September Review.

Hi there everyone. 

Thanks for dropping in!

I’m getting ready for my little trip to Sicily on Wednesday. It’s a joint birthday present for David and me and you might remember the story of what happened when I gave my hubby his present! Catch the full post here, it’ll enlighten you as to what happened if you missed it!

Out to our friend's house on Saturday night and they really were the most perfect host’s. They cooked us a wonderful meal which comprised of steak pie made with gluten free pastry which was delicious, roast potatoes, homegrown runner beans, mushrooms and tenderstem broccoli. Tucking into this wonderful meal whilst enjoying delicious wine was the best, we talked and laughed and I had the best night.  Eton mess followed by cheese, biscuits and a glass of port followed! Now it wasn’t a late night but I have to say Sunday went very slowly, so much so I didn’t do anything but lay on the sofa! Way too much drinking involved but boy was it a good night. 

Even though it’s the 7th October, it’s the first Monday of October which means a quick recap of September’s outfits for the …

September Review. 

At the beginning of September the weather, like usual was changeable so lightweight trousers and tee shirts with a jacket are the perfect answer to our fickle temperatures. 

I noticed these flamboyant wide leg trousers immediately I saw them and picked up the top at the same time. The oversized jacket is a thin fabric that makes it a good addition for a mix of weather. 

Life Insurance & My Trip to Porto - Chicandstylish Linkup

Hello everyone, welcome to my blog.

Hope you are good. 

I'm so pleased you stopped by today! The much anticipated blog post about my trip to Porto is here!

Do you remember I mentioned both David and I had our 60th birthday’s this year and we were elated to have been given this amazing present from our 5 kids and their partners.  Yes they’d planned a wonderful long weekend to Porto in Portugal where the Port comes from and what an interesting and memorable few days we had.

The older I get the more I realise how important life is!  Life is for living each day to the full, as you never know what is round the corner.  It's often hard to get out and do the things you want to do isn't it, but I'm a firm believer in making time to do something different it will fulfill you in ways you wouldn't imagine.  Some years ago I returned to ballet lessons and after that I joined a ballroom class, and I've got lots on my agenda to try out, I'd like to try painting, riding a horse and may learn to play the piano - these might not happen but it's all about setting goals or making some kind of bucket list!  I'm becoming more and more aware of losing people in my life - my dad passed away some months ago - we had an estranged relationship but it's still hard to accept things won't be the same. That's why I'd recommend some sort of life insurance.  Life can take an unexpected turn and leave loved ones stranded, not something I'd wish on anyone, affordable life insurance is easy to get and very much worth it.  Why not see what your possibilities are, it's never too late and really easy to find out all the details like monthly costs etc and would, in my opinion, be money well spent and give you peace of mind for sure.

Now let's get back to my weekend in Porto. We flew from Stanstead early on the Saturday morning and enjoyed the 2 hour 10 min flight watching a film on David's phone and polishing off a couple of drinks and a cheese and ham toasty.  After a bit of a hiccup with our transfer (the driver didn't turn up), we jumped in a taxi and were soon on our way to our little hotel.  The transfer was only a 25 minute drive, so before we knew it we'd arrived.  Check in wasn't until 3 pm so we dropped off our suitcase and bag and went off to explore.  

Style not Age share their Secondhand outfits.

Good morning everyone. 

Hope you’re well. 

I’m actually shocked at the fact it’s October tomorrow … October how did that happen! I’ve even spotted some Xmas decorations in my local Sainsbury’s along with mince pies and Christmas puddings, it’ll be fairy lights and tinsel before we know it! That being said I need to order my turkeys soon. We order from a local turkey farm and I have to say they are always delicious. One year our turkey had a pretty pinkish tinge, this was a result of them being fed on the remnants of butternut squash in the surrounding fields. 

I went to a lovely family event yesterday, it was my niece’s daughter’s christening and it was lovely to join all the family for a good old catch up! It was held in the church she got married in and then at a local pub. Obviously I enjoyed a couple of glasses of fizz along with some tasty party food - anyone else love party food? I always end up eating too much only seconded by eating too much cake!

Our challenge this month was set by Gail, she liked the idea suggested by Hilda so this month we’re styling our 

Secondhand September outfits. 

Chicandstylish Linkup

Dear friends,

Thanks so much for joining me today.

Been tied up with the family over the past few days, so just the linkup today. I do hope you share your amazing outfits and let me know what you’ve been up to. 

Still working on this post about Porto, but here’s a taster of the stunning views. 

My Damart Jumper.

Morning everyone. 

Hope your weekend went well and the new week is off to a good start. Sorry for the late post, the weekend seemed to just run away from me!

I’ve been doing some building work on Saturday and Sunday (well sort of building work). I’ve been helping David and my son-in-law with plaster-boarding (fetching and carrying really) and generally tidying up getting ready for the plaster’s to be able to start work. My daughter and her son and hubby are still living with me and we’re all working hard to get them fully installed before their new baby arrives in November!

I’m still working on the blog post for my weekend in Porto so will get that ready as soon as possible. 

This isn’t something I’d normally go for, but the soft chunky knit, that has a crochet looking details, caught my eye. 

Until then let’s take a look at this classic outfit featuring my new A line skirt and this dreamy jumper.

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

Styling a vibrant jumpsuit - Chicandstylish Linkup

Good morning everyone.

Thanks for joining me today.

Apologies for no post on Monday, in my head I'd planned a post, but in reality it didn't materialise!

I've been away for a long weekend break to Porto in Portugal.  It was amazing and very much needed by both hubby and myself! You might recall it was a birthday present for the children, they all clubbed together for a joint 60th present and our trip away was the result.  They had planned to send us to Savoca in Sicily, but you can read all about that story here

Well I’m working on a post telling you all about Porto which will follow next week. Until then let me show you this vibrant jumpsuit that I was kindly gifted from Jenerique. 

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

Memory Lane & Insurance - Chicandstylish Linkup

Hiya, how are you?

All good with me. 

I'm getting a tad excited for my weekend away this Saturday.  The kids bought us a trip to Porto for both David and my 60th birthdays and the time has finally come.  I've planned a little capsule wardrobe to take with me comprising of some new and old pieces - I'll try to share them on Instagram in the next day or so!

I've done the online check in and up loaded the boarding passes to my phone wallet.  We've got some euros left over from our previous holiday and we have insurance with our bank - which is really helpful (I always check the small print to make sure we are properly covered) so all I need to do is get a couple of toiletries and pack! Porto here I come!

Our new build is coming on nicely, slowly but nicely - do you know we've lived in this house for 15 years now.  We sold our property on the sea front in Seasalter and made the move to this house which had lots of potential and lots of land!  Remember how I go on and on about the size of the grass I have to cut, well it's had about 1/4 taken away now which is where our new house sits!  You can see more on my dedicated Instagram account Mummabbuilds which shows what we've done and how far we've come.  

So back to the house, lots has happened in the passing years, we've had numerous birthdays - many big ones, two weddings, two dogs (both passed away) and we've also lost special people along the way.  We've had so many good times, and generally it's been a good house to us, albeit an old, in-need-of-lots-of-work house. 

You might wonder why I've been so nostalgic, well it's house insurance time which always takes me back to when we got the house keys.  Well to be honest we didn't get the keys, our daughter did! We’d sold our previous property and there was a short period before we could move into this one so we moved lock, stock and barrel into my Mother-in-laws house.  I've got wonderful memories of our time there and it just went really well.  We decided to book a holiday to Turkey and half way through we completed and could have moved in, pair that with the fact that my eldest daughter and her husband returned home AND it rained for the whole weekend, I really wanted to be in the UK moving in to my new house and not in rain-y Marmaris!  

Now back to my household insurance. and with inflation increasing that too is going up.  Because our house has suffered from underpinning in the past we decided to keep the original insurance going and not break away from them, but I guarantee there's some fabulous home insurances out there which have quoted me in the past and it's definitely worth doing your ground work and getting a good deal!

This post has sponsored content, however all words are my own. 

My Chanel Inspired two piece.

Hello everyone

How’s it going?

I’ve had a mad weekend really, it all started really well but went downhill rather quickly on Saturday. My youngest managed to fall from a scaffolding tower and spilt his underarm open - so I spend most of Saturday in A & E. 

He was helping at my daughter’s new build when the injury happened, suffice to say he won’t be doing that again in a while. Fortunately they are nearly at a stage of interior painting etc. He ended up with five stitches and some antibiotics & the sad thing is he’s off to Centre Parcs today so won’t be able to ride the bike or swim!

Isn’t it such a worry when our kids grow into adults, we still worry and care about them but have to leave them to their own devices and not get too involved. If anyone has learnt how to do this please let me know! 🫣

Sunday, I’m pleased to say was an improvement with David and I and his sisters’ and brother visiting our nephew for his birthday. We had a wonderful lunch compromising of pulled pork and all the extras, paella with some delicious salads - Greek, carrot & beetroot and burrata with rocket, peaches and pine nuts. Everything was delicious and the afternoon ran smoothly with only the addition of better weather improving it!

I ended up wearing this dress yesterday which was perfect for the cooler temperatures, but this cute little number would have been a possibility had I managed to get them in smaller sizes. 

Styling New Trousers - Chicandstylish Linkup

Hello my friends. 

How’s it going?

I really do seem to have blinked and missed the summer, I’m still hankering after wearing my summer dresses, and fear Autumn will be upon us in no time - making jeans, boots, jumpers and coats top priority! Having said that it’s still hot here, so I’m still in my shorts and Tee shirts! How’s the weather for you?

Feeling quite pleased with myself recently as I’ve been into town and bought a couple of new bits for the new season. Some super trousers from H&M accompanied me home and I’m looking forward to styling them with a slinky top I picked up from them a week earlier. I had to grab a bigger size trouser (anyone else think H&M come up small),  Upon doing so I spotted a matching silky top, so will possibly get that online for my weekend away to Porto the weekend after next. 

Thought you might like a sneak peak of my new trousers, what do ya think?

August Review.

Good morning everyone, great to have you here!

Welcome to September too!

I still can’t believe it’s the beginning of Autumn, we don’t seem to have had any Summer really!

This weekend has been hard work, David and I painted the whole of the outside of our new build. We want to get to the next phase which will be taking the scaffolding down and it’s within touching distance! All that’s left to do is put a couple of tiles on the tile hanging area along with some lead work and get the guttering and drainpipe put in place. So this weekends painting really seems like we’ve reached a milestone! Mind you I felt completely whacked out. I’m proud of the seriously difficult positions I got myself into - hanging from scaffolding and balancing on steps I’ve really quite surprised myself. It looks amazing and both David and I are rather pleased with what we’ve done. Do stop by Mummabbuilds_ to see more of our achievements. 

Remember I told you I ventured into town last week? Well I came home with a couple of nice pieces and was really happy with what was in the stores AND we have a new shop opened in the city along with a new restaurant (The Ivy) which is being constructed as we speak! I’m excited to try it out as soon as it opens after visiting one in London a few months ago. 

The new clothing and jewellery shop  - Oliver Bonas has taken up residence in the city centre and it was lovely to have a browse in the store and spotted loads of bits I wanted to take home with me, I’ll be sharing one I nearly bought on IG soon, be sure to look out for it. 

As it’s the first Monday of the month, it’s time to draw your chair up and grab a cuppa for a look back on what I wore and did last month for the …

August Review. 

Stripes are making headlines this season so this dress will be a winner for next month & beyond - maybe with another layer or two and some closed in trainers. Do have a peak back here and let me know what you think about this summery look.