SHRED IT!

Need a giggle? 

TUTU

I have a tutu weakness. Since there is very litttle chance I shall own one for myself {I said little chance, not no chance... !!} I have taken it upon myself to keep my girls tutu'd up in style for the forseeable future. Carys was given a hand-me-down tutu with inbuilt leggings from her cousin. They were perfect, particularly for the size they were... 9-12months. No issues with her ending up with a big tulle scarf around her neck! I made it last as long as I could but the day came when I had to admit she had outgrown it. Since then, I have been looking and looking and looking some more for the perfect replacement.

There are a lot of tutu's out there. There is also a whole lot of tulle tat out there! Here I have listed my favourites.

First up Boden's Party Tutu {also available in navy}. Beautiful bow detail on this great little party skirt. Starts at £26.00.

Boden Party Tutu

Boden aren't tutu shy this year... here's their Wow Tutu that starts at a rather pricey £36.00. Choose grey or pink.

Boden Wow Tutu

I pinned this little beauty a long time ago. Precious, right? Just the whole ensemble. The hoodie. The boots. The GEESE! Love it. This was a Stella McCartney for Gap back in 2009. This is the one I have been looking for... to me this ticks all the boxes. Great length, sweet bow, perfect layering.

Another one I found via pinterest led me to one of my favourite online stomping grounds, notonthehighstreet.com. I think the advertising on this one tickled me most. The Pettiskirt Tutu by Candy Bows is another winner. In an array of pretty colours and some {not-my-cup-of-tea} patterns, there are lots of options to choose from and starting at £22... well, not bad at all.

If you're not all tutu'd out by now... here, my friends, is your reward. I have died and gone to tutu heaven with thanks to an old faithful... good old Next have come up trumps on my tutu mission. My tutu search is over. A beautiful bow, soft eleastic waistband, perfect length, just the right amount of layering and available in so many wonderful colours, it's hard to pick out a favourite. Dusky pink, berry, bright pink, navy, soft pink, black and red. Starting at just £14... well, it would be rude not to!  

And the winner is... Next!

You. Are Welcome. N'night.

ELEPHANT

You know when you sit down to do something online and get lost in world wide web wonder... yeah, that. You know.

So today I am having little waves of mild panic for tomorrow is husbands birthday. I'm all a tap-tap-tap online knowing full well that nothing I order will arrive on time. As I wander around t'interweb, I'm planning my mission. A way to save the day. Operation great escape the second he walks in the door. I will of course hollar 'PIZZA'S IN THE OVEN' as I grab my keys and leg it out the door. Still deciding what direction to take once I get there but give me time... it's a plan in the making.

Elephants. What does this have to do with elephants?

This. This is where my clicking led me and stopped me dead in my taps. I just can't get beyond this image. I love it. I'm sort of surprised at my own self. I like animals in a very average way but I'm certainly not at all a gushy animal lover sort. But this, well this just grabbed a little bit of my heart.


Baby Elephant :: The Animal Print Shop by Sharon Montrose

I have promised myself that one fine and happy day, when we get ourselves all moved to our new house... yes that house, the one we have yet to find and yet to purchase, I am going to buy this picture and this one and  maybe this one probably this one too! I will quite likely struggle not to buy this one too.
... back to The Great Escape mission planning I go. Happy weekend!

SO HOW WAS YOUR DAY?

It was all ok until I opened the front door...

Raining.

Stuck behind a bus.

Fielding questions from a 3yr old.
'Why is that a bus?

Late to ballet.

Forgot the cheque for ballet.

Feel like a wally explaining my error to 'Miss Erica'.

Ballet went well.

Late to pre-school.

Forgot a discount coupon for fuel so called home to get it.

Got a bit (a lot) lost.

Petrol light on.

Still raining. 

Narrow roads, wide car. 

Google mapped directions.

Parked as close as I could. Not close enough. 

Still raining. 

My feet are already wet. 

Carys is asleep.

Pram up. 

Darcy clicked on in carseat.

Carys on buggy board. Crying. 

Route around supermarket lacked logic. 

Fielding questions from a 2yr old. 
'what's that? Can I have one of those? I love Marmite. Buy that mummy. I have one of those. What's that noise? Why is that boy crying? There's a lift. Great Grandma! Mummy, there's Great Grandma!

'Its not Carys, please stop yelling'
'YES. IT. IS.'  
Checkout. 

Still raining.

Back to car.

No sign of coupon.

Running late.

Need petrol. 

Stop for £12.51 of diesel. No time to pump any more.

Stuck behind a Halfords lorry.

Got to school on time. Just.

Joseph is wearing track suit bottoms. 

Joseph does not own track suit bottoms. 

Back to the car. 

Fielding questions from a 3yr old.
'who's are these blue trousers? Why are my hands cold? Why is it raining? What's weather? Mummy? I want you. Can I sit on your knee?

Got home. 

Still raining.

See wet coupon on the driveway. 

Darcy hungry. Crying. 

Got everything in.

Got everyone in. 

'I need a wee! I need a wee!' 

Joseph wee'd on me. 

Darcy still hungry. Still crying. 

Joseph crying.

Jeans off. 

Mystery track suit bottoms off.

Dark wash in. 

Joseph only wants to wear his 'jeans with holes'... to bad they're in the wash. 

Meltdown. Joseph, not me.

Snack request. Beans.

Two bowls of beans served. 

'I need a wee! I need a wee!' 

He made it. Just.

Remembered Darcy's jabs are at 4:10. 

It's 4:00.

Call surgery to apologise and reschedule. 

Appointment was yesterday.

Terrific.

Darcy still hungry. Still crying. 

'I need a wee! I need a wee!' 

Made it again. Bladder infection? 

Feed Darcy (during which... fielding the never ending supply of toddler questions | replying to emails | checking 'notifications' | playing referee to toddler squabbles | type this.) 

I still need Diesel. 

Alex is out tonight. 

I don't know whether to laugh or cry so I'll do neither and just get on with it.

Remind me 10am next Thursday... Darcy needs her jabs! 

OH HAPPY FEBRUARY!

February has arrived. I, for one, am delighted! Are you? Now, I don't mind January, in fact I feel a bit sorry for him {January is a boy, you know} because everybody, and I mean ev-er-y-bod-y, seemed to be moaning on and on about January, willing it to be a new month. And here we are. February. A month into 2013 and I am left feeling a little lacking. I did not acheive a great deal of anything useful in the first month of 2013. We didn't venture far. We didn't do a great deal of anything. Reflecting on the month, I have realised there isn't much to reflect on. A little ashamed. February should be a different story. February is where it's at. February and March, in fact. Two busy months for Chez Trott. Family visiting, visiting family... little bit of Disney. Yes.

Anyways. All month long, my mind has been elsewhere. The future. I am thinking a lot about the what's next for us. I'm lost here in Switzerland. Ready for change. Taking down the Christmas decorations at the beginning of the month I thought I'd change things. Move pictures, get some new art. Do some art. I didn't. The walls are still bare.

I look at this picture all the time. I took a screen shot of it on my phone and it's there amonst my pictures of a giggling Joseph and Carys with paint all over her face. I want this hanging in my apartment... isn't this just so February? To me it is.

Modern Romance | 2010 | Yolanda Sanchez 

At the moment things are just a little bit in limbo. A bit stagnant.

When we move, we will...
When we move, I'll be able to...
When we move, the children can do...
When we move...
When we move...

Need. To. Stop.

So February, let's not do this any longer. Let's make a plan, you and I. Let's make wise choices. Let's get motivated. Let's live while we plan. Let's enjoy Switzerland. Let's not be ashamed of wasting these days. Let's hang things on the walls regardless of how long they will hang there.

'YOU NEVER CHANGE THINGS BY FIGHTING THE EXISTING REALITY. TO CHANGE SOMETHING, BUILD A NEW MODEL THAT MAKES THE EXISTING MODEL OBSOLETE.'

- BUCKMINSTER 'BUCKY' FULLER

SNOWMAN GUILT

You know what? It's a big responsibility. A snowman, that is. You create this snow friend, an addition to your garden, you and your family admire it/him/her from the warmth of your home. You sit indoors looking out at your creation. You smile at how handsome your friend is but then you wonder... you think of The Snowman. Wondering. Then comes the guilt. Yes, guilt. I mean, I'm looking out at our friend Trevor. His eyes have fallen out. He's a blind snowman, all cold with a carrot for a nose {no eyes, no hat, no mouth} and wondering Did we do the right thing in making you Trevor? You're going to live out there, looking in at us, us looking out at you and then what? You'll melt. Melt! 

Alex did point out that the best place for him is in his natural habitat. Yes, I can see that this is true.

Trevor could do with a companion to be cold and miserable with. You know the old saying 'an only snowman is a lonely snowman'.No? Me neither.