Pleated Skirt with Mustard Accents and Lotus Shoes Wedges.

Hello and welcome to my blog.

It's aimed at ladies over 50, but quite honestly everyone is welcome!

How's your weekend been?

The weather certainly didn't let us down this weekend, with temperatures soaring into the 30'S at times I just had to sit in shade ( I know who actually am I - lol).   

Friday night my ballroom dancing had me tangoing into the weekend with flair & energy.  This was the first time I'd learnt any Tango steps and I really enjoyed the twists and flicks.  It's a work in progress but it's nice to push yourself every once in a while eh!

Saturday was garden day!  Hubby and I spent most of the day cutting hedges and generally tidying up the drive.  We cleaned up and headed over to my daughters to watch the Formula 1 Sprint Race and The Open (which is down the road at Royal St Georges in Sandwich.)  I'm enjoying watching golf more and more over the past few years, and am starting (slowly) to grasp the rules!  It may be a sport I'd like to learn one day, although I don't think I'd be any good at it .... I struggle with Crazy Golf!!! 😆

I enjoyed not cooking on Sunday ... going to my daughters for a BBQ was heaven.  The family were also there so we had a nice few hours soaking up the sun and putting the world to rights - we decided we needed a pool of some description, but had to settle on dunking our feet in plastic boxes full of cold water .... ha ha ha. 😍

Wearing shorts and a bikini top I figured photos of this wasn't going to make the blog, but here's what did!

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

Paisley Maxi, coral and Denim - At Home With ... - #Chicandstylish #LINKUP

Hi everyone, glad you could make it today.

I'm excited to share another fantastic blogging friend with you.  Do keep scrolling to see who's joining me today!

But first can I show you my OOTD?  I'm trying to entice the sunshine to pop over and stay for a while - so far this week  it seems to be working!

I've shopped my wardrobe today, prompted by a lovely lady over on IG (will try and link to her).  She was wearing a lovely maxi skirt with a dainty pale coral top - so here's my copy.

I've had the maxi for a while as I have the top and my old jean jacket made the hat-trick, so for the haul I wore some really old trainers too! 

Dressing for a Garden Party, Matalan Style.

Morning my lovely friends.

How are you?

Sorry I'm so late with today's post, but you know how it goes sometimes!

Been a busy weekend for me with dinner out on Saturday night for my brother-in-law's birthday.  We went to a local haunt that we used to use years ago - was nice to have a trip down memory lane remember the good times with family and friends.  

The Red Lion is a little village pub complete with green and church next door, typically an idyllic olde worlde venue and the meal we had emulated the fabulous ambiance.  I picked a delicious prawn and crab cocktail served with brown bread and followed this classic started with roast garlic and thyme chicken, dauphinoise potatoes served with seasonal greens and copious amounts of Prosecco - I certainly paid for it the next day feeling very much the worse for wear!  My daughter made a fantastic cake, chocolate with more chocolate decorated with a mixture of chocolates and a dusting of gold sprinkles [I'll try to link a piccy for you all].  It ended up a very late night after we carried on the party at my SIL's with more Prosecco & some dancing, I wonder why I couldn't move the next day - I certainly pulled some snazzy moves!

So after a late start on Sunday it was round 2!  I had been invited to my friend's birthday garden party.  I took a nice fresh potato salad to accompany the tempting buffet she'd laid on ... shall I tease you? 

Freshly bbq'd burgers and chicken, avocado salad, coleslaw, pesto rice & aubergine parmigiana [which I fell in love with, so I'm getting the recipe and am going to try making it myself].  This was followed by homemade apple and summer fruit crumble and custard, this was also very yummy.  I was a good girl and decided to drive, this meant taking a bottle of Nosecco .. my new found friend.  If you don't want to drink, but feel like you're missing out, this is a brilliant way to 'cheat'.  It pop's like a proper bottle and has bubbles too - if you pour it  into a champagne flute you'll feel like you're having a real drink - that's half the problem isn't it, having a coke in a big glass makes you feel like you're not drinking and being different.  [I don't know why that is a problem, but it is!]  So a wonderful afternoon was spent sitting in the garden having a laugh and chatting with good friends.  We left in time to watch the football at my daughter's house, let's not get onto that subject as it's still too sad to talk about! 😭   

Shall I let you see what I wore to the garden party?  It was perfect weather, not too hot and not too cold.  I wore this glorious dress.  It's a buffet style and just spot on for the wonderful buffet we devoured.

One Night On The Spirit of Discovery - #Chicandstylish #LINKUP

Morning my lovely friends.

Many thanks for joining me today.

How's July going for you?

I decided to head over to my local outlet yesterday, I was so looking forward to spending a couple of hours wandering round the shops - Imagine my disappointment when every shop had hardly anything I liked!  I wanted to see what M & S had in there, especially the underwear - very little was being offered.  Same in Clarks, the shoes and sandals were pretty naff to be totally honest.  Phase Eight and Roman weren't any better and after an hour I decided to call it a day and come home.  I might have to resort to doing what I hate .... online shopping!  I just don't enjoy it - I like to look at clothes, feel them, see what the fabric is like, do the colours suit me up close and finally try them on in the store!   Am I the only one who feels like this?  Please tell me I'm not!

Anyway enough about my shopping antics let me tell you about my night away. 💓

June Review.

Hi there my friends.

How are you all doing?

I finally managed to cut the grass last Friday and I also took advantage of the window of pleasant weather on Saturday morning and potted my plants!  They all look so pretty and have started to grow already, although everything seems to be late this year with many of my  original plants not even in bud!  I've been using a plant feed for the first time, so fingers crossed they bloom into beauties soon.  Come on sunshine we need a lot more of your company!

Saturday afternoon we popped to a friends for an open air party in a field.  I was very nervous of the rain on Saturday, but we were blessed with a cloudy but warm event.  That evening we watched the England - Ukraine football match at my daughters.  Seems times have changed as hubby watched the whole match and we got four goals - maybe I'll let him watch the next match on Wednesday!

So shall we get cracking on the ...

June Review.

Early in the month although warm I was sharing a Spring style with cream culottes, pale blue chiffon blouse and my jean jacket.  I wore boots with it too, but decided by switching boots for sandals and leaving out the jacket I could wear it on a cooler Summer day.  Hop back to check out the full post here. 

He Won!

Morning everyone.

I do hope you are feeling good, I'm one very proud Mummab!  Read on to find out why.

Getting ever nearer to hopefully the ending of lock-down, although I know many people aren't entirely pleased with it.  It's a big topic of discussion that I wouldn't even dream of entering into as everyone has their own opinion of what should and shouldn't happen, what I will say is it can't come quick enough for me now!

So back to the post, you might have been following my IG stories recently when I shared the fact my youngest son would be competing in the oldest rowing race in the world - The Doggett's Coat and Badge Wager, and you can read all about if here. 

Style not Age .... Perfect Attire for a Picnic.

Morning my friends.

How are you today?

Nearly July, can you believe that!!

Scary how quickly the months go by - we'll be starting Christmas shopping before long! (Sorry)!!

Now did you see my stories and IG page?  Do you remember my son was competing in the Doggetts Coat and Badge race on the River Thames?  Well he won!!!!  I'm ecstatic and bursting with pride.  I'll be sharing a dedicated post soon, so do look out for it my friends. 🥇

Today it’s time for another challenge for Style not Age, I do hope you enjoy seeing how we tackle these challenges as much as we love doing them!

This month it's been Gail's job to find a prompt for us, she's picked a brilliant one, which is just so apt for the month of June .....

Perfect Attire for a Picnic!

I had romantic ideas of a picnic in a field complete with picnic hamper, checkered table cloth & wispy grass swaying in a light warm breeze - alas my busy week and changeable weather scuppered those plans.  I resorted to taking piccys in the garden with no fun filled afternoon in sight!  

My dress is from Matalan, and was the obvious choice for a lazy summer picnic.  I'll be holding onto that idea for a future outing, and will be wearing this outfit when I can. 💛💛

Am I really old enough for a Saga holiday? - #Chicandstylish #LINKUP

Hi there my friends.

Hope you are well.

I'm actually away at the moment, but will be home later.  

Hubby and I have been away for the night, we've been taking part in the Saga Shakedown before they go back into service.  The Spirit of Discovery was our home for the night and we took full advantage of all the facilities including the bars, restaurants and evening entertainment.  We had to follow all the Covid safe directions which started with taking two tests that obviously had to give negative results and we had to have had both our jabs.  Mask wearing was needed as we would usually do when visiting restaurants and bars. We didn't actually leave the dock, as it was only for the night, so a nice tropical sunset might have given us a prettier outlook.  I'm not sure if cruising is my thing or not, but it was certainly very nice to be spoiled by everyone on the boat.  It made a really nice change to be away somewhere different too. Many thanks to my nephew who works for Saga for the opportunity. X

I knew exactly what I was going to wear for both days and the evening, and everything fitted into my overnight case beautifully.

Loafers from Lotus + Jeans, Tee Shirt & Duster.

Hello my lovely friends.

How you all doing?

Not much went on over the weekend, just been watching Euro 2020, but I'm not even going to mention the England - Scotland match, that's better left un-said! (Nil - Nil) in case you didn't know!!! 

If you follow me on IG you may have seen I was lucky enough to go to the local Nicholson's Pub* on Thursday.  I was gifted an experience with them to watch the footy at The Buttermarket, so hubby and I had a lovely evening enjoying some drinks and a nice meal watching it.  Denmark were playing Belgium & the score of 1 all proved exciting to watch, such a shame that the next day our team couldn't emulate that thrilling game!

With changeable weather again, I've been between outfits, the cooler dresses have been replaced with jeans, tee shirts and cardi's,  I even wore a jacket last Friday when it was tipping it down!  I managed to cut both front and back lawns before the rain set in, so that may be kept at bay for a bit.  I'm sure as soon as the sun's out, it'll need doing again! 

This week I'll be getting prepared for Friday.  It's race day for my son when two years of preparation finally comes to fruition.  You can read about his first attempt here and also my older son's race day here too.

This year we are team white, not the best colour to be wearing with the grand-kids around - I'll try and take photos earlier rather than later. Ha ha.

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

At Home With ... Laurie - Vanity & Me - #Chicandstylish #LINKUP

Good morning my lovelies.

Hope everything is going well for you.

Not much to report since Monday.   I've been having a wonderful time in the garden, getting the grass in order and sorting out the planters.  I've also visited the garden center, it was nice to wander around checking out all the pretty plants and flowers, and aren't the pots & planters expensive!  I bought some pretty flowers to entice the bees, I love having these little visitors in my garden.  I have two big tropical looking plants in pots that have sprouted huge flower stems in the middle which the bees just love - there's plenty busy buzzing around collecting all the nectar.  I would just love to know where they are taking it too - Bee's intrigue me and I've always been very tempted to have a bee hive in my garden!  Just not sure that would be any good with my grand-kids around - they don't like anything that buzzes around them!!  

Tonight I'm off out, I'd love you to stop by my IG stories to see what I'm up to ... I'll share all on Monday in case you miss it. 

Today I'm At Home With .... Laurie - Vanity & Me.

I'm pleased to welcome Laurie to the blog today, and look forward to sharing some secrets about how she goes about her blogging life.

I've long admired Laurie's fabulous style and have often tried to copy.  However with totally different colourings, the shades that suit this stylish blogger don't seem to suit me.  Her style tends to be of a neutral fashion, and everything she wears is finished off to perfection.  So let's get started on the questions and let you see for yourself Laurie's effortlessly chic outfits.