Tag Archives: Sam Edelman

A new adventure for us.

Poppy is a rising 2nd grader and my son, Hugh, starts kindergarten in August.  For the non-Americans out there kindergarten is the first year of elementary (primary) school here, that you start when you are five.  Hugh is so ready for school and so are we!  I have none of the fears, sadness or nervousness that I had two years ago when Poppy was starting school.  That’s what happens when you’re the second child.  No one worries quite so much, because Mom and Dad have been through it all before.  Those psychologists are really on to something when they talk about how birth order impacts personality.

Hugh has been in daycare since he was 3 months old so he is more than happy with the school routine, but I can tell he is somewhat apprehensive about new teachers, new classrooms and new friends.  It doesn’t help when your 7 year old sister is constantly telling you all about it, who everyone is, and how she has already done it because “she’s 7 and is a 2nd grader”.  Irritating for Hugh?  Yes.  Funny how I now have so much sympathy for my younger brother and sister having to deal with their know-it-all big sister.

We’re lucky that our elementary has a week long camp for new kindergartners, so they can become familiar with their new surroundings.  So this morning I excitedly dropped off my nervous 5 year old.  I embraced all the fabulous teachers that I now know so well, and left Hugh, thankfully, running into the classroom where he had spotted his best mate from daycare.  Hooray!

Two children now at school – how did that happen?

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Trousers – Zara sarong style trousers // Tank – J.Crew (old) // Jacket – Zara (old) // Sandals – Sam Edelman Gigi // Earrings – Forever 21 gold leaf (old)

 

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70 degrees Farenheit on December 4th?!

Sorry to rub it in for all you folks suffering with cold and snow – especially back in the UK – but we are having ridiculously abnormal temperatures here for the first week in December!  It’s in the 70s!  Talk about Global Warming – seriously!  I was out and about yesterday and saw people in shorts and t-shirts again.  Now I like warm weather but I like my December to feel like December – I hope it cools down soon so I can snuggle in my sweaters and knitwear again.

Daycare was closed yesterday for random reasons, so I had my son with me all day.  It turned into a fun day.  He ‘helped’ decorate the outside of the house – not National Lampoon style – but a few lights on the bushes, plus our inflatable 4ft Santa – tasteful if you ask me, with just enough festive spirit:)  We then headed off to the Fernbank Museum to see the dinosaurs.  There was also a fabulous Genghis Khan exhibit and a fun adventure area for him to burn some energy off.  He obviously had fun because when I asked him to tell Daddy what we had been up to he was thrilled to tell him ‘we had Chick-fil-a for lunch!’ – sod the museum.

The tree is also up and finished.  I had a lovely Saturday afternoon decorating with the kids, drinking Prosecco and listening to Radio 2 – it’s the little things in life:)  I then embraced everything Southern as I cheered on the University of Georgia in the SEC Championship Football game – fabulous game but we threw it away with 15 seconds to go, such is life.

Our salt dough decorations, as promised.  These were painted at 7am Saturday – we’re early crafters in this household:

The tree – no idea why we have a blue top:

So today there was a bit of a dilemma when it came to dressing.  It was freezing when I was out walking Tennyson at 7am but the weather man has promised it will be in the 70s again today.  I opted for my Hudson jeans with a long sleeved t-shirt and my lovely Zara jacket that hasn’t had too many outings (sorry I can’t find either online!).  The boots are the Sam Edelman Louie.

Last night I watched The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills – my favorite ‘remove brain and watch’ t.v. – and the Beverly Hills franchise is my favorite.  This season I am completely smitten with Yolanda and her effortless beauty.  Just watch and see how stylish she is in her white jeans and Hermes beltLast night she looked amazing in her Lululemon Inspire crops and she was by far the most appropriately attired for their trip away.

Yolanda:

Do you watch the Real Housewives?  Who’s your favorite cast member?

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Grrrrr.

A couple of my Boden orders arrived!  The first – the slouchy merino jumper is gorgeous.  I normally order the larger of my two sizes in knitwear and did so with this, ordering the US8.  It is perfect.  Lovely and oversized with drapey dolman sleeves, but lovely and snug around the bottom and the cuffs.  It is long too and sits on my bum perfectly.  I think it can be worn with long skirts or skinny jeans equally well – as long as your lower half is fitted this jumper will be flattering.  I ordered the silver melange and love it so much that with the 25% off (code Q753), and some account credit begging to be used, I have just ordered it in sunset too.  Grab one now while there are plenty of colors and sizes left.

The second order is the washed red Fairisle jumper.  Hmmm – I do like it – but MM’s look was one of complete surprise – ‘that is so not you’ – was his comment – which I have to say is why I like it.  I have returned it though as I think the red was too Christmassy (yes ignore what I said the other day), and also the US8 was fitted.  If there is one thing I don’t like it is fitted knitwear.  So I have returned and I’m exchanging it for a US10 in the Fudge melange.  The jury is still out but again with 25% off it is worth a try.  I think I like it as it makes me think of cold, winter walks that end up in front of a roaring fire in a country pub eating steak and kidney pudding.  Not many of those here in Atlanta.

I do like a bit of animal print.  Today I am going for it in a big way.  The outfit initially started as red and taupe but quickly became overwhelmed by leopard print.  The taupe top is from Zara in the sale and the cardigan is the radish effortless cardigan from Boden SS 2012 and it still pops back into stock occasionally.  I love this cardigan – the color just makes me happy.  Serendipitously I discovered my H&M leopard print scarf coordinates perfectly with both.  Yes there is a lot going on here so I attempted to tame it with my Hudson Collin jeans and Sam Edelman tan (really taupe) suede Louie boots.

Then I went and over did it completely and threw on my best purchase ever from Marks & Spencer – last year’s leopard print coat.  Words cannot express how much love I have for this coat.  Oh how I wish you shipped to the States.

Odd experiment here too – always far happier with photos taken of myself in the mirror rather than with the tripod – must be because that is how I always see myself rather than how others see me?

Stay warm and let me know if you order anything from Boden with this fab deal!

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A new look.

I hope you like the new look of the blog.  I’d love to hear your thoughts.  I changed the theme as I thought it made much more sense to have all the ‘follow’ widgets etc. in the sidebar rather than at the bottom of the page – far too much scrolling involved!  I hope it is still recognizable to all of you – the poppies are still present of course:)

My hair matches my clothes again today.  Unintentional – I just love red.  The jacket was a Zara sale bargain from the summer that I haven’t been able to wear till now as it is just so warm.  It has a lovely zebra print lining and it’s super comfy.  With all the red I went for solid black shoes – Sam Edelman Alvin pony hair loafers, jeans – Express stretch cropped jeggings, and t-shirt – another Express basic.  All topped off with a fab new Zara scarf dedicated to my love of all things camouflage again.  The color palette is a great twist as it includes red – I’m certainly not going to blend in the background anywhere today!

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I want a drum kit.

In fact I need a drum kit – do you know why?  I am going to be Jack White’s new drummer.  In my dreams.  He was unbe-freakin-lievable last night.  His all girl band were also pretty darn good – and I was mesmerized with his drummer.  She has the coolest job around as far as I am concerned.  Jack’s stage presence was amazing.  We had fabulous seats and could see everything.  He moved around the stage with such energy thrashing out hits from Blunderbuss and finishing with ‘Seven Nation Army’ which the audience went wild for – especially me.

All the way through the show I couldn’t help thinking how tall Jack is – but on mentioning this to MM his theory is that he is actually only 5ft and surrounds himself with short women to make him look tall, conjuring all sorts of Spinal Tap Stonehenge images for me:)

An amazing night and my ears are still ringing.

Here are my outfits from yesterday – I was off work as my daughter was still on Fall break – but it was really chilly here so time for the knee length boots to make an appearance!  The jeans are Primark, jumper is the AllSaints Godiva jumper, and the boots are Vince Camuto Autumn which unfortunately I can no longer locate on the website.

For the gig I went AllSaints again – Delors pipe leather trousers, Phinius top (both from 2010) and then I decided to match my shoes to my hair with my Sam Edelman Petty boots in British Burgundy:)

I Love Jack White

And the verdict is in…

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Some love for J.Crew.

My style isn’t at all preppy but I love J.Crew for certain items.  I’ve received a few inquiries about my shorts and they are all from J.Crew.  Their cashmere comes in great colors and I also have a couple of classic blazers from there.  Recently, each time I get a new catalogue from them, I find there is more I love.  There are some amazing jewel tones and lovely plush fabrics for winter.  The great news for all you in the UK is that J.Crew will ship to the UK and they are available through Net-a-porter.com, plus they are planning to open their first store there in 2013.

Some of my current favorites include the following.  These toothpick jeans in velvet mauve blush are just gorgeous.

Their ever popular Minnie pant is now available in the color of the season – cabernet.

The school boy blazer in boulevard green is stunning – I love this color – and I think I need this jacket especially as the model is wearing glasses too:)

Their flats are lovely and come in an array of colors, prints and styles – this might be the time to try something other than my beloved Tory Burch flats.  The Mila is gorgeous and would look fab with those velvet trousers!  I just wish there were reviews online for how the shoes fit – reviews really help for those of us between sizes.

My outfit today is very autumnal – lots of muted tones.  The Must have Jumper is one of my favorite items from Boden – I love the cut and the 3/4 length sleeves are great for layering over a long sleeved tee.  The one I’m wearing today is a Boden essential t-shirt from last Fall.  Jeans are Hudson and the boots are Sam Edelman Lisle in British Burgundy.  I love these boots – they are a very similar shape, if not the same, as the Louie boot, but these have a lovely rose gold zipper at the back.  Back zippers seem to be very popular this season on boots.  The leather is quite distressed which I think looks great in this color and will look even better after a few wears.  An added bonus – they are incredibly comfortable.  Sorry my photos have come out dark today – must be the impact of the dark Atlanta skies.

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Wet, wet, wet.

Yep the rain has arrived – it has rained since yesterday afternoon here and it shows no sign of clearing up soon.  Sitting here on the 9th floor it feels like I’m in the middle of the rain cloud.  At least I can at last get wrapped up and truly enjoy my knitwear:)

These jeans were cheap – just $22 from Target and they are currently reduced to just $18 – they are a great fit – though it is a bit weird buying junior sizes – I never know what size I am as juniors always fit tiny.  These jeans however have so much stretch in them I ended up in a 5!  I love them – the background of the snow leopard print is a soft blush pink with grey spots.  They look very similar to the H&M ones I was lusting after and never found over here.  The pink top is a Zara sale purchase and I’m wearing my favorite AllSaints Cerulean cardigan.  Accessorized with Sam Edelman Louie boots in taupe rose and my necklace from Macy’s that I wore on our anniversary night out – the grey color is really versatile and works well with many items in my closet.

What did you all think of Dexter last night?  To be honest I’m a bit sad that Debra now knows – surely he can’t carry on – unless Debra ends up on his table?

Homeland is DVRd for tonight:)

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Supper club.

Close game for the Falcons today but exciting and perfect watching on a grey day.  The photo session was postponed due to threat of rain so we walked by the river with the dog and the kids raced their bikes.  I then did my Trader Joe’s shop so I have a kitchen full of yummy treats – including a massive NYC cheesecake that I will try not to devour in one go tonight while watching Homeland and Dexter!

Last night MM and I started our Fall supper club.  We are the only members.  Each week, once the children are in bed, we take it in turns to wine and dine each other at home.  It’s lovely – it’s an evening each week where we turn off all screens, put on some good music and converse while cooking and eating – it’s like dating again and I love it.  Last night I cooked carbonara – who can resist the smell of bacon and garlic?  The food was even better after a couple of glasses of a fabulous Malbec.  I’m looking forward to his choice of menu next week – he’s a far better cook than I am!

Today is a day for comfort – Gap boyfriend jeans, a Gap brown tank, H&M linen top and Sam Edelman Alvin loafers.  The necklace is an old one from Target but it’s fun and works well with the casual outfit.  The new glasses are still making me feel fabulous!

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Amazing Georgia.

I hate to sound like a broken record…but…the weather here is incredible right now.  Temperatures have dropped, the sky is bright blue without a cloud in sight – just amazing.  Unfortunately much of Saturday was spent inside the YMCA.  Poppy had her first swim meet.  We were incredibly excited and nervous as it’s a pretty big deal for a 6 yr old and her parents.  The great thing about the Y is that it’s not too intense – they a racing for fun – and the parents and coaches are all pretty relaxed.  However no one told me how many kids would be there nor how long we would be there!  If I tell you that Poppy’s races were #21 and #33 that will give you some idea!  I’m not sure how many different events there were in total, but safe to say a lot – relays, individuals, 50 and 25 – then multiply that by all age groups up to 17!  Some kids had event #70 written on their arm!!  All in all we were there from 1.30pm till 6.30pm for just 2 races – having said that we had a blast and Poppy loved it.  I was so proud of her dealing with it all – from the long lines for races to the pressure of a starting block start – she looked a real pro at just 6!  My heart was in my mouth for both her races but as always we tend to underestimate our children’s resilience and ability and she did brilliantly.

In order to get some fresh air after Saturday we headed up to North Georgia yesterday.  When we are out and about I always wish we did it more often.  Georgia truly is amazing and the mountains were stunning yesterday.  We headed to Amicalola Falls and needless to say after marching to the top and then using the many, many steps to walk down by the side of the Falls, my legs and butt are killing me today.  Stairs really do use muscles that no other exercise can!

It’s definitely layering weather as it was freezing at the bus stop this morning.  I took Tennyson for a walk this morning and it was lovely and brisk – when we were walking up the driveway back to the house I gasped as Bambi ran across the lawn – breathtaking and a brilliant way to start the week.

I opted for my fab Zara red jeans today – at just $35 they are a great price – but as always with Zara their sizing is random.  I was certain I’d be a US 8 as Zara tend to fit small but I ended up with a US 6 as there is so much stretch in these and I can’t stand jeans that get baggy over the course of a day.  I’m wearing them with my Express black tank, J.Crew black boyfriend cardigan from a couple of years ago, and my fabulous Sam Edelman Alvins in leopard print – probably the most comfortable shoes I own.

 

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I love the 80s

I hope all you US folks had a great long Labor weekend – we certainly did – very relaxing with a baseball game thrown in there for some good fun too.  Most of it was spent around the pool which in turn leads me to one big gripe I have living over here – why are so many Americans uncomfortable with nudity?

I really think next time around I need to come back French or Scandinavian or similar.  Leaving the pool on Sunday we were reprimanded by the lifeguard for changing our children by the pool instead of using the nasty changing rooms (someone must have had a party in there the night before).  Another swimmer had complained about us.  Now feel free to disagree, but anyone who is offended by a 4 and 6 year old changing discretely by the pool has some real issues.  I’m neither a prude nor a frequent visitor of nudist beaches, but when in France I often sunbathe topless and the last thing I want is for my children to have any hang ups about their naked bodies, or anyone else’s for that matter.  I want them to retain their innocence and cavort naked when they please – in the appropriate setting of course.  Unfortunately this is not the first time I have encountered this kind of concern about nudity here.  Once in the Y a woman complained to another lady changing her 3 year old son in the ladies changing room.  The complainer actually said it was ‘like pornography’ – I stepped in irate that anyone could suggest this about a naked 3 year old.  I was so angry I was almost in tears.  Please get over it – we all have the same bits, relax and stop imposing your hang ups on everyone else.

We were lucky enough on Sunday evening to head to Turner Field to watch the Braves.  MM and I used to go to the baseball quite often before the children arrived.  It is a fun spectacle – great for people watching and enjoying a hot dog and a cold beer or two.  Sunday was the first time we had taken the children and in Chipper Jones’ last season it was an important game.  We all had a fabulous time with great seats close to home plate.  We left at the 7th innings as the children were getting tired and the Braves were heading for defeat…unfortunately we missed a cracking final innings when the Braves won with a home run from Chipper!

For the game I wore my J.Crew chambray spotty shorts, AllSaints Tilly t-shirt and fab Ash Thelma wedges.  It always surprises me how comfortable these shoes are.

Once again I am loving the 80s and today I feel very Nik Kershaw with my baggy Top Shop pants and Zara jacket with rolled up sleeves.  Even the Sam Edelman Alvin loafers have a retro feel about them.  I’d fit right in back at Live Aid.

One last note – I’ve just had a vent on one of the posts on The Frye Company’s Facebook page.  They have just released some boots in collaboration with Coach.  Why oh why would they do this??  It is a dangerous partnership if you ask me with my marketing head on.  I cannot believe that their research tells them the same people that buy Frye buy Coach.  I am so disappointed – Coach has become a masstige brand and I fear the halo effect will reduce the credibility of the Frye brand…What do you think about brand partnerships?

 

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