With the Christmas season slowly approaching, it’s time to start thinking of Christmas presents, and how exactly you’re going to afford them. Below are some tips and tricks on how to save for the Christmas period.
Continue reading “5 ways to save money this Christmas *”
Not having to cook is always a popular dinner option for me. As much as I enjoy cooking and experimenting with new recipes and foods, not having to cook and being able to sit back, relax and let the food come to you is always a nice treat. Whether that’s a quick takeaway from my favourite Chinese (seriously, it is the BEST Chinese takeaway in the UK), a cute little café in the park or a slightly posher (but not too posh) restaurant for a lavish 3-course meal. Most cities are a hub for restaurants and places to eat and living close to London, there’s a restaurant or takeout literally everywhere you look. But of course not all dining experiences are positive, we’ve all been left disappointed by a meal that’s not been entirely up to scratch (or if you’re really unlucky, been given food poisoning from it!)
Continue reading “My ideal dining experience & dream menu! *”
I love an outdoor activity. I would much rather spend the day outside in the fresh air than cooped up inside somewhere and almost all of my day out activities – and even holiday activities – will mostly be outside. When I was a kid, my parents took me on plenty of days out and the majority of them I remember (or know from photos) were also outside. I think I was brought up to just enjoy being in the open air, rather than cooped up somewhere warm and stuffy and enjoying what the outdoors has to offer. Which is a lot! I’m still a big kid at heart and I rarely do “grown up” things like go to posh restaurants, go to the theatre or even go shopping anymore! My shopping is done online and my days out are outside and I probably wouldn’t have it any other way.
We might be at the tail end of Summer, with the nights getting longer, the weather getting colder and the pumpkin spice latte’s out in full force but that certainly doesn’t mean that we have to limit our time outside and stop enjoying the great outdoors, just because the temperature has gone down a notch. I absolutely love Autumn and Winter, they’re my favourite times of year. There’s nothing quite like stepping outside your front door and feeling that crisp air that marks the end of the long, hot Summer.
I think it’s safe to say that the vast majority of us will have some experience with sport at some point or another in our lives. From sports day at Primary School, to P.E lessons at High School, going to football matches with your Dad or even a career in the sport industry later in life. I have a long history with sport and in fact, this can be a pretty sensitive topic for me because back in Secondary School, my goal was to study Sports Science at University and then go on to be a fitness instructor or a nutritionist or something in the sporting industry. I loved sports, I loved P.E and I loved being active but unfortunately, life sometimes has other plans.
I recently turned 26 and I freaked out about it a little bit (if you’d like to read the entire rambly freak-out post, please feel free). I hate getting older, I hate the reminders of all the things I have yet to achieve and all the things I wish I’d already done but either never got around too or was too chicken shit to actually do them. In general, my birthday and the period around my birthday is a time of reflection for me – but it never normally ends with wonderful revelations, just with me crying into a slice of birthday cake. But an opportunity arose shortly after which after a bit of brainstorming, gave me the idea of this post.
I’m sure most of us are familiar with the feeling of getting back from holiday, checking out bank account and having to do a double or triple take at the figure in front of our eyes. I visited The Lake District back in 2015 and splashed away hundreds and hundreds of pounds on top of the price of the cottage and found myself frantically ringing my Mum one day when we were out exploring because neither of us had our bank cards and I looked in my purse and had no money for petrol! It was either embarrassingly ring my Mum and ask her to save me or be stranded in the middle of The Lake District. I can handle a bit of embarrassment!
Continue reading “Simple ways to save and budget on your family holiday *”
