Being fifty and fab in September #beingfiftyandfab

Hi, how are you all?  Thank you so much to those of you who voted for me in the Brilliance in Blogging Awards run by BritMums recently, voting has now closed and I will find out the results on 12th October during a twitter party - yep I had never heard of it either but I have now!  It is a chat that anyone can join in using a pre-advised hashtag, but 12th October will be my first one so I will let you know if I manage to work it out.

But more exciting news - I then had an email from Asquith (see my review of their ethical activewear here) who run their own blogger awards - Asquith Adores Blogger Awards - and I have been nominated in their Best Over 40s Blogger category.  I am pretty stunned and obviously very excited. I am nominated alongside bloggers that I consider to be 'big' and who I really admire and who inspired me to start blogging!  I'd love it if you could vote for me - it is really easy to do so on this link - vote here - thank you so much!

​So what else have I been up to in September?  It has been a pretty stressful month especially as I found out that my personal Instagram account had been hacked and taken over by someone else earlier this week.  It took a lot of hours to sort it out then to my horror it got taken down completely, I am finally back in though but my best advice, set up two-factor authentication, it will add another level of security.

Exercising - I am back to my regular workouts!  And I am back to enjoying it!  I decided not to take on too much so I am doing two weights workouts each week on a Tuesday and a Thursday.  I am already feeling much better.  I am back to meal planning and eating well and I feel much more focused.  I have kept it really simple.  As you know I am not a fan of diet clubs or diets or fads but I do believe in creating a lifestyle that is sustainable, where we don't need to be 'on' or 'off' but we can sometimes slow down a bit.  On Sunday I went into London to attend a seminar being run by Daniel Wheeler from the 8020 Lifestyle Plan and listen to him and some fantastic guest speakers including Ben Coomber, these names are really big in the sensible/no fads world and really worth looking up!  Their aim is to EDUCATE.

Reading - still loving be back to reading every night before bedtime.  I have quite a few books to tell you about this month.  And later today I am going to the Sri Lankan High Commission in London for the book launch of The Gemstone Detective by Kim Rix.

I wanted to mention Tsunami Kids by the Gandy Brothers again though.  They are currently offering the book for free on Orders over £40 on their website and they stock lots of lovely travel apparel, t-shirts, bags, flip flops etc.  I really did find this book very emotional, it tells the story of their survival in the Boxing Day tsunami in Sri Lanka, how they lost both their parents and how they went on to found the Gandys brand and their Orphans for Orphans foundation.

​The Love Detective by Angela Dyson - I read and finished this month and there is a full review here if you'd like to find out more.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman - I took this all the way to Sri Lanka with me and didn't get an opportunity to read it but I had heard so many good things about it, I finally started it last week - not finished yet but I am really loving it 'a story about the very worst and very best that humans are capable of ... funny, brave and utterly devastating'  Definitely read it!

Um clearly I am no expert - these photos were taken on different days but in the same room on the same background, clearly a completely different light though!!

Doing - it has certainly been a busy month and I did cover quite a lot about what I had been up to in this post A Week of Networking and a Week of Outfits.  I've seen the Prime Minister speak at an event I attended, I've done lots of learning via workshops on things like SEO and Twitter but also personal things like Creating Room for Calm and attending the Stop Dieting Start Living seminar in London.  We also had another rather wonderful lunch at The Waterside Inn at Bray.  And of course September was my girls weekend away, we had amazing weather again and simply lazed around drinking lots and enjoying the view from the hot tub!  My swimsuit is from Swimwear365 and my scarf used as a sarong is from Sweet-Bea.

​Wearing - I am slowly sorting out my wardrobe and moving from late summer to early autumn and getting out lightweight knitwear and dresses with jackets over.  I don't find the transition easy though.  I have been ordering one or two bits which will be up on Instagram soon, I've loved the new season from Mint Velvet, I have tried a few bits from Hush but not actually  kept them and yesterday I had two jumpers arrive from Winser London.

This new workout outfit is from Active Moxie, a small local brand, I met the owner a few months ago and then again recently at the style event I attended.  I decided to try out the leggings and sports bra in camo - lots of compliments when I wore it!

I wore this outfit when I attended an SEO/Google workshop recently.  The blush pink jumper and black trousers were from a small boutique in Kent but the scarf is new from Spirit & Grace - I also have the same one with red from Sweet-Bea, I didn't actually realise they were the same when I ordered them!.  My silver mules are from Vionic.

And then this rather lovely snake print dress from Zara.  I spotted it being worn on various posts on Instagram and I ordered it online.  It was only £39.99 although I had to pay to have it shortened.  I went for the Medium (I am usually a 10), the fabric is so soft, it has a slightly dipped hem at the back and buttons down the front.  I wore it with my Whitney boots from Vionic and these gorgeous earrings from Toria Lee Accessories, do go and look at her website, she has some fabulous bespoke jewellery - these are the Lola Earrings.

​I'd be so grateful if you could take a moment to vote for me in the Asquith Adores Blogger Awards, thank you so much.  I don't have the huge number of followers that the really big bloggers have but what I do love about these awards is that Asquith are keen to encourage the smaller blogger ...

In the Asquith Adores Blogger Awards, we’re are championing bloggers who like ourselves are growing and evolving – so if you haven’t heard of them before, do take the time to check them out before you vote. Each blogger shares something unique and they’re all equally inspiring.

Michelle’s blog is all about inspiring you to be fabulous when you are fifty. From fashion advice to tips on health, fitness and travel get lost in Michelle’s world on her blog.

Love from
Michelle xx

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