I’ve spoken briefly on here before about how we have been gradually modernising our house, but today I thought I would talk in more detail about how we have achieved that without breaking that bank. We don’t own our house and so all of the changes we have made have been as low cost as possible as ultimately we are trying to save for our own property not spend money on this one. I’m sure there are lots of people in the same situation as us so I thought I would share some the ways that we have modernised our home on a budget. I’m also planning a whole post on our lounge makeover so keep your eyes peeled for that!

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I know it’s not just me who is always looking for ways to save money. I know this because whenever I post about saving money or living frugally, my stats go through the roof. We live in such an expensive world, sometimes it feels expensive to simply live let alone to splash out for luxuries. It’s too easy to ‘pop into Sainsburies’ and come out £50 poorer and a family day trip these days can set you back well over £100. Months go by and you’re left wondering where on earth all your hard earned money has run off to. With this in mind I decided to put together a list of apps that can actually save you money, one of them can even save you money on that extortionate phone bill you pay out for every month.

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Last Sunday I was lucky enough to be invited to try out the new Breakfast menu at Lakaz Maman in Southampton. Myself and a few other local bloggers all piled into this beautiful ‘home from home’ style restaurant and had a lovely morning tasting the new menu and enjoying the atmosphere. Lakaz Maman is a restaurant opened by Master Chef winner Shelina Permalloo who wanted to create a relaxed restaurant focusing on delicious Mauritian food and a homely atmosphere. I can definitively say she has achieved both of these things and I look forward to returning to Lakaz Maman soon.

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The week before last was Dan’s Birthday. I just love birthdays, they are an opportunity to spoil a loved one and to go all out with the little things we just don’t bother with on a daily basis. One of Darcie’s favourite things to do at the moment is to bake cakes and so Dan’s birthday was a perfect opportunity for us to put on our aprons and get baking! I always wear my trusty Cath Kidston apron whenever we bake and Darcie always gets excited when she sees me get it out of the drawer and put it on. That means it’s baking time! So you can only imagine how happy it made her when she was sent her very own personalised apron from Gift Pup. It has a picture of a pig on it (one of her favourite animals and quite appropriate given how she behaves around cake mix!) and also says DARCIE in big letters. She just looks so cute wearing it and it also seriously makes me wonder where my little newborn has disappeared to!

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Pregnancy is hard and being a new Mum is even harder. When Kate, founder of the Pickle & Squidge Mummy To Be Boxes, realised this she decided to create a product to make that transition into Motherhood that little bit smoother. The Mummy To Be Boxes were inspired by Kate’s own transition to Motherhood back in 2013. All those sleepless nights left her with time to think and be inspired to create the Pickle & Squidge brand. The Mummy To Be Boxes contain everything that Kate herself found essential during those first few months of Motherhood (and beyond!), for both mum and baby. (more…)

I think it’s a common trait of our generation that we just LOVE setting goals. Whether that be small daily goals or big, ambitious life goals, it is a word that features frequently in our conversations. I try to set myself little daily or weekly goals which give me a good sense of accomplishment when I can tick them off my to do list and I also have a list of bigger goals that are always in the back of my mind. Things that I would really like to look back and think ‘Yes, I’m glad I did that!’ I’ve never actually made a physical list of these bigger goals and so I want to write them down now. This list has grown and changed throughout my life so far and I’m sure that it will continue to do so. But for now, in no particular order, these are my life goals.

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