this little house

(ad) GETTING SMART WITH TIME in collaboration with FOSSIL

If I had to pick a favourite season, it would have to be autumn. It literally takes my breath away every year. It's the one season in particular that forces us to stop a little, or at least it is for me. I find myself wanting to take long walks, to soak up all the colours, and my goodness, do those walks feel good for the soul. A chance to take in the fresh air and recharge a little bit. It's always a reflective time of year for me too, as we draw closer to the end of another year, I always feel like any changes I want to make, that this is the time to make them. I spoke recently about wanting to regain some much needed balance in my life and this time of year feels like the perfect time to do that.

This year has been a particular busy one for us, it's been wonderful, but it's also brought new challenges for Michael and I, mostly with managing our time and work loads. Realising that life isn't about to get any quieter, it's more about changing our approach. For me, rather than complain about being busy which serves no purpose (other than to add to my growing anxiety), I'm focusing on managing my time better, as my lack of organisation is the number one culprit for any stress and anxiety I tend to feel.

It's funny how in life opportunities seem to come at just the right time, and collaborating with Fossil to try out their new Smartwatch Gen4 is a cracking example of that. When they first contacted me I was thrilled because I love Fossil, but yet I wasn't sure about a smart watch. For a girl who works in social media and spends a large proportion of my time on my phone and laptop, my first thought was, do I really need another smart device in my life?! I spend my life on my phone and I thought this might be yet another potential distraction, because of this very concern it's been really interesting getting to try out the watch and make use of all the functions.

First impressions. Looks. The watch is pretty, like seriously pretty. I've always found other smart watches too look quite techy and just like a smaller version of your phone strapped to your wrist. Zero appeal aesthetically for me, therefore I ruled out smart watches quite quickly in the past. Fossil are changing that perspective with their Smartwatch Gen4 series.

Setting up the smart watch is super easy. Once you've downloaded the Wear OS by Google app, to your phone, there's simple instructions guiding you how to sync your smart watch with your phone, and when that is complete, you're good to go. You can control all the notifications you want to receive to your smart watch, so the watch is tailored to your exact needs.

This is where I discovered one of the main benefits when it comes to wearing a smart watch. Thanks to the notifications, I pick up my phone LESS, and picking up my phone less can only a good thing for me. For example, do you pick up your phone to check notifications, only to than fall down an Instagram (or insert your social media preference here ;) ) rabbit hole for the next hour? This is me ALL. THE. TIME. and that right there, is the main problem when it comes to my poor time management. Spending too much time on my phone when I shouldn't be, and scrolling aimlessly rather than being productive with my screen time. Now that I get my notifications to my watch, I know which ones I need to deal with straight away or can be left until later on without even picking up my phone.

Google Fit. Another aspect of the watch that has been good for me, is tracking my fitness, or should I say the lack there of. I've known for a while now I need to focus more on my general well being and fitness. I'm at that age where I feel like if I don't do something about it now it's going to be a slippery slope. I've never been one for wanting to loose weight but now an extra little tyre is sitting around my mid drift and it's making clothes not fit like they used to.

I want to feel good about my body and increase my energy levels, and right now, my watch is telling me that I'm not moving anywhere near enough to make those things happen. I've never tracked my fitness before and this has given me some much needed motivation to get my act together. My current goals are to hit 10,000 steps, 60 move minutes and 10 heart points (you score a heart point when you do activities at a higher pace, like a brisk walk etc) a day. I'll report back how I get on with this, but right now it's given me some much needed motivation.

The points I've touched upon are definitely the ones that have stood out for me these past few weeks when wearing the watch. I've also found the calendar and setting reminders really useful too, not to mention the find my phone feature, I use that a lot ;).

I also love that I can control what music I play in the house from my watch too. I'm definitely finding I'm using my phone less and less because of features like this.

Charge wise, with full notifications on I get a days charge from the watch but if you need to save battery life you simply adjust notifications.

Overall, I'm very impressed with Fossil's stylish take on the smart watch. If you're thinking about a smart watch I highly recommend you check their range out.

If you missed my post about regaining some much needed balance, you can read it HERE.

Thursday, 15 November 2018 Comments: 0

I've found since sharing images of our home on Instagram and the blog that people are often surprised to find out that we live in a new build home. I thought I'd give you a bit of the back story as to why we chose our home as I feel new builds can get a lot of bad rep. They're often lumbered in the characterless home category, which can be true of some new builds but not all. I also think it's about what you put into your home that in fact brings the character. So to rewind back four years...

When Michael and I where originally looking for a family home to buy we were on completely different pages. Me, I wanted old, a project, something we could do up from scratch and call our own.

Michael wanted a shiny new build.

Now you could say Michael won that battle, as of course in November this marks three years in our new build. Side question, when does a new build stop being called a new build btw?? I feel like we could live here 50 years and I'll still be referring to it as a new build. Anyway, I digress, back to Michael winning the new build battle.

What really happened was that the more we looked for the right property in Edinburgh the less attractive my old house dream became. We never found THAT property, you know, the one that gets you excited about renovating, that would justify months if not years of living in upheaval and general hell. Also, the Edinburgh market meant buying the house alone would max out our budget leaving very little to renovate with. Was it really going to be worth it?

So one afternoon I gave in and we took a drive out to North Berwick to see a new build home that was scheduled to be built in Edinburgh. Upon walking through the door I fell in love. I knew I really loved the property as the décor, although very lovely, was absolutely not to my taste. I could trust it wasn't the fancy furniture that was selling this home to me, it was the space, the light, how fluid the home felt. I could see us there. I could see the boys growing up in a home like that.

Now granted no one likes to admit when they're wrong but on this occasion I had to agree with Michael. It felt right. This new build was going to be our home. A renovation project had always been my dream and not Michael's. I think if you're going to undertake something so big you need to both be passionate about it.

So we signed on the dotted line, we then both freaked out, and became one step closer to owning a detached (hello, no more apartment living with neighbours living above, below and to the sides of us!) house with a garden for our boys, which I know was something we had BOTH dreamt about, new build/old build aside.

With no big renovation project on my hands I was now being handed the keys to a completely white washed blank canvas, which was daunting in a different way. Yes, the property was light and airy, but how on earth would I bring character to this new build? All the aspects that drew me to older properties never felt more missed in that one moment.

Firstly, I didn't rush. This property was bigger than our last home, and we had decluttered a lot during our move, so we didn't have a whole lot of stuff to fill our new home with. A blank canvas can be all too tempting to rush out and simply buy things to fill it, I knew I absolutely didn't want to do that. I wanted the home to grow with us over time, and slowly fill it with things we love.

It's now the most lovely feeling when people compliment our home, especially those who are pleasantly surprised with what you can do with a new build. I take that as a huge compliment, because I wanted a home with character and I never felt sure if I would actually be able to achieve that with a newer property at the time. I get asked a lot how we went about decorating our new build so I thought I'd share a few tips here, although I feel these tips apply for any home you're wanting to put your own stamp on.

LIVE IN THE PROPERTY. I know its all very exciting planning a move and decorating your new home, and it can be tempting to start ordering furniture before you even have the keys in your hand, but I think waiting is key (get it? Sorry! ;). Even if that means sleeping on a mattress on your bedroom floor, and using deck chairs for the first few weeks or months, by waiting you get a proper feel for the property and where you'd like furniture to go. Then you can take measurements to find the perfect pieces. You'll also know what rooms you tend to spend more time in, which for me really dictates the furniture and the spend.

BRING YOU INTO YOUR HOME. Unless you have endless amounts of cash and can afford that 3 grand light fixture you keep dreaming about, it's safe to say we're all shopping in the same shops which means we're all buying the same or similar interior items. I'm all for finding affordable interior buys and taking inspiration from others, but it's how you put your own spin on it that will make it yours and not just another Ikea purchase. Mix high street items, with one off finds. For me those finds come from my own family and upbringing, the fact I live away from my home town of Liverpool has definitely inspired some of the pieces I have in my home. Also buy local, see what makers and sellers are doing in your city, and don't forget sourcing your local selling pages too. It's astounding what you can find.

TEXTURE. I'm love having different textures in our home as I feel it really adds character. Wicker, wool, linen, wood, metal, cotton, give me it all. There's so many beautiful rugs, throws and cushions out there that can really bring a lovely lush and warm feel to your home. Throw in wicker baskets, planters, wall hangings, macrame and I just feel it adds lots of character to a otherwise bland space.

COLOUR. There's nothing like walking into a fully white washed home that will scare you off adding colour. We lived with the white walls for nearly two years before I plucked up the courage to paint. I'm so glad we did though as it's been the best thing we've done. Colour can bring a cosiness to the starkness of a new build, and if you go for rich and opulent colours, it's like character in a tin of paint.

PLANTS. Okay for anyone who hates plants you can skip this one, but for those that kill plants but want plants in their home, stick with me. I was a plant killer, I thought the green finger has skipped a generation in my family, but it hasn't. It turns out starving a plant of water and then thinking, oh crap, and then drowning it in water isn't the way to go. Plants don't need to be high maintenance, it's just more about buying the right ones for your home and feeding regularly, rather than the all or nothing approach that I was once accustomed too. The benefits of plants in your home? For me you just can't beat that pop of green and the beauty of having something grow in your home. As they grow they change and in turn add more and more character to your home. My friend, Sally, bought me the most beautiful book for my birthday, Leaf Supply. It's all about house plants and I highly recommend if you're a novice, not to mention it makes a cracking looking coffee table book too.

LOVE YOUR HOME. For the majority of us our homes are never going to feel perfect or finished, but nor should they be. Instead of picking out the negatives of your home, work on the positives. Whether you're renting or maybe you're not living in what feels like your forever home, don't let that hold you back from having a home you love. You don't need to spend a fortune to have a home you adore, little touches go a long way.

Are you moving? You can read all my tips on packing HERE.

Want to declutter your home? You can read more about how we achieved that HERE and HERE.

Having trouble making interior choices? Sometimes it just takes one piece you love that can inspire a whole room. Read HERE which piece inspired a lot of the interior choices I made in our home.

Sunday, 11 November 2018 Comments: 2

Balance. Does anyone truly have balance when there's multiple things to juggle?

I used to have balance. Pre-kids. It was a period in my life were I was able to dedicate time equally to all areas of my life. When I was at work, I was fully focused on work, the same went for home life, and my time with my family and friends. My time was my own and having the then ability to soley focus on one thing at a time is without doubt the closest I've come to balance.

Fast forward to now and well, quite frankly, I feel a little all over the place. Recently my friend and I likened our minds to a computer with too many tabs open. I'm pretty convinced I'm a two tab kinda girl, so once I have multiple tabs open, I then turn into that computer that no longer wants to work. The computer that cannot be refreshed however many times you try, so you instead resort to shutting it off from the mains and praying when it reboots everything is still there. That, my friends, is my brain these days. The computer you wish you could upgrade but instead reboot daily.

I tell myself it's just a busy period in our lives and that things will get easier, but I'm starting to realise it's not about waiting for things to get easier, but instead changing my way of thinking a bit.

You see, I feel a right idiot even saying, waiting for life to get easier, because life is good, and when life is good, why on earth am I even moaning?! That's why I really want to adjust my way of thinking and my ability (or lack of) to juggle, because if you can't enjoy life when it's actually good, then what is it all about anyway? So these are a few things I'm implementing over the next few weeks in hope to gain some much needed balance.

FOCUS.

Personally, I blame the female brain for being too clever for it's own good. We are multitaskers at heart, and I've found since becoming a mum the multitasker in me has taken it up a notch or two. Now, when you're on the ball, multitasking is a excellent skill to have. However, I do feel it's dimmed my ability to focus on one task at a time.

Take working from home as a classic example. I sit down at my laptop, ready to work, but then spy from the window what a glorious day it is. Perfect washing weather, I think. I look back to my laptop....now where was I? Oh yeah, right....but the temptation to get that washing out on the line is too strong, a wash hung outside dries quicker, which equates to making my life easier. So next minute I'm knee deep in washing shoving it into the machine. I then sit back down at my laptop.....where was I again?

Now I know this comes as one of the downsides of working from home, but in no other job that I've had would washing even have crossed my mind. This is one example of a billion. Working from home is turning out to be a huge adjustment for me now that the boys are at school and I've been able to take more work on.

Therefore as of this week, when I open my laptop, that's me, I'm in work mode. No washing. No tidying. Just work. Look I'm even writing a blog post, and I've published it!! Focus is my friend. The same will for the other areas in my life. Focus on the task in hand rather than trying to do a million things at once.

* I'm going to blog more about working from home as I feel it's too much to squeeze into this post. Basically, I've been lacking, and in fact, craving for more structure. I want to document how I'm going to achieve that, especially as more and more careers are starting from people's homes it would seem, and if I'm struggling with it at times, no doubt others are too.

SAYING NO.

Ugh I'm so bad at saying no. Call it FOMO, which I only figured out the meaning of recently. Call it a weakness, but the word no just doesn't sit right with me. I feel a huge guilt whenever I say, no, or this feeling like I'm not living my life to the fullest if I don't say yes to everything. The thing is, saying yes all the time can be exhausting, and lead to doing things that you sometimes don't want to do. Therefore, I'm going to learn to say no more.

STOP TALKING ABOUT BEING BUSY.

Oh I'm a broken record on being busy. We're all busy. Life is busy. We get it. The more I talk about being busy, or correction, moan about, the more I feel my anxiety levels increase. So this is a simple step for me, I'm basically going the shut up about being busy, and instead pour that energy into focusing on the tasks in hand.

I'd love to hear how you achieve balance in your life. Any tips or tricks share my way! I think it safe to say balance is something you have to work at and will be an ongoing process for me.

Monday, 29 October 2018 Comments: 5

There's nothing quite like a good holiday to remind you just how much travel is good for the soul, is there? The type of holiday that recharges your batteries and leaves you desperately planning your next trip.

We've just had that kind of holiday with our friends, thanks to Clio Wood and her family at, Manoir La Croix de La Jugie, inviting us to stay in their stunning large country house, nestled in the French countryside.

Talk about a pinch me moment the minute we drove up the private driveway, to be met with what I can only be described as an absolute dream of a house. Covered in sprawling ivy, with its beautiful white shutters, surrounded by rose bushes, lavender and hydrangeas; it was love at first sight before I'd even walked through the door. The smell alone from all the flowers was intoxicating and I literally felt all my stresses melt away, our holiday could now begin.

I feel like holidaying has been so low on our agenda since we had the boys, it just hasn't been a priority of ours. Now with the boys getting older I feel like that's finally changing. I'm excited to travel again, and we're excited to show the boys new places. Seeing how excited they were when they saw the house literally made my day.

If the outside of the house was impressive, the inside is equally so. It's full of French rustic charm, which I particularly love as it's the complete opposite to our new build home in Edinburgh. Here I could get my fix of all things old and full of character! That's one of my favourite things about holidaying, you get to dip your toe into a different lifestyle and way of living, and let me tell you, I can very much see myself living the French life.

The thing I loved most about the house, is even in all it's grandeur and size, it really feels like a home away from home. The décor is beautiful but relaxed and with the house sleeping up to 22 people in 8 rooms with 6 bathrooms, it is the ideal place for a large family or a group of friends. Children are very much in mind here too, they have travel cots and z-beds at your request, and there are stair gates to help keep all the little ones safe. Which also saves many a parent from the, Let's Play On The Stairs game, which let's be honest, no parent likes that game.

The boys shared a room (pictured above) which they absolutely loved. We were just across the hallway which was perfect if they needed us throughout the night, and a holiday miracle happened whilst we were there too. The boys slept past 9am, every day! I still can't quite believe it and have given some serious thought since as to whether we should up sticks to live in France permanently.

When it comes to holidaying with children, the word, 'holiday', can actually feel like a cruel joke, can't it? This is why I thoroughly recommend holidaying with family and friends that have children too. Our group total was sixteen, eight of which were children aged between 1-9 years old. The children all had an absolute ball together, and you know how that goes, happy children, HAPPY parents. It really took away any of the usual stress of entertaining little ones whilst away, as they all happily played together, making you question how eight children could possibly be easier than holidaying with only two!!

There's plenty of lovely walks to go on surrounding the house and they have a helpful guide left in each room with places they recommend nearby to visit. If however, you're after a truly relaxing holiday, my advice to you would to be to simply enjoy the house. Thanks to the pool, the grounds, a game's room and a selection of toys, the children were never once bored. In fact, every time we went out the first thing they would want to know was when would we be returning to the house! The pool itself, is a great size, and thanks to it being fully gated you can relax with the little ones running around the grounds once you know the gate is securely locked.

No holiday is complete without lots of yummy food! We chose to eat in during our stay which was so much easier for a group our size. The supermarkets are a short drive away with a great selection. French food, French wine, what is not to love?

The dining areas are so well thought out making this house the perfect spot all year round. There's options indoor and out, and you can make dining as informal or as formal as you would like thanks to the large dining area in the kitchen, or separate dining room in the house. Outside you have the option of a smaller table or the large table at the barbecue area.

The cooking and cleaning was a real team effort whilst we were away, making it never feel like a daunting task. We just happened to be away with the best cook too, Colin. I'll take dish duty any day, if it means Colin is cooking! The house also has a outdoor barbecue, which Ayman took control of whilst there and did a stellar job.

This holiday was very much made by who we were there with. Long time readers of my blog and Instagram will know I'm close friends with Lauren, Jules and Sally. I could gush about them for days on end, as most of you well know. I feel endlessly lucky that through this crazy world of social media, I've met true friends for life. Watching our children play together and our partners get on so well is the cherry on the cake. It's an amazing feeling knowing these eight children (and counting!!) will grow up and adventure together.

Other useful details

Car Hire. You will need a car whilst you're here, and if like ourselves, you feel nervous about driving on the opposite side of the road, go with an automatic. As Michael would say, it's literally like driving a go kart and changing gears is one less worry. Also, make sure you take out car insurance whilst there. We didn't and due to a small scrape on the bumper the car rental company we dealt with are holding 1200 euros until the repair amount is confirmed and only then will we be refunded the difference. This is common procedure in France and could have been easily avoided if we'd just taken out the insurance. Lesson learnt.

Airports. The nearest airport to the Manoir is Limoges, which is a 35 minute drive away. However, we flew into Bordeaux as there was a better selection of flights. Although this is a two and half hour drive away from the Manoir, the roads are great and it is pretty much a straight stretch. There's tolls on these roads which require a small fee that you can pay by cash or card.

Retreat Programmes. The Manoir also has a retreat programme which you can read more about HERE.

Weddings. They also host weddings at the house too. I didn't even realise at first that the house had a huge barn area. It would be absolutely magical for a wedding in France, you can find out more details HERE.

I'm so pleased to be able to share an exclusive code with you all for a stay at Manoir La Croix de La Jugie. They have generously offered a 10% discount with the code: TheFrenchEdition.

I'm happy to answer any questions or queries you might have if you're thinking of booking, just shoot me a message here or you can email me by clicking on the little envelope at the top right hand of my site. We certainly cannot wait to go back.