Friday Five : 24th Feb 2017

Friday 24 February 2017



Gosh Fridays come round fast don't they. I almost didn't put one out this week as I was on half term and for me everything seems to stop for half term and the juveniles but hey, I needed some time out from them so here I am.


Friday Five (1 of 5) Yellow





And the colour this season is yellow. Or pink. Or green. Or red. Take your pick and I'm going to pick yellow. This bag has caught my eye and I've been to visit it a couple of times. I don't think it will be long before I crumble. They did the leopard version last year which I loved but I think I love this one more. #mellowyellow


Friday Five (2 of 5) Holiday Hobbies


I've still to make a pompom for the hat.


So far this week on the half term jollies, I have read the second Harry Potter and knitted three hats. I'm away from home and it's been raining just about all week in Wales so I've had plenty of time to kill. Depending on the  thickness of the wool, I can knock out a hat in an evening. I'm all for quick wins. The hubs has asked if he can have a scarf now and I said no. I only make hats. And I have a bit of a stockpile of them at home. Anyone want a hat? Taking orders now for September.


Friday Five (3 of 5) Embroidery Part One




I tried this top on last week. It's quite a crisp cotton rather than the softer voile styles for summer. You can fasten it at the neck if you fancy death by strangulation but I always prefer my necklines open anyway (joys of being blessed with a short neck) and it's far pleasanter when the temperatures rise. I  was quite drawn to the dark embroidery - it feels a little more eastern European than the usual monochrome offerings. I tried on a 10 and I would say this is true to size.


Friday Five (4 of 5) Embroidery Part Two


I'm a messy worker.


I've been googling how to do different stitches on Youtube and chain stitch looked nice and easy. So I popped to a local crafts shop, had a natter with the lady there who advised on one of those embroidery hoops when I told her what I was up to and I've been practising on an old jumper. If it all works out, you can see the fruits of my labour on here soon.


Friday Five (5 of 5)  Saltwater Slides






I've been waiting for these to launch since I spotted them on Hannah's blog in January. I kept going back and forth on sites which I knew stocked Saltwater and today - bingo! I kind of like these over the traditional strap version as I feel possibly a little less "young" in them. And I do like a pair of slides in the summer months and if these are as comfortable as Saltwaters are reputed to be, I should be just fine. However, what colour?


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Last Note :

  • I really love my boys but boy am I glad they are back at school next week. My ears are bleeding.



So Many Shoes!

Wednesday 22 February 2017



And only two feet! Booooo!


Golden Goose (old but new version here)
Everything else R.I.



I saw the black floral mule loafers first as I was dashing past the shop and I do mean dashing past. I hardly ever go in River Island, it's never quite felt like my shop. My friend says it's very Pretty Woman before Vivian got the makeover! But I think I've been missing a trick here because look at all those lovely shoes they currently have! I was having a ball in there and had to have a look online to see if there were any gems I'd missed and look what I've rounded up! There's a bit of Gucci going on here and there, a bit of Marant inspiration and a whole lot of Miu Miu! And best of all - without the designer prices! I'm good to you I am. 😜







Friday Five : 17 Feb 2017

Friday 17 February 2017



Friday Five (1 of 5) Lavender




I've been on the Dior Nail Glow for years now - I did a post on it a few years back here. It's the best thing ever for a cack handed person like me who can't paint their right finger nails neatly with their left hand. The struggle is real. So whilst having a browse through Grazia a couple of weeks ago, I spotted the Essie Treat Love and Colour polish in the must have shade of Laven Dearly. I thought it might be the perfect colour for summer and would give the nails a slight wash of colour. I promptly went to hunt it down and five shops later, I found a bottle. I painted it on my nails and took pics. The hubs watched on in a bemused manner before saying "I don't like it". Well, I have to admit I wasn't that keen - it probably wasn't my colour. I wasn't that keen on the slightly milky finish and it didn't wear as well as I would have liked either. It might be what you're looking for but it wasn't for me. I'm sticking with my Dior Nail Glow. #theoriginalandbest


Friday Five (2 of 5) Lisa Dawson




Lisa's Home


Are you following Lisa? Why not? Go and follow her on Instagram here and then go and read her blog. It's down to earth, engaging, funny and she's lovely. Her home is a dream and her interior projects are simple and inspiring. Best of all - she likes a bargain from the high street and she's happy to share her finds and tips. She also runs little workshops in her own home so you can see everything in her little IG squares for real and you even get lunch and an Aperol Spritz at the end of the day in her little bar! Go and find out what she's up - it will be worth it! #faffandlaffwithlisa


Friday Five (3 of 5) Selective Hearing


Basil helping out with the flatlay.


Did you know I'm as blind as a bat? I wear contacts and am totally lost without them. Anyway, I was overdue for an eye check and took myself in to Leeds. Whilst I was there, I picked up my five free pairs of lenses which you're entitled to each year if you're on a Lensmail scheme with Specsavers -don't be missing out) and was asked if I'd like to have a free hearing test. I was in a good mood so humoured the young chappy who was looking after me.  Turns out I have perfect hearing. It's just selective around certain members of the family. My boys can confirm that. ;o)  #mummymummeeemummmmeeeeee


Friday Five (4 of 5) Pyjamas




When was the last time you wore nice pyjamas? When was the last time you actually wore a proper set of pyjamas? I'm guilty of grabbing a £5-6 pair of Primark jammy bottoms when I see a pair I like and pairing with any tee I've got going spare. It's done me fine but sometimes I think it would be nice to have a nice pair of pj's where the tops and bottoms matched. I've been keeping my eye out on Jigsaw's sale as they had some lovely ones in the sale recently and they all sold out and then I just spotted the above pair of Pj's half price in the sale and in stock. I think it's time to up my pyjama game! #yousnoozeyoulosethepjs


Friday Five (5 of 5) Paper Planes


Paper Planes Trailer Here


This comes recommended by my two boys who found the film on Netflix and I thought you might like a little something to watch whilst whiling away those half term hours (if you are whiling away half term hours that is) with kids. It's a film about a boy who makes paper planes. I know, I know, it sounds dreadfully exciting doesn't it? Not. Stick with me and hear me out. It's a feel good movie and without giving any plot away, it gives you the warm and fuzzes at the end. It will also make you tear your hair out when your kids go on a paper plane making frenzy which mine did as they were so psyched and buoyed up by the film. And if nothing else, it will get them off the techy toys and doing something different for a couple of hours. Infact my eldest entrepreneurial son even managed to sell a couple of his super duper finely honed paper planes to some of his class mates. #notawordofalie #getyourA4ready


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Last Note :

  • The black broderie New Look top which I included in last week's Friday Five is now half price! So I put the saving towards the white one as well!



Quick OOTD : 15/02/17 28 Again

Wednesday 15 February 2017



Autograph Cashmere Rollneck (old)
The Kooples Parka (size down)
New Look Bag (old but similar here)
H&M Jeans (old)
Seven Boot Lane Honey Boots (past season but similar here)


The boys were guessing the age of my friend whose birthday it was today. I asked them how old they thought I was and waited for the numbers of doom. "Wearing that coat and those jeans, I think you look about 28" said Ben. 

I'll be wearing this combo for the rest of my life then!


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Last Note : 

  • The Kooples parka comes up big. I'm wearing size XXS and that almost never ever happens.
  • A bit like being told you look 28. #inmydreams #ididntpayhim #heisonlyten #loveisblind


Lovers

Monday 13 February 2017




Bella Freud for Fred Perry (old)



Sorry, you can't buy that jumper up there. It's an old one from a previous Bella Freud for Fred Perry collection. Love that little gold laurel wreath on the sleeve too.

However, you can get the one below and isn't it the most perfect jumper for Valentines Day!  And it also has a little laurel wreath embroidered on the sleeve too though you can't see it on the picture. #ratherhavethisthanroses 





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Last Note :

  • I was always more of a Mod girl than a Rocker so the Fred Perry collab is right up my street. 
  • The price of roses this week !!! #streuth


Friday Five : 10 Feb 2017

Friday 10 February 2017



Hi Peeps! Fridays sure come round quickly don't they?


Friday Five (1 of 5) Hades Wool





I've been waiting to see which direction Hades Wool were going to go with their new collection of jumpers and it's finally arrived. It was always going to be a tough act to follow after the runaway success of their pop band ones from last season (well done you if you got one). However I still have this one problem - I can't wear a tee or jumper or sweatshirt which bears the name of something I know nothing about or weren't a fan of. So does this mean I have to add a new book to my reading list before I'm allowed a jumper? Probably. I don't want to find myself in that situation where someone goes "oh it's a great book that" and I just crawl under a stone and die a little. Probably doesn't matter anyway as the jumpers are selling out faster than I can read the book.  #onyourmarksgo


Friday Five (2 of 5) Pretty Top




I had to include this because I just love a pretty top. The Monsoon one doing the rounds at the moment is gorgeous but a little full on for me but this broderie style one means it's a little more daytime which suits me down to a tee. I also think it has a bit of an "Other Stories" vibe about it doesn't it? This is exactly the kind of top I love and resist because the high necklines usually garrotte me. But I'm a trier and I took it in to the changing room just to see if my luck was about to change and amazingly, it fitted and didn't strangle me and the sleeves weren't overly long. Oh and I found out when I got home, they also do it in white. #blackorwhite


Friday Five (3 of 5) Stuff That Works


I just couldn't bring myself to photograph a bottle of Dr Beckmans
so I've put up a picture of a stain free rug and a cat and child instead. 


The big boy had a nose bleed and managed to get to the bathroom with the carpets relatively unscathed bar one big drop. Boy that's annoying. I did a quick wipe of it with a wet wipe which looked okay at the time but when it dried, it was clearly still there. The hubs found the Dr Beckmans Carpet Stain Remover that I picked up in Aldi during one of their recent spring cleaning week offers and had a go at the offending mark. "This stuff is seriously good" the hubs told me. "The stain was disappearing before my very eyes" he said. "I didn't have to even scrub it", "It's amaze balls!" Well maybe he didn't say "amaze balls" but he was pretty impressed. So just incase you have some stubborn marks on your carpet - give it a go. #stainwhatstain


Friday Five (4 of 5) Maranting Around




I still have a bit of a soft spot for Isabel Marant stuff. It's one of the few designers I take a look at when the new season stuff comes in. However it's usually quite easy to find a replica or a homage on the high street if you have a little snoop around. I spotted the above scarf in M&S which bears more than a passing resemblance to the Marant Clemence scarf. I have to try scarves on to get the measure of them and see how they tie, if they drape well or if they are going to give you a hard time and be awkward beggars. The one below is a good one as it's a good size, soft (but not too floppy) and also square in shape which makes it easy to fold in to a triangle shape to drape super nonchalantly like the French girls do! I have one similar but I struggle with tying it - this is my replacement.  #goodscarf




Friday Five (5 of 5) Peg Board




George has a birthday party to go to tomorrow and I don't know about you but by the time they get to the age of 8 and over, it all gets a little tricky as to what to buy them. Well going against the grain of the traditional boys presents whatever they may be, I've bought the birthday boy a peg board. I thought it could be quite interesting to see what little gems, 8 year old boys could come up with on a daily basis. It will probably be something like "poo smell bum". We are talking 8 year old boys here. Oh and I believe they are quite popular if you've been looking at the housey IG accounts recently. #poosmellbum


Have a good weekend y'all! x



Day Tripping

Thursday 9 February 2017



Little Deets


So a week ago, I found myself on a train heading towards London to meet my gal pal Michelle. She didn't know it but I needed someone who had a better sense of direction than me to get me to Clerkenwell to meet Jules Dobson from Village England. I read maps upside down don't you know?

Anyway it's not often you get an invite to have a cuppa with somebody behind an actual brand so that's got to be worth a visit alone along with the promise of seeing a new handbag collection. 





It's serious stuff this talking handbag business.


Jules has been working hard focusing on the new designs which she says is more representative of her own laid back style. A little more contemporary and a little more tomboy and edgy. But it's not all about designs, there's been a lot of cogs and wheels in the background over sourcing the perfect hides/leathers for the bags and setting up a new UK factory. I wasn't lying when I said she's been busy.









And on first impressions the new designs do look a lot different from the previous but look carefully and what you will notice is that some of the shapes still hark back to the original Village England designs but just had a good old 2017 tweak. If it ain't broke .... 

My eyes were immediately drawn to this bag.






It's an updated version of their Haworth bag which sold out previously and I have a feeling this one will do pretty much the same. Both Michelle and I made a beeline for it - the not too OTT stud detailing and the neat shape made it a winner. Not too big but roomy enough for all of life's essentials. And it's soft and squishy. Jules gave it a punch or two just to prove the point - the bags are made for everyday life and not just for showing off. And I know not everyone will be all over studs and fancy straps, you'll be glad to know that the traditional ranges associated with Village England will still be running alongside. I carry a Cranleigh and it's a brilliant design for me - no awkward zips, a good strong magnetic catch, enough detail to take it above the everyday ordinary and a good size. It's also a classic.

And talking about designing for everyday, one of the biggest bone of contentions is for ladies who don't or are scared to mix the metals. Am I carrying gold or silver hardware today? Carry both. It's covered with this bag.



Best of both worlds.


And moving on to the summer range, we have warmer tan and nude shades.




Lovely whipstitch detailing.


Much more relaxed and casual designs. Perfect with white blouses/tees and distressed denim and a tan. Sunshine most welcome.

So that was me day tripping last week. Michelle and I only meant to stay an hour or so but stayed quite a few hours more nattering away putting the handbag world to rights and going way over our allocated Prosecco consumption (apologies if anyone else was stopping past and there was nothing left to drink).  That Jules eh? She had me going with a cuppa indeed!


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Last Note :

  • Thank you for inviting us down - it was lovely to meet you Jules and your ladies.
  • The new collection will be available soon, no exact dates as yet but I will let you know. A few tweaks are still being made based on feedback from the meet ups.
  • How nice to be listened to.   :o)

She wears it well don't you think?



Dress Up Dress Down

Tuesday 7 February 2017



That navy Jaeger coat I mentioned in the last Friday Five post. I thought you might like a better picture of it. 





Yep, that's the coat that I had no need for but fell in love with when I tried it on. Yup. Big love. HUGE love! 

I like the perfect shade of midnight (dark navy) that it is. I don't hold with these light and off shades of navy. It has to be a true dark navy for a coat and that makes it look more expensive. I like that it feels amazing to the touch - that's probably down to the 90% wool and 10% cashmere composition and it has a lovely weight to it that makes you think of it as a solid coat. I worried over and over about keeping this coat as essentially I don't often wear coats like this. I tend to have quick throw on casual coats and wondered if I was making an expensive mistake. Well time will tell but now that I've started to wear it, I've not stopped. That's just how I roll - it's just taking that first step and letting it out of the wardrobe. I love that this is a coat that you can dress up or dress down. But you know me, I'll be dressing down all the way.

And for a titch like me, it was wonderful to find a longer length coat which didn't drown me! I loved the grey M&S Limited Edition coat which was making the rounds last year and I tried it umpteen times and heck I even bought it but I knew, I just knew it wasn't quite right and it was just that smidgeon too long on me to make it credible. When I put this one on, I knew it was the right length straight away. Trust it to cost more.



New Look Side Stripe Jeans (H&M Version here)
Adidas Superstars (past season)


And I don't know about you but I'm loving the "slightly" warmer temperatures of the last few days. It's meant that I can get the ankles out and the cropped jeans back on. Those side stripe jeans up there,  I picked up in the New Look sale last year and they've sold out since. I'm only just resurrecting them again but it's nice to see that H&M have only just put out their version so maybe I'm not quite out of fashion just yet. #phew

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Last Note :

  • The coat is true to size. It's a boyfriend fit so it's roomy but neat enough across the shoulders so it doesn't drown you. It fits a big jumper inside comfortably. As you can see.
  • I've turned the sleeves under for now till I get them altered professionally.
  • This coat didn't go in the sale and believe me I've been watching it all through January.




Friday Five : 03 Feb 2017

Friday 3 February 2017



Hi! I'm getting the hang of these Friday Five now.


Friday Five (1 of 5) Baskets




What do you think? Got a touch of Rae Feather about them? I thought so too but luckily these are minus the price tag as I spotted them in the sale and did a double take. Which one do you like? Me? I think I like the white and yellow one. If you're feeling crafty, I'm sure you could stencil your initials on to give it that little personal touch. #basketcase


Friday Five (2 of 5) Parkin


I'll just have the one ... packet!


I'm hopelessly addicted to these Ginger Parkin biscuits from Aldi. A packet has fallen in to the basket nearly every week for the last six months. That's a whole lorra lorra Ginger Parkin biscuits. I like that they start off crunchy and then after a day or so, they take on a chewy texture. Not stale ... just slightly chewy. Slightly yummy. Slightly more'ish. I'll just have another! #gingernut


Friday Five (3 of 5) Starting Early for Summer


Primark Top (instore)


I did a quick whip around Primark at break neck speed - parking isn't cheap in Leeds! And that black top caught my eye up there. Kind of easy to throw on and very forgiving on the flabby arms and flabby tum. We like clothes that forgive and forget our excesses. This is a great top as it's smart enough for the office and yet would look great with a pair of jeans and tan sandals on a summers day. It would also be perfect for holidays as I have a feeling it will drip dry really well and there should be no ironing required. Something, I can really get behind!  For the record, I was able to size down in the top. I may have also bought the khaki colourway too!  #forgiveandforget


Friday Five (4 of 5) Reading.


I reckon I can finish before the end of Feb if I get off social media.


Yup. That old chestnut. I bet none of us does as much of it as we would really like. So I've set myself the goal of re-reading all the Harry Potter's before the year is out. I've done the Philosphers Stone and I'm now on The Chamber of Secrets. This has all come about as I watched the last Harry Potter film on New Years Eve and couldn't remember a jot about horcruxes and who was good, bad and indifferent and had no idea what was happening so I thought it was time to have a refresh. Besides I want to see if I missed anything along the way when I speed read them years ago when they came out. Who else did that? #Fessup


Friday Five (5 of 5) Classic


Accessorize Bag (other colours here)
Adidas Superstars (old)


That coat was not an intended buy. I was skipping (la di da dah) through John Lewis and spied that infamous camel coat of Frances. I'll try that on just for a bit of fun I thought. What happened next was "Oh, it FITS!!!" and "Oh I LURVE it!" and then there was a swear word. I didn't buy it in the camel despite having looked for a camel coat for years, I wanted the midnight one. And I bagged it also during the Black Friday weekend last year. It's beautiful. #youreworthit


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Last Note :

  • Sometimes I buy cheap and sometimes I splash out. It's all about balance.
  • Have a lovely weekend everyone.


Susie So So