Before you worked here, were you an ass scientist? Because your ass... blah-blah-blah. You get the point.

Afternoon, all! It's been a hectic week here at Clackett Mansions. Work has been extremely busy - I've been in non-stop meetings, or at least it feels like it, since the dawn of time. I think actual time was really just Wednesday and Thursday, but time moves more slowly in the office, doesn't it?! It's been a good week, though. Work was good - the long meetings were the culmination of a couple of weeks of really intense work, and they went really well. It's satisfying to me to see how much I have learned in the fifteen months since I changed jobs. I'm still getting used to feeling good about work, and although things are about to get really crazy (and will stay that way until around about next May) I feel okay about it. So: yay!

Also, it was my birthday this week and I had a very lovely day. I had to be in work, but Nic got my day off to a good start by waking me up with tea, birthday cake and my birthday present. After work, I went to the pub with friends and then we went for dinner. And I had Friday off work, and went for Business Lunch at Kayal. Really, what could be better than that?! I did try to sew a special birthday dress but I was short on time, and the dress I started ended up being kind of a disaster (never sew while extremely tired, kids!) so I binned it. Ah well. You win some, you lose some. I wore my Buttons and Bows dress instead, and felt awesome in it.

So anyway, that's the craic with me this week. It's been really good and I have high hopes for next week, too. I have a big work thing on Monday which could be exciting if it goes well, and then I have a short week/long weekend ahead of me in which I'm off home to visit my family. I even have a day to myself, which is going to be a nice indulgent sewing day. Oh, and I'm expecting to get some shoes in the post as well. It's a good week if it includes a shoe delivery, right?

As usual, I have a dress to blog about today. Another Emery dress, because duh. I think we're all going to just have to be real here and acknowledge the fact that probably every other blog post is going to be about an Emery dress.

I bought the fabric for this dress when I met some sewing friends in London to go to the Jean Paul Gaultier exhibition at the Barbican. As ever, I went to Goldhawk Road fully intending NOT to buy fabric and yeah. That didn't work out. But basically, Classic Textiles had a Liberty lawn I've had my eye on for a while, so I bought 1.5 metres of it and went for it.

Half-Cut, Wholly Yours dress - Christine Haynes Emery dress in Liberty 'Jack and Charlie' tana lawn, worn with Irregular Choice Hello Ha shoes*

There's not too much to say here, except that I probably shouldn't have been so tight and bought two metres instead of a metre and a half because this dress is definitely shorter than I would usually go for. Ah anyway, it's fine. Because I know we're all so desperate to get into our OMGTIGHTS and I think this length will work with tights when it gets colder.

I do love this print, which is a series of pears. What I like less is that it was part of some sort of collaboration between Jamie Oliver and Liberty and I find Jamie Oliver almost unbearably irritating. It's nothing personal, Jamie. I find that to be the case with almost everyone on TV, because I'm very easily irritated and it's why I don't have a TV. And he's a lot LESS irritating than Gordon Ramsay, or anyone involved with the Great British Bake Off (I swear, Sue Perkins' voice actually raises my blood pressure) Sigh. But anyway, I like the print and I like the fabric a lot.

You can see the pears closer up here. Jamie Oliver notwithstanding, I really do like this print a lot, and I love the variety of colours in there. It means I can wear this dress with basically all of my cardigans, which is a good thing when you work in an air-conditioned office. Also. I think that Liberty lawn and the Emery dress are a good match so there will certainly be more of these, provided I can continue to find bargain Liberty prints at Classic Textiles or elsewhere. At full price, lovely as it is, it's a bit too rich for my blood.

Here's one more picture because why not.

It's really nice having a couple of go-to patterns that fit me well and which are in a style I like. I appreciate that it might not make for the most exciting blogging, but I'm fine with that. I like the fact that I can sew (and nicely finish) an Emery dress in a few hours and have a dress that fits me and that I like to wear and that I feel good in. I have a special one made all ready for my big work thing next week, too.

So, that's the craic there anyway. I sort of feel like I should have a jazzier blog post this afternoon because this is my 500th blog post! 500 posts. God, you'd think I'd have better things to be at with my time. Not to get all reflective on you all - especially after the last, navel-gazing why do I blog post, but 500 posts is a nice milestone to have reached. Blogging here has meant so much to me in the time I've been doing it. It's been a diary, a space for catharsis, a creative outlet and a wonderful, wonderful way to make friends. Even if it is a weird thing to do, when you think about it. So to all of you who have been reading - either more recently, or over entire 500 posts of nonsense, thank you! To celebrate, I might go and crack into some of my birthday presents. My friends know me well and among my gifts were a bottle of champagne, a bottle of red wine and a bottle of Scottish gin.

Cheers!

I don't even like Will and Grace. But Karen is the best.