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It has certainly been a while since my last Instagram post! Here's a little selection of what I have been getting up to in the past few weeks...

1. The crowds waiting for Kate Middleton's arrival in Grimsby in March 2. My lovely sauteed potatoes, then roasted in chicken stock 3. Yankee Candle fragrance mixology combination 4. Monkey Socks!

5. Homemade tortilla chips 6. My favourite cardiagn - dragonfly print - new from Clothing at Tesco 7. All packed for our staycation! 8. Rose gold nails

9. Breakfast at Patisserie Valerie in Cambridge 10. A morning walk by the River Cam 11. Inside the beautiful Kings College, Cambridge 12. Playing about with Photoshop, editing my photos from a weekend in Norfolk with DC's family

13. Shabby Chic garden inspiration 14. With the Brandy monster in People's Park, Grimsby... 15.... and onto Weelsby Woods, Grimsby 16. Daffodils - £1 from Tesco!

National Gardening Week 2013 - Shabby Chic Inspiration

Finally! The sun is out, the temperature is rising and it just about feels as though Spring is here! For those of you lucky enough to have a garden (I wish I did!), now is the perfect to get out there and start tidying up the trees, hedges and flowers, and get your garden ready for Summer!

This week (15th to 21st April) marks the Royal Horticultural Society's National Gardening Week 2013, and this year the RHS is focussing on Wildflowers. These flowers, just like every other, play a vital part in nature - providing pollen and a habitat for insects - but yet there has been a massive reduction in natural Wildflower meadows in our Countrysides.

So, the RHS is asking us to give nature a helping hand by planting our own Wildflowers - whether it be in a plant pot or your own mini meadow! By no means am I a gardener, but seeing this campaign reminded me of something I saw a few months ago which, I think, would be perfect for a garden make-over.. a shabby chic garden!

Back in October, DC and I went on a day trip to Butterfly World in St Albans whilst visiting family down south. These gardens were part of the Designer Gardens exhibit and I just love how whimsical and romantic they are. It's almost fairytale-esque which, at the minute, I just can't get enough of! Granted, it may look a little overgrown and messy, but that is the beauty of it - and the beauty of Wildflowers too.

If I had a shabby corner tucked away in my dream garden, I would absolutely cherish it.

LINKS

For more information on National Gardening Week, advice and ideas, visit the RHS website.
For details on Butterfly World, visit here. 

Zumbathon 2013

Attention people of Lincolnshire! In just five days time, you can take part in something very special that will benefit a lot of people, and you can have a great time too - Zumba with Rachel's Charity Zumbathon!

Rachel Blood, who I have blogged about before, is putting on a two hour Zumbathon in aid of two very worthy charities; the 'Cure Muscular Dystrophy' campaign and the Pink Rose Appeal.

Muscular Dystrophy is a genetic condition which affects the muscles; overtime, muscles will gradually become weaker, potentially causing disability and, sometimes, even be life-threatening. There are over 30 types of the condition and the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign is working tirelessly to find a cure and to help those affected by the condition.

The Pink Rose Appeal's aim is raise much needed funding for the Breast Cancer Unit at Grimsby's Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital. The money will be used to maintain and enhance the suite which will help the ever increasing number of referrals and patients.

And you can help by taking part in this event, which takes place on Friday 19th April at the Beachcomber in Cleethorpes from 7.00pm.

What can you expect?.... FUN! And lots of it - whether you are a regular Zumba-goer or just want to do something for charity. Rachel and her team also have a special guest lined up and what's more, there is a theme... Musicals! Attendees can come dressed as a character from any musical - Fame, Chicago, Wicked, Grease, Hairspray... be creative. Plus, the bar will be open and there are prizes to be won on the night.

Tickets are still on sale for £10 and you can find out more information on Rachel's Facebook Page. I really hope I see sme of you there!

And to get you in the mood...

All videos sourced from Zumba with Rachel's Youtube Channel.

More information on the Zumbathon is available on Facebook.

More information on Muscular Dystrophy Campaign is available on the charity's website.

More information on the Pink Rose Suite.

 

Time for Easter Break

The Easter Holidays are one of the most exciting times of year for children (after Christmas and the six-week summer holidays of course), but it is some important take some time out for ourselves too.

It has been three months since we've all returned to work and college after the Christmas break and back into our daily routines, and if you're like me and don't necessarily have any big holidays planned, it is easy to work through the weeks and forget to take some well-deserved time off.

Having a few days - whether a few of hours, a long weekend or a couple of weeks - to yourself is so important. With everything that goes on in life - work, education, families, friends, every day necessities, hobbies, money - it is easy to get bogged down and lose motivation for whatever it is you are passionate about.

For me, it is this blog; I absolutely love blogging and tweeting and I get so annoyed at myself when I get the dreaded 'bloggers block' - but, it happens. When you lose inspiration, it becomes so easy to get stuck in a rut. As much as you need to push yourself to get what you want, sometimes you just need to have a bit of time to do something that requires very little brain work (like play Candy Crush and listen to Glee songs on Youtube *ahem*).

So, to get my mojo back, myself and DC have made plans for our very unexpected, last minute week off from work - today we are heading to Cambridge for a couple of days before going to meet his family in Great Yarmouth for a long weekend (in a caravan!)

I am terribly excited! As much as I would love a week away in the sun (lying on a beach somewhere taking in the scenery with a cocktail), I am a big believer in Staycations; I have mentioned this before, I'm sure, but I have some great memories of days out and UK holidays with my family as a child, and I can not wait to see what Cambridge has to offer (I know it has an awful lot!) and to have some fun in good old GY.

I do have some posts in mind ready for my return, and I will catch up on all the blog posts I have missed too (so please feel free to leave links to your blogs!) And I would just like to take this opportunity to say a massive thank you to every one of you who reads my blog - it really does mean so much to me and I PROMISE I will be back all refreshed very soon.

Lindsay x

Quick and Easy Homemade Tortilla Chips

Usually, I do not keep sweets, cakes and crisps in the house - they're usually purchases we make ready for lazy nights in. But occasionally, I do get a craving and think 'I can't be bothered to go out the house JUST for a bag of crisps!' So, for naughty nights like these, this is a super quick and easy way to make your own tortilla chips.

I found this recipe somewhere on the goodies internet; all you need is a tortilla wrap, some vegetable oil and salt. Simply cut the wrap into triangles, coat them in the oil, place them onto a baking tray and  sprinkle some salt. Put them into an oven preheated to around 200 degrees Celsius for 5-10 minutes until crispy and golden brown, et viola!

Blissful Home

On Monday, I blogged about A Recipe Book by Yankee Candle, and the first candle combination I tried was something I've named Blissful Home - Blissful Autumn and Home Sweet Home.

"Blissful Autumn.

Reminiscent of crisp autumn air with orchard fruit breezes... blissfully brisk and woody."

 

"Home Sweet Home.

A heartwarming blend of cinnamon, baking spices and a hint of freshly poured tea." 

 

 

The reason why I decided to try these scents together was because, in a way that I'm not too sure how to describe, they smell quite similar, and when I sniffed them together before burning, they seemed to compliment each other nicely. You can certainly smell the fruitiness of Blissful Autumn, and the wood scent is clear when the candle is being burned. As for Home Sweet Home, the cinammon is rich, but when combined with the other fragrances, the aroma is, overall, quite sweet and very homely, but at the same time, you get a taste of the great outdoors - this is definitely not restricted to the Autumn season. I liked this combination so much, I wish Yankee Candle would release it as its own scent!   

 

The votive candles can last upto 15 hours, although my jars are slightly too wide so the burn time is reduced. Once they begin to burn, the candle liquifies so you are not left with only the centre melting.  And for anybody who wishes to try a little fragrance mixology themselves, votives are only £1.80 each, so you can mix and match as you please. The full range of Yankee Candles available in the UK can be seen at www.yankeecandle.co.uk.

A Recipe Book by Yankee Candle

A few months ago, DC's mother told me about Yankee Candles' Fragrance Mixology - the art of combining fragrances to create a whole new scent, and then for my birthday, she kindly gave me this as a gift, A Recipe Book by Yankee Candle.

The 'book' contains 12 votive sampler candles; you may have seen the festive fragrance Recipe Book around Christmastime, but the one I received is full of Autumnal, foody scents.

I know that it is currently Springtime (well, it is supposed to be, anyway!) and fresh, fruity fragrances are popular, but these particular scents are incredibly rich and very homely so they will be a pleasure to burn whatever the time of year. There is a combination of strong, spicy scents and creamy, sweet ones too. Cinnamon, ginger and spices seem to be the key ingredients, and these are accentuated by vanilla and cream, and not forgetting the zesty touches of cranberry, lemon and oranges.

After being told about Fragrance Mixology, I tried and tried to find suggestions for which candles to burn together, but I just couldn't find any specific to this set. So this means I have to be creative and attempt my own combinations. After days and days of sniffing and trying to make up my mind, I have come up with my mixtures...

I have tried to keep to a balance of spicy and sweet (apart from the final combination which is purely indulgent sweetness - the one I can't wait to try but leaving until last!) So far, I have burned one of these mixes and I will be posting more information on this sometime this week, so keep your eyes peeled for that one (and your nose ready too!)