Winter is comming

Good evening, well this has been a busy week-end.  Blackheath Guy Fawkes last night were amazing, I can’t believe that this time last year was freezing.  This year not so cold but today was a stark reminder that its getting colder and soon it will be winter and cold.  So time to get ready!!!  First what to wear.....I’ve got lots of ideas that won’t cost you a fortune.  Its time to start wearing all those items in your cupboard you don’t wear because you don’t have anything to wear them with.  Spruce up your boots from last year with some good polish and re-heeling.  Yes I did get my Soft Wear boots from Clarks but what a disappointment they didn’t work comfort wise as they were supposed to.  The balls of my feet were killing me so I returned them for a refund and decided I’d save my money and invest in the good leather ones I have.  On my search to ease the pain in the balls of my feet while wearing high heel boots I discovered in Boots that Scholl have brought out a new inner for highheels called Scholl Orthaheel Slimfit.  They fit in to narrow higheel shoes and don’t squish your toes.  You can return these to Scholl within 30 days for a refund if they don’t work, so I figured they should work but at a price of £23.00 my eyes almost popped out.  I decided a google search was called for and I found them on eBay for £16.00 including postage.  So far so good and I’m walking in ease in all of my highheel boots to work, around and back.  Well worth it and saved me a few 100 quid on new boots.  I love my little outfit I pulled together last week, the lace is the trick and it doesn’t have to be anything fancy even if it’s just cream, cream and black go really well together and look very smart.  The black skirt is one I made and the blouse is from Edgars in SA so quite a few years old and in order not to get my stay ups snagged I always wear long socks over the stay up’s underneath my boots.  I like these ones the little bit of cream lace sticks out and compliments the blouse. 



Nice lace stay ups, long lace socks to protect the stay ups, the cream lace matching the victorian lace blouse, black skirt = new work outfit.



Next your home this winter.  We all know that cold is not our friend and we need to get those bills down while keeping warm.  Now in SA we have no central heating, ran out of electricity one year and still managed to keep warm.  An extra warm jumper, socks, slippers, blanket and hot water bottle do the job if you are staying in one or two rooms.  So you don’t have to have the heating on boiling the whole time.  Remember that it is also better to have it on longer at a lower temperature than short bursts at high temperatures.  Check out this website for tips on insulating your home.  Another thing that is not your homes friend this winter is condensation and damp.  When we first moved into our flat we had terrible condensation, fortunately we were able to manage to change our windows and install double glazing with vents.   It made a huge difference our flat was warmer, bills down, and the humidity problem we had from the condensation drastically improved.  Remember water in the air is not good, so don’t dry your clothes on the radiator, don’t leave water lying around because that evaporation has to go somewhere and it goes into your walls.  On the week-ends air your home out opening the doors and windows.  If you do have condensation on the windows wipe it off straight away.  Another big help is a dehumidifier but these can be pricey so for the long term double glazing with an environmental energy certificate is probably the best way to go.  We have invested in a few  Unibond Stop Humidity, Humidity Absorber as well and these really help.  Next blog, how to spruce up your winter coats so they look new and different.