I’m home. After an unscheduled visit to be with my family in England, I’m back on Canadian soil and trying to plough through the jet lag and get my head in gear. I have a whole host of emotional memories to relive as I remember my grandmother’s funeral, but mostly I’m still warm from the love which radiates fiercely throughout my family. Blood really IS thicker than water, but that’s not the only “red” I observed on the visit to my homeland. This is a “fabulous Friday” post, so I have some British fru fru for you…

Ah, the quintessentially English red phone phone box- there’s nothing quite like it. This one was tucked away in Ringwood, a quaint, sleepy little village near the south coast where sister number one lives in the beautiful countryside. It also has a fantastic chocolate cafe “Oh… la la Chocolat!” Check it out here! We checked it out in person, of course…

At the opposite end of the spectrum, I snapped this red  London bus on a bridge over the River Thames when I spent a spectacular day in the capital city with my parents:

I’ll admit, I hyperventilate just thinking about shopping in The U.K. Sad but true. Sister number three is an awesome personal shopper and navigated me through my favourite store NEXT, even finding my mother-of-the-bride shoes for next spring! (definitely not red, but very sparkly!)

I realized how much I’ve missed wearing true red through the summer- I sort of morph into orangey- coral tones for the hot season. So I was more than happy to go shopping with sister number two to discover some “real” red for the upcoming fall season.. I found some adorable little swing skirts-  one tartan, perfect for winter with some black tights and boots, and a textured plain red version I can wear any time:

Clearly one needs to polish the look with something… perhaps a little lipstick in a ruby red?

NARS is my new fave make-up  (thanks to my daughter who tries everything first!) Sister  number two is the family expert in all things cosmetic, so I tried and fell in love with this Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in “Mysterious Red”. It’s smooth, stays on wonderfully, and is easy to apply. Find out all about it Here.

Thanks family- I certainly got my red fix.

What do you love about red? Right now I’m really NOT loving my red eyes as I’m battling the time zones…

Make the most of the last days of summer and have a fabulous Friday!