Favourite outfits and highlights of 2018 + link up

Is it just me that’s struggling to remember what day of the week it is? Christmas really throws a spanner in the works when it comes to routines. It’s a minor miracle that I managed to get this post out at all! I’m just back from a few days at my mum’s and getting ready for tomorrow night’s party. This will be the third year we’ve hosted a little get together for friends and their children who are in Isobel’s class at school. The parents predictably hang around drinking in the kitchen while the kids go feral and repeatedly set the farting gnome off! We’re a classy household 😉

Looking back at my highlights and favourite outfits of 2018

As this is the last Sunday Reflections link up of the year I’m taking the opportunity to look back at my highlights and favourite outfits of 2018. I know a lot of bloggers do this, but I think it’s fun to look back and take stock of the year. It also serves to remind me of outfits that I particularly liked, as well as the special moments and events. It’s like putting the year to bed and being grateful for all the good things that have happened over the last twelve months.

January

My favourite of January outfit has to be the grey coat with faux fur sleeves and burgundy hat. I loved it so much that I reworked it just a couple of weeks ago with my new Fabienne Chapot hat. Coming in a close second is the gold sparkly jumper and glitter jeans – another outfit I revived when I attended the Blogosphere Festival at the beginning of December. January can be such a dull month that I have to wear bright colours to cheer myself up. That’s a thought to bear in mind as we approach it once more.

February

By the end of February the signs of Spring are everywhere, and judging by the sunlight and my content expression I’m feeling all the new season vibes. I love faux suede biker jackets for Spring and Autumn; they provide an extra (and often much-needed) layer without the bulk of a big coat. This bright blue jacket really stands out against the black top and jeans, while the quirky Angel Jackson pop art bag adds a fun element to the outfit. I’m looking forward to wearing this jacket again, and mixing it with some other bright colours when the weather starts to warm up.

March

My favourite look from March is the outfit I put together for the Style Not Age theme of “Dotty for Polka Dots“. I’ve combined two of my favourite brands with my much-loved Emile Vidal Carre yellow coat (from the-Bias-Cut.com) and the oh-so-comfortable Emma shoes from Calla.

At the end of March I went to a family wedding where I wore this red Paper Dolls lace dress and velvet jacket. It was a bitterly cold day and my legs were freezing. They were also very much in need of some fake tan – they were so white they could probably be seen from space!

April

April was a great month…mainly because we went on holiday to Abu Dhabi! This was our second trip there so we knew what to expect and had some ideas of what to do. The weather was amazing and the Al Raha hotel where we stayed was fabulous. The chef made me a special vegan meal every evening, even though it was a buffet restaurant 🙂 We’d visitied the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque during our previous trip the year before, so I thought I’d got my outfit sorted this time. But no, it was deemed a inch too short, so on went the abaya. So much for getting those sunset shots in my new maxi dress! But at least we managed to take some outfit photos by the gates afterwards. And even though the decency police didn’t appreciate my long sleeve, high neck maxi dress, it’s still my favourite outfit for April.

Later in the month I travelled down to London for a ride in the Seabreacher – a submersible watercraft that mimics the tail articulation of real aquatic animals like the killer whale. It only lasted twenty minutes but it was definitely a memorable experience! I go dizzy on children’s fairground rides so braving this was a major achievement for me!

May

I really couldn’t pick just one favourite outfit for May…so I chose three 😉 I wore the Asos mixed print maxi dress for a pub lunch to celebrate our wedding anniversary. It was a beautiful sunny day and after our meal we took a little walk up a country path to take these photos. It pained me to pack the dress away for Winter because I only got to wear it once, but it’ll definitely be making another appearance next Spring/Summer.

May’s Style Not Age theme was “Jumpsuit for Joy” and this flared sleeve beauty certainly put a smile on my face. It still needs shortening by a couple of inches, but this is another outfit I’m longing to wear again. The floral print skirt and pink jumper epitomises Spring for me; the pastel shades and quirky rosé wine bag signal the start of BBQ season!

June

I featured a few dresses from Zara in June, so it was hard to pick a favourite. But in the end I settled on this red and blue one, mainly because I love the colour combination. Also, unlike the green and pale blue ones, it’s not belted so I don’t have that usual problem of my torso being too long for the dress proportions.

July

July was a fantastic month because it was mine and Isobel’s birthdays…and we went on our annual Summer trip to my Dad’s in France 🙂

To top off a wonderful week we went down to the cliffs to watch the lunar eclipse, which was magical!

My favourite outfit from July was actually a swimsuit and sarong…and luckily for us we had the perfect beach weather in Brittany!

August

There was much to smile about in August…no time for post-holiday blues! Soon after getting back from France I took Isobel to meet a very special family. This little foursome are rapidly becoming famous on social media…yes I’m talking about Mr Lumpy & Friends!

Getting so close to these beautiful creatures was a magical experience. A lovely lady called Christine feeds them on her decking every evening and once a month opens her home to wildlife enthusiasts. She also has foxes, squirrels and mice visit for a midnight snack, all captured on CCTV. Fame beckons for Mr and Mrs Lumpy, Humbug and Bumpy as they are going to be on TV in January. The Channel 5 programme called Animals After Dark, is scheduled for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th at 8pm. I can’t wait!

Another fun little outing me and Isobel had was going to watch Ninja Warrior being filmed. We didn’t have the best view but it was a great experience. Afterwards we had a nice meal at Salford Quays and took some photos of the bee sculptures that were dotted around Manchester.

My favourite outfit in August is without doubt the mustard co-ord from Zara. I love the colour, the way it hangs and how it feels on. It looks like a dress due to the cropped length of the top, but the fact that it’s a two piece gives me lots of options for wearing it different ways. The end of the month marked my 7th blog anniversary…it’s such an integral part of my life now, I can’t imagine not blogging!

September

September was an exciting month because I had the honour of modelling for the-Bias-Cut.com! I’ve got to admit that it pushed me way out of my comfort zone, but I loved every minute of it. Having my hair and makeup done and wearing lots of fabulous clothes was always going to be a blast, but the confidence boost I got from it far exceeded my expectations.

Aside from all the lovely outfits I wore for the photo shoot, my favourite has to be this snake print skirt and bell sleeve top. The skirt is really old but I was pleased to give it another outing, and it was really popular on Instagram too. Maybe everyone was getting tired of leopard print and the snake print came as a welcome change. Whatever it was I appreciate all those double taps!

October

October was very busy work wise, but also preparing for our family holiday to Barbados. We took both our mums, which meant organising dialysis for my mum…no easy feat given all the health checks required. But thanks to Pete’s dogged research and planning we did it and had a wonderful eight days in paradise 🙂

My favourite look from October is this simple red dress with split sleeves. It’s such an easy dress to wear yet makes an impact with the bold, bright shade of red. I added leopard print shoes and bag to give it a little more oomph. Less is never more in my book 😉

November

Getting back from holiday in early November to the long, dark evenings was a shock to the system. It took me a good week to regain my equilibrium. But the end of the month was lots of fun, first with a trip to Nottingham to meet up with former work colleagues. Then I had a night in London (met up with more ex colleagues) and went along to the-Bias-Cut.com pop up shop, where I had the joy of unexpectedly meeting Jacqui, Anna and Valerie!

We had such fun, looking at all the beautiful clothes and chatting about blogging. I bought a fab new jacket by Pom Amsterdam, which I’ve selected as my favourite outfit for November, even though I didn’t publish the post until December. I’ll let you decide if that’s cheating 😉

December

The last month of the year kicked off in style with another trip to London, this time for the Blogosphere Festival. It was such a brilliant day, which was almost entirely down to spending it with my blogging pal Suzi Grant of Alternative Ageing. We chatted all day and I was sorry when it was time to leave, the day passed so quickly.

I think this month has to be one of my favourites in terms of the outfits I’ve worn. I’ve had a lot of fun trying different colours…and wearing new hats! I know some people think that fashion is trivial, but I beg to differ. When you feel good in an outfit it makes the world of difference.

After months of searching on eBay I finally got my hands on the Monki jaguar jumper. It was definitely worth the wait 🙂 Another item I’d waited for (although not quite as long) was the bright pink Fabienne Chapot hat. I think I ordered it back in October, but as it was from a discount site that sources orders direct from suppliers it took ages to arrive. But like the jumper, it was worth waiting for. I can’t wait to show you the pale blue version I bought at the same time!

The leopard print pussy bow blouse and coated skinny jeans were Christmas presents to myself and featured in my last post. As soon as I saw them on the Sillkfred website I had to order them, knowing they’d be perfect together. I do my Christmas gift buying on a “one for you two for me” basis. Well, it’s a sure fire way to get what you want, right? 😉

I’ve got one more outfit to share with you before the year’s out as tomorrow is the last Style Not Age challenge…it’s going to be sparkly, so make sure you don’t miss it!