Insta – catch up.

What better a way to catch up than over Instagram?

I have a deep, love-hate relationship with Instagram. When I first caught the insta-bug I loved how real the photos were, I loved following my favourite bloggers even if it was just what they bought from target, or a good old fashioned fitting room outfit post, those are the posts I think we all love.

The downside however, is once one person has a picture-perfect Instagram its kind of hard to swim against the tide. My own is sketchy at best but its also greatly helpful for us catching up again after so long!

Lined up once this site is all polished are plenty of travel posts (I may have finally mastered hot weather packing – from trips to Italy & Malta). Along with that, this summer we’ve been experimenting with our garden – from being black fingered to green there are plenty of vegetables that we have somehow grown!

If anything, the last few months have been about living primarily. Without a constant stream of blog content to write I’ve been able to spend more time reflecting and taking the time to actually live in my outfits rather than just recording them!

Its made me think long and hard about content beyond a stereotype flat-lay and about the brands behind the lifestyles we want (brand spotlights) to how clothing has the potential to change how we feel, or create an identity for ourselves! I’ve also read more on closet building, thought more on my spending habits and even how I can be a better consumer in the face of fast fashion.

I think the key to living out of an instagram account is finding what truly matters and giving yourself space to build a true persona, rather than a public face and its this type of content you will get to see on the new, re vamped blog – less contrived and a lot more real!

Until then there is still plenty to see on Instagram and catch up on the last few months before we dive head first into the new! Now if only I could have a well formulated Instagram, that would be great! Anyone have any tips?

Life over fashion | How to plan a Wardrobe part 1

(I’ve already been scrolling through the highstreet looking for fashion inspiration… Although I’m still planning on channeling Lorelai from Gilmore Girls.) 

As we approach March, my favourite fashion planning month I’ve thought long and hard about how to have both fashion and clothes enjoyment whilst simultaneously having the most amazing LIFE possible.

I say LIFE in capitals because in order to compete with an array of full time blogs you often spend an awful lot of it, shopping, online and off when really you want to be on the beach or you want to be walking to the pub or going on a cycle ride. You shouldn’t have to choose. After all, shopping should be a teeny tiny amount of time in our lives and yet somehow, unchecked it quickly takes over. Just like I’m addicted to sugar to make myself feel better, I am also addicted to shopping as a cure. In my worst moments, I stop eating healthily, stop exercising and with it my shopping goes up and my LIFE (please tell me, are you annoyed by the capitals yet?) fulfilment goes down.

What I realise now, in emotionally shopping I’ve given up my life in the pursuit of ‘happiness’. Perhaps we are making it over dramatic, I still hang with Josh, still go out, I’m not a shut in, yet I can’t help but wonder if there is more out there for me?

Myself and Josh have made ourselves a bucket list. Following a rough year, 2017 for us is a recovery year. Making a long list, its simple living, lots of movement and exercise actually, far less hiding and far more exploring. Along with this we want to make the rest of our lives fall around our plans. I’m looking into compact cameras like this one+. (Although apparently the Panasonic is amazing from 2016 reviews*)  Finally having a camera we can just pop in a pocket and go? Amazing!

I want that same get up and go feeling from my clothes as well. After all, can it be that hard?

The key of it all comes down to planning of course. Planning can make the greatest wardrobe, this I’ve learnt from all my capsules in the past. Funnily however, it was the parts of the process which I missed out most often which I now find myself reaching for.

What does your lifestyle need?

We can go over the term need until we are blue in the face, after all, I know I have. However, it is the lifestyle needs I so often overlook. Recently I culled a Zara basket for instance, from 12 pieces I wheedled it down to these three but I still had to look at it and wonder, that top.. it’s a gorgeous colour, it’s a fun shape but actually what the hell would I wear it with? How often? Same with the sunglasses, I always wear cat eye glasses and usually the same three on repeat, the black ones from Tatler and their tortoiseshell sisters and my large brown ones from Urban Outfitters, do I need another pair of the same? I had also begun planning my look earlier in the year, purchasing a gingham midi skirt which is scarily similar to this new one from Zara (and I also have a feeling is the same skirt my boss purchased last year…) However, when I put it on I automatically reach for wedges or heels… the only problem being I’m a flat wearer 99% of the time so although I love all these flared skirts will they actually work for me in the main?

It’s really tripped me. Now as I look at the clothes that I already owned and what I’m looking at purchasing I have had to ask myself big questions… are these a dally day dream in terms of a look? Am I actually shopping for me and my life or thinking just in terms of blog content?

If anything blog content is often a decided factor when I shop too much on a whim. Whereas when I plan it out, it all becomes far more usable. So how do we become better planners?

Planning (part 1) 

Thankfully people like Caroline from un-fancy and Anuschka from Into-Mind have us covered in in depth plans to make our shopping so much easier, but there are plenty of ways to become more savvy when it comes to updating your wardrobe, or even starting from scratch. The key is to find a preferred method which works for you. Mine has come down to the simplicity of making lists;

Starting with,

What do I need to live my life to the fullest?

Beyond obviously thinking of what you want to do (go on walks, go to work?) you also need to know what clothes work for those activities. Kind of like not finding yourself in the gym wearing moccasins and a sundress. (yes, I witnessed a man working out in moccasins… it was strange.)

• Flat shoes/sandals for walking and running around the place (they need to be both smart and uber comfortable)
• Smart clothes for work meetings
• An outfit for going out onsite/showcases/events
• Work out gear for the gym/swimming/cycling/hiking (walks)
• Casual Saturday/Sunday Wear
• Cool, light layers that are easy to throw on (and also into the wash – no dry cleaning thanks!)

Then we move onto,

What pieces fit into my lifestyle, what’s needed to undertake all the daily tasks I wish to …

Now I could share that today, or…. I could make you wait till next week… because I’m mean like that right?

Till then!

*Also if you too are looking for a new camera? I’m in love with this video from Youtuber, Estee Lalondes wonderful partner, Aslan for all his thoughts… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s3Cpgf5RaE

Health & Fitness week| Joining the Gym.

We are joining the Gym*.

You heard the correctly, me on a treadmill. Now, I realize that this might open the floor to some comments like, don’t be silly, you’re fine! You’re a stick with eyes!

Well let me tell you guys I don’t need it. I promise, I love you all but I’m cool with honesty, I’ve let myself go and I’m about to make it up to myself.

Furthermore, if you do ever encounter a six-foot tall stick with eyes – Run! This is not a drill people; this is the beginning of the apocalypse!

Why now?

So how come we have decided on the gym life? We’ve never gone in the gym direction as a couple before instead prior to a string of injuries and moving house we were prolific cyclers and runners. I personally, love working out when I do finally go, I just tend to like it more, outdoors.

Before I broke my ankle in 2011 I used to run for about two hours every other day all around Deptford, Greenwich, Blackheath and Lewisham but post ankle break it took me a while to get back. In fact from about 2013/14/15 I had three near stress fractures on my metatarsals and I still suffer from a lot of metatarsal pain every now and then. Especially when I’m pounding the pavement, it made running outdoors, impossible.

Josh however, unlike me isn’t so attached to the outdoor exercising life, in fact when I met Josh he was a full blown gym addict. He of course was super excited about going back, its where he feels comfortable getting a full workout.

My unexpected reaction

I won’t fob you off, when Josh suggested it, I cried in the middle of our kitchen. A strong reaction right? But I realized that feeling ‘big’ can be a big restriction in feeling comfortable enough to attend. Would I be judged? I’d met enough mean girls from attending an all girls school to encounter some more shouldn’t have been a problem… Luckily for me I have my best friend boo who has been a committed gym goer for ages to put my mind at ease. She let me know that most are so wrapped up in what they are doing they won’t be noticing me.

Now, I can’t lie I have done an awful lot of googling this past week or so to get the lay of the land. Especially since part of the problem is just that I have no idea what I am doing, but we all have to start somewhere, and this is going to be mine, deep breath, lets do it….

*We joined! Its was strange and all kinds of odd….

I cut in bangs, completely forgetting it wasn’t so long ago that I had them before…

“When you were a kid, did you ever have a flash image of who you would/might be one day? Not quite a plan, but more a premonition? In mine, I had bangs. 2016 sucked but 2017? It might just be the year that everything changes and in the meanwhile, fall right into place.”

Post-wedding hair meant that I had very long, natural brown hair with barely a layer cut in. Too lazy to make a post wedding haircut I left it growing until it was so long and unmanageable that I had taken to wrapping it thousands of times around itself into a bun.

Finally four months later on a whim I made an appointment with a hairdresser, I was at least getting a trim. Something however, made me think about a fringe.

When I was a lot younger I had a vision of myself as an adult. In it I was striding towards the post box (of all things) in my hometown of Hitchin. That part of the vision is more than likely attributed to my mother. The amount of times I came into town to see my mum on a post office/bank run is unreal. However, when I saw myself I was wearing a dark trouser/pant suit (I don’t see that particular look in my future) but I had long, straight hair and a fringe/bangs.

I don’t know why but after 2016 and the four episodes of Gilmore Girls: A year in the life, I felt almost as if it was time to bring that vision of myself to life. As a kid I kept that vision as a placeholder of who I would eventually become. As you can guess it said nothing about what I would do or who I am in the slightest just that that person would be content and happy and so, if 2017 should achieve just one thing its that we should all be happy.

So I cut a fringe in and so far, I couldn’t be happier that I did.

Marriage | When did my name become somehow attached to my identity?

Marriage | When did my name become somehow attached to my identity?

Photo by Lauren Dewar (Sung Blue Photography)

As a kid I loathed the fact that when presented with more than one Jessica in the room that I would always get stuck with the full name. Cooler girls with my name became Jess’s or Jessie’s and although I’m only gonna let Josh, my parents and grandparents get away with Jessie (it’s almost too personal). I began to associate Jessica with my younger self. The me who had zero confidence, or who would just willingly flatten herself into corners for everyone else.

In fact, it wasn’t until I got into university that I got bulshy with insisting I’m Jess, giving my best mortally offended face to anyone even thinking about uttering Jessica in my general direction. It was then that I began differentiating my first name to different occasions (formal occasions always Jessica, even when mostly I trip over my own tongue trying to say it).

However, when we decided that we wanted to be traditional post marriage I didn’t think twice about my surname.

I don’t view changing your name to not being a feminist because changing my name is not attached to being a woman but to screaming at the world, this man and I? We are a team! We are one!

I also couldn’t imagine our future kids having to suffer with a clunky double barrel or being confused by one is a Hawkins, one a Low. We took vows to be one another’s person and I could scream that from the rooftops everyday and night.

I didn’t blink, I scoffed at the bear idea of it staying, goodbye Low! It’s been a pleasure but when the time came to change it, I stalled.

We made trips in the name Hawkins and Low, two mini moons and I can only equate my stalling with my identity being wrapped up into three little letters. What happens to Jessica Low, when it’s Jessica Hawkins?

I’ve never scrawled it like a teenager over my notebooks however much I wanna hide Josh away from the world just so I can selfishly keep him for myself. I even planned my new signature so it looks basically the same. My world didn’t change at the alter either, my heart had already decided on Josh long before, this was the paperwork, technicality, but changing my name was the last hurdle I never saw coming.

I can only assume that this change was heightened because having grown up in a crazy close family who are almost on top of each other all the time in both space and similarities to now, living hours away from them all had created a divide in my identity somewhere as well.

Maybe in three parts, a scared kid, the one who grew up at university and lived with Josh almost straight from school and this new Jessica.

If I’m honest, I was afraid. My connection to my family has always been my biggest source of pride. I never needed famous idols when they were all real and lived a simple walk away. If I changed my name and cut that cord it was like severing something. Am I less a Low without the title? Will people no longer associate me with my family as much, with my mum? We share a smile but would that be enough for the world to notice I belong somewhere? For as much as I adore Joshes family to absolute bits and would chose them in a heartbeat there was still a worrying, nagging thought, am I no longer a Low?

All these years women have been losing their identities and I wonder now whether actually it is harder to take a partners name. Most men are against it and now women who previously didn’t have a choice are against it to. We view it like being claimed as someone’s property, but I was more afraid of not belonging to my birthright more than I was afraid of being tied to someone else. I’d made my choice, or my heart had, he has me but my family does as well. Who could understand me better than the people who made me… well, me?

From not understanding why you would keep your name I was posed with a problem, could I now get rid of mine? The real answer is yes I can. For me it was the insecurity of belonging pulling on my name heartstrings. After all, I consider myself a Philpott, a Jones, having plenty of traits from my grandparents than even they may realise but I’ve never carried these names, Low might actually be a state of mind. After all, I will always be logically minded, quiet in unfamiliar surroundings, able to talk to strangers about anything at the drop of a hat like my grandma … Changing my name ultimately doesn’t change me.

It’s just a name, just paper, so this past weekend I changed my name. Here’s to the next chapter, the next page, Jessica Low? Please meet Jess Hawkins. She’s the same chick I promise but here’s the thing, she has a husband now, her own team and she’s not so scared anymore.

Friday Fashion recap & New Years Resolutions?

I’ve always been terrible when it comes to making new years resolutions. There has been the odd year where I have made some but none where I have actually kept them and fulfilled my plan.

This year however, honestly I feel like I have some to make and some to keep, whether I will or not I guess I have to tell you them to keep some accountability.

Educate myself

As the wedding planning ebbed away this came to me almost fully formed, I want to go back to educating myself a little. In particular, I want to finally learn to code. In secondary school I learnt basic coding on terrible programs like Dreamweaver but now I know I really need to get to grasps with HTML and be able to apply that to my graphics for work and this blog.

I also want to touch up my graphics knowledge. Although I don’t use that knowledge on this blog that much (mainly because I don’t have a decent enough computer to cope with Photoshop or even elements.) I have about 12 years experience but I really want to hone it in and learn more about using the newer tools.

Saving

To assist myself with this I am also planning on saving up for a new basic laptop.

Currently I have an eight year old Toshiba laptop which is crazy clunky and needs an external hard drive attached to work faster than a snail and then I have my MacBook pro. This is only 4 years old and I am writing on it right now however, it is almost out of storage and really I can’t delete enough off of it to give myself enough space for Photoshop and everything else I need so my plan is to get a new one which can cope with Photoshop and all the other programs I need.

On the savings front I am also tempted to join bloggers like Jesse Coulter on having a spending freeze on things like clothes and home wears. Something, which really became apparent this Christmas is we really don’t need anymore home wear stuff. At first it was super exciting because we had this big house which looked empty but ultimately we have plenty now and really don’t want to cramp our house anymore.

We have just painted and laid new floors in our living room and after having emptied the room we have ended up putting less than half of the stuff that was in there back in. Since then it’s really opened up the space again and feels like a breath of fresh air with so much less stuff!

With this in mind I am really thinking it would be good to stop spending for a while put that money towards a new laptop and furthering my graphic design/HTML knowledge.

Continuing to get out more and spend more time being active

Planning everything during the last two years kept us stuck inside and our bodies and minds have felt worse for it. In response, at the end of last year I started walking into work in the morning, adding a further 20 minutes exercise into my day and I have really seen the mental and physical benefits.

I think it will also be nice for Josh and me. Two years ago we spent vast amounts of time on cycle rides and walks and just taking in life outside of the TV and the living room and it really defined us as people so being more active again with walking, cycling, yoga and exploring our new village will really bring us back to that place of comfort and health.

That is really it for this years resolutions they are all rather easy and achievable and this year I am determined to follow through! Picture wise, as above I barely shared any outfit posts this past year so hopefully we can also rectify that as well!

Friday feelings | growth, stillness and trust

Friday feelings | growth, stillness and trust.

A sentiment came to me recently and that is this, “try, fail, change and try again”

I’ve never been too good at admitting to failure but I’ve been even worse at thinking if this didn’t work it doesn’t mean something else will . 

Something else will work, perhaps only when it’s right. 

I’ve spent a lot of time flogging a dead horse but since this recent sentiment came along I’ve found myself more and more focused on trying and changing and with it it’s released an awful lot of guilt and blame.

Choosing to change, choosing to try is in actual fact far more fulfilling than routinely pulling up blame and “you’ve failed, you’ve failed, you’ve failed…”

It’s not failure, it’s just not right. Sometimes you have to try all the porridge’s before you find the right one for you.

The first thing I’m attempting this attitude to is our week in Marrakesh. I’m notorious for feeling strung out and overwhelmed by not filling my time properly. Somewhere along the line, being busy got misconstuded for being productive when most often it’s the least productive use of time.

Myself and Josh have also committed this week to complete and utter, floating rest. No guilt, no productivity, just switch off. 

The ultimate week(end) we never give ourselves.

In this week I also intend to employ the art of stillness. Switching off the do anything/everything attitude and instead taking time to revel in nothingness, in Elizabeth Gilbert sitting on her roman floor eating asparagus, watching the birds and listing to the wind and allowing myself to have inspiration and creativity bloom if it wishes or stay hidden if it rather. 

Instead of insanity we have committed to a week of complete and utter rest.

The ultimate in luxury.

*if you want to know more about the art of stillness I loved this blog post by coach and speaker, Blaire Palmer.

therealjlow got married | Cake tasting

In honour of the end of The Great British Bake Off in the UK I thought I would rewind the time a little and share some photos of Josh and mines cake tasting back this Summer.

I’ll admit this is not us but those Gilmore Girls but to be honest we took cake tasting and the whole wedding process in the same way that both Lorelai and Rory would.. with a whole lot of humor and a whole lot of cake….

The lovely Boo, Aka Rebecca Fiedler cake-baking extraordinaire! She may hate me for including a photo of herself but shes beyond awesome and lovely and somehow made the most amazing four tier wedding cake in the entire world! If you follow the link above (there is a strange photo of me there, don’t judge.) but then most importantly the cake! Soon I will hopefully get to share the wedding cake in all its professional photo’d glory!

So I wish I could tell you exactly all I learnt but primarily, I learnt I love cake, a lot! Our final choices were chocolate (I want to say on the bottom layer), the middle was Lemon and the top Carrot and finally a regular Victoria sponge.

Becky, who is crazy talented offered us several options during the tasting including different sponges and icings, all created separately I believe its actually practiced to try the icing first but we were pretty happy mixing and trying different combinations!

The final cake turned out perfect! Becky spent a crazy amount of time perfecting it even waking up at about half four in the morning to make the cream cheese frosting and assembling some of the cakes. She was a complete super star and I have had the most amazing comments from the day as to how wonderful the cake was!

Have you all ever attended a caked tasting? And stay tuned for more cake photos soon!

 

Fashion |Light Layers and posing

Everything here is old but it was from… Umbrella: Tiger, Pink Blazer: H&M, Sweater: Zara, Lace T: H&M, Jeans: New Look, Leopard print flats: Barefoot Tess c/o Long Tall Sally

I’ve got to be honest these photos are probably a month old. Since posting less often I keep getting a backlog of photos on my camera which in all honesty I forget to post.

Apparently I’m still good at the photographing part but not so on the posting. Another I’m not so good on? Posing. It’s down the drain. Here I have even resorted to finding statues to lean on.

I’ve gotten desperate guys, desperate.

The Weekend | Treat yo’ self

Hallelujah its Friday! Finally!

This week has been one long line of tiredness with delayed and cancelled trains! I haven’t gotten home at my normal time since last Thursday! Which seriously takes some doing! But finally its Friday and after a quiet week on the blog I thought why not check in with you lovely people and share a little of what we are doing to rewind this weekend!

1. Yoga & Magazines

Morning yoga with Adriene+

Recently I have been horrendous with missing my nightly yoga and believe me I feel it! So with a casual Saturday morning in waiting for our new dining table and to have our electric meter switched over this is the perfect time to take a little time out.

If you are Yoga inclined this is excellent for really letting go of mental and emotional baggage. I don’t completely switch off very often so to give myself half an hour of no thinking and letting stuff go I can almost completely turn my day around! This morning yoga video is great as well for anyone like me whose joints are problematic first thing.

Secondly of course is magazines! I have a three month high pile of unread magazines so when the electric is turned off for the engineer it is the ideal time for catching up! Also leggings may feature in this weekend plan!

2. Date Night.

I am the biggest believer in the healing power of a proper date night. Myself and Josh are quite lovey dovey anyway but we love to get a little spruced up to go get dinner and reconnect more than just, “The traffic on the M25 was the worst today!”

Because we are going to catch a movie (hello Daniel Craig) I’m going to be keeping it simple with lots of moisturising and a dab of Yves Saint Laurent’s, “le teint Touche Eclat” foundation. Which is really light and dewy and kind of perfect for those air conditioned cinema seats!

A swipe of Estee Lauder Sumptuous Extreme mascara (Also I am totally asking for this gift set for christmas! completely my jam!) Then all I need is Clinique’s Baby tint in budding blossom. A lot of women who I have spoken to hate this colour. They say its too pink! I however absolutely love how pink it goes! It feels so light and fresh and perfect for a healthy glow!

I have also picked up this months UK Harpers Bazaar for the free sample of Estee Lauders night repair cream. I have wanted to try this forever so when I saw it as a freebee it had to come home!

At only 25 my poor skin seems to be showing more of when I’m uber tired and that just isn’t gonna cut it for me! I definitely agree that make up can be cheap but don’t mess with what works for your skin! (Especially for those like me with PCOS it can be a real struggle to find the right way to deal with oily and acne prone skin!)

( I bought this tray recently from TK (TJ) Maxx and I love it, its just Christmas enough for me to be excited by December whilst being calm enough to be used all year!

Sunday

Sunday is again going to be really relaxed, originally we weren’t going to do anything bar maybe popping out for a walk or cycle ride but now we are going to enjoy the company of Josheys family for a lovely, chilled Sunday lunch which I think will  be just what the doctor order bar rest and of course, NO SOCIAL MEDIA!!!! I might go back on that but . . . . here’s hoping I won’t!

Have a great weekend guys and hopefully see you again soon!

therealjlow | Be Brave.

This is the scariest of all blog posts to write and publish ever.

I feel nervous and scared and like I might never make it back here but for some reason I also know that this is a necessary step in my growth, the blogs growth and in mine and Joshes health.

As you know this summer was taken over by house drama.

From having a landlord literally pull the rug from with under our feet, to the struggle, which is purchasing a property. We didn’t stop this summer, not for one second and now as the nights draw in I know in my heart that that was somewhat of a mistake.

On top of all this I really wanted to finally overhaul the blog. I wanted to pull it in the direction, which is important to me. Which is helping women like me see how they can live the life they want on the budget they’ve got without the limitation we so often feel is placed on us.

What I hadn’t thought about however, was how me as a person affects this blog content.

Last year the blog was highly driven by the ideas behind a capsule wardrobe and I loved them and I had the time to dedicate to their development but honestly with a new house, new responsibilities both at home and at my day job the blog (I feel) is suffering.

I had to ask myself a big question last Sunday morning and that was this, can I offer girls in my situation help when I’m not really giving it to myself (and my husband to be)? Can I create great content when I’m strapped for time and feeling overwhelmed? No, I can’t and you and I deserve the time and we deserve space from all those external influences that hurt us and to do that I need to take a break.

I have bounced back and forth on this, do I go the whole way until 2016 do I do a weekend and I think the reality is sporadic posting.

If you’ve ever read a book on how to blog successfully you’ll read consistency, consistency is key! The only problem with that is sometimes you have four days worth of content and sometimes you have none and what I want to avoid is that panic, last minute content that you’re not happy with. So I will keep the days I post on now (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday) and keep the same content on those days but whether I have content for that every week will be the kicker.

So for you guys what does that mean? It means that likely it will be like that until December. I do have plans for Halloween, a friends Christmas, some food posts and I know that I won’t realistically be able to stay away from outfit photos and fashion thoughts, I just don’t want to have to feel as if I have to get content out. I will keep to the same posting as well so personal style posts are on Monday, fashion thoughts and shopping on Tuesday, food on Wednesday and house/wedding/make up/the business of blogging and beauty on Friday!

Behind the scenes don’t think I will just be resting. I will still be busy planning content getting ahead of myself and working out realistically how I can turn this blog from a wordpress.com to simply, therealjlow.com. I’ve been looking into Bluehost and wordpress.org so I could really do with your guys help and thoughts on how to make this switch as cheaply and as pain free as possible!

I’m also going to be keeping a beady eye on the best and most unobtrusive way to introduce sponsors and advertisers simply to pay for that hosting cost so if you’re a girl whose taken that on and hasn’t turned their blog into full on advertising central I want to know!!!! One of the things that annoys me the most about certain blogs is when they turn into a full on advertising platform. They introduce ads in the middle of posts and I just hate it. On the otherside I also do not like this trend for Old Navy sponsored posts. Why do these girls (who more than often don’t ever wear stuff that cheap) completely overhaul their blog for this? I just don’t feel that several posts a week for one brand is a good representation of your blog in general but also we all know you don’t wear that? I don’t know it just bugs me and I think if it bugs me, its going to bug you guys and that just goes against the grain for me! So leave all your thoughts below on that!

But back to my decision, the next few months are going to be about only the stuff I really, really want to share with you all! It’s going to be seasonal and I hope exciting! I also think that this will give me the time to really refine the message that I want to give and just be better.

So here’s to the next phase of therealjlow! And don’t forget I am all over social media so pop by, say hi! Talk to me about how you like blogs working, about advertising hate, content preferences, you name it tell me I want to hear!!!!

therealjlow@hotmail.co.uk

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Therealjlow on snapchat (I have a creepy moving eye – its all kinds of strange)

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Cheating on Fashion with Furniture.

Cheating on fashion with furniture

In the last few months I have had what feels like the worst dress sense in the world. On the blog I somehow manage to pull it all together, especially on weekends but during the week I have the worst version of my own personal style.

So where is the problem? I know that somewhere in the past I dressed well and without much thought but now it is as if there is a brick wall between me and looking even mildly put together – the problem is the use of my brain power.

For some getting dressed is as simple as a uniform. The capsule is a tool which should make this uniformity simple and yet for me whose ability to get dressed is closely tied to my creativity it never seems to be quite this simple.

What is actually simple is the reason, we are buying a house. A big(for us) house that is taking all of our time, attention and our hearts. So much so that we have already joked that the house is our new family member, our child and quite honestly all the brain power we have is being funnelled into it.

I am even more in love with soft furnishings now then I was before, a home décor Pinterest over consumer, even my dreams include me wondering around our future property re designing. I am consumed and because of this I am an official lack lustre dresser.

I know what I need to do is simple, wear all black, put my skinny jeans and my pumps on, keep it simple or even just wear a dress. It’s the easiest thing I could have done and yet I haven’t. Why though? Because leggings and paint smears are just more full-filling right now!

I had never really thought about how getting dressed is affected by your mood even though I knew shopping was! It seems crazily obvious now but now that I know this I have begun to think that maybe I need a backup uniform. Something that works with bloating, is effortless and you can wear it different ways for a whole week until the inability to dress passes.

What about you guys? Do you have a backup outfit for those nothing to wear, can’t get dressed days? Also if you have suggestions for styles you think will suit me and are simple drop me your suggestions below!