5 Happy Things #16

Friday, June 17, 2016 Permalink
Max smelling the peonies

We've just got home from an amazing week on holiday in Tuscany which felt like it just flew by! The weather was a bit hit and miss, but mostly good and I love that in Tuscany that doesn't really seem to ruin the holiday in the slightest. It was lovely to see how much of a Daddy's boy Max is - all holiday he just loved having his Dad around all day and was full of cuddles and kisses for Daddy. And it was lovely to see how great John is with Max too. I tend to forget that although I get to have lots of one-to-one time with Max during the week, John misses out on that sometimes, so watching ...

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How to create a stunning summer pot display

Thursday, June 16, 2016 Permalink
Stunning Summer pots

One of the easiest ways to add colour to your garden in the summer is through a summer pot display. Although I love having a large garden to look after now, our previous house had only a small courtyard garden, so I'm used to being limited to container gardening. Summer pots are one of my favourite ways to add colour to the garden at the time when you're going to be using it most. After getting back from our holiday, setting up our summer pot display was one of my first to-do items. I headed to the garden centre to pick up the plants I wanted to use and got straight onto it. There is an art to creating a mixed pot ...

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Postcards from Tuscany

Tuesday, June 14, 2016 Permalink
Florence skyline - duomo

I always describe Tuscany as my 'happy place'. We've visited so many times now that as soon as we head off from Pisa airport in the car I can feel myself start to breathe in more deeply, and becoming more relaxed. I'm not sure if it's the green of the vineyards, the good food, the amazing wine, the nice weather, or the friendly people, or just the way they all come together to create one of the most magical places on earth. Of course, I'm slightly biased, as Tuscany is where my husband proposed, and where we honeymooned, so there is a huge amount of nostalgia for us there too. Which is one of the reasons why we were so keen ...

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Five Years of Marriage

Sunday, June 5, 2016 Permalink
First Dance

Five years ago today I was getting ready to marry the love of my life. It seems crazy to think we've hit the five year anniversary mark - it seems like it happened just the other week, and yet it seems like ages ago - so much has changed in our lives since then. John and I met in school and went out for two years before breaking up during our A-Levels and losing touch as we went off to university. So I count it as one of life's fateful moments when our eyes met across a station platform one morning - we got chatting and quickly it was like we picked up exactly where we'd left things.     People say that marriage ...

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5 Happy Things #15

Friday, June 3, 2016 Permalink
Max and Giant banana plant

It's been a really busy couple of weeks lately, so crammed full of lovely stuff it's been difficult to choose 5 highlights! A Bank Holiday always does that, doesn't it?   01.After a busy weekend it was lovely to have a restful Bank Holiday Monday! We had a lazy morning, then heading to my favourite place, RHS Wisley, for a wander. I love visiting Wisley with all three of us as it means I can grab a few moments to properly take things in while John keeps an eye on Max! Max loved this huge plant - very pre-historic looking, don't you think? I can just imagine a dinosaur nibbling on the top of it!   02. Last Saturday my Mum, my sister and I ...

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My Monthly Beauty Buys - May

Wednesday, June 1, 2016 Permalink
Benefit Dandelion, Liz Earle Smoothing Line Serum, Origins Checks and Balances

It's been a bit of a small month beauty-wise, as I needed to stock up on my Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish essentials, so other items have had to be limited due to budget constraints. But there have been some crackers in there that I really wanted to share with you - so here goes!   Liz Earle Smoothing Line Serum Hitting my 30's has brought with it some definite signs of ageing - my eyes are more tired looking, but the one that shows the most is the frown lines between my eyebrows. I love this serum which I've been using in the morning after moisturising (although Liz Earle recommend using at night) - it plumps up the skin and smooths the ...

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