Christmas fun in the sun but it's GREAT to be back!

Top: J Crew/ Shorts: Home made Topshop cut offs/ Sandals: Aldo/ Sunglasses: Jigsaw

Call me a bit of a bah humbug, but, pleased as I am for people when they're on holiday and I'm at home in the rain, there's a part of me that finds it mildly annoying. So I will try very hard not to be one of those annoying people!

I did try to post this when we were away but the wi-fi wasn't having any of it, so this is really a bit of a catch up post. Other than the odd shorts pic, I've tried to keep it relevant to what you might be thinking of wearing in the UK or perhaps buying in the sales. The evenings were slightly colder when we were away, so it gave me a chance to wear pieces which, with a tweak, could be worn at home.

It was great to wear my Topshop denim jumpsuit again. It has become a firm favourite for travelling in as it's so comfortable. If I'm too hot I just take the top down (yes I do wear a vest underneath!) tie the arms around my waist and I'm good to go. Really I could wear it at home but I quite like to keep a few things just for the warmer weather as it's always so nice to re-visit them when the season changes.

This outfit is made up of a pair of Boden sequin joggers (limited sizes available), which I recently bought plus a Zara jumper, and Banana Republic shoes, all of which were sale purchases. The Accessorize bag was a present from a friend for my birthday. Stick me in top toe navy with a bit of sparkle and all of it being comfortable and I'm as happy as Larry. And given that our holiday was all inclusive, the elasticated waistband (oooooh, sexy) didn't go a miss either! If I swapped my shoes for a pair of silver heels, this outfit could work equally well on New Year's Eve.

Here's another warm weather favourite - a Hush dress. It's probably not quite warm enough to wear this at home right now but I did wear it at the back end of the summer with pale grey suede Jigsaw ankle boots and a little knitted jacket, which put a nice spin on it.

This playsuit outfit is obviously one that is too chilly to wear just now but I've included it because I bought it in the Baukjen sale just after Christmas last year. Again, being all in one, it's one of those uber comfortable pieces which I can wear in the day, or dressed up a little for the evening.

And here's an outfit that no-one would ever want to be seen in - summer or winter, day or night, rain or shine. But when you're up a volcano and it's chilly, you just have to stick on whatever is to hand - and if that includes you son's (clean) socks with your sandals, so be it.

And moving on to a vaguely - OK so totally - ridiculous outfit. Here's another gem!  

 It was fantastic to be away but it's amazing to be home too, catching up with friends, getting back to my running and we had our own Christmas Day number two this afternoon which was fab.

I hope that you have all had a wonderful time and that you have plenty more exciting things lined up between now and the New Year. It's good to be back with you all. Beth x

Lace Skirts - for now, for the winter, and forever!

I love a bit of lace. Top or bottom, it can just make you feel just a little bit more special than an "every day" type of fabric such as denim.

I bought this lace skirt from Jigsaw way back at the start of the summer and it's now in the sale for £79, with pretty good availability too, being available in sizes 8/10/14.

Although technically it's a summer skirt, it is substantial enough for me to keep in my wardrobe for a few more weeks yet and perhaps right through the winter.

From what I've seen out and about, there will still be plenty of lace skirts in the shops over the winter. Firstly, I came across this one in Zara (£49.99), which I love styled here with the (almost) mid calf length ankle boots

Secondly I spotted this lace pencil skirt, also from Zara (£39.99), which is in THE colour of the season....burgundy. It's great that is has a top to go with it, making a whole outfit should the need arise.

Marks and Spencer has this lace skirt in Autograph for £55. It's a little bit less "fashiony" than the Zara ones and arguably slightly easier to style mostly because of its knee length which is, as a general rule, more flattering and easier to wear than midi-length skirts - particularly with flats.

There's also this gorgeous fluorescent lace pencil skirt from Topshop (£65) which is lovely and vibrant for the winter months plus the taupe background makes a nice change from the usual suspects of black/navy/grey/burgundy.

And for the petite ladies amongst you, M&S has kindly obliged and designed this lovely Rose Lace Pencil skirt, which is £39.50.

Please someone put me out of my misery and tell me that I'm not going mad when I say that I'm sure that I saw a navy blue lace skirt very similar to mine in Whistles yesterday. I'm convinced that I did. Didn't I?

I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has watched the YouTube vlogs. Thank you for your views, for subscribing and for your comments. Also a big thanks to Helen for the lovely comment on the blog yesterday with pointers on things to cover. All I can say is, don't go out and buy a sleeveless coat before watching the next vlog!

How a few tweaks and a knot can take a top from the beach to the town...

The last time that I wore this J. Crew dress I wore it on the beach and at its full length. With it being such a beautiful day yesterday, I really wanted to wear it again but it just looked all wrong for a trip to Waitrose.

On the beach the dress was fine but out of context I felt as though it looked as if I was wearing a dress that was far too short for me, even though I had denim shorts underneath.  Not one to be defeated, I tucked the back of the top underneath itself, grabbed the front, tied it in a knot and off I went. Now admittedly, having made the top shorter I ended up with more leg on show than if I had worn it as a dress but somehow it worked better. I think that it looked more intentional and less like I had left the house without really checking the length of my dress.

I'm also wearing Amirah flat shoes from Banana Republic which had their first outing yesterday. I bought these when I was in New York in June for about £20 and there are similar here in silver for £49.99, reduced from £75.

I also really like these Aiden D'Orsay flats from Banana Republic (£69). What I hadn't appreciated until I wore my shoes for while is that they have padding under the ball of the foot and a memory foam system, which makes them really comfortable.  As in really, really comfortable so I will definitely see what Banana Republic have lined up for next season.

Re-working pieces is a great way to make your wardrobe work harder for you - whether it's layering something underneath, or over, something else chopping your old jeans into cut-offs (which mine are above), belting an item to change its shape or length, or committing an act of sacrilege by knotting a a J. Crew dress to make it into a top, thinking outside the box opens a whole host of wardrobe options.

Chambray Shirts....the hunt is on for the perfect one!

To keep the event that I am doing over the weekend with Touchwood Shopping Centre interesting, I am doing a series of presentations on different topics. With it being Mothering Sunday, I'm going to do a presentation entitled "Like Mother like Daughter" during which I will take a selection of pieces and style them for both a mother and a daughter.

 

On a slightly different note, there are a few bits of clothing in our house that are fought over by said Mother and Daughter and the chambray shirt that I am wearing above is one of them. It was a fairly inexpensive shirt from H&M which, there is no denying, was bought for our daughter. Then I got my mitts on it for a while but then I felt bad so I handed it back and to be honest, seeing both of us scrabbling to get hold of the clean shirt as soon as it was dry just wasn't a good look.

 

You're probably thinking that you've heard it all now and really how could a chambray shirt be such an important part of a spring wardrobe?  But it is! Since the day that shirt walked itself back down the landing into our daughter's room, I've really missed it. It was just so soft and easy to wear. The fit was loose enough to make it comfortable but it was neat around the shoulders. I wore it over a maxi dress, tied at the waist. I layered it over vests and wore it with denim cut-offs. I liked the fact that because the fabric was so thin, on a hot day I felt cool but not exposed.  I've tried to replace it and failed but this year I will succeed. Maybe with this one... 

the Skye cotton shirt from Whistles (£75) - lovely but maybe slightly too tailored and formal for what I am after. So maybe it will be this one...

the H&M lyocell shirt (£24.99) it's a definitely maybe but the fabric could be too thick, although it will have the softness and drape that I am after. So maybe it will be this one...

 

the GAP boyfriend shirt (£34.95) the colour is perfect but I'm not sure about the button down collar. So maybe it will be this one...

the soft wash utility shirt from Banana Republic (£39.50). Yes, this could be it but I'm fussy about the colour of the shirt that I'm after so maybe it won't be.

It could also be the one that I bought from GAP at the weekend which for some reason isn't online. I couldn't possibly show you mine because it is pretty screwed up and you would all think that I was a tramp. But one day soon I will try it and let you know whether it is the shirt I have been longing for. There again I may throw my motherly instincts to the wind and just go and ransack the daughter's bedroom.