Because I’m rather short of time just now, up to my eyeballs in freelance and trying to prepare for fairs…
So, I wore this:
To go here:
To see this:
It was brilliant.
Also, the boys had their first taste of real chocolate. Conall wasn’t keen, but Hal…
We learned to play peekaboo:
And did a lot of running about:
And monkeying about:
As well as playing outside:
Mummy wore this:
But best of all, we read a load of these!
All in all, it was pretty great!
Blouse: New Look; skirt: F&F; shoes: Primark; cardigan: South via Ebay; belt: Topshop
This month has been a pretty big one for me. Building up to self-employment has been something of a rollercoaster, exciting and terrifying in equal measure. But whether co-incidentally or relatedly, March has also been a major turning point in my post-natal life. It has seen the first time in a very long time that I have really felt myself again.
Many new mothers feel “lost” in their first year of motherhood, and I have certainly felt this way. I became “Mummy” so completely, and to everyone around me, that I haven’t seen “Caroline” in what feels an eternity. But last weekend, my Mummy and I went to the NEC for the Sewing for Pleasure/Hobbycrafts/Fashion, Embroidery and Stitch show. I had been shopping on the Friday and picked up a new blouse (not my usual style, I know, but I just fell in love with it!) and blow-dried my hair properly for the first time in over a year. I felt good when I arrived, and after a day of browsing crafty goodies I felt truly inspired. I learned to tat lace, and came home buzzing with ideas and positivity.
I also came home with a tatting kit, some felt, some hessian for a rag rug, a rainbow of felting wool, a load of ribbon and lots of frankly gorgeous fabrics for kiddly clothes which I can’t wait to get started with! And Mummy bought me a big ball of the most gorgeous yarn with which to knit my first scarf when she teaches me to knit (again!) this week.
That evening, sitting in the conservatory eating dinner beside my husband, I looked up and saw my reflection in the glass. I was amazed to see myself looking back: not the tired, puffy face I have grown accustomed to avoiding eye contact with over the last year, but a glimmer of someone I recognised from a few years back. I don’t know whether it was the result of the boys hitting that 1 year corrected age marker, getting a bit of my old craft mojo back, giving up the commute and taking control of my own work schedule, or a combination of the lot all in line with the equinox… All I know for sure is that something clicked back into place. And I felt good.
In related news, I have now had my wedding ring on for 2 months solid. This has not been possible since before the boys arrived, when my fingers became swollen sausages with irritable skin. Woohoo!
At the weekend we decided to meet up with our friends Marios & Aysu for an afternoon in the sunshine at Charlecote park. It was a glorious sunny day, with temperatures in the Midlands hitting around 17°. And I had nothing to wear.
I am still 2 dress sizes larger than I was pre-pregnancy, and the summer dresses I last wore two years ago just won’t fasten over my bust any more. So, I decided I would have to admit defeat and buy a couple of size 18 dresses.
My first stop was ASOS – a favourite because they make such a great range of midi dresses. When I’m bigger I find that I really need to hide my knees in order to feel confident. They had some beautiful dresses, but most were outside my price range.
Tiffany Midi Dress in Floral Jacquard, £85: Also available in green, Amber. I might splash out on this come summer, as I have a couple of weddings to attend this year.
ASOS Skater Dress in Check – available with 3/4 sleeves or sleeveless: £55
Just as an aside, what is with this model’s mouth? To quote one of my favourite childhood films, “Close your mouth… We are not a cod fish!”
So many pretties, so little cash! Especially since this month’s salary will be my last for a while! I needed something just a little cheaper.
On to Aspire, where the dresses are not only a little out of my price range just now, but also stock brands which stop, in many cases at a size 16, or even 14! Because we bigger gals don’t deserve to look pretty….
Emily and Fin Isobel dress – pre-order only just now, but Oh So Beautiful!
Yumi Daisy Denim Dress: £55.
Would look lovely with a white petticoat peeping from the hem!
Hell Bunny Claudia Dress: £59
LOVE LOVE LOVE
Enter the lovely Amber, and her birthday dress from Florence & Fred. I’m sorry, A, but once again, I am stealing your style! When I saw this £35 polka dot number I just had to have it. And it’s available in blue chevrons too?! Bonus!
F&F Limited Edition Chevron Print Prom Dress: £35
It is now winging its way to me. A bit of a flutter, yes, but I need at least one dress to see me through spring. I don’t think Dapper could take another morning of tears of the “I have NOTHING to wear!” variety like Sunday’s!
Oh, and for the record, this is what I did wear in the end – an old favourite, definitely a little too snug just now, but affectionately known as my Charlecote dress anyway, as it’s the one I wore on our first date there!
Still making use of my existing wardrobe, wherever elasticated/shirred waists are available! Or I should say, shirred back panels – as my bust size is actually the size increase that has shocked me the most!
Dress and belt: Dorothy Perkins; cardigan: Topshop; tights: New Look; shoes: charity shop; petticoat: House of Olivier.
Last Saturday was a lovely sunny day, and we had chores to do. I had to get a flu jab first thing, then needed to collect a parcel from the post office. Usually I’d walk – and in truth, if it had been a week day that the flu clinic was running, I’d have had to walk anyway – but as it was a Saturday and my sciatic nerve has been giving me some discomfort of late, Dapper offered to drive me. This should have been about an hour round trip, maximum, but when we came away from the post office, the town was snared up with cars all awaiting their turn for the car park. So, Dapper took an alternative route, turning away from home… and kept on driving!
As we approached Studley, with no idea where we were actually heading, I saw a sign for a charity shop. “That always catches my eye!” I remarked. “Then let’s go!” replied Dapper. And we did!
To cut long story short, where we stopped were a cluster of small shops – an Age Concern and a Primrose Hospice shop, and a vintage/bric-a-brac shop, Reminisce, with a very friendly shopkeeper who took our photo for her wall! Although I found nothing in Reminisce, I managed to spend £40 in the charity shops in the space of about an hour, on two coats (one cashmere-blend berry-toned, big enough to take me through this coming winter, bump & all – £6 – and one belted green Fever coat for post-baby-weight dog-walking – £3), two dresses (Topshop & Boden, £3 each), a pair of nearly-new purple Clarks ankle boots with buttons (£10), a 7′ red velvet quilted throw for the sofa (£6), a brand new fake fur girl’s bolero for one of next summer’s flower girls (£1.50) and a full 6 piece dinner set in a wonderful 60s/70s Scandi-patterned stoneware, a favourite in our house as it’s a) microwavable and b) far harder for Dapper to break than my china collection (£7.50)!
We then returned home for an afternoon of sorting. I had an awful lot of odds to photograph and list on ebay (we’re clearing out and raising money, unsurprisingly) and Dapper had lesson planning to write. My nesting instinct has already kicked in, and everything was rounded off neatly with my starting a long-planned patchwork quilt, which also gave me something to take to sew make believe on Wednesday night. It all made for a very relaxing day!
The last time I was at Charlecote was my first date with Dapper. We met in the nearby village of Wellesbourne on the green, and he drove us to Charlecote House. It was a lovely location for a first date, lovely surroundings and a delicious afternoon tea in the orangery. I remember he bought me daffodils, my favourite flower, from the garden shop as we left – making the date utterly perfect from my perspective!
This repeat trip was in celebration of Aysu’s birthday, with a delicious lunch in the afore-mentioned orangery followed by a meander around the house and grounds. Last time we visited I was astounded by the books in the library and completely failed to note the furniture or the garden, both of which are quite beautiful!
I also knew nothing of the Lucys, whose family home Charlecote is. I have since read Mary Elizabeth Lucy’s memoirs – a wonderful collection for anyone who has ever read Austen and wondered what attending a ball at the assembly rooms or being presented at St James’ Court was truly like!
(For more on this I recommend this web page, from the Jane Austen centre.)
Base outfit: as worn last Monday.
Coat: Debenhams; shoes: Ness; belt: vintage via charity shop; brolly: Matalan
When Aysu suggested we take a trip out to Winterbourne House in Birmingham for their Edwardian Fete on Saturday I practically squeeed in pleasure. A chance to put my parasol to good use over afternoon tea on the lawns – yes please!
Naturally there followed a few days of costume research – what from my wardrobe would suit an Edwardian theme in what might potentially be 25-30°C heat? I immediately looked to Lucy Honeychurch in A Room with a View, and of course, Downton Abbey!
So, parasols, straw hats, crocheted wrist gloves… delicate patterns & neutral tones
Downton Abbey is, in point of fact, a little late for Edwardian fashion – beginning circa the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, and running through to 1914 and the outbreak of WW1. But fashions around this time did not move so quickly and precisely as we are accustomed to now – and more to the point, the heavy costume more closely akin to the Edwardian era is simply not fun to wear in near 30° heat! Had it been cooler, the application of my purple coat to various of my dresses would have created the perfect look!
I also found this incredibly quick and easy Edwardian hairstyle tutorial:
And this, slightly more difficult one:
But in the end I resorted to a familiar style I knew I could work, topped with my straw hat:
Originally, neither of the gentlemenfolk were available to accompany us, unfortunately, so we agreed to shoulder our parasols and chaperone one another, with a little help from Angelica, of course.
But a happy circumstance in marking allowed Dapper the sudden freedom to join us, and so our reputations remained unsullied!
It was a marvelous day out, complete with various traditional fete activities:
We had our photos taken A LOT, were mistaken for actors by the staff, and approached by a lovely couple in Edwardian dress who handed us a card for a society who are invited to dress up and attend events such as this, so get in for free and enjoy free refreshments – which sounds right up our alleys!
Dress: Miss Selfridge; cami top: M&S; sandals: Dotty P’s; basket: Ludlow Market; gloves and hat: charity shops; parasol, gift from Lauren from Malta
Did you know that the West Midlands, where we live, was the inspiration for Middle Earth? Tolkien grew up locally, and many of his characters and locations were inspired by local people and places – particularly Sarehole Mill and Moseley Bog.
Sarehole Mill – the venue for the Middle Earth Weekend
When Marios suggested we all go along to the Middle Earth weekend we jumped at the chance. Any excuse to dress up and step back in time…
Dress: handmade back in my uni days; blouse: charity shop
We were told we looked “very Edwardian”, and Dapper was asked whether he had come dressed as Professor Tolkien himself…
Marios made a video slideshow of the event, which he uploaded to YouTube:
I came home happy with some handmade coconut ice (a weakness of mine!), a few future birthday gifts and some plants for my edible hanging baskets. A very unusual way to spend a Sunday.
Dress: Dorothy Perkins; cardi, belt & tights: Topshop; cami & shoes: M&S
Last Thursday – a week ago today – we decided to celebrate being on holiday by visiting a National Trust property. Hardwick Hall in Debyshire is one of the houses belonging to the Devonshires – alongside Chatsworth, Bolton Abbey, Devonshire House, etc.
Hardwick Hall as it is now was built by Bess of Hardwick in the 1570s – prior to this her family had lived in he Old Hall, a couple of hundred metres away. This was left to ruin once the new hall was complete, and makes an interesting trip in its own right.
Cape coat, beret & bag: charity shop; boots: a gift from Dapper
I recently read the biography Elizabeth and Georgiana: the Duke of Devonshire and his two duchesses by Caroline Chapman, and as such have developed an interest in this particular British dynasty. The entire family line fascinates me, from Bess of Harwick in the 16th century, right down to the Dowager Duchess Deborah Devonshire, one of the Mitford girls whose biography was released in 2012.
The gallery is just amazing – dozens of famous portraits, widely used on the covers of historical biographies, hanging there for all to see… unbelievable!
As we left, the last of the snowfall from our cold shap last week was still on the ground. Even the bright April sunshine wasn’t strong enough to melt the last of winter!
Abbotsford is the stunning home of writer, Sir Walter Scott. Scott is generally recognised as having more or less invented the romanticised “Scotland” as we know it today, as well as popularising the historical novel and, through his bestselling books, salvaging such properties as Kenilworth and Ashby de la Zouch castles.
This genius was a hoarder on an enormous scale, and for a clutter-monkey like me, the house is a treasure trove, ripe for the exploring! Unfortunately, the books were all elsewhere during our visit, as the site is soon to be closed whilst a visitor centre is built, but the armouries were well-stocked, and the house itself is worth a visit for the building alone, the gardens and the stained glass windows!
Scott inspired more operas than any other writer except Shakespeare…
Abbotsford is the exclusive creation of Scott. His ‘Conundrum Castle’ was where Scotland’s greatest son created a notion of Scotland that was more romantic perhaps, but also higher, more honourable, more noble, than it had been in the past, and in consequence raised Scotland’s reputation in the world. Here he worked diligently and the result was the legend of a great man which exists for so many people across the world to the present day.
Back in the office after a fortnight’s break always
needs a bit of colour to brighten the mood!
Dress: Primark via charity shop; belt: Topshop; shoes: Primark; cardigan: Dotty P’s
You have been so very pateint with me of late, with my odd absences and dead airtime. But if you’ll just hang on in there a little longer, I have at least a fortnight of fantastic photos to share with you, I promise!
I spent most of the previous fortnight north of the border in beautiful, historic Scotland. And when it came to uploading my holiday photos last night I realised I might have gone a little overboard, and perhaps did not need all 800…
So, the arduous task of editing the holiday snaps commenced, and by 10pm I’d only 520 left to go… You may look forward to photos including:
And yes, we did cram quite a lot into our 12 days away…
Second Hand Shopper 