Chatty Kathy

Winter’s Chill

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:32:41 +0000

I grew up in the land of sunshine, beaches and citrus. I’m used to winter being 50 degrees outside and it warming up to the low 70s during the day. Despite living for 18 months in Chicago I’m not really used to ice and snow. While I do do like snow--its so much fun to play in! I don’t like the cold. I find myself standing in a patch of sun most of the day with my hands curled around a warm cup of tea.

That being said, there is something very pretty about waking up to a frost covered morning!

7 Things

Wed, 4 Jan 2012 12:43:50 +0000

I am enjoying this book that I got for Christmas, Parisian Chic. It’s wonderful and full of tips from a former fashion model and style icon, Ines de la Fressange. One of the things that reoccurs in her book is that she breaks fashion down by seven must have items ie--seven wardrobe pieces or make-up basics.

I’m going to try an experiment to see if I can Paris chic, by the end of the year. So I’m embarking on an adventure to change my wardrobe and find the pieces she recommends. My first leg of the journey is the wardrobe. I am attempting to find: a men’s blazer, a trench coat (got one on sale at Debenhams!), a tank top, a little black dress, jeans and a leather jacket.

She says that these are all that is needed to build a fabulous look. I’m ready to give it a try. This is harder than it might seem since I’m still on Weight Watchers and dropping weight, but also because in the UK sizes are different than they are in the US. So I’m not too sure what size I wear.

The jackets should be easy but I want to find something that’s classic so I can continue wearing it year after year.

What about you? Do you have a secret 7 things that make something work for you?

Home at last!

Mon, 2 Jan 2012 16:35:35 +0000

It took us nearly six months but finally our little Godiva is home with us where she belongs. She had a nice stay with my parents who live on five acres but we really missed her. Today we took a walk into town with her and its a couple of miles and she happily did it with her little legs moving as fast as they could.

Once we were in the town center, she was in heaven as little kids and well, practically everyone who walked by us, stopped to say how cute she was and some of them petted her.

She’s a real attention piggy so she loved every second of it! I think she is starting to adjust to life in the UK even though its only been two weeks since she arrived. We are very happy to have her back with us.

Pirate Boots!

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 09:06:54 +0000

I’m a shopaholic and can’t resist a bargain so while I was my co-shopaholic mother at Thanksgiving I was buying all sorts of things that I either couldn’t get in Nuneaton or that I thought were cheaper in the US (i.e. 89 GBP for a pair of boots is more expensive than 89 USD for a pair). So as I tried to get everything in my suitcases my parents, kids and niece were cracking up.

My dad dryly would say things like don’t they sell paper plates in England? Of course, they do but not Chinet! I had to leave some of those behind but my worst/best purchase were a pair of riding boots that I desperately loved and planned to wear on the plane.

So I finally sat on my suitcases and got them closed and zipped up, Chinet dinner and dessert sized plates inside. I planned to wear my riding boots which I had tried on a little after midnight on Black Friday and somehow didn’t notice or recall that I have short legs so instead of ending at my knee they sort of cover my entire knee. :)

I’ve been on a diet (forgive my digression) and have lost almost thirty pounds but haven’t purchased on new jeans so the ones I was wearing were a bit baggy and when I put the boots on my pants ballooned over the top of them. I thought I looked a little silly but decided to get the expert opinion of my loved ones who cracked up as soon as I walked into the living room.

My mom was crying she was laughing so hard at how silly I looked and my son and niece declared that I looked like a pirate. Trying to be helpful after laughing so hard and seeing my devastated face my suggested wearing my jeans outside of the boots, which I tried but with each step my pants had this weird bulge above my knees and I had to acknowledge that I wasn’t wearing them.

I had to sacrifice my dinner sized Chinet plates but managed to bring the boots back to England with me.

Has anything like this every happened to you?

Advent

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 09:56:09 +0000

For my family one of the best parts of Christmas is Advent and now that I’ve unearthed my big wooden calendar we are following our tradition of a little scavenger hunt each morning. Its hard to come up with 24 little gifts for each day that aren’t all candy. So here is one festive thing that even my husband and teenaged son will wear. After all no one can really see it!