Busy Bank Holiday Monday

Last year I posted about my dream collage one of the dreams I turned into reality was planting fruit trees in my garden.
I have waited patiently for the fruits of my labour to reward me.
And the plums are my favourite.
There were four pounds of plums growing in my garden - not bad for a first year.
Although they are delicious I wanted to make them last throughout the winter so I made some plum chutney from this recipe today and it tastes lovely.
I still feel relaxed even though I got up at 7am to do the washing up from last night, completed my tax return and spent half an hour being photographed for an article about my workthatwardrobe blog which is due to appear in The Liverpool Echo this week.
In fact I was so busy I didn't even notice the rain.
Or the fact that my whole washing line was filled with clothes.
Very wet clothes now!

I wore...
Shoes - Clarks
Shorts - tesco
Top - Principles

You Tarzan. Me Jane

The jungle print of this dress always make me feel like Jane of the Jungle.
We had friends over for dinner and my husband cooked a lovely curry.
I am making the most of what remains of the summer to wear dresses and show off my tan!
I wore....
Dress: Primark
Shoes: River Island

What I Wore This Week

I realised I hadn't posted any daily wears this week so here they are.
Monday was back to work at Train 2000, Tuesday was spent hunting down school shoes for my youngest children. And school bags. And football boots.
Wednesday I was back in the prison.
Thursday was spent writing press releases between 6am and 11am and playing tennis, table tennis, and pool with the children after that.
Friday I was back to work in the prison.
This weekend we are having friends round for dinner and I am hoping to make plum chutney with the plums from my garden.
Do you like my new red shoes?
I got 20& off at Clarks when I bought the children's shoes there.

Susan Meets Her Muse

After my wonderful holiday it was back to work – which wasn’t such a chore.
My first day back was leading a monthly PR Workshop for Train 2000 in Liverpool where I coach new businesswoman on how to raise their media profile.
I love this job. I get to work in one of the best cities in the world, I get to share what I have learned to help others and best of all I meet some amazing women with wonderful stories.
Women like Susan Comer who graduated from Hope University in 2006 with a First Class Honours degree in Design and who has turned a passion into a thriving business.
So what does she do?
I’ll let Susan explain
“I create unique, one-off wearable art pieces by deconstructing vintage and non-vintage garments, which can either be worn or displayed.
Each piece, whether it is a cape, stole or tippet, is created using a variety of techniques and processes. I begin by deconstructing the garment and attach the separate pieces to a mannequin, sculpting by pinning and unpinning until I am satisfied with the form. Working in this way enables me to make wonderful discoveries of the properties and potential of the fabric, allowing it to dictate what will eventually become a three dimensional sculpture.”
And Susan’s muse is none other than the gande dame of film – Tilda Swinton.
“Tilda is my muse. I feel she personnifies my customer: free spirited with a strong personality; a woman who is confident in who she is and will wear what she wants as opposed to what fashion dictates.”
And Susan recently met her muse (pictured) when she attended an arts festival in Scotland.
“I had made a tippet for Tilda but didn’t have the courage to talk to her. Then I realised I may never get the chance again and I took a deep breath and walked up to her. We chatted for ages and she loved the tippet so much she put it on and was very happy to have her photograph taken. It was a wonderful experience.”
I was so impressed with Susan’s work I have decided to take this dress to her to see what she can do – I’ll keep you posted

The Sun Has Set On On My Family Holiday

I think it is time to file away photographs of my summer holiday and come back down to earth.
This photograph was taken on our last day and seems so apt.
We had a wonderful time.
It may well be our last complete family holiday as my eldest son turns 18 next month and it will be up to him how he wants to spend his summer.
Then again, the temptation of two weeks in the sun may just get the better of him.
We will see.
I hope everyone enjoyed the summer and we can look forward to the autumn with warm memories as the cooler months approach.
What memories will keep you warm?

Walk On The Wild Side

I love my family very much.
But I also love my own company.
Last year I ran every morning along the beach.
This year I am injured and unable to run.
So I did the next best thing.
At sunrise (which was about 7am in Spain), before the rest of my family woke, I left the campsite and walked to the beach where I sat by the shore reading my book.
This collage shows the route I took.
It was a short walk that took around 10 minutes - out of the campsite, down the road, over the railway line and across the road to the beach.
Over the fortnight I read "The Girl Who Played with Fire" by Stieg Larsson, "A Change Of Heart" by Jodi Picoult, "The Wedding" by Nicholas Sparks and the one I had been saving for my holiday - "The Angel's Game " by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.
When I returned an hour later my family were still asleep and hadn't even noticed I'd gone!

Five Dresses

As much as I would have liked to pack 14 dresses for the forntight I decided to limit it to five.
One of them you have already seen - the little white dress.
But with a colour theme of red, white and black I picked out my favourites including the versatile American Apparel Dress which I wore four different ways.
1. This DVF dress was acquired on eBay in 2005 and is made out of silk. I have worn it around three times a year since and I love the colour and the fit.
2. This was a last-minute buy from Oasis on the day before we flew out. It was reduced from £50 to £10 and I love the blue and white stripe, the origami style front and the halter neck.
3. The American Apparel Dress - what can I say £28 for 15 dresses!
4. My Holiday Hero or shoudl that be heroine - Joe Browns dress.
5. My annual holiday indulgence - this £6 red polka dot dress from Primark which I bought in 2007 and is still (against the odds) going strong.

Accidental Holiday Heroes

You have checked the weather forecast.
You have read the resort literature.
You know you will probably be spending days by the pool or the beach with the odd sightseeing jaunt thrown in while the evenings will be spent dancing and dining.
You may have even been to the same place before and you pack accordingly.
But there are always a few surprises:
The one dress that makes you feel fabulous and washes so easily you wear it again and again.
And despite sticking to the three shoe rule you find that only one pair are so comfortable they carry you from day to night with consummate ease.
It always happens.
So which items of clothing were my holiday heroes this year?
1. My white Joe Browns dress. I wore it to watch the Flamenco show. I wore it to our beach picnic. I wore it during the day. I even wore it as a nightie a few nights when the air con got too cool for me. It may have been white but the light almost seersucker fabric meant I could wash and dry it in a few hours. Worth every penny of the £29.95 I spent on it.
2. The black and white Matalan dress. It was only ever meant to be a beach cover up but I wore it when we went sightseeing, during the day for lunch and over denim shorts on the way home. Worth every single tiny penny of the £6.00 I spent.
3. My red Madrid Birkenstocks. OK I may not have danced in them but I wore them almost every day and night for 14 days and I felt like I could have danced - on air.
4. My red and white polka dot costume by Jasmine Guinness. This was expensive for a swimsuit - £30.00 - but well worth the money. I wore it around half the time I spent at the pool and although it is a swimsuit it has a tankini effect and you can pull the top over a skirt so it looks like a top. The straps can be tied in a strapless or halter neck way and it is structured but comfortable.

More secrets from my holiday wardrobe tomorrow!

I'm Back!

We had a lovely time again in Barcelona.
I have lots to do before I'm back to work tomorrow and when normal service will resume on this blog but here's a snapshot of the last two weeks.
It's nice to be back with lots of lovely memories.

Gone Fishin' See You Soon!

10 things

Thanks to Sharon-Rose and Sher who awarded me this wonderful Kreativ Blogger accolade.
I now have to reveal 10 random things about myself - so here goes.

1. My three favourite songs of all time are Because The Night by Patti Smith, Walk On The Wild Side by Lou Reed and Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong.
2. My favourite book of all time is Wuthering Heights.
3. My (not so) secret crush is Enrique Iglesias.
4. My favourite film of all time is Forest Gump.
5. My perfect New Year's Eve would be spent snuggled up in bed with smoked salmon sandwiches, a glass of chilled chablis and a great book.
6. I have been known to strip my bed seven nights in a row just to go to sleep to the smell of summer dried sheets.
7. If I could turn back the clock I would go back to September 13th 1991 - the day before I become a mum - and enjoy every minute of motherhood without the worry.
8. If I could swap lives with one person for one day it would be Michelle Obama.
9. If I could change one thing about myself it would be my tendency to be a hypochondriac.
10. I once appeared on television in The Krypton Factor (1986) and came joint third (i.e. last!)

I am not tagging anyone else as I think most of the blogs I read have just been tagged but thanks to Sher and Sharon-Rose.

And the winners are..............

Kyla from Blue Collar Catwalk has won the DVF dress and kiltsnquilts has won the airport outfit suggestion.
Can you both email your addresses to workthatwardrobe@googlemail.com and I will mail out the prizes.
Thanks again to everyone who took part.
I have enjoyed the giveaway and plan to do many more in the future.

Today I wore........
Shoes - Clarks
Skirt - Marks and Spencer
Blouse - Sara Berman

Dress Me For The Airport

I have a dilemma.

I have got my packing sorted out but have got no idea what to wear to the airport.

We will be leaving home to fly from Liverpool Airport at 4am.

It will be cool and, no doubt, raining.

By the time we arrive in Spain it will be around 10am and hot and sunny.

From the airport we have got to get two trains to our destination.

And I will have a husband and four children in tow.

You have seen most of my wardrobe.

Can you help?

The winning suggestion will receive a small souvenir from Spain as well as a full credit.

Today I am taking my daughter to the dentist before lots of shopping, errands and washing.

I wore:

Skirt - Principles

Shoes - New Look

Top - Isabella Oliver

DVF Giveaway: The Final Day

There are just 24 hours to go until I draw out the winner of this DVF dress.
Remember all you have to do is to become a follower and then a winner will be drawn out at random on Wednesday and I will mail before I go to Barcelona on Saturday.
Today's outfit is a mixture of my current favourites.
The old faithful Clarks shoes, the free (with Tesco Clubcard vouchers) skirt and the customised old stripey Primark t-shirt.
I have some sad news.
I have lost my sparkly red heart necklace.
But at least I can buy a new one now if I can find it again.
Happy Tuesday.

Jeans And Vest

I got a very unwelcome alarm call at 4.30am this morning when a nagging pain in my hip woke me up.
I struggled to get back to sleep and decided to get cracking on the work I had planned today.
That is one of the advantages of being freelance - it doesn't matter when you get the work done as long as you do it.
By 7am I had typed up and re-worked a chapter from one of my writing students, uploaded some news on Train 2000's blogs, written several emails and planned out some ideas for a PR campaign.
During the school holidays I try and get the bulk of my work done before the children rise at about 10am.
This afternoon I took my youngest for a game of tennis and brought his friend home for a game of cricket.
Today's activity called for a laidback look and I opted for Gap Curvy Jeans, a Vest and my Clarks flats which were easily swapped for trainers when we played tennis.
It's almost 5pm now and I feel ready for bed.
Can't think why!

What To Pack For A Two Week Holiday

This time next week I will be sunning myself in balmy Barcelona. And after two weeks of grey skies and rainy Blighty - I can't wait.
I have been planning my holiday wardrobe for months.
Now, finally with the help of Imogen's fabulous e-book, Travelling Light I am almost ready.
My clothes will centre around black and white neutrals with red as the main accent and I can fit it all in my small suitcase.

For the day
Swimwear - 3 swimsuits (red polka dot, black and black and white)
1 tankini (red and black and white striped)
1 black polka dot bikini.
Black and white beach cover-up,
black sarong and red sarong (can both be worn as scarves or halter tops as well as skirts or dresses).

Trips and Evening
Red polka dot dress
White Dress (Pictured here)
Red (15 ways Dress)
Black American Apparel Circle Scarf to be worn as a dress
1 black linen skirt
1 black vest
1 white vest

Accessories
Black belt, red heart necklace, silver pendant, golf ear-rings, silver ear-rings, silver brooch, sunglasses, silver ring

Shoes
Red Birkenstocks, tan wedges, red heels.

Extras
Underwear, nightie, running gear.

Before I go away I will be drawing out a winner for the DVF dress giveaway on Wednesday. Don't forget to sign up to be in with a chance.

Diane Von Furstenberg Giveaway

Here are some better pictures of the DVF dress I am giving away.
All you have to do is sign up and become a follower and I will pick a winner out at random after Wednesday.
More details here.
Good Luck

Diane Von Furstenberg Giveaway

As a big thank you for following my blog I am giving away this Diane Von Furstenberg dress.
I have only worn it twice - on holiday in Barcelona last year.
It is a US size 4, (UK 8-10) made of silk and fully lined.
There is a long matching waist sash and it comes with detachable straps for multiple wears.
It needs a slight repair along one of the ruffled skirt seams.
It is a little too tight for me now and needs someone to wear it.
I am prepared to send it out worldwide.
All I ask is that you sign up to follow my blog.
So if you haven't already joined up to follow, please do.
A random draw of my followers will declare the winner next Wednesday - August 5th.
If it's not your size and you win please pass it on to a friend or keep it.
Do whatever you wish!
Good Luck!

The Mums And Kids Walking Club

I mentioned a few months ago in my previous blog (workthatwardrobe) that I often join my friends and take the kids on a walking trip.
This week we decided to go one step further and make a few days of it.
There were 12 of us - me and 3 friends and 8 children.
We started off with a walk around the Ingleton Falls Trail in North Yorkshire before staying over in a youth hostel.
The next day we explored White Scar Caves before making a detour to Kirkby Lonsdale and home.
Although it was July it rained most of the time and we got wet. very wet.
But that did not dampen our spirits and we hope the children will talk about these trips in years to come.
Today my legs are very sore as the 4 mile walk was mainly uphill and we did a lot of walking around the village too.
We are already plannng our next hike for October but meanwhile I am preparing myself for two weeks in sunny Barcelona.