Not every day is good but there is good in every day
I'm feeling a bit washed out after a lovely day at home with the family. I'm heading to bed momentarily but I didn't want to miss posting today. So today will be mostly a photo post but it was a good day. Mark got 2 more jobs done today: changing our kitchen tap to a… Continue reading January 24, 2016
Two and a half weeks ago we started Ella's 4th year at Primary School- Year 3! Ella has transitioned really well into the flow of school again which makes me so happy. Her first half-term in Year 1 was really stressful so I am really pleased that she has settled in to new teachers, new… Continue reading Changes
Two weeks ago, Ella and Sam and I trundled down to London to have a simply marvelous day, thanks to innocent Drinks. I've never taken the children to London on my own so this was a real adventure! And not a pushchair in sight! Both Ella and Sam were so well behaved and such troopers… Continue reading Innocent #FiveADay campaign
Day Two of the Embrace Happy Challenge and our theme today is ROCK! The overall list is a lot of opposites but I had a bit of fun with the first three days by choosing Paper, Rock and Scissors. See what I did there? I play this game with my Husband whenever there's a job… Continue reading Embrace Happy Challenge Day 2: Rock
Last month I started a photo-a-day challenge on Embrace Happy. I chose a theme word for each day of the month to prompt anyone who was interested to look at the world in a different way; with a bit of a different focus. There are a plethora of Photo-a-Day prompts out there, the greatest being… Continue reading Embrace Happy Challenge Day 1: Paper
In the space of 4 months time I have lost my 2 remaining Grandparents. In the 10 years that I have lived in the UK, I have lost the 3 Grandparents I grew up with and was unable to attend any of their funerals due to being 4000 miles away. That's a lot of loss… Continue reading Grandma Dolly
Around 18 months ago, Mark and I (well, mostly Mark with the hard labour) began planning for and creating a lovely garden. When I first arrived here 10 years ago, Mark had already established a really beautiful, quaint, very English back garden. 5 years ago our back garden began to change into a far more… Continue reading Happiness Haven
Last month I read a post by someone who is a real creative inspiration for me. Chantelle, aka Fat Mum Slim, is a creative wunderkind. She created the exceptionally popular Photo-a-Day challenge that so many people have copied and made their own. And she's just a really REAL blogger. She shares her worries, her weaknesses… Continue reading 27 Things I Have Learned
The Summer holidays are in full swing now and we're not sitting by and watching it trickle away. Last week we got out and DID each day at some point and even braved a rather rainy Friday armed with rain gear, umbrellas and wellies and puddle jumped to our hearts content. I'm trying to steer Ella… Continue reading Ella & Sam #CelebrateBetter with Footy Fun!
Last week, Sammy and I joined our lovely friends Sabina and her boys for a final "Besties Day Out" for this School Year. We piled into Sabina's car, programmed the sat nav and hit the road for Q Gardens in Oxfordshire (not Kew Gardens mind you!). After a few minor altercations from the boys, we… Continue reading Cherry Good Fun!
Did you ever hear about a place and you just knew it was your idyllic "Happy Place"? I've had this a few times in my life, one of which was Castaway Malfini on the gorgeous Labadee, Haiti in the Caribbean Sea. A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of visiting Pennyhill Park Hotel and… Continue reading Embracing Happy with Experience Kissimmee
Can you believe that we are actually half way through this year? My phrase of the year was "Make it Happen" and thankfully, I have made it happen in a variety of ways. I was raring to go into 2015 with my then job with the now defunct Wauwaa. Things were going well with… Continue reading Just a little bit of me…June, 2015
BritMums Live was held in Central London last weekend and what a weekend it was! The lovely Pippa Best from Story of Mum and I presented a wonderful Embrace Happy session to around 40 bloggers. I think we make a pretty good team! The weekend was filled with laughter, wine, hugs, chatting, lots of inspiration… Continue reading BritMums Live 2015- #embracehappy
I'm really excited to tell you about a great opportunity I'll be having on Friday, 19 June, at BritMums Live! I'm going to meet Ella Woodward of Deliciously Ella fame. Yes, probably just to stammer and be a bit star-struck but hopefully to ask her a bit more about how she was able to embrace… Continue reading Embracing Happy with Deliciously Ella
Earlier this year, in one of my "Make It Happen" moments, I pitched an idea to BritMums for a fun Embrace Happy session at BritMums Live this Summer. There are so many wonderful blogging sessions that go on at the UK's largest parent & lifestyle blogging conference that I wanted to offer something that was… Continue reading Embrace Happy at BritMums Live
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending an event at our local Hotter Shoes store to learn more about their #PerfectPair campaign and check out their gorgeous range of shoes. Being a girl, I am most definitely partial to fabulous shoes but being a Mum has changed my tastes a bit. I… Continue reading Happy Feet in Hotter Shoes #StyleWithASmile
This past week has been Half Term for us. It's our last Half Term break before the end of the school year. We now have 7 weeks until our 7 week Summer holiday and I can't wait! We had such a lovely week this past week. It was just Ella and Sammy and me during… Continue reading Appreciating the #littlemoments
The other day, a friend shared a link to a wonderful video from the goddess of all things Happy, Zen and Empowering, Oprah Winfrey. The video was super short but quite interesting as well. Oprah was interviewing Elizabeth Gilbert, author of "Eat, Pray, Love". Gilbert talked about how one of the ways to be more… Continue reading My Happiest Moment
I've had this post rolling around in my head for the last two weeks, ironically. I wanted to share some ideas about making an effort with your life, your children, your partners, your work, your happiness. Yet I was struggling to make an effort to get the post written! Yes, I told you it was… Continue reading Making an effort
I am aware that we are now in the month of May but I wanted to share my 10 Random Things for April and wrap up the month that was. May is off to a really lovely start so I am hoping this will carry on. 1) We've had some lovely days spent at my… Continue reading 10 Random Things -April
Friday, 24 April, my Gram passed away at the grand old age of 89. How amazing to live so long! My Grandpa died in 2008 and my Gram soldiered on alone, after 64 years with the love of her life. The last 15 years had not been the easiest or kindest for my Grandparents. My… Continue reading 10 Happy Memories- My Gram
These days I am finding a great deal of comfort in simple pleasures. I believe that comes with being more mindful and slowing down to smell the roses. This past week, as Ella and Sam have gone back to school, I've decided to take the time I have when they are both at school to… Continue reading Simple Pleasures
Yesterday I received my first negative comment on this site. Someone felt the need to tell me off for something I had written. I have not published the comment (as is my right to do so) and I have deleted the post it was about. I don't know who the person was or if they… Continue reading Firsts
This week, for our family, is about slowing down and spending time together. We are beginning our Easter/Spring break holiday! We have just over two weeks off from school and lessons and no real plans for anything specific. Mark will be taking much needed time off from work from Good Friday. We are hoping to… Continue reading Mindful Monday
March is nearly over! How is this possible? I seem to be asking this question every month, however! It seems like only the other day that we were heading to Wales for BlogOn Cymru and suddenly next week is April! It must be a good thing that time is flying though right? I thought I… Continue reading 10 Random Things- March
Tomorrow, Friday the 20th of March is International Day of Happiness! Besides putting a smile on your face and a skip in your step, how can you celebrate this lovely day? Well, I happen to have a few ideas for you. Some are BIG and some are small. Some involve stepping out of your comfort… Continue reading International Day of Happiness- How can you celebrate?
This week I have learned a valuable lesson! Keep up with regular blog maintenance and protect your site with Security plugins! On Monday morning, a lovely Embrace Happy friend messaged me to let me know that Google had placed a warning on this site: ‘This Site May Be Hacked’. Gee thanks Google! Funny how Google… Continue reading Technical Difficulties and Amazing Opportunities
The end of February is nearly upon us. This has been a hard week for me. I have a feeling that everyone thinks that because I run Embrace Happy, that my life is all sunshine and light. It most certainly is not but what I do is CHOOSE to focus on what sunshine and light… Continue reading 10 Random Things- February
Could you Cut out Complaining for one WHOLE day? It's harder than you think. But hold on, don't dismiss the idea straightaway. There's actually a far more constructive way to complain and that's what I'm hoping you'll take on board. But let's set the scene for some fairly traditional complaining situations: You're having coffee or… Continue reading 40 #embracehappy Acts: Day Eight- Cut Out Complaining!
It's time for another edition of the Embrace Happy Happy Mail Programme to start bringing sunshine through your postbox! Can you believe it's nearly March?! That's what happens when February shorts us 2 or 3 days! As March begins this Sunday, it's time to start getting names in the spreadsheet for the Embrace Happy March… Continue reading Embrace Happy March Happy Mail Programme
How are you doing on your #embracehappy adventure this Lent? As I am not giving anything up, per se, I am doing pretty well! I very much like the idea of focusing on giving and reaching out versus giving something up. It's certainly a more positive approach to changing habits and improving yourself! We started… Continue reading 40 #embracehappy Acts- Day Three to Day Six