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! 

I wore this paisley floral maxi and silky top ensemble today to the salon, just had a trim which really makes a difference to my hair.  I do prefer to blow dry it myself as I put a little more oomph in it!  I've been using a home dye kit since lock-down started.  I get my daughter to pop one on, but am still trying to find the exact shade that's good for me, but so far L'oreal Casting Creme 300 is a good match!

Wearing these trainers with a long skirt really does create a casual vibe, but keeps it looking nice and feminine.  I love the soft shades over the skirt and bought out the colours by adding my silky coral blouse and the standard denim jean jacket - I have to say this is one of my most favourite outfits of late.  Can't wait to wear it again!  Tell me are you a fan of wearing trainers with dresses or skirts?

A basket bag picks up the casual look ... making it ready for a lunch date, or a visit to the pub!  

Today I'm also sharing my wonderful blogger friend Shelbee who's the latest participant in my

At Home With ..... series.  You may have seen I've also featured a few more of our friends Laurie, Suzy, Anna and Nancy - just click on the link if you've missed any!

So let's not waste any time and share some facts about my latest contributor.

When and why did you start blogging?

• I started blogging in August of 2015 a few months after my husband left for a 9 month deployment to Afghanistan. My kids were just 2 and 4 years old and I was really bored at night after they went to sleep, so I started reading and following fashion blogs that were specifically geared toward women over 40.  Then my sister planted the seed in my head that I should start my own blog.  She sent me a Groupon code for an online class about starting a blog.  I spent the $20 to do the class which taught me all the basics of setting up my website as well as the basics of running a website, creating a brand, and building a following.  before I knew it, I was very nervously hitting the publish button on my very first blog post and Shelbee on the Edge was born.

Where do you live (not total details).

• I was born and raised in an area of eastern Pennsylvania called the Lehigh Valley.  I grew up there, attended college there and eventually moved to New Jersey for 10 years and back to Pennsylvania again for a few years which is where I met my husband.  Shortly after we had our first son in 2011, my husband was stationed at Fort Drum in northern New York.  After our second son was born in 2013, the kids and I moved to Watertown, New York, which is the city that surrounds the army base, to join my husband after living 300 miles apart for 2 years.  Now that my husband has retired, we have decided to settle right here in Watertown.

Do you have any pets?

• We have three pets.  An all black cat named Dave, a black and white cat named Frankie, and a really fat bunny named George who is too afraid to leave his cage!

What was your favourite subject at school?

• My favourite subject in school was always English.  I also enjoyed my creative writing classes in high school.  When I went to university, I majored in English and Philosophy with a minor in Religious Studies ... all favourite subjects of mine to this day!

I know you have two boys, do you have time for any hobbies, if so what are they?

• Honestly, I view blogging as my main hobby.  Although I do monetize my blog, it is not really a sustainable income so it would still be considered a hobby by many.  Once I account for all the time I spend blogging and parenting and doing all the adult things we must do, I really don't have much time to commit to other hobbies.

Where do you like to go on vacation - what sort of holiday do you prefer?

• I did a lot of travelling before I was married with children, but since having a family we have become very content with short weekend vacations within driving distance.  Camping at music festivals is our newest passion for family vacations!  And we are planning a trip this summer to Niagara Falls as well.  We prefer holidays that get us back in touch with nature or offers something educational for all of us.

What's your most recent clothing purchase?  Why did you buy it?

• My most recent clothing purchase was actually shoes ... 6 pairs of braided sandals to be exact!  When the braided sandal trend hit the scene, I wasn't sure if I like it.  But it grew on me and I ended up buying 6 new pairs on a BOGO sale in different colours and heel heights.  The style is so versatile and really works with most fashion genres as well.

What's your favourite colour to wear?

• My forever favourtie colour is green ... any shade of green will do.  But I think I wear equal amount of green, red, purple. blue, pink, burgundy, black and white.  I like to keep variety in my wardrobe and in my life!

Is there any area of blogging you struggle with?

• There is actually quite a bit that I struggle with.  Social media is a big one!  I absolutely despise all social media platforms, some more than others.  I know that it is a necessary evil if you want to reach people and market your website, so i do the bare minimum.  I really struggle with returning comments and likes on social media though and I always feel so bad about it.  But when I log into any social media account if really just  makes me cringe and I don't even want to scroll through!  I have always maintained the majority of my focus on my actual website and just use social media to share.  SEO and Google analytics ahave also baffled me for the past 6 years.  I have tried and tried to understand how to read it all and use it to my benefit, but my old brain is just not having it!  So I approach blogging just as I have approached everything in life ... flying by the seat of my pants!  No point in changing that now.  I've gotten this far by that method and quite like my life these days!

Who is your favourite blogging peer?

• Oh my goodness, all of my blogging peers are favourites!  I simply cannot imagine my life without this beautiful blogging community.  So many of us began our blogging journey right around the same time and it has been so cool to grow with each of you and be a part of your journey as well.  I will always have the wonderful human connections that are absolutely priceless.

You can find out more about Shelbee over on her blog Shelbee On the Edge.

You will also find Shelbee on IG too, go give her a follow. X

Many thanks for joining me today Shelbee, it's been so nice to learn more about you. X

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Time for the #Chicandstylish #LINKUP party

Who was favourite blogger from last week?  Meet Lucy - Lucy Bertoldi.Com who's styling a summery trouser & top mix, loving the blue hues & the white chiffon jacket finishes the look off beautifully. X 

Now let's start linking up.

Here are some guidelines.

Please follow your host on Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Link up your fashion and beauty posts, other topics allowed.

We all like to get compliments, so please leave a nice comment when visiting a blog or two.

Also link back to Mummabstylish blog post.

You can also share the love on social media.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Many thanks for stopping by today - lovely to have you all.  

Go on,  join the link up too & if you've like to be featured on my At Home With ... series drop me message.  

Cheerio for now. X