Last LOUD Days of Summer

Labour Day here in the US draws a line in the sand. After today you simply cannot be seen in your whites and brights. Who knows why? Anyone...anyone? So before my time ran out, I broke out the loudest, boldest, dayglo-iest frock I could find.

Bloomin' lovely or bloody awful?

I found this original Seventies dress while dropping Tallulah off at her doctors' on Friday. "Lounging Wear" it said on the label. I did its' bidding.

Lounging at home

But where to wear it? You may have heard me whining about the rubbish summer we've had here in the Bay Area. It was Mark Twain who said: "The coldest winter I ever spent was the summer in San Francisco." Well, it was like that here in Oakland.  Every area here has its own microclimate. Oakland is just 12 mins across the bridge from San Francisco but is usually 15 degrees warmer. And it gets really, really hot if you drive just a few minutes inland to Lafayette.  So I invited my frock and family to Lafayette friends Peter and Lisa...and we sat outside all night.

Peter and Lisa's backyard in Lafayette

Me and Tallulah

Jake, 2 and Cy, 7

I must admit there was some angry loudness as we pulled out of our driveway earlier in the night. The kids had forgotten to put out the garbage the previous week and I made them pile it into the back of the car so we could drop it at a local store bins (pre-arranged, mind) Turns out some roaming creatures has feasted on our largesse which became obvious as the kids - and poor Kevin -  loaded in the bags. The wee holes leaked stinking, rotting whatever into the car and all over the kids. Making memories.

Despite garbage-gate, the long weekend was going rather well, a little too well, so we decided to spend a couple of hours in traffic driving to a freezing, fogged-over crowded Stinson Beach. During our 15 years living in England, we spent many brisk and bum-freezing hours on the beaches of Devon, Brighton and Studland Bay, near Bournemouth. Tropical compared to temps in Stinson.

On Sunday I was keeping it loud with my moving mermaid necklace , admittedly more Jersey Shore than the hippy succulents and Cowgirl Creamery vibe of Stinson. I arrived wearing my mermaid, ever hopeful, like so:

Watercolour by Tallulah

Arrived like this...

But soon was wearing the picnic blanket, Stinson-Beach style:

Couple of minutes later...Lesley and I 

What lovely loudness in your weekend?

(And don't forget to enter our Giveaway of the first three seasons of Damages, starring Glen Close and Rose Byrne.)