MEscovery

The past couple of weeks have been emotional. We almost lost my 99 year old grandmother and my whole family rushed home to be with her. The lady knows how to pull a crowd. She miraculously pulled through, but while spending a week with her in hospital I learnt a few important life lessons. There are so many practical things my grandmother could teach me about as she is such a strong, talented woman, but here are 5 things she unknowingly taught me last week. 1. Sometimes you know better than those in charge There are times when others will tell you what they believe to be the right thing to do is, other times you will have blind faith in others' abilities to help. And then there are times when you should just ignore all others and do what you feel is right. You never know, it may just be the one little thing you do that makes all the difference. 2. Be honest, especially when that's the hardest thing to do Taking the time to have an open and honest conversation - an...

Here's the way I see it. This social media thing. I look through a tinted window at all the people I follow. I see their pictures, read their blogs, watch their vlogs and laugh at their snaps. I can see them, but they can't see me. Sometimes, I tap on the window - a comment, a picture, a like - and someone who I follow, follows me back. Then we have opened the window and we can see each other. We can communicate. Each one of the people who I see through my window is facing the other way. Looking out through a window of their own, experiencing their own social media world. They are watching their own little show - handpicked to fit their interests and likes. Occasionally they look around and through the open windows have a chat with their friends, with me or you.  Sometimes we forget that our windows are tinted though. That what I see through mine is very different from yours. Especially when we tap on the window and say "Hi, I see you!" and find that the...

Ever feel like you just want someone to come and remove all the junk from your house? The stuff: the kids toys they never play with (but happily scatter around the house); the unread books,  the clothes we've outgrown (yet the kids will still pull out, discard in the washing basket unworn for you to wash over and over unknowingly); the things lurking in drawers and cupboards; the things you trip over in the garage. The stuff. This minimalist, Scandi-style is all the rage lately. But after having spent 3 years aiming to reduce the amount of clutter in our house, I can only conclude that I have been defeated. We seem to bring in far more than we get rid off. It's so tempting to get the black bin liners out and just swoop from room to room chucking everything out. Because it's the sorting through, the planning how and where to take things to (tip, charity shop, donate etc) that takes up all the time and makes me loose the will to live. OK, maybe not to live, but at least...

Third time lucky. I wanted to try out this new place for a while but as it is not open on Mondays & Tuesdays I've been left standing looking through the window a few times - tiny Tim style. So when my friend and I wanted to walk somewhere for lunch this week, I knew where to go. Luckily, it did not disappoint. The place serves food as tasty as it is pretty and the decor is modern, quirky and has plenty of Instagram appeal. Ok, I am a teenager at heart. Nothing like a picture of a drink with flowers floating around in it. Or the toilet. Might need to explain that one. They have a wall for customers' messages - see the post-it wall. Guess which one is mine? They serve wood-fired pizzas, a concise list of generously-sized lunchtime dishes complemented by a few daily specials. The pizzas smell amazing and all the food is prepared at a customer-facing counter. The place has two seating areas; one at the front overlooking the wood-fired oven and one larger, art-covered room ...

It's grim here up North. When I told my parents almost 16 years ago I was moving to England and more specifically to the North East, they admit to imagining a rough, industrialised area of little beauty or charm. It didn't take more than one visit to change their mind. We are lucky to live along the beautiful North East coast of England. Although for around 360 days of the year we could use a few more degrees Celsius, it only takes a day like this when the sky is blue, the sun is out and the beaches are clear to make me feel like this is the place to be.  We headed to the King Edward's Bay in Cullercoats after school this week with the crucial supplies of Malteser ice creams - carefully selected by the children - to one of my favourite little beaches for a round of "let them run around and work off some energy so I can have a relaxing evening". As luck would have it, we had the whole beach to ourselves. A rare treat and probably explained by the fact ...

When I look at other people's blogs I love the ones which are multidimensional. I have a preference for those which cover everything from fashion to travel, beauty to food and are personal, open conversations, preferably of the rambling, spill the beans - there is a word I'm looking for here, can't think of it - type. So how come when I think about writing a new post, which differs slightly from my usual slightly neurotic, comical content I feel like a fraud? As if someone will put a big red mark across the page saying "NO. This is not your territory. Get back in your box". I'd love to expand my blog (even calling it that makes me feel like a vain, self-centred idiot) to cover other interests I have in life, to post some of my favourite products I use, fashion loves or places I have visited. To display some pictures rather than hide behind drawings would be cool. So why don't I? It all links back to the fear of criticism. It's somehow easier to t...

It's not very often you actually wear out a pair of shoes these days. Most of my shoes either get relegated to the back of the cupboard or put in a charity bag, but my trusty pair of plain white leather trainers has achieved bin-ready status. They were an inexpensive pair from Mango that started of quite uncomfortable. Then, after breaking them in - as well as almost breaking my feet - on a long walk, they became my go-to pair of non-work shoes. I have worn them almost every day for over a year and they have been absolutely great. They are completely plain, a matt white leather which has softened nicely over time, which means they have been so easy to just throw on with any outfit. Unfortunately they have been worn to death now. The top leather is still looking ok, but the sole has worn through on one side. So unless I want to experience another wet sock moment, it's time for a new pair. Here's my current shortlist. The criteria are: white, leather, flat, laces,...