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.

Oh shit, have realised I was supposed to apply for a nursery place for DS in this round of applications!! WTF do I do now? If I keep him in private nursery for an additional year is there a hope in hell of getting him in at 4?

Amber, reception places are in no way related to nursery places, so panic not.

Oh pickled I could kiss you. I am an absolute moron.

Well done marsha. I am laughing so hard though. I think you win the award for 'holding out the longest against the Jillian love'. I think it's 2 years! She really is amazing though. I love her.
I have these weights, and have worked myself up to the 2.5kg ones (I know, I know, look away ny). I still find them challenging, so not about to size up.
Wonderful news decam, hope you can sort something amber.
Was wondering how you were apuski. Good to see you back.
Just to add my experience, like most of the regular posters will know, I was sahm for 7 years and have just gone back to work to a job I love where I pinch myself every day for my good fortune. I have been very very lucky to get back to work at the level I left. The downside is having to own a craghopper for bus duty but hey . I thought I'd love being a sahm, I really didn't. But it took me 6 years to work that out, and to admit it.

DD1's been offered a place at our first choice school as have her 2 best friends so I'm really pleased.

Amber phew about not being pregnant, like you I'd like a third but DH isn't keen plus I'm 40 next year. Do you want a nursery place at one of the local primary schools? If so then just contact the school directly, they may still have places or be able to put you on a waiting list.

suburban yay about the TS boots, obviously they were meant to be yours. I love the pistols, think I may get them in black in the autumn.

Great news Decam and NSG, you can sleep easy tonight.

Well done to you too grumpy. I can't imagine the stress this causes. I live in an area suffering serious rural depopulation. Primary schools are closing all around because of lack of children.

Haha Bloss I know. I retract! What wasted time! I need to catch up now. I don't even know why. Well other than I thought I'd feel silly. But she is funny / positive enough to make me not feel silly doing it.

Congratulations NSG!

Marsha well done on Shredding. You too can join the St Jillian of Michael club. NY linked me up with some weights, but think 1, 2 and 3kg ones are a good starting point (or 0.5, 1 and 2kg if you are feeling feeble, as I was when I first started last year). A range is quite good as you can choose the heaviest comfortable for each exercise.

Amber you are rather having a week of short term stresses aren't you? Glad Pickled has assuaged your worries!

Watching the documentary on Liza Taylor through her jewellery. Fascinating stuff, and wonderful that she wore some of her (insanely expensive) jewellery over and over again. And have drying nails in advance of tomorrow's meeting. Waiting for freshly dyed Me & Em to dry, but it's all looking good so far!

I have no idea why Liz became Liza there.

Big exhale, have actually just engaged brain and thought about it. DS is already in a nursery which is a funded care provider so it makes sense to keep him there as he is happy and with my return to work I would need to find wraparound care for a primary school nursery anyway. Phew.

Dec and NSG great relief about the places, phew.

NY that you don't have a Davina, get thee to LBK! Hopefully it looks great on you, I would be tempted to keep it.

Marsha I used chestnut puree left over from Christmas until my mum made chocolate and chestnut mousse with one of them and I was unbalanced. I bought 1kg weights but nearly fainted and promptly gave up shredding for pilates

Fritzi glad you are getting to spend time in the garden, hope it's warmer with you though. Sooo cold here!

MrsCB I have wedge trainers and they are the business. I love that blog, she has nearly as many scarves as decameron

Ds is still in great form, we are all transformed by his good mood. Going to celebrate with dh by watching Mad Men.

Have good nights everyone

Oh and Amber I'm going back to work in mid August so that pretty much guarantees that the weather will be glorious for the last 2 weeks in Aug. Keeping your DS in his current nursery sounds sensible, I'm in the process of employing a nanny for when I go back. I've found someone, just need to write a contract and sort out pay roll stuff.

Am using 2kg atm, have dragged DHs weights out from where they were gathering dust. They go up to 7kg but I don't think so. I do lame press ups, especially those crow ones in Ripped, I just collapse.

I have a year old shred still in wrapper. The shame! Also I have two 2.5 kg weights in mint condition. Perhaps in the interests if being wise I should eBay for handbag funds....

Just popping in to see how dec and nsg got on - glad you both got the places you wanted.

Have signed up for Spanish language evening classes and had the first one tonight. Am horribly out of practice at this study lark but think it will be fun.

Night all!

I love that the thread is so non-judgey. You ladies are like the NCT group I should have had...

Oh and hopefully just a warning, I'll be blaming you when my experiment wih the Dylon I've ordered from eBay goes wrong...

Amber my top tips are: plenty of dye (two packs for my dress to make sure it was saturated enough - one pack dyes about 250g of fabric effectively), a big pan/sink and lots and LOTS of stirring the garment round when it's dyeing.

Great news Decam on the school place! That must be such a relief, although SPS wouldn't have been a bad default plan!
Your dream was so funny Ollie, but you know it wouldn't surprise me one bit if it came true!
I have an inner "I'm with the band" attitude, and find it so hard sometimes to believe I am this responsible "working for the government" person in RL. I think my inner attitude adds an extra dimension though to my RL job. (That is what I keep telling myself!) I often think "how did I get here?" and find it hilarious when I am with colleagues, I was once a junior with, and they actually take me seriously. I mean, how did that happen?
Better get myself to bed, have a long day ahead tomorrow.

Just popping in quickly to say that there's a picture of the new improved Me & Em dress on my profile - it's below the davina/fabric pictures uploaded the other day I think. The colour is actually a shade darker than it's come out in the photo, but even in that crappy picture you can see that it's a much richer olive colour than it was originally.

Also, when I clicked on my profile to see if it had loaded, my first thought on seeing the picture of me in the Davina was "I look like someone's mother". It is going back, flattering as it is (even though I am someone's mother).