Back in December we spent a night at The Lygon Arms in Broadway with friends.  Although it seems ages ago now, I still wanted to write about it on my blog and share what we did, we had such a good time and I wanted to share my recommendations.  The Cotswolds are a lovely destination, easy to reach from London and the Home Counties and so pretty whatever the weather or season.  We often visit and I will share below my other blog posts about other trips we have done.

Me and my girlfriends planned this night away back in the summer when we had a girls weekend nearby.  It was during the hottest weeks of Summer 2019 and it seemed mad to be thinking about Christmas Markets but that is how it came about.,  We popped into the Cotswold Distillery Shop in Broadway and ended up booking a tour of the Distillery and a night away with the husbands.

I'm not going to do a full Christmas gift guide post this year.  I just don't think we all need to be buying more stuff just for the sake of it.  Sorry if that sounds anti-Christmas!  Last year I did a small series of gift guides where I focussed on supporting small businesses and suggesting that we consider gifts that are ethical, reusable or longer lasting and I especially love the idea of days out, family time, making memories and having experiences. 

So instead I am going to pick some of my favourite ideas that keep to this mantra and share with you my own plans for gifting this year.  Plus I love the blog post that Jo from Less is More has written so I will share the link to this further down.

How is your summer going?  My holiday to Turkey feels like ages ago now and I am busy helping my daughter get ready for starting university at the beginning of September.  One of our tasks was to get to know Bath a bit better - having only visited for open days - then her interview - we thought it was time to explore a bit more and help her get her bearings. 

So earlier this week we took the train from Reading to Bath Spa, we did a city walking tour around the main sites, we tried the buses, we went shopping, we bought some more essential items she needs for her course, we lunched, we laughed and generally had fun!  We stayed at a gorgeous Boutique Hotel, Grays and sat in bed and watched the Love Island final (yeah I know, don't judge me, actually I haven't watched the series but I did watch the final)!

Hi everyone!  How did half term go?  Or have most of my readers left school holidays behind?  My daughter finishes sixth form this summer so although she is now independent we still enjoy time together at half term and school holidays.  This week we treated ourselves to some mother and daughter time at Nirvana Spa near Wokingham.