The very best budget mascara.

After 25 years of searching, I’ve found a £3.30 mascara that’s as good as any I’ve ever tried. Get to Wilko!

Best birthday parties in Cheshire and beyond!

I realised, last weekend, that I have thrown 15 children’s parties, making me experienced, if far from expert. Since it’s a proposition that seems to throw a number of my friends into the pits of despair, I have written a post with some different types of celebrations that have been tried and tested.
The venues and services listed are local to me, in Cheshire and thereabouts, but there will be equivalents, whereever you are.

Super easy, super cheap, home made body scrub.

I was amazed by how well this cheap and easy homemade body scrub worked. You’ve probably got the ingredients in your kitchen to make this within the next 3 minutes.

Jo Malone and Zara Emotions – happy days for perfume bargain hunters.

I love a new perfume and this Jo Malone bargain buy has found a very welcoming home on my dresser.

Overnight oats

Overnight oats – they’re no lookers, but they’re tasty and substantial and nutritious – and prepared in advance, which is good news for those of us who are very much not morning people.

The quest for calm.

With a nocturnal 7 year old and a naughty cat, the quest for calm is very real.

Podcast investigation

Some great podcasts to take your mind off whatever it wants to be distracted from.

My best tips for new mums.

I’ve been a mum for ten years now and demonstrate regularly that I have much left to learn. Here are a few things I picked up during the baby years, that I hope may be of use to someone earlier in the journey.

Easy reading for busy brains.

A good book can do a frazzled mind a lot of good, I find. Here are some non-taxing reads for those times you need some easy distraction.

Beauty bargain bonanza

I’ve just turned 40 and am not finding that my cosmetic usage is showing any signs of slowing down. Imagine.
Here are some of the products I’ve been using recently that won’t break the bank but are particularly pleasing in their own little way.

Why every mum needs a faux fur coat.

Being rather wimpy, I’m a big fan of outerwear and decided that there are 5 sorts that deserve a place in every mum’s wardrobe. In honour of the recent cold snap, here I am sharing some fabulous faux fur finery – and fun facts. Have a read and let me know what you think!

Back to school

As the summer holidays wind up, here are a few thoughts about the return to school from a teacherly perspective.

Best books for summer holiday reading – 7 suggestions… and a few bonuses.

I’ve always been a bookworm – you might say ‘spoddy’. In recognition of this, one of my dearest friends put in a request – rather like at a school disco – but for a blogpost about some good books to read over the summer, rather than for a second spin of Gangnam Style. I really…

Exercise classes – what a newbie needs to know.

I really must stress, like so much of what I write on this blog, all advice offered in this post is entirely unsolicited. Nobody has ever approached me in the street, asking for tips on how to create this type of physique, and I rather think that if it hasn’t happened yet, it’s not going…

The perils of cat ownership.

The house is alarmingly quiet this morning with the little badgers being ‘on holiday’ at Nanny and Papa’s for a full weekend; in part to accommodate our party-going tonight and in part because it’s so much more fun being spoiled rotten there, than being harried by a tiresome mother at home. It has been rather…

Camping for the clueless: my 5 top tips for beginners.

My husband has been promising our firstborn a camping trip for several years. Last summer, in a bid to lend credibility to his promises we bought a tent, but busy lives, disappointing weather – and perhaps a faint undercurrent of reluctance – meant it has lain dormant. Until this last gloriously sunny Bank holiday weekend……