Breakthrough Breast Cancer

Last year I became aware of a lovely blogger through Twitter, and other fantastic #groovymums (#groovingmums). Sometimes we all struggle to cope with life on a day to day basis and the #groovymums are a great bunch to connect with - some days it's possible to offer support to someone who's not having a great day, other days someone might offer you support, or a blog post from one of them might cheer you up and make you realise that you're not alone. Each week Kate suggests things that you might do or think about to help you to get your groove back - some weeks you might not be able to join in, or it's not for you, or you might find she inspires you to do something you've never before considered. I haven't been particularly great at joining in as I'm often up to my eyeballs in work, but I do try to read the blog posts of others as often as I can. 

Last week Kate asked for  support for raising awareness of Breakthrough Breast Cancer by  getting other bloggers to write about a woman who matters to them, which I am more than happy to do.

My relationship with my mother has not always been an easy one and as a teenager I didn't fully appreciate everything that she did and went through to keep the fabric of family life together. She married a widower with four sons when I was six, and they ranged in age from six to eighteen - which as a mother myself now with two sons of eighteen and nearly sixteen I can see was a mammoth task! I doubt that any of us made life easy for her and I know that I resented the time and effort she put into the boys. We were never the sort of mother/daughter partnership who played with make up and hair - mum never really had the time to spend on herself with five kids, a husband and a house to look after!

I see now that she did an incredible job under very difficult circumstances and although we don't always see eye to eye even now, she is very much a good friend to me, and I hope I am to her. Women of my parents generation don't seem to have had the kind of friendships and support networks that we do, that they could turn to to have a bit of a gripe now and then or to receive an encouraging few words from to help them through the bad days. I am very grateful to all my friends, both long standing from childhood and newer through blogging and social media such as Twitter, as well as my mother who continues to hold the fabric of our family life together!

Pink Ribbon Bingo have pledged to support BreakthroughBreast Cancer all year round with 15% of the gross revenue accrued through online play on the site being donated to the charity.  Visitors also have the opportunity to donate a percentage of their winnings directly to the charity.  Along with the fundraising element, Pink Ribbon Bingo and The Daily Mail online will be helping the charity to raise awareness by promoting their vital health messages such as TLC (Touch, Look, Check).

Celebrity supporter videos on the Pink Ribbon Bingo website including Jessie J, Melanie C, Tom Ellis, Macy Gray, Sharon Corr and Kelly Hoopen - http://www.pinkribbonbingo.com/ .  

If you click on these YouTube links, you can hear Kate Thornton and Tamzin Outwaite's support.

Kate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brz793lgb_g&feature=youtu.be

Tamzin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCh671wnj2o

Buttercup Bus

Since the Surrey Networking Tweet Up a couple of weeks ago the Wedding Industry Awards Regional Winners have been announced. Having met so many wonderful people at the Tweet Up I looked with interest to see who the regional winners were. On the list, amongst the people I have heard of but not actually had the privilege to meet, I was thrilled to see the name of one person I had met and with a delightful and unusual business! Mr LG has a huge soft spot for VW Campers, having spent months living in one travelling across Australia many years ago - in fact he still has the VW badge from the front of the van tucked away with all the photos from the trip. My parents bought a VW Camper when I was a teenager, a rather fetching two tone orange and cream (well, it was the late 70's!), with a pop top roof where two people could sleep.

Nathalie, who runs Buttercup Bus VW Campers is passionate about restoring these vehicles which I'm sure feature in the memories of many of us .......

 Mini-mooners with a sense of adventure!

I was delighted to be invited to write a blog entry for the lovely Kim at Lil Guys. (We met a couple of weeks ago at the weddings in Surrey Tweet Up, exchanging stories about our mischievous puppies!). I wanted to write a blog about something that seems to be a current trend I have identified, and also something very close to my own heart as a lady passionate about the outdoors...

Over the past three years, surveys have reported a decrease in wedding budgets of around £5k. The honeymoon is starting to make way for the new “mini moon”, as couples become increasingly cost-conscious with wedding plans. These “mini moon” breaks can lead to people coming up with inspirational ideas on how to spend a blissful short break with their loved ones, whilst often avoiding the stress of busy airports, long haul flights and not forgetting the passport shenanigans with maiden name changes.

Giving up the traditional two week holiday on a tropical island need not be a sacrifice with some of the ideas I have seen floating around on the UK wedding forums. As a wedding supplier myself, I spend considerable time on these forums, keeping tabs on changes in wedding trends. I wanted to share with you my top UK mini moon ideas, taken from real bride’s recommendations combined with my love for the British countryside and camping with a luxurious twist...

Having lived a large proportion of my life on the Hertfordshire / Essex border, this  little find was rather close to my heart- BOUNCERS FARM CAMPSITE.  The cute little gypsy caravan traditional bowtop wagons are adorable, and ooze with romantic charm... imagine sitting together in front of the log burner with a glass of red wine, enjoying each other’s company...  Set in an orchard, this campsite is a must, if you are getting marries in the first week of May – think of all that blossom! If you are planning a trip later in the year, October would be ideal for the orchard harvests! For those of you with a real sense of adventure, the farm land can be used for horse riding, and there are even carriage trips available. At £50-60 / night, this little gem is a viable option for those on mini moon!

Gypsy Caravan at Bouncers Farm

For those of you looking to sleep under canvas, but without the stress of putting up tent poles, or carting all you camping equipment down with you, why not try Glamping Holiday  based on the Surrey / Sussex Boarder. Bell tents decked out with everything from bedding to chandeliers guarantee a camping trip that offers something special...not to mention the welcome breakfast pack on your arrival containing eggs, bacon, bread, butter, jam, milk and even marshmallows.

Glamping Bell Tent

If a holiday isn’t really a proper trip unless you have crossed the sea, then what about The Isle Of Weight? The Really Green Holiday Company offer 16ft fully furnished Yurts... and you can even hire one complete with four poster bed! There are plenty of tourist attractions in the area, and in the evenings, you can watch the stars in each others company – or go to the communal “dome” and meet other couples as a “Mr and Mrs” to enjoy a drink and a chat!

Really Green Yurt

One place that I have always wanted to go to (but never been able to get availability) is The Treehouse at Kinlochlaich House in Scotland. Yes, this octagonal shaped accommodation is up in the branches, with an oak, spiralling staircase, winding round the central tree... I don’t think that I would want to leave, all snug, looking out at the fantastic views. Short breaks are available out of peak season, at around £360 from Friday to Monday. Prime time August for a full week comes in at £605. Just remember to book well in advance for this hidden treasure.

The Treehouse

For the magpies out  there that are attracted to bright and shiny things, there is no accommodation that sparkles more than an airstream. We love one campsite in East Dorset near the popular New Forest and wonderful sandy beaches, that hires out these vintage Airstream caravans. Happy Days RetroVacations offer Mobile fire pits can be rented from reception so you can enjoy toasting marshmallows with a glass of local cider by the fire as the sun goes down. A fish and chip van visits on a Saturday night in high season and an ice cream van visits frequently too.

Airstream

Looking for accomodations reflective of history a little further back in time? Shepherd’s Huts were built in the 19^th century to provide living quarters for shepherds who were away from home during the lambing season. Today, many of these huts are being restored to a high specification, to include sofas, double beds, kitchen and shower room.  The Rose and Applewood Shepherds Huts in Butley, close to the Suffolk coast, are situated in a lovely garden, deep in the countryside. Guests will enjoy a wonderful experience, with a pre-war atmosphere, while every practical consideration has been taken care of... Friday to Monday short breaks come it at £318 during August, with a full week costing £505.

Shepherds Hut

Last, but certainly not least, how could I miss out an adventure very close to my own heart... the vintage VW Camper. As the owner of Buttercup Bus VW Campers - a Croydon (South London and Surrey Border) based VW Camper hire company, one of the perks of the job is to regularly go out on little breaks – the Sussex countryside being one of my favourites. The campervan provides you with the freedom to hit the open road, the flexibility to visit as many destinations as you want, and brings a certain vintage charm to your trip, which will turn people’s heads and make them smile. We love to go to the WoWo campsite in Uckfield with our buses. This campsite is based in the Sussex countryside, and has a brook that runs through it, allows open fires and offers communal soup gatherings. There is a yurt and a Tipi on offer to hire, as well as ample space for campervans and tents alike. They will even allow musicians to stay for free if you are willing to share your musical skills with the campsite. Prices start at £60 per pitch for a long weekend at Wowo. Buttercupbus campervan hire starts at £325 for a long weekend. Book early to get your places secured!

Nathalie with a Buttercup Bus!

Whatever your preference, the blanket term “glamping” used to describe holidays that embrace  humble (and sometimes quirky) outdoor living combined with the modern luxuries any newly weds would desire, is certainly becoming increasingly attractive as a mini moon choice.

Nathalie | Buttercup Bus VW Campers Website | Twitter | Facebook | Buttercup Bus Blog

I'm very definitely a country girl but glamping is much more my thing than the traditional wet week in a Welsh field with the loo block half a mile away! I'm seriously considering looking into the Isle of Wight option, not because I have to feel that I'm 'abroad' but because I heard on the radio the other day that Springsteen & The E Street Band are headlining the closing day at Bestival 2012 - would love to go but not keen on a tiny tent and queuing for a smelly portaloo at night! 

Lastly, and this is purely indulgent, I have to post pics of Nathalie's Yorkie and my LGs!

Nathalie's cheeky chappy - not sure why the photo's
refusing to stay upright!

Bingo's trying to persuade Betsie to help him
find the squirrel he saw......

Betsie prefers exploring rabbit warrens though!

So Bingo has another go himself .......

Bingo & Monty enjoying a walk on the River Adur

More photos of the LGs on our Facebook Page, why not come and join us?

The Wedding Reporter

One of the lovely people I met first at the Taunton Tweet Up in the summer this year and then again at the opening of Isabella Grace Bridal Boutique in Tunbridge Wells was Emma Woodhouse who is The Wedding Reporter. I do like to discover and bring to you diverse  ideas and information connected to weddings and Emma certainly offers a service that I'd never heard of before - and to be honest wish I had done before our wedding in 2008!

I have always written down everything important that’s happened to me. I think I have a phobia of forgetting momentous events, and I like taking time to think about what’s happened as I write it down. Reading it back years later I end up being astonished by things that I thought I’d remember forever.

You think that you’ll remember everything about your wedding. It’s one of the biggest days of your life, right? So much blood, sweat and tears goes into the preparation that you can’t actually comprehend not remembering all of that pain for years to come. How could you possibly forget anything about something so momentous?

The answer is: easily. Weddings are an absolute hurricane of chaos, a tour de force of emotion and adrenaline, and a blur of conversations amidst a sea of faces. In the same way that you won’t get enough time to properly talk to all of your guests, you also won’t get the opportunity to savour the sheer brilliance of the day.

I created The Wedding Reporter in order to offer a service to any bride and groom who want an added layer of texture to the memories of their wedding. Essentially, I attend the wedding as a professional guest; jotting everything I see, hear and feel in my trusty notebook. I burst into tears at the entrance of every single bride because I believe in the power of love. No two wedding reports are the same because no two weddings are the same.

After the wedding I write all my notes up into creative non-fiction account of the day. At the end of it, the couple will have a literary legacy of their day. The words become their property, so they can simply print it off and send it out with thank you cards, or I can have it made into a real book for them. My affiliated designer can create a bespoke cover and publish the reports into unique hardback books that sit beautifully alongside your photo album.

I have created The Wedding Reporter out of a passion for both words and love. There is something luxurious about the written word; I like taking time to labour over the exact sentence structure and choice of words used. This thoroughness is the very least that I can do when endeavouring to narrate what many people will consider to be the best day of their entire lives.

If you would like more information or would like Emma to attend your wedding, you can contact her through her website, Facebook, or Twitter  

Surrey Networking Tweet Up

One of the great things about working for myself at home is being able to use Twitter while I work. I've made some valuable contacts and lovely friends through it and it provides virtual 'office gossip', which is in some ways better than 'real' office gossip as you can literally switch it off if you're too busy or don't feel like getting involved. Twitter is great for picking up on different things such as information and events like networking meetings. Earlier this year I picked up on the Taunton Tweet Up which I made the effort to go to (yes, it's a long old drive from West Sussex to Somerset, but it was worth it as I tied it in with visiting family). It was great to meet some of the people I'd been tweeting with as well as making new contacts within the industry.

I'd been quite apprehensive whilst driving down to Somerset - sometimes it's difficult to walk into a room full of people you've never met before, but I'd committed myself to going so there was no chickening out! The first people I met were the Marry Me In Somerset girls, Abi & Lisa, along with Rachel and Lucinda, two of the Wedding Ideas Magazine 'herd' - all of whom were very friendly and welcoming. Another person I met in Taunton was Pam Wallin who is the driving force behind the Weddings In Surrey Directory. Having tweeted with her many times over the past year or so it was wonderful to finally meet her - like the Marry Me Somerset girls and all the WIM herd she is as lovely and friendly in person as she is on Twitter! I met many more wedding industry people that evening and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

When I saw a tweet a while ago about another Tweet Up, this time a little closer to home, I signed up for it immediately and put the date in my diary! Organised by Pam Wallin and Wedding Ideas Magazine, it was held at Fetcham Park House in Surrey, a beautiful wedding venue near Leatherhead.

buildingphotography.co.uk

The superbly elegant Grade II* Listed Queen Anne building is set in grounds which were originally landscaped by the famous Capability Brown and is believed to be one of only two remaining buildings which combine the work of architect William Talman and the artist Louis Laguerre.

parallelbusinesscentres.co.uk

parallelbusinesscentres.co.uk

I'd allowed plenty of time to tackle the A24 to Leatherhead as the evening was due to start at 6.30pm and arrived around half an hour early, plenty of time to admire the splendour of the reception rooms before they filled up with other attendees. If it's country house elegance and  style you're looking for then this venue definitely fits the bill and the Laguerre murals in the hall and stairway give a dark, richly opulent feel whereas the reception rooms are decorated in light creams and gold with intricate and colourful high ceilings.

Louis Laguerre Mural, Fetcham Park
geograph.org.uk

In contrast to the previous networking Tweet Up in Taunton I was not feeling at all apprehensive and had been looking forward all day to meeting more people that I had been chatting with on-line and some that I had yet to connect with. The list of attendees was for around 160 and we certainly filled the place up both physically and in noise level! 

By the end of the evening, this country girl who is usually found in either slippers around the house and office or wellies outside walking the LGs was feeling decidedly footsore after several hours in gorgeous high heels, but very positive, buoyed up and raring to go! I may not be a wedding planner, but I do have an incredible list of contacts within the industry now and it's always wonderful to be able to recommend a supplier to a bride - weddings and their planning can be an absolute minefield of information and can leave couples and their families feeling that they don't know where to start. So if you're looking for a Wedding Planner, a Florist, a Harpist, a Caterer, a Cake Designer, a Candy Buffet or a Chimney Sweep (yes, really!) if I can't personally recommend one it's likely that I know someone who can.

I's so easy to become insular and isolated when you work at home for yourself, easy too to be in need of a little 'spark' or 'va va voom' and meeting like minded professionals can really help to give you a boost. So many thanks to Pam and WIM for organising such a lovely evening!

Getting Your Groove Back

As regular readers will know, I am a big fan of Twitter. I have been rather snowed under with work recently so have been very quiet there lately but yesterday and today I have my Tweetdeck open so can occasionally catch the odd thread of an interesting conversation or topic whilst tying gorgeous red ribbon on some Orders of Service for Kate and David's wedding this coming Saturday. I have been sent a link by a friend on Twitter to a new blog hop/linky (which is completely new to me) concerned with helping mums to have a personal revival and getting their groove back.

I'm extremely lucky to be able to do what I love and get paid for it - for me it's not about how much money I can earn, it's more about helping others to have beautiful stationery and enabling me to have the lifestyle I want, which is to work from home, being a wife and mother and looking after my mad, sometimes naughty but always loveable LilGuys. Sometimes even my enthusiasm needs a little boost, I need to find my mojo, to get my creative juices flowing again. This can come in various ways, sometimes a walk over the fields with the LGs on a sunny day is enough to boost spirits (a walk on a sunny day and returning home with ALL the LGs in one go sends the spirits soaring into orbit!), sometimes it takes a bit more.

In her blog Kate asks two questions this week:

1. What song would it be best to play a lot while attempting to get your groove  back?

A. For me it's not so much one song in particular, but to make sure the radio's on, LOUD, and to sing along to everything and to dance in a stupid way for the LGs and make myself laugh!

2. What can you do to make your body feel better this week?

A. Even a very short walk of 10-15 minutes will get your blood pumping and even if you only manage to do it once this week it will be better than not at all.

Last week I signed up for a silver jewellery making course. Over the course of the last couple of years I have noticed that there are very few suppliers of embellishments for making stationery, with the result that we all tend to use the same things, albeit in different ways. I have sourced and imported some different sparkly embellishments myself that are not available through the normal suppliers, but I'd like to be able to go even further and create my own designs. So, the course will hopefully give me new technical skills which I'll be able to use to this end, and in the process I'll be making some birthday and Christmas presents. I was quite surprised at how excited I was and how positive I felt after signing up for this course - perhaps I just prevented my mojo from disappearing for a while, I certainly hadn't realised that my groove was in need of recouping! Whatever, I have had a new spring in my step since then and can't wait to complete my current orders so that I can get on with some more designing - especially as I discovered a local supplier of sparkly beads etc., and indulged myself a tiny bit with some lovely new bits and pieces!

New Arrival & White Gold Images

Having recently spent a few days in the West Country a tweet from a photographer about a wedding in Cornwall caught my eye this morning. I lived in Devon as a small child, had numerous happy family holidays on the Cornish coast and spent a fair few weekends driving around Dartmoor with my Grandfather in his later years, so am reasonably familiar with the area. On Friday I needed to get from Plymouth city centre to Saltash to visit my niece and the newest addition to the family, month old baby Nathan.

Fuzzy pic of gorgeous baby Nathan taken on my mobile phone

Now, I rarely rely on Wanda, the satnav, to take me anywhere as I swear she has a very warped sense of humour - she famously took Mr LG and I from village 1 to village 2 in Italy up and over a mountain rather than round the main roads. Yes there was a 'road', yes it was registered and useable (?!), but although it was a two way road it was only one car wide with a sheer rock face on one side of the car and what must have been a 1 in 2 drop on the other side - I do not have a great head for heights and Mr LG does not have a great tolerance for gibbering wrecks in the passenger seat so this was not a pleasant experience for either of us!

Anyway, last Friday I was a little unsure of how to get to my niece's house as I've only been there once before so I turned Wanda on for guidance. I was pretty sure that I should be taking the A38 in the opposite direction to Exeter and so set off following the signs whilst waiting for Wanda's gps to find me. Was a little surprised when she started to direct me away from the A38 but obeyed her anyway - should have listened to my intuition! When she instructed 'in 300 yards take the ferry' I suddenly realised that I was in a queue, one way, heading towards a stretch of water and a ferry with absolutely no idea how to avoid it. What should have been a 10 minute drive across a bridge over the Tamar to Saltash turned into a 45 minute journey involving the Torpoint ferry, thanks Wanda!

Ages ago the lovely Yvonne shared some valuable advice for those of us who hate having their photo taken. This morning I've been reading her blog  and I felt I just had to share with you the beautiful and intimate wedding of Vannavy and Oliver in Cornwall as captured by Yvonne. With a mixture of black and white and colour photos Yvonne has captured perfectly the joy and happiness of the day in a way that Vannavy and Oliver are sure to treasure forever. Please do read her blog and visit her website!

Pink Rose Cakes

You may remember back in February I wrote about Mrs LGs addiction to Twitter. Not only does she like to chat to her Tweeps on-line but sometimes she gets to meet some of them too. Earlier this year she combined a shopping trip to Brighton with meeting Fay Millar who runs Pink Rose Cakes. Fay promised Mrs LGs a blog post and today she shares French Macarons with us. 

The Rise of the French Macaron 

Not so long ago if you mentioned macaroons to somebody it would conjure up an image of a thick almond-flavoured confection with rice paper stuck on the bottom. The rather more delicate French macaron (and yes I write it deliberately as the French would!) was something only seen across the Channel and rarely on British shores.

But recently these delectable shiny domes of almond meringue filled with flavoured ganaches have been gaining popularity in Blighty. As people increasingly look for something different from the standard three tiered white wedding cake, the once esoteric macaron has suddenly found its place as a chic and fashionable alternative.

It is a worthy rival to the much-vaunted cupcake, which though still extremely popular, sometimes lacks the delicate nature and sheer versatility of the macaron. The macaron begs to be experimented with, to be fun, to be different. A cacophony of colours, smells and decorations combine to give it its endless allure.

Great towers of multi-coloured macarons can be created in place of the traditional cake and they can be colour-coordinated to match bridal schemes with everything from rich dark chocolate to green pistachio or blue mint. And for those who still want some cake the tower can sit atop a single tiered cake decorated to match.

In addition, at a time when people are more conscious than ever about spending a lot on a wedding, macaron towers generally work out cheaper than a standard wedding cake - £150-£300 for a tower as opposed to £400 for the average three tier cake. Even if you still hanker after a white stacked cake blocked with fresh flowers you can still indulge your inner macaron gourmand by offering them as wedding favours to guests.

The only problem with macarons is they are a bugger to make and get right! They must have an egg shell-like shell but be soft like meringue inside, smooth across the top and have that all important little foot at the base.

At Pink Rose Cakes we have been practising religiously for the last few months and the number of batches that have cracked, spread, collapsed or generally gone awry (although they always still taste nice) doesn’t bear thinking about. However, we are planning to launch three different-sized towers soon and bring the le macaron Francais to Brighton.

To see more of Fay's creations visit her website, catch up with her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter. From traditional to creatively different Pink Rose Cakes will give your celebration a real WOW factor! 

Wedding Talk

Mrs LG has become addicted - to Twitter and tweeting!  It drives the boys in her house mad, but in fairness she has made some very valuable contacts within the industry and as she will readily tell you, it is her version of office gossip and friendships.  Working from home is a wonderful thing, especially when you're doing something you love, but you can become isolated so it's important to have some contact with the outside world!  It is also through these new friendships and contacts that we have been able to bring you some very interesting articles from very talented individuals, and Mrs LG is currently sourcing more and more articles to bring you which are wedding related, be it directly relating to your planned celebrations, or for gift ideas.

A while ago Mrs LG discovered "The List" and her competitive side kicked in.  She duly followed @ukWeddings and, well, carried on tweeting!  She has been in the Top 100 for some time now, although has never reached the dizzy heights of the top 10.  This week she has regained some lost ground and gone up to number 32.  Additionally the Lil'Guy's daily e-news, The Kim Stewart Daily  is currently  Number 1 of the Top Shared Links for Wedding Tweeters.  

If you would like to feature on our blog either as a supplier or as a real wedding, or if there is anything you would like us to cover then please email Mrs LG to make your suggestions or to submit an article for consideration.