What to wear for dinner with Princesses?

DH tells me I need a frock for a garden party and another for a dinner with some Princesses - both on the same day.  So today I spend most of the day shopping ... started at Faizaliah Mall found a lovely Missonni beach dress - no good for either events so I didn't buy it!

Next stop Harvey Nichols - strange thing about shopping in HN Riyadh is the number of male assistants and shortage of Ladies to help - they really need me on the shop floor as a personal shopper - the lady who carried my dresses to the changing rooms ( what a treat to actually try things on - v rare in Riyadh to have changing rooms!) dragged them across the dusty floor - not a good look for a dress that is £1k now covered in dust, sand and grime! No water cooler no nice furniture all a bit sad really - HN call me I will come and sort it out!!

I'm digressing... tried on 4 lovely dresses

1st one Alice by Temperley lovely cream column dress with tulle overlay so pretty but too big

 - they sent the tailor to come and advise but I think it would have ruined the line of the dress so that sadly was a no... but have  a look at it here it was gorgeous... (photos courtesy of Temperley website and it is also available at Harvey Nichols Riyadh)

Next up was a Laundry by Shelli Segal Black silk jersey one shouldered dress - lovely but as my friend said - it is just like the one you have at home but not as nice ( also by Laundry and much loved and worn!)

ONWARDS....

Another 'nothing' dress came next which made me feel very middle-aged and frumpy ( not the look I was after!) and then the best one

A beautiful ISSA London floor length Black silk jersey dress with cutout back - I can't find it anywhere online but it was mostly black with the same insert at the chest as this one Very classic cool gown

(Photo courtesy of Issa London website)

It was fab-u-lous perfect for meeting Princesses and Duchesses. It was a tad too big ( and they only had the one size) but it was over 7000 Saudi Riyals which is more than £1100 .  Do I really need to spend that much cash on a dress...

NO

We'd done Harvey Nics by now so did all the other shops in the Mall with no success, onto our Pilates Class and then 2 more Malls (in between prayer times!). Still no new dresses so it looks like I will be wearing my old Black Laundry dress for the dinner and a Vintage Chiffon flowery frock for the garden party...photos of the outfits will follow!

Moral of the tale - don't try to buy a last minute outfit in Riyadh!!

Any hints on shopping in Riyadh greatly received!!

The Escarpment, Riyadh ....

WOW is my first thought on writing this post!

We have just got back from an AMAZING day out in the desert - a different kind of desert to Shark Tooth Valley ... more rocks, gorse bushes and Acacia Trees..... and a few camels!

There is a place about 80-90kms out of Riyadh called The Escarpment and also known as The Edge Of The World.  I'd seen pictures, read about it in a guide book, seen it mentioned on Blogs and spoken to people who'd been - lots of mixed reports.  Believe me IT IS WORTH THE VISIT!

I'm not a travel writer but this place was awesome ( I think it helped that we went with 9 other really cool, interesting people some who had been before but all who were excited about the views!)

If your interested in taking a visit you will need:

GPS or Sat Nav
4 x 4 vehicle and at least 1 other 4 x 4 with you ( in case you get stuck in the soft sand (spade also a good idea as is sand ladders) and need pulling out or have a puncture etc...NEVER go into the desert alone!!)
Lots of water ( and diet coke/juice)
Amazing picnic to have under the trees
SUNSCREEN

The co-ordinates to programme into your GPS are listed in this post....

So you head out of Riyadh on the 535 The Salbouk Road heading North and take a left turn off this road at these co-ordinates
 N24° 57' 21.2" E046° 13' 41.6"

Looks like these pic below!!

The fun driving starts now - there is a track to follow, don't drive too slowly in the soft sand and take it easy on the steep ruts in the wadi...

Enjoy the view

You will come to a concrete bollard gate like think
(these co-ordinates for your GPS are N24° 55' 05.5" E046° 10' 30.9")  
(see pics) then you drive on a little and come through an actual gate.  This gate  closes for the night ABOUT sunset time ( we made sure we were at the gate by 5pm in order to leave otherwise you are stuck for the night....

This is the gate that is locked by sunset...

The drive through the desert is rocky and pretty bumpy ( though DH managed it with broken ribs!) but really FAB we saw camels just lolopping along the scenery is like your oun mini set of Pyramids and you can see where the water floods through the valley...

The drive from leaving the main road to the foot of the The Escarpment is approx 39 kms though the rocky, bumpy desert track! 
Final co-ordinates for The Edge of The World are N24° 56' 41.4" E045° 59' 32.1"
and here is what it looks like....

That is DH standing on The Edge of The World...

The best was still to come LUNCH!

These guys know how to travel in style in the desert - tables and chairs and rugs and cushions under the trees...

My new line in head gear - better than a hat!

Piece de resistance was the hot water boiler - we all want one now.... 1 litre of water boiled in about 5 mins - we need one of these for the beach in Norfolk ( DH tried to explain to me how it worked..... little fire underneath etc etc!!)

One last Camel on the way home .....What a great Friday! If you go just remember to get back through the gate before sunset!! 

If you want to find out more about The Escarpment, Riyadh have a look here and here

OMG...

Had to take a quick trip into town on Wednesday afternoon as I needed to go to the mobile phone shop and change my sim card for a nano sim for my new iphone5.  DH was still away in London so I arranged for my driver to take me to one of the big modern shopping malls - we went to The Granada Centre, he dropped me off at the entrance and I made my way upstairs to the MOBILY shop ( Mobily are one of the 2  mobile service carriers in KSA).

Just for the record I was wearing a full length, all black, long sleeved abaya AND a black headscarf covering ALL of my hair - so a pretty demure look and hugely respectful to the people of Saudi Arabia (as always).

The shop was busy so I look around for an assistant to help me - a young man in his mid 20's went over to one of the assistants and was pointing at me - Great, I thought, he's telling the chap to come over and assist me... WRONG.  I was asked to leave the store, yup ASKED TO LEAVE!

So, a little shocked and surprised I asked him "Why do I need to leave?"
"Madam, you need to be with your husband or sponsor in this store otherwise we cannot serve you"

What can I say?

I will not be changing my current STC (Saudi Telecom) sim over to Mobily!!

One Man and His Shed

One of the reasons DH was looking forward to half term in UK ( apart from spending 9 days with his gorgeous children obviously!) was that he might get around to finishing his shed... This is the shed that he and L started to build in AUGUST 2012!!!

So we have this lovely OLD house in Norfolk near the sea - It was built in the 1820's and the people we bought it from hadn't done ANYTHING to it for years and years and it neeeded gutting ( but we didn't have the cash to gut it and start again) - we are now into our 2nd decade of works - it will never be finished ... and in the meanwhile Boss ( as he is known in Saudi) decides we need a new larger shed.  

It would have been quicker ( and probably cheaper in the long run) to have had someone come and build it but apparently a man likes to build his own shed! So the boy and DH started in August 2012 during our summer holiday - Boy found my old boots to wear so I naturally took a photo ( they look much better on him than they ever did on me!)

Anyway I'm digressing again! 

So the shed didn't get finished over Summer then DH moved to Riyadh and the Shed was half built  and we had other works going on in the house so no pennies left to pay for someone to finish the shed.

So February is cold and snowing and DH is outside all day for 2 days working on his masterpiece - and I have to say it looks beautiful - he designed it from scratch, ordered the wood, cut the wood and did all the other bits ( whatever they are?).  

By Sunday ( day 2) boy is bored of the shed and is off to see his friend on his bike so DH continues alone.....

Unbeknown to me DH had fallen off the roof of the shed whilst banging in some nails and landed 12 feet below on the hard (frozen) garden and he now has a couple of broken ribs !!!

By the way the shed is still not finished.... but our house looks lovely!

Back Home... ( the UK Home!)

The best thing about half term was  THIS....

Oh how I miss these mornings!

London Shopping

So if you only read bits of my blog you may well think all I do is shop & pilates WRONG ( I do work occasionally!)! But I do like to share my shopping!! I also sell LOTS of stuff I no longer wear or need on Ebay and have just had a huge cull of cashmere sweaters, coats, hats and other bits that I will now hardly ever wear... these are bought with the proceeds!

Having just returned from London there are 2 new items in my wardrobe both of which I LOVE love love : one cheap as chips and the other the reward of some very hard work !!

Sometimes there is nothing as soft and luxurious as lamb's leather - buttery soft to touch.... this new clutch from Miu Miu did not disappoint.... It fits 2 blackberries, cash, keys, Mac Lippy and a bar of Green & Black's chocolate!! It snaps open and close with areal purpose and goes with EVERYTHING .. a little pricey but it will be a piece to keep and use for years to come ( it had it's first outing today for a girl's lunch in Riyadh... and was much admired and stroked!)

You can buy one here ( my colour sold out) from Net a Porter in creamy/blush or black

So this is my cheap as chips.....

Really soft, sleeveless, slightly transparent chiffon-like material top with 3 buttons in a grey leopard print. The tail of the shirt is longer and has a pleat at the back by the shoulder blades so it skims your body - PERFECT for Saudi weather ( hot outside but cooler in due to the constant air con)

Doesn't it look lovely and under £15 from H&M LOVE it! I couldn't find it online but I'm sure its still available instore....

And here they both are off to lunch in Riyadh... Peace sign and Pearl Necklace (from my website Violet and Rose London)

Hello London...

Leaving Riyadh just after midnight and arriving at 515am into LHR courtesy of my new BFF British Airways - DH was on the same flight (different class, of course!) but chose to go and have a shower in the Business lounge before his 8am meeting

Lucky me, jumped in the car and drove to Hampstead to arrive at my friend and pilates instructor's house at 615am (house was in total darkness so I sat outside in the car for a good 15 mins before sending her a text - "Anyone awake yet?")... poor girl opened the door looking very sleepy
( but in gorgeous dove grey  White Company silk PJs!) I took her dogs out for a walk on Hampstead Heath ( with her now wide-awake husband!) - great way to start the day and blow awake the cobwebs and stiff body after a long haul overnight flight with minimal sleep but the best was yet to come....
P I L A T E S! I was back in her studio on the Reformer at 8am for an hour of hardcore work and I loved it! I still haven't found a class in Riyadh with the Reformer but I will keep trying (who knows if I sell a couple of properties to new clients maybe I could treat myself to my own machine....)

The rest of the day was fun - Green Tea at Ottolenghi on Ledbury Road in Notting Hill with girlfriends ( still my fave place and I bought their new cookbook - Jerusalem) followed by a haircut at Toni and Guy in W8, spot of shopping on Ken High Street - mainly Zara (for me), Cos (also for me!) TopShop (for daughter) and Wholefoods (just because!) Shopping is quite hungry-making so another Green Tea (plus GF Choclolate Brownie) at Cafe Nero with another girlfriend before meeting DH and collect daughter from her bus - Hurray it is Half Term and I have the children for a whole NINE days.