A January and February Instagram round up

Nearly halfway through March....so probably a bit late, but here's a round up of my January & February on Instagram.

We finally saw The Last Jedi at the cinema. Not bad, but I have to admit to a bit of eye-rolling at some bits...

New bedding thanks to JD Williams, plus plenty of tea, cake and cat quotes started the year off well.

I found a hidden bit of Southampton which really made think about how much history we have here - a blog post about walking the old walls is planned once better weather is here.

The Southampton Festival of Light came to town - there's a whole blog post about it here.

And there seemed to be a bit of an obsession with unicorns starting....

And finally, we were invited to the naming ceremony of a very special little lady (notice more unicorns?)

So although I don't think we did much, it wasn't a bad start to the year.

Thanks for reading

Cathy
xx

M&Co SS18 Holiday Shop Brunch

Last week the lovely folk at M&Co invited me to brunch to have a peep at their upcoming SS18 holiday range.

After the 'Beast from the East' and all the snow and bad weather - a little bit of sunshine was definitely needed! So on a rather soggy Wednesday morning, I made my way to Bourne & Hollingsworth Buildings in Clerkenwell.

What a beautiful location for a spot of brunch! The greenhouse was a perfect location to showcase the new ranges - there was definitely a tropical vibe going on.

Some of the key pieces that really caught my eye were those with the vibrant, tropical leaf theme.

If you wanted something a bit simpler, this cover-up was a favourite, neutral enough to wear with a variety of colours, but with a hint of a print. The white top I can imagine pairing with jeans and sandals for a casual day out.

I even spotted some tassel earrings!  One of my favourite trends from the last year so very glad to see no sign of them disappearing anytime soon. The fuschia and blue colour combo is perfect.

Younger shoppers weren't forgotten either.

It was good have a look at men's fashion as well. I think it's fair to say my other half is probably not too bothered with current trends, but I can certainly see him in one of these hats in the summer (the pastel shirts....I'd have to work on that!).

And last but not least - what a beautiful location. Although I've been to this part of London before, I had no idea this little gem was here.

A big thanks to M&Co for the invite - I now need to plan a summer holiday!

Thanks for reading

Cathy
xx

Southampton Festival of Light

We all need something to brighten up these dark evenings - the Festival of Light recently at Westquay Shopping Centre was just the thing to do that.

Digital light projections on the old walls of Southampton was a perfect mix of old and new. They started at 6pm every night for a week and featured a short animated film (with, as the other half said, 'sexy witches') as well as other light installations you could interact with. There was even a maze to get lost in!

It's so hard to show the true colours with photos, but hopefully these will give you a taste of what the evening was like.

This isn't the first time the walls have been lit up for the Festival of Light - I'd definitely recommend a visit the next time it's in town!

Thanks for reading

Cathy
xx

New Year sales haul - a new handbag or two....

We're into February and the sales are nearly done and dusted. So it seems a good time as any to have a look back and see what bargains I found.

I can't deny I found some lovely items. Only (slight) problem is - they're all handbags. 5 handbags to be exact. How many new handbags does a girl need? Well, quite a lot according to me.

The first one was bought before Christmas had even finished. I had spotted this beautiful clutch from Marks and Spencer earlier in the month but couldn't justify paying £45. However with a 50% reduction and vouchers burning a hole in my pocket - I hit the buy button on Christmas Eve while full of mince pies and Christmas cheer.

I think I would class this as a wonderfully impractical bag. It's going to show every fingerprint, you can't carry an awful lot in there and it can be a bit fiddly to open. But I love it. Goodness know where I'll use it though....

Next up was a bag that had been popping in and out of my basket at Simply Be for months. When I saw it was reduced, it was meant to be.

I like this bag even more than I expected. It's deceptively spacious and can fit my big old brick of a purse in as well as my phone, glasses and keys no problem. The zipped inner pocket is perfect for keeping anything small safe such as travel cards or tickets. The only downside is that the strap isn't adjustable, but as I like the straps long, it's not a problem.

The next bag is incredibly practical. It's become my everyday bag already and I've had a number of people ask me where it's from - TX Maxx!

It can be used as a backpack but has hooks on the side to make it more of a shoulder bag which I prefer. My favourite bits though are the outside pockets - one is the perfect phone size and the other fits my house keys in. No more scrabbling for keys at the bottom of your bag anymore. 

My last two bags are slightly quirky. The latest Disney collaboration with Cath Kidston were so lovely, but so expensive. I really didn't expect anything from the range to be in the January sales so quickly after being launched but when they were - well, that was my Christmas money used up (I think a lot of people who had paid full price just before Christmas were a bit disgruntled and I don't blame them).

Finally, a space man bag from Accessorize. No season is complete without a novelty bag from Accessorize!

In my defence, I have had a massive clear out with lots going to charity or onto Ebay. However, I didn't quite plan to 'restock' so quickly - oops!

Ah well, at least I have a bag for every outfit!

Thanks for reading

Cathy
xx