Marrakech clothes

So with only 3 weeks to go until our trip to Marrakech, I decided I had to go through my wardrobe & choose my final picks to take with me.

We're only there for 4 days but as you may have seen on my Instagram yesterday, the predicted forecast is (fingers crossed!!) due to be around the 20-25°c mark, in which case we'll need cooler - but still conservative - clothes for the day with something warmer for the evenings.  Everything I've chosen can be mixed & matched with each other so although there's not a great deal, I can make quite a few different outfits in total!  I'll run through the list quickly but you can get all the details from my Polyvore if you click on the picture.

For the bottoms, I've chosen a pair of relaxed skinny jeans (I'll wear these to travel in), black jersey wide leg trousers, a navy maxi skirt & a plain black maxi dress, ideal to wear with one of the lightweight kimonos thrown on top of it.

The tops I've chosen are 2 longline vests in burnt orange & navy (I may take a white one too), a navy v-neck t-shirt (for travelling in), a mustard top & my new striped boat neck top.

I bought 2 kimonos at the end of last summer to wear as lightweight jackets, ideal for covering my shoulders should be enter somewhere where bare shoulders are frowned upon.  Either can be folded up small & put in my bag.  I will also pack my denim jacket & new navy jacket I bought in Next last week (again, I'll travel in this), but it isn't online so it must be one of last season's.

Shoe-wise, I decided to forego any sort of heels & take only 2 pairs of flats.  I wanted a closed-in pair as it'll still be cold here when we leave so the Freckle Ice from Clarks are perfect.  I have 3 pairs of these now & they are honestly the best ballet pumps for me as they support my arches & are ridiculously padded!  Then I'll take my pewter sandals from M&S, which granted, look minging on the photo but look great on, honestly!!  Again, they're really padded & comfortable for walking in.

I'll only take a couple of pieces of jewellery as I'd like to buy some whilst we're there but I do need a scarf or two, & these from Alice's Wonders are lovely.  I'll take my Clarks tan saddle bag for the day & a beaded clutch for evening.

And not forgetting a swimsuit, sarong & sunglasses!  I'm just taking a plain, boring black swimsuit because I like to wear my leopard print sarong & I don't want to clash!!  I also need to get to the opticians to have new prescription lenses put in my sunglasses but I'll not be going back to Vision Express after the chronically slow service I'm experiencing at the moment with my new glasses, grrrr........

As a lot of things I'm taking I bought at the end of last year & they're no longer in the shops, I've had to choose similar pieces on my Polyvore set but you get the jist!!  I will do another post with photos of the actual clothes I'm taking....I might just do a wee packing video too, we'll see!! ;)

Totally going off track here but does anyone have difficulties with their posts when they add a Polyvore set?  It either totally changes my font & I can't adjust it or like today, my type width will only go to the width of the photo, not across the full page????  It drives me bonkers, does anyone know how to remedy this?

Anyhoo, that was a very rambly post, sorry but I'm getting a tad excited now, hee hee!!!

Is there anything I'm missing?

Autumn casual

                 

Autumn casual by fortytherapy


So there's a definite nip in the air in the mornings now, the cosy cardis are being unpacked & I get the urge to walk a lot more! I don't know what it is about autumn, but I love it when wee man has been dropped off at school & I can come back, harness up donkey-dog & take him over the park for a wander.

I've spoken before about how I have a mahoosive country park just across from our house & it's great walking round the reservoirs on sunny, crisp mornings.  I'm one of those annoying people who love this transitional stage from summer to autumn, the clothes are so much more 'me'!!

The above outfit is my standard sort of everyday, chuck-it-on outfit & what you'll mainly find me wearing on a daily basis.  I'm suddenly being drawn back to boot-cut jeans again after many, many months of skinnies & these from Next are gorgeous.  They're a slim boot-cut with a high-waist to suck in the muffin top - fabulous! - and are my preferred colour of denim.

On top is a simple white slub t-shirt, again from Next with a boyfriend blazer from Matalan.  I don't go here an awful lot but popped in a couple of weeks ago & spotted this.  I knew it'd be perfect to throw on & it was only £16, bargain!  I've also added a grey & white animal print scarf - just because I love it!

I spotted this Fossil bag on the John Lewis website & love it but I can't justify spending £129 on a cross-body bag so I'll have to find a cheaper alternative!

The red Converse are a staple item in my wardrobe & I've gone through many pairs of them.  I am actually in need of new ones again but I'm trying to hold out until we go to New York as they're much cheaper over there!!  And with such a plain colour outfit, I have to add a wee pop of colour on my lips & the Revlon Just Bitten crayons are fab for a hint of tint!

You may be wondering why there's a camera on my outfit list too.  I'd been looking at getting a new compact advanced system camera for all my travels next year but my husband pointed out a few weeks ago that I would then be lugging around a bigger camera & needing to change lenses etc so as a compromise, he went out & bought me this fab Fujifilm XF-1 instead - he's fab!!!  Although it's essentially a point & shoot camera, it's jam-packed full of extras & it's taking me ages to suss out all of the settings, hence why it comes out with me all of the time now so I can practise!!  But I so love the retro style of it & the fact it has a red leather casing!

I'm also loving Polyvore at the moment so expect a few more outfit posts coming up - I need to build up to WIWT posts with full-length photos of myself!!

*I wrote this post 10 days ago & have only just realised that I'd left it in draft form, doh!!!*

Travelling light in Marrakech

Travelling light in Marrakech by fortytherapy 


So, as I've previously mentioned, myself & two friends are going to Marrakech in September & to say I'm already ridiculously excited is a HUGE understatement!!

We had said that we'll just travel with hand luggage, which is completely doable but after talking to one of my friends the other day about it, if we do that, we're going to be seriously short of shopping space, ahem ahem!!  So we might just book one large suitcase on too & share it but just for the sake of this post, let's just pretend I'm still only taking hand luggage!!

I'll be packing clothes that can be mixed & matched with each other, which is why the above colour palette is a bit 'meh' but bear with me!  I am acutely aware of dressing appropriately whilst in Morocco, hence the long trousers, skirts & dresses.  I've put in a lightweight cardigan from H&M & a scarf from Next, both of which are light-weight enough to be folded up & kept in a bag but can be worn to cover the shoulders when needs be.

I've bought a pair of these linen trousers from Next every year for the last 5 or 6 years, they're just so easy to wear & really cool, so they're in, as is my trusty denim jacket which I can wear for travelling in & at night if it gets too cool.  

Converse are my go-to choice for flat, comfortable, sneaker-style shoes but I bought a pair of the M&S silver sandals last year & they were like slippers to wear!  Can I just point out that they look soooo much better on than the photo depicts!  I may or may not take a pair of mid-height espadrille wedges for evening wear but I'll probably just end up wearing the M&S flats, I haven't quite made my final decision yet!

A hat & cross-body bag are essentials too as are just a few pieces of jewellery, to perk up the otherwise blandness of the black outfits!  I picked up the turquoise ring & bracelet sets yesterday & they are gorgeous.  You can't go far wrong with silver & turquoise jewellery in my humble opinion.....

Lastly, I'll pick up one of these super light-weight cabin bags in Matalan this week to match the super light-weight matching case I bought a fortnight ago!  And I am going to make it my mission to purchase this camera before we go away too!  I saw it the other day & absolutely fell in love with it (I know, I know, it's just a camera!!) but I may just have to sell my soul to be able to afford the damn thing!!

I will of course also be packing a stomach-covering tankini & sarong for when we just feel like lazing around the pool & going for a dip because it WILL be hot & it WILL be sunny!  As an after-thought, can I just point out that I know the zebra maxi dress is technically a maternity dress, but if it comes in regular sizes, I'll be straight on it!  If not, I'll probably get the maternity version anyway, I'm not fussy......!!

Next up will be a post on how to pack light, cosmetics & toiletries so watch this space!