Monthly Archives: July 2015

Blogging 201 – Day 2

Posted in Blogging, Blogging 201 by

Blogging 201 Day 2, Audit your brand

It’s day 2 of the challenge and the task today was to review each other’s blogs and look at

all the ways you communicate information about your blog to make sure they’re consistent and focused

I somehow managed to lose the daily e-mail posts, so ended up visiting the Commons room which is intended for general WordPress bloggers peer review feedback. There I “blogger” met quite a few bloggers and eventually found my way back to the comment board for the Blogging 201 Challenge.  They provided some invaluable advice and some very kind encouraging words about my blog.

Itsmayuremember thought my blog showed effort because I have included a video clip in my latest post about Lush. I think his blog is a wonderful journey and brave because he’s writing about finding his career and the choices he’s making to get to his goal.

Leisel at Skill Up Skillet commented that my blog has a nice clean look but the pink text on the menu bar to the right was difficult to read. She has a point, though as this blog is written in the WordPress Adelle theme, I’ve looked at changing it but haven’t been able to figure out where the code is for side menu to change. Her other recommendation I have been able to make, which is to move up the Follow the blog by e-mail, which I have done tonight. Leisel has an amazing blog about Gaming and food, a combination which my kids would enjoy as they’re both into Minecraft and the only time I can prise them away from the game is when it’s meal-times!

Brett at Brettfish left a lovely comment:

i’m a guy person and that is not my particular point of interest, i must say i enjoyed the post – the mix of graphic and words is good, you write with refreshing adjective choice and make the topic come alive and you are very direct and to the point which is great [i’m a rambler!] – the theme you have chosen is really good – there is not too much going on but it has an enticing look and feel – i think you have something good there.
Keep on

Which is just so encouraging to read, I was thinking about his comment on the way home tonight, for a guy to take an interest in a post that I had assumed would only be interesting to girls, impressed me.

I was thinking it’s a bit like my husband, he loves to watch football, any kind of sport really and he enjoys the commentary, but I just don’t see what all the fuss is about. I try to maintain an interest, because it’s his thing but as soon as the conversation gets into technical territory such as LBW which is something in cricket, I’m lost.

So my point is that it is such an act of kindness for someone to engage with your post, it’s inspiring and encouraging all at the same time, hence the quote at the beginning of this post.

As for the audit, I know a little about branding because of the industry that I work in. I know that I have a long way to go to make improvements. My Facebook, twitter, tumblr, Pinterest, Google+ all need attention and I should change my Gravatar, upload it at the very least on my WordPress account so that it’s consistent. (All of which is now on my to-do-list).

In terms of writing skills, this is a work in progress too and I think it’s important to get design and visuals to match the subject that you’re writing for.

Most of the time, however, while I aim for getting a good photo, it’s never quite the result I’d like to achieve. I’m following a couple of blogs and Pinterest boards to help collect images that helps to inspire how I style the shot, but I think there is still a long way to go before the images and style of text are what I’d like the visual language/identity to become for the blog.

It’s been a great day, I’ve learnt a great deal about the generousity of people in the blogging community. Thanks again for all the encouragement, help and support. 🙂

Blogging 201 – Day One. Set 3 goals

Posted in Blogging, Blogging 201 by

Blogging 201 with WordPress University

Having started this blog in June, I realised that I have so much to learn. Reading through some other blogs and their posts, the content and photos really helped to inspire some ideas, but it also made me think about how I could learn and improve on what I’m doing.

So, looking for help, I came across the Daily Postarea on Word Press and signed up for the Blogging 201 challenge.

Today’s challenge is to write down 3 concrete goals about what I want to accomplish by blogging.

Here goes:

I started blogging because I wanted to deep dive into Content Marketing and Social Media.

After my kids were born, I realised that I needed to spend more time with them, so within a year of returning to work after my 2nd maternity leave, I decided to work from home and set up a marketing consultancy to help other parents, mainly mums with the same like-minded ambition of setting up a business.

During this time, I learned a great deal, I worked with designers, developers, creatives, freelance PR professionals and got to understand how to set-up and create websites, primarily for my clients to help them develop their e-commerce businesses.

I realised through this experience that the only way to truly understand digital and give advice that I felt comfortable giving, was to dive in at the deep end and learn about running a business;  setting it up and challenging myself to learn about building websites.

So I learned about Site IA, User Experience, front end and back-end development, hosting, e-commerce platforms and how to find the right resources to pull it all together for my clients.

Having done this, my personal circumstances changed and I went back to salaried employment.

The experience made the transition back to working full-time in office world, easier than I expected, because I was able to offer something unique.

Very few of my peers had gone as far as setting up their own businesses to learn a new skill.  I learnt through this process the value of constantly challenging myself to learn something new.

My primary reason for setting up the blog, is to learn how to create great content, so that when I am speaking with clients or colleagues, I am not just advising them based on information learned from other people’s experiences, I am able to give advice based on my own experience.

My second reason, and this is more personal than professional, for creating the blog, is to express how I feel about some things that I love, such as what I’ve learned about family life and how music, scent, food and beauty are there to inspire me.

Oh and by doing this, I am also using it as a way to connect with my kids and hubby at the weekend with somethings that we can all be involved in.

Since starting, I’ve noticed my husband being even more creative with cooking, my kids are quizzing me about my plans for the next project and we talk a lot more, we’re exploring things we wouldn’t otherwise do together as a family and I’m really enjoying the process of creating.

If at some point in the future the blog exceeds my wildest expectations, and I actually become not just good but great at writing and a respected blogger, it may just become something more than just a hobby.

Part of today’s challenge is to set 3 specific goals that are time based and focussed:

  • Spend at least a couple of hours each week from now until 1st October, reading other people’s blogs to understand their writing styles in order to develop and improve my writing style and tone of voice.
  • Increase traffic to my blog by 50% by the end of the year.
  • Find a subject that I can post at the weekends and stick to it every week, e.g. Foodie Saturday or Sunday Spa day where I can write about a recipe that’s been developed by our family or a beauty ritual that will help unwind, de-stress and prep for the working week ahead perhaps.

I’d be grateful for any advice or feedback on this post and any thoughts about the subject for a regular weekly post.

Thanks for checking this post out.

(Originally posted 20th July as a page).

Lush update

Posted in Skincare, Wellbeing by

imageFollowing on from last weekend, when I had the chance to try out the Lush Shower Jelly birthday gift, I had the opportunity to try out the Lush Olive Branch shower gel today.

Although it was quite runny to begin with, which is tricky in a shower, since the water is running, you have to keep the shower gel away from the water before using it. It did however, produce a lovely fine lather, which left my skin feeling soft and feeling refreshed.

The smell is heavenly and reminds me of standing somewhere in a Mediterranean garden full of oranges and olives, like the time we were on holiday in Spain.

I love the fact that scent has a way of transporting you back to somewhere or reminds you of a memory and this is a bottle for me that is wonderfully reminiscent of a sunny afternoon spent in Seville.

Since trying the product, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t all that convinced that the ingredients are all natural, or hand made as the label described.

So many brands make these claims, and yet when you dig a bit deeper, you find that the natural ingredients represent such a tiny amount, that I think wherever possible its better to try and make it yourself, to get the full benefit or full potency of the ingredient you like.

That is, after all what happens when we select ingredients to cook with.

So I did a bit of research about Lush and came across this YouTube film:

It has me convinced that most of the ingredients are natural, because here, you can see all the ingredients being mixed together, just as you would in your own kitchen. Obviously, they have to do this on a commercial scale, but its reassuring to see it all in action. So now, I know it really does contain Bergamot, Orange Blossom, Vine Leaves and Olive Oil and in large quantities too.

I love the scent and their ethics. Definitely will be a repeat purchase – I will just have to exercise a lot of self control when I enter the Lush store next time I’m in Wimbledon.

Easy brunch – Prosciutto & eggs with Spinach in a cup

Posted in At home, Food by
Prosciutto egg cups

Prosciutto egg cups

I am always amazed at the creativity with which my husband cooks. Today, he said he was going to make some egg and bacon for lunch and asked me if I knew where the silicone muffin cases were stored. This piqued my interest and he explained that he was planning to cook the eggs in the muffin cases wrapped in bacon.

Since we also had some spinach from our Organic box from last week, which we should have used up. They were now a little limp, but still too good to throw away, the leaves were washed, trimmed and sautéed to wilt them a little with some garlic and onions in a pan with a little butter. This was done so that they could be used as a filling with the eggs.

Eggs wrapped in Proscuitto in a silicone muffin case

Eggs wrapped in prosciutto in a silicone muffin case

After lining the Muffin cases with some oil, 8 cases were lined with prosciutto, into 4 of these, whole eggs were simply cracked and dropped into the cases. In the other 4 cases, the sautéed spinach was added, into which 3 eggs were whisked and added into the little cases. Salt and pepper were added at the end for seasoning.

They were baked in a preheated oven at 180c – 200c (for a fan assisted oven 180c, 200 if not) for about 10-15 minutes.

I checked them at around 10 minutes and left them for a little longer, as my kids preferred their eggs well done.

They were served with a simple salad with a lemon and honey dressing, along with some french fries.

Spinach & eggs wrapped in Prosciutto

Spinach & eggs wrapped in Prosciutto

As my husband doesn’t really get on with dairy, these were perfect, You can of course vary the filling, we used spinach, but tomatoes and cheese would work too along with some slices of mushrooms. The eggs, bacon and spinach were a hit with everyone, I think it was because the eggs looked so sunny and enticing, wrapped in little parcels of thin cured Italian Prosciutto.  It was also a good way to use up the spinach. There was nothing left on the plates to clear up afterwards.

Do let me know if you have tried this recipe before and what other fillings can go into the little cases.

Life is just a bowl full of cherries

Posted in At home, Cherries, Food, Fruit by
A bowl of Cherries

A bowl of Cherries

On my way home from work this week, I stopped by a local store, I think it’s best described as an emporium full of exotic foods from the Middle East. I must admit, it’s not usually the sort of store I visit as it’s unfamiliar and I think I’ve been conditioned to prefer familiarity.

At any rate, I am running low on Rosewater and spying the words “Middle Eastern, Continental and English Foods” on the banner outside the store, I thought this must be a good place to try instead of going all the way to the Edgware Road.

There in the store was not just a shelf full of different brands of Rosewater, but other types of floral waters, most of which I have no idea what to do with. I do have an idea for an Orange Blossom skin lotion next, so the store was very useful for this as well.

Cherries displayed outside a local foodstore

Display of fresh Cherries

I purchased the Rosewater and Orange Blossom Water and as I was leaving the store, the cherries displayed outside seemed to call out as if to say “Eat Me”.

July and August are the best months for Cherries and if you can get them as fresh as possible, I think they are best eaten just as they are.

In winter months, they are delicious made into a Cherry pie or a Cobbler.

I love them, they are both sweet and sour, the ripe bouncy flesh yielding to reveal the juicy tart and sweet flavour,

I used to stone them before giving them to my kids when they were toddlers. Now I no longer have to worry, every time we have cherries in the house, they are gone in a matter of minutes.

Cherries, by the way, are also very good for you, they are full of antioxidants, they’re great for the skin (you can read about them here) and apparently, 16th July is National Cherries day in the UK. How apt as I bought these today.

If I haven’t persuaded you to get a bowl of cherries, perhaps listening to this might:

There’s something about swing music that instantly lifts my mood. I’ll add a few more tracks to this listing when I get the chance. Please do drop by and let me know if you have any recipes for Cherries to share.

Hand made Calamine & Coconut After Sun lotion to the rescue

Posted in beauty, Skincare, Wellbeing by
Home Made After Sun Lotion

Home Made After Sun Lotion

It is nearly the end of term and with it the annual tradition of the School sports day. This year, my eldest had opted out of taking part. (Apparently it’s optional at her school) Instead she watched the event with some of her friends.

When I returned home that evening, both she and my husband were glowing bright red from where they had been sitting in the sun.

When they were much younger, I would run around after both of my kids with a bottle of sun-lotion, smearing them from head to foot to keep their delicate skins protected from the sun.

Unfortunately, I was at work when they caught the sun.

In previous years, my go to remedy for sun stressed skin is Calamine lotion or cream from the pharmacy. The pink liquid is by far the fastest way of cooling down hot skin. It is also good for sensitive skins, the zinc in the lotion reduces any rash faster than anything else I’ve tried.

My daughter now considers herself to be way too cool to be using a lotion that she thinks is for kiddies. She turned her nose up at it declaring “it stinks”. I must admit it’s got quite a chalky medical aroma to it.

This is an argument that I’m unlikely to win.

I have therefore created a lotion that still has the cooling properties of the calamine, but, with all natural healing properties that will look and smell great.

So here’s how I made it:

6 Tablespoons of Calamine lotion (the type you get from the Pharmacy)

4 Tablespoons of Cold Pressed Organic Coconut Oil

2 Tablespoons of Sweet Almond Oil

1 teaspoon of Stearic Acid (orderd online from natural Heath & Beauty store)

Home Made After Sun Lotion

Ingredients for Home Made After Sun Lotion

For the scent, I added the following essential oils: 7 Drops of Lavender essential oil (Great healing and skin soothing properties) 5 drops of Lemon essential oil (good antiviral and antiseptic properties and a refreshing scent), 1 drop of Citronella (just one drop, as it can overpower everything else, it’s a good bug repellent during the summer months).

As this was the first time I made this lotion, I tried out a very small amount first to see if it would work.

The Calamine lotion is water based, mixing it with the oils would need something to bind them together to stop them from separating.

I used Stearic Acid as this is a natural ingredient and works to act as an emulsifier, I simply added this to the mix in quarter teaspoon amounts.

This meant it was easier to whisk into a creamy consistency, switching to Sweet Almond Oil once I’d gotten to the bottom of the jar of Coconut oil.

I continued to alternate between the Calamine and the oils, adding the stearic acid whenever I felt the mix started to look too thin. I kept going until It was the consistency of a soft cake batter, in a pretty pink colour.

Essential oils were added at the end,  which was whisked into the mix.

As there are no chemical preservatives, I’ve kept the quantity small, enough to last a couple of weeks for the whole family to use.

The mix was poured into an empty clean recycled bottle that used to contain a hand wash. I designed and added a lable and some clear vinyl to make the label waterproof.

I think the finished result wouldn’t look out of place in a beauty store. My husband was first to try the lotion, no adverse reaction from my Hub, no adverse reaction from me or from my kids.

The texture and smell is a lot better than the original lotion.

Do let me know if you’ve made your own  sun lotion, or can recommend one to try.

Stearic Acid in Pouch
Lables for the Home Made After Sun Lotion
Home Made Calamine and Coconut After Sun Lotion
Calamine and Coconut lable – Teal
Ingredients for Home Made After Sun Lotion
Ingredients lable
Whisk Calamine Lotion, Coconut oil, Sweet Almond Oil and Stearic Acid together
Calamine & Coconut Sun Lotion Ingredients lable – Teal
Calamine and Coconut lable for the lotion bottle

I got Lushed for my birthday

Posted in Bathroom, Skincare, Wellbeing by
Lush shower Gel, Lush black currant shower gel and Lush bath fizz

Lush bath treats

For my birthday last week, my husband got me Lushed. I’ve always wondered what the store held.

Each time I’m in Wimbledon, the store is just by the train station and as you walk past the storefront, a blast of scent hits you. It’s sometimes over powering, to the point that I wonder what concoctions are being created, like a witches cauldron full of mystery.

I’ve never been in the store in case I get an overwhelming desire to buy everything and anything I can lay my hands on.

Well I guess I got my wish, as a little bag of delights were handed to me by my grinning daughters and a sly looking husband who said that I might like to try these out since he’d watched me experimenting in our kitchen over the last month, whisking up home made deodorants, foot soaks and the like.

I’ll update this post as soon as I’ve tried each one of these little treats. The cherries and coconut jelly tub looks particularly yummy, but as I’m not entirely sure how it will get from the pot onto me, without it washing away in my hands, I’ll let everyone know tomorrow how I get on with it.

Update – Sunday morning

The Shower  Jelly was an interesting experience. Exactly as the tub described, it looked and smelled like a pack of Rowntrees Jelly before you add water and make it into a jelly, which means it was a little hard to scoop out of the tub with your fingers.

It also smelled like a delicious tub of sweeties, the kind that you know is not good for your teeth kind. It rubbed on and lathered up, but didn’t have a load of bubbles, it was a fine lather. I’d say it’s best to use in the bath-tub as it kept slipping out of my hands. A lot of fun, I think my youngest will enjoy in her bath tonight. Worth trying just for the fun of it.

Lush shower jelly

A first perfume and a decade of firsts

Posted in Chanel, Perfume, Scent by

Chanel & Sony WalkmanIt was on the first holiday abroad, that I discovered what I consider my first perfume. Until that moment, fragrances were the sort that you wore because your friends at school wore them, like Le Jardin by Max Factor or the Avon perfumes that one of my friends who was an Avon rep sold to some of us at school.

As we looked around the duty free shop, I was drawn to the simple yet elegant bottle square bottle shape of Chanel No 5. As I sampled the scents however, it was Cristalle that I liked most.

It reminded me of the strong scent of Jasmine that grew at the front of the house that I lived in briefly as a young child.

Cristalle is a light floral fragrance, delicate and powdery fresh. I wasn’t sure I could describe it well enough to bring the scent to life, so I got in touch with Chanel’s PR department and they very kindly provided me with a description of the perfume. As I read the words, I was overwhelmed by their significance. The Perfume was created over 40 years ago in 1974 by Henri Robert, which means it has stood the test of time.

Then, it struck me how similar the description of a perfume is to the way I used to write essays around music. Perhaps this would be a good way to explain how the combination ingredients combine to create it’s distinct character and personality and why it’s a personal favourite.

So here goes:

The melody in any music composition is instantly recognisable, you can hum a tune and recognise it immediately. Cristalle’s tune is delicate, the lemon’s citrusy scent acts as the top notes, honeysuckle acts as the harmony, the sweetness and fresh outdoor nature it invokes is at the perfume’s heart. Finally, the bass and accompanying rhythm is integral to the completion of any piece of music.

Scented Jasmine

I think the bass in music is so important that sometimes it defines whether it is a hit or not, like the bass in U2’s song “With our Without You”. It is the same with Cristalle, the base of Jasmine is the scent that hits me the moment I spray the perfume on.

I think of Cristalle’s personality like a music composition by Mozart. At the time that Mozart was composing, symphonies had yet to fully defined. His influence on Beethoven can be heard. I think Cristalle’s influence is evident in a number of perfumes.

There is a crystal like transparent quality, there is also hidden depth, like a diamond with many facets to make it sparkle. When you hear a piece by Mozart, it has that same quality, the melodies are easy to recognise, but they have depth and complexity that manages to capture a range of emotions. I think of Cristalle in a similar way.Music Score of Don Giovani by Mozart

Through the years, I have tried many perfumes, but there is always a bottle of Cristalle in my small collection. I cannot part with it. It reminds me of so many firsts, a time when everything lay ahead, career, experiences, travel, love, marriage, kids, making a home.

If you were a child of the 80’s, you’ll remember some of these things. We were righteous; causes were our thing – Live Aid, Comic Relief, lots of demonstrations against the establishment.

Chanel Cristalle, Eau de ToiletteIt was the first time I felt independence, living away from my parents.

Music of the time was both bright and shiny as well as a commentary of the political times we lived in.

Before U2 became the global brand they are now, their songs were of urban unrest in Ireland. Madonna blazed the trail for future female singers. There are so many tracks from the 80’s and there were so many music genres.

I’ve made a play list, chosen for a variety of reasons – some just because, others well, lets’ just say they meant something deep at the time, but now no longer represent the youthful angst that I felt.

If I’m wearing Cristalle and listening to these songs, I am transported back to a time when I think I was the most optimistic.

The tracks are in a playlist on spotify and is included in this post if you have time to listen. You’ll find a Classical selection to listen to as well.

There’s a phrase in one of the lyrics by Black, that I think we’d all like our experiences to feel like:

Becuase Life Should Never Feel Small - Black

Please come and share your memories of your favourite scent, by adding a comment, or you can create a new playlist or follow the account here:

https://play.spotify.com/user/birdonthehill

(NB – At the time of writing, Prince has withdrawn his music from a number of music sharing sites, so I have removed the following from the playlist – Mountains, Kiss and Starfish & Coffee)

I’ve included a listing of the music selection on a Pinterest board if you’d like to download it here

photo credit: One of the Jasmine Family via photopin (license)
photo credit: Composer’s score for Don Giovanni via photopin (license)

English Rose Garden and a Summer Picnic

Posted in Places Visited by
English Rose Garden

The Rose Garden in Morden Hall, Greater London

Before the next Post on Perfume, I couldn’t resist writing about the picnic we had on Saturday afternoon.

We had been planning to go for a picnic for a while, but each time we got the food in, the weather for the weekend turned against us. Last Saturday, however, seemed the perfect picnic weather.

Morden Hall is a National Trust park open to everyone, free of charge and open nearly 365 days of the year.

Along the edge of the park is the river Wandle, which in industrial times had a watermill and is the site where William Morris produced the lovely fabrics and furniture during the Arts and Crafts era. We live so close to the park, about a two-mile walk, that we sometimes make a point of walking instead of getting the bus or driving.

Within the grounds are a Wedding registry office and a rose garden, which was planted during the 1930s and currently undergoing renovation. It is a beautiful setting and popular for weddings.

This Saturday, we sat under the shade of a tree within the rose garden and watched the spectacle of a wedding take place while enjoying the simple pleasure of eating the food we had prepared for the picnic.

Chicken drumsticks which had been marinated in honey and apple juice to make them tender and oven roasted, they took 45 mins to cook while we had breakfast.

Mozzarella, basil and tomato rolls, along with some traditional Melton Mowbray pork pies (bought from M&S).

Summer fruit in a cup with mint

Summer fruit with mint in a cup

For dessert, we had summer fruits, these were washed and put into a plastic container. To add a little fragrance, I laid some fresh mint leaves in between the layers of fresh strawberries, blueberries, nectarine pieces. I cut the nectarine into pieces to be eaten with our fingers straight out of the plastic bowl. I brought a small pot of honey for dipping the fruit into.

The picnic was simple in preparation, wrapped in cling film for the rolls and foil for the chicken, placed in a cold bag along with the iced tea we decanted into water bottles. The plan being to eat with our hands and minimise on washing up when we got home.

As I didn’t think our old picnic rug or food we wrapped in cling film and foil would be particularly inspiring to look at, I have included some photos of the roses and the walled enclosure with a clock tower.instead.

The girls managed to get themselves wet in the stream which they had gone to explore and paddle in while we sat and watched the wedding. I love days like these when we just chill and do nothing for a whole afternoon.

As for the summer fruit in the plastic tub, I have prepared this again tonight, it is a little more pleasing to look at as a dessert. This time in a short tumbler, with mint laid between the fruit layers to add fragrance to the fruit, together with a drizzle of honey over the top and fruit juice splashed into the glass with the tiniest amount of rosewater. It took all of 5 minutes to prepare, and enjoyed in about the same amount of time, for our tea tonight.

Summer Fruit Cup with English Mint and Rosewater
1930s Fragrant Hybrid Musk roses
Morden Hall Clock Tower

Perfume – the ultimate accessory

Posted in Chanel, Perfume, Scent by

Perfume, Jo Malone Jasmine and Mint Cologne, Chanel Crystalle, L'occitane Vervine

I’ve been holding off writing about the very essence of this blog, scent and perfumes.

I think when you are wearing a great perfume, it becomes a part of your personality and describes better than words how you want to be known.

Over the years, I’ve chosen to wear a number of scents, some have been a passing fad, others, have stayed with me longer.

No matter what life throws your way,  a spritz of perfume, or a slick of a favourite lipstick, a hug from your child as you leave for work, these things have the ability to make a day less ordinary.

I think most will agree that anything that makes you feel great is something to hold onto and treasure.

“No elegance is possible without perfume. It is the unseen, unforgettable, ultimate accessory.” Gabrielle Chanel

I came across this quote by Gabrielle Chanel, she spoke eloquently about fashion, about life. She was also one of the most elegant women of the 20th Century.

Embed from Getty Images

Elegance is something that some are born with. For me it’s a work in progress and I’m still working on it. So, for now, a spray of perfume, together with a hug from my daughter is the daily ritual that carries and prepares me for the day that’s ahead.

I thought I would write about some of the perfumes I’ve encountered, from past to the present and share some of the things of the period, discoveries, experiences made. Come back if you liked this post, and check out the next post about Perfumes.