Mum on the Run - Fabulous totes!

As we all know, totes are huge (excuse the pun) this season and the Zara tote has had massive press coverage.  However I also love these totes from River Island - which I spotted this morning.  The purple and orange ones are great for lifting those darker winter colours.  There are great neutrals in the silver and gold and great colour combos in the green above (there are others too). 

At £60 ish they are a good price for a large leather bag and the practicality of having something that you can throw your possessions into and go, holds great appeal.  I love the orange one as it goes so well with navy (which I wear alot) and thanks to Victoria Beckham, there is going to be lots of navy and orange around next season.  My only tip - I would put a small cloth bag inside - such as a dust bag for shoes - to protect it and make transferring your belongings to a next bag much easier.  Enjoy!

Mum on the Run - A Cos dress and Sledge shoes

Today I was running a style event for a group of ladies at a firm of solicitors.  It was great fun - they were a lovely group and the event seemed to do what it was designed to do - get ladies chatting.  OK, so it may have been about shoes and the like but there was definitely a good buzz and as was noted - it was more interesting than a golf/racing/motor racing outing!

I wore my navy Cos dress (the gold band around the middle is a zip but fortunately the dress doesn't unzip into two halves) and LK Bennett Sledge shoes. 

Mum on the Run - A chunky knit dressed up with a skirt/scarf and pink patent shoes

Today saw a combination of clothes old and new - a Zara skirt from last year, Gap striped top, this season's Warehouse jumper and a new Oasis scarf to pull it all together. I dug the pink pied a terre shoes out yesterday when continuing with my clear out - they are probably 7 or 8 years old but I still love them.  They are a bit retro with a "Queen Mother" kind of heel! 

I quite liked the colour palette and the combination of the very casual jumper with the slightly smarter skirt/scarf.  Most of all though I was warm and comfortable!

Mum on the Run - the caped crusader

My husband was at a conference today so I wisely (!) headed into town with the three musketeers for a bit of Christmas shopping and a look around.  They each chose a decoration for the tree, behaved nicely in a cafe and I only lost two of them - pretty good going I thought. Each time the little one asked for something I suggested that she add it to the Christmas list that we would make on returning home. Hopefully she has forgotten the majority of the 325, 000 things she asked for or else it will be a very long list.

Having visted a friend in London earlier in the week who has the most immaculate house you could ever imagine, I have attacked our cupboards with gusto.  Virtually everything in the house is at risk of being disposed of.  Anyway, I came to sort out the 500 plus set of instructions for all manner of toys, electrical gadgets and appliances we have had over the years. I found that a not insignificant number of instructions belonged to items that have been stolen. I am tempted to put them in a plastic wallet, label them up and leave them in the shed for the next time that the thieves visit so that they can at least be certain that the lawn mower is working to the best of its ability and doesn't need a service.

I also found a neat diagram of how to load the dishwasher properly. Having been asked by my husband whether I was any good at jigsaws as a child, on account of the fact that (he thinks) I can't load the dishwasher properly, I am going to tape it to the front of the dishwasher and follow it closely - because obviously I have nothing better to do with my time.

So anyway, the outfit was just a bit of a chuck together really - Warehouse printed shirt, Boden coral jumper over the top, Warehouse skinny jeans, Clarks pumps  and Jigsaw cape. I preferred it later on when I swapped the jeans for wider ones and the shoes for my red shiny loafers. I felt a bit more "balanced" and the proportions were better.

Mum on the Run - A bright pink coat!

Ah bless her - the three year old has been put in charge of the camera again as the rest had gone off to school/work before us - this was the only shot that I could use as the rest were blurred.  I have this amazing ability to have my eyes shut on many photographs - the odds of it are meant to be minimal but I seem to manage it. Shame that I can't beat the odds of winning the Euro millions - but then I wouldn't be posting picture of me wearing a bright pink coat which I was going to give to a charity shop but which I decided to keep and now love.  No, instead I would be sunning myself on a yacht in a bikini and trust me, that would not be a pretty sight.

So instead, here I am on a cold November morning ready for another day in the shops.  I resorted to flat boots and skinny jeans but tried to lift it with an Oasis sparkly top, a piece of my Stella & Dot jewellery and a bright coat.  It all reflected rather nicely on my nose - currently a similar shade of pink to my coat as a result of a cold.

Boots and jeans Cos, Coat Benetton, Top Oasis, Necklace Stella & Dot

Mum on the Run - A skirt - and an acid yellow one at that!

....also carrying on the theme of bright clothes, today I wore a bright yellow skirt from Cos.  It's wool, slightly A-line and the kind of colour that I would wear on my bottom half but not my top and only if everything else was plain - in this case navy. I did feel a bit conspicuous to start with but I soon got used to it. I went for a bit of a preppy look with loafers, a pea coat and a navy sparkly jumper from Warehouse. 

As you can see, I really was "on the Run" in this photo - trying to get 7 of us out of the house but failing.  Our son was talking to me out of our bedroom window at this point, hence the glance skywards!

Mum on the Run - A bright Whistles cardi

Carrying on with the jumpers/cardi theme, last week I bought this cardigan from Whistles.  It's nothing to be proud of - it was in the sale so I don't suppose that many people really liked it but I did. It reminded me of a cardi that my Great Auntie Vi knitted for me when I was at school and being a sucker for anything a)warm and b)coral coloured I knew that it was going to end up in my wardrobe!

I have styled it both with a navy lace skirt and a leopard print belt and then as above -Cos skinny jeans, Cos boots, long Jigsaw top and Oasis scarf. I was so hot that I had to take it off later in the day - definitely a winner in my book!

Mum on the Run - jumpers are where it's at - especially if they are striped!

I think that you can tell that a small person was involved in taking this shot from the way that I am looking down.  It also explains the fact that the top of my head is missing -  but at three, said small person does very well - and this blog was always meant to be a family endeavour! 

This was our first scootering trip out this week as our youngest has had chicken pox.  As usual, I needed to be fairly hands free - it's just safer for everyone and in particular the local population - hence the cross body bag from Cath Kidston.

I was styling a lady this morning for her daughter's wedding so on returning home I chucked off the smart stuff and grabbed the closest casual clothes - which just happened to be Gap straight jeans, H&M striped top with an Oasis striped jumper over the top and a Boden jacket with a Peter Pan collar which is of the moment now but probably wasn't when I bought it two years ago - I just liked it though!  The boots are from Jones and just happened to be nearest to the front door (they are still a bit muddy from when our 12 year old borrowed them to go to a bonfire.)  She's after my LK Bennett shoes at the moment and I have told her no flippin' way.  I had to wait 40 years for them so she's not getting her mitts on them!