Roman Culotte Suit for the Steam Train - #Chicandstylish #LINKUP

Dear friends,

Thanks so much for joining me today.

Been back to the gym this week and I have to say I feel so much better for going! I like to have what I call ‘nice aches’. Anyone else ache when they don’t got to the gym? I felt really awful and very achy having missed a couple of sessions last week and couldn’t wait to get back into classes. I also neglected to go dancing too. I just didn’t feel in the mood for ballroom on Friday and as ballet wasn’t on because of half term I’ve really been a lazy lady. My diet has also gone a bit haywire, with me eating more than I should be.  Happy to say I’m adhering (mostly) to not drinking in the week and have been enjoying the alcohol free nosecco. Do tell me what you enjoy drinking and if it’s an intoxicating tipple or not. 

As promised, today I'm sharing my trip on a steam train which I took on Sunday with my mum and sister. It was for mum's 90th birthday last year - which you can read about here.

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

 

Have you ever been on a Steam Train? I’ve been lucky enough to have been on a few. The RHDR which is a miniature train that runs on a tiny 15” gauge on the Kent south coast. They run a Christmas special featuring a visit to Father Christmas, snacks and a hot drink with a visit to the enchanting museum that’s located in the cafe. It’s a perfect little trip for the kids and I’d throughly recommend it if you’re n the area. I’ve also been fortunate enough to ride on The Orient Express! Yes I know I was so lucky for the day trip to Bath a few years ago. I dined on a brunch on the way out, a trip around Bath with a visit to Bath Spa included. Another exciting excursion I’d urge you to do. I returned on the train having a splendid evening meal that was another triumph. It’s quite a costly trip with prices starting at £350, but definitely worth it for a really special occasion. 
I’ve also been on the Kent & Sussex Steam Train previously, but honestly don’t remember it being as nice as it was on Sunday. 

I drove my mum and sister down to Northiam which is near Tenterden for a 1pm departure. We arrived in plenty of time and made our way onto the platform where we had a coffee in the adjoining cafe. The train was already waiting for us and the other passengers so we made our way down the platform, across the track and were met with some staff and a welcome drink. Whilst enjoying the aperitif, which was Sherry we had some photos taken before alighting the carriage. The staff helped my mum onto the train with ramp, which made the wide gap much more accessible. So once safely onboard we found our table which was near the bar! How lovely!  The carriage was called Theodora and seated 21 diners. Fortunately for us the weather was brilliant, lovely and sunny but still very windy. So the photos outside weren't the best, but still okay. 

The dinner was served by the chatty staff & we found out they were all volunteers and were train enthusiasts who not only worked on the train serving customers but also restored the carriages in their spare time!  I was shocked to find out any tips they received were pooled and were put towards more restoration work. They’d recently finished one of the carriages and prior to that the kitchen!

The cream of vegetable soup was quite frankly delicious. I’ve never tasted anything as nice. It’s a secret recipe of the chef but definitely had wine and some sort of pulse in it - do let me know if you’ve got a special soup recipe like this. 

Our main course was beef with a Yorkshire pudding which had a ball of stuffing inside and a slice of turkey next to it. These were served with cabbage, carrots and cauliflower. Gravy and sauces were a welcomed option and everything was served whilst the train was in motion, it was definitely a talent the staff had learnt and mastered really well.  

Finally the sweet trolly arrived! Well what can I say! Everything was homemade and I really wanted to taste a bit of each one. I settled on the fruit crumble with custard, although the banoffee pie, profiteroles and lemon cake looked delicious and very inviting. 

Coffee and mints were served shortly after we arrived into the station for our return home. 

As I mentioned we sat by the bar, but we had waiter service and ordered a Prosecco, rose wine and red wine along with a bottle of water - no fresh water on the train I’m afraid!

You may have spotted my cool culotte suit. I was gifted this beauty from Roman and was waiting for the perfect occasion to wear it. Sunday was the ideal time, so I picked the pretty crochet top because it had short sleeves - I didn’t want to be too hot as it was really sunny. 

Having a cropped culotte * makes this suit a welcomed addition for Spring when the trousers could be worn separately from the jacket. It’s got a half elastic waistband with a double button fastening and zip on the front. It also has pockets, we all love pockets don’t we! The matching jacket * has nice ruched sleeves, again this will be perfect for the warmer season. But can we take a moment to appreciate the colour! It’s literally striking and a real eye catcher

I wanted a plain top that had a small bit of detail over it, step forward my sweet little crochet top that’s sleeveless and has a nice high scoop neckline. I finished off the outfit with a necklace that I’d only worn once before. It was my choice for my eldest daughter’s wedding which was over ten years ago. I’ve been waiting for the right bits to wear it again. For the wedding I wore a peacock blue dress and matching jacket which was raw silk (still got it) and the statement neckwear topped it off beautifully. 

I’d planned to wear the matching shoes to this blue bag, but was worried it might be a bit cold on my feet so popped my three quarter faux suede boots on. They’re a neutral mink shade and looked super with my suit. The bag still came with me, and matched nicely as the colours are the same. I seem to have been drawn to this shade recently, you can tell as this dress is exactly the same tone!

***********************************************************************************

It's Chicandstylish #Linkup time.

First let me tell you who's favourite blogger from last week. Anna - Looking Fabulous at 50! Is styling linen trousers for the transitional season. Linen is the ultimate fashion piece in Summer but here you’ll see how it works for Autumn. 

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.

Please 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

Good to have you here today, I hope you’ve liked hearing about my day on the steam train. Is this something you’d like to do, let me know in the comments. 

Have a nice week and weekend, I’ll see you on Monday. 

Bye for now. X