The Festival of 35

Another year, another birthday. I must admit, the excitement was not the same as a few years ago - 35 sounds pretty middle-aged to me. Actually, I was pretty bummed about the prospect of edging closer to 40 and entering what I imagine is the second half of my life. Kiddies, a super-attentive husband and some cake baking sort of dispelled the whiff of desperation that was hovering around.
And then my family came, my mom, my brother and his brood and the house was full of laughter, singing and candle-blowing and I instantly felt better.
My mom brought me the best of gifts - a perfume and an orchid.

Prada's Infusion d'Iris has been a favorite for quite a while. I love its clean, uncomplicated smell, with some pretty powerful undertones.

The 100 ml bottle came with quite a few samples and I'm loving all of the Prada Candy varieties.

Just look at this beauty! It really made my day. I just hope we'll be friends for a long time and she'll bloom again and again - I'm determined to make this one a keeper, despite my previous disastrous record with orchids...















Having trouble staying away from the sales, I treated myself to another pair of  Clarks:

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These will be perfect for walking the cobblestones and broken sidewalks of Belgrade this fall while taking my daughter to school and trying to get to work on time. They can be worn in the rain, another bonus, not to mention how delightfully comfortable these are - for me, that's what I get from Clarks shoes. After I got my first pair last summer, I now own four and I have never looked back.














I have a few drinks with friends scheduled throughout the week, so the festivities continue, an my man has his birthday later in the week as well. Lots of Leo action going on in our family!

I have a 'books I've read so far in 2015' post lined up, however, I can't seem to get around to finishing it these days. Will have to have another crack at it soon.

The Long and the Short Of It

Actually, I'll aim for as short as possible this time.

The hairy situation:  Slowly, over the past few years, I've slipped into the 'I have to die my hair every six weeks' situation. Putting not to fine a point on it - I'm hopelessly grey! Underneath the layers of L'Oreal die, I'm all silvery white, and while I will for sure at some point in the future give up and go au naturel, we are not there yet folks. Hence, the trip to the hairdresser's every six weeks. It is a nuisance in a way that I do not like when my grey roots show up - which usually happens around week four - but then I stick with them for a little while longer before hitting the salon. However, once in there, it's pure joy. And for the following reasons:

1. The staff are super nice and, as I have been a regular for the past eight years, they know me well and know what I like, what kind of hairstyles work for me and when is the time to try a new shade of die or a new hair cut. I never protest, I just let them work their magic and I've never regretted it.

2. There is always a copy of the newest Vogue UK laying around which promptly ends up in my lap, I'm served a cup of the finest filter coffee to be had around here and after initial inquires as to the current situation in the household, I'm left on my own, quietly sipping coffee and reading while the die is being applied and then sitting on my head for whatever amount of time necessary.

3. The restorative and transforming power of hair color and haircut/blow dry is never lost upon me. I look and feel 100% better after every visit, my head feels so much lighter, both physically and metaphorically speaking, after I'm given a special massage while my hair is being washed and it never fails to give me a special bounce in my step.

The sales situation: Yes, I've managed to fit in a few visits to the shops, and the latest two purchases made me happy!

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The white and silver cap toe flats from Clarks, in wide fit - apart from a very good sales price, it is the wide fit that won me over. These really fit like a glove and have the softest sole padding, as is the case with all other Clarks I own and am very happy with. These come in lieu of the LILU white and silver pointy toed ones - much as I loved the pink detail on the rubber sole, these are a much better fit and the price difference is considerable.

This came home with me as well as it was heavily discounted. It was worth a wait as it will combine brilliantly with other stuff in my wardrobe to take me through to fall.

And to finish this off with some breaking news - the tightest of my pre-pregnancy jeans fit! It was scientifically established this morning, after a quarter of an hour of careful observation in front of the full-length mirror in my hallway. No unsightly bulge anywhere around the midsection, hence no muffin top, showing off the bootay, what more could a girl ask for? Same favorable impressions were gained from trying out a part of my back-to-work wardrobe - some dresses, skirts and pants. I felt like popping something open and celebrating, however, being home alone with two underage children in my care, I settled for a lemonade ;)

Friday Shoes

I did get myself a new pair of shoes as a birthday present, although not the fancy designer ones I stated my desire for in one of the previous posts. I went the sensible route this time (that, and I found out that the designer shoes were never made in my size, damn you large Hobbit-like feet) and opted for some Clarks brogues. Exhibit 1 below:

These are a perfect example of the office/casual, the look I'm going for most of the time (could never do the full formal pants suit or matching blazer and skirt thing, no way) and will go well with most of my wardrobe. It's a nice shade of navy, there are rubber soles as added bonus and padded insoles which are just heavenly to walk in - one feature of the Clarks shoes that may just win me over for good.



I see on their website that there is a black patent version of these, which I would love to get my hands on as I have a similar pair that is now almost seven years old and in dire need of replacing, but these were not on offer sadly.

I hinted to my significant other to do a little browse through the ZARA accessories section and I'm hoping I'll find a neatly wrapped up necklace of my choice as my birthday present tomorrow ;)

I already made two cakes, the third one is in order tomorrow, my husband's birthday is on Wednesday so there is a heavy chocolate cake in my future for sure and I've found a new recipe for macarons which means I'll be tempted to try it out . . . 

New Shoes and Stuff

The arrival of a black box can only mean one thing - I'm guilty of getting myself another pair of IDENTITY/LILU shoes! Being a Bigfoot that I am does not actually make my life easy in terms of getting appropriate footwear. It makes it a living hell! Oh, how many times have a gazed wistfully at a pair of sleek and elegant ballerinas in a shop window knowing I could never get my huge, chunky feet in them! But,  after I've discovered the talented Danijela Biskup and her shoes almost 10 years ago, I've never looked back. The fit is wide enough for my feet, each pair I own is more than a few years old, they stand the test of time well and I keep adding regularly to the collection. What I also like about them is that they organize weekend sales pretty frequently and it's always good scoring something you covet for a lower price, at least in my book ;) (you can tell I'm very patient, no instant gratification here, hurts the bank balance too much ;)

Here they are, silver flats in all their glory, with the bracelet du jour, a Secret Santa gift from a colleague.

Wait, what, it's Friday?

This Friday caught me off guard, a whole week whizzed by . . . And then this morning was one of those when nothing goes according to the plan, beverages are spilled, stains in inappropriate places, no time to change, rush, rush, rush, uphill in completely inappropriate shoes:

Why oh why did I have to wear them today? I am always complimented on them and I like them (ALDO purchase from a few years ago) but trying not to be late to work when I'm already late and distraught with all the mishaps of the morning in a pretty high wedge heeled sandal is not a wise thing to do. I wasn't very patient with my daughter because of all this so I'm trying to make amends - I printed out a whole bunch of Little Mermaid coloring pages and I can see a crafty weekend coming for the two of us.

In order to stay sane and up to the task at work, this is my mantra:

It would have been my dad's 59th birthday next week. His last birthday in 2010 we spent together and it was a very special day. We have great pictures together, we made him a special lunch - marinated tuna steaks, and I made him a cake. It was one of the last times that he was feeling well and was in a very good mood before he died a few months later. I miss him so much.

Random Acts of Kindness

When walking to work every morning I have to pass through a rather narrow street the actual width of which does not prevent drivers from speeding by as if on the Monaco rally. The curb is also a narrow strip of security not wide enough for two people to pass each other by without one of them stepping onto the street. It's been a few mornings now that several different people, men I have to say, have made a conscious effort to step onto the street and let me pass by safely. These gestures were made swiftly but deliberately enough to make me realize in a few seconds that I was passing by that those were acts of kindness and paying attention to the person coming your way. I feel good about this as it says people are not as insensitive, callous, mindless and rude as we are led to believe these days. No, there are enough regular people around, we just have to notice.

In other, less serious observations, look what caught my fancy these days:

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As well as these:

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Be still my beating heart! I kinda need both, but given my 30-year marriage to the bank I'll wait for the sales. There's no harm in looking, though, right?

Watching reruns of Homeland and the first season of The Americans - I'm a sucker for a good spy story. 

And spring is finally here!!!

Outfit of the Day

Just because my head is about to burst and I like the particular color combo that I'm wearing today. And the shoes of course . . .

 I love this Mango cardie from the sales a few summers back, although I'm not sure about the vertical stripes across the hips, but - whatever ;-)

The shoes are one of my favorites. They are designed and made in Serbia, which makes me particularly happy as I like to wear local designer brands. Check out their facebook page LILU Fashion Shoes, they have some pretty rad designs!

The same pair, from another angle, styled by me ;)

Perfect pointy-toe, kitten heel black patent leather pumps - I could live in them!

I bought these at the end of summer sales so I can't wait for warm weather to actually wear them!

United Nude Shoes

For ages I've been an avid fan of United Nude shoes. Just look at these beauties:

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Gorgeous color combination, I can just see myself walking down the cobbled streets of Dorcol in the heat of the summer in these and feeling all bold and ready to get on top of the world!

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These babies are just plain dangerous!

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I am seriously considering getting at least these black pumps - they seem like shoes that could be worn every day all day, morning to evening, with anything.

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THE perfect bootie! There is the same pair in brown tones as well.

It so happens that I know a very special and smart lady that is in charge of their import, wholesale and retail in what the rest of the world now commonly refers to as the Western Balkans. Their stuff is awesome, the shoes are a work of art and you can browse more of their offer and outlet/discount prices here: https://www.lilijolie.com/en/

Disclaimer: views expressed here are all my own, I was not in any way compensated by the owner of Lili Jolie to write about their shoes. Just so that we're square on that ;-)