Fashion Monday #5

 Today was my last holiday before we close for Christmas. It has been a nightmare so this is not a chatty post but it is nevertheless a bit festive.

A lovely velvet dress ideal for Christmas parties

And the back! 

Gold boots from TKmaxx. This is my latest find!

Kora's Christmas sparkly pants!

A bit of sparkle can take you a long way and it doesn't have to be just for Christmas! Dress it down for everyday use and enjoy your clothes!

Fashion Monday #4

Hi there,
It feels like a lifetime since last Monday and loads of things have happened. My lovely friend Kora has announced that she is leaving us but she promised to mail me more of her photos from now on. So this is not the end of Kora at least not in this space!
Today at work we had a Yule log bake off so there was a lot of brown puddings about. So inspired by the festive pudding and in preparation of tonight's post I have collected photos in brown! These were some of the most interesting combinations.

Moi, in a tan leather skirt, a black top and a vest my grandma made when i was a kid!

Nice things keep forever! I love this little vest! I do have it since primary school so it is at least 25 years old but still going stronger!

Kora in her new charity shop treasure! 

I have posted this before but Zoe is lovely in another all brown combo tied together with black!

A more military black brown combo!

And lovely Elaine with a fab brown shimmery skirt.

It doesn't really matter how you tone a brown combination. All different shades of brown seems to go well as long as there is one neutral colour to bind them together. I don't know what it is with brown that makes it so interesting. It is the colour of chocolate i think!

Fashion Monday #3

Hello again!

this week we had a lot of meetings so there were a few dresses around. Here are the best!

Here is Kay in a lovely green dress and really fab boots. I like how green and brown go so well together. 

This is moi, in a two-colour outfit. It does help if you stick to two colours as it keeps the outfit looking smart without too much effort. The challenge is of course getting the colours right. But if one sticks to a few colours in their wardrobe they can get some pretty good results.

The easier way of doing "the two colour outfit" is using same colour tights. These are mine in navy blue.

Kora is doing the two-colour outfit here with a jumper and tights in exactly the same colour!

Kora in a "two-colour outfit"

Zoe is really proud of this lovely necklace.  

Zoe is wearing a fab dress here in teal!

Like i said before a treasure is a treasure whether it costs £1000 or £10. It all depends how durable, wearable and likable an item is! 

Fashion Monday #2

Hi there,

this is week 2 and i am happy to say that my friends at work have given my blog a warm welcome! So this week we have more people than before wanting to share their treasures with me. The idea of this blog is not to show "cheap" clothes but treasures purchased, found or made that don't break the bank! 

So week 2 here it goes! 

This is Kora's lovely necklace found in her fave charity shop.  

 Pieces like this make an outfit interesting! Make sure you don't get colours clashing too much! Kora has done a brilliant job there with  her black cardi and blue top. 

Zoe- chocolate delight!

 Zoe has nicely combined all different shades of brown keeping it all coordinated with the black skirt and tights!

Kora's "Christmas" Pants from River Island!

Me with my black dress and new cardi courtesy of TK Maxx 

 The dress i am wearing here is the same dress i was wearing when i was 9 months pregnant and ready to pop. Stretchy dresses are a brilliant investment. So if you are pregnant go for stretchy fabrics that you can wear after you give birth! The cardi is my recent treasure! There was a very similar one i found last year at Free People but i just couldn't afford it! This year TK Maxx brought it for half the price!

Here's the posh version!

Kora making a black outfit interesting with plum lace tights

Aimee's Vivienne-Westwood-esque George skirt! What a gem! 

This is it for this week! See you again soon! 

Fashion Monday #1

A few weeks ago whilst discussing with friends we decided to start posts for fashion choices for people that don't earn much! A cause, as noble as Zoolander's school for kids that don't read good! :-)
My rationale is that it is easy to have fab fashion sense if you are loaded, the challenge is in being presentable when skint.
So from now there will be a post every Monday dedicated on fashion. Here it goes.

 Here is lovely Kora with a lovely orange top! It is a brilliant find from a charity shop she loves. The colour of the top is a perfect match to her hair! A beautiful autumnal look!

Here is poor me not knowing when the click would happen! Right, i am wearing a new aubergine dress from H&M. I find these dresses really comfy and versatile because they just take your shape as you get bigger or smaller. I needed a dress that will "shrink" with me as i keep on loosing baby weight. I am wearing my favourite black cardi i bought last year in Greece and a silk scarf mum gave me a million years ago. It was hers but she gave it to me anyway as i loved that colour!

So here it goes! Tell us what you think!! What do you wear at work? Did you find it hard after having babies to fit into your old wardrobe? 

το δέντρο - η επιστροφή του τεμπέλη δράκου

The other day i was trying to find new tunes for Alexi and i found a really great song that i keep listening! It is a kids song but it is for everyone really who want to feel like a kid. It will make more sense to greek speakers but Google might translate it anyway. To all Greek speakers out there enjoy! For everyone else, the music is brilliant!

The cd 

Listen to the song here.

and the lyrics for those that do Greek.... If you want to buy it this, click the link

Το δέντρο που φυτέψαμε
στου κήπου τη γωνιά
μεγάλωσε κι απάνω του
φωλιάζουνε πουλιά

Παπαρούνες, κρίνα, πανσέδες, γιασεμιά
μαργαρίτες, ρόδα, ανθίζουν στα κλαριά...

Μας κοροϊδεύει αυτός,
κι αντί για τα πουλιά
μας αραδιάζει
λουλούδια με φτερά !!

Το δέντρο που φυτέψαμε
στου κήπου τη γωνιά
μεγάλωσε κι απάνω του
φωλιάζουνε πουλιά

Καλαμάρια, μύδια, τσιπούρες και σαργοί
καραβίδες, στρείδια, γαρίδες κι αστακοί...

Μα πού τα βρήκε αυτός,
τόσα θαλασσινά
και μες στον κήπο
θα φτιάξει κακαβιά !!

Το δέντρο που φυτέψαμε
στου κήπου τη γωνιά
μεγάλωσε κι απάνω του
φωλιάζουνε πουλιά

Αλεπούδες, τίγρεις, λιοντάρια τρομερά
αντιλόπες, ζέβρες, αρκούδες κι ερπετά...

Τα άγρια ζώα τα πήρε για πουλιά,
κι έφτιαξε ζούγκλα στου κήπου τη γωνιά !!

Ραταρα ρατατα ρατατα ραραρα

Το δέντρο που φυτέψαμε
στου κήπου τη γωνιά
μεγάλωσε κι απάνω του
φωλιάζουνε πουλιά

Χελιδόνια, αηδόνια, σπουργίτια κι αετοί
πελαργοί, κοτσύφια και τσαλαπετεινοί...

Ναι, τώρα μάλιστα, μας μίλησε σωστά
και κελαϊδούνε στο δέντρο τα πουλιά !!!

Ραταρα ρατατα ρατατα ραραρα

My flapjack recipe

It is the last few loooong unpaid  days of my maternity so now i am going through the cupboards trying to find good healthy food. I am not going to do crisps and rubbish just because i am not very rich at the moment.

My diet is not particularly out there. I am not a vegetarian though i usually eat veggie food at functions, i am certainly no vegan and (even though i tried) I don't do diets anymore. My diet is a good Mediterranean diet with English and travel influences.

Since my family is from Crete i have learned to cook following the main Cretan principles ie using loads of olive oil that my dad makes, small quantities of meat, fish and dairy (i have milk intolerance anyway), loads of veggies and fruit (including horta ie wild greens) and loads of carbs and bread and sugar but only the wholemeal and brown version or honey. The English diet has a lot of nice recipes but loads of saturated fat so where possible we replace these with olive oil. 

Anyway, today's venture was making flapjack so here is the recipe i follow: 

100 gr of butter

100 gr of olive oil

350 to 400 gr of oats (depending how soft you want it)

200 gr of golden syrup or honey
200 gr of brown sugar
vanilla

Poppy's flapjack

Enjoy!! 

May Day

In Greece it is traditional to make a wreath on May Day. Remnant of the pagan days tradition but we still do it and it is still fun! This is our own in Leeds!

May Day wreath

We keep the wreath until St John's day and then the wreath is thrown into a bonfire. Boys used to leap over the fire and stayed out until late. This name day is around the summer solstice period so one can see how Christianity has adapted in Greece.

Does anybody know where else this tradition is being practiced?