Primark Home ‘hello’ metal sign : £2.00 
This is from their retro college range which I’ve loved since I saw some via the press show images…
source
I love a flash of orange and this super sweet sign was impossible to resist! It is now part of my kitchen décor, greeting guests as they walk in…
Look out for my blog next Saturday on what else I’ve fallen in love with.
This is a new story by Judith Kerr, partly based on a true story which happened to her father and is about a man rescuing a seal pup, falling in love and ultimately finding a new purpose in life.
Our family very much enjoys the work of Judith Kerr and our nursery bookshelves have always been filled with her work – The Tiger who Came to Tea and the Mog the Cat series being particular favourites. 
The story is aimed at children 7 years plus but could easily be read to children younger than that. I think that any child older than 12 years or so might find it too old fashioned and twee but I personally found the book charming and would read it to my youngest child quite happily. My eight year old enjoyed the seals antics and the zoo parts and definitely liked that there was a happy ending as he looked a bit worried after the seals mother never returned! Phew! 
Its a story that feels like its from another time in the very best way, with communication via letter, travels by train and an old fashioned courtship that reminded me a little of Esio Trot by Roald Dahl. Without giving the story away its a lovely adventure with a happy ending that all children (and adults) will smile at. Plus a story featuring a cute seal pup can never be a bad thing! Its 88 pages are peppered with lots of lovely pencil drawings by Kerr so is a relatively quick story to enjoy too. 
I also love the fact that at the back there’s details of the real story which although did not have the happy ending is still a fascinating read. My 8 year old was very interested in this particularly as it based based on how he puts it, ‘a real life story like a reality show but a book!
If you are looking for a new bedtime story that is gentle, sweet and wistful with a slight vintage vibe to it then this would be a great addition to your childrens bookshelves. It’s presented beautifully too with a dust jacket with gold embossed type so would also make a nice gift.
Mr Cleghorns Seal by Judith Kerr* is priced at £12.99 published by HarperCollins and available at all good bookshops
Autumn is here and its time to put away the pretty dresses, sandals and cute vests. So, what to wear now? Well I personally think autumn is the easiest season to dress for with 4 ‘uniforms’ that will get you dressed in no time. In todays blog I show one version how…
Todays uniform – 1) a roll neck, short skirt, tights and boots
What you need in your wardrobe –
This look is a really simple look to put together. Choose a slim fitting roll neck jumper and tuck it into a short flared skirt. If you’d rather go longer with your skirt pick an A-line knee skirt which works just as well.
Add black opaque tights (I favour a 100 denier tight in the winter) and black ankle boots. 
Keep it simple with no accessories and for the most flattering look keep your jumper and skirt tonal – i.e. both shades of brown as I have done here. If you fancy wearing a pattern wear it on your bottom half and keep your roll neck a plain coordinating colour.
And thats autumn uniform number 1!
Look out for my blog next week on creating another easy to put together outfit this autumn.
Jumper : Primark
Skirt : Papaya at Matalan
Tights : Matalan
Boots : Dorothy Perkins
Hello Fashion Monthly : £1.00
Hello Fashion Monthly launched almost a year ago and since then has become my go-to magazine for fashion inspiration. Surprisingly, not many people I know seem to read it as its often overshadowed by the many other fashion magazines that are out each month.
It has a great balance of high fashion and high street fashion, as well as smaller sections on beauty, lifestyle and weddings. The interviews are insightful and intelligent and are often with women in the fashion industry who have something important to say.
And it only costs £1! Every month! What a bargain! 
Hello Fashion Monthly magazine is available at larger newsagents and supermarkets – Octobers issue is out now.
Alessi fridge magnets: £5.50 each via Amazon. 
I love Alessi design. I own quite a few pieces and have them out in my kitchen creating a fun and funky vibe. Some even appeared in the interiors book I styled – ‘Style Your Modern Vintage Home’ by Kate Beavis. 
Photo by Simon Whitmore for FW Media for Style Your Modern Vintage Home.
When I saw Alessi had created minature versions of some of their most iconic designs I fell in love immediately! There are 8 fridge magnets currently in the range depicting 4 of the most popular and iconic Alessi designs. I think a mint Anna G bottle opener might have to be mine next… 
…Or maybe a Magic Bunny as I have the full sized version already (in real life it holds cocktail sticks).
At £5.50 each its a great way to buy into the range (Alessi designs can be quite expensive) or give yourself a little treat without breaking the bank. Mine sit on my orange Smeg fridge with pride and make me smile everytime I see them!
Find the full range of Alessi magnets via Amazon here and look out for a new item I’ve fallen in love with next week!
I love to dine outside in the summer and aim to do it as much as I can while the weather allows. I have a huge collection of outside dining items both new and vintage which I have amassed over the years and we have a family outdoor dining table placed at the far end of our garden (to catch the best of the sun) and small bistro set on our patio right by our kitchen french doors.
Ironically theres something missing at the moment…a BBQ! Our last one went to appliance heaven after many years of faithful service and I’ve not had time to replace it. I do love to eat outdoors with family and friends and if I got a new one I know exactly where I’d put it – I’d place it against the wall that runs alongside our patio. It would be near enough to the kitchen for practicality, but still in its own little ‘outdoor zone’ for my style aesthetics.
In todays blog I’ve styled up the space in my garden next to where I’d have the BBQ located and created a fantastic look on our bistro set using some of my favourite outdoor items that I hope you love!
I have kept the colours mainly neutral and gone for a stylish ‘grown up’ setting with a rustic feel including my new Kilner drinks dispenser and mason jar glasses. The bright colour of the orange fruit punch shines through and you just can’t help but feel summery (and thirsty!) looking at it.
The 5L dispenser is from The Range and costs just £14.99 which I think is a great price. They also do matching Kilner jar glasses with handles but they come without tops which doesn’t work with a house full of kids, plus I personally don’t like the handled version (they seem too heavy and clunky for my style) so I’ve co-ordinated mine with smaller, prettier mason jar glasses from wedding retailer Confetti.
I love the rustic simplicity of a mason jar glass and the metal screw cap and washable straw means it can be used summer after summer. Yet again we have Pinterest (and America) to thank for the inspiration!
A chenille throw and a few cushions soften the look – I love the message on this Asda hopsack cushion – ‘Enjoy the little things in life, for someday you will realise they were the big things’. Wise words indeed! I always like to have a throw or two available for guests to keep them cosy as the night gets chillier – why stop your BBQ when the sun goes down?
If BBQ’ing alone isn’t to your taste, how about setting up a pretty picnic basket, so that people can help themselves? This looks great but is also a clever way to display pre-prepared food such as sandwiches and cakes. Store loose food in quirky containers such as these mini mason jars again from Confetti – theres no tacky Tupperware boxes allowed here!
And once the sun goes down, light your candles – the glow from the tealights looks just lovely. I love how pretty different sized candle holders look when grouped together – repeat this throughout your outdoor space to make any party look magical. Holders can be picked up cheaply and one of my favourite places to buy them is Store TwentyOne where they start at just £1.
So get cooking outdoors this summer, surround yourself with your nearest and dearest, put on your favourite music and enjoy. I honestly couldnt do summer any other way!
Create the look:
- Bistro table & chairs – Tesco Direct
- Kilner drinks dispenser – The Range
- Mason Jar glasses – Confetti.co.uk*
- Mini Mason Jars – Confetti.co.uk*
- Picnic hamper – Vintage
- Throw – Dunelm Mill
- Cushion – Asda
- Wood bowls – Vintage
- Tealight holders – Store TwentyOne, M&S
This is my entry into the Style Your Space competition via Direct Stoves.
This week I am thrilled to be featured as M&Co.s blogger of the week. Find my interview with them here…
http://blog.mandco.com/2015/07/24/featured-friday-bloggers-a-blue-sky-girlie/
This week’s Featured Friday blogger is Sarah from Always a Blue Sky Girl. We’ve spotted Sarah styling some of our pieces fabulously on her social channels and though it was time to find out a bit more…
Introduce us to your blog Sarah…
A few weeks ago I was contacted asking if I wanted to take part in a 30-plus fashion blogger challenge. I jumped at the chance (having just turned 42 I more than fitted the bill!) The idea was to team up pairs of bloggers and for them to pick an outfit for each other from the current SS15 Bonmarché range.
I was teamed with the lovely Charli, blogger of CurvyGirlThin and I got to work picking her out an outfit I hoped she’d love – Charli’s blog features clothes and lingerie reviews from a curvy girls perspective so check her blog out to see my outfit choice for her. My package duly arrived and I was thrilled with it. Charli and I must be psychic because we both picked the same hero piece – a gorgeous colbalt blue biker jacket for each other!
The outfit chosen for me was contemporary daytime look that could be dressed up for an evening – biker jacket, black slim leg jeans, a white vest and a statement necklace. You can see why I was happy! I added my own shoes – black and leopard print flats and was ready to go! The David Emanuel jacket is a real hero piece – a strong colbalt blue but not too bright and made from a soft, moleskin type fabric. I wore a UK size 10 – its a good fit and also looks great zipped up which isn’t always the case with a biker style jacket.
To make the look a bit more ‘fashion’ I rolled up the jeans slightly. For a daytime look I would throw on a leopard print scarf – this also ties together the print on my shoes and I think looks super chic. The jean length unrolled works well too (see photo) and again gives you different style choices if say, you were wearing a heeled boot.
The jeans themselves were a great fit. I wore the size 10 with a 27″ inside leg. At 5’2″ this was the perfect petite length for me and I was very impressed with the fit. I’d say the sizing is true/slightly generous and if you’re in between sizes go down a size. They were tight enough, but not skin tight and with 2% elastane had a great stretch fit. The bit I liked best about them was the way they sat on your waist – I find once you have reached an *ahem* certain age, lower rise jeans are just a nightmare for bulges and unflattering muffin tops. These jeans were very flattering and comfortable and perfect for if like me, after kids your tummy and waist isnt what it once was.
The necklace featuring the colbalt blue of the biker jacket finished the look off, however a necklace of this style isnt quite ‘me’ and I personally would probably have gone for something a bit more edgy without the ‘bling’ of diamanté or a scarf as I styled it. I do love a big statement necklace and will most likely co-ordinate this outfit with one I already have – but lets be honest, jewellery is a very personal thing! I think this particular necklace would look great worn with one of the David Emanuel dresses.
I really love this look and think it works on lots of levels. I have to say, I have been really impressed by both the quality and fit of the items and will definitely be popping in to my local store to see what other pieces I can add to my SS15 wardrobe.
Jacket – c/o David Emanuel at Bonmarché*
Vest – c/o Bonmarché*
Jeans – c/o Bonmarché*
Necklace – c/o Bonmarché*
All available here
Scarf – Primark
Shoes – Dorothy Perkins
always a blue sky girl 