Ethical Summer Style Inspiration

It's been a while since I did a summer style inspired post and even though I am still trying to minimalise my life I'm also in need of a few key pieces moving forward into summer that is fun, versatile and perfect for festivals, travel and exploring. I think with age I have become more experimental with clothing and as they say, fashion should be fun! I don't want to look back at photos and think all I wore was monochrome (as much as I like monochrome). Here are a few inspirational pieces I am loving at the moment and there is something for everyone's budget. First up has got to be a pair of summer short dungarees by Lucy and Yak , I already own a longer pair which is great for colder months but now moving into summer I am loving these. They are practical yet fun and on trend and perfect for a spot of camping. They are also a Living Wage employer and have excellent fair pay and low waste credentials.  An easy way to keep cool and stay cool this summer i......

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The Big Retreat Wales 2019 - Review

*Promotional Review Post If you have visited my blog before you may already know that not only do we love to travel but we also love camping at festivals over the summer and we kicked of this summer season with a real corker that was The Big Retreat Wales , which in my opinion has one of the best locations, in West Wales. Before I get in too deep about our time at the festival I would like to explain a little bit more about The Big Retreat as it's not what you would normally expect, in a good way. The Big Retreat otherwise know as The Feel good festival, is all about getting active, wellbeing and also finding space to relax and enjoy the moment. It's a weekend to try new things, connect with other like-minded health inspired peers and soak in the West Wales landscape. Now you may be thinking that a festival that focuses mainly around health, wellbeing and fitness activities wouldn't be that family friendly but you couldn't be more wrong and here is why ......

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Check Your Car Tyres before Going on a Road Trip

This post contains Affiliate links  Summer is here and for many that means a family trip - whether you’re heading off for a family adventure, exploring somewhere new or you’re heading across the country to see extended family or join in with a special celebration, travelling a long distance with kids can be at times a rather stressful affair. We already have a few planned for the summer including heading down to the coast and towards Kent and Essex. Growing up in South Africa our closest major city from Cape Town is an 8 hour drive away so I quickly got use to long durations and wanted to share a few key tips and hacks you can employ to make the trip that little bit less stressful. 1. Have a clear and straightforward route It's really important when travelling with kids to plan your route well. You, of course, need to know your final destination and how long it's going to take to get there as well as pre-planned put stops and possibly somewhere you can stretch your legs fo......

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Tips for keeping your phone charged when travelling

We use our phones more than ever and they tend to go with us pretty much everywhere these days, especially when we travel as it usually doubles up as a camera as well. However when we travel there will be occasions when you're not going to be near a charger especially if your camping.  If you are sick and tired of your phone dying whenever you're on the road or exploring somewhere new have nothing to worry about. Those days are long gone because there are plenty of things that you can do to try and preserve your battery. Use the Original Charger A lot of people buy spare chargers when going abroad . This is great, but there is a high chance that your phone battery is suffering as a result. If you do not use the original charger then your device won’t charge as quickly, and you may even find that it depletes faster. This can cause you major issues when you are abroad, so make sure that you take your original charger with you. Turn On Airplane Mode Airplane mode can......

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Tips on saving for the school summer holidays

Promotional feature Can you believe the summer holidays are nearly upon us, while it's a time that both my kids and I look forward to all year but in all honesty I am also guilty of having that feeling of slight dread, not because I find having the kids at home all day hard (I love having them at home) but because of the financial implications it has, as like many I work, freelance and from home and on top of losing any day time working hours during the summer holidays it also happens to be one of the most expensive times of the year - not a great combo when your earning the least but spending the most. No matter what your situation whether you work full time, are a single parents, a freelancer or a stay at home mom, I thought I would share a few tips on how to have a little bit more in the pot when it comes to the summer holidays, even with only a few weeks to go. Empty the penny Jar We have a big penny jar where we pop our 1p, 2p and 5p coins and we empty it twice ......

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A Family Travel guide to Guernsey

Promotional Feature As you may already know we recently visit Guernsey, the second largest of the Channel Islands, a place on a bucket list we were keen to tick off and it didn't disappoint, we had an incredible time and one we won't forget for a while. Being well travelled and having visited over 25+ countries I can honestly say Guernsey is something special and I know we will be back as it truly offers that relaxed island life without the long-haul stress, so if you're looking for a Brexit-proof break this summer then I highly recommend you consider the Channel Islands. I would say that reading up before you go anywhere is essential but if your planning on visiting with your kids, even more so, as you need to know there are going to be the right facilities and what to expect. Now what I loved about Guernsey was the lack of takeaway chains restaurants, garish seaside arcades or multi-story soft play centres - instead, the focus is far more on embracing nature, g......

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Is It Time Your Kids Had A Little More Freedom?

I eldest is going to be turning 9 this year and I am starting to feel a real shift in how he perceives his place in the world, our family unit and himself. He is not old enough to do things unsupervised as of yet but I can see the beginnings of wanting a little bit more independence. While I actively encourage my boys to take calculated risks such as climbing trees, making dams in rivers, exploring the outdoor world and their surroundings, I am always in close reach, in fact nearly all playdates with the except of one or two when I've known the parents for a substantial time, I have been present, even birthday parties are mostly with parents present. Although the change is slowly starting to happen, for example, he has yet to do a sleepover but I can imagine that it will be the first request of the small step to independence and it's made me think about the future.    One of the hardest thing for a lot of parents to come to terms with is just how fast their kids grow up......

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Visiting Guernsey with Condor Ferries

*AD Press Trip I have wanted to get to the Channel Islands for years, it's somewhere that has always intrigued me and has been sitting on my bucket list for a while so when the opportunity arose with Condor Ferries to visit Guernsey we jumped at the chance. Guernsey, smaller than Jersey and being just 25sq miles packs a punch and is filled with opportunities to explore and have adventures. I am going to be doing a list of things to do with kids on the island in a separate post, while in this post I want to focus more on the overall experience and getting to the island. There are two main ways to get to the channel islands are either flying or by Condor Ferries who offer a variety of options when it comes to channel crossings and can take you to Guernsey, Jersey and St Malo in France, leaving from Portsmouth or Poole. You can opt for the high-speed trimaran or the slower Clipper service which also offers overnight sailings. We decided to use the high-speed Liberation from......

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