"". February 2022 | Is This Mutton?

Fashion for the over 50s with books and beauty

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Monday 28 February 2022

If I Were a Handbag: Style Not Age Challenge

 Gail Hanlon from Is This Mutton in black coat and culottes with red accessories including a red bowls bag from The Cambridge Satchel Company

Dear friends. Another month has passed and it's time for a new Style Not Age Challenge. This time the challenge was chosen by Anna and she went for "If I were a Handbag."  A great theme! Now, I have a bit of a love/relationship with handbags, and I'll tell you why.

My style personality and almost petite height (5'4) means that smaller bags look better. on me. And I adore them. I have a collection of beaded and jewelled evening bags, but hardly ever use them. Small bags are fine if you're going to a wedding or restaurant in a car. But if you're going into London for shopping, the theatre or whatever, we inevitably need to take a lot of Stuff.

So although I yearn to carry a small bag, J wants me to carry his iPad, phone and glasses case, plus I have my Kindle, phone, sunglasses case, small umbrella, large purse, brush, keys, lipstick etc etc.

So I was quite envious when I saw the bags that Hilda and Anna are sporting. Much more suitable!  I have a lovely pink cow hide tote bag (see it here) and usually carry that or my slouchy silver hobo bag (a style I can't abide, because there are no pockets and you have to rummage around to find anything).

A red leather bowls bag is the choice of Is This Mutton's Gail Hanlon in the latest Style Not Age Challenge to style a handbag.

Today I'm sporting a Christmas present, the Red Celtic Grain Bowls Bag from Cambridge Satchel Company. I like their bags, they're made in the UK and are very good quality. It's an unusual shape, which I like in a bag. It also has a clip-on strap if you want to wear it over a shoulder. 

My belt and scarf are from Kettlewell;  everything else is old - coat from M&S, culottes from Hope, boots by Lotus. 

Classic black coat with red accessories including a cute red leather bowls bag from The Cambridge Satchel Company, the choice of Is This Mutton blog in the Style Not Age Challenge If I Were a Handbag.

Now let's see how my blogger friends got on. Hilda from Over the Hilda is showcasing a bag from local Dublin designer Julie Peelo. The leather bag is big enough to carry your laptop, your makeup.....and the colour is divine. It would go very well with my green coat, so if I see Hilda carrying this bag I will be wrestling her to the floor.  Everything else is from Hilda's wardrobe. Love the punch of red! 

Blogger Hilda from Over the Hilda with a green leather Julie Peelo tote bag

Jacqui from Mummabstylish also has a bag that can accommodate a lot of stuff. It's from Daniella Lehavi and has lots of pockets. She's wearing it with a Primark dress and an old H & M jumper. 

Anna, from Anna's Island Challenge, who came up with this challenge, has a lovely patchwork leather and suede tote bag. lt was a gift from a friend who, when seeing it, said it reminded him of Anna -  wild and colourful!  She shopped her closet for everything else.

Finally Emma from Style Splash, who can always be relied on to provide a bright punch of colour.  She's taken inspiration from her Angel Jackson handbag for her outfit: a black base with the bright colours emphasized in her jacket, jewellery and sunglasses. The jacket and jeans are from Mango (a few years old now), sunglasses from Asos (also old) and Emma's T-shirt is by Soul Sisters (current). 

I hope you enjoyed seeing our handbags. I'm back on Wednesday with another fashion post and #WowOnWednesday - hope to see you then! 

Sharing this post with: On Mondays We Link Up at Glass of Glam, Top of the World Style at High Latitude Style, Chic & Stylish at Mummabstylish, #SpreadTheKindness at Shelbee on the Edge, #AnythingGoes at My Random Musings, Turning Heads Tuesday at Elegantly Dressed and Stylish,  Style with a Smile  at StylesplashTFF at Doused in Pink, Lizzie in Lace Confident Twosday at IDoDeclaireRena at Fine WhateverFabulous Fridays at Lucy Bertoldi, #Neverendingstyle at The Grey BrunetteFancy Friday at Nancy's Fashion Style, Traffic Jam Weekend aLife as a Leo Wife Weekday Wear Link-Up at Away from the Blue Sunday Showcase with Chez Mireille and Elegance and Mommyhood  (first Sunday of the month), Stylish Monday (first Monday of the month) with Ask Suzanne Bell, Talent Sharing Tuesdays at Scribbling Boomer, Link Up Pot Pourri at My Bijou Life

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Friday 25 February 2022

February Favourites: TV, Books, Podcasts

 Couple watching Netflix sets the scene for Is This Mutton's February 2022 reviews of TV, books and podcasts

Dear friends - welcome to another edition of my monthly reviews of TV shows, podcasts and books. 

Without further ado let's start with what the Muttons have been watching. And there have been a few duds this month, although some of you may think I'm mistaken  (do let me know in the comments). 

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Wednesday 23 February 2022

Lessons Learnt: Working from Home - and Link-Up

 Gail Hanlon from Is This Mutton in large conference room as she mulls over working from home and lessons learnt

Dear friends. It would appear we're not exactly sprinting back to the office.  

Covid restrictions are now fully lifted in the UK, but employees are still very slow to return to the office. The new normal is hybrid working, perhaps spending one day a week in the office, which is what I'm doing.  

Boris Johnson, in his usual tone deaf way, has urged everyone to "get back to work," as if we've spent the last two years doing nothing at home.  Quite the reverse:  last week the Office for National Statistics reported that output per hour was 2.3% above the 2019 average. With that in mind, and the fact that some sectors, such as technology, cannot recruit people unless they offer flexible working, I've got some updated tips on best practices for WFH, and a quick tour of my little home office.

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Wednesday 16 February 2022

Are Your Vitamins Poisoning You? And Link-Up

 A rainbow of colourful fruits as Is This Mutton investigates the vitamin industry.Photo by Viktoria Slowikowska from Pexels

I had a bit of a wake-up call recently when I got the results of private well woman blood tests. The doctor's analysis told me that my ferritin, a marker of iron stores, was high.  The doctor wrote that it was possibly due to a high dietary intake of iron, or taking iron supplements.

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Thursday 10 February 2022

10 on the 10th


Hello dear friends. Today I'm joining Leslie from OnceUponaTimeHappilyEverAfter and Marsha from MarshaIntheMiddle for the monthly QA fest, 10 on the 10th. With Valentine's Day a few days away, the questions this month are naturally to do with Love.
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Wednesday 9 February 2022

The House Isn't Clean - Please Don't Visit!

 The Results of the 2022 Is This Mutton Survey: Dishing the Dirt 

Gail Hanlon from Is This Mutton in bright pink and purple

The results are in!  A big thanks to those of you who completed the 2022 Is This Mutton survey, Dishing the Dirt, on cleaning habits.

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Friday 4 February 2022

Sentence a Day: January 2022

 Woman using laptop PC. Photo by ANTONI SHKRABA from Pexels

A quiet month, hunkering down to get through January.  On the Plus side, I'm making good use of my gym membership and managing to combine a few walks with Yoga and Body Balance. The most exciting thing this month was being a guest on a podcast. 

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Wednesday 2 February 2022

You're Probably Happier than You Think - and Link-Up


Dear friends. How do you define happiness?  I've been mulling it over after seeing a spate of "lived a long and happy life" obituaries. 

I've always defined happiness as a sense of joy, of being in the moment, of being spontaneous. But clouding the issue for me was the fact that I was rarely truly happy at times at life events when it should be expected. Let me explain.
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