AVID and WISE: This is the place where you can harp on about your new buys.

[FritziGreenEyes]

Sorry about thread title. Hope everyone is back from holidays soon and will find us here.

amber Which JBrands did you get?

bonsoir I tried on those two tops in Cos before Easter and was tempted too. Bought a simple navy dress in Cos and shoes, which are not on the website . Will return this top. Cos is great at the moment I think.

Many thanks ladies for all your kind thoughts and words.
Much appreciated.x

just popping in to say hello to everyone and wish you all happy weekends..have been away/busy with DBil and just ended the week hosting a playdate involving 10 children which was really good fun.

georgina how scary,I really hope they find him soon,his poor family must be stricken.

welcome back red and yummy terrific sounding trips!

ants enjoy your time away from work..thanks for the heads up on the yoghurt place..I will definitely plan a park trip at the weekend that involves popping in!

fritzi your class rep sounds terrifying..I'm hyperventilating at the thought of dealing with someone like that!

I am resolutely untempted by clothes etc at the moment but the toucan scarf is gorgeous bloss .Did you order it yourself?

icey what a gorgeous post about your son.

where is lovely looby ?

sorry if I have missed anyone's major news..some serious skim reading going on..now off to raid cupboards in search of a creme egg!

Georgina- that's awful. I really hope there is good news soon.

Georgina- so sorry to hear that news. What an awful wait for your friend.

Back in the UK- watched The Guard on the flight with Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle and Mark Strong. Had heard good things about it and was v good - really funny and probably particularly funny for the Irish contingent here. Also watched the Descendants, which was absorbing, and Horrible Bosses- very, very amusing with a great cast.Can you tell I have been catching up in films with all this travelling?!

Icey- loved your post re DS. Very sweet.

Bloss- Loved those Matches links.

Have loved watching the fashion in all the different locations recently. At risk of generalising, the Asian ladies in both Singapore and Australia love to dress up and looked very groomed and elegant. Lots of fitted pastel lace that theg carried off very well. Shopping in Singapore v impressive but clothes no cheaper than UK. Because of the exchange rate clothes generally v expensive in Aus. Had a look round a couple of the high end areas in Sydney that had gorgeous shops but prices were eye watering. Made Ave Montaigne seem like bargain hunters alley!!

Have decided that I will get myself some Superga or something similar this month. Possibly something else too..... DH is on major holiday comedown though and agitating to start saving straight away for the next big one! We Fi have a sneaky night away in a nice hotel next month booked whilst my parents have DD.

On iPhone so struggling to remember everything I have read- back later!!

I am half way of catching up - Georgina how scary, I hope there is news very soon.

Icey I loved your post and ds2 was good for my soul or something and that feeling is still here. Enjoy

Welcome back Ny and Red holidays sound great!

Work thing was very good, thanks for lovely comments. There were some big gulps before I did the long talk but I summoned the power of the (w&a approved) Marant to guide me through

I celebrated by buying sashimi, Vogue and a Flos lamp with soft pleats.

I flip through Vogue a bit too quickly these days but saw a pretty white skirt that I'm keen on, to wear with white t and Lanvins. Will try and find a link.

The first line is bad ignore!

The prices in Aus are amazingly high atm NY.

Gone are the days of a quick and cheap trip. So different now. I'm amazed, although many salaries are high too so ok for people there.

Morning All!

Have been busy with guests, school hols, lack of school hols!( no easter break in France!) etc and so have not been able to post, but have had a lovely morning catching up.

Georgina I do hope that you get some good news today.

Fritzi I am Dd3's PTA class rep and now feel totally inadequate!

Bloss the Balenciaga that I have is actually a bit too big if I was to be super critical. It's about 16/18 inches wide and 10 inches high and because it's a 'good' bag i am highly unlikely to ever fill it. I have a Prada black leather bag that is about 12 inches by 6/8 inches, a much better size in my opinion. The leather is very soft on both bags so they don't take a lot of hacking.

Lots of lovely links, I really need to sort my wardrobe, in Ireland I find we tend to be more 2 seasons wardrobe wise, as we don't really have a Spring or Autumn in the traditional sense.

Welcome home NY and Red glad that the hols went well.

Yes- was reading local papers out of interest Marsha- £85 k for a health and safety officer for example!! Not that there is anything wrong with being a health and safety officer, but that is a lot of money. Apparently a lot of worry about unsustainable it is - tourism heavily hit due to prices, and no one buying Aus exports or services because they are so expensive. Seems to be a lot of heavy unionisation that foreign investors are wary about too. Mining industry booming though!

Morning. Lovely and suuny here today albeit cold. What is everyone doing with their Saturdays? Just the usual here - trip to the market for cheese, fruit veggies and flowers etc, swimming lesson for DS2 and the day has gone!

Welcome home ny

Will make a decision about white top later - split decision on the W&A voting which made me smile.

It's overcast but bright in Paris. We are going to see Mirror, Mirror on the Champs-Elysées at 5.30pm with two other families. Before that, lunch at Café de Flore and a wander around the men's department of Le Bon Marché as DP needs summer clothes. And we will either go for sushi or pizza after the film.

GeorginaWorsley - I listened to your friend's radio broadcast. How truly awful for her and her family; let's hope there is news soon.

Yy NY sister is on something crazy in Perth. And the people around her on so much. The mining boom is so strong. But yes downside many won't be able to afford to travel there.

I'm fascinated by how fast it has been while other countries are suffering. Ten years ago dh and I were splurging on everything with a good rate. Ten years! Quite something.

Ollie today I am mostly enjoying reclaiming free thinking after being in the grip of project for two months. Bliss!

Many thanks to all ladies.
It is great that so many people have heard Lynda's broadcast,even in France Bonsoir
Story being picked up by a few more nationals I think.
Facebook page 'Help Find John lawton' if anyone would be good enough to share.

Lynda is a stylish and Avid woman and I think she would be at home on this thread.

ollie I vote WC if that helps swing it.

Just back from a run and feeling smug. Planning on doing Ripped L2 this eve as well as I wasted yesterday evening making a massive chocolate cake for DH's birthday tomorrow. Used a whole block of butter in it - will be keeping my consumption of that to a minimum.

georgina That is awful . Hope your friend has some good news soon.

ollie I vote for WC as it seems to be more versatile and you can layer it with a jacket/coat.

mrscb Love the star scarf!

Welcome back long-haul travelers red and notyummy!

portia Actually I'm class rep for DD's class and the over-enthusiastic Mum class rep for another class. Phoned her yesterday afternoon and talked her out of the salt dough.

I'm off to buy birthday presents with DD for two of her friends soon. She needs shoes too but maybe we'll do that next week. DH is restless already and wants to get things done, so I assigned him some tasks .

Oh, and I did my first online grocery shop yesterday and awaiting delivery this afternoon, hallelujah! Our town/village has finally arrived in the 21st century .

Amber I attempted Ripped L3 last night for the first time. OMG. My quads are nowhere near as strong as I thought they were! Running this morning was practically a relief after that.

Ollie your Saturday sounds lovely. We are on our way to see lovely friends who will chat through our relocation plans and be all excited for us and give good advice. They are v good people to be around . Also I will get to go horse riding, assuming the weather isn't too dire.

Georgina do update us if you hear anything. His poor wife (and poor him, if he's lying in a ditch somewhere with a broken leg).

Whilst sleeping in a shepherds hut isn't everyone's idea of a 'holiday', look at how gorgeously (is that event a word?) decorated this is here
I could so with something like that in our garden to escape to for some quality peace and quiet!

That's so lovely Ollie. I was expecting something more like a Dutch trekkershutten (which are awesome). I want a shepherd's hut!

Ollie - I took a look at the slideshow in your link and thought it all looked very familiar; I then took a look at the location, and it is very close to where I grew up and to where my parents live now. There is very definite aesthetic to it!

Aww, my mum has that dog fabric as her table cloth.

hopefully I am dreading L3 so am stalling. I was a mess for the first few days of L2 from those side lunges with leg lifts and I still haven't mastered those horrible press ups where you have to bend one leg! Nasty.

Going to buy scales this morning so I can stop stressing about how much damage licking the cake bowl has done...

I know annie but I worked exceptionally hard to lose 4 stone a few years ago and live my life in terror of it creeping back on, so I think without the safety net of the scales I would be living a semi-anorexic lifestyle to ensure I didn't gain anything back, so on balance I think no scales would be worse for my soul. Reckon one could easily live without if less greedy than me though!

Georgina, I listened to the interview, really hope they have good news soon. She is a brave lady.

Welcome back, NY. Brendan Gleeson is a great actor, have you seen In Bruges? My cousin is in the process of buying his house in Dublin.

When is the best time to shred? Maybe I should start eating with the DC at 5 and shred when they go to bed. I saw nice shorts in Whistles yesterday.

Amber, the two sets of scales in my dad's house made me half a stone lighter than the scales here, I was quite pleased!

Wish it would warm up so I could wear summer clothes.