Boot quest and sights in the sky

There's all this talk of big discounts this week so I have been looking for bargains.

The shops themselves are a bit crazy and, frankly, as I mentioned before about sales, there seems to be little of interest. No matter, there's always online shopping, right? So, armed with my credit card, I set about looking at nail varnish, and also ankle boots that I definitely need. 

There are what look like nice sets of nail varnishes, some in Christmas boxes. But beware with the gift sets: most pots of nail varnish are around 10 ml. These gift pots are 3.75 ml, 2.5 ml, even 1 ml! The average teaspoon is 5 ml so unless you're a child or plan to use your gift varnish just once, forget it! I soon decided that the only proper way to buy makeup is to get your paws on it in a shop. 

The ankle boots, however, produced more interesting results. This week I have been relying on a cheap pair I bought as an emergency last year in Primark in Manchester, UK, after my much loved German-made pair from Tomcat Leather in London became too scuffed and lost a heel block. These cheap ones are comfortable and a nice enough shape but I hate the tapered chunky heel. 

 

So I'm looking for something similar to my old favourite pair, which were these:

                

Ideally, I want quality, and that means spending money. So I spent some hours going through the sites of good shoe makers such as Geox, retailers in Italy such as Rinascente, and even foreign brands such as Clark's, and there were pairs that were high quality and not bad but, again, the style is all-important, especially if a pair costs €120 or more even after Black Friday and new customer discounts. Heel shape and heel height are paramount to me. The inverted kitten heel? - no. Flat heel? - what? no! seriously?! 6-inch stiletto? - sadly, not even when I was clubbing! I want a tapered or at least rounded 3-inch heel. Always.

In the end there was nothing that quite met my criteria. As I was giving up, I bimbled through a cheap retailer's site, Pittarosso, who have lots of stuff that possibly falls apart and pinches but they had perfect styles, perfect heels and also a pair of shoes that remind me of a favourite pair ... and since they do click and collect, which means no awkward moments if the neighbours notice fem shoes arriving, I got three items for the price I would have paid for one. OK, they won't last as long but that, I'm afraid, is shoe retailing in the 21st century. I'll let you know what I think when I've been to my nearest outlet to collect them, which should be within a week.

 

From looking down to looking up

The nights have been very clear this week and I have seen some amazing things in the sky. I even have a stargazing outfit, you know! I saw a fata morgana or mirage, and there's another planet to tick off my list. 

When I went to see the British cemetery at Bordighera I went home by train and the station is right by the beach so you can see the sunset over the sea. But what happened that evening is that far-distant  headlands and islands off the coast that are just on or even just below the horizon appeared stretched upwards and looked like jagged mountains rising from the waves. If you don't know this coast I guess you'll have to take my word for it and my photo, annoyingly, has station furniture in it but here it is. 

 

The evening colours are nice. Here's the Wiki explanation for a fata morgana like this. It's not the only time I've seen such here. In late May at sunset the conditions are such that you can often see the mountaintops of Corsica nearly 250 km away, and these are actually well below the horizon. 

I have also been gazing at Uranus (stop giggling at the back!) and I can say that this is the first time I have ever consciously seen the tiny bluish blob that is actually a massive planet, although people with decent eyesight in dark locations can see it with their naked eyes. 

Try as I might, I can't see it with my own eyes, but frankly I have trouble seeing anything! So these nights I have been lying out late at night on a sunbed with my binoculars in my warm stargazer outfit of ski pants, two fleeces and puffer jacket, those chunky ankle boots and my wig on to keep warm. Wigs are murder in hot weather but on winter nights they come into their own!

If you're interested, Uranus is currently a few degrees south of the famous Seven Sisters or Pleiades cluster in Taurus. In Western Europe it is just south of the zenith (overhead) at around midnight.

 

Image from Stellarium software

The other aerial phenomenon this week is mosquitoes! We've had next to none this summer and now that winter is almost on us I've been pestered every evening. I hate being woken by the whine in my ear and the pain of a new bite. One little beast ate half my face the other night and thrashing around at four in the morning dealing with an attack is no joke. I keep the wall at the head of my bed unadorned and painted a bare white. This is the killing zone, a bare landscape that no mozzie can hide on. Now do you see why I need better, more robust makeup for my face? It's to hide their little toothmarks!

Eh? What's that? Mosquitoes don't have teeth? Believe me, these ones do!

This species also have sausage-shaped bodies with rusty brown stripes, a bit like overweight prisoners in jail suits. The little whining deliquents!

 

Makeovers and photoshoots part 2

A year ago I posted about my makeovers and photoshoots at the Boudoir dressing service and was going to post about subsequent makeovers and photos this week but I'll do it next month. This is because I feel tribute needs to be paid to Charlotte Sparkle's bridal makeover and photoshoot on her blog, Still in the Pink Fog, and it's never appropriate to upstage a bride! 

Seriously, Lotte planned her makeover and photoshoot thoroughly and the results were stunning. Girls, this is how it should be done. Lotte's wonderful story and gorgeous photos are here: Bridal Makeover and Photoshoot. Many congratulations to her for a well prepared and well executed session.

 

Blogroll update

I've added Michelle's interesting site Between Genders to the blogrooll on the right. More than just a blog, she has a lot of useful thoughts, experiences and knowledge to share there. Thanks for your thoughtful comments here too, Michelle. 

I'll see if I can get the awkward software on Blogger to place this site in position whenever it's updated. It's always a pest to do.

Sadly, I've now taken down the links the Mandy's blogs, From "Me" to "Mandy" on Blogger and Mandy's Miscellany on Wordpress as she was having too much difficulty with both platforms that she hasn't been able to post for a couple of years. Mandy has moved from Maryland to Tennessee to be closer to "the grands" and seems to be well. You can still find her and her amazing painted nails on Flickr.

 

A dip in the archives

I haven't dipped in the archives for ages. I mentioned going to Tomcat Leather in London and buying boots on the day I also bought shoes from Geox. That was in 2014 and there was a lot of meeting up with other girls and restaurants to visit: Two Days of What I Do Best.

 

Comfortable Geox low wedge shoes in cream by the Somerset House fountains, London

Sue x