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.

Hi ladies - would value your opinions on the Outnet order, which arrived today courtesy of nice neighbours :

Waxed skinnies are unfortunately too big. They were very clear that you should size up as they come up small, and I am usually a 28 in TS etc, so I ordered the 29, but they are pretty loose already - and jeans usually give over time, no? Unfortunately I am not sure that 27 would fit (especially if they come up small - allegedly so will just return and leave it at that.

Am keeping the Chintzi and Parker dress here as the small fits really well. I can see me wearing a lot to work - and may try and channel Fleecy and casual it up too. They have a mdium left in the brown and a small in the black if anyone is interested. I would have loved the aubergine but nothing in my size.

The question mark is over the Ce Me - I am not sure whether it makes me look hippy (and not in a beads and sandals way...) or not. DH not around tonight or I would ask him. Honest opinions welcome - if you think a different cut would be better, please say so!! Two pics on profile.

Ah Bonsoir, so you dip your toe into the working world every now and again. I have something like that too and also had a great invitation today to speak at a conference (which I may or may not take, my perogative). Perhaps that is/should be enough? It's very ad hoc though (which is what's great about it actually) and probably wouldn't fund my JBrand habit . Thank you for your response, I am slowly gaining some perspective.

Oh Ants, I'm delighted it all went so well for you - you are brave. I saw a lovely pic of Amanda Holden recently and it made me think of the new you - roll on September.

So glad it went well ants.

NY, the dress looks fab on you - you have to keep it! I showed it to DD(10) and said that you were worried that it made you look too hippy. She said it does make you look hippy, but good hippy .

exciting times ants

ollie and fritzi I will pm you this week with business details in case your heads explode it really isn't very exciting at all,just not keen to be too recognisable in real life from the thread.

was trying to say in my clunky way that without retraining completely I needed to find something my last career had helped me with.. pickled and red you both have great writing skills which could help with future career changes.

yummy you look amazing in that dress..i think your DH will be thrilled!

pickled were you being interviewed by google!I would fly to Iceland for the day(NOT the supermarket)really want to go back

Thinking about career changes/possible retraining/if no barriers I would love to do what I'm planning at the moment,of course,but love the thought of being a psychiatrist,screenplay writer or an installation artist..what would others fancy..yummy I could see you as a great rival for Jillian!

NY lovely dress. Keep.

Does anyone else think ny keeps posting pictures of herself in slinky dresses just to make the rest of us feel inadequate

I'm joking, of course. Definitely keep ny, you look fabulous

I like it NY. Keep

pickled - I've never felt remotely cut off from the working world and get plenty of opportunities to voice my opinion and influence others (individuals and organisations) which, if I am honest, is what matters to me most - my amour propre would not like to feel out of touch with the progress of globalisation.

Do you really want to teach in a school, with all the bureaucracy that goes with it, or is there some other, more admin-lite, way of interacting with society that you could think of?

Yes,yes to admin-lite Bonsoir. Hate the bureaucracy that goes with teaching but love the school fees reduction.

Reine, have never been to Iceland, is it good for families? If I had my time again, as they say, I would be an experimental psychologist. Love the scope and breadth of your 'choices' .

Thanks for the thoughts ladies. Am dithering as it is a bit too big. Think I may try a size down. Never returned with the Outlet before. Bit of a faff!! Am used to v cheap and cheerful - either via a post office or one click and they pick up from the shed .

Love the career chat - I can see you as psychologist Picked!

Bugger! Missed the 'L'.

Evening all - have had a progress-filled day; my tutoring finally begins on Monday and they've asked kept do two afternoons with four separate pupils on a very agreeable hourly rate. Had a long chat with my friend about childcare - DD really is a dream child to look after, but am worried that two afternoons is taking the piss slightly. She has assured me I'm not and I'm going to make it up with her two. Fingers crossed it all goes well. Now I need to remember how to teach..!

NY that's a great dress. Colour very good for you.

Ants - you sound very brave about the whole thing. My cousin had a reduction last year and says it has completely changed her life (she's a yoga instructor so the boobs and the job were very incompatible!). Hope you enjoy tomorrow.

Pickled imagine the interview went very well, really. When is your next one?

Reine can I be informed about your career? I'm deeply intrigued. I would really like to be able to write for a living in some capacity, I just lack the clarity of vision to be able to put it into practise and find something I could actually do. Am making lots of (bad, I imagine) guesses as to what you could be doing...

I am off to a clothes swap party tomorrow - I've ebayed so much recently though that I don't have very much to offer.

Just did L1 ripped, wondering why I was struggling so badly. DS had turned thermostat to 30. Sort of DIY ashtanga but with Jillian shouting rather than zen yogi type. Gap in the market?

Red, it's like riding a bike . Glad it's going to be financially worthwhile. I'm sure you could swap the odd breton dress or 5 tomorrow night.

Reine, me too, me too!

Amber, keep going, you too can have a body like NY Jillian .

Oh my goodness notyummy, you look amazing. That waist [sobs].
Not helped by being out till gone 9 and have missed my exercise window.

ants, well done! I really admire you. Have a great day tomorrow.

pickled the only way I could have a body like ny is if I had that operation where they break your legs and stretch them 6 times

I once read an article about a girl who had that op so she could achieve her dream of being an air hostess. Having your legs broken to serve coffee at 30,000ft - aspirational.

Hmm dream career. I feel very much pulled in two directions. Nothing new there then!

Reine sounds fab, be great to hear more.

Ants good stuff, am really pleased for you.

Morning all.

Whilst I am v grateful for the compliments, I would just say that being tall does help disguise a multitude of sins figure wise and there are def bits of it that could much improved. Cellulite on bottom a case in point. And in a 'grass always greener' way, I sometimes would love to be more petite, or have the long lean limbs of a 'spider'

Klaxon - the sun is shining here in Nottingham. It is a beautiful day. Rush here if you are getting low on Vitamin D. [Disclaimer - I have no idea how the sun will last.] Wearing Jigsaw navy wool dress with opaques and heels.

Red - I have never been to a clothes swap party. It sounds like fun. I have a couple of friends I see occasonally that I have given clothes to and vice versa as we are similar height/dress size, but I don't know many people round here that are 'into' clothes. I think you need a 'critical mass' to make a swapping party work so you have enough people to ensure there will be a few items of every size.

Amber - you also made me laugh re the air hostess comment. I have a good friend who was a hostess for years and whilst she had loads of fun, it was bloody hard unglamorous work, with the majority of airlines not paying an awful lot. Not sure it is worth that much pain over.... Doing Jillian in 30 degrees sounds like purgatory. I don't manage very well in the heat. Doing a long, very slow amble in Singapore nearly finished me off. I think I would v hot and cross at an Ashtanga class.

I have genuinely though about retraining as a fitness instructor/personal trainer (possibly utilising my NLP and coaching training as well as a kind of 'holistic' approach.) Have been put off by the fact the hours are quite anti-social (a lot of people want a personal trainer at 5am or 7pm) and I think if you want to earn reasonable money then you need to be near/in a large population centre so you can chanrge a good hourly rate and have a lot of potential clients. Unfortunately where I live that is not the case. My other pipe dream at some point is going back to the job I enjoyed the most, which was working with adults with learning disabilities. I did that for two years before I joined the RAF and absolutely loved it. Challenging, but lots of fun and no day was the same as the last. I managed a small unit and have lots of happy memories.

notyummy You look fab in that dress. Could you wear it to work with a blazer?

ants That is such good news. You are very brave.

The hot yoga is called Bikram. As a once devoted Ashtangi, I cannot allow any confusion on that topic . Jillian strongly advises against exercising in extreme heat. It dehydrates and puts unnecessary stress on your body.

ollie Is the painting finished or are you busy baking another batch of heart-shaped biscuits for Colin?

Interesting to read about all your stories and thoughts with regards to work. I have realized that so far I have never taken the "admin-lite aspect" into consideration but should definitely do so in the future. I accepted a project and have taken over responsibilities from one of my former colleagues who is now pregnant. I have only just started and the admin is doing my head in already. Also very counter-productive to the creative part of my work.