Happy New Year!

Happy New Year,  lovely people!

I wish for you in 2019 much love and calm, good health and joy, and above all, hope for for the future.

I thank you so much for taking time out from your busy lives to pop in to see me, today and throughout the year.  

I only wish I could share a coffee ☕ with you!

I am deeply grateful for all your nice comments through 2018.  It's the connection with real and lovely people that's makes blogging so spiritually rewarding.  It's always a relief to know you're hearing me and I'm not talking out into the ether.

Please, please, please keep those comments coming in 2019, it's a simple process to set up, trust me.

I'm truly grateful to those who have continued to follow me or who have become followers in the year - again, I can assure you the process to do this is quick and simple to set up.

And it gives me such joy to know that you don't want to miss even just one of my irregular posts!

And don't forget, you can also find me on INSTAGRAM (here) where I post my day to day outfits.

And you can find me on PINTEREST (here) too, where as well as my what I wores I post my Pinterest likes in style, home decor and,  of course, some food occasionally!

To all you sweet readers - the popperinners, the subscribers, the followers, and the commenters,

I wish you all the best for the coming year and thank you again most sincerely for your support in 2018, which has just a few more hours to do what it's been during for the last 363 days. - giving us the opportunity. to live, love and be joyous.

 For me, maybe 2019 will be the year I finally find my own level of structure, content and posting consistency on thepoutingpensioner.blogspot.com !!!

Happy New Year and

a la perchoine, 

Mary X.

Most Viewed Post

Continuing my Blogscars award ceremony, I share with you today the post which got the most hits.  

Yes, it was a bit of a surprise to me too!

A post about cream, black and white hardly sounds like a box office hit, although it is one of my fave colour combos.  Maybe it was the engaging screenwriting? 
But it is what it is and I'm not going to fudge the figures in order to re-post something  more exciting.
The post What I've been wearing lately HERE, was a close second.
Just in case you might be interested.

Hobbling into Spring in Cream and Black

Hi my loves.  How are you? I hope you are enjoying your day.

It probably comes as absolutely no surprise that our little heatwave has now moved on to beaches new.  We have now returned to spring's low-teens temps with mostly sunny days and the occasional grey day.  Yes, we Brits do obsess about the weather - you may have noticed?

I was out last night, meeting up with Sis and girlie cousins.  Yup, what to wear?

No hair-tugging deliberations - I wore this.

It's simples really.  

1. I happen to love cream and black.  

2. I have a new lacy camisole from Next which is totally rocking my world.  

3. I have Next bikers which needed an airing.

And 4. As The Photographer is now happy to offer the odd photo shoot and fashion views service, it was an opportunity to try out variations on a cream and black theme.

Zara "gold" asymmetric top, with Next bikers and Gabor Polyanna boots*.

A black, cream and white plaited belt from Peacocks.  I added it really to rile TP, for anything I wore after my sack-tied-in-the-middle look was just bound to get his approval!

Me: What do you think, TP?

TP: Fine, but without the belt [as it looks like a sack-tied-in-the-middle].  (I know him so well!).

Me: Is this better?

Me:  Without the belt?

TP: Yes, that's more like it.  Wear that. 

Me: Oh but I just must try this lacy/biker column with my fave slouchy Windsmoor cardi.

TP: Why?

Me: Come on, you've got to love this?!

TP: No.

Me: Well, how about a slouchy jumper?

Me: Is this any better?

TP: No.

Me: Why "no"?  

TP: There's something "not right" about it.  Try the first one again.

TP: Yes, that's the one.  Now let's get out of here.

Me: OK, but let's finish this off with the obligatory leoprint draping.

TP: We're now going to be late! [huff, puff, ggrrrrr!]

And there you have it, the screenwriter's version of how I choose  TP chooses my outfit.

I like TP to engage with my outfits.  But only occasionally.

I seem to remember from previous posts that a lot of you don't.  You prefer not to give your other half a say in the outfit process.  Am I right?  Or am I wrong?

*I've reverted to socks and boots for a few days.  I did the usual thing during our surprise heatwave last weekend and wore shoes and sandals with bare feet and walked those little feet off in the baking sun.  Yup, I'm now dealing with countless foot problems - why oh why do I NEVER learn?

Do you have a tried-and-tested programme to introduce your feet to the change of temperature and footwear?  Or are you like me?  Do you throw yourself excitedly into summer's sandals without a thought of the suffering  that you know invariably follows?

A la perchoine.

Coming up

I review THIS book and film:

I try out this dress:

Footnote, 27.12.18.

Interestingly, (to probably only me!), this trailer dress above was the subject matter of The Most Commented Post award.

AND COMING SOON TO A SCREEN NEAR YOU

A Boxing Day swim!

The Santa Baby Steal

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I wish you joy and calm, unity and hope; heaven knows we need it right now.

And I have a Christmas present 🎁 for you.

Because you're worth it.

It's a bit of frivolity and fun and it's my best EVER style steal.

I meant to pop it under your tree last night but I fell asleep after my Ovaltine (yup it's rock n roll all the way in the Pout house!).

So better late than never, I give you my step-by-step guide to

creating the perfect Santa Baby outfit.  Here's how you do it.

Take one plain red jersey dress.

Add tinsel.  Decide tinsel is not enough.

Start with the plain red jersey dress again.

Add Santa hat and old white faux fur stole found in cupboard a few days ago when searching out something to cover the base of the Christmas tree.

Decide the Hollywood Glam look is fine but something is missing.

Search house for real Santa 🎅 inspo.  Find two Santas.

Realise waist-cincher belt is the missing piece in this outfit.

Et voila!  The Santa 🎅 Steal.

My Santa🎅 Baby outfit!

And here's Kylie's.

Merry Christmas everyone,

Glaedelig Jul, Joyeux Noel, Feliz Navidad!

A la perchoine,

Mary.

Most Commented Post of The Year

It's that time of the year when we bloggers reflect and analyse and identify our nominees and winners, and those that panned.
Sort of like the bloggers' self-award season.

Today I've searched out the post which engaged you most, which I share with you below.  I am so grateful for all your comments and thank you taking the time in your busy  schedules to drop me a line or two throughout the year.  It's wonderful to engage with real people, to form ether friendships, for me it's the best reward from blogging.  And it's good to know that you're out there and I'm not just chucking my posts into a dark ether void!

On to the subject matter of this popular post, the dress.  I was disappointed when I first tried on this dress, but thanks to your solid support for it and TP's persuasion, I kept it and I have to thank you for you were all right and now I love it!

Firstly, here's the dress when it became a keeper.

It's a beach dress in Madeleine's eyes, so I styled it with glitzy sandals.

(Aaah summer, how I miss you ...)

I found a complimentary cardi for it and that made a big difference too.

This beach dress isn't just for summer either as I've worn it in the transition months too.

For example, I wore it a few weeks ago with berry boots and bare legs.  Yup, light years out of my comfort zone!!

So without further ado, here's the winning post in the Most Commented section.

 When Reality Ruins Expectation's Day

1 May 2018

Oh my friends, this has just GOT to be my blog equivalent of a Disaster Movie.  My Titanic.  Or that volcano movie, can't remember what it's called ... Volcano! maybe?

Whatever.  It's all gone wrong in the space of an hour or two.  About the same length of time as a movie ... spooky that, huh?  Coincidence or am I really living in a First World Disaster Reality right now?

Or, to put it in a less melodramatic way, I'm not having a good day.

I had been waiting for a warm, sunny day with little wind in order to show you the Madeleine beach dress out in the open air.  On a beach, perhaps. 

Yes, you heard right, Madeleine calls this type of dress a beach dress.  I call it a "posh going out for a summer supper" dress

.

 I waited and waited and the day of optimum outdoor bloggy conditions just hasn't arrived and according to the forecast, it won't be arriving for a few days.  So I got fidgety.

Fidgety because in my mind I had great plans for this dress and wanted to see what this baby could do in IRL.  I'd listed a whole string of ways I could wear this little bluey lavender piece of soft jersey.

Au naturel, with a tan - that certainly hasn't happened.

Grey shoes and cardi

Taupe cardi and shoes

With a tied striped shirt and espadrilles - and I don't even have any!

Black wedges, cardi and elastic belt

Black wedges and biker jacket

I think you're getting the picture.  I could see lots of ways to style this simple cutie.  And styling it needs this time of year when pasty skin and goosebumps just don't do it justice.

So I needed some styling (covering up) and had high hopes.

But when I put it on, it felt instantly, well, meh.

So grumpy old me starts blurting out the negative stuff ...

That's it, I don't like it.  It just doesn't work for me.  It's going back. 

Hey, it looks OK.  Try it at least with one cardi.  That one at the top of the pile.

(That's The Photographer chivvying me along.)

My response?  Still meh.

So that's as far as I went with my "styling" of this little beach dress.

"I'll just have to see what I can do with this bunch of pics" I huffed and puffed.

Sadly my bad day didn't stop there.  The only half decent editing software I can easily use started playing silly-buzzards.  I spent about an hour getting out these few low-res pics.

I tried another edit method.  It doesn't crop well, so I don't usually use it.  I played around with the colour enhancer to try distract the eye from the bad editing.

I lost my legs during this episode.

I became quite grumpy.  (You are guessing right, that is an understatement).

It's a shame as I was giving you spoilers about the dress.  

And I was personally triumphing over it, as I had only by chance discovered the Madeleine is shipping to the Channel Islands again.  So this beach dress was me dipping my toe back in Madeleine/s stylish water again.

So I turn to you, my fashionista readers, can you help me?

Can you see how this dress could be styled, other than au naturel and with a long-awaited tan?

If I am to wear this before said tan appears, I need to wear it with a cardi or a jacket or ... what?  Can you tell me?

  Can you be the one in the disaster movie who comes up with a mind-blowing solution that plugs the whole in the ship? 

The hero who finds a way to divert the lava away from the hospital? 

The one who I saves mankind, the planet, and hey, whilst we're on a roll, the universe? 

If that all sounds like too big an ask, well I'd be happy if you just came up with some styling solutions which gets me to keep the dress and puts a smile back on my face.  Oh and if you can recommend a free or cheap photo editing package, then that would be good too.

Thank you.

Well you gave me your thoughts and ideas and I am so thankful that you did because the dress is pretty darn perfect.

So on reflection, my friends, I say -

listen to feedback, for others sometimes see potential that you just can't see right now.

A la perchoine.

Christmas Overload

Helloooo!!

How’s it going, my jingle belled lovelies?  

I’m pretty sure you’re so otherwise occupied that you haven’t noticed that I’ve been seasonably AWOL this past week.  And that is good because it makes me feel a little better knowing that despite slowly drowning in tinsel and turkey dinners, my absence has gone largely unnoticed as you too busy yourself with all things seasonal.

But it really is a busy time eh?  I am now at that stage of the season when I have to do lists for my to do lists to oversee the whole, er, "slick" operation.  

These last few days in the lead up to The Big Day can feel a bit overwhelming, and I do struggle a little with Christmas Overload.

The "have I remembered everything?" cold sweat panic at 3 a.m.!! You too?  Or are you super-organised? Perhaps you have a laid-back, "whatever" approach ?

But right now I’m on my coffee break so I thought I’d just put index finger to tiny phone keyboard ⌨️ to say ho-ho-hi and share a festive outfit with you.

Cosy jumper and jeans, yule-ified.

Classic red, black and white, matchy-matchied right down to my little glittery penguin earrings!

Is there such a thing as Christmas overload?

The day was cold and I added a snuggly-seasonal blanket scarf.

Is this what Christmas overload looks like?

To be honest, I’m still finding styling blanket scarves a struggle, just as I did last winter.  What  to do with them?

There's the  granny-bib tie at the back style, or the granny-shawl tie at the front style.  And that's it.

I see the blanket scarf as grannycentric.  This is my second  winter with this one and my view and my tieing of them is unchanged. 

Though between you and me, the granny-bib style is pretty clever at hiding my granny dribbled turkey dinners 😊.

So I do thank whoever is in charge of fashion fads (China?) for coming up with this essential granny go-to in my wardrobe.  I'm now totally getting the bibbed-up blanket scarf!

Moving on from blankets and bibs, here's a 30 second round up of what I've been up to lately.  Those of a dieting disposition would be wise to steer clear of the "play" button though, as this clip contains festive food!

Does this look pretty much like how your week has panned out?

A la perchoine,

Mary 🎄 X.

What I've Been Wearing Lately

Hello, my lovelies. 

Are you busy decking your halls with boughs of holly?

Is December busy enough for you?

It's a little too busy for me, that's for sure.  I'm pretty much there with pressies and cards, the tree's a work in progress and the busyness is down to me decking the Pout halls, reorganizing stuff and painting bits and bobs around the house.  

How are your Christmas plans going?  I hope you're not as silly as me, taking on painting jobs in December, who needs that on top of everything else?!

Amazingly (for me) I've still managed to get out of those dreaded leggings and scruffy T in recent weeks, so here's a round-up of what I've been wearing lately.

But before I start up today, a question.  Do you get notification of my replies to your comments or am I just replying to big void that is the ether?!  I'd love to hear from you in this, cos I spend a lot of time chatting away to you when you comment!!!

Cashmere cardi (Madeleine), long sleeved modal T (The White Company), skinnies (M&S), heeled boots (Gabor).

Coatigan (Zara).

Denim jacket (Gap), plaid shirt (Primark), coated jeans (Next), heeled boots (Jones).

Top and shawl (Next), jeans (Primark), flat boots (Pikolinos).

Cashmere merino cardi (Woolovers), silk scarf (The Rack), long sleeved T (The White Company), skinnies (M&S), suede boots (Debenhams).

Cashmere mix jumper (Next), silk scarf (charitied), coated jeans (Next), knee boots (Gabor).

Larger size (that looked like a potato sack) returned.  Size down a couple of sizing if going for this jumper.

Cardi (Peacocks), floral dress (East), knee boots (M&S).

Nice to wear a dress for once.

Zara chunky cardi, v. old.

I'm looking for ideas on how to wear this, any suggestions?

Ruffles jumper (Kaliko), velvet loose trousers (East).

The jumper has been sleeping in my wardrobe for 15+ years yet this was the first time I've worn it.  Suddenly the ruffles and the sparkly trim seemed "now".  I'm calling this approach SLEEPER FASHION, (find out more about it HERE).

Raincoat, hat, skinnie, twinset (M&S), scarf (Zara), heeled boots (Gabor).

🎵 I beg your pardon ... there's got to be a little rain sometimes 🎶

Cashmere mix jumper and hat (Next), scarf (shop in Lyndhurst), skinnies (M&S), heeled boots(Gabor).

I wore this to bring the potted tree in from the garden and drape it with a few fairy lights.  Then I took a break from tree decoration to go out for a turkey dinner.

Then returned to drape tree with a strand of pearls. They're just real, of course *!

Clearer pic of funnel neckline of jumper.

And clearer pic of work in progress potted tree, now on its third Christmas.  Thinking this may be it's last indoors as it seems to bleach with the sun, guess it really belongs in a dark forest.

V-back version of Next cashmere mix (size down just one size with this style).   

Oatmeal seems to be THE must-wear colour for decorating the tree this year.

Tree, still a work in progress as discovered I'm short of a box of glass baubles which we must have missed on our recent loft trip.

So, I stopped work and went out for a turkey dinner.  

Are you spotting a trend here?  Who knew that decorating a Christmas tree could be so fattening?!

So that's what I've been wearing (and eating!) lately.   

I expect you've been rigged up in smarter attire as you enjoy the round of December parties, dinners and all things Christmassy.  Am I right?

From what I see here today, this pensioner's life isn't the mad social whirl that you're probably experiencing right now.

Perhaps I just need to put on a few cocktail dresses and tell you I'm looking tired because of my wall to wall Xmas partying, when the truth is this month I'm just painting walls!

  

* String of Pearls, they're just real, of course.

A la perchoine, 

Mary.