Easter weekend - what I wore (and did)

Just a quick hello from me today because after being preened and pampered, I am now heading down to London for the finals of the UK Blog Awards. I’m going to have a relaxing train journey and catch up with all of your recent comments. In the meantime, here’s a quick ‘What I Wore’ from the Easter weekend.

Girls night out outfit

This was last Wednesday, my friends had broken up early for the Bank Holiday and were keen to celebrate over a bottle of wine. Annoyingly I still had work to do the next day but, as ever, was happy to help them with their task.

Boyfriend jeans; Lila top; Boden shoes (past season); Whistles clutch (past season)

Last minute date night outfit

Moving on to Friday, I spent the day making a video for Finish (the dishwasher people) with the boys. I won’t be showing it on Midlifechic but you might see us all pop up on YouTube at some point in the near future. Anyway, by the time we’d finished, I was feeling really tired. So I curled up on the sofa hoping that Mr MC had forgotten about our intended date night. He hadn’t… so it was a quick change to go out.

Scallop shoulder top; Kick Flare jeans (past season); Jigsaw heels (past season) ponyskin clutch

It was freezing so I popped back in for a jacket.

On Easter Saturday we had an afternoon out with the boys at the Lakes Distillery in Bassenthwaite learning how to make gin…

… and eating afternoon tea. This is a terrible photograph but I was having to hold them back as I took it! As you will gather, I was far more absorbed by the gin and the cakes than by what I was wearing and completely forgot to take an outfit shot. If you’re in the Lake District, I really recommend the Distillery for an afternoon out (and there are offers on Groupon).

Cooking all day outfit

Easter Sunday was a day at home and I spent most of it cooking a special Easter lunch so relaxed comfort was required. As you can see, I have been shopping my own posts again and bought the Hush rosé jumper (by the way did you know that the Hush Spring sale is now on here)?

So many of you also recommended these Neath trousers that I had to give them a try. They are the perfect option for a relaxed outfit that still looks smart.

Rosé glitter jumper (available again to pre-order or still in stock here, size down – I’m wearing a small); Neath trousers; Scarlett sandals; Necklace

A little Easter story

As always, when asked if they were too old for the Easter Bunny, the boys protested that his visit was part of our Easter tradition and must never change. So the poor old chap went out in the middle of the night to work his magic in the garden. However, the next morning, when we finally got the boys out of bed, we discovered a conundrum.

Six of the golden eggs had been delicately unwrapped and eaten with just the foil left behind. We were dumbstruck – our garden is enclosed by high stone walls with a canal at the bottom so we couldn’t understand where such a meticulous intruder could have come from.

We were pondering the problem and eating hot cross buns when suddenly, we spotted our resident squirrel zigzagging through the garden like a ninja. As we watched, he reached into a bush and fished out an egg that the boys had missed. We had found our culprit. It happened too fast to pick up a camera so Mr MC has recreated him for you.

Did he get away with the last egg? No chance! Mr MC burst through the door at great speed. The squirrel looked at him disparagingly, dropped the egg and made his retreat. It’s hard to say which was the funnier sight, the squirrel scoping the egg in the first place or Mr MC’s moment of manly pursuit…

After a long lunch and a few board games, it was time for me to put my feet up and admire my new Sézane sandals (which will look even nicer when my feet are not Winter white). I stalked them until they appeared back on the website in my size. What a lovely shopping experience it was from start to finish. I received regular friendly emails telling me how their journey from France was progressing and when they arrived, the box included emergency soles to stick on (they should be resoled for protection). They even came with a chic Sézane cotton shopping bag.

Scarlett sandals

Lunch with friends outfit

To round the weekend off, on Easter Monday we went for lunch with friends that we hadn’t seen for a while. It was one of those easy afternoons – we met when all of our boys were tiny and they have grown up together so everyone is always very relaxed. Seeing their boys makes me realise how fast they are all growing though. I find I don’t register the change as dramatically in my own children.

Cashmere shrug (25% off); linen shirt; Indigo jeans; Silver block heeled shoes; Sunglasses; Bag (past season)

The UK Blog Awards

Keep your fingers crossed for me tonight when I will be at the Awards ceremony along with Catherine from notdressedaslamb who is a finalist too. We will be cheering each other on and having fun with the rest of the Over40Collective who are coming to support us. We will also be joined by the wonderful Greetje from nofearoffashion who is travelling all the way from Amsterdam. So, women over 40 will be well represented in a sector that is dominated by 20 somethings. Oh and our husbands and partners will be there too – I wonder how the blog widowers are going to get on, I can imagine they will have tales to share…

I’ve had mixed feelings about the finals this week. I was brought up not to be a ‘show off’ and so part of me has been telling myself how ridiculous it is to have entered something like this, especially when I’m not a full time blogger. However I have also been feeling excited. I never expected to reach the UK finals for anything so it feels like a big achievement as I stare my 50th birthday in the face.

Whatever the judges have decided, I have already received the biggest honour and that was being voted into the final by all of you. The fact that you took the time to vote for me in the madly busy week before Christmas will always be the greatest accolade. Nothing can beat that.

However, I thank you for the experience that I am about to have. You’d think that choosing an outfit would have been traumatic but actually as soon as I was shortlisted I knew what I wanted to wear. I will tell you all about it next week but, if you’re interested, I’ll post pictures on Instagram @midlifechic before we go in – and the results via Twitter @midlifechic.