Glitz and brights for a night out

Pink Satin Shoes & Other Stories (£79) and sequinned Turtle Neck Top & Other Stories (£49)

It's that time of year when those party dates are looming and it's time to plan what to wear. There are so many looks that I love for this time of year from a statement skirt, heels and a fine knit jumper, to silk joggers and a pretty blouse, p(l)eather leggings and a white shirt and then.....a little predictable I know...good old jeans.

The thing with jeans is that because they are a safe option, I feel that I can go to town with the colours and the sparkle, without feeling too conspicuous. Black, grey or navy trousers would enable the same look to be created but there's something about faded jeans in this "new" style cut that I like. "New" being a mixture of girlfriend/boyfriend/mom and straight jeans all rolled into one. No, I'm non the wiser either.

So, having selected your jeans, it's time to have fun. I've mixed dark sparkle on the top (link above), with bright shoes and a bright bag. But the options are endless - sparkly shoes with a bright top and bright bag, sparkly bag with bright shoes and bright top, bright shoes, bag and top - maybe work in a print, or stripes, or some fake fur.

I've been after some shoes in this style for quite while now. I'm a bit late to the "v-cut shoe" party but you know, it's fashionable to be late. The block heel is so comfortable too - really sturdy and, having put them to the test with a glass or two of fizz, and maybe even a glass or two of gin, I can confirm that they are indeed, very sturdy.  

I have to say that I was slightly worried that they might stain easily, with them being satin. But after I went to the loo and splashed water on them when drying my hands, they were fine. Bet you're all relieved to hear that aren't you?! 

Whistles clutch (£69)

The clutch I'm using is a Whistles one that I bought in the New Year - if you wait until the end of January they have amazing reductions. They don't currently have a yellow one but this one caught my eye - I really love the colour of it and it would work so well with the pink shoes :)

Part of my decision to wear jeans was because we were sitting down for most of the night, meaning that it was all about the top. But it's such an easy look to create for any event - chuck on some jeans, hunt down some bright bits and bobs - sparkly or clashing ones if you like - stick on some lippy and it's job done.

Shock horror - it's the return of the 80s

I think that the 80s may be having a comeback but not in the way that I thought....

Help! Whenever I go into Whistles I'm strangely drawn to this Iva Casual Colourblock Puffa (£149). In reality, it's called the "Colorblock" Puffa but I can't bring myself to type the word "Color". Maybe I'm showing my age but it's just not right - and Whistles, if you're listening, that's not how we spell "colour".

I think that the reason that I like this jacket is for reasons of nostalgia. It reminds me of the Kappa cagoules that all the lads at school wore in the 1980s. Do you remember those? Together with the Sergio Tacchini tops that they wore? Although having said that, most of the boys at my school were idiots.I also find it quite funny that 80s fashion is having a revival. But it's not so much the lace fingerless gloves, the fluoro leg warmers, or the frosted lipstick "Bananarama/Madonna/Kylie style" that are being worn.  Rather, the girls are adopting the clothes that the boys wore in the 80s, which to be honest is quite refreshing.

Or look! You can go to Topshop and get a Fila Sweatshirt (£55). Does anyone remember Fila? I have a Fila watch. A boyfriend bought it for me and he turned out to be a right arse. But the watch was nice. Although to be honest I haven't worn it for years - literally tens of years.  Maybe I should dig it out again.

Or, heavens above, look at this track top by Adidas from Topshop (£52). I'm not kidding, my husband has one of these that he bought recently. Really recently I hate to admit. I try to ban him from wearing it but I thought that he might "just" get away with it at the 9 year olds gym competition today. I may have to eat my words. And borrow it. Obviously I won't be telling him that he has something in his wardrobe that may be considered vaguely cool.

To be honest, I'm not quite sure that I'm ready for all of this. Coats that the boys at school wore in the 80s having a moment? And (even more shocking) my husband having something vaguely trendy in his wardrobe? Girls wearing Kappa tracksuit bottoms in nightclubs, where before they wouldn't have been seen in anything other than the shortest and tightest of dresses with the highest of heels (I've witnessed it!) It's more than my brain can take on a Sunday night. Next everyone will be pinching VW emblems from cars and wearing them Beastie Boy style.

Image from definitely motoring

September, I'm coming for you!

September can be a funny month. The start of a new term, children moving onwards and upwards, a chill in the air meaning that autumn is on its way and most of all, change. I've concluded that humans don't like change very much.

Don't make me go home!

During our last few days in Guernsey I was sort of dreading the return home, to life and a daily routine. And then I re-visited the "roundabout" as per my earlier post and I decided that either September could rule me, or I could get my schizzle together and tackle it head on. So before I left Guernsey I started to get my act together and I sent just one or two emails of things that I knew needed doing around the house, just to get the ball rolling. Little steps and all that.

So in no particular order these are things that I'm going to tackle and this is what I have in mind to do - a list of New (school) Year Resolutions - if you like.

Stuff around the house:

I've contacted a local handy man. The tap in our downstairs loo needs fixing, plus I have pictures to go up. I'd like to re-grout the bathroom floor and buy a new blind for the bathroom too. Even knowing that those things are in hand have made me feel better.

The girls have both tidied their bedrooms and the car is full of stuff for the charity shops. I've been through my wardrobe and sorted my clothes out, meaning that I now have a better idea of what I have and what I'd like to add. That too is a weight lifted.

There's a chair I'd like re-covering, and I'd like to replace the blind in the spare room as well as get a new sheepskin rug for it - so those things are now in hand. 

I've booked the decorator to come at the end of October to paint one of the bedrooms and also the bathroom. We've been in this house for nearly 13 years now and neither room has been decorated since we arrived. How bad is that?!

So that's it for the house for now, other than needing a new desk chair. It's GCSE year for our son and he will be sitting at his desk a lot. Oh yes, he will! 

Stuff to do for me:

Get a hair cut. I purposefully haven't had my hair cut for ages but now is the time to go for the chop. That will make me feel a whole lot better. 

Think about having a spot of botox. I've never really seriously contemplated it before now but I might just investigate it. It may not go any further than that but there's no harm in looking. 

Get back to eating 3 proper meals a day rather than summer type food. I love home made soups and stews and with the marathon coming up, I need to keep on top of my nutrition game even more. 

Plan my winter wardrobe - but that's worthy of a blog post in its own right!

Back from holiday and contemplating the jobs (and washing!) to be done

Stuff to do for work:

Say "yes" to more things that I'm invited to do. Historically I've felt that every minute of my working day should be accounted for - it stems from having time sheets as a lawyer. But I need to get out and have more fun at events, socials, networking and just in general.

Manage my work streams better. Being freelance I have lots of different "arms" to my work from personal styling, to fashion and commercial styling, TV work, blogging, working with brands and running style events. I'm never quite sure that I'm top of all of them at all times.  Any tips would be gratefully received! 

Get on top of my social media. My profile pics need updating, my Pinterest link doesn't work on my blog and there are a million and other one little things that need attending to. 

Get back in the shops pronto so I that I can fully suss out the new season's collections in preparation for all the personal shopping I have coming up. 

Sort out all my paperwork and maybe do my tax return before the end of October, rather than waiting until the end of January. 

First day back at work - judging the Midlands Media Awards. Excuse the knackered plant pots. I'm going to go and move them RIGHT NOW! 

Stuff to do for the children:

With Flo heading off to University, there are a lot of things that I need to do with her. We need to shop for bits and bobs, get her meningitis C vaccination organised and I need to help her with her bank accounts and finances. 

So that's my list of tasks for the month ahead. Does anyone else have anything that they want to add? Is there anything that you routinely do in September? (Please don't mention Christmas!!!) and which makes you feel a whole lot better. Oh but of course I forgot the most important thing. September traditionally means new school shoes....so a new pair of shoes must feature in there somewhere! 

Can I tempt you with an off the shoulder dress from Whistles?

Embroidered jersey dress from Whistles (£60 down from £99), Ear-rings Alice's Wonders (£5) Shoes Air & Grace (£99)

Phew! Today has been a scorcher hasn't it? And if it's a case of "No Vest Required" for me, then goodness knows how hot some of you must be.

For anyone on the hunt for a "not too challenging" off the shoulder dress, then I can thoroughly recommend this one from Whistles. I say that it's not too challenging because, other than its neckline, it is fairly sober in terms of its sleeve length, hem length, fabric, colour and detailing. Which doesn't make it boring - far from it - it makes it a great backdrop for lots of different looks. And if you're going to be spending pennies on something that might have a limited life span in your wardrobe (although to be fair "trends" tend to come and go less frequently than they used to - once they're here they stay for quite a while) then a black jersey number is a really good bet.

Along with this great, dress, I'm wearing these gold tribal drop ear-rings from Alice's Wonders which are £5.00 and totally gorgeous. If you haven't nipped over yet to see what Cathy stocks on Alice's Wonders, then I recommend that you do. She has some absolute gems!

And here's a close up of the dress, for anyone tempted to dip their toe in an off the shoulder style dress.  

Long may the "No Vest Required" weather continue!

A "back of the net" dress from Whistles

Rosie Lace Panel Dress from Whistles (£165)

We all need one of those dresses in our Wardrobe that we can just pull out at a moments notice, safe in the knowledge that it's not going to let us down by demanding the perfect tan, or particular underwear, or a particular event for that matter. It needs to make us look presentable and to give the impression that we're on top of our game - even when nothing could be further from the truth.

And that's what I mean by a "back of the net" dress. I'm not saying that I look great it in, just that it would do a good job and get me out of trouble, if it did find its way into my wardrobe.

As many of you will know, Whistles (along with many other stores) has a sale on at the moment. I  first wore the blue version of this dress a few weeks ago when presenting an event and when it went into the sale (the blue version is £145 as opposed to £165 for the red) I decided to give the red one a whirl. 

I also have the blue one in a box upstairs as I need to compare them against one another. It might be that I don't keep either but here's a photo of the blue one. So come on you stylish ladies, which one do you prefer? I thought that I had a clear winner but now I'm not so sure!

Have any of you found any great sale pieces? If so, I'd love to hear about them!

The Whistles Lace Dress - it ticks a lot of boxes!

Sometimes you just come across a dress that ticks a lot of boxes and for me, this is it.

This is the Rosie lace panel dress from Whistles (down from £249 to £199.20) which I borrowed from John Lewis for the Ladies' Lunch and Style Event at the Botanical Gardens earlier in the week. I hadn't had a chance to try it on beforehand but luckily the fit was great (this is a size 10 - I often go up a size in Whistles) and I have to admit to being reluctant to hand it back.

What I really like about the length of this dress is that the deep "hem" panel below the frill allows for a bit of leg to show through but without it being a "short" dress. And for one who has knees which are as wide as her thighs (you've heard of cankles, well let me introduce you to knighs or thees) that is a really good thing.

The nipping in at the waist bit is also good and although this is clearly meant to be a "dressy dress" there's enough volume in the skirt to make it slightly less dressy than a pencil/body con type number - without it being so voluminous that it requires the highest of heels to balance out the proportions. This dress is one that I would happily wear on a daily basis with flats (OK, let's be honest, trainers. There, I've said it. AGAIN.)  And should I ever be lucky enough to own one, I would wear pretty much day in day out so that it paid its way.

In addition to it coming in blue, it also comes in red as shown here...

And I could have sworn that I saw one in pale grey in John Lewis the other day. However on closer inspection, what they have is a similar version in the  Rosie Lace Dress (note the absence of the "panel" part of the description) which is a John Lewis exclusive. Now the problem with this dress is, because it's an exclusive to John Lewis, it may not be possible to ask them to apply their "never knowingly undersold" policy (which you can scrutinise in full here), meaning that it might be only available at the price of £249. Then again if it's the dress of your dreams then maybe that's one that can be squared off with a little financial/mental gymnastics.

And this is a side view of the dress, just in case anyone wondered what it looked like from a different angle. 

The shoes that I am wearing are Karen Millen past season but for a (sort of) similar look, take a look at these from Steve Madden at John Lewis (£80). I like the juxtaposition of the lace with something a little edgier rather than a girlie shoe but you know, just mix it up and have fun!

The quickest spring wardrobe update...

Just beware, in reading this post you might need to make friends with your ironing board!

They were everywhere last year and it's the same this season too. White shirts. Blue shirts. Blue and white shirts, with frills if you like and maybe a stripe too. I could buy them endlessly and wear them endlessly, to the point that I wouldn't need much else in my wardrobe. They are just so fresh and fun and well, spring like.

I'm not great with t-shirts, they just seem to drown me and look scruffy and some hippy style tops do the same. But a shirt or a blouse? Well it offers just the right level of "smartness" and "put togetherness" without me feeling too overdressed. Plus I can layer them up or down depending on the weather which is good because I don't want to spend a huge amount on tops that I can only wear on the four sunny days of the year.

But I don't want a corporate look - hence there needs to be a bit of fun, frill or frou-frou to get the balance right. There are so many in all of the usual Zara, Warehouse, Topshop and H&M type haunts but here are just a few.

I bought this NEXT blue ruffle shirt (£28) on a whim whilst out shopping for an event. I had my arms full of suiting at the time but it caught my eye and I managed to hang it off my little finger. I'm so pleased that I bought it. So far I've worn it with navy culottes for a promo shoot at QVC, under dungarees and with jeans. It currently needs ironing :(

I spotted this Karen Millen super frill shirt (£115) a few weeks ago and immediately put it on Instagram. I love the fact that it's so fitted. Jeans and a frilly shirt make a perfect outfit combo for me. A frilly shirt just takes the jeans up a notch and gives me that feminine feel that I like, whilst still being practical and comfortable.

I saw this white shirt in Whistles today. It's the Margo Broderie tasselled blouse (£87.50 in the sale) and was the only piece that I went back and looked at again. I can just see it working with so many things (OK jeans or denim cut offs) in the summer. But what else do you need, apart from some cool trainers or espies?

The one slightly different option that intrigues me is the cross over shirt Zara (£25.99). I've seen a few and am tempted to give one a go. I also like that this has a V-neck so it's more flattering for those who are ample of bosom. In addition, because the stripes aren't horizontal, they are also more flattering. Imagine the potential for dishwasher hazards if it not only had this long dangly crossover bit, but huge sleevage too. A recipe for dishwasher disaster methinks!

And then, just in case it does reach more than 17 degrees sometime between  now and next winter, there's the asymmetric striped shirt from Zara (£29.99) which I love. OK so some clever wit is going to ask you if you've lost a sleeve en route (probably your husband) but that's no reason not to indulge your inner glam mam!

And I've included this image because I like not only the bemused look but also the fact that it made it onto the Zara website. I think that if only she swapped her shirt for a blue or white one of the striped, frilly, off the shoulder, cross-over variety, life would suddenly all make a whole lot more sense.

The H&M silver pleated skirt....

(Outfit: Skirt H&M current season, Shoes Dune, Jumper Whistles, Bag Boden, all previous seasons)

I know, I look like a very silver Christmas tree. Although compared to an outfit that I wore the other evening - first to parents' evening (the Head must have thought I was slightly crazy donning double sequins) and then out with friends, this is positively tame. In fact I came out of parents' evening slightly hot and flustered due to trying to cover up said sequins with a fur gilet and a coat. Bad move.

Anyway, I digress, here I'm wearing the H&M silver pleated skirt (£29.99) which is uber comfortable for a number of reasons. First it has an elasticated waist, secondly it's a great length, thirdly it has plenty of room for taking a big stride. What more can you ask from a skirt that looks like it's made of bacofoil?

And as for re-styling it? Biker boots and a turtle neck maybe, or high open sandals and a chunky jumper, or a lacy top. no socks and ankle boots, or just to add to the glitz, sparkly socks with anything and everything? Now we're talking! (So who's going to comment on the fact that I clearly didn't take my socks off early enough, hence the sock mark on my ankle? That's why I love instagram. These things don't show up!)

Cashmere. No more words are needed!

As soon as the weather gets colder I'm the first to reach for a jumper - and if it's of the cashmere variety that's even better. 

So when Woolovers asked me whether I would like to try a piece from their cashmere range, I was over the moon. The grey crew neck cashmere jumper that have been wearing for the last five winters has started to go into holes, so it's days were really numbered. 

Woolovers has been in existence since 1989 (that's a really long time now - I was at University then!!) and they supply knitwear to over a million customers all over the world. This season they really have some fabulous pieces with a very modern feel about them, from ponchos and wraps to coatigans as well as more "traditional" pieces. I love how a poncho or a coatigan can make a very plain outfit something really quite special.    

So, back to the cashmere, I chose this soft blue jumper and it's absolutely gorgeous. The softness and warmth of cashmere is undeniably one of the finer things in life - (and there is absolutely no itching at all which gets a huge thumbs up from me). The colour will work with so many darker winter colours from navy to grey, and plum and camel. And it's really given this Whistles skirt of mine a new lease of life. I've always loved the colours in it but the blue jumper really lifts it. 

I have no doubt that the lovely folks at Woolovers would love it if you dropped by to take a look at what they have on offer this season and in a few days time I'll be styling a piece from their merino range. 

Chopping wide legged jeans into culottes

Last spring I bought a pair of wide legged jeans in the Whistles sale (I'm having a feeling of deja vu here after yesterday's post!) I liked them but only wore them a couple of times so over the winter I decided that come the spring I would get them chopped down to ankle length culottes. Not relying on myself to do the job even remotely properly, I took them to a local tailors who did the job for me and since having them chopped I've worn them much more.

When having them taken up, I took along another pair of culottes, the length of which I liked, so that we got them right. Here I'm wearing them with Topshop shoes (similar here) and a Cos shirt

My bag was a birthday present from a lovely friend and the cuff is from Tory Burch at Bicester. 

If in doubt, do the chop (not the snip. That's a whole different ball game on many levels.)

A navy striped midi and tan heels...

I haven't had nearly enough wear out of this Whistles navy midi skirt that I bought in the sale a couple of summers ago and now with the work on the house nearly complete, I'm trying to think a little more in outfits and a little less in terms of "let's just re-wear what I chucked on the chair the night before." Now in fairness it is an approach that works for the totally stylish Jenna Lyons of J. Crew so I'm not dissing it but when it means that there's a whole stack of clothes that aren't getting an airing - well then that's not so good. So, for the last day of term, out the striped midi skirt came.

There is also another whole stack of clothes that don't get worn because they are lurking in the very large ironing pile that I currently own. Said very large ironing pile was one thing that I took out of the old conservatory before it was demolished and the one thing I promised myself that I wouldn't return to the new utility room. Ahem. Actually it is a bit smaller. I think that I've had the ironing pile for so long that the children have grown out of some of the clothes and others have now gone right out of fashion. So there's a top tip for making your ironing pile smaller.

It's not that I don't love ironing - I do. But only really when there's tennis on or when it's really hot. Oh and also when there aren't about 20 builder in the house who think that I've nothing better to do. Anyway, I digress, the sparkly jumper that I'm wearing was one of the items that I did iron in my recent marathon ironing session, so that too had an outing.

My shoes are from Jigsaw last year. I know of quite a few of you who missed out on them so as an alternative, there are these two options...

The Tan Billie Studded Sandal from Mint Velvet (£129)

...or the Hope Sandal in natural (£49 down from £129) - they also come in black

Oh and I saw these in Topshop - the Rococo embroidered shoe in navy (£56). Although I don't need a pair I did rather fall in love with them. You know the drill, jeans and a leather jacket, green utility trousers and a cream frilly blouse/off the shoulder top, tailored culottes and a white shirt, fairly "prim" midi length dress - they could work in so many scenarios, provided that heels aren't an issue.

....and they also come in beige too. What a brilliant way to give your wardrobe (a kick up the butt) an injection of style.

Have a super weekend everyone. May the sun shine! 

A quick OOTD of Stripes and Lace...

Jumper: Whistles (current but in the sale); Skirt (Jigsaw last summer); Whistles (sale last summer); Adidas trainers (Schuh just after Christmas.)

Last week I had a little peek in the Whistles sale. It's a long time since I bought a striped jumper and the ones that I owned were looking a little tatty so when this cropped jumper came onto my radar, I knew that it was worth a try. The jumper doesn't appear to be on line but Whistles are fab at tracking things down so for anyone interested, this is the striped split hem cropped knit and it costs £60 in the sale.

We all know that a bit of lace and a stripe can work well together so I dug out this Jigsaw skirt from last year. As others who own it will know only too well, it's snug beyond snug on the waist so I just didn't bother in doing the hook and eye up. And luckily it didn't fall down.

I hope to be back shortly and I will start to blog about the house which is so very, very nearly finished. I have a million ideas for posts (lightweight Sheila Made anyone?) Oh the glamour! But seriously I have lots of lovely things to write about too. Hope that you are all having a lovely weekend.

A Wedding Outfit Without Heels!

I've always maintained that shoes can either make, or break, not only an outfit but also an entire wardrobe. A wardrobe full of gorgeous clothes can be killed dead in an instant with hideously frumpy shoes. Equally, adding a few pairs of the right shoes to even a very basic wardrobe can give it a whole new lease of life. And we're not even talking expensive shoes or high heels here but just ones that do a great job style wise.


Anyway, I digress slightly from the whole point of this post which is about pretty dresses and low heels. I have about four or five dresses tucked away - the above one from Reiss in Bicester included - that in previous years I've worn with high heels. Not really being one for heels anymore, I hadn't worn the dresses for a while. Then I thought what a shame that was and with a wedding to go to earlier in the week I decided just to go for it anyway and to wear the dress first of all with silver trainers for the mile or so walk to the ceremony...

...and then later with silver shoes from Topshop - similar here from Whistles (£136)

Now I know that it's hardly mind-blowing or a great discovery "Ooooh, let's wear some flatter shoes with pretty dresses so as to get more wear out of them" but the realisation that I'd found some shoes that I liked and that would do the job that I needed, meant that they opened up a whole new host of wardrobe possibilities. It also meant that I didn't have to wear trousers and flats (again) or compromise in some other way.  And that's what it's all about. Identifying the gaps and filling them so that you get the most out of your wardrobe - whether it's the right shoes, a top that's the right length to work with all of the skirts that you have, or a dress that you can style for many occasions.


You would be surprised at the number of ladies I work with who really only need a few bits adding here and there for their wardrobes suddenly to come together and be complete. Sometimes it seems like magic but really it's just a case of taking a good hard look at what you have and identifying what you need for things to slot into place.


So here's looking forward to the wedding party this coming weekend with another fancy pants dress and flatt(ish) shoes.


And as for a couple more options, so I know that these aren't exactly flat but they are gorgeous - and their block heel makes them more sturdy than others. They are £35 and they are from Next plus they also come in navy.

However if lower heeled and "of the moment" is what you're after, minus an ankle strap or a pointy toe which many would rather steer clear of, there's always the glove shoe from Next (£55) which come in this gorgeous rose gold.

Tomorrow I'll be back with more rose gold. But this time for the house. Until then, have a super bank holiday weekend. Beth x

An outfit for a fashion event....

I'm kind of wondering why I'm writing about this outfit, given that most of it no longer seems to be available in the stores, but it may be good as a "What to Wear" or quite possibly a "What not to wear" discussion that anyone may have going on with themselves.

So today was the event at the Botanical Gardens in Birmingham. To anyone who came along, thank you for doing so and I hope that you enjoyed it and that it gave some you some ideas and talking points. We had an official photographer there so hopefully I will have some shots to share in a few weeks. But for now, this is how it looked backstage when I was preparing everything and before it all started to get just a little bit crazy!

Shoes, shoes and more shoes! 

The nearest that I can find to the Whistles cropped wide trousers (or culottes) that I am wearing are these, also from Whistles. Another good option is Cos, who have similar here. I ordered mine on New Year's Eve and first wore them to the Hush press day. They are my "go to" outfit at the moment as I wore them at an event last week, and again today but I'm good with that as I need to get my money's worth, plus they're just a little different and (most importantly) they are so comfortable.

See that chair in the background? The Bobbi Brown concession from John Lewis brought it along as they did the models' make-up today. Not only that but we had Amy along, who is an International Make-Up Artist, (Bobbi's right hand woman no less) and she does the make-up for the models at LFW and NYFW. How she coped with the glamour of Edgbaston I have no idea. It must have been completely overwhelming for her.

The top that I am wearing is from Jigsaw and it's the winter version of this ivory cropped shell top, which is £89. I picked mine up just after Christmas for £23. It's a really great length for higher waisted pieces like these culottes, or a skirt. For anyone who likes it, I would be tempted to see whether it comes back into stock in the A/W collection - and then wait for the sale.

My shoes are from Karen Millen, again in the sale just after Christmas, reduced from £140 to £40. Lots of people have asked about these shoes so I'm going to have to hunt around to see if I can find similar and do a post on them. They may be in Bicester (I've checked the outlet section on the KM site and they're not there).

My necklace is from Hannah Walker jewellery. I'm hoping to write about Hannah soon as we've worked together before and her jewellery is beautiful. And my bangle is from Livto which is a favourite local brand of mine.

And I thought that I would just share a quick snap of my hair which Craig, the fabulous hairdresser from & Beauty in John Lewis Birmingham, created in about 2 mins by whizzing the straighteners through it and then doing something flicky at the ends. I still think of my hair as really short but obviously it can't be and it was lovely to have a change. I felt very glam and I'm going to go and have a master class with him so that he can show me what else I can do with it - other than relying on it drying whilst I'm eating my breakfast, or on the school run.

Until next time, I hope that you all have a fabulous week. Beth x