Apologies for the short post! I must admit that I was enjoying reading my latest book so much that I forgot that it is Friday. And Friday means an “Outfits of the Week post. I did actually manage to dress properly earlier in the week but, as I haven’t time to make a collage, I will show you the quick photo…
Outfit of the day 05/10/21 with Hermès’ Lazy Leopardesses scarf
Yes, we had intended to go out and I had a lovely outfit planned around my gorgeous pink bordered Lazy Leopardesses scarf. Unfortunately, I was very ill at the last minute. So, what I have decided to do is wait until next week and wear the whole outfit again then. And I will take another photo and make a proper collage to show you all of the elements, as they include a particularly lovely handbag and a beautiful coloured jacket!
Phew! Well, that’s all for this week. I do hope that you have a good weekend. Lovely Husband and I will have a nice peaceful time as Elder Son is going away on a short holiday. We both badly need a break!
I have really enjoyed reading this week. My first book was great and I can’t wait until I can get my hands on the next one in the series…
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas
It took me quite a while to read Sarah J Maas’s second book in her A Court of Thorns and Roses series: A Court of Mist and Fury. It is a very long book, but I also took my time as I loved it so much! Here is the blurb:
”Feyre survived Amarantha’s clutches to return to the Spring Court—but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can’t forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin’s people.
Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms—and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world cleaved in two.
With more than a million copies sold of her beloved Throne of Glass series, Sarah J. Maas’s masterful storytelling brings this second book in her seductive and action-packed series to new heights”
This has been a very popular book on Goodreads and won their “Goodreads Choice 2016” badge. This is the review that I wrote on their website:
Wow! Wow! Wow! I have just finished this book and I can hardly breathe and my heart is beating like a drum! Better than the first book, this one has such pace, charging along from one event to the next, with passion, violence, beauty, dark horror and sheer excitement.
I am so glad that I found this series. It may be aimed at a Young Adult audience, but this aged crone has really enjoyed it, revelled in it and will, hopefully, continue to do so.
Thank you, Sarah J Maas, for creating this wonderful, magical, exciting world with such amazing characters and gripping plot. This book has helped me to forget my various health issues and immerse myself in fantasy.
Well, I think that shows what I thought of it!! 😁😁😁
Wild by Kristin Hannah
My second book of the week was another by Kristin Hannah, the third that I have downloaded from the Library’s ebook platform. First, we have the blurb!
”In the rugged Pacific Northwest lies the Olympic National Forest—nearly a million acres of impenetrable darkness and impossible beauty. From deep within this old growth forest, a six-year-old girl appears. Speechless and alone, she offers no clue as to her identity, no hint of her past.
Having retreated to her western Washington hometown after a scandal left her career in ruins, child psychiatrist Dr. Julia Cates is determined to free the extraordinary little girl she calls Alice from a prison of unimaginable fear and isolation. To reach her, Julia must discover the truth about Alice’s past—although doing so requires help from Julia’s estranged sister, a local police officer. The shocking facts of Alice’s life test the limits of Julia’s faith and strength, even as she struggles to make a home for Alice—and for herself.”
And here is my response. I gave the book three stars on Goodreads:
I found this book quite enjoyable in many ways. The central plot was very interesting and intriguing. Some of the characters were also. However, I didn’t think that the romantic sub-plots were at all necessary. Many of the characters were stereotypes and their personal quirks were too repetitive throughout the book.
In fact, the author seemed to be too repetitive in her writing in general with several scenery and character descriptions appearing again and again. In addition, the whole premise of “curing” the girl was squeezed into a shortened timeline. Surely, it would take far longer?
Like other reviewers, I was disappointed with some of the wording around autism. Kristin Hannah should research the topic more thoroughly before she uses the condition in her work again.
Anyone who has been following either these posts or my Goodreads feed may have realised that one of my favourite fantasy authors is Joe Abercrombie. I am so pleased that I now have a new book of his to read next: The Wisdom of Crowds (The Age of Madness #03). As soon as I have finished this post, I am going to pick up this book!
The Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie
And on that note, I will end this post and sign off until next week’s Reading Roundup!
The moment that I first heard of this scarf I knew that I would be buying it! Anyone who knows me will be aware that, apart from gorgeous scarves (and my friends and family, of course), my greatest love is tea drinking. So, when I saw this design, it immediately went on my list.
Early in the Autumn/Winter 2021 Hermès season, I saw all of the 70cm designs for the scarf on The Purse Forum site. By the time that I had saved up enough money to actually purchase, all of the colourways had disappeared from the UK Hermès website. I was lucky enough to spot the reappearance of the orange/gris/blanc, colourway #08, of Tea Time by Jonathan Burton and immediately bought it.
Tea Time by Jonathan Burton for Hermès
Description
This scarf has a fun and whimsical design on a lighter, softer silk than its silk twill 90cm cousins. The smaller size has a more casual and playful vibe which matches perfectly with the subject matter.
First of all, we have a gorgeous shade of orange for the background. The rolled hem is in a slightly deeper shade with neatly placed white dots. Across the background, small white hearts are evenly spaced out. They must represent biscuits, as a few appear to have had a bite taken out! In addition, others are being “dunked” into pretty china teacups. Very familiar to British tastes!
In the centre of the scarf, there is a large heart shape. For this version of the scarf the heart is in white. We can see that behind the heart there is a horse, in grey, with a white plume on its head and a patterned bridle with even more hearts. The horse is rather strangely shaped because of the heart in front!
On the horse’s back ride the King and Queen of Hearts with their majestic crowns. He holds a steaming pink, orange and white teapot with “Hermès Paris” written on the side. She holds the matching teacup – the steam taking the form of a heart! Their hair is coloured in shades of pink and formed like stylised hearts. The Queen’s dress is in mustard yellow. The monarchs’ other clothing is depicted in shades of grey, with white, black, pink and a touch of red. Next to the Queen we can see a small pink and white butterfly.
To the left side of the central design there is a flagpole bearing a fluttering flag with name of the scarf “Hermès Tea Time”. Where the pole meets the ground line, the name of the designer, Jonathan Burton, appears. Amongst stylised orange clouds the Hermès copyright sign can be seen.
Colourways
These are the colourways for the Autumn/Winter 2021 silk 70cm scarves. I have added in the codes to help those of you who wish to purchase this scarf. The red one at the bottom is a special Hermès Tea Time Medaillons version, which is more expensive.
Also, there is a set of two twillies and a cute twilly ring!
H603203S 00H063782S 16H063782S 22Tea Time twillies and twilly ring
Design story
“What a surprising way to celebrate tea time! A prince takes his belle on a poetic walk through a field of hearts – a love affair, no doubt. In their wake, a discreet butterfly attracts the attention of some riders. What is their destination? Have they managed to escape from a card game or are they on a journey to the edge of their kingdom? Here, the English designer Jonathan Burton, famous for his fantasy universes often inspired by fairy tales, gives pride of place to dreams and romanticism.”
As you can see from this paragraph, I have interpreted the design slightly differently, bringing in aspects of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. I have a feeling that Burton, as an English designer, probably intended this! I could be wrong, of course.
Details
Here are some closeups of my scarf in a slideshow format:
How I wear the scarf
This is such a fun scarf that I have managed to wear it a couple of times since I purchased it. So far, I have mainly worn it with my grey clothing, but it would also look great with shades of blue and also white.
Outfit of the day 15/09/21 with Hermès’ Tea Time
Outfit of the day 04/09/21 with Hermès’ Tea Time scarf
Scarf ties
As this is a smaller scarf, I don’t think that I will choose the more complex scarf knots. Perhaps those wouldn’t work! Instead, I am planning to look around and see which scarf ties other people use for their 70cms. Anyway, here are a few quick and random attempts (I wish I could take better photos!):
Tea Time – scarf ties
I am not going to name them this time as most don’t have names! As you can see, I tried a couple with some of my MaiTai scarf rings and they seemed to work well. Funny how the horse’s legs keep on appearing!
Oh, I might as well log here that I bought a Halcyon Days bangle to go with this scarf, as I didn’t own any really suitable jewellery. I am also on the lookout for some gold or white heart-shaped earrings – perhaps I can persuade one of my chaps to buy me some for Christmas!
Here is the bangle:
Orange heart friendship bracelet – Halcyon Days
Background information
This is not the kind of scarf with lots of useful background details, but I have found the following. If I come across any more information, I will add it here…
Jonathan Burton jonathanburton.net His official website with loads of wonderful designs, including this one.
Here is an short “unboxing” video from YouTube showing one of the twillies:
I hope readers have found this exploration of Hermès Tea Time both interesting and useful. Once again, if you find any errors or have any additional information that I could add, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
So, we have come to the end of the week and the beginning of a new month. The weather is very changeable here with bright sun, crisp and cold air, then drenching rain – all within a few minutes. But then, that’s the UK for you!
I have been really struggling with my health and have spent a lot of the week in bed fighting quite spectacular coughing fits, but I did manage to wear one nice outfit. This gorgeous scarf from Fetolia, that I bought earlier in the year, was just perfect for an Autumn day with grey items from my wardrobe…
Outfit of the Day 28/09/21 with Olympian Gods by Fetolia
The outfit:
Dark grey cotton mix short sleeved top – Lands’ End.
Dark grey cotton mix cardigan – Lands’ End.
Mid grey cord trousers – Lands’ End.
Orange enamel flower earrings – old, no image.
Animal print and gold enamel bangle – Halcyon Days.
Silk scarf, 90cm, in grey, gold and ivory – Olympian Gods – Fetolia. Tied in an asymmetric knot.
I really like this combination of clothing, scarf and jewellery, although I think I would look a lot better with a haircut and a little makeup. I have no idea what colour lipstick I should wear! Any ideas?
Having just realised that I haven’t yet worn my new Hermès Lazy Leopardesses scarf, I must remedy that next week. We are definitely back to scarf wearing weather now – hooooooraaaaaaay!
Gosh, we have reached the final Reading Roundup post for September already! This last week, I only managed to finish one book. The was relatively short and I read it quite quickly. I have also started a second book, but it is much longer, so I haven’t reached the end yet. It’s not a race, after all!
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
This week, I tried another book by Kristin Hannah: The Great Alone. This is the (long) blurb:
”Alaska, 1974. Unpredictable. Unforgiving. Untamed. For a family in crisis, the ultimate test of survival.
Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam war a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes an impulsive decision: he will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America’s last true frontier.
Thirteen-year-old Leni, a girl coming of age in a tumultuous time, caught in the riptide of her parents’ passionate, stormy relationship, dares to hope that a new land will lead to a better future for her family. She is desperate for a place to belong. Her mother, Cora, will do anything and go anywhere for the man she loves, even if it means following him into the unknown.
At first, Alaska seems to be the answer to their prayers. In a wild, remote corner of the state, they find a fiercely independent community of strong men and even stronger women. The long, sunlit days and the generosity of the locals make up for the Allbrights’ lack of preparation and dwindling resources.
But as winter approaches and darkness descends on Alaska, Ernt’s fragile mental state deteriorates and the family begins to fracture. Soon the perils outside pale in comparison to threats from within. In their small cabin, covered in snow, blanketed in eighteen hours of night, Leni and her mother learn the terrible truth: they are on their own. In the wild, there is no one to save them but themselves.”
I gave this book three stars on the Goodreads website and wrote the following review:
I’m beginning to realise, after two books, that Kristin Hannah likes to write about total misery and then leaven it with a more positive ending. To say that I enjoyed this book would be wrong. I did enjoy parts of the book, but was, rightly, horrified by others. The descriptions of Alaska were interesting and well written, but there was far too much repetition. I have read other fiction based in the State which has given me a taste of the scenery and living conditions already.
The characters were either very extreme or sketchy. The issues raised were terrible and heart-breaking but also piled on brutally. I have one more book by Hannah in my library queue but after that ai will definitely take a break!
“Oh, there she goes again!” “Spending money!” Some of you may say. OK, I know I must seem to be a spendaholic these days. But, this time I am planning ahead.
Lovely Husband never knows what to buy me when it comes to birthdays and Christmas. So I usually start to plan a few months before and get something suitable myself. My birthday is in November and I have already purchased that gorgeous cashmere stole from Johnstons of Elgin, that I showed you all a while ago. It has gone into storage and won’t be used until my birthday comes around, although it is hard to resist the temptation to get it out and stroke it!
When it come to Christmas presents, I sometimes spot something really early as has happened this time. As Autumn approaches, I begin to think about gaps in my wardrobe for the colder months. I had a look through my jumpers and saw that some of them either no longer fit, because of my weight gain, or were wearing out. My old John Lewis navy cashmere v-neck is now far too small and needs replacing and I also decided that something in a very dark grey would fill a gap. For cashmere, I usually go to Pure Collection, John Lewis or Marks and Spencer which seem to work well for me. This time, however, I was browsing the WoolOvers site (I have bought from them before) and looked at their cashmere/merino v-necks. As these are considerably cheaper than pure cashmere, and they were doing an offer, I decided to buy navy and dark grey v-neck jumpers.
They arrived this morning and look fine. I like the looser fit that a larger size gives me. They are good colours and quite soft, although, obviously, not as soft and cuddly as pure cashmere. I would post a nice photo of each, but they only have modelling pictures on their site! Instead, here are photos of them hanging on my wardrobe door…
Navy and dark grey v-necks by WoolOvers
I wonder if I can wait until Christmas to wear them! I may try to take some modelling photos with some of my scarves, if I have enough energy later in the week. I have lots of scarves and shawls that would look great with them as these are the base colours of my wardrobe, as outlined in last Monday’s post!
I intended to write an Outfit post today. It was all planned. A nice top, jeans, my new scarf and a new item. But it was not to be. It seems to be all too frequent these days, feeling very weak and ill. Not strong enough to get dressed properly. Although, I did manage to put some jewellery on with my nightdress and slippers!
Here is the quick photo…
Outfit of the day 24/09/21
The jewellery above was a present from Elder Son and is by Sainsburys’: silver butterfly earrings and a blue crystal pendant.
I wandered around on eBay this week and was lucky enough to find a Halcyon Days enamel bangle in just the right shade of orange to go with my new Hermès scarf: Tea Time. I don’t intend to branch out further into orange clothing or accessories (I already have a necklace and earrings in amber which might work with this scarf), but I thought that this little friendship bracelet, especially as it is decorated with gold hearts, would look great with it.
Here is the scarf, as a reminder, with the bangle below:
Oh, reading has been such a joy during the last week! For once, my choices were perfect for me and I found both books really absorbing, in their different ways.
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
My first book, which was a completely random choice, was The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah. Here is the blurb:
”“My land tells its story if you listen. The story of our family.”
Texas, 1921. A time of abundance. The Great War is over, the bounty of the land is plentiful, and America is on the brink of a new and optimistic era. But for Elsa Wolcott, deemed too old to marry in a time when marriage is a woman’s only option, the future seems bleak. Until the night she meets Rafe Martinelli and decides to change the direction of her life. With her reputation in ruin, there is only one respectable choice: marriage to a man she barely knows.
By 1934, the world has changed; millions are out of work and drought has devastated the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as crops fail and water dries up and the earth cracks open. Dust storms roll relentlessly across the plains. Everything on the Martinelli farm is dying, including Elsa’s tenuous marriage; each day is a desperate battle against nature and a fight to keep her children alive.
In this uncertain and perilous time, Elsa—like so many of her neighbors—must make an agonizing choice: fight for the land she loves or leave it behind and go west, to California, in search of a better life for her family.”
I read this book very quickly and wrote the following review on the Goodreads website:
Well, this was an absolutely incredible book! Heartbreaking, tragic, but in the end uplifting. The story of an amazingly brave woman battling everything life could throw at her and her family in 1930s America.
In places, the unrelentingly grim and miserable story was almost too unbearable to read. But what would it have been like to live like this? To watch your children become thin and starved, to have to battle every day to earn enough to feed, clothe and house them.
I will be haunted by this book for a long time, I am sure.
“Enjoy” is not the word for this book! It was, however, totally absorbing and well worth my time. For my next read I turned to a totally different genre: fantasy.
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas
I have had this book on reserve from the Library’s ebook service for some time and, on finishing it, I rushed to reserve the rest of the series! That gives you an idea of my reaction to Sarah J Maas’ A Court of Thorns and Roses!
This is the blurb:
”When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.
As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.”
I think the series is probably Young Adult, and I am certainly not in that category! Anyway, I really enjoyed this book and you can read my reaction below:
Well, I love this book! I don’t care about other people’s opinions, or whether it is the best written book, or about flaws in the plot, or that other renderings of the Beauty and the Beast tale might be better etc., etc. I enjoyed reading it and I lost myself in it and it took away all of my worries whilst I read it. It also left me feeling happy, uplifted and looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
So, thank you to Sarah J Maas. You have really helped me to experience the magic of reading again during this time of chronic illness and severe depression. I am so glad that you have written lots of books as I now have another author’s works to explore!
It is such a long time since I last looked at the colour wheels I created to help me organise my wardrobe! Back in 2018, I thought I had reached a final version but I should have known better. Nothing stays the same and, as my hair is now grey, I have included more grey items into my wardrobe.
Here are the older colour wheels to show how they have developed since I started this blog:
Wardrobe Colours chart version #01
Wardrobe Colours chart version #02
Wardrobe Colours chart version #03
Wardrobe Colours chart version #04
You can see I was using Excel and PowerPoint to create these charts! The new one is not quite as “pretty” as I used the “Numbers” app on this iPad and I am still learning how it works.
Today’s Wardrobe Colour wheel:
Wardrobe Colours Chart version #05
Anyway, this is what I am aiming for with my colour choices for my clothing. I sometimes branch out a bit with accessories, but a plan like this helps to avoid the scattergun approach. With that, you often find that nothing in your wardrobe works with anything else!
The navy and grey are “base” colours, often called “neutrals”. These are the basic items that hold a wardrobe together and I have these colours in a range of clothing (tops and bottoms) and accessories such as boots, shoes and handbags. At the moment, I have a lot more navy items than grey. The other colours are “accents” which bring life to a wardrobe. Mine change slightly according to the season, like this:
Purple: Spring/Summer – lilac, lavender, bright and mid-purple. Autumn/Winter – deep, rich purple and mauve.
Cobalt and bright blue are year round colours for me.
Both pink and white/cream tend to be for warmer Spring/Summer days.
Jewellery and scarves can be in all shades of both my accent and neutral colours. In addition, I also have some in colours that are outside this plan, such as orange, red or amber. These are either old items, or gifts or simply bought on a whim!
Some purists also say that you should limit your jewellery and metallics to yellow or rose gold, or silver. I don’t go that far!
Phew! I think that is enough for today.
Love and best wishes,
Anne
💕💗💖💗💕
P.S. If you are interested in how I have developed my colour wheels over the years, please click on the Wardrobe Planning tab at the top of the blog and you will see the posts in the list. Oh, and I must say that I saw the original idea on The Vivienne Files blog!
Well, again it is only one outfit, but I actually managed to get dressed in something nice and go out of the house (which I haven’t done for a long time!). Wednesday was Lovely Husband’s birthday and we had some chores to do, which needed both of us. In addition, I wanted to have a ride out in the new car for the first time. So, we completed the chores and then I suggested that we could drive over to one of the garden centres, have a walk, and then sit down for a drink.
And we managed to do just that. At least we tried a kind of birthday celebration 🎉!
This is the outfit that I assembled…
Outfit of the day 15/09/21 with Hermès’ Tea Time
Here is the full list:
Grey short sleeved cotton top – Lands’ End.
Navy jeans – Klass.
Orange enamel flower earrings – old, not shown.
Cream and gold enamel bangle – Halcyon Days.
Silk scarf, 70cm, in orange, white and grey – Tea Time by Hermès. Tied in a simple triangular knot. As this was the first time of wearing, I need to practise a bit more so that more of the design is shown and also try to get the hearts the right way up!
With this outfit I carried my navy Massaccesi handbag and wore navy shoes. If I had had more energy, I would have dug out my gorgeous silver and grey Massaccesi bag and my grey jeans. I definitely need some grey or silver footwear to match!
OK, I know I need a haircut! I haven’t had it done since May!
Our week of peace and quiet will end this evening when Elder Son arrives home from his holiday. I have really missed him and it will be nice to hear all about his adventures.
Former professional school librarian, now retired through chronic illness. Trying to keep cheerful by reading, drinking lots of tea, blogging my new life, and my love of bling!
The Librain
The Librain......retired 
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