Christmas Shopping in Purple

Yay! At last, all the kids are back at school after various viral afflictions…of course, mum's got it now but as you know, there's no rest for the mammies! On days like this I think back to when I worked full time and my son was in daycare. If I was unwell, I could stay in my bed, he would still go into creche and your body had a chance to get better with some healing R & R at home. But the career of stay at home mum doesn't do sick days, especially when there's Christmas shopping to do :(
Hubby thought it would be hilarious to take this photo of me outside Pound Stretcher and I was feeling too miserable to argue…a little bit of purple for today:

Coat - Noa Noa
Scarf - Noa Noa
Grey Marl Trousers - French Connection
Black Ankle Boots - River Island
(all past season)

Another one of those coats I rarely wear. This is a Noa Noa coat that I got as a Christmas present a couple of years ago. It's a great colour on me and really cosy but I've struggled to find a nice purple scarf to match it. The one I'm wearing is also Noa Noa but it's quite short and narrow and is difficult to get sitting right. Only other scarf addicts will understand this issue! So if you've seen a lovely big inexpensive scarf with purple and black/grey/navy in it, send me a link please!

Side on shot showing my new Fossil handbag from Menarys. It's getting a whole blogpost of its own in the next week as it's so fabulous. Haven't used another bag since I got it 2 weeks ago. Perfect shape, shoulder strap and colour and the leather….buttery soft!

What the camera doesn't show is that just to the right of Pound Stretcher, there's a Cotswold Outdoors shop and I went in there on a research mission. I wanted to try on the Merrell Ellenwood to see how it compares to the Wakefield. Unfortunately, they had neither in stock but I spotted this lovely Jack Wolfskin coat for a bargainous (in Jack Wolfskin terms) £125.

Jack Wolfskin Iceguard Cot - £125

In my opinion, it's somewhere between a North Face Metropolis and a Merrell Ellenwood/Wakefield. It's cosy like a down coat but less bulky. I would say it's not as waterproof as the Merrell but definitely warmer and I'm loving this colour way. Very versatile. It comes in black & cream also.

I'm wearing the 8 in this picture and it's a bit too neat for me but it did zip up so the sizing is on the generous side. There's wasn't a 10 available for me to try on.

For those of you in Belfast still looking a Merrell Wakefield, the lady in Cotswold told me that there is one in the colour I have, in a size 10, in the Belfast city store for £129. Worth phoning in advance if you're interested - just in case it's sold already!
Ok - off to choir soon despite having no voice. We have a lovely Christmas choir concert on Sunday in Lisburn Cathedral (all welcome - 3pm) so I better get my voice back soon...