Outfit of the day 28/09/18

This is a very quick post tonight as I am feeling pretty awful after another day in bed! So fed up about that.

In the morning, I tried out a new scarf tie, which I had seen on The Purse Forum, with my Hermès’ Le Jardin de la Maharani. Then I took the scarf off again and got back into bed for another day of browsing the internet and reading my latest book. In between I managed a few jobs, but I became breathless very quickly so couldn’t do very much. That seems to be my life these days!

Anyway, here is the outfit with my Lands’ End navy cotton jumper:

Outfit of the day 28/09/18 with Hermès’ Le Jardin de la Maharani scarf

Outfit of the day 28/09/18 with Hermès’ Le Jardin de la Maharani scarf

Yes, I found enough energy to play around with the collage app 😀. Do you like this scarf tie? It is very easy to do and it shows off a contrast hem and a pretty border very nicely.

Happy weekend to you all!

Best wishes,

💛❤️💜💙💚

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Outfit of the day 27/09/18

Strictly speaking, it is Outfit of the Other Day! I have spent today in pyjamas as I have not been well and have only managed a few “useful” tasks in between lying in bed reading. But you may remember that I bought my one and only cashmere/silk shawl a few months ago in one of my favourite patterns of all time, Liberty’s Hera.

The shawl is 140×140 cms and has a beautiful design in shades of blue and mauve. The hem is bright cobalt and fringed. As the weather was cooler a few days ago, I decided to wear the shawl for the first time with my newish navy cotton Lands’ End jumper.

Here it is…

Outfit of the day with Liberty’s Hera shawl

Outfit of the day with Liberty’s Hera shawl

I am so happy with it and pleased that it will go with a lot of my clothing and accessories in blues and purples.

Best wishes,

💜💙💜💙💜

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Reading roundup 26/09/18

I finished two books this week; one was more successful than the other as you will discover in this post.

Ghost Girl by Lesley Thomson

Ghost Girl by Lesley Thomson

My first book was Ghost Girl by Lesley Thomson, #02 in her The Detective’s Daughter series. This is the blurb:

It is a year since her father’s death, but Stella Darnell has not moved on. She still cleans his house every day, leaving it spotless as if he might return.

Terry Darnell was Detective Chief Superintendent at Hammersmith police station, and now Stella has discovered an unsolved case in his darkroom: a folder of unlabelled photographs of deserted streets.

The oldest photograph dates back to 1966. To a day when Mary Thornton, just ten years old, is taking her little brother home from school in time for tea. That afternoon, as the Moors Murderers are sent to prison for life, Mary witnesses something that will haunt her forever.

As Stella inches closer to the truth, the events of that day begin to haunt her too…

I had a real problem with this book and only gave it two stars on Goodreads when I wrote the following review:

I am asking myself why I felt obliged to read to the end of this book? There are so many other, better and more engaging books available, so I really cannot answer my own question. The characters are so quirky, the scenarios are odd and the writing is really off at times. I struggled to make sense of the first half of the book then somehow battled my way to the end. Apparently, the first book in the series is better, so perhaps other people should hold off this one and read that one first! Still puzzled…

Wild Fire by Ann Cleeves

Wild Fire by Ann Cleeves

The second book has a bittersweet feel for me as it is Ann Cleeves’ 8th and final book in her wonderful Shetland series: Wild Fire. I was almost sad to finish it as I have really loved these visits to the islands, Cleeves’ fantastic depictions of the scenery and culture, and her great characters. This is the blurb:

When the Flemingsdesigner Helena and architect Danielmove into a remote community in the north of Shetland, they think it’s a fresh start for themselves and their children.

But their arrival triggers resentment, and Helena begins to receive small drawings of a gallows and a hanged man. Gossip spreads like wildfire.

A story of dysfunctional families and fractured relationships, Inspector Jimmy Perez’s eighth case will intrigue series fans and Shetland Island newcomers alike.

This is is my review:

This was an excellent ending to a fabulous series. Although I am sad that there will not be any more Shetland books, I am kind of glad that the author quit this at the top and didn’t continue into mediocrity, as has happened with series by other writers. Jimmy Perez is a great creation and the supporting characters have also been well drawn so that we feel, as readers, that we know them. The plot, as ever, kept me reading and the setting was written with an almost painterly quality. I have also learned a lot about the people and culture of Shetland through the series and would love to visit a house and have tea and biscuits (or cake) brought out by the host as is the tradition. Wonderful!

I had to award the book the full five stars.

Fear the Darkness by Becky Masterman

Fear the Darkness by Becky Masterman

When I have finished writing this post, I will pick up Fear the Darkness by Becky Masterman for the first time. The verdict will be in next week’s Reading Roundup post.

Happy Reading to you all.

Best wishes,

📚📖📚📖📚

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Wardrobe planning #29: Handbags and accessories #01

One of the beauties of having a colour scheme for your wardrobe is that you begin to develop a range of clothes and accessories that go nicely together. After nearly two years of working towards more organisation in my purchases it is becoming easier to simply grab items from my cupboards and drawers and come up with an outfit that works for me. Being able to immediately see how shades of colour fit into a plan prevents me from making wild impulsive purchases and then realising that the resulting items simply don’t work.

Or, that is the general idea!

Anyway, I have decided to write a few posts with my Massaccesi Handbags as the main focus, showing how they have toning clothing and accessories. I am going to start with my latest purchase: my Midi Muse in bluette pompei leather. Wow, this blue is so bright!

Here you can see it with a range of scarves. Some work better than others, but I would wear most of these combinations at some stage of the year. (Apologies that some of the scarves don’t work well with my navy and cream patterned duvet as a background!)

First of all with some of my Hermès scarves…

Midi Muse by Massaccesi with Hermès scarves

Midi Muse by Massaccesi with Hermès scarves

Top row L to R: Les Secrets de Minos, La Jardin de la Maharani, Zebra Pegasus gavroche.
Bottom row L to R: Bibliothéque gavroche, Daimyo Princes du Soleil Levant, De la Mer au Ciel.

Next with other scarves and bangles in my collection…

Midi Muse by Massaccesi with scarves and bangles

Midi Muse by Massaccesi with scarves and bangles

Top row L to R: Owl in the City by Aspinal, blue enamel and gold bangles by Halcyon Days, A Feminist at Heart by Karine Assaf.
Bottom row L to R: blue Hera by Liberty, belts and leopard print by Cornelia James, Hera cashmere/silk by Liberty.

And with some earrings and bracelets…

Midi Muse by Massaccesi with earrings and bracelets

Midi Muse by Massaccesi with earrings and bracelets

I won’t show the clothing, as I have too many items in white, navy and other blue shades to make a collage, but this bag will look great with so many of my pieces. With a simple white t-shirt and jeans or navy linen trousers; with my navy cotton jumper and cords; with either my navy or blue merino dresses; or with a bright blue top and a navy jersey skirt…

So many ideas!

Anyway, I will write a similar post for my amethyst pebbled leather Victoria very soon. Some of the accessories shown above go with that handbag as well 😀.

Best wishes,

💙💙💙💙💙

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Outfit of the day 24/09/18

It has been a beautiful autumnal day with bright sunshine, but cold in the shade. I am pleased that I was able to walk around the block for ten minutes this afternoon. At that moment, I felt that I had just the right amount of energy to try and, even though I had to sit down and wheeze a bit when I arrived back home, I am happy!

Now that Younger Son has left, we are all having to step up bit. Over the weekend, I tried  to do a few more household tasks and I am now feeling a real sense of achievement. It’s perhaps bit silly to feel that way over doing more washing and cleaning, but that is my life these days!

Outfit of the day 24/09/18 with Liberty’s blue Hera scarf

Outfit of the day 24/09/18 with Liberty’s blue Hera scarf

Today’s outfit:

  • Navy cotton cable jumper – Lands’ End.
  • Navy cotton joggers – Cotton Traders.
  • Navy leather shoes – Sugar – Hotter.
  • Silver Celtic style earrings.
  • Bluebell enamel and gold Cable bangle – Halcyon Days.
  • Silk scarf, 90cm, in shades of blue and white – Hera – Liberty of London. Put into a bias fold and casually tied.

I’m not quite sure about mixing silver and gold jewellery, but I have realised that I might need to add in some more silver items, particularly earrings, as they look good with my hair. At the moment, my jewellery is mainly gold or gold tone as that was best with my previous dyed hair colour. Perhaps I can ask for some for my birthday or Christmas.

I have been trying out my scarves with my new handbag, the bluette Midi Muse, and I will show you all the results this week.

Best wishes,

💙💙💙💙💙

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Update 21/09/18: Hermès Spring/Summer 2019 scarves

What? We have only just arrived in the Autumn in the northern hemisphere; why are we thinking so far ahead?

I have said before that the fashion world is very confusing to mere mortals like me. I bought my scarf for the Autumn/Winter 2018 season just a few weeks ago (my gorgeous bright pink and grey Baobab Cat gavroche) and already the wonderful members of The Purse Forum are sleuthing out the offer for next year!

Only a few hints are emerging so far, from Instagram and other sources, but if you want to be part of the excitement, then do follow the thread on The Purse Forum:

Hermès Spring/Summer ‘19 Scarves

Yes, I do mean excitement. Us scarfies do get very excited about new designs and colourways and no it is not sad!

Happy Weekend to you all.

Best wishes,

❤️💜💚💛💙

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Update 20/09/18 with my final Massaccesi reveal

Normally, I wouldn’t have put in another order for a new handbag so soon after the last one, but when I heard that my favourite designer, Marco Massaccesi, was closing his business I just had to get one more. I had a wishlist of several items and so decided very quickly and the parcel arrived yesterday. Here is the reveal…

A lovely large box, unwrapped from its white plastic cover…

The opened box…

A peek at the contents…

…ooh, that colour!

First of all, a leather and gold cuff emerges…

Polsino cuff in teal Diamond leather and pale gold. Gorgeous! I would have loved a handbag with this wonderful metallic colour and crackle texture, but Marco didn’t have enough of the leather left, so, instead, I chose a small item.

Now the bag: Midi Muse in bluette Pompei leather with light gold hardware. This leather is very smooth and the colour is amazing! Here is the front…

The top…

And the back view…

With the cross body strap…

And finally with Hermès’ De la Mer au Ciel scarf in toning colours. Isn’t this a wonderful combination?

This is probably more of a Spring/Summer bag than an Autumn/Winter, so I will not use it until next year….maybe. As it is an early birthday present, I will certainly put it safely away until November anyway.

Apart from taking it out of its cover from time to time…

…just to stroke the smooth surface, admire the amazing colour and sniff the wonderful leather smell!

Best wishes,

💙💙💙💙💙

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Reading roundup 19/09/18

I have not read quite as many books as usual this week, probably because I have been a bit bogged down with one. I like this book, but am struggling with it, not enough to actually give up on it, but enough to keep putting it down! Well, as I haven’t finished it yet, I will be writing about it next week.

He Said/She Said by Erin Kelly

He Said/She Said by Erin Kelly

My first read of the week was He Said/She Said by Erin Kelly. Here is the blurb:

In the summer of 1999, Kit and Laura travel to a festival in Cornwall to see a total eclipse of the sun. Kit is an eclipse chaser; Laura has never seen one before. Young and in love, they are certain this will be the first of many they’ll share.

But in the hushed moments after the shadow passes, Laura interrupts a man and a woman. She knows that she saw something terrible. The man denies it. It is her word against his.

The victim seems grateful. Months later, she turns up on their doorstep like a lonely stray. But as her gratitude takes a twisted turn, Laura begins to wonder—did she trust the wrong person?

15 years later, Kit and Laura are living under assumed names and completely off the digital grid: no Facebook, only rudimentary cell phones, not in any directories. But as the truth catches up to them, they realize they can no longer keep the past in the past.

I gave the book book four stars on Goodreads and wrote this review:

This is a very difficult book to review without giving away too much of the story. It was also quite a difficult book to read as it switches between different timelines and points of view, so you need to concentrate and check the dates given at the start of each chapter. That said, you do get a real reward if you persevere at the beginning because the surprises and twists come thick and fast in the second half of the book and the reader starts to understand more how the backstory fits into the present. The eclipse stuff is interesting too! Well worth reading.

Erin Kelly is another author to add to my “must check for on the Library service catalogue” list.

Dead If You Don’t by Peter James

Dead If You Don’t by Peter James

The second book that I finished was an ebook that I had reserved some time ago: Peter James’ Dead If You Don’t, #14 in his Roy Grace series. This is the blurb:

Kipp Brown, successful businessman and compulsive gambler, is having the worst run of luck of his life. He’s beginning to lose, big style. However, taking his teenage son, Mungo, to their club’s Saturday afternoon football match should have given him a welcome respite, if only for a few hours. But it’s at the stadium where his nightmare begins.

Within minutes of arriving at the game, Kipp bumps into a client. He takes his eye off Mungo for a few moments, and in that time, the boy disappears. Then he gets the terrifying message that someone has his child, and to get him back alive, Kipp will have to pay.

Defying instruction not to contact the police, Kipp reluctantly does just that, and Detective Superintendent Roy Grace is brought in to investigate. At first it seems a straightforward case of kidnap. But rapidly Grace finds himself entering a dark, criminal underbelly of the city, where the rules are different and nothing is what it seems . . .

I am really loving this series and awarded this book four stars again. Here is my rave review!

Another great read. This is the third book in the series that I have finished and I now have many of the others on reserve at the library. The pace of the plot was breathtaking and I read the book very quickly as I simply couldn’t put it down once I had started. I enjoy the black humour and the background stories of the main characters, which flow from book to book. Highly recommended.

Ghost Girl by Lesley Thomson

Ghost Girl by Lesley Thomson

The book I am struggling with is Ghost Girl by Lesley Thomson. I will give you my final verdict next week – I hope that it is eventually worth the effort!

Happy Reading to you all!

Best wishes,

📖📚📖📚📖

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Outfit of the day 18/09/18

It has been rather windy today with some sunshine breaking through fast-moving grey clouds. To brighten myself up, I decided to wear my cute Hermès Baobab Cat gavroche with a toning twinset from WoolOvers. Here is the collage…

Outfit of the day 18/09/18 with Hermès’ Baobab Cat gavroche

Outfit of the day 18/09/18 with Hermès’ Baobab Cat gavroche

Today’s outfit:

  • Cerise silk/cotton mix short sleeved top – WoolOvers.
  • Cerise silk/cotton mix cardigan – WoolOvers.
  • Indigo jeans – Klass.
  • Real flowers set in resin and silver – bracelet and earrings – present from sisters many years ago.
  • Silk scarf, pocket square, in bright pink, mauve, grey and white – Baobab Cat – Hermès.
  • I also carried my amethyst pebbled leather Victoria handbag by Massaccesi, which goes beautifully with this outfit.

Lovely Husband took me to the Library this afternoon to pick up some reserved books and then we felt well enough for a quick visit to a garden centre. We both had a drink and a wander around, so I am feeling quite pleased that I managed to walk for a few minutes. I was a bit disappointed, though, as some of the outlets that I usually visit had been cleared away for an enormous Christmas shop. Far too early in the year for me!

Reading Roundup post tomorrow, I hope.

Best wishes,

💚❤️💜💙💛

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Update 17/09/18

This will be a fairly short post. Saturday was Lovely Husband’s birthday and he received some pretty fab presents from me and our lads. He was able to spend the day watching lots of cricket on the TV (he is a huge fan and was a very good bowler in his day). Yesterday, Younger Son left home for his “fresh start” – I wrote about this last week. I managed not to cry all over him, but I have been struggling today and all weekend. Unfortunately, when I get upset and/or stressed, my cough comes with a vengeance and I have had numerous severe attacks for the last few days. This has left me feeling very scared and weak.

To counteract feelings of gloom, I am trying to find amusing things to distract myself and Elder Son, who is also struggling with his feelings about his beloved brother. Here are a few items that I found cute or funny or both!

First of all, these are some images from a fabulous thread on The Purse Forum, called Just Because it’s Designer Doesn’t Mean it’s Good (yes, I have posted about this thread before – several times!).

Don’t most women remove body hair before swimming?

Could you walk into a room wearing this?

I am trying to think of a Cinderella joke…

I get very cold in the Winter, but never that cold!

This is Elder Son’s most loved video of the moment…

Ah, isn’t it cute?

I hope to resume a more normal service tomorrow with an Outfit of the Day post.

Best wishes,

💙💜❤️💛💚

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