Fickle

Oh fickle fashion me...I know can't decide between these winter coat options

Wool cape from The White Company

Red coat from Whistles

Green wool mix coat from ASOS

If I did still go for the Roksander coat I may run the small risk of looking a little like Sully from Monsters Inc, in all his faux fur glory....

Would that be a bad thing to channel AW10/11 ???

Get your coat on

I had previously blogged about a new winter coat for Curly Haired Beauty and had coveted the J Crew one, well I have discovered there is an adult version here on Net-a-porter.

It's available hot orange it will make me stand out from the sea of grey and blacks, which seem to be the standard winter colour palette. Its a classic cut wool coat and my sensible head suggests I should get it for AW10/11 but then my eye was drawn to a feature in last week's Grazia Roksanda Illincic collaboration with Debenhams. A navy faux-fur paneled cocoon coat.

My heart says 'GET IN NOW', look how amazing this looks. I know its not the most practical thing to own. I haven't worn fake fur since I was a fashion student. But this looks so chic in navy and I would look so beartastic (OK I made that word up). I would have to avoid Mr Fashion and The Foley Artists sticky paws on a daily basis but it would be so worth it owning something that Illnic had a hand in designing. Of course I can't wear it in the rain either and would it keep me warm this winter????? I don't care - a big cocoon coat would make your legs look stick thin;.I'm going to ditch my practical Uggs and hike in heels.

As I head to the Big 4-0 I'm tired of purchasing the classics, the basic staples, neutral colours, mix and match wardrobe  - I want to break out of boring.

My new style role model is Anna Dello Russo who has fun with fashion.

 Just like something I used to do 20 years ago....oh not that I want to be young again but I got a slap in the face on Twitter to be reminded that Nivana's Nevermind album came out 20 years ago...I remember Grunge like it was yesterday.

This Week

The last week of Summer and its been a wet one ..oh well roll on Autumn but here's what I've managed to squeeze in this week.

A little peek of blue sky...which didn't last for very long, my view on the way into work. Doesn't that look fun?

Mmmm lunch with the girls, we got 1 of our 5 a day here at Market Place a very refreshing and strong Frozen Watermelon Margarita.

Another meal at my absolute favourite place in Soho Polpetto  to start early celebrations of D's birthday. Sorry no pics of the food as we scoffed it really quickly. But we ate Brown Shrimp with braised Gem lettuce, Zucchini Fries, Vignole Bruschetta with lardo,  Devon crab with spinach and trofie and stewed nectarine with vanilla ice cream and amaretto.

and a lovely mooch round Covent Garden poking about in the shops; you would have thought it was my birthday and not D's

followed by afternoon tea at Laduree

Hope everyone has a lovely Bank Holiday Weekend and enjoy the shorter working week next week. XOXOXOX

Little Red Riding Hood

OK not quite but with this Autumnal weather (goodbye Summer) my thoughts have turned to winter coats. Not for me mind you but for The Curly Haired Beauty. As you know she starts school next month and there are some very cute on-line options.

This red fleece cape is by American Apparel £37.00

Spotty velvet coat by Boden from £55

If I wanted to blow the budget I might consider this collarless J Crew coat for £209.23 - yep that's right as much as something I would spend on myself in midget size.....mmmm maybe I might be able to squeeze into the size 14 version?????

Silly Season

Forgive my radio silence this month has been crazy and its only the halfway point of August and already I have experienced...but before I launch into it all I forgot to credit Susie Bubble on my last post for the Clean up picture thingy. Please forgive my net-tiquette!

Where shall I start - oh yes a rant about this super packed month- Mr Fashion had been poorly for a few days with a raging temperature. By the weekend he was covered in spots, I was hoping it was chicken pox but when it started to spread a trip to the locum doctor on an early Sunday morning got told it was measles. Yikes he has not been immunised as he has been on a wait list for the non-egg vaccine coming from India (he cannot have the MMR jab as that contains egg protein). The next day I took him to the GP but the spots had faded and it turned out it wasn't measles but a type of virus and antibiotics prescribed. OK phew big sigh of relief and then I get a call the non-egg vaccine is back in stock so I quickly book a double appointment for the twins for the following weekend after a quick all clear check with the GP.

I know it was something we should have done a lot earlier (like a year ago) but with one thing and another cropping up (twins taking turns to be ill) it took this summer to get it all done. No matter what health professionals say about giving vaccines even when a baby is unwell with a cold, cough or croup.  Its not a risk I am prepared to take. Caring for 1 sick baby is hell, caring for 2 sick babies is something I don't want to repeat - we spent far too long n SCBU after their early arrival. I am only just over the whole hand-wringing stress of it all and they are now two!

Then my office had a major fire incident and we were all in temporary offices for 10 days whilst it was sorted out. I developed a bad back from carrying a laptop and a squint (wasn't allowed back to get my glasses - spare one had gone missing). Not a good look as my work heels (6 pairs) were also in my desk drawer; so spent the days feeling short and frumpy running about between 3 sites in grubby trainers/sneakers. Hey ho all fun and games and to top it all when we did get back into the building, on the second day another fire alarm goes off and I had to walk down 6 flights of stairs. I and a few others made sure we grabbed our essentials and I was able to cart off my precious Ferragammo's this time!

As mentioned in my last post we also experienced the rioting, looting and general madness. It happened close enough to feel uncomfortable and made me feel very sad about the future.

On a brighter note I took Curly Haired Beauty to my office (once we got another safety all-clear). She loved hanging out with me for the day. She got her own desk and laptop and spent the time on various kiddie websites playing games. She wasn't tall enough to be useful and help with photocopying but really enjoyed riding up and down the lifts. At one point she made a little den in my bosses office and played an imaginary game giving out orders and taking a register. She wasn't aware the walls are glass and everyone outside could see her playing - cue much cracking up at how adorable she looked with the phone headset. Bless her, she was so cute. One piece of office equipment that really impressed her was the hole puncher and she spent a good 30 minutes making holes in a sheet of A4 paper. Who knew that could be so much fun for a four year old. Later we went to the Sanderson Hotel for the Mad Hatters Tea.

It was a lovely spread and I loved the vintagy cake stands but if I had one teeny tiny criticism; I felt the sandwiches and scones didn't taste very fresh and had been stored too long in the chiller cabinet.

The best bit of her day? When I asked her she said the all white toilets were really fun!

I had a hard time trying to get her out as she flopped out and decided to make a bed on the day bed in the ladies loos....
Excuse these photos but I did these on my camera phone and she wouldn't stand still and I was laughing too much.

Clothing credits: White linen Jacket by Reiss,Skinny Jeans by Sass and Bide. Breton T-shirt by H&M. Curly Haired Beauty's striped Hello Kitty Dress and spotty leggins by H&M. Pink Neon scarf by Accessorize.
 

CLEAN UP

We've spent the last few days listening to the screeching sirens and whirling helicopters overhead. The office has issued lots of security warnings and I have stopped wearing jewellery and taken extra precautions not to have any mobile, Blackberry, iPod device on show when walking about in public. It sounds extreme but the extra menace on the streets of London is very real. I've been glued to the news, Twitter and various websites - all very depressing. The burning buildings in Croydon is located only 2 miles from where I live. My lungs were filled with the acrid smoke, not a great way to start the week.

Click here to see if you can help. I hope good shall prevail and the evil driven away. We don't need this lawlessness. But since a lot of the mindless violent acts have been perpetrated by children (where are their parents?) I fear for the future.

Animal Farm - ELC Review

This toy review is long over due but that’s because we only got it out of the box last weekend.

We had spent the day at Mudchute Farm on the Isle of Dogs, unknown to us, there were major road closures due to the Triathlon; so a 30 minute car journey ended close to 2 hours!

Luckily we were in my new (second hand) motor so we had air con. But I was sat in the back jammed between 2 car seats which was very uncomfortable. My new car is a super silver Micra – it’s practically the same car I passed my driving test in years ago. Only two previous owners, last one being a pensioner who never drove it much. It’s a lovely present from D and I am soooooooooo happy about it. In the short space of time since I have owned it, I have managed to get Hello Kitty car seat covers and have added a few HK dolls for decoration, HK air freshener, HK tissue box cover – you get the picture. On Ebay I have discovered you can even get stickers to decorate the outside of your car to fully customise it. Childish? Yes! But its so cute and although its not a Nissan Figaro. It’s a bonus we can squash the whole family in for short journeys before we *takes deep breath* get a mummy wagon. I was inspired after seeing a car pakred near where I live that was a real homage to Hello Kitty. The whole back seat was stuffed with HK dolls, cushions and she had furry seat covers. The windows were plastered with stickers and I was very impressed at the level of attention to details. Wheel covers!?!?! Loved it. I tried to take a photo to twitpic it but the owner turned up and drove it away.

Anyway back to the farm visit. It was hellish! I mean the twins wanted to get loose and Curly Haired Beauty decided to regress and wanted to sit in the push chair. Trying to control 3 kids in open space is very demanding with only 2 adults – you are out numbered. The Mudchute Kitchen offered some light relief. A great little café on site; if it wasn’t for the swarms of flies that plagued it. I am surprised we didn’t get dysentery from eating in there. The little ones were happy with the sausage and baked beans. I had the vegetarian breakfast option without eggs and D had leek and potato soup (a hot sunny day and he picks soup – so Northern). D nipped into the gift shop and bought a few toy snakes, sticker books and some mini plastic animals. Mr Fashion had great fun getting his goat to trample up and down my granary toast. The Foley Artist gave a running commentary of the animal noises; his horse neighing is soooo sweet.  

When we eventually got home – another 2 hour journey - damn that Triathlon . To entertain the hot and bothered kids, I unpacked the ELC Cobblestone Farm Play set and D and I assembled it together. All the bits for the farm house slotted it really quickly but the hardest part was taking out the animals from its packaging. So many bits of wires to keep them in place. But at last they were all freed and amazingly all 3 children played with it at the same time - TOGETHER. Very rare in this household. The little details on the farm are so lovely and charming; ivy, hollyhock flowers growing around the doorway, even a dandelion flower or two, buttercups in the grass and a hosta plant (get me and my green fingers). There is a little swallows nest near the roof (well I can’t think what other birds nest it could be, I am a city girl after all). I am very impressed how solid the whole set feels. The roof parts lift up so you can place the animals inside to keep them nice and safe.

An hour later Mr Fashion managed to disassemble the farm and he was keen to construct it from scratch himself (cue much screeching from Curly Haired Beauty). He even got his DIY kit out to bash at the roof with his hammer. So that night when all had gone to bed I glued all the sides of the house and stables. I got finger cramp from the amount of glue I used (I may have went a little overboard) and although it looked terrible, once it had dried clear the farm was brilliant again. Big pat on my back for being so ‘crafty’ with glue!

We’ve had the farm set up for nearly a week and although it does pack away, its so much easier just to shove it to one side in the evenings. We have managed to lose the chickens but the horse, donkey and cow are the main animals the kids love to play with. An engaging game the twins invented is to stick the horse or donkey's head through the window and shout 'help, help' and I say back 'rescue me, rescue me'. 

Items were kindly sent by ELC – I thank you. My review is an honest opinion and no income was received for the review. 

Scorchio Day

Another scorchio day in the city, I love London in August. Its not like Paris where everything is closed and anyone left in the City of Lights is dead miserable (this is my personal experience and not a sweeping statement about all French people). London feels chilled, despite the heat radiating off the pavements, the mood is relaxed and its feels like a fun place to spend the summer in W1.

D met me for lunch and we headed to El Burrito which is nearby to where I work. They have a great fresh choice of Mexican food made right in front of you and frozen margaritas (although today the machine was broken). 

We sat outside in the shade and scoffed our goodies of flour tacos filled with spicy minced beef, guacamole, cheese and jalapenos. Give me this anytime over the golden arches! I've noticed that there seems to have been an explosion of Mexican eateries springing up all over town. Which can only be a good thing to add to the already bursting at the seams choices at lunchtime for us hungry office workers. Randomly an old friend L, who we hadn't seen for years, walked right past us. So it was lovely to have a chit chat catch-up He was picking up a lunch order of Keralan curry from Rasa Express and was on his way to get some pho from the Vietnamese place. Apart from New York I can't think of anywhere else where you can do that!

For a healthy dessert to cool our taste buds, we went round the corner to Yog for frozen yogurt. I love this place and the whole concept of a store dedicated to just one delicious dessert. I got stuck into the dark chocolate whilst D went for the new passion fruit flavour with some sprinkling of fresh fruit - but of course you can opt for chocolate chips, marshmallows etc for a more naughty option. Its the perfect quick fix for a hot, hot day.

It wasn't a gourmet lunch, we didn't spend that much money but it was so much fun just me and D hanging out for an un-hurried lunch just like old times before marriage, before kids. No wailing twins, no demanding 4 year old with un-reasonable demands. Just the two of us. I had almost forgotten what it was like to be a child-free couple *sigh*. Don't get the wrong idea, I love my kids, I love having a family but its just so nice not to have them about for a tiny bit to restore my sanity. Also a reminder for D to notice and realise what a 'hot mamma' I am, never let my figure go, still dressing up and bothering with make-up! Somebody give me a medal for making the effort - I was channeling a City Safari look today. Mango Beige boxy cardigan, chic chino shorts, sand suede heels and a straw trilby from Florence to keep the fierce sun off my hair - the pitfalls of having super black hair that seems to absorb sunlight and give me a hot headed headache. You could fry an egg on my head from the heat after I've been outside for 15 minutes. The outfit neutral tones were perfect for staying cool in this weather.

Summer Hols

Its the last month of summer (how did that happen) but we have no plans to go away (boo hiss). I'm saving up my holiday dates so I can be around for Curly Haired Beauty when she starts reception in September. My little girl is growing up and will be donning a school uniform, book bag and starting Primary School. She's rearing to go and has not stopped talking about being a big girl who's nearly 5.

But she's been set some homework already 'what I did on my holiday's'. So this mummy is taking her beloved out and about and giving her some memorable summer experiences in London so she as something to talk about.  

First stop is The Tiger Who Came to Tea, its one of her favourite books that has been adapted for stage. We have a well worn pop up copy of the book which is read nightly. I'm hoping her attention span has lengthened since last year; for her Christmas panto treat I took her to see the Peppa Pig show and she insisted on leaving during the interval. I think she got confused and thought it was over when people starting getting up. This show however has no interval! So fingers crossed we make it though the 50 minutes.

Then the following week I've got a table at The Sanderson for a Mad Hatters Tea, OK this may be more for mummy than for Curly Haired Beauty. But I know she would just love the exploding lollipops!

How yummy does this tea look? The sandwiches are coloured with beetroot, spinach and saffron. The Drink Me bottle is filled with a potion tasting of Apple Pie, Lemon Curd and English Toffee.

Photos from here

Curly Haired Beauty will also accompany me to my office for a couple of Fridays - she's been really curious about what I do and since most colleagues will be away, its an ideal time to have her come in and see what mummy does (not much, eat cupcakes) and mess about on the computer. Its scary just how proficient she is navigating Cbeebies, CITV, Nick Jr and Milkshake websites. She even does better than me playing Angry Birds (I just don't have the patience).

I'm thinking of taking her to Polpo for lunch, an Venetian Bacaro. Before anyone thinks I am being irresponsible for taking her to an Soho drinking joint. It does great little dishes perfect for her appetite. She will be impeccably behaved - she always is in public - just a right little madam when she gets home and clashes with Mr. Fashion.

If an establishment serves ice cream like this, well its an invitation for children to come along.....

I've also have 5 days of a local Summer play scheme booked so she can hang out with kids , get crafting, make some new friends who will be going to her school.

Phew - I'm going to want a holiday to get over her summer holiday.