The lost Summer outfits of 2024 (rainbow remix)

Last week, I shared a lost outfit from last Summer featuring the rainbow dress and so here's another one I also missed. It's actually almost identical to the one from last week but that I folded the dress top down and made it into a skirt. I also tied my hair into a side bun. I think I prefer this to the dress version. 

Here was another list outfit featuring my Laura Ashley cotton jumpsuit (charity shopped at £6) worn with Mallorcan belt and my Tom's Huaraches. 

Added white cardie and sun visor (both charity shopped) 

Here was another outfit. The circle skirt and belt were second hand and the top with its little boats from Sainsbury's. 

Plus my Scrabble necklace and Lorelai LQ earrings. 

 

The rainbow dress strikes back!

Hello there!

Before I start waffling, here's some music for you to listen to. I've not heard this piece by the English Composer, Gustav Holst (he of the Planets!) before but I was delighted by the opening music between viola and flute.

The term has ended and the last week went well.

The school concert went really well without too many mishaps and most of the children and their parents turned up. We started 15minutes late so it overran but I was really proud of how well the children performed.   

One delightful thing that occurred was that I applied for a scholarship for one of my year 5 boys who we have been partly funding for flute lessons this year. He has really taken to it and worked hard and I wanted to ensure that he would be able to carry on after he left me so I applied to the London Music Fund and to my delight, he was selected to receive funding for lessons for 4 years.  Such an opportunity for him!

I bought the children involved in the concert choc-ices (the only ice-cream/lolly product which comes in no plastic packaging!)  to say thank you for their hard work and I was delighted with the serendipity that I had bought just enough for everyone AND enough to give one also to the children who had helped out and done extra jobs like putting away my singing assembly things each week and for tidying up the music room.

At the weekend, CBC and I went to camp in Snowdonia for the weekend.  I had a stinking cold but had a gorgeous time and will share some photos soon.

I bade a sad goodbye to CBC this evening as he drove off to Portsmouth to catch the overnight ferry to France.  We are to be parted for 2 weeks as we do different things - he is a checkpoint monitor for the Transcontinental Cycling Race and I am to go to music camp.

Enough waffling, I found some photos from last Summer (on my lost camera which turned up- it was in the walking rucksack!!!) of when I styled the Madras check dress in yet another way.

Let's have a look:

I wore the dress with its V-beck crossover side which I rarely wear as I prefer the straight one but I wore it the other way round here.

I added my pink Peri top underneath with a matching pink rose in my hair and a pink belt.

I added my red polka dot skirt underneath to give an extra layer of pattern to the dress

I decided to hoik up the hem of the dress on one side to see if that gave another dimension to this.

I am not 100% sure I liked this outfit totally but certainly it was different from how I've worn it on other occasions!

Plus my George @Asda blue and gold velvet pumps!

I've been practicing for our flute recital on Friday

Very excited as we've practised lots! I HOPE people come to watch especially as my friend Tony is coming from Kent as we are performing his beautiful arrangement of Debussy Petite suite for two flutes and piano for the first time.

x

 

#TARDISTUESDAY The Snowmen and the Polka Dots

 Hello! 

It's been less than a year since I shared this TARDIS Tuesday inspiration but I have a little change to it.

It's an outfit worn by Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) in Doctor Who Christmas special, The Snowmen, right at the end.

It features a black silk, polka-dot blouse from Jigsaw, a pair of navy shorts from Whistles, a brown belt and a red satchel

https://www.facebook.com/ClaraOswaldCosplay/photos/the-snowmen-modern-outfit-jigsaw-bib-tab-shirt-in-blackwhistles-mim-tencel-short/146884895501986/ 

I changed out of my work outfit tonight to wear this cooler outfit. I'd also worn it on Saturday before going out to dinner but didn't get around to photographing it then.

I acquired the screen-accurate silk blouse from Jigsaw via Vinted a little while back for the princely sum of £5 and was very pleased for the cost for this soft silk blouse.

I seem to have lost my camera (actually very perplexed as I now keep losing things from my handbag. Lost my purse also...) so had to try and use my phone propped up against a watering-can. Not the best quality photos.  

I am looking forward to pairing this blouse with red- I think it will work very well against a nice scarlet-shade!

I was grateful not to have any special evening plans this evening, was planning to get my reports done but what with getting dinner ready, making lunches, doing the washing up, the thought of starting them was pretty grim...so I quickly wrote this post.  I had one orchestra last night and have another tomorrow night and I have developed a cough/sore throat/lost voice. Grrr.

Bit premature, but here is my poem for this week's prompt word which was 'Puzzle'.  I've always been rather perplexed by the name, Monkey Puzzle Tree. There was a fine example of this Chilean tree in an a road close to my childhood home and I was always rather mesmerized by it, as well as intrigued by its name.

I'm quite proud of myself that I have managed to prepare myself a mixed fruit breakfast for the past 3 weeks to eat on the train on the way to school. More often than not, I don't manage breakfast, so managing to stick to this has been great! 

One wonderful contributor has been the cherry tree in the carpark adjacent to some flats on the way home from the station.  I noticed it littering the pavement with cherries 2 summers ago, it seems NO ONE picks them, what a waste, and investigated picking some for the past 2 years.  This year was a bumper crop and I've been solidly picking them for two weeks and eating at least 12 a day, along with cherries, strawberries (now homegrown, 30 picked today, but also some from a colleague who was going to chuck them out but offered them to me first as she knows I'd be annoyed if she were just chucking them because she didn't want to take them home...along with a cucumber), grapes, plums, and, for the past two days, melon.  I forgot today and I really missed it so I made sure to get it ready tonight, for tomorrow, along with a healthy salad for my lunch! Hurrah!

Hope all is well with you!

x

TARDIS Tuesday - Polka dots for Pudsey Bear

Last worn in 2020

Hello!

I am wearing what I SHOULD have worn for TARDIS Tuesday last week if I hadn't wimped out of wearing it on Tuesday because I hadn't slept well. However, all worked out as it turned out we were all wearing Polka Dots on Friday for Children in Need so I already had an outfit ready to wear.

Here's the inspiration:

Image borrowed from ClaraOswaldcosplay.com

In a "See it for 2 seconds" moment in a rather dodgy episode called In the Forest of the Night, Clara is wearing this River Island polka dot top with collar and bracelets.  We don't know what else she wore with it as it's never shown. However, this was always right up my street as I love collared tops and polka dots although I owned it for a few years before I wore it due to a snipping incident which required fixing.

I wore it with black trousers and my grey Clarks shoes- these have been repolished and heeled and are looking a bit shabby now but they are comfy 

I added a black polka dot wired headband and merino wool grey cardigan (charity shopped)  and funnily enough, another colleague had an almost identical outfit on!

One of my lovely Year 6's who is one of Sad Frog's new crew this year came in with spot sticker which she had embellished a white t-shirt with brilliantly. She came and added spots to Sad Frog so he was involved! Sad Frog's fans in the other class were amazed to come in and see him all spotty!

Friday was a good day at school-mostly- my year 6 classes worked hard and got on well. Orchestra went well. In the afternoon, I called a music shop to ask questions about ordering a new Timpani skin and then interviewed two lots of six pupils for Pupil Voice- this is something you have to do as a Subject Leader in school. Interview children to find out what they think on a range of issues/subjects.  This time my focus was Most Able, Gifted and Talented pupils so I called 2 of the highest attainers from each class from year 5&6 and got some good useful feedback. I typed it up, complete the report and got it sent off which was a relief.  

I then went to fetch A, an autistic girl in Year 5 who is obsessed with my guitar and ukele and gave her a little 5 minute lesson to play a chord sequence on the Ukele. She picked it up really quickly and was euphoric! Really glad I did this as I have now used it as an incentive for her to work hard and not disrupt lessons and she is excited.

I had a hilarious impromptu moment. One of the reception teachers had asked me about outdoor musical equipment.  We talked about how expensive it is and how things just get trashed and broken (unless supervised) and I mentioned using old large metal tins as make shift steelpans or darbukas.  To my joy, after some searching, I found about 6 different sized tins and took them back to the classroom- they were delighted and right there and then, the teacher, myself and the nursery nurse (both are musical) had an impromptu improvisation on the tins and it was a real moment of joy and musical cohesion for all of us.

I then headed home and wrote a pair of poems about house plants and then CBC and I heated up left over NettleSoup (I made a massive batch the previous Sunday) and left over pizza and watched a Christmas film called Hot Frosty. CBC thought it was dreadful but I LOVED it!

This week after 2 weeks of no evening rehearsals or plans, I have 2 rehearsals this week. Monday night with Forest Phil playing piccolo for Scheherezade and then a rehearsal with Covent Garden Chamber Orchestra on Wednesday- we are playing with a choral society in Chelmsford Cathedral on Saturday.  It's a  bit of a dull gig for me as 2nd flute in this particular Beethoven Mass involves lots of rests and not many interesting tunes but hey, it's my first time playing with the orchestra and I get to see my lovely friend Caroline who is playing 1st flute.

Hope all is well with you.

xx

TARDIS Tuesday- Clara in The Snowmen-

 I cannot believe it has been 4 years since this outfit has been on TARDIS Tuesday (despite my wearing the outfit a few times!) .  Last seen in August 2020, the Summer of Covid, it is a barely seen outfit of Clara's in her 2nd appearance in Doctor Who.

It features a black silk polka dot blouse from Jigsaw, some navy shorts from Whistles, a tan belt and a red satchel.  We are not sure what shoes she wears.

https://www.facebook.com/ClaraOswaldCosplay/photos/the-snowmen-modern-outfit-jigsaw-bib-tab-shirt-in-blackwhistles-mim-tencel-short/146884895501986/ 

This outfit, for me, has remained the same every time I wear it, except for changing the shorts as I grew out of my old navy shorts.

I love this outfit for a Summer's day- it covers up your arms whilst remaining cool. My polka dot blouse is an alt from Whistles (and was charity shopped for £4) plus some navy linen shorts (around £3 charity shopped).  I forgot to accessorize but added some cute Miss KG shoes I bought in a charity shop in Highbury around a month ago.  Finding nice shoes in a size 8 second hand is quite rare!

It was very nice to get outside for these photos as it had been raining heavily. I got completely soaked cycling home from the station after my rehearsal in London on Sunday. CBC openly laughed at how wet I was when he opened the door to me.  I showered and changed into this!

I wonder if it will be another 4 years before it makes a return appearance on here? I do hope not!

Here's a little close up of the lovely shoes!!!

xx

Style Imitating Art- The Counting Lesson by Albert Huie

Hi there,

Here's my latest outfit for Style Imitating Art with Daenel.

Her choice this week was The Counting Lesson by Albert Huie

Here's why she chose it:

February is Black History Month, so, it only seems fitting that the first inspiration piece is by a Black artist. One of the founding tutors of the Jamaica School of Arts and Crafts, Albert Huie was a Jamaican artist who exhibited around Jamaica and the United States. As a painter, he was known for his landscapes, but often painted portraits as well. Influenced by Rastafarianism, Garvyism, and cultural nationalism, many of his paintings expressed sociopolitical themes and showed images of manual labor. To learn more about Huie, click here.

It's a beautiful painting and it has lots of interest in it. You can go literally with the girl's outfit or go with the background colours or details.

I decided to go with the former. and here's my outfit:

I decided to start with a charity-shopped polka-dot t-shirt from Tu at Sainsbury's. I've often talked about my liking for Tu garments, most of which I have charity-shopped. I mentioned buying this back in November and this is its first outing. I could have gone with brown trousers but decided to just stick with a limited-colour palette.  My nod to the red bow is the red bead necklace and a hair ribbon.

A final touch was my red bow socks. I have 2 pairs of these which bought from Primark a few years ago.

It's not the interesting of outfits but I like its simplicity.

Head over to Daenel's blog on Wednesday to see the round up.

xx

TARDIS Tuesday- Clara's Teacher chic from 'In the forest of the night'

 Tonight, for TARDIS Tuesday, I am sharing a look I can't believe I haven't ever shared for this dressing up challenge! I've had the item in question  for years!  

Here's the look:

Image borrowed from ClaraOswaldcosplay.com

In the episode entitled 'In the forest of the Night', Clara takes some of her students for a sleepover at the museum with boyfriend and fellow teacher, Danny Pink.  She wears a casual outfit for most of the episode. But, we get a flashback to earlier when Clara is marking some work.  She is wearing a black polka dot top with a white collar and some gold bracelets.  Her top is from River Island.

And here's me:

I decided to recreate the picture.  

I found this same top about 2 years ago for about £4 on eBay second hand.  Alas, when it arrived in the post, it was in a brown paper envelope which was absolutely stuffed and had the edges reinforced with sellotape.  I absolutely could not open it so had to cut into it with a pair of scissors.  To my dismay, I'd made a massive cut into the bottom half of the top meaning it needed mending.  It took me 2 years to do something about it- my sister offered to sew it up with her sewing machine which she did in lockdown.  She returned it to me fairly recently.

We don't actually know what Clara wears on her lower half as it really is only a short scene but I really liked the look of this top so I decided to buy it- you know I love a collar!  In reality, I wore teal fitted trousers and grey shoes but on my way home from work, the rain was plummeting down like an avalanche and I was completely soaked, in addition to being completely dowsed in water as I cycled by a car splashing me with a massive puddle.  So you don't get to see the trousers as they were sodden and had been discarded at this point! 

This is a great teacher look.  I didn't wear all the bracelet ring assortments though I do have a couple of gifted bracelets from children but since I tidied away all my jewellery- I can't find them!

What do you think?

x

Spot the difference!

Here's an outfit I wore in July.  This dress is one that my friend Anne gave me. We'd spent the day, last Summer, out at the charity shops and playing flute duets and I was absolutely boiling in what I chose to wear. Unfortunately, we were going straight onto the Ceilidh club in Southend to play that night and my attire was rather worse for wear after a humid day.  Anne had this dress which didn't fit her properly and she offered it to me.  Made a a simple, light, crepe fabric, it was a good for the day as it didn't have too much excess material and wasn't too low cut! Win, win!

I wore it again for similarly hot days.

This time, I chose to accessorise it with brown and muted shades- a leafy scarf, a pair of charity shopped tan shoes, a Peacock butterfly necklace and some scruffy bunches in my hair!

Ah, look at how pretty the Aquelegia and Clematis were back then! They are no more!  Such transient beauty...

TARDIS Tusday- Clara in The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's familiar

Hello there!

How are you?  Well, I hope!

Today is a TARDIS Tuesday I have done before a while back but updated in almost all respects.  I hesitate to post this one as it is also currently being upgraded for me by the wonderful, kind,generous and clever Ang over at Tracing Rainbows but since I haven't dressed up for any TARDIS Tuesday, I thought I'd use these photos from March before I sent the dress to her to be adapted!

In the first episodes of Series 9 of Doctor Who, which I think are just brilliant episodes (including my favourite throwaway line which surprisingly has never been considered before in Doctor Who, "You should feel privileged Doctor.  Behold the only other Chair on Skaro!"), Clara wears this outfit:

Image borrowed from www.claraoswaldcosplay.com

Image borrowed from Fangirls.com

It comprises of
A green satin pearl-print dress with short sleeves and a collar from &Other Stories.
A grey jumper from J Crew.
A black leather jacket from &Other Stories
Navy/purple/indigo tights
Black suede heeled boots from Topshop.

Last time, I wore the same jumper and tights but everything else was different.


Behold!!

So... let's look at what we have here:

Well, although I don't have the exact dress, I did manage to find (well, my German cosplay friend Chrissi found it for me and sent it!) the exact same print from the same shop but without a collar and placket with longer sleeves.

I also managed to find a similar pair of Topshop black suede boots in my size from eBay for £4, not bad but in retrospect, it was one of those impulse buys- probably shouldn't have bothered- my other wedge boots are fine!

Over the top, I added the £3 charity-shopped fake leather jacket I have worn for a few Clara looks now but not with this outfit.

The jumper was from H&M possibly, I forget where, but I've had it a long time as well as the Oasis tights, also long-living in my wardrobe!

What do you think?

I must say, I do think this is a very odd outfit choice for a school outfit. I know Clara is a secondary school teacher but wearing a satin dress for school seems a bit odd to me?  Maybe I should try it and see what the reaction is!

By the way, I had my scan today and it came back clear so that's good but whatever was causing the pains???? Who knows!!! Not sure what to do really do now.   They haven't been particularly overt in the last month but they do come and go.  

xx

My polka dot shoes

Happy Birthday to my Mummy! I had a lovely evening spent with her and my niece.  I went round there straight from school and it wasn't too bad a journey despite the fact I had to take 3 trains!

Anyway, this looks a bit of a grim picture but I wonder if you have a favourite pair of shoes that you love to pieces but are falling to pieces.

These polka dot shoes are my absolute favourite Summer pair of shoes. I bought them from Primark probably about 14-15 years ago and as you can see, the insides look a little worse for wear but they still function and the soles are still fine.

They've never hurt my feet. I've had a few pairs of shoes (actually, most of them from Primark!) like this with the sort of raffia sides, canvas shoes and they have lasted incredibly well and have always been comfy and not once shredded my feet.

Many people talk about the fact that clothes or shoes from Primark don't last and I would often be inclined to agree with you but for certain shoes and garments I've had, usually in natural materials that really have shown great durability.

I always remember when I was doing my teacher training 12 years ago, wearing these to Uni one day and someone admiring them and me telling the girl that they were from Primark some 3-4 years ago.  I'd never think that after 12 years, I would still be wearing them. I would love to find a new pair of these.

Do you have a long-loved pair of shoes like these? I have a similar Winter pair but I'll just have to share those when they are more weather appropriate.

x

TARDIS Tuesday- The Magician's Apprentice

Hello there!

I'm here for another TARDIS Tuesday.  Here we have Clara Oswald from the first episode of Series 9 Doctor Who. I loved this episode as it began with the Doctor accidentally offering to help Davros. I think it was a brilliant two-parter set of episodes together with The Witch's Familiar as it was very jokey but also incredibly poignant.

Image borrowed from Fangirls.com

Here is what Clara wore for that episode- a black leather jacket, green satin spotted shirt dress, grey jumper over the top, purple tights & black suede shoes.

 And here's my take on it from items I had at home. I actually wore this out for dinner on our anniversary dinner to our ubitiquitous Thai restaurant.

I don't own a black leather jacket and I am probably unlikely to unless I find one super cheap in a charity shop so here is my charity-shopped Next jacket.

To match the green dress, I wore this Lindy Bop dress that CBC surprised me with one Christmas.  It has a high neck which poked over 'shirt collar' style to try and emulate the neck of Clara's one.  The sweater is an H&M one I have had kicking around for a while.

 And down at the bottom, we have old purple tights (these are comfy and fit my leg length -hurrah and some black suede Clarks wedges.

As is often the case with my TARDIS Tuesday cosplays, these are just items I had at home anyway. In this case, nothing was bought specially for the purposes of Cosplay or Clara Appreciation.

What do you think? And have you seen this episode?

xx

Mustard and olive vibes

Hello there,

I am sorry about 3 days of outfits and brooches in a row, but really I have more important things to write-about nobler causes and also my  Cruise writeups to finish and they take me so long so I habitually put them off. Terrible really.

I thought I'd share an outfit from Saturday when we were going for more house-viewings (We put in an offer for one- was rejected) and then headed up to London (the night of the hideous grid-lock) 

I do think this is a typically autumnal look. It reminds me somewhat of the lovely Donna at Polka Dot Pink who frequently pairs mustard with a navy pattern, often being polka dots!

This week so far, aside from Monday's awful day (all was fine until after school meeting) has been quite a positive one. I've been pleased with the lessons I've taught, including the three most notoriously difficult classes.  Pre this term, I DREADED teaching Tudor Dance to one class but on the whole, they have totally got on board with it and really enjoyed it. I applied for a music scholarship for one of my pupils last year and discovered she got it which is fabulous, my choir rehearsal was deficient in about 15 pupils who are away on Residential but the 13 I had made a brilliant sound so that was positive. CBC made me dinner tonight ('tis a rare occurrence nowadays which is a shame as he is a great cook), we had a String Quintet recital today which is always a delight, I managed to get all the Nativity scripts printed, annotated and highlighted for staff and pupils and meticulously broken down parts on a big grid so feeling rather smug and organised.   So lots of good things after a gloomy start to the week.

CBC has made me consent to going to watch Spamalot with his school tomorrow which I'm a little grumpy about as teenagers make me feel awkward but hopefully the show will be good. Apparently, his non-music colleagues keep wondering why I never come to anything (er- I play in the music concerts!!!!!!) so I'm being dragged along.  Hopefully should be fine...

Outfit:

Dress: Louche at Joy (was FREE with a purchase)

Mustard Cardigan: White Stuff (Christmas gift from J and WOMOTM)

Leggings: Primark.

Teal Boots: The Doc Marten store.

Beret:  Nottinghill

Necklace: Tatty Devine

Dorothy Brooch: Goodnight Boutique on Etsy

Right, I'm off to read some Terry Pratchett and NOT eat any more Fudge!

xx

The tale of the friendly Moor hen babies

Sorry about the mix-up with the brooch post- that's what happens when you mess up your html- you end up with JUST a link up! If you missed the next Brooch instalment, hit the last post!

Moor hens, I find, are rather timid.Unlike they goosey and ducky counterparts, they will scurry away from you regardless of your intentions etc.

Yet, there are two unusually audacious moorhens who were oblivious to me and just pootled around as I took these photos in the park!  My park is VERY well used. I had to perch my camera on a bench and take it nonchalantly in about 10 seconds between pedestrians and dog-walkers.

This outfit was one of berry shades I thought appropriate for the weather.  I don't think I've shared this dress on the blog before but it's charity-shopped from Jack Wills with tiny black spots on it and it's a great jersey t-shirt dress!
I teamed it with this country casuals belt (also charity-shopped) and worked from there- the navy rosette brooch matched the belt, the cardie, given by a friend moving back to Canada and the navy blue F21 tights. Deichmann boots and then I felt I needed a scarf.  This one is silk and I bought it in Bali from a Javanese stall at the International Arts festival a decade ago.  I'm very fond of it and I always feel like an art teacher when I wear it tied artistically around my neck!

The usual Autumnal/Winterish malaise has hit me and I cannot be bothered to photograph any outfits- this was from a sunny day 2 weeks ago! Pity as everyone loved what I wore to orchestra yesterday!

I hope that all is well with you.
xx

Ladybirds v polka dots

 Hello there!
Firstly, I'd like to ask something:
1.) If you're a reply blogger (e.g. you're not a noreply blogger), if answer your comments, do you get it emailed to you?
2.) If no, to the following, do you read replies?
I never know whether to reply to comments or not as I'm not sure if they're read or not!

Secondly, thank you for all your encouragement re the choir. A few days on and I've managed to get the choir number up to 20. I've approached a few children and discovered: one form got lost, an older member didn't send a form in; she assumed she was just in; a few thought they could only apply for one club so didn't put down another choice and a few, I've asked them and they'd obviously not even thought about being in a club so hadn't applied and were happy and pleased to join. So that's a bit more positive. It's not the 53 I had last Autumn but that was 4 years groups as opposed to 2 but I'd like 25- that's a good number but, thank God, I am grateful for my now, 20!!!
My drumming club is the perfect number of 18- any more than that is too noisy! I CAN take up to 23 BUT it's a bit unruly!

 Today, a fellow staff member bought me in a beautiful green 1950's dress that doesn't fit her niece anymore- she hoped it would fit me as it is tiny, so I am hoping it will- it's stunning! Apparently, her niece reminds her of me and she says we have very similar taste!

 I thought to combine these clothing items together and I'm pleased how well they went.  I adore this charity-shopped dress (worn as top) but it's got a dodgy loose button down at the bottom which I worry about popping open so wearing it as a blouse is perfect! Worn with me-made ladybird skirt (By Hand London Flora pattern adapted) and a cardigan bought in a pop-up shop in Wallingford and my Rieker sandals bought from the shoemender on Haltwhistle high street- I like to support the independent businesses in Haltwhistle when I go up there!

I thought I'd include a rubbish out-take.  A spin that just didn't work!!!

Hope all is well with you and you have a delightful weekend planned. I am playing at a village 'Last night of the  Proms' concerts and have to dress up American flag themed! We're playing a virtuoso flute duet based on American tunes like Yankee Doodle by Doppler! Apart from that, it's DOCTOR WHO time and a quick look in the charity shop in the village with my duet partner!!


Love
Kezzie xx

Pretending to be a pin-up girl

 Howdy!  Hope you are having a beautiful day! As I write this, it is scorchingly hot, and I am sheltering inside before heading off to London for a leaving party for an acquaintance who is heading off round the world on a boat!

Last Saturday, we were going to a birthday barbecue and I decided it was really time I wore those polka dot scalloped shorts I bought with my birthday voucher in April.  Shamefully, I teamed it up with this Collectif Halter-neck top. I say shamefully, because I have definitely had it over 2 years unworn.  I ended up with it as I couldn't get a refund for something I bought in the sale there.

 I confess that when I bought these, I thought they were a respectable length but actually I was pulling them down all day, it seemed like there was far too much leg on show- might reserve these for going to the beach!

 As the holiday is 'Brooch time', I've been trying to vary my brooch selection but I confess that I am loving my ice-cream one too much! I was thinking of making myself a few more novelty ones but despite being at home for two weeks, I haven't made one though I have made about 14 cards!

Thanks for all your brooch advice. Yes, I have been trying to put the brooch on before donning the outfit, good idea chaps, don't always think of it before getting dressed though!

As we turned up to the birthday barbecue with his birthday presents, I noticed I inadvertently matched out present!

xxx