3 Ways To Wear A Spotted Suit {Gifted Products}

BODEN has 25% site wide until Sunday 28th April. Use code T7N1 at the checkout. x

Fashion should always make you happy. I can't stress that enough so having the chance to wear this BODEN SPOTTED SUIT really threw up opportunity for me to really enjoy styling an outfit. 

Routine dressing. It is a necessary thing for some of us, with work uniforms or office rules, we can quickly get sucked into wearing the same thing all the time. Even with regards to comforting clothes, we can find ourselves wearing the same t-shirt and jeans every chance we get. We can quite quickly get trapped in a rut within our wardrobe, always reaching for the same kinds of items. When we shop we can also buy the same items and end up repeating outfits. 

I am here not to try to change that but to tell you something that may change the way you dress.

Wear what makes YOU happy! 

Our happiness with ourselves can be reflected in so many different ways. It may be how you dye your hair, or paint your face with make-up, it may be in your clothing or in actions. To be truly happy with your appearance you need to be truly happy with yourself. No paint can dictate that, but the expression of happiness can be shown through.

For me, my uniform is a striped tee and jeans. It wasn't always but my comfort can be found in those simple things. And I wear them because I love them and wearing such things equally makes me happy. 

So when you are deciding what to wear on a morning, thinking about how you feel about yourself and how things may look on the outside, look at yourself and CHOOSE to be HAPPY, because what ever you wear will look great when it is teamed with self respect and a smile!

So, this spotted suit; a real happy statement that you may find works in more ways than just one! The joys of a suit is that you can wear it as a one piece or split it down and wear it as separates. That is what I wanted to show you, how you can use a suit in more ways than one. 

My first outfit is it together. You can't deny that this suit is a very bonny one. Navy blue with big white spots, worn with a pair of heels will have you walking, no, strutting into the summer! It would be perfect for weddings or parties or even as office wear. If you like suits this one really hits the spot!

BLUE SUIT JACKET // BLUE SUIT TROUSERS//  RED SHOES  // SUNGLASSES

This outfit demonstrates how just the trousers themselves will work well with a range of casual tops. Colour is fun and Boden get that. This knitted stripe top is perfect for this transitional weather. I have teamed it with the trousers and trainers to give my look a very casual one. 

STRIPE TOP // BLUE SUIT TROUSERS // TRAINERS // SUNGLASSES

My final look really is a happy one, another casual one but with a good statement Breton this outfit can really be worn anytime. I love teaming a blazer with jeans and this look is casual but so very wearable to so many occasions. I think it's the red shoes that really make it pop and the pattern clash between spots and stripes works so well!

BLUE SUIT JACKET// CHOOSE HAPPY TOP // RED SHOES

Do you wear many suits that you split three ways? I think it makes it a good investment if you feel you can wear in more ways than one!

View my last "3 ways to wear...." posts HERE.

*These BODEN items were gifted to share

Easter In The 32 Apple Trees

Tuesday; The kids are back at school and I am full of cold. I can't believe it. We have had the hottest Easter in 70 years and over the weekend I obviously picked up some germs and am now ill. It's a shame but I can't complain too much, I don't get ill too often.

Easter 2019; what a weekend. I think all Brits can agree that this Easter was a bit different to usual. A lot of people spent Easter weekend on the beach which is just a crazy thought. The springtime weather is usually nice but not this nice!! Anyway, we spent our weekend outside in either ours or my Mum's garden and I thought I would share a little photo post on how our Easter Sunday looked in particular.

Out at my Mum's you will find blossom tree after blossom tree. With an orchard of 32 apple trees they have quite a few in bloom at this time of year. Between these trees our kids were treated to an Easter egg hunt which had to be done pretty quick due to the heat, those chocolates were melting!

Between eating chocolates (which tasted so good after lent) and going home, the day was filled with sunbathing, photographing portraits in front of the cherry blossom, chilling, eating a lamb dinner al fresco and getting out my brother's huge slip-in-slide (basically a sheet of damp proof membrane which is slippy once wet and soapy!)

It was a beautiful day for us weather wise, a hard parenting day for us (too much excitement) and a very peaceful day in little Lincoln a world away from the tragedy that happened in Sri Lanka that very morning. God be with those people.

Easter weekend is always a beautiful one for me, I really like this season of new life, it appears everywhere and starting this new week on the back of such an important weekend I am reminded that the everyday moments must be recognised and celebrated because within moments those happy times can be no more.

My Children // Spring 2019

I have so many photos from recent events that I wanted somewhere to share them. I said previously that I have been getting a lot of work on Instagram and my focus has been over there which has meant the writing side which I love had just slipped by the wayside. I also recognise that often now, as the kids are busy with school and clubs that they just don't feature so much on here and I want to change that and share how our family life is going. They are growing up and having been part of quite a few things over the last month I thought I would share a little photo diary of what we have been up to.

The kids took part in the annual RUN FOR ALL: MINI RUN, a local children's fun race which coincides with the adults' 10K which happens every spring. This whole weekend is focused around running and the top end of Lincoln is closed. We had a great time with friends and family on the Saturday at the kids races and then on the Sunday stood 200m from the finish line and cheered everyone on. Raph was set to get as many high fives from runners that he could!

On Mother's day Raph learned to skate board. I had no idea he was even interested but when we went out for a walk at my mum's he grabbed a board out of the shed and that was it. I am sure the daily scoot to school made this easier for him.

For world book day the kids dressed up as The Mouse King and Clara from The Nutcracker. I have a beautiful version of the original story which Etta "reads" all the time and so that was the theme this year. I love that we can do something together and since Etta went to school have tried to pick a team look. They both really enjoyed this year's outfits!

Last month we spent a bit of time at RAND FARM PARK, a local attraction where we were invited to go after hours to take some pictures with the animals for them to use in promotional work. It was a lovely evening and as the sun set we fed lambs and held chicks!

The kids had their first ever dance exams in March. I was so nervous about them, had real parental anxiety and even nightmares three nights in a row. I think the main reason was because I simply had no idea what to do or expect as it was our first time. I got the results through just two days ago but I am going to keep that information for another post!

Tennis continues for both the kids. We love it and I am just trying to instil a love for sporting activities in the kids. I think it is so important for your physical health but also your mental health. Understanding and being happy with exercise when you're a teenager (I am hoping) will reduce a want to spend time on games and devices. (Again, I am just hoping this will be the case).

Swimming is equally a big thing. I don't want our kids to just be able to swim, I want them to be strong swimmers. This isn't to be competitive this is for them to understand and respect water and feel confident when in it. The younger they start that, the stronger they will become. It makes water holidays that bit easier too, and we can all enjoy swimming together.
This holiday they have had a go at their first long distance swim. They do it within their stages at lessons but there isn't a big focus on that, it's more technique based so each holiday they have a special session where you can just book them in with a teacher who then gets them some distance awards. Let's just say it was a success and Rob is a bit poorer after promising them £££s per length!!

Etta can now ride her bike. She has been on the cusp of wanting to for ages. How did we do it? Well the stabilisers came off and we went on a mile ride to town. It was a very slow ride and she spent the whole time just balancing and pushing herself along but after spending nearly two hours on it and managing a few rounds of pedals we stopped and left it two days before we did the same thing again. On the way home (and down hill) she got it. We made sure to cycle a bit more over the next few days (just locally) but it seems to have had a huge impact on her cycling ability. She is much more nervous than Raph was, still spreading her legs a lot but she will become more confident the more we do.

Life in general with these two is always busy but we have a great time. We keep life simple in all areas and at the moment all these activities just fit in with life in general; for now anyway which is important as we really believe if something is hard we are doing it wrong! This works and feels right and I am really just looking forward to it being warm and light and the time spent outside just increases!