I am on the other end of the spectrum from “Domestic Goddess”. I rarely cook – as in a home made meal from scratch – and never bake. All this is changing though and I’m actually finding some pleasure in it. Yesterday I found myself in heaven with a Saturday afternoon at home all by myself. A highly unusual situation. After being ill this week I have been craving some real comfort food – more specifically some good red meat. So I decided to make a beef and ale stew. It wasn’t until I actually put it all in the oven that I appreciated what a ridiculously easy, yet deliciously rewarding, meal this is to make. The house smelled incredible and yes the stew tasted pretty darn good too!
Next up is to bake my favorite cake that my Mum makes when I’m home. It’s delicious – and even better with custard when I can find it over here – Delia’s very sticky prune and date cake. Maybe we need the equivalent of The Great British Bake Off over here for some additional inspiration? If Dancing with the Stars can work here then surely a baking show can?
Looking for comfort again I decided to take advantage of Boden‘s diminishing discount offer and order some great basics for the coming winter months (WAFF is the best code I could find that is current and will give you 15% off). I love knitwear and I would wear it all year round if I could. Boden has the best quality and selection of classic shapes I have found. They’re not cheap but reasonable when bought with a discount.
My wardrobe right now seems to revolve around patterned or colored trousers – whether they be of the jeans, skinnies or harem variety – so I chose some lovely neutral sweaters that can be worn with all of them. My favorite is unfortunately delayed but, fingers crossed, it may turn up early. It is the black Off Duty Jumper – a lovely roll neck, boxy jumper that will look great with skinnies and will layer well. I normally order US 8 in their jumpers but went for a US 6 in this based on reviews.
Next up for a bit of sparkle I ordered the sparkle Skye jumper in parchment. I had ordered the regular Skye jumper early in the preview and returned it in the charcoal as 1) the 8 was huge and 2) the charcoal seemed a bit blah for the price. I do love the cut though and hope that this lovely nude in a 6 will be a good choice.
Finally for a splash of color I’ve ordered the washed red Fairisle jumper. I think this will look gorgeous with jeans and a white shirt underneath it, with my Pistols. I love this red and yes it may be verging on a Christmas jumper but what the heck – I’ll happily wear this on Xmas Day in NYC!
Ooops I did just say finally didn’t I? Not quite – I ordered the Iona coat too – in fact 2 of them. I couldn’t quite make my mind up – red for fun and color or black for versatility – so I’ve ordered both colors to compare and get MM’s opinion. Some of the UK reviews complained about this coat being too light – which here in Atlanta – could make this the perfect coat for me. I’m really hoping it works more like a heavy cardigan that I can throw on over a top or light sweater. I love the drape of it and think if styled right it could look really fun and stylish.
I’ll keep you posted as they arrive!
Today we headed to the Zoo – one of our favorite places to spend Sunday mornings – yep another way we differ from the majority of Atlanta. MM took great amusement in my camo gear – it really wasn’t intentional to look like I was heading out into the wild with the rhinos, but a bad choice of outfit in hindsight! The camo trousers are Zara – I can’t say enough about how comfy these are. The top and scarf are also Zara, worn with my JohnnieB leather jacket from last winter, and the Ash Gwen studded sneakers.
Oh and I have a budding hairdresser in the house – my daughter decided to cut Hugh’s hair today – he won’t need his fringe trimmed for a while that’s for sure…
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Poppy's Style 
Did you freak out at the fringe trim? I have to say, he doesn’t actually look that bad and she’s done quite a good job – will save you a fortune at the hairdressers ongoing now that you know she’s capable of.
I like the Zoo outfit – great tones and I would love to wear camo trousers but I know they would wear me instead.
Cooking – I do it only because I have to and the hubs would divorce me otherwise. Left to my own devices, there’s the pop, pop, pop of the plastic going on the microwave meal … again. As the hubs says “there’s nothing quite like the sound of Sue cooking”.
I did – I lost it. He has such gorgeous hair and it was cut in a great style – I just think this makes him look like the village idiot now:( It will grow but I was mad as hell and they came to show me with such pride – they weren’t expecting my reaction! I did find the humor in it eventually!
I like cooking if I’ve planned it – but hate thinking of dinner every evening…I’m trying to do more of it especially at the weekend.
Poppy did such a good job. My brother once cut my hair; cut one ponytail right off. Wasn’t cute and mom was not happy!
Love the zoo outfit too. Perfect.
I was not happy at all – saw the humor eventually – but it’s not a good look on him!:)
She didn’t do a bad job on the haircut – mine took the clippers to his head at age 4, gave himself somewhat of a reverse mohican do!!
I love cooking – especially big meals but find the day to day cooking a bit of a chore!! Have embraced the crockpot of late – it’s great to do a few minutes of prep work in the morning before leaving for work and then come home to dinner already done and the house smelling good;-)
Hmm I had ‘tidied’ it up a little here – it was pretty lobsided – and the fringe is still wacky – it will grow though…
I like cooking if I have planned it – love being in the kitchen pottering – I just hate thinking of dinners every night – we tend to eat our own food from Monday – Thursday then eat all together at the weekend. Need to get my crockpot out again – I’m always scared to leave it on while I’m out all day – fear of things setting on fire while I’m gone!
So I received my Sparkle Skye Jumper in navy and it does run large. I ordered the 6, and maybe should have gone with the 4. However, I am kind of digging the over-sized slouch and plan to work it as is. I have enough fitted knitwear that this gives me some versatility. The sparkle is just right, btw, very lovely and not too in your face. 🙂
Did you get yours yet?
Hi yes I did receive it I love it!! So nice to wear with jeans and boots for a night out. I’ll probably wear it this weekend so look out for it:) I got the US 6 and it’s perfect! xx