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Ink & Drop £30 Voucher Giveaway #Ad

October 14, 2020 by Erica Hughes 65 Comments

ink & drop prints Prints make such a difference to a room, especially if you have opted for a plain wall covering like a one colour painted wall or simply have a large expanse that looks a bit bare without some visual interest. I love that prints are a way of reflecting your personality into a room, as the choice of images is very individual. Not only that, they are a great way of bringing a new look to a room to suit the seasons, or simply ringing the changes a little when you get bored of an old look. Styling your home with art prints allows you to express your creativity and create a beautiful and compelling narrative in your living space.

Ink & Drop is a small family business, born from a passion for all things interior, and in particular, unique cool art prints with a belief that every home should have great artwork, regardless of budget, style or theme. A collection of artwork unlike anything else on the internet, Ink & Drop prints can transform your room and freshen up your walls regardless of interior style and for a very small budget.

ink & drop prints So whether your style is minimal Scandinavian or maximalist dark decor, Ink & Drop have artwork that is sure to draw attention in your home.

If you’d like to win a £30 voucher to spend at Ink & Drop, enter via the Gleam widget below.

Competition Terms and Conditions

1. No bulk, third-party or automated entries allowed.

2. Entrants must be aged 18 years or older and resident in the UK.

3. The winner or winners will be chosen by a random draw using the competition widget.

4. Promoter is responsible for fulfilling the prize and full contact details of the winner will be passed onto the promoter to enable prize fulfillment.

5. The winner’s name may be published on this site.

6. Competition closes at the end of Sunday 8th November 2020.

Ink & Drop £30 Voucher

How to Plan a Luxury Staycation at Home

October 7, 2020 by Erica Hughes 2 Comments

Did you go on a vacation in 2020? You probably avoided travel due to COVID-19 like countless others. That’s only one reason as to why Americans don’t spend money on trips anymore. The average vacation costs up to $2,300 when you combine gas, food, hotels and more. For some, it’s better to stay at home and have a staycation.

Take a look at how to plan a memorable luxury staycation for you and your family.

1. Create an Adequate Budget

The term “luxury” has a different definition for everyone. For some, it’s Michelin star dinners and fancy spa treatments. But you prefer to light an expensive candle and take a bubble bath. In any case, you need to set aside money for your staycation. This experience won’t cost as much as last year’s trip to Disney World. That said, it’s supposed to be a vacation — and you should have a little cash on hand.

It’s a smart idea to determine your standard trip expenses. How much would you normally set aside for a trip to the beach? Then, you can decide what budget sounds suitable for your staycation.

2. Schedule a Few Experiences

A vacation usually includes various experiences. You might explore local shops, museums and other sights. Try to replicate that for your staycation. You can eat at a new restaurant that you haven’t had time to visit. A trip to a local boutique could be fun, too. Additionally, it’s possible to schedule activities to come to your house. An expert masseuse or top-rated chef would be worth your money.

You should think about different ways to spend your staycation. These unique ideas will make your time at home more like a vacation.

3. Decorate for a Resort-Like Atmosphere

Your house probably doesn’t feel like a hotel on a normal day. But you can make adjustments to your space to create a resort-like atmosphere. This way, you’ll be able to feel like you’re actually somewhere else. Here’s how to turn your home into a retreat:

Outfit your bed with silk sheets and pillowcases.
Buy a pair of expensive pajamas and slippers.
Place candles and flowers throughout your house.
Add luxury skin care and toiletry products to your bathroom.
Stock your fridge with yummy breakfast items.
Hire a housekeeper to clean your home.

These small additions make a difference, as you’ll wake up in a soothing, relaxing environment. As a result, you should feel rejuvenated when your staycation ends.

4. Try to Channel “Vacation Mode”

This tip means that you should forget your regular responsibilities. You don’t do housework when you’re on vacation, right? The same idea applies to work obligations and other tasks that take up your time. You’re on vacation to rest. Therefore, you should try to set those specific duties aside until you return to normal. You may even want to forgo social media so that you can be more present.

Use These Ideas to Plan a Relaxing Staycation

A luxury staycation may be exactly what you need. Luckily, they’re easy to plan with a few tricks. Use these suggestions to make your time at home fun and restful.

Buzzy Blends Giveaway #Ad

October 2, 2020 by Erica Hughes 63 Comments

Buzzy Blends is an independent, family-owned business based here in the UK. It was created to bring honey to the table with a tasty twist. Buzzy Blends’ unique range of handmade honey is seriously big on flavour without compromising on quality. With their bees at the heart of everything they do, their honey is collected by ethical beekeepers who care for and protect the bees, and the blends are made with absolutely no additives or preservatives, just 100% natural ingredients that deliver all the nutritious goodness. There’s a great mix of flavours such as peppermint, chocolate, right through to lemon and ginger and cranberries. Buzzy Blends use nature’s best ingredients, such as berries, alongside their incredible, natural, raw, spring honey. They lyophilize (a freeze-drying process) their ingredients to keep as much of the goodness in, so that they boost the health benefits.

You can eat Buzzy Blends’ honey just by the spoonful, on toast, or to mix into hot water and create a warming drink, plus you can use it in a wide range of recipes. If you need some culinary inspiration, check out their blog.

I’ve pleased to say that I’ve teamed up with Buzzy Blends to offer one lucky reader the chance to win a fabulous Flavoured Raw Honey Gift Set worth £24.50. Enter via the Gleam widget below if you’d like to win.

Competition Terms and Conditions

1. No bulk, third-party or automated entries allowed.

2. Entrants must be aged 18 years or older and resident in the UK.

3. The winner or winners will be chosen by a random draw using the competition widget.

4. Promoter is responsible for fulfilling the prize and full contact details of the winner will be passed onto the promoter to enable prize fulfillment.

5. The winner’s name may be published on this site.

6. Competition closes at the end of Sunday 25th October 2020.

Buzzy Blends

Katch Me

October 2, 2020 by Erica Hughes 1 Comment

Katch Me

After this year’s gorgeous spring and summer, moving into the autumn season has proved to be a bit of a shock to the system for all of us I think. Now that the initial shock of the colder temperatures is out of the way, I’ve been looking closely at my wardrobe to see what’s needed. I’ve been enjoying picking out some transition pieces to take me into autumn and the winter beyond.

A shopping haul is just the way to treat myself and take away all that end of summer gloom: retail therapy wins for me every time. Today my haul is from Katch Me. This is my first time browsing and shopping with Katch me. I’m really impressed that they stock so many amazing items and styles. They really are a head of the curve fashion wise.

Keeping warm at this time of year is key for me and I loved the selection of coats and jackets at Katch Me. I picked out a supersoft, super warm, teddy bear jacket in a very festive looking dark red. This teddy style jacket is casual and comfortable to wear. I love the easy zip front and generous front pockets which are perfect for keeping hands warm. The oversized fit of this jacket helps to keep you cosy. I think I’ll be teaming this up with either a pair of jeans or maybe a pair of leggings and some boots.

I’m really loving the oversized look this year, so I was after some lounge wear to fit the bill and match this look. I picked out this fab white oversized ‘Fear’ print hoodie as one of my favourites. This dazzlingly white hoodie comes in an oversized fit and features a black printed ‘fear’ slogan on the front. I especially love the idea of teaming the hoodie up with some black vinyl patent leggings and some killer heels.

Next up I picked out a comfy lounge wear set to manage the transition of the seasons to autumn. It really is a must have for your wardrobe. Super comfy to wear and really versatile I’m loving this super cute grey boxy T-Shirt and joggers lounge set. This grey co-ord features a boxy fit t-shirt and super soft, elasticated joggers. It’s perfect for chilling out at home or out and about, or popping to the shops. The light grey goes with almost any thing, but would look great teamed with black and white accessories. You can either pick out some white or black trainers for a sporty look or maybe opt for black heels to dress it up a bit. They are nicely cut and very flattering to wear.

I found all the items were true to size and was very happy with the fit. You really can’t lose with Katch Me prices and quality so why not check them out and let me know what you order.

I hope you have enjoyed this little haul. Check back in soon for more great fashion hauls.

Best Photos For Your Online Dating Profile

September 30, 2020 by Erica Hughes Leave a Comment

Photo by lucas Favre on Unsplash

When you are climbing back onto the dating ladder after a relationship breakdown, these days you are probably considering online dating. Of course, it’s still possible to meet someone through friends, or a hobby, etc., but it’s often tricky to know who is single or open to the idea of a new romantic relationship. Online dating means that at least the other people are interested in meeting someone new, although there are a number of other hurdles to navigate your way around.

There are plenty of free dating sites uk out there, but they will all want you to provide a picture as part of your online dating profile. So what are the most important things to do when picking out a suitable photo to use? You don’t just want a picture that makes you look like a model, it’s more important to have one that gets across your personality and your true self.

Make sure your picture looks like you

You don’t want to start a date badly by having a picture that doesn’t look like you. It’s best to avoid older photos, maybe make five years old your cut off point, or if you have dramatically changed your look more recently than that, exclude photos of the old you (unless you are the kind of person who changes their look very regularly). An image that reflects how you really look and captures something of your personality is more likely to result in you achieving your Match Me Happy goals. Maybe pick one of you wearing a favourite dress.

Photo by Hian Oliveira on Unsplash

Make sure your picture is a good quality one

Don’t put up a picture that is blurry or badly cropped. If you can’t get the photo to look how you want by careful, tasteful cropping, it’s probably not the one for you. Photos where you are too far away aren’t good. It’s not a good idea to go photoshop crazy as that will just look false and if you do use a professional photographer, be sure to look at examples of previous work so you can get a feel for how their portrait shots tend to look.

Use more than one picture

It is a good idea to have a few pictures in your profile. By including more images, it will be easier to get across your personality and your interests. More than one picture shows you have put some effort into your online dating profile and that you are serious about finding a new relationship. Make sure as a minimum that you include one headshot looking at the camera and one full body picture. Once you have these in your porfolio, you can branch out a little. Maybe consider having a combination of face, full-body, action, dressed up, dressed down, serious, and fun shots. The point is to give potential matches a peek into your personality, background, and interests. Generally it’s better to avoid a group shot: you don’t want a potential date to be keen on you because they want to meet one of your friends. Also, it can be difficult to pick out a person in a group shot and it could cause confusion.

It’s worth investing a little time and thought in the selection of your profile pictures, to help you find a good match for you. Good luck with your dating.

How Waterproof Fitness Trackers Can Change Your Life in 2026

September 16, 2020 by Erica Hughes 2 Comments

The waterproof fitness tracker can change your life completely and it can enhance your daily activities. It shows somewhat correct exercise data and you can improve it in the long run. The waterproof fitness tracker will track your activities in the swimming pool too.

There are several fitness trackers available on both online and offline stores. And searching for the best ones can be a tough job. The fitness trackers have various features that can attract all your attention for a while. If you are searching for a waterproof fitness tracker then you are in the right place.

Not all fitness trackers are waterproof, so you need to be very aware while choosing a waterproof fitness tracker. To improve your daily workout routine, these fitness trackers are used and considered as water-resistant.

How Waterproof Fitness Trackers Can Change Your Life in 2026

A commonly used fitness tracker is in the form of the smartwatch. To all the fitness freaks, maintaining their fitness goal is an important factor that you need to consider in 2020. It monitors your activity levels. This is great for when you are taking part in aerobic exercise.

The waterproof rating of a tracker is indicated by the IP rating and it indicates a higher quality tracking device. Fitness tracker tracks heart rate, blood pressure levels, steps, sleep quality, and many more. If you use these fitness trackers wisely, you will see a great change in your life.

It is very important to use waterproof fitness trackers in a concise manner. Now, in order to choose the best fitness tracker, you need to consider some of the important factors that are discussed below.

Tips to Choose the Best Waterproof Fitness Tracker

Now, you have to follow some of the tips to choose a perfect waterproof fitness tracker for yourself or for your friends. The factors are described below:

The Design:

The design of the waterproof fitness tracker is vital to consider because it highlights your personality more in front of others. Some prefer traditional looking waterproof fitness tracker and some may prefer stylish looking waterproof fitness tracker. It is completely dependent upon the person’s choice.

The design to some extent matters a lot. Therefore, if you are purchasing a waterproof fitness tracker then consider the design as an important factor.

Battery life:

Keep in mind the battery life of the waterproof fitness tracker because it also matters a lot. The long-lasting battery life you will choose, the better it will be for you. The battery life of your fitness tracker determines how long you can use your tracker.

Therefore, this is one of the most important factors that you need to consider while buying the best fitness tracker in 2020.

Heart rate monitoring:

It is very important to consider a fitness tracker that shows your heart rate accurately. There are some fitness trackers that can track your heart rate accurately and you need to choose accordingly.

Therefore, choose a tracker that can track your heart rate 24/7 and gives you the exact results. This way you can improve your heart rate efficiently.

Reviews:

Reviews are also important to consider because it is the feedback of the customers that they usually share. Whenever buying any product, read the reviews carefully.

Don’t buy any product whose reviews are bad. Only go for the products whose reviews are good. Buy those products which have good ratings from the customer globally.

Sleep rate monitoring:

Waterproof fitness trackers also help to monitor sleep quality effectively. Sleep is very important for everyone and you must give attention to it so that you can improve it.

Low quality sleep can disturb your mind and it can make you feel depressed and disappointed. Maintaining a good quality of sleep maintains your daily workout routine. Therefore, after using this tracker and knowing that your sleep quality is not fine, you can find ways to improve it.

Helps to achieve a fitness goal:

To achieve your fitness goal, you need something that can guide and encourage you from time to time. A fitness tracker can help you to burn calories, distance covered, track steps, etc.

To improve your daily workout routine, you just need a waterproof fitness tracker that can make you task much easier. It will help to achieve your fitness target in the long run.

Burns your calories and track your steps:This waterproof fitness tracker burns your calories effectively and tracks your steps. But not all fitness trackers are the same. Features differ accordingly.After viewing your exercise data, you can find ways to improve it. Your fitness goal is important to you. As it is said that health is wealth, therefore, there is nothing more important than your health.The final thoughts Here you go! A fitness tracker is really going to change your life if you use it wisely and efficiently. The above features of a waterproof fitness tracker can improve your lifestyle. The technology is improving each day and you have to move hand-in-hand with the advanced technologies.Read the above features carefully and you will get some idea about the waterproof fitness trackers and how to use it to make your task much easier and convenient.
The fitness trackers are going to help you to be disciplined in your life. It will make your life more comfortable. Therefore, this is how fitness trackers can change your life in the long run.

Author bio:

Ani Johnson is a passionate blogger. She loves to share her thoughts, ideas and experiences with the world through blogging. Ani Johnson is associated with Online Health Media & Follow The Fashion. You can also follow me at Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest & LinkedIn

Dermoperfection and Metro Spa Reopen After Lockdown

September 4, 2020 by Erica Hughes 7 Comments

metrospa edgbaston Just before lockdown I booked in to have my second ENVY facial at Metrospa in Edgbaston. For those not familiar with ENVY facials, it’s the only face and body skin resurfacing treatment to effectively exfoliate and extract damaged skin cells gently and deliver infusion into the skin at the same time. This is thanks to its patented breakthrough 3-in-1 technology. ENVY drives serums deeper into the skin at the same time as it is exfoliating and extracting. This means that maximum depth is reached with maximum absorption of the serums. The 3-in-1 technology removes dry and damaged skin cells, deep cleanses the skin surface and directly cleanses the pores.

envy facial dermoperfection Having the ENVY facial just at that point really set me and my skin up for lockdown. It gave me confidence in my skin and much of the time in lockdown I didn’t bother with makeup. So now lockdown is over, it seems like the perfect treatment for a little skin pick me up, as both a confidence boost and to help my skin cope with the ravages of everyday life. Of course, it’s only one of a range of treatments available at both Metrospa in Edgbaston and Dermoperfection in Birmingham city centre. Thankfully both Metrospa and Dermoperfection are now reopen after lockdown and are offering their usual range of treatments. Pop along to Dermoperfection for all your aesthetics needs or to Metrospa for aesthetics and spa treatments.

There’s always a friendly welcome to be had when you arrive for a treatment and Metrospa is comfortably and stylishly decorated, so it’s very much a pleasant place to spend time. New treatments are regularly being introduced so you can have access to the latest skin care innovations. Maybe you’d like a Profhilo® treatment to give your skin some TLC. Profhilo® is a revolutionary ‘beneath the skin’ hyaluronic acid moisturising treatment, made with the patented NAHYCO® technology. This results in a unique hyaluronic acid injectable gel, which has a prolonged stimulating activity on the dermal cells. When injected into skin, Profhilo stimulates the skin cell receptors to counteract skin laxity and improve and restore firmness of the skin.

metrospa edgbaston Or maybe you’d be tempted by ULTRAcel Q+ which is a new type of High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) that promotes the formation of new collagen, suppression of stubborn fat cells, and skin tightening in various parts of the body. It’s a great way to enhance the tone of your jawline, but you can have the treatment on a range of areas of your body and face.

It’s great to see a local business coming back strongly after lockdown and I think that the innovative approach will be a successful one.

Sleeping Well: The Real Luxury

August 25, 2020 by Erica Hughes 1 Comment

Photo by Kate Stone Matheson on Unsplash

I love socialising with friends; eating out; visiting the local pub; and all these things make life worth living. But, when I’m not out busy going out, I do really enjoy having an early night. There’s nothing to beat the feeling of sliding in between fresh, clean bed sheets and knowing you can just doze off into the land of nod. For many though that’s not so easily done because things get in the way of falling easily to sleep.

For me the key thing is to have the right environment as I find that helps me get a good night’s sleep are these:

A Good Mattress

You can’t beat a good quality, natural mattress as a great start on getting a full night’s sleep. A good base can make such a difference. You need to pick out the right sort of mattress for your sleeping style e.g. side sleepers will generally need a softer mattress than those lying on their backs. Another key consideration should be the materials used in your mattress as choosing one made from natural, non toxic products will help your health and well being. Make sure you replace your mattress reasonably regularly as old mattresses aren’t good to sleep on.

Pillows and Duvets

Picking out pillows and duvets to suit you as a sleeper will have a beneficial effect on the quality and amount of your sleep. A well made pillow that offers the right sort of support for you is key. Another consideration is a duvet that provides the right amount of warm for you as you snooze. I generally have a summer duvet, a winter duvet and a lightweight cover for the hottest nights of the year. Again it’s worth changing these regularly. If you suffer from allergies you’ll need to ensure that your duvet or pillows aren’t making things worse.

Bed linen

Good quality bed linen is key too. Sleeping on a sheet that has a high thread count is a pleasurable experience and feels much smoother. Some people prefer to sleep on silk sheets or use bamboo bed linen to the usual cotton. Cotton is very variable and there are many different types and grades of cotton. It pays to do your research before buying and it’s worth visiting a store so you can feel the fabrics yourself.

Darkness

Sleeping in a darkened room makes a great difference to my sleep. It doesn’t just help me fall asleep, as I feel it helps me stay asleep for longer too. I use blackout blinds and curtains together to cut out as much light as possible. If you have appliances on overnight, try to limit to those that don’t have a light to show they are on – if you are shutting out light from outside the room, you don’t want to introduce more light from within in the room.

Once you have the sleeping environment right, you should find that you sleep better straight away. You may have to tweak things to get the perfect combination.

Win A Hamper

August 24, 2020 by Erica Hughes 2 Comments

Photo by Dmitry Mashkin on Unsplash

I’m getting a bit bored now about the idea of staying in so much. I totally understand why we have to mix with other people less, but I’m starting to miss the social interaction despite the Zoom calls and Whatsapp messages. One way to cope with that is to have more fun at home and I do think having some treats makes this trying time so much easier. A takeaway once a week say, or some new toiletries. I think what would be a lovely thing to receive would be a lovely hamper packed full of goodies – something like that would really make my day. That’s why I’ve teamed up with some other bloggers to offer one as a prize to our readers.

The Bloggers

The following bloggers have all teamed together to contribute towards this competition, offering you a fantastic prize.

Please show your support by visiting some of the bloggers taking part just by clicking on the name of the blog below.

The prize

Up for giveaway is a £100 M&S hamper of your choice.

With plenty to choose from you can choose yourself a lovely treat!

Rules & Enter

1. There is one top prize of a £100 M&S hamper of the winner’s choosing.
2. There are no runner up prizes
3. Open to UK residents aged 18 and over, excluding all bloggers involved with running the giveaway
4. Closing date for entries is midnight on 31.08.20
5. The same Rafflecopter widget appears on all the blogs involved, but you only need to enter on one blog
6. Entrants must log in to the Rafflecopter widget, and complete one or more of the tasks – each completed task earns one entry in the prize draw
7. Tweeting about the giveaway via the Rafflecopter widget will earn five bonus entries into the prize draw.
8. 1 winner will be chosen at random.
9. The winner will be informed by email within 7 days of the closing date and will need to respond within 28 days with their delivery address, or a replacement winner will be chosen.
10. The winners’ names will be published in the Rafflecopter widget (unless the winner objects to this).
11. The prizes will be despatched within 14 days of the winner confirming their address.
12. The promoter is www.EmmaDrew.info
13. By participating in this prize draw, entrants confirm they have read, understood and agree to be bound by these terms and conditions

To enter simply complete any or all of the Rafflecopter entry widgets below

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!

Lola’s Coffee Bags From The Specialty Coffee Company Giveaway #Ad

August 7, 2020 by Erica Hughes 72 Comments

thespecialtycoffeecompany.com coffee bags

Coffee bags seem like such a simple idea, so it seems surprising that they haven’t been around for that long. One bag makes one cup of coffee: no mess, no faff. It’s a great idea for a coffee lover with limited time or even limited kitchen space – a coffee maker takes up quite a lot of work surface.

In terms of convenience coffee bags really deliver as they are as easy to use as tea bags with the delicious taste of fresh coffee. Simply add boiling water to your favourite coffee cup, add the coffee bag and wait a couple of minutes. Add sugar, milk or cream if you like and enjoy. Lola’s coffee bags are the perfect combination of coffee blends carefully combined to create a delicious cup of coffee. The rich dark blend in Lola’s coffee bags exhibit notes of smoke and black pepper and a high caffeine content to deliver that boost you need in the morning.Each coffee bag is individually wrapped to ensure freshness as well as convenience. Every single Lola’s coffee bag makes a great cup of coffee every time.

Lola’s coffee bags are made by The Specialty Coffee Company. Their coffee experts travel the world sourcing, tasting and grading to select only the finest speciality coffee directly from the grower. This way, they control all the variables every step of the way to make sure the coffee they deliver is perfect.

If you’d like to try some of this tasty coffee I have 5 packs with 10 coffee bags in each to give away to 5 lucky readers. Enter via the Gleam widget below.

Competition Terms and Conditions

1. No bulk, third-party or automated entries allowed.

2. Entrants must be aged 18 years or older and resident in the UK.

3. The winner or winners will be chosen by a random draw using the competition widget.

4. Promoter is responsible for fulfilling the prize and full contact details of the winner will be passed onto the promoter to enable prize fulfillment.

5. The winner’s name may be published on this site.

6. Competition closes at the end of Sunday 30th August 2020.

Lola’s Coffee Bags