Christmas Gift Guide: Older Relatives

In the third of our Christmas Gift Guide series, I have been thinking about gifts for the older people in our families. Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, perhaps even neighbours. This is such a difficult gift to get right, because you are talking about people who have lived for quite a long time and so will already have quite a lot of the things they want or need. However, if you are still buying gifts for these people, they are probably very important to you and have most likely been a part of your life for a long time, so choosing a gift that reflects that is not to be taken lightly. If you're completely stumped, hopefully these gift ideas for older relatives will get you out of trouble!

Living With Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. A Guest Post by Chloe

In our occasional series, Hidden Illnesses, we invite guests to talk about the illnesses that effect them, particularly those that aren't obvious on the outside. We hope to help sufferers and their families learn about the conditions and what they can do to help. Today, Chloe, from Life Unexpected, talks about the little known condition Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and how it has affected her life. Life Unexpected is a family lifestyle blog that follows a millennial mum. With posts about world travel, life with a toddler, general parenting and life as a working mum. 

My Sunday Photo: Autumn is Here by L, Aged 10

Men's Wood Watch Review with Jord Watches

This year the husband has a pretty big milestone birthday. He has been dropping various hints, such as moaning more and being even grumpier about the weather and other old man-type complaints. This is how we remember that he is getting that little bit older and, with that, comes a problem. Over the years he has collected all manner of male gifts and knick-knacks and each year, we find it harder to think of the perfect gift. I bought him a sat-nav, which he argues with, and a tablet, which just seems to give him better access to the football scores he would probably be better off not knowing about, so this year I wanted to go for something more traditional. Fortunately, along came Jord with a fabulous array of men's watches for me to choose from to review. How serendipitous is that?

10 Lies I've Told my Children (republished)

When your little bundles of joy first arrive in the world, you probably make the same promises that most new parents do. To love them, protect them, be patient, be kind and an overall perfect parent. It can't be that hard, surely? Look how small and cute they are! There's no way you will ever want or need to do anything else other than gaze at your new amazing creation. Then it happens. They grow. They learn to talk and move around, at speed, in directions you'd rather they didn't. They learn to memorise adverts and the toy pages of the Argos catalogue. Those first few moments of solitude before they discovered the full capacity of their lungs are a lifetime away as you think up ever-more inventive ways to outwit the little angels.

My Sunday Photo: View of Cardiff Castle

FInding a Photographer in Bristol with Bidvine

It's been bothering me for a little while that I do not have a really good profile picture. This might not sound like a big deal, but, being a blogger, I use social media A LOT, and get just a tiny bit jealous of some of the more professional profile pictures I see. Where the lighting is flattering and they are taken from a better angle by someone who has a clue what they are doing. It might sound a bit vain, but when you see your face all the time, as part of your day, you want it to be a good one! So, I've often wondered what it would cost to get a few professional shots done. So, when Bidvine asked me to try out their service, which puts consumers in touch with professionals, it was a great time to test it out!