Talented Jewellery makers + giveaway

*Hersey and Son kindly provided the necklace for a giveaway. The other jewellery designers mentioned are my own recommendations The one thing about Jewellery is the longevity it can offer, it can be not only beautiful but a very sentimental gift at the same time and one that can last for years. I still have some necklaces my mother gave me when I was 12, so that's 23yrs ago and they are still going strong. I also have pieces my friends gave me from school, which are very sentimental to me considering I no longer live in South Africa. Jewellery is also very creative and with so many independent makers, local to the UK as well as small family-run businesses, I thought I would share a few that I really love at the moment. Baked by Lou Lou is a Cardiff local and the owner and creator of Baked by Lou, a really unique collection of jewellery and homewares with bold shapes and prints which are made by hand and fired in a kiln or oven. Her pieces are really fun and colourful......

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Body Positivity in motherhood

Body Positivity - the hot word right now and for the right reasons although I often feel people get little confused about what it means and feel it only fits to one section of society or is an excuse for women to wear inappropriately short shorts which simply isn't the case and it's something that can really affect us all. Body positivity isn't about size it's about how you feel in your body wether you are petite, normal or plus size and what bothers one person about their body will not be the same for others but that shouldn't devalue their feelings. For a long time for us ladies (of course men are also included in this) the media have sold what an ideal women is and that just isn't reality in fact the typical 6ft size 6 model is very much the exception and not the rule and that has left us all feeling inadequate when it comes to how we think we should look and society perceives us. Before I had children I didn't have that many hang ups, okay I was......

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Using a Social Detox as a Therapist

Regardless of what you do, your background, your family dynamic, your size, where you live or how large your social circle is, we all experience up's and downs in life, this is a fact. The body and mind is made to feel certain emotions, it's how we grow and all apart of the learning process. Some days, weeks or years are simply harder than others and often when it happens it feels like it happens all at once. As i'm now on the other side of what has been a difficult start to the year I wanted to share a little bit about the curve balls this year has thrown for me and how even when you try to just power through there is a point in which you have to stop and gather yourself before it really starts to cause havoc and admitting you need to slow down for a moment is not a sign or weakness but rather a sign that you care for your own wellbeing. At the end of last year, just before Christmas I felt exhausted and burnt out and not just from work but from the constant jug......

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Tips on how to succeed as a work-from-home parent

Being a parent is hands down one of the most rewarding human experiences – one that is at the same time challenging, exciting and deeply meaningful. Given the tools previously available, parents traditionally had to choose between being at home with their kids or working. Recently, especially in western society, major changes have taken place in the ideals of motherhood and major technological developments that offer stay-at-home parents the opportunity to earn a dependable income, while at the same time being able to enjoy more family time and flexible working hours. I started my blog many years ago and was already collaborating with brands before having my eldest who is now 6. I had been working at the time and was off on maternity leave when I decided to take the plunge and become self employed, I didn't know if it would work out but I am glad I did it as it's allowed me to have the hands on approach to parenting I was hoping for. Of course this is not possible f......

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Getting Back into the Workforce after Kids

Having children is without a doubt be one of the greatest moments you will ever experience as not only will it change your life for the better but also bring a whole new dimension to your world. From the moment they are born you will have incredible highs but equally some lows, compromises will certainly be made by everyone and this only becomes every more apparent as time goes on. Suddenly stopping work in order to have kids and then spend time looking after them can be a shock to the system and often sooner or later most parents want to regain some kind of independence back and eventually go back to work, especially if you left a career you have spent years working to build up and it's not surprising to hear that studies have shown that having children directly contributes to the gap between the pay of men and women. I found that becoming a mother brought out a lot of things I didn't know about myself such as the ability to multi-task, organise, keep going eve......

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Mere Soeur

I love to support small homegrown independent business, especially those grown out of the creative surge that happens when you become a mother. I came across Carrie Anne of Mere Soeur last year and have watch her awesome business grow on Instagram and have been meaning to pick up one of the printed "Mother Daughter" tees for a while now and finally got around to doing it. She has just released a baby line of tees and new tote bags, accessories and her iconic boob mugs, she also recently put together an "Art of Motherhood" charity colouring book with all profits going to HomeStart. Like everything else in her collection is celebrates moments of motherhood and doing it your own way. I love that social media and apps such as Instagram have given so many people a platform to share ideas no matter how big or small. Carrie Ann only started off with a few t-shirts and now has a whole line and I cannot wait to see what else is in stall from this mam......

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Finding the perfect fit

The struggle for finding the perfect pair of jeans is real and something I have always encountered as being just under 5ft has meant standard jeans are always too long making it no easy task to find a pair that just fit's without having to alter them in some way. After asking my readers if they have ever faced a denim dilemma it was very clear that most women in some way also struggle to find the perfect fit, many with similar problems to mine in terms of length as the standard size is really not one size fit's all and is equally a problem for not only petite women but also taller ones. Some of the other common issue which were apparent is having a different size around the thighs and waist leaving gaps and ill fitted sections or skinny jeans becoming baggy in certain areas or simply not knowing how to pick the right style for the look you are trying to achieve or for your body shape. Marks and Spencer 's got in touch to see if I could find the perfect pair for......

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Totsbots, rolling & 16 weeks

Wow I cannot believe how quickly time is flying by, everything seems to be happening so fast. Baby G started rolling when he was 14 weeks old and follows his brother around the room and really wants to join in with him. He is full of smiles as well as giggles and loves talking to me and in all honesty is such a happy and easy going baby and the breast feeding is still going great and I cannot quite get my head around the fact that in the next two months we will start weaning him on food. Brothers We have been enjoying picnics in the garden as well as many outdoor adventures as well as two trips to London last month. He really loves sleeping in his sling and we have also been getting to grips with using his Totsbots reusable nappies, which has meant slightly more laundry than usual but we are seeing the positive side of not only them being eco-friendly but also economical. We have been putting The Easyfit and Bamboozle stretch totsbots to the test and we like both but t......

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