Yearly Archives

2019

British blogger over 40 plowing out birthday candles

Monthly Memoir – April 2019

I hope you don’t mind if this post is rather photo-heavy and word-light – I’m just absolutely knackered! My sewing machine is away for repair, so I’m finding myself doing all the household tasks that have been piling up over a long time, and now I’m too tired to form many sentences that make sense. So here’s a mainly picture account of what I got up to in April!….

Styling a lagenlook outfit

It’s cardigan season! Styling a khaki linen dress with a waterfall cardigan

This black waterfall cardigan was a charity shop find, and I love it! Not all waterfall cardigans are made equal – I like the shape of them, but some have too much fabric around the back of the neck, and some don’t have enough fabric at the front (do you balance the waterfall bit on top of your boobs, or let it fall to the side of your boobs?), but this one, originally from Marks and Spencer is perfect!….

Hashtag Authentic by Sara Tasker book review

Hashtag Authentic by Sara Tasker – a book review

I absorb all of Sara Tasker’s content – her blog, her Instagram and her podcasts – maybe in the hope that some of her talent, style and confidence will rub off on me. So I thought I would have already heard most of what she has to say on the subject of photography and Instagram, but bought the book, Hashtag Authentic anyway to support my favourite blogger….

Hurricane Ophelia orange sky

Why ego is the thief of joy

Do you remember the day when Hurricae Ophelia hit the October before last and the sky turned orange and the sun turned red? Well I’m writing this on that day (though no doubt I’ll edit it and make it a bit more coherent in a few days time! (edit: a year and a half later!)). It was the most bizarre kind of day – the clouds were a dark steely grey, yet there was not a drop of rain. The sun was red and the sky was pink like sunset, yet it was noon, and the wind brought down any leaves or branches that were dead or dying. It was no wonder many people had thoughts of the apocalypse occurring. As I reached the top of the hill on our dog walk, I had a bit of an epiphany……

Styling a black smock dress

A plain black smock dress

This time last year Chris and I had our first campervan trip of the season to Cornwall, and it turned out to be a lot warmer than we expected! I feel that at the moment we’re in that hit or miss time – completely unpredictable – often looking warm and sunny, but then you find there’s a freezing cold wind, which stops at 2pm and then it becomes quite hot! Anyway, the black dress I’m styling for this blog post is ideal for now – as long as you have a cardigan handy!…

Red goddess dress

Hunting for fairies in a hippy floaty red dress

Chris and I had discovered the location online and seen from photos how green the place was going to be with all the moss clinging to hibernating ancient oak branches. So, as it was also likely to be fairly shaded, the colour red was the obvious choice of clothing to showcase for this photo shoot. This is a gorgeous long-sleeved red floaty dress from the brand Romacci.

A poem for Stephen

Our good friend Stephen is getting married on Saturday! (Photo above from Glastonbury Festival 2002 – Steve on the left with his best man, Mark.)

Mothers day balloons

Monthly Memoir – March 2019 (Notes on self therapy and journalling)

Hello folks! This post is going to be a little short on photography, particularly compared to my last Monthly Memoir; I’ve just realised I’ve taken hardly any photos to share with you. March has been a fairly quiet month for us really…

Styling a floral smock dress

Styling a ditsy floral smock dress at Naugatuck State Forest

There’s something about the shape of smock dresses that I love. Probably, just how damn comfortable they are! And I was very happy to find this one at H&M as it fits well, but also has a few design details that means it doesn’t look plain and frumpy…

Bathroom renovation

Bathroom Renovation Diary – Stage one

We moved to this house eleven years ago, so for the first couple of years I shared the renovations (that we did mainly ourselves) on this blog back then. Then our mortgage deal ended and our kids needed car insurance, and we decided any spare money we had we’d spend on holidays together. So work on the house has been minimal for the last few years. However, it really is time we got the bathrooms done….

Dorset photography trip - sunset

A photography trip to Dorset – Shaftesbury, Portland Bill & Lyme Regis

The problem with working from home in a small village in central Somerset, is that we are in danger of going a bit stir crazy! Over the last couple of years Chris and I have made more of an effort to use our weekends to go exploring nearby. So far this year, we’ve cranked it up a notch and have gone further afield to Dartmoor in Devon a couple of times, and our last day-trip was to Dorset…

Magic in the Mundane – inspired by Sara Tasker

As per usual, I fully intended to write about something immediately afterwards so it was fresh in my mind, but stuff got in the way and before I realised it, it was a couple of weeks since reading Sara Tasker’s Instagram and photography guide book, Hashtag Authentic. Although I got side-tracked thinking about how to take photos of moments, not things; I still haven’t written my review….