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I am a multi-award winning blogger, photographer and writer from London. I’ve travelled to over 38 countries, lived out of a backpack for a year and love to scuba dive! This site is a destination for all things travel, lifestyle and my successful online book club.

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Beauty Pie Review: easy skincare for new mums

Someone I Used To Know, Paige Toon

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Reasons to Have an Intimate Wedding
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50 Must-Read Books
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7 Things to Know Before Renovating Your Kitchen
Accepting That I Can't Do Everything
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Coming Off the Pill: How I Feel Three Months On
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The First Trimester: My Pregnancy Diary

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ad| 6 brilliant books I’ve read in 2021! Save th

ad| 6 brilliant books I’ve read in 2021! Save this post for later for some ultimate reading inspo 📚
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📖 Finlay Donovan is Killing It: a funny ‘just one more chapter’ parody about a chaotic mum who gets mistaken for a contract killer…
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📖 I Am Pilgrim: don’t think spy novels are your thing? Me neither. Read this.
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📖 The Authenticity Project: if you’re looking for an easy, feel-good read with heaps of charm then this is for you.
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📖 This Lovely City: set in Windrush Britain, a story of love and race with a heart wrenching crime at its core.
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📖 The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo: 1950’s Old Hollywood glam, brilliantly real characters and LGBTQ+ themes come together in this book that’s so well written, it’s hard to believe it’s not a true story.
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📖 Educated: Tara Westover’s memoir on growing up in a survivalist family who don’t believe in education or healthcare but do believe in the Illuminati. Poignant and SUPER interesting!
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Reading on a sun lounger somewhere hot is one of my favourite things to do, ever. I’ve been a kindle convert for over 10 years now and have been trying out the @amazonuk Kindle Oasis on holiday. It’s brilliant! As well as all the known and loved features (long battery, huge storage, zero glare, backlight) it’s also waterproof, holds audiobooks, has a high res screen and a sleek ergonomic design making it so comfy to hold in either hand for long periods of reading bliss!
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What shall I read next? Which books have you loved recently?

ad| TRAVELLING WITH A BABY 👶🏼✈️
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Before coming away, I knew I’d need to adjust my expectations about holidaying with a baby. My main concerns were the heat and whether we would relax!
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He’s been brilliant. Sure, he did NOT get the sleep memo, but thankfully being sleep deprived on a sun lounger is far more pleasant than on the sofa.
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This is what has worked for us:
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🧳 Packing light! Some feel comforted by having ALL the stuff but I knew that would stress me. He’s got clothes, swimwear, a few small toys, carrier & YOYO pram
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(TUI give infants 10KG - can be mixed with your luggage - plus a free pram and carseat. There is a cot & steriliser in our room)
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✈️ I fed for take off, he slept for landing. On the way home I’ll ask for an aisle seat, I felt bad for the woman who kept having to move for us! Long haul, I’d want extra leg room if possible. He did get a bit bored but it just meant less reading my book and more jiggling! Bring spare clothes: of course the plane is the PERFECT time for a 💩 leak…
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🌞 He’s been happy in the shade (it’s 30° with a breeze). I packed UV suits, hats and sunglasses.
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🍽 He can’t sit in a high chair so he’s not a great dinner date. Instead, we’ve been doing bedtime routine then putting him to sleep in the pram with a SnoozeShade, white noise machine and Rockit!
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😴 Nap times: sometimes we’ve done room naps but mainly in the pram in the shade poolside with a SnoozeShade.
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🍹 Nursery: my biggest, most pleasant surprise! We’ve been using the TUI nursery occasionally. Totally not something I planned on but it’s LOVELY, the staff are amazing, it adheres to UK regs and he has a brilliant time playing in the AC while we enjoy a cocktail in the sun and a chance to be a couple instead of Mummy & Daddy for an hour or two. We’ve even got his ‘artwork’ to take home 🥺😍

What have you found has worked for you?

@tuiuk @atlanticahotels 🏝

ad| Feel confident on holiday knowing that your ho

ad| Feel confident on holiday knowing that your home is secure with the Ring Home Security System. With door alarms, motion sensors and optional cameras, you can keep an eye wherever you are in the world. The range extender means you can even ensure garden offices, sheds and garages are secure. Personalise a ‘home’ and ‘away’ mode to bring you peace whether you’re going on holiday or simply heading to bed for the night (build it into your Alexa bedtime routine!) and check in on your property via the nifty app, where you’ll find all your Ring products together.

Having experienced the utter devastation and sense of violation that comes with being burgled once before, I find this home security system really reassuring. It’s so easy to set up and install too, with no need to hardwire if that doesn’t suit your home or rental.

Do you have home security? @ring #RingofSecurity

Holiday Ziggy is such a mood 🦓⚡️🌊

Holiday Ziggy is such a mood 🦓⚡️🌊

I’ve always been bad at switching off. Sometime

I’ve always been bad at switching off.

Sometimes I have to remind myself that I don’t always need to be a step ahead of myself. That it’s important to close the hundred brain tabs and just focus on what is right here, now.

In many ways, becoming a mum [and the last few years as a whole] has made me considerably more mellow because I realise how little I actually have control over. In my limited experience, it’s far more stressful when a rigid routine veers off course.

Still, that doesn’t necessarily make it easy to go with the flow nor to let go of worries that only force you to potentially live out that particular concern twice — once in your head and once maybe, possibly, probably not, in real-time.

Is it a self-imposed uptightness? A societal pressure to bear emotional labour? Is it even a bad thing?

I remember listening to an audiobook on mindfulness once about placing a raisin on your tongue and really taking time to notice everything about that raisin. It’s taste, texture, shape, chew.

The weird guilt I still carry at not being more present, at not being able to watch a beautiful sunset without thinking about something that’s happening in 3 weeks time, or what’s for dinner, or that mortifying time you got properly stuck in the railway ticket barriers 6 years ago.
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How easy do you find it to switch off?
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(Sod the raisin. I prefer liquid grapes anyway. 🍇🍷)

My favourite dinner date 🌸💕
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…Just kidding 😝 We’ve been putting Z to bed in the pram and then taking him to dinner asleep which has been really lovely. Like a date night every night! Yesterday he had a very late siesta so decided to join us at the restaurant annnd…nope. Firmly prefer it when he’s a peacefully snoozing participant! We’re at such an awkward ~ too small for a high chair ~ too sassy & independent for a lap ~ stage.
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Ziggy’s night sleep has been pretty terrible since we’ve been away and no matter how lovely and sunny the setting, sleep deprivation still feels as dark and stifling. Thankfully, all inclusive iced coffee helps. ☕️🙏🏼
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(ad - @tuiuk @atlanticahotels)

Postcards from Paphos! We took the local bus from

Postcards from Paphos! We took the local bus from the resort (€1.50 a trip or €5 for unlimited day travel) to wander around the Old Town. We found it really quiet and there wasn’t a whole load to do, but that did make wandering around the market and eating gyros in the sun all the more satisfying (especially as tiny human slept most of the time) 😋☕️
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Some cute spots in Paphos Old Town:
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☕️ Grafico for courtyard seating and tasty iced coffee
🥙 Souvlaki Livadias for Greek gyros
🍲 Laona restaurant for checked table cloths and casseroles
🦞 Christos Grill & Seafood for fish with a great sea view
👛 Old town market for a wander & tourist tat
🧿 PSI cute gift shop with jewellery and homeware
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The bus stops right outside our hotel which is super handy and it takes about 40 mins (it has aircon!) to the harbour where you can explore or get a further short bus to the Old Town or to Coral Bay for a sandy beach. 🌞
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(ad - we’re in Cyprus primarily on a press trip at @atlanticahotels Aphrodite Hills with @tuiuk)

ad| We made it 😍✈️🏝 lil photo dump from

ad| We made it 😍✈️🏝 lil photo dump from our first 24 hours in Cyprus. It feels utterly surreal and utterly AMAZING to be abroad again and with a new little traveller too.
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We arrived at the TUI Sensatori Aphrodite Hills resort a few days ago. The sun is shining and we’re loving finding our groove as it’s both our first family holiday and our first real experience of an all-inclusive resort. What I really like is the Sensatori ethos; you can do as much or as little as you want with relaxation and fun being at the heart of everything.
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In our first 24 hours we’ve explored the beautiful grounds, Ziggy’s had his first taste of food (!) - watermelon from the breakfast buffet - and he’s even played in the lovely nursery while Mummy & Daddy enjoyed a blissful hour lying by the pool with a cocktail!
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I’m so excited to share all with you, from baby travel to pandemic times to our honest firsthand experience of a TUI package holiday. What are you most keen to know? What are your preconceptions of resort life or a package/all inclusive?
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@TUIUK @atlanticahotels 🌞✨

ad I can’t believe my teeny baby is now in his b

ad I can’t believe my teeny baby is now in his big nursery 🥺 We safely keep an eye on him using the Ring Stick Up Cam. It’s wireless and can be stuck to any flat surface or easily wall mounted - usually we pop it on top of his wardrobe! It has all the functions you need from a cam monitor; HD video, two-way talk, night vision and can be accessed through a live stream or motion notifications from the Ring app! You can also connect it to your existing Amazon products. Don’t need a baby cam anymore? Just pop it anywhere else around your home, inside or out (!) for 24/7 security. @ring #RingofSecurity

Oh my boy 😍🤍🦙 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Oh my boy 😍🤍🦙
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I forgot to take these as regularly as I meant to, so instead it’s a sleep-suit progression from tiny baby (2 weeks old) to newborn (8 weeks old) to 0-3m (22 weeks old).
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Lucas the llama: @cuddleandkind
Sleepsuit: @johnlewis Anyday Collection (really good value:quality!)

ad Alexa, is it the weekend yet? 😴 The Echo Dot

ad Alexa, is it the weekend yet? 😴 The Echo Dot with Clock is the latest Amazon device to level up our home! Its sleek spherical design with LED display looks at home on your bedside, desk or on a shelf in a living area. And of course, it comes with all the capabilities of the fourth member of our family - Alexa. I love remotely asking it to set alarms and reminders, play the radio, music on Spotify or pick up my audiobook where I left off on my phone. It plays Ziggy white noise at bedtime, links to the rest of our Ring devices to alert me when someone’s at the front door and I can add that random item to my shopping list I remembered whilst getting ready for bed. 👏🏼 Do you use any Amazon Alexa devices? If so, what do you think? @amazonuk #AskAlexa #AmazonDevices

—> Swipe for a surprise 🤗🧁 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

—> Swipe for a surprise 🤗🧁
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I can’t believe this little pumpkin is 6 months in a couple of weeks! Half a year! I’ve definitely found this 4-6m period way tougher than the newborn days. Clinger-meets-go away mum-meets-ALL the energy-meets-didn’t you know I was actually tired 2 minutes ago? Oops well, looks like I won’t be having that nap then 👋🏼😅
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At the same time, he’s so responsive and joyful and he’s got the funniest, sunniest smile. What a🎢…
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Onesie: @tiggyinthemiddle

Just a blue eyed angel and his octopus. It’s the

Just a blue eyed angel and his octopus. It’s the hand for me 👼🏼🐙
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It’s been a trying day but then I look at this little face and it’s all worth it times a million. And sometimes responsible adulting is a glass of wine and peanut butter toast for dinner, right?
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Sleepsuit: @tuclothing
Octopus: @jellycat_official
Sheepskin play mat: @binibamba via @naturalbabyshower (ad/pr)

SNOO Mini Review 💭😴 *ad/pr
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We’ve been using the @happiest_baby_uk Snoo since Z was 3 weeks. He’s spent his final night in it as he moved into his nursery today 💕
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We were given the Snoo in exchange for content. I should start by saying that to start with, I left it in the box. I wasn’t sure. However a week after bringing Z home - a week of wakes every 30 mins - we set it up in desperation which was a FAB decision.
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The Snoo is a responsive crib offering sound & motion to mimic the womb. The volume & speed adjusts with baby’s fussing to soothe them and the swaddle settles the Moro reflex & keeps them safely on their back.
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We loved 🥰:
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👍🏼 That it’s so safe. It really eased my nerves, especially post NICU. He also loved the swaddle
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👍🏼 On night 1, he went from wakes every 30 mins to every 2 hours which felt like a spa break
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👍🏼 By 8 weeks he was sleeping 10/12 hours solid every night! Thank you sweet Snoo Jesus
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👍🏼 Great data on the app plus recommendations for transitioning, including a weaning mode ready for big cot
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👍🏼 It looks nice!
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Not sure on 💭:
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💰 The cost: it’s £1145 at full price which is a LOT for a 0-6m cot. Is it worth it? Yes. Is it astronomical? Also yes.
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They often have 30% off so I’d definitely wait ‘til then to & in the US they have a rental system which is more economical and enviro friendly. Hopefully this rolls out in the UK soon.
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Final thoughts: the Snoo is not a miracle, it didn’t cure our 4mo sleep ‘regression’, BUT it did save my sanity and help Ziggy sleep better. You actually *can* put a price on sleep. It’s expensive but if you can afford it then I highly recommend. For us, it will be a ‘must’ item for any future babies we’re lucky to have, above other baby purchases.

5 months of Ziggy Rex William 🌈💘⛅️⚡️

5 months of Ziggy Rex William 🌈💘⛅️⚡️🐆
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Not even in my wildest, bravest, most blissful dreams could I have conjured up you.

Here’s one I made earlier 😍👯‍♀️
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We had a LOVELY day. I got some work done (gave me a bit more tangible ‘purpose’), we went swimming with friends (yay) and then Z slept for TWO HOURS in the pram while I wandered in the sunshine, drank iced tea and listened to my audiobook (13km later…)
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After a difficult few weeks of mumming with broken nights, nap refusals and a subsequently grizzly bébé, a simple, successful day made the world of difference 🌞🙌🏼
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What made you happiest today?

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