ADVENTURES

Chatsworth House

Chatsworth House

After the Amsterdam experience, I finally got the message that travel is not my passion. Being a semi-sensible human I cancelled trips booked to Vienna, Barcelona and Venice. I still wanted to do something as a break from the routine was required. A change of scenery...

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Adventures In Lumpy Land

Adventures In Lumpy Land

Some travel guides will give the cultural highlights, some will tell you the hottest places to see and be seen, others tell you how to live like a local. There'll be none of that on the Fizzy.     The beloved and I went to Amsterdam for a whirlwind 48 hours....

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Death To The Shoulds

Death To The Shoulds

The beloved and have just got back from a mini break in Amsterdam. It was great to have time together but from the moment we got that one thing became really clear: I do not travel well. I wrote about that here but really it is not my forte.     I got myself...

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Around The World In 80 Cakes

Around The World In 80 Cakes

My friend Roger has just got back from Nepal. Apparently, there's a mountain that everyone thinks is pretty impressive. He told me that I should go. The place, the people, the atmosphere, the big hill are all things that you must experience.     I love...

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CELEBRATE

How To New Years Eve

How To New Years Eve

I am not a New Year party animal. I am a New Year hibernator. There is no way I am getting dolled up, leaving the house and doing enforced joy in a crowded pub. If that's your bag, have it and enjoy.   I do believe in celebrating the New Year though. There is...

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A Present From Fizzy

A Present From Fizzy

It's Christmas Eve, Father Christmas is on his way, it's time to relax and look forward to the joy to come.     Here's a Christmas playlist of the Fizzy advent for you.     Wishing you all the fizziest Christmas from all at Camp Fizzy.  ...

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Oh My Head!

Oh My Head!

Aren’t hangovers fun! They don’t warn you about this in the Christmas ads, do they?

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Pet Presents

Pet Presents

Christmas – the time to buy daft things for our four-legged friends.

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Christingle

Christingle

Remembering the Christingle services of my childhood. This one carries a nostalgia warning.

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John Lewis Christmas Ad

John Lewis Christmas Ad

For those of you with tinsel in your heart and fairy lights behind the eyes, we get to see the John Lewis Christmas ad tomorrow!!!   Apparently, it's a goody. Not sure you can beat dogs on trampolines or the little boy who couldn't wait to give out his presents...

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Bonfire Night

Bonfire Night

When I was a child celebrating Bonfire Night at home was a thing. A few friends round, a box of fireworks from the newsagent, torches galore, gloves and a bucket of water for the sparklers.     As health and safety has got better people are more likely to go...

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It’s Fizzyween!

It’s Fizzyween!

Fizzyween is upon us!     The monkeys asked for their own holiday so they've got it. At their request, there is a gold twig tree covered in pink spiders, there will be sausage rolls, chilli and spider cake. I'll be drowning sweets in jelly. They can bob for...

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Here Comes Fizzyween!

Here Comes Fizzyween!

The monkeys are on holiday with their Mum for Halloween and they've asked that we celebrate it before they go.     I've always done Halloween with school or Brownies and I trick or treated as a child but Halloween has got bigger in the last ten years and my...

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Don’t Tell Anyone…

Don’t Tell Anyone…

...but Christmas is coming. I know, I know. Actually, I must stop faking it. I am so excited I'm going cross-eyed. I start my Christmas present spreadsheet on Boxing Day as I gather ideas for people by what we've talked about on Christmas Day. I've been planning our...

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Birthday Cake

Birthday Cake

My husband mocks me about my war time cookery ability. Not that I can cook a meal from an ounce of liver, powdered egg and a home grown carrot, but that I can cook in a war zone.   I am daft enough to think that the chaos around me will not affect me in the...

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Three years ago…

Three years ago…

So three years ago today I met the husband. We met online after I experienced a short but enlightening period of internet dating. The puppeteer, the foot fetishists and the leader of men are fodder for my future sitcom. The husband was different. He used his real...

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Turning 40

Turning 40

Turning 40 was awesome. The cliches of getting better with age feel very true for me. I met my beloved at 37 and became a stepmum and homeowner very quickly after that. We married when I was 38 and 40 was a time for appreciating how far I'd come.   Celebrating my...

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CULTURE

Less

Less

Casually recommending a Pulitzer prize-winning novel.

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Old Broads

Old Broads

I once had a meltdown in a cinema in Warrington because I would never be Diane Keaton. Stylish, talented, kooky, neurotic and a tiny bit ditzy. My long-suffering bestie pointed out that I was ruthlessly efficient, organised, controlled and ditzy was not in my DNA. It...

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The Post

The Post

The freedom of the press, feminism and finding your voice all in less than two hours.

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Christmas Film

Christmas Film

Die Hard (1988)   It's Christmas Eve, the monkeys are asleep, you are waiting for Father Christmas and you can almost hear the sleigh bells. It's time to crank out the best Christmas film of all time. Seriously, you don't want to be watching It's A Wonderful Life...

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FOOD

Accidental Adventures In Vegetarianism

Accidental Adventures In Vegetarianism

When I met the beloved he was vegetarian. He was living in a vegan commune at the time and we joke that I tempted him into marrying me through a killer combination of hot water, fluffy towels and bacon butties. I strongly suspect that as The Untouchables teaches us -...

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Childish Tastes

Childish Tastes

I like food. I spend a lot of time thinking about it, love eating it and will ask unsettlingly detailed questions about what you have tea. Tell me about a new restaurant and I will be there. I am always good for a recommendation and I usually have to apologise as I...

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Rescue Cake

Rescue Cake

Making cake is a delicate art. This is what happens when a non-delicate person does it.

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Christmas Treats

Christmas Treats

Oh Christmas! Yes, it's all about mince pies and stollen but really chocolate is where it's at.     Every year we destroy a mountain of Ferrero Rocher. It never happens at any other time of year. Other once a year treats include After Eights which only leads...

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Ginger Cake

Ginger Cake

The end of October signals the start of winter socialising season. This is not the picnics and beer gardens of summer, but the dinner with friends and squeezing in the family visits before the Christmas mania starts. It's a time for pottering about in the kitchen with...

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A Moose For Your Mousse

A Moose For Your Mousse

I'm watching Great British Bake Off and wondering why anyone would get that worked up about pies? The contestants are really talented but I have no truck with getting that stressed about making a cake. Which is why they are on telly and I'm watching it.    ...

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Cheesy Eggs

Cheesy Eggs

I am a great believer that adding cheese to most things improves it.     We had a great breakfast in Amsterdam at Piqniq which was streaky bacon with fried eggs topped with cheese and tomatoes, then grilled, whacked on a baguette and served a powdered...

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Packed Lunch

Packed Lunch

I like food. Big fan of it. Eat it, talk about it, photograph it, plan for it, dream about it.     If we go for a conservative 1,095 meals a year, at least 225 of mine are disappointing. How do I know this? If you work a five day week with five weeks holiday...

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Get Your Bake On

Get Your Bake On

I try to lean towards the minimalist style of cooking and baking. For one thing, I hate fuss, but also my kitchen is tiny and I do not have space for a gadget.     I have had my head turned by the Mason & Cash batter bowls though. It's a mixing bowl with...

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Old Haunts

Old Haunts

The monkeys took the beloved out for a birthday lunch yesterday using the bank of Fizzy.     We went to Elif, a local Turkish restaurant that we love but the monkeys had never been to before. Mini monkey is not adventurous with food but demolished her fish...

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Experimental Bakery

Experimental Bakery

My friend Brian loves spending time in Glastonbury and raves about the bakers, Burns The Bread, there. He tells me that when he's in the area he's a two pasties a day man. I am jealous.     He also tells me that they make Torsy Moorsy fruitcake which is made...

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INSPIRATION

Not In My Right Mind

Not In My Right Mind

I am currently in therapy for my supremely messy brain and as with most things the solution to my problems is simple: I need to stop worrying about stuff I can't control and work on the stuff I can. Genius. Genius. Stone cold genius!     The problem is I've...

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Intentions Not Resolutions

Intentions Not Resolutions

It's New Years Ever. That time when people want to know what you resolve to do next year. The definition of resolve is "settle or find a solution to (a problem or contentious matter)". A couple of things strike me about this. First, if you have a problem or...

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Christingle

Christingle

Remembering the Christingle services of my childhood. This one carries a nostalgia warning.

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Accept, Enjoy, Enthuse

Accept, Enjoy, Enthuse

Inspiration comes from all sources. While mindlessly scrolling through Instagram I spotted a picture of Jeff Goldblum on the Vanity Fair feed. It's a great picture but the caption said that his daily mantra is "accept, enjoy, enthuse". Well!     What a...

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A New Path

A New Path

There are tiny moments in our days when we get to see who we truly are. These can be moments of glory or despair but you are never prepared for them and they always open you up to whatever is next.     I have been struggling for a while with professional...

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International Day Of The Girl

International Day Of The Girl

Watch this:     It is the UN International Day of the Girl. The video tells you all you need to know about what it's like to be a girl.     I know the scale of the problems in the world can feel overwhelming. I take to my bed more often than I care...

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World Mental Health Day

World Mental Health Day

Today is World Mental Health Day and my social media feeds are full of people opening up about how they deal with their mental health. Sharing stories is one of the most helpful things you can do. Helping anyone feel less alone or understood is such a big deal.  ...

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Plastic Is Not Fantastic

Plastic Is Not Fantastic

As a teenager, The Body Shop taught me to reduce, re-use and recycle.  A good strong early awakening that has stayed with me. Our family are good at recycling due to Lady Cargers skills but as we see the effects of climate change there is more we can do.    ...

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Phenomenal Women

Phenomenal Women

Follow my blog with Bloglovin I have an image in my head of what I will look like as I get older. Future me still has short hair but it is greyer. There are laughter lines, tonnes of mascara and red lipstick. I look at ease. I can see the clothes too. Minimalist,...

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NESTING

Slow Down

Slow Down

We bought a house because we had a row. The beloved and I were renting a three-bedroom house a few streets away from where we live now. One morning the chest of drawers holding the monkeys collapsed. It collapsed cartoon style. The sides came in like it was sighing,...

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Changing Perspectives

Changing Perspectives

Some people are blessed with the ability to see the best in everything all the time. They see the opportunities and gifts difficulties bring and make the most of it. Others only see the pain and hardship in life and dwell on that. Some flit between the two either...

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Nooks And Crannies

Nooks And Crannies

We've had a house rejig.   When we moved into our four bedroom house we had the eldest monkey in a bedroom of her own and the middlest and littlest monkey shared a room. The fourth bedroom was used as an office. It was my favourite room. Under the eaves, a little...

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Sleeping On A Cloud

Sleeping On A Cloud

I don't sleep well. I want to but I shoot myself in the foot. I get so tired that I crawl to bed at 9.30 pm. I have no ritual for getting ready for bed so all the events of the day are still bouncing around my head. Come 2 am I am still sorting through my to-do list...

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Do It Yourself

Do It Yourself

My darling Gwen has just become a homeowner. It's been a long process complicated by a difficult sitting tenant but she'd done it. Let's crack open the fizz!     We were talking about what she wanted to do with the house to make it her own. She's in the...

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The Accidentally Glitter Bathroom

The Accidentally Glitter Bathroom

Last year we had a new bathroom fitted. Mum was moving in and our old shower was too high and small for her to use comfortably. At last, we had an excuse to rip out the old black and white bathroom and replace it with something luxurious and elegant!     The...

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Autumn Organisation

Autumn Organisation

I want to hire a skip. A big skip.     I know you should want to spring clean but I can never be bothered. In autumn, I am motivated. I want a clean cosy home for winter. The clutter has built up and it's working on my last nerve. The house is filled with...

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Preparing For The Freeze

Preparing For The Freeze

I would hate to be dramatic but there are some things in life that make me a proper grumpy socks. As a friend once said   "Tired Fizzy = nowty* Fizzy. Hungry Fizzy = nowty Fizzy."   You can add to the list of things that make me grumpy being cold. I am not...

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Weekending Slowly

Weekending Slowly

The weekend is here and I am going to take it slowly.     The temptation at the end of a busy week is to fit in as many tasks and chores as you can "to make next week easier". All our precious time is spent making sure our working time goes smoothly. Which...

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A Good Yarn

A Good Yarn

It's autumn. I know this as the sky has gone grey, it's bucketing down, the heating has come on and my mood has brightened considerably. I am built for this season.     Anyway, as my thoughts turn to seasonal hibernation I begin the hunt for blankets. This...

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Not Moving House

Not Moving House

Hi, my name's Fizzy and I have a Zoopla addiction. I like moving house. I like the sense of satisfaction of creating a new nest. I like the order and control sorting out building work and paint colours gives you. I did not leave home until I was 30 and then moved five...

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Saving The Pennies

Saving The Pennies

Victory is mine! I have just completed two laps of the living room with my winning dance. I deserve cake.   Why? Because Virgin Media decided to stick the price of my bundle up by £3.99 per month and I wasn't having any of it. After 15 minutes of phone hell and a...

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For The Love Of Sheds

For The Love Of Sheds

I'm starting to worry myself. After making the decision to get a summer house for our small yard I have become slightly shed obsessed.   I shouldn't be shocked. Growing up I loved my relatives' sheds. My uncle Joe's shed was a wooden work room that smelled of saw...

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A Room Of One’s Own

A Room Of One’s Own

I am craving space and solitude. I want a meditation cave/reading room/writing space/drinking hang out and there is nowhere for that in the house. I've even thought of using one of the under stairs cupboards as a quiet time nook with a cushioned floor and curtained...

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Give Me Sanctuary

Give Me Sanctuary

Finding space for yourself can be challenging. We live in a four bedroom terrace house. It's big but there are six humans and a dog living here. To quote Madness there is always something happening and it's usually quite loud.   I long for time to potter through...

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Southport Flower Show

Southport Flower Show

My friend Cat is at Southport Flower Show this weekend and I am jealous. This is daft for many reasons. Jealousy is a negative emotion that does not drive us towards love and joy. We all get to spend our time however we chose and I could hop on a train and be there in...

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You Don’t Bring Me Flowers

You Don’t Bring Me Flowers

Unless you are very lucky you may not be brought flowers very often. This is a shame.   I do have a cure for this saddening problem. Buy yourself flowers and do it regularly. I am not advocating sending yourself flowers with a note about how earth-shatteringly...

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STYLE

The Big Chill

The Big Chill

I'm not sure if you've noticed but it's pigging freezing out there at the moment. I can usually tell myself that it's bracing, refreshing or a change from centrally heated clamminess. Not now. It is cold. I am cold. We are cold.     While the shops are...

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Frock Shopping

Frock Shopping

I went party frock shopping yesterday. I am a fan of a frock. I am short, blessed in the boob department and have an arse you could serve tea from. Trousers can make me look lumpy. Not the type of lady lumps that you want, more overstuffed and well-loved sofa. A good...

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A Riot Of Colour

A Riot Of Colour

Over the years I have carefully honed my beauty routine so that it is as unfussy as possible but I still look like me. Tonnes of black eyeliner, mascara and lip balm, or red lipstick when I'm making an effort. I love having a minimal kit as it is just the essentials...

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Freedom Pants

Freedom Pants

I am a child of the 80's. I lived in ill-advised bodysuits and leggings. I still have the scars. Those poppers were lethal. I have been a legging refusenik every since.     As an adult I have a troubled history with pants. I am short and curve so trousers...

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Bambi Eyes

Bambi Eyes

I am a lazy woman and I am fine with that. I want huge doe eyes with big fluttery eyelashes that cause a light breeze when you blink. I cannot be bothered applying false eyelashes on a daily basis. Lash extensions are not for me so I rely on mascara.    ...

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Luxurious Potions

Luxurious Potions

The weather has turned, the heating is on, I can eat mashed potato and it's seasonally appropriate. Get in!     The one downside is that I have really dry skin and it gets worse in cold weather. I am not a woman who can go without body lotion at the best of...

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A Proper Outfit

A Proper Outfit

It's mid-September and my organised thoughts turn to Christmas socialising. Yes, I know but I take the Christmas season seriously and I like a suitably festive diary.     The traditional Christmas do is the time to dress up and crack out the sequins. I...

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Well Loved And Showing It

Well Loved And Showing It

I have a confession to make. I love clothes. They signal who you are, create an armour, provide an easy form of self-expression and at their best are an art form. My wardrobe is a mix of versatile navy basics, breton tops, patterned skirts and glitter. It's heaven....

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A Little Ri-Ri Love

A Little Ri-Ri Love

Rihanna has started a makeup line called Fenty Beauty.   The first advert has been released and I want it all:     How gorgeous is that gold eye shadow that's taken across the temples?     The video is a hymn to diverse beauty in all its...

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Woolly Jumpers

Woolly Jumpers

I know it's still August but we need to face facts: summer didn't really happen. Yes, there was a weekend I wore THE yellow summer dress from M&S and won a water fight but that's it. So, the summer clothes are going in the loft and out comes the autumn/winter...

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A Signature Scent

A Signature Scent

I've always been obsessed with the idea of having a signature style. There is a large section of my book shelves devoted to it. The clarity and simplicity appeals as well as the idea of having an awesomeness uniform.   One part of this is having a signature...

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Wakey Wakey

Wakey Wakey

I have always loved make up. I love how it can make you look. I love how it can make you feel. I love the brain space applying it can give you. I love the camaraderie of sharing make tips and fails with other people. I am, when it comes to make up, an advertiser's...

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Where’s Wally

Where’s Wally

There weather is interesting at the moment. Yesterday, the heating came on automatically. It's August.   It is already time to start thinking about autumn clothes, which is quite nice. I love a floaty dress but I am an autumn/winter woman. Give me tights, a wool...

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Wellibobs

Wellibobs

I love my dog. He is awesome. He's also a bird poo eating idiot but an awesome idiot. I want my dog to have the best doggy life he can. I will deal with vet trips, smelly poos, dog drool, random barking, training, over excited owl cushion humping, the lot.   We...

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30 Wears Campaign

30 Wears Campaign

Sometimes an idea is really simple and it grabs your imagination. I came across the 30 Wears Campaign on Instagram today, which is rubbish of me as it's been around for a while.   The idea is that whenever you buy a new item of clothes you should only purchase...

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Spangly Shoes

Spangly Shoes

I love shoes. I am a fussy but lazy dresser. For years my "don't think, just get up" outfit was a plain navy dress, with black tights and very colourful heels.   Then I fell off the step into a Chinese restaurant (I was not drunk, I was momentarily distracted by...

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Perky

Perky

Some make up items are covetable and sexy, like red lipstick and the blackest mascara. Some are utilitarian work horses such as primer and concealer. Some are overlooked entirely.   I give you, the humble blusher. Lost in a sea of contour, highlight and bronzer,...

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Black Flicky Eyeliner

Black Flicky Eyeliner

I joke that my personality is 97% eyeliner. I am nothing without my eyeliner. This is only because I am so used to seeing my face with all of the eyeliner on it that I think I look a little naked mole rat-esque without it.   Eyeliner is my thing. It is never not...

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TINY DELIGHTS

Thingy!

Thingy!

In which the beloved and I are completely childish. Childish but laughing.

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Hiding Presents

Hiding Presents

You are either a present receiver or a present hunter. Guess which one the Fizzy Pixie is?

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Queen Of Chickens

Queen Of Chickens

There are some ambitions in life that you hold and nurture for a long time. It could be a desire to climb a mountain, run a marathon, pay homage to the King at Graceland. It is something you carry in your soul.     Then there are the ambitions that hit you...

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TUNE OF THE DAY

Sunday Tune

Sunday Tune

Easing you into Christmas with Kate Bush crooning softly for you.

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Monday Tune

Monday Tune

I did trainers and cocktail dresses first but I do love Lily Allen

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Monday Tune

Monday Tune

When the achingly cool becomes the cheesy and you still love it.

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Saturday Tune

Saturday Tune

I'm Wondering by Stevie Wonder     Not sure what it is about Motown that makes me feel autumnal but this one does it.      

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Sunday Tune

Sunday Tune

A housewife who won’t keep going off the rails? Tell your story walking fella…

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Tuesday Tune

Tuesday Tune

There was more to Salt-N-Pepa than leggings, bomber jackets and fabulous earrings.

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Wednesday Tune

Wednesday Tune

Wrote My Way Out by Nas, Dave East, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Aloe Blacc     And I'm back! Get a little sidetracked by the genius of Hamilton and Lin-Manuel Miranda. I will be raving a bit this for some time.      

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Friday Tune

Friday Tune

It’s Friday and David Bowie made records. Do you need another reason to celebrate?

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Saturday Tune

Saturday Tune

Blinded By The Light - Manfred Mann's Earth Band     Good Lord, The Boss can write a tune.             Adi Goldstein

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