Sunday, August 31, 2014

This Week...

My new favourite band are Ward Thomas. They are a British country act (yes, I know, I didn’t know that was a thing either) and they’re fabulous. They are twins Catherine and Lizzy Ward Thomas (hence the name) and Radio 2 are all over their current single Push For The Stride, which is how I heard of them. Born in 1994 (when I was doing my GCSEs – yes, I’m old) they are just 20 years old and are massive fans of the Dixie Chicks (as am I, which is what made me find out more about them when I heard them say that on Radio 2 last week). Here’s why I am fast becoming a fan of Ward Thomas:




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Friday, August 29, 2014

Outfit: Casual Holiday

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Bank Blonde & Blonde Shiloh studded ankle boots


August finally broke me with its crappy weather and on Bank Holiday Monday it was so cold and wet and rainy that I was forced to break out a pair of boots. The following day didn’t look much more promising (although the sun later came out and it wasn’t so bad) that I followed suit with this pair of ankle boots.

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I was just running errands in the morning and spent the afternoon baking chocolate chip chunk slab cookies and I think I finally have them perfected (the trick is butter people, not margarine, and actual chocolate bars cut up rather than just itty bitty chocolate chips). We have the whole of this week off work and despite the autumnal weather it’s still better to be off work than there.

Navy and cream stripe jacket – Next Tall
Navy top – Long Tall Sally (sale)
Jeans – Long Tall Sally
Beige suede boots – Blonde + Blonde (c/o Bank)
Silver necklace – New Look (sale)
Silver hoops – gifted
Scarf – New Look (sale)


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Wednesday, August 27, 2014

The British Tag

I always see some fun-looking tags on You Tube but as I don’t have a You Tube channel I never join in. However, there’s no reason I can’t pinch the tag and answer it on my blog, is there? So here goes then!


Tag questions:
1. How many cups of tea do you have a day and how many sugars?
I could chain-drink tea if I had the opportunity. Honestly. I will never say no to a cup of tea – don’t ask, just make me one. I know it’s probably not good for me, but I drink it black and fairly weak, so there’s no added calories and the caffeine content is probably fairly low. No sugars thank you.

2. Favourite part of your roast?
I do like a Sunday roast and I have been cooking them recently, albeit doing the meat in the slow cooker so I don’t have to think about timings. My favourite part is probably the roast potatoes – I do a healthy roast potato by using FryLite spray oil, and the apple sauce if we’re having gammon.

3. Favourite dunking biscuit?
I’m not a biscuit dunker. I can’t be doing with the crumbs in my tea. My favourite biscuit is a plain digestive. And if I am going to dunk anything in my tea it will be Twirl bar. Try it, it’s awesome.

4. Favourite quintessentially British past time?
It’s not something do regularly, but I do enjoy crown green bowling. Can you get anymore British than that?! We have a trip each summer with the church choir and I’m rubbish at it but it’s such good fun.

5. Favourite word?
Paraphernalia. (The spell check in Word just had to advise me how to spell that.)

6. Cockney rhyming slang?
Being from Yorkshire, Cockney rhyming slang is not really something I use. I would use Yorkshire words more often.

7. Favourite sweet?
White mice. I am obsessed with these at the moment.

8. What would your pub be called?
I guess it would have to be something with a footwear them so the Tan Boot perhaps?  Or the Red Shoe?

9. No.1 British person?
The Queen. For the James Bond stunt at the opening of the 2012 Olympics alone.

10. Favourite shop/restaurant?
My favourite shop is Long Tall Sally which has been catering to the needs of tall British women since 1976. My favourite restaurant is my local pub which does the best food.

11. What British song pops into your head?
I’m Your Man by Wham is in my head at present. I have no idea why!

12. Marmite
Eurgh. Not for me, thank you.


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Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Outfit: Shoeper Challenge 2013/14 Save 85 | Distressed Jeans and Party Shoes!

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This is my last shoe save meaning the 2013/14 Shoe Challenge is complete! This last pair of shoes is quite a dressy pair, but I love putting dressy shoes with jeans. I’m sure I must have worn these shoes around Christmastime but I didn’t get any photos and it doesn’t count as a save if you don’t get any photos. These were bought, practically brand new, from a charity shop for £4.99. That was around 6 years ago now. The glitter around the sides used to poke into my feet (probably why they ended up in a charity shop after just one wear) but I took to them with scissors and a nail file and now they’re pretty comfy for 3+ inch heels.

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This outfit was inspired by Instagram on Thursday night when Jen from A Little Bird posted a picture of her distressed jeans paired with her sparkly wedding shoes. I loved it! I kept the rest of the outfit simple and put on a scarf (9°C outside at 7am anyone? Where did summer go?). My kind of casual Friday outfit.

Grey sweatshirt – Long Tall Sally (sale)
Jeans – H&M (gifted)
Bronze glitter shoes – New Look (charity shop)
Red beads – eBay
Silver hoops – gifted
Burgundy and black scarf – River Island (sale)


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Monday, August 25, 2014

Review: Boots from tReds



I was contacted last week by a company called tReds to review their footwear, in exchange for a free pair of shoes. Never one to turn down free shoes, I said yes please.

I have an abject fear of being without a pair of tan boots in the autumn/winter/spring/wet or cold summer – basically all year round, so I chose the Kaitlyn boots from tReds own brand to add a(nother) back up pair to my collection.

The boots have leather uppers and are currently in the sale for just £19.99, which I think is a real bargain. There are plenty of other bargains to be had in the sale section too, so go and check it out.

tReds started as a shoe store in Weymouth in 1996 and has gradually expanded along the south coast, moving north with a total of 33 stores today. Their furthest north store is Nottingham though, which would explain why I had never heard of them.

Their website is available all over though, and alongside their own brand shoes they stock big names such as Blowfish, Dr Marten, Hunter and Fitflop, to name just a few. They also stock a small range of clothing.

With prices as low as they are, and free UK delivery on all orders over £29.99, this is definitely a website to keep an eye on.


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Sunday, August 24, 2014

This Week...


I seem to be unable to pass an old fashioned sweet shop without buying a bag of white mice. I am obsessed with them. I mean, they’re not even real chocolate, just fake chocolate flavoured candy, but for some reason they’re really tasty. If I could find somewhere that sells them in bulk (other than Macro etc that you have to have a special card for) I would be really happy in real trouble as I suspect none of my jeans would fit me for very long! You would think my liking for them would be a throw back to my childhood but no, I didn’t even like them when I was younger. Give me a barley sugar any day back then (barley sugars were my grandma’s cure all remedy for anything: sore throat? Have a barley sugar. Can’t get to sleep? Suck on a barley sugar, it’ll help – and she always had a supply of them in her handbag). Not now though, now it’s white mice all the way.


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Friday, August 22, 2014

Review: Shoes by Kelly Scott London and 6 Foot Fashion


If in doubt, wear red shoes. That’s my motto right? So it stands to reason that I would have several pairs of red shoes in my closet and a couple of weeks ago I added another pair to my collection.

Kelly Scott of 6 Foot Fashion very kindly offered to send me a pair of shoes to review so I picked out this gorgeous red pair of heels. They are made from patent leather and have a very subtle sparkle to them when they catch the light.

Kelly Scott is 6’1” and started her site because she was tired of trying to find clothes and shoes to fit her properly. 6 Foot Fashion carries lines by designers from all over the world, as well as their own Kelly Scott line (from which my shoes come). If the quality of the shoes is anything to by, this line alone is well worth checking out. The shoes are well made from high quality leather and they look incredible.

The site carries all of your wardrobe requirements, from premium denim, to cashmere in tall size (where else can you find that in the UK?!) and some lovely dresses.

Shipping is free on orders over £100 although the standard delivery charge of £8 for smaller orders is quite steep. And Northern Ireland is in the UK so why it costs £15 to ship there I have no idea. They also offer international shipping.

Although the market for us tall ladies in the UK is growing, it is by no means widespread at present so any addition to it is a welcome one, and 6 Foot Fashion’s beautiful range of clothing and shoes is certainly very welcome.


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Thursday, August 21, 2014

Outfit: Pure and Simple

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LTS navy dot flats


I managed to fall asleep again after my alarm went off this morning so I was very grateful that I had laid out a dress to wear today. Dress, shoes, necklace, done. Just how you want it when you’re short on time in the morning.

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I’ve worn something by Long Tall Sally every day this week so far. That either tells you that I love the pieces I own (true) or that LTS items form such a high percentage of my wardrobe that chances are when I pick something out it will be from that brand (also true).

Navy dress – Next Tall
Navy and white polka dot shoes – Long Tall Sally (gifted)
Silver necklace – New look (sale)
Silver hoops – gifted
Turquoise leopard print scarf – ASOS


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Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Outfit: The Return of Scarf Season

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It may only be August, but Scarf Season is here people. For me, scarf season can last anywhere between 8 and 10 months, sometimes even 12 if we have a particularly bad summer, so I guess I can’t really complain as I’ve been scarf-free since about the end of May. You know what else is here? Getting Dark Before 9pm Season. The nights are drawing in (a bit) and summer seems to have departed these fair British Isles at least for the time being. Don’t get me wrong – it’s not cold by any stretch of the imagination, it’s just quite a lot cooler than it has been and it seems to be raining a whole lot more too.

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I love me a good scarf though, and we’ve had an awesome run of summer weather this year so I’m not too sad. Plus there’s always a chance that we might get another burst of summer before September and autumn proper arrive.

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I was in casual clothes yesterday as I’ve been doing my first aid requalification course for a couple of days. This comes around every three years and as the training centre is not far from my house and the course doesn’t start until 9am, it means I get a lie in. So, yay!

Black top – Tall Girls (eBay)
Polka dot jeans – Long Tall Sally (eBay)
Leopard print shoes – George at Asda
Silver studs – Primark
Silver and diamante necklace – gifted
Leopard print scarf – H&M


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Sunday, August 17, 2014

This Week...

It’s Sunday and it’s time for another Weight Watcher’s-friendly recipe: Porridge Bread. I am shamelessly stealing this from the forums on the WW website and I’ve got all the girls at work into making it as it’s so easy. This is an oat based bread that is 0pp on the Filling &Healthy plan. It makes quite a heavy bread, a bit like a soda bread but it tastes good! It’s probably a good option to eat with soup on a cold day. I’ll try that when it gets cold outside.

You will need:

400g porridge oats
500g low fat plain yoghurt
2tsp bicarbonate soda
1tsp salt (though I use a little under a tsp as I find it’s a bit too salty for me otherwise)

Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix together (just with a spoon, not an electric whisk).

Once it’s all mixed up, put into a 2lb loaf tin and bake for about 45 minutes at 180°C. You may find you need to cover it with a tinfoil ‘tent’ if the top is getting brown too quickly.

And that’s it – possibly the easiest bread recipe in the world. If you slice it into 16 it works out at 3pp per slice if you’re counting points.


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Friday, August 15, 2014

Outfit: Shoeper Challenge 2013/14 Save 84 | A Favourite Jacket

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Priceless Purple Flats


I bet you thought I’d forgotten about the Shoe Challenge didn’t you? Didn’t you? Well I kind of had. And them Amber posted and said she had only a few weeks left and I thought I’d better check my list as I knew I wasn’t done and there were only about three weeks to go. Fortunately there were only two pairs remaining on my ‘to be saved’ list and these purple flats were one of them. These are from Priceless Shoes and were bought one Christmas (about 2008 I think) as I needed some dressy looking flats and I didn’t have any. The satin, pointed toe and bow on these makes them quite dressy I think, and at only about £10 they were ideal. I have the same pair in a bright blue fabric too and they don’t get a lot of wear, but they are always useful to have on standby, especially around the festive season.

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Anyway, moving on to my outfit. I haven’t worn this jacket in SO LONG, but since the outside temperatures in the morning have started dropping I decided it was the perfect time to pull it out. I love the nipped in waist and the huge collar.

Grey check jacket – Topshop Tall (eBay)
Black and white stripe sweater – c/o TM Lewin
Jeans – New Look
Purple flats – Priceless Shoes
Purple flower necklace – Dorothy Perkins (sale)
Silver hoops – gifted
Black leather belt – Pieces (c/o Sarenza)


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Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Outfit: Vintage Dress, Red Shoes

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I am back at work in the new office this week and things are settling down now. What is not yet settling down is the air conditioning which seems to be stuck on super hot in the morning and then icy cold in the afternoon. Layers are a necessity and I took a black cardi and leopard print scarf to layer over what you see here.

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Red and white dress – vintage
Black leggings – New Look Tall
Red shoes – c/o NOW Discount Shoes
Silver hoops – gifted
Black and white bangles – Scope


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Monday, August 11, 2014

Outfit: To The Rescue!

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Georgia Rose silver camo flats


Saturday afternoon I was going out for tea and I picked out this blue top to wear. It’s only got spaghetti straps and it wasn’t quite as warm out as it has been of late so I put my baby blue shrug over it. I’ve had this shrug since 1999 so does that make it vintage? Almost?

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The top was a little low cut for a family get together though but I was reluctant to take it off as I wanted to wear a summery top whilst it was warm enough to do so. Let’s face it, you never know how long the good weather is going to last in this country. (Case in point: Sunday was torrential rain all day.) So it was a white bandeau to the rescue! These bandeaus (bandeaux?) are such a useful addition to my closet and well worth the £2 I paid for each one. It covered up what it needed to and allowed me to wear the top I wanted to wear. Can’t say fairer than that for £2.

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These shoes are a favourite pair at the moment. I’ve always loved me some silver flats and these are pointy – something else I love in a flat shoe. The subtle camouflage print makes them just a little bit different though not any harder to wear than a plain metallic.

Blue shrug – Dorothy Perkins
Blue and white top – New Look Tall
White bandeau – New Look (sale)
Jeans – Long Tall Sally
Silver camo flats – Georgia Rose (c/o Sarenza)
Whitby Jet cross – gifted
Silver hoops – gifted
Black and silver bracelets – gifted
Sunglasses – Amazon


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Sunday, August 10, 2014

This Week...


I have mentioned the Strava app before, but as I’m still loving it I’ll tell you about it again.

The free version (there’s a premium version you can upgrade to but I don’t like paying for apps as I’m cheap) can be set to running (but I use it for walking) or to cycling. It tracks your route via GPS and at the end gives you a whole bunch of stats as well as showing you a map of where you’ve been. I particularly like that it tells you how long you were actually moving as you earn Weight Watchers activity points for how long you’ve been doing an activity. It will also tell you your average speed, the highest elevation to which you’ve climbed and whether you have achieved your fastest time per mile.

If you enter your age and weight will give you a guide to how many calories you’ve burned. And if anyone else has done part of your route and logged it on Strava it will tell you whether you completed that section faster or slower than them.

Strava is available on iPhone and Android.


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Friday, August 08, 2014

Lather, Rinse, Repeat

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Skechers navy trainers


Being on holiday from work is great. I have just been chilling out all week, taking it easy. And taking it easy means wearing jeans and t shirts all the time. Wearing the same jeans and t shirts two days in a row.

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This was Thursday’s outfit, and Wednesday’s outfit was the same other than the jeans (oh and the shoes – I wore flip flops on Wednesday). I went for a cycle ride on Thursday and this pair of jeans is my new pair of cycling jeans. (They’re not new jeans, just newly promoted to being worn for cycling.) They are super stretchy and the super skinny leg makes them perfect for not getting covered in oil around the ankles. The hole in the knee provides added ventilation too!

Navy and cream stripe top – Zara (sale)
Jeans – Long Tall Sally (sale)
Navy trainers – Skechers (c/o Sarenza)
Navy heart necklace – Scope
Silver studs – Primark


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Thursday, August 07, 2014

A Sunny Walk

On Monday afternoon, since I was in my home town, I thought I would take a walk up the large hill that overshadows the town. It’s several years since I’d been up there and the views from the top are spectacular and well worth the climb.


This is the view from a little below the halfway point.



There are still some yellow bikes from the Tour de Yorkshire lingering on to decorate the region for the summer.



The view from the top – told you it was spectacular!



And a panoramic shot of the surrounding valleys

There is always an ice cream van parked up in the car park at the top so I treated myself to a well deserved Calippo lolly before starting my descent.

Although the hill looks big, it’s actually less than a mile from the town to the top so it’s the perfect afternoon walk. If I still lived there I would be up there all the time.


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