Today I am grateful for mothers. Not only my amazing mother, but mothers everywhere. Most of whom work 24/7, seven days a week and not only don’t get paid, but sometimes don’t even get any gratitude. Mothers are amazing, here is to them.
Catch up on other days:
What are you grateful for?
Today I am grateful for my family who were always there with their love and support. My husband jokes that my parents are always bailing us out of a crisis and he is right. When he got sick after our wedding they came in the early hours of the morning with clothes for him (after taking him to the hospital in the first place) and when I was in labour with our son my parents were a godsend. It is not just my parents I am grateful for; but also my brothers, aunts, uncles, cousins and in-laws. So, yes, today I am incredibly grateful for my family. I love them and they are amazing.
Catch up on other days:
Day 1.
Day 2.
What are you grateful for?
Following on from day one, here is day two of my thirty days of gratitude. Some people don’t get to find The One but for six years now I have been lucky enough to live my life alongside my best friend, building memories along the way. I am not going to bore you all with the reasons my husband, James, is amazing, I will just say that I know I am lucky to have such a soppy, caring, sweet, loving, decent, hard-working and moral husband. We have been through a lot together and we are as happy today as the day we met. Oh, and he is the father of my son. Thank you James. #30daysofgratitude
I have to be honest. Lately I have been indulging in an unattractive quality. I have been feeling a bit sorry for myself. Yes, even writing that down is embarrassing. Thankfully it has only been the occasional bout and not full on self pity which is never okay. What sparked this feeling of being unlucky? A rather unfortunate trip to A&E. I got a really bad headache, and that along with some eye problems, meant my doctor recommended a trip to hospital. So off I went, baby and husband in tow. I have quite a high pain tolerance but I thought I was going to die and that I was having a brain haemorrhage. Thankfully a CT scan showed nothing. It obviously was not fun and I also ended up having to spend the night in hospital, which was my first night away from my son. In the end a back injury from years ago came back, I have a vitreous detachment in my eye, I had a throat infection, a virus and another infection in my toe. Yes, really. It is fair to say that I was falling apart. I am a self employed freelancer and I also take care of our son while I work from home. It is fair to say that is hard most of the time but while you are ill, it is much worse. There are no sick days when you are a mother. Thankfully this happened on Friday so when I made my way home from the hospital, alone as my husband was with the baby, I had my husband there for the weekend. But then I decided enough was enough. Yes I don’t feel well and I have a backlog of work and a baby who’s needs have to be met, but we live in a beautiful world. There is always something to be grateful about. There is always someone worse off than you. Self care and self love is important, and we should all be allowed to wallow sometimes, but counting your blessings is important so I have decided to start 30 Days of Gratitude. Every day I will share a post about something I am grateful for and I hope you join in, using the #30daysofgratitude hashtag.
30 Days Of Gratitude. Day 1: My Son.
I cannot put into words how grateful I am for my son. He is all my dreams come true and I love every cell in his body, every centimetre of him. He is perfect in every way and makes my heart swell. He is everything there is, and then some more.
5 Fab Tips for the Bridal Sale Season. WeddingDressSampleSale.com, serves up 5 fab tips for making your bridal sample sale season a resounding success.
Research– Go to WeddingDressSampleSale.com, tick the filter boxes refining your dress preferences and browse the matching results to find the designer gown of your dreams. Click on each dress to discover more, including a detailed description and your nearest local stockist. You can conveniently email or call them directly from the website.
With more than 40 listed bridal boutiques and designers showcasing their sample dresses on WeddingDressSampleSale.com, you can even book your appointment with genuine hands on boutiques all in one place, saving yourself a lot of time and effort time endlessly trawling the web for those special bridal bargains.
Be flexible– If the dress you really, really want is not in your size, do not despair! First find out if could it be adjusted and re-fitted for you by a skilled seamstress. What if it turns out that your dream dress neither satisfies you nor compliments your figure? Don’t give up! Try different styles and settle for the one you feel most beautiful and comfortable in. Never feel pressured in to buying a dress just to get it out of the way. It’s your big day after all.
Dress appropriately– Wear appropriate underwear to help you easily slip in and out of your dresses when and where you need to. You will want to see how it will all look on your big day, so make sure you bring a strapless bra, heels (unless you are going for some fab flats) and if need be, tights. Don’t overdo the make up or jewellery to the point that it can catch and mark your dress.
Check it out thoroughly – Sample dresses are usually sold ‘’as seen’, usually meaning that no returns or refunds. Check the dress for missing beads, stains and tears. Factor in the extra costs such as dry cleaning, alterations and repairs on top of the price.
Bring a trusted friend with you. Having an extra pair of eyes and some good old honest feedback will come in handy when dress hunting. It will also help you drop the not quite not sure dresses quickly and make you feel more confident that you have made the right choice.
You can buy The Wedding Survival Guide: How To Plan Your Big Day Without Losing Your Sanity by our editor, Catherine, for only 99p. It has had great reviews and is full of great advice. It is all you need to plan your big day.
Just in time for wedding season, vashi.com have put together the 100 most iconic wedding dresses of all time. Sigh, we love them all.
If you are getting married then get your hands on a copy of The Wedding Survival Guide: How To Plan Your Big Day Without Losing Your Sanity. It has great advice on planning your perfect wedding and is written by our editor, Catherine Balavage. It is also available in Ebook format and is a great guide for wedding planning.
Mother’s Day is on the 15th of March this year and It is time to spoil the most important women in your life. Here is our handy guide to gift-buying for Mother’s Day.
Ringtons loose tea and infuser gift box
We love this. The tea is absolutely amazing and the infuser is easy to use and looks great.
The fantastically presented loose tea infuser sets come in a stylish Ringtons cream and gold gift box, decorated with the famous Ringtons crest. The sets include a Ringtons tea infuser – a simple device designed to take the fuss out of preparing loose tea and bring out the full flavour of the leaves – and three full size packet of expertly selected loose teas as well as three x 30g sample blends.
The Luxury Great British Tea Infuser Gift Box (top image) • £22.99
Includes: Traditional English Breakfast loose tea (125g), Afternoon Blend loose tea (125g), and Classic 1907 loose tea (125g), and 3 x 30g samples.
The Luxury Taste the Exotic Tea Fuser Gift Box
• £22.99
Includes: Bird of Paradise loose tea (50g), Samavor Orange Spice loose tea (125g), and Mint Marrakech loose tea (125g), and 3 x 30g samples.
The Ringtons Signature loose teas featured and Ringtons gift boxes are available via mail order at www.ringtons.co.uk or via customer care on Freephone 0800 052 2440.
Some Flowers.
Try The Fantastic ‘Summer Memories’ Bouquet – Fresh Flowers with free Delivery
The Notebook on DVD
Mother And Daughter Message Bangle from notonthehighstreet.com
Personalised Thank You Print by Rosie Robins from notonthehighstreet.com
Mum’s Measure Wine Glass by Becky Broome from notonthehighstreet.com
Personalised Family Tree Cushion by A Type Of Design from notonthehighstreet.com
Cocktails are always a good idea….
Quintessentially Vodka Rhubarb Rickey
35ml Quintessentially Vodka
12.5ml Rhubarb liqueur / syrup
12.5ml Fresh lime
Soda (top up)
Method: place the Quintessentially Vodka, rhubarb syrup and fresh lime in a tall glass, adding ice and a spritz of soda.
To finish, stir a few times before adding a wedge of lime.
What will you be doing for your mother?
Well, it’s here again: Valentines’s Day. It is a mere ten days away so it is time to buy your paramour something wonderful. Here are some ideas we put together.
The Biscuit Box You’re My Cup of Tea Biscuit Card- this is an iced teapot shaped biscuit with a personalised message. We thought it was super cute and the biscuit tastes great. Available from buyagift.co.uk
Mr & Mrs Family Edition
If board games are your thing then you will love this. But if, like us, you are not too keen on board games you will still love this Mr & Mrs Family Edition game. Perfect for finding out more about your family and friends as well as finding out how well they know you. Mr & Mrs Family Edition Box Game is available here.
Fraisier St Valentin from Paul. Tastes like heaven. The perfect size for two, heart-shaped and combines Genoese sponge, créme mousseline and fresh strawberries. It is then topped with pink marzipan. It costs £11.95 and is available from 12-15th February in London stores. You can also pre-order online.
Argania Desert Defence Shampoo and Conditioner.
Made with fairly-traded, certified organic argan oil to instantly nourish and hydrate hair, leaving it looking smoother, shinier and feeling healthier, naturally. A nourishing and restorative shampoo infused with certified organic Moroccan Argan. Great stuff that your girlfriend will love. Available from Boots.com
Personalised Love Print
Very cool, stylish and gives an excellent personal touch. From buyagift.co.uk
MIMI’s Sleeping Beauty Night Time Facial Oil
We love this. Such a smart idea and it looks great too. MIMI is a make your own skincare brand so you know exactly what goes into your skincare regime. All products are 100% natural and each kit can be mixed in minutes. You can also adjust the ingredients whilst mixing, tailoring it to your preferences. It can also be used as a massage oil.
Available online at www.makeitmakeit.com, there are currently 3 kits in the range from £22-£35 and includes a night oil, body scrub and face mask.
MIMI’s Sleeping Beauty Night Time Facial Oil makes 35ml and comes with all the ingredients, recipe, instructions, mixing equipment and elegant bottle. Used every night will last four-six weeks so you can carry on enjoying this luxury face treatment for much longer past Valentine’s Day.
Taittinger Brut Reserve Champagne 75cl Bottle and Taittinger Prestige Rosé NV
No words needed. Buy if you want them to love you forever more. Available from Amazon
If you are stuck for where to take your love for Valentine’s Day then check out our Valentine’s Day restaurant guide.
