Monday Musings : 13th January 2020
Monday, 13 January 2020
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Hello there! Friday Five time. No, no, sorry, it's Monday - that makes it a Monday Musings. I do like my little Monday Musings get out clause. I actually got home on Friday and could only muster up a Friday Four and Friday Four just doesn't sound right does it? So I've left it to Monday - that's how I roll.
Friday Five (1 of 5) MiH
I have a soft spot for MiH. I think my MiH Paris jeans were my first foray in to designer denim - I'm ignoring the pair of black Versace jeans I was persuaded to buy by my sisters in the early nineties. So along the way, I've built up a little collection of MiH's as I kind of feel safe with the sizing for this brand. And so I always like to have a look at their site when it comes to sale time. I've had my eye on the orange (they call it tangerine on the website) Jackson jumper since last Feb and I thought I'd nosey along to see how it was doing i.e. had it finally gone in to the sale? And lo and behold, it had and for a good price too along with a couple of others which caught my eye. That Cream Beauford sweater has shades of Sezane about it with the puff sleeve detail and edging around the neckline and the Celia sweater is the most delightful shade of pink. It's called skittle pink! Gosh I'm a marketer's dream! Anyway, I didn't buy the orange Jackson sweater based on the fact that I have a lovely Wyse orange and blue striped number. But if you're looking for some reasonably well priced knitwear (better than M&S and H&M Premium prices) with a good percentage of natural fibres you could do worse than look at these and MiH have a good sustainability manifesto. Sometimes you can afford a little better.
Friday Five (2 of 5) Nice & Clean
Now that's a clean burn!
I chased a man and woman down the street last week. I forgot to give them a candle care card after they'd purchased a candle. This might seem a bit extreme but I had a reason. Basically for once in my life, I read the instructions on my own new Midwinter candle box and it said, you need to give the first burn a good few hours. That sounds a bit extreme but the reason for this, is so that the candle wax can melt evenly across the surface. What I used to do was light a candle and blow it out after half an hour after I'd got rid of what ever cooking smells were plaguing me that day. That's not the way to do it. If you do that, you only melt so much wax and create a tunnel effect going down and you get an uneven burn. Keep repeating that process and you burn straight down the candle. So I've been letting my candle at home burn for a goodly amount of time and it's burning lovely and clean. Which is why I ran after the couple to give them a care card and to tell them that that's what they need to do. #nutter
Friday Five (3 of 5) How Much?
Untitled, 1967 by Mark Rothko
Friday Five ( 4 of 5) Nice Cuppa Tea
My Baz.
I haven't used my proper camera to take any photos since last year. I haven't charged the battery up or got the tripod out to take any outfits of the day. It's been quite liberating not thinking about what I'm wearing and whether I can factor a photo in of it that day. It's kind of nice just to go with the flow but the problem is, the longer you don't do it, the harder it is to take up the mantle again. I just need a little bit more daylight and a little more motivation because when I get in each day, I just want a sit down and a cuppa rather than whipping a tripod out and starting up a photo shoot. I'll get there but this was the best I could do last week with Basil.
Friday Five (5 of 5) Gold
(Gold)
Always believe in your soul
You've got the power to know
You're indestructible, always believe in, 'cos you are Gold!
In year 3 of Primary, George's class used to sing that Spandau Ballet number whenever someone got a gold star that day. I just thought I'd share that. And it also provides me with a gratuitous link to mention gold loafers. Last year, I was all over a pair of gold Primark sandals which were dupes for an expensive Rouje pair and this year, I'm all over a pair of gold loafers which are not dupes for anything remotely expensive. I just like them. I had them in my saved area of ASOS for ages and then I spotted they were in the sale so I finally ordered them. And I totally loved the look of them except they were a bit snug and for some reason, the right shoe kept squeaking when I walked. I took it on the chin and declared them not to be. But if they had been, I had high hopes of styling them as per the collage below which is based on loosely on similar things I already have in my wardrobe.
1. H&M Grey Jumper
2. Kin Orange Bag
3. ASOS Gold Loafers
4. H&M Neck Scarf
5. H&M Jeans
6. Zara Blue Linen Shirt
7. The Future Kept Jute Bag
8. Zara Pleated Skirt
9. ASOS Gold Loafers
2. Kin Orange Bag
3. ASOS Gold Loafers
4. H&M Neck Scarf
5. H&M Jeans
6. Zara Blue Linen Shirt
7. The Future Kept Jute Bag
8. Zara Pleated Skirt
9. ASOS Gold Loafers
For early spring when it's ankle baring time again - I love the look of the gold loafers with a pair of ankle length jeans. I've already got the grey jumper, a little orange H&M bag but I've linked a similar one to what I have which is in the sale currently at John Lewis and a similar little neck scarf. If I'm wearing a high necked jumper, I'm more likely to tie the little scarf to the bag for a little embellishment to jazz up an outfit a little but if you're wearing a crew neck, wear it round your neck air hostess style. Err sorry, I mean like the little French mademoiselles. And Margaret Howell.
Moving on to the summer months, time for my beloved blues! I put that Zara teal pleated skirt up there as the dress equivalent I bought is now sold out in the sale but the colour and effect is pretty much the same and shows how I intend to wear the dress - looking like separates. The blue linen shirt I nabbed in the current sale but it keeps disappearing on and off the site. I managed to nab the link when I last saw it in stock so it's there if you're interested - I always think you can't go wrong with a classic shirt like this and I for one love my blue shirts so it is a totally justifiable purchase for me. It is a bargain now if you can get it and it is the most beautiful summer blue (I sized up to a L for a relaxed fit). And I have the same basket bag from The Future Kept which I bought a couple of years back except mine has a yellow band around the top instead of the brown/grey. I would say - there is nothing too trend led with any of these items - they're pretty much items which go from year to year quietly and efficiently. Strange word to use that "efficiently" but they are what I would deem work horse items which just keep going year in year out. And that's exactly what our wardrobes need these days.
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Last Note :
- Bog it. I might just order another pair of size 4 gold loafers to get them out of my system once and for all. The next pair might not squeak. #fingerscrossed
Just Start ....
Wednesday, 8 January 2020
I'm a procrastinator. I'm a really good procrastinator. I'm procrastinating now - I'm tapping on here instead of doing something. Told you I was good at it.
But I am getting better at not putting off things. I bought a book. I'm not sure if it was the title which grabbed me and I had a bit of time on my hands but I downloaded a sample of it and it kind of got me. It's called Unf*ck Your Habitat. Catchy title eh?
Basically I need to do a bit of decluttering. I need to do this to make everyday more manageable. I need less in the cupboards and I need less in my wardrobes. I hang on to too many things and it all piles up and I keep saying I will get rid of it all but I don't. And then I tackle things which don't really need doing and leave other stuff which does.
Anyway, there's a lot of decluttering books out there but this one seemed to strike a chord. And possibly the sample that I downloaded probably told me what I needed to do but I bought it and read it. And I took one main thing from it. Just do it. No matter how small. Just do it. See it, do it. Simples.
Those three bags of laundry that you've washed and dried. Take one. Sort that one bag out. Don't set out to tackle all three. Three bags is tough. One bag is manageable. Do the one bag and feel good that you did something. It's all baby steps and if you're happy with baby steps, stick with your baby steps. And things WILL gradually start to look better. Those cups on the side table, take them in the kitchen. It's one step closer to where they're supposed to be at least. Take the win.
And don't expect miracles - they don't exist. You won't change overnight and you won't declutter your world over night. I know that but clearing out the kitchen drawer the other day made me feel tons better. Tackling the understairs cupboard didn't take long but it made me feel better. And then I sat back and had a cuppa. Not too over faced. And that's the important thing - don't cut off more than you can chew.
Anyway, what was I saying, yep, see it, do it. Next time you see it, there will be less. Feels good eh?
Friday Five : 3rd January 2020
Friday, 3 January 2020
What's this? A Friday Five? First one of 2020 and hopefully not the last. We're only in January.
Friday Five (1 of 5) Posh Caramac
Yes, I like this. A lot.
Hands up who got a load of chocolate in the house this Christmas? Hands up those who got a load of "nice" chocolate in the house? By that I mean Hotel Chocolat standard as opposed to a box of Roses or Quality Street. Hands up those who shunned said posh'ish chocolate for a packet of Aldi's finest Caramel Dore chocolate with Mexican & American Pecans & Himalayan Pink Salt? Me, me me! Basically, I'm addicted to this stuff - yes, it's another one of my fads and this one has been going since last summer when I first discovered it and shared it with everyone watching U11 cricket with me on the sidelines. It basically tastes like posh Caramac and I did like Caramac as a child. Anyway, they stocked it for about two weeks and then disaster ... it disappeared off the shelves. My chocolate world crumbled around me and I had to temporarily move on to White fudge flavoured Flipz pretzels. I combed the chocolate aisle week in week out hoping that they would bring it back out and then one day, there it was again. I nabbed five packs as a starter but they now seem to stock it as part of their core range. Anyway, it's yum and it also the reason why my jeans with no lycra don't fit.
Friday Five (2 of 5) You Have To Suffer To Look Good.
Youtube Video Here
Which leads me on to the following. I watched this Youtube video in October of Alexa Chung interviewing Camille Charriere, French blogger/instagrammer with long legs and slimmer thighs than me. Camille obviously doesn't buy five packs of Caramel Dore chocolate with Mexican & American Pecans & Himalayan Pink Salt at a time and scoff them with a cuppa. Anyway, they were talking about jeans and were saying how the best ones were the ones which were rigid denim with no stretch. They hurt to wear but they make your butt look real good. I remember going upstairs and dragging out my most rigid jeans (by that I mean, the least stretchy and with the least lycra) which I couldn't bring myself to wear all summer because they cut my circulation off. I put them on and huffed and puffed my way though the day. By the end of it, I declared that I really wasn't made of very strong fashion stuff and I really wasn't cut out for rigid denim. Basically - pass me the chocolate and give me all the lycra.
Picture Source : Pinterest
Those are like the shades I am currently most drawn to - I've always liked fairly muted but strong colours. Do you know what I mean by that? I like a strong yellow but I also like it a muted mustard rather than sunny side up yellow. I like green but veer towards a deeper shade rather than a vibrant leaf green (ignore the fact that I have a bright green COS cardigan squirreled away somewhere). I like burnt orange/rust shades rather than jaffa. You get the gist. Basically I do like colour but not colour which screams look at me. I like colours which wouldn't look out of place in a Toast shop basically. Not stuff that looks like it came out of the CBeebies dressing room.
In the interests of disclosure. I may have purchased both of the above dresses in the Zara sale and both break my usual rule of no sleeveless dresses but I have every intention of wearing both of these layered with something over. Not under. Over. And both look fabulous with black and grey. Sorted.
Friday Five (4 of 5) Slippy Straps
I got myself a black vinyl bag last year. Do you think it looks a bit kinky? In a bit of a sheep wearing vinyl dominatrix kind of way. Or am I just being super weird? I had a little debate with myself at the time on whether to keep the bag or not as the strap was a little slippy and prone to slipping off my shoulders but I played with it every day and didn't pack it up to send back so that obviously meant I liked it. So I did what all sensible people do these days - I googled how to stop bag straps slipping and found this Prym Non Slip Tape which you stick to the underneath of your strap. And do you know what? It works!
Friday Five (5 of 5) Graham St
This has been my favourite blog for the past few months. Beautiful photography. Lovely styling. Hannah Macleod (30s) and her mum (60s) showing us how to look fashionable whatever our age and also how to translate a trend to suit. I want their wardrobes!
Friday Five (5 of 5) Graham St
This has been my favourite blog for the past few months. Beautiful photography. Lovely styling. Hannah Macleod (30s) and her mum (60s) showing us how to look fashionable whatever our age and also how to translate a trend to suit. I want their wardrobes!
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Last Note :
- Hope the new year is treating you kind so far.
Jumper & Jeans Uniform
Tuesday, 31 December 2019
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Oh hi there!
I've said it before, I love a good grey jumper. Or a black one at that. This is good because I now have a loose dress code for work which comprises of black, white and grey upper half and similar coloured bottoms including blue or black jeans. Hallelujah! And a fancy apron from The Stitch Society which has lovely nubuck leather straps (I'm all about the details). I pretty much landed on my feet uniform wise as I'm literally wearing what I normally wear anyway. I'm also a creature of comfort and ease. I don't do tugging up and tugging down and readjusting continuously just to make sure things are just so. No, I like the ease and comfort of a good neutral coloured jumper worn slightly slouchy over a pair of jeans and somehow, this always makes me feel put together. It's not like I don't like colour, I do but I like it in short sharp doses. Once a fortnight I might get the urge to go all colourful and then for the next thirteen days, I want to don my dark materials yet again. That's me.
My two absolute favourites are just plain grey wool crew neck jumpers. One is a Gap grey cashmere jumper which is worn all year round and is probably on it's fifth year or thereabouts. I sized up to a medium when I bought it and I'm glad I did because I do throw it in the washing machine when it needs a spruce up and I think it has shrunk a touch over the years. Or I've got bigger. Or more likely - a combination of both. The other grey jumper is from COS and joined the wardrobe about two years back. It's a rough wool - almost like a donegal but I found the cut extremely flattering and I like the flecks running through it. Both are the perfect size and shape for fitting under coats and jackets without too much fuss. I constantly browse eBay to see if any of these turn up as I'd like backups for both as they are getting more than their fair share of wear in the jumper stakes now that I've incorporated them in to my uniform.
I also have a black cashmere crew neck from M&S. I bought this with one of their twenty percent off family and friends discount codes the other year and I sized up not one but two sizes for the perfect slouchy comfort fit. I do really like a black jumper but I'm so picky about fluff that I have to lint roller them every time before I wear it which is why I favour grey more because you don't see the fluff.
Me most days.
Grey Topshop Jumper (old)
Gap Girlfriend Jeans (old)
Primark Coat (maybe still in store)
Anyway the below two jumpers are the most recent additions to my monochrome grey and black jumper brigade. Both are oversized knits from H&M. The pale grey one I've had for a while and have already worn quite a lot but the darker one is fairly new in to store and to me. My main requirement when I buy any jumper is that it looks like I can de-pill it or shave it to bring it back to new. I get that all knits be it pure wool or acrylic will pill to some degree but some are easier to maintain than others. In my experience, a flat stocking stitch are the best candidates for a round with a razor or my electric clothes shaver. And did you spot that the "black" jumper is actually a black marl? See how I got round the fluff situation? Clever eh?
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Last Note :
- On my online travels, I spotted that the latest Grenson Nanettes in the leopard print hair hide have 20% off here.
- Can I also take this opportunity to thank everyone who has stuck with me and my blog all these years. Thank you for reading - it means a lot.
- And a Happy 2020 to you all - I'm hoping it will be a good one!
Hello
Saturday, 28 December 2019
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New year, new resolutions, new blog. Ta dah!
No, sack that. Well new year isn't till next week and I don't do resolutions and every time I say I will be back here on the blog writing more, it never happens and that's frankly quite annoying don't you think? So we'll work on it being a New Year and we'll take it as it comes. Blog looks a little more spruced up though don't you think?
Anything new happen out there since I last tapped keyboard with you guys? Well I started that little job that I mentioned previously. It's been interesting as I've entered commuting life and that's weird. I used to commute but always by car and now it's by train and I'm learning the joys of trains not arriving on time or cancelling all together. Luckily there are warm waiting rooms and I take a Kindle with me everyday so I do actually have something to do. You'd think that after all these years, I would be tired of Solitaire but no, I'm still there for the daily challenge. Go me.
So I was thinking if there was any point in still writing a blog and the thing is when I started, it was fun and people joined in the banter just like they do on IG but you never felt quite as "judged". You never felt that you had a really rubbish outfit on because there really wasn't a like button on the blog for that kind of thing. You could tap away in blind oblivion and there really is something in that saying that "ignorance is bliss". Now whether people care to admit it or not, if you post on Instagram and your post doesn't get many likes, you feel a bit pants. That's no way to live. So I think for my own mental health and sanity, I should just come back full circle to the blog and tap away happily like a pig in muck about random gumph. It's how I started and I think that's what I should end up going back to.
Even tapping this little post this morning feels quite cathartic. I'll keep things brief and reasonably shallow - I'm not one of those persons who like to divulge heart, soul, personal stuff and bedroom decor on here. I always think, I've seen your bedroom, that's where you have rumpy pumpy. 😉
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Last Note :
- I nabbed my Grenson Nanettes in the Black Friday sale at Shopatanna but they're back at full price again now. I ummed and ahhed over them for a long time as I couldn't decide between the tan and black and then decided that I could live without them until I saw Nicky in a black pair and fell for them big time. And then with starting work, I thought they may be the perfect stomping boots to get me through the winter commute. I ordered them from Selfridges on the Black Friday weekend in the black to have the order cancelled on me the following day. The very same day, the tan version went in to the Black Friday offers for Shop at Anna. I took it as a sign.
- I also bought that big bunch of foliage of Eucalyptus, Hypericum and Gypsophila as my Christmas flower bouquet thinking they wouldn't smell much and be nice and neutral and wouldn't conflict with my new Midwinter candle which I treated myself to. I didn't know that Hypericum leaves smelt like curry. 😱
New Gaston Luga Bag. New Adventures.
Tuesday, 19 November 2019
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Normally, I would say no. But I'm about to do something a little different for me. I'm about to start a new little job and that involves a commute ... on public transport. I can't remember when I ever did that, infact I never did because I drove myself to work even for my very first temping job in my early twenties. So I said yes. I said yes to a Gaston Luga backpack when they contacted me because I thought "actually that might be really useful".
Gaston Luga are a Swedish backpack company from Stockholm. They actually had me at the "from Stockholm" introduction as I do love a little Swedish minimalist design. Ironically, I went for the least minimal design which is their Pärlan range and also unexpectedly, I went for a burgundy one instead of traditional black which you would expect me to home in on. A change is always good and as it turns out, the burgundy tone in real life is quite beautiful.
The Pärlan design is a fairly neat size but I didn't want anything which would swamp me either. I studied the website and their Instagram feed before deciding on what felt right for me. They do have larger designs such as the Pråper which comfortably fits up to a 15" laptop but that wasn't necessary for my needs. I have to say, it is beautifully made - the stitching and finishing on the backpack is precise and my hubs first impression when he saw it was "that looks expensive" and then "Do they do any for men?". Answer to that is yes by the way as the majority of the designs are unisex.
So what can I tell you about the backpack? The "leather" parts are made from a vegan leather and the nylon used seems sturdy but is lightweight and water resistant. Little bonus features include the way it's separated in to two reasonable size compartments, good for keeping purses, phones and keys on one side and all your junk in the other like foldup shopping bags and packets of tissues. I'm not that snotty but it's just one of life's essentials that I think you should have with you. 😊
Oh and one thing which stood out to me, the strap holders. There's two of them basically instead of one which helps keep the straps flush and in place instead of them being loose and getting bent. Little touches like that means some thought has gone into the design.
And last but not least, the cutest little feature has to be the "hidden" back pocket where you can keep things like your passport when you're travelling. Because it's in the back, there's no pickpocketing of your valuables from there, so likewise it's good for people to keep travel or work passes which they want to keep safe yet easily access. My family would like this feature in particular as they are paranoid about pickpockets and have been known to go round Hong Kong with a backpack on their front just to make sure they won't have anyone creeping up and stealing anything from behind.
So yes, as I was saying, I'm starting a little job soon helping my friend Alex at The Little Yorkshire Candle Company, in York which involves a daily commute and I'm going to enjoy using my little Pärlan backpack to bring a little colour to my daily outfits.
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Last Note :
- Currently, Gaston Luga are offering a 25% discount on all their products as part of their Black Friday promotion which also includes a free Ärlig clear travel bag. The discount is automatically applied at checkout so no code is required however this is for a limited time period so if you miss it or you might need a little time to thing things through, you can always use the code SUSIESOSO for 15% off instead.
- If you see me wandering around in York looking a bit lost - I probably am. I have a rubbish sense of direction.
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