Day 33 | I Wanna See The Sunshine After The Rain...

I wanna see bluebirds flying over that mountain again... doo bee doo.. Me and iPodge are having a singalong this afternoon with his guitar. In fact he's doing an acoustic version of Dancing in the Dark - which is lovely. While I put away the shopping and take yet more pictures of myself - in the same set of poses - because despite watching EVERY single AMNTM - I am not a natural born modelle!

So with wonky bobbles and exactly the same tights*/shoe combo as yesterday - because I loiked it! BITE ME... here is Day 33 - of this Lent Challenge.

*fresh tights - natch. I do have some standards...

In fact because all of these elements have featured before I won't put myself through the tedium of re:listing them - and just shove up the pics...

Yellow Cardie, purple silk scarf, grey tights, green shoes. When you put it like that all in one place - it's a bit of a jumble!

Day 32 | Lulu? C'est Moi!

Bonsoir mes amis et mama! I'm sliding in a bit late - with the pics of today's little ensemble. So Apols the light isn't great for a phone selfie. Truth is - I've had a very lazy Saturday sans enfants, avec le podge! We got up and I broke my juice 'fast' with clean and lean pancakes, bacon, black pudding, grilled baby toms, a wonderful mushroom melange wot I make and some agave syrup - which is a perfectly good alternative to the Maple Syrup I went to Tescos to get and forgot yesterday!

Nana Alert...

We've been pottering around our neighbourhood all day. Spent a lovely half hour in the Amnesty Book Shop and had Rooibosch and an Americano at the Boston Tea Party - a locao Bristolian cafe chain - well worth checking out if you're in the SW. We did Sudoku, read a Beidecker on Rome, and pondered the big question about who will replace Brucey on Strictly Come Prancing.

We're settled on Julian Clary - who isn't in the running, but should be.

The Dress: Worn inside out - I feel less dumpy in it this way.

The Rest: Lovely little Benetton jumper with 3/4 sleeves and a V. Gap Cardy - best charity shop purchase ever - cost me a quid in the 'sale' had it 7 years - and it doesn't owe  me a penny! Grey marl tights, green plastic ring. Betty's ring and a little grey beret...

The Shoes: Glorious faux snakeskin clompers - a sort of dull green. Ted Baker. Also bought in a Sale - years ago and dragged out every Spring. Might be my fave platforms. (My treasured De Havilland's had to be discarded after a freak accident involving my crystal ball - I am NOT lying!).

The Doo: Woefully undone and messy - you couldn't drag a comb through this haystack!

The Pancakes: 100g organic oats, 200g ricotta/cottage cheese (I use a combination), 4 eggs. That's it! Beat them all together (I grind the oats a bit if they're big). Add a little soy milk to loosen the batter.

Use a really good pancake pan - and you don't need to butter it.

Pop a ladle of mix onto pan and jiggle it to level it. (These make thick pancakes not crepes).

When you see little bubbles popping over the whole surface - flip for a few more seconds.

Pile up, interleave with grease-proof paper if you can be faddled.

Yahoo! So good for you it's perfect!

Day 29 | Dress and Blankie Combo

Hello! I'm rushing through again today - because although I have pulled the LBD over my head - I am still feeling a bit miz and so I still have half  of me jammas on! If it wasn't for the LBD Challenge I'd still be in full nightgear hopping about in a sleeping bag.

I'm still doggedly sticking with The Big Spring Juice Thing - today is Berry Banana Crunch Day - which means narnas and berries all smushed up with soy milk and juiced apples with added ground seeds and whatnot. Delicious and blissfully cold for my sore throat. (My berries are frozen).

I'm half way through and can report that the caffeine headache and sugar withdrawal symptoms have abated. Which leaves me with a common cold. So I'm feeling better - doubly busy now all the things I didn't manage yesterday are coming home to roost today. Pah!

For form sake then...

The Dress: Yes I am wearing it - you can just see the bodice. Conventional way round.

The Rest: Black jumper - Sussan. Black Long Cardi - Harrods. Big wool, silk pashmina - brown - from the mummyone. Jarma Bottoms - Gap? . Betty's ring. Large Cuddle Blankie - worn as a wrap/skirt for warmth. Sort of no colour in particular. TK Maxx.

The Shoes: Doovette Booties - Ikea

The 'Juice': 1 large narna, two handfuls of frozen mixed berries. 2x apples juiced. 2 cups of soy milk. 2 tablespoons of mix ground seeds. (hemp, pumpkin, flax & sunflower). Whizz in the blender.

Tommorrow I will have to get dressed because I need more supplies and I'm going to see 20 Feet From Fame with Bristol Bestie.

Day 17 | Java Jive

 Morning! I'm weaning myself back off coffee - so you'll not get much sense out of me today. I've woken up with the same headache I went to bed with and I'm feeling decidedly flimsy as my dear pal Hilary would say. So to distract everyone from the peaky, strained  - mad behind the eyes,  little face that greets them today - I've gone with more Purple!

I do love purple - it's the grown up girl's pink - which I also love. Truth is there isn't a colour I don't love - except perhaps mustard. Although I could be persuaded to wear mustard for the right shoes. What?

Today I've had to modify the line of my jumper. Worn at full stretch it made me feel frumpy and fat. I am neither and so I had to raise the hemline - to uncover a tapering line into the bodice of the dress. It's a small adjustment but it makes a huge difference. So far it's staying put.

I love the corsarge of yesterday's outfit - so I've added it again to day - with all the placcy, junky jewels too.

So to be honest - I feel like yesterday's coffee grounds in the ooky bin - but I think I look pretty acceptable no? A cute little happenstance is that the colour of the jumper picks up the remains of the purple chalk slices in my hair. Bonus!

Note: No make-up was harmed in the making of this blogpost. I may be forced to wipe on a pink smile before I head out to fetch Bakery Thursday on a Friday. (Oh do keep up).

The Dress: Worn underneath stuff.

The Rest: Gorgeous purple jumper modified. Shocking Pink 'Ladder' tights - Jonathan Aston. Pink and purple knuckle dusters. Betty's ring. Pink Silk corsarge. Debenhams. (check out their hat dept in the Sales - for loads of brilliant silk flowers and stuff - pick up the scruffy ones cheap and borrow someone's iron to smarten them up - smart huh?).

The Shoes: Carmen Miranda purple suede sandals. Kurt Geiger.

The Eyewear: Purple cats eyes sunnies as yesterday. I pick most of my sunnies up at TK MAXX but I can't actually remember where these come from. I've had them a long time.

The Do: Undone

The Bakery Order: 1x giant steak pasty, 1x cheese and onion pasty, 1x yoghurt topped flapjack, 1x Cherry Bakewell and 1x Chocolate Bus. 1x organic 6seed loaf - thick cut.

The youngest teen used to have a huge sausage roll - but now prefers to have the fresh bread with some soup. The oldest is a veggie and has hummus to eat the crust of his pasty with. I don't have cake or pastry or bread.

I am a blinking SAINT! 

Just saying...

As if to match my mood Ken is playing Leonard Cohen singing Suzanne... from Ms Vega's 'Tracks of my Years' segment.

"She is wearing rags and feathers from Salvation Army counters ..."

Day 16 | Because I'm Happeeee!

Happy International Happiness Day! Last year March 20th United Nations declared International Happiness Day - and this is the 2nd. Bhutan has the goal of gross national happiness over Gross National Product. The idea that happiness is measured as much, if not more - by our connection with each other, time to play, meditate and contemplate and our opportunities to make a difference,  as it is by the amount of cash we have in our pockets isn't new. But it's definitely having 'a moment'.

Here is The Secretary General - Ban Ki Moon's message on IHD.

For me happiness is simple to articulate but damned hard to practice without mindfulness. I try to bring my authentic self into every encounter I have. I also try to meet every challenge I face with the best I've got at the time. If I had a mantra it would be -  'Be kind, be generous and be grateful and loving.'

So today I dressed, wholly for my own happy amusement. There's pink AND red AND purple. There's a shit tonne of plastic fantastic and a huge silk flower. There are sitting down shoes, and Poble's Bobbles! My absolute fave hair style. Which iPodge isn't particularly fond of but for my money SCREAMS Luli!

And after all that's who I is...

I shall be donating in support of the bonkers Jo Whiley - I am in awe of her achievement and I'll be watching Davina too. I shan't be posting a 'no make-up' selfie. In fact I spend my life without makeup - and I rarely drag a comb through my hair either - most of these pics of me are sans-slap! So there'd be little point and zero trepidation...

If you are joining in the spontaneous Slap-off- Selfie initiative - then please remember to include information about how to donate and details of how your pals can take part too
. I think it's a cool tool to raise funds - but ya gots to ask!

It's also the Spring Vernal Equinox today - So Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

The Dress: Washed and worn conventionally

The Rest: Lace thermal vest with lace peeping. Red cardigan, with puffy sleeves. Plastic pink and purple knuckle dusters. Mad pink plastic, rose bracelet. Vintage pink beads. Huge pink corsarge pinned to beads. Purple, thermal tights. (toasty). Orla Kiely Black Flower Bag with red handles. Tescos!

The Shoes: Office - red suede, peep-toe. I wrote a story inspired by these but it's too smutty to publish here! They are proper sitting down shoes.

The Eyewear: Purple plastic - lord knows if they have the right level of UV protection but as they're a complete affectation today - lets not worry too much huh?

The Do: Poble's Bobbles - with extra purple pizzaz!

Be happy.

Day 15 | Caped Crusader

Hello!

I've had to accept that the weatherperson  iPodge read or heard was fibbing when he/she promised 10 days of sunshine - or it was in fact a voice in his head. There have been a few late night programming - you can't always rely on him to stay sane when he's lost in code.

It's flipping flippety leave your flip-flops in the cupboard cold today. So I thought I might have a go at styling a cape. I can't say it was 100% successful. I wanted to create some structure using the bodice. there is a tiny little frill around the empire line - that I figured might stand up if I folded the bodice in on itself and popped the whole thing over my head.

We- ell... what do you think? I like the overal 'feel' of the outfit - I was hoping for a chic 60s - frenchy look - then I remembered my very, very old - and much loved RED or Dead shoes. So the whole thing took a turn for the silly. Frankly there's no getting away from the fact that I'm wearing my dress around my neck!



Still red lippy is always a joy and my hair is in a lazy chignon - after watching Hair last night on TV - I gave it a red hot go. I'm not convinced by Hair as a program, but I was a bit brain-dead last night so I slid into it after the marvelous Great British Sewing Bee. Which I totally heart.

I'd be fibbing if I told you I'll be wearing this all day - but while I'm indoors it works perfectly well - and it's toasty too! I will pop the dress on properly when I go shopping after lunch.



The Dress | Worn as a cape - or more accurately a weird poncho!

The Rest | Gap 3/4 cream trews. Charridy Shop buy. M&S thermal vest with lace under a brilliant black jumper bought years ago in Sussan - which is an Antipodean brand. Betty's ring.

The Shoes | Red or Dead Vintage

The Eyewear | Boots own - black and white.

The Do | Backcombed the crown (badly) and smoothed the lot into a twist, secured it with a massive black plastic claw. So it looks great from one side and a smidge chavvy from the other!

Overall Mark | I'm going for a cheerful 5/10 - If I do this when I'm 70 - I think my friends and family might think I have Alzheimers.

Day 14 | Librarian Chic

Good Morning All,

I've got a skypey doo-dah booked with Orrstraliar this morning  - so this will be a blogentry of two parts.

Part the First:

Here's me rocking the librarian cardie look. It's a delicious, soft, heather colour and there's pockets! I love a pocket.

I convinced iPodge that we could turn off the heating - in anticipation of a full on Sproinging of Spring. It has not happened and this morning I'm feeling a bit chilly - but I daren't admit this. So I have cunningly popped a vest on under my dress and layered it over my trusty 3/4 trews and two scarves. He'll never know! If you don't tell...

I've included a snap of Betty's ring - for the glorious Peta - who is the callee - I'm making that a word... of today's Skype. Amazing to be able to speak with my friends and family all around the globe. Skype is perhaps one of my favourite innovations of the last decade (or has it been longer?).

Betty gave me this ring for one of my big Birthdays - I can't remember if it was 30th or 40th - surely I've had it for a very long, long time! The stone is a Cairngorm - found near her Scottish home in the Highlands. Her unbelievably talented husband designed the setting and had it made for her - and although I never met him - I am sure I would've loved him just as much as I adore her.

Peta with clog and poncho!

Peta is still offline - so we might squeeze this in before we settle in for a cuppah and a yarn. It's been a while. There'll be much to share of kids and life and plans and art and makey doings. She is one of my heroines this girl. A fine beauty, a talented artist and a Ranger! How cool is that...?

Not any old Ranger - an Australian Bush Ranger - this girl is one of the few women in Aus who are trained and fearless enough to hang under the recon-copter - flying over bush fires. Directing ops on the ground. Making sure the firefighters stay safe & don't get hemmed in.

She's the toughest, cutest, sanest chick I know - and and and - she's bloody gorgeous too!

Here's to Peta and Rangers and Firefighters everywhere - we Librarians salute you x

The Dress: Worn over a vest - nanna style!

The Rest: Heather cardi with pockets. Cream, 3/4 trews - Gap. Purple Silk scarf - as before, multi coloured Ikat style scarf - picked up on travels. Betty's ring, purple knuckle duster.

The Shoes: Bruno Magli, purple flats. Scored for a song in TKMAXX

The Eyewear: purple, Prada.

The Doo: soft waves. courtesy of Poble's Bobbles, Percy & Reed - Perfectly Perfecting Wonder Balm and plaits overnight. Most of the hair chalk has now washed out. I think the rest will fade more gently.

Day 13 | Ungovernable!

Hello!

We are battling to stay focused while our sparks drills seven bits out of the kitchen walls. After over a year of living with just 3 operational sockets - I finally got around to finding a new electrician to sort out the half done job of our previous guy.

He did a perfectly adequate job - but he left a lot of things un-done, with no real explanation. Frazzled and a bit intimidated by the whole magical-electrical thingumy - I paid up and sent him off to his ski-ing holiday! So today is the day it all gets sorted. Fully chased in wiring, conveniently placed, working sockets and a light over the dining room table! Hooray...

Our new electrician is a lovely, gentle, herbal tea drinking soul - who has listened. We are here all day so we can keep an eye on the progress and make decisions as we go along. Which means the job will be done properly this time - but it does make for a noisy working environment and yet another impromptu lunch in a cafe! I KNOW - I lead the life of Riley's luckier sister!

It's chillier today - so I've popped my little black wonder dress on inside out and layered it up with a tshirt half nicked/half gifted to me by an Aussie Pal. If I remember correctly it was part of an Arts project done by the uncompromising and fierce Anj - who gave it to the awesome and truly ungovernable Megan - who gave it to me... It remains one of my faves - the lettering is crazed and the colour is a bled out black - but we all need a bit of lovin' when we're old and tatty ay?

To dial up the ante on the whole ungovernable thing - I've added high fashion tights and a pair of engineered shoe/boots from United Nude. These babies were designed by an architect and they are the most comfortable cuties in my shoedrobe. It's a word! You can't say it's not...

The Dress | Worn inside out with an unzipped gap at the top. Without iPodge to help dress me I am flumoxed with this sticky zip.


The Rest | Ungovernable Slogan Tshirt - gift. Tights I think these are Alexander McQueen - bought in a Harvey Nicks sale a few years ago, eyewateringly exxy even with 70% off! Still cool as icecubes huh? Pink plastic rings, Tiffany bracelet, grey school cardigan - Gap (charity shop buy years ago).


The Shoes | United Nude Fold Mid - Bright Mix (bought in New York - present from iPodge - he's a keeper!)


The Eyewear | Charity shop £3.00! Pilgrim - Danish Design @£45 - £90 new. Hello Bargain Cuties!

The Do | Poble's Bobbles - most of the hair chalk has already washed away. So the two weeks advertised is pushing it! I'd say I've got two more washes before all trace has gone. Which means you either do it yourself or have it done at the hairdressers when you've got something fancy on. Or you can use ordinary chalk to colour it for one wash - or if you really like the effect - use a semi permanent dye.

It was a lovely experiment. I like it a lot - so I'm contemplating getting a semi-on... Oh no I di'nt!

Oh yes I blinking did!

Day 9 | Purple Peril

Greetings! It's freezing again... here in the South West. Today is Bakery Thursday. Which means the men of the house get to scoff baked goods. Pasties, Bakewell tarts, the chocolate bus and amazing, fresh, six seeded, organic bread. Lucky them.

Me? I don't pastie...

Today I am channeling lady-like daintyness - complete with lace around the collar and cuffs of my thermals, pointy, pointy shoes and ickle pearly buttons on my cardy! Layers are the key to keeping warm - I can reveal that my knickers are colour-coded purple too... this doesn't help the thermal count - but it makes me feel great.

I'm wearing what my grandmother would call 'sitting down shoes' -  they are the perfect combination of cute and treacherous. A fairly old-school pointed toe - stiletto designed by the Rock and roll designer John Richmond. Purple, sexiness all the way up and all the way down.

The Dress | Worn right way up - under a button up.

The Rest | Thermal vest with lace trim. Purple, lambswool cardigan with little grey buttons. M&S purple tights under black circle lacey tights. Pink, plastic, roses bracelet. Vintage, pink beaded necklace. Wool, silk scarf - fancy french label. Wide waspy belt with a bow - Peacocks! Betty's ring.

The Shoes | Purple & Silver, leather, stab heel stilettos - John Richmond (Vintage)

The Eyewear | Purple Prada

The Do | Unbrushed and undone. Today was supposed to be lovely new hair day - but my hairdresser's little man is poorly - so that's me flaunting my grey, badger stripe for another few days.

Day 8 | Stellavation!

Good Morning. I am on stilts today! I've no idea who's reading this little bloggette. I'm thinking some of my pals from other blogs might drive by and you never know - if it gets shared there may be the odd stray. I always advise bullish self confidence to others when discussing their blog 'voice' No-one enjoys a needy blogger hey?

So back to the plot. Today I am wearing my absolute favorite boots. A pair of brown, neoprene, thigh-high Stella McCartney's with cigarette heels. Achingly cool - amazingly comfortable and they make me feel about 6ft tall! What is not to love?

I was egged on to buy these by my dear pal and Ultimate Shoe Queen KP - this woman is serious. She has an entire room in her house fully shoe wardrobed out - and her collection is beyond fabulous. We're talking Gina, Terry De Havilland, Dolce & Gabbana on and on it goes - then there's the Hermes bag - bought with money left to her by her granny - because it's what she would've wanted.

This chick has serious style - not the guttersnip, silly nonsense I'm parading about in this blog. I mean serious chops. At 16 she made her own corset. Without the first clue about boning - she made her own by sewing strips of material together until she got the right stiffness. Genius! 

She is my style heroine. I'd give you a snapshot - but I don't have one - and she'd murder me - and I mean proper, East End Gangster style sorting... You don't mess with KP.

So without further ado or adon't - (not sure that worked as well as it did in my head...) Here are the details for today!

The Dress | Inside out and if I'm honest not fully zipped up then tucked into my knickers (what?) - I can't manage the fiddly zip without iPodge's help and he was up early and out of the door. I shall spend most of today in a state of semi deshabiller and not in a sexy, french way. In a scatty Luli way...

The Rest | Brown fine knit cardi knotted at the bust, FWM. Cute swing back jacket with short sleeves and a hood, funnel neck. Therapy. Beautiful handfelted scarf - bought in Sydney Markets. Selection of wooden bangles - bought in charridy shops. I pick them up whenever I see them. Betty's ring. (my constant companion). Selection of plastic fantastic, knuckle dusters. I might wear the mulit-coloured plaid as a shawl - it's a bit chilly round the Urals x

The Shoes | Stella McCartney, as previously described. But can we just take a moment people... leave a comment about just how much you love these boots... They deserve your love!

The Eyewear | Gucci

*a note about glasses. I don't get you one pair until they fall off types. Whassatabout. Man I was secretly so delighted when my optician finally told me that I had enough of a change to warrant wearing specs. I went mad! I keep the ones that are from the previous prescription and insist on wearing them - not for working or reading - obvs. But then I have special glasses for doing all that.

No it's essential to have the right pair of specs for your outfit. No?

The Do | Poble's Bobbles with feather adornments. For Bestie Kim - who rocks a hair accessory like no other x x