Mad Max

Vest Primark, Trousers Topshop, Boots Boo Hoo, Necklace Warehouse,

I don't know if you have seen the film Mad Max but my outfit reminds me of this. It was set in the future and the outfits are all leather, studs and fur. I watched it years ago it was made in 1979 and is really a guys film starring Mel Gibson and Tina Turner also starred in one of them there was a few made. I decided to wear my hair up today and it you look closely you will see a tiny plait I got a few positive comments about it the pictures do not really show the detail very well.

Forgotten Image

Skirt worn as Dress Nicole Farhi, Cardigan Nicole Farhi, Leggings Topshop, Boots Topshop, Gloves New Look, Cuffs French Connection

I am having a day relaxing on the sofa catching up with Elle and Vogue and flicking through the trend reports. I will also be putting a DVD on my friend loaned me Coco Avant Chanel. Todays image is a work outfit that never got posted so I thought I would share with you. I love the detail on the back of this cardigan it is one of my favorite pieces that Nicole Farhi did for A/W08. Hope everyone is having a lovely day.

Black with a Hint

Jacket Thifted, Dress Day Birger, Hat New Look, Boots Boo Hoo, Skinny Scarf Thifted

I brought this jacket a while ago from a thift store and I have not worn it yet so I decided to wear it teamed with a mint green jersey dress for a contrast. I put a piece of cut off leopard print tights around the brim of my hat for some interest. I can't wait for pay day on Friday I have a few things that I have seen that I want to get. I really want a pair of floral print harem trousers I have seen a fab pair on ASOS, I really want the H&M ones but I dont think we will get them here in the UK :(. I also want a tan belt to go with my shorts that I have picked for my uniform I have seen a nice one in H&M. What will you be buying on pay day?

Waiting for Spring

Jacket H&M, Boots New Look, Cuff French Connection, Ear Muffs Accessorize

I decided to try a dress with my flat lace up boots and it worked these boots also look cute with floral dresses a look that I will be doing next season. I just want to thank everyone for following and all the lovely comments xoxo

Pure & Simple

Jeans Topshop, Lace Top Topshop, Cardigan All Saints, Biker Jacket ASOS, Snood H&M, Shoes River Island, Bag TK Maxx

Today was a family day my nephew is ten tomorrow so we all met up for lunch. We had a lovely meal and it was a real special day. So what to wear well it was a casual thing so I went for jeans I rarely wear jeans but they seemed the ideal thing for today I teamed them with lots of layering to give some interest I went for baby blue but of course I had to add some black I was not keen on the white sock so I went for black in the end. Hope everybody else has had a lovely day.

Ten Things That Make Me Happy Award

Annie From Time Enough For Drums gave me this award as my blog is one of ten that make her happy how sweet is that . Check out her blog she has a great unique style and she has just posted some amazing outfit inspired by the film 500 Days of Summer.

So now I need to list 10 things that make me happy

My H&M Snood so cosy and warm

Hot Chocolate on a cold night

Long drives with loud music playing

My beautiful family

Christmas I become a kid again

Shopping of course

Two very cool people called Leon and Maria

So obvious blogging and all the lovely people I have met because of it

Days off on the sofa watching DVD's

My home

Now 10 blogs that make me happy

She Wore What

Wear Neccessities

Clashing Times

Fashion Champagne

Scitsofrenic Clothing

Style Eyes Fashion Blog

Jadore Vogue

COMSI Caroline

Momento Mori

The Silent Swagger

Tartan Misfit

Dress Sonia by Sonia Rykiel, Coat Topshop, Shoes Boo Hoo, Hat Day Birger

I met up with a friend today for lunch. I wanted to show off my Boo Hoo shoes with coloured tights so that you could see the detail of them so I teamed them with tartan tights. I love this dress I brought it last year (Jan 2009) in the winter sale it is from Sonia by Sonia Rykiel I love the shape of it and the see through material around the edges. It is still quite cold so I wore my Day Birger hat this is one of my favorite hats and I just love the plumage on the side it always adds drama to an outfit but the feathers do get in the way and is not practical when eating.

Glamourous Blog Award

Pippa From Clashing Times has given me this award she has such a cute blog with amazing personality and if you are a big fan of Topshop then this is where you need to go. Thank you Pippa

I am meant to write 10 things about myself but instead I am going to show you ten pieces that I want to wear for S/S10

I am going to be wearing shorts of all sorts of prints, fabrics, lengths and colours. I am really loving these Topshop floral ones and the Alexander Wang leather ones. I will team the floral shorts with the stripe bra top from Topshop with a tee under it. I am going to be wearing wedges and these ASOS ones are perfect especially teamed with socks most designers sent this look down there runways for S/S10. I am really looking forward to wearing a turban and think they will look awesome with shorts. Draping is also a big trend that I will be wearing who can forget that Burberry S/S10 show. I am going to embrace floral and this blazer from Topshop will work so well with dresses and shorts. I am also loving floral trousers and ASOS have these gorgeous ones. Finally that YSL ring a girl can dream and if I can get my hands on a spare £115 I will go straight to the Net a Porter website and order it.

London Calling

Today was well hectic I had a meeting in London . I had half an hour to spare so I popped into Topshop and H&M on Oxford Circus sadly I only had enough time to browse so no purchases were made. :(. I wore my new shoes from Boo Hoo and they were very comfortable they are a very good copy of the Topshop ones that retailed for £95.00 obviously they are a man made fabric but apart from this a spot on copy. I took inspiration from the boots and kept my outfit all black with gold accents.

Irresistible Blog

I received this award from Zanah from Mon Mode Blog check out her blog.

Now seven facts about myself

I love the winter months more than the summer. I love dressing for winter and I love nothing more than a cold fresh winters morning when the sun is low in the sky.

I have worn heels for so long I actually find it hard to walk in flats now.

My mum is a hairdresser and she cuts and colours my hair for me. My roots are done every 4 weeks and it is for free.

I work in a department store and I have been there for nearly eight years the time has gone so quick.

I am going to be an Auntie again in the summer :)

I could not live without my iPhone I would not give it up for anything.

One of my biggest dreams would be to own a vintage clothes shop.

I want to pass this award to Bloomingvogue, Copper & Curls, Come Over To The Dark Side We Have Candy, Asterisque, Star-Lights Fashion World, Fashion Hippie Loves and FESI-Fashion

How it goes

Harry and I are deep into week 1 of our new reading together thing, and I must say, it's going remarkably well. Harry actually told me night before last how much he's enjoying it, both doing something together and the actual reading. How cool is that?

He decided on a graphic novel to get into the spirit of things, and that was an excellent choice for him. He had told me that he'd liked reading comic books as a kid, and picking material you'll actually enjoy is the right way to go when you're rusty and/or looking to improve on your skills. He went through my collection and picked Batman: Year One for this week's reading, and he likes the story a lot.

I'm reading a collection of science fiction/fantasy short stories right now. I love collections. It's a great way to be introduced to new authors. I've found 3 that I want to explore a little more already: Harlan Ellison (dude, this guy can WRITE), Roger Zelazny, and James Tiptree (a pseudonym of Alice Bradley Sheldon). I also finally read Flowers for Algernon (short story), and it had a huge impact on me. I highly suggest reading it. If anything, it's made me question the superpower I've always wanted (heightened intelligence with vast stores of knowledge) - heh heh. Seriously though, the story made me cry. Ooh, look, I found a free copy online if you're intested: Flowers for Algernon

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I've been working hard at the 30-day shred and continuing on Weight Watchers, but I gotta say I'm a bit disappointed this week. I was very, very close to hitting my 50-lbs lost goal, and I thought I was going to reach it this week. Instead, I GAINED a pound. I'm trying to not let it get me down, but it's discouraging. Yes, I know muscle is denser than fat, but after just a few days? Ugh. To make matters worse, the workout makes me feel terrible after. There is no post-workout euphoria. I'm not used to that. Usually after 2 miles on the elliptical or a nice 3 mile walk outside, I feel fantastic and have a lot of energy throughout the rest of my day. This workout leaves me fatigued, drained, and foggy-headed the whole day long. That's not good. I'm eating and drinking plenty of water, so it's not that. I'm not sure what it is. Someone suggested that maybe this workout just isn't for me. Maybe they're right.

It's already 34* outside and it's supposed to climb up to 41* (HEAT WAVE), so I think I'll go for a walk on break today. I'm hoping that'll boost my energy. I decided to do the workout this evening instead of the early morn, and I gotta admit, I feel pretty good today after having NOT done it. Eh.

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And last, Harry and I have a date with some Thai food tomorrow night. My mom is babysitting, and we might even go with another couple to nosh on some delicious pad thai. Exciting!

Topshop Inspiration

Coat TSE TSE, Jeans Earl, Boots Topshop, Scarf Tara Jarmon, Boots Topshop

I saw this image from Topshop A/W09 campaign and saved it and I used it as today's inspiration I love the chic but casual look about it and seeing as I brought the boots the rest of the outfit was easy. I love the big pockets on the scarf and it keeps me so warm. We had more snow over night but when I took these pictures at 14.30 it was melting a little.

If at first you don't succeed, try try again

Yeah, I was a wuss. Notice I didn't mentione the 30-day Shred again after that first post? That's because day 1 totally kicked my ass. I was sore for 4 days after day 1. Like had-no-use-of-my-arms sore. It was bad. No amount of ibuprofen helped. I cursed Jillian on that day and vowed never to touch that DVD again.

So naturally I broke that vow and picked the DVD back up. I started a new day 1 this morning, and I've got to admit, it was a tiny bit easier. I think that was due to 3 things: I used lighter weights (3-lb instead of 5), I ate and drank a little something both right before and right after, and I knew not to try to be so intense in the beginning. Don't get me wrong, I still got the shakes a bit about 5 minutes after I was done, but I'm feeling pretty good right now. And Harry suggested I take an Aleve to help with possible (probable) soreness later on this even and tomorrow. Good advice.

I decided to give it another shot because a few friends started doing the Shred this month too. Mimi is already on day 8, Jessica is on day 3, and Rebecca and her hubby started last night as well (and while Paul is sore this morning [as he should be], Rebecca is completely fine and already ready to move onto the next level because she's all fit and stuff). Having people to go insane with is always more fun. It's also good motivation and inspiration for this girl.

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In other news, Harry got his 2009 review at work a couple of days ago. I have to say that I am so freaking proud of him. He's very good at his job, and he takes a lot of pride in what he does (he's a printer at a large medical supplies company for those of you who don't know). The review was stellar, the best he's gotten yet, and his boss has made it clear that he's extremely valuable. And his raise reflects that. AND the boss put him in for a promotion, too. Keep all your fingers and toes crossed for that one. I'm really hoping it comes through.

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And last, I leave you with an Ellie-ism to tickle your funny bone...

Upon awaking with the sniffles a couple of days ago:

"Mommy, my nose is all stuck up."

"Do you mean stuffed up?"

"No, Mommy, stuck up! Stuck up!"

Talk

I got a comment on my last post with some advice. And that advice was that Harry and I should seek out marriage counseling because it's obvious I'm carrying around a lot of resentment. And since Harry and I don't talk about our feelings, that hour of marriage counseling a week would force us to do so.

I'll be honest and say I'm not an advocate of counseling or therapy for myself personally. I've had a couple of bad experiences with it in the past, and it did more harm than good.

I will also admit that I sometimes worry about ending up resenting Harry for certain things, but I also have to say that I do work on that, despite not having professional help to do so.

And while I have stated that I use a lot of inner monologue instead of raging and lashing out with my feelings in the heat of the moment, I do end up talking to Harry about how things affect me and what I'm thinking when a disagreement occurs. I simply do it at a later time, and it's more of a discussion.

Case in point: I mentioned to some girlfriends last month about how Harry's learning disability and lack of desire to learn to read better has been bothering me as of late. Being a bookish person and wanting to once-upon-a-time become an English teacher, it's been difficult for me. And I've just now only realized how MUCH it bothers me, and for a long time, I didn't even understand the extent to which his learning disability goes. This past year or so has enlightened me. I was afraid to approach the subject with Harry because I know it's a sore spot for him, but I also knew that I had to eventually say something to him about it, otherwise my annoyance would fester and get the better of me.

Harry and I started talking, and it seems that he's actually been thinking about "practicing" his reading. He's been looking through my book club brochures, and he saw a couple of books he'd be interested in (and lucky me, I was already planning on ordering them). I went one further and said that we should start up a nightly thing where right before bed, we each read our respective books for 15 minutes. He's all for it. He wants to start with one of my graphic novels, and I'm totally cool with that. I remember him telling me he had liked to read comic books as a kid, so graphic novels would be a great way to get his feet wet.

With the last "discussion" I talked about in the last post, I'll bring it up in a few days. Most likely, I'll ask him if there's anything else besides his work calendar that he thinks he should be responsible for in the future. I don't resent him for not balancing the checkbook or making sure all the bills are paid because, well, I do a better job of it. We both know that, which is why I take care of it. We'd be flat broke if it was Harry's responsibility. Neither of us want that to happen, so I handle it. I simply get annoyed because the work calendar thing is so basic, and well, I thought he was doing it. Why WOULDN'T he do it, ya know? So I was irked when I found out it hadn't been happening. It was just like, "Dude, one thing. That's all you have to do... just one thing. Do it."

My last post was a way for me to hash it all out for myself. To see it all in black and white and figure out what it is I need to do for personal growth, self awareness, and peace of mind. I need to hear it out loud or see it on the screen to understand why my head works the way it does and why I react and say what I do. I want to fully realize that: YES, the way I handle disagreements is the way I want to go or NO, this isn't working for me. The jury's still out as of now. I still don't know if I might be less stressed if I just said it while the discussion was going on, therefore resulting in an actual argument. Who knows? Maybe I'm a nasty arguer who pulls out all the stops and really rips into someone. Do I want to even find out if that person is in there?

In the end, maybe there's really no right or wrong answer. And that's simply because one size does not fit all. That means each individual argument and each individual couple. Some couples thrive on butting heads while others do better walking away, cooling down, then discussing at a later time. Some couple reach a whole new level to their relationship through therapy while others just aren't comfortable with sharing their more intimate day-to-day doings with a third party (and yes, I consider disagreeing/discussing/arguing extremely personal and intimate). What works for you may not work for me.

And that's about all I got tonight.

Inner Monologue

I hate to hurt my husband's feelings. Is that strange? It's gotten to the point where we don't fight like normal couples. We don't raise our voices, flip each other the bird, call each other names, yell "Screw you!", etc. We just don't.

Instead, I use sarcasm and eye rolls. And inner monologue. Lots and lots of inner monologue.

Today Harry got pissed at me because he hadn't been keeping track of his days off last year, and when he said, "I should have," I agreed by replying, "yes, you should have." Apparently, he wasn't looking for confirmation of his fuck-up. I got a "thanks a lot, Hon," some silence, then a hasty retreat on his part.

Imagine if my inner monologue had taken over after "yes, you should have." It would have sounded something like this: "yes, you should have, especially seeing as you're not responsible for keeping track of anything else like monthly expenses, the mortgage, the checkbook, paying daycare, buying groceries, etc. This is the ONLY thing you have to make sure is done correctly, and you didn't even do that. So it's your own damn fault. Suck it up."

I think it's getting to the point where inner monologue is no longer going to work for me. It's thoughts like this that fester and eat away at me. Harry and I have been together for nearly 9 years, and although thoughts like this didn't appear the first few years we've been together, they have been building up for some time now.

Suppressing is sometimes not a good idea. It just makes me angry and bitter. I'm just not sure where that leaves me. I've never been much of a fighter. Do I really want to start? What's the best way to handle situations that at first annoy me then snowball into every single word coming out of his mouth making me grit my teeth and finally just walking out of the room with a hot head and blood boiling? Yeah, I have that kind of temper. I just tend to keep it bottled up instead of releasing it and spewing it all over my husband.

To top it all off, I then feel guilty about my thoughts. I haven't even said anything out-fucking-loud, but I still feel bad for even entertaining the notions that pop into my head. How is that for sad? AND if Ellie's in one of her moods while Harry's pissing me off, she gets mean, crabby mommy annoyed with her. THAT guilt sucks ass.

I'm not looking for real answers here, just venting and trying to clear my head a little. I talk with friends about their relationships, and most of them have all-out battles from time-to-time. And I'm starting to think that's healthy.

Snow Chaos

My walking outfit

My shop floor outfit

Skirt H&M, Top Boo Hoo, Coat Thifted, Hat House of Fraser, Belt River Island, Shoes Boo Hoo, Wellies Hunter, Cuff French Connection, Bag TK Maxx, Leg Warmers H&M

I had work today and my car was snowed in and the roads and public transport are not really functioning properly and seeing as I only live three miles away I knew I would have to walk in luckily my brother turned up and dropped me in to work so I only had to walk back. I had to come up with another chic but practical outfit especially as the temperature has not gone above freezing and I had to be comfortable to walk anyway this outfit was perfect and I got home home safely without slipping over or feeling cold. I am wearing my new top that I brought from Boo Hoo I love the structured shoulder and it went perfectly with my H&M skirt.

On the walk home the sun started setting and the lighting in the cemetery was amazing so I stoped and took some pictures.

FLA

I realized that during the holiday chaos and my bloggy-laziness, I never wrote about my trip to Florida! I had a wonderful time, although I'll admit, I missed Harry and Ellie very, very much. Harry seemed to have a hard time as well, and we ended up talking on the phone at least 3 times a day. I don't know when I'll be taking another solo trip because of that. No biggie. Family trips are fun! We actually already have one planned for June in Ocean City, MD. I'm psyched about it, even though I realize it's almost 6 months away. I want some sun!

My mom bought a new retirement home this year, and it's about 20 minutes away from where her brother lives. She's so freakin' happy down there that I'm hoping she goes through with retirement next year. As much as I'll miss her, it's good to see her so happy. She deserves it. She spent every day of her vacation with her bro, and it was so nice to see them together.

Here's a pic of the new house. Isn't it gorgeous!? It's like twice the size of my house, and it was half the cost. Gotta love CT and it's crazy housing prices.



I flew out of LaGuardia, and besides actually having to hang around in the plane once we landed for an hour because they didn't have a gate open for us (yeah, that was fun), the rest of the flight down was uneventful (for which I am grateful). After picking up my rental car (a cute, little red Rio - I dig it!), I made my way to Cape Coral to visit with Annita. I had a fantastic time visiting with her and her family, and I'm so glad I got the chance to do so. Here we are at the Leaping Lizard Lounge, a little tiki hut bar I fell in love with:



I can't thank her and her husband, Guy, enough for their hospitality, and I have to give a special shout-out to her daughter, Katerina, for loaning me the use of her room for the night.

The next day, I made my way to my Uncle Barry's house in Harbour Heights. I ended up seeing my aunt and uncle quite a bit during the trip, which was a pleasant surprise. I hadn't visited with them in years, since I was a kid really, and it's an entirely different experience as an adult. I also got to visit with my cousin, Bobby, whom I haven't seen in 20 years. 20 years! The first two things he said to me were, "Wow, you've shrank!" meaning my weight loss (LOL) and, "You look NOTHING like your sister." Yeah, I get that a lot. Getting closer to family had become more and more important to me the older I get. I hope to see them all again soon.

On Monday, I ventured up to Sarasota to visit with a blog friend (and now a real-life friend!), Rebecca. I just gotta say that I am not an instant-click kinda girl when it comes to other women. I usually have to spend a little time with someone before I feel that. Becs is the exception to the rule. We talked and laughed for the few hours we had together, and it was awesome. She took me to a little diner for breakfast, drove me all over Sarasota, pointing out, well, EVERYTHING, since she grew up there, took me to the beach (which is incredible, people), and simply entertained me with stories of college and how she met her husband, among other things. I also got to meet her oldest daughter, the famous Lexie of the funky, cool glasses. I was lucky enough to get a wardrobe change during my visit, and let me tell you, that girl is a fashionista waiting to bust out of a 4-year-old body. I also got to meet sweet, little Laney, who is extremely smiley and raised the roof for me a little bit. And I got to meet Bec's husband, Paul, the man with the badge, who was in a pretty good mood despite working all night and taking care of the kids while Becs and I went out on our little joyride.

Here we are at the beach. I told her we look like a teeth-whitening commercial or something. Our teeth are crazy white!



Here's a shot of the white sugar beach. I seriously fell in love at first site here:



And last is a picture of yours truly on the beach. As you can see by what I'm wearing, it was a little cold. You can also see just how much weight I've lost over the past 7.5 months. Oh, yeah.



Aside from a little shopping and more driving, that was my trip in a nutshell. It was nice to get away, but I gotta admit, there's no place like home. Now if home were only a little warmer, I'd believe that statement 365 days out of the year.