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Slow september

Slow September

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I adore the concept of slow living. It’s multi-faceted, and means different things to different people, but for me, it’s about trying to live more mindfully, rejecting the worst aspects of consumerism and fast fashion, concentrating on living more sustainably, nourishing your mind and body and basically simplifying your life by adopting a less is more approach. Of course, there’s no such thing as perfection (especially at the moment), but I’ve been scribbling away in my journal - intentions, plans and dreams for the month, and I thought you might like to read them (and maybe even join in with a few). Funnily enough, after I’d been drafting this over the last few days, my new issue of Red Magazine dropped through the door, and in it was an article about slow living being ‘sustainable, local, organic, whole’, which I absolutely love. So here’s to slow September.

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Peanut, coconut and chocolate chip flapjacks

Peanut, coconut and chocolate chip flapjacks

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If you’re looking for a sweet treat to bake at home right now (and if you’re lockdown parenting, something to keep the kids occupied for a while too), then look no further than these peanut, coconut and chocolate chip flapjacks. They weren’t supposed to have chocolate chips in, but Charlie requested them at the last minute, and they’re so good, I’ll definitely be adding them from now on. As long as you keep the basic fat/sugar/oat proportions in this recipe the same you can add or substitute ingredients for what you have handy at home. For the fat element, you can use butter, or coconut oil or plant based spread if you want to keep it vegan. Oh and if you don’t want to use peanut butter, just up the fat content to 175g.

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Lockdown leisurewear

Weekend wishlist: lockdown leisurewear

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How are we all doing? I hope you’re surviving the lockdown. It’s such a weird time isn’t it? Being locked down in the same house as your soon to be ex-husband has not been easy - thank goodness for Charlie coming home from uni and making me cry with laughter on a regular basis. If you’re suffering in a similar way, or just worried and anxious, like so many of us are, I’m sending positive vibes and big virtual hugs. I seem to have been checking out the online shops (the ones that are still open) for more lockdown leisurewear (I can’t help but say ‘leeeeshurewear’ when I read this word) to expand my limited jogging bottom/leggings working from home options, so I thought I’d bring you a bit of lockdown loveliness in the form of a few nice bits I’ve seen, and some special offers and discounts too.

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Dog dental care: what should we be doing?

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Brushed your teeth this morning? Although as a nation we’re not known for having the best teeth (American friends with full, perfect sets of pearly whites often crack this gag), I actually think we’re quite good at looking after our gnashers: I’m a stickler for a six-month dental check, and I’ve had a bit of cosmetic work done too - just changing metal fillings for white ones, but I’d love to have my teeth whitened, and I’ve even been tempted by those clear braces to sort out an annoying gap. We’re also known as a nation of dog lovers. But how are we at looking after our doggies’ teefs? I’ve teamed up with Pedigree to join their ‘our teeth and theirs’ campaign, designed to promote proper dog dental care, and I’ve found it all really interesting.

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Winter proofing your home for the New Year

Winter proofing your home for the New Year

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Well, hello there. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. We spent a quiet Christmas at home and then I had my traditional New Year’s Eve with my gorgeous family. I love the feeling of the fresh new start that comes now the tree is down and the decorations have gone back in the loft. There’s plenty of chilly weather to come, though, so I’ve been thinking about ideas for winter proofing your home for the New Year, and making our living spaces cosy and warm once all the twinkly bits have been put away. You know I’m totally here for all things hygge, and it’s the perfect Scandi concept for whiling away the rest of the winter in cosy comfort.

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Weekend wishlist: gorgeous Christmas stuff for your home

Weekend wishlist: gorgeous Christmas stuff for your home

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There are just 11 sleeps until the big day and realistically, if you’re shopping online - especially at some of the independent shops - you’ll need to be thinking about getting your orders in pretty shortly. Seeing as this is one of my last weekend wishlists of the year - the decade! - I thought I’d share some of my favourite online shops with you, and pick out some lovely bits and pieces: decorations, wreaths, tableware, heavenly scented candles and more. So here, then, *tiny fanfare* is my roundup of the most gorgeous Christmas stuff for your home.

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My top tips for creating a teenager's dream bedroom

My top tips for creating a teenager’s dream bedroom

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There comes a time when your kids are all grown up and it’s officially time to upgrade their bedrooms and swap the dinosaur wallpaper for something a little more suitable. Renovating a bedroom can be a bit of a struggle - especially if your teenager’s tastes are a little different to yours - but I’ve got some top tips for creating a teenager’s dream bedroom that won’t cost you a fortune and will keep everyone happy.

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Weekend wishlist hygge for the home

Weekend wishlist: hygge for the home

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Yay! It’s the weekend! It might be an unpopular opinion but I love chilly weather, dark evenings and swirling leaves, because it means snuggling in with a sleepy whippet, piles of soft blankets, scented candles, and maybe even a glass of something lovely. For this weekend’s wishlist, I thought I’d do a little roundup of all things hygge for your home, because let’s face it, who needs an excuse to snuggle?!

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What do recycling symbols actually mean

What can I recycle? What do recycling symbols actually mean?

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These days, I feel that most of us are trying to do our bit for the environment by using fewer plastic items (especially single use), and recycling what we can. However, unless you’re seriously hard core, buying plastic is more or less unavoidable, and if your household is anything like ours, recycling causes major headaches. Some members of our family (who shall remain anonymous for fear of shaming them in public) just can’t get their head around what’s recyclable, and I seem to spend my life fishing various items out of bins and transferring them to different places. I thought it might be helpful to have a look at the most common recycling symbols that you’ll find on household packaging, but obviously the biggest thing is to check with your local authority to find out exactly what items go in which bin and what’s allowed (for example, our council allows TetraPaks to be placed in recycling bin, but others don’t), and what other items can be recycled at your local recycling centre. So what do recycling symbols actually mean?

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Weekend wishlist: stylish, affordable furniture (and 20% off) from made.com

Weekend wishlist: stylish, affordable furniture (and 20% off) from made.com

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So did I tell you I found my perfect dining table? I think I mentioned in my Secondhand September post that I’ve been hunting for a vintage Ercol drop leaf dining table with those beautiful splayed legs for absolutely ages. I wanted one with the perfect amount of wood graining and it had to be exactly the right colour (I know, picky, but I knew exactly what I wanted) and then finally, the stars aligned, I submitted a well-timed final bid on Ebay, and the table is mine! It’s being delivered Saturday (as long as the people I’ve hired on Shiply do what they promise), and now the hunt is on for the perfect dining chairs: mismatched, obviously, and with a nod to the same mid-century modern era. I don’t know about you, but I sometimes find it difficult to source stylish, affordable furniture, but I’ve found loads of lovely stuff recently at made.com so for this weekend’s wishlist, I thought I’d share a few of my favourite finds - especially as there’s currently a flash sale with up to 20% off selected lines.

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The Aldi student living range

The Aldi student living range - in store now!

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Whether you’re sending your beloved offspring off to university for the first time, or whether, like us, you’re now old hands at the sad September send off, I’m in no doubt that the cost of everything has you reeling. Generally in the first year, students will be in halls of some sort, but even then the cost of bedding, kitchen equipment, clothes, toiletries, cleaning stuff, food and other essentials can really add up. If you’ve ever shopped at Aldi, you’ll have noticed they sell a whole range of amazing, great value things online and in store. These Specialbuys tend to be seasonal and cover everything from DIY to gardening, cycling, beauty and homeware. Happily, I’ve got news of the Aldi student living range, which hits the shelves today - I’ve given you an early heads up, because I know they can be popular, and I’ve even got a sneaky peek at what’s going to be available so you can plan ahead.

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Summer pet safety advice with Petplan

Summer pet safety advice with Petplan

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While the weather’s been so warm, I’ve been waking early to take Lyra out before it gets too hot for her, so when Petplan, the pet insurance experts, asked me to tell you about my ‘pawfect day out’ with her, I knew exactly what it would be: an early morning jaunt through the Chiltern Hills, stopping for a quick paddle in the quarry lakes and saying hello to a few new friends. I walk these pathways every day, but it’s amazed me just how different it is in the early morning: the rabbits are still out (the wild ones around here are black - who knew!), we’ve spotted deer and foxes (sadly I haven’t been quick enough to photograph any) and the light is absolutely magical. I thought you might like to come join us on a little wander…

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Nutella cheesecake with smashed Ferrero Rocher

Nutella cheesecake with smashed Ferrero Rocher - because you’re only 21 once

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My baby boy is 21. When I first started writing this blog, we’d just moved to Ireland and Charlie was eight. Honestly, it seems like a lifetime ago now. I’ve said before that I never really felt like I was a natural at all this motherhood lark, so I’m eternally thankful that they’ve both turned into the kind, funny, loving adults (eek!) they are today. It’s really lovely to see them live, love and flourish. Charlie’s in his second year of university now and happily settled with a lovely girlfriend, and although it’s true that you never stop worrying about them, by the time they get to this life stage, you have to sit back, relax and just hope that you’ve given them all the skills to make the right decisions in life. which is kind of a relief after the stress of those teenage years. And talking of decisions, if you’re a regular reader, or maybe if you follow me on Instagram or Twitter, you’ll know about the Birthday Challenge. In this household, the birthday person gets to choose whatever cake they like, however obscure, and I promise to make it for them. Once upon a time, it was all about finding the most obscure recipes (think of it as the inspiration for the technical challenge on GBBO), but now, they just choose something yummy, which is fine by me. Charlie’s choice was for a ‘Nutella chocolate cheesecake with Ferrari Rockets on top’, and while he was heading back down the motorway ready to celebrate with all our friends and family, I got to work creating the perfect, silky smooth Nutella cheesecake with smashed Ferrero Rocher* on the top.

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Weekend wishlist: gorgeous new spring homeware at H&M

Weekend wishlist: gorgeous new spring homeware at H&M

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Happy Saturday! By the time you read this, I’ll just be reaching Krems in Austria on my Viking Danube river cruise (follow our journey over on my Instagram stories), and hopefully visiting a winery there to taste some of the local Riesling. Wherever you are, though, it’s pretty clear that spring is sprung! And back at home I’ve been wondering whether I’ve added just a leeetle bit too much grey to our house, now that lighter, brighter days are round the corner. We’ve recently had all our interior doors painted in Farrow and Ball’s Railings, and although I love the dark colour contrasted against our paler grey walls, I’m yearning for some fresh pops of colour (it’s cyclical, don’t you think? By autumn, I’ll be rolling out all the dark grey blankets again). I’m absolutely loving H&M’s interior range at the moment - they’ve got some lovely new spring homeware that’s absolutely perfect for adding some freshness to your interiors.

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Festive Fixes by Gumtree. Pic: John Nguyen/PA Wire

Festive fixes by Gumtree

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You know me, I love a festive tip, and easy fixes - especially when it comes to Christmas dinner - are definitely my thing. You can imagine how delighted I was, then, when the lovely people at Gumtree asked me to come and host a special Festive Fixes by Gumtree pop up yesterday in London along with TV presenter Lucy Alexander, and finance expert Naomi from the award-winning Skint Dad website. We invited people in to our very own Christmassy space, furnished entirely with items bought from Gumtree. There were mince pies and glasses of fizz, and the chance for people to pop in from the cold and pick up loads of tips and tricks for hosting Christmas without spending a ton of money (Gumtree’s research found that the British public spend an extra £3.87 billion on everyday items forgotten over the Christmas period, which is quite shocking), and in a much more sustainable way than buying loads of stuff they’re not going to use throughout the year too.

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Setting the table for Christmas with M&S

Setting the table for Christmas

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You know me, I’m all about making a big splash for Christmas. I was going to say it’s the time for getting out all your best china, but I use all my favourite stuff every day (what’s the point of hiding it away in a drawer?!), so this post is more about setting the table for Christmas, and adding a sense of celebration to the most important meal of the year. So whether you’re cooking for a crowd, or it’s just you and your family for dinner, here are a few ideas for setting the table this Christmas (I’ve even found stylish crackers!).

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