Brugges

A very pretty town we stopped at on the way back to the tunnel packed with thousands of tourists the place is almost too perfect, like a diet of Belgian chocolates only a little is needed.

Clothes to covet pt 2

I love this label I have a skirt from this label and it is so beautifully made I love it. Other wonderful reasons to go to Belgium
1. Chocolates
2. Mussels
3. Orange confit ice cream from Elizabeth
4. Horta
5. Magritte
6.Beer (apparently)
7. Lace
8. Independent book shops
9. Wonderful apartments
10. Brugges

clothes to covet

http://www.ousoleil.com/ very covetible as are many of the clothes I saw in Belgium home of my favourite designer Dries Van Noten. However the lovely Emin does not share that love so it was a case of looking not touching, sob.

The view from here

I have just returned from the land of not one, but two Elle magazines. Elle Belgique et Elle Belgie, now that is cool and they are 85% completely different, Elle Belgique wins by a nose and has the best cover, a model no less, whole figure, wearing a Sonia Rykiel grey woolie no less, perfect. Both together cost less than British Vogue. We went to Brussels because Emin fancied some 5 star r+r which we got, as well as a visit to see his cousin who works for the EU. So lots of good food & good company, she is Turkish, speaks fluent English and now perfect French, living with a Frenchman who speaks fluent English as various other languages including Italian! So how inadequate do I feel. It has also become apparent that the new camera is really not very good for reasons too boring to list so I am totally disappointed and will go back to my Sony, cap in hand and pray I can find some rewritable discs for it. I became mildly obsessed by the diverse architecture and as usual spent most of the time dreaming what it would be like to live here, but back home and the harsh reality of work kicks in tomorrow...

P.S

As a P.S to my yummy mummy post I was tickled to read that Mrs Fashion believes that art teachers can afford to shop in Toast, I bloody wish, absolute tops for my budget is Jigsaw. Most young Art teacher are so broke from their student debt they tend to use either EBay or H&M, the older ones sink their salary into pensions, property and procreation. Our clothes tend to be black or cheap because what does not get splattered with Acrylic paint gets ripped by the rogue staple left over from when the year 10s found misses staple gun. Never sit on an art bench and never ever put your hand under the table especially on a hot day..Worst of all I am sad to report that for all our aesthetic ideals most of us are a sad rag tag bunch indeed.

some farewells

Catching up with reading my blog back log I read with sadness a farewell from the Toast and Honey blog. Beautifully written blogs are hard to find and this one was written by someone who clearly enjoyed using the English language, one of the reasons cited was the lack of having a secret space which is a sentiment I can totally empathise with I think its a brave person who can open up with friends and family reading, the alternative is a fairly academic blog with a subject focus. So I hope Toast and Honey returns one day.

Another farewell all be it temporary was our Homeopath who has written to say she is taking a sabbatical. Kate has been a rock for Daisy and more recently Kitty so we are going to be floating like a rudderless boat without her. Kate was introduced to me by a friend at school who had read a lot about the excesses of pharmaceutical companies, my father who had worked for Boots in his early 20s backed up her concerns with stories that would make you weep with frustrated anger. The trigger for me was Daisy's eczema she was covered her from head to toe by the time she was 2, I could not bear to use a steroid cream and she did nothing but cry for 2 years. Off we toddled and the eczema subsided as did my recurrent kidney infections. Kate guided me through 2 more pregnancies and my kids are drug free with an awesome immune system. Kate has listened and had been guiding them through the trauma of adolescence so I hope she can resolve her problems and come back soon, for the sake of my sanity.

The flower photo's were taken from mothers paradise garden packed with beautiful blooms.

Mummy Chic

I spent a leisurely day organising my clothes yeaterday. I have bought a couple of new pieces from Fat Face and White Stuff so decided to work out what to wear them with. This requires every single piece to come out and go back neatly and in the right place tops, bottoms, cardi's and weekend tat..as well as places for vests and gym gear. I roll and hang everything and pick up every night this is because I do not iron ...I threw the ironing board away years ago I kept the iron for the odd piece of linen but I find that body heat is the best to rid the creases. Trust me it s very liberating. I have finally bitten the bullet and put to rest the frilly and beaded bits I was clinging on to in case Giles Bensimon came knocking for an ironic take on the larger woman photo shoot, so the wardrobe is sleeker meaner and ready to wear. I have documented various outfits to grab and go as I wake at 6.20 get up at 6.30 and leave by 7.15, hair is a ponytail and has been for 5 years cut with sewing shears! I felt personally slighted by Style Bubbles Mummy Chic jibe, we shop at Jigsaw/Toast because they are cut to skim the lumps and fit. I don't think any yummy mummy would be seen dead in Laura Ashley and Coast is just for wanna be wag weddings. Add Noa Noa, Saltwater, Fat Face, White Stuff and most of all GAP I love GAP.
The wonderful people at the British Consulate gave our new Au Pair her Visa just after her flight left Thank you so considerate.l