Weekend round-up, H & M Jeans.

Hey - hope you've had the best weekend.
After a busy week it's nice to have the weekend to relax and take time out with family and friends.

Friday night I went to a friends for a girly meal, stuffed my face with some tasty offerings - caught up with all the girls - so nice to sit back and chill out with a glass of fizz with a little bit of George Michael in the background.   Didn't even have to worry about the logistics of getting to and from my friends house because both daughters had the pleasure of dropping me off and picking me up - lol!

Saturday I was up earlier than I really wanted to be, but helped out with our 'house renovation' project. My #ootd would have had you laughing, and possibly a little shocked at just how unstylish I looked.  Old tatty work jeans, hubby's old t shirt and sweatshirt.  Hair scrapped in a ponytail - all this with a fine dusting of brickwork rubble absolutely everywhere!  Happy with today's efforts as now we've got two bigger rooms in the property, and a skip full of bricks and rubble.

Out with hubby and friends to a much cherished local restaurant on Saturday night.  I'd already decided what I'd be eating before I'd even started to get ready, and I knew there would most definitely be some prosecco involved! 
I had one of those evenings where I just didn't know what to wear, I went through so many different choices, but something seemed to be wrong with whatever I grabbed, does this happen to you? 
My bed replicated a Jumble sale at the end of a busy day, clothes strewn all over it even spilling onto the floor, eventually I settled on a basic black straight leg trouser, with a pretty dusky pink blouse, this had a black flower pattern over it and cute bell sleeves.  I'll be showing you this in detail in the next week or so.


Today though, I thought I'd show a recent purchase from H & M.  I saw these cute jeans a month or so ago, and it wasn't long till they were included in my jeans collection.  It was the ankle zip I noticed first, then I realised they were a dark denim with no distress - perfecto!

I find H & M tend to come up on the small side, so these being a skinny fit I had to size up - still they fit me well so I don't mind.  I bought these for only £19.99 a cool price for a hot pair of jeans!

I paired this tan jumper, you can catch where I wore it previously here, with a long line shirt from Matalan, the layered effect giving much more interest to the outfit. I love the damask pattern on this shirt, I've had it for a few years but always looks as good as new whenever I wear it.  I like the fact that it's long enough to show under my jumper too!

Do you like the snood scarf?  Different tones will give depth and detail to an otherwise plain outfit. 
I hope you agree I managed to give this outfit my own style and connotation.

I still use my fail-safe three-colour-rule in lots of my outfits, which I honestly adore.  But I am learning every day from other blogs I love to read and get ideas from, gently pushing me out of my comfort zone and into a whole new way to dress.

So enough of me, how's your weekend gone?  Have you had a relaxing time, were you working, doing some DIY or something else - I'd love to know.

Many thanks to Esther Ruby for the wonderful photos. x


Bye for now. X
           Jacqui B.

Fashion over fifty styling 'peg' trousers, and green blouse.

Good Morning to you all.

Who watched The Brits last night?  I certainly did and what a fabulous event it was.  Especially the beautiful and moving tribute to the late, great George Michael, had to reach for the tissues recalling my memories of the 80's, with the fantastic music that's etched on my brain from the likes of Wham, Spandau Ballet, Ultravox, with a bit of Boy George and Human League to name but a few.  Ohh those were the days!
Fun, carefree times - filled with nights out, no hang-overs, Saturday jobs and no bills, with the hardest task whether to watch ITV or BBC ... (yes there really were only 3 TV channels in the early 1980's).

Last week whilst out shopping with my middle daughter, I'd envisaged buying something green after seeing it in lots of blogs recently and wanted a piece of the action.  With that in mind I came home with these army green tapered trousers.  Not quite the 'green' I was after, but I liked the style so much I thought I'd give them a go.

Coming from Dorothy Perkins and also in blue, they are a super length for the court shoes I had in mind - cream Lotus sling backs.  Mine have a mid height heel, are a beige patent so always looking clean,  therefore they are an all round  functional shoe. Check out this cute pair from Lotus Shoes.

The blouse sitting in my wardrobe for yonks is from Matalan and came with a black cami top that I seem to have 'lost'!  I grabbed this white vest top thinking it would be fine, but upon seeing the photos I realise I look like I might be joining a netball team with complimentary bib!! Centre position for me, I liked to get everywhere, couldn't aim or shoot the ball, and hated having the defence nearly attacking me with their outstretched arms! hahaha

This pretty wrap belongs to my daughter, so lucky to have daughters to pinch clothes from!
I love the pattern plus the colour of this knitted wrap.  Neutral beige perfect for almost any attire.

Here's how I changed the look of these green tapered 'peg' trouser from stylish to casual.
By changing into these cute baseball pumps that I bought last year you can see here and here, plus this chunky jumper (that was a godsend on this rather icy cold day)  this is from H & M a few seasons ago and goes with nearly everything!

I opted for this wax floral bag from Jane Shilton ,one of my many delightful bags in my small 'arm-candy' collection, as always from my favourite store TK Maxx.

The scarf was a last minute accessory to finish off this outfit, rather bulky but looks great I think, although I nearly had to fight Esther-Ruby for it as she was keeping warm with it round her neck - he he he. 

The tapered trousers had a pleat on either side, with belt loops for the wide tie belt, you could also use a wide leather belt too, both look equally as good.

Does anyone else remember calling this style 'peg' trousers back in the '80's, or do you wish to forget this era?

A lovely setting for the shots, Whitstable Castle is such a pretty venue, catering for many events including Antique Fairs, Weddings, Murder Mystery Evening and The Fairy Scavenger Hunt (I'll be sharing this with you in a post very soon).

Many thanks again for the help of my lovely god-daughter Esther Ruby. x

I'd appreciate if you've got a spare couple of minutes to visit Stylingrannymama blog where I'm happy and proud to be featured wearing white on white - my new found like!




Bye for today.

        Jacqui B.

Styling for Spring.

Hi, fellow bloggers, how are you all on this Monday morning?

Hope to find you all in a good mood.
However, I'm not in a good mood!  Read on to find out why!

I'm showing you how to style a shirt dress for Spring with the option of wearing it in the dregs of winter too - I'm living in hope that Spring is just around the corner!
So the reason I'm not in a happy mood .... sale rails in disarray!

I was choosing a dress to wear for the Spring that I also wanted the option to wear on a colder, more Wintery day - like we often have in the UK.  I found this shirt dress in Debenhams last week fitting my criteria perfectly - a lighter brighter tone, long enough to suitably cover my legs,  a workable colour and pattern enabling another tone to be added, the option of adding trousers or leggings plus a t shirt or jumper along with a great price, what more could I ask for?  Well you're wondering why I'm not ecstatic. 
I quite often don't try things on when I'm shopping - can't stand the chaos of pealing my layers off, trying on various items, realising I'm not going to squeeze into the size I've picked up, getting hot and sweaty, getting dressed again, then repeating in another shop!  So buying, trying, keeping or returning is sometimes my thing.

Having got my cute bargain home - here's where I went wrong - I left it in the bag, I didn't try it on, I didn't have a play around with different clothes and accessories to see how it looked.... that was until I was just about to leave for having the photos taken.  Imagine my annoyance when the label that should have read 14, actually said 18!!  Oh Bloody heck why oh why didn't I check the size!  Am I the only person who takes it for granted that if it's in the size 14 section then it must be a size 14 on the hanger?
So here's my gorgeous Spring dress two sizes too big, but will just have to do. Huh!

Here's my very stylish black shirt dress which has a white flower pattern all over it, v neck line with a small collar,  I opted to wear a white vest t shirt underneath, the main reason because it was too big on me, and I didn't want it to reveal anything lol!  This has a belt which I tied at the front, however I could also have worn a black or white belt. 
Accessories chosen were my black beads, which are my go to pick, plus a black bangle - this I bought from Evans ages ago, I struggle to find bangles that fit over my wide knuckles, Evans have a good selection of fun accessories to fit the widest hands. Finishing off with some black chunky heeled court shoes from Clarks - these have a grey upper front detail, lifting the otherwise all black shoe.


Shirt dress styled for a warmer spring day.

Styled for Winter .....with a pair of faux leather leggings from Matalan, Black booties from TK Maxx first worn in this blog post.

Along with the black faux leather leggings I used a plain black silky scarf casually tied round my neck instead of a necklace. 

I tied the belt in a bow at the back to pull the dress in tighter, I think I may have saved the outfit on this occasion - phew!

Above and below you can see my cute bun in which I used my clip in hair extensions from Irresistible me,  I'll be showing you how to do this in more detail in the next week - I'd love you to stop by and see how easy they are to use.

"Shall I hop on this bike for a quick ride around the town"  the answer was a definite No Lol!

Pop of colour I'm trying so hard to include in my outfits is courtesy of middle daughter,  I 'ummed and 'arred whether to pick a red bag, but orange won the battle of the bags on this occasion.

        
Well I'm off to Debenhams to check for a smaller size this week, hopefully they'll have one for me, and maybe I'll find another bargain, but I'll be sure to check the size before I buy. ;-) lol.

Photos again taken by my very talented god-daughter Esther Ruby, cracking job again. x

Oh and how do you like the new blog look?  I'm so happy I went for this, feel much more confident about the blog now.

'A change is as good as a rest'

Bye for now. X


            Jacqui B.

With Valentines in view.

Hi there, now it's Valentines Day do you have some romantic meal for two planned, a night out together or something different?  Well for me and my hubby we've got the same thing planned as we've had for some 30 odd years - nothing!  No don't cry and be appalled I've changed my mind from the romantic ideas I used to have.
This change happened one valentines day when I'd prepared a lovely meal, set the table up with the centre piece of a dried flower arrangement hubby had bought me the previous year, this probably under duress but bought none-the-less.  I placed the loving written card I'd bought for him on the beautifully laid table and waited!  When hubby arrived home, he told me he was going for a drink with the boys, well you can imagine what followed a bit of a row, torn up card along with disarranged flowers!!  I laugh to think about it now, it seems so futile with the years that have passed since then, the support shown, the thoughtful presents bought, the occasions attended when not wanted to, the wonderful dinners prepared and cooked, the partnership with a loved one.  These all really do put things into perspective for me. 
Valentines day shouldn't be just one day, everyday should be treated as a special one and I'm happy and blessed to have that.  Someone who has never wanted me to work (ok 5 kids do create plenty of work anyway), never moans about housework (maybe sometimes - lol), cooks, works hard everyday,  the list goes on. This is not a one-way street, I'm the one who's cutting the grass when he's cooking dinner or running errands for his business when he's busy.

So today just like any other day both hubby and I will be plodding on with our normal activities whatever they may be, happy and safe with the knowledge tomorrow, and the next day ...etc... will be filled with similar love inspired actions like cinema nights, impromptu dining out, watching  suffering football (me) or Strictly come Dancing (him) - in case you were confused, ha ha.

I hope you are lucky in love like me, and can savour each and every day. 
The little things in life are the important things.

I wanted to share some photos of hubby and I, but going through them there are some many to chose from because we are so often together..... here's a few of my favourites.

Eldest Daughter's wedding... how proud we both were.

One of our many weekend trips to L'Escala.

Week in Lindos, Rhodes check out what I wore here.

Weekend in Sorrento, arranged by the children for our joint 50th Birthday Celebrations.

Always by my side through the good times and the bad times is truly what love is all about


"Don't wait till Valentine's day to show you care"

Bye for today.          

           Jacqui B.