The week of birthdays and celebrating

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The week of birthdays and celebrating

This past week is always one of the busiest and craziest of the year, with not one but two birthdays in the same week. I celebrated turning 45 on Tuesday, and Katie officially became a teenager on Friday. It has been a whirlwind of a week full of birthdays and celebrating, and of course filled with cake and laughter. Who said the middle of January was boring. Here is a little look back at the past week.

The week of birthdays and celebrating

Spa day at Ribby Hall

On Tuesday, Hywel and I headed for a spa day at Ribby Hall hotel just outside Blackpool.… Continue reading

What I am focusing on this month – January goals

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January Goals

Inspired by my lovely friend Angela who blogs at Adventures in Websterland, I am going to start sharing the goals I want to achieve each month. I thrive on being organised, and I like to think I run a fairly tight ship when it comes to the home and family life. But there is always room for improvement, and I have started to realise that if my life is not quite as organised as it should be, then it can affect my stress levels.

January Goals

So this year I am going to focus on 3 areas of my life, and come up with monthly goals.… Continue reading

2018 – Looking back at our year of travel

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I love starting the year by looking back at our travels from the previous year, and hopefully this will give you some holiday ideas 2019. I always knew that 2018 would be the year we travelled less, mainly down to GCSEs which happened in May and June. This meant that we swopped our usual holiday in April, as the teen was revising over the Easter holidays, to going away over the Summer.

2018 - Looking back at our year of travel

Considering we were not meant to travel much during 2018, we still managed a total of 13 trips between us. We usually spend between £3500 and £4000 on our annual holidays and trips away, but last year we spent just over £5300 in total, which is down to booking our main holiday during the peak time of Summer.… Continue reading

Little Loves – Blogging friends, Christmas films and a day at Instagram HQ

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The final Little Loves of 2018, and a look back at what we’ve been up to during December. I had the chance to meet up with blogging friends, we watched a few Christmas films, and I spent the day at Instagram HQ in London.

Read

Not much to report in this section, as I have not even finished a book this month, which is not like me. I am about three quarters of the way through this book, and whilst it is ok, it’s just not grabbing me. I am determined to finish it before the year is out though, which is just over 3 hours away.… Continue reading

A clothing wish-list for teenage boys

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With Christmas just around the corner, I suspect that some parents have been presented with a list that contains clothing of some sort. I am no exception, and even with just over a week to go, I am still being sent pictures of clothing from the kid’s favourite websites.

Whilst my daughter loves to shop on the high street still, I know teenage boys like to dress in designer clothes from time to time. And with Christmas on the horizon, it could be the perfect opportunity to treat them to some clothing from their favourite designer. OD’s Designer Clothing offers pieces from Hugo Boss, and I asked my 16 year old son to come up with a wish-list of clothes, that he might like to find under the tree on the 25th December.… Continue reading

The perfect present for gin lovers – Find Me A Gift

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If you are a lover of gin like myself, then no doubt you are looking forward to the upcoming festive season, as gin seems to be everywhere. Walk into your local bar or restaurant, and and no doubt you will be faced with a large selection of gins. The supermarkets are filled with gin gifts, and there seems to be different offers on gins every day. But how about a Gin Fizz and Prosecco bar, which is the perfect present for gin lovers.

Microbarbox - Find me a gift

Microbarbox is a bar in a box, and I absolutely love the idea of bringing the bar into your home.… Continue reading

Booking a Cabana at Center Parcs

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Center Parcs Cabana 

Having just returned from our 13th trip to Center Parcs, I wanted to share parts of our holiday that work really well for us. One thing that we always do on our holiday is hire a Center Parcs Cabana, which are located in the Subtropical Swimming Paradise. We have hired a cabana at Whinfell for the past 3 years, and it has really enhanced the time we have spent in the swimming complex. So if you are asking yourself whether is it worth booking a cabana at Center Parcs, read on.

Center Parcs Cabana

Center Parcs booking – How do you book ?… Continue reading

Little Loves – Suits, Mince Pies and Wearing a Dress

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Another month gone in the blink of an eye, and time for me to sit down and focus on my Little Loves for the past month. November is the month when Christmas starts to creep in, and of course I have had my first mince pie of the season. I am sure I will be indulging in a few more before the 25th December.

Costa Mince Pie

Read

I have read a good mix of books this month, and I’m really into reading at the moment. Everybody seems to be talking about This Is Going To Hurt by Adam Kay, so when I spotted it in a charity shop for 99p I grabbed it.… Continue reading

The £10 Christmas – 8 years on

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The £10 Christmas is back again, and I can’t believe it’s 8 years since we started it. I have not mentioned it on the blog for the past few years, but with the festive season about to begin, I thought I would let newer readers know what it is.

The £10 Christmas

What is the £10 Christmas

The £10 Christmas is the budget that the husband and I set every Christmas for each other. We started it 8 years ago, when we decided we would rather put our money towards Christmas days out, and festive breaks away with the kids. Now that the children are teenagers, and festive days out are getting few and far between, we are still sticking with our £10 Christmas.… Continue reading

Luxury and Affordable Christmas Gifts for Adults

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There is no getting away from the fact that Christmas is well and truly on the horizon, and whilst you won’t find me putting my tree up before the middle of December, one thing that I like to be is organised. The kids have presented me with their lists, one via whatsapp, and one via the good old traditional method of pen and paper, and the buying for the kids has commenced.

Unique Christmas Gift Guide

But friends and family don’t tend to come with a list, so I may have to get my thinking cap on. Over the past few weeks, I have been sent a variety of products that are unique yet affordable.… Continue reading