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Showing posts from 2019

A Wedding In December - Blog Tour & Review (Gifted)

Alive, Alive, Alive - this was the word that kept jumping into my head as I was reading, enjoying, and honestly losing myself in Sarah Morgan's Christmas release, A Wedding In December. Every word and scene just jumped out of the page and brought so many pictures to my mind, I think it's safe to say I am now dreaming of cosy log cabins and Aspen winters. I'm a bit sad to have finished the book now, but excited to join in the blog tour and hopefully introduce some new people to Sarah's books. I'm like a moth to the flame when it comes to Christmas books, I browse the shelves and want them all (despite a slightly big reading pile at home), but Sarah Morgan is a new author to me, so I started reading with no expectations or assumptions. I think this made reading A Wedding In December an even better experience. The story follows the White Family: Maggie the mum, who is unsatisfied with life and work and on the verge of divorce, Nick the adventurer and university p

Elaine Everest - The Teashop Girls Review *gifted

I don't know about anyone else but my love of historical fiction goes up and down, and when it's down it's normally because I am bored, finding too many similar themes and places, and not much originality in the books I'm reading. Recently I was *gifted a copy of The Teashop Girls a new novel from Elaine Everest, and things are looking up. I was skeptical before I started reading, expecting something along similar lines to Elaine's Woolworths Girls series, just in a tearoom, not a shop. Although there was a touch of familiarity about it, there was also quite a collection of interesting characters that really made this story stand out. It's always the quiet ones you have to watch, and Mr Cardew is quite possibly the quietest of them all. He is barely mentioned in the novel, let alone suspected for the secrets he hides, so for me, it's a bombshell moment when those are revealed. It's an unexpected piece of writing, in a time when we are well used t

Liv Austen - A Moment Of Your Time (Album Review)

One of the best things about music is that breath of fresh air it can bring, when you need something new. Everything seems a bit samey, and then an artist comes along that just wakes you up and makes you pay attention! Liv Austen does just that. The Norwegian singer-songwriter first came to my attention when she did a duet with Alexis Gerred on his album (read the review here ), and although it took me a little while to get the album, I am so glad I did. The industry has ever so slightly pigeon-holed Liv as a country artist, and I can hear hints of that in the album, but in reality this is a pop record with many influences. There are soulful ballads, upbeat punchy pop, a slight touch of urban attitude, and some indie guitars creeping into the mix, all of which makes for an easy to listen to, press repeat when you’re done record. Window Shopping was the track that convinced me to give the album a try, and it’s still a favourite. The lyrical story interwoven with shopping

Sharon White Stationery Review

Although I have missed the boat with World Letter Writing Day (1st September), I think letter writing should be celebrated all year round, and I very much hope it's not dying out. Who doesn't love getting happy mail land on the doormat. I was recently given the chance to receive and review a selection of stationery from mixed media artist Sharon White. Sharon has exhibited at the London Fashion and Textile Museum and Dubai International Art Festivals, and has worked the Strictly pro dancers and craft fan Kirstie Allsopp. The online store on her website features some wall-art, cushions, and her recent stationery release, and to give you an idea of style, this artist likes bling, pearls, crystals, fabric and floral accents. Sharon has chosen to magnify elements of some of her paintings to create the cushions and stationery. I received samples of her correspondence cards, which all have foil greetings at the top on one side, with wording such as hey, hello lovely and guess w

Me, Myself, and 90's Nostalgia *hosted

I have a big birthday coming up soon, and I am not happy about how the numbers are adding up this year, but a bit of nostalgia never hurt right? even if it does make me feel old! The '90s were (whispers quietly) my teenage years, remembered for watching Thunderbirds after swimming on a Friday, tussling with friends over who got what ice pop at the shops after school, and saving pennies to buy a Tamagotchi to look after, something which I was probably too old for. Other favourites include binge-watching The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air - the fairly recent video from Graham Norton's show of Will Smith, Jaiden Smith, Alfonso, and DJ Jazzy Jeff is a beautiful thing. Challenging my sister to a skip-it challenge (still a big kid that would probably do this again!) was also a favourite weekend activity. My main memories of the ’90s though all circle around music, and the big part it played and still does play in my life. I was always happy around music, listening to it, dancin

Essential Oils You Can't Do Without - Book Review *gifted

Hi all, Hope everyone is well, and having a good week. If not, then maybe this book review can help a little. I was recently *gifted a copy of this book all about essential oils, and have just finished, what turned out to be a much better than expected book. The content of the book is centred around 6 essential oils: tea tree, lemon, lavender, peppermint, rosemary cineole, and damask rose, plus some bonus oils. It's divided up into easy to digest sections, first an overview of each of the main oils featured, and then how to use them. Part 2 has sections for beauty, mind and body, and the home with different sub sections in between. Skin concerns are divided up by age brackets, there are ideas for different rooms in the house, and some useful massage techniques that you can practice yourself. PROS: Good, clear advice in the comments at the start of each section on how long to use the oils for, and when to get advice on use and application.  Easy to follow ideas with prec

Alteya Organics Lip Balm Review *gifted

How is this for timing; a new lip balm arrived in the post to review just as I have been suffering with dry skin and lips. Not sure why that's happening as the weather is starting to look up, but thank you to those who gifted me a sample of Alteya Organics Lip Balm. These lip balms are USDA certified 100% organic, chemical and GMO free, and is marked as not tested on animals. As with many lip balms out there, they also claim to soothe, moisturise, and fight signs of ageing on the packaging. The different options are: Rose Jasmine and Ylang Ylang Vanilla and Geranium Lavender and Mint Grapefruit and Zoravetz Lavender I am always drawn to the lip balm section of any shop, and have on occasion ended up with a little collection of balms with various scents/ingredients, so this was a review I was looking forward to, although I admit to being a bit sceptical when I saw I had been sent the lavender and mint version. I love both things, and use mint lip balms quite often, b

Elaine Everest - A Gift From Woolworths Book Review

Hi all, I was very lucky to be invited to join in my very first book tour last year for the latest book in the Woolworth's Girls series, and it was a lot of fun to send in my questions, and read everyone else's posts. You can read my stop on the blog tour HERE . I was also kindly gifted the book to review as well, and have finally got around to putting my pen to paper and writing a review. One of the first things that struck me about this novel, having read the other books in the series, was the marked change in tone and mood within the characters. They are no longer fearful of war, they are fearful of life when the war ends, and the changes that will bring. It's quite an intense piece of writing that really brings home how the female characters adjusted to life in wartime, and their new found independence, and work home/life. What's also interesting, is the contrast between the characters that seem to embrace change and look forward to moving on, and those wh

Passion In The Bones - Elaine Howard - Book Preview

"We are never too old to learn and pursue new adventures" This quote comes from Elaine Howard, an American attorney, palaeontology enthusiast, and now author, who has released her book Passion in the Bones: A Guide to Breaking the Chains of Negativity and Living Your Own Adventure. I've been lucky enough to be invited on to the blog tour for this release, so for my stop I thought I'd preview the book and the ideas behind it, and maybe someday soon (I have a huge reading pile to get through first) some of you will join me in checking out the full book for yourselves. One of the things that appealed to me when I was sent details of this book, was the creative angles taken. Creativity and well-being for me go hand in hand always, so for Elaine to link mind-set, mental health, and pursuing your passions, to her passion for dinosaurs is intriguing. Passion in the Bones has been described as a 'step by step guide to changing your mind set, exploring your inter

Colouring A Sunset Scene - Handmade Card Project

I've been watching some Instagram stories lately with nature and sunsets in them - two things I love to see, experience, and watch, and just on impulse the other night decided to get my colouring pencils out and try and create a sunset myself. I count myself as a crafter much more than an artist, but have a collection of adult colouring books, and love playing around sometimes. To help me with this doodle I looked up sunset images on Google, and chose a scene with the type of colours I was looking for, that I thought I could do a version of. I coloured on to white card, and tried to blend in the shading as much as possible. When I was happy with the result I added in a little landscape of rocks, inspired by Roque Nublo in Gran Canaria, which I had just mentioned in an article on the island, and a touch of glitter, as white pencil does not show up enough and I needed to create some whiter cloud parts. As a finishing touch I mounted the finished piece on card, then added a

Going To Gigs & Anxiety

Although life with anxiety is never plain sailing, and there is still a long way to go to get my life where I want it to be, one of the things I am most proud of is my gig-going adventures. They are and have been just local, and are not without their challenges, but to have pushed myself to do as much as I have done, is something that I always come back to for motivation. I think part of it is that music is a powerful motivation. I've always been a huge fan of music, it makes me feel alive! I enjoy music and dance-based films, sometimes write lyrics, and more recently I have written about it as a freelance writer. So that has pushed me where other things haven't, and perhaps the other thing is I have done all this on my own. I'm not always the best with any kind of planning and social expectations and don't really have a close social circle locally for support on these outings. I have tried and succeeded, tried and failed, tried and found things got a lot easier. It&#