Livin' La Vida Local part 2

I have officially become the village Grinch... wearing my American Vintage sweater bought only last week in the sales that has bobbled beyond reason nor recognition...and the worst part of it all? ....I don't care! I am wearing it! I love the colour!!!

"Your sweater looks like a rag..."my sister told me while we were in airport lounge.

"I know....believe it or not...I bought this yesterday..."

Last year in the sales I bought a grey,softer than soft cardigan during the American Vintage sales...and after wearing it once,the thing looked like it had gone through the Boer wars. I took it back,handed them my receipt and told them how appalled I was at the quality for something that wasn't particularly cheap. The manageress did not kick off ...knowing full well by now that the quality wasn't always up to par....

Fast forward a year later and what have I become? A shell of my former fashion rebellious self...or have I simply gone grunge in shapeless clothes?

Thankfully I have not abandoned all reason....my Nike High Dunks still give me my daily "lift"!..if only to be able to reach higher up on the supermarket shelves....

...which was embarrassing a few months ago when an old aged pensioner,considerably taller than I, offered to help me reach up and get down a six pack of water.... 

"No no no Monsieur..let me help you!" I replied.

"Mais non,Madame!...You obviously can't reach!!"

The milk of human kindness at the supermarket ...."...a village life for me for me...a village life for meeeee...."

Did I mention that the toilets have backed up....? Due to the freak weather conditions???
Out come the Hunter wellies and the rubber stopper.....

Yipeeeee!!!

New Eateries in Chelsea,London.

L'Eto has now opened it's doors in Belgravia at :10 West Halkin Street, a stone's throw from Waitrose.

What a pleasure it is to have another eaterie in that corner of Belgravia and I can tell you from what I saw on display ...the food looked divine.

L'Eto first opened in Soho back in February 2011 and not only serves up gorgeous pastries but does serve light lunch in the form of amazing looking salads.

I haven't tried it yet....but the pleasure was in the looking and salivating.... for now.

Colbert has opened on Sloane Square....taking the place of the once eponymous Oriel where it was trendy to meet and hang out back in my day. It soon became a tired watering hole that seemed to hang on for posterity's sake in the end. Obviously the grip loosened and it has now been replaced rather grandiously by this lovely brasserie.

We did attempt lunch there but the Asian lady at reception had a cold...thereby deciding that on that particular Saturday she would literally give us a frigid greeting followed by the cold shoulder.

Reserve! Walk ins may be greeted with attitude....

Livin’ La Vida Local....

Something about living the village life has me wanting to wear thick woolly socks and the fluffiest Uggs around...in fact it has me wanting to put zero effort in the wardrobe dept. and embrace a mild form of Mother earth-ness. Why bother? No one can see me, I can’t make an entrance....and quite frankly I feel so far removed from London,Paris and New York that it feels ridiculous wearing anything other than good solid basics. 
"Nooooo!" cried my sister." You write about fashion and trends ...come back to the light!"

The elements have been harsh,we have had ice and snow,followed by 2 days of unrelenting rain. My Mous have been my best friend as have been a pair of skinny khaki cords from a bigone age of H&M that kept me sane and grounded with their trendy appeal. My mom’s old Barbara Bui sheepskin coat, that is more bear than sheep,topped the lot and enveloped me in its comforting arms making me feel safe and warm during the harsh weather and this sudden descent into momentary madness.

So where does that leave me today? The rain has left, the day is poking its head around the trees that cover this house in this valley in Valbonne...Sweats....yes sweats and my fluo Nike trainers that has them all atizz in this neck of the woods... As we have been living the bumpkin life we have taken to eating like them too.

So to the gym I go and pronto ...to step back into my prior life that I seem to have left behind when we moved....may I find my waist,my way and leave behind my 50 shades of greige...

More on that and Livin' La Vida Local soon...

Boys Who Are Like Girls....

So your man is metro sexual...he likes to be well groomed,well perfumed and will maybe even sit by the TV and rub cuticle softener religiously around every finger...(this one is for you Jouj!)....
But did you ever suspect him of wardrobe envy? Does he covet your muff, your ruffs and even your leopard leggings??

This catwalk show by "Sibling" has made it possible for your man to be clad in almost the same way as you...

They say "Love is Blind"...

My eyes will never recover from this.

Sam Sparro - Happiness

Belated HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM FROCKANROLLA!....(sorry busy moving house....)

Sam Sparro says it best!:
"Happiness you belong to me....you're Mine..."

Wishing all my readers their true form of Happiness...now let's crack on.

xoxo

From The Mouths of Fashion Maestro's

I simply adore the fashion fabulous Diana Vreeland: she put red on the map,her hands were her favourite part of her body and she is once again brought to life in an intimate new documentary:

"The Eye Has To Travel-Diana Vreeland"

                                         "Never Fear being vulgar, just boring"

                                          "I adore pink! It's the Navy blue of India."

The Year After by Martin Davies

If like me and a million others you are a Downton Abbey fan then this is a book for you.

Tom returns from the war and France and is summoned back to Hannesford Court by the mesmerising Margot Stansbury. Now 5 years later,secrets are brought back up to the surface: a clash of class, an etude in etiquette gone awry.
This is a compelling read, a book that captivates your heart and imagination...your hands are simply drawn to pick it up all hours of the day.

This book is a far better choice of time spent then watching the decidedly boring Downton Abbey Xmas special, even the enigmatic Maggie Smith can't rescue it from the doldrums.
What a darned shame ...so unexpected and such a snooze fest until the end when.....

....don't worry I won't spoil it for you...but you'll find that at the end of "boring" comes an "OMG" moment that is almost an insult to our attention span.

"Oh, dear Carson...bring in the smelling salts and my book please:

"The Year After" by Martin Davies."