Category Archives: Family

My new dress.

This week has flown by. My days have felt considerably shorter as I have been picking Hugh and Poppy up from camp at noon giving me just 3 hours in the office each day. And now I’m done! I’m officially on vacation for 5 weeks! Urgggh now the packing begins, two climates for four people in, what I consider to be small bags. Help!

On Friday Poppy and I went to watch Hugh’s recital for Kindergarten camp. She was thrilled to see her old teachers, and even more thrilled to be asked to help organize the kindergartners.

Trousers – Zara (no longer on website here) // Top – Boden Breton (Tops currently 30% off!) // Shoes – Tory Burch silver Eddie flats (similar here on sale)

Last night we booked the babysitter and headed out for dinner, before I abandon ship with the children. We had booked a table at a new place in town – highly unusual for us to venture out of our comfort zone – but the rave reviews lured us in. Unfortunately, after sitting at the bar for a drink, we quickly realized it wasn’t our kind of place! The food may have been great – but the ambience just wasn’t for us. So we hot footed it to the nearest cab and headed back to our favorite spot on the Westside, where we enjoyed some oysters and glorious views of the Atlanta skyline on a humid free summer night. We were quite proud of ourselves for not staying and spending money on a dinner, while wishing we were elsewhere.

My new James Perse dress had arrived just in time too:) I LOVE it. The boots are Rag & Bone camel canvas Newbury boots.

I was lucky enough to spend my night with this hot guy. Happy Father’s day my lovely, and thanks for making me pancakes this morning – I’m not sure that is how it is supposed to work on Father’s Day?:)

A new adventure for us.

5 Replies

Poppy is a rising 2nd grader and my son, Hugh, starts kindergarten in August. For the non-Americans out there kindergarten is the first year of elementary (primary) school here, that you start when you are five. Hugh is so ready for school and so are we! I have none of the fears, sadness or nervousness that I had two years ago when Poppy was starting school. That’s what happens when you’re the second child. No one worries quite so much, because Mom and Dad have been through it all before. Those psychologists are really on to something when they talk about how birth order impacts personality.

Hugh has been in daycare since he was 3 months old so he is more than happy with the school routine, but I can tell he is somewhat apprehensive about new teachers, new classrooms and new friends. It doesn’t help when your 7 year old sister is constantly telling you all about it, who everyone is, and how she has already done it because “she’s 7 and is a 2nd grader”. Irritating for Hugh? Yes. Funny how I now have so much sympathy for my younger brother and sister having to deal with their know-it-all big sister.

We’re lucky that our elementary has a week long camp for new kindergartners, so they can become familiar with their new surroundings. So this morning I excitedly dropped off my nervous 5 year old. I embraced all the fabulous teachers that I now know so well, and left Hugh, thankfully, running into the classroom where he had spotted his best mate from daycare. Hooray!

Two children now at school – how did that happen?

Trousers – Zara sarong style trousers // Tank – J.Crew (old) // Jacket – Zara (old) // Sandals – Sam Edelman Gigi // Earrings – Forever 21 gold leaf (old)

What to do on a grey Friday.

5 Replies

With tropical storms/depressions passing through the Atlanta Metro all week, yesterday continued with dark clouds, heavy rain and warm temperatures. The weather in the UK looks far preferable and I never thought I’d be saying that sitting here! So what to do on a grey Friday? Why what else but head to the shops? Just for a browse mind.

Actually I had a top to return to Athleta. Their return policy is fabulous. I bought a sweater a while ago, and I’d worn it a couple of times but found it a tad itchy. It had sat in my closet taking up space so I decided to test their ‘anytime, any reason’ policy. They gave me a full refund yesterday! Pretty good hey?

So while I was down in Atlantic Station I popped into H&M for a browse. I left with nothing. Nothing I tell you. The main reason is that I leave for the UK in a week and a half – I know what I’m packing, well pretty much, and I can’t add anything to that pile. With heading to Cyprus after Bury, I’ll be out of the country for a bit, so there’s really no point in having a ‘new’ item hanging in the closet unworn. Travel is great for curbing my spending – until I get to the Trafford Centre that is.

I did however spot some gorgeous items on my wander through H&M. I just wish they wouldn’t try and cram so much on the racks – it’s so frustrating trying to find a size in there! As they still don’t have online shopping capabilities here in the US here are some snaps of my top picks if I were buying.

This dress was the perfect nude blush – the pattern is hard to make out here – but so subtle and girly for summer.

LOVE this embellished top – perfect with white jeans.

Okay so I’m going to say Marant again – but these jeans are very Marant – gorgeous embroidery on the legs – if it was the Fall I would have bought these.

I love the Divided section of H&M for cheap and cheerful tees – this animal print tank is lovely.

How perfect! Neon and animal print shorts – a great weight fabric too.

I have several of these tank dresses that I use for layering in the cooler months – they are great under sweaters with skinny jeans. The new colors they had yesterday were lovely – yet more neon.

This t-shirt is so me – pink and grey, what’s not to love? Why the pocket – why, why, why do we need pockets on our boobs? Gap and J.Crew are guilty of doing this too – please NO pockets. Just $10 though – I could have picked the pocket off at that price I guess.

This maxi skirt was divine – lovely light weight jersey for the summer – but only XS left in our store here. If I see this in the UK I think I’ll buy it.

After H&M I nipped into The Gap. As I’ve mentioned I am completely enamored with The Gap at the moment. Their neons, cuts and fabrics have led me straight back to their door this summer after not buying from them for nearly 5 years. They just got so boring with their chinos and white shirts.

Currently they have a tonne of t-shirts and shorts on sale, and all weekend in the US there is 25% off online. My favorite this season are still their sunwashed t-shirts that are now in the sale. Gap do fit big though, and even with my boobs I’m a small in their t-shirts.

Browsing done, I headed off to get the kids from camp and take Poppy for her dentist appointment. We have the best pediatric dentist ever and after two new sealants Poppy was still grinning. My lovely Husband finished work early and we all trooped off to try Yeah! Burger on the Westside – my favorite spot in Atlanta. It was perfect. Great food, great margaritas, great company – sitting on a covered porch as the torrential rain passed over. Another steamy summer afternoon in Atlanta.

School’s out for Summer!

11 Replies

Yes it is the last day of school today!!! Early here, but we go back on the 7th August, plus we always seem to finish before Memorial Day which is this Monday, and the unofficial start of Summer. The pools are open and summer camps begin – the rhythm of life changes. I love it – less routine, with far lazier starts to the day. I woke Poppy this morning to the gentle refrain of me singing ‘School’s Out’ – nothing but encouragement to get her out of bed – though, as she had lost a tooth yesterday, she was pretty spritely looking for her gift from the tooth fairy. Is it wrong that I had to take cash out of her piggy bank for the tooth fairy? That’s what I call recycling:)

Once she was up, and had written her thank you card for her teacher – she burst into tears poor thing. I thought she was going to be excited about the end of school, but it must be bittersweet. The fact she was so sad to finish 1st grade confirms we’ve had a brilliant year, with fabulous friends and a wonderful teacher. Now I just have to convince her that 2nd grade will be twice as much fun!

Shoes – Vince Nina // Trousers – J.Crew café capris // T-shirt – Gap // Jacket – Zara (old)

Gwen’s love for Zara.

13 Replies

My fellow blogger, Hollie, and I are both great admirers of Gwen Stefani’s eclectic rock and roll style – she always looks perfectly put together. Her make up and hair are always immaculate, even for a trip to the park with her sons. It was while Hollie and I were chatting about Gwen the other day that I realized Gwen is a fan of Zara! I have spotted her in three Zara items just this weekend – who’d have thought it? Gwen obviously embraces pairing high and lower end items – good for her!

Two of the items also happen to be in my closet – no surprise there. The first is the sarong skirt – I love how she has styled this over leggings…There’s a David Bowie t-shirt on Asos that I have been umming and ahhing about for a while now – it could be the perfect tee to replicate this look.

Next up is my jacket last worn here. Now I’m not necessarily a fan of her styling here but each to their own…though if I was Italian I’d wear that t-shirt in a heartbeat.

Finally I spotted this photo of her wearing these Zara pants heading to Chuck E. Cheeses – please Gwen how could you bear to step foot in there? I’d rather stick pins in my eyes.

These photos of Gwen always make me want to to wear red lipstick more often and I’m pretty sure images of her have influenced my choice of attire today.

Jeans – Primark (old) // T-shirt – Gap (from the sale) // Jacket – Zara // Sneakers – Golden Goose

Finally – I think my children are trying to tell me something – buying these cards obviously amused the Husband no end…I hope you all had a fabulous Mother’s Day!

Poppy’s Card (I’m suddenly ‘Joanna’ not ‘Mommy’):

Hugh’s Card:

My Mother’s Day lunch.

9 Replies

We don’t really celebrate Mother’s Day in this house. Partly because I always forget about it – once I have remembered the UK Mother’s Day earlier in the year, I forget all about the US Mother’s Day. Plus it always falls around Poppy’s birthday – which as she will tell you is far more important. So my title today is a bit misleading. My lovely Husband is on his way back from the office to take me out for margaritas and tacos at our favorite Mexican, while the children are at school. Once school finishes in 2 weeks we won’t have much opportunity to indulge in a long lazy lunch without them – so I’m turning it into my Mother’s Day lunch without children – heck I might even go crazy and have two margaritas.

Top – Zara // Jeans – H&M coated skinnies (old) // Shoes – wedge heels DSW (Old – similar here) // Bag – Boden leather fold over clutch (BEST bags ever!)

May Madness.

7 Replies

I know March Madness has passed (college basketball finals for the non-American readers) – but for me the real madness sets in in May. May is the end of the school year here, and with my daughter’s birthday (and it seems every other child in her class!) and the excitement of overseas visitors, it is a crazy month.

On Saturday we made our first, and hopefully last trip to the American Girl Store. I have delayed it as long as possible – but it seems the 7 year old birthday is the one where the burning desire for a ‘mini me’ kicks in. It turned into the perfect trip for Saturday morning as it was miserable weather here – persistent rain all weekend! The mall was empty when we arrived – I soon discovered why – EVERYONE was in the American Girl store. Moms and daughters had traveled from all over the South East seeking their perfect doll – it was terrifying. Poppy, however, was thrilled and we left with Saige – an artist and animal lover apparently. Poppy’s birthday isn’t till the 18th, and normally I vehemently disagree with the notion of ‘early’ birthday presents – but her friend is having her birthday tea party at the American Girl store this week – so Saige was required a week or so early so she can accompany Poppy for tea – I will not be.

The rest of the rainy weekend was spent painting the basement. For some reason the Husband has become rather gung ho about decorating. I’ve no idea where this new found enthusiasm has come from – probably from the ridiculously high painting quotes we’ve had. Anyway I’m rather pleased with the progress we have made though my hair currently looks like it has been used as a paint brush.

Finally here are some improvised rainy, Spring outfits – I am hoping the legs can be bared again by the end of the week!

Skirt – J.Crew Factory (old – similar here) // Shirt – J.Crew Indian voile popover (some sizes available in the sale here) // Boots – Isabel Marant Dicker in Camel (similar here)

Jeans – H&M tapered boyfriend jeans // Shoes – Clarks Hamble Oak // T-shirt – Target (old) // Jacket – Zara

Jacket – Boden Limited Edition Chic Leather Biker Jacket (old) // T-shirt – Zara long sleeved with zip at the back (old) // Trousers – Zara (old) // Boots – Acne Pistols

Some punk inspiration.

5 Replies

I walked into the kitchen this morning to the sound of ‘You’re my favorite waste of time‘ – not sure if it was the Owen Paul version or the original version, but here’s the Owen Paul version from ’86, which I remember well.

After a bleary couple of seconds wondering why Nick Jr. wasn’t on the t.v. yet – I realized it was my lovely Husband’s way of reminding me that 22 years ago today, over a couple of Newkie Browns in The Central Bar, he announced he was ‘infatuated’ with me. I remember the whole day so vividly – from bumping into him in the library, to the Moscow Mules, to the shock and delight of discovering he ‘was into me’ (I told the story here last year). He was, and still is, the antithesis of every other guy I had dated – non-conformist, smart, sensitive and charming (not sure how many of my exes read this – they might not anymore!) – I had a pretty good feeling this one was a keeper.

As the summer of ’91 progressed, our relationship hit the fast track. Within a couple of months we were planning our first vacation together. He was studying for his PhD in Byzantine History so it seemed natural to head for Turkey – somewhere I had never been before – but I was excited to have my personal tour guide. Our first overseas adventure was thrilling – back packing down from Istanbul, via various Roman ruins (and bars), to Side on The Mediterranean, where we drank Efes in the sun. It was the trip that sealed the deal for me – he was the ‘one’ – oh and he was hot too – look at the hair and those soccer playing legs!:))

These next photos made me giggle. They are some of the very few we have from the early 90s as most of our photos were stolen, along with other items, from the container when we moved here. My love of harem trousers must have come from him – here we are at my Graduation Ball in 1992 – he was dressed in Turkish, tailor made, harem trousers with a tailcoat – and had more jewelry than me:)

Love the photo bombers in the back:)

So today, unintentionally, I realized I could be accused of channeling one of his favorite bands – The Clash. Happy ‘when we started dating’ anniversary my lovely…

Jacket – Zara // Trousers – Zara tartan trousers (old) // Sneakers – Golden Goose // Polo shirt – Matalan

A weekend tinged with sadness.

21 Replies

We adopted Rosie, our Boxer, back in 2001, and we’re guessing she was about 2 years old then. So we knew the chances of her seeing it into 2014 would be slim – we knew she was slowing down. On Friday morning, given some symptoms and tests, the vet advised it was her time, so with heavy hearts we said farewell to her. The end of an era. Rosie was one of the few constants in our lives over the past 12 years, she was gentle and loyal and we loved her so much. RIP Rosie xx

Rosie when we adopted here – she had no hair on her back bless her but it all grew back:

Rosie with MM – living the dream with a t-top Camaro (2002):

On one of our adventures in North Carolina:

The children were sad but quite pragmatic so we aimed to keep the weekend as normal as possible. Yesterday we headed out to the mall and then to their favorite BBQ joint for a treat. We talked about angels, old dogs and puppies, and now they seem quite at peace with the outcome. We still have Tennyson here, and Poppy has requested that when we get our next girl dog that she has a tail – so we’re moving on…

It was a gorgeous day so I decided to go full on with the spring attire:)

Trousers – Zara // Jacket – Zara // T-shirt – Gap // Sneakers – Isabel Marant Bobbys

Last night was date night so we toasted Rosie before eating.

Trousers – Zara // Jacket – Zara // T-Shirt – Express (old) // Shoes – DSW // Cuff – Tiffany (MM bought me this Xmas of 2001 and I’ve no idea why I wear it so rarely!)

Beach vacation.

21 Replies

This place is amazing. It’s one of those vacations where everything falls in to place, almost.

The kids have been jumping the surf at 8am each morning, and MM and I have managed to get a couple of beach runs in to burn off the calories from the excesses of each evening. Yes, we’ve even managed to light the charcoal grill:) Nothing better than burgers with Prosecco!

My afternoon margaritas have been cunningly disguised in my coffee cup.

The house, fortunately, is perfect – basic, but right on the beach. It’s amazing how easy the day becomes when you don’t have to pack bags and food for a day at the beach. Not to mention we can all chill out away from the sun when we feel like it. The only thing we’re missing are the dogs – they don’t deal well with the heat – I hope they are behaving for the house sitter!

I’ve been relishing living in bikinis, shorts and t-shirts. I packed light, and living with a capsule wardrobe is fabulously freeing. No decisions to make except choosing which shorts are clean.

Shorts – JCrew selvedge shorts (old – similar here) // t-shirt – Target // hat – Target

Shorts – JCrew Factory bermudas // t-shirt – Target (old) // hat – Target // Flip flops – Havaianas // sunglasses – Ray-Ban Wayfarers

Of course we can never go away without drama. Poor Poppy managed to get half the deck in her foot on Sunday evening. I tried removing the splinter but she was obviously in pain. Monday morning we headed to Urgent Care. The poor wee thing had to have a huge needle in her foot for anesthetic then the Dr. had to use a scalpel to remove it – it was embedded in her foot so deeply! I held on to her for dear life – I never want to hear screams of pain like that again. I was in tears and shaking – and I wasn’t even going through the pain!! She was an absolute star and once it was all over all she was concerned about was the color of her bandage. I think she is feeling quite the hero now.

Poppy's Style

My blog about fashion, family, friends and fun.

Category Archives: Family

My new dress.

Trousers – Zara (no longer on website here) // Top – Boden Breton (Tops currently 30% off!) // Shoes – Tory Burch silver Eddie flats (similar here on sale)

A new adventure for us.

Trousers – Zara sarong style trousers // Tank – J.Crew (old) // Jacket – Zara (old) // Sandals – Sam Edelman Gigi // Earrings – Forever 21 gold leaf (old)

What to do on a grey Friday.

School’s out for Summer!

Shoes – Vince Nina // Trousers – J.Crew café capris // T-shirt – Gap // Jacket – Zara (old)

Gwen’s love for Zara.

Jeans – Primark (old) // T-shirt – Gap (from the sale) // Jacket – Zara // Sneakers – Golden Goose

My Mother’s Day lunch.

Top – Zara // Jeans – H&M coated skinnies (old) // Shoes – wedge heels DSW (Old – similar here) // Bag – Boden leather fold over clutch (BEST bags ever!)

May Madness.

Skirt – J.Crew Factory (old – similar here) // Shirt – J.Crew Indian voile popover (some sizes available in the sale here) // Boots – Isabel Marant Dicker in Camel (similar here)

Jeans – H&M tapered boyfriend jeans // Shoes – Clarks Hamble Oak // T-shirt – Target (old) // Jacket – Zara

Jacket – Boden Limited Edition Chic Leather Biker Jacket (old) // T-shirt – Zara long sleeved with zip at the back (old) // Trousers – Zara (old) // Boots – Acne Pistols

Some punk inspiration.

Jacket – Zara // Trousers – Zara tartan trousers (old) // Sneakers – Golden Goose // Polo shirt – Matalan

A weekend tinged with sadness.

Trousers – Zara // Jacket – Zara // T-shirt – Gap // Sneakers – Isabel Marant Bobbys

Trousers – Zara // Jacket – Zara // T-Shirt – Express (old) // Shoes – DSW // Cuff – Tiffany (MM bought me this Xmas of 2001 and I’ve no idea why I wear it so rarely!)

Beach vacation.

Shorts – JCrew selvedge shorts (old – similar here) // t-shirt – Target // hat – Target

Shorts – JCrew Factory bermudas // t-shirt – Target (old) // hat – Target // Flip flops – Havaianas // sunglasses – Ray-Ban Wayfarers

Trousers – Zara (no longer on website here) // Top – Boden Breton (Tops currently 30% off!) // Shoes – Tory Burch silver Eddie flats (similar here on sale)

Related articles

Share this:

Trousers – Zara sarong style trousers // Tank – J.Crew (old) // Jacket – Zara (old) // Sandals – Sam Edelman Gigi // Earrings – Forever 21 gold leaf (old)

Related articles

Share this:

Related articles

Share this:

Shoes – Vince Nina // Trousers – J.Crew café capris // T-shirt – Gap // Jacket – Zara (old)

Related articles

Share this:

Jeans – Primark (old) // T-shirt – Gap (from the sale) // Jacket – Zara // Sneakers – Golden Goose

Related articles

Share this:

Top – Zara // Jeans – H&M coated skinnies (old) // Shoes – wedge heels DSW (Old – similar here) // Bag – Boden leather fold over clutch (BEST bags ever!)

Related articles

Share this:

Skirt – J.Crew Factory (old – similar here) // Shirt – J.Crew Indian voile popover (some sizes available in the sale here) // Boots – Isabel Marant Dicker in Camel (similar here)

Jeans – H&M tapered boyfriend jeans // Shoes – Clarks Hamble Oak // T-shirt – Target (old) // Jacket – Zara

Jacket – Boden Limited Edition Chic Leather Biker Jacket (old) // T-shirt – Zara long sleeved with zip at the back (old) // Trousers – Zara (old) // Boots – Acne Pistols

Related articles

Share this:

Jacket – Zara // Trousers – Zara tartan trousers (old) // Sneakers – Golden Goose // Polo shirt – Matalan

Related articles

Share this:

Trousers – Zara // Jacket – Zara // T-shirt – Gap // Sneakers – Isabel Marant Bobbys

Trousers – Zara // Jacket – Zara // T-Shirt – Express (old) // Shoes – DSW // Cuff – Tiffany (MM bought me this Xmas of 2001 and I’ve no idea why I wear it so rarely!)

Related articles

Share this:

Shorts – JCrew selvedge shorts (old – similar here) // t-shirt – Target // hat – Target

Shorts – JCrew Factory bermudas // t-shirt – Target (old) // hat – Target // Flip flops – Havaianas // sunglasses – Ray-Ban Wayfarers

Related articles

Share this: