Star Wars trainers and other bits

Hello there,

I had a bit of a successful shop in Primark the other day. I'd been on the hunt for some pink Star Wars trainers since spotting them on Instagram. But frustratingly, there was nothing in my local branch (it was becoming an obsession - I needed those shoes in my life!).

I'd finally resigned myself to never owning a pair - until that is I popped along the coast to Portsmouth. Despite it being a smaller Primark, they had a pair left in my size. Cue much excited and undignified squealing...

So here they are, it was truly love at first sight.

And if that wasn't enough shoe shopping for one day, I spotted these beautiful shoes in Dorothy Perkins. Now I'm lucky enough to be able to wear standard width shoes - which I'm pretty sure these are. They're not terribly practical and to be honest, I couldn't see me wearing them for a whole day of shopping - but they're glittery, sparkly and have little hearts on the back - what's not to love?

To round off the day, some unicorn, cloud and dinosaur socks - obviously!

So that was my little shoe haul, and as my other half pointed out, it looked like a teenager had been shopping. Which is perfect - let's hope I never dress for my age!

Thanks for reading

Cathy
xx

Wingz review with an evening dress

Hello there,

The lovely people at Wingz recently sent a pair of their sleeves* for me to try. If you've never heard of Wingz, they produce an amazing range of sleeves which can be worn with sleeveless dresses and tops. It helps transform a summer outfit into one which can be worn all year and is ideal if you're not fond of going bare armed.

After looking at their website, I knew straight away which dress I wanted to try these with. I'd  recently bought a beautiful dress from Navabi, but until it gets a bit warmer, it's not going to see much use.

As you can see, I quite like swooshing around in it!

Now the Wingz are pretty easy to put on. The website even has a video tutorial on how to do it. I ordered size 3 but I might have been able to get away with the next size down as they're pretty generous. This is how they look under your clothing:

I opted for the 3/4 length lace sleeve in black to match the lace detailing on the dress. I think they look like a pretty good match! What do you think?

More swooshiness and silly faces. I think these look great with this dress and have turned it into an all year round outfit. I did wonder if there'd be gapping at the back but as you can from the pics, there's nothing to see.

Wingz have a range of colours, whites, neutrals, purple and even a bridal collection. It's a great way to get more use out of an outfit without having to resort to cardigans.

Thanks for reading

Cathy

xx

*Items were gifted by Wingz - review is my own honest opinion

Steak of the Art - launch night

Hello there,

Last Thursday 18th February saw the launch of an exciting new restaurant in Southampton - Steak of the Art - and yours faithfully was lucky enough to be invited along to their launch night.

Now what makes this different to other restaurants? The clues in the name. Each restaurant has a gallery of artwork that not only brightens up your day but can be purchased too. For the Southampton launch, the Southampton Art Society was invited to display some of their works. What a great idea! For me, that's two of my most favourite things combined into one setting - good food and beautiful art. I couldn't wait to go along and see it for myself in person.

So the glad rags were put on and myself and the other half hit the town. The restaurant is in Ocean Village which is an area of Southampton that's really seeing some regeneration over the last few years. As you can guess, it's right on the waterfront with views over the harbour. It's an amazing place to have lunch at any time of the year.

As you walk in, you can really see the gallery effect, plenty of space to browse, sit and admire the artwork

We even had entertainment during the evening, first up was the caricaturist Picasso Griffiths  Now you're not likely to see any photos of my other half on this blog as he's very camera shy (or grumpy, you decide) so this is the closest you'll get to a pic

That's me on the right!

There was also a magician - who doesn't love a magician and this one was brilliant. Even close up we just couldn't see how he did any of the tricks (and we hadn't been drinking!).

The staff were kept busy keeping us all fed and watered with selections from the menu, these were so light and fluffy, we nearly fought over the last one...

Some of the seating areas were so unique - there's even a proper crows nest that you can book

There was also a beautiful side room for more private functions - perfect for that special party or even a small wedding reception?

What did I wear for the evening? My Lovedrobe dress which is turning into such a favourite. So easy to wear and comfortable too

Oh my goodness - look at that concentrating face! The bag is from the Limited Edition collection at Marks & Spencer

There's two other Steak of the Art restaurants - in Bristol and Cardiff. So if you're ever near any of these, I'd recommend a visit. We had a lovely evening and can't wait for our next visit! Thank you to Steak of the Art for inviting us to your launch.

Thanks for reading

Cathy
xx

Plus40Fabulous - things that make me happy

Hello there,

This months theme for Plus40Fabulous is things that make you happy.

Now, lots of things make me happy, family and friends and days spent with them. But I thought I'd look at something else that makes me very happy (and yes, will probably make one or two of you laugh).

As some of you will know, I collect smurfs - remember those little blue figurines with the annoying theme song? (I'm tempted to link that here, but I'll be kind...).

I've been collecting since I was about 8. As I child I was terrified of puppets and dolls and cartoons (I still can't watch the Muppets today without feeling panicky). So what on earth do you buy a small child that screams and cries at most things? Well, one day when I was shopping, I saw a display of smurfs. They didn't scare me, they were small, cute and tactile and most importantly, pocket money prices. I bought one and that was it, I was hooked. After that, everybody bought me smurfs as they were so damn grateful to find something I liked!

Since then, it's not stopped. With the introduction of the internet I found online communities that share the same passion. With Ebay I could add to my collection with pieces I never knew existed. And I met and made the most amazing friends from all over the world.

These people all make me so happy. We've known each other for years and they are some of the kindest most generous people you could hope to meet. And all of this through a shared love of smurfs - those little blue guys have got a lot to answer for!

Every year, we make the trip to Belgium for the largest smurf fair of the year - Blue Paradise. Here you'll find collectors and sellers from around the world of all ages. It's not just about the buying and selling, it's about catching up with old friends and having a laugh.

There never seems to be enough room in the car for all the smurfs!

So there you have it - this is what makes me very happy. When I've had a bad day, I can lose myself in my smurf collection and discuss the intricacies of markings and colour variations.

These are the other lovely ladies taking part and I'm looking forward to seeing what makes them happy as well.

Christy: http://www.sprintingwithscissors.blogspot.co.uk/
Daisy: http://daisysays.co.uk/

Kate: https://wearingmywardrobein2016.wordpress.com/
Kath: https://fatheffalump.wordpress.com/

Kaye: http://www.polishedcurves.com/

Kellie: http://www.bigfashionista.co.uk/

Leah: http://www.justmeleah.co.uk
Lisa: http://www.kitandkoboodle75.blogspot.co.uk/
Mookie: http://www.mookieslife.com/

Nikki :http://www.nattynikki.com/
Perelandra: http://www.pamperandcurves.com/

Sarah: http://www.plussizeproud.co.uk
Steph: http://misskittenheel.com/

Vicky: http://www.therandomnessoftwee.blogspot.co.uk
Yvonne: http://woosangwashere.blogspot.co.uk/

Thanks for reading

Cathy

xx