Have you ever prostituted yourself for the sake of Fashion?

You may remember a few weeks back, I went out with a couple of the mums from Little Mans school to celebrate one of their Birthdays. As the evening wore on, the Birthday girl, after one too many Sea Breeze's, decided to confide in us that she would be £50 better off by morning. Bewildered we asked what she was on about and basically, her explanation was, that everytime her husband wishes for her to partake in a particular bedroom activity, she says "get £50 out of your drawer then". It turns out that he keeps a load of cash in the drawer next to the bed and pulls out fifty quid when required. The rest of us were quite amused (as you can imagine) and I thought I would keep that one up my sleeve for an appropriate time.

So this afternoon, after cleaning the kitchen from top to bottom, I texted OH to tell him how busy I had been and he responded with "best go and have a rest on the laptop then". Well I didn't need much prompting despite the fact I have RSI (from too much laptop use) and having been on virtually every website known to man over the last couple of days, realised that I hadn't checked out Gina for a while. As I entered the site I wondered if they may have a sale and sure enough under SHOP was a SPECIAL OFFER section. Now ladies you know I have been trying really hard to build up a capsule wardrobe and am a great believer in that evening shoes should be gold, silver, bronze or black to eliminate the need for loads of pairs of shoes, so was most excited to see these Gold and Swarvoski crystal beauties reduced from £475 to £195! I knew immediately that I had to have them, but have spent quite a bit of money lately, so decided a text to OH was in order using the Birthday Girls approach to fashion fund raising.

Me: I have found a lovely pair of Gina shoes in the sale and wonder how many .... .... would get them for me?

OH: How much are they?

Me: £195

OH: 20

Me: Deal! and what do you want for supper?

Can you believe it was that bloody simple? So I have placed my order and am so excited, well until bedtime that is!

If I don't get any comments I am gonna be real scared that you completely dissaprove of my behaviour, so please let me know everything is OK and that this is quite normal, they are Gina after all!

Oh new Shoes!

Last weeks trip to Bluewater was of course, to pick up the silly Santos and as Daughter 3 was with me, there was precious little time for me to look around the shops as it was teenage daughters haul that had me reaching for my debit card, mind you we did get her a leather jacket in River Island for £10, yes £10 can you believe that!

So back to yesterday and with Daughters 1 & 3 and Little Man safely ensconced in the cinema for the Harry Potter Movie, I set off for a Starbucks Vanilla Latte and a leisurely stroll around the likes of Jigsaw, Whistles etc. It also seemed like a good time to pop into Hobbs as when the girls are with me, they don't let me go in there! They say it is too old for me! can you believe that! I have just about managed to convince them that my Topshop and Urban Outfitters days are pretty much over, so was glad to be alone to take a stroll into the shop that is usually out of bounds and boy was I glad I did. I saw these fab Tan shoes which pretty much tick all of my shoe boxes and when I saw the price, my eyes nearly popped out of my head, for all the right reasons may I add, they were £39 from £139! The assistant told me they had done their final mark downs that morning, so what I result! and still with the wardrobe staples thing in mind, I couldn't help but pick up a little white cardigan, because I wanted one and needed one, it certainly wasn't because of the markdown, as this only had a tenner off and was £39 (bummer)and then I bought the coral top (it doesn't look coral in my pic) purely because it was only £14 and I like coral! So feel much happier now I have a couple of new purchases, except that I realised I did not put my last Bluewater Shopping Haul in my list of what I have spent on clothes since starting the Blog, SHIT!

The Santos returns

So I made my way to Bluewater today with Children 3 & 4 in tow. I hotfooted it into Goldsmiths to collect the Santos and the conversation went something like this:-
Me: Hello, I've come to collect my watch.
I hand over receipt
Shop Assistant: OK Madam, I will just get it for you.
Then I spot Blonde woman in whose hand the winder fell off in, last time I was in there.
Me: Hello, I've come to collect my watch, your the lady who was changing the time on it when the winder fell off, remember?
Blonde: Oh yes, are you being dealt with?
Me: Yes I am, but whoever rang me said it had to have a full service at Cartier and now I have to pay £130.
Blonde: Oh I'll go and see.
She makes her way towards the door the other woman went out of.
Me: Sue, I don't know who rang me and said that, I didn't get a name.
She nods
Daughter: Mum her name badge says Ann.
Me: Oh I thought her name was Sue, never mind.
Then they both appear from back room.
SA: The problem was that the first time the watch came back it came back without the relevant paperwork which should have said there was nothing wrong with the battery but that the crown was broken and the watch needed to be resealed. I don't normally work in the office, so I rang you in error to say it was back and had been fixed when it fact it hadn't.
Me: That is not my fault.
SA: No, to be fair it isn't, but the watch has now been sent to Cartier and has had a full service of which the cost is £260 and as I said on the phone, we are prepared to meet you halfway at £130
Me: The only problem is I never received a phonecall telling me any of this and asking me if I was happy for you to go ahead and do the full service, you just did it anyway and to be honest after you rang me, I spoke to my husband and to my friends (meaning you virtual lot) and everybody seems to be of the opinion that I should have been updated of what repairs were required and now you are expecting me to pay towards something I never gave you the OK to do.
SA: How about you pay the £95 you were originally going to pay for the battery then.
Me: Yes that is fine, I am happy to pay that.

So I whipped £100 out of my purse as quickly as possible before she could change her mind!

SA: Would you like to put it on?
Me: Yes I would, but before I do, can I ask that you change the time on it and then put it back to the correct time for me please, so that I can see that the winder is OK before I take possession of it.

She did this, although I could tell she was pretty pissed off by now!

So at last it is back on my wrist, all scratches buffed out, it looks like a new watch! Only problem is, not even sure I like it anymore, fancy a great big fuck off thing with diamonds all round a massive face and to really piss me off, the SA had one of those Chanel Ceramic watches on that my friend K likes and more bloody diamonds on her fingers than they had in the window - bitch!

The Tale of the busted Cartier Santos

Some months back, the Cartier started to lose time. First it was 5 minutes, then 10, then the minutes became hours and I ended up on New York time, then L.A. until finally it stopped.The watch had originally been bought in Goldsmiths in Bluewater and as I didn't know when I would next get there, I rang the City branch, who assured me they could put a new battery in, it would only take a day and cost £90. So I sent OH off to work with the watch and the money and he rang me about 9.45 that morning to say he had dropped it off and had paid for it and would be going back to collect it after 4pm. At around 4.30 that day, he rang me to say the watch wasn't ready, he had gone ballistic in the store, demanded his money back and told a customer trying on watches as he stomped past "don't buy anything in here love, their Customer Service is SHIT".So the poor busted watch remained on my wrist until my next trip to Bluewater which was early May. I took it into Goldsmiths, explained to them what had happened in their City branch and they were quite surprised that I had been told it could be done on site within a day as it would have to be sent off and would take 6-7 weeks! 6-7 weeks, I was gobsmacked! I can write URGENT on the form said the shop assistant, yes I would appreciate that, I replied. She checked the watch over and had to fill in a form describing its condition. When she ticked the box marked "FAIR" I was really hacked off and picked her up about it, "well it is very scratched" she said "It bloody well would be, when I wear it, I can swim and ride a bike.......". So I left one of my most prized possessions and hopped off to Whistles.Five weeks later came the call "Mrs Fab, your watch is back" "Oh goody" said I, very excited and a few days later when we hopped off to Bluey to buy stuff with my girls, I went to pick it up. The Shop Assistant pulled it from a little plastic bag and it looked all shiny and buffed up, I squealed with excitement. The time was wrong and the SA said she would just put it right for me, when low and behold, the bloody winder came out in her hand! You know the winder with the sapphire on, there she was with watch in one hand and winder in the other! My squeals of excitement turned to sobs and the SA turned a peculiar shade of puce. "They should have seen this when they put the time right after putting the battery in" she said and I went "off on one" saying how I wasn't paying of any damage that had been caused by an imcompetent repairs department etc. She tried to make me pay for the battery there and then, but I refused saying I would only pay once the watch was in working order and back in my possession after all, that money bought that Linen Tulip skirt and Navy knit I got from Jigsaw!Yesterday I got a call:-Shop Assistant: Mrs Fab, your watch is readyMe: Oh great, about timeSA: The watch has now had a full serviceMe: and?SA: I am afraid because it has had a full service there will be a chargeMe: and how much is thatSA: £260Me: What? I am not paying that, I never broke the winder, it was fine when you took it off meSA: Well there was a problem with the crown and it should never have been sent back to us the first timeMe: Hang on a minute, how can you say there was a problem with the crown, and if there was, your repairs people are at fault, they must have broken it. Don't forget when I put the watch in, it was fully checked over before you took it off of me and no faults were indentified.SA: We had to send it back to Cartier, Mrs FabMe: That is not my problemSA: Well as you have been through a lot to get this watch back, I am prepared to meet you halfway on the cost, so it will cost you £130 and now at least you know you have had a full service.Me: Ok then, I will get up to collect it as soon as I can. Goodbye.Now almost 24 hours later, I am wondering whether I should have agreed to pay the £130 or whether I should have stuck to my guns and "gone off on one" about the charge. Perhaps I will wait until I go there to cause a scene and wait until I can see the Manager face to face and say that this really isn't fair, I know an extra £40 isn't a great deal on top of the original quoted battery cost, but I am sure I could get a rather nice top in the Sale with that money......

Should I stay or should I go?

Don't worry I am not thinking about leaving the Other Half (well not yet anyway) my title is referring to a holiday this summer. Other Half has just recently started a new work contract which means that it will be impossible for him to have any time off during the next few months as for some strange reason, holiday pay has been factored in to his salary, which means that he is getting paid to not have any holiday, so there is no way we can get away to my beloved PB.

My darling designer clad, friend K, will be there with her hubby and daughter, 1st week of August so I could go then to avoid being completely alone, but I am not sure. I spoke to Little Man and explained we may not be able to get away this summer and it wouldn't be very nice to go without Daddy and he responded that he agreed it wouldn't be so much fun without Dad, but a holiday is a holiday after all. No joy there then! I then approached Daughter 3 but took a different angle, explaining that I couldn't put up with her pushing her ear plugs in and crying during take off and landing on my lonesome as this kind of behaviour only gets me in more of a state about flying and I feel guilty when I start snapping at her. She really wants to go, regardless of whether I drink a litre of G&T to calm my nerves on the way to the Airport or not.

So what do I do, shall I tough it out like a single mum, just for a week in the sun, giving those Pucci and Odabash bikini's an airing, along with the middle aged spread which desperately needs to be browned off in an effort to make it look smaller?

I don't know why I feel like I can't be bothered to go without OH, I was once that girl that went to Ibiza on her own aged 22, flew to Japan on a business trip when I was a City Hotshot, so how come a week in Spain with 2 of the sprogs fills me with dread? and please don't come back and say we can go away as a family when the contract finishes because I only do Spain and only in the school summer holidays - full stop! I don't agree with taking kids out of school and I no longer believe in spending more than a couple of hours on a plane, which is why Spain and Puerto Banus is the place for me, having spent our holidays there for the last 5 years. I don't know whether it is the fact that to me, it is Bond Street with a Beach and as 40notout recently mentioned, it is the greatest place for people watching, flash cars, rolex's and designer bikini's in abundance and that is before we begin to talk about the shops, Dior, LV, Chloe - you name it PB has got it. So is it "Stay at home this summer laying in the back garden Mum" or "OH hand me your platinum card, me and the sprogs are off to the Sun Mum?" Either way at least I have those Bikini's to make me feel Fab in my Forties!

No need to preach to the converted

I have finally started to use the Eve Lom cleanser out of the set I bought in the first ever Eve Lom sale, as the Chantecaille Rice and Gerianium one has finally run out. I must say on the first day, I didn't know what all the fuss was about. Although I was already a fan of wash off cleansers, I wasn't sure if I liked it. It does have a strange smell, I can't say that it is pleasant. It also has quite a greasy feel to it, although this texture does make distribution easier, which means it will last quite some time as you don't need a great deal. On about day 3, I decided I had fallen in love with it, can't explain why, perhaps it contains some secret potion which makes each user fall in love, making this the number 1 cult cleanser around. I am already familiar with the use of a muslin cloth to cleanse, as I have bought Liz Earle cleanse and polish, many times in the past, but I am afraid Liz comes in at number 2 on my list of fav cleansers now. Liz is much cheaper and follows a similar procedure, so do it try it if you don't want to pay out almost £50 for the Eve Lom one and her range is completely organic. The Eve Lom online sale is still on here which means you can still get the gift set I bought which contains the cleanser, moisturiser and eye serum for the same price as the cleanser alone. Other good sale buys on the site include the starter kit which comes in a tin for £24 and the travel kit which is of course, ideal for your holidays.

A Bargain

I can't believe I haven't blogged for a week but I haven't bought anything and still haven't sorted out my wardrobe, I just don't know where the time goes! I haven't been out and shopped the sales either but I did stumble across this dress on the Reiss website. You may remember it, in the flesh on a wedding guest in one of my previous posts, well this fab dress which also comes in Electric Blue and Champagne (as well as Watermelon as shown) is on the website reduced from £175 to an amazing £52.50! On the Asos website it is only reduced to £87.50, so Reiss is the place to shop for an amazing bargain if you still have a wedding or some other special occassion to go to!

The Eve Lom and the first Harpers Bazaar subscription Arrival

The beginning of the week saw the Eve Lom gift set arrive and I must say it cheered me up no end after the Louboutin fiasco (in fact those shoes got put back in the full price net-a-porter section - how bad is that?). I tried it all out the following morning and when it didn't make me look 25 again, I thought I would continue with the Chantecaille, which hasn't quite run out yet! I still can't get over what a bargain it was but you would laugh when I tell you that my husband who normally wears the Clinique mens range ran out of moisturiser so I popped into Savers and picked up a Nivea for Men summer moisturiser for only £1.99 and I didn't feel a bit guilty, even though I lied and said it was £2.99 and that was only because the box was damaged. I told him straight you can't get Clinique for men where we live and he didn't protest that I could have got it from Boots online - probably doesn't realise!

So yesterday after a 12 hour day at work, I arrived home to find the first Harpers Bazaar of my year long subscription! As I tore the plastic cover off, I really was chomping at the bit to get the mag open, but when I did, I was a little dissapointed as it was already full of A/W 09/10 fashion and I am still thinking about swimwear, haven't even booked my summer holiday yet and the kids are still at school! This whole fashion season thing really gets on my nerves. We have Bikini's coming in store in January/February, more often than not, before we have even had our Winter snow! and when we do get snow, you can't get a winter coat for love nor money!

The summer sales, a few years back, started about the end of July/beginning of August and now it is the middle of June for most. I guess this is the reason why Fashion Magazines have to show A/W collections as early as their July/August editions as all the summer clothes are on Sale by then so you couldn't get them anyway! We are lucky if we get to wear our summer clothes from May to September in this country, so can't the fashion industry do something about the timing of its collections arriving in store? If Summer Sales have come forward by about 6 weeks, then can't Spring summer collections arrive that bit later, say March time, when we all might be feeling summer is just around the corner rather than staring at Vest tops when we are wearing Puffa jackets and Uggs? Other than that I was thrilled with the magazine, and did love the fashion content, just didn't want to be reminded of winter colours and clothing just yet!