A day in Bicester Village

Hi Lovelies,

I should have warned you earlier about the weather this week. It is mainly due to the fact that my lovely husband had booked half term off! This absolutely always happens - he is like a Rain God. And it has made planning what to do with our time off a little bit difficult!

Yesterday we went to finalise our Wedding Anniversary party details (gulp, it is only 10 days away now) and then we took the girls to Creams Cafe for a decadent (sickly but great) Ice cream lunch. It is an Italian Gelato restaurant that opens until Midnight every night, and serves only desserts. Now this is never a bad thing …….

Strawberry & Butterscotch Waffles anyone ……..

The desserts were absolutely awesome.

So today, we braved the weather for a trip to Bicester Village in Oxfordshire.

It was misty, cold, and it genuinely felt more like a February day rather than almost June.

The last time we went it was very uneventful so I have put off returning for a couple of years, but it was much better this time around.

Jimmy Choo, Saint Laurent, Dior, Prada, Westwood - they were all really well stocked.

Last week, the British Designers Collective opened too - this is a pop up shop full of some beautiful pieces from different designers - Ellie Goulding opened it this year.

They had lots of Mary Katrantzou pieces, and I fell hard for a Peter Pilotto Dress

(which was reduced from £1425 to £405)

But I was very aware that the S/S 2014 sales are literally just around the corner,

so I sadly left it behind.

Valentino is by far the stand out store at Bicester for me. Being up close to such incredible pieces is mind blowing.

BUT, and it is a very large But 

(or should that be - a very small butt)

They are all sample size pieces …………...

Sob

It is hard to fully realise how slim a model really is until you are faced with rack after rack of non forgiving and definitely non stretchy UK Size 6 to tiny 8's! There is nothing bigger.

It is enough to make you sob (and reach for a piece of chocolate)

The SAs are lovely - they don't sell many dresses obviously as the pieces are so ickle and therefore

limit the market immensely, but if you are teeny tiny a Valentino dress can be purchased here from £500 upwards - many of the pieces are available at the main stores in other sizes - but sadly for over 5 times the price!

Here are just a few of the pieces that were in the store today

Some from this summer & some from S/S 2013.

This one closed the Valentino show last Summer - It is right at the front of the store

Sigh ……..

Mulberry has had it's first drop of Willows in.

A huge turn-around for them, as this bag was originally never going to go on sale.

Even shareholders were not allowed to use their discount for it.

Today was an extra 10% off, so you could get the mint or nude for just over £800 and then get

a further 10% off of that price.

The incredible peach and white ostrich ones are also in stock (they have ostrich handles and ostrich leather on the front of the clutch)

£1155 now (they were originally £1650)

Hope you are having a great week.

Thanks for reading.

A little delivery from ASOS ……...

Hi lovelies,

ASOS is so hit and miss so when you order more than a couple of things from them, you always expect to be taking a trip to the post office with some returns!

But two little pieces came today and they are both staying with Jools! Surely some kind of ASOS miracle ………..

I wanted this dress as it reminds me so much of the Isabel Marant summer pieces - only for a lot less money - so I won't worry about spilling anything down this one!

Some of the Marant ones - prices start from £500 …..

and this is the one from Mango (at ASOS)

Cotton Broiderie Anglais Dress - Mango at ASOS £34

and this little Lips Maxi Skirt just came into stock yesterday

Lip Print Maxi Skirt with Pockets - ASOS £30

It would look cool with one of these crop top styles as it is pretty high waisted

V Neck Cutaway Crop Tops - Topshop £36

We just need the weather to keep playing nicely now ….

Thanks for reading xx

Help me choose some shoes …………….

Hey Lovelies,

Aww summer has sooo arrived. It feels amazing. And the sunshine means getting out your summer wardrobe to wear ……. right?

Well, wrong if you are me - at the end of last summer I was super efficient and put away all of my summer clothes in one of those vac-packed clear plastic covers …………

Clever huh - Well, if only I could now find it ……… oh dear, this is what happens when I try to be organised. And of course now the only dresses I want to wear are the ones that I can't find - in fact I think I have imagined dresses that I probably didn't even buy last summer which I really want to wear now, which is making not finding them worse.

This weekend, as an Arsenal fan was so exciting - we finally won something! So the last few days has very much been about being outside, sitting by the river, and some celebratory drinks.

erm, I need to mix up my meals a little bit judging by these pictures

(she types, as she is sitting here eating a Monday night Chicken Salad!)

Quack Quack coffee by the river

with a glittery red manicure

I did find my Topshop Poppy Silk Tea Dress though

Wearing this dress makes me happy, so I wore it today :)

Holly loves it too, she wore it loads last summer (before her baby bump!)

Ok I need some help - help me choose which pair of these shoes would be better

for my birthday party

Christian Louboutin Lace Pigalle's

Christian Louboutin Gwynitta

(i'm not telling you the price of either …….!)

which ones do you prefer please?

and lastly for today - how cute does Myleene Klass look in this dress in Cannes

and best of all it's from her own range - so its totally affordable if you like this kind of style

it's a really fab summer dress

Myleene Klass Bardot Dress - £59 - Myleene for Very

Thanks for reading xx