Category Archives: Style

Just buy a book.

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!

On ice.

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So it’s my birthday soon – I’m a fiery Leo – probably no surprise to most that know me, as we are renowned for our lack of modesty, patience and ability to be quiet – I make no apologies. In the 20 years I have been with MM he has been overwhelmingly generous on my birthday and regardless of our circumstances he has always gone above and beyond to make it a special day for me – without any prompting I hasten to add. This year, after my VERY extravagant 40th last year, I have asked him not to buy me anything – partly because of the huge expense of the house renovations and partly because I’d like any extra cash to go on furnishing my new walk in closet (so yes still all about me).

I did happen to be browsing though on some other WordPress blogs and found my birthday present for NEXT year! I have been very lucky to have been gifted a couple of items from Cartier in the past few years – both from MM so he has raised the bar substantially. I love their unusual, statement rings. One of my favorite pieces of jewelry is my Cartier Trinity ring in white, rose and yellow gold – he bought this as a random, surprise gift – just because he loves me – I presume:)

So for next year I’m already hankering after the Juste un Clou ring. I love it in silver – it’s an iconic 70s piece and looks fabulous with a little bit of ice:) He reads my blog occasionally so nothing subtle about this ‘hint’!

Keeping with the ice theme I took Poppy to see ‘Ice Age: Continental Drift’ at the movies yesterday – cute as kids movies go, but I know I must be getting old when I sit and dissect a movie analyzing all the bits that have been stolen from other movies – there were the ubiquitous pirates and even Guinea Pigs that resembled Eewoks. Ah well – Poppy isn’t to know yet and she seemed to enjoy it. Knowing it was going to be icy in the movies with the crazy air conditioning most public places have I opted for another scarf. This one is a gorgeous H&M scarf – great colors – really nude pastels – a little green, peach and pink in a very subtle rose print – I love it. I wore it with my Top Shop asymmetrical t-shirt and Boden quail egg skinnies – these jeans are just fabulous and fit me perfectly. The quail egg is like a mint color without being too green. For a bit of neutrality I added my Tory Burch tan Emmy sandals. Oh and two pieces of great news for us shopaholics – Top Shop is opening in Nordstroms throughout the country and H&M will start selling online in the US in October!

Today I know I am definitely flogging a dead horse with the scarf thing – this is a new scarf from H&M. I nearly didn’t get it as I rarely wear blue but the blue in this scarf is so vivid and contrasts well with the nude/peach in the scarf – plus it’s animal print – so as with my addiction to all things grey marl I had to have it. The photos show me wearing it with my new Boden Florence tunic from the sale. Now I love these linen knit tunics, yes they are a little sheer but they’re not indecent and here in the heat and then frigid air conditioning they work a treat. A bargain to boot at $26.40. Again worn with my Tory Burch Emmys.

Boden Summer Sale. (poppys-style.com)
Boden sale haul! (poppys-style.com)
Dislocation. (poppys-style.com)

Fabulous Louella!

Channeling the ’80s

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Poppy is at first grade camp this week – I can’t believe that school starts back in 2 weeks! The summer has flown by but it will be nice to get back to a regular routine again and she is so ready to be back at school – she’s really excited to see her friends and teachers again this week. The only draw back of this camp is that it is only from 9am-12pm so barely time for me to get to the office. Instead I’ve been working from home which is lovely as it also means I can get a short run in around Chastain Park after dropping her off. It is fair to say it is NOT running weather here – humid and in the 90s does not feel good at 8am, or at anytime really – but I’ve been twice this week so can feel quite satisfied that I’m actually doing it.

Yesterday afternoon we went to the pool but it really was too hot to be enjoyable so today I think we’ll find an air conditioned activity – unfortunately I don’t think she will agree to shopping which is a shame as I am dying to head to H&M to buy myself these two pairs of jeans. Both are a blush color but one is snakeskin and the other leopard print – I love them and unfortunately there is no online store for H&M here in the US:(

Today I am definitely channeling the 80s in my pink and grey. The t-shirt is H&M and has a bright pink exposed zip at the back – it’s a great length t-shirt and was only $13. I am wearing it with my J.Crew linen scarf from a couple of years ago – wrapped as demonstrated by Avril at School Gate Style – love it! The boyfriend jeans are Gap and the silver diamante encrusted sandals are Steve Madden from a couple of years ago. Still taking photos in the basement with a very dusty mirror – the tiling starts this week!

A little worse for wear.

Damn the Zara sale!

Boden sale haul!

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Oh goodness words cannot describe how happy I am with my sale haul. Let’s take this step by step…

– Chic leather biker jacket

This jacket is just lovely as I had hoped – I’ve had my eye on it all season. The leather is so soft and the grey is a perfect neutral that goes with anything and everything from jeans to dresses to shorts – love it and worth every penny in the sale. I ordered my usual US 6 and it fits great across the back and shoulders and in the arms – a little snug around my ample midriff but I’m unlikely to ever wear it fastened.

– Skinny jeans

I ordered these as a ‘oh let’s just try them’ as I have never ordered Boden jeans before, and tend to stick with my faithful Gap and Hudson brands, but I loved the cyclamen and quail egg colors so much that I needed to see them. I am so glad I did. Again I ordered in my regular US 6 and they are a higher waist than my Hudsons but really comfy – they are a tad snug when first pulled on but I’ve been wearing them for an hour or so now and they are just perfect. Thrilled with them.

Sorry for the grainy photos – lighting isn’t great!

– Florence tunic

I ordered both the fennel and the navy for a pop of color and something classic. They are a little thinner and a little shorter than last years chic linen tunic but I love them all the same. With nude shapewear underneath I can wear them as dresses though they are sheer – I’ll keep my legs together. I just love how summery they feel – they’d be great with leggings too if you are in cooler climates! No photos yet but will sort that out for you:)

– Bloom Beach bag

Just fabulous – HUGE and colorful – with a gorgeous turquoise lining – I love it. Will stay dry by the pool and look fantastic – wish I’d bought this sooner but I can’t wait to take it to Kyrenia next year!

– Jersey striped scarf

I have to say this is the hit of the haul – I hadn’t even considered it until Avril at School Gate Style put it on her wish list – but it is my most favorite item of the lot. It’s large, drapey, soft and a fabulous grey with a trim of color. It can be worn all year and will be perfect for transatlantic flights back home – I just love it and want all the other colors too! Get it while you can for $24 it is fabulous.

So today I am wearing my gorgeous cyclamen jeans and they feel great – perfect for a rainy summer day in Atlanta. I’ve paired them with my Zara butterfly top and I know butterflies and birds are omnipresent right now but I love this top and it was all of $36! The navy one with collar is in the sale right now online for $19.99. I think my turquoise Tory Burch Emmy sandals look fun with the jeans but maybe it’s too much color? All topped off with my cream J.Crew light weight cashmere cardigan – it’s chilly in my air conditioned office!

Oh and I forgot to mention the gorgeous little touch from Boden – they slipped in a little notebook in one of my parcels – room to take notes plus some splendid quirky English tips like interpreting English English for Americans:) One of my favorite Facebook pages is http://www.facebook.com/quitepeckish who serve up quaint little English tidbits daily – it’s fun.

What have been your favorite Boden sale purchases?

There’ll be time enough for countin’ when the dealin’s done.

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Oh yeah baby – tickets are bought for what should be a tremendous night out on Saturday – Glen Campbell and Kenny Rogers together at Chastain Amphitheater! To say I am excited is an understatement. MM and I have seen a few acts over the years at Chastain most notable were The Pet Shop Boys and Willie Nelson – both were fantastic nights. Chastain is a a great open air venue and everyone takes picnics and wine – some very well organized folks even take along cushions, folding tables and and wine coolers – my wine never lasts long enough to need one. All morning I have been reacquainting myself with ‘Galveston’, ‘Rhinestone Cowboy’ and ‘The Gambler’ – I am giddy with excitement! Oh and Loretta Lynn is playing there on the 24th August – if I can guarantee she’ll play from her Van Lear Rose album I’ll be buying tickets again – imagine if Jack White made a guest appearance!!

I worked out again this morning at the Y so I’m feeling quite happy with myself! I even seem to have got the gym bag packing down to a fine art – I used to really dislike getting ready at the gym before heading to work as I always found I’d forgotten something. Well I seem to have cracked the code but I’m still walking out of the house with a work bag, gym bag and pool bag every day – it requires a lot of careful planning:)

I was inspired to wear an ‘old’ Boden tunic today after seeing Beth wear hers the other day. This tunic is one of the first women’s wear items that I bought from Boden, and marks the time I became interested in clothes again after losing all my weight. I love it and have it in the pinky color too. I wore this taupe one when I was sworn in as a US citizen so it always brings back great memories when I wear it. I’ve paired it with another couple of Boden classics – my pink and orange espadrilles which were a sale bargain and I love them for adding a pop of color to a ‘beige’ outfit, along with my taupe long line cardigan – another sale bargain from summer 2011.

Becoming an American back in 2010:

Today’s ensemble:

Bad photo taken in the Ladies:)

Boden Summer Sale.

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Yes the Boden sale has started! First I’m going to get it off my chest – I am sick to death of the bitching and moaning on the Boden Facebook page. I don’t understand where the sense of entitlement comes from. Boden is a company, out to make money and yes they want to listen to their customers and increase sales, but they certainly don’t have to start a sale on demand, nor, if they don’t have to, offer huge deep discounts. Some people want something for nothing – so go on feel free to spend your money at Joules and White Stuff instead. Only a couple of people, who appear to share my opinions, mentioned the numerous discounts that Boden offer throughout the season. And as for complaining about lack of stock well that is just silly – that’s what a sale/clearance is all about – getting rid of it all – and hurrah for Boden if they managed to sell out of certain lines before the sale!

Phew – feel better now. So after my post the other day about saving my money for the house etc. I immediately failed and went and bought some fab items in the sale. Even my little brother couldn’t resist a dig on my Poppy’s Style Facebook page🙂 Be quiet little bro’!

The first item I am so excited about, and Beth over at Style Guile featured it in her blog yesterday – the Chic leather jacket from the Limited Edition collection. I’ve had my eye on it all season and nearly bought it discounted but decided to hold out. I don’t think it is any cheaper here in the sale than with the discount code, but I knew it would disappear fast so snapped up my regular size. I hope the US 6 works as LE tend to be a tad on the snug side but a couple of reviews said the arms were quite loose and I’ve found, with jackets at least, that the 8 drowns my shoulders – so fingers crossed this works out! I love the color and it will look great over my AllSaints jumpers in the Fall.

Most of the items I bought I have actually been lusting over for a while – the oil cloth beach bag in bloom was actually on my Summer preview order but I cancelled it after getting the Beachcomber bag in the quail egg union jack instead. The Beachcomber bag is great but it does get wet by the pool so I’m hoping the oil cloth bag will handle the splashing better.

I also had the Florence tunic on my summer preview order and again cancelled it as I just felt I had way too many tunics to choose from – I still do – but the sale price is too good to pass over and I love the classic navy and fennel colors. I have the linen drawstring tunics from last year that I got in the sale in which I love worn as short dresses so I hope the Florence tunic lives up to expectations!

Now for the spontaneous, throw them in the cart, type purchases. The first caught my eye after Avril at SchoolGateStyle.com picked it out here – the jersey scarf, but in grey melange. A color that can be worn throughout the year – and hopefully it’s lovely and soft – definitely a bargain at $24.00!

Finally I nabbed the skinny jeans in cylcamen and quail egg. I really think these colors can be worn throughout the year too and styled with long baggy jumpers or with the biker jacket they will look great – I’m certainly not keen on how Boden have styled them in the photos – but with a bit of imagination I think they can look a little ‘cooler’. I’ve never bought jeans from Boden before so thought I’d give them a whirl as the reviews were pretty good. I went with my usual size 6 as there is 3 % elastane in them and I find that jeans give quite a bit with wear – I only wash jeans after 4 or 5 wears so fingers crossed they work out well!

What did you all order?

Again I am suffering with the lack of a full length mirror and this morning all my photographers had left plus I worked out so got ready at the Y – and why oh why no full length mirror at the Y?? Anyway I am wearing my Tory Burch Emmy sandals in turquoise – I love them with tanned feet! I bought them earlier this year and this is the first time I’ve worn them – so happy with them and given my funny feet they work well as there are no straps for my toes to get stuck over or between! With them I’m wearing my white Express cropped jeans, my new white H&M top purchased back in England, which I love and it hides a multitude of sins, and my Boden grey jersey jacket from last year. The turquoise necklace is a cheap trick from Target.

Accessorizing my home.

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So we are half way through the renovations and I’m really starting to see how it is all taking shape. The new huge windows are in the bedroom so we can wake up to the garden every day, the wall is in for the new closet, and the bath tub is sitting ready to be installed. Thankfully we’ve also gotten rid of the remaining carpet on the main level – I find carpet a complete no no with two dogs and two children. Of course with a remodel there is the expense of the actual work itself, but a bit like losing weight or changing your appearance with a new haircut, there has to be some new attire and accessories.

We’re going for a very minimal contemporary look so our walls will be some kind of white – there are hundreds to choose from! For the interior of the closet we have set ourselves the challenge of designing it ourselves using the Pax modular closet from IKEA. Again it is very modern and extremely versatile with different drawer and hanging options for all types of clothes. Personally I LOVE IKEA though would probably never furnish my entire house with it. They offer the best furniture for children’s rooms and solutions for storing all the shrapnel that children seem to collect, and dare I say it – I love assembling a flat pack. This week I have assembled two Expedit storage cubes for the kids – one for our family/tv room and the second for Poppy’s room. They are brilliant and look fab – I’m even thinking of getting a red one now for our laundry room as a place for all our bags etc. when we walk in from the garage.

For years now I have been on the hunt for my perfect vanity/dressing table and I’m glad I have waited till now to buy one as I think I have a much clearer idea of where our aesthetic is heading. I have always liked the idea of a mirrored vanity but most are either ridiculously expensive, are too traditional in style, or have zero storage for cosmetics. I think I might have just found the most perfect one at West Elm – the mirrored Parsons desk. It’s not cheap at $599 but has the sleek look that I was aiming for plus 2 small drawers for cosmetics. To soften the blow I am considering the Tobias chair from IKEA to pair with it. We have 2 of these around our Big Sur breakfast table and they add a great contemporary feel, open up the space and contradict other styles like natural wood well.

To allow me to continue to indulge in my outfit of the day blogs, and to open up the bedroom given the fact it will be slightly smaller due to my immense walk in closet, I also have the Parsons floor mirror from Crate and Barrel on my wish list – it is huge and will look fabulous leaning against the exterior of the closet wall.

We also thankfully got rid of the dogs’ chaise. Yes the dogs had their own chair but as they would now rather lie on any other piece of furniture than their own I decided that it was time for it to go. It smelt and looked rather horrid after years of use. So a large area has opened up in the kitchen where I plan to create a ‘coffee nook’ that can be transformed into an area for entertaining given that all our parties end up in the kitchen…though our house has very few walls it can be argued where the kitchen actually begins and ends…I’m going to get two Tullsta arm chairs in black leather from IKEA which are cheap enough to get trashed by the children, but look neat and sleek enough to be pleasing on the eye too.

As a coffee table solution for this small space I’ve ordered another Stow ottoman from Crate and Barrel in persimmon. We have a green one already which I love – the lid flips over so it can be used as either a seat, a foot rest, or a table – and it can easily be moved around the house – brilliant! Given our house is full of neutral tones accessorized with either pops of orange or green I went for this lovely orange.

So no clothing allowance for me for a while – at least till I have accessorized my home…

Poppy's Style

My blog about fashion, family, friends and fun.

Category Archives: Style

Just buy a book.

On ice.

Fabulous Louella!

Channeling the ’80s

A little worse for wear.

Damn the Zara sale!

Boden sale haul!

There’ll be time enough for countin’ when the dealin’s done.

Boden Summer Sale.

Accessorizing my home.

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