Spoilt

Himself has finally given in to my moaning and swearing and bought me a new laptop.  My old one was maddeningly slow, didn't have a working screen and crashed constantly.  My new baby is white, shiny and super duper quick.

This what I have


Off to bed now - only 10 hours and it'll be time to brave the freezing Arctic temperatures again.  Too cold!!

Weekend Treats

This weekend I went to visit one of my best friends in London.  She was throwing a baby shower on Sunday and as we hadn't seen each other for too long, I took the opportunity to arrive a day early and spend some time with her.  Becky lives in a beautiful flat in one of the nicest parts of the city, South Kensington.  Her local area is filled with restaurants, bars, delicatessens, patisseries, boutiques, art galleries and high end designer stores and every time I visit I marvel at how gorgeous the whole neighbourhood is.  Our Saturday was spent chatting non-stop and enjoying a manicure at the local nail bar.  The manicure I had was fantastic!  Three days in and it still looks like it was done 5 minutes ago.  I wish my nails always looked like this.

On Saturday evening we ate at Sophie's Steakhouse which is a fabulously chaotic restaurant with a delicious menu and then shot straight home to catch up on X-Factor.  Perfect.

Sunday was the baby shower which was held at the beautiful Charlotte Street Hotel.  We had THE nicest afternoon tea and the mother-to-be had a total ball.  I wore my new Whistles swallow print dress with black opaques, high heeled booties and gold jewellery.  I did take a couple of outfit shots, but as I'm photographically embarrassed at the moment I was dependent on Becky's camera for pictures.  Unfortunately, she's somewhat technically challenged with no idea how to download photos so I may be waiting for a while for these!

Thank you again for a wicked weekend Beck.  Love you x

Rome Outfits

Here are some of the outfits that I wore in Rome.

These are iphone shots - they're not bad (certainly better than my useless camera) but the night time ones are pretty blurred unfortunately.  I'm asking for a new camera for Christmas.

feather maxi skirt - Warehouse, cashmere v-neck - Uniqlo, leather biker - Next, grey pashmina - ebay, mink PS1 copy satchel - ASOS, black button boots - Solea

black leather shorts - Zara, black tights - Falke, red and white Breton tee - Zara, leopard print faux fur - Topshop, black flats - Gerard Darel, black leather clutch - vintage

leapard print mini - River Island, grey l/s tee - Primark, jacket, pash, flats, tights and bag - as before

Amo Roma

This weekend I was lucky enough to spend three days in beautiful Rome.  Whilst the grandparents looked after the babes, Himself took me away for some long overdue couple time.  I think we pretty much walked our legs off taking in the incredible sights of the city.  My favourite was St Peter's Square at Vatican City although The Sistine Chapel inside the Vatican museum was also mesmerising.

My camera, predictably, let me down and is now fit for nothing but the bin.  However, Himself had his iphone and we used that to take countless pictures.  Surely Rome must be the most photographed city in the world?  I will upload outfit pics later this evening but for the moment ...

After walking what felt like a million steps, we were grateful for the abundance of restaurants and cafes to rest our weary feet and refuel our depleted energy levels.  Long leisurely lunches (uninterrupted by infant chatter!) were undertaken and one glass of wine easily became a bottle.

We ate lunch here yesterday and could easily have spent the rest of the afternoon drinking wine and watching the local Italians who favour this restaurant.  Unfortunately we had a flight to catch and we arrived home yesterday evening to two very excited babes and two very tired sets of grandparents!  After a long day (morning spent at the Colossem, evening spent getting our reality TV fix) we collapsed into our own beds and slept like logs.

Today, my feet still ache.  Until next time Roma.

Never Knowingly Under Accessorised

I love accessories especially handbags, cocktail rings and scarves and consequently, my wardrobe is over flowing with all of these.  My bag and scarf use varies depending on the season so as it's now November, my summer bits have been packed away and my winter ones are enjoying their moment in the spotlight.  This is what I'm using at the moment:

This small black handbag with perfect for work as I tend to prefer a dressier look for the office.  The black leather fringed bag is an old favourite which is used time and time again and my current beloved is the mink satchel which seems to go with every outfit I pull on.

black leather bag with silver hardware - Topshop, black leather fringed x-body bag - Zara, mink leather satchel - ASOS

 The red Day bag is a favourite, summer and winter, as is the grey pouchette from ASOS.

red Day bag - Balenciaga, grey suede x-body bag - ASOS

I collect clutch bags - most of mine are years old and I haven't added to the collection for quite a while.  Mmmm, there's a thought ...

tan leather - vintage, gold silk - Oasis, gold leather - London boutique, pewter beaded - Topshop, straw and sequinned - Warehouse

black leather - vintage, black lace - Topshop, brown leather, grey leather and white leather - all vintage

red leather and tan leather - both vintage, multicoloured silk - Banana Republic, yellow leather - Banana Republic

My neck seems to need a scarf from October until about April.  I'm awaiting the arrival of another Louis Vuitton Sprouse copy in blues and purples which I'm sure will be worn as much as my tan and red ones.

tan Vuitton copy, fuschia and purple rose print - M&S, white and navy jersey - Zara, black skinny ribbed - Zara, white and black skull - Alexander McQueen, red Vuitton copy, red and white skinny striped - H&M

I don't seem to buy many high heels these days as I venture out to socialise on a fairly infrequent basis.  These are all old but well loved and I'm sure I'll be wearing them all at some point over the winter.

leopard print heels - Office

black leather platform heels - French Connection

black leather wedgies - Topshop

black leather gladiator heels - Zara

black suede platform boots - Primark

Love the back zip detail on these

My watch and ring collection tends to be a bit of an ongoing project.  Watch -wise, I'm fairly happy at present (although wouldn't say no to a Michael Kors chunky gold number).  However, I'm always lusting after new cocktail rings and the current object of my affection is a Monica Vinader Moonstone ring in gold.  I've also just lost a large silver and mother of pearl ring purchased in Ibiza a decade ago.  Gutted.  I can replace the ring but not all the memories that go with it.

white - Next, silver and gold - both vintage, stainless steel mens - Sekonda

Today's Outfit

After a week - or maybe even two? - of having very little energy, patience or enthusiasm, my black mood has finally lifted and I feel more or less back to normal.  The last couple of weeks I've done little more than look after the babes, go to work and feel sorry for myself.  It's all been very dull.

So, on Friday evening I took Peachy-pie to a decidedly damp firework display.  She won a pirate costume on a Lucky Dip stall so was delighted.  Yesterday we took them for lunch at Pizza Express - yum - and then to the museum.  They both behaved brilliantly and it was a lovely day, rounded off with Krispy Kreme doughnuts and a Strictly/X Factor extravaganza on the sofa.

Here's what I wore:

olive Houlihan copy trousers - Whistles, Breton tee - H&M, leather biker - Next, black boots - Solea, moody LV scarf

And here's my Peachy-pie, rain soaked but happy in her pirate eye patch.
 

Mmmmmmmm, doughnuts ...
 

Happy Sunday x