Happy Birthday Wise & Avid Girls!

[blossoming]

New Thread

Crumpet have 20% off until end of Feb if you are an Elle magazine subscriber, no code, you have to contact them.

Everything, thinking of you, it must be a weird day for you.

bloss, how far do you travel atm to your pt job? If it is closer, is there any chance of getting some more work there?

Been out all day, but had to quickly post Everything I was in the car and heard Gloria Gaynor I will Survive. Immediately thought of you.

May sound cheesy but the words are so appropriate "I will survive
as long as i know how to love
I know I will stay alive
I've got all my life to live
I've got all my love to give
and I'll survive
I will survive"

Right off for wine and to catch up

Ha ha, Was an OWW stripes, skinnies and R&B riding boots day here too!

Had lovely afternoon, both babies conked out for 3 hours after a remarkably stress-free (thank god for baked beans on the menu) lunch in Giraffe. Made the most of it and hopped on a train and headed to the National Gallery for a wander and coffee and cake in Peyton and Byrne. Gorgeous, but did very much need the shred this evening.

Bloss sounds like so many of the necessary elements are coming together at the same time to make this job really appealing. Go for it - we've been looking to move to Shropshire or Bath/Bristol for the last two years and the right teaching jobs just haven't come up, mac spot on on that front. Wouldn't worry about your cv, I'm telling myself that being an SAHM will only benefit mine as it gives such an insight into childhood development and a real understanding of the importance of parent/teacher relationships and communications. It's such a family-friendly career, I think. Good luck!

Welcome faux! Am also large of chest and I love my stripey Janice. One of the few things that comes iin under my bust, rather than swamping me.

Double-snap LTEC and Tracey - OWW stripes and skinnies here, with R&B riding boots and a bloody bargainous red coat discovered in charity shop - round neck, unstructured wrap number from Jaeger.

Vin - corsages from the Market? Think I know the very stall, have been tempted often. Sorry to hear work is so rubbish.

Should really check messages before posting, please ignore my gormless excitement at outfit snaps.

Tracey Fritzl LV scarf awaiting me at Selfros. Will go in on Monday and decide. I thought it was cotton/silk mix but will let you know. I've just received £284 from Quidco so scarf will, in effect, be free.

LTEC 9 stone

Was going to post to Bloss exactly along the lines that Red wrote re everything seeming to come together. I'm a bit OTT about writing pros and cons list - with "less time for MNíng" obviously being top of your cons list and "need for additions to new work wardrobe" on the pro side! As my Mum used to say when I applied for jobs post Uni, 'you can always turn it down', followed by 'when one door closes, another one opens'. My Mum is a walking cliche btw!

Everything pleased for you that the house came through tho appreciate how strange this period of your life must feel. I'm sure you will add your personality to the house in no time and it will feel like a home and not just a house. I loved Choos post too.

pickled, there may be other jobs more locally (50 mins I travel now) but not in a thriving school and not with Spanish. Parts of my area are 40% holiday homes so no children. Secondary schools have 300 pupils and teachers are working part time. The job is on the populated north coast and just too good to ignore. I like to trust my instinct and I'm also from ollie's mum's school of thought!

Shame about the Boden order carciofi. Am I the only one who hasn't had a catalogue?

Great singing choo!
We're all behind you everything.

Bloss, in which case you should 'take the bull by the horns' and call the Head on Monday am. At least you won't be bumping into pupil's when you're out shopping . Good luck with the call.

or pupils even

tracey Your DS too sounds very wise, so cute. Sounds like your DD had fun too. We always go "pizza expressing" with DD whenever we're in the UK.

rip Wow Blochs at that price! Don't size up or they might end up too big as the leather is really soft and they stretch quite a bit.

cake When are you moving? Love your new shoes and dare you to wear them on school run ! Are you going to order the tank?

ollie I occasionally get invited to Tupperware parties. Went to one hosted by a gay guy and it was great fun. Make sure you'll offer some drinks and you'll soon forget all about the plastic stuff and have a good time!
How can anyone order 90 items from Boden?!

zembo So great you are coming to meet-up too!

vino Hope you get that application form done! Maybe you should find an incentive like ordering fabulous yellow clothes and shoes once you have finished.

notyummy at your DD!

marsha, notyummy and everyone else who is putting in so much effort in organizing meet-up, thanks and mwahwah. Can't really contribute as the last time I was on a proper night out in London was circa 2003 .

everything Hope you are ok!

zembo and fritzi I forgot to say that I would gladly welcome you both as my sisters/ SiLs.

Only thing is that opps for wardrobe raiding might be limited as we all own the navy Janice

On which note, esher may be interested to know that the magenta one-shoulder bow top that has plagued me for so long has finally found its rightful owner - my sister. I packed her back home with it and she has since worn it on telly and it looks grand. (and I can still borrow it if I ever change my mind )

Re moving - you are sweet to ask pickled - very boring though - basically, we need to be back home (or, That's my deadline, personally) before dc1 starts school (next Jan). In the meantime, dh, who works in TV but also owns and hires out lots of kit has moved his storage unit/ office from near here to somewhere bigger west bc he's acquired more stuff/ business is bigger/ needed better access and parking etc. He is already away a lot and works long hours when in London (leaves at 6, back at 10, that kind of thing) And spends a lot of time sitting in traffic. So ... we decided to move closer to new space so that we can have a bit more quality family time and so that a few hours of invoicing, checking kit etc doesn't become a full day away from home. Also closer to LHR for frequent travel - again, work related.

New house is bigger than current - 4 beds rather than 3 , playroom, house can be accessed via garage (currently completely separate) much bigger kitchen, big flat garden (currently very steep as we live on hill, not great for dc3) blah blah blah. I am slightly nervous as am very much city girl but it's only for a few months and it's a quick train journey into Marylebone. And most importantly, have found nice nursery - the one dc1 and dc2 currently attend is magical and I weep to think of them not being there.

We are not selling our London property so this is just a rental. Hope that all makes sense. And I know all of the costa/ time from westfield stuff must sound daft but I am often solo due to dh's work and he has been very keen to make sure that there are little pleasures in it for me to keep me going until I make friends/ establish a network.

oh, and zembo like you, I am a bit sparse on grooming so will be the one in the ridiculous dress and shoes and birdsnest hair / no makeup at meet up. Every year I promise to change, every year I fail.

will be 40 next year though so maybe then!

Thanks for taking the time to write all that LTEC. The new place sounds lovely and I'm sure you'll make friends quickly with other mums at the nursery. Just start a book group (like I did).

So was London always a temporary thing then? What about DH, he's English, right? Still, how wonderful to have lived in London at this stage of your lives.

yes, London was always temporary (for me) I travelled post-uni, went home with Alaskan boyf, he got kicked out of country, I got twitchyand came back to UK to 'decide what to do" (ie go tstates and get married or go home or travel more or whatever)

Met dh within 3 weeks and knew he was 'the one" But made it clear that i would not remain in UK long term under any circs. He had never been to my country and had no desire to But after 2 years we went and I got him on a surfboard and it was a done deal

We've been together 11 years next month so it's a given that I've done my bit so to speak. If anyone had ever told me that I would have children here I would have laughed in their faces. It's all good though. As long as they grow up in the Great Outdoors. They already play 'surfing' so I am sanguine

everything you sound gorgeous. I fully believe in the transformative power of clothes - mood enhancing at its best.

Glad F is okay, will make it much easier for you. Still tough though. Glad we have the sparkliness of MOAM to look fwd to

YY everything dressing well and feeling good makes a huge difference.

I'd forgotten that several of us got together with OHs at the same time - we're 11 years next month too and I think there's at least one other couple?

zembo and cake I'm not usually one for make-up either. Don't wear it day to day at all although do like playing around with smoky eye or red lips for a night out.

Have had a lovely evening at my sister's tonight. She has just bought a raclette thanks to recommendation from her German au-pair so DH and I went over to join the three of them for dinner while my parents looked after DC. Was fab as sis is booked in for c-section in less than three weeks so it's the last time we'll be able to do that for a while - life is about to get a bit crazy for them

Ladies, what about this gold dress for MrsJuan?

Mrsj, what do you think?

Flying visit...

everything - hope the move continues to go well and I love your outfit!

Thanks v much to Marsha and notyummy for all their efforts in organising the Mother Of All Meet-ups - so impressed, and also loving that this thread means so much to so many of us.

Morning all,

I have been soooooo busy this week at work. Please forgive me for not adding to the MOAM. My social lfe is very limited but I did manage to go out with DH and others last night.

Can anyone give me a quick yes or no to the following?

this - I already have in the Fuschia......

more blue

I have credit notes for both stores at present.

Back later tonight.

Thank you.

DTI10 The LK dress is fantastic.
I would definitely go for that one (if I had the body to put in it!). It is very striking as my Mum would say.

Am shopping with MIL today and feel motivated to dress up for it thanks to you ladies and put some make-up on.

what are stripped OWW?

Cho it's me with the large bust wondering about the Janice. Maybe I'll give it a go. Am a 34F though..which is pretty large really...

Ants - I have a similar bust size (30 back though) and I think the drapping on the Janice is good - though for some reason the navy wasn't as good as the stripes (which has a thicker material).

I have a dressing challenge today...lunch with 7 friends from NCT...their spouses and 15 kids between us. So want to look good but still be able to run around after the marauding kids so heels are out (I can't walk in them at the best of times!)

Everything - you sound scrumptious...and clothes most certainly do make a huge difference to your mood. That quote (was it Tracey or Esher)...that it's just as quick to put on nice clothes as horrible ones keeps reverberating in my head - every time I get dressed!

Promise to check links later.

Red - how uncanny - I'm sure LTEC has a red Jaeger coat (charity gem) - you really are fashion twins.

LTEC - I keep saying that on the grooming thing...I made a start with flashy manicure...and it does feel rather good. Now I've got to sort out depilation!