Kitty, now a willowy teenager, wafted down to the kitchen on Saturday morning fluttering her eyelashes in an effort to persuade me to make her a cup of tea. According to Kitty, I and ONLY I can make a cup of tea to her liking, I do as asked whilst she draped herself across the kitchen, there she spied a plate of left over Chicken Korma so grabbed a spoon and tucked in...cold. all I heard was "mmmmm" then suddenly she was making a less satisfactory noise and she managed to articulate to me that her mouth was so so full she was unable to chew what was in it. I shrugged and forbid her to spit it out, so she gagged and I gave in.
Then she complained she felt sick (quelle surprise) before knocking back her tea and getting the bus to her dad's.
Leyla's current breakfast squeeze is equally unpleasant, she is currently loving a toasted muffin smeared with peanut butter with honey drizzled on top. Yep that makes me retch every time!
What is wrong with toast and marmalade for god's sake?
Tuesday, 11 May 2010
Monday, 10 May 2010
Wadrobe watch 3
A little late 
It was a Bank Holiday weekend and so
Monday 7/10
you get to see my lovely new rain coat that I obtained by a serendipitous Internet search. Not hugely flattering now I see it, but I love the colour and shape so who cares.
Tuesday 7/10
This is a fairly standard outfit for work, The skirt is lovely and one of those pieces that never dates. I never go in Laura Ashley but caught a glimpse of this through the window. Their clothes are over priced but this was in the sale. If you have watched this blog for some time I did post a picture of it a couple of years ago as one of the classic pieces fit even for Paris, which is one of the places it has been. (This is the outfit that needed a brighter piece of jewellery to lift it a bit.)
Wednesday 7/10
Again some older pieces getting an outing. The jumper is in fact a hoodie, it is one of the few pieces that has aged well from Jigsaw in the days when they did XL. What's funny is that Kitty wears this too, only on her it is a VERY loose and slouchy. The skirt I LOVE but the fabric is cheap. It has a wonderful stiff shape and was a bargain from Asda. If I ever managed to travel east I would take this and get a wizard tailor to replicate it in a dozen different coloured glorious silk organza's.
Thursday 8/10
Black is difficult to photograph, this is a new top from a little boutique in Southwold, it has lovely silk organza rosettes around the neck and I wore it with my favourite Cath Kidston necklace a plus a double breasted skirt from H&M and red tights to support Labour in the election.
Friday 8/10
Felt so ill but made an effort, this cardie/top is from COS I had previously worn it over a longer tunic but the photographs made me realise it did not work and in fact looked better layered over a shorter top. Worn with narrow trousers I really like it. (This too needed some Carnelian or Amber beads.)
So far I have not replicated an outfit, and as a test I am aiming not to do so for the next 3 weeks!
It was a Bank Holiday weekend and soMonday 7/10
you get to see my lovely new rain coat that I obtained by a serendipitous Internet search. Not hugely flattering now I see it, but I love the colour and shape so who cares.
Tuesday 7/10
This is a fairly standard outfit for work, The skirt is lovely and one of those pieces that never dates. I never go in Laura Ashley but caught a glimpse of this through the window. Their clothes are over priced but this was in the sale. If you have watched this blog for some time I did post a picture of it a couple of years ago as one of the classic pieces fit even for Paris, which is one of the places it has been. (This is the outfit that needed a brighter piece of jewellery to lift it a bit.)
Wednesday 7/10
Again some older pieces getting an outing. The jumper is in fact a hoodie, it is one of the few pieces that has aged well from Jigsaw in the days when they did XL. What's funny is that Kitty wears this too, only on her it is a VERY loose and slouchy. The skirt I LOVE but the fabric is cheap. It has a wonderful stiff shape and was a bargain from Asda. If I ever managed to travel east I would take this and get a wizard tailor to replicate it in a dozen different coloured glorious silk organza's.
Thursday 8/10
Black is difficult to photograph, this is a new top from a little boutique in Southwold, it has lovely silk organza rosettes around the neck and I wore it with my favourite Cath Kidston necklace a plus a double breasted skirt from H&M and red tights to support Labour in the election.
Friday 8/10
Felt so ill but made an effort, this cardie/top is from COS I had previously worn it over a longer tunic but the photographs made me realise it did not work and in fact looked better layered over a shorter top. Worn with narrow trousers I really like it. (This too needed some Carnelian or Amber beads.)
So far I have not replicated an outfit, and as a test I am aiming not to do so for the next 3 weeks!
Friday, 7 May 2010
I am currently experiencing a singular lack of focus
But next week I will be painting again which always helps lift the spirits.
Carnelian
Jasper
CoralToday should have been wardrobe watch part 3 but like an idiot I left my memory card at home. Most normal people could log on and complete the task at home but the chances of me navigating my way around either of the apples is minimal and I need all my strength to fight my current infection of choice. Since coming out of hospital I have really struggled with my health my once stoic immune system has been destroyed and now I am ill at the drop of a hat. So I am back on antibiotics but I decided that I would be better off at work mentally spending my next budget, now I am not so sure.
Talking of spending the above images are from my latest splurge. I have made a couple of really nice necklaces recently and I have got the bug again, but needed to replenish stocks. One outfit I wore this week cried out for something red or orange and as I have some coral I thought I would top it up with enough for a nice chunky necklace. The jasper is to go with some blue coral I have that needs 'something' to lift it The carnelian is to try out.
Happy threading here we come.
Wednesday, 5 May 2010
Not everything in Primark is bad
I recently read in a magazine the following
"Despite the recent economic slump. Primark recorded a 21 percent sales increase last year proving that fast fashion retail model is here to stay. But for how long can this throwaway attitude to clothing be sustained before the landfills get full? ...Stop buying crap."
OK lets dissect this statement a little, fast fashion has always been with us, it's just like most things, it has got a little faster. As a teenager I would spend hours looking for a certain style top or jeans wear it to death then move on. I feel all that has changed is that I wash the girls clothes less often as they have more.
As I stood waiting outside the changing room waiting for Daisy (who LOVES Primark, not because it's cheap but because they FIT.) I alighted on this cardie. I just looked, then felt it, very soft cotton, well cut and the perfect balance of stripes, navy and cream the most flattering kind.
I waited some more, then tried it on, it looked lovely.
There is an urban myth that because you pay more for your clothes those who make the clothes must be paid more, that if this cardie hung in Jigsaw it would cost at least £75 and the notion would be the workers were paid a fair rate. Not true, the workers are paid a set rate, it makes little difference if they knit and stitch for Arcadia, Jigsaw or Primark the going rate is paid. Jigsaw may use better fabrics, although I doubt it from what I have seen recently, the only difference is that Philip Green & Co charge more for the same thing, his profit margins are greater that is all. So I bought it.
"Despite the recent economic slump. Primark recorded a 21 percent sales increase last year proving that fast fashion retail model is here to stay. But for how long can this throwaway attitude to clothing be sustained before the landfills get full? ...Stop buying crap."
OK lets dissect this statement a little, fast fashion has always been with us, it's just like most things, it has got a little faster. As a teenager I would spend hours looking for a certain style top or jeans wear it to death then move on. I feel all that has changed is that I wash the girls clothes less often as they have more.
As I stood waiting outside the changing room waiting for Daisy (who LOVES Primark, not because it's cheap but because they FIT.) I alighted on this cardie. I just looked, then felt it, very soft cotton, well cut and the perfect balance of stripes, navy and cream the most flattering kind.
I waited some more, then tried it on, it looked lovely.
There is an urban myth that because you pay more for your clothes those who make the clothes must be paid more, that if this cardie hung in Jigsaw it would cost at least £75 and the notion would be the workers were paid a fair rate. Not true, the workers are paid a set rate, it makes little difference if they knit and stitch for Arcadia, Jigsaw or Primark the going rate is paid. Jigsaw may use better fabrics, although I doubt it from what I have seen recently, the only difference is that Philip Green & Co charge more for the same thing, his profit margins are greater that is all. So I bought it.
That Primark clothes are somehow more disposable for being cheap. Not true, They wash to perfection Daisy has half a wardrobe full of Primark clothes I wash them all in the machine, shake and hang. They don't even get ironed. After two years she is still wearing them all they neither shrink nor bobble, you just have to know what fabrics to buy, it is ALL about spotting the good fabrics.
They appear to favour her petite size but I have a few pieces from there and I'm 5'7. I love their trousers and occasionally some knitwear. They maybe cheap but they are not throwaway, neither are they crap they just cost less.
Tuesday, 4 May 2010
Pigeons & Peacocks
Crafts
Selvedge
Living etc
Elle Decoration
Grazia
Vogue (various countries)
Vogue Living
Home Art
Lula
Twin
Nest
Maison Francaise
Tate etc
RA
i-D
Frame 41
Modern Painters
Bare
Fable
Frank
Intelligent Life
Contemporary Art
Frieze
Art Review
World of Interiors
Gardens Illustrated
Bloom
Art Forum
B&W photography
Tank
Ag
Hot Shoe
Aperture
and now Pigeons & Peacocks
I am a magazine tart, I have from since I can remember loved magazines. I have written about this love before, but I am going to say it again.
My first love was Bunty, from there I graduated to Jackie, from there to Honey and 19, the latter was an awesome production that was my bible. I was so media hungry I would happily read my mothers Good Housekeeping and Options magazines as well as my grans third hand copies of Woman and Woman's Own. Seriously I LOVED magazines.
(Aside from this I have been waiting to be old enough to read Good Housekeeping but like radio 4 that day has never arrived!)
Some of these publications I have subscribed to and so have a huge set of , some lasted less than a few issues, Bare, Frank, Fable etc
Some I have just a few copies of grabbed from airport newsagents far and wide. That my love of magazines has died a little I have documented previously, but every now and again something comes along to blow my socks off.
Twin was a superb example of this, a magazine that had the power to still be relevant, although surreally it is a hardback and I had to track it down via Amazon. The latest discovery was a real fluke. I had been searching for courses for Kitty, she needs something to do after next year and we are floundering a little. I had a look at the London College of Fashion web site and whilst looking came across a link to their in-house magazine, it is free! can you believe it? It is far better than most publications you pay for, but like Bloom and Twin it has no advertising. How it affords to do this I do not know but it is excellent.
The title appears to refer to the idea that as fashionistas we fall into two camps, I am most definitely a pigeon having moved from the peacock camp a few years ago. (I think peacock is fairly self explanatory) But Pigeon? I quote.
"Under the specter of sartorial Darwinism, the staid pigeon is proving herself fit to survive the current economic climate. Cool in her moody pallet and structural silhouettes, the austerity of the pigeon has emerged as the uniform de rigour of the fashion cognoscenti."
"Model Erin Wasson held a Californian garage sale to purge herself of excess. She told the Guardian "I really like the idea of being utilitarian. My dream is to edit down my wardrobe and be very Japanese"
The modern king of deconstruction is the elusive Martin Margiela...his clothes remained anonymous to the un-initiated eye."
I love the few pieces of Margiela I have seen they are stunning. I am more than happy to be a pigeon now, but I think I would not have got here without my extensive experimental peacock phase!
So if you have not already read a copy of Pigeons and Peacocks log on now
Selvedge
Living etc
Elle Decoration
Grazia
Vogue (various countries)
Vogue Living
Home Art
Lula
Twin
Nest
Maison Francaise
Tate etc
RA
i-D
Frame 41
Modern Painters
Bare
Fable
Frank
Intelligent Life
Contemporary Art
Frieze
Art Review
World of Interiors
Gardens Illustrated
Bloom
Art Forum
B&W photography
Tank
Ag
Hot Shoe
Aperture
and now Pigeons & Peacocks
I am a magazine tart, I have from since I can remember loved magazines. I have written about this love before, but I am going to say it again.
My first love was Bunty, from there I graduated to Jackie, from there to Honey and 19, the latter was an awesome production that was my bible. I was so media hungry I would happily read my mothers Good Housekeeping and Options magazines as well as my grans third hand copies of Woman and Woman's Own. Seriously I LOVED magazines.
(Aside from this I have been waiting to be old enough to read Good Housekeeping but like radio 4 that day has never arrived!)
Some of these publications I have subscribed to and so have a huge set of , some lasted less than a few issues, Bare, Frank, Fable etc
Some I have just a few copies of grabbed from airport newsagents far and wide. That my love of magazines has died a little I have documented previously, but every now and again something comes along to blow my socks off.
Twin was a superb example of this, a magazine that had the power to still be relevant, although surreally it is a hardback and I had to track it down via Amazon. The latest discovery was a real fluke. I had been searching for courses for Kitty, she needs something to do after next year and we are floundering a little. I had a look at the London College of Fashion web site and whilst looking came across a link to their in-house magazine, it is free! can you believe it? It is far better than most publications you pay for, but like Bloom and Twin it has no advertising. How it affords to do this I do not know but it is excellent.
The title appears to refer to the idea that as fashionistas we fall into two camps, I am most definitely a pigeon having moved from the peacock camp a few years ago. (I think peacock is fairly self explanatory) But Pigeon? I quote.
"Under the specter of sartorial Darwinism, the staid pigeon is proving herself fit to survive the current economic climate. Cool in her moody pallet and structural silhouettes, the austerity of the pigeon has emerged as the uniform de rigour of the fashion cognoscenti."
"Model Erin Wasson held a Californian garage sale to purge herself of excess. She told the Guardian "I really like the idea of being utilitarian. My dream is to edit down my wardrobe and be very Japanese"
The modern king of deconstruction is the elusive Martin Margiela...his clothes remained anonymous to the un-initiated eye."
I love the few pieces of Margiela I have seen they are stunning. I am more than happy to be a pigeon now, but I think I would not have got here without my extensive experimental peacock phase!
So if you have not already read a copy of Pigeons and Peacocks log on now
The view from here
I took Leyla on Bank Holiday Monday to see the Empire Strikes Back which was just about to close at the Saatchi Gallery. Even if the art work isn't that great I love the space and as it is free it is always interesting.
As we returned back to Charing Cross and sat down on our train Leyla suddenly turned to me eyes wide open, startled at a sudden realisation "Mum, I didn't have a tantrum!"
Me "shit! get off the train there's still time"
Oh there was PLENTY of opportunity, the lack of decent places to eat, that I would not give her my camera, that I said no to a ridiculous sequined t-shirt in Zara, each flash point bubbled for a while and died. Oh please dear God let her have grown up at last.
The show was very mediocre, but was saved by a little bit of people watching and an amazing instillation in a room downstairs by Richard Wilson essentially a room filled with old sump oil. At first you think it is a room reflected by glass, then the smell gives it away and you realise that it is a room half filled with old sump oil that sits so still the reflection merges with reality. It is worth a trip.
As we returned back to Charing Cross and sat down on our train Leyla suddenly turned to me eyes wide open, startled at a sudden realisation "Mum, I didn't have a tantrum!"
Me "shit! get off the train there's still time"
Oh there was PLENTY of opportunity, the lack of decent places to eat, that I would not give her my camera, that I said no to a ridiculous sequined t-shirt in Zara, each flash point bubbled for a while and died. Oh please dear God let her have grown up at last.
The show was very mediocre, but was saved by a little bit of people watching and an amazing instillation in a room downstairs by Richard Wilson essentially a room filled with old sump oil. At first you think it is a room reflected by glass, then the smell gives it away and you realise that it is a room half filled with old sump oil that sits so still the reflection merges with reality. It is worth a trip. Although I love the gallery it sits in an area devoid of anywhere to have a quick bite for lunch, whilst Soho and Fitzrovia are rich with bars and cafes Sloane Square has virtually none. Gone is Oriel, an old haunt that served the Freeholder a very poor meal and subsequently had its leasehold revoked!
The Royal Court was closed, The Botanist is too expensive, I hate Patisserie Valerie, I am sick of Pizza Express and a local cafe was serving a burger for nearly £14, seriously, I could go anywhere else and eat steak for that price. All the lovely local Italians have gone, it is now an arid desert food wise.
In the end we, like loads of other local families ended up in MacDonald's!
Saturday, 1 May 2010
Anthony Caro @ Annely Juda Fine Art
I had previous to seeing this exhibion had a soul destroying visit to the British Museum, I should have known better, that heady combination of hot spring day + tourists lots and lots of tourists + most popular tourist attraction = unmitigated HELL.
I went to see the Kingdom of Ife thinking it would be a whole range of images and artifacts from that area. NO it was a series of heads, very beautiful heads, but heads, squeezed into a broom cupboard, semi lit, heaving with tourists. £8 for 8 minutes. I could get better value from a premiership football match than that.
I was so utterly disappointed. It of course did not help that I was wearing something a tiny bit too tight which made me really irritable. After I collected my paintings from college I gave up and went home.
The following Saturday having read about this exhibition at Annely Juda
I thought it would be worth a look. It was free and was absolutely amazing, food for the soul.
A truly uplifting exhibition. Monumental pieces, (they are over 6 feet high most of them) by an artist truly at the peak of creativity. I was toatally bowled over and not wearing anything too tight either!
I went to see the Kingdom of Ife thinking it would be a whole range of images and artifacts from that area. NO it was a series of heads, very beautiful heads, but heads, squeezed into a broom cupboard, semi lit, heaving with tourists. £8 for 8 minutes. I could get better value from a premiership football match than that.
I was so utterly disappointed. It of course did not help that I was wearing something a tiny bit too tight which made me really irritable. After I collected my paintings from college I gave up and went home.
The following Saturday having read about this exhibition at Annely Juda
I thought it would be worth a look. It was free and was absolutely amazing, food for the soul.
A truly uplifting exhibition. Monumental pieces, (they are over 6 feet high most of them) by an artist truly at the peak of creativity. I was toatally bowled over and not wearing anything too tight either!
This gallery is so good, I have seen many really good quality exhibitions here, it is on the top floor of a building just off Bond Street, it has a glass roof which opens allowing them to winch in these monumental piece.
GO SEE.
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