A Jolly Good Party - Review

If you follow my blog you'll know that I love to decorate our dining room for special occasions, this year with the help of the lovely folk over at Jolly Good Party my birthday was no different.

Jolly Good Party have some of the most beautiful ranges of party decorations and accessories that you could ever wish to see. With an easy to navigate website it is a really lovely place to plan your party, whether for a wedding, birthday or baby shower.

I opted for items from their mint & gold ombre range, the box arrived with everything I needed for a party tea with my family. Plates, napkins, banners, table cloths, straws, balloons, garlands and cutlery, all colour coordinated, it was my idea of party heaven.

My daughter helped me lay the table and it looked absolutely fabulous and the perfect setting for some fabulous birthday fun.

With the addition of a beautiful cake from Oozee Boozee Bakes, courtesy of my lovely partner, my party table looked heavenly and I think you'll agree the whole look is perfect for a more mature party theme.

With items starting as little as £1.59 Jolly Good Party don't break the bank either, so if you are throwing a party soon why not pop on over and see what they have to offer.

I was sent these fab party goodies to form this review, all words, opinions and pictures are my own.

Strong Women Standing Tall

I apologise in advance for the possible rambling nonsensical post that is about to follow, but it is straight from the heart.

This past six months has seen my life change in such a big way, I haven’t mentioned it on the blog until now but in August our family of four became three with my husband leaving our family home.

When someone leaves your life after 14 years of being there it is a huge upheaval, it is like a death and I spent several weeks in mourning.

But one thing that became clear was the strength of the women (and some men) around me, the group of women that supported me are amazing and for that I am so unbelievably grateful.

My mum watched as her daughter crumbled in a heap, sobbed on the phone to her for hours on end, she watched as her daughter tried to figure out life and what it meant. I apologised so many times to her, knowing the heart ache she must be going through too and yet she always remained strong and listened.

My work colleagues were amazing, the day my marriage ended I went into work, I sobbed most of that day and no one said anything. Knowing that I just needed to get on with stuff in my own time. When I did tell them they gave me strength to carry on, I had to make the hard decision to start working five days a week, not easy when you suffer with chronic pain but they were there every step of the way.

My best friends listened, didn’t judge and even when I repeated the same things over and over again they kept on listening and hugged me and told me it would be ok.

I posted snippets of my journey over on Instagram and I was amazed at the support of women who only new tiny squares of my life, in addition to the wonderfully kind women in my everyday life, it was their support and acknowledgment that I wasn’t alone that got me through what was undoubtedly one of the hardest times in my life to date.

I had an amazing counsellor who when I walked out of my last session had tears in her eyes, I had come into those sessions sobbing for the whole hour and I left that last one with my head held high that I was strong and could do this.

And not only did this journey help me, but it has opened my life up to other women going through the same thing, wonderful ladies have contacted me via Instagram, thanking me for sharing my journey. Looking like I did for answers and understanding even if there were none to find.

It seems 2016 was the year of the affair or simply parting ways, but maybe marriage isn’t forever like the 10 year old me thought. Maybe it is about finding people to make memories with and then if enough memories have been made you need to move on to make more.

I try not to regret anything I have done in my life, hard when it has left you so hurt. But what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger and right now I feel stronger and more empowered than I have ever felt.

Sometimes it isn’t until we need that support that the true extent of friendships is made clear, without my circle of friends and family I would never have got this far.

Starting on a journey of finding myself again, taking time out for me and realising who I had been and who I wanted to be. The people I have met along the way have enriched my life, my children have grown and watched their mum blossom too. Being a single mum isn’t what I envisaged my life to be, but I wouldn’t change it for the world, its hard work but you know what, I’ve got this.

To any women who are going through the same thing right now then you’ve got this too, it isn’t always easy but it does get easier.

Mums Grown Up Party Fun

I always decorate our dining room table for birthdays, nothing excites everyone more than coming down and seeing what pretties I have put up. Streamers, banners and balloons and then homemade cakes mean we have a very jolly day.

For me though, the house is usually lacking in decoration on my birthday, last year was the first year I got some balloons with my presents, most exciting. So this year after speaking with the lovely people at Talking Tables I set out to create my own bright birthday table and mini party on our glamping trip at Lantern and Larks.

Talking Tables have an absolutely stunning range of party wear, whether for a first birthday, wedding or an all out summer extravaganza, they have something to suit every taste. I had seen some of their summer range in our local garden centre and I knew I wanted to get in on some of the flamingo and neon bright action.

When it arrived I could barely contain my excitement, with garlands, pineapple cups (yes, I said pineapple cups) and an array of other banners, candles, napkins, cups and plates I was setup for mine and hubbies birthday weekends.

Obviously I had to test out the goodies after they had arrived so I setup a little photo shoot with some of the Coconut and Almond cookies I had made and used some of the wonderful props to accessorise and make it look awesome.

I love the brightness of everything and it all makes for such wonderful background, they have thought of everything to add to a party, whether it is beautiful napkins with gold detailing to coasters of all shapes and sizes. I love these animals, they have been sat on side table since we got them and I think they'll be coming out at every summer party now.

Anyway back to my mini party, with the events of the 23rd still resonating with the country it was great to get away on a mini vacation, even better to brighten it up with some fabulous party colours when we got there. The Friday night was a bit more subdued as we had spent an hour or so travelling and wanted to just eat something so we could explore, so with the addition of some cups, plates, flamingo lights, napkins and bunting somewhere out of site, we were ready.

Some cheeses, bread and other nibbles we had a picnic tea in the setting sun, it was a great way to spend the evening and the party wear made it just that little bit more glam.

For our Saturday night bbq we went a little more tropical and out came this quite frankly amazing  and so easy to put up tropical bird banner, the attention to detail in Talking Tables products is fantastic and makes it so easy to use. With pretty gold ribbon to attach to the tent and then clip on parrots for easy installation and removal it made putting this up a breeze.

And as the tassels fluttered in the wind they made for a bright and colourful sight, I added to this the tropical bunting which had hooks on either end so really easy to hang up and again super bright for this wonderful backdrop at Lantern & Larks.

Once the bbq was ready we all sat at the picnic table, donned some funky glasses and enjoyed a supper in the sun. I'm not entirely sure what my son is doing here, I can only assume this is the look of excitement at food that has been cooked on an open fire.

The pineapple glasses also make him look a little like Elton John, and the flamingo glasses have been a hit ever since me and my daughter found them at the garden centre a few months back.

I cannot wait to get this all out again for my husbands birthday this week, I do love to make sure everything looks great and everyone has a wonderful time at birthdays. I just need to decide now what to do about a cake for him that I can incorporate a bright jungle theme too. Answers on a postcard, or in the comments ;)

NB: We were sent some goodies from Talking Tables for review, all words and opinions are my own.

Hey Time, Slow Down Please

Yesterday I dropped my son off at school and as my daughter and I walked back to the car, she asked me to sing a song, so I dutifully did, but as I sang Dingle Dangle Scarecrow it suddenly occurred to me that this won't happen for much longer.

Come September, I will be walking back to the car empty handed, no one to go off and spend the day with, at that moment my heart broke a little as i realised that my time with my baby is slowly rushing away from me.

Me and my daughter have a bucket list of things we want to do before she goes to school, we have painted a pot together, we have been to see Cinderella with her dressed in her Cinderella dress, we are going to build a bear and lots of other things.

You forget how precious those minutes, hours, days are and fill them with cleaning, shopping and moaning, when instead you should embrace every second, singing, dancing like a could of daft people in the kitchen (it's a regular thing in my house) and enjoying the moment.

So from now until my son breaks up, our three days together are going to be just that, no time constraints, just doing things that make us happy and making so many memories together.

Whats that saying...

"Cleaning and scrubbing can wait ‘til tomorrow For babies grow up we’ve learnt to our sorrow So quiet down cobwebs, dust go to sleep I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep" 

Crushed - Fruit Pouches Review

As a busy mum on the go, sometimes I have days where I forget about myself and eating five a day evades me. After I was diagnosed Fibromyalgia, I knew my diet should be better than it is, but comfort food is a strange thing and you just want sugar, usually in it’s worst form.

So, when I was sent some Crushed fruit pouches to try, I looked forward to having some fruit in my bag, something that I could take with me when I got those sweet cravings and that wouldn’t get battered and bruised as the day went on.

Usually you think this sort of thing is for children, but they have been invaluable for me during my recent house move, meaning I can have fruit on the go, easily and most of all quickly.

The pouches are an easy and accessible way to transport fruit, in your handbag, schoolbag, or lunchbag.

Best of all the Crushed pouches are tasty, the Strawberry & Apple have a little zing to them and the Apple & Banana are nice and smooth, my daughter has tried both and loved them equally meaning they really are a hit for both adults and children alike!

Containing one of your five a day and with a long shelf life they are the perfect store cupboard and fridge staple for when the fruit bowl is running low. 

Currently available in store from Waitrose and online from Ocado at £3.50 for 4 they work out a lot cheaper than some of the similar brands available.

NB: I was sent these to try, I was under no obligation to write a review however I feel they are a great product and wanted to write about them.

Olive Wishlist

I have been swooning over the gorgeous items over at Olive now for some months, I need to revamp my wardrobe for work and play so here are just a few of the things I would choose.

Olive Wishlist by themummydiary on Polyvore

Real leather lunch bag / Buckle Detail Chelsea Boots, Beige / Slim- Fit Zip Detail Dress, Check / Shirts Long Dress, Camel / Wool Boy Trouser, Khaki / Feather Print Dress, Green / Brixton Messer fedora hat, Black / Chiffon Layered Boucle Top, Black / Multi Print Balloon skirt, Beige / Pleated Mini Skirt, Beige / Short-sleeve crew neck jersey, Grey