(Dress, Mango; Shoes, eBay)
OK, so I may have banned any more Zara purchases, but no one said anything about Mango, did they?
Yesterday we went for a walk around town (in absolutely glorious, hot sunshine, I might add), and our route happened to take us past one of the many Mango stores they have on this island. This dress was in the window, and as there just so happened to be a sparkly midi-dress shaped hole in my life at the time, well, it would’ve been rude not to have at least tried it on, wouldn’t it? As you can see, I did s little bit more than just “trying on”, but sadly the photos just don’t do this dress justice: it’s a lovely brown and gold colour, with sparkly thread woven through it, and it’s in a lovely thick wool (with sleeves!) which, as well as being ideal for home, is also perfect for the chilly evenings out here. Score. No more Mango now either, though. In fact, no more shopping AT ALL, or they’ll never let me back onto the plane…
(Um, I’m only really wearing dresses in the evening at the moment, hence all of the photos of me on the balcony at night. I promise we ARE doing other things too, it’s just that I don’t have time to tell you about them right now, so I’m concentrating on the dresses!)
Anyway, as I mentioned yesterday, my Internet access is pretty limited, so I’m going to have to cut this one short, too. Suffice to say, we’re having a fantastic time, with better weather than we’d even dared to hope for (in fact, we can’t seem to stop looking at each other and saying, “Look, sunshine! Isn’t this amazing!”) Mind you, after the weather we left behind, it could honestly rain for a fortnight and I’d STILL think we got a pretty good deal…
(Oh, and although I forgot to bring any jewellery and hardly any accessories with me, I DID bring some gold nail polish, which matched my dress perfectly. Little things like this make me happy…)
Tagged tenerife, tenerife 2010, Things I Bought
Well, I’ve always suspected it, but now I know for sure: I was born without a brain.
The proof of this came on Sunday afternoon, when I decided to hit the town and do a little bit of shopping. This, I might add, was in addition to the shopping I’d already done on Saturday, and which had merely served to whet my appetite for the much larger shopping expedition that would be known as “Sunday”. Oh yes, Saturday’s shopping had been but the appetiser: Sunday’s event would be the main course, and I drifted off to sleep on Saturday night happily envisioning the long, leisurely stroll around the shops I’d enjoy the next day.
Of course, what I’d failed to take into account was the fact that the next day was Sunday, and that I generally like to spend my Sunday mornings languishing in bed, reading books, drinking coffee and basically being a lazy-ass. Yesterday was no different, so by the time I got myself showered and caffeinated, it was already almost 3pm, and most of the shops would be closing in another couple of hours. Undaunted, I quickly threw on whatever clothes were available at the time, and headed out on my grand expedition.
It was only as I walked from the car park to the mall that I realised something was wrong. I felt… different, somehow. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but I felt like I was walking funny. (Funnier than usual, I mean.) And the more I thought about this, the more I realised it was true: in fact, when I finally entered the mall and started walking across the tiled floor, I realised I sounded different too, in that one heel was making a particularly loud “click” every time it made contact with the floor, while the other one was pretty much silent.
“Damn!” I thought. “I bet the heel tip has come off this boot, and I’ll need to get it replaced!” So I stopped, and I looked at the offending boot. “Strange,” I thought. “The heel tip’s still there, and doesn’t look like it’s coming off any time soon. And even stranger: THAT’S NOT THE BOOT I PUT ON BEFORE LEAVING THE HOUSE! In fact, I can clearly remember pulling on a different boot altogether. OMG, I must be going mad!”
But I wasn’t. Or, no, actually, I was: but not for the reason I first thought. Lookit:
Do you see anything wrong with this picture, readers, DO YOU?
OK, how ’bout now?
Yes! I went out wearing TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT BOOTS! Witness:
Two. Completely. Different. Boots.
Well. As soon as I realised what I’d done, I felt like there was a giant spotlight shining down on me, out of which a disembodied voice was shouting, “Your attention, shoppers! Crazy lady here wearing two different boots! Feel free to mock her mercilessly!” Now, I’m 100% sure that most people in the world – and, more, specifically, in the mall – have better things to do with their lives than look at my mismatched legs. BUT. When you’re out in public wearing two different boots (and walking with a slight list, thanks to the fact that the heels on said boots are not exactly the same height, GOD) you just don’t feel like that. In fact, I felt like all eyes were upon me. I felt like everyone had noticed, and was laughing. And also that, if I was particularly unlucky, some of them would be saying to each other, “Hey, isn’t that the chick who has the blog about shoes? And who calls herself ‘Shoeperwoman‘? Could she not have at least tried to make sure her shoes matched before leaving the house? Doesn’t she OWN a mirror? Or a brain?” Or maybe, “Quick! Someone call The Fashion Police! Oh no, wait: that IS The Fashion Police!” Hoist by my own petard, people, hoist.
I tried to continue with my shopping, but it’s actually pretty hard to shop when you’re having to duck behind a rack of clothes every time someone comes near you, and of course, because The Others have such a strange fascination with me, it’s absolutely impossible for me to occupy a space inside a shop without at least six other people appearing and trying to squash into that space with me. I knew it was no good: something would have to be done, and by that I mean, “shoes would have to be bought, what a shame!”
Luckily for me, one of the stores near the entrance of the mall is New Look, and New Look is a veritable haven of cheap n’ cheerful shoes. I lurched into the store, looking like a mad, drunk woman, grabbed a random dress from the first rail I came to, and used it as a shield to cover my legs while I ran rolled to the shoe section. Once there, I bought the cheapest pair of shoes I could find, which I put on as soon as I’d finished paying for them:
OK, they may not have been the absolute cheapest, but they were the reddest. I may be mad, but I’m not stupid. Oh no, wait…
(Do not be fooled by the appearance of these shoes, readers: they may look harmless enough, but these shoes are made of EVIL and they proceeded to rub my ankles raw as I walked around in them. Which I guess is what I get for not being able to dress myself properly. I’d like to say I’ve learned my lesson, but I think we all know I probably haven’t…)
Tagged shoes, Things I Bought
Last week Terry and I went shopping, so for this week’s Friday Photo, here I am in my natural habitat: the mall.
I’m wearing my new trench coat and ankle boots, which I bought in preparation for Autumn. And which I wore on a day that was far warmer than any of the days we had during “summer”. Seriously, everyone else was wearing summer stuff. I was boiling. We’ve been having this Indian summer for a couple of weeks now, and I’m 100% sure that the reason we’re having it is because I packed away all of my summer clothes. You can thank me whenever you’re ready, Scotland. I’m also 100% sure that once the Indian summer is over, we’ll go directly to Deep Midwinter without passing Autumn, and I’ll never get to wear my new trench-coat ever again.
I went shopping to buy stuff for Winter. The bag you can see in my left hand? Contains the new summer dress I bought in Topshop. I really suck at seasonal shopping, apparently.
(I did actually get some winter stuff, mind you. That’s for a Friday Photo of the future, though. Maybe.)
Tagged friday photo, Things I Bought
So, Neiman Marcus had a sale on…
Whoops.
I also got a Sephora Loyalty Card. You’d think that would be absolutely useless to me given that I live in a country Sephora doesn’t ship to, but nope, I already qualified for the free gift:
(note: that’s not the free gift. The free gift was a Benefit BadGal mini mascara. Sweet.)
Yesterday we took Terry and my dad for their joint birthday treat (they both had birthdays the week before we came out here):
That’s them. You’ll just have to take my word for it.
They did the parasailing at Disney, so I got to see Mickey briefly:
I wasn’t actually drunk at the time. I just looked it.
We also took a train ride, which came complete with sunset, and also: wine. Very cool.
Tomorrow, though, the thing I’ve been looking forward to most about this trip: swimming with dolphins, yay! Meanwhile, a good time is being had by all:
But especially by me and Terry:
Tagged christian louboutin, florida, jumping, sephora, shoes, Things I Bought
Twenty kilos. That’s my luggage allowance for my trip to Florida. Twenty. Kilos. And actually, that’s the UPGRADED luggage allowance: the airline only wanted to give us 15 kilos each (!), but my mum realised that would send me insane, so she very kindly paid for the upgrade. To twenty kilos. Aaagh!
Now, I could probably deal with it if we were going anywhere else but America. But the thing is, and I know this will come as a shock to some of you, but I like to shop. A lot. If previous trips are anything to go by, I’ll probably buy 20 kilos worth of stuff while I’m there. This makes packing difficult.
So I thought I would be clever. “I will pack a capsule wardrobe!” I thought. “I’ll make sure everything goes with everything else, and I’ll only need to take two pairs of shoes, one flat, one high – and one of those pairs I will wear to travel in, thus giving me even MORE space in my suitcase! Go me!”
My chosen colours for this capsule wardrobe: navy, white, red. Because I like dressing as a sailor, obviously, and I wish I was joking about that.
But then I went shopping. And on that shopping trip, I found The Best Swimsuit in All The World. It’s retro. It’s polka-dotted. It’ll work either as a swimsuit OR as a top. It’s… black. Which, obviously, is not navy, red or white. And because I have an aversion to wearing black and navy together, I won’t be able to put my whole “also wearing it as a top” plan into action, because all of my shorts etc are navy.
Now, the sensible person would just have put the swimsuit back at that point. “No!” she would have declared. “No swimsuit! For if I buy it, I will also need to take shoes, shorts and maybe a little cardigan to go with it. And also what would be great would be a skirt. And thus my capsule wardrobe will be ruined! Ruined!”
But I’m not the sensible person, so obviously I bought it. And also… some other stuff.
Basically, then, I’m screwed. And yes, I know they have shops over there. I’m well acquainted with those shops. A little TOO well, actually. But I’m one of those people who just can’t pack light. I know I’ve said this before, but it’s true. I tried to do it when we went to Tenerife last December, and that’s how I ended up with a suitcase filled only with black tops, and absolutely no warm clothes whatsoever. And that’s also how I ended up going to Zara 16 times, when we were only there for 14 nights.
I don’t know, I think I just like to Be Prepared. You know, like a Boy Scout? I know I can shop when I get there (and I’ll be getting all of my toiletries etc there, so I don’t have to take them with me), but I just can’t STAND the thought of going somewhere and not having a wide choice of outfits at my fingertips. I worry that something will happen that I will be sartorially unprepared for. Like… maybe someone will invite us to the opera, say, and I’ll only have shorts and t-shirts with me. Or I will have to climb a mountain, but won’t have the right shoes. These things COULD happen.
Realistically, of course, I know that I’ll be wearing shorts and a tank top for the next two weeks, and everything else will remain unworn. But until we leave, I’m going to be practicing putting on all of my clothes at the same time, so I can travel in them and leave my suitcase empty. And also researching how much it would cost to post twenty kilos worth of clothes back home from Florida…
Tagged packing, Things I Bought, Travel
…I got an iphone.
Which means I can now blog from anywhere . I apologize in advance for all of the dog photos this will involve.
And also the photos of me in my parents’ bathroom.
Tagged Things I Bought
Remember last month, when I left Shoewawa and promised to mark the occasion in the most appropriate way I could think of: by buying shoes? And then I didn’t mention that again, and you probably thought I’d forgotten all about it?
AS IF.
Yes, if there’s one thing you can depend on me to do, it’s to follow through on any promises to buy shoes.
And if there’s another thing you can depend on me to do, it’s to take pictures of said shoes, with my dog:
Yes, I know they’re possibly the most kitsch things in the whole world ever. But sometimes you just need a bit of that in your life, no?
Tagged Outfits, shoes, Things I Bought
One day soon, I will write a post here that ISN’T about the surprises Terry gave me for my birthday. Maybe tomorrow, in fact. Or, you know, maybe not, because I’m actually quite enjoying writing posts that don’t require me to engage my brain for more than a few seconds at a time (“What?” I hear you say. “You’ve written posts where you DID engage your brain? Show me them!”), so, meh, we’ll see.
Anyway, just to prove that not all of my birthday surprises involved food, on Sunday afternoon I called in the “H&M Surprise”, which basically involved a shopping trip in which I was allowed to choose two things to buy. Clearly there was a limit to this, which is why this post isn’t called, “HOLY CRAP I GOT TWO PAIRS OF LOUBOUTINS, WHOO HOO!”, but I have to say, it was still a whole lot of fun.
And I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking I bought a black dress or some shoes, aren’t you? Well, you are wrong! For once I decided to go against my usual dress-and-shoe-buying-instincts and buy something else. This was mostly prompted by the fact that pretty much ALL I can think about at the moment is summer, and holidays, and weather which can be described without use of the phrases “aaargh!” or “shoot me now, please.” So I got a pair of shorts and a sweater:
And I was totally lying about the “not buying shoes” thing, because on the way back to the car, I spotted these little canvas flats:
“Buy us!” they seemed to cry. “For we, too, will be the perfect addition to your summer holiday wardrobe! Also, we are cheap as chips!”
So, naturally, I bought them. I bought them myself, though, so they’re not part of the surprises, and really have no place in this entry. Sorry.
(P.S. Terry says thank you very much for all your lovely comments about his surprises, and you’re welcome to use the idea in any way you wish! I, meanwhile, say, “No, you can’t have him!”)
Tagged birthfay, clothes, Outfits, shoes, surprises, Terry, Things I Bought
Terry has just reminded me that I haven’t yet provided my monthly breakdown of Things I Bought for February and so, because I know the world will surely end if I don’t list these items, here it is…
February was a bit of a crappy month, as you know, but unhappily this extended to shopping as well as to getting locked out of my car and growing a second head. In a way, you could see this as a good thing (Terry does) because it meant that, for the first time in ages, I was a Good Girl and didn’t spend ALL of my salary the second it hit my bank account, but you could also see it as a Bad Thing (I do) because, well, it just wasn’t much fun, really.
The main source of the Not Fun sprang from the fact that I “took a notion”, as my granny used to say, for new gym clothes. It’s a bit of a pain this “taking a notion” for something. It happens to me a lot, and it generally means that I end up spending all my money on lots of the same kind of thing. Like, one time it was pyjamas. I decided I absolutely could not live without lots of new pyjamas and other “lounge wear” items, and so THAT month I was really well dressed between the hours of about midnight – 8am, but after that, not so much.
Another time it was bed linen. I wanted new bed linen, and I didn’t just want one set: no, I wanted MORE than one set, and I also wanted some cushions and nice blankets, too. (Note: I don’t ALWAYS “take a notion” for things related to sleeping. Just a lot of the time.)
Anyway, this month I took a notion for new gym clothes, in the mistaken belief that they would cause me to leap pout of bed every morning with a smile on my face, just raring to get to that gym, by God! February’s shopping, then, consisted of:
GYM CLOTHES:
- One pair of capri-style running pants
- One pair of jogging pants
- Two tops
- One zip-up jacket thing
- One sports bra
OTHER CLOTHES
- One black dress
- One,er, bikini
- One cardigan
- One short-sleeved top.
And NO SHOES.
This month: must try harder. (Kidding! I’m kidding!)
Tagged the gym, Things I Bought
(Note: this entry has nothing at all to do with the movie of the same name. Sorry, Google searchers, nothing to see here…)
I know it’s the shortest month of the year, but seriously, February, are you STILL here? Do you need a ride to the station? Can I help you carry your bags?
This time, my frustration with The Month That Won’t End has nothing to do with being locked out of cars, or finding myself in possession of more than one head or anything like that. No, it’s all about the shopping. See, I promised myself I’d try to spend less on clothes and shoes, and actually, for the most part this month, I’ve come good on my promise. I mean, there was that bikini I suddenly needed to buy right at the start of the month, and the ill-fated work-out clothes which didn’t see the light of day until last week, but even so, people, even so. I mean, I haven’t bought a single pair of shoes this month AT ALL (thank God I bought three pairs last month, thank God, I say) and that’s saying a LOT for me.
But I can take no more. The closer it gets to pay-day, the more eaten up with the thought of shopping I become. The more I start to feel that if I don’t go forth and shop RIGHT NOW, I will surely shrivel up and die.
So I bought yet another little black dress. Of course I did. This one is very basic and versatile, though, and I will wear it all the time. Like, for lounging around the house in:
For using my stability ball in:
For washing the dishes in a really blurry way in:
And for dusting in:
So, yes, a totally versatile purchase which I will wear EVERYWHERE, and as Becky Bloomwood herself says, I will be known as The Girl in the Black Dress. Which, let’s face it, will make a change from me being known as The Girl Who Keeps Buying Black Dresses Even Although She Already Has Dozens of Them Which She Never Wears. Because that’s just nowhere near as catchy, you know?
Tagged dresses, Outfits, Things I Bought
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