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 

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Cake decorating efforts to date...

Man alive, I'm craving cake today.  Badly craving it.  I'm working at our Milton Keynes office tomorrow which, happily, is right around the corner from Starbucks.  I have already decided that I'm heading there first thing to fetch a cappuccino and a chocolate muffin.  Who cares if it will wipe out most of my WeightWatcher points for the day - I'll have butternut squash and bananas for dinner.  (Zero point saviours; get me through many a binge.)

So, with cake on the brain, I thought I'd do a post on my cake decorating efforts so far.  These are the only ones I have ever made, I'm a complete beginner.  We all have to start somewhere! 

Obviously the flowers on top are a little sparse and if I'd had more time I would have made more to fill in the gaps but I don't think it's bad for a beginner.  I made this with a little adult education class at the local school.

My first novelty cake.  I was really proud of this at the time even though the Waybuloo characters are porkier than they should be:

Izzie loved it and watching her chubby little hands make a beeline for De Li (that's the pink one, I know it isn't obvious!) made the stress and frustrations of making it (oh yes, there were tears) all worthwhile.

Grandma's birthday cake - a hippo in a bath tub (a Maisie Parrish cake).  Grandma wasn't impressed, she thought I was calling her a hippo.  Seriously, she went in a bit of a strop.  She's 79.

(these are especially awful photos, sorry, 

I was probably shaking after Grandma's reaction!)

This Easter cake is another Maisie Parrish design.  I made it last year:

Fun, fun, fun weaving baskets out of sugarpaste! 

I made these little carrots and bunny paws and popped them on the top of iced cupcakes.

This toadstool was for a friend's daughter's birthday party.  I think it is from a Debbie Brown book.

And this one is taken from a few Maisie Parrish designs.  It was for my niece's second birthday.

So there we are, my very modest collection of cakes.  

Nicki 

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Bit of Bling

I've been sorting out my accessories today.  My necklaces hang on one of those little headless lady stands (what are they called?) and it is always toppling over.  

It seems I've acquired quite a collection over the years.  I have put loads in the charity bag and these are some of the keepers:  

I go for either small silver pendants or big statement necklaces, like the ones in the pic.  I like the look of long necklaces and lariats but they get in the way and irritate me.  The ones in the photo above are mostly from good old M&S.  The particularly glitzy one at the very bottom is from Butler & Wilson.  I bought this necklace years ago and have always saved it for evenings out but just lately I've been wearing it with ordinary t-shirts and jeans for the day.  It looks quite cool - I think because it isn't quite as sparkly as it was.

I have another with pearls and spangles which I wore yesterday with a breton top.  

(Oh.  That's not a very good picture, sorry, it's a bit blurry.  We had been out for the day 

and I had enjoyed one or two glasses of wine.)

This necklace is from Jigsaw.  Pretty, no?  I wore the top with my indigo denim leggings (no, not jeggings, that's a silly word) and ballerina pumps.  I thought the necklace pimped up my clothes a bit for a mooch around Cambridge and slightly boozy lunch with the other half.  

We had three delicious courses in Cafe Rouge, wandered around the town and loitered by the river.  We were planning to punt but the weather was iffy.  Rain and river rage [husband's] could be disastrous.  I bought a gorgeous cornflower blue silk top in Reiss and then we came home and ate rum and raisin ice cream cones watching a bit of telly.  All loved up.

Back to normal this morning.  Had a bit of a tidy up, showered and popped on my Bliss Softening Socks.  These socks are pricey but they rule.  They are gel-filled and you cover your feet with cream then pop on the socks for half an hour.  My hideous trotters are soft and pretty (ish) after a session with these.

Husband typically chose to enter the bedroom at the precise moment I was wearing nothing but these and a big old pair of fluorescent pink pants.  

'Babe, they clash' was his passing comment.  

If ever you didn't want your new husband catching you unawares...

Nicki 

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Gin O'Clock

How can a short week feel so long?!  

It's 6:30pm and way past gin o'clock so I've just logged off my work computer and am going out in the garden for a drink before it gets cold.  Lead the way, pooch.

I'd write more but, you see, there's a rather handsome man in my garden 

and he's got a gin with my name on it.

We're going to Cambridge tomorrow for some shopping, lunching and, if the weather is nice, punting.  Last time we went punting (at Stratford upon Avon) we collided with a tour boat on the water.  It was very embarrassing.  I was almost peeing myself with laughter (thus rendering self even more useless at steering) whilst he got progressively sweaty and stroppy.  Should be fun! 

Nicki 

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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

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♪♫ Workin' 9 to 5... ♪♫

♪♫...what a way to make a livin'... ♪♫ 

I love this song!  It is one of my guilty pleasures, I know every word, and on a long car journey I'll quite often select the 'guilty pleasures' playlist on my ipod and sing my head off.  I'm driving to Leeds tomorrow for a meeting.  It takes me nearly three hours to get there so I plan to fill my Starbucks travel cup with proper strong coffee and sing my way up the M1.  

I am a little bit excited.  Not just because I get to spend the morning with Queen Dolly, Dr Hook and Five Star but also because I have got a new handbag.  I'm using it tomorrow for the first time.  I know it's sad to say that I'm excited about using a new handbag but there we are.  It's a Mulberry handbag and it's my new favourite thing.  

You can't really tell properly here but it's coral coloured leather.  Eek!  It is the Mulberry Alexa and the colour is called 'watermelon'.  It has a short plaited handle which fits into the crook of the arm and a longer strap which you can sling over the shoulder or across the body.  I have a couple of other Mulberry handbags but this is the first time I've bought one in such a ker-azy colour.  It is summery and fresh - I love it.  Not pink, not red, not orange but a perfect bright coral.  The kind of colour that looks amazing with a tan.  I have a few brightly coloured tops but I mostly wear neutral and nude colours; my beige, grey, khaki and parachute silk pink all look so right with this bag.  I wear a lot of black too, especially for work, but I think the only black item of clothing I can bring myself to pair this with is my leather jacket.  I don't like bright colours with black.

In this photo, the bag is sitting on a footstool.  Quite a loud patterned one, I know.  I love this room, it's our little den, shall I show you?

Our house is odd.  It's very old - two cottages that were knocked into one - and it is built on a slope so we have five levels in total, even though we have just two bedrooms.  This room is at the very top of the house - it is the lightest, brightest and warmest room (everywhere else in the house can be cold and a bit dark, even in high summer).  

You can't see it but those two chairs are in front of a TV - that's where my man watches his football/sci-fi and I watch my trash TV.  The little desk is where I sit with my laptop when I work from home and I also do any sewing up here.  We have books on shelves everywhere in this house, it drives me crazy.  The Mr and I both read a lot and he likes to see books on display.  I don't, I'd rather they were packed away, but we also have several strings of fairy lights in various spots around the house so I reckon I can compromise!  

Here's my little desk.  And some of the trade-off twig lights.

This is the only room that we can have a nice big light in - the ceilings everywhere else in the house are pretty low.

My Mother in Law keeps telling me that I need to remove all of the crystals once a week and wash them in hot soapy water to keep it sparkling.  I pretend not to hear when she says this.  The best it gets is a flick of my feather duster.

And finally, here's my little work chum.  She keeps me company when I work from home and listens out for would-be burglars, the postman and the annoying little boy next door who keeps booting his footballs over the fence.  She also patiently listens to me rabbit on when I'm in the middle of a particularly tricky spreadsheet.

This was her today and this photo makes me smile because I think she looks quite wise 

with a walrus moustache.  

See, you can go crazy in the coconut being on your own too much, thank goodness I'll be seeing real people at the office tomorrow.

Nicki 

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