Outfit: Monday

I have no pictures from the weekend – there was no time to take them! Friday night we went to the Caribbean night at the local pub. I wore the same as during the day but switched out the red boots for my flat tan ones, and put my ¾ sleeve blue and black check winter coat over the top. And I was glad I had – the rain held off most of the evening but the pub car park was far from warm, despite it being mid August. The steel band were amazing again, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves in spite of the cold. We finished the night in the pub and had a fabulous time.

Saturday we travelled down to Lincolnshire to visit the young man’s goddaughter and her family. She is 5½ now and her little brother is 3. When I said I wasn’t as strong as the young man and couldn’t lift the little brother as high up, the little brother said I needed to have “lots of lunch” to get stronger. Saturday afternoon we had a walk and a drink in a pub in their village. Saturday night the adults ate fajitas and watched 2 of the more recent American Pie movies. Not as good as the originals, but not bad films. Yesterday we drove to a nearby disused railway line so the kids could ride their bikes and we stopped at another pub on the way back. The young man and I headed home mid-afternoon and we had a BBQ for tea as it was still lovely and sunny.

This morning has dawned bright and sunny. I hope to get some laundry done this afternoon and perhaps bake some more cookies this evening.

The mornings are chilling down now so I added a pashmina for warmth on my way to work.

Grey waistcoat – Long Tall Sally (eBay)
Grey skirt – Long Tall Sally
White striped shirt – Next
Fuchsia shoes – Vivienne Westwood Anglomania for Melissa (Shudoo) (gifted)
Purple flower necklace – Dorothy Perkins
Bangles – gifted
Silver earrings – gifted
Lilac pashmina - Diamonds and Pearls

Total Est. Cost £56

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Outfit: Rainy Friday

It’s monsoon season again here in the Frozen North. If the downpours yesterday were anything to go by, I’m predicting that the rain forecast for today will also be torrential. Twice I had to wait indoors (at the hairdressers and at Tesco) for the rain to ease off before venturing out in it. The washing I put on the line yesterday was dripping by the time I got home and I had to spin it again in the machine before hanging it out in the conservatory (I was taking no chances). And that is why I am in boots today.

Despite the weather, and the date, today is going to be a good one. I won some shoes on eBay first thing, and a pair of boots (a gift for a review) were waiting for me in reception. Tonight is Caribbean night at the pub which I am really excited about, I love steel bands! I feel I may need to find a coat to wear though, and some more boots. Tomorrow we are away to visit with some friends and their small children (the young man’s Goddaughter). Gotta love weekends!

Navy cardi – Next Tall
Red cami – New Look
Jeans – Gap
Red boots – Goszip (charity shop)
Red beads – eBay
Silver bling ring – River Island
Red and cream bangles – gifted
Blue bangle – Diamonds & Pearls
Silver hoops – Claire’s
Diamante hair clip - Babyliss (Boots)

Total Est. Cost £62

Outfit: Shoeper Shoe Challenge #65

Low heels are going to be everywhere for Autumn according to the fashion magazines I’ve been reading recently. I don’t own many pairs of heels that are lower than 3 inches, but this is one of my lower pairs. Low heels are always useful to add a bit of lift but not induce the pain in the ball of your foot that can be associated with walking too far in very high heels. These were bought in a charity shop and are a rare size 9 find. I hope these don’t end up too big for me like my other Next size 9s have done.

I must make the most of being able to take pictures outdoors in the mornings as it won’t be long before it’s too dark to do so.

Carrying my jacket as I am here reminds me of being at school. I spent the 2 years of the 6th form carrying my blazer around (yes the 6th form had a uniform at my school – it was navy blue with a white shirt/blouse, and a school tie for the boys), only putting it on when it was absolutely necessary (chapel, assembly etc) because I didn’t like wearing it. Even in the winter I would wear a sweater and scarf rather than my blazer. It used to wind up one music teacher in particular (no one else on the staff seemed bothered as they never said anything) and in the end it became a case of annoying him more than anything else. As I would often point out, the uniform list said we had to have a blazer; it didn’t say anything about actually having to wear it.

Grey moto jacket – Next Tall
Blue top – Dunnes Stores
Blue and white stripe tank – River Island
Jeans – South Tall at Very.co.uk (gifted)
Grey shoes – Next (charity shop)
Blue necklace – Dorothy Perkins
Blue bead bracelet – gifted
Blue and turquoise bangles – Oxfam
Silver earrings – gifted

Total Est. Cost £48

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Outfit: Grey and Leopard

I have been looking back through my archives recently and saw that I paired this dress with leopard print back in the spring. That inspired me to create more of a summer look with similar pieces. I love the shape of this dress and I can see it being a staple in my Autumn/Winter wardrobe. I am eagerly awaiting the days when I can wear pencil skirts and polo necks again, with tights. But until then I will continue to enjoy what remains of summer.

Grey dress – Long Tall Sally
Black shrug – New Look
Leopard shoes – Betsey Johnson (Fashion Stage) (gifted)
Tan Obi – ASOS
Brown bangles – Dorothy Perkins
Silver bangles – Scope
Silver & diamante necklace – gifted
Silver hoops – gifted

Total Est. Cost £47

Contest! Win £60 to Spend on Shoes At Sarenza!

Remember how Sarenza sent me these fabulous shoes to style up to try to win a trip to Paris? Sadly I didn’t win, but to reward you all for being fantastic and voting for me, Sarenza are now offering you the chance to win a £60 voucher to spend on some gorgeous shoes from their site! A wide selection of great brands are available, such as Buffalo (which my shoes are), Melissa (including the Vivienne Westwood collaboration), Fly London, Rocket Dog and many more.

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post stating why you deserve new shoes. A week later Sarenza will pick their top 5 comments, then I will choose one of these 5 as the winner.

The contest closes at 12 noon Wednesday 18th August 2010.

Good luck!

Scholl Contest Winner!

The winner of the Scholl goodies is Juliet!  Congratulations!  Please email me (address in the sidebar) with your posting address and shoe size (for the sandals) and I'll get your prize out to you.

Outfit: Ruby Shoesday

Time to give the insane red wedges another airing before the summer is completely over. It is still warmish out but I don’t think we will be seeing anymore super high temperatures like we had back in June. It is tending to hover around the high teens/low twenties now.

Last night I baked more cookies. I didn’t get a picture of them, but they are very big and have white chocolate chips in them. I used a Nigella recipe this time hoping they would be more of the crunchy kind, but they are still soft in the centre.

http://www.nigella.com/recipe/recipe_detail.aspx?rid=100

I love the combination of a jacket and jeans. It’s casual but smart at the same time. I threw a scarf in my bag just in case but we were treated to a rare appearance by the sun this morning so I didn’t need it.

Grey jacket – Long Tall Sally (eBay)
White t – Dorothy Perkins Tall
Jeans – Gap
Red wedges – River Island
Silver bangles – Scope
Red bangles – Primark
Silver bling ring – River Island
Red beads – eBay
Silver hoops – Claire’s

Total Est. Cost £98

Extra Pics on Facebook

I am trying to utilise my Facebook page a bit more and have posted some extra pictures over there.  If you want to take a look, click here.  If you want to Like or Follow the page too, that would be splendid.

This Week I Will Be Mostly...

...wearing my new bag!
...reading the September issue of UK Cosmo and Company magazines
...watching Friends on DVD
...listening to Bucks Fizz – I am still totally obsessed with them at the moment!
...eating chocolate chip cookies
...shopping for nothing

Outfit: Monday Layering

The key to late summer dressing? Layering. At this time of year the day can start off with a chill in the air (12°C this morning) but by lunchtime you know the sun may be out giving temperatures into the low 20s. So this morning Iayered my dress with a tank (for modesty) and a shrug and scarf (for warmth). The scarf gave the opportunity for a little pattern mixing too.

I have found another recipe for chocolate chip cookies, crunchy ones this time, so I am going to have a go at making them this evening I think.

Last night I joined the young man at his mate’s house for a Chinese. It was delicious! I debated whether to add a sweatshirt or a jacket over the t shirt and jeans I had on. Sunday cosy won out and I went for the sweatshirt.

I took a shot holding my new bag today so that you could see the size of it in relation to me.

I put my tripod in front of my mirror this morning, meaning I could see the viewfinder in the reflection and check that I wasn’t chopping off my feet or anything. Sounds a good idea, but in reality? Not so much. I still ended up cutting off my feet in a couple. Extra pictures may appear on Facebook later (if I remember to put them up).

Brown print dress – charity shop
Brown shrug – Ann Taylor LOFT (charity shop)
Brown leggings – New Look
White tank – Topshop
Leopard print scarf – Diamonds & Pearls
Brown shoes – Roberto Vianni (Debenhams)
Silver cross necklace – gifted
Silver and brown bangles – Dorothy Perkins and Scope
Brown bracelet – gifted
Silver earrings – gifted

Total Est. Cost £56

Outfit: Sunday

This is a bit of a cheat really. I was in scruffy jeans and a sweatshirt all morning to clean and tidy and do several loads of washing. I wanted to take pictures though to have another play with my tripod, so I got ready. The only place I am headed is the gym for a swim later on, but I wanted to prove these jeans look great with heels since I didn’t get any pictures last night. I also need to break in these shoes a little more so I’m sitting with them on my feet whilst I type. I will probably switch to flats before I go out.

There are some squinty outtakes over on my Facebook page – it was very sunny out!

Pink jacket – Long Tall Sally (eBay)
Pink t – George at ASDA
Jeans – South at Very.co.uk (gifted)
Purple shoes – Buffalo (Sarenza) (gifted)
Pink necklace – gifted

Total Est. Cost £18

Outfit: Saturday and a Special Guest

My sister and I headed in to the city yesterday morning. We met for tea and cake, and then had a wander around the shops. I bought a proper tripod for my camera (I only had a mini one before) and when we got home, we had a little play about with it.

I also treated myself to this gorgeous piece of leather from Rocha John Rocha at Debenhams:

In the evening, the young man and I went out for a meal at a country pub with some friends. I was designated driver (I don’t drink very much so I don’t mind giving it a miss when we go out) so I got to drive the young man’s car for the first time as mine is only a 4-seater and there were 5 of us going. I didn’t take any outfit shots, but I wore the same jeans as above, the bronze glitter heels from Tuesday night, a white tank and my bronze sequin shrug. We had a great night, the food at that pub is fantastic.

White t – New Look Tall
Jeans – South at Very.co.uk (gifted)
Tan boots – Barratts
Leopard print scarf – Diamonds & Pearls

Total Est. Cost £54

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