Thoughts on Summer and September and Giveaway News

I'm not sure I can believe that we're standing on the eve of September. I knew it would fly, but the Summer has past even faster than I could have expected.

I've got mixed emotions about the month ahead if I'm honest. I've found that the not planning/ 'we'll see what happens with our days' approach to the school holidays has backfired sometimes over the last few weeks. Leaving me with bored and bickering children and wishing we'd booked a two week all inclusive in the sunshine. Then there were days that we've scooted out as a three in search of adventures and, whilst tantrums are totally unavoidable at the moment, they're the ones that will stay with me when I look back (I'll forget the tantrums right?!)

At the start of the Summer Wilf reeled off a list of things he wanted to do before he started big school. Turns out a four year old's bucket list is full of simple pleasures. Eat ice cream, go to the beach, eat marshmallows, have a campfire..... Thanks to some magical days we've spent in Pembrokeshire I think we pretty much managed to tick all of them off the list. I'm sure 'have a sleepover' was on there too but you'll have to wait for that one sonny.

So I can't quite decide how I'm feeling about September. I'm eager to settle into a new routine that will work well for us all but am sad to say goodbye to the warm (ish), carefree and gentle summer months.

I've loved taking a peek at the adventures and lovely moments that you've all been up to too. The My Thursday Breaktime gallery is bursting with post after post of beautiful images. This month we joined up with House by Betty, my favourite local shop in Narbeth, Pembrokeshire. It's impossible for me to resist popping in for a browse and chat with the owner (and now friend) Lauren. I was delighted when she agreed to join us in a giveaway this month and there was nothing more perfect than a set of the totally instagram worthy mugs (also available via the House by Betty online shop here.)

Photo credit: House by Betty

It's been so tricky to choose just one image from all the lovely posts shared. As usual there's been so much variety from family shots, flatlays, to breathtaking landscapes and always a mug or two. I loved everything about these soft (and delicious) images shared last week. The photography shared honestly blows me away.

@cherry.rebecca @peonyandpraxis
@gatheredthreads @wealdstore

It was this mouth watering beauty by Tess from @tesslovesflowers that stole my heart (and lean-eating-wishing-I-wasn't stomach) though.

I actually only discovered Tess's account this month through an entry she made into the #mythursdaybreaktime. Tess shares the most stunning images, it's the sort of account that'll have you swiping your screen and scrolling back and back enjoying them all.

Congratulations Tess, please drop me a line to arrange your prize. Thank you to everyone who's joined in, as always its such a treat to host this hashtag and share favourites with you all each week.

I'm delighted to tell you that we're joining with Organic Surge for September with a very generous giveaway for you all. One lucky winner will receive all four of these beautifully fragrant hand and body washes. The Tropical Bergamont and Orange is my favourite in the shower at the moment and I can't get enough of the Citrus Mint as a handwash. Organic Surge has such a great ethical ethos and I love how natural all their products are. A winning combination in a brand if you ask me.

As usual, to enter your posts simply tag in @littlemaldod and @organicsurge along with #mythursdaybreaktime. A winner will be chosen and announced back here at the end of the month.

However you're feeling about September and whatever the new month holds for you, I hope it's a happy one and that you find moments for yourself throughout.

Pizza On The Plot {An Allotment Update}

Things are growing at a ridiculous pace on the allotment at the moment, so here's a little update on what we've been up to (before it turns into a fruit and veg jungle!)

I last posted an update on here mid March. At the time we were still preparing the ground, digging in manure and getting the beds ready (you can find the post here).

We've now got plenty in the ground, our spuds went in on Anwen's birthday (mid March), the onions are in and doing well, and the broad beans and climbers are coming on nicely too. I've even managed to negotiate a small patch for some cut flowers, although it took quite some determined convincing! So there's some sweet peas climbing up a branch like frame which I can't wait to pick.

One of my highlights down there recently was a coffee and cake morning we hosted last month. I'd planned to let all the other plot holders know with plenty of notice but, naturally, I left it to a last minute email the day before! We invited anyone who fancied joining us down there for tea/coffee and cake (which ended up being Sam's legendry salted caramel milionaire shortbread!)

Despite the short notice, so many plot holders showed up (more than we've ever seen all at once) joined us and we even had an impromptu seed and plant swap. Lots of people commented on how much they enjoyed and I've got a good feeling about planning something else over the summer. I'm sure weeding and wine or a mid summer bbq will go down well!

The kids love each and every visit down there. They've discovered a little sandy patch on a neighbour's plot where they take themselves off to most trips.

They help out with the watering too. Although I'm quite thankful we've relocated this butt for now as Anwen has been quite over enthusiastic about giving EVERYTHING a good soak.

We've also enjoyed a few pizza nights down there (one being last night while the kids are still at my parent's). Sitting on buckets eating pizza next to the strawberry patch is my new favourite thing!

Our strawberrys have gone wild this year. We bought 6 small plants from Aldi last year and planted the runners we had from them. These two photos were taken just a few weeks apart and it looks like we're going to have a great crop. I might even get a jar of jam out of them.

The raspberries (and whole fruit cage) are getting going too. The gooseberry bush has some fruit on it already and I'm looking forward to trying some new recipes out. We're harvesting rhubarb like there's no tomorrow and thoroughly enjoying scoffing it as compost on our cereal. You can read my post with a rhubarb cordial recipe here.

Hopefully it won't be too long before we're harvesting even more and I'm sure things will change very quickly from here on. 

I'll be back next month with another update. If you've got any tips or recipe suggestions I'd love to hear them! 

Finding The Simple Things

As seems to be customary at the moment, the past month has been a busy one. In the space of 1 short week at the end of April we spent time in three beautiful English counties - Norfolk, Kent and Sussex, enjoying quality time with family, celebrating with life long friends and spending time with brand new ones.

Home life in Cardiff has continued as busy as ever, with the added pleasure of plenty more time being spent in the garden. The hyper shrieks induced by hose fights have marked the start of a summer of (very wet) fun. Rain has brought blossom to the ground and we've seen the veg, flowers and lawn shoot up in a matter of days, I've barely been able to keep up with weather!

In amongst all of this I've been determined as ever to find space for quiet times, for creating and capturing special moments, and I wanted to share a few of the things that have helped me to do this, in this post today. I hope you enjoy reading.

The Simple Things 

I've seen this magazine appear in many a post on Instagram and, from the front cover and title alone, knew it would be my cup of tea. I managed to snap up a great subscription deal and when it arrived the day before our holiday to Norfolk, knew it would provide the perfect reading material.

It's packed full of inspiring articles, beautiful photography of places I'm know itching to explore, interesting columns, recipes and projects.

It has a great Miscellany section towards the back which I couldn't stop myself from reading out loud on holiday. Yes, I'm sure it's annoying and people aren't really that interested in hearing what you're reading, but who doesn't want to know the origins of Earl Grey tea, how to get rid of moths or what to do with Asparagus. 

Unlike other glossy lifestyle magazines that I (admittedly) just flick through, picking out the odd article and otherwise just looking at the pictures, I have more or less read this cover to cover now and can't wait for the next issue to arrive through our letterbox. If you're interested you can find more about the magazine here.

A Facial - Home and Away

Last month a best friend of mine and I booked in to have a facial at the Liz Earle counter at our local John Lewis store. At £15 I thought the 30-40 minute facial was a great deal but when I discovered that money could then be redeemed against a purchase afterwards, decided it was an opportunity not to be missed. What I didn't expect was that the facial, which was done in a private treatment room, was a full on 'me' time, could-almost-fall-asleep, relaxing experience. I was able to enjoy the whole thing with no hard sell and was then talked through the products used when we were back at the counter. 

I've fallen for Liz Earle skincare products in a big way, I love how natural they are, that they're produced on the Isle of Wight and how they smell like they've come straight from a spa. Once I'd quizzed the therapist on all the products she'd used and the order she'd used them, I made sure I was armed with the products needed and was determined to carry out more mini facials at home. OK, I can't say that I've quite managed the weekly facial that I'd promised myself, but my Mother-In-Law was very complimentary of the one I gave her on our holiday. That bonding time (over a glass of bubbly while Sam and his Dad were at the pub) was worth countless mini facial I could do for myself. 

Skincare has become something I've committed myself to and these products are certainly helping me to slow the clock I've seen ticking across my face over the past few years (read 'post kids'). Top of my list this week is to book myself another facial when they're next available at the counter in July. If you're interested in finding out more then get in touch with your local counter or visit the Liz Earle website here.

The National Trust 

One of the gifts that we received for our wedding present, which even in just 7 and half years has given us days and days of fun, was a Lifetime Membership to The National Trust. Sam's parents told us how much they've enjoyed their membership over the years and, very generously, gifted us with that same opportunity for our own family. Now, whenever we're away on holiday or without a plan to spend a day when we're at home, we'll look up to see what's happening at our closest Trust property.

When we were in Norfolk and wanted to do some exploring and find somewhere the kids would enjoy, we didn't have to look much further than Felbrigg Hall. As with most Country Estates the house was steeped in history with intriguing stories of previous owners. Of course our time in each room was limited to the patience of a 2 and a 3 year old, mildly entertained by the 'children's boxes', carefully designed to feed little imaginations. Wilf asked questions along the way and then quickly hurtled into the next room with one of us closely behind. Towards the end of our self guided tour we narrowly missed an embarrassing incident involving a very large stuffed owl and a glass box.....I can't tell you how big my sigh of relief was when it was caught just in time!

The kids were given the chance to burn off their cream tea fueled energy in the magnificent walled garden. Free to run up and down as fast as they could along the gravel paths lining the vegetable garden, their visit was topped off with  a stop at the most charming miniature shed and raised sand pit. Without a word needing to be said, they took to their work purposefully filling barrows of sand and moving it on to the next pit.

Our day was finished off with a game of tag, the simplest of games played through a willow tunnel but one which will stay with me for a very long time. 

You see it truly is the simple things, the little moments that, whilst fleeting, are what you remember when you look back on the busy times in life. The moments when you take a bit of time out for yourself, or the ones you spend in the company of your favourite people, running, exploring and catching boxes of stuffed birds together, that will have you smiling the most.

I look forward to seeing what things lie ahead of us in the month ahead, whatever they are, I look forward to sharing them with you. 

Switching Off

We've been away on holiday this week, staying with Sam's parents in beautiful Norfolk. We stayed in a lovely apartment, on a golf course, with all the usual modern conveniences including good old Wifi. Despite the lovely surroundings and my promise to attempt to switch off, when I read an article in the Sunday paper at the weekend listing '20 Wifi Free Breaks', I had a sudden longing to be somewhere just a little more remote.

And then I remembered I could be, just by switching my phone off.

So, on Thursday I conducted a little personal experiment and turned my phone off for 24 hours. Now, I appreciate to some of you that that's no big deal, that you might regularly break away from your mobile, but for me, it WAS a big deal. Despite my initial concerns that my might phone not actually know how to turn itself back on after being off for so long, I actually found it hugely positive. Here's a few things I discovered:

• I realised how much I tap my pocket and pull my phone out. Mindlessly looking at the screen for any notifications. 
• After a few hours the pocket-tapping habit was broken and it felt good to be phone free.
• I found time for things I always hope to do but never actually do (because I'm busy on my phone). Like reading my new Simple Things magazine, finding inspiration in it's articles, photos and recipes or reading the paper.
• I was present in the here and now, without being caught up with work distractions 
• I felt just a little smug when I saw others on their phones and mine was SWITCHED OFF! 
• Photos and memories could still be recorded (with my camera or on Sam's phone) and shared later if I really wanted to. 
• I wasn't distracted by direct messages, what's app texts or emails. I knew that anything urgent would get to me somehow and in the meantime, the lack of contact felt great
• I could do it. I really DIDN'T need to have one hand in my pocket, with my phone at the ready, to whip out at any given moment. 

A wise friend left me a comment on a photo I shared after this little experiment saying 'how strange it feels to unplug, correlates to how much we need to do it.' She was spot on. It felt strange but good and confirmed to me, just how much I need to do it, break away from home or not.

If any of this rings true with you then I'd urge you to give it a go. Why don't you unplug for just one day over the bank holiday. I promise you, you'll be glad you did and your pocket will feel a whole lot lighter in the process.

Have a lovely bank holiday whatever your plans.

Lowri x  

Sea Air and Cider

Last weekend was one of those weekends which you know will stay with you for some time.

The type of weekend which you look forward to all week.  That starts with gift giving to celebrate birthdays and an engagement, a walk on the beach to clear away city cobwebs, washed down with a few ciders.

The type of weekend that involves a delicious meal out, and one child pulling a late one on the unexpecting babysitter...

Where you spend a whole morning watching old Disney films while a storm rolls in. Where you sneak out to the shops for some Mum and daughter time, and finish the day with good food, good wine and a stay up at the wooden cabin.

The type of weekend that involves a LOT of chocolate and great friends who travel to spend time with you, enjoying a garden and the look on little faces when they spot a hidden egg in a clump of dafodils.

Well, this past weekend was one of those.

Whatever your plans for the one ahead, I hope you have a happy one. X

A weekend on Allotment 2B

This weekend, thanks to the amazing Spring weather, we had two family trips down to the allotment. One good, one not so good.

Yesterday (Saturday) we loaded the car up - kids, dog, scooters, flasks, cookies, wetwipes, wellies all got thrown in, not the kids (or dog). We had some jobs we wanted to get done ready for some sowing we've got planned in the next few weeks.

We all got down to our own jobs, mine was digging over the beds (the most satisfying outdoor work out there is), Anwen's was scooter practice (there's no stopping her now) and Sam and Wilf set about filling their barrows with bark chippings to spread over the fruit cage. It was on a return trip to the mound of chippings that the unfortunate barrow incident occured. Sitting in it was good fun until Wilf tipped out sideways and landed his head on the corner of a concrete breeze block. Queue wetwipes (lots of them), cuddles and the cookies.

I'm pleased to report that we (narrowly) avoided a trip to A&E and that the prospect of his best friend's birthday party later that afternoon kept his spirits up. The accident obviously hadn't scared him off allotment life all together as a return trip was the first thing he talked about this morning. "No more sitting in the wheelbarrow, but it's OK if I have my helmet on" were the first words I heard today.

So this afternoon, we headed back and quickly resumed our roles, enjoying the last of the weekend's sun and an all round happier hour.

When we look back on last year some of our favourite times were spent down on plot 2b. Last Spring Anwen took some of her first steps there and I found solitude during a difficult time (I wrote about both of these times here). We enjoyed a fish chip date night there and in the Summer ate peas straight from the pod and welcomed Wilf's nursery class down to pick berries.

This week we've had a few trips down and enjoyed an impromptu picnic before nursery on Thursday.

It's somewhere I know we'll build life long memories with the kids, hopefully teaching them a thing or two about gardening and 'growing your own' along the way.

I'm planning to write a monthly post on here as I want to keep a written journal over the gardening year. Right now it's looking pretty bare but the ground is nearly dug over and ready to rake. We have potatoes chitting and the broad bean seedlings are doing well. Sam is the boss of the plot really so I'll rely on him to fill in bits along the way.

If you fancy following along our journey more regularly you can follow @allotment2b on Instagram. It's mainly Sam who posts (interesting and informative updates) but he's now given me access to post too (they'll be the pretty flower ones come Summer!)

He has the day off tomorrow so we're hoping for sunshine and will be back down there. Sorting the shed out with some bunting and checking on first aid supplies will be the top of my to-do list. Helping Daddy dig and finding holes to put worms in will be Wilf's.

Anwen will be scooting.

Home from home in Bath

You know when you discover a hidden treasure, somewhere that has a touch of luxury and style to it but yet instantly feels like home? Well, this weekend I had the pleasure of staying in such a place.

On Friday night I hopped on the train from Cardiff and headed for one of my favourite cities, Bath, along side one of my favourite friends. On the journey I had to ask her to remind me of the finer details that had been planned for the weekend. "Where are we staying again?" and "whats the plan for food tonight?" were two things I was a little hazy on. Such is the pace of life at the moment that whatever information I take in on my first read of a text/email with plans, such as those my oldest friend ('official holiday organiser extraordinaire') had laid out, is what I'll know of the days ahead.

So you can imagine my excitement when we met the rest of the girls (who'd already dropped off their bags) and they exclaimed "Oh Lowri, you're going to LOVE the apartment."

And love it I did!

The apartment was on two floors and part of an old Georgian townhouse on The Paragon, a brilliant location in the middle of town. It was booked through Airbnb and the home of a warm, welcoming lady called Rebecca (and her daughter Kitty), who clearly had an eye for beautiful interiors and the finer, luxurious details.

The huge table, made from old cheese boards, in the open plan kitchen and living space was the perfect spot for an evening of long overdue catching up and plenty of laughs. 

Chatting late into the night (after a few cocktails) meant we were so ready to head to bed when we did. I wasn't too tired to notice the french linen sheets that awaited us though.

"REAL linen" I think I exclaimed as I crawled under the feather duvet, a full night's sleep and lovely long lie in ahead of me.

The morning light on Saturday brought the main living space into it's own and the views over Bath's rooftops and beyond (which we'd missed when arriving in the dark) were simply beautiful.

We all gawped at the open shelving and I sat at breakfast, imagining having a space big enough to fit three 15 foot pieces of wood, piled high with mismatch vintage crockery.

The cookware and ingredients, cleverly hidden behind curtains, gave little clues about the fact that the owner was most certainly an accomplished cook.

The bedrooms were all painted in bold Farrow and Ball shades, which we spent the weekend trying to guess. This is London Clay in case you were wondering! 
Every colour suited the room it was in and, although I wouldn't be brave enough to attempt it in my own house, made the whole space feel like home.

The bathroom was a dream, with a beautiful freestanding bath, tiled floor, Persian rug and old armchair in the corner. The artwork on the wall and Molton Brown simply adding an extra touch of class.

This was the perfect spot for the most delightful pre-dinner bath I've had in a very long time. *Reminds herself these don't usually exist in real life but to try harder, with or without the Cava.*

On every wall there was interesting and mismatched, yet perfectly curated, collections of art. We were told on Sunday that these had been pieced together over many years. Just another reminder that it wasn't just an opulent and stylish space but a home which had character and meaning behind every feature.

Days spent with your closest friends, who you've known since school, really are days well spent but when they're spent in a place as lovely as this, they're even better.

If you'd like to find out more details of how to book this property, then pop over to Rebecca's Airbnb page here.

Have a lovely week ahead, I for one will be dreaming of that bathroom, lazy starts and butter croissants oh, and did I mention those shelves?!