How to Bring more Hygge into your life

*This post contains affiliate links  Most people by now have heard of the Danish word Hygge which is used to describe the Danish way to living well-valuing cosiness and togetherness. It touches on the ideas of slowing down, simplifying life and taking pleasure from the presence of soothing things. With the Danish being one of the happiest countries in the world it's a good time to take a leaf out of their book and bring a little bit more Hygge into your life. No matter where you live there are small ways we can embrace the Danish way of life, which is said to improve your general wellbeing, self-esteem, sense of belonging and that can only be a good thing right? So here are a few tips to embrace Hygge 1. Candles Is there anything more cosy and relaxing than listening to music or sitting down with a hot drink and having so lovely candles burning in the background? When the Danes were asked what they associated most with Hygge, 85% mentioned candles and you can see why......

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The Worlds Biggest Coffee Morning for Macmillan

*This post is written in partnership with M&S for Macmillan Big Coffe Morning  I feel really honoured to be partnering up with Marks and Spencer and the Worlds Biggest Coffee morning which aims to raise as much money for Macmillian Cancer Support. I have taken part in these fantastic Coffee mornings for the past few years and it's a great way to have a laugh, eat cake and raise money for this amazing charity. Unfortunately, cancer is most likely going to affect you or someone you know within your lifetime and charities like Macmillan are invaluable during these times. I've lost my Grandfather, Uncle and Aunt to cancer but it's wasn't until 2017 when I lost my two best friends within the space of 10 months to this awful disease that I realised how important it is to do what we can to make sure charities like this thrive and can carry on offering the services they do. So how can you get involved? The Worlds Biggest Coffee morning is taking pl......

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Afternoon Tea at Marco Pierre White, Cardiff

I have to say I do love a spot of Afternoon tea as it's such a British quintessential past time and even though we do have an equivalent in South Africa, aptly named High Tea, I love to indulge in this traditional British afternoon delight, I mean let's get honest who doesn't love cake? So when the recently opened Indigo Hotel in Cardiff  got in touch to see if I would like to try out their version of this classic treat at their in-house Marco Pierre White Restaurant of course we jumped at the opportunity.  The Restaurant and Bar is located on the top floor of the hotel in the Dominion's Arcade building just off the high street and offers a rare rooftop terrace with views right across central Cardiff. The interior is stylish but laidback and has lots of natural light flooding and is a great place for date lunch or a quiet refuge from the busy streets below. As I sat down and waited for our tea to arrive we toasted over a glass of prosecco sa......

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Food and Flowers - Christmas Hamper ideas

Wow can you believe we are more than half way through November? The festive season really is approaching fast and I think it's safe to say it's officially acceptable to indulge in a cheeky mince pie and hot spiced apple tea (or mulled wine). To me food is very much connected to seasons, celebrations and brings back memories and helps create new ones as you celebrate with friends and family around a big feast of delicious treats as well as making it a time to try new things. That is why I love foodie gifts as they offer something for everyone especially for tricky people to get gifts for as they are both practical, useful and of course delicious. So as you can imagine I was very excited at the chance to review a wonderfully festive hamper from Prestige Hampers which has an array of options to fit all budgets. Mine was the Traditional Gift Basket which is basically Christmas in a box and has pretty much has everything you need to get in the Christmas mood including two ......

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7 Tips On Throwing The Perfect Birthday Party

If you’ve been to birthday parties before (of course you have!), regardless of age wether it be for you celebrating a milestone of for your children then you know they can either be rather boring or incredibly fun and memorable. Hosting a boring birthday party is definitely the last thing you want to do and since we are heading half way into this year already and starting to think about my eldest sons birthday later this year I thought I would share seven tips on how to throw an entertaining and unforgettable birthday party. 1. First thing - The Guest List Before you plan anything you need to have a rough idea of numbers because that will dictate what kind of location you will need, food etc. Also you will have a clearer picture of how big or small your gathering is going to be as well as making sure all you don't forget anyone. 2. Pick A Fun Theme The theme can make or break any party because it can help decide whether the party will feel fun or a bit of a no......

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Breakfast, tea and a good read

The weekend to us is all about taking it slow, enjoying a good breakfast, family time and all those simple pleasures that make life wonderful. This weekend however was a bit of a strange one for us, we had planned to have a very relaxed Valentines morning exchanging homemade cards over some oven fresh croissants but instead we were getting over a somewhat stressful and eventful evening the night before which involved finding our elderly neighbour had fallen off the pavement into the road and broken his hip on what was one of the coldest nights of the year, we had to wait nearly 3hrs and into the early hours of the morning before the ambulance arrived and get him to the hospital out of the cold. Both the kids had woken up during all of this as we ran back and forth taking him blankets and warm drinks, so to say we were shattered would be an understatement and therefore we skipped breakfast all together while the rest of the day passed in a sleep deprived daze. I did however m......

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Last Minute must-have Christmas kitchen items

Christmas is the time of the year that everyone in the family looks forward to. It’s a season of happiness, indulging in treats that we usually wouldn’t allow ourselves to and giving presents to those we care about the most. Certain things cause the Christmas cheer to rise in people, and quickly the whole area becomes covered in decorations, as if Santa did them all overnight himself. Here’s some seasonal-themed items that will look fantastic in your kitchen this Christmas, and be worth keeping all year round. Christmas cookie cutters Not the most technological item on this list, but everyone will love it when you make cookies in the shape of Santa Claus, snowmen and Christmas trees this season. The Good cook shop has lots of offers on cookie cutters , meaning that you can replace the delicate cutting with stencils, which do all the work but take none of the reward. Vintage inspired kitchen scales Despite all the food having multiple pinches of love......

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No More Cookie Cutter Weddings

While I was at Uni studying photography I assisted at a few weddings then after graduating started my own business (although realised it's not really for me) have attended a fair few weddings, add in the weddings of family and friends as well and you would think that I would be a bit jaded by now, but when someone does something a little different it's still so much fun to attend them. Over the years, the way people organise their weddings has changed drastically and I must admit I am a big fan of this change. These days’ people seem to feel free to hold a wedding that suits them and their family and friends. Most of todays modern weddings are a reflection of the personality, tastes and values of the bride and groom. In the past, especially in the 80s and 90s, people seemed to be compelled to do things in a certain way. Most people got married in church, the majority of grooms wore morning suits and the bride pretty much always looked like your archetypal fa......

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A crafty Afternoon with Brecon Carreg

Last month we were invited to a wonderful afternoon full of fun, crafts and good food at one of our favourite spots in the city centre - Wyndham Tea. This family friendly event was put together by Brecon Carreg who did an amazing job of putting together a simple but creative craft using recycled Brecon bottles that was perfect for little fingers. First of all however was lunch, which was fresh, healthy and gave us a chance to sit down and chat to other bloggers before the craft session started. After so delicious food and of course a cup of herbal tea all the kids settled around a big table and got stuck in. Cutting, sticking, painting and everything in-between their creations slowly came together. Mr A decided to make his favourite animal - a Giraffe and he was very proud with his end result. Being heavily pregnant at the time it was lovely to be able to do something with him together and it was lovely that John could join us as well for the perfect family afternoon. ......

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