Hot Busy Day

Saturday 13 July 2013


Phew - day nearly over. It's been a hot one hasn't it? The temperature gauge in the car racked 32 degrees - that's positively Mediterranean! 

Hot day = light and airy dress. Like this one from Zara circa 2011. 


Zara Dress (old), Primark Gold Flip Flops (old)


Yes I like my plain little dresses but every now and then I try a print. And this one appealed because of the crisp colours on it and the fact that the small print didn't overwhelm me. This was originally a halterneck with ties which started in the middle but I cut them off and turned them in to straps as I like a more traditional look. It's also a little see through - stand me with the sun behind me and hey ho - classic Princess Di moment.

Anyway, this was worn to a kid's party first thing (oh joy) and it's always nice when someone asks you about your dress and is it current? Means they like it and they want one :o)

And then up to friends in the next village for the the annual beer festival which meant the kids were palmed off with the pub barbecue for dinner (because the mums don't want to cook) whilst the dads were drinking "dirty beer". "Dirty beer" is a term the mums use to try and make the dads feel bad about drinking beer. Doesn't work.

Luurveerleeey. All sort of hot doggy.


And somehow a takeaway got factored in for the adults. But now I'm home with my cup of Earl Grey and for the first time today, my nose isn't streaming because my hayfever has been DOING MY HEAD IN!!!! Hope you're not suffering wherever you are and if you have any good remedies - spill!





39 comments

  1. Love it Sue - that's the sort of dress I could wear - it's the small print - can't do anything too busy ! Yep - our kids referred to beer as 'Dirty' for years and nope - it's never worked. Hayfever's doing my head in too - have you tried a nasal spray for the old nose - it's worked for me in the past! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Really comfy dress actually Jenny and perfect for this weather. Doesn't crease that much either (these things matter).

      And I went out and bought some Octrivine today. Fingers crossed.

      Delete
  2. Just gorgeous - and I love how you adapt things for yourself. I just want to squeeze George! My Dad still calls it dirty beer - never put me off it unfortunately!:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanna, I loved the print and I really wanted this dress to work for me so scissors out and off I went.

      Also, I wonder if dirty beer is a Northern expression?

      Delete
  3. Heyfever has been horrible up here this year. I'm allergic to anything green and leafy, so I have been stuck inside sniffling and replacing muscle mass with Lay's potato chips since around the end of April. I can't even work out inside my gym, it is that bad. I've got the lung capacity of your average 80 year-old.

    That dress is fabulous on you, and the hot doggy kiss made me go "AAW!". Your boys are adorable :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh my goodness - you're worse than me. My brother has really bad hayfever as well - starts around February - try living with that. I know I would be a miserable so and so if I was in his shoes.

      Lays crisps - that's Walkers in England. I like the cheese and onion ones. I used to have a packet a day with my lunch when I was working and when my friend was training as a hynotherapist, she needed some guinea pigs so I asked her to see if she could stop me eating them. It kind of worked but nearly 8-9 years down the line, I still get the odd craving.

      Hot doggy kisses - can't recommend them enough.

      Delete
  4. It has been swelteringly warm, not complaining about the sunshine but the heat! I love your Zara dress, I have just found your blog and love it x Dawn

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Dawn and thanks for the lovely comment. The weather has been incredible hasn't it? I hardly dare say it but almost "too hot"?

      Delete
  5. wow I love ittt!!!!! what a beautiful print :)

    I was dying in the heat yesterday, it's so melty. not complaining though, we don't get much weather like this! x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Melty, yes! I am starting to feel like a spent candle:)

      Delete
    2. Totally melty Fen & Louise! I have spent a lot of time ... indoors actually - well whenever possible as the heat is too much for me. We've all spent so long complaining about the cold and now the sun is here, we're all melting. We're an ungrateful bunch aren't we?

      Delete
  6. Love the dress! And I love it on you. So fresh and summery. Sorry to hear you're suffering so badly from allergies. I'm lucky here in dessert-dry Madrid in that I rarely have any allergies at all. But back home between the humidity and the pollen I get positively asthmatic. All I can suggest is claritin. And staying inside.

    www.nomadicd.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Defne. This is one dress which actually works really well in the heat as it's very light and not clingy at all. I don't think this was even one of those dresses that sold that well in Zara at the time. I picked it up in the sale at half price so you can imagine I was one happy bunny and then spent a few hours trying to rework the straps to suit me. Looked very different when it was a halter style and the straps came from the middle of the bust but I knew I could make it work for me.

      Clarity, Piriton, anything with Cetrizine Hydrochloride or Loratadine - tried them all including the local honey remedy where you keep eating honey produced locally so you can become desensitised to the pollen around you. But the man around the corner doesn't seem to be doing the stuff anymore :o( Anyway, one more shot - bought some Octrivine to try.

      Delete
  7. ahh the weather has been unreal lately!! I'm loving it but I just want to lay about in a bikini!!
    I had shorts on yesterday and was sweating - think a nice loose dress is definitely the way to go!

    Hannah xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bikini - arrghgh. Can't go there. I tried last year and bottled it at the last moment.

      I tried on some denim shorts yesterday ... too hot and sticky. Loose dresses - definitely - preferably in a viscose as the material tends to be thinner. I'm sure you've got a nice dress tucked aways somewhere perfect for this weather.

      Delete
  8. Gosh, this is stunning on you, very model-esque! I generally don't like maxi's or florals these days but I am thoroughly taken by this. I would stick my Grimble's on and go prancing in the breeeze! Love the ruched bodice and tie waist, too. Now all we need is for the weather to last..

    I am ok walking in the sun, but not sitting still. Sat in garden for an hour yesterday and my head swam for the rest of afternoon, and I had had my head covered with a scarf and positioned in the shade! I suppose we just aren't used to it, which explains the lack of air conditioning in most homes:(

    I am scared of opening windows because of severe wasp phobia, too.

    I too suffer allergies in summer time. I never used to until I moved here - many farm fields behind my house, trees, etc. It tends to attack my throat though, rather than the streaming nose. I use a natural salt spray (nasal) which really helps, definitely worth a try!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Now I had you down for florals and prettiness so I'm surprised to hear you don't like florals these days. I like this maxi but don't like any of my other ones - I think I see too many on the school run - it's the safe option for those who want to wear a dress without getting their legs out. And the tie waist is brilliant as it allows me to "shorten" the dress otherwise it would be trailing the floor.

      And I am rubbish in the sun - I like to see it, I just don't like being in it when it's too hot and I invariably spend most of my time inside - part due to heat - part due to hayfever. And believe it or not, after the horrendous hayfever day yesterday - I'm okay today ... just after I bought the Octrivine. Sod's Law.

      Delete
  9. Really like that print on that dress, like the style of dress with nipped in waist , very flattering & fresh looking.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Anne Marie. It is fresh isn't it? And a little bit Provencal. It's the sharpness of the colours against the white - very Med.

      Delete
  10. Great dress Sue - so summery and light. Perfect for this weather. Isn't it fab that we're getting to wear all our dresses - at last!!
    I have 3 kids with hayfever but no remedies except the usual over the counter stuff. Sorry :( It's a pain.
    Enjoy the rest of your weekend - Ax

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Avril - the weather is fab for getting all my long forgotten dresses out. They didn't really get the light of day last year but are making up for lost time this year. I've done a dress a day so far this week - it's brilliant and I've enjoyed wearing them. I couldn't bear to wear jeans in this heat.

      Hayfever - my Ben gets it bad as well - I make him pop an antihistamine each day (like me). Doesn't seem to work for either of us though.

      Weekend nearly over - George's birthday party tomorrow. Helpppppp!

      Delete
  11. Love the dress. Great pattern and it looks perfect for this weather. Sorry I can't help with any hayfever remedies. Touching wood and praising Allah, it's one thing that we DON'T suffer from in my house :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Helen, if you had hayfever as well - I would say, you've been dealt a bad set of cards. Thank goodness you don't have hayfever. And touch wood (my head) you never suffer from it ever.

      Delete
  12. Love the dress on you, the print is the perfect scale. I like them either smallish or really big and exotic (on a skirt to be exact). This year my hayfever has been HORRIBLE! Normally it's only for June but this year I'm still suffering now. I have no idea what else to take because I'm terrified of the sleepy side effects as I have to drive (not far but still) almost everyday. It's just my nose fortunately - I know some people have itchy eyes as well. My son has it bad too, poor boy, my Tween not so bad and my youngest is the only one to escape the faulty gene.
    All I can do is drink plenty of water and try not to be outside too much, which is fine for me because I'm not a sun lover but for a 10 yr old boy, not so much :-(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think I definitely suit the smaller prints rather than the big. I don't think I have anything that is big and exotic or not that I can immediately think of. I have done big stripes before and needless to say, looking back, I'm not going there again.

      This year, it's eyes and nose. I wake up in the night due to the nose - pretty pants eh? And during the day, the eyes are a killer. I have moments when I don't seem to bad and then you get that familiar itch and it all starts up again. You can't tell from the photo but about half an hour before - red raw.

      Delete
  13. Wow! Love this on you! You say you don't do dresses but actually, I think ou do them incredibly well

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love dresses. I don't actually love wearing dresses. Except in this hot weather. Some people swear by them and on days like today, I totally get it but not in the winter with tights and extra layering and all the palaver. Then I find it really difficult. But I still have a lot of them - I just like buying them.

      Delete
  14. ooooooh Sue, you look lover-ley! In fact, you'll fit perfectly in any of the Greek Islands with such a chic summer outfit.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hi Sue! The Zara dress is gorgeous and it really looks a current item too, I love how you diy-ed the shoulders, I think I will try that on one of my dresses as I'm not keen on halter necks either. Thanks for your really lovely comment, would love to see you in the denim maxi once you've chopped/adjusted it- that would be perfect for the weather we're having now!! xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ooh - your comment went in to my spam but fear not - it has been recovered!

      As for the denim maxi - it depends on how willing I am to get out the sewing machine. I'm not actually a very good seamstress. I tend to do botch jobs and get by on a wing and a prayer.

      Delete
  16. Love that dress, gutted it's not this season. Thanks for your comment Sue xxx

    ReplyDelete
  17. This dress looks gorgeous on you. Simple as that. x

    ReplyDelete
  18. Lovely dress. Very hippy chic. I'm the same, when comes summer I do a little print here and there and even color! Really, I do!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I go a little mad in the summer too. The odd print here, an unexpected colour there. But it's good to have a break from the norm isn't it? We don't want to get too predictable do we now?

      Delete
  19. I have a Calypso tunic with a similar print. It's my favorite!

    As far as the hay fever goes, here in the states we take Claritin or Zyrtec... even the children can take the Zyrtec. Seems to help.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Done those ... next!

      No seriously, I've tried Zirtek, Clarytin, Piriton, Beconase and I'm currently on Otrivine which doesn't seem to be working either.

      You've got to love a trier.

      Delete

Susie So So