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FASHION / Same old brand new me?
Top, Topshop / Trousers, ASOS / Shoes, Misguided I would normally post a better quality of picture than this as part of a blog post these days, however I wanted to use this one because it captured a very are and fleeting moment where I felt a little more like my old self, so I felt it was a moment worth sharing.
I wore this outfit on my last night out of 2018 and it kind of reminded me of the stuff I used to wear in my slimmer days, which me think I may be starting to turn a corner in this whole self loathing thang I’ve had going on for the last couple of years.
A high waist and a high neckline are my sweet spot for making me feel comfortable and looking flattering, as this experiment was successful I may bring this combo out again more often!
What are your favourite clothing combos that make you feel good?
Thanks for reading,
J xx
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LIFESTYLE/ 5 THINGS FOR 2019
We’re into yet another year – another chapter of our lives where we promise ourselves a bunch of stuff will happen that’s better than what we’ve done before…Last year I posted 5 Things for 2018 which were some of my most popular posts of the year (the final one is here if you want to see how I got on) so I thought this would be a great thing to repeat for 2019. There are things I want to do and apparently pledging to do them on the internet helps me think about doing them a bit more! So, here goes…
1 – shop in my own closet 75% of the time 👖
Quick disclaimer: I haven’t watched ANY of the documentaries or read any articles about fast fashion and how wasteful the clothing and beauty industries are becoming. However, I have noticed for a number of years now that the way I spend money on these items isn’t very responsible at all, and I would like to work on changing that. At the start of last year I committed to a January spending ban which was a bit unrealistic and not the right way to go about things; this time I am simply resolving to make more considered choices for the sake of both my sanity and bank balance.
2 – get a home bar 🥂
When we moved into our house 6 months ago we promised ourselves that this would be one of the first things we did so we could enjoy some lovely summer parties at home. Well, that didn’t happen (though we did have a couple of nice gatherings anyway) but this year it will because we have the intent, a plan and a load of bar-related utensils given as Christmas gifts!
3 – Un-join the gym and get outside 🌳
Further disclaimer: this is not a recent pic of my, it’s about 3yrs old, I added it in as it shows me doing exactly what I want to start doing again.Most people join the gym in January, right? Not me! I’ve just given notice on my membership – for a variety of reasons I wasn’t going and getting stressed about not going, and I managed perfectly well with getting regular exercise pre-gym (although I must point out that I was at uni and not working full time during this period). I used to love getting outside, going for a walk and clearing my head a bit, so that’s what I plan to get back to doing again. There will need to be a few changes to my old habit this time to accommodate for work and also finding some new routes now I don’t live in the same place, but I’m confident I can make it work if I start small and build.
4 – Get out of the house more
But you’ve just said you’ll go outside more, I don’t get it? You make be thinking. Well, the Mr pointed out to me a few weeks ago that I’ve put myself deep in hibernation mode for a fair number of months now. Partly as I’m loving being in my new home, partly because I haven’t been making an effort to leave the house, partly because at some points I haven’t felt able to leave the house and function as part of society other than go to work. I need to do a little bit of work to enjoy life more throughout, from the little things to the big – adding the weekly date nights back in, a few more nights away, coffee dates with friends etc.
5 – Dranks out, drinks in.
I’ve been saying this for a while, but a little less conversation and a little more action is needed! I have long considered myself as ‘not much of a drinker’ (although “mid twenties Jenny” would fall down laughing at this, “early twenties” and “late twenties/early thirties” Jenny were virtually teetotal) however if you’ve checked in on my Instagram account over the last 12 months you’ll see that I definitely can’t say this right now…I don’t know why I haven’t curbed this as I really want to, so I plan to put myself back in positions where I can easily not drink but still have fun.
I’ll post my first proper ‘how I’m getting on’ update around March time, though any major updates will probably be in their own posts and on my social media channels.
If there’s anything similar that you’re doing are do share it with me, it definitely helps keep things on the right track when others are aware of goals to encourage and support.
Wish me luck!
J xx
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FASHION / My favourite outfits of the past year (2018/19)
I really enjoyed doing this post back in January (you can have a nosey at it here) for the previous 12 months so always planned to do it again, but this time I thought doing it to round off the year would be a nice way to go.
To be honest, most of my fave outfits didn’t come until part way through the year, which is when I allowed a few more pics to be taken and started to be slightly less hard on myself for not being perfectly skinny and beautiful (side note: I’m still pretty self critical, but I’m attempting to force those feelings down)
Maxi dress, AX ParisThis dress has seen me through a few social situations over the year, but this particular one was my friend’s beauty back years wedding. It was the best day for fun and making memories, and I felt good all day knowing a had a nice frock on that was also comfortable.
Ah, you knew a bit of Santorini action was going to work its way in somehow! I lived in this Topshop jumpsuit for a lot of time this summer – it kept me very cool whilst the weather was boiling. It didn’t have a lot of shape to it which is easily solved with these assistance of a good belt for make things look a bit dressier in the evening.
If you didn’t see me wearing the jumpsuit in my previous pic this summer, You probably saw me wearing this one. Unlike the the other this one had more of a fitted shape so was a teeny bit more flattering, the fabric was lot lighter though which means all underwear had to be thought about pretty carefully indeed!
Jumper, Dorothy Perkins / Jeggings, Dorothy Perkins / Boots, Dorothy Perkins / Bag, River IslandThis outfit reminded me of how much I enjoy wearing cosy knits and Dotty P jeggings, which I used to live in. I adore this red jumper and have worn it so many times since getting it a couple of months ago.
Cardigan, Topshop / T-Shirt, Topshop / Jeans, Topshop / Boots, Dorothy Perkins / Bag, River IslandThis outfit makes me feel both stylish and slouchy with the oversized cardigan in such a strong print, it’s a great lazy styling getup for low key coffee dates etc
Dress, JoanieAdore this dress, had a LOT of compliments on it, however I’m disappointed that I don’t look better in it. I really want it to be a kind of easy breezy, dress up or down wardrobe staple, so I need to either make myself feel better in it or look better in it!
This is exactly the same style of dress as the previous pic but a size smaller, and I think that helped me feel a little better wearing it as it fit a little nicer. This is meant to be more of a wardrobe staple too as it dresses up and down for most kind of occasions.
I’ll definitely be re-wearing most of these items again in the new year because it will help me achieve one of my main goals, which I’m aiming to reveal on 1 January.
Have you started thinking about any goals for the year ahead yet?
Thanks for reading,
J xx
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FESTIVE / Christmas 2018
I hope you all enjoyed a lovely few days of Christmas celebrations! As I’ve done for the past few years, I’m sharing a few snaps of what I got up to.
Quick disclaimer: isn’t to brag about anything I did or didn’t do, it’s just a nice memory for me to have and others to nosey at if that’s your thing.
The annual festive pork and apple sausage sandwiches, NOM. This year we even snuck in a cheeky glass of Bucks Fizz.
This year we were back with my side of the family for Christmas lunch (my mum is moving house in the new year so this is the last time having it in this home, sob.) how weird but cool do these crackers look?
Pate and Melba toast
Full turkey dinner with the works – courtesy of my stepdad and M&S
This right here is my most favourite part of Christmas Day – home made bread and butter pudding (you’ll have seen this on here before) which was drenched in double cream shortly after this pic was taken. This year I also brought along to M&S prosecco Christmas pudding with orange sauce, which was a big different and seemed to go down well.
If my mum put her Christmas tree somewhere else in the house, there’d be a good chance that things would fit under it!
If you’ve done a similar post to this link it in the comments below so I can nosey, same if you’ve done a ‘what I got for Christmas’ haul-style post.
Thanks for reading,
J xx
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BLOGMAS 2018/ Day 24: My Instagram best 9 (2018)
*Sings tunefully* It was Christmas Eve…..so perhaps we can gloss over the fact that I didn’t post yesterday. And on day 21, but nobody’s counting right? Awesome!Have you ever logged in to the ‘best 9’ website/app over the past few years to see which have been your most popular Instagram posts?
It’s been a bit of a thing over the past few years, so I thought that this year it’d be a nice way to bookend the year by reviewing my most liked posts – when/ where they were and a bit of context behind each. Hope you enjoy!
Hull Marina, May 2018
This snap was taken at the end of a slightly stressful but very happy day – it was the day we finally completed on the sale of our house and picked up the keys (from some of the rudest estate agent staff I have EVER encountered). We weren’t able to fully move in until the day after, so we took ourselves out for a little cocktail to celebrate. We were living right on the marina and right across the street from this bar, so it was the perfect last hurrah. It took 8 long and stressful months to find, which has made me appreciate what we have so much more.
Duck and Waffle, London, August 2018
London baby – you haven’t really had breakfast until you’ve had it at the highest restaurant in the city! This activity formed part of the ‘do things in London we’ve never done before’ tour, it was a bit out of the way but a lovely way to start what ended up being a very enjoyable day indeed.
My front room, East Yorkshire, December 2018
This one was a late entry but one of my faves too I think – one of the photos I took as part of my Blogmas ‘unveiling the Christmas tree’ post. These Next PJ’s are the snuggest I’ve had in life so far, I need to get on with finding some none festive replacements for the next 11 months…
Zoo Cafe, Hull, March 2018
This is a totally ‘for the gram’ moment – my faves Rock on Ruby brought out a bridal collect right before my 8th wedding anniversary and I saw an opportunity. I’m really pleased with how it turned out, so did ROR.
Oia, Santorini, August 2018
When you post pictures of one of the most infamous places in Greece, people are gonna gonna double tap for ’em! As part of our summer holiday to Santorini we spent a whole afternoon strolling the whitewashed streets of Oia taking in the scenery, with the explicit aim of taking good pictures. Well, that was my aim anyway. I think I was probably frustrated that the people in the top left were in my shot, but that’s kind of the vibe everywhere you go in this town.
Hull City Hall, January 2018
Another Rock on Ruby creation has made it in! Sadly the tee is no longer with me due to an unfortunate washing incident…this was part of an outfit I wore when I went to watch Jason Manford’s comedy tour and I had a great night.
Santo Wines, Santorini, August 2018
I remember this being such a lovely evening – we were tasting wine, watching an amazing sunset and having Greek food, what’s not to like? Well, the only thing not to like were people getting up in our grill trying to get their lovely photos too – we booked in advance so got a lovely table right at the front, those that didn’t were keen to make it look as if they had. I took photos at incremental points of the sun going down for a comparison and so we could remember how beautiful it was – we arrived when the sun was still bright hot and didn’t leave until after dark.
Oia, Santorini, August 2018
This (and the only below) photo formed part of the quickest set of photos I’ve ever had to take – people are constantly walking around, wanting to stop at the same place as you to get their perfect shot and are waiting around behind ’til you’ve finished and they can jump in on your setup. The scenery was definitely beautiful and I definitely made time to stop and appreciate it, but not at this exact spot (half way down a stair case to the sea front next to a tonne of bars and restaurants).
Oia, Santorini, August 2018
this is one of my personal favourite photographs from the last year, so I’m glad Instagram liked it too! As I said above we had to hustle to get this pic, I think we probably had less than 2 minutes before people were wanting to walk in front of the shot, so that makes it all the more surprising that a couple of cracking shots came from this. Definitely helped that the scenery is so beautiful, but also props to the Mr for his camera skills.
If you’ve also done a post like this, please link it in my comments section so that I can have a nosey, if you haven’t got one planned then why not do it?
Thanks for joining me for another year of #blogmas I hope you e enjoyed it as much as me. More posts on the way soon!
J xx
Dress, 
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 