Paris baby!

Today has been mainly sunny and breezy and the husband was playing football in the garden with the children when I updated my blog and cooked a quick chicken stirfry.

Then we had a quick walk before I dropped him at the station for his shift in London. He won't get back til 1am and nearly always disturbs me when he climbs into bed. It's been this way for years and years and whilst I am used to it, I get lonely from time to time as am on my own most evenings and every other weekend. Well not on my OWN as always have the children of course, but I do miss the adult company in the evenings.

I'd love him to have a 9am-5pm job but it simply won't happen. And as he points out, he is often here during the mornings and so we have those moments together that other couples won't necessarily have. And I guess I can watch all the programmes I want to in the evenings, so it has its pros and cons.

Today, on the charity shop front,  I would like to talk about my plum ra-ra style flouncy skirt.

I bought it in a charity shop in Frome, Somerset, and it cost £2.50. It had been sitting there a week apparently and no one had even picked it up. I spotted it instantly and love it so much.



I wore it to Paris in October and felt tres chic

 We only went to Paris for one night when I wore this fab skirt and my parents stayed to look after the children. We had such a gorgeous time and our hotel was fab. A boutique hotel in Marais and very trendy. It was one of those detox hotels where the bottled water in the room came from icebergs and you could get massages in your room. We didn't bother with that, we were on limited time so decided to see as much as we could. We had been to Paris together once before but I'm a bit more familiar with it than the husband I guess.

I went to Paris a few times as a teenager, to visit my friend Dominique who lived near the Eiffel Tower. My memories are fond.

I remember being there for Bastille Day and drinking champagne with her and friends under the shadow of the tower. I remember going to a late night party and wishing my French was better, I remember shopping and being in awe of the boutiques and high fashion. I remember the intense heat of the apartment in the summer months, eating peeled cucumber soaked in viniagrette and walking round the Chateau de Versailles - the air filled with the scent of fresh roses. I remember the nights spent watching all the cool Parisian boys skateboarding at Trocadero with the Eiffel Tower glittering merrily in the background. I remember my crush on the son of one of the ministers of Monaco who Dominique and I went to the cinema with. Paris is always in my heart.

And returning there with the husband was fab - we really want to go back soon, it's not that far. So when I wear that skirt, I think of our time in Paris, and then that takes me back to my earlier years in Paris.

Walk in the countryside

Today is my lucky day apparently. According to old wives' tales. Because a bird pooed on my hand this morning. With a short, hard splat.

About 10 seconds before this happened, I walked past a bramble bush which ripped a hole in one of my favourite old trust charity shop skirts. I was gutted. This skirt is nothing special at all to the eye. It's blue, it's from George at Asda originally and I bought it years ago for £2. But I wear it a lot. It's my comfort skirt.

But after today, I shall wave it goodbye forever.

We had gone for a country walk this morning, me, the Prince and the husband (who is working the late shift tonight and then all weekend) when this poo/skirt ripping happened so he took a photo as evidence.

Look at the hole and look at the bird poo. Not sure which was worse

Why does it always happen to my fave clothes?
Oh and that is me still showing the bird poo, not camping it up

But then my luck changed thanks to the bird poo and we found this nature reserve!

Complete with ducks and lake

This discovery made me happy!

Then we spotted six goslings waddling up the path

Another little family out having a walk by the lake

Then we spotted a heron in the tree! Fab!

And I really did feel that my luck had changed for the better. All this nature spotting for free. I even saw the tail end of a snake slithering into the grass - it was all very rustic and peaceful. The goslings made my day, and I was expecting the geese to warn us off but they let us creep by.

Now I am exhausted as the Princess had two friends for tea. They all fell out, made friends, ate biscuits, trashed her room, played in the garden, ate their dinner in the garden, trashed the kitchen floor and went home.

So my Friday night will now be spent pottering around picking up stuff and clearing up the aftermath. Maybe not quite so lucky getting bird poo on my hand. Can't Mary Poppins fly in and click her fingers for me?!

Fat Face and too many Easter eggs

I have just come home all hot and bothered. Walked to the next village to catch a train to Reading. The husband offered to drive me in to save me catching public transport but the thought of walking a mile in and back and saving carbon footprints got me all psyched up.

I mean I really need the exercise, I've eaten all the kids' Easter eggs now. They both forgot about them and I hadn't. End of. Last night was a huge choc fest and I felt very naughty.

So now I am trying to exercise it off. So I marched the mile in with the Prince in his pushchair, caught the train, walked around Reading for three hours, got the train back, walked the mile home as fast as I could and then walked past my house and straight up to the polling station to vote.

Then I legged it home, put the Prince to bed and had a lush shower and now I feel all chilled. Plus a friend is picking up the Princess from school so I don't need to venture out.

I saw a nice dress from the British Heart Foundation today but decided not to go for it although I am now regretting it. It was a black faux wrap dress from Wallis for £6.99. Wish I'd bought it now. Blast.

Today I am wearing a lush Fat Face skirt which I bought from the British Heart Foundation in Windsor. I wear it a lot. It's green and yellow and very spring like. The only pics I have of me wearing it are below. I wore it to wave off my beloved sister when she went travelling last year. I also wore it on a picnic two weeks ago which you can just see below.



My Fat Face skirt and my Hush Puppy shoes
The skirt was £4 and the shoes were £3!



Picnic by the river two weeks ago. In the Fat Face skirt. Again.

I must get an early night as am so tired. The Prince is teething and I was feeding him at 7pm, 11pm and 1.30am and felt like death this morning. Tomorrow the husband is on a late shift so I am going to entice him to Henley for a walk by the river. Oh, and a fly by all the charity shops!

A freckle and a new top

It is so hot today that I fell asleep in the garden and the tan topped itself up magnificently. But it also means the freckle on my nose becomes more noticeable. The husband loves it and thinks it is cute. I am fairly nonplussed but do get slightly irked if strangers go to "wipe a bit of mud" off my nose. Grrrrrr.

"It's a freckle!" the husband and I say, in that same voice as....is it Brian Connolly, who says "It's a puppet!" Does anyone actually know what I am talking about?

Anyway, the weather means I can wear my latest charity shop top. I bought it from Oxfam in the next town to our village last week. I'd gone to take back the Phase Eight "weddingy" dress I'd mentioned in a previous post and came out with this little beauty.  Please note I aim to buy a white vest top to go with it at some point, I am a little too boobilicious without one underneath!

The Princess took this photo five mins ago

Talking of all things boobs, I've just been to my breastfeeding group. I was hoping to train to be a breastfeeding network supporter but the 12 week course was typically on the one day I work so I am waiting for the next one.

It's normally fairly quiet but it was jam packed with newborns today. One woman has just had her sixth baby (she is only a year older than me.....gulp) and another was breastfeeding her fourth baby, having never tried it before, which was great.

I felt rather relieved that I wasn't there as a new mum. I think I like to help mums and their newborns without the sleep deprivation and the Prince is fairly good these days, apart from the light evenings affecting his bedtime routine. I need a velcro blackout blind pronto.

Anyway, the breastfeeding group is next to four BRILLIANT charity shops so I use it as a good excuse to seek out more treasures. Sadly though, I merely donated a huge sackful today and didn't have time to browse as the school run was looming.

Still, I am off into Reading tomorrow and there are some fairly good ones there so looking forward to a browse.

Floral attire and snoozing in Laura Ashley...

I have found this beautiful Mistral skirt in the British Heart Foundation shop for £4. It is so smooth and velvety that I am almost willing the autumn on so I can wear it with my brown suede knee boots (they were charity treasures too, and I will feature them in another post).

My mum and I have similar taste in clothes these days (I couldn't imagine it in my late teens when I was going through a grungy, hippy phase). She buys her clothes from Mistral, Hobbs, Laura Ashley and I get all these labels but from charity shops.

Laura Ashley! I have just had a flashback of being very young and the whole of my family (the five of us) going on a shopping expedition in Bath. Mum would announce she only wanted to go to one shop which was Laura Ashley. But boy, it was a long hour spent in that one shop.

My siblings and I, along with my dad, would sit down on one of their nice big floral sofas and my dad would eventually fall asleep while my mum tried on every dress in the shop. Then leave empty handed. It happened every time.

Even now I get nervous when we go shopping and she says "I am happy to go to as many shops as you like, but I would also like to quickly pop into Laura Ashley."

She has never to this day quickly popped into Laura Ashley!

I haven't found any Laura Ashley garments for me in charity shops yet, but I did buy the Princess the cutest floral dress last summer and this year a gorgeous embroidered cardigan.

Very excited as I have a new client who wants me to help write material for a new website. The day has had a happy ending (this morning and last night was dreadful, I barely slept thanks to a certain almost two-year-old and then slept through and the school run was stressful to say the least).

The kids are very sweet though at the moment and I can't be cross with them for long.

Follow up to wedding and Ladybird books

I know there are a few of you who aren't avid followers of my blog but still read it from time to time (ie during ad breaks, paint drying, want a break from Facebook), and there are some of you who asked to see more photos of Anna's wedding.

Just got hold of a few more pics which I have posted below. Then I want to waffle on about my charity shop books as promised to post up some images for nostalgia.

Still can't get over how gorgeous the weather was



The church was tiny, twinkly and romantic



Champers all round. A must in the sun

Charlotte (right) sang beautifully in the church

The funny speeches, cake, coffee and champagne is my fave bit!

Very proud of the Princess, who air guitars nearly as well as her mum

First dance

Yeah ok, now go get a room...

So there we have it! I actually enjoyed their wedding almost as much as I enjoyed my own. There was none of the pressure (other than being able to still fit in to the bridesmaid dress, which I was amazed I could do as been eating too much again) but just as much fun. We danced all night (I can actually feel muscles I didn't know I had) and all guests had been asked to request two songs so favourite tracks were played all night.

Luckily our children were in bed by 9pm and then the husband and I had three hours to ourselves. It was pure bliss. Really missing my sister who has now gone to Cornwall for a few days. Then in August they are off on a USA road trip! Tres cool.

ANYWAY, back to my love of charity books I have been collecting.

Look at the collection so far!

I keep them all in the Prince's room but need more shelves!

This was a real find as cost £2

I realised I've become a bit of an anorak with Ladybird books but I kid you not, I get the BIGGEST buzz when I find a "new" one to add to my collection. Does this not whet your appetite? Doesn't it make you remember your childhood Ladybird books?

Which ones do you remember? I wonder if I have them.

Or maybe I need to go out more!

Hoping for more charity shop clothes purchases this week and I have various possible places to visit, all with mighty fine cherry tree shops. If the weather stays this fab, I'm off to Henley as I love a riverside walk with the Prince too!

Weddings. Royal and the BETTER one!!!

Not much in the way of charity shopping this weekend but there's a good reason for it. It's been all about fab dresses, sparkling heels, champagne, good food and partying. All while celebrating the love between two people.

The Royal Wedding was lush! It really set our whole family up for my sister's wedding to her own Prince Charming the following day. By Friday evening we were whirling with excitement about Kate and Wills and what we were to enjoy the next day.

I love weddings with a real feel-good factor. Sometimes I go to ones that are lovely in their own way, but the atmosphere is somewhat lacking, or people don't gel, or hardly anyone dances at the evening do, which for me is always a shame.

Perhaps the Royal Wedding helped create even more feel-good factor than we could imagine and the wedding between Danna (as we affectionately call them as they are Danny and Anna) was wonderful and my sister looked as stunning as expected. I was so proud of her and somehow held back the tears all day although it was hard at times.

The Princess and I were her bridesmaids (although I am really the matron of honour, as six and a half years older than my sister) and it was a wonderful feeling, walking down the aisle behind my sister, with my little girlie (who is a tomboy at heart normally). We kept squeezing each other's hands during the ceremony, and although it was my daughter's fifth time as a bridesmaid (yes 5!!!), she took her position very seriously indeed.

The weather was perfect and I think my grandparents were smiling down on us all that day, ensuring all the chills and scattered showers that were forecast were blown away. We had blue skies and hot sun all day. Anna looked amazing and she and Danny are made for each other. My daughter idolises him beyond words.

Am hoping there are more photos of Anna to come, the husband didn't take too many as was watching the Prince quite a lot whilst we were involved in all the photos.

Now I have come home from two lush nights away feeling slightly flat as it has been the talking point for so many months! But now I can continue to focus on my charity shop purchases this week.