Thursday 21 March 2013

(Wo) Man About The House


A couple of my friends say this catsuit is like something Mildred from Man About The House would have worn but when I Googled "Yootha Joyce in a catsuit" all I got was.....


....me, my sewing room, my bag and my bathroom!  


Whether I look like one of my 1970s heroes in this catsuit is besides the point, I'm on tea-making duty today and combined with the full-on thermals underneath it's keeping me warm when I dash outside with a tray whilst Jon tinkers with Gilbert outside on the used car lot front drive.


A bloke messing around with a vintage Volkswagen inevitably draws a crowd of interested bystanders so I've been brewing up for all and sundry for most of the day.


Not that I've any plans to wander far, it's cowing freezing. I got my shopping fix yesterday when I popped into town to peruse the weekly flea market and came back with these rather marvellous 1950s barkcloth curtains.


They're a bit knackered and smelt like they'd been kept in a cellar for half a century but at 25p for the pair I'm hardly going to complain. 



I couldn't resist these suede platforms either and at £1 I'd probably have been been mad not to.  



I feel some curtain couture coming on, just as soon as they're dry.

1970s catsuit (Maisie's Closet Vintage), 1960s Jeff Banks W1 blouse (Courtesy of the gorgeous Alex)

Off to put the kettle on, there's a man in need of tea anxiously waving at me.

See you soon.

82 comments:

  1. I always enjoy reading about English tea. What are you guys eating with the tea? ~ Curious American

    Also, you are the most gorgeous handy person I've ever seen. You make the simplest things look like they should be strutting down the runway.

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  2. this just cements how awesome you are! x

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  3. Aren't you a good girlfriend? I always get told off for not bringing enough tea out.

    Earlier on I googled 'lovely lady painting 1960s' and guess who popped up all over the place? You and Curtise. How jolly exciting that was.

    I could watch a bit of George and Mildred right now. I love the fact that you've got those humungous heels on whilst going about your housework. Do you do make up every day? xxxx

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  4. Your outfit is fabulous. I love your colourful puffy-sleeved 60s Jeff Banks W1 blouse under your vintage catsuit and over your full-on thermals! I love the colour of your lipstick and your pretty vintage rings. Your kitchen looks immaculate and set up perfectly. Well set up vintage era kitchens are marvelous and work well just as they did back before microwaves and the prepared frozen meals I eat too many of. How do you do all that preparation in that amazing outfit and still look so dry and spotless? What an eye and a great deal on those amazing 1950s barkcloth curtains! I love that image you found of yourself as a tea making hero in your catsuit.

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  5. OH! The barkcloth curtains! MARVELOUS! (And while not a tea drinker myself, I'd settle for just about anything that would warm me up...) Speaking of thermals, I just realized I've had some in my dresser drawers that I didn't pull out all winter. What's WRONG with me!

    Catsuits. Now MY biggest problem with them is related to my bladder. You're obviously just a young thang!

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  6. Hi there! Wowser, that is an amazing catsuit you look perfect in it! Love the barkcloth too, what a bargain!!

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  7. I like the catsuit and Yootha Joyce was fab anyway! Love the outfit with the pink hat below too. Looking good Vix.

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  8. I´ll have a cuppa too, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
    Glorious and famous in internet too.
    XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

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  9. You are queen of the internet darling and I'm not surprised. You add colour and kitsch to an otherwise dreary mundane life. I would love to pop over to your lovely house for a brew and see your new curtains xxx

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  10. Love your Catsuit , infact i have been looking for one myself but Cantona find one that fits this weird body! The shoes are great!
    What size shoes do your have? If i may ask .....

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  11. Great cat suit, love your shirt. I bet your glad you got your thermols on its so cold today :)lots of tea being drank here too...

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  12. You just warmed me up with that purrfect cat of a suit- I love the flowery shirt underneath- it looks so sexy and gorgeous, and you! I would LOVE to have your face pop up in a google search- better keyword search AMAZING to see that.

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  13. I'm actually a huge fan of Man About The House series, so I think it's a great compliment that you've obtained that results when searching on google!!, so funny and very rewarding!!
    And you look gorgeous wearing your pretty catsuit, love Gilbert's orange color background!
    besos & Yootha forever

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  14. I agree it is a bit Mildred, but weren't her outfits amazing, you could watch Man About The House just to see what Mildred was wearing lol If its anything as cold as here, Jon is a brave man.
    V
    xxx

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  15. It's wonderful to have such glamourous clothes to cover up your thermals. If only the weather would be a bit more Spring-like.
    What a find those bark cloth curtains are. Longing to see what you make from them.xx

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  16. Wow you look up Yootha in a Catsuit and find yourself!!

    Looking good lady, and great barkcloth curtains!

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  17. this catsuit is totally you. it fits you like a glove. such stunning outfit!

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  18. Love the fact that you are wearing green too today.
    I used to love watching Man About The House and George and Mildred with my grandma.

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  19. Now, you know how much I looooove Yootha, but you are giving her a run for her money!!! SQUEE! You just look SO divoon, and I am SO amused that a Google search brings up nothing but you, you, YOU! Gloriarse you! Brillant!
    It's perfect for layering under, just the ticket for a chilly Spring day. Tea making duties, aye?! SO very English! Makes me fancy a cuppa, but my coffee bitch will be bringing in my second coffee in a sec. tea can wait.
    The barkcloth curtains are dreamy! Can't wait to see what curtain couture splendidness you come up with! LOVE the platforms too, there is no WAY you could have left those behind! Especially at a quid!
    Love Helga xxxXXXxxx

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  20. Yootha, she was always dressed to the nines wasn't she?! Your jumpsuit is amazing and I actually have a black one I keep forgetting about. Now I'm inspired to dig it out but I don't think it's going to fit anymore...

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  21. I have that fabric too, in a different colourway. Catsuits are great till you need the loo! M x

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  22. I love, love, love your fashion blog. You are so fabulous, beautiful and thrifty..

    You blog is my *Blog of the Week**

    Check it out at www.fashion1psychology.wordpress.com

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  23. Mmm now I want a tea! Those curtains are fabulous, can't wait to see what you do with them.

    You are absolutely fetching in a jumpsuit!

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  24. 25 flipping pence!! Amazing. They are lovely.

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  25. I loved Mildred's cutting remarks to George and the withering looks she gave him, wasn't she fabulous. You are rocking the catsuit look Vix and no doubt Jon et al were very grateful for the tea, outside in this bastard freezing weather. I've just had a coffee with an ample glug of Aldi's 'Baileys' to warm me up.
    Look forward to seeing the curtain transformation.

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  26. Love that you are now the google Catsuit Lady!!! AWESOME!!
    I adore your kitchen-so homey looking!!
    The new platforms were a STEAL!!
    I can't wait to see what you create with the curtains--I know it will be fabulous!!

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  27. Suede platforms! Woo hoo! So hot! :D LOVE the jumpsuit, and love the blouse underneath; that pattern is uber scrumptious..and so are you! Curtains are fab, too..great find. :D

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  28. What wonderful finds! Love those curtains and more excited to see what you are going to make from them!
    Xxxxxxxx

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  29. I love your outfit! I particularly like the sleeves and I can see where the relation with Man About the House comes from, which by the way is genius. I wasn't alive when it was aired but my mother-in-law told me about it a while ago and I got sunken into it! xxx

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  30. I'd say Jon is rather lucky to have such a gorgeous dame to bring him tea while he tinkers with the van! I'm pretty sure I watched episodes of "Man About The House" when I was much younger, but don't remember much about the show.

    I love barkcloth, and bought a big piece printed with leaves and pineapples at a vintage show that I have yet to make into something.

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  31. Ha! I know that feeling...as soon as my hubby goes out to muck about with the Chevy, people come from nowhere to talk about it!
    Why are Alf and Dreary included with yer good self there? I never saw Alf in a catsuit. That's an image I won't shift for a few hours...
    Love the curtains and for 25p..proper jobs. Can't wait to see what yo make for you are truly the Queen of Curtain Couture babe!
    Bloody loves ya.
    xxxxxxxxx

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  32. I love that you come up in the search but if you also search Vintage Brummie you will find you aswell lol :)

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  33. You look purrrrrfect in puffy sleeve cat suit. You're so rock star Vix you pop up everywhere.

    Awesome barkcloth curtains. How does one identify barkcloth. I have some gorgeous bright screen printed retro fabric. I'm pretty confident that it is barkcloth, my mind heart say it is, but how can. Be sure? It certainly has thickness too it and an obvious grain if I'm making sense?

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  34. OMG I forgot I haven't even talked to you yet about the new bus!!!!! I'm kinda dying laughing here right now with your google search results?!?!?!? WTF? I think you are the hottest tea making superhero the world has ever seen and now I want a cuppa. Great score on the curtains I adore the sweet tree and all the little houses on them. The shoes could not have been left behind. Sorry I missed you today, it's been mad!
    Soon I promise.
    LOVEYOU!!!
    XXXOOOO

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  35. I've got a man that is fueled by tea :D Ya can't beat a nice hot mug of tea when it's cold. Looking great as usual petal ♥

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  36. I adore barkcloth - what a great swath you found! You're a peach, fixing up the tea for the men-folk. Hope they'll do the same for you on another chilly day : >

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  37. So jealous of all your catsuits-- they usually don't fit my long-waisted body!!
    That cloth is so awesome and the shoes are fantastic. You must have small feet to have such good luck all the time with the shoes.
    Becky :)

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  38. Lol, I love the results of your google search, classic. Those bark cloth curtains are fab, I can't wait to see what you make. Xx

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  39. beautiful cat suit. you are the best bargain hunter ever. i never see things that chap. those curtains. i'm dying to see what you do with them. love lucy xx

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  40. Being American my husband has an utter hatred for tea - luckily that means more for me! I picked up a load of damp smelling cook books from a estate sale the other week. The house was described as being shut up for a couple of week but it seemed more like months - if not even longer. The former owner had been an elderly bachelor who'd travel and collected cook books on his way around the world. I wasn't going to let a bit of a musky smell stop me. Nothing a good airing can't fix!

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  41. I must say that I like the blouse peeking out of that catsuit! When I googled 60's lace up boots you came up too!
    Denise

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  42. Totally the comic strip hero! Love it! And I always love a bit of curtain couture! Bring it on!

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  43. Can't wait to see what amazing curtain couture garment you will make out of that fab barkcloth fabric, love both the print and colour.
    You look fab in your jumpsuit , I love how the blouse sleeves are billowing out like that...xXx

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  44. 25p for barkcloth? I was at an antique mall today and spyed some barkcloth fabric on a bottom shelf. It was really pretty and cost $65!!!!!!!!!!!!! SO double yeah to you.

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  45. The catsuit is keeping you warm and beautiful!
    Greta suede pumps and I really like the fact that your eye shadow, your toe nails and your tights match perfectly.

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  46. This catsuit is amazing on you!)))

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  47. whoa!that google screencap!!haha!!i just love your style..and i love love love your make-up always!

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  48. I love these overalls - you wear them so well. Also I can't wait to see what those curtains become :)

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  49. I think I've said to you before Vix that my mum had a catsuit just like that in the 70's, only it was green, and I always thought she was the most glamorous thing ever in it. She'd have fought you for those curtains and shoes too. She's the kind of old lady now, that likes to chat to people in the street, and I think if she met you she'd gab to you for ages, you'd never get away! Wish Pat was into campervans, Gilbert is my dream motor. xx

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  50. I looove bark cloth. We had bark cloth curtains when I was growing up. But I would ever so much like to wear it now. I wonder what you'll whip up!
    How much better to make tea than stand around and hold and pass tools. Your catsuit fits perfectly! Always in awe.

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  51. Well how blinking fabulous do you look :-) hope all went well with gilbert.Cant wait to see what you mame with the curtains, dee xxx

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  52. Love your catsuits! and the puffy sleeved blouse and the green tights with the platforms. I am afraid I am not so good at bringing tea to Mr S when he is tinkering with Roberta, he usually has to get his own.

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  53. Brill! Fancy googling and finding mainly you, just shows what a ledgend you are hun.

    Adoring the cat suit, just wishes I was skinny enough to pull on off. (I used to own quite a few many years back would you believe)

    Don't think Jon will be tinkering outside today, the snow is back and its freezing.

    X x

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  54. gorgeous......bet you're very prada those shoes!!!!!x

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  55. I sure hope Gilbert is back to his old self soon.
    That catsuit is fab! 25p for a pair of curtains is certainly a bargain in my eyes xxx

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  56. How can you look this kickass on tea making duty? I love the jumpsuit and the flowery goodness peeking from underneath...Gosh Vix I can't say anything more because you have blown my mind and i am babbling incoherantly in the face of so much awesome-ness! xxx

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  57. Oh mine's gone cold so I'll have to make another pot. Or maybe I could just pop over to your's and queue up with the fans. I would, just to see you pop out in that sublimely delish catsuit with the awesome puffy-sleeved blouse, passing a tray of mugs around, giving onlookers a wink and scampering back inside. Curtain couture? Bring it!!!! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoox

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  58. Very Mildred! I will always be in awe of her banana trousers!

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  59. I love practical 70 catsuits. LOVE EM.

    I also enjoy a good tinker of a weekend. Might be tinkering with my garage this Saturday... living la vida loca innit!

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  60. Ooh I could do with a cuppa right now, it's bloody freezing! You look fab as always, I love a 70s catsuit x

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  61. You look amazing! Those shoes are fantastic and I can't wait to see what you do with the curtains!

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  62. Great "on duty" uniform, you Google star you!

    The barkcloth curtains were a fab find. I can see them as high waisted, 70s bell bottoms or even a maxi skirt with your incredible new suede platforms.

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  63. No wonder you are all over Google!
    You are a star!
    Love those wedges, they remind me of my orange pair i found last summer!
    You transform catsuits in work of arts i tell you!
    Now i want one!

    have a great weekend !

    Love

    Ariane xxxx

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  64. I love your catsuit. It makes me wish I had held onto a couple that I had, but alas, I found them just a bit too challenging in the washroom (loo to you :)

    This might be strange to comment on but I do admire your drying rack. What a neat and compact design. We never use an electric clothes dryer, so dry on a rack, but ours is really quite cumbersome and takes up so much space.

    Have a great weekend xoxo

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  65. I just realized that with every other blog I read (and that's quite a few) I read the post in my head using my own voice, regardless of the person's ethnicity. But yours is the only blog I read in a British accent. I think it's the way you write. It's so lovely and quaint and there's no way I can mentally say "knackered" in my own American accent, let's be real.

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  66. PS. Your sentiment regarding my last post really, REALLY meant a lot to me. I just needed you to know. :)

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  67. Amazing jumpsuit, Vix. I don't know Man About the House but to me, you look like a Charlie's Angel in it - you just need some hair flipped back!

    I love it when you Google something and get your very own blog. :)

    Have a great wkend! Xoxo

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  68. Gorgeous catsuit Vix! I also fancy that brilliant barkcloth curtain at 25p, I'll say you can transform them into a pleasing aroma soon,lol. Enjoy the weekend love! xx/Madison

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  69. I am sorry, I never heard of that television show. :( But I think you look stunning in that catsuit. I hope your vintage volkswagen is oke now. And overhere it is the same. When someone is working on his car, (old car or new car) a lot of guys are standing around it and everybody knows everything about cars... think its a guys thing or so.
    Love your new platforms. And so cheap...... droling.....
    xxx Jolanda.

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  70. vix i wore catsuits like that to work everyday in the 70's. i worked as a secretary at hughes aircraft company. i love the way they look. again, so flattering. i want one now!

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  71. oh forgot to say how fab you look in yours. you def have the bod for it. xo

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  72. Wow, 25p for a pair of barkcloth curtains! What a bargain.

    I love how you're wearing the catsuit with that blouse peeking out from underneath.

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  73. You look totally groovy in that catsuit! *meeeow* and your curtains were such fabulous finds.
    Love your makeup and pictures with Gilbert in the background. =D

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  74. That catsuit is fantastic on your slender figure x

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  75. You look far too sexy to be a tea lady, Vix! That cat suit is fabulous, very Charlie's Angels I would say, though yes, a little bit of Yootha thrown in the mix too. Beautiful print on the blouse, and aren't those balloon sleeves stunning?
    Love the bark cloth, can't wait to see what you make with it, and the sandals are wonderful.
    Hope Jon got Gilbert fit and raring to go! xxxx

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  76. I love the fact you make tea for the spectators outside your house!! So generous and kind of you. I'm more the type of person who gets annoyed if people hang around outside my house!!

    Lx

    www.whatlisawrote.blogspot.co.uk

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  77. Holy fucking barkcloth, I am so far behind...

    You are EXQUISITE in that fab jumpsuit - Yootha WISHES she looked half as gorgeous as you - and you often come up in my google searches!

    The blouse under the jumpsuit is also beautiful - I love the beautiful floral and the green eyeshadow.

    Those curtains are stunning - can't wait to see what spectacular creation you come up with.

    I'M SO SORRY FOR GETTING SO FAR BEHIND! Love you more than THOSE PLATFORMS AND GREEN TIGHTS!

    Sarah xxx

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  78. I've never seen that show, but need to check it out, if it was one of your favs. I was thinking you looked right out of Charlie's Angels, ready for action in that pantsuit! Beautiful and dangerous watch out!:)

    And seeing that you show up in google images, omg never thought about that. Just when I was getting ready to start my blog...that scares the me, can I block it!!!;)

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Thanks for reading and for leaving a message. Please don't be anonymous, I'd love it if you left a name (or a nom de plume).

Lots of love, Vix