Hello!  Well finally, we have some warmer weather!  I can get my summer dresses out!  My wardrobe has been looking a bit uninspiring and crowded.  Not quite ready to put the winter woolies away but not quite ready to go 'full on summer' either, honestly same days I have no clue what to wear.  May has been a busy social month, so I have a few fun things to share with you.  June gives us Father's Day and I have a super new product launch from Thomas Clipper to tell you about.  My daughter is living in London on a residential placement this month so I have a weekend with her to look forward to!  Read on and find out more about 'being fifty and fab' this month ... 

I am having a deep thinking moment (or two) but what does wellness actually mean?  It's been the strangest of years, who would have predicted a worldwide pandemic, with such far reaching repercussions.  It still feels unreal and impossible to relate to.  But it has meant we have focused more on our health - or have we - we are all complaining we have gained weight!  We had more time at home to exercise and yet many of us became more sedentary.  There are so many contradictions, from the Government's confusing rules and response, to our own personal reactions.  So today I am taking a look at the importance of wellness, happiness and mindfulness in our busy lives.

As an over-50 lifestyle blogger, I often get sent products to review and many of them are around health and wellness.  Personal wellness for me means feeling happy, healthy and living a balanced life.  I love to create life goals that help me to find that balance.  It is an ever changing, ever developing project!

I am neither an obsessive exerciser or a coach potato.  I keep busy, I move and I maintain a (fairly) slim figure.  I enjoy good food, I love fine dining, but I don't over eat sugar or junk food.  I love a glass of wine, but can't drink more than three or I feel absolutely rubbish - thank you menopause!!

I like to journal, I like to talk and share my feelings and I am always looking for ways to help keep my life in balance to stay happy and relaxed.  I've missed my friends so much, talking on the phone just isn't the same.  It is only when I meet up with girlfriends that I realise how much I have missed it!

A few months ago I wrote a blog post about Green People and introduced my lovely readers to their AgeDefy+ range .  It is an inspirational story about a young mother who created a truly organic skincare range when her daughter was struggling with severe skin allergies and eczema.  Well that daughter is now grown up and just as keen as her mother to focus on natural and organic health and has created her own wellness range.  Alexandra Kay has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) and her new essential oils range at Green People is dedicated to those wanting to improve their general wellbeing as well as supporting those with chronic illness and fatigue.

EDS is an inherited condition that affects the connective tissues in the body responsibly for supporting and structuring the skin, blood vessels, bones and organs.  The result is a defect in collagen production.  There are 13 major types of EDS and each type affects a different area of the body.  But they all have one thing in common, they cause hyper mobility which is an unusually large range of movement in the joints.

There are lots of debilitating symptoms of EDS but the main ones include muscle pain and muscle fatigue, fragile skin and skin that bruises easily, loose joints, benign growths on pressure areas like elbows and and knees and heart valve problems.

May is EDS Awareness Month and Ehlers-Danlos Support UK have lots of information and resources to help understand the syndrome.  The diagnosis of EDS is too often a long and challenging journey not helped by a lack of awareness within the medical community.

Research shows that the average British woman will get through 1,700 pairs of pants in her lifetime!!  And that legacy of lingerie in landfill can take up to 200 years to degrade.  Guilty as charged, sorry.  But I love lingerie and whilst I can donate and recycle bras that isn't possible with pants  In this post I am going to introduce you to two brands, WUKA and Modibodi, for everyday sustainable underwear, moisture wicking pants for hot days and workouts, and period pants that are not just for periods!

I know most of my readers will be past the point of needing sanitary products but we still have daughters and there is a big concern about the plastic packaging, applicators and harmful chemicals from these products.

WUKA have just launched a new range of Everyday Underwear which is zero waste, and carbon neutral and they are committed to driving environmental change and fighting fast fashion.   They sent me a set to try out.