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The clothing items every gal needs in her wardrobe
I miss doing fashion content all the time. Don’t get me wrong; I adore the fact that my interests have grown and diversified over the past few years, but my passion for style is what pushed me to start my blog.
So, what better way to kick off the year than with a cheeky lil’ style post??
With the benefit of my many (many, many) years of buying clothes and styling outfits, I’ve come to develop a few staples that mix trends, classic styles and are easy to throw on and go. I’m not by any means someone who could create a capsule wardrobe, I generally live my life by a ‘I see it, I like it, it comes in 4 other colours too? I got it’ mantra!but it works well for me, so here are the items I can ALWAYS rely on.
Black ankle boots
They go with literally everything I wear – jeans, dresses, work, weekend, I wear them all the time!
My current go-to pair are a western style suede pair I got for Christmas 2018 from Marks & Spencer as part of the Holy Willoughby collection (which I later bought in Brown). They’re dead easy to pull on, easy to walk in with the low block heel and look cool because they’re different to a lot of other ankle boot styles.
Leather look trousers
The luxe look of the material instant,y elevates and adds texture to a simple look whilst looking effortlessly put together, so I always make sure I have a pair in my wardrobe. They’re a great piece to dress up and down no matter what your shape, size or personal style a d I legit cannot remember what I did before discovering them.
My top three places to pick up a decent quality and very affordable pair are Matalan, Next and Dorothy Perkins (these are my current pair).
Biker Jacket
Instantly adds an edge to any look – girly looks a bit edgy, simple outfits look a little bit more cool. The same as double denim, I have been known to do a double faux leather look on occasion by teaming a biker with leather look trousers….
I used to have an incredibly extra one with a nipped in waist a spiky stud detailing on the shoulders (I’ll insert a throwback pic of this below) but after wearing it to absolute death, I kept it simpler with this ASOS number that would suit pretty much anybody.
Trainers
Not the type you chuck on when you’re going running or to a gym sesh, I mean just a nice easy pair of kicks you can throw on for a day of running around on a weekend to be comfy and cute.
Much like by boots, I wear trainers with most things in my wardrobe as they instantly dress down a look and make feel a bit more funky.
Over the years my favourite pairs to grab have varied – it started with Air Max Thea, then Superstars, Stan Smiths, Converse, Vans and back then back round again. If pushed, I’d say three different kinds are good to have – a pair of sneakers (like converse/vans that aren’t trainer trainers), a pair of chunkier ones (like the superstars) and something more sport feeling (air max)
Red lippy
I know its not a wardrobe staple as such, but I’d argue that a red lop is almost as valuable to a look as a handbag or paid of shoes!
If I wanna feel glam, red lip. I want to feel put together, red lip. If I’m having a down day and need a shot of confidence, red lip!
I have two that I swear by – one is NYX Liquid Suede in Kitten Heels which is a true red that has incredible staying power and is great value at £7 (a little goes a long way so it lasts ages). The other is MAC Chilli which is a deeper red with a slight brown undertone that I find incredibly flattering on my skin tone. It doesn’t quite have the staying power as its a standard lipstick, but it’s a beautiful formula that looks and feels great.
Leopard print
No specific item, just the print. It’s essentially a part of a neutral colour palette these days that adds a bit of texture to any look. I have more than a few things in my wardrobe in leopard – wrap dress, skater dress (different types of leopard so totally fine) cardigans, jackets, shoes even.
If you’re feeling bold, match it up with a colour such as purple or red to make a statement. If you’re feeling less brave then keep it simple in black and white.
A skater dress in a cute print
Its a great shape that’s easy to wear, a print instantly does a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to styling, and it can be dressed up or down by changing a shoe and a lip colour.
Wrap dress
The same as a skater dress, they’re my lazy gal tip to putting together a nice outfit. Not only that, but they’re incredibly flattering to everybody – they show off and create nice lines on the body whilst remaining respectable yet a bit sexy and fun. Diane Von Furstenburg built an empire on this style of frock for good reason!
At the moment, I have three beautiful wrap dresses from Joanie clothing in some different and bold prints that have seen me through all kinds of occasions – girly brunch, dinner date, Christmas party, shopping days and work.
If you’re in a little wardrobe funk or just looking for some more options to add into your current rotation to mix it up for the new year, I hope this has helped give you a bit of inspo!
thanks for reading,
J xx
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Thank you, next…A final review of my 5 things for 2019 (and a few other things I’m so f*****g grateful for)
This is basically going to be a summary of how I’ve done with the goals I set myself at the start of the year with an added ‘happy list’ at the end. 2019 has been a bit of a weird year, but I only want to mark the things I’ve enjoyed about it, so even though I’ve had my share of rocky patches this year you won’t find them in this post!
1 – Shop in my own closet 75% of the time
I’ve done really well on this, a lot better than I even expected especially more so than the year before when I just banned spending completely.
I’ve probably invested in a couple more frivolous purchases over the last few weeks (hello Black Friday sales) but even then these were things I’d wanted for a while. I’m still thinking more deeply about buying before I pull the trigger and being more responsible with my money, which has enabled me to get more stuff done at home which makes me joyous, so I’m confident this have evolved into a behaviour I can maintain.
2 – Get a home bar
It’s done, goal achieved, I just can’t show you because that area 0f the house doesn’t photograph well (and also, the area itself needs to be restyled to accommodate) here’s a peek of what it looked like when we first set it up at the very end of last year, but it looks different now
Expect some better pictures and styling for this one in 2020!
3 – Un-join the gym and get outside
Well, this pledge has made it all the way to the end of the year! The girls and I still head out most Sundays (not every week, as sometimes people have plans or have had a heavy night before) and have plans to carry this on into 2020. It’s been a fantastic opportunity to not only get a bit of light regular exercise, but brilliant to see my girls much more often than I have for a long time which is great for my sense of health.
I did start to incorporate a bit of extra home cardio into this as I said I wanted to in my last update, however I sustained a bit of an injury and then didn’t manage to get back to it, but I will. I’m still quite clear that I don’t want to head back to join a gym at this point.
4 – Get out of the house more
Overall, I’d argue that I have done this throughout the year, however the Mr would probably disagree wholeheartedly!
I’ve said yes more than no to activities outside of work this year, though there have been a couple of periods where I was just knackered and needed to have a bit of time being a hermit indoors. But hey, I’m human and I’ll never be perfect.
5 – Dranks out, drinks in
You may remember that I took this one out of the running completely about halfway through the year. I’d had a few days/evenings on the sauce and felt it wasn’t going to be realistic to cut out as much as I’d expected. I’m not in any way disappointed about having to do this, I happen to think it’s healthy constantly review and change goals if they’re no longer relevant or achievable for whatever reason. More to the point, this one was vetoed for good reasons – I’ve had some lovely times out and about enjoying a couple of cocktails and some laughs with the Mr and my girls.
Other good things that 2019 has brought for me
– Getting to know and meet some wonderful people
This has been such an important part of why there have been positive points of 2019. There are people are already knew a little bit that I’ve spent more time with and lived, and I’ve met new people in a variety of ways that have become some of nicest/wisest/bestest influences on my state of mind. Thank you to all of you, I will Co ti ue to annoy you further in the new year!
– Travelling to Italy
A very important part of my bucket list was completed, and so much more as part of this trip. I most definitely heart Italy and would really like to see what else it has to offer.
– Feeling relaxed and comfortable in my own home
This probably sounds a bit weird, but I spent over 7 years in my last house just never quite feeling right and enjoying living there. It took a looooong time to find our current house (almost 11 months overall, and 8 months after selling the aforementioned one) but for me it was worth it. Although the Mr occasionally complains its smaller (and it is, a bit) it has a much better vibe about it and we’ve actually made some positive strides into to decorating and making it out own. I’m beyond excited to keep cracking on with this next year.
– The discovery of Ru Paul’s drag race
You could either think this is weird, or you could think ‘what the hell took you so long?’ to this! After hearing pretty much the whole of my social media feeds say how brilliant it was, I binge watched the entire first season one night when I was home alone and having a bit of a testing time. I really enjoyed it, and within 3 months I’d watch seasons 1-10 and the UK season 1 (I was team DDC and Cheryl Hole if anyone is interested).
Having a show so far removed from my reality was exactly the escapism I needed at a pretty stressful time, which I’m hugely grateful for. I just need to work out how I can watch the All Stars seasons that aren’t on Netflix now…little help??
– Experiencing my first Pride in Hull
I was invited to be part of this very important event in July, when I was on season 4 of Drag Race and I got to watch Alaska Thuderfuck perform which was blooming brilliant (but then had very high expectations of her appearance on season 5 which I watched shortly after).
What I lived about this event the most was the comraderie of the city, and the empassioned speech given by the Lord Mayor who is himself part of the LGBTQ community. I’m very proudly an ally for anybody who needs this.
– Spent more time with my niece and nephew
These munchkins are 4 and 5 and are genuinely two of my favourite people in the whole world. They’re so funny. clever and kind.
This year I’ve been on holiday with them, had them both over for sleepovers and generally just had them more at the house for visits and being the cool aunt I was born to be.
– I was immortalised in cartoon form
Bit weird (are you sensing a theme here) but on three occasions this year the ghost artist known as Peter and Paul made me and my HEY Bloggers gals part of thisbseries featuring local celebrities or prominent figures. For this reason I’m very flattered indeed, however I have been a bit dubious about the tattoos and cave woman-style outfits I’ve worn to date!
Thanks joining me this year, this decade (or even just for this post) on my blog. As always, I plan to keep going and add more and different content – as long as I enjoy it and put the work in, I hope you will too.
Thanks for reading, and wishing you very best for theyear ahead
J xx
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Christmas 2019
By the time you read this, I hope you’ve have a lovely time celebrating the festive season and are looking forward to the year ahead.
As I’ve done for the last few years (partly for my own memories, partly for those of you like me who enjoy a little nosey) here’s a bit of a peak at my Christmas Day and Boxing Day celebrations.
Christmas morning waking up at home (at 6.45am, the latest I think I’ve ever woken up on Christmas Day). After exchanging gifts listening to Christmas songs, we tucked into sausage sarnies and watched some festive TV.
Top, Joanie (one of my gifts from the Mr)
Quick change, tidied up the wrapping paper and it was off to see the family!
First stop was my grandparents house, they’ve been poorly this year so weren’t able to leave the house.
After that we headed to my sister-in-law’s for Christmas lunch with the wider family.
We all brought something along and laid it out buffet style, this year we were on turkey duty which was just a little bit scary but turned out really well thankfully!
I was the most stuffed I’ve ever been from a Christmas lunch
I just about managed to roll on to the couch and was put on childcare duty with my niece and nephew (tbh I think they were looking after me more).
After an hour I managed to enjoy a small bowl of my Mother-in-law’s sherry trifle (epic) and open the last of the presents for the day. We gifted our nephew with a table football and his little face was everything.
Boxing Day
This year was different to the norm, this time we hosted and I cooked!
To spruce up our not yet decorated dining area, I picked up these dark great charge plates from Dunelm and made a table centre using a garland I bought from Amazon threaded with battery operated lights and baubles picked up from B&M. I added in white candles (also from Dunelm and B&M) and some M&S Bucks Fizz served in the ice bucket from our home bar (which I promise I will write about at some point soon!)
From scratch, I made Moroccan lamb followed by panettone bread and butter pudding with cream.
If you’ve read these posts for the past 4 years, you’ll know this dessert is my stepdad’s showpiece so I wanted to give it a go to see if I could do a nice tribute to his years of hard work. And I did!
We did a few more presents and then moved to the couch for a brew and game of Cards Against Humanity
My brother won, however it confirmed what I already knew that my family are highly inappropriate and absolute filth!
I’m off work until the beginning of January and will be spending that time having more family gatherings (one at my mum’s new house with her in-laws, the other back at ours with my in-laws) time with friends and general relaxation.
If you have some time off too, I hope you’re able to use it in ways you enjoy. If you fancy more of a nosey, I’ve got a Christmas 2019 highlight on my Instagram which will likely have some presents on there too.
Thanks for reading,
J xx
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My 5 top tunes of 2019
It was Christmas Eve….
If you’re not imagining The Pogues lead singer drunkenly slurring these lines from Fairytale of New York, there’s definitely summat wrong!
Whilst I’m finishing up my final working day in the office for the year, take a look at some of my favourite tunes to bop around to in the car and make fellow drivers (sometimes passengers) cringe with embrassment for me…
Sucker – Jonas Brothers
Wasn’t a Jo Bro fan before, definitely am now! This song is so flippin’ catchy and makes me wanna hit Nick’s high notes and clap along to Joe’s Bridge. I’m a sucker for this.
Old Town Road – Lil Nas X and Billy Rae Cyrus
Such a chilled out yet boujee song “driving down Rodeo in my Mazarati sports car” anyone? Welcome back to the charts Mr Billy Rae Cyrus (though I still have a nostalgic soft spot for Achey Breaky Heart. Shhh.)
Bounce Back – Little Mix
Random fact, the singer of ‘Back to Life’ (the song sampled on this track by Soul II Soul) is Alexandra Burke’s late mother.
The lyrics make little or no sense throughout (who knew a dose of vitamin D would help you slide into your fave denims? Jesy Nelson, that’s who.) but the beat is hella catchy and I know the chorus cos it’s easy and I’m onld enough to remember it from the first time round.
Taste – Tyra
I feel like Tyga would be appalled that I’m a fan of his track, but it’s exactly my musical taste (taste… Crap joke alert, ha). I always try, and fail, to get Offset’s bit right!
7 Rings – Arianna Grande
I don’t know how the girl has managed to combine a modern R ‘n B beat with a 1960s tune originally sung by a nun, but she has and I’m here for it. I think one of my most used phrases this year has been “you like my hair? Gee thanks, just washed it”.
Honourable mentions to the following tracks:
– Break up with your girlfriend I’m bored, Arianna Grande
– Bad Guy, Billie Eillish
– Dance Monkey, Tones and I
– Beautiful People, Ed Sheeran
– Good as Hell, Lizzo
And that’s my year in music done!
Thanks for reading
J xx
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Testing the ALDI festive tipples range
Bit late in the day to pick up festive booze? Nah! And technically, you could have most of this at any time of year….
Yup, that’s right – for the first time in about 5 years I’ve decided to see what else is out there for my Christmas delectation that’s not from Marks & Spencer….
Traitor! Nope. I live closer to ALDI, they posted a leaflet through my door showcasing their range which peaked my interest, and I’ve done a blog post in M&S drinks for the last 4 years or so, so it’s definitely time to mix it up
I still wouldn’t say I’m a gin lover (although you will remember that I liked it before it was cool) but I’m drinking it more by default as people around me are.
This doesn’t taste like gin at all, the infused plum and orange flavours are great, almost like you’re drinking something non-alcoholic. When paid with lemonade, garnished with an orange wedge and served over ice, this makes a pretty nice drink all year round.
A drink like this can go either way can’t it – either a delicious minty treat or summat that you’d rinse and spit after brushing that you bought on sale at the pound shop (the reviews on the ALDI website are pretty polarising).
If you give the bottle a shake it shimmers which definitely gets you in the Christmas spirit before you’ve even had a drop!
If you wanted to go full on cocktail with this drink, there’s a recommended recipe on the ALDI website
Ballycastle Chocolate & Orange Irish Cream
Basically the ALDI own version of baileys, which I love, and as you’ll k ow from my previous post all about orange flavoured chocolate this is a flavour combo I’m rather fond of.
As well as being served the more traditional way as a short over ice, which is how I’ve been enjoying it, this would be the perfect edition to a nice warming cup of hot chocolate to give it an extra little kick (you could use this recipe I posted a couple of years ago and simply sub this is in)
There’s still time to pick these up before the festivities kick up another notch at the weekend, so happy drinking (but responsibly and for enjoyment) during the most drunken time of the year!
Thanks for reading and seasons greetings,
J xx
About Me
I’m Jenny, nice to meet you. I’m a thirty-something who likes fashion, holidays and wondering about life. A lot.
Jenny Chat 