Such a Perfect Day

Such a Perfect Day
A coffee, a lunch on a whim,
Then later the beach and a swim,
And then go home.

 

Yesterday was one of those Perfect Days.
 

 

It started out with this outfit.  A meet up with my Cruisin' Cousins over coffee,

 

 

here at The Urban Kitchen

 

We discussed plans for our forthcoming mini cruise and, of course, what to pack.  I passed on the great tips you lovely readers have given me and we will take those on board (pun started out unintentionally but how I like it now!).

The cardi was superfluous by the time I parked the car, such a beautifully warm day.

Meanwhile, TP had walked home through pretty lanes from the paper shop where I dropped him off.  He sat in his favourite armchair and sudokued and crossworded peacefully and to his heart's content.

TP and I then met up for lunch with friends.  We walked to a nice beachside restaurant,  getting in our daily dose of exercise.
 

 

And by this time, it was too hot for even a slip of colourful silk around my neck.

 

The shoes had been changed for some good walkers, these Clarks flatties and the scarf had been stylishly tied to my handbag, a Jones bag, as in this older photo.  NB: This bag was again admired at coffee.  It's really old but it receives compliments nearly every time I wear it ... even after all these years!

The beachside restaurant can look like this in bad weather.

 

Fortunately, in August it looks like this!  A Perfect Day.

 

 

Serene

 

 

Romantic.

 

 

And during the day, the glorious sun shines through the glass doors, so this is the best view I could give you from my table.

 

Scallops wrapped in bacon.

 

We had an invigorating walk back home.  I walked briskly, to work off some lunch calories.

Then, back home, a lovely surprise.  Voicemail from Son.  A meet up at tea time down at the beach.

Oh what a smashing time we had.

We swam lots with the GKs.  We frolicked in the water, played games at the water's edge.

We caught up with family news whilst lolling around, our bathers (swimsuits) drying on us in the sun as sandwiches and yummy home made biscuits were nibbled.

So perfect.

A v. old Next kaftan, with nice beaded detail on the neckline.  I usually wear it on poolside holidays only.  I don't go on many of those.  So it's v. old but still v. new!

 

Under my kaftan I wore my brown bathers from Bravissimo.  Great for swimming,  dry in a flash.  V. old and still like new, even though worn loads, in salt and chlorine water every single year, for the past 10 or so.

 We returned home, my hair looking like that of a surfer girl granny after so much swimming in salty sea water.

And The Photographer said "Today has been a Perfect Day.  This feels like retirement."

Such a Perfect Day, I'm glad I shared it with you. 

Have you had a Perfect Day this summer?  Maybe you've had many.

What is a Perfect Day to you?  Do you have the elements of a Perfect Day in mind? 

Or do days just surprise you by being unexpectedly Perfect?

Perhaps there just isn't a prescription for a Perfect Day ...

A la perchoine.



Yellow and Cacti Flowers

My house is a mess!

The building work continues and the men clean up after themselves, but the house feels dusty and messy and a bit Work in Progress.

So I've turned my back temporarily on the house and am giving all my focus to the garden.

This past week I've been painting wood panels in the pergola and sprucing up all the wooden and metal garden furniture.  Hence my rather embarrassing number of visits to B&Q for paint, the insatiable old furniture is drinking up any paint I splodge on it.

Dress code for painting garden furniture?  V. old and battered jeans and a long sleeved t shirt.   And even fully covered up, I've managed to have paint  seep through both garments on to the skin underneath!  Messy, huh?

So it was with arms outstretched that I greeted the entry in my diary on Thursday, which simply said "night out with the girls".

It was so nice to shower after that day's work (painting garden table and chairs), slap on some slap, and throw on a pretty frock.

Isn't it wonderful how just throwing on a simple dress can change your day.  Your mood.  From garden toiler to summertime fun seeker?!!!

Next floral linen dress, 2-3 years old.  Doesn't yellow make you feel so fresh in summer?

Our rendezvous was the Rockie, which I've featured many times before so I won't bore you with the internal and external shots and pics of my yummy food, for you have far better things to do with your time on a beautiful day.  The evening was sunny and hot.  We had fun,  eating tapas by open doors overlooking the sea, drinking a crisp, beautifully chilled Sauvignon Blanc and chatting.  Boy can we chat when we catch up!

It was such a lovely feel, that feel somehow being "human" again in dress, comfy shoes, doing something for a few hours that didn't involve a dust sheet and paint pots!

And they call this retirement?!!

Yes, I'm spending much time out of the house and in the garden.  Which is fine when the sun is shining.

 Recently I had a "duh" moment, which is rather embarrassing for someone who thrives on analysis, process, ergonomics, time and motion ...

I moved closer to the garden hose all potted plants that require daily watering, like tomatoes and peppers, that sort of stuff.  And I moved all plants which require infrequent watering the fartherest away from the garden hose's limits.

It has made watering so much easier.  Why oh why did I not think to do this years ago?!

Not only is my daily watering routine so much easier, but the plants seem to love their new spots.

The cacti are loving banishment into the wilderness, shoved in an afterthought sort of corner of the garden.

They all seem to be flowering.  For the first time!

This cactus got eaten by some creature last year.  As you know, I don't give up on most things, including plants.  So although it looked awful, I felt it was alive and deserved a place in the garden.

A few days ago I noticed a weird growth coming from it.  Next day, a beautiful white flower appeared!

So proud of my desert survivors!

By mid afternoon today, I splodged on my last bit of paint on our garden furniture for this summer.  I finished my last brushstroke on the metal table and chair and walked away from the garden.

I ceremoniously tore off my battered jeans and t shirt, threw them on a heap in the utility room and walked away, and suggested that the equally hard working Photographer do the same when he'd finished his last steamer chair.  It felt good.

So good, that I'm off to celebrate with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc.  Sitting out on the patio.  Admiring all my freshly painted garden furniture.

I hope you're enjoying a lovely Saturday.  Maybe enjoying looking on some of your efforts in the garden.   Maybe enjoying a glass of wine or bubbly.

Wishing you a happy rest of weekend.

Cheers!

A la perchoine.

Rellies, Balance and Getting Lucky

I'm mostly really on the ball with my admin, but occasionally something will slip through the net. Like this post.

So I'm taking you back a couple of weeks, to when I ignored my own dressing rules and stuck with the day's "lady-wot-lunches" outfit for the evening's bar meal, even though normally I'd prefer jeans.  Pub = Jeans, one of The Pout's simple dress codes!

Out with rellies.  My Sis, two cousins, and me, at The Rockie, my local.  My lovely local ladies.  We had a great catch-up.

You can already see the fish and chips on the left of the table.  And because I've been amiss considerate in withholding food pics until my previous post, let's address that balance some more with the rest of our meals! 

For our table was piled high with other tasty morsels; sausage and mash, a seafood platter.  It groaned under the weight of this abundance.  Then I groaned the next day when I dragged myself on to the scales!  Or the balancing scales, as I think they were originally called, though sadly my electronic scales are a cruel imbalance of aspiration and reality check.

Here's my dish.  You'd think my tempura prawn tails would have had been a slightly calorie-friendly choice with that pile of salad stuff on the plate.

But then a side order of double-cooked chips had counter-balanced any hint of healthiness!

Yes, I'm all about balances today, folks.  And posting oversights.

For if I'm fessing oversights, I'd better open up to this one too.  This little pic was also in my drafts box.

There are a few things I don't skimp on in retirement, like my beauty essentials.  My quality-budget balance.   A few weeks ago I shopped for three of my four staples, YSL false lash mascara, Clarins Gentle Eye Make Up Remover and Clarins One Step Facial Cleanser (orange extract).  I've used these products for about 15 years and I love them for two reasons. 

1) They are one-stop-shops so fit in with my lazy-girl, corner-cutting approach to life.  A flick of the mascara wand or a swipe with the cleansers and the job is so effortlessly a good 'un.

2) These staples leave my lashes, eyes, and skin feeling good.  Noticeably so as when I was in Southampton a few weeks ago and I used facial wipes for travel - well, on awakening after the first day of using them my skin felt so taught and dry.  I don't use night cream, believing that the skin should have time to relax and breathe, and my skin feels so beautifully soft when I wake up after using the Clarins facial cleanser the night before. 

So I stick with these products, hang the cost.  Their priciness is off-set by their efficacy and my life gets balance, harmony, order.

And I got lucky! When I did the essentials shop recently in Creaseys,  my local department store, I totally lucked out and the freebies kept coming! I was allowed to choose three products from Clarins; and the mascara came with two gifts as well.  5 gifts!!  I haven't used them yet so nothing to report back on.  But I will.

Sometimes I have to buy these beauty essentials on line because of logistical issues, like the 100ml flying restriction.  But mostly I buy in the high street.  I get a great personal service and just occasionally I am showered with freebies! 

And we pensioners like freebies, eh?  Life's give-take balance.

Do you have any beauty product must-haves?

Products that never let you down?

Products that you don't ditch, even when money is tight?

I'd love to hear.

A la perchoine.

Knitted Dress

Hello!  Well, my Swedish, American and Canadian bloggers are well ahead with their Christmas preparations.  Ahead, as in their homes are all decked out with lights, baubles and greenery.  Mine isn't   On the way to dinner last night I checked out decs en route as I thought maybe just those further north are ahead of the game.  But no, there were amazingly lit-up houses to be seen throughout the island.  So it's just Pout Manor and its immediate vicinity that seems to be bah-humbugging at the moment. 

But rest assured, things will change.  This last weekend saw a flurry of energetic activity at home as I re-arranged furniture and décor and gave the house a good clean and tidy-up.   So Pout Manor is now a clean and tidy(ish) blank canvas on which to hang lights and baubles, light candles and wrap pressies.  How satisfying this process has been. I love getting organised.  I love change!

But on to the everyday.  I had a night out with the Sibs,  We met up at the Rockie.  I've posted my Rockie food shots sooo many times that I could not inflict any more pics on you.   Well, for a while at least. I think you know the menu better than I do myself.  So let's just stick with what I wore.

Monsoon cream knit dress, worn with Zara scarf and Gabor knee boots.  It's about 3-4 years old; it's a thick knit so doesn't cling, which some knitted dresses are prone to doing.  So it's "hang" pleases me.

What are you like with knitted dresses?  Do you find them cosily smart in winter?

It was a chilly evening. The dress is cosy. This Next oh so warm animal print shawl came too, but wasn't needed as the Rockie was full and all those hot diner's bodies kept the place very cosy indeed.

Do you tend to pile on the layers too, just in case?

But one has to cover all eventualities with our weather.  The UK has had -7 degrees for some days, then tadaah, tomorrow the temperature changes to +17 degrees.

So my layering ain't so crazy, huh?

I'm loving this Uniqlo feather and down coat.  It is so perfect for winter.  Not many layers required with this baby.

It's getting worn sooo much.  Its CPW is lowering with each blog I post!

My night out with my lovely Sibs was just perfect.  

There was a quiz on in the public bar next door.  We didn't join. These days our addled brains just don't fire up as quickly. E.g. Last week when out with friends a quiz was going on in the background.  One question "What was the name of Gandalf's horse?".  Five minutes after answers sheets had been handed in, The Photographer pipes up with "Shadowfax!".  It's a shame OAP quiz nights aren't offered, where you can hand your answers in 10 minutes after the round has finished.  We might then just stand a chance of answering a few!

A la perchoine.

The Shorts Affair Continues

Hi peeps, thanks for popping in.  Hope you are enjoying the lazy, hazy days of summer.

I've been having some family time in the sun, including a super few days with the GKs. 

Along the way I squeezed into the long-awaited denim shorts.  Well, not really squeezed, this latest batch of shorts are rather loose.  But I guess that is practical when the weather is hot.

. 

These are from Dotty P.  I think there's something wrong with the website, it shows only 3 styles left.  Must be an error.  As you can see, they are sort of knee-length denim and, trust me, they are extremely comfy.  You also get a glimpse of my fave tankini too, old and from Bravissimo.  I was ready to hit the beach!

Now, I think these are the pair from Next here.  These are favoured by GD and The Photographer. 

So subtle is the difference between the two pairs that I'm not entirely sure which is which!

Worn with a Next longline navy camisole and black hat shading sea-ready face!

At the moment I am doing some positive thinking on my dalliance with shorts.  It may be just a brief encounter.  But if I can forget about what I look like and think of comfort, then maybe, just maybe, shorts and me could turn into an LTR.

How are you doing with shorts this summer?  On?  On and off? Or totally off?

So far beige chinos and jean-shorts are sort-of doing it for me.  And the longer length and the thicker fabric is the combo that stands up to the challenges of my chunky legs.

The old negatives are fading with the good choices I'm making.

GD finds my shorts try-ons/wearing amusing (embarrassing).  Apparently the big issue is the knees (like I didn't know that).  But she has a different take on my knee issue.  It would seem that when my knees bend it doesn't look like they're bending. 

I'm still trying to visualise that one!

Do you have any tips or fixes with shorts that works for you?  That you could share with me? 

 'Cos me and my knees need all the help we can get!

Now, what else have I been up to?  I'm getting to that stage in life when I have to check the diary or my camera to see what I was up to yesterday.  Sound familiar?

OK, so the photographic evidence tells me that I met up for a bite to eat with some girlfriends at our local, the Rockie which is down on the coast.  The one with the nice sunset view over the sea.  Trouble is, my little pensioner eyes only get to see it when the nights start to draw way in, because I'm usually home again by 8pm!

But the pink clouds were a pretty sunset-substitute!

Back to the outfit.  It was a lovely evening so we enjoyed the walk to and from the pub.  I shaded my eyes from the sun with the Next sunhat and as the vibe was casual, I allowed myself to stay comfy in the Birkies. 

I really have learned to make sensible choices for the pub-walk, eh?  I arrived home blister-free!

 

The Next linen mix navy cardi came too.  In my bag the whole evening.

This old Primani jersey maxi dress is just so useful on summer days like this one.  I do believe it will enjoy a place in my suitcase next week when I go to France.

And tonight my guest Marianne has met up with a friend for dinner in town.

Looking so lovely wearing a white/grey toile de jouy style print skirt in  a simple A-line.

I leave you with another try-on.  With my recent holiday in mind, I ordered  this vest, to bring perhaps a little lift to my wardrobe and my days.  Not sure about it.  It trapezes out at the hemline and looks a bit strange on me.  With shorts anyway ... well, wouldn't anything?!

Will try it on with white capri jeans tomorrow.  Because Marianne's come home today with a real pensioner-priced pair for me - £3!!!

A la perchoine.