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Weekend wishlist super flattering swimwear

Weekend wishlist: super flattering swimwear

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Swimwear is weird, really. If you think about it, wandering around on the beach in your bikini is kind of the same as stripping down to your bra and pants in public. It’s no wonder we all feel a bit self conscious. Nobody needs to add to that uneasiness with badly fitting swimsuits that cut you in half, and knickers that ride up your bum. Happily, there’s a whole load of wonderful brands out there who are designing super flattering swimwear whatever your size. And here’s another thing: I actually feel better about my body since I’ve got into running - even though I’m pretty sure I’m probably heavier than I’ve been for a while. In the Couch to 5K app, one of the things that the lovely Jo Whiley says that really stuck with me is ‘think about your body, and think about this amazing thing that it’s doing’ and I do think that it’s given me more respect for my bod - wobbly bits and all. So back to the super flattering swimwear then. Here are my top picks. Read more

Five realistic tips for managing your money

Five realistic tips for managing your money

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You all know I’m terrible with money. I blame Instagram, and Pret for having yummy rice and coconut milk lattes that taste like heaven, and Waitrose for having delicious ingredients that just call out to me when I’m shopping. I’m honestly getting better though (mid forties - it’s about time), and I thought I’d share my top five realistic tips for managing your money. The ones that work for me in a way that those stern ‘cut up your credit card’ kind of money management tips never will (yeah, not going to happen, sorry). Read more

The stunning six course summer tasting menu at Paris House in Woburn

The stunning six course summer tasting menu at Paris House in Woburn

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I’m always looking for wonderful local restaurants to recommend to you, and this time I think I’ve really hit gold with the best restaurant I’ve experienced in a long time, and it’s just a stone’s throw from Woburn Abbey (near Milton Keynes), about an hour’s drive from London. Run by award-winning Michelin starred chef, Phil Fanning and his wife Claire, Paris House in Woburn is perfect for a romantic meal for two or a special celebration (they even have a gorgeous private dining room for special celebrations). We booked in for a spectacular six course summer tasting menu at Paris House last week and I can honestly say it was one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten.

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new hush early autumn 2019

Weekend wishlist: new hush early autumn 2019

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I know it’s really British to obsess about the weather, but isn’t it weird at the moment? We’ve gone from 39 degrees back to 15, with rain, thunder - oh wait, a bit more sunshine - then back to rain, hideous mugginess and everything in between. You never know quite what to wear from one day to the next. I do love a nice autumn launch in the summer though. It’s always been my favourite season - it’s that back to school freshness/new pencil case thing - and I’m always happy to dream away a rubbish summer day planning new autumn looks. Happily, the new hush early autumn collection doesn’t disappoint. It’s a cute little capsule to give us a taste of autumn loveliness to come. There’s leather and dark denim, plus a couple of gorgeous dresses in case the sun does show up. Here are a few of my favourite pieces.

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13 years of blogging

Then, now and what’s to come. 13 years of blogging

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13 years! 13 whole years since we moved to Ireland and I was a bit miserable and the kids were bewildered and someone recommended writing a blog. It turned from a welcome diversion to my biggest obsession and then to my career. Thinking about English Mum gives me a warm feeling inside. For me it’s birthday cakes and roast dinners, bunches of flowers, whiffs of perfume, rumpled sheets possibly containing a lazy dog, sunny holidays, Christmas trees and crazy adventures. It’s finding the perfect dress or shoes and sharing them with you all. It’s sweet messages, happy memories (and a few sad ones too) and friends new and old. 13 years of blogging! So what’s changed? And what’s next?

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Vegan coconut and peanut butter flapjacks

Vegan coconut and peanut butter flapjacks

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So I chatted a while ago about the fact that Charlie in particular is keen to give up meat and dairy. I was just about to make flapjacks the other day when I realised that they obviously contain quite a bit of butter. Oops. Happily, I’m quite into cooking with coconut oil at the moment, so I tried that instead et voila - vegan coconut and peanut butter flapjacks were born - and oh my goodness, they’re SO good! The texture is the perfect amount of chewy and the peanut butter adds a lovely little sweet/salty flavour too. Regular readers will know that he’s also a dried fruit hater, but feel free to add some in if you like it - chopped dates would be amazing, ooh, or dried pineapple - it would be like a pina colada flapjack! Also, a quick word about peanut butter - I used the Meridian Crunchy Peanut Butter because it’s just 100% peanuts and doesn’t contain palm oil - but if you’re concerned obviously just check the label.

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Linen dresses for hot days

Weekend wishlist: linen dresses for hot days

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Although it’s actually raining right now, we’ve had a few days of really hot weather, which also coincided with me needing to go to London and use the underground. Argh. There’s nothing like being squished into a sweat metal tube with lots and lots of other people in high temperatures to remind you that you really have a gap in your wardrobe for a simple, breezy dress or two (and also that this wasn’t the correct time to try a new aluminium free organic deodorant, but that’s another story). When the weather is super hot, I don’t think you can beat linen. There’s something about it that always looks chic, and it doesn’t matter if you’re a bit crumpled either. Add a simple pair of sandals (or my standard white Converse) and you’re good to go. So here, without further ado, and adhering to my new policy to only buy something that’s fab quality, will go with everything else in my wardrobe and is from a brand that I trust, are my favourite linen dresses for hot days.

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simple summer wardrobe

Weekend wishlist: a simple summer wardrobe

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So my gorgeous friend Amanda (you probably know her as Online Stylist) has recently gone through a total rebrand and has emerged, like a beeyootiful butterfly (spot the A Bugs Life reference) as SimplySTARTLiving. The blog is stunning, and as always, Amanda’s made me stop and think about my own style, and how I’m just not happy with it at the moment. Another fab content creator who talks a lot about capsule wardrobes and investing in clothes that last is the lovely Anna Newton over at The Anna Edit. She’s one of the few YouTubers I watch religiously. She also wrote a fab book called An Edited Life which, if you’re a massive walking mess like me, will help you declutter and organise everything in your life. Anyhoo. I nodded along with Amanda’s latest post about minimal pieces for summer where she said that for some reason, all her minimal, monochrome habits are challenged in the summer, when everything is awash with brights and pompoms and stripes, etc. So I decided to have a massive wardrobe clearout, and start again. See, what I really want is a simple summer wardrobe. Is that so difficult?

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On test: new Mindful Chef healthy frozen meals

On test: new Mindful Chef healthy frozen meals and smoothies

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What’s in your freezer? Ours is full of things like breadcrumbs made from leftover bread, frozen veg (leeks and onions are SO handy), fish (bake it straight from frozen wrapped in foil with a little butter and a slice of lemon) and those baby prawns that you can just bung in a curry or risotto without even defrosting. I don’t really buy frozen meals, so I wasn’t sure what we were going to think of the new Mindful Chef healthy frozen meals. Having said that, I think the Mindful Chef boxes are brilliant, so I was happy to give them a go. They also offered to send us some of their new healthy frozen smoothies. Here’s our verdict.

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SPFs with a USP

SPFs with a USP - my top sun protection picks

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FINALLY it’s warm enough that we’re not just talking about SPF because we’re off on holiday. I’m a bit of a sun protection addict - I wear SPF50 every day (hello Ultrasun - tinted, moisturising but not sticky or greasy, full of brilliant technology, reef friendly, anti-pigmentation… you name it - read my full review here) and I recently took a few new ones I’d discovered out to Orlando with me to give them a proper test. I like my sun protection to multi-task, so all the SPFs listed here have something clever or different about them that makes them really stand out. Here we go, then, with my top sun protection picks: SPFs with a USP.

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What's in July's Glossybox?

What’s in July’s Glossybox? And 20% off for you!

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Now you know me, I LOVE anything that’s mini or travel sized, so when the lovely people at Glossybox sent me their June box to review, I was pretty much in tiny travel size heaven. Last month’s box contained all sorts of cute goodies, including a flattering pale bronzey eyeshadow pencil, a Hask hair mask, a super-luxurious Avant Pro Perfecting Collagen Touche Éclat Primer, a Model Co lip cream and a Sleek Makeup contouring and blush palette. So what’s in July’s Glossybox? Read on to find out!

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Positive life plan - an update

The positive life plan: perform your own life audit

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Hello! Happy Saturday. I hope you’re reading this in a sunny spot in the garden - isn’t it lovely to see the sunshine? I was looking back on my blog posts recently, and noticed that it’s been absolutely ages since I updated my positive life plan notebook. Quite a lot has changed since I last thought about it, and it’s weirdly comforting and - I don’t know - grounding, somehow, to sit down, grab a cuppa and perform your own life audit: think about where you are in life, what you’re loving, what you’d maybe like to change… who you’d like to be. If you’ve never come across the positive life plan before, it’s a chilled out way to do a bit of a positive life edit, where you can take stock, set goals, record your hopes and dreams, then keep referring back and updating to keep track of your progress. Plus it’s a great excuse to buy a lovely new notebook.

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The latest sales, offers and discount codes for mid-June 2019

The latest sales, offers and discount codes for mid-June 2019

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Happy Thursday! I’ve had quite a few new notifications about sales, offers and discount codes so I thought I’d put up a quick post so that I can share all the best ones with you. I do also tend to share them on my Facebook page when they come through, so make sure you’re following me there too! Right, let’s get going then as we’ve got rather a lot to get through…

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Weekend wishlist: Tony's Chocolonely scrummy treats with scruples

Weekend wishlist: Tony’s Chocolonely - scrummy treats with scruples

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I mentioned this lovely brand recently in my Father’s Day gift guide, and promised to tell you more about it. It all started when I began to see these colourful chocolate bars appearing on various Instagram feeds, and then my friend Dave told me that he’d been to the launch and that it was seriously delicious stuff. It turns out that Tony’s Chocolonely is actually the biggest chocolate brand in the Netherlands, and they’re now in the UK and want everyone to know about their delicious, chunky chocolate with a very special mission.

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Baby beauty for grown ups

Baby beauty for grown ups

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Now, before I start, I do appreciate that there are absolutely no babies in this household, and therefore talking about baby products might seem a little odd, but both Charlie and his girlfriend use baby lotion every day (one, because he sometimes gets dry skin but hates greasy moisturisers, the other to take her make up off), and I often use a few bits for travel (see below for all my travel tips using baby beauty for grown ups). The lovely people at Johnson’s very kindly sent me their beautiful new Cottontouch range, which is blended with real cotton and has been specially designed for newborn skin, so it seemed the perfect time to talk about using baby beauty for grown ups. We absolutely loved all the products in the range, and if you’ve got a newborn (and frankly even if you haven’t) I’d really recommend them: they’re beautifully light and gentle and smell gorgeous too.

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The best summer dresses 2019

Weekend wishlist: the best summer dresses 2019

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I’m off to Universal Orlando Resort next week (woohoo!) for the opening of Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, and while it’s rather a flying visit, I’m hoping to see a bit of sunshine. I’m also really hoping for a lovely long, hot summer (where is the Daily Mail predicting a heatwave when you need one?). I’m a bit inspired by the lovely Erica Davies at the moment, who always rocks a gorgeous dress and loves colour and pattern (check out her fabulous Sunday styling Instagram stories for loads of inspiration) so rather than adopting my default uniform of denim shorts and a t-shirt, I’m planning to waft about in delicious dresses and sandals (okay, or maybe Converse) instead. I went for a little trying on sesh on Tuesday, and here are my top choices for the best summer dresses right now:

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