Give yourself some TLC with XbyX - Chicandstylish Linkup

Hello my friends.

Hope your world is fun.

Well what a week this is!

You see I’m celebrating a few family birthdays this week with my daughter’s last Tuesday, my daughter-in-law’s today, David’s on Saturday (it’s a big one) and my son-in-law’s on Sunday! It’s been non-stop preparing for them all, and we’re having a few friends round on Saturday night to help celebrate David’s 60th. I’ll be looking forward to a quieter couple of weeks before mine, my granddaughter’s and my son’s!! Do you have birthdays at the same time of the year? Hectic and expensive isn’t it!

As I'm a 'women of a certain age' I'm always on the lookout for anything that might help me in my everyday life. So when I was approached by the delightful Christin from the XbyX I was pleasantly surprised and really interested to find out more.

This is a sponsored post, however all comments are my own and 100% honest. Items marked with * have been gifted to me. 

Wheelers for the big 60!

Welcome to the blog. 

Good to have you here. 

How’s life treating you?

Hope you’re having a nice week my friends. 

I’ve had a great weekend. Yesterday along with David I went to one of my favourite restaurants in Whitstable to celebrate 4 of our big birthdays this year me, David and two of our friends. We are all joining the 60 club and I have to say I’m not looking forward to it one bit! 

Six of us had a table booked at Wheelers, it’s a fish restaurant that’s nestled in my quaint little local town of Whitstable that’s frequented by locals and the odd celebrity some of the time, it’s usually very hard to book a table and is best to book in advance. Fortunately my friend booked a few weeks ago and we marvelled at the delicious dishes we were served. 

We started our meal with the oh-so-tasty Guinness battered oysters - if you’ve never had them I urge you to try them out, they really are the most tasty delicacy. If you’re not into raw oysters this is a brilliant alternative to try my friends. I call this our pre-started!! 

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. 

Styling a wrap dress from Izabel - #Chicandstylish #Linkup

Hello and welcome to the blog today. 

How’s your week been?

The rain has been awful here over the past few days, either rain or dreary days have played havoc with taking photos!  I did pop out when there was a little window when the rain stopped and managed to grab these shots and I have to say I’m chuffed with them!

It’s still a little early for me to put a dress on as it’s quite chilly, but this classic wrap will be playing an important part when the season finally arrives - it’s got a lot of scope because there’s so many shoes, jackets and cardigans I’m going to wear it with, I do hope you don’t tire of it! 😚

I’m sure you’re going to like my black and white dress* do let me know what you think of the red accents. ❤️

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

Wearing a Bonmarche dress with Lotus Shoes and Bag.

Morning all & welcome to my blog. 

Hope you are okay and have had a great weekend. 

Yesterday was Mother’s Day in the UK and I had such a special day with the kids and also my mum. 

We couldn’t get a table at the restaurants we tried, probably left it too late! So my daughter & David cooked breakfast at mine. Here’s what we had - sausages, bacon mushrooms, tomatoes, egg (fried & scrambled) beans, fried bread and hash brown with the addition of black pudding too!  All sorts of bread, crumpets and pancakes cereals, with jams and spreads! I was stuffed. Plenty of hot and cold drinks to wash it all down were also on offer. I’m sorry if I’ve made you hungry as there was so much choice! It was even better than going to the restaurant I reckon! 

I hold my hands up to really being naughty over the weekend! I was out on Saturday night with friends having a three course dinner and a few lots of glasses of Prosecco, so along with my Sunday Mother’s Day breakfast and a Chinese takeaway on Sunday night I dare not step on the scales this morning! I’ll surely have gained a few pounds especially as I had a couple of pieces of birthday cake along the way (two birthdays this weekend) so this week I’ll be back on my strict calorie counting diet, I actually hate feeling stuffed from over eating … do you? 

If you follow me on Instagram you’ll have seen me sharing a stunning matchy, matchy outfit last week. 

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

February Review - Chicandstylish Linkup

Hi there. 

How’s it going in your neck of the woods?

Today’s post is delayed from Monday, let me know your thoughts on the previous seasons posts. 

My enthusiasm for blogging has returned, although you might not have know it had departed!  I’m excited for the week, month and season. I’m praying the weather will continue to improve so wearing of lighter Spring-like outfits will be on the cards.

I bought a new pair of jeans last week which I’m pleased with & along with the H&M pair I bought a while back (they’re both wide leg) I’ll be wearing them whenever I can!  I’ve got some pretty shirts and tops that are crying out to be worn, so do watch this space or checkout my IG page. 

Today as it’s the first Thursday of the month, I’ll be running through last month’s outfits. 

Welcome to the February Review. 

A nice bright and cheerful outfit at the beginning of the month. I was trying to entice some nice weather and to be fair it kind of worked as I’m sporting a blazer with my tan number. Do pop back to see what you think of my stunning red tweed blazer. 

Saving for the Future with a UGMA account.

Hello and thanks for joining me today. 

Apologies for the late posting & hope you are well. 

It’s been a lovely weekend and I’m really enjoying the warmer weather and feel Spring is just around the corner.  

Now it’s all very nice to see sunny days, hear the birds chirping and the Spring flowers popping up but I’ve also seen the new hedge shoots sprouting up at a rate of knots (and we all know I’ve a love hate relationship with my hedge). I vowed to get it trimmed before the new leaves appeared but they’ve arrived with speed and with the surrounding lawn sodden I’ve not been able to trim them! It’s on my urgent to do list and I’ll let you know when it happens! I’m sure you’ll hear me moaning about it! Lol!

Anyway I’ll refrain from any more whining and want to ask you a question. Do you remember earning pocket money when you were younger?

Today’s post is sponsored, unless quoted all comments are my own.

A Casual Khaki and Cream Column Dress - #Chicandstylish #Linkup

Hi there my friends. 

Nice to have you stop by today. 

I’ve had a lovely week so far with a cuppa and cake catch up with two good friends and a day out shopping with my sister today. We always used to go shopping together, but with big families of our own and the lack of any decent shops in towns nowadays it’s been hard to get together. I’ll let you know if I come home with any purchases! 

I do have a casual dress to share with you today though. I popped into my local M & S a couple of Saturday’s ago and came home with this one and a blue floral midi (will share that with you next week).  I took my eldest granddaughter with me too and we had a super couple of hours checking out the shops and it was especially nice to browse Boots and Claire’s Accessories (I don’t usually go in them) looking at the beauty products, hair accessories and jewellery, and she came home with a few nice bits too!  

Style Not Age Put a Bow on it!

Morning my friends. 

Hope your weekend went well. 

What did you get up to?  I spent a bit of Saturday working on an upcoming project, which worked out okay & Saturday night after watching the rugby I had a curry and watched a film. 

Sunday morning I went with my daughter and her family to watch my granddaughter play football in a little village I grew up in! With the league situation here the matches end up being quite far away so journeys of about an hour away are sometimes normal! It was nice to reminisce and see how the area had changed over the past 50 years!! Yes it was that long ago! 

I had breakfast after the football in the local pub, it was the first time I’d stepped foot in The Six Bells but it was right next door to the church I loved going to the Harvest Festival service and the old school house where I went to the youth club! I’ve got so many memories of my young life there, some very obscure, lots prominent but ask me what I did earlier today I don’t have a clue! 😂 

I must share the results of the match, 3-3 and my granddaughter scored a hat trick - very proud nanny indeed. 🩷

Now shall we get down to today’s post? It’s the last Monday of February, so time to turn our attention to my four colleagues and me for the Style Not Age challenge …

Put a Bow on it!

Styling The Mesh Dress - Chicandstylish #LINKUP

Hi there, welcome to the blog today. 

How’s life treating you?

Been a fairly busy week for me, although I’ve not actually done much! I had a super evening out on Sunday followed by a week containing a birthday party for a couple of extended family members, watching my grandkids whilst mummy and daddy went to parents evening, lunched with a friend and had dinner with my eldest daughter, so along with a trip into town and my gym classes the week has been quite busy!

I thought Spring was about to arrive with warmer weather and sunny days recently but as expected the nicer days have been replaced with rain and cooler temperatures! Plays havoc with our Spring outfits doesn’t it? - how do you feel about it? 

Today I thought I’d share this stunner with you and when the nicer weather arrives I’ll be ready and waiting!

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

What I wore to a Boom Battle Bar.

Hello everyone. 

How’s the weekend been?

Another slow one for me, although I did go out with all the kids last night to a local venue called Boom Battle Bar.  It’s a local bar where you can go for a fun night out playing games like axe throwing, crazy golf, darts, beer pong and much more. There was a bar there and also a restaurant. We had a couple of drinks, but had eaten before going. 

As always I wanted to be a bit more dressed up but didn’t think a dress was suitable for axe throwing! 🤪 I thought these faux leather trousers would be the perfect choice and grabbed them with this Leo print jumper without any hesitation. They are both comfortable and relaxed but still look trendy and smart, just the look I was after. 

No sign of Valentine’s Day Here - Chicandstylish #LINKUP

Hello and welcome to Mummabstylish. 

Did you have a fun day yesterday?

Having been married for nearly 38 years, I realised I don’t need one specific day to celebrate love and feel Valentine’s Day is an over hyped, over commercialised day designed for more and more companies to make money. Now don’t get me wrong buying a gift or taking someone out for a meal is lovely but why not do it on one of the other 364 days of the year!

Today’s outfit has no red or pink in it and is made up from my latest pair of jeans my subtle pale blue jacket & a few old faithfuls from my wardrobe. 🩵🤍

My Bargain Jacket that was meant to be!

Hi there.

How’s life treating you?

All going smoothly for me at the moment, although my house is still as mad with seeing family most days. The house build is going slowly as hubby it quite involved with my daughters extension which is coming along well. They’re extending upwards which has created four bedrooms, a bathroom, en-suite and dressing room. It’s all looking super exciting as they’re putting up studd walls so we can really get an idea of what the rooms will look like. Emily and I dared to start talking about decor and what we’d both like in our new houses, there’s so much choice now-a-days and it’s been nice to checkout Pinterest, Instagram and TikTok for ideas. Where do you turn to for inspiration my friends? 

Yesterday was a busy day for me, David was working so I cooked the roast dinner for some of the family (there were 14 of us with the kids). A roast chicken was on the menu with all the trimmings of course and I have to admit to over indulging just a tad, so back to calorie counting this week, I hope I don’t get on the scales this morning  and wish I’d not eaten what I did! 

Today’s outfit came about from a recent bargain purchase. 

Read on to find out how I got this cute jacket. 

Neutral Trousers with Navy - Chicandstylish #LINKUP

Morning everyone. 

Hope your first week of Feb is going well. 

I’m looking forward to seeing some new Spring styles and am planning on popping into town to have a look, I won’t be holding my breath though, as I’ve been let down by my local shopping centre before, it’s quite depressing to see just what they’re lacking but fingers crossed for a few newbies to add to my wardrobes. I’ll be sure to remember my vow after styling this tricky skirt - only buying something I know what it can be styled with and if I’d definitely wear something with three things. 🌸

Now I have to admit the trousers I’m wearing today were purchased a few years ago and although they weren’t an impulse buy were bought on their own. I did know I’d make some sort of outfit with the bits I already have in my wardrobe. As you all know I love wearing neutral shades and have worn these umpteen times since buying them AND I’ve got them in two sizes for when my size fluctuates. 😁 See them worn with my faux leather here and here with a swirly top and blazer. 

January Review.

Good morning my friends. 

Hope all is going well with you. 

I’m so pleased for the new month, the weather has slightly improved (I’m sure it won’t last) but it really feels like Spring is on its way. The shoots are peeping through as are the Spring flowers, there’s daffodils, crocuses and other pretty blooms all around. It’s nice to see a bit of sunshine and hear the birds chirping, but I best not get ahead of myself as I'm sure mother nature will turn around and bite us in the bum within the next few days! 

It’s the beginning of February so time look back on my previous posts and share what I’ve been wearing and doing in case you’ve missed any. Please click on the highlighted links to view. 

I'm excited to see what's coming up that we'll be drooling over.  That's the exciting thing about new seasons, isn't it.  I do think red will play an important role as well as the metallic themes and I've heard pink and green will be trending too!

So read on to see my recent post's for the ...

January Review.

How many jackets and coats are too many?  Asking for a friend lol.

I was delighted to receive two gifted coats last month and set about styling both of them in different ways.  It wasn't too hard as they are both so different.  This padded jacket is a joy to wear.  It's an ultra lightweight padded jacket in khaki green and is not only extremely warm but packable too.  Do stop by this link to find out all the details and read more about my look.

Tan & Crimson Red - Chicandstylish #LINKUP

Good morning everyone. 

How’s your week gone and more importantly happy 1st February. 

I’m hoping for better weather to arrive soon, this winter seems to be dragging on! 😂 

Do you recall me telling you about some new jeans I’ve bought?  Well they arrived and I’m smitten! They suit me perfectly, as I thought they would, because I’m obsessed with the wide leg trouser. (Did you see Monday’s post featuring a wide leg jumpsuit?) I figured jeans would be a good addition and these stood out to me after seeing someone on Instagram wearing them. These beauties will see me through to the Summer, pairing tops and jumpers for some Spring inspiring looks. You can see them next week as I’m taking photos soon. 

Hope you’ll stop back but until then let me update you on a favourite colour combination that I wore the other week. ❤️🧡

Style Not Age are on Red Alert.

Morning all.

Hope your January is going well, nearly February - now isn’t that good to hear, creeping nearer into Spring, hands up who’s seen daffodils?

It’s been a fairly quiet month with not much happening and I’m sad to admit I’ve not bought one single sale item!  I have found some lovely wide leg jeans that were full price and I’ll be showing them off very soon. I’ve got lots of ideas for them and think they’re going to make a nice change from the skinnies and straight leg styles I’ve been wearing over the past few months.  What styles are you wearing now? Have you purchased a bargain or two in the sales?

It’s the last Monday of January so it’s time to tune into Style Not Age with Anna, Emma, Gail and Hilda. Do have a look at what we styled further down. 

It was my turn to pick the topic and after a little searching on the web I came up with …

Red Alert.

Monochromatic Tweed Jacket - #Chicandstylish #Linkup

Hi there, how’s it going?

Have you had storms where you are?

We’ve had two in the past week, Storm Isha and Storm Jocelyn have been battering the UK making everything so much harder! Things seem to have quietened down now so I managed to get these photos taken yesterday albeit slightly overcast. 

I’ve had a great week for dinners. My youngest daughter cooked on Monday, my middle daughter prepared another super meal on Tuesday and last night I was out for food at my eldest daughter’s house. As usual it was good to be around the grandkids and even better that I didn’t have to do any of the preparations.  But even better than that, I’m out with my old work colleagues tonight, ☺️ so no kitchen duties for me this week …. result!

My outfit today is based around this stylish blazer I was kindly gifted from Jenerique London. 

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

. 

Introducing the Layer Band.

Hello and welcome back to Mummabstyish. 

How’s the week been?

Still chilly here so layers, layers and more layers are key for me to keep warm. Do you have a secret to keeping toasty my friends, always interested to hear new ideas to keep the cold out!

Not much to report from the weekend, although I did cook the whole roast dinner yesterday as David was working on my daughter’s house. I’m usually sous chef, but the roast chicken dinner was prepared and cooked by me! I have to say it was rather nice and went down extremely well, even the Yorkshire puddings were, dare I say, perfect.  👌  How did your weekend go? Hope you had a wonderful time, let me know what you did and were you chef? 🧑‍🍳 

Today I thought it’d be apt to share something new-to-me with you! Still with me? Good! 

I was recently asked to review an item from Layer Clothing. It’s an online website that sells these really interesting layer bands. Want to know? Do read on. 

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

A Black & White dress from NNL -#Chicandstylish #Linkup

Hi there, thanks for joining me today. 

How’s your week been?

Our weather has taken a turn for the worst and it’s very chilly here. I’ve been wrapped up in lots of layers even indoors as I seem to really have been feeling the cold. 

I have seen signs of Spring being just around the corner. On a walk with Max the other day I saw daffodil leaves sprouting, I just can’t wait for the flowers to bloom. 🌼

I’ve still not visited any shops yet, so have no sale purchases to share with you, instead I’m delighted to share a dress I was gifted last year. It’s definitely a Spring one as it’s got short fluted sleeves and is quite a thin fabric, but with layers like I’m showing today it’s still

an acceptable number to wear in these colder months. 

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

Styling that Tricky Skirt.

Morning all. 

Hope you had a super weekend. 

What did you do?

I’m sad to say I’ve not purchased any sale items yet and to be honest haven’t done any shopping! I usually love wandering the stores in pursuit of a bargain or two, but have really been un-impressed with what shops are open locally and more importantly what they have on offer! I’m trying to pursue online buying but find scrolling the screen such a bore and end up switching before finding what I want and going through it all again on another site. I wonder if good old fashioned ’proper’ shopping will come back in fashion.  It’s another reason to shop in the boutiques abroad - think I need to book a holiday eh!

If you follow me on Instagram you might have seen my post sharing a knitted skirt. I bought it in TK Maxx a while back and it’s from Zara. Now I fell for the skirt which is a fine knit almost maxi length basically because I liked it. So without any hesitation I bought it. Well upon getting it home I left it hanging up thinking I’d find something that would go with it that would look just right. This has turned out to be a tricky skirt to style!

Fast forward a few years and I’ve still not found anything other than a cream jumper and today’s fancy shirt that look okay with it! So what have I decided to do about it you ask. Well the skirt has gone to charity, I made up my mind not to keep the white elephant and have made a New Year’s resolution to only buy clothes that I 100% know I’ve got something to wear them with or buy something to complement it at the same time - a much better way to shop and I hope it works when I actually do get out to browse! Does this resonate with anyone else?  How do you tackle shopping, do you only buy a full outfit? Or do you come home with half a look only to never find a proper partner!

Well even though I got rid of the skirt I thought I’d still let you see it and hope you’ll give me your thoughts. 

Styling my Jenerique Dress - #Chicandstylish #Linkup

Morning everyone. 

How are you?

Hasn’t it been cold! I’m not really a Winter person unless I’m skiing so the recent cold snap has been awful! I’ve been taking full advantage of this padded maxi coat at every opportunity. It’s so warm and cosy and it’s still available so if you’re in need of a suitable coat for this season I’d definitely recommend this one!

Dry January is going well as is the calorie counting. Both have actually been quite good and I’m pleased to say I’ve stuck to them! Yay! 🥳  It’s been easier because all the family are committed which has made dinners so much easier, we’ve all been contributing to the menus and have been planning the meals in advance. It’s not been hard at all and if I feel hungry I grab a glass of water. Calorie counting is more about what you can have rather than what you can’t like lots of diets, so long as you include ALL what you eat (I have an app to keep a track of everything). I’ve been having chocolate, crisps and bread along with Nozeco which is a delicious alternative to my favourite tipple - Prosecco. 🍾 So wish me luck with this and hopefully you’ll be able to see the results for yourself soon. 😁

New Year’s Eve seems a long time ago and I neglected to share my dress with you, which is just as well because you’ve seen it before. Today I thought I’d share what was a possibility for the occasion - a very fitted purple dress from Jenerique that I’ve got other ideas for. 😉

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

Styling a Classic Wool Coat from Land's End.

Morning all.

Hope your January is off to a good start.

Mine is going well and I've got a new enthusiasm for the blogging world again.

I’ve been grateful for some decent weather recently (not today though) so have taken a few nice photos for the blog and Instagram (follow me on IG here for more inspiration). That and the fact I’ve got more time on my hands as Christmas is over I’ve been able to put more effort into the blog and my social media platforms. It really is a full time job isn’t it!

Yesterday I had a very early start. I was up at 3.30 to go to the airport, unfortunately I wasn’t jetting off to a hot destination but was dropping my daughter and her family off for their trip to Disneyland Paris. The kids were so excited and I’m enjoying the fun from afar with the photos and messages. Have you ever been to DLP? 

Cycle class booked for today along with an early abs class too, so that’s me for the morning, hope to spend the afternoon taking photos if weather is permitting. 🤞

Cast your mind back to last Thursday when I shared a new jacket with you, it's an ultra light down jacket in a fashionable shade of green.  You can read all about my khaki beauty here.

Today I want to show you another stunning coat from Land's End, so do stay with me for all the details.

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

Checkout this ultra light packable jacket - #Chicandstylish #Linkup

Hi there and welcome to Mummabstylish. 

How’s the week been?

Hasn’t It been nice to get back to normal eh?  Some Christmas decorations are down and once the rest are down I’ll do a good clean up! Hasn’t the holiday period flown by? It’s also like I’ve blinked and missed it! 

I’ve been planning some posts for the next few weeks and have some lovely items to share with you, hope you’ll stop back. 

I went back to my gym classes yesterday, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but I do ache today. I should have booked another class for tomorrow but I’ve got other things to do so will wait for Monday and hope I’ll be back to usual form by the end of next week. 

Let’s talk coats. Do you have lots hanging in your wardrobe or do you rely of just a couple to see you through?  I was never a coat person unlike my sister who had every style, colour and pattern when we were younger, but since starting my blog I’ve added and added to my collection and now there’s so many in all different places (who else has loads of storage areas?) to complete any of my looks. Most are neutral, but I do have a fabulous military style in a new-to-me khaki green. 

Anyway I digress, today I wanted to share this padded beauty from Lands End and with you. It’s an ultra light down jacket that’s packable and just so happens to be khaki green as well!

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

December Review.

Hello & Happy New Year to you all!

I can’t believe it’s actually 2024 now. 

(Apologies for the late posting).

Did you have a fun evening? What did you do to see the old year out and the new year in? Here’s what I got up to. 

I was out with friends for dinner and drinks, there was also a band playing resulting in a little mum dancing too!

Today I have all the family for dinner, it’s going to be a tight squeeze and my daughter even suggested having different sittings lol! Roast gammon on the menu with sausages wrapped in bacon, roast potatoes and all the usual veg. David will make a gravy to accompany the meat and I’m sure it’ll be tasty like normal. I made a banoffee pie yesterday and my daughter made a trifle both of which will go down very well. 

I’m contemplating doing ‘dry January’ this year, so I’ll let you know how it goes, today will be a test to see if I can go through with it (I’m honestly not an alcoholic, but love a sociable drink).  I’ve been drinking a nonalcoholic drink called Nozecco which is rather nice, so I’ll have to stock up on that for the foreseeable. 

So a new Monday, month and year can only mean one thing … the December Review. 

At the start of December I was getting myself psyched up for the festive period. I did manage to bag myself a bargain with these faux leather trousers though, well I know I should have been buying Christmas presents, but we all like to buy ourselves a little pre-Christmas gift don’t we!