AW23 – the trends and thoughts about planning your wardrobe

By |2023-09-08T16:53:34+01:00September 8th, 2023|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

Hasn't it been glorious to have a blast of summer this week? The mid-20s temperatures up here have been absolutely perfect, just what we needed to lift everyone's mood before the season really starts to shift. The leaves are turning, the hedgerows are heavy with berries, the boughs on our pear tree are so heavy with fruit that they're almost breaking which means it's time to start adjusting to the big move on... not in terms of 'buy it now' [...]

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A midlife weekend in Porto with friends

By |2023-09-01T17:52:56+01:00September 1st, 2023|Categories: Project Happier, Relationships, Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

Well hello, I hope you had a lovely bank holiday weekend. As you know we spent ours in the sunshine with Gillian and Stephen who started off as Midlifechic readers (well perhaps not Stephen) but have now become firm friends. With disrupted travel it's been a hectic week since we got home so I'm inviting you to join us for what will have to be a whistlestop tour of our midlife weekend in Porto. A midlife weekend in Porto -  [...]

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Capsule wardrobe building: transitional pieces for cooler days

By |2023-08-18T17:19:57+01:00August 18th, 2023|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

Hurray - we've had a bit of sunshine across most of the UK at last although looking at the long term forecast it isn't set to stay for very long. So for this month's Boden edit I thought I'd look at capsule wardrobe building with hardworking transitional pieces that work for cooler days as well as warm ones. The thing about Boden's cross-season drops is that it's easy to flick through them and think that because there aren't any show [...]

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Midlife lately August – simple summer moments

By |2023-08-11T15:24:04+01:00August 11th, 2023|Categories: Family, Midlife, Relationships, Style|Tags: , , , , , |

What should we talk about today? It can't be clothes because I seem to be living in jumpers and jeans so I think it has to be a midlife lately - August. I know that lots of you are on holiday, as are we usually. In fact this is the first August since 1997 that I haven't been away somewhere or other and it feels strange. We spent May, June and July constantly on the move, mostly for work or [...]

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A relaxing weekend in Cornwall’s Daphne du Maurier country

By |2023-08-05T10:45:18+01:00August 4th, 2023|Categories: Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , |

We spent the weekend before last in Cornwall, as you know. We hadn't been there for 20 years, in fact the last time was in August 2003 when the youngest was only days old. Back then I'd booked a lovely cottage in St Ives with space for both sets of grandparents, thinking that it would be a good way of keeping the older two entertained while I was getting used to having three to juggle. You see I was [...]

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Midlife – as your family moves on, so does your life

By |2023-07-28T17:24:15+01:00July 28th, 2023|Categories: Family, Project Happier, Relationships, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

And so, as you'll know if you follow my Instagram feed, there was a big day for our family a couple of weeks ago. It was the middle one's graduation, a day I found myself completely unprepared for in terms of impact. It was a bit like pregnancy when you find yourself so focused on the birth that it's almost a shock when you have to take the baby home with you afterwards and you realise that in the [...]

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High summer outfit ideas – ageless style

By |2023-07-21T17:34:34+01:00July 21st, 2023|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , |

Now I realise there's some irony to high summer outfit ideas if you're in the UK at the moment because summer seems to be having a holiday of its own and focusing all of its power on Europe. It can't be easy if you're over there in the intense heat but isn't it crazy that such a short distance away we're living through days of high winds, torrential rain and even hail? It's made it a bit tricky deciding what [...]

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A midlife week in Amsterdam – empty nest adventures

By |2023-07-07T16:44:45+01:00July 7th, 2023|Categories: Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

I'm opening this post with an apology because I said that while we were away last week I'd be over on Instagram - but sometimes you have to put the key people in your life first and we needed a complete break. Life since Christmas has felt pretty non-stop for us. I've mentioned a few times that I didn't think we were going to have the chance for any kind of proper holiday until the autumn... and I know we [...]

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John Lewis Sale SS23 – The Edit

By |2023-06-22T10:37:01+01:00June 22nd, 2023|Categories: Retail Review, Sale|Tags: , , , |

Boo! I'm early this week because the John Lewis Sale SS23 has just gone live and so I'm bringing you an early edit to help you pick your way through the many great offers. We're also heading away for an extended weekend and I have lots of work to finish before we set off, hopefully we'll be leaving the rain behind - I'd got used to living in endless days of warm weather. Anyway at least it makes it a [...]

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Capsule wardrobe sale buys & midlife lately

By |2023-06-16T16:46:27+01:00June 16th, 2023|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , , |

And so, as I warned you last week, we're heading towards the close of the SS23 collections so today I'm going to flag up some capsule wardrobe sale buys because some of the best brands are diving into summer sale already. It's been an extremely tough season for retailers; with the cost of living crisis and also the unnaturally cold weather lasting up until the end of May, people just haven't been buying many clothes. From a consumer perspective [...]

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Boden’s high summer drop – a try-on & midlife lately

By |2023-06-16T15:25:33+01:00June 9th, 2023|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

A Boden outfit try-on today and it's always the one that gives me a bit of a lump in my throat because we've arrived at the last of the high summer drops. After the June deliveries, retailers will be moving into sale and then season transition which brings more autumnal colours and a change of mood. Anyway let's not think about that until we have to, for now we've reached the apex of clothes for warm sunshine and amazingly [...]

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Geneva to Dijon road trip – what I wore and did

By |2023-06-02T17:13:57+01:00June 2nd, 2023|Categories: Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

Today I'm going to tell you about our little French adventure. As you know we took a few days off a couple of weeks ago to go and see the youngest who is living in Dijon, studying at l'Université de Bourgogne. Of all the French unis he could have chosen, he opted for the one that's the most difficult to get to from here and with the little bit of time we could carve out from work there were [...]

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Summer holiday outfit ideas – ageless style

By |2023-05-26T18:39:59+01:00May 26th, 2023|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

Ah summer holiday time. Those of you who follow my Instagram account know that we had a very busy but very lovely few days in France last week. I'll tell you all about it when I've had time to go through the photos but today let's think about summer and what we might wear now that the days are softening and trips away are in sight. With different kinds of holidays in mind I'm looking at what John Lewis have [...]

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Summer outfits for different occasions

By |2023-05-13T13:18:45+01:00May 12th, 2023|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

Do we dare say it? Has the weather finally turned? This has been the coldest spring I can remember but last Saturday, after a morning of heavy rain, the sun suddenly appeared. And it was hot which was lucky because we needed to take photographs of Boden's latest summer drop while we were out and about and I'd been anticipating shivering in between the showers. At the moment we don't have a big summer holiday booked, work permitting we might [...]

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How to update your midlife wardrobe for Summer 23

By |2023-05-05T17:20:07+01:00May 5th, 2023|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , , |

My goodness, another bank holiday, it's a surfeit of the sweetest things for anyone who's busy at work at the moment isn't it? I wonder how many of you have coronation plans. It seems to be very low key here, nobody we know is doing any kind of royal celebration which seems a shame and I wonder if we've just had so much pomp and ceremony over the last few years that it's lost its edge - or maybe it's [...]

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How I packed light for a week on Kenya’s coast

By |2023-04-28T16:45:16+01:00April 28th, 2023|Categories: Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , |

My week has been completely railroaded by work projects I'm afraid. I had to go down to London and then over to Newcastle for meetings which means I haven't had time to put the cornucopia together that I wanted to do. I had two choices - I could either not post at all or show you the photos from our final week in Kenya. I'm hoping it might help you to get into the mood for sunnier days and times [...]

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Sandals Resorts for midlifers – a good holiday option?

By |2022-09-23T20:28:36+01:00September 23rd, 2022|Categories: Midlife, Relationships, Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , |

And so I'm back from the unexpected gift that rounded off what has been a fabulous summer - a trip to St Lucia with the team from Sandals Resorts. When I left you at the end of my last post I was feeling both nervous and excited. I was delighted to have been invited but a bit surprised too because I've always seen Sandals Resorts as a honeymoon destination - so let me tell you how we found it. I [...]

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When your family moves on and expands – welcoming partners into the mix

By |2022-09-11T13:31:26+01:00September 11th, 2022|Categories: Family, Relationships, Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Pre-script Since I wrote this we've travelled to St Lucia and on the flight over we heard the sad news that the Queen had died. It felt right not to publish this the following day but a few people have been in touch saying that they'd be grateful for a break in the sad news that surrounds them. So I hope I won't upset any of you by sending this live now. It's difficult being away and not feeling part [...]

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Holidaying with your adult children – a time of adjustment

By |2022-09-02T17:41:02+01:00September 2nd, 2022|Categories: Family, Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Well how lovely it is to be chatting to you again. It's odd but life feels as though it slips through my fingers when I'm not blogging; time's tendrils gather round me and without being logged, the memories evanesce. So my next two posts will be an indulgence for me - I need to squirrel away our happy Kalkan times because the boys' lives are really moving on and I can't see us the five of us having the opportunity [...]

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City trips to London and Glasgow – what I did and wore

By |2022-08-05T15:04:09+01:00August 5th, 2022|Categories: Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , |

We're in August already - the only problem with planning a summer to remember is that time goes really fast! I feel as if I'm on a bit of a one-legged hobble now, finally on the run-up to our holiday so it's a quick Midlife Lately today. I'm whizzing through my camera roll and not exactly jetsetting but last week I had city trips to London and Glasgow and now I'm in Newcastle but I'll save that for next week's [...]

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Love & marriage – the joy of a simple wedding

By |2022-07-29T18:25:27+01:00July 29th, 2022|Categories: Family, Project Happier, Relationships, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

This week and next for me are all about tinsel and baubles. It's officially my 30th year in retail and 'Christmas in July'... I've been doing this for a long time! Going in and out of Christmas events on hot London days does leave you somewhat confused - it's like the feeling you get when you wake up in a hotel somewhere exotic knowing that you'll end the day back in your own bed. However, as the boys would say, [...]

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Getting your confidence back after 50

By |2022-10-19T10:39:13+01:00July 22nd, 2022|Categories: Hair & Beauty, Health, Midlife, Project Happier|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

It's a bit of a different post today. Since the Telegraph article I've had quite a few women get in touch to ask me how I manage to feel confident at this age when it's so easy to feel that everything's in decline. As regular readers know, back in 2014 I'd lost all of my confidence and so I deliberately decided to work on it. At the time I called it 'getting my groove back' and although that sounds cheesy, [...]

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Midlife Lately – Making summer weekends count

By |2022-07-21T15:01:20+01:00July 15th, 2022|Categories: Family, Relationships, Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Well hello and a huge thank you for all of your comments last week - I think it's a record. Just as I was beginning to wonder if you'd stopped reading you astounded me. I usually reply to everybody individually but I have a lengthy corporate identity document to complete so instead I'm going to spend any spare blog time I have collating each comment into a report. I'll add 'noted' under each one so you know that your feedback [...]

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Summer cornucopia – outfits, travel & The Telegraph!

By |2022-08-01T12:21:36+01:00July 7th, 2022|Categories: Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

I'm popping up on strange days again - I'm early this week because we have a family wedding tomorrow which is exciting and I think it might be slightly haphazard all summer but I'll get back into a regular routine when autumn comes. As you know, retail is in full sale so rather than a focused post, it's a summer cornucopia with outfits, travel & The Telegraph. So let's get going. Welcome to new readers I'm starting with something quite [...]

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John Lewis & Partners Sale – clearance and half price edit

By |2022-07-21T15:02:57+01:00June 23rd, 2022|Categories: Retail Review, Sale, Style|Tags: , , , |

A big summer sale started last night at John Lewis & Partners with some really good clearance offers so I'm getting this week's post out to you early. I can see things are disappearing fast and so I'll pick out my highlights and then leave you to look through the rest in your own time. There are particularly good offers on some of our favourite brands including Boden where you can find items that have actually been sold out for [...]

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Clothing to combat hot weather & midlife lately

By |2022-07-21T15:03:57+01:00June 17th, 2022|Categories: Family, Midlife, Project Happier, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

My goodness these weeks roll around quickly when the sun's out don't they? We have a lot going on on the domestic front at the moment and I'll tell you more about that at the end so it's a catch-up post today. I'm going to start with a run through of what I've been doing and wearing, move on to clothing to combat hot weather (I think you need it more desperately in the South than we do up here) [...]

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How to look your best in holiday photos

By |2022-07-21T15:04:58+01:00June 10th, 2022|Categories: Hair & Beauty, Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , |

Well the weather might not quite agree but as far as retail's concerned we're in full summer now. There are only a few new drops left to land and the sales will be starting soon so I'm going to be chatting about things other than clothes for a while. Throughout the year I build a list of the topics that you request most often and right at the top is how to look your best in holiday photos. I regularly [...]

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Looking good in summer – beauty tips and outfits

By |2022-06-01T16:10:18+01:00June 1st, 2022|Categories: Hair & Beauty, Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , |

And so we have a big weekend ahead in the UK with a languorous four day break for the Queen's 70th Jubilee - whether you're a royalist or not it's hard not to admire her as a woman who's shown lifelong strength and dedication. Today's post isn't about the red, white and blue though, it's the last of my summer posts with John Lewis & Partners which always makes me feel a bit sad because next time I get together [...]

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What I’m wearing at home and abroad

By |2022-05-27T17:00:12+01:00May 27th, 2022|Categories: Family, Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

As promised it's a catch up today with a bit of an outfit round-up. I know you've seen snippets of our short break in Lanzarote but I'll tell you a little more about that and then talk about what we did for my surprise birthday weekend. So without coming over all Foreign Office, today's post is all about what I'm wearing at home and abroad. There are a lot of pictures and I've tried to keep the writing as short [...]

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New summer basics from ANYDAY – home, fashion and a try-on

By |2022-05-20T11:07:02+01:00May 20th, 2022|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , |

Well hello, I hope you're enjoying this week's wonderful sunshine - dare I say that spring has sprung at last? It nearly always shines on my birthday week... as long as I haven't planned some kind of outdoor party that is and then it rains! Today I'm going back to basics and bringing you an update on some of the new arrivals from John Lewis & Partners' ANYDAY range as it heads into its first summer season. I think we're [...]

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Ageless style – summer holiday looks and birthday thoughts

By |2022-05-13T18:11:03+01:00May 13th, 2022|Categories: Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

We're back from our week in the sunshine and I'm so glad that we took the time while we could because we're heading into another busy few months of work. It continues to be an interesting time in retail as everyone tries to second guess the zeitgeist for AW22 - it's looking as though it's going to be a bumpy ride so I don't know about you but I'm determined to make the most of every moment as spring and [...]

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Bright colours to lift spring outfits – at reasonable prices too

By |2022-05-03T12:45:18+01:00May 3rd, 2022|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , , |

I wonder if you can tell that I was in holiday mode when I put this post together. Our decision to head to the sunshine after the last few full-on months prompted a bit of a panic in terms of finding time to pack. And, as our departure date grew closer the weather forecast wasn't looking as good as I hoped - it was more akin to a British summer than one a four and a half hour flight away. [...]

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SS22 dresses for weddings, graduations and special occasions

By |2022-04-29T16:59:39+01:00April 29th, 2022|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

I've had more questions about special occasion dressing than ever before this year. I suspect it's because we're all so glad that we can celebrate again and when it comes to weddings, some are so long awaited that they really do deserve an extra special effort. It's great to have an excuse to dress up again too isn't it? But can we remember how to do it? And with the growing creep of casualisation has occasion dressing changed? These are [...]

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Easter style and beauty – dresses, trousers, tees and tools

By |2022-08-08T15:45:54+01:00April 14th, 2022|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Well hello and Happy Easter! Isn't it great to have a long weekend ahead? I haven't actually been looking forward to it because we had meetings booked in (retailers have no sympathy with Bank Holidays) but happily they've now been moved to next week so we have an unexpected break and an almost empty diary so we're just going to enjoy the last weekend of the boys being home. It's a bit of a mishmash today, I have some try-ons [...]

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On growing older contentedly – and bold SS22 looks

By |2023-10-10T15:23:22+01:00April 8th, 2022|Categories: Midlife, Project Happier, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

It's a bit of a different post today, it includes clothes (of course) but it's also about growing older contentedly. When I was down in London a couple of weeks ago I met up with Nayna McIntosh from Hope and after we'd looked through the glorious new season pieces that I'll show you in a few minutes, we got chatting about things like the true markers of success as we approach the end of this phase we call midlife. You [...]

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Estée Lauder – testing new products at John Lewis & Partners

By |2022-03-25T17:27:57+00:00March 25th, 2022|Categories: Hair & Beauty, Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , |

It's been a while since we've talked beauty and today I'm looking at the industry's ultimate grande dame, Estée Lauder. They came up in conversation with our friends John Lewis & Partners just after Christmas and I had to admit that while I haven't really used their products, I was enjoying a large sample of their new Advanced Night Repair formula that I'd discovered in my JL&P advent calendar. So, they suggested that I trial a few more of their [...]

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SS22 wardrobe refreshes – defining your own style

By |2022-03-25T15:06:42+00:00March 18th, 2022|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

I've been dipping in and out of new season but I think it's time to declare that Spring's arrived. There are hosts of golden daffodils in the Lake District and over in Newcastle this week we've been watching the kittiwakes returning to nest at The Baltic. After two muted summers living under the shadow of Covid I'm looking forward to updating the outfits that I have in my wardrobe and being out and about again. So I thought now would [...]

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Edgar House review – a British bolthole for large groups

By |2022-03-11T17:20:48+00:00March 11th, 2022|Categories: Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

It's time for a catch-up and to log how much the world has changed (yet again) in such a short space of time. So before I move on to talking about a very special family weekend away, I want to acknowledge it. As you know, I write this blog as a form of diary so for the sake of record it's now two weeks since Russia invaded Ukraine sending Europe and the rest of the world into a state of [...]

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Inès de La Fressange at Uniqlo SS22 launches today – a quick try-on

By |2022-03-03T14:22:25+00:00March 3rd, 2022|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , |

I have to say I was getting worried - my favourite Uniqlo collab usually comes out at the end of January and this year there was no sign of it but of course everything in retail has been upended and at last here it is - Inès de La Fressange at Uniqlo SS22. This year's inspiration comes from Marrakech and we see the introduction of a red rose print along with cotton pieces with easy box pleats, designed to feel [...]

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Midlife Guide To Greek Island Hopping 3 – Mykonos

By |2021-10-29T15:55:19+01:00October 29th, 2021|Categories: Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Midlife Guide To Greek Island Hopping 3 - Mykonos Today I have the final instalment of my Midlife Guide To Greek Island Hopping and I'm going to keep it as short as I can because I sense you've had enough of it all now. After six very laid-back days in Ios it was time to move on; the island was closing and anyway, we'd spent enough time there. We were feeling rested and ready for somewhere with a bit of [...]

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Midlife Guide To Greek Island Hopping 2 – Ios

By |2021-10-19T17:29:11+01:00October 19th, 2021|Categories: Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

Midlife Guide To Greek Island Hopping 2 - Ios As promised, here's the next instalment of our Greek Island hopping adventure, moving on to a very different spot, Ios. I have a mixed up week ahead because I have to go down to London for longer than originally planned so I won't have time to write a post on Friday. I thought I'd let you know now because lots of you tell me that you read my Friday night post [...]

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Midlife guide to Greek Island Hopping Part 1 – Crete

By |2021-10-12T17:07:49+01:00October 12th, 2021|Categories: Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , |

And, rather regretfully, we're back. What an incredibly reinvigorating time we've had Greek Island Hopping. I knew the work would have piled up for our return and so I wouldn't have much time to write about it but so many of you have asked for tips and information that I've been putting notes together as we've gone along. It means that this post might be a little less lyrical than I'd like it to be and I'll have to spilt [...]

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What to wear for a wedding over 50 – and other outfits

By |2021-09-03T16:20:05+01:00September 3rd, 2021|Categories: Relationships, Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

Over the weekend I realised how many outfit pictures I have clogging up my camera roll so it's time for a catch up. Of course the highlight of my weekend was the wedding we went to so today's post is a mixed bag of summer and autumn outfits cumulating with what to wear for a wedding over 50. You see the last few weeks for us have felt a little more like life before lockdown especially as far as work [...]

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British City Staycation – Newcastle Part 2

By |2021-08-20T19:29:56+01:00August 20th, 2021|Categories: Midlife, Relationships, Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Happy Friday! Although it already feels like an age ago, today I'm bringing you my British City Staycation - Newcastle Part 2. I left you last week as we were hit with the news of Mum-in-law's diagnosis and everyone in the family was reeling. I'm grateful to all of you who've sent advice and links to the various organisations you recommend. The doctors have told us that the most urgent thing for now is to get the LPAs in [...]

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British City Staycation – Newcastle Part 1

By |2021-08-13T16:24:51+01:00August 13th, 2021|Categories: Family, Midlife, Relationships, Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Well hello, it's good to be back and talking to you after our two weeks away. I'm wondering how this post is going to work because a few of you will already have seen the photos on Instagram but of course there was no space on there to give you the full story behind them so I hope it will still be interesting for you. As you know after various holiday cancellations we decided to spend two weeks over at [...]

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Midlifechic Q&A – 20 questions… and 5 more

By |2021-07-23T15:53:56+01:00July 23rd, 2021|Categories: Midlife, Project Happier, Relationships|Tags: , , , |

It's my last post before we go away and so I thought I'd do something a bit different. Several times a year I'm asked by magazines, newspapers or other bloggers to do interviews which isn't usually as grand as it sounds, it means they send me a list of questions to answer and sometimes they publish them, sometimes they don't. It's something I never really have time to do but quite enjoy doing because I find it helps to crystallise [...]

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Cornucopia – new discoveries and midlife lately

By |2021-07-16T17:16:34+01:00July 16th, 2021|Categories: Health, Midlife, Product review, Relationships, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , |

As we approached summer this year I thought it was going to feel like a long one. Without the rush of a big family holiday to prepare for I imagined it being languid, like the summers you read about in interwar novels where people spent long, limpid days at home in the shade with a book. And of course it isn't turning out that way at all, it still feels as though time's rushing by and weeks are eaten up [...]

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Midlife lately – Covid finally hits us

By |2021-07-09T13:35:36+01:00July 9th, 2021|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Midlife lately - Covid finally hits us I feel as though I've been holding my breath over the last few posts. Covid finally reached our doorstep and I felt incredibly superstitious about mentioning it until I knew we were all through to the other side. So that's the reason behind the lack of 'midlife lately' recently - you see I've found that whenever I say what a lovely summer we're having up here it starts to rain so I was [...]

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Tried and tested summer beauty and other finds

By |2021-07-02T16:38:51+01:00July 2nd, 2021|Categories: Hair & Beauty, Health, Product review|Tags: , , , , , |

It's been ages since we've talked about beauty and I've had a few people asking me recently how I keep my skin glowing in summer. Well not very much changes in my routine, I have favourites that I buy again and again because they work. I've been invited to test quite a few new beauty products over the last months and I have strict terms for accepting samples. Brands have to understand that I will only recommend their new launches [...]

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Shopping the Summer Sales – What To Look Out For

By |2021-06-27T11:32:55+01:00June 25th, 2021|Categories: Retail Review, Sale|Tags: , , , |

There are always sure signs that Summer is here aren't there? The build up to Wimbledon, strawberries starting to taste as they should, pea pods in the shops... and the start of the sales. This year they should be interesting because the world of retail has continued to be turned upside down by Covid; some categories such as garden furniture and packable jackets have sold out whereas others have a surplus of stock so it's going to  be a bit [...]

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 25

Recent midlife summer outfits – what I’ve been wearing

By |2021-06-22T17:33:55+01:00June 22nd, 2021|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

I've found time for an extra post this week, just a quick one because when I did a real life outfits post a couple of weeks ago a lot of you asked for more of them so I've been trying to remember to take quick outfit shots as we've gone along. My phone's filling up so let's have a catch up with some recent midlife summer outfits - what I've been wearing and doing. Midlife summer outfits - a trip [...]

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 41

Preparing for the empty nest – our new place is done

By |2021-06-21T11:47:41+01:00June 18th, 2021|Categories: Interiors, Midlife, Project Happier, Retail Review|Tags: , , , , , , , |

And at last, our city apartment is just about finished. All we have left to do is find a few pieces of art for empty spots and update the bathrooms - but that will have to wait until there's no longer a global shortage of sanitary ware or plumbers working to six month waiting lists. As we sat back with a glass of wine on Sunday evening and looked around us, it struck us both that we'd done something we'd [...]

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 63

Summer staycation in Newcastle – trying our new life for size

By |2021-06-11T14:21:51+01:00June 11th, 2021|Categories: Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Well I have a funny old post for you today, you see I was hoping to show you the pictures of our completed apartment but at the very last minute there was a delay on the curtains which means we're having to go over again tonight to finish things off. As you can imagine this week's been a busy one catching up with work and I haven't had time to come up with any other ideas so I'm just going [...]

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 70

Style cornucopia – new brands & old favourites

By |2021-05-28T16:03:22+01:00May 28th, 2021|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , |

Well here we are with a Bank Holiday weekend ahead of us in the UK and as I type this (on Thursday) it's warm and sunny - could it be that the weather has finally caught up with the date? I'm taking next week off because we're going to be in Newcastle for the final push, hopefully getting the apartment finished so I'm signing off for a while with a style cornucopia - new brands & old favourites. Style cornucopia [...]

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 28

Summer outfit building blocks & midlife lately

By |2021-05-21T15:33:48+01:00May 21st, 2021|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

It's that cruel point in the season when the sun's barely started shining and yet it's time to start wrapping up wardrobe posts about Summer drops. Already the new season previews are starting and I find myself peeping reluctantly through my fingers at Autumn clothes. This is the last of my SS21 posts with Boden and I've been thinking hard about how to approach it because I'd usually be talking about packing for Summer holidays with wafty beach dresses and [...]

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 49

Summer 2021 ahead – the gentle lifting of lockdown

By |2021-06-03T15:04:16+01:00May 14th, 2021|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , |

Slowly, slowly the warmer days are creeping in as the temperature starts to rise. We've been feeling impatient for it and when you think about it we were all spoilt by last year's glorious Spring because it's usually still a bit chilly in May. I know when the boys were little I always used to refuse to go camping before 1st June because although they didn't care, I wasn't keen on sleeping in a woolly hat and hiking socks, it [...]

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 46

Cornucopia: style, menopause, hot sauce & books!

By |2021-05-11T16:56:46+01:00May 11th, 2021|Categories: Midlife, Product review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

Style, menopause, hot sauce & books - how's that for a lead in?! A surprise mini post today because there are a few things I've been meaning to mention and one in particular that I need to flag before Friday. I do like posting on a Tuesday again though - even if it's just a quick 'hello' it helps me to feel as though life's getting back to normal which it is in a way. I had my second jab [...]

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 48

Newcastle update – the story so far

By |2021-05-07T17:14:11+01:00May 7th, 2021|Categories: Interiors, Retail Review|Tags: , , , , , |

Given that we've flipped back into the Narnian Winter (it's snowing again as I write) there's absolutely no point in talking about Summer clothes or outfits so it's something completely different this week. I haven't said much about our Newcastle adventure since last September so I'm going to talk about that instead and show you what's been going on there. So here's a Newcastle update - the story so far. The story so far... why Newcastle? You may remember it [...]

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 78

New season try-ons – Bank Holiday Bumper Post!

By |2021-04-30T18:14:54+01:00April 30th, 2021|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

And hurray for a Bank Holiday weekend in the UK, don't you just love this time of year? It has to be said that if any month deserves not one but two Bank Holidays it's May so I hope you have plans that include at least one pop of joy. We're currently over in Newcastle starting to bring our ideas to life. As you know all we've done so far is paint the whole place white, not because that's the [...]

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 43

The latest SS21 drop at John Lewis & Partners

By |2021-04-27T17:03:59+01:00April 27th, 2021|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , |

Well hello, how nice it is to be back on a Tuesday for a change. It's just a quick post today to tell you about the latest SS21 drop at John Lewis & Partners. As we discussed last month they're going through a style evolution on their fashion floor and we're now moving into stage 2 as more small labels arrive to augment their already established collection of brands. Their vision is to have a foundation of good capsule pieces [...]

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 40

What I’ve been wearing as we emerge from lockdown

By |2021-04-23T15:48:03+01:00April 23rd, 2021|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

It's one of those 'conversations with a friend' posts today because I had a panicky text from one who'd been told rather suddenly that her office is going to reopen for three days a week and she was dumbfounded. "It's going to mean going to bed and getting up at regular times again... and setting an alarm... and packing lunch... and getting dressed - I know you've been getting dressed all through this so tell me what to wear?!" Well [...]

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 83

Linen for a British summer & midlife lately

By |2021-04-16T17:13:16+01:00April 16th, 2021|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , |

Well hello, I hope you've had a good couple of weeks. Ours have been busy - I never want to paint another wall again, especially with Mr MC as my foreman, he has levels of perfection that way exceed my skills (and thankfully I think we're agreed on that so I may be reassigned to something that plays more to my strengths... such as shopping!). So how has 're-entry' felt for you this week if you're in the UK? Different [...]

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 49

March cornucopia & what to wear for outdoor meet-ups

By |2021-03-26T16:13:00+00:00March 26th, 2021|Categories: Hair & Beauty, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

It's time for a March cornucopia because there are a few things I've been meaning to mention. Let's start with clothes because change is afoot in the UK with groups of six being allowed to meet outside from Monday - and of course this will soon be followed by pubs opening their outdoor seating areas on 12th April so we need to think about what to wear for outdoor meet-ups. This week I've noticed that lots of pubs are busy [...]

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 83

What’s going on at John Lewis & Partners?

By |2021-03-23T13:53:46+00:00March 19th, 2021|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Thank goodness - on Sunday we'll reach the Spring equinox and then in a week's time the clocks go forward. These are the little things that mean such a lot at the moment because they'll make a significant difference to the lives we're living. Today's post is all about new season, this time with a focus on more everyday outfits that will take us from lockdown to beyond. I'm pleased to be working with one of my favourite retailers again [...]

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 98

Wardrobe planning for SS21 – thinking about going out!

By |2021-03-12T17:31:02+00:00March 12th, 2021|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

I know we've had crazy weather in the UK this week but we're turning the corner towards springtime and it feels as though it's time to start looking ahead, albeit tentatively. Today I'm working with Boden, doing a bit of wardrobe planning for SS21 - thinking about going out. Of course we'll all be emerging from lockdown at different paces but here's the roadmap that we have in England at the moment: 29th March - golf is back for those [...]

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 128

Launching SS21 – Inès de La Fressange at Uniqlo

By |2021-02-18T17:05:31+00:00February 18th, 2021|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , |

Today I'm working with Uniqlo to kick off the new season by launching SS21 - Inès de La Fressange at Uniqlo. Like the first snowdrops, for me this shoot is always the sign of brighter times ahead and it feels particularly victorious to still be able to bring it to you this year despite the added hurdles that are impacting retailers everywhere. We're slightly later than I hoped to be because the clothes samples only arrived at lunchtime today so [...]

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 68

Retail update – small British brands – and à bientôt…

By |2020-08-07T11:30:28+01:00August 7th, 2020|Categories: Hair & Beauty, Retail Review, Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

Retail update - small British brands - and à bientôt... I'm typing with my fingers crossed because if everything goes to plan, we'll be setting off on our holiday tonight. Preparing to go has been challenging because all kinds of things have kept changing. This has included our usual petsitters being offered a holiday that was too good to resist on the same dates as ours which wasn't a problem until we realised the cats' inoculations had run out and [...]

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 20

Stitch Fix review, beauty recommendations and a singalong

By |2020-07-31T16:11:14+01:00July 31st, 2020|Categories: Family, Hair & Beauty, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , |

It's been a much quieter week here this week, we've been balancing our leap out of lockdown by being home-based again in a strange kind of exposure equation. It means I don't have anything exciting to report on but I have been trying out a few new things so I'll tell you about those instead with a cornucopia including a Stitch Fix review, some honest beauty recommendations and a singalong. Stitch Fix review I'm starting with a Stitch Fix review. [...]

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 27

Staycationing in London and Newcastle post Covid 19

By |2020-07-24T18:50:10+01:00July 24th, 2020|Categories: Family, Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Hello, how are you... it's been a while. As you know I've been away from my desk for the last week staycationing in London and Newcastle which means today's post is going to be a catch-up (and it's a bit of a long one so pour yourself a drink). So what was it like to go away just as the lockdown began to lift? Staycationing in London post Covid 19 London Thursday We started our journey on a very quiet [...]

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 29

What to wear for a UK staycation & great summer reads

By |2020-07-15T16:59:58+01:00July 15th, 2020|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , , |

I'm early this week because today's post includes quite a few pieces that have just gone into the sale and I wanted to get them to you before they all sell out. I'm heading down to London in the morning, Friday will finally be haircut day for me and Mr MC is coming too (to London, not the hairdressers). We'll be making the most of a couple of nights away because I want to be able to walk everywhere rather [...]

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 33

Slowly moving out of lockdown, summer 2020

By |2020-07-10T19:41:21+01:00July 10th, 2020|Categories: Family, Project Happier, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Hello everyone. Well another week has gone by, the first one of relative freedom and it was interesting to read how some of you were slowly moving out of lockdown in the comments after my last post. As so many people said, it's clear that everybody has a different attitude to risk and the good thing is that so far, most people seem to be able to live alongside each other without judging. Mr MC and I are finding that [...]

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 17

Making summer plans (at last) and recent outfits

By |2020-07-03T17:09:20+01:00July 3rd, 2020|Categories: Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , |

This new schedule of only posting once a week is going to take some getting used to but it's nice to be back. It's going to be a bit of a cornucopia today because there hasn't been much going on here other than work which has mostly revolved around planning and strategy meetings and I can tell you, they've never been harder than they are after more than 100 days of lockdown and counting. However we are, at last, making [...]

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 40

Hush sale top ten & retail behind the scenes

By |2020-06-25T14:22:39+01:00June 25th, 2020|Categories: Sale, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Hello, I'm a day early but the Hush sale has started so I thought I'd bring you my Hush sale top ten. I warn you, the sale site is a pain to go through because when you click on an item it doesn't usually remember where you left off so you have to scroll down to find your place again. Before I go into my top picks though I thought I'd give you an update on sales in general because [...]

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 13

What I’ve been wearing and learning the lessons of lockdown

By |2020-06-23T16:29:38+01:00June 23rd, 2020|Categories: Project Happier, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Well (and I say this cautiously) it's starting to feel as though we're coming through to the other side of the great coronavirus lockdown. I hope you've had a good weekend and that you've managed to start meeting some of the people you've missed so much. We've caught up with a few friends and clients now (although the weather hasn't been great here so some conversations have suddenly been cut short by torrential downpours) even so, it's felt good to [...]

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 9

Chic heatwave dresses and good sale buys

By |2020-06-19T13:25:41+01:00June 19th, 2020|Categories: Shoes, Style|Tags: , , , , , , |

We have a post with a purpose today, it's all about chic heatwave dresses because Meg wrote in to say "I have a colleague who's been looking effortless in the heat when we have our Zoom meetings. I'm still struggling to make the transition from office to home and I find I'm sweating in front of the camera wearing the structured ponte dresses I usually wear to work. Can you help me to find the kind of thing I'm looking [...]

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 11

Women over 40 tell me – how is it for you? And a catch up.

By |2020-06-10T13:24:00+01:00June 9th, 2020|Categories: Family, Health, Style, Surveys|Tags: , , , , , , |

Hello and happy Tuesday everyone. I'm back after a couple of days off last week when as you might remember, Mr MC and I intended to make a plan for the next few months. We wanted to focus mostly on our business but of course like most people's, our work and life is so closely interwoven that we needed to consider everything else as well. So, we sat down with coffee and notepads and after some drumming of fingers we [...]

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 33

Cornucopia: midlife matters and the return to ‘normal’

By |2020-06-02T16:52:43+01:00June 2nd, 2020|Categories: Health, Midlife|Tags: , , , , |

And so we find ourselves at the beginning of June - that's more than two full months of lockdown and yet I still find myself circling back to the initial reaction of pure shock every now and then. In other ways though it's become a way of life and there's something comforting about living in a bubble where you don't have the friction of everyday life. It seems as though we're going to have to start emerging soon though and [...]

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 33

Midlife lately and SS20 at home outfit ideas

By |2020-05-27T16:51:17+01:00May 27th, 2020|Categories: Family, Midlife, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Hello, I'm out of sync at the moment because I had two days off for my birthday last week and then tunnelled into the Bank Holiday. It means I'm behind with the comments (and everything else) but I'll crack on with them after this. First of all though, a catch-up, starting with midlife lately and then I'll move on to some SS20 at home outfit ideas because a few new drops have landed this week and they'll be the last [...]

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 5

The future of retail after Covid-19

By |2020-05-22T17:12:49+01:00May 22nd, 2020|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Hello and first of all thank you to everyone who took the time to send a birthday wish on Tuesday. I was showered with messages from every corner of the internet and it was lovely to know that so many people had me in their thoughts, in fact I couldn't wish for anything more. I'll tell you more about what we did next week when we have a catch-up but in the meantime I want us to start thinking about [...]

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 36

How to celebrate under lockdown – happy birthday to me

By |2020-05-19T15:37:56+01:00May 19th, 2020|Categories: Interiors, Midlife, Project Happier|Tags: , , , , , , |

Well hello... on this day that has always been a beacon in my calendar... because it's my birthday. A friend who graduated to the same age as me last week said she was dreading it this time because all it meant was another year on her age with none of the associated fun. And I admit that I'm less bouncy about it than usual but that's because I haven't been buoyed by our usual festival weekend. I miss having  a [...]

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 37

Cornucopia – beauty, books and weekend ideas

By |2020-05-15T16:09:36+01:00May 15th, 2020|Categories: Hair & Beauty, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

Happy Friday everyone - yes it is Friday if you've lost track of the days. Actually I've had a really busy week this week, things suddenly seem to have taken off again although I don't know for how long and I'm not complaining - but actually I am a bit, I'd got used to having an empty Inbox! While we're on the subject of complaining I'm just going to do the thing I keep telling my boys not to by [...]

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 23

Quarantine – as the days roll on – Coronavirus 2020

By |2020-05-12T16:45:42+01:00May 12th, 2020|Categories: Family, Project Happier, Relationships, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

Quarantine - as the days roll on - Coronavirus 2020 How are you getting on? I have to admit that today is the first day when I've felt a bit fed up of all of this so I'm glad it's a blogging day. With the possibility that somebody has happened upon this post few years on from now, let me just apply some context. We're now in the eighth week of quarantine and in Boris Johnson's broadcast on Sunday evening [...]

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 38

Working from home chic – new ideas

By |2020-05-05T16:00:21+01:00May 5th, 2020|Categories: Style, Work life balance|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

Hello everyone, how are you? After dedicating the comments to the kindness competition last week I feel a bit out of touch with you all. Mind you we're getting used to that feeling of general disconnection now aren't we? I've had a few emails from people asking for more ideas for working from home chic, especially now that we seem (fingers crossed) to have moved firmly into a rather lovely British spring/summer. As I mentioned last week, Boden kindly invited [...]

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 24

Lockdown week 5 & a prize for kindness

By |2020-05-01T15:52:55+01:00May 1st, 2020|Categories: Accessories, Project Happier, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Lockdown week 5 Well, here we are at the start of a shiny new month, probably not as far along as we thought we would be when when we turned from March to April but it feels like progress nevertheless. May is my favourite month of the year and of course that could just be because it's my birthday month and so it always feels as though it's brimming with promise but even so, I still believe it's the most [...]

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 12

Trying on pieces for summer at home 2020

By |2020-04-24T13:11:57+01:00April 24th, 2020|Categories: Product review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , |

Hello and happy Friday everyone. As promised I'm taking a break from coronavirus today and thinking about clothes instead. You see as this long spell of sunny weather continues (and I realise I've probably jinxed it now), I'm finding I don't have a lot of options in my wardrobe. I know that's hard to believe but when I thought it through I realised that my summer clothing budget usually goes in two particular directions. You see at this time of [...]

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 27

Easy spring looks from M&S and a try-on

By |2020-03-13T16:48:32+00:00March 13th, 2020|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , |

Easy spring looks from M&S and a try-on Spring's going to be here any minute - really it is and so for my latest Marks and Spencer edit, I thought I'd look ahead to warmer days. It's been a struggle to get my head in the right place because we've had gales blowing here every day but today the sun finally shone through and I managed to get some pictures outside for the first time in months. As I searched [...]

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 18

Spring / Summer 2020 trend update – it’s all in the detail

By |2020-03-06T16:40:34+00:00March 6th, 2020|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Spring / Summer 2020 trend update It's time to move into new season with a spring / summer 2020 trend update. Before we start, I just want to apologise for being behind with the comments, I've had extra things eating into my time this week with the demise of FlyBe (flights and claims to be dealt with) along with Coronavirus. I thought we'd be relatively insulated from it up here but after spending the last few days getting the youngest [...]

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 12

How to know which clothes suit you, spring 2020

By |2020-10-05T17:31:34+01:00February 14th, 2020|Categories: Style, Style Seminars|Tags: , , , , , , |

I think this is the hardest time of the year for finding pleasure in your clothes. Between now and early April I feel utterly uninspired by my seemingly endless rotation of jumpers and boots so today I thought we'd start to look ahead to spring. I'm not going to talk about new styles or colours yet because the new season's collections haven't arrived yet. I warn you though that there isn't much to say this year. As you know, retailers [...]

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 3

Inès de la Fressange at Uniqlo SS20 preview

By |2020-01-23T07:34:44+00:00January 23rd, 2020|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , |

Here's a sign that Spring is on its way, heralded by one of my favourite posts of the season – the Inès de La Fressange at Uniqlo SS20 preview. We’ve been granted an exclusive early look at the collection again but before I show you the clothes, remember that with this range you have to be quick. The online allocation often sells out by midday and just because something is in your basket, it doesn’t mean it’s yours - if [...]

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 0

Road trip to Brighton – summer’s last gasp

By |2019-09-17T18:17:22+01:00September 17th, 2019|Categories: Family, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , |

As I mentioned last week, I have one last chapter of our 'summer of last hurrahs' to tell you about. When we got back from our teen FOMO-riddled two weeks in Turkey, I was puzzling over how to approach future holidays with the boys when Travelodge got in touch to ask if they could help me with a summer post. Immediately the idea of a road trip sprang to mind and so they suggested we [...]

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 50

IQ student accommodation – how does it compare to our student days?

By |2019-09-03T21:47:46+01:00September 3rd, 2019|Categories: Family, Travel|Tags: , , , |

School started again for us today and so I'm back at my desk busy working on the AW19 trends post that I'll publish on Friday. In the meantime we have a few things to catch up on. Way back in June, as the exams ground to an end, you may remember me telling you that I was making the most of one last long school break with the boys by planning in all kinds of things. Next year will definitely [...]

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 20

Summer holiday destinations with teens – Turkey #2

By |2019-08-16T17:32:31+01:00August 16th, 2019|Categories: Family, Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , |

Hasn't the weather been awful this week? Let's go back to Turkey! Join me in the sunshine for the second half of our holiday - there are a lot of photos so I'll try to let them tell the story without too much rattling on. At the end of the last post, I left off when just six weeks before we were due to depart, I discovered that we had nowhere to stay for the second week. Thanks to the [...]

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 64

Family holidays with teens – Turkey 2019 #1

By |2019-08-09T21:24:05+01:00August 9th, 2019|Categories: Family, Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , |

Well hello... it's been a while so I hope you're still there. We're back from the longest of our summer trips this year which was a fortnight in Kalkan on Turkey's Turquoise Coast. As you know it's the place where we find we can completely switch off. We first went there in 2000 when the eldest was just a toddler so we've seen it change over the years. This time I have to say it was very, very busy. Kalkan [...]

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 72

When life plays cat and mouse

By |2019-08-09T14:23:22+01:00July 19th, 2019|Categories: Health, Midlife, Project Happier|Tags: , , |

For the last couple of weeks I've been writing two potential versions of this post in my head. You see on an ordinary morning just after we got back from France, I discovered a marble-sized lump in my breast. My immediate reaction was denial. I told myself it was just the edge of a rib but then I asked Mr MC to check and I could see by his face that it wasn't. Just like that life began to spin [...]

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 39

New summer looks at JD Williams – just in

By |2019-08-08T16:06:51+01:00July 16th, 2019|Categories: Style|Tags: , , |

The warm days were so slow to arrive in the UK this year that it's been hard to get into the mood for summer clothes until recently hasn't it? Of course now that the sun's finally shown its face, most stores are heavily into their summer sales which can be too much hard work to navigate. I walked down Regent Street and onto Oxford Street when I was in London a couple of weeks ago and I just couldn't face [...]

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 0

Best nude lingerie for summer – tried and tested

By |2019-07-14T16:48:10+01:00July 12th, 2019|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , |

It's another reader request today - can you tell I'm ticking off my to-do list before we go away? A few people have mentioned the difficulty of finding truly invisible lingerie to wear under things like white linen trousers and low backed dresses in the summer, especially since I featured the halternecks I wore for our French trip. So, over the last few weeks I've been calling in samples to test and I've come up with my pick of the [...]

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 23

My absolute beauty essentials – I don’t travel without these…

By |2019-07-09T07:05:33+01:00July 9th, 2019|Categories: Hair & Beauty, Travel|Tags: , , , |

Today's post was prompted by a reader who wrote in a little while ago saying she'd like to know which products are my absolute beauty essentials. She described them as the ones that are so important to me that I can't travel without them. It popped back into my head when we were in France and I'd done my usual thing of packing random travel sizes of samples that I'd saved from beauty boxes and advent calendars. It's something I [...]

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 2

A long weekend with teens in the French Riviera

By |2019-07-05T17:06:08+01:00July 5th, 2019|Categories: Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , |

At last I’ve had a chance to go through the photos from our long weekend with teens in the French Riviera - we took so many that it’s going to be better for me to let the pictures do most of the talking or this will go on forever. A long weekend with teens in the French Riviera - Friday As I mentioned when I was busy planning what to pack, we were invited to stay with Darryll and Bettina [...]

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 91

Going grey gracefully – how to approach it

By |2019-07-14T16:45:28+01:00July 2nd, 2019|Categories: Hair & Beauty, Midlife, Style|Tags: , , , , |

As you know, over the last few months I've been starting the journey towards going grey with the team at the Josh Wood Atelier in London. I still have about 50% of my natural blonde and brown in my hair so I won't be completely grey for a few years yet however I'm no longer trying to conceal the transition. Instead I'm allowing the strands of silver to shine though in all of their glory. My first appointment was at [...]

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 1

Summer sales – great buys and midlife lately

By |2019-06-28T16:45:32+01:00June 28th, 2019|Categories: Accessories, Sale, Style|Tags: , , , , , , |

Just a quick post today because I can't imagine many of you will be reading when there's glorious sunshine outside. Anyway, we're back from France and I'll tell you all about it and how the packing capsule worked out next week. In the meantime I'm whizzing through some 'summer sales - great buys' and I'll end with good news in a quick midlife lately roundup. Summer sales - great buys It's hard to think of anything other than t-shirts at [...]

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 0

The Lake District with teenagers: The Swan Hotel & Nests

By |2019-06-20T17:13:10+01:00June 20th, 2019|Categories: Family, Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , |

After months of toil and tension, the exams have ended and this week our summer of last hurrahs began with the first of the trips you saw me planning - a few days in the Lake District with teenagers. We were invited to stay at The Swan Hotel and Spa at Newby Bridge which is in my favourite part of the Lakes, the Western Peninsula. The Swan has always been one of my top five hotels in the Lakes but [...]

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Last minute travel buys – M&S June edit

By |2019-06-14T16:58:03+01:00June 14th, 2019|Categories: Hair & Beauty, Retail Review, Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , |

I'm trying not to mention the weather but... I am finding myself glad that we have a couple of escapes to the sunshine booked (although last time I looked, it was even raining in Turkey). Anyway I'm working with M&S today and the focus is holidays. We've spent enough time on here planning holiday wardrobes so I thought I'd look at last minute travel buys, the little extras that make all the difference. I love doing posts like this because [...]

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An easy wardrobe solution for a wet summer

By |2019-07-14T16:43:40+01:00June 11th, 2019|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , |

It's a quick one today because it's one of those days when work has to come before pleasure. This post was prompted by a distress call from an old schoolfriend. She defected to the south years ago and messaged me last week because of the rain. You see she's been away so long that she's forgotten how to dress for a summer that doesn't turn out as expected. She needed a wardrobe solution for a wet summer; her words were [...]

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Cornucopia post: beauty, menopause and midlife musings

By |2019-07-14T16:40:59+01:00June 7th, 2019|Categories: Hair & Beauty, Midlife, Project Happier|Tags: , , , , , |

It's a cornucopia post today and a bit of a long one so you might want to pour that cup of tea / glass of wine before you start. I've been testing a lot of beauty products over the last few months and a few have made my 'must tell readers about...' shelf. So I'll start with those and then move on to menopause followed by a bit of a midlife melting pot. By the end of it there should [...]

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What to pack for a chic weekend in the countryside

By |2019-07-14T16:38:54+01:00June 4th, 2019|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

What to pack for a chic weekend in the countryside can be a far harder challenge than preparing for hot sunshine. While the rest of the country barbecued from dawn until dusk last weekend, we had a band of incessant rain in the Lake District with cold winds too - I had to stop looking at Instagram because it just wasn't fair. However, we plough on and this post is, in fact, me planning for the first of our 'summer [...]

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Linen mix collection from JD Williams, Summer 2019

By |2019-07-14T16:30:13+01:00May 31st, 2019|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , |

I often receive emails from readers who tell me that they love the outfits that I put together on Midlifechic but don't have the budget for a lot of the things I feature. It gives me a real quandary because I want this blog to be relevant to all women, regardless of age or spend. However I'm also increasingly trying to steer it towards social, ethical and environmental shopping which tends to carry a higher price tag. An interesting conversation [...]

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Packing for a hot beach holiday – women over 40

By |2019-05-24T18:01:13+01:00May 24th, 2019|Categories: Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , |

I'm starting to think I may have been a bit ambitious with my adventure planning this year. Summer is usually a quiet time for our business but I don't think anything's running its usual course in the UK is it? I'm definitely not complaining, I'm seeing it as a positive sign that the country is ploughing on regardless - nonostante tutto! I'm just going to have to be very organised and it may mean that I do shorter blog posts [...]

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M&S SS19 – what’s new and a trying-on session

By |2019-05-21T16:15:41+01:00May 21st, 2019|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , |

Whenever I work with M&S the feedback you give me is that you find it helpful to be guided through their huge inventory. So, today I'm going to do a trying-on session of some of the things that have caught my eye recently and then I'll talk you through a few M&S updates. As always, they've had some huge successes and I appreciate it can be frustrating when online stocks are limited so I'll highlight when you may need to [...]

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What to pack for a long weekend in the French Riviera

By |2019-05-17T12:13:18+01:00May 17th, 2019|Categories: Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , |

What to pack for a long weekend in the French Riviera: I'm killing two birds with one stone today because as I mentioned on Tuesday, as soon as the exams finish we have a few different breaks planned so I need to be organised. We're having some little adventures because I've realised it's the last time I'll be able to plan these things for sure. The middle son is hoping to go travelling next summer and I've no idea where [...]

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Elevated looks – easy summer style for women over 40

By |2019-05-10T17:15:20+01:00May 10th, 2019|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , |

It's hard to imagine summer at the moment isn't it? The picture above was taken last weekend and it was freezing but the sun's going to break through next week and we need to be ready. So today I'm looking at elevated summer style, because dressing for summer in the UK can be quite tricky. There are days when you don't want to wear the classic jeans, t-shirt, blazer combo and I've chosen these pieces with that mood in mind. [...]

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New for summer at The Midlifechic Boutique

By |2019-05-07T17:09:12+01:00May 7th, 2019|Categories: Accessories, Sale|Tags: , , , , |

Hello - I hope you had a lovely, if chilly, Bank Holiday weekend. As promised it's just a quick post today to reopen the shop with a medley of pieces I've gathered or commissioned on my travels. I still can't quite decide whether I want to build a retail venture or not - I don't really have the time to do it but I do think there's an opportunity for a new retail model and it frustrates me when I [...]

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Spring sunshine outfits & new retail offers

By |2019-07-14T16:20:54+01:00April 26th, 2019|Categories: Sale, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

It's just struck me that we're almost at the end of April - the late Easter this year has confused my body clock. It means of course that we're in a retail hiatus because the big summer drops usually arrive in the first week of May. So, there are some good retail offers as they clear stock to make space for the new arrivals. I'll cover those later in the post but first, a round-up of spring sunshine outfits from [...]

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Outfit ideas for graduations, weddings and summer occasions 2019

By |2019-04-03T16:57:37+01:00April 3rd, 2019|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , |

I usually do a special occasions post later in the season but I've been so overwhelmed by requests this year that I've pulled it forward. It's the things we have in common that draw us together and this year it seems that one of those things is graduation ceremonies. My friends started asking me what I was going to wear for the eldest's on New Year's Day. The ceremony isn't until July so I'd imagined thinking about it in June [...]

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A JD Williams edit SS19 – casual, night out and swimwear

By |2019-03-19T16:18:58+00:00March 19th, 2019|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , |

Hello and happy Tuesday, apologies for there being no post last Friday but as I mentioned I'm juggling madly at the moment. Anyway I have a retailer focus for you today. It's time for my JD Williams edit SS19 and this time I decided to look through their current collection for some outfits that I'd wear for my usual tasks of working from home, weekend and night out. As you know, I enjoy working with JD Williams (this post was [...]

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5 easy ways to update your wardrobe – SS19

By |2019-03-05T17:29:46+00:00March 5th, 2019|Categories: Accessories, Style, Style Seminars|Tags: , , , , , , , |

At last we're heading into my favourite time of year - Spring - and it's time to look at what's going on in the dizzy world of fashion. But actually I'm not going to do a full blown analysis of the trends for SS19. Why? Because for the first time in 26 years of absorbing trends and then trying to reiterate them in a way that's accessible, I've thrown my hands in the air. It isn't that I can't do [...]

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Beach holiday packing post mortem – Kalkan part 2

By |2018-08-26T16:48:07+01:00August 26th, 2018|Categories: Family, Relationships, Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , |

And so here we go, the last taste of high summer on Midlifechic before we move on to Autumn. That means we should talk a little bit about beach holiday style before we move into cosy jumper and boots territory. So here's my beach holiday packing post mortem. Packing for a beach holiday - conclusions As an experiment, I packed differently this year. You may have noticed that about 95% of my holiday wardrobe focused on dresses. Once I'd worn [...]

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A Kalkan summer holiday snapshot – part one

By |2018-08-24T17:05:22+01:00August 24th, 2018|Categories: Project Happier, Relationships, Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , |

Hello, I'm back and I've already been down to London but I'm itching to blog again so I thought I'd divide our Kalkan summer holiday into two parts. You see we didn't really do much in the first week which means I have enough time to give you part one today. So, seeing as the forecast is bad for the Bank Holiday weekend, I'll bring you a taste of sunshine. Before I get to that though, let me tell you [...]

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So long… farewell… auf wiedersehen… for now

By |2018-08-03T13:28:49+01:00August 3rd, 2018|Categories: Midlife, Travel|Tags: , |

So finally we've made it - our long awaited holiday is in sight. I can't tell you how excited I am at the thought of having all of my boys to myself for two whole weeks, I'm going to treasure every minute. The housesitters are briefed and Gary is on his way to Northumberland to stay on a cousin's farm. It's been a hectic week. A while ago, thinking that this would be a quiet time at work, I scheduled [...]

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6 great summer reads and a competition winner

By |2018-07-24T15:09:37+01:00July 24th, 2018|Categories: Accessories, Project Happier, Travel|Tags: , , , |

We don't often talk about reading on here and yet as so many of you know, it is one of my biggest pleasures in life. Some people say I read a lot. I just counted for this post and I've read 27 books so far this year which is almost a book a week. Given that I used to have to get through four books a week in different languages when I was doing my degree, it doesn't seem a [...]

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A late summer holiday capsule

By |2018-07-20T17:05:28+01:00July 20th, 2018|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , |

As we reach the tail-end of the summer sales, stocks are running low and autumn styles are suddenly appearing. There are only a few brands you can turn to if you still want to buy a late summer holiday capsule and one is JD Williams. I've been working with them for a year now as a member of their Colour Council which means that every so often, I pop up on their website with a few style ideas. During this time [...]

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Bag boutique flash sale and my summer plans

By |2018-07-17T17:24:00+01:00July 17th, 2018|Categories: Accessories, Style|Tags: , , , , |

At last, we've nearly arrived at High Summer which for many is the chance to step aside from the treadmill or at least set it at a slower pace. This is the last week of grind in our house. The youngest is already on holiday and the middle son breaks up on Friday. I have my final few days of working in London for a while and so I will be able to catch my breath at last. I don't [...]

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A skincare régime tailored to summer – does it make a difference?

By |2018-07-13T17:33:33+01:00July 13th, 2018|Categories: Hair & Beauty|Tags: , , , |

I was in a meeting with the team at John Lewis a little while ago and our conversation moved on to beauty. I explained that I always find the niche beauty brands to be the most interesting. I like the fact that they dedicate themselves to specific concerns and weight their investment towards research rather than marketing. The irony of course is that this low scale marketing makes these companies difficult to find. So my favourite part of the John [...]

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Heatwave – what I’ve been wearing in and out of the office

By |2018-07-06T09:49:58+01:00July 6th, 2018|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , |

It's a quick catch up on recent outfits today before Mr MC and I head off for a weekend à deux. Isn't this weather great? I know some people are getting tired of the heat but I love it. I don't know about you but my childhood summers always seemed to be like this one. I probably have 1976 on a permanent loop in my mind but for me this is how it should be. Of course after a few [...]

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The Boden sale summer 18, gift ideas and a brainteaser

By |2018-06-29T16:52:41+01:00June 29th, 2018|Categories: Accessories, Gift ideas, Sale|Tags: , , , , |

I can't imagine that many people are going to be sitting around reading blog posts this weekend - the sunshine is too glorious and so I'm not going to take up much of your time. There are just a few things I wanted to bring to your attention. First of all the Boden sale summer 18. There's something interesting going on at Boden - the sale's late, they haven't been doing as much discounting recently and a lot of the [...]

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Midlife and the turning of the generations – plus what I’ve been wearing

By |2018-06-26T18:39:50+01:00June 26th, 2018|Categories: Family, Midlife, Project Happier, Relationships, Style|Tags: , , , , , , |

And so the world of style blogging is hitting its summer lull. As the sales are in full swing and the storybook sunshine goes on, I can feel my mind turning away from its usual fascination with retail towards the things that matter more. I'm very aware that for our family, this will be our last calm summer for a while. We have no important exam results to anticipate and when autumn comes, our status quo will continue with everyone [...]

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Holiday dresses for hot summer nights

By |2018-06-19T14:50:01+01:00June 19th, 2018|Categories: Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , |

A quick one from me today because having said that my schedule was calming down, I'm now heading off to London again. The light at the end of this current tunnel of madness is our holiday in Turkey so I've been having one last look around at holiday dresses for hot summer nights before the sales start. Here's a shortlist of the best hot weather dresses I've found that still have stock available. Holiday dresses for hot summer nights Before we [...]

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2018’s best bikinis, body creams, bras and other bits and bobs

By |2018-06-12T16:52:53+01:00June 12th, 2018|Categories: Hair & Beauty, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , |

I hope you're enjoying the glorious summer that I ordered for you - it's causing chaos in the retail world. Back in April when I met up with lots of key retailers they were all making plans to pull their summer sales forward because of the awful spring we were having. They were busy trying to order restocks of warmer clothes whilst anticipating a glut of flimsy summer layers. Of course since then, the situation has completely reversed - they [...]

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Summer t-shirts, skincare and a garden party

By |2018-06-08T17:10:20+01:00June 8th, 2018|Categories: Hair & Beauty, Interiors, Style|Tags: , , , , |

I realise that Wednesday's post was a long one so I won't take up too much of your time today. As the sun keeps shining down on us (I'm typing with my fingers crossed), I've actually got over my usual mania for madly wearing dresses before the clouds come back. This week I've found myself veering towards summer t-shirts, worn with shorts if I'm working from home and wide crops or a skirt if I'm in the office. Now this [...]

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City break with teenagers – 4 days in Valencia

By |2018-06-06T17:29:13+01:00June 6th, 2018|Categories: Family, Midlife, Project Happier, Relationships, Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

Hello, I'm back. My schedule is still slightly disrupted but it's good to be blogging again. Let me tell you all about our trip to Valencia which turned out to be very simple and very relaxed - just what we all needed. This is one of those posts that is a bit of a personal journal as well as a midlife style blog. As you know, one of the reasons I write is for any future great, great grandchildren of [...]

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The best swimwear for your body shape after 40 – and a hunt for a dress

By |2018-05-25T17:00:57+01:00May 25th, 2018|Categories: Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , |

Wait! Before you go any further you're going to need a pot of tea. This is a long post but I'm going to be disappearing for a bit so I thought I'd leave you with plenty to think about while I'm away. Today we're having another wander round John Lewis, this time with holidays in mind. I particularly wanted to look at how to find the best swimwear for your body shape after 40. So, a couple of weekends ago [...]

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The happiest of 51st birthday weekends

By |2018-05-21T16:39:26+01:00May 21st, 2018|Categories: Family, Midlife, Project Happier, Relationships, Style|Tags: , , , , , , |

This morning I am feeling every one of my 51 years which could have something to do with the fact that I decided to party like a 15 year-old in celebration of my 51st birthday. I haven't stopped all weekend and my brain is dead so I'm going to let the pictures do the talking and share a bit of my birthday joy with you. It all started on Friday night when my sister and brother-in-law popped over with presents. [...]

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Capsule holiday wardrobe 2018 #1 – dresses as the focus

By |2018-05-15T20:59:44+01:00May 15th, 2018|Categories: Accessories, Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , |

Right, I've started my research and stock of high summer clothes is already looking low in some places so it's time to crack on with the capsule holiday wardrobe 2018 posts. Quite a few retailers have told me that although sales of ordinary clothing have been depressed by the slow start to spring, holiday clothes have been selling well for a while. It seems that people have found consolation in thinking ahead to their sunny holidays and it makes sense. [...]

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A capsule summer city wardrobe, what I’ve been wearing and a blogger sale

By |2018-05-11T17:20:39+01:00May 11th, 2018|Categories: Sale, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I have a few different things to talk to you about today. Firstly a capsule summer city wardrobe challenge - can I create a chic wardrobe for a month in just fifteen pieces? Then a few outfits of the day and finally, full details of the blogger sale that will open on Sunday morning 13th May at 11am (British Summer Time). Please read the details carefully to avoid any misunderstanding or disappointment. Capsule summer city wardrobe challenge I get all [...]

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What to wear for a festival over 40 (or just relaxed summer dressing)

By |2018-05-04T16:56:20+01:00May 4th, 2018|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , |

Yes you've guessed it, we have a festival coming up so I'm thinking out loud again. Luckily for us it isn't a wet wipes / queue for revolting loos / lose your tent kind of festival. It's a taxi ride away from home so we can go along until whatever time we please and then return to the comfort of our own bed each night. So of course I'm now thinking about what to wear and imagining that it's going [...]

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Summer 2018 at Hush and Uniqlo – a Midlifechic edit

By |2018-05-01T14:26:28+01:00May 1st, 2018|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , , |

I have a big project on at work so it's a speedy post from me today but I just wanted to bring you an edit of some of the 'new-ins' now that it looks as though spring is finally arriving. Let's look at Summer 2018 at Hush and Uniqlo. Hush Summer 2018 Hush have launched their summer collection today. As always, they have included loose, flowing pieces that can be tricky to style. However they are balanced by figure defining [...]

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Trying on my Boden order – SS18 keepers and returns

By |2018-03-23T16:52:00+00:00March 23rd, 2018|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

Right everyone - the clocks go forward this weekend, it's officially spring (whatever the weather thinks) and I have barely done any shopping this season. You rely on me to keep the inspiration coming so I've given myself a kick up the bum by doing an old Midlifechic favourite - the Boden order try on. Before I start I must point out that this is not a sponsored post or collaboration with Boden in any way. They still refuse to [...]

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