[AD : Some of the links in this post may contain affiliate links]

----------------------------

Last Note :

[AD : Some of the links in this post may contain affiliate links]

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. 😉

----------------------------

Last Note :

[AD : This post contains gifted items]

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".

Yep. I was all over it. The pink and red jumper from Wyse London. I saw it and loved it immediately. Stripes, cute and in such a funky colourway. Just the right side of slouchy, nice amount of mohair to give it a retro feel. Right, I've pre-ordered it . Now sit back, flex those fingers and wait.

And wait. And wait. And wait. 

Well that's how it felt. And then all of a sudden, the blue and orange version of the jumper popped up but I wasn't fast enough and it sold out. What??? It was like, did I miss something there? Why didn't they have that out at the same time as the pink and red? Pfft! That's because I knew that if I'd seen the blue and orange one before the pink and red, I'd have just ordered the blue and orange. Humph. And then the email came saying the pink and red one had been despatched. And I went online to have another quick nosey at it to remind myself what it looked like and I spotted the blue and orange was  back in stock. I ordered faster than you could say "express delivery".

So two jumpers turned up on the same day. And I liked them both. Gah.

For fun, I showed a picture of them both to the hubs and didn't tell him I'd ordered them. 

Me :  "What do you think?"

Hubs :  "I don't like them".

Me :  "Why?"

Hubs.  "They're too bright .... for you."

Me :  "Oh"

So a day later I showed him some more pics of the jumpers and assured him that they weren't as bright as they appeared on screen. And he raised his eyebrows at me, in that "You're not going to let this drop are you" way. 

So I told him I had them both and was trying to decide. I trotted off upstairs and brought them down. and waft, wafted them under his nose. 

"Nope - not really you". 

"Are you sure". (me being stubborn and annoying like a petulant kid who can't take no for an answer).

"Well try them on, I can't really tell if you just waft them in front of me".

So off I trotted and came back in the blue and orange jumper. And I may have floofed up my hair a bit too.

"Hmm. It looks .... quite nice on you actually. Not as bright as I thought". 

And then I showed him the pink and red.

"It's okay but I prefer the blue and orange on you". 

Which is good as I did too. And I love how if you keep at someone long enough, you can get them to come round to your way of thinking. 😉

----------------------------

Last Note.

[AD : Some of the links in this post may contain affiliate links]

I haven't put tap tappy fingers to blog properly for quite some time now but lately, I've got the itch. I started writing a post last week but got sidetracked and lost the moment. Today, I felt that it might be nice to have a little witter on here about what I was wearing. Just like I used to. Humour me ....

I was at my mum's house last year and one of the things I found when rummaging around was my dad's old Chinese silk wadded jacket. I swooped on the jacket even though no one was fighting me for it exactly. My mum and my sister also offered me some naff vintage C&A jumpers but I left those behind - you would too if you saw them. There's good vintage and bad. And there's really naff. Anyway, I've been looking on and off on eBay for one of these jackets for years and had even asked my sister in the past to look for one for me in Hong Kong. The thing is, there are lots of modern reproductions of these kind of jackets (Monsoon are good at this) but this one is a vintage silk one. and not the rayon fake silk stuff. And it's lovely because it did belong to my dad and he brought it over from Hong Kong in the sixties/seventies.

#AD - Paid Collaboration with VeryUk

So how are you all? I can't believe we're best part of the way through September already and despite the odd bit of sun, the days are definitely getting shorter and have that distinct autumn edge to them. Time to get the jumpers out of storage! And joining them will be a few new knits which have come along courtesy of Very. 

Starting with this black striped Topshop number. Did you know that Very now stock Topshop? This is a slightly chunky knit and has that slightly oversized fit which I like. There's nothing nautical about it at all despite the stripes - this one is pure French girl. Or a little beatnik if you like to have that sixties vibe instead. The jumper feels almost like a cotton knit in texture and has a nice weight to it.

It's August. The beginning of the end of lazy hazy summer and the prelude to autumn. I did a few picks for Very with this in mind - easy transitional pieces which will take me through the last few days of summer and in to the cooler days of September. I like to think ahead and I like transitional pieces - I'm not really a summer girl, I like to be covered up generally.

First up, the Flora blouse from Monsoon. 

This is a light airy blouse which is perfect for holidays abroad when you just want a little coverage from the sun without looking too Amish and you just want to pop out in the evenings looking put together but not too much. You know - that relaxed French girl vibe I love so much! The feather embroidery is a sweet touch - I've never been too much for one for stars but feathers - they have a certain charm.

I've also always liked a sleeved top when it's quite hot as I just prefer long sleeves to a ton of suncream for reducing the burn factor. Teamed with a pair of denim shorts, you get all the holiday vibes. However, it will take you happily in to September as a general everyday wear piece with a pair of jeans. You just look like you've tried a bit because the feather detail is just so pretty. And look, it's perfect for a night out too!

Next up, I picked my favourite kind of dress. A #buffetdress. Grazia calls them tent dresses but buffet dress is my favoured term and I know that name has been affectionately adopted by many. 

Now this is technically a midi dress if you're 5ft 6. I'm 5ft 1 so it's a maxi on me - no biggie. It just means it works on tall girls and small. The autumnal shades in the print are perfect for now - soft hues which I offset with candy pink Converse. Not quite a perfect match and I like it that way. I don't like too matchy matchy.

The dress comes with a removable slip - I quite often give up on dresses where I have a full on body fight trying to wrestle myself in to the right armhole of a dress with one of these slips which are sewn in to place. It's not funny and it's not clever. However what I did with this dress is use my own slip which is a touch shorter and comes to the knee. And then I get the lovely Princess Di effect when the sun's behind you. I'm just a hussy! 😜

Last picks now. Can I be honest here - I'm not a big leopard fan. I have a dabble but I'm not a fully fledged Bet and nor do I want to be. However, I can do leopard if it doesn't scream leopard in the usual way - like if it's blue leopard spots! 

This Whistles skirt is just such a summery looking skirt worn with a tee or cami top for hot days. I have to say I'm a bit of a sucker for a Whistles skirt, the fabrics chosen for the designs are always just so and they hang beautifully. This one is a wrap skirt - I prefer these because you can always adjust them to fit rather than with a fixed waistband. Just a bit snug - move the buttonhole a fraction. It's not hard but it can make all the difference. 

And did you spot the Birkies? The white Birkies? I had a pair from about four or five years back which are pretty worn in, very tired and not so white so I couldn't resist upgrading to a new pair. I always size down in Birkenstocks. That doesn't mean to say you should - it's just a lot of people do and then again a lot of people don't. My last pair I sized down and this pair I did too. I did try some in my regular size in a store just to make sure that I needed the size down and they were basically like boats. Stylish boats but boats for sure. So I size down. And why white? Because white is always fresh. Black is edgy but I never reach for black footwear, the way I do with white so I wanted something in my shoedrobe that I would wear. Interestingly, these didn't actually take any breaking in which my original ones did. And I have both the Arizona and Madrid styles. The Madrid is pretty and leg lengthening but the Arizona - I like the extra support of that top strap - there's just a little less toe gripping going on.

And come September, stick on that jumper or sweatshirt with it and you have a perfect running around outfit. See!

Onwards to September! 

Did I ever tell you how much I like shoes? I really like shoes. Really really like shoes. And I haven't been in to Leeds or ventured in to a proper clothes shop for a couple of weeks so I was all like "Ooh that's new, not seen that before, ooh I like that, ooh got to try that!" And that's kind of good with a place like Primark because it's good to go in with fresh eyes and spot any little gems that are a little under the radar. And what did I spot? Those pretty little espadrilles up there. I couldn't decide on the colour so bought both pairs. I'm going to be honest, they don't stay on well on my feet as I seem to flop out of the backs a little even when I've tied them up around the ankles so they may not be keepers! Such a shame but still worth a look because if you have no problems with them - they're beauts! Oh err yeah - I bought the little white cord bag too. Cross body, good size, smacks of summer. Tie a scarf on it to jazz it up, jobs a good un.

Friday Five (2 of 5) Flipz

See that innocuous looking snack pack up there? Warning - they're like crack. I was given a free pack of dark chocolate Flipz recently and refused to try them as they smelt too chocolatey. Yes I'm weird like that but if I say, I don't have a very sweet tooth, that might go some way to explaining my adversion. The hubs ate the whole pack and said they're really good - the little bit of salt from the pretzel versus the sweetness of the chocolate is a good match. Pfft, I thought. But I'm nice so I bought him another pack, this time of the milk chocolate version and I tried one ... and he was right. And so I didn't give him the pack and ate them all myself. Then I saw the white fudge ones and I had to try those too. And they're like crack too (never had crack but you get the gist) and now no one in the house is allowed to touch them. Because I'm like that.

Friday Five (3 of 5) Oh Oh

Well the sales have started. And you know how they say, don't buy something if you didn't have your eye on it before and don't buy just because it's reduced? I just bought something in the sales which I never knew existed till I saw it in the sales. Ho hum. I fell for this MiH dress and there just happened to be free delivery with Matches (I fell for every marketing ploy going) and because I wanted one of their fancy boxes, I ordered twice so that I could send one back in a fancy box and keep the right sized one plus said fancy box. Tactics. Tactics. Oh yes and it's a buffet dress - hallelujah! I kept the size small and I'm a size 10. Size XS fit as well but I liked the looser fit of the small. And it's sheer and it doesn't come with a slip but I'm down with that because I love the dress.

Friday Five (4 of 5) Shoe Fever 2

Bobbed in to M&S and did see a few things but I couldn't be bothered to go in a changing room. I did however have to go past the shoes and those are always much easier to try on. These were my faves. The platform putty and snakeskin Autograph platform heels I was immediately drawn to - a gentle nod to the Terry de Havilland heels but a little less extreme. I like a block heel and a small platform - I like the clompyness as they seem to balance out the shape of my legs more. Teamed with a black cashmere rollneck or crew neck, it's an easy going out outfit teamed with a statement bag. The green strappy mules - I love the sharp colour of these. It's the second time I've been back to see these. There may be a third too as they didn't come home with me today purely on the grounds that I didn't have anywhere to go in these. And lastly, those lilac beauties! I'm not one for heels these days but I still like to look and the pretty shade of these drew me in and that curved side detail. The best bit? They're £19. So if you have a wedding or the races or an event, these are not a bad little shoe and they come in a variety of colours too. There was no size 4 in store so I tried the 4.5 and they are a touch gappy at the back so I would say they are true to size.

Friday Five (5 of 5) Everything's Rosy.

Or not. Because I only bought one bottle and this stuff is amazing. I spotted the Lacura Healthy Glow Rose Oil a couple of weeks ago in Aldi as part of their special buys. I kind of guessed it was a dupe of something from the Pixi range but thought nothing else of it and it turned out it was a dupe of the Pixi Rose Oil. I started using it and I'm addicted. It's the only really noticeable thing I've used on my skin in a long time where I can honestly say, I can see a difference. And why not so rosy? It's sold out and selling for double the price on Ebay! I use it mixed in with a moisturiser and it leaves skin incredibly soft.

Well that was nice to drop in for a Friday Five. I really should pull my finger out and get on top of these more often!