Monthly Archives: December 2012

Roll necks and camouflage.

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My black Boden Off Duty jumper has finally arrived – I’m still waiting for the grey to be delivered and I’m now tempted to order the mole melange color too.  Boden’s Off Duty jumper is bloody brilliant.  It’s a beautiful square cut jumper with skinny, ribbed arms – not dissimilar in cut and style to an All Saints jumper I have, though Boden’s version has a fabulous roll neck that is just perfect – not too tight and not too loose – just right in fact.  It’s mainly cotton so hangs beautifully and has a touch of cashmere in it for a lovely softness.  Granted it’s only now that it is cold enough to wear a roll neck – but I can’t believe it took me so long to order this beauty.  Once again Boden have done us proud.

Today I’ve paired it with my Zara camouflage jeans and Isabel Marant Dicker boots in black (glad I got these this season – looks like they are going up in price for 2013).  I layered the jumper over an H&M long, grey vest as you might feel a bit of a draft without anything under it.  MM just told me I look very Gallic – I’ll take that as a complement – it’s the closest I’ll get to one sitting here in the office:)

Q753 will get you 25% off with Free Shipping at www.BodenUSA.com.

 

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Recovering.

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A quick post today as I am recovering from a fabulously fun and frenetic weekend!  Saturday was spent cheering on the swim team where Poppy won both her races – I’m so proud of my little fish!  We celebrated on Saturday night with a fabulous Chinese takeaway and a bottle of Prosecco – my idea of a perfect night these days:)

On Sunday we hosted a little gathering to welcome in the festive period.  We’ve been trying to get some friends together for a while now and the timing worked perfectly as it meant we could turn it into a fun Christmas party too.  I like to keep my parties simple otherwise I just get overwhelmed with the prep and the fun gets taken over by anxiety.  So yesterday I laid out a spread of cheese, meats and bread and ensured there was plenty of wine for all.  I obviously got a little distracted with the wine as once everyone had left I realized I’d left the shrimp platter and salami in the fridge!  I’m a little fuzzy today but have managed to drag my backside into the office…the lack of organization and fuzziness this morning means my photo today is taken in the office bathrooms again:)

I definitely went for comfort today – these are my Gap Always Skinny, black jeans. They’re a US 4 but have so much stretch in them it’s really like wearing leggings – I could sleep in these they are so comfortable.  The jumper is another H&M purchase – super cheap and super soft – I love the pink cuffs.  The boots are the AllSaints Bonny Cuban.

Must. Go. To. The. Gym. Today.  Need to re-balance the H2O : Wine ratio.

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‘Tis the season for competition.

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Every year we add to the list of our Family Traditions at Christmas.  In recent years a tradition that has become more and more popular, is to head out for a drive after dark and take a look at all the wonderful National Lampoon style Christmas lights that adorn the houses around Atlanta.  It’s a bit like our version of the Blackpool Illuminations that Mum and Dad used to take us to see years ago:)  This year it seems our neighborhood has significantly upped their game.  A little friendly neighborly competition maybe?  There are Antebellum columns wrapped as candy canes, herds of deer lit up, and several Santa legs sticking out of chimneys.  One of the easiest (if you don’t mind heights) to set up, and most fun was spotted this morning on our school run – I was in the line for the lights – don’t worry no hands free driving here…just so Santa knows where to go…

It was time for my indulgent morning at the salon again today.  Five weeks comes around quickly – one of the drawbacks, or welcome pleasures, of short hair – depending on whether you focus on the money you part with, or on the relaxing pampering that you receive.

I wore my Zara leopard print khaki pants and khaki chunky sweater (not found online), with a long line H&M black vest dress layered underneath.  The boots are my fabulous Newburys and the scarf is also H&M.

Given how much time I spend on the Zara website it is no surprise that the inspiration for today’s haircut came from their TRF Lookbook.  I just think this girl looks stunning.  Her boyish cut really appeals to me and given how difficult the red is to maintain I shared this image with both my colorist and hairdresser.

Unfortunately they were not able to provide me with her stunning, gamine features but I’m pretty pleased with the cut and color.  Very happy in fact.

 

Now time to celebrate the new haircut with a glass of plonk.  Happy weekend y’all!

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The Roaring 20’s.

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School, very kindly, has given us our first ‘project’ to complete.  First grade and we’re already doing project work – which basically means Mom and Dad are doing project work.  It’s for social studies and we’ve been asked to pick a decade in history to research the differences between now and then.  Poppy (read Mom and Dad) has to learn how to Google for information, collect images, make a poster, and then dress as a character from that time in order to present her findings next week.  Using my noggin I picked the decade based on the easiest costume to locate on Amazon.com – I’m not stitching one together that’s for certain – so the ‘Roaring 20’s’ it is.  Poppy is thrilled with her bright pink flapper dress and feather head dress – and I’m thrilled as that’s my contribution complete, though I thought I’d rent ‘Bugsy Malone‘ and ‘Throroughly Modern Millie‘ so we can learn some moves:)  Having a Doctor of history in the house means that I have delegated all research to MM.  He claims it’s not his period, but tough.  I was advised to keep the poster for Hugh when he enters first grade – apparently all families recycle their projects…not sure how he will feel about the pink flapper dress – but he’ll only have to wear it for one day.

I wasn’t sure about the dress I’m wearing today when I first bought it, but I really like it now.  The sleeves are a great length and it has a lovely deep V neckline at the back – just deep enough to show some flesh but not too deep so your bra strap shows.  I really like the geometric print and the colors are just me – pinks and greys.  It’s from H&M but their US website isn’t showing it right now – I can’t wait for them to start their online store!  The leggings are Boden grey marl and the flats are Tory Burch Eddies – yes it’s still warm enough for ballet flats here – and they have some sizes on sale right now.  The necklace is from Macy’s.

 

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70 degrees Farenheit on December 4th?!

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Sorry to rub it in for all you folks suffering with cold and snow – especially back in the UK – but we are having ridiculously abnormal temperatures here for the first week in December!  It’s in the 70s!  Talk about Global Warming – seriously!  I was out and about yesterday and saw people in shorts and t-shirts again.  Now I like warm weather but I like my December to feel like December – I hope it cools down soon so I can snuggle in my sweaters and knitwear again.

Daycare was closed yesterday for random reasons, so I had my son with me all day.  It turned into a fun day.  He ‘helped’ decorate the outside of the house – not National Lampoon style – but a few lights on the bushes, plus our inflatable 4ft Santa – tasteful if you ask me, with just enough festive spirit:)  We then headed off to the Fernbank Museum to see the dinosaurs.  There was also a fabulous Genghis Khan exhibit and a fun adventure area for him to burn some energy off.  He obviously had fun because when I asked him to tell Daddy what we had been up to he was thrilled to tell him ‘we had Chick-fil-a for lunch!’ – sod the museum.

The tree is also up and finished.  I had a lovely Saturday afternoon decorating with the kids, drinking Prosecco and listening to Radio 2 – it’s the little things in life:)  I then embraced everything Southern as I cheered on the University of Georgia in the SEC Championship Football game – fabulous game but we threw it away with 15 seconds to go, such is life.

Our salt dough decorations, as promised.  These were painted at 7am Saturday – we’re early crafters in this household:

The tree – no idea why we have a blue top:

So today there was a bit of a dilemma when it came to dressing.  It was freezing when I was out walking Tennyson at 7am but the weather man has promised it will be in the 70s again today.  I opted for my Hudson jeans with a long sleeved t-shirt and my lovely Zara jacket that hasn’t had too many outings (sorry I can’t find either online!).  The boots are the Sam Edelman Louie.

Last night I watched The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills – my favorite ‘remove brain and watch’ t.v. – and the Beverly Hills franchise is my favorite.  This season I am completely smitten with Yolanda and her effortless beauty.  Just watch and see how stylish she is in her white jeans and Hermes belt.  Last night she looked amazing in her Lululemon Inspire crops and she was by far the most appropriately attired for their trip away.

Yolanda:

Do you watch the Real Housewives?  Who’s your favorite cast member?

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