Shopping and a Girl Crush

I picked up this book (Cute and Easy Crochet by Nicki Trench) at the weekend.  I have wanted it for a while so was pretty pleased to grab the last copy in my local Hobbycraft along with a few sumptuous balls of yarn...

The brown and the pink are both 'Sublime Baby Cashmere Merino Silk DK'.  It is 75% extra fine merino, 20% silk and 5% cashmere.  It is soft, warm and I love the delicate shade of the colours.  I found a blanket in the book that I would love to use this yarn for but I would need to buy 32 balls.  (32 balls!) At £5.49 a ball that isn't something I can persuade our Household Financial Controller (husband) to sign off any time soon!  I couldn't leave the yarn in the shop so I bought six balls of it.  They didn't have it in store in a cream colour and I quite fancy making a cream baby blanket with accents of the brown and pink.  I am sure I can buy it cheaper elsewhere - I might try eBay.

I really want to make something out of the book soon though, so I'm going to give the fingerless gloves a try (although I prefer to call them wristwarmers!).  For this project I bought two balls of the cream-coloured yarn in the photo.  It is an Amy Butler for Rowan 'Belle Organic DK'.  It's 50% organic wool and 50% organic cotton.  I daren't start it yet in case I mess up but at least the material is in my basket for when I'm having one of my more confident moments!

Matalan is next to Hobbycraft in our town so whilst I was there I thought I'd pop in for a quick squizz.  There were lots of gorgeous little floral dresses in store but cute florals aren't me :( .  I saw this jumpsuit though and loved it:

It is difficult to show it properly in a photo without wearing it (and I'm not ready to post any photos of myself!) but it's kind of silky with a loose waist so it drapes nicely.  It also tapers at the ankle with little ties and has similar ties on the shoulders.  It looks lovely with my black leather jacket and nude platform peep-toe shoes.  I feel a bit Rod Stewart in it but I think I can get over that after a stiff gin!  It will be perfect for a nice dinner somewhere or drinks in a chic bar.  Here's a close up of the fabric:

Very happy with it and it only cost £22.  I always forget just how affordable Matalan is.  I'm not a huge fan of throwaway fashion; I don't often buy clothes but when I do I like to go for the best I can afford and tend to choose things that I hope will be timeless.  However, if I didn't go to the cheaper stores for a few bits and pieces my wardrobe would be a bit safe and boring.  I definitely wouldn't have much choice either!  I am trying to sort out my clothes at the minute and I've got a few events coming up at the end of the month so in a move that is completely out of character for me I am planning my outfits in advance (I never do this - I always frantically rush around the shops the day before a big dinner/wedding or whatever to find the right outfit).

So, back to work tomorrow having had over a week off.  I've got that end-of-holiday feeling which is ridiculous because I love my job, have a great boss and enjoy a certain degree of flexibility.  But it has been really nice to just potter around at home with my husband for the week.  The only thing I regret is that I didn't get round to any baking - this WeightWatchers thing is tough so probably a good job I didn't.

Before I go, can I just say that I'm now a tiny bit obsessed with Princess Kate.  I have always considered her to be a bit bland, boring and old before her time (I feel guilty for admitting that now).  Since the wedding I haven't been able to stop thinking about her.  She was so cool and calm on her wedding day.  She is thin, toned, impeccably behaved and beautifully turned out.  She must have such willpower and I am so totally jealous of her discipline and her cool head.

♥♥♥  I have a bit of a girl crush... ♥♥♥

Nicki 

x

Geeky Days

Fancied a cream tea today so we used our National Trust annual membership and popped down the road to Canon's Ashby House.  The house and gardens are beautiful and there is vast parkland to wander around - it was the perfect weather for it.  After a nose around the house and a stroll around the grounds we headed to the tea room and had a lovely old-fashioned lunch:  thick cut ham sandwiches with real butter, a pot of tea and scones with clotted cream and jam.  It was such a treat.  They sell my favourite Dandelion & Burdock and now I can't get it out of my head.  I have to find a stockist near me.

Not long now until the wedding!   

I'm getting quite excited and wish I'd bought/made/stolen some bunting to drape around the house.  I was too cool for it a few weeks ago; I should have known I'd revert to type within days of the big day!

Perhaps I'll just settle for a Papa John's pizza with my Dandelion & Burdock this Friday.

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.

Crochet - I have an actual WIP!

Happy Easter!  Hope that everyone has had a lovely long break.

I've been making the most of the sunshine and have spent most of my time outdoors. I have also managed to squeeze in a fair bit of crochet and have become a bit addicted, to the point where I whipped it out of my handbag yesterday at my Mum and Dad's house to knock up a granny square whilst we had a glass of wine after lunch!  I am totally loving the new pass-time of crocheting outside - what on earth have I been doing in the sun before now?!

I am ridiculously pleased with my efforts so far although the prospect of stitching them all together (and sewing in the ends... urggh) is fairly daunting and that's a whole other learning curve I think.   I couldn't crochet until I started learning about two months ago; to begin with it all felt so awkward and my fingers cramped up within minutes every time I tried.  When I asked for advice everyone said the same thing - keep trying and one day it will 'click'.   I was convinced that I was a lost cause and it just wouldn't happen for me but something seems to have clicked and I kind of get it now... I'm so excited to try other stitches!

(Also, I've learned how to create photo collages ^^ !  So excited... sigh... me and my little life...!)

Summer Skin

Another gorgeous day and this time I got my legs out.  Scary.  This is not a decision I took lightly and, let me tell you, it took quite a lot of prep in the bathroom for me to feel confident enough to leave the house!

I don't really enjoy getting ready in the morning - putting on make-up, deciding what to wear and sorting my hair out always seems to take ages and I get impatient.  Not only that, it frustrates me that I spend so long getting ready (anything from half an hour to a an hour) yet look as though I take no more than five minutes.   But I love showering and bathing.  I spend ages and have a very particular ritual that I follow every single morning. I love beauty products, choosing shower gels, soaps, body scrubs and body lotion - you name it.  I buy these things a lot.  Some products are a real disappointment but there are others that I buy again and again because they do such a great job.  Here are my current faves:

Bliss Soapy Suds:  this shower gel is fresh and zingy, perfect for summer, and makes me feel squeaky clean without drying out my skin.  

REN Moroccan Rose Otto Sugar Body Polish:  Love love love this stuff.  It's a very thick sugary paste and smells absolutely divine - like actual roses.  Ones that have been freshly rained on.  My skin always feels super soft when I've used this.  It's quite a coarse scrub -  I usually use it on wet skin but on dry skin it gives an even deeper scrub and really gets rid of scaly or peeling skin.  It's quite expensive (£30 a pot I think) but definitely worth it.  I think I'm on my third pot of this stuff.   

Dead Sea Spa Magik Body Lotion:  I discovered this by chance recently in Waitrose.  It was lurking on quite an empty, slightly dusty, shelf.  They obviously don't stock it regularly because I'm now on my second bottle and the display doesn't look any fuller.  Whatever, I love it.  It is quite a rich lotion but sinks in quickly and leaves my skin very soft.  It also smells beautiful; fresh, clean and doesn't interfere with my perfume.  My only, very minor, complaint is that it makes the soles of my feet a bit slippy (gives yoga an element of danger!).  A bargain buy though for just under £4.

The MD Formulations Facial Cleanser and Illuminating Mask are quite simply the best facial products I have ever used.  End of.  I've tried all of the usual suspects (Clinique, Clarins, Origins, Lancome, Decleor etc) and nothing comes close.  I started using them because a patch of skin on my forehead is a little pigmented (sunbathing and the contraceptive pill don't really mix).  The pigmentation is still there but it's fading more all of the time.  The cleanser has a little acid in it I think (it tingles when you first use it) so it brightens, firms, tones and closes pores.  I wear the illuminating masque whilst I sleep, twice a week, and when I wake up my skin tone is definitely more even.  I can't recommend this range highly enough.  Not cheap at around £25 each but worth it all day long. 

In the foreground of this photo you can just see the bristles of a brush.  I use this on dry skin all over my body before I hop in the shower.  I've done this for years and it wakes you up if nothing else! 

What products do you rely on to give you confidence to bare all (or a little)?  

xxxx

Dogs and Dentists

The dog has had a dental treatment at the vets today so she's sitting with me as I type.  We're sitting on the bed for a change.  She isn't usually allowed on the bed so it's a little reward for her being so good.

I don't really like her to come into the bedroom and I certainly don't like her to jump up on the bed - I wouldn't curl up in the dog bed with her - but she's a bit clingy and I was feeling kind.  Since taking these photos I have got the heebie jeebies and she's now on a massive freebie L'Occitane towel.

She's a good little dog and they all loved her at the vets surgery.