A Nice Day
Tuesday, 27 May 2014
Yesterday, it was a Bank Holiday, the sun shone and the boys went to my sister. Whoo hoo!
Uniqlo cashmere cardigan, Uniqlo shirt, SusieHo bracelet, Zara jeans, Zara bag, H&M Swedish Hasbeens
So the Grumps and I snuck out for lunch with friends in Halifax! Yay!
And as it was a relaxed kind of day, I wore a relaxed kind of outfit. Quite a monochromatic palate bar the very red Swedish Hasbeens. I've only ever worn them for 5 mins on the school run, nipping out of the car and back in again which doesn't really count so yesterday was a proper outing for them and I managed quite well in them to say they were on my feet for most of the day. I did have a little help with some gel insoles which are similar to these Secret Soles as I thought they might give me some extra grip and some cushioning against the hard wood. Be kind to your feet is my mantra and then they won't hurt you :o)
And look! A picture of me in a mirror which is not my usual home mirror! I have to say, it does need a little clean though.
And because the Grumps was in such a good mood, he took a rare pic of me!
Man - those shoes are bright aren't they?
.... because he was having such a nice day and not too grumpy :o)
Hope you all had a nice Bank Holiday everyone!
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Last Note :
- The glitter heart bracelet I'm wearing is on back order at the moment. If anyone wishes to order, they can but I'm afraid it won't be despatched till next week. Sorry.
Blue
Thursday, 22 May 2014
Last Thursday I went down to London for the day for My Wardrobe's A/W 2014 presentation at the Spirit of Summer Fair at Olympia. Not very much different in terms of trends from last year - just some tweaks here and there but My Wardrobe are hoping to bring in some newer, more affordable brands to sit alongside the big guns next season.
I also got to catch up with some lovely blogging buddies. Michelle, Marlene, Natalie, Donna, Andrea and Frances whilst I was there. It's always nice to be able to spend some time catching up with people who you initially get to know virtually and who manage to become more than that. And last Thursday was the first day of the glorious weather we started having and so I thought a tee and a jacket would be good for the day. I hear London gets hot and stuffy when it gets hot and stuffy and it's always easy to just strip off a jacket.
River Island jacket, J Crew linen tee, APC bag, Topshop necklace
Now I love this little jacket. It's unlined so it's not too warm, yet it has that almost "quilted" look about it which is part of the actual weave. I don't always get on with jackets believe it or not. I don't do blazers very well as they make me feel a little too polished but that's not to say I don't have one but I find that I don't naturally reach for them. But this jacket is a nice easy throw on. And it reminds me of the blue jacquard Zara one which I bought last year and returned - similar hues but this one is less distinct in it's design.
And dare I say it .... it has shades of Isabel Marant about it? Cue photo evidence .....
So it's nice that it has a Marant'ish feel about it but without the price tag as this one cost £20 from River Island. Whoop whoop! Not my usual hunting ground and I'm not even sure how I came to be browsing on the website but I spotted it in the sale section and there was a size 8 left and I wasn't sure whether it would fit. So I started the telethon around the country trying to track it down in a 10. Yes there were 3 in some branch in London somewhere but I didn't really want to put my London based niece through another mega fashion hunt so I decided to let it go. But I kept sneaking back on the website .... just incase some more sizes showed up. And lo and behold - sizes 8 & 10 popped up, so in they both went in to the online basket. And I kept the 10. When I returned the size 8 to the shop, the River Island sales assistant cooed over it. Me happy :o)
So a good score for me with this jacket. What's your best designer lookalike steal this season? And yes I'm gutted I missed those Dune "Jolene" Marant lookalike slides. I snoozed! Can't win them all eh?
Meau Guaw
Tuesday, 20 May 2014
These make me laugh. If you say these out loud phonetically, in Chinese "meau" is cat and "guau" is dog.
It's nice to know the design bods have a sense of humour at Zara. It also reminds me of teeshirts with "pig" in Chinese characters which I saw in C&A in the eighties and people bought them and didn't realise what they said :o)
That is a true fact.
Boho in a Kate Moss for Topshop Embroidered Top
Wednesday, 14 May 2014
So - did anyone actually pick up anything from the Kate Moss Topshop collaboration then? I didn't intend to as I thought it was a bit out there actually for a suburban mum with all the suede fringe jackets and sparkly offerings but hey ho, I got myself sucked in to the hype and ordered this embroidered smock top. The most wearable thing I could choose from all that there was and which I thought might actually work with my style.
And I didn't really have very high hopes for it and did wonder what I was doing after I hit the button but I have to say, I liked it more than I thought I would after trying it on.
I tried it with my usual combo of boyfriend jeans and sandals. That works.
Zara Jeans (old), Carvela Krimble Sandals (old)
And also with a change of shoes to silver espadrilles. That works too.
Zara Silver Espadrilles (old)
And then I thought I'd go the whole hog and get out the skinny bootcuts again. I seem to do this once a year. I see someone rocking something similar with a bit of a seventies vibe about it and I'm off again channeling my my inner seventies child.
Yet again, I'm not wholly convinced by the mini bootcuts but I am taking comfort in the fact that Wendy and Blair pulled some mini bootcuts out earlier on in the year so they can't be all bad. I actually think I need a pair of skinny flares to pull off the look in a more convincing manner but then again I'm scared of wearing anything much wider and flapping down the street.
I actually ordered this top in a size 10 originally. And it was humongous. So I went and ordered the next size down. And whilst I was waiting for that to arrive, I happened to read a post by Natasha on Wear and Where about how this top ran big and how she had sized down by two sizes even though she was pregnant. So then I had to go and get it another size down from that. So third time lucky and I am now in a size 6 though I know I'm a healthy 10. I know it's supposed to be loose and swingy, but there's loose and swingy and there's circus tent!
Oh this is a nice little bonus - it even has little sequins on the back. You know how many tops only have the embroidery and design running along the front and then go all cheapskate around the back? At least this one continues with some sequin detailing on the back. Good call Kate.
So quite an interesting little top. I had the opportunity to wear it out the other night but I didn't. I hadn't made my mind up entirely at that point. A few days on, I think I'm about 80% convinced it's a keeper. What do you think?
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Last Note :
Basically, this top is great if :
- You want to look like you made a bit of an effort without trying too hard.
- You want to pig out in a joyous manner as it conceals all sins.
- You're a closet boho hippie chick.
- You're pregnant. Which I'm not!! Well maybe but only with a little food baby :o)
Rue Madame Sweatshirt
Wednesday, 7 May 2014
I love Joanna. Joanna is my little accomplice to my shopping crimes and she's based in Atlanta. She helps me score things over there that I can't get or which have sold out over here. Like one of my Uniqlo silk spotty shirts and this Madame Rue APC sweatshirt which I'd been eyeing up all last season. When it went in the sales over here, I wasn't quick enough and they sold out in my size but an internet trawl brought it up in my size in .... Barneys in the U.S.
"Hi Joanna, how the devil are you? You couldn't do me a favour could you? You could? Well, I've seen this lovely APC sweatshirt in my size - would you be so kind as to order me it? You would? You're a doll!"
APC Sweatshirt, Zara Jeans, Carvela Krimble Sandals
We did the handover in February when she came over for our bloggy meet. I was in no rush - you know me, buy and hoard and wear the following year. Infact, this one has spent a relatively short time in the wardrobe unworn. It's only been a couple of months since I got it.
I'm wearing this in a size small. It's quite a neat fit and not overly long in the body. The sleeves are the perfect length on me so I think anyone who was taller and with longer arms would not have fared too well with this. Usually I have the opposite problem where everything is a little long in the arms and the body so this is quite a novelty to find something with sleeves which fit me.
By the way, the above will be my uniform for the next few months and you will be very bored of it if you are not already. Jeans, tan sandals/espadrilles and a top of some sort - I like it, it works, it's comfortable, I'm boring.
Anyway, I'm up to my old tricks again. "Hi Joanna, you couldn't do me a favour could you? ......." :o)))
Instagram Life
Sunday, 4 May 2014
Sorry for the radio silence. I got waylaid by life. You know how it is sometimes but I've still been instagramming as and when I remember. It seems so much easier - a quick snapshot of a moment in time and not too many words.
So this is a quick summary of what has been happening in my Instagram world of late .....
- Eating yummy ice creams from the ice cream van. It was a Friday, the weather was nice, the boys were good, so we had a treat from the ice cream man. And he's got new flavours in so I thought it was only right to try the chocolate cookie and vanilla flavour complete with raspberry juice. No sprinkles or flake for me! And don't you think the sound of the ice cream van just conjures up memories of childhood?
Yum Scrum!
- Sitting in a lot of parks when the weather has been nice. You do this a lot when you have young children.
It's a hard life (honest - it does get boring).
- Making chicken salad sandwiches for dinner. This was so easy peasy - even for someone who hates cooking like me. Basically take some small fillets of chicken breast, squeeze some lemon juice over, throw on some oregano and some salt and pepper. Pan fry or put on a grill pan. Stick in a nice cloud soft bread bap with some salad and mayo. Yum.
Healthy and deelish!
- Following Mr Cockerel around to snap his pic. Quite a photogenic little chap isn't he? He'd strayed out of his field and on to the park where my boys were hanging out.
Cock-a-doodle-dooo!
- Enjoying my perry (pear cider) reward for weeding the garden and finally getting it ready for planting. That was blooming hard work believe me!
Pear cider - cheers!
- And after the weeding comes the planting. The sugar snap peas are in! These are planted for the sole purpose of the boys picking them and eating them fresh from the pods and not for the Grumps dinner which he moans about. And those huge leaves belong to the whacking great rhubarb plant behind it. I live in The Rhubarb Triangle - shame I'm not keen on the stuff.
Rhubarb & peas.
- And last but not least ..... standing in and around bushes trying to take artistic shots of my feet. These are my Kooples slipper shoes which I got a little while back but have only just started coming out to play as the weather has improved. The raspberry coloured trim on them makes them a little more cheery than if they had been full on khaki & grey. Even I need to do a little colour sometimes.
Now that's pattern matching for you!
So that's basically a quick little update on what is happening in my world at the moment. What's been happening in yours?
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Last Note :
- Follow me on Instagram here.
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