We shop therefore we are.. Wise & Avid

[blossoming]

Thanks to ltec for the new title.

LTEC are you 'making' sausages or heating them up a la croissants?

Who wanted a wide brimmed straw hat? Helen Mirren rocks this one: here

Fritzi - sooooo pleased you loved Barcelona. Did you have some great food too? I took pics of the tapas we had cos it was so wonderful (also had something to do with the amount of cava friend and I had consumed in the 1.5 hr wait for table!). Totally agree with LTEC re delurking too!

Rufus - sympathies on the mother front. As you have read - I have been there!

greeneyes - do join us!

Playsuits - hmmmm. I actually have seen some I quite like, but am worreid that they make accentuate hip/thigh area. Also, am old enough to remember the last time they were in fashion (around 1990 IIRC) and I wore them then whilst in 1st year at uni. Possibly then too old to wear now?

Was looking at another S & B thread and saw this link to some quite pretty dresses. The problem is - as cake alluded to earlier - this website is one of the ones that doesn't use models (real or plastic!) so I have no real idea of the length of the dress. I would want the option of wearing them to work so don't want anything too short.

Carciofi I am going to try and convey how much I love this meal. It is red onion, garlic, carrot, red pepper, cherry tomatoes, loads of spinach and bean sprouts and fresh lovely ginger. Splash of soy and lemon juice. Sometimes I add tuna or king prawns. I love it so much I am extremely territorial and dislike it very much if dh wants some, as it means I have to add rice noodles or something. I was going to start a thread on how much I love fresh ginger, then... didn't.

Have chickpeas, red onions, curly parsley and lemon juice for lunch pretty much every day.

Had salad tonight and wish I had had the usual!

Dolce I loved this Vince one for ages but missed out on my size. And is too much for school run.

killing the pig with my bare hands Choo

See LTEC, I knew you were an all-round superwoman

marsha you're so healthy!

greeneyes missed your thread but glad you had such a good time

OWW hope you manage to pick up a suitable top at a teeny tiny price while you're over here!

verity another vote for the raspberry pink - good luck and don't forget to let us know how it goes

notyummy I have found that playsuits can do that but some of them can nip the waist in beautifully so worth trying

OWW, the food in Barcelona was divine. Tapas is just my kind of food as you can have many different things and don't have to choose just one dish from the menu [greedy emoticon] . I have a friend who takes pictures of food whenever she is on holiday. At first I thought it was a bit strange but holiday snaps of food are definitely more entertaining than of endless pics of monuments or old ruins. There, I am a philistine after all.

Marsha that dish sounds great. So many things taste better with a bit of fresh, grated ginger...

I know this is not a food thread. Should contribute something related to S&B or I might soon get kicked out again

My dh is weird around food. He can't leave things on his plate, and when he comes home from work he opens cupboards/the fridge, looking for things to scoff, throwing it down with hardly a chew. It makes me cringe - awful! I try not to buy any ready-made food - or hide things like nuts and cheese. Also try to put dinner on the table the second he walks in the door so there's no time for the weird binge. If I've made more than I consider a sensible amount to eat of something, then I put part of it in a tupperware pot (hidden!) before we start eating, otherwise he can easily eat for 4 or more. I also get so annoyed when he tells the dcs to finish what's on their plate.

I think that you have to consider your children's self confidence in the round. An eating disorder may not really be to do with body image at all (or much) but a response to other kinds of stress. Sometimes being the thinnest is the only thing a teenage girl might feel she can be best at. Sometimes focusing on what she's eating so much that other concerns fade into the background makes a busy life full of social and academic pressures more simple. Help your children to focus on their good points and make plenty of effort to tell them how lovely they look/are in a credible way - use examples and point out their best features. Help them to manage other things about life too, like planning their homework so it's not a nightmare, and knowing how to make conversation and make friends so they can deal with the whole social minefield of school. I think being a kid can be really hard, I remember both primary and secondary school as very stressful.

My sandal order has arrived and is most satisfactory! I am keeping these and these. The second ones are sold out, so obviously a run on them!

2 weeks today I will be sitting outside a cafe in the Italian lakes wearing those and a maxi, and enjoying the view.

God what a boring post, sorry

I've been in a shocking pink Lacoste mini dress all day btw. Love summer.

I can make croissants - use the danish pastry recipe in "How to be a domestic goddess", roll out and cut into triangles and roll from the long edge. Voilà. Yummy! Have never tried sausages though, too sticky and revolting......

dolcee I have become a White Company fan.
I love their understatedness,ifyswimand the colours ,partic the slate greys and 'mouse' colours .

My SIL who is a GP has pigs and makes her own sausages!

DS had a good day at school today thankfully - he'd had a very smart haircut at the weekend and apparently looks like superman which he tells me is a good thing.

Do you ever find that you go out thinking you look pretty good and then see someone else wearing something and wish you looked like them?

So today at pick up - there's me doing my Grace Kelly thing (delusional emoticon) and see glam Wag-type mum in denim mini and metallic vest and think ooooh - wish I'd worn something like that.

But I guess thats the fun in having lots of different looks in your wardrobe - one day icy blonde and the next trashy pop star

Those concerned about your own/your daughters' body images, look at this link nicked from another thread. It is food for thought isn't it?

Glad your DS had a good day tracey, and yes, know what you mean about seeing somebody else whose outfit seems perfect! I do enjoy having lots of different "looks" in my wardrobe, but at the same time envy people who know what suits them and stick to it (never satisfied me!). There's one mum on our school run who I particularly admire; not because I particularly like her clothes, but because she's perfected her look and always looks relaxed and at ease with it.

I'm moved by people's words about eating disorders. I am conscious that I don't know when to stop eating, a bit like Romana's DH! I really struggle to leave anything on my plate, and somehow my brain doesn't interpret those "full" signals as a sign to stop eating. I enjoy it too much. To balance this I am at least blessed with will power, and for me, in the words of another thread on here, "nothing tastes as good as being thin feels". But my inability to do moderation does mean that I am bad at demonstrating healthy eating patterns to the boys. I don't eat with them regularly, but know I should. But also know that if I did I would put on weight and would hate that

Off to drink copious amounts of wine now (as I mentioned, can't do moderation ), and rant to my DH about a boy who was vile to DS1 this afternoon. Need to vent!

Oh, and that playsuit is divine marsha!

Roman my dh does that looking in the fridge/cupboards thing too! It drives me bonkers.

DS2 does the fridge thing - he's 2

Tracey Yes dd aged 2 does too!

Hello all

Wasn't it a GLORIOUS day today?

Tracey - so glad your DS had a good day at school. DD1 is having a little trouble settling at new school now - she says noone will play with her and that noone likes her . Is very hard to know if her version (I am on my own all day, I play by myself) is accurate or not as in the mornings she seems to mix fine with all the other children , but she says "yes, but that's only because the mummies are there, they are all pretending to be nice to me in front of the mummies"
Am going to have a chat with classteacher and get her take on it after half term.

Playsuits - saw a mum at pick up today wearing this. It looked nice on her (similar build to me) which is funny as I tried it on myself a few weeks ago and thought it was a bit too thin, too short and I just felt a bit too galumphing in it. Amazing how some clothes are transformed by amazing sunshine isn't it?

Marsha - your diet sounds amazingly healthy? Do you have any vices? Please say you have an evil Reeses peanut butter cups habit or something to make up for such virtue.

Weight - weighed self this morning and have put a few pounds on - been eating quite a lot for me so need to try and drop a few lbs before Glyndo. Plus away in Brighton this w/e so bound to eat out loads which is fatal.

Today was wearing this dress with these glads and this handbag and a couple of enamelled bangles and big Chanel sunnies. Had nails mani-ed a bright yellow this morning which I am loving, toenails now cerise pink but apparently it will be 12 dgrees cooler here tomorrow

Verity - good luck for tomorrow, I vote pink jacket too.

Sorry to hear someone else's DP tiedye maxi shrunk too . Was that you NY?

Am really quite tempted by the strapless White Co maxi - does anyone have it? Does it come up very long?

Esher - poor DD although do know that DS has a tendency to exagerate somewhat - its so hard to know whats going on really.

I so love that handbag!

I tried on the knot maxi in the white co the other day in xs and it was a perfect length so am guessing the strapless one would be ok for you in xs. Which colour are you thinking?

For those of you who were looking for shorts, I got these which were a very nice fit.
Or these? Always like jersey in shorts as it can skim nicely over my large arsage area!
My DH is the same. He can quite literally eat an entire roast chicken by himself. He just keeps going. My problem is also moderation as well. I just seem to have no sense of saiety. Luckily I love healthy food, but portion wise I'd fall down. Also have a very sweet tooth, and find it hard to limit myself. Am very good at not buying, but if DH does, I keep swiping his. It's the law of dietary possesion." If it's not on your plate it doesn't count!"
MarshaLove that chickpea dish. Sounds similar to what I have for lunch, but will add the ginger to give it a kick. Another favourite is to add bulgar wheat to it. Yum. Also love apple and celery salad, with lemon juice, and roasted pumpkin seeds.

Off topic but watching the BBC coverage of Chelsea Flower Show - am at how lovely some of the gardens look - just spent 2 afternoons tackling mine and now have 2 flower beds with lots of gaps in them. DSs helped and were a bit too keen with the pulling up of weeds plants.

I love the fact that we can have in depth heart rending serious discussions one minute on this thread and then someone can rush in and announce that there's 20% off some website, somehwere...love it, love it!!!!!

Roman, my DH does the whole fridge/cupboard searching too, and is quite adamant that the dcs (amd me!!!?) finish everything on their plates! He had a very strict old fashioned upbringing, with v detached parents...

On the subject of body image I am also conscious of not purely concentrating on physical attributes to be complimented on with my dcs...yes, I tell them they are beautiful (which they are), but I think its important to also value kindness and kind deeds...and congratulate them on these important factors...

Georgina/carciofi - yes, love the dresses and colour range from white company...it is understated elegance - I once met a stunning french woman who was elegance personified, who wore those sorts of dresses as her staple.....

Tracey - know what you mean about coveting others 'looks'. However, she was probably looking at you thinking the same! 'Oh, I wish I could be elegant, like her!'
I do think you mostly channel a look, and if you veer too much from that premise its not always successful (provided you have established 'it' in the first place ...despite previous assertions that we can chameleon-like carry off an assortment I'm not convinced. I mean, where would Hepburn be if she channelled Monroe; or Gaga be if she channelled Morisette? Hmm?

Tracey - what did you think about white co maxi - was thinking of the plain jersey knot front bandeau in navy - white too bridal (and impractial) - no?
Why did you not buy it? Do you think a strapless bra is required - don't normally do strapless and am worried about slippage! Did it feel secure when on?

oh god, I am that fridge monster too . Like ABO I never eat with dd's which I know is very poor but I would be size of house if I did. (In my twenties I was 3.5 stone heavier than I am now so I know I have it in me so to speak!!!)

Esher - sorry to hear of your DDs little troubles...it will all turn out okay but it is excrutiating...in a similar vein I did playgroup duty today (urgghh) and during snack time one boy was urging the others on the table to chant 'charlie poo ...much to my sons angst...who was saying 'my names Charlie, stop it!!!' and getting a bit upset (he's 3.5)...Luckily his sis, who's 2.5 is very protective of her bro and she curtly told the kid to stop it (which he did !)I had a platter of fruit in my hand which I would have loved to dump on the head of said perpetrator! However, I just spoke quietly to C and clamed him down...although on the way home he just kept saying that this boy didn't like him, and was horrible to him...it's just awful, and I feel for you all going through this. I would undoubtedly read mine the riot act if they behaved in such a way!

Oh, btw, if you are smaller, aherm, like me (5 ' 4), forget White Company maxi's...too bloody long!!!!!!!!!!! Esher, was going to buy the blue print and navy knot one at the weekend but alas, no good....now, the linen stitch yes.....