Just can't seem to get my act together on a Friday for a Friday Five. To be honest, I just can't seem to get my act together most days. So Monday Musings it is then. Again.

Monday Musings (1 of 5) Black and Blue

I bought that blue William Morris H&M flouncy dress a couple of weeks back. I said that I would buy it and then decide - it's what I normally do. And then guess what? They brought out the same style of dress but in a black print. Black is really more my bag so I had to order it to compare. Now I can't decide. What's a girl to do? Black or blue, black or blue? Or neither?

Monday Musings (2 of 5) Chop Chop

Or rather cut cut. I used to strip off all the rosemary needles off the stalks and then try chopping them with a knife with varying degress of success. This week, I did something different. I didn't strip the leaves off but bunched them together a bit and cut them instead. Game changer! 

Monday Musings (3 of 5) Basics

Errrm. Hands up if you do fashion seven days of the week. I do fashion maybe three days at a push. The rest of the days when I am at home, my go to is an old burgundy fleecy scruffy sweatshirt with jeans or this navy blue chenille jumper which I picked up in Primark recently. I picked up this jumper because it fitted my criteria of a basic plain jumper, in a colour I like, which washes well, doesn't fade, doesn't pill, keeps me warm and doesn't make me look like a scabby cat on a bad day when I'm dressed for comfort. The burgundy fleecy one makes me look a scabby cat on a bad day.

Monday Musings (4 of 5) Old Skool

Eldest sent me a text to say I hadn't topped up his account at school so he could buy his lunch. Now I'm scared half to death that the next generation will be writing exam essays using text speak and failing! Not Gr8!

Monday Musings (5 of 5) Cold
It's jumper weather. Has anyone put the heating on yet?

• The H&M dresses keep selling out but I've left the link there as you can always save the item in your Favourites section on the H&M website to easily check if they are back in stock.

• Love that my son thinks I "roasted" him with my response. 

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It's quite easy to recreate this look if you have similar components in your wardrobe. The idea is just block colour but I like the light relief with the different colour trainers (my Novestas are pale grey). 

1. The M&S navy cashmere hoodie is a bit luxe - but there are plenty of cotton mix hoodies in the stores for all kinds of budgets. You might already have one in your wardrobe.

2. The M&S blush trainers. The white version of these with the blue trim sold out really quickly and understandably. They looked good and they had more than a nod to Veja with the navy side detail. But did you spot this blush suede version? Kind of subtle but with enough punch to make you look again. I had the ginger coloured Vans last year (still have them actually), and this is like the pink equivalent of when you want to do that "pop of colour" which people so like to say.

3. The navy skirt. This could have been a boring navy skirt but to give it a bit of oomph, it has the front zip detail. Too much for you? A simple navy pleated one is also a good option like this one. 

4. And the bum bag. Sorry, I mean, leather belt bag. This white one is rather chic don't you think?

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Last Note :

Normally I'm a dark polish girl. Dark navy, dark grey shades all summer long. But this year, I've actually found myself reaching for something a little lighter -  a Sally Hansen polish in the colour Greige 372 which just happens to sum it up beautifully. It's the perfect beige mixed with a hint of grey. And I like it because it's easy to put on and in my humble opinion - quite classy. With dark shades, you need to be precise or all the wonky edges show up. Something like this greige shade, needs a little less care but still makes you look perfectly polished. Pun intended.

I just literally opened up the ASOS site and spotted that cute pink leopard blouse. Pink with red leopard spots. I kind of like it a lot better than the traditional brown leopard shades. Doesn't feel so leopardy if you know what I mean?

Well I finally finished Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. It took me a while to get in to my stride with reading again and I stopped started it a few times but this last week, I finally got going. And I did that thing I haven't done for a long time, I read till the early hours of the morning to finish the book, just like in my teenage years. And now I've chosen my next book This is Going to Hurt. Oh yes - the mini white chocolate Toblerones. Aren't they cute??? Perfect accompaniment with a cuppa. Cutting to the chase - I found them in a big Tescos.

Monday Musings (4 of 5 ) Mushroom

Remember I mentioned in a previous Friday Five that I couldn't decide between the black Village England Egton bag or the mushroom colour? I went for the mushroom. It's good to have a change and it's good to find that it goes so well with my old trainers. I opted for the mini version - as I thought it rather sweet. If you're quick, you can still make use of the 20% discount code BIRTHDAY20 till 31st Aug.

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• Have a good bank holiday y'all!

It's August so it means the autumn stock is filtering in. My first "autumnal" purchase is a leopard skirt from Primark which I am still deciding on i.e. whether I will wear it enough to keep. I had a Zara one which I sold on Ebay just recently because I thought it was just a fraction too short for me which meant I never wore it. And then I dallied with another Zara one in the sale but the stitching at the side was a little off kilter so I returned that and then I stumbled on this one in Primark. For £10, it's quite well made and has a nice amount of fabric and swish to it. I don't normally look at the pleated skirts in Primark as the pleats are not that well done and very noticeable on the plain colours but with a busy leopard print, you can get away with a lot more. That said - it's a really good skirt for the money. 

I need new trainer blood in the wardrobe. I saw this pic of Sienna Miller early on in the year and was on a mission for pure white trainers. I wanted them to look "box fresh" instead of my usual worn in ones. And then it got too cold and I went around in my Ugg boots instead and promptly forgot about them. Until now and I'm back on it. I actually picked up a cheap pair from Primark who do a good lookalike pair and after trying them on a few times with different outfits, I'm returning those and I've just ordered myself the Reebok Classics from ASOS as they have a 20% off code today GOFORIT. I also have a coat very similar to Sienna's so I can be a total copy cat. But why not, when someone looks so good?

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Last Note :