Goodbye 2013

2013 has been another eventful year.

It was the year:

my son, Joe, turned 18;

my daughter, Briony, turned 16 and enjoyed her Prom;

Joe sat his A-levels and left to study at university in Leeds;

Briony sat her GCSEs and left school to study at sixth form college;

my youngest son was named 'Batsman of the Year' at his cricket club;

my eldest son, Sam graduated from university and gained his first teaching job;

my mum turned 70 (and it would have been her Golden Wedding had my dad still been alive);

all six of us enjoyed a family holiday together in one of our favourite Spanish campsites near Barcelona.

Who knows what 2014 will bring?

I wish all my readers a happy and healthy New Year and hope you find the time and space to make many happy memories.

Jane X

The 12 Outfits of Christmas

1. Dec 23rd.
Last minute shopping.
Boots - Clarks
Skirt - Karen Millen
Jumper - Gap

2. Christmas Eve.
Pottering at home, present wrapping, making bread sauce and Ham in Coke.
Boots - Clarks
Jeans - Marks and Spencer
Layer - Marks and Spencer
Top - Asos

3. Christmas Day Morning
Prepping Christmas Dinner and present opening.
Boots - Marks and Spencer
Jeans - Marks and Spencer
Sweater - Karen Millen

4. Christmas Day Afternoon
Drinks in the pub with family and friends.

Boots - Clarks
Dress- Boden
Jacket - Miss Selfridge
Necklace - Wallis

5. Boxing Day
Visiting family before relaxing in front of Jack Rosenthal DVD (Eskimo Day and Too Cold For Snow)
Boots - Clarks
Skirt - Dorothy Perkins
Sweater - Karen Millen

6. Dog Walking
Boots - Hunter
Leggings - Adidas
Red layer - Marks and Spencer
Top - Primark
Hat - Superdry

7. Chilling at home

Boots - Clarks

Dress- Boden

Shirt - Zara

8. A visit to the hairdressers

Boots - Marks and Spencer

Jeans - Gap

Top - M and Co

Blouse - Top Shop

9. Annual mid-Christmas festivities at friends

Boots - Clarks
Dress - Mango

10. Visiting relatives

Boots - Zara

Dress - People Tree

Jacket - Miss Selfridge

11. Off to the pantomime at Liverpool Playhouse

Coat - Hobbes (from charity shop)
Hat - Next

12. Family Meal out

Boots - Clarks

Dress- Boden

Review of 2013: My favourite outfits

This year I have decided to choose one outfit from each month as a favourite.

Starting with January.

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Christmas Day 2013

Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and wishing you all a happy and healthy 2014.

Wishing You A Very Merry Christmas

I have been poorly sick since I broke up from work and not felt like making any outfit posts.

So I leave you with one of my favourite Christmas snaps from around 2000.

It is the same tree and Briony (now 16) is wearing her finest Christmas attire.

I still use the snapshot as a gift tag for her presents.

Wishing you all a wondrous holiday.

Jane X

The Last (Daily) Post

A sad day today, after more than 150 years, The Liverpool Post or The Liverpool Daily Post, as it was called when I worked for it, is to close today.
I joined the sister paper, The Liverpool Echo, in 1992 where I was a news reporter and later, features writer until 2003, when I left to freelance.
I started writing for The Liverpool Daily Post in 2004 and wrote, features, columns and reviews until I moved into education in 2010.
The column below received the most feedback.
In December 2005 I was asked by the then editor, Jane Wolstenholme, (who now writes as the novelist, Jane Costello,) to write a column in response to Gee Walker's revelation that she forgave the killers of her son.
You can read the full text here.

Last night I joined fellow journalists at the Cross Keys in Liverpool, a backstreet pub where we held all our leaving parties and Christmas drinks during my time there.
It was a bittersweet evening, renewing old acquaintances and mourning the loss of our beloved paper.

RIP  The Liverpool Daily Post.
1855-2013

I wore:
Boots - Clarks
Dress - Allium B

A Coral Christmas

It is the students' final day before Christmas today so it will be a day of fun and frivolity.

Lots of Christmas Quizzes, Secret Santas and Fancy Dress outfits.

I wanted a change from red today to opted for my coral top.

I bought this in the summer from the Whistles shop in Oxford when we took some students down for the University Open Day.

Coincidentally, some of the students we took were in Oxford today for their interviews.

Fingers crossed.

I wore:

Boots - Marks and Spencer

Jeans - Marks and Spencer

Shirt - Whistles

Necklace - Next

Christmas Countdown

Just three more working days and I am off until 2014.

Next year sounds a lot longer than two weeks and two days.

I finally got the trees up.

This is the artificial one which we bought in 1999 and takes forever to put up.

I love the collection of baubles that date back to our first Christmas in our own home in 1988.

When the children were little we used to let them choose a bauble each at Christmas.

I have even got some home-made decorations that my children made at school.

The little blue heart with the red heart in the centre is one I made out of my dad's old shirts the first Christmas after his death.

My dad loved Christmas and seeing the decoration reminds me of his presence.

Here's a page from my 2005 Scrapbook documenting Advent when the children were 5, 8, 10 and 14.

Briony is making Mince Pies and helping her dad put up the tree, Sam and Paul return from the woods with the saddest little tree you have ever seen. Joe is making decorations and the four of them show off the decorations they bought that year.

This tree is the 2013  real one, the 'loo brush' tree as my husband calls it.

I always choose the saddest looking real tree, the one no-one else wants as I like to give it a good Christmas.

We keep this tree in the conservatory where it is cooler and lasts much longer.

I miss the magic of Christmases Past when the children were younger but I have to say they are much more peaceful now!

Today I wore:

Boots - Clarks

Dress - Boden

Shirt - Ghost

Christmas Starts Here

 

It is definitely beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Tonight we are off out for drinks with our friends Kev and Denise.

Last year we went ice skating in Liverpool.

Or should that  be Paul and Kev spent most of the time on their backsides while Denise and I clung to the side.

I don't know what will happen tonight but I am looking forward to some festive frolics.

Then tomorrow it is time to put up our tree.

We put two up, an artificial one we bought in 1999 and a real one for the Conservatory.

We chose our real one last weekend and it has been drying out for the past few week.

I get more excited than the children now when it comes to dressing the tree.

Maybe the copious glasses of mulled wine help.

 

What are your weekend plans?

 

I wore:

Boots - Clarks

Dress - H and M

Thermal layer - Marks and Spencer

Scarf - Tesco

Gift Giving

A great day today as I gave out lots of gift vouchers to students who had achieved 100% attendance.

It was great to see our most diligent and motivated students get their reward.

Several people commented on my dress, telling me I looked 'very festive' but I don't need an excuse to wear red.

I wore:

Shoes - Clarks

Dress - Boden

Thermal Layer - Marks and Spencer

Stripe Me Happy

I love stripes.

Why settle for one striped garment when you can have two.

 

Stripes always cheer me up.

And I need cheering up.

My daughter's iphone is not working and she is, shall we say, not pleasant to be around right now.

 

Stripe Me Happy.

 

I wore:

Boots - Clarks

Top - Boden

Skirt - Karen Millen

Cardigan - TK Maxx

Florals

 

 

Another day sat at my desk but what better way to brighten a dreary Monday than a floral blouse.

Soon it will be the shortest day and it always makes my heart sing to know that after that day Spring is on the way as each morning that goes by gets lighter and lighter.

I was so full of the joys of spring today I went for a run after work - the first one in months.

 

Today I wore:

Boots and Jeans - Marks and Spencer

Blouse - Zara