This year has already seen us take several flights with our toddler, both short haul and long haul. Whilst I love traveling and exploring as a family of three, I also always slightly dread the flight with my toddler whom is 21 months old. We have been fortunate enough to fly Business Class on the long haul flights so that does give us a bit more room and comfort, however it is still very difficult to entertain a little one who is incredibly active but cant quite yet communicate. As such, I have spent a lot of time scouting Amazon for toddler friendly toys and activities. I pack them into our carry-on luggage to keep her entertained during the flight and then use them throughout the holiday. Here are the top 10 toys that I have opted for to help keep my very busy toddler occupied.Continue Reading
Archives for April 2019
Review: Yorkshire Heart Vineyard and Brewery Tour
Yorkshire Heart Vineyard
A vineyard in North Yorkshire you say? You must be joking! But this family run business halfway between York and Harrogate in North Yorkshire is breaking all the rules, and winning awards for their produce. When we first arrived in England, I was surprised to learn about English wineries – when you think of wine country you most certainly don’t think of the UK. But this little gem in Yorkshire is proving us all wrong.Continue Reading
Travel Diary | Sorrento, Italy
Sorrento Dream Resort, Italy
As a family we almost always travel over the Easter holidays – it is a good excuse to get away for a few days without taking any annual leave. This year we opted to travel to Sorrento, Italy. It has been 10 years since we last visited Italy, and the first time for our daughter. We found cheap flights to Naples so were then tasked with the tough decision of where we wanted to be based for our short vacation. I had heard great things about Sorrento and given its close proximity to Naples, it made it an easy choice to explore this coastal town. Continue Reading
Master Distiller | Distill your own Gin at Spirit of Harrogate
Last year I was lucky enough to win Runner-up Best Dressed at York Races – you can read all about that experience in ‘Fashion at the Races – How I (almost) won best dressed‘. The prize was an overnight stay at Hotel du Vin, Harrogate and a ‘Distill your own Gin‘ experience at the Spirit of Harrogate. Given we are living the expat life, we booked in the experience and night away months in advance once we knew my parents were coming to stay and that we would have a reliable babysitter. Continue Reading
Bump & Baby Expo | Gift Bag Review
Myself and Vicki Psarias aka Honest Mum
Recently I attended the Bump & Baby Expo in York where I was very kindly given my first ever ‘Blogger Access’ to the expo. This event, which was organised in collaboration with Avocado Events, featured over 60 exhibitors with ‘bump and beyond’ products and services. We were gifted a very generous gift bag full of lots of lovely items – many of which are from local or small female mum businesses. I wanted to take the opportunity to highlight the things I received so that you can look them up and perhaps try them out for yourself. I am all for finding new amazing products as well as supporting small businesses where possible. Everything is linked below so you can find it easily online.Continue Reading
Easter Gift Guide: Non Chocolate Treats for Children
Easter is obviously a religious holiday and not one for traditionally giving gifts other than chocolate. However as the world becomes ever more commercialized and people look for an excuse to celebrate literally anything, I thought I would put together a gift guide for your little ones if you don’t want to buy chocolate, either because they are too young or you don’t want them on a sugar rush for days to come. If you are traveling over the Easter period then a few of these items might also be useful distractions for your plane, train or car journey – wrap them up and give them to your children whilst en-route.Continue Reading
Why I ate my Placenta
Mackenzie’s First Outing – 10 Days Old
It sounds rather gruesome and barbaric doesn’t it … eating ones placenta post childbirth. However don’t be too alarmed – I didn’t fry it up in my kitchen or turn it into a smoothie – I had my placenta encapsulated. So okay, that sounds a little more humane and easily digestible but the question is WHY did I do it? And the reason I did ingest my placenta is simple – I was terrified of suffering from post natal depression after the birth of my daughter. I have experienced small amounts of anxiety in the past – I think this has mainly been a side effect from taking the contraceptive pill and stresses such as work. Its never been quite bad enough to seek any kind of professional help for it but I was really worried of post natal depression from very early on in my pregnancy.Continue Reading