New Term, New Shoes!

One of the disadvantages of being a supply teacher is sitting waiting for someone to give you some work whilst you watch your bank account empty and worry about paying the bills. September tends to be a horribly lean month as teachers return refreshed from the holiday and less likely to go off sick and they don't go on many courses as they want to stay in school and get to know their new classes.

So, I was delighted to be asked to work on the very first teaching day of the new term and in fact have worked all but the two Fridays. In addition to this I've had a bit of a tax rebate, enough to pay some bills and have a couple of treats. This all makes me very happy! And what did I want to buy as a treat? Why shoes of course! Now, as I have previously mentioned I am quite a practical person. Much as I love the killer heels you see on the catwalk, I realise I wouldn't be able to walk to the bus stop in them or spend a day in the classroom. So when I look for beautiful shoes, I look for beautiful, comfortable shoes. And I found them.

Now, I'm not sure that this picture does justice to their plummy beauty so I'll take some pictures of my feet when they arrive (my local shoe shop didn't have an eight in stock so I've ordered them). I am ready to fall in love with them.

I also got a pair of trainers to wear to the gym but that's a whole other story...

My Favourite Shop

Ok, so maybe not the shop I most like to buy things from (step forward John Lewis, Waitrose, Monsoon, Paperchase, VV Rouleaux, Cath Kidston, Emma Bridgewater, The Conran Shop, Ikea, Carluccio's, Mana Tree, etc, etc.) but I love this shop we found in Venice, especially as they have a plastic Fox Terrier dressed as a Gondelier in the window.

Dresses again...

I usually ignore Facebook ads (no I don't want to whiten my teeth thankyouverymuch and I'm not interested in a miracle weight -loss tea or berry)but their funny little computer elves pointed me in the direction of American plus-size fashion brand Igigi. Not only are the dresses actually designed especially fot bigger women but they're modelled by big, beautiful women so you can actually see what the dresses would look like on you if you are a larger lady.
I wish I'd discovered this site a few weeks ago as my wardrobe dilemmas would have been reduced massively. I'd look brilliant in this dress!

It's $142, which is a little more than I usually spend but good value for a dress that fits and some of the dresses are in the sale with fantastic reductions.












This one is only $63.50 which is just over £40 and there's another 30% off at the checkout. Shipping to the UK is $35 and you may well have to pay a customs charge on top of that but you could substantially reduce this if you have friends or family in The States who would send this on to you. I'll be suggesting to my California-based sister that she might like to find me a Christmas present on this site!

High on a Hull Lived a Lonely Goatherd...

Whilst searching the t'intenet for dresses (will I never learn?) I happened upon this...
Now I love "The Sound of Music" as much as the next girl, or indeed as much as the next gay husband, but I draw the line at dressing like Maria. Should you need an outfit for "Singalonga Sound of Music" you can buy it at Tesco here but I'd honestly rather make clothes from my curtains.

Spot the difference...

Look at that dress...
Look at the way the skirt flares out from the waist. It's the ideal shape for me. I have a proper waist but a big stomach so a flared skirt works well on me.
Look at the proportions. It's long enough for the hem to brush the calves. Classic late 40s retro style. I'm five foot nine so that's perfect for me.











Look at this dress, see how the skirt flares out from a nipped-in waist? See how the length is totally in proportion to the rest of it? No? That's because they've sized up the bodice without increasing the length of the skirt. They've widened the waist without widening the hem. It hasn't occurred to them that big girls can be tall too. THIS IS NOT THE DRESS I WANT. I AM NOT HAPPY.

Brambling- or not.

Mrs B and I were meant to be brambling yesterday but just before we went there was a downpour. We didn't fancy getting drenched by water coming off branches and bramble cables every time we went to pick a berry so we went into Cottingham instead. We went to a new shop, which I'll post about when I can remember its name, and for an iced coffee at Blondes.
I will be going brambling today but I'm going to stick closer to home. The path that leads from my garden to the gate in the middle of the terrace has blackberries growing alongside it and I am the only one of my neighbours showing any interest. I picked some at the weekend and made a pie. Now, I haven't made pastry for about twenty years, ever since I discovered Jus-roll ready rolled. I don't mind making pasty but I'm not so good at rolling it out so I stopped making my own. However, my local mini-market only had puff-pastry and you have to make a fruit pie with shortcrust. If you're interested I used 3 oz of butter, 6 oz plain flour and a tablespoon of sugar. I was a big success. Beautifully short, crisp pasty and a juicy, sweet yet tart filling. I may have started a myself on a whole new craze for baking!

I was inspired by July's issue of Martha Stewart to decorate with stars. She used them to celebrate July 4th, I just think they're pretty.

Total Wardrobe Freakout!

So parents are having a big Ruby Wedding Party next week. They're basically having the wedding reception they didn't have back in 1970 as they already had four children under ten between them when they met and the whole wedding industry was in its infancy back then. Dad was a widower and Mammy an "unwed mother" (gasp!) and they found each other and lived happily ever after or at least as much as you can in the real world. All five of their children (they had one together 18 months after the wedding) will be there including the brother who is flying in from Andulusia and the sister who is flying in from California. I'm hugely excited not least by the fact that they're having the same caterers we had for my wedding and I'll get to really enjoy the canapes without having to pose for photos the whole time.

However...
I don't know what to wear. I have body image issues at the best of times (English size 18-22) and find formal wear stressful but when in the company of my sisters the situation reaches crisis point. My sisters are slim. And beautiful. My youngest sister was briefly a model. She's six-foot, a size 8 and has that enviable ability to look effortlessly elegant, poised and gorgeous. Next to her I look, dumpy and scruffy and slightly chaotic.

I went into Monsoon yesterday and tried on some dresses. Oh my good lord...sack of potatoes anyone?

Then my lovely friend BermudaGirl lent me her party dress

It's beautiful and I got myself a shrug in the Monsoon sale so I won't have to show my hated upper-arms (and the tattoo my dad still doesn't know about,and a BARGAIN pair of bronze shoes from ebay (£3.98 including postage) and then I tried it on. I can't get the flippin' zip to do up. I'm hope, hope, hoping it's just I'm at the wrong angle and someone else will be able to do it for me and will be taking it to MrsB's with me later.

But, just in case, I've also ordered a dress from ebay...

It's plain but will look great with some retro accessories(polka-dot shoes, a red-velvet rose in my hair, scarlet lipstick) and I love the full skirt.

What do you think?

The Literary Gift Company

May I just draw your attention to this rather wonderful website? I don't think there's a single thing on here that I don't want to buy for me or someone I love.

http://www.theliterarygiftcompany.com/index.aspny.com/index.asp

The badge at the top of the page would be perfect for all those times on public transport or in waiting rooms that people presume you're reading because you're bored and lonely and would much rather be talking to them about immigration.

The earrings are delicate and elegant and I'd buy them now if I didn't know for a fact that I'd lose them in a couple of days.

The Dorothy Parker poster may still find its way to my study wall as she's one of my heroines.

And the bag inspires me to see if I can make something out of an old book or two (my apologies right now to The Girl for the mess I'm likely to make).
I'm also sorry about the weird positioning of the pictures on this post but I've spent blinkin' ages trying to sort it out and I've had enough; I'm hungry and I'm going to make myself some lunch.

Fudge

There are days when the smell of cooking fudge, in all it's vanilla-ey goodness, just makes the world a better place. I don't know if standing over a saucepan of boiling sugar is good for the complexion, but breathing in the clouds of butterscotch-scented steam is certainly good for the soul.

Making fudge is actually ridiculously easy, though you do need to be careful as boiling sugar is up there with napalm on the dangerous substances list.

I made this yesterday with a friend's eight-year-old, by which I mean she weighed out the ingredients and then I stirred for twenty minutes whilst she went and played a cooking game on the computer. Modern life eh?

If you don't have the time or inclination to make your own, you can buy delicious Fair Trade Fudge here http://www.devoncottagefudge.co.uk/fudgemade.php

• oil, for greasing (I used one of those Frylight sprays and it worked really well)


• 300ml milk (You can use semi-skimmed but if you're buying it specially go for the full fat)


• 350g caster sugar


• 100g unsalted butter (to be honest I always use salted butter and it's never been a problem)


• 1 tsp vanilla extract or Camp coffee

1. Grease an 18cm square cake tin. Luckily my friend does a lot of tray bakes for school and had tin-foil cake tins so I didn't have to worry about ruining her bakeware.

2. Put the milk, sugar and butter in a heavy-based saucepan. Heat slowly, stirring all the time, until the sugar has dissolved and the butter melted.

3. Bring to the boil and boil for 15-20 minutes, stirring all the time.

4. When the mixture reaches the soft-ball stage * (115°C on a sugar thermometer), remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract or Camp. Leave to cool for 5 minutes. Use this time to eat some of the fudge mixture on chopped up bananas as a sauce.

5. Beat the mixture with a spoon for a few minutes until it starts to thicken and the gloss disappears.

6. Pour into the prepared tin and leave to set at room temperature (do not put it in the fridge).

7. Once set, cut the fudge into small squares and store in a sealed container eating any pieces that are irregular just to neaten it all up nicely.

* Soft ball- have a bowl of cold water next to the cooker and after about fifteen minutes drop a little of the mixture into it. If you can form it into a soft (and yummy) ball it is ready.

Lulu Guinness

I love Lulu Guinness products and her unique retro-inspired style. I have one of her handbags- a wonderful bargain buy from TK Maxx which I will show you when I've found my camera (has anyone seen it by the way?)- and would love more.

She has a sale on at the moment and this beautiful handbag is reduced from £175 to £52.50 which is a fantastic bargain if you're not a freelance worker facing a couple of months with no work.

If you're a little more solvent you can buy it here,

http://www.luluguinness.com/ProductPage.aspx?productId=LULU0099157500010 but I was wondering whether I could adapt the idea by embroidering a homemade tote bag with simple line drawings?

I'll let you know...

Clarks Originals

Those of you who know me in the real world will know that I am more than a little in love with shoes. I'm having a few health problems at the moment that cause swollen ankles and I'm genuinely less concerned about my circulatory system than I am about the possibility I may have to give up wearing high heels.

In the meantime I will be saving my pennies for these beautiful Clarks Originals.

Now Clarks say,

Victoriana-inspired ladies shoes in soft black suede, with luxurious red velvet laces. This feminine style combines an easy to wear mid-height heel and delicate stitching, with the natural comfort of the Originals crepe sole.

but I think they'd look perfect with a 1940's inspired outfit. The heel is high enough to give your posture a little lift and add elegance to your walk but low enough to still be comfortable after a day in the classroom and a bus ride and walk home. The ribbon adds a touch of quirky stylishness and fun to a classic shape.

I'm a huge fan of Clarks shoes, they're comfortable, hardwearing and often very chic, and I think their Originals range is fabulous. There are a number of t-bar and Mary-Jane style shoes in the range that need to find a home on my shoe rack so I'm hoping I get lots of work over the coming year so I can buy them all.

Most of the shoes are in the £50-£70 range so they aren't cheap compared to budget ranges but they're hardly in the designer price range and they will last you for years with the right care.

If you'd like them you can order them here: http://www.clarks.co.uk/Originals

Why They Called Me Dorothy...

This picture in no way does justice to the beauty of these shoes. The suede is soft, the patent shiny and they are the most vivid red. I get compliments whenever I wear them and they're amazingly comfortable.
They make me happy...

You can find them here at Next where you can find some of the most beautiful shoes on the high street. They have many pairs of red shoes which are my current obsession, not least because the wonderful Shoeperwoman challenges her readers to wear red shoes every Ruby Shoesday.