I am still here!

Sorry for the radio silence everyone, life has suddenly become a little bit busy chez Biscuit.  Combination of work, and the better weather has made less time for both blogging and sewing, but I have been having a good old shop, and also a bit of a social life for once!

Friday night was a fabulous visit to the David Hockney exhibition at the Royal Academy with my BFF D.  So many amazing pictures, and almost all painted in God's own county (of which more later).
Don't you just love the vibrancy and the unexpectness?

(From http://www.hockneypictures.com/current.php)

We also had dinner at the Wolseley which is still, despite all the new restaurant openings in London, my absolute favourite favourite.  Such a treat!

I'm also very excited about next weekend.  Its Mr Biscuit's birthday, as well as our 12th wedding anniversary (eep!) and the Biscuits 18 month birthday.  So a big weekend all round.  We decided to go to Harrogate for the weekend, which means a) a weekend in God's own county and b) a trip here

Hooray!!!

I mentioned I have been doing much shopping.  Will share with you in another post another day.  Have any of you bought anything fabulous recently?

Style identification

I've always envied people with a very definite sense of style, who seem to have picked a look that works for them and made it their own.
I'm natually a bit of a magpie when it comes to style.  Drawn automatically to anything chic and elegant, I nonetheless shy away from anything too classic when it comes to my own wardrobe.  Black trouser suits, beige trenchcoast, Kate Middleton style 'little dresses' all leave me cold and unmoved, whilst I am drawn to anything quirky or slighly unusual like a bear to honey!
I love vintage style, have a definite rock chick side, but also need to look smart, businesslike and together for many of my daily dealings.  It all gets a little confusing at times - and leads to a large wardrobe!

So recently, I've tried to define a bit more closely what my style really is.  Not what I'd like it to be in a parallel universe, nor what I love on other people.  Or what looks lovely in the shop.
After a great deal of thought, I've realised that really, I would like my look to combine a feel of that groomed, glossy, but hip NY chic, with Parisien style and quirkiness.
Olivia Palermo embodies the NY chic and always looks amazing

(source: style.com) 

http://www.style.com/peopleparties/celebritysearch/person4336/slideshow?iphoto=39

And I adore the unusual and very feminine look here:

(source: The Sartorialist)

http://www.thesartorialist.com/photos/on-the-street-jardin-des-tuileries-paris-3/

And the relaxed chic of this image is exactly how I'd like to look in the office:

(source: The Sartorialist)

http://www.thesartorialist.com/archives/page/201110/

Based on this I've put together a list of 'rules' for myself, for shopping, for dressing, for wardrobe sorting.

1) When in doubt, go with black or navy. Particularly navy.  But black or navy suits, particularly trouser suits must be avoided at all costs.
2) Heels and skinny trousers/jeans always work
3) A blazer is an absolute essential
4) A black coat can often make the most chic outfit look simply boring.  Unless the outfit is all black and the coat is amazing.
5) Too tight is never a good look.  Neither is loose and baggy.
6) Dresses are fabulous for work to avoid looking like a corporate clone
7) A good belt can make the outfit
8) Don't follow the herd
9) The right shoes are essential.  And the right shoes are never sensible black leather courts.
10) Think age appropriate minus 10 years
11) If a winter outfit looks conservative, add shoe boots

It was supposed to be a list of 10, but I couldn't resist adding the last!

What do you think - any other 'commandments for dressing' that you swear by?

Running to find myself

So -  onto the next New Year’s resolution. 

I will get fitter and lose some of this weight.  I guess they are really 2 resolutions which go hand in hand given I could get fitter and stay fatter, or get slimmer and stay unfit.   But I want to achieve both.

The extra stone and a half I’m lugging around with me isn’t even baby weight, which is the most annoying thing about it.  Immediately after the Biscuit was born I was only a couple of pounds above my pre-pregnancy weight.  I had admittedly been rather ill just before and just after the birth (which is a story I’ll tell you some other time), but regardless I’d only gained about 20 pounds all pregnancy, and had kept fit and exercising all the way through to the very end.

The weight gain was initially caused by breastfeeding.  I know so many people say it helped them lose weight, but honestly it just made me so hungry!  As if I just couldn’t eat enough calories to keep me and the Biscuit going.  And it didn’t help that I was slightly lactationally challenged, so I was reluctant to even think about reducing my food intake, in case that affected the milk supply even more.  And when I stopped breastfeeding at about 6 months, I was still hoovering up the cake at get togethers with friends, as well as boredom eating at home.  And not really exercising – because regardless of what the ‘experts’ say, pram pushing doesn’t really cut it.  Not when your body is used to the levels of exercise I’d been doing pre-pregnancy anyway.

Because I am a former marathon runner, and lapsed fitness enthusiast.   I was never skinny, but I was fit, and lean, and energetic.  But then I stopped running at about month 7 of pregnancy.  And didn’t start again.  All sorts of excuses why not – none really valid.

This is me in a former life – probably not in the best shape I was in, but relatively close.  Sorry its a bit blurry!

But now I’m starting again.  We have a group of girls in the office who have agreed to run together a couple of times a week at lunchtime.  And I’ll fit in another run each weekend.  It won’t be as much as I used to do, but it’s definitely better than nothing. 

Is there anyone else who has just started running, or any mums who are picking it up again post-pregnancy?  How are you finding it?

I’ll blog separately about the ‘diet’ – there is a reason for the inverted commas!

P.S – I’m logging my runs on http://www.fetcheveryone.com/ which is a brilliant running site with loads of lovely supportive members.  Look out for me on there – I’m Treacle.

New Year’s resolution number 1 – Fashion

More correctly anti-fashion.  Or at least, no new clothes for the time being.

Over the last few months of decluttering and organising my wardrobe, I’ve been logging my clothes in a spreadsheet, so I can put together suggested outfits and try and be more creative with my clothes and make the most of my (extensive) wardrobe.   In the clothes log I’ve been putting values against each item (useful for insurance purposes dontcha know).

This lunchtime, I was playing around with the spreadsheet, thinking of some new outfits, and for some reason, I decided to add up the values of everything I have.  And the total scared me.  I knew it would be a lot, but I didn’t think it would be quite so high.  I’m embarrassed to even mention it here.

I know the total includes shoes and handbags, it has all been accumulated over a few years (and most importantly I have NEVER been in debt because of it), but still.  It’s a lot.

Add to this the fact that relatively easily I’ve come up with more than 100 outfits from the things I already own and it has reinforced (IN CONCRETE!) one of my New Year’s resolutions. 

STOP SHOPPING

At least for January.  And probably February.  And ideally for the rest of the year, but let’s be realistic!  The big test will definitely come when the new SS 2012 collections really hit the shops.

In the meantime, I’ll keep you updated with how the outfits are going.  I shall be ‘shopping in my own wardrobe’ from now on.

I'm wearing this dress today.  One of my favourite things at the moment.  And dare I say it, it looks better on my curvy body than it does on the skinny model on the website.  Yay!

http://www.monsoon.co.uk/amanette-dress/invt/95325403/#

Emerging blinking into the light

I'll get round to telling you more about me in the following posts.  But just for starters, I wanted to post the reason for writing.

I never thought I'd start a 'Mummy blog'.  I never thought I'd be a mummy - that was never really the plan.  But now I am, and there are a lot of things I suddenly seem to need to say.  Even if no-one is reading them.

With my little biscuit now 14 months, and having returned to work in the City, I'm becoming increasingly aware that who I was a couple of years ago, isn't who I am now, or who I'm likely to be again.  I was a cocktail drinking, designer clothes wearing, new restaurant visiting, marathon running city girl.  I didn't live in an episode of Sex and the City, but at times it seemed like it.
Then I found myself pregnant by surprise (I was a bit old to be surprised in such a manner, but these things happen).
And what I had always seen as my life plan was thrown in the air.  My body isn't the same as it was, my social life definitely isn't, and I'm definitely not the superfit superwoman I used to be.
But I have discovered a new love for my home and my family, an interest in embroidery that surprised me, and a skill for organisation outside work that has given me pleasure.  I'm still trying on the new me for size, so I'm hoping that this blogging experiment will help me through the maze to find a new way of living that suits me, and my family.

Watch this space for items about fashion, style, keeping house, cooking, London finds, motherhood, exercise, work, relationships, happiness and many other musings on life, 

Happy reading,

Ali