I'm still here! Rambling...

I'm still here! Still alive and kicking. It's just this old blog that's gone all droopy and wilted like a neglected houseplant at the back of an office. Interesting metaphor, given the reason for my absence has been the fact that I myself have been droopy, wilted and at the back of an office. I'm a curriculum developer. That means I figure out how to fit all the things kiddliwinks in my school need to learn into the school year. Now, as you'd expect, usually the National Curriculum and exam contents are published the year before so I can set it all up. Which I do, over the summer holidays. But oh no, this government like to make major changes saaay ... over the weekend in the middle of term time. Requiring an extra fortnight's work to be done on top of my term time workload, quickly, without error or teething room. Irritating. Not going to bore you with some political rant but suffice to say it has, as they write in management documents "impacted upon my work life balance" (and I've had to do things twice, down to someone else's fickleness. A pet hate of mine).

So, I have done nothing of any interest to anyone since early September. Honestly, the highlight of my month has been finding a runner bean cutter at a boot sale and being able to trim vegetables more neatly. Sad!

Anyway, if you want to be more interesting than me at the moment (and trust me, that is very easy. You could be a potato, or a neatly machine cut runner bean, and be more interesting) here are some of my favourite blogs, they actually post stuff (!!) and don't abandon y'all for months at a time. You all know my usual list of vintage reads (they're linked down the side of my page, innit), but these are some more eclectic choices:

A Thrifty Mrs - currently my go-to lifestyle blog. Realistic, thrifty, witty. Also, she has a tiny little miniature doggy and basically when I'm not being all cynical and Lahndan I secretly click and go "aww look at the ikkle puppy!!" before normal service is resumed.

One Nail To Rule Them All - If I wasn't a rambly slightly vintage type blogger I'd blog nails. But not as well as this site. A-maz-ing and UK based so you don't love a colour then find you have to pay for postage from the US...

All The Dresses - a new project from Gemma of Retrochick. Just loads and loads of dresses. All the dresses, indeed. AAALLL OFFF THEEMMMMM!

Do you follow blogs of the same genre, and if so what? Or do you have a more eclectic reading list..?

TK Maxx St Mary's Axe - Review

A new TK Maxx in Olde London Town! Yes. Brand spanking new and about as central as you can get (right underneath the Gherkin, on St Mary's Axe) - when they kindly invited me to attend their celebrity preview, I was there like a shot. As ever, the concept of the store is to provide brands and designer labels at up to 60% off the RRP, however this store has an extra twist for those of you lucky enough to work or live within easy reach of the Liverpool St area; this is a City focused store - meaning no kid's clothes or household goods, and a much better selection of work, smart and partywear.

Kate Walsh of The Apprentice fame, and
Channel 5 weather presenter Sian Welby.

New Shoes?

We're in that lull between the autumn festivities of Halloween, Guy Fawkes, Diwali etc' and the time when it's actually OK to be blatantly over excited about Christmas. All is quiet. All activities that are blog worthy also need to be kept mum because they pertain to Christmas presents. So I took one for the team; selflessly, in the name of research post I bought new shoes. It was painful. But I did it.

As a child of the 90s, I was never without a pair of DM boots. Comfy and lasting-for-life, to my mind they can be work with a huge variety of outfits, not just jeans. However, for many years a gal like me had to decide between the comfort of her beloved docs and the glamour of a high heel. A tough choice, especially if you work on your feet all day.

Why I Dress Like An Explosion In A Charity Shop

First off, apologies for the lack of posts recently. It's the two most hectic weeks of the year for my day job. No time for blogging, all energies must be reserved for paperwork and fine toothed combing of the paperwork of others.

I have been distant.

I have been reading blogs however, especially some interesting ones about 'why I dress this way' (or 'why wear vintage?') from some fab bloggers:
Retro Chick
Suzie Q for Retro Chick
Tuppence Ha'penny
Vintage Secret

Bog Standard Outfit Post

Some bloggers seem to have infinite clothing and fantasy style wonderful to behold, but most of us don't live like that. Sadly. We have these things called day jobs with practicalities and so forth. Reality. Rain, wind, bunions; they all add up.

But this doesn't mean everyday outfits have to be bland. I am rather strange, and enjoy adding a bit of character to my outfits both modern and vintage. Thus, this outfit came about; I wore it once thinking it would be warm and sensible, several people complimented me on it. Some picked up on the way it has a certain mid-century-explorer vibe (similar to the tough girl in a man's world outfit, I guess) and some just liked the faux fur boot.

It isn't super glamorous, it's not designed to make me look 'thin', or 'young'. It's just a practical, thrifty outfit made with thrifty items which I intend to wear again and again...value.

Ah, the usual grumpy blog face.
I softened it, but the expression's
still hard.

Quick, Thrifty, Tasty

Yep that's me. Haha, no, I'm not that vain - I'm talking weekday dinners. Oh no, I hear you cry, not one of those smug 'much cheaper than a take-away' so-called easy weekday recipes that are actually nigh on impossible. I feel your pain; when I read features like that in magazines they drive me up the wall. This post reveals the truth behind my thrifty eating... the lazy, cheapo, truth. How to eat if you:

• Work 12 hour days;
• Also want to actually have a life;
• Want to save money;
• Don't want malnutrition.

Bear with me a week or so...

Please excuse the temporary hiatus in budget lifestyle inanity. Perdita is currently stupendously busy both at work and home. Which is tricky if you are a princess of very little brain…

I enclose herein some 'LOLCats' as both a gesture of my sincere apologies and as a visual representation of my current state of mind:

His Lordship says the resemblance is uncanny.

Or as I put it: 'Can't speak...spreadsheet hell...'

No time for this. Le petit sigh.

Well Fit

I haven't been out much due to the dreaded exam season. Endless paperwork and evening/weekend classes... happily they are now completed, students feeling confident, staff sorted- so my social life can start afresh with this bank holiday weekend. Huzzah!

Being housebound with paperwork of a weekend, naturally I used my full reserve of intellectual and creative power to avoid anything resembling an Excel spreadsheet until Sunday evening when it absolutely positively had to be done. Bad girl. Rebelling against years of 'no TV until you can show me your homework' as a child.

Pretty Practical

I was thinking about something I read in a glossy fashion magazine last night. To summarise, it went blahblahblah... I wear fully formed stockings, pencil skirts and Jimmy Choos all the time, of course they are just so comfortable! And ideal for all tasks a lady would want to do and anyone who doesn't has 'low self esteem' (the bright/middle-class female equivalent of 'yo momma') and is a slob obsessed with comfort (not that that judgement would lower anyone's self-esteem)... Blah blah blah... To my mind, every bit as dangerous to a young woman's mind as an inaccurately airbrushed model. Manners maketh woman, make-up simply maketh woman glam. I adore glam, but if my entire self-worth were tied in it I would feel rather sad.

Standing with my arms stuck out...

...waiting for someone to tag me free. Vain Glory Sinner tagged me with an 'all about you' quiz.

WHAT IS YOUR DREAM JOB?

What I do now. It's a strange semi-teaching, semi-management job, I like both bits and I like 'my' kids.

When I was a kid meself I wanted to be a chef and/or an actor. Then I wanted to be a director. I trained and worked in theatre for a while before I realised (a) it's not economically viable when you do freak-assy arty stuff like me (b) compared to 14 year olds, a significant proportion of actors are slightly childish (c) I liked working in an environment most people find 'challenging' i.e. with stroppy kids (that's PC for 'icky' or 'eek!') and I was like 'yeaaaahh'.

At school I was always told to write or work in geography. I write for enjoyment and the other... thing... Well, I believe it involves mud and sighting poles. Yeah righto Mr careers officer.

Poet's Corner

Ha ha. That's a little West London pun for y'all. Just a quick little post on a cause very close to my heart, promoting poetry in performance. I do write a little myself (sadly, due to work, I have little time to perform now; so unfair- why can't I just blog, write and perform in silks whilst eating magical calorie-free chips and drinking the finest wines?) but today it's all about the very talented James Priestman, of Pitshanger Poets fame:

Friday feeling?

It's my first post. As usual, I'm rushing into this unprepared, posting on a blog which is essentially about things to see, do and eat in the evenings/weekends on a Friday lunchtime, i.e. before I could possibly have done anything to blog about. I can't really recommend my lunch or surroundings: I'm in my office (formerly the lower-school toilets, nice!) eating something which vaguely resembles a cheese sandwich. In that it is triangular and has a small white label with 'CHEESE' on the front. But enough about that (not that there is enough to feed a gnat, but never mind), on to my plans for the weekend.

This is a BBC image by the way (in case you thought I have man's hands. I don't; just man-sized feet but that's a tale for another telling).

Anyway, this weekend I have lots of interesting things planned 'out of town'.