Reading roundup 14/06/17

Posted on 14/06/2017 by The Librain

I haven’t read nearly as many books as I did last week, although that week was pretty exceptional. Perhaps I have been reading more web-based stuff? More likely, I got caught up with the General Election and became obsessed with politics for a few days, reading everything I could get my hands on. I couldn’t sleep on election night and ended up watching it all unfold until the early hours of the morning. Then I felt awful for the next couple of days. Well, physically awful!

The Zig Zag Girl by Elly Griffiths

The Zig Zag Girl by Elly Griffiths

Anyway, I did finish The Zig Zag Girl by Elly Griffiths. I really love her Ruth Galloway series, but didn’t feel the same about this book. Set in 1950s Brighton and other seaside towns of the period, I found it difficult to keep going. The plot was interesting, but not gripping. I then started the next book in the series, but gave up on it after a few pages. I have decided that I will not continue with a book if I am not enjoying it enough. There are far too many in my wish list to waste time on anything that doesn’t appeal to me.

Beyond the Truth by Anne Holt

Beyond the Truth by Anne Holt

I then ended up with nothing in my book pile as I needed to visit the library and I didn’t feel well enough to go! Eek! This is when the library’s ebook service comes in very useful. I was able to browse through the list and selected a book by Anne Holt: Beyond the Truth, #7 in her Hanne Wilhelmsen series. I have read quite a few books by this author and have found that they have been translated from the Norwegian and published here in a fairly random order, which can be awkward. It does help to read them in order as there is a background story which flows through the series. I gave this one three stars as it was not the author’s best, in my opinion.

Thin Air by Ann Cleeves

Thin Air by Ann Cleeves

Back to the wonderful Ann Cleeves for my next read. I have got a bit out of sequence with her two series, Vera and Shetland, as I now have to request them from the library and they are becoming available in the wrong order. Never mind, I love her books and I am sure I will enjoy this one. I will let you know next week.

Best wishes,

💙💚❤️💛💜

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Outfit of the day 13/06/17

Posted on 13/06/2017 by The Librain

Normal service has been resumed. Well, I simply couldn’t resist a bit of campaigning last week, and what an outcome! Such interesting times for us all in the UK. We will be watching to see what happens.

Like last week, I am going to show you yesterday’s outfit rather than today’s, as we have not been out today and, instead, I managed a few household “jobs”. As it has been warm and a bit sticky today, I only wore a t-shirt and lounging pants to do some ironing (first time for ages), arrange some flowers, and sort out washing. It all sounds very mundane, but it is a real achievement for me to be able to support my family with even these small acts of housework. I hope to be able to do similar tasks during the rest of the week. Lovely Husband has to battle his own disabilities to do the vast majority of the work needed to keep the house running. Our dear lads are quite helpful, but also make work at the same time!

Anyway, we did go out yesterday, I am glad to say. We had to pick up our new glasses – mine are only for reading, but, as I wear them for a large part of the day, they need to be comfortable and light. I was getting deep dents on either side of my nose from my old glasses, so I am hoping that these new ones solve this problem. The picture below also shows a hint of something that I will post about on Thursday…

New reading glasses

New reading glasses

After visiting the opticians, we went to the library and I chose my next 8 books, including one I had requested. Tomorrow’s post will be a Reading Roundup of this last week’s books, if all is well. We then went to the garden centre for tea and coffee and a walk round. I saw some Hotter sandals that I liked at 20% off, but restrained myself as I have been spending a bit too much recently – oops!

Sandals - Flare aquamarine multi - Hotter

Sandals – Flare aquamarine multi – Hotter

So here we are with yesterday’s outfit of the day:

  • Silk scarf 90cm – Parures de Samouraïs – Hermès. In a simple knot using a MaiTai horn shawl ring.
  • Bright coral, cotton mix cardigan – Lands’ End.
  • Bright coral, cotton mix top – Lands’ End.
  • Indigo jeans – Cotton Traders.
  • Cream enamel and gold, Byzantine bangle – Halcyon Days.
  • Coral enamel and gold, Agama bangle – Halcyon Days.
  • Turquoise enamel and gold, plain bangle – Halcyon Days.
Outfit of the day 13/06/17 with Hermès' Parures de Samouraïs

Outfit of the day 13/06/17 with Hermès’ Parures de Samouraïs

I really do love pink coral as a colour as it brightens up my mood, and my face, I think. The Parures de Samouraïs scarf is, of course, absolutely wonderful. My prediction of a few months ago, that it would become one of the most sought-after, has come true.

Best wishes,

💛💜❤️💙💚

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What a difference a day makes!

Posted on 09/06/2017 by The Librain

Image credit

Rainbow Bridge by just1snap on Flickr

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Vote Labour – For the Many Not the Few!

Posted on 08/06/2017 by The Librain

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Reading roundup 07/06/17

Posted on 07/06/2017 by The Librain

I have had plenty of time to read this past week as I have been in bed so much. Thank goodness for books! And public libraries too! I have already read nearly 50 books this year and there is no way I could afford to buy that many.

The Hidden Legacy by G J Minett

The Hidden Legacy by G J Minett

I finished G J Minett’s The Hidden Legacy first. For once I read a mystery novel rather than crime. It is a multi-layered plot which is unpeeled rather like an onion, revealing everything by stages. What seem, at first, to be unrelated story lines, all come together in a very satisfying ending. I will certainly seek out more by this author. Ooh, my Goodreads wish list is getting longer by the day!

Red Bones by Ann Cleeves

Red Bones by Ann Cleeves

The first four books of Ann Cleeves’ Shetland series are available as ebooks from our public library. They are so popular that there is a queue for each one, so I had to jump straight to books three and four and leave number two on reserve. They are so easy to read and so gripping that I sped through both of them. Book three is Red Bones. I will copy my Goodreads review here:

Ooh, I have a cold finger tracing down my spine! This series is amazing. I am reading it in a hit and miss order as the ebooks become available on our public library system. Now, I have been to Orkney, back in 1976. And I was there as part of a Uni archaeological dig. A lot of the time in thick fog. So, although I have not been to Shetland, my experience resonates with this book. Cleeves draws her background so well that you feel that you are there. Digging. In the fog!

Mind you, I am so glad that I didn’t stumble across a murder whilst on a dig!

Blue Lightning by Ann Cleeves

Blue Lightning by Ann Cleeves

Book four, Blue Lightning, would have deserved five stars but for something I cannot give away. No spoilers here! The story takes us to Fair Isle and, again, Cleeves makes the reader feel as if they were on that island with its people. She takes a classic theme, people marooned or emprisoned in a space, and makes so much of it. I now have to reserve the rest of her series in print form from the library to see what happens to DI Perez next!

The Zig Zag Girl by Elly Griffiths

The Zig Zag Girl by Elly Griffiths

I am currently reading Ely Griffiths’ The Zig Zag Girl and will let you know what I think of it in next week’s Reading Roundup post.

Best wishes,

💛💜💙💚❤️

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Outfit of the day 06/06/17

Posted on 06/06/2017 by The Librain

It has been such a horrible day weather-wise! Heavy rain, blustery wind and so cooooold. I can’t quite believe it is June. So I am back wearing one of my cotton jumpers plus joggers and I wrapped up warmly with my fleece blanket when I went downstairs this morning.

Today’s outfit:

  • Silk scarf 70cm, ivory and pale blue – The Laws of the Game of Cricket – Liberty of London.
  • Cobalt cotton cable jumper – Lands’ End.
  • Navy cotton joggers – Cotton Traders.
  • Navy suede slippers – Lands’ End.
  • Crystal and gold stud earrings.
The Laws of the Game of Cricket - Liberty of London - collage #02

The Laws of the Game of Cricket – Liberty of London – collage #02

I don’t suppose I will do much today other than write this blog post, read political stuff from all over the web and then try to calm down by reading a book!

New purchase

I have a range of followed searches on eBay, as I am keeping an eye out for particular scarves, bangles and other items. One search is for Halcyon Days bangles, so I was thrilled when this one came up (see below). And I won the auction too! I got it for a great price, even bearing in mind that it is currently on sale on Halcyon Days’ website – do have a look.

Bluebell enamel and gold chain bangle - Halcyon Days

Bluebell enamel and gold chain bangle – Halcyon Days

Halcyon Days call this colour “bluebell” and it really is! It looks great with my existing blue bangles, which are navy and cobalt.

I now have a lot of these bangles and here they are en masse:

Enamel bangle collection

Enamel bangle collection

There are a couple of bangles by other makes on here, e.g. Liberty of London, but I now have a virtual rainbow of those by Halcyon Days!

I do hope we get some better weather soon, but at least I can get on with my reading! Reading Roundup post tomorrow, assuming that all is well.

Best wishes,

❤️💜💚💙💛

Posted in Clothes, Jewellery, Outfit of the day, Scarves, Shopping, Wardrobe | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Wardrobe planning #22: Wardrobe colour wheel update

Posted on 05/06/2017 by The Librain

If you look back to my early posts in the Wardrobe Planning topic (posts #02, and #03), I showed two colour wheels. These demonstrated the colours that I intended to have for my clothes and accessories. I have been moving my wardrobe across to these colours and weeding out any anomalies for some years now. This means that just about everything in my wardrobe goes with just about everything else and that all my clothes have lovely accessories to accompany them, with very few exceptions.

As I have been writing this blog, I have been thinking more and more about how my clothing works for me. Yes, I have a lot of time to spend thinking! I don’t want to have really rigid rules to keep to, whilst at the same time I do find guidelines helpful. The dangers of having such easy access to online shopping, plus very little self-control in my case, means that I could act like the proverbial kiddy in a sweetshop: seeing something pretty and buying it on the spot. Instead, having some guidelines does at the very least mean that I can open my wardrobe and find a suitable outfit easily, instead of looking at a rainbow of mismatched garments.

Anyway, I took a fresh look at my existing colour wheels and also at my clothes, especially as we have changed seasons since I first designed the wheels. It has become clear that, although I like the main colours – navy, brown, turquoise, purple, cream and coral – I don’t wish to stick rigidly to any particular shade of those colours. So I exported the colour chart from Excel into PowerPoint to more easily label each colour slice to show what I mean…

Wardrobe Colours chart version #03

Wardrobe Colours chart version #03

I am finding that certain shades of each colour fit with my clothing needs (which suit me best, which go best with other colours, which are actually available) better then others:

Brown

  • Base colour, so I need trousers, jumpers, tops, cardigans, footwear, handbags and accessories.
  • Shades: only certain of these suit me without being overwhelming.
  • Dark shades e.g. chocolate, only in small amounts such as a leather bracelet.
  • Mid shades e.g. tan, camel: suit me well so I can take these in larger amounts such as footwear, trousers, handbags, but not such much next to my face without a scarf or necklace.
  • Light shades e.g. beige: not next to my face as not enough contrast, but fine as bottoms!
Accessories in shades of brown

Accessories in shades of brown

Navy

  • Base colour, so I need trousers, jumpers, tops, cardigans, footwear, handbags and accessories.
  • Very dark navy is too much for my complexion, so a lighter, brighter shade is better, or I wear indigo, for example, on my bottom half!
  • Mid blues are fine for me, such as cobalt or royal blue, and I can wear them as bottoms or tops and especially as accessories as an accent colour.
  • Pale blues wash me out, so I don’t tend to wear them unless they are a small part of a mixed colour scarf, for example.
Accessories in shades of blue

Accessories in shades of blue

Turquoise

  • Accent colour, so tops, perhaps footwear, handbags and accessories to lift an outfit.
  • I love this part of the colour wheel so adore all shades from teal to aqua. The darker teals are a bit autumnal for me, but can work as bottoms or with a brighter scarf next to my face. My eyes are very close to teal coloured!
  • Turquoise itself is my favourite colour and I have lots of clothes and accessories in this.
  • Blue topaz is one of my most loved gemstones for jewellery.
  • Aqua, as long as it is not too pale, is fine for Spring and Summer clothes and accessories.
Accessories in shades of turquoise

Accessories in shades of turquoise

Purple

  • Accent colour, so tops, perhaps footwear, handbags and accessories to lift an outfit.
  • Dark shades seem to work best for me in Autumn/Winter and I could do with more tops and cardigans.
  • Mid or bright purple fits for me almost all year round as tops, t-shirts and vests or accessories and footwear. Remember my lovely purple handbag? I also have and love amethyst jewellery.
  • Light shades e.g. Lavender, lilac seem to be coming into my wardrobe now and I love them! I have some gorgeous scarves and one enamel bangle. Perhaps I could look for more jewellery in these colours?
Accessories in shades of purple

Accessories in shades of purple

Cream

  • Accent colour, so tops, perhaps footwear, handbags and accessories to lift an outfit.
  • Bright white can look a bit stark next to my face and needs to be softened a little, but cream and ivory are fine.
  • I have plenty of tops in this colour and also a white linen skirt. I think I am a bit too, erm, “spherical” for white jeans!
  • I love pearls and have earrings and a long rope necklace.
  • Accessories, handbags and footwear in cream, white and ivory have a place in my wardrobe.
Accessories in shades of cream and coral

Accessories in shades of cream and coral

Coral

  • Accent colour, so tops, perhaps footwear, handbags and accessories to lift an outfit.
  • I have never really been a pink person and I do not think that the paler shades or really strong cerise or fuchsia suit me, despite my lovely hobo handbag!
  • Bright coral is a great colour for me as it helps lift my complexion, especially now that I am so ill. I have a range of summer tops and some jewellery in coral colour.
  • Warm shades of pink are fine for me, not the bluer shades.
  • I think this is really a Spring/Summer colour for me, although never say “never”! Rules are meant to be broken!

Oops, reading this back, it has been more than a little obsessive as to detail, but perhaps it might give you ideas for how to analyse your own present wardrobe and plan your needs for the future.

Best wishes,

💙💛❤️💚💜

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Scarf of the moment: Au Coeur de la Vie

Posted on 02/06/2017 by The Librain

The brightest scarf in my collection must be Au Coeur de la Vie, first designed by Aline Honoré for Hermès Spring/Summer 2007 collection. The almost fluorescent yellow border surrounds a teaming jungle of plants, flowers and wildlife in stunning shades of green, turquoise, blue, purple, red and orange. The detailing, as expected from Honoré’s work, is incredible with beautiful shading. It is a scarf to lift the mood on a gloomy day, a scarf to celebrate a sunny one. Put your sunglasses on!

Au Coeur de la Vie by Aline Honoré for Hermès

Au Coeur de la Vie by Aline Honoré for Hermès

I bought my colourway of this 90cm scarf, number 13, from the Spring/Summer 2014 collection. This was a reissue of the design which had previously appeared as both a 90cm silk twill and also as a silk mousseline.

Here are some of the colourways that were made for 2014. They do come up on reseller sites and on eBay from time to time.

Au Coeur de la Vie by Aline Honoré for Hermès

The intricate details of this scarf demand close-up photos. Here are some in a slideshow – aren’t the plants and animals amazing:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The design story:

Life is an extraordinary series of metamorphoses. Like an allegory of life itself, this scarf takes us on a incredible journey, beginning at the heart of a single living cell, and ending among the branches at the tops of the very tallest trees in the equatorial rain forest. From the infinitely tiny to the infinitely great… The forest canopy is an expanse of greenery reaching into the empty sky – all that lies between it and the sun. Remote and inaccessible, it is beyond the reach of man: this is the realm of the imagination of Nature herself. The incredible, rich tapestry of fauna and flora is protected by its great height. The fabulous, living treasure-house holds innumerable undiscovered secrets. The heaving swell of dense, luxuriant vegetation is the setting for innumerable encounters and adventures. Chameleons, monkeys, parrots, humming birds and tiny lemurs busy themselves amid orchid flowers and flesh-eating plants, leaping or flying from vine to vine. Energy is the heart of life.

I think, in my case, the scarf looks best against my cobalt cotton jumper or plain blue, navy, white, teal or turquoise t-shirts. Although this image is a bit blurred (I took it with my old  iPad), I must admit that I like this selfie. Well, I had just come back from the hairdresser!

Au Coeur de la Vie

Au Coeur de la Vie

And here is a collage that I have shown before showing how I might wear this gorgeous scarf:

Au Coeur de la Vie - Hermès - collage #01

Au Coeur de la Vie – Hermès – collage #01

You can highlight the yellow border or minimise it according to the way it is tied:

Au Coeur de la Vie - scarf ties

Au Coeur de la Vie – scarf ties

Scarf ties clockwise from the top left: asymmetric wrap, asymmetric wrap reversed, necklace tie, simple bias tie, criss-cross knot, half-bow knot, cowboy cowl knot, cowl knot. I was wearing my new purple sapphire vest from Lands’ End when I tied these – phew it was hot! Some are tied using a MaiTai horn scarf ring.

Links

I have been able to find a few mentions of this wonderful scarf on the web:

Hermesology: Au Coeur de la Vie (2007)
Some information about the 2007 version of the scarf.

HSCI Hermès Scarf Photo Catalogue: Aline Honore
You can see more colourways of the scarf here.

Le Parisien Magazine: Carre d’as dans l’atelier d’Hermès
Article about the making of the scarf – in French.

MaiTai’s Picture Book: Au Coeur de la Vie search results
MaiTai has modelled her mousseline version in several posts on her blog. Here are the search results.

I hope you have found this Scarf of the Moment post both useful and interesting. Please let me know if you find other information or links that I could add to this page. I am always happy to learn and share!

Best wishes,

❤️💙💛💜💚

Posted in Scarf of the moment, Scarves, Wardrobe | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

Outfit of the day 01/06/17

Posted on 01/06/2017 by The Librain

Well, strictly speaking this is yesterday’s outfit! I was stuck at home today as Lovely Husband was watching England playing cricket. As he is a cricket nut, there was little chance of dragging him away from the TV, even if I wanted to. As I have been with this former PE teacher for thirty years, I think I have a fair idea by now that he will want to watch sport. To be fair, he does record it quite often so that we can do something else.

Yesterday's Outfit of the Day

Yesterday’s Outfit of the Day

Anyway, we did go out for a while yesterday. We both had appointments for the optician and both needed to get new glasses ordered. I am pleased to say that my eyesight has not deteriorated much at all since my last visit three years ago (oops!). So I just need new reading glasses and have chosen very inexpensive ones. They look nice, though.

I decided to watch The Handmaid’s Tale TV series on my iPad this afternoon as LH doesn’t seem interested in watching it on the TV. I think he should as some feminism would do him good! I read the book so long ago that I have largely forgotten the plot, so I will probably read it again when the TV version ends. I thought that the first episode was done well and it set the scene in a very chilling way. I was almost in tears at some points.

Anyway, I will now change the mood and show my outfit collage:

Outfit of the day 01/06/17 with Hermès' Escales Mediterranéenes

Outfit of the day 01/06/17 with Hermès’ Escales Mediterranéenes

This is a Scarf that I have not shown before – Hermès’ Escales Mediterranéenes. My colourway is in lovely pastel shades of lilac, green, blue and purple and looks fresh and pretty. The scarf shows scenes from the Med set in circular frames around the design. I was so pleased to see how nice it looked with both of my new vest tops and the cardigan and wore it in a necklace tie in the morning. I got so hot later on that I ended up swapping it for my purple lacquer and horn pendant!

Outfit of the day (yesterday):

  • Silk scarf 90cm – Escales Mediterranéenes – Hermès. Tied in a necklace tie.
  • Purple sapphire cotton vest – Lands’ End.
  • Frosted lilac cotton mix cardigan – Lands’ End.
  • Beige cotton chinos – Lands’ End.
  • Purple leather and pale gold bracelet – Ferragamo.
  • Amethyst and silver stud earrings – Blue Nile.
  • Purple lacquer and horn pendant – QueCraft via Etsy.

Below you can see both the scarf and pendant. Which do you like the best?

Pendant V Scarf

Pendant V Scarf

Best wishes,

💛💙💜💚❤️

Posted in Clothes, Health, Lifestyle, Outfit of the day, Scarves, Wardrobe | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Reading roundup 31/05/17

Posted on 31/05/2017 by The Librain

So we have got to the end of May already and I have read 43 books so far this year, according to my records on Goodreads! You can see how much time I have on my hands these days 😉.

Shot Through the Heart by Isabelle Grey

Shot Through the Heart by Isabelle Grey

I finished the book I mentioned last week, Isabelle Grey’s Shot Through the Heart, pretty quickly. It is the second book in her DI Grace Fisher series and I now want to read the first one as this was good. The main female character was well drawn although the men were, in varying degrees, rather misogynistic and corrupt. Still, it is sometimes good to have the opportunity to “boo” and “hiss” at a plot!

The Bitter Season by Tami Hoag

The Bitter Season by Tami Hoag

I have read quite a few Tami Hoag books and I am sure I will read more in the future. She has written a lot! I was not already familiar with her Kovac and Liska series, of which The Bitter Season comes in at 5, but once again enjoyed the characters. Some of them were a bit stereotypical – how many hard-bitten female cops are there in crime novels!?! – but the whole thing was a pretty gripping and gory murder thriller.

Little Sister by David Hewson

Little Sister by David Hewson

I have read the first and second books in David Hewson’s Pieter Vos series and so was really looking forward to this third episode, Little Sister, which I had requested from our local library service. Again, Hewson is fantastic with how he draws settings. The first two books were placed in Amsterdam and I could really put myself there as I read. This time, we were in the countryside near the city and this was so atmospheric that I could really see the flat pastureland and canals. The plot was not quite as good this time, but I can still recommend this series.

Raven Black by Ann Cleeves

Raven Black by Ann Cleeves

As you can see, I have really got on with reading this week. Probably to escape some of the political shenanigans going on at the moment! My digital request on Ann Cleeves’ Raven Black came up a few days ago and so I downloaded it to my iPad and read it almost in one sitting. Cleeves is another author who can really set a scene, so after Hewson’s Dutch countryside, I have travelled to Shetland in Cleeves’ book. I can see that I will be reading more of this series too. Perhaps I should alternate between this and her Vera set of books until I have finished?

The Hidden Legacy by G J Minett

The Hidden Legacy by G J Minett

I started The Hidden Legacy by G J Minett yesterday. For once, I am straying away from crime novels to mystery. I will write about this book next week, assuming I have finished it by then!

❤️💚💜💙💛

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