Country Casual
“MORE horses, Amber?” I hear you say. “What is this: ‘My Friend Flicka’ or something?”
(Fun fact: ‘Flicka’ was the name of my imaginary horse when I was a child.)
(Slightly disturbing fact: I had an imaginary horse when I was a child. Actually, I had an entire stable’s worth of them. I had this little green book, The Observer’s Book of Horses, which had a photo of pretty much every equine breed around, and I went through it, named all the horses, then pretended they all belonged to me. Anytime I had to walk somewhere, I’d pretend I was on one of my horses, until one day my gran, who’d been looking after me while my mum was at work, gently suggested to my parents that they should have a quiet word with me about it, because it was starting to get weird. Right enough, I WAS 21 at the time…)
(That was a joke, by the way. I was quite a bit younger than that. Still pretty weird, though.)
(This isn’t the direction I was planning to take this post in AT ALL, by the way…)
Anyway! It’s a bad day for me that doesn’t include one or two – or, in this case, three – horses. (One of them is just out of the shot. Don’t worry, I can count to three – just.) This was a particularly good day, not just because it was sunny, but because I also managed to be slightly more appropriately dressed than I was for my last equine encounter. I’ve had these trousers for a few years now: I love them, but I’ve worn them so often they’ve started to get to that stage where I’m afraid to wear them any more, just in case I wear them out completely, and then I won’t have them any more. That is, of course, crazy talk, because there’s no point in having a pair of trousers just to hang them in the closet, so I decided to bust them out on one of the rare days on which we actually left the house this week. DIY: ya gotta hate it. Love it, I mean. Love it.
Still, these cost me all of about £24 or something, so I guess I can say I’ve had my money’s worth when they do finally give up the ghost. I’d like to think there’s some life in the old pants yet, though…
[separator type=”thin”]WEARING: Zara jacket (this season’s version), Zara sweater (similar), H&M trousers, Next boots (similar)
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Gemma Seager
I had imaginary chickens so you are absolutely normal as far as I’m concerned.
Chloe Turner
I had an imaginary horse called Cinnamon 🙂
Nicola Jane Rippon
I had an imaginary ghost called Gus … so you’ve nothing to worry about on the weirdness scale!
Beccy
I love the fact that you had an imaginary horse – there is nothing wrong with that at all! Lovely outfit – I really love the jacket x
Jenny
I have been wanting some plaid trousers this fall, and this seals the deal. i really must get some plaid trousers! The slim fit is beautiful.
Suze
Your hair looks especially pretty in those pics – love the loose curls. (Did you use a curling wand/tong or straighteners to create those curls or are they totally au naturale?)
I’m wondering if having an imaginary friend is a rite of passage. I don’t recall ever having one and feel I may have missed out on something important during those formative and carefree childhood years. Maybe I could get one now?! My only worry (totally disregarding the blatant ‘weirdness’ factor!) would be that I’ve left it too late in life and now my imaginary friend won’t want to know me and my boring, grown-up, mortgage-tethered ways. (I’m guessing that you and Flicka never spent your time deliberating over switching energy providers or lamenting about the state of your clogged guttering and the miraculous ability of huge clumps of moss to materialise out of thin air and other such grown-up woes….Nope? Thought not!) I fear I’ve missed the boat on the whole imaginary friend thing. Shame, I bet it was fun! 🙂
Amber
Alas, my hair is stick-straight – I had to use a curling iron!
If it’s any consolation, I took my imaginary friends and animals WAY too seriously, which had the effect of bleeding any fun out of the experience. I knew they weren’t real, obviously, but I liked to make sure their imaginary existence was as realistic as possible, so I’d spend a LOT of time worrying about where they lived, what they ate, and, in the case of the horses, who would look after them when I was at school/on holiday/off competing in the imaginary Olympics etc… So, basically, I managed to make my fun imaginary friends as UN-fun as possible, really! Only I could stress about stuff that doesn’t actually exist!
Suze
Oh no! Sounds like more of a curse than a joy, this make-believe pals malarkey. Well at least my fleeting bout of ‘Imaginary Friend envy’ has now swiftly disappeared so thanks very much for the additional insight there. Reckon my little younger self had a lucky escape! 🙂
CiCi Marie
I always desperately wanted imaginary friends, but somewhat ironically didn’t have the imagination for them. This fact has lived with me for years, making me question whether I have literally any creativity whatsoever. There you go. Who’s weirder now? And I hear you on loving something so much you don’t wear it for fear of not being able to wear it anymore. Perfectly normal! I feel like this about nearly all of my shoes, as I’ve got such awkward narrow, half-size feet that when I find a pair, I wear them to death and then when they nearly die they take up permanent residence in my house to never be touched again…
char
Haha, I used to have an imaginary pet dragon, who lived under the stairs. Apparently.
Amber
That. Is. Awesome. I was nowhere near imaginative enough for dragons – all of my imaginary things had to be tediously “realistic!”
Amelia
I had whole stables full of imaginary horses when I was a kid. I was also going to grow up to be a champion show jumper. My show jumping champion horse was called Star (his show name was Pegasus). He with a chestnut horse (17hh), who had a star on his forehead, a white sock on his near hind leg, a nose that felt like velvet… And would do anything for me.
I did end up getting a pony, called Whistler, when I was a teenager. He was nothing like Star, except for the velvety nose. He was lovely. And real. They are hard work to look after, breaking ice in the dark on winter mornings is not much fun! If I had one now I’d pay for livery…
Amelia
PS, you look great, as always.
T.
Cute jacket!
Wild Tea Party
I’m really embarrassed to admit my imaginary friend was Michael Jackson. I used to make my aunt push me on one swing and the empty swing beside me for Michael. I think imaginary horses would’ve been preferable in her books.