Hello autumn!

Well autumn is most definitely here, the air has turned colder and last night was the first time this season that I saw my breath on the air. I’m ok with that, I know there was talk of an Indian summer but I’m happy for coats, scarfs and Sunday roasts.

I was solo last weekend with the kids which is always a bit of a juggle but lovely to have them to myself too. Fred was away taking on the Berlin Marathon which is his 6th but the first one he has done abroad. He managed to do it in 3 hrs 35 minutes which is amazing. He was hoping for faster but the rain was so miserable I think it made a difference to a lot of the runners. I don’t think I will ever do a marathon so I’m impressed by anyone who finishes one!

I want to give my sister a shout-out this week too as it’s a double whammy of achievements in my family this week. You may remember that I wrote about Holly’s first roll as a producer earlier this year with ‘Don’t Forget the Driver’ starring Toby Jones. Well it only went and won Best Comedy at the Venice TV Awards. So well deserved and an amazing result on her first Producer role. Well done Holly and the team at Sister Pictures!

What’s been going on at QVC

Last weekend I got to bring you a premier show, Harry Slatkin and Homeworx has arrived from the US! What a lovely man he is too. What he doesn’t know about candles isn’t worth knowing. He has been in this business for 26 years and is a recognised ‘nose’ in the industry which is usually reserved for perfumers. The notes in his candles are so authentic and layered beautifully and the throw is incredible.

Harry Slatkin is award-winning in his field and has fragranced the homes of some of the biggest names in the world from the biggest stars in music to Royalty. We are so happy to have him here in the UK and I hope you will give his beautiful candles a try.

IGTV

One of the questions I get asked the most via social media is ‘How do you do your hair?’ Now, I’m still a work in progress when it comes to my hair. Even at the ripe old age of 39 I find new ways to style it and new products to use all the time. The other issue being that our hair changes as we get older so no doubt I will change it up again at some point.

In any case I thought it was time to do a video for you on how I currently style my hair. The products I use and have been for a while now are Color Wow Dream Coat which we have in a supersize at the moment and Percy & Reed Wonder Balm to finish it off, also currently in a supersize. You’ll see from the video how I use these products and also how I style it and get my S Bend waves by using straighteners. Click here to watch.

What I’ve been wearing

I’m guilty of always reaching for jeans when it comes to trousers, so when I saw these amazing tartan ones from Joe Browns at QVC I had to break out of my comfort zone and give them a try. I gave them a test run in Bournemouth this week when out for lunch with my friend Becki. They are super comfortable and a Poly/Viscose/Elastane blend and machine washable. I am seeing a lot of brands doing tartan trousers so they are definitely a trend this season.

They have a zip and hook fastening and a tailored look, there is a nice pocket detail just on one side on the bottom. I like that they will also be quite festive for December! (I’m a size 12 and wearing the size 12). I wore them with the black version of the Phase Eight top I wore a few weeks ago in the camel. I also wore my Ruth Langsford black faux leather jacket. I know this a repeat mention of it but I think it is important to show the versatility of pieces that you can wear again and again rather than always only showing you something new. I think we are all more aware these days of investing in pieces that you will get many wears out of rather than fast fashion pieces that you may wear a few times and then throw away or pass on.

The ankle boots I am wearing are the Vionic Landen Stud Detail Suede Boot. When wearing a heel I find the health of my feet even more important to be mindful of now so that’s why I do try and go for Vionics when I can. What do you think? Will you be trying a little tartan in your life?

What’s coming up at QVC

We’ve got some great beauty Today’s Special Values this week and the best bit is that you don’t have to wait for them as they are available already on pre-sell. Firstly, Hello Kitty. What a super cute collection for OPI to bring us! If you are looking for gift ideas for the tweens and teens in your life and of course the Millenials who love a good bit of nail art for Instagram then this is the perfect kit. However, I have to admit that I would love this kit too but then I just scrape into the millennial camp….just!

In this collection you will be getting 6 gorgeous nail lacquers in brights and glitters and then the ‘Pink to Envy’ Nail Envy. The value of that alone makes this kit worth coming in for. It’s available now so pop on over and have a look it will however also be on throughout the day tomorrow (Friday 4th October) and launch this evening at 9pm.

Next up, this Sunday is Molton Brown Day with their Today’s Special Value! Again this is the perfect time to get ahead of the game for Christmas gifting and tick off a few presents. It’s a 6 piece collection and packaged as two separate potential gifts. The first part is a boxed set of three 300ml bottles of Body Wash and Hand wash. The second is a drawstring bag with 100ml Hand Wash, Lotion and Hand Cream.

The options are Warm and Fresh, personally I am quite torn between them but If I had to choose I would go for the Warm collection which has the most divine Suede Orris, Rosa Absolute and Juniper Berries. Have a look on the QVC website to see all the delicious fragrances in the collections.

Mid-week dinner inspiration

I’ve been trying to get better at including my two portions of oily fish in my diet each week. I’m a big fan of salmon though so it’s not too much of a problem, this is my go-to easy salmon dish. I know I should be poaching or steaming it to be healthier but I cut out the potatoes so I had to give myself a break!

I cook my salmon in a pan in olive oil with a squeeze of lemon juice over it, pretty clean and simple. I turn it every few minutes so that each side gets a nice bit of crisping on it, it takes about 10 minutes all in all. For the vegetables, in a wok or pan I heat olive oil and a sliced clove of garlic, then toss in sliced runner beans, a load of spinach (pretty much a whole bag for the two of us as it shrinks down so much) and a pack of baby vine tomatoes. I then pile the veg on a plate and lay the salmon on top, purely to make it look fancy! This dish can easily be swapped around with a tuna streak instead of salmon as an alternative oily fish. Even Tilda will eat salmon this way, Ivy is going to take some convincing!

That’s it for today, I’m actually heading up to London this afternoon to go to the launch party of the Kate Thornton for Bibi Bijoux Jewellery range which I am looking forward to. I shall be sharing pictures on my Instagram and Facebook so keep an eye out. I will also feature it in next week’s blog.

Have a lovely week,

Love from Katy xx