Outfit: Frosty Tuesday

I was hoping that we would be done with windscreen scraping by the time March rolled around, but no. For the second time in two days I had to scrape my windscreen this morning. At least there’s been sunshine for those two days as well which makes it feel a little more like spring.

Last night I went to Boot Camp class at the gym, then headed home and took a shower. I spent the rest of the evening very lazily curled up on the sofa in my dressing gown reading the latest issue of In Style magazine. I tried some of the young man’s scones too, which were delicious. He’d put vanilla flavouring in them so they were a little different to the ones I make.

Tonight is Step Class and then it’s Big Fat Gypsy Weddings on TV. Tuesdays are the only nights I watch anything regularly on TV at the moment.

These shoes are the second pair I bought at the weekend. They were in the sale in Jones the Bootmaker at Cribbs Causeway and as my other red flats were starting to look a bit ropey, I got these and binned my old pair when I got home on Sunday. I wasn’t going to wear a cardi today but then I remembered that I’d turned the radiator by my desk down and not turned it back up again so the office might be a little chilly this morning (which it was).

Leopard print cardi – Primark (eBay)
Black dress – H&M
Black tights – c/o Tights Please
Red suede flats – Jones The Bootmaker
Silver hoops – gifted
Teal heart necklace – Scope
Teal ring – New Look
Teal and silver bangles – Accessorize
Red belt – Next

Total Est. Cost £72

Outfit: Monday, Monday

This top and these shoes are a couple of the items I purchased over the weekend. The top is by Kew, which is a brand stocked in John Lewis that I am not really familiar with. I was seduced by the long sleeves and the fact that it is reversible (the other side is the narrow stripes you can see on the cowl neck and cuffs). It looks better with skinny jeans I’ve decided, having seen the pictures. But these wide leg trousers don’t get the wear they deserve and they were perfect for pairing with the super high heels on my new shoes. The shoes are by Dune but I came across them in TK Maxx.

Today I am busy catching up with chores that didn’t get done over the weekend. Such as the grocery shopping, changing the bed sheets and lots of washing.

Red and white stripe top – Kew 159 (John Lewis)
Black trousers – Tall Girls
Black patent shoes – Dune (TK Maxx)
Silver and diamante necklace – gifted
Earrings – unknown

Total Est. Cost £119

Outfit: Friday and the Weekend

Friday I was off work and went to get my hair done first thing. I took my pictures when I got back from the hairdresser, whilst my hair was looking awesome. I was off work because I was spending the weekend in Bristol with my friend S. We haven’t had a girly weekend together in several years so it was lovely for us to spend some time together just the two of us. I arrived mid-afternoon and we made a start on clearing out S’s wardrobe, which was part of the reason I went down in the first place. She wanted a wardrobe consultation as she was a bit lost as to what she should keep and get rid of, and what, if anything, was missing from her closet. We got rid of a couple of bags to the charity shop, kept a few items to sell on eBay and binned a few things that were beyond help. We made a shopping list of items she either no longer had or felt she needed to fill in the gaps to be kept in her purse for future shopping trips.

Friday night we watched Bridesmaids which I hadn’t yet got round to seeing. It was pretty funny and certainly lived up to the good reviews I’d heard about it.

Saturday morning we headed out quite early (S’s husband was working nights and wanted to sleep) and went into the city centre. We spent a good few hours wandering around Cabot Circus and the Galleries, and went to our favourite haunt for a cuppa and cake. We made a pitstop back at S’s for a sandwich and a drink mid-afternoon, then went to Cribbs Causeway (the mall outside Bristol) for further shopping adventures. John Lewis moved out there when it opened in 1998 and as there isn’t a John Lewis near me we took full advantage of the opportunity to browse the sale racks.

Sunday morning we headed out to meet up with another friend for a coffee and chat which was lovely as I don’t get to see her very often as she lives in Bristol. After a late lunch back at S’s I headed home.

When I got back I was a little confused as there was a stew in the slow cooker and there were scones in a tub on the stove. All things I would do if I was home on a Sunday. The young man was out with his mate but arrived home shortly after me and we enjoyed the stew.

The outfit pictures are from Friday as I didn’t get chance to take any on Saturday and Sunday.

Navy polka dot dress – Topshop Tall
Navy top – H&M
Navy leggings – Tall Girls
Tan boots – Barratts
Tan leather belt – River Island
Silver and diamante necklace – gifted
Silver hoops – gifted
Leopard print scarf - H&M

Total Est. Cost £129

Thursday Latelies (In Text Form)

Happy Thursday! Here’s what’s been making me happy this week:

• Blazers/jackets – they’re so easy to wear and they instantly smarten up an outfit, especially when you throw on a tailored jacket with jeans. My current favourites are my two cord jackets which are tailored but in a relaxed fabric. I just got a new suit jacket in navy blue from eBay which I will be wearing this weekend – it’s just such a spring colour.

• Chocolate Philadelphia – I must have mentioned this about a million times this week but I’m hooked. Soft cheese and chocolate – who would have thought that would be a good combination? But it tastes exactly like chocolate cheesecake and has only 86 calories per 30g serving (which, granted, is not a very large serving. But it’s enough to spread on toast, or pancakes) and I’m hooked!

• Scones – again, something I’ve mentioned countless times this week. They’re so easy to make and they take no time at all, and once you have all the ingredients in you have enough to make a load of batches. The recipe I use only makes 9 scones at a time, and they taste best still warm out of the oven so you can imagine that a batch doesn’t last too long.

• Estée Lauder matte foundation primer – the best foundation primer out there, for sure. My skin can be quite oily on my forehead and chin so I find a matte primer just stops the shine. I used this for a year or so, then a couple of months back I had trouble finding it so I switched to the one by Too Faced. This was fine when I was using up my Estée Lauder expensive foundation (which has been discontinued) but when I switched to the cheaper No7 foundation that I now use, I found my face was shine central. I went to the Estée Launder counter in Boots on Saturday and the girl there told me that she didn’t have any in stock because the line is being repackaged and a ‘new’ product (she said the only thing changing was the packaging) on 26th March. I did my best disappointed face and so she gave me a couple of little sample pots with some primer in from her sample tube. I had more luck in House of Fraser where I was able to purchase some primer, and now I’m just hoping that it is indeed only the packaging that is changing as it’s a really great product.

• Remington Spin Curl hair dryer – I bought this a couple of summers ago and it’s been hidden away in a drawer under the spare bed for months. I dug it out again last week and have used it a few times. I love the waves it puts in my hair, and I think it works better now that my hair is longer. Curls from tongs don’t stay put in my hair very long, but the waves from my spin curl dryer last for two days which is amazing to me.

Outfit: Wearing My Heart on My Sleeve Feet

I still had my Lady Dragon shoes in my mind after not wearing them yesterday, so with a more demure skirt length they were certainly due an outing today. It’s my last working day this week as I have tomorrow off to visit a friend. The sun is shining and it’s finally March which means that spring is edging ever closer.

Last night I was spared having to bake scones so had a chat with my friend on the phone, and just had a relaxing evening. Tonight I have exciting things like cleaning the bathroom and fixing a problem with one of the young man’s t shirts to do, and then it’s choir practice at church.

The black top is one of a set of 3 that I bought on eBay – black, purple and red.

Black and cream stripe top – New Look Tall (eBay)
Black top – Next Tall (eBay)
Black skirt – Long Tall Sally (eBay)
Black tights – M&Co
Fuchsia Lady Dragon shoes – Vivienne Westwood for Melissa (c/o Shudoo)
Red beads – eBay
Silver hoops – gifted

Total Est. Cost £27

Outfit: Teal Dress, Red Shoes

Happy Leap Day! How are we all on this fine Wednesday? It’s my penultimate work day this week as I have Friday off. Hoorah for short weeks!

Last night I went to step class at the gym. It was a great workout and I think I have one of the more complicated moves figured out now (until next week, when I’ve forgotten it again!). I came home and showered, then did the ironing, put on a load of washing and we watched Horizon (a documentary series) on BBC2 which this week was about new research into exercise and how you may only need to do three 20 second bursts of intense exercise (the chap shown pedalled hell-for-leather on an exercise bike) three times a week to reap the same benefits as doing hours of less intense activity in the gym. It sounds too good to be true, so chances are it is. I’ll stick to my gym classes and lunchtime walks for now I think. After that I watched Gypsy Weddings – my must-see TV of the week at the moment.

I was going to wear my Vivienne Westwood Lady Dragons (the fuchsia ones with the red hearts) with this today. They looked fab with it but the dress is quite short so I went for flat shoes instead. But the idea of red as an accent colour had already been imprinted in my mind by the hearts so I went for red flats and my favourite red beads.

This afternoon I have a package to collect from the Post Office, then I have a quiet night in I think, with no concrete plans. I can totally see myself making some more scones though, as the young man finished off the last of Monday’s batch last night.

Teal dress – Next Tall (eBay)
Turquoise and black stripe top – Primark (charity shop)
Black tights – ASDA?
Red leather flats – Matalan
Silver hoops – gifted
Red beads – eBay
Turquoise scarf – H&M

Total Est. Cost £49

Outfit: Red and Black on Tuesday

I’m very excited that I finally deemed it warm enough to wear my new shoes! Albeit with tights, but I quite like peep toe shoes with tights – it means you don’t have to worry about your pedicure. Although a pedicure is something I’ll have to think about as it won’t be long before it’s warm enough for peep toe shoes without tights (but with jeans – it will be a while before it’s warm enough for me to go bare legged!).

So last night the young man’s mate called round just as I was about to go to the gym. I went to my class – and boy it was quite a tough one, then went back home and – yes, you guessed it! I made scones! With all the practice I’ve had lately I have it down to a fine art and 40 minutes after my class ended we were sitting down to warm scones and tea. Which was actually quite a nice treat for a Monday night. The friend left and we sat down and watched a programme about the London Underground.

Tonight I am booked in for Basic Step class at the gym and I have some ironing to do.

The shoes were a complete bargain on eBay – they had been worn once and were in practically pristine condition. They are from LK Bennett (which you know I love) and are so far proving comfy, even on their first wearing.

Black and red dress – Next Tall
Black shrug – Long Tall Sally
Black tights – M&Co
Leopard print shoes – LK Bennett (eBay)
Whitby Jet cross – gifted
Silver hoops – gifted
Red and turquoise bead necklace – gifted
Turquoise pashmina - eBay

Total Est. Cost £81

Outfit: Suddenly Monday Appears Again

It’s all very well to wish for spring to hurry up and arrive (and I think we’re all getting a little sick of the cold and dark of winter now), but I am very aware that boots such as these, with their lovely faux fur trim, have a limited wear-period and probably won’t be appropriate come the end of February. That was part of my reason for wearing my faux sheepskin lined wedge boots yesterday too. Yes, it’s March at the end of the week and time to retire the faux fur and sheepskin until the beginning of October (unless, of course, it snows again. Though I find that unlikely).

I’ve not worn this dress in ages! It’s one of my favourites given that it has long sleeves but is jersey and so can be worn year round. I paired it with a polo neck today because, again, it’s getting to the time of year when those are retired in favour of lower necklines (and a scarf if it’s still chilly).

The forecast is for another mild-ish week and so I thought I’d wear my faux leather jacket rather than a heavy winter coat today. And I took pictures of it too, in the spirit of showing more coats on the blog.

Last night, once we realised what a ridiculous film The Mummy Returns is, we switched over to Top Gear, then watched a documentary about Whitney Houston when we went to bed.

Tonight I have Boot Camp class at the gym, then I plan a quiet evening. We’ll see how that pans out though – last Monday I ended up making scones.

Teal dress (shortened) – F+F at Tesco (charity shop)
Black polo neck sweater – New Look Tall
Black tights – H&M?
Black booties – c/o Deichmann Shoes
Teal beads – Claire’s
Silver hoops – gifted
Faux leather jacket – Topshop Tall

Total Est. Cost £81