My little friend Zara.

    I love Zara, I have quite an unhealthy obsession and am now rather excited to hear that they will at long last be selling online from the 2nd of september!!!! Yay!!
   They have some gorgeous new stock in and I can't wait for them to chuck out that dreay left over sale stock and get all the rest of the new lovely autumn/winter stuff out on the shop floor!!
    Here's a little peek at some of the A/W lookbook......

Comfy!

Love, love, love this leather skirt!

Nice!

Friday Night Fun.

Mmm good starting point!

   
  A little story of  2 ladies, too many drinks and some press ups.
   
     My friend L and I  are always ever so organised on the social diary front. We always make sure we have dates booked in in advance to make sure we get together as often as possible, we both enjoy a drop of good food and don't shy away from drink or two. So this friday night just gone started out the same as normal, dinner at a new riverside restaurant in our home town with plans to have a few drinks after. There were us plus our Mr's until my Mr found out he was meant to be on a stag do (men are so unorganised!!), so no probs we bought the dinner forward to 7oc so that the boys could bugger off early and join in the hijinks of the stag do.
    A lovely dinner was had by all, by 8.15 L and I had polished off the 1st bottle wine and as we were'nt rushing off decided we had better order another to keep us going. 9oc and the boys made their excuses and left us to it, it was around this point that L and I admitted we were already feeling a little squiffy!
    I should add at this point by this age I really should know when I've had enough but it never seems to happen!! Oh well.
    We left (or rather stumbled, probably) the restaurant and settled ourselves in a nice bar where we seemed to drink our body weight in, L- vodka, Moi -gin but, considering, I think we were holding up ok. It was lovely to have a good old chat just the two of us, and make the most of what time I have left with my friends before I leave in november.

What we shoulda had!!!

                                                  

    Around 12.30 we decide time for a change of scenery and obviously a few more beverages (like we needed it!!!), so off  we go to another bar which is almost always full of protentious arseholes but the decors nice and they do a mean cocktail so us girls always like it!! We headed off into the cocktail lounge where we ordered ourselves mojitos, as mentioned before the place does attract wankers and at the bar seemed to be the biggest of them all, what on earth makes these tossers think we are interested in one word they have got to say is beyond me, but hey ho.
     We were minding our own business, when the aformentioned tosspot kinda lunged himself at us and announced he was buying our drinks, wanker. We ignored him and turned back to the barman who was making our drinks, neither remotely resembled a mojito, I was told by the barman they were making us something else as they were out of mint, he seemed totally oblivious to the fact that I did'nt order something else and was handed a muddy looking concoction of drunk in a glass!!! (vodka, gin, tequila, bacardi, lime and coke) whilst I was having a one way conversation about the drink that not only I did not order but did not want, the knobhead that was pestering us had dropped to the floor to do press ups, WTF?????  Was that meant to impress us? Bloody hell, it was just embarassing but hugely amusing to see someone making such an ass of himself. What had we done to deserve such attention. We let him pay for the drinks as we did'nt want them (although by this drunken point we drank them anyway!! Oops), and then disapeared before he could annoy us any further. Where waiting for us was one more tosser, blimey. At this point we decided to call it a night and go home, I finally made it to bed just before sun rise. A good night was had by all.

Maybe this is where Mr Universe shoulda been doing his press ups!

                                                                                                                                  

Danni Minogue style queen.

   I have always been a fan of the gorgeous Minogue sisters. I was in the Kylie fan club, had the black and white braces dress from the 'I should be so lucky video' and generally loved all of the camp girliness of the antipodian pop princess.
   I always felt, as probably many do, that Danni was either in her big sisters shadow or trying to get in on the limelight. But nevertheless I always liked her too.
  Then there has always been the male debate, Kylie or Danni? Boys will be boys!!
   I am a sucker for celebrity reality tv shows but somehow missed Danni's show on ITV2 until last week. I loved it, and am now gutted that I have only caught the last two!! Bum.
    The thing is I read about Danni's new fashion line Project D  a while back on Mrs Fab's blog and I will admit I was a little sceptical, never really keen on celebrities thinking they are designers and cashing in on their popularity. But after watching her show, I am converted. She is a lovely person, gorgeous inside and out (a rareity) and seems to genuinely love all that she is doing. She clearly loves fashion (and it loves her back) and is caught up in the excitement of producing her own clothes with her friend Tabitha, many a girls dream come true. And the result is great, some really gorgeous dresses, very feminine and not too hideously expensive (around the £210-£390 mark).
   So I think that Danni truely deserves her style queen crown.

   Here's a few of my favourites,

And the count down begins.

  Time flies when you're having fun. Thats what we are all meant to believe, yes?  Well, no I think is the more appropriate answer at the moment. With the year just whizzing by at a million miles an hour my move to the french alps is coming round quicker than you can possibly imagine. It is a strange point to be at, I only have 10 weeks left at work and just 12 weeks to our official departure date.
    It's a bit like no mans land I suppose, the carrot dangling in front of you but just that bit too far out of reach. There's alot of things to sort out, the boring stuff like paperwork and the like, and there's the house situation, still unsold. Work is becoming more and more difficult to make it through the (very long) days and I really can honestly say I have had enough. But it will all be worth it I'm sure.
    I hang up my scissors on 28th october and say tally ho to many loyal and lovely clients that have become friends over the years. There are many lovely ladies (and great gents) that I have had the pleasure of knowing, some of which since I was a wee apprentice. The people I will miss, the responsibility (and the hours) of my position I will not!
    With leaving dates now looming in sight I am trying to coordinate leaving do's and get dates in the diary for catching up and seeing nearest and dearest as much I can before I embark on my new life. It is always such hard work getting friends all together now, our lives have changed and  there are little ones to take into consideration, so it makes it even more difficult. I am always the organiser (aghh!), I wonder what will happen when I'm no longer here making sure we all see one another.
    But on the upside I get to leave a job I've had enough of and start a new chapter with my Mr and live a life of adventure travelling the world living in amazing places!!
   I really should stop moaning!!

It was the best of times and the worst........

    

      A strange month or so it has been, it really has been the best and worst of times as I will now explain further. We have had three gorgeous little girls arrive, all cuddly teeny weeny visions of pink loveliness. As some of you know I am not a particularly maternal person, I have never had any desire to reproduce and can honsetly say I will never change my mind (regardless of how many people tell me that I will!!!!). But over the last few years my nearest and dearest have started their own families, so therefore I have become more accustomed to the little ones surrounding me. And they are all very lovely and I think the world of them. I do get the best bits really, I can visit them, play and cuddle and do all the nice bits but then I can leave and have a full nights sleep and not have play-dough trampled all over my house. So thats been some of the very best of times.

  

    And the very worst of times, our house is back on the market. Our house sale fell through 2 weeks ago, we were 3 weeks away from completing!!  The hugely frustrating thing is that the buyers still want the house!!! Aghhh. The situation is this, the buyers had been approved for a 90% mortgage by RBS (owned by us the taxpayer!) the survey and valuation was all done and came back perfect, then RBS decided that they would only lend 80% because the bloody surveyor suggested that the house be placed in the same bracket as a new build property due to the extensive renovation works!!!! WTF??? My house was built in 1860!! It is a terrace so how on earth can we be a new build?? So the poor buyers are 10% short which is waaayy too much money for us to drop, they did appeal to the underwriters who took 2 weeks to decide that they were not going to change their minds!! The buyers have since reported this incident to the FSA, and they are still shopping around to see if they can get another mortgage. So needless to say we are back on the market, we have wasted 8 weeks. So things are now pretty stressfull as we have exactly 13 weeks till we leave for France, bugger.
 

Loving Liz Earle.

      I have always been a sucker for lovely skincare, I am also completely paranoid about looking old! I know that it is enivitable but hey a girls gotta try eh?
      I have tried all sorts of premium lines and have liked alot but I always end up being won over by something new.
      A few years ago I found an amazing night oil recommended by Vogue that was just amazing, I though I had found the secret of eternal youth, I was happily slathering myself in this gorgeous stuff then one day I went online to place an order and 'pouff', gone, out of business!!!! OMG!!
      Well to cut a long story short I have now spent 2 years trying to find a replacement without success. Then a few months back whilst contemplating what to spend some John Lewis vouchers on I found myself being drawn to the lovely serene, pretty pastel bottled counter of Liz Earle.
       The very knowledgable and helpfull ladies (not orange scary chase you round the counter ladies!!!) advised me to give their starter kit (what a great purse friendly idea!!) a go and then she showed me the holy grail, Superskin Concentrate!!! I swear this is the same stuff as I was using 2 years back, it smells the same, looks the same colour and my skin has instantly cleared up, just fantastic stuff. I have been banging on about it to anyone that mentions the big 'W' word.
        I have just been onto their website and to my delight they are doing a fabulous summer offer where if you purchase your 3 skincare essentials you recieve a free Superskin Concentrate!! Saving £18! Bargain! What I was also pleased to see as a first time website visitor was that you can buy all products in sample sizes, how sensible, anyone got any half used jars and bottles knocking about??? I am also reliably informed that they are generous with their samples when ordering online.

             Ps, It must work I frequently get asked for ID!!!!!

Bootfair Hell.

  Well it had to happen, I had put it off for a week, then there really was no choice but to get on and do it. The dreaded bootfair. I have spent the last two weekends sorting through all our cupboards and wardrobes and every other place that mysteriously ends up full to the brim with all the crap we seem to aquire over the years. I had a moment on saturday when I realised that our car boot was never gonna be big enough for the amount of stuff we had to get rid of. 
   So after much deliberating the clothes and shoes did'nt make the final cut. They are awaiting delivery to the charirty shop. 3 bin bags had already gone but now there are 3 more and a box of shoes! Oh dear oh dear! That does not include 2 bags of stuff for my work friends and the bits that will be going on my blog sale! Hoarding problem did I hear you mutter?
   Anyway I ended up boxing up everything that you cannot see and everthing that we do not use. I now only own 4 plates, 4 bowls, etc etc etc, on the surface though the house looks no different, how is that possible?
   So 5.30am on sunday morning I was awoken by my alarm, now I 'm not really a morning person so when the reason you are getting up at that godawful time is to do something so unpleasant, it is not a good feeling! But Mr and I reluctantly left a nice comfy bed to head for a field where after about an hour it started to rain!!! Not terrential down pour, nice steady drizzle!!! AGHHH. I told you in a previous post about my rain powers!! Well the rain only lasted about an hour and luckily we had a golf umbrella that was unsold. But one of the funniset things I saw was a punter wearing a cardboard box on his head to ward off the rain, WTF?? We could of sold him a perfectly good umbrella! And he was probably one of better dressed even with the box on his head!! Crikey I don't know where these people crawl out from. (Must add at this point they were not all so skanky, there were some perfectly nice people too, one lady who bought some of my nicer bits was sporting a lovely Vivien Westwood bag.)
   But I think the sale of the day was a mouldy blow up mattress! Bear with me on this one, I think it was probably one of those 'had to be there' moments but here goes, a few years back I bought a double blow up mattress for a chill out area for a garden party we were throwing. Since that one use it has been folded up living in the loft. I had'nt even opened it up as I had never had any use to.
  Then yesterday a lady comes up to us asking about the said mattress, Mr unfolded the mattress to show her, and then I noticed that there was a 10" mark on the bottom, suspiciously looking like a 3 year old beer spillage that had somewhat became a little more than a stain, Mr then casually started brushing off the offending mouldiness saying it was bits loft insulation, she paid us £2 for a gross mouldy mattress! I must add had I realised I would not have even taken it, but one persons trash is anothers (mouldy) treasure!!
 The crowd was a tough one, we only sold half of what we took, made a reasonable bit of cash and left the unsold items for Shelter. I left them with some really good stuff that I could'nt believe did'nt sell! But it is a relief to have got rid of all that stuff. Every time something like this gets ticked off the list we are one step closer to those mountains!!! So no matter how rubbish thing are sometimes it will all be worth it when I arrive in Val d'isere in november to start a new life.
  One rather important thing to add though is that seeing all that stuff that we had accumulated made me really think about our compulsion to over consumme. I was selling 3 steamers for gods sake! So I really think we should all stop and think before we buy another thing, do we really need it?

Food Glorious Food.

        On monday whilst having a bit of a cookathon I was thinking that I haven't done a blog about food or cooking, along with clothes, shoes, Vogue and Sex and The City, this is one of my favourite things. I have many cook books, I love to read all atricles and blogs (especially shutter bean and LLG), and really enjoy cooking for friends and family.
        Although I must add at this point my most frequent dinner guests are a testing bunch, one Mr that only eats 4 types of veg, absolutely no green stuff (you don't make friends with salad is his motto, ERRR), one man that does not eat veg of any kind (he has an onion phobia!!!!! AGHH), one meat and two veg man that does'nt do any spice (pepper is his hot stuff!! URGH), one lovely lady that does'nt do fish and the only meat consumed is chicken and at this point I probably should add that I turned vegan 3 years ago (not as scary and bland as it sounds!!!), and I live with the 1st carnivore mentioned !!
      So my cooking skills have been tested to the max on more than one occasion. My poor old cookbook recipes have been changed and adapted more than I can count. There probably is'nt one thing that tastes as it was intended. But whilst listening to an interview with Delia Smith on the radio last week (I know I'm getting old!) it was rather a relief to hear that the great lady herself still follows recipes and still has to look up her own creations.
      Every week for as long as I can remember I have sat down with my recipes and worked out the following weeks meals for Mr Meateater and I and then shop accordingly. Not only is this more cost effective but I have no waste. (I would like to add that I am not a 1950's housewife!!!).
      The reason that I do this is to make sure I eat the right stuff and keep the weight off but also I work horribly late everyday so take my lunch and dinner with me so that I get to eat!! So this brings me back to my monday cookathon, I spend a few hours cooking and preparing the weeks meals on my day off , I see it as whilst you're making one thing you could be prepping the next and the next and the next............ultimate multitasking!!!!
     But the one thing that really got me thinking the other week was how pissed off I am with eating two of my three daily meals out of a tupperware pot in a dirty staff room surrounded by crap!!!! This is one of the reasons why I need to change my life, I would like to join the land of the living, I would like to sit at a table for dinner and eat my dinner off of a plate!

My life is for sale.

      Right whilst sitting here about to write I am reminding myself that what I should be doing is sorting and packing all the stuff piling up in my spare room which used to live in the loft until last weekend. Why oh why do we end up with so much stuff? I have always been a bit of a hoarder but seriously this is quite ridiculous, I know I need to get going but uhh, the thought is just so bad!!!!
       I am probably going to be moving in around a months time so I have a whole house full of stuff that needs new homes before I move! I am currently living in a sustantial 3 bed house and will be vacating to a 1 bedroom teeny flat so I cannot take anything of no use with me.
       So what to do? I have had requests from friends for furniture so I'll deal with that nearer to moving but the rest is going to bootfaired on sunday. I bloody hate doing bootfairs but I am also too tight to throw it all out! I will donate some to charity though, I'm not that bad!!! The thought of getting up at stupid o'clock on a sunday is just awful, and knowing what you're in for does'nt help! What is it with people diving into your boot and just getting in the way!!!! And wanting all your old crap, why is it the more rubbish it is the more popular it is?  But hey a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do.
      But for the good stuff I may do a little blog sale, What do you reckon?

P.s. If you have enjoyed my blog please vote for me here in the cosmopolitan blog awards.

Its all happening now!

         Well where to start! The last time I checked in on the blog front was just before my holiday to Istanbul, so I think that I'll start there. Was a great few days in an extraordinary city, big, busy, hot and rainy! Before I continue I should probably tell you that no matter where Mr & I go we always get some of the wet stuff. For example, Fiji- hardly ever rains- 2 days, Australia- Sydney had had a 5 month drought- we arrive, 2 days later 5 days of rain, Nullabor desert (western oz)- over a year no rain, we ride through on a train, it chucks it down! Magnetic island (advertised as "364 days of sunshine every year"), we were there 2 weeks- 4 days of rain! Get the picture? Anyway I've digressed, Istanbul is known as the city where east meets west and I don't think theres ever been a truer word said.

         The city is a melting pot of old meets new, the beautiful ancient mosques jostle with the neon strip lighting of convenience stores and hotels, the ladies covered in their burqua whilst strolling with their friend in her spray on skinnies and strapless top, the sight of spices, once bought for the sultans own kitchen, towering in the bazaars next to the crappy tourist gifts?

          It is a stunning place in many ways, but also it lends itself to a little sadness because of the sheer magnitude of derelict, run down buildings and constant tail to tail traffic. The mighty Bosphorous river carving its way between Asia and Europe, an impressive sight lined with ancient palaces but filled with rubbish? 

          I really enjoyed it though, despite its short comings it is an incredible place and something of an experience not be missed. I just hope the wonderful buildings that have lasted 1500 yrs or more are looked after a bit better for future generations to come and explore their history.

         If you ever get the chance go check it out,

       Right next, our house has sold, 3 weeks after it went on the market which is great, nothing to do with the agents I may add but do not get me started on that one!! The buyers are renting so we have no chain which means we should be moving august sometime, yay!! So that means that I have much packing and sorting and selling to do! I think that I am going to start at the top in the loft, which is probably the worst to be honest (how do we end up with so much stuff?), and then make my way down from there! As we will be going from a 3 bed house to a 1 bed rented apartment before we set off for France just about every bit of furniture and general household stuff is going to be needing new homes! I must add it's a very liberating feeling just shrugging off all these belongings, I recently read a very poignant remark from the great Karl Largerfield that went along the lines of it being more fun searching for things than actually owning them, food for thought I think.

        

      Next on my list, to find us a temporary home to tide us over til we head off to Val d'isere. The funny thing is it's actually been really easy securing a home in France for the winter, the deposit is paid and then we pay the rest of the rent upfront 5 weeks before we go. A nice way to do things, no outgoings (bills included), so just need to find enough hours of work to cover a little spending money whist giving us loads of time off to ski (snowboard for Mr), have a bit of time out and hopefully figure out where our path goes from there. Its a great feeling to know that there are no boundaries, no responsibilities, a life where you work to live not live to work, go where the wind blows and enjoy the break from conforming to the idea that life has to be about working in a job that you hate just to pay the mortgage of a house that you don't really want to live in just because thats what everyone else does and that is what is expected of you.

       I've spent the day today contacting many people regarding work and have had a great response in just a few hours of sending lots of emails and cv's out, so its looking really positve, I seems that (touch wood!) everything seems to be going in our favour, so surely that means its meant be eh?

Holiday time!!

     Well I have exactly one week til Mr and I jet off to Istanbul for our last proper holiday before we leave for the mountains in november and I for one cannot wait!! I adore travelling, I love to explore new places and experience different cultures. There is a big wide world out there and life is short, so gotta get out there and see as much I can.

     Istanbul is a place that I have wanted to go to for quite some time, it just looks amazing. The mosque's, the palaces, the bazaars, the history. There is just something so exciting about visiting a country so different to our own. I've been very lucky to have visited many wonderful places but my travel bug is insatiable! I think the more places that you go to, the more experiences that you have, the fantastic memories these trips leave you with, the more you want to see.

      Obviously all this holiday talk inevitably leads us to the perfect holiday wardrobe! As a seasoned traveller you would think that I was a good, even efficient packer of said holiday essentials, but I am terrible! I have been trying to make more of an effort of late to be a little better at this, laying out outfits so as not to take excessive amounts of clothes, shoes, accessories and trying to make sure it all works as a 'capsule' (something I have a habit of ignoring!!) wardrobe. This is not easy, we all use a holiday as a great excuse to go shopping and this then leads to the problem, too much stuff to take!!

     As a more conservative and religious country it means I clearly have had to think things through a little more, shoulders and knees have to be covered when entering mosques so that means appropriate attire, not that I consider myself inappropriate at other times but you know what I mean!!!

      So this leads me once again to Sex and the City (I know, I know I am obsessed!!), but those of you in the know that saw the latest installment of our gals lives saw them in a land far, far away, in every sense. So as ever I'll be taking style inspiration from the fabulous four in my own eastern adventure. I'm thinking flowing dresses, slinky silks and a riot of colour topped of with a pile of gems, to hell with the capsule wardrobe!!!

I hate football!

   I know that it only happens every 4 years, I know that we should all join together as a proud nation, I know that its only for a month, but I really loathe the world cup, hate football in general, actually I hate all sport, not even the eye candy is worth putting up with the incessant droning on about 'the game' 24 hours a bloody day for weeks on end.

   This is not a good start, we are only on day 2 of said tournament and it is already doing my head in. Not only have we had a year of qualifying matches, the tv has had no end of programmes over the last month or so building up to what will probably be a disapointment for England fans, ( I do not mean to offend but face it it's probably true).

   I know that people are just being patriotic but it makes me feel, I dunno the word to use( probably best not to say, I'm being polite!!), but anyway the bloody flags everywhere, the bunting, the stupid people you see on local news programmes turning their roof's into the st-georges cross, what is wrong with people????

   So far I avoided last nights grand opening (sigh.......) by going to my local late night opening shopping center, along with most of the female population of kent I think! And today whilst writing this I am trying desperately to  ignore the sound of those bloody voovoozeela's, they sound like a giant swarm of bee's!! So very annoying(1 more month to go of this!!)

  Tonight though whilst the whole of England goes into a bloody frenzy over their first game, sis-in-law and I are leaving the boys indoors (looking after baby!!) whilst we head to a nice quiet, football free bar for a tipple or two! So far so good, I also have a England game avoidance plan for next friday night with my girlfriends, have found out which places are NOT showing 'the game' and we will be making a beeline for them!

  One last little rant (I know, sorry!!) lets hope that the England team bloody pull their finger out and win otherwise all we're going to hear about is how rubbish they are for the next month, we will get it in the ear regardless at the end of the day, win and all the men will bang on about is how fabulous Stevie G and co are or lose and all they'll go on about is how shit and useless Stevie G and co are! Arghhhh... Roll on mid july!!

  Come on England!!!! (even typed you can tell my hearts not in it!!!)

I Heart Sex and the City 2!!!!!!!

          Was it worth the wait??  Well I personally think that from the moment that the opening bars of  "New York", it was fab, fab, fab!! I suppose I am a little biased, as I consider myself ever so slightly obsessed with Carrie and Co, but I agree with everyone who has come to the conclusion that if you are not a fan you will not like it, but if you loved the last film you will love this one.

            I think that these ladies looked fabulous with a capital F right from the off, each obviously has their own personal style and this time around they really packed a punch. Carrie is always right on the money and I am in love with everything Halston Heritage, from the moment she stepped out in her glamourous golden Louboutins it was just a glorious riot of swirling silks and teetering heels, oh how I loved her dinner with Aidan dress and that peach Halston she arrived in Abu Dhabi wearing was just divine!! (have tried to get it, sold out in uk as of last tues!!!), Samantha was rocking the Studio 54 meets glamazon look, she just looked incredible especially in the royal blue maxi and the red karaoke dress, Charlotte was stunning in vintage and was the ultimate yummy mummy, she looked amazing at the wedding in black and the blue jewelled evening dress for cocktails with Miranda was gorgeous!!  But I think the dark horse here was Miranda, from her molten mustard dress at the start to the Out of Africa white souk suit, I think she looked just fantastic in just about everything, I am now searching for a vintage palazzo pant jumpsuit!!

          From the beginning to the end it was just exactly how it should've been, from Standford's white wedding to Samantha's menopausal melt down to Charlottes taste of the terrible two's. Ok it's not really Oscar worthy, but when has it ever pretended to be? Liza Minelli ordained to marry Standford and Anthony? Dressed for cocktails flying high? And riding camels in the desert wearing Dior? I feel this film will be just like the last, we love it because it's given us our SATC fix, but then as any junkie knows the longer you go without the fix the more you want it!!

   I have spent the last 24hrs since watching it wanting to watch it again!!  Infact over the last month I have been rewatching the box set (up to series 3 at the mo!). And last night after getting home from the film, with hubby in a beer induced sleep (he spent time of film in pub!!), I discovered that SATC was actually on 3 channels, so seen as he was asleep and could'nt moan, I flicked between all 3 channels watching 3 different episodes for about an hour and a half!!! Do I have a problem?????

The great british summer

 

Look at this lovely Vogue cover from 1945,

that lovely blue sky, today is not like that and it is the end of may! It's meant to be summer! I want to wear my new summer wardrobe! It is always grey in this country!!!

Lying, Robbing, Bastards!!

                                                                

 Estate agents, friend or foe? In this particular case lying, robbing, bastards! Our house officially went on the market last weekend and I am already seething with agents,(who from here in will be referred to as 'the arseholes'!)! Not a good start one might think.

  Selling the house is a major element in my plans to run away to the alps later this year. I know it takes time, that there are always ups and downs and that estate agents really do lead you up the preverbial garden path but I am furious with them.

  As mentioned in a previous post this house has basically been rebuilt from the inside out by hubby and I, many many months of living in rubble, dust and general shit, but it's all been worth it to create, quote the arseholes, "Quite simply one of the best period terraced homes you are ever likely to see" .

  When chosing which agents to go up for sale with we decided on the arseholes because they spun us the best yarn, "this is the best house I've ever seen in this area", "we've got potential buyers in your price range that will end up fighting over this stunning house", " this will definately sell within the first couple of weeks, I guarantee". Lying, Robbing, Bastards!

   Nowadays estate agents really have to do even less for the extorbitant fees they charge, with the invention of the most marvellous world wide web they do fuck all quite frankly. Anyone thats ever looking for a house just clicks on to the web to surf through all thats on offer from the comfort of their own home, so all the arseholes have to do is take some pictures and put them on their website. Not bad work if you can get it, spout out some shit, send someone else round to take a few pictures, get the secretary to upload the pics, then hold out your hand for a few thousand pounds when someone else makes the decision by themselves to purchase said property!

   So we've established they only have to put pictures on a website to earn thousands of pounds, why the fuck can they not even manage that?????????????

  The arseholes have managed to put 4 pics of my lounge diner, only 1 of  my "incredible state of the art kitchen" and 1 of my garden, which of all the house I feel is the least appealing. There are none of the "stunning master bedroom with ensuite", none of  "two good sized further bedrooms", none of my "period style bathroom complete with roll top bath", in my own opinion these that have been left out are the some of the best selling features!!!!!!!

  As you can probably imagine by now I am not entirely sure the arseholes have been entirely honest about the service they provide or whether they can back up their promises? As you can also probably imagine I have had 2 rather angry phone calls with the arseholes and am completely pissed off with them, apparently they need to get permission to put more photos on and special consent from their superiors about putting photos of a bathroom on the details!!!!!!! What is that all about? It's a bathroom, not a pornographic image, every house bloody has one!!!!

  So now all I can do is wait, I have a feeling this is going to be an uphill battle!!

  Lying, Robbing, Bastards!!!!!!!!!!

I am getting Carried away!!

  Just a short time to go now til SATC 2!! Lil' sis and I are going next sunday afternoon and I for one cannot wait!! Obviously as THE film of the year approaches the press is full of SJP and co.  Even the Sunday
Times Travel mag had a little mention, but I got the impression whoever wrote the piece was clearly not a fan as the article started  "Manhattans most materialistic foursome are back", I thought that was a little off, I don't think it comes across like that at all!

  I read a rather interesting article in Grazia this afternoon about fans that own original pieces of clothing from the actual series and the last film, one woman actually bought the teeny weeny shorts that Carrie is wearing when Aidan proposes even though they were far too small for her, hmmm? I love SATC as you all know but if I bought something from the show I would bloody well wanna wear it!

  This obviously inspired me to have a little browse on ebay and there was one dress, authenticated with original set wardrobe label, but it was blimin awful, lilac satin, full length dress, probably worn by Miranda or Charlotte in a very early episode before the fashion frenzy created by the show meant they had to up the ante.

   I then had a little look a Patricia Field's website, which incedently ships world wide, and found these little lovelies,

                                                                Worn by Carrie
                                           

                                      
                                                         As seen on Samantha in the film
                                                   (whilst wearing Wendy Brandes earrings)

     

 ,

Hello Shoe Lovers!

   Just a quickie to say a big thank you to looking fab in your forties for my 'hello lover' award. Don't know if i've mentioned it but I am a little bit of a shoeaholic!!!!

  My latest footwear purchase was the summer essential!  From Topshop the tan wooden clog. Great colour, great style and the perfect chunky wooden heel plus with a sling back so will hopefully stay on!!! Ooo I likey!!

  Now selling on ebay for £130.!! So glad I got them the day they came in, £80 in Topshop!


  My next dilema is gold gladiators with a little wedge? Having spent a considerable time in a rather large shopping center nearby yesterday (& most of the weekend online!!), the best gold glads I saw were these from New Look. They were the softest, best height, (really don't want slapping flat feet!) and so cheap at only £20, but will everyone have them? I do actually own a few lovely sandals from new look, and you would never guess. Last year I bought a black suede tassled, studded, mini cork wedge pair which everyone comments on, even the assistant in Sergio Rossi on Bond street to my delight!!!!
O decisions, decisions..................

                                            

    

H&M, Fashion With A Concience.

    The 20th of this month see's a fabulous new range from swedish fashion giants H&M (selected stores only), FAA (fashion against aids) is released for the 3rd year running and 25% of each sale goes to hiv/aids. Now if ever there were an excuse for a little shopping spree!!

    Check out this months Vogue supplement for inspiration! When I got mine in the post last week I was in love with everything!! The collection is a great mix for the summer wardrobe. And at such reasonable prices we can all indulge in a little charitable treat!!

J'adore dior

   I am a HUGE sex and the city fan, I love Carries style, I love New York and I am counting down the days til the new film. I have always watched SATC right from the start, lil' sis and I watched the very first episode sitting on the end of her bed when we were youngsters and I have been ever so slightly obsessed ever since.

  I have the box set, I have the coffee table book, I have even done the SATC tour in New York and eaten cupcakes from the magnolia bakery, checked out the pleasure chest and the biggest joy, sat on Carries stoop outside the brownstone building they use for the show. Oh I just love it!

  The latest film has me in a new obsession, Carries J'adore Dior T shirt!!  I've been searching the web, bidding on vintage ones on ebay and then my good friend (looking fab in your forties) phoned Dior unbeknown to me to ask if they are re-issuing them! No is the answer.

  Ahh so sad, J'adore Dior!!!!!!

 P.S. check out Wendy Brandes blog, her gorgeous cleopatra earrings are worn by Samantha in the trailer and in the film!! How fabulous!!!

Birthday Girl Part 2.

   Well what a lovely time I had!! My hubby( K) really pulled it out of the bag this time!

   I must explain that I'm not great with suprises, I am the one who organises everything and plans our lives, not to say that K does'nt do anything but he generally needs a nudge in the right direction. (Don't they all!!)

   Well here goes, after trying to prise it out of him all week, unsucessfully I may add!! He still would not give anything away apart from it was somewhere in London and it was a meal of sorts! I was bugging him about outfits more than anything, but was still none the wiser! I must add at this point that K really does'nt give two hoots about clothes and me stressing about "what am I going to wear??". All that he advised was that I would probably want to wear something nice!!! Men!!

   Decided to go with a beige/black silk Reiss skirt, simple white vest, nude lace up sandals, cropped black leather jacket, gold statement necklace and gold Anya Hindmarch clutch, pleased with outfit choice but still had no idea where I was going apart from the tube station, Bond street!

   As we entered Grovesnor square I still had no idea, but there it was, Gordon Ramsay's Maze Not bad eh? The meal was incredible, the wine was amazing, the interior was gorgeous and the service was excellent.
There was nothing that I could fault about the evening, it was just lovely! We got a little peek inside of the kitchens which was remarkably calm and they even bought out a little birthday cake for me! Just what I needed after 5 luxuriously rich courses, but just lovely all the same.

 I was thoroughly spoilt all round and was given some lovely gifts, the highlight being The Sartorialist book from my lil' sis! So thank you to all for making my birthday a memorable one!

Birthday Girl

I have just a few hours til I am definately in my thirties! Tomorrow I will 31. I dreaded turning 30, on my 21st birthday some kind sole sent me a card saying 'only 9 years til you're 30',  from 21 every year was a reminder that it was getting closer. This time last year I was not feeling nearly as bad as I had done in the years building up to it!

Hubby and I spent the weekend in Venice and it was wonderful, Venice was magical and this turning 30 business was just fine, infact it felt good. I realised that I was happy at 30 and felt that I no longer felt that yearning to be in your late teens/early 20's. I think that I accepted that getting older is a fact of life and there's nothing you can do about apart from embrace life and all that it throws at you.

To celebrate this annual occurance last night I cooked dinner for my 11 friends and a good time was had by all, thankfully I have'nt poisened anyone that I know of and the hangover was a mild morning only one, which is nice for a change!!!

Tomorrow I am being whisked off to London for the night by husband, all I know is that he has booked dinner somewhere fab, but he won't tell me where!!! So god knows what I'm going to wear??

To be continued................................

Street style london.

Loving this look from American Apparel, check out more pics at street style london. The model and myself share the same name but unfortunately she appears to have my share of long skinny legs!!!!