Muted Shades in March for SNA

Good morning my friends. 

How weird it’s the end of March. 

Didn’t that month go by in a flash! I’m interested to create next Monday’s March Review, it’s good to be reminded what I’ve been wearing … and doing!

Today’s outfit seems to have fallen right into place as the prompt about muted shades is just what my Cotton Traders dress and cardigan is all about!

Easter next weekend with the usual Eater Egg Hunt and roast dinner on Sunday. Due to a couple of birthdays over the weekend (remember April and May is birthday heavy for me) we decided to do the hunt on Sunday and have a roast turkey both Sunday & Monday. It’s what we usually do over Christmas and with the huge turkey we’ve got (we get two for Christmas and freeze one for Easter) it’s going to cover both days. What do you do over Easter?

As it’s the last Monday of the month it’s the turn of Style not Age ladies to share their outfits with you. 

The prompt was set by me, I opted for the easy-to-find …

Muted Shades in March. 

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

Argyle Jumper From Tu Clothing - Chic & Stylish Linkup

Morning everyone. 

Hope you are all okay. 

Another week that’s flown by!

Where does the time go!

My life seems to be busier than ever now. Family life is hectic but I love it. Spending time with the kids and their families is lovely. There’s always something going on and I’m needed in so many different ways that I never expected. For me that’s the beauty of my over fifty blog. I can do it when I want to and when I have the time and should I be needed elsewhere I can leave it. Although lots of the time it’s harder to get back into it!

Today’s outfit started off with the argyle jumper. I found it in Tu clothing and it’s been hanging in my wardrobe for a few weeks. I finally found the right skirt with my burgundy faux leather midi - a great look don’t you think!

High Street Outlet - DKNY Dress.

Hi everyone.

Hope you are all doing okay. 

Well we're moving through March at a pace aren't we!

April is on the horizon and that means lots of birthday celebrations for me. 

With warmer weather over the weekend I decided it was time to trim the hedge! The cherry plum bushes haven’t had a chance to grow that much so although the job was hard it wasn’t as bad as it has been. It took me a good few hours to trim it as I had to move the aluminium podium every so often as I moved along. That was hard as was leaning over to make sure I’d got all the branches! Once I’d done the top and side I decided to call it a day on that and set about tackling the grass verge where the spoil had fallen. I went up and down a few times to not only collect the twigs but cut the grass and weeds too. Once that was finished I set about the back and front grass, collecting all the cuttings this time instead of leaving them on the ground. I had to empty the box every so often and fortunately had a skip to put it in! By the end of the day I was exhausted! I had an early night after having a takeaway curry. Cooking was the last thing I felt like doing! So my garden is looking much tidier now, & I plan to keep on top of the mowing so it’s stays like that!

Today I thought you’d like to see my new dress and this cute colour mix with my dress from High Street Outlet. 

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

Barrel Leg Jeans from Blue Vanilla - Chic & Stylish Linkup

Morning all.

Sorry no post again on Monday, after getting back to a busy household on Sunday (I've been skiing) it didn't leave much time for blogging and I felt so tired after the early morning - we got up at 3.15 am!!

It's also been a busy week, so much so I've not been to my usual gym classes.  There's so much to catch up on after a week away.  I'd missed a couple of birthdays, so had to drop cards and gifts off, along with doing the washing, ironing etc and yesterday I was in London to view the Summer collection from Damart.  It wasn't really a long day, but lots of walking and plenty of talking - I was quite worn out last night!

With better weather on the horizon I'm really looking forward to getting into Spring clothes.  I'm planning on going through my wardrobe's again. I've got so much stuff it's often hard to find just what I want, sometimes forgetting just what I have. I need to get it into more of an orderly fashion so wish me luck for that one! Lol. 

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

Skiing in Andorra - Chic & Stylish Linkup.

Hiya. 

How are you?

Sorry there was no post on Monday, I’m away skiing and as you can imagine the first day is rather busy!

I’m in Andorra which is a new place for me to try and having never skied here before it’s been wonderful. 

The transfer was quite long as we flew into Barcelona, the other airport in France wasn’t an option because apparently the road from there had been damaged by an avalanche! Scary to think that could happen!

The hotel is in the town of Arinsal which is about 5 mins bus transfer to the gondola and then a ten minute journey up the mountain to the lockers where we kept our skies etc  

It’s been a new concept for us as we normally opt for a ski in ski out hotel, but this hasn’t t been a problem and has also given us the opportunity to visit some of the local pubs. I must say everyone we’ve met so far has been so friendly and welcoming - the hotel restaurant manager even gave us a lift up to the gondola on the first day!

Luxurious Yellow Midi - Chic & Stylish Linkup.

Good morning everyone. 

What have you been up to since we last spoke?

A busy week for me and I'm away on Sunday for a week skiing with David.  Since 2001 we've gone skiing with the kids and good friends with our group booking reaching nearly 30 people!  It's just David and me this year so it's going to be very different.  Many of the kids have now either got families of their own or have just bought new houses or are saving for weddings!  A couple of our older friends have health issues or family commitments!  It's hard to see the group so small now, but I'm hoping it will improve over the next few years - that's until David and I may be too old or infirm to go!!!

Today I thought I'd share a recent addition to my dress section.  This pretty midi has been a welcomed addition as I know it will be worn time and time again!

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

February Review.

Hello my friends. 

Hope to find you well. 

How did your weekend fair? Mine went by in the flash of an eye. I was looking forward to a lovely weekend and then found myself on Sunday evening frantically writing this blog post!

Friday evening was spent learning the second part of the ballroom dance at my weekly class. We continued learning the foxtrot, the social dance that’s full of fast and slow movements which twist and turn at a fairly fast pace. I managed to grasp all the moves and as usual throughly enjoyed the whole dance. We generally learn a dance in two to three weeks and then move onto a new routine. The dance club also arranges dance events every month, but I never join them because they’re at the weekend - I don’t like to leave the family as my weekends with them and David are so precious. Do you like to spend all your weekends with the family?

Sunday, after helping Sophie at a cake sale for a well deserving cause, was spent with some of the kids and grandkids for a chicken roast. I’d prepared most of the vegetables before leaving and upon returning home, in the afternoon, I helped David complete the dinner. We had roast chicken and potatoes, with cauliflower cheese, carrots, swede, roasted parsnips and Yorkshire puddings, accompanied by stuffing and bread sauce. Do you have to have all the accompaniments when you have a roast?

As it’s the beginning of a new month I always have a post that looks back on the previous month and I like to share what I got up to. So welcome to the …

February Review. 

Such a short month it seems like only yesterday i shared this gorgeous co-ord from Marks & Spencer. I’ve heard it’s in demand so I’m pleased I managed to find this outfit. 

Do let me know if you preferred it together or separately!

Another Beautiful Bag - Chic & Stylish Linkup

Hello and I must say lovely to have you join me today. 

Do add to the linkup below ⬇️ 

How’s your week going?

We had a marvellous day yesterday with temps in the mid 20’s! I even went out without a jacket or coat! I hope this milder weather sticks around as I want to trim the hedge at the weekend! If not I’ll be inside helping David in the house. 

Today’s outfit features my latest bag from Elie Beaumont, I’m so pleased to continue my affiliation with them, my personal discount code is still running so please do take advantage of 10% off your order using the code JQ10!

I’m hopefully heading over to Matalan today, so have a look on TikTok to see if I add any purchases!

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

Style not Age Go Red for Feb.

Welcome to the blog. 

How are you my friends?

Did you have a good weekend? I was out to dinner on Saturday night, we had a wonderful evening at our daughters with a private chef preparing and cooking our dinner and I must say it was delicious. 

If you’re like me and have only a few favourite restaurants that you like to frequent and are a bit dismayed with the restaurant chains, then maybe having a private chef cooking for you might be the answer. Six of us dined on a superb three course meal complete with canapés. We’d pre-booked our dishes which he’d suggested, leaving the choice of canapés to my daughter and her husband, although we had all given our preferences. In the end we had chorizo which had been marinated in Worcester sauce and had a sticky glaze over it. The king prawn option was divine too, that was covered in a fresh salsa of sweet chilli and lime. The other option was delicious and I could have eaten all the portions! It was a crispy pork belly covered in soy sauce, honey glaze and chilli. Yes they were all as tasty as they sound. X 

I’ll continue to tease you later in the post but until then let me tempt you with the Style not Age collection who’re sharing their red outfits for the monthly challenge based on the prompt …

Go Red for Feb!

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

Navy & White with a Padded Jacket - Chic & Stylish Linkup

Hi there everyone. 

How are you?

Another busy week with Shrove Tuesday in the middle of it. We had to have pancakes on Tuesday, so some of the kids came round to enjoy them too. Sophie made a huge pot of batter and after our dinner of spicy meatballs and pasta David set about making them. He made probably about 20! We all had different toppings but can you guess what I had? My favourite additions are banana and caramel which was divine. I only had one even though he’d made so many but to be honest that one was enough. We had other options like chocolate sauce, biscoff, kinder chocolate along with the basic favourite lemon and sugar. What’s your topping of choice?

I took a trip into town too. My eldest granddaughter came with me, she loves having a wander around the shops, just like me, including New Look, Primark, Boots and Superdrug. It’s actually a shame there aren’t many stores suitable for an 11 year old but she did find a pretty long sleeve top that came home with her. I heard in the news the re-opening of Top Shop. I’m thrilled that an old favourite is returning to the high street and pray many others will follow. I also asked Amelia if she preferred shopping in shops or online and she said the former. I’m excited as that’s what I would choose. Let’s hope high street shops continue to return so that buying online won’t be the norm! How do you like to shop?

My Weekend - Argyle Sweater.

Morning all. 

Hope you’re well and have had a super weekend. 

Another wonderful one for me. Dancing on Friday for which we completed the Rumba. It’s a lovely dance and I throughly enjoyed the twists and turns, trying hard to use my feet in the right way, apparently you have to glide across the floor sliding your feet without lifting them too much! You have to imagine having paper money under the balls of your feet and not letting it go! I won’t literally try this as I might end up doing the splits!😱

Saturday, after looking after Kimberley and Jack, my grandkids, I helped David with the plasterboard. I managed to cover a wall upstairs, albeit with some help from him and the new plasterboard drill bit he bought has been so helpful. It stops you drilling the screw in too far. I’m very proud of my achievements and I’m really pleased to be able to help. I was also on tea/coffee duty - I’m brilliant at that! 😂

Saturday evening we were at friends for a dinner party. It was lovely to catch up with some of our friends over a few drinks and delicious food. Both David and I can’t wait to have dinner parties in our new house. Ours doesn’t lend itself well to hosting, it’s rather small and really old! I know it’s not about the surroundings but more the company but it’s just doesn’t feel right. Do you understand how I feel about this? Our friends served a tasty salmon fillet which was accompanied by a creamy sauce, dauphinois potatoes and veg. We also had canapés of home made sausage rolls and breaded king prawns with spicy chilli jam. All of which we devoured by me and the other guests.  She’d also made a delicious Bakewell tart. Really was a super evening and I throughly enjoyed it even though it was a late night with a few too many glasses of fizz!

Sunday was a cold and wet day. After the AirBnb clean I came home to warm up. You know when you get so cold it takes ages to get warm! I stayed under the furry throw for a few hours before helping David prepare and cook steak with a Gorgonzola sauce over pasta. I did have a cheeky glass of white wine though, just to complete the dish you understand! 😆

Can’t believe I forgot to share this jumper with you, what do you think of this argyle beauty and what’s your favourite outfit?

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

Chat GPT - Chic & Stylish Linkup

Morning all. 

What have you been up to since we last spoke?

You can let me know by adding your posts to the linkup below. I love to hear what you’ve been up to!

I’ve been busy with the family and gym/dance classes. I’ve also been helping in the new house and it’s coming along nicely. We’re almost ready to welcome the plasterers to work on the top two floors which is so exciting. 

I’ve yet to buy anything for Spring. I’m waiting until the shops have an abundance to new stuff before I venture in. Have you bought anything new yet?

I’ve been having a play around with Chat GPT and got involved the latest craze. Have you heard of the app and have you used it?

Longing for Spring.

Good morning all. 

Thanks for joining me today. 

**Late Edit **

I forgot to hit publish yesterday! Grrr … so annoyed with myself!

Hoping you’ve had a super weekend. I spent Saturday working in the new build. The plasterboard is going up fast so we’ll be needing the chaps to come and plaster the rooms ready for second fix and painting, well not the whole house, just the top floor and first floor. I definitely need to get looking at bathrooms now, along with tiles. I’ve got lots of ideas floating around my head and on my Pinterest board which I can’t wait to start putting into practice.  

Last week I noticed, through the raindrops, some branches showing signs of blossoming! It got me thinking about welcoming Spring. When I get to January it’s all dark and dismal in the garden and I stupidly think it’s going to stay like that for many months, but as we all know time carries on waiting for no man and the seasons begin to change right in front of our eyes. It won’t be long until Easter is here and before long the hotter weather will be with us and Summery clothing is what we’ll be reaching for. X

Now for me I’m only hoping for better weather today I’m sharing a look I recently wore that is trying to entice the Spring. 

Co-Ord from M&S - Chic & Stylish Linkup

Morning all. 

How are you my friends?

Mixed weather here as always, yesterday was beautifully sunny but the wind was up, the day before was positively horrible - very overcast and drizzly.  I had my hygienst appointment, which was wonderful - my teeth have looked so much brighter and cleaner since - it's totally worth the cost!

Gym classes as usual, which I'm really enjoying atm.  I go from hating the classes to not being able to get enough and wanting to go to more!  My classes include, spin, pilates, Body Attack and Legs, Bums and Tum's.  I do two on Monday and two on a Wednesday which works for me because it actually takes so much time out of the day.  I'd go everyday if I'm honest, but it doesn't leave much time for anything else!

You will remember I told you about a co-ord I picked from Marks & Spencer on Monday. Well I thought you’d like to see it featured today. 

January Review.

Hiya. 

How are you?

Hope you’ve had a great weekend and welcome to the first post of February. 

Had a lazy day yesterday after a lovely night with friends on Saturday. I had a few too many drinks and suffered on Sunday, so much so I hardly did anything and ended up having a takeaway. 

I’m excited for the brand new month and hope to see more Spring styles filtering into the shops. I bought a lovely co-ord from the M&S website and although I’ve not even tried it on I know it’s a “me” look. You’ll be the first to see it when I share the black and grey checked skirt and top which is a stretchy chiffon-esque fabric. 

So another new month to enjoy. The first signs of spring have already arrived here. There’s daffodils down the road and the hedges are sprouting shoots, so along with the evenings becoming slightly lighter, I know it’s just around the corner although I’m still prepared for cold, wet weather with the odd much appreciated sunny days that appear every so often. ☀️

The first Monday of the new month always means sharing a reminder of what I was doing and wearing last month, welcome to the January Review. 

I love wearing red as I feel it brightens everything up including my mood. It’s a good colour for positive feelings and making everything happier. Head over to this post to read how my grey, layered look evolved. 

Darts Night.

Hello everyone. 

Hope you’re all okay. 

How’s your week been? 

Another extra busy one for me.  I know I like to go to my gym classes but they do take up a lot of time. Seeing the kids is important to me too, so a lot of the time is spent with one or other of them which I love. I try to see my mum a couple of times a week along with talking to her on WhatsApp too. I shop for dinner ingredients daily. I know it’s a time waster and I could plan evening meals each week and buy in one hit, but that’s not how either David or I like to do it. I don’t visit the shops every week either but I usually pop somewhere every couple of weeks whether it’s bigger towns like Canterbury or my local Whitstable & Herne Bay, that’s to buy things like cards, toiletries & birthday gifts. 

I headed over to Ashford Outlet yesterday. I had to exchange a Christmas present for David and the deadline was the end of this month so had to be done soon. I’d completely forgotten about changing the polo top, so had to rush over yesterday once I’d picked up the receipt from my son and daughter-in-law. Silly me though as I assumed (we all know what that means) it was from TKMaxx but it wasn’t. The top came from Abercrombie &Fitch so that was where I headed to. They didn’t have one in store but the helpful sales assistant did everything for me and arranged for a new one to be sent out in the correct size - brilliant. 

I had a quick browse in the Marks & Spencer over there but nothing caught my eye. Although I’ve just picked up a co-ord from their website. I’m excited to share the check two piece with you, so do watch out for it soon. 

You might have caught the snippet I mentioned on my last post where I spoke briefly about getting together with all the family. Such a joyful thing for me along with the other things I spoke about on this SNA post.  Let me share my exciting evening with you today. 

Style Not Age share their Joyful January outfits.

Good Morning. 

How your week been?

Can you believe it’s the last week of January?

It doesn’t seem two minutes since the last Style not Age challenge was being shared and here we are promoting the first one of 2026. 

Anna from Anna’s Island Style picked this topic and she’s given an easy option that will suit all of us which is just as well as sometimes the next year can prove a bit more challenging!  She’s given us the helpful and extensively open title of … Joyful January. 

January is usually thought of as a dowdy depressing month. Christmas is done and dusted with all the pretty decorations and presents stored away or put to good use (mostly). The weather is usually horrible with dark early evenings and cloudy days, sometimes with a drop of snow but more often wet and windy here in the UK. Although we have the odd bright and clear day, which hints that Spring is on its way! This year has been a bit different for me. You can read about my two fantastic joyful Christmas presents from David on my last post here and last night was spent doing another of my favourite things that make me feel joyful …. being with David and the family. ❤️

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

 

My Christmas Presents - Chic & Stylish Linkup.

Hi there everyone. 

How are you?

I’ve had such a busy few weeks and haven’t had time to blog which is sad for me. Family life has been choc-a-block so making time to partake in my favourite hobby has been truly difficult. Anyway how’s your past weeks been? Have you checked out the new fashions, or maybe tried a new hobby or recipe? Do let me know and join the linkup below. 

Let me tell you about my last couple of weeks. I’ve been enjoying two birthday presents from David. Firstly he surprised me with a night at Canterbury Cathedral. He’d booked the classical music event which was set in an Illuminated Canterbury Cathedral and was incredible. 

It featured the legendary Hans Zimmer and John Williams, whose famous musical scores were presented in an illuminated cathedral & were stunning. You may be aware that they both have composed some amazing soundtracks and musical scores for various films and have received accolades and awards for their outstanding work. Our evening in the cathedral, which was preceded by a meal in The Ivy, was fantastic. It really was an enchanting evening that had me entranced from the moment I walked into the fabulous setting. 

Still in my Brown Era - Chic & Stylish Linkup

Morning all. 

How’s your first week of the new year gone?

I’ve been loving getting back to normal. Back to the gym and dance classes for me and I’ve got a renewed enthusiasm for it. That’s what having a couple of weeks off does for me, does that work for you?

I popped to a couple of stores on Tuesday, I had to return something and ended up with a new bag! I have SO many bags and plan to have a cull to reduce some I don’t really use. Today’s outfit was what I wore yesterday, it features a new jacket and some boots along with that cute bag. 

December Review

Good morning my friends. 

How are you on what might be your first proper-back-to-normal-day!

I’m back to the gym this morning and am planning to lose the few lbs I’ve put on over the past weeks, which I’m really looking forward to doing.  I’m not worried at all as I knew 100% I’d put a bit of weight on. I know I’ve been eating lots of things I shouldn’t have - but really enjoyed doing it! lol. 

I’m taking the last of the decorations down today too. The house looks so bare and quite honestly sad, but I’m excited to think next year I’ll hopefully be in the new house so will have to see where I can put everything and more importantly if any of the garlands will have a suitable place!! ( My house has lots of wooden beams that can easily have hooks drilled into it. New house won’t have that!) Do you leave the festive decorations up for as long as possible or do you remove them at the earlier opportunity?

Now you know it’s the first Monday of the new month which makes way for the December Review let’s take a stroll down last month’s lane. 

Way back at the beginning of the month I was sharing a new pair of barrel leg trousers I found on Vinted. Head over to this post to read all about them. 

Animal Print with Block Colours - Chic & Stylish Linkup.

Morning all. 

Welcome to you all and I’d like to wish you a Happy New Year. 

I can’t quite believe it’s 2026, last year flew by. I’ve got a very exciting year ahead. You see my daughter is getting married in August so there’s lots of plans and preparations along with finishing off the new build. It’s really starting to take shape, we’re at the first fixing & plaster-boarding stage with plastering on the horizon. I’ll be looking for a kitchen and paint swatches before long!

I’ve also got to get my dress planned for the wedding too. I’ve worn blue to three of my children’s weddings and had an idea to go for something different but until I see it I’m keeping my options open!

With the weather apparently getting very cold I wanted to show off a stunning scarf I’d been given. It’s from the small selection at Damart and came in the goody bag I received at the WS preview last September . 

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