Dressing for Sombre Occasions

This past week I've been to two sombre occasions ... and no wedding.  The rest of the week has involved some house clearance and a lot of jobs around my house.

 I have such a long list of housey things to do pre-holiday that I hardly find time to read others' blogs right now, let alone comment.  Sorry, fellow bloggers 🙁.   So when I eventually go on holiday next month I've promised myself a HUGE blog catchup fest!



Let's crack on ...

The Outfits


I seem to have only got out off my scruffies for sombre occasions this past week, so my outfits are black based, as I'm a traditionalist.  Are you?

These occasions are one of life's sad inevitables.  Some dress colourfully these days as it is often pre-requested by our loved ones.   If this hasn't been suggested, I willingly dress sombrely.

I don't want to make light of the occasion by talking about outfits here today but I post about my everyday and this is how it has been lately.  And I find it helpful to have a go-to outfit at times like these when my mind is in another place.

Occasion #1

Black Zara frockcoat, which has become my sombre go-to.

Worn with a Madeleine asymmetric cashmere jumper.  And chunky pearls.  I did say I'm a traditionalist eh.

Occasion #2

Madeleine cashmere cardi.

The silk square was the only break in my external outfit's blackness.

Then I had to add a fur muffler as protection against the Storm H winds.

The black jeans, pearls and silk square works well with a grey long-sleeved T for a less serious occasion.

So, sad times indeed.

And brighter times.

To cheer myself up I had fun comparing photos 11 years apart but with same pose and hairstyle.  I make my own fun.

The Bed

The Bed arrived at the beginning of the week.  I have yet to open the push-button under bed storage; I'll share that with you when I post the makeover post.

And the makeover post won't happen until I sort out nightstands for the narrow bedside gaps.  Until then, I'm using a couple of side tables pilfered from the front lounge.

The Candlewax Spillage


So, we had a little accident in that front lounge recently.  A candle pedestal got knocked and spilled hot wax on to the carpet.
Now, this also happened 15 years ago.  Back then I used up a whole Saturday afternoon and two kitchen rolls, sitting on the floor ironing up the wax.

I was rather putting off this latest clean up as a result.   I started mumbling that maybe now was the time to think about putting down a hardwood floor, easier to clean up the spillages.
Then TP said he'd have a go with the steamer.  To be honest I humoured him but really didn't think the steamer would have any impact on the wax.
But it did!  The wax totally disappeared after just a few short minutes running the steamer over the messy mishap.  I was gobsmacked!

Not a trace of candlewax is left!

(Of course, TP should have taken a before shot.  Sorry about that.  I have since put in place some emergency training for him and I hope he'll know what to do next time we deal with a mishap!)

I've sung this little steamer's praises on this blog before but I'm going to shout out its praises this time!  Vax steam cleaner!!!!

It works brilliantly on wooden floors, tiled floors and walls.  It cleans carpets, including little cat carpet mishaps.

If you don't already have one of these babies, then think seriously about getting yourself one.  Now!!

A la perchoine, 

Mary x.

Bedroom Makeover, Half Way Stage

Hi there my lovelies.  

I'm half way into my bedroom project so I thought it might be a good time to share how what I've achieved so far.

I have to accept that all room makeovers are multi-faceted and involve so much more than just sploshing paint on a wall and thus are all-consuming.   There's emptying cupboards, moving furniture out, taking the unwanteds to the charity shop, yadda yadda.  It's all different forms of the same - dirty work.  And dirty work requires unblogable attire.  I will be so pleased to get up on a day some time soon and not reach out for the scruffies and a clip to scrag back my hair!

So here's where I am.

Firstly, I've won a battle of wills!

TP wanted just the one wall painted, the one behind where the bed head will go.  We did that a few weeks ago, in good time before carpet laying day

Comparison with old, tired carpet.

My view was that as two of the walls were taken up by grey painted wardrobes and cupboards, one remaining wall in off-white looked a bit odd.  An off-white wall can hardly be called a feature wall eh?

I argued my case ad nauseum  once or twice.

.

TP finally saw sense agreed and the day before the carpet was laid I got splashing Howl at the Moon (Valspar) on the remaining off-white wall.  Triumphantly!

 TP agreed that it brings cohesiveness to the room.  Ok, I fed him those words!

On Monday I painted the mirror surround white, slapped a few coats on the tired radiator cover too and also the decorative shelf that goes under the round mirror (not in the pic).

The carpet has made a huge difference to the room.  I took photos of the old carpet before the carpet layers arrived.  It was embarrassing to see how I'd turned a blind eye to it, as the really rough bits were covered by furniture.   

Perhaps I'll man up and show you the pics in the final room reveal post.  Perhaps not.

So let's recap.

One wall painted and old bed in place.

Flowers and Danish pastries on Valentine's Day.

Bed base collected and headboard removed before the carpet laying. Bertie saw this as an act of kindness to an aging cat, as jumping down on to the floor from this height is kinder on his arthritic bones.

Second wall painted.  The new carpet laid.  The colour is Icing Sugar.  I like that name.  Sweet.

Next up, the new bed arrives, I work out a nightstand solution and find a better window dressing.  Maybe some squishy new bedding too.  Then the big reveal.

And here's a reminder.  The room in its original off-white state.

I'm still dreaming of this glam and cosy end-game!

I hope you enjoyed this post, it's new subject matter for me to try out and it's nice to report in on on what's consuming my days right now!

Are you  doing any spring decluttering or decorating ?

A la perchoine,

Mary x.