A Little Catch Up ...

Monday, 31 August 2015

.... with a few outfits included :)

A couple of weekends ago, all the boys, big and small deserted me and left me to my own devices with a fridgeful of microwave meals, some fruit and an assortment of other foodstuffs of the non cook variety. And I spent the weekend up a ladder decorating like a banshee and cleaning those bits which you dont bother to do normally because if you can't see it - you don't need to clean it. And that's quite a different perspective when you're 5ft1" tall compared to someone 6ft. My outlook has always been - if you can't see the dust, it's not there. #nottrue

So I ate my microwave meals on my tod but don't feel sorry for me because there is nothing I like more than the hearing of the "ding" when my meal is ready and all I had to do was go "pop, pop, pop" as preparation. Did I ever tell you how much I dislike cooking?

I also got to lounge around in my pi's on the Sunday morning admiring the fruits of my labour, savouring and enjoying the peace.

But first ... Earl Grey tea. Ahhh.

And I got to eat all the Solero lollies out of the freezer :

Tropical Solero's - a personal favourite.

And after a weekend of looking like Waynetta Slob, I cleaned myself up for the boys return so I wouldn't scare them.

Monsoon Beach Top (altered), Uniqlo Jeans, Ancient Greek Sandal

Annoying tan marks from flip flop adventures in Scarborough - gah!

We went camping in the Yorkshire Dales. In the rain.

Oh how we laughed.

Arriving at the campsite to be met by our friends and Billy the dog who was dressed and ready for the weather ahead.

Billy's Blue Steel pose here.

As was I in my old faithful Sprayway jacket! I am practical to say the least.

Being blown about a bit!

We took a trip in to Grassington .... and we took shoefies.

And then the rain came.

Still smiling

.... and it came and it came and it came and it meant we had to eat out as we couldn't cook outside! Oh what a shame ;o)

Warm almont and pear tart with clotted cream. It was really horrid ;o)

The next day dawned lovely however and we had bacon sarnies and Earl Grey in the sun.

Morning!

East meets West

Before making our way to the Forbidden Corner near Leyburn. This is a fab place for kids. I'm not sharing pics of this because it's a little adventure waiting to be discovered and I found the less you know about it going in, the more you get out of it so I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise for anyone else. But before going in, we fuelled up in the cafe.

Uniqlo Breton, Totes Bag

Before returning home. One rainy night in a tent was enough and we weren't about to make it two besides which we'd forgotten to bring a lamp #blairwitchproject

I fitted in a dress one day more out of necessity than anything - the jeans are not happy with me :( The Grumps did say I looked lovely and it was nice to see me out of a scruffy top. Thanks mate. Love you too.

Whistles Dress, H&M Cardigan

And another dress - a rather wet one actually which was as a result of filling up water bombs rather than being blasted by them. You don't know how risky it is filling those dratted little things!

H&M Dress

And I wore the Zara peasant blouse and jeans ....

Zara Top, Jack Wills Jeans, Totes Bag, Pieces Slides

.... when we managed to squeeze in a little music & beer festival in Brighouse to watch my god-son's band Lunan play.

Lunan

.... whilst my boys ate their way through the funds they had in their purses.

Somewhere along the way, I defaulted back to old favourites of shirts and jeans. For a day of visiting family.

Gap shirt, Topshop Baxter Jeans, Zara Espadrilles, Primark Bag

And for just going to the shops with the boys, I pulled on one of my Uniqlo silk blouses. I was thinking that I hadn't worn them much this year but to be honest I like to wear them on the cooler days and I have just been trying to get as much wear as possible out of the pretty summer cotton tops I have. What I have noticed is that Uniqlo haven't got a silk range out currently as I wanted to see what offerings they had this year - oh no!

Uniqlo silk spot shirt, New Look Jeans, Hobbs NW3 Sandals, Sezane Tote

And last but not least ... I wore this when I hung out with Elvis :)

American Vintage Top, Primark bag, Zara Jeans

So a little round up just to keep you up to date with my ever so practical outfits. At the end of the day, you can see I rate comfort first!

Favourite Summer Outfit

Thursday, 27 August 2015

I've decided that this is my favourite outfit this summer.

Primark Blouse, H&M Skirt, Park Lane Sandals, The Jacksons Bag

And to my surprise and to yours as well probably, I'm not wearing jeans! I wore this when I went to Scarborough and I felt good walking around in it. When everyone was going round in vest tops and shorts, I was breezing along in this swishing my skirt, feeling like I'd walked out of a Toast lookbook which I was more than a little happy about. I changed the matt silver sandals when I got to the beach for Havaianas and subsequently have the dodgy tan marks to show for it. The top is my old Primark one and is about eight years old and has served me so well. I'm worried that it's day might be up soon as I have worn it so much and am seriously considering thinking about trying to get a copy of it made. Yes I like it that much! And the bag - I'm still using this lots. It's such a good size for throwing all manner of things in and the handles are long enough to wear on the shoulder. Yes, I was very happy and very comfortable in this outfit.

Even though it makes me look pregnant when a cheeky puff of wind sneaks up your top!

Happy days!

So what's been your favourite outfit this summer?

Going Green

Monday, 24 August 2015

Prada d'Iris Perfume, Dior Glow Lip Gloss, White Company Fresh Fig Candle, Becksondergaard Clutch

I took the above picture just recently and I was thinking what a nice colour palette it was all together - the silvery greys, the black, the whites and the rather striking deep evergreen. And have you noticed how this shade of green is seeping its way through the winter collections? I have. Anyway, I thought I'd put together a little montage to see how this works in a clothes/accessories sense coming in to autumn.

1. Becksondergaard Purse, 2. Zara Scarf. 3. Uniqlo Cashmere Jumper,

4. White Company Fresh Fig Candle, 5. Topshop Jamie Jeans, 6. Becksondergaard Clutch,

7. Zara Bag, 8. Whistles Shoes, 9. American Vintage Jacket, 10. Forever21 Dress.

1. This little purse is green, spotty and hairy which sounds pretty awful but is in fact pretty wonderful. Just look at it!

2. I usually buy a couple of scarves a year and I like the light neutral tones of this Zara one. Besides which, stripes are always good, horizontal or vertical.

3. I love grey cashmere jumpers. I have a few. I don't mind if I have another and Uniqlo's cashmere is competitively priced and easy to look after.

4. If you follow me on Instagram you'll know I've been decorating. I received the new Fresh Fig candle from the White Company and I have to say it looks very nice in my newly painted clean room ;o) It smells lovely - I can detect the berries (cassis), I don't know what figs smell like as I haven't eaten any in a while but there is an underlying "greenness" about the fragrance which I really like as I favour green/clean scents. However, I have yet to light the wick - I'm saving it for September when the nights draw in and it will be interesting to note how cleanly and evenly it burns in due course.

5. In my world, black jeans equate with winter and blue jeans mean summer. And Topshop's black Jamie jeans are amongst the best out there. I have a pair from a couple of years back which are still going strong.

6. This clutch is a recent addition to So So Towers. I liked the simple clean lines with the distressed silver lower panel just to give it a bit of pizazz. It's not a bad size too - I think I can even fit a pair of going home shoes in there if I wanted to!

7. The Chloe Drew was a bit of hit this year wasn't it for those with a thousand pounds to spare? But fear not, Zara do what they do best and have put out their "take" on this bag for the season ahead. And I'm thinking, well done Zara - strong colour game!

8. Basically, lace up Aquazurra lookalike shoes are here for a bit longer. Does this mean that I should have jumped on this bandwagon a year ago? Probably but I'm glad I didn't because the high street has produced some fab versions at very affordable prices. At the very top end of the high street though, are the Whistles Sida shoes. Being leather rather than suede, these will work nicely going into the wetter months. These are my current favourite pointy version of the ghillie shoes.

9. The American Vintage jackets are a brilliant fit for me and will be perfect when the weather is more "autumn'ish" to sling on over a top for the school run. I can't do a smart blazer but this is perfect for that slightly more dressed down look that I prefer.

10. Now this "slit-sleeve: statement dress is from Forever21 and priced ridiculously low - just £18. I think I may be a little in love with it - I love the drama but I have nowhere to go in this. Someone buy it and pair it with the Topshop Nomad shoes for me will you?

So, I have some of the items above already and usually go for berry shades as an accent for the winter months but this year ... I may be going green. I might start with this!

M&S Cashmere Jumper

With black jeans, a grey scarf and some pretty shoes - autumn here I come!

Lace Up

Saturday, 22 August 2015

Source

No. I haven't gone out and splashed out on a pair of Isabel Marant Leo lace up pumps. I'd love to but finances and the fact that they've sold out dictate otherwise. But isn't that a pretty picture up there?

Anyway, if you have small feet, you could get a pair of these from the children's section in Zara. A little simpler in styling but with a definite nod to the original design :

Zara Leather Ballerinas

Or if you don't fit in to them, buy them for your mini-me. If you have one. They will look so cute.

If You Can't Find What You Want ...

Monday, 17 August 2015

..... make your own.

I had a #widn tag from a fellow Instagrammer @Brumblodwyn who asked me what I was doing and I was actually trimming down a print that I had just created.

I've been up a ladder for the last few days giving a couple of rooms a lick of paint - a bit of a refresh and I decided to change a few of the pics. So scrolling through Pinterest and Etsy, I found some prints I liked but weren't just quite what I wanted. For instance I found a wonderful quote :

on fellow Instagrammer @chloegraceb's Pinterest board (fab source of inspiration). But it was the wrong size and didn't fit the frame I had in mind. So, I took matters in to my own hands and made my own.

I found a background that I liked. My free background was available from here.
I used a font that I found previously which I liked. Mine is called Mom's Typewriter and is available here.
I changed the colours a bit to make it more interesting.
Hit print.

And that's it.

So if at first you can't find what you want. Make your own!

Breakfast

Thursday, 13 August 2015

Oats & Chia

Well I've done avocados to death to the point that my body now resembles one. And I cannot face any more Greek yogurt and granola either. Time to move on.

And I have - on to some oaty stuff with chia seedy things. My new fad. It doesn't taste bad, looks a bit gluey but it only takes a minute to prepare. I tried it as it was recommended on the packet by just adding hot water to the mix and and it's okay. If you want something dairy free - this is perfect and if you want it a little a bit tastier, some almond milk or soya milk is good and ramps it up a bit. I know as I tried it like this too. I also threw on some blueberries and then picked them all off again and ate them separately - I'm not a great lover of berries in my cereal - they taste a little "tart". I'm weird like that.

Now if I keep eating this ... I will be bored to death soon - probably by August - so any suggestions out there for some healthy interesting breakfasts with minimal cooking and minimal berry fruits involved would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you from my body in advance :o)

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Last Note :

* As you can tell, I'm quite faddy about things. I do them to death till I can do them no more.

* Still can't quit those second breakfasts! The days are long!

Everyday Adventurer

Tuesday, 11 August 2015

Let's have a run out somewhere. It's going to be nice on Saturday. Let's go to ......

.... Scarborough.

That was my suggestion for last Saturday. I follow Margot Barbara's Instagram feed and in one of her posts, she said to try and do something a little different, be a little more adventurous and to tag it with #MBeverydayadventurer. Like taking a different route home, exploring something new, just having a little adventure basically. So I decided to go right instead of left. I chose to go to Scarborough and not Whitby because Whitby I have been to many times and its beautiful and we feel comfortable getting there, where to park up, where to eat and where to wander. Scarborough? Not so much. So I chose to go right towards Scarborough instead of left to Whitby.

I donned the H&M linen cotton skirt I bought recently (seen here) and popped on an old favourite Primark blouse. I could have done shorts, I toyed with culottes, I could have done jeans but a skirt just felt right today.

And the weather could not have been more perfect and the parking was far cheaper than in Leeds (you hearing me Leeds City Council? £5.50 for 2 hours is outrageous).

I didn't do much and I didn't move much from my sandy spot on the beach but I had a great time sat watching the pirate ship going back and forth ....