A faded prima donna

I bought myself a couple of new dresses in the Asos sale the other day 

This was one of them.  I'm such a sucker for a graphic print.  I've been spending money like it's going out of fashion lately.  I know it's because I'm just bored and seeking something to distract me. Shopping I can do from my laptop while rocking the baby to sleep with my foot.  Unlike most hobbies one might explore which require a lot of time and your full attention, two things of which I have precious little to give at the moment.

I did however, find the time to get my rats mane cut the other day.

I also put one of those hair dye removers on it which brought up the red a few shades to a sort of caramelly, strawberry blonde colour.  It's a bit weird and I'm not sure I like it.  Just not sure where to go next.

Anyhoo, did you see Glasto?  Were you there?  If you were, I'm sooo jealous.  I generally consider myself a bit past the whole festival thing but this time around I would have given my eye teeth to be there on Saturday night to see this band.

Instead I was at home, on the sofa jiggling my little chap on my knee and pondering how many ways my life has changed ;)

Man, I forgot how much love I have for Metallica

What were your highlights?

I'm done with Sergio

Do you like this picture of half of my face?

OK just needed a photo to start the post.  

So it's time to come clean.  I've changed my username.  Whatevs.  When I first joined Blogger many moons ago I just came up with the first punchy little pseudonym I could think of because I never thought I'd end up having a blog of my own so it wouldn't matter that much.  Hence Lucy Nation was born (the origins of which are somewhere in the film Carry On Doctor in case you're interested - where else!)  But you know it ends up being quite complicated and you actually feel as though you're deceiving people.  Never my intention.  So from hereonin I will be using my actual name.  Well, sort of.

Hello, I'm Sarah Jane, nice to meet you.

It's not the only thing that may change around here.  I'm in a rut.   Not just with this blog but with so many things.  My hair being the main one.  Stay tuned...

xxx

It felt good to be out of the rain

Hello there

Here I am in my back yard amongst the straggly (okay, dead) plants

It's the school holidays and my Little Miss has gone to Shropshire for a couple of days to visit her auntie and uncle.  Today, I was determined to actually get out of my pyjamas and out of the house, so the Mister and I took Master L out for breakfast. 

Cardi - Asos sale

Skirt & necklace - Dotty P's sale

Tights - fancy dress shop

Shoes - Ebay

Brooch - charity shop

About a month ago, just before the birth of my lil guy, I was sent the very bag I am sporting to review by a lady named Jocelyn at Sammydress

I call it my 'horse with no name' bag

On browsing the site I was struck by how many cheap pretty dresses and shoes I would be able to buy if I was a size 8 and had size 4 feet.  Unfortunately my post baby size 16-18 curves and size 7's are a stretch too far but if you are lucky enough to be all petite and doll-like then it might be worth checking out.  I love the bag apart from the fact that the shoulder strap broke the first time I used it, doh!

So how is everyone?

My Little guy is 4 weeks old this week and I could write a whole post on how amazing he is but you know that's not my style, right?!  Me and the Mister are in the 'not quite adjusted to the sleep  depravation' phase.  Your body does strange things during this phase, like shivers uncontrollably even in a centrally heated room.  I know there is a general assumption emanating from certain elements of the media that would have you believe that pregnancy, childbirth and life bringing up young children is a beautiful picturesque roller coaster ride to be celebrated and enjoyed like the healthy breakfast of granola and organic yoghurt, which is consumed each morning as part of a healthy, balanced breast feeding diet, which in turn miraculously makes your mummy tummy disappear and your figure snap back into shape.  Bah!  You know what, it is wonderful, but it is also horrendously emotionally and physically exhausting.  For my part, I am just taking each day as it comes.  Mainly surviving on quick chocolate hits and full sugar coke to keep me going.

Just keeping it real

Having Netflix also helps with the crazy hours

There is no order in my room

At the moment I am stuck in renovation hell.  The master bedroom is currently in the process of having a false ceiling fitted due to the existing ceiling becoming unstable.  This follows hot on the heels of 6 weeks of fitting out the attic and a full replastering of the bedroom walls.  Needless to say my home looks nothing like the above picture of fragrant vintage darling Pearl Lowe in her perfect vintage bedroom in her perfect vintage home.  My house is dust ridden and in a continuous state of upheaval, putting paid to my increasing urges to nest. 

I am trying to overlook my personal frustration by focusing on the end result.  To that end, I have spent many a spare hour on Pinterest, Tumblr, Flickr etc, seeking out inspiration.  Those of you who have followed this blog for a while will know I can't resist a bit of bad taste.  The look I am aiming for could be described as 'kitschy boudoir stripped down' or 'kitschy boudoir lite' if you will.  I want the best of both worlds.  I want flamingos and lurid 70's florals set against a backdrop of pure white walls and furniture.   I want clean lines and lightness accented with candy pink, turquoise and orange.  I haven't found any pictures that are exactly what I am after so I have put together a collection of images that have inspired me in different ways* Hopefully putting them together in one place might give me a coherent 'moodboard' to work from.

Any further sources of inspiration/links you think I might like would be gratefully received.  I can't wait to share the finished product with you.

*All photos found on Tumblr apart from 6-9 found here, 10 & 11 found here & 15 found here

If any of these images are yours please email me and I will be more than happy to credit you :)

Inspiration: Nineties Girlpop 2

I enjoyed reading the comments on part 1 of this post.  It's funny how the mention of one band or artist triggers memories of a whole load of others.  There were so many artists that kept coming to mind when the idea for this post was in its embryonic stages that I couldn't have included them all.  Instead I opted for the ones that struck a chord with me, just not necessarily for the calibre of the music.   As one commenter observed "Some music just doesn't stay with you, it's too firmly rooted in its time"  I wholeheartedly agree.  But it's OK to get nostalgic once every now and then

Shakespears Sister

I loved them!  Named after the Smiths song of the same name, a fact which was lost on my 11 year old self, as was the Baby Jane aesthetic, but I was unmistakably drawn to the theatrics.  I have 'Smash Hits' and 'The Chart Show' to thank for bringing them to my attention.  Siobhan Fahey remains my favourite member of Bananarama.  Let's not forget that Shakespears Sister produced some very radio worthy tunes.  Even though I didn't really like 'Stay'.  I preferred this one

Voice of the Beehive

My sister liked Voice of the Beehive.  I wasn't too aware of them at the time but had I been, I would have probably been a fan.  I remember this song being on Top of the Pops

Dubstar

The 60's dreampop thing was huge in the 90's.  Sarah Blackwood of Dubstar was another proponent of this.  All industrial eyelashes and helium vocals.  Dubstar's second album 'Goodbye' was the soundtrack to one of my first episodes of what I thought at the time was heartbreak.  I think the songs stand up even now.  And apparently the band have reformed and a new album is on the cards...
    

Fluffy

I was a bit older by this point.  It was 1996 and I had started to realise that I was really into girls in bands.  This band was getting some airplay on the Mark Radcliffe show on Radio 1 and their sound, and their look was right up my street.  In retrospect, a group of rather posh 19 and 20 year olds singing hardbitten songs of emotional abuse and domestic violence doesn't quite ring true.  Nevertheless, they were the perfect antidote to the stage school pop garbage filling the charts at the time and I was quite the fan.  I still occasionally look up their stuff on You Tube

Inspiration : Nineties Girlpop

Because, you know as much as I love her, it didn't begin and end with Courtney Love!  Lately I've been musing on some of the female fronted bands from the nineties that inspired me through my pre-teen and teenage years

St Ettienne

Sarah Cracknell was the perfect frontwoman for this 60's inspired helium vocalled dreampop band.  They churned out some impressive tunes in the early nineties, and of course the sequins and feathers sealed the deal




Shampoo (uh oh):-

Jacqui & Carrie, a coule of schoolgirls who ran a Manic Street Preachers fanzine and later went on to form their own pop double act with a hint of riot grrl.  Brattish and abrasive and not everyone's cup of tea.  Not even mine if I'm honest. But I did love these girls' style, more than I cared to admit.  And I'm pretty sure they coined the phrase 'girlpower' before the apocalyptic emergence of the Spice Girls




Alishas Attic:-

Style over substance?  Yeh probably.  Best known for the ubiquitous 'I Am, I Feel'.  Alisha's Attic had one standout successful album 'Alisha Rules The World" then kind of slowly faded into insignificance.   I bought it and spent more time studying the CD artwork than I did playing the music.  These girls had style and in the days before broadband internet the only way to absorb that was album artwork and the NME.  I particularly adored the way they did their make up

And I wanted to live in the flat in this video

Alisha's Attic - I Am I Feel by lucky33 There are more where that came from.  I may yet do a part 2. Any memories here?

The World's End... a Merciful Release

So I was sitting on the sofa last night with my head in my laptop when Mr N says "Simon Pegg was wearing a Sisters of Mercy t-shirt in that film advert".  So, being a longtime sucker for this band as regular readers will know, I thought I'd look it up 

Sure enough...

There it was in all it's glory

I've always had a soft spot for Simon Pegg ever since he was Tim the kidult in 90's sitcom Spaced 

And it seems he is also a fellow ex-goth

Check out the Eldritch-esque glasses

I've seen this t-shirt now advertised on sites using the film as a selling point.  For anyone who is late to the party on this, where have you been suckas?!

So The World's End is the last in the 'Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy' following on from Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz.


I wore the Merciful Release logo proudly on t-shirts bought from various goth shops in Camden High Street.  I even had a SoM pendant which I wore around my neck like a badge of honour.   Being totally disillusioned with the popular 'alternative' scene of the time (Limp Bizkit and Papa Roach anyone?) I looked longingly to Mr Eldritch and his assorted musical gadgetry for a lifeline.  I was gonna form my own all female band then team up with my musical soulmate (as I thought he was then) and save the world.  Then we'd live happilly ever after in Berlin.  

Such a straightforward plan, I can't think why it never  materialised.  Maybe cos it turned out, he's a bit short for me

This is for anyone who needs an antidote to the summer and it's obligatory upbeat pop tunes

She don't use jelly

I thought I'd show you my new floral frock from Primarni which I wore it for an anniversary party at the weekend

It's a bit nice init.  I'm a sucker for a floral print!  These pictures were taken when we nipped out to get cash on the night.  As you can see it was fairly cold and windy 

Dress - Primark
Leggings - no idea
Sandals - Dotty P's
Cardi - Discount brands shop
Return to Oz Key necklace - Zara Taylor

Those of you who've commented on my changing hair colour, your eyes do not deceive.  It was black, then it was sandy brown, then it was plum,  now it seems to have faded to a dark cherry colour.  A complex but mundane story involving a very indecisive woman and a lot hair colour removal product! 

I expect it will be an ongoing saga!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I came back from my recent jaunt to France with only a nail varnish and a magazine. 

Albeit a very nice OPI nail varnish in a perfect shade of candy pink (as modelled above)

It did however mean that I had holiday spends left over, woop!   I decided to stay in holiday mode and blow the rest on frivolous pretties which I thought I'd share

A collection of glorious pastel nail paints from Models Own and 'Cherry In The Air' by Escada. 

I've also accumulated some charity shop treasures in the last couple of months

1.  The cutest mini trays, perfect for trinket storage.  2.  Pillowcases and tablecloth from the 25p each box.  3. Vintage children's books.  4.  Vintage books.  5.  A pair of gloriously tacky plastic baskets. 

Not too bad eh?

Glasto is upon us.  Whether you're braving the festival or watching it from the comfort of your living room - enjoy! xxx