Advertisement feature with the Aviva Community Fund. Did you spot my recent social posts supporting the Aviva Community Fund? To help build stronger communities, Aviva offers local groups the chance to apply for much-needed funding for community projects in areas just like yours! About Aviva Community Fund The fund allows local groups to enter for the chance to secure funding which ranges from up to £1,000 to £25,000 – money that can make a real difference. Local projects enter in one of three categories; Health & Wellbeing, Environment or
We’ve all heard people say that eating carrots helps you see in the dark. But, there are actually a lot of foods that affect your eyesight. If you’re a parent, you want to be sure that you and your family are eating healthily in general, because your diet significantly affects your general health. Although carrots helping you see in the dark is not strictly true, there are lots of ways in which your diet affects your eyesight. To help you navigate the tricky world of food and how it affects
My husband said to me one night, ‘there’s this woman on Netflix and she’s made a show about tidying up’, which he thought was slightly ridiculous to be honest. He was of course talking about Marie Kondo and the program ‘Tidying Up with Marie Kondo’. He went upstairs to play computer games and I decided to watch one of the episodes to see what she had to say about tidying and decluttering the home. I will be the first to admit that we are constantly battling to keep our
Wearing jewellery is something that has really changed for me over the years. When I had more time on my hands I would change earrings and necklaces regularly to match whatever outfit I was wearing that day. It was more about fashion than connection back in those days. There came a point when wearing jewellery changed, and I can’t pinpoint exactly when it was. I suspect it’s been a gradual journey influenced by the changes I’ve experienced in my life. I know that having a family and children of my
Old habits die hard. We all have some habits that annoy the people around us. Do you ever find yourself biting your nails, fidgeting, picking your nose, stealing or even gossiping? Quitting is not easy. For instance, stopping drinking is one of the more difficult things you would do in life. A lot of individuals try to break the habit, but there is always a relapse in a couple of days. There are quite a few methods which can be used to eliminate bad habits like this that you might
Do you remember a while back that we were getting ready to send teen back to university for his second year? Well, I’m not going to lie, there are two aspects to this change in our family that I really struggle with. Firstly, I miss him so much when he’s gone. I thought I would have been used to this by now, but it turns out I’m not. Secondly, I can’t help but worry about him either. I do wonder if we ever stop worrying about are kids, and at
When a massage is applied, it affects every system in the human body When it comes to providing perfect relaxation to muscles, lessen body aches and pains, reduce blood pressure and unblock energy flow, there’s no better way than a massage therapy to hit the spot and improve your self care levels. It also provides mental and emotional relaxation which helps enormously with stress relief. What many people don’t know is that a properly applied massage has several physiological effects and affects the body in many ways. We are going
Hello everyone. I hope Monday is treating you well so far. Did you read a post I wrote a few weeks ago about how I was feeling about my weight and the plus size movement in general. I got some really lovely helpful comments on that post which was awesome, so thanks so much for those of you who stopped by. Writing that post was really cathartic for me and acted as a bit of a catalyst to some much needed change. It made sense to come back to the
Advertisement What do you by a man when you just wanted to cheer him up a little bit? I really struggle with how to show Daddy how much we appreciate him on a regular basis. It’s really easy for him to surprise me as a bouquet of flowers or a box of chocolates is always appreciated. When it comes to returning the gesture, I often draw a blank though, and it can feel incredibly frustrating. There has to be a way to bring joy to someone’s day though doesn’t there?
Before we get stuck into this post, I want to be absolutely clear that I am not fat shaming anyone. I am talking about my own relationship with my body and why I can’t totally get behind the plus size movement. It’s not about being controversial, but I’m sure that some will see it that way. It’s more about opening up a debate about why the plus size movement might not be entirely a good thing. I’ll be honest, I’m not sure that it is helpful, and I just want
We all know that it can be a lot cheaper to buy things like clothes and make up from the US instead of the UK. This is why people travelling to the US make sure they have plenty of room in their baggage allowance to go on a shopping spree during their trip. They get to bring home lots of branded clothes and homewares for a fraction of the price you might pay in the UK. Not everyone can travel to the US for a shopping trip though. That’s where
Back in 1953 the Rolex company produced the Rolex Submariner, its first watch model able to operate deep underwater. The first Submariner model was an automatic one, was water resistant up to 100m, featured no protection for its bezel and its case had a diameter of 37 mm. Its reference number was 6204 and other subsequent models featuring small modifications were given reference numbers 6205 and 6536, as well as being called the “James Bond” models by collectors. Some of the most famous Rolex Submariner models can be examined on
I really think it’s tough for first time drivers these days who are looking to pass their driving test and get their first taste of road independence. I passed my driving test over 20 years ago and things were quite different back then. There was no theory test then and getting on the road and finding the right car insurance for first time drivers was a lot simpler. Before I Learnt to Drive I learnt to drive when I was 17, and I really think this is the best time
You will already have guessed if you are a regular reader of my blog that I am a huge fan of Eden Hall Spa in Nottinghamshire. I’m certainly not the only one as spa guests travel from far and wide to visit this very special and tranquil retreat just outside the village of Elston. My sister has been wanting to visit Eden Hall Spa for many years, and we finally got a date in our diaries pinned down to visit for our birthdays last month. To say she was very
Hello readers! Thanks so much for coming back to find out how we’ve been getting along with our Western Digital (WD) My Cloud Home and our latest family tradition, Screening Sunday. If you’ve not read my first post, you can find out all about my experience of online digital storage here. Did you join in with Screening Sunday? If not I’m sure you will be having a go with your family after you’ve read this post 🙂 My Cloud Home Review When the My Cloud Home arrived in our house,
Taking on a mortgage is a huge financial commitment not only at the time you first take it on but for the duration of its term, which could be 25 years or more depending on your agreement. If your lender or broker didn’t consider your ability to repay your mortgage for the entire term of the loan, then the mortgage may have been missold. If you are concerned about how your mortgage application was processed this post might help you consider whether you can make a claim for compensation. This
I’ve been asking myself recently if smart phones and online photo storage have destroyed the good old fashioned family album. I have thousands of photos, either sitting on my phone, on my SD cards or sitting on my computer, but we rarely ever look at them together as a family. What is the point in capturing all these amazing milestones and family memories if nobody ever looks at them? It seems a real shame, doesn’t it? Well stick with me, as I’ve got a great solution to bring back the
You may not know this, but in my previous life I used to work in Social Housing. I spent a number of years working with tenants to help them keep their rent payments up to date and avoid having rent arrears. Whilst I no longer work at a Housing Association, I am still a private landlord. I have one property that I have rented out for over 5 years now. I know this isn’t a topic I usually write about, but I’m still passionate about the importance of the family
Hello lovely readers! How are you feeling today? I really hope you are feeling full of the joys of spring. Sadly, with the British weather letting us down in epic fashion, I’m going to hazard a guess that some of you might be feeling a little bit ‘meh’, or lacking in happy vibes. What is the current mood with you today? Take a moment to connect with your current feelings, as it will really help you benefit from reading this post 🙂 I’m not one for magic wands or miracle
I don’t know about you, but to me time is precious and as a result I shop online for most things, including travel shoes to take on holiday. It seems like a pretty big risk as I also believe poor footwear can make or break a trip. As you will already know, I’m often chasing 2 small children around beaches or various attractions so there is very little time to put my feet up. In order to keep up with them I insist on good travel shoes for all types
I personally believe that finding the right diet product or plan is the key to loosing weight successfully. There are lots of weight loss products out there and it can quickly feel very overwhelming when you are looking to start a diet. It’s important to choose a weight loss plan that is going to fit with your lifestyle and that you will enjoy. When you are thinking about ‘what is a good diet for me to follow’ these are the 2 questions you really need to have in the front
PizzaExpress is one of our favourite family friendly restaurants and when we heard that they had teamed up with the World Book Day campaign we couldn’t wait to pop down and find out what it was all about. We also got to eat some amazing pizza, which helps a lot of course! As parents we have learnt to be creative about using our time with the kids to encourage them to read, draw, write and do activities. We love story books and I always carry a pad and colouring pens
Mother’s Day will be with us on Sunday 11th March, and it’s a lovely opportunity to show your wonderful Mum just how much she mean’s to you. Now, there are all different kinds of Mum’s out there, and I’m very aware that one size does not fit all. In this Mother’s Day gift guide I wanted to bring you a range of present ideas in the hope that there is something for your very special Mum right here in this post. The Clemmie Hand Tied Bouquet from Beards & Daisies
Hello lovely readers. Thanks so much for stopping by for the second edition of the travel and lifestyle round up. If it’s your first time here, you can catch up on what was making a splash in January in this post. We’ll be right here when you get back, so please feel free to stop by and have a browse. Well, it’s fair to say that January literally flew by. Was it the same for you? It’s blowing my mind that we are over 1/12th of the way through the
I’ve been thinking a lot about ‘self care’ recently, and how every other post we see on blogs and social media has something to say about it. I’m sure you’ve read ’10 ways to practice self care’ or something very similar and I wondered how you felt about it? There’s something about the term ‘self care’ that doesn’t sit quite right with me, and I’m not sure it helps women, men or anyone really feel good about the practice of taking care of themselves. Self Care or Positive Care? Perhaps
I am very aware that the spaghetti bolognese that I cook at home is nothing like the authentic Italian pasta that I’d experience in a five star restaurant but for a family meal it ticks our boxes especially on a school night. However, sometimes it’s nice to ditch the family meal and have a real treat, and this is where Pasta Evangelists come in. Do you want to hear more? The Pasta Evangelists team reached out to me on Twitter and asked me if I would try out their fresh
Is your partner a geek? My husband most definitely falls into this category and I really struggle to buy him gifts for Valentine’s Day. He’s often the first to say ‘don’t worry about buying me a present’ when the most romantic day of the year comes around, but I like giving gifts and I think it’s sad to miss the opportunity to spoil someone you love. I’m not saying that buying gifts for geeks is easy, because actually it can be really hard but I’m determined to find my husband
Did you make some New Year’s Resolutions about being more active? Have you managed to fit exercise into your routine yet? I strongly believe that the key to starting exercise and sticking with it is finding something you love doing. I really love Zumba and I’ve been going to classes for over a year now and I thought that my journey might just inspire you to get moving in 2018. When I started going to Zumba classes in West Bridgford it really was a game changer for me. I knew
There’s a few products on the market at the moment that have caught my attention, so I wanted to start the year with a new feature for you. I’m going to share with you the best products for making family travel and life easier in 2018. I really hope you enjoy it so without further ado I’m going to kick off with some shoes, well sandals to be precise, but I know there is a lot of you out there that love footwear in all it’s guises so here goes:
I’ve been in a very reflective mood recently, and I often think about the journey I’ve been on with my blog. Writing a blog was something that hadn’t even occurred to me in the past, in fact I didn’t even really understand what a blog was and I was still pretty much in the dark about hashtags! So what happened? When I was pregnant with Indie, it was pretty tough. I learned the hard way that having a baby in your late 30’s isn’t as easy as in your early
