Tag Archives: Birthday

A birthday and an unexpected gift!

So the celebrations have ended, but definitely on a high note! I was greeted by the children with breakfast in bed on Wednesday morning – so lovely! Then it was off out for lunch with my husband, and maybe a glass of prosecco. I do love a long lazy lunch!

Zara bomber jacket, Mansur Gavriel, Castañer espadrillesTop – Zara // JacketZara // Shoes – Castañer // Bag – Mansur Gavriel // Necklaces – H&M

That evening we went out for dinner and cocktails. It is fun to go out on a school night but I certainly can’t do it every week! 45 is turning to out to be pretty fun so far!

IMG_8128 Zara dress, Castaner espadrilles Zara dress Castaner espadrillesShoes – Castañer // Dress – Zara

Before we went on vacation my husband had someone drive into the back of him – we found out this week that the car had to be written off as a total loss. So sad! We had had both of our cars – a large sedan and an SUV for about 10 years and had planned to keep them till the wheels dropped off! Having no car payments was lovely but they were also expensive to maintain. I say ‘they’ as while my husband is looking for a new car we decided it was time to trade in my SUV. With more than 100k miles on the clock, and no longer needing to carry strollers and carseats around, I decided it was time for a little driving fun! I’ve ended up with my ‘dream’ ‘hot hatch’ – a Golf SE GTI! It’s manual too!! I haven’t driven a stick for 16 years (the sales guy on the test drive went a bit pale once I mentioned that….) but after missing a few gears, and a few gear crunches, it was like I’d always driven one! I LOVE it. It is so much fun! All I need now are some furry dice on the rearview mirror! Today I have mostly been reading car manuals!!

Golf GTI Golf GTITop – Zara // Jeans – Zara (old) // Shoes – & Other Stories

Golf GTIShoes – River Island (last year) // Shorts – Madewell (last year) // Top – Mango sale

Golf GTI

Funnily enough my husband is STILL without a car…he is contemplating something fun and smaller too! Once again we’ll be the odd foreigners…driving small cars, in a neighborhood of SUVs, trucks and luxury sedans!

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Recovery

I am so, so tired today, but I’m struggling through! The struggle is eased by the fun memories of my birthday! My family yet again went above and beyond to make it a special day. Everywhere I looked there were little stickers with my face on them, and my husband made a card with a blog photo from every month of last year!

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We dined out last night at an amazing new steak house in Atlanta – Marcel – just exquisite – certainly an indulgent treat! For the occasion I wore the AllSaints Noir dress which I purchased in the sales. It was perfect – no waist to hinder over consumption! It has a cool zipper neck line which I love – it gives a little edginess to a LBD.

AllSaints dressDress – AllSaints // Shoes – Marks and Spencer // Bag – YSL

As I was searching for the sandals online (now on sale at just £19!) I came across this flat version at M&S – be quick – you know they are bound to sell out! There is also a closed toe heeled version here.

Today and yesterday during the day were very casual. Jeans and sneakers – my favorite ensemble!

JCrew teeSneakers – Stan Smith Adidas // Jeans – J.Crew boyfriend jeans // T-shirt – J.Crew

GGJeans – J.Crew (30% off with SHOPMORE) // Top – AllSaints (old) // Sneakers – Golden Goose (on sale here reduced to $167 from $555)

GG 1

I cannot believe I contemplated not getting these Golden Goose! They still have limited sizes available on sale here. I am wearing what is marked as a US 9 online, and they fit true to a Eur 39.

Okay I’m off for a lie down before the kids get home and I have to attempt 4th grade homework again!

My birthday weekend starts now!

I’m 44 on Monday. How did that happen? I don’t feel anything like I thought you were supposed to at 44. Aren’t I supposed to be a grown up by now?

winging it

I’ve always loved to celebrate my birthday, so as my weekend starts today, so do my birthday celebrations! My husband joined me for lunch today and tonight we’ll be entertained by the GOP debate! I can’t wait – I hope Donald Trump will entertain as expected!

Today I started the day with a run – massive mistake. It was about 77 degrees so I thought it would be tolerable. I had failed to factor in the 100% humidity – talk about running through a sauna. I’m still as dehydrated as a Farley’s Rusk now! At least I got to wear my new running shoes and capris!

runners

And here is the first outfit of my birthday weekend. Yes I have all 3 colors of the TopShop Kingfisher espadrilles – I love them!

MadewellShoes – TopShop // Jeans – J.Crew // Top – Madewell (final sale)

hearts beat for

p.s. a quick update on our efforts to help out those 2 little girls – Taylor Swift is in!

 

4 days to go till…

…I turn 43!  Crumbs!  How DID that happen?  I still feel 21 and act like it most of the time, much to the chagrin of my children.  When I look back life so far has been kind to me, though I often wonder what roles fate, destiny or pure luck have played.  When I was 21 I never imagined I’d be an American citizen living in Atlanta, or that I would end up working in magazine publishing of all things, never mind working with my Husband!  My dreams back then were of becoming a high flying financier or consultant.  I started on that ladder for a while and then quickly realized I was most unsuitable for it – I don’t care for hard work 🙂  Having fun, indulging in my hobbies (errr clothes and wine…), chatting with dear friends, and having adventures suits me far better.  So here I am about to turn 43 and wondering where my 40s will lead me.  All I wish for is health and happiness for my loved ones.  Can you tell I feeling a little introspective?

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Sneakers – Adidas Samoas // Jeans – H&M // Top – Zara

 

Birthday weekend.

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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Birthday jeans!

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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