Tag Archives: Boden

Playsuits.

It’s hot and sunny here, and Spring Break next week, so my thoughts have turned to all things short.  Quite literally.  I have been obsessing over playsuits.  Yes the name conjures all sorts of images from babies in onesies to some very questionable attire indeed.  I, as you know, rightly or wrongly, tend not to follow any fashion code or rules based on age (as an aside Frank Skinner blew my mind yesterday on BBC Radio 2 saying ‘denim should only be seen next to young skin’).  I wear what I feel comfortable, confident or even sexy in…and I will continue to do so till my time is up.  As I love my legs (yes go on you can be proud of your body instead of criticizing it all the time!) I love to wear shorts.  Combine my love of shorts with my love of jumpsuits and hey presto – the playsuit!

Marks and Spencer are just rocking my world right now.  I have ordered the white draped playsuit seen on Rita Ora here.  It’ll will look fabulous with my canvas Newburys or Ancient Greek Sandals.

Rita Ora white drape front

These other playsuits from M&S are perfect beach attire for vacation.  This tribal print is my favorite.

tribal

These simple playsuits are great for beach to bar and are great prices – the black at £22.50 and the floral at £25.

black floral

For something a little dressier this Lavish Alice playsuit is stunning.

Lavish Alice

So my only caveat is make sure a playsuit fits properly – it can’t be too tight or too short – and I prefer not to wear them with court shoes – I do think a flat or a boot balances out the flesh on show.

As for my outfits recently here’s one from last week pre-haircut and pre-soaring temperatures.

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Poncho – Oak // Long sleeved tee – AllSaints (old) // Jeans – Boden // Boots – Black leather Rag & Bone Newbury boots

I love this OAK poncho – especially as I can wear it for Jedi training…

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Then for this week as the sun has made an appearance so have some sandals along with my legs…

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Jeans – Zara TRF // Sandals – Pons Avarcas in Berry // T-Shirt – J. Crew (25% off with SHOPNOW) // Jacket – Gap (old)

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Boots – Rag & Bone Newbury (old – bought off TheOutnet.com last year) // Dress – Pia dress AllSaints

My Husband says my smile is broader and happier with my new hair:)

 

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It’s SNOWING!

Yes Atlanta has come to a standstill – a frozen standstill.  We’re expected to get 1-3″ of snow which is quite something for us.  So as I sit here waiting for the kids to make their way home from school I thought I’d get a quick blog post written as I’ve a feeling I’ll be required to play countless games of Uno and Chess over the next few days.  I’m sure we’ll be housebound tomorrow but thankfully I have wine, cheese, paté and bread so I’ll be alright thanks (taking a well earned break from the Paleo diet!).

I need to be careful out in the snow as I am still shuffling around like a 90 year old on a bad day.  I ran the 15k on Sunday – it was an awesome run and I felt strong all the way round, even managing a quick sprint across the finish line cutting valuable seconds off my time 🙂  I didn’t feel quite as strong after my celebratory Mexican and margarita – an ice pack on the knees was required along with a long nap…Now I’m trying to summon the enthusiasm for the Georgia half in March…we’ll see!

This is an outift I forgot to post before I had my bangs cut – I just found it on my camera so here you go – my favorite red jacket from last year.

red leather v2

Sneakers – Golden Goose // Jeans – Zara (old) // T-shirt – Gap (old) // Scarf – Uniqlo // Jacket – Zara (old)

Then from the last couple of days – it has been cold for sure here in the deep South…

all black 2 All black 3 fur Sam Edelman boots

Coated skinnies – Zara (old) // Jumper – Off duty jumper Boden (in clearance) // Boots – Sam Edelman Martina // Coat – Marks and Spencer Per Una (currently 20% off clothing, home and beauty)

Boden

Boots – Boden // Socks – Boden (old) // Jeans – Fayza Diesel // Jumper – Boden Off Duty jumper (in clearance) // Scarf – Boden (old)

AllSaints gilet

 

Boots – Stuart Weitzman 5050s // Jeans – Hudson Collin // Jumper – Zara (old) // Gilet – Verna Gilet AllSaints

I may be in my cashmere onesie for the next few days so I’ll see you once we’ve dug ourselves out!

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Warm and snuggly.

Some people (Sue I’m looking at you) like to keep new clothes, stash them away, then surprise us all with things they bought, quite literally, ages ago.  I on the other hand want to wear my new things immediately.  They need to earn their keep as soon as they come out of the box.

Jan 10th 1 Jan 10th

 

Boots – Rag & Bone Newbury charcoal suede // Trousers – Zara pleather leggings // Jumper – Boden Off Duty sweater (on sale now) // Gilet – Verna gilet AllSaints (sale – all sizes now available!)

Okay my Husband asked me why I was wearing the bathroom mat – my sides were splitting – funny guy – but I LOVE my Verna gilet.  The texture adds a great dimension to an otherwise basic outfit, plus it is so soft, warm and snuggly.

Yesterday I was lazy, only because I had the luxury of working from home.  Minimal makeup and air dried hair resulted in this.

Jan 10th 2

 

Boots – Rag & Bone grey nubuck Newbury boots (canvas version for Spring here) // Trousers – JCrew velvet toothpick jeans // Sweater – Boden Westbourne jumper (some colors just $29.40 in the sale!)

I haven’t a clue what to wear today and I’ve just driven the kids to school in pyjamas much to their horror.  To be fair they do look more like sweatpants – but I wonder is that really any better?  I may have scarred them for life.

 

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Trying on the AllSaints haul, and spotting some Target gems!

Oh good heavens above – I can barely contain myself.  I LOVE it all.  Secretly I was hoping that some of the purchases from the AllSaints sale would have to be returned, but nope, it’s all perfect, what’s more I ordered all the right sizes too!  It arrived in four boxes so I felt like I was opening Christmas goodies all over again.  My UPS delivery man thinks I’m nuts the way I shriek with delight at him at the door.

Starting with my favorite – the Riviera dress.  I’d tried the jersey version earlier in the year but the jersey doesn’t drape as well and was far too revealing – at least on this old bird.  The silk however is still sexy but a little more conservative at the front.  Totally, totally love it.  This is a UK12 and fits perfectly even across the boobs.  All sizes still in stock and reduced from $330 to $132.

Riviera dress Riviera 2

 

Now for the splurge – I adore this jacket.  It is so heavy – such great quality leather and the oxblood is far less severe, yet equally as versatile as black.  It’s a jacket to be worn and worn – the older it gets the better it will look.  Reduced from $700 to $350 – and  again available in most sizes – this is a UK 12.

Oxblood leather jacket Oxblood jacket 1 Jacket close up

 

 

Now the Diego Tee dress in natural marl.  This comes up short – maybe too short for some – but I love it with these grey Newbury boots for the spring.  A fun way to get the legs out.  As a lover of suede I love the lightweight suede detailing.  It wipes clean easily with a dry cloth so don’t be scared of it.  The pocket is a single pocket that goes all the way through – make sense?  Reduced from $260 to $104 and I am wearing a Medium.

tee dress

 

Now I might just live in this over the coming weeks.  The Verna gilet is SO soft and snuggly.  This was a complete outsider when I ordered it – but I am smitten.  This is a M/L but to be honest I think a S/M would have been fine too – it doesn’t fasten so it does’t need to fit across the chest.  Reduced from a whopping $348 to $139.

verna gilet 1 verna gilet 2

 

Finally the Pia jersey dress.  I love AllSaints for their classic draping – and this is just perfect.  The skirt can be lowered or raised depending on how conservative/flirty you are feeling:)  There are several colors still available and I ordered both the gray and navy for a change from black.  It is reduced from $175 by varying amounts depending on the color – and right now it looks like all sizes in all colors are available.  It’s driving me nuts going to their site as there are still so many fabulous pieces in the sale and they seem to be getting more stock online from their stores!  This dress by the way is a UK 10 – I always size down in their jersey.

pia dress

 

I’m so happy with my purchases – all will be great through spring and the Pia dress and Riviera dress can be worn through the summer too.  See – forward planning!

Today the kids were out of school and I managed to nab a couple of hours to myself while they helped Daddy at work.  I was in Target doing the domestic shop when I spotted these gems – Target do some great pieces at times!

A fab sequin skirt – just $29.99

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A great quilted skirt with zip detailing – just $13.98 online now and available in black too. (Check out Fiona in her skirt here – she wore it Christmas day after picking it up on vacation here!)

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A shift dress in a similar fabric – just $24.99 – I love this and it is also available in black.

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This scuba dress is fabulous – no different from those that Zara offers – but a third of the price at $24.99!

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The final dress that caught my eye was this red and black checked shift.  How and why I left without it I have no idea.  The cold has gone to my head.  I can’t see it online anywhere but it was $24.99.

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Here is what I wore today to brave the polar vortex – I went for winter white and monochrome.

polar vortex

Boots – 5050 Stuart Weitzman black suede // Jeans – Target // Jumper – Boden cashmere polo neck (similar here) // Cardigan – H&M (old)

Then to go out I opted to add my Marks and Spencer checked coat (similar here) and cashmere beanie hat from Nordstrom.

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18 degrees Fahrenheit didn’t feel nearly as bad as I thought it would – it always helps when the sun is shining too!  Stay warm folks.

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A haircut for date night.

It was time for a color refresh yesterday and even though I am growing my hair it had got to the stage where I needed more shape.  The bob was getting a bit heavy so I had lots of layers added to blend it and make it easier to keep growing – it’s almost over my collar at the back now!

hair

 

Thanks as always to the gorgeous Lauren at Plum Salon who got me out of there in time for my Brazilian appointment – Christmas takes some preparation!  In fact after reading MommyEnnui.com‘s latest post top of my wish list for Santa this year is painless, permanent, immediate removal of all my unwanted body hair!

My outfit for the day was rather festive – red and sparkles!

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Sneakers – Golden Goose (old similar here and here) // Jeans – Zara // Sweater – Uniqlo men’s cashmere crewneck // Jacket – Zara (old similar here and here on sale!) // Sunglasses – Ray Ban Aviators

Last night we went out for dinner – a bit of romance before the Christmas mayhem begins.  I broke all the rules and wore my new Stuart Weitzman Highland boots with a short, tight, printed dress.  I felt quite boho though with my H&M gilet.  The boots are incredibly comfy and easy to wear – they made me feel pretty fabulous.  I think they are true to size – I’m wearing a US 8.5.  I have a pretty wide foot too and, contrary to many reviews, I don’t find them narrow at all.

Highland boots 2 Highland boots

Boots – Stuart Weitzman Highland // Tights – Marks and Spencers Merino rich tights (LOVE these) // Dress – Zara (this is a medium and dangerously short) // Gilet – H&M (similar here) // Clutch – Boden Canonbury clutch (just $44 in the sale!)

It is miserable weather here today so I am going to curl up on the sofa with a box of Belgian chocolates and watch It’s a Wonderful Life again!  What is your favorite Xmas movie?

 

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Boden SALE!!

3, 2, 1….GO!!!  Let me know what you get!!!


‘Tis brass out there.

I LOVE winter.  At 7.30am this morning, even though I knew I wanted to go straight back to bed after getting the kids to school, I dressed in my warmest running gear and ran like a banshee in the freezing cold and glorious sunshine – it was exhilarating.  The whole of the US (bar Florida of course) is shivering in Arctic conditions.  I love it – I get to wear hats, big coats and boots.

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Sneakers – Golden Goose (old – similar here) // Hat – Nordstrom // Jacket – J.Crew (old – similar here) // Jeans – Diesel Fayza // Sweater – Boden Off Duty Jumper

 

AS1 AS3

 

Boots – Rag & Bone Newbury Charcoal suede // Trousers – Zara pleather leggings // Tank – H&M (old) // Sweater – AllSaints (old – similar here) // Coat – Zara // Bag – Anya Hindmarch from TheOutnet.com

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Countdown to Thanksgiving

It’s really starting to feel festive here – not necessarily Christmassy – but the preparations for Thanksgiving are well underway.  Thanksgiving is probably my favorite Holiday.  It has all of the magic, food and family time associated with Christmas, but with none of the pressure of gift giving.  The children are off school all week so I’ll be off work too which is lovely.  We’re planning lots of lunches out, and trips to the park and movies.  On Thursday we have great friends coming over to eat and give thanks with us.  They are Bulgarian so have no family here either, and I’m really looking forward to drinking and eating way too much with some other ‘new Americans’.

In the meantime I’ve been far from thankful, a little resentful in fact that I didn’t get my hands on the H&M Isabel Marant fringe boots!!!  I’ve decided my life is not complete without them (see how I can go from deep to shallow SO quickly).  Tonight while nursing a cold in my onesie I am bidding on eBay in order to win myself a pair, at what I consider a reasonable price.  Wish me luck my friends!

Isabel Marant fringe boots

Today consisted of 2 outfits, okay 3 if you count my cashmere onesie that I am sitting here writing in (and the shame – I did go to the bus stop in it after promising it was only for indoors!).  I started the day in jade J.Crew café capris (bought in the sale back in January) but my ankles quickly turned blue.  I do love this coat though from Markses.

M&S checked coat

Coat – Marks and Spencer // Trousers – J.Crew Café capris (25% off with code WINTER) // Sweater – Boden Westbourne sweater // Shoes – VInce Nina

Here’s what I ended up in later with puffier eyes as I quickly deteriorated.

Zara floral top

Jeans – Black Gap skinnies // Tank (layered) – H&M // Top – Zara grunge top // Boots – Isabel Marant Dicker

Okay off to demolish a bucket load of clementines and chocolate orange – it’s all Vitamin C no?;)

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Dress down Friday.

Well it was quite an eventful day yesterday.  I have to say I wasn’t nervous, more excited than anything.  I pierced my own nose years ago at University.  Crazy, and after yesterday I’ve no idea how I did it myself – I must have been determined and drunk, and the bag of frozen peas must have helped.

I made my decision on Monday that I was finally going to do some piercings, and I made my appointment with Piercing Experience in Atlanta.  I know piercings aren’t to everyone’s taste, just like tattoos, and oddly much as I love piercings, I’ve never wanted a tattoo mainly as I don’t know what I’d have tattooed – there’s nothing of significance that I want to preserve in ink.  At first I wasn’t going to have my nose re-pierced, then I thought ‘what the hell, while I’m there why not?’.  I also had wee diamond tragus and helix piercings.

Ear-Piercing-Diagram

 

The photo that inspired me to begin with – I think this looks so pretty:

Cartilage piercong

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Christina was amazing – she explained everything, and was incredibly professional.  It was not intimidating at all, some pain of course – but far less than I’d prepared myself for.  Piercing Experience don’t use clamps or guns so it’s all completely sterile and as gentle as piercing through a tough piece of cartilage can be!  I was also really impressed with their choice of jewelry – from fine jewelry like I chose, to tribal and glass jewelry – it’s also all surgical implant grade.  I’m thrilled – I can’t wait to scare the PTA:)

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Now I just have deal with my Husband’s silly little jokes about avoiding magnets and the like – he’ll tire of it soon I hope!

It’s freezing here in Atlanta this week so I wrapped up well yesterday.

white and grey

Boots – Grey Nubuck Newbury boots // Jeans – H&M (old) // Jumper – Boden dropped shoulder v-neck (old) // Knitted jacket – Zara // Striped scarf – Boden (old)

Today is very much a dress down Friday after a few glasses of wine last night to calm the nerves:)  Also – very manky – but I wanted to keep my piercings dry for another day to help with healing so I didn’t wash my hair – that definitely made it a hat day!  The jumper has to be the BEST cashmere sweater ever.  It is a men’s Uniqlo crewneck size Medium.  Perfectly soft and slouchy.  I want one of these in every color – this is the dark grey.

Uniqlo cashmere

JCrew cap

Sneakers – Golden Goose // Jeans – Diesel Fayza Jogg Jeans // Sweater – Uniqlo Men’s cashmere // Hat – J.Crew

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So share – what did you nab in the Isabel Marant fervour yesterday?!  I did have a twinge of regret that I missed out on the fringe boots but hey ho…I got new bling instead:)
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New pyjamas/pajamas.

One of the problems with blogging is it can be disastrous for your saving plans.  When you read a post by a blogging friend and see something you like you know you have to act quickly – you snooze you lose.  Being 5hrs behind of the UK can sometimes be a pro and other times a con – I can shop while the UK sleeps and while new stock is loaded on websites, but conversely something can be sold out by the time I wake up.  So yes I hold my hands up – I am guilty – I ordered Rosie’s cashmere trousers as soon as I read about them in Kat’s blog last night.  It’s great that my UK friends can keep me abreast of new lines in M&S, River Island and TopShop for example – but imagine how much I’d save if they didn’t!?  Oh well they’re winging their way to me as we speak.

Rosie cashmere trousers

Unfortunately being on the M&S site spells disaster for me.  ‘While I’m there’ I tend to nip to various other categories – just to see if there is anything new – you know – just in case…Darn it of course I migrate to one of the most expensive items on the site.  Don’t laugh but I bloody need these – perfect for curling up in front of the telly on a dark winter evening.  I’m flabbergasted at how quickly they are selling out – at £199 a pop too!  I am cruising the site every hour or so just in case the grey medium comes back – obsessed much – yes indeed.

M&S

Now there must be something in the air as I am also cruising the Zara site every couple of hours to see if this beauty has arrived.  Assured by Kat that it is not a onesie – it has a belt – I am convinced it can be glamorously styled for winter nights out.  Stand by – I know there are doubters out there – so let’s see what transpires…

Zara

Now my obsession with comfy knitwear led me to start thinking about sleepwear.  The Rosie trousers are really more loungewear than sleepwear, and in my mind it seems a bit ridiculous to lounge in cashmere only to change into a 5 year old nightie from M&S, slightly greyed from washing, shrunken and totally unflattering and definitely un-err-are-you-up-for-it-tonight-honey as I usually wear them with big knicks – TMI I know…but I try to keep decent around the house for my son’s sanity.

So this afternoon the hunt for sleepwear began.  Nordstrom as ever came up trumps.

These Steve Madden pjs are super fun and I love the pink trim.

SteveMadden nordstrom

I love a good night dress (is there a way of saying that without sounding 90?) and this is my favorite – again I love the pink and grey.

PJ Salvage

And here’s what I ended up ordering:

Almost a onesie, but not quite – this is from Splendid – I think it perfectly straddles (poor choice of word I realize) comfy yet sexy-ish (though I’m already slightly concerned about logistics with an all in one…).

Splendid Nordstrom

And these pjs from Eberjey look lovely – I hope they are.  What’s my fascination with grey marl though?

eberjay top

Eberjay trousers

So there we are – new loungewear and new sleepwear.  I can now throw out those greying cotton nightdresses and my velour sweats…my Husband will be thrilled – we’ll see how he adapts to the onesie (sorry Mum!).

Talking of M&S again I wore their new checked biker coat yesterday.  Their shipping service to the US is great and it’s free – this arrived really quickly – about 5 business days I think.  It’s gorgeous – very English looking according to my friends and really soft and warm.

I’m totally in love with my pink Boden boots – perfect for cheering up a grey day.  I am normally a US 8 and these are a Eur 39 – if anything they fit slightly on the small size so size up if in doubt. Don’t forget their 22% discount finishes Thursday night.

Pink Boden Boots M&S coat

Boots – Boden // Coat – Marks and Spencer // Jeans – Hudson Collin // Tank – H&M // Sweater – Boden Westbourne jumper // Scarf – Marks and Spencer (old)

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