February Review.

Morning all.

Another busy weekend for me.  

Dancing on Friday evening and dancing on Saturday night too!  You see I was invited to a Ladies Night, which is a dinner dance to celebrate wives of the Freemasons. I had an invite to this splendid occasion and it was so nice to get dressed up in a long dress enjoy a dinner with drinks and a bit of dancing too.

Funnily enough my dancing instructor and his wife were both present at the dinner, however the evening didn't have ballroom style dancing just normal mum and dad dancing ... lol!

Sunday we had a small roast with some of the kids, we're all on tenterhooks awaiting the very late arrival of our newest addition to the family.  Hopefully baby will arrive in the next two days ... 🤞

As it's the beginning of March you'd stopped by just in time to see my catch up post from the past few weeks.  More commonly known as the February Review.

Whilst skiing at the beginning of the month I was pleasantly surprised to share a product to enhance my hair.  I've always had dark hair, that doesn't need much attention, however the shampoo and conditioner enhances it even more.  Do stop by the blog to read more about these fantastic Vegan friendly products and the other products they offer.

Lilac & Orange Dress - #Chicandstylish #LINKUP

Hi there.

Such sad news this week, my heart goes out to the people of Ukraine, and I hope there will be a safe and speedy conclusion to what's happening. 💙💛

Have you had a good week?  I'm STILL anticipating the arrival of my grandchild.  My daughter, as you can imagine, is pulling her hair out.  Baby should be here by next week though, so I'll let you know my friends. X

Well the end of February did have some lovely weather and it almost felt Spring like here, alas that didn't last and we've experience drizzle since the beginning of March.  I know we've not had much rain over the past few months, but it was just starting to feel like Spring was in the air ... lol!

Florals are always in fashion, and what about dark florals?  Well they are too.  I have plenty of flowery garments in my wardrobe and love pairing them with all sorts.  However the dress I'm sharing with you today has such a big flowery print over it, I'm only thinking of styling it with plain accessories.  I want the pattern to shine through so it can be appreciated for what it is ... big and bold, lilac and orange, moody but still sexy.

If I were a Handbag for Style Not Age.

Good morning my friends.  

How are you?

All good here, just had a wonderful weekend with the family.

Did you see my IG on Friday?  Well my youngest son did the most amazing thing.  He's been growing his hair for the last couple of years, with the end goal to donate his locks to the Little Princess Trust.  They use the hair to create wigs for children who've lost their hair due to cancer or another condition.

I have to say I'm hugely proud of him and what he's done.  He's now completely bald!  Do pop over to see him, and maybe even make a donation!

I'm also waiting for the arrival of my grandchild, (unless they arrived since I edited this post) I'm so excited and full of wonder as to whether we're blessed with a boy or a girl and what they will look like.

I'll keep you informed my friends.

Today is the last Monday of the month, which means it's time to take a look at what the ladies from the Style Not Age  group have been styling.

This month it's been Anna's turn to give us a prompt and she went with quite a teaser .....

"If I were a Handbag..."

I did find this one rather hard at first and couldn't come up with anything, bit silly I know as I have so many handbags to my name.  I finally realised a handbag really does emulate a person.  You see I've always wanted to be one of those people who have a small and neat bag with little compartments and everything in the right place.  I even bought one of those inner bags so everything can be transferred from bag to bag, but the sizes never worked for me.  I've come to the conclusion I'm a big-chuck-it-all-in kind of bag person.  I know it's in there I just have to find it. I'm the lady with everything in her bag.  Always have a tissue, pen, hair band, tampon (when needed) and the odd safety pin and sticky sweet! Lol.

To be totally honest I do love a leather bag, there's something about the smell isn't there.  I was chuffed to receive this beauty I'm styling for today's post - it's very me and you can find out more about it later!

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

 

My Confident Outfit - #Chicandstylish #LINKUP

Hello and thanks for stopping by my blog today.

Appreciate you joining me.

You find me a very impatient MummaB today, you see my eldest daughter's baby was due yesterday and as of yet nothing has happened!  You can imagine she's just about had enough now - especially as her other babies were early!  She's tried the hot curry and raspberry leaf tea, so next I think she should try jumping up and down ... lol!

Talking about up and down - I've been actually enjoying my keep fit classes recently, seems I've turned a corner and don't ache as much afterwards - my stamina has also improved and I think my skiing break has helped that, I was on the go every day whilst away.  I've also been following a calorie counting diet - you literally count everything you eat and stick to a certain amount each day - it's surprising how easy I can get carried away with the odd biscuit and snack throughout the day.  I did follow the keto diet (you may recall I lost 2 stone on that) but just couldn't get back into it.  So I'm on day 4 and I’m pleased to say so far so good, it's more about when you can eat rather than what you can't, and that makes a huge difference to the mindset of losing weight.  Do tell me if you have any secrets to losing weight!

So without any more deviations, let me run you through my look of the day.

Monochrome Tan Outfit.

Hi everyone, how you all doing?

Hope you've survived Storm Eunice.

It's been a blustery few days, and I've been laying low and not venturing out - taking notice of the experts by staying indoors and not venturing out unless absolutely necessary.  Have you been affected by the storm?  Hope you're staying safe.

It was a funny day on Friday, as I said before I didn't go out.  Fortunately didn't need to.  I didn't even go dancing on Friday night - I was about to text I wasn't going when I got a message from the teacher to say they'd decided to cancel the class to keep them and everyone else safe.  I have to admit even though I was worried about driving I really would have loved to have been there, it left me rather restless.  I couldn't settle and kept just walking about!  Does anything unusual leave you with a different attitude?

Saturday was a little better and the weather replicated my mood - it was sunny but still cold in the morning, so hubby and I went out to collect a few bits from town.  I had my grandson over for a sleepover on the evening - his sister came over in the week so Saturday was his turn.  He was an angel and I'm not just saying that - when kids are on their own, they act like different children don't they.  He did everything I asked and was such a joy to have around.  I didn't want him to leave, but then I don't want any of them to go really!

Sunday was the usual roast dinner for the family, and yesterday we had chicken and goose!  I didn't like the latter before, hence the chicken was cooked for those who didn't want it!  All the normal trimmings and a fab day for everyone.  It was very hectic and quite noisy too, but they always have a great time as I do too!  What was your weekend filled with? 

I have to ask have you heard of the latest craze going around.  Me and my friends & family are hooked on Wordle  & it's been keeping me busy for a few weeks now.  Not all the time you understand, just the odd 5 or ten minutes in the day.  You have to guess a 5 letter word and get 6 attemps.  If a correct letter is guessed but in the wrong place the square colours yellow, but if the letter is in the correct place it turns green - you can then try to work out what the word is.  One word a day and I'm hooked.  It's a really good talking point with the family - all trying to work the puzzle out!  Do click the link and have a go - I guarantee you'll be intrigued too.  For the clever people among us, there's a 6 letter word Wordle2 and also four words to find… at the same time .... Quordle - good luck!

Are you a lover of wide leg trousers?  I find them really flattering and have a few pairs to my name.

These are a firm favourite of mine.  Tan is such a wearable colour so it was a no-brainer to go for a monochrome look.

Random Acts of Kindness Day - #Chicandstylish #LINKUP

Hello my friends.

Thanks so much for joining me today on what is Random Acts of Kindness Day.

What is a RAoKD you might ask, well let me give you a little insight.

Random Acts of Kindness Week takes place for one week each year, always taking place in mid-February.  It's a week dedicated to kindness and taking that extra, conscious step to brighten somebody's day.

It was created by the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation with the intention of encouraging more harmony and kindness between people by offering thoughtful gestures of kindness, no matter how big or small.  A Random Act of Kindness could be surprising a colleague with coffee and a bagel, complimenting somebody on a job well done or placing a funny note in your child's lunch box.  There are so many ways that you can join in, spread some kindness and positivity, and possibly make someone's day!

I wanted to participate and surprise someone with a random act of kindness too.  In the past I've heard of things like paying for the person behind's toll, paying for shopping for someone in a store and also paying for fuel at the petrol station.  I got my thinking hat on and with the help of hubby decided to purchase a lottery ticket for the next person at the till.  The cashier was really interested both with the special day and my blog, but when I asked her to hand the lottery ticket to the next person, she thought she might not be able to help!!!!  Not sure why, so I decided to hand the ticket to a lady near me in my local Sainsburys.  She was so shocked, but very happy and I hope her ticket is a winner.  I wont even know if it is because I didn't ask her name.  I hope she continues the trend and does something kind for someone else.

Let me give you a little insight as to how I knew about this special day.  I was very kindly offered this lovely lingerie set and with that came this sustainable wash bag which has been specially designed to keep my new pieces in tip top condition. 

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

Styling an Elegant Satin Blouse From Zara.

Happy Valentines day to you.

I hope you have a wonderful day, and get totally spoiled (if you actually celebrate this day).

Hubby and I don't celebrate this day in particular, I feel every day should be a special day and hubby feels the same too.  He treats me special in other ways ... like cooking a lovely meal or surprising me with an gift or two. I treat him well by letting him watch sports on the telly when he wants ... 😂 

However I have to add this year we've started a date night.  We've only managed one so far.  We had a meal in one of our favourite restaurants with drinks after in a local bar.  It was really nice to just go out together and talk.  Something we always did when the kids were young but since we've had no ties we've let it slip.  I have more planned for the future, and among some of the 'dates' are escape room, cinema and going to the theatre ... ( I would even go to a football match).

So let me tell you about me weekend, Friday night at ballroom we started learning the Samba.  I bloody loved it!  The teacher put on some really inspiring music and I just danced my heart out.  I wonder what I actually looked like, but I didn't care.  Saturday was lovely and sunny so hubby and I tackled the hedge.  You may recall I often talk about this monster job, but feel I've conquered it!  We cut it down to a more manageable height so it can be trimmed when it's not too tall - so much easier.  We generally tidied up some of the garden, but I need a new mower to get on top of the grass, it's way too long and needs a good cut - so that's next on the agenda.

Sunday I had Max!  My grandson came to stay as his mum and dad went to a wedding.  God isn't it hard to get back to something that you did years ago without thinking about!  We still had a family dinner, and I had the help of my other daughters which made life with Max so much easier - many thanks to them. 💖 Trouble is I get so attached to them and hate when they have to leave.  I'm sure it won't be too long until I see him again - he's only 5 mins away.

Do you love a pretty blouse?  I certainly do.  Whilst on holiday in Abu Dhabi I just had to go do a bit of shopping.  I came home with three shirts, this patterned satin version has been teamed with skirts and jeans already, and with an array of tones within this print I knew it would pair well with plenty I already have in my wardrobe.

Salamander Shirt in Pretty Candy Stripe Pink & White - #Chicandstylish #LINKUP

Hiya everyone, how are you?

I'm definitely down in the dumps after getting back from Skiing, I almost need another holiday to get over it.  I'm working my way through the washing pile and surprisingly did see the bottom for a brief moment yesterday!  I'm not sure whether to put all my gear away just in case we manage a sneaky break away for a weekend in the snow before the season finishes.  

I've not been shopping either, which also puts me in a sad mood - but it's a bit early for Spring pieces to arrive and I'm waiting for them to appear before I get shopping. New clothes always make me happy, figuring how to style them, when they will make an appearance & what occasion will I be able to show them off.  

So you can imagine how thrilled I was to receive some super beautiful shirts from Salamander Shirts*, and I'm impressed with the quality and styles I got.  This is one of my favourites.  Obviously I chose pink - candy pink & white stripes to be exact and will look good with smart trousers as well as jeans like I'm showing you today.

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

January Review.

Morning my friends.

How's things going?

Back to earth with a big bump and lots of washing.  That has to be the worse thing about going on holiday, but it's so worth it!

It's a slow process to get back into normal life isn't it?  I've had such a good time skiing, and I always hate coming home.  I'm rather late with the January Review, and hope you'll forgive me.  

What did you get up to last week, any new purchases?  I'll surprise you by saying I didn't buy any clothes whilst away, just didn't see many boutiques in Sestriere.  So I'll leave it a few weeks until I venture to our shops to see what the new styles are.  I have to admit I can't wait for Spring to arrive, the new styles and colours are always a welcomed addition aren't they?

Let's take a look at my styles last month shall we!

My grey and off-white outfit proved quite popular at the beginning of the month,  It was a look that I'd seen on many a fashionable lady so wanted to emulate the look - think my grey wide leg trousers, grey roll neck and off white coat looked great with my ecru boots - you can find out more about this look if you pop back over. X

Vegamour Vegan Hair Products - #Chicandstylish #LINKUP

Morning all.

Hope this week is going well for you.

I'm still on the slopes and hope to have many stories to share with you, do pop by my Instagram stories to see what I'm getting up to!

When I was a little girl I used to hair very curly hair!  My hair looked like Shirley Temple, those of a certain age will know the rhyme ... "I'm Shirley Temple the girl with curly hair". I often wonder what my hair would be like now had the following story not happened!

You see my sister did a very naughty thing to me when we were kids ... she was envious of my natural curls and wanted some of her own.  Her's was very straight so do you know what she did?  She cut mine off near the root and tried to pin the curls onto her own hair.  My mum was distraught when she saw me!  Feeling bad because she'd left her dressmaking scissors out.

Well the only thing she could do was to take me to the hairdressers for them to salvage it, but you 'can't make a satin purse out of a pigs ear' can you! 🤣

So since that fated day back in the 70's my hair has grown dead straight, It won't hold any sort of curl at all.  As we all want what we haven't got don't we and I've always wanted long curly hair.  Having said that I've never wanted any other colour hair, I've always loved the fact that I have dark brown hair, no it's not black it's dark brown.  I did dye it black once and it was the worse thing I've ever done to my hair.  It's often a talking point with my now hairdresser, he reminds me of my blue scalp ... that's when I needed the following product that I've been kindly gifted by Vegamour Vegan Hair Products.

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