Family Time in Devon - and Link-Up

 

I'm back after a week off.  My holiday started with a trip to London to celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary. We went to one of our favourite places, Dinner by Heston. This restaurant, which is in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel at Knightsbridge, doesn't offer the Heston Blumenthal "tasting menu" but instead a selection of classic British dishes which have been revived by Heston. Some of the more adventurous dishes were missing from the menu, which was a bit more streamlined.

Here's the starters menu plus my choices: hay smoked salmon, Herefordshire fillet beef with triple cooked chips, and brown bread ice-cream with salted caramel butter and pear. I hoped to take more pictures, particularly of us, but I must confess to being terrible at snapping photos when I'm out.  I like to be "in the moment," and constantly looking for photo opportunities means I'm not, plus I find it embarrassing to pose in a place like the bar at Dinner by Heston.  

I wore a new jumpsuit, below and top. It's by Phase 8 and available from Marks and Spencer or Next. When I ordered it I thought it was black and white, but it turned out to be navy and white.  It was such a good fit, apart from the length, that I made an exception to my "no navy" rule. I had to have the trousers taken up three inches, which is unusual because normally regular length is fine for me. 

There's one design feature which is very clever: there's a frilled ruff around the arms and underneath the material goes right under the arms, so you don't expose your bra or any surplus flesh.  I like the long tie at the waist too, which can be worn in several different ways.  I brightened up the navy with bright pink accessories and lipstick.

On the Tuesday I made the long drive to Plymouth in the south west of England, to stay with Mum for a few days. Thanks to lockdowns I hadn't seen her since September. 

It was her 89th birthday on Thursday and her brother, my Uncle Brian, and his wife Ruth came from Sussex with my cousin Roger to spend the day with us. 

Brian's choice for lunch was Kingsbridge, a small estuary town about 20 miles from Plymouth. I haven't been there for about 20 years and somewhat embarrassingly got lost en route by over shooting on the dual carriageway and having to double back via narrow country lanes at a snail's pace behind lorries and tractors.

Here we are in a former station at Kingsbridge which is now a tourist attraction. Not my best pose! Feet together next time. Below: a better picture of my outfit:  Chloe jacket in lavender by Kettlewell with acid yellow top, lobelia shorts from Robell and purple wedges from eBay. Tassel necklace from Etsy.

Mum and I made our usual trips to a garden centre and on another day, Buckfast Abbey, a tranquil place with pretty gardens. The Benedictine monks run quite a commercial enterprise with three shops, a restaurant, a visitor centre and retreats, but it doesn't intrude on the peaceful atmosphere. 

Mum is wearing her trademark bright colours and a scarf. She always vowed she didn't want to join the ranks of old women wearing beige and pleated skirts. I'm wearing a Kettlewell Chinese blue top with Kettlewell Aquarius scarf and white shorts from Robell. 

There wasn't a huge selection in the restaurant but we really enjoyed the pasties by Chunk of Devon, and we're very fussy with pasties! 

We also went out for lunch with my brother, his wife and my niece and nephew. My niece, 18, has just received her invitation for a Covid jab, while my nephew has had his first one (Moderna). This is what I wore:  my first ever Breton top, from Kettlewell, with shorts and really old wedges which mirror the lime green of the stripes.

Nothing was gifted for this post and no affiliate links were used. 

Sharing this post with:  Beauty by Miss L, Top of the World Style at High Latitude Style, Chic & Stylish at Mummabstylish, #SpreadTheKindness  at Shelbee on the Edge, #AnythingGoes at My Random Musings, Thursday Moda at Elegance and Mommyhood, Turning Heads Tuesday at Elegantly Dressed and Stylish,  Style with a Smile  at Stylesplash, Style Six at Coast to Coast, TFF at Doused in Pink, Lizzie in Lace Confident Twosday at IDoDeclaire, Rena at Fine Whatever, Fabulous Fridays at Lucy Bertoldi, #Neverendingstyle at The Grey Brunette #TheWednesdayLinkUp at Claire Justine, Fancy Friday at Nancy's Fashion Style

I'm back on Monday with the Style Not Age Challenge, and I might squeeze in another post before then. Now it's time for the #WowOnWednesday link-up.

In the last link-up, the readers' favourites (most clicked) were Leelo from Beauty by Miss L, and Kellyann from This Blonde's Shopping Bag.

Estonian blogger Leelo wrote about Wear a Dress Day, and featured a lovely light blue striped dress from Esprit.

Kellyann's post advised on How to Style Cargo Pants for Summer. She featured three different looks and this was my favourite: 

My favourite post was by the ever-glamorous Iris of La Moumous, "Five Top Occasions to Wear an Evening Gown"  As none of us has had much opportunity lately to wear a beautiful dress, it was great to see Iris in two beautiful gowns. 

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