Win a Bog Standard 3-Wick Candle!

It was only a matter of time before I secured some gorgeous Bog Standard candles to give away here on the blog and the good news is that I'm going extra large.

I've got two Extra Large, 3-Wick candles to give away. One in our seasonal fragrance - Winter (below) and a second in our bestselling Linen fragrance (above). So there are two chances to win.

Our 3-Wick candles have a 90 hour burn time - really filling a big room with scent, making them perfect for hallways and kitchen/living open spaces. Though there is a knack to burning them - especially the first time and I've blogged about it on this link...it's all about getting the first burn right.

To be in with a chance of winning one of these gorgeous candles worth £32.95 each, simply follow the instructions on the Rafflecopter widget below. The completion will run until midnight on Sunday 4th December and I'll contact the winners by email on Monday 5th, as well as announcing their names here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway Thanks for entering and for supporting both my blog and my new employers....it really does mean so much to me. Oh and GOOD LUCK!

Ax

The Woolovers Cashmere Poncho

The freezing office at work has drawn me to all offers of cashmere and wool knits...have you noticed?  I am always cold anyway, so working in an baltic office is a poor outcome for me BUT as the weeks have gone on and the temperature has plummeted, I've realised that it's nothing you can't dress for and cashmere, wool, thermals and layers have become my friends.

A long overdue 'what I've been wearing'

The title says it all - I've been most neglectful on here and I can only apologise. Between work, running, singing and the full time job at home, I've barely got time to sit down and chill...not to mind blog! But I've a few posts I really have to do and this weekend coming is a less busy one so I'm looking forward to catching up.

But for now, here's what I've been wearing on the days I got pictures. Oh and if you're not a follower on social media, you won't have heard that I had my hair  chopped off. Jury's still out...I like it but I'm still adapting and getting a shock every time I look in the mirror...

An entire outfit for less than £100?

As queen of budget dressing, I love a challenge so when the new TK Maxx store in Ards Shopping Centre, Newtownards, asked me to make up an entire outfit for less than £100, I was all over it!

The store only opened a few months ago and I'd heard lots of buzz so I was delighted to have an excuse to head over for a look and ladies, it didn't disappoint. From the huge selection in this gorgeous new store to the easy on the eye sales assistants (seriously - on the night I was there, the staff was almost entirely made up of guys in their 20's who couldn't have been more helpful - did this hassled 40+ mamma the world of good I tell you!).

Having the craic with the young man at the till....

Khaki & Checks

These are the colours I'm supposed to wear all the time according to colour experts...and when I wear them, I do see why. I've never liked browns or oranges that much but I could wear khaki all the time and the coat and jumper I'm wearing here are going to ensure I wear it more often this winter.

Etoile

This etoile jumper from the hush winter collection deserved a blog post all of its own. I'm not usually a fan of regular shaped jumpers or sweatshirts with waistbands but this one sits so well and doesn't make me look heavy on the waist like a lot of jumpers do. 

Work Trousers from hush

I was over in London a few weeks back meeting the team from hush and we got to talking about work wear. It's my new struggle. I have a job that doesn't require formal dress but I do want to look smarter than I usually dress. One way to do this is to ditch denim/skinny jeans and wear more trousers but apart from my M&S wide legs I featured on this post, I just can't find any trousers that are on trend, smarter than jeans, comfortable and will work hard in my wardrobe.

So hush took on my feedback and offered to send me 5 pairs of their trouser styles for me to try on and pick one favourite to keep. I thought about the best ways to feature the items and decided that a good old try-on at home post would work best. No fancy photos - keeping it real!

All the trousers I'm wearing in this post are a size 10 - they all have elasticated waist, side pockets and rear pockets. But they're all different and will suit different body shapes. Read on for more info. The Etoile jumper throughout is also from Hush - a new piece in their winter drop. I've a separate post coming up about it.

Starting with the Winona Cropped Trouser. One I wasn't expecting to love as much as I did. They fit really nicely and although I can't pull off the ankle boot/cropped trouser look, I do love them with these pointed pumps and if you scroll down, I realised they are more versatile that I thought. 

Winona Cropped Trousers - £55 - Size 10

More of what I've been wearing...

This week, the weather's been a-changing and there's a touch of winter in the air in Belfast. So the layers and the blanket scarves have come out.
And as the weeks have gone by in my job, the dress code is becoming increasingly dictated by weather. The office is quite cold - it's an old building that used to be farm outbuildings so layers are essential. I'm thinking my smarter knitwear collection will grow this winter. In fact, I've already ordered some cashmere!

Here's what I've been wearing, starting with this sleeveless coat that I've ummm'd and ahhh'd about  for a while in terms of wearability. But I think I've cracked it with this layered look using a grey v-neck knit and a white top. So pleased about being able to wear this scarf again - as you'll see a bit further down...