I love Joe!

So cheekily a few weeks back I wrote an email inviting myself to Joe Browns, because you may have just about gathered I am a little bit of Joe Browns fan! Well a major Joe Browns fan to be totally truthful, I’m sure you’d never have guessed!

I suggested it could be quite nice to write about Joe Browns from the point of view of a mum.  The fact that Joe does clothes that are fabulous, funky and just make you feel so good but are also practical enough to wear when running around after my two small people. The worse they could do was say “No”.

Initially I didn’t hear back from Joe Browns and I was sad – so I tweeted them and through the power of the internet I was put in touch with the lovely Emily and she said it was a great idea! Yay! So then I needed to sort myself out for a trip to Leeds.

So I travelled to Leeds with my hubby bless him, it was meant to be my sister – but unfortunately she couldn’t make it as she was poorly with a bad back – so seriously have to thank the hubby for driving (I’m such a wuss when it comes to motorways!)

So it came the day when I got to visit Joe Browns, to say I was excited is a bit of an understatement, it was like I was meeting a celebrity! I could barely contain myself!

We entered the head office and met the delightful Emily, walking through the offices and to my joy the ethos and décor were exactly as the website/catalogue put across! A motorbike here, a drum kit there, bunting and fun things written on the walls! Loved it!

Generic Images

So Emily led us upstairs to a cool area that they use for photographing clothes and there was a rack full of coats and dresses just for me to try on! I was beside myself and couldn’t wait to try them on! Chatted with Emily for a bit and then she left us to it!

So here you go, the wonderful clothes I got to try on, I’ll let the photos do the majority of the talking, but I was like a kid in a sweet shop…

DSC_0009
All for me!!!

1. Funky Funtime Fur Collar Jacket
Funky Funtime Fur CollarFunky Funtime Collar 2
I love the little details, such as the beautiful lining and the gorgeous buttons. Loving the fur collar for extra cosiness. I normally like a coat to cover my bum, but I would happily wear this jacket – great with some skinny jeans and knee high boots!

2. Statement Coat
Statement Coat
Absolutely adore this coat from it’s beautiful floral lining, to the lovely colours and tulip shape. I own about five Joe Browns coats and would very happily add this to my collection any day! It really does make a statement. This was a favourite of the Hubby’s too!

3. Inspiring Coat
DSC_0015
Great coat – like a purple version of the coat I am wearing this winter season which is red (which I am wearing in the photo, with Emily, at the end of this post)! Loving all the different panels, very inspired!

4. Highland Fling Jacket
Highland Fling 2HIghland Fling 3
Adored the lining of this jacket, the jacket itself was a size too large for me so was a bit boxy and I felt I should be jumping on to my horse! haha!

5. Freestyle Fleece Shawl
Freestyle Fleece Shawl 1
This was warm and cuddly.

6. Ultimate Longline Cardigan
Ultimate Longline Cardigan 1Ultimate Longline Cardigan 3Ultimate Longline Cardigan 4
I love, love, love this! I am hoping I have been a good enough girl and Father Christmas will bring it to me!!! A girl can hope can’t she!?!
It has gorgeous embellishments and was extremely comfy. A portable duvet you can look good in, and still able to keep up with my kids!
There’s a black version also available with slightly different embroidered embellishments, but the chocolate one has stolen my heart.

7. Luxurious Jacquard Coat
Luxurious Jacquard Coat
Trying to look super cool with my posing! Yet another gorgeous coat. It’s amazing how good a well made and fitted coat can make you feel better about yourself. I think this one has a sophisticated and elegant air about it.

8. Checked Biker Jacket
Checked Biker Jacket
I liked the off centre concealed zip on this jacket. They’re so good with their detailing!

9. Joe’s Favourite Coat Black
Joe's Favourite Coat Black
Smart, sophisticated coat – with amazing paisley lining.

10. Joe’s Favourite Coat Purple
Joe's Favourite Coat Purple
I think my preference is definitely the purple one – just made it a little different!

11. Striking Coat
Striking Coat
Check out that beautiful lining.  Fabulous button detail too.

12. Baroque Velour Dress
Baroque Velour Dress1
Baroque Velour Dress2
Baroque Velour Dress3
I completely adore this dress – definitely another one on my wish list to Father Christmas.  The deep blue colour of the velvet and layering of the skirt, just gorgeous. It was extremely comfortable to wear as well. I didn’t want to take it off!

Got to check out the twirl factor!

13. Out of this World Dress
Out of this World Dress
Something a little different. I wasn’t sure how I felt about this dress on seeing it in the Joe Browns catalogue, I was little ambivalent. Once I tried it on, I was sold. I love the timeless Peter Pan collar, the incredibly detailed pattern, and the fact I feel you could wear this during the day comfortably or dress it up for an evening out! It really is a testament to its name.

14. Flattering Feminine Flocked Dress
Flattering Feminine Dress1Flattering Feminine Dress2
A very easy to wear dress,  I already own a similar version in purple, which incidentally I wore for my mummy Christmas night out!

Twirl time

15. Christmas Cracker Dress
Christmas Cracker Dress 1Christmas Cracker Dress2
Something a little festive.  I really would love this dress to wear on Christmas day, comfy, cosy and cuddly.  Good length sleeves on me too, which is a great plus point!

16. Kalisi Dress
Kalisi Dress 2Kalisi Dress 1
The colour of this dress is beautiful and the detailing very elegant, but I did personally feel I was in a negligée and think I would be too self conscious to wear it out! I do have quite long arms as well, so the sleeves were a bit short for me.

17. Butterfly Jacquard Dress
Butterfly Jacquard Dress 2Butterfly Jacquard Dress 3Butterfly Jacquard Dress 5Butterfly Jacquard Dress 6Butterfly Jacquard Dress1
Considering how many photos I got my hubby to take of me in this dress, you may have guessed it was a personal favourite! I can’t decide between this one and the Baroque velour dress as to which takes the number one spot. Both were so utterly gorgeous. Think they would have noticed if I’d tried to sneak them out though! ;-P

Double twirl for the butterflies

I was extremely lucky to be able to have the chance to try all these wonderful clothes on, so I have to thank Joe Browns for having me and especially to the wonderful Emily for putting up with this mad blogger mummy!

DSC_0141
With the wonderful Emily! This was in one of their meeting rooms – how awesome is that wall? Plus, I am of course, wearing one of my Joe Browns coats!

She also very kindly gave me a goodie bag, which I wasn’t expecting, so was a lovely surprise. I got a beautiful necklace, scarf and good old sweeties.

IMG_7225
So beautiful!

Subsequently I have become a Joe Browns affiliate – so if you do want to buy some of their clothes, which I highly recommend, please come through my site!

I really do love the clothes, each piece is a statement, it’s more than trendy and following the latest fashion it’s about allowing your own personality to shine through. Timeless pieces that get noticed, I have had so many lovely comments about my Joe Browns coats (always a nice little ego boost). I believe they have something for everyone, whatever your shape and size. All the items I have make me feel good (and hopefully look good) when I am running around after my small people, so they are totally practical too! It’s a winning situation all round.

The party  dresses are there to make you feel glam on a (childfree) night out, when you want to bring out your inner yummy mummy! It’s amazing what a good outfit can do for your self esteem! I know they make me feel better – and watch out for the Joe Browns sales and outlet, you can grab yourself a bargain, and they cater for men too!

I just had the best time, striking my best model poses – it’s probably lucky for them I live 4 hours away from Leeds!!! 😛 xxx

Please like, share and comment on this post – it’s much appreciated!

***This is not a sponsored post, all thoughts and views are my own. Though subsequently to my visit to Joe Browns I have become an affiliate***

 

For the Sake of My Mentality

So it all began in February this year, with one of the epic Facebook messages me and my group of yummy mummies have – my recollection is that it all started with us complaining about how useless BMI is as a measurement, but I digress – within this long chain conversation one sentence my friend Emma, who has been running regularly for some time, wrote that stuck in my head and started gnawing away at me. She said that running was for her mentality – it was just a plus that it was good for your health.

This niggly idea of going running was particularly in my head as I was doing my umpteenth walk to the post office to pick up yet another delivery that the Post Office hadn’t been able to deliver (I have neighbours – please leave it with them!!! Though I suppose I have to thank them otherwise I wouldn’t have taken those walks that made my running dream germinate and flower).

What you need to know about me is that I am not your natural runner, or a natural at any physical exercise to be honest – I was the one who used to walk to the station at 6am wondering why these daft people were running at that time of the morning out of choice!?! So firstly I looked into running and what apps were out there – finally settling on “Couch to 5k” – something I will discuss in another blog, but definitely the best £1.69 I’ve ever spent!

Secondly I contacted the people I knew who were into running/physical exercise – these being my brother Richard, my friend Emma who I mentioned in the first paragraph as the forerunner of this idea and my friend Graham who does completely insane OCR races (check out his blog at www.trailsandadventures.com – well worth a read)

My brother Richard impressed on me that it was highly worth going to a proper running shop to get my running trainers – which I did! Details in this blog post! Emma also said to me make sure you get good running trainers as your feet and legs are essentially your gym equipment! So then I contacted Graham and asked him his advice he said “just get out there and do it” so that’s just what I did!

My blogs will be a mixture of my running journey/adventure and that of being a mum to two little people! They may not be funny, interesting or inventive, but hopefully you might come across something that may inspire you or make you realise that it’s not just you! Whatever you take from them I hope you enjoy them and I thank you for taking the time to read! 🙂 xxx