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 18 | Grandma Smurf

I woke up this morning and wondered who's daft idea it was to spend 40 days in the same blinking dress! No-one is forcing me to do this - I didn't even have the foresight to get people to sponsor me to do it as part of sports relief or Cancer Research.

Nope I am just pleasing my own sweet self - by wearing the same dress for over a month. It's also my decision to wear it differently every day - I could just sling on the same jumper for a couple of days on the trot - but no. Miss Fancy Pants Luli has to swan about in a different motley every day of the 40 days. 

It's day 18 - we're not even half way there - and this morning I felt a bit uninspired. So I decided to move off from purple and go with another of my 'go-to' colours. Turquoise Blue. 

Here I am in the Smurf Tights (as iPodge unimaginatively dubbed them - the first time he saw them). They're not for everyone - but I loves 'em. I figure if you are going to go about looking like Smurfette's granny - then you should commit. So top, necklace and sunnies are Turquoise - undies too. But you'll have to trust me on that score. Podge wouldn't let me take a snap of me in my smalls...

The weather is changeable - but our Saturday rituals are not. We have been out for brunch and a wander around the charity shops. We were momentarily swayed by a very pretty - Art Decoish display cabinet, with a sunburst detail on the front - £45.00. But to be honest - I'm not a display cabinet type of a gal - and it wouldn't quite fit into the kitchen. 

So we contented ourselves with the notion that lovely things do turn up - and one day we'll be in the right place at the right time - for the perfect piece. In the meantime - we left it for someone else to discover. 

The Dress: Worn conventionally and unusually - properly done up. I've developed a knack.

The Rest: Turquoise tights M&S - had them for a few years. Turquoise hoody - Climawear. Thermal vest - one of many from M&S. (I like thin, warm layers). Tiffany bracelet with blue Vivienne Westwood shoe charm. real turquoise necklace - bought on travels. Betty's ring.Kath Kidston London Buses Bag. Charity Shop scoop. 

The Shoes: Navy Blue Dr Marten Boots

The Eyewear: Turquoise sunnies. Ted Baker. TKMaxx remaindered £3.00. (Bought out of season and squirreled away).

The Doo: Scruffy unbrushed and shoved under a trusty grey wool beret (M&S). 

The Breakfast: Two sausages, crispy bacon, scrambled eggs, mushrooms and two Dr Karg crackers (sneaked in from home). No toast. Flat white. Water. 3 rounds of 9s (word game) and then a whole lot of Truth Tables and Boolean Logic figuring outs on napkins that frankly went over my head. 

Leave a comment or share the love. Either way I'd love to know what you think. Or leave a picture/description of your outfit today. That'd be really lovely. 

Day 5 | Biba Diva

Blurry Rock Diva Shot. Or not! 

In every wardrobe lurks the perfect little leather jacket - no? Mine is this little corker - coveted and lusted after for many months. I have photographs of me in the nude/beige and the black version taken in-store, long before I landed my own. I have no shame  in matters of fash-on. In fact last year when considering my finances and thinking very, very hard about my shopping habit - I hit on my version of Chiconomics.

I realised that the shopping, searching, trying on and catwalking it about in the changing room part of the process represents a very high proportion of the overall 'happy' measurement when buying clothes.

So!  Thinks I. What about I give myself all of that excitement and fun - and none of the guilt? 

I could document how cute I look in an outfit - without ever handing over the moolah at the till. This my friends proved to be a perfect way of indulging my love of shopping without troubling my bank account, and while finances have evened out this year - I still take little changing rooms selfies to add to my collection of 'Clothes I Don't Own'.  Genius!  No no... No need to thank me - my little gift to you x.

I appear to have lost the top of my head and my leg in this photo - Podgey is no Bailey.

Ah ha! The missing leg...

To the details! 
After yesterday's Breaking Amish remodelled for Fixing Up the Shedish - I headed for the glam of a pair of 70's inspired platforms and the aforementioned Biba jacket. (I finally scored an almost brand new one on Ebay and saved myself over £200 smackers - the power of visualisation my friends.)

The Dress: Worn right side up and right way around!
The Rest: Uber soft, gunmetal, scoop neck tee with cuffs - Whistles. Most excellent beige Biba leather jacket worn with the cuffs unzipped. Ancient but fantastic, greige lace tights. Betty's ring, green knuckle duster and green perspex, printed bangle. (Present from sister I think).  Gorgeous semi-precious stone necklace on burgundy ribbon, Harvey Nicks - bought with birthday cash from generous FatherOne a few years ago - in a sale. It was eye-wateringly fancy and expensive even with 70% off! Can't now remember the designer...
The Shoes: Fave and much loved Ted Baker platforms - green faux snakeskin and suede.
The sunnies: Gucci - natch!

Live by the Heel - Die by the Heel my friends...

I'm giving myself a hefty 7/10 for this - I felt very cool. We bumped into Dino - the owner of a little Italian restaurant and deli supplies business while we were out and about - and an appreciative up and downer from a stylish, Italian chap is worth a few points I'd say.

Off to catch up on the Rugby - no spoilers...

Podgey = Proud Englishman
Luli =  Gobby Welsh Bird

Result = Loud sofa-shouting action come match day!

Here's one of those in-store pics. You can see the jacket and the sunnies better. Also my much loved, now long gone, blonde hair...