♪ Mama always told me - G-Eazy♪

I hope everyone had a joyful Christmas, full of love and surprises from family and friends! For me, Christmas always has that special impact and it was even more special this year because I got to host it in my own home. Let me know if you'd like a post on all the decorations and cakes I baked, although you must have seen them all on my Instagram profile ( @marymanaila) .

This holiday also meant watching the second season of "The Crown" (I wrote about how much I love the show in a previous post) and also two weeks prior to being released by Netflix I started watching tons of documentaries about the royal family (I'm behind with my TV shows because of them &if you don't know me: it's something major!). And just as I was about to start the 5th episode of "The Royal House of Windsor" I remembered I took these photos at the Palace of Culture this autumn and I totally forgot to post them. It's funny because I was attending a Medical Congress and I had no intention of doing a photoshoot, but when I saw this setting I couldn't help it. 

Also, I finally get to show you my favorite winter dress! I got it last year from Mango and I love its duality: last year I used to wear it with statement jewellery and  it would seem like a casual chic look (it has these cotton stripes which seem both elegant and easy-going at the same time) and this year I went for the classy version with these over the knee boots. The lenght is divine and it has these cuts on the sides, such a wow factor! Do you have that one item in your closet which you can wear on two totally different occasions?

Thanks to my dear friend Codrina for the photos, they were taken in a rush and still, these are some of my 2017 favorites.

♪ Kendrick Lamar - HUMBLE. ♪

Codrina took these photos of me quite a while ago but many exciting things happened in my life this past month. I missed blogging dearly, but when I can't dedicate to one thing 100% I  tend to back out of it. I couldn't be more grateful for my family and friends surrounding me in the wake of these changes. I also finally got to meet my niece, who is such a beautiful & joyful baby, which made me feel even luckier. The arrival of a pure soul into this world just makes you more aware! Also a big factor for my good mood for the past two weeks has been Kendrick Lamar's brand new album, DAMN. I just can't stop listening to it, All the tracks have Bible references and crazy beats, with jazz  and R&B (listen to LOVE. if you want groovy) tones. What's mind-blowing is the ending of the album- DUCKWORTH. which tells the REAL story of how: "You take two strangers, and put 'em in random predicaments; give 'em a soul /So they can make their own choices and live with it".

On to fashion, this outfit is very dear to me, because I wanted to show you how I actually dress on a daily basis. I swear by my Converse shoes and my ALDO backpack. I used to wear a huge handbag in highschool and in the first two years of college, but the books I carry to university are too heavy, so I decided to go for a backpack this year. I loved the fabric and the texture, and the mix of colors on it makes it so easy to match it! I got my backpack last summer, in Cluj, when I attended the UNTOLD festival, so whenever I have with it I remember how much fun I had. Also something I would like to emphasize with this look: I have always been obsessed  with DOUBLE DENIM. Even when it's not "in" I still love to mix and match denim. This Mango denim shirt is my ultimate love when it comes to the denim pieces I own. I also have a cool story attached to it, it was so expensive and I got it the day I saw Rihanna live last summer, which meant I was on a budget for the rest of my stay in Bucharest, but it was totally worth it!

♪ Changed it- Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne♪

Before I moved out of my hometown to go to Med School, I bought this pencil skirt and this statement blazer. I proudly told my mom I have to own these type of elegant, statement pieces, because that's how doctors dress. You see, I was inspired by my aunt, who is always so fashionable, she has the best dresses (which I borrow sometimes)! Soon after I started college I realized my classy clothes have to hang in the closet for a long time. When you're on the run from one hospital to another or spend way too many hours in school, you feel like jeans are too fancy already. I just throw on a simple T-shirt, jeans, labcoat and I'm good to go. This is also why I can't walk for more than an hour in heels anymore- I would choose my Nikes over everything nowadays.

My style had to adapt, but this doesn't mean I've changed. Deep down, I'm still an advocate of feminine clothes. I love how wearing a skirt or dress makes me feel. Whenever there's an occasion, I'm more than happy to dress this way! This blazer is absolutely my favorite, because of the intricate details, and the colors- one second you swear it's golden, then you say it's pale blue. It's actually the first time I've worn it in three years, it was long overdue! I felt so amazing wearing it, especially because my talented friend Codrina offered to take some photos so I can show it to you as well. Also special thanks to Andreea for the advice, she has an eye for detail. Support from my friends and family means everything to me, they're the ones who made me find time to blog again, and I've been feeling so great ever since!

I've always been afraid of wearing red. I don't know why, I guess I like to blend in the crowd sometimes, you know me & my pink/nude obsession. Everything changed this Christmas, when mom got me this beautiful coat from a local factory. Although it's clearly not for winter, I insisted to wear it when we exchanged gifts for Secret Santa (for obvious reasons haha!). I love everything about it. It gives me so much confidence, and I feel like it's also a dress with that waist bow detail and everything. I'm posting these old photos I took back then because this whole past week I've been wearing it (5-10 Celsius degrees is just the right temperature for it). I guess you can say things really do change as you get older. Now I'm suddenly into RED and statement coats, apparently.

Thanks mom for such an awesome Christmas gift, I'll cherish it forever & thanks Codrina for taking these snaps even though it was pouring!

♪ Blessings - Big Sean, Drake & Kanye West ♪

Every year I like to do a photoshoot on my birthday and post it on my blog so I can remember it. I always get emotional, because after I post it I start searching my old birthdays on the blog and see how much I've grown up. This one's a little late, my birthday was on the 12th of August, but due to the fact it was between the Untold Festival and the Rihanna concert in Bucharest I attended, I did a small celebration this year, surrounded by two of my best friends and family. Still, from something meant to be low key it turned into one of my favorite birthdays ever! It was a day full of surprises. I woke up to a giant bouquet of roses and an Iphone SE (I had no clue or need for a new phone). It's the perfect iphone for me because it's basically an Iphone 6S in a body of an Iphone 5 => it has a 12 MP camera instead of 8! It really makes a huge difference, looking back of all the photos I took at the Untold festival with my old phone vs. the Rihanna concert with the SE I still can't believe how lucky I am to have it! 

The roses were my dad's work of art, he got the idea when I got a day earlier from my birthday a small bouquet of roses- he went and got seven of those in different colors and arranged them together in a box - it's my favorite flower arrangement ever (may I add he has no idea about the box of roses trend that's been going on lately? haha). I also had the best cake, it's from the same bakery I got it two years ago, but this year they put more forest fruit cream between the layers, divine! I was finally able to wear this Zara lace skirt on my birthday! I say "finally" because I've been looking for the right top for it for four years now and this summer I found it in the Mango summer sales.
All the other gifts I included in the post from my cousins and my best friends made me so emotional and grateful, I honestly don't know where I would be right now if I wasn't so blessed to have so many beautiful people in my life! As I grow older, I come to the conclusion that birthdays aren't really about gifts for me, they're about celebrating with the people most close to my heart, the ones that are always there to support me, make me laugh and hold me down. I just want to say a big "I LOVE YOU" to mom, dad, my sister, my cousins, my aunt&uncle, my best friends & you, my dear readers, who chose to follow my journey from time to time!

♪ New Day- Jay Z & Kanye West  (Watch the Throne)♪

I've always loved birthdays, but I have to admit I was freaking out a bit about my 20th. I finally feel like it's the absolute end of the teenage years (funny now, what should I do about the name of the blog? When I started it in the 9th grade I was like "I'm gonna name it 'Teen Fashion Diary' because most likely it won't last more than a couple years"). Young adult life: ON. I live far from my family now, I'll have a car with me at the university starting this fall, I have to cope with being on the budget and focus on my studies. 

Fortunately, turning 20 was actually an incredible experience: it was on the last day of my holiday in Rhodes: I had a good swim in the morning, an amazing lunch with my family at my favorite place in Ixia, Elysee and a long walk in the old town of Rhodos where I did a special shoot (you'll see it soon, you know how I love to mark my birthdays on the blog with photo shoots).

And the most unexpected thing about my birthday: the gifts. I usually post one photo on Instagram and that's it, but yesterday I was in the mood of taking photos and nobody ever wants to model for me (yes, lil' sis, I'm talking about you) so I ended up taking these shots.. You see, this year even my parents and best friends gave me my birthday gifts with a month in advance- and I'm grateful because I got to use my iphone 6 an extra month of my summer vacation this way. Before we took off for Rhodes, my cousins came up with a surprise: they got  me 'Fangirl' by Rainbow Rowell and some amazing 'Game of Thrones' posters. Rainbow Rowell in honestly my favorite author at the moment and this book is perfection.What never ceases to amaze me about Rainbow Rowell is that you can always find yourself in her main characters. Still, Cath, the heroine of 'Fangirl' remains the one I can relate to most: maybe it's her sense of humour, or the 'Kanye emergency parties' she throws, or the fact that she writes fanfiction with an astonishing devotion and has a romanticized idea of love. 

When I arrived in Rhodes and found so many great shops I made the decision to get some gifts for myself from my savings. As much as I love the gifts from my family, they don't see the point in getting an YSL lipstick for example and I just wanted to spoil myself a little in order to remember this birthday forever.
I feel blessed and I want to thank all my loved ones for always supporting me and making my 20th birthday the best!