I think, were I a slimmer shape and more prone to denim, I’d probably style it with skinny jeans and boots. But that’s really not my style, and I can’t see it being so any time soon! Although I do own skinny jeans…

Either way, as a poncho it certainly proves its worth on the days when the pond is frozen over!

Dress: vintage Laura Ashley via ebay; underskirt: RSC costume sale; long-sleeved t-shirt: Primark.

Lady Mary looking very Pre-Raphaelite in an Edwardian design

Then, I received the Downton Abbey book for Christmas. And watched too much Downton Abbey OVER Christmas. And finished The Children’s Book, which covers a time period from the latter part of the Pre-Raphaelites to the end of WW1, including the Edwardian era. And generally fell in love, again, with Edwardian fashion.

I cursed myself for leaving that dress behind. That dress which would have looked so wonderful paired with evening gloves to the upper arm, and carefully styled hair. I hit ebay with a vengeance, watching dress after dress surpass my budget, some of which were velvet, granted, but not a one, purple. I was bereft.

And then, on Saturday morning, I nipped into the same charity shop, for the first time since Christmas. Rifling through the dress rail I found… the dress. Reduced, now to £10.

Now all I need is an Edwardian (or 30s – after the knee-jerk fashion rebellion of the flappers had subsided, the world fell straight back into pre-war-era style) themed evening to attend. And, granted to lose a few holiday pounds for a sleeker silhouette…

Dress: Dotty P’s; shrug: George; skirt: Tesco; tights and shoes: as yesterday!

…Wednesday. Because I knew I’d be staying over Tuesday night, in the office TWO days last week, not one, I needed a second outfit that put to good use at least some elements of the first. I chose to show off the shoes and tights for a second day running, highlighting, this time, with my berry-toned mini-dress, made office-friendly through the careful application of layers! I love finding new ways to wear old favourites…

As is becoming a habit, I had a thoroughly enjoyable night staying over with Charlie and Holly, joined for a delicious dinner by Alice and Bev. After we had consumed some wonderful spinach and watercress soup, a fabulous winter salad and a whole wedge of stilton, Charlie taught Bev and I how to knit, whilst Alice and Holly carried on with existing knitting projects, and we munched most of the way through Holly’s amazing chocolate cake. We were in bed by eleven, feeling full and satisfied, safe in the knowledge we had put the world to rights. It’s good for me to get in a night with the girls from work occasionally, particularly now that I only see them one day a week. And it gives Dapper a night to himself, of course – the poor man deserves a break once in a while!

Tuesday. I’m finding it far easier to share each week’s outfit with you exactly 1 week behind schedule. This outfit was actually worn for a visit to my Dad’s a couple of Saturdays ago, but proved successful and so was resurrected for work last week! I love it when a plan comes together…

It also offered another opportunity to show off the shoes Dapper bought me for Yule, worn with matching tights. Y’all know I’m a fan of the matchy-matchy!

Feeding the ducks

Dress: sent over by Kelsey as part of our swap (details below…); cardi: Dotty P’s; black long-sleeved t-shirt, navy microfleece-lined tights & black knee-high socks: all Primark; pink wellies: can’t remember!

Sunday sewing: pouf tutorial via Design*Sponge

Shooter’s Sandwich (modified with beetroot relish)

You may or may not be aware of the marvelous blogger that is Kelsey of Charming Pumpkin. She began to comment on my blog last summer, and hers quickly became one of my daily hits. I love her quirky style, her cutesy poses and her gorgeous smile!

When she mentioned how much she loves Dotty P’s clothes but hates the price of P&P to America, I had to leave a comment to the effect that I felt the same about Modcloth, and their P&P charges to the UK. I offered to buy a few pieces from Dotty P’s and send over more cheaply, if she’d like to do the same for Modcloth. We started emailing one another, and a beautiful friendship was born!

Before Christmas we decided to do our first over-the-pond swap. Rather than request particular items, we agreed to set a spend limit and buy things we thought the other would like up to that value. We also agreed to include at least one handmade item. We exchange measurements and got to shopping!

My box arrived on Friday morning and it was like Christmas had come all over again! I should have taken some snaps for you of the beautifully wrapped parcels, but to be honest, I couldn’t wait to rip off that packaging and see what was inside! I scored three DIVINE dresses and a whole host of gorgeous jewellery:

Beautiful vintage rose brooch, two pairs of Kelsey-made sweater clips and a delightfully steampunk Kelsey-made necklace.

I’m keeping the remaining two dresses under wraps until I wear them, but I have some great outfits lined up to show them off!

To dress up! Our friends Yvonne & Nick invited us to join them for Yvonne’s birthday on the 14th. Despite being quite a dressed-down venue, I naturally took the opportunity to wear one of my winter velvet dresses – this one with an empire line to accommodate the all-you-can-eat buffet! I had tested the outfit at the all-you-can-eat Thai restaurant we visited to celebrate Nat & Steve’s engagement a week previously, so knew how effective a solution it would be!

Also, another opportunity to wear the beautiful shoes Dapper bought me for Yule. I’m aware you STILL haven’t had a really good look at these beauties, but fret not: there are two posts already scheduled for this week whose outfits are pretty much designed around the shoes! Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post…

Lamont boots by LK Bennett: £315 £189 from Sarenza

I rarely think to look at LK Bennett for shoes or boots. Largely, I confess, because I simply don’t have the funds to purchase them – in fact, the one pair of LK Bennett shoes I did splash out on for a wedding nearly crippled me, both physically and financially (very high heels for a ceilidh is simply stoopid!). Still, a quick browse of Sarenza last week set these beauties firmly in my mind, and now they’re squatting there. I just can’t get shift the blighters!

If you love them, and have the finances and ankle muscles to support them, you can pick them up at the reduced price of £189 from the Sarenza website. If you love me, and have a couple of hundred pounds lying around spare, you can pick me up a pair while you’re at it!

Don’t you think this is beautiful? In an “ooooh – look at the buttons”, slightly 30s way? I love the fluttery butterfly sleeve details, the sweetheart neckline, and above all the decent length of the thing!

If you love it, you can grab one from ASOS for £55. But don’t tell me – I’ll only get jealous…

This particular recipe has become something of a favourite. It’s easy to adapt to cut out any fats, and can be made more luxurious with the addition of a dollop of creme frache or cream cheese. It’s delicious served with a crusty loaf, tasty with flatbreads or perfectly filling on its own. And it’s quick and easy to prepare. Here’s my basic recipe (although it often changes slightly to accomodate whatever needs using up in the fridge…).

Ingredients
1 onion, diced
A knob of butter, slurp of oil or tbsp of water (depending on your post-Christmas dietary requirements…)
Dried mixed herbs
2 cloves garlic
About 150g red lentils
1 pint veg stock
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tin chick peas, drained and rinsed
Creme fraiche/yoghurt/cream cheese/coriander to garnish (optional)

Method
Sweat the onions in the fat or water until softening, Add the garlic, herbs and lentils, and allow to sweat another 5 minutes, stirring to avoid burning on the base.
Add the veg stock and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce and simmer for approx 30 minutes.
Remove from heat and blend. Add the chick peas and return to the heat to warm through.
Serve with a dollop of your choice of garnish. You can also add chopped coriander if you have some lying around… But Dapper doesn’t like coriander, so we don’t!

Ever since an experimental afternoon in the kitchen uncovered the simple delights of unlevened flatbread, I have been churning these babies out to go with anything from soup to saag. I have no recipe and no idea about measurements – I spoon some flour into a bowl (plain, spelt, wholemeal – whatever I’ve got in excess), add a drizzle of olive oil and then cold water, mixing with a knife until it comes together. I then roll it out thinly and cook in a very hot, dry skillet. My first is almost inevitably too thick, but still perfectly edible, and the following few are crisp, warm and satisfying. I reccomend giving it a go!

Dapper says this coat ages me, but it’s warm, and when it comes to standing on platforms in draughty stations I frankly couldn’t care less about how aged I look!

Last week, the deciding factor in my outfit choice was an outing for my red petticoat. I knew the girls at work would appreciate it, and for this reason it was important that I should not deny her the chance to really shine. I tried on lots of outfits, trying to find something office appropriate that would show her off…

The problems I faced were twofold. She does make a lot of my dresses look like party dresses, of course. But also, I have put on enough weight now that many of my favourite clothes don’t actually fit any longer.

By lunchtime, I was uncomfortable enough in this outfit to have made a deliberate decision to begin a dietary reset come February. I decided “come February” as until then we have far too many birthday meals out and nights away to make a decent detox possible…