[SUNDAY STYLE]

Another weekend of sunshine. Maybe not quite so warm but still enough to make walks out into town and work in the garden feel pleasant.

Our little patch of garden is turning out to be a little sun trap which is ideal for the approaching summer. It just needs a little work to free up the beds from some of the weeds that are threatening to take over in places!

Becoming a homeowner has been an exciting and sometimes challenging process. The one thing I knew I wanted when we first started our house hunt a few years ago was a garden. We’d lived in a flat for five years and the idea of outside space was my driving factor in buying somewhere. Our first garden was more like a yard. It was paved over with a couple of little beds along each side. This time, we have a little paved patio area, a small piece of lawn and some fairly well established beds. I love it!

Next week, we’re planning a trip to get a table and chairs for the garden. We have a tiny bistro set but if we ever have guests, there’s nowhere for them to sit! So we’re getting the biggest table we can fit out back.

It’s been a little while since I did a Sunday Style post and as such I have a couple of shopping confessions. Before the weather turned and sun was order of the day, I snapped up two jumpers in the New Look sale (£10 each). They are currently being worn in the evenings and will be kept for next winter – if the weather doesn’t change again soon! I also snatched up some skinny trousers in Zara(£19.99). I’d had my eye on them for a while and come pay day, grabbed a pair. They’re a khaki green shade of brushed cotton – great for summer evenings.

How’s your weekend been? Did you get out and enjoy the sunshine?

[SUNDAY STYLE] At The Iron Bridge

Happy Sunday afternoon! A little belated, I know. But better late than never, as the cliché goes!

We’ve had friends to stay for the weekend which has been lovely but now I want to sleep for a week! Oh well.

I spent Tuesday in a rather watery Ironbridge, a beautiful town near to where we live and work. And home to the iconic Iron Bridge (above). I was working and spent a few hours braving the elements out of doors – from snow and hail to driving rain and wind, then to glorious sunshine and back to snow and hail again!

Sunday is traditionally my day of cleaning, putting the house to rights and preparing for the week ahead. After a few hours of dashing around stripping beds, sorting washing and cleaning, I am now sitting in my office with a cup of coffee and a hot cross bun. For the rest of the day I plan to kick back, read some of my favourite blogs and do very little besides.

How about you? How do you spend your Sunday?

As for shopping this week (the most important question – obviously!!): I have bought a little lot!

Last weekend in Oxford with my girl friends I bought my wedding shoes!!! I had spotted them a while ago but they were in the sale and none were left online in my size. In store, they had one pair left – and it was in my size! I had to have them! The don’t count in my weekly shopping though as my mother very kindly treated me to them.

I did snap up a pair of shorts (below right) in Zara’s sale for my summer holiday with the girls that we also booked last weekend! They were only £7.99 – and reminded me a little of Isabel Marant’s denim from last summer.

I also picked up a mini perfume in River Island – perfect for hand luggage only packing (£4) and a cute pair of heart earrings (£2).

Until tomorrow morning (at 8am) Asos are offering 15% off sale items. I couldn’t help but hit “buy now” on the Whistles dress (below left) which was originally £110 and only £25.92 after all reductions! Totally worth it as I love the drapey shape for summer – and the huge pockets!!

Finally, I eventually found a cream knit that I could love enough to part with my cash for. I’d been after one for a while. Especially after I saw Laura, over at Wearing It Today, rocking a gorgeous one from Gap. The one I found is in Zara right now for just £17.99. Watch out for it in an outfit post coming to you very soon.

Happy weekend, have a lovely evening.

[SUNDAY STYLE] Breakfast In Bed

This weekend I’ve spent two days away with my two besties. They are also now to be my bridesmaids. Yippee! We’ve mainly caught up on the past few months since we saw each other last, made plans to celebrate our 30th birthdays which come round later this year and eaten and drunk lots!

Our ideal weekend is one with a few plans and a lot of relaxing! And when the weather is as cold and wet as is it across the whole of the UK right now, breakfast in bed seems like the perfect start to a Sunday. But then, we’re easily pleased. How about yours? How would you spend your ideal weekend?

This week I’ve got a few things to show you on the shopping front – but they do cover a couple of weeks as I didn’t post last weekend.

First up are my sale bargains from Baukjen: the cable knit jumper (£26) and a knit dress (£29). Next, two bargainous clutch bags via the Zara sale – both just £3.99!

Finally, an embellished tee from the Warehouse sale (£15):

Have you been shopping the final days of the sales? There are still some great pieces in the sale and some brilliant discounts now.

I’ve added a tally counter to the sidebar to keep track throughout the year. I think it’ll be interesting to see the amount of use I’ve got out of everything by the end of 12 months.

Have a good week. There’s lots to look forward to on Sugar & Spice this week. We’ve teamed up with Baukjen to show off their new season collection! We’ve also got some anti-aging beauty products for everyone at any age.

What have you been up to this weekend? 

Images via Pinterest and Tumblr

[SUNDAY STYLE] Musings On Style

How’s your week been? Here, it’s been more work than play. Which is not how we like it at Sugar & Spice HQ. This weekend has, then, been all about play and relaxation. Leisurely walks into town, long catch ups over coffee and cake, girly dinner out and a little reading too.

My first link of the week has to be for this brilliantly brave post by South Molton St Style to the troll who has been leaving horrible comments on blog posts. I honestly don’t understand the people who hide behind the so-called safety of the anonymity of the internet. It’s not safe, it’s cowardly.

This piece at Frills and Feathers sums up exactly how I feel about dressing. The idea that it doesn’t have to be complicated or brightly coloured, it just has to feel right to work. Someone asked me about my “style” this week. I always feel a little awkward about how to best answer this. When you tell people you write a fashion blog they seem to have a preconceived idea about what that might mean about how you dress and your sense of “style”. For me, I look to icons who dress simply: Alexa Chung, Kate Moss, Ines de la Fressange. These women know what suits them and they stick to that. It’s taken me quite a few years – and I don’t always get it right – but I am beginning to know how best to dress for me. For me, that’s style.

Fashion is something else. It’s like art. Some people can wear art. Others look like a finger painting if they try to be too fashionable.

Style needs work and time. What might be dull to one person, will be stylish to another. The Online Stylist calls it Uncomplicated Sophistication. Minimalist chic.

So what is my “style”? For me, skinny bottoms (mainly jeans) with ankle boots (in the winter) with a looser top works best. Short biker-style jackets. And big scarves. For layering. These pieces are what fill my wardrobe. And these are the pieces that are most worn. Is that style? Or just getting dressed?

What’s your style? How do you define style?

Image via Pinterest

[SUNDAY STYLE]

We’ve had a pretty exciting weekend. Yesterday we went to check out a wedding venue near to our house and have decided to go for it. We’ve been engaged for over a year now. We’ll have to wait another year as we save up but it will be worth it. The venue we’ve chosen is a lovely converted barn with beautiful gardens. So now that we’re planning for a spring wedding in 2015, expect some wedding inspired posts on the blog soon. If you follow Sugar & Spice on Pinterest, you’ll already have seen the start of our plans on the Here comes the bride! pinboard.

With saving for our wedding now a top priority, I was quite taken with this post over at World of Joy in which Hazel talks about keeping track of everything she buys throughout the year and evaluating at the end what has been worn, not worn, not kept, etc. I thought this might be a good experiment to undertake, not only for the final analysis but also as a help to focus my mind of saving over spending. With this in mind, I will be including in these Sunday Style posts everything I have bought that week. If you follow us on Instagram (@SugarandspiceSG) I’ll also post images of purchases with the hashtag #todayibought.

As we’re a couple of weeks into the year, this is what I have bought since 1 January:

So far everything purchased has been on offer. The two H&M sports tops are perfect for Pilates. The Christmas jumper is now away and safe for next Christmas when I won’t be able to moan that I don’t have one! And the vest, well, is great for layering now and wearing alone come the summer.

These Topshop pumps are a replacement for a pair that I wear most days to work. They haven’t worn out yet but when they do, these will be waiting!

Do you keep track of your purchases?

Elsewhere on the web this week:

• I’m now lusting after a pair of slip-on trainers as seen on The Online Stylist – particularly love the Clarks pair.
• I’m loving the new feature on Fashion Foie Gras that highlights a fabulous fashion blogger each week – I’m making sure to visit them all and pick up new favourites like this week’s, Mademoiselle Robot.
• Another fashion blog I love is at it too, Paula at Pink Bow has been showcasing the blogs she loves too.

What have you been reading from around the web this week?