My pre-Christmas rush

Thank you for taking the time to visit my lovelies!

Is it bedlam in your house at the moment? Oh my goodness, well it's madness with us, that's for sure! In the past 24 hours I've -

• Made my first batch of Christmas fudge
• Packed up all my Christmas presents, including said fudge and got those off in the post.
• Had an hour's power walk as part of my daily exercise routine and effort to drop 5lbs before Christmas (1.5 to go...)
• Written all of my Christmas cards, ready for posting tomorrow
• Cooked a roast dinner
• Done three loads of laundry
• Got up and gone to work
• Made a casserole in my lunchtime
• Made the Christmas dinner gravy a la Jamie Oliver - this get ahead recipe is well worth the effort (even if you have to do it after a day at work!)

On the blogging front however, I'm constantly playing catch up. It's taken me a week to get this outfit in front of a willing photographer (thank-you Steve!), but the weather was quite a challenge. The wind-swept look was hard to avoid, even here at Old Grimsby which was the most sheltered spot we could find in my allotted five minute slot.

Just recently you may have seen this pea coat by Kew159 (see here) and since then it's been on my mind to make the most of this flattering longer length jacket. Although it's not cosy, it's just so pretty that I knew I could layer it up to make it wearable at this time of year. The shaggy sweater supplies warmth to the outfit and the jacket adds style. Do you agree?

I hope to bring this outfit into play over the festive period, perhaps to wear to a drinks party. We're hosting a couple of drinks parties at work over Christmas and New Year so this may well make an appearance. 

The fluffy pink sweater came from the retro shop "Enjoy" in Truro. My midnight blue velvet trousers were £1 from a charity shop which I customised by cutting off the bottoms to make them into crops and then adding some beading trim and flowers that I'd scavenged from an old lace and beaded vest top. See the post about that here.

The star of the show today however, has to be this fabulous pre-loved multicoloured handbag (£11) that I found recently during my shopping trip to London (here). I adore the sweater and bag together, but annoyingly I did also have my new pink leather gloves inside the bag, ready for the shoot, but forgot to flash them at the right time. Once back home I found them - doh! The large flower ring and bangle were both gifts from friends and the jewelled ring was £1 from a thrift shop. The oversized pearls are old now, but were from Debenhams.

The pink sock boots were my Christmas present from Jamie last year. They're from H&M, and yes are the exact same pair as my red ones. My passion for these still burns bright.

And this is me, striding off to the next challenge that awaits. Don't bother calling me Superwoman yet - by tomorrow I'll probably be sobbing as some tiny problem swamps me, bringing me to a standstill! Balance in life somehow always manages to elude me ...

                                                                                    Anna x

My diy trousers

Hello again and how are you? I've just been released from the spell cast by Game of Thrones. Steve and I have been held captive since Monday when series seven was screened on tv. We've binge-watched the entire seven episodes and here I am, spat out and feeling a tad frustrated that it'll be another year 'til the final series will hit our screens. Are you a fan? We held out for some time, poo-pooing the fanciful notion of dragons, bloody battles and resulting gore, but once we started we were hooked and have raced through the entire box set in a matter of weeks. (Yes, my fellow bloggers, that's where I've been, when I ought to have been visiting you.)

Anyway, on to the topic of the day, aka my diy beading on these velvet trousers. They were a charity shop bargain at £1 but never quite inspired me. Too long and too boring in their original form, I was suddenly taken with the idea of perking them up one weekend. Last month I was struggling with the mightiest of toothaches and the sewing project was absorbing enough to take my mind off things. See the before elements of the project here.

The sewing was all done by hand, in the smallest of schoolgirl stitches that I could manage and was a lovely challenge. I have these odd times when sewing takes my fancy and realise I have to make the most of it, as I know the phase will soon pass for months on end. I've still not finished reupholstering my sofa cushions and now live with the entire sofa covered up under a throw to disguise the jumbled mess lurking below. 

So here we have the finished article and I'm rather pleased with them if I may say so myself. The beading gives the trouser hems a beautiful weighty swish that makes these culottes feel like the Rolls Royce of trousers now. I love that they're unique and might even pass as designer...?

Styling them up wasn't too troublesome once I'd rediscovered these pink glitter pumps. That led me onto the hunt for my blue bejewelled glittery belt - in my belt box under the bed, surprisingly enough. Playing up the details, I was pleased to add the pleated cuffed blouse as well as pink glitter nail polish. Understatement is not the look I'm going for.

I bought the blue velvet clutch in a little boutique in Truro just before Christmas. The best part of it has to be the rose gold clasp and trim. At the time of buying I had great intentions of pairing it up with my rose gold heart pendant, but that will have to be for next time. 

This necklace was a Christmas present from a girlfriend and is sparkly too, but doesn't show up very well in the bright sunlight. The rings and shoes are pre-loved, sunglasses by Quay Australia, blouse from Sainsbury's and biker jacket by Toxic. 

In a couple of weeks, I'm going to be celebrating my 60th birthday with an island party. But not just any old party, that'll be an ABBA party! My favourite movie of all time has to be Mamma Mia. So, the invitations are posted and the feedback good, with lots of talk of catsuits, platforms and wigs being ordered, and that's just the men! The more resourceful are recycling their disco outfits from the 80's, but no matter where it all comes from, as long as it comes together I'll be happy. Some of my nearest and dearest are dragging their (non-platformed) feet so may need a bit of help from me - what colour of satin shirt would suit my husband best, I wonder? Rest assured I'll be putting a post together of my ensemble as well as any incriminating evidence I can gather on the night - I fancy the fashion police might be out in force!

In the meantime, I'll say adieu and wish you well until we meet next time. Take care! 

Anna x