Christmas Gift Guide Part 2 – Work Wonderland with Giveaway

Continuing on my Christmas countdown where I am looking at new and unusual gifts for you to try I am so pleased to bring you this gift idea.

Running around after my family and juggling the normal demands of being a mum means that sometimes it feels that there are never enough hours in the day. Well here you have an inspiring way in which to buy that ideal present without any worry. I’m sure that you know people or indeed are the person who wants to get out of what they are doing with their day-to-day job but have no idea on how to make the change. We all need guidance on how to focus on what steps we need to take and Alison has found a way to help people make a clear plan with her unique way of supporting people towards their ideal goal.

Work Wonderland

Why not gift someone, or yourself, a new career direction?

Work Wonderland is an online coaching course and web application that helps you identify your ideal career in the context of your ideal life and develop a plan to achieve it.

It’s proven to work for people of any age seeking a career change or
second career, return-to-work mums, graduates who want to identify a
career path, and students choosing course options.

Why not gift someone, or yourself, a new career direction?

The course has 14 simple exercises to complete and at the end, you’ll have a clear picture of the right direction and some concrete steps to make it happen. What better way to help someone on their way to making their dream become real and supporting their aim to have a fulfilling career.

I’m delighted to tell you that we also have a full course for you to win today. This prize is amazing and is a real treat to be able to share with you. You can see how to enter further along in the post.

Work Wonderland comes in a branded presentation gift box that includes:

A welcome card personally signed by Alison explaining what Work Wonderland is and how it works.
A beautiful gift card encased in velvet covered foam.
The gift card holds a unique serial number and information on how to receive Work Wonderland joining instructions

You can keep updated and see more of Alison on Twitter: @LiveTrueCoach and Instagram: livetruecoach

The Giveaway

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Full t&c’s for my giveaways on my contact page.

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Testimonials for Work Wonderland

Over the past year, Alison has helped me to challenge and overcome the real and perceived barriers to my career development. Her practical and personalised advice has been pivotal in helping me to get on the right track and secure a new opportunity to further my career. I continue to find Alison’s support really valuable and thoroughly recommend her to anyone looking to develop or change their career. Chris White

For anyone who is a little lost in life, get ready because you are about to realise what makes you happy and I say this with zero exaggeration – your life is about to get infinitely better.

I was at a complete loss with my career path, doubted my own abilities and even doubted my capability to make a decision that would be right for me. Alison helped me realise that I had my own unique strengths and values that until now, I hadn’t even really acknowledged on a conscious level. Uncovering these really helped bring them to the forefront of my mind. I found that I could make decisions with more confidence.

Work Wonderland

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Wicked Uncle Christmas Gifts

Scratching your head wondering what to buy the person who has everything? This will give you some ideas to bring a smile to the faces of kids and adults alike.

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We have started to think about what to buy people this Christmas and I must admit it’s so easy to get stuck on certain people who either have one of everything or are so busy running around that you have no idea what they could possibly like.

I am over the moon to be able to bring to you a great site which has those quirky unusual gifts that really do make you grin and light up.

Wicked Uncle has gifts for babies right through to adults so I was spoilt for choice when I went on to choose something for my brood at home. The thing was which gifts to buy for whom as I know that both of my boys love things which are a bit unusual.

Wicked Uncle Christmas Gifts

My eldest is really into his music and videos now so the portable bluetooth speaker with dancing water jets is ideal. When the music starts, the lights and water move in time with the beat. Such a great idea, he’s going to love it.

Jokes too?

It’s not just great gifts, they even have a joke factory on there which has given me some cool mum points when I said them to the boys when they got home! These are great for putting in home-made crackers too. You can choose the age range which is from 3 – 13+, matching their age range for toys. What better way to end the festive day after polishing off the mammoth christmas roast than with some jokes around the table!

To give you a little sample, here are a couple of my favourites ….

Q. What do you call a girl who stands inside goalposts and stops the ball rolling away?

A. Annette.

And my all time winner…

Q. Why did the banana go to the doctor?

A. Because it wasn’t peeling well.

For my youngest I had to really think about getting him something that was cool, had a function and that would suit his quirky personality. He loves reading his football programmes in bed which he gets from going to every home game throughout the season. He can spend hours going back and forth checking on what the players have been doing. So for him The Anywhere Light – Strike a Pose! will be perfect to play with and also give him the light to read by.

Wicked Uncle Christmas Gifts

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To top it off, I treated myself to Hopping Popping Frogs. I might just share these….we’ll see.

How are you getting along with your Christmas shopping so far?

Are you a list person or even a spread sheet buff when it comes to being organised? I have friends who live by their spreadsheets, while I have my ever faithful journal to help me along.

Let me know how you are doing and what you think of Wicked Uncle.

Whatever stage you are at, enjoy and don’t over think it, keep it fun.

Feeling in the Christmas spirit now? How about a spot of Christmas inspired baking with this Easy Rocky Road recipe.

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Collaboration Post

Princess Party Pack Giveaway

Don’t you just love a party? Living life just like a princess can be made all the more real with my Princess Party Pack giveaway this week.

To set the princess party theme from the very start we have the You’re Invited invitation cards.

Cake decoration princess rings will twinkle on the birthday cake then a big slice can be given to everyone in their very own Princess Her Highness goodie bag.

Next up in this regal pack is the Thank You cards to show her perfect princess manners off to the full.

Good luck everyone!

Giveaway

To enter, use the Rafflecopter entry here.

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Open to Worldwide entries

If you like this giveaway, you might enjoy this Olaf from Frozen one too!

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Is it just me?

Do you ever wonder if the bizarre, naughty or plain un-mummy things you think of are just you….I do!

Well here’s my confession….I don’t enjoy the responsibility all of the time.

1st disclaimer – if you’ve ever pursed your lips and tutted at someone who’s being un-mummyish then please don’t read on…. I need to have this vent.

I mean, I look at a lot of people and they seem to ‘cope’. Not only cope but even seem to enjoy being around their children all the time and doing mum stuff. One of the reasons I came off Facebook was because I couldn’t bear being mummy shamed by people looking relaxed and joyfully baking with their lovely little darlings, not just highdays and holidays, but regular as clockwork. Also making things and posting photos that show smiling clean children who look like they actually appreciate the perfectly turned out mum or dad next to them.

Here are a few of my sins:

I clock watch for when it’s time the kids have to go to bed. I also get a little excited as I look forward to it. My eyes flit from the bottle of wine, to the snack cupboard to my iPad, all gently purring my name in a frequency no one else in the house can hear.

I would rather not read a children’s story book all the way through at bedtime, I’m tired at 8 myself! The afore mentioned chorus of goodies downstairs is deafening to my ears by this point. I want my children to read well and I want to celebrate with them…just earlier in the evening please.

I’d like to spend more time and money on grown up stuff like make-up and clothes. Instead I blow it on boys toys, classes and kids ‘stuff’. I spend time on my things, I just need to balance it out a bit more.

I don’t particularly enjoy having their friends round, only because I find it stressful. Their friends are great – it’s me! What if they get hurt, fall out with each other or hear me swear under my breath as I stub my toe and then they repeat on a loop, steadily driving me into anxiety overload. Or worse, after having a successful couple of hours, burst into tears as soon as their parents arrive. It happens! I don’t know why, but it’s a kids phenomenon, they do it to torment adults.

Sometimes I just don’t get it – I don’t understand the rules of parenting, I forget that children are immature, yeah doh! I find myself standing in the middle of a room trying to reason with two boys who just want to tease, argue, play and do their own thing without mature interruption.

Finally, I’d like to be strong enough to actually follow through, just once, with whatever I’ve threatened to take away ‘by the time I count to three!’ Even my eldest at 10 started saying that I don’t ever do it, he’s 12 now and nothing has changed. So I’m inconsistent now and freak out at the small stuff.

2nd Disclaimer: Of course I love my kids! Of course I wouldn’t change a bloomin thing and of course my kids are my world. They fill me to bursting point with love and make me boil over with a loyalty to protect them.

But this parenting lark can be bloomin hard and sometimes I need to let off steam! Away from the kids, into my own little space. Sometimes it’s good to shout from the rooftops or into blogging world that it’s tough – without having to apologise or justify…..at least not too much;)

Do you ever feel the same or is it all plain sailing for you?

When I flip the other way I start worrying about the future and when they go out into the big wide world, I call it pre-empty nest syndrome. Hormones clearly play a big role in parenting for me and the huge job demands big feelings.

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Updated October 2018

Fun Times at The Body Shop Event

Offering hints and tips for the best beauty routines, from just wanting a dab of moisturiser to the brightest of blushers, there is a bit of everything to enjoy.

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I had a fantastic evening out recently with the Bournemouth Bloggers where we were invited to an exclusive evening with The Body Shop in Bournemouth to take a look at their full range of products.

It started off with a glass of bubbly as we walked in the door which is the best sort of hello I could of hoped for after a long day. I wasn’t driving and was child free for the next couple of hours and I was perfectly ready to melt into the world of pamper products and learn more about the body shops international work promoting and campaigning for cruelty free cosmetics.

With the help of Hannah, Alice and Scarlett we were given an overview of the products in general and how they were going to help us on the night. We were then free to hone in on the specific products that we wanted to know more about.

As many of you know I’m getting married next year and one of the things that I need is the perfect lipstick. As I rarely wear it I am totally out of my comfort zone about where to even start. If you scrabble around in my make-up bag then the ones you do find are normally a nude colour or a clear lipgloss for the evening…not very daring.

I want to shine for my wedding and am looking forward to pushing my own boundaries and having the perfect pout. The lipstick range that I went for under guidance from my body shop pro was the Colour Crush™ Lipsticks. I was amazed that my make up stylist went straight for 2 colours that were bold and very rich, normally the opposite end of the line when I would be looking at colours. However, it just shows you the power of letting the professionals look after you as when I saw the effect I was thrilled!

The name of this little beauty is Sardinia Hibiscusis. It is enriched with Community Trade marula oil so I won’t get that dried out feeling that can be present with some lipsticks. A bonus feature is that it comes with its own little mini pot on the end when you don’t want to take the whole one with you. Ideal also if you want to lend to a friend but just can’t part with your favourite lippy, genius!

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I had a demonstration of the All-In-One BB cream which adapts to your skin tone. It’s light which is what I need for a natural look. Having an even skin tone will help perk me up on the colder autumn mornings.

body shop event — 8 million signatures reached!

The Body Shop was founded by Anita Roddick in 1976 when she opened her first shop in Brighton. I remember always growing up with the Body Shop as the main force in promoting and raising awareness of cruelty free cosmetics. This cause has grown and grown over the years and The Body Shop have become leaders in fronting campaigns to make a difference.

Their latest campaign #ForeverAgainstAnimalTesting is to end animal testing in cosmetics forever. They have reached the 8 million signatures needed and have made a video here to explain how they are now on their way to the United Nations.

“If you think you’re too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito.”

Anita Roddick

The Bournemouth shop is also available to follow over on instagram and will keep you updated with all you need for those beach side tips.

I was keen to have a look for products for my OH because he uses absolutely nothing on his face or beard. All these years of buying him beautiful smellies at Christmas and birthdays have gone to waste. I think that he could open his own shop with the amount he has stashed away.

I think that I have now cracked it with these two products in the mens section. The Guarana and Coffee Energising Cleanser is enriched with organic community trade aloe vera and is 100% vegan. It smells delicious with coffee undertones, just what you need to kickstart your mornings.

The Cedar & Sage beard oil will be a treat for his beard that I think will make him see what he’s been missing. It will moisturise the skin underneath his beard and give his stunning stubble a shine and subtle scent.

I was treated to a gorgeous goody bag when I left which was a really kind gesture, filled with lots of gifts for me to try out which I will let you know more about soon! Thoroughly enjoyable evening and right on time with stocking up on ideas just before christmas and getting ready for the wedding.

Have you been into the Body Shop recently? What are your favourite products?

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I’m Getting Married!

I’m Getting Married! The time has come to make an honest women of me! But what will I wear, eat, say and do? The pressure is clearly on now.

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Is that the right thing to say or should it be ‘we’ are getting married to be more inclusive? Whichever it is, the big day has been set and we are on the path to saying I Do. Beyond excited and having tummy backflips when I think that in 8 months the day will be mine all mine, oh and his too;)

My OH finally took the plunge and asked me in May after years together and knowing that I was so excited about getting married and he had no idea or need to ever even consider that he would. Our German/English pairing never ceases to amaze me in the way we approach things, coupled with the men are from mars and women are from venus scenario, our lives are interesting.

Those of you who regularly drop by know that I talk about the boys and my OH but don’t delve too deep about our relationship. I do let out the odd gushy poem like this one on the plane from Munich which says it all in a moment of hormones and fear of flying panic.

How did it all begin…

Finding love in my forties after a fun-filled, crazy, sometimes sad and always challenging life came out of the blue. I was scheduled to pick up a visiting professional who had travelled down from London to where I am on the south coast from the train station. I had known him for over a year through my work in social care by having the odd meeting and email. I was stood by my car looking through the glass door of the train station, trying to peer over the heads of the crowd bustling through, when his face came into view and I was suddenly smitten…shocked at how this came out of nowhere…but smitten all the same. Once I had greeted him and got us seated and belted up I almost shook my head at myself as I had that silly smile that you get when you like someone but I tried to tuck it deep inside me and keep my super professional facade up as this was a work thing and I’m normally good at painting the picture of being in control onto a nervous face.

The drive should have been 10 minutes from the station to our meeting room, I took the scenic route to make the hop feel like a road trip.

On the way back he asked me for coffee in the station cafe, I paid. Romance my dear readers is not dead!

Skip forward 7 years and our combined families are now one happy bunch and planning a wedding.

Tomorrow is a day with my girlfriends trying on wedding dresses!! I am pinching myself that I am actually going to be trying dresses on. In my mind I have low-key sophistication, but then I realised that I don’t even really know what that means!

This isn’t too much is it???

via GIPHY

The coming months are going to be crammed with planning. Planning for the wedding and planning for the loft conversion we are having done. Never do things by half should be our motto.

I’ve set up a Pinterest board today so please pin away with any wedding thoughts. If you’ve been somewhere and loved an idea please share it with me on the board. Drop your email or Pinterest link to me so I can add you.

The theme….Beach – Rustic – Chic, ridiculous but true! I can’t wait.

I’ll be writing about the lead up more and more over the next few months. Rings…will he wear one? Speeches…should be bother…. Being given away….is that even relevant these days? There’s alot to clog the brain with. I’ll need tea and help along the way.

I’m in the wedding bubble and it’s all about the ‘me’ at the moment!

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Best Friends Forever Notebook Giveaway

I’ve got a fantastic giveaway for you today with this Best Friends Forever Notebook.

With summer starting to fade its glorious sunlight into the dusk of autumn it is time to start thinking about Christmas. It’s hard to believe but it will be on us before we know it. This could be just the thing for school aged children to love and cherish.

This Best Friends Forever Notebook sets down lasting memories of childhood friends.

With pages to write contact details, to have photos and to pop little messages that are recorded forever, it’s ideal to take to school during the last week of term.

So, all you have to do to win this notebook is to enter using the rafflecopter entry below. Good luck and forget to come back each day for a bonus entry tweet!

Here’s the Giveaway!

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Open to Worldwide Entrants.

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7 Photo Steps to Making a Raised Bed Natural Cover

Using your natural environment to help out with organic gardening is fun and fulfilling. Check out this photo step by step guide to make a natural cover to help keep your veggies that bit safer.

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You can see how we made our raised beds in 5 easy steps here.

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Honeycomb Birds Giveaway

The giveaway I am pleased to be sharing with you today actually shows how you can have wonderfully elegant decorations in the house which can represent the outside wildlife so well. This is a favourite giveaway of mine as they are so beautiful.

They can be used as wedding party decorations, imagine a flock of these in one corner on a lovely summers day…beautiful!

Great at a christening, childrens party or any occasion that you want your decorations to stand out from the crowd. Much nicer to have your party talked about for all the right reasons.

These 3 birds can be used inside or outside and if handled carefully can be used again and again. The pack contains 3 x 6″ paper honeycomb birds.

They are beautiful and add a touch of something a bit different. You can enter using the rafflecopter widget below. Good luck and thanks for visiting today.

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Open to UK address holders only

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The Long Road to our Loft Conversion

The thought of building work and having the roof of our house taken off is a big step to take. But the space, oh the space and taste of luxury we could end up with! Could be a dream come true.

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After our big project of having the conservatory built we have now started planning on moving upwards into the loft. We’ve been thinking about it for quite a while and even cheekily went to see one of our neighbours who had had a loft conversion to see how they had ended up with their new space.

When we spoke to them we found out that it cost quite a lot of money, way above what I thought. For some reason I had in my head that it was only going to be about 20 or 30k but there was a big big difference. Building is so expensive now, it seems to be a bit over the top. Still I am determined to try to go ahead and see if we can get it within our budget.

I don’t know about you but I tend to rush into things a bit too fast and sometimes that doesn’t always receive the best outcome. Even though it’s a bit difficult for me to say that, my other half is far better at doing all the planning and really looking into things properly. I like to think that I have a good general overview but I must say, Pinterest is normally my best friend when I have any sort of ideas. I can go on that ‘pin’ button and hundreds of ideas come forward immediately, it’s absolutely brilliant and helps me to visualise some of the tiny seeds of ideas that I have flitting around my head trying to take form.

The long road to our loft conversion — So many ideas! Pinterest has alot to answer for.

I left the sourcing and phoning around of people to my other half which he did and before I knew it we had three different builders lined up to come round to give us quotes. They were so different, the first one was a big company type where they have the architects, make the plans and deal with any sort of building regulations and planning applications. They would do the build all for one price and promise if anything goes wrong then they will plan in for any eventuality so you don’t have to worry about a thing. Of course, for this sort of peace of mind and hands off approach you pay a really big price! Eek! This price came out of £55,000+ way ahead anything that we would even think to be able to afford.

The second person who came along was a builder who barely even looked at the loft space and just said well when you’ve got the plans get back to me I can make a price from there. That was really disappointing, that they didn’t seem to have any ideas or give us any guidance at all, he just wanted to work from some plans.

The third one however in my Goldilocks story seem to be just right, they came in and straight away hit it off with my OH, he was personable, not to showy and came up with some really good ideas that we hadn’t t even thought of. The fact that they got on well was great since they would be the two people leading the project suited me down to the ground. I really do want to take a back seat with this and not have to get involved too much with the building side or managing the builders. One of the other little extras that we liked was that he put in a call to one of his clients whom he had completed a loft conversion previously and arranged for us to go round and have a look. To actually see first hand the quality of the craftsmanship was a bonus and my OH took him up on the offer.

the long road to our roof construction — Can you imagine if it rained during this part?

As yet we haven’t come to a firm decision and the price even from the 3rd one is way above what we first thought. We are now at the stage that we have to think;

Can we afford it?

What will it mean to us as a family to have this extra space?

Do we need all the added extras or should we scale down the plans?

Lots to think about but my gut feeling is to go ahead and keep working in the direction of getting it done. This one is a slow burner and needs time to develop.

Any tips or ideas would be so welcome, goodness knows there’s so much to come to grips with, we need all the help we can get.

Please get typing and let me know what you think:)

Work Wonderland

Why not gift someone, or yourself, a new career direction?

Why not gift someone, or yourself, a new career direction?

The Giveaway

Testimonials for Work Wonderland

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Jokes too?

Feeling in the Christmas spirit now? How about a spot of Christmas inspired baking with this Easy Rocky Road recipe.

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Giveaway

If you like this giveaway, you might enjoy this Olaf from Frozen one too!

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1st disclaimer – if you’ve ever pursed your lips and tutted at someone who’s being un-mummyish then please don’t read on…. I need to have this vent.

2nd Disclaimer: Of course I love my kids! Of course I wouldn’t change a bloomin thing and of course my kids are my world. They fill me to bursting point with love and make me boil over with a loyalty to protect them.

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How did it all begin…

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Here’s the Giveaway!

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