you're travelling for more than 5 hours your battery will not be able to keep up. So this time I have prepared myself with a few books. And of course they are fashion related!

Therefore, travelling in style means carrying something that carries style within it. When I'm travelling on Thursday I will be carrying one of my three unread fashion-related books and Vogue's September issue (DUH!).

I hope that these tips have been helpful for you guys. If you have any tips of your own I would love to hear them. You can leave them in the comment box below. I will be sure to update you about my travel outfit from the airport on Thursday.

Xo

Toutes Mes Excuses

I know it's been a very long time since I have posted anything on my blog. One of the most important rules of blogging is to be consistent and I haven't done any of you justice. So the purpose of this post is simply to apologise for my absence for the past 4 months.

Being busy with exams and coursework deadlines has taken a high percentage of my time, but that is no excuse. So I am happy to announce that I have been working on a variety of ideas to improve this blog and take it to the next level.

However, these ideas will take a while to execute as they are a variety of projects I have lined up. I hope you guys will enjoy them and I look forward to getting feedback from you lovely readers.

Seeing as I am still a university student, I will be spending a semester abroad in a location which lacks extremely fast internet access. Therefore it's bye bye Virgin Fiberoptic broadband and hello studying. This means that I won't be able to be consistent and post various segments everyday. However, when I do post new things I will make sure to make up for all the lost time.

And that is a promise...

Xo

Mix it up - Neon and Bright

Sorry I haven't been able to write to you guys in the past few weeks. As exams are approaching it is difficult to manage both the blog and revision at the same time. But I will do my best to post regularly.

I thought I'd share my outfit from my birthday/houseparty from Friday. I have noticed that there is an increase in the combination of nude and neon/bright colours in daily outfits. I personally love the trend and hope that you guys feel the same way. So here is how I chose to follow the trend.

Now you know what they say: "sharing is caring". So don't be shy and send me your favourite combinations and I will be posting my favourites soon. You can send the photos to painohchocolat@gmail.com.

Xo

Top - Victoria's Secret

Trousers - Style Stalker from Rtister

Shoes - Ted Baker

Bracelet - Hipanema from Rtister

Goodbye Teen Years

The day finally came, on Monday the 1st of April I turned 20, and yes I know it was on April Fools Day!

Seeing as I had to say goodbye to my teen years I wanted to celebrate in a classy way. So on the last day of being a teenager, despite the fact that I had to write a 2,000 words essay, I took the longest bubble bath and reminisced about all the wonderful years and memories. As calm as it was, it made me realised how far I've come to achieve the things I've always wanted and how lucky I am to have shared these memories with my family and friends.

My family and I celebrated my birthday by going to lunch as well as celebrating Sizdabedar (and Iranian tradition, yet it was celebrated a day early). It was wonderful...

And on Thursday the 4th, me and my dear friends went to the Beach Blanket Babylon in Notting Hill. It was my first time ever going to that restaurant and it was a fantastic experience with the people I love.

Don't worry guys I will dish about some of my favourite presents with you. First of all my mother and brother were extremely kind enough to get me my favourite Aperlai Paris shoes from Rtister along with a few other items that I will choose myself. My second favourite was all the Ladurée macarons I received from various friends. It is no secret that the key to my heart is shaped like a box of Ladurée macarons as I fell in love with them after spending a summer in Paris. Here is my opportunity to thank everyone for being there for the special week I had and thank you for all the thoughtful presents, cards, messages etc.

So here are some photos to share with you guys...

Xo

Me and my brother on my birthday

Celebration at home with my family

Me and my friends at the Beach Blanket Babylon

Me and my friends at the Beach Blanket Babylon

Beach Blanket Babylon, Notting Hill

My outfit for the night

The Ladurée macarons I received from my friends

Dress: Topshop

Shoes: Aperlai from Rtister

Clutch: Angel Jackson from Rtister

Bracelet: Hipanema from Rtister

Lunch at Dior's

I am all for Breakfast at Tiffany's, but I decided to have Lunch at Dior's instead!

After locking myself home in order to finish an assignment (hence why I have not been active on the blog), I decided to treat myself with a day out in central London. I met a good friend of mine at Dior Cafe at Harrods for a late lunch. The place looks exquisite and I felt like a star with the way members of staff treated us. I will definitely be returning there as soon as my second assignment is finished!
It was a wonderful day and it felt very good to be back in London.

How was your day?

Xo

Happy Norouz (Iranian New Year)

This is my favourite time of the year, it is officially the first day of Spring.

So I'm writing this post to say Happy Norouz (Iranian New Year) to everyone especially those back in Iran! My best childhood memories were around this period of time. Our New Year is filled with wonderful traditions from the Zoroastrian era.
Since 2008, I have spent New Years away from my beautiful country as I had school and/ir exams. I hope I can return for New Years after I graduate and reunite with the wonderful people of Iran.
I hope 1392 will be a wonderful year for everyone, filled with love, laughter, health and happiness.

نوروز همگی مبارک

Xo

We always got a fish or two to complete our Haftsin table

Haftsin table (a tradition of table setting including seven items that begin with the letter 'S' or Seen/Sin (س) in Farsi.

We always have an 8th Seen/Sin which is our beautiful Persian cat, Suri

Weekend at Kiana's...

It is officially Saturday which means that the weekend has begun. Now I usually tend to take it easy on the weekends, but seeing as the end of the semester is fast approaching, I guess I have no choice but to study and work, great...

Although it's Friday night and I've stayed at home, I've been thinking about how much I miss photography and so I wanted to share some of my work with you. I hope I can have time to pursue my passion for it once my summer begins. Let me know what you think.

I wanna know what you're up to this weekend. Are you going to rest? Or work your butt off?

Xo

Iran, 2011

Iran, 2011

Iran, 2011

London,  2010

London,  2010

Paris, 2012

Paris, 2012

The New Look

Seeing as this is my very first blog, I am always experimenting and changing the website, from colours to fonts.
This time I decided to go for a classis colour combination, grey and pink - rather than pink on pink. Just to let all you wonderful readers know that this is not the final website as I am currently working on more ideas and I will keep you all posted...
Let me know what you think!

Before

After

Xo