Christmas Spirit

I hope you're all enjoying the festive season?  It's time for a catch-up.  I have been a bit quiet over Christmas as I was ill.  Nothing serious, just a cold, but it knocked me for six and left me draped over the sofa for three days straight.  On Christmas Eve, as I started to feel unwell, our living room still looked like this, after all the epic DIY we've been undertaking:

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

It's been distinctively festive in Cardiff this year.  The city always puts on a good light display, lighting up the castle and the main shopping streets, and that annual favourite, the Winter Wonderland, is like a Christmassy beacon, with its open-air ice-rink and fairground rides.

Working Wardrobe 8th December

We've had a cold snap this last week, so I've been reaching for cosy fabrics.  No suede shoes for work either, as there has been a lot of driving rain, so it's been boots all the way.

This week I only have three work outfits to share, as I didn't get around to photographing one of them, but as a bonus outfit I'm sharing what I wore to my yoga class Christmas party.

Vintage Residential Architecture

Wherever I go, I love to wander around a new neighbourhood and look at the range of architecture.  Looking at residences rather than public buildings is more fun to me.  I can more easily imagine myself living in a Georgian terrace, a Victorian mansion, or a 1930's semi-detached.  Here are the buildings that caught my eye on a rather blustery walk around a residential area in Swansea, here in South Wales.

These Victorian mansions have been left to crumble, as the right price for a sale hasn't been reached.  It's so sad to see buildings like these wither away, they would have been glorious.  The average house price on this street is £617,000 according to Zoopla.

My Mother's Wedding Dress

In the 1970s, my parents were fairly trendy.  I have seen the photos of my Dad in Elvis-like sunglasses, and my Mum in bell-bottoms and huge floppy hats.  They extended their trendy tastes to their wedding outfits, with my Dad wearing a blue suit, and my Mum wearing a maxi dress with matching hat.

Working Wardrobe: 1st December

I think this might be a new feature over the winter months!  I'm back again with what I wore to work last week.



These are the first 'selfies' with my new camera, a few focusing issues but already a massive improvement, as it seems to cope admirably with the low light levels on these dark mornings and represent colours much more accurately.

Attic Treasure

I use the word 'treasure' in a tongue-in-cheek way, because on our recent foray into the attic, we didn't find any antique vases, stashes of gold or chests of jewels.

Three New To Me Dresses!

The other day, I came home with yet more dresses.  Sigh.  Even when I'm not particularly looking, they seem to find me and hitch a lift home.

First up is this Asos midi dress (£1, car boot sale), in a lovely orange colour with black print.  If I don't wear it any other time, it could be a good Halloween dress for the office.  It has a bit of an '80s vibe on, I don't know why.

Working Wardrobe: 24th November

I'm back with another roundup of what I've been wearing to work.



Last week saw the biggest change to my personal style in years, in the form of a new hairdo!  I went to the hairdresser armed with a picture of French blogger Pandora, and had a blunt fringe cut in.  I also had a bit of feathering around the face because I thought that might be more flattering on me than having it all one length.  I'm so pleased with it!  I feel a bit more '60s, and a lot sexier.  It's more work in terms of maintenance.  When I get up in the morning, my hair resembles that of '80s children's TV presenter Sarah Greene.  So I have to get the straighteners out and tame it into submission.  A small price to pay.