My weekend in pictures

March 7, 2016

Hey, how was everyone’s weekend? I had quite a busy one, with two Mother’s Day celebrations, and a night out for a friend’s birthday. As a result I’m rather jaded and tired today – roll on hometime!

On Saturday afternoon we went to a pub about half an hour drive from us, called the Warwickshire Lad, with my Mother in Law for lunch. She’s not big on Mother’s Day, and doesn’t like doing anything on the day itself, so Saturday afternoon was ideal. It seemed a few people had the same idea.

The pub is both traditional and contemporary inside; lots of wooden beams and a big original fireplace mix well with sunny windows and big mirrors for a really spacious and bright feel. The menu is a mix of good solid pub grub and gastropub specials.

I went for honey glazed duck breast with rum and blackcherry sauce and new potatoes. The duck was cooked perfectly, not too pink, a bit of crispiness to the skin and succulent and juicy meat. The sauce was subtle; no over riding flavour of either rum or cherry, but it was sweet and not too thick.

Duck with rum and blackcherry sauce

The husband went for Fillet Steak Boston,. which he was incredibly excited about (steak, scallops and whisky sauce; all box tickers for him) but unfortunately it didn’t quite deliver – the steak was medium to well done, rather than medium as requested, and the sauce lacked flavour. A bit disappointing for a £20 main course.

What wasn’t disappointing was my new most bargainous dress – just £6 from the New Look sale! It has bell sleeves, which I love, and a pleasingly swishy skirt. I matched it with tan suede boots and a tan fringed bag.

Looking forward to the weather being warmer and being able to bust this out with bare legs and sandals.

On Saturday night we went to a rock bar in town. I debuted my new Collection Lasting Colour lipstick, which actually isn’t new at all – I bought it months and months ago after seeing it on Holly’s blog (Closing Winter) but haven’t got round to wearing it.

Aubergine Kiss lipstick

It’s called Aubergine Kiss and is much darker in real life – a deep black cherry which is very vampy and gothic.

I also wore my new tassel jacket, which is frickin’ awesome, and received many compliments (as well as a description of a gothic Big Bird from Sesame Street!). It was, believe it or not, from Tesco, and reduced to just £20.

F&F tassel jacket

There’s no way I couldn’t keep it. It’s actually the same fabric as my feathery skirt from H&M, but don’t worry, I won’t be wearing them together!

Sunday morning loomed too quickly and I was feeling somewhat delicate, but had to pull myself together to celebrate Mothers Day with my own Mom. She and my sister came over, I cooked baked lamb and potatoes (so much yum) and we drank lots of wine, took lots of selfies and laughed a lot.

A most enjoyable Sunday afternoon and evening.

Thanks, as always, for reading! x

Flare-enough

August 8, 2015

Flares are my ~~new~~ current favourite thing. Not only because they’re mega mega cool, and easy to wear. But also because they’re uber flattering (according to my husband, who I actually trust implicity when it comes to clothes). They’re slimming and leg lengthening and generally just great.

This Pinterest image was a source of inspiration to me right from the beginning of this summer. I know I can’t pull the look off exactly – I don’t have the waistline for a start! – but I was keen to do my own version. It just oozes cool.

So here are the patterned flares I’ve gone for – the perfect skinny to knee and wide of flare legs. I want to wear them everyday. They’re pull on (like leggings) and very fitted to the knee, then flare out massively. Because they’re stretchy and don’t have a waistband or zip fastenings they need to be worn with a long top to avoid any camel toe issues. I’ve only had them two weeks and already worn them twice. They wash lovely, don’t need ironing and are a good length (essential for flares – nothing worse than ankle flappers). I’ve been wearing these with platform wedges.

These are the same style but different colours. I wasn’t sure if they were a little bit bright, but toned down with a black top I think they’ll be fine. Because the evenings will be cool when we go to Italy in October they’ll be an ideal outfit, and brighter colours always work better on holiday than at home.

I just love the retro prints and I think they’ll work well into autumn with a sloppy off shoulder jumper, as long as I can match the right shoes to them.

Both are now on sale – just £6 and £7 respectively on the Boohoo website.

Hotel review – Kyriad Gare Nice (one last French related post)

May 8, 20151 Comment

It’s important when booking a hotel to have done your research so you know what to expect and aren’t disappointed. I knew, therefore, that many of the rooms in this hotel are overlooking the railway lines.

Was it a problem? Not at all! We used our room purely for getting ready and sleeping. The windows are extremely efficient in keeping out the traffic noise and the trains don’t run through the night anyway. The room itself was ideal for our needs – spacious enough for a two night stay, clean, with an incredibly comfortable bed and pillows. The walls are covered in fabric rather than standard wallpaper, which gives a nice touch, and the dark wooden furniture and black out curtains make the room feel comfortable and higher end than a basic chain hotel. The bathroom is bright and well equipped with a strong shower which always had plenty of warm water. Small things like plug sockets near to the dressing table, a full length mirror and a powerful hairdryer made our stay ideal for a city break.

The staff, without exception, were very helpful. All spoke excellent English. On arrival and departure our bags were stored away securely so we could enjoy our day before and after check in without having to lug them around with us. When I asked for extra teabags they were brought to our room within minutes.

Location, for us, was ideal. Just 20 minutes from the airport in a pre-booked transfer, 5 minutes walk from Nice Ville train station so we could quickly and easily get about (we went to Cannes and Antibes) and literally right at the beginning of a Metro line (although we didn’t use it). There’s a good size cheap supermarket next door and it’s around a 10-15 minute walk down the main shopping street and down to Place Massena and Jardin Albert 1er.

The only slight blight on the stay was the fact that the hotel doesn’t switch the air conditioning on until mid May, so both our bedroom and the hallways were very warm. However, the French windows open on to a Juliet balcony so we were able to get some air circulating.

I’d have no hesitation in staying there again.

This little piggy went to market

April 10, 20153 Comments

Specifically the Birmingham Rag Market.

This has been in my life for as long as I can remember. As a kid, going into town on the train with my Mom to purchase fabric for curtains (she was a keen seamstress), as a teenager buying clubbing clothes from some of the independent traders, and into my 20s buying antique and vintage jewellery from 2 kooky old ladies.

I haven’t been to the market for quite a while. It’s rare I shop in real life any more! And the only chance I get to go into town is on Saturdays and Sundays – the market is closed on Sundays and Saturday are just hellish – why would you?!

Anyway, I digress. The rag market is still a hive of tatt and treasures. Hats, masks, bargain branded make up, fancy dress, sparkly jewellery, cheap shoes, patterned tights, bright coloured fabrics, vintage clothes and mobile phone accessories sit alongside each other seamlessly.

There’s always a gem to be had if you’re patient. I wasn’t in the market (geddit!) for anything, but the key is having an open mind.

So, what did I score?

Some costume jewellery – £1 each!

The red one looks like a jewelled fruit depending which way you wear it, and the “pearl” one has a petty diamante trim. I can’t get a good close up of the black one, but it has marcasite effect hearts on the side.

I spotted a rail of 70s looking leather and suede jackets on one of the vintage stalls. I’ve wanted a 70s tan jacket for a while, and never found the right one. This looked like it might fit the bill.

But it was ever so slightly too small and wouldn’t fasten. 70s women were a lot smaller(and I’m not the waif I once was…) Despite the stall owner telling me I could have it for £15 (a tenner discount from the marked up price of £25) I decided not to impulse buy.

However, after thinking about it all day (and seeking the husband’s opinion via the medium of picture message) I decided to go for it. After all, who wears their jackets “done up” anyway?

Here it is; a total bargain and a great shape/colour combo.