A for Avid, B for buying, C for Chatting... W for Wise!

[OllieWollieWoo]

Credit to Everything for the lovely new title!

Thanks for the links to the desert boots ltec. I don't know whether I dare take the plunge. I'll try some on when I'm shopping next. Might have to be tomorrow. Have been ever so good..
The ones in the paper were from Dune. What do you think of Dune shoes a&w girls?
I wore a pair to my wedding. They were lovely with a big corsage on each side. They didn't half hurt my feet though! That was 7 years ago, I wonder what they're like now.

Funny, but my dh said I was looking svelte today too. Maybe I've been bulking up too much in my cardis and scarves.

Dh is on bath duty. Best go warm the bottle..

Evening everyone. Need to check back in with the A&W crew as after only 4 days back at work I have returned to Mrs grey and boring. Am determined to make more of an effort next week.

Glad to see you back LTEC but so sorry you've had such bad news You know we are always here for support or diversion as required. Lovely to have your mum come to stay with you for a bit.

Those Alex Monroe pieces are lovely. I have what must be a copycat of the dragonfly from Asda of all places

Hi all. Well today my fantastic mother help (who also runs her own dress making and alterations business!)returned my new dress - bought adter recommends on this thread! As a pear shape I had found it a tad baggy on the waist and not giving me the requisite 'Joan from Mad Men' look that I had imagined when purchasing. It is now almost there - still a bit of extra fabric but DH reckons the hip area would go funny if it was messed around with any more. Overall I am v pleased!

Those necklaces are lovely.

Allbuggiedout - I LOVE that All saints dress you tried on, am v tempted!

Plum - that Alexa bag in Ink is beautiful.
The alternative you ahve found looks good too, do let us know how it is in RL if you order!
Roman - a larger similar colour one from oushka here it was in this weeks Grazia

Notyummy - glad your altered dress looks fab!
Was it you that was looking for a dress for a wedding abroad and was thinking about the turquoise short one??
If so, I have seen this which may fit the bill?

LLBean - No such thing as too glam for a wedding, well I certainly don't think that dress is. You would be the 'belle of the ball' in it (apart from the bride of course )

MrsJuan- how are you finding being back at work? Has your dd settled well at nursery? I've just gone back myself (3 days) after dd2 and I'm finding it an adjustment. Actually I'm dreaming of having dc3!

Notyummy - love that dress!

The Alex Monroe dragonfly or 4 leaved clover are looking very strong contenders!

MrsJ is Felicity Fish going to work out okay? I had to order edible glitter from a specialty site ... can;t remember the name but if you post on one of the foodie threads, you;ll get a zillion responses.

DH left for the States this morning with a very low-key shopping list. Am not feeling at all avid at the moment, so I asked for Glamour, Vogue, Vanity Fair and a magazine called Monocle that my sister, who used to live in NYC, insists is laugh-out-loud bad. Also Gucci Rush and D&G The One.

Despite not feeling avid, am very much enjoying wearing recent purchases. Nothing much languishing in the closet, so that's always a good sign

Whelk decided you were right about the dress, went to order but it's sold out in my size
What do you think of this instead?

Looking forward to jamie's stockholm. Been there too!
ltec, you don't sound yourself. Take care.

Cake - yes thanks I think Felicity will be grand but I think I'll have to do a practice run of slicing the top from the cake. I'm sure there's a little shop around here somewhere that does all sorts of baking things so I'll have a look there for edible glitter otherwise I'll do some googling.

Hope you will be ok with your DH going away again - take it as easy as you can.

Whelk - I'm actually really enjoying being back at work. I'm only doing 2 days a week so its easy to be enthusiastic and let the usual work politics wash over me. DD has settled surprisingly well into nursery considering I've never left her with anyone for any length of time. So far so good

Helloooooo!

What a good day today. Did lots of errands with ds this morning-DH has had my car, so having been saving jobs that have needed doing, including booking DDs birthday party, which is now done.

This afternoon,after collecting DD from nursery,went to local-ish outlet/sale shopping village/place. Is hideous, but wanted to do Gap Outlet with 30% voucher. Got some bits for DCs plus a few presents, all good. Also bought myself a navy dress in French Con for £7! Is thick jersey, sleeveless, kneelength with a slight bubble hem. Perfect with glads and a necklace for every day in the summer. And DD was such a good girl, I felt so proud of her. She can be a complete horreur in the shops-esp. in the afternoon, when tired, but she was a complete poppet (okay, so I bribed her with ice-cream, but still!)

Today, I wore

Old fave navy knitted peacoat, from Gap

New Urban O Top in cream

coral bobble scarf

Wide leg Topshop Bette jeans in indigo

Gold flat sandals from holiday in South of France

Had two compliments on my look, which made me

LLBean- I'm not sure about the Karen Millen dress. I think its the fabric, although I like the style of it I would want to see it in RL.

I'm probably not the best to advise though as I have a strange aversion to Karen Millen.

LL I don't like that K Millen dress at all - style or fabric. Sorry that's not v.constructive, but I don't have time to scout for s'th else right now - will try to have a look in a bit.

glad you had a good day Plum - and fab that people noticed how lovely you looked

bless you for watching Jamie blossoming - I'm really enjoying it - I never really think of Swedish food (other than Ikea cafes!!) Am sure you are looking svelte - cutting sugar makes a big difference. My dh told me this morning that I look like Skeletor

am fine, really. Just feeling a bit flat, but am sure will be back to my usual irritating self soon. Just saw that a complete stranger has joined and commented on my blog, so that put a smile on my face.

Whelk - I'm 5ft7 and a half - I generally say 5ft8 I'd looked for maxis on their site but it didn't register on my radar, probably because of the length as it does look short. But it caught my eye in store so I tried it on and liked it. Worth a shot, especially since I think they still have 20% off?

Fel1x - it was me who was after the dress - like the one you linked to but it's not in my size. I do have something I could wear, although not sure if it's shameful or wise that it was £16 from Peacocks! It's lovely and looks far more expensive but it's not new. And it would be nice to have something new for SIL's wedding! So I will keep looking...

Plum - I have the indigo Bette jeans!

Hi Ladies

Roman thanks for the Disney tip. Just thinking about weekend wardrobe now. I'm guessing it may be chilly. Do we have a view on denim jackets (not with jeans). Do I need one for spring?

Just before I turned 30 I did a month tour of Helsinki, Stockholm, Oslo,Bergen, Lofoten islands. I'd been partying a bit too hard and I did a month of clean living. It was a very special time, my last solo trip. Two months later I was seeing dh and settling down. These Jamie programmes are making me really nostalgic!!

Just running in to say Cake - so sorry to hear you have had some bad news. tis good that your mum is coming though, will hopefully take the pressure off you - you do sound very flat atm . When is DH going to be back from NYC? Tis veh gruelling to have sole charge of dc as much as you do, be kind to yourself

No shopping here - had call last week to say that fraudulent activity had been detected on my cc so was cancelled and the new one still not arrived yet. Been browsing and think my next move might be some pale pastel? chinos and/or some silky harems.

Weather has been quite nice here last few days but I have squandered opportunity to wear summer gear as feet were not fit for display so has been jeans and hi-tops all the way for last week of sunshine . Pedi booked for tomorrow night, perfectly timed to coincide with forecast of a 10degree drop in the temp

On the plus side, have also booked to have hair cut and coloured tomorrow while dd2 at nursery (dd1 at school) so looking forward to a day of no chores

Plum - your outfit sounds lovely . I like that UO top. Had not really considered UO before now but have seen that they have quite a few poss trousers, once I get my new card..........

BTW, am also watching Jamie - anyone else hearting the new JL ad that they keep showing in the ad breaks - am finding it strangely moving, gah am turning into sentimental old fool !!!!!

Hello! Have decided the only way for me to keep up with who said what on here to to keep a W&A notepad by the laptop and to scribble notes - seriously!

Nice to see your posts LTEC - can only echo all whats been said on here.
Whelk love the dragonfly. Have also seen a lovely silver butterfly necklace but can't remember where so will have a look for you.
Blossoming - well done on the weight loss. Am thinking I should also give up sugar for a while. Have cut back on bread/pasta but still tucking into the odd (but large) bag of Mars Planets! So you literally cut out everything that has sugar in it even stuff like yoghurt?
Everything - that hat is amazing - so stylish and chic - def the right choice.

Looks like DH will be handing in his notice tomorrow if the contract for the new job is signed off. School hols start on Friday for 2 weeks so would be v timely if he was placed on gardening leave to see out his notice period .

Re the Alexa bag ? would it not be a major pain to undo the buckles every time you need to take stuff out? (Or am I missing something?)

Someone mentioned perfume shopping a while back ? I?m a bit obsessed by the trios of new fragrances from Marc Jacobs and Chloé that are out now. (perfumeshrine.blogspot.com/2010/03/marc-jacobs-splash-new-fragrances.html et www.fragrantica.com/perfume/Chloe/Eau-de-Fleurs-Neroli-7625.html). Admittedly, fashion delusion is at work here ? I might not be able to afford the clothes but I can smell like ?biscuit according to Marc?. Anyways, they might be worth a sniff!

I shopped this week. I got my Gap bag (www.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=34749&vid=1&pid=750784&scid=750784032 - handy, useful) and jeans/jeggings (like these www.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=54987&vid=1&pid=705585&scid=705585002 but mine are a bit more faded). The jean/jeggings are amazing actually, very soft and comfortable and the best is that they work with so many things in my wardrobe. I?m weaing them rolled up above the ankle with this dress www.toast.co.uk/product/dresses+and+tunics/C1AT3/double+faced+madras+shirt+dress.htm?categoryref=%2f category.aspx%3fcategoryid%3ddresses%2520and%2520tunics%26seoterm%3ddresses%2520and%2520tunics%26&pc at=dresses+and+tunics and my black clog hasbeen-wannabe sandals today and while it?s not the most fashiony outfit possible by any means, I fee chic and comfortable which is great.

Gap has quite a few good bags for lugging practical stuff around atm (I have a strict-ish dichotomy between my good, expensive leather bags that must last for years and my practical cloth/canvas bags for hauling mostly child-related stuff around).
E.g. www.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=34747&vid=1&pid=750788&scid=750788022 and www.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=34749&vid=1&pid=750782&scid=750782002 are pleasingly sturdy.

I also bought this Topshop lace/jersey blazer www.avenue7.com/MakeThumbnail.aspx?height=400&width=400&file=~/Images/ProductImages/GoodsPickedBySho ppers/129072630294250808d8b6e9a66b074e92b625834fa82c45ff.jpeg. It?s really soft and comfortable again and nice and summery too.

So, a good shopping trip overall but yet, I still want more....

Morning all.
ollie, I still have 1/2 stone of baby weight to lose and I had plateaued and nothing was shifting. I read ian marber's how not to get fat and yes it's no sugar in any form. So it's shredded wheat for breakfast as it has no sugar and plain yoghurts etc. Then it's complex carbs at every meal with protein and a little fat and what really suits me is eating every 2 1/2 hours, so I have breakfast at 7, then a snack at 9.30 after the school run, lunch at 12, snack at 2.30 (apple with almonds and brazil nuts - I don't like nuts but I'm really serious about changing my habits), supper at 5. I think there should be another snack at 7.30, but I'm skipping that till I've lost the weight. It really suits me, I'm not getting that panicky feeling I normally get when trying to lose weight. It's easier for me just to have a rule and stick to it otherwise cakes and desserts and loads of chocolate creep back in.

Frances - like that blazer!

blossoming - well done for being so disciplined. I manage to be faily hard on myself with an exercise routine, but my eating is a bit more random! At the moment I seem to stay roughly the same size and weight like that (would kind of like to be 7 lbs lighter, but experience tells me that it will only get put back on again until I reach where I am now. BMI is only just in the 22s and my waist/hip and body fat % are all good so I guess my body is telling me that this is the weight to be!)

Am a bit worried about hitting the big 40 in less than 2 years, when friends keep telling me that the weight starts creeping on and I may actually need to curtail my food intake...

blossoming can you do it without getting thinner, do you think? I've also had the attractive 'skeletor' appelation, and bmi is only around 17-18. I don't want to lose weight at all, but would like to eat a healthier diet as being perpetually skinny means that I have rather a lot of croissants and chocolate etc, and I don't think it's good for my general health and my skin. I've been feeling tired, my skin is not great, and I'm not very cheerful and energetic with the kids or anyone else, so would like to be healthier. (NB I don't have a job, do have a housekeeper at the mo, and my kids are at school all day most days, so I'm not having a hard life ).

Ltec when's your mum coming? In your situation I would get an au pair, or a cleaner/babysitter for 3 or 4 hours every day. 3 little ones is very tiring.

notyummy, I just did my bmi, and it's 23.6. When I'm at my 'smoking weight', it's 21.9. I just walked 2 km on the school run, and I'll go and burn about 500kcals on the treadmill tonight. I'm tired of carrying this extra weight, really embarrassed at having eaten so much sugar, fat and salt whilst pregnant last year, and just want it shifted. Luckily, my dh, who has also put on weight, is really competitive, so he's getting motivated too.

Bear in mind that I am 40 this year, and it is harder now. It's also harder when you're not in work. I was a teacher, so you physically can't sit around scoffing all day.
I know I'm not overweight, and I look really slim compared to other mums round here, but that's not the point.

romanarama, it sounds like you have the opposite problem to me. However the book advocates maintaining a healthy body and healthy weight for life, and it's really interesting his chapters on nutrition and the effect different foods have on you. I hope to lose the excess weight, but I'm still eating a lot of healthy food, so I'm sure I'll get to a stage where I don't lose any more.