New Years Eve...what I'm wearing.....

I've never really liked New Year's Eve, enforced jollity that lasts into the early hours... This year I'm off to a house party for the usual fun and frolics. The girls in Norfolk always love to dress up so I've opted for this dress ensemble... It's fab and I've worn it to almost every party this festive season as it always meets the occasion,  job done! Mine is by Rag and Bone, but you can get the same look for a fraction of the price with this leopard maxi from Mango. 

As new year celebrations continue through the night, my girlfriends and I always hit the dance floor with 'champagne confidence' so it's essential to find heels that don't leave your feet screaming for a foot bath... Lucy Choi are perfect, comfy AND sexy!

What ever you are up to enjoy!

Happy New Year!

WHAT I WORE...

Dress - Rag and Bone | Shoes - Lucy Choi (available at ANNA) | Gilet - Unreal Fur | Clutch - Diane Von Furstenberg | Long Necklace - Pink Powder (available at ANNA)

Too old for dungarees?

I'm not sure how old is too old.... I wore dungarees the first time around so I was slightly nervous at revisiting a fashion fad that my husband thought should be reserved only for women fighting for a cause of some sort, I'm clearly not in that camp!... Wow how times have changed, he loves me in them now!! This time I'm 50 and now panicking slightly that I might be a 16/61 - 16 from the back and 61 from the front!! Yeek! Oh well here we go, Embrace them and join me!...... Please??  

I've teamed my dungarees with a little fur bolero, by Day Birger et Mikkelsen, but it looks equally good with a bomber, great for carrying the look into spring. Go mad with & Other Stories' Kaleidoscope bomber is a great price and captures the trend really well!

My other 'young' craze is trainers, as I'm sure you've guessed already.... mine are from Isabel Marant ...... silly money! But I recommend Stan Smith originals from the Adidas store in Fouberts Place.  Much cheaper and cooler.... according to my 17 year old son's friends!

WHAT I WORE...

Dungarees - Current Elliot | Top - Velvet (available at ANNNA) | Trainers - Isabel Marant | Bolero - Day 

Beauty Essentials

When the nights draw in and the weather turns from cool to bloody freezing our skin and bodies suffer massively, especially once the party season is upon us and we start drinking our own body weight in alcohol! SO I try to nourish my skin and cleanse my body which helps me look and feel better. These are a few products that really do help, I'm not claiming they turn the clock back, clearly, but I do think they help my skin from becoming the texture of a nasty dried fruit and my body from bloating out like a balloon.

Skinceuticals is the best skin product I have ever used, and believe me I've tried them all!

I would also recommend a Vit C Skinceuticals facial with Sally at Beach Beauty (02072678787) in Camden. 

Black Chicken Balm of Ages sorts everything from frizzy hair to dry and irritating skin, a handbag must!

The Rodial spray tan is fab, stand in the shower, not on obviously, and spray away (remember to run the shower after)! It gives a healthy glow and it never streaks!

Skinny tea........thats your party detox girls! Lets just say it clears the toxins out!

My Christmas Gift Guide

Christmas shopping drives me crazy, I buy a few pressies in November, feel extremely proud of myself, then completely forget to buy any more and hey ho Christmas is upon us and I have a measly selection of gifts!

So this year... yes, its going to be different and I'm going to share it all with you!

Here is my super organised planner...

Husbands
(do we still do pressies after 21 years??)
Penelope Chilvers Dandy slippers - Penelope Chilvers have an amazing bespoke slipper service, choose your colour and design, I will be getting my husband's initials. A brilliant personalised gift for the man that has everything!

Teenagers

Nike x Liberty trainers - A great collaboration, the perfect gift for a teenage girl!

Brooklyn We Go Hard sweater - I picked up this sweater from Present, a great menswear shop in Shoreditch, crammed full of bits that any fashion conscious teenager would love!

Young Ones

I've got gorgeous step grandkids, so top tips for kids under 10.
Sew Heart Felt rabbit slippers - Super cute slippers, they have loads of animals to choose from!

Sew Cool Sewing Studio - A great sewing machine that is threadless and needleless! They're flying off the shelves, I was behind a lady the other day who bought 5! 

Zoomer Dino Boomer - The most technologically advanced robot dinosaur that you can teach and train, perfect for a little boy. I'll be buying all of my toys from local toyshop, Cachao, a fabulous shop stocked full of the best toys!

Girlfriends
Skinny champagne - Sugar-free, half the calories, champagne that tastes great, fab for a girlfriend that is forever on a diet!

ANNA candle - My favourite sent, fig!

Brother

Anything from the Paul Smith sale shop - Paul Smith has individual style, it's never seasonal, so always shop in the outlet! Great prices!

Sister (in law)
Whistles medium cracked clutch - I love Whistles clutches, great as an evening bag or a wallet (how I use mine). My sister in law loves all things gold, so this clutch will be a dead cert!


Oldies

Kusmi tea and tea pot - Fab flavoured green teas, great way to drink something healthy without realising it!

Fig and Yarrow facial care kit - Organic artisan beauty products that smell delicious.

The Whole Family

Failing all this get a rather large hamper for the whole family! Fortnum and Mason have a great selection.

Secret Santa

Also my top tip for ghastly 'secret santa', a 'Pochette surprise' (a lucky dip) from Colette, Parisian purveyor of all things cool.

And finally... My Wish List...

Charlotte Simone Popsicle fur- Pure luxury!

Annoushka ear cuff - I am lusting after this ear cuff from my favourite jeweller!

Chinti and Parker Love sweater (available at ANNA) - No christmas is complete without a cashmere jumper, this year I'm all about the slogans!

Texturising

I love wearing different textures together, it really gives an ordinary outfit depth. I'm also a lover of light weight fabrics in winter teamed with luxurious furs and knits for warmth. Lets face it as long as our toes are warm nothing else seems to matter! These trainer high tops have a towelling lining so super comfy and warm, especially without socks! Admittedly it was slightly warmer when I took these pics but I still wear this outfit but I now add a pair of dark navy Wolford tights. 

This lace top is by Rabens Saloner, one of my fav designers, she's Danish but lives in Bali so all her pieces have a boho twist....we sell the collection in ANNA but you have to be quick as it sells quickly as the prices are also fab! 

WHAT I WORE...
Fur - Max Mara (available at ANNA) | Shirt - Rabens Saloner (available at ANNA) | Skirt - Sea NY | Trainers - Philippe Model |

The Nutritious Nutribullet

Some of the delicious ingredients that I use in my drinks

I've Just discovered the bullet... steady on, by this I mean a nutritious blender, the new craze for all those health fanatics out there, and this really is a craze that I totally endorse.

The Nutribullet is an amazing blender, unlike it's 'blender brothers', it has a super powerful motor that not only blends vegetable and fruit flesh, it also does skin (apart from banana), pips, nuts, seeds and stalks, which means that all the nutrients found in the bits that we usually discard are now whizzed-up into a seriously yummy drink.

My morning drink

My morning fix consists of either kale or spinach, apple, ginger, and anything else lying around. I blend it with avocado (to thicken) and water, I use unflavoured coconut water for extra hydration, but you don't have to.

My husband prefers a fruit fix in the morning, so his consists of blueberries (the mother of all fruits), strawberries, a whole kiwi, half a lemon and ginger. I blend it with half a banana and coconut water. Top tip: keep frozen red fruits, so much cheaper and no nutrients are lost in the freezing.

My husband's morning drink

My friend using her blender

I recently bought one for a great friend of mine who sadly has been struck by the horrible curse of cancer. She is now happily blending and filling her beautiful body with all things healthy and nutritious.

So I urge you all to get blending- it's time to look after ourselves now that winter is upon us, especially if you want to party hard throughout the festive season like me!

COSY CASHMERE

I love cashmere and I love mixing textures, so this combination really works for me, quite coordinated in an un-matchy way. It's always difficult at this time of year to know what to wear as the weather is so changeable, it's still quite warm so this short sleeve off the shoulder knit is perfect! I've mixed textures by adding a leopard print and lace vest underneath this 360 sweater.

I love a bit of leather too.... these are by MIH but equally these days a great faux leather does the trick, a fraction of the price and great if you need a quick fix. I recommend the faux leather jeans from Zara, a steal at under 40 quid! (mind you, I have to admit I do love the real feel!)

I've topped the look off with the Acne Pistol boots, really the best boots EVER, an Anya Hindmarch bag and a pendant necklace, mine was a gift from a friend in Greece but I'm sure something from Monica Vinader would do the trick!

All in a days work!

WHAT I WORE...

Jumper - 360 Cashmere (available at ANNA) | Vest - S'nob De Noblesse (available at ANNA) | Trousers - MIH | Boots - Acne | Bag - Anya Hindmarch (available at ANNA) | Watch - Daniel Wellington | Purple Ring - Pomellato | Green Ring - Pomellato 

Old hands alert!  Girls, let this be a lesson to us all, use good hand product.....clearly its too late for me!

Faux Fur

Unreal Fur - reasonable (available at ANNA)

Zara - Cheap

Shrimps - OTT

A friend asked me recently... is it ok to wear real fur? My reply was simply - if you feel comfortable with it, then yes, do ask yourself why? These days we have an amazing choice of fake fur, it doesn't give the same warmth as real fur but it looks great and you can go really mad with it - colourful, long or short hair, stripes, animal prints - whatever takes your fancy. So girls maybe it's time to leave the fur on the animals for fashions sake.

Unreal Fur are a great brand from Australia creating luxurious faux-fur that has the look and feel of the real thing but with a clear conscience. It's made a splash in the media and is a celeb fave.

At the other end of the spectrum is new brand Shrimps, with it's fun and quirky approach to fur it was big at fashion week proving perfect fodder for street style snaps.

Fearne Cotton and Laura Whitmore wearing Unreal Fur Fire and Ice jacket

Shrimps at fashion week

Here are some of my faves:

BELLEROSE, Epoq Giraffe Jacket, £235

UNREAL FUR, Fire and Ice, £189

SHRIMPS, Dulcie Coat, £595

ZARA, Combination Wool and Fur Coat, £89.99

ZARA, Short Fur Jacket, £69