Outfit: Basic Monday

I knew I had lots of errands to run today so wanted something simple and comfortable, but still with a nod towards spring.

Red sweater – Long Tall Sally (eBay)
Grey skirt – Next Tall
Grey tights – Ethel Austin
Red shoes – Matalan
Red beads – eBay
Red & cream bangles – gifted
Silver bling ring – River Island

Total Est. Cost £36

We Have A Winner!

Thank you to everyone who entered the Reebok EasyTone Contest.

And the winner is...


18 = Missy!

Congratulations Missy!

Outfit: Sunday

Wouldn’t you know it the sun came out not five minutes after I took these pictures? Today was sunny but a little windy – as you can probably tell from my hair! I went to church this morning. The choir was singing an anthem as it was the Anniversary service.

Doesn’t this coat have a great lining? I love that I can let it show a little by rolling up the sleeves.

This afternoon we had a show rehearsal. I can guarantee you that every Sunday afternoon between now and the end of April will be nice weather as I will be stuck inside in rehearsals on every one of them. Some casual-fication of my outfit was required so I switched the coat for a sweatshirt and my shoes for flats. Et voilà:

Morning:
Blue coat – Topshop Tall (eBay)
Houndstooth top – Dorothy Perkins Tall
Jeans – Topshop Tall
Blue metallic shoes – Office
Turquoise necklace – Dorothy Perkins
Blue & turquoise bangles – Oxfam

Total Est. Cost £56


Afternoon:
Grey sweatshirt – Next Tall (eBay)
Jeans – Topshop Tall
Leopard print flats – Priceless Shoes (eBay)

Total Est. Cost £35

Outfit: Wet and Rainy Saturday

It is a dull, grey, rainy Saturday here in the no-longer-so-frozen North. We went out on a hunt for new curtains this morning but didn’t find any we liked in our price range. After lunch the young man went out to watch trial biking (in the rain) and I did some chores around the house, watch an episode of Flying Doctors and drank copious amounts of tea.

This may be the last outing for these boots. The right one has started leaking and as I can’t find any obvious holes or splits that can be fixed, they may be sadly destined for the bin.

Purple tank – Long Tall Sally
Pink top – H&M
Jeans – Topshop Tall
Purple boots – Priceless Shoes
Whitby Jet cross – gifted
Silver bangles – gifted
Silver earrings – gifted

Total Est. Cost £58

Review: Amie Morning Clear Purifying Facial Wash

Superdrug recently sent me some Amie Morning Clear Purifying Facial Wash to try out. It contains extracts of orange blossom, elderflower, mayblossom and raspberry which give it a sweet scent. I thought it smelt a little too strong at first but having used the product for a couple of weeks, I now really like the scent.

The facial wash is soap-free and pH balanced and is free from parabens, sulphates, mineral oils, GMO or animal extracts. It lathers up well and leaves your skin feeling soft and refreshed.

Amie was not a skin care brand I was familiar with before I received the facial wash but I would definitely try other products in their range.

The Morning Clear Purifying Facial Wash is not currently available online at Superdrug, so look for it in store.

Outfit: Finally Friday!

Last night turned into a bit of a late one – we watched the movie and all sang along with gusto. Then tea & coffee were served and everyone sat around chatting, and before we knew it it was quarter to eleven. Which was fine, except I was a 45 minute drive away from home. Oops. I so did not want to get up this morning and have concluded that I am too old to stay out late on a work night.

At least it was Friday today. I was crazy busy though hence why I’m only just posting now. I did manage to make time for my usual Friday morning bacon sarnie mind you.

I repeated the jacket from yesterday as I have been dying to put it with this t shirt ever since I got the jacket, but it hasn’t been warm enough until this week.

Blue jacket – H&M
Blue cardi – Ethel Austin
‘Leggy Bird’ t – New Look Tall
Jeans – River Island
Blue patent shoes – New Look
Blue chunky bangle – Diamonds & Pearls
Blue & turquoise bangles – Oxfam
Silver & diamante necklace – gifted
Silver earrings – gifted

Total Est. Cost £108

Don't Forget The Contest!

Today's outfit post is coming later on, but in the meantime, don't forget to enter the contest to win some Reebok EasyTone Trainers and a gym kit! Click here! The winner will be drawn on Monday 22nd March.

Outfit: Should Be Friday

I would just like to say that I loved the green dress I had on yesterday! I had it in my head that I didn’t like it for some reason, and comtemplated putting it back on eBay, but I’m so glad I didn’t now. I think the problem was that I wore it with boots last time and didn’t like it that way. Much better how I wore it yesterday and I sorted out my undergarments – well, the tank top and my underskirt – so that it didn’t look as lumpy as it did in the pictures.

Today I am a little out of whack as to what day it is because I am now doing 3 days a week in our second office again. Yesterday was my second day this week but up til last week, Thursday was my second day. Meaning that after 2 days there it should be Friday. Anyway, I decided to go with a casual vibe today and have ditched the winter coat (for now) in favour of my fab blue jacket. It is someone in the office’s birthday so we are all going to the pub for lunch.

Tonight I have a Singalong Mamma Mia session with a group from my old church which I am looking forward to immensely.

Red shrug – New Look Tall
Plaid shirt – New Look Tall
Jeans – River Island
Blue tank – Topshop
Grey shoes – Ks Shoes (charity shop)
Red beads – eBay
Diamante ring – River Island
Silver earrings – gifted
Blue jacket – H&M

Total Est. Cost £119

Outfit: Wednesday Night Dance Practice

I keep calling it dance practice, but actually, there’s not so much dancing in this year’s show, just a lot of standing around. At least that’s how it seems so far and we’ve completed the learning of Act 1. Long sleeves and long trousers are a must for me (at least until it gets warmer) as I have to lie on the rather mucky floor at the end of the opening chorus. It’s all good fun though and we start rehearsals on Sunday afternoons this weekend, in addition to the Wednesday evening ones.

Grey cardi – New Look Tall
Grey stripe top – Dorothy Perkins Tall
Jeans – River Island
Brown cowboy boots – New Look
Silver cross necklace – gifted
Silver ring - Evans

Total Est. Cost £95

Thoughts on Training Shoes

With the release of Reebok EasyTone Trainers in the UK, it suddenly seems as though the market is flooded with footwear promising to tone you up when you walk. First came MBTs, then FitFlop, Skechers Shape Ups and now the offering from Reebok. This is not a bad thing though. Like all areas of the market, competition is good and with the sports shoe manufacturers competing on price, looks, and whether the shoe does what it claims, the winners here are the consumers.

Having been promised a pair of Reebok EasyTone from Reebok themselves, I am looking forward to seeing how these measure up against the Skechers and FitFlops that I already own. My Skechers are certainly very comfortable due to the extra thick sole, but the curved shape of them also means that you have to work harder at balancing whilst walking in them and that can only be a good thing when it comes to toning your muscles. As a self-proclaimed heel addict, who would have thought I would end up with more than one pair of trainers in my wardrobe?

The Reebok EasyTones also have a cushioned sole: “DMX Max enhanced underfoot foam cushioning for lasting comfort” if we are being really specific! They boast a “SmoothFit seamless design [which] ensures minimal rub [and] decreases irritation”. The “Women’s Specific Last technology ensures a better fit” and they have an antibacterial sockliner which I don’t think any of the other shoes in this genre have. See what Reebok say about them in their promotional video, here. And there's an explanation of the technical aspect of the shoes here.

The ‘tone as you walk’ generation of shoe certainly seems to be the next big thing in sports footwear so the race is on to see which manufacturer will be next to jump on the bandwagon.

The new Reebok EasyTone Trainers are available at Fitness Footwear priced from £62.95.

Outfit: St Patrick’s Day

Two things: first, trying to balance on a wall, in heels, before breakfast? Not the smartest way to start the day! Second, taking photos outside when it’s windy is not so easy.

So, I’m not at all Irish (at least, I don’t think I am – my mom is currently researching our family history though so I’ll have to check) but I figured St Patrick’s day was as good a day as any to wear a green dress. I really like the grey with it – less predictable than black I think.

It’s a shame the light is not so good facing this way in the garden, even if the backdrop is more interesting than the side of the house next door. But the sun is getting higher in the sky each day so perhaps soon there’ll be a little sunshine out the back in the mornings.

Grey cardi – New Look Tall
Green dress – Vila (eBay)
Grey tights – Primark
Snakeskin shoes – Matalan
Grey tank – Dorothy Perkins (gifted)
Silver cross necklace – gifted
Silver chunky ring – Evans
Earrings – shop in a seaside town years ago

Total Est. Cost £39

Competition Time!

I have been offered a pair of Reebok EasyTone Training shoes to test out and review on my blog. Whilst I wait for them to arrive, I can share some exciting news with you.

Reebok have kindly offered a pair of EasyTone Training shoes, plus a sports kit and gym bag to give away to one of my readers!

To win this fabulous prize, just leave a comment on this post. If you tweet about it on Twitter, you will get another entry but be sure to leave another comment telling me you’ve tweeted. And if you link back to this post from your blog you can have another bonus entry – but again, leave another comment to let me know you’ve linked.

The winner will be drawn at random on Monday 22nd March.

Outfit: Sunny Tuesday

Spring is in the air today, with blue sky and sunshine all around. There is still a distinct chill to the mornings though so peep toe shoes with thick tights and a summer weight dress with a cardi were as far as my nods to the changing season were going today. It’s great to be able to wear ¾ length sleeves again and re-introduce some of my many bangles to my wardrobe.

Leopard print cardi – Primark (eBay)
Black dress – George at ASDA
Purple tights – Accessorize
Black peeptoe shoes – New Look (charity shop)
Purple tank – New Look Tall
Purple glitter bangles – Diamonds & Pearls
Purple & silver bangles – gifted
Purple necklace – gifted
Purple hearts necklace – gifted
Silver earrings – gifted
Purple belt – Ethel Austin

Total Est. Cost £45

This Week I Will Be Mostly…

…wearing a few more spring colours
…reading Random Hearts by Warren Adler. This was made into a film a few years back starring Kristin Scott-Thomas and Harrison Ford. Don’t bother with the film, just read the book as it’s so much better.
…watching Flying Doctors, Season 6
…listening to the Glee soundtrack
…eating Nutri-Grain bars
…shopping for nothing

Outfit: Monday Brights

It is starting to feel more and more like spring outside. Well, there was no frost this morning which is definitely a good start. For some reason I had it in my head last night to wear flat shoes today. It is nice that I can start wearing some of my shoes again having spent what seems like the entire winter in boots battling the snow.

Black & cream stripe cardi – Topshop Tall (eBay)
Pink top – Long Tall Sally (eBay)
Turquoise tank – Topshop
Grey wool mix pinstripe trousers – Dorothy Perkins Tall
Turquoise leather flats – New Look
Pink beads – Dorothy Perkins
Silver necklace – gifted
Silver earrings – gifted

Total Est. Cost £71