* This post contains an item that was gifted.
You’ve got to love a Bank Holiday weekend haven’t you? Even though quite often the four day week that follows it feels like the longest week ever, and even though after a spectacular Easter the weather has resorted to more usual Bank Holiday behaviour. We packed a lot into ours, and quite honestly I think three day weekends are the way forward…
Next weekend it’s my oldest niece’s wedding, which seems to have come round all of a sudden. My preparations, which are mostly my outfit, have been coming together in dribs and drabs. I’m very much of the opinion that if you see something you like then you should buy it, and so a January sales item has become my wedding outfit. A couple of months later a hat of the same colour was added, rather fortuitously as the outfit wasn’t with me when I bought the hat.
Then last month I was out and chilly so popped into Zara to buy a cardigan, opting for something that would complement this outfit incase the day was chillier than we want it to be. Although I’m hoping it will be much warmer than this weekend, or else the cardy might not cut it. And I’m sure my niece is hoping for warmer weather too, as there aren’t many cardy-wearing brides are there?
Which left shoes and a bag, and I’ve been undecided. I should go for white, but white shoes. Well they’re not really me, so of course I delayed and deliberated thinking I have silver ones that I could wear or tan sandals, they’d do too. With a week to go though, I thought I really ought to try and pull it all together. So on the outfit went, on went the jewellery, and the hat and MOH’s verdict was sought.
Bright.
Not quite the response I expected, but one that’s probably accurate. And that was without the shoes. The trousers were, of course too long. Adding the tan sandals, still too long. Higher shoes, that’s what’s needed my inner voice said, so out came the silver heels with an inbuilt wedge. Still too long. This length wasn’t going to be solved by heels. Stilts maybe, but not heels.
And so sewing was needed. MOH was instructed on how to pin and where. Then hemming was required. Lots of hemming. You see the trousers have lining, the sort of lining that’s not attached. It was already much shorter than the outer material, but to be safe I hemmed that too. Four rounds of handsewn hemming, trying for the stitches not to show on the outside.
HEMMING. LOTS OF HEMMING. BUT HAVING THREAD THAT MATCHED MY OUTFIT WAS AN UNEXPECTED SURPRISE.
But it’s done, it just needs pressing. And then setting aside ready for the weekend.
My shoe choice? I opted for my tan Hasbeens, which I expect to last the whole day in, and which seem the sensible choice having learnt that there’s a woodland path to the church from the car park. Having settled on the shoes, my bag choice followed. I have two, what I can now safely call vintage tan leather bags, as I learnt this weekend that for clothes and accessories anything over twenty years old is considered vintage. Both of my vintage tan bags, I’ve had since new, one is more used than the other. My initial thoughts were to smarten up my go to, more used bag, but I thought I’d look out the other one as it’s smaller and potentially smarter.
It’s also, as it turned out, a better match for my outfit and so that had a bit of a spruce up too. I coated it with olive oil to nourish and help soften the leather, following the advice and wisdom I received when I first bought my Hasbeens. And since I’d bought another pair of Hasbeens earlier in the year - another January sales purchase - these were olive oiled at the same time. These ones are mules, and despite looking a light tan in the picture below are actually more of a yellow, and I’m sure that won’t surprise you either.
So it seems, now I’m all set. Outfit, shoes and an almost double vintage bag, which I think was probably my first handbag. It’s had some, but not very much use, so its condition is almost perfect and I’m sure was a present from my aunt. It’s funny how some things, especially those that are classically styled just take a little while for us to grow into, or a bit more of a while to be considered usable again. I’m sure this saddlebag-style bag has never really gone out of fashion, but now - or rather next week - is the time that it’s making a reappearance on my shoulder.
Although I’m now a little concerned that someone will make a 1970s connection or comment about my outfit. Clogs, as some might call Hasbeens, a saddle bag and, well for the rest of my outfit you’ll have to wait. But if anyone does, I’m just saying here I called it first!
I’ve also realised that I’m having a bit of an orange week: the outfit, the handbag and some new colour in my hair. Which isn’t actually orange, though it’s not that far off, it’s probably officially called copper or something, but orange is generic enough. So I wasn’t surprised when I opted to try the orange boxed coffee called Smooth Journey, which the Lost Sheep Coffee sent me to try.
SMOOTH JOURNEY COFFEE FROM THE LOST SHEEP COFFEE
Lost Sheep Coffee is an independently owned business based in Kent whose Nespresso compatible capsules are certified compostable. They have their own Speciality Coffee Roastery in Whitstable which are filled with their speciality grade coffee which they buy direct from the farmer, paying them up to four times more than they would receive through importers. A box of ten capsules retails for £3.95 and this is just one of two varieties available in capsules, the other is called Funky Camper, which I’ve yet to try.
For me, our Nespresso machine has revolutionised how we drink coffee, and while we send our capsules back for recycling we know they’re not the greenest of machines. However with compostable capsules that could change, and that is the reason for a snap of my compost bin. I’m keen to see how they rot down, but immediately after use you can see they’re already behaving differently to the Nespresso capsules.
I’m a fair weather coffee drinker, enjoying a cup or two occasionally whereas MOH is a coffee every day type of guy. He prefers stronger tastes, me milder varieties, him with milk, me without - yes we couldn’t be more different at times - but interestingly we both enjoyed this coffee. The one suggestion I have for Lost Sheep Coffee is to include which size, or amount of water, to use. Is it a lungo or espresso, as I believe that determines the force that the machine pushes the water through the capsule.
That said, I’m looking forward to trying the lime green packaged Funky Camper variety next.
There was some brief time in the garden but only in between the bouts of weather on Saturday. Rain, hailstones and wind, after one of the showers I nipped out to the greenhouse to pick some sage for dinner and couldn’t help but stop and take a few pictures. The rain glistening on the weigela was pretty spectacular and a reminder that we have plenty of gardening to do.
Instead though we’ve spent most of today at Grand Designs Live over at Excel, it’s one of my favourite home shows and I’ve plenty to share from there, and plenty of photos to edit from our visit, but look out for an overview post from this year’s show shortly.
* While the Lost Sheep Coffee was gifted, I was under no obligation to share it here on my blog.