Yo Ho Ho Ho!

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Dress: Taking Shape mesh

Sandals: Novo leather & lace-up

Bag: LouenHide leather

Watch: Guess silver

Cuff: Thousand Island Dressing silver & faux pearl

Hinged Bangle: Wallace Bishop silver & elastic

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Don't the let the full-on monochrome look fool you... days with two of my favourite munchkins, Jeremy & Oliver, are always merry & bright, particularly during the festive season when there are presents to be opened! But before we get to all that good stuff, let's talk about what I was wearing - this is a fashion blog, after all...

This amazing dress from Taking Shape really is the ultimate in casual chic - the scoop neckline shows off a tasteful bit of decolletage; the cap sleeves give a little coverage from the sun or, conversely, the air-conditioning; the tiers give the illusion of shape while subtly elongating the body; the mesh fabric DOESN'T crease or require ironing & finally (if that wasn't enough) the visually-interesting pattern-mixing is done for you! It's what I call an ultimate easy-peasy fashion WIN.

When it came to accessories, these leather Novo wedge sandals were supremely comfortable - despite the height of the heel - & really made the dress "pop" - even more so when paired with a supple white leather shoulder bag from LouenHide. To stand out against the white, silver was the order of the day when it came to jewellery & I piled it on to contrast with the ease of the dress & accessories - a matching silver & faux black pearl necklace & cuff from Thousand Island Dressing in Paddington (a Christmas gift to myself this time last year), androgynous silver watch from Guess & chunky hinged bangle from Wallace Bishop.

And now to the moment you've all been waiting for: the boys & their pirate-themed presents! Keep scrolling to see how it all went down & the hijinks that ensued...

Aye Aye, Captain!

Assembly required!

Matchy Matchy

(I just adore these "Brotherly Love" pics!)

A pirate ship fit for a little brother...

...um, or a big one?

Yo Ho Ho & a bottle of milk!

Shipwrecked...

Hard at work...

118 steps to create this Lego pirate ship. Yep, 118.

Aaaaaannnnnndddd when you give it to a 6 year old who makes heaps of stuff FROM SCRATCH (or smaller sets by himself) he will inevitably fein inability before playing with the teeny tiny swords & cannons while WATCHING you put it together... even though you have had no prior success with ANYTHING that even remotely requires fine motor skills...

Long story short - I DID IT! Cannot believe how ridiculously chuffed I felt looking at this "Jolly Roger"... & how protective I felt as said 6 year old started actually PLAYING with it rather than just admiring it from far, far away... 

#lol #truestory #hoorayforauntyfran #whenadultshavefunplayingwithtoysmeantforkids

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