Category Archives: Family

Our first full day in Istanbul

We arrived late last night and Poppy, Hugh and I were thrilled to be reunited with their Daddy! He had arrived a day earlier to indulge in a little Byzantine culture – our first trip here 24 years ago was to aid his PhD in Ancient History – but we happened to fall in love too. Istanbul is a very special place for us and I am quite surprised it’s taken us so long to get back here!

We were super excited at Manchester airport – Turkish Airlines are one of the best, if not the best airline I have ever flown on!

Poppy’s Hat – Accessorize // My hat – Accessorize Shoes – Ancient Greek // Shorts – J.Crew (now on sale reduced from $75 to $44.99) // Top – Mango

This morning we began the day with a trip to the Grand Bazaar where Poppy became the only person I know to get something for free instead of having to barter! She is in her element here – people are SO friendly and she is chatting everyone up a storm with her pidgin Turkish!

With her gifted scarf – just for being cute!

Date night

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Last night my husband and I went out for dinner. The first time, in probably 7 years (when I was last pregnant), that we have been out together without drinking. This not drinking lark really isn’t that difficult, and heading into my third week of sober living I feel a wonderful sense of calm and wellbeing.

Our favorite restaurant recently closed so we headed across town to the Floataway Cafe – another great restaurant with good hearty food. I finished my meal off with the best sticky toffee pudding ever! Thankfully I wore trousers with an elasticated waist – that’s planning for you.

Trousers – Mango // Top – Zara // Shoes – Marks and Spencer (currently with 20% off)

Finally here is an outfit I forgot about from Monday – nothing special – just comfortable for the office.

Shoes – Marks and Spencer (old) // Jeans – J.Crew (30% off with SHOPNOW) // T-shirt – Splendid // Cardigan – Gap (old)

24 years later and we’re still giggling

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Yesterday was a little anniversary that my husband and I like to celebrate! It was 24 years since we first became an item and had our first kiss in The Central Bar, St. Andrews. I lost a year too somewhere – I spent all yesterday saying it was 23 years!

To celebrate we headed out to our favorite Mexican joint. I had too much tequila 🙂

I wore my fabulous new TopShop sandals – I LOVE them – I was nervous about the flatform but they feel great on and I love the extra height – they feel dressy. The jeans are new from J.Crew – a lovely light summery wash and they are super soft and stretchy – size down – I’m in a 28″! The detail in this top hasn’t come out very well in this photo – but take a look here it’s beautiful and gorgeous quality linen.

Top – J.Crew // Jeans – J.Crew // Sandals – TopShop

I also wore my simple septum ring for the first time – I love it and fortunately so does my husband. My kids are staying firmly on the fence about it – I think I’ve put them off piercings for life 😉 You can check out my Pinterest board here for some beautiful images that inspired me.

Earlier in the day I was running around with various errands and after my AllSaints post I decided to wear another of their dresses that I adore. This is the Pia from a couple of years ago. So easy to wear and it generated plenty of compliments. This one is very similar and is in the sale plus an extra 20% off with code Extra20.

Dress – AllSaints // Boots – Rag&Bone Newbury

Okay I’m off to walk off the margaritas with the dogs – it is a stunning day here in Atlanta – enjoy your long weekend if you are in the UK!!

Catching up

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I’m home and just recovering from my jetlag! Fortunately it is Hugh’s 7th birthday today so I have had lots to get on with to take my mind off my fatigue. This might be the most excited I’ve seen him yet for a birthday. We’re heading for burgers and milkshakes today to celebrate then he has a party tomorrow with his classmates. Oddly enough it has snowed today here in Atlanta – as it did 7 years ago when I left the hospital – a rare occurrence here in March but I remember it all so vividly!

So in between dashing around for lunch with Hugh, collecting cakes and balloons and dropping dogs at the vets I thought I’d take 5 mins to catch up on some outfits worn recently. The weather is not conducive to planning right now – when I landed on Wednesday it was 70 degrees Fahrenheit and today it is in the high 20s and snowing!

I’m making a special effort for the birthday boy and decided to wear a dress for lunch with him – he looked petrified this morning when I threatened to wear my onesie 🙂

Dress – Cashmere dress Uniqlo (in sale) // Boots – Stuart Weitzman Lowland in Currant

Yesterday I was incredibly jet lagged and fuzzy and needed the comfort of sneakers and dungarees.

Sneakers – Nike Air Max // Dungarees – H&M // Tee – J.Crew (old similar here) // Cardigan – ASOS

Before leaving for the UK it was all about the flares. I wore these in London too and they felt fabulous!

Sneakers – Nike Air Max // Flares – Northmore from ASOS (just $39 in the sale!) // Jumper – Boden Off Duty jumper (reduced in the sale now!)

Finally one from the camera – it seems so long since I wore it but I love the pink!

Boots – Rag & Bone Newbury boots // Jeans – Zara // Jumper – Uniqlo cashmere crewneck // Fur – Zara (old)

Off to school now! I better be on my best behavior for the birthday boy 🙂

A week of Christmas concerts

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Even though we have lived just up the road from the Governor’s Mansion for 15 years, we have never yet received an invite for dinner and drinks. This week we came close and we were invited for a Christmas tour accompanied by music – and bonus – Poppy’s school chorus had been selected to sing, in addition to that Poppy’s name was one of 50 drawn out of the hat to represent the chorus! Talk about another proud mom moment. I dragged myself off my sick bed and threw on my festive colors. I was even greeted by the First Lady of Georgia a the door, though I chose not to challenge her about the lack of previous invites 😉 It was a fabulous morning and I may have shed my first tear of the season.

OH took the photo – hence the sun in the eyes, the large amount of blue sky and lack of sparkly boots, but thank you nonetheless 🙂

Trouser – J.Crew (30% off with code JINGLE) // Sweater – Everlane sleeveless polo neck // Coat – Marks and Spencer (old) // Boots not seen – Zara

Yesterday I had Hugh’s 1st Grade concert to attend. Unfortunately there are no school nativities here due to separation of Church and State etc. so we were treated to a Holiday celebration of ‘patterns’. Quite good fun actually – they sung about patterns in music, numbers, nature etc. There was an absence of Holiday colors on my part but the kids made up for it I assure you!

Sneakers – J.Crew // Jeans – Zara // T-Shirt – ASOS // Scarf – Boden (old) // Cardigan – ASOS

Just this morning I was back at the school watching the chorus and orchestra perform. Such good fun – they really love it too and they were so animated. I can now say that Christmas has arrived. I was there early as you can see it was still pitch black when I took my photo! This is the closest you will get me to wearing a Christmas sweater 🙂

Sneakers – Golden Goose (similar here on sale) // Trousers – Zara // Sweater – J.Crew (30% off with code Jingle) // Jacket – Mango (similar here on sale) // Bag – Zara

Just as I am wiping my brow with relief that all the Christmas shopping is done, I am beginning to receive sale emails! The Mango sale started today so I’ll be enjoying a glass of white and perusing that later 🙂 Now I need to reapply my lipstick as my lovely Husband is taking me out for lunch before the kids break up for the Holidays tomorrow. My Father in Law arrives from the UK today too so the festivities are certainly underway here.

I’ll keep you posted with sale news so keep checking my Facebook page too!

A new hobby

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Throughout my life no one has ever considered me to be creative. I’ve always been pigeon holed as the left brained scientist. Not a bad thing at all, but I do remember feeling rather dejected after my attempts to draw and shade the light and shadow on an apple, and my rather pathetic depiction in clay of me sitting on a wall – it used to be on the sideboard at home but even my proud Mum has now relegated it to a shelf in the spare room 🙂

Having children can force you into all kinds of situations that you would never normally consider, such as crafting and painting. Before kids I would never have considered owning a glue gun or paint brushes. Well how things change. Poppy and Hugh have always loved making a mess with paint and recently I was inspired to have a go. It was after buying a couple of fabulous Donald Robertson designed J.Crew tees. I love them for their simplicity and repetitive images. I started following @Donalddrawbertson on Instagram – he really does seem quite a down to earth, talented guy. Having said that, I thought ‘this looks a piece of piss – I’m going to have a go’. So using his art as inspiration – the highest form of flattery – I grabbed my acrylics, a brush, and a bottle of white and started dabbling. Feel free to giggle but I am quite proud of them having not painted since I was 14! Give it a go yourself – you never know what might appear in front of you on paper!

This is my first ever painting on canvas – it is now hung in my sunroom – signed – just in case it is worth a fortune after I am gone…

Here is a frame I put up with my attempt at the top and Poppy’s brilliant interpretation below:

Now these were quite scary – both were attempts at self portraits – far too much wine by this stage 🙂

I then moved on to animals – it started out as a deer, then became a dog with Christmas antlers:)

A cairn terrier – not sure where this came from but I had one called Macks as a child.

This is probably the one that troubled my Husband the most when he saw my talent scattered on the kitchen table. I’m not sure about this one at all – the Devil, a Centaur or Mr. Tumnus?

And here I am wearing one of my favorite tees that inspired me to pick up the brush – head over to J.Crew where they are currently on sale with 30% off using code GIVETHIS – there are also some fabulous Crewcut versions for kids.

T-shirt – J.Crew // Jeans – Zara (old) // Boots – Charcoal suede Newbury boots (similar here) // Cardigan – AllSaints (old but similar here and the end of season sale is on in the US)

I forgot to include this photo the other day of me grabbing some Christmas bargains in J.Crew for Poppy.

Boots – Isabel Marant Dicker // Jeans – Diesel Fayza // Sweater – Boden Off Duty jumper (25% off everything right now) // Knitted coat – ASOS

Finally yesterday – it is getting a bit chilly for ankles but I am persevering!

Shoes – Zara // Trousers – Zara (old) // T-shirt – J.Crew (similar here on sale) // Jacket – Zara (old) // Scarf – H&M (old) // Bag – H&M

So when you are wondering what to do on a cold winter’s night get your paints out and see what happens!!

Cirque du Soleil and Columbus Day sales!

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We’re on Fall break here till Tuesday. Its a new break they have introduced into the school calendar year and I love it! Previously we have gone from early August to Thanksgiving with no break – which take it from me – is a LONG slog. These few days off give us time for some well earned r&r in the perfect Fall weather that we’re enjoying.

Last night we took the children to Cirque du Soleil and all I can say is AMAZING! We saw them a couple of years ago at the same venue – a huge chapiteau erected down at Atlantic Station. I say huge but once inside it is remarkable how close you are to the action, they are masters at involving the audience in the story. If you ever have the chance to go and see a Cirque du Soleil show go! I was skeptical before my first show but these guys even make juggling a jaw dropping experience!

Sneakers – Adidas Stan Smiths // Skirt – Mango leather drawstring skirt // Top – AllSaints (old but similar here)

My friends on Instagram mentioned how well my black eye has healed up – I have to say Bare Minerals concealer is the BEST – it literally conceals any blemish! Plus it is in powder form so never looks caked on – check it out the next time you walk into a glass door!

Fall break coincides with Columbus Day here which is on Monday. Another excuse for retailers to punt their Fall clothes. Don’t miss out on the following fabulous sales that are currently underway!

AllSaints – 20% off select items using OCTOBER

J.Crew – 30% off using WEEKENDPLANS

J.Crew Factory – 50% off entire site

Piperlime – 20% off with FALL20

Enjoy!

Sneakers – Adidas Samoas // Skirt – Mango leather skirt // T-shirt – J.Crew (old but similar here)

Another year

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16 years ago today I married the man of my dreams. Actually I never dreamt I would snag such a good one who would tolerate me so well for all this time 🙂

We began our celebrations on Wednesday night by going retro with an Erasure gig. Andy Bell didn’t fail to disappoint with his voice or his hot pants! I skipped the pleather shorts and wore my River Island jumpsuit which I never got a full length shot of, sorry, but it’s now on sale at ASOS!

I was a little worse for wear on Wednesday after a late, late night on Tuesday. An old friend from the UK was in town so I had to take him out for a few drinks no? I got home at 3am after eating just 5 oysters all night – yikes! I cannot do it anymore! I wore my fab Zara jumpsuit for the occasion. Just be warned NEVER leave it to the last minute to have a pee when wearing a jumpsuit! As the night gets later they can get more and more challenging to remove! The shoes were bought in the UK in the Coast sale and the bag is current H&M. I am in LOVE with the fringe!

Today my Husband surprised me with lunch out and tonight we’re off for dinner. Thank goodness I killed myself at Hot Yoga again this morning – I’m telling you it is the best exercise in the world and so invigorating!

Here’s my lunch attire – still debating over what to wear tonight! This leather skirt is fabulous – so soft and easy to wear. This is a Eur L/US M so it is nice and slouchy and not too tight or short.

Leather skirt – Mango // T-shirt – Marks & Spencer (old) // Sneakers – Golden Goose // Bag – H&M

And here we are – all loved up after all this time – gosh I’m a lucky lady!

Beach days.

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We’re planning on spending our remaining week on the beach – lounging, getting too much sun, eating too much food, reading more books and soaking up all aspects of the beautiful Mediterranean. I’ve read more than on any other vacation (probably a sign the kids are older and entertaining themselves!). I’m on book 5 now, and if you are searching for a great beach read, the best to date has been “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn. Nothing high brow about this book, just a great, page turning thriller that is easy to pick up and put down when the children beckon!

My beach attire has mainly consisted of my J.Crew bikinis, and yes I have dared to go topless – the kids don’t seem too scarred…with one of my ASOS dresses to throw on for coffee and lunch. I have, however, also fallen in love with the ‘romper’ or ‘playsuit’. They just seem to be far less mutton on a beach, and they are so easy to throw on over a swimsuit. Here are some of my favorites – some are in the sale right now too – perfect timing for all of you starting holidays in the UK and Europe!

Possibly the best bargain of the bunch is this Liquorish Tiger print playsuit. The print is super fun and it is currently reduced from $123 to $53!

This River Island playsuit is cute with a layered/tiered top. I love the print with monochrome and florals. Given my love for their jumpsuits I know this will be just as easy to wear.

I love this palm print romper – it is a great color and really comfy – yes it is in my closet…

Another steal at $34 – I have this and love wearing it – fun, comfortable and leopard, it looks fab with a tan!

At just $38 this floral version is great – I just love the bandeau top and the shape it gives. Super flattering for an apple or a pear shape. It’s also 5% elastane so has plenty of stretch for those nature breaks!

This is the jumpsuit version which I will admit to having ordered. I went for the full length mainly because my beach vacation is winding down and this will be more appropriate for wearing back in Atlanta. It’s currently reduced to $41!

This flamingo version is so much fun – I love it for by the pool with a cocktail! All sizes are available and it is just $15!!

I have seen lots of items labelled ‘Festival’ recently and it always turns me off somewhat given my age, however, I LOVE this playsuit. The longer sleeves make it so easy to wear, revealing less flesh, so you can easily wear it off the beach too.

This denim playsuit with straps is lovely and it has a great shape with no waistline, so it will be super comfortable and unrestrictive.

This cami playsuit is beautiful and I am torn between the black and the green – the green possibly edges ahead. It’s a beautiful lightweight jumpsuit that will take you from beach to bar to club (I know you all still do!).

Finally – another jumpsuit – not in the sale but I couldn’t resist – I just adore this print.

Do you have a romper ready to pack in your case? Here’s my M&S playsuit from today, worn with my Sam Edelman Reeves, accessorized with a bottle of San Miguel:)

Some snaps from the past two days!:

Food and Wine.

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I refuse to worry about weight gain whilst on vacation – especially when I know I’m starting training for another half marathon on my return. I might as well enjoy the last few weeks of indulgence hey? Spanish food is deceptive – small portions of fresh food make you think it’s all good, but there’s lots of fried patatas, fish and meats all washed down with sangria or cava – and well – it’s easy to see it ain’t all that healthy. But boy it is good. I can safely say we have eaten better food on this vacation than any other. Consistently great, fresh food and you don’t feel ripped off when you pay the bill.

Yesterday we ate by the beach in La Heradurra. A beautiful, old school resort town with no high rises in sight. The shingle beach is clean and the Med is crystal clear – I could live here forever. I should mention too that the Spaniards we have encountered are incredibly friendly and also especially accommodating of children – nothing has been too much trouble for them.

I forgot a full length photo but I was wearing my fabulous ASOS swing dress (I have this in grey, black and white – the best, most versatile holiday dress ever!), J. Crew bikini and white birkenstocks – the most appropriate footwear I brought with me!

Yesterday evening we grilled steaks and drank red wine whilst reminiscing with Simon and Karin.

Top – Mango // Shorts – J.Crew // Shoes – Birkenstock Chania (best holiday shoes EVER)

Today was market day in Orgiva. First a few points about Orgiva – I adore it here, BUT if you are looking for a sanitized, white washed setting this is not the place for you. It is a relaxed, bohemian, new age, accepting-of-all type of place – in fact my piercings feel pretty lacking here:) There are young, old, Brits, Spanish, travelers and tourists here – you name it, Orgiva has it. The market was fabulous and we came home with wine, bread, jewelry, harems and roast chickens!

Simon and Karin leave us tomorrow so we will no doubt be up rather late tonight. We have another week of bliss before heading home. I am so lucky to have all this time abroad with the people I love. My Cava beckons but first I must remind everyone to check out the MiH jeans on Asos – they are MASSIVELY reduced and worth trying with free returns available!

Poppy's Style

My blog about fashion, family, friends and fun.

Category Archives: Family

Our first full day in Istanbul

Poppy’s Hat – Accessorize // My hat – Accessorize Shoes – Ancient Greek // Shorts – J.Crew (now on sale reduced from $75 to $44.99) // Top – Mango

Date night

Trousers – Mango // Top – Zara // Shoes – Marks and Spencer (currently with 20% off)

Shoes – Marks and Spencer (old) // Jeans – J.Crew (30% off with SHOPNOW) // T-shirt – Splendid // Cardigan – Gap (old)

24 years later and we’re still giggling

Top – J.Crew // Jeans – J.Crew // Sandals – TopShop

Dress – AllSaints // Boots – Rag&Bone Newbury

Catching up

A week of Christmas concerts

Trouser – J.Crew (30% off with code JINGLE) // Sweater – Everlane sleeveless polo neck // Coat – Marks and Spencer (old) // Boots not seen – Zara

Sneakers – J.Crew // Jeans – Zara // T-Shirt – ASOS // Scarf – Boden (old) // Cardigan – ASOS

A new hobby

T-shirt – J.Crew // Jeans – Zara (old) // Boots – Charcoal suede Newbury boots (similar here) // Cardigan – AllSaints (old but similar here and the end of season sale is on in the US)

Boots – Isabel Marant Dicker // Jeans – Diesel Fayza // Sweater – Boden Off Duty jumper (25% off everything right now) // Knitted coat – ASOS

Cirque du Soleil and Columbus Day sales!

Sneakers – Adidas Stan Smiths // Skirt – Mango leather drawstring skirt // Top – AllSaints (old but similar here)

Sneakers – Adidas Samoas // Skirt – Mango leather skirt // T-shirt – J.Crew (old but similar here)

Another year

Leather skirt – Mango // T-shirt – Marks & Spencer (old) // Sneakers – Golden Goose // Bag – H&M

Beach days.

Food and Wine.

Top – Mango // Shorts – J.Crew // Shoes – Birkenstock Chania (best holiday shoes EVER)

Poppy’s Hat – Accessorize // My hat – AccessorizeShoes – Ancient Greek // Shorts – J.Crew (now on sale reduced from $75 to $44.99) // Top – Mango

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Trousers – Mango // Top – Zara // Shoes – Marks and Spencer (currently with 20% off)

Shoes – Marks and Spencer (old) // Jeans – J.Crew (30% off with SHOPNOW) // T-shirt – Splendid // Cardigan – Gap (old)

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Top – J.Crew // Jeans – J.Crew // Sandals – TopShop

Dress – AllSaints // Boots – Rag&Bone Newbury

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Trouser – J.Crew (30% off with code JINGLE) // Sweater – Everlane sleeveless polo neck // Coat – Marks and Spencer (old) // Boots not seen – Zara

Sneakers – J.Crew // Jeans – Zara // T-Shirt – ASOS // Scarf – Boden (old) // Cardigan – ASOS

Related articles

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T-shirt – J.Crew // Jeans – Zara (old) // Boots – Charcoal suede Newbury boots (similar here) // Cardigan – AllSaints (old but similar here and the end of season sale is on in the US)

Boots – Isabel Marant Dicker // Jeans – Diesel Fayza // Sweater – Boden Off Duty jumper (25% off everything right now) // Knitted coat – ASOS

Related articles

Share this:

Sneakers – Adidas Stan Smiths // Skirt – Mango leather drawstring skirt // Top – AllSaints (old but similar here)

Sneakers – Adidas Samoas // Skirt – Mango leather skirt // T-shirt – J.Crew (old but similar here)

Share this:

Leather skirt – Mango // T-shirt – Marks & Spencer (old) // Sneakers – Golden Goose // Bag – H&M

Related articles

Share this:

Related articles

Share this:

Top – Mango // Shorts – J.Crew // Shoes – Birkenstock Chania (best holiday shoes EVER)

Related articles

Share this:

Poppy’s Hat – Accessorize // My hat – Accessorize Shoes – Ancient Greek // Shorts – J.Crew (now on sale reduced from $75 to $44.99) // Top – Mango