Wednesday 27 December 2017

Venice The Instagram Ready Beauty

Such a cliche I know to say Venice is an Instagram ready beauty but such a cliche has never been truer.Venice is indeed an Instagram ready beauty but far from being knee deep in my camera all the time I did look up in absolute abjecive wonder.











And quite honestly Venice isn’t as expensive as people make out especially if you eat away from the tourist hot spots. Yes soft drinks are a little hefty on the pockets at about 4 Euros but you’ll find that you can get water cheaply or even a promise if a free drink in some places.

As you weave through the alleys and bridges you can’t help but fall in love with Venice, I think going at a quieter time of year really does help.











With pop up markets where ever your eye rests and the world famous fish market at Rialto there’s so much interaction and people watching to be had if you so wish. I can not stress enough how wonderful travel is and this the second time that we’ve been to Italy as a family this year , it is really snatched moments with the teen being at at University as study is all absorbing and harder than you can ever imagine.

Wednesday 20 December 2017

File It Under “ It will never happen to me “

File it under “It'll never happen to me”.

But when it nearly doesyou’ll be a little confused, a little bemused, very stressed and incredibly embarrassed.

There is no need to worry though, because nearly  missing a flight happens to the best of us – even when there’s nobody to blame but yourself because you’ve been buying headache tablet s shampoo and shower gel. You come out to find your husband mouthing “We’ve four minutes before the gate closes , we have got to get to gate 27 NOW!”

Your family will only have to run to the departure gate like Usain Bolt with myself lagging behind shouting “ I can’t run ... save yourself go without me ....” . You would have thought it was a BBC sitcom like “Out Numbered”  or a Carry on sketch.

But we made it and luckily we were at the front of the plane and didn’t have to do the walk of shame ...





Thursday 14 December 2017

Personalised Jewellery Ideal For The Festive Season

You are well into the festive season , you’ve got the decorations up , you’ve started to wrap the Christmas presents , you’ve started to receive elegant Christmas cards.You are constantly vacuuming up needles from your tree or glitter from those cards whilst having a quick break to finish that Mince pie that has been begging you to consume it. I think I may have just eaten the last Mince pie that my husband was saving for himself , he will never notice ....

This Elegant card is made by Jane who blogs at Onion s and Paper.




Then you suddenly remember perhaps that one  female relative that you have forgotten to buy for and it is the one that really really loves their Jewellery,wine and they can't come out of Ikea without buying tea lights but don't have a tea light holder and you scratch your head as to what gift you could possibly get for her . May I suggested Engraved Gifts for Her  from Giftsonline4U. where you can even get an engraved tea light holder perfect for all those tea lights !





I am notoriously difficult to buy for I like Jewellery myself but it has to be the right piece of Jewellery I am not one who likes to receive a gift for gifts sake , I am too practical I think for my own good at times. Having said that as I am fiercely unique then I like a piece of Jewellery to reflect that and it has to look the part to.



I was so glad when I saw this Dual Faced Personalised Bangle and thought that is SO me and having kindly been given the chance to review it , I said "Yes" immediately because I know how much I would love it and I know that I would be ordering Personalised Jewellery for my female loved ones not only for Christmas but for other occasions such as 18th Birthdays.The range of personalised Jewellery is new and there is plenty of choice in what you can order, when you order you know that you or your chosen recipient will receive a piece of high quality Jewellery.

The Dual Faced Personalised Bangle is a marvellous engraved bangle with rotating double sided centre piece and engraved with your choice of initials for a unique jewellery gift.The quality of the Bangle is outstanding and is very well made with the engraving being crisp and clear.

What I particularly love about it is that you can change it from the personalised Onyx looking side to the pearlised looking side.









The Bangle eatures a sprung hinge and the opening end locates in the centre piece. The Bangle which is Rose Gold in colour will sit comfortably on your wrist and you can engrave your personalised jewellery gift with up to 2 initials on the black side of the centre piece.The Bangle is priced at £39.99 which includes the personalisation and free standard delivery , other delivery options are available starting from £5. The Bangle arrives in a gift box which is protected and the packaging protects this as well.

There are plenty of affordable gifts in GiftsOnLine4U and I’m eyeing up more Jewellery from their new personalised Jewellery range .What piece in their website catches your eye ?

Tuesday 12 December 2017

History Through Travel Is Connecting Us As A Family

I have been thinking about our holidays as a family and I defiantly notice a pattern which has defiantly I think has had an impact on the choice of degree that my son has chosen up at  York University. He is studying Archaeology with Bachelor of Science and I joke to him that he is not as qualified as me yet even though he says he is ( he isn't ). Travel plays a big part in our family life and we have had many a exotic holiday ( no we haven't been to the Carribean or Mauritius as of yet ) but we do like Travel that has a historical twang to it.







In the summer we went to Rome for the week and it was somewhere we had always wanted to go as a family, previous years have included ,Egypt,Holland,Spain etc. Never one to shy away from a Location I go full throttle into looking and investigating where we are going , we are not actually a beach holiday family. we have been on holidays where there is a beach and we do go and relax for a bit on them but we always find ourselves going off and exploring our surroundings.

History through travelis connecting us as a family as it was this summer that we went to Rome just before the teen went off to study Archaeology and guess what he is back this Friday. OOOH excitement that reminds me to sort out his room as I have been using it as a storage facility and my storing the tuff has made the rest of the house look tidy. But he will be back on Friday lovingly clogging up the house with all his clobber.

Going off topic a bit I have found him going away bit hard this was coupled with losing the teaching assistant side of my job it was a double blow and I have had a hard very hard time adjusting to all that has gone off. It is a sort of grief I think a different sort of grief but a grief none the less , I dislike change and when it happens it really does rock my world.

Travel is my sanctuary and how we love it so as family and this Christmas we are off to Venice and I think it going to be magical we seem to be loving Italy so much having been bitten by the romance of it in Rome.



Wednesday 6 December 2017

Ever Had One Of Those Weeks?

Every had one of those weeks where if it can go wrong it will go wrong well that’s been my week everything from socks to Avocados and everything in between ...

Arggggh


On the first day of Christmas my socks developed a hole in I shrugged this off as a Christmas omen I mean it wouldn’t continue to go wrong would it now ? Granted I had been wearing the socks all year but surely Father Christmas socks are immortal ( I think socks should be immortal ) . There is nothing more devastating than getting a hole in your socks it is like a knife to the heart.

And then on the second day of Christmas I brought a pack of 2 Avocados for Guacamole it was a let's have Mexican sort of day , I mean you can not go wrong with a Mexican . Mexican food is simple uncomplicated and tasty and you won't normally beat yourself up in to a lather over it that is until you come up across a hard Avocado. The first Avocado was fine as I prepared it for the Guacamole I like Guacamole it's nice its fun its tasty and I wanted it.Then the second Avocado that was the straw that broke the camels back.

On the fifth day of Christmas my son still hadn’t recovered from his flu so we had to cancel my birthday dinner at the rather nice bistro pub , I mean who wants a steak dinner anyway.When instead you can have birthday fish fingers in a baguette , I tell you it’s the height of luxury here.




Update on the breaking of the camals back well that would be the nearly 400 cans of Pepsi max I ordered by accident.Well I ordered a great deal of 48 cans for £8 and then some I did over order with the edition of editing my basket but I forgot to edit my basket .This resulted in a very confused delivery man taking shed loads of Pepsi max back.

Friday 1 December 2017

The Perfect Star Wars Gift For Christmas

Unless you’ve been living in the moon you can’t have failed to notice there’s a new Star Wars film coming out on the 14th December of which as a family we are all very excited , I have made sure I’ve booked my tickets ready for it. It of course will be sad to see the late Great Carrie Fisher but wonderful to see her again in the big screen. As a Starsp Wars mad family we’ve everything from a full sized Storm Trooper helmet in the dining room to figures , Lego and cuddly toys. Art is very important in Star Wars it’s those movie posters that draw you in with the promise of excitement and adventure so why not this Christmas give a Star Wars fan a piece of art from Red Candy.


Add a quirky homage to one of the most famous movies of all time to your interior! The Star Wars Framed Print is a wonderful piece by artist, Ale Giorgini, and presents some of the most notable characters from the original 1977 epic!

Complete with Vader, Luke, Chewy and Han Solo, this excellently cartoonish styled print has a very unique look and colour theme that is sure to draw the eye where ever you hang it. This delightful print is available in two sizes; A3 and A2. Each one comes in a black 20mm thick wooden frame with shatter-proof perspex cover.

This stylish print makes the perfect gift for any Star Wars fan and movie enthusiast”


Priced at £47 for an A2 size or £57 for an A3 size.



Disclosure I was given £45 towards a A3 size print then I put £12 towards it myself.