Thursday 30 April 2015

Manchester's Preloved & Ziferblat Event


A do love a good ladies day out and thankfully, a few weekends ago, I had the opportunity to end my drought of girl-time as I had a fab day in Manchester with the lovely Kel, Jess and Sammie booked in, and trust me, I was excited!

The four of us had been invited, by the fabulous Terri Lowe, to attend an event - a Preloved Event - in the heart of the city and, if I'm honst, I had been looking forward to it for weeks.

There's nothing better than spending a day away from it, having a giggle and some girlie conversation.

It was fab

Anyway, to make the most out of the day we arrived in Manchester a few hours before the event to make sure we had time to enjoy a little Manchester-style grub.
(more on that later)

And then 3pm rolled by and it was time to head to our event venue

Ziferblat
(full details here)


Now I had never heard of Ziferblat before and stupidly, I didn't do my research beforehand, so I was really surprised when we walked in to find a very cosy, homely room all set up to look very much like a large sitting room/dining room/kitchen kind of a place.



After a few puzzled comments we were told that for a cost of five pence per minute people can take full advantage of Ziferblat and all of it's facilities.

People are free to eat as much cake and cereal as they like and drink as much tea, coffee and juice as they like, all whilst enjoying the very warm, very comfy facilities, which are complete with free wifi (always an important one!) and simply just pay for the time spent rather than the things eaten.



It is such a brilliant concept and if Manchester wasn't so far away from me I know I could seriously put this place to good use, particularly during the school holidays with my son.

Eat, drink, play Twister if we fancy for as long as we can afford - brilliant.

So back to our reason for being in Manchester in the first place...

The event we attended was in aid of Preloved, but who are Preloved and what do they do?

Well, Preloved are an online selling site, allowing people to sell and rehome their unwanted, unused and unloved things, totally free of charge.

Preloved are also really passionate about the people who use their site - whether they be a buyer or a seller - they want the experience to be as easy and as fast as possible.

By doing this and helping all those uncared for items find new homes, Preloved hope that they can at least help a little to reduce the amount of rubbish ending up in wastefill sites.

I think the concept is brilliant and I'm 100% going to be signing up to try and find some more love for the things I no longer need.

I had so much fun at this event.

It was laid back, relaxed and totally chilled out - just ten lovely ladies sat around a table, chatting, drinking tea and eating cake.



Can a day get any better?

Well, yes actually it can.

As we were at a Preloved event, our two main tasks for the day consisted of using old materials to make something else new and useful.

First up, we delved into the ever popular beauty craze of coffee face scrubs and rather than spending numerous amounts of pounds on buying one, we were shown how to make one for a fraction of the cost...


We simply mixed together

~ coffee
~ coconut oil
~ sugar

~ Voila ~

Face scrub made

Our next, really rather therapeutic task, was to upcycle a selection of old keys by painting them with various coats of nail varnish and decorating them with a ribbon...



Something really simple, easy and relaxing which produced a unique, one-of-a-kind piece of jewellery that we were able to take away with us...along with some fab goody bags too...


It was great to meet some new bloggers at the event and to find out all about Preloved and the things that they stand for.


I'm currently undertaking a bit of a home-design-challenge myself - on a very tight budget - so Preloving and upcycling some older pieces is going to be a must.

Thanks for a fab event Preloved and for giving me a new passion for restoring old things.

Happy Upcycling!
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Tuesday 28 April 2015

Trying Out A Microsoft Lumia Mobile


When it comes to technology I'm the first to admit that I don't do all that well at all really.

The basics , yes I'm OK with, the slightly more difficult, OK, I'll muddle my way through, but anything more advanced than that - no thank you - I'll leave that well alone and call in an expert.

And even with something relatively simple like a mobile phone the situation is really no different.

Don't get me wrong, this never puts me off wanting the most technological things around though - I'm totally one of those people who loves to have all of the latest, fancy gadgets (usually all matching in colour if I can manage) and my phone choices have to live up to this too.

I love it when the day comes to upgrade my handset so I can have something nice and new to play about with, however, this is also where my problems begin.

When I get a new phone you can guarantee there will be a few "Well I wish I'd never got this" moments - every single time without fail.

The Hubby actually hates my phone-contract-upgrade-days and always attempts to persuade me to just stick with similar handsets to my previous ones because he can't do with the drama.

He knows that for one day, perhaps two, I'm going to be an absolute pain in the backside.

I huff and puff and whinge and moan, all because the apps I want won't download or I've forgotten a password and can't log into a social media channel, or the photographs I have stored won't transfer across devices...

Drama, Drama, Drama

I know I'm totally ridiculous and that it's all totally unnecessary, I mean after a day or so everything sorts itself out anyway but I can't help myself, I really just like things done and done tomorrow.

So when I was approached by Connects (find here) and asked if I would like a couple of weeks to play  about with a Microsoft Lumia to see what I thought, well - yes I was excited, but also a tad "oh-my-goodness-I'm-not-going-to-have-a-clue".

But I did it

I survived it

I even enjoyed it

In my phone life there is currently the Samsung - and I love it - and before this there was the iPhone and before that my communication life revolved around the ever trusty Nokia handsets.

I had them all - the teeny, tiny white one with the blue keys, the pink swivel one with the fancy gold patterns - they were great, so I had high hopes that the Lumia would be too.

So how did I get on with it?

Well, rather brilliantly to be honest.


I found the phone so easy to use and for me this is a total must, especially with a device that I was to only have in my possession for a short space of time.

I didn't want to be wasting days stressing and struggling with such simple things like how to switch the phone on!

I found the phone fast, efficient and so easy to use with a really attractive bright, clear and very colourful screen display


It really "pops" when it lights up doesn't it, and then add that to the extra bright case...it certainly makes for an eye-catching piece of technology that's for sure.

Oh, and I like that it was really slim-line and not bulky at all - perfect for small clutch bags!


My favourite function of the phone simply had to be the camera which was sharp, clear and with a great zoom distance...



...but in particular I LOVED the selfie mode option it has.

Now, if you're anything like me then you'll appreciate a really good selfie taking session - my phone is crammed with the lovely things
(I'm not vain at all though trust me!)

The Microsoft Lumia helps to take selfies to a whole different, crazy level.

You can adjust all sorts of bits and bobs on your photographs - myself and my son had so many giggles brightening our smiles and widening our eyes - it was hilarious




A real laugh a minute with this feature that's for sure.

The swipe to text function was something else I found great too - I've been known to send the "odd" text message in my time.

The keypad on the phone will kind of "guess" what you are wanting to type as you swipe without you actually having to make much effort to type the word out.

A real time-saver

And although I didn't take advantage of the wireless charging option - I found that with this, like many phones I've had in the past, the charge lasted pritty well - I really like that it is available.

Actually, thinking about it, I really liked most things about this handset, so much so in fact the only negative thing I could find was down to my personal opinion - I wasn't keen on the bright green case colour, but I know other colour options are available.

I'm seriously thinking of investing in one of these phones in the future for my son.

I think for his very first phone it will be easy, sturdy and stress free...I can only imagine the amazingly creative selfies I'll have sent to me if I do though...

A really easy, convenient phone - perfect for the selfie lover


* phone sent to trial for two weeks. All words, opinions and photos are 100% my own
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Friday 24 April 2015

Baby Baker Friday: Emma's Diary And Name Popularity


I've decided that Friday's on the blog are now going to be dedicated to my new found pregnancy status.

Whilst I know this won't please everyone, it's something I really want to do - after all being pregnant is a huge thing to be happening in my life and I really want to share bits and pieces of what is going on amongst these pages.

So here we go

~ Baby Baker Friday ~

I'm guessing anyone who's having a baby will have heard of Emma's Diary before.

I know I certainly had - I think midwifes hand out leaflets in the little pack they give out to all Mums-To-Be at that all important very first hospital appointment with Emma's Diary details on.

I even remember having a little Emma's Diary book for my last pregnancy - ten whole years ago - and I know I checked it religiously each and every week to find out what was happening inside my tum and what crazy changes I could expect to see happening to my own body.

I like to be prepared for things!

And this pregnancy is certainly no different at all.

I mean, yes, OK I have obviously done this before...but come on, it was TEN WHOLE YEARS ago and I was only 21 years young...I really can't remember anything specific that I'm supposed to be going through at all.

So having anything that will fill me with baby-knowledge is beyond brilliant in my opinion.

I turned to my Emma's Diary straight away but the only difference this time was that I downloaded the app onto my smart phone and used that to check things rather than having to cart the book around with me all over the place.

Technological advances and their benefits eh.

Anyway, whilst I was having one of my "what's happening to me this week" browses, I discovered that Emma's Diary have a baby name trend calculator on their website.

Now I may only be fifteen week pregnant at the moment but the main question I keep getting asked...and asked...and asked is...

"What are you going to call the baby?"

I really have no idea

We have obviously bounced a few ideas around between the three of us but there aren't any winners at the moment

So discovering the helping hand of the baby name trend calculator came at just the right moment.

So what is it?

Well, it's an informative little tool that's what it is.

All you need to do is type in up to three possible baby name options and a little graph will appear...



...which shows the names chosen along with a little bit of information illustrating how popular those particular names have been in the past...



It's really rather fun actually - you get a idea of which names were the most popular and how this changed over time and can also spot predictions of the popularity of the names for the future.

Apparently "Charlie" will be at it's peak popularity in 2018, whilst "Simone"...well...that name never really took off did it, except for a teeny little peek in 1992.

But that's just the way I like it - the less people with my name the better - I enjoy being all name-unique.

The calculator will then allow you to click on the names...


...and a little summery of what each of them mean will appear...




It's really informative - and a very quick, useful place to turn when my son comes home from school with homework looking into the origins of his name...

I think it's really fun and is something a little bit different.

It really does help with the thought process behind that oh-so-important name choosing task too.

Now, lets see if it encourages any inspiration in me...

After all, a name is a very important thing
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Wednesday 22 April 2015

My Crazily Funny Furry Friends


I'm sure I'm not alone when it comes to feeling a whole lot of love and adoration for the cute, fluffy friends in our lives.

Pets really are the best.

I have two lovely cats myself and I really do think they are great and are naturally the loveliest, slightly craziest moggies I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.

Obviously

So without further a-do, let me introduce to you the amazing, comical duo that are

~ MARIO & PEACHES ~


~ Ta - Da ~

Beautiful aren't they

My little fur-babies

Before I go any further, I'll bet you're wondering what on earth my pets are doing on my blog again?

Well, I was alerted to a little collab that the RSPCA have got going on with More Than Insurance and I thought it was a brilliant idea to try and help some of the less fortunate animals out there and I really wanted to share it.

Anyone with pets will know that they can be fairly costly, especially if they ever become ill or are involved in an accident, which is where insurance kicks in
(both of mine have it!)

 The RSPCA obviously realise this importance and are working with More Than to try and raise this awareness.
At the moment, any policy which is opened with More Than to insure an amazing pussy cat, beloved puppy or dog will result in £20 being given back to the RSPCA so they are able to continue doing the amazing job that they do.

Which is just brilliant in my opinion.

And because I've started a little pet theme post going to mention this I thought I might as well keep it going and show my two pampered fluff balls off a little bit.

Well, why not eh.

I have so many crazy-cat tales to tell, so for your entertainment, here's four of my favourite
"Mario And Peaches Moments"...

~ Total Copy - Cats

Both of my cats have been together from day one, they are brother and sister and boy do they show it.

They hate each other one second and love each other the next.

What I did find really fascinating though, was the way in which they interact with one another.

Obviously I've heard the term "copy cat" before but I'd never witnessed it first hand...

...that was until this little duo purred their way into my life...




Cute!

~ Comfort can obviously be found in the craziest of places

Mario (the big fluff ball) likes nothing more than flopping onto his back, head to one side, back legs parted as wide as possible enjoying a good old snore...

And trust me, this cat really can snore!



Peaches on the other hand...well...she's a little bit of a lady and is certainly one on her own...


~ Dry Me!!

Whenever it rains or snows and the cats have been outside, they pop back into the kitchen through the cat-flap and, Mario especially, will meow continuously until I go in and see what is the matter with him.

Then he'll follow me around - all the time meowing - until I reach for a towel and dry every inch of him...


Pampered or what

~ Oh-So-Helpful

Peaches simply loves to be involved

In everything

She will sit in the bathroom whilst I'm in the bath, she will sit and watch whilst I make a cuppa...


...until the spoon drives her crazy that is.

She even insisted on "helping" at Halloween whilst I calved out the pumpkins...



Yes.

Helpful...

Indeed.

But aren't they just the cutest things.

Animals are brilliant and my two have shown me that they all have their own little personalities and quirky little traits.

It's really important that we give them the best care that we can - we surely owe that to our funny four-legged friends now don't we.

Here's to lots of love and care for all the amazing pets out there!

* a collaborative, sponsored post. All photos, words & crazy-cat stories are 100% my own
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Monday 20 April 2015

Total Non-Stop Fun On A Haven Holiday


After a week of being well and truly back in the swing of work life I could seriously go for another trip away right about now.

But seeing as how that ain't happening anytime soon, I've taken to day-dreaming about the amazing time I had over the Easter holiday, when I stayed in an amazing caravan (full details here) at Presthaven in North Wales.
(find here)


Now I'm not going to pretend that the weather was amazingly warm, sunny and glorious or say that we spent hours every day having picnics on the beach or BBQs by the caravan.

We really didn't.

~ We were in the UK

~ It was the beginning of April

~ We were on the coast

It was freezing, it was rainy, and oh my goodness, it was windy
(so windy in fact, my son burst into my room on the first evening and asked if the caravan would blow away!)

But do you know what, we had a blooming brilliant time and we didn't even set foot off of the caravan site for the entire trip.

There was really no need to because there was just so many things to do.

When we first arrived and had unpacked, whilst the boys were making dens under their beds, I spent a little time (with a much needed cuppa of course) looking through our little "what's on" booklet and found that every day there were loads of activities on offer for the boys to take part in.

There were things such as football clubs, archery lesson, different pool based activities, arts and crafts - so, so much to keep them happy and entertained.

But of course, with me being the total unorganised so-and-so that I am, many of the things I wanted to book were already all full up.

I've since realised that booking on-line before you actually arrive is the best way to ensure you get the kiddies on everything they want, and without having to endure the long (often very long) "booking station" queues and I'll certainly make sure I do this next time.

Many of the bookable activities also have an added extra charge to them, which is often not very much but, especially with bad weather, having a £4 half hour Roller Disco session could prove to be money very well spent to help break up a monotonous, rainy day for a kiddie.

But as I said, we didn't get on any of those added extras, partly due to the sheer volume of people wanting them and partly due to the weather...

...the High Ropes for example was closed for the duration of our stay due to the strong winds...



...much to the boys disappointment as they were desperate to get up there...

...but we still found plenty of things to do on the site, and all of which were included in the price of the holiday.

Bonus

The first thing we discovered was the little play area - no matter where we go, my son always seems to seek out a park of some sort - and we spent quite a bit of time there


It provided quite a nice little stop off between walking places around the park actually - no complaints about popping to the shop if on the way back they can have half an hour whizzing down the slides

Genius

We also had a morning of fun in the swimming pool - even I ventured onto the slide - and then ended up giving my son and his friend quite the giggle when I was apparently "the slowest person ever to get to the bottom"...

...I blame the water pressure and not my big bum for getting wedged between the plastic...

However, the slide fun (and thankfully, laughing at Mum) were pushed aside when the lifeguards lifted the barriers and - yes during the first week in April - the outside pool area was opened


I was no way brave enough to even dip a toe into the water, but the kids were all straight in, squealing with laughter as they were pulled around the circular pool by the current of the water whilst being squirted from the jets of the fountains.

Absolutely crazy

It was beyond freezing - but they had a ball.

And to be honest I can imagine it being really quite pleasant during the height of the summer months, but at this time of year...no...I'm far too chicken for that.

So what else did we get up to...?

Hmmm well, we did have our amazing caravan to enjoy and take advantage of didn't we, and that's exactly what we did on the more wet and wild weathered afternoons.

We popped on the fabulous fire...


...cracked out the calorific goodies, slobbed out on the huge comfy-cosy sofas...


...and watched an array of DVDs that I brought with us...


Well, when you have the facilities, you have to test them all out don't you - even the TV.

And a nice bit of relaxation is required from time to time...

But when we woke up on our last full day at the resort to no rain - still plenty of wind - but the wet stuff seemed to be holding off a little, relaxation was the last thing on our minds.

We wanted to get outside and do some exploring so we decided to head down the little trail at the edge of the park and visit the beach


It was so lovely and the boys really loved charging up and down the sand dunes, regardless of the chill or the dark, cloudy skies



It really was pretty and peaceful - I think we could have spent most of the day exploring.

Then, as if all of this wasn't enough, we took a little walk each evening (in shorts despite the rain because, "We are on holiday aren't we Mum") to the club where the Haven Funstars provided lots of high-energy, fun-packed entertainment for the children



There were quizzes, discos, competitions - everything to keep the little ones happy - and there was a bar of course, which I'm sure helped to keep the adults happy too...

And then after spending "a few" pounds in the amusement arcade...


...we then usually headed back to the caravan to climb into our PJs, enjoy a few cartoons whilst we ate crumpets with jam and drank cups of tea before scrambling into bed.

However, if we were more night-owl than we were, we could have stayed in the club longer, as the comedians/singers etc all came out to entertain the masses once the kiddies shows were over.

Entertainment a-plenty

But it was bed time for us.

Whether you want to spend any extra pennies or not I found that there are so many great, fun things to do on a Haven holiday without ever having to leave the resort, no matter the weather.


Lots of fun, come rain or shine

* holiday provided free of charge in exchange of an honest review. Thoughts & images all my own
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