20% Off at Oli

And if the discount below wasn’t enough, you can also get 20% off at Oli with the code RJPP when you order before 31st October. The offer is valid on full price items only.

25% Off at La Redoute

Get 25% off at La Redoute by entering the code 0784 at the checkout. This offer is valid from 28th September to 25th October on all full price merchandise from the AW09 collection.

Outfit: End of September

So, that was September then. Where did it go? Granted, I was on holiday for the first week of it but still. It seems like only five minutes ago it was still August.

I’m getting another wear out of this dress with just a tank underneath it before I have to start layering with polo sweaters. Which will be around tomorrow if the weather forecast is to be believed. It’s like it knows that October is arriving and the temperatures are set to plummet.

I brought flat shoes with me today as I was going to walk up to the library at dinnertime. However, I then noticed how low my petrol guage was this morning so it will be a trip to Morrison’s for fuel instead. Gah.

Tonight is a singing rehearsal for the drama group. We have a concert a week on Saturday.

Purple shrug (cut off from a longer top) – charity shop
Green dress – Vila (eBay)
Purple tank – New Look Tall
Grey tights – Ethel Austin
Purple boots – Next
Purple belt – Ethel Austin
Purple flower necklace – Dorothy Perkins
Purple & silver bangles – gifted

Total Est. Cost £56

Comfy

On days when I have nothing in particular planned for the evening, I like to come home and put on my comfiest jeans and my slippers. These jeans are old and have had a lot of wear (you can tell that from the faded out knees), so much wear in fact that they have worn right through on the thighs and I have had to patch them up. I don’t wear them outside the house any more but I can’t bear to part with them because the fit is great and they are so soft and comfortable. They are Gap’s Long & Lean style (before they changed the cut of them) and I will continue to wear them until they fall apart completely.

The slippers are from Matalan and were a little snug when I got them (size 7-8) but they have stretched out nicely and keep my feet warm & cosy.

On my top half I have my favourite Long Tall Sally black polo neck and no doubt I will get cold later on and will add my New Look Tall grey boyfriend cardi.

Outfit: Red, Black & Cream

Last night I went to Body Combat and then had a night in for the first time in about a week. A man came to see us about the free loft insulation the local council is giving away, and then we ate cake, drank tea & relaxed watching The Gadget Show. They had a contest between two of the presenters to design a gadget of the future and Suzi Perry designed some shoes that could control her iPod. Jason designed a jacket with a projector and a computer built into it with loads of buttons for jumping straight to web pages and programs, with the screen projected on to his arm. Wayne Hemmingway was the judge and the shoes won.

I have another night in tonight so am planning to do some washing and not a lot else.

Today’s outfit was inspired by flicking back through my blog archives. I saw these boots and decided it was time to give them an airing, along with this dress which hasn’t been worn in a while. When I first bought this dress, the girls on the Shiny Fashion Forums said it was very DVF. I used to joke that is was DVP – Dorothy ‘von’ Perkins. Black & white or cream with red is a predictable combination but it’s a classic and it works. And I think the red boots give it something unexpected.

Red cardi – Long Tall Sally (eBay)
Black & cream wrap dress – Dorothy Perkins
Black tights – Silkies
Red cami – New Look
Red boots – Goszip (charity shop)
Red belt – mall market stall
Red & cream bangles – gifted
Cream pashmina – gifted
Red beads – eBay

Total Est. Cost £58

This Week I Will Be Mostly…

…wearing boots
…reading the October issues of Lucky & US Glamour
…watching season 3 of The Flying Doctors – I finally finished season 2 in a marathon session on Sunday afternoon, and season 3 finally arrived on Friday so it all works out well!
…listening to Billy Joel
…eating flapjack & apple cake
…shopping for birthday cards

Outfit: Monday Again

How is it Monday again? I swear, there are more Monday mornings in a week than any other time or day.

I remembered about these boots yesterday and thought I’d pair them with my zigzag dress which I’ve not worn for a while. Instead of wearing a brown cardi with it as I usually would, I went for white. Look at me, such a rebel wearing white after Labor Day!

I’m doing a little pattern mixing with the scarf, but it’s no where near as cold out as I thought it would be so I don’t really need it.

White cardi – Long Tall Sally (eBay)
Brown zigzag print dress – eBay
White tank – Topshop
Brown tights – New Look
Brown boots – New Look (eBay)
Brown bangles – Dorothy Perkins
Silver cross necklace – gifted
Wood earrings – Dorothy Perkins
Brown & silver scarf – mall market stall

Total Est. Cost £39

Sunday - Warning: This Post May Make You Hungry!

No outfit picture again today – sorry! I’m just in jeans and a stripey long sleeve t so nothing exciting anyway. And I’ve spent the whole day in my leopard print slippers so far, as I’ve not been out anywhere except the garden. So instead of fashion, here are some foodie pictures. This is the flapjack I made yesterday, and covered with Galaxy chocolate:

It’s delish – as you can tell we’d already sampled it and there’s even less left now! I used the recipe from the Ladybird book called We Can Cook. I've had it years - since I was a child and it still comes in handy for making all sorts of basic things. My sister had a Ladybird book called Cooking (which she still uses for a shortbread recipe). At the start of each set of instructions it always said 'Wash your hands and put on an apron'. I thought of that this morning as I washed my hands and put on my apron!

And this is the Dorset apple cake I made this morning:

I’ve never made one of these before and I don’t ever bake cakes of any type (though strangely, I do own two cake tins). My friend S is from Dorset and when I stayed at her parents house for Pack Monday Fair (no, I’m not even going to attempt to begin to explain that one – click the link) five years ago, her dad had baked a Dorset apple cake and it was delicious. I was talking to S on the phone the other night and she mentioned she was going home for Pack Monday and said me & the young man should go down next year. I said what a good idea and to tell her dad to make some of that delicious apple cake again. And then the following day I Googled for a receipe and decided to make some for myself. I used this recipe because the cake in the picture looked like the one S’s dad made, and it didn’t have anything too complicated in the ingredients. We’ve just had a slice each and it’s turned out great. I’ll definitely be making it again.

The young man is pottering in the garden, trying to dig up a tree. I have spent most of the afternoon drinking tea and watching episodes of The Flying Doctors. We have no plans for this evening.

Saturday

No outfit shot today – I didn’t get round to taking one this morning and by the time I got home this afternoon my hair was too much of a mess.

The young man & I went to our local town this morning – him to get his hair cut and me to pick up my boots from the cobbler and do the Tesco shopping. We returned home and I made leek & potato soup for dinner. My sister was shopping at the mall nearby so she dropped in to have dinner with us.

This afternoon the young man & I went for a walk through the local wood and sat in the sunshine at a pub having drinks. It was a lovely warm sunny day today – possibly one of the last ones we will have this year.

I just wore a black t shirt with ‘Shopaholic’ spelled out in diamantes on the front, jeans and my leopard print flats this morning. This afternoon I changed to my Merrell walking boots.

I made flapjack whilst I was cooking tea, so I'm just going to go put some chocolate on the top of it now.

Outfit: TGI Friday

So here’s the outfit that just came to me yesterday morning. I saw Kyla wearing a plaid shirt (but with a skirt) and then I saw the girl on the Elle-Uniqlo blog wearing a plaid shirt as a dress. I am determined I will wear more hats this year and the boots are so fabulous they deserved another outing, so there you have it. Casual Friday.

This evening my sister & her husband are coming over and we’re all going to eat at a local pub.

Plaid shirt – Primark
White cami – Topshop
Jeans – Topshop Tall
Green suede boots – River Island
Grey beret – Long Tall Sally
Teal & silver bangles – Accessorize
Silver bangle – gifted
Whitby Jet cross – gifted

Total Est. Cost £52

Outfit: Thursday Evening

Last night a group of us from the drama group went to a local old folks’ home to give a little concert for the residents. One of the ladies who lives there was a founding member of the society 60 years ago. We all had to wear black trousers with a bright coloured top. I do not like this look at all – I think it would be much better with grey trousers. However, it is an easy option when you want a group of people to look co-ordinated as pretty well everyone has black trousers and a coloured top.

Pink top – Long Tall Sally (eBay)
Pink tank – Dorothy Perkins (gifted)
Black cord trousers – Topshop Tall
Pink shoes – Faith
Pink necklace – gifted

Total Est. Cost £70

Outfit Inspiration

Where does your outfit inspiration come from? Often times I will be inspired by something I’ve seen in a magazine or on another blog. Sometimes I’ll be dying to wear a new item and will build an ensemble around it. Other times I’ll start with a pair of shoes or boots, perhaps a pair that I haven’t worn in a while, and will work up from there. And just occasionally, inspiration will hit from out of the blue. Like just now for instance. I was just sitting quietly, and out of nowhere an outfit for tomorrow popped into my head. OK, not quite out of nowhere, as it incorporates a plaid shirt and I’ve see two of those on blogs this morning. But this outfit is completely different to the two I’ve seen today. I love when this happens: it’s like a lightning strike and certainly makes things easier in the evening when I know what I have to get out for the following day and don’t need to think about it.

Outfit: She Wore Blue Velvet…

Last night turned out to be a late one as there was an extra rehearsal after the main one for a concert that a few of us are giving tonight in a old people’s home. A lady who used to be in the drama group lives there I think and so we have been asked to go and sing for them for about an hour or so. I was debating what to wear today on my way home and was going to go with the black trousers and coloured top I will be wearing this evening, but that’s not a look I am particularly fond of so I’m glad I was able to come up with something better.

I’ve had these booties a couple of years now. They were also available in black at the time and many of us who used to frequent the Shiny Fashion Forums bought them in one colour or the other (and some people bought both!).

Blue velvet waistcoat – Primark
Blue sweater – Long Tall Sally
Jeans – Dorothy Perkins Tall
Blue suede booties – New Look
Blue heart necklace – Scope
Turquoise earrings – gifted

Total Est. Cost £64

Outfit: Green Suede Boots

I love these boots so it was high time I dug them out again. Plus I know there’s a lady at drama group who thinks they’re fab, and that’s where I’m headed tonight. But first I have to go cook some tea – sausages, wedges, green beans & gravy. With raspberries to follow.

Black polo neck sweater – Long Tall Sally
Jeans – Topshop Tall
Green suede boots – River Island

Total Est. Cost £55

Outfit: Life in Black & White

As a complete contrast to my more colourful outfits this week, I went for completely black, white & grey today. This is a variation on the outfit I wore last week, utilising my grey over the knee socks rather than the black ones.

The shoe necklace used to be silver coloured, but it has gone bronze with wear. It’s also going a bit green around the diamantes – I guess that’s what you get from cheap jewellery. I bought the necklace for my friend for Christmas a few years back, and got myself one at the same time. I switched the chain on mine for a sterling silver one so that it wouldn’t give me a rash on the back of my neck.

Grey cardi – New Look Tall
Black dress – George at ASDA
Grey socks – Long Tall Sally
White tank – Topshop
Black Obi belt – ASOS
Black patent shoes – Matalan
Silver bangles – Scope
Silver diamante shoe necklace – Claire’s
Earrings – unknown

Total Est. Cost £80

Outfit: Variations on a Theme

You should expect to see lots of minor variations on this outfit over the winter as it is sure to be one of my favourites again. It’s simple, classic, comfy, and practical for all sorts of events and activities. This time I switched the jeans and incorporated my new boots! They are Caterpillar boots, sent to me by the kind folk at Fitness Footwear. I will be breaking them in over the next week or so (the right one rubbed my foot a bit last night) and will then post a review. The boots are bit furrier than they look in the picture – I may have to give the fur a bit of a trim!

I stopped off at Borders on my way home and was delighted to find that the October issues of Lucky & US Glamour magazine were in stock. I also picked up this week’s Look magazine because I am a sucker for celebrity trash and high street fashion.

I got changed and then headed up to the young man’s parents’ house for tea. I put my glasses on because I know the young man’s parents keep their house fairly warm and have had problems with my eyes getting a bit dry with the gas fire in the past. I have decided I definitely like myself better in glasses when my hair is pulled back like it is here. Tea was delicious and it’s fab when I don’t have to cook.

Black polo neck sweater – Long Tall Sally
Jeans – River Island (eBay)
Brown boots – Caterpillar (Fitness Footwear) (gifted)

Total Est. Cost £40