I tried so hard to work on the train to London yesterday but failed dismally. I appear to be incapable of typing on a train, instead spending much of my time gazing vacantly out of the window or scrolling aimless Reels on my phone. It’s mostly annoying because it means that I have to lug my laptop around all day so the only person I am failing is myself. One thing I did manage to do is source the High Street Heroes of the month on this list, although it took me a lot of time to get past the Halloween decor. I say this every year, but WHY? Who buys baking trays with ghosts on? Who buys sugar bowls in the shape of pumpkins? Who invests hard earned cash on scary tableware? Also, where do people store all this shit for the other 364 days of the year? Although I do know that some people like to throw themselves into ‘themed’ decor; I don’t even like to answer the door to trick or treaters and have been known to turn off the lights so that they don’t know that I’m home, so I’m not the best person to assess the Halloween situation. One pumpkin would do the trick for me, ha.

But enough of ghostly moans and back to the point and what have I spotted whilst perusing the heady heights of the High Street this month? LOADS of stainless steel tableware, just masses of it. We’ve been noticing this for the last year but now it seems to be in with a vengeance, so I’ve avoided adding it in to my picks for this very reason but if you’re in the market, the High Street has got this nailed. There are plenty of pale blues and greens which I have immediately gravitated towards plus tactile curves in everything from furniture to tableware to accessories, all over the place. Earthy Autumnal colours, embroidered details and natural materials are to be seen in abundance and much as I am most definitely a Summer person, I am feeling quite excited about seasonal home decor. As long as it’s not Halloween themed. Ha.

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So here’s my list from twelve of the most alluring High Street homeware brands as seen this September. And my favourite find this month? The John Lewis boucle pouffe is a little curvy cubed dream and the Mango Home tablecloth is a pale blue joy. Happy Saturday!

1.Dusty Blue Stoneware Serving Bowl - H&M Home, £19.99

Right, let’s kick off with H&M and I LOVE the shape and colour of this beaut of a salad bowl. And I’m also going to apologise up front that there appears to be a theme going through this months HSH colourwise which was kind of unintentional but I think it shows how my brain works, ha. Anyway, back to the point and this bowl is part of a new range including plates, bowls, all the stuff and I am trying to stop myself from thinking HOW GOOD it would all look on my brown shelves.

2. Check & Fringe Blanket - Zara Home, £23.99

One of the reasons I love Zara Home is that it’s so bloody RANDOM. The website is virtually impossible to navigate and half the stuff in the home photography you can’t even buy but it doesn’t stop me being a slave to anything that’s new in. Although this month it’s a collaboration with a florist which is a bit out of my league, tbh. But anyway, this cosy looking blanket is a simple design with minimum fringing (I have issues with excessive fringing due to the fact I have a cat) and it looks more expensive than it is, plus it comes in a big size too. Nice nice nice.

3. Boucle Square Pouffe - John Lewis, £120

Now, I LOVE this. Boucle, but make it interesting. Lots of texture, excellent muddy colour palette, great shape and also very handy. This would work in pretty much any colour scheme and again, a great price for what is a very practical addition to your living room. I mean, everyone needs a pouffe. A winner from JL.

4. Embroidered Floral Linen Tablecloth - Mango Home £119.99

Yes, yes, I know, I know - pale blue again. But LOOK AT THIS! Super pretty, lovely embroidery detail, excellent soft colour and also, it’s massive. Annoyingly, too massive for my new smaller table else this would have been straight in my bag without passing go. I seem to have lots of tablecloths that don’t fit, I need to work out what to do with them and if I can cut them down. But anyway, sorry, I’m digressing. Mango Home is hugely underestimated in my opinion and this season is well worth a look.

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5. Berla Ceramic Bathroom Set - La Redoute, £28.49

So I started on a pale blue theme and I’m sticking with it for now, but I really like this set which is in the Sale at La Redoute. Super simple, nice and curvy, good contrast with the dispenser colour and has rather a ‘designery’ look going on here. But without the designer price tag, which is pretty cool. I am useless in the face of the La Redoute Sale, I tell you. Today my new bedding order arrived plus a ceiling light for the guest room. I told you, useless.

6. Glass Two Tier Wall Light - Marks & Spencer, £80

Was immediately drawn to this beaut of a lamp because it’s the same style as the vintage Murano ones I bought from eBay that I’ve got in my bathroom and I love the way the light diffuses through the glass. This colour is an absolute winner, too - I am about to put wall lights into my guest bedroom and I love the way that they save space free up the side table. Top tip: if you don’t want to have to angle grind into your wall to get the electrics up there then get your electrician to add a fabric cord instead that you can trail down to plug in to a socket. This also means that you are not restricted to having them in the same place. You’re welcome.

7. Fara Goblet - Anthropologie, £16

Love a stocky wine glass. I had friends over for dinner the other night and we agreed that whilst the classic long stem is always a winner, a stubby one that you can put in a dishwasher is an excellent casual choice. Obviously you are just as likely to break a short glass as you are a long stemmed glass, but for some reason this feels safer. This one is particularly glorious in blue, white and green and most definitely dishwasher friendly. Washing up glasses is my worst job and I will do anything to avoid it, even down to putting long stemmed ones in the bottom dishwasher drawer putting then at risk of breakage. Which happens often.

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8. Woven Tiered Storage Basket - Dunelm, £25

I often struggle to find interesting stuff that I want to share with you on Dunelm. They have loads of excellent buys, but sometimes it’s not that unique. Last month, I shared the glass hen egg holder with you which was a total winner; this month, I have found this glory of a basket which I intend to buy the next time I head to Clifton Moor which is where my local Dunelm is. This is a multi use basket but I feel that it’s perfect for sitting on the kitchen worksurface and filling with either fruit or vegetables. Also, a nice dark wicker which looks more expensive than it is. A good buy, I think.

9. Vinny Fabric Armchair - Habitat, £235

I am not really a fan of occasional chairs, if I am being honest, in particular tub chairs with low backs or those chairs which are multiple boucle tubes formed into a highly uncomfortable shapes. I have tried to like them but it’s not helped by the fact that trends defined that endless homeware brands launch them in a variety of obscenely bright colours which make my eyes bleed and then finish them off with generic wooden feet. However this, my friends, is not a an occasional chair - it’s a proper sit back, curved arms beaut of a little number and I am wholly on board with it. Love the shape, love the material, love the fact it’s all fabric.

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10. Wool Cushion Cover - Arket, £45

I actually went into Arket on Regent Street yesterday and much as I love this brand, I do find the stores quite hard to get my head around. Rows and rows of utility wear that looks as if it could take you off to war or pack boxes in an ammunition factory, no problem. Yes, I know it’s about the minimalist approach but I praise be that when it comes to homeware, they’re far more prone to pattern. This wool cushion cover is new in and I love the shapes, love the colours and it looks super cosy too. A nice autumnal update.

11. Safira Nesting Tables - Oliver Bonas, £195

Okay, so you know my thoughts about the ubiquitous OB. I have one at the end of my street and it’s a gloriously colourful, day brightening shop and it’s always busy too. It looks GREAT. However, I struggle with wearing clothes that have fruit and vegetables on. Or bathroom things in the shape of fruit and vegetables. Candles with fruit and vegetables. Someone at OB is really into fruit and vegetables. However, the furniture side is a whole different ball game and could even come from a totally different store if you didn’t know the truth. Last month, I brought you an absolute dream of a tubular, olive green leather chair; this month, this super cool little nest of three tables which are a great shape and colour and looks almost vintage. Very nice indeed and a good price, too.

12. KONSTRUNDA Bowl - IKEA, £22

I’ve purposely put this picture of a man with the bowl next to his fact because look at the size of it! It’s HUGE! This stainless steel bowl is new in and has multiple uses and is an absolute bargain. The reflected ear is a bit disconcerting to be fair but this would be good for fruit, as a hall bowl for throwing random stuff in (not keys if you are having a party but you know, each to their own) or on a coffee table. I said I was going to avoid silverware this month as it’s everywhere but this, I could not resist.

So there you have my favourite finds this month. Which do you like the best? Do tell me in the comments below!

Quick Note: This is a free post for subscribers but you can also become a PAID SUBSCRIBER to receive four free posts a month but also eight EXTRA posts a month (including a weekly Design Dilemmas and ALL my inspiration and moodboards for my new home renovation) plus Chat threads so you can join our blossoming community. I would thoroughly recommend it.

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Good morning and I am SO BEHIND with this post due to two days of intermittent power cuts on my street. I don’t know how it happened, but it started with the Big Storm that happened at the weekend which blew all the sockets in my kitchen and I had to call British Gas Homecare to come to the rescue. And then last night, I went to meet my friend for an early evening drink and catch up chat and when I returned, all the power had gone completely. We have a student house next door to us and last year, it was four Spanish boys who did a lot of cooking and weed smoking but were very nice and polite. This year, it’s girls and last night, one of them was home alone in the pitch dark with no phone charge so Max and I gave her my rechargeable lights to save the day.

The power cut lasted until this morning but now it is all back up and running thanks to the workmen who dug literally through the night at the end of the road to fix it. It kind of reminded me of the miners strikes; although I was only three, I can remember my Mum lighting candles all over our house in Somerset which was probably a huge health and safety risk, and my Dad grabbing the massive black rubber torch so that we weren’t entirely in the dark. On the plus side, I slept quite well last night after closing the windows to the noise as all the street lights were off and it was absolutely pitch.

Am also rushing as my brother and his family are arriving this afternoon on the way back from a mini break in Glasgow and not only that, today is his birthday. I’ve booked a restaurant for dinner and if I can get my act in gear, am intending to make him a cake but have no time to leave the house so will be entirely restricted to what I have in the cupboard which means Utterly Butterly is the way to go. I’m sure he won’t even notice. Ha.

But back to my List Of Joie and there has been much to talk about these past weeks, including a run down of my dinner party recipes AND, excitingly, a giveaway to win a £250 FatFace voucher to celebrate their new Autumn Anthologies collection, plus a £230 Curtis Brown writing course voucher, perfect for any of you who fancy setting up your own Substack or would like to learn more about writing for yourself. It’s just for paid subscribers so don’t forget to enter! Anyway, here’s a little run down of what I’ve watched, bought, worn, read, eaten and lusted after in the last fortnight.

This post is for paid subscribers but you can upgrade for the price of a coffee! You’ll get an eight extra posts every month plus my entire archive including tonnes of recipes and travel write ups. Plus all my plans, moodboards and inspiration for my new home renovation. I would thoroughly recommend!

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Good morning and if all has gone to plan, then I should be having a rather relaxed weekend. Or so I hope, ha. Leo has gone to Leeds Festival for the first time (he didn’t want to go last year as he didn’t like the line up, ffs) and the weather is horrific with thunderstorms forecast and constant heavy rain. He has sent me two photographs so far, one of him with beer in hand and one where he looks like a mentalist. Apparently, according to my other children, he is not even still in the tent that he went with and has moved to someone else’s tent and my other son, Max, is making me even more angsty by doctoring all the Snapchats that Leo is sending him by adding AI balloons and huge joints to his face. Honestly. My children are totally sent to try me.

I thought that I would have an entire Bank Holiday Weekend to myself and I have to admit to being quite excited about it, but this is not happening. Max arrived home last night for the long weekend and Ella is now coming back on Sunday whilst her boyfriend Lucas is playing golf so my dreams of a solo four days are dashed. Although obviously it is lovely to see them, I was really kind of in to the idea of being home alone. I’ve got a few plans, however, including drinks with my friend Ruth tomorrow (Saturday), a visit to an open house antiques and art warehouse and finally, lunch on Monday so I will not be lying on the sofa all weekend. Am also hoping that I might be able to squeeze in a new book that I bought from Topping & Co bookshop (if you are in York, it’s new and amazing so you need to go) called Euphoria which reimagines the last year in the life of Sylvia Plath. It’s by an author called Elin Cullhead and I’ll report back.

But back to business and today we’re starting off by looking at alternatives to the ubiquitous spotlight and finding some options. We’re talking room colours - should you decorate for future buyers or yourself? Attic bedrooms are next on the list, with a large one that needs a revamp and I’ve come up with a few ideas, plus a tiny room off the kitchen in a 1900 home that might be able to become a laundry space. And finally, the Sunday Niche Edit is all about garlic and ginger graters which are my current favourite subject after buying one in Greece. Paid subscribers (particularly if you’re new), remember that you can add your dilemmas or quandaries below here in the comments or you can join in the Group Chat (the speech bubble on your app or just click the link below) where there are thousands of you waiting to help with any issues that arise (I pick ones from both of these locations for my weekly post, so whack yours in).

You can READ ON by becoming a paid subscriber which means that not only do you receive four free posts a month but you’ll also get an eight EXTRA posts a month (including all my plans for our new home) plus Chat threads so you can join our blossoming community. You’ll be able to access my archive to read ALL of my past posts (including recipes and travel write ups) for the price of one coffee a month. I would thoroughly recommend!

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If you’ve been following my Substack for a while, you’ll know that the idea of moving from the North Yorkshire countryside to a town house in the centre of York was to release the equity and buy a house in cash (you can read about that here), with enough money remaining to do it up. The idea was to do this as a joint venture with my estranged husband, with the long term aim of also buying something small in the sunshine, preferably Greece. I LOVE Greece. Releasing the equity, slowing down a tiny bit (not much, but you know, it was a good aim) and living a city centre life of fun. Unfortunately, his aim was also to live a life of fun, just not with me, so by September 2025 I was facing a full renovation alone. Okay, with Leo in residence too (who was 16 at the time), but to all intents and purposes, solitary. I have to admit that this did not phase me one bit. In fact, once the shock of his departure had dulled (didn’t take long, tbh), I was MASSIVELY excited. Ha.

I cannot lie and say it has been an easy year, house wise. From September until Christmas, Leo and I lived in my bedroom which also multi tasked as a kitchen, a TV room and animal food area. There was a LOT of dust. I mean, so much dust, so much so that my hair was constantly filthy, the cat got matts from rolling around in it and I coughed every night during my sleep. I made endless cups of really shit tea for builders and trade. At one point when the bathroom was being done, the kitchen ceiling beneath fell in due to the floor having rotted due to a permanent unseen leak. The macerator in the top shower room broke and we had no toilet or water and I went and checked into a Hotel to have a bath and go to the loo (also that cost £600 just for the parts which was an unbudgeted cost). We ate microwave meals, Deliveroo and toast for months on end and had to wash up in the bidet on the attic floor. It was quite hardcore, but honestly, worth EVERY SINGLE SECOND. I love my house so much.

So before I show you what I've done over the last year, I just want to clarify the financial element. I see a lot of posts on social media saying things like ‘let’s normalise slow renovation’ or similar and commentary about renovations where money doesn’t seem to be an issue. As a side note, the phrase ‘let’s normalise’ makes me want to punch someone. Honestly, it ranks in the same category as POV and all that shite. ‘Let’s normalise’ is ridiculous. What is normal? Who decides what is normal? Is this phrase to make people who DON’T do what the post says feel rubbish about themselves? I wrote a few weeks ago about how I love social media - it gave me an entirely new career in my forties - but honestly, this sort of click bait stuff REALLY should be banned. Whilst I’m on one, dramatic click bait Substacks with ‘perfectly placed’ paywalls are on this list too.

But anyway, back to the financials and when we bought this house, we bought it with a fund to renovate it. And that’s it. Until my forties, I was never able to afford to do anything really hardcore to a house - this is the first kitchen I have ever installed or designed. We had kids, bills, no free cash AT ALL (our parents can attest to this) and I had never had a budget for any sort of renovation action. One of my favourite houses that we ever owned was a five bedroom Edwardian semi detached in Caversham that we bought on a huge mortgage but couldn’t afford to do a single thing to it. The kitchen was 10ft x 10ft, it had no heating at the back and the one bathroom was an abomination, but God, I loved that house so much. I could see in my head how it could be, but never had the funds to do anything about it. So for me, the excitement of buying a home knowing that I could afford to do work was off the scale.

So yes, I had a budget that came from the equity of £100,000. When that budget was spent, that was it. That money paid for the following: the front yard, the living area, the kitchen and the bathroom and enabled me to carpet and paint the two top small attic bedrooms. When that money was spent, I used money I had been saving myself from income in order to do the rest and that’s what I’m still doing now. This week, I’ve been planning the revamp of both my bedroom and the spare bedroom and because I am paying out of income, I have to go with what I can afford. For example, I wanted to replace wardrobe doors and create new built in’s in the spare room but that came in too high. So instead, I’ve come up with alternatives that fit my budget and actually, I think I might prefer the economical option which is rather fortuitous. Ha. No one has an endless pot of money but not everything has to be super expensive. Paint does SO much of the work for you, it constantly amazes me what a transformation it can achieve.

But back to the last year and what I’ve completed and I thought it would be worth doing some before and afters of the bits I’ve done, complete with my mood board plans of how I wanted it to look. Mostly, I have totally stuck to these plans which makes me feel quite smug, ha. I wrote on Wednesday about how I planned my bedroom right at the start when I was living in builders hell and how I’ve now rejigged it as I’ve lived in the space for a while and no longer am craving zen calm. Now, I want it to feel cosy but also invigorating, so I’ve added colour to what originally I had planned as a neutral scheme. There is DEFINITELY something to be said about living in a space for a bit when you move house to see how you use it and how you want it to make you feel.

So I bring you the following which are now completed, along with the mood boards and a before and after shot, plus what I changed and why during the process. If you’re a paid subscriber, the links will take you straight back to the original posts for reference (they’re now in Archive), but the before and afters I’ve shown below make me VERY happy! I’m getting there. Let me know what you think in the comments. All of my house renovation posts are in the My House In York tab (these have a paywall as they’re archived, for info).

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The Front Yard

BEFORE (read the planning post here)

AFTER:

What I Changed.

Pretty much stuck to brief, I think, with the swap over of a different bench and a wall light rather than a ceiling light in the porch. I got quite a lot of stick of social media for removing the massive hedge, but it’s made the biggest difference to the light in the house and also those railings are WAY too good to be hidden. This front yard has been a total joy this summer as the verbena has grown over 10ft high - the rose hasn’t quite reached its peak yet but it’s a long game. Ha. You can read the full reveal with all the details here.

The Kitchen

BEFORE (read the planning post here)

AFTER:

What I Changed.

Absolutely nothing. I followed this kitchen mood board to the letter and it all worked really well - I am SO happy with this space, it brings me joy every single day. The Capiz wall lights were my best investment ever and the shelving created by Ollie the joiner means that I can have all of my favourite things on show. By taking out the chimney breast and raising the ceiling strut it makes the whole space much lighter and I bloody love it. You can read the full reveal with details here.

The Downstairs Loo

BEFORE (read the planning post here)

AFTER:

What I Changed.

Nothing! I kept to my mood board although I also hung a gallery wall which I am constantly adding to. Because you know, I love a gallery wall. You can read more details about this small space here.

The Bathroom

BEFORE (read the planning post here)

AFTER:

What I Changed.

So I swapped out the garnet tiles to brown which worked better with the rest of the scheme in the house and went for a lighter pearl tile to keep it bright. The washstand was a labour of love but worth every moment that I spent on it, I think. You can read more about this small space here.

The Front Living Room

BEFORE (read the planning post here)

AFTER:

What I Changed.

Absolutely zilch except the colour of the log burner after I was told by multiple people that cream wasn’t a very practical colour, ha. This room has delivered exactly what I wanted it to and it gets full sun every evening which is a dream. You can read the reveal post with all the details for this room here.

The Middle Room

BEFORE (read the planning post for this here)

AFTER:

What I Changed.

Because the shelving in the kitchen was Cigar brown, I decided to tie this in with the tiles in the fireplace that was to store the logs so swapped the colour from green tiles to brown. I also decided against a fluffy rug here as it was a high footfall area, so a thick jute one works much better. Aside from that, I think I hit my own brief! You can read more about this room and the reveal post here.

The Hallway & Landing

BEFORE (read the planning post for this here)

AFTER:

What I Changed.

The biggest change here is that I decided against painting the stairs and bannisters in Cigar (brown) and instead matched them to the bookshelves on the landing. This makes it feel much more cohesive and also keeps the hallway light - I have some quite dark artworks on the left hand wall so needed to contrast that with a lighter woodwork. Also couldn’t afford the light I wanted so went for a cheaper one. Super pleased with this space and it makes my spirits lift every time I come through the door. You can read all the details about this space in the reveal post, here.

The Courtyard

BEFORE (you can read the planning post here)

AFTER:

What I Changed.

Quite a lot! Firstly, the tiles - I decided that a hexagon shape wouldn’t work so well with the vertical seat tiles so went for square. I also swapped out the black wall lighting for stainless steel which matches the doors. I introduced the same brown on the French doors that I used on the kitchen shelving to make it cohesive and I went for a green table rather than rust so that it matched the bench in the front yard. The garden gate is being installed next week and I’ll paint that the same colour as the French doors. Haven’t done a reveal post on this yet as waiting for the door to be installed, but you can find out more info about what I’ve done in this post here.

Thanks so much for reading! Quick Note: This is a free post for subscribers but you can also become a PAID SUBSCRIBER to receive four free Saturday posts a month but also eight EXTRA posts a month (including a weekly Design Dilemmas and all the updates, inspiration and moodboards for my new home renovation) plus Chat threads so you can join our blossoming community. I would thoroughly recommend it.

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As always, HUGELY appreciative that you are here and reading - if you have enjoyed, then please do HEART like, comment and most of all, SHARE by using the little recycle button - it really does help with visibility on this excellent platform. Thank you!

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Last year, I posted my ideas for my bedroom but since then, I have had other ideas. This is mostly because I’ve now lived in this space for a year and things that I thought I would want I now know I don't need, and things that I thought I didn’t need, I discovered that I did need. Yes, it’s a journey. I mean, I made these decisions over six months ago when my bedroom was still being used as a multi tasking area during the renovation - think kitchen, living room, tv watching area, dog toy location. My head was just thinking ‘give me calm’ and the moodboard that I created entirely shows this as it is basically all beige. Don’t get me wrong, I love beige but when I look at the moodboard now, I feel as if it’s lacking a bit of edge and personality and looks as if it’s barely part of the house as it looks now. I think that back last year when I created it I was fully in the whole ‘get the microwave out of my bedroom’ mode and wasn’t really thinking like ‘me’. Anyway, here’s a reminder of what I was craving when I was surviving in a house of living hell. It’s obvious why, really. Give me peace, make me zen, get rid of all the fucking DUST.

I mean, I still do like it. It’s very calming. But after living in it for a year, I realised that a) I didn’t have enough clothes storage space and b) I didn’t have room for a sofa or seat. And certainly not a small coffee table. What was I thinking? And also, that bedside table isn’t nearly big enough to hold the amount of books I currently have there now I am a single person and can read for hours without worrying if I’m keeping someone else awake (although in fairness I never really thought about that anyway).

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Just to remind you, this is my house layout as I haven’t done one of these moodboard posts for a while - my bedroom is the big one at the front of the house and it’s a really good size. Also remember that you can find my plans for almost ALL of these rooms on the My House In York tab above. I have to say that on looking back, they really do all look exactly how they did on my mood boards which makes me feel very smug. Ha. Also a reminder of how this room looked when I moved in and there was no furniture - it basically looks the same now but WITH furniture and with half the wallpaper peeled off in a fury. It looks like part old Victorian house, part squat den but I do really like this space.

Anyway, I have Liam the decorator booked in for 9 September and we are GO GO GO. I have lived long enough with that half peeled wallpaper and stuffed with clothes cupboards and it’s time to make a room just for me. That feels like me, not like a zone of calm. Because I’m not a naturally calm person and I need colour to perk me up. Not loads, but just enough. So here’s the NEW plan of what I’m going to do. As usual, I’m keeping the base neutral and adding colour with fabric and accessories so don’t expect anything wild, ha.

You can READ ON by becoming a paid subscriber which means that not only do you receive four free posts a month but you’ll also get an eight EXTRA posts a month (including all my plans for our new home) plus Chat threads so you can join our blossoming community. You’ll be able to access my archive to read ALL of my past posts (including recipes and travel write ups) for the price of one coffee a month. I would thoroughly recommend it!

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Anyway, I have a busy work week coming up and on top of that, my Mum and her partner John are coming to stay for three nights to do a mini tour of York and perhaps a beach visit. It’s been a while since I’ve seen her so I’m looking forward to it and they have already had me book their favourite restaurant, Little Italy, for her birthday dinner on Wednesday night for us all to celebrate. Leo is still, astonishingly, off school during what feels like the longest summer break EVER with still another two or more weeks to go before he has to start getting out of bed before midday. I like not having to rush up in the morning, admittedly, and have got very used to doing Wordle and Connections in bed every morning, but I am quite looking forward to the structure and routine that school brings to my day.

But back to business and today we’re starting off by looking extractor fans in a kitchen that’s already finished and how we can add one in without ruining the look. I’ve investigated into options for bringing a badly scratched engineered floor back to life and how to deal with an odd ‘door in the wall’ in a bedroom. There’s a couple of examples of good new home accounts to follow, plus furniture layout and what sort of rug to get. And finally, the Sunday Niche Edit is all about soap dishes. Paid subscribers (particularly if you’re new), remember that you can add your dilemmas or quandaries below here in the comments or you can join in the Group Chat (the speech bubble on your app or just click the link below) where there are thousands of you waiting to help with any issues that arise (I pick ones from both of these locations for my weekly post, so whack yours in).

You can READ ON by becoming a paid subscriber which means that not only do you receive four free posts a month but you’ll also get an eight EXTRA posts a month (including all my plans for our new home) plus Chat threads so you can join our blossoming community. You’ll be able to access my archive to read ALL of my past posts (including recipes and travel write ups) for the price of one coffee a month. I would thoroughly recommend!

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Anyway, we all wrote a list and when I looked back at mine, there were quite a few things that could be ticked. Well, almost ticked anyway. Finish the house (if I can get my act in gear, I’ll have just one shower room to renovate after Christmas and my work here will be done); read twelve books (currently at eight, there’s still time); do Pilates once a week (fuming about this one as I hurt my ankle and have been out of exercise action for four weeks - THWARTED); go on holiday four times (yep, this will be nailed by December); spend money on my skin (tick, tick and triple tick); go on a date (does a garden centre coffee shop count?) and write a book (in the words of Doris Day, perhaps, perhaps, perhaps). Four months to go and I have high hopes that I’ll be able to yell ‘FULL HOUSE’ once the year is up.

I wrote last week about going on holiday with adult children and how joyous it was to be able to please yourself, rather than when they are small and your entire break is spent making sure that they’re happy. When your kids are older, they don’t expect to be amused, they’re great company, they’re happy to go at their own pace (in fact, they are VERY good at going at their own pace, ha) and they don’t have any expectations of you. We didn’t have any massive plans, we made last minute decisions to do things, it was madly easy. This time, it felt even more transformative as I holidayed with my kids but without a husband, meaning that I really did have only myself to think about.

One of the small things that I really enjoyed was taking my book and going for a late breakfast in a quiet restaurant alone. Coffee, toast, some olive and tomato paste and utter peace. Honestly, it was amazing. I can entirely see the appeal of going on a solo break and will be adding that to my 2027 list for sure. You know, just to see what it’s like.

Anyway, we had the best family time, although it certainly wasn’t a budget break. I had several discussions with friends about this - I had saved the money to pay for the entire break and didn’t ask my kids for any contribution, because I didn’t want it. As your kids get older, the amount of time that you spend as a family diminishes and so when you DO get to be together, it’s worth it. I mean, it wasn’t all sunshine and roses, obvs. Ella and I sharing a bed (albeit a super king) for an entire week was a brave move, mostly because seven day, 24 hour proximity for a mother and daughter equates to asking for trouble. But I will never stop wanting to take my kids away, no matter how old they are. Even when they have jobs and can afford to pay for themselves. If I can afford to do it, I’ll do it. I mean, if I can’t, then I won’t. But that family time for me is worth every single penny.

Ella told me about a TikTok trend where you list five things that are worth your money. Five things that you will always pay extra for, invest your hard earned cash in and laugh in the face of anyone who tries to convince you otherwise. So I thought I’d list five things - family holidays aside - alongside five things that are NOT worth my money. Tell me what you agree with and disagree with below and add your own to the comments!

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Five Things That Are Worth My Money.

1. Sunshine holidays, not cold ones.

This is my absolute must have. I have only skied once and that was on the school trip back in 1987 to Lake Garda. We went up the mountain to blizzard conditions, the boots were uncomfortable, my socks got wet and I fell off the ski lift every single day. In fact, I never left the nursery slope. The redeeming feature was the apri ski evening Snowballs where the barman left it to the 16 year old guests to tell him when to stop with the Advocaat. I swore then I would never go on a cold holiday again and readers, I never have. If I can’t wear shorts, then I’m not going there. Also, it needs to be in a different country. This isn’t just for the sunshine; this is because I like to go places which are totally different from my every day life. I can get tapas in a York restaurant, but it won’t be the same as ordering fresh gambas in a little restaurant overlooking the sea and this is a fact. I will never, ever object to spending money on holidays. Not ever.

2. Things that ease the passage (not a euphemism).

For example, Fast Track Passes at the airport. £6 can save you an hours queue. Car parking in a place that doesn’t mean you have to get on a shuttle bus with your suitcase. And airport lounges. Okay, so these might SOUND pricey but you get it all for free - most of the time you’ll get your money back in food and drink PLUS a comfortable seat and somewhere to plug in your phone. And if you’re delayed for an hour, you’re definitely quids in (PSA: I recently took out an Amex card because I got a free Priority Pass four times a year and discount for guests and it didn’t cost me a penny). Ditto the most decent seats at a concert, cinema or a theatre production. If I can’t see anything, then what’s the point of spending the money to start with. I’d rather take my own sweets and only go to one show a year than get cheap seats and go regularly.

3. Investing in things for my home that I really love.

Also known as, not buying stuff to fill a hole in your decor. Whether it be a vase, a door knob or a coffee table, I will find what I love and buy the closest to my ideal that I can afford. This might be expensive, this might not be expensive. But I will not buy for the hell of it. This also applies to lighting. I’d rather buy one amazing table lamp than four that ‘do the job’ for the same price and live in semi darkness until I can afford another. See also: artwork. If I see a piece of artwork I love, I will sell or save until I can buy it. Same with good vintage. Unless I am entirely sure that I can refurbish it to the right standard myself, I will scour eBay and FBM until I find something that’s exactly what I want. It’s worth the investment for the joy that these things will bring you in the future and this, my friends, is a fact.

4. Buying beauty products and services that make me feel good.

You can agree or disagree with me here, but spending money on beauty stuff is my kryptonite. It doesn’t have to be super expensive - I’m just as happy to buy a Lacura moisturiser than I am a Lancome, but plastering product on my face makes me very happy. Also, nails. And hair. Good nail technicians, good hairdressers. If I am feeling good about myself, then everything else falls into place. I have had some shocking hairdressing experiences in the past (PTSD from a terrible haircut my mother took me to when I was 10 where they cut my hair into a Kevin Keegan circa 1975 mullet) so now, I stick to the same one all the time and book it in regularly. Facials and massages, whenever I can afford it. It’s all about balance - relaxation and rejuvenation can be transformative to a bad day. And finally, aesthetic treatments. I’ve been known to spend the cost of a short mini break on these - if I feel comfortable in my skin and it’s looking good, then it’s a huge mood booster.

5. Employing people who know what they’re doing.

So there are several things around my house that I can do myself from a DIY point of view, but I do not do them well. I can paint a wall, but I cannot cut in around corners or get a straight line in the same way as a professional can. I once tiled a bar unit in my previous home, but couldn’t get the tile cutter working properly and had to call someone in to finish it. Tiling is a great example of how I CAN do it, but I am shit at it and I won’t do a good job. So I’d rather cut back on other things and get people who are skilled and experienced in making my house look good than do it myself and balls it up. And believe me, I have ballsed it up MANY times before. I’m about to hang a plate wall in my kitchen in an awkward place and I can’t use tap nails as the plates are too heavy - I’ll employ a handyman for two hours to get his drill and leveller out and it’ll be worth every single penny.

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Five Things That Are Not Worth My Money.

1. Really, really expensive restaurants.

I’ve been to some of these in the past and I never come away feeling as though they’re worth it. 22 years ago, we went to The Fat Duck in Bray which is owned by Heston Blumenthal with my then husband and at the time, it was £30 for a glass of wine. 22 YEARS AGO. We didn’t have a lot of money at the time and it was a massive treat, but the cost of it woke me from nightmares for months afterwards (at the time it was the same cost as our monthly mortgage). It was quite wild - one course was a grassy football field and the finale was a map of Scotland dotted with whiskey gummies. Don’t get me wrong - the experience of going to a fabulous restaurant is always wonderful and I know that you’re paying for the skill of the chefs and the produce that you’re presented with, but it’s never worth the drama in my head afterwards whirling around how much it costs. Also, I object to paying £18 for a glass of Minuty when I can buy an entire bottle in Waitrose for £16. I like cooking, I can make a good meal at home for ten friends for the same price as a dinner for two.

2. Plants that cost a lot of money.

I have learned my lesson the hard way with this one, heading to the garden centre and filling my trolley with pricey plants that I have no idea how to care for, sending them direct to their deaths the minute that they enter my home. My friend Karen and I once went to The Range to discover they had discounted their olive trees and outdoor yukkas so we spent over £100 and stuck them in the car, only to plant them and kill them all within a month because we didn’t know how to care for them. Olives, I have realised, look the part but are not really suitable for life in Yorkshire. I once had a photo shoot at my home so visited the local garden centre where I bought a massive olive tree for £350 (sob) which filled the enclosed courtyard. It looked great, but before long I realised it was not a fan of the courtyard and moved it out to the open garden, where it died. Worst investment ever (for me). So now, I stick to basic plants that I know I can keep alive, or buy them from Lidl.

3. Brand new cars.

I have never bought one of these but in fairness, I have had a lot of new cars over the years for short periods of time due to the fact that my ex husband works in the motor industry. However, apart from the fact that they smell really good, I could NEVER see the point of putting shed loads of cash in just because no one else has ever got in it before. For many years, my dream car was a vintage 1980’s convertible Mercedes which I never got, but my dreams were partially realised three years ago when I bought a twelve year old one that ticked the box. It’s so old that it still has a clock with hands and the sat nav doesn’t recognise most modern roundabouts, or the Victoria Centre in Leeds when I go to park there, but I love it so much. Even though when it snows the water leaks through the roof and I have to have towels on the seats, I still love it. I take the roof down when the temperature gets above 17 degrees and it doesn’t go back up again until October. New cars? No thank you.

4. Matchas, smoothies, iced coffees, all that shit.

I said last week that I have a very limited liquid intake but one thing that I cannot consider is faffy drinks. Matcha is the beverage of Satan, smoothies are like drinking cold grainy custard and iced coffees are inexplicable to me. Also, any hot drink that comes in flavours or with cream or sprinkles or is called a Frappucino or a Vanilla Protein Matcha Latte or ANY OF THAT SHIT. I would rather cut off my own head than pay £6.50 for a drink that professes to be a protein hit topped with white scuzzy foam. BLEURGH. Give me a black coffee from my own coffee maker and that’s it.

5. Signs that have trite quotes on them.

Yes, yes, I know that these are popular but I will never be spending my hard earned cash on them. I blame Instagram entirely for the popularity of these signs - ten years ago, you’d not see a single home without one on your feed - but they have gone the way of all trends and are now relegated solidly into the interior equivalent of Room 101. You know the ones I mean. Live, Laugh, Love. This Kitchen Is For Dancing. This House Loves Dogs. It’s Always Time For Wine. Life Isn’t About Waiting For The Storm To Pass, It’s About Learning To Dance In The Rain. Go Confidently In The Direction Of Your Dreams. Or the classic, It’s Wine O’Clock. CS Lewis and Winnie The Poo quotes. Sigh. I mean, all of these are nice thoughts but better off remaining in your head than being engraved in italics on a faux piece of driftwood and hung above your patio doors.

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Share joie de vivre.

I am very much looking forward to York Races on Thursday, however. I cannot remember the last time that I wore a hat, so have bought a vintage one from eBay that matches (sort of) my outfit. To warn you in advance, it’s huge. It makes me look as though I have a massive Danish pastry on my head but I am not averse to that. The last time I went to the Races was about five years ago and it was baking hot. In fact, every time I go to the Races it’s usually baking hot; my lasting memory of Ascot in 1999 was falling asleep in my dress and hat on the grassy slope and waking up with sunburn, only to find that my sister in law was wearing a Policemans hat after chatting up the on site constabulary. I can confirm that there will be no chatting up of Policeman on this occasion, unless Ted Hastings from Line Of Duty is there, in which case I’d make an exception.

But back to my List Of Joie and the sunshine has made every day excellent over the last two weeks, bringing much goodness of mood and pairs of shorts. Here’s a little run down of what I’ve watched, bought, worn, read, eaten and lusted after in the last fortnight.

This post is for paid subscribers but you can upgrade for the price of a coffee! You’ll get an eight extra posts every month plus my entire archive including tonnes of recipes and travel write ups. Plus all my plans, moodboards and inspiration for my new home renovation. I would thoroughly recommend!

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This week, I have both a decorator and Ollie the Joiner coming over to look at my bedroom as THIS is my next project. I currently have built in wardrobes that are not working for me but that I don’t want to remove, so I’m going to see if Ollie can rearrange the space inside to include shelving and then swap up the doors for some MDF ones. I’ve already got some curtain samples and I ordered a rug in the clearance sale at La Redoute last week that was 70% off - 70%! - so I am getting there. I am prone to buying all the stuff for a room project before I even have a quote so I am trying to hold back but I am so excited about doing a room just for me. The most difficult part is that I have a super king bed that I refuse to swap for a smaller one, even thought there is now just me. I love this bed so much, it’s curved rattan from Feather & Black and I bought it in the Sale at 40% off about six years ago (they still do it, I’ll link it). It’ll be with me forever, but it is LARGE. Anyway, I’ll get there. I did a mood board for my bedroom months and months ago but I have had some new ideas so I’ll do a fresh one and show you in the next few weeks.

Today we’re starting off by looking at a difficult shaped room and how we can plan it out to make the most of it. We are looking at storage hampers for the end of the bed and what to do if you don’t have anywhere to put your family photos but you still want to look at them. We’re looking at waterproof shower caddys that look the part and finally, the Sunday Niche Edit is a collection of lovely curvy side tables that can be used in any room of your home. Paid subscribers (particularly if you’re new), remember that you can add your dilemmas or quandaries below here in the comments or you can join in the Group Chat (the speech bubble on your app or just click the link below) where there are thousands of you waiting to help with any issues that arise (I pick ones from both of these locations for my weekly post, so whack yours in).

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Good morning lovely people of Substack and as I write this, I am EXTREMELY late. In fact, it’s 5pm on Friday and usually I have this post nailed by Tuesday, ffs. However, I was thwarted this week with holiday catching up, some essential deadlines and mostly, by my friend coming to visit last night. Next week, I will be back on track. It’s still absolutely BAKING here in York even though it promised that it would cool down today but my iPhone promises only 24 degrees tomorrow (today) which is good as I’m going to Castle Howard for Ministry Of Sound Classical later to celebrate four friends birthdays. We had plans for picnics and cold wine, but a closer look at the website showed us that actually, you’re not allowed to take ANYTHING in at all bar a small bag and, if you’re lucky, a small foldable chair. No drinks and no food, meaning that we will be entirely at the mercy of extortionately priced food trucks for eight hours. I am not one for dressing up, but I did buy an Anthropologie sequined jacket from Vinted that is my one concession that is quite nice. I’ll report back in Wednesdays List Of Joie for those of you who are paid subscribers (WHICH I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND!).

I was awoken this morning by a WhatsApp from Kate alerting me to the fact that she had gone to the loo without shutting her bedroom window and Flo immediately took the opportunity to head for the hills. Well, the roof. Flo is a house cat, for those not in the know, but does have the courtyard as her outside space as she’s too fat to jump up on to the wall. However, she did manage to make it to the roof five doors down from me before Kate started shaking the Purena Pro Biotic and she came back, but not before the commuters arriving into the car park behind my house were treated to me in my nightdress and nothing else, shouting FLO at the top of my voice. There was a dodgy moment where I went to grab her from the ledge, she struggled and I almost dropped her down the other side of the wall but all was well in the end. Such stress for a Friday morning.

But back to the point and this month, there are a few things that I thought I would discuss with you, starting with my new fondness for non alcoholic beverages that taste like alcoholic beverages. I honestly don’t know who I am anymore. Here are five items of note that I have been contemplating this August that I think you need to know about.

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1. Non alcoholic drinks. I know, right?

I was discussing my liquid intake with a friend the other day and realised that I only drink water, coffee, teas and wine. I also added Pepsi Max in which I will drink only in the most dire of hangover situations (my sister once told me that diet colas give you cellulite - I have no idea if this is true or not - and I have avoided mainlining it ever since. Once an eighties teen, always an eighties teen). I don’t like fruit juice as it’s far too sweet for me and avoid fruity cocktails at all costs; fruity water is beyond my comprehension, sparkling fruity water even further. I’ve just been away to Crete for a week and survived almost entirely on water, green Power Boost drinks (broccoli, celery, apple - nicer than it sounds) rose wine and champagne. I mean, I’m not complaining. When in the sun and relaxing on a lounger, these things are an essential. However, now I am back I have been thwarted by the fact that the weather is amazing and all I want to do is pour a freezing glass of wine with lots of ice and sit in the courtyard.

This is all well and good when on holiday, but now I have returned to York, I need to get back to normality. Much as I would love to drink wine every night, it’s not feasible long term, mostly because I’ll wake in the night with a full on hot sweat - this doesn't seem to happen when you are in an air conditioned Hotel, but back in North Yorkshire I don’t even have a fan. This is mainly because my kids have stolen every fan that has ever entered my house as they are OBSESSED. Seriously. All three of my kids cannot sleep without a fan blaring in their face as they are addicted to the white noise, even in the midst of winter. Leo currently has not one but TWO in his room. There were no fans in our Greek Hotel where I was sharing a bedroom with my daughter Ella, but that did not stop her playing fan background noise on her phone ALL night that sounded like someone was constantly flushing the toilet.

But I digress. At 4pm on Tuesday I was sitting in the courtyard working, the sun was out, it was warm as toast, there was a light breeze and the only possible accompaniment I could think of was a glass of cold wine. But 4pm on a Tuesday is not really the time - in normal circumstances, I can go all week alcohol free unless I’m going out - so I discovered a bottle of Pavari 17 on the wine shelf that I had been sent about six months ago and had forgotten about. I grabbed a wine glass, filled it with ice, added the Pavari and some slimline tonic (again, always the eighties teen) and honestly, it was DELISH. It gave me the thrill of an ice clinking wine glass but hot sweat free and mostly, it made me realise it wasn’t the alcohol I was yearning for, it was the FEELING of a ‘special’ drink. Game changing. Perfectly happy, delicious drink, no alcohol involved. I mean, if it were a Friday night I’d have gone straight for the Whispering Angel, but this gave me the same hit which was entirely unexpected.

So this week, I’ve started trialling the non alcoholic drinks for mid week drinking and I have to admit, I’ve enjoyed it. This is most unexpected, if I’m being honest. The closest I ever usually get is a Kombucha (also love - Remedy is the one if you are new to Kombucha) but this was a whole new ball game. I’ve only tried the ones that I’ve mentioned I have in the captions so far, but am planning on trying the rest and will report back at a later date. Let me know what you think if you’ve got there before me.

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2. Holidays where you do absolutely nothing.

This past week, I went with my family to Daios Cove in Crete. Now, I’ve been there twice before - the first time to review it for work, the second time as a customer with three other couples to celebrate my friend Shivs birthday. Every time I have been, I ENTIRELY relax. I mean, properly. In a ‘I don’t have to go anywhere, no one will judge me if I don’t go and visit local historic sights’, type of way. It’s entirely set by itself down a long track in a cove (thus the name, obvs) and you feel totally cut off from everything. There are five restaurants to eat in, each one different (one of which is an Alain Ducasse property) and if you opt for the Residents Club package, every single thing that you eat and drink is free. Truly. So if you can order a bottle of Veuve Clicquot whilst lounging by the pool with a book, why would you leave?

It’s been, let’s say, an eventful year for my kids and I really wanted our week away to say thank you to them for being what I can only describe as fucking amazing. I wanted them to relax, I wanted them to do everything they wanted for a whole week, whether that be stay in bed, swim in a pool or play golf. And me? I wanted to do the same. I wanted to feel as though I had no responsibilities, I wanted to read books, I wanted to just go PHEW and let my shoulders drop. I didn’t want to have anything scheduled except fun stuff.

So that’s what we did. I threw financial caution to the wind and booked a week, back in January when they did a 30% off Early Bird Offer. We didn’t leave the resort, bar once to pop to Agios Nicholas to shop for an hour and then the boys took a day to play golf. In fact, we even got our taxi to come early to collect us from our shopping trip as we wanted to get back to Daios Cove. We ate nowhere except in the Hotel restaurants, did nothing except Hotel activities and it was BLOODY AMAZING. We did not get bored. In fact, at the end of our holiday we all admitted we’d be happy to do another few days which has never happened in the history of Dawsons Going On Holiday.

There is a very big part of me that feels that if you are going to another country and another culture that you should make the most of it. Get a car, drive around, find off the beaten track beaches and restaurants, see some historical sights. It seems a shame not to see everything that there is to see - also, I like to write about my holidays afterwards and part of the fun for the last ten years has been sharing my favourite parts of it with readers. I cannot do a write up about Daios Cove as I did nothing but dip pitta into tzatsiki and eat tomatoes. When I was younger and my kids were also younger, we felt the need to take them to different places so that they could experience new things. And this is what we did. But often we returned home feeling more exhausted than relaxed which sort of defied the object.

Now that they don’t need to be amused, I don’t feel the necessity to do ALL the stuff. I can read a book a day. I can shut my eyes on a sun lounger. It’s an entirely different holiday. When I went to Marrakech last month, my friends and I were possibly the only tourists ever to visit who didn’t go the Jardin Majorelle. I mean, we WANTED to go. But we wanted to do other things more. Shopping. Chatting. Dipping in our mini pool. We did that solidly and had an amazing, relaxing time. Part of me felt slightly guilty on both occasions that I was not making the most of my time in another country but the other part of me felt released from the expectation that we needed to see everything.

Holidays should be a break from the norm, from the monotony of expectation and routine in your every day life. And if the daily norm is feeling that you need to ‘get things done’, then I can’t see any reason why lying on a lounger with a bowl of Greek tomatoes and homemade taramasalata with a glass of Veuve shouldn’t be the break that we all deserve.

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3. Kinda not chic and kinda, quite frankly, confusing.

I really do love Instagram. I wrote about this a few months ago, about how even though I know that its popularity is dwindling, it’s still a pretty great place to be. After a decade of content creating on the platform, I have seen a lot of trends come and go but there are a few that I skip on by. Take, for example, ‘POV’. POV, of course, means point of view. Captioning ‘POV: you wear a hat’ on your Instagram post is NOT a point of view. Wearing a hat is not a situation. Yes, I know that I am quite grouchy about this but as a grammar pedant, it just feels all kinds of WRONG.

Social media has much to answer for. The push to define your own individual interior style in a sea of similar posts is constant - comfy, cosy, quirky, trendy (these four words are on my do not use list), minimalist, maximalist, farmhouse, boho, eclectic, Scandi (thanks to socials, this word now conjures up a bland, pale, beige box whereas in reality, Scandinavian design is full of texture, inherited pieces, warmth and COLOUR). We don’t need style ‘boxes’; your home should make you happy and that, my friends, is that. If you want to hang a monkey from your ceiling light or add a pole for dancing in a leotard to the middle of your living room, that’s entirely your choice. Trends, schmends. If you walk through your front door and your heart sings, then you’ve nailed it.

The most recent trend that has popped up on my Instagram feed is INESCAPABLE. ‘Kinda chic’ is the current bandwagon of choice and all over my feed like a rash. If you haven’t seen this (grammatically infuriating) concept, it’s a carousel post that has ‘kinda chic’ statements on each slide, all of which are basically humble brags by the poster that often come across as a little bit supercilious and smug. I mean, surely it’s either chic or it’s not chic - there’s no middle ground here. But that’s just me splitting hairs/being pedantic/being a misery. The phrase was started, it appears, by an influencer talking about continuing to post despite trolling, an extremely valid point and a retaliation against the darker side of socials. But it soon snowballed and now you cannot MOVE on the platform without being bombarded with ‘kinda chic’ posts across the globe.

Some of them are really perplexing. A quick search on the hashtag immediately comes up with ‘kinda chic to like getting dressed’. No love. It’s not kinda chic to like getting dressed, it’s a basic social requirement. ‘Kinda chic to call off your engagement’. I mean, surely that would depend on why? And surely not chic, just rather inconvenient? ‘Kinda chic to wear a headset’. I don’t even UNDERSTAND this one. ‘Kinda chic to not have to buy creamer anymore’. WHAT are you talking about? ‘Kinda chic to romanticise your ordinary life’. Literally NFI what’s going on here, it sounds like word soup. ‘Kinda chic to have your baby without an epidural’. TRULY? And the very worst, ‘kinda chic to have ambition and still be a good mom’. I mean, WTAF does that mean? That women can’t generally do more than one thing at the same time? My brain combusts with random words strung together that mean nothing, I tell you. It’s like the misunderstood POV x 1000000.

It won’t last forever, but it’s a really good example of how a genuinely original idea can quickly become deeply unoriginal once it’s used as a template by millions. What started out as ‘kinda chic’ has quickly become ‘kinda NOT chic’, making it no different than any other drawn out social media trend. Roll on the next one, please, but let’s make it grammatically correct. Ha.

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4. Good skin for the win.

Skin is one of my favourite subjects, as regular readers will know. Twelve years ago, I underwent chemotherapy for breast cancer - chemotherapy is proven to cause long term changes to facial skin, including sensitivity to sunlight, discolouration and dryness. It also reduces elasticity in your skin, a change that happens naturally as you age but which is exacerbated if you’ve had treatment. As a result, I find that my skin is significantly drier and less flexible than it used to be so it’s important to me to find products that combat this. There is nothing worse than feeling that tightness on your face and feeling that your skin isn’t as supple as it should be.

Generally, I am pretty good with my skin although I have to admit to liking the sun on my face which I am trying to stop doing so much. I always take my make up off and cleanse and moisturise, plus I whack on SPF 50 every day without fail and as standard. I go make up free about 50% of the time to try and keep as hydrated as possible. It’s a known fact that from the age of 20, collagen production begins to drop by 1% every year, affecting firmness and elasticity. Skin cell turnover also dramatically drops as we age, taking more than 50% longer over the age of 40.

I’ve been using Renew + Me night treatment Nightly Active Treatment for over six months now and the results are excellent - I’ll explain to you how it works. It’s personalised and formulated to your own skin - you complete an online consultation form which is then reviewed by the Dermatology Team to design a skincare product that is tailored to you and your concerns, combining clinically proven active ingredients with soothing hydrators. These proven, potent retinoids smooth, firm and rejuvenate the skin, increases skins cell turnover, reduce pigmentation and inflammation and repair and strengthen skin density, as well as shielding the skin from pollutants. These clinical ingredients are up to 20 times more powerful than High Street retinol and are personally assessed in correct quantities for you by the Dermatology Team who approve that you are suitable for the treatment. You can therefore use it in confidence knowing that it’s tailored just for you.

You can get your first month of Renew + Me’s Nightly Active Treatment for just £6.99 - that’s over 75% off. They’re so confident that you’ll see results that they even offer a money back guarantee if you haven’t seen the difference by week 12. Tap the link here or use code LDRENEW before the offer ends.

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5. Un cendrier chic.

When I went to Marrakesh, one of the (many) things that I brought back was an Ultima 15 vintage ashtray replicate. I LOVE an ashtray, particularly a vintage one. Not that I would ever use one for actual cigarettes as they are far too nice and also, smoking is no longer a sociable activity (although admittedly I am partial to a party puff on the odd occasion), but I love to collect them. Vintage lighters, too. Heavy marble, quartz ones.

Smoking is no longer classed as de rigueur but that doesn’t mean that their vintage appeal should be ditched. It had its time and its place. When I was younger, I lived in Hong Kong and everywhere you went had its own emblazoned matchboxes. Whether it was The Royal Yacht Club, Chuck E Cheese or Dennys, there was no ban on smoking indoors and as a result, it was an opportunity to spread some marketing joy via a little cardboard packet. My Mum collected these for years, she had a big carboy full of them and I kind of wish that she’d kept them.

Anyway, I have a shelf in my glass cabinet entirely dedicated to smoking memorabilia. Vintage ashtrays collected at fairs and from charity shops, tactile table lighters that don’t work (if anyone knows how I can get these working again, please do tell me - I once spent an entire afternoon searching online companies who fixed lighters with no joy). And I have, at last count, four contemporary ones on my massive marble coffee table (including examples from OK Mason, L & Clay Ceramics and Jonathan Adler) topping books, plus my Marrakesh find and a vintage crocodile who can hold cigarettes and matches that bought years ago from House Of Brunswick. If you’re looking for vintage, then it’s well worth checking out the smaller vintage and charity shops who have lots of great examples.

But a quick look at the internet shows that despite the trend being more lemon and lime vape action than a packet of Marlboro Gold, there are still plenty of modern ashtrays out there for viewing. I mean, you’re probably not going to be using them for what they’re designed for often, particularly not inside, but they are great for coffee table styling and for storing bits and pieces. And they add a kind of wanton edge to your decor. The older I get, the more I feel as though I am lacking in edge due to virtually everything I once enjoyed doing being outlawed or considered bad for you so having an ashtray on my coffee table is a nod to the fact that I might not have many vices now, but once, I was fairly wild. Well, wildish. Anyway, you know what I mean. Here’s my pick of favourites, all of which being as beautiful as they are occasionally practical.

1.OK Mason, £78; 2. Vintage Electrical, £34.99, 3. Casa By JJ, £70; 4. Wolf & Badger, £88; 5. Seletti, £32.90; 6. Maison Flaneur, £52.13; 7. L & Clay Ceramics, £165; 8. Smoking Shop, £59.99; 9. Fornasetti, £140; 10. Lola & Sidney, £12; 11. Laetitia Rouget, £80; 12. Bitossi £160; 13. Seth Rogan, £69.

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Good morning lovely readers and I write this from the sofa with my ankle still elevated. FFS. I am a very impatient person and when the doctor told me it would take 6-8 weeks to repair, I said ‘yes, yes’ and then immediately decided in my head that it would only take a couple. I have always been like this. No time for recovery, thank you, straight back in it. Sigh. Anyway, I have been forced to admit defeat and admit that three weeks isn’t long enough to heal ligaments and am working from the sofa which actually isn’t that bad at all, the only issue being is that the cat thinks my laptop stand is her new bed and I spend a lot of time batting her off. BTW, the laptop stand is the one that I mentioned a few weeks ago in my List Of Joie and honestly, it’s SO GOOD. Would highly recommend.

So I know that loads of you are on your annual holidays so I have been debating what to write this week. I like this midweek paid post, mostly because it doesn’t have a main focus and we can go off on a tangent. Last Saturday, I posted High Street Heroes which is always a really popular post and also good fun to collate. It’s good to keep an eye on what’s new, mostly so that I can tell you all about it but also to see what direction the retail industry is focusing on and what is likely to be popular. One of the items that I showed was a pair of rather lovely embroidered napkins from Anthropologie which were fairly reasonably priced at £22 for two. Now, at £11 each we are not talking hand embroidery here and they’re imported but these napkins are promoting a current trend for hand embroidered items and presenting them at a price that is affordable. But I thought that this comment from Gina, a paid subscriber, was definitely worth discussion so I decided that it would be a good topic for this weeks Wednesday post.

You can READ ON by becoming a paid subscriber which means that not only do you receive four free posts a month but you’ll also get an eight EXTRA posts a month plus Chat threads so you can join our blossoming community. You’ll be able to access my archive to read ALL of my past posts (including recipes and travel write ups) for the price of one coffee a month. I would thoroughly recommend it!

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Whilst we’ve been gone, my in laws have been house sitting and I am very much hoping that the animals have behaved. Since I have been single, the dog has taken to sleeping on my bed (on the other side, it’s a superking) which I honestly cannot stand but can’t do anything about. Even if I tell him not to, he waits until I’m asleep and takes his chance. Because I don’t want him on my actual bed sheets, I have a throw on that side for him to sleep on but honestly, I would rather he didn’t. I know some people love sleeping with their animals but I am certainly not that person. However, I know that if I leave him outside the room he will simply bark in an annoying Lhasa Apso stubborn type of way until I let him in. I have not yet enlighted by brother and sister in law about this situation so they’re going to be delighted that they’ll have three in the relationship for the next week, ha.

Back to business and this week, we are looking at a dark red lamp for a pretty corner and I’ve done an edit of options. We are talking about a renovation that might be lived in and might not, and how best to decorate. To do or not to do - opening a fireplace back to the original brick. Plus the classic net curtains of the eighties and what you can look at now to do the job. And finally, the Sunday Niche Edit is good value bathroom storage, from baskets through to stand alone units. And paid subscribers (particularly if you’re new), remember that you can add your dilemmas or quandaries below here in the comments or you can join in the Group Chat (the speech bubble on your app or just click the link below) where there are thousands of you waiting to help with any issues that arise (I pick ones from both of these locations for my weekly post, so whack yours in).

You can READ ON by becoming a paid subscriber which means that not only do you receive four free posts a month but you’ll also get an eight EXTRA posts a month (including all my plans for our new home) plus Chat threads so you can join our blossoming community. You’ll be able to access my archive to read ALL of my past posts (including recipes and travel write ups) for the price of one coffee a month. I would thoroughly recommend!

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Also, your kids are so much more interesting as they veer towards adulthood. On the same holiday, I can recall the same German family sitting next to us at dinner (it was a tiny Hotel called Little Inn on the less visited South coast of Crete) having political discussions and general knowledge conversations with their teens over dinner. In contrast, we were sat with three kids aged 8, 6 and 1, all of which had iPads or phones in their hands in order to stop them from constantly shouting ‘where is the food?’ or ‘can we go home now?’ so that we could enjoy our dinner for at least five minutes in peace. One day, we said, that German family will be us. And, indeed, it is, although now there are only four of us due to my divorce but I am reaping every single reward of those years of tinies, albeit alone (which is actually even better, ha). It’s good. If you have young kids and you’re reading this with half an eye on the pool so that they don’t accidentally drown, then rest assured that your day will come.

But enough parenting chat and back to the point and what have I spotted whilst perusing the heady heights of the High Street this month? Stainless steel tableware - and furniture - is hot to trot, showing there’s a strong lean towards metal textures and shiny shiny. The trend for the artisan look is also evident, with embroidery and woven textiles that are touch satisfying in all the colours, plus painterly ceramics that look like they’ve come straight from the kiln. And simplicity is key - unfussy, natural tones and materials that confirm the move away from jewel brights and towards earthy, easy to use and blend colours.

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So here’s my list from twelve of the most alluring High Street homeware brands as seen this August. And my favourite find this month? Without doubt it’s the Oliver Bonas retro leather chair (not adorned with an olive, lemon or orange, thank God) which could easily pass for vintage and which I will now immediately begin saving for for my bedroom renovation . Happy Saturday!

1.Large Rice Paper Pendant Light - H&M Home, £79.99

Right, let’s kick off with H&M Home who never fail to please. They’ve got a Sale on as I write this and during investigation for the best of the new, I managed to order some hand towels and a bath mat. Sigh. Anyway, this rice paper lamp is giving me Formakami vibes - it’s a great size and would look brilliant on a landing or staircase drop. I am a big fan of rice paper lanterns - they’re eternally stylish, give great diffused light and are never too expensive.

2. Striped Floral Cotton Quilt - Zara Home, £189.99

Quite into red at the moment, I have to admit. This gorgeous double sided quilt is from a collaboration with antique dealer and textile collector Katharine Pole, taking inspiration from her pattern archives from the 18th and 19th century and reimagining them into contemporary fabric designs. The colours here are fabulous and I’m super tempted to add to to my bedroom moodboard.

3. Wide Striped Mug - John Lewis, £6

More red - well, more like burgundy - and some excellent wide painterly stripes on this cool little stoneware mug at John Lewis. Each piece is unique and these would look excellent in my pale blue kitchen. Whether or not I can warrant another mug is dubious, but these are great value as they’re part of the JL Special Buy. This means that they get a good price from the supplier and pass it on to the customer for a limited time which is brilliant.

4. Stainless Steel Pitcher - Mango Home £35.99

There’s a LOT of stainless steel going on on the High Street. It’s been having a moment for a while and this season, Mango Home have a whole collection of shininess for perusal and I’m not complaining about it. This jug is a winner - a good size, perfect for table water and looks the part. This is the kind of addition that you’ll use for years, it’ll never go out of style.

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5. Dendi Tiled Side Table - La Redoute, £221.99

Ah La Redoute, I really do love you. Now, I don’t need this side table as I have already built a bench in my courtyard but if I hadn’t, I would be jumping on this one. Really solid, nice size great colour and easy to care for too. It comes in this pale blue but also the exact ochre of my outside tiled bench PLUS also a jade green so if I was considering adding, then I’d be dropping straight into my bag. It would look equally good inside - just a small addition but it would add texture and colour to brighten up your home for the onset of Autumn (although I don’t like to think too much about that, I am a Summer Forever kind of person).

6. Morven Cushion - Marks & Spencer, £38

Now, this is actually from the Made collection at M&S but I REALLY like this. Cushions are one of those things that can update your room really quickly with fairly little outlay and there’s a few things about this that I really like, mostly the colours which are an excellent combo. Also, the plaiting is very satisfying to look at although I would entirely keep this away from my cat Flo who would destroy it in moments. A great addition, I feel.

7. Giulletta Embroidered Napkins - Anthropologie, £22

Big fan of embroidery and feel as though it’s having a bit of a comeback at present. As it should - it’s textural, gives a handmade look (even if it’s not) and is interesting to look at. These napkins from Anthro are goodies, you get two for £22 so they’re not the cheapest (although I have been finding that napkins ARE fairly pricey in general for something that you wipe your mouth on) but look how pretty these are?

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8. Glass Hen Egg Nest - Dunelm, £20

Am deeply tempted by this. I never know whether or not you are supposed to keep eggs in the fridge or not - do comment if this is your specialist subject. In the supermarkets they’re on the shelves which makes me think probably not. Anyway, lack of knowledge aside, this is a great little number for twenty quid, nice recycled glass and simple design which sometimes I find Dunelm fail on (they can make things a little fussy when they don’t need to be). But one thing you can always rely on Dunelm for is good value. I can feel a trip to my local one coming on.

9. Citrine Metal Wall Light - Habitat, £40

I like this. Again, simple classic design, unfussy, gives good targeted light and would look fantastic next to a reading chair or at the end of a sofa. I have a targeted light similar on the wall next to mine and it works really well and also varies the type of light source which makes it all look more interesting. The fact it’s a plug in also enables you to add a wall light without the prerequisite for an electrician coming over to chase massive holes into your walls, so everyone’s a winner.

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10. Silver Plated Bottle Stopper - Arket, £45

You know I love a fish, and this one is a beaut. As someone who is prone to rolling up kitchen roll to stuff in the top of wine bottles, I would certainly have a use for this and the fact that it’s sea themed is the icing on the cake. It’s also silver plated so a nice thing to have and would make a great present, birthday, wedding or otherwise. Any suggestions aside from the teaspoon trick stuck in the top, btw, for keeping sparkling wine sparkling would be appreciated - I put a bottle in the fridge yesterday (with spoon) and today it’s flat as a pancake.

11. Silla Green Leather Armchair - Oliver Bonas, £795

I cannot claim the kudos for finding this absolute gem of a chair on OB, it’s entirely down to my friend Bibi who sent a picture to me, but THIS I love. In fact, I would go as far as to say it’s my favourite find this month. You would never in a zillion years know that this wasn’t vintage, the colour is sublime and I will be planning my new bedroom around it. SO nice. Bravo, OB. Please can we have more of this and less clothes covered in fruit?

12. SNODUVA Candlestick - IKEA, £15

Always here for a candle holder and this looks to me like an IKEA classic. Waffling on about simplicity again, but this ticks all the boxes AND is in stainless steel so easy to clean and would look excellent with any candles you chose to stuff in it. I can confirm that it’s important for candle holders to be easy to clean after allowing candles to burn down this weekend on a ceramic one and had to get a knife out to scrape it all off. These would also look great grouped as a three for maximum effect.

So there you have my favourite finds this month. Which do you like the best? Do tell me in the comments below!

Quick Note: This is a free post for subscribers but you can also become a PAID SUBSCRIBER to receive four free posts a month but also eight EXTRA posts a month (including a weekly Design Dilemmas and ALL my inspiration and moodboards for my new home renovation) plus Chat threads so you can join our blossoming community. I would thoroughly recommend it.

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As always, HUGELY appreciative that you are here and reading - if you have enjoyed, then please do HEART like, comment and most of all, SHARE by using the little recycle button - it really does help with visibility on this excellent platform. Thank you!

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Anyway, I might not be here for inflatable carpets but I am certainly here for the nice Hotel rib boat that we are about to board in an hour which will take us around to Spinalonga whilst serving us champagne and (as quoted from the brochure) healthy snacks before having a swim in an isolated cove at sunset. THIS is the reason why I come on holiday, not to be battered to within an inch of my life by a speed boat driver with selective hearing who refuses to acknowledge when you ask him to go slower. I am also very glad that we are in a Hotel that has a fitness centre where they run classes and not one where they prowl the sun loungers with clipboards whilst you’re trying to read your book in order to find susceptible people to bully for water aerobics or volleyball at 11am every morning.

But enough of that and back to my List Of Joie and there is plenty to be joyous about, for sure. There’s a new (to me) series to binge, cheats dinner and an outrageously expensive but very nice dress as well as countless other lovely things. Here’s a little run down of what I’ve watched, bought, worn, read, eaten and lusted after in the last fortnight.

This post is for paid subscribers but you can upgrade for the price of a coffee! You’ll get an eight extra posts every month plus my entire archive including tonnes of recipes and travel write ups. Plus all my plans, moodboards and inspiration for my new home renovation. I would thoroughly recommend!

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It’s been quite a hectic and fairly stressful week, particularly after the dog ate an entire block of Manchego at my father in laws birthday party and spent two days with his bowel doing unimaginable things. Honestly, it was horrific and also entirely self inflicted which made me even more annoyed. Buddy KNOWS that he shouldn’t scoff canapes but he is very sneaky, lulling guests into a false sense of security by looking at them with a wagging tail, then the moment they turn their backs he swoops on whatever plate is in front of him. So badly trained and for that, I have only myself to blame. Sigh. He did this last year after eating three quarters of a discarded Dominos and I had to pay hundreds to take him to the vet to get him antibiotics (it gives him colitus) but luckily, I found the leftovers in my bedroom drawer and have been chucking them down him ever since at regular intervals. I am pleased to say he is now fully recovered, although still equally annoying.

Which is good because I have housesitters arriving from London tomorrow (it’s Thursday today) to look after Buddy, Flo and the house in my absence. It’s my sister in law Laila and her two children, Lars and Edde (she’s Latvian) and they are honestly the most lovely children and HUGE characters, so I’m slightly disappointed that I will only be seeing them for one evening. I have stacked the fridge with fish fingers, Twister lollies and Dairylea and bought them new pyjamas and a few books from as a surprise. I’ve sent Laila a list of things that they can do over the course of the week via the Little Vikings website which is brilliant if you have kids and are visiting York.

Back to business and this week, we are talking about removable sink drainers which are easy to store. We are looking at the best dark wood stain for a kitchen worktop and different types that you can buy, plus kitchen pendant choices for a very lovely kitchen which is mid renovation. We’re finding good spotlights for a loo with no windows and finally, the Sunday Niche Edit is all about kitchen tongs (I know, I really spoil you). And paid subscribers (particularly if you’re new), remember that you can add your dilemmas or quandaries below here in the comments or you can join in the Group Chat (the speech bubble on your app or just click the link below) where there are thousands of you waiting to help with any issues that arise (I pick ones from both of these locations for my weekly post, so whack yours in).

You can READ ON by becoming a paid subscriber which means that not only do you receive four free posts a month but you’ll also get an eight EXTRA posts a month (including all my plans for our new home) plus Chat threads so you can join our blossoming community. You’ll be able to access my archive to read ALL of my past posts (including recipes and travel write ups) for the price of one coffee a month. I would thoroughly recommend!

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Ella is 24, Max is 22 so I felt much more confident in their ability to run the home in my absence than if Leo were to attempt it alone. Surely, I thought, there could be no problem if there were two of them there at a time? I boarded the plane to Marrakech on Saturday morning feeling free as a bird, ready for four days of shopping, eating, drinking and being inspired. What could possibly go wrong?

I mean, nothing did really go wrong, tbh. Everything was pretty much okay. There were a few dramas - someone locked the cat in the courtyard for the night by accident (she’s a house cat), it was so hot the animals had maggots in their food bowls, I discovered that Leo had received his Mock A’Level results and kept them from me for over a week whilst telling me that he hadn’t. But that didn’t stop a barrage of WhatsApps and calls asking querying everything from car insurance through to dishwasher function.

I posted some of these on Instagram - just for fun, really - and there were quite a few who were shocked by the incapability of my children. It made me think about WHY they felt the need to WhatsApp me on the regular and how I felt about that. Were my children ACTUALLY incapable or did they just rely on me for help? I have brought my children up to be confident with opinions and I have never, ever babied them. When they were little, I didn’t constantly amuse them (there was no arts and crafts in my house, that’s what school and nursery are for and also, THE MESS) and they were very good at entertaining themselves and each other. We talked to them like little adults, not like little ones, and made sure that they were able to form their own opinions about stuff and not necessarily go with the flow.

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As they have got older, this has increased. They might often be an absolute pain in the neck when they’re with me, but put them into company and I can 100% rely on them to be sociable, chatty and polite. I might have to loudly instruct them to be so prior to events, but they’ll do it and they’ll do it well. They are self confident because, I like to think, I pushed them to do things themselves. The two older ones manage to live perfectly well in their own flats (Max has even stopped bringing his washing home), they drive cars on motorways, put food in microwaves and even in ovens and manage their own finances. So why are they texting me in Morocco to find out how the dishwasher works when a simple ChatGPT enquiry will tell them the answer pronto? Sigh.

Let’s look at the science. The brain doesn’t actually finish developing and maturing until the mid to late 20’s and the last part to mature is the prefrontal cortext which is MOST important for skills like planning, prioritising and making good decisions. I mean, this is a great excuse for my kids, but facts are facts, I suppose. But I also think there’s an element of me always having done things and that I am their automatic fallback for questions. Either way, I have to admit that I don’t really mind the barrage. I want my kids to feel that I am always here for them, no matter how trivial a matter. We’re a close family and that’s important for me and for them too. So naysayers and perfect parent critique can do one, quite frankly.

Anyway, the post went viral and some of the comments regarding other parental experiences were so funny that I thought it would be worth listing them here for you for comedy purposes. And to confirm that however useless you think your children are, you can rest assured that most other peoples kids are EXACTLY the same. So don’t read it and weep, read it and PRAISE BE that in the words of Michael Jackson, you are not alone.

I once came home from work to a terrible smell and eventually located cats poo in our black kitchen sink. When challenged, my youngest son said ‘yeah, that was there this morning so I left it’.

My all time favourites from my son include ‘Mum, I can smell burning in your bedroom’ and ‘I’ve been sick in the street’.

I got home from work on Tuesday after leaving the teenagers in charge of the animals to find the front door wide open and both dogs excitedly greeting me by the main road as I pulled in.

I received a text asking ‘where are the pans?’.

My 14 year old made hot chocolate using the kettle.

My son worked on the hot dog stall at Legoland and called me in Ibiza to say he felt sick.

My daughter FaceTimed us in Paris as there was a spider in the downstairs toilet.

I received a WhatsApp saying ‘the dog pinched KFC chicken bones from Beths room and Eleanor has had a tattoo’. When I asked how my son was, they answered ‘none of us have seen him all week, I don’t think he’s here’.

I was away with work a few years ago and my 19 year old son sent me a message saying he’d run out of clean forks and what should he do?

We arrived home from holiday to discover the entire top floor had flooded and the teenager hadn’t even noticed. Plus the immersion heater had been on for five days as he thought it was the cooker switch.

We left our two teenage boys for the first time and went to Norfolk for two nights. They forgot their keys, my 83 year old Dad had to get a £50 cab to let them in with his set as he’d had a couple of drinks.

We went for five nights in Marrakech. He lost the cat and booked himself a holiday.

Four nights away with a 23 year old in charge. ‘There’s cat sick on the carpet’.

My daughter: ‘I’ve walked Alfie and I’m with him now’. The Ring doorbell: She walked him for four minutes and she’s somewhere off the Goldhawk Road.

Left my teenage son alone for one night. Arrived home to find no sign of him or his girlfriend, but my living room rug, cushions, candles and empty champagne bottles were in the garden. He said it was the builders who were working on our house.

Mine had a party a few years ago and they all kept feeding the dog because ‘she seemed hungry’. She was visibly bloated but survived.

We left our teen in charge and came back to a fly infestation. We eventually found the source, a dead bird that the cat had brought in.

Mine left the car unlocked and the front door key in the lock.

‘Can you send my Vinted?’.

We’ve had a locksmith out for a broken door, video of the cat panting and the dog who had developed a severe limp (which then vanished), an alleged ‘flea invested’ carpet and screenshots of a suspect called on the Ring doorbell who turned out to be the window cleaner.

I have my mother messaging me asking ‘what time will C be home from work?’. I don’t know Pam, I’m in Greece, maybe ask her yourself.

Left the 17 year old with the dog overnight and returned to find the dog had poo’d all over the floor after being fed a mountain of food and cheese.

We went away. Phone call one, I crashed my car. Two, there’s a leak upstairs and I think the ceiling is coming down. Three, Michael got a vomiting bug and it’s all over the wall.

Why am I sorting out Lido tickets, ice cream money and bus timetables from Italy when one of their parents is in the UK with them?

My son is 23 but I still received a message saying ‘FFS Daisy (Maine Coon cat) has thrown up her breakfast’.

My son texted me when I was on a Police shift asking if I could turn his wifi on. My husband was home

My teenager hadn’t noticed the alarm was going off even though the box was next to her bedroom window.

My teenage daughter made toasted cheese in the toaster.

Left our youngest at home with instructions to empty the bin. He did, but he left them in the utility room and we came home to a maggot infestation.

We went to Australia for seven weeks and our 23 year old set up a WhatsApp group called ‘help me, I’m still your baby’.

Yesterday I came back to an empty house, the aircon hose out of an open ground floor window, the back door unlocked, three lights left on.

The first time my parents left us home alone, they were in the pub having a meal when the landlady came over and said my brother was on the phone - he thought he had shot an intruder in the garden with his air rifle and the Police were on the way.

We went away for one night. Messages included ‘my new toilet brush has broken, can you get me a new one’, ‘the cat has got out of the top floor window and is stuck on the roof’ and ‘the cat has bitten Max and is now inside’.

Came home from work yesterday to find the back door and side gate wide open, teenage son gaming upstairs.

I left my grown up married daughter and her husband house sitting for three days. They left the BBQ gas on and burnt my bay tree in the process.

My Mum asked me to look after her house and four of the fish died. I replaced them and bought four more before she got home.

Thanks so much for reading! Quick Note: This is a free post for subscribers but you can also become a PAID SUBSCRIBER to receive four free Saturday posts a month but also eight EXTRA posts a month (including a weekly Design Dilemmas and all the updates, inspiration and moodboards for my home renovation) plus Chat threads so you can join our blossoming community. I would thoroughly recommend it.

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As always, HUGELY appreciative that you are here and reading - if you have enjoyed, then please do HEART like, comment and most of all, SHARE by using the little recycle button - it really does help with visibility on this excellent platform. Thank you!

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Divorce can be an emotional time (extreme, really - one moment I am furious and the next I am hugely and gratefully enjoying my singledom) but keeping my bond, and my childrens bond, with my in laws is really important to me. I think when you’ve known a family for almost 30 years then dropping that relationship like a hot cake just isn’t on the cards - you have experiences and memories that will always be there and cannot be crossed off just because your marriage hasn’t worked. Ditto with my brothers and sisters in law - there are six of them and I’ve known the youngest since they were in their teens so they’re not going anywhere. They also remain Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and multiple cousins to my kids so an important part of our life.

Anyway, both Judith and Barry are not in great health at the moment so I wanted to make it super special for them and host a day to remember. I usually write about interiors on Wednesday but you know, it’s July, the sun is shining and everyone loves to socialise when the sun shines so I thought I would talk about how I conquered what I thought was the impossible and sat twelve people in my tiny Victorian terraced kitchen for six hours on Sunday. And will also use it as an opportunity to encourage you to get out the tablecloths and use ANY excuse to make an occasion out of anything.

You can READ ON by becoming a paid subscriber which means that not only do you receive four free posts a month but you’ll also get an eight EXTRA posts a month plus Chat threads so you can join our blossoming community. You’ll be able to access my archive to read ALL of my past posts (including recipes and travel write ups) for the price of one coffee a month. I would thoroughly recommend it!

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Due to my departure for a week, I have double the amount of posts to write for you so that I’m covered whilst I’m gone. It always feels like a lot of work at the time and I run around like a crazy women shouting ‘I can’t do this!’ but as soon as I hit that plane and realise that I can read for a week, it all fades away. Bliss. We are going to Crete, to my favourite ever Hotel in the world (I’ve been twice already and this will be the third time which is unheard of) and I am preparing myself for seven days of utter relaxation. I’m going with my kids, plus Ella’s boyfriend, Lucas, and have relatives coming to house sit whilst we are gone so that I didn’t need to farm out Buddy and Flo. I am so well organised, I should be running the country, ha. I will show you the Hotel whilst I’m gone but it’s totally my happy place, not least because Veuve Cliquot is included as standard whenever you feel like it. I mean, what more could you want?

Back to business and this week, we are looking at a newly updated living room and possible furniture layouts, plus good colours that will work for built in woodwork and walls. We are considering quality but well priced internal door handles and looking at all the whites and how they differ from Brilliant White. And finally, the Sunday Niche Edit is taking the summer skies in, with a collection of sky blue cushions to give your living room a seasonal boost. And paid subscribers (particularly if you’re new), remember that you can add your dilemmas or quandaries below here in the comments or you can join in the Group Chat (the speech bubble on your app or just click the link below) where there are thousands of you waiting to help with any issues that arise (I pick ones from both of these locations for my weekly post, so whack yours in).

You can READ ON by becoming a paid subscriber which means that not only do you receive four free posts a month but you’ll also get an eight EXTRA posts a month (including all my plans for our new home) plus Chat threads so you can join our blossoming community. You’ll be able to access my archive to read ALL of my past posts (including recipes and travel write ups) for the price of one coffee a month. I would thoroughly recommend!

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Good morning, my Substack friends, and it’s Saturday, my absolute favourite day of the week. You can’t beat a Saturday. I mean, unless you work on a Saturday which often I do but even so, it’s still a good day. No alarm needed, the knowledge that you don’t need to get up so fast the next morning, two full days ahead of fun. Well, hopefully anyway. Although I do always reach the end of the weekend feeling that I never really accomplished all the good ideas and plans that I had at the beginning of the weekend and that time ran away with me.

Sunday is my second favourite day. When I was a child, nothing was open on a Sunday. It was only 1994 that Sunday Trading Hours were instigated; prior to that, there was nothing to do except wander the streets or go to Church. We lived opposite St Andrews Reform Church in Eastcote and even though my parents were not even vaguely religious, truly not a jot, they would throw us across the road on a Sunday morning at 11am for Sunday School, Concourse or Icthus bible studying, simply so they could lie in with no disturbance. We were singing Hosanna to the king of kings whilst they were having tea in bed.

I never made my children go to Sunday School, mostly because despite my faux religious upbringing I am also not even vaguely devout. In fact, they didn’t go to any of the things that my three siblings and I were forced into in order to give my parents some free time, like Cubs, Brownies and Guides. Although this was because I was never organised enough to put their names down (in Caversham, they needed to be on the list BEFORE BIRTH, competition is fierce) so they never got places. Poor parenting, the red thread that has bound my life for the last 24 years but tbh, they never complained. Once a sympathetic friend, appalled by my ineptitude, managed to get Leo on to Beavers ( BEAVERS, I tell you) where he lasted two sessions, leaving quickly after I had shelled out fifty quid for the turquoise sweatshirt and neck scarf that marked a Beaver as a team member.

But back to the point and it’s the weekend with no Sunday School or Beavers to be seen (not in my back yard here in York, anyway) and the sun is, blissfully, due to shine. I have a weekend of family visits planned as I’m hosting an 80th party for my father in law, Barry, who many of you will know from my Instagram account, with a buffet meal for 15 and a large cheesecake. All of my kids are returning home for the occasion so as you read this, I will be making a Caesar Salad and those little mini bruschetta cases that I mentioned in my List Of Joie a few weeks ago. But whilst I cook, here are ten things that I have enjoyed, loved or discovered this month that have made July a good one. In no particular order whatsoever. Happy Saturday!

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1. Moving my plants outside.

One of the great things about having a little courtyard is that it is really easy to keep on top of it, although GODAMMIT, leaves are so annoying. Honestly. I had the overhanging branches cut a few months ago from the tree behind my house and it’s made a big difference, but they still manage to find their way in daily. When Dave the tiler came to do the final seal on the floor, he actually vacuumed it with the Henry Hoover and am very tempted to start doing that myself.

Anyway, this month I have taken all of my cacti outside after advice from father in lawn, Barry. I have always been very dubious about taking my plants outdoors, but when I visited him the other month I noticed that many of what he had outside on the patio were what I kept indoors year round. After consultation, he said there was no reason not to set them free and open to the elements during the warmer months, so that's what I’ve done. I would never have considered this before (I mean, they live in the South and I live in the North and we are always a couple of degrees colder) but my courtyard is quite sheltered and they really are thriving. Who knew?

The cowboy one in particular is showing more life than it has done for years. In fairness, it’s been a shocking year for my house plants - they bravely spent six months in an attic bedroom whilst the renovation took place with barely any watering (there’s a lot of stairs to get there) and it was truly the survival of the fittest. I bought the cowboy cactus in a clearance at my local garden centre about five years ago and it’s never done much until now, but it’s got lots of new leaves and I have realised that cacti need far more watering than I ever thought. From now on I’m going to be more Barry. Indoor plants need outside sunshine just as much as we do.

2. Time away.

There are many benefits that I have found since I became single. I mean, cool bedsheets to yourself every night is one that will never fail to please me (this doesn’t bode well for any future relationship, lol) and not having to grit my teeth at discarded face shavings on the sink lifts my spirits daily, but making my own decisions about travel without having to consult anyone else’s diary is a total game changer. This month, I went to Marrakech with two friends and it was truly the most relaxing, calming, girlfriendy, no stress time that I have ever had when away from home. Okay, so I had my kids messaging me on the regular with urgent issues such as ‘I left the cat in the courtyard last night by accident, will she live?’ and ‘how do I turn on the dishwasher?’ but as a long term mother, this doesn’t phase me one bit. You commit the crime, you do the time, as it were.

One of my New Years Resolutions (as written down by all four of us when in Miami at Christmas) was that I would take more of the opportunities that are offered to me without panicking about how everyone would survive in my absence. I grabbed the opportunity for four days in Marrakech, so when Jo Reeder messaged me to ask if I wanted to go to Sri Lanka to a retreat for a week I was super keen. However, I couldn’t get the dates to work, most frustratingly (I’ve never been to Sri Lanka). But then, she told me about a three night Breath Retreat she was hosting with breath work practitioner Polly Warren in the Austrian Alps from 8-11 October that fitted my schedule, so I JUMPED at the chance. I've never been on any sort of retreat before so this will be entirely new to me - we are staying in the Interalpen Hotel near Innsbruck and the retreat involves daily breath work, yoga classes, Nordic walking and Alpine hikes. I cannot WAIT. Oh, and also my friend is coming with me, although it’s perfect if you are a solo traveller as the idea is that you make new friends and connections.

I will be reporting back when I go, but if this also appeals to you then you can join us! You need to arrange your own flights, but almost everything else is included and if you use THIS LINK then you’ll get £100 off. But be quick, as it’s a limited trip and there are not loads of spaces.

And if you’re looking for someone to help you plan a holiday, solo or otherwise, Jo is the person to ask. She can help you plan the perfect trip that suits exactly what you want to do, tailored to your preferences and ideas, wherever you live in the world.

3. Andy Burnham’s social content.

I was sad to see Kier go, not because I thought he was the best Prime Minister ever but because I felt that inside, he was a truly nice man. Politics here in the UK has felt like a conveyor belt for the last five years, keeping up with the Cabinet is basically impossible and I can barely tell you who the opposition leaders are. Truly. Anyway, Andy Burnham has appeared as if by Mr Benn magic into 10 Downing Street (I was in Marrakech and missed how he got there, ha) and I have to say, so far I am finding him quite refreshing.

Mostly, I am slightly obsessed with his social content. His Instagram and TikTok followings have rocketed over the last week and his content is satisfyingly organic (I mean, there is of course someone behind it who knows exactly what they’re doing but cleverly, it doesn’t feel that staged). He’s created content with social media influencers (Bemi Orojuogun, Max Klymenko) and jumping on trend buzz bandwagons (Cabinet members then vs now, Cabinet - completed it) and his video explanations are straight forward, no faff, just basic information that doesn’t waffle on or do loads of shit political speak that is designed to make you feel like you’re dense if you don’t understand it. His way of getting his point across feels current and in tune with the mood and that’s not something that we in the UK have rarely experienced.

I mean, I could be wrong, of course. Give it a month and we might be bombarded with media tales of former misdemeanors, young Burnham student japes, criticism of his wife’s decorating skills and his entire relationship history dating back to 1985 but for now, it’s feeling a bit like the muggy air of politics has been spritzed with Febreze Cotton Fresh.

Also, he is from the North and has a northern accent and this is not to be underestimated - no such tones have echoed through No 10 since Harold Wilson was in office over 50 years ago (let’s not even get into what THAT says about UK politics). My kids LOVE him (two of them live in Manchester and think he’s the best thing since Warburtons sliced) and they’ve never had any active view on any PM to date, bar Boris and that’s only because they had time on their hands as they were locked down. And this is good thing, no? The younger generation have felt entirely disassociated from politicians for years (mostly due to the politicians COMPLETE lack of interest in any subject concerning them, unless it’s fleecing them with student loans) and if Andy and his TikToks can manage to move that demographic back into the game, then big kudos to him.

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4. Good hair/skin stuff.

This post wouldn’t be my ten things unless I show you some good things that I’ve tried out this month and there’s been a few. First of all, I was lamenting the fluffiness of my holiday hair to my hairdresser Sam Olgar (I’ve been going to him for a decade, if you’re local - he’s fab) and he gave me two products that I used in the heat of Marrakech and readers, they worked. One was a leave in conditioner, the other a smoothing cream, both Aveda, and I particularly liked the smoothing cream which I left in and allowed my hair to dry naturally. It was WAY too hot to use a hairdryer. I’ll be taking both of these to Greece next week. Also noticed on Look Fantastic that you get 15% off if you use the code TREAT.

Keeping with the hot hols theme, I bought this Isle Of Paradise sunscreen in Boots before I went and it’s brilliant. It’s a light spray that is great if you’re walking around in the hot sun (mad dogs and Englishmen, only we do this) and the scent is AMAZING. We all used this regularly in Marrakech and it’s easy to put into your bag, plus it’s waterproof for 80 minutes too.

And finally, if you’re a fan of Trinny London (there are few who are not), then you’ll like this as they’ve released a Summer Edit stack of their best selling skincare so that you can take it on holiday with you. How good is this? My friends and I trialled the three below - Plump Up, Naked Ambition and Be Your Best - on our mini break but all of their best sellers now come in mini size and they’re perfect for fitting into your cabin luggage with no worries.

5. Swimming.

I mentioned this briefly on my Wednesday post, but I’ve been having an epiphany about my swimwear situation. My entire life I have been a bikini girl, until about five years ago when I decided to move to swimsuits, simply because I liked the idea of an all in one and I really wanted to buy a Hunza G. Which I did and was a convert. They’re great swimming costumes, they do really good bikinis too that are not little triangles and that are super comfortable to wear. I love them. But, they are not supportive on the top. And that is what I now need.

Anyway, as discussed on Wednesday I had a mastectomy 12 years ago and at the time, my boobs were nice and equal. Yay. However, I have now aged 12 years and they are categorically no longer. Not even close, in fact. I had an appointment last week which means that they may well be the same again next year, but until then, I needed to assess what I was wearing in the pool. I don’t actually give a toss if they are not equal, but the issue with Hunza G is that there is no support which was FINE when they were implanted and the same size, but now they’ve moved around a bit, it doesn’t make me feel good in a swimming costume. And that’s what matters to me, I want to feel good FOR ME.

So I have decided to head this year for halters which, without being too graphic, will equal them out. My logic (for those of you who have also been down the surgery route) is this - slightly padded, pull up, less obvious that they’re uneven. Also, I thought it would be fun to try a few out so I headed to Vinted, which made my sons vomit. SECOND HAND SWIMSUITS?! But I can tell you that most of the swimsuits on there have tags on, there are loads of designer ones and also, you can put them straight in that miracle of cleanliness, the washing machine. I have now, at last count, bought three and am waiting for them to arrive.

I also went on to the Net A Porter Sale and bought a Zimmerman one which arrived today and which, I can tell you, is mastectomy/boob implant perfection. It’s structured and padded at the top but it stays up if you don’t tie the halter, it’s got ruching across the stomach so it gives texture and it’s beautifully lined. Yes, it did cost more than Vinted. But it makes me feel really good and that’s what matters. They’ve still got it on Zimmerman, it’s called Patience. I’ve got a Size 2. I’d also recommend checking out the Net A Porter Sale if you’re looking to invest in swimwear as they currently have an extra 20% off using FLASH20 on most things and you can get really nice quality swimsuits for around 60% off plus more. I could spend HOURS on there. Will report back post Greece on which of my Vinted buys worked.

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6. Great art.

I am lacking in wall space at the moment (although am planning to redecorate both spare room and my bedroom in the next six months so NOT FOR LONG) but that doesn’t stop me looking longingly at new artwork. I have realised that I have a very specific type of artwork that I like and when I see one that hits home, it is all I can do not to snap it up. But I cannot. Sigh. Anyway, I thought I would show you a few artists that are quite new to me that I’ve found, mostly via Callum Crawford who is an art advisor who regularly sends me DM’s of things that he knows will tempt me so that I can feel even more annoyed that I can’t buy them, ha.

Starting with this one. It’s by artist Rebecca Foster Clarke and it’s called Ballache, for reasons that become clear when you study it. I love the juxtaposition of the edgy subject with the blowsy florals. So good. You can contact Callum for info.

I showed my paid subscribers Lydia Blakeleys work a few months ago on my Wednesday post but I thought well worth showing again as it’s so amazing. She’s also based in Yorkshire and that makes her even MORE amazing. Yay for Yorkshire. Again, contact via Callum.

And last, I already have three Frankie Thorp pieces (Instagram followers will know the large canvas that I have in the sitting room) but this print is calling me. Love the colours here, love the subject matter and it will be everything in my power not to buy. Wish me luck. Available via Goldmark Atelier.

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7. Miss, Mrs, Ms, WTF.

This week, I went to the Passport Office in Durham as I needed to get a new passport before going to Greece next week. I was furious about it and got the train and then spent the whole journey annoyed that I would need to get the new passport in my married name as I wasn’t yet divorced, which then sent me on a spiral as I thought about the fact that I didn’t WANT to keep my married name but I probably didn’t have a choice as it was my business and my SEO depended on it. And then I got even MORE annoyed that I had taken my husbands name to start with and that I should have kept my unmarried name and started my business using that. And then I became fuming with myself that I have been using Mrs without even thinking about WHY I was using Mrs, for years and years. Anyway, I was in quite a bad mood about it.

So I posted my wrath on to an Instagram Story, mostly to warn people that if they were starting a business to think carefully about the name they used as no one knows what’s going to happen in the future (I know, I’m such a ray of sunshine). But the reaction I received in response was quite frankly INSANE. I have never, ever before received such a response. Not even when my husband left me did so many people message me, ha. It was crazy. It was a whole area of marital conflict that I wasn’t really even aware of. I had taken my husbands name and we had considered double barreling but my name was Kerman and Kerman-Dawson was too many ‘un’s so it didn’t work. But that was that.

My learnings from my Story responses were extreme. Firstly, I would say that 85% of the women who messaged me did not take their husbands name. The remaining 15% DID take their husbands name but almost purely for the fact that they had children and they all wanted to have the same name. But the most interesting fact is that almost ALL of the thousands who messaged me did not use Mrs, but Ms.

So where did Ms come from? It became popular in the 1970’s after the feminist movement used it as an equivalent to Mr, a marriage neutral term that set both on the same level. The prefixes Mrs and Miss come from the original term, Mistress, showing ownership or not by a man and marriage. Ah, don’t you just LOVE the patriarchy? I’d already been riled by Virgin Media who transferred my broadband into my name from my estranged husbands, only to query why I used Mrs if I’d been separated for six months. WHY IS IT YOUR BUSINESS? It’s literally nothing to do you, love. Would you ask a man his marital status? No. No, you would not. So why are you asking mine?

It’s a subject that I have never really considered before (which is shocking in itself) but WOAH, it’s a big one. So many questions as to why this traditional prefix continues into 2026 and why we are still using names that indicate our marital status, as though that’s important. ‘Maiden’ names. Fathers handing over daughters to husbands in marriage ceremonies. The wearing of white dresses to show that we are unblemished. Taking our husbands name to show ownership (you can argue that it’s nice for everyone to have the same name as a family, but you cannot get away from the fact that the basis of this is to show that the man is now ‘in charge’ of the woman). Miss to show that you have not yet been lucky enough to find a man and that you’re available for courting. Mrs to say well done! You’ve managed to find someone to look after you! Peak success as a woman achieved.

So is Ms the way forward? I think so for sure. Years ago, Ms would have been used to show that you have never been ‘lucky’ enough to find a man to look after you, that you are a wrinkly old spinster living a solo life, but now? Now, it signifies that you don’t buy into naming traditions, nor ownership (bleurgh). That your title is ambiguous, because you DON’T need to explain to ANYONE what your marital status is. Certainly not the Virgin Media call line.

The rest of Europe doesn’t tolerate this shit. Mademoiselle was removed from French documentation way back in 2012 and the only term used is Madame. In Germany, the only term used is Frau - Fraulein is considered inappropriate for modern use. In Poland, Pani is used for all adult women as a sign of respect, the old term of Panna signifying that you are unmarried having been dropped some time ago. The European Institute for Gender Equality advises avoiding marital titles entirely in professional and gender sensitive communications so that you don’t link identity to marital relationship. It is surely time to get with the programme here in the UK, when every form that you fill in still has marital indicative pronouns to tick.

So what is my own plan? The problem with starting a business in your married name is that you changing back is HARD (SEO, books written, blah blah blah). But I feel that this is an essential part of my move forward into a new life and I’m going to bite the bullet over the next year and swap back to my unmarried name. But in the meantime? It’s MS all the way.

8. Plate walls. Again.

If you’ve followed me for any length of time you’ll know that I am a sucker for a plate wall. My office in my old house was covered in plates from ceiling to floor; my original kitchen had an abundance of prettiness all over the range arch and I am incapable of entering a charity shop without taking one home. Since I moved home, I have a tiny plate wall as you walk into the kitchen and, quite frankly, it’s not NEARLY big enough to satisfy my plate wall requirements.

Last week in Morocco we went to El Fenn where they have a huge plate wall along the back of their restaurant. You can read my Marrakech review here if you are considering going, but for me, the BEST thing about El Fenn was the plate wall. One of the best things about going away is being inspired by your surroundings and I immediately realised quite how much I missed this focal feature in my home and vowed that when back, I would return to my natural plate wall state.

So we went to a ceramics wholesaler and I picked a load of plates. God, it was fun. Inspired by El Fenn, I went for red as it works perfectly with the blue of the kitchen tiles and the brown of the shelving - I have a slight obsession with this combo and also bought a carpet bag in these exact colours when perusing the market. I checked with my builder who said I was perfectly fine to drill into the room divide beam so now, all I need to do is wait for our crate of ceramics to be driven over from Marrakech. Pray for us that they eventually turn up. New plate wall incoming.

9. AllSaints vest tops.

I’ve never really been an AllSaints person. I like dark clothes, but there is a cool, rock edge to their stuff that doesn’t really suit me. I like it all, though. I always peruse thinking, could I get away with that? Do I really like it or do I just think it looks cool? It’s been around since 1994 and started off on the All Saints Road in East London and here in York, they have an instore Fenwicks concession for both men and women. York is MASSIVELY lacking in clothes shops. Okay, so we have Zara, H&M, Mango and Urban Outfitters but that is pretty much it. No Cos, no Arket, and literally NO independents at all. Leeds have it all, but York is tourist heaven and visitors want Giant Hog Roast Yorkshire Puddings and Chocolate Factories, not cool clothes shops. Sigh.

But Fenwick is my saving grace, with concessions including Ganni, Free People, Never Fully Dressed, Nobody’s Child, Damson Madder, MaxMara, etc etc which is a welcome relief from the excess of Harry Potteresque spell shops that seem to have popped up on every York street over the last few years. Honestly, you cannot move for gothic emporiums on Goodramgate, I tell you. Anyway, I usually admire AllSaints in Fenwick but never buy anything, until last week when I bought three vest tops in the Sale. And oh, they are GOOD. In fact, I’ve found myself washing them and washing them again and wearing them repeatedly.

I like a vest top. I like wearing them under shirts, under dresses, under jumpers. But it’s hard to find vest tops that tick all the boxes. Long length, flattering, not too thick, good fabric. But the three that I have bought in varying colours are bloody EXCELLENT. I have it in brown but it comes in other colours too, some of which are in the Sale making them under twenty quid. It’s really soft material - 96% TENCEL - and so comfortable to wear; slightly more pricey than a normal run of the mill vest top at £32, but I do think it’s worth the investment. I’ve got it in black, white and this brown (white is last season so no longer in stock) but am tempted to stock up on the other colours too.

10. Not caring about my arms.

And sticking with the vest theme, everyone has a bug bear about their own bodies, a part that they don’t like. Which is mad, because obviously we should like ALL of our bodies and not give a toss what other people think about them because the body belongs to us, no one else. But no, we are all the same. For me, it’s the tops of my arms. I don’t care about the rest, I don’t even care about the fact I have different shaped boobs that much. But my arms REALLY annoy me.

When I became pregnant the first time with Ella, I ate for England. I was so happy to be pregnant after trying for months that I gave no thought whatsoever to my body and just filled it with food to keep my baby healthy (yes, I know this isn’t how it works, but that’s how you feel when you’re pregnant - Ryvita for lunch just doesn’t cut it). Triple M&S prawn sandwiches. Flapjacks. Crisps. ALL the stuff. And, my friends, my body suffered the consequences. By the time I had had Ella, I weighed 14 stone AFTER giving birth (my previous weight was 10 stone) and although I was free of stretch marks, my arms took the brunt of it. My once toned uppers were never, ever the same again. More pregnancies and fluctuating weight due to illness meant that even when I weighed 8 stone, they were still wobbling and no Personal Trainer or weight lifting could crack them. I would look at photographs of me and think ‘arrrggh, my arms’ and veered away from halter tops and vests for this very reason.

But this year, in my newly single state? I have embraced my arms and have pretty much lived in vests. Okay, so when I say embrace, they still annoy me, but I have realised that in the scheme of life, a bit of a wobble means absolutely nothing and actually, the only person who really notices it is me. No one else gives a toss. We talked a lot about body shape and weight on my girls mini break (would HIGHLY recommend girls mini breaks to make you feel strong and confident) and each one of the three of us had different types of insecurities, but we all though each other looked great. Many of us grew up in an age where weight was a hot subject - this Baywatch clip that I saw this week from Heartthrob Anderson sums up the attitude to weight back in the nineties (MENTAL). No wonder so many felt uncomfortable in their own bodies.

For those of us brought up in the era of Weight Watchers, these learned behaviours have carried through to adulthood, but it’s not too late to kick them into touch. Roll on the vests and strappy dresses, I’m here for them, wobbly arms and all.

Thanks so much for reading! Quick Note: This is a free post for subscribers but you can also become a PAID SUBSCRIBER to receive four free Saturday posts a month but also eight EXTRA posts a month (including a weekly Design Dilemmas and all the updates, inspiration and moodboards for my new home renovation) plus Chat threads so you can join our blossoming community. I would thoroughly recommend it.

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However, it was REALLY easy which was entirely unexpected. The last time I had to do an emergency passport, I went to Victoria in London which was total carnage, the queues were miles long and I came away six hours later feeling as if I needed a holiday. This time, I did it all online (including taking a selfie against my kitchen wall and submitting it) which took about ten minutes, before going to Durham this morning where they turned it around within three hours. GENIUS. I was home after lunch safe in the knowledge that Jet2 will not turn me away at check in, which is what Ryanair almost did last week and would have done had I not been traveling outside of the EU. I can now travel the world at my leisure for the next ten years with no worries. Which is EXACTLY what I am intending to do, ha.

But back to my List Of Joie and there is a lot of Marrakech inspired content here, including a filo parcel recipe that I’ve found to replicate the briouats that we ate in every restaurant we visited and some good hosting inspiration. Here’s a little run down of what I’ve watched, bought, worn, read, eaten and lusted after in the last fortnight.

This post is for paid subscribers but you can upgrade for the price of a coffee! You’ll get an eight extra posts every month plus my entire archive including tonnes of recipes and travel write ups. Plus all my plans, moodboards and inspiration for my new home renovation. I would thoroughly recommend!

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