Monthly Archives: July 2012

A little worse for wear.

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That’ll be me not Kenny or Glenn, who for 2 guys in their 70s put on an amazing show last night.  They sang all their classics and even though Glenn needed 3 teleprompters he rallied the crowd with jokes regarding memory loss.  Poor guy – growing old can be cruel sometimes – physically he looks amazing and his tenor voice still sounds crystal clear.  As he sang his last song, with 3 of his children behind him in the band, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house – I was sobbing!  Kenny was pretty awesome too, though I did feel a bit short changed by ‘The Gambler’ which personally I think should have been his encore instead of ‘Islands in the Stream’ – I never realized so many of his hits were ballads – MM was not impressed…AC/DC is much more up his alley!  The AJC have written a great review here.  I danced my pants off and enjoyed a bottle of cava along with our picnic so yes a little worse for wear today – I shall be spending it holding the sofa down watching the Tour de France.  Incidentally the Tour is going from Limoux to Foix today where, in my experience, you can get the best omelet and frites followed by the most expensive MacDonalds in the World!

You can just make out Glenn here in the white shirt:

The best omelet and frites back in Limoux in 2010!

Hugh liked his nuggets too:)

For the show I went a little bit country and wore my Boden Boho tunic which I love – so comfy and yet quite dressy – perfect for a summer evening out.  It’s currently in the sale at $82.80 – still pricey but worth it in my eyes for a great summer dress.  I should also mention the amazing customer service I had from Boden this week.  They further reduced the price of several items – some of which I had bought at the start of the sale – after one quick email to them they credited my Boden account with the price difference of the items and checked my other orders for me to see if any other items had been reduced – so I now have $95 ‘extra’ sitting waiting to be spent when the new AW collection goes live!  Boden truly are fabulous.

I wore it with my new Sam Edelman Louie boots in rose taupe – they are just gorgeous – such an unusual color, especially for a boot and the leather is exquisitely soft.

Earlier in the day we headed out to the park with the children and Tennyson.  The weather is a bit overcast here with lots of storms rumbling through so it wasn’t really pool weather.  I wore my Express Zelda white crops which I love and have great stretch, my white Converse – I always forget how fun and comfortable these are to wear, and a steal from the Zara sale – a $10 oversize t-shirt in a lovely flamingo pink – really soft and drapey.  Since I got the Boden Bloom oil cloth beach bag in the sale for the pool I’m now using my Union Jack Beachcomber bag for day use – it’s so fun but unfortunately sold out.

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Damn the Zara sale!

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It’s hot as Hades here in Atlanta and humid to boot – but after MM reminding me that I have a half to train for and them a full marathon in January I headed out for a run this morning.  Miserable? – Yep.  Imagine running in a steam room or a sauna.  I started thinking I’d do 8miles, then changed my mind to 6miles after heading out of the door, then after 2miles decided 4 would be just manageable.  Ah well as Nike say ‘you either ran today or you didn’t’ and I did.

It helped a little that I had some super cute Lululemon attire to wear.  Not sure what is going on with Lululemon at the moment – their Facebook page has been covered in complaints about colors bleeding and changing after wear – not good – especially at their price points.  Their response is a little fishy stating that it depends on the wearer’s pH – hmmm – Nike don’t seem to have this issue so seems fairly odd to blame imperfections on your paying customer.  We’ll see how it evolves.  I have one incidence of color bleed on my blurred blossom pace setter skirt where the flash pink waist band bled into the skirt at the back during a wash – not happy as I always wash sports gear on cold.  Having said that I adore the pace setter skirts and have yet to find anything more comfortable or flattering to run in.

Pre-run this morning – Lululemon pace setter skirt in seaside dot, run swiftly tank in black, Newtons and bed hair:

After sweating my t*ts off I had an hour to fill before picking Poppy up from tennis camp.  Foolishly I decided to head to Zara to ‘browse’ their sale racks.  I had palpitations the moment I walked in.  The racks were packed with huge mark downs on items that I hadn’t seen before as I only started shopping in Zara around May time.  Within 10mins my arms were laden with tops, pants and jackets to try…it was like the Krypton Factor, or It’s a Knockout for more hilarity – I kept looking at the time worried about leaving my daughter stranded with her tennis racket.  In the end I decided that jackets were not needed as I have bought quite a few, especially my favorite Zara jersey jackets.  Prioritizing I decided to try the tops – I wear jeans so often that having a great selection of tops to wear for casual and ‘going out’ is beneficial (nearly wrote essential – but they’re not really!).  Plus the tops were dirt cheap – the most I paid for one was $25 – the others were $15 or $10 – brilliant!

The first is this lovely black long sleeved tee with skinny arms and a zip up the back – the zip is a bit too yellowy gold right now but it should fade with wear.  It will look great with jeans or my leopard print crops.

Then I got this lovely off white top – it’s knitted at the front and has a longer silky back – great for a night out with the girls!

This pink long sleeved tee is gorgeous and so soft – I can imagine wearing it under a jacket for work or with shorts around the house.

Here’s my favorite purchase – I think it is some sort of animal print at the front – and it is silky with a matte/stretchy material at the back – again a little longer at the back.  It’ll look great with black jeans or under a black jacket.

Now I’m off to take Hugh for a haircut – this could be the day all his locks go – he has been asking for it short for a while and I’ve resisted as he has such gorgeous long hair but I’m getting so irritated with people mistaking him for a girl…you’d think no guys in the US ever had long hair – it only happens over here and I am completely befuddled by it as to me he is obviously ALL boy!

Today I wore my new H&M purchase – the bird print dress I got back in England for a bargain of 12.99 GBP – it’s lovely and stretchy and has a cute flirty skirt to it.  I’m wearing my pink Tory Burch Revas with it for a splash of color.

Happy weekend y’all!

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Boden sale haul!

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Oh goodness words cannot describe how happy I am with my sale haul.  Let’s take this step by step…

– Chic leather biker jacket

This jacket is just lovely as I had hoped – I’ve had my eye on it all season.  The leather is so soft and the grey is a perfect neutral that goes with anything and everything from jeans to dresses to shorts – love it and worth every penny in the sale.  I ordered my usual US 6 and it fits great across the back and shoulders and in the arms – a little snug around my ample midriff but I’m unlikely to ever wear it fastened.

– Skinny jeans

I ordered these as a ‘oh let’s just try them’ as I have never ordered Boden jeans before, and tend to stick with my faithful Gap and Hudson brands, but I loved the cyclamen and quail egg colors so much that I needed to see them.  I am so glad I did.  Again I ordered in my regular US 6 and they are a higher waist than my Hudsons but really comfy – they are a tad snug when first pulled on but I’ve been wearing them for an hour or so now and they are just perfect.  Thrilled with them.

Sorry for the grainy photos – lighting isn’t great!

– Florence tunic

I ordered both the fennel and the navy for a pop of color and something classic.  They are a little thinner and a little shorter than last years chic linen tunic but I love them all the same.  With nude shapewear underneath I can wear them as dresses though they are sheer – I’ll keep my legs together.  I just love how summery they feel – they’d be great with leggings too if you are in cooler climates!  No photos yet but will sort that out for you:)

– Bloom Beach bag

Just fabulous – HUGE and colorful – with a gorgeous turquoise lining – I love it.  Will stay dry by the pool and look fantastic – wish I’d bought this sooner but I can’t wait to take it to Kyrenia next year!

– Jersey striped scarf

I have to say this is the hit of the haul – I hadn’t even considered it until Avril at School Gate Style put it on her wish list – but it is my most favorite item of the lot.  It’s large, drapey, soft and a fabulous grey with a trim of color.  It can be worn all year and will be perfect for transatlantic flights back home – I just love it and want all the other colors too!  Get it while you can for $24 it is fabulous.

So today I am wearing my gorgeous cyclamen jeans and they feel great – perfect for a rainy summer day in Atlanta.  I’ve paired them with my Zara butterfly top and I know butterflies and birds are omnipresent right now but I love this top and it was all of $36!  The navy one with collar is in the sale right now online for $19.99.  I think my turquoise Tory Burch Emmy sandals look fun with the jeans but maybe it’s too much color?  All topped off with my cream J.Crew light weight cashmere cardigan – it’s chilly in my air conditioned office!

Oh and I forgot to mention the gorgeous little touch from Boden – they slipped in a little notebook in one of my parcels – room to take notes plus some splendid quirky English tips like interpreting English English for Americans:)  One of my favorite Facebook pages is http://www.facebook.com/quitepeckish who serve up quaint little English tidbits daily – it’s fun.

What have been your favorite Boden sale purchases?

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There’ll be time enough for countin’ when the dealin’s done.

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Oh yeah baby – tickets are bought for what should be a tremendous night out on Saturday – Glen Campbell and Kenny Rogers together at Chastain Amphitheater!  To say I am excited is an understatement.  MM and I have seen a few acts over the years at Chastain most notable were The Pet Shop Boys and Willie Nelson – both were fantastic nights.  Chastain is a a great open air venue and everyone takes picnics and wine – some very well organized folks even take along cushions, folding tables and and wine coolers – my wine never lasts long enough to need one.  All morning I have been reacquainting myself with ‘Galveston’, ‘Rhinestone Cowboy’ and ‘The Gambler’ – I am giddy with excitement!  Oh and Loretta Lynn is playing there on the 24th August – if I can guarantee she’ll play from her Van Lear Rose album I’ll be buying tickets again – imagine if Jack White made a guest appearance!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUa-zUQaDU8&feature=related

I worked out again this morning at the Y so I’m feeling quite happy with myself!  I even seem to have got the gym bag packing down to a fine art – I used to really dislike getting ready at the gym before heading to work as I always found I’d forgotten something.  Well I seem to have cracked the code but I’m still walking out of the house with a work bag, gym bag and pool bag every day – it requires a lot of careful planning:)

I was inspired to wear an ‘old’ Boden tunic today after seeing Beth wear hers the other day.  This tunic is one of the first women’s wear items that I bought from Boden, and marks the time I became interested in clothes again after losing all my weight.  I love it and have it in the pinky color too.  I wore this taupe one when I was sworn in as a US citizen so it always brings back great memories when I wear it.  I’ve paired it with another couple of Boden classics – my pink and orange espadrilles which were a sale bargain and I love them for adding a pop of color to a ‘beige’ outfit, along with my taupe long line cardigan – another sale bargain from summer 2011.

Becoming an American back in 2010:

Today’s ensemble:

Bad photo taken in the Ladies:)

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Boden Summer Sale.

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Yes the Boden sale has started!  First I’m going to get it off my chest – I am sick to death of the bitching and moaning on the Boden Facebook page.  I don’t understand where the sense of entitlement comes from.  Boden is a company, out to make money and yes they want to listen to their customers and increase sales, but they certainly don’t have to start a sale on demand, nor, if they don’t have to, offer huge deep discounts.  Some people want something for nothing – so go on feel free to spend your money at Joules and White Stuff instead.  Only a couple of people, who appear to share my opinions, mentioned the numerous discounts that Boden offer throughout the season.  And as for complaining about lack of stock well that is just silly – that’s what a sale/clearance is all about – getting rid of it all – and hurrah for Boden if they managed to sell out of certain lines before the sale!

Phew – feel better now.  So after my post the other day about saving my money for the house etc.  I immediately failed and went and bought some fab items in the sale.  Even my little brother couldn’t resist a dig on my Poppy’s Style Facebook page🙂  Be quiet little bro’!

The first item I am so excited about, and Beth over at Style Guile featured it in her blog yesterday – the Chic leather jacket from the Limited Edition collection.  I’ve had my eye on it all season and nearly bought it discounted but decided to hold out.  I don’t think it is any cheaper here in the sale than with the discount code, but I knew it would disappear fast so snapped up my regular size.  I hope the US 6 works as LE tend to be a tad on the snug side but a couple of reviews said the arms were quite loose and I’ve found, with jackets at least, that the 8 drowns my shoulders – so fingers crossed this works out!  I love the color and it will look great over my AllSaints jumpers in the Fall.

Most of the items I bought I have actually been lusting over for a while – the oil cloth beach bag in bloom was actually on my Summer preview order but I cancelled it after getting the Beachcomber bag in the quail egg union jack instead.  The Beachcomber bag is great but it does get wet by the pool so I’m hoping the oil cloth bag will handle the splashing better.

I also had the Florence tunic on my summer preview order and again cancelled it as I just felt I had way too many tunics to choose from – I still do – but the sale price is too good to pass over and I love the classic navy and fennel colors.  I have the linen drawstring tunics from last year that I got in the sale in which I love worn as short dresses so I hope the Florence tunic lives up to expectations!

Now for the spontaneous, throw them in the cart, type purchases.  The first caught my eye after Avril at SchoolGateStyle.com picked it out here – the jersey scarf, but in grey melange.  A color that can be worn throughout the year – and hopefully it’s lovely and soft – definitely a bargain at $24.00!

Finally I nabbed the skinny jeans in cylcamen and quail egg.  I really think these colors can be worn throughout the year too and styled with long baggy jumpers or with the biker jacket they will look great – I’m certainly not keen on how Boden have styled them in the photos – but with a bit of imagination I think they can look a little ‘cooler’.  I’ve never bought jeans from Boden before so thought I’d give them a whirl as the reviews were pretty good.  I went with my usual size 6 as there is 3 % elastane in them and I find that jeans give quite a bit with wear – I only wash jeans after 4 or 5 wears so fingers crossed they work out well!

What did you all order?

Again I am suffering with the lack of a full length mirror and this morning all my photographers had left plus I worked out so got ready at the Y – and why oh why no full length mirror at the Y??  Anyway I am wearing my Tory Burch Emmy sandals in turquoise – I love them with tanned feet!  I bought them earlier this year and this is the first time I’ve worn them – so happy with them and given my funny feet they work well as there are no straps for my toes to get stuck over or between!  With them I’m wearing my white Express cropped jeans, my new white H&M top purchased back in England, which I love and it hides a multitude of sins, and my Boden grey jersey jacket from last year.  The turquoise necklace is a cheap trick from Target.

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Accessorizing my home.

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So we are half way through the renovations and I’m really starting to see how it is all taking shape.  The new huge windows are in the bedroom so we can wake up to the garden every day, the wall is in for the new closet, and the bath tub is sitting ready to be installed.  Thankfully we’ve also gotten rid of the remaining carpet on the main level – I find carpet a complete no no with two dogs and two children.  Of course with a remodel there is the expense of the actual work itself, but a bit like losing weight or changing your appearance with a new haircut, there has to be some new attire and accessories.

We’re going for a very minimal contemporary look so our walls will be some kind of white – there are hundreds to choose from!  For the interior of the closet we have set ourselves the challenge of designing it ourselves using the Pax modular closet from IKEA.  Again it is very modern and extremely versatile with different drawer and hanging options for all types of clothes.  Personally I LOVE IKEA though would probably never furnish my entire house with it.  They offer the best furniture for children’s rooms and solutions for storing all the shrapnel that children seem to collect, and dare I say it – I love assembling a flat pack.  This week I have assembled two Expedit storage cubes for the kids – one for our family/tv room and the second for Poppy’s room.  They are brilliant and look fab – I’m even thinking of getting a red one now for our laundry room as a place for all our bags etc. when we walk in from the garage.

For years now I have been on the hunt for my perfect vanity/dressing table and I’m glad I have waited till now to buy one as I think I have a much clearer idea of where our aesthetic is heading.  I have always liked the idea of a mirrored vanity but most are either ridiculously expensive, are too traditional in style, or have zero storage for cosmetics.  I think I might have just found the most perfect one at West Elm – the mirrored Parsons desk.  It’s not cheap at $599 but has the sleek look that I was aiming for plus 2 small drawers for cosmetics.  To soften the blow I am considering the Tobias chair from IKEA to pair with it.  We have 2 of these around our Big Sur breakfast table and they add a great contemporary feel, open up the space and contradict other styles like natural wood well.

To allow me to continue to indulge in my outfit of the day blogs, and to open up the bedroom given the fact it will be slightly smaller due to my immense walk in closet, I also have the Parsons floor mirror from Crate and Barrel on my wish list – it is huge and will look fabulous leaning against the exterior of the closet wall.

We also thankfully got rid of the dogs’ chaise.  Yes the dogs had their own chair but as they would now rather lie on any other piece of furniture than their own I decided that it was time for it to go.  It smelt and looked rather horrid after years of use.  So a large area has opened up in the kitchen where I plan to create a ‘coffee nook’ that can be transformed into an area for entertaining given that all our parties end up in the kitchen…though our house has very few walls it can be argued where the kitchen actually begins and ends…I’m going to get two Tullsta arm chairs in black leather from IKEA which are cheap enough to get trashed by the children, but look neat and sleek enough to be pleasing on the eye too.

As a coffee table solution for this small space I’ve ordered another Stow ottoman from Crate and Barrel in persimmon.  We have a green one already which I love – the lid flips over so it can be used as either a seat, a foot rest, or a table – and it can easily be moved around the house – brilliant!  Given our house is full of neutral tones accessorized with either pops of orange or green I went for this lovely orange.

 

So no clothing allowance for me for a while – at least till I have accessorized my home…

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Get out and run.

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As you all know I love running – I haven’t been running regularly for long – only since I had the children – but it is now my means of keeping sane and trim – I love it.  It being the 4th July yesterday we went to watch the Peachtree Road Race – the largest 10k event in the World with 60,000 entrants from elite runners to casual joggers to walkers.  I have never wanted to enter mainly because of the size of the field and it isn’t run in a loop, so getting anywhere close to home after the race is a nightmare – plus because of the number of runners taking part you can be standing in starting corrals for 2 hours before you even cross the start line.  However, I love watching it, and this year we made it to the course in time to watch the elite runners go up the hill past Piedmont Hospital.  Now on television you really do not get a great sense of anyone’s speed – except their speed relative to others – but watching the leading men run up that hill made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end – my God they were fast!  Not surprisingly the Kenyans and Ethiopians dominated again with the Kenyans taking 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in the men’s race – won with an amazing time of 27mins 37 secs – it doesn’t seem that long ago that running 1mile in under 5mins was a feat!  It makes my 10/11 min miles look like a casual walk.

Thrilled, waiting for the runners.

Flying up the hill.

Getting into the swing of things.

Now here’s where I am going to court some controversy.  Firstly can someone tell my why Newton think it will help their marketing to set up a tent with beer kegs and pass out beer to runners at 8am?  Maybe I am taking the ‘fun’ out of ‘fun run’ but I was really curious about why they did this – am I just becoming a fuddy duddy?  I can’t think of anything I would want less at mile 3 of a run in that heat – and it’s not really what I associate with $180 running shoes.

The Newton Beer Kegs.

Secondly, I began running to help lose some weight so I do indeed know what it is like to be overweight, but if yesterday’s race participants were a sample of the US population we are in a terrifying state of affairs.  I know we are facing an obesity epidemic but I would guess that almost 90% of the ‘runners’ I saw were overweight and many were walking the race.  Now I applaud them if they were taking part as part of their getting fit goals but I kinda think for many it’s the only exercise they will do this year.  I felt like holding a banner up saying ‘do this 3 days a week and get healthy!’.  It saddened me further that many of the spectators were sitting on lounge chairs with a box of 24 donuts.  Okay off my soapbox for now, and these are my own opinions that you’re welcome to disagree with.

After my hot as Hades run this morning I popped into Lululemon to treat myself to a new Swiftly short sleeve t-shirt in blush quartz which I love – and it coordinates well with many of my pace setter skorts.  I normally buy the Swiftly tanks but I love the cap sleeves on the t-shirt – it looks a bit more polished – if you consider that important when sweating your t*ts of running.  Plus I got to investigate our brand new store on Howell Mill Rd – I LOVE it and they have the friendliest staff!

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Jet lag.

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Uuuurggh suffering from jet lag and my 4 year old is waking up at 3am thinking it is 8am aaarrrgggh!  Thankfully tomorrow is the 4th so we have a day off to enjoy the pool and fireworks and celebrate our Independence as all Americans do – just a tad odd that it was independence from the Brits.  When both children asked to wear red, white and blue today I did think about their England shirts – but only for a moment.

So tomorrow we’re up early (or late if you are my son) to go and cheer on the runners in the Peachtree road race which will no doubt have me desperate for a run – so a good job I just registered for another half marathon!  Then off to the pool followed by burgers on the grill and then peering over the trees to watch the fireworks.  I always enjoy Independence day but not so much when it falls on a Wednesday – it’s harder to justify taking two days off work…

On my return I have been amazed to see how much work has been done on the house – new windows are in, new floors are stained and the tub has even arrived!  Only about 4 weeks of work left hopefully so we are off to IKEA on Friday to investigate closet fixtures and fittings – very exciting.  I’m ashamed to say my new walk in closet is almost as big as my old bedroom in the UK:-/

Due to the ongoing work I found myself this morning with no full length mirror so my lovely daughter kindly obliged – I think I need to get her to stand on a stool next time – photos are never flattering when taken from below chin level – I look a bit startled!  Today I am wearing my Zara off white jersey blazer (their sale has started but to be honest I don’t think the reductions are great so I haven’t been tempted by anything), H&M spotty skirt from a couple of years ago and a black tank from Express, along with my Tory Burch black Emmy sandals which you can barely see.

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