• Models Own - Purple Grey. Is the colour it says on the bottle - purple grey. Very similar to Chanel's Paradoxal but more solid in tone.

• Collection 2000 - All That Jazz. Charcoal grey with a tiny hint of shimmer. Better than all my Chanel dark grey/black polishes put together. When I fail to put on my Chanel ones successfully, I turn to this one. This is the one which never fails me and the one you will usually find me sporting.

• Boots 17 - Smoke Signal. Smokey navy grey. My personal favourite colour. Goes on well and looks expensive on but very cheap to buy. Recommended. Recommended. Recommended!

• Models Own - Grey. Solid mid grey - goes on beautifully. For those not feeling the charcoals.

• Essie - Sew Psyched. A cashmere soft sage pewter - that's their description on the Essie site (not mine). My first Essie purchase and it was a successful one. Goes on well. Yeah - I'm loving it

• Barry M - Mushroom. Cheap dupe of Chanel's Particuliere. A kind of milky mid brown. Goes on well and good coverage.

• Chanel - Particuliere. Expensive version of Barry M's Mushroom. Very wearable. Nice consistency. One of my more successful Chanel varnishes.

I found over the Christmas period when I didn't go shopping, I didn't buy as much. I say I didn't buy as much (I bought a couple of bits online) but I can honestly say, I think I would have been tempted by more if I'd been out and about "playing" in the shops. So there's a lesson for you - if you want to stop shopping, don't go in shops. Rocket science it is not.

I went out to "play" on Tuesday morning which seems to be my time slot for going in to Leeds under the premise of going to the fish market to buy some lovely fresh fish for the Grumps - this is the fishing bit. And to also do a reccy on what has hit the shops this week - this is the .... shopping bit!

So I shopped my wardrobe and dragged out an old jumper from Jigsaw. This is actually one of those jumpers which is supposed to have a bedraggled scrunched up finish to it. After you've washed it, you're supposed to twist it and knot it to make it retain the wrinkles (yes really). I'd actually assigned this to the bed pile to be worn on a chilly night but then I put it on the other chilly evening and I thought - hey this isn't so bad - we'll move it back to a daytime slot and see how we get on. And the verdict ... it's going back in the bed pile after a wash.

The snow came down this week - not loads but enough to close the school and give the kids an extra day off after the weekend.

The Grumps suggested that it would be good to take the boys outside along the lane and back again and was Mummy coming too? Oh boy. Do I have to? I don't do the cold very well - this is where I turn in to Mrs Grumps ... after I've donned the fleecy tights, the skinnys over those, the thermal socks, lined the wellys with fleece liners, donned an extra fleece, zipped myself up to the neck and plonked the furry hat on. Armed and ready and with a face like thunder.

Okay - it wasn't that bad. It wasn't that cold and I'd already laid down the law with the kids - snowball with 3 inches of me and they're going to boarding school!



Last note :


For those who have been out in the snow with their kids this week ... who's done this? I know I have!

I've been following some amusing discussions about boyfriend jeans at the moment. I know they're the latest fad in the jeans arena but to be honest, they have actually been around like forever. Whilst browsing through endless pictures of celebrities running around in their boyfriend jeans, I was quite surprised to find that some of the pictures were from 2008 and not 2012/13. But gosh - don't they look and feel so current?


I wore my boyfriend jeans all last summer and the best part of autumn. You couldn't prise them off me except when they needed to go in the wash. However, there are a few people out there who are not so keen. People who are not so sure because to them, boyfriend jeans are not that flattering. They're not smart, they add bulk unnecessarily and in some cases you end up with saggy bot. For the time being, they're going to sit on the fence in their skinnys whilst they get their head round them (yes I'm talking about you Avril :o)). But hang about, it shouldn't really be thought of as a boyfriend vs skinny jeans war - it's not. It's just another style option. I have skinnys and I have boyfriend jeans. Different jeans for different occasions for different moods and for different purposes.

So what constitutes a pair of boyfriend jeans then? To me they're just a looser fit jean which you turn up at the bottom. Like the jeans you quite often find me in .......



However, it's not all cut and dry because it does depend on how you want your boyfriend jeans to look. 

The ones I wear are what I call the MOR version. Middle of the Road. They fit in between the Very Distressed and the Not Very Distressed (At All) boyfriend jeans. Obviously.


Very Distressed

There is the extreme option which look a bit like the ones in this magazine :


Practically falling apart and falling off you. We can't all work that look and not all of us want to work that look. This look is for the serious fashionistas - not really for the regular Joe or Sue out there. This look has the biggest potential for saggy bott but that's okay if that's the look you're going for. You can tell this is not my favourite and it is also not becoming a woman of my age. If it was, I would find more nice things to say about it. I can imagine it's also quite draughty. But it makes for excellent visual imagery on the very fashion led blogs.



Not Very Distressed (At All)

These are more for those people who actually like to look like they made an effort (yes you - Avril). I would regard these type of boyfriend jeans as the dipping your toe in the water type of boyfriend jeans - not too obvious yet have that little nod to keeping in with the fashion brigade. No rips, snugger fit up top, less slouchy, a bit smarter all round. 


Actually, my latest pair of boyfriend jeans fits into this category perfectly. These are the Premium boyfriend jeans from the Gap Outlet and are a darker shade than my existing ones and shock horror with no rips or distressing. I purposely chose some with no distressing to give some of my outfits a "cleaner" feel. I sized down in these to give a neater fit around the top half which I found more flattering than the size up. Please excuse the butt shots but I was trying to illustrate the not so baggy bot look and how the waistband fits.



I also picked these over some much lighter ones which I thought would be great for the summer because I already have light ones sitting in my wardrobe and the whiskering around the crotch on the lighter pair was a bit too fake which is one of my bugbears. Do watch out for details like how the whiskering is done as it can really cheapen the look of a pair of jeans.

Well that's it really - I've nothing to add about boyfriend jeans which hasn't already been said. But if you want me to recap :

• Look in your wardrobe and see if you have some jeans which you can turn up to give you the look.
• If not - go to the shops and try lots on. Every shop is different. One shop's boyfriend jeans is another shop's skinnys.
• Size down if the style is just a little too baggy. It might just make the difference. Fab for the ego too!
• It doesn't have to have boyfriend on the label to be a boyfriend jean.

And last but not least ....

• If you don't like them - don't wear them. Stick to what works for you and what you feel comfortable in (this is your get out clause Avril).

So to all those who are about to embark on their search for boyfriend jeans - good luck. If and when you find them - you will wonder how you ever managed without.

To all those who are not keen - that's fine. Everyone has their own comfort zone. I like them because I can bend my knees comfortably in them and they don't show my shape off too much. I'm not good with bodycon which is why you don't see me in skinnys a lot.

To those who already have them - cool. You can be in my gang.

I may have indulged in a little online sale shopping (ignore the halo slipping slightly) but I haven't gone mad. A little bit of knitwear which I coveted prior to Christmas and the grey Splendid tee which I spotted whilst browsing NAP. That's not too bad.

Last Sunday was the first day I made it out of the house to have a little wander around on my own to have a look at real shops and real clothes. I'd noticed in the last week or so I've been developing this strange twitch which comes from not touching new clothes in shops ... it's a strange affliction I have. I hear there are lots of sufferers out there too so I know I am not alone.

Anyway to remedy the matter, I set off for the York Outlet. Some things don't change - I love shopping. Some things do change - I'm shopping differently. I noticed this as I was going in to various shops. It might be because it's January and everyone's watching their pennies a little in January including myself but I did notice that I was a little more mindful than usual about the items I picked up and whether (1) I really wanted them, (2) I needed to buy something to scratch the itch of having something new or (3) they appealed because they were a "bargain". I picked up a couple of plain jersey tops in Gap which had 30% off - I even went so far as to trying them on but then I thought - I didn't set off to buy these, they're not very exciting and my money is better put towards something better. Halo, my my, you are so shiny!

So this is kind of new to me - I'm actually taking a step back to think about what I would really really like. These are not the same things as those on my £1000 wishlist where I spend without guilt. This is my reality wishlist with things on it I can possibly hope to buy. So what do I have in mind which will really make my heart sing with joy and liven up my whole wardrobe? This is my current list :

- Suede loafers (preferably navy)
- Lace up shoes (preferably grey or beige)

Yup ... that's it. In all honesty, that's as far as I've got in identifying what I would like right now and that's probably why I've been quite restrained in the sales. I know I previously said I would like a pair of burgundy Bass Weejun loafers but these are proving rather elusive in a size 4 in the UK. So I've given up and changed tack, colours and materials. but all in all, I would just like a nice pair of loafers. And a nice pair of lace ups which look okay on my feet and do not reduce my legs to stumps or make me look like a clumsy oaf. So a shortish list and a list I was sort of working off whilst I shopping.

Anyway, I went round the outlet polishing my halo after each shop until I reached the Paul Smith shop. This is not a shop I normally go in but for once - I went to have a look .... and whilst looking through the solitary rack of women's clothes in the whole store - I came upon my new checked shirt. I confess now - I do have a slight fondness for boyish check shirts hence the fact that I went a bit off piste buying a checked shirt because I don't recall them featuring on any of my lists just recently, do you?

Last Monday when I was stuck in the house working i.e. ironing and cleaning, I had a bout of cabin fever and silliness where I modelled for you my nice new laundry bag. The other item I modelled which I did not show you was of my furry trapper hat. I was mumbling away to myself about how it wasn't really cold enough to justify wearing it and when was I going to get the opportunity - well folks - guess what - it's officially snowing outside so I can wear my hat! Yippee!

This is how to wear it .....



This is how not to wear it .....



Or your family will disown you!

Sorry - I need to grow up and I never said I was cool but cabin fever does take over sometimes!

I hear the cure is retail therapy!

Grey tee. Ticked. Finally.

Well it's been a long time coming but I finally got one. A grey marl tee. You'd think something so basic would be so easy but no it's not. It's got to be the right cut, the right shade, the right fit, the right material. The right everything. I think I've got it cracked with this tee from Splendid.

• What are your views on simple tees like this? Are they worth the money or do they need to embellished up to the hilt for you to think they are worth their salt? Am I a little mad for spending £30 on something which is so basic or would you prefer to buy 5 tees for this price? I confess - I'm a little bit of both :o) 

• If you like the H&M tee - size down (they are cut very generous).