You’ll be pleased to hear normal service had resumed, I am blackmailer free, and thankfully all of blackmailers alter egos have moved on too.
Obviously I was especially upset by “Keanu Reeves” being disappointed in me. That one cut deep. Hahaha.
I have no idea why I was targeted, but I think it’s fair to say the person or persons behind the attack didn’t get what they wanted from me. And I feel satisfied that I wasted their time.
Thank you so much for the emails and messages of support, much appreciated. A lot of people have said they are sorry that it happened to me, but let’s face it, it was probably better that it was me because I didn’t feel anything but mildly aggravated and equally mildly amused. A lot of people now know about the scams going round. So that has to be a good thing.
And I’m grateful I was maybe able to help prevent someone falling into their trap. Things happen for a reason.
I feel incredibly sorry for anyone who has been targeted and feels vulnerable, it’s an appalling situation. Ignore them, block them and report them.
That’s all we can do for now. That and avoid being in a position to be blackmailed to start with. Never send your bits and bobs photos to anyone, and especially anyone you haven’t actually met in person. It really solves the issue.
So from blackmail, to this week’s fashion choices…smooth, just like the transition on a daytime television magazine programs.
Like when they go from the potential harms of vaginal steaming, straight to Phil Vickery’s chicken hotpot pie…
…Anyway, Friday day time I was freezing cold. It was decidedly autumnal, and therefore I chose my outfit for our night out accordingly.
Ben’s girlfriend, Erin had invited us to meet them for drinks at a rooftop bar in London. Which was very sweet of her. They’ve only been dating since April this year, and she clearly wanted to pull out all the stops for him, he can be a bit of a birthday grump. She had a fabulous day of activities arranged.
The finale being us surprising him at the bar in London.
I dressed for the chill in the air I had felt earlier in the day. What I hadn’t realised was that the sun had definitely pushed through and it was now pretty darn warm.
My outfit was great…for the weather I had assumed it still was, not so great for the heat that greeted me.
Tunic from Jigsaw, Top from M&S, Pleather Leggings from River Island, Shoes and Bag from Dior.
I bought this tunic in black too, I absolutely loved it. It came with giant shoulder pads, which on, looked like a cross between Crystal Carrington and line backer for New England Patriots.
I’m not a shoulder pad type of gal, I think you need stature, and a different kind of energy to that I possess.
So I set about cutting them out. Not easy, as they were very well sewn in. But I managed it with no harm to the tunic or myself.
Loved this outfit. Didn’t love being broiled alive in it. Note to self, wear this in autumn/winter season.
Anyway, the evening was fantastic despite my poor choice of clothing.
Erin had taken Ben on his birthday day of surprise treats, including Kew Gardens. Which is adorable. It’s one of my favourite places to visit. It’s so easy to get to from Braintree too.
Braintree to Stratford. Stratford to Kew Gardens on the Overground line. It takes forever, but it’s only one change so it’s worth it for its simplicity.
They had a packed day of activities, and we met them for drinks in the rooftop bar at the Montcalm hotel in Finsbury Square at the end of a long and fun packed adventure.
Ben didn’t know we were coming, he said to Erin in the afternoon that he felt bad he wasn’t seeing us on his birthday, so it was the perfect end to the most perfect day. She’s a very kind and clever girl that one, she thought of everything. :)
It was a very happy 25th birthday for my baby son.
The following day I had an idea for helping me sort my life out. Well, technically just my table scaping life. Which by the way I’m discovering more and more that it’s totally out of control, and it’s only me that likes them. Hahaha.
My collection of table crap…scaping…has grown exponentially in recent months. So it was wildly all over the place, all stacked up in boxes in the back room of Chris’s home office (which is now more shop than office to be fair).
This isn’t all of it. There’s 2 more sheds with scapings too. So when I say to you sometimes I hyper-fixate, I’m not kidding.
You’d have thought the full size sheep would have been a clue I was out of control, but no, it hadn’t really sunk in at that point. :)
Anyway, I had a plan to go to IKEA for more shelving, which Chris kindly obliged. But I think it makes his life easier to not be climbing over boxes and boxes of my hoarded scapes. (And yes, I know I am the one who says they want to live in a flat, the irony is not lost on me).
Plus I sold him on the idea of Ikea, no small feat, by suggesting we get him some shelves to display his and Zak’s Lego models on.
Dress from French Connection, camisole from Tesco, Bag and Shoes from Dior, Hat from Locke and Co
Shelves bought and erected we headed out for dinner. The perfect Saturday? For me maybe. ;)
Sunday was a continuation of Ben’s birthday, he invited all the boys in our friendship group to join him at ‘Sexist Steak and Frites’ day, okay, so maybe I named it that rather than him. But the facts speak for themselves.
As it turned out, it was a joint venture of Ben’s birthday and our friend Michael’s pre stag do.
Our friends are getting married, they’re arranging it in record time. So while the boys were at their lunch, I met up with Tanya for lunch and dress shopping for the big day.
Tanya has a fantastic figure, everything looks gorgeous on her. The first dress she tried was beautiful, but definitely an occasion dress; Weddings, christenings, a day at the races etc etc, it looked beautiful, regal even, but it’s use would be limited after. The second dress was equally beautiful but definitely a lot more wearable on a lot more occasions after.
Since I’ve been selling things on my Vinted account I have decided to buy with more care and consideration for pounds per wear, or wear per pounds, I’m not sure which one works best.
I think everyone that’s joined Vinted probably feels the same too.
It really means I’m focused on getting value for money. I don’t want to be selling it in a few months for a few pennies, because I didn’t think it through.
Tanya loved dress two more, so she bought it. In about 20 minutes of browsing. So not only is it the best option for her for the wedding, and onward wears, it took literally no time to get too. Is there a better way to shop, I think not.
Unfortunately I didn’t see anything I liked, let alone loved. I just can’t get myself into the right headspace.
I don’t have an easy body to dress, it’s lumpy, bumpy, stumpy and bagged. It’s not easy to find things that suit it. I appreciate it, I love it even, but I am aware it’s not anyone’s idea of ideal. I am very aware that it has dressing limitations. Which may be hard to believe because I write a blog about dressing well after stoma surgery.
I find things that work, but I also find a lot of things that don’t, and I mean a lot. Obviously I only wear and share the wins.
Also, I buy a lot of the same clothes, in various colours. I have 3 of these dresses below. If it works it works.
Dress from Nicole Farhi, Shoes from Chanel, Bag from Gucci.
I dressed appropriately airy for our shopping trip, making sure I wouldn’t get caught out with overheating.
So the wedding is in 3 weeks, the bride, Catie, bought her dress in less than 2 hours looking on Saturday. Tanya bought hers within 20 minutes of looking. I’ve not got a clue what to wear, nothing is fitting right, and Kim hasn’t started looking yet.
Not to panic or anything but helllllp! Hahaha.
Tanya and I met up with the others for drinks in Selfridges after lunch. It was the perfect Sunday. Spent with friends and family.
I also appreciate that someone else’s wedding isn’t something for me to obsess over what I look like. It’s not about me, but at the same time I’d like to look my best. I just haven’t found it the right outfit yet, but I will I’m sure.
Day to day I find myself dressing with some ease from the myriad of clothes I already own. If they’ve made it to my wardrobe, it probably means I liked them at some point.
Top from Karl Lagerfeld, Linen Joggers from Tesco, Shoes from Gina, Bag from Balenciaga.
Chris and I have been listening to podcasts on our many drives out. We have a few favourites on the go at the moment.
Fake Doctors - Real friends, is fantastic. Especially if you re watch Scrubs along side it.
And
Off Menu ~ with Ed Gamble and James Acaster. We listened to the episode with Toheeb Jimoh (from Ted Lasso), and he was saying all the things that make up his dream menu. He mentioned a Nigerian restaurant that he really likes. I text my friend, who is Nigerian, to see if she had heard of it, and her thoughts on it.
She then insisted that Chris and I should join them at theirs to try Nigerian food.
And so that’s what we did last night. It was such a fantastic evening. The food was delicious, and an exciting voyage of discovery. The company was exceptional too.
I’ve suggested that we should all go to Enish or Bukka, and give them a try, now Chris and I have more of an idea of what Nigerian cuisine is about.
Chris and I are a bit basic in our habits. We’ve never even had Turkish food. I’ve only just had my first Greek salad within the last 3 years.
Our tastes were mainly Indian food, and English food; shepherds pie, toad in the hole, and ham egg & chips etc (included within that banner is Spaghetti Bolognaise, and Chicken Tikka Masala, because we Brits love nothing more than taking other people’s food and giving them an English twist).
So last night we had a selection of Nigerian dishes to try.
Jollof rice, plantain, fried rice and salmon, and a beautiful salad. It was all delicious. Big fan of jollof rice now. Firey hot and absolutely delicious.
I am a ridiculously fussy eater, but it was fantastic to try new things.
Followed by hot apple pie and ice cream for dessert. Because what we Brits lack in spice in our mains, we more than make up for in our national puddings and pies.
Our friends said that most desserts are imported to Nigeria rather than invented there, apart from Puff Puff, which are little donut type treats.
And my darling friend bought us some Supermalt and a bottle of Nigerian Fanta, which we had heard on the podcast is far superior to what we get here. Which I have a sneaky suspicion is based on the sugar content, but it was delicious nonetheless.
We had such a good evening. We must return the favour. I’m just trying to perfect a menu for it, without a hint of bland in sight…or taste. ;)
My friend packed us off home with leftovers too, so I was able to enjoy the new food today too. :)
I hope you have a wonderful UK bank holiday weekend, See you on the other side. :)
Xx