How to wear shorts when the temperature doesn't really warrant it (and it doesn't involve American Tan tights)....

Despite the fact it's not the warmest right now, I still want to wear shorts. So how to get around this? Layer up on the top half, that's how. Today's ensemble (the word "outfit" would attribute to it a sense of style or organisation that it didn't really possess - other than the scarf which was a lovely present from a lovely friend) consisted of the following layers:

• M&S vest (not seen - be grateful!)
• J Crew striped top;
• Denim shirt (knotted at the waist);
• Zara sequin jumper;
• Bright scarf - later used as a coat when it got chilly and I'd left my coat in the car;
• Yellow petit bateau coat, for when it truly threw it down.

With that lot on my top half, it was hard to feel cold on my legs and in fairness, when the sun did choose to shine, it was warm enough for shorts - not like that whole February LFW thing when all the celebs are so keen to show off the new season's fashion that they flash their pants despite the snow. 

I have always loved Cath Kidston and Cath and Guernsey are another match made in heaven. And Cath at a beach kiosk, well, it just had to be done. I bought this bag in Selfridges on the morning that we came away, having seen it in there the day before. If I'm honest, I think that I fell in love with the luminous pink. Bet no-one saw that one coming. All due credit for the mercy dash to get the bag has go to Mr SG who, despite not being remotely interested in such things for himself, totally gets it. Apologies for the random foot, which appears to be mine.

I've linked to the Cath Kidston bag online, despite the fact that it's out of stock, just because there are further details if anyone did want to try and track one down.

Two more sunny, summery outfits!

 

Now that we've left Cornwall for Guernsey, Cornwall seems such a long way away. A quick 25 minute flight over the water somehow changes everything. We've swapped the early morning swims, body boarding in big waves, loud announcements from the lifeguards, busy beaches, (the odd) cocktail and birthday celebrations for something altogether more low key. Empty beaches, gentle lapping waves, ice-creams from the cutest beach kiosks and a "picnic" of chips on the beach as the sun went down.

As the years have passed and the island has developed, I sometimes forget that it is just that - an island and a pretty small one at that. So we were surprised when we went to Waitrose (unheard of until a few years ago) to find that there wasn't a banana, strawberry, raspberry, lettuce, carrot or avocado in sight. Imagine that at home - empty shelves. But that's what I love about it here, everything is at a slower pace and it's very real. Tomorrow we will go foraging in the boxes of veg for sale on the sides of the road to see what local produce we can find.

In the above photo I'm wearing the GAP dress that I bought only a couple of weeks ago now. It's so comfortable and great for all sorts of occasions. I picked up the star clutch, also from GAP, in the sale a couple of days before we left.

The photo below was snapped on the beach a few hours after we arrived - and just after said picnic! I'm completely devoid of make-up after wiping everything off only a few hours after I had put it on. The new CC cream that I bought had a smell about it that was about to kick start a migraine so off it all came. So much for trying to make an effort!

Unsurprisingly the shorts and top are GAP, the bag Cath Kidston and the shoes, converse. It's not remotely stylish and in fact I'd only just put the top on just before we went out, as my other one was covered in mayonnaise thanks to some shenanigans between the older two - but I think that it's best not to go there. Sadly Waitrose hadn't run out of that or else I would have still been wearing a top which worked much better. Having said that I quite like the top to toe peach look. Very 1980's!

And here I'm sharing a Guernsey sun set over my favourite beach - Port Soif. It's just beautiful here - even more so when the sun is shining!

A peasant style top in action and a weekend of friends, fizz, flowers, food and fires!

 

These are the weekends of which I dream when it's cold and dark outside. Hot afternoons followed by balmy evenings in the garden with friends, food, fizz, flowers and a fire (I didn't realise that I had a thing about "Fs" but with a "Freddie" and a "Flo" as children, maybe I should have done!) I love having all the windows and doors of the house open - just because it's warm enough to do so - and it seems to be at that point that the house comes into its own (particularly the new John Lewis cushions - got there in the end) and all is right with the world.

Anyway, enough of all of that pontificating. When it's a hot day, you need a new top don't you? Luckily the Lola Top from Boden (was £59, now £23.60) was in the Boden parcel that I received the other day and it fitted the bill nicely. It's still available in every size so clearly no-one else likes it but I do!

When it's hot enough for a top like this - minus a vest please note - then the temperature must be in the mid 20s, which means that it's also a day for shorts so apologies for the lack of a stylish bottom half to this outfit.

So this is where the fizz came in. The pink champagne was a present to my husband for his birthday in April but he kept it for when our friends from Brighton visited....

I have to admit to being a total and utter philistine when it comes to fizz - much more babycham than Bollinger - so I donated my glass to Mr SG (he was happy) and instead went for a drink made of prosecco, elderflower, mint, lemon and ice. Sweet and with lots of bubbles. I'm such a cheap date!

Then we moved on to flowers and alfresco dining. I love hydrangeas -  they have the same silhouette as my Mum's hair - although she hasn't quite reached the blue, pink, or lilac rinse stage yet.

Next came the fire, complete with wood foraged from the bottom of the garden....

After a night's sleep and a long morning walk (well, for two of us and one of us was sort of co-erced into it by me) we headed for brunch at our local. Mint tea, a jammy dodger and a tea pot with a woolly hat - what could be better?!

Please remind me when I'm complaining about the cold that sometimes, just occasionally, the weather plays ball and that everything comes together as it should.  

 

As an aside, the World Cup Final is on but the six year old isn't impressed with Argentina. Right at the start of the World Cup I told her all about Maradonna and "the hand of God" incident which was particularly relevant at the time as she was learning a song at school with the same words in it. Amazingly she remembered and has branded the whole team a bunch of cheats as a result of which she wants Germany to win. Maybe I'll cease with the history lessons...

 

 

Good stuff is all well and good but sometimes old favourites are where it's at!

 

Many of you will remember this Boden tunic from years gone by. I've had it for longer than I can remember but I still like it and it comes with me whenever I go anywhere that's vaguely warm.

Although (as you may have gathered) I love being warm, I'm not a sun worshipper so it's nice to have something which keeps me covered up when it's really hot. As it's linen, it has a really nice feel to it, which also helps. Boden have re-released this best seller this year in several colour ways and it costs £69. There are 128 reviews so people obviously have something to say about it but I must admit that I don't know which side of the fence they have come down on!

My £7 ASDA hat from the menswear department has done me well but after a short swim in the pool, it's not quite what it was. There are plenty of similar ones around this year though in the likes of Zara and GAP. Sadly, Cath Kidston has had a year off from flip flops, which is a shame as I really like hers and the ones that I am wearing are on their last legs. As for the Habitat bag, that's really old and also a bit tatty but I get very fond of things and don't like to part with them just because they have seen better days. I would hate to think of anything (or anyone) being traded in just because it/they are a little bit tired around the edges!!!

Having finally (it's only taken 7 years) got Mr SG to the sun, we've realised that with GCSEs approaching for one, followed by AS levels and then A-levels, it will be at least another 4 years before we can get away at May half term, by which time exams will have started for child number 2. I'm tempted to see if I can get someone to "adopt" the eldest for the next few years at this time of year so that the rest of us can go on holiday. Wouldn't it make a great subject for the Jeremy Kyle show?!

Having fun in the sun in flowery shorts and a sequinned vest

 

Another wardrobe must have for the hot weather is a huge scarf. I find that scarves can be used for a multitude of functions - both wardrobe, and non-wardrobe, related and I picked up this striped scarf from GAP (£19.95) a week or so before we came away. I knew that the colours of it would work with lots of things that I had already and it just had that slight "holiday" feel about it that I was after.

I am also wearing the sunkissed printed shorts from GAP (£24.95) in a UK 6. As you might expect with  GAP the sizing is generous, added to which they are 55% linen so they get even bigger with wear. Going down a size or two is not a bad idea. The fit is good though and they're not tight on the thighs, unlike some styles. I really rate GAP for lots of things but in particular their shorts. Their styles, colours and prints are pretty much unrivalled on the High Street and there are always offers on, so the prices are good. I'm also wearing a blue sequin front vest from Next (£16), which comes in a total of five colours. 

Here's a closer pic of the GAP shorts which come in a variety of different finishes. I'm not going to attempt a closer pic of the Next vest - the wifi is just too unreliable for that.

It's only been a few days and amazing as it is being away, we're missing home (and particularly all the episodes of Coronation Street that are on this week.) Oh dear, what an admission - how sad!

Mum on the Run - Birdies on our boobies and an outfit to scare a shark.

It's long been known that birds and animals are going to be a big trend for A/W '13. Whilst I don't feel quite ready to go there yet on the blog in too big a way, I must admit to really liking this Cath Kidston Blue Tit jumper (£65) which I saw the other day.

Despite being a jumper, it has a spring like twist to it. The lighter colours make it a trans-seasonal jumper, a jumper to wear before we get to the full on cable knits and roll necks. Now that's the kind of jumper that I will be able to deal with when the chillier mornings set in. Anything much more than that and I think that you might find me crying into my cornflakes.

Joules too have a Blue Tit jumper (£69.95) and with its nautical stripes, it still has a lighter note to it for when the no, I can't type the word. It's just too depressing to have to think about the (say it in a whisper) cold.

These jumpers are intarsia knits. The word intarsia didn't appear much in fashion lingo until a few seasons ago and last winter, I looked it up to see what it really meant. So for anyone interested, here goes:

"Intarsia is a technique used to create patterns with multiple colours.  Unlike other multicolour techniques such as Fair Isle, slip stitch colour and double knitting, there is only one active colour on any given stitch ..... Common examples of intarsia include jumpers with large, solid-colour features like fruits, flowers or geometric shapes." So there you go!

On a warmer note, how about this as a piece of swimwear for next summer? A friend sent the picture to me via twitter, possibly as a result of another word that I can only whisper. Shark.

 

Mum on the Run - on the beach

Firstly, thanks to you who have dropped me a line about Guernseys.  I love that you have fond memories of seeing your parents and grandparents wearing them.

What a beautiful day it was yesterday in Guernsey.  My sister plus myself and the two girls sat on the beach for the whole afternoon, having first visited town to buy a UV suit for the youngest and shorts for the eldest. Hard to believe how cold it is today, now we are home!

Remember I said that I had planned and packed three outfits for our trip - ice cream, nautical and layering? Well that went out of the window on the first day! I went for the "ice cream" look on day one ie, white shirt, pale pink jumper and jeans - but within a couple of hours was in possession of my new striped Guernsey so had ticked the nautical box too.  This left the layered look for yesterday but I concluded that the top I was going to wear was too nice for the beach so had to cobble something else together - and this was it.

Having only two pairs of jeans with me, I went for the kermit ones and then layered two shirts, one over the other and added a pink scarf from Mango.  From a practical perspective it was great - the right temperature, cotton next to my skin, the white lifted the denim shirt and the scarf added some colour. It wouldn't win any style awards but what I liked was that I was forced to try a different combination, namely layering two shirts (probably something which lot of you do all the time but something which I haven't really done up until now) - and trying something different is always a good thing.

I was grinning like an idiot as my sister was pulling a face at me.

This is part of the sandcastle that our youngest spent at least two hours making - collecting the shells etc and note the colour of the bucket and spade!

Today's outfit: White shirt Gap, denim shirt Next, green jeans River Island, scarf Mango, Converse, Cath Kidston bag. The M&S towels we were sitting on belonged to my Dad and are easily 30 years old!

Mum on the Run - Green jeans

I was so proud of myself today - not because I was up and out with the children early but because of where we went - the local leisure centre, complete with wave machine, water slides, toddler pool, grit on the floor, overflowing nappy bins and general grime. 

As I looked up at the showers shaped as toadstools in the toddler pool I though to myself "blimey, give my Mum a day in here with some hot water, rubber gloves and a scrubbing brush and the place would look so different."  She is the Queen of cleaning.  The children knew that it was their once yearly trip and they made the most of it.  In fairness because we were there early, it wasn't too busy and I managed to wait a whole ten minutes before I even looked at the clock to see if it was time to get out yet.  As I say, I was very proud of myself. 

The outfit consisted of my green River Island jeans, Next white T-shirt, Gap cardi, green converse and a Cath Kidston spotty bag.

I must confess that I haven't been brave enough to wear my green jeans with flats but I saw a friend of mine wear coloured jeans and flats so successfully at the weekend that I decided to give it a go.  OK so she is at least 2 inches taller than me so as long as I don't get too close to a mirror, or if I do squint when looking, I think that I can just about get away with them!

Mum on the Run - another couple of days on holiday!

This is yesterday's outfit, which I didn't get around to posting until today because last night we were all at my Dad's eating, you guessed it....crab!  The children had been up there preparing them for us.  Apparently all had gone well until our son had taken to wielding the knife and hammer in a rather unruly fashion.  I am sure that if we were in England social services would have been informed by now but all sorts of odd things go on down here that wouldn't go on at home.  Driving on the pavement is a given.  Child seats aren't required (not that we went without).  There's no health and safety or employment legislation and the drink driving laws are a bit lax - but wee up the harbour wall and you had better watch out.  The Magistrate will have your guts for garters.

As to the outfit - this is a bit of a nod towards vintage - lace top, cashmere cardi, Cath Kidston pumps and rolled up jeans. It was all good for walking along the beach, rock pooling and having fun with the children.

Today's outfit required some planning because there was a very distinct danger that I was going to be up past my knees in rock pools - and shorts and I really don't get on. So I decided that I would wear a dress over linen trousers on the basis that I could remove the trousers and hitch my dress up.  Half an hour of my dress hitched up is far preferable to me (and the rest of the world) than me wearing shorts for a day.

It all got a bit chilly when I went paddling and the trousers got wet but I just rolled them up and lived with the damp.

Our final day was great - a morning on the beach, crab sarnies for lunch, a swim in the pool and then sushi for dinner.  Time to pack and return to reality - until this time next year....

I am pleased to report that the capsule (in the loosest sense of the word) wardrobe worked really well.  At no point did I feel that I had run out of clothes or that I didn't have the right thing for the right occasion.  This may largely have been due to the fact that we spent a lot of time on the beach rock pooling, in cafes or in the sea (in which case I was in a wetsuit) but it worked well and the thing that makes me happiest of all - I have had a chance to get lots of washing done and we are going home with a suitcase full of clean clothing.  I think that I need to get out more!

Mum on the Run - Planning an outfit

I have a friend's 40th birthday party to go to on Friday night and there is a picture in my head of how my outfit will look.  No doubt the reality will be somewhat different!  This is the top half of it and is made up of some items from my summer capsule wardrobe - silk vest, white blazer, sparkly necklace and stacked heeled shoes.  There is a mixture of gold and silver going on but it doesn't matter.  I can imagine that I will use this combination with varying different "bottoms" during the spring and summer from skinny to flared jeans and peg, to wide smarter trousers.

On Friday I am considering wearing the above with some pleated black palazzo pants that I have just bought from Topshop.  It all depends on whether or not I think that I look like a plonky head [a term invented by our eldest when she was about three, and used on a regular basis, to describe looking silly or like an idiot, or behaving in a similar way] - and if I do, the palazzos will be returned from where they came!

Outfit: Jacket Zara, Silk vest Coast, Glass beaded necklace Wallis, Shoes Carvela.

Mum on the Run - A windy weekend in Wales

We had a great weekend away in Wales.  The weather is unpredictable, our plans are liable to change at the drop of a hat and of course there is always the risk that we will see Wills and Kate at one of our favourite restaurants, so we have to look our best (!) 

My trusty Cos navy peg trousers, which are a great alternative to jeans, meant that I could wear my denim shirt, which does a good job of keeping me warm.  Double denim never really did it for me, I have to say.  I layered a pink top underneath and added my new printed Zara scarf, which pulled all the colours in the outfit together.  Turquoise converse and my oilcloth Cath Kidston bag were practical and colourful additions.  Oh, and not forgetting the oh so cool knee length M&S socks - in grey!  There are so many of us in our house wearing black socks that I have had to resort to grey so that I can identify mine easily.  So chic!

Outfit: Trousers Cos, Long sleeved top Gap, Denim shirt Next, Converse Jones, Bag Cath Kidston

Mum on the Run day 25 - Garden Party

Having spent the morning shopping with our daughter, I decided to spend a bit of time outside with the other two who wanted to go on the trampoline.  This also gave me the chance to hang out the washing - I know, the excitement of it - and take photographs of where the shed had been broken into (the insurers needed it). 

On reaching the shed I realised that it had been broken into again - my, the commitment and dedication of the local thieves - but all was not lost.  Fortunately the police had used the other side of our fence to put up a notice with their number on it, should we find that we had been the subject of a crime.  How convenient was that?  So, no more than sixty seconds later and the crime was reported.  As we are "repeat victims" someone will be out to see us within the next hour.  Great service but I do wonder whether their energies might be better spent three miles down the road in the heart of the city.

So, to the outfit.  Having removed the boots that I was wearing for my earlier shopping trip I simply donned my apron and spotty wellies and I was done.  Tres chic (or not) as the case may be.

Outfit: Gap jeans ultra straight, Navy Cardigan Warehouse, Apron Cath Kidston, Wellies Next, Scarf Cos