Customized Embroidery for Heidi Klein at Harrods

Posted on May 19, 2016 by Frostie

Luxury lifestyle brand heidi klein has teamed up with renowned fashion embroiderer Laura Lees to offer Harrods’ shoppers the chance to have their initials embroidered in gold thread on their swimwear and accessory purchases.

“We wanted to offer the Harrods’ shopper something personal this summer. Having your initials sewn on to your bikini or canvas bags by Laura Lees is a luxurious touch we hope shoppers will enjoy. It’s great for gifting and our new collection,” says co-founder Penny Klein.

Items that lean themselves well to personalise are the new Bimini canvas bags, as well as bikinis and one-pieces. Laura will be on hand to expertly hand-stitch any purchased item as a complimentary service at the heidi klein cabana at Harrods, 87-135 Brompton Road, London.

heidi klein launches four collections each year with exquisitely cut swimwear with an impeccable fit. The focus on exclusive mix and match styles and prints has earned a continued celebrity following from Kate Moss to Olivia Palermo, to Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Aniston, as well as maintaining a strong following with the press and a loyal customer base.

Staying true to its promise, heidi klein takes you on a journey to feel confident and gorgeous on holiday … all year round. www.heidiklein.com

How to Inject Colour into your Garden

Posted on May 9, 2016 by Frostie

Your garden definitely deserves some colour this spring and it’s so easy to introduce it to your outdoor space – and you don’t need to churn up your lawn or dig up the borders! Here’s how to inject some colour into your garden quickly and easily.

Introduce seasonal plants

As well as carrying out the usual seasonal tasks in your garden, introducing seasonal plants also ensures you get to enjoy colour all year round. Daffodils in spring will add a spirit lifting dash of yellow, while a butterfly bush (Buddleia) blooming in the summer will not only look stunning but attract the attention of colourful wildlife too, such as bumblebees and butterflies.

In autumn and winter either opt for bedding plants, such as pansies or sweet William that can withstand the cold, or opt for shrubbery and bushes that not only add texture but introduce gorgeous colours to the garden as their leaves change – scarlet willow is a good choice.

You can either nurture these plants from seedlings the season before, or pick up mature flowering shrubs from YouGarden to add a boost of vibrancy to your outside space.

Feature colourful planters

If your plant life isn’t as colourful as it could be, make up for it with vibrant planters instead. You can introduce any hue to a garden and you don’t need to stick to a theme. DIY stores feature hardy plastic pots in every shade of the rainbow that you can transfer plants to, or you could get crafty with some paint and a stone planter. Here are some great ideas to get you started – the brighter the better!

Revamp your furniture…

If your garden furniture is a sad brown tone or a faded version of something that was once bright and fun, book in some time this weekend to give it a revamp. Strip back a wooden bench and give it a new lease of life with a bright paint job and varnish it to seal the deal. Refrain from boring browns and blues, instead favouring an eye popping yellow or even a bold pink.

If you happen to have metal furniture, there’s paint or spray paint for such a job too, so anything can be instantly revamped after a trip to Hobbycraft or your local DIY store.

…and your shed

While you’ve got the paint out, why not give the garden shed a makeover too? Choose a colour that isn’t going to give you a headache, but still makes a statement in your garden. Why not paint the slats in different colours? Or just coat the roof trim in a neon shade?

Accessorise

Having guests over for a BBQ but haven’t had time to implement any of the above tips? Then introduce some vibrancy with your al fresco dining accessories: bright place mats, napkins and glassware will instantly add playfulness to your outdoor space.

Introducing colour to your garden needn’t be hard work… employ some of these tips and tricks and start enjoying your outdoor space now!

By Patrick Vernon.

How old is too old to have a baby? 44, according to British women

Posted on May 6, 2016 by Frostie

How old do you think is too old for a woman to become a mother? Well new research conducted by the Private Pregnancy UK Show reveals that when it comes to having babies, British women believe that 44 is “too old” and should be the cut-off point. This is despite social factors such as focusing on careers and not finding the right partner, as well as advancements in medicine and science, playing crucial roles in the surge in older women having babies.

The research aims to start a debate on how far medical intervention and assisted conception can go in aiding women who wish to preserve their fertility or delay having children, as well as highlighting the need for increased fertility awareness for adult women and calls for sex education to include information on fertility options.

The five most cited reasons as to why women believe 44 should be the cut-off age are:
1.   It is unfair on the child to have old parents
2.   Increased likelihood of health complications like Down’s Syndrome for the child
3.   Women aged 50-plus should not be allowed fertility assistance via vitro fertilisation (IVF)
4.   Parents won’t live long enough to see the child grow up
5.   It is “unnatural” to have babies after that age

The research also reveals that almost three-quarters (74%) of women believe that there isn’t enough fertility education available for women about not “leaving it too late” to start a family, or the options now available to help preserve a woman’s fertility and likewise, to assist with conception. The majority of women (75%) questioned believe that the responsibility to educate women about these time-sensitive issues lies with government health officials.

Dr Amin Gorgy, fertility consultant and IVF specialist at The Fertility & Gynaecology Academy comments:

“The ideal age for women to become pregnant is in their twenties and early thirties. A woman’s fertility potential declines rapidly after the age of 35 and drops even faster after the age of 40. Indeed, successful egg freezing through vitrification has made it possible for women to postpone conception to later in life but as a society, we should be encouraging couples to have children at a younger age, in fact, I recommend that couples should aim to complete their families by the age of 35. There isn’t enough education available to women, many of whom still believe they can go on forever.

Theoretically, through egg donation and using eggs frozen at an earlier age, women can conceive at any age, in fact, the receptivity of the womb for implanting embryos declines only after the age of 54 but usually, we take 50 as the age limit for assisted conception and only under special circumstances will we consider someone beyond the age of 50. IVF must be put into perspective if used after the age of 35 as the chances of having a live birth with an IVF cycle declines dramatically with age, for example, there is a 20% success rate at the age of 40 which falls to just 1% above the age of 45.”

Dr Alex Eskander, consultant gynaecologist at The Gynae Centre comments:

“My feeling is that women in the UK enjoy much more the liberty, freedom and opportunity to further their careers over settling down to have children, the latter of which is now a thoroughly outdated concept of the traditional family.

I find the two key points of pressure for these women to have children come from their parents’ “need” to have grandchildren and a growing understanding of their biological clock. As a clinician, let’s be clear, I am not scare-mongering, it is a fact that ovarian function declines significantly from 30 years of age and even more sharply after 35 years.

I agree that 44 is too old for women to have children. From the ovaries standpoint, the number of eggs decline and the egg quality is poor. As a result, it is difficult to conceive and the conception maybe associated with a high rate of chromosome abnormalities and increased chances of miscarriage. From the mother’s standpoint, there is a high risk of hypertension, pre-eclampsia and caesarean section.

My advice for young women who may want to delay conception for any reason beyond the age of 35 is to seriously consider egg or embryo freezing (with donor sperm) as your “insurance policy””.

The two doctors will be joining a wider panel of experts who will be hosting this debate in a women’s healthcare Question Time seminar on Sunday 22 May at the Private Pregnancy UK Show.

For more information, please visit www.privatepregnancy.co.uk

The Nation’s Cleaning Habits: Are We As Clean As We Think We Are?

Posted on April 25, 2016 by Frostie

Would you consider yourself to be a ‘clean’ person? Well, cleaning and hand wash product manufacturer Method UK has recently revealed the nation’s grimy habits and it looks like we aren’t as clean as we perhaps thought we were. It would appear that as a nation we have quite a few dirty little secrets and many of us take shortcuts when it comes to cleaning.

The survey of 1,000 people aged 18-40 found that 20% aren’t ashamed to dig something out of the dirty washing pile if they don’t have a shirt to wear to work and some of us will even go shopping for new clothes simply to avoid doing the ironing.

The survey also found that 13% of the UK only clean their bathrooms twice a year and fifth of us spend more time organising our wardrobes than we do cleaning. However, a quarter said they will always tidy when they know they have guests coming over. It would also appear 14% never wash their hands before eating and 15% of us are quite happy to eat off the floor – hopefully not when those guests are over!

But, 90% of those surveyed believed they had a valid reason for their uncleanliness, blaming it on the fact they simply do not have enough time to do it. Does that sound like you? As much as you hate to admit it you probably do have a few of these dirty habits – but what can you do about it if you don’t have any spare time?

Well, why not let the professionals do the hard work for you? 25% of those taking part said that their cleaner was more important to them than their doctor, dentist or hairdresser. With the arrival of spring why not check out what a service like Molly Maid Spring Cleaning can do for you – they might just be able to help you avoid a few of these:

Britain’s top ten most surprising dirty little secrets include:

Running out of clean underwear and going commando
Using a hairdryer to dust
Noticing a lipstick stain on a ‘clean’ wine glass and wiping it off with a finger
Leaving the bed sheets for more than six months before washing them
Following the five second rule and eating food that has fallen on the floor
Eating from the same plate at dinner that was used at lunchtime
Never washing hands before eating
Hiding mess away in cupboards rather than clearing up
Buying new clothes to avoid doing the ironing
Cleaning the house in the nude

If you have nodded your way through this post and got to the end thinking that perhaps you are not as clean as you thought at the beginning, then it may be time to make a few changes! With the arrival of spring what better time to make that change and start with a major spring clean – if you don’t want to do it yourself, call in the professionals and let them do it for you!

By Patrick Vernon.

Snake Oil or Medicine? by Dr Kathleen Thompson

Posted on April 21, 2016 by Frostie

Every day we read on the Internet, in newspapers or in magazines about wonder drugs. With all these miracle cures around it is surprising that so many of us still suffer illness. Surely we just need to pop one of these pills and all will be well?

But maybe, just maybe, some of these potions can’t cure cancer, can’t make people with arthritis dance in the streets and can’t make you lose ten inches off your waist-line in a week?

If you have incurable cancer, or constant arthritic pain, you wouldn’t want to miss a useful treatment. So how can you know whether claims are genuine or snake oil?

Approved medicines are tested in numerous clinical studies, usually in thousands of people. Study data are scrutinised by regulatory authorities (FDA in USA and EMA in Europe) before doctors can prescribe them. Thus there is firm evidence that they work, and a great deal is known about side-effects or safety issues.

However, anything can be advertised on the Internet – Google has no truth filter. Impressive-sounding study results may not be scientifically sound. So here are some clues to help you assess them (See Table):

1. Has the ‘medicine’ been tested against placebo (dummy medicine)? If people believe they are receiving a beneficial treatment, they often feel better, regardless. Most studies should include some patients who only receive placebo, to make sure any benefit is due to the real medicine.

2. Measures of benefit (endpoints) should be chosen before a study starts. Eg an influenza medicine may measure fever. If fevers don’t improve, one can’t then change the endpoint to, say, sore throat, just because these improved more. Some symptoms will improve by coincidence, and it isn’t valid to cherry-pick the best results. This is often done in unregulated ‘studies’ and can make a treatment look better than it is.

3. Always check how many people were tested. If a study only had two patients, and one received real medicine and one placebo, even if the patient on the real medicine did better, it could have been due to chance. Statisticians calculate how many patients are needed to give a reliable result. Unregulated studies rarely include enough people.

Unapproved studies are not always checked, so there is more opportunity to ‘cheat’—results may be changed, ‘patients’ invented, or data from any patients who didn’t improve may be removed. Where the study was performed, and by who, may give reassurance on this, or not.

A respectable study will be written up as a report, and will be published in a good scientific journal. Be careful though – some ‘journals’ have impressive titles but are not what they seem. You can check them on Cite Factor (see below) to be sure.

I hope this helps you decide what you can believe. If in doubt, do ask your doctor’s opinion. And remember, if something seems to good to be true – then it may well be exactly that.

By Dr K Thompson, author of From Both Ends of the Stethoscope: Getting through breast cancer – by a doctor who knows

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01A7DM42Q http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A7DM42Q

http://faitobooks.co,uk

Further information:

http://www.citefactor.org

https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/info/understand

Note: These articles express personal views. No warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of information given and you should always consult a doctor if you need medical advice

How To Travel The World Without Selling Your Possessions

Posted on April 20, 2016 by Frostie

The date you board the plane, and jet off to the first destination on your world tour, is getting closer! Whilst sitting at your desk, saving up the final pennies to put towards your adventure, you are daydreaming of sitting on a beach in the sun but are actually looking out the window on a drizzly Monday afternoon.

But, as you wish away the time until you touch down in paradise, there are a few very important things you need to sort out – particularly what you are going to do with all your possessions! Perhaps you have already sold some to put towards your travel fund and maybe the situation has encouraged you to have a major clear out. But, there will still be many things that you want to come back to in a year or two, when your travels come to an end and it is back to reality.

So, here are a few ways that you can travel the world without having to sell all your possessions:

1.Rent out your home – furnished

If you are lucky enough to own your own home, then leave all your possessions there and rent it out Posted in Life & Style, Travel | Tagged How To Travel The World Without Selling Your Possessions, possessions, travel, traveling, what to do with your stuff

Frost Editor Catherine Balavage Tells All You Need To Know About Blogging

Posted on April 13, 2016 by Frostie

In a new Frost series Catherine Balavage will be covering everything you need to know about being a successful blogger and running a successful blog. Hot on the heels of releasing her book on blogging, Catherine will be doing a talk on blogging at Litfest, the esteemed literary festival founded by contributing editor Margaret Graham. All proceeds from Litfest go to Words For The Wounded so come along if you can. It is this Saturday (16th April 2016).

If you have any questions on blogging then please send them along to us at frostmagazine@gmail.com or tweet us at @Frostmag. Blogging is huge now and allows you to create a brand, earn a living or even work from home. Keep coming back to Frost for the knowledge to help you achieve your dreams.

You can buy The Ultimate Guide To Becoming a Successful Blogger here.

British women are damaging their health with weekday diets and weekend bingeing

Posted on April 12, 2016 by Frostie

British women could be seriously damaging their health by sticking to strict diets during the week and binging at weekends, according to health experts.

Researchers have discovered a “feast or famine” culture with the majority of young women aged 18 to 40 (80 percent) restricting their diet during the week, only to overindulge at the weekends on junk food and alcohol.

Unsurprisingly, the survey showed Monday is the day women consume the least, with as many as one in ten consuming as little as 1,000 calories on the first day of the week.

A further one in twenty stick to a dangerously low calorie intake of 500 calories a day from Monday through to Thursday.

But on a typical weekend, the majority of women (83 percent) admitted they over indulge, with one in ten consuming 3,000 calories per weekend day (average) – with a further one in twenty admitting to binging on 4,000 calories or more on a Saturday or Sunday.

In terms of alcohol consumption – the average number of drinks consumed on a typical weekend evening (3 drinks) was more than three times the amount drunk on an average week night (less than 1 drink, 0.7).

Nutritionist Karen Poole said: “For many of us the weekend is typically a time to kick back, relax, catch up with friends and enjoy a little indulgence. Sometimes though it can simply mean too much of a good thing.

“If, at the weekend, you ramp up your junk food calorie, refined carbohydrate and alcohol intake, then you are looking at a potential sugar overload and your body will have to work hard to deal with the major increase in blood glucose levels, storing any excess for the future.

“Bodies function better with a regular varied diet of lean protein, essential fat and fresh vegetables providing a rich supply of vitamins and minerals.”

The report also revealed that a weekend of excess leaves 47 percent of women feeling tired and ill-equipped to deal with the busy week ahead.

The triggers for entering into a “binge” were also revealed, including a stressful week at work (40 percent), office cakes and treats (18 percent), a Friday takeaway (24 percent) and a Saturday morning fry up or bacon sandwich (27 percent).

83 percent admitted that on the whole, they are guilty of weekend excess when it comes to food and alcohol.

A further 77 percent said they wished they were more moderate with their health habits and indulgences.

Yesterday a spokeswoman for Spatone, which commissioned the survey among 2,000 women said: ‘’The working week can be long and tiring enough but if you’re also not eating a consistently healthy and balanced diet you may find your energy levels might suffer as you’re not getting enough vitamins and minerals to maintain normal energy function.

“Allocating time for rest, healthly eating and exercise throughout the week rather than dieting at the beginning of the week and then becoming unhealthy towards the weekend, can make it much easier to maintain energy levels and reduce tiredness and fatigue.

“Those who can’t get their iron requirements from dietary sources alone could consider taking a natural food iron supplement like Spatone”.

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