First, the boots that I wanted that were way too expensive that then went on sale that I ordered that then went out of stock even though I'd already ordered them that then went on sale in a different colour that I ordered again, have actually arrived! And they fit, and they're lovely, and the second colour was nicer than the first anyway, so in the end I totally win....

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Fin's a new book person. He loves the smell of them, the shiny spines in well-ordered rows. He could spend several happy hours browsing the shelves of a good bookshop and never get bored. Second-hand things - books, clothes, anything textile - give him the willies. I, on the other hand, am more of an old book person. I find new books sterile,...

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That's right. Our little ball of fluff (okay fine, our half-bald skinny bag of bones) turned three. And in a strange quirk of timing, she came to live with us on her second birthday, so the date also marked our one-year anniversary of becoming dog owners. Of course I had to make her a hat. In many ways, Smidgen isn't an easy dog...

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Earlier this week I wrote a post for Any Other Woman's A-Z of Getting Married, called M is for Mrs. (If you haven't read the post yet, go and do it now. I'll wait.) It's a little-known fact - and by little-known, I mean it's probably only known to me, my husband and a handful of internet shopping database administrators - that I am not a Mrs....

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Here's how it works: If you're single, you're a Miss. If you're married, you're a Mrs. If you're a big hairy feminist, you may be a Ms, but this is best avoided. ...

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Yesterday, someone I follow on Twitter asked the ladies in her timeline how many pairs of shoes they owned, in an effort to establish what was a "normal" number. Sure, I thought. I'll play that game. I mean, I threw out several pairs of shoes in The Great Decluttering of 2011, and several more prior to moving into our new flat. I trimmed...

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I saw Callie Shell's behind-the-scenes photography of Obama's 2008 campaign on a BBC documentary the other day. It's very evocative. I especially love the ones showing Michelle and Barack together. (It might interest you to know we have a Michelle Obama magnet on our fridge, right next to a picture of Hildegard of Bingen. We like smart ladies.) I would urge you to look at the...

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The last three months were, frankly, a blur. I lived in three different flats. I spent four hours a day on various forms of public transport. I helped sign up over 300 people to raise money for charity. I went to three weddings, styled two photo shoots, wrote a grand total of seven blog posts. There was a mysterious and somewhat gross infection...

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