Being Ahead Of The Time - The Bomber ('ish'!) Jacket

Having moved earlier in the year my wardrobe is still not as organised as I need it to be as my clothes are in a few different places whilst we renovate.  However as there's been a re-shuffle it has bought forgotten about items to the forefront, this Gap jacket for one.  I bought this in a outlet centre a while ago (just found the blog post, it was September 2014!) and it had been 'lost' somewhere in the back of my old wardrobe.  It's completely on trend being a bomber style and the cotton is lightweight so perfect for our current yo yo weather.  

Jacket & Jeans; Gap
T-shirt; Whistles
Belt; Tommy Hilfiger
Flip Flops; Havaianas

This Whistles t-shirt was also bought in the sale by my friend - yes, I have good friends who shop for me, I am blessed!  It was a little more than I normally spend on a t-shirt at £35 but I love the fit and it has some darts around the front so it gives it some more shape.  The quality is great so far, having been washed several times it hasn't bobbled or lost it's shape (it didn't have  a lot of cotton in so was a slight concern for me and my natural fibre OCD).  

So I guess the moral of this story is to buy what you like (you never know, 18 months later it could be a major trend!) and make sure you re-shuffle that wardrobe to find some old gems!

Holiday Snaps

I promise this is the last I will bang on about my holiday in the sunshine whilst it was Autumn here....(!) Despite loving clothes I do find on holiday I tend to not be so bothered about dressing up, mainly because it's too hot but also because I try my best to fully relax and forget about routines, work, lifestyle etc.  However there were a few decent outfits I wanted to share before I finally put the sunshine to bed so here goes.  

First up, probably my favourite TK Maxx find this year, my Moschino skirt.  It is so comfortable to wear and not too short.  I teamed it with my Cos silk and cotton blend t-shirt as it's a fairly smart due to the fibre composition.  I popped on my Topshop necklace (although I'm not a large jewellery fan on hot holidays - too much fuss, but I felt I needed something more for that night's meal out).  I ran out of time to put my black sandals on as their required some doing up so had to slip on my old Carvela gold ones, not ideal but I wasn't bothered - holiday mode!

I purchased this navy sun dress about 6 years ago from Topshop.  It has been dragged out every holiday since, despite me thinking it was a little too dark for holidays when I bought it.  The bonus about the colour is that no matter how much sun lotion or food/drinks/sweat it has on it, it still looks pretty good.

At the start of the holiday...

By the end - a little more crumpled! 

We had a day trip out to Bridgetown for a browse one morning so I popped on my version of a denim short (a proper jeans short will remain on my wish list).  These Tommy Hilfiger shorts are made of a lightweight denim/cotton.

Top; Zara
Shorts; Tommy Hilfiger
Bag; River Island
Sandals; Carvela

Everything always looks better in the sunshine, colours, diamonds.....I didn't purchase but I was very tempted!

A beautiful fabric shop in Bridgetown

Checking out the local bling

I've already mentioned about my Topshop Joni jeans and how comfy they were to travel in so they were worn on the way back as well.  I kept it simple with a loose breton t-shirt (I slipped on a vest  underneath mid flight!) and my Nike's again (but wore my flips flips to the airport).  I had a large animal print bag for my carry on as the girls and myself never travel light.  I hadn't planned on a monochrome theme it just happened like this!

T-shirt & Jeans; Topshop
Flipflops; Haviana's
Bag; TK Maxi

Next to Wes Hall (legendary cricketer) - the cardboard version, however he actually married my cousin!

Finished off with a little Duty Free purchase on the plane.  My Mother in Law and me decided to go halves as we couldn't afford the whole set then I was kindly told my half was an early Christmas present!  Lovely little treat thank you MIL x

Au revoir holiday, until next year! 

Love From The Carlisle's

Tower London Breakfast

I spent a lovely Sunday morning the other week in North London with the crew at Tower London checking out there shoes.  What other way is there to spend a morning right?!?  Here's my round up of their latest offering with a great selection of brands.

Calvin Klein

The marmite Ugg!  Personally I still think there's a place for them, they are too comfy not to be in my wardrobe

If only my girls were with me!

Just a few Converse!

I LOVE Timberland boots, such a well made, sturdy, comfy shoe

Tommy Hilfiger, probably my favourite boot of the day

The French Connection suede and studded slipper were just as good in the flesh, honest

No collection would be complete without the Ash boot

For all the Birkenstock fans out there (I am a fan but they just don't work on my feet!)

My favourite colour was this green

Vivienne Westwood for Mel (for some reason, it's the baby powder smell that wins me over with these shoes!)

My error of the day were these Mel sandals.  Reduced to £21 - they would have gone perfectly with my dress for the beach wedding later this month, arrrrrgh!  Why wasn't my thinking cap on properly that day?  Back up to full price £33.99 and no small sizes left.  Booo!

I'm now a little obsessed with finding some Mel sandals - has anyone ever bought some?  Do they rub?  I am thinking in heat they may not be ideal but I really like them.....!

Dorothy Perkins has this one for £14, very tempted but I will await any reviews on them from you guys first!

(PS Just read that they are a Vegan friendly brand and the bride is a Vegan, I am thinking I should order them, are you seeing my logic here?!?!)

And now I'm just getting carried away - the Vegan bride needs these!

New Season At Next And Some Boden

I spied these boots when my eldest dragged me into Next today and was pleasantly surprised, how trendy have Next now become?!  Even on my way out I was eyeing up some of their jumpers at a reasonable £20.  I am not a huge Next shopper, I think it's because I used to only associate them with work wear many moons ago.  I do pop in and out and always seem to grab a few bits in their sales (£7 leather animal print sandals below).  As TK Maxx is next door I pretty much would always choose to spend my pennies in there as feel I get better value for my money due to most of it being designer.  However I really liked these so thought I'd share them with you.

Black peep toe ££60

£58

I had a bit of a result in Topshop the other week.  I replaced some more old skinny Baxter jeans with new £15 ones and fell in love with this shirt also £15, their sale was fab.  Not the ideal colour combo, had I been organised and shaved my legs (this is my blog so no holds barred) I would have worn tucked into a pretty skirt mixing a masculine clean lined shirt with a floral feminine skirt.  Alas hind sight is a wonderful thing but I'm honest enough to share the photo.  The shirt is not as bright as it appears in the picture.  It is so comfortable and is available in a variety of colours, look under 'Chambray Shirt'.  Not sure how I managed to get it in the sale as it's £29 now but I'm not complaining!

Shirt; Topshop
Belt; Tommy Hilfiger (TK Maxx)
Chinos; Ralph Lauren (TK Maxx)
Sandals; Next

My bargain of the day (Homebase again!) This £40 water and sand kit for £5!  Missing a plug but I've found one to fit, I couldn't not share this steal.  The girls were very happy (and wet) today!

I feel like I'm done with the clothing shops for now (I am not setting a date).  I've hunted down the sale bargains, there's none left, I bought them all.  I then moved on to decorating the lounge and finding Le Creuset in the turquoise colour (to match our glass tiles in the kitchen) at TK Maxx, I think I've just about got it all now.  And todays obsession?  Food.  Nigella and Jamie's been on the TV, I am now planning her chocolate cheese cake when Nan is over on Wednesday.  Next week I think I will be on the A/W wardrobe - well I hope so anyway.  

Is anyone else like this or is it just me who jumps from clothes to home to food to clothes etc?

One final sale bargain should I not have moved on to food would be this from Boden, now £35.40 and buttoned all up the back, love it but no, not buying it!

Some Outfits And A Little Topshop!

With the Summer holidays feeling like we should be half way through already (but only just over a week down....) life has become even more hectic trying to fit as much in and cover all mundane necessitates like haircuts, dentists etc.  I did however have a welcome, very quick trip into London (more about that in another post!) and managed to pop into Topshop and a few other stores along Oxford Street.  Nothing purchased (not quite sure what is happening to me) apart from some new cushions for the sofa (it's all about updating the Living Room at the moment!) and even they were with some old Christmas vouchers.  I did see some gorgeous items but felt no need to purchase, yes I am aware this blog is about my shopaholic tendencies and I am not fulfilling it for the best content, must try harder next time.

My mid week outfit to London is shown below (it was cooler and yes, those chino's again!).  My sandals are a fairly new bargain at £7 from the Next sale, thankfully a friend had a special reserved slot online and got them for me.  They are all leather and my favourite animal print so I'm very pleased with them.  And yes, before anyone questions the clashing print of animal and squares, it was intensional, sometimes I like to mix it up a bit!

Top; charity shop find, silk, brand new by Betty Barclay
Belt; Topshop
Chino's; Ralph Lauren from TK Maxx
Shoes; Next 

And what I found in Topshop;

How stunning is this Limited Edition?  £180

I love box top's like this at the moment

I am seeing this heel a lot but I am still undecided, mmmm!

This lighter coloured denim box style top works perfectly for the Summer 

For those of you who don't follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you may have missed this but my award for the tidiest sale rails went to Miss Selfridge.  It was so organised and a pleasure to browse through.

This leather top from Miss Selfridge was stunning, £120

It wasn't the sunniest of days mid week in London, but for me there's still something so special about the city.  I felt very lucky to be just over an hour away from this exciting place but equally as lucky to be living away from the smog to appreciate it when I do go in.  My 30's have definitely seen me have a change of heart about British countryside!

From this,

To this!

Today saw sun and showers but I decided to try and influence the sun a bit with some bright and cheerful yellow.  I bought this yellow Zara top for £12 in the sale a few weeks ago but not had the chance to wear it yet.  It's a lot brighter than I'd usually wear but I liked the change.  It seems to crease easily but overall it was comfy to wear.

On route to the BBQ with token home made cake!
Sandals, as before

Top; Zara
Belt & Shorts; both Tommy Hilfiger from TK Maxx

I'm off to Cornwall for a mini break on Monday so I will be a little quite until the week-end.  Have a good week everyone!

My Fab TK Maxx Shorts

I know I know, I luck out when it comes to TK Maxx, and these are no exception.  Tommy Hilfiger, RRP £110, my price £18!  My, they are so comfortable and the perfect length for school runs.  I wore this combo last week when it was cooler in the mornings.  The shirt is an old Topshop one, and belt also by Tommy but bought at TK Maxx a few years ago for £15!  Flips flops are ancient Faith ones but the flesh/pinky colour works well with the shirts pinks.  A smiling photo taken by myself, pat on the back for me, I'm getting there after nearly 2 years of blogging, I'm slowly getting  there! 

I've worn them again today with a plain grey tee-shirt and a more casual flip flops.  They feel amazing, such good quality, I am thrilled if you can't tell already.  Love finds like this, my favourite kind of bargain shopping.

Follow this link for my Becksondergaard scarf give away!

My New Coat

Hello to all my loyal readers and any new ones, welcome.  Thank you for dropping by again, I know it's been a while since I've posted.  Another 4 weeks left of my contract in London and after a lovely break in Spain (more on that in another post) I am playing catch up this week-end and drafting lots of posts.

If any of you remember, I was madly 'in love' with the above Zara coat.  For some reason (probably time if I'm honest) something stopped me from checking out with it in my basket.  I started to regret it when I saw the below in a magazine, thinking how much 'on trend' it was.  However, luckily the newly refurbished store opened in Knightsbride, phew, and I found it in the back corner of the shop.  I pushed the tourists out of the way as I saw my size (ruthless) and grabbed it to try on.  I wasn't allowed to take any photos but straight to the point, it wasn't worth writing home about.  It wasn't meant to be mine after all, I am a firm believer in fate.  For £99.99 I expect quiet a lot and it didn't deliver.  It was a very thin fabric, more an off white than a sharp fresh one, un-lined and literally hung at the back like a sack.  I am petite and I had seen it on a taller lady so  maybe I'm being a little harsh on the item but needless to say, I was pleased I hadn't wasted my time ordering it and having to return it by post.

I was even more happy as I had been naughty a few weeks earlier and sort of impulsively bought a Barbour.  Not to impulsive as that one had been on my wish list for over a year but in that I had about 10 minutes to commit with a no returns option (250 miles away from home in their outlet store and it was about to close!).  I had both my parents with me, both Barbour advocates and owners who insisted it was a timeless investment piece. It was £229 down to £129 and a Limited Edition Liberty print (Limited Edition always wins with me).  And to be fair to my folks, it was worn within 48 hours, which is always a good sign.  The quality is outstanding and I am pleased to say I was kept fully dry!  My only grumble is that I can't wash it - arrrgh, with two kids what on earth am I supposed to do with a dirty coat?  Any Barbour owners with advice, please do share!

Me trying to do a back shot!

Not exactly 'The Black Dress' that the hanger suggests

On that note, a friend of mine is on the look out for a Mac style coat.  I confess I am a bit of a coat collector (my husband fears it is over taking shoes but not handbags).  My Mac was bought from Tommy Hilfiger in Bicester Village a few years ago for £100, another amazing buy and fully washable!  The leather trims on the belts are all detachable.  Here are a few available on the high street now.

My Tommy coat

Classic style from M&S £45, simple black piped edging add's a little something extra

If you prefer a single breasted style, why not try this rose colour from Miss Selfridge £65

Asos do a great contrast sleeve style for £75

If you want to go darker, Gap have this navy option for £59.95

House of Fraser have a great range in, including this classic cropped version from Warehouse at £60