It may sound like a bit of a cliche, but the the truth is that the best things in life are free, especially if you're having to tighten your belt a bit financially, like were having to at the moment. Years ago, free samples were the sort of things that you might get given as you walked through a shopping centre or past all the shops in the centre of town. Occasionally you might even get someone come to your door offering things like washing powder or other domestic products. The advance of the internet has changed all that though, and the people giving out free samples in the street have been ... read more
Five go to a Festival – BerkoFest 2017
Five go to a festival sounds a bit like a modern Enid Blyton book title, and I suppose in a way it could have been. Five of us going off to a festival in a beautiful bit of English countryside on a (sometimes sunny) Saturday afternoon. All that was missing was lashings of ginger beer. A couple of pints of local ale took their place though – for the grown ups in the five at least! I was delighted to be invited along to BerkoFest in the nearby Chilterns town of Berkhamsted last Saturday afternoon. I’ve been to “Berko” quite a few times before and have always really liked it as a town to ... read more
Bringing Holiday Home at the James Villas Crafternoon
Anyone who knows me will know how much I love crafting. Crochet is my proper addiction, but to be honest I'm not fussy as to what craft I turn my hand to, especially if there's someone there to teach me how to do it right. What might come as a bit of a shock though is the fact that since moving house on 1 July I have only picked up a crochet hook once. Once! That's pretty much unheard of in my life, but it's been the reality of a crazily busy couple of months. I'm hoping that life is about to calm down a bit so that I can pick my crochet hook up again soon. Especially as I had a weak ... read more
Blog On 2017 Christmas Jumper Linky
There's less than a couple of weeks now until I head to Manchester again for the next Blog On conference. I know I've said it before, but Blog On is by far my favourite blogging conference and it's the reason I happily head to the wrong side of the Pennines twice a year. The goodie bags are legendary for starters, but I think that by now I'm enough of a Blog On pro to know how to get the most out of the conference. Not only the planned sessions, but also networking with brands and the other bloggers too. I've also pretty much nailed what you need to take with you. If I'm totally honest ... read more
Reviving that urge to travel
Anyone who follows my Instagram account will have noticed that the regular pictures of my laptop next to a cup of tea in a cafe somewhere have been coming from some different places lately. A rather large change in personal circumstances over the summer has led to moving house and travelling around the UK and slightly further afield a fair bit more. And that looks likely to continue. Before children I travelled loads. Around the UK for my job, all over Europe for work related conferences, but also around Europe and sometimes further for pleasure. I love travelling. Love meeting new people, ... read more
Saving Money with LED Lighting
If you’re frugal with your household bills, and looking for an extra way to cut costs, you might want to try LED lighting. LED lighting is one of the major ways to save money on your bills, without compromising on the quality of your lights. Here’s how you can save money with LED lighting. How LED Saves Money LED saves money for two reasons: firstly, LED bulbs use less electricity than traditional incandescent and halogen bulbs. Secondly, they last for more longer than other types of light bulbs. You can replace a 60w halogen bulb with a 9w LED bulb – this will use 85% less electricity. ... read more
My Mermaid Lagoon – Marina’s Lagoon
Little Miss C is still very much of the age where she loves making small worlds and role playing with them. Often I will find shoe boxes, or other things stolen from the cardboard recycling, full of soil, sand or small pieces of paper to represent some sort of a landscape and then tiny crafted things to represent houses and other household things. Fairies, mermaids, horses and unicorns seem to feature prominently in them at the moment and so being asked to review My Mermaid Lagoon from Interplay was perfect timing. Mermaid Lagoon gives you everything you need to create a magical world ... read more
Moving House The Thrifty Way
Moving to a new house has got to be one of the most expensive things you can do. If you are buying, you have likely already landed thousands on a deposit, legal fees and insurance. If you are renting, you’ve already spent time saving up for a few months of rent and a holding deposit, as well as letting fees. This is all before you pay out for a moving van and potentially a hotel to hold you over until everything is unpacked. Like we said – expensive! Image Source Thankfully, there are ways to save money when you move to a new home. From checking out storage near you and bartering on ... read more
Brio World – Village School Playset
It will come as absolutely no surprise to regular readers when I say that Master C is train mad. He creates huge wooden train worlds around the flat and is always being inventive and coming up with new things to go in his worlds. He was therefore thrilled to receive the new Brio World Village School Playset to review. The Village School Playlet is a bit different to many of the other Brio World elements as it doesn't have train track running through it, yet you can assemble it next to an existing piece of track easily enough. It consists of two rooms in the school and a ladder to climb up ... read more
Smurfs: The Lost Village on DVD
A while back I went with the kids to the local cinema to see the latest Smurfs film - Smurfs: The Lost Village. If I'm totally honest it wasn't exactly my cup of tea, but the kids absolutely loved it and have been asking to see it again ever since. This last week their wish has been answered with the release of the film on DVD. The "summer" weather hasn't been great this summer holiday, and with a smaller smaller place to live in, having some DVDs to entertain the kids has been a great respite from everyone falling over each other in our tiny flat. They have loved catching up with the ... read more