Tag Archive | Joy

Pretty in Pink

What do you associate the colour pink with? Romance, femininity, sweetness? Pink featured strongly on the catwalk for spring/summer 2018 from pastel shades right through to brights, with Fendi, Versace, Dior, Gucci and Emporio Armani all sporting the romantic hue.

versace-ss18-women-fashion-show-collection-look-42-front

Dior-Spring-Summer-2018-Collection-Runway-Pictures

Ted Baker embraced the trend, launching their spring/summer collection ‘Back to the Fuchsia’. I particularly love their use of Japanese cherry blossom in some of the designs. Before this season, it was not somewhere I really shopped, but now it is fast becoming one of my favourite brands. Their combination of pinks, greys and rose golds is to die for.

The colour pink has been described way back to ancient times, often as rose or rosey but pink was first defined as a colour in the 17^th century and the name comes from the flower pinks.

If you want to stand out, why not try pairing red and pink like at JW Anderson, previously thought of as a fashion faux pas, this is now bang on trend and looks to be the new black and white.

Anderson

I had been sporting the pastel pink shade last season too, with a pink jumper from Oasis, paired with a collar from Asos to emulate the Miss Patina designs.

This sweatshirt from Joy also cheered up a rainy February day.

Of course, there is no reason to confine the shade to clothing, why not use in your home too? I recently repainted the chimney breasts in our lounge/diner in Dulux, raspberry diva and love listening to my records on my pink Crosley cruiser from Urban Outfitters.

Please do share with me how you are wearing this season’s must have shade.

Love is Louboutin

Oct11

May was our third wedding anniversary and to celebrate we decided to go away for a week. Having spent the last few years visiting various far flung places, we thought it was time we explored the treasures the UK has to offer and as such headed to Scotland.

We could have driven or flown but we opted to travel by the Caledonian Sleeper train, which booked in advance was very reasonably priced and hired a car once there. Now the sleeper train is not luxury but an experience none the less and it certainly is nice to fall asleep in London and wake up in the Scottish Highlands.

We were greeted at Fort William by horrendous rain – the main problem with staying in the UK. As we were unable to book into our accommodation before 4pm, we sought refuge at the Inverlochy Castle hotel and indulged in afternoon tea.

Highland scenery is stunning and by our bed and breakfast there was a beautiful wide expanse of lake which was ironic given that they ran out of water by the Thursday!

A walk through Nevis Gorge to Steel Falls is well worth it, if not for the faint hearted – it’s a four and a half mile round trip. The ground is rocky and rough with sheer drops but you are rewarded with a beautiful photo opportunity. Just make sure you wear appropriate footwear – my Italian leather ballerina pumps didn’t cut it!

Glencoe also provides beautiful views and has been used for films such as James Bond – Skyfall and Harry Potter – it’s where Hagrid’s hut was built.

T-Shirt Oasis, cropped jeans Oasis and ballet pumps from Milan

A great way to see some of the flatter scenery the highlands have to offer is by horseback. I have always enjoyed horse riding and really enjoyed my trek in Tain – not least as I managed to tick off my bucket list, riding on the beach.

Sweatshirt Joy, Jeans Oasis and rain jacket New Look

On our actual anniversary we boarded the Jacobite steam train for a journey from Fort William to Mallaig, crossing the Glenfinnan Viaduct – made infamous by the Harry Potter films. We celebrated with champagne and exchanged gifts. The three year wedding anniversary is leather and as such, we couldn’t have let it pass without him adding to my shoe collection. I was ecstatic to open my very own pair of classic Pigalle Louboutins in black patent! You can read more about Louboutin in my previous blog First Steps. I bought him a leather wallet with his initials embossed on it from Aspinal of London. Leather is traditionally used to protect and shelter due to its durability, so as your relationship matures, a gift of this represents those qualities.

Glenfinnan viaduct

Butter-brew cocktail

Harry Potter Charm

If castles are your thing, Scotland has some fabulous examples. We visited Urquhart castle, overlooking Loch Ness, for a great example of castle ruins which date from the 13^th to the 16^th century and Dunrobin which is a true fairytale style castle. Interestingly Dunrobin castle was used as a boarding school for seven years – imagine going to a school that looked like that!

Urquhart castle

Dunrobin castle

If you are looking for an adrenalin rush, I can highly recommend the Seaxplorer fast boat trip out on Loch Leven. We got to see seals and sea birds as well as our captain doing some elaborate fast turns like they do in lifeboats to add to the thrill.

We couldn’t visit Scotland without going to Balmoral of course. Having always been a royalist it was fabulous to see the Queen’s holiday hideaway. Balmoral castle itself is beautiful although we saw very little of the inside. The Landrover safari trip revealed how vast the grounds are, with stunning views and we got to see some majestic deer.

Balmoral

T-Shirt Zara and leather jacket New Look

Being us it was a mad rush to get from Balmoral back to Fort William to catch the sleeper train home but we made it and got a lovely view of Ben Nevis on the journey too.

Ben Nevis

KIP (Krissy is Phil’s) elephant snuggling on the Caledonian sleeper

The UK really has some great sights that shouldn’t be overlooked. We had a great anniversary and look forward to many more years happily married. I love my husband because he knows me inside out and loves me anyway.

Genie Grant me a Wish

Oct30

Back in July the dreaded birthday came round again. I wish I could stop at 33, or better still be 30 again. It’s not a lie if I say I am 30 and a bit – just suggests a much smaller bit than may be the truth.

Anyway being that none of my friends had seen our new home – I decided a BBQ was in order to celebrate.

Now every year we seem to purchase a BBQ – use it once, not bother to clean it and it ends up at the tip. Now we have a garage to store it in, we decided to invest in a slightly better quality one. Turns out cheaper ones are best however as almost straight away the handle on the lid broke so guess what, once again we didn’t clean it but instead of the tip, it ended up back at Argos for an exchange!

We were blessed with nice weather on the day of the do so I wore a tropical design jumpsuit from Oasis.

Jumpsuits have been in fashion for a few seasons now and I love how flattering they can be. My favourite one is a navy one I purchased from Joy and I have accessorised this two ways to make it look like a fresh outfit.

Jumpsuit Joy, suede shoes M&S, clutch Oasis

Jumpsuit Joy, Clutch purchased in Hong Kong, Shoes LK Bennett

I was truly touched at the number of family and friends who came to my celebration, especially given some of the journeys involved. One friend travelled an amazing two hours – thanks to you all.

The key room I wanted to show off was our newly made over summer house. This was a miserable, cold, blue room when we moved in but I have taken great enjoyment in making it an ideal place to sit and relax, enjoying a glass of wine on a summer evening.

BEFORE

AFTER – Check out the homemade bunting (a joint project by my Mum and I)

On my actual birthday, my Mum and I went into Rochester which has long been my favourite town.

For my outfit on the day, I took inspiration from Fabulous Magazine and put my own twist on a denim/victoriana combination.

The Fashion Spread from Fabulous Magazine (free with the Sun on Sunday)

Shirt with bow Lookagain.co.uk, denim pinafore Oasis, white frill ankle socks and black quilted bag Asos, Shoes Faith

We enjoyed browsing the kitsch shops before relaxing over a delicious afternoon tea at Fleur de The.

I was really spoilt by everyone and got so many amazing presents that it would take far too long to list them all here.

Two presents that I feel must have a mention however were my sister in law’s inventive presentation of a wonderful cocktail set and my other sister in law’s notebook which couldn’t have been more perfect.

The evening of my day was spent with my husband and we went to see the amazing Aladdin musical in London. The best way I can describe the show is like a pantomime with a million times better costumes, props and cast. It is an absolute must for any Disney fan.

The show got me thinking, what would I do if I had a genie and could only make three wishes? This is a lot harder than one might think and definitely would take some careful consideration; assuming that is that one of the wishes couldn’t be for three more wishes! I already feel very blessed but guess I would ask for all my family and friends to remain happy and healthy as my first wish. Narrowing down the rest of my wish list might be hard although would be nice to be thin but be able to eat whatever I liked and to remain youthful!

Another fabulous birthday, courtesy of all my loved ones, thanks again.