Many years ago my daughter (then aged 7) proudly showed her father a ring that her boyfriend (also aged 7) had given her.  Wonderful Husband was surprised to see a very sparkly stone in the ring, so asked if he could have a closer look at it.  As he suspected, the inside of the band was hallmarked, indicating that this was a high quality ring.

It turned out to be a real diamond ring, and that her friend had taken it from his mother’s dressing table.  His defence was ‘but you never wear it, Mummy.’

Following that incident, I decided to either wear my good rings, or to keep them locked away.  A burglar could take a ring on a dressing table, and while you might get the money back via an insurance policy, the chances of seeing the ring again would be slender.

My favourite ring is one that Wonderful Husband gave me for my 50^th birthday.  I wear it at least once a week, and am careful to remove it when I wash dishes or do things that might make the ring dirty or damage it.

Last May I looked for my favourite ring one morning, and it was not where I thought I had stored it.  I could not remember precisely when I had last worn it and a panic-stricken search of the house ensued.  It was not in the kitchen, bathroom or bedroom, nor any place else that I looked.  After a few days I confessed to Wonderful Husband that I had lost the lovely ring.

Months passed.   I cultivated good habits with my remaining rings.  Every night I locked them away in the safe, and if I removed them during the day I always put them on the ring holder in the kitchen.  When I completed whatever task had prompted their removal, I put the rings back on my fingers.

At the end of November I purchased a new birdfeeder, and needed some garden twine to tie it to a tree.  I opened the drawer where I keep garden bits and bobs – and there was my ‘lost’ ring!

Finally I remembered: someone had given me some plants, and I had installed them in the garden immediately.  I had put my ring in the gardening drawer so that I would not loose it in the flower border.  Instead I lost it in the drawer.

The moral (at least for me) is to always, but always, put things in the same place.

Planning your Christmas Outfit

It seems as if we only just finished putting away our clothes from last year’s party season – and now it’s time to think about this year.

When I read some of the glossy magazines it appears that everybody else has a whirl of parties that require glamorous dresses.  I see page of    page of tall, slim young models wearing short frocks that only cover the ‘important bits’ as my mother would have said.

My social calendar is short on sophisticated parties, but I am going to dinners in draughty halls and country pubs.  I hope to visit friends for lunches followed by bracing walks (weather permitting).

Sadly, I have not got an unlimited budget, so my starting point will be taking a look at my existing wardrobe.  Like most women, I have got some basic pieces that I can use to build a new outfit.  In fact, I could probably recycle clothes from previous years but that would be a bit boring.  So I shall compromise by picking up just one or two new pieces of clothing that will breathe new life into my Christmas wardrobe.

I have a sleeveless black dress that has only had a few outings.  The main problem is that I am worried about being cold.  Boden has a selection of black evening cardigans in their current collection.  The one shown costs £65 and is hand washable (saves dry cleaning bills and helps the planet).  As well as wearing it with the dress, I could pair it with black trousers and a satin top for a second outfit.

Many party dresses are either sleeveless, short or low-cut (or all 3) which is fine if you are young and slim, but challenging for those who don’t fall into those categories.  I’ve been looking at Wallis where there is a good selection of pretty dresses that are not revealing.  They have a pewter beaded knitted dress for £42 (hand wash) that has long sleeves and a very modest neckline.  It is short, but could be worn with leggings.  Pewter may be a touch dark for Christmas events, so I have chosen this blue print dress.  It costs £42, is machine washable and is available in sizes 8 to 20.  It looks comfortable, so could be just the thing to wear on Christmas Day, particularly if you are the cook.

Thinking of cooking reminds me of my need for comfortable but pretty shoes.  I have been disappointed by ballerina style flat shoes.  They look as if they will be comfortable but if I need to walk any distance I need to curl my toes to keep the shoes on my feet.  In the past I have found that Schuh shoes are usually comfortable (plus I love the name).  These 3 strap patent pumps are available from shoe-shop.com and cost £29.99.

A night out with my girlfriends calls for a new top to smarten up my jeans.  I like this one from Esprit.  It has a bit of sparkle but is fairly restrained. It costs £34, is washable and comes in sizes XS to XXL.  (I would give that bright blue scarf a miss!)

Finally, for those brisk walks in the cold air, I feel that I need a new chunky cardigan.  Lands’ End has this gorgeous fold over collar cable cardigan for £49.  Unlike many cardigans it is long enough to actually keep you warm.  The collar could double as a scarf on really cold days, as the buttons extend onto the collar.   It is 100% cotton, machine washable and available in several colours.   It would pep up my Christmas wardrobe, and I feel certain it would get plenty of wear in the coming winter months.

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