Whoever said money can't buy happiness, simply didn't know where to go shopping - or the Wise & Avid lot!

[OllieWollieWoo]

Stamp on the new thread (quote from Bo Derek btw!!!)

looby I don't think I can comment on brogues - they suit other people but without seeing them on someone in the flesh I don't really know what to say!

I would look as if I was going back to school. But that's just me!

Quiet on here! Am shattered from nights out/working late and having PIL over this evening. Didn't know what to cook for them as they don't like a lot of stuff but they love Indian takeaways so I did them a curry followed by maple syrup cheesecake with caramelised pecans - totally yum!

I like brogues but can't get on with them with jeans at all just dresses and crops. I'm not sure about those heeled shoes but the distressed ones are rather lovely.

bunny what wonderful news. It must be a great relief to you to know that your little ones would be fine arriving any time.

Ooh, I did the shorts thing for work the other day - black tailored shorts (pretty short but not hotpants), black lace tights, black patent courts, white shirt under grey v-neck jumper. Sounds a real mish mash I know but it looked rather good if I do say so myself! DH made appreciative comments and he rarely notices these things!

Baby clothes here passed on to my sis - my niece is 11mo younger than DD so she has all our girl stuff and have saved boys clothes as sis due no. 2 in February so you never know...

Have kept a few favourite pieces but if I do persuade DH to have another, I'd be quite happy to buy everything from scratch again

hf- I know what you mean about brogues. I think they are a bit of an acquired taste and don't suit everyone.
The distressed leather was v nice and made them a bit different.

fleecy- your shorts outfit sounds nice. Not something I could away with in my job though! :)

Hi everyone. I'm not sure about brogues either - look too much like dh's side of the shoe closet.

I wore the spray on Wolford dress with heels for dinner date with dh last night, then tonight made dinner for six at home, and wore pink anglomania with grey opaques and purple heels. I did look nice, honest . Dinner was nice too- massive faff, what with the guests being Italian, but they were complimentary.

Fleecy your shorts outfit does sound lovely. Roma, glad the meal was a success.

Just finished a mass cake decorating session ready for DD party and off to bed, night all.

Great news, Bunny.

Fleecy, like the sound of your shorts outfit, and the pink/purple/grey combo, Roma.

I had lovely clothes for DD and have given everything from the first year and a half away (apart from her christening dress and a beautiful Kenzo dress she wore for her first Christmas), so I am hoping I have a boy! Though would probably buy different things for a girl this time (e.g., not dresses for 0-3 months!).

I like brogues on other people but they are not for me.

Tracey, was that WC shirt nice in black?

Oh, I'm all for a brogue, but then I do enjoy the 30s Agatha Christie lesbian look generally. Was planning fantasy outfit for the day in head this morning, and if I owned all these things it would consist of:

cashmere knit

statement necklace

cropped tuxedo pants

orange cashmere socks and my charcoal nubuck brogues.

Oh Fleecy I wore shorts on Saturday too. Grey herringbone tweed ones, with opaques and brown suede flat boots, and a poncho. Sounds a bit weird but it was cool. For the supermarket, but hey, no need to be a drudge in the supermarket, right?

Hi everyone. I am slowly recovering after a late night, lovely champagne, red wine, rich food (4 ways with pork, yum!!), then an early 6am start with dc1. It was so dark for so long with thick fog, it felt like the middle of the night!
Looks like we're in for a lovely crisp afternoon. Dc1 is much better and bored of being indoors so hopefully we can go for a nice walk.
Feathers dress with sky high platforms was a great success.

Is it party day for you happily? Hope all goes well. Am just back from freezing my a**e off in a sports hall while demented 5 year olds bounce all over each other and throw balls (3 parties down, only another 6 in the diary before Christmas...).

I don't think I could pull off a flat brogue, but love my slightly-more-feminine Carvella Ainsleys.

Undecided about Janice - I think the shoulders may make me look a bit butch. Will try on again later and get DH's opinion. Agree that everything else about it is gorgeous and very flattering though.

Friends are having a farewell to the UK party in a function room at a pub this week. This presents an outfit dialemma (if I decide to keep the Janice would that be good? Or is that too formal? ). It also means that I should be able to grab a couple of hours on Oxford Street - yay!

Hello all,

Another Janice purchase here! Wish it was available in other colours!

I bought the red Anglomania dress and DH was shocked that it was not black. Am keeping it as very, very pleased with the fit. [Grin]

Brogues - I love very much but feet are too big to pull them off stylishly!

Hello all,

Another Janice purchase here! Wish it was available in other colours!

I bought the red Anglomania dress and DH was shocked that it was not black. Am keeping it as very, very pleased with the fit. [Grin]

Brogues - I love very much but feet are too big to pull them off stylishly!

Hello all
I took my black anglomania out to lunch today with some marvellous lace tights from accessorize (years ago but never worn!) and new lola cruz shoeboots and lanvin bag wore bright pink lipstick (MAC's Girl About Town)
May have been a bit too much for lunch with the in-laws

DS wore one of DD's cashmere jumpers and has totally wrecked it.

plum I agree re baby clothes, I don't want more DCs but part of me really doesn't want to let go of everything. I have so many bags full of outgrown baby clothes just lurking, ditto baby baths, moses baskets, baby carriers.. ehem..

There is no way I could pull off brogues, I'd look like a transvestite who forgot his heels for the day

no, really I would!

ABO Janice is jersey I think so instantly becomes less formal, definitely can be a laid back day dress

Hello lovelies! Hope everyone had a good weekend.

DH left for the US this morning. Was too short notice for me to give him a shopping list and I was that we couldn't spend Sunday together. Made the most of lovely weather with DD: scooter, woods, late lunch at our fave Thai restaurant followed by ice-cream to honour the sunshine, DVD back home and lots of silliness. She's exhausted and asleep, so I can catch up with all your links.

marsha Did you get the P&J/Anna Sui/Acne dress you linked to the other day?

blossoming How are the preparations for your stall going? Love the hairclips plum linked to. If you do mail order, I'll buy all my stocking fillers from you!
Your feather dress is wonderful and such a bargain too! Glad you had a great time yesterday!

bunny Fantastic news! DH's birthday is on the 24th Nov.

cake Forgot to say: Yay for DS walking!

apuski Hope MIL's visit wasn't too stressful.

OWW Dressing not warm enough has happened to me on Friday. I saw that there was a thin layer of ice on the car's windscreen but I thought I can't wear a down jacket in October and piled on layers of cashmere. Was freezing the whole day and have a sore throat since. Great... Have added Hanro wool cami as recommended by roary. If it keeps you warm during Canadian winters, it sounds cozy.

verity Have a great time in Paris!!! Hope you are not affected by the strikes.
I have started knitting a pink scarf to brighten my monochrome grey/navy/black wardrobe. It takes me ages but I'm enjoying it. DD's friend asked me: What are you knitting? When I told her that it was a scarf she replied: Oh that's not very nice. I don't like it. Sartorial wisdom of a five-year-old....

roary When are you having your colours done? I have also a swatch book .

tracey and dolcee Hope you'll find your dream house soon!

vin Hope you like your new boots!

hells Hope you are feeling better. Love Pilates but don't have any time to fit lessons in anymore. Sometimes I practice with a DVD but it is not the same. Love that WC dress but sadly it didn't work for me at all.

happily Can't believe how much baking you have done for DD's birthday! I'm sure the party was a success.

notyummy The thought of you sitting in a cold house without running water is terrible. Why can't it be fixed? Hope you had a lovely weekend with your family. Will you do anything special next week while DD is away?

carciofi Situation in Ireland sounds awful... DH also home late during the week and we hardly ever have dinner together.

monkeysmama Are your secret parcels still sitting in your wardrobe or did you manage a trying on session? Any keepers?

yangy Did you have a good time in Edinburgh?

Hi VTT!

reallygrumpy Re taps: What style is your bathroom?

fleecy Work outfit sounds great. I'm starting my new job tomorrow and haven't decided what to wear yet...

roma I'm intrigued by that spray-on Wolford dress. You must be tiny! Pink VWA-grey-purple combo sounds gorgeous too.

Hope libra is ok. And where is zembo?
Sorry about massive post...

Hi fritzi. Sounds like you had a lovely day. Such a shame your dh couldn't be there. I'm having a bit of a craft crisis! The material I like is expensive. Local people won't pay the prices I'd need to make a profit. So back to the drawing board there. I'm going to cost soapmaking tomorrow instead. The chutney making is going well, but then I'm much more confident in the kitchen.
Dc1 has had a relapse after our walk this afternoon. Half term now and he has a party tomorrow and the travelling funfair is in town. I really hope he'll be better by then.

blossoming Don't spend too much on the fabric if people are not prepared to pay. Are you near IKEA? They sometimes have great fabrics too. Or you could try Ebay for scraps of more expensive/nicer fabric to jazz up plainer fabrics. I have also used DH's old shirts (mostly white and blue/stripey/checked) to sew things. Maybe your Mum has nice old bedlinen she doesn't need anymore and you could use too? Hope DS is better for half term.

Evening ladies!

Fritzi Not a style or beauty question - sorry! But do you know the Schloss Elmau? Would you recommend it?

Bloss I really agree about Ebay and Ikea fabrics - Ikea has some really nice things for about 4 euro/m. It's true that craft is really expensive - I've spent 100 euros on fabric for ap to make halloween costumes for the kids. They are really lovely costumes, but it's quite expensive isn't it?

Fritzi I've got a thing about strapless dresses since watching SATC reruns. They wear so many strapless dresses and I really love them. The Wolford spray on is more forgiving than you'd think somehow - luckily I'm tall and thin, but the ruching sort of covers everything up.

I want more strapless dresses in fact.

I had another good wardrobe find today - a beige and ivory tiger print Joseph false wrap dress. It's too big, I bought it when ds1 was 6 weeks old, which is why it's been on the top shelf. But today I styled it with a top underneath and a big belt and it was cool. I also dug out some sky-high wooden heeled snakeskin Tods that I never wear. So impractical, so beautiful

Thanks fritzi. Great ideas there. I live a good few hours from ikea though. It's not till 2nd of December, so I've plenty of time!

hf Elmau is heaven!!! Most beautiful spa I've ever been, beautiful rooms and really great food. Also very welcoming to kids. Have only been once in winter but it was really fab.

Evening.

Quiet day - DSs liked the whale exhibition, I liked the muffins! In-laws turned up unannounced in the afternoon just as DH was assembling new furniture for DS1's room which held things up somewhat. They didnt take the hint when after an hour DH disappeared upstairs to carry on assembling it all, in fact at one point MIL sat on DS1's bed admiring DH's screwdriving skills -she thinks everything he does is wonderful. She said I looked tired

Just done some pre-UK visit orders from John Lewis, M&S, Amazon and ELC - all really boring, sensible stuff which was bugging me so did that thing of throwing something into the basket at the very last minute without thinking it through very well - this cardi from Kew here - not very exciting but think I will wear it a lot with jeans and boots combo.

Blossoming - does felt work out too expensive as well for the hair grips/brooches? I can let you have some leftover John Lewis dinosaur material and think I may have some Laura Ashley flowery and checked stuff too if that helps? Probably not enough for the aprons tho - sorry. Sure you are onto a winner with the chutney and other produce tho!

Roman Good find!

Fritzi Thank you so much! It looks lovely on the website - and child friendly. Just thinking ahead to Spring.

Bloss I thought of you today when in Waterstones - there was a book here