Odd Socks and Pretty Frocks

Altering Vintage

2012-02-08T20:13:00.000Z

Do we? Don't we? Should we? Shouldn't we?

On the whole, I think go for it. Not with anything precious or very old but alas, life being what it is, I am not likely to own anything like that.

I do often have to battle the nagging voice in the back of my head that says "Should you even be altering this? It is vintage." (the voice says vintage in a very Ab Fab sort of way) Let's not be precious though. Just because something happens to be more than 15 years old is no real reason to preserve it untouched. Fashions and hemlines change and a piece of clothing is far better off being altered so that it fits and is wearable rather than hanging on a rail unloved for all time.

If it was an expensive purchase or difficult to alter, I may consider sending it to someone who is slightly less cackhanded with a sewing machine than I am but with things that aren't quite so old, I don't feel quite so much pressure. I (eventually) have a crack at the alterations myself. Here's one I did last year.

I picked up two very nice Welsh tweed skirts from Oxfam months ago. Rather a snip at £6.99, thought I. But, oh, they were a hideously unflattering length. Look, see for yourself (and ignore the Mitch Benn tshirt. I only realised at the last minute that I should probably take a photo before starting the alterations):

Turns out it wasn't so very difficult to make them look good after all. Measure, pin, hack and hem. Bish, bash, bosh. They're both beautifully made, so it was just a case of trying to do it neatly enough to do them justice.

Additional bonus - a lot of offcuts! I think I shall attempt making a clutch bag. Watch this space. I may get round to it by...ooh...September?

And what do they look like now? Well you can only see one because I haven't photographed them both, but here is the darker of the two. I'm very pleased with the results.

Shirt - Zara, via charity shop
Skirt - vintage, via Oxfam
Cricket jumper - Oxfam. No idea if it's vintage or not, it's just cute
Brogues - Dune, via TK Maxx
Coat - Kookai, via car boot sale
Gloves - Accessorize

It's a Birthday Kind of Day

2012-02-06T20:00:00.001Z

My blog is two years old today!

Happy birthday blog. I remember those early days when I disgraced you by posting outfit photos that were tiny and too dark to even see the clothes. It all got better when I discovered the brick wall, didn't it? I hereby promise that at some point soon I will spruce you up and make you look pretty. You should at least have a proper header, shouldn't you? You deserve it: I'm rather fond of you.

And I'm rather fond of *you*. Yes, you. Each and every one of you lot who like my little corner of the interweb and come along to comment and say such wonderful things. You really do cheer me up, nudge me into trying things, make me giggle, increase my knowledge and generally bring a smile to my face. You never tell me I have too many shoes or books and for that reason alone, I love you all. If you lived closer I'd invite you all round for tea and cake. I feel bad that I have been truly dreadful at commenting back recently *hangdog expression*

I also feel a little bad that I decided to start the blog in February. It makes it inconvenient when it comes to giveaways because I am poor as a churchmouse this month. I always forget that it's expensive to go to weddings, even if you already have the outfit. I have no money left already and it's only 6th. Oh dear. Anyway, I can't afford anything very much but I have raided the present cupboard and found a few goodies.

- A rather beautiful silk scarf
- Lovely Things To Make for Girls of Slender Means by Eithne Farry
- A pretty clutch containing a Poppy King lip gloss (Flirty Red) and lipstick (Fabulous Red)
- And a pink starry necklace

Sorry international readers but it's going to have to be for UK followers only because the book will make it extortionately expensive to post otherwise. I'll try and pick lighter things next time!

But let's keep it simple otherwise:

To enter, be a follower and comment below. Please leave me some way of contacting you.

I'll pick a winner at 8pm on Monday 13th February. Good luck!

Crowning Glory

2012-02-04T15:33:00.000Z

I am rubbish with hair. I've never dyed mine, I don't know how to style it other than straight down or up in a topknot and the only type of hair-related gadget I own is a hairdryer.

Hairdressers will probably keel over with shock at this revelation but...I only get it cut about once a year.

Today was the big day. As you can see from my last outfit post, the mop had officially got too long and tatty. I have a wedding to go to on Friday as well, so it seemed like a good time to get it chopped. Off I trotted to Andrew Collinge Graduates, skidding on the pavements as I went (seriously, can we not just have snow? This icy rain is an absolute bugger).

An hour later, I looked like this:

I love it! I don't stand a chance of recreating the bouffantyness myself - at one point there were 4 brushes in my hair - but what the hell. She asked if I wanted it blowdryed straight or with some bounce. The answer to that question should only ever be bounce. This is Liverpool after all...

ps - not a sponsored post or owt, I'm just impressed! Ask for Sophie if you go - she's lovely.

Maman

2012-01-30T21:10:00.000Z

Today is my Mum's birthday.

Cross-stitcher and crafter extraordinaire, amazingly fast hiker, lover of American crime shows, excellent holiday and road trip companion, full of all sorts of esoteric knowledge, excellent spider catcher (but slug loather), very funny lady and fellow short-arse in the family: she is a tiny little package of awesomeness, generally clad in at least one lilac thing. If she has one flaw, it's that her feet are too small and I can't steal her shoes.

Want to see some splendiferously vintage photos of her? Of course you do!

No idea where the shop is but it looks interesting...

Rocking the ombre look way back in the day.

Startled by my Grandma's quite amazingly pointy collar...

I have no comment to make on this one. It just makes me giggle.

Check out the COAT! If only she'd kept that for me... She still tortures me with tales of the lilac suede platform knee high boots she used to have.

Beautiful lady.

Moving onto the present day, she's still beautiful, even if she won't hear it. Look Mum, it's on the internet now so you HAVE to believe it.

Did I mention she's awesome? And very fond of larking around, as in this photo where she is pretending to be a Roman centurion marching down Watling Street at Richborough.

Love you Mum.

January Scavenger Hunt

2012-01-28T12:20:00.010Z

And we're back in the game! Here are my picks for the January Scavenger Hunt:

In season:

Snowdrops in the garden. They are the most January thing I know.

Odd:

Oh please. Did you think it was going to be anything else?

Information:

This is what it took to make me look pretty. I am away now to buy some of the products...

Soft:

A Christmas present - it's angora and SO soft.

Entrance:

It's clearly the house of someone fond of shoes and brollies

In my bathroom:

There is a whole load of stuff that could have gone in the "mess" category of this post. Instead I have gone for the hippo hot water bottle holder.

2:

First thing to note: I am not an Everton fan. Red through and through, that's me
Second thing to note: This shop name makes sense only when you realise that the shopping centre it's in is called Liverpool One. You may have to imagine the postal address...

Blur:

Achieved by the simple task of getting bored waiting for the shutter to close during a fireworks display and just waving the camera round in the air a bit instead.

Company:

You iz not allowed on the interwebs alone

In the distance:

The view down the drive at work. Well, the right hand side anyway. I'm sure you can all imagine a long stretch of road.

Mess:

Oh the horror. It's not just mess, it's the dreading ironing mountain. I can barely get into the room to tidy all the other crap up. Remember when it was this tidy?

Warning:

I entitle this one "No Shit Sherlock"

Three of the Best

2012-01-26T14:05:00.000Z

I don't know about you lot but I don't have very much time for bloghopping and discovering new things to read via blog rolls. I barely have enough time to read the ones that I already follow. Plus I always find that personal recommendation is so much better than relying upon chance and a couple of idle clicks to find a new blog that you love. So this marks the start of an occasional feature where I shall tell you about some of my favourites. First up is the category of bloggers who I love because of their...

Writing

Backwards in High Heels

I must admit that I don't comment on Tania's blog as much as I should and this is entirely my own fault. She is so incredibly eloquent and talented as a writer and I am generally so knackered when blog commenting that I don't feel my words will do it justice. I'm sure you're not all as feeble as me though. Go and read her blog (even if you don't comment) and just soak up how wonderful her writing is. She covers the widest range of subjects - it can be friendship one day, politics the next, recipes the day after that - and tops everything off with the most beautiful pictures of Scotland and The Pigeon. It's balm to the soul.

Katyboo1′s Weblog

Sometimes, when my brain is frazzled (which it often is) and I need something to make me smile, I will go to Katy's blog and have a great big glom. She posts lots so I know I've always got something good to read and she never lets me down. I read a review quote on the back of a Bill Bryson book once which went along the lines of "Not to be read in public for fear of emitting loud snorts" and I think you could just as easily apply that to this blog. It's so, so funny and engagingly written. She gets heaps of extra bonus points for writing about family life and kids in an interesting and frequently rather hilarious way because usually that sort of thing bores me to death. Plus, there are generally lashings of cake, book and theatre chat.

Just Me

The Girl (I do know her real name but I am not at liberty to reveal it) is, I feel, one of my internetty kindred spirits. I have no idea if she feels the same - it's not really the sort of question you ask people, is it? She might well think I'm a shoe-obsessed dullard. But she has that magical quality of writing things that make me go "HAHAHAHA" and "OMG, I do that/think that too!" (note - I never actually say OMG in real life. I want to make this clear) and even when she's talking about things that sail straight over my head, such as the perils of making a ripple blanket, I will still read it cos I love it. Go and click that follow button right now.

ps - any new followers, do feel free to leave your blog link in a comment. I know I've been shocking at reading and commenting recently but if you let me know where to find you, I'll come and have a read!

Jeans (and why I loathe shopping for them)

2012-01-23T17:01:00.002Z

I think that shopping for jeans is one of the most unrelentingly miserable tasks in the shopping universe. It can never be described as fun. If you want a nice pair of shoes, well, you wander round various shops going "Oooh" or "Ergh!" as the mood strikes you. A size 6 is generally a size 6. If you want a nice pair of jeans you have to wade through 47 different cuts/colours/lengths per store just to narrow it down to which ones you take to the changing rooms. Then comes the dreaded task of trying them on, complicated by the fact that a size 14 is not a size 14. I still don't understand how, IN THE SAME SHOP, a pair of size 12 jeans in one style can be too big and a pair of size 16 jeans in another style not go up over my thighs. Yeah, Next, I am hereby naming and shaming you. Sort your sizing out.

I honestly thought I had struck lucky. I've been buying Dorothy Perkins dark wash skinny short jeans for a good few years now and they've always been a good fit, a good colour and even better, a really good price: £15 (and often on offer for cheaper). Things appear to have changed with my latest pair.

I still like the colour and price very much but the fit has changed. I actually like the fact they sit a bit higher up than my previous pairs but that slight tweak seems to be matched to an increase in leg length. Now I don't think I've shrunk, but my other pairs have always sat nicely at the right length. These are decidedly too long, hence today's turn-ups.

I'm not sure I can face the drama of finding a new style from a new shop. Probably easier just to take these up myself.

Hey ho. At least my cardigan gives me no woes. I made the official Charity Shop Noise Of Joy when I found it. It reminds me ever so strongly of the things that the Dreaded Grandma (an entirely affectionate nickname: she was lovely really) used to knit for me when I was little. Little pearlised buttons and everything!

Top - H&M
Cardi - Charity shop
Jeans - Dorothy Perkins
Coat - Kookai via car boot sale
Brogues - Dune, vastly reduced in the TK Maxx sale
Pearls - honestly can't remember
Ring - Landbaby

With These Shoes, You Are Really Spoiling Us...

2012-01-20T12:31:00.002Z

You may well have heard that there's a chance to be a Sarenza Ambassador up for grabs. Being the shoe fan that I am, I had to have a crack at entering the competition.

The task is simple: pick your favourite pair of shoes from the site.

10 English pence to anyone who can guess which brand I've selected from *

...

Yeah, it's Irregular Choice. Quelle surprise.

Irregular Choice shoes are amazing. You should all know my thoughts on them by now. However creative design and funky shapes and details don’t come cheap.

I don't mind that at all - you can't pay Primark prices for decent quality stuff - and I'm not opposed to paying full price for a pair if funds allow and I *really* like them. However my natural inclination is always, always to try and get a bargain.

Be warned, if you’re a size 6, be prepared to find me bidding against you for pairs on ebay! I also have a folder of random websites that sell Irregular Choice shoes for discounted prices and as soon as the sales hit in the more mainstream stores and sites, I’m in there like a rocket.

It fills my hear with joy to look at a webpage like this and see all the prices slashed. My favourite? It’s got to be the amazing sequins and stars combination of Abigail's Party Too :

Quite subtle by IC standards, non? They'd definitely be one of my more sensible pairs. 30% off is excellent. The fact that there are only one pair in my size and it’s not payday till Wednesday? That’s not ideal. If they’re still there next week then they will be MINE.

* Don't all mug me at once for your 10p. I'm like the Queen; I never carry cash.

Going Nuts

2012-01-17T10:51:00.000Z

High on the list of things I like are easy outfits and buying amazing things in the sale.

Today: double whammy!

This sweater dress was £9 in the sale. Being the midget that I am, it's totally wearable as a dress rather than the jumper it's technically meant to be. What's more, the somewhat crazy squirrel print means that you really don't need to do anything except shove on some Minnie Mouse style shoes and you're good to go!

SQUIGGLES!

Sweater dress - Matalan sale
Shoes - Irregular Choice
Rings - New Look (heart) & Dorothy Perkins sale (oval)

The Truth About Weight Loss

2012-01-14T10:15:00.001Z

Things they tell you about dieting:

It will be hard
It's not. Boring, dull, tedious; whatever you want to call it. It's definitely that, but nothing worthwhile in life is easy. All you need to learn to do is say no. Simple.

You have to eat lettuce
You don't have to. Honestly. As for cabbage soup, bleurgh. Who even does that?

You will only be successful if you sign up to Weightwatchers/Slimming World/Cambridge Diet/etc
Bollocks. I did it all myself and I'm far from the only one out there. Each to their own: if you find the group atmosphere supportive and helpful then great. If you baulk at paying someone money to tell you what the figure on the scales says, that's fine too. Find what works for you.

You have to become a fitness fanatic
Bit more exercise: yup. Doing triathalons: nope.

You are likely to become a diet bore
Well, you don't have to. I'm sure some people do but I'd like to think I avoided the worst of it. Just remember to keep your calorie consumption to yourself - you're probably the only one who really cares about the intracacies of it all.

Things they don't tell you:

To start saving up
Buying an entire new wardrobe is expensive. Plus it sucks when all your old favourite clothes have to go because they swim on you.

Your feet shrink
That is a complete nightmare. Insoles are my new best friends.

You don't end up with the perfect body
You'll more than likely be a similar shape, just smaller. Unless you're the sort who stores all your chub in one place.

People start saying really bitchy things disguised as compliments
"It's taken 20 years off you!" was my particular favourite. Did I look 46 before? Really??

And the kicker:

Losing weight won't magically fix you
It will help. Don't get me wrong; I don't want this to be a doom and gloom piece. But from my bitter personal experience, it will only do so much. There is a certain never-ending fascination about twirling in the mirror and thinking "Where did I all go?". There's a definite high about having the confidence to try out something you'd never dreamed of wearing before. The feeling when you meet someone you haven't seen for a long time and they literally don't recognise you; that, my friends, is a sweet feeling.

But it doesn't make you a new person. It won't soothe all your inner demons, magically restore all your confidence or endow you with brand new personality traits.

You know what? The important people in my life never loved me any the less because of what I looked like, but people in general were vile and often unbelievably hurtful. I've been the pig on "pull a pig" night, I've been abused in the street, I've run the full gamut of disapproving looks and comments from complete strangers. It fucking hurts, and it's not the sort of thing that can be easily forgotten. When your brain has fucked you into a horrible pattern of shying away from doing things/interacting with people because you are fat and fearful of being laughed at, and then becoming shyer and shyer just because you have got out of the habit of talking to strangers, that's hard to change. Looking different on the outside doesn't change the inside. You're still scared of starting conversations. You still don't trust it when people look you up and down. You still panic when people behind you start laughing in case they're laughing at you.

Losing the weight was easy. Rewiring my brain. That's hard.

Picture Perfect

2012-01-11T13:50:00.000Z

Dear Readers,

If you're not already following essbeevee , you really should be. Quite apart from being fricking hilarious and having an amazing collection of frocks, Sarah does the most beautiful illustrations. I've wanted one for a long time and finally thought why the hell not. I sent an email off with a request that went along the lines of "GREEN. And make me look pretty please". Didn't she do a marvellous job?

It's like me but better!

There was one slight problem: I was immediately full of want for the outfit. I couldn't resist an attempt at dressing up like it. Ebaying has already commenced for a green dress because shamefully, my wardrobe is entirely lacking in this category. The shoes were easier to source. I nipped straight into Matalan and discovered some in the sale. Hurrah! They're not quite the same, but are pretty awesome nonetheless.

Here's my attempt. Alas not as tall, thin or pretty as the illustration but this is real life after all.

And for the general details:

Apologies for the peculiar pose but this does need hoicking in at the back so as not to look sack-like in photos...

Dress & socks - Primark
Shoes - Matalan sale
Ring - Dorothy Perkins sale
Necklace - Tatty Devine, present
Book - from a shop in Hay on Wye
it's Houses and History by Rosemary Sutcliff and comes highly recommended by me!)

ps - If you want to be immortalised in sketch form, get in touch with Sarah here

They Know Me So Well

2012-01-07T14:14:00.001Z

I wasn't online between Christmas and New Year, so had no chance to talk about Christmas presents. I'm not convinced I would have done a haul type post anyway, cos although it's tempting to share all the lovely goodies I received (and I got lots), there is something of the "OMG I am a spoiled brat with ELEVENTYMILLION PRESENTS!!" about it. So take it as read that I am a spoiled brat, ok? I'll mention presents on here as and when I wear/use them.

Like, um, today! You've all seen the coat and jumper and shorts before, but the accessories are new to me. They're all presents from amazing ladies in Blogland. I hereby salute your exceptional taste. I can't think of anything more me and it's such a wonderful feeling when you know that someone has really thought about what you would like.

I took part in Lakota's Christmas Charity Shop swap and was paired up with the fabulous Curtise. There was a price limit set (naturally I blued most of mine on one thing - sorry!) and Curtise did so well with it - I had tons of little parcels to open! Love, love, love this necklace.

Zoe sent me the scarf and I absolutely adore it. Not that this picture quite does the pattern or the colours justice but it's beautiful.

And the shoes... As you might imagine if you know both of us, Char was responsible for sending these my way. Actual squealing took place during the unwrapping. I have these harlequin pumps in both green and purple but I didn't even know they came in the colourway. Aren't they fab?

Jumper - H&M
Shorts - George sale
Coat - Kookai, car boot sale
Shoes - Irregular Choice, present
Scarf - Jacqmar, present
Beads - present

That Year...This Year

2012-01-04T22:25:00.000Z

On the whole, 2011 was not a bad year. As recorded on this here blog, holidays to Kent and Portugal were taken, trips to London, Edinburgh, Newcastle and sunny Shrewsbury were made, cultural things got done, many things got bought. I took a ridiculous amount of photos, blogged a lot, got very bad at commenting (sorry, must improve!)

Did a saucy photoshoot. Embraced the topknot and red lipstick. Increased my Irregular Choice collection. Joined Twitter. Became mildly obsessed with Twitter. Even met people off Twitter (brave eh?). I even became honorary Auntie Alex to young Jack. A lot of the year was very good fun. Not all of it was good though, in fact a certain part of it was very sad and painful, but that's not for me to talk about.

Let us move on to listy type things:

Films seen at the cinema in 2011: 27

Best? Can't pick a favourite. Senna was truly wonderful (and I am outraged it wasn't nominated for best documentary at the Oscars). I went to see The Adjustment Bureau twice so I clearly enjoyed that. Source Code was fantastic. Love and Other Drugs stayed with me for a lot longer than I thought it would. Weekend was brilliant.
Worst? Sorry to my beloved Henry Cavill but even he couldn't rescue Immortals from being rubbish. I blame the 3D.

Books read in 2011: 371.

Not bad eh? There were a fair few novellas in that list but if it's longer than a short story, it counts as a book in my eyes. The list is mostly notable for:

a massive glom of Suzanne Brockmann's back catalogue at the start of the year
Beta reading a book for a Real Life Published Author. That was FUN. I shall talk more of it when it's ready to be released.
Barely reading anything at all in October (see below)

Don't even ask me to pick a favourite book because I'm even less capable of that than I am of picking a favourite film, plus there are a LOT to choose from. I will just say that Delirium by Lauren Oliver made me sob with how good it was, Maritime Men and Anchors Aweigh by Janey Chapel have been read and reread and keep improving, A History of the World in 100 Objects is unbelievably interesting and Lady Rose and Mrs Memmary by Ruby Ferguson was simply beautiful.

Books written in 2011:

One, in October. Hurrah for me! I started number two this week.

Comedians seen:

7. All very funny but I must strongly recommend Chris Ramsey.

Theatre trips:

13. I still can't get over how good Michael Sheen was in Hamlet. Unbelievable. Lovesong was chuffing amazing too though and Flare Path was excellent. If only we hadn't been sitting so high up we were practically on the Moon.

Also:

I'm not really a music person but I went to see Ben Folds in February and sweet jesus, he was astonishingly good. I'll take quality over quantity any day.

So, what does 2012 have in store?

I'm not talking resolutions here, for they are dull. I'm talking things that I will definitely be doing.

An Easter holiday to Hay-on-Wye (my version of bookshop heaven), a jaunt to the Edinburgh Festival and possibly an autumn holiday to France. Haven't quite decided on that last one yet.

OLYMPICS! I have tickets for the cross-country day of the eventing and I am most excited. People who are bah humbuggy about it all: I am not listening to you. Wheeeeee!!! I love the Olympics and I'M GOING!

Whilst I'm on the subject of eventing, I've signed up as a volunteer with British Eventing. I want this to be the year I do some fence judging. For the uninitiated, that involves eating a giant picnic and blowing a whistle a lot, possibly a bit of flag waving too. I can totally do that. Or I shall volunteer in some other capacity. I've bought some wellies and a gilet now; there's no going back.

Wearing more hats. It needs to be done. Is anyone with me?

Doing a writing course this month. Should be fun!

Finally working my way through the to-read pile. It just got bigger and bigger last year and I fear the bottom books will turn to mulch if I don't read them soon.

It's grown since that photo was taken...

A Year In Clothes

2011-12-30T10:39:00.000Z

It's the end of the year and therefore time for the obligatory outfit round up post. I actually really enjoyed mooching through my old posts - it's a sign of how little ironing I've done in the latter half of this year that I'd actually completely forgotten that I owned several of these things!

Things to note:

I still haven't entirely cured myself of my habit of starting at the floor. Not sure I ever will...
The brick wall is brilliant. I love it.
I run out of clothes mojo in the winter - all the good outfits are in May and June.
I will cry actual huge tears when my Dolcis wedges die. I seem to live in them in the summer months.
The weather in August was terrible. Tights! In August!! That's just not right.

January:

February:

March:

April:

May:

June:

July:

August:

Really must get round to ebaying these shoes as they're far too big. Anyone a size 7?

September:

October:

November:

December (aka The Month In Which I Barely Blogged):

So what do you think? Other than the fact that my hair needs a damn good chopping soon...

Any favourites?

I think my 2012 mission is to wear more colour in the winter and increase my hat wearing by a considerable amount.

December Scavenger Hunt

2011-12-23T16:00:00.000Z

Getting into the Christmas swing of things, the December scavenger hunt is bigger, better and festively themed. Kathy has set us the challenge of an A-Z of Christmas. Well, here is my attempt. Slightly early, because I am now busy/away until the end of December, but it's here!

A is for...alcohol

Um, I don't know why we have seven bottles of Prosecco for two people...

B is for...beaded baubles!

Made by my own fair hands. This is the tasteful layer of the tree. It's a wonderfully colourful mess lower down.

C is for...cards

Woop, it's Beard-fàçê Santa.

D is for...decorations

What, you don't decorate your stairs? For shame people, for shame.

E is for...earrings

A small but rather nice collection methinks.

F is for...film

We shall be watching Cary Grant on Christmas Eve. Heaven.

G is for...Gaudete

My joint favourite Christmas carol, along with the Coventry Carol.

H is for...homemade goodies

Bloody Florentines. When I was making this batch I ran out of flaked almonds and spent over an hour finely chopping blanched almonds...then I found another bag of flaked almonds. D'oh! Apparently they taste good though, so that's the important thing.

I is for...Irregular Choice

My most festive pair. Aren't they beautiful?

J is for...jingle bells

Arm-warmers knitted by my friend Sharon, complete with jingle bells.

K is for...kitsch decorations

It's Spot the Dog. Nuff said.

L is for...Liverpool style decorations

Well hello there festively wrapped Superlambanana, and a Merry Christmas to you (and to my Auntie Diane)

M is for...my small festive treat to myself

I like to read something nice in bed on Christmas Eve. I like Rob Ryan. Perfect combo.

N is for...nativity.

A tiny, tiny one!

O is for...Oscar

He is everso fond of the curly ribbon.

P is for...(new) pj's

Thank you H&M for having them on sale in mid December.

Q is for...the Queen's Speech

I have no idea if we'll actually be watching it this year or not.

R is for...Rockin' Robin.

He's older than I am.

S is for...Secret Santa

I have been extremely good and resisted the temptation to open my presents from the lovely Curtise, courtesy of the FHC Christmas swap. I don't think you can quite see it in the photo but next to it is another present courtesy of the Secret Santa that Char organised there too. I shall report back on what they contain!

T is for..tv

It's one of the traditions: sitting down with the bumper edition of the Radio Times and a pen and marking off everything you want to watch/record.

U is for...a uniformed toy soldier on the tree

He's got moving arms and legs and everything.

V is for...visiting pals

I love my girls but we're all a bit scattered now, so we don't meet up as often as we'd like. I've seen them all over the past week though - hurrah! I got to hold Baby Jack too. Can you see the terror in my (weirdly squinty) eyes? He is absolutely adorable but I just don't know what to do with babies.

W is for...wrapping

I did it all in one night. Bish bash bosh.

(um, this is where it gets rather far fetched...)

X is for...you lot being eXtremely disappointed if I don't feature some odd socks

Christmassy ones, natch.

Y is for...yoghurt.

Oh what else was I supposed to do? Dairy-free house - we don't have Yule logs and suchlike! I put some curly ribbon on it...

Z is for...Zen-like calm

There is nothing better than sitting in the peace and quiet with a cup of coffee (star jumping cat mug optional) and just the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree to keep you company.

Here's wishing you all a very merry Christmas.

Shopping. At This Time of Year?

2011-12-20T18:30:00.002Z

Don't worry gang, it's not one of those posts about how to buy the perfect last-minute gift for your second cousin twice removed who's invited himself round for Christmas dinner. Does anyone even do that, or is just one of those things that the magazines would have us believe?

It's just about me and what I've been buying recently.

I'm not one of those people who subscribe to the school of thought that when buying Christmas presents you MUST get yourself something nice as well. For starters, I buy presents throughout the year and I'd be constantly skint if I went down the one-for-you-one-for-me route. Then you hit the issue that shopping in November and December is always dicey - don't want to ruin someone's beautifully chosen present by buying the same thing for yourself. Also, I'm not 6 years old any more. I don't automatically have to reward myself for getting things done.

It is extremely nice to have money spare in December though. For me, it means not having to stress about January (which is when I bitch and moan almightily at the prospect of spending upwards of £800 on car insurance). It means I can donate money to my favourite charities, especially those who are in extra need of it at this time of year. It means that whilst I'm doing fun things during my time off like visiting friends and popping out for lunch, I can mosey around the shops and if I wish to pick up a few things, there's nothing stopping me. Plus you know, the sales all start before Christmas now. I don't want to be sitting at home crying over my bank statement until payday.

A few things that I've been able to purchase recently:

This beautiful little necklace from a charity shop. It might just be an abstractly painted pebble but I look at it and think of lakeside scenes and the Chalet School books and smile.

Also from a charity shop, an old school scarf. Needs a spot of darning but that's easily done. Thanks Timothy, whoever you are!

Rather lovely Dune brogues, half price in TK Maxx. I had no plans to buy more brogues, having only recently bought the glittery M&S pair, but these are proper leather (I can hear my mum saying "they'll last you years if you polish them properly!") and were too nice to leave behind.

A big cosy stripy jumper from Dorothy Perkins. Not only was this half price in the sale, it was also buy-one-get-one-half-price on everything in store so I got another pair of my beloved skinny jeans for all of £7.50. Bargaintastic.

Also these two tshirts from Threadless:

Dandy Lions

M!aw

All stuff that I could afford, I'm confident no-one else will have got me and that is going to fit very nicely into my wardrobe. That's how December shopping should be.

Sequintastic

2011-12-15T09:16:00.001Z

I don't really do glam.

Most of the time it's just far too much like hard work and so my efforts are limited to wearing excellent shoes and putting lippy on occasionally. Glam girls, I salute you. How do you find the time for all the hair and makeup shenanigans?

It's fun to try it at least once a year though and it was the work Christmas party this week, so the time seemed right. It's probably still extremely moderate on some people's glam scale but I felt fab (and quite pouty, but I'm blaming the lipgloss for that one).

I'm usually a little too frightened of a bodycon frock to even pick one up off the shop rail but Motel Rocks asked if I wanted to try something from their site and I couldn't stop looking at this beauty. Perfect for a party, isn't it? Super comfy to wear as well. There's none of that nasty itchy scratchiness you get from cheapo sequinned things. This is properly lined and feels lovely.

If you've seen it on other bloggers (and you may well have done because it seems super popular) then they're probably a lot skinnier than I am, but what the feck. I have a stomach and a bum: there's no point donning a sack and trying to hide them. Instead I covered them in sequins, drank a lot of wine and danced my ass off.

If you wish to follow my example and clad yourself in sparkles, or just generally to treat yourself to a nice pre-Christmas present, pop in the discount code SEQUIN15 at the checkout - valid until 18th December.

Just for Kezzie, another smiling photo.
Do we like the back?

If you don't like the shoes there's no hope for you. Gold heels, amazing sole...

Dress - c/o Motel Rocks
Shoes - Irregular Choice
Clutch - New Look
Earrings - Mikey (I think - I've had them for years)

As for the makeup, I could pretend that I did it myself but that would just be a giant lie. I took advantage of the fact that I needed some new products anyway and went to MAC to get it done. It was £25, but that cost was redeemable against anything I bought so really, it's a totally moneysaving way to do things. Honest it is. Now if only I could win the lottery and buy myself a makeup artist, I could have eye makeup this beautiful every day.

Apparently I have lovely eyelids. Who knew?

Not the best (or best lit) photo in the world but it is hard to take photos of your own face! I'd never make a beauty blogger, would I?

A Festive Frock

2011-12-10T19:48:00.002Z

Gosh, apologies for the recent lack of bloggage! It has been an insanely busy week at work and I'm still not quite finished with it yet as I have to work Sunday afternoon as well. However... I am then off work until 3rd January which is going to be brilliant! I love my generous holiday allowance. When all the stress is out of the way, my thoughts can properly turn towards Christmas.

I've already got cards and presents sorted and posted, the tree is going up tomorrow night and in an extreme fit of organisation, I've even picked what I'm wearing on Christmas Day. Tis a tradition in our house that you have to have a new outfit for the big day (and also new pj's the night before - does anyone else do this or is it just us?). You'll probably see about 90 million "dressing for Christmas" articles and features at this time of year but here's my take on it.

It's not exactly complicated. Go on a hunt around the shops (High St/online/charity/supermarkets) and look in their party dresses section. Pick one that meets the following three rules:

Number One - it must be comfy. Nothing bodycon (that can be the Christmas party outfit), nothing tight. It's not Christmas if I don't eat my own bodyweight in roast potatoes and pigs in blankets and I don't want a stupid waistband making me uncomfortable.
Number Two - is a fairly simple design that doesn't need too much dressing up. If I'm lucky enough to get fun accessories and jewellery as presents then I want to try them on straight away and not have to wrestle off a cardigan and 3 necklaces first.
Number Three - Looks good with a pair of excellent shoes you already own. If that's a pair of Irregular Choice then all the better.

Chuck in some simple but pretty accessories and that's it all sorted. Sparkly tights! Amazing, yes?

I don't wear gold jewellery very often but this bracelet was my grandma's and I like to wear it on special occasions.

Dress - c/o George
Tights - Marks & Spencer sale
Shoes - Irregular Choice
Rings - Dorothy Perkins sale and Next sale

I think I picked well with this one. Not only is it awesome, it also goes surprisingly well with a jaunty pair of jingly reindeer antlers. You know I'll be busting these out on Christmas Day.

Fighting the Elements

2011-12-05T21:05:00.001Z

Summer seems like a long, long time ago doesn't it? Well maybe not if you're lucky enough to live in Spain or somewhere equally warm and sunny, but I live in Liverpool. Today it was 2 degrees and when it wasn't hailing, it was pissing down with rain. By all rights I should have been in galoshes and oilskins but I refuse to give into such things. Instead I whacked on the red lippie and the red shorts (Shorts: Not Just For Summer) and debuted a new pair of boots. They aren't exactly galoshes but they are waterproof.

Now don't fall over in shock, for I know I am not renowned for practical shoes. It took work to track down black wedge boots that weren't a) suede or b) hideous. I like them lots, even if I did get confused by the zip placement and put them on the wrong feet when I first tried them on...

Jumper - Gap sale
Shorts - H&M
Boots - Aldo, via ASOS
Necklace - market stall in Dubrovnik

November Scavenger Hunt

2011-11-30T20:55:00.000Z

It's the end of the month and that means it's time for the November scavenger hunt. Thanks as always to Kathy for picking the categories. You can see everyone else's posts here.

Something that you have made

Not the tree, obviously (although I did decorate it). The beaded bauble.

Silhouette

I'm not ashamed to admit I own this book despite the epic mullet on the cover. It's about a wrestler! There's another thing I'm not ashamed to admit: I love wrestling. Mock me at your peril. I will bodyslam you.

A lucky charm

Lucky Ducky.

A poppy

This is how I wear my poppy: in my hair. I have a terrible habit of losing them when they're attached to my coat so this is safer all round.

A self-portrait

I hate taking photos of my own face. This was the best I could do.

Memorial

It's a memorial to the Potato Famine, in the grounds of St Luke's church in Liverpool city centre. I suppose the church is a sort of memorial too. It was bombed out during WW2 (hence it being known as the "bombed-out church" now) and has been left that way.

Polka dots

A selection from the sock drawer.

Warmth

Yeah, my fire is retro. None of those flickery pebble things for me.

Something that lights up

One of the Christmas decorations in Liverpool. I don't think the lights are up to much this year but I love this reindeer.

Staircase

At the Bluecoat. It's a stunning building anyway but I am especially fond of this doorway. Check out the little Liver Bird on the pediment.

Something purple

The last remnants of colour on a hydrangea bush.

Comfort food

Nothing better. My Magic Roundabout egg cup must be used.

A Hat (and the giveaway winners)

2011-11-28T22:30:00.001Z

I don't often wear hats. I bought this one on holiday over a year ago and it's been languishing on the hat rack ever since. It's not so much that I'm shy of wearing them, just that I have a really large head and they don't often suit me. You know that lovely sort of woolly-beanie-on-the-back-of-the-head look? Yeah, I can't do that. I just look as if my head is so big it's burst out of my hat.

I like this one though. It fits, which is always a good start. It's green, therefore I automatically love it. It has a floppy brim which I can hide behind when I'm feeling bashful about wearing a hat - bonus marks!

Skater dress - H&M
Cardi & belt - Primark
Shoes - New Look
Rings - Primark (snake) & Dorothy Perkins (green)
Hat - hat shop in Dubrovnik

Anyway, here's the bit you've all been waiting for: the winners of the giveaway, as decided by random.org.

Thank you very, very much to MJ, Very and Natureshop for donating such lovely prizes.

The winner of the beautiful ring from MerCurios is... The Girl (who has excellent luck in my giveaways!)
The winner of the £50 Very voucher is... Maddie
The winner of the boots from Natureshop is... Feeneyfoofoo
The winner of the Persephone Books voucher is... Mrs Bossa

Ladies, I shall be in touch with you all very shortly to arrange your prizes.

Culture Vulture

2011-11-24T14:46:00.001Z

After the craziness that was most of October, it's been a relief this month to take some time to do fun things instead and, if it doesn't sound too wanky and pretentious, to recharge my cultural batteries a bit. Ok, that does sound quite wanky, doesn't it? I just think writing the novel sapped a lot of my creativity and it's been nice to sit back and soak up other people's creative efforts a bit. So here's a mini round-up of things I've done/seen recently:

Cinema

The Ides of March

Is this where I finally get on the Gosling bandwagon? Possibly, although I didn't go and see it for him, nor for George Clooney. I went because I am a political nerd and The West Wing is probably my favourite drama series of all time. When I say that this was like a decent episode of that programme, that's a compliment. I like political intrigue and shenanigans and the fact that no-one is actually a nice person. Shades of grey, not black and white. It was good. Not outstanding, but good.

Weekend

Word of warning: don't go and see this with your dad. Even if he is quite cool and liberal and hippyish like mine, it's still a tad uncomfortable to sit next to him during gay sex scenes. That aside, I really liked this film. I'm very pleased it got a decent cinematic release as the subject matter isn't usually considered mainstream enough to get shown outside LGBT festivals (don't even get me started on how criminally underrated A Love To Hide is). It was just very honest and real. A little bittersweet, but isn't that how life is?

Immortals

In 3D. Uck. I hate 3D. Not only does it not work properly with my eyes (and having to wear two pairs of glasses is never a good look), I massively begrudge having to pay inflated ticket prices, especially when it's a film that's been retrofitted and wasn't even meant to be in 3D in the first place. Grrr. But such is my devotion to Henry Cavill. I kinda dread the new Superman film coming out because he'll be all mainstream and I have had a crush on him for YEARS don't you know? Um yeah, the film... Entertaining enough I suppose but not that good and also quite a lot gorier than I was expecting! He's beautiful though so I don't really care.

Theatre

Star Quality by Noel Coward

Fun, fun, fun. I do enjoy a bit of mid 20th century drama - the dialogue is generally very snappy and witty and that, my friends, is just my cup of tea. It's a play about a play and I always think that's good fun if done well because there's so much potential for bitchiness and melodrama.

Lovesong by Abi Morgan, performed by Frantic Assembly

People, go and look at their list of dates for the rest of the tour. If they're performing near you, go and see them. Please. I've been going to see them since 2006 when my friend Lee took me to see pool (no water) and haven't missed a show since, even if (as in this case) it means going to Leeds to watch them. Not that I have any object to Leeds you understand, it just adds to the cost of the day when you have to buy train tickets as well.

Anyway, the play! Superb. Frantic Assembly put on the most stunning pieces of physical theatre I've ever seen. This play perhaps doesn't have quite so much of it but that's due to the age of two of the four actors and when it is done, it's brilliant and perfectly in keeping. The play is about the beginning and end of a relationship and all I'm going to say is that there wasn't a dry eye in the house when it was finished.

Comedy

Jack Whitehall

Oh Jack, how I love thee. I went to see him in London last year when I think he was working on the beginnings of this show so I'd seen bits of it before but I still bloody loved it all. I thought Lee and I were safe sitting in the front row with Jack not being the sort of comedian who pokes fun at his audience...yeah, he asked us a question, didn't he? I had to very bashfully squeak "we're not a couple, we're best friends".

Milton Jones

I'll say it straight off: I like comedy but I don't like one-liner merchants, I prefer story tellers. So why did I go and see him? Um, cos someone else bought me a ticket? He was great though. Yes, it's a constant stream of one liners but it's surreal and really cleverly done wordplay rather than just reeling off joke after joke after joke. His warm-up act was dire though and would have completely died on his arse had he not involved some audience members.

Mitch Benn

This was a bit of a speculative one to be honest. I've heard him on The Now Show (Radio 4 FTW!) and I love this song so I thought it was worth snapping up a ticket. I honestly didn't expect it to be as good as it was. He absolutely rocked through two full 45 minute sets of fricking hilarious songs. I thoroughly recommend going to see him.

So that was the cultural month that was. Do you have any recommendations for me?

Giveaway Time

2011-11-21T19:45:00.003Z

I have bad news and good news.

Bad news: I am not running the 12 Days of Christmas giveaway again this year. My brain can't cope with the effort of thinking of things for it. It was hard work last year!

Good news: I have a big shiny giveaway for you RIGHT NOW instead, partly to celebrate having 400 followers and partly just because you're all marvellous.

There are 4 prizes:

1. Your choice of either a single or double personalised silver banner ring from MerCurios .

I absolutely adore MJ's creations and I am very jealous of whoever wins this one. I strongly encourage you to go and buy something from her anyway. She makes the most gorgeous jewellery; all sorts of stunning statement pieces made with rock crystal, geodes and skulls, and of course a huge variety of beautiful personalised rings. The lucky duck who wins this gets to choose their preferred style of ring (single or double banner) and their own message to go on it.

2. A £50 voucher to spend at Very.co.uk

Fifty whole English pounds to spend on whatever you want! Now you could be sensible and spend it on Christmas presents (new Call of Duty game? toys for the kids?) or something practical like a new hairdryer, or you could take my advice and spend it all on yourself. Buy something lovely like shoes (I really want these!) or a new coat or a pretty frock. The choice is yours.

3. A lovely pair of boots from Natureshop.co.uk.

I always like to hear about companies that try to do things ethically so I was very pleased when the lovely people at Natureshop got in touch. The products are all made in as environmentally responsible a way as possible and they tell you all about it on the product page which I very much approve of. And who doesn't love a bright red pair of wellies or proper sheepskin lined boots? No more cold feet in the snow this year: hurrah! The winner can take their pick from the Merrell, Keen, Teva, Kamik, Chaco or Timberland ranges.

4. A book token for one book from Persephone Books (provided by moi).

Persephone reprint neglected classics by twentieth century (mostly) female writers and I can honestly say I've never had a bad book from there. Even if their books aren't quite to your personal taste (and there's a really good selection so I hope that at least one of them is!), they're beautifully printed and make amazing presents for people so you can always pass the gift along. I'll organise a book token for the winner which can be claimed against any book in their catalogue.

Given that multiple prizes are up for grabs here, I'm going to make the rules as simple as I can:

- Leave a comment on this post.
- You must let me know which of the prizes you would like (it's fine to say all 4) and give me a way to contact you - email address, twitter, whatever. If you don't do both of these things then your comment won't be counted, sorry!
- If you want to mention the giveaway on Twitter or your blog, feel free to do so. Just pop an extra comment to let me know you have done so and you'll get an extra entry.

The giveaway will run for one week, ending at 10pm GMT on Monday 28th November.
I'll pick the winners using random.org. Should the first number picked not want that particular prize, I'll draw another number at random.

That's all the formalities out of the way. Now go! Comment! Decide what you'll pick if you win!

Speccy Four Eyes

2011-11-20T19:47:00.001Z

aka Alex Gets New Glasses

Do you like them?

I have been after a pair of green specs for ages but they are surprisingly difficult to find. Even though these look a bit blue, they are in fact green. Thanks to the wonders of Twitter, a very good Glasses Direct deal and the lovely Tamsin, these were mine for a shade over £25. Bargain, yes?

They are quite bold.

I am a very long way out of my comfort zone with this size and style of frame (slight shades of Su Pollard/Timmy Mallett?) but for that price and for a backup pair, I thought I might as well take a risk. After all, if you're going to wear bright green specs, there's no point being subtle about the size of them, is there?

Surprisingly hard to take a nice photo of me wearing them though. It's either silly face (as above), hidey face (as below) or minging face (not appearing on the blog thank you very much).

Happy (for once)

2011-11-16T13:35:00.009Z

The things I do for this blog. It was 4 degrees outside when I was taking these photos. 4 DEGREES. I couldn't feel my fingers when I got back in.

I'm glad I made the effort though. Not only do I actually like some of the photos (trust me, this doesn't happen often), I really like the outfit. You know when you just think yes, I like it all? Well it's one of those days. I love the new (to me) blazer, really love the tshirt and scarf, am extremely fond of any form of shoe which gives me height and is comfy and, surprise surprise, I love my new jeans.

I don't seem to blog my jeans very often, probably because I have about 5 pairs but they're all exactly the same. Good old Dorothy Perkins. If they ever stop making this style (petite skinny for those who are interested) I will cry so loudly it will knock birds out of the trees. They're the right length, the right shape, the right wash and definitely the right price. This pair cost the princely sum of about £11. I love those 30% off weekends.

This scarf is looooooong. Here's a lovely out-take photo of me looking confused at quite how many times I need to unwrap it to demonstrate just quite how long it is:

I managed it in the end. Alex 1 Scarf 0.

Told you it was long!

Please ignore the coating of burgundy scarf fluff... I wanted to show off the beautiful skyline print.

Tshirt & scarf - H&M (Lisbon and Newcastle stores respectively)
Jeans - Dorothy Perkins
Shoe boots - River Island sale
Blazer - Warehouse, BNWT from Oxfam last weekend for £12. Hurrah!
Gloves - pinched from a friend
Hair - all my own. This is what happens when you can't be bothered drying it and go to sleep with it in Princess Leia buns instead.

An Awful Lot of Orange

2011-11-14T14:35:00.001Z

So, did I mention I quite like orange at the moment? I will wear some different coloured clothes at some point soon but for now, you will just have to put up with autumnal themed outfits. The cat print shoes will make an appearance this week though, I promise.

I fell upon this jumper with squeaks of joy when I was shopping in Newcastle. It is just so very, very orange. Am I in danger of looking like a walking pumpkin? Probably. I'd much rather that than drown in a sea of boring black and grey clothes though.

May we all take a moment to glory in the wonderful glittertasticness of these brogues? Who said sensible, waterproof shoes had to be boring?

Jumper - H&M
Skirt - River Island sale (with added black netting underneath added by moi)
Jacket - Mango, via the half price rail in charity shop
Tights - Dorothy Perkins orange plus Evans chocolate fishnets
Brogues - Marks & Spencer Limited Collection
Bag - vintage camera case, via charity shop
Necklace - Tatty Devine, present from the wonderful Char
Rings - (L-R) Dorothy Perkins sale, ditto and Stolen Thunder

Oranjeboom

2011-11-10T19:35:00.001Z

No, not the drink. My legs!

Here's what I love about autumn: COLOURS! I am officially obsessed with autumnal tones. Everything I'm buying at the moment is orange, green, rust, berry or burgundy. Can't get enough.

Here's what I don't love about autumn: piles of leaves in my usual posing spot. How rude! Especially when I had suede shoes on.

The frock was a complete impulse purchase. I ventured outside my usual shopping haunts and went to Belle Vale after A Thrifty Mrs tipped me off about cat print shoes on sale in Store 21. For non-Scousers, Belle Vale sounds lovely, doesn't it? All pretty fields and picturesque animals? Yeah, it's nothing like that. At all. It does have a Store 21 though and I really wanted those cat shoes. I got them, and whilst wandering to the till, spotted this beauty, marked up at 25% off. Did I mention I was mildly in love with orangey stuff right now? I appear to have hidden most of the panels of that colour with my cardi and/or jacket but trust me, they're there.

Dress - Store 21
Cardi - Gap sale
Jacket - vintage St Michaels, via charity shop
Tights - Dorothy Perkins
Shoes - Kurt Geiger, via charity shop
Necklace - vintage, present from lovely Zoe

Primary Colours

2011-11-08T21:20:00.000Z

Please, someone, take pity on me and teach me how to do my hair properly. I had visions of a bit of a 60's beehive to go with this outfit and it all just went totally wrong and looks a big mess. Doom.

At least the frock is nice. Yay! Plus the chilly weather gives me a chance to wear my faux fur. This did not get mentioned in the recent coats post because I completely forgot about it until I was poking round in the loft at the weekend. The tapestry coat was there too. Hurrah!

Dress - River Island sale
Faux fur coat - vintage, from the amazing Kinky Melon ebay shop
Shoes - George sale
Bag - vintage, present from the lovely Margaret.

I know she will shout at me for still staring at the floor but the facing-the-camera pics today all made me look utterly pasty and moon faced. Look!

Bleurgh.

Storage

2011-11-06T11:59:00.001Z

Ok, not the most fun concept in the world, I must admit. But I'm one of those weirdos who gets a great sense of satisfaction from putting things away. Probably because I don't do it that often so it's all a bit Mary Poppins-ish to me. My preferred superpower would definitely be the ability to click my fingers and have things snap back into place. Until the wonderful day that happens, I'll just have to do it all by hand.

Yesterday was spent getting the bedroom back into shape. I've been a complete slattern whilst I've been writing so it was in a right state. Amongst the many things that needed sorting out were my suitcases. I love these cases. Pretty and practical.

This is my tights case. Now A Thrifty Mrs, guru of all things organisational and thrifty, has recently written a very good post about organising your drawers but I am not that good. I can organise the heck out of my tights though. No more rummaging through a drawer desperately hunting for the right colour and getting them all tangled together. Not for me.

I roll them, stash them, and this way I can see exactly what colours I've got. Patterned dark tights lie flat on the right hand side because frankly, rolling them is a waste of time. They just look black and you can't see the patterns.

(Most of the coloured tights are from Dorothy Perkins. Their 80 denier tights are wonderful. Loads of different shades and they are practically impossible to ruin. Keep your eyes peeled in the sale too - you can often get them for 50p or £1)

As for the other cases, they hold:

Gloves and woolly hats.

Summer clothes that get packed away so I've actually got space in my wardrobe for all my winter clobber.

And old clothes that I can't bring myself to throw away. That black thing with the blue beaded fringing? I used to go clubbing in that when I was 17. Look at the size of it!

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to dust the bookshelves. I may be some time...

A Novel Idea

2011-11-03T13:50:00.002Z

It is November. October, month of the dreaded Novel Writing Challenge, is over and done with. So here's what I know:

I DID IT! I am very proud of myself for this simple fact.

Trying to write 50,000 words in a month is HARD. Harder than I ever realised. If (like me) you have a full time job and try and have any semblence of a social life/exercise in the evenings/etc then it is really sodding hard. Forget about having a clean house, any ironed clothes or any food that takes longer than 20 minutes to prepare. My basic problems are that a) I'm not organised enough to plot things out before I start them and b) I don't write that fast, so doing 1600 words a day of original thought takes me 3 hours+. Trying to fit that in around your normal life is incredibly difficult, hence the lack of blogging/reading/sleep/doing anything fun.

I wouldn't have managed it without Char to constantly witter to when I was behind on word count and having stressy moments (and in one instance, nearly an actual panic attack) about my complete inability to get any words on the page. I love you missus.

I would probably have gone slightly nuts without my amazing Twitter pals as well. Some of you were excellent at telling me to get off there and write the bloody book. I have cried laughing on more than one occasion when talking to Steph, Chloe, Char and others about quivering members. Sarah gets a special mention for making me snork by reminding me of this lady:

(it's not that dirty a book, honestly)

But slightly gushing thank-yous aside, the main thing is that I really like writing again.

I am under no illusions whatsoever about the quality of the novel. It's not in a state where I'd be happy that anyone else read it. I know that certain parts are not good at all. This was never about quality though. It was about finally stopping procrastinating and getting these characters out of my head and down onto paper (or a netbook screen if we're going to be very fussy). I haven't written any fiction for years. There's a half finished loosely fan-fic inspired piece knocking around somewhere but other than that, I haven't done anything for a long, long time. Yes, I write this blog and my diary and all the web content and newsletters for work, but that's different.

Writing at a pace beyond my usual comfort zone was never going to be conducive to producing my best work but the main thing is that I've completed it. And you know what? I don't hate it. I know bits are duff and I really need to work on some technical elements of it but there are parts that I've reread when scrolling through and thought "oh, that's not bad." It's a good feeling.

I'm having a week off and then I'll go back and look at it properly. After a bloody good edit, will it be good enough to even consider the next step down the line? I hope so. Even if it doesn't; even if I only ever write for myself, that's fine. This has given me so many more ideas and I'm going to allow myself the indulgence of following them up instead of automatically assuming I can't do it.

ps - if you're interested, the ring at the top came from MerCurios. I absolutely love her jewellery.

pps - Go and sign up for the Bloggers' Secret Santa that Char is organising. You might get ME as your Santa. I buy great presents, even if I do say so myself.

October Scavenger Hunt

2011-11-01T11:20:00.003Z

All I am going to say about the October challenge is thank goodness I work where I do. Most of these were taken at work during the Halloween event.

Sunset:

Over the River Mersey towards the Wirral. I had one of the settings on my camera slightly off so this was a complete accident!

A black cat:

This is a little tin thing I've had since I was about 6.

Crunchy leaves:

My overwhelming memory of October has been sog. The leaves were almost never crunchy; they were soggy and wet and stuck to my shoes all month. Resorted to some trees in the end.

Fog/mist:

So despite the sog, we never actually had any fog or mist *shakes fist at the weather*

Golden:

My new effalump ring

Graffiti:

It counts, right? Very old graffiti, anyway.
ETA - I *think* it just says one to fourteen

Candlelit:

Heritage:

I think I had too much choice for this one. Honestly, I could have taken a picture of just about anything and it would have qualified.

Pumpkin:

Yup, at work, during the Halloween event.

Something eerie:

There's a ghost story associated with it but I won't dash your hopes and explain how inaccurate it is...

River:

The Mersey. There's usually more water in it, honest.

Witch's hat/broomstick:

Both! In your FACE scavenger hunt challenge!

Thanks, as always, to Kathy for organising this. You can see everyone else's collections here.

Dog People, Beware

2011-10-29T10:30:00.007+01:00

It's National Cat Day today, so I'm handing over to a very special guest poster:

I'm Oscar.

Her What Writes The Blog got a birthday present back in April 1996. It was an IOU for a ginger bundle of fluff. She had to wait till August for me though!

I was very small with great big ears and paws

Then I grew a bit

And now I'm a great big devilishly handsome chap

My hobbies are:

Finding places where I can spread maximum amounts of ginger fluff

Sitting on my Uncle Ken

(oh he's going to kill her for that)

Helping! I especially enjoy jigsaws, sewing and computer work.

Sleeping

Pretending I'm a jockey

Miaowing. I am an excellent conversationalist.

And generally being handsome. She regularly assures me I am The Most Handsome Cat In All The Land.

I think she's right, don't you?

Loud and Proud

2011-10-25T14:17:00.001+01:00

I gave you a sneaky peek of today's frock a little while ago. Remember? The loud one? No, don't go getting distracted by how red my coat is. (Seriously though coat, are you this red in real life?)

This frock! The cherrytastic one.

I am still a tad bashful about wearing it because let's face it, subtle it is not. However I've run out of clean clothes and so I had no choice. This novel is completely taking over my life. I have no time for anything else at the moment (apart from waging war on Amazon's customer service department but that's a whole other long and boring story). I'm 41,600 words into the novel though so fingers crossed I'll complete the challenge! Then in November I can do some ironing and stuff and stop living like a tramp.

Dress - vintage
Shoes - Dorothy Perkins
Coat - H&M via ebay
Scarf - dunno

Coats

2011-10-17T14:47:00.001+01:00

Today I am thinking coats. Also, having typed the word a lot, am thinking what a weird word it actually is. Coat. Coat. Coat. Coat. Coat. Hmmm.

Anyway, would you believe that I only used to have one? It was black, it was from Asda, it cost about £20. Not that any of those things are necessarily bad - it was a good coat, just not very interesting. This is it (back in the fatter days, obviously...):

I seem to have developed quite the collection over the past year. It's probably very modest by a lot of people's standards but considering that I used to be restricted to just the one, it feels like a lot to me!

There's the Monsoon one that I sort of regret buying because it was expensive and I've only worn it twice. So pretty though...

And the super bargainous H&M jacket (£10 in the sale) which I love to bits:

I hereby share with you my top tip for coat purchasing: stalk ebay in the summer. There might not be as many winter coats listed but because not many people are thinking that far ahead, there will be fewer bidders and you will get bargains. I'm far too tight to spend a fortune every year on a coat - the ASOS and Topshop ones might look lovely but the prices make my eyes water. Unless it's going to last years and - let's face it, they never do - I'm not going to spend a lot on it (Um, Monsoon coat shall be the exception. I was under shopping pressure that day).

This H&M coat was about a fiver off ebay and still had the tags in:

Another H&M coat that came off ebay. This is the closest thing to a mac you'll ever see me in; I don't like flasher type coats.

So that's the bases covered really. Red coat, green coat, lightweight coats, frivolous velvet coat, work fleece, sensible waterproof Regatta coat and a whole heap of jackets (should probably do a separate post on them at some point).

The only thing lacking was a smartish dark coat. I know I was in need of one but as you've probably realised by now, I get very bored shopping for sensible basics. So when the lovely people at Very got in touch, I went "Yoicks!" and chose this very pretty herringbone coat with velvet trim and buttons. Even better, it came in petite as well as normal so I didn't have the usual hassle of flappy long sleeves. Super cute, yes?

ps - a great big helloooooo to all the new followers who have appeared recently. Tell your friends! When I'm up to 400 I'll pull together some sort of marvellous giveaway.

pps - I have guest posted on Where Are My Knees? Read, enjoy, see me in my scanties...

Shiny, shiny, shiny

2011-10-13T13:45:00.001+01:00

Today I am talking jewellery, and the storage thereof. To be more accurate, I am showing you pictures because there's not an awful lot you can say about it.

So, um, welcome to the world of my shiny things!

Yes, that is a pair of Kopparberg earrings hiding behind the triangles

Earrings dangle in three layers:

A handy Ikea stacking pot holds (L-R) stud earrings, rings and assorted broken stuff:

I found this thing at work, about to go in the bin. No idea why we had it there or what it actually is! Is it meant to be for jewellery display or half of a child sized mannequin? Anyway, it's very useful for pinning some of my brooches onto:

Some of the necklaces dangle from the other wooden holder:

Some of them live in a craft box thing in the cupboard:

And the bangles (not that I have many, because they tend to irritate me) live in a hat box which I forgot to take a photograph of because it was 1am when I took these pictures and the brain wasn't quite working properly by then.

I did remember to take this though, should you wish to purchase your own jewellery holders. I'm not associated with the man in any way and have never met him - my mum bought me the holders as presents from a craft fair - but they pass both elements of the William Morris test and that's always a big positive mark as far as I'm concerned.

ps - I think I was wildly over optimistic to say that I'd have any free time in October for blogging. I am barely managing to squeeze in a couple of posts a week and definitely have no time for commenting. It's only temporary though: I shall be back to normal in November. In the meantime, don't get bored with me please!

A Little Bit of Vintage Shopping

2011-10-11T10:23:00.000+01:00

Oh vintage fairs, how I enjoy thee. I adore tracking down a bargain in a charity shop or a car boot sale but sometimes it's nice to be lazy and have lots of goodies all lined up for you to drool over.

The Affordable Vintage Fair finally came back to Liverpool - hurrah! Apparently Chloe Sevigny was there but I don't think I'd have recognised her even if she was wearing a big name badge and came and introduced herself so hey ho.

Do forgive the haul post that's coming up. I have no brainpower left for proper words.

I bought a big red suitcase to add to my stack of cases.

Also a lovely leather briefcase which will do me very nicely until I manage to rustle up the cash for an (extortionately priced) doctors or Gladstone bag.

A pure wool jacket all the way from Salzburg.

From the same stall, this cherrytastic dress. Gosh my mother can be scathing sometimes. I showed it to her and she summed it up in one simple sentence. "Well it's a bit loud." Yes, yes it is. Hence why I like it.

Char and I purchased this timeshare shirt. Whacky, isn't it? We chuffing love it though and we were running out of dosh by this point so we pooled our resources and bought it.

And what did I wear to said vintage fair? Well, nothing that was actually vintage, save for the handbag:

Dress - New Life
Cardi - Gap sale
Shoes - Irregular Choice via ebay

Not that these are in any way, shape or form vintage, but I took the photo so thought I may as well include it... some Primark tights and knee high socks that were also purchased this weekend following a quick shopping trip after cheering on my brother in the Liverpool marathon. He is amazing.

Face On

2011-10-07T10:05:00.001+01:00

Double whammy here - not only am I wearing burgundy, a colour I haven't ever worn before that I can remember, but I'm also looking at the camera instead of my feet in at least half of the photos. Wonders will never cease.

I like these chinos an awful lot. Clearly the way forward with scary colours is to wear them on my lower half. Yes, I know I'm probably the only person in the world who think burgundy and purple and suchlike are "scary" but they really drain me out if I wear them next to my face so I've fallen into the habit of just avoiding them full stop.

I LOVE this bag. Love it.

Jumper & ring - Dorothy Perkins
Chinos & bag - Primark
Shoes - Irregular Choice
Bangle - vintage

Thanks for all the novel writing encouragement! It's progressing ok but is properly clobbering my free time, hence the less wordy blog posts - I just don't have time to be creative on here as well! I'm slightly behind schedule and had a bit of a panicky meltdown the other night when I just couldn't write anything but I reckon I'm back on track now. It's slightly surprising me how many things I'm having to check during the process of writing - they include:

Norwegian names
Ipads (because I am POOR and don't have one of my own)
Shamefully emotastic bands
Tattoos on men (oh that was such a hardship)
Houses

I love a bit of research though so it's all been quite good fun really. However if anyone speaks Norwegian, do please let me know...

Me and my hair

2011-10-05T10:10:00.000+01:00

Sometimes I think it looks down at my outfit and thinks "Crazy shoes, crazy shirt...let battle commence"

Then it turns out fecking HUGE in photos, just to keep up appearances. See?

Dress - AX Paris, via Oxfam
Shirt - Ryan's Vintage, Manchester
Shoes - Irregular Choice via ebay
Badge - birthday present from my brother

The dress was a veritable snip at £2.99. The shoes, at £16.50 inc p&p, were a tad more expensive but considering they'd only been worn once or twice and probably retailed at £65 or so, I still think I got a bargain.

Green With Envy

2011-10-03T18:50:00.000+01:00

I promised you a proper sighting of the green trousers so here you are. Are you jealous? They are quite almightily green.

They were possibly slightly more flattering in the holiday snap - isn't it a bit of a kick in the face when one blurry outtake photo looks better than any of the 133 proper ones that you took? Oh well. I don't really have any trousers that aren't jeans any more so it's quite fun to give something this bold a try.

I love staring at my feet, especially when they're this dotty.
It's that Boots vouchers time of year again - I treated myself to the History shade from the Poppy King range. It's lovely.

Jumper - H&M
Chinos - Primark
Shoes - Irregular Choice via ebay
Handbag - vintage, a very lovely present from the very lovely Zoe
Earrings - Etsy seller Still With You, courtesy of a blog giveaway at A Daisy Chain Dream.

This month is going to be a bit of a killer. Char and I have declared that October is time for caanowrimo (Char-and-Alex's-Novel-Writing-Month)to be unleashed on the world. I know NaNoWriMo is November but November is always ridiculously busy for me so it was now or never. This means I have to write *gulp* about 1600 words a day, every day. It's going to cut into my blogging time a bit (well, a lot) but I'll do my best to keep things ticking over as usual on here. I'm ahead of schedule so far but I doubt that will last...

September Scavenger Hunt

2011-09-30T10:20:00.001+01:00

So where did September go? A few days on holiday, a few days ill in bed and whoomp, it's October. Worrying. Anyway, that means it's time for the monthly scavenger hunt round-up. Thanks as always to Kathy from Postcards from the P.P for organising it. All the other entries can be found here.

Back to school:
It always makes me think of kicking leaves on the way into school and gleefully collecting conkers.

A road sign:
If there's one thing England is not short of, it's amusingly named villages. By heck, do we like to go and visit them. Give us a good map and some back roads and we can keep ourselves amused for hours. I have an excellent photo tucked away somewhere of my mum and auntie pulling faces next to a roadsign for Seething.

Barton in the Beans is one of my absolute favourites although we did also go through Sheepy Magna and Sheepy Parva on the same trip and they come very close on the scale of awesome place names.

The football season:
It just really made me laugh.

Harvest:
I didn't pick them. They're probably safe but I don't dare risk it.

What's in your bag?:
Unexpected candystripe lining

Relaxation:
Sitting on the kitchen counter, glass of Prosecco, stirring risotto. Annnnnnd breathe....

Something taller than me:

A pile of things:
This may look like an innocent pile of shoes. It is actually a pile of RAGE. You would not believe the crossness resulting from Project Fix Wardrobe. It is proving insanely difficult to replace the broken rail and it is making me boil over with fury, hence all the flung shoes.

Apples:

Desk:
My desk is too untidy for public viewing. This is a paperweight that sits on it.

Public phone box:
Of all the scavenger hunt photos I have ever taken, this was the most shameful. The only phone box I could find locally is right by some shops and the local youth, having nothing better to do, congregrate around it. I couldn't cope with the mocking and "EEEEEEE girrrrrrrrl, worra ya dewin?" so I hastily snapped this and went home.

A view from above:
I think it's Wales...took it from the plane on the way to Portugal anyway.

A is for Alex

2011-09-28T19:08:00.001+01:00

C'est moi.

A - Age
MID TWENTIES. Oh ok, 28. I still get ID'd in Tesco though. I moan about it but secretly I'm very happy.

B - Bed Size
Double

C - Chore you hate
Ironing. Uck. It is boring, it hurts my back and it takes ages.

D - Dogs
No. Cats cats cats.

E - Essential start to your day
Many many alarms. About 5 usually, or I don't get up.

F - Favourite colour
Green. Obviously.

G - Gold or silver
Silver. I've been told gold is something I'll grow to like, like red wine. I'll keep you updated if either happens.

H - Height
Only 5'2. I like it though.

I - Instruments you play
None. I'd love to play the cello.

J - Job title
Administrator. It will probably change to something along the lines of Business Support Coordinator soon (can you sense me rolling my eyes?), neither of which actually reflect the bajillion and one things I do at work. I prefer Fount Of All Knowledge.

K - Kids
No thank you. And kindly don't patronise me by saying that I'll change my mind when I settle down/meet the right man/turn 30.

L - Live
In a house. Sadly not a very big house in the country. Generally surrounded by books and unironed clothes.

M - Mother's name
Jean. She is amazing.

N - Nickname
I never really had one until Ffion came along at work and then in a Mitford/Harry Potter-esque whirl we decided that I was Honks and she was Tonks. Mostly it's just Alex though.

O - Overnight hospital stays
None that I can remember.

P - Pet peeves
Ha! I shall refer you to this here post (incidentally gang, AMAZING comments) about supposedly popular things I hate but the general list of pet peeves is even longer. I think most of them are general bad manners (spitting in the street, talking and texting whilst at the cinema, dropping litter, not picking up dog poo) but I get particularly wound up by bad grammar and spelling. Oh and a special level of hell is reserved for those who drive in the middle lane of the motorway even though there's no other traffic on the road.

Q - Quote from a film
I do tend to sprinkle my conversation with quotes that barely anyone has ever heard of, so I probably sound like a complete odd-bod most of the time, unless you happen to have similar tastes to me! My most-quoted lines tend to come from tv programmes or books, but just for sentimental reasons and because we used to say it to each other all the time, I shall go with:

"I shall try."
"And I shall wait all day."

R - Right or left handed?
Right. I really like left handed men though.

S - Siblings
A big brother, Kenny. Taller than me, sportier than me (Great North Run in under 1 1/2 hours!), more artistic and musical than me. I win at organisation, being reliable, present buying and the general boring stuff. We love each other really though.

T - Time you wake up
Not as early as I should.

U - Underwear
Bosom boosting bras and plain black shorts usually.

V - Vegetable you hate
Cucumber and celery. Bleurgh!

W - What makes you run late
Reading. I don't mean to be late, I really don't, but I get stuck into a book and time just runs away with me.

X - X-Rays you've had
Only teeth. Oh no, my wrist once when I fell off a horse and landed in a crumpled heap between its front legs.

Y - Yummy food that you make
Cakes. I think I'm an ok cook but I am definitely more adventurous with baking than I am with normal meals.

Seriously, where have all my cake photos gone? This was the only one I could find and it doesn't even look nice! Tasted bloody lovely though.

Z - Zoo animal
Would you believe I've never been to the zoo? I don't feel qualified to answer this question.

Under the Sheets

2011-09-27T15:05:00.002+01:00

Gather round readers, for I am about to let you into a secret. Something not often spoken about on fashion blogs...

I love pyjamas.

We don't talk much about nightwear, or lounging-around-the-house-wear, do we? Well, not unless we are the glamorous types who look good in vintage slips and sassy negligees. I am not, and I don't. I go for full on comfort.

I have pretty pj's:

I have polka dotty pj's:

I have ancient old t-shirts:

I have stripy, checked and starry pj's:

I have pj's made by talented friends:

I even have Womble pj's. Yes, I am that cool.

And non Womble, but equally fun slippers. Mustn't forget them:

I find that there's something immensely comforting about being snuggled up in something cosy, hence I am a big fan of bed and duvets. My holy trifecta is clean sheets, new pj's and clean hair. I have been holed up in bed since Friday feeling gruesome so the clean hair and clean sheets have gone by the wayside (haven't had the energy to even contemplate changing the bedding). I have had lovely new pj's to cheer myself up with though. A small but extremely soft and cosy ray of sunshine in a very glum few days. I like them an awful lot and trust me, I'm not easily pleased when it comes to this type of clothing. Maybe that's something I should add to my CV? Pyjama connoisseur....

Cosy check chillin' out pants c/o Joe Browns

An Outfit Post Abroad

2011-09-23T17:34:00.002+01:00

I do sometimes think it would be lovely to live in a permanently warm climate. Then I go on holiday, come back with painfully sunburnt upper thighs (remembered to apply suntan lotion everywhere but there) and remember that I actually don't cope that well with dressing properly in hot weather. It would be impossible for me to look even halfway presentable - I'd always be sweaty, covered in suntan lotion or sand or have my hair tied back up so it didn't annoy me. I'm much safer in the UK.

That's a long winded way of explaining why there aren't very many pics of me on holiday wearing anything very nice. I managed a few though:

Please ignore my matronly upper arms. They only ever see the light of day on holiday.

I should take all my blog photos in cloisters.

Or on cathedral roofs.

Dress - Primark via ebay
Sandals - Primark
Sunnies - Marks & Spencer

Beachfront ones are more tricky though. It was so windy this night (hence the scragged back hair) and I kept getting blown off balance whilst trying to stand still and have my photo taken.

Dress - Peacocks via car boot sale
Cardi - Topshop, present from the ever-lovely and generous Char
Shoes - Dolcis
Watch - shop in Barcelona
Ring - Dorothy Perkins sale
Bag - H&M via car boot sale
Toenails - Barry M Spring Green

And despite the fact that this is a total out-take shot (I should have a special folder entitled Alex Arses Up The Self-Timer), I am showing it to you because...duh duh duh... I found some green trousers! Aren't they quite fantastically green? Expect a proper outfit post featuring them soon.

(Pa demanded credit for his photography so here goes - thanks Dad! Awesome holiday companion that you are.)

Holiday Snaps

2011-09-22T10:01:00.001+01:00

This picture is going to be the main memory of my holiday. I was happily strolling around little winding backstreets in Evora, turned a corner and found this in front of me. Isn't it wonderful? About 5 minutes walk away is this rather splendid ruined Roman temple.

So yes, I like Evora. As for Estoril (where we were staying), I like that too but it's a funny little place. Lovely beach:

Huge casino:

Lots of beautiful and crumbling houses that the owners can't afford to restore:

And no shops. Well that's not strictly true. The shops consisted of two little supermarkets, an Audi dealership and this:

Yes gang, that would be a Hello Kitty shop. I don't quite understand the lack of "normal" shops but I can't say it particularly bothered me. It's just odd. There was nowhere to buy a corkscrew but I could have had a choice of about 8 different Hello Kitty suitcases.

I suppose everyone must go to Lisbon. It's only 20 mins away by train. They've got a Primark and everything (*rolls eyes*). No, I didn't go there. I may have given into the temptation of H&M though...

A lovely lion supporting Vasco de Gama's tomb
Monument to Portuguese explorers

We went to Sintra and I liked that very much too (are you sensing a theme here? Alex likes Portugal). You basically drive up the coast road to the westernmost point of Continental Europe:

and then drive up into the hills. It has beautiful houses, a royal palace, a castle and the most amazing cafe. If you ever go, you MUST have travesseiros de Sintra, fresh out of the oven. I am drooling at the very memory of them.

And finally, because you rock for getting this far, here's a picture of a sign in the hotel lift. Schindler's Lift. *snorks*

Continuing my run of impractical footwear...

2011-09-19T08:45:00.001+01:00

...out come the suede shoe boots. I really do wish it didn't rain so much here because I LOVE these boots. I would wear them every day if I could.

I also get one of those little moments of glee every time I look at the box and remember that I saved myself £45 by a bit of clever returning and then rebuying in the sale. Ha!

If only they'd done them in black. I would dearly love to track down the perfect pair of black wedge boots but I am très fussy when it comes to a wedge and all the ones I've seen recently are UGLY. I shall add them to the "Impossible Things To Find" list. Yes, I have one.

Tshirt - Threadless "Why Is An Owl Smart?"
Waistcoat & boots - River Island sale
Necklace - belonged to my Grandma
Shorts - old pair of Dorothy Perkins jeans with the legs hacked off. Bit big but hey ho.
Blazer - New Look

Sometimes a girl just needs a good rant...

2011-09-16T10:05:00.000+01:00

I wouldn't describe myself as an angry person but I'm no Pollyanna either. I get irked by stupid things. A lot. I'm sure I'm not alone on many of them but here are just a few of the "popular things in life that I do not like:

Pink. I believe my distaste for this awful colour is well known.

ITV. And anything on ITV (with the exception of Downton Abbey, and even that I buy on DVD). Call me a tv snob if you wish but I just don't watch it.

People who say 110% , or any type of percentage over 100. They need punching in the face.

Cupcakes. For fucks sake people. They're just ridiculously sugary fairy cakes. You're not American, so just call them fairy cakes (if you are American then ignore me). Or better still, just have a big slice of proper cake. Those silly Ladurée macaroons fall into this category too. Are they popular just because they're in girly pastel colours?

Animal print.

Dogs (with the honourable exception of Molly and Rigby). But especially rats on strings. Or rats in bags. If it has legs then let it walk.

Ugg boots.

Twilight and the popularity of vampires in fiction in general. Buffy and Angel were good; it should have stopped there.

Fashion magazines. This is where I totally fail as a fashion blogger. I don't get them. Everything is so massively out of my price range that it just bores me. I'd rather look at blogs if I'm in need of fashion related inspiration, not spend a load of money for a glossy mag full of people who are a ridiculous amount taller and slimmer than me.

Harem pants, or anything else baggy and saggy in the crotch area. And peeptoe boots.

Soap operas. They're either just plain depressing or boring as hell.

New Year. Uck.

Books belonging to the genre known as "tragic lives". Have you ever wandered round in WH Smith gawping at the array of horrendous titles? The choice is endless - they're all along the lines of "Why, Daddy, Why?" or "Stop, Mummy, Stop" Or the truly bizarre one I saw once that was subtitled something along the lines of "From Nun to Crack Whore." Who the hell wants to read things like this? (Answer - the good folk of South Liverpool, judging by how many copies there were on the shelves) There's clearly a market for it but it totally baffles me why anyone would choose to spend their leisure time reading about child abuse and rape.

Ooh I feel better for having got all that off my chest. Anyone else want to share what makes them cross? You're in a safe place here. And don't forget, even if you love all those things, we can still be friends. Just don't let your dog lick my face, m'kay?

I Must Fly

2011-09-14T11:00:00.000+01:00

Morning all. Due to the wonders of post scheduling (which I have finally got to work for me), I shall be at the airport when this post goes live. Yes, it's holiday time!

I am going to Estoril:

With day trips to Lisbon:

And Evora:

I have more posts to come when I'm away, so keep reading! I'm sorry I have been so horrible at commenting recently but I've just had no computer time. I shall improve when I return, I absolutely promise. I've missed you all!

Slouch

2011-09-12T10:00:00.001+01:00

Here I come, leaping and bounding into autumn with a giant slouchy jumper and a maxi skirt. Who cares about looking slinky? I want to be COSY.

To be strictly accurate, my bounding and posing was all done last week. It is fricking windy here today and I don't dare take outfit photos for fear of disappearing off into the distance Mary Poppins-style. Actually that would be quite fun, no? Except I work close to an airport so it wouldn't exactly be very sensible to be zooming round in the sky. Anyway...

Thank you for the photo suggestions everyone. I shall stick it out in the open air for as long as possible (the wall would get lonely without me around) and then see what the possibilities are with white sheets/backgrounds. If I get frostbite or hypothermia I'm blaming it on *you*.

I am massively in love with these boots right now. Typical of me though - I seem to be inexorably drawn towards suede(ish) footwear. One day I may perhaps realise that it really isn't a practical choice in this sort of climate. In the immortal words of my friend Lee, "how can someone with as many pairs of shoes as you not own a single sensible pair??"

Jumper & boots - Be Beau, Matalan (courtesy of a voucher won in Jen's blog giveaway)
Skirt - vintage
Vest top - Dorothy Perkins

A Question

2011-09-08T22:00:00.001+01:00

What do you do when the nights start drawing in?

I know it's only just the beginning of September but the usual winter problem has reared its head early this year. If the skies are dark when you go to work and dark when you get home, what on earth do you do about outfit photos?

The obvious options are - take them at work or take them at home but inside. My problem with the first option is that it will be COLD. Not to ruin the mystique or anything but I have to take about 60 photos to get 3 usable ones. I will run the risk of hypothermia over the winter! And on days like yesterday when it happened to be warmish, I was glued to my desk from 8.30-6.30 and therefore had no lunch or tea break in which to nip out and take photos. Bah.

As for the second option, hmmm, not as easy as it seems. Would you believe that we have no plain white walls in our house? I like to think my photography skills are improving slightly and I don't want to go back to last winter's shoddy upstairs landing photos! I had to resort to closeups today as full length photos just looked awful.

Jumper, squirrel necklace & bag - H&M
Boots - Irregular Choice "Jump in Puddles" via ebay
Oddsocks necklace - Tatty Devine, present
Ring - Dorothy Perkins sale

Does anyone have any creative suggestions? Redecorating isn't an option! Nor is moving to a warmer climate...

More Rain

2011-09-06T12:53:00.003+01:00

Another rainy day, another brolly borrowed from Lost Property. Is this not the greatest brolly in the history of all brollydom? I do still hanker after the one described in Polo by Jilly Cooper which says "Shit, it's raining" but this is a tad more polite.

Autumnal colours make me happy. I haven't stopped wearing them all year round; I never do. Browns, greens, oranges, rusts... I love them, they quite like me.

Know what else makes me happy? Elbow patches. And corduroy. I think I'm secretly a middle aged male teacher in disguise. I just need a pipe now. But yeah, check out my new skirt!

Yesterday's shopping trip was RUBBISH. I wanted black shorts: there were no black shorts. I wanted coloured jeans: they were all hideous. So I bought a very short skirt for me and a pair of rather lovely shoes for my mum, cos I'm nice like that.

Jumper - H&M
Inappropriately short skirt - Next clearance
Tights - M&S
Boots - swapped
Ring - Dorothy Perkins sale
Brolly - temporary loan from Lost Property. It will be MINE if no-one claims it soon.

Sock It

2011-09-02T09:25:00.002+01:00

The perils of being short, part 93458893475. Short legs. Short, stumpy legs.

Now you lot are all very lovely and often make encouraging comments about how nice my legs are. But it's all a TRICK. A trick, I tell thee! I only ever get those comments when I have dark tights and high heels on. (It totally works, try it) They are no good without tights and heels. Chunky calves, plump knees, jiggly thighs - I have them all.

But feck it. Can't wear tights all the time, can I? I have always had a secret longing for knee high socks. Plus lots of bloggers totally rock knee highs and they always make me feel very jealous. Vicki always looks amazing in them, Kat has just got some beautiful new ones and A Thrifty Mrs had me wanting to nab her entire outfit when she wore some earlier in the week. Sarah (who suffers from similar leg issues to me) is even running a giveaway on this very theme. I am very prone to banging on in comments about how much I love certain things on other people but how I can't actually wear them myself.

No more.

Out came the knee highs from the depths of my sock drawer.

If people don't like my fat knees then they can sod off. I LOVE this outfit.

Dress - Uttam London, Dorothy Perkins sale
Cardi, socks and shoes - Primark
Ring - New Look

ps - I know the socks are not odd. Much as I can't bear matching normal socks, knee highs are the exception to the rule. Odd ones would be a bit too, well, clown-like...

August Scavenger Hunt

2011-08-30T20:17:00.003+01:00

Almost the end of August and that can only mean one thing - scavenger hunt round-up time. There are a lot more iphone photos than proper camera photos this month but that's just because, much as I love my DSLR, it is not always particularly convenient to lug around with me and I've been out and about a lot this month.

So without further ado:

Mountains:

Beautiful countryside along the M6. May I just swank for a moment? I took this with an iphone whilst on a coach driving along the motorway at about 60mph. I am amazed it didn't turn out to be a big blurry mess.

A sport:

The reasons why I love the sport of three-day eventing are many. Here's just one: in this show-jumping warm-up ring you have a man who has ridden at 6 Olympic Games and won silver and bronze medals, been World Champion, completed the best event in the world 29 times and won Burghley twice. You also have at least one woman who has a full time job and just one horse. They compete on equal terms.

A boat:

Oh and they jump boats.

A picnic:

And people take their own picnics with them when they're watching it. How v. civilised. I was a bit too busy eating mine to take a classy photo...

A festival or funfair:

Edinburgh Fringe of course!

Bread:

Homemade onion foccacia. It was absolutely delicious.

A fountain:

Ach, I totally failed to go anywhere that contained a proper fountain this month. Tenous link ahoy! I have an odd love for this song. I don't remember how or when I first heard it and I've certainly never been an American teenager but it has a hold on me nonetheless.

Something ancient:

It's a Belemnite fossil, in a seventeenth century limestone floor in a room that dates to the 1530s. Can't remember exactly how old the fossil is - I want to say 60 million years old - but I think it definitely counts as ancient, yes?

Fabric:

Must stop buying pretty fabric! I have no making mojo whatsoever at the moment and the fabric is just piling up waiting to be turned into stuff.

Market:

A quick snap of a flower stall on market day in Ormskirk

Street food:

Scrumdiddlyumptious fish and chips in Lytham, eaten sitting at a table on the pavement. Look, it's definitely the street - there's a car!

Something bizarre:

Me. With matching socks on.

Sparkle

2011-08-25T13:31:00.003+01:00

Alex, why are you wearing a party frock to work?

Funny you should ask! So, I got home from Edinburgh, opened up the wardrobe to put some clothes away and went "Huh?"

"Where are all my clothes? HAS SOMEONE STOLEN ALL MY CLOTHES?!"

"Oh. Bugger. I have killed my wardrobe."

I don't dare try and get anything out of the chaos pile because I know it will just explode all over me and I'll be trapped in a sea of ridiculous vintage shirts, tons of dresses and a veritable rainbow of cardigans. I've been living in jeans and tshirts all week but now I've run out of those too.

Party frock? Why the hell not.

And let's not be bashful when it comes to footwear. What goes better with a party frock than glam rock style shoes? I dunno. If I have any better options then they're buried alive in my wardrobe. I'll try and rescue them over the weekend.

Sadly this pair might have to go. Even with the aid of those weird heel strip things, they're still far too big. Curse those pesky old style IC sizes. If anyone is a size 6.5 or 7 and wants them, give me a shout. Would rather avoid ebay if posible.

Dress - Ghost, a present from the wonderful Christina
Shoes - Irregular Choice via ebay
Earrings - New Look

Ring - Dorothy Perkins sale

When In Rome

2011-08-23T22:07:00.003+01:00

(Or Edinburgh...) Drink Irn Bru, obviously.

I'm back from Edinburgh.

I think I left my energy and body clock behind because I'm quite disgustingly tired at the moment. Probably the result of a truly hectic couple of days and spending 18 hours on a coach but my god it was worth it. What an amazing place! How have I never been before? Am already planning a return trip to do some sightseeing and shopping.

We had blue skies! I barely got wet at all, so all that fretting about waterproof shoes was completely pointless.

What did we fit into our packed schedule? Quite a mixture of things really. I know the Fringe is probably best known for comedy but we watch quite a lot of that anyway so we made the conscious decision this time to limit it to a couple of comedians that we hadn't seen before and fill the rest of our time with other stuff.

The World According To Bertie

This wasn't the most dynamic play in the world but it was never going to be. If you've ever read any of the Scotland Street books then you know the joy of them is in the little things. Not very much happens in terms of plot; it's all about the characters. It was done really well and I loved the staging - the play happened in about 6 different locations around the room and we were constantly swivelling round on our stools to follow it all.

William

This was a little one-man show, aimed at families. Hey, you know me though. I am never put off by anything targeted at a younger age group. Rightly so in this case because I absolutely loved it. It was a really wonderful mixture of storytelling, audience interaction, doodling on post-it notes and tales of constellations. Reminded me a lot of Diana Wynne Jones in style and coming from me, that is a big compliment.

Private Peaceful

I cried. Are you surprised? Thought not. It's a stage adaptation of the book of the same name by Michael Morpurgo and given how astonishingly good War Horse is, I really wasn't surprised by the quality of this. One actor on a very simple stage for a solid 75 minutes - just incredible. It was immensely powerful and moving.

Holly Walsh

Best use of Venn Diagrams. Ever. Oh she was funny. I've seen her on quite a few panel shows but didn't realise this year was her first time doing proper stand-up. You honestly wouldn't have known. She was really at home in front of the audience and we were all howling with laughter.

Chris Ramsey

If this boy doesn't make it very big very soon then there is no justice in the world. I left with properly aching cheeks because I'd laughed so much.

I find it so hard to describe comedy. It's not much use me going "And he did this HILARIOUS thing about Geordie Shore - HAHAHAHAHAHA! It made me CRY laughing!" (he did, and it did, but my retelling of it would be shite). I thoroughly recommend going to see him if you get the chance.

We wound the trip up by being in the audience at a live recording of the Radio 4 programme Broadcasting House. Ex-MP Neil Hamilton sat behind me. Yes, I do realise I'm about the only person in the world who would be mildly thrilled by this.

We've already got the dates in our diary for next year. Can't wait.

ps - am monstrously behind on blog commenting. Sorry! I'll try and catch up gradually but free time is very, very scarce for me this week.

I Hate Packing

2011-08-19T10:07:00.000+01:00

Is anyone else as horrendous at packing as I am? I'm great at making lists but somehow I always end up running round the house at midnight the night before I go, desperately searching for my phone charger/pants/travel tickets and wailing about how difficult it is to pack everything I need for 3 days into one little bag. Stupid British weather. I can't just grab some sandals and a couple of dresses and go. Oh no, I have to pack for all eventualities. You just know it'll be boiling one minute and then tipping it down the next.

Clothes haven't been too much of an issue for this trip. My dilemma this time is shoes. The forecast, unsurprisingly, says rain in Edinburgh this weekend so I need something waterproof-ish. I have one pair of sensible waterproof shoes. ONE PAIR. And they are big clumpy biker boots. Everything else is either suede (I have way more suede shoes than is either sensible or normal), flat pumps that let the water in, full of ribbons and decorations (damn my Irregular Choice habit) or really high heels that are not at all suitable for hiking round a city in.

I've rifled through the shoe racks for what seems like hours, hoping vainly than a sensible pair will make themselves known. Wet feet it is then.

But in more positive news, I was visited by the Fairy Hobmother earlier in the week. She's a very lovely lady from Appliances Online who flitters around Blogland giving out treats. She saw my comment on this post on A Thrifty Mrs and has rescued me from a 9 hour coach journey of DOOM* by providing a shiny Amazon voucher so that I could stock up the Kindle and save myself from extreme boredom.

So I've treated myself to this, which is getting rave reviews from everyone I know who's read it:

And this, which intrigues me:

And one with such a shamefully awful cover that I won't reveal it. I love the author but dear god, the cover is cheesier than the Mayor of Cheesetown wearing a cheddar suit, an Edam hat and a mayoral chain made entirely of Babybels.

*ahem*

So! The Fairy Hobmother will be dropping in to cast her eyes over the comments on this post. Leave a wish and if you're very lucky, she'll get in touch and grant it for you. She's nice like that.

See you on Monday!

*Yes gang, I'm going by coach to Edinburgh. It was £9. The train would have cost a fortune and financially I'm living on the bones of my arse this month. Doing it this way means I have wine money, hurrah!

The Long and Short Of It

2011-08-17T14:00:00.003+01:00

I remember, not so very long ago, that I was griping loudly on here about shorts not suiting me. But I find blogging is very good for making you expand your fashion horizons. I took the plunge and bought a pair in the Gap sale last year.

I was an immediate convert. Then I went nuts and bought the infamous H&M ones in both red and navy.

And I've even plucked up the courage to wear my shortest and most madly patterned pair.

Want to see my new pair? I went bold with these ones. Prepare yourself for some orange shorty goodness:

They're definitely drawing comments from the people at work! It must be the colour of them because everyone should be used to me getting my legs out by now. I do love a bit of orange.

Shorts - George @ Asda sale
Top - Matalan
Cardi - H&M via charity shop
Shoes - Dolcis, ancient
Wristy thing - silk scarf
Ring - Next sale

My Charity Shop Luck Turns

2011-08-15T20:09:00.003+01:00

I have had no charity shop luck for ages. A change of scenery this weekend did the trick though! I was kitten wrangling and house sitting in the wilds of West Lancashire as my brother was off having a drunken birthday weekend somewhere. Whilst I was there, what could be better than a little trip to Ormskirk and Burscough to check out their charity shops?

M&S Limited Collection shorts

An old Pentax camera case. How cute a handbag will this make? Look:

Two scarves, only £1 each. If the Aquascutum one is real then I will be as pleased as punch. If not, it's still rather fab so I don't really care.

Jewels! The beads and scarf ring were both half price at 70p and 50p respectively. The marcasite brooch was the princely sum of £3.50.

Oh and some books. Obviously.

And in non-charity shop related news, I went to a sweet shop:

And ate leftover birthday cake (triple choc fudge cake with sea salt and lime chocolate shavings on top), made with my own fair hands:

Drank some wine. Well, I always do what I'm told:

And looked after the kittens:
Oh Titch, butter wouldn't melt, would it?
Bruce has the most ginormously fluffy tail EVER:
Home now though. Ahhhhh.

Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?

2011-08-12T22:25:00.003+01:00

Ever played the dinner party game? Big Fashionista blogged about it recently and it got my brain whirring. Incidentally, if you don't read her blog already then you really should. Funny as hell.

Anyway, I really struggle with the real people version of this game. They'd probably all end up being men I lust after (quite difficult to narrow the list to 5) or v. posh historical figures who would make me feel like a pleb. I shall ponder on it and perhaps do a follow up post.

You know what's easy though? Fictional characters! (books, not tv or film. That's a whole other discussion) Actually, maybe it's not quite so easy. There are so many characters that I absolutely love to read about but they wouldn't necessarily be good company at a dinner party. Mr Darcy might be the ultimate romantic hero but I'm no Elizabeth Bennet so I'd just be sneered at or ignored throughout the whole meal. Mary Poppins would no doubt pull me up on my table manners. Dominic Alastair would get drunk and challenge someone to a duel. Awkward!

So my first choice is Bertie Wooster. Oh I know he's dim and that Jeeves is the person to go to if you want a proper conversation but Berties is funny and that's the main thing. We can talk about visiting country houses and 1920s & 30s fashion and suchlike. My friend Lisa is utterly convinced that my lovely Oscar cat is Bertie Wooster reincarnated in feline form so I'm fairly confident we'd get on well. If I was the sort of person who could spout quotations then Lord Peter Wimsey would be challenging Bertie for this place but I'd rather have someone sitting next to me that I can get tipsy and laugh with.

Chrestomanci, aka Christopher Chant, (who features in several Diana Wynne Jones books) is definitely coming too. I think I came across him first in Witch Week - he doesn't play a huge part in that book but he definitely made an impression on me. Tall, dark, handsome, vague, fond of cricket, the owner of a v. impressive castle and a splendid collection of dressing gowns, there is also the added bonus of him of liking small plain women who enjoy reading school stories. Wahey! In this fictional universe I would clearly have magical powers so he could teach me some new spells and generally be charming company.

Picture by chira-chira at Deviant Art. I love her stuff, especially this one featuring the wonderful cat Throgmorten.

Marcus Didius Falco and Helena Justina from the Falco series by Lindsey Davis are next on my list. You have to take them as a pair really but that's absolutely fine with me. They're both equally full of tales of life all over the Roman Empire and the crimes they've solved, plus I'm positive they'd both be excellent, if slightly sarcastic, company. The descriptions of all the food in the books always get my mouth watering so it'd be fun to see how Marcus and Helena enjoy a modern meal. And on a very shallow level, I've always wanted to be able to pull off a Roman hair style so Helena could give me some tips on that.

It is proving impossible to find an image that represents these two, so you can have Kevin McKidd looking all Roman instead.

And finally, Paddington Bear. I have an excellent recipe for gloriously sticky marmalade roll that I think he'd very much appreciate.

Add in enough wine and I'm sure this party will go beautifully. Bets on how long it takes Bertie to get drunk and try on Paddington's hat?

ps - Hope I didn't mislead anyone on my last post! The person who made the comment about the wedding photos wasn't the bride (she's amazing and loves me just the way I am), it was a relation of hers. Rude!

Life Through A Lens

2011-08-10T15:55:00.002+01:00

Two things that I would never seek to change about myself: my height and the fact I wear glasses. Yet people seem to constantly feel that it's ok to comment sarkily upon them. The height thing - yeah, yeah, I'm short, I know that. Really doesn't bother me. But the glasses thing makes me very cross.

I like wearing glasses.

I always have, even before specs got all cool and hipster. I can barely remember a time when I didn't wear them. I do have very faint memories of having to wear an Elastoplast eye patch in infant school to try and strengthen my lazy eye but I think my brain has suppressed most of the horrors of that.

What I really do hate is people who seem to think that glasses are hideous and that wearing them must make a person dull and unstylish. That sort of person will actually think it's ok to tell me I'd be much prettier if I didn't wear them, or that I will (and this is a direct quote here) "ruin the wedding photos by having glasses on." Did you know that bridesmaids shouldn't wear glasses? No, me either.

When I came across this Hero & Cape tshirt I just had to buy it. It's a little bit of an up yours to all those idiots who like to pass comment about my specs.

T-shirt - Hero & Cape
Shorts & bag - H&M
Shoes - Irregular Choice & Dorothy Perkins
Rings - MerCurios and craft fair.

(I was having a hideous photo day with a great big fat face, so attempted to improve things with changes of shoes and hair. Didn't really work. Oh well.)

Mon amie Chloe also succumbed to the lure of the tshirt so we decided to double post about it. I should probably point out that what you see is not quite what arrived - we both ended up altering it for fit reasons.

The tshirts are lovely quality and great designs but the one slight flaw as far as I'm concerned it that they're unisex fit. I'm not the skinnymalinky type of girl who can pop on her boyfriend's tshirt (well I don't have one, so that would be tricky in itself. Go with me here...) and look stylish. I just look like my tshirt is too big. This one fitted ok in places but the neckline was a bit too high so I chopped it down a bit and edged it and the sleeves with some black ribbon. I may still alter the length and sides a bit but then again I may just leave it as it is - I'm very weird about tshirts and potential cling/muffin top. We shall see.

ps - am not ignoring the riot situation. I've been glued to Twitter and News 24 for the past couple of days and I am livid that idiots are doing this to my city. My brain needs some lightness though. I don't want my blog to be as ranty as my tweets are at the moment.

It's England...It's August...

2011-08-08T18:42:00.001+01:00

It's raining.

Are we surprised? Thought not.

I was all set to cancel today's outfit photos but then I discovered a brolly that matched it beautifully so, undeterred, I headed out at lunchtime and got snapping. It's a cute dress: it deserves to be photographed every now and then.

Sadly I couldn't do anything about the wind and ended up with hair plastered all over my lippy. Sigh. One day I might grow up and be the soignee type who has perfect red lipstick and hair that does what it's told. For now, I can't even control a flipping umbrella. Double sigh.

Pesky brolly

Dress - via New Life
Blouse - Tulchan, vintage
Shoes - Dorothy Perkins
Ring - Primark
Brolly - lost property

The Most Apt Gift. Ever.

2011-08-06T12:18:00.002+01:00

I got an unexpected envelope in the post today. Officially one of my favourite things ever, unless it contains bills, but this didn't, hurrah! It bore the legend of Kandipandi on the back so I knew that something amazing would be inside. Oh I was not disappointed. It contained this:

I laughed so hard when I opened it that I nearly fell off the sofa.

Lisa, I love you. And you really don't need to worry about it offending me. I am, after all, the proud owner of a similarly themed mug and eyemask:

(I am friendly, honest! Quite fond of the F word though.)

The bookmark is the first thing on my packing list for my trip to Edinburgh in a couple of weeks. If anyone on the coach annoys me I shall flourish it at them and give them The Glare. No-one comes between me and my reading.

In which I am not amused

2011-08-03T11:27:00.002+01:00

So it's going to be one of those days is it? The list of things getting on my nerves is long and varied but this dress is featuring highly on it.

I have been waiting to wear it for ages now. I picked it up on a whim during the NW bloggers meet up (when I wasn't being distracted by Challenge Anneka jumpsuits) and it's been hanging up from the picture rail in my bedroom ever since, tempting me. It just hasn't been hot enough since then to wear it but the forecast looked promising for today, so on it went.

But the weather is CRAP today. The sun has disappeared and it's not even warm. I could ignore that (hey, I often shiver in the cold when taking outfit photos. I am tough, grrr). But what's the point in wearing something weather inappropriate if the fecking photos don't even look good? This has turned out to be a very wrinkly frock. It doesn't even look like it fits properly and it really does, trust me on this. I am not impressed. Look at me not being impressed:

I so wanted it to look nice. Bah. Think I'll chalk this one up as a fail.

Dress - Cow Vintage, looks handmade
Cardi - New Look
Sandals - Dorothy Perkins
Earrings - Eclectic Eccentricity, present

Cake, cake, cake! (and a picnic recipe too)

2011-08-01T09:48:00.001+01:00

I have been baking like a demon recently, courtesy of a huge bag full of apples given to me by the gardeners at work. Fond as I am of apples, sultana and cinnamon (seemingly the holy trio when it comes to apple-related baking), I did want to try something a little bit different. Taken from the Weight Watchers Cook Smart Baking recipe book, this recipe is for apple & rosemary cake. Sounds weird, tastes amazing. Honestly.

Take:
2 fresh rosemary sprigs
1 large cooking apple, peeled and grated (you could probably use 2 - it's not overly appley with just 1)
125g margarine
125g caster sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
2 eggs, beaten
175g self raising flour
2 tablespoons skimmed milk (or soya in my case)

- Heat the oven to Gas Mark 4. If you're me, bemoan loudly the fact that you don't have an 8 inch square cake tin as the recipes indicates and use your trusty silicone loaf tin instead.

- Take the rosemary leaves off the stalks and chop finely. Toss in with the grated apple.

- Cream together the marg and sugar. Add the vanilla essence and eggs with 1 tablesoon of flour and beat well. Sift in the rest of the flour and then add the grated apple, rosemary and milk.

- Spoon into the tin, level the top and pop in the oven for about 50 minutes.

- Make people eat it without telling them what's in it because they will pull a weird face when they hear you've put herbs in a cake. Trust me though, it's delicious.

And while I'm on a recipe roll, here is one of my new discoveries. Absolutely perfect for summer picnics, parties etc. It's basically this here recipe with a few tweaks. I never seem to have all the right ingredients at the same time so my version this time went as follows:

(scroll down to the bottom if pics of raw chicken gross you out...)

some chicken
couple of spring onions
couple of chestnut mushrooms
3 sundried tomatoes
handful of basil leaves

Chop everything roughly up, bung it in a food processor and whiz. Season well, especially if you're not using the garlic that the original recipe calls for.

Pop it on some ready-rolled puff pastry (cos if you have time to make your own puff pastry then frankly you are far too organised for my liking), wrap the pastry over and chop.

Bung on a baking tray, brush with beaten egg and put in the oven at gas mark 6 for 20 mins.

Try not to eat them all before the actual picnic. They are bloody delicious.

Then with the leftover pastry, make some sort-of-Danish pastries. Easy peasy:

July Scavenger Hunt

2011-07-29T18:55:00.001+01:00

It's the end of July already, argh! Well you know what that means: time for the scavenger hunt round up. For new followers, this is something run by Kathy at Postcards from the P.P and just involves getting out there with your camera and taking lots of pictures. I must admit that I wasn't entirely full of inspiration for this month's list. As always it was good fun to do but there was a distinctly beachy/holiday theme going on and seeing as I have basically been working all month, holidays seem very far away.

Here's what I came up with:

Strawberries:

A little Friday night treat

Fields:

Hmm, technically it's a wildflower meadow. It counts though, right? I haven't been to proper countryside this month so it's this or nothing. If I was a "proper" fashion blogger I'd don something ethereal and waft around in it having my photo taken . Truth is, that would be lethal. It's massively rutted under all those flowers and I nearly broke my neck venturing into it when wearing very sensible shoes.

A flag:

Swedish and Norwegian flags flying outside the Scandinavian Church in Liverpool.

Something that makes you happy (not a person or an animal!):
(10 cool points to anyone who recognises the book)
Words. For me, some of those rare moments of true and utter happiness are to be experienced when reading something wonderful. There are few things better than that feeling when you finish a book and just sit there with a big smile on your face because you enjoyed it so much.

A kite:

Damn you iphone camera, why are you so rubbish? I thought I was going to have to doodle a kite for this one but then I drove past Otterspool Prom and saw actual people with an actual kite! A doodle might have been better though - the kite hasn't exactly come out very clearly in this one.

Celebration:

Opening a shiny golden envelope to see these two golden tickets was a genuinely exciting moment for me this month. It's as close as I'm ever going to get to a real life Charlie & the Chocolate Factory moment. The museum is amazing - I had such a good time there.

Flip flops:

I have no enthusiasm whatsoever for flipflops. There are so many more interesting things you can put on your feet. This is a closeup of the one pair I own. Fascinating huh?

Stars:

Detail of a building just next to London Bridge

Red, white and blue:

POW!

Seashells:

At the Shell Grotto in Margate

Ice cream:

It's a dairy free house! This is my alternative and bloody good it is too.

Stripes:

Tis my beloved Oscar Cat and his deliciously stripy fod.