Love, Love, Love...

Last Sunday was our second wedding anniversary.  Two years of fun, laughter, smiles and lots of love.  I am a very lucky woman to have someone like John in my life.

We decided not to go mad and do anything extravagant, the holiday had recently wiped us out and we have a busy few months ahead of us with endless birthdays, christenings and other events (social butterflies that we are.......not). So, we had a very lazy day at home, took the wolf for a long walk in the morning but we went out for a lovely meal in the evening.  Now I'm no good at maths but this was a simple equation for me: evening out + special occasion = excuse to dress up.

I am not a lover of these photo's (not that I am ever a lover of my photo's) but unfortunately David Bailey was unavailable (and so was Kate Middleton's make-up artist).  So, the dress.................

Again, from my most fruitful and recent charity shop run on Gloucester Road in Bristol. It was £5 from the Shelter shop which is a charity that targets homelessness in the UK, something that is prevalent on the streets of Bristol unfortunately. I had already spent around £20 in the shop on other bits and pieces and happened upon the dress on their bargain rail as I was about to leave.  So back to the changing room I went and luckily it fit. I did question whether I needed yet another evening dress, I probably have more of that type of clothing than anything else BUT for £5? Pourquoi pas. 

The fabric is silky jersey with gentle gathering around the waist and a cowl style drop around the bust. No marks or signs of wear and tear so a bargain at that price.

The shoes (matching of course) were ironically a pair that John bought me for Christmas a few years ago so it was only right that they were brushed off for this occasion.

So, the evening was spent at the beautiful Marriott St Pierre Hotel and Country Club which is 5 minutes down the road from our house.  Despite the grandeur of the hotel, as usual I was overdressed, especially in light of the fact is was the evening of the world cup final and the bar was filled with men in shorts that looked like they had just fallen off the golf course and into the 19th hole.  Story of my life.  Even one of the chaps at work recently commented that the art of dressing up seems to have died a sad death. 

Poor John does not relish the whole dressing-up mentality that I was born with.  He frowned at the thought of a shirt and decent shoes for the event but dutifully changed nevertheless. 

Lovely evening, lovely food, lovely company and the sun kept on shining.

 For Germany also it seems.....

Motivation....

Okay, I am not ashamed to say it.  I have joined Slimming World.

John and I decided it was time to take action (especially after all the food and drink we consumed while on holiday).  We both started last Monday, and we must go every Monday night for the ceremonial weigh-in and the slightly Americanised chats that follow about how well/bad we have all done and how we can improve. Cringe.

I know how exactly I can improve. Give up wine (as if). Nevertheless, I am going to try and follow the rules, (a little harder next week I think), and we shall see what fruits it shall bear......

I was thinking to myself, one must have a point of motivation, something to steer me out of the dieting gloom and into the future skinny light, so I have appointed this dress as my beacon of hope.  It is another purchase from my charity shop run last week and one that currently doesn't fit (of course).  I saw it, tried it on and left it behind as the "frown of  disbelief", took over when I left the changing room, unable to do up another zip. Yet another item that probably would have easily fit pre-wedding but now doesn't thanks to all my happy-fat. But I kept thinking about how lovely it was and I returned, frown gone, to stake my claim.

It was a little difficult to take some photos that show it for as beautiful as it is, hopefully when I can finally wear it, I shall do it justice.  There are a couple of marks on the front near the base of the hem, but I'm hoping that as it swishes about, people (myself included), won't notice it. It was £12 and I probably could have got a discount for the marks but I never usually ask if its a charity shop item.  High Street mega-giants are a different kettle of fish. After all, they can afford it and you can expect 

good quality new products. Second-hand, you expect a little wear and tear sometimes. 

I don't have an event in mind, although it would serve as a lovely Christmas Day dress. I am thinking hair up in a bun with a little flower on the side. Go for the whole Spanish look.

"The Shop on Gloucester Road" is Clic Sargent's flagship vintage charity shop in the Bishopston area of Bristol and it's a second-hand lovers dream quite frankly.  The last time I visited, I bought a gorgeous plum dress (I call it my Wilma Deering dress) for £20 that sits proudly in my fab finds tab on this blog. I took some photos to share with you in the hope that those locals among you may pay it a visit.  It really is worth it. They have everything from clothing to nic-nacs, pictures to bric-a-brac.

It is a little treasure trove of vintage goodies just waiting to be adopted. So pop along if you are able Truffle Hunters! You won't be disappointed. 

P.s. By the time I finished this post, I discovered I had lost two pounds at Slimming World this week. And that was without really trying so I shall double my efforts this week and soon the dress will be mine! 

Red or Dead

I had a great night out this weekend with some friends on the waterfront in Bristol. And it was an ideal time to wear my new red dress that was one of my finds from Thursdays charity shop run. Instantly when I saw it, I had Saturday night in mind for its premiere. It's a lovely soft polyester with a gorgeous sheen to it. It just makes me want to sign up to a flamenco class the minute I put it on! And the icing atop the cake? It was brand new still with tags, never worn and in mint condition.

It was £12 from the wonderful St Peters Hospice shop on Gloucester Road, where my friend Nicola (see photos below) works. She is lucky enough to have one of my dream jobs.....Deputy Manager in a charity shop. I would love that job and would happily take a pay cut if the opportunity ever arose. John on the other hand, would not be so elated. I don't really need any excuses to grow my wardrobe. 

I am always amazed at how different I feel when I wear red. More confident, happier (if that's possible), a little bit more risqué....

Different colours can dramatically change our moods, behaviour and feelings. Fear, peace, aggression, tranquility. It's a very powerful tool, one that marketing people are all too aware of. There is a whole science behind visual merchandising in shops for example, which colours to use and where. They can make the difference between an inviting store and one that you would happily bypass (Hollister, yes that was aimed at you).

I also find it interesting how we interpret colours differently across borders and cultures. White for example is seen for many people as a sign of peace, innocence and purity whereas it is actually a colour that represents mourning (as opposed to black) in many eastern countries.

There is also the study of chromotherapy, once used in Ancient China, which was the use of colours as healing treatments. This is still practiced today as an alternative or holistic option and some examples are listed below. 

• Red was used to stimulate the body and mind and to increase circulation.


• Yellow was thought to stimulate the nerves and purify the body.


• Orange was used to heal the lungs and to increase energy levels.


• Blue was believed to soothe illnesses and treat pain.


• Indigo shades were thought to alleviate skin problems.

(You can find more information on the web, these snippets of knowledge came courtesy of About.com)

I am not sure if I can say that my new red dress stimulated my mind and body (although my friends may say otherwise, they had to put up with that body jumping around on the dance floor all night), but it helped to make a great night, even better. For me at least. 

A little black dress just doesn't cut the mustard.

Hear are a few pics from the evenings frivolities........A great night with great girls (and one slightly older woman).

Miss Nicola....

Kelly, Hayley and Nic

Mrs Kelly S. And the whole crew. Condiments and all. 

For starters.....

Ok, so I have just been reviewing my purchases from yesterdays charity shop spree and there are rather a lot (quelle surprise). So I thought I would write about them a few at a time. As I mentioned in my previous post, I spent a lovely couple of hours mooching around the Gloucester Road area in Bristol, killing time the best way I know how (that doesn't involve a wine glass in my hand).  I prefer shopping on my own, not sure why, I have always preferred it that way, just me, myself and I.

Gloucester  Road is somewhat synonymous with charity shops.  It's a really vibrant area full of independent boutiques, local businesses, great pubs and second-hand shops galore. It was lovely weather and the cafes and bars were full of punters making the most of the al-fresco dining experience, sat outside, watching the wold go by. A few years back John and I spent the day wandering up and down doing a pub crawl, stopping to browse in the charity shops in between and it was on that fateful day that John found me a genuine Louis Vuitton purse, hiding in the cabinet at the back of the shop.  Good memories.

Yesterday did not disappoint either.  I was a bit dubious as to whether I would find anything to wear clothes-wise (having grown even bigger since the all-inclusive holiday), so I was content just to focus on shoes, jewelry and bric-a-brac.

Now these shoes may look slightly granny-esque but that's probably why I liked them. They were a bit different and had that quirky factor that I like. And in true granny style, they are so comfortable, it actually feels like you are wearing slippers. I always look for bright coloured shoes, yellows, greens, reds and so on.  The more colourful the better. Its important to extend the brightness of your outfit all the way down to your feet and colourful shoes are always a good talking point. 

Le prix? £4.99 from the Clic Sargent  charity shop.

There is still a bit of a heel to help raise up my tiny height towards the clouds.  I don't recognise the label but you can tell they are of a very good quality.

The second item was this pendant (also from Clic Sargent ) at the grand old price of £2. The irony is that I recognised it being from that Great British institution - Primark and as I already have the same necklace in cobalt blue, I remembered that it was only £2 brand new! I actually wore the blue version on my wedding day as my something blue.  But this is a nice neutral colour that you can wear with pretty much anything so it was worth the price. New or old.

So there's a small snippet of what I bought, main course is on its way!

Tangerine Dream

At last, I have awoken from my dormant blog state to return anew. For those of you that are regulars - I apologise.  It has been a busy month where the tedium of everyday life has interrupted my blogging flow. It's been a month of ups and downs.  The downs being two sad funerals, my poor mum having yet another painful operation that has rendered her out of action (again) and my purse being stolen.  The ups?  Well, I have been promoted and start my new role at the end of next month which is both exciting and scary as hell at the same time and John and I have just returned from a really lovely holiday in Majorca, one that we both desperately needed. Thankfully we chose to go all-inclusive, which turned out to be a god-send as my stolen purse contained our spending money for the trip that I had just withdrawn.  So the all you can eat buffet and free-flowing alcohol was gratefully received.

We stayed in a hotel in Portals Nous which is in the south of the island.  Very simple and a little outdated but we loved it. We were so pleased with it after our 23 hour delay in getting there due to our flight cancellation, we just needed a bed and a clean pillow at that point.  The hotel was only a 5 minute walk from a small bay at the end of the road (passing by a colony of feral cats that also profited regularly from the free buffet), it provided some very funny entertainment circa 1980's and even better, the hotel was full of french people so I was in my element.  Poor John suffered a little as I ignored him in favour of our French cousins. It was so nice to be surrounded by my beloved language and I spoke it as often as I could, forcing myself  upon the poor unsuspecting French. And the constant supply of free Rosé wine also helped boost my confidence and language skills!

To my surprise, I also managed to adhere to the disgraceful luggage allowance of 15 kilos AND sharing one suitcase with John. One of my favourite things about holidays is the fact that it is an excuse to dress up. Even though it was all-inclusive therefore we stayed most nights at the hotel, I still took 7 evening outfits so I could dress up for dinner. Not everyone was of the same ilk and we saw many swimwear combinations and 3 day old holiday outfits that just kept resurfacing so I am sure I raised a few eyebrows but I tried to keep the "ball gown" level to a minimum, opting for nice bright maxi dresses or my favoured one shoulder Grecian styles that I love.

One of the dresses that I took along is the one featured in the picture below.  A gorgeous bright orange maxi that I found in a charity shop last year. It was the first time I wore it and even though I bought it in winter, I knew it would be perfect holiday attire. I think it cost around £7, I am ashamed to say that I cannot remember, age is definitely affecting my memory!

It is a lovely delicate chiffon made up of accordion pleats and it definitely has that swish factor as you walk.

And as for the shoes, well I only took one pair of evening heels which are not second-hand unfortunately, they came from my shop Wallis. But they are a staple pair from my vast collection and they are so comfortable, I knew they would be a good option (especially given my luggage restrictions!).

So, we now find ourselves at home, back in Wales and the weather I am looking at currently is decidedly gloomier than that of the Balearics.  But I still have a couple of days before I return to work, so I am making the most of them. Yesterday, I spent the afternoon rummaging in the Bristol charity shops before picking John up from work so I shall be writing about all my treasures very soon. Today is all about my blog and big cuddles with my beautiful dog (now that we have been reunited after a week apart) and tomorrow, I have an afternoon of drinking and giggling with my friends from work on the waterfront so lets hope some summer weather appears!