Damn You Lycos!

Lycos have just announced that they will be ceasing their email accounts from mid-February. Consequently, my contact details have changed. Please see the side bar for my new email address.

Outfit: Casual Friday

I bought this tunic back before Christmas in a charity shop for around £2.99. I have not got around to wearing it until today. I am so pleased it is Friday; I am looking forward to a lie in tomorrow morning.

Black polo neck sweater – Long Tall Sally
Blue/green/black/white tunic – Dorothy Perkins (charity shop)
Jeans – Next (charity shop)
Black faux suede OTK boots – Matalan

Total Est. Cost £49.50

Outfit: Church Choir

I had forgotten I had choir practice at church tonight until I said something at teatime about a quiet evening in and the young man said ‘haven’t you got choir practice?’. So I changed my jeans (I’d put on my comfy ones that are falling apart and no longer respectable to wear out when I got home from work) and put on some boots and headed out.

Black wrap cardi – Long Tall Sally (eBay)
Black & white stripe shirt – Next
Jeans – River Island
Blue suede boots – New Look

Total Est. Cost £86

Outfit: Red Dress Thursday

Each time I put on this dress, the lyrics of the Dixie Chicks’ “Sin Wagon” always spring to mind – “I’ve found my red dress and I’m gonna put it on”. Of course, this red dress has nothing to do with the connotations of the one in the song – it’s a decent length and totally work appropriate when you put something underneath it.

Red dress – Luxuriously Tall
Black & white stripe shirt – Next
Black Obi belt – ASOS
Black tights – Silkies
Black faux suede boots – Priceless Shoes

Total Est. Cost £72

Outfit: Cinema

There was no drama group rehearsal lasat night for the chorus, so the young man dragged me to see ‘Quantum of Solace’ at the cinema to take advantage of the Orange Wednesdays two for one offer. It’s a cheap night out for us as the cinema is just up the road. The film was OK – I wasn’t expecting much and I think it was better than I thought it would be. Bond is not really my kind of thing though – I like films where nothing gets broken in the first five minutes, people are happy rather than shooting each other an the gadgets are not so far fetched that you are sitting there with one eyebrow raised going ‘yeah, right’. However, I am a big fan of Dame Judi Dench and she did not disappoint as the unflappable M.

I always get cold in the cinema so I added a big silk scarf to keep off the chill of the air conditioning.

Grey cardi – New Look Tall
Grey rib tank – Cherokee at Tesco
Jeans – River Island
Grey boots – Ethel Austin
Blue silk scarf – Accessorize

Total Est. Cost £64

Outfit: Casual Dress Wednesday

I’ve seen a few pictures now of a slouchy cardi being worn over a little dress so I thought I’d give it a go. I saw these tights and thought they would match this dress perfectly and they do. I don’t think I’ve worn them before even though I bought them a while back, probably around November time.

Grey cardi – New Look Tall
Teal dress (shortened) – Florence + Fred at Tesco (charity shop)
Teal tights – New Look
Grey faux suede boots – Priceless Shoes (gifted)
Silver glitter belt – Local boutique

Total Est. Cost £22

Outfit: Purple Tights

I am trying to get back into wearing coloured tights this year. I used to wear them a lot but haven’t done recently for no particular reason.

Black/purple/grey Argyle sweater – Next Tall
White shirt – Long Tall Sally
Black pencil skirt – Long Tall Sally
Purple tights – New Look
Black shoes – Ethel Austin

Total Est. Cost £76.50

Outfit: Choir Practice

It wasn’t nearly so cold this evening as it has been recently so it wasn’t necessary to bundle up quite so much. I think this shirt needs a slightly longer sweater over it next time to balance out the super long tails at the back and front.

Navy blue rib sweater – Gap
White shirt – Topshop Tall
Jeans – River Island
Navy shoes – New Look (charity shop)

Total Est. Cost £79

This Week I Will Be Mostly…

…wearing dresses
…reading the February issue of Marie Claire
…watching the SATC movie – my friend has had my DVD for ages and I just got it back today so that’s the perfect excuse for another viewing
…listening to the tracks I downloaded from Amazon at the weekend. Loving ‘Making Love Out Of Nothing At All’ by Air Supply right now
…eating chocolate biscuits – we have too much bad (good) stuff to eat up from Christmas
…shopping for nothing

Outfit: Black & Tan Monday

I have been inspired to wear this black dress by Jane over at Work That Wardrobe. She is currently playing a game of ‘Pimp My Dress’ where her readers are suggesting different ways of wearing a black dress that she received as a Christmas gift. It has reminded me just how versatile a plain black dress can be, and that I don’t wear mine enough! So I plan on stealing/adapting some of her ideas in the coming weeks.

Black jersey wrap dress – Luxuriously Tall
White shirt – Topshop Tall (eBay)
Black rib tights – Morrison’s
Black & tan boots – ASOS
Brown Obi belt – ASOS
Black heart necklace – Scope

Total Est. Cost £59

Outfit: Equally Lazy Sunday

This grey cardi is my favourite casual item at the moment. I’m definitely getting the cost per wear down to a very small amount, given that it only cost £10 in the first place. But that means a similar outfit to yesterday, for which I apologise and promise to be more creative this week.

I have messed around with some MP3s today and successfully transferred them from my laptop to my MP3 player. The only time I’ve ventured out is just now to get petrol. It’s much less cold than is has been of late, but it is very windy now.

The young man is building a shoe rack/seat for the porch/entrance hall part of out house, and is installing some coat hooks on the wall to replace the freestanding hat stand/coat stand we have at present. Consequently, all the coats we own are dumped on the sofa at the moment whilst he finishes measuring up and drilling holes in the wall.

Grey cardi – New Look Tall
Teal long sleeve t – H&M
Jeans – Next (charity shop)
Grey faux suede boots – Priceless Shoes (gifted)

Total Est. Cost £21

Outfit: Lazy Saturday

I am enjoying a quiet day at home. I’ve done some chores, walked to the village and back, and now I am waiting for the soup to be cooked that I’m making for dinner.

Grey cardi – New Look Tall
Red long sleeve t – Long Tall Sally
Jeans – Next (charity shop)
Grey faux suede boots – Priceless Shoes (gifted)

Total Est. Cost £28

Outfit: Grey Friday

I am totally loving grey as a neutral at the moment. I think it may have something to do with my new boots though. The pop of colour today comes from turquoise – belt, earrings and eyeliner!

We are heading to the young man's parents' for tea so I will be able to walk up there this evening without getting changed.

Grey sweater – Long Tall Sally
Denim skirt – Gap
Grey rib tights – Next
Grey faux suede boots – Priceless Shoes (gifted)
Turquoise leather belt – H&M
Turquoise earrings – Accessorize (gifted)

Total Est. Cost £50

Outfit: Black & Teal

It’s marginally less cold today. However, I have been cold all week so I’m still not taking any chances and am wrapped up warm. The white t wasn’t supposed to show but its neckline didn’t match as well as I hoped with the sweater. I wasn’t going to lose a layer so I thought I might as well incorporate it into the outfit.

Black sweater – Long Tall Sally
White long sleeve t – Tall Girls
Teal skirt – H&M
Teal tights – Accessorize
Black patent shoes – Matalan
Teal scarf – Marks & Spencer

Total Est. Cost £77

Outfit: Drama Rehearsal

So I reluctantly dragged myself out in the cold last night to the drama group rehearsal. As expected the church hall was freezing. I had pre-empted this by putting a cashmere sweater under my polo neck. This is almost a repeat of New Year’s Day, I am wearing the fab earrings again with a basic outfit, but I decided to change up the boots and give my feet a rest from heels.

Black polo neck sweater – Long Tall Sally
Jeans – River Island
Brown cowboy boots – New Look
Earrings – Ethel Austin

Total Est. Cost £99

Outfit: Comfy Wednesday

I love this dress. It’s comfy to wear yet suitable for work. Still layering up – it was trying to snow this morning as I was driving in. Part of me really does not want to go to drama group rehearsal tonight because I know the hall will be freezing.

Green & purple smock dress – Long Tall Sally (eBay)
Black polo neck sweater – Long Tall Sally
Black leggings – New Look Tall
Black faux suede OTK boots – Priceless Shoes

Total Est. Cost £58

How To Make Going Back To Work Easier

I believe there are two ways to make going back to work after the holidays less painful. First, have something new to wear on your first day back. For me it was the stripey shirt yesterday (which would totally go under the teal dress I had on today, don’t you think?). So, check. And secondly, have something delivered to work that you ordered previously so you have something to look forward on your return. In my boredom stupor on Christmas Eve I ordered a couple of items from Priceless Shoes. The first one showed up today. It is the purple version of the blue bow flats I already have. They were £5 in the sale.

The second item I have a feeling I may not see but have emailed the customer services to find out where it is.

Outfit: Chilling at Home

Having a quiet evening in tonight. I will definitely repeat this outfit when I have somewhere more exciting to go than the sofa with a cup of hot chocolate.

Blue cardi – Ethel Austin
Grey polo neck sweater – Long Tall Sally
Jeans – River Island
Blue satin flats – Priceless Shoes
Blue glitter belt (on jeans) – H&M

Total Est. Cost £79

Outfit: Still Cold

It’s still freezing outside. There is still snow on the ground in some places and the building thermometer I passed on the way in said -3˚C. Layering is the way to go on a day like this to try to keep warm.

Teal dress – Long Tall Sally (eBay)
Grey polo neck sweater – Long Tall Sally
Grey rib tights – Next
Grey faux suede OTK boots – Priceless Shoes
Black patent belt – New Look (free with shirt)

Total Est. Cost £71

Outfit: Choir Practice

This is definitely my new favourite shirt. It goes great with jeans and a sweater as well as work wear. I can’t wait to wear it again and pair it with a trouser suit, cardi, teal tank, the list is endless!

Black sweater – Long Tall Sally
Black & white striped shirt – Next
Jeans – River Island
Black faux suede boots – Priceless Shoes

Total Est. Cost £89