Summer brings my favourite outfits

You might have noticed I haven't shared as many outfit pictures in recent times as in the past. There are various reasons for this but one being the fact that I find that my love for Winter and cold-weather outfits is significantly smaller than my love for Summer clothes. I just adore Summer outfits and find I just like sharing what I wear. Even if it's just a dress with little or no other styling, I still enjoy seeing and remembering them! 

So, here are a few I've worn in recent weeks. 

CBC and I went to the beach last Saturday after a wander in a town to get some essential refill items we had completely run out of. 

The skirt was Monsoon, charity shopped, and beautifully light-weight cotton. The top is, also Monsoon and linen. It's a little awkward to style but I feel cool in it! The little cotton waistcoat is embroidered and I bought it recently from Vinted. It's a little big for me but I have seen Vix wearing so many pretty waistcoats like this and wanted to try it! 

This dress is just F&F at Tesco, charity-shopped. It's a light cotton and I wore it on that hot Saturday a few weeks ago and perfect for a hot day where you want to be covered up. I wore it to go for a mooch around the shops when CBC was away and I added this Boden Cashmere cardigan I bought that day for £4 and this cute hat which I needed as I'd forgotten a hat! Plus my gold sequinned Tom pumps. 

The next outfit was worn for church the next day and then school and features my Miss Patina sailor cardigan. I added my cats as mermaids skirt, also Miss Patina plus my Clarks Funny dream shoes. And the hat! 

Another Miss Patina outfit. I tried this beautiful light-weight linen/cotton pinafore with lace trim and the cotton blouse.  I actually ended up swapping it for a darker linen version. Now looking at these pics, I'm kind of regretting swapping it but I wasn't sure about it! 

The final outfit was worn for Cultural Day at school. Last year, I wore a Greek dress (for my Greek grandma) and I did debate wearing the White F&F dress above as it has Grecian look and colours but also almost Scottish flags for some ancestors but in the end, I wore this beautiful Laura Ashley cotton lawn dress. Nothing screams English more than Laura Ashley, especially with roses. When I first wore it on this blog about 14 years ago, it was too big for me but now it fits perfectly. Soooo many compliments from staff, kids (all genders!). 

I wore this hat with it all day. 

I've got to talk about the Cultural Day. 

It was, like last year, an incredible day! 

Everyone was dressed in outfits which they felt reflected a culture they have a connection or background to. 

Last year, the same week, we did three morning performances on 3 days in Mid-July to parents featuring songs from multiple cultures represented in my school. 

This year, as it was May and we had only had 6 weeks to learn songs, we just did internal assemblies. Also, we have been having a focus on representing South Asian cultures. As part of this, I had sent out a request to staff to see if anyone was willing to do a short term club to teach some sort of South Asian dance. To my delight,  3 members of staff volunteered to run clubs for 3 different year groups and different types of dace- one Rajusthani puppet dance for year 1-2, another Dandiya stick dance to year 3-4 and another Bhangra dance to year 5-6.

In each assembly, all three dance groups performed, brilliantly.

In Year 1-2, I had taught them, and they sang 3 songs.  Ghum Parani from Bangladesh, Anile, Anile O diva from Sri Lanka and Ali Baba from Afghanistan.  They did such a sweet job of the songs especially the Afghan song.

In year 3-4, I taught them Khamma Mana Nanderji from India and Alef Ba (alphabet song) from Afghanistan and in addition , recorder club played a piece from Jamaica.

In year 5-6, they sang Alef Ba from Afghanistan and Eso Eso by Rabindrath Tagore from the West Bengal/Bangledesh and drumming club performed some Bhangra Chaal drumming rhythmson snare drums.  The whole day was extremely joyful and I was so proud of all the children.

One lovely member of staff came and gave me a hug when she heard Eso Eso as she said she had sung that in school and loved it and was so glad I had helped her twin girls learn some songs from their cultural background when they had shown little interest when she had tried to interest them in it. This really touched me!

 

TARDIS Tuesday- Ace and the Greatest Show in the galaxy!

I'm camping and have lost all track of the days. Is it Tuesday today? 

TARDIS Tuesday tody features an outfit worn by 7th Doctor companion, Ace McShane. I last wore it on here in January 2023. 

It is from Classic Who and is worn by Ace (played by Sophie Aldred) in an serial called 'The Greatest Show in the Galaxy'. Unusually, she doesn't wear her ubiquitous Bomber Jacket in much of the story which means we actually get a proper look at her top. Like my much-cosplayed companion, Yaz, she seems to wear this jacket ALL the time so it makes identifying the features of their clothing, particularly tops, very difficult!

Let's look at the original:

Image borrowed from 
The Ultimate Guide to the Fashion of Doctor Who

And here I am:

This time, I wasn't going for total accuracy, but a wearable outfit, based on it and what I could find. 

I started with one of my Seasalt sailor tops. I haven't actually worn this particular top for this Ace outfit. FYI, it was charity shopped in Halstead, Suffolk a few years ago. 

I have a more accurate skirt but I wanted to wear this charity shopped Far Face skirt as it is a bit longer. 

Of course, I didn't want to miss an opportunity to wear my Ang customised Ace bomber. Isn't it brilliant?? 

The Clarks boots from last week and then I added my Luftwaffe cap badge from my Clara Nightmare in Silver cosplay as a nod to Ace's patches. 

Also, Ace had a Blue Peter badge so I'm proudly displaying MY Blue Peter competition winner's badge! I won it, as well as an Oscar's Orchestra video for being one of 100 runners up out of 28,000 competition entries. Sadly, the pin fell off ages ago.

 

TARDIS Tuesday - Ruby Sunday

Wasn't expecting to be donning this particular TARDIS Tuesday outift in May but there you go!

Last week was COLD and rainy!  My poor tomato plants are not happy in the garden after the battering they received at the hands of the hail and torrential rain!  Last Sunday, I was really cold so I decided to put on a jumper which led me to this outfit worn by Ruby Sunday in the last series of Doctor Who.  She also donned it in an episode called Dot and Bubble. I featured an iteration of it in February 2024 on here.

And here's me:

It was a cosy outfit to wear.

The jumper is from Topshop and I love the big sleeves and cropped length. I bought a size 14 as the smaller sizes were too cropped!  My skirt was a charity-shopped Fatface skirt and my jacket was bought from Primark in 2023 when I went shopping with my niece.  I only tried it on because my niece was trying things on but I really liked it and it was so different from anything I had! I've worn it a lot since! It has a lovely quilted lining.

The boots are no longer mine They are Clarks Men's and I bought them for me a few years beforebut CBC was getting very cold, wet feet last Winter and I wanted him to stay warm.  He'd already 'borrowed' them (without asking!) a few times the previous Winter so this year I told him he could have them and he's had cosy feet since! However, I figured they would be best for this outfit so I put them on for it.  Hmm, they are really nice boots! Ah well, his need was greater!

Lots of promise in the garden this year.  We bought these two fruit trees a few years ago from our local garden centres and had absolutely nothing from them.  There's actually fruit growing on both of them so here's hoping they come to fruition and don't get decimated by the birds like happened to my cherry tree!  The loganberry is covered in Blossom this year after two years of virtually nothing so I have high hopes and our replacement raspberry plants are growing so I'm hoping for the success of previous years.  The strawberries and blueberries have some promise and the apple tree too!

Our Calistemon tree has started producing its fun red flowers again and a runty sad Erysimum plant I bought at the garden centre last year has produced some pretty flowers in my front planter.  The rocket seeds I sowed have started producing, though not as much as I'd have hoped.   Still, better than nothing!

A friend at church gave me SOOOO many beetroot plants today, all sown in a tiny tray! I'm not sure where on earth I will put them!!! There are masses!!!

Nearly all my bean plants have germinated now after a slow start but they are getting very leggy so I really need to put them out soon but I think I need to wait till Thursday! One courgette and one Pattypan squash have germinated too as well as more tomatoes. I do like the growing season even though the watering gets arduous on school days. I am glad we had some rain though as I was starting to shower with a bucket again when the waterbutts got low!

Hope all is well with you!

Birthday Shenigans

Hello there!

Hope you are well!

It was a lovely weekend!  It was CBC's birthday celebration weekend.  He came home from school on Friday and opened presents. As is tradition, I bought him chocolate eclairs (the fresh cream ones) which we ate with a cup of tea.   I'd also bought him a ready-made Tiramisu and a beer as fridge surprises.

His birthday presents were the Jaran 2 tent extra ground sheet for our lightweight tent. It has been out of stock for over 14 months and we've been wanting to get it from Alpkit and last month, I checked and it was back in stock so I knew he'd be really pleased with that. I also bought him 250grams of Columbian coffee beans from the Refill shop, a Flying Scotsman t-shirt from the York Railway museum, a nice patterned shirt from the charity shop, a game he was interested in called Block Party (Vinted).

We went out for a late Italian meal.  I don't usually want to eat Pizza but I really felt like one and it was really delicious!

Saturday, we woke up a bit later and made breakfast and did some garden stuff. I enjoyed my breakfast by the pond!

Remember I was feeling a bit disappointed about the competition? Well, I had some lovely news on Saturday morning that one of my poems has been selected for the next edition of The  Toy magazine.  The edition theme is 'Celebrations' and I sent 3 poems for consideration. The one that was selected was my wildcard so was really pleased.  I'm in good company as quite a few of my Insta poet buddies were also selected for this issue too and I had lots of lovely comments on Insta from them! This will be my first time in a printed magazine/publication as opposed to an online one!

It was such  gorgeous day that I started thinking about outdoor pools and I suddenly remembered the Oasis Leisure Centre near Tottencourt Road. I looked it up and decided that I might plan a pre-orchestra visit there.

Had to start pestering CBC to leave for his birthday outing. We were going to watch Avenue Q and to go out for dinner beforehand in Holborn.   We had a last minute dash to the station and just made it.

We arrived to Holborn station and went to go and tell the hotel restaurant that we'd have two fewer guests as his brother was unwell.  We decided to go and have a wander, wishing we'd arrived earlier.  I couldn't not believe it as we walked past Avenue Q and discovered that the Oasis Leisure centre IS OPPOSITE IT!!! I mentioned to (usually reluctant swimmer) CBC, that this was where I wanted to come and he said that a swim would have been nice! I WAS GUTTED!!! Why did I not mention it to him??!?! WOuld have completed the day.

We walked to Neal's yard and I bought some teas for us (one for him as a birthday present) and a couple for us both and then we headed back to the hotel which was Rondo at the Hoxton Hotel.

My sister and her boyfriend arrived as well as our friend N and we ordered.  It was a wonderful, but expensive restaurant.

I ordered lamb for my main and an intriguing beef on fried bread starter with parsnip crisps! They were delicious as were all the sides including these amazing chilli and tomato green beans!

After that, we headed for the theatre.

Avenue Q was hilarious. I saw it about 18 years ago but didn't remember much about it. They updated it a bit. 

We bade a sad goodbye to my sister and her boyfriend.  We'd had such a giggle with them.  Getting home took a while as we JUST missed a train and the next one was 38 minutes later!

What did I wear?

I wore my Zoe Del Mundo skirt, bought in Mallorca a couple of years ago along with an ancient Miss Selfridge top and my Oliver Bonas (charity shopped) denim puff-sleeved blouse. My Hetty and Dave squirrel pumps completed the outfit.

These Autumn Aurelia earrings go so well with the top!

A patch of chives started growing in the patio about 3 years ago and I love that it keeps coming back- I pick my chives from here!!

Sunday, was largely a washing day and some tidying. I cooked up a whole batch of rhubarb and cooking apples with honey as I discovered stewed fruit in glass jam jars was my Autumn and Winter saviour in terms of me actually eating any breakfast!

Hope all is well with you!

xx

 

TARDIS Tuesday remix- New combo

I seem to have stopped sharing many outfits on here!  Mainly because of bad lighting and hassle setting up a tripod! But here's an outfit I put together for the Primary Choir of the year competition that I mentioned in my last post. It's a combination I hadn't tried before and I quite liked it.

I started with this white cotton blouse from &OtherStories which comes from my Clara Oswald outfit from The Woman Who Lived. It usually gets hidden under a merino wool jumper. Today, it was paired with this brown waistcoat which was originally charity-shopped for a 1970's Clara Oswald echo outfit but was then used for a Sarah Jane Smith outfit Revenge of the Judoon..  The claret tights are often used for another Sarah Jane Smith outfit from Invasion of the Bane. 

My Cath Kidston skirt was charity-shopped a couple of years ago and it's a firm favourite. The length is perfect for me- not too long, not too short!  Finally, I added in my new Rieker shoes. I bought these in Maldon on my birthday and they are easy to slip on and off. I think,perhaps, they are aimed at an older demographic than myself but I have always been one to wear 'sensible' shoes.  I never forget a lovely blog friend I had from Pittsburgh who used to love my outfits but also castigated me for my shoe choices!  Ah well!

The kids liked this outfit at school as did several adults and if it wasn't for having to hoik up the tights aalllllllllllll day, I would probably repeat this outfit. I'll stick to leggings next time!

I had a lovely weekend in the end.  CBC and I did some cleaning on Saturday morning to early afternoon and then we headed to RHS Hyde Hall for some lunch and a walk round.  I was very irked to find that the Gardener's Rest cafe had a sign saying that "Where possible, disposables will be used due to a dishwasher fault" meaning massives of plates, bowls, cups were chucked straight away.  When I was served, I told the person behind the counter that I felt really strongly about disposables and she gave me a mug of tea and a glass for the juice but our soup turned up in disposable pots and bread on a paper plate. It's annoying.  Surely, they could have just set one of their staff on washing up?

We then dropped into a massive Sainsbury's near there and picked up lots of shopping. We're not so good at doing a regular shop-  we tend to pick things up here and there. Mainly because we don't have a local big supermarket- we'd have to drive. Often, I buy stuff from the Lidl near school.

Saturday night, we played Qwirkle Cubes, ate fish and watched a Netflix series called 'Finding Her Edge' about ice-dancing.

Sunday, after church, I travelled by train to see my Mum. My sister came and picked me up from the station and then she, my niece and I spent a few hours with Mum.  We took her some presents, cards and we all went for a walk. She made us Egg Mayo sandwiches and we had cakes!

I then made my way home, picked a mass of Three Cornered Leek from my garden and froze it into ice-cube trays for the summer!

Apparently, our neighbour thinks the newts came from his pond.  He jokingly said he was wondering why his numbers had gone down.  CBC is laughing about it but they clearly migrated of their own volition!

Hope all is well with you!

xx

 

TARDIS Tuesday -The Woman Who fell to Earth

 I'm incredulous that I have not shared this cosplay since December 2022. Really???? I've definitely worn it. The whole thing. In fact, the coat in this outfit is probably my most worn Yaz Khan item- it's my car travel coat as it is so cosy, roomy and comfortable for a long car journey.

Let's look at the inspiration, worn in Yaz's debut episode:

An unnamed pink woolly sweater, a Zara shaggy coat, blue skinny jeans, red gloves and Dune Pacey burgundy boots.

Nothing has changed about this outfit- I love it as it is even if it is completely not my usual colour scheme!

Last time, I took photos in the same spot but there was no pond here before! We have newts! CBC is excited about this!

It's a good all round, cosy day outfit!

Here are some things I am happy about:

1.  The newts! CBC and I are super happy about the newts! We have named some of them: King CaNewt, Olivia Newton John, Isaac Newton.  Looking for them is fun.  Weirdly, on Thursday night, I came home and found a newt on the front door step. It seemed dead as it didn't move but it was gone teh next morning.

2.  We had a wonderful Kensington Chamber Orchestra on Saturday.  We played Mendelssohn's wonderful, Reformation Symphony, composed to celebrate the centenary of Martin Luther.  The last movement is based on Martin Luther's A Mighty Fortress is our God.  Before it, is a beautiful flute cadenza/fantasie, which Mendelssohn bizarrely cut from his second version of this Symphony but it is gorgeous! It only appears in one edition of the symphony. I was very happy I got to play this. Listen to it here from  20:10ish....

3.  I found out this evening that my school choir got through to the final of our local Primary Choir of the Year competition.  Yay, we got through two years ago also! Very happy!  

4.  I made my first nettle soup of the season. I also included a load of goosegrass in it too for extra vitamins and three cornered leek  There's loads around at the moment. I also made some delicious croutons to go with it from some old bread that had gone hard.   We also made some yummy honey and sesame parsnip chips to accompany it as we had to use up some old parsnips!

5. I started a new Katherine Rundell book called The Good Thieves which I am really enjoying so far.

6. I had 5 people in the audience on Saturday- CBC's Mum, brother, partner AND even a French cousin and his girlfriend! It is really nice to have people there to watch you when performing!

7.  We're finally using up some very old flour in the cupboard!

8.  I went over to my Godmother's on Friday night. It was lovely to see her and her daughter!

9.  Very glad I made up lots of apple and blackberry for the freezer. Most of it was free apart from the energy and honey (which was a present!)I am still eating it!

10. I'm a bit nervous about it, but I'm playing 1st flute for Orchestra of the City's next concert, rehearsals start on Wednesday! Fingers crossed it will go ok! It's exciting to have the chance to do this!

xcxcx

TARDIS Tuesday- Yasmin Khan Ghost Monument

 Greetings there!

I had a successful concert on Saturday! I was playing with my localish orchestra (one I've been playing on and off with since 1997).  I played 1st flute this time and we performed Bruch's Scottish Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra with a brilliant soloist who was only 14 called Kate Lai.  I had a very fast duet part with her in the middle which went very well and then we played Tchaikovsky's epic 5th Symphony.  She has a bright future ahead of her. When she was 12, world famous violinist, Nicola Benedetti, performed the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with an orchestra I was playing in so it would be lovely to have this happen again!

As one orchestra rehearsal sequence ends, another begins.  We are playing Mendelssohn's 5th Symphony, The Reformation Symphony, with Kensington Chamber Orchestra, which I am so happy about! I played 2nd flute in it about 22 years ago and I loved it then and hoped to play 1st flute in! Finally, that day comes! It has a wonderful flute cadenza in it that I get to play!

Anyway, onto TARDIS Tuesday. I last featured this look in December 2024 and I seem to feature it a year apart each time I wear it!

https://www.doctorwho.tv/characters/yasmin-khan

It's really strange but when I look at these pictures of Yasmin Khan (the screen shots, not the ones from the promo photo above), sometimes I think I'm looking at either a picture of my sister or myself. I can't work out which one of us but I do think there are similarities sometimes which I've only recently noticed!

Anyway, here I am and I decided to go with Yaz's hairstyle from the promo photos!

#

I like this cheerful orange jumper, it always makes me smile. It's always a shame to hide it under a leather jacket (Clara's one as usual!)  so I am sharing a photo without it!

I decided to wear CBC's Shoe Embassy trainers for the photo as they are more cheerful than plain trainers. Why not? I'm feeling relaxed about accuracy!

Hope all is well with you!

xx

TARDIS Tuesday - Yasmin Khan in Flux!

 For TARDIS Tuesday this week, I thought I'd pay a return visit to Yasmin Khan from Series 13, known as Flux!

Let's have a look at the inspiration pictures.

https://www.bbcamerica.com/ 

https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/television-academy-board-directors-nne-ebong-jamily-hunter-1235090265/

I managed to make some screen shots where Yaz wore her outfit WITHOUT the leather jacket  from some Doctor Who challenge videos for Behind the Scenes.

Her blouse AND jeans come from All Saints (I IDed the jeans) and her necklaces, not really visible are from Alex Monroe. Her boots are Leonore boots from Dr Martens.

The blouse is the most striking part of this outfit!

And here's my 2026 iteration of this outfit. It's the 3rd time it has featured on TARDIS Tuesday.

I since I last wore it, I managed to identify and purchase the jeans which are called Jules from All Saints, a very posh brand. Despite them being a skinny jeans, I actually found them quite comfortable, presumably because of the good quality stretchy denim cotton.

The blouse, also from All Saints which has the name Caressa (Almost my name!) is very pretty and so vibrant for a dull January day!

I wore another pair of Yaz's  boots, from Dune, rather than the Dr Martens and added my usual Clara Oswald brown leather jacket which is cracking a little bit now on the collar which is the danger of fake leather! It's happening to both my 'leather' jackets!

Today was a good day at school.  I had 3 productive lessons with year 4 and one Year 3 lesson that seemed to go well for the kids (they enjoyed it and did what they were supposed to!). Drumming club was also enjoyable. I had one new member today which makes the total up to 12 children. It's not the usual 16 I'd have, but it's better than the start of the year!

CBC and I had some delicious Kashmiri sweet potato curry from Leon Lewis, brilliant Veggie chef who I visited on Saturday to purchase some of his meals.  We also dined on a delicious red cabbage, cranberry, pecan and pickled salad by him and some filo veggie parcels- Delicious!!!

Hope all is well with you!

xx

jiuiu

TARDIS Tuesday- The Mad Woman in the Attic - Sarah Jane Adventures

Hi there!

Hope you are well! It's a little while since I have done a TARDIS Tuesday post. Mainly due to having misplaced my camera and not being able to balance my phone on anywhere as well as not actually getting around to actually photographing anything!

I thought Id share a new/variant outfit today which I haven't featured before.

It's worn by Classic Who and modern Who companion, reporter Sarah Jane Smith, as portrayed by Elisabeth Sladen.

Worn in an episode entitled, The Mad Woman in the Attic, it features

• Blue jeans (unknown brand)
• Grey trench coat (Joseph)
• Caramel pinstripe shirt- Linea
• Pinstripe waistcoat (Karen Millen)
• Brown Knee high boots (not pictured)

Let's have a look at it:

https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/The_Mad_Woman_in_the_Attic_(TV_story)

^The shirt has returned!

https://sjscloset.livejournal.com/8849.html

It's a classic Sarah Jane look of shirt, waitcoat, trousers and boots!

Here I am:

I always feel very cool in Sarah Jane's outfit- like a proper lead character! I thought I'd start with the blouse as it was only recently IDed for my by Bedwyr  who owns the screen worn shirt and who I pestered for an ID via the Doctor Who exhibition in Hexham. He told me it was from House of Frazer's Linea brand.

I was delighted to then find it on Vinted, brand new. I knew it was the correct one because it had this distinctive chain, white-pinstripe and these intriguing 'covered/concealed' button holes.  It's a beautiful 100% cotton sateen and feels very luxurious. I was very happy to share the ID of this with my friend Gretchen who runs the Sarah Jane cosplay blog with all the known IDs and she managed to find one herself so I look forward to her posting about it.

I wore it with my SA Karen Millen waistcoat which I really like- I look forward to wearing it for a future concert as it looks very smart.

I decided to wear it with my M&S jeans (charity-shopped of course)  and my eYe Italian boots.

I think, if I pair this with black trousers or skirt instead of the jeans, it will make the perfect smart teacher outfit for a concert.

Whilst the colour is not my usual colour, it's a bit beige, I  like the luxurious feel enough for it to be a keeper in my wardrobe for smart occasions!

#TARDISTuesday Yaz Khan

Hi there!

I wore this TARDIS Tuesday outfit for school today and I was determined to ACTUALLY photograph it! Managed to get CBC to take a picture for me too so no faffing with the tripod!

I cannot believe that I haven't featured this outfit since May 2023 for this week's TARDIS Tuesday.  Utterly perplexed!

This will be the 3rd time I have featured a version of this outfit for TT!

Let's look at the original!

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk-news/jodie-whittaker-faces-final-doctor-25333198

Worn by Yaz Khan in The Power of the Daleks, it is classic Yaz.

It featured a Dessa Balfern jacket by All Saints, and a burgundy and black snakeskin-print blouse, also from All Saints.  Some unidentified boots which may be from Doc Martens and some black jeans.

I like this outfit because it's made out of cotton materials, not leather or synthetic!

Last time I featured this outfit, I was wearing the screen accurate jacket but NOT one owned by me.  I was the recipient of this jacket for my Russian friend Anna who lives in Argentina.  I sent it onto her but she let me take some photos in it.  I liked the jacket but never planned to buy it as the RRP was ££££ (over £100, possibly £200!!).  However, a year or so back, I saw it for sale for £5 on Vinted! £5!?!?!?!  I couldn't resist it at that price and I am glad I went for it! Such a jolly Autumnal colour.

I wore my ASOS black trousers as usual. I do actually have a pair of SA Yaz Khan All Saints jeans (not these ones!) which were a bargain at £5 too but I can't wear jeans for school!

 I am not the biggest fan of animal print but the snake skin print on this shirt, also from All Saints is really pretty in the colours it features in! It was also very cheap! I like the fact it's actually cotton and has nice balloon sleeves and elasticated cuffs!

I'm not sure if she is wearing any necklaces but I decided to wear my K necklace!

For warmth, I added in this mustard cardigan from White Stuff (a present from my Father in Law and Mother in Law a long time ago when FiL was still alive). I know it was cold today because I kept this cardie on all day even when I was playing 'In and out the dusty blue bells' with Year 1 children in the music room!

A final touch is my hair in plaits! I found this amazing blog which is dedicated to analysing ALL of Yaz Khan's outfits, shoes, jewellery AND hairstyles and they show that this hairstyle is actually 2 strand twisted braids so I might try that another time! You can find it here

I enjoyed this outfit and it's nice to return to Yaz's outfits again!

x

Style Imitating Art Katzensymphonie

I haven't taken part in Style Imitating Art for ages! I kept forgetting about it and then not having the time to think of an outfit. However, when I saw last week's inspiration piece, I knew what I could wear:

The piece was chosen by Salazar at 14 Shades of Grey

“Katzensymphonie” by Austrian artist Moritz von Schwind,

Such a gorgeous piece!!! Right up my street.

Naturally, I began with my Miss Patina Cats playing instruments blouse!

I love this blouse! It's so me.

I then added the Kew Broderie Anglaise skirt.  The eyelets made me think of musical notes. I would have worn my cat culottes but they are still away in a suitcase of winter clothes (not done my swap yet!) 

I added my Clarks Artisan black Nubuck wedges (worn yesterday) and I was good to go! 

 I wore this for school on Monday! I remember a girl, who plays cello, walking behind me saying, "That cat is playing the cello on your shirt!" in utter wonderment!

The school trip today was challenging. Mainly due to the Elizabeth line being utterly vile! There were trespassers on the line when I attempted to get to school so I arrived an hour and a quarter later than I should have done.  We then had delays and really overcrowded trains on the way in, got separated on the train and then had the same issues on the way back! The train journey was very stressful but I had a great team of adults to help and the kids were super!

 

On Wingsdays we wear Pink!

I made allusion to my Mean Gulls t-shirt in my last post. If you haven't already clocked it, this is a pun based on the movie Mean Girls. They have a quote that "On Wednesdays we wear pink!" so this t-shirt made me laugh a lot, even though I have only seen the movie once.  

The brand is Hello Dodo and their t-shirts make me really laugh as they are all Homophone puns and there are a LOT of Seagull ones. I bought one in Lockdown that says "Gull Power" on it.

Here I am wearing it yesterday in Nottinghill. 

We were at our KCO concert and it was the break.  We went out into the street during our break to drink our tea and eat cake. My friend Quentin laughed as these two girls were posing having their photo taken in front of his Saab.  He didn't say anything to them which funny!  I got Bryony to take my picture in front of it! I got lots of love for my outfit.  I wore my Meangulls t-shirt with these white striped trousers from River Island (charity-shopped in May in Hexham) and my Vinted Clarks funny Dream shoes.

The concert went really well.  We were pleased with it (except the very first chord- someone played a wrong note!).  All my solos went well and we had a good audience!

MyBiL and his partner came to watch as well as CBC!  Got back quite late!

Hope you have a good week!

x