Day 25 | Jeans Day!

Flagging a little today - so I decided to wear my dress as a scarf and wear jeans. Works a treat and no-one would know! The thing I like about this little challenge is that it really does give me permission to muck about and try things out.

So I am much pleased with the scarf idea - and it proves how versatile this little charity shop - Gap dress really is. The cotton is so fine that it works as a scarf without being bulky.

The sun has been out all day here in the S.W. and the doors in the house are open wide. The bulbs that were salvaged from the shed have taken and things are growing in pots. Real plants - and EVERYTHING.

The Dress: Worn as a very chic scarf.


The Rest: V neck tee, Warehouse. Odd rock and roll twisted, grey marl top - I think it's All Saints. Trusty heavily elastene jeans. Acid green knuckle duster. Red mac - Next (ebay - bargain), Grey wool beret. M&S.

Shoes: Dr Marten Navy Blue boots.

Eyewear: Green Sunglasses Gianfranco Ferre as before.

Unidentified Glorious Things at the entrance to the Ardargh Centre.

Day 19 | Sunday Brunch

Hello!

We've spent a lovely afternoon at the wonderful Duchess of Totterdown cafe with two Bristol pals - the Glorious Listers. Scoffing Full English breakfasts and talking about nothing very much - we whiled away hours and hours in the most hospitable little eatery I've ever had the pleasure of dining in.

I knew I was going to like it - on spotting a fellow Bobbler - turns out she was the cook! So worried was Cookie that she'd over done our food - that we were treated to a round of her newest invention. Soda bread with apple and coriander - with butter - fresh from the oven.

In fact our food was perfectly cooked - but we scoffed down the delicious soda bread and all agreed that it would be perfect with a chunk of sharp cheddar and a cup of tea. We hung about so long - we scored a huge serving of Duchess Mess with four spoons! All in all a perfect way to spend a sunny/rainy Sunday.

Back home and I had a yen to bake chickpea brownies. I spotted the recipe a while ago - and someone else mentioned them - so I thought I'd give it a bash. Trouble is - my record with brownies is appauling and I don't have exactly the right ingredients. So I went right off plan. And I mean RIGHT OFF plan... Mistakenly added too much salt, then realised I didn't have any chocolate - so added 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder - doubled the coconut oil and the sugar and added another whole egg for good measure.

Then I went mad and added a cup of strong coffee - to make a more battery consistency - oh and some ground flax and pumpkin seed. Well in for a penny...

The raw mixture tasted lovely - but I've just taken it out of the oven to cool and a) It hasn't risen. b) It's stuck firm to the baking parchement. (If I'm honest I don't know which way round your supposed to put it, I may have put it in upside down) and c) The little bit I've just tasted - is - well - ODD...

So I've baked a whole tray of flat, odd tasting brownies made with chickpeas - this will be a bit of a tough sell! I'm thinking of sandwiching two together with jam. I think I may have to call them 'Flatties'...

I had threatened my friend that I was going to turn up with the dress worn on my head - but in fact I felt more like a ladylike outfit today - I even put on some make-up.

The Dress: Worn conventionally.

The Rest: Grey, soft Tee as before, grey marl, thermal tights - with proper bum shaping. Very comfy. Yellow 3/4 sleeve cardigan. Yellow & black silk scarf - present from a friend. Acid green knuckle duster Brilliant short, blue, jacket, Michael Kors, Kath Kidston bag.

The Shoes: Blue Dr Marten Boots

The Eyewear:  Green Sunnies - Gianfranco Ferre (fancy!)

The Doo: Pobble's Bobbles - The purple has pretty much washed out by now. It has made my hair very knotty and dry. So I'm not sure I can have it done every time - shame - I've loved it!

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 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 12 | Swinging My Pants with Orla Kiely

Yoo hoo! Super Saturday proved to be a bit of a let-down for the Englishman in my life. The sun is shining in the SW on Slumpabout Sunday and we have been out and about in it. Podgey went all northern and abandoned his jumper going about  bare armed!

Really iPodge -  take heed of the old saying ' the wise gal ne're cast a clout til' the Summer Sales are out... ' This applies to chaps too you know. The man who ventures out without his pully in the Spring time - will be shivering and whining by the time you're walking back through the park at sundown!

The lovely day was too much of an opportunity to debut my new ugly/beautiful shoes So I've gone for a monochrome riff with little splashes of mismatched colour. Red handle, jade knuckle duster, mauve sunnies... Pink lippy - oh yes and and and.... Purple Pony Tail!

Loving my new hair. The blowdry fell through overnight - unusual for a Charlie doo - but it did take a bit of a battering in the construction this time! So my hair is a bit crunchy today. I'm looking forward to seeing what it looks like without the benefit of a swish swoosh!

I've prepped the kitchen ready for the sparks who is due tomorrow morning. His partner is about to have their first baby and she's due any minute NOW - so we're bracing ourselves for a delay. I've got a little pressy for the newborn and the mammie. A little bit of luxury - after all her hard work and before all the rest of the hard work!

In the meantime - I've found a place for all the kitchen tchotsky that accumulates on the surfaces. Lord I would NEVER be able to have a pristine, empty counter, kitchen. Imagine having to remember where EVERYTHING is!? I'd have a nervous breakdown trying to find the salt for my egg!

No I'm dreaming of a concrete counter-top, fronted with recycled scaff boards - the kind of kitchen you can make a mess in without having a hissy fit about crumbs and coffee spills.

I digress... of course I do.

The Dress: Worn conventionally without anything underneath. It's Sunny today.

The Rest: Black ballet cardigan - Gap. Black and White graphic patterned long skirt. Primarni. Stainless Steel cutwork heart on leather string. Present from iPodge - Milan. Betty's ring (which is a Cairngorm stone found by her husband in a setting he designed for her too. Given to me for my birthday. Treasured. ) Jade, plastic, knuckle duster. Boots.

The Shoes: White placcy, ugly, beautiful gladiators with rubber soles. Pradamark.

The Eyewear: Purple plastic fantastic sunnies. TKMaxx sale - they were £3.00! I MADE myself walk away from a perfect pair of red, cats eye sunnies - French Connection. Spotted in Boots and they were perfect for this outfit. Too exxy for an impulse buy in new hair week!

The Bag: Orla Kiely, jute bag for Tescos! I collect them.

Day 11 | C'est Violette!

Hello!

Late entry for today's little ensemble. It's changed a couple of times today. For brunch I headed out with the dark green, suede, Red or Dead booties, purple silk scarf and a beautiful Missoni cardigan which will feature again soon.

One delicious Bubble and Squeak with smoked bacon and a perfectly poached egg later - and an hour or so in the sunny window - and I was panting on the way home! So a quick chimmy changeo was called for and I headed out to my hair appt minus cardi, and plus my trusty flats. There was some yomping to be done to get there on time!

So here we are then - back home after a 3 hour trip to the wonderful Charlie. I arrived feeling a bit frumpy and forlorn and we discussed tactics. I am growing out the blonde - which is a bit operation and in the meantime I'm blending in the grey - going for a greige vibe with the end game of a chic, grey fox do. Embracing my grey and rocking it into my mid 50s.

Well that's the plan - the reality has been a little less exciting. My hair hasn't gone a wonderful steely grey all over - far from it - and the amount of colour still in it - means that it looks like the pelt of an ageing rat! Not the look I was aiming for.

Help is most definitely at hand - Miss Charlie is one of the best colourists I've ever come across and let me tell you - I've been to many, many in my years as a signed up member of Hair Whores Anon. She's dumped a tint on my hair that is used on brassy blondes to tone down the yellow and give it an ashy look. I don't have this issue - so what it has done is allowed the grey to shine and added a sort of purple haze!

While we were chatting I mentioned the hair chalks in the window and how much I love one of the hairdressers' faded out purple/blueypurple hair and before we could yell 'Squeeee'... we decided to have a blinking go! Result... In fact a very chic grey/purple tint - bumped up with some serious purple cred through the front and there's loads in the back underneath - so when Poble's Bobbles are in place - you'll see purple through the back!

I'm really happy - and I feel transformed from middle aged frump-o-rama into a cool - chic older woman with a bit of edge a bit of Grrrrrrr!

So here are the details:

The Dress: Worn as it was designed to be worn.

The Rest: Super soft, slate grey tee shirt - Whistles. Brown starburst tights - no idea, had 'em years. Wonderful dark, sagey green leather and fabric bomber jacket. Charity Shop find! (I KNOW - right?!)

The Shoes: Clarks, punched brogues - I want these in every colour before the trend dies and I can't get the so easily. I think punched brogues may be my 'shoe-thing'. I just can't do stab heels for more than a couple of hours these days... Sigh!

The Eyewear: Charity Shop - emergency buy. £2.00.

The Do: Charlie at AKA Bristol - L'Oreal deep conditioning treatment, purple hair chalk. We're talking blow-dry, hot irons, and PRODUCT! Every 4 - 6 weeks without fail. I wear my hair every day - and if it looks good - I feel good! So there...

Day 6 | Mai Tie

Spring! It properly feels like Spring today. I have thrown caution to the four gentle breezes and dragged a huge hold-all from under teen-boy's bed.

I know! Such dedication to the cause, but I was after this bright yellow cardie and a pair of unbelievably useful 3/4 trousers. (Which on my little legs are more like 6/7).

I've raided iPodgey's tie collection too and here I am. Spring ready.

I have yet to set up the camera and gorilla pod - so as you see I'm struggling along with whatever light is available for my camera phone.


You might also note - the fancy borders! I have discovered a brilliant little app from the gels at abeautifulmess.com. So while I am committed to figuring out photoshop actions and improving my photographic skills - there's no harm in having a bit of fun exploiting the talents of other very fabulous chaps and chapesses along the way.

I'm off out with iPodge later - I can guarantee he will raise his eyebrows at this little number. I've put posh shoes on - so he'll feel more disposed. I haven't worn these beauts in years. They're very - very ladylike, I'm just not ready for a full-on sandal moment - to be honest it's already clouding over...

The dress was washed overnight and tumble dried while I worked out this morning. I can report that it dries in moments and the garden was so breezy and sunny today - I pegged my little black dress on the line for 20 minutes while I had a shower and wrangled a large bag from under a bed.

A note about sunglasses...

For me sunglasses should either make me look impossibly glamorous or so fierce that you worry I might actually kill you if you look me in the eye. Be assured if you are one of those rude, arse barging types. I very probably will!

The Dress |  Worn as you'd expect it to be.

The Rest | Yellow 3/4 sleeve cardi with little pockets, Oasis. 3/4 beige, side zip trews. Gap. Betty's ring, acid green knuckle duster, Tiffany bracelet, Turquoise necklace. Yellow plastic and diamante, cats eye sunnies.

The Shoes | Lady like, blunt concical heel shoes with shell/plastic disks, TKMaxx.


The Bag | Gorgeous little green and grey, slub silk, dolly bag with extra long handles bought in Thailand a very long time ago.

The Hair | Unbrushed, unwashed and frankly unacceptable!