Karl, Marc and Oscar might be three WISE men, but if it's AVID women you're after, this is the place

[PlumSykes]

new thread

Tracey I love the LV scarf and am rather to admit that having agreed my monthly W&A budget I went straight to the LV site to try and order. Also loving the KG leopard and Stone GiGis.

Welcome back marsha
NY Hope your DD is feeling better.
Verity sorry to hear about your Aunt. Hope she pulls through soon.

Bloss loving the DVF. Just looking at it made me think of summer.

Does anyone else find MN keeps going offline? Deeply annoying.

Thanks for good wishes everyone for Aunty Mar. I couldn't say Margaret as I child, and Aunty Mar just stuck. When ds1 was learning to talk he began calling my mum 'Gla', she is an optician and we often called into her at work where she was surrounded by glasses. I think that's why he called her that at least. Twelve years on we all call her Gla She was quite chuffed when a friend told her recently that she assumed Gla was short for Glamorous.

OWW don't know how I missed your photo, you are gorgeous as are your boys. V impressed with the fire-engine cake also.

MrsJ love your dd's champagne story, I hope she left you some. Well done in the weight-loss, I haven't stopped snacking since before Christmas, just as well I don't have scales.

Gotta go, Don Draper is waiting for me. I wish.

Verity - I have my fingers crossed for your Aunty Mar, I hope she recovers soon.

OWW - aren't you lovely?! Although, like Vin, had to strain and squint to see as pic was quite small.

notyummy - you are a logistical whirlwind! Anywhere is good for me, although think proximity to shops is good. Selfridges and Westfield are both great, IMO.

Thanks for cardi advice - you are Wise Ladies indeed!

esher, saw this puffa on offer at Banana Republic and thought of you.

Hi all its yangy with a new name back again. Hoping to get time to post again soon... fair bit of shopping has been had in the interim, leather leggings have had a few outings etc etc etc.

Hope all are happy and well catch up soon.

verity - so sorry to read of your Aunt. I hope she improves.

mrsjuan - have you seen (my) the bag too? It is not mine at all yet!!

Goodnight all.

verity - so sorry to read of your Aunt. I hope she improves.

mrsjuan - have you seen (my) the bag too? It is not mine at all yet!!

Goodnight all.

Verity Hope your Aunt gets better soon.

Choo Must admit I did the same re the LV scarf - the shame! It comes in these colours

Hi yangy!

hf There is even one in pink! Need to get DH on the case before they are all sold out.

Right - I am phoning LV this morning

Am loving the pink.

VB - hope your Aunt had a good night.

Did anyone watch Silent Witness - Emilia Fox's character is most annoying but she has a fab wardrobe

Bunny my hunny, did you see this cashmere cardi I linked to the other day. Is only £10 more than the WC one.

Verity, so sorry about your aunt, hope she pulls through.

Those LV scarves are lovely.

I hoped the box would dry out but the TV is still not working so I am going to call Virgin later today and feign ignorance.

Bunny, I don't have that cardigan but any knitwear I have bought from the WC has not lasted well. I've just ordered the cardigan Plum found so will let you know what that is like when it arrives.

MrsJuan, well done on the weight loss. Very funny about the champagne. My friend thinks I am mad to spend so much on jeans and told me so in front of DH. I try to shield him from the true cost so did not appreciate his eyes being opened!

I love Silent Witness, must watch it later ... on the iPlayer, grrr!

VB Sorry to hear about your aunt, I hope that she had a good night.

Fritzi and Esher thanks for comments regarding boots, I definitely was channeling my inner Beth Lynch! Just thought that they might brighten up my winter uniform of multiple black dresses and opaques!

Has anyone bought from that website Plum linked to? the cardi looks like good value for cashmere.

verity - so sorry to hear about your aunt - how worrying.

It's a beautiful day here in Paris and it's Wednesday = no school for DD. She just wants to chill and so do I... though I really ought to pursue my extensive wardrobe rearranging challenge.

I have found a beyond beautiful Greek villa in a little village on a hillside, with a pool with a view, for rent in July and am trying very hard to convince the rest of my family that they want to go there on holiday. DP and DD are definitely up for it but the DSSs? Their idea of heaven is Club Med . Dealing with serious divergence of tastes within a family is very hard.

Bonsoir, the villa sounds heavenly.

Kildare, will let you know what Coco
Cashmere is like when I receive it.

Bonsoir, I suspect that in any family with children of very different ages there will be different ideas of what makes a holiday. A villagey villa with a pool is my idea of bliss too, but suspect once DD and DS are older I'll have to find somewhere with a little more action guaranteed. Could DP take the DSSs off for day trips to do water sports etc while you gals hang out by the pool?

Plum - it's an ongoing problem and not just an age-related one. The DSSs (especially DSS1) like a lot of entertainment and basically want to go on holiday to a city with better weather and more shops (hard when you live in Paris...). They found their recent trip to Rome with their mother disappointingly quiet

DP and I feel that we live in a city all year round and want to go somewhere peaceful and traffic free where we can get back to nature and enjoy a bit of ancient culture.

We have told the DSSs that they can invite a (teenage boy) friend each for one week [heroic stepmother emoticon]

Thank you for your lovely comments re pic - you are all v kind. Funny re some of you thinking I was a brunette - always been blonde but since I turned 30 its getting darker and darker - and now going grey! In denial so lots of trips to the hairdresser to help retain some resemblance of blondeness!

Verity - sorry to read about your Aunt. She sounds like a fighter so fingers and toes crossed for her.

Bonsoir - villa sounds perfect, hope DSSs come round to the idea! We booked our holiday for July 2011 last September (organised!) - will be the fourth year we have returned there but its just lovely. Can see a point in the future tho when DSs will want more company on holidays.....

Random question - my sister wants us all to rent a house for a weekend to celebrate our 40th birthday. She is looking at the Cotswolds for December (!). Has anyone stayed somewhere large enough to accommdate 8 adults, 3 kids, 1 baby?

First zumba lesson tonight - need to practice some hip wiggles!

I see your problem, Bonsoir! Could you do something like a Scott Dunn villa, then? They have this one in Mallorca, with maid/chef/nanny, which has a sep. annex for the boys, and they will organise watersports, sailing, golf etc. Could do trips to Palma for fabulous shops and more noisy excitement!

OWW - a woman after my own heart . It it were up to me, our holidays would be booked much further in advance - in fact, when I don't have to factor in the DSSs, they are. My problem is managing the conflicting agendas of the DSSs' mother, her partner, his exW, his exW's partner and all their various children

Thank you for the suggestion, Plum. The thing is, DP and I both like very romantic locations, and it is just impossible to reconcile wild/romantic with child-friendly infrastructure.

Sounds very complicated bonsoir, unless you do a week in a villa and a week in a holiday parc like we do eurocamp. We used to love it when we were teens.

ollie, I'd be tempted to say Babington House!!

On the front of Heat magazine Stacey Solomon is wearing my bikini!!

Bonsoir - golly I'm so mean that I'd be tempted to say well this is the holiday so there you go and wow at taking 2 extra teenagers

Right - LV spring scarf is £295 and available from the 15th January for anyone interested.

Am currently getting quotes for going away at christmas to lanzarote as warm and DH gets to go mountain biking. Suspect it will be £££ though.

traceybath - . Yes, I know exactly how you feel! But then you do that, and you have to deal with teenage sulking for the whole holiday, and you think again...

Power of teens, huh?

Morning all

verity I hope today brings good news of your aunt.

Thanks for all your kind comments re dress; it is the Anglimania. Sending the red back was definitely a wise decision.

Had a call from my bank this morning and my card is being used fraudulently - so far hundreds of pounds at Champneys, on a £300 pair of shoes and somewhere in New York. The bank has been great, but it's very tedious. And means that my Boden knitted tunic order hasn't gone through and since it's low stock, is now unlikely to be available

Am going to have a large coffee and try to think of something cheerful.