Avidly assessing Autumn buys, whilst Wisely still wearing summer styles...

[notyummy]

Evening all!

Loving all these links and talk of chic holidays.

Whilst I am bursting out of my uniform having devoured a pain au chocolate five minutes ago.

Wet and grey here too emo which is hardly surprising seeing as I am only half mile from you!

Fritzi - my DD was shattered when she first started all day school, three years ago. But they get much stronger as they get used to it, and of course they grow up physically and mentally and are better able to cope just by virtue of maturing. It wasn't the best time for her or me, though, as I felt a bit deprived - I wasn't sure she was learning all that much at school, and most of home life became a support system for school!

Fritzi thanks! I have sent the link. They live in a very beautiful but remote area so they like to do Europe luxuriously when they come here. I like to introduce them to the nicest shops and hotels (Liberty, Loro Piana) when they do .

Thanks all for the lovely welcome back .

Carciofi, it sounds like we have the same weather here.

Bonsoir, I know exactly how you feel. DH and I both felt so deflated on returning home from Italy, despite living in a beautiful area with two incredibly pretty villages on our door step. The Tuscan/Umbrian landscape where we stayed was just sooo aesthetically pleasing, three colours only - lush green vegetation, bright blue sky and pale terracota farmhouses/tobacco towers . We have 'coped' by painting furniture (shamelessly copying the colour from our accomodation), four items painted so far .

Marsha, Berlin will be wonderful. Hadn't realised your parents were coming. The boys will be the centre of attention , no doubt . Could you do an overnight at the hotel this meet-up? It's not that £££ - we don't have your parents' expensive tastes.

Dolcee, birthday sounds like fun, certainly memorable.

Fritzi, how's the mini? Think I want one now, and a poncho.

Bloss, scabby knees??

Red, your poor dejected DH. So glad you're enjoying the work. Is it likely to be a regular thing? If so, DH may need a new hobby; mine plays his drums in the evening when I'm busy.

Just wanted to say a general thank you to all of you lovely fashionable ladies on the thread. I've looked better this Summer than ever before. I quite like looking at the photos with me in them - even one of me in a bikini...shock horror...from behind!

Here it is!

pickledsiblings - using the aesthetic experiences of holidays as inspiration for RL is a very good idea IMO! I still regularly cook spaghetti alle vongole according to a recipe I concocted after eating that dish at every single trattoria on the port at Ischia in July five years ago and it never fails to cheer us up!

Dashing in quickly to link to boots for Marsha! Here Possibly not glossy enough though, but less expensive than Loro Piana I imagine

Ooh Bonsoir, spaghetti alle vongole is one of DH's favourites too. May I ask how you make it?

Pickled lovely bikini. I am on the hunt for one that would suit my athletic shape. Does it have any, ahem, padding?

Spaghetti alle vongole (for four adults)

500g of good (eg De Cecco) spaghettini or linguine (both are good, both different)
1.2 kg of medium sized fresh clams, in their shells
50 cherry tomatoes
3 large fresh cloves garlic
2 small dried chillies
Olive oil
Handful chopped flat parsley

Wash the clams in several changes of water to get rid of sand.

Slice the cherry tomatoes in two and put in a pan with a very good slug of olive oil, the peeled and sliced (in two) garlic cloves and the chillies. Cook on a low temperature for ten minutes until the tomatoes have softened. Add the drained clams and cook on high for a few minutes until the clams have opened.

Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti/linguine in a large pot of salted water until just al dente (do not overcook). Drain. Combine pasta and vongole and parsley and serve on large plates, with a big dish in the middle of the table for discarded clam shells.

No padding but the ruched style of the bandeau is v. flattering. Just get it and try, free returns and

Thanks very much Bonsoir and Pickled for recipe and bikini advice. Love the diversity of this thread!

Oh we know Martine too Bonsoir. DD1 (4) has several of the books, sent kindly by Grandma France (as she is known)....

Summer is indeed on the wane. Lets get those parka's ordered!!!

Bonsoir...love that dish...

Be back later...DCs are finger painting!!!!!!!!!

The Martine series is great for "early reading" (there aren't those myriad graded readers in French that you get in English) because they are all themed - farm, seaside, shopping, park etc and so your child gets to learn/revise lots of theme-related vocabulary. I have just ordered a whole lot more from Amazon that should be here tomorrow in the facsimile editions like this - so much more attractive than the modernised version here

just flitting in to say have made ollie's shortbread..divine!

love the olwen dress..the blue must look fab on you ants and bloss fushia would look amazing on you[converting to the whole colours thing]

love the post holiday painting pickled when we used to go to Greece alot I always tried to bring more Greek yogurt and honey into my life but brrr the English weather just wasn't the same.

Can't help with much else as have forgotten how to put together a work wardrobe and I cannot ride a bike(dd1 wants me to get a bike plus trailer like a Dutch lady we know...No!No!No!)

Ooh bike talk - love it! Know I've bored you all linked to it before but my bike is this one. I love it! Not very classic looking (colour sees to that!) but great for taking DSs on, v stable and comfortable. In fact, I will have been out on it 4 times today with various school and supermarket runs - money well spent.

Bonsoir I love the Ile re Re - we try and visit for 1 or 2 days everytime we are in France on holiday. Its such a calming place and we adoer everything about it. We would like a week there next year before heading to the gite we've already booked for a further 2 weeks. We were looking at places in La Flotte but would be interested to hear what you think of Ars en Re (looking to go the first week in July as Dutch schools break up v early next year). Did you book via a French company - often find they are substantially cheaper than UK ones!
Reine glad the shortbread worked well.

Dolcee Happy birthday for yesterday, Sorry about the P incident!

I agreed to make Lego cupcakes for DS1 to take to school - am having a trial run with playdough! May be raiding his lego sticker collection for cupcake topers unless I can improve!

Good grief ladies, you're making me yearn for a Mediterranean holiday....

Have been busy baking muffins with DS to take to this afternoon's play date (yuck, I hate that phrase -any substitutes?) with a neighbour - we haven't got back in sync with doing all of those bits yet and I gave myself a little telling off after he enjoyed himself so much.

The good news is that our extension quote has come in at much less than we had budgeted for. That Barbour is rather nice...

Pickled - DH plays his guitar whilst I'm working (A&W band forming??); he'll get over it quickly enough and is happy I'm doing something. The work could become a regular thing, which would be great. Fingers crossed.

I also love the Olwen dress - could you Bloss?!

Ollie - have to confess to loving 'The Holidays' with CD too....it's fab isn't it? DH reads his book and gives side ways smirks all the while I watch it!

Apuski - just flicking through the (ssssh) Lands End catalogue and saw a jersey dress in 2 different greens which would really suit you colour wise. But have just gone to link to it on their website and it looks bloody awful on the model they have used - v diff from the catalogue one! Im too embarressed to link to it now!
Dolcee that made me smile. DH started off making snidey comments from behind his Top Gear magazine but I noticed half way through the film that the magazine was beside him and he was watching it too!

Ollie, <a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=farm3.static.flickr.com/2174/2346797680_e9cab25e85.jpg&imgrefurl=www.flickr.com/photos/hello_naomi/sets/72157604170663443/&h=323&w=500&sz=111&tbnid=MJmLdwywpmIQPM:&tbnh=84&tbnw=130&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dlego%2Bcupcakes%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=lego+cupcakes&docid=DyGVk9yCc4U0tM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=8cJTTqfvHoGO8gO_rJDIBQ&ved=0CDEQ9QEwAA" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">these lego cupcakes are easy peasy, especially the brick ones.

Oh, I loved that film too but thought the chemistry between CD and JL was much much better than that between KW and JB.

There are the ones Im attempting to copy Pickled tho am sticking to just the yellow faces with a variety of expressions and some lego bricks! We'll see how they turn out and whether I resort to the stickers!

DS1 took some into school and the ones that were most popular were just plain black lego bricks, probably because they looked plastic . 'one-ers' look really cute, in a feeble sort of way.

Just a quick one - J Crew are planning to open a London store in the Autumn.