5 Meaningful Gifts for Mothers this Christmas

Gender roles aside, Mother's or those who assume a mothering role,  are often the glue that is holding things together plays while we are often balancing work life, home life, family admin, school runs and everything in between. Personally, I know there are many times when we prioritise everything else before ourselves as long as our family is happy and healthy and it's true what they say I know appreciate my own mother a hundred times over seeing how many balls she had juggling in the air at all times. I think that it's really important for every role in the household to be celebrated although acknowledging everything a mother does really goes a long way, especially when parenting comes with so many highs and lows, even if it's just treating her to a cup of coffee & baked treat. Here are a few meaningful ways to show the woman in your life that you car. 1. Never underestimate the power of a homemade Card It may be a little cliche and perhaps I'm j......

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Enjoying the Good life on a Budget

Life is without a doubt becoming increasingly more expensive and in most cases wages are just not going up at the same rate as inflation, meaning many households are having to tighten their belt. The thing is we only live once and life shouldn't have to be a struggle all the time or be shrouded by constant missing out because of financial constraints. If you work hard it's only fair to be able to treat yourself every now and then and this is also important for one's mental and physical wellbeing. The one positive though is the internet and with a little research, it's possible to make some sustainable savings which it comes to eating, shopping and traveling so it's always worthwhile checking beforehand. I truly believe we can all lead full and exciting lives that don't have to cost a fortune or cause us strain or financial stress and I thought I would share a few tips on saving money on the fun stuff as I am all about frugality, especially since having......

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Win £100 to spend with Frederick Thomas this Fathers Day

So what felt like a really slow January and February the months just seem to be flying by now. I promised myself I would be more organised this year with things like Easter, Birthdays and celebrations as they always just seem to sneak up on me and life is already chaotic as it is running out to a shop at the last minute to buy an underwhelming present isn't ideal. I have got to grips with using a life planner and I reminding myself of things a few weeks before hand to give myself plenty of time. This includes Fathers Day which seems easy enough except it can be pretty hard to find that perfect gift for the man in you or your children's life. This year Fathers Day is on the 17th June and if your stumped for ideas I might have just what your looking for, the chance to win a £100 voucher to spend online at Frederick Thomas which stocks some fantastic products to add that something special to Dads wardrobe. They have an array of cool, colorful and pocket squares, stylish ba......

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TinyMe Giveaway with BetterVouchers

I have a really exciting little giveaway for my readers this week. I have been working with the lovely people over at BetterVouchers which is a fairly new money-saving voucher site that is a little different to others by manually going through more than 14000 retailers to hand pick only the best deals with a minimum of at least a £10 or 10% saving with no sponsored listings all the vouchers are voted up by visitors actually using them. I don't know about you but whenever I buy anything online I always check to see if there is some kind of saving to be had, I mean why not and this is a great site to check before making any purchases. They have kindly offered one of my readers the chance to win a £50 voucher to Tiny Me, a beautiful site that offers the cutest and quickest customised products for kids, from stationary to decor, clothing and books there is so much to choose from, with my favourite being the wooden name blocks It's super easy to enter and the giveaway en......

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Reasons to holiday in the UK

Mr A exploring Carreg Cennen in Wales As you know we love to travel and as much as we enjoy going to new and exotic places or exploring Europe by rail we are also huge fans of discovering what is right on your doorstep and feel the UK has a lot to offer travellers, from cities to quaint villages to rugged coastlines and blue-flag beaches there is something for everyone. Enjoying some time by the seaside Great Britain has always managed to lure travellers from around the world for a very long time. Its diversity, expansion and an unusual social collage have created a unique atmosphere here. This country has become a real mix of classical culture paired up with the ultra modern and forward thinking of the youth today and places like London are a perfect example of where this works in complete harmony together. Beautiful cities such as Edinburgh are an exciting place to be, with so much history and elegant architecture next to h......

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Budget friendly days out

We love nothing more than taking in the fresh air of the outdoors If you read the blog regularly you will know we love spending as much time outdoors as possible as well as exploring our local area as well as further afield. Of course days out can end up costing a small fortune but it really doesn't always have to even if your visiting an attraction with a fairly heavy admission price but using free saving sites such as Kids Pass . I thought I would put together a few tips how we managed to enjoy the outdoors and local activities without spending a small fortune 1. We always pack a lunch as well as two water bottles - this is essential. Of course we do allow for things like a coffee and cake at the end of the day should we feel like a little treat but as lunch goes feeding two adults (or if it's just Mr A and I one adult) and a child, it can really add up. Mr A loves a good packed lunch 2. Make a list of free outdoor and indoor attractions, green spaces......

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HomeSense Giveaway

I am so happy to be able to offer another amazing giveaway to one of our readers and this time it's all about the home. As some of you may know I have been working in partnership with HomeSense as well as my column on Huffington Post Home and they have been kind enough to provide one lucky reader with a £100 HomeSense Gift Card to spend in store and believe me you can get a lot for £100 as the stores are like magical treasure troves of amazing home and interior products at up to 60% the normal retail price without losing any of the quality. It's super easy to enter and the competition ends on the 10th June a Rafflecopter giveaway ...

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Let in the light

My cute little owl lamp  So as many of you may already know we only moved into our new house in December and with an active toddler running around that has meant our unpacking and organising has been slower than usual. There are pockets of the house we are making some progress with and even though John has been ill for the past few days he mustered up enough energy to final put our large mirror up in the lounge. We still need to add a lot more homely touches but it's nice to finally see some small part start to come together. The painted sideboard will in a few days I am sure be covered in various books and whatnot but for a moment it's tidy, along with my new lovely little owl lamp from The Range , which is too cute With so much painting and redecorating, gardening to do on top of a hectic work schedule this little accomplishment seemed like a lot this weekend. We also picked up a beautiful lampshade for Mr A's room as well as some solar dragonfly lights f......

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Easy French style with Promod

If you have not heard of a french company called Promod , you should really check it out. They recently came to Debenhams in Cardiff and I was lucky enough to be invited to a preview of the collection, which is very stylish and surprisingly reasonable and personally I was very impressed. I genuinely found pieces I would wear, perfect festival fashion, as well as cute jackets with interesting prints and every piece had some small detail I loved. I found the collection had the french chic and would suit many occasions but was also unique and on trend. Here are a few of my favourite jackets and tops.. Officers Jacket £44.95 Embroidered Denim dress £39.95 Jacquard casual jacket £69.95 Bib front top £17.95 Short Jacquard jacket £69.95 Also if your local to Cardiff, St Davids is doing the last mmmondays on the 27th August - 20 different restaurants are offering discounts with up to 30% off meals ad various other deals from coffee to shopping at Gap, it's......

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