Mixing a Slinky Skirt with a Casual Tee!

Hello and thanks for joining me today.

Here’s one I made earlier!

I’m away for a couple of days visiting my uncle in Cornwall as it’s his birthday. I’ve come down with my mum and sister on a 5 hour car ride to stay in a local-to-him hotel which is in Liskerd, I’ll share on IG stories what I get up to. 

It’s been a worry as to what to pack as the weather has been all over the show again, so as we’re driving I’ve packed to cover all eventualities … lol. I’ve got four dresses, and some wide leg trousers, sandals and trainers along with my new jean jacket. Please do have a look so you can see my new pieces. 

Ballroom on Friday was wonderful, I’ve really nailed the waltz routine and am “banana-ing” rather well even though I say it myself.  I really wished I’d learnt years ago! To be fair I love any kind of dancing and have a sense of dance that comes naturally, although some of the new faster styles are a bit too faster for me, I’ll leave that to the young ones - lol. 

Today I thought I'd show a more younger style that's trending at the moment.  I think it looks great, but you'll have to let me know your thoughts.  Is this a style you'd wear?

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. 

See the ladies from Style Not Age Sparkle and Shine.

Hi there and a very Happy Boxing Day to you all.

I hope you had an amazing day yesterday and are enjoying today.  If you've stopped by I want to say a big Thank You as it means a lot. 🙏

Today I'm going to keep it short and sweet, there's plenty of blog post ideas in the pipe line for next year, & I hope you stay around to enjoy them.

Have fun and enjoy the last installment from the ladies from Style Not Age and me.

This month we looked to Anna for the prompt and her topical title of ...

Sparkle and Shine went down well with us all.

So let's look no further and she just how well we shine. ✴

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

What to wear with a Boucle Coat.

Hi there everyone.

Hope all is good for you, are you ready for next weekend?

I'm finally there, just have to collect a couple of pieces I ordered online and get them wrapped then I'm done!

It'll be nice to enjoy the run up to the special day this year, as I think it's one of the first I'm not running around like a headless chicken at this stage of the game .. lol!

David had a couple of bits to do on the new build over the weekend.  Two big steels had to be fixed to the footings and he managed to get it done albeit in the cold and damp weather.  The bricks have now been delivered too, we had to get them passed by the council because we live in a conservation area.  They are ready and waiting to be laid which will most probably be in January ... I hope! 

So the jeans are a dark wash, which I prefer to wear in the Winter.

So today's outfit is one I've been wearing before we had snow.  The boots are suede so I didn't want to ruin them and the coat is a tad short and quite thin to wear in the extreme temps we've had recently, so I've been wearing my padded maxi at every opportunity, which has kept me dry and toasty warm.

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

November Review.

Morning my friends.

How the heck are you?

Have you got into the festive mood yet?  I'm definitely getting full of Christmas spirit and most probably plenty of Prosecco and Jager's too!  I've had a weekend in Germany and will be travelling home today, let's hope the power of a scheduled post works and this is published!

It's the first Monday of the month, so as usual I'm sharing my posts from the past month in the ....

November Review.

At the beginning of November I was just getting over a really horrible chest infection, it was so bad I needed antibiotics which is almost unheard of for me.  I'm very lucky and seem to get over colds and coughs really easily, but what started with a sore throat, cough and cold ended up in a full blown chest infection.  Anyway I digress.  

I went out for lunch with my sister and our mum for her birthday treat.  We dined at a local venue having two courses and a couple of glasses of fizz.  We had a super few hours and as usual put the world to rights as we ate and drank.  I wore this snazzy Geo print dress that's covered in bright, bold shades of blue, black and cream.  Do pop back and find out all about it.

Navy and Green Should Always be Seen at the Women & Home Christmas Event!

Hiya, how are you doing?

Have you been up to much since we last spoke?

Have you started Christmas shopping yet?  Every year I vow to have got everything done by now, alas it's the same as previous years as I haven't even bought one gift yet!  I'll have a day of it soon and hopefully will get the majority of things bought and if I'm clever wrapped!  

I'm planning on putting the decorations up at the weekend, I'm away the following week so putting them up the week after would be too late in my eyes.  I know many of you put them up last minute and take them down very soon after the festivities, but I love to have everything looking Christmas-y - it's such a special time and I want it to last as long as possible.

Last Saturday I went to London and I thought it would be a good idea to let you see what I wore and what I did!

I was invited to attend this PR event, however these are all my own honest comments.

September Review.

Hi there, how’s it going?

I’m stunned we’re in October already, how on earth did that happen?

The weather has acted accordingly and dropped temperatures to make way for layers, jackets and warmer clothes. It’s nice to have a change & wear warmer clothes isn’t it?

I’ve started to think about Christmas and after a couple of years when I’ve hated to embrace the festive season I’m excited to get going on present buying and Christmas Day planning. 

Both my daughters will be with their other half's family on Christmas Day, and although I hate it, I accept that I have to ‘share’ them so will enjoy their coming to us on Boxing Day. After all it’s better to enjoy the Xmas period for longer is it?  It's My mum's turn to come to us, and that will be lovely to have her join us.  Have you planned your Christmas Day yet?

Anyway let's forget about the festive season and think about the new month, a new month can only mean a new review ... so it's time to share the September Review.

Style not Age Show off Their Luxe Layering.

Morning everyone.

Hope you are well.

Can’t believe it’s the last Monday of September! The weather has changed to too, it’s much cooler and the mornings have dew on the grass and a definite chill in the air.  I know that first hand as I was looking after my son’s puppy last week which called for two visits into the garden in the early hours each night I had her. Our garden isn’t very pet friendly and has no gate to have kept her in! I didn’t want to risk her running off so had to take her out on a lead every time!  She’s home now, and I have to say I’ve missed the little bundle of fur called Halle, our second name is Berry!  It’s most definitely confirmed I don’t want another dog and am content that I can have a part time pet when my son and his family go away again. 

On Saturday night we went to a friends house to have a takeaway curry, it was fun and quite sedate really, no dancing but lots of laughs.  We all need that in our lives don’t we!

On Sunday we had the second roast dinner in quite a few months, it was really nice to have the typical spread and the roast lamb and veg went down rather well as did the hot chocolate with dipped marshmallows that followed - bang goes the calorie counting. 

So let's get back to what's on the agenda today. Me and the ladies from the Style not Age collective have been getting to grips with the latest challenge set by Gail.

She's given us the suitable for the season prompt of ...

Luxe Layering.

Enticing the sun to come out and stay! - #Chicandstylish #LINKUP

Hiya my friends. 

Don't mind me I'm lazing in the garden as it way too hot to do anything ... 

Urmm, sorry I was dreaming it's actually very cold and rather changeable here in the UK isn't it, one minute it's sunny, the next it's pouring with rain!  I'm itching to get into my summer clothes but most of them are still waiting to be worn!  I've not even put many of my jumpers & tracksuits away as I'm still wearing them!  What's going on with mother nature, with mixed weather from the remnants of Storm Alex later in the week it's not going to get any better is it!  I feel like investing in a trendy rain mac will be a good idea, ha ha!

What's the best thing to do when the weather is crap?  Wear something bright and cheerful of course.  

My yellow and white outfit is to inspire some sunshine to arrive and banish the rain - hope it works!

Style Not Age - Birthstone Beauties.

Morning my friends. 

Hope your month went well.

June this week sounds crazy doesn't it!

As it's the last Monday of the month it's time to look at what the ladies from Style not Age have been working on.  It was my turn this time and as it fell in my birth month I thought the title of 

Birthstone Beauties would be a topical challenge.  I'm thrilled to see each of my friends have a different stone, all the looks are so different and our individual personalities really do shine through.

I've always loved my birthstone, it's an Emerald and although I don't wear much green I always feel it suits me so well - do let me know what you think. X

What to Wear for a Barge Race on The Thames.

Morning my friends.

How are you?

Another busy Saturday for me, I went to London to watch my youngest son James compete in The Barge Race on the River Thames.  It's an age old tradition, and you can read more about it here!

It was an early start departing for the train at 7.30am.  I took a picnic lunch, snacks and drinks as we were on the boat all day - with no loo we had to stop off at various points for comfort breaks and getting on and off the boat was ... err shall I say interesting!   You can see my wobbly boarding of the boat over on Instagram. 😅

I obviously had to wear something suitable for a day on the boat, as well as getting on and off, it's a work boat so not really suitable for dressy outfits.  I wore jeans. I do admit that wearing white jeans wasn't really my best decision.  Well you do the math's ...work boat and white jeans, yeah I got them dirty!!!

To be fair I think I looked the part, and that's all that matters really eh?

Style Not Age are Iris Apfel Inspired.

Hi there my friends.

Do hope you've had a super weekend - I certainly have with the icing on the cake being a big family roast at my daughters house to celebrate Mother's Day with all the family attending.  My mum came too which was marvellous.  We had roast turkey and all the extras, I even had a frozen red cabbage left over from Christmas and my son-in-law made his own pigs-in-blankets - yum yum and totally full up now.  So the rest of the week will be back calorie counting to compensate for my 'pigging out' on Sunday!

With it being the last Monday of the month it's time the latest installment from the ladies of Style Not Age.

With this months theme falling into the hands of Hilda she gave us the tasty yet tricky prompt of ...

Inspired by Iris Apfel.

There's a new collaboration in town between Iris Apfel and H & M.  I'm excited to see this up close and personal, so will be paying a visit to my local store toute suite.  Iris, who's pattern mixing is second to none, pairs flashy prints with feather boas, bangles, beads, beads and more beads.  She wears statement round glasses too, these are here signature so you'll never forget who she is! 

These looks aren't for everyone, but will certainly make you stand out from the crowds. Do share if you've seen the new edit and if you've bagged an unusual garment or two. 

Well I can confirm that this proved to be 100% a tricky title for me.  I didn't want to buy anything new as I figured I had plenty in my wardrobe to complete the look and so I set about styling my copy with enthusiasm.  I have to add it's not my most favourite look and I probably won't be repeating it, but it was interesting to try!

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

Brighten up with cheery yellow.

Good morning my friends.
How are you all doing?
Can you believe this is my 500th blog post!!!  I'm actually amazed there's been so many, and having looked back at my first few posts I'm impressed at how far I've come!  I've toyed with the idea of deleting these awful early days but when would I actually start from because every day is a learning curve in blogging as in everything we do.  As humans we strive to be better, fitter, nicer and have more.  It's not a selfish thing it's natural.  Some can be happy with 'our lot', but there's plenty of us who want more - not just tangible things but things like experiences, learning and achieving.  For me being over fifty means I have the best of all worlds, I enjoy my family and friends, can spend a little more on clothes and makeup etc, have some wonderful holidays (with more to come) & enjoy learning to dance.  I still go to adult ballet once a week and have been going to ballroom dance lessons for over a year now - not only is it fun it keeps me fit.  Do you have any new hobbies you've just started?

Along with fashion I love learning about makeup & skin care. I love to watch YouTube videos sharing makeup ideas, skin care techniques and specific make routines - I've just found a wonderful lady who specialises in over 50's makeup, she deals with lots of issues from dry lips to hooded eyes and I'm so pleased I've found her.  If you're interested here's her link ... Shake Up Makeup.

With Storm Ciara taking hold this weekend taking photos has been a nightmare, double that because this was the first time I have used my new camera on a remote control setting - let's just say it's a 'learning in progress' situation.  So with the weather being very Wintery I wanted to brighted up my demeanor by wearing something bright - to be fair the sun has been out all morning, but that wind is still so strong!

Cold Blue Dress with Glitzy Drop Earrings and Icy Accents.

Morning all.
All good with you my friends?
Well my decorations are down, everything is getting back to normal and I'm just about seeing the bottom of the washing pile. 🤣  Now I'm starting to get a bit excited, you see the countdown is now on for my skiing holiday.  This year we are off to Sestriere, Italy.  The skiing will be fine so long as there's some snow, but it will be interesting to explore the town, restaurants and ... bars! Lol.  There's plenty of bags in the loft with all sorts of ski gear in, guess what I'll be doing over the next couple of weeks?? 😏
But here's one outfit I wont be taking with me, my suitcase will be packed with jeans, jumpers, tee shirts and ski gear - I can't wait!

Do you remember me sharing some sparkly earring and a striking bracelet last week?  I also gave you a snippet of these glamorous drop earrings when I teamed them with sequins & my leather look skirt.
I'd like to show my glitzy gems along with my cold blue pleated dress and icy accessories.

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

A snakeskin outfit from Outfit.

Hello there my friends.
Another busy weekend, which has been lovely.  I went to a 4 year old's birthday party on Friday, taking my grandson with me which was rather special.  He's just at that interesting age ... 2 1/2 ... stringing sentences together, quite literally jumping into everything and basically enjoying all he does - when he calls me Nanny he melts my heart. He's a cheeky chappy and I love spending time with him as I do all the gran-kids.

... when he calls me Nanny he melts my heart.

Saturday night hubby and I were out, out for drinks and dinner,  it was so nice to catch up with my sister and her husband and we certainly made a night of it - drinking way too much and subsequently having a really slow Sunday morning!  We were out for a friends birthday for Sunday lunch, what a delicious roast meal we had at Cafe and Kitchen.  Very often roast dinners out are just not like our own home cooked versions, but I can honestly say our meal was every bit as yummy.  You can tell I'm on the run up to the big day as my diet has gone out the window - I managed to demolish crayfish cocktail followed by roast turkey, roast potatoes, etc - polished off with plum crumble AND custard - I could hardly move after all I'd consumed and literally wanted to lay down and relax!!!  Guess what? I relaxed watching one of my favourite movies ..... Elf, brilliant fun, easy to watch and really one to get you in the festive mood. 🎄🎅🤶

Snakeskin is a neutral trend that's still at the forefront of fashion - complementing many a black outfit as well as loads of other colours (see when I wore a rust snakeskin dress last week).  I've got a few other items that work hard in my wardrobe and these shiny drape trousers are proving a welcomed addition too.  I'm going to have fun styling these again and again.

LBT, Black Jeans & Shirt Dress with Cerise Pink.

Morning all.
Hope you're all okay.
I've had a quiet weekend.  Due to go out with friends but feeling slightly under par I didn't go. Hopefully it can be postponed - afternoon tea would have been right up my street, but fingers crossed I can go another day.
I was going through my jewellery box a few weeks when I was delighted to find the watch hubby bought me quite a few years ago - I'd spotted it in a shop window and recalled in detail just what the striking Dolce and Gabbana timepiece looked like - imagine my surprise when he presented it to me for our anniversary - it's quite noticeable and very unusual.  It needed a battery which I'd neglected and then forgotten to get, it's nice to be wearing it again - let me know if it's one you'd wear.
Later today I'm out with Esther taking photos, and I've got some great footwear to share with you along with an interesting pair of hand warmers too!  Do look out for them.

Rome.

Morning my lovely friends.
How's the over fifties doing?  In fact how are you all doing?
You may have seen my IG stories a few days ago and seen I've just come back from Rome. So you might have watched my antics around the beautiful city.
Today I wanted to share the wonderful days I spent there.  Four other couples joined hubby and me for our four day escape & we made some excellent memories visiting many of the landmarks and special places Rome has to offer.  Today I'll share what we did and what we saw - hope you enjoy joining me.
We booked separate flights, accommodation and transfers, which worked out a better deal for us.  Our flights with Easy Jet were as smooth as you like and we arrived after the 2 hour and 5 minute flight full up with breakfast and a cheeky bottle of Prosecco (small one - lol) excited with anticipation of the ensuing days.

Hey! do you spot The Vatican behind me?

Style not Age - Purple Reign!

Good morning my friends.
Hope you're all happy.
Not long now till the schools return, the mornings are cooler, nights draw in and our wardrobe selection changes.  The shops are already filling their rails with new season clothes and it will be good to see the warmer pieces and different shades we'll be musing over.  Have you purchased anything for Autumn yet?  Do spill the beans in the comments section my friends. x
I'm blogging with my three companions from Style Not Age collective today, it's the August installment & our challenge was set by Emma.

Purple Reign.
Her choice whilst initially had me feeling excited though once checking through my wardrobe I realised I had one blouse in my wardrobe that had a hint of purple in it!  I've had to start from scratch and find a whole outfit that would work.
I headed over to T K Maxx early Saturday morning and had a rummage around the whole store finding a few pieces that could work, but settled on a smashing purple graphic tee (you might remember I've been wanting more of them after buying this out of office tee and my Zara face).
I also bought a super stretchy dress and some very sassy snakeskin boots as well - well I'm forward thinking for Autumn - and this post, so that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Lime Green & a Floral Skirt

Welcome by on this glorious Monday. 
Well fingers crossed it's a glorious day, as we've had wonderful weather over the weekend which has put everyone in a good mood I'm sure.
My weekend has been super, this over fifty blogger has been spending time with the family enjoying a morning at the local open air pool, followed by two BBQ's on Saturday and Sunday.
We had roughly a half hour wait to be admitted to the pool, waiting for people to leave was a by product of wanting to swim and play in the open-air pool.  Kids loved the rapids and small slides but it wasn't big enough for the revellers on the hottest day of the year, because space for towels was cramped and queues were long.  We should have gone to the beach but not sure the kids would have liked the pebbles, sand and seaweedy water. We all had a really lovely time it almost felt like I was on holiday, just couldn't find the bar serving cocktails and the all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant - ha ha ha!

In-between playing with the kids, enjoying the sunshine and getting BBQ food ready I managed to sneak a few photos for my #ootd.

Bonmarche Biker Jacket - #Chicandstylish #LINKUP

Morning all.
How's everyone today.  I'm running around like a mad person - finishing the last minute bits and pieces BEFORE THE WEDDING!! Yikkes!!
I had planned to get all my blog posts ready to go, but as usual I've left them to the last minute and am keeping busy busy until everything is sorted.  I toyed with the idea of not blogging for a month, but with FOMO in my head I've carried on - do you have FOMO???
Fear of missing out - I haven't got it bad at all I just like to stay involved and keep up-to-date with you my fellow bloggers.  I like to know what people are doing and wearing, just so I can get ideas and keep abreast of the latest 'real' fashions.  I'm not an avid follower of magazines as such, just like to peruse and see what's on the horizon, then I put my spin on it.  So I'm here to stay for this month at least. 🤣

So today let's talk about this cute little jacket....
I'm delighted to be collaborating with Bonmarche again.  Having worked with them in the past they are proving to be up there with the leaders.  You can check out my previous choices here.
Last week in stripy trousers, last year in a very cute jacket, skirt and blouse & in Spain being spoilt in the sun!

You won't be surprised to know this jacket isn't any different with fabulous quality, on trend style and in-your-face colour.  My pick is not only serviceable, but stylish as well.

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