The lemonade approach

This is going to be a very short update, just to show I'm still alive. And meeting life's challenges with the most positive attitude.

Late last summer a neighbour and I got a small allotment.  Small is a round shape measuring 10 meter across (33 feet?). The previous, and unexperienced owner had started lots of projects, which we had to deal with first.

As you can see, we have a lot of bare soil - that's where we had to cover holes, made by the previous owner. In front we've made a bed for herbs, and hopefully pumpkins. In the raised bed we have lots of strawberries,

 and along the edge we have other berries and to small tomato plants.

When I say we, it's me and my pregnant neighbour. We're all very happy for her! Unfortunately she's run into trouble, the worst being pelvis instability. Some days she can't walk or stand up, and under no circumstances can she do gardening...

After nearly two weeks of gardening morning to afternoon my body hurts everywhere! I'm 50 and not used to manual labour (really unfit). How very convenient then that life forces me to do open air fitness training for absolutely nothing!

As the saying goes: When life serves you lemons, make lemonade :-)

I wish I could give you close ups of some lovely flowers or fruits, but it's still very early days up here.

Instead I have this pretty flower for you:

And another one here:

Can you guess who it is?

Now you know what I've been up to. I have lots of photos from my shoe shopping experience last week, but that's going to have to wait for now. Tonight I'm going to dream of bracelets, necklaces and earrings because...

tomorrow is M-day - sale at Monies, my favourite jewellery artist! 

I have a limited budget, but I'm sure I'll come home with something - and you'll be the first to see :-)

Stay tuned - love Kaffesoester

Double sin with 2 x horizontal stripes on plus-size body!

Every style bible, fashion blogger and and image consultant will tell you that horizontal stripes are a no go if you're plus size, and want to look slimmer. Well, have a look at my outfit!

The dress which has appeared several times  (here, here and here) on the blog, is a favourite. It never  makes me feel looking larger than I am. Quite the opposite in fact. You could argue that it's due to the small stripes...

...but that's not the case with the rain coat! Those stripes are anything but small :-)

Somehow there seems to be more rules for plus size people than regular sized - is that true? Or do I have a touch of paranoia?

With legs like tree trunks I shouldn't be wearing coloured and patterned tights either, and preferably discrete shoes that blend with the tights. Another two rules are broken here!!!

So, the stripe rule is not to be obeyed at all costs. Like in every other aspect in life, open your eyes and judge for yourself! Do you see any problems with my shiny shoes and eye-catching tights?

This outfit was what I went to visit customers in, on a very wet day! My hair looks very strange, like it always does after rain.

The dress is by British brand CC, the bag is Danish, by Adax, and I'm wearing an old ring from Evans which is about the only place where I can buy ready made rings that fit me.

On my way home, I got a bored waiting for the bus... And remembered I hadn't taken photos of my lovely (old) tights. They're not wet or dirty, just printed in a marble-pattern. No, I don't smoke! The gum wasn't me either.

Successfully breaking two style rules in one outfit was pleasing :-)  Breaking an additional two was a right triumph!

By chance I've managed to dress according to the theme on Spy Girl's 52 pick-me-up, so heading right over to link up!

Hope you all have a nice Thursday, with only one tiny Friday to go before the weekend :-D

See you soon!

Kaffesoester

The Singapore Gin Sling cocktail outfit & Copenhagen shots

Remember my last post? I had taken dresses and accessories to make three possible outfits to choose from, for Saturday's cocktail party.

When the day came it was cold (10 degrees C./below 50 degrees F), windy and rainy - and so cloudy I would need to use a flash with my camera, outside. All three outfits just felt too cold.

So I was looking for something warmer, and ended up with this pile of old and seen before items! Notice the wet ground. At least the sky finally cleared. The dress has appeared here and here before, and the jacket here and here.

Upon arrival we were handed our first cocktail - a Singapore Gin Sling, which happened to match my outfit to perfection! I felt a success right from the beginning, and that only improved as the evening progressed, with lots of flattering comments on my outfit :-)

My hair does look strange, but my family reassured me that it was fine once inside!

The new bra worked wonderfully - and with my most comfortable heels, the whole outfit gave me such a relaxed feeling that I haven't experienced in years! It was a great night :-D

Ahead of the party I had agreed to bring Petit Four - and Friday I went shopping for ingredients.

I went to Torvehallerne, Copenhagen's fine food market. As a bit of a food-fanatic this is just heaven! I made a couple of small collages of the delicatessen on offer.

The cakes:

The vegetables (notice the edible flowers in the large photo!):

The relaxed seating:

The place is quite large, with two buildings housing numerous smaller stalls inside, and more outside between the buildings. It's so big I'll have to cover it in another post.

Since Friday was sunny I thought it would be nice and warm as well, so off I went in my little tunic and sandals:

I did wear a coat too, luckily. The temperature was around the same 10/50 degrees. I'm seriously considering learning Spanish and force my family to emigrate!

The colours were warmer than the wind! The sandals by Rieker, are very easy to walk in. There's a chock absorbing sole and elasticated straps to make them fit almost anyone.

The necklace is by Monies, and possibly my favourite piece. I like how the individual pieces resemble my curls.

Sunday I was supposed to try my new herbal wonder, but I was tired... There was a few leftover cakes from the party (I made more than 150 pieces) - here's how they looked:

The white chocolate mousse I originally planned to use didn't work, it was too runny, even with more than double the gelatine in, relative to the recipe. Imagine the panic I went through! Instead I made a whipped cream with vanilla and lemon zest. The bottom is an almond sponge.

Monday was work day, and I thought I was going to the printers in Copenhagen, and then delivering goods to a client. I dressed in corporate grey (again) and a comfortable, long cardigan:

The dress is a cheap version of the Phase Eight dress I wore last week. And it's too short! However a thinner knit is better under a cardigan, so I'm keeping it for now.

The jewellery of the day consists of a few of the usual bangles, the green Mother of pearl by Monies, the other horn, both matching the necklace:

The necklace of the day is also by Monies, a 50th. birthday gift from my friends :-)

It's a unique piece, made from horn, Mother of pearl and ceramic.

As it's such a rare occasion that we get to wear sunglasses in Denmark, I have another photo, showing these Missoni beauties!

For several reasons the visit to the printer and the client was postponed for 24 hours - so staying in the sun for a bit longer - dreaming of Spain :-)

May the sun shine on all of you - and have a lovely week!

Love Kaffeseoster

Out of the blue...

Came two invitations that I had to accept :-)

First one (Wednesday afternoon) was a workshop with the leading trend forecasters in Denmark, the second was a "Spoil yourself" sale event in the Triumph store in Copenhagen. With goodie bags and special offers!

The weather has been extremely wet and windy, what better excuse to show off my first proper raincoat in 5-6 years! And it's blue (the only colour left in the outlet), matching the blue skies I'm dreaming of, and the rain I'm getting instead.

Under the coat I'm wearing a new dress, also bought on sale, from Phase Eight. It matches the coat's lining :-)

The workshop was aimed at professionals in the fashion industry so I went for a corporate feel in my outfit.  I don't feel professional, and I don't have a fancy career. So I wanted an outfit with built-in power and self confidence - or as close as I can get to that.

This dress is so comfortable, the material is thick Viscose jersey, and it's lined in the upper front. This is already a favourite on colder days, when I need to cleanse my mental colour palette :-)

A few good bangles are mandatory! I would have worn grey tights, or nude fish nets, but both couldn't catch any smaller fish anymore :-(  How lucky I had these blue tights, matching the rain coat so nicely!

The workshop turned out to be more of a sales talk about the company's products (busy designers shouldn't be bothered with doing his/her own trend research...). However, they had brought books and reports from a few of their international partners, among those Li Edelkort, who I personally consider The Best!

Among the many trends she sees on the horizon is "Advanced" - as in Advanced Style by Ari Seth Cohen. She predicts that old older women with wrinkles, fun and stylish clothes and some great bling, could become a major trend around 2017 and on! She particularly mentions the 40+ bloggers community!

We will be style icons :-D

Or could become style icons... maybe.... Anyway, there's some recognition here, that we shouldn't overlook. For now, lets pat ourselves on the shoulder for "good work" and "great style"!

Tonight was the second invitation - at Triumph, well know German lingerie company. I got the invite from the shops assistant manager, the gorgeous Janne who also models, and is a former school mate of mine.

There was a minibar:

I stayed away until the candy had gone, wise when slimming! There were bubbles in the wine :-)

I got a new bra, with Magic Wires. The underwire is made of silicone instead of steel, and will take shape after your body. It is perhaps a thousand times more comfortable than regular underwiring!

Above is the model I got. Normally I don't like lace, but it was so little that it didn't matter.  Below is a picture of the inside of the bra. See how smooth it is?

The cups are shaped by foam, but still has strength to hold it all up! With the tight cocktail dresses 48 hours away I also got a pair of shape wear knickers. They were at a reduced price, like the bra, and equally comfortable. On Saturday we'll see how well they perform :-)

You all know I have a transom above average, so no need to enlarge this photo...!

The goodies were both from Triumph and from the Body Shop:

Hand lotion, body butter, perfume samples, cream samples, loofa, small bag for toiletries... And a gift card for a full make up for me and five friends at the Body Shop, nice!

Knowing I would be in a small changing room, getting in and out of too small pieces of shape wear and underwear, not forgetting the trip home in the cold rain and wind on trains and bicycle I decided on a highly functional outfit, in blue :-D

The top is by British brand East, bought on sale last summer. The trousers are the Cellulite-revealing jersey-type from Marks & Spencer, in a pinstripe. Shoes are by Irregular Choice!

The fabric of the top is very light... My hair is light too.

We did get a few sunny spells :-)

Tomorrow I'll be going to Copenhagen again, shopping for ingredients for Petit Four, tiny cakes, that I'm bringing to the cocktail party. Years ago I brought some to a party, and have now been asked for a repetition. I'm also going to pick up some wonder herb remedy for tightening and tucking skin... If I don't have any party photos next week, you know what's gone wrong!

Have a great weekend all, enjoy yourselves - I will :-)

Lots of Love 

Kaffesoester

Cocktail party outfit - but not the LBD please!

A selection of my cocktail party adornments

Oh yes, I'm going to a cocktail party with some really good friends next Saturday!

Oh no, what am I going to wear?

First of all, everything feels too tight even though I've been dieting for weeks. Second, I don't have many cocktail dresses - because there aren't enough cocktail parties on my social calendar :-D

So - help me decide, please!

Although many of my "style bibles" recommend the LBD, I'm in a spring mood and NEED colour.

I've boiled down my dress choices to three dresses: 

1) Biba leopard print which you see styled for daytime here.  I wore it on New Year's Eve 2013 as well, and some of the guests are the same. It doesn't necessarily require a cardigan on top, only if it's cold.

2) Kaliko teal silk/linen dress that I've also worn at a dinner party in April 2014, again with part of the same crowd that will be there on Saturday.

3) Pied a Terre purple silk dress, never worn! But - it's a bit tight around the waist :-(

My choice of shoes is very limited, especially for evening since I've always prioritised daytime footware. Depending on the weather I might add tights, nude fishnets with the leopard dress, and teal green with the two other outfits.

It's no secret that I'm dying to wear the new dress, but I fear the tightness will prevent me from having as much fun as I can. However I can wear this one without a cardigan. A huge plus.

It seems so shallow to be worrying about an outfit a week ahead. But I know that in a well-considered outfit I'll be able to relax and enjoy myself, and bring my bit of fun the party.

And isn't outfit preparation the essence of blogging?

Anyway, tell me what you think, Teal, Purple or Leopard?

I'm taking all three dresses to another party this very minute - Patti's Visible Monday party at the Not Dead Yet Style blog. Maybe I can get some more ideas for Saturday's party :-)

Have a lovely week all

Love Kaffesoester