When I Grow Up - Page 15

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over 40 fashion blog

The jumper dress – perfect spring clothing for chilly dry days

Yes I know these photos were taken in snow, but to be honest, looking out my window at the grey windy day outside with the fan heater blowing on my feet, it doesn’t actually feel far off! It occurred to me that actually the jumper dress is the perfect fashion item for spring; particularly when you’ve had enough of wearing a coat…

Facial piercings

Approaching forty – Is it time to take out my piercings?

It has been on my mind for a while that maybe it’s time to take out some of the piercings in my face, and as I’m turning forty in a couple of days, I thought now would be a good time to do so! Over the years two other piercings have fallen by the wayside – I took out my belly-button ring when I was pregnant with Jude as it was getting in the way, and (rightly so) I felt my days of showing off my tummy in a crop top were over. Then about four years ago the ball on the end of my tongue piercing came off, and as I didn’t know what size to replace it with, I just took it out. Now don’t get me wrong; I’m a firm believer in wearing whatever the f**k you want, regardless of age, but there are a couple of reasons that have led me to think that it’s time for a change….

British lifestyle blogger

Fourteen years of blogging – why do I do it?

Happy Birthday When I Grow Up blog! Yes, if you can be bothered, you can click on the ‘Archives’ button over there on the right and see my first feeble offerings beginning on the 7th April 2004. I don’t know anyone who’s been blogging that long! We didn’t even own a digital camera then, so none of the posts have photos to go with them for a while! Many people talk about needing a creative outlet as their reason why they started a blog. Well fourteen years ago I had recently done my A-level Art and was on my second year of a part-time degree in Creative Writing with a novel about to be published; so I can’t really site that as my reason. My kids were eight and five, but ‘Mummy blogging’ wasn’t yet a thing, let alone a thing that occurred to me to want to do, so talking about parenting wasn’t my impetus either. At the end of the day, I suppose it all boils down to the simple love of writing…..

boho fashion blogger

A boho dress for a boho lifestyle

I am often at my happiest when Chris, (and in the past when they were smaller, the kids as well) and I go off on a road-trip in the camper. We’ve had a few vans over the years, changing the size of them to suit our family, and now that Rain and Jude have had enough of the cramped sleeping conditions and the dog snoring in their ears, we downsized to a Type 25 VW camper van a couple of years ago for just the two of us. When I’m gathering the clothes to take with me on these trips, I tend to choose the more bohemian items from my wardrobe. Apart from at Wilderness festival, can you think of a more fitting time to wear clothes like this dress? With its flowing fabric and button-up style, this maxi dress has a gorgeous print inspired by far-flung lands and evokes a feeling of summer travels….

how to cure insomnia

How to get to sleep – a sure-fire cure for insomnia

I’m sure there are many good things I have inherited from my mother, but the two best ones I can think of are: 1. The ability to make a bloody good cake, and 2. A trick that works when you can’t get to sleep. I’ll be honest, you’re not going to much like it, but trust me, if you follow my rules (they aren’t complicated), then I bet this will work 90% of the time….

review of things are what you make of them by adam j. kurtz

A review of ‘Things are what you make of them’ – Life advice for Creatives by Adam J. Kurtz

Rain kindly bought this book for me for Mothers’ Day, and I’ve since managed to fit in the odd five minutes here and there to read it. That’s one good thing about Things Are What You Make Of Them – it doesn’t take long to read! Oh that makes me sound like I don’t like it, which isn’t true. It’s a book for the current generation who take their entertainment and information in snippets; in bite-size chunks of Instagram stories. There are even perforated edges so you can choose your favourite little pages of words of wisdom to put up on your copper magnet board next to the foiled print that says Eat Sleep Create….

circus fashion

Could The Greatest Showman film spark a circus fashion trend?

(Alternative title: Clowning about in the woods!) I became a little suspicious back in November when I had the chance to browse some well-known high-street shops in a city. I noticed that the stripe trend had turned vertical, and wider, like circus tents! And combined with ruffles, the effect of these details does point to the circus! It’s been known to happen before with a popular musical movie: Do you remember the 1920’s fashion trend of 2013 that well and truly kicked off after the success of The Great Gatsby? I for one am not complaining, I love everything about the circus, particularly the wonderful clothing!….

Teen mom

How I’d do things differently if I wasn’t a teenage Mum

I’ve never really considered being a Mummy blogger – I’m not sure why – it just wasn’t what I wanted to write about; however this topic of conversation came up in the car a while ago, and as it was Mothers’ Day on Sunday, I thought I might do something a bit different and write about the subject in a blog post! Yes I am in a category. I am a statistic of the 90’s. I was a teenage Mum….

cath kidston beauty review

Cath Kidston gift ideas for Mothers’ Day

February 28, 2018

I was given this beautiful set of Cath Kidston hand creams and a lip balm for my birthday last year, and it occurred to me what a lovely gift anything by Cath Kidston would be for Mothering Sunday. Her products combine the two things that make the perfect present – something pretty and something practical….

knitting is cool!

How to rock the granny chic trend! Styling a hand-knitted cardigan

February 25, 2018

I don’t know whether you’ve noticed it, but I’ve spotted lots of people lately wearing jumpers and cardigans that look like their granny knitted it. They probably didn’t, because these people are probably young enough that their grannies are still in full time work and far too busy to be sitting by the fire and knitting. However, I was lucky enough to have a Nan who knitted and was proud to wear my royal blue school cardigans with massive sleeves that no-one else had. (At least I was until I was ten.) Maybe that’s what sparked my love of wearing things just a little bit different to everyone else. (Damn – I wish I’d thought of that argument when I was a teenager “Well if you didn’t want me to wear 1960’s mini nightdresses with Doc Martins, maybe you should’ve just bought me a Woodlands school cardigan with the logo on it like everyone else had!” sort of thing)….

Visit New England in Winter

10 Photos that will make you want to visit New England in winter

February 20, 2018

Chris and I recently returned from a month in Connecticut, near the city of New York, and each weekend we went exploring in every direction. I’ve put together ten of my favourite photos – and this was a challenge to get it down to only ten! – in the hope that the cold weather doesn’t put you off from visiting the New England area of America. I thought it was absolutely beautiful!….

A capsule wardrobe

Is a capsule wardrobe the right way to go? I tried it for a month to find out.

February 13, 2018

There are several YouTubers and bloggers I follow who live by a capsule wardrobe. They don’t just live by it; they fully recommend it, citing how wonderful it is to know they can get out of bed in the morning and easily choose an outfit that will colour co-ordinate and work for them. I have been fascinated by this, but to be honest, I’ve always thought it wasn’t really for me, I mean, if you want to see the state of my wardrobe/dressing room, then take a look at the tour coming soon to my YouTube channel! However, for four weeks at the beginning of the year, I went to stay in America (accompanying Chris on a work trip) so I really didn’t have a choice as everything I wore for a month had to fit in my suitcase. I’m currently typing this on the plane coming home and I thought I would share how I got on with my experiment with a capsule wardrobe….