What I wore 8th – 14th November 2008

I’ve been really into brown boots for a couple of years, but I really want some long black boots. I’ve been looking at Bourgeois Boheme and I am definitely buying myself at least one pair from their as a Christmas gift to myself. Happily BoBo are going to be at the Christmas without Cruelty fayre so I am going to ask them bring some pairs along for me to try on. Here's this week's clothing list.

Saturday:
Allotment clothes
Mens jeans, long sleeved black t shirt, green Alice Cooper t-shirt, black DM boots (when I went out to serve mulled wine at the town firework display I added a fleece jacket, a waterproof jacket, a scarf and a hat).
Sunday:
Old jeans, long sleeved grey v neck t shirt, grey v neck rib jumper, green slippers.

Monday:
Turquoise vest, grey wrap dress, skinny jeans, brown boots.

Tuesday:
Green velvet jacket, grey skirt, white v neck t shirt, brown boots.

Wednesday:
Skinny jeans, grey pillow case top, grey shrug, spider necklace, black stretchy boots.

Thursday:
Emerald green cardigan, black and white floral skirt, black top, brown boots,green and black necklace.

Friday:
Brown boots, black leggings (worn as tights), grey knitted dress, Long black fitted jacket with green and bronze spider brooch, green and gold knitted scarf.

And how am I today?

• Craving chocolate, which is strange because I have a salt tooth rather than a sweet tooth.
• Thrilled with the variety of produce lurking in my fridge at present, a big chunk of which came from my allotment.
• Thinking that it would be a really good idea to buy some silicon cupcake cases (there’s that sweet tooth again).
• Loving green liquid eyeliner by MAC and loving it even more on someone else so I can admire it all the time.
• Gutted that the pair of non leather black boots in the charity shop didn’t fit, even thought they were my size – does the universe have a better pair waiting for me somewhere?
• Joyful how marvellous soup prepared from leftovers lurking around the kitchen can turn out so well.
• Delighted that the henna I put on my hair on Saturday has taken so well. I may never return to chemical dyes and it really is a pleasure to find out what colour my hair actually is.
  
  That’s more positives than negatives which can only be a good thing! Let the week commence.

Everything except temptation

Oscar Wilde said a number of witty things about temptation. I’m quite fond of the one that goes something along the lines of ‘the only way to resist temptation is to give in to it’.

I have been hankering after a pair of cowboy boots. No matter that I tried on a pair several years back and they looked dreadful. I keep thinking how fabulous they would look. The whole thing would probably have gone away had I not found these Emily Strange ones at Cloggs.

The only things holding me back were (a) I’m not supposed to be buying anything new, (b) am I too old to be wearing Emily Strange? And (c) Are black and red boots really my bag?

Then while on my travels around over the summer period I’ve found myself with time to kill while waiting for a bus on several occasions. Hence I discovered that both Claire’s Accessories and New Look had cowboy boots. I felt the temptation grow stronger. I could buy a pair of boots on the spot. All my clothes would look amazingly cool.

So I gave into temptation and slipped into a pair…

And they looked awful. Clearly such boots do nothing for slim ankles and ‘developed’ calves. So my craving dried up in an instant and I resolved more firmly to purchase from the lovely Bourgeois Boheme in future.

Imagine if all things could be resolved so easily? What would we find to do all day?

Something old, something new

I've got my new winter boots from Bourgeois Boheme and they are gorgeous (and they sensibly have adjustable straps to make them fit around my calves). I definitely needed new boots following the loose sole incident earlier in the year (see Pride comes before post in March).

Not only is the product really good, so was the service. This company has tried to make the experience as lovely as possible. When I needed to exchange ,because the boots I'd been eyeing up all year didn't actually fit me, it was no problem.

I'm thrilled to hear that Bourgeois Boheme will be at the Christmas without Cruelty fayre and have told Dear Heart that we need to go so that he can buy my Christmas present. Amazingly he agreed!

That being the new out of the way, I've been using something old - my Popeye lunchbox. It still has a label stuck inside with my name and class. I've used an insulated bag in the past but I like the more rigid metal container as it means things are less likely to get squashed. The flask is proving great for carrying soups without leaks.

Life is grand. I've had a marvellous week of early starts, evenings with cups of tea and early nights. Tonight I'm looking forward to a Whisky Sour (tried one at a barbecue last weekend- yum), but only one. I want to walk on Saturday morning and then engage in autumn type activities!

Pride comes before...

...your boot falls apart!

Let me start at the beginning. I headed off to a meeting this morning feeling rather smug. I've taken to wearing leggings (so much warmer and so, so much more comfortable than tights) and long in the winter. Alas the leggings were a little worn (i.e. ripped to the knee) after 2 winters but a few minutes with the sewing machine sorted them out. Any lining my boots might have had had also worn away but I made some lovely inner soles to stop my getting sore and keep them warm.

As I'd arrived early for my meeting and congratulating myself on my thriftiness I went to a coffee shop to enjoy a large cup of Earl Grey. As I sipped I read a little more of Not buying it. the time came when I finished my tea and exited the coffee shop. However as I did so I lost my balance. Righting myself and hoping that I didn't look too stupid I then realised there was something odd going on with my boot. The sole was hanging off.

Admittedly I noticed the sole was a little loose in places the other day, but I thought it would last me until the end of the winter. It became clear almost immediately that I was going to have to take some action. Should I buy some blue tack to hold it in place? Would chewing gum work? I shuffled into New Look who, of course, aren't stocking boots at this time of year. I tried all the charity shops in the area. They either had no long boots, the boots were leather, too small or had skyscraper heels. I then decided the answer was to buy pair of tights to replace the leggings and some colourful flat shoes.

Unfortunately I bought the tights before I realised that all the shoes available were too boring to spend money on, over priced, open toed or way too high to walk in. I was also cutting it rather fine for my networking meeting.

Working on the belief that people don't tend to notice flaws unless you point them out I tied sole to the top of the boot and went to the meeting. Once there I stayed seated (with my bag practically on top of my boot) for as much of the time as possible and left at the earliest opportunity. I couldn't concentrate anyway and spent part of the time making a list of all the shoes and boots that are currently sitting in my porch waiting to be worn. They'll be seeing a lot more action over the next few weeks and I will be buying new, good quality boots next autumn.

Loyalty points

I have about £30 worth of Boots points. This would keep me in hair dye for a year. Yet what do I do when I need dye to cover the grey? I pay for dye with actual money. Why am I saving these points? They won't gain interest (unlike real money). The last time I saved them up I kept thinking that I'd buy myself a treat but I ended up using them to buy a present for someone else.

Time to save few pennies and get to Boots with my Advantage card rather than my Switch card.