My Couture

This is one of the wedding dresses that I bought a while ago, I had every intention to dye it, but the silk is so beautiful I am a little anxious about ruining it (pure silk and 30 quid!).  I have a very dressy event in June and it could just do the trick, it is an older, v sophisticated crowd so being more covered than usual isn't a bad thing.  The jacket was based on my favourite ever jacket that I bought from Karl Lagerfeld in about 1989, it is wine red with gold detail on the pocket and deep red velvet on the collar and cuffs.  I sent my pride and joy off to Thailand with a friend who was backpacking and it made it back in one piece with its summer twin!

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Bath time rituals...

Bathing and water is sacred in most religions and more and more scientific studies are demonstrating, what we all know that there is something about having a bath that can change us physically and mentally, from the tiny baby that we are trying to get to sleep to the tired body that is exhausted from over exertion.

My earliest bathing memories are from when I used to stay with my granny, who typical of her generation thought that hot water all day and central heating were for softies.  Her baths took most of the evening, first she would heat up the bathroom using a two bar electric fire (health and safety avert your eyes) and then she would carefully start to fill it with saucepans and kettles of boiling water.

There was always copious amounts of Matey, most fascinating to me was that it was Miss Matey, pink and female, the likes of which I had never seen before and totally blew my mind as the last word in luxury and modernity.

Part of the the magic of this bath was the amount of preparation that went into it, and how pampered it made me feel.

At the Find bootcamps, we always encourage bathing rituals after the first full day of exercise, but as we don't want to knock our guests out, just get them relaxed and in the party mood for the dinner that night, we always offer invigorating bath accoutrements and a mini bottle of champagne to keep the mood light.

I have a number of special, themed baths that I partake of when time allows and they work wonders on morale and energy (more on those later)

And this is the one for couples....

.....how wonderfully relaxing to hold hands on the loo

Should it stay or should it go?....

I bought this Cartier watch more than 15 years ago and have never really worn it. It's lived in a drawer for 10 years and been at Harrods for at least 3 (half forgotten and half deliberating whether it was really worth spending the £150 to get it serviced) As it needed servicing due to lack of wear (and did I mention how mean I am?!) I decided NOT to bother.
I have just spotted one of these at a local second hand watch shop...

It is totally the opposite to above, which is a discreet, timeless classic (something I will just never be, which is probably why it has remained in a drawer for so long).   This is pure Bratz sushi bar bling, there is an eight year old part of me that still makes a beeline for the Bratz toys in the Argos catalogue just to see what they are up to...

They will of course all be sporting bling watches...

 And driving pretty cool white Mercedes SLs...

So do I swap the classic for a fanciful frippery or keep the classic, there is a (little) money involved too and I really can't work out if it is worth it or not?

Back on the wagon lunch from leftovers... and my amazing tea pot...

I wrote about my miserable day of restricted eating and was glad to get back to normal, ie neither a tonne of chocolate nor a measly juice drink.  As usual I hadn't got out to the market and was hunting  around in the back of cupboards for something palatable.
The concoction above was a winner, lentils, grated carrots, chopped tomatoes, sunflower seeds and chives. Tasted great, kept me full for hours.

The real star of the show is my new t pot, as you can see it is a plain anemic little thing, that has a fur lined dazzle jacket to bling up afternoon tea.  The jacket keeps the tea piping hot for over an hour and it pours like a dream, I am completely in love with it and it fills me with pleasure every time I make a pot.  You can guess where I got it and how little I paid, so I won't rub it in!

Tapestry top

This was a dress is by Sue Wong, I have fairly strong memories of print ads in Vogue in the 80s and 90s, but I think she has long since given up with the UK market. A quick google search reveals Sue Wong is still going strong as a would be Vera Wang, but without such a clear brand and direction.

The dress was an A line with empire top so make me look like a rectangle since I am widest at my shoulders and ribs (an inverted triangle if you like!)

I'm wearing it with some comfy cords from Earl Jean, who also seem to have given up in the UK, they used to be bigger than 7for all Mankind, and seem to have all but disappeared.

Do you have any staples from brands that are no longer around? I love the walk down memory lane of remembering the oldies...Chelsea Girl, Snob, Jean Machine...can anyone remember others?!!

Pink Dotty P top and statement necklace...

I love all the spikey and skull necklaces on other people, but when I'm not smiling I look pretty miserable and aggressive and I err towards more girlie things to try to avoid looking like I have an ASBO.
I picked up the pink Dorothy Perkins top for 99p via Ebay and the necklace was a similar price, (searching Bollywood or Kameez or similar you can unearth some fab stuff!)
I've avoided necklaces as I have a short neck and always thought that they made it shorter, but these really big blingy ones seem to make cheap clothes look better quality and necks look longer, I'm hooked!

Style Crush Thank Fifi mark two

Thank Fifi is such a lovely blog and every outfit that Wendy puts together looks fab, I tried to put this one together in homage to my favourite look of hers, but it failed really badly and just looked cheap and nasty.  I have never quite mastered the whole bid and wait and see Ebay thing, and if I want something I bid for pretty much everything listed that fits the bill. Most of the time, if I am lucky one wins, some times I get two, three or four of the same thing, I do wonder if may be it would be cheaper to shop in the old fashioned way. Any way, here is the second look made up from Ebay wins, this ruffle top is almost exactly the colour my hair was a couple of days ago. The new dye was really terrible and I am watching with a short of detached interest as I fade from bright orange, to sludgy pink to copper yellow. It is also a size large, where the other one was a small and I think it looks better than the other outfit, slightly less high street-y, the jeans are Matalan, and they are still my favourite and £5 a pair! 

Orange Kameez

I LOVE this top and I got TWO for 99p one in orange one in yellow, one more in a long line of Kameez, the first was lilac and the next an unusual greeny yellow, which I liked at first, but now not so sure, and then there was the pink one and the raspberry one that has arrived but I am yet to try on. It is quite teenie wee so MAKES me hold my tummy in.  Something cheerful for walking the dogs and if I am not mistaken there is a round orange thing in the sky, it may be a little weak and watery (aren't we all this time of year) but I'll take it over rain and snow!

The bangles are my bollywood specials, similar are here for £4.99, I went for the smallest size as I don't like the feeling of them jangling around on my arms, it was a bad move, as much as they are a snug fit, I have to practically dislocate my thumb to put them on.

The jeans are the coated leggings from Zara which everyone seems to own and the bag and scarf from TK Maxx.

A trip to the garden centre

I loved everything about this place except the portacabin where they served the tea and cake, like being back at school. However the plants were all beautiful, grown on site and the larger ones came with a three year guarantee. I don't have green  fingers, this is my first garden, and it is all a little overwhelming, albeit a valid excuse to shop! 

Ornaments galore...

Plants galore, miles and miles of tables of everything imaginable...

I loved this 300 year old olive tree, but sadly do not have a spot for it.

The museum of gardening, would have made a great restaurant.

The house is very grand if a little dull...

and the cafe was a total let down...