We love: The Dog and the Wardrobe
We have yet another New Favourite Part of London, the area around Broadway Market in Hackney, where we went this week to visit The Dog and the Wardrobe, a props and furniture store tucked away in Regent Studios on Andrew’s… Read More
Middleagedmum.com: Fashion Nirvana
Clearing out our attic recently, in preparation for building work, found me rifling through old diaries from when I was 16, (oh the angst, the innocence and the constant lying to my parents!!), reading piles of old letters (no-one does … Read More
Middleagedmum.com: how to have a stress free Christmas
Image by Norman Rockwell
This week we were sent a press release from Lisa Wyn, CEO of Coaching for Dads, on how to have a stress free Christmas. Research has found that 9.58 am is the time of the first… Read More
Style icon: Madelaine Albright*
*Actually it’s her use of a good pin (brooch to the British)
Madelaine Albright got her first job (after bringing up her daughters) at 39, which sets her up as a great example for women going back to work after… Read More
We love: crochetdermy
I have been stalking eBay for weeks now, in the quest for a stags head. The teens are disgusted and think I have finally gone completely mad. The swan collection has taken over the mantelpiece and I fear taxidermy… Read More
We love: Christmas decorations
Teenage sons and I hung our Christmas decorations yesterday. Decorations are not surprisingly, my domain and I usually run the show, dictating colour schemes and general style. However, this year I felt a wee bit sidelined due to middle and youngest son… Read More
middleagedmum.com: the Christmas concert
It’s Friday night and we are sitting in a massive theatre in deepest North London, there are teenagers everywhere shrieking, whooping and shouting. I have just been to the Ladies and have never seen so many girls in front of… Read More
The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan
It’s not often you find me sobbing on the Piccadilly Line on the way to work, but I’ve been reading The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan. I know that doesn’t sound like a good recommendation for a book, but it… Read More
Breakfast with: Claudia Winkelman
This week, along with some other bloggers and journalists, we were invited to have breakfast with people American Express and Claudia Winkleman. American Express were promoting their new Express Rewards Card and Claudia is their spokesperson.
Over breakfast at the super… Read More
Shopping with experts: Whistles christmas jumper
This is Nic Passmore, design director at Whistles, wearing our favourite Christmas jumper. We spotted Nic in this at the recent press day for Whistles SS2010 range and she looked lovely (accessorised with that essential glass of champagne, you’ll notice)… Read More
Readers kitchens: Adelle from H for Home
Who: Adelle & Justin, co-owners of online shop H is for Home – and ‘Fudge’ of course – our 4 year old Weimaraner.
Where: Todmorden, a small town situated in the Pennines – on the Lancashire/Yorkshire border.
The house was built… Read More
Shopping with experts: Jaeger’s Beatrix Ong boots
This has definitely been the season of the boot and if you buy one thing before this winter is over, can we suggest it is a pair of ankle/calf/full length ones as there really are some terrific shapes around. We… Read More
Simple pleasures: curated shelves
It seems that not everyone spends ages curating their shelves, which seems strange to us! Isn't it just a given that the things around your house need to be arranged into complimentary groups, either by theme and/or colour?
I recently realised… Read More
We love: Japanese stationery
Two fabulous bits of stationery picked up this week in Tokyo, where half of TWR was with the day job. No one does stationery like the Japanese, and whenever we are lucky enough to go there we stock up like… Read More
Readers kitchens: Ms Marmitelover
Who: Ms Marmitelover
Where: Kilburn
What do you do in your kitchen and who with? I cook for The Underground Restaurant, a restaurant I started in my living room. I am one of the pioneers and leading lights of this… Read More
Where to go for a good Christmas market
So back to the Christmas market in Brussels, where we found ourselves last Saturday with our away-day tickets from Eurostar. Now we love markets and had never been to the Brussels one before, so expectations were high, and guess what? It… Read More
Simple pleasures: hand written instructions
I was clearing out the attic the other day and came across an old cookery book I had bought at a car boot sale. Inside, was a Polaroid taken at a shoot I styled many moons ago (how dated the… Read More
The Women’s Room guide to: biscuits and chocolate in Brussels.
Antique chocolate praline moulds at Planete Chocolat in Brussels
You practically fall over chocolate and biscuit shops in Brussels and It’s amazing that everyone who lives there isn’t the size of a house. After a day spent shopping in Brussels I’ve concluded… Read More
Alternative Christmas shopping: make your own Christmas
My Sugarland is one of our favourite shops in London with it’s intelligent mix of vintage and new labels and beautiful displays. So we were delighted when they told us about their ‘Make your own Christmas’ event coming up on… Read More
We love: birds for Christmas
We came across this amazing window display in Bahasa on Columbia Road recently, and loved their original take on decorating for Christmas. The tiny plastic birds are covered in real feathers and make a bold statement when grouped together, perched… Read More
Sample sale at Elm
Our friends at Elm are having a sample sale (we've written about them before here) and wondered if our readers would like to come along. The sale will consist of samples, current autumn clothing and other odds and ends, including… Read More
Christmas book wish list
Somehow it feels wrong to buy coffee table books for yourself, it's just a little over indulgent and flash. So when someone asks what we'd like for Christmas we usually have a list of huge OTT books we'd love to… Read More
Shopping with experts: Party dressing at Topshop
How fabulous is Topshop Oxford Circus at the moment? Jane went in last week and twittered about how she was buying age-inappropriate clothing from Topshop and loving it, so today I popped in to check out what she saw. There… Read More
We love: make do and mend at 40 Winks
We spent a really enjoyable evening last week with Bea and Clarie, the women behind Make Do and Mend. They invited journalists and bloggers along to the amazing 40 Winks Hotel to sample some crafts and launch their creative workshops.
We… Read More
We love: The Fabulous Michelle
I was sent this totally fabulous and very over-the-top bag from Kay in New York this week, who called it the 'our lady of Obama bag' which I thought was very funny. Ignoring the kitchness, it is actually a fabulously designed bag,… Read More
Going grey: are you brave enough?
In the last few months I have decided that £100 every six weeks is just too much money to spend on my hair and have taken to using a £6.99 hair dye from the supermarket. Ironically, I have never had… Read More
Shopping with experts M&S (part two) Lingerie
Apart from seeing the clothes up close and early, the other great highlight of a press day like the M&S one we went to last week is speaking to an expert. We spoke to Soozie Jenkinson, who is head of… Read More
Style icon: Caroline Baker
Journalist Caroline Baker has always been somewhat of an idol of ours. One of the first people to recognize the importance of street style and to encourage women to dress for themselves rather for men, we have always felt an… Read More
Shopping with experts: M&S (part one) dresses for summer
We went to the Marks & Spencer press day last week, to see the summer 2010 range and we loved the dresses and lingerie. The idea of these events is to present the range in the best possible way to… Read More