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fashion blogger wearing a floral shirt dress

How to style a floral shirt dress; perfect spring fashion

I don’t know about you, but as we marched into April I had so had enough of winter! I was desperate to move away from my dark coloured winter wardrobe and wear some florals. I only went in Primark to buy a cheap skin-coloured bra as we were away in the camper and I’d forgotten to pack one! But on my way to the till I spotted this floral shirt dress that I just picked up (along with a mustard dress, coming to the style inspo section on the blog soon!) and took it with me….

living with hypothyroid disease

Living with hypothyroidism – blame, balance, and being kind to yourself

This week is Thyroid awareness week and the 25th of May is World Thyroid Day. It feels like every day of the week and every week of the year is National or International awareness day for something or other. Well, this is mine. I hope we don’t get too weary of these sorts of days and weeks that we become indifferent about them. Anyway, I wrote more about my Hypothyroid disease story on a post a few years ago if you’d like a read of that first; and please scroll down to watch the video I made about it as well…

30 plus fashion blogger styles a 1950s inspired outfit

Styling a 1950’s inspired outfit with a modern twist

I do like the nineteen-fifties style fashions and would like to add a little more into my wardrobe, but for now, this is one of my favourite outfits of the style. These photos were actually taken on my birthday last year and I’ve resurfaced them to show you the outfit. If you like the 50’s era fashion, but can’t afford or find good quality vintage clothing from that decade, then putting together an outfit like this still has the right vibes, but is probably a bit more comfortable!….

Over 40 fashion blogger in a yellow summer dress in a field of daffodils

4 reasons why this is the perfect summer dress! A yellow dress from Marks and Spencer

A few weeks ago now, Chris and I had our first weekend away of the year in our VW Camper van. I packed lots of jumpers and warm clothes because spring really hadn’t kicked in yet. However, once we’d gone through Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, the sun shone, and I felt I needed a new summer dress. I popped in Marks and Spencer in Truro and spotted this gorgeous yellow dress….

Basildon Park national trust house

A visit to Basildon Park near Reading. Places to visit near the M4

Last week we actually had a taster of a social life and drove all the way to London for a friend’s birthday barbecue. I was a lovely weekend, and it was so nice to go to a party and chat to old friends and meet new people. If you know me, then you’ll know this is a bit out of my comfort zone, but I think I managed not to panic and say anything stupid! Anyway, instead of the usual A303 route back to Somerset, we decided to take a slower route beginning with the M4 and then detouring through the English countryside. We stopped for a while at the National Trust property near Reading; Basildon Park…..

hire car driving past stonehenge at sunset

Looking for a car rental company in central Somerset? Review of KNW Self Drive in Wells

I’ll be honest, I really wasn’t sure whether to write this blog post. Being negative about local companies is not really the direction I want to take this blog. However, due to its recent anniversary, I looked back at my first posts, and they were mainly reviews designed to be useful to the general public. I like the idea of being useful. If no-one writes mundane reviews of things like car hire companies because they want their blog to look pretty and be a fun positive place (which is really what I want mine to be), then no-one is going to know that it might be worth looking at other places instead of KNW Self Drive to hire a car for the weekend….

age 40 fashion blogger leaning on bridge wearing a pixie jacket

The summer evening jacket. A handmade pixie hem hippy-style coat

I have to admit, although we recently took the photos for this jacket; spring is actually a very difficult season to wear it due to its lack of waterproof-ness and the inclination in England for it to suddenly rain two minutes after the sun is blazing! So that’s why I entitled this as being ideal for summer evenings. It would also be great festival fashion as the pixie hem and unusual woven fabric gives it quite hippy vibes, whilst also being warm when the sun goes down, and perfect for sitting with friends around the bonfire after a night of dancing….

Magnolia flower bud for silence poem

Silence is more beautiful than any song

After the entire restaurant hears a plate crash in the kitchen. When the final and most devastating insult is slung in an argument. When there’s an unexpected pause in traffic during rush hour. When you remember…..

hotel reviews in Stamford, CT

Where to stay in Stamford, Connecticut, USA

Stamford isn’t really a tourist town, but if you’re planning a trip on business or pleasure (or a mix of both, like we were), we’ve now stayed in a couple of completely different hotels and an Air BnB, so I thought I could give you some comparisons and recommendations of where to stay in Stamford….

how to buy jersey dresses

A guide to buying jersey dresses. Styling a Joe Browns floral dress

This jersey dress from Joe Browns made its way into my clothing collection recently, so I thought (for a change) I would share it with you before it goes out of stock! If there’s one item of clothing I’ve been reaching for lately, it’s been a dress made out of lovely comfy stretchy material! Jersey, by the way is what t-shirts are made of; a woven fabric with some stretch, sometimes with added elastane or lycra for extra stretch. Through winter I’ve been wearing them with a snuggly jumper over the top and thick leggings underneath and it meets that elusive requirement of being comfortable to wear, but still looks good enough to leave the house in. However, there are good and bad points that need considering when shopping for a jersey dress…..

Review of Witness for the Prosecution at County Hall, London

A review of Agatha Christie’s play, Witness for the Prosecution, at County Hall, London

It was my birthday last week. And it was a big one. The kind with a zero. The weekend afterwards I celebrated with my family (which was lovely – look out for the vlog coming soon!) and I’m in the process of organising a day my friends are free at the same time to celebrate with them (I am determined to milk this for as long as possible!), but for my actual birthday day, I wanted to do something special. All the time the kids were young, I hardly bothered celebrating my birthday, but although we have had a couple of days out in more recent years, this time I really wanted to make it count. So, I went online to see what theatre productions are on in London at the moment. I’ll be honest, I wavered and nearly didn’t bother with the whole idea because my god, it’s expensive isn’t it? And why can’t they tell you the price of tickets until after you’ve given half your personal details, chosen the date and studied the seating plan?! We were also limited by the type of thing we’d all be interested in. Something we’d all love is of course The Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, but at £1160 for the four of us to see both parts that day, we decided our Harry Potter fan-ship can be shown with Primark mugs and slippers (that wear through in 3 weeks) instead! However, something else we all enjoy watching on the telly together is Agatha Christie adaptations, and when I found out that Witness for the Prosecution was being played in an actual courtroom, that tipped the balance over Mousetrap (which I’m pretty hopeful will still be on for my 50th birthday!) and I booked the tickets….

Derwent Inktense pencils review

Review of the Derwent Inktense ink pencils

Drawing and painting was a hobby of mine that I spent an awful lot of hours on when I was a child. I took GCSE and A-level Art, but since then, I have rarely allowed myself the time to just enjoy it again. You may already know that I have an Etsy shop where I sell my pyrographed items, which often is a form of drawing, but when I’m making something to sell, it’s never quite as fun! I have resolved to stop thinking of time spent drawing and painting as an indulgence, and started allowing myself some free time to enjoy myself and relax. So last year, whilst away in the Lake District, I treated myself to some new art supplies from the Derwent shop in Keswick, and following my discovery of the Derwent Inktense sticks, I put the Derwent Inktense pencils on my wishlist. Chris obliged with them as a gift on our wedding anniversary, and here’s what I think of them so far…