Exploring somewhere new - Insole Court, Cardiff

We have driven past many times but have never gone down the long drive that leads you to this once iconic Manor house just a short walk from Llandaff in Cardiff that is Insole Court. The house itself is not open and is being restored by the National Lottery but what is open is the beautiful grounds and walled gardens that belong to this stunning period property.  We really didn't know what to expect the first time we walked down though the gates but it was like stepping into the secret garden with tumbling ivy covered walls, fountains, an array of wild flowers and a little stream running through with plenty of space for picnics in total peace and quiet. A real haven within the city centre.  To my understanding the main building once sympathetically renovated as it's a listed property will house a variety of different things including a community space and cafe and I cannot wait to see what is install for this fantastic place. It's a shame in one wa......

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Redesigning our Living room starting with the Sofa

As some of you may already know we bought our current property as a bit of a project that needed some work done, before intending to sell, hopefully later this year. We have slowly been working through each room getting ready to put it on the market. Things have gone much slower than expected, mainly because having two small kids at home is not overly conducive for renovations. The picture above is our partially finished living room space, at this point, we had taken away the badly built-in shelves and terrible wooden surrounds and replaced them with more useful storage but otherwise, we have pretty much been making do as the living room didn't have too many issues to start with but now we are ready to get the paint out and get what we need to be done to finish this room. Firstly we will be painting the walls white instead of this slight off white shade, we are going to paint all the skirting boards, fix the fireplace surround, box in wires properly, get a carpenter in to bui......

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Getting Organised and Life Planner Giveaway

I normally blog every day but lately I have felt somewhat disorganised and short of time. I know a large part of this is due to having a very active 16month old baby who has been teething a lot lately paired up with the fact the last time he slept through the night was when he was 4 months old (and that only lasted for two weeks). Being somewhat sleep deprived has also meant that I don't always think as clearly as normal so making notes when inspiration or ideas come to me is really important as I usually forget them 5 minutes later, the only problem is I then have a pile of random pieces of paper dotted around the house which usually get accidentally thrown out - something had to change! I know besides more sleep that the key to less stress is being more organised and that is where my new Life Planner from Unique Planners comes in. I am allocating at least 10 mins a day to jot down my to do list for each day, any contacts I want to keep as well as making notes of ev......

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BritMums Live - The Lowdown

Most UK parent bloggers will have heard of the annual gathering of like minded social media loving ladies (and don't forget the men) that descend on the stylish Brewery in hip Islington for was is known as Britmums Live or BML16. This was my third time attending this conference and each has been different from the last, perhaps because also what I hope to get out of a conference like this changes. The first time I attended I wanted to go to as many talks and seminars as possible, the second year I wanted to connect with brands as well as other bloggers plus drop into more select and niche talks that interested me such as how to publish an ebook. This year was more about socialising, networking and catching up with some of my blogging friends I have known for years (but only get to see once or twice a year) as well as being inspired by the ever changing social networking scene, individual bloggers stories and new trends happening in the blogging world right now.  ......

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