French Leave

I cannot believe I have taken so long to get back to my beloved blog. I am sorry about the lack of posting. A weeks holiday to France and I have bought some of that laid back attitude with me.....ok, lazy attitude. But my friend Jo snapped me out of it at lunch this week, so I am back and raring to go. Are you sitting comfortably?..........

So, my lovely week back home in France was supposed to lead to many blogging opportunities. Strolling up and down La Croisette in Cannes, parasol in hand, a la Audrey Hepburn........oversized black glasses teamed with a silk headscarf, silk gloves and a gorgeous 1950's dress a la Grace Kelly, the list could go on. 10 or so years ago that is exactly what would have happened (much to the annoyance of my poor boyfriend at the time), but this time I let myself down. I could blame it on going with the kids and not having much time but that would be a lie. I could blame it on the surprisingly disappointing weather but that has never stopped me before.  But to be honest, I have no excuse. I just didn't dress up much. To be honest my overly ambitious intake of Rosé wine probably didn't help and the oh so attractive "gueule de bois" that followed.  Maybe it's age. All I know is that I am ashamed of myself. Dressing up is who  I am and although I certainly didn't wander around France looking like someone from the Royle Family, I didn't go to town like I normally would have done. Shame on me. 

The outfit above was meant to be my "going away" outfit until John scoffed at me wanting to take a coat to the south of France. Maybe that's where it all went wrong.  So I bowed to peer pressure and left the coat behind. And the bag. Which was incidentally bought specifically with that coat in mind. I found the bag nestling on a shelf in the St Peters Hospice charity shop in Staple Hill for a mere £4. I love the unusual shape of it.  That said, they both got left behind, never to feel the sun of the Côte d'Azur. To be fair though, neither did we. 

Nice Jug!

Hi All....

I thought I would share with you a picture of my newest piece of glassware for Casa del Merlocke. A lovely little jug and bowl in a gorgeous emerald green glass for only £1. I love jugs as an alternative to flower vases but this is a little too small for flowers so it sits proudly in my bathroom that is our version of the Green Room (without Jonathan Ross thankfully).

Stars and Stripes

It's lovely when people get in touch to let me know what little treasures have crossed their path.

This beautiful striped skirt was found by a friend that lives in Lydney, just over the bridge. It was £5 from a charity shop but originally from Ralph Lauren, no less! Apparently it wasn't quite finished  off correctly around the bottom so she added the black satin edging herself and it looks great. It will no be proudly used for a 1950's evening at the Dean Heritage Centre. 

She won't mind me saying that she is a big fan of dressing up like myself but Mary takes it to a whole other level. She has some beautiful Victorian and Edwardian pieces in her collection (you can see one in the background). You could almost have a blog that was purely dedicated to her wardrobe! 

So we have the stripes and Mary truly is a charity shop "star". 

Saturday night at the movies...

Date night. Me, John, no kids,  a weekend off and a trip to the cinema.  I have been pestering John to accompany me to ye olde picture house to watch Oblivion, and last night he fulfilled his promise.  We spent a great day together which was just about the right mix of laziness and achievements. So we set off in the evening, haribo in hand, to be dazzled by the big screen.

I hope I can blame my lack of proper dressing up on my new job and just not having much time anymore, even on days off, or maybe I am just starting to appreciate that a ball gown isn't always necessary when popping out for a pint of milk (as was always my previous mantra).  I'm not sure what made me think of this outfit. I would never normally be caught dead in leggings but I though with a slouchy v-neck, maybe they were less scary. I don't think it looks too bad. The jumper was £3 from a charity shop, ironically it was originally from Wallis where I work. You cant really see it too well in the picture but it has a lovely gold flex running all through it and is really shiny. I've paired it up with some thick navy leggings, my £3 M&S distressed blue heels and my newly found bag that I mentioned in my last post. I was determined to use one of them last night.

The necklace is also from Wallis. It's on the large side, is very heavy and it doesn't sit quite right but I love it! It's almost like an Egyptian style choker but made out of colourful ribbons all entwined. 

Wow...I forgot I had that.......

Ok, those.

That is a statement that I seem to say an awful lot. I squirrel things away and stash things around the house (and we have a very small house). And then, when I least expect it, I come across some little find that puts a big smile on my face.

And this afternoon was one of those occasions. I was routing around inside some bags on top of the wardrobe and I found a bag of bags that I had forgotten about! All of them second-hand, all of them petit. The fact that I have just "re-found" them, obviously suggests that they have not been used in a while but I shall make a concerted effort to give them an airing some time soon. So I thought I would share some pics with all of you lovley thrifters....

Quick Change...

Life is full of changes, you never know what's around the corner. So, any opportunity for a quick change of clothing to suit, is a welcome one. Welcome for me anyway.

So after suggesting we take the kids out for tea, I rustled up a new outfit. It's rare for me to not wear anything second-hand but I think I may have just done it with this outfit. That said, everything was still a bargain. The jacket is from my beloved Marks and Spencer and was about £5 in the sale a couple of years back. Its so comfortable and quite a long length and of course its my colour of the moment. The jeans and cream vest are from Wallis and are ex-uniform. The cobalt shoes are also from work. Gorgeous colour, patent and a bow. The stuff that (shoe) dreams are made of! And as for the bag, that was in H&M in the sale for £7. I popped out on my lunch and I couldn't walk past the gorgeous peacock colour without going back for it.

To be honest I rarely go out on my lunch anymore. I usually just want to sit down and chill out but I had to pop out for a birthday card and I made the mistake of a little detour into the store. And I am glad I did, the colour is beautiful.

So there you have it. Not a dressy outfit but this peacock definitely shook her tail feather all the way to tea.

Green Day...

The sun is out! Thank The Lord. 

Now you should probably not plan your outfit around your handbag but I have never been one to conform to rules. Certainly not fashion ones and I wanted an excuse to show off my little Russell and Bromley handbag. This was £7 from the St Peters Hospice shop in Fishponds.  A bit expensive for a small bag but then as I have posted before, charity shops are wishing up to pricing, especially for branded goods. 

Te leather is so soft and I think it's a cute little bag. It matches my green cowboy boots perfectly. The velvet jacket, scarf and necklace are also second hand, as is the cream cashmere jumper underneath. The only  thing at isn't? My trusted skinnies from Wallis.