I don't take no anesthetic. Did Lincoln ask for any girlie gas when they blowed his head off?

I woke up in the funniest mood this morning. I can't remember my dreams last night, so I wonder if maybe I had a stressy dream and it made me feel blue. Whatever it was, I had that horrible stomach clenching formless anxiety and getting up was hard. I got up, anyway, and I'm feeling grand now but it was a strange start to the day all the same. I will be glad when we break up work for easter, some time away will be a tonic.

Anyway, I don't have much craic for you all this evening. I was feeling the after-effects of sun and was a bit blue yesterday, and today I've been at work. I had a nice lunch out with some of my colleagues, and I had a few meetings but nothing exciting, but I did want to share my outfit.

Yes, it's another Rooibos!

I'm getting to be like Karen and her many, many Pendrell blouses. This is my third Rooibos. Dang it, though, but the Colette patterns are so much fun to sew and to wear! This being my third one, it came together really quickly and I sewed this up in a few hours. The fabric came from a pair of curtains I bought for £3 at a vintage sale and I had the zip and thread in my stash, so this dress cost me £7 (factoring in the cost of the pattern) which is pretty nifty, I think. These must have been really ugly curtains and I confess, after impulse buying the fabric I was at a bit of a loss as to what to do with it. I hadn't envisioned it as a Rooibos until I saw the fabulous one Veronica Darling made out of a tablecloth. The great thing about making this out of curtains is that they were already hemmed, so hemming this was a dream. I did still hem it, but as hem was already turned up it took a matter of minutes.

Oranges and lemons

Nic took these photos when I got home from work so the dress is a little wrinkled after a day's wear, but I will get better photos later. This is definitely the best-fitting dress I've made so far. I made my first Rooibos in a US 8 and it came up big, so I cut the second in a US 6. It's also a little big for my liking so with this one I cut the 6 but increased my seam allowance to 1 inch instead of 5/8 inch and it worked perfectly. You know when people say it fits like it was made for me? Well it does!

Wrinkled...

Although I love the cute little collar detail on the Rooibos I decided to leave it out this time and make the neckline a simple one. I think this dress has a really cute 60s feel. The only thing to decide now is what to do with the other curtain! Seeing how well the print works on a garment makes me want to try using it on a style with a fuller skirt. What do you all think? Maybe another Simplicity 2591? Anyway, this was a nice satisfying project because it came together so quickly and there was no pressure. I knew I liked the pattern and was curious about whether the fabric would work on a garment - WIN!

I have another blog post simmering away in the back of my head so I will be back later in the week. Take care my lovelies!

What about the aluminum foil; did you cover your ceiling? Well, then, you're in business. You've got yourself an alien-thought-proof room there.

Evening all! I hope you've all been having an excellent weekend, wherever you might be. I've been sunning myself and having a rather lovely time of it, and I'm going to tell you about it in a minute but first I'd like to direct you to my post from Friday if you haven't already read it. I've been reading Amber McNaught's blogs now for a number of years. I respect her professionally and for lots of reasons have come to think of her as a good friend. One of her blogs, Shoeperwoman, is being threatened with closure because of the dishonest and unscrupulous behaviour of another blogger. Please go over to Shoeperwoman and read about it if you haven't already, Amber's blogs are excellent and she deserves lots of support in this.

Anyway, apart from that my weekend has been most pleasing. I had a pretty shitty week. Well, not that bad in the scheme of things but really stressful and frustrating. I was covering for a colleague who was out all week at a training course, which is fine in itself but it involved going to lots of meetings (about three a day) and every single one of them was being run by another colleague who really stresses me out. I won't bore you with all of the details of why this colleague stresses me out but she really does. This week was especially bad because she was running nearly all of these meetings and they all ran late by 15-20 minutes. Which is pretty bad, considering they're hour long meetings - that's really inefficient! It meant that I spent most of my work week running late, missing lunch and generally just feeling really stressed out and pissed off. Not good - coming home and ranting to Nic did help, but still. I'm hoping that this coming week will be less stressful with fewer meetings to attend. By Thursday I had all but lost the will to live so decided to cheer myself up by putting on one of my favourite frocks and cutting out of the office early to have an ice cream in the park with Nic:

Vivien of Holloway polka dot dress, red bow belt from a charity shop and Miss Selfridge wedges

These shoes held up okay for a day in the office, they're just about right for the walk to the station, the walk to the office and then walking around in the office. I don't think they'd be suitable for much more! I think it's a sign that my colleagues have become accustomed to me over dressing for work because while I had a few people commenting that I looked nice, no-one seemed surprised by what I was wearing. So, that was pretty cool. Post ice-cream, Nic and I headed home to dump my stuff so we could go out to spend the evening with Lysy and The Scientist. I got changed, because I knew my evening involved a lot of eating! We got chips from our favourite chippy and settled in for an evening of chatting, eating and playing board games and it was just what I needed after such an annoying week.

I was working from home on Friday and being out of the office did wonders for my mood, and so did the sunshine. I cleaned the windows and our bedroom was so bright and sunny (even if it did smell a wee bit of vinegar from the window-cleaning) that it was impossible to feel grumpy. At lunchtime we headed out to have a picnic lunch in the park:

The delicious salad Nic prepared for usEnjoying the sunshine, the Hollywood Starlet wayYes, I am very devoted to my gardening(!)

It was awesome, and I felt so happy. We don't have any outdoor space at our flat, so Jephson Gardens is like our back garden, and is an excellent place for the outfit shots:

Max C heart dress and Irregular Choice Mighty Monster wedges

When I saw this dress in Paul's boutique in Aughnacloy I had to have it, especially as it was reduced to £10 in the sale! I bought this blue one and Nic bought me one in red. It's a fun little dress to wear, and it has pockets! I thought I'd get a bit matchy-matchy, and paired it with this pair of Irregular Choice shoes I bought in a pre payday slump last week:

Irregular Choice Mighty Monster wedges

They're deceptively high, but as they're wedges it's okay. I love the colour, and the stripy heel, and the dice. I'm less fond of the fact that what looks like suede from a distance is actually fuzzy felt! It's not a problem, it was just surprising when I unpacked them from the box. I'm not going to count this towards my Shoeper Shoe Challenge yet, but I will soon!

After finishing up work for the afternoon I headed out to meet my Sugar Plum for a coffee and a natter, before catching a last few rays of sunshine with Nic and Denise back in the park. When I got home I had just enough time to tidy up and get myself ready before going out again. It was Sugar Plum's birthday and the celebrations were happening in Zizzi's and then the Somerville. I had been saving my new frock for this very occasion:

Fever Olive dress and United Nude Elastic shoes

So, as soon as I saw this dress in my Fever catalogue I knew I had to have her. Mainly because I love the Dita dresses so much, and because I fell hard for the sweetheart neckline and buttons. I feel like a proper bombshell in this dress and that's all a girl can ask for! I'm calling these shoes for Shoeperwoman's Shoe Challenge:

United Nude Elastic Shoes

I bought these shoes in Ballymena when Nic and I were at home last September. They were in the sale and I love a peep-toe but they're not that easy to wear. The colour means they go well with lots of things, but they're not all that comfortable. They rubbed a wee bit on Friday night, it has to be said, and they left some blue dye on my heels. Still, I think they look awesome and they make me really happy because they so vividly remind me of home.

Friday night was lots of fun. Like last Friday evening, I was surrounded by good friends, and there was lots of good food to eat! I'd never eaten in Zizzi's before, but my calzone looked so good that I took a photo of it. I won't share it with you (you've already had a food photo this blog!) but it was super tasty. Y'all will just have to imagine it! As always, the craic was ninety in the Somerville and my plans for an early night just weren't to be. Still, who can complain when there's so much fun to be had?!

Saturday morning I was up early to go to Kenilworth with friends for a craft fair and a picnic in Abbey Fields and a mooch around the charity shops. The charity shops were pretty sucky - so many ugly dresses, and don't even get me started on Oxfam, but the picnic was ace. It was a pretty middle-class picnic (nearly all from Waitrose!) but so tasty. Denise brought along a delicious bottle of white wine, and Nic made us Sloe Gin Fizz using the Sloe Gin Caroline gave him for his birthday. Drinking in the sunshine, dozing on the grass and hanging out with friends - what an excellent Saturday!

Fever Foligno tunic, wedges from Debenhams via a charity shop

I love this dress. It's a good sunny day dress - short, but cute enough so that I don't worry about it all being in the shop window.Sloe Gin - an essential picnic ingredient. Caroline, this bottle is now empty

Sloe Gin Fizz, and some Yum Yums in the background (yum yum!)

Denise and Michael

Denise's first Yum Yum. It made her dance.

Nic

The Kite Eating Tree. I couldn't see Charlie Brown or Linus

When we got back to Leamington Nic wanted to catch a bit more of the sunshine. I had a cup of tea and promptly fell asleep. Sunshine is like a sedative for me, I spent the rest of the evening feeling drowsy and happy. Okay, I guess the gin and the wine probably helped that along! I woke up a bit after dinner and Nic and I watched a few episodes of The X-Files and took ourselves to bed.

I have no craic from today, just more of the same - this time with added grocery shopping and baking (more rhubarb and custard cake) and getting my summer clothes out. For the sake of completeness, here's what I wore:

Ruby Belle Amsterdam dress, red Madrid Birkenstocks and a hat I bought at Leamington Peace Festival a few years ago

This dress isn't meant to be strapless but annoyingly, the little plastic bits that make the straps adjustable both broke while I was out! It works okay strapless, I think but it did bug me a little bit. All the same, I really like the shape and print of this frock. It came with a fabric sash, which I don't wear because a big bow dangling down from the side just seems wrong to me. Anyhow, it's now gone into my mending pile so I can fix the straps. I know this hat is a wee bit ridiculous but it's a great sunhat, and I love it - it's not quite a panama hat (I really want a panama hat) but it is roughly that shape. Also, I was so happy to get my Birkenstocks out for the first time this year. These are such happy shoes for me, even though I mostly live in heels. They're so comfortable and cute, I think my summer sandals this year might be these in a few different colours.
Anyway, that's your lot from me. Putting in all those photos meant this blog took ages to write, but luckily for me there's a gin and tonic and a slice of cake waiting for me as reward at the end of it. If I was tweeting this I'd say #yum. In fact, I will. #YUM

Help to save Shoeperwoman

Hello my dears, just a quick one from me this afternoon (more to follow) I'm sure most of my regular readers also read my favourite blogs, those run by the wonderful and talented Amber McNaught. Sickeningly, one of her blogs is now under attack from an imposter, and she needs our help. She has put it better than I could, so I'm going to post her blog about it below. You can comment and show your support over at Shoeperwoman:

Important announcement regarding Shoeperwoman.com

Posted on April 8th, 2011 by Shoeperwoman

(First of all, the Shoeper Shoe Challenge roundup will not be appearing today as my time has been totally taken up with the issue below. My apologies to everyone who’s sent me photos – I promise I will publish them on Monday. In the meantime, I would really appreciate your comments and re-tweets on this post…)

I had really hoped not to have to write this post, but having exhausted my other options I’ve taken legal advice (from the wonderful Caveat Calcei, who you all know from the Shoe Challenge), and feel I have no option but to go public about an issue regarding the “Shoeperwoman” name and this site.

As most of my regular readers will know, I set up Shoeperwoman two years ago this month, having registered the domain in May of 2008 and spent a year planning the site. At the time there were no other sites using the name. Earlier this year, however, a UK-based company launched a shoe blog called “Shoeperwoman” and an associated retail website of the same name.

(Not my blog)

I don’t really want to link to these sites as I feel they are damaging enough to my brand without me helping their Google rank, but you can see the address of the retail site from the image above and the blog can be found at shoeper-woman.blogspot.com. First of all, I want to clarify that these sites have absolutely no connection to Shoeperwoman.com or to Midas Media. I realise it’s confusing for people as they are using the same name, and writing about the same subjects, often in exactly the same way (i.e. using phrases like “shoeperhero”, “Shoeperman” etc.) but there is no connection, so please know that this is the only “Shoeperwoman” site run by us (with the exception of our associated Twitter and Facebook accounts, which also use the “Shoeperwoman” name), therefore if you come across these sites, or any others, please be aware that they have nothing to do with us.

The other company is also using the name “Shoeperwoman” on Twitter, Facebook and other sites, which I realise adds to the confusion. If you are in any doubt whether something you read online is being said by me, or by Laura Blake, who is the owner of the other sites, please feel free to get in touch.

(Not me)

When I found out about these sites, I immediately contacted Laura Blake, who tells me that she does not believe there is any issue with her using exactly the same name and concept as me for her business (although she has put up a disclaimer today which you can read on her blog). Obviously I’m disappointed about this. I set up Shoeperwoman.com two years ago: it is my livelihood (along with my other blogs), and Terry and I have worked very hard to build up the brand to where it is today. It’s disheartening, to say the least, to find that someone has knowingly decided to use exactly the same name and idea for a very similar project (Laura tells me she was aware of the existence of this site but decided to use the name regardless), and obviously this will make it much harder for both of the respective businesses to thrive, as rather than having our own unique identities, these two new sites have effectively set themselves up in direct competition to us instead.

(Not my Shoeperman…)

What Laura didn’t tell me during our lengthy email conversations, was that not only has she knowingly used a name which has been associated with my blog for the past two years, she has also applied for the UK trademark to the name “Shoeperwoman”. If she is successful in this application, this would mean that I would no longer be able to use the name I have made mine, and this site will effectively cease to exist. As the revenue from this site forms a large part of my income, I’m sure you can understand my distress at this, and the reason I’m writing this post.

To answer the obvious question that has cropped up in relation to this: no, we do not own the trademark to the name “Shoeperwoman”. We looked into doing this when we launched the site, however the very high cost of this was prohibitive for us, as it is for most other bloggers, and so we were forced to rely on the goodwill and common sense of our fellow bloggers/site owners, and to hope that most people would prefer to create something that’s truly their own rather than to duplicate another brand. Obviously that isn’t always the case: some of you may remember the issues Jennine Jacob’s The Coveted encountered recently when another site launched using the same name, and if this can happen to me, and can happen to a well-known blogger like Jennine, it can happen to anyone.

We have now lodged our own trademark application for the name, which means we’re already hundreds of pounds out of pocket in our bid to assert our right to continue to use a name which has been associated with this site for two years now, and which I have also used on Twitter, Facebook and other sites for the same length of time. Having taken advice on this, we believe it could cost us much more to defend our brand, which is obviously causing us a great deal of stress. This is where you come in:

How you can help Shoeperwoman:

Obviously this is a source of huge concern to us, so we would welcome any support our readers and friends have to offer us, in the shape of comments, re-tweets and advice. If you are a blogger, and would like to mention this is issue on your site, I would be eternally grateful, not just for my sake, but because as I mentioned above, this is something that can happen to anyone, and it is devastating to work so hard on something for so long, only to see it put at risk like this. Also, any links back to Shoeperwoman.com (especially those using the word “Shoeperwoman” as the link text) would be a huge help to us right now as they will help cement our position in search engines and support our right to the trademark when we file our dispute.

I also want to say a big thank you to everyone who has emailed Terry and I with their support over this issue: it really means the world to us to know that we have loyal readers who will continue to support us no matter how many other ”Shoeperwomen” crop up

If you don't go get me some cheese, I'll rip your head off, and give you a spinedectomy.

Hello all, it's another Sunday evening here's-what-I've-been-doing type blog. I really need to organise my time better so I'm not blogging at the same time every week, but what can you do? As I write Nic is cooking us delicious vegetarian fish and chips for dinner and I'm half watching an episode of The Thick of It. It's a lovely, slightly sweary end to a beautiful weekend and I'm going to tell you about it. Get a cup of tea, sit down and all of that.

I did have a particularly wonderful weekend, it has been really excellent. It sort of started on Thursday. Thursday is my favourite day of the week in many ways, because I usually work from home on Friday so Thursday is the day when I know I can switch my alarm off. This Thursday was particularly enjoyable because Nic came to work with me. He registered a while ago as a proof-reader for us and as such, came in to do some proof-reading. It was a strange intersection of my home life and my work life, but it was nice that Nic was able to meet my lovely colleagues and see our office, and he finished up early enough to go home and get on with his own work in the afternoon. Work has been really busy, and it's getting busier but the positive side of this is that I got confirmation this week that I am no longer at risk of being made redundant as my job is going to transfer into the new agency. This isn't without problems (one of which being that the job is effectively being downgraded despite the fact that, if anything, I am going to have additional responsibilities) but the peace of mind that this job security has brought me is priceless.

On Thursday evening Lauren, Lysy and I went round to see Kate and baby Evelina for some girly time. It was so much fun, and there were glasses of wine and bags of crisps and chocolate as well. I've known Kate for a while through Sew Make Believe but we don't often get to hang out and really chat, so Thursday night was especially enjoyable. I had a leisurely start to Friday morning, and I got some work done with some coffee and some toast. It was much less stressful than last Friday's attempt at working from home, and the sun was shining and it felt good. I finished up in good enough time in the afternoon to wander off and get my hair cut. Normally I find having my hair cut really stressful and I have to spend about a week building up the courage to even make the appointment. Well, I still had that but in the event the haircut itself was actually quite relaxing, even the bit I hate the most which is having my hair blow-dried. I'm happy with the results, but as yet I haven't really been able to capture it in photographic form. At least, not to my liking. So please believe me when I tell you it does look better in real life, and when it isn't being blown about by the wind:

Fever Hetty dress and Bertie Sardinia shoes

I bought this dress on ebay, and it arrived last week. I was very excited when I saw it come up on ebay, because I have wanted it for ages (ever since my first ever visit to the Fever shop) but it sold out quickly and I couldn't find it in my size. Waiting patiently for someone to sell it paid off, and I got it for a good price, and I adore it. The tulip skirt is a fun detail, and of course I love the pockets. There is rather a lot of fabric at the front which has the potential to blouse in an unflattering way, but I don't really care. I really love the print, so I'm very pleased. It also has this cool detail at the back:

An exposed zip! I don't always like this detail, but I think it works here and makes this something a bit more interesting than a floral shift dress. Nic thinks it's really cool, too - he says it gives the dress a nice punky feel to it. So all in all, I love this dress!

After my little pampering session at the hair salon, I met Nic for coffee and cake in Exclusive Roots, which was awesome. A friend of ours has started working there, and it was excellent to catch up with her over a cup of coffee and oreo cookie brownies! After a spot of grocery shopping we headed home to get ready for a night out on the town! Well, sort of - a meal in Chico's and some drinks in the Somerville with lots of friends was the plan for Friday. It was so much fun, the food in Chico's was excellent and the craic was mighty in the Somerville too. All in all, I went to bed on Friday night feeling very happy with my lot.

Our friend JP was staying with us on Friday night so on Saturday Nic and I decided to take him for a walk through the fields to a pub on the river. The sun was shining and it was warm and the air smelled like spring, so we took a detour through one of my favourite places in Leamington, the church at Old Milverton:

The Church itself

Old Milverton is almost impossibly picturesque, and it's hard to believe that the main road is so close to this churchyard. It feels so peaceful among the overgrown graves. I don't think I would like to be buried in a graveyard, I don't like the idea of people visiting my grave, but I always find graveyards incredibly peaceful. I love reading the names on the old headstones as well, in this graveyard I even came across a lady named Louie Hepzibah.

Nic and JP visiting

This headstone tells the story of a young quartermaster who died trying to save a fellow crew member from drowning

After our walk through the Churchyard we wandered down through the fields to the Saxon Mill, and found a seat outside by the river. Nic and JP did some writing, I read my book and basked in the sunshine, and daydreamed a little as well. I felt so serene and happy by the water in the sunshine, and so grateful too to feel that way. There was a time when I honestly couldn't imagine feeling so happy and hopeful again, and every time I feel this way now I am grateful for it.

JP caught the train back to London in the early evening and Nic and I took ourselves to bed early with a DVD and a cup of tea. I wasn't hungover, having been quite restrained the night before, but I'm not as young as I used to be - these late nights just really tire me out! We slept late this morning which was lovely, and got out into the sunshine before it faded for a walk in the park and an ice-cream. I decided to wear a dress that Lauren kindly lent to me last week:

Fever Fez bolero, Primark dress and patent wedges from Miss Selfridge

Yes, those are new shoes! Having given away two pairs of shoes this week, I thought it was only fair that I replaced them! Heh. One of the pairs are in transit, and the others are these patent beauties from Miss Selfridge. I tried these on a few months ago in the store, but thought they were too expensive (£50, and they're not leather, so that's TFD in my book) Also, while I loved them Nic thought they were hideous. It's not often that he ventures a strong opinion on shoes, and I was surprised. Still, I took Sugar Plum back for a second opinion and she also thought they were pretty cool so when I spotted them in the sale I didn't give it a second thought.

And, you know, Nic might be right. They might be hideous. But, as he said, they're my feet, and I like them:Also, they make me so TALL! They actually got their debut on Friday night, but today was my first chance to photograph them. They're the first pair of platform wedges I've been able to walk in, and they're surprisingly comfortable. I'm not going to be running any marathons in them or anything, like, but they're comfortable. So I'm pretty happy with that!

The rest of today has been spent doing various chores and doing some baking - in fact, I have just liberated my rhubarb and custard cake from its tin and am about to devour it with a cup of tea! So, I shall leave you here and wish you all well on this beautiful spring evening.

And watch out for your fillers - your breads, your rolls, your chips, your dips. You've only got so much room - don't be a hero.

Evening all, and happy clocks-changing-now-it's-British-Summer time! Actually, I find the clock change always a bit wearing because it messes up my body clock, but today has been warm and sunny and if I'm a bit tired, no matter because it is finally officially no longer winter. I mean, there's no guarantee that there won't still be snow but still.

So anyway my dears, I hope you've all been having a good week. All is well enough with me. Work continued to be very busy all week and I was looking forward to my home working day on Friday being a day where I could catch up with myself and do all the little jobs that had been building up all week (writing up meeting notes, reading, booking things, that kind of job) but I ended up getting so stressed by work that I burst into tears. It's stupid, because it was nothing big or important, just that I kept being interrupted and pointlessly at that. Mind you, I think the tears broke the storm clouds that had been gathering above my head all morning and cleared my head for the afternoon. I was greatly helped along in this by Nic soothing me and feeding me his delicious home made carrot and coriander soup. As the sun was still shining I packed up a bit early and went out to meet some friends for coffee and a gossip, and it was wonderful. I wore a dress lent to me by Denise:

Emily and Fin Lulu dress, Fever Hetty jacket and Bertie Sardinia shoes

So, I love this dress. It is so much fun to wear, and I adore the print. I'm currently scouring the internets for one I can afford. Oh, also, I got this sweet little jacket for £5 on ebay! I'm all about the ebay bargains as you know, but this one is especially good because it's warm enough for the spring, but light enough to not be too warm. Also: polka dots! Of course, I didn't wear the jacket all day, here's what was underneath:

Any excuse to wear this little bolero...

I'm going to call this one for the Shoe Challenge as well. It's really easy to wear these shoes, because they go with everything and are surprisingly comfortable. I love the way they make my legs look really long!

Bertie Sardinia shoes

After a stressful morning it was so nice to hang out with friends in the afternoon, and Sugar Plum and Lysy invited me to join them at the Sewing for Pleasure fair at the NEC the following day, so I had something excellent to look forward to the following day. Every inch the classy lady, I ended the evening in bed with a gin and tonic, Nic, and an episode of New Tricks, all the storms and tears totally forgotten.

I was up bright and early to meet the girls at the station in the morning, and feeling quite excited about going to the Sewing for Pleasure fair. It has to be something good to induce me to catch the horrrible cross country train on a non-work day (it's the train I catch to work, and it's like travelling in a really fast-moving toilet) so the bar was set quite high for the fair. It was a fun day, not least because it was really good to hang out with my wonderful girls, and to check out lots of sewing stuff. I was generally unimpressed by the fabric on offer - there was lots of lovely stuff, to be sure, but nothing at a good enough price to warrant having to stand in a long queue and be elbowed around by middle-aged ladies for. Still, I bought some Vogue patterns at a knock-down price, was inspired by lots of the things I saw and had a really good time. I haven't taken photos of the patterns I bought, but you'll see them at some point no doubt. I did get to meet someone pretty cool:

Don't be fooled by my smile here. He really was pretty scary, and really tall!

This isn't one of the patterns I bought, but I did take a photo of it for Lysy. She's been wanting a Sexy Taxi Driver costume for a while now, so I wondered if maybe she'd rather be a Sexy Something Else:

Sexy Grecian, Sexy Nun, Sexy Cavewoman, Sexy Surgeon, Sexy Convict

We got back to Leamington early enough to do a bit more shopping (I bought some buttons, but that was it) and then the girls headed off while I dandered into town with Nic. We had a look in some of the shops and stopped for a coffee in Exclusive Roots Cafe on Park Street. Nic had hot chocolate and I had coffee with chocolate and banana cake. I just wanted to mention it, because for one thing the cake was immense. It was awesome. Also, the cafe is part of a charity and all profits go to that charity. Seriously though, the cake. It's good!

On Saturday evening Nic and I settled down to watch a film. I'm not always in the mood for concentrating on a film, but over the past few weeks I've been really enjoying watching films and discussing them with Nic. I really enjoyed Vertigo last week, and as I've been wanting to watch Don't Look Now for ages that's what we watched. It helps, of course, that I have a huge crush on 70s Donald Sutherland:

Donald Sutherland: Yes please

I knew all of the pop-culture references to Don't Look Now, and had seen clips of the famous sex scene between Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie, but knew very little about the film itself. In many ways I think it's a good film to have watched so soon after Vertigo because they have a lot in common. I found Don't Look Now to be surprisingly moving - I was really surprised by the extent to which I was touched by that sex scene. It was tender and beautiful and it brought me to tears. I've so often seen Don't Look Now referred to as a horror film but I didn't view it in that way myself. It was almost unbearably tense and the sense of building to an unavoidable climax was very strong. Like with Vertigo, I look forward to watching it again to see how knowing what the ending is changes my experience of the story. Also, seriously, I adore Donald Sutherland so never need an excuse to watch a film with him in it!

Today I've been a bit drowsy due to the clock change, but I've had a pretty sweet Sunday. I slept late, Nic and I breakfasted on scrambled eggs on toast and then took a walk into town to do some grocery shopping before I headed off for an afternoon of sewing, cake and chatting with Denise and Lauren. I'm still working away on my gingham dress (progress made, though!) and Denise and Lauren had their own projects on the go. It's such a nice, companionable way to spend a Sunday afternoon and I really enjoyed myself. We ended up with a little dressing up session, and both Denise and I went straight home and bought ourselves nice fluffy petticoats from ebay after trying on one of Lauren's most recent buys. It was great. I had to get changed shortly before going out, having discovered that my dress had toothpaste on it, but I think my second-choice outfit worked out well:

Fever Pansy spot dress, red bow belt from a charity shop and Topshop shoes

Nic bought me this bow belt yesterday when I spotted it in a charity shop. It was very cheap, and it looks it, but I think it's fun all the same.

My lovely Nic is working hard to get our dinner ready (chilli men stir fry and noodles: yum) so I'd best wrap this up. I think this week is going to be horribly busy at work, so I don't know that I'm going to be around much, but I'll see you all before too long no doubt. Look after yourselves, yeah? And each other, as Jerry Springer used to say.

At all hazards, a man must keep up appearances. Dignity, I say. Dignity above all, Governor. Hear, hear!

Hello my dears! It feels like it's been ages since I wrote a blog, but I suppose it hasn't been all that long, probably. Anyhow, here I am for your reading delight. Settle in, and settle down.

I hope it's been nice where you all are, because it's been beautiful here. The weekend was sunny and warm and ever so relaxing, which was just exactly what I needed. Part of the reason why I haven't updated recently is because I spent most of last week shrouded in a red mist of unfocused rage. It's like my default setting had switched from happy to something more like ARGAAAHHHH, you know? I can't say it's because anything in particular happened, because it didn't. But I wasn't sleeping, my heart was racing and I just felt generally anxious and uptight and tense. It definitely wasn't helped by the fact that Severn Trent were digging up our road, so each morning I was awoken at anti-social o'clock by the sounds of pneumatic drills and cutting equipment, leaving the house with a headache and getting to work feeling pissed off. So, yeah. I did think about writing a ranty blog post about everything that was pissing me off but decided against it, which is probably a good thing. I had a long talk with Nic on Wednesday night after getting especially freaked out, and spending some time with a dear friend on Friday afternoon helped to clear my head as well. I'm still very prone to stress and anxiety, I think, but I am getting better at recognising the warning signs and asking for help. Progress, I think.

Anyway, by Friday I was in MUCH better form. The sun had come out, and although I was in the office (I try to work from home on Fridays) I had a lunch date with Louise and Nic to make the day all shiny. It did make the day shiny, and so did a little post-lunch internet shopping. I'm nothing if not an emotional shopper. I'll share that with you in a bit, just keep reading. Friday night was lazy and sleepy and on Saturday morning Nic and I got some boring tasks out of the way (yes, hello paying the electricity bill) before going for a lazy pub brunch with some friends. The weather was gloriously warm so we headed out for a post-prandial stroll and ice cream in the park:

Jephson Gardens in the sunshine

Nic enjoying the sunshine

For the first time in ages it was warm enough to forgo tights and get my legs out. I enjoy wearing colourful tights in the colder weather but as soon as I can stop wearing them, I do.

Fever Spotty shift dress and Fez bolero, and red shoes from Topshop

I loved the way the deep red looked with the navy and white of the dress, but it did impede the neckline somewhat

It's blossom time

It was so nice to get out into the sunshine and for a walk, and the rest of Saturday felt like one of those happy dreams. Nic and I recreated a Relais Gascon salad for our dinner (salad topped with thinly sliced potatoes fried in butter and garlic) and watched Vertigo. It was my first time seeing Vertigo and I was blown away by it, it was disturbing and upsetting and really thought-provoking. I was especially moved by Kim Novak's performance and it's a film I'm really looking forward to revisiting.

Sunday was passed in an equally lazy fashion, with the highlight of coffee with Tom and Dave S in the afternoon and another stroll in the park. By Sunday evening I was feeling completely relaxed and ready for a week at work, which is always good. This week is going to be a busy one and, in addition to what I would have been doing already I have picked up an extra project so that's going to keep me out of trouble. Mondays always pass by in a blur, and today was no more civilised but I did get to debut the frock I bought online on Friday from Call Me Betty, which arrived yesterday. I've wanted one for ages, and after realising that my bank balance was in a healthier state than I imagined it to be on Friday morning I did the only sensible thing and bought one of Betty's frocks. I'm glad I did this before the electricity bill arrived, but anyway. I have to say, I was not disappointed because the frock is gorgeous and comes with an adorable little ribbon brooch to wear with it. It arrived really quickly, and is so beautifully made that I'll be treating myself to another one before too long.

Call Me Betty Grace in Stars dress, Bettie Page belt and Irregular Choice mermaid shoes

Please excuse my slight bleary-eyed-ness here, but this is the face of a woman who has had just about all she can take of electronic filing.

This one is slightly better, I think

I'm a sucker for a circle skirt, and I just love the little stars all over this. The bodice is boned front and back, and the back boning comes right up to my shoulder blades so it took me a little while to get used to that, but it's not uncomfortable and I suppose it discourages me from slouching. The little attention seeker in me really appreciated the impact this dress had - a number of my colleagues commented on it, and a nice young man stopped me in the street to say he thought the dress was pretty. Result!

My darling Nic has just put our dinner in the oven (Nigella's Double Potato and Halloumi bake, if you're wondering) so I'm off. I'll leave you with a picture that will hopefully be representative of the rest of my week.