Aspire Style comes to Solihull

(it feels rather strange to have a blog title that is actually connected to the content of the post!)

Last night was a party to launch the opening of Aspire's fourth store in Solihull. The lovely Catie, who manages the blog, the website and the Twitter feed had put out a call on Twitter for local bloggers to come along and blog the event. I didn't need much persuasion - I live close enough to Aspire's Warwick store to be a fan of Aspire and also: goody bags, champagne and a 15% discount on the night. I was sold!

Champagne generously provided by the Aspire ladies. It was delicious!

Me enjoying the drinks. I honestly did not mean to look this sleazy.

Nic and I arrived early as I had my eye on a dress and was ridiculously worried that if I got there late my size would have gone! It was really good to arrive early (I got the dress, but more of that later) because it gave me a chance to see the layout of the store. Unlike the branches in Stratford and Warwick, the Solihull store is in a modern complex and I wondered how Aspire's signature style of using antique furniture and pretty fixtures would work. It looked great. The shop is pretty and girly without being cluttered or twee. Nic was able to comfortably browse around (he was looking for a present for a friend) without feeling out of place or like he was going to knock something down - something he often worries about in other boutiques. I loved the way the antique dressers and cabinets softened the look of the clothing racks and hardwood floors.

Some of the gorgeous furniture and decor in the Solihull store

Still, we're not here to talk about furniture - it's time to get to the dresses. Regular readers of my blog will know of my dress addiction and Aspire is the perfect place to indulge it. The shop carries a selection of dresses by the fabulous Fever Designs (my personal Achilles' heel!), an expanding collection of Tara Starlet's 50s-influenced dresses and clothes by Darling, Yumi and Charming. I was particularly excited by a new line, which is exclusive to the Solihull and online stores - dresses by Vintage Allure. So, I had plenty of exciting frocks to try on and it was only through a supreme effort of will that I managed to restrict myself to one. I'll post pictures when I wear it, but you can be assured that it's a beauty.

I'm enjoying twirling in this gorgeous dress by Tara Starlet

Playing at being a Hollywood starlet in this Vintage Allure frock

Caroline looks gorgeous in the Fever Delilah dress

For the sake of my bank account, I had to ignore the fact that Aspire also stock Irregular Choice and Poetic Licence shoes, but one of my fellow bloggers, Lauren was delighted to find this:

Lauren, indulging her obsession

I had a thoroughly wonderful evening. I was delighted with my dress and with the fantastic goody bag that came along with it. It consisted of a pretty printed Aspire shopping bag, which was filled with beautifully gift-wrapped girly goodies from Aspire's gift range. There was a warm and friendly atmosphere in the store, and Catie and her colleagues made us all feel so welcome.

The lovely ladies of Aspire - Catie is rocking the Fever Maple dress!

One of my favourite things about shopping in Aspire has always been that everyone - staff and customers alike - are so friendly. I lost count last night of the number of times I heard people being complimented. It was lovely! It's definitely worth a visit to one of Aspire's stores.

Happy shoppers in Solihull

Happy bloggers in Solihull - me, Lauren and Caroline

Oscar, I feel you.

Life can't be all skittles and ladies

November already, eh? I'd love to be able to say 'wow, where has this year gone?' etc but the fact is, I'm glad it's November. 2010 has been sucky, and I'll be glad to see the back of it. Well, it hasn't all been sucky - Paris was pretty amazing, and Nic and I have had lots of nice trips and good times but still. 2010, I'm over you.

I'm feeling the rage a lot this week, for a variety of reasons. One of them is the fact that our downstairs neighbours are loud hallions. I don't think they're deliberately anti-social, more that they have a bass-heavy stereo system and spend a lot of time playing video games. We've asked them to turn it down before and they have, they're not the asshole-y type of noisy neighbour but as they don't know when they're being loud the problem continues. It's annoying having everything accompanied by a dull bass sound making the floor shake.

I'm back at work full time and I have been for about a month now. It's grand and it's been made easier by the fact that I have sympathetic and sensitive managers and that my colleagues are excellent people. There is, however, one exception and I'm beginning to get really angry about it.

When I attempted to return to work in September this colleague was so horrible to me about my reasons for having been away that I ended up being that girl that cries in the toilets at work. I hate that! She made it very clear that she thought my reasons for being off were of little consequence and that she resented the extra work she'd had to do as a result of my absence. I'm smart enough to know that her problem wasn't all about me. She has that attitude generally, you know, no-one works as hard as she does. I tried not to let it bother me too much and it wasn't because of her that I ended up taking more time off, but it certainly didn't help matters.

Her attitude hadn't changed much when I went back to work at the start of last month. We don't work together closely and the nature of my current task means that I don't have to see much of her, but when I do she is extraordinarily rude to me. She flounces past me, glares at me, rolls her eyes at the work that I'm doing and generally makes her dislike of me very obvious. She doesn't speak to me or acknowledge me at all unless she has to, and when she does she speaks to me as if she's telling me off (she came to get me for a meeting yesterday - one that is informal, and not in my diary, but she barked at me "We're having a meeting now, if you'd like to come") It is in marked contrast to how she speaks to other colleagues and I feel sure that this isn't lost on the people around us.

I don't take personally the fact that she obviously dislikes me and that she thinks I'm bad at my job. To be fair, when I was ill I wasn't coping with the demands of my job and as she's only been in our team for a few months she hasn't worked with me when I've been good at my job. Our acquaintance will be brief due to the closure of our organisation so it's not like I'm going to have to endure this long-term. Still, it's really starting to stick in my craw.

Her attitude towards me isn't having (what is presumably) the desired effect in that it's not making me feel bad about myself or upset, but it is making me very angry. So, I'm in a bit of a dilemma about what to do next.

On a personal level, her unpleasantness doesn't bother me. Some people are unpleasant and that's the way life is. I deal with that aspect of it the way I deal with most unpleasant people; when she does deign to speak to me in her unpleasant and dismissive manner I respond warmly and in a friendly way. I can't see that pointing her behaviour out to her will do anything other than to give her a chance to give me abuse - it's clear from her manner that this is festering in her. I can't see that bringing her behaviour to the attention of management or HR will really make a difference either. It's true that she might speak to me a little bit more civilly, but it won't address her attitude, which appears to be that mental ill-health is nothing more than laziness. Nor do I think that it will do anything to correct the fact that she's a bully. She dislikes me and resents the fact that I have been ill, and her way of dealing with this is to attempt to intimidate me and make me feel uncomfortable.

It's precisely this that makes me want to tell someone, though. I hate the idea that I'm allowing someone to bully me. Especially someone who is doing it out of ignorance and disregard for the fact that I have been suffering from an illness, albeit a mental one (I am sure she wouldn't be treating me in this way if my time off had been due to a broken leg) Her attitude and behaviour are so unprofessional and discourteous, and I hate the fact that she's being allowed to continue in it. I'm just not sure at this point what is the most constructive way to deal with it. I have considered being asked to move teams when my current task is finished, but that's clearly not really a solution. And you know how it is, nobody wants to be the office tattle-tale. But if I saw someone else being treated in this matter I'd want them to do something about it. I'd want to do something about it myself. I have a few days off next week and I'll take some time to think about it, and hopefully by then I won't be letting anger cloud my judgment quite so much. But I am angry, I'm really fucking angry that she's being such a mean bully because I have dared to inconvenience her with my illness.

Anyway, enough ranting for this evening. Nic is cooking me up an enormous pot of vegetable soup in the enormous tureen we scavenged last week, and I always feel less rage-y when I've had something to eat. And I have some awesome things to look forward to this week - the Aspire Style launch party on Thursday night and then the seaside at the weekend. Yay! Maybe 2010 isn't so bad after all.

No outfit shot this evening (but for the interests of disclosure, I'm wearing this dress. It now has buttercream on one sleeve after I knocked the top off a cake stand in the cafeteria at work) but after all my bitching and whining, I should leave you with something pretty to look at. I'm going to steal a photo from a wonderful new blog I've started to read called Seawatch:

Beautiful Sandgate beach

We all get obsessed sometimes. The important thing is to drop it before you start yakking on and on about it to someone who doesn't give a rat's ass.

It's Sunday evening, it's dark outside and I'm in my pyjamas on the sofa. If it weren't for my noisy neighbours playing their stupid video game REALLY LOUDLY, things would be perfect. I shouldn't complain too much though because I have had a very lovely weekend.

My horrible sicky headache lasted through til Friday morning (it came on after watching The Apprentice on Wednesday night, I wonder if it has migraine-inducing qualities?) so I was feeling a bit miserable at the start of Friday. Luckily for me it did finally go away, and Nic and I were able to go out for a date that evening. We went to Strada. Despite it being a chain restaurant, I really like the one in Leamington. The staff are friendly and the food is good, and the first time Nic and I went out for a meal together it was to Strada, so I have a sentimental attachment to it. The meal was wonderful, and so was the bellini I had as an aperitif.

On Saturday, Lauren, Lysy and I went to Coventry to go to the annual vintage sale in the Criterion Theatre. We got there early, and it was a good thing too because there was already quite a queue forming outside. The sale was very small, but they had some amazing dresses and theatre costumes, and all very reasonably priced. Lauren bought herself a few dresses, Lysy bought a waistcoat for The Scientist, and I scored a few metres of very garish 70s curtain fabric:

I was very pleased with my find. I'm not going to make curtains out of it, and have a summer dress in mind for the fabric. As it cost all of £3 I was pretty happy! There was a lady selling vintage dress patterns, all in excellent condition and some dating back to the 20s. However, even her 70s patterns were £12 - £15, which seemed a bit steep to me, so I limited myself to the fabric.

Well, I didn't quite limit myself to the fabric. On my way home I stopped into House of Fraser and bought myself these:

Shoes number 34: Bertie Sardinia shoes in black

Yes, more Sardinia shoes! I wore my nude ones yesterday and was reminded afresh of how much I love them, so resolved to buy the wedge versions. I thought they'd make for a reasonably sensible pair of black shoes. I did try on the wedges, but part of what I love about the nude shoes is the elegant shape so I went for the court shoes again.

We had a very exciting evening planned. Lysy had told us a few weeks ago that Ghostbusters was being screened at the Spa Centre, so we went in last week to buy our tickets. I hadn't seen the film since I was a child, and had forgotten most of what happened in it, so it was like watching a new film for me. Lauren had never seen it, and Kate and Rich love it so we were all very excited about it. I had sort of planned to go in costume but got a bit lame at the last minue and decided to wear my new dress instead. Luckily, Nic, Lauren and Amy made a bit more of an effort:

Nic doing his best to look ghoulish as a Victorian gentleman. A man in the pub opined that if he was half of Burke and Hare, he must have been the Burke, but I thought he looked great!

My new dress from Blue Banana and the first wear of the black Sardinia shoes

Lauren as a sailor, with Amy as Marilyn Monroe

The film was great. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing in on the big screen (despite the conehead sitting in front of me) and it was much funnier than I had remembered. I don't go to the cinema often enough (mainly because I hate other people in the cinema, grrr) so it is a real treat when we do go, especially when the film is so much fun! After the film we stopped into the Clarendon for a drink. It was predictably rammed, but I was very impressed by the amount of people in costume and the sheer inventiveness of some of them - this wasn't just men in women's clothes and sexy taxi drivers. I didn't manage to get a photo of Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, Michaelangelo and Splinter, but Shredder here should give you an idea:

This costume was home-made!

We finished our evening in the Somerville and had an excellent time, staying out much later than I had intended, so it was a good thing that today had an extra hour in it!

I blame Pub Club

This one doesn't need a caption

Nic and I have been very lazy indeed - we did some shopping in Lidl with Lysy

we didn't buy this, shamefully

followed by lunch and a browse around the markets. I love lazy Sundays, it's the best way to get ready for the week ahead.

Now, I'm away to post a kebab through the letterbox downstairs. Have a good week, everyone!

It's red hot, mate. I hate to think of this sort of book getting in the wrong hands. As soon as I've finished this, I shall recommend they ban it.

A short little blog this evening because a)I have been having a quiet week and don't have much to write about and b)I have a horrible headache. It's been alleviated a little bit by a shower, a cup of tea, some paracetamol and some mini dime bar sweeties but still. I should give the old laptop a rest I think.

I wasn't in the office today. I had a work-related appointment in Birmingham and worked from home this morning. Nic came with me to Birmingham in the afternoon and we had a rather lovely time. I had randomly aching feet and decided to wear my red cowboy boots, and paired them with the vintage dress I brought home from Paris:

I managed to fit in a little bit of shopping before my appointment. Nic took himself off to the comic shops, while I had a look in the vintage shops in Digbeth. I came up trumps, as well, finding a beautiful blue prairie style dress with a full skirt and pockets! Photos to follow when I wear it - it needs a slight bit of alteration as the neckline has a strange tucker detail I'd like to remove. I met Nic when I was finished and we had lunch, before having a wander around a few shops. I finally got to see the Tony Hancock statue - he was born in the Hall Green area of Birmingham, in 1924.

Other than that, it's been a quiet week. My darling Nic came to Coventry yesterday and took me out to lunch, and I have a lunch date tomorrow with Louise. Then it's finally the weekend, and I have a date with Nic and a trip to the cinema to see Ghostbusters to look forward to. So all in all, I might be a bit more interesting the next time I post something here! I'll leave you with some photos, I've been messing around with my camera a bit over the past few days...

I've been working all week in the secure room with test papers. This is the view out the window

Best cup of tea ever

A spooky witch in a sexy dress has been bugging me...

We haven't actually met but I saw a photo of you, you were wearing a white dress? Standing outside a church? It might have been someone's wedding?

As a child, I was fascinated by The Waltons. The story of a large family growing up together on the side of a mountain seemed to me to be parallel to my father's childhood, as he grew up in a large family on the side of a mountain. There were some differences, admittedly. The mountain Daddy grew up on is one in name only (really it could more accurately be named 'Steep Incline') and recent events have proved that his large family have more in common with the Manson family than with the Waltons (Daddy excluded, and boy how I wish I was exaggerating!) However, my interest in the fictional representation of families continues and recently I have been giving some thought to continuing my series of listing stuff I like. So, without further ado I present:

Fictional Families I'm Fond Of

I'll start with The Waltons

The Walton clan outside Ike Godsey's General Store

The Waltons is one of those shows that I loved as a child and have rediscovered as an adult. It's been unfairly remembered in popular culture as being saccharine and sentimental. Well, it is sentimental but not in the pejorative way in which the word has often been applied. I find the exploits of the Walton family endearing, thought-provoking and moving. Based on Earl Hamner Jr's childhood in rural Virginia during the Depression, The Waltons has at its centre a large and loving family. There were seven children, parents and grandparents and extended family also. What I find so interesting about this family, and about the show, is the way in which we're able to watch them growing up together. Early episodes focused mainly on the eldest, John Boy (the fictionalised Hamner, and the narrator of each episode) but as the family grew up each member got their own episodes. The family are often seen squabbling and bickering, misunderstanding one another and disagreeing. They experience emotional and material hardship but always pull together and each episode ends with the family all together. In our sarcastic age the values of The Waltons seem outdated but I confess that this is what I enjoy, and what makes this family so special to me. I have a particular soft spot for the way in which the grandparents live with the family, and the gently teasing relationship between Esther and Zeb Walton is a joy to watch:

Zeb Walton, played by the wonderful Will Geer

John and Olivia Walton's relationship is also a joy to watch. It's a loving partnership of equals, of people who are lovers as well as parents.

The Conner family

I've written before about my love of Roseanne, and the Conner family are the reason for this.

The Conners, fetchingly attired in the finest 80s fashion

While the Conner family may seem miles away from the Waltons, I have similar reasons for feeling so fond of them. This is a family that always comes back to one another. I like the way that family life is presented uncensored. We see the family eating together around the kitchen table but, as likely as not, they're eating something Roseanne has microwaved. Becky is a straight A student, but she's an absolute terror as a teenager. Darlene's wiseass attitude doesn't quite manage to hide her middle child angst and DJ is pretty weird. Roseanne doesn't shy away from the fact that families bug the crap out of one another, and this makes it both entertaining and moving. I particularly enjoy the way in which sisterly relationships are played out (having two younger sisters of my own it seems very pertinent to me!) Roseanne's best friend is her younger sister Jackie and we can see how an often adversarial relationship can also be extremely supportive and fulfilling. There are echoes of this in the relationship between Becky and Darlene as well. Family traditions and concerns are represented well, particularly in the various Hallowe'en episodes. Roseanne frequently cracks wise about booting her children out, or about selling them, and this provides a humorous counterpoint to some of her real concerns. Roseanne and Dan are often seen trying to become better parents than their parents were, and this is one of the things that makes this family interesting and endearing to me.

The Lacey family

Tyne Daly, John Karlen and Sharon Gless

Again, I have written elsewhere and at length about my love of Cagney and Lacey. Obviously the partnership of the women is at the centre, but Mary-Beth Lacey's home life is an extremely important aspect of the show. Her marriage to Harvey Lacey is central to how Mary-Beth sees herself. While the wonderful John Karlen doesn't guest in every episode, Harvey is present in some way in every storyline. The marriage is in some ways unconventional - as a detective, Mary-Beth is the main earner and is often the one coming home to find Harvey waiting for her with dinner in the oven. That said, their marriage is always presented as a partnership. They argue (I love it when Harvey Lacey shouts. It's always awesome) and they talk over cases, they disagree and they worry about one another. Their two sons (and later, a daughter) don't play the same kind of role in the drama as the children of the Conners or the Waltons, but the family dynamic is of dramatic importance. Finally, one of the things I adore about the way we see the Lacey family is the fact that we often see Mary-Beth and Harv talking over things in bed. Nice work for John Karlen - putting on his pyjamas and kissing Tyne Daly!

The Shipman-West family

I didn't expect to like Gavin and Stacey when my friend Laura first lent me the DVD. I'll admit, I was snobby about the fact that it was on BBC3 and the soundtrack is full of bands I hate. However, I was quickly won over by the show's warmth and charm and mainly by the large extended family that makes up the show's core. Much more than being about the burgeoning romance between the eponymous characters, Gavin and Stacey is about the wonderful eccentricities of family life, and the marriage of two families as opposed to two individuals.

Both the Shipmans and the Wests (and oh how the serial killer names gags tickle me - another main character is named after Peter Sutcliffe) are delightful families to watch. Larry Lamb as Mick Shipman is straight man to Alison Steadman's hilarious Pam (-e-laaaaa) Gavin is their only son, Pam's 'little prince', but such is their love and generosity that Gavin's friends become surrogate children. This is most evident in the way in which Smithy is absorbed into the household, even after Gavin has moved to Barry for work. I think what appeals to me so much about TV family is the way in which the eccentricities and foibles of each individual are accepted and tolerated and even loved. Stacey's Uncle Bryn is a good example of this. He's like an overgrown child, but the simple pleasures he takes in life (such as updating his Myspace page, listening to James Blunt and working out in his home gym) are accepted and he even forms an unlikely bond with Smithy. It's this ability to rub along together, to turn a blind eye to one another's strange notions that makes this family so likeable. I also adore the way we see the family members come together to spend time with one another and I admire the way James Corden and Ruth Jones give space to these sorts of get togethers. A particular favourite of mine comes from series 3, in which everyone comes together for a curry and a night of drinking in the Shipman home. Nothing happens that especially moves the narrative forward, but so much humour and joy is to be found in watching the family interact with one another.

The Cranes

I'm including this family because they spend so much time together! Also because John Mahoney as Martin Crane is undoubtedly one of my favourite TV fathers. The Crane brothers are close...perhaps too close, as episodes frequently make play of the fact that they spend so much of their time together and have so many shared interests. I really enjoy this aspect of Frasier. There might be an element of wistfulness on my part because I'd love to be able to spend so much time with my own siblings, but I am also drawn to the sibling dynamic, particularly because of the rivalry Frasier and Niles display in almost every matter. The rivalry is most profound and most amusing when it concerns their relationship with their father, Martin. He is constantly amazed by how different his sons are to him, and finds his dog Eddie easier to relate to and to understand. Despite Martin's inability to understand his sons, and his frequent irritation at their genteel ways, he is an involved and caring father. While he finds it difficult to express his love, and often resorts to telling Frasier to shut his big bazoo, it is clear how much he loves and is proud of his sons. And of course, he loves Eddie, who is as much a part of the Crane family as any of the human members.

Eddie Crane, played by the wonderful Moose

Frasier is also interesting for thinking about the way in which our relationship with our parents changes as we become adults. Frasier finds himself living with his father again after decades of living independently and much of the humour comes from both father and son having to make this adjustment. Many of the more moving scenes focus on this also, making Frasier emotionally rewarding as well as funny.

That's the lot for now. Of course, there are lots of other TV and film families I enjoy watching but, you know, you don't want to be reading this all night. Let me know in the comments if you feel I've made any glaring omissions, or if you disagree with me, or you just want to tell me how awesome I am.

The clock's moving on this one, Greg. If we don't move this guy soon, I'm going upside his head.

I have a bit of a dearth of outfit shots from the past week, folks. Rest assured, it isn't because I haven't been wearing clothes but making time for photos has been a bit low on my list of priorities. I did get one from last Sunday, and one from today, and I'm calling them both for the Shoe Challenge:

Sunday, 17th October 2010. Ruby Belle Sailboat dress, Marks and Spencer Cardigan and Irregular Choice Oz Shoes

Although this dress is very definitely a summer frock, I think it just about works for early autumn with these tights. The shoes clash a bit, but they clash with everything. It's part of their charm. I love these tights as well, they're so bright! I'm sure a lot of people would avoid them for that reason, and because they don't want to draw attention to themselves. I think they're fun. They really do draw attention though. I wore them to work in the week (with my Knightley dress and purple shoes from Faith) and as I stood on the platform at Leamington station I definitely noted some surprised (some disgusted, heh!) looks at my garishly coloured legs, but feck it. I think they're awesome.

Sunday 24th October 2010: Marks and Spencer dress and patent belt and Vivienne Westwood Anglomania for Melissa Lady Dragon shoes

I bought this dress in the RSPCA charity shop last week. It came with a belt, but it has a fussy clasp detail that looks like something out of The Girl From Tomorrow so I substituted my faithful skinny patent belt. I don't think it photographs very well, but the skirt is a very flattering cut and it feels quite glamorous to wear. Today was the first time I wore my cherry Lady Dragons and I love them. It makes me feel very happy to look down at my feet and see the cherries, and I do know how frivolous that sounds. These shoes also get stares, because they are pretty ridiculous. I may not be able to wear them much over the next few months as it is definitely getting colder, but the sun was shining enough today for me to chance wearing open-toed shoes.

I did attempt to do a wardrobe switchover a few weeks ago. I didn't really have any winter-specific clothes to take out of storage (and also: no storage - just the shelf in the top of the wardrobe) but I did put away some of my more summery dresses. Not all of them, and I think that as it gets colder I'll have to be a bit more ruthless because there are a few that just will not layer up sufficiently for the winter. I was weak, because some of them are just too bright and pretty to sit in the top of the wardrobe for months (I'm looking at you, Corbusier Atlantis dress) I was also a bit depressed by all of the black dresses (I have my dresses arranged by colour, fact fans) so I moved those to the end. I can still get at them, but they're not the first things I see when I open the wardrobe in the morning.

When it gets to this time of year, I always start longing for (and usually buying, because I have no restraint) really flamboyant, colourful and totally unsuitable for the weather clothes. This autumn it's the turn of the halter-necked circle skirt dress. I didn't have a specific one in mind (although, that said, if any mysterious Daddy-Long-Legs style benefactors are reading this, I really like this one by Tara Starlet from Aspire) Personally, I blame Natalie for looking so amazing when she wore one to a wedding) and also Amber for this photo, in which she looks incredible. Yeah, thanks ladies! Anyway, I was in Coventry on Saturday with Nic, Lysy and The Scientist, and I bought one. Pictures to follow when I wear the dress but needless to say, it's flamboyant and bright and completely unsuitable for the coming winter. It's fabulous, however, and I'd like another one.

I've been reading lots of interesting blogs recently about body image and personal style. Bright Side Dweller, Already Pretty and Rabbit Write have all made that part of my brain fire up. I didn't take care of myself physically when I was ill - I was finding eating very difficult because anxiety was making me feel sick all the time and, as a result, I lost weight. Not a huge amount, but enough to be noticeable to people who see me all the time and the variety of reactions I got to this has been really interesting and thought-provoking. Two people - a colleague and a good friend - pointed it out with a note of concern in their voices. A few more people commented on it as a compliment and, while I know they meant well, it was hard to take it as a compliment. When I looked in the mirror and could see my collar bones more prominently, for example, all I could see was how stress and anxiety had made something as basic as eating really bloody difficult. I didn't feel great about my body, I didn't feel good about anything.

I'm not setting up a fat/thin skinny woman/real woman thing here, it's not what I mean - just that, it bothers me that a physical manifestion of a negative emotional state could be seen as a good thing. No-one who commented meant anything shady in their comment at all, but it's sad that commenting on my weight could be thought of as a compliment. Other bloggers have written about this more eloquently than I have, so go and read the blogs I've linked to. I have noticed that, since I've been feeling better and eating better, how I feel about my body has improved. I've been dancing around the kitchen, enjoying cooking, taking pleasure in climbing the stairs or the brisk walk to the station in the morning and I've been wanting to wear brightly-coloured and ridiculous clothes again. This is nice, and it's another reason why I am glad and grateful to be feeling like myself again.

On the subject of food - my dinner has just gone in the oven (veggie sausage and chilli bean casserole) so it's time for me to say good evening to you all. Have a lovely Sunday evening!

Doctor, we're losing him! Well don't just stand there, Nurse. Get him some eggs chopped up in a cup!

Shoes! My new shoes arrived this morning!

Shoes No. 33: Vivienne Westwood Anglomania for Melissa Lady Dragon Cherry shoes

I have a real weakness for peeptoe shoes, it seems. These pretties are even lovelier in real life, the cherries are amazing! I'm not sure how much chance I'll have to wear these as autumn is definitely drawing in, but a thing of beauty is a joy forever and there's always the spring.

Last night my lovely Nic took me out for a wee early evening date to Wilde's and I wore one of the Max C dresses I bought from Paul's of Aughnacloy:

Needless to say, I put on a cardigan and a coat before leaving the house! Wilde's was excellent. It was before dinner so it was very quiet and it was happy hour, so I got a large glass of wine for the price of a small one. I'm a simple pleasures kind of girl, what can I say? Nic and I had a really pleasant evening eating home made channa dall and watching an episode of The State Within. It turns out that it's not really about spies, and that I can follow it okay. Also, Jason Isaacs is HOT:

Mmmm...I think he's a bit like a posh English Jon Hamm. Or at least, he is in The State Within. Dishy!

I went back to work this week and it was surprisingly okay. As a way of getting me acclimatised to it I'm on somewhat modified duties and it really is helping to ease me back in. While my workplace is closing down, my job is not at threat at the moment but I will have the option to take voluntary redundancy at the end of January. This is what I'll do, I think. The redundancy terms are really generous and while the ideal situation would be to be able to start a new job straightaway I'll be able to manage if that isn't possible. Anyway, having a possible end date in mind is actually really soothing, so I'm largely feeling okay about my return to work. I'm keen not to run before I can walk, if you will forgive the cliche. One of the important things about having time away was the space to think about how things affect me, and how I can deal with it. I've been trying to apply CBT techniques to stressful situations and it isn't like a magic wand, but it does help me to feel more in control of myself. I'm a terrible one for spiralling, and this is something I feel like I'm gradually getting under control. We'll see though, I've got a few upcoming things that I'm feeling nervous about and I'm trying hard not to let my propensity for worry talk me out of doing things that are good for me. All in all, however, I am feeling a lot more like my old self, and long may it continue!

So, I'm going to have to cut this short here as Nic and I are having an early dinner tonight. Then I'm off out to meet the Sew Make Believe ladies. We're all expecting a Very Happy Event at some point over the next few weeks, and we're getting together to celebrate that. I plan to wear my cherry shoes over the weekend, with a bee-yoo-ti-ful sailor dress I bought from ebay so expect some pictures soon!