Outfit: Sunny Monday

Well, after a weekend of torrential downpours it has finally stopped raining! The forecast for today is for sunshine and highs of 17°C – much better than the freezing 6 or 7°C it was yesterday. And Saturday. And Friday. And well, most of April really.

 

The weekend was a bit of a washout really. Friday night the young man’s aunty came for tea then we went to the show. The cast and orchestra put on another winning performance and I didn’t mind a bit that I’d seen it two nights in a row.

Saturday morning looked promising, weather-wise, but by the time I’d done a load of washing I got as far as hanging three items on the line before it started raining. And it rained on and off (but mostly on) all day. I baked a cake, made some scones, made a quiche, made some porridge pancakes and generally enjoyed a lazy day around the house. I read the new issue of In Style magazine in the conservatory (there was a little sunshine between the showers making it warm enough to sit in there) whilst the young man did some work on his laptop. Saturday evening we watched The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo on DVD. It has a ton of big names in (Daniel ‘James Bond’ Craig, Christopher ‘Sound of Music’ Plummer, Robin ‘Princess Bride’ Wright, Stellan ‘Mamma Mia’ Skaarsgard, Alan ‘Jim Robinson’ Dale) and we quite enjoyed it, despite it being a bit weird and graphic in places.

 
Sunday I had all these grand plans to take some instagram-style photos and make a collage of my weekend, but I didn’t get round to it. We stayed in the house all day again as the rain was practically horizontal by this point. I read Hello! magazine, did some ironing, did some more washing and faffed around on the internet. We watched a documentary about electricity on BBC4 in the evening and then a dreadful made-for-TV kind of movie called Tim, which starred a very young Mel Gibson (it was made in 1979) who spent much of the time in very tight shorts so it wasn’t all bad. It also starred Violet Carnegie from Flying Doctors, and the chap who was married (in real life) to Helen Daniels from Neighbours. I love Australian movies as there’s always someone in them you recognise.

 
Today I have high hopes that the weather forecast will be right and have dressed accordingly. It was actually properly light for the first time this morning when I woke up. But even so, roll on next Monday when it’s a bank holiday and I don’t have to get up early! I’m off to the gym for Body Conditioning class tonight and then will be having a quiet evening in.

Navy dress – Next
Leopard print tank – River Island
Navy cardi – Next Tall
Tan leather belt – River Island
Navy patent wedges – LK Bennett (c/o Sarenza)
Wooden heart necklace – Scope
Silver hoops – gifted
Navy and white scarf – Dorothy Perkins

Total Est. Cost £69

Outfit: Shoeper Challenge 2012 #31 and Show Take Two

 
Last night went well. Most of the invited guests I was expecting showed up for the drinks reception before the show. It was nice for me to be able to put a few faces to names I have heard often over my years with the drama group, especially of those people representing other local societies. I served wine, juice and nibbles before the performance and then again in the interval. Everyone said they’d enjoyed the evening at the end of the show.

 
So tonight I actually have tickets for the show (watching it last night was a bonus I wasn’t expecting) and the young man’s aunty is going with me. She’s coming to our house for tea beforehand so when I get home I need to clean the bathroom, make a lasagne and tidy up.

 
Shoe save #31 is in the bag! These are Next shoes but they were bought in a charity shop for all of about £4.99. They’re a size 9 which is a rare find at the best of times, but especially when thrifting. They should have been £44.99 new (the label was still attached underneath) and they looked like they’d only been worn once or twice.

Black sweater – Long Tall Sally
Teal jeans – Topshop Tall
Black and cream shoes – Next (charity shop)
Cream leather belt – gifted
Silver and diamante necklace – gifted
Cream pashmina – gifted

Total Est. Cost £73

Outfit: Dark Lady

Happy Thursday y’all! I can’t promise any Thursday Latelies today, I’ve been a bit busy this week. But suffice to say the thing that I have been enjoying most this week is getting to hang out with the young man, the drama group gang and my little sister.

 

It’s not often I wear an all black outfit, but I thought this would be appropriate for my formal duties this evening. I had my crib sheet out yesterday and have learned all the names of the guests I’m expecting, along with which societies they are representing. Unfortunately I don’t know what most of them look like! I’m sure it will all be OK though.

 

Last night I was on duty selling raffle tickets on the door at the show. I sold 375 (in strips of 5) so that was quite good going. Once the performance started the four of us who had been selling raffle tickets, programmes and quizzes counted up the money, folded up the raffle tickets, drew the raffle and then sat and chatted until the end of the first half. We then went to find the people with the winning raffle tickets and to try to flog some more quiz sheets. I went home after that, calling at Tesco on the way, and finally sat down to eat my tea at about 9.45pm.

Black wrap dress – Luxuriously Tall
Black top – Next Tall
Black tights – M&Co
Black and tan shoes – LK Bennett (c/o Sarenza)
Silver and diamante necklace – gifted
Tan Obi belt – ASOS
Silver hoops – gifted
Leopard print scarf – H&M

Total Est. Cost £59

Outfit: Shoeper Challenge 2012 #30 and On The Door

I’ve saved 30 pairs of shoes without even trying! Awesome! This pair is from Matalan, bought for £12 a few years back. The wide strap makes them a bit different from anything else in my collection and it definitely keeps the shoes on my feet and helps with comfort levels. And I’ll need to be comfortable today.

 
I have a meeting at work this afternoon which is not scheduled to finish until long after my usual finishing time. From there I have to go straight to the show as I am on the door selling programmes tonight. I watched the first half of the dress rehearsal last night and it was really good. I didn’t stay longer though as I knew I’d be there again tonight, tomorrow I am representing the president of the society (as all the rest of the committee are in the show and the lady who usually does the honours is unwell) and meeting and greeting the invited presidents of other local societies and the deputy mayor. Friday night I am watching the show with the young man’s aunty.

Turquoise top – Long Tall Sally
Black and cream wrap dress – Dorothy Perkins Tall
Black tights – M&Co
Black and cream shoes – Matalan
Silver hoop – gifted
Turquoise necklace – gifted
Silver and black bead bracelets – gifted
Black patent belt – Primark

Total Est. Cost £66

Outfit: Shoeper Challenge 2012 #29 and It’s Still Cold Out

So yeah, as you can probably gather from the pictures and my Note To Self below, it’s still a bit too chilly to be wearing nude tights. Back to the black ones it is then.

 
I went to the gym last night and there was a lot of running around the room involved in the class so my calves were quite achy when I got home. They seem to be OK today though.

 
Tonight is the dress rehearsal for the show so I’m going to go down and watch some of that, and see whether there is anything last minute that needs sorting backstage.

 
I opted for waterproof shoes today, just in case it was still raining. So far thought we have blue sky and sunshine. These shoes were sent to me a couple of years back by the lovely people at Shudoo. I had been intrigued by the Vivienne Westwood for Melissa Lady Dragons ever since they first appeared (were they really made of rubber? How did that work? Did they really smell of bubblegum?) so was thrilled to get the chance to try a pair for myself. Two years on they still smell of bubblegum and each time I wear them I am reminded of the jellybean shoes I wore as a child.

Black dress – H&M
Black and white striped polo neck – Uniqlo (charity shop)
Black tights – Silkies
Fuchsia and red shoes – Vivienne Westwood for Melissa (c/o Shudoo)
Black and silver bead bracelets – gifted
Purple and red flower necklace – gifted
Silver hoops – gifted

Total Est. Cost £32

Note To Self...

...no matter what you might like to pretend, it is still TOO COLD to be wandering around in nude tights and without a scarf!  Bundle up!

Outfit: Shoeper Challenge 2012 #28 and A Little Pretending

 

 Don’t be fooled by the flesh coloured tights: it’s still raining out. But I am also a little sick of black/thick tights now so I’m pretending it’s spring whether the weather co-operates or not!

   

I have a busy week this week – the show is on from Wednesday to Saturday so I will be down there most nights starting with the dress rehearsal tomorrow. I have a meeting on Wednesday afternoon meaning I will be finishing work 2 hours later than usual so I’ll have to go straight to the show. And on Friday we have the young man’s aunt coming for tea as she is going with me to watch the show that night.

   

These shoes were bought with my Sarenza Ambassador voucher a few months back and were the start of my obsession with LK Bennett shoes. And the start of my expensive taste in shoes – I find the New Look shoe department just doesn’t cut it anymore. Which is probably good news for my feet, but bad news for my bank account!

Tan sweater – New Look Tall
Leopard print skirt – River Island
Burgundy patent leather shoes – LK Bennett (c/o Sarenza)
Wooden heart necklace – Scope
Silver hoops – gifted

Total Est. Cost £37

Shoeper Challenge 2012 #27 and A Weekend Recap

Saturday was a home-based day for me. I didn’t go out anywhere further than the back garden the whole day. I baked two cakes, cleaned the bathroom, vacced, did some washing, ironed and made a CD of mp3s for my car.

   

My sister and her husband came over for tea and we had a game of His And Hers. My sister had requested a cheese board for dessert so I was more than willing to comply.

   

 I have no outfit pictures from Saturday as I was just in scruffy jeans and a hoody until nearly tea time, and even then I didn’t put any shoes on. Here’s the recipe for that chocolate cake up there. It’s the healthy cake recipe I’ve been promising for a while and it’s only 2PP for the whole cake if you’re doing Filling and Healthy on WW. I found the recipe on the WW forums, and modified it slightly (added more sweetener and cocoa). 

1 400g tin chick peas 

3 medium eggs 

35g granulated sweetener 

1 1/2 tsp baking powder 

35g cocoa powder 

1. Wash, drain and then put chick peas in food processor and blend until smooth. 

2. Add other ingredients and blend until all mixed. 

3. Put into a baking tin either sprayed with oil or lined with baking parchment 

4. Cook Gas 4 180 degrees for about 22 mins until firm to touch. 

5. Cool on wire rack 

Spread some chocolate Philadelphia or chocolate spread on the top of a slice for an extra treat. 

Sunday I got up and went to church. I was on Junior Church teaching duty but in the end I didn’t have any children in my class so got to enjoy the whole service. In the afternoon I had planned to wash my car but it started raining around 11.30am and didn’t let up the whole afternoon. So I watched some episodes of Flying Doctors, caught up with various blogger videos and generally chilled out.

   

I did manage to save a pair of shoes in the morning, despite the rain. I am a little tired of wearing boots all the time now, so I picked out some spring-like shoes but ones which are made of faux-patent leather so are waterproof. These were just £6 in Priceless Shoes last summer and I hope to get plenty of wear out of them this year.

Outfit: Shoeper Challenge 2012 #26 and Some Red Stripes

Friday, woohoo! Although it started out dry and much brighter than of late, the forecast is for further heavy showers later on. Mindful of the flood waters of yesterday (which had thankfully abated by the time I went home yesterday afternoon) I chose some nice high boots to keep me well above the ground today. These boots were sent to me by the lovely people at Very.co.uk and are from the Love Label brand. I’ve had them a couple of years now and I don’t wear them very often but I love the deep purple colour so I bring them out every now and then.

Last night I did the Tesco shop and by the time I’d got home, unpacked the shopping, made the lunches for today and had a cup of tea, there wasn't a whole lot of evening left. Sometimes it’s nice not to do very much though.

We have a fairly quiet weekend coming up. I’ll be doing some baking tomorrow and we have my sister and her hubby coming for tea in the evening. Sunday morning I'm teaching Junior Church but that’s about all we have planned so far. 

Black cardi – New Look Tall 

Red and white stripe top – Kew 158 (John Lewis) 

Red jeans – New Look Tall 

Purple boots – Love Label (c/o Very.co.uk) 

Silver hoops – gifted 

Silver and diamante necklace – gifted 

Total Est. Cost £64