Outfit: Sunday Night Out

The young man and his friend came home from their day out and said we were going out for a meal. So I showered and changed and we headed to Frankie & Benny’s for a relaxing Sunday evening.

Teal cord jacket – Oasis
White long sleeve t – Tall Girls
Jeans – Dorothy Perkins Tall
Red shoes – Next
Red beads – eBay
Red bangles – Primark

Total Est. Cost £65

Outfit: Lazy Sunday

Spending Sunday just pottering about the house. I made some flapjack and walked to the shop for chocolate to go on the top of it.
It’s the last day of August so I guess that makes it officially Autumn tomorrow.

Blue cardi – Ethel Austin
Blue tank – Topshop
Jeans – Gap
Blue flats – Ethel Austin
Blue heart necklace – Scope
Blue & silver bangles – Oxfam

Total Est. Cost £60.50

Outfit: Saturday Night

We are heading to Pizza Hut this evening to meet some friends for a meal, then going to the local pub for a few drinks and a game of pool.

Pink jacket – Long Tall Sally (eBay)
Green top – Long Tall Sally
Jeans – Gap
Black flats – Priceless Shoes
Pink flower – Primark

Total Est. Cost £60

Winter Coat Number 3

I said back at the start of the summer that I was looking for a new winter coat that wasn’t black or brown. Well, now I have 3! I got this third (and final) one this morning at Great Clothes. It is by Vila and was on sale for just £20. I am thinking it will be useful as a transition piece due to the short sleeves, and then I will be able to wear my elbow length gloves with it once it gets colder.

Outfit: Saturday Shopping

I met up with a friend this morning to check out a seconds discount store that she’d heard about just outside the city. It didn’t turn out to be up to much and so we stopped off at Great Clothes on the way back. I bought (another) coat – pictures to follow.

Red shrug – charity shop
Grey tank – Cherokee @ Tesco
Jeans – Gap
Red patent flats – Dorothy Perkins

Total Est. Cost £24

Why I Love: My Gap Left-Weave Jeans

I bought these jeans about 3 or 4 years ago I think (see today’s outfit picture). At the time ‘Left Weave’ was the Gap’s big jeans-marketing campaign. “It’s just a gimmick” said the young man when I told him that the denim was softer because of the left weave. But really, it wasn’t. These jeans have no stretch in them, yet they are the most comfortable jeans I have ever owned. The length is perfect – the can be worn with flats and also with a low heel. They fit me well and I always feel great in them. They are my favourite pair of jeans and have been for some time now.
But here’s the thing. They are now irreplaceable. For all the fuss the Gap made about left weave at the time, it is now nowhere to be seen. And since the Gap in the UK reduced the length of their long leg length, I can no longer purchase their jeans at all as they are now too short. Oh and did I mention that the US website which carries all the Tall sizes does not ship to the UK?
My beloved jeans have already started to wear out so I will just have to patch them up as best I can until they fall apart completely.

Outfit: Mint and Red Friday Layers

It’s casual Friday once again and even though this has been a short 4 day week, it still seems a long time since Monday. I have friends coming over tonight so I needed heels that weren’t too high for running around Tesco after work buying supplies.

Red shrug – Charity shop
Mint green top – Long Tall Sally
Jeans – Gap
Red shoes – Barratts
Red beads – eBay
Red glitter bangles – Primark

Total Est. Cost £72

Outfit: Singalong Mamma Mia!

Last night my sister & I went to see Mamma Mia the Movie again but this time it was a singalong version. If you have not yet seen this fabulous movie, go this weekend. It’s fantastic! And if you can find a singalong version, even better!

Black wrap top – Long Tall Sally (eBay)
White top – Tall Girls
Jeans – Gap
Leopard print scarf – Ethel Austin
Leopard print shoes – New Look (eBay)

Total Est. Cost £72

Update: Twitter Pop Ups

Anonymous suggested I (you) was getting the ‘sign in to Twitter’ pop ups because my Twitter updates were protected. I have unprotected them now and that seems to have solved the problem. Fingers crossed!

Outfit: New Dress!

This dress arrived yesterday and it’s fab! I have put a shrug over it but the sun is peeking through the clouds (shock, horror!) and so if it warms up later on I have short sleeves ready to go. Ordinarily I would have put teal eye shadow on to match the dress, but I have a stye and my left eyelid is all swollen, so no eye makeup for me for a while. I will have to be all about the lipstick for a few days instead.

Teal dress – Long Tall Sally (eBay)
Black shrug – unknown
Black obi belt – ASOS
Black tights – Silkies
Leopard shoes – New Look (eBay)
Silver cross necklace – gift from my little sister
Teal & silver bangles – Accessorize

Total Est. Cost £54

eBay Bargain: Teal Dress

I paid £14.99 for this dress on eBay which isn’t bad considering it was around £59 in Long Tall Sally this time last year. I can’t remember whether the seller said it was new or not, but it’s in perfect condition and I’m very pleased with it. It is a perfect transition piece – it’s a knit fabric but has short sleeves in case we get any warmer days. There are so many ways to wear it, I’m excited to try them out! I’m wearing it as is today, but it was pictured in the LTS with a black polo neck underneath and I’m sure a white shirt underneath would also work. Then there are coloured belts and tights you can add to it, and it would be great for a party as well as for work.

Bored of ‘Summer’

I was looking back at the last two years on my blog last night and at around this time each year the same thing happens: I get bored of ‘summer’. I long to be able to wear a winter coat and boots without sweltering, and all of the new fall looks start to filter into the magazines and shops, making me covet greys and browns and sweater dresses. Last year, because of all the rain, many of my boots had to be dug out long before July was out. This year has been wet, but not as wet as last year I don’t think. Certainly we have not seen such widespread flooding as last year (though Northern Ireland got it in the neck about 2 weeks ago) but we have still had more than our fair share of rain. All this has meant a distinct lack of summer and little or no opportunity to wear any summer clothes. It just hasn’t been sunny or warm enough. I bought a new dress back in about May, and I think I have worn it twice, both times with a cardi over the top for warmth. You will have noticed that I have already started with the coloured tights. That is because it has just not been warm enough to go bare-legged. I know this will attract comments from people admonishing me for wishing ‘summer’ away, but really, the way it’s been behaving this year, will we really be all that sad to see it go?

Outfit: New Sweater

My Next sweater that I ordered last week arrived yesterday. I don’t think that’s too bad a service considering they said 1-2 weeks for delivery and Amber warned me to expect a longer delay. The colours haven’t come out particularly well on today’s photo, but there are several diamonds of deep purple in it, hence why I’ve paired it with purple tights. I’m very impressed with the proportions in the Next Tall line. The sleeves and body length are just right.

Black Argyle pattern sweater – Next
Black skirt – Dunnes
Purple tights – New Look
Black platform shoes – Ethel Austin

Total Est. Cost £46.50

Note To Self…

… under no circumstances must you ever visit the retail park again on a Tuesday. The traffic is gridlock and it will take you ages to get home.

This Week I Will Be Mostly…

…wearing my recent purchases
…reading ‘Neither Here Nor There’ by Bill Bryson
…watching whatever’s on
…listening to the ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ soundtrack
…eating fish
…shopping on eBay

Outfit: Tuesday

It’s dull outside so this teal skirt provides a pop of colour to cheer me up. I think it gave up getting light at about 7.30 this morning and decided to stay dark.

Black waistcoat – Next
White shirt – Next
Teal skirt – H&M
Black boots – New Look
Teal necklace – Scope
Teal & silver bangles – Accessorize

Total Est. Cost £64

Weekend Recap

Saturday morning we headed off to Lincolnshire to visit some friends. Their daughter is the young man’s god daughter. We stopped off for lunch on the way, and arrived mid-afternoon. The weather was good for once so we spent the afternoon in the garden and then had a BBQ for tea. The young man and his friend did home made beef burgers that were delicious. In the evening, once the children were in bed, we played on the Wii that we had taken down with us.

White t – New Look
Black waistcoat – Next
Jeans – Gap
Black flats – Priceless Shoes

Total Est. Cost £73

Sunday dawned wet and rainy. We headed down to Sandringham (one of the houses owned by the Royal Family). The weather had cleared up by lunchtime so we enjoyed a picnic lunch and then had a walk around the house, grounds and museum. In the evening we stopped off at a pub for tea and then the young man and I drove home.

Today we got up late (as we were late back last night) and I have been to Tesco whilst the young man worked in the garden. The rest of the day will be spent doing things around the house – washing, ironing, making flapjack.

Black top – Tall Girls (eBay)
Jeans – Gap
Red boots – Nine West (Century 21)
Red beads – eBay
Red glitter bangles – Primark

Total Est. Cost £88

Review: Batiste Dry Hair Shampoo

Some women can get away with washing their hair every other day. Some women can get away with washing their hair once a week. Not me. If I want my hair looking good, I have to wash it everyday. Sometimes though, that’s not possible and that’s where Batiste Dry Hair Shampoo comes in. I had a can of this years ago and was not impressed with it so I don’t know whether I was just using it wrong or whether it’s been improved, but following Amber’s recommendation, I bought another can recently. I’ve used it a few times now and I have to say, it’s great. Clearly it’s not a patch on actually washing your hair, but my hair is second day today and previously I would not have dreamt of wearing it down without a scarf. I put one in my bag today, just in case, but I am pleased to report that I have not needed it. At only £1.99 it’s definitely a bargain beauty buy and the perfect solution for those days when you just don’t have time (or want to) wash your hair.

Gah!

So, anyone else seen Christmas items for sale yet in your part of the world? I was in my local cheapo card shop yesterday and they were putting out Christmas cards. Half of one wall was full of Christmas cards. On August 21st. I asked the girl on the till why they were putting out Christmas cards in August and she said 'well it's the first day innit, we've got to get them out'. I didn't enquire as to what it was the first day of. As far as I'm aware there are still only 12 days of Christmas, not 120! I then asked whether anyone actually buys Christmas cards in August and she said 'well no one's bought any today...'
No, I thought, that would be because it's AUGUST!

Also, if I see a Christmas tree in a pub before the end of August (I saw one on August 29th two years ago), I will be complaining to the manager!

Outfit: Two Belts Friday

OK, you can only actually see one of the belts but I am wearing two! The second one is holding up my jeans. I got this grey top in Ethel Austin yesterday afternoon. It was just £5 in the sale. Long Tall Sally have something similar in their new Autumn collection but it is about £30 and I decided I had spent enough there really. This is a pretty good substitute I think.

These grey shoes have not had much wear this summer – pale grey faux suede and heavy rain is not a good combination! The BBC website promises me today will be dry and so I thought I would seize the opportunity to wear them.

We have friends coming over this evening and then we’re away for the long weekend so I may not have chance to post again until Monday. I’ll try to take pictures though so I can update you when I get back.

Grey sweater – Ethel Austin
White long sleeve t – Long Tall Sally
Skinny jeans – Topshop
Teal belt – Primark
Grey faux suede shoes – New Look (charity shop)

Total Est. Cost £33

Outfit: Out For Tea

We went to the young man’s parents’ house for tea this evening. I just switched my skirt for jeans. I think the waistcoat works pretty well in a more casual outfit too.

Black waistcoat – Next
Teal/green top – Long Tall Sally
Jeans – Gap
Black flats – Priceless Shoes

Teal & silver bangles - Accessorize

Total Est. Cost £59

Outfit: New Items!

There is nothing like having new things to wear for getting me out of bed in the morning. I’ve had to add a black jacket (matches the skirt) over the top for now until the office warms up some. I almost put on boots this morning but as it wasn’t actually raining I went with shoes instead.

Black waistcoat – Next
Green/light teal top – Long Tall Sally
Black skirt – Long Tall Sally
Teal faux suede shoes – Matalan
Teal & silver bangles – Accessorize

Total Est. Cost £70

Online Shopping

I know I said no more shopping until New York, but hey, I’m a woman, I’m allowed to change my mind! When there are limited places you can shop because of your height, if you don’t get in there quickly when the new season ranges arrive you find that whatever item you wanted will be out of stock in your size or colour preference. And so at the weekend I put in a couple of online orders.

Firstly at Next where I saved myself about £22 by buying a waistcoat from there rather than from Long Tall Sally. It’s not the best picture but I hope to be wearing it lots this season.

This sweater is yet to arrive, they estimated 1-2 weeks for delivery when I ordered.

And of course I had to get a few items from Long Tall Sally. These arrived today and I can promise you that I will be living in polo necks this winter.

eBay Bargain: Houndstooth Coat

Although this coat looks checked, up close it’s actually black, white & grey houndstooth. And it was the bargain price of £7. It’s from the Tall range at Dorothy Perkins and fits me perfectly. Now I just need some chilly weather…oh, wait, we’ve already got that!

Reader Mail

The lovely Rachel emailed me with a question about tights:
I was wondering if you know the Wolford tights, I mean the expensive ones like £20 or more??? They look great but are they worth it? What's about them that they cost so much? I think I might go for some but not sure.

I've not tried Wolford tights, they are a bit pricey for me. But from what I hear about them, they are supposed to be worth the money so long as you look after them properly and hand wash them. (But then my motto is ‘Life's Too Short For Hand Washing’ so perhaps it's best I don't invest in them!) Try Googling for a review, there's bound to be one out there somewhere.

My current tights tip is Accessorize. The teal ones I bought at the weekend and wore on Monday are from there. They are 90 denier and I'm sure that the full range of colours is not yet in store as there were only the teal and blue I got, and a red pair I think. The quality is superb. I'll post a review once I see how well they stand up to washing.Thanks for continuing to read!

Beauty Buys

I stopped off at Boots on my way home last night (and what a mistake that was – it is just off a motorway junction and the traffic was a nightmare! It took me 20 minutes to get out of the car park and 35 minutes to get home. It’s usually a 5 minute trip!) because I had 2 £5 vouchers for Ruby & Millie or No7 cosmetics. I used both of them and got some Ruby & Millie nail polish in brown, just to be different, and some No7 nail polish in Iced Mocha (pictured).

I was also pleased that the Urban Decay counter had been restocked and so I got a 24/7 eyeliner in bright blue. I had a card from a magazine for a free sample of an Estee Lauder mascara and so I got one of those too. As I had spent over £5, I got another £5 voucher so it will be back to Boots again at some point to spend that! Handily, WH Smith is just next door and I have 2 vouchers for there that I was given with my purchase on Saturday. Those vouchers are valid from Monday so I’ll wait until next week for my Boots visit too.

Outfit: Bright Layering

I started this outfit with the purple tights and kind of went from there. I took a bit of inspiration from Nic of Domestic Sophisticate for the tunic-over-denim skirt part. And it was definitely time to bring out the yellow heels again. I’ve added a big grey cardi over the top that was in my car, the office is cold again. I’ll take it off when (if) I warm up later.

Yellow dress – Primark (charity shop)
White tank – Topshop
Denim skirt – Topshop (made out of jeans by me)
Purple tights – New Look
Yellow wedges – Priceless Shoes

Silver belt - Primark

Total Est. Cost £19.50

Outfit: Red & Black Tuesday

Rain again. So it was out with the boots this morning. I don’t think they look too wintery when paired with neutral tights. These boots were a total bargain, just 99p on eBay. That’s my cheapest ever eBay find. And I love them because the top section turns up making them truly knee high on me.

Red dress – Luxuriously Tall
Black tank – Cherokee at Tesco
Black boots – New Look (eBay)
Black belt – ASOS

Total Est. Cost £41.99

Why I Love: Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils

I bought a couple of these the other week having seen a review of Urban Decay products on one of the videos on Catwalk Queen. The name is certainly apt because they do indeed glide on.

The best Eye Pencil ever, ever, ever!

says the Urban Decay website and I would be inclined to agree with them. I have the fabulous bright greeny-turquoise shade of Electric. I have used it as eyeliner but because it goes on so well, it also can be used to colour in your entire eyelid in place of shadow.

The site also says:

Never before has a pencil this creamy and brilliant been waterproof, too. Velvety-soft, this never-before-seen formula stays soft and creamy for blending (about 30 seconds), then dries down to a long-lasting finish that WILL NOT budge. Line eyes with a hint of color or go for the full artistic, multi-hued effect with the wide selection of lush tropical hues, deep metallics and unusually vibrant neutrals.

All of this is true – once dry you have a job shifting the colour with make-up remover wipes. My local Boots is sold out of the more vibrant colours at present but I will definitely be checking for the bright blue and the teal each time I go in there in the future.

£9 from Boots

This Week I Will Be Mostly…

…wearing my new teal skirt
…reading the September issue of US Glamour
…watching whatever’s on
…listening to my records now that the young man has fixed the connection to the record player
…eating salmon
…shopping online

Outfit: Back to Work Monday

My holiday is over but fortunately next Monday is a Bank Holiday in the UK so I’ve really only one full week to work then a long weekend. I think I can cope with that! I put on my new skirt this morning as going back to work is so much easier when you have something new to wear. I also went for coloured tights rather than flesh coloured ones and I’m glad I did as it’s raining and windy and not overly warm. I almost put knee high boots on when I saw the rain but thought that would be overkill since it’s still August.

Black sweater – Long Tall Sally
Teal skirt – H&M
Teal tights – Accessorize
Black patent shoes – Matalan
Teal heart necklace – Scope
Teal & silver bangles – Accessorize

Total Est. Cost £58