I will be honest, I have found lockdown and easing of lockdown hard.  I have found the work from home situation really difficult.  You can read my thoughts on work from home here.  It has been a full house with my son working from home, my daughter back from uni for longer than planned and my husband working sporadic hours.  So a few weeks ago I hatched a plan to have a couple of nights away by myself.  Its the kind of plan that often gets talked about and thought about but doesn't actually happen.  But with no girls weekend this year and no little trips to Bath to visit my daughter, I decided I needed it to happen.  So once we were allowed to book an overnight stay, I did, in Lymington in the New Forest.

My #beingfiftyandfab post this month is therefore going to be about my few days away, in diary format.  I am planning a social media break but I am going to take my Mac with me and write about each day as it happens.

Many many years ago, when I was a PA at senior level working in the corporate world, an odd afternoon or day spent doing work at home was a bit of a treat, it meant I could attend an appointment or get my head down with a specific project.  Then when my children were pre-schoolers my husband did a one-off property development project and I did all the admin for him at home.  Finally we decided to set up our own business and I had a desk at home, taught myself bookkeeping and managed the admin from home whilst still being able to be a full time mother to my two children.  It worked, for a while!  Then as the business expanded my husband needed an office more, somewhere to do estimating, make phone calls and manage his own paperwork.

Slow fashion is very much on our agenda and most of us want to know more about where our clothes come from, where they were made and by who.  Not only are we more concerned about our over indulgent buying habits but we have also become more aware of 'modern slavery' especially since the Black Lives Matter campaign and the recent disturbing news about the Boohoo factory sweatshops in Leicester (not that I'd ever buy Boohoo)!  So when Nikki from Creative DeZigns got in touch with me, I was really interested to learn more abut her business as I could see from her website they focus very much on timeless, classic and long-lasting styles, a real capsule wardrobe collection.

Nikki came to see me at my home just as lockdown was starting to ease and we spent a lovely hour sat in the garden chatting about her and her small business, I learnt about how Creative DeZigns came about and she told me about her childhood growing up in South Africa and how she has developed the business since taking over from her mum a few years ago. 

What do you have for breakfast?  Buttered toast just isn't good enough any more, the more we learn about nutrition and understand about the importance of protein with every meal, well we do need to up our game a bit!  I have a few 'go to' healthy breakfasts ...

Overnight oats (you can find my recipe here)
Poached egg and avocado on wholemeal toast
Smoothies
Banana pancakes with fruit and yoghurt
Granola or Muesli with yoghurt

I know that any of these fit in with my calories, I know they are quick and easy and I know they are healthy.  I have for many years only had Lizi's Granola, I've tried others but always go back to Lizi's and I serve it with a generous dollop of Fage Total 2% Yoghurt plus I add in some flaxseeds for their extra health benefits.  So when I was asked if I'd like to try Lizi's Super Muesli, recently launched, I guessed it would be as good as her Granola.  But how to serve it?  I researched and found out that this traditional Swiss breakfast should be served with fruit juice which I didn't have in the fridge so I used yoghurt - which still gives me the protein with every meal which is so important (to keep us fuller for longer).