Spring Fashion & Beauty Essentials

Happy Sunday my lovelies! It is party time in the blog world today thanks to the fabulous Clarity and Ellie over at Beauty Stalkers who are hosting a Fashion & Beauty Spring Essentials link party. Below is my contribution and when you’ve finished reading, head over here to join the party and celebrate the first weekend of spring!

Here in the UK the arrival of spring tends to be gradual, with a chill in the air that can linger until May (or longer if we’re unlucky..) so it’s all about making subtle tweaks to welcome in the new season, rather than baring it all. Cropped jeans, 3/4 sleeve lightweight knits, and accessories in lighter neutrals and cool ice cream colours are the order of the day for me. Make up needs to go lighter as well with a sheer base, pastel nails, neutral lips and eyes, and a touch of peach blush. Switch to a summery scent like Marc Jacob’s Daisy Sunshine edition and start prepping your pins for warmer weather and you’re good to go.

Spring essentials

Metallic jumper from Hush; Odette cuff from Stella & Dot; Cassini mid heels in suede from Whistles; Sutra Hobo leather bag by Diane von Furstenberg; The Skinny Boy cropped jeans by Current/Elliott; Playful Dots scarf by Becksondergaard

Spring beauty

Nars Blush in Sex Appeal; Essie nail polish in Lovie Dovie; This Works Perfect Legs Gradual Tan; Laura Mercier lipstick in Tea Rose; Marc Jacobs Daisy eau de toilette Sunshine Delight  ; Dr Jart + BB Beauty Balm; Bobbi Brown  Eye Palette

Five on Friday

Happy Friday! I know I say this every week but hasn’t the time just flown by? I had a midweek meeting up in town and somehow spending three days instead of four working at my desk, made the week seem much shorter. For starters, I hardly had time to take any pictures but here is a quick recap of what I managed to pull together for the weekly Friday post.

Cameron

Those of you who follow me on Instagram will have already seen this picture of my eldest son, taken on our trip to the woods last weekend, but I love it so much I wanted to share it again. I find it hard to believe that he will turn 11 this year but I’m also deeply proud of the kindhearted, sensitive yet fun loving young man he is turning into.

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This week’s clearout at my parents’ house unearthed this little gem which I wore to my high school prom at the age of 16 or 17. I remember I wanted to wear it with my Dr Martens (or DMs as we called them) but my mum persuaded me to go for more traditional black pumps (probably a good thing! Sometimes mum really does know best.). The dress then accompanied me to university where I wore it to quite a few college balls but after I graduated it was stowed away at my parents’ house and forgotten about .

I bought the dress from the now defunct Hyper Hyper, a huge retail space populated with stalls run by independent young designers, on Kensington High Street in London. At the time it was my favourite shopping haunt along with the slightly seedier Kensington Market across the road. I haven’t been to High Street Ken for ages – is it still the go-to place for teenagers who consider themselves a cut above the identikit chains?

This is definitely a piece that I want to hold onto for Clemmie although I have to admit that it has seen better days. Despite having a dry clean label pinned to it, it shows signs of having had a few drinks spilled over it and it’s slightly faded around the edges.

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Fingers crossed, we are finally booking our summer holiday this weekend. The pictures are from our holiday in Mallorca two years ago. We had such a great time and the kids still talk about it but sadly we won’t be going back there this year. I can’t imagine not going to Sweden in the summer holidays and, with building work planned for later this year, our budget doesn’t stretch to two trips abroad.

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I’m not a huge fan of self help books but I was intrigued by this one when I read an interview with the author in Red Magazine. Gabrielle Bernstein promises to help time-starved readers clear stress and find peace using practical in-the-moment tools. Definitely sounds like something I could do with!

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It’s a good thing that I didn’t succumb to the temptation to put away all the winter clothes at the first sign of spring. In the last couple of days the temperature has plummeted by several degrees and today I actually wore gloves on the school run. But yesterday was the official start of spring so I decided to celebrate by ignoring the cold snap and buying some beautiful tulips (and turning the heating up!)

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend! X

If you go down to the woods today…

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I’m a city girl at heart and although we live in a village on the outskirts of London, I love that the city centre is only a 30 minute train ride away. But despite my affection for urban living I do sometimes get a yearning for wide open spaces. Now that the weather is better, we have all (especially the children) been craving fresh air, trees to climb, trails to explore and hills to roll down. Luckily, we also have on our doorstep some of the finest countryside the south east of England has to offer. So on Sunday morning we set off early to beat the crowds and drove up to Box Hill in Surrey where we spent a good couple of hours enjoying the great outdoors. We all had a fabulous time and, best of all, come Sunday night the kids were so exhausted they were out like a light at 8pm!

Cam & Clem

Casper

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Clemmie

The boys & I

Currently Coveting #19: The Perfect Sweatshirt

Lately I’ve developed a bit of an obsession with sweatshirts. They are perfect for this time of year and easy to throw on in the morning when you don’t want to think too hard about what to wear. I also like the idea of teaming them with skinnies or a leather skirt and heels for a casual, yet glam, night time look. There are loads of nice sweatshirts out there at the moment, from bright coloured ones with brash slogans (which I’m definitely on the wrong side of 20 to wear! Only college kids could get away with those in my humble opinion) to more subtle options in muted hues like the ones I’ve picked out here. Comfortable AND stylish is always the best combination!

Sweatshirt 1

Karen Millen sweatshirt with sport detailing, reduced from £60 to £48.50; People Tree Love Heart Sweatshirt, reduced from £60 to £45; Asos sweatshirt with glitter heart, £25

Swaetshirts 2

Hamptons NY Baggy Beach Jumper from Wildfox, £101; Noisy May Varsity Sweatshirt, reduced from £20 to £15; Ribbed Sweatshirt by Boutique at Topshop, £45

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W Applique Sweatshirt from Whistles, £75; Whistles Fleur Logo Sweatshirt, £75; Cities Tri Marl Sweatshirt from Topshop, £24

Five on Friday

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{Clear blue skies and pretty blossoms made me smile despite the runny nose and sore throat}

I sat down to write this post and suddenly realised just how tired I am. The weekend really couldn’t come at a better time and for once the diary is quite empty so hopefully we can fit in some proper family time. I’ve been battling a horrible cold all week so it will be great to get a chance to recharge the batteries and just chill out at home. On the plus side we have had some fabulous weather – isn’t it lovely to reach for the sunglasses rather than the umbrella before heading out the door?

Spirulina

{I’ve been trying to stay healthy and boost my immune system with a daily dose of Spirulina. The boys have dubbed it ‘alien juice’ because of the green colour! I have to admit it does taste pretty awful and is just about bearable mixed into orange juice or a smoothie. But if it keeps the cold symptoms at bay it is definitely worth it.}

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{I promised Casper that I would include a picture of him dressed as a Viking for his class assembly this week. He did really well, remembering all his lines and the words to the all the songs, and there were quite a few. Strange to think that his next assembly will be the leavers one, before he and his classmates move onto the junior school.}

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{My ballerina pumps had their first outing this week. These are from H&M (last year) and so comfy but I need to buy some more – in black, silver and maybe pink.}

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{Despite feeling like death warmed up I made it to my rescheduled hair appointment this week. I had a good couple of inches taken off the ends – as I use hair straighteners every day without fail (I know, slap on the wrist for me..), my hair was quite damaged. I love the shorter length though and the lighter colour. I’ve only been to this hairdresser a couple of times but she’s definitely a keeper! Incidentally, while I was there I read an article which argued that taking selfies is good for your self esteem. Not sure I agree with that, it took me about 20 attempts to get one that I was vaguely happy with and I don’t think I’m exceptionally vain.}

Happy Friday everyone! Mine was made even better by the fact that my husband brought me flowers when he came home from work. That doesn’t happen every week, believe me! X

Dreaming of Chanel

Chanel Collage

Tonight, my dear friends, I am dreaming of a classic, quilted Chanel flap bag. Nonchalantly thrown over the shoulder it would be the perfect accessory to set off my spring wardrobe. I like it best when it’s paired with a casual outfit like the ripped jeans or slouchy sweater in the pictures above – the juxtaposition of polished and dishevelled gets me every time…
The price tag may be steep (to put it mildly!) but a classic Chanel bag will always be in style. And if your appetite hasn’t been sated by these pictures, there is of course a Pinterest board with even more inspiration – check it out here

Which accessory would you love to own if money was no object?

Currently Coveting #18: Stripes for Spring

Stride into spring wearing classic, crisp Breton stripes. Teamed with skinny jeans, colourful flats and a touch of sparkly jewellery, it is the perfect outfit for channeling that particularly French brand of effortless daytime style. Did you know that the Breton stripe has been a sartorial staple of chic Parisians since 1917 when Coco Chanel famously transformed a fisherman’s top into the iconic piece?

Stripes Collage

{Skinny jeans by Current/Elliott at Asos; Amelie Sparkle Bracelet by Stella & Dot; Colorblock Breton Stripe Cashmere Sweater by Vince; Ballet pumps from H&M}

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Here is some more inspiration from my Pinterest board, appropriately entitled ‘Stripes for Spring’!

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My Spring Wish List

Spring Wish List

As the first day of spring is less than four weeks away, I think it is perfectly legitimate to start thinking about updating the wardrobe for slightly warmer weather. Here in the UK, we’re not likely to get any really hot days until June at least so layering is the name of the game when it comes to trans-seasonal dressing. In many ways this is my favourite time of year: when you can dispense with the heavy winter coat and warm boots in favour of a light jacket and ballet flats. Just make sure you’re carrying a bag big enough to hold both an umbrella and sunglasses!

Here are some of my favourite pieces for Spring 2014:

1. Printed leather ballet flats, £325 by Miu Miu at Net-a-Porter

2. Grey lace hem skater skirt £20 from Topshop

3. Embroidered Nerine top, £98 from Anthropologie

4. Table Cloth Scarf in Lite Chalk, £149 from Odd Molly

5. Jacket in a textured weave, £29.99 from H&M

6. Grineeh printed bag, £199 from By Malene Birger

7. Zippy Knit in pink ash, £149 by Hunky Dory