Happy birthday to all of us - it's not about turning back the clock it's about making the best of what we've got!

I'm really not one of those women who worries about her age too much. Sure, when I enter my date of birth on line and I have to scroll back FOREVER to reach 1970, it sort of registers. And as I gradually creep up the age categories in the Park Run that too stings ever so slightly. Also, I'm never quite sure whether the comment "Really? Are you that old? You don't look it" is really a compliment or not. The older our eldest gets, the more obvious it must be that I'm no longer a spring chicken - not unless I had her at about 15.

That aside, I don't stress about the latest line or wrinkle. I think that is such a rocky road to go down and can only lead to misery because one's thing for sure, as we get older we're going to look older - and that's how it should be. When I saw recent photos of Jane Fonda looking not much older than me it really freaked me out. It was as if someone had preserved her in aspic since the 1980's and had recently got her out to start living again.

Anyway, enough of the serious stuff, these are some of my thoughts on ageing...

Failing vision

Nothing ages someone more than holding text at arm's length to read it.  When your arms are no longer long enough, then it's time to take action. But not with half moon glasses that have to be peered over. They're not much better! Equally two pairs of glasses doesn't work that well either. "Where are my reading glasses, I've got the wrong ones on?" is a phrase I never wish to utter.

Memory loss

Ever get to the top of the stairs and wonder why you're there? Or are you able to reel off the birthdays of your school friends but you have no idea what you had for dinner two days ago? If so you're not alone. Both my friend and I are carrying a slight achilles injury at the moment and recently we had a conversation that something went like this...

"My achilles is really sore."
"Mine too."
"I remember you hurting yours before."
"Yes, I remember you hurting yours too."
"Can you remember how long ago it was?"
"No, not really."
"Can you?"
"No, no idea."
"Do you remember how you got it better?"
"No, I don't. Do you?"
"No, can't remember."
"Shall we just keep on running then?"
"Yep, sounds like a plan."

When you go to stand up

If you've been sitting down for a while, before moving a muscle to stand up, plant a great big fat smile on your face. There's nothing that gives away an ageing body as someone standing up and going "oooh, ouch, ahhh." Grin through the pain. Or alternatively don't sit down for too long.

Hairs

Grey or stray, they need to go. Dye them, pluck them, zap them however you like but they have no place in your life - or on your chin.

Exercise

Please don't ask me to go on a trampoline. Ever. And no self respecting aerobics teacher should ever ask a woman who has had children to do star jumps. That's just asking for trouble. How many other women have you seen trying to do star jumps whilst keeping their knees together? Don't the instructors get it?

The menopause

I'm not there yet and hopefully won't be for some time, however it's impossible to fight the inevitable - assuming that we are lucky enough to get there in the first place. I know that for some women the menopause is dreadful beyond words. My aim is to exercise and eat as healthily as I can through it. My husband may well find me lobbing a trainer at him for no apparent reason, or asking him to pass me the chia seeds before dissolving into tears but at least I won't be throwing a packet of fags or asking him to pass me a bottle of wine. Maybe when I hit that stage he'll be pleased that I like to run so much as it will offer him peace and quiet from the hormonal wailing banshee who has replaced his wife.

One last thought....it's all in the mind

All those things that we never thought that we would do again - or at all - we should do them! Whether it's shopping in Topshop, learning to ski, doing the high ropes, learning to swim or dive or starting to run, we should give it a go. Confidence is a huge issue as we get older but there's no reason why we can't still have fun too. It's our spirit that keeps us young - not a line free face.

A Zara statement sweatshirt....with sequins and everything!

Wales weather lends itself perfectly to sweatshirts. And as for one with a sequin thunder and lightening cloud on it? Well I really wasn't going to resist it when I saw it in Zara last week was I? Sometimes you just have to smile and embrace the rain...

It's casual all the way today....

"Give me your best holiday face" said the youngest as she was photographing me. And this is what she got! As you can see I'm uber casual today - Topshop skirt, H&M t-shirt, ancient converse and GAP clutch for those million jobs that need doing before you go away.

Watch out for Mr SG's guest posts whilst I'm away, to include how to wear crocs 10 different ways and the art of dressing yourself by taking whatever is on top of the pile when you open the wardrobe. I'm so going to miss him whilst I'm away. x

Update on the Style Guile Blog Sale and a little bit of Whistles and Boden

 

I just want to thank everyone who has contacted me about the items for sale in my blog sale and to let you know that I will get back to you just as soon as I can. I'm away at the moment, back tomorrow, and then I will start going through all of the emails and getting in touch with everyone on an individual basis. The response was so much greater than I ever anticipated and on reflection my timing in posting the sale and then going away perhaps wasn't great but on the other hand, with it being the bank holiday I wouldn't have been able to make that much progress anyway.

We're in Dorset with friends at the moment and today we hopped on a ferry (hence the blown about hair do) to go across to Sandbanks for a look around. Obviously we will be buying there (!)  Today I felt that it was a yellow day. I haven't worn this yellow sequinned striped Whistles jumper for a while now but I liked the idea of it with my Boden knitted biker jacket and with the weather threatening all sorts of things, I needed to cover my bases, so layers were required. In the end the sun shone and all was well with the world.

This is my friend Sal, doing the "alternative" blogging pose. Her husband says that she's helping the police with their enquiries.....

A round up of the weekend's outfits (they're not glamourous in the least!)

These are the weekend photos that probably shouldn't be shown to the world but they're all that exist for now.  Plus I always wanted Style Guile to be real life - so I'm going to use that as my excuse for these horrors!

Saturday morning started off with the park run. When it comes to the park run I've realised that age is actually a great advantage.  Clearly not that many women run in my age category which means that it's possible to do a less than brilliant time and still look quite competent (on paper at least). That's my kind of running! Here I'm wearing GAP running clothes, which I really like. They're not great for anyone who prefers a silky, lightweight fabric but personally I prefer a thicker fabric with a bit of support.

Then I decided on my Hush star jumper and a chambray skirt for the rest of the day, plus Topshop shoes. Usually I would choose a slightly more fitted top but it was a relaxed kind of day so, you know, I just went with the flow.

Sticking with the relaxed theme, Jigsaw tencel chinos, a Reiss jumper and converse plus a Kate Spade bag were good for a trip the swings - until it rained and I needed to levitate to keep the white converse white. Such a ridiculous choice of colour for converse!

Current classics....jeans, converse and a grey sweater of the Hush variety

 

As you may have noticed, I've changed the settings on the blog so that the pictures are larger, which frankly, I find rather horrific. I've always quite liked the fact that I can hide behind slightly blurry/small/distant photos but a change is always good - as is a change back, which I think may be happening fairly smartish! I suppose that I could always do what some other bloggers do, which is to take photos minus their heads - but that may be even more horrific.

Anyway, size of photos and lack of heads aside, I really liked wearing this star jumper from Hush (£69.50). I promised myself that I wouldn't buy any more grey jumpers but then I somehow forgot. This jumper also comes with a bright green star, or a navy star. It's very soft and easy to wear. Here I've just put mine with a white long sleeved T from H&M, Jigsaw boyfriend jeans and white converse.

When it comes to white converse, I've recently observed that they are the one item of footwear that cross both the generations and the sexes. I have seen them worn by both men and women, aged anywhere between 10 and 75 (at least) - and I'm wondering how it happened. I'm not really aware of any huge marketing campaigns and white canvas shoes aren't particularly practical so I'm wondering whether the fashion goblins have somehow got to us all! 

The silver Oushka bag - ooooh golly it's lovely!

 

"I'd love to write about your bags" I wrote to Oushka after they started to follow me on twitter. Luckily they didn't think that it was such a bad idea and, having fallen in love with the metallic totes, I chose to write about the Clover handbag in silver (£155). It also comes in Rose Gold and Gold as well as Ginger and all are equally beautiful.

I don't know about anyone else but I'm a huge fan of a metallic bag, especially in the summer months and this one will go with everything from my favourite navy pieces through to pastels, neons and whites.

The bag is soft, unstructured, roomy and smells lovely - just like a leather bag should. No doubt that it will be perfect for those who carry a sleek ipad, a phone, a make-up bag of Chanel make up and some beautifully organised files - but it will work just as well for those of us who are more likely to be carrying a spare of flat shoes, a Boots lip gloss and some bashed up oat cakes.

It also comes with a detachable clutch bag, which could be used as an evening bag - or as a handy place to store keys/phone etc to stop them from dropping to the bottom of this beautifully tardis like bag.

See what I mean about its size? It can also be used to disguise your entire legs. I can imagine walking around the supermarket making strategic dance type moves with it to shield my legs from the unsuspecting public!

You can follow Oushka on twitter and facebook. For anyone on the look out for a gorgeous bag their Dover bag is definitely worth taking a look at.

The elusvie boyfriend jeans....not so much a need for head room as a need for thigh room!

Today's post is about those elusive/relaxed/boyfriend non-skinny, but non/bootleg, jeans for which we are all searching. Thinking about it, why we would want to look like we are wearing a pair of bloke's jeans I am not sure - but for me it is all about the comfort factor.

 

Getting a pair with the right amount of slouch, without looking like we have stacked on a few pounds, is pretty near impossible - but it's all about accepting that it's a different look.  Skinny jeans with lycra to hold you in are good for creating a leaner silhouette. However, when heading into boyfriend territory, you just have to let it go!

 

Below I have compared three pairs of jeans that I already owned plus a new pair, to see which fit the slouchy/boyfriend look the best. If, however, someone said that they all looked exactly the same, I wouldn't be surprised.

 

So the first pair are the  GAP  real straight, in a dark wash (£44.95). The size that I am wearing are a 26/32. They have the width around the ankle but are probably my least favourite pair for the slouchy look that I am after, although they are great as an alternative to a skinny jean for a bit of hip balancing. 

 

The side shot is designed to show the fit around the thighs and the room in the lower leg - just in case anyone was wondering!

Moving on to the second pair, these are the sexy boyfriend jeans from GAP (£44.95) and I am wearing a 25" (the finish has changed this season and they aren't currently stocking any like these, though that will probably change). The fit of these is slightly looser all over - definitely looser through the leg than the real straight and they taper more which is OK with heels but for some reason less so with flats. They just feel a bit too carrot shaped with flats for my liking.

These jeans are made from a soft denim, which is nice and when I bought them they were definitely better than the Topshop boyfriend style, which were just skinny, skinny, skinny on me!

 

These are my latest acquisition, the Hampton boyfriend jeans from Jigsaw (£75) which I bought with a gift voucher that I had for Mother's Day. I wasn't quite sure how they differed from the other pairs I already owned and I bought them with the purpose of trying them at home alongside these other pairs, to see whether they were worth keeping.

The thing about these is that they come up ridiculously huge - seriously, massively, huge. The ones that I am wearing are a 24" waist, which is bonkers in anyone's book other than Victoria Beckham's - and even these are a bit roomy.

These definitely have that slouchy look about them. I have it in mind to wear them with my converse or slip on trainers in a very casual way - so why I haven't styled them in that way I'm not sure! I'm not convinced that they would be terribly flattering worn like that but as I said above, it's more of a comfort look that I am after and there's sometimes a trade off in that.

What I would say though is to anyone who is after some boyfriend jeans and who has a decent thigh on them (and I include myself within that) these do have some room so you should get the "slouch" you are after. Just go down a size, or two!

And finally here I'm wearing one of my favourite pair of GAP jeans - the ultra skinny bought from an outlet on the South Coast six years ago and they are a US size 2. Ultra skinny they are not, particularly around the ankle, and although they are quite fitted I can pull them down without undoing the button - all quite random really. 

 

I'm scared that these will give up the ghost before I can find a replacement - but I'm not sure that I ever will. Having said that, these don't quite fulfil the slouchy criteria that I am after.

 

Some other good styles that I have seen are these boyfriend jeans from Hush (£75) which looked so good on a friend of mine - although her legs are very long and slim so she does have a bit of an unfair advantage in the boyfriend jeans department.

 

And whilst I haven't tried these boyfriend jeans from the White Company (£85), I have high hopes from them. With them being from the White Company they should have a decent enough rise on them so that the whole builder's bum look doesn't arise. I would also expect them to be cut with some thigh room.

 

 

I also like this relaxed style jean from Cos (£59), which they had in my preferred choice of a slightly darker wash in the store. The good thing about Cos jeans is that they come in in between sizes, (27,29,31) as well as the even sizes. These look a little bit Mom jean, and a little bit Bros (as in the "When will I be famous" sense) but don't rule them out just yet. All jeans need to be given a chance to be tried on!

 

And so it was that yesterday I tried out my Jigsaw jeans for a day of running around doing jobs and sorting out my wardrobe (oh yes the charity shop had a lot of bags come its way today). I tried them in the way that I have should really have worn them for the above pics - with converse and a fitted jumper just to test their true slouch/boyfriend effect. Having also worn them today, it looks like I'll be keeping them!

Maybe this will give more of an idea - maybe it won't.....

I could go on but I think that you will all have had enough by now, however please do share any top finds you've had in the boyfriend jean department. Maybe just pinching a pair from your husband/boyfriend would be a good, and cheaper, alternative!

 

 

Keeping the warmth in on chilly days with a leather jacket...

Continuing with the theme of keeping warm but spring like, it wasn't until a few years ago that I first had a leather jacket but I can totally see why cows wear them. They're so warm and one in a lighter colour for spring can work a treat for keeping the chill at bay.

Leather jackets look great worn with anything from jeans, to an evening dress, so they're really versatile and worth their, sometimes, not inconsiderable investment.

I wore mine simply with turned up jeans and converse for a weekend look at home with the family, followed by a night out to see Gary Barlow - one of my other loves in life besides Gary Lineker, Toblerone, fizz and running.

Having just returned, I can confirm that Gary was amazing. I last saw him in London in the early 90's when he was in Take That.  The only problem that I encountered was that one of his songs has the word "Frozen" in it, which immediately made me think of the words "Do you wanna build a snowman?" from a song in the Disney film, Frozen. A song which has plagued me every day since the New Year. And the one time when I think that I'm safe from it, there it is popping into my head yet again.  Oh and the one and only, slightly gleeful, comment that Mr SG made during the whole thing was "Gary's got a bald spot you know." Just to confirm. He hasn't.

Anyway, back to leather jackets. Below I've featured a few of my favourites which are out there are the moment.

Mint Velvet is always a good starting point for leather. The styles are great and the prices are more reasonable than many other brands. This pearl zip leather biker jacket from Mint Velvet (£259) also comes in black, mink and ink.

The Nanette leather biker jacket from Whistles (£325) is obviously more expensive but it's a really good option for those who prefer very clean lines and who don't want the fuss of a collar, buckles, pockets and so on. On some frames and figures those things can all be just a bit too much.

 The Jenn biker jacket from Reiss in grey (£375) is one of my favourites. Personally I like the combination of the mandarin collar and the open neckline, plus the pockets follow the line of the shaping at the waist, keeping it clean and uncluttered.

Given that leather jackets by their very nature are expensive, I think that it's worth considering a faux leather jacket instead - particularly if it's not something you are likely to wear a lot. The faux ones can look really authentic and I really like this faux leather biker jacket from Oasis (£58). It's also a good starting point for anyone unsure as to whether they are likely to get the wear out of a leather biker or not.

 

I wish everyone a really Happy Easter. I'm simply hoping for a day where every moment isn't filled with the words "Do you wanna build a snowman" or some of my other favourite lyrics from the song "Let it go." For anyone who hasn't seen Frozen I warn you not to!

What to wear when you want to feel as though you are wearing PJs all day but don't (quite) want to look like it!

 

 

Today dawned sunny and bright and I knew that with that came the possibility of tennis with our son, bouncing on the trampoline with the youngest (subject to the loan of some pelvic floor muscles from somewhere), a few random squats/lunges should the mood take me (it didn't), some ironing and faffing in the garden. So with all those possibilities in mind, jeans or restrictive trousers were out of the question.

Given that I didn't plan to come across many people that I knew, other than during a quick trip to Waitrose (to buy the most unhealthy basket of ingredients for posh bread and butter pudding, ice-cream and chocolate cake - thank heavens for the huge bag of crisps which hid everything) I figured that I could get away with my harem jogging bottoms from Next.

I stuck them with a denim shirt tied at the waist and a modal lace vest from Jigsaw (£24) to fill in the gap between the two. M&S are great for vests with their long ones being particularly good - and H&M vests are great too but if you need one with lace around the bottom, the Jigsaw ones are the best. With a pair of converse I was good to go and all that I needed to do all day was swap the converse for wellies when I went into the garden.

I really think that a pair of good joggers/track pants, call them what you will (as long as it's not a shell suit I really don't mind. Oooh, can you imagine those making a comeback?) are a good addition to your wardrobe. Easier to style than leggings, they are also a little more forgiving, (arguably) a little more stylish and can be worn for travelling or whenever else you just need to be uber comfortable.

With trainers being such a huge trend now they can be worn with those, skater shoes, converse or wedge trainers and somehow they have become acceptable as a fashion piece in their own right, rather than just something to slob around in at home behind closed doors or when nipping out to the chippy.

My trousers aren't cuffed at the bottom but I would be very happy to wear a pair that were. I think that the thing to remember about them is that some cheaper ones will work great on some people, whilst others will have to spend a bit more. It just depends so much on the individual. I bought some from H&M late last year and they were so wrong that it was hilarious - too low in the rise, too tight on the calf - not a life enhancing experience! Anyway, here's a quick round up of some that I have come across:

There's the Next harem track pants, which at £22 are a really good price.

The Next luxe joggers (£30) are made from modal so are slightly more elegant than jersey ones and could also be styled for an evening out.

The Whistles Lola track pant (£65) are lovely and soft and hang really well.

The Whistles Dalia jogging pant (£65) have a good rise on them, for anyone preferring something not too low slung.

These slim leg joggers from Hush (£39.50) are some of my favourites - but then I'm a bit of a sucker for Hush!

And these cotton cashmere trousers from Cos (£49) have had my fingers run over them many times, although I haven't ever tried them. I'm very tempted to do so though as the combination of cotton and cashmere makes them a) much less spendy than their cashmere counterparts and b) means that because of that, I would actually be more likely to wear them than rather just look at them and wish I were brave enough to do so!

 

As an aside, whilst Freddie was taking my photos, he was fiddling with the camera. I asked him what he was doing and he said that he was making me look "vintage" to which I responded that I was quite capable (sadly) of doing that all by myself. Oh well, it's good to be good at something.  

 

The 12 outfits of Christmas - Boxing Day - shiny new white converse and "Robin" the jumper

 

After wearing heels all day yesterday, and with two young nephews here for the day, there was only one footwear choice for me and that was the shiny new white Converse that I had for Christmas from Schuh. Now I know that it's really uncool to keep them white and that they should be trashed asap but I plan on keeping mine as white as possible for as long as possible - even if that means using the whitener that we used on our Dunlop Green Flash trainers when we were at school.

I've known for a while that the white converse were on their way on Christmas day, together with the nephews on Boxing day, so I asked a friend of mine if I could borrow her Robin Jumper from French Connection to wear on here with jeans and a white shirt.  As I've mentioned before, he has a definite pink breast as opposed to a red one - just in case you were wondering. As he's not mine for keeps he will be flying his way back home tomorrow though, which is very sad...

Later on in the day we headed out for an emergency battery run/let's give the boys a run, trip. So, for that I swapped the converse for Seven Boot Lane Abella boots (now £120 instead of £175), GAP hat and Whistles parka.

The thought of doing any sale shopping, either in store or on-line, just doesn't appeal right now, although my sister in law has just told me that she can get 50% off at Net a Porter all year round. Eeek, that could be dangerous!

On the Run - A blue and white outfit consisting of Zara, Gap, Converse and Orla Kiely

You know how there are only a couple of months each year when there isn't a school holiday of some sort or another (usually November and possibly March, depending when Easter falls or June, depening on when spring half term falls)?

Well there are also a couple of months in the year when I make a conscious effort, as opposed to a half hearted attempt, not to shop. One of those months is July and the other is around February or March time.

I figure that by this time in the season, I will probably have filled most of the gaps in my summer wardrobe and I then start thinking about what my winter wardrobe may be lacking. So, as you might to expect, that's where I add a caveat to my "no shopping" policy.

The summer sales can be a good place to pick up winter coats and winter boots - which are usually the biggest items of expediture in your wardrobe. Unless you are after the latest "must have" styles for coats or boots, then great savings can be made, hopefully leaving more funds available for next seasons' every day items - where you may want to tap into the trends a little more.

I often find that it is also a good time to pick up accessories and I sometimes get a belt or an evening bag from Reiss when their sale starts [keep your eyes on this space for news of the Reiss sale].

With LK Bennett, Hobbs, Jaeger, Ted Baker, House of Fraser, Harvey Nichols and many others currently in sale, now is definitely a good time to look out for those staple items. I often look at brands that would normally be too pricey on an every day basis but which, with the benefit of a hefty discount, become more accessible.

Anyway, on to the outfit.  By the time it came around to getting the children from school it was relatively warm, so I decided to wear my white Zara cotton blazer, which hasn't seen the light of day since this time last year.

I'm not generally a t-shirt kind of girl but I like this one that I bought from French Connection a few years ago now.  The blue is quite strong, which is good for a pale girl like me!

Sticking with the blue and white theme - again because having run I only had about 10 minutes to shower and change - I wore my blue converse and grabbed my Orla Kiely bag, which a couple of weeks ago I had filled with all of the remnants from my other handbags when I sorted them out.

So, I now have a large pile of receipts, tickets, half opened packets of oat cakes, pens and all other manner of detritus which lurks at the bottom of my handbags, to sort out. I liked the bag with the outfit though so I'm cool about it. (In as much as I could ever use the word "cool" to describe anything about myself!)

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!

On the Run - the Sun as an accessory (no, not the newspaper)!

I have spent the evening writing a post for Boden so this will just be a quickie! Hopefully the post will be on the Boden community page in the next few days so keep your eyes out for it!

This morning was a scootering kind of morning, hence the coral converse which have been brought out from hibernation. I also wore my Gap skinny jeans, Topshop leopard print belt, Gap breton top and Cos shirt dress.  I quite like a bit of a mix of stripes/animal print/colour for a Monday morning and it's OK against what is otherwise a very plain outfit. We thought that the sun made quite a nice accessory (largely of hiding my face - result!)

I think that I might have to find another door way to frequent soon as the neighbour of this house was looking at us slightly suspiciously this morning. Nevermind there are lots of other nice front doors in the area.

Imagine my surprise when, on opening the May edition of Easy Living magazine, I found an excerpt of an email which I had sent to them about their schoolrunway competition, printed on the letters page. Fortunately it wasn't controversial and our son got a mention, which I am sure he will be pleased about.

I think that their whole school runway idea (namely, looking at what women wear on the school run) has caused a certain amount of controversy - not necessarily the concept but rather what the London Mums in the first feature were wearing both in terms of cost and effort in looking as groomed as they did.  Easy Living should come to Birmingham - we'll show them a bit of mix and match high street!

Hope that you enjoyed the sun today.

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 - A printed Reiss dress

 Today started off as one of those days that I dream of all year - a throw on a dress no need for a piece of knitwear kind of day.  As we headed out for our day at a National Trust property the sun was shining and all was well.  I should have realised that ridiculously high wedges and the uneven paths outside old properties really weren't a match made in heaven and I nearly came a cropper.  However my dignity and my ankle were saved by the child's scooter that I was carrying.  When I returned home, the wedges were hastily replaced by converse for the dash up to ballet and the school run.  I much preferred the wedges with the dress and a different colour converse would have been better but there was no time for such a debate.

Dress Reiss, shoes converse (well that was easy!)