welcome to may - even though we are fast hurtling towards the middle of the month! the last couple of weeks sped by and are now a mere blur in our memories. or rather mummy's memory! my memory is sharp - i'm only 4! nothing escapes me, mummy however is another kettle of fish entirely. she's nicknamed herself Dori from Finding Nemo. daddy always says if her head wasn't attached to her body she'd forget where she left that too!

may has been good so far. it has brought with it the sun - and for that we can only rejoice! bank holiday monday was a bit drab but by today, we were positively sweltering in the high 20s centigrade! so what have we been up to? well, in the spirit of getting out & about a bit more, mummy bought this amazing picnic blanket (her words, not mine!). she is in love and believes it shall increase her desire to go out & about. because it is pretty. and she likes pretty things. she got it from Great Little Trading Company after missing out on last year's edition that she loved so much but procrastinated on till they sold out. This year she wasted no time as soon as they had one of the 20% off everything days! she loves it because it's a good size, has waterproof backing, rolls up into a bag with carry handles, and is just so pretty! oh, and it's lovely to sleep on in the sun. #fact.





 we went to a food festival on bank holiday monday and forgot the blanket at home! what a clever blanket - fulfilling it's purpose without even having to be present! mummy pretty much starved herself that morning in anticipation of a bbq'd burger or some other such bbq style meal. unfortunately for her, there was not a burger stall in sight. just all kinds of street food, whose prices were polar opposite to the container sizes. the food was tasty but as mummy had come prepared for a carb fest, she left needing to top up at home.


judah's been continuing to provide amusement as is his custom! mummy took us to the park to feed the ducks after a classmate's birthday party. (i tell you, the sun brings out a different side to my mummy! normally she can't wait to get home and bemoan how her social life consists solely of my social life. not so now - these days her optimism knows no bounds - i love you sun!) back to the park - we fed the ducks quite fine, but judah was keener to be at one with the river thames. "not on my watch!", said mummy - as she quickly took a picture, then rescued him from the fence. #priorities!
again, blanket wasn't really required as we just had a bag of crisps and rather dry bread. bread for the ducks, crisps for mummy to fuel up & keep up with judah!

oh dear, what's he up to now???

that's right - about to scoot down some steps...

today after church we were back in the same gardens, enjoying a lovely picnic lunch. judah wasn't as keen on the old ducks - more interested in going after people's water bottles and chasing unsuspecting kids. oh, and crying for my scooter each time he saw me on the move. mummy has promised she's getting him his own now. le blanket was definitely in full use today and i must admit it is pretty! "it looks like it has giant cupcake sprinkles!" i exclaimed.

now we want to keep the dream alive! we want to hit as many gardens and beaches as we can over the next few months with our picnic blanket! any suggestions?? we'd love to hear from you as i'm worried mummy will wind up just sleeping on the blanket in the back garden and call it a summer!

It was 1994. Our family had been in the UK for all of 6 months and I was slowly settling into school life the British way. With each day that passed the loneliness presented on a platter by this country began to eat away at me. I had tried in vain to fit in at school. I wasn't bullied as I had been in Zimbabwe for my skinniness. No, here I just didn't quite fit in. When you first arrive at a new school, you are a little bit like a new toy. Everyone is fascinated with you and curiosity abounds. A lot of kids had never met anyone from "Africa". Questions like "Do you have electricity there?" were sarcastically replied with "No, the villagers held up fire torches as the aeroplane sped down the runway during take off." I was disheartened by the general ignorance where it concerned anything outside the UK, European holiday destinations, sex, and American tv.


Soon there was nothing much to talk about. And as for fashion - forget that. I was only allowed to wear skirts, so with 90s being the jeans era I was well and truly out of sync with the cool kids. There I would be on non uniform day in a black pencil skirt and embroidered blouse whilst every other kid rocked up in levis with no belts - cos that was just sad- and doc martens. The girls loo became my domain, my diary my best friend, and self loathing an active pastime. I began to refer to myself as the loch ness monster. Each day was ended with a swift round up of things that had taken place that confirmed my ugliness and lack of belonging: did a boy look my way today, no. Did anyone compliment me, no. Did I spend lunchtime in the loos again? Yes. Yep, I'm repulsive. Why God did you have to create me? 

The days my dad would take us to school, we would listen to the radio. On one such rare occasion, a song came on the radio that I couldn't but pay attention to. It had me at that little guitar and drum intro. Then he sang:


I was instantly taken. "It's plain to see you're the reason God made a girl." That's all that stuck in my mind for the rest of the day. Prince had told me I was the most beautiful girl in the world and that's all that mattered to me. In the spirit of taking baby steps, I decided I was the ugly duckling - a big jump from a monster -  but one day I would be a swan. And one day some man would sing this song for me and in his world I would be the most beautiful girl. In the meantime I decided to concentrate on being the most beautiful girl on the inside - and earned myself the nickname "Mother Theresa" for going around befriending all the outcasts. Every so often that diary did come out & a picture depicting my hideousness would be drawn. But at least it wasn't daily, nor in the solitude of the girls loos. 

Thank you Prince for using your gift. We never met, but for this one girl that cried on her house master's shoulder lamenting her existence as he awkwardly tried to reassure her that one day boys would be queuing up for a date (don't ask!), you made a huge difference. And when I tell my daughter the most important place to be beautiful is on the inside, I can say it with conviction, because I know it to be true. Thank you for the music. RIP.

this is my godsister ivana. she's been invited to a grease-themed party and her mummy reached out to my mummy for some help with a cute outfit for her to wear.  after years of buying different outfits for themed parties that never get worn again, she's decided she wants to get some non-costume pieces that ivana can wear again and again outside the house! as ever, mummy was ready for the assignment! she loves to shop - whether it's for herself or someone else!

Ivana, my other godsister Carmen & I at the end of my 4th birthday party

character-wise, there are no black girls in the original movie. however in january this year, FOX released Grease:LIVE which was broadcast live in the US to much acclaim. in this version, we see keke palmer take on the role of marty, the ‘beauty’ of the Pink Ladies. marty is pretty, looks older than the other girls, but betrays her real age when she opens her mouth. she tries to act sophisticated.
this sounds a little like ivana :)

so what are we looking for with this character? well, all the girls wear the "pink ladies" jacket, which is an iconic element of the movie's costumes along with the leather jackets the boys wear.  the jacket was always teamed with a neckerchief. for marty we'd then have to source a pretty yellow top & blue skirt and we're done.





1. Jacket - New Look 
2. neckerchief - asos 
3. yellow top - river island 
4. blue skirt - river island
5. shoes - monsoon



another character to go for would be sandy, the main girl.
a look that screams "grease!" is the black fitted jumpsuit that sandy wears in her transformation scene. obviously, worn as is, it could be a little too sexy for an 8yr old. one could take elements and create a cute outfit.




Sandy's pre-transformation outfits are definitely more likely to easily translate to an 8yr old girls wardrobe. they have a very "park avenue princess" feel to them. key elements of sandy's style: flared skirts, feminine blouses (think ruffle details / lace / pearly buttons), dresses with flared skirts, gingham checks, cute ballet flats & ofcourse the cardi thrown over the shoulders. she also always wears a ribbon alice band!




1. blouse - la redoute
2. prom dress - river island 
3. white cardi - zara
4. white belt - zara
5.silver ballet pumps - la redoute
6. skirt - la redoute
7.blue cardi - zara




hopefully ivana and her mummy love some of the suggestions mummy has made. we'll share pics with you once we hear from them!

we love hearing from you! if you would like help with achieving a particular look or have any other style queries, please contact us: tanaka@whatmummywore.com.



 **marty character synopsis source