Tag Archives: AllSaints

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!

Last supper.

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Two weeks have flown by and tomorrow we will be leaving on a jet plane to return to soaring Atlanta temperatures. We’ve had a fabulous vacation seeing family, days out, shopping trips and great food so it is bitter sweet that we head home to see Daddy and the dogs who have been missed greatly. The bags are packed and yes I managed to squeeze in my ‘souvenirs’ though I have sacrificed MM’s tea bags – though we can buy them over there!

My brother and his family are heading over for dinner again so Mum is making one last family dinner for us all before we return next year – we’ve had lamb and beef so of course today it’s time for roast pork and crackling mmm!

I wish I had a long mirror to show you the Primark jeans in their full glory – they are definitely growing on me – especially now I have styled them with my white AllSaints Tilly t-shirt and my H&M linen top – more muted colors are definitely required with these jeans!

So see you soon back on the other side of the Atlantic!

Addendum:

Okay asked Poppy to take a photo for the legs – she would only take it sitting down while watching CBeebies so it is hideously unflattering and dark but here you go:)

Not much changes.

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And I mean it in a good way. Despite some of the the changes that have occurred in our lives including the universities, career choices and 7 children, my night out with S. last night was filled with as much laughter as I remember them 22 years ago! I arrived at her house not really knowing what to expect from the evening – it even crossed my mind for one horrible moment that she might not drink anymore! In order to set the tone I arrived with a bottle of Prosecco and 5mins after entering the door any onlooker would have had a hard time believing we hadn’t seen or spoke to each other properly since 1989 or so. I met her five gorgeous children and marveled at how on earth she remains sane – she assured me she wasn’t but bloody hell it made me wonder why I complain about feeling tired and frustrated with just 2 children! We then went out to a place called The First Chop – a tapas bar in Ramsbottom – a very appropriate venue giving the Spain vs. Portugal game was on. Good food was eaten and copious wine was drunk. We rehashed some of our school days agreeing that really an all girls grammar school hadn’t done us many favors in the long run – and surprisingly we still have a few lingering hang ups and regrets – silly really – we need to move on and get a grip. Anyway thrilled to have rekindled a fabulous friendship – it just goes to show that it’s worth reaching out sometimes even when you think too much time may have passed.

It was a really warm, humid evening here so I opted to wear my AllSaints Pipali tank, Gap black skinny jeans and Tory Burch ballet flats – yeah the ballet flats got worn!

I asked my lovely sister to photograph me to begin with but as you can see it was getting a bit mental in the lounge – chaos.

We don’t look bad for 22 years on either:)

The children unfortunately had no compassion for me this morning and were still pinging off the walls at 6.30am – uuurggh. After deciding not to be a wimp about a late night out we headed to the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester – highly recommended for anyone with children. It is full of planes, trains and automobiles, turbines, steam engines and textile machines. There is even a children’s interactive area where they can run riot and touch everything. Brilliant stuff for Mum shuffling along behind them with a large bottle of water:)

Poppy and Hugh found our vacation transport for next year.

A Sinclair C5 – I bet everyone would have one if they were introduced today!

Mmmmm ham butties.

The Enterprise – I want this.

Slam in the Lamb.

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The weather today is similar to my last visit. All well and good except my last visit was early December. It has been raining non stop, blowing a gale and it is is very dark – and yes it’s June 22nd. Hard to believe just hours away on a plane it is almost 100 degrees with blue skies. After a little consideration given to venturing out this morning we all decided better of it so we’ve had a lovely relaxing day watching movies and vegging on the sofa. No point complaining bitterly about the weather – we decided to behave like grown ups – embrace it and go with the flow.

The kids have watched Wallace and Gromit about 10 times now and still giggle at the same points, never tiring of it. I have raised my game on Bejeweled, surfed Facebook and enjoyed a few more chapters of the last of the Larsson trilogy. Mum and Dad – the complete nutters – have just decided to go out for their daily 3 mile walk. Poppy was either in awe, confused, or both as they left dressed head to toe in waterproofs. I guess if you live here 365 days a year you can’t let the weather dictate your actions or you’d rarely leave the house.

I am writing with the smell of dinner wafting through – roast lamb – it smells divine. I think I might actually be drooling. It is the perfect day for a scrummy roast dinner cooked by your mum, who happens to be the best cook in the world. It’s just a shame that all I can see across the road is a field full of sheep with their new baby lambs – will just not look when dinner is served.

The weather has also allowed me to enjoy me new AllSaints purchases. I bought the Boston cardigan thinking I would wear it just open in a waterfall style, but today I have been sitting with it wrapped around my neck in some kind of cardigan come scarf fashion. I’m wearing it over an AllSaints Godiva tank with my comfy Zara cargo pants – perfect for stylish lounging:) If you’re considering the trousers these seem to run big contrary to most of the Zara items I have. I’m wearing a US 6 and they are perfect – nice and slouchy. Thankfully here you can’t see my slipper socks that I have resorted to wearing my feet were so blue with cold, so happy I bought them to wear on the plane!

Heaven and hell…

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…that’s what the Trafford Centre trip turned into for me today. We had originally decided to go as Dad was very excited about the John Lewis sale – under the guise of “your Mum loves John Lewis” – well he wasn’t fooling anyone. As it happens it was also lashing it down with rain this morning and the trees were horizontal so being indoors seemed like a good plan. Though, just so you all don’t think I am a complete nut job, I HAD cautioned everyone involved about the peril of shopping with a 4 and 6 year old – my Mum had clearly forgotten after raising 3 children. We met my lovely sister who is enjoying maternity leave with baby Tom – who coincidentally is the perfect age for shopping with children, as long as you have plenty of baby bottles prepared before you leave. To be honest I don’t know what the fuss is about with newborns – all they do is eat, sleep and poop – so easy compared to a 4 and 6 year old…yes I hate to harp on, and I know parental amnesia is kicking in, but I am trying to evoke some sympathy.

So as we walked into John Lewis, knowing I hadn’t taken a photo of myself in all my glory, wearing my Hudson jeans, AllSaints Bonny cuban boots, Zara lace top, YSL Roady bag and JohnnieB leather jacket, I asked my lovely daughter to photograph me. The following results are the beginning of a downhill spiral:

Flattering hey? Intentionally action shots? I don’t think so…

Having fueled the kids with boiled eggs and sausage this morning they did allow me some time to browse the sale and I spotted these lovely dresses but couldn’t summon the energy to try them on, and the lovely Oasis dress with anchors on it was only available in an XS otherwise I would have just bought it without trying I liked it so much. The second dress was the lovely French Connection Calypso jersey dress that I’m not sure I would ever wear but I still thought it was gorgeous and drapey.

I did manage to try on a Mint Velvet long sleeved top that caught my eye mainly due to the color. I have to admit I haven’t heard of the brand before but they have some lovely casual tops. While I was in the changing room I heard the screams of my son and thought twice about returning to my party – I nearly made a run for it just 30 minutes into the shopping trip…While in the changing room I also managed to achieve what Poppy hadn’t, that being a photo of my outfit of the day…

Here’s the top I tried – I think the fit of the 12 was fine and a 14 would have been to loose around the neck but the fabric was a tad too clingy for my liking so I passed on it.

On then to AllSaints. Not having a stand alone store in Atlanta I relish the opportunity to visit one here and the one in the Trafford Centre is pretty big. I left Mum and Dad watching their grandchildren and legged it. I certainly wasn’t intending on buying anything – but then why would I go in the store at all? Oh and then I discovered my heaven for the day – their sale had begun today! (on the US website too!)

I walked out with knitwear and yes granted it is needed here in Bury, it won’t be worn for a while in Atlanta with 90 degree temps. I ended up with four, yes four cardigans.

I love my black cerulean cardigan so I got the grey marl:

I already have the plume jumper in ivory and was tempted by the ebony striped one shown here, but ended up with the cardigan instead – my favorite of the 4 items, but not to be found on either the UK or US website:

Then I picked out the grey Jagger cardigan – I have the black jumper which I love, and I’m a magpie around anything grey – could only see the black online though:

Finally the Boston cardigan – just gorgeous and I can wear this in the summer evenings with shorts:

VERY, VERY happy with my haul. Sadly I then had to regroup with the tired, irritable children…poor things it’s not their fault the shopping gene hasn’t kicked in yet. So we took them off for fish and chips in John Lewis and all were soon happy and smiley again. I’m now at Mum and Dad’s with my first glass of white of the day – well earned I’m sure you will agree, and if you were in Manchester today and heard a manic woman yelling “Poppy!”, “Hugh!”, “Come on guys!” – it was me.

Summer festival.

A birthday, some shopping, a proposal and a hangover!

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What a brilliant weekend! SO much happened but I’m quite relieved it’s over now as my liver couldn’t take much more partying…my stamina isn’t what it used to be. Simon and Karin (I now have permission to use names!) arrived on Thursday and of course we had fun catching up over wine and good steaks. It was 1.30am when we eventually made it to bed which I knew was going to be bad news for Friday…and of course Friday was my daughter’s 6th birthday so I needed to have my game face on! I dragged myself and her out of bed in time for the school bus thankfully, after opening gifts – the Barbie camper was very well received. The day then began to unravel itself as one of rushing about madly – from dropping cupcakes off at school for the birthday girl, to shopping and lunch with our guests – to finally helping out at the end of year party held by our lovely school bus driver. I had to engage brain and get my mouth to work properly chatting to all the other lovely moms who were there…I was beginning to run out of steam. Fortunately the evening was finished off with a huge chocolate cake for the birthday girl and a Chinese takeaway – boy those dumplings were enjoyed!

Ready for shopping in AllSaints tank, Gap black jeans, AllSaints Bonny Cuban boot.

A very excited 6 year old.

This might be the time to confess that my diet was not maintained at all over the weekend…major fail…but I’m back on the wagon today. I did get a workout in on Saturday morning and then I took Karin shoe shopping while Simon and MM watched the Champion’s League final. After a very successful haul of 4 pairs of shoes for Karin and a new pair of Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses for me, we cracked open some cava and began getting ready for a night out.

Glad rags: AllSaints Pipali tank, Express Zelda white cropped jeans, Levity shoes, Steve Madden clutch

We went to our favorite restaurant, Abattoir. We’ve been often enough now that we are treated as regulars – the staff are so friendly, welcoming and patient thankfully, as we were quite a loud and raucous table. Festivities took an exciting turn when Simon decided to propose to Karin! I say decided – I do hope I didn’t force the situation – I have a habit of being a bit like a dog with a bone when I’ve had a drink – so I’m not sure if I cajoled, persuaded or forced a proposal but Karin said yes and everyone seemed very happy. So I’m looking forward to a trip to Sweden next year for a summer wedding! Simon texted me yesterday from Chicago with a photo of Karin wearing a beautiful diamond engagement band from Tiffany’s. Good job Simon:) Karin and I stayed up till 3.30am on Sunday morning chatting with mojitos…so yesterday was a little fuzzy to say the least. Thankfully spent horizontal, parenting by the pool.

So back to normality today with only 2 days left of the school year – hurray!

Boo hoo.

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A disappointing start to the day. I was so excited to go for a run, especially given I will be imbibing all weekend, then as I was brushing my teeth I remembered I have to take my son to the dentist this morning. An awful process – I leave with my ears ringing every time for he does NOT like the dentist. I was also looking back on yesterday and the disappointing visit to AllSaints in Bloomingdale’s. Disappointing as I left with just one item.

I had gone into the store to try the Petrel Brodies – a good job I did. The lovely Charlie was as ever incredibly helpful and showed me his splendid new sleeve tattoo – if I was 20 years younger would I do it? I don’t have any tattoos but Charlie’s looks hot – I’d be tempted. Anyway the pants were SO skinny. Now I don’t think I have particularly big legs but I needed a shoe horn to get in and out of a 30 inch and I normally wear a 27 in Gap and Hudson! No vanity sizing here! I was sweating in the fitting room – I guess it was a good workout in lieu of the run today! So no Petrel Brodies but I did leave with the gorgeous faded ebony Pipali tank (I’ve ordered the chalk online)…

I tried a couple of other pairs of jeans on but they wear either too skinny in the leg or too big on the waist…or I’m just an odd shape? I’ll have to keep searching but I’m tempted to try some cropped jeans from either J.Crew or Express, depending if I think the extra $40 is worth it – probably not for a very seasonal item.

Today I am wearing my AllSaints Tilly tee from last summer, Gap camo print legging jeans from last year, Nine West shoe boots that I haven’t worn FOREVER and found lurking in a box at the bottom of the closet – it was like opening a new pair – I was so happy to see them!

The desk is built!

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Hurray! The IKEA desk is now assembled! After the exhausting weekend I have to say the last thing I felt like doing last night was battling my way through a flat pack but what with guests arriving from Sweden on Thursday the rest of the week is going to be filled with tidying and cleaning. Last night was my only chance to get the desk erected before Friday. The process began as expected with MM watching, pointing out the bleeding obvious and lining up the screws and pegs for me while I battled with huge, heavy pieces of chip board. He was also very handy at taking photos of me. I am actually glad he was around though, as I did need him to help do some of the heavy lifting – these things ain’t light!

The desk is now hidden under a sheet in the dining room until I can put it in Poppy’s room while she is at school on Friday. The plan is to hang her new pictures, mirror and basically rearrange her room while she is out so she can be surprised with her ‘big girl’ room on her return! I can’t wait to see her face!

Of course I did find time in between dinner and flat pack hell to do a little online shopping. I had polled some friends earlier in the day on whether to jumpsuit or not? Meaning is it something the every day woman can get away with? I’ve avoided them so far thinking that only a 6ft skinny bird can wear them and look good, but then I stumbled on this stunner in the AllSaints archive.

It looks a lovely drapey, heavy jersey and I think it would look fab for a bit of evening glamour with heels, and it could be worn throughout the year, pairing it with a jacket in the colder seasons. The poll results were divided so I decided to take the plunge and order it – I’ll let you all have your say when it arrives and I try it on.

I also ordered this gorgeous top in chalk blush which I’m hoping to pair with the vintage pink Petrel Brodies. I decided against the Prey sequin vest as I remembered I had a couple of cheaper versions from Express that will do just nicely. This top is much more unique and I love the colors.

Earlier in the day, on my way back from picking my little man up from daycare I happened to be driving by DSW and thought we could take a quick look before going home – what better place to take a 4 and 6 year old? The only reason I wanted to nip in was that I had seen a pair of shoes on sale that I knew would go with my new items. I’ve found that I’m a much better shopper these days. I do procrastinate a little but online shopping definitely allows me to build a great capsule collection of new pieces instead of making impulsive mall purchases of lots of items that don’t coordinate.

Here are the lovely wedges that I got for a bargain of $50 – in store there was an additional 30% off!

We’re off to watch my daughter’s class perform the Three Piggy Opera today which should be fun, and then I am off home to start cleaning the house ready for S. and his girlfriend’s arrival – I am so looking forward to seeing them and partying all weekend! I shan’t be cleaning in these but I’m wearing my AllSaints Phinius dress (here’s the top), Boden leggings and my Tory Burch black patent Eddies. I love this dress and it’s also super cute with cowboy boots and bare legs.

The real me.

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Okay so I know I said I was trying to grow my hair and many of you were very good at encouraging me but I have no staying power. Actually I polled a couple of people who I knew would give me their honest opinion. One being MM who said even though he likes my hair long he prefers it short. This kinda made me question my sanity. Why would I go through the hell of growing my hair, especially in the heat and humidity of an Atlanta summer when MM prefers it short? In addition to that, and more importantly I think, I actually prefer it short – I feel like the real me with it short if that makes sense…? So instead of opting for a painful summer of bouffant frizz I booked myself in to see my favorite hairdresser O’Neil at Van Michael in Virginia Highlands. He seemed quite happy to see me back and though we agreed that as short as my previous cut was not for me, he also agreed that he favors short hair on me – so he proceeded to de-mullet me. I now know for sure that I am a short hair kinda gal as I immediately felt groomed, sassy and a little more urban and a little less mumsy. Hurray for that hey?

I told you yesterday that I had ordered the Zara Basic sandal – sad news folks I had to cancel the order. On a whim I popped into the store here to see if they had the black in my size but it turns out no size is my size. My feet are too wide to get in them so my little toes were left perching over the front strap – not a good look. The search for the perfect sandal for my feet continues. It has to be said though if you have narrower feet and regular toes the sandals are gorgeous. In order to raise my spirits again I headed into H&M for a ‘browse’. Now in my case there is no such thing as just a browse in H&M – I always see something worth buying. Today I got 3 fabulous linen blend long sleeve tops from their Basics line – coral, cream and brown – at $17.95 each they are perfect for throwing on over a tank. I’ve trawled their website and can’t find an image so will post a photo soon.

To help take me from 40 year old mom to 40 year old hot chick (tongue in cheek here Daily Mail readers!!) I wore my AllSaints Coli top, Gap black legging jeans and my lovely Sam Edelman Alvin loafers.

So what do you think of the new haircut?

Poppy's Style

My blog about fashion, family, friends and fun.

Tag Archives: AllSaints

Just buy a book.

Last supper.

Not much changes.

Slam in the Lamb.

Heaven and hell…

Summer festival.

A birthday, some shopping, a proposal and a hangover!

Boo hoo.

The desk is built!

The real me.

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