A Tumultuous Tuesday

 

With the building work across from our balcony at full throttle we headed out for a bus trip to Playa del Ingles, one of the oldest resorts on the island.

As it was sunny in Puerto Rico I wore these preloved Top Shop shorts with my supermarket hat.

The resort is a very rugged, windy beach which leads to a series of beautiful sand dunes.

My husband is a keen bird watcher and went off in search of the elusive Hoopoe, I settled on the sand with my charity shop book which I read in two days and would heartily reccomend. Its set in 1930s Kentucky ad follows a group of women who have been recruited as Pack Horse Librarians based on the real life initiative by Frankin D Roosevelt and his New Deal.

As it was cooler on the way home I thre on this gorgeous kaftan from Next which my friend had bought me as an early birthday present.

As we had eaten out for lunch, dinner was a little cheese, bread and wine then it was time for bed in this gorgeous Dilli Grey nightdress.

Tomorrow we planned to find some new beaches nearer out hotel.

Manic Monday

 

The first Monday started well.

We got up about 6am and went to the gym which had an amazing view across the ocean.

Unfortunately, by the time we returned to our balcony for breakfast, work was underway on the building site across the way.

If I say there were four cranes there you get an idea of how big the building site was.

The upside was that we got dressed and went out early to explore in another direction.

I wore this gorgeous green dress I had admired on my daughter in Marbella last year.

She was about to send it to the charity shop because one of the tiers had ripped. 

I got my needle and thread out and it was as good as new.

It is a lovely linen feel.

I loved our walk down to the port as we always passed this cheery art on the wall.

There are lots of lovely viewpoints on the way down too.

We returned at 6pm just as the building work finished but we decided to eat out again and walked back to Amadores.

It was a 28,000 step day.

I have heard Vix talk about Dili Grey and I managed to  get a bargain top in their sale which is now my facourite top ever.

The beach was deserted by the time we got there.

And the paella was delicious.

Tomorrow we try out the local buses.

Saturday Night Sunday Morning

 

We arrived at our hilltop hotel around 5pm on Saturday afternoon which was our 34th wedding anniversary.

So it was a quick unpack and then off down the 650 steps to Puerto Rico for a meal.

Of course I ran out of wardrobe space and made good use of the generous coat hooks!

For our  meal out I wore the preloved Isabel Marant dress in the first photo.

We chose the first restaurant we came to and it was a winner.

Packed at 6pm we got a table right at the front.

The  next morning was a sunny Sunday and I wore these preloved All Saints shorts with a preloved Urban Outfitters belt and my me-made Granny Square top.

Breakfast was an Americano on the beach.

Lunch was a glass of Rose with a Tomato and Cheese Salad.

It is a lovely walk from Puerto Rico to one of my favourite beaches, Amadores.

We clocked up around 20,000 steps each day as we tried to escape the building work going on less than 100m from our balcony.

But more of that next time.

Back to Blighty

 We are back home after our holiday in the gorgeous Gran Canaria.

I had never been to the island before and couldn't believe it when days before we were due to fly off Vix wrote about her trip there too which you can see here.

While Vix stayed in the nothern part of the island, we opted for the sunny south as I was desperate for some sun.

This was the first time my husband and I had been abroad on holiday together since 2019 and after a busy 12-15 months with two grandchildren arriving and a wedding we desperately  needed some 

R & R.

While sadly, our hotel didn't deliver on the promised peace and quiet, the island made up for it.

Today's outfit post is my final holiday outfit - the layering I needed to return from 23 C to 5C.

It started with my Commando faux leather leggings and a River Island Tshirt that I bought on Vinted for £3 and it came with tags still attached.

The New Balance trainers were a birthday present and the hat I bought from a local supermarket the night we arrived for 9 Euros.

The virgin wool dress is by Isabel Marant and I bought it second hand from a fellow blogger. The bag is old from Zara.

And the poncho is from Monsoon which was reduced from £50 to £15 in the sale and was perfect for those chilly evenings.

I will return to the beginning tomorrow but for now Adios.

Desperately Seeking A Sailor (Top)

Ah the Breton Top or to give it the correct name, The Mariniere.

I can't tell you when my love affair with the hunble striped top began but as you can see from the photograph below, the closest I came to finding the perefect one for me was back in the late 1980s.

You can barely see the stripes on the top below in my photo with Ollie the dog but this was the closest I came to finding the One.

It was a a heavy knit and I bought it from the back pages of a Sunday newspaper.

I wore it with everything including these green short dungarees!

But  I have no idea what happened to it.

I only know I have never come close to my Mariniere until this week when I fell in love all over again.

But why is this simple striped top such a fashion icon?

I could give you  my regurgitated account but there is a better history here.

As you can see here, my love of stripes was not limited to navy blue, this was a lovely green and I looked like an advert for a striped mint that was peopular in the 1980s when this photo was taken.

I have searched high and low for a replacement Breton and came close

I came close here

And here 

But I never found the weight and style I loved until last week when I found this Uniqlo one and ordered it straight away.

It is not often I buy new clothes now but I will cherish this one for as long as it lasts.

Now I prefer to wear it with faux leather leggings but who knows where this love affair will lead.

I am off to Gran Canaria for a little while.

See you on the other side.

Plaid Friday

 

According to the news, today is Mad Friday.

But I have decided for me it's going to be Plaid Friday.

I love this red Zara dress that I picked up from Vinted last year.

I adore the pattern, the colour and crucially, the fact that you can fit four layers underneath too.

It was another chilly start this morning but I was out and about meeting up with friends after finishing teaching for the year yesterday.

First, I met my friend Pauline for a chat before driving off to my alma mater, Edge Hill University.

My friend Lisa works there now and we met up for a coffee on the campus which is a beautiful setting especially on a frosty morning.

I first visited Edge Hill University in 1973 when my mum's cousin was studying teaching there.

In 2010 I enrolled as a student for a year when I studied for my own teaching certificate - a PGCE English.

While I hated most of my teaching placements, I loved being on campus.

I thoroughly enjoyed the visit today.

It was a lovely atmosphere as it was the students' last day before the Christmas break.

I remember saying to a friend once that what I loved about working in education was the rhythms of the year.

She rather cynically replied 'you just love the holidays.'

After a coffee and catch up we strolled around the campus.

I can't believe it is 11 years since I was a student here.

I hope it's not too long until I return again.

Back home now and I am going to curl up on the sofa with a couple of dogs, a hot vimto and my (sort of) campus  based novel, Ghosted.

Have a lovely weekend.

Boots - New Look

Dress - Zara via Vinted

Rainbows, Rivers and Light

A half family day out with two of my four children, my husband, daughter in law, mum and my two grandchildren, Heidi and Mason.

It was half-term and we decided to visit Speke Hall before meeting up with Briony's husband in Liverpool later.

 

It was very wet although there was a beautiful rainbow to enjoy.

Not that the weather stopped Mason and Heidi enjoying the entertainment in the Great Hall.

I couldn't resist snapping this shot of my husband, Paul, who happened to do his musing just below the antlers.

We arrived in Liverpool city centre about 5pm and got the last table at Duke Street market where we all enjoyed our favourite foods.

We left a long queue snaking outside Duke Street Market and headed towards the waterfront for the 2km light show, The River of Light - a series of light inspired installations.

The children loved it and judging by the crowds so did half of Liverpool. It was heaving.

It was such a lovely thing to do in the autumn evening.

Not very often you get free family entertainment in this day and age but it was wonderful.

Heidi couldn't get enough of the light show.

We were all home by 9pm filled up with good food and more happy memories.