…that’s what the Trafford Centre trip turned into for me today. We had originally decided to go as Dad was very excited about the John Lewis sale – under the guise of “your Mum loves John Lewis” – well he wasn’t fooling anyone. As it happens it was also lashing it down with rain this morning and the trees were horizontal so being indoors seemed like a good plan. Though, just so you all don’t think I am a complete nut job, I HAD cautioned everyone involved about the peril of shopping with a 4 and 6 year old – my Mum had clearly forgotten after raising 3 children. We met my lovely sister who is enjoying maternity leave with baby Tom – who coincidentally is the perfect age for shopping with children, as long as you have plenty of baby bottles prepared before you leave. To be honest I don’t know what the fuss is about with newborns – all they do is eat, sleep and poop – so easy compared to a 4 and 6 year old…yes I hate to harp on, and I know parental amnesia is kicking in, but I am trying to evoke some sympathy.
So as we walked into John Lewis, knowing I hadn’t taken a photo of myself in all my glory, wearing my Hudson jeans, AllSaints Bonny cuban boots, Zara lace top, YSL Roady bag and JohnnieB leather jacket, I asked my lovely daughter to photograph me. The following results are the beginning of a downhill spiral:
Flattering hey? Intentionally action shots? I don’t think so…
Having fueled the kids with boiled eggs and sausage this morning they did allow me some time to browse the sale and I spotted these lovely dresses but couldn’t summon the energy to try them on, and the lovely Oasis dress with anchors on it was only available in an XS otherwise I would have just bought it without trying I liked it so much. The second dress was the lovely French Connection Calypso jersey dress that I’m not sure I would ever wear but I still thought it was gorgeous and drapey.
I did manage to try on a Mint Velvet long sleeved top that caught my eye mainly due to the color. I have to admit I haven’t heard of the brand before but they have some lovely casual tops. While I was in the changing room I heard the screams of my son and thought twice about returning to my party – I nearly made a run for it just 30 minutes into the shopping trip…While in the changing room I also managed to achieve what Poppy hadn’t, that being a photo of my outfit of the day…
Here’s the top I tried – I think the fit of the 12 was fine and a 14 would have been to loose around the neck but the fabric was a tad too clingy for my liking so I passed on it.
On then to AllSaints. Not having a stand alone store in Atlanta I relish the opportunity to visit one here and the one in the Trafford Centre is pretty big. I left Mum and Dad watching their grandchildren and legged it. I certainly wasn’t intending on buying anything – but then why would I go in the store at all? Oh and then I discovered my heaven for the day – their sale had begun today! (on the US website too!)
I walked out with knitwear and yes granted it is needed here in Bury, it won’t be worn for a while in Atlanta with 90 degree temps. I ended up with four, yes four cardigans.
I love my black cerulean cardigan so I got the grey marl:
I already have the plume jumper in ivory and was tempted by the ebony striped one shown here, but ended up with the cardigan instead – my favorite of the 4 items, but not to be found on either the UK or US website:
Then I picked out the grey Jagger cardigan – I have the black jumper which I love, and I’m a magpie around anything grey – could only see the black online though:
Finally the Boston cardigan – just gorgeous and I can wear this in the summer evenings with shorts:
VERY, VERY happy with my haul. Sadly I then had to regroup with the tired, irritable children…poor things it’s not their fault the shopping gene hasn’t kicked in yet. So we took them off for fish and chips in John Lewis and all were soon happy and smiley again. I’m now at Mum and Dad’s with my first glass of white of the day – well earned I’m sure you will agree, and if you were in Manchester today and heard a manic woman yelling “Poppy!”, “Hugh!”, “Come on guys!” – it was me.
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