My 40 before 40 List and making it happen

Having turned 32 last week it's reminded me how fast time flies by, it feels like only yesterday I was celebrating my 30th in the South of France with family and friends. I was pregnant at the time with my youngest who is now nearly 19months old and it feels like our feet have not touched the ground since he came on the scene. Having always had itchy feet and following on from my father's passion to travel I managed to fit a whole lot of living into my life before turning 30 including celebrating New Years in more than 4 different countries and travelling to 25 countries as well as learning to drive, having a family, taking a cargo ship from Africa to the UK and loads in between. Although things did slow down slightly after having kids and traipsing around Europe with a backpack working at hostels as I went along was not so much an option anymore, now things need to be planned and thought out far more in advance. I do think putting pen to paper and making plans is the f......

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5 reasons why Iceland is at the top of our Bucket list

Iceland is one of those countries I have been very eager to visit for the past few years, it has everything you want in a destination with dramatic landscapes, a vibrant music scene, a fascinating history, local delicacies and who can forget the Aurora borealis aka Northern Lights?  Did. you know Iceland has been voted the safest country in the world ten times over and I have been very inspired by family travel blogger My Travel Monkey who encourages people to visit this Nordic country with kids. My kids and I love getting outdoors and being active and Iceland captures this lifestyle to the full with pursuits such as hiking, skiing and whale watching being very popular. With so much to see and do I thought I would share my top 5 things to do in Iceland that are on my bucket list 1. The Northern Lights Not only is this at the top of my list of things to do in Iceland but it's also has a firm place on my list of 40 things to do before I'm forty as I can o......

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Journeying to the Isles of Scilly

If you read my blog you will probably remember we spent an amazing week in the Isles of Scilly near the end of summer, I shared some snippets with you as well as ticking it off my 40 things to do before 40 post. So why so long to share what we got up to in more depth? Well to cut a long story short I had some major issues with my laptop this year, the hard drive failed twice and a virus pretty much made my external hard drive as useful as a brick so after many panic attacks I have finally managed to retrieve nearly all the images and videos *cue dancing in the kitchen*. What a better time to share this amazing trip when it's starting to feel cold and your dreaming of your future adventures, making plans for next year and looking for some inspiration, well I can tell you that the Isles of Scilly is by far the most exotic destination we have ever been to in the British Isles and I hope you enjoy me series of posts about this unique place. I'm going to start at the beginn......

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A taste of Aruba

What could be more blissful or dreamy than lying on white sands next to crystal blue water enjoying all the colours and flavours of the Caribbean? Drinking fresh coconut water from a coconut on the island of Aruba is firmly on my "40 things before 40" list and will hopefully be something we can make happen sooner rather than later.  In the meantime I love to try new things and get creative in the kitchen so when Aruba Tourism sent over a little package to help me capture that happy island feeling at home I couldn't wait to get stuck in. If you visit my home you will quickly realise I have somewhat an obsession with cook books, especially for world food, so this beautiful book by Shivi Ramoutar with its delicious modern takes on Caribbean classics that capture all he flavours of the rum islands is going to be well used in my house.  We have been pretty lucky with the weather lately and decided eating Al fresco would be perfect for Aruba inspired e......

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Cooking with Kids - Veggie Lasagne

Mr A with his kitchen spoon at the ready. I have to say it doesn't take much to get Mr A eager to be in the kitchen and I think this is the great thing about kids is that simply love to be involved and have the chance to cook something yummy and delicious. I also personally find that when Mr A has assisted me with supper he is often more likely to eat it and try new things. He generally loves Pasta but is a little unsure when it comes to things like lasagne, a dish I have always made on my own until now. We were sent a bunch of new Herbs and More flavour Pots from OXO and we couldn't wait to try them out, mainly because things like Soya mince and Quorn can often be missing that little something and I wanted to see if these flavour pots really did have any impact on our homemade dishes. For the veggie Lasagne we opted to use the vegetarian friendly Rosemary and Red Wine flavour Pot which we let simmer away with the Quorn mince and chopped tomatoes whil......

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Snippets of Scilly

If you follow me on twitter or instagram you will know we recently spent a week in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly . It was an especially exciting trip for myself as visiting the Isles is on my "40 things to do before your 40 list" and it really didn't disappoint. It was a bit of an adventure in itself getting down to Cornwall as we broke down on the A30 and had to wait from hours before we managed to sort out a rental car, then our flight from Lands End was cancelled due to band weather although we really didn't mind another day in Penzance and got to explore St Michaels Mount. Once we did arrive on the Isles we spent a few nights on St Martins and a few nights in St Mary's and it was simply magical. I won't share to much now as I am going to do a much larger post but thought I would post four of my favourite IG pics from the trip which pretty much summed the whole thing up - family time, beach adventures, good food and lots of fun. ...

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Slow down at Karma, St Martins

With these short days and dark nights my mind certainly wanders to memories of the fantastic adventures we had over 2016, especially that of our trip to the Isles of Scilly. It was on my bucket list of 40 things to do before I'm 40 and it was a wonderful as I thought it would be, in fact if your looking for a place to really slow down, relax and disconnect from the rest of the world this is the place! During our trip we spent the first few days on St Martins and then two nights on St Mary's, both equally wonderful but both with a completely different feel. St Martins certainly captures that slow lived feeling where everything is laid back, wifi is slow at best (which is perfect if you want to get away from it all) the island is practically traffic free apart from one or two vehicles and much time is spent relaxing and looking out across the sea and crystal waters. During our time on St Martins, we stayed at the fantastic and luxurious Karma Hotel which is p......

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How the older generation can stay social during the virus outbreak

*This post contains affiliate links  It is without a doubt a strange and stressful time for all, we are all adjusting to this new reality of restricted movement, social distancing and not being able to spend as much time with our loved ones and that, of course, can lead to things like loneliness especially with the older generation. I can't wait for my kids to hug their grandmother again and for me to have a proper conversation over coffee with my mother. Luckily however she shares her home with my older brother which means she has company which gives me a lot of peace of mind otherwise she would be on her own. I'm made me think about how important it is to still stay social at any age, especially when you're over 50 and so I thought I would share a few ways we can do that and encourage our old family members to get involved. A lot of people in their mid-40's upwards are very social media savvy and will already be using things like Facebook, Twitter and t......

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How To Have A More Ethical Christmas This Year

*contains affiliate links  Christmas is a wonderful time of year, but sadly it is also one of the most wasteful. If you want to make a positive change and try to reduce your impact here are a few things you can try. Less is More I feel we all need to switch our thinking and move away from quantity to quality. I've always lived by the motto that less is more and one well thought out, meaningful gift is far better than lots of smaller throwaway gifts. So when it comes to buying for friends and family do take note of what they actually want or need in their life - presents can also be practical so getting someone of real use to someone is also key. Buy secondhand    The festive season is often the best time to shop in charity shops are more people than ever are declutter and making way for their new Christmas presents and drop off some amazing things in charity and thrift stores. It's a great way to reuse something as well as keep your costs down. I......

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