A Week By The Sea....

Just over a week ago we arrived home from a lovely week spending time nestled in a pine lodge half way between Looe and Polperro in Cornwall, a week that went far too quickly for my liking! Although St Ives and The Lizard have my heart it was nice to stay somewhere I haven't been to in a while.

We spent the week exploring everywhere from Padstow to Fowey, consuming far too many cream teas, shopping in my favourite shops, and enjoying just how dog friendly this part of Cornwall is! Coming from 'up north', it is quite a novelty to be allowed with a dog in almost all shops and eateries as well as many beaches and attractions (we took Elsie around a model village and even an aquarium!).

It was a lovely break and an area of Cornwall that i'd love to go back to again! 

 

Pregnancy: 17 Week Update....

I have had had a few people asking if I would write updates throughout my pregnancy and it is something that I am going to try and keep up although it will probably be every few weeks rather than every week. We'll see how things progress!

I did plan to post this update last week but since Thursday I have had the most horrendous sickness bug and have been bed bound ever since. I'm still unsure if it was the dreaded norovirus or something more sinister but i'm thankfully on the mend now and the prospect of eating or even moving no longer sends me into a pure panic!

So here is what has been happening over the past few weeks.... 

17 weeks, 0 days

- Last Monday I saw the midwife where I got the results from my hospital tests (all ok apart from my awkward blood group!) and heard a very clear heartbeat from the baby for the first time.... this was a magical experience and I'm really looking forward to our 20 week scan which is now just a couple of weeks away! 

- Cravings have well and truly kicked in over the past few weeks, at the moment I am obsessed with grapefruits. Luckily this is a craving that only kicks in at night time but it feels like the more of them I eat and the more juice I drink, the more I want! Since I only take Pregnacare now and have had to stop taking my usual pre-pregnancy supplements, I guess my body is wanting the vits that the grapefruity goodness provides.... I'm not complaining, they taste goooood!   

- I have been using Burt's Bees Mama Bee 'Belly Butter' religiously every morning and evening for a few weeks now and I'm really, really loving it. I had been using various products before I purchased this one including the 'Mum & Me' stretch mark cream but the smell was overpowering and stupidly sickly so I'm very glad that I switched products! The Burt's Bees Belly Butter has virtually no scent and is made with cocoa butter, vitamin E and no nasties.... it is a joy to use and I think I'll stick with this throughout now!

Burt's Bees Mama Bee 'Belly Butter'

- Apart from outgrowing and constantly needing to replace bras recently, actual maternity clothes have definitely not been required yet as I dress quite comfortably anyway but my work clothes are feeling super snug. It won't be long at all before I need to go shopping for something I can actually fit into.
Out of work I wear dresses all the time so these have been no problem at all so far and I'll be in them a long while yet! Being super ill over the last week has meant that I have lost quite a bit of weight however and I'm quite disappointed that my steadily growing tummy has suddenly decreased in size, I'm sure i'll catch up again soon though! 

- Pregnancy congestion/nosebleeds.... I didn't even know such a symptom existed but for about a month now I have not been able to breathe at night which has led to bad sleep and terrible nightmares almost every night. It's the one thing I'm really not enjoying especially knowing that there's not much I can do about it! 

Happy Yankee Candle Ownership: Part 3 - Choosing Your Scent & Mixology....

It has been a long time coming but here is part 3 of my "Happy Yankee Candle Ownership" blog posts!

Choosing Your Scent....

If you're relatively new to Yankee Candle, choosing a scent to buy from the many on offer couldn't be easier! Everyone has their favourite kind of scent. For me, I love food and festive scents in the winter and clean fresh scents in the summer so heading for a type of fragrance or 'fragrance family' as Yankee call it will instantly narrow down your choice and help you to choose your next candle. 

Having these fragrance families is especially helpful if you're buying blind (buying online or from QVC for example) as coupled with the gorgeous descriptions that Yankee always give you'll know just what kind of scent to expect in the post! 

Every Yankee Candle fragrance is grouped by a specific scent family and these are always noted by a gold circle on the bottom right hand side of every jar candle.....

It's in this gold label that you'll also find the special 'collectors editions' so keep an eye out for these! 

There are five main groups that you can choose from and within these you'll find both true to life and fantasy fragrances. The fragrance families are:

Floral: Includes Fresh Cut Roses, French Lavender and Garden Sweet Pea
Food & Spice: Includes Strawberry Buttercream, Cinnamon Stick and Kitchen Spice
Festive: Includes Sparkling Snow, Happy Christmas and White Christmas
Fruit: Includes Wild Passion Fruit, Mango Peach Salsa and Sweet Strawberry
Fresh: Includes Clean Cotton, Fluffy Towels and Pink Sands

Fragrances within these families are often rotated and retired to make way for new scents so it is worth getting to know which scents are the constant bestsellers and which scents are due to be retired so that you can stock up just in case you fall in love with a fragrance that isn't always for sale! 

Mixology.... 

Mixology is the name given to the art of creating new fragrances by mixing together two or more of your scents. There are a few really super easy ways of doing this and by knowing your scent families, you'll soon get the knack of knowing what scents goes with others!

There are two main methods of creating your own fragrances and the easiest way is by using the scented wax tarts. Simply select two or three different wax tarts and use a knife to either halve or third and place the equivalent of one tart of wax in a tart warmer. Once the wax has melted it will combine to create a completely new scent!

With sampler votive candles, you can purchase a triple votive holder that will readily hold three different candles that melt together and pool to create wonderful new scents. Ensure that you place a few drops of water in the base of the holder before you insert your candles, this allows the wax to be easily removed once you're done!

Votive mixology gift set

The fragrance combinations are limited only by your imagination but there are official lists created by Mixologists if you get a bit stuck. You can find these with a simple search on google! Here is a pretty concise list of Mixology recipes to get you going though over at Yankee Direct.

My favourite scent combination is Fluffy Towels and French Lavender which is just perfect for the bedroom  or bath time in the evening! So utterly relaxing, it truly is blissful!

Part 1: Buying and Basic Tips....
Part 2: Different Types of Candles....

Part 4: Coming soon! 

My Seasalt Wish List....

I'm off to Cornwall soon and as you may well remember, whenever I am there I always make a visit (or three) to Seasalt. Seasalt have long been my favourite brand and I always look forwards to stocking up on their gorgeous clothes and pretty jute bags whenever I'm down there. 

The newest catalogue arrived on my doorstep this morning and I spent a while pawing at the pages lusting over everything, admiring the beautiful photography and getting ridiculously excited for my holiday. I've put together a bit of a wish list so here are a few of the things I'd really love to be bringing home with me in my suitcase.... 

Take a look at the Seasalt website for many more clothes, accessories and to read their blog which is also pretty awesome! 

Pugs, Flowers and Steak....

The weather app on my phone said it was an insane 20 degrees here today though it honestly didn't feel like it with all that wind we've had! 

We took Elsie off out early this morning for a walk round the Botanical Gardens just by where we live. I think it is one of her favourite places to visit as there are often lots of squirrels, small dogs to play with and plenty of different plants to sniff! 

We had a good walk round and for once I remembered to take my camera out with me. The gardens are lovely in the spring, the pink blossoms and magnolia blooms are just starting to make an appearance.... so pretty! Seeing the blossom here always reminds me that it's not long until Sheffield transforms into snooker city for the world championship and then both summer and holidays are not far away. 

After our walk we all popped over to the Rose Cottage tearooms in Castleton for lunch. I opted for my usual steak ciabatta with chips and salad (it is naughty but very, very good!) and then shared a chocolate gateaux with hubby for dessert. Delicious! 

I hope you have all had a lovely weekend and managed to get a bit of sun where you are! x

A Sunny Saturday in Buxton....

Yesterday was by far the warmest and sunniest day of the year so far so we decided to make the most of it by jumping into the car and getting out into Derbyshire. We stopped by one of our favourite garden centres  for lunch on our way out as they serve the most delicious food (and cake!). I opted for a simple homemade spicy butternut squash soup complete with a pile of sandwiches and followed it with the most gorgeous dandelion and burdock cake. I forgot to take photos of my food because it was quickly devoured but it was so, so good! 

Afterwards we spent the afternoon having a wander round Buxton where we did a spot of charity shop shopping and had a walk round the park. Elsie loved sitting in the sunshine watching the ducks in the pond and people loved making a fuss of her in her new diamante studded collar and harness that we got her for her birthday! She looks so cute at the moment, doesn't she?! 

I hope you have all had a lovely sunny weekend! x

I'm Pregnant!

If you're friends with me via twitter or facebook (or of course if you know me in real life!) then you'll already be up to speed here but I just wanted to announce that I am pregnant! Hubby and I are thrilled to bits and very excited for our new arrival, due to arrive around the 7th October 2013! 

So far my symptoms have been mostly bearable with no sickness whatsoever (yippee!). I have however been suffering from aversions to pretty much most foods, craving orange juice like mad and don't even get me started on exhaustion.... a three hour afternoon nap has become pretty much a much needed and essential part to my day!  

I have just passed the 13 week mark and I hope to keep you updated here along the way. I expect these next few months shall probably fly by, especially if I'm spending half my time asleep hehe!