Hong Kong Thelma!

I went to HK for 5 nights last week. My friend sells jewellery so I went with her as she needed to restock. Yes I know, I make these sacrifices.

Anyway, we shopped and shopped and shopped. HK is shopping heaven! The highlight was a day trip to China to shop. I bought so much stuff (though not as much as her but at least she sells it!) So I got pearls galore and you can ask them to make up any necklace you like so I got a couple of unique necklaces which was great fun. I got loads and loads of costume jewellery - about 15 pairs of earrings, 3 bags - one fake D&G for a mere £14 which is leather and looks real. And two white bags - one is an evening bag with loads of big sparkly jewels on it and one is a sequin and white beach bag which I love. 3 purses because one is never enough. We were in this shopping mall for 12 hours. Somehow the time flew by. We only saw about 10% of the shops. I've never seen anything like it. I will try and post some pics at some point but it's very hard to take good pics of jewellery.

In Hong Kong I bought loads of silk stuff - little bags, boxes to put jewellery in etc. And I got some semi precious stone bracelets which my fortune teller (hilarious reading) told me would be lucky!

Everything is so cheap and it's all really good fun (though it was very hot). So HK - fabulous shopping destination ladies.

Fake tan report

Well. Now I know what ladies who lunch do all day. What a complete faff and I smell funny. And stupid paper knickers that cover nothing so what's the point?

Anyway, she exfoliated all over which was the best bit - my skin felt baby soft. Then you get in a shower and rinse all that off but it's a tiny cubicle and I didn't manage to get it all off so I had bits of exfoliate on me. Then she rubs in the lotion which took ages. And I had to stand around waiting for it to dry. Am not convinced. It's not developed yet so I can't report back on the colour.

There is no subsitute for a real tan although I know know know this is better for me!

Fake tan

I really dislike fake tan - mainly because I think they all stink. However, I am off to Hong Kong on Tuesday and am whiter than white. I have caved and booked a fake tan treatment at the salon down the road for tomorrow. I realise that with my hair removal and fake tan stories I sound a bit, well, common. I can assure you that I'm not really!

Anyway, will report back. i am having a Clarins treatment as St Tropez scared me!

Eye shadows

I love eye shadow. It's my favourite frivolous make up. Firstly, if you don't own a eye primer and your make up tends to be on your cheeks by lunch time, then go and get some. It makes all the difference. I have the Laura Mercier one.

In my experience, eye shadow is something worth spending a bit of money on. But I do have some bright cheapo colours which are fine if you just want to wear them for a few hours. MAC do fabulous eye shadows. NARS is brilliant too. More pigments so I am told. However, it is all about having the right brushes. I have a flat, widish brush which is great for doing a line of eye shadow to mimic eyeliner. Don't use the crap sponge applicators you get with cheap eyeshadow.

When I had my makeover last week, she used about 5 eyeshadows on all my eye. I never do this at home as I think you have to be quite an expert to not look like a clown. However Kitten eyeshadow by Stila is brilliant for dabbing right in the corner of your eye to make you look more alert and sparkly.

MAC eyeshadow - Thelma rating - 10/10
Stila eye shadow - Thelma Rating - 8/10

Eyeliner and mascara are subjects for future posts.

Listening and watching Lionel Richie singing Dancing on The Ceiling as I write this. Go Lionel!

Desert island make up product

I went for a makeover at SpaceNK at the weekend. It was great fun to have someone spend so much time on my face. What she did is not at all possible for everyday make up wear, it took over an hour but I walked out feeling amazing and considerably poorer!

It got me thinking that I am going to talk more about make up on this blog. After all, it is one of my obsessions, along with 80s American TV and chocolate.

So I am going to post about my miracle products. Today - Estee Lauder Daywear tinted moisturiser.

I have good skin. I rarely get spots and it is nice and even. I have a few blackheads on my nose and that's about it. So I don't need to wear foundation. However, my skin can look a bit grey in deep winter and we all need a perk. This product is miraculous. It adapts to your skin so it always looks natural and gives you a little extra moisture. I wear a moisturiser underneath it (usually Origins Have a Nice Day or Estee Lauder Day Wear) but my skin can be quite dry so I need to.

It lasts all day and people often comment on how nice my skin looks. It is a desert island product (and it is SPF 15!) and I like it a lot. I hope to god they never discontinue it.

It costs about £28 and lasts about 3-4 months if used daily.

Thelma rating - 9/10
It would be a 10 but the packaging sucks a bit, I can never get all of it out of the tube.

Social media

This week I spent 2 days at a social media conference supposedly learning how social media can help engage employees. The gist of it is BLOG! Apparentely we all should be blogging. It took them two days to impart this message and most people there seemed to think this was a revelation and didn't know what RSS was and it made me wonder how on earth they all had jobs in internal communications. Aaaanyway. I have decided that I will have to start a work blog to pave the way. I can't have this blog at work as a)I'll have to explain why I am called Thelma and b) it would be all workey and boring.

In other news, since I last posted I have been to Rome and very lovely it was too. Vatican City - mad as a box of frogs. I don't understand how people can be religious, especially catholic, but each to their own. The food was amazing, I love the idea of pasta as a starter and then onto the main course - it means you get to eat more!

Since I last posted, I have got into the tv series, Heroes. It's very good, if sllightly pretentious but it has Steven Carrington from Dynasty in it so what more could you want?

2006 in pictures!

Alice showing off her wares at the Jewellery Party.



Amelia demonstrating her ability to eat mammoth amounts of chocolate!



Mel and her boys at afternoon tea.



Mel's NY 40th birthday trip



Long hot summer.



Rachel's Hen Night



My birthday party.



Away Day in The Cotswolds.



Rachel & Steve's wedding.



Amelia's 4th birthday party.



Singapore!



Bali!



Bali again!



Christmas - scooby doo!

Gym Bunny Thelma!

Last week saw my triumphant return to the gym having spent the summer sitting about and being hot. It was time to go back. As usual I am not doing it by half - I went 3 times last week (which for me is ALOT ok?) and I plan to go even more this week. Tomorrow is danceaerobics and Wednesday is Pop Video! I am hoping we are doing Hung Up by Madonna so I can look like a total arse. Leotard optional. Obviously this has meant some shopping as my gym kit is very old and not quite the ticket. No, I haven't got a leotard!

So why is it time for the gym you may ask? Well, holiday has been booked - woohooooo! In 5 weeks exactly I shall be on a plane jetting off to Singapore. Then on to Bali. I have THREE (count em) weeks off work. Excited doesn't even begin to cover it. So I have 5 weeks to make myself body beautiful for my bikini. This may be a tall order but at least I'll look marginally better in it!

In other news, I have had a very productive week. I volunteered at work to be a guide for Rodin at the RA. My first night is tomorrow. As clients walk around, I shall be entertaining them with witticisms and quirky news about Rodin. Had several mistresses often at the same time don't you know.

My Gilmore Girls obsession is coming along nicely. If you've not seen this show, I highly recommend it. Or you can borrow it from me (if I know you) as I have 5 seasons on DVD!

Weather is still lovely - I await crispy autumn so I can wear my new lovely clothes.

Shout out to Linz who has just found my blog - keep reading baby and don't forget to leave a note for me. x

How is it August already?

I can't believe my last post was about my boots of wonder. They are now fully ensconsed in my wardrobe and I can barely remember life before them.

So this year has been good so far. I took Discopants to NY for her 40th thus winning me sister of the year award. We had a ball but that was in June and now it's August and I need to go again.

















MrT and I have dedicated ourselves to the West Wing cause. We are on Season 5 and seem to have come to a bit of a halt in proceedings. Seaosn 5 just isn't working for us and I seem to have become obsessed with Gilmore Girls! I haven't beaten my 24 record of watching 11 episodes in one day but it's getting close. And it's a bit more tragic - I mean 24 is dead cool and it *was* season 1 and well, it's Jack! However, nonetheless, I find myself pondering about Rory and Lorelei far too much.

I had a lovely birthday, had fabulous gifts and enjoyed the gorgeous summer. It now feels like summer has packed its bags and gone on its way. I am none too depressed though as I have yet to have my big holiday this year and Bali is the location. Via Singapore. So I will definitely see sunshine again this year.

And the big news of the year is, of course, Rachel's wedding. In a romance worthy of Gone with the Wind she met and married her man in just 9 short months. And no, she isn't pregnant!

Boots

How much do I LOVE these boots? I have wanted them for 4 months. They weren't in the sale. They will never be in a sale. But they are all MINE!

2005 in pictures

In no particular order...



My birthday with the family. Very drunken. Reenactment of the Bonnie Tyler video. (not in this picture obviously)



Using my new camera - Putney view of the river



Chocolate honey cake with bees made my MrT!



Quilt - started in February - finished on 23 December for Jemima!



Jeannie's hen night in Brighton.




My birthday party.



Disco's birthday party.



Having a patio and growing a vine - bliss!



Norfolk - September. Hsia and a haystack.



Point Lobos, California, October.



Norfolk, June



New niece - March!

Nicked from another blog...

JANUARY
1. Did you have a new year's resolution this year?: A silly one, to go to the film quiz more often.
2. Who kissed you at midnight?: MrT
3. Did it snow where you live?: No but it was cold
4. Have you ever been to Times Square to watch the ball drop?: It was an American blog I nicked this from! No.

FEBRUARY
1. Who was your valentine?: Valentine Schmalentine
2. What did your valentine get you?: You should be romantic everyday people!
3. When you were little, did you buy valentines for your whole class?: *pukes*

MARCH
1. Are you Irish? No
2. Did you wear green on St. Patty's Day?: When is St Patrick's Day?
3. What did you do for St. Patty's Day?: See above

APRIL
1. Do you like the rain?: No, fine from inside, awful when you are out in it
2. Did you play an April Fool's joke on anyone this year?: No
3. Did you get tons of candy on Easter?: No *sniff*

MAY
1. What's your favorite kind of flower?: Daffodils
2. Do you like the spring? Love it
3. Finish the phrase: "April showers bring...": may flowers
4. What would you think of as a spring color?: green

JUNE
1. What year did you graduate from school?: 1987 from secondary school, 1995 from uni
2. Did you go on any vacations last June?: Yes, Norfolk for a week after Jeannie and Richard's wedding. It was fabulous.

JULY
1. What did you do on the 4th of july? Worked I suspect
2. Did you go on any vacations during this month?: Sadly not

AUGUST
1. Did you do anything special to end off your summer?: No but I remember the last walk back from London Bridge to Waterloo with Barbara just before the clocks went back. Then it gets too dark and cold to do it.
2. What was your favorite summer memory of '05?: Disco's party, my birthday party, sitting on the patio and barbecues
3. Did you go swimming a lot in the summer?:Not even once
4. Did you go to the beach a lot?: In Norfolk in June and September, yes

SEPTEMBER
1. Did you attend school/college in '05?: No
2. Who is/was your favorite teacher?: Not sure I had one
3. Did you like fall better than summer?: I love all seasons

OCTOBER
1. What was your favorite halloween costume ever?: Damm americans and halloween...
2. What's your favorite candy?: Anything with chocolate on it
3. What did you dress up like this year? Damm americans and halloween...

NOVEMBER
1. Whose house did you go to for Thanksgiving?: Ummmmm
2. Do you like stuffing? Yes
3. What are you thankful for?: My family, my friends, my job, Mr Pink, Jo Malone

DECEMBER
1. Do you celebrate Christmas?: Yes
2. Have you ever been kissed under mistletoe?: No
3. What did you want this year for Christmas?: To have fun and relax
4. What's the best present you ever got for Christmas?: This year I got some marvellous cake stands!
5. Do you like cold weather?: Yes as long as I am lucky enough to be warm
6. How would you rate your year on a scale of 1-10?: A 9.

New look for 2006

I have decided to embrace my inner pink and change the colour scheme around here. It could do with a facelift.

So Christmas 2005. Not a classic of our time but nonetheless, perfectly alright. MrT has been ill all christmas and sniffing dolefully which has put a bit of a dampener on things. Hopefully he will be back on form for New Year's Eve and our small soiree.

I received three different cake stands this christmas. I think everyone got the hint that I like to bake. I love them all - a classy big cake stand from dearest Disco, a pink frilly two tier cakestand from Mum Thelma and an antique family heirloom from MrT Mum. All serve a real need in the Thelma household and cakes will be served on them very soon with plenty of tea.

I have had the laziest few days ever and it's been wonderful. I have lounged around reading my christmas books. State of the Nation by Douglas Kennedy was a very good read. The eleventh Stephanie Plum was disappointing. I am now on A Nice Cup Of Tea and a Sit Down which is most amusing. A few days ago I rented The Wedding Crashers on a recommendation of a 'friend'. Hmmmmm, it was dire. And this is from someone who thought Monster In Law was reasonably amusing so I am not fussy when it comes to this sort of thing!

Given all this time on my hands I decided to catologue my DVD collection. Now, I realise this makes me sound more Monicaish than ever but let me plead my case. Since moving, my DVDs are not in a cupboard in the living room where you have to kneel on a hard wooden floor to see them and crane your neck. Sometimes a torch is required. It isn't easy! So I put them in an Excel spreadsheet, classified by genre and rated on a scale of 1-5 or 'not seen'. Due to the wonders of filters in Excel, I can now look at them by say 'Romantic Comedy', rated 4! This brings up About a Boy, High Fidelity, Overboard, and What's Up Doc. Bet you wonder what is rated 5 now dontcha?! Despite this, MrT and I still couldn't find a film to watch tonight and ended up watching Gardener of the Year 2005. Oh dear.

In Jo Malone christmas news I can report that I have a new bottle of Wild Fig and Cassis and Pomegranate Noir. Yum.

Happy New Year to anyone who might read my blog - not many I suspect but thank you if you manage this far!

Jewellery, California and Hair

The holiday was fabulous. I won't bang on about it too much but I think I gained half a stone, drank too much tequila and saw amazing sights. This picture is sunset in Santa Cruz.

I am having a jewellery party! Alice (who I work with) has just come back from stocking up in China and I can't wait. About 15 women are coming which is quite alot for our flat especially as it has to fit in all the jewels!

I got my hair done tonight - cut and coloured. God, it felt good. My hair had turned orange, I am not exaggerating, it looked awful. Now it is lovely dark brown and blow dried to perfection.

Any party that has Grease playing on a big screen is alright by me

So the party was a huge success - my dress and sparkly shoes were a success (although I did have to surrender my shoes to walk back from the cab to my house as my feet were killing me at that point!) It was all very decadent. There was a bar upstairs that was decked out 50s style diner with Grease playing. This made me very happy. There was also Elvis pinball which I didn't have time to play unfortunately. The highlight was, of course, meeting Mr Ramsey. He was extremely charming and asked me if he swore too much. I said no and then beamed alot. Oh dear.

Also, why do men have to be such arses? Person I work with Number 1 - married, 2 children, snogging his new secretary on the dancefloor. Person I work with Number 2 - girlfriend, snogging some random girl in the corner. It felt like a school disco!

In other news - California here I come, right back where I started from. In 2 weeks. Hurrah!

Honestly, I don't spend my life shopping

I am going to a posh work do in Sept - a Gala Dinner with celebrity guests - one of whom is very exciting but I can't breathe a word. Anyway, naturally a new dress was needed so I bought this today in Whistles.

And shoes as well from Office.

Shiny new things

It was my birthday a few weeks ago and I received lots of lovely pressies, not least a pink digital camera from MrT. And a gorgeous Diptique candle from Disco which has sparked an obsession.

Anyway, I went shopping today and had a marvellous moment in Zara which is most unusual. I bought these:

























I also went to a fab jewellery party on Thursday. I bought loads of things but it is taking too long to upload pics so you'll just have to imagine them. The party was full of trendy, beautiful people - one of whom was apparentely a newsreader for GMTV. Naturally I fitted right in! *ahem*

I hate Tim Henman

He is SUCH an arse. And I hate stupid, moronic Henman fans. He is charmless and why are we so obsessed with him winning Wimbledon. People, it ain't gonna happen. It honestly puts me off watching Wimbledon but now, of course, he is out so I can enjoy it.

In other news, we are a two toilet household once more. Yay! The plumbers made such a mess and trod filthy footprints all over the bedroom carpet. *Sigh*

My news lovely Hobbs skirt is my fave item currently in my wardrobe. I just adore it. It is floaty and comfy and stylish, all in one! It makes going to work not all that bad. Actually going to work is fine since we have air con there. Getting there is another matter.

Lovely Norfolk

A fabulous time was had in Norfolk. The weather was unbelievable and I actually burnt myself on Monday as I had no idea how warm it was. Jeannie's wedding was great - proper wedding in a church with a tacky disco and dozens of photos. Marvellous. And she had xmas dinner as the food which I thought was inspired for June.

We stayed in lots of places - Hoste Arms in Burnham Market and The Victoria at Holkham which is just amazing. Everyone must stay at this hotel - trust me. It is wonderful and the food is the best food I have ever had anywhere.

Photos here of lovely Norfolk:

http://www.fishmail.co.uk/albums/norfolk2005/

Next weekend's excitement is MissDisco's birthday barbecue!

Hot weather at last

Hot weather - I like it, I really do but when you have to dress smart for work, it is difficult. My problem is feet. My feet are size 8 and wide. I struggle with shoes but spring, summer and autumn are fine. However, when summer comes, my feet get very very hot. Not sweaty but hot. And all shoes bar birks and flip flops hurt and rub and give me blisters. I have been looking and looking for some work shoes that aren't black and I swear, they just don't exist.

Anyway, enough whining. Jeannie's wedding next weekend and we are going to stay in Norfolk and I have a week off. The plan is to spend some time here:

http://www.holkham.co.uk/victoria/

My other big plan at the moment is to mastermind a big payrise at work. I deserve it, they couldn't live without me (*ahem*) and it will be mine. Oh yes.

Toilet update - still broken.