The greens and blacks

Back to work today (boo), admittedly after 5 and a half weeks off, but still pants. I bought myself this huge chunky cuff bangle yesterday from a local garden centre for the bargain price of £1.99. Proof that accessorising doesn't need to be a costly business! The ring was one of my birthday presents from Sainsbury's new range (really worth a look) and the necklace is very old and well-worn.

Steel blues

Still catching up, so this first post is for yesterday's accessories. Had a lovely birthday present from my strive for 5 guru on Tuesday and I wore part of the haul (5 pieces obviously) on Wednesday. The new signet-style ring, plaited necklace and bracelet set are all part of Accessorise's new range.

Pearls of wisdom

A bit behind schedule today! Yesterday I had work friends over for lunch and then in the evening I went to my book club night with my sister. We discussed The Twins by Saskia Sarginson - worth a read and it provided a good discussion. I wore a necklace and bracelet set made up of pearly stones, along with a coiled grey ring and some pearly earrings (that I wore on my wedding day).

Pot of gold

A lovely evening out on Saturday called for some gold and sparkles. I love this necklace, an old Accessorise piece (donated by my good friend Eilidh). It's a bit Cleopatra-esque and requires a plain black background, as it completely dominates an outfit.

The ring was a souvenir from my recent trip to Dublin. I thought the sparkly shamrock was very fitting.

What's black and red with spots?

A surprisingly sunny day today so time to give my new polka dot capri pants an airing. Lots of red accessories set them off a treat!

Purple phase

I've been in Dublin this week so apologies for the lack of updates. I did accessorise but was too busy sight-seeing to blog. I did of course, make time to shop for some accessories and I'll be sharing my finds over the next few days. 

But first, here's today's accessories...

Animal magic

I'm under the weather today and it's miserable outside, so a bit of clashing animal print was called for... 

A vintage feel

I've been bowling today with my little niece, my best friend and her girls. Didn't have time to post before I left, so here we go better late than never. I wore some turquoise accessories today - a boho necklace and a ring I bought on a French flea market a few years ago. The ring is made from a vintage bead - a lovely use of such random items!

Frost in August

I've been absent for a couple of days due to non-accessorising - slap hand! Anyway I'm back with a late post. Just been out for a catch up pizza with a friend and silver and clear glass were the accessories of choice...

 this blue glass ring is part of Sainsbury's fab new jewellery collection.

Mute pastels

It's late in the day I know but I've only just got myself going. Thought I'd try out some of my birthday presents today. A lovely bracelet set and earrings from my mum (New Look)...

along with some beads and a chunky plastic ring - tacksville!

Floral outlook

Well I'm determined to keep this wet weather at bay, so I've gone for a floral overload today. It's probably hard to see the accessories against the floral jacket (this season at New Look) but there's a chunky blue plastic ring, silver floral bracelet, blue glass necklace and my Swatch. 

A little bit of sunshine

Where has the sun gone? I didn't really feel like leaving the house today as it was so grim, so to liven myself up I donned this bright and cheery necklace - an early birthday present from my lovely cousin...

All that sparkles...

Well, we've just got back from a lovely wedding party. Our friends Phil and Darren got married over a week ago and we've just celebrated at the local cricket club.
I wore a Laura Ashley dress and some sparkles as accessories...

The red ring was a birthday present from my husband Tony. A couple of years ago we were in northern France and we visited a lovely town called Honfleur. He bought me the ring (with some direction) for my 39th birthday.

A bit of bling

I was back to monochrome today, out and about shopping. I decided to jazz it up a bit with some 'gold' - a Jasper Conran (for Debenhams) necklace and earrings set with some gold and cream bangles...

I'm out at a wedding party tonight, so I'll be back later...

A happy accident!

I have recently been on holiday to Amsterdam and whilst there a pair of sandals I was wearing broke - well one of the straps snapped. I found a cheap and cheerful shoe shop, minutes from closing, on one of the lanes off Dam Square and grabbed a 10 euro bargain. On returning to the hotel I realised what a stroke of luck the calamity had been. The shoes went a treat with some accessories I already had - a happy accident!

Today I have teamed them with some gorgeous New Look pants and a white broderie anglaise boxy top...

A neutral pallet

Today was all about neutrals. With my black skinny jeans and a black broderie anglaise boxy top I wore...

Why strivefor5?

One of my best friends works for a high street retailer big on accessories, in fact she manages one of their flagship stores. Over the years I've been lucky enough to be bestowed with many gifts from her place of work. Years ago she let me into a little shop secret, she always asks her employees to "strive for five". I instantly loved that mantra and have tried to live by it's aspirational message. It isn't always possible to achieve, not without looking like a dog's dinner, but it is worth keeping in mind. And certainly if we allow shoes, scarves and dare I say, bags to the definition of 'accessory' we can all achieve 5 a day with ease.

Accessorise-wise

I LOVE accessories - earrings, bracelets, necklaces, scarves, belts, shoes, rings, especially rings! Whatever your size, age or budget you can accessorise to your heart's content. I have been accessorising since I was 16 (got my first job and therefore had money to spend) and my love affair with it continues as I journey into my 40s. By the way, I still have some pieces from 1989 and I still wear some of them.

My plan is to diarise my daily accessories - this may be ambitious, but I'm going to give it a try. I am also going to invite some of my friends and family to share their accessorising too. I don't have a definitive list of what an 'accessory' is, I am flexible about the definition.
Here goes...