Bold Leopard Print Dress - #Chicandstylish #Linkup

Hello and welcome to the blog.

Hope you're week is going well.

The weather has been pants here recently. It’s been so windy any photo opportunities have been well and truly scuppered! 

I’ve got the run of birthdays starting next week so it’s going to be busy and rather expensive! David’s big birthday is the weekend after next and we’re having a few drinks & nibbles to celebrate it. Mine is 18 days after that and I hope to have friends round to help me get through it! Unlike me as I usually face everything full on but if I’m honest I’m not looking forward to this one at all, 60 seems so old (no offence to anyone already there) and my aching joints confirm the advancing years. I know once it’s been and gone I’ll be fine and in the words or my best friend’s late mum … “I don’t fancy the alternative”!

So let’s put that talk away and concentrate on my latest dress from Jenerique London. 

Items marked with * have been gifted to me, however these are 100% my own honest comments.

A Bonmarche dress from David Emanuel.

Good morning my friends. 

Hope you’re all well. 

I’ve been enjoying the warmer weather of late and it’s really starting to feel like Spring has arrived. 

I even went out with bare legs and sandals at the weekend! Yeah I know get me! I finally got the meal booked for my mum’s Christmas present, five of us went to Reads again (see her celebrations here) and enjoyed an amazing meal in the beautiful surroundings. Sadly the whole business is up for sale and I know whoever buys it will probably change things making it very different for what I’m used to! It will definitely be an end of an era! Anyone got a spare 3 mil in their back pocket?

If you follow me on IG you might have seen I was kindly invited to view the new collection from Bonmarche at Fortnum and Mason in London. They had an afternoon tea in the board room showing off the new range from David Emanuel. Today I’m sharing one of their fabulous dresses and what a delight it is!

Items marked with * have been gifted to me, however these are 100% my own honest comments. 

Roman Culotte Suit for the Steam Train - #Chicandstylish #LINKUP

Dear friends,

Thanks so much for joining me today.

Been back to the gym this week and I have to say I feel so much better for going! I like to have what I call ‘nice aches’. Anyone else ache when they don’t got to the gym? I felt really awful and very achy having missed a couple of sessions last week and couldn’t wait to get back into classes. I also neglected to go dancing too. I just didn’t feel in the mood for ballroom on Friday and as ballet wasn’t on because of half term I’ve really been a lazy lady. My diet has also gone a bit haywire, with me eating more than I should be.  Happy to say I’m adhering (mostly) to not drinking in the week and have been enjoying the alcohol free nosecco. Do tell me what you enjoy drinking and if it’s an intoxicating tipple or not. 

As promised, today I'm sharing my trip on a steam train which I took on Sunday with my mum and sister. It was for mum's 90th birthday last year - which you can read about here.

Items marked with * have been gifted to me, however these are 100% my own honest comments.

 

Navy & Tan.

Hi there,

How are you?

Another busy weekend that’s flown by!

With two family birthdays and a day out yesterday it’s been a whirlwind. Anyone else having hectic weekends?

Do you remember where I said I was going yesterday? I’ll be sharing a post all about the steam train on Thursday so hope you’ll pop back to read about it. 

Today I thought I’d share another shopped from my wardrobe outfit which features a classic colour combination that is a favourite of mine. 

Navy and tan - what’s not to love!

A Mesh Dress with Heels - #Chicandstylish #LINKUP

Hi everyone. 

Hope April is off to a great start. 

With last weekend being rather manic I’ve been enjoying the quiet times which has happened in between the seeing the kids and going to the gym amongst other things. I’ve had a couple of afternoons where I’ve managed to collect my thoughts and prepare a couple of collaborations.  Has your week gone well?

It’s half term in the UK and it’s been good to have the kids round in the daytime. As you can imagine they’re full of life and make me tired just watching them.  I’ve also got two of the grandkids birthdays this weekend. We have a lot of celebrations in April and May and it’s becoming an expensive couple of months! I’m also out on Sunday too. My sister and I are taking mum out for her 90th birthday which was last year. We’re all taking a steam train ride which includes drinks and dinner. I’ve been on the train before which runs between Tenterden and Northiam passing through Bodiam as well. I’ll try to share in more detail next week, including what I wore - I've got something smashing in mind!

Shall we settle down and take a look at today's stunning outfit?

Items marked with * have been gifted to me, however these are 100% my own honest comments.

March Review.

Happy Bank Holiday Monday and Happy New Month!

Hope you are all well and have had a great weekend.

It's crazy to say we're in April!  How the year has flown by already.

I've been so busy lately with not having a moment to myself so my blogging has taken a bit of a back seat, hence todays' post is so late!  Hope you're stuck around to read it 🙏

As I've already mentioned I've had a busy time recently with the Easter weekend being no different.  We had a funeral on Thursday and I felt a bit worse for wear on Friday so didn't do much.  David and some of the family put the windows in the new build and I can't tell you how pleased I am to see them in!  I did think they'd take a bit longer than they did, but as usual David didn't fail to impress me with all of them being installed on one day!  Saturday was spent doing a couple of jobs and going to friends for dinner.  We had a lovely evening dining on Tartiflette, steak, mushrooms, roasted tomatoes and onions.  I took a dessert of meringue's filled with fruit and cream.  I opted to drive, so had a nosecco which I'm happy to drink.  So on Sunday I woke up feeling good, but still tired.  The day flew by with preparations for a roast turkey, home made stock and turkey gravy, roast potatoes and veg - along with Yorkshire puddings (who else has Yorkshire puddings with any roast?)  Followed by hokey pokey ice-cream.  The Easter Egg hunt went very well with all of them having a big basket full of chocolates to take home. I hope you got some chocolate eggs, I got two!  One nearly eaten, but don't judge me .. lol!

So today has been fairly slow.  I didn't get a chance to do this post earlier, so am taking advantage of the quiet afternoon and doing it now!

Now let's get going on the March Review.

The first post featured savings, more importantly getting your kids to save.  I'd love you to head back and read about the UGMA and saving for the future.

The next post was all about a matchy-matchy outfit.  The floaty Bonmarche dress blended beautifully with shoes and bag for a streamlined monochromatic look.  Let me know your thoughts on this mix.

A Ditsy Skirt from Bonmarche - #Chicandstylish #Linkup

Hi there, thanks for joining me today. 

Hope your week is good so far, stay focused the weekend is on the horizon. 

Today isn’t a very nice day for me as I’m going to a funeral. They’re never easy are they!  Whether it’s a close member of the family, a distant relative, an acquaintance or a family friend I always find them extremely sad and quite upsetting. I’m sure this will be exactly the same! 😥

On a brighter note, it’s a long weekend here in the UK as we celebrate Easter. It’s hard to imagine this time last year I was skiing in Valmorel with David. This year we’ll be with all the family enjoying the - what is now annual - Easter Egg Hunt followed by a roast turkey with all the trimmings. As I’m writing this post I’m planning on either making a hokey pokey ice cream (which is outrageously delicious and extremely calorific) or maybe a chocolate pudding with chocolate custard (most probably equally as fattening).  I’ll keep you informed as to what I make. 

This weekend we’ve also got the windows arriving for the new build. I’m very excited to see the next stage take place which will mean the outside walls can be rendered and the scaffolding can be dismantled. I’ll try to put some photos on my Instagram page Mummabbuilds so you can all follow along and see the progress!

Items marked with * have been gifted to me, however these are 100% my own honest comments. 

Style not Age honour Iris Apfel.

Good morning everyone. 

Glad you’ve stopped by today. 

How did your weekend go? Friday I took my mum out for Afternoon Tea with my sister. It was for her Mother’s Day present and we enjoyed a themed menu at The Lane in Deal which is about 45 mins away from me. The theme was Willy Wonka from Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. They’re a little coffee shop that offer themed and traditional afternoon teas, and light lunches as well as bottomless brunch’s and evening dinner with cocktails on offer too. Among the fancy cakes and savoury snacks were macaroons, cupcakes, chocolates, sliders, sausage rolls, soup and a sandwich to name but a few. Tea or coffee was offered and they also had a licence, so mum had a glass of wine. It was really tasty and with the cafe decorated to match the theme made for a special afternoon. 

It’s time for me and the girls from Style not Age to share our thoughts and fashion take on the challenge set by Anna which is all about the late fashion icon …

Irish Apfel. 

Styling Wide Leg Jeans - Chicandstylish #Linkup

Hi there, good to have you here today. 

How’s it going?

Our weather has slightly improved over the past couple of days and we even had jacket weather along with roof down on the car! The birds were chirping, grass was being cut (isn't there something refreshing about freshly cut grass), bumble bees were bussing around and it really felt like a Spring day. 

I picked the kids up from school yesterday and was elated to wear this season appropriate outfit! This was when I had the roof off in my car and the kids loved it. I also went there for dinner, and it was good to catch up with my daughter, her husband and all the children. Do you ever do the school run? Made me feel so old as two of the teachers taught two of my kids!! 🙈

Who else is embracing the wide leg jeans? What do you think of this darker wash version?

Items marked with * have been gifted to me, however these are 100% my own honest comments. 

Wearing a Jenerique London Floral Dress.

Good morning. 

How’s your weekend gone?

Mine has flown by as per usual, it seems one minute it’s Friday evening and the weekend is stretched out in front of me and the next it’s Monday morning. But on the plus side it does mean I get to spend it with you!

Now don’t get too excited but ‘news flash’ I actually went out on Saturday night! I know, I know out two weeks in a row! It’s been ages but worth the wait. We celebrated St. Patricks day with four friends in our local pub. The drinks were flowing as were the laughs. I even had two or three shots of baby Guinness! Which were delicious and very ‘moorish’ so as you can imagine it was a slow day on Sunday with me not wanting to get out of bed to go watch my granddaughter play football. I’m pleased I did because it made me feel so much better and even though they didn’t win, Amelia managed to get another hatrick! Very proud Nan moment I can say. Home to a roast dinner for … wait for it … three! Yes not the usual riotous Sunday dinner and somewhat quieter than normal & all finished by a reasonable 4pm!! It was nice to have a bit more evening so I could slump in the chair and catch a few zzzz’s .. lol!

I’ve been starting to think about Spring weddings and special occasions and wanted the share this beautiful floral with you, even though I’ve not got any weddings this year, but if I had this would be top of my list! Do you have any events that this style might be suitable for?

Item’s marked with * have been gifted to me, however these are 100% my own honest comments.