Raise A Glass On Mother's Day

I love a glass of chilled rosé and this one from Gallo Family Vineyards is sweet and light-bodied with the taste of ripe nectarine and juicy pomegranate.

It would complement a variety of dishes like smoked salmon, salad, strawberries and cream or, my favourite, a slice of Victoria sponge.

Gallo Family Vineyards Pink Moscato - £6.99 

Or how about a glass of Gallo Family Vineyards Moscato, which is a light to medium-bodied white, with notes of peach, citrus, pineapple and orange blossom? 

Gallo say this wine will complement light Thai food, creamy chicken dishes and vanilla desserts.

Gallo Family Vineyards Moscato - £6.99

For further information go to www.gallofamily.co.uk

If your mum prefers not to drink alcohol or is a mum-to-be, a great alternative is Shloer Celebration, an alcohol-free bubbly.

#SayItWithShloer Celebration at just £2.99 a bottle 

The Celebration range comes in two delicious flavours; White Bubbly and Pink Fizz. The White Bubbly has a crisp and full bodied flavour from the very best in white grape juices. 

The Pink Fizz combines the vibrant flavours of red and white grape juice. 

Both are best served chilled.

Shloer contains no preservatives, artificial colours, sweeteners or flavourings and comes in eleven flavours, including White Grape, Red Grape, Rosé, Apple & White Grape, White Grape Raspberry & Cranberry, White Grape & Elderflower, Berry Punch, Celebration Pink Fizz, Celebration White Bubbly and new Shloer Light Red Grape and Light White Grape.



And this Mother's Day, Shloer are running a competition. 

For the chance to win a bespoke gift bag, complete with a bottle of Celebration, tell them why your mum deserves a sparkling treat using #SayItWithShloer. 

Their Twitter ID is @shloerofficial and you can find them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/shloer.

Shloer is available at supermarkets nationwide at £2.99 / 75 cl.

For further information go to www.shloer.com

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Great Purse-Friendly Home Gifts For Mother's Day From Terrys Fabrics

Terry's Fabrics, the Home Furnishings Specialists who promise to "transform your house for less" have a great range of purse-friendly home gifts for mum this Mother's Day. 

With an interior design centre, a huge stock of products online and stores in Staffordshire and Stockport, there's certainly plenty of choice. 

 

Flutter Printed Duvet Set £9.99 - £17.50 

Lily Luxury Quilted Bedspread £26.90 

Distressed Love Sign - £8.20 

Love Table Lamp Cream - £15.99 

Lovehearts Filled Boudoir Cushion - £9.99

Distressed Home Sign - £8.20 

Emily Throw Eau De Nil - £29.99 

Terrys is not a name I had come across before but their online store is certainly worth a visit.


Further information at www.terrys.co.uk or telephone 01782 566666.

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Review - Self Help Stress Management Book "Stress Control" by Susan Balfour

Stress Control:  Stress-Busting Strategies For The 21st Century is the latest self help stress management book from psychotherapist Susan Balfour, who has made a special study of stress syndrome with a particular emphasis on the effect of stress on our health and how to manage our stress in daily living.

Susan has a private therapy practice in south west London where she works with both individuals and companies and lectures extensively on the subject of stress management. 

She has been featured on a number of TV programmes about stress and anxiety management, and has worked with leading medical specialists on the management of Repetitive Strain Injury.

There are acres of words written on the subject of stress and its management, as just a cursory glance at the Mind, Body, Spirit section both on Amazon and the few remaining UK bookshops (thank God for Waterstones!) will attest. 

These books seem to fall either into those with a medical focus or the more traditional 'self help' tome which offers advice in almost 'soundbite' format or has a spiritual focus, which some people may find hard to relate to.

Susan Balfour's book is a happy blend of both styles, combining important scientific information (such as the impact stress has on our bodies) with a frank discussion of how modern life and particularly how today's society, with its constant drive towards consumerism and acquisition, is affecting us.  

I found the tone to be no-nonsense and frank, rather like chatting to an old friend who has your best interests at heart.

Susan believes that we need to learn from the lessons of the past and ancient wisdom rather than constantly seeking new (and temporary solutions). 

This is not, however, done in a wishy-washy, navel contemplating way.  

She proposes alternative approaches to modern problems, for example our addiction to social media and the urge to be constantly connected to our phones every minute of the day! Bullying at work, working from home, excessive workloads, every modern dilemma is included.

The book contains 11 clearly defined chapters, each with suggested, easy-to-implement exercises. For example, "Technology and stress" (Ch 4), "Take control of your agenda" (Ch 5), "The Positive No" (Ch 6), "Stress at work (Ch 7) and "Food to empower you" (Ch 10).

I particularly liked Susan's focus on tension releasing exercises, since I have been doing Pilates for the last few months to help a lower back problem thanks to two caesarians just 18 months apart!

We can definitely control our stress by the way in which we move our bodies. 

The book includes a loosening and stretching routine which is easy to do, as well as an exercise to achieve deep relaxation.

Finally, Susan talks about what we can learn from successful people, focusing on control, challenge and commitment.

I really liked this book which is choc-full of advice. 

It is not a book to be skimmed through but rather contemplated and digested slowly. Susan reminds us that it is OK for us to prioritise our own health and happiness - something that many busy mums totally forget!

So are you stressed? With which of these symptoms can you identify?

• drinking more alcohol than usual
• sleeplessness
• feeling more emotional than usual
• non-specific hostility - feeling angry most of the time
• feeling threatened by life's demands and by other people
• increased irritability
• humourlessness
• eating too much, or too little
• increased dependence on caffeine, tobacco or other mood altering substances
• digestive disorders
• frequent minor ailments
• excessive sweating
• impaired memory
• palpitations
• indecisiveness
• feeling indispensable
• inability to relax
• feeling the joy has gone out of life
• always feeling rushed; always in a hurry
• resistance to change

If you're anything like me, I'm sure a few of these will ring a bell rather loudly! 

It is imperative to manage our stress so that we lead happy productive lives and can give our best to those around us - particularly our children!

Stress Control:  Stress Busting Strategies For The 21st Century is available on Amazon.co.uk at £10.88 for paperback and £4.99 for the Kindle edition.

I also have one copy of Susan's self help stress management book to give away. Just enter via the Rafflecopter app below.  

The giveaway will close at midnight on Monday 9th March and the prize will be sent out by the publisher.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Post contains an affiliate link.

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Colours of Wales - Caitlin's Poem For St. David's Day 2015

Colours of Wales - A Poem

Caitlin Hobbis, aged 7, 

crowned Bard of Dinas Powys Primary School (Infants) 

2015

Caitlin, proudly holding her dragon trophy

The daffodils sway in the breeze.

They grow in a beautiful dainty meadow.

The petals shimmer like the shiny sun.

Dragon breath burns out orange and white sparks.

Dragons live on a fluffy, snowy mountain.

The dragons drive through the sky with their red scaly wings

The crowd cheer as Wales play.

Rugby players sing the National Anthem.

On a beautiful mountain like fluffy clouds

live bouncy, fluffy sheep.

Welsh cakes sizzle in the kitchen.

These are the colours of Wales.  

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Making Welsh Cakes For St. David's Day

Having munched our way through many a pack of Tan y Castell's finest Welsh Cakes, we decided to have a go at making our own.  We found our recipe on the trusty BBC Good Food website here.

You'll need the following ingredients:-

*  225 g plain flour
*  85 g caster sugar
*  1/2 tsp mixed spice
*  1/2 tsp baking powder
*  50 g butter cut into small pieces
*  50 g lard cut into small pieces plus extra for frying
*  50 g currants
*  1 egg beaten
*  splash of milk

Since I didn't have baking powder, we used self-raising flour and we substituted the lard for butter, but this didn't affect the recipe in the slightest.

Add the flour, sugar, mixed spice, baking powder and a pinch of salt into the bowl.

Rub in the butter and lard with your fingers until the mixture is crumbly.  Then add in the currants and work the egg in until you have a soft dough with the consistency of shortcrust pastry.  If the mixture is too dry, add a splash of milk.  We had to add quite a bit of milk to our mixture.

Once you have your dough, roll it on on a lightly floured surface to the thickness of your little finger. Use a 6 cm cutter to cut out the cakes.

Grease a flat griddle pan or frying pan with lard (we used butter) and put on a medium heat.

Cook the Welsh cakes in batches for about 3 minutes each side until golden brown.

The Welsh cakes will stay fresh in a tin for a week.  If you don't eat them all in one go, that is!

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Embrace Your Floral Side This Spring

I love this Vivienne Westwood Red Label Agency Dress in a stunning floral print which is new in for SS15 and it's inspired me to inject a little 'floral' into my wardrobe.  

Decorated in a scribble check with what is described as a 'Trompe-l'oeil' style floral print, it's an edgier way to wear floral without looking too 'mumsy'!

Vivienne Westwood Red Label Agency Dress - £995

The dress is made from a comfortable cotton stretch weave and has an internal corset to help give you a feminine silhouette.

Or what about this gorgeous bag?

Vivienne Westwood Beaufort 6653 Small Envelope Cross Body Bag in Powder - £270

This faux croc bag in powder leather features Westwood's signature gold orb detail, has a mains compartment with a zipped pocket and logo plaque detail and a detachable strap so that the bag can be used as a clutch.

Both these items are in store now at Vivienne Westwood, Cardiff.

But just in case your budget doesn't quite stretch, there are plenty of floral alternatives on the high street.

Lipsy Floral Print Shift Dress - £60 at Next Online

Fashion Union Sleeveless Shirt Floral Dress - £24 - at Next Online

Button Through Crepe Swing Dress Black/Floral - £25 - Missguided

The Amelie Dress - £75 - Oasis

Red Herring Light Pink Patent Asymmetric Clutch Bag - £12 reduced from £15 at Debenhams

Pink Panelled Asymmetric Flap Clutch - £25 - River Island

Top Handle Across Body Bag - £35 - Marks & Spencer

Love Moschino Pale Pink Small Clutch Quilt Cross Body Bag - £99 - House of Fraser

Happy shopping!

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Ideas For A Mother's Day Mani With Nella Milano

Mother's Day falls on Sunday 15 March this year and already I am thinking carefully about what to get my mum and mother-in-law (the Husband needs some strategic prodding), plus what exciting items to put on my 'list' for the kids. 

This generally results in a hot cross bun and a cup of tea in bed prepared by the Husband under instruction from Caitlin and Ieuan, said bun being duly eaten by the pair of them with me having to brush spiky crumbs from the bedding for about 15 minutes afterwards.

Anyway, over the next couple of weeks I will be bringing you one or two ideas with which to treat your mum and first up are these lovely nail varnishes from new label Nella Milano who I am reliably informed, were the darlings of London Fashion Week Show's end party.

Independent label Nella Milano offers stunning colour rich nail lacquers that are "effortlessly stylish, elegant and long lasting", taking inspiration from the Italian fashion capital of Milan. 

The varnishes are long lasting and there is a gorgeous range of colours which should please those of us that like something a little funkier on our nails than light pink.

For the more adventurous mum Nella has bright yellows, zingy oranges and verdant greens in their popular Four Seasons range that retail at £8.95 per bottle.

The Four Seasons Collection - Evergreen, Lemon Sherbet, Chilli Blaze & Crystal Coral

The Amador collection colours range from girlie pinks to the vibrant 'Fiery Flamenco'.  

This collection includes soon-to-be classics such as the subtle 'Pinkiefield' to the audacious 'Cheery Bon Bon', as well as three other bang on trend colours.

The Amador Collection - Cheery Bon Bon, Sweetie Darling, Pinky Ponk, Pinkiefield and Fiery Flamenco

Cheery Bon Bon - £8.95

Pinkiefield- £8.95

Fiery Flamenco - £8.95

If your mum loves her lilacs and purples you won’t go wrong with Nella’s Forget-Me-Not and Tyrian ranges of delicate lilacs and punchy purples and hues of blue. 

I love the head turning deep violet shade of Madame Pompadour and a Royal Affair which is a rich and sumptuous purple.

Madame Pompadour - £8.95

 A Royal Affair - £8.95

I particularly love that each varnish comes with its own back story.  For example:-

"Pinkiefield - Nella loves the gig and the gentle, easy-going pink of her Pinkiefield nail lacquer. 

There is not one man who doesn't want to dance with Nella and there is not one woman who doesn't want to borrow her light pink nail varnish".

"Madame Pompadour" - Nella wants to turn heads with a show-stopping look for a big night out. 

She knew that the deep violet had just the right head-turning, dramatic decadence for a bold appearance worthy of the red carpet!

At £8.95, these beautiful varnishes are reasonably priced and a little piece of London Fashion Week fabulousness.  (I can only assume the kids shredded my invite).

And besides, how can you fail to love a label that names one of its varnishes "Pinky Ponk".

Nella Milano varnishes are available from nailpolishdirect.co.uk.

*PR samples were received for the purpose of this post.

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