What I Wore Wednesday: The Original Carrie Bradshaw

I took several outfit photos this week and was quite proud of myself for getting outfits together on more than one occasion and I even bought new shoes (on sale for £11!) but then I got some not great news. My Grandma Bess had a stroke this weekend. She was lucky that there was an aide there helping her with medicines when it happened and she was taken to the hospital straight away but obviously having a stroke at 90 is never a good thing.

These are the times that being an expat sucks ass (pardon my French). To top it all off my passport is still with the UKBA while my application is processed so I can't fly home; I'm not allowed to leave the country or my application will be cancelled and I won't be allowed back into the UK. I can't leave without a passport though. I've put in a request to expedite my application without prejudice but there are no guarantees.

I like to think my Grandma was the original Carrie Bradshaw. She had amazing hats and shoes and furs and to this day still loves fashion and beauty. She is a big fan of What I Wore Wednesday and always talks to me about my different outfits when we catch up on the phone.  I'm sure my Mom, sister and I all get our love of fashion from her so today I'm making What I Wore Wednesday all about her. Here's to my fashion icon and her recovery and hopefully I will be able to travel and see her soon.

Red is totally her power colour

With my Grandpa Joe in her fur trimmed swing coat- My Mom wore this coat when she
 was pregnant with me and I wore it when I was pregnant with Blondie Boy!

At the beach with her girlfriends

With her best friend Sylvia--what don't we get photos like this with our BFF's now?

I love that my Grandma had red nails on her wedding day!

Get well soon Bessala xoxo

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What I Wore Wednesday: Outfit Remix

What a difference a week makes! The bug has been banished from our house (fingers crossed) and things are headed back to normal. Most importantly my hair is less horrible as I got my hair did on Valentine's Day! My hairdresser gave me a hard time as it's been over 4 months since I last saw her and my hair was unintentionally ombre or if you want to be mean about it my roots were wicked awful. I just got more highlights, a few inches off and some long layers but I think it's made a big difference and my hair looks a lot thicker and healthier.

NotBlondeHusband had to work Valentine's Day night so I didn't get to flick my new locks about then but we did have a belated Valentine's Day dinner out on Saturday. While I'm feeling much better about my hair I'm still feeling a bit meh about my body if I'm honest. I had one of those "I have nothing to wear" moments even though I have two dressers, a closet and several suitcases full of clothes---we've all been there right?

We were short on time so I didn't get to hum and haw about what to wear so I went with the first thing I tried on which was a re-mix of a few outfits I've worn recently:

Black Asymmetric Shoulder Stud Top-River Island

Old Navy The Flirt Skinny Jeans
Black Folded Chain Trimmed Ankle Boots-New Look

Spike Cluster Earrings-New Look

So you can see my hair is still long but not too scraggly! I also got a gel manicure almost two weeks ago with a black polish and silver glitter overlay. I am loving it and it hasn't chipped at all yet which for me is great value for money.

I've been in a bit of funk lately--I don't know if it is everyone planning summer holidays (we still don't have our passports back from the UKBA so we can't travel abroad) or that I've put back on the weight I lost last fall but I'm just meh. I normally find that getting my nails and hair done help me feel a bit more like me again but I still haven't quite shaken it. What do you do when you are feeling a bit blah about yourself? 

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What I Wore Wednesday: BAFTA Red Carpet

So the sickness has hit our house. Blondie Boy had an upset stomach all night Sunday, then passed it on to NBH Monday night and I came home from a business meeting yesterday and couldn't move out of bed without feeling like I was going to puke. We were a pathetic bunch what can I say. There's been a bug going around Glasgow apparently and we just all took it in turn.

So instead of letting What I Wore Wednesday slip again I'm going to share my favourite (and not so favourite) outfits from the BAFTAs! My favourite thing about award season is the dresses (unless you count Amy Poehler and Tina Fey hosting the Golden Globes because that was amazing) is that wrong?

Anne Hathaway in Burberry: I'm generally not a fan of her or of short sleeved dresses but I love the studs on this dress. I love the simplicity of how she styled it, too.

Jennifer Lawrence in Christian Dior: I really want to like this dress but I just want to grab the top and pull it up! I don't know if the bodice is just too short or if she's just not busty enough but the top half just isn't working for me.

Juno Temple in Stella McCartney: I have no idea who she is and I normally get all weird about people wearing white when it's not a wedding but I love the simple but elegant monochromatic dress.

Helen Mirren's hair: I don't know what I love more; that the octogenarian dyed her hair pink OR that she did it because she saw Sophie do it on ANTM! If Helen Mirren watches ANTM then I'm pretty sure I don't have to feel bad about watching it! 

Who were your favourite and least favourite?

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Silent Sunday

What I Wore Wednesdays: Pattern Mixing and Boots

I can remember a time that I would never even consider pattern mixing but since starting What I Wore Wednesday over a year ago I've been trying all sorts of new outfit combinations. I love finding new outfit inspirations and trying things that are out of my comfort zone. I really hope that y'all feel the same way and are finding new trends and making new fashion friends. Oy that sounded corny but you know what I mean!

Anyway here I am mixing three different patterns in one outfit or, if you count the studded bag as well, four! I never would have done even a year ago!  I've had this sparkly striped sweater since before Blondie Boy was born but I've had my flowered Docs since 1995! Talk about shopping in your own closet :)

Sparkly Striped Top-HM

Studded Hobo Bag-New Look

Skull Scarf-Chelsea

Booty Up Bootcut Trousers-Hold Your Haunches

Flowered Boots-Doc Martens

I'd attempted to curl my hair before the meeting but it just looked a hot mess so I ended up clipping it back. I'm not a fan of my hair pulled back but what are you going to do. If I asked Blondie Boy how I'd look he'd say "as cool as a cucumber" but that is his general rebuke when you tell him anything is a hot mess :)

I've been dying for a studded bag ever since I feel into lust with Karen's RomyGold Drew Hobo on SMASH last season but since I don't have an extra $500 kicking about I've been looking for a more affordable option. It's not exactly what I wanted but I can fit my iPad in it for meetings and it's inexpensive enough that I don't have to worry about ruining it. Can anyone tell me what the deal is with the extra, non-detachable, long strap though? I've seen it on a lot of bags this season and I just don't get it!

I do love my flowered Docs and I'm trying to find the best way to wear them; back in the day I wore them literally with everything but I feel that when you are 15 you can get away with that but not so much now. Since they are broken in to the extreme they are super comfy so I do want to wear them more often.

The weather in Glasgow has been awful so we've all been rocking boots lately. Even NBH has gotten his own pair of guy's boots from Debenhams and Blondie Boy has sheepskin style boots of his own. It's nice to keep your feet dry and stylish!

NBH had been struggling and really only had either gym shoes or dress shoes so his new boots are a fab inbetween option when he wants to wear something nicer than gym shoes but not shoes he'd wear with a suit. Debenhams actually had a huge range of men's boots on sale so he was spoiled for choice but ended up with these brown leather ankle boots from Red Herring. How cute does BB's tiny boots look next to his Dad's giant boots? Hopefully we'll get a chance to all go out and rock our boots together soon!

The MAD Blog Awards are open for nominations again; I won't tell you what to do but if you read my ramblings and feel so inclined you are more than welcome to nominate my blog! If you don't want to no biggie but if you do just enter http://transatlanticblonde.blogspot.com in whatever category you see fit! Nominations close February 18th.

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Transatlantic Blonde was provided NBH's boots for the purpose of review but he chose them himself. Have you ever tried to get your husband to wear something he didn't want to? All opinions are our own.

Silent Sunday