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It's been a bit of a slow week this week at SoSo Towers. Just taking life slow. It's precious.

Friday Five (1 of 5) Blue Hues

Currently loving the blue hues on the Mango site. Have I told you how much I love blue? I love blue .... a lot.

Friday Five (2 of 5) Woolly Balls

I bought some dryer balls last year for the tumble dryer and used them quite successfully on a down coat of mine. For some reason, I didn't like the idea of tumbling proper tennis balls around as I have visions of them exploding with the heat although I've never heard reports of such mishaps to date. Well, the dryer balls were okay (my coat came out okay) but they are quite hard and really noisy banging around in the drum and I thought they might be a little aggressive on some clothing and besides which they all seem to have gone AWOL. Anyway, going through Home Bargains this week (next to the Lidl so I couldn't resist a nosey in), I found these woolly balls which do the same job. How good they are, I don't know but they've got to be kinder than those plastic ones I used to have. Anyone used them? If they're rubbish, I know Maggie would love them.

Friday Five (3 of 5) Easy Peasy Squeezy Squeezy

I had a bit of an accident this week with a rather full bottle of cooking oil. It was a new bottle and the plastic was a bit flimsy and so when I held it, I inadvertently squeezed the sides and I created my own little oil geyser. Cue silent cursing (boys were in the same room) and copious amounts of kitchen roll to mop up the oily mess. The next day whilst idly browsing instagram stories, I spotted someone's kitchen shelves which were organised to the hilt and she had a little tray of squeezy bottles for her sauces. Lightbulb moment and frantic googling for squeezy sauce bottles commenced.

I did find some on that famous place that begins with A that no one wants to give their money too as the big boss man has already made too many billions to comprehend but as I'm not going out anywhere at the moment to look for squeezy sauce bottles, I ordered myself a little set. Please don't judge me, however ... you can get them cheaper from Ikea as and when it opens again and I'm sure there are a lot of other places which have them if you have the patience and tenacity to seek them out. You might not even want any but they are quite useful for squirting oil accurately where you want it and they make you feel a little "Mastercheffy".

Friday Five (4 of 5) Suckered

Ding! 20% off at COS if you're signed up as a subscriber. Well I'm signed up as a subscriber and it is one of my favourite places to browse. I don't fit in a lot of their stuff admittedly (and thankfully) and a lot of their shapes are just a little too exaggerated on someone of my proportions but there is the odd nice little piece which I pick up from season to season. The blue top and the balloon joggers caught my eye. When I see stuff like that, I like to put them in a collage with stuff that I have similar in my wardrobe to see how it's all going to work together. Some people have a massive trying on fest, I knock up collages. It's like the 2021 version of paper dolls.

The CoS Windbreaker top, I just love the sporty shape of it and teamed with dark denim which I already have, I think it cuts quite a sharp silhouette.

The little bags - I'm forever looking at either great big huge totes or teeny weeny small bum bags, the latter of which I love for housing gloves, phone and poo bags on my daily dog walks.

And I'm liking the new shape 327 New Balance which is quite different from their previous styles. I missed out on the the 327 Staud collaboration with New Balance (I still search in vain) but that pair up there is a nice alternative - clean and crisp.

I have to say, I've been pretty impressed with the padded coats from Reserved. I have the longer version of that cropped green one up there and when my friend saw me in it, she said "Where's that from?" so I take that as I chose a nice looking coat. The proportions of mine are good for a smaller person and it doesn't overwhelm but I'm pretty sure the cropped version would work similarly. I just like having my bum covered.

And the balloon joggers. I have resisted joggers all through lockdown. But these could be the ones to turn me.

Friday Five (5 of 5) Cuppa Tea Time

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Last Note :

• I also find sellotaping a bit of kitchen roll round the sides of an oil bottle helps to catch drips and stops you having to handle a greasy oil bottle. It works though it's not pretty.

• Weekly weigh in. This is like going to Slimming World but I don't have to pay for not having reached my target yet. Down a lb.

 Hello peeps. I'm still here and I'm as amazed as you. Shall we start?

Friday Five (1 of 5) Londoners in London

I mentioned on Instagram Stories just before Christmas that my favourite account at the time was parisiensinparis - it seems to be someone going around Paris taking candid shots of real life people wearing real clothes ... stylishly. Nothing posed or dressed up for IG. Well guess what? I've just found milanesiamilano - someone going around Milan taking candid shots of real life  people wearing real clothes .... stylishly. 

And just for the hell of it, I wondered if there was someone going around London taking candid shots of real life  people wearing real clothes .... stylishly. Well look what I found -  londonersinlondon  !

Not going to lie - the London account needs a bit of work. The pic above is one of the better pics done well and discreetly. On some of the pics, they've scrubbed the faces out to be assure anonymity but it just looks a little unprofesh in my opinion but it's early days. There's room for improvement but at least someone had the gumption to run with it. #harshbutfair

Friday Five (2 of 5) Lockdown Pasttimes

So remember when adult colouring in books were a bit of thing? I don't mean colouring books of people in the nuddy. You know, where they had intricate patterns and you had to very carefully colour in your lovely picture without going over the lines with your new pack of colouring pens bought specially? They were meant to be therapeutic. Well, I never liked them. Give me a numerical dot to dot any day instead. Speaking of which, I picked one up in the Pound Shop once and didn't pay that much attention to it until I had to occupy my youngest and his mate one morning and gave them a page each to complete out of the book. I was quite tickled when they gave me their pages back. It turned out my Extreme Dot to Dot Book was of Classic Pin Up Girls. Anyway, new thing on the block that I spotted on my Costco trip this week .... stickers!

 It's like doing a jigsaw without the pieces going everywhere! And you get a little masterpiece when you finish which you can frame as the pics look pretty cool. Suitable also for kids who have lots of tenacity and patience though if you're anything like me, you'll probably want to take over and do it yourself.

Friday Five (3 of 5) Scarfing Around

I've got a couple of Burberry cashmere scarves - this is not a humble brag or anything. I didn't buy any of them, I seem to have acquired them from other people over the years. But they've been due a clean for some time and I've been putting it off and as the dry cleaners weren't open, I took matters in to my own hands and bunged them in the washing machine on a cool wool wash at 20 degrees with a couple of jumpers and prayed. Well thankfully they didn't shrink or assume a boiled wool texture but they were a bit crumpled when they came out. I was worried that the creases would set in if I were to let them dry as they were and I wouldn't be able to get the scarves looking good again so what I did was lay them on the ironing boad whilst they were damp, smoothed them out and then lightly ran my iron over them, literally skimmimg the surface. There's no pressure applied here - it doesn't need it. All the proper Cashmere aficionados out there are now going 😱 but the idea was that the heat would relax the creases out. You could probably achieve with a steamer as well but I prefer to do it with an iron so I can lie it flat on the board as I "press". Then leave on a bannister to dry gently overnight.

Anyway, they've turned out beautiful, they smell better and the wool even seems a little bouncier than before. Woohoo.

Friday Five (4 of 5) Inspired

I saved that outfit below that I spotted on the Studio Nicholson IG account. I just loved the colours and the shape. So I took the inspo and ran with it to COS and came across lots of lovely stuff.

Friday Five (5 of 5) Not Proud

This home learning thing really brings it home how much you don't know these days or can't remember or just chose to forget. Anyway, when the youngest didn't understand something on his maths today, I offered to pay my eldest to tutor him. It was above the minimum wage so I think he did alright for half an hour's work.

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Last Note :

• Weekly weigh in. I'm down another lb. Do the pot stirring happy dance.

Hi peeps! Yup, I'm here again. I couldn't really do a Friday Five last week and then disappear for another half year so I'm back with some more stuff and nonsense.

Friday Five (1 of 5) Levis 501 Indigo Straight Jeans

Well I did it. I bought myself a pair of Levis 501s with no stretch, no pre-fading or special washes. A raw denim for me to imprint my own life story. Dramatic or what? I know, I know, but it's something that I have to do. I need to get this out of my system once and for all. I first started investigating raw denim jeans in 2013 (see my post here) but could never quite muster up the enthusiasm and dedication to commit to wearing one pair of jeans ... a lot. But I saw this pair of 501s online and they looked so perfect, I had to give it a go. One thing though as I pulled them on, the fact that they have no stretch certainly makes you wonder what you're letting yourself in for but they do say, they're meant to be tight and will gradually loosen as you wear them and they will mould to your body. A few sumo squats helps though to loosen them a smidge and I've been trying them on daily and I swear they are just getting a teeny bit easier to fasten.  We might be cooking on gas here.

Friday Five (2 of 5) Blundstone Boots

I love shoes, I love boots, I love trainers and there doesn't go a week or a Friday Five when I'm not wittering on about some kind of footwear or other. I've currently got it in my head that I want a pair of Blundstone boots. I did spot them on the Toast website last year but they didn't fully enter my consciousness - I think I was still all over the Grensons at that point. However, having sold my Grensons as I wasn't getting the wear out of them, I've decided that I would now like a nice pair of boots which are easy to put on and comfortable i.e. no laces which I can wear for walking the dog through the forest. I don't want to spend all my life in a pair of wellies for the foreseeable and I can't imagine they are good for my feet long term. The easier they are to put on, the more likely I am to wear them - I didn't wear the Grensons as I hated lacing them. And what has alerted me to the Blundstone boots all of a sudden? Erica from A History of Architecture, that's what. She wears them for about 80% of her IG feed - they go with everything and she has a dog which she walks in them. Sold to me as I have a dog which I need to walk - I can relate. So I've narrowed it down to the Blundstone Chisel Toe model 1306 in Rustic Brown ...

Blundstone Dress Boot 1306

... and I've read the reviews and sent the links to the hubs as I've asked if I can have them for my birthday. He says "maybe". Which is not what I want to hear, I want a definite "yes or no" because if he's not getting them for me, do I need to get on the case myself? Drums fingers impatiently.

Friday Five (3 of 5) Snow

Well it's been a few years since we've properly had snow i.e. enough to make a snowman. And it was lovely the first day when it was nice and crisp and even (yes I borrowed from Good King Wenceslas) and horrid the next when some of it was slush and the rest was ice. Hope it melts soon. Over it.

Friday Five (4 of 5) E45 Spray

I first came across the E45 spray in Costco and thought it looked interesting. It appealed to the inherently lazy part of me - a quick spritz of body moisturiser, quick rub, absorb and you're good to go. I'm not one of those who like a fancy looking pot and have to stick my fingers in, gauging out a dollop of cream and then spend ten minutes slathering it around. Infact I only do the spray moisturiser if I'm looking particularly grey and scary but if you're as lazy as me on the old beauty front - this is a quick win.

Friday Five (5 of 5) Greaseproof Paper

I am so late to the party with this. I've had a roll of greaseproof/baking paper sat in my kitchen drawer for a good ten years. I've never had to replenish on the grounds that I never really used it and I didn't bake if I could help it. However, I ran out of foil one day and lined a tray with it and popped some panko breadcrumbed chicken pieces on and lo and behold, when I lifted them off, they weren't stuck to the foil like they sometimes are and I didn't have to pick off any silvery bits. I was astounded. So now I use baking paper instead of foil - where appropriate. It's brilliant. I am a convert.

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Last Note :

• I think I've lost 1lb this week. 

I'm not short of a pair of trainers and I have trainers I love and wear to death and some I look at and pass over. I know I favour a white trainer (first pair of white Adidas Stan Smiths were worn to death and lasted five years and got me through a three day city break in Amsterdam walking 12 hours a day) and I don't get on with black trainers (Nike Roshe One - still have them - worn about five times - couldn't even pass them on to the youngest) besides which I always feel like they look like full stops at the end of my legs. I also like a classic tennis style trainer more than a running style. And I love a pair of Golden Goose though they are ruinously expensive. I like my Nike Air Max Ones - they just feel a little more urban and make an outfit a little cooler. And I like my Novestas though they be more plimsoll than trainer and they are the perfect summer shoe and go with everything. Somehow, I put those on and everything falls in to place and they are a darned sight more comfy and supportive than Converse. 

I digress. I decided I would look at the Vejas again after missing out on the Autry (American retro brand) trainers stocked at Mercantile Clothing. I didn't pull my finger out when Debra (owner) had the most delicious pair of white ones with an aubergine coloured soled and trim and they sold out promptly and no more were to be had. Autry in women sizes in the UK seem to be like gold dust. Live and learn. Live and learn. See them, buy them, decide later. Or not in my case and be forever doomed to wonder what might have been. I'm being a bit melodramatic here.  I digressed again. I stopped blogging for half a year and now you can't shut me up. Go figure.

Anyway, after reading various reviews about the overlong tongues on the Vejas which dig in and hurt and had people up in arms and crying (I may have made up the bit up about the crying), I was a bit put off. But I had a chat with my mate Michelle who did have a pair of Vejas and she said they didn't really come up that much higher than the Adidas Stans. So I bit the bullet and I ordered the Veja V12's in white with neutral detailing to go with everything. They arrived - they were lovely looking trainers but they were just "nice". If you're going to pay a bit for a pair of trainers, they need to be more than just "nice" don't they? Where did I go wrong? I basically had played it too safe. I needed them to have a little something to bring them to life for me. So I ended up ordering the V10s with the fluro orange heel trim and I also thought it would make sense to see the V10s and V12's actually next to each other before I sent the V12's back and regretted it if I didn't like the V10s. You know how some things grow on you over time - the V12's might have been slow burners. One thing of note - I smiled when I opened the box with the V10s in and caught a little flash of the coloured trims. I put those on and they felt like me. Just remember this is all personal and relative - fluro orange trims are not for everyone however they just work for me. You be you and I'll be the one with the fluro orange trims.

So I guess you'll want to know what I think about the Vejas in general? Well I've not actually had them that long nor places to go to try them out properly (Lockdown 3 at time of writing) but this is what I have surmised from first impressions. I also keep focusing on the tongue of the Vejas as this is the area which causes the most complaints.

• The V12's feel a little stiffer on compared to the V10s. I'm not sure if it's because the pair I chose had suede parts on the V10s which just make that model a little comfier but they just felt better on first try. But both are not as immediately comfy as say a pair of Adidas Stan Smiths.

• The tongues on both the Vejas do come up high on the foot but only just fractionally more than Stans. For comparison I noted that the tongue on a pair of Adidas Stans is also high but considerably more padded (see below) and curves gently in the middle so it lies better against your foot without jabbing in. 

• The tongue on the V10 is not padded whereas the V12 is lightly padded/lined which adds a little stiffness to the leather tongue and why I think it feels a little "sharper" and may dig in to the top part of your foot a little bit more than the V10.

• I'm not sure how much the tongue on the V12 will soften over time but from googling, people tend to slide the tongue to the side to minimise this problem. This is okay if you don't mind a lopsided tongue but I know this drives me mad on the Adidas Stans as I'm forever trying to straighten them back up. But sliding the tongue to the side on the Vejas to make them more comfortable is apparently a thing and a recognised Veja hack.

• The V12's feel a little dressier and smarter than the V10's which have a slightly more casual and sporty vibe to them with the perforated detailing. 

• Both the V10s and V12s appear to be true to size for me and the fit on both is quite similar with no toe pinching going on. I know some people say they come up big but I guess that depends on whether you have a slimmer or wider foot. I can wear a thin sock with both styles comfortably but not a thicker sock. I might mention at this point that Clarks Shoes had my feet down as being wide fit when I was a child and nearly made me cry when they said they only had these Clarks Polyvelts which fitted me. I refused them outright as I considered them crimes against fashion - I can't believe they are still being sold forty years on!

• Both pairs seem fairly supportive and the sole is cushioned adequately. In fact I don't think there will be much breaking in with my V10s.

• Last but not least, the back of the V10s come up a fraction higher than the V12's - not a problem unless there is a chance that they might rub your ankles if you have problems in that area.

So I hope that helps you understand my thought process a little. I like the Vejas (both styles) and I haven't come across any real discomfort wearing the V10s around the house so far and a couple of 2km walks around the village. If the tongue starts to dig in which it hasn't so far I'll just put a padded plaster at the top of my foot and try again. And failing that - my contingency plan when lockdown is over is to take them to the cobblers to get them to cut about 1.5cm off the length of the tongue half way down and then restitch it back on so it sits lower down on my leg. The stitched join would be hidden by the laces. Now that's a plan eh?

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Last Note :

• Generally, the lower the tongue on the trainer, the more flattering it is on the leg. My Golden Goose trainers have tongues which sit much lower and are more flattering on the leg as they show off more ankle.

• This post is really more an observation than a review but it might help if you have been considering the Vejas. I favoured the V10's and V12's as I preferred the profile of these compared to the Esplar and Campo which are a little simpler in design. The soles on the Esplar and the Campo are slimmer/flatter which I didn't really want - I like bouncing down the road. #boing

• Whilst breaking in the V10s around the village, I was wearing socks to prevent any potential rubbing - I know some people think I'm a bit daft but I'm certainly not a masochist.