Six ways to take better care of yourself

This is a collaborative post

When we get busy, our self-care is often the first thing that gets pushed aside in favour of our other responsibilities. This is especially true once we have kids – raising them really is a full-time job!

However, looking after yourself should still be a priority. We know that life is hard, and it might have been a while since you indulged in some much needed ‘me time.’

Fear not, we have six self-care solutions to put the spring back in your step!

Get More Sleep

When we’re kids, there’s nothing worse than being told that it’s time for bed. But when we’re adults, the thought of finally getting some shut eye is a blissful fantasy.

Sleep should always be a priority, regardless of your age, and a healthy sleep schedule has been proven to boost your wellbeing – in fact, studies have shown that sleep deprivation can cause serious health problems! 

Getting enough sleep isn’t always easy, so try to avoid caffeine in the evenings!

Exercise 

A great way to stay healthy and reduce your stress is to introduce a low intensity, relaxed work out to your daily routine. We all know that exercise is good for your physical health, but it can also have a positive impact on your mental health too! 

Even walking counts! So, get out and about for a walk around you neighbourhood – you might discover great places you’ve never noticed before. 

Photo credit Bruno Nascimento via Unsplash

Educate Yourself

Improving your education is an excellent way to work on your skillset and expand your knowledge, helping to make you a more fulfilled and well-rounded person.

Of course, returning to university doesn’t suit every lifestyle, especially once we have children. However, distance learning courses like those offered by Anglia Ruskin University, allow you to study on a schedule that suits your needs.  

Smile More

Smiling has incredible benefits, both for you and for those you encounter every day. As smiling is infectious, smiling at someone encourages them to return the gesture! 

Flashing those pearly-whites releases endorphins and can even reduce stress. And, if I don’t feel particularly smiley, you ask? Research indicates that even faking a smile generate the same effect. 

Eat Well

Eating healthy is one modern life’s biggest challenges. With so many takeaway services just a few taps of an app away, it’s just easier to order in. 

But to improve your health and wellbeing, you need a balanced and nutritious diet. 

If you usually make a meal out of meal planning, then try a service like Mindful Chef – that way you can fill your fridge with everything you need to see you through the week!

Photo credit Sara Dubler via Unsplash

Declutter Your Home

A cluttered home can leave you feeling out of sorts – research has indicated that a cluttered home can increase levels of stress and anxiety in individuals.

Carve out some time to properly declutter of your house and get rid of anything that you don’t use. 

A tidy home will lead to a happier you!

How do you practice self-care? Tell us about your techniques in the comments below!

Mini Hama bead Christmas pin badges

I recently shared some free mini Christmas pixel art designs that I created, and I promised to share how I had used them for festive crafts. You can see the free patterns below, or you can download them here - mini Christmas pixel art designs to download. They are perfect for cross stitch, or any other pixel based craft like Hama beads. 

I have already shared the mini Hama bead Christmas embellishments that I made using these designs, and I decided to use some of these embellishments to make some simple pin badges. Note that not all of these designs will work well as badges, you need to choose a design that has plenty of opportunity for several beads to stick together - the snowflake and star designs for example won't work for this craft.

To make the pin badges first you need to create the design on the pegboard using mini Hama beads. If you haven't used mini Hama beads before then you might find this post useful - A full guide to working with mini Hama beads. The procedure is the same as for the larger beads but these beads are tiny and quite fiddly to work with. The best way to place them on the board is with tweezers. 

When you are happy with your bead placement then it's time to iron them. If you don't have much experience with Hama beads then you might find this post useful - Ironing tips for Hama beads. In particular you need to take special care with the mini Hama beads as they don't require very much ironing at all. Make sure that the iron is on a medium or low setting and press lightly on the beads for no longer than a second at a time. I like to iron the beads on both sides to make sure that they are secure.

Then all you need to do is to attach a clutch back and blank pin set, these are also known as butterfly pins. They are easily available to buy and are not too expensive for a big bag. I used superglue to stick the pin part to the back of the Hama bead design.

Just note that these pin badges are not super sturdy, and they are best used in places where they won't encounter too much wear and tear. They are better used for display, or to embellish a Christmas decoration, like this Santa hat. 

I'm really pleased with my sweet little Hama bead pin badges!

If you enjoy festive crafting with Hama beads then you might also like this post - Hama bead Christmas crafts

The best winter destinations in Greece

This is a collaborative post

From the bars of Ioannina to the slopes of Parnassos and from the shores of Karpenisi to the cobbled streets of Pelion, mountainous Greece excites us, invites us to discover it again and again. Every season, we make plans and plan our winter getaways that will be etched in our memory forever. Let's discover some of the best winter destinations in enchanting Greece that you can discover:

Pelion

In the winter sunshine, stone squares of Pelion and tsipouro, routes in the plane trees overlooking the sea, kokoretsi at the Old Station in Milies, dishes with wild mushrooms in Tsagarada, and horse rides in Argalasti. Classic, favourite, well-travelled, Pelion is a mountain that can still surprise us. Each village has its own lifestyle. Makrinitsa and Portaria are the closest villages to Volos, in fact they are its balcony. Fixed value Milies and Vyzitsa - especially the latter is famous for their mansions that have been converted into hostels.

Tsagarada and Zagora highlight in the most representative way the profile of eastern Pelion with the wild vegetation and the view of the wonderful beaches of the Aegean. Finally, Argalasti and Lafkos are the sweetest and Mediterranean version of the mountain, with their endless olive groves, the "lake" view of the closed bay of the Pagasitikos and the calm rhythms. Of course, the villages are not exhausted in this first description. 

Have an appetite, and your car counter can write endless kilometres, as you will explore its dozens of settlements, from Chania ski resort to the "island" Trikeri at the tip of the peninsula. Of course, we suggest you have your own vehicle to discover the above magical locations. An ideal solution is to turn to one of the economical solutions for the company Enjoy Travel's rental cars at fantastic prices.

Karpenisi

Stunned by the turns of Timfristos, you can drink the first coffee in the central square of Karpenisi. The musical background, the wind between the dry leaves of the plane trees, the locals' conversations, and the growling of the cars that leave hurriedly for the valley of Karpenisiotis. This route of 33 km will impress you as many times as we cross it: river, forest, mountain, the ultimate triptych of the mountain landscape. Mikro and Megalo Chorio and Koryschades are the most beautiful villages on the route, and their well-kept hostels make us prefer them for accommodation in the valley.

Ioannina

Ioannina has an old town inside the castle and is one of the most beautiful in Greece, and has dozens of options for excursions outside of it. Weekend in Ioannina means, first of all, walking inside the castle, on the waterfront and on the island itself. These are the most picturesque parts of the city, while the most crucial part of the nightlife are the streets around the waterfront and those in the centre. But it is also worth exploring the rest of the city: to buy a bougatsa from the "cult" shops on Averof Street and to browse the famous Saturday street market where various grandmothers carry their fresh vegetables from the village for great prices. For boiled soup and panoramic view, finally, go up to the village of Ligiades for the best view of Pamvotida.

Photo credit Markos Mant via Unsplash

Christmas themed cross stitch kits inspiration

I love having a large cross stitch project to work on. I usually spend several years working on a single kit at a time, picking it up when I'm in the mood. I always seem to increase my crafting productivity over Christmas and the winter, when it's so nice to sit and stitch curled up under a blanket with something festive on the television. I also like Christmas themed cross stitch, as it makes a lovely decoration that can be brought out year after year. Christmas cross stitch is also often embellished with metallic thread and beads for an extra bit of festive sparkle!

A couple of years ago I completed a Christmas cross stitch sampler which I am very proud of and which is on display in our hallway along with other Christmas decorations. 

As always this year I have a longer non-festive cross stitch project on the go, but I also picked up these brilliant value mini Christmas cross stitch kits from Hobbycraft which are always temptingly displayed by the till, usually on a three for two offer. They make a great portable craft project for when we visit family over Christmas.

Even though I'm pretty well sorted with enough cross stitch to keep me going for now I couldn't resist having a browse for another large Christmas themed cross stitch kit to start working on, and I thought that I'd share some of the gorgeous kits that I've found in case you are looking for some Christmas cross stitching inspiration! I've grouped them by theme so there is something to suit everyone from beginners to more advanced stitchers, and whether you are looking for a quick or long term project.

Finally I can't miss the chance to do a quick plug for my very own mini Christmas cross stitch designs which are perfect for an Advent project, Christmas cards or any other craft project which needs a tiny little stitched embellishment. 

Large Christmas themed sampler style kits

When it comes to choosing a cross stitch design I'm always drawn to samplers. I love having separate elements that can be worked on one at a time, and although they can be large they are generally fairly easy to complete without too much colour changing or confetti stitches. 

Large Christmas themed pictures

A large Christmas themed cross stitch picture can be complex but also very satisfying to look at. I'd love to complete something like this that can be displayed over Christmas with the other decorations.

Small Christmas cross stitch kits for card making

Smaller Christmas themed kits, like the Hobbycraft ones that I mentioned above, are great for making personal Christmas cards. I've been lucky enough to receive a couple of handmade cards over the years and I always keep them to bring out year after year! I'm collecting together a few smaller pictures that I've worked on over the years and at some point I'm intending to back them all with some Christmas fabric to create some kind of festive hanging cross stitch decoration.

Beginner Christmas cross stitch kits

Even the simplest cross stitch kits can make lovely decorations and gifts. Beginner kits often have the colours printed on the fabric so you don't need to worry about counting the stitches. This makes them a great project if you are new to cross stitch, or for children to work on.

Beauty and the Beast Pantomime at Worthing Pavilion Theatre

We received press tickets for this event

It's so good to see pantomimes back in the theatres this year! Going to the pantomime has been a part of our festive celebrations for a few years now, and so we were delighted to be invited along to watch the Worthing Theatres pantomime for Christmas 2021 - Beauty and the Beast. Having not having been to the theatre since before the pandemic, it was so good to be back in the audience.

Beauty and the Beast is a classic fairy tale, and this production features actress and singer Sapphire Elia as Belle, Britain's Got Talent winner singer Jai McDowall as The Beast and Strictly Come Dancing star Robin Windsor as Gaston, alongside a fantastic supporting cast and dancers. 

Beauty and the Beast is a familiar story - when a handsome prince is cursed by a magical enchantress and turned into a terrifying beast only true love can break the spell. It's about looking beyond what we see on the surface as Belle discovers that true beauty lies beneath. 

The show has everything that you expect from a pantomime - the pantomime dame with her spectacular outfits, comedy sidekicks and slapstick humour and plenty of chance for audience participation. There was some excellent aerial gymnastics and I was really impressed with the singing and the dancing - all of the performers are incredibly talented. 

We very much enjoyed our night at the pantomime and I would definitely recommend Beauty and the Beast in Worthing this Christmas.

Beauty and the Beast is playing at the Pavilion Theatre until January 2nd 2022.

A look at my Kindle

When it comes to reading, I definitely prefer having a physical book in my hands. I remember a book better when I see the actual cover, I don't need to worry about keeping them charged or them being stolen, and I like being able to track my progress through the book based on how many pages are left.

Having said that I do love my Kindle. I have a Paperwhite 7th generation Kindle which was released in 2015 so it's quite old now as far as devices go, and it can be a little creaky from time to time, but I don't feel the need for an update just yet. A few weeks ago there was a big software redesign which has actually made a really positive difference to the interface.

One of the best things about the Kindle for me is the easy access to free books. I regularly visit the Kindle Best Sellers site, and although I start by scrolling through the Free tab I also check the paid books, as often some of the best sellers are popular books which are on special offer for 99p. Some of the free books are free for a reason, but I like to look for the classics which are out of copyright or sometimes there will be a free short story from a well known author.

As an Amazon Prime member I am also able to make use of Prime Reading which allows you to download up to ten books at a time from a really good selection of both older and newer books. Every month I can also choose a book from the Amazon First Reads selection and I've found some great books here. 

I often share photos of my physical to be read pile, but there is also a hidden to be read pile on my Kindle, so I thought I'd share a little look at how I organise it and what I've got waiting to be read. Above is the main screen of my Library. I have four collections - firstly Library where I store books that I've read, enjoyed and want to read again. Then I have Organisation where I keep a few books on that theme that I like to browse from time to time. Simplify Magazine is where I keep my issues of this digital magazine and To Be Read is self-explanatory. These tend to be older books that I've downloaded and haven't got around to yet.

Then outside of the collections I keep the newer books that I need to get on and read. Half in Shadow by Gemma Leviero I only downloaded yesterday, it's one of the Amazon First Reads for this month that has just been released. On the next page I have a few more Amazon First Reads that I haven't got to yet, and some from the Prime Reading library. So that's at least six books that I want to get on with soon!

Last time we went on holiday I made a big effort to mainly read on my Kindle and was very successful, ticking off three books. Over Christmas I'm determined to make a bit more of a dent in my digital to be read pile!

Some of my favourite beaches and beach days

I love writing about my travels around the world on this blog, but it has been a bit thin on the ground recently so I thought I'd write a post reminiscing about some great places that I've been lucky enough to visit. And because I love living near the sea so much I thought I'd share some of my most memorable beaches and beach days.

I have to start the post with my local beach at Goring-by-Sea to the west of Worthing. Well in fact I love all of this pebbly seafront that stretches from Worthing to Littlehampton. I have a favourite place to park near to Sea Lane Café. All the parking around here is free and there is plenty of it, and the café serves delicious food, drinks and cakes. In one direction you head towards Worthing town centre with a wide promenade, bars and hotels, in the other direction you can take a quieter walk past Goring Gap, down the bottom of the private housing estates in Kingston Gorse and along the greensward through Rustington to Littlehampton. I've walked and run all of these stretches so many times!

When it comes to my perfect beach to spend a day though it would have to be Castaway Cay, Disney's private island in the Bahamas which can only be visited on a Disney cruise. I've been lucky enough to come here twice and when we left last time I cried, perhaps because I was exhausted after completing the Castaway Cay 5K run, cycling around the island, swimming and snorkelling! As well as being a beautiful beach there are many different activities to choose from and it's all clean and safe, just a few minutes easy walk from where the ship docks.

Another perfect beach that we visited on a cruise was Grand Cayman. It was like a picture postcard, golden sand covered with shells and coral and warm, clear blue sea. I would love to have spent longer here!

It's not always the exotic sunny beaches that appeal to me though. Last year we spent a week at Hunstanton in Norfolk in an Airbnb that was just a few minutes walk from the coast. It was October so it wasn't the time of year for sitting on the beach or swimming in the sea, but every day I went for a walk along the shore looking for shells and pebbles and trying to catch the sunset. I love living near to the sea but it would be amazing to live just a few minutes walk away, that's my dream one day!

Finally when it comes to my favourite beach memories I always come back to one day. This is Magens Bay beach on Saint Thomas, one of the US Virgin Islands in the Caribbean Sea and we stopped here as part of a cruise back in 2014. It was one of our first visits to a Caribbean beach and we had a wonderful day here. The children were only tiny, and it was the first time that they had properly swum in the sea. They had such a wonderful time splashing around and playing in the sand. It was a little overcast so the sun wasn't too intense but it was still so warm and hot. I have such fond memories of that beach day.

I would love to hear about your favourite beaches and beach memories!