I’m not quite sure where the idea originally came from – it was probably just a few influences that all came together. First, I bought a maxi dress from Amazon to wear over the summer, and thought it looked a bit Pride and Prejudice. Then we happened to need to go to Bath for Chris to have his computer fixed at the Apple shop; and then I think I was inspired by the bookstagrammers of Instagram to borrow a copy of Northanger Abbey. And lo and behold, we have this fashion blog photo shoot….
Tea for people who don’t like tea! (And for those who do.)
When Adagio Teas asked if I’d like to work with them, I had to be honest in my reply; that I don’t actually like tea. On my trips to America, this is like saying I’m not actually British, but my main disgruntle is that I couldn’t join in with all the beautiful Instagrams of cups of tea! I do, however like fruit infusions, and the mango flavoured tea I had at the Jane Austen Centre a couple of weeks ago was very nice, so I asked if I could try their flavoured tea….
Joe Browns clothing, Autumn / Fall 2018
I always love it when a catalogue of the new season’s clothing from Joe Browns lands on my doormat. (Metaphorical doormat. We actually have a damp patch of concrete below the letterbox.) And this particular time, there was one item that made me get online to make an order. And it was a purple coat….
Craft storage solutions for organising and sorting out my crafting stash
Craft supplies multiply when you’re not looking, don’t they? Well mine certainly have, and they were taking up too much space in my sewing room. That’s mainly because my fabric stash is currently doing the same thing! However, I decided it was time to separate the business from the hobby, and relocate my crafty bits and bobs….
Afternoon Tea with Mr Darcy at the Jane Austen Centre in Bath, Somerset
We asked what Jude would like to do for her Twentieth birthday (yes, you did hear me correctly: twentieth birthday) and she asked to go out for afternoon tea. I’ll be honest, when I agreed, I was thinking more like at a National Trust cafe, but Jude had in mind the full afternoon tea experience. Apart from on a cruise, I’ve never done this, (it’s the sort of thing I’ll do when I grow up) so was looking forward to experiencing the proper deal….
Styling a short cord skirt (autumn/fall 2018 trends)
On Saturday we went to Bath for afternoon tea to celebrate Jude’s birthday. Of course I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity for a lovely Georgian Bath stone background, so I dressed in an outfit I knew I wanted to feature on the blog and Chris brought the camera with him! I had in mind a fashion video for my YouTube channel where I styled this cord velvet skirt three different ways, so I picked one of them….
Making a social outdoor dining area
We have been dragging our heels for ages over buying a new set of outdoor furniture. Our old wooden table and chairs are well and truly rotting away. We have also had it in our minds to build a verandah at the back of the house, leaning against the kitchen wall. However, each spring has come along and we’ve ended up spending any spare money we’ve had on a holiday instead. So it hasn’t happened, but the idea was still there, and it made a choice on the garden furniture difficult to make…..
Do you need me to tell you how to transition your wardrobe from summer to autumn / fall?
‘How to transition your wardrobe from summer to autumn’ is a typical title for blogs and YouTube videos at this time of year, but really the cynical side of me wonders why? Why on earth do we need someone to tell us how to dress? It’s not rocket science: As the weather gets colder, our clothes get warmer. Right; let’s go home!
However, as you probably know by now, I love all things fashion, so I absorb this sort of content all the same. So here’s my take on how to transition your wardrobe from summer to autumn…..
Making a flower fairy dress for Threads of a Fairytale
I haven’t shared my work for Threads of a Fairytale here for a while, so I thought it was time I changed that! I’m also planning on blogging more often and linking more blogs with videos on my YouTube channel. There’s something about September that feels like a new year isn’t there? Even though this is the first autumn neither of our kids are starting a new term! So this dress is perfect for princess flower fairies off to the ball or alternative brides who would like to wear pink on their wedding day…..
No longer living in limbo-land! 3 tips if you’re thinking about emigrating
I feel like I’ve been living in limbo for the last two years. If you watch my YouTube channel, you may have noticed the odd subtle hint of something big changing soon. That change was a move to America for a year. At first it was a small idea that went away again when we found that we couldn’t take our dog, Loki with us. However, after our trip to Connecticut last July, we looked into it again….
