Exploring My Wardrobe #1

Well, this morning I went through everything that was on my hangers and I have a big sell/donate pile to get rid of.

I only kept things that actually fitted. There were a couple of things I was not quite sure of that I did hang back, but I have made a mental note and if I end up not wearing those items in the next six months, away they go.

In the next while I want to explore how I can actually use the stuff I am keeping. Maybe challenge myself in the way I wear things. I am very basic generally, especially in winter. At the moment I tend to wear jeans and a jumper and that’s about it. Pretty boring! I want to challenge that by taking a look at my wardrobe and see how I can spice up my daily outfit choices.

First I will post a pic of what I chose to wear this morning. This is pretty standard winter fare, as I said. (notes on my size at the end of this post)

Now, for my standards today’s outfit was a bargain!   The jumper is a nice silver grey colour with silver sequins, which makes it perfect for this time of year. The jumper is new and surprisingly is from Lidl (€9.99 – honestly!). I love colour, so bright blue ‘jeans’ are only normal, right? I usually buy good quality jeans, but I loved the colour on these so-called stretch jeans and if I remember correctly they were €9.99 from Lidl as well, would you believe. I have washed them a few times already and seem to be holding up really well.

The lace-up ankle boots are from Esprit and the bag is from Gigi, both of which I have had for a while. I am a big fan of saddle-bag-type bags. It’s a shape I come back to again and again.As for the ankle boots, I like them, but I do prefer a squarer heel.

Anyway, that was today’s outfit. Now, I thought I would challenge myself and put something together from what I found whilst clearing out.

This brown corduroy pinafore dress was actually on my throw-out pile, but I decided to use it for my challenge. I thought a bit harder about what to wear with it and found the petrol tights. Then I found the white blouse that has a pattern with blue and red little flowers, and added the red shoes. The cord dress (Bonprix) I have had for three or four years, but I have never worn it as I could not figure out how to! The blouse I bought over the summer (Esprit). The red shoes are from Clarks and are so comfortable! I have had them for ages and I still love wearing them. What I love about them is that they are red, but not bright red. It’s quite a subdued red colour, but they still manage to brighten up an outfit!

I quite like this outfit and I plan to wear it exactly like that!

What do you think? Does it work at all? What other types of garments would this dress work with? Or any of the other pieces?

I will do some more of these I think. It was quite revealing to me to put an outfit together from the pieces I already had in my wardrobe that I have never thought of putting together before.

Posting pictures of myself is sort of scary, even if I know it should not be. I am not a size 8/10 (EUR 36/38) that you see on a lot of fashioney type blogs. I am on average a size 14 (EUR 42), though usually a bit smaller on top. Like so many other people, especially women, it can be hard to find well fitting clothes, as my body is various sizes in different places.For example,  I have a V-shaped rib cage, which means wide shoulders, but a narrow waist. That combined with a slightly hollow back, big bum and an ample chest makes it hard for dresses to fit everywhere properly for example. Add to that, I never quite lost the pregnancy flab. I am not complaining. It’s what makes me me, but it just makes looking good or feeling attractive a little more challenging day to day. Not impossible by any means, but it takes a little more effort. And I have to admit it is effort I am not always willing to put in on a daily basis. I am pretty sure I am not the only one in that!

My feet are somewhere between a size 5 (EUR 38) and 6 (EUR 39), a bit closer to 5. Being somewhere between sizes can be very annoying. A lot of shoe brands only do 5 and 6 and often 5 is too small and 6 too big. Converse for example. I love them, but the sizing is so wrong for me. I ended up having a lot of Clarks shoes; they do half sizes!

I mentioned before that I want to do a post in the next few days on body issues, because I think it is a very important topic that causes a lot of problems for the average (or not so average) woman.

Wardrobe Clear-Out Time?

I have been watching some YouTube videos on something called a capsule wardrobe. Basically this meand you have limited amount of items (30-35 seems to be the approximate number) that form your complete wardrobe for a season (this does not include undergarments or socks of course!).

Although I am not looking to go quite that extreme, it has inspired me to look at my own wardrobe. It needs thinning out, that’s for sure! I definitely want to take a critical look at what I have, what I don’t wear or fit anymore and what I might need to make it all tie in better. It should stop me being to impulsive buying clothes if I actually know what it is I have and if I have a clear shopping list of things to look out for.

I plan to be doing that in the next couple of days. I have a feeling I am going to be throwing out a lot! Like most women I have a lot of items in my wardrobe that I simply do not wear or that are slightly too big or too small or are simply not flattering. Let’s get those out of there! I will probably try and sell some of the higher quality items and put the rest in a clothing bank.

Then there’s the shoes…

I am looking forward starting this little project!

Acquisitions! #2 – December 2016

A few more bits and bobs that came into my greedy hands this week.

First of all, some more make-up arrived. Three Urban Decay lipsticks (overkill I am well aware and such an impulse buy!) and a Sleek colour correction palette, which I am keen to try out.

First of all the Urban Decay lipsticks. I got the following to cover all bases (well, that’s my excuse anyway!):

• Vice Lipstick Trance (Metallized) – colour: nude-mauve shimmer
• Vice Lipstick 714 (Mega Matt) – colour: bright red
• Vice Lipstick Bittersweet (Comfort Matte)- Bright pink purple

They are all stunning colours and I am looking forward to using them. I am going out tomorrow, so now I have a tough choice to make…

The other thing I got was the Sleek Colour Corrector Palette. Since I have a bit of a funny face (funny peculiar, not funny ha ha) with various colour flaws, like my chin tends to be a bit red, a little bluey-purple just in the corner under my eyes, etc.  I thought this was worth a shot as it’s inexpensive (about €10 or £8)and should cover the whole shebang.

I imagine I will be trying it out tomorrow. I will make a note of how I get on with it.

On a wholly different note… I also got some new records this week. I already have quite a few records and now I have finally replaced my old crappy turntable with a new one, soon I will be able to do them justice (once I get those speakers)! I cannot f-ing wait!

In the case of these three records, it’s a bit of something new, something old, something older but in a new way!

The something new is an album called I Gemini by Let’s Eat Grandma. I have a soft spot for sort of strange out of this world music. It’s the reason I love Sigur Ros so much. I heard bits and pieces of this album and those girls are so out there, I just got it. The album also has an awesome cover, so I just had to buy it!

I also got For Emma, Forever Ago by Bon Iver. It’s an oldie, but it’s  record that touches my heart, and I am on a mission to get my favourite albums on vinyl. I already have quite a few, but I am sure I will touch on that another time.

The final record is Live On Mars by my absolute favourite band Ash. It’s a live recording of the Astoria gigs they did in 1997. I can’t wait to listen to it, as they are such an awesome band live. It just so happens I am seeing them tomorrow! Yay! So looking forward to that one!

I will show them in some more detail once I get round to playing them.

Anyway, that’s that for now. My order from The Body Shop should have arrived today, but did not (Grrrrrrr!), so hopefully that will turn up tomorrow and I will have something to show next time!

 

 

 

 

 

Week 1: December 2016

It’s December, the Christmas month! And yes, I am saying that without any hint of irony. I love Christmas, I love the build-up, I love the lights, the decorations (even the tacky ones), the food… and so on…

We put the Christmas tree up on Saturday. It’s my parents’ old fake tree, but with a big dog and two cats in the house, it seems a real tree would be a bad idea! We are hoping to get a better fake tree in the sale around Christmas to put up next year. We have thrown all our baubles at it and it looks deliciously tacky, but that’s how I like it.

Here’s an impression!

On with this post. Let’s start do some ‘currents’ for this week.

Music:
Well, I started off the month by listening to some Christmas music, because well, it’s finally allowed! My favourite Christmas album is ‘This Is Christmas’ by Emmy The Great and Tim Wheeler. It’s the perfect blend of cheese, humour and some rock ‘n’ roll thrown in for good measure. Why these songs are not on the radio all the time in December is beyond me, because they’re pretty awesome. Though my four-year-old does now think Jesus is a reindeer. Oops!

In the car I have been listening to Ash’s album ‘1977’. One, because I love that album, and two, because I am seeing Ash tomorrow in Amsterdam, where they will be playing the album in full. So excited about that.
Got a few records this week as well, but more in my next ‘Acquisitions’ post.

TV:
My other (better?) half and I have been watching The Crown on Netflix. We started watching it because people said we should and well, it has Dr Who in it. Well, Matt Smith. It’s a really good show. It paints a good picture of the Queen and what life was like for her in those early years. We still have three episodes to go, so we may well done by the end of the week!
My guilty girly pleasure on Netflix at the moment is Pretty Little Liars. I am onto Season 7, so almost up to date, four episodes currently left to watch. It’s nothing revolutionary, but it’s a whodunnit and when you find out whodunnit, somebody else starts ‘doing’ something else and the whole thing starts over again. A bit repetitive maybe, but I don’t really care.

Reading:
The Hippopotamus by Stephen Fry
This one has been on my bookshelf for a couple of years and I finally decided to read it. It’s a bit different from what I would usually read, but that’s a good thing, right? I am only a few chapters in and I am only just starting to get into it.
Another book arrived the other day to read afters. It’s Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. I had not heard of this, but apparently there’s been a movie made and everything. I am clearly out of touch. Oh well… It looks really interesting, so I am looking forward to that one.

Beauty:
Now, I have splashed out on some make-up products lately (check my ‘Acquisitions’ posts). It has to stop! Honestly!
Generally, I don’t use that much. I hardly ever use a full face foundation. I have freckles and I feel like I don’t look ‘real’ without them. I am too used to them. This week it has either been ‘bare face’ or simply some concealer, neutral eye shadow and mascara, and a neutral lipstick. Rather boring, but some weeks are like that! So, this is what I have mainly been using this week:

Concealer: Clinique Airbrush Concealer, shade: fair 01
Mascara: Miss Sporty Plump Up Booster Mascara
Eye shadow: Ilse Watier Quatuor (Legende?)
Lipstick: Rimmel Lasting Finish – shade: 066 Heather Shimmer

Now, that Rimmel Heather Shimmer has been my go-to lippy for a few years. It’s neutral and suits my complexion really well. I think I have one in every bag! However, I am trying to find a cruelty-free replacement (Rimmel still does animal testing to get into the China market). The Urban Decay Trance lipstick that came yesterday (I will do a ‘Acquisitions’ post later I hope) is really nice and may well be good for every day wear, but I find it a bit on the expensive side. Not really one to have in every bag! Maybe when I am in the UK at the end of the month I can pop into Superdrug and have a look at the GOSH lipsticks.

Does anyone have any experience with GOSH lipsticks? Or any other cruelty-free affordable brand? Same goes for mascara. Any advice or recommendations greatly appreciated!

I have a palette of four complimenting colours by Lise Watier. There’s a pale pink, a purply dark brown and two copper/goldy colours. I use the pale pink the most. It has a slight shimmer to it. The colours are great, but I honestly have no idea how I got this one. I don’t remember buying it. This particular quartet does not seem to be available anymore and it looks pretty beat up. It probably means it’s old and it’s time to throw it out, but hey, it still works for me, so I cannot do that yet!

I have been using the Clinique concealer for years. The tone is right for me, which was always a big issue with concealers and foundations for me. When this one comes to an end I want move to a cruelty-free one, but I need to find one as good first!

That’s about it for this post. I should be doing another ‘Acquisitions’ post soon. I also want to do a post on body hang-ups, because we all have them, but rarely talk about them. I have quite a few!

Tada!

K.

Acquisitions! #1 – December 2016

Just thought I’d share some stuff I got for myself (boohoo)in the past week that I am excited about!

First of all, my new Ollie & Nic bag! I used to have a red Ollie & Nic bag years ago that I adored and I almost cried when it started falling apart after years of extensive use! I have had several bags over the years, but none that I loved quite so much. My last bag was a Sakroots bag I got in TK Maxx in the UK about two or three years ago. Loved that one two, but again, it’s starting to fall apart.
So I treated myself and got myself a new bag with matching purse.
This is the Elsa Saddle bag in Tapestry/Taupe. I love it! It’s also available in a plainer tan, but I preferred this one. It’s a bit different and it fits the colourful side of my personality without being too in your face.

I have also been replenishing my make-up stash, as I have thrown out a lot of my old make-up recently. I have been especially looking at brands recommended by friends, such as Urban Decay, but also at other cruelty-free brands such as The Body Shop and Sleek.

Anyway, very self-indulgently I treated myself to the Moondust Palette from Urban Decay. These days I don’t do nights on the town THAT often, but when I do, I like to go all out and sparkly and this palette is just perfect for those glam nights out! I fell in love with it the moment it arrived!
The box is absolutely beautiful and feels incredibly sturdy. The colours themselves are beautiful and I could not help myself, I had to put some on immediately. Luckily I had a naked face, so just put some on my eyelids with my finger. Gorgeous! The glitter does get everywhere though! I will take a picture next time…

I also bought myself one of their lipsticks, the Vice Comfort Matte one, colour Psycho, which is described as ‘bright rose with iridescent blue micro sparkle’. Again, I just had to put it on and it’s an amazing colour. It lasted really well as well, which I was really impressed by. I love the way the lipstick holder looks.

It’s gorgeous and I am in love with it. I have now on an impulse bought some more colours, which should arrive shortly. Oops! Oh well, December is supposed to be an expensive month, right? Right??

I got a sample with my order of a fragrance called Intimacy Sheer, which has a really nice scent. It manages to be spicy and kind of sweet and a bit sexy at the same time. It’s a perfect every day scent. I like it! I was surprised by that one, because I am not really a perfumy girl really. I don’t know whether I will be buying a bottle, but I am definitely using up the sample.

About this fragrance (spied on the sample packaging)
Top notes: Bergamot, Mandarin, Lemon, Cardamon, Pink Pepper
Mid Notes: Roses from Kazaniak, Jasmine, Honeysuckle, Quince, Cognac
Base Notes: Patchouli, Vetiver, Vanilla, Tonka Bean, Musk

What the hell is Vetiver? Or Tonka Bean? Some for Google, I guess. Oh well, it smells nice anyway.

The other thing I got this week and that I am really excited about is my new record player! Woohoo! I have been wanting one for ages. I would have kept it till Christmas, but we are flying to the UK for Christmas, so not really an option.

I did quite a bit of research into which one to get and I finally went for the Audio-Technica AT-LP120 USB HC. It arrived and I can confirm that it weights a tonne!

We have put it together, but we still have to get some speakers. My husband is hoping he will get a discount code for Sonos, like previous Christmasses, so we can get either a PLAY:5 or a Connect: Amp. I am so wanting to try it, but I still have to be a little bit patient. We don’t want to buy speakers and then discover we could have bought them half price!

What else? Ah, yes, a book, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. It came up randomly in the English books section of a website and I liked the look/sound of it, so got it. Looking forward to reading it.

That’s about it, but there’s some stuff on the way, so there will be more to come!

December is exciting!

Repurposing an old blog :#:

Because why start a new one, when this one is perfectly fit for purpose. I have decided to leave the old content alone, because there is no reason to delete it in my opinion.

To be honest I am starting this blog mainly for myself, because I am itching to document what keeps me occupied at the moment. Sure, there may be some (bad)poetry along the way, because it’s part of me, but otherwise we will see what I end up doing!

I aim to post a big post once a week with stuff that has interested me during that week and things I have done (or not done). There will probably be a random selection of other posts, but we will see.

At least hopefully by the end of 2017, I will be able to see what the hell I have been up to!

Cheers!

K.

The Guns… Poem

The following is based on a very disturbing dream I had last night. I don’t think I have dreamt anything that terrifying and I have no idea where it came from. I want to write it up in a short story, but I am not sure I can. I simply wrote this (rather bad) poem to remind me off it. What an absolute nightmare. Why?

I heard the guns go off
When we looked outside
Men were shooting wildly
At everyone in sight

The panic in the streets
Running all for cover
A woman flat on her face
Her bags are all around her
I wonder if she is dead
But cannot know for sure

It is a Saturday
A busy shopping street
The unbelievable scene
Unfolding there beneath us
Makes my breath stop in my throat
I feel my thoughts shut down

Then I am suddenly there
Still in the safety of the flat
But yet right there between them
Hearing silent screams and panic
Terror in the air
I feel it in my bones

I see a man shot near me
Lying in the street
A guy comes to check him
And shoots the back of his neck

All this senseless violence
I wonder at the why
Yet I am glad I am here
So far away removed
I curse my cowardice
But what else could I do?

Leaving

I will leave with sadness
And not a little doubt
I have learned and matured here
And made it my home
Now that I am leaving
I think of all those things
That have buried in my heart
And I will never forget
The sights of this land
That I will always remember
Strolls along the Thames
Swans floating on the river
Rowing boats move swiftly
Arms moving in time
Rolling landscapes soften
The horizon all around
Little villages nestled
In valleys between hillsides
A stag grazing at dawn
Peaceful in the morning light
Red fox in the evening
Eyes bright and watching
Pub lunches and cider
Steak and ale pies
The food I got used to
So English, so home
Things will be different
Not sure how much
Will I get used to
The old ways again
Will I long for this country
That has long been my home
That runs through my blood
And I have loved like my own
Going back will always
Be bitter and sweet in harmony

Brighton

Carefully walking over pebbles
To the sea beyond
Shiver as the water splashes
Up pale legs en rolled up trousers
Sun beats down like summer
Children riding carousel horses
Fish and ships on the beach
In the shadow of the pier
Ladies with stilts and feathers
Promenading with a smile
Crazy old guy dancing
To a rhythmic soulful beat
A wander down the Lanes
Vintage shops and cafe lunch
Goths walking hand in hand
Their faces oh so thoughtful
There is no place quite like this
A seaside forlorn paradise

A Million Taps

My star will to burn so bright
Dance on feet so strong and neat
Rhythmic voice and a spot of light
Tap a million times and repeat
Dixie whistles in my ear
Promising thrills as yet to come
My future draws ever near
Excitement grows in hearts of some
If you see me on New Year’s Day
There is a question yet to ask
But do not ask if I will stay
The future now is still so vast