Pretty prints and clashing colours for a pretty miserable January day....

I like to think of myself as a sunny(ish) kind of soul but today oh flip me, the sun was not shining. All three children were back at school and I missed them. The house was quiet, I still felt pretty rubbish and with a tax return to face, all was distinctly not well with the world.  However, when the new Boden catalogue arrived things started to look up. Not only because it meant that I could procrastinate even longer before starting the tax return but because it gave me a major injection of spring and summer - something that was sorely needed.

I'm more than prepared to accept that in months to come I may well look back and wonder quite what I was suffering from when I decided that I liked these things. However for now, I'm happy to live in a bright, striped, spotty and printed state of oblivion.

Marti dress (£79) - Now obviously I wouldn't wear all of these things together at the same time. One of them would be more than an  enough in an outfit but I love the colours in this dress and its Marni type feel. Its sleeves and looser shape make it more wearable than a more fitted shape.

Alice high heel - These shoes definitely have a touch of Sophia Webster about them. At 8.5 cm the heel isn't too high and the colours would do a fab job of livening up a fairly plain wardrobe.

There are spotty versions too - pink or blue. The obvious way to wear them is as part of an "outfit" - perhaps a wedding type affair - but I prefer the idea of them with boyfriend jeans and a fairly plain T-shirt.

Eliza top (£69) - This top also comes in a few different colour ways and it's a great top to wear layered now, with a cardi or jacket over the top or, wait until the weather warms up and show it off in all its glory.

Great timing by Boden to cash in on our January blues. Repeat after me: "I will not fall for it. I will not fall for it." OK, I'll just take a tiny peek then....