Tapas for one and one for all...

Fiona from Av57 did a great post about tan boots that reminded me of a Clarks pair I had languishing in my wardrobe.  We were going out for Tapas with friends and the boots could do the trick.  But as usual I went a step too far with the fancy dress, ending up looking like I might be starring in an Am Dram of The Three Muskateers.  This top is YSL which makes putting it on the Ebay pile even more annoying, I have no idea what possessed me to make the purchase, it is wrong in so many ways.

Switched it for a little lace number from Monsoon and an inherited TopMan jacket from teenager who is growing like a weed!

Any one keen on Tapas will love Cambio de Tercio, it couldn't be more authentic, we went for the Tendido Cero, which is the cheap and cheerful one, Nadal is a regular and it is always full so you need to book.  Beware confusion when meeting people as all of the restaurants, although different, are within a few doors of each other.
Tapas is perfect for Thermic eating, (ie foods that require a large proportion of their own calorie energy to be digested and expelled). So it is virtuous as well as delicious, although perhaps the four bottles of Rioja were less saintly!

Dress 6 Monsoon (last one phew!)....

 I bought this dress from Bicester Village to send to a friend who lived in Poland and wanted it as her wedding dress, on the day Monsoon were having a clearance sale with buy one get one free on everything, so I ended up with two for 40 quid!
One headed straight for Poland and the other has been my boho party dress of choice for the last 8 years or so...

...not least because shortly after buying it, Gisele wore a similar style one by Prada for the Oscars and I always love how she looks, just from a trainer's perspective, her muscle tone is almost perfect with just the right amount of definition, it is hours of work every day to achieve the perfect balance of strength and stretch (poor Leo looks like he wasn't joining her in her efforts)...

Time to read...

One of the first things that I did when I moved to the cottage was create a magical reading room, I have no sense of direction, but I think it might be South West-ish facing, since it has sun for most of the afternoon and when the rest of the garden is in shade from about 5pm it is still warm and sunny. This is where I drink my tea (a new self-made variant of Jasmine red tea and Earl Grey green tea) and eat cake, biscuits or a bit of ultra dark chocolate.

I still haven't got around to changing the light, although I have found a beautiful new Italian Floral one which could work quite well.

 Nothing too taxing on the book front... (I do have some proper reads, but these are yet to be unpacked)...

A selection of Vogues that date back to the 80s...

 Dogs join me, with their own afternoon snack..

If Bella can't have the bone, she'll go for American Vogue Living instead...(don't you love the way Hamish Bowles edits? He did the Vogue Houses, Gardens, People hardback, I  hope that he is the heir to Anna Wintour)...Bella agrees...

 However much she loves Vogue, she loves a bone more...

 Bert makes a great cushion (and seems to have turned into the hound of the Baskervilles)

I wore my Zara pregnancy t shirt, if you are short of a top that makes you look 6 months pregnant, you can buy one here, old Gap jeans (re inherited from my eldest now he has outgrown them) and knitted cricket sale top. If you like the round neck 3/4 sleeve cardi, this one is a great deal, still deciding whether to bid or not. And this one looks warm and good for any size or shape.

Cricket and clothes

Last week I went to watch my youngest play cricket at a school in Berkshire, the sun was shining, and the school was beautiful (with a fantastic tea) Victoria sponge with proper cream filling, if the Four Seasons did schools, this would be it. And to make matters even better, they had a charity fashion sale.
I bought quite a lot of stuff, mainly Blumarine, Mona Lisa and Simonetta clothes for my nieces (have you seen the prices of them in Harrods?) I always wonder who would spend £60 on a child's t shirt or £300 for a party dress. I managed to find two year's worth of wardrobe (for two of them)  for about £200 for everything.
I bought the Monsoon cardigan for £5, it is a kid's one, and probably not meant to be worn like this, but I like the shape and it is perfect for the Summer just to throw on top of anything to keep the cold out.
I also got this (£25) Zara biker jacket, this leather is so soft you could spread it on toast, but I just can't do this look, it makes me look really butch and like a motorbike courier.
I also found this (£8)jigsaw T shirt which is very me, I like the detail, and it goes with jeans, shorts, day, night etc etc.
They had Clarins doing mini manicures and facials and wine! The other ladies were so friendly, lots of chatting in the changing room, help on and off with clothes and opinions volunteered about outfits, no one knew each other, but in that environment it just came naturally to talk. I wonder why shopping has become so solitary and if someone talks it is almost intrusive, if shops were more like this evening, I might visit them more.

Charity and Chanel

I'm doing some work with a charity and we had our first meeting a few days ago.

I had to make the right impression but wanted to look like I meant business (not just to make the best of the champagne and nibbles).

The outfit below is, as usual, wrong on so many levels. Boots (Jimmy Choo) look woefully stunted, trousers (Asprey) fit in all the wrong places and top (Coast) shows too much flesh.

 Added my pilates top, still total fail (does sportswear never really translate into normal clothes?)

 So changed into an ancient, but classic Chanel shirt, I bought it for my mother about 20 years ago, and she has passed it back to me as I am now the demographic for silk Chanel shirts (just look at my roots!)

 Added a Chanel (err Monsoon jacket) and the effect is pure school teacher c.1982.

Changed into a super fitted Coast Duchess satin skirt (I swear by these, they go with everything and the fabric is better than most designer numbers) And a slim fit Top Shop cardi with Hermes boots. It's still a little school teacher-y but better that than aging socialite.
Much more on what we are up to with the charity later.

What to wear for tea

A friend popped around in the afternoon for some tea and biscuits on moving day. It was all a little rough and ready as I hadn't unpacked anything but a couple of mugs. We wore matching beige cardis, mine was £1 from Primark, the lace top was from Monsoon and the jeans my Matalan favourites. Notice the furry poseur in the background who likes to creep into every photo! This is my friend who owns the most amazing interiors shop that you can see here.