Unicorn Magic!

It's true, I admit it, I am slightly unicorn mad, to my partner's dismay!
This trend is continuing to be popular and I don't think our little unicorn friends are going to be trotting away any time soon!

Here are my current favourite unicorn inspired products...

Carex Unicorn Soap from Poundland (also comes in a Bath & Shower Gel, yippee!)

Asda - various dinner sets and glassware

Imperial Leather Foamburst Unicorn Marshmallow Shower Gel (smells amazing and doubles up as a super shave cream!)

ASOS DESIGN Nights Dream Glow In the Dark Unicorn Slippers

 Disclaimer: No Unicorns were harmed in the making of these products...

When You Become a Parent to Your Parent

"The son becomes the father and the father becomes the son."

How apt that was whilst thinking about this particular blog, I should hear this saying whilst watching a popular television show. No truer words spoken.

As I have got older, I have found myself in the hard situation of becoming essentially the protector of of both my parents. My dearest late mother succumbed to vascular dementia and lost her battle with it after five and half years last year. As her mind slowly shut down, she became childlike and vulnerable. I found that instead of her holding my hand, I was holding hers.

My father, always strong and there for his family, had a severe stroke in 2015 at only 67 years old. Once very mentally and physically active, he is now bedbound and has lost all independence, as well as minimal speech which makes communication difficult for him. Whilst he was worried I'd trip whilst I learned to walk as a toddler, now I'm worried he'll fall. I'm the one anxious about literal and metophorical obstacles for him - not the other way around like it used to be.

So now I find myself the parent to my parent... a role that neither of us wanted or had foreseen. I worry continuously about his health and happiness whilst at the same time trying to protect him.

I am lucky and blessed that my parents provided a secure and happy childhood. But as we are now all living longer, this reversed role play will probably become more common.

Mental Health Awareness Week - 14th to 20th May 2018

As I write this there is a local council meeting where they are discussing yet again, the shortfalls of the mental health services in this area. I read in the local press a few months ago, that the Isle of Wight is one of four counties whose mental health services drastically need improvement. I remain slightly cynical about this, as that's all there seems to be, lots of talk, but no action. 

Stock Image

It's Mental Health Awareness Week and earlier on this month, I organized a Mental Health Mates Walk. This, as far as I know, was the first to be held on the Island and I am hoping one of many. I am one singular person, but I am calling for drastic improvements in this area and it's time that the Government realises that this can be a life-threatening condition.

I have also signed up to be a Time To Change Champion, speaking out about the stigma of depression and campaigning for more support for others in need.

From a personal experience when I was a new and very lonely mother, with no parental support, I struggled with PND. The doctor even said I was at risk from it, but, I did not get the support I really needed. In that very desperate time, you just want to reach out to someone, someone who understands, even a little bit. It was hard then and it is now, and I refuse to sit quietly and feel ashamed about having PND.

Having a mental health issue or issues, is not limited to just a week sadly, so let's keep talking and supporting each other. If you know someone who is going through it, speak to them, support them, be there for them, as there is nothing more isolating sometimes then having a mental health disability. 

The more voices that there are, the louder we can be heard...

To find out about more Time to Change, please visit www.time-to-change.org.uk

Mental Health Mates www.mentalhealthmates.co.uk

PANDAS Pre and PostNatal Depression Support http://www.pandasfoundation.org.uk/

Create a Magical Nursery with Hurn & Hurn

I first heard about Hurn & Hurn when I spotted one of their products in Mother & Baby magazine, upon visiting the site, I fell in love with what they had on offer. Products are stylish, of high quality, appeal to the designer side of me and are reasonably priced. There are many online stores offering homeware and accessories for the Nursery, but Hurn & Hurn in particular stands out.

To start with, I loved the Fiona Walker England Mini Bear With Crown Felt Animal Head, which would look beautiful in my daughter's nursery, let's hope its cute appeal doesn't appear too scary for her! Grrr!

The 3 Sprouts Mouse Storage Caddy (and I am a huge fan of all storage solutions in this chaotic house!) is perfect for putting away toys to avoid the inevitable and painful experience of accidentally stepping on them. Talking of tidying, I will also be hanging her little clothes on the colourful Felt Flamingo Coat Hook also by Fiona Walker England.

No nursery is complete without soft lighting of course, to lull her gently to sleep, so I will festoon the room with this cute string of LED Star Fairy String Lights by A Little Lovely Company. The Ferm Living Cloud Rose, dusky pink duvet set with a dreamy cloud print will hopefully help her settle into the land of nod, nope, no nightmares here!

Liked what you've seen so far? Please visit https://www.hurnandhurn.com/ to see what other beautiful goodies they offer!

Please note: This blog post is not a paid promotion or features an affiliate link, all views are my own. Images very kindly supplied by Hurn & Hurn. 

Cath Kidston meets Alice - A Match Made in Wonderland

I have been a huge fan of Cath Kidston and Disney for a long time!

When I first heard that the first collection was going to be Mickey Mouse, I was beyond excited and grinning like the Cheshire Cat. These sell-out designs were promptly followed by Winnie The Pooh (a perfect babygro for my newborn daughter at the time, she's grown out of it now though! Boo!), 101 Dalmations, Peter Pan, more Mickey and Minnie Mouse (yes, really!) and the latest collection to be launched this month, Alice in Wonderland!

From the preview images, you can buy homeware such as a really cute duvet cover set (wonder if the partner would notice a new one!) and a beautiful embroidered jacket featuring a large red heart with Alice perched on top.

The range covers everything, apart from a hat, but I won't be disappointed about that, although the Mad Hatter might!

More details can be found by clicking on the link here

The collection will be available from the 24th/25th May this year.

Sandailo Psychic App Review

I am always interested in all things spiritual (with some scepticism) so jumped at the chance to review the Sandailo Pyschics app.

I was credited for five questions that I could ask from a group of various mediums and tarot readers, two that could be private and three public.

The interface was simple to navigate, but it took some time to familiarise myself with the app features. It was fairly easy to set up an account, just requiring a name, date of birth and gender.

I decided to choose online medium Stargazer, whom responded to my private question promptly.

He offered to do a reading for me, unfortunately what I didn't realize is that when I said a simple thanks, that used up my second question credit!

I knew I had lots of questions for the public options, but found it hard to be more specific and narrow it down to three. 

The first public question was answered sufficiently within ten minutes which was impressive. The second question I had asked whether they could sense any of my late friends and family around and was a bit surprised when angellove11 described a stubborn and stern elderly lady with clear thoughts, this could have been my paternal grandmother or mother, my family is known for their stubbornness!

What I particularly liked about this app was that it was fairly transparent, there were no hidden costs and an easy refund option if you are unhappy with the responses you received. The graphics and layout were clean and easy to navigate. My only quibble was that one answer was difficult to decipher as it had not been clearly written by the person who kindly responded to a public question.

Would I use this app again? Possibly, if I had a burning question. Do I remain slightly cynical? Unfortunately, yes, but I did have some fun reading the responses and learning about how the app works.

To find out more about the app, please click on the following link

Please note: Sandailo Psychic Ltd kindly credited the app account in return for a review. All opinions and photos are my own. There are no affiliate links here.

The app is available for both Android and iOS.

Beautiful Flowers with 25% donated to Cancer Research UK

Having sadly lost over half my maternal family to cancer, including my grandmother, I have previously taken part in the Race for Life and organised a Crocus Walk for Cancer a few years back. I am a keen charity fundraiser and Cancer Research UK is one of those charities that is close to my heart. Therefore, I was really pleased to see that if you purchase a bouquet of flowers from Prestige Flowers, Cancer Research UK will receive a donation of 25%.

I am really impressed with the quality of the flowers, excellent customer service and fast delivery. The bouquet came well packaged, complete with a vase (saves time and fuss trying to find a suitable one!) and consisted of lilies and roses. This is the second bouquet that I have received and I am and remain impressed, my sitting room is currently delicately scented by the budding lilies! They are certainly giving the main competitor a run for their money!

You can find out more by clicking on the link, here: cruk.org/flowers

Please note: Prestige Flowers kindly sent me these flowers in return for a review. I must add that all opinions and photos are my own. There are no affiliate links here.