PINK jumper and a dye-job

Hello!

The pink jumper gets its first wear -

linen jumper - Toast outlet
minerals silk scarf - Richard Weston Designs
looped turquoise scarf - from Amsterdam
skinny jeans - Levis
purple boots - Camper

PINK! I love it, and just need to get rid of my scaredy-cat approach to colour. It fits in the sleeves with a drape in the body, and has a lovely rounded extended hem -

 And my new quilted coat, too, birthday present from my Mum (Thank you!) -

coat - Jack Wills outlet

I haven't stopped wearing the coat - it is very warm but light so perfect for all the changeable (it's hot! it's cold! it's raining!) weather.

Today I had contractors round to sort out our electrics - replace fuse box, replace some sockets, test everything etc. I needed a project so I was there for questions, but out of the way. A while ago I did a shoe review and concluded that while I liked these boots, they were just so... tan.

Megan Mae, always full of good ideas suggested I try dyeing them. And so I did.

Firstly, I cleaned & rubbed them down with white spirit (my shoe repair chap gave me *very* detailed instructions) -

white spirit is stinky

 The dirt on the cloth is old polish coming off as well as the leather colour, I think. Then I applied about 3 or 4 thin layers, using up the whole (tiny) bottle -

peewee dye bottle to the left. funny make up brush-style
brush at the front. Will not be saving that for eyeshadow application...

After the layers of dye dried, I rubbed in two layers of dark finishing polish (will keep using this periodically to top the colour up, it's a big tin), buffed with a brush & then sprayed waterproofing.

And... Tah dah!

coffee mokapot says hiya
(slightly naughty to put them on kitchen worktop...)

Aren't they pretty? A sort of mahogany brown, and I like that the colour is slightly patchy as they look worn- (along with the genuine-worn-in-ness of the leather).

I've had them for years and it was only the colour that bugged me, so am very happy with the new colour. It took about 2 hours and cost about £12 (18$ ish). Will wear them soon & post a picture (today, after shoe dyeing & gardening I got my harems straight on so there was no getting-dressed again).

And it's Friday! Tomorrow the lovely DMC is taking me out on a mystery birthday jaunt - I need a dark outfit (crafting appropriate) and another, posher one for later. Exciting, I love surprises  :-)

What are your weekend plans?

Hammer Time

Hello!

Thank you very much for your birthday wishes, I had an excellent day. I went for a loooong (1.5 hour!) massage at my favourite spa. I think my arms and legs and head were secretly unscrewed during the massage and then replaced, looser.  I then returned home and snoozed before having homemade pizza & fizz with Mr SS in the evening.

Speaking of Mr SS, it is 5 years today that we got married. All I will say is, the man gets me. He is a very thoughtful chap. I have a fashion example for you - for my birthday, as well as giving me a beautiful print of a hare (am developing a 'hare wall' in the bedroom, near the flying pugs), he picked out this outfit -

Thought I would dance Hammer-style to show the outfit glory. I truly appreciate his support in my exploration of harem trousers, among many other things. The (good) idea is that I wear this at home after work rather than going straight-to-pjs (do not pass go, do not collect £200 etc etc).

The crotches in my harems are getting lower... And isn't the print amazing? They are soft as soft can be, like flannel sheets. And the top fits really well. He went on a mission to Sweaty Betty*, a sports-clothes shop I have blathered on about mentioned before - here and here. He even hid the recent catalogue they posted so I wouldn't see them! However, they had also emailed me & I had seen the harems and thought... WANT.

*linking only because I love

I also got my hair cut & coloured this week -

Ah, redness of hair, I like you a lot.

I'm not sure it's clear how much I love this outfit -

This much.

Hee hee.

Have you succumbed to harem trousers?

Impending birthday-ness

Hello!

As predicted, I motored through the week and was very happy to find myself at the weekend. Being in bed with a sinus infection (bad) around Easter and having only a few weeks until some holidays (good) made everything rather hectic recently, work-wise. But now it is holiday time!

*Big post alert*

I have next week off, starting with my birthday tomorrow then a significant wedding anniversary (5 years) and plans for a mixture of fun, sloth and good-to-do's (house repairs etc). So I should be back to much more frequent posting, too.

I kicked off the holiday on Friday with a meal out, which involved some Unexpected Bright Blue trousers. I was having an early start on the Saturday so no pictures were taken - I will recreate this outfit very soon, as it was an unexpected win.

Saturday I was busybusy so dressed for comfort (recycled pic from when I stayed at my Mum's when it was snowy) -

Charcoal greys and deep green

Today my lovely friend DMC took me out on a motoring adventure (! I rarely travel in cars other than the odd taxi, so this is actually true). We visited Kilver Court, near Bath (Somerset). It is an old wool and lace mill, on the outskirts of Bath (Regency town in the Southwest of England) that was bought & used by the original owner of Mulberry (link to Mulberry site*) to showcase his bags. Mulberry has gone from quite a homespun British leather goods company to a recently very successful global brand (under new owners). I have three bags from there - a small one for weddings, parties and very-light-on-stuff days, a tan handbag for my Being A Lady days (incredible bargain from the Northern factory shop) and a cross-body one I wear most days (see picture below). I really like the style - a *lot* of people wear them, but in a way, I like that British-made is getting so ubiquitous. They are well-made and I want to wear them forever. The Mulberry factory is nearby, hence being the site of the factory shop. From what I can gather, the factory here is due to expand, and there is another in the North of England (near York?). The Mulberry brand is recognisable British and I understand generations of craftspeople have been employed at the factory in Somerset. However, I think some parts of the bags were being made overseas - I hope the planned factory expansions here will make it wholly British-made, to further embed the crafting skills here.
/Off my UK-manufacturing soapbox now.

*Please note, I am a fan of the brand but am not receiving any discounts or benefits. Linking only because I love.

DMC and I had a good browse, but we didn't buy anything in Mulberry - just looked (and stroked) the leather.

I am being a little silly here. But what's in the bags??

A quilted, hooded jacket from Jack Wills (link to site), a brand I never normally look at, as it tends to be very preppy and rah. If that makes any sense. You may remember I like their sister brand a lot (Aubin & Wills, which is sadly closing down - probably due to over expansion and well-meaning designers, Great fabric, variable fit). Happily, some of the design at A&W seems to have seeped through to JW, and there were some lovely things in the outlet. DMC bought a great cardigan with a Fair Isle-type pattern.

The coat has a lovely floral lining, and cord elbow patches! Quite 'country', but I shall mix it with my murky urban clothes. My lovely Mum *bought* this for me for my birthday - she is very kind.

half price!

 Also, a beautiful linen mix jumper from a Toast outlet (link to site). I have other Toast things - long linen shirt here & tops bought in the sale here. The quality of Toast stuff is amazing, the designers have a real eye for detail. But full-price is just too spendy, so I am very pleased to find an outlet.

half price!

It is a shade of pink that my colour analysis lady urged me to try last year and I hadn't yet. I really like it & will probably wear it tomorrow - fitted sleeves with a lovely drape but I'm a little scared of the brightness. I know, very silly.

After that, cake was needed -

Tea and (dairy free) orange&almond cake, you are very welcome

On lovely china plates and cups. We are Ladies Wot Lunch.

Hope you have had lovely weekends also? What have you been up to?

Bank holiday and nearly holiday time

hello lovelies!

Sorry for the quiet. The week rather took over and so I plunged into the bank holiday (extra Monday off work). On Saturday I got up early to go to a mindfulness meditation workshop. It was extremely helpful & I am feeling the effects already. On Sunday, we had family over - we bought some local artwork (a print of a badger in clothes!) and we went out for a great (big) meal. Monday, I did much chores and pottering (following an emergency lack of clean underwear situation, tmi?)

train pic

I also got this reusable cupholder from the artist collective, something to give me a lift every day, along with the caffeine :-)

Hope you all had lovely weekends? I have next week off work, and am motoring on til' Friday... It is very warm here, I have jumped straight to summer clothes. Was too hot in these boots today, am progressing onto sandals tomorrow...

You make me feel like dancing

I appear very animated in the pictures! These were from Tuesday. I had a tricky meeting, so dressed accordingly. Copper felt like the most appropriate fashion armour.

I wore this dress the other week and the lovely Curtise asked for a close up - here it is - hope you can see the details a bit better?

The dress is a vintage Marks & Spencer from I think the 60's (so with a St Michaels label). I paid £40 for it, so not a bargain, but I worn it and worn it, so in retrospective, would even have paid more. It seemed unworn when I bought it. The fabric has a little stretch and is lined in the body. It is cut with seaming at high-waist (can you see the downward 'V'?) and seams down the side of the bust.

In the same post, Megan Mae also commented that the look was very sleek - I can tell you now, after trying a less-fitted dress on under this drapey cardi - it is all about the dress being well fitted.  They can't both be drapey! The other dress is heading to the charity pile - having lost a bit of weight after working out the food intolerance thing (dairy), it is like a sack of potatoes on me.

I was very happy to find the copper tights in the drawer, I forgot I owned them. They got on well with my coppery chelsea/brogue-style boots.

This outfit feels Spring-y - I now need to Springify the rest of my wardrobe, as well as feeling too hot in Winter outfits now, I need to switch things round a little. No more woolly tights and more light layers. Eeep.

How are you coping with the seasons? Are you finding it hard to be seasonally appropriate (whichever season you are in)?

Capsule recap and some pandas

who's that peering over my shoulder?

Back now from a fantastic weekend away in Edinburgh, Scotland. We stayed with friends and so packed in a good amount of socialising and eating excellent food, as well as the panda visit (more below), a bit of sightseeing and a 5K run!

The capsule I hastily put together (post is here) was lacking this -

My waxed cape. No idea why I left this at home - instead I took my dorky pack-a-mac, which does block out wind and rain but isn't exactly superhero clothing. Ah well. I also could have done with another tshirt. With sports kit, there was no way I could have taken only hand luggage on the flight. I am not a streamlined traveller...

Edinburgh Zoo recently took on two pandas - for those outside of the UK - there has been a lot of press coverage of their arrival and whether Tian Tian (lady panda) and Yang Guang (gentleman panda) would mate. The latest update is here (link to BBC site).

When we got there (after forming a very British queue with others who had also pre-booked tickets a few weeks ago), Tian Tian was awake, and would you know it, she was eating bamboo! Apparently they sleep A LOT, so we were lucky.

She then snuck over to the side, which is how we took the first picture. Yang Guang was snoozing -

zzzzzzz

I'm so glad that one of them was awake. They are pictured inside their shelter, but it connects to two separate enclosures, which were quite big and full of things like a pool, bamboo area etc. I have wanted to see a panda for quite some time, so after seeing them, I then got quite tearful and had to go and get a nice cup of tea...

Do pandas drink tea?

 I thought the zoo was fairly restrained in marketing the pandas, although the giftshop was something -

I escaped with only a commemorative fridge magnet. Days later, I am still smiling. Tan Tian was so very beautiful. My love for bears (real and stuffed teddy types) really cannot be quantified.

We sensibly took an extra day today to sleep in after the late Sunday flight. I had to pop into town for a few things so went for a black / royal blue combo, with my very-old-yet-the-softest-ever pegleg ankle-length trousers.

I have been trying the replace these trousers but with no luck. These were from Aubin & Wills - I bought a duplicate pair in the same size but they have turned out to fit completely differently - and not in a good way. Every item I bought there, whilst really well-made, in great quality fabrics and with interesting details, was bonkers in its sizing. It made internet-ordering impossible. I found a news story here that it is closing by the end of the year, and wouldn't be surprised if it was down to good intentions but skew-whiff pattern cutting. Anyhow, I almost found a replacement pair from Jigsaw (link to them here), which were perfect except for but they were too tight on the calves - must be my running muscles ;-)
So the search continues...

sorry for dark pic
royal blue batwing jumper - Jigsaw
swallow scarf - from a random shop
black peglegs - Aubin & Wills
trainers - Superga

 A close up of the blues -

my eyes look blue but they are green, promise

What have you all been up to this weekend? Any other panda fans out there? Can you recommend anywhere for ankle length, cuffed trousers that are machine-washable*?

*Like looking for a needle in a haystack

Tian Tian and I will be appearing on Visible Monday - head over to Patti's and join us...

Sherlock and a capsule

Who's this suspicious character?

Me, looking like an extra from Sherlock. On Thursday evening Mr SS and I went out to our local Thai restaurant, followed by the pub, to start off our long weekend in style. I thought this pic looked a bit spooky! I borrowed the waxed flat cap for the picture.

My winter coat is too heavy now and I've been looking for a light jacket - not a long raincoat (have one, don't wear it much), not a parka-type coat, or a blazer. This wasn't quite what I was expecting to find, after much looking, but I am very happy with it -

The brand is Maison Scotch (I haven't come across it before, but there were lots of nice things in my local independent boutique. It seems to be a label stocked in lots of places, couldn't find a website for it). Thick sweatshirt cotton, so very cosy, with an unexpected lace trim. No fastenings but the front panels overlap. The lack of collar means no interference with my Obligatory Scarves.

blurry, sorry

A bit oddly, this vest came free with the jacket - I had thought the shop was just displaying them together until I got to the till. It is a lovely soft, quite sheer cotton but very scoop necked, definitely intended for more boob. I will be offering this to my lovely friend DMC, who is blessed with more frontage.

We are off later today to Edinburgh to stay with friends later for the weekend - I haven't been there since a school trip years and years ago.

I have hastily packed a capsule -

Hastily because I then removed the floral pack-a-mac (middle-left - it is sensible, but I feel a dork in it so never wear it), and also the second jumper (royal blue, top left) due to wheely suitcase space. We will be sightseeing, meeting the Pandas in the zoo :-) , eating out and going for a run.

I'm taking:

1 long sleeved navy jumper (wear both days)
2 long sleeved striped cotton tshirts (one each day)
silk vest (underlayer)
more dressy jersey tshirt with a draped back (for dinner Saturday eve)
prawn legs jeans (to fly there)
skinny cuffed dark jeans (for Sat & flight back)
1 pair of ankle boots
light weave scarf
heavier jersey loop scarf
new jacket, as pictured earlier

Not pictured:
sports kit
pjs


Here is my travelling outfit -

prawn legs strikes again

The jacket looks baseball-style here -

And another pic to show how the jacket hangs.


psst, can you see the little gnome next to the red watering can? He says hiya.

Hope you all have lovely weekends, I'll be back in time for Visible Monday!

P.S I am a little confused by the Google changes afoot at the end of this month, but just to say I am on bloglovin, so you can follow me using bloglovin. I need to make some techy changes when I get back to include the button at the side. Technical advice appreciated.