TOWIE in Kensington

Either I have been reading too many articles on Daily Mail.co.uk about Lauren et al in Marbella, or I am suffering from that post weightloss thing; if I can get into clothes I am going to damn well wear them.  I put these together for the launch of a new cocktail bar.  It is quite glam all huge chandeliers black and dark (thank goodness) so I thought I could get away with this outfit, but with hindsight was woefully wrong as everyone else donned understated grown up designer glamour (Prada, Marni, YSL you get the picture) I looked like one of the staff in Warehouse top and New Look (kids age 13 £8!) skinny jeans. Shoes are my pretend Caovillas (Coast sale £14)!

Dinner at Coworth Park

A large group of us met for dinner on Saturday night for a celebration. We chose Coworth Park as it is equidistant for everyone. It was as beautiful as ever, if I were to throw away everything in my flat and start again, it would be this style that I would go for. There are flowers every where and it feels so fresh and alive, not like regular stuffy hotels. It is still great value, the set menu is £60 and I lost count of the number of courses. We had our own room which was the orangery off of the main restaurant, so we could still people watch to our hearts content, but not worry about making too much noise. The service was impeccable, the staff seem genuinely happy to work there.  If you live anywhere near Ascot go now before it doubles in price! I wore skirt and top from Coast and Dior heels, all the guests were quite dressed up which makes the atmosphere all the more special.

Ebay clear out...

Funds are dwindling in my Paypal account and I have my eye on some big ticket summer purchases.  So a bit of a purge is needed to replenish funds, here are some of the items that didn't make the 'keeper' box....

Broidery anglaise dress, not sure what I was thinking when i bought it, possibly the worst shape ever for me.
Anya Hindmarch bag, this plaited style is starting to look a bit dated so will offload before she stops bringing it out as part of current collections.

 Black and white pearls from St Barths Couture, I love jewellery  on other people, but I never seem to find the time to actually finish my own outfits.

 The Seven for all Mankind top succeeds in making my shoulders even more massive than regular t shirts.

 I love the cut and colour of this dress, but can't quite zip it up and never have been able to.

 I bought these to match the dress, they are fab and should go with it.

 This baby soft LV pashmina is huge and cosy, but highlights my grey streaks.

 I love these Patrick Cox shoes but have just never worn them.

 The YSL ruffle bag is lovely but how many bags does anyone really need?

This Coast crochet top is very SS12 so a good time to find a new home.

Savoy lunch

This week I was invited to a business lunch at the Savoy, I wore a Coast skirt, Valentino lace top, Herve Leger short sleeved knit and classic YSL ruffle bag (and I need to clean my mirror...)

Thank goodness for the layers as the restaurant was HOT, I'm  not sure if they have the air conditioning worked out yet.

This is the entry foyer with the beautiful afternoon tea selection , they tea room is just beyond the pink flowers below.

The restaurant is very calm, art deco in style, it reminded my of Mirabelle which used to be a favourite.

 The set menu was £24 for two courses and £28 for 3.  A la carte was an average of £15 for starter and £25 for main.

 The choice was good and the food delicious, my colleague ordered from the a la carte and I chose from the set, unusually there wasn't a discernible difference in presentation and quantity when the dishes arrived.

I will definitely return, it would be a lovely evening destination with a few drinks in the stunning bar before hand.

Approved food delivery

 I discovered Approved Food via Frugal Queen.  This is my first delivery and I was like a child on Christmas morning when it arrived.  In total the order would normally have cost over £300, and I paid only £60 for the whole lot.  It is quite tempting to buy everything on the website, but as we don't normally eat many of the foods that they offer, I tried to stick to what I know I would normally buy.
Many of the items are luxury extras that I might buy as a treat, run out of and forget to repurchase.  There were also many of the items that I would normally find in Wholefoods and pay a small fortune for.
Some of the best deals was the 2 kg mango chutney and 2kg capers at £1.99.  The Elizabeth Shaw mints were 30p each, perfect for when I need just a bite of dark chocolate and don't want to be tempted by a big box.  The balsamic glaze sells in the local deli for £12, it was 69p!

 These seed packs sell for over £2 in Wholefoods and were 50p each. They are a little out of date, but seeing as they need to be sprouted to become edible, I am not sure that it matters at all.

 The Provamel cream tastes delicious with coffee, it is soya based and has none of the calories of real cream, but the same taste and texture, it is a real treat and I usually buy it (when I remember in Wholefoods for around £2) it was about 30p a pack.

 The crisps were literally a few days out of date, they didn't last long, I have ordered about 20 more packs!

This was most of the haul, although the really yummy stuff was already being sampled.  There were some fantastic marron glace that were eaten as they came out of the box and with what it left I was going to try to make this...

For lunch I made the spelt and tomato on a bed of lettuce and peppers, it was delicious and really filling, no carb spike and ravenous hunger, kept me going until tea time no problem at all.

 I was slightly overdressed for a morning of unpacking and dividing shopping between friends and family, this dress was an ebay purchase from Coast, I was really pleased with the cut and fit, it reminds me of the Dolce e Gabanna lace dresses from last season, I tracked them down at Bicester, but they were a little disappointing and unflattering for my shape.  I am however very pleased with the fake tan! By this time in the year my skin is usually blue-y grey and I have a UV requirement to avoid looking like a corpse.  I tanned with a new formulation made by a friend of mine a week or so back (in the Connaught post) and I am really pleased with how the tan wears off, not only does it seem to have exceptional staying power, but I am not getting the usual scaley look that is more of a give away for fake tanning than the orange streaks.  As soon as I can name it, I will!

Just coasting

Bicester Village used to be a rare treat, but now it is 10 minutes away, I haven't visited since the Summer of last year.  Snow restricting travel, I thought the parking and restaurants might be bearable last week.
There, I rediscovered a brand that I had always worn in my plumper days; Coast.  I have been walking past without pausing, anxious about memories of squeezing into size 16s (and the sizing is generous at Coast).  But that ghost is resting and I decided to go in, afterall, if Coast can produce simple clothes that flatter a larger size, may be they can work on my new frame.  It was this train of thought, combined with the last chance saloon signs screaming, '90% off', that enticed me across the threshold.  And it was not disappointing, Bicester can often host a 'flash sale' sale second to none, I picked up corset tops, skirts and dresses all black and neutral duchesse satin and silk chiffon ranging from £5-£20.

The sage green wouldn't be a colour I would pick at first, but my skin has green hues and this tone will look a little Alberta Ferretti with a tan.  The cut reminded me of this ad, it just needs a little work, slightly shorter and the fabric used to create 'off the shoulder' sleeves.

I spotted this beautiful french blue skirt, it really does me no favours at all, but I just love the colour.  It will need quite a lot of remodelling, and the results will be seen soon, my inspiration will come from these old Chloe ads.

Finally I picked up this fantastic evening dress

With a little work, I am hoping to end up with something more like...