Avidly surveying the sales... but already starting Wisely to wonder about A/W Wish Lists.

[blue2711]

New thread!

The fake tan is on (with requisite orange patches, naturally) and hair is done. I'm on countdown to Big Night Out, aware that will have to get ready whilst putting 2 DC to bed.

40bum lady is wearing my black suede Zara sandals today. I heartily recommend. She goes out a lot, doesn't she?! . I have a wardrobe full of going out clothes but not enough occasions to wear them all!

bloss is right: coats and warm jackets are the way forward. I am stupid; I have 20 odd blazers and lightweight jackets perfect for May to September but only 1 jacket and 2 coats I like for September to April. Must rectify.

Blue fab outfit!
Just realized I've lost another 2lbs! Weight loss is strange, for ages one feels nothing happens and then all of a sudden something does. I don't believe in crash dieting, this (-7 lbs) has been achieved with the French women approach and by increasing my physical activity whicj I enjoy immensely (got into one of those running flow states last night - endorphins feel good)! Lovely Sweaty Betty gear has definitely been a factor, should I reward myself with a few extra running vests?

Good work Dona! What a nice feeling. Especially those running endorphins. I don't have scale but am with you in spirit (go by comments and clothing size alone, wild). For my birthday soon.

Ollie and Hopefully looking forward to big try report.

Blue fab outfit.

Ollie what did you get what did you get?

Blue good outfit. I think peppermint is my fave colour of the pastel skinnies - was so tempted to defy my colours and get some

Dona I have Overdressed on my Amazon wishlist.

Woke up this morning and announced to DH I was fine and he should go to work. Luckily he ignored me, because I can't really stand up - wound starts bleeding again after a couple of mins and bloody hurts!

Good luck with the school holidays Ollie. Our schoosl finish here next Thursday . DD is booked into a Holiday Club for 12 days in total for the 6 week holidays whilst DH and I work, and we have taken about a week off each.. My mum and dad have her for a week as well. We have just booked a camping weekend with friends. We went with them last year and had a ball - it's only 6 miles from home so we can easily run away if it tips it down . Am also planning a long weekend somewhere nice at the end of the holiday, but not sure where yet.

Hopefully - sounds sore. Fingers crossed it improves soon.

Dona - well done on the fitness/weight loss. Am doing a couple of days of low carbing after a particularly indulgent period. My weight is uually pretty stable, but has crept up very slightly. I can drop 4/5 lbs v quickly by cutting out carbs, and it doesn't usually go back on when I eat normally. It is only when I am consistently naughty that I notice it creep up. Also, DH is away for a couple of days which means I can low carb without him moaning about me making him feel 'guilty' and generally stropping about me watching what I eat .

Nice outfit Blue.

Oh, has anyone any ideas what DH should wear out to dinner on Saturday? He has no smart clothes at all really. We are going here, so reasonably smart. Trousers, a shirt and blazer? What kind of shoes? Need to order some stuff for him to try today really

Hopefully I haven't been there. But at the Connaught I noticed it was quite conservative for the men (and women too tbh). Perhaps the same.

Dona I am in a non reading zone atm but when I get back into it I'm getting that book, thanks!

NY long holidays here soon too.

Just popping in quickly to say always red j brand 811s in 27 on sale here

blue great outfit! Mine is dull - indigo j brands, ash hi tops and a slouchy t-shirt.

Have been doing housework since 7.40; have walked the school run and have done a grocery shop. 540 Kcals ladies I kid you not. I have the HR monitor on as proof! In fact, I worked out that if you're moving, you burn about 4 kcals a minute, so worth counting those pesky housework minutes!
Well done dona on the no shopping and the weight loss.
I hate my summer clothes. I am thinking I don't have anything I'm excited to wear on my holiday apart from the violet lake bikinis, the toucan scarf, the hobbs stripy vest and the white pencil skirt. (All on my holiday board). So intend to spend the rest of my morning off until I start work at 1.45 trawling NaP and JL.
I'm also feeling a bit dragged down by small town mentality and planning an urban fix in Chester on Wednesday.
Hope you're all well, and healing hopefully. Courage as the French would say ollie.

Thanks all!
Grumpy love the dark cherry J Brands - very good that Icannot wear cropped styles - would be tempted otherwise!

Bloss where are you going? I find sleeveless dresses in bright colors the most versatile for Mediterranean summer. The watermelon colour Maxmara is probably my favorite, but cheap Esprit dresses have been very useful too. Can be dressed up with a jacket if necessary.

A really useful weight loss book I've really enjoyed recently is Mindless Eating by Brian Wansink. He's a food psychologist and a scientist and the book is full off good and practical insights - how to lose weight slowly without really being on a diet. Works for me anyway and complements the French Women approach very well. (Planning on baking a trayful of muffins later today - I don't believe in depriving myself. Also bought yummy pineapple chunks and blueberries to eat after running.)

ollie Dh has given me 3 days(before I get totally fed up of school hols and blow!)DD2 is so challenging at the moment I give myself 2

Poor hopefully,I seem to get clumsier when I am overdoing things,are you cramming too much in?

I have been organising dentist appointments etc this a.m and left a message on what I realized afterwards was a private no. requesting an upper lip wax..my glamorous facade is shattered

surburban hope your silverstone trip was fun.look out for a pm from me today.

I have not shredded for so long I am dreading it..every night she is put into the DVD player and every morning I find some other distraction.

blue I love peppermint skinnies on everyone else.can't see them on myself at all for some reason.

well done on the good use of time nsg We love carrot cake,our gorgeous Dutch friend brought one over at the weekend still warm..it made us giggle a lot because he used to be so rock and roll!

dec my dad is superminimalist.He threw out my mum's recipes etc,think that could be why I have such hoarding tendencies,luckily I got in there before he sold all her jewelry!

Wow bloss very productive morning.

Reine definitely! But I am focusing all my energy on house hunting as of this week, and putting everything else into 'maintenance' mode, iykwim (apart from the children, who tragically don't have a maintenance mode). So hopefully will get through with all emailing appendages intact

No sign of the McQueen yet (sob), but Hush sale order has arrived. Quality all lovely. this linen vest is a keeper! this sweater is lovely but the dolman sleeves are too dolman-ey for me, makes me look boxy. these vests are great, but I am quite long bodied and they don't have enough length I don't think - will try them on again later to check properly. these pyjamas are great but the insanely generous sizing means that a 10-12 is maybe a bit baggy. Again, will try on properly later to see if they are ok or not. Gorgeous soft material though.

Also Figleaves order has arrived - 6 plain cream bras to try on. I will endeavour to contain my excitement and try them on later .

Oh, Marsha, just looking at the lovely pin you have of woman in pale leopard print dress with tan/neon yellow clutch. Do you know where the clutch is from?

Hopefully when back home will hunt down source. It is lovely, I agree!

Cannot believe my outfit today - Whistles Milla dress with tights and knee high boots. It's nice and all, but WTAF. Outfit conundrum to consider: Am in new school on Thursday for an INSET session to meet staff, sort out timetable etc. Thoughts??

Can;t wait to hear about your NAP order Ollie and also looking forward to McQueen feedback Hopefully.

Blue your weekend sounds lovely - hold onto thoughts of it throughout the week! My Mum is back from Singapore on Wednesday and coming to look after the DC for the weekend so we can go to a wedding and stay overnight. Really can't wait either.

red, I wore j brands but with a blazer for my inset last week. Everyone else was in White Stuff though, but I loved my outfit and didn't feel compromised.

dona, I'm off to South of France. I go every year, but feels different this year, as a) I have had a style day and b) we are holidaying for part of the time with friends. Have put up some dresses on Pin. Beach and pool with a toddler and 7 year old first week, so lots of beach tennis and running around with eyes in the back of my head; more rural in the second week with visits to Provencal towns, markets and possibly bike hire.
Pin reine . On the subject of Jillian and Shred; we have moved on to Level 2. And of course Dh prefers it, and loves the military presses and the chair squats. Just showing off of course. Had forgotten but there is good Abs work in that level.
Just out of curiosity I left my HRM on when MN'ing, and it seems I burn 3 kcals a minute sitting on my sofa. So not quite so impressive earlier!

That was supposed to read: Have you seen my Pin reine!

Regular lurker here popping in to ask your opinions of these. Thank you all :)

They could work well if you have a 'natural' clothing personality paddington. The rounded toe, the suede and the wooden heel would make them perfect.

What Bloss said. I can see them being useful.

Estate agent has just come round to photograph and things today. The shame of the filthy house - was planning on tidying up yesterday evening, but a&e trip put paid to that.

Thanks Marsha.

DH is laughing at me because I am so incapable of sitting still - have baked a cake with my foot up, and am trying to work out what else I can achieve. Clearly I am in too much pain to do anything like washing up or claundry though

Claundry - a cleaning/laundry hybrid?

I like them Paddington - could work with knee length skirts/dresses for a slightly rock chick look? Would need some sort of treatment to ward off stains (or perhaps that's just clumsy me ...?)

Bloss, the all-Med look is flat sandals and a knee-length dress. Would you look good in a slightly grecian one? What are the brightest / lightest colors on your palette? It's 35C and I couldn't wear cropped trousers or a maxi or anything black, and skinny jeans feel awful. I really believe one or two sleeveless dresses are all that it takes. Are you sure emerald and fuchsia (as seen on Sweaty Betty tops) are not you? Alternatively, a couple of skirts or shorts to be worn with light tops. When it's this warm, incredibly few clothes are necessary. In the tropics, I lived in khaki miniskirts and cotton tops. My outfit today, a dressy pair of denim city shorts and a kimono top and Hasbeens, is perfect for this climate too, and can be paired with flat sandals, fipflops, wedges, ballerinas (take them along!), espadrilles or even trainers.

Did your style day dictate something specific? I'm very pragmatic and refuse to be ruled by trends and style rules - you can take a holiday of style rules too!

Yes you're right dona, I can wear emerald and fuchsia and chinese blue and sapphire. I have a chinese blue linen dress, and a green beach dress from last year. Just nothing new! Also they're a bit loose, and the beach dress is empire line which looks awful on me. In an ideal world I would wear bandeau style everything.

Off to work, back later

Red, I give up with the weather too. I've decided to go on a bit of spending ban too and save up for a new coat/some new knitwear for the winter.

Thanks Reine the F1 was amazing. After his trauma in Melbourne, DP had gone for good tickets so we had nice seats and access to all the enclosures and cruicially nice toilets. I kept it simple in wellies, coated skinnies, scarf and Barbour in the end which was good as I managed to get covered in mud. Just read your PM v exciting.

Congratulations on the weight loss Dona do you have the french women cookbook? My copy has just arrived and it is really good, but the hideous leek soup does make a reappearance. I'm in the same boat as NY have let about half a stone slip on just by slipping on a few things, eating lots of biscuits and getting taxis/the bus more than walking. I hope that a combination of the shred and French Women... will help me loose it, otherwise I'll have to low carb (sob)

Sorry to hear about your DH's work issues Ollie. Mine was badgered constantly by calls from work yesterday. Glad to hear he got some retail therapy on Saturday though, DP usually comes home with something small but expensive like a belt and 10 new pairs of socks.

Hopefully ouch, you should be eating the cake, not making it.

Good luck to those negotiating the summer holidays.