A PSA for you all – don’t delay there aren’t many left – get 40% off these fabulous pumps today as seen on WIT blog and others! Click here and use code SALENEWS at check out!
Lots of other great items included in the offer too!
Enjoy!
It’s been so mild till now that I’ve been a little frustrated that I haven’t been able to get well and truly wrapped up. Well all that has changed today as it won’t get above freezing till Friday – brrrr! Is it wrong to be already wishing for Spring Break?
My outfits for the past 3 days have really been all about comfort what with sitting in a cinema then heading back to work. Nothing too challenging this week, at least till I adapt to that 6 o’clock alarm again.
Into week 2 with no alcohol – my body doesn’t know what is going on – but my waistline is benefitting!
It’s still not back to normal here quite yet. The kids and I are off today for a teacher work day and then school starts tomorrow. Poppy is still sleeping here and it is 9.30am – tomorrow morning is going to be hell. I can also say that this has been one of the best, most relaxing Christmas Holidays we’ve spent as the 4 of us, and I am really not looking forward to them heading back tomorrow. I could happily spend another week at home with them. We’re off to the movies this afternoon to watch Into the Woods as my Husband is back at work and I thought it might give me a couple of hours break later 🙂
I had a couple of hours to myself yesterday at the Mall. As I am trying not to buy any new clothes for a while, plus I seem to have unintentionally embraced a sober January, I thought a little indulgence was in order. I used to treat myself to nail polishes but my nails have been such a disgrace since having my acrylics removed that I can’t even consider colored nails right now. More on that later. So instead I have become hooked on lipsticks. Last month I bought 3 beautiful deep plum colors from Mac. Rebel is still one of my all time favorites – it’s not nearly as dark on the lips as it looks in the bullet and it has a lovely soft satin finish – it really makes my teeth look whiter. Odyssey has a beautiful frost finish to it and reminds me of and old Rimmel lipstick I wore years ago – Heather Shimmer, and Hang Up is deeper and creamier than Rebel and full of moisture.
From left to right – Rebel, Odyssey and Hang Up with Vino pencil
After a few weeks of wearing these lush darker colors I was craving a heavier eye and nude lip – especially with my darker hair. I spent a lot of time reading beauty blogs as Mac do lots of ‘nudes’, but given my yellowy undertones I was really concerned about going too pale and feeling washed out. I decided, especially on viewing, that their classic nude, Creme d’nude, is just too nude for me. The Mac girls at Bloomingdales were super helpful and in the end I walked away with 2 I had on my list and 2 that I hadn’t even considered before – one of these, Myth, now being my favorite!
Left to right Hue, Myth, Pure Zen and Blankety, with Dior Addict liquid liner.
Hue is very sheer with peachy tones – it is a great every day color. Myth is stunning – really nude on the lips and perfect for that smokey eye look – very dramatic for a night out. Pure Zen is a little creamier than Hue but still has those gorgeous peach tones. Blankety is gorgeous and really creamy with mauve undertones and gives great coverage. Ironically Myth and Blankety were the 2 that weren’t on my list and yet were recommended and are now my favorites – those Mac girls know what they are doing!
As for the eyeliner well I have been looking for a great liquid liner for some time. Only problem is most these days seem to have the felt tip and I prefer a brush. Having browsed Sephora and ummed and ahhed for a while I decided to take the plunge with the Dior Addict – the packaging won me over 🙂
Back to my nails – I first started looking at the Dior counter as I have recently rediscovered my love for their Nail Glow. My nails have been horrific since having my acrylics removed from over the summer – never again – it has taken months to get them anywhere near the strength they used to be, plus Folic acid and Biotin every day! The only thing that has saved them recently and looks decent on them is the Dior Nail Glow – I cannot live without it now. Not to mention reading “How to be Parisian” has encouraged me to adopt the mantra ‘less is more’.
As for my skincare routine this year I have splurged on a couple of new products that I now can’t live without. I’ve always been good at cleansing and moisturizing but I felt the need to switch it up a bit heading into 2015.
For the last 6 month I have been using Shiseido Ultimune serum before my basic Nivea moisturiser. I absolutely love it – you only need a tiny amount so it lasts months. I really have noticed smoother skin – especially on my neck were I need it most. It is now a must have in my daily routine.
Following on from this success I figured the Japanese must know what they are doing and I purchased the Shiseido Benefiance WrinkleResist night emulsion. It is super light and non greasy so I really feel like it is all absorbed before my head hits the pillow. Again it lasts forever – one pump/drop covers my whole face and neck.
As for cleansing I had been using up a trial size of Clinique Take the Day Off and I nearly bought a full size version until I saw Sephora did their own cheaper version. It does exactly what it says on the bottle and I love it and use it before using a drugstore foam cleanser.
So what with my decreased alcohol intake, increased water intake and new products my skin should be glowing! Have you added any new beauty products to your routine this year?
My outifts from the past couple of days have been rather black heavy – it has taken a lot to persuade me out of my M&S cashmere onesie (now only £89 reduced from £199!!).
Shoes – Stan Smith sneakers // Trousers – H&M faux leather // Sweater – Everlane cashmere v-neck // Jacket – Mango (on sale)
Shoes – Stuart Weitzman Leman (half price in sale!) // Jeans – Zara // T-shirt – Asos // Scarf – H&M (old) // Jacket – Mango (on sale)
Happy New Year to you all!!! I expect many of you are nursing hangovers today! Well I nursed mine yesterday after a fabulous night out on Tuesday. We decided to avoid ‘amateur night’ aka NYE, and headed out to celebrate on the 30th instead. That meant we had a lovely, lazy NYE spent at the movies watching A Night at the Museum 3 with the kids, then later watching the freezing cold revelers in Times Square while I enjoyed my traditional Chinese takeaway and several cups of camomile tea! Guess who is feeling virtuous today?
This month I am heading into my 4th year of blogging! Can you believe it? I find it astounding when I look back at previous posts – some successes and some not so great outfits. I’m still not where I want to be with my ‘style’ but I’m going to have another fun year experimenting! Thank you so much for all your support over the past three years and I am looking forward to trying to entertain you all again this year! Here’s to 2015!
Here’s my outfit from Tuesday – super comfy, and yet I love the exposed shoulders.
Boots – Stuart Weitzman Highland // Dress – Haff dress AllSaints
And a couple of outfits from the week – my Husband calls this my Han Solo jacket – he reckons I need to be piloting the Millennium Falcon when wearing it! My harems are falling slightly oddly in this photos but hopefully you get the gist.
Shoes – Converse // Trousers – Mango harems // T-shirt – Mango // Jacket – Next (all old)
Finally I got to wear a new pair of boots the other day. These Zara boots are amazing leather for the price and you can’t go wrong with a bit of fringe. I have cleaned my mirror since – in fact I haven’t stopped cleaning since we took the tree down and I am still finding needles!
Boots – Zara // Jeans – Zara // Top – AllSaints (old) // Cardigan – ASOS (on sale!)
A quick update on some sale purchases too. Uniqlo have a brilliant sale on right now and I managed to get my hands on this gorgeous cashmere tunic for $59.99 reduced from $129.99!
Not in the sale but definitely worth checking out are their new cotton and cashmere mix sweaters. I ordered a couple – they are a great casual jumper yet the added cashmere makes them feel super indulgent.
They also do a short sleeved version that is perfect for that transition into Spring we can all start thinking about now!
My gorgeous Stuart Weitzman Leman lace ups are now in the sale too here.
So all the best for 2015! Best thing for a hangover is a bacon butty with HP sauce – take it from me! We’re having a New Years roast today so I’ll be getting the pork and potatoes in the oven soon!
I am currently reclining in my M&S cashmere onesie after stuffing myself silly at a Boxing Day lunch. We went to a local restaurant and had the best lunch ever – lobster bisque followed by steak. All I can say is thank goodness for M&S onesies – and today they are on sale!! I may have just ordered the leopard print version that Nicole Scherzinger is wearing here…yup I’m a sucker for cashmere even when it is in the 60s here! The one I bought last year is amazing and washes great – I pretty much live in it in the winter when I am home and have been known to walk down to the bus stop in it 🙂
Nicole in her onesie with Helena Bonham-Carter, backstage after her performance in Cats:
Available from M&S reduced from a whopping £225 to £157:
Or if leopard print isn’t your style there are plenty of the plain versions available that are reduced from £199 to £99, available in pewter, camel and cerise:
As for other sale purchases I am particularly pleased with my Splendid haul from Net-a-porter.com. Thinking ahead for the summer of course, I have ordered a couple of t-shirt dresses, tanks and jumpsuits that are super comfortable. I even wore one of the jumpsuits on Christmas day but neglected to get a photo as I imbibed too much prosecco too soon 🙂 This is the jumpsuit worn on Christmas day – so soft and comfortable, I have a medium and it is reduced from $225 to $90.
Also available in green – great with a tan in the summer!
The tanks are a great bargain in the sale. I’ve been wanting these all year but just couldn’t stomach $65 full price for a tee!
The maxi dresses are beautiful and are a really fabulous fabric that will be cool and yet drapes wonderfully. I love both styles.
This strapless version is reduced from $115 to $46!
I can’t wait to wear this on the beach in Cyprus – such a fun color! Even better when it is reduced from $130 to $52!
Finally my favorites from the AllSaints sale. These boots are to die for – so unique and dramatic. reduced from $415 to $290:
In my eyes you can’t beat a great AllSaints dress. Today for Boxing Day I wore this – a lovely loose knit with gold thread throughout. Perfect for the expanding waistline. I have a medium and it is reduced to $129 from $215.
And here it is on me today – thank goodness I opted for a loose dress! I was in a real rush too after spending 40 odd minutes setting up a new sewing machine for Poppy – talk about flashbacks to Home Economics classes! They are certainly paying dividends now for sure!
Boots – Rag and Bone Newbury boots (some in the sale here!) // Dress – AllSaints
On Christmas Eve for our annual visit to Church I again opted for warmth and comfort with my Zara knitted suit.
Before the Christmas festivities began my Husband took me out for cocktails on Tuesday so I opted for some sparkles – who knows when I will wear them again!
As for presents, I must have been exceptionally good in 2014, – look what Santa bought me!
I hope you all got what you wished for and had an amazing Christmas! Now to plan those New Year’s outfits!
It’s that time of year and the sale emails are flooding my inbox. One email in particular caught my eye (well 3 if I’m honest but I will post on the other 2 later once the goods have arrived!). J.Crew currently have a sweater sale online and in store – 30% off full price sweaters and an additional 40% off sale items using code HOLIDAYTIME. I have indulged as a girl can never have too many jumpers – okay maybe she can in the Georgia climate but sometimes I like to pretend I am still living in Bury 🙂
Firstly this is the one I am wearing today in the poppy ash colorway – the colorblock tunic.
This is already on sale so you can reduce it by an extra 40%!
The zipped cable sweater is lovely – a really great winter knit. I have this in navy and grey as I couldn’t decide! Again it is in the sale so can be reduced by another 40%!
This is a similar shape only colorblock and I wore this in my last post – the colorblock zip sweater. Again take an extra 40% off the sale price.
The following are both Hugo Guinness for J.Crew and are lovely for the festive period. The first is an extra 40% off sale price.
Finally I couldn’t leave out Poppy from all the fun. She is just in love with this – pink and bejewelled and reduced by a further 40%!
Yesterday we braved the mall – grabbed a quick glance at Santa and decided against the 2hr wait. The kids were just fine with that and I promised to email their lists to him.
Sneakers – Golden Goose (similar here) // Trousers – J.Crew (take 30% off with HOLIDAYTIME) // Sweater – AllSaints (old – sale on in UK and US) // Fur – Zara (on sale)Today it is time for another lazy day at home before the Husband and I head out tonight for some festive fun!
Boots – Newbury boots (similar here on sale) // Jeans – Zara // Sweater – J.Crew colorblock tunic // Gilet – AllSaints (sale last year)So after setting up a PS 4 last night all I have left to do is wrap a few presents and head to the hairdressers tomorrow. I’m feeling quite accomplished – what can possibly go wrong?
It’s been a funny old week what with feeling ill, lots of Christmas services, the end of school and my Father in law arriving. I feel like I’m spinning a bit and it’s hard to reconcile it is Christmas Day next Thursday. Fortunately I have a very organized Husband so gifts are wrapped and food lists are written. We’re having a buffet on Christmas day. After Thanksgiving I never feel like roasting a turkey again so we’ll be feasting on ham in coca cola, smoked salmon and dates stuffed with goats cheese wrapped in prosciutto – yum! Also my fabulous FIL arrived bearing gifts of pickled onion monster munch and piccalilli so I’ll be tucking into those too!
On Friday we headed out for a boozy lunch to welcome him and celebrate the start of the Holidays for us.
Last night, before cooking steaks, we went for our annual drive around Buckhead admiring the Christmas lights. There are some corkers this year and we saw the biggest inflatable Santa ever!
Today will be a lovely lazy Sunday eating BBQ and watching football so I am dressed appropriately.
One final note to end my odd week – my baby brother who is only 31 on Tuesday had an operation yesterday. They discovered testicular cancer last week so he was very fortunate to be operated on so quickly. Please get all the men in your life to check themselves regularly – I was shocked to learn it is most common between the ages of 20 and 40 and yet is one of the most treatable forms of cancer. It’s hard being here when all this is going on at home so I am sending virtual hugs to my little brother xxx
Even though we have lived just up the road from the Governor’s Mansion for 15 years, we have never yet received an invite for dinner and drinks. This week we came close and we were invited for a Christmas tour accompanied by music – and bonus – Poppy’s school chorus had been selected to sing, in addition to that Poppy’s name was one of 50 drawn out of the hat to represent the chorus! Talk about another proud mom moment. I dragged myself off my sick bed and threw on my festive colors. I was even greeted by the First Lady of Georgia a the door, though I chose not to challenge her about the lack of previous invites 😉 It was a fabulous morning and I may have shed my first tear of the season.
OH took the photo – hence the sun in the eyes, the large amount of blue sky and lack of sparkly boots, but thank you nonetheless 🙂
Yesterday I had Hugh’s 1st Grade concert to attend. Unfortunately there are no school nativities here due to separation of Church and State etc. so we were treated to a Holiday celebration of ‘patterns’. Quite good fun actually – they sung about patterns in music, numbers, nature etc. There was an absence of Holiday colors on my part but the kids made up for it I assure you!
Just this morning I was back at the school watching the chorus and orchestra perform. Such good fun – they really love it too and they were so animated. I can now say that Christmas has arrived. I was there early as you can see it was still pitch black when I took my photo! This is the closest you will get me to wearing a Christmas sweater 🙂
Sneakers – Golden Goose (similar here on sale) // Trousers – Zara // Sweater – J.Crew (30% off with code Jingle) // Jacket – Mango (similar here on sale) // Bag – Zara
Just as I am wiping my brow with relief that all the Christmas shopping is done, I am beginning to receive sale emails! The Mango sale started today so I’ll be enjoying a glass of white and perusing that later 🙂 Now I need to reapply my lipstick as my lovely Husband is taking me out for lunch before the kids break up for the Holidays tomorrow. My Father in Law arrives from the UK today too so the festivities are certainly underway here.
I’ll keep you posted with sale news so keep checking my Facebook page too!
Sorry for my absence this week – I have been sick as a dog with some kind of gastro flu uuurgghh. I’m on the mend now though and managed to make it to the Governor’s Mansion today to see Poppy’s school chorus sing for all those visiting and touring the mansion. I can finally say I am starting to feel festive and I shed my first tear of the season.
I did want to share a fabulous code for Mango with you – not sure if it was just sent to those of us with the app but it is described as a ‘private sale code’ – in the US it is 6SALES2 and will give you 40% OFF EVERYTHING till tomorrow. Enjoy!
Based on previous experiences it may work for the UK if you remove the 2 at the end – but I have been unable to track down a UK code to be sure.
Not the Midlands of the UK, but Birmingham, Alabama. It’s only a couple of hours drive away and Poppy has her first AllStar Cheer competition there tomorrow. We decided to drive there with friends tonight so we can rest well before the early start tomorrow morning. I am not sure who is more excited me or Poppy! Sequins, makeup, bows, music and tumbling – what’s not to love? Poppy is a flyer too so I am particularly proud of her as she is so brave with her stunts! I promise photos of all the chaos soon – keep an eye on my Instagram account for live updates. I assure you this is going to be a HUGE culture shock of me – think pageants combined with gymnastic recitals and you might be close to the scene we will encounter. I expect some Moms will be totally into it 🙂
Here’s a couple of quick outfit updates before I head out of the door.
Yesterday I wish I had worn something warmer!
Today I have learned my lesson and the puffa is out.
Wish us luck!
Poppy's Style 