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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Ready for Fall.

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Oddly, given that it’s still only August, leaves are falling in the garden and the temperature has dropped due to lots of rain – it feels great.  The long summer months here always have me pining for Fall, especially now all the September magazines are out crammed full of fabulous Fall clothes and boots.  From what I have seen we’re in for a real treat this year and I have already ordered my winter coat from Zara as I know this will disappear fast:

It will hang in my closet for a few months yet but it is lovely – more like a chunky knitted cardigan than a coat, with leather quilted sleeves – perfect for Atlanta winters and really edgy looking.

I eventually moved my mirror upstairs last night so I am now taking photos in my empty closet!  MM and I have decided to take a breather for a month before embarking on the closet fixtures and fittings – we’re feeling a little overwhelmed after the renovations!  Today I am wearing my Express blush Zelda jeans, Zara cat top (a bit of a rip off from Victoria Beckham’s cat print dresses) and Zara off white jogging blazer, along with my nectarine Tory Burch Revas.  It’s lovely being able to do hair and make up all in one place again even if I do have to run downstairs to get my clothes:)

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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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Make the most of your assets!

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Now there may be many who say, with 2 days to go before you turn 41, loud prints could be verging on the mutton dressed as lamb look.  But not me.  This summer I have fallen for loud prints, especially trousers with loud prints, in a big way.  It comes from acceptance.  Acceptance that I will never have a 21″ waist thanks to 2 children and my love of wine, but also acceptance that my legs are pretty darn good from running.  It’s very un-British to want to show off (and I don’t mean bragging), or to even say you think you look great, but maybe some of the American confidence is rubbing off on me.

My pants today are not for wall flowers that’s for sure!  I have seen them on bloggers all summer and admired how fabulous they look with their youthfulness and tiny statures.  Then while browsing the Zara website the other day I saw the last pair on sale for $20 and snapped them up knowing full well they’d probably be returned to the store.  Well last night they arrived and they are fabulous!  It was utterly joyous this morning putting them on after a good run – I couldn’t stop grinning.  I felt full of mischief this morning sitting in my car knowing people had no idea what I had on my legs!

Here they are in all their glory – the Zara tropical print pants:

I am wearing them with a white Express t-shirt, black Zara jersey blazer and my nectarine Tory Burch Revas which coordinate perfectly!


I know some of you will loathe them, but I hope others will be inspired to show off your best features and accept that we can step out of our comfort zone regardless of age!

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Styling our Primark jeans!

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Knowing that my blogging friends, Avril (SchoolGateStyle.com) and Beth (StyleGuile.blogspot.com), had also fallen under the trance of the Primark floral jeans this summer, we thought it would be fun for the three of us to collaborate and show you our interpretations of styling for these floral wonders!

As you know I really am new to the Aladdin’s Cave that is Primark as we don’t have them in the US, but I made a child free shopping trip there when I was back in Bury in June.  I love skinny jeans but I have to admit I was pretty terrified by the floral jean trend.  Any pattern for that matter, on jeans, just seemed wrong.  Talk about u-turns!  I nabbed these jeans at just 5 GBP (about $7.50!) and fell in love with them as soon as I wore them. For the price they are great quality and a fabulous fit, plus given all the colors in them they go with a variety of tops – though I definitely advise keeping the tops simple.  The jeans themselves have green, purple, pink, taupe and black in them and I have worn them with tops in all these colors.

Here’s how I styled them back in June in England, I love the casual look here – I wore an AllSaints tank and H&M taupe linen jumper which coordinated great with the jeans.

And here is how I wore them more recently with my pink Zara linen t-shirt from the sale:

For this post I decided to go for a slightly dressier look – though I love that it can easily be a fun, relaxed look without the jacket.  The jacket coordinates perfectly – it’s the Boden tipped blazer in blossom – currently in the sale at $88.80 though other colors are cheaper.  It is fabulous quality and one of my favorite Boden purchases this year.  Under the jacket I’m wearing a simple men’s Gap white t-shirt, with 2-3 year old H&M pink beads.  My Tory Burch musk Eddie flats are my favorite shoes for these jeans – nude and simple.

I absolutely love how Beth, Avril and I have all styled them differently – who would have known that statement floral jeans would be so versatile!

For more details on Beth and Avril’s outfits hop over to StyleGuile.blogspot.com and SchoolGateStyle.com for some inspiration!

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Birthday jeans!

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I know, I know it’s not my birthday till Friday but my fabulous Mum sent me my present early and I’ve been looking at them on the shelf dying to wear them – so I have – 3 days early:)  Knowing how much I loved my floral jeans that I bought when I was back in England, Mum very kindly sent me the Primark leopard print jeans!  They are lovely!  I can’t get over the quality and fit of these jeans for 12 GBP!!  They have a lovely nude background and the spots are almost like brush strokes so not really sure if it’s leopard or cheetah.  Regardless, paired with black they look fabulous.  Total winners and will be worn throughout the Fall into Winter with black boots.

I paired them with my Zara black oversize t-shirt from the sale and my black patent Tory Burch Eddies:

Much as I have fallen in love with Zara over the past few months I am completely bummed with their customer service.  A package went missing the other day with my new trousers – FedEx claim they delivered them – I know they didn’t as I was perched by the door waiting on tenterhooks for the package to arrive!  I’ve even walked around the house a hundred times like a mad woman wondering if they could possibly have been moved by a squirrel with a cruel sense of humor.  Unlike Boden, who always give their customer the benefit of the doubt and refund or resend immediately, on the rare occasion something goes missing, Zara are completely d*cking me around and won’t refund or resend until they have filed a claim with FedEx – aaaarrgggh!!  You wouldn’t believe the time I have spent on the phone trying to talk sense to them.  So two multinational companies who make gazillions every year are holding my $130 until they decide whether they believe me or not!?  SO frustrating – not to mention I don’t have the camouflage or the oriental trousers in my possession…and sadly I still want them no matter how mad I am with Zara.

Look out for tomorrow’s post – a fun collaboration is in store for you all!

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Back to school!

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So we were out there at 6.40am this morning in the dark, waiting for the bus for 1st grade!  Fortunately Poppy was very excited and so wasn’t too grumpy at the early morning routine but gosh I’m certainly not used to it!  Did not appreciate the 5.45am alarm bell this morning.  Of course the bus was late so goodness knows what time she will actually be delivered home today – a bit chaotic with a new bus driver and new bus routes this year.

Hugh has started pre-K too so a big day for us all.  To celebrate the start of a new school year we took them out for lunch yesterday.  Now I have to say we took them to one of my favorite lunch locations – Pizze Fritte – and yes Poppy doesn’t like pizza – so I guess it was a tad unfair, but I also claimed the lunch as my early birthday lunch before Friday – hence the 2 glasses of prosecco…at least Poppy enjoyed her fries:) I wore my Zara butterfly top and blue pants, which can’t be seen here but needless to say I felt very colorful!  Notice how they put families with noisy children in the far corner away from the other patrons…or maybe that table is saved for families with noisy mothers?

This week is hopefully our last week of work at the house…just a few loose ends to finish up and cleaning to do – so bear with me while my morning photos are still so dark and grainy – hopefully next week we’ll be back up in our beautiful, bright bedroom thanks to our new windows!

Today I’m wearing my fab Zara cargo pants, pink Zara linen t-shirt from the sale, AllSaints Itat shrug and Tory Burch pink Eddie flats.  Feeling very comfy on a drizzly Atlanta day.

 

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