Shoegal In Top 25 Shoe Blogs!

The lovely Amber has just alerted me to the fact that I have been voted into Shudoo’s Top 25 Shoe Blogs! This has made my day, especially as I have been counted among the greats of Shoewawa and Manolo. I feel so honoured and would like to thank the fabulous people at Shudoo for including me in their list.

Outfit: Peep Toe Shoes

I still don’t feel it’s warm enough yet to expose my legs, but peep toe shoes with tights is a step closer to spring dressing. Loving turquoise as an accent colour this week (possibly something to do with the new turquoise eyeshadow I bought on Thursday). And a cream shrug is far more spring-like than a black one.

Cream silk mix shrug – Long Tall Sally (eBay)
Black & cream print wrap dress – Dorothy Perkins Tall
Black tights – Silkies
Turquoise cami – Dorothy Perkins Tall
Turquoise shoes – New Look (charity shop)
Turquoise necklace – Dorothy Perkins

Total Est. Cost £49.50

Outfit: Choir Practice

I think it is time to retire my polo neck sweaters for the spring (well, perhaps not the black one if it gets cold again). I just felt wrong in the sweater I had on yesterday and with temperature set to reach the giddy heights of 17 degrees later this week (if weather.com is to be believed anyway), then the time is right.
With that in mind, I set about improving the outfit ready for choir practice. I still needed a sweater of some description as the church was unlikely to be very warm but I feel a cardi is less wintery than an actual sweater so that’s what I went for. Also, I realised I didn’t have a picture of the shoes I had on yesterday so that is now rectified.

Black cardi – New Look Tall
Brown long sleeve t – Tall Girls
Jeans – River Island
Turquoise belt (on jeans) – H&M
Beige flats – Evans
Brown & silver scarf – mall market stall

Total Est. Cost £91

This Week I Will Be Mostly…

…wearing my leather jacket and brown & silver scarf
…reading the April issue of US Cosmopolitan magazine
…watching The Flying Doctors on DVD when it arrives from Play.com
…listening to The Proclaimers
…eating vegetables
…shopping for nothing (no, really)

Outfit: Lazy Monday

I knew I would not want to get up this morning, with the time change affecting me the way it did last year. Plus it was light when I got up last week, now it is not quite light again. Hopefully that will only last a week or so. However, it was lovely having sunshine until past 7 o’clock yesterday evening. Anyway, I knew I would be reluctant to get up so would want something easy (and warm) to throw on. When I looked at the first picture though, I decided I don’t like the outfit all that much so I took off the sweater and left my scarf on at work.

Brown polo neck sweater – Long Tall Sally
Brown cord trousers – Tall Girls
Brown long sleeve t – Tall Girls
Brown & silver scarf – mall market stall
Beige flats – Evans

Total Est. Cost £75

Outfit: Sunday Rehearsal

I have a rehearsal for the show this afternoon so it’s just a casual outfit for some singing and dancing. I think this will pretty much be my spring.summer uniform this year – a logo tee with jeans and a cardi, boots or flats, and my leather jacket over the top until the weather warms up a little. It’s lovely and sunny today though, and the clocks changed in the UK this morning so we will have an extra hour of daylight this evening.

Black cardi – New Look Tall
Black ‘High Maintenance’ t – Tall Girls
Jeans – River Island
Silver flats – Faith
Turquoise leather belt – H&M
Turquoise necklace – Dorothy Perkins
Sunglasses – Boots

Total Est. Cost £123

Free Nail Polish at Boots

Boots have an offer on at the moment where you get a free 17 nail polish when you buy anything from the 17 cosmetics range.

Online Shopping: New Look

First thing yesterday morning I was online to take advantage of the 20% discount code at New Look. These goodies should be winging their way to me early next week.

New Shoes

I have a friend at work, C, who is a bad influence on me, persuading me to visit our local Matalan store on Friday lunchtimes. I had been eyeing up these shoes for a while and when I saw they had been reduced to £6, I had to get them.

Outfit: Saturday

The young man and I headed over to visit my parents as my dad’s lawn mower was broken and he wanted the young man to take a look at it and hopefully fix it (he was able to fix it). Then we picked my friend up from the station and my sister came over for a girls’ night in. The young man went out with two of his friends for a posh meal. I am loving the combination of red and turquoise right now.

Red cardi – Long Tall Sally (eBay)
Grey stripe top – Dorothy Perkins Tall
Jeans – River Island
Red patent flats – Dorothy Perkins
Turquoise necklace – Dorothy Perkins
Turquoise bangles – Oxfam

Total Est. Cost £74

A Question…

…to all you US ladies out there: Traditionally, you’re not supposed to wear white after Labor Day, but when is it OK to start wearing it again (sometime in the spring, presumably)?

Dorothy Perkins: 20% Off Everything Online!

No sooner had I written the post below, extolling the virtues of Dorothy Perkins’ online service, I checked my email and saw that they have 20% off online from today until Sunday 5th April.

EDIT: Having investigated further, it seems you need an invitation email to claim the discount. If you would like a copy, email me on the address at the side and I'll forward it on to you.

Outfit: Casual Friday

It’s the first outing for my new Betty Boop t shirt which arrived yesterday. Dorothy Perkins online have great service, online tracking, and they sent me a code for free delivery on my next order, so I will definitely be shopping with them again. My local store is great but not huge, so they don’t always have everything in stock. The t is not from the Tall range, but look how long it is!
We are heading to the young man’s parents’ for tea so I will just keep this on this evening too. I added my red beads after the picture was taken, and I currently have my brown & silver scarf on as someone left the air conditioning on last night and so the office was nice & chilly this morning. I would have put my red flats with this ordinarily, but it is blowing a gale outside and the forecast is for sleet & snow showers, so boots were definitely the way to go.

Black cardi – New Look Tall
Black Betty Boop t – Dorothy Perkins
Jeans – River Island
Brown cowboy boots – New Look

Total Est. Cost £104

Outfit: New Scarf

I went to the Mall last night to buy hair (it’s for the show, I need curls and my hair doesn’t curl, so good old Claire’s accessories came to the rescue with a curl ponytail hair piece). I’ve been looking for a spring/summer scarf for a while but not found one I liked in terms of chunkyness or design. I spotted a stall in the middle of the mall (they have market type stalls all the way along the centre of the main walkway) selling scarves so had a look and bought this rather fab silver and brown one for £6.95. Something similar would have been £10 in a shop. I wore it for choir practice at church last night.

(When I edited the picture I realised that the scarf hasn't come out so well - I'll post a better shot later on.)

Brown leather jacket – New Look Tall
Brown & silver scarf – mall market stall
Jeans – Tall Girls
Turquoise boots – Splash! (eBay)

Total Est. Cost £94

Review: Freedom From Eye Floaters e-Book

I have talked quite a lot lately about eyes and eye sight on this blog, what with getting contact lenses and my new glasses. So when I was asked review an e-book about eye floaters, I thought it would fit in quite nicely with the recent discussions.

Sam Rogers began to suffer from eye floaters when he was around age 30. He consulted various optometrists and was told that same thing: the floaters were generally harmless and there was nothing that could be done about them. There is no official cure. One day he says he “stumbled upon the TRUE secret” whilst travelling abroad, and since then has not been troubled by eye floaters. He has now put pen to paper and revealed his secret in an e-book.

I have read the book and I would say that it is not particularly well written. The grammar is quite poor in places and I find that rather irritating and unnecessary, especially in something I am supposed to have paid for. Paid $29.95 for at that. That’s £20.65 for a 35 page book. Not the best value for money.

The book provides a general description and discussion about eye floaters. Much of the same information is on the eye floaters information website or could easily be found elsewhere on the internet with a simple Google search.

Eye floaters generally harmless, though you should consult and optician if the problem develops for the first time, or an existing problem worsens. However, I could be wrong. I see floaters in front of my eyes, I have done for many years, since I was around 11 years old (which incidentally coincides with the worsening of my short sight or myopia) but as I do not suffer from a persistent condition ie. the floaters do not bother me in the slightest. Perhaps $29.95 is a small price to pay if you are plagued by eye floaters to the point that they drive you to distraction.

Payment of the $29.95 is by Paypal if you do want to buy the book, and it can be ordered here.

Outfit: Neglected Jeans

I love these jeans, but I don’t wear them very often. The trouble is that I think they are longer than they actually are, so I am afraid to wear them with anything less than sky-high heels, for fear that they will drag on the ground and fray at the back. I also see them as ‘best’ jeans as they are so smart, but then I don’t wear them for ‘best’ occasions. They fit really well so I am going to make the effort to wear them more often.

These boots are new – bought in the Barratts sale when I was shopping with my friend about a month back.

Black jacket – Long Tall Sally
Grey check shirt – New Look Tall
Black belt – with shirt
Grey tank – Cherokee at Tesco
Jeans – Tall Girls
Black patent boots – Barratts
Turquoise flower – Primark
Turquoise necklace – Dorothy Perkins

Total Est. Cost £146

Outfit: New Glasses!

I got a call yesterday afternoon to say that my new glasses were ready so I went to collect them on my way home. I decided to keep them on last night and received positive comments from my friends at the theatre group. No outfit picture other than the head and shoulders shot as it was just jeans, and the t shirt and cardi you can see here. I put my dancing shoes on once I got to rehearsal, and wore my yellow flats to get there. I have taken my white dancing shoes to the cobbler to have rubber put on the heels so I don’t slip on stage, so it was back to the black ones last night.

Glasses – George at ASDA
Yellow shoes – Cherokee at Tesco
Black shoes – So Danca (Planet Dance)
Red cardi – Long Tall Sally (eBay)
Mickey Mouse t – Topshop Tall (eBay)

New T Shirt – Betty Boop!

I am so into logo t shirts at the moment, and fortunately they are everywhere in the shops. I have been admiring this one in Dorothy Perkins for some weeks now. Although it is not from the Tall section it looks like it is a good length. I went to my local store yesterday afternoon with every intention of buying it, but alas, they didn’t have it. So I ordered it online in the evening. As the difference in shipping cost was only £1, I opted for the express service and so it should be with me tomorrow. I had a sweatshirt as a child that featured Betty Boop and wore it to death. I don’t know why she has had such a resurgence in popularity of late, but I have seen her featured on tops in George (ASDA), Matalan and New Look as well. I have just looked her up on Wikipedia and it turns out she is a grand dame – she dates back to the 1930s. I never realised this but she made a cameo appearance in the part-animated film ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit?’. Just this year she was voted second sexiest cartoon character (or ‘secind most-sexiest’, as it says on Wikipedia), with Jessica Rabbit in first place.

Outfit: Still Winter

I’ve been cold the past too days so it’s time to stop pretending that it’s spring and face the fact that winter is still with us. Difficult when it’s so sunny that you need your sunglasses on to drive to work, but the air temperature is certainly convincingly cold.

Black polo neck sweater – Long Tall Sally
Purple tank – Long Tall Sally
Black cord trousers – Topshop Tall
Purple belt – Ethel Austin
Purple booties – Priceless Shoes

Total Est. Cost £92

20% Off at New Look

This code is only active for the weekend – 28th & 29th March. Enter MOSTWANTED20 to save 20% on full price items at New Look.

Review: Pinhole Glasses

We all made pinhole cameras as a child didn’t we? Taking a piece of card and making a pinhole in it to use as a focus. Well this basic principle has been used to design pinhole glasses and improve your eyesight. Pinhole technology dates back to the 5th century and has been used for many years as a means of improving eyesight. Pinhole glasses for public use were pioneered in the mid 20th century.

Pinhole glasses are not something I had ever come across before, but they are being marketed as an affordable alternative to prescription eyeglasses. At $14.99 a pair, they are certainly affordable. According to the pinhole glasses website, this product can help you whether you suffer from myopia, hyperopia, presbyopia, astigmatism, computer vision syndrome or cataracts. If you are as blind as I am they will not be a lot of use (they are not recommended for prescriptions for short sight of more than minus 6, I am minus 10), but in minor conditions I can see how the basic pinhole principles could help. The pinholes direct very narrow beams of light into the eye, reducing blur and improving clarity. Pinhole eyeglasses are recommended for use during activities such as reading, computer use, and watching television. They are not to be used whilst driving however (they limit peripheral vision), and for that reason, they cannot be a true alternative to prescription glasses if you require sight correction to enable you to drive. The glasses are available in a range of styles, two of which are pictured.

If you wish to try out the glasses, they can be ordered online for $14.99. The site ships internationally for a flat rate of $4.99 and all orders are aimed to be despatched within 48 hours.

Outfit: Sunny Tuesday

It is lovely and sunny again, although not very warm! My legs were aching yesterday; I think it must have been from the dancing on Sunday. When I got home I just wanted to warm and comfy (I felt cold much of yesterday) and consequently my outfit for choir practice was nothing special, just the old favourite of black polo neck, jeans and EMU boots. I put my leather jacket on top of it and a furry blue scarf.

I was going to wear a red belt and black tights with this dress today, but it would have been the same red belt as yesterday and I fancied a change so went with the purple instead.

Black & cream print wrap dress – Dorothy Perkins Tall
Black shirt – Lee Jeans (Luxuriously Tall)
Purple tights – Accessorize
Yellow wedges – Priceless Shoes
Purple belt – Ethel Austin
Purple necklace – Scope

Total Est. Cost £54

Forced to Buy Shoes

Oh the hardship! I know. We were told on Sunday that we need some flat white shoes for the second half of the show (when we will all be wearing very attractive Victorian nightgowns). So I’ve just ordered these for £8 from Priceless Shoes.

Tall Tip

Look for shirts that have turn back cuffs. When they are unfolded they will give you that bit extra length in the sleeve.

This Week I Will Be Mostly…

…wearing my LTS red cardi, probably
…reading the April issue of Elle magazine
…watching X Files Season 2
…listening to the mix CD that’s in my car
…eating vegetables
…shopping for nothing

Outfit: Monday

I am thinking of chopping the top off this dress to make a skirt. I like denim skirts but I always find that the zip bulges out in a strange way. As this dress is buttoned, I think it would make a flatter skirt. I haven’t worn it for ages and I think I’ve only ever worn it 3 or 4 times as it is.

It is very windy outside today and the sun seems to have gone back into hiding (I think we’ve skipped summer and gone straight back to autumn) so it’s back to the black tights.

Red cardi – Long Tall Sally (eBay)
Denim dress – Miss Selfridge
Black tights - Silkies
Red boots – Goszip (charity shop)
Red belt – market stall

Total Est. Cost £53

Outfit: Busy Sunday

Yesterday was so busy I didn’t even have time to post! I got up and went to church whilst the young man drove off to Lincoln to collect a trials bike he had bought on eBay. I came home at dinnertime and cleaned the bathroom, collected the dry washing off the line and ate. In the afternoon I had a rehearsal for the show (we have them every Sunday afternoon from now until show week). I got home just after five and we had a quick tea before heading out to visit the young man’s parents and then on to his aunt’s house. I’ve come back to work for a rest today!

The first outfit was for church, the second one for the rehearsal – I needed shorter jeans and a longer top for dancing. After tea I changed my top back to the white v neck and waistcoat but kept the second pair of jeans and cowboy boots on as they were comfy.

Black waistcoat – Next Tall
White long sleeve t – Tall Girls
Jeans – Tall Girls
Turquoise leather belt (on jeans) – H&M
Turquoise boots – Splash! (eBay)
Turquoise necklace – Dorothy Perkins
Turquoise bangles – Oxfam

Total Est. Cost £98

Grey cardi – New Look Tall
White ‘shoe slave’ t – Marks & Spencer (black sleeves & bottom added by me)
Jeans – River Island
Brown cowboy boots – New Look

Total Est. Cost £91

Outfit: First Day of Spring

Yes, I know that the first day of spring may have been yesterday, but I have always believed that it was today, the Spring Equinox. However, as the weather has been gloriously sunny all week, it’s all rather by the by anyway.

I am headed out to my sister’s house first up, then we are going to our hometown for a wander around and then to my parents’ for dinner. It is Mothering Sunday in the UK tomorrow so we have gifts and cards to drop off.

Although the sunshine is fabulous, it is still not that warm (but we have been promised the giddy heights of 14˚C today) so I am layered up, in case I feel warmer later.

Red cardi – Long Tall Sally (eBay)
Blue & red t – Topshop Tall (eBay)
Jeans – River Island
Brown cowboy boots – New Look
Brown leather jacket – New Look Tall
Blue silk scarf – Accessorize
Red beads – eBay
Sunglasses – Boots

Total Est. Cost £125

Outfit: Opimistic Friday

When I was taking pictures at 6.30am, the sunglasses seemed a little optimistic given that it was 3˚C and cloudy. However, I have been promised sunshine for later on by two BBC weather reporters and who am I to question that? I briefly considered wearing my turquoise peeptoe shoes but it’s still far too chilly on a morning for bare feet just yet.
Anyway, it’s Friday! Woo hoo! Friday is Sandwich Day in my office – we all get hot sandwiches delivered around 10am. Mine is always a bacon and sausage. Consequently, I don’t eat as much breakfast on a Friday and have more time for playing around with the pictures so that is why you have 3 today.
Oh and this cardi? Totally my favourite item of clothing right now.

Red cardi – Long Tall Sally (eBay)
White ‘Yes, I’m very tall’ t – Café Press
Boyfit jeans – River Island
Red patent flats – Dorothy Perkins
Turquoise bead necklace – gifted
Turquoise earrings – gifted
Turquoise bangles – Oxfam

Total Est. Cost £86