Wednesday 10 July 2013

Written in black and white


You lot make me laugh!

I'm glad to know you are an assertive, feisty bunch who don't like being ripped off, by a charity shop or anyone else.

No, I didn't buy the items with the inflated price tags. 
Yes, I asked why they were double the price of other equivalent items.
I received a shrug as my answer.
No, I couldn't be bothered to ask to see the manager (plenty more belts and brooches in the sea of charity shops) but Oxfam, I name and shame you, and you lost a sale. I would never haggle in a charity shop, but I don't have a problem with pointing out inconsistent pricing.

 So that's that - now let's move on. 
 

I wore the same skirt two days running - an unusual event for me!
 



This skirt was on the sale rail in my local hospice charity shop - it's from the dreaded Primark, but at a quid, I thought I could justify it. 

Yesterday was sunny and hot;
 



today was not.
 


 
We have already covered the camouflaging qualities of a maxi, but they also do a great job of keeping you cool when the weather is hot, and warm when it isn't.



Yeah yeah, I know - the little polka dot vest underneath is actually navy. I thought it was black till I saw the photos. I may be a bit colour blind. Which would explain a lot.


Now having an hourglass figure with quite wide hips (no self-disparagement intended, just an honest assessment of my body shape), I apparently shouldn't wear horizontal stripes or a gathered skirt.



Styling advice for anyone considered broad, large framed, big and large, courtesy of a 1977 Jackie annual.

Hmm, well, I'm not terribly good at taking advice, so stripes and gathers it is.
 
So there.
 



Jersey maxi skirt, top, bangles, red flower - charity shopped
Sandals - retail (ancient - forgot I had them, rediscovered them in the bottom of the wardrobe)
Black flower - gift from 100% gorgeous Sarah
Red wooden bangle (I wear it to death) - gift from darling Tania
Sunglasses - Ebay




Vest, white shirt and Rocket Dog canvas flats - charity shopped
 


 I was having a bit of a shitty day today* till this arrived;
 


 
a parcel of blogger love from my dearest Clare, containing a beautiful Monsoon jacket and two chic shift dresses, and...



...this magnificent portrait of Clementine, at her sneering and sardonic bitchfaced best!

I love it all, Clare - thank you, darling!
 
 
*My shitty day?
 
We woke up this morning to find our shy sweetheart of a cat Willow had a horrendously swollen eye.
I mean horrendous - a red, inflamed third eyelid all the way across, her face puffed out, it looked as though her eye was about to explode. I'm not particularly squeamish but oh dear, it did look nasty.

I rushed her off to the vet; something has scratched her eye quite badly which has become infected - she was fine yesterday, it must have happened in the night.
 
Anyway, she has had an injection of an anti-inflammatory and painkiller, and antibiotic eyedrops,  and it's looking slightly better this evening. 
 
But I have learnt that cats - much like children - do not like eye drops.
 
And I am supposed to put lubricating drops in her eye 6-8 times a day, as well as the antibiotics.
 
She is not a happy girl, and neither am I.
 
The 2-hourly eye drops meant no volunteering at school today, and more importantly, no Chesterfield tomorrow - disaster!
 



Hopefully Willow will be back to normal soon.
 
Cats - they are more trouble than the kids!
 
   xxxx


 
 
 


46 comments:

Vix said...

Poor Willow! It's always the girl cats that are buggers with the medication, the boys seem to be daft enough not to argue.
Such a shame about Chesterfield, though.
Love that Primarni skirt on you and it doesn't count to wear the same skirt two days running when you've accessorised it differently.
No wonder Jackie magazine folded, what stupid advice. Who wants to dress "nicely" anyway?
Clare's been a busy girl with her parcels. Clementine is looking ravishing and that bundle of clothes look fantastic - can't wait to see that monochrome number on!
Come back sunshine! xxxxxxxx

freckleface said...

You look amazing in these outfits, willowy and elegant and gorgeous. Nowt wrong with an hourglass figure love, I've got a matching one, just the shorter version.

The lovely Miss Simmonds has been exceptionally busy. That portrait makes me laugh so much, it's just wonderful.

Poor baby Willow :( it's no fun having puffy eyes. And poor Mama! No Chesterfield? Eek!!

That charity shop scenario. You came out best of it. Oxfam. I must admit, I hardly think of them as a charity shop any more. Give me Sallies any day! xxxxx

Unknown said...

These outfits look fab on you.

mispapelicos said...

I find the prizes in Oxfam and Cancer Research crazy.
Looking fabulous.
You need no advise, my dear Curtise.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxxx

amie k said...

Hey beautiful!

I'm so glad you've remarked about Oxfam-my local one is the same. Some jeans are £2.99, others £8.99,for no obvious reasons I can see. I don't mind paying a bit more for a brand new pair or a particularly high end brand but when you have two high street pairs at opposite ends of the spectrum-what?!

As for the style advice, I'm glad to see you tossed it aside because that skirt looks ravishing on you. As for the poor kitty willow...there must be something doing the rounds attacking eyes as I woke up yesterday with the same thing! Vile and very painful, it does seem to be subsiding now though thankfully!

Much love xxx

Anonymous said...

Poor cat! I often wish I could explain to an animal that I'm doing this for their own good. Oh to have Dr Dolittle's talents....
Your skirt looks lovely on you. I wonder how people get/got these jobs giving advice? xxx

thorne garnet said...

yeah, cats can be a pain, but at least they don't want cars and smart phones.

Fiona said...

You have my sympathies. Trying to give eyedrops to a cat must be similar to getting them to take a tablet, ie nigh on impossible! Poor Willow (think I may have called her William last week, hope she was not offended) will be keeping my fingers crossed for a speedy recovery. Great Primarni skirt, why not wear it two days running? Hilarious Jackie advice, hate to think what they say about pear-shapes like me.
Fabularse portrait, how wonderfully flattering to be immortalised in felt tips. x

Lynn Hasty said...

Dear Curtise, you make ME laugh! And I am not good at following rules either. It's July in North Carolina, and I wore tights today. So there. I do hope poor kitty-cat is better soon!!

XOXO
Lynn

Emma Kate at Paint and Style said...

Poor Willow. Her eye is worth cramping your style for. I read somewhere about a lady with a dog with a sore eye that actually did explode. Ugh. She wished she'd gone to the vet sooner...the dog cried all night and it was thoroughly distressing.
Love the portrait! xxxx

Helga said...

O, poor darling Willow! Jaysus, having to administer anything to cats is tricky! Our Peeps gets eye infections fairly often, and she has to have goopy cream jammed into her eye-she gets pretty fiesty about it!
I love that skirt! I'm fine with a shitty chain store label as long as I got it secondhand, and that's a really awesome skirt! Feck the rules, you look amazing in it!
I have trouble discerning dark navy from black all the time!!! I actually didn't notice until you pointed it out!
Love YOU! XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Louise Mc said...

Poor Willow. I hope she will be ok soon. I'm hourglass too, and happily flout those rules. The skirt looks great on you, amd I hear what you say about Primark but surely when it's from a charity shop it's justifiable because you're supporting the charity? Oui? What a lovely parcel of joy too. Xx

Bobbi said...

The stripey skirt looks great on you! It's really great with the tied shirt. Sending lots of helpful energy for the eyedrops!

Miss Magpie said...

Poor Willow, cats are a nightmare for giving meds too, I don't envy you that.
What does Jackie know??

Connie said...

Poor little kitty. But I'm sure she'll feel. Better when her eye heals and she can see how beautiful you are. I agree. I spend more sleepless nights worrying about my pets than I do about my kids. Pancake is giving us an especially hard time since we moved. AUGH!! Just what I need!

OP SHOP MAMA said...

Yes and that's why I don't have any pets!! I'll wait a few years for that, despite a fair amount of pressure from my peeps!!

That primark skirt looks great. I remember buying some gruts there once. I couldn't believe how cheap they were. ANyway, they LITERALLY fell off my body after one wear. LOL.

Miss Maple said...

You're looking so good in black and white. Wish you the best for Willow. I know it can be very hard to give medication to pets because our dogs were so clever that they unwrapped any pill that we have hidden in sausages or other food. Often we were really clueless what else we should try to trick them.

Miss Simmonds Says said...

Bloody cats! Whenever any of mine got a cut it would instantly turn into a pus filled nightmare, yet they don't seem to notice!
Anyway, I really hope those dresses look killer on you! And you model them ASAP. £1 Primark is a bargain not to be sniffed at and it looks gorgeous. I love navy and black together too. Xxxx

The Small Fabric Of My Life said...

Hope Willow is feeling better.
I hear sunshine is back on tomorrow.
I think the maxi looks very slimming - another lie from Jackie.

Krista said...

Amen sister! You know I can relate to the troubled cat stories. Your poor baby and it's the prettiest of the bunch :) I do hope he is better soon and that it's not too much of a pain for you both. Poor thing! You and Vix both got spoiled by Clare she sure know what suits you two and this drawing of good ole Clem is magnificent!

I have heard so many things when it comes to wearing stripes I can never keep them straight in my head. Good thing we just do what feels and looks right. I love the skirt and can see why you wore it twice. Why I wore the dress Cristi made me twice too :)
Enjoy the rest of your week sweets!
XXXOOOO

Patti said...

Sorry about Willow - giving eye ointment to a person is difficult enough, let alone an independent feline. Glad to hear she's recovering. Our Skinny once came home with a paw as big as a catcher's mitt - we rushed to the vet too and she had a nasty abscess. We were supposed to keep her from licking - ha! Many tears were shed and not by Skinny (she is fully recovered).

Love your new maxi skirt, worn both ways! xoxoxo

LongIslandWeddingOfficiant said...

Fabulous dress and the illustrations are amazing!
hugs from New York,
xx
Ask Erena
http://askerena.blogspot.com/

his_girl_friday said...

I love long skirts in the summertime. Especially striped ones!

Anonymous said...

Can NOT imagine the maneuvering it must take to give a cat eye drops so frequently, but it will be worth the attention. Your story made me recall an accident that happened to our dog when the kids were little--it ran into a barbed wire fence and basically was forever blind in that eye. wishing Willow a full recovery.

Vintage Coconut said...

I know too well these problems with eyes pets can have. In FACT I should be a seasoned animal eye problem parent. Now maybe it's because I have had a crap load of pets but..... I once had a albino hedgehog who got a sliver of wood shaving poked into his eye.
He had a cage of half soft bedding and half shavings for where he pottied and by some BLASTED weirdness he somehow managed a pet shaving related horrible injury. (He lost his eye / I thought of making a patch but then decided he prob wouldn't wear it.) He lived for another year after his eye loss. My Boxer scratched his eyeball on something whilst playing outside. He first had drops but when his eye got worse he had to have his third eyelid stitched closed for two weeks so it would heal. (I hated seeing poochie with stitches and he hated the cone he needed.) LAST but not least my rabbit had scratched his eye. We got the drops and in a couple days he was doing a lot better. But he was the biggest pain to deal with as he thumped and fussed and DID NOT want to be held for his drops.
I never had a problem with my 4 hamsters, 2 rats, 2 chinchillas, other 2 rabbits, 1 snake, 1 cat & other childhood dog

I guess 3 out of 15 pets is a okay number.
P.s. I never had these pets all at once *rofl* It was over a 19 year span

Vintage Coconut said...

Yikes longest story ever!! I hope Willows eye get's better very soon. =)

joyatri said...

I hope the little munchkin recovers from her eye infection soon.
I can see you accessorizing that skirt a million different ways; it's got a great graphic quality.

Anonymous said...

Poor kitty. I hope you know to wrap her tightly in a towel with her legs pulled down (if she'll let you). Then you can give her all kinds of medicine and she'll be perfectly helpless. Bless.

I love the drawing of Clementine! How fun to have an alter ego. Mine would probably be sloppy, boyish, and inappropriately dressed.

Vintage Bird Girl said...

Ahh yes cats & medication don't mix too well. I do hope Willow is on the mend. I was thinking how flattering that skirt is on you. On me it would be all wrong, I'm sure it would highlight my flabby tum. I do find maxis too hot in the heat of a Queensland summer. But then I am the human heater. Xx

Melanie said...

Shall I tell you an animal injury story? No. I'm grossed out here! I love furry friends and I can't stand it. But I'm glad Willow's eye is still intact and sliding back into its regular socket position. Gaaa!
Clare is a genii (plural of genius?), a gifted gift-picker and an artist. She did catch the bitchfaced best!!
Your horizontal stripes are perfect, groovy. Why not wear them more than two days in a row? I mean it. It's a fantastic skirt.

Sue @ A Colourful Canvas said...

Eye drops must be so tough to administer. But she's so worth it, that gorgeous girl. I give homeopathics to my cats, and I always find little pellets here and there after trying to dose them. {Sigh}

You wear those stripes beautifully, and even after you mentioned the navy, I couldn't see it.

Thank goodness for the rare days that the post brings packages tied up with string. You have lovely friends, and how blessed they know just when to send you a gift.

Sue xo

Sheila said...

Oh, poor kitty - I am typing this with a cat on my lap and I'm telling him of the UK Willow and her scratch.

Looking lovely - and what a fun package!

Unknown said...

Poor poor Cat Willow ....
Oh the animals do break mycket hart .
Xxx

Loo xx from Jumbles and Pompoms said...

Really? More troublesome than kids? Are you sure? Thank the lord we've only ever had rodents for pets (and they're troublesome enough with their escapee antics like disappearing under the floorboards - I may well have bored you with that one already, apologies). Shame you won't be going to Chesterfield flea but have a lovely day in your stripey skirt. xx

Trees said...

Oh poor Willow and poor you! Putting eyedrops onto a cats eye sounds almost impossible. I hope you both survive. I love the way you've styled this lovely frock two ways and to hell with fashion rules I say!

Melanie said...

Ooh, magpie feather, snap! I pounced on one only this week. I shall put it on the hat I promise I am going to make myself.
Poor Willow, scratches on eyes can be so alarming. I'm glad things were looking better at the time of this post. Our trick with medicating Jessica who was a vicious spitfire was to pounce, pin her down, do what needed to be done and then confuse her with lots of fuss and praise, she was soon purring and no claws were used! Bob got swiped by Jessica once and his eye looked awful, but nothing compared to when the whole thing went blood red. I panicked completely and rushed him to the vet but it was all part of the healing process apparently xxx

Señora Allnut said...

fabulous striped skirt, love that black&white design, and you needn't any advice to look gorgeous!
and I'm glad that a parcel of joy arrived just on time to cheer up your day!, that portrait simply makes me smile, so funny!
Wish your dear kitty get well soon!, poor girl!
besos

Forest City Fashionista said...

Having scratched my own eye (long story) several years ago, and knowing the pain and discomfort I endured, Willow has my sympathy. Mine did not swell up to gargantuan proportions though. I hate putting eye drops in my own eyes, much less trying to put them in a kitty's. We do go the extra mile for our pets and kids.

I missed the Oxfam story so have to read that! Clare's portraits are so much fun and she sends great presents. Yay for stripes, horizontal or otherwise!

Anonymous said...

Poor Willow!! I don't have a pet because I'm already very busy with two little kids, but I love them very much and I hope he'll feel better soon!! I noticed that you look
particularly slim with that lovely skirt (I always considered you to be a very thin woman) so probabily those advices are for bigger women, but I'll suggest them to burn that book and wear whatever they love anyway! Clare's presents are beautiful and I love her art with all my heart!
Love xxxxxxxx

Unknown said...

Dear Willow,
We have not bumped noses, but I salute you with tail raised. My Petter-Feeder-WarmLap tells me that our so beautiful markings are similar. She seems pleased about this, but I ask you, "Who Cares?" You and I, we do not.

Petter-Feeder-WarmLap tells me that one of your lovely green eyes (just like mine ... I know you don't care. Neither do I ...) is hurting you and is much bigger than normal. PFWL also says that you are honorably resistant to the ministrations of your own PFWL. I advise you to allow her to invade the Sanctity of your Right to be left alone ... "Why?" you hiss, arching your back. I know, I know. But as Cats, we face facts. And the fact is, my lovely look-alike, she will not stop until your Bad Eye is healed. She sees you as her kitten. Above all, as Cats, we are realists, and resistance is futile.

The trick is to act as if that is YOUR wish and not HERS. Your PFWL will stop this behavior when your Bad Eye is gone. Patience, my suburban tigress.

I leave you with my best indifferent looking away,
Lucy
(Not Janey, as my PFWL introduced me before. She is
kind hearted but a little stupid. Janey is the calico we tolerate here.
It is a good thing I DO NOT CARE.)

Anonymous said...

Aw poor willow--hope she heals quickly!!!
Giving medicine to our cat misty involves beach, towels, bungee cords, two people and gloves. It ain't pretty!!

Love your strpied maxi skirt--you look tres chic!!
and what an awesome parcel of fantasticness from Clare!!

Unknown said...

See, here you go being all stylish without even thinking about it. I just read an article (really I DID!)about pairing navy, black and white. And you already pair dots and stripes, you sly minx.
If it helps you to think you're not sylin', you just go ahead on, as we say down here.
You look amazing! Hope your crappy day improves tomorrow. We are in Mercury Retrograde, and it will pass.
I'm having trouble keeping the cat off the keyboard today ... stomp, stomp, stomp.
Cyber hugs, dearest Kiddo.

Megan said...

Love the skirt. I'd totally wear that numerous days in a row. And "feh" on the "rules". Wear what makes you happy.

Cats may be more trouble than kids, but you don't have to carry them inside you for months and then push them out your cha-cha!

Kathleen said...

I have wide hips and I love fit and flare dresses! I do have an issue if the skirts are too full, they look huge on me.

Flora Cruft said...

Rules are for fools! As for your photos, monochrome maxi dress gorgeousness!

two squirrels said...

Oh poor Miss Willow.......I hope she is ok......it's just yucky when our wee fur-babies are sick or hurt.
So happy a parcel of happiness came and made you feel better....lovely Clare. Can't wait to see the dresses.
I think that skirt is fabulous......love it on you.
Have a great weekend lovely Miss Curtise.
Love V