Category Archives: Style

Tinsel and Twine.

Yesterday was so festive! After taking Hugh for his haircut, which according to Poppy took ‘soooo loooonnng’, we headed to the Westside Provisions District just down the road from us. We’re so lucky to live near this area. When we first arrived in Atlanta the Westside was home to Atlanta’s finest restaurant – Bacchanalia, with it’s store front Star Provisions, – but that was about it. It is an area of old lofts right next to water works, but with Bacchanalia as it’s cornerstone and fabulous views of downtown Atlanta, it has been revived and invigorated by new stores and restaurants. It’s where I feel most at home in Atlanta as it reminds me so much of Spitalfields, our home back in London, which was once neglected and now has had almost too much investment in recent years.

Anyway yesterday the Westside hosted ‘Tinsel and Twine‘ with Santa, a capella singers, and just a general festive theme. We had lunch at Taqueria del Sol and I was thrilled that both children ate chicken tacos – yay more Mexican eateries for us:)

The usual shenanigans at the dinner table:

Poppy and Hugh were enthralled by the singers:

I wore my festive colors (unintentional I have to say) – the coated trousers are H&M, paired with a long line tank, also H&M, layered under the AllSaints Char jumper (this is the closest I could find though mine isn’t cropped). The scarf is Zara and the sneakers are the Ash Alex.

Here’s me trying to get MM to take a quick photo, as people crossing the bridge wait impatiently!:

In the evening MM and I went back to the Westside for a bite to eat before heading off to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra to listen to Handel’s Messiah. The tickets were a lovely surprise from MM in the lead up to Christmas. All I can say is amazing. I blubbed my way through much of it. I feel like I’m still teetering on the brink of a meltdown after the events of Friday. Many of those children were born in 2006, like Poppy, and it has really hit me hard. It felt good to shed some tears for all those grieving parents and say a little prayer while listening to some moving music.

I managed to persuade MM to take a photo of me – I didn’t get the memo about wearing red and black – EVERYONE else was in their festive colors! I wore my Dorothy Perkins coated jeggings – these are the most amazing, sexy feeling leggings and are currently reduced to $29. The sleeveless top is H&M, worn with my Zara jacket and Nine West Blissfully shoes (currently reduced here on Zappos.com) – the bag is the YSL Roady – we were in such a hurry to get out once the babysitter arrived that I didn’t have chance to downsize!

How are you all getting in the festive spirit?

Christmas Pageants

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I literally did. not. stop. yesterday. My Fridays can become one of either two things – a leisurely day of pampering and indulgence, or frantically driving from one Atlanta location to another trying to check off a list of ‘things to do’. It’s normally the latter and yesterday was no exception. It started with a spin class. Now I am no regular but ~~I do love it when I go~~ I love the satisfaction of having been – the hour on the bike is pure hell. One of my neighbors teaches the class and she is lovely, but turns into a b*tch on wheels in class – all for the benefit of the participants obviously. Shopping was then followed by a quick lunch with MM – I had earned it and I still had a calorie deficit after that spin class! A hairdresser’s appointment for Poppy was then followed by Hugh’s last Christmas pageant!

His last as he is currently at a church daycare and next year once in public school, with separation of church and state and all that, there will be no nativity. The pre-K class (last year of daycare) always get to do the nativity play so I was very excited to see what role Hugh had. But NO! Hold on there…for the first year ever I arrived to find that the ‘after school’ group were doing the nativity! WHAT?? Our chance of being a Shepherd, a Wise Man or even Joseph snatched from us!! Now after the events of the day in CT. it seemed trivial to say the least, but I was mad as hell! Most of the ‘after school’ group had attended pre-K so had already had the privilege of performing the nativity – so why oh why deprive the pre-K class from their chance of performing it? I’m so sad:( This now means Hugh won’t ever be in a nativity. Now he is definitely not bothered – but his Mum is! I might even join a Church so we can be in theirs next year. Be assured I made my feelings known to the daycare Director.

At least we got to hear about Harold and his Angels:

For the pageant I did a quick change into my awesome Target dress – quickly becoming one of my best purchases of the year – I always get complements and no one can believe it is Target. The jacket is from Zara and has lovely gold and cream flecks in it – perfect for the festive season – size up though – it’s tailored for waifs. The leggings are H&M and the boots are my loyal Rag & Bone Newburys. (Apologies for photo quality – I told you I was in a rush!).

Harem trousers – I love ’em.

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Now we’ve discussed before how harem trousers are a love ’em or loathe ’em item but I really do love ’em. I’ve decided it all hails back to when I met MM in 1991. He was/is a non-conformist and when I met him he had long curly hair and more jewelry than me. He always wore loud shirts with harem trousers and his red Converse hi-tops, which incidentally, he has on his feet today – not the same pair mind you. MM was fortunate that all his harem trousers were hand made in Turkey. As a PhD student in Byzantine history he was lucky enough to have regular trips to Turkey where he could indulge in Efes pilsener, Roman ruins and fine tailoring. I must dig out the photo of the first University Ball he took me to – he wore black harem trousers, a tailcoat, black shirt with white polka dots, a white bow tie and the omnipresent red converse – he’s such a wall flower…

Anyhow I am now the flag bearer in the family when it comes to harem trousers. Today I have on the Zara grey trousers (they’re labeled as khaki on the site but they are definitely grey) which are super soft and comfortable. I try to wear them with a more fitted top so I don’t look too overwhelmed. Today I have my Boden blackberry Must Have jumper layered over a black Zara t-shirt. The scarf is H&M and the boots are the Isabel Marant Dickers. So thoughts please would you, do you do harem trousers?

Here’s my outfit from yesterday – black Gap skinny jeans, a black Gap t-shirt and the AllSaints Plume cardigan from the sale back in June, all finished off with the mocha Acne Pistols. We happened to be doing some work on the IKEA Pax last night, and without the cardi and boots MM said I bore a keen resemblance to the IKEA ninja in the instructions…he can mock when he can beat my time for drawer assembly…

I also got to try on my new Boden Fairisle jumper. I’m so glad I sized up in this – this is a US 10 but fits far better than the 8 – I can’t abide tight knitwear and this now falls really well. Not my usual style but I really like it for winter and it complements my Pistols perfectly! There aren’t many left in stock after all the promotions recently, but worth stalking.

Roll necks and camouflage.

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

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

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

Recovering.

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

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

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

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

‘Tis the season for competition.

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Roaring 20’s.

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

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

70 degrees Farenheit on December 4th?!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yolanda:

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

2 dresses in 2 days.

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I’m trying to find my running mojo again. After a couple of months off, due to injury, getting back into the swing of things is tough. My motivation seems to have buggered off. After picking the Christmas tree out this morning I headed home with the intention of doing not much at all. On my way back though I saw several runners and walkers out and about enjoying the cool air. Suddenly I was attacked by a pang of guilt and no matter what I did I couldn’t shake it – I had to go out for a run. So I did. It was hard work but I did it and enjoyed it a bit. Now I need to climb that hill back to where I enjoy it a lot – fingers crossed the stamina returns quickly. Billy Joel helped me find my rhythm this morning – I really need to play him more.

Without a doubt connected to the lack of running, my choice of clothing has been driven more and more by comfort recently. Another reason to get the running shoes back on otherwise half my closet won’t fit anymore. I don’t wear dresses/tunics nearly as often in the winter as I do in the summer – not sure why as with a pair of tights and boots a knitted dress can actually be warmer than wearing trousers. Yesterday I wore the Boden smocked tunic dress with M&S cable knit tights (mailed by Mum last winter!) and my Frye Phillip studded harness boots. Now admittedly the tunic may not be the most flattering item of clothing I own, but I still like it a lot. It is incredibly soft and really easy to wear. Unfortunately most of the smaller sizes are currently sold out here – but definitely worth stalking – I’d suggest going down a size too if you are between sizes as it is generous. On another note Boden have 35% off party pieces until midnight on Sunday – worth a look if you have some fun festive parties approaching!

Now yesterday I made quite a commitment to Poppy – I promised her we would make our own salt dough ornaments. Yes my first foray into crafting – clearly I am losing my mind. Once again I am all talk and no action – we’ve baked 6 so far…not enough to decorate more than 2 branches on my 8ft tree. I’m trying to relax and not get too involved – but aaargh how difficult can it be to roll some dough out evenly…? Step away from the children and leave them to it!

Anyway in my eagerness to be well prepared and collect salt, flour, acrylic paints etc. etc. I headed off to Target. Fatal. It took me 45 minutes to get past the clothing section. Somehow this incredible beauty jumped into my cart – in both colorways too. Now forgive me if I am wrong but it is incredibly similar in style (if not a complete copy) to the AllSaints solstice dress that retailed at a fair bit more than this Converse number at $30! Rather happy with it it has to be said:)

I teamed it with H&M leggings, Newbury boots and then an old H&M scarf and my Zara quilted leather jacket. I feel polished but comfortable…perfect!

I also walked out with my festive t-shirt for Christmas day!

Will have some exhibits regarding the tree and homemade ornaments soon hopefully! x

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?

Poppy's Style

My blog about fashion, family, friends and fun.

Category Archives: Style

Tinsel and Twine.

Christmas Pageants

Harem trousers – I love ’em.

Roll necks and camouflage.

Recovering.

‘Tis the season for competition.

The Roaring 20’s.

70 degrees Farenheit on December 4th?!

2 dresses in 2 days.

Decorating.

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