Spots and stripes and all things nice...

...That's what wardrobes are made of!

A whole week since the last time, 7 full days since Ive dressed my lower half in denim. Anyone knowing me would agree that is most definitely a record. I think it has helped by letting the washing pile grow higher and higher so that I've also had no choice but to ditch my old faithfuls ;o).

Today I struggled to decide whether to even get dressed out of my pyjamas. The Strike. To be honest besides the word 'Pensions' being thrown around on the news I haven't taken that much notice of it all. That's pretty bad isn't it? Some days like this I just feel like I haven't quite turned into a grown up and if it does not affect me then I don't need to sit in front of BBC news all day and get into a debate about it. Naive? Most likely. I guess the strike will have affected most people in some way, be it childcare, a day off work, not being able to get through to a call centre, being asked to cover someone else's shift, the list goes on and on.

The only way today's strike has affected me is my eldest daughters school being closed for health and safety reasons. In other words half of the teachers were on strike and it was against the law for the other half of the teachers to look after 420 children due to adult child ratio. Of course this threw many parents into panic arranging their childcare and I felt sorry for them having to sort that out at only a few days notice. As I'm a stay at home mum it wasn't so much a problem. My alarm went off at the normal time of 7am ready to start my day. It must have taken less than 10 seconds to decide whether the terror should be sent to nursery for her half day session when her big sister is 'treat' to a day off school. Alarm swiftly turned off and we all had a blissful lie in! Finally crawling out of bed we all lounged around in our pyjamas until.... erm... lunchtime!

As I was getting dressed I suddenly thought to myself "argh, not another dress". Breezy days and dresses do not go hand in hand for me and I'm still awaiting my 'safety shorts' from Ebay! How do all you lovely bloggers wear such flippy dresses on anything other than a still day without showing the world your underwear? Maybe I'm just fated as I lean into the car to buckle the children in, or as my hands are full of carrier bags... Whooosh! Away it goes. So I turned to the only pair of jeans left in my wardrobe and added a top that I've had for years. Plain Jane was what reflected in my mirror. As I fastened the buttons right up on my top (something I never ever do) I suddenly had a different view, geek chic stared back at me. The wind chill outside decided that I needed to cover my arms from my sleeveless top and thrown into a quandary I suddenly realised that I have no suitable knitwear. (remind me to stop buying dresses and buy a knit instead!) So diving into the side of the wardrobe that I rarely use I came across a cardigan older than my top. Hurrah. Stripes though? My top has spots, hmmm. Anyhow I was pleased with the results and yesterdays brogues got their second outing.

Jeans - Next, Top - Next, Cardi - Dorothy Perkins, Shoes - New Look, Hairband - Primark

I'm not one for doing much with my hair but since cropping it short a couple of months ago I am suddenly finding myself doing all sorts of random things with it. When I first had it cut I would spend every morning washing, blow drying, straightening it and making sure it sat perfect. Now with the fabulous trend of hair accessories Im getting my second (dare I say sometimes a third??) day out of my do. At first when I put my hairband in this morning I thought yuck, but once I put my face on and dressed myself I suddenly felt more confident and dared to leave the house.

So how did today's strike affect you?

The Hidden Breasts

A woman hides her breasts with clothes;
She hides them from being seen
To betray their presence by shape
More pronounced than the naked.

Anything that is hidden means
It’s location isn’t traceable.
Breasts aren’t hidden with clothes;
Breasts are decked out with clothes.

Rm. Shanmugam Chettiar

Blouse - TK Maxx, Trousers - New Look, Shoes - New look

 

Boobs, breasts, banes of our life, whatever you want to call them, happy or unhappy with them, we have them! How do you treat yours? I'm sure we've all been guilty of squashing them into any bra that appears comfortable and no doubt all have in common that bulging bedroom drawer full of bras old and new in numerous sizes! For years and years Ive worn a 32C (as a late teen I thought I was a 36B!!!) and bought most of my bras from La Senza. The same style in every colour they had. They seemed to fit, lifted and looked OK. That was until a year ago I stepped into the wonderful world of Bravissimo who pulled the too stretchy and large back of my bra almost to the other side of the cubicle and swiftly ran off to bring me a vast range to try in my new size. 32DD. Double D?? Surely not I cried! "I'm only tiny, I can go bra less with strappy vests, no way on this earth am I a DD". Of course they fit like a dream and my tiny boobs proudly walked out of that shop with a DD status.

Who would have thought it?!?

Roll forward to today. Ive been nagging my mam for months to take herself to get fitted in Bravissimo and to stop wearing the shapeless ill fitting bras that a well known high street store keeps 'measuring' her for. We've all been there, had the tape measure tell us what size we are and be expected that all bras that size will fit no matter what. Its hardly news to us ladies that in fact they don't. Bravissimo do not use tape measures, just their well trained eye and skill at fitting us with various shaped and sized bras until we walk out with the perfect support and fit. Anyway, back to today (why do I wander off on a tangent when I'm writing?), finally my mam agreed to have an afternoon in town with me and get her some new boobs! Of course that gave me the excuse I needed to treat myself to a new bra too.

Looking through racks and racks of pretty lace, satin, spots, stripes and florals in more colours than a packet of Skittles this was dangerous territory! "Think sensible" I told myself "what do I really need?". That's simple, an item every lady should have in her drawer. The choice a man would never even cast his eye over in a lingerie shop as he strolls towards the scratchy red lace.... A t-shirt bra, a skin tone t-shirt bra to be precise. It is an absolute must for this seasons sheer fabrics, white summer dresses, blouses and basically t-shirts.

How hard can it be to choose one? Very. I must have tried on a dozen bras in various styles and sizes. I felt like Goldilocks (without the lovely long golden locks...) "too tight/ too loose/ too hard/ too scratchy/ too big/ too small". The poor fitter must have lost a few pounds running up and down to the stock room whilst remaining surprisingly calm and helpful "don't worry we WILL find one that's right" and on the last bra.... Tadahh! I don't know who sighed the biggest sigh of relief as we stared in awe of my perfectly encased bosoms.

My breasts, for the record, are now fitting into a 30E. E!!!! E for Enormous? E for EEEEE I don't believe it? Before I visited Bravissimo I assumed every E cup were the same size regardless of back size, this is so wrong. As I entered my mam's cubicle to check her progress as she hummed and harred over her new boobs (I wont go into detail of the dilemmas, that's her own story to tell) but I will tell you that she also measured an E. Except her E cup fit quite neatly as a new hat for me! I compared our two bras and wondered how this could be so. The fitter kindly explained the back size/cup difference and went on to show her own double G breasts (neatly covered in a pretty bra I must add). This lady was a very slim size 10, who would have thought it? So next time you walk past Bravissimo pop in and get yourself fitted. Its amazing the lift you get from it (pun intended!).

And no, I wont be sharing a bra photo, these will have to do for today! I'm not 100% convinced these trousers suit me, but they gave me a good excuse to wear my new heeled brogues I picked up for £8 yesterday in New Look's sale. Ive been lusting after a pair of brogues for months and finally realised why they looked hideous on my size 6 flipper feet (I am only 5ft 3 and people are always surprised at my size 6's), they were too flat. So when I found these beauties I snapped them up. Worn for an afternoon shopping in town I can confirm they are also super comfortable.

Shoes -  New Look, Necklace/Bracelets - Xmas gifts

"I don't like Mondays"...

Dress - ASOS

The Boomtown Rats may well have sung these famous lyrics but I have to say I absolutely LOVE my Mondays! What's there not to like? 9am school and nursery open and its the only day of the week where both the girls are there until 3pm. A full day (almost), can you believe it?? Don't get me wrong I love my children to bits and in fact would turn someone to bits if they dared upset them in any way, but its a mothers prerogative to skip along to the school gates on a Monday morning.

So was today any different? No but it was better! The skies were blue, the sun scorching hot before we even left the house and I had no outstanding jobs to get sorted. Believe me when the weather is nice my ironing pile can grow itself right out of the open windows. I decided to dig out my old maxi dress, how ridiculous I used to save this dress for nights out only, what was that all about? Its super light, floaty and just perfect for such a sweltering heat. Now such a dress is wasted on doing the housework, you will start to see a pattern here in time..., so the beach was the only option. Strolling along the sand, icy waters cooling my feet was a blissful day for me. Only slightly spoilt by clock watching and hoping the roadworks don't cause too much traffic to get me back for 3pm. My dress was blowing gracefully in the breeze and Id like to say something romantic like 'my cascading curls were also blowing gently across my shoulders' but ho-hum I had them all chopped off 3 months ago! Made do with a funky feathered hairband instead. (short naturally curly hair, beaches and wind do not make a perfect match)  Aplogies for the dodgy photo... I should have taken a 'before' beach photo not an after shot.

Hairband - Primark

So tomorrow the forecast is to be a lot cooler and cloudy. Come on Britain, sort it out!

Introducing my girls...

My girls and I

Saturday night is party night yes? Well times have changed for me and majority of my partying now includes my two daughters coming along. We were invited to a friend's 40th and as it was a fellow mum from the school there were 10 of my eldest daughter's friends invited too,  there was no way I could wriggle out of it. You know the type of party... social club, you don't know many people and the ones you do know you end up sat at the furthest point from them. The music was dire, the food was a gluten fest (as all buffets are!) and the children were tired and irritable and only happy when running hells for bells outside on the rugby field whilst wearing their party finest! Great.

 Not to moan too much, it gave me an excuse to wear my new dress which surprisingly The terror (youngest) chose from masses and masses of frocks hanging on the rails in TK Maxx. I couldn't fault her choice after  I'd tried it on, and my eldest daughter agreed. Of course I had the tights or no tights dilemma as we were rushing out of the door (fashionably late by an hour as per usual!), but when else could I match these tights so perfectly? Saved the blisters too ;o)

My girls have started taking an interest in fashion. Correction, The Eldest has just started taking an interest at the age of 8 and 11 months (shes counting down cant you tell?) and its more down to my new blog starting and her 4 year old sister (and 6 months if you're interested!) being a little fashion diva. They both chose their own outfits, and as you can probably see their styles vary dramatically. Anything rock chick, or 'bling' suits The Eldest, whilst The Terror has a full blown tantrum if I dare to suggest a pair of jeans instead of a dress for nursery.... Shes had her eye on this outfit in her wardrobe for the last 6 months. A hand-me-down off her big sister who only ever wore the (most unsuitable and too dressy for normal use) outfit once. Many nursery mornings I've been begged and pleaded "pleeeeease can I put this on? But WHY? Its sooo pretty" and the moment the word "party" slipped out my mouth she did a wardrobe dash and said that she had already chose her outfit!

Of course there's plenty of time to show my girls the natural woman's skills of emptying her entire wardrobe contents all over the bed along with bags and shoes before choosing the very first outfit she tried on. At the moment I'm too busy making the most of having my wardrobe contents to myself as I am well aware the clock is  ticking and I will start finding my favourite outfits in a different wardrobe. Though they had better be careful, being a young mum that could work both ways!

Dress - TK Maxx, Tights - Dorothy Perkins, Shoes - Primark

These aren't just fish and chips.....

They are Marshall's delicious crisp gluten free fish and chips, eaten at the sea front on a mild summers night. (OK these Marks and Spencer ads seem to have altered every one's way of describing food!).


In the last three years I've had fish and chips twice. Yes twice! (A chip shop not far from where I live, well a 20 minute drive not the local corner chippy, provides gluten free fish and chips once a month but they're bland, chewy and in fact not really worth the bother.) I've had to sit in many a chippy on holiday watching my family "mmmm" and "ahh these are lush" over their chips and fought with myself to resist temptation in eating a single chip or a piece of batter. The last thing I want to do after a tiring day on the beach is sit witnessing the family discussing how crispy, soggy, delicious, okish, their meal is whilst I open my Tupperware box full of pasta salad and have people look at me like I'm some diet obsessive. I want to tell my family to stop complaining and enjoy the fact they can eat what they want when they want, I want to tell staring public that this is not my choice to eat home prepared salad!


So three years ago I got the results that I tested positive for Coeliac's Disease. For those who are unsure on what this is, "Coeliac disease (pronounced see-liac, spelt celiac disease in other countries) is an autoimmune disease. Gluten, which is found in wheat, barley and rye triggers an immune reaction in people with coeliac disease. This means that eating gluten damages the lining of the small intestine. Other parts of the body may be affected." (from Coeliac UK)  It is not a dietary choice, it is a must. I cannot eat anything with wheat, barley, malt, oats, rye in it. Many people assume that just means avoiding bread and pasta but next time you pick up a bar of chocolate up at the corner shop, or something out of your cupboard just have a quick glance at the ingredients, it is a coeliac's nightmare out there.


Which brings up back to the chippy! On Thursday I visited Marshall's in Tynemouth who offer us coeliac's a fabulous service. Once a fortnight on a Thursday night 5-8pm they have a clean separate fryer out the back of the shop (away from cross contamination risks) and they produce the most delicious fish and chips I've tasted in such a long time, in fact Id even go as far as to say they were nicer than 'normal' fish and chips yet didn't leave that heavy 'urgh' feeling afterwards. Vinegar. Now there's another coeliac issue. When asked if I wanted salt and vinegar on I shook my head and explained i couldn't have vinegar (malt vinegar), the kind lady assured me they have gluten free vinegar and even gluten free curry sauce. 10 out of 10! I must have skipped out of that shop.


There's nothing more to say except thank you Marshall's!

"It is not only fine feathers that make fine birds." (Aesop)

Jeans. My guilty pleasure. I have at least 10 pairs, though on deeper thought it may be almost double this. There's my comfy high waisted (hold it in...) flares which have taken a battering over the years, low faded straight cut, stretchy dark boot cut (safe jeans and too many of this type...), skinny jeans (again too many!), high waisted dark jeans (more holding it in....), cropped jeans, ripped jeans, decorating jeans... OK you get the picture. I won't even go on to mention the pile of coloured jeans, Christmas jeans and all those piled at the bottom of the wardrobe in the hope one day they will fit or failing that I may actually get around to listing them on Ebay!

One morning a few months ago, whilst having a 'not even mid-life' crisis I decided enough is enough. No longer will I spend 7 days a week in denim holding onto the security that any top will match my bottom half without much effort (even though there was always the issue of which top when I'm feeling bloated and past my best!). Time to grow some confidence, switch from scummy mummy to yummy mummy and try to feel good about myself whilst following my passion for fashion. Of course this is not an easy task for someone who has spent... wait til I work it out.... maybe the last 19 years as denims best friend. It was a scary prospect!

At this light bulb moment I pulled out my wardrobe contents and had a ruthless clear out. If I hadn't worn anything since my last wardrobe clear out it was going (apart from shoes... they don't count.. or bags!). I began looking at my summer clothes and even though at the time it was still freezing cold I decided to brave a selection of colourful tights I had stashed in my bottom drawer and tried out a whole new approach to my wardrobe. The first time I went out the house, and probably only to the school run or the shops I might add, not wearing my jeans was down right weird! It was drafty, and for all I worried I was over dressed I actually felt quite liberated. I always remember watching Lorraine Kelly on TV one morning saying "why keep something for best? We might not be here tomorrow so why have a wardrobe full of things with the tag still on? Treat every day as if its your last."  OK so I'm sure she didn't mean nip to ASDA in your best evening dress but hell if it makes you happy then why not!?

Today though I fell back to my comfort... I woke up late, needed to get the girls to school on time and looked at the heap of clothes on the floor and thought "waaah I have nothing to wear". We've all done this haven't we? Maybe I'm the only one who uses the floor as a wardrobe but that's my weekend mission.... My trusty dark denims were urging me to pull them on and I gave in to their pressure (or stretchy comfort I should say). The only way to recover the situation was add some detail. A teal long sleeved top which seems to suit my super pale skin a treat, kimono draped jacket over the top in a biscuit shade with teal coloured floral design and my trusty jewelry. Quick twist of unwashed hair and my 'daughter test' passed I was ready to go.

Kimono Jacket - Primark £12(?), Bird double ring - Primark £1, Bird cage necklace £3.75 Avon.

My birds drew plenty of attention as they always seem to when they're on an outing. Even whilst I was in the middle of getting my eyes tested the optician stopped pointing to dots and peering into my eyes to comment how how much she loved my jewelry and how fascinating it was. I think it was the first time I didn't blurt out how much it cost and where it was from, I simply smiled and said thank you. Does anyone else have the habit of doing this when someone compliments you on a thrifted/ebayed/primark bargain? "ohhh it was only a fiver from XYZ". Stop it (I guess I'm telling myself that!). They did not ask where it was from so just take the compliment and smile.

Summer solstice....

As I log online wrapped up in my cosy cardigan, Ugg boots keep my feet snug and warm (and stinky might I add! Im sure someone once told me Ugg boots don't make your feet sweat... maybe it is because they are old and flattened inside now?) I am helpfully reminded by Google's catchy new design informing us it is the Summer Solstice, meaning the first day of summer begins. The television behind me blares out showing druids dancing around a local stone circle awaiting the sun... and waiting ... and waiting...  My own window shows a very different picture than that of summer. Its bleak, wet and down right miserable out there! Though surely we can expect nothing more with The Hoppings (those locals are in the know - or Goolge The Hoppings Curse), Glastonbury and Wimbledon all on at the same time. A sure sign for a wet start to summer.

I try not to look too disappointed as I glance guiltily across to my 3 Ebay parcels which arrived this morning (and 3 more on the way, whooops! That site is dangerous!) full of vintage floral frocks. Ok this can be salvaged, fear not. Thick tights, chunky knits and biker boots are the way to go with my new purchases, now I just have to muster up the curage to throw them on 'effortlessly' as I dash to do the school run. I say 'effortlessly' as I often wonder when people layer on the mixed up outfits, and throw on 'any old jewelry' really have they sat for half an hour and carefully chosen each special piece to bring out the best in their look or have they actually just got a knack for looking fabulous?

My test is my two daughters (aged 4 and 9). If you want encouragement and to be made to feel a million dollars then my eldest is the one for the job! However for an honest (sometimes a little too honest..) opinion then I turn to my youngest.  Gasps of "oooh mammy you look beautiful!" simply because I have a bow in my hair can really make my day, only to be shot down in flames from my terror asking me "mammy, why haven't you got your beautiful make up on?"..... "Don't I look beautiful anyway without it?" I ask hopeful.... "Ewwww no!" is what I'm met with along with a once angelic face now screwed up like a cabbage patch doll. Time to reach for the lipstick......

Ok what now???

Well I think I've figured out how to set a blog up after lusting after my own blog for months. So here I am and what now?? I enjoy writing once I get started but I'm yet to figure out which was I want this blog to go and whether to follow a continuing theme or to keep it general. Time will tell I guess. Now I just have to sit back and wait for a lightbulb moment full of inspiration.....

If anyone has clicked on this blog, hopefully in the future you won't be disappointed but in the mean time bear with me please :)