Tag Archives: Gap

Jet lag.

Jet lag is crippling – I end up in a complete fog for 2 days.  This will be exacerbated this year because our clocks change tonight.  Thrilled about Spring being almost here, but I know the kids will be bouncing out of bed at 5am tomorrow morning, and after a party for 25 6 year olds today I might not be too keen on that!  Hugh turned 6 on the 6th and I have never seen him so excited before.  He has written a list of all the things he wants to do for his birthday and the party along with a trip to his favorite BBQ joint will complete it.  Think of me this morning while I am bouncing on trampolines and whizzing down zip lines…

The outfits over the past couple of days have revolved around comfort – essential for jet lag recovery!

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Shoes – Marks and Spencer Limited Edition skate shoes // Jeans – Zara boyfriend jeans // T-shirt – French Connection Amelia t-shirt

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Boots – Marks and Spencer Autograph biker boots // Jeans – BlankNYC faux leather // Dress – ASOS (currently on sale!) // Jacket – Gap (similar here) // Bag – Alexander Wang Rocco (similar here)

Celebrating Hugh’s birthday made me reminisce about this time last year – look at me a year ago!  It makes me want my hair short again!

 

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The cold has arrived.

Yes that wintery blast from the North has arrived in Atlanta and I have spent the last two mornings fighting with a stubborn five year old about wearing a coat.  I question what I am actually achieving in addition to making us both mad at 7am, and proving to him that I can be as stubborn as he is!  It drives me nuts, and I know he can be OCD – but he chose his coat from H&M and therefore he should be happy to wear it!  His sister, on the other hand, has a plethora of winter coats that she has been eagerly anticipating wearing.  Like mother like daughter.  She wore this little gem today from Target (currently on sale at $32) – I want one.

Target fur

Yesterday I ended up wearing a puffer coat and scarf for the first time this year.  The Mango coat is great – warm but not too heavy, and easy for layering, though it does fit snug.

AllSaints sweatshirt Mango coat open

My mirror is cleaner than it looks here – promise!

Boots – Rag & Bone Newbury boot in petrol // Trousers – Zara (old, similar here) // Sweatshirt – AllSaints // Jacket – Mango // Scarf – Zara (old)

Last night my new Gap jacket arrived – I love it – very collegiate, especially with the hi-tops.  It’s pretty cosy too without being bulky.

bomber jacket

Jeans – Diesel Fayza jogg jeans // Sneakers – Golden Goose // T-shirt – Boden long sleeved essential tee // Bomber jacket – Gap

Make sure you check out the Boden sale again today – many items are now reduced by 50%!

 

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Bubblegum pink

What better to cheer up a dreary day than bubblegum pink shoes?

Boden desert boots 1

Shoes – Boden // Jeans – Gap (old) // T-shirt – Express (old) // Jacket – Zara (old) // Scarf – School Gate Style shop

So go on tell – what have you ordered in the Boden sale?:)

Shop the look

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New necessities.

No don’t worry I’m not trying to justify the ‘need’ for new shoes or clothes again – in fact surely our relationship has evolved to a stage where justifications are no longer required?  Indeed.

Today I bought something that I haven’t bought in years, and something that I’ve rarely needed in recent times.  A new hairdryer.

As my hair has grown I feel the need to blow dry it more often – to acquire that more groomed look.  My haircare routine currently involves washing with Trader Joe’s citrus shampoo, occasionally followed by the conditioner, then the addition of some brand of keratin smoother (I haven’t found one yet to be loyal to), followed by a quick dry with a 10 year old Revlon travel hairdryer, and a quick run over with my 13 year old CHI flat irons to smooth out the kinks and remaining frizz.  Both the hairdryer and the flat irons have just bitten the dust within 10 days of each other.

With my new longer locks – and the ambition to continue to grow them into a healthy, shiny, smooth mane, I decided to upgrade as well as replace.  Any excuse to spend more money hey?  Hence I began the search for new ‘professional’ grade appliances.  I had no idea where to begin – things in the hair care world have moved on somewhat.

For flat irons I knew I wanted to look at CHI again.  The ones that just died on me were amazing and I bought them for $150 (which back then was extortionate) but for the use they have had, cost per use etc., they have been phenomenal value.  However, I also surveyed my blogging buddies – it’s great to have a panel of fashion and beauty experts on hand!  The majority of them recommended ghd – a brand designed in the UK and made in Europe.  Looking through the information on their site it appears there are two popular models – the Classic and the Professional, and I nearly ordered the Professional model.  Then I noticed the Eclipse model which promises to style the hardest to tame and frizziest hair, tackling any hair texture – promises that appealed to me knowing how unruly my hair can be at longer lengths.  The Eclipse is currently available in the UK, but unfortunately not yet in the US – though their Facebook page keeps suggesting the release here is imminent – probably in time for Christmas.  So, for once, I have decided to wait till the Eclipse model gets here – no bad thing as it looks likely it will retail for nearly $300.

So I moved on to hairdryers.  Again I surveyed my blogger friends and many brands were mentioned that I had never heard of before, like Parlux.  Other brands that I found more prevalent in the US were the T3, and again ghd.  I was at first completely sold on the Parlux 3800.  Okay I admit I loved the green and I loved the idea it was made in Italy – go figure.  Mr. PS pointed out that Italians may make great shoes and clothes but since when were they known for electronics?  On further investigation it appeared their customer service and support in the US may be nonexistent.  Not what you need when you are contemplating buying a $200 hairdryer – just in case it dies on first use.  So today I headed into Sephora to continue my research.  I looked at both the T3 and the ghd.  According to the lovely lady helping me they sell more T3s but the ghd is much newer to market here.  I felt that the ghd was very slightly heavier, but it was also smaller (shorter in length) and a little cheaper.  The UK connection convinced me that was the brand I wanted, and as shallow as it sounds I want my flat iron and hairdryer brands to match:)  So now I am the happy owner of a new hairdryer – who knew hair appliances could make a girl smile so much?!  Oh and if you are in the UK you can get hold of the ghd dryer at Selfridges – one of the few things that is far cheaper there than here – if only our sockets were compatible!

GHD

 

While I was in the Mall I popped into Gap who have a sale on in stores here now – plus 35% off regular items and an extra 25% off sale items online (with code GAPFALL)!  I did a little try on.

I picked up the window pane sweater just to try it.  And just as I thought the lines do NOT work on my curvy boobs – square windows become bay windows.

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I loved this leopard print lightweight sweatshirt.  I’m overwhelmed with leopard print in my closet now though!

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I loved this bomber jacket but couldn’t bring myself to pay full price for it in store so I ordered it online with the 35% discount.  It’s lovely.  Grey and cream are perfect together.

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Finally I’ll leave you with my outfit today.  In honor of the AllSaints 100 hour sale I wore my favorite AllSaints jumper from years ago, H&M boyfriend jeans, and some sneakers I found lying around;)

Golden Goose

*****

Note: On returning home I discovered the ghd is made in Italy too – so maybe I better have more faith in their electronics:)

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Outfit catch up.

First of all my Golden Goose arrived!! Yay!!! SO fast!! But boo!! Bugger they are too big!! I ordered 39s – both my other pairs are 39s – but these leopard print ones are ENORMOUS! So off they go back, with the 38s on their way to me. Why must a brand be so inconsistent with sizing?  The good thing is they are lovely – quite muted and not too loud at all – if you can say that for leopard print:)

It’s definitely Fall here now – the jeans and boots are out in full force, along with scarves – it’s very exciting!  This weekend we have Fall break from school too so it should be fun packed with play dates for Poppy and Hugh, and Mom and Dad:)

Today I am wearing – shock, gasp, horror – lots of ‘old’ stuff.  My Boden drop shoulder jumper (from the clearance), Gap camo jeans, Zara scarf and grey Newbury boots.  Look at that turf behind me!  We have a whole new yard to enjoy – no more rotting swing set causing a hazard to anyone!

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Monday saw me in my new H&M ‘coatigan’, Fayza jeans, Vince Ninas and an old Zara black tee.  The sunglasses are Chanel from last year (similar here).

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Tuesday I wore my fabulous leopard print hat, old AllSaints tee, old J.Crew jacket (similar here), camo jeans from Gap and my canvas Newbury boots.  Yes, yes, yes – quite a few ‘older’ loved items coming back out for Fall!

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Yesterday I eventually changed into my Boden St. Ives jumper, Fayza jeans, Havaianas and J.Crew wool cap – I was very lazy and worked from home while some burley men worked in the yard laying the turf:)  Sorry for the fuzzy photo – I think I was still shaking after a tabata session in spin class – I thought I might actually hurl it was such hard work!

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Unfortunately we underestimated the amount of turf we needed so they’ll be back next week to finish the job…

new lawn

My weekend starts tonight with a girls’ night out – margaritas and tacos – I can’t wait!

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Great offers from The Gap.

A quick news flash for you today as I have heard many fellow bloggers lauding Gap’s fabulous knitwear selection this season.  In the US for today only you can save 40% off regular priced items using GAP24HR and in the UK Save £20 on £75 or more until Friday using SAVE20.  Two brilliant offers which I plan to take advantage of for my Fall closet.

Here are my favorite picks from their selection.

The Gap striped crew neck jumper:

I love both colors – the trim really makes it special for me.

Gap striped jumper navy Gap striped jumper pale blue

The Sweater zip cable:

LOVE this in cashew crunch – great design with zip closures and perfect for layering in the Fall.

Sweater zip cape

This turtle neck is gorgeous and an online exclusive – I love the boxy cut.

Boxy turtleneck

Finally I had to throw a cardigan into the mix – love this drapey cable knit in grey.

drapey cable cardigan

So what tickles your fancy on the Gap site?

I’ll leave you with a couple of outfits from this week so far.

Monday for work I wanted some comfort so opted for oxfords and cashmere.

Boyfriend jeans and oxfords

Jeans – H&M boyfriend jeans in grey // Shoes – Clarks Hamble Oak // T-shirt – Zara (old) // Cardigan – Boden cashmere Limited Edition sparkle pocket (old)

And yesterday for our first teacher conference of the year – a glowing report was delivered thankfully!

Boden jeans

 

Boots – Sam Edelman Petty // Jeans – Boden pear drop skinnies ($31.20 in the sale!) // Top – TopShop cami // Jacket – Zara

I’ll be back soon with some reports on some new deliveries!

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Rain, rain go away.

So Georgia has apparently had 25% more rain fall than usual this summer.  It’s always extremes here – extreme drought or extreme rain!  The peach crop is suffering with enormous swollen peaches that are having their sweetness diluted – who knew hey?  I am suffering with frustrated, cranky kids…roll on school.

I just took them out for lunch to get us all out of the house, and now we’re home they have immediately started screaming at each other, arguing over which movie to watch.  Telling them ‘in my day I was happy to have a movie to watch’ oddly doesn’t seem to have much impact.  I might have a goblet of red now they seem to have called a truce.

We’ve all had our back to school haircuts and I’m now sporting a true bob.  Gone are the sun bleached, dry ends – my hair now feels lovely and sleek with no grays in sight – thank you to the lovely Lauren at Plum Salon.  We made her earn her money yesterday with 3 haircuts and a color!

By the way I did ask him to smile, not grimace.

PlumSalon

Mango and Zara

 

Jacket – Zara (not online but I have seen it appear in stock clearance) // Pants – Mango sale // T-shirt – Gap (no longer online but was in the sale here) // Sandals – Tory Burch Emmy (old) // Bag – Alexander Wang Rocco

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A little bit of sparkle.

At the gym this morning, while I was dropping the children off at the play room, I realized that I must have missed the memo.  The memo regarding the new required summer outfit for the gym – white frilly tennis skirt, pink visor, perky blonde pony tail, and phony smile.  Oh and can you tell me where to find the perfect children with their page boy hair cuts and monogrammed smocks?  I think I must have become a little cynical while on vacation.  I felt like I was in the middle of The Stepford Wives, or surrounded by multiple versions of Patty Simcox.  I love Atlanta, but sometimes I feel like I stick out like a sore thumb.

So what better to do than embrace my non-conformity and wear my shortest shorts and sparkliest sneakers:)  I do cringe a little every time I put on my Zara skort.  Nearly every ‘style’ blogger on the planet has a pair and all of them are 20 years younger than me.  But you know what – Patty down the road doesn’t know where they are from, or that all the street style bloggers are wearing them, so I’ll wear them with aplomb in Atlanta and not worry about it.  Though, for a split second, it did occur to me that it might be a sub-concious desire to conform – in white they do look a little like a tennis skirt.

Zara skort

Skort – Zara // Sneakers – Lame Supergas // Top – Boden Sparkle top (just $23.40!)

I adore the Boden sparkle top – it is perfect – light, and a great shape – an absolute bargain for $23.40 – I have the ivory too.  This is a US 8 – I think a US 6 would have been fine too but I like my knitwear a little looser.

For the sake of full disclosure – here’s what I lived in over the weekend.  Sweatpants with no red lipstick in sight.

Sweats – Express (old) // Top – Gap

jetlag

 

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Deep Boden discounts now!

Great news for those of you that held out – the Boden sale just got better.  I had to double check my eyes weren’t deceiving me when I saw the colourblock points are now just $29.40!  I’m considering the blue pair too now at that price.

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My favorite drop shoulder v-neck that I wore here is now just $20.40 – I am smitten with the spearmint color – it would be great with a tan wouldn’t it?;)

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Also the sparkle cotton top that I love in ivory, is now available in the blue at just $23.40!

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I just ordered the guava pinspot scarf too – these are gorgeous scarves and the lime and guava pinspot are now just $14 – I can’t get a scarf at Target that cheap!

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You better be quick – at these prices they won’t hang around for long!

Finally another vacation update – yesterday we headed West as far as we could – to the border with Southern Cyprus.  The Western side of the North is just beautiful – mountains, pines and sea.  We traveled to Vuni – the site of an ancient Greek palace, it was quite a nerve wracking drive up there – but what a location for a palace.  They knew how to do things in style back then!

Not the most flattering of photos but it was darn windy and I think my hair has grown at least an inch since we’ve been here!

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My Husband decided he wanted to get in on the blog photo:

D&J

 

My shorts are J.Crew Factory bermudas and the t-shirt is Gap.

Last night we grilled out – super adana kebabs and Turkish sausage!  I changed into my Gap sunwashed t-shirt in pale pink and more J.Crew Factory shorts.  It’s a good job I managed a run in the heat this morning – though I terrified the local villagers at the coffee shop in my neon hot pants!

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Off for a Doner now:)

 

Beer is for breakfast.

The heat means I am wearing little more than shorts and a bikini each day.  So in the absence of outfits here’s a quick round up of a fabulous trip we had yesterday up to Kantara Castle, the third castle after St. Hilarion and Buffavento.

It’s another venue we visited back in 1998.  Back then we had a photo taken at the very top of Kantara by a friendly English man who was ex-military and was revisiting where he had served.  I remember it vividly as MM still mocks me for the denim dungarees shorts that I wore that day.  Funny how I have a River Island pair lurking in my closet today.  I should have bought them with me to fully recreate the shot, as all our honeymoon photos, in fact most of our photos pre-2000, were ‘lost’ along with other belongings in the move to Atlanta. Insurance doesn’t pay out for the sentimental value of goods unfortunately.

We started the day driving up from the sea to Kantara.  We stopped in an idyllic village where it only felt right to have a cold Efes in the shade, smelling the pine in the heat, 11am isn’t too early for beer is it?

Beer for breakfast

 

We then made the climb to Kantara castle itself – I certainly sweat the beer off!  The sun was beating down up there.  It is well worth the short climb though – Kantara is my favorite of the three castles and in my opinion offers the best views down towards the Karpaz.

Kantara

 

To reward ourselves we drove down the other side of the mountain to the ‘armpit’ of the Karpaz, in order to revisit Bo gaz.  Fifteen years ago we had two magnificent dinners there – sitting on plastic chairs, on a dusty sidewalk down to the harbor, surrounded by what seemed like a thousand cats.  The town is now significantly more developed, with more ex-pats having discovered it’s charm.  We still managed to find some fabulous fish and octopus though – and the cats!

Bogaz

cats

 

The shorts that I have almost been living in, as they are the softest denim and so comfortable, are old selvedge denim shorts from J.Crew – there are similar ones here.  The t-shirt has become a favorite – it is the essential t-shirt from Gap in diva pink – just $12.99 now.

I wore the same shorts the other day with a Gap tank and Zara sandals ($49.99 in the sale).

pink and denim

 

A lazy day on the beach is in store for us today – I’m going to soak up every minute of our last week here!

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