In words we find comfort...

Wednesday 19 June 2013


Today seems like a good day to make a gratitude list, you see despite the blue skies we have here things seemed rather grey this morning and my lust for life had all but disappeared. Illness, sleep deprivation, disorganisation and disappointment were all playing major parts in my life story and I was feeling achingly out of control, I really wanted to get back under the duvet and hide there all day! I couldn't though, I had commitments and responsibilities which I managed to drag myself onwards to do, but as I went about my morning something in me started to lift slightly, influenced by the thoughts and kindness of other, I started to think about all the things that made me smile, that I was thankful for and that I know were a sure positive in my life, so here is my gratitude list for today...

1. Well the sky is actually blue and there is lots of sunshine.
2. LC wanted lots of cuddles with me this morning, despite being grumpy.
3. I am going to London on Friday to spend time with lots of people I am very fond of, and I am sure to make some new friends too!
4. I am visiting the V&A museum on Sunday, a place I love and rarely go to these days.
5. I a mere 4 weeks we are off to Portugal!
6. People I love are getting married soon, I am so excited to be a part of their love stories!
7. We are really chasing our dream of moving to Canada, we are actually going for it!
8. I have lost 2 dress sizes in 4 months, I feel lighter and healthier.
9. My husbands kindness and understanding.
10. People around me, in many guises, who get what I'm going through...
11. That we were able to save the baby bird that our cat brought in this morning!
12. I have 4 hours to myself this afternoon...

Now that I've started I could actually go on, I realise that there is much to be appreciative for and writing a gratitude list really helps me to see this, sometimes we all need a bit of help finding the positives in life and writing it down is a useful way of doing it I think.

I also don't want to forget the people around me to who have, unbeknown to them, inspired me to do this today, just by by sharing conversation with them about how I'm feeling what's going on and general chit chat my mind has been provoked to think about some great things happening right here, right now in my life.

So in dedication to their kind spirit and comforting enthusiasm here is a some bedtime reading for tonight...

Twins Tiara's and Tantrums
City girl gone coastal
Mum Ramblings
Mission2Mum
MYCreative

I'm a great believer in Karma so I expect these ladies are all due some good fortune soon or at least something that comes their way to give them a smile...

Have you ever written a gratitude list? What do you do when you need to look on the sunnier side of life?
Do leave me a comment, I would be very thankful for that too!

Monday's Moment of Wisdom - Pearl Number 42

Monday 17 June 2013



“Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.” 

Wow - this one really spoke to me over the weekend! It describes me or rather what I tend to do, always asking who am I, what do I represent, what do I want, what am I going to achieve? Sometimes I think I waste too much time asking too many questions and pondering what I should be doing instead of getting off my butt and just doing something, anything because my life isn't going to happen if I sit around waiting for the universe to give me answers, I need to go out and live, do and experience and then I will find them for myself! 

Feel Good Friday - Weekend Inspiration...

Friday 14 June 2013



Just a quick Feel Good Friday this week, I can't believe how busy life got lately and with LC coming down with a throat infection this week all my best laid plans have been blown out of the water!

So today I am sharing a few things that have been inspiring me this week!

Weekend inspiration
I came across this lovely tutorial (Thank you Elena from Randomly Happy for twitting the link!) on how to make a peplum T-shirt - getting creative always boosts me!

A lovely friend of mine has been talking about meditation to me and I am intrigued so when I spotted this I was eager to try it out(PS if you can't get the video to work, look it up on YouTube, its well worth the hassle!)

I've been dreaming all about our up coming holiday in Portugal and planning where to explore in Faro, plenty of inspiration and ideas here 

Still eager on my quest to eat healthy this week, this scrumptious new food blog from Mrs Don is giving me inspiration!

I hope you find some inspiration too! I'd love to know what has inspired you this week, any tips or ideas? Do leave me a comment below...

Monday's Moment of Wisdom - Pearl Number 41

Monday 10 June 2013


                               

"I want to know what passion is. I want to feel something strongly.” -  Aldous Huxley

For a while now I have wanted to know more about what my passion is because I'm not always sure exactly what it is I feel strong about and to me it feels like something is missing or maybe just not very clear, I think some clarity is actually what I'm looking for here.

So this week I am setting myself a little project, which I'm very excited about, to help me find out more about me a what those passions might be, burning down deep inside of me...

I'll be posting more about this in the coming week and reveal the finished project piece next week!

A weekend post: being brave, making connections!

Saturday 8 June 2013

It seems that certain themes have been flowing through my life over the last couple of weeks, healthy eating for one but also friendship and a couple of weeks ago I wrote about long standing friendships and what impact they have on shaping how you manage life's ups and downs and today I am touching on the subject of friendship again.

Normally I would of posted a Feel Good Friday post yesterday but I've spent a couple of days up North being a busy lady and having a rare chance to socialise without my husband or toddler in tow! But what was even more special about this time was the new connections that blossomed from it! So today a weekend post for you with some thoughts and inspiration on friendships new....

I was very lucky to attend the Mission2Mum Club Event on Thursday night and I was introduced to some fabulous ladies and got to look at some lovely products including Keungzai and Party Pickles (both run by very friendly, inspiring, hard working women!) A great night was had by all and our host Gemma Guscott worked really hard to make the whole event go smoothly and what a great job she did! I really enjoyed getting an exclusive look at everything there but what I came away with that was more valuable to me was new friendships. I attended the vent on my own and as I was driving there I have to admit I felt a bit anxious, obviously I knew Gemma, but no one else. I had visions of me standing alone in the corner with my virgin cocktail (I was driving) staring off in to space and looking like a lost sheep! I needn't worry because my lovely friend introduced me straight away to some very talented and easy going ladies who actually found me interesting company (I hope!) and spent more time chatting away than looking a all the lovely stuff that was on offer! At the end of the night I felt I had really clicked with the ladies I met and left with what might new friendships to enjoy in the future. Here are some photo's I took from the night, although they aren't the best, I was too busy having fun!





Reflecting back over my time away I am so glad I put myself out there, if I hadn't gone I wouldn't of found new products I love or had the chance to make some genuine new connections, it was nerve wracking and I could of bottled out at the last minute but I sat in my car and thought to myself what's the worse that can happen, I'll have a drink, look at some bits and then if no ones talks to me I can at least enjoy the fact that I got out the house in clean clothes, make up done and just had some time to myself. Anyway, I had the best time and proved to myself that you just never know what's out there waiting for you and seizing opportunities can lead to new experiences, friendships made and exciting times ahead! 

Modelling her fairy accessories from Party Pickles!
So if you find yourself in a similar situation I urge you to seize the moment and go for it, the world is full opportunities to meet new friends, you just have to let yourself be brave enough to reach out! 
I'd love to hear about a new friend in your life, how you met or why you connected, leave me a comment below! 






More thoughs on eating well...

Wednesday 5 June 2013

So this week I have been on a bit of a quest to really eat well and fill my body with healthy stuff and so far so good! I have completely cut out caffeine and allowing myself one small cup of decaffeinated coffee a day - yay me! When I was in my sick bed on Sunday I looked up some of the super foods out there to see what I should be getting more of in to my diet and saw that garlic and onion have some really great health benefits!

Garlic
Did you know garlic can help with skin problems, help boost weight loss, has anti-fungal properties as well as warding off cough and colds? Find out more about garlic and your health here.


 Onion
These bad boys are packed full of antioxidants, can reduce inflammation and even help reduce the symptoms of hay-fever and PMS! Check out this great website about onions for more information.

 
With all these amazing health benefits in mind I made the family a simply yet tasty Garlic Chicken dish for this and it was very yummy, I got to use some fresh herbs out of the garden too which gave the dish a real rustic flavor, there recipe is here.

I would love to know if anyone else has some tried and tested or unusual garlic recipes we could try, if so post me a link below!

Monday's Moment of Wisdom - Pearl Number 40

Monday 3 June 2013

"To keep the body in good health is a duty...
otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear" - Buddha 


Over the weekend my health has slowly gone down hill, I'm not sure why, last week LC went away camping with her Grandparents for 3 days and we actually had 3 nights of full, uninterrupted sleep! It felt like heaven and the OH and I really indulged ourselves with lie-ins and breakfast in bed, we actually had the time before work. So after being so well rested I'm not sure why I then came down with a sore throat and a tickly chest on Friday afternoon, anyway it got worse over the weekend and by Sunday I was confined to my bed and the OH did a fabulous job in taking care of us all.

Being sick has just reinforced to me how run down I have become, it's hardly surprising over the last few months that my body has got over worked with loss, stress and comfort eating, then I lost lots of weight and I think it's just got its self in a pickle and started to give up! So not only do I need to be eating well to maintain my healthy new figure and to boost my chances with infertility as I have already mentioned in last weeks Feel Good Friday post, but also, simply so my body can function and my mind remain strong, I have so much I want to achieve, do, experience that having a healthy body and mind is paramount for this and even more importantly I need to be well for my family, our house goes in to chaos when I'm in my sick bed all day and it's especially unnerving for LC, she gets very worried now when we say I'm sick, even with a cold. 

This week then I will be looking at even more ways to eat myself to optimum health and reporting back to you with what I find, I would love to hear your healthy tips and ideas for eating well too so do leave me a comment below!