Category Archives: Family

Decorating.

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I’m sorry but I hate decorating for Christmas.  I love the end result – but hate putting it all up and then taking it all down.  I just want the tree to magically appear perfectly dressed.  We always get our tree from a local school that uses the tree sale to raise funds for the PTA and each year we’ve had a beautiful 8ft pine in the house.  Now an 8ft tree takes a lot of decorating and for someone who is a tad OCD that is a lot of lining up, leveling, and gaps to fill to make sure that the ornaments and lights are appropriately positioned.  Nay fun for neither me, or the folks around me who have to deal with my OCD.  I love the idea of us all decorating it together, as a family – but in reality it gives me palpitations and anxiety beyond belief – especially if one area of the tree is overloaded with ornaments at Hugh’s height – meaning they are not located equidistant from one another around the tree.  Last year I actually left the country to avoid decorating the tree.  I happened to be in the UK and though I tried to provide instructions and directions via Skype, in the end I had to let MM take control and get on with it.  The tree arrives on Friday and both children are so excited to help decorate – the control freak in me is tempted to do it all before they get home – but that’s just mean isn’t it?

Yesterday I was late and dashing around so had to do a quick iPhone shot for you.  Jane left me a comment the other day about the AllSaints Bonny Cuban boots so I dug them out from the bottom of the boot pile.  They are a fun boot with plenty going on, what with fringes and buckles – they are also pretty darn comfy.  I love the taupe color they have in stock now too.  Building from the ground up I went with the Zara emerald green jeans, AllSaints Wasson dress layered over an H&M t-shirt dress, topped off with the Zara camouflage scarf and the Zara quilted leather jacket.  Perfect for a cold, comfy Tuesday.

You all know that I am a fan of Zara’s harem pants.  I wore these back in June then these here more recently.  They are definitely not to everyone’s taste – but personally I love them as an alternative to skinny trousers and jeans.  The only issue I have with these pairs is that they are quite dressy and silky – not ideal for office wear – well not in my very relaxed office anyway.  Fortunately I found these herringbone pants – less harem – more just cuffed trousers – but they are so comfy, and even better they are warm – plus they have an elastic waist!  I think they will be great for traveling in as an alternative to sweatpants.  Today I paired them with a Zara camo top (my I do like my camouflage), Sam Edelman Petty boots in burgundy (they appear to be sold out on Zappos.com after Cyber Monday) and a Zara scarf.

Have you got your tree up yet?  Do you decorate as a family?

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Santa at the Zoo.

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It’s been a whirlwind couple of days what with the Thanksgiving festivities.  Now the children are getting older I have to say it is getting more and more enjoyable.  It was fun watching Poppy hooked on the Thanksgiving Day parade while I was getting the turkey ready to go in the oven.  We were all very organized and sat down to eat early at 1.30 – at the request of MM so that he could justify eating leftovers later in the day.  In the evening we cracked open the box set of The West Wing – my those first episodes look dated now – but it was thoroughly enjoyable accompanied by a bottle of Barolo.

Yesterday we headed to some friends for their annual post Thanksgiving party that includes BBQ and a fun jam band.  The kids had a blast and let off some steam and I talked and talked all afternoon.

This morning we were up at the crack of dawn for a visit with Santa at the Zoo.  Now I know Santa is a busy guy at this time of year – but come on 8.30am??!  At least we had cookies and hot chocolate to warm us – it is freezing here today!  I’m now enjoying some alone time while everyone else is at the park riding their bikes.  It’s bliss – I’ve got the coffee pot on and Radio 2 playing and I may go and hold the sofa down for a minute or two:)

Poppy was very excited to select her perfect outfit for Santa this morning:

Hugh joining in the fun, somewhat under duress:

The all important lists which were an exercise in patience for Mom:

Hugh explaining to Santa that he is just going to stand next to him – under no circumstances is he sitting on his lap – smart boy:

Me wrapped up for the first winter day in Atlanta – my new Boden Iona coat which I love, over my Boden Must have jumper in blackberry, layered over a Hampton t-shirt (mine is a 2011 version), my Hudson skinnies, Frye Phillip studded harness, and snood/infinity scarf what ever you call them and wrist warmers are from H&M.  The bag is my ever loyal and trusty YSL Roady (couldn’t find a link to mine with the sting ray handle).

Believe it or not I didn’t buy anything on Black Friday – even though I had lots of fabulous offers arrive in my inbox – some of Net-a-Porter’s were very tempting – but I resisted.  Did you get anything?

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It’s Holiday Time!

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Yay my Thanksgiving break starts today!  I will no doubt be doing bits of work from home over the next week but it’s lovely knowing the children will be home and we are schedule free for a week!

Today I have to plan my shopping for Thanksgiving dinner.  There’s only four of us admittedly but we all have different ‘favorites’ that we want with our Turkey, whether it be roasted beetroots and shallots (MM), roasted parsnip (me) or carrots (the kids!).  We always make too much but somehow it all gets used in the following days as turkey butties or turkey curry!  As fairly new Americans we are enjoying creating our own family Thanksgiving traditions and that includes cheesecake for dessert:)  Fortunately we always head out for a long walk on the Friday to work it off.

I was in Target the other day buying craft supplies for Hugh’s Thanksgiving Turkey project (yes – I know – I do not craft – but I am now armed with glitter, pom poms and felt).  I happened to wander through the clothing section as you do.  For a split second I removed the blinders (blinkers – for the UK readers) and spied this beauty.  OK I didn’t just spy it I bought it.

It’s a gorgeous blush pink, fake fur jacket – and looks lovely on.  It certainly looks more than the $49.99 I paid for it – but don’t stand near any naked flames in it.  I have some blush pink jeans and with taupe boots it will work a treat.  Even with regular blue denim skinnies and a white t-shirt it will add that little something different.  They also have it in cream but I love the blush color and it will go with lots in my closet – justification done.

Today I’m wearing comfy clothes for a day of pottering around town and running errands.  I love the H&M knitted dress – the stripes are great colors and it is really quite warm.  I’ve worn it with my Boden brown leggings and Zara burgundy scarf.  Today’s boots are last year’s Steve Madden Carlsen taupe boots.

What are your novel Thanksgiving traditions?

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A week of family fun?

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I’ve no idea how it got to the week before Thanksgiving.  All of a sudden I am panicking about the children being home for a week and needing to organize activities, food, and of course prepare for Thanksgiving Day itself.  Since being in the US Thanksgiving has become our favorite holiday.  You get to eat, drink and be merry without any of the material aspects of Christmas.  We love it.

With a 6 year old and 4 year old I find a week at home for the four of us requires planning in order to avoid the cries of ‘I’m bored’ – and that’s just from me.  For the first time we’ve bought tickets for Cirque du Soleil.  We went for the cheap seats in case the children can’t sit still through the whole show.  I’m really looking forward to it so let’s hope it’s good!  MM and I are planning an itinerary of all sorts of trips and adventures for the week, heading North, South, East and West from Atlanta, and avoiding any kind of retail outlet.  Thanksgiving Day will consist of the usual – watching the Macy’s parade, some football and then a fabulous meal of roast turkey with all the trimmings and some good wine.  No Atlanta half marathon for me this year due to injury, lack of training and laziness – but I’m quite looking forward not having to be up at the crack of dawn.

I mentioned MM and I went to Atlantic Station on Friday – an outdoor mall in midtown.  It has a huge H&M and I nipped in to get the kids some hat and glove sets, which unfortunately they didn’t have.  Not wanting to waste a trip I had a quick peak at the Grey Concept that was just arriving.  To be honest I was disappointed with the choice available – they told me they were expecting more – but I did manage to grab the grey long skirt in my size for $18.  I rarely wear long skirts – I had a Diesel one back in the 90’s that I bought from Harrods – a complete splurge back then – but I lived in it.  This H&M one is great for the price – perfect color, fits well, has good stretch so it’s not restrictive.  It’s a little thin but with grey tights underneath it works well.  Keeping with the grey theme I’m wearing my AllSaints grey Godiva cardigan bought in the sale back in June from the Trafford Center.  The white top is Zara and the scarf is my animal print favorite from H&M.  I have a couple of pairs of boots that would have worked but I opted for comfort and chose the Frye Jenna studded in grey – love these.

How do you keep the family busy when everyone is home?

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Back to basics.

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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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The Holiday Blues.

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It happens every year with varying degrees of intensity.  While everyone else is excitedly comparing costumes and planning Thanksgiving road trips I am pining for home.  But is it home anymore?  Let’s put it this way I wish I was in England with friends and family.  But do I still have friends in England?  I’ve been here for 12 years now and a lot has changed.  Lives move on.  What is it that I really miss?  Is it the familiarity and security of where I grew up?  Is it my family that has almost doubled in size since I left?  Would I really move back if the opportunity presented itself or is it just a fleeting moment of seeing it all through rose tinted spectacles?

Every year I go back to the UK for a couple of weeks and I have a fabulous time – then I’m ready to get back here.  So if I went back to England would I miss the US the same way?  Would it be fair to uproot the children?  Could I go back knowing my Husband has zero desire to go back?  What would we do for a living given our business is here?  I ask myself the same questions every year and feel more and more backed into a corner.  It’s the eternal conundrum.  The longer we stay here the more roots we have here, and the more I miss England.  Can I have my cake and eat it please?  I sometimes feel like I’m skating the surface of life, avoiding getting in too deep with friendships or communities – because that would just make moving back even tougher no?  Is it time to accept Atlanta as home and stop dipping my toe in and go skinny dipping exposing all to everyone?  Answers on a postcard please.

On a lighter note we went to Abattoir last night to celebrate MM’s birthday.  It all went well and fun was had up until the main course arrived.  I ordered hanger steak – yum – errr not so much – it was covered in a rich hollandaise sauce.  So in my very British manner what did I do?  I wittered on about it to MM instead of returning it to the Chef, after all I got what I ordered.  Next time I’ll go for the beet salad.

I did have a new outift to wear – the AllSaints Amei dress in petrol is fabulous – so comfy and easy to wear.  It has two ties inside it that you tie behind your neck so you can adjust the length of the drape at the front and wear it tunic length or longer.  It was chilly yesterday so I layered it over an H&M vest/dress in black.  After seeing Doesmybumlook40 in her Dorothy Perkins coated jeggings I discovered they do free shipping to the US and ordered a pair before there was a rush on them.  As she says they are fabulously comfortable and felt really dressy.  I wore the pony hair Nine West Haywire shoe boots, and then topped it all off with the Boden leather jacket from back in the sale and my Zara camo scarf.

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Brrrrrr.

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It’s freakin’ freezing here today! I think we caught the outer bands of Sandy last night as we lost power at 9pm just as Dexter was about to start darn it!  MM and I were scrambling around with my iPhone torch trying to turn everything off so we wouldn’t be woken up when all the power came back on, but we still found the dogs watching t.v. this morning:)

Gearing up for a busy week – it’s MM’s birthday tomorrow.  Yes a Leo and a Scorpio – apparently a difficult but strong star sign union – this summary is oddly quite accurate:)  I’m taking him out for dinner and, as happens every year, we’ll be the most hungover trick or treaters in the neighborhood on Wednesday.  We will power on through though.  Then on Saturday we’re meeting a friend of mine who I haven’t seen for 20 odd years.  He’s over on business and we thought it might be fun to catch up…let’s hope we both have something interesting to say after all those years – could be awkward!:)

Today I picked out the warmest cardigan I have – it’s AllSaints and is one of the first AllSaints items I bought back in 2009 in the winter sale.  It’s a rust/dark burgundy color and is really heavy and toasty.  The top is from Zara and the pants are Express from a couple of years ago – they are ponte so lovely and stretchy – a cross between leggings and pants if you will.  The boots are the Vince Camuto Autumn wedges – I love the cuffs on these and the buckle detail.  All topped off with the oriental print scarf from Zara.

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Make up free and wrapping up!

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Whoa the weather can change here in a heartbeat.  It’s dark, grey and cold and Hurricane Sandy is heading up the East coast.  A perfect day for bacon butties, pumpkin coffee, layers and movies.  I might even have to find my Ugg slippers out later – I have the grey and there are some amazing new colors available now!

I plan to curl up with my new Robert Harris and snuggle with the kids while they watch ‘Shrek’ or ‘The Sound of Music’ for the 100th time.  Boden grey marl leggings are the order of the day with a new stretchy Zara skirt – I love my camo and Zara is providing buckets of it this season.  All topped off with a Zara t-shirt and comfy sweater – perfect for holding the sofa down.  It’s lovely going make up free for a day and I’m wearing my new Oliver People Wacks in matte blue havana.

Stay safe up in the North East – looks like getting out of NYC is bedlam today.

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At the Pumpkin Patch with the rest of GA!

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Another beautiful, if busy day in Georgia.  After an early rise and a quick Skype call to the UK we headed North to Burt’s Pumpkin Patch.  With the rest of Georgia apparently.  In hindsight yes it was madness to go on a Sunday two weeks before Halloween, but we did it.  MM suffered the hay ride under duress and the kids loved it.  Two pumpkins later and a 90 minute drive home we swore we would never head to Burt’s again.  I’d rather grow my own pumpkins thanks.  The pumpkins are now carved and will sit on my front doorstep rotting till the 31st…I’m now remembering all the reasons why Halloween is my least favorite Holiday.

For the trip I wore my H&M sweater dress – it’s the L.O.G.G. label and was just $25, with my favorite Zara bordeaux skinny jeans.  Zara’s pants seem to be perfect these days – they have so much stretch it’s like wearing leggings.  Along with every other girl in Dawsonville I had my cowboy boots on – these are Frye Carson pull-ons in fawn – some of the first Fryes that I owned.  All topped off with an H&M nude sparkly scarf, and Prada sunglasses – I didn’t get the memo to take my mirrored wrap around sport shades – the most unflattering shades ever by the way.

 

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Muddy Faces.

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I got my photos from Karen today – the amazing photographer from Muddy Faces.  She made the shoot fun for all of us and you can see the joy in the the children’s faces.  I am thrilled with the outcome.  If you are in the Atlanta area and need some photos don’t hesitate to contact Karen – she’ll do an amazing job!

I’m not so happy with my self portrait today.  I got these jeans from Target and don’t like them at all on – maybe I just feel it’s a bit too much with the red hair and boots…remember what I said about not letting it be trashy – well I think this outfit takes it all the way there…oh well – I think I’m in need of a dress day again soon to feel a bit girly again.  Jeans are worn with Gap men’s t-shirt, AllSaints Boston cardigan and Frye Shirley strappy boots.

Unfortunately the Loulou dress I ordered from Boden is going straight back – it looked ridiculous on me – again maybe the red hair – but it was completely unflattering – my boobs looked enormous in it and the pleats just emphasized my stomach.  Not a good look.  The new AllSaints Amei dress has worked a treat though and will look fab with leggings or tights.  I promise to model it soon.

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