Dreams can come true ...

Well I hope they do! Last night I dreamt that I found lots of money - bit £50 notes the size of a bus and I had to try and carry it around in secret and count it - I kept getting interrupted by people - was very funny! So at 4.33 until 'whenever' I was awake laughing at the dream.

Today I am mostly wrapping up because it's cold - like Autumn cold. I am loving my new colour combo of green and grey, I've never worn this before like this. Into my second month of not repeating what I wear and  still going very strong. If you want to see what I've worn over the past 32 days then head on over to my profile on Avenue 57.

White T - H&M (£6 current and available)
Jeans - House of Fraser (old)
Boots - Peacocks (£25 current and available)
Scarf - Avenue 57 Pop Up Shop (£10 current and available)

I've also been looking at the H&M Sale as they have some beauties still left

Stripey Long Sleeved Tshirt - £3 in the sale

Lemon Trousers - £7 in the sale

Lemon Lace top - £12 in the sale

Faux Leather Tan Jacket - £15 in the sale

Statement Dress - £10 in the sale

Cerise Pink Clutch Bag - £4 in the sale

What do you think? Grey and green ok as a colour combo?  I have to stop looking at the sales otherwise I will not be able to fund my BIG shopping trip to LA in October!

Fiona 

xoxo

Inspiration comes from all places ...

I am meant to be working (hard) and yet I find myself working for 10 mins and then needing a break. When did I get so gnat like in terms of my attention span? Are you the same? I can't be alone surely?!!

So, I took a click over on twitter and saw that Stella English posted a photo of what she wore to the OK party (guessing last night - looks a bit too much for Monday morning!) - and swoon - head to toe I love it but CHECK OUT HER SHOES! I am a sucker for a really good pair of shoes and I do own a few and I do have a gold pair but I really want these. So I just tweeted her to say how good she looks and she replied to let me know they're Karen Millen - so off I go to said site to cry that I can't afford/buy them but there is a sale on - WAHOO and they are now only £60 (down from £125)

Gold Sandal - £60

It would be daft to not look more whilst I'm there at the incredible bargains

If I were in the market of spending money then I'd be buying

Neon Pink Stripey Tshirt - £49 (was £99)

Black and White Jumper - £35 (down from £75)

Yellow Ostrich effect leather purse - £35 (down from £55)

Orange Pencil Dress - £140 (down from £175)

Leading on from that stunning dress above, here is how I wore orange on Saturday for the school fete - I was helping out on a stall and the ground was a bit soggy so it HAD to be flats all the way

I LOVE my new bra gadget - it's amazing and I will not shy away from racer back tops again! I am so sorry for the photo quality, I thought by asking the husband to take it it would be better than in the mirror and me doing it - WRONG! How freaking hard is it to have some patience and take a GOOD photo? 

And here I am today in a simple blue dress with turquoise accessories - I realise now you can see my pant shape through this - good job I am only doing the school run and seeing no-one else! I also need false tan on my legs to match my browner top half!

So .. back to the attention span of a gnat .... do you have this problem?

Fiona

xox

I have a confession ...

I am so bad and so naughty but I bought something! AAAARRRRGGGGGHHHH I almost hate myself for it but equally I was always a rule breaker!

It's just too much to be sat playing on Avenue 57 and going to different places to find out where tops, dresses and bottoms are from and so when someone mentioned FOR THE 856th time about these bloody real leather tan sandals from Tesco I couldn't resist clicking to look - and therein lies my failure of the 100 day spending ban. I didn't even buy the tan sandals (out of stock in my size) but I did buy these

and these

and maybe these

I know already what I'm wearing with these if they fit and are ok - I know it's faux suede and I know they won't last but for £12 it's worth a punt don't you think?

They are due to arrive next week so I guess if they are cheap in real life as they are in price and if I do end up returning them then that's ok right? I can be forgiven?

Here is the tan version of the pink I wanted and everyone is raving about - aren't they gorgeous?

I wish I'd put these in too - I am actually sad that if I was breaking rules I was going to do it in style!

F&F Leather and Metallic T-Bar Sandals - £19.50

F&F Jewelled Neon Pumps - £9 (sale)

So let's skip over very quickly the fact that I have been incredibly naughty and I promise to punish myself later. Here's what I wore yesterday and today.

Dress - Room 31 - old

Shoes - M&S - old

Scarf - Mine but still available here
Jumper - Mine but still available here
Jeans - Tesco and have never fitted before - hoorah!
Shoes - Deichmann (swapped for lovely navy Hunter Wellies because it was raining for Sports Day)

So, have you ever denied yourself anything and did you succeed? I am so lame, I know I am you don't need to tell me!

Fiona

xoxo

WOW, just one dress from Sainsbury's ...

to make you feel good all day long!

Last night I had some girlfriends come over to view my bits and pieces. One of them is so stunningly gorgeous I can't put into words how much. She works for a corp and we were talking day/office/uniform wear. I said I would love to work in a formal office (the office I visit is very informal and small) and wear nice suits and dresses with killer heels and matching bags etc etc. And then I thought to myself, why can't I wear the nice dress and heels - I'm dressing for ME not for anyone else. I also own lots of nice dresses I never wear and as I'm on this ridiculously stupid  amazing 100 day spending ban and no repeating of outfits I thought I'd grab one out the wardrobe and just wear it.

AND I AM SO GLAD I DID. Firstly it was so easy to get dressed this morning knowing what I was going to wear! Secondly, I received SO many lovely comments at school today - I mean really lovely (almost embarrassing) comments from class teachers and parents and then when I posted my look on Avenue 57 I got a whole day of lovely comments. I can't tell you what it means to receive such positive comments. I urge you all to tell someone they look lovely if you think they do - it makes their day/week/month. At BritMums on Saturday I saw this gorgeous woman - she was about 50 but looked so amazing. I walked up to her and told her - well she laughed and nearly fell over - she was SO made up and kept thanking me saying no-one had ever said such nice things to her before!

So .. the dress .. it's just a £20 from Sainsbury's but I love it - the style, the fit, it's comfortable, it was cheap (you know me and my supermarket bargains!) and I am still wearing it now whilst cooking supper and washing up - oh I know how to live!

Tomorrow I will dig out another favourite dress I don't wear often. What item do you wish your lifestyle meant you could wear more of?

Fiona
xoxo

Pull & Bear

I'd not heard of this brand until a friend earlier admired my shoes. I told her they were cheapy ones from Deichmann and I loved them. She then asked if I'd heard of Pull & Bear. I said who? She said Pull & Bear. I said no. I then quickly ran home and Googled - well hello new brand of mine, nice to see you.  Has anyone else heard of these? Am I totally behind the times?

I can't help but simply admire a few things because, as you know, I'm on a spending ban - I have 75 days left - I think this will be such a good thing to do but also it might just finish me off!

I'm going to dive right in with my top buys - I would love ALL of these if I were not on a ban.

Tan Wedge Heels - £19.99

Leopard Print Sweatshirt - £15.99

 Pink Jacket - £25.99

 White Clutch Bag - £15.99

 Pack of 3 belts - £7.99

 Dress with Aztec Neckline - £25.99

Turquoise Thongs - £15.99

And here I am day in my 25th no repeating outfit - I love this top but it's naughty - or rather it makes me look naughty. When I bend over it shows the puppies! Avril, that ones for you!

So back to this new brand - have you heard of it?

Fiona

xoxo

BritMums Live 2013

Back from a fantastic few days in London at BritMums Live 2013. I was so pleased to arrive in style (via the  luggage baggage on the 9am commuter train on Friday.

I met with Avril from School Gate Style and we enjoyed catching up in person rather than online. We were sharing a room at the Easyjet hotel and laughed at the bathroom - it's JUST LIKE the toilet on the aircraft! The room was neat and tidy and for £75 for the night we couldn't complain (well we could because the walls are paper thin and we could hear our neighbours! Revenge was sweet at 7.30am with our over loud alarm clock and hair dryer).

BritMums is a fantastic conference that brings together a lot of Mummy (and Daddy) bloggers for the weekend. Sessions were informative and covered a wide range of topics from SEO, accounting, legal, working with brands, how to monetise your blog etc etc.

On Friday night there was an awards ceremony. It was a fantastic evening and I was so proud to be sat on a table with a few winners. Congratulations to Marlene from Chocolate, Cookies and Candies for WINNING her Best Photography category.

I was totally and utterly moved and inspired by Katie Piper and her keynote speech on Sunday morning - I can't begin to describe  how good she was. If you were there, you will know what I am trying to say and if you weren't then trust me, she is totally and utterly inspiring.

A special thank you goes to the founders of BritMums - Susanna Scott and Jennifer Howze - the two of them have done such an amazing job (along with a small army of helpers) to bring a great conference together. It ran like clockwork, was very well organised in a fantastic venue and it was just brilliant to be a part of it.

Avril and I were invited to be a part of the Style Panel session and whilst I don't have any photos of us sat on the sofa, here is the opening slide.

I was thrilled with my personalised Coke Bottle from the Coca Cola stand

It was also great to meet Emma from Fashion Mommy too. Here is a pic of her and Avril

And so on to what I wore. Thank you to Mint Velvet for my gorgeous top for the Friday night awards and to ME+EM for my maxi dress on Saturday. I wore my own scarf (currently sold out sorry!) and UGG Sandals (now in the sale) for extreme comfort on the Saturday.

It was so lovely to spend time with Avril, Kat and Marlene and I LOVE this photo of us all together.

Were you at BritMums? Did you enjoy it? Would you go next year if you didn't go this year? What did you think of my two outfits? I felt really great in both of them and I can't WAIT to wear them again!

Fiona
XOXO

Packing for BritMums Live

I am so excited that in 24 hrs I will ACTUALLY BE AT BritMums Live 2013! I have many reasons to be excited:

• I got my nails done especially by my beatician friend - TREAT (for me)
• I get to take the day off work and leave the home without baggage (children) at 9am.
• I will be on my own on the train for 90 mins and no-one will talk to me or demand anything from me (other than the ticket man but that's ok, it's his job)
• I am meeting Avril from School Gate Style for coffee and a mooch around the East End of London to buy stock for our shops (mine, hers)
• We are then heading to our hotel, where we are sharing a room and to freshen up before heading over to the conference site to meet with Marlene from Chocolate Cookies & Candies and Kat from Does My Bum Look 40. Hoping also to meet up at some point with Emma from Fashion Mommy.
• I cannot wait to hear the keynote speech from Kirstie Allsopp on Friday and Katie Piper on Saturday
• There is the awards ceremony on Friday night that is set to be much fun (please don't let me over drink!) - Water water, wine, water water wine ... yeah right who am I kidding?
• I get to share a room with Avril - I think she is the lucky one sharing with me!
• I get to wear two outfits from two amazing companies and who are sponsoring me for the event - Mint Velvet have very kindly given me a gorgeous top to wear and ME+EM have given me the best dress in the whole wide world - FACT*

*according to me and my world

Preparing to go away for a 2 day, 1 night 'thing' is proving time consuming - I've been writing notes so I don't forget anything

and leaving things on the stairs to take up with me to put in the bag

And then the whole deal of packing - fortunately I'm packing JUST what I need so no need for excess clothes. I have a lot of shoes, I know I am packing lots but I have heels AND flats because I know my feet won't last in heels all day.

Here's a sneaky peak at my outfits from my wonderful sponsors Mint Velvet and ME+EM

Right, enough of this chat, I need to crack on because I'm on the Style Panel with Avril on Saturday talking about blogs and blogging!  I also have supper for the smalls to get ready, make sure the house is at least half tidy before leaving tomorrow am, scoff a Chinese takeaway with the husband because neither one of us can be bothered (or have the time) to cook and then one final check that I have everything and THEN I can go to bed!

If you are going to BritMums, come and say Hi

Fiona
xoxo