A Sparkling Start to the Year

And TuesdayTwirl

Is This Mutton in everyday sequins with brown cardigan and white jeans for 2026

Dear friends. Here's a sparkly daytime look which echoes my mood. Full of positivity for a New Year.

You might think white jeans is a bizarre option for winter but I rarely wear jeans in summer (too hot) and think they're perfect for the dry sunny days we're having at the moment.

My jeans are from M&S, the Sienna Super Soft type. Not new but you can still buy them. The lime sequin top is also from M&S but a couple of years old. Cardigan is new, from Jigsaw. I wanted a brown one with a satin trim placket. It's more boxy than I would like, and looks better with jeans/trousers than with a skirt. In the Jigsaw sale it's reduced by 30% but only large and XL are left.

I'm wearing gold ankle boots because those clompy black lace-up boots of a few years old look very dated now with straight leg trousers. Choose a shoe or boot that is either the same colour as your jeans/trousers, to lengthen your legs, or a neutral metallic/leopard print.

Now down to a bit of New Year business. I say every year I don't believe in the abstemious type of resolutions. Why torture ourselves at a tough time? But I have selected a few high level goals which have tactics nesting underneath.

I enjoyed an article in the February 2026 issue of Good Housekeeping by Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project. She suggests coming up with a few words describing your intentions and then selecting realistic goals such as "walk 20 minutes daily" rather than "get into shape."

Here are my high-level goals.

Keep Active

I have a good exercise regime. I have daily goals set up on my Samsung watch and I'm active for at least 5 days a week. This includes walks in Epping Forest, weights at the gym or at home, and Pilates. When the weather gets warmer I substitute bike rides for some of the walks. If I'm going to an art gallery, I'll get off the train earlier and build a walk into my outing. I walk up steps rather than use escalators. It all helps.

We're hopefully doing LEJOG again (Land's End to John O'Groats) - 1000 miles. It's such a wonderful trip I couldn't resist it. But I do need to make sure I'm fully fit. Even though it's an ebike, you need to be used to sitting on a bike for maybe 5 or more hours a day. and putting in quite a lot of work.

I'm doing another boot camp this month with FitFarms at their Derbyshire location. I rate them very highly. It's not military style, people attending are all sorts of shapes, sizes and age, and the food is high quality and low carb. I haven't gained weight but I've gained inches/cms around my waist and hips, thanks to eating more carbs and sugar over the last year or so. This is why health professionals say it's a better barometer to check your measurements than it is to weigh!

I lost several inches when I went to FitFarms in 2021 thanks to all the exercise, so my expectation is toning up.

Linked to keeping active is eating for health. I find consuming sugar in any form affects my sleep so I'm going to ban it. Not a deprivation for me because I prefer savoury to sweet.

Healthy Diet

I made a conscious effort last year to reduce UPFs (ultra processed foods). Cooking from scratch and reading labels addresses that. I still have the odd bag of crisps because it's impossible to be good all the time. 80% of the time is my goal.

I aim to eat a balanced diet that's good for gut health. I love kefir and kimchi. M&S do a very good chilled kimchi. I don't take vitamins, except for vitamin D in the winter. Instead I take some preparations from Youth & Earth that aim to improve cellular growth, longevity, energy levels and reduction of cholesterol (I don't take statins). I like NMN, Preservage, Mitochondrial CoQ10, Superba Krill and Liposomal Spermidine.

Learning and Creativity

I like to stimulate my brain. As I wrote recently, if you don't surprise your brain occasionally, it doesn't record memories. It doesn't have to be onerous. One example would be choosing a different route for a commute or walk.

I've always wanted to do a course with one of the great art institutions, and in June will go on my first study trip with the Courtauld, Medieval Exeter and Devon.

One of my book challenges involves non-fiction, which means I'll be reading some great books that align with my interests in science, technology, nature and so on.

I'd like to do a cookery course. I've seen a couple in London that are a week long, but there weren't any new dates yet.

Minimalism

This is a catch-all for decluttering, tidying and buying less. I'm so happy when I get rid of stuff. I'm currently deconstructing my scrapbooks and will have just 1 or 2 photo albums with key pictures by year. I don't want to leave anyone the task of dealing with dozens of albums and heavy scrapbooks when I shuffle.

I like the approach of Katie Mortram in Good Housekeeping who spends 20 mins a day decluttering an area that she will be encountering anyway, such as a sock drawer.

We have a lot of stuff in the loft which troubles me. Some of it is unavoidable, like suitcases and Christmas decorations, but there's also several framed paintings, two director chairs, two bean bags, a Pilates ball, boxes of childhood memorabilia, my summer clothes, duvets and so on. Hopefully I will persuade Mr M to start emptying the loft.

I'm going to buy fewer clothes. This month I'm getting some fitness wear which I need for the bootcamp, but apart from that, nothing. I'll identify gaps in my spring/summer wardrobe and buy a small number of quality items. Often they might come from ebay because I'm always searching for coveted items.

Garden makeover

I've stopped being proud of my garden. The decking is rotten and breaking up, as is the arbour. The railway sleepers holding the raised beds are also deteriorating. This year I intend to replace the decking with stones, replace the railway sleepers, and get rid of a couple of trees, one of which is dead. I'll also get the hawthorn cut back, as it's too tall.

Joy

Well this is an interesting one. I recently challenged myself to think of times when I've felt genuinely joyful. A lot of occasions which should have qualified were not joyful because of my tendency to be a perfectionist and my anxiety. Yes, I'm owning up to anxiety. My late mum was terribly anxious and I've always tried not to be. As the middle child, I aimed to be the tough, bold one. I kept anxiety mostly at bay but as we get older it becomes more prevalent. I'm always anxious when we re-start cycling and when we do a long or challenging ride.

It seems swimming gives me joy, although not in pools. I always find my first swim in the sea in Skiathos in June a very joyful experience, as is the annual swim in the sea at Whitstable.

Occasionally art, ballet, pop concerts and architecture all have the ability to make me joyful, and or moved. I'll be prioritising trips to art exhibitions and trying to find a ballet to see (I didn't fancy any last year, they were either ballet I've seen countless times, or the twee type that doesn't appeal to me).

Meeting up with friends also gives me joy.

I want to book the trip to see the Northern Lights which I've been dreaming of. I actually booked a trip with Saga for next month, but unfortunately they then discontinued that particular holiday.

Those are my NY goals. Do any resonate with you? Do tell in the comments.

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