The old things are the best

Poncho MaxMara, Top TK Maxx, Vintage Leather Shorts eBay, Boots Spartoo, Bag Farhi by Nicole Farhi

I brought this MaxMara poncho years ago (I cant even remember how long ago) I was draw to the chunky knit and tassels I wore it a couple of times last year but taking inspiration from Stefanel I decided to team it with leather shorts (yawn I know but I love them) and slouchy boots. It is still warm enough to wear boots without socks not sure how much longer I can work this look plus I am having to keep up my summer beauty routine as normally by now my legs would be hidden under tights until summer.

Tight Liner

I really wanted to steal her make up box

Lovely Sarah was here from Laura Mercier to do my sisters and my make up for the wedding she gave me a really good tip and a make up technique which is exclusive to Laura Mercier and I want to share it with you. It is "tight liner" basically it is liner applied to the inside upper rim of the eye and very close to the lash line which helps to define the lash line making the lashes appear thicker and more polished She used Bluemarine and applied it with a flat liner brush the navy blue pigment helps to take pink from the eyes.

Quick Change

Dress French Connection, Shoes Gina, Bag Ghost

Thank you for all your lovely comments about my sisters wedding she is now in LA for a week on her honeymoon.

In true fashionista style I changed my dress for the evening reception I brought this French Connection dress back in July and it was perfect I love the draping and shoulder embellishment I teamed it with my very old and very faithful Gina shoes which are so comfortable and I can easily dance the night away in them. Apologies for poor quality pictures it was so hard to find people to take pictures. I am sure I will be wearing this dress again soon.

Ding Dong the Bells are Gonna Chime

It was my sisters wedding yesterday we had the most perfect day and my sister looked stunning her dress was so beautiful and her hair and make up was perfect. I went for dark eyes in the end which suited both my outfits (I will post my evening outfit in a different post).

Meet my brothers and sister from left to right Nick, Laura (aww so beautiful), Scott and Chris.

This is my nephew he helped me to take the outfit pictures at the church he is only 10

Tracker Treads

I am always on the look out for boots with a difference as you all know I have a uniform that I have to wear for six months a year before I can change it so I find the easiest way to up date a look is by accessories and the main one for me is boots. You can change the feel of an outfit just by the style of footwear you chose. At the moment I really like my shoes to have a lot of hard wear and a badass feel.

I am liking tracker treads at the moment not only are they ultra comfortable because of the rubber sole and grip but they are hard and mean looking too. I have found these ones all by Cop Copine and they have the extra badass feel with that awesome toe that reminds me of a rhinoceros. All of these bad boys have everything that I look for in a boot.

All of these stunning boots are by Cop Copine and are available on the Spartoo website. They also do other styles of shoes and boots and are worth a look if you are on the hunt for something a little different.

What you think of the tracker tread???

It's a family affair

Dress Topshop, Blazer International, Shoes H&M, Clutch Ghost

My sister gets married tomorrow and my brother and his girlfriend have arrived from Jersey and my Auntie and Uncle flew in from America yesterday so we all went out for a pre-wedding meal. I took inspiration for Miss Moss and went for black tights, white slip dresss and oversized blazer. I love her make up in these pictures too I am have having my make up done tomorrow by a very talented make up artist and I think I am going to go for this look.

If you are wondering I have hair extensions in I use American Dream ones these are 24" I wish I could get my hair to grow this long but it just won't.

My nan would freak

Body Harness Audra Jean, Trousers H&M, Cape Zara (old), Boots Best Mountain via Spartoo

I brought this body harness back in March after I saw the Topshop Unique A/W10 collection and loved their body harnesses I searched the web high and low until I found this one by Esty seller Audra Jean. I was a bit brave today and teamed it with a cropped top. I think the look worked because I went for a casual slouchy boot which btw is those otk boots I brought from Spartoo pushed down with a boot cuff added I actually perfer them like this. This cape I picked up in the Zara sale back in January.

Burberry Biker Chick

Jacket ASOS (old), Trousers H&M, Blouse Topshop, Boots Topshop (old)

Burberry's biker chic show was amazing and it looks like the biker jacket will be replacing the aviator jacket for S/S11. The collection had everything I like studs, snakeskin, leopard print and lots and lots of leather. The show finished with poor model Nina Porter taking a tumble apparently there was a shoe malfunction with sizes being too small or too big for the models.

What I love about this collection is that we can all be rocking this look now so todays outfit inspiration was taking from the Burberry show which btw is very me. I brought these pleather trousers from H&M last week tip guys I went up a size they are tiny. I have not invested in a pair of leather trousers you think after wearing them for three years I would but I do find the leather look high street ones are just as good and keep there shape better I had a pair of leather trousers a few years back and found they lost there shape with wear. I have had my biker jacket for ages and I never would of thought about teaming it with leather trousers but it works thanks for the inspiraton CB.

All Images from Elle

I love my house

I've been going home on my lunch break the past couple of days. And I love it.

It's weird getting so attached to an inanimate object. "Dude, it's just a house." For me, though, my house, my home, is full of life. I'm having a hard time even trying to explain what it means to me.

Growing up, my mom's house was safe. Warm. Comfort. I lived there for 18 years and knew every square inch of it. But now whenever I go there to see Mom, it's just a house. I'm just visiting. The memories aren't there anymore for some reason.

I've tried to block out all the years in The Bat Cave. I have fond memories of my time living there, but I don't associate them with that house. I walked around the yard there the other day, turned to Harry, and said, "Yep, don't miss it at all." He agreed.

This house, though, our house, has already given us so much pleasure. We happily fork over the mortgage payment. I dance a little jig up the steps of town hall to pay the taxes. Yeah, I'm crazy. Yeah, I dance jigs. Wanna make something of it?

Sure, we work hard for it. Sure, it was a long road getting there, actually purchasing this house (and hell, we've still got 20 years to go). And sure, it represents new beginnings, better days, and my happy life.

But again, it's more than that. I sit there, enjoying the silence when no one else is around. It calms me down. It brings me peace. It's an extension of me. It protects my family (like me). It brings us all comfort. There's no place else I'd rather be (although a nice hotel on a beach is nice once in a while).

Marie Claire Maybelline Pop Up Shop

So the other thing I did yesterday was pop into the Marie Claire Maybelline New York Pop-Up Shop it is running for ten days only during between 16th-26th September at 18 Shorts Gardens Seven Dials, Covent Garden. The store will be dedicated to backstage beauty, retailing exclusive Maybelline shades and products and showing fashionistas how to achieve this season’s must-have catwalk looks direct from New York Fashion Week.

I had a quick look around and there were some amazing looks going on but sadly I did not have much time to try one of the looks I would of had the soft yet edgy look. It is so worth popping in if you are in Covent Garden and if you start following Marie Claire on Twitter and look out for the Marie Claire tweets at http://twitter.com/marieclaireuk they will give you clues to find the New York inspires hampers around London. Followers need to come along with a copy of the new October issue of Marie Claire with Blake Lively on the cover to win.

Thighs the Limit

This is the third year that I have been searching for thigh high boots and the third season that this style of boots has been a trend. I have brought so far three pairs over the last three years but I cant say that I actually love them, one pair is too small (ebay purchase), one pair has served me well but is a little tired and the third pair are perfect but uncomfortable.

I ordered these ones by Best Mountain from Spartoo and they arrived the other day. They instantly caught my eye as they are a little different and have a more laid back casual feel about them than the normal thigh high boots that are around. I dont want to sound like I am boasting but I have a longer leg so thigh high boots always sit just above my knee what I would give to have a pair fit like the ones seen on the Burberry A/W10catwalks.

Be sure to check out Spartoo they have a great selection of shoes and boots.

Be a leader not a Follwer

Jacket Reiss, Trousers Lab Label, Boots Next, Dress Nicole Farhi (worn as top)

With the aviator jacket being the must have item of the season and every high street store from Next To Topshop picking up on the trend. I decided I wanted one but me being me wanted something different from the traditional brown with cream collar I found this honey coloured one by Reiss. It is like being wrapped in a big Ugg boot lol .

School Days

Summer was extraordinarily busy, and our schedule still hasn't really let up any. We're enjoying it though. We've been finding lots of fun things to do on the weekends as well as occasional trips to the library on weekdays for pajamarama story time. It's just what it sounds like... someone (a father of a couple of the kids who attends) reads a few stories to the kids, and the kids get to come to the library in their pjs. It's a lot of fun.

I've also seen some old friends over the past month or two. I got together with the guys (Mike, Kevin, and Tom) and all our spouses at the end of July at Archie's. We of course drank copious amounts of beer and shouted entirely too much. Mike seems to have that effect on me for some reason. I get extremely loud in his presence.

Here we are! Don't we look awesome?



I also met up with some old friends from high school, Beth and Shannon. We went out for drinks one Tuesday night, and we've decided to make it a monthly thing. We're meeting again October 5th. Good times!

And I met up with my friend, Dawn, who I haven't seen in a couple of years. We used to work together at the mall, and she stuck by me when I was all kinds of messed up in the head back in my 20s (weren't we all?). We went out for drinks and pizza this past Sunday and had a great time. We're hoping to get together with our menfolk soon.

And the biggest and bestest news of the summer... Ellie started Preschool! She's doing awesome. The actual Pre-K program started a couple of weeks ago, and Ellie's learning is off the charts! She's like a sponge. It makes me so happy to see her enjoying learning so much. The first time I saw her write her name, I cried. Leaps and bounds my friends, leaps and bounds.



She's been learning to write all her letters and what sounds they make. I think it's a very real possibility that she may be able to read by the end of this school year. She's crazy over books. We go to the bookstore nearly every week, and she loves taking books out at the library too. She even *gasp* sometimes asks for me to read her a story instead of watching TV. Like whoa.

She's been drawing a lot too. She brings home at least 2 drawings a day it seems. Here's one of our family, Luna the cat included:



Besides all that, we've been going to festivals and fairs and all that good stuff besides. We're planning on hitting 2 country fairs this weekend and an arts and artisans festival next weekend. It's good to get out of the house and get Ellie used to crowds. She's been excellent I must say.

Tomorrow, I'm taking a 1/2 day at work so I can take Ellie to see Teri, our daycare provider. Ellie had to adjust a bit from daycare to preschool, and she misses Teri and her friends there a lot. She asks about them all the time, and I figured I've let enough time pass that we can finally make a visit. I wanted to make sure she understood that we weren't going BACK to Teri's; we're just dropping in to say hi. Fingers crossed she gets it!

That's all folks. Until next time. Peace.