Paint It Black

Hi my sweetie pies!  Ready for your weekend? Have you got a relaxing rewind of a few days planned or is it going to be jam-packed with house tasks and socialising?

I did have exciting plans with a lovely friend which have had to change a tad, so maybe a quiet dinner is on the cards, coffee with family and just a little housework.  Does that sound like a pensioner's weekend?

I don't know about The Pouting Pensioner, I'm feeling more like The Peripatetic Pensioner at the moment (or some of you may think of me as The Peripathetic Pensioner!)

I'm all over the place right now.  Mini cruise to Bruges, a week in the Scilly Isles and now three weeks in the UK, which will involve a series of mini trips between Sussex and London and maybe other places too.  My holidays are certainly like buses!

Because of all this peripatetic-ing (oh I love making up words that don't pass spellcheck!), I've had the usual challenge of devices that don't talk too each other.  And the challenge of packing, multiple times. For the past six weeks it seems like life had been pack, unpack, launder; repack, reunpack, relaunder ... maybe exposure to so much packing had got me rather good at it 😊, see here and here.

However, so much was I fine tuning my UK trip's packing to attempt record-breaking carry on weights that I made an executive decision with regard to photographic devices.  "Oh, the iphones will serve us well" was my decision, for I was that executive.  It was a rash decision.  Not my best. Because they haven't served us well.  My photographs are coming out decidedly bad, lacking in focus, blurring lights, that sort of thing.  I fear I may just weaken and let my finger stroll over to Amazon to get myself something better.  So my apologies for the quality right now.  Not good.  And shortly I will give you practical demos on how not-good they are.

So, enough of the waffle, Pout, tell your friends what you've been up to!

Well, just a day after arriving in  Sussex, I went on my first mini trip up to London.  No not to meet the Queen!

I started the journey with jeans and a top.

For dinner I wore the black modal jersey top and switched jeans for a black pencil skirt, both M&S, with Clarks chunky heeled courts (pumps).  Legs patterned by M&S; I felt all that black needed a bit of texture to lift the outfit.

Next day I wore a Dotty P jersey dress (packs a dream).  My "waist" is "cinched" by a deep black leather belt.  Tie Rack silk square.  These last two items are about 20 years old and still much loved (I say this in case I decide to put this post on Terri's 2nd Loved link-up - my old clothes are loved, but still by me!).

The legs were clad with matt opaques.

Over this I wore a v. old ex-suit textured jacket by Kaliko; this also packs a dream and hence I took it with me on many business trips, BITD.  My little black handbag finished off the outfit.

For dinner that evening back at the hotel, I switched the jacket for a spotted cardi, Primani.  And became obsessed by a light fitting.

So my little case carried 1 jacket, 1 dress, 1 skirt, 1 cardi, 1 vest (tank), just in case. 1 pr courts, tights (racy and sombre), silk square, handbag.  Mostly black.  I wanted black.

Either side of these outfits and for travel I wore the top with jeans, leoprint scarf and flatties; crossover bag.

Pretty light packing, huh?

I could have done without the skirt and vest but our trip may have been extended by another overnight, so I packed for that eventuality.

Now here I will demonstrate how bad my pictures are.  We stayed at Orsett Hall.

Website photo.

My photo.

My photos only (none found on website).  I loved this lounge, I loved the colour mix and the patterns.

And here I ate a surprisingly tasty tuna bagle.  I'm impressed that the simple tuna can be turned into something quite tangy and exciting.  Coffee was accessorised by cute milk churns.  I know one milk churn fan who will be wanting to get her hands on these cutiies.  You know who you are!

Back to the comparisons.

Website photos

My photos (a wedding reception was taking place the day we arrived).

My photos only.  Again, I found no dining room website shots to compare.

I liked the floral touches in this room.  The voiles were edged in fabric that matched the wallpaper.  "Snapshots" of the fabric pattern were used on the backs of the chairs.  I liked those touches.

 Now, some of these photos aren't the worst, but they can definitely be done better. 

The fact is, this is about finding more ways of doing less of what I currently do better.

And if you don't watch W1A, that last sentence will leave you scratching your head. 

Yes, exactly.  Yes.

Oh and did I say I was concerningly besotted by a light fitting?!

This huge chandelier-style fitting spanned the hotel's three floors!

I challenged myself to have photos taken with it on each floor.  I won't bore you with all of those.

I'm guessing you don't get obsessed by light fittings?  It's probably just me ... oh, and a family member of mine who always heads for the light fittings section in DIY and department stores.  You know who you are too!

A la perchoine.

A Few Days in the East

G'day to you, my friends.

I'm still mourning the loss of our heatwave but I've put a positive spin on things.

I realised recently that I'd had little opportunity to wear early-summer jackets, the ones I'd queued up a few cooler day looks.

And that had made me the tinsiest bit sad.



Well, no worries, cooler days are here!  I can now enjoy my white East jacket without overheating.  Silk purse out of a pigs ear, peeps!

Here with black Per Una slim-fits and Peacocks striped t-shirt.

It appears to be my lucky jacket too.  I dipped my hand into the pocket ...

... and pulled out £2!  (We still use our pound notes here.)

The Photographer told me to go buy myself somethin' perr-ty!

After wearing this thong necklace all day, I realised it was supposed to double up to make a choker and dangle, rather than a v. long dangle as seen here.  Duh!

Old Windsmoor stone cardi, black Per Unas, Artigiano top.

Even this thick cardi has been pulled out.

I call it my "sick cardi"; I instinctively reach for it when I'm poorly to cosy up.  I've worn it this week during chilly bloggings.

  

Another day with the jacket, my "501s" and Magasin linen stripey top.

So many fashionista show looks with white blazers.  I have one, but I find that this East white jacket fits my retired life style better and it's coming out to play quite a bit, heatwaves aside.

And here's the thing.  I bought it 15 years ago ... and I've only started truly wearing it in the last year.  Is that investment/nest egg dressing?  It's certainly been a slow burner.  But I've discovered its usefulness and retirement-appropriateness, thanks to this blog pushing my boundaries!

I accessorised with dangly earrings, which have a little turquoise stone insert, as the grey leather thong necklace has too.  Very subtle matchy matchy.  So subtle that none will notice, but I know and that's enough for me!

And result, I caught TP wearing his new grey jeans!

Wearing cool summer stuff has been an unexpected treat, but Weather Man, if you're reading this, I'm ready for you to push a bit of skirt and dress weather my way ...

Now tell me, how has your style changed in recent years?

Changed maybe after a dramatic shift in life style, like retirement?

Have you found yourself wearing things that work better in your "new life"?

Or whose potential you've much later discovered?

A la perchoine.

Our Christmas Eat Treat

Our lovely grandkiddies treated us out to a meal at our favourite restaurant.  How nice is that?!

It was our Christmas pressie and we decided to save it until we'd got over our colds and sniffles so that we could truly enjoy it.  And that time was now!  We don't like doing the Valentine's Night assembly line stuff so our "Valentine's" was a couple of days later.

At first I fancied going a bit frilly and silky.  La Reunion is posh and that would have been fitting.

But a cold sea mist had set in over the island, so I went for ladylike warmth and comfort.

Woolovers light stone cashmere merino cardi with M&S wool crepe black skirt, chunky pearls.

My old Tie Rack silk square in stone. black and grey was just a perfect match for this combo.



My Peacock pleather waterfall jacket was just right to stop this quite serious lady outfit from looking, er, too serious and ladylike.

Clarks chunky heel reptile courts and a vintage Corde clutch and I was ready (just!) for the taxi.

And on to La Reunion.

I've given you so many pics of this place on previous visits so I tried to find a couple of new angles, one being the bar area above.



And the other being this run of buttoned chairs and convex mirrors, this view marred only by the obviously obligatory fire extinguishers.

A line of matching plants along the windowsill.  Note the grey and mustard, oh how I adore that colour combo!

We were shown to our usual table.  How sophisticated does that sound?  Our usual table, indeed! But it just works out that we seem to be allocated the best table for two in the house, each and every time!

Now dieters and brace wearers will be pleased to hear that my food shots were restrained - their paucity I put down to having had such a good time that I simply forgot to take many!

So here's my crab and avocado starter.  I often find that a three-course meal is far too filling as I get older, so I had another starter for second course, an Asian prawn salad but with a side order of garlic fries, of course, my appetite is not that restrained! The Photographer dipped avidly into my chips as his fish dish came with far less-exciting mash.  Of course, between us we still couldn't quite finish the little bowl of these tasty fries.

Two yummy and delicate courses - OK the fries aren't quite so delicate!

And here's The Photographer's ice cream.  I really could only manage a double espresso at this stage.

Oh, and the handmade chocs and jellies the restaurant serves with coffee :-).  I made room for those.

A lovely evening, as always, with superb food, staff and ambiance.  And talking of ambiance, I've come away with something added to my Wish List.  A skinny black table lamp.  So sophisticated.

A pair of these would look so splendid in our formal lounge.  Should I treat myself?  Or should I wait for my birthday?  OK, here's a clue to the answer - my birthday is towards the end of the year, a.k.a. an awful long way away.  You figure it out!

Thank you, adorable and thoughtful grandkiddies, for your very special treat.  It was much enjoyed!

A la perchoine.