Category Archives: Life

City Hall Bureaucrats…

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…make me scream with frustration!  Three weeks into the school year and Atlanta Public Schools Transportation System finally agreed to meet with parents to hear our concerns and recommendations.  We have been frustrated since the start of the school year due to safety issues, timing, and route changes for the school buses, created by cost cutting.  We all know that change is needed at times, and we are all prepared to accept changes, but when common sense doesn’t prevail it is just SO frustrating.  After waiting this morning for 45mins for the APS representative to arrive and hold the meeting to reassure us that we were being heard – she sat down and muttered something about ‘I have no more information’ – what do these people get paid for???  It was then left to the parents and bus drivers to try and resolve the issues on each route – thus effectively doing the job of APS Transportation…pah.  Not happy to say the least.

Wanting to feel a little ‘fierce’ for my morning meeting I opted for the Zara leopard print capris – what is it about animal print that I love so much?  I’m trying to convince Avril at SchoolGateStyle.com to try the Primark jeans that my Mum sent to me – she appears to be contemplating them🙂

I paired these Zara pants with the same t-shirt and shoes that I wore with the Primark jeans –  with black oversize Zara t-shirt and black patent Tory Burch Eddies.  I need to try some other solid colors with my leopard print though I’m pretty sure black is the way ahead.  Haven’t been brave enough to mix my prints yet.

I’m hoping to hit the pool later this afternoon with the children – it’s beautiful here and I want to make the most of the water before pools start closing after Labor Day.  While sitting by the pool I’ll be working feverishly with MM to get our new website up and running – the new magazine – MMA Fitness – hits newsstands soon so in order to do my part of the job we need our online presence ready and we’re cutting it fine yikes!  Yes mixed martial arts is quite a change from the pre and post natal market but definitely an interesting challenge!

Hair cut time tomorrow – time to get rid of the bouffant look!  Very excited – thinking of something slightly different so watch out for photos:)

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Duran Duran – OMG!

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They were just unbelievable.  I screamed like a 14 year old and loved every minute of it.  Fortunately there were plenty of other nutters there too who got just as carried away as I did.  They played most of my favorites and some new ones too, plus they played ‘Girls on Film’ which apparently is unusual, and ‘Notorious’ was just brilliant.  They certainly have plenty of energy for their age and John can still play that bass like no one else – he’s still hot too – I think I yelled ‘I love you John’ a couple of times much to my friend’s embarrassment.  My Husband did well with the tickets and we were on the side of the stage where John was – perfect.  I have to say that Simon needs to be careful – with his beard he’s starting to look a little like Ricky Gervais.  You can read a far better written review here from The AJC.

I decided to go along with the 80s theme and wore pink and grey much to MM’s amusement.  The jeans and scarf are H&M, t-shirt is an old Diesel favorite, and the boots are the the Bonny Cubans from AllSaints.

Yesterday was a real struggle after too much fun and wine and somehow I discovered I was covered in bruises – I think I was leaning over the seats in front of me to get closer…I nearly did a bit of stalking as @ThisistheRealJT was tweeting about eating BBQ down the road…but I decided that at 41 harassing my teenage crush was not the way ahead.

I think Fall has arrived early here – it’s gorgeous outside, lovely and cool, so I am urging the onset of cooler weather by sporting my Frye Jenna studded boots – I am just in love with these.  Frye seem to be doing a great job of coming out with some great on trend new boots and they continue to diversify from the cowboy boots and Campus boots that they are famous for.  I will be a Frye fan forever.

I had to take my photo in the bathroom at the local supermarket today as the painters are back in to put a last coat on the new windows.  Not the best style runway ever but it serves a purpose.  With my Fryes I’m wearing my Boden quail egg skinnies (in stock at just $49 in the clearance!), an Express snake skin print t-shirt and my favorite AllSaints Cerulean cardigan.

Now back to some form of normality – the birthday celebrations have come to a close:)

 

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How did it get to Friday?

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The days are whizzing by right now.  With the children back at school, a new magazine at the printers and a hot date with Duran Duran on Sunday I haven’t even noticed this week pass.  Poppy had her first ‘test’ at school today and all the drills during the week paid off – she is thrilled she got 10/10 for her first spelling test!  For her treat we have all just dined on tacos at our local Mexican – lots of fun was had!  It’s great now it’s cooler here too as we get to hang out in the garden for an hour or so before bedtime – nothing wears them – or us – out more than hula hooping and jump ropes.  Not recommended after a margarita.

Today started with a good run around Chastain park – it was certainly cooler but that humidity is a killer.  I’m off there again tomorrow with my running buddy – I haven’t seen her for weeks so it will be great to catch up.  My post workout shower has taken on a whole new meaning now I have full body sprays and a rain shower – I think our water bills will be doubling.

Before I collected Hugh from daycare I popped into our local DSW.  They now have all their Fall boots in and wow – there are some stunners this year – I picked up this Vince Camuto pair for $150 which won’t get worn for months but now I am lusting after the taupe too.  They are a great worn in look leather – really soft – and will look great over my copious pairs of skinny jeans – unfortunately I don’t see them on the website to link to.

With the cooler climes today I opted for my Gap boyfriend jeans, white Express tank and white oversize Zara shirt, with my leaf green Tory Burch Eddies, complemented by some green Target wooden beads that rarely see the light of day.


Now I have a question for you – WHAT do I wear for cocktails followed by an outdoor concert with my teenage icons?

Answers please!:)

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Birthday weekend.

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My birthday weekend was lovely and thank you for all your wishes.  41 feels okay so far.  In fact not much different from 20 years ago given I went into my birthday with a tiny hangover from the night before – why do I always get carried away the eve of my birthday?!  MM and I sat outside in the summer evening drinking a bottle of cava and enjoying some old tunes from our ‘youth’.  My birthday therefore had a bit of a low key start, but one that had to unfortunately start with a trip into school with Poppy to make sure the nurse cleared her of head lice!  Why oh why – every year there seems to be an outbreak – can we not make these pesky buggers extinct??  It also seems that every time I visit Poppy’s school I am either hungover or drugged up (last time cold meds) – how to make a great impression eh?  Fortunately I rarely go in so my hangovers are not as frequent as they may think, I am verging on responsible these days.

After a Chick-fil-a breakfast my birthday lunch was spent at Houston’s courtesy of MM.  I think it’s odd for an American to say but believe it or not this was my first trip to a Houston’s and I loved it – the atmosphere for lunch is great – busy and bustling and fab service.  Apparently our local one is the highest grossing in the States and it was packed.  To top off the ridiculous calorie intake for the day MM took me to our favorite restaurant Abattoir.  Yes sorry we are a bit boring going to the same old place but why fix it if it ain’t broke?!  It was a lovely evening and we bumped into some neighbors and friends so some fine red was consumed on their patio. The kids then took me to our local BBQ joint on Sunday so it is now time to quite literally tighten the belt and fast for a few days:)

I recorded the closing ceremony for the Olympics and LOVED it.  It was only spoiled by NBCs rubbish commentary again – they couldn’t even identify all the models or designers featured in the ‘fashion’ scene.  Stella Tennant, my model crush, looked incredible – absolutely fierce!  I was thrilled to see the Spice Girls and Take That…if only Duran Duran had been there…oh well I’ll be seeing John Taylor, my childhood crush, on Sunday!  My fabulous Husband has bought me tickets to see them at Chastain – THE BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT EVER!  I’ve waited 25 years or so to see them!  Question is what to wear?  It has to be something that makes JT realize he missed out on the best of the bunch when he sees me lol:)  Or maybe I’ll just get the ruffles and pixie boots out again?

Now for an outfit summary of the past few days.  This weekend has been quite varied:

Thursday:  Dusk stripy tunic, radish effortless cardigan – both Boden, with Tory Red Tory Burch Revas:

Friday birthday lunch: green H&M top – just $12.99 – worn with Zara jacket and Hudson jeans and navy Tory Burch Eddie flats:

Not sure how we managed this but unfortunately there is no photo of my dinner outfit – but I was wearing a white Zara jacquard blazer with these lovely Zara silk pants – it was so nice wearing wide leg trousers for a change!

Monday:  back to work with a bump wearing my Hudson jeans, blush Zara top, leopard print Zara jacket and my DSW Levity wedges:

Today:  I think subconsciously I am trying to wear this blazer as often as I can before the end of summer:  Zara floral blazer, Boden cyclamen skinny jeans, All Saints Tilly t-shirt and turquoise Tory Burch Emmy sandals:

So back to the running today to work of those birthday treats – kindly my FIL bought me a balance board for my birthday – it has so far taught me that I have zero balance…

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The renovations are done!

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Sorry I haven’t posted for a while – I’ve been celebrating:)  My lovely family gave me a fabulous birthday weekend and to start it all off the contractors departed on Thursday – hooray!  I’ve captured a few before and after shots to share with you.  We’re still in the process of moving back into our room and until the closet is finished I’ll still be running up and downstairs for clothes.  We’re thrilled with the results though and we are woken by sunlight flooding through our new windows every morning – it’s fabulous!

Before and after stairs to our basement t.v. room – no more carpet covered in apple juice!!

Closet before and after – thrilled to have a walk in – just have to build it out now!

Before and after windows and hardwoods – love my wall of light!

I was a tad nervous when I saw this back in June when I was in the UK!

Before bathroom:  small windows, separate toilet, no tub and poor use of space!

New bathroom!! Open, bright, new windows and a tub!!


Believe it or not I haven’t used the tub yet but my plan tonight is to have a long soak with some bubbles!

I’ll be posting more later to tell you all about how 41 feels and how I celebrated over the weekend!

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Wrong season.

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I’m dressed like I’m ready for winter today.  The vitamin C in last night’s margarita didn’t quite do the trick…my head is so stuffed up:(  Woe is me…The weather however is perfect for a cold…if I don’t venture out, it is dark enough and stormy looking enough that I can almost imagine it is only 40 degrees F or so…the sky is a weird magical color making everything look greener.  The heavens will open anytime.  Perfect weather for wrapping up and watching movies while nursing a cold.  So that is what I’m doing!  Even MM has been thoughtful enough to provide a child free environment for me for a while – bless him.

I’m wearing my new blush colored jeans from Express that were just $29.99!! I love them…though they are a little more snug than my others – maybe I should stop feeding my cold?  Wearing them with an old Diesel embellished t-shirt which I love as it is long and has a deep scoop neck great for layering over a white Express tank.  Then I piled on the indulgent ‘I have a cold’ scarf – a $7 bargain from H&M – great nude, black and grey animal print and really soft and light, along with my AllSaints Cerulean cardigan in grey marl, a fab sale bargain, that is lovely and light and a perfect summer layering piece.  All finished off with a pair of shoes that haven’t seen the light of day for 2 years – my Steve Madden sandals – love them and am thrilled to have re-discovered them!

Must put a call out to all my neighbors – a lovely package from Zara was on its way – Fedex say delivered, I say but where?  Not a package in sight….which one of you is wearing my new Zara pants!!?? Grrrrrrr…..In frustration I went onto the website to see whether they were still in stock just in case they don’t show and immediately fell in love with this velvet jacket – ooooohhh it is divine and shall be mine – it is my birthday on Friday after all!!:)  It would work all the way through the festive season too instead of sequins!

 

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School open house…

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I’m grumpy.  Have a miserable cold and I was in bed at 7pm last night dosed up with NyQuil.  Head feels stuffed with cotton wool and I am warm and feel fuzzy – but not the good warm and fuzzy:(  This morning should have been more fun than it was.  We headed off to the elementary school for our open morning to get ready for Monday when term starts.  Last year I was hungover after my 40th – not good for meeting your kindergarten teacher for the first time – this year my senses were dulled due to cold medication…Not ideal for being bubbly and chatty and trying to remember parents’ names from the last time you met them.  I’m sure they must all think I’m weird by now.

Plus I’ve been dealing with the transportation department for our school district.  Lots of issues regarding bus drivers, times and routes – and somehow I managed to be volunteered as ‘bus mom’ for this year.  I’ll be passing that baton on next year for sure:)  So 20 or so calls placed with the Superintendent and the Director of transportation and guess how many returned calls – yup – zero.  Useless.  Not looking forward to that 6.44am bus stop on Monday.

Also Hugh is off today for ‘teacher work day’ so I am parenting 2 hyper children, solo, with a cold…brilliant.  Tempted to sit them in front of Disney all day while I drown my sorrows online shopping…but no supermom here has agreed to take them to the pool…madness, sheer utter insanity – someone cart me away now.

Anyway tried to dress the part of the uber cool, urban mom this morning and probably ended up looking like mutton though I did the mutton test with MM and he passed me.  Anyway as I said all the other parents probably think I’m weird anyway by now:)  So I am wearing my favorite Zara cargo pants and a Zara top bought in the sale, with Tory Burch black patent Eddie flats and a necklace from H&M.

Wish me luck at the pool!:)

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#NBCFail

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The Olympics have started – hooray!!! NBC are covering them – boo!!!  I have watched NBC religiously since landing in the US and watch Bri-Wi every night at 6.30 – my 30mins with the US’s version of the ‘rest of the world’, but NBC you have disappointed me so over the past few days.

1. The Opening Ceremony was NOT shown live, then the recorded version shown Friday evening was filled with ad breaks, and NBC omitted several pieces of the show including the full musical line up, plus most importantly and most insulting, the tribute to 7/7 was omitted – now if the BBC ever omitted a tribute to 9/11 we’d be hearing about it to kingdom come.

2. Every night Brian tells me at 6.30 there will be no spoilers and all the main events will be shown in the prime time coverage – BUT – he then says something along the lines of “but this news has already rocketed around the world so we’ll tell you now anyway…” and then proceeds to tell me about the Chinese female swimmer whose race I haven’t even seen yet…#MajorFail

3. Ryan Lochte is an irritating s.o.b. who happens to be a pretty good swimmer – I don’t need to see his grill or his shoe collection again – or him tossing a 650lb tire for that matter.

4.  I know we’re in the US and not everyone is aware of the UK geography, but when it comes to Manchester it is NOT ‘just a bit North of London’.

5.  And yes I know it is US coverage but there are other countries taking part that we’d like to see something of…
I could go on and I am trying to rise above it and enjoy the Olympics, but take a look at the tweets with #NBCFail and you will see I am not alone in my grievances.

Rant over.

This should be the last week of dust and dirt in the house – the electrician has been, the painting is done, the shower door hung and all that remains is for the door pulls on the vanity to be added and the mirror to be hung.  Thrilled is an understatement – I can’t wait to get into our new master suite.  While the work has been going on I’ve also done a bit of rearranging in the other areas of the house and yesterday we completed the sitting area in the kitchen with two fabulous IKEA Tullsta leather chairs – for $199 each they can be used and abused by the kids as much as they want – and they look brilliant.  Definitely glad we opted for the off white in the end as I think the black version would have closed in the area a little too much.

Today it’s pretty miserable weather – rain, heat and humidity – but I’m taking advantage of wearing my white jeans for the month before Labor Day.  These are the cropped Zeldas from Express – currently just $29.99, worn with my new Blighty boatneck from Boden, bought in the sale.  My red lipstick today inspired me to wear this scarf – another H&M bargain for $3!  Not sure how well you can make it out but it has fabulous red lips all over it – I love it!  I finished off the outfit with my red Tory Burch Revas for an additional splash of color.  I love the Blighty boatneck – definitely more of a sweat shirt and I sized up so I can layer it in the Fall – not reduced quite as much as I’d have liked in the sale but enough to have bought this dusk one and the quail egg one.

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Zara hits the nail on the head yet again.

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Much as I love blogging it has had its pros and cons.  Cons mainly being I am always verging on being skint from seeing and buying gorgeous clothes modeled by my favorite blogging friends, and pros being that I have been exposed to lots of other fabulous brands that I may not have ventured to try in the past – basically resulting in the con.  Thank goodness for eBay hey so I can constantly recycle my closet!  Anyway my favorite new retail lust is Zara.  I’ve always known they were in Atlanta but never bothered to venture in opting to stick with my trusty, quality brands like J.Crew, Boden, AllSaints and H&M.  Zara is a tad pricier than H&M but is always spot on trend and being a trouser girl they always seem to have plenty to offer for me.  I love how they are constantly rotating their stock.  Their sizes are hit or miss but I’m learning to figure them out so I can order online with a little more confidence and benefit from items that haven’t been tried on 20 times, plus they offer free shipping.  In the past week or so their new collection has been filtering into stores and online, and I ordered these fabulous TRF snake print trousers which arrived yesterday.  They are DIVINE.  They are a gorgeous blend of neutral colors – lots of taupe, blush and nudes which means you can wear them with anything from a white shirt to a pink tee.  They have ankle zips and, on my legs, finish neatly at the ankle.  I can’t tell you enough how thrilled I am with them not to mention they were just $59.90!

I just ordered the snake skin shirt – not to wear with the pants – that might be overkill – but as I love the colors and pattern so much I thought the shirt would be great with jeans – black or blue denim.  I am truly embracing the animal print trend this season – though I can’t avoid it even when only Bet Lynch and I are wearing leopard print.

Today it is hot, hot, hot and I’m taking it easy in the air conditioning.  I find this heat really exhausting so I don’t plan on doing too much today except for a fun dinner with the family and then watching the Olympic Games opening ceremony.  Staying in has allowed me to enjoy the comfort of jeans again and I am wearing my Primark floral jeans – best bargain of the year at 5 GBP, along with a sale bargain from Zara – a lovely pink linen t-shirt which incidentally will look great with the new pants!  All paired with my trusty Tory Burch musk Eddie ballet flats – the best nude shoes I have.  Here’s to a fun weekend y’all and yes I’ll be cheering Team USA and Team GB – I think that is allowed:)

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Just buy a book.

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Hmmm since I got my iPad I seem to be going through a phase of reading, dare I say it, ‘self help’ books – maybe it’s because I can read them safely without people seeing the cover – in fact I just realized I can avoid the shame of being caught reading ’50 Shades’ that way – no I haven’t read it yet.  Anyway when I talk about self-help I don’t mean ‘helping me become a better person type books’ – more ‘how to attain a goal books’ or ‘books that inspire’.  For example the first book I read on my iPad was ‘Born to Run’ by Christopher McDougall.  It really was a great read for an amateur runner – really fun and inspiring – or so I found anyway.  Okay now a confessional warning – I am a fan of the US version of The Biggest Loser – I don’t watch every season but those I have I have found incredibly inspiring – and I love Bob Harper.  Bob is one of the trainers on the series and is great t.v. – his Facebook page is fun to follow too.  Anyway he has a book that has been on the best sellers list for a while – ‘The Skinny Rules’.  Sadly I got suckered in and bought it.  Now I think we all know what the rules are to keeping slim (I really wish he hadn’t used the word skinny – no one should want to be skinny) – and this book really states the obvious – but still it’s written quite light heartedly and I am enjoying dipping in and out of it to keep me focused on my goal of losing a couple of pounds ready for my marathon training.

Did someone say ‘marathon’?  Ah yes that little race I signed up for in January – suddenly January seems very close indeed.  So now I am on the search for a book to help me train for my marathon.  MM keeps saying just run more but my mind set tells me I won’t have to do that if I just read a book about it…I’m such a sucker!  The one I have my eye on is called ‘4 Months to 4 Hours’ – brilliant – just read it and do a bit of training and I can run Miami in 4hrs – perfect!  If only that was all there was to it…Now I just need to find the book entitled ‘Stop Shopping and Learn to Save Millions’.

This is my outfit from yesterday – I went to see the fabulous O’Neil again for a haircut wearing my bright pink J.Crew chino shorts, AllSaints Pipali tank and Sam Edelman suede Louie boots in tan suede (yes I have the taupe rose too) which are my favorite boots for a while – really comfy and I love the fringe.  I promise the photos will improve soon – the bathroom floor went down yesterday!

 

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