Here's another quick outfit post with another easy idea for autumn outfits.  I've not been proper shopping yet, I have been 'shopping my wardrobe' or online!

I'm wearing new black jeans from French Connection, I am rather loving their rebound denim at the moment.  The stripe top has 3/4 sleeves and has a good comfortable stretch to it, it is from Hallhuber at House of Fraser (similar here).  My scarf is last year from John Lewis (similar here)

The Ultra Light Down Jacket is from Uniqlo and will be featuring soon on my blog along with a few other options.

We are busy moving our office into new premises then when that is all complete I will be taking over the log cabin (Fifty & Fab HQ maybe) I am really looking forward to having some space to store my out of season clothes as well as setting up my gym equipment and a few other ideas.

Love
Michelle xx

If you saw my Instastory on Friday and my Instagram over the weekend you will know that I spent the afternoon in Harrods on Friday and what an awesome day it was!  I love London especially when the sun is shining!  I was a very happy lady, I wasn't in any rush, it was just me and I only had one mission ...

To go to Harrods and spend a birthday voucher and lots of cash I have been saving up all year to buy my first Louis Vuitton handbag.

I got the train into Marylebone, I grabbed a black cab across to Knightsbridge, I people watched from the window, I arrived at Harrods and made my way to Louis Vuitton.  Mini panic when we thought there was no stock left of the bag I had chosen, but all sorted when they found the last one in their shop upstairs.

I loved being looked after by the lovely sales assistants.  They packaged my bag in a beautiful LV orange box and then into a bag and off I went with a big smile on my face!

I had a little wander in the ladies wear department then decided it was time for lunch so I headed up to the conservatory and spotted the tables on the terrace.  I was in my element - lunch on a rooftop overlooking Knightsbridge in the sunshine!  Yes that is a sneaky champagne cocktail!

Before I tell you about the bag I have to mention the toilets!  Seriously the loo's at Harrods are super-lovely and I do love a good loo!

Now the bag!  I decided on the Turenne MM in Monogram because I like a 'grab handle' rather than a shoulder bag.  I decided on Louis Vuitton as their bags are lighter in weight whereas my Mulberry's have been very heavy once fully loaded and I find them too uncomfortable.  The MM (medium) size is a good size for my frame but will also be quite roomy.  I have ordered a liner from Lanillio Liners to protect it and make it easy to find things in.

I am very excited - I think this will be a classic that will only improve with age.  It will go with everything., It will work for all seasons.  I can wear it every day or dress it up for going out.

I decided to save for it.  Last year I was 50 and my husband asked what I would like - it was a toss up between the bag and a diamond necklace but I decided the diamond was a much nicer keepsake gift that we could go and choose together and that I am unlikely to buy myself.  Then two lovely friends gave me a Harrods voucher for my birthday so the decision was made - save for the bag!  I am so glad I did as as well as the fun of getting the bag I got the fun of my day out too.

The wallet is the 'Sarah' from Louis Vuitton and I had already purchased this about a month ago - I had been following various LV selling sites on the look out for one then a friend decided to sell hers - hardly used and as new condition so I snapped that up knowing I was nearly at my goal for getting the bag.  You can't have such a gorgeous handbag without the matching wallet.

I think this one will be featuring in a few outfit posts soon.  It had it's first outing on Saturday night for dinner with my family.

I am a very lucky girl.

Love
Michelle xx

I do feel the cold (apart from hot flush moments) so it doesn't take much to get me into jumpers and jackets.  Now the mornings are cooler and the evenings drawing in, I have made a start on switching my wardrobe over and starting to choose a few new items and getting other things out of storage.

This is my first autumnal outfit this year that I thought would share with you.  I'm really pleased with how it came together and this style could easily become my signature style!

I picked this jacket up in the John Lewis sale a few weeks ago - it is from Jigsaw and although it was on the summer sale rail I am pretty sure it must have been winter stock as it is wool and of course being Jigsaw it is very good quality.  It wasn't actually reduced massively but as it fitted so well it seemed silly not to have it.  On the John Lewis website they have very limited stock left - Flecked Tailoring Jacket £132 or there is similar here on the Jigsaw website - Marl Wool London Jacket £199.  I also love this Herringbone Harris Tweed Jacket from Next £145.  I like the flecked finish on these jackets rather than a solid navy, it adds a more casual style to wear with jeans.

My jeans are from French Connection from the Rebound Denim range.  Now as you all know I love a designer jean but I also wear jeans all the time and I can't afford to have every pair at the top price point so I have to mix them up a bit.  The rebound denim is my new favourite and I bought two pairs, these indigo ones and a black pair.  They are super soft and comfortable and very flattering.  They do lots of colours - take a look here and at £69 they are really good value.

My pale pink (or blush) jumper is new from Boden, I took advantage of their 20% discount recently.  It is their Cashmere Crew Neck £98 and they have lots of other colours too.  I am wearing it with my favourite scarf from last year - take a look here - they have lots of colours and I think mine is actually the gold.

My shoes are a classic style from Russell & Bromley and I wear them year after year and they never wear out!  They are a sort of pre-boots style!

So that's my first proper move into autumn - have you started sorting your wardrobe out yet?

Love
Michelle xx
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A group of 12 (11 ladies and 1 husband) got together two weekends ago under the very professional guidance of Shelley and Mike from Tri-Fits-U, a small business specialising in fitness weekends/days and triathlon training.  We had all met through a motivational support group on Facebook - A Big Girls Journey to Lean, headed up by the very inspirational Angela Cox.

I was absolutely delighted to be invited.  The group was mainly made up of the 'admin' team - all the ladies who give up so much of their free time to run the group.  I am not in the admin team but I have been a part of the group since day one and although I tend to dip in and out these days (it is so big now it fills my feed) I have come to consider these ladies good friends.

So at 7.30 am on Saturday I left home to travel to the very lovely Burford Bridge Hotel at Box Hill near Dorking.  Our first 'class' was at 9 am and it was full on all day Saturday and Sunday morning.  Fortunately the rain kept off most of the time!

The weekend included boxing, circuits, swimming, fitness walks, HIIT and stretching.

I learnt new skills and a new confidence.

But actually what I really gained from the weekend was a positive mindset and a willingness to reconsider how I see myself.  As I have said before I have recently been suffering from stress related problems and anxiety.  I also tend to beat myself up rather too much if I am, in my opinion, not perfect with my diet and fitness.

But ... I learnt ...

• That everyone is different - different lifestyles and routines.  And each one is finding a way that works for them.  It is not always perfect but everyone is slowly and steadily improving their fitness and health.  Every 'plan' has to be adapted to suit the individual - there is no one size fits all.  Some do well following instructions absolutely 100% others need much more flexibility. I'm the latter!
• That Instagram (or Facebook) photos really are not a true reflection of reality.  Yeah I know I should know this already but seeing 'transformation' photos and 'food' photos is really just a tiny snapshot that can easily be edited or adapted to show a good moment.
• Actually meeting and chatting to these ladies - all different shapes and sizes but all with one thing in common, a desire to improve their health and fitness through exercise and a healthy diet - meant I was able to properly understand how it works in real life.
• No one was super fit and no one made anyone else feel inadequate.  I loved that! We were all just normal.  Career girls or stay at home mum's, single or married, children or not.
• I wasn't the only one to lack confidence or the only one to stray from the the healthy lifestyle from time to time.  It honestly doesn't need to be 100% and I felt even more belief in the 80/20 educational approach that I have been following. Okay I still need to tweak a few things to keep to that 80% but I am learning.
• There was also a general consensus that The Body Coach SSS Plan is a great place to start.  And it works.  Now a lot of other fitness professionals knock it but I still maintain it gets people started.  It got me and a lot of this group started.
• I also learnt that I really do cope much better in a small group when I can talk to others and not feel too left out or uncomfortable.  I don't tend to push myself forward so will feel a bit lost if I am at a large gathering.

Having had a long summer break where keeping to a routine has been so difficult I always knew that this fitness weekend would be a great springboard and a catalyst for getting back on my health and fitness journey.  It has done just that.  In the next couple of weeks I will be setting up a new home gym in the log cabin, somewhere I can workout alone and where I can leave all my equipment out and ready to use.  That is my first priority.

Boxing class on Saturday morning!

Saturday's fitness walk was up Box Hill Steps.  OMG!  No doubt that I was working at maximum heart rate for that one!  This is me at the top, I think I had just about recovered by then - the view was worth it I think!

Yes despite saying I wouldn't, I did!  Outdoor pool in the UK and I went in it.  The pool was warm, the sun was still on it late afternoon and after a full day of classes and fitness walking it was just what we all needed.

Saturday night we had dinner in the hotel restaurant which was delicious!  Right up my street, tasty and the portions were not too enormous.  I wore my new French Connection Rebound Black Jeans with a previous season Mint Velvet blouse and bag from Boden and new loafers from Moda in Pelle (very comfortable).

What a gorgeous group!

For some reason I decided to pose on one leg which actually looks like I have a leg missing - yes it was hard work but no my leg didn't fall off!

​Thank you everyone for making my weekend such fun.  Looking forward to the next one!
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Love
Michelle xx
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