Favourite shoes and a culinary disaster

Another busy week and jam-packed weekend.  I can't believe how quickly the summer is whizzing by.  I am loving this feeling of being smack bang in the middle of summer, even though it has rained a bit this week.  I am spending as much time as possible outside;  breakfast and tea breaks are spent in the garden and the dog's walks have become longer.

The cleaners have been for the first time this week.  Whilst it was a bit odd to sit and type as they dashed around with hoovers and stood on windowsills (I kept feeling as though I ought to help), it has been so nice to sit down in the evenings and know that there is nothing for us to do.  Well, OK, the ironing pile in the spare room may have reached mountainous proportions but no-one irons stuff these days, right?

So we had J this weekend and it's been kind of fun.  We had vouchers for Pizza Express on Friday night (50% off all main meals - hurrah for having a husband with a voucher fetish) - have you tried the melanzane parmigiana?  OMG it's delish.  That and a glass of pink wine started my weekend off very nicely.  On Saturday we chilled out at home.  I made a lasagna from Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food cookbook.  It took me three [effing] hours to make from start to finish.  I so badly wish I'd taken photos of it because it looked beautiful all golden and bubbly in its big pan, with the big sliced tomatoes and freshly picked basil leaves.  Served up on the plate, though, it could quite easily have passed for a plate of vomit.  It was ridiculously watery (probably because I got over-excited with the food mixer and accidentally pureed the celery and onion that was only meant to be finely chopped).  The cheesy sauce mixed in with the tomato sauce giving the whole thing a kind of pale pink hue and the cubed carrots just added to the overall 'vom' effect.  We still ate it, it tasted quite good, but we all seemed to take it in turns snorting with laughter as we ate.  Good job I'm not sensitive about my inability to cook.

Happily we went out for lunch today and put away huge piles of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.  I took the opportunity to wear a favourite pair of heels and thought I'd show you:

I don't know what those two little lines on my right leg are... do you see them?  Just on the front of my ankle?  I hope they aren't veins.  Do you get varicose veins on the front of your ankles?  I don't notice the front of my ankles generally because I don't pay attention to them but now I'm obsessing slightly (I'm really far too vain (vein, ha!) to take such close up photos of myself, I should know this)... anyway... you can't see the veins (or whatever they are) in this pic:

Love the platform.  Love the heel.  Love the snakeskin effect leather. ( I like a snake effect shoe.  I have these, a pair of court shoes which I shared here, a pair of flat strappy sandals and a pair of flat pointy ballet pumps.)  Also love that they strap firmly onto my feet and feel sturdy-ish (I am useless at walking in heels so not sure why I own so many pairs).

I wore them with a khaki linen jumpsuit that I picked up in Next a little while ago:

I am not sure how I feel about jumpsuits.  I know that they are a bit 80s but I was too young to wear them then, favouring Snoopy sloppy joe sweaters and bleached denim instead.  I like that it's an easy decision of what to wear in the morning and the elasticated waist makes it a good choice for a slap-up lunch date.  But I did feel kind of 'LOOK AT ME!' and I certainly don't like having to strip right off just to go for a wee.  Still, it was cool and comfortable and I like to give these things a whirl. Not sure I'll wear it again.

Off now to catch up on some blog reading before bed.  Have a happy week my lovely blog chums.

Nicki 

x

Big Bum, New Shoes

Did you order a pair of trousers in a certain size expecting them to be on the generous side only to discover that the zip won't meet?  Did you disbelieve your eyes and double check the sizing on the website to find out that the next size up is the biggest they do and actually you're not sure even they will fit?  Did you resign yourself to having a large bottom for eternity and throw a slightly self-indulgent paddy?   ME TOO! 

Whaddaya do?

You buy shoes.

Sparkly pumps from Next:  Miu Miu style without the price tag.

Uber-comfy moccasins from Next.  

(Not much to look at off but these are so nice on.  They make my feet look smaller and go a treat with skirts, cropped trousers and jeans alike.  They are also uber-comfy, did I say that?)

These strappy sandals from Bertie in tan (and that may or may not be the same pair in black) have a nice little wedge so glam up your outfit a bit without crippling you.  The turquoise ballerinas are from New Look - SO comfortable, an eye-popping turquoise and just £7.99.  Not leather, obviously, but what the heck.  My feet can take a bit of pretty plastic for just under eight quid.

And if a bit of shoe shopping doesn't cheer you up, you can rely on your Mum to text you 

a sunny photo of your ♥favourite niece♥ watering the pots.

This photo made me smile today, more than any shoes could!

Nicki 

x

Bad Hair Day, Good Bag Day

Dress and Jacket - M&S, Belt - Reiss, Sheer Tights - John Lewis, 

Snakeskin Courts - LK Bennett, Handbag - Mulberry

Despite getting up at the crack of sparrows this morning I still didn't have time to wash my hair (as evidenced by extraordinarily straggly ponytail).  I really should get up earlier - I know it's attention to the detail such as washed and blow-dried hair, polished nails and curled eyelashes that make all the difference to your appearance but I err on the side of grunge most of the time.

It mattered not a jot today though, I was wearing my favourite work shoes and carrying a new handbag.  All was right in my world! 

Nicki

x

Wardrobe Wars: The first step to a capsule wardrobe

I cleared out my wardrobes at the weekend.  If you are easily offended look away now:

It took me approximately ten minutes to empty them and more than four hours to sort through everything and put it all back nicely.  The picture above shows the contents of just one double wardrobe.  You can imagine the state they were in.  Grrr. 

I'm so glad I did it though!  I filled two bin bags for the charity shop, have given a few bits away to friends and my clothes all hang nicely on the rails now with space in between things, like a posh shop.  I feel quite smug, can you tell?!  

This little exercise has also given me the opportunity to start afresh.  I don't have as much money to spend on clothes as I used to so when I buy something I have to be sure I need it and I will wear it:  there is no room in my budget for duplication or waste.  I am determined that every single new purchase will be a good one.  I want everything in my wardrobe to fit me (yes, I've bought smaller sizes in the past thinking 'I'll slim into them'), feel comfortable and look gorgeous.  The first step in achieving this wardrobe nirvana was to get rid of everything that didn't tick these boxes.

The second step has been to think a bit more about what my own style is and how I want to look - that's a really hard thing to do!  I have had to be brutally honest with myself for a start.  I would love to be fashion forward and wear achingly trendy clothes but it's just not me - I don't have the right figure for one thing.  I've also had to accept that I'm [a tiny bit] too old for certain looks now, too.  Sob. 

So, I've decided to put together a kind of capsule wardrobe with the clothes that work perfectly for me.  Once I've got the capsule right (! loving this terminology, feeling v swotty!) I can buy a few more frivolous and fashionable things to mix it up a bit.  

This all sounds very straight-forward as I'm typing but I know it will be tough to make such controlled decisions.

So, item number one in my capsule wardrobe is something I already own - my brown leather high-heeled sandals:

They are from Russell & Bromley and I wore them at the weekend with a pair of indigo denim leggings, a white tank top and a floral tunic.  They go with everything I own though: skinny, bootcut, cropped and flared jeans, harem trousers, A-line skirts and my rolled-up chinos.  I even have a couple of maxi dresses which are long enough to wear with them.  I can wear these shoes bare legged or with thick tights in the winter.  They also look cute with socks.  I paid £185 for them in 2006* and they were worth every penny.  To me they are a classic, versatile, shoe; they still look stylish and they are in excellent condition, despite many [often tipsy] outings.  

A solid contender for my capsule wardrobe, I'm sure you will agree!

I'm off to bed now but I'll leave you with another wardrobe essential, particularly when the weather turns like it did for us today:

I like to ring the changes with my footwear!

Nicki 

x

*Geek Fact:  I know this because I keep all of my shoes in their boxes, stuffed with tissue, and I tuck the receipts inside.  Call me obsessive if you like.