Hello!  How was your Christmas and New Year break?  This is going to be a totally honest and more personal post and one I have been trying to get my head around writing.  I was unwell with a bad cold when we travelled to La Gomera (see my last post) but the sun and rest did me good!  Then when we got back it was full on festive prep but I was unwell again over Christmas with some sort of virus and it totally knocked me out!  Plus we seemed to get bad news after bad news!  And who else struggles to cope when everyone is at home for two plus weeks?  Or it is just me?

First of all my brother-in-law passed away in the early hours of Christmas morning, we got the call at 8.00 am.  Now this wasn't unexpected, Jeremy was downs syndrome, had dementia and had been very sick back in May with double pneumonia and on palliative care when he came home from hospital.  But it is still sad - he had just turned 60 though and had enjoyed pretty good health his whole life.  I had been overseeing Jeremy's care and finances for about 18 years, I've known him for 30 years, fought really hard for him on many occasions and it was an absolute pleasure to do so, he really was a lovely man, a true gent and loved by everyone he met.  I am currently organising his funeral.

Then we had to make the decision to have our cat Pebbles put to sleep on 27th December.  She was 16 and had been the children's childhood pet, it seemed that she had fulfilled her role and as they are now growing up and leaving home it was her time to go.  I can't say I am a cat lover and the last few months had been challenging with litter tray etc but I still felt sad at the end of an era.

I'm heading off to the sunshine for a few days!  It really is only a very quick four night break though.  We are going to La Gomera in the Canary Islands to see our friend off on an epic rowing challenge.  Him and his son are part of a four man team who will be rowing from La Gomera to Antiqua in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge.   Their team is called Bucks Buoys and you can follow their progress on their facebook page here.

I think possibly they are utterly mad as it is a very risky row.  But all credit to them, they have trained hard and for Kev it has been something of a midlife metamorphosis to change his health and fitness from er umm very unfit to very fit, lean and trim - turning 50 isn't so bad after-all and it does seem to bring with it life-changing goals.

As a blogger I sometimes get some really cool invitations, if I accepted them all. I'd never have time to blog or do anything else, but sometimes the invite is just too good to turn down.  So when Imedeen popped into my inbox and invited me to The Mandrake Hotel in London's Fitzrovia for a skincare and makeup masterclass, I couldn't resist such a cool location!  And the makeup tutorial was being given by Mary Greenwell who is the A List makeup artist to know about!

So this particular event warranted a space on my blog because I had such a fun time and learnt so much, I really wanted to share.  When I arrived I was a little apprehensive to see so many young faces - where were all the 40+ bloggers?!  Help!  I texted my daughter and she reassured me, mum you look great, be confident.  Fortunately in came the lovely Jodi, and we hit it off straight away.  But wait for it, she is not only an amazing writer and blogger she is also mum to 6 boys (yes 6 you did read that right)!  And she is originally from NZ but now lives in London and it turned out our bubbles were being served by another young NZ'er who was just starting out his new life in London.  Jodi and I bonded over parenting tips and champagne and a relief that we now had someone to sit with!  Do pop over to her blog about the evening - it's a fun read - you can find it here, The Harridan.

Below, relaxing on the massive bed in The Penthouse Suite wearing the floral print midi dress from Per Una at Marks & Spencer, first outing for it, and I am delighted with it, only £55 but comfortable, silky, and just dressy up enough!  Accessorised with my red cross body bag from Aurora London.

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.