Christmas Wreath Making

Making my own Christmas wreath has been on the list of things I want to do for a long time. At weekend I finally got myself on a wreath making afternoon and now proudly hanging on my door is a home made wreath.

Whilst I could of had a go at home going on a course was nice as it definitely gets you in that Christmas spirit. Woolly Willow Creations ran my course… if your in Cheshire I could definitely recommend them. They supplied everything you needed, super friendly tuition, Christmas music and refreshments. It was £20 which was very competitively priced in comparison to other wreath courses I sourced.

The afternoon began with a clear demonstration. We were to make our wreaths in two parts… building up the greenery and then embellishing.

You see on the tables here moss rings which we started with for ease. However you could get your own wreath ring and build up adding the moss as you go securing with reel wire.

One of the benefits of coming on a course is everything is supplied (not to mention the mega mess wreath making creates… not having to clean up is an added bonus!) The right greenery can be tricky to find and quite expensive to buy. But here’s a list of what to look out for –

• Ivy
• Holly
• Conifer
• Hebe
• Spruce
• Cedar
• Eleagnus
• Yew
• Cornush twigs

Just make sure whatever you use it’s ever green. Once the demonstration was over we set to on our own wreaths. First off you use some stubb wire to create a ring to hang your wreath eventually.

With the ring in place this will be the top of your wreath. Adding foliage to it will now build it up. Choose a good mixed selection to create what you call a unit. It’s several of these that cover round your ring eventually.

Secure the reel wire to your moss ring and then hold the unit in position. Wrap around the reel wire twice to secure the unit to the wreath… you must pull it tight. It is essentially this technique you use all the way around. Each time you place the next unit overlapping the last to hide your wire work.

It was easy to build it up. The thing that took longest was selecting which foliage would go in each unit.

Once you think your wreath is complete hold it up as you may have areas now as full. But this is no problem… you simply use the stub wire to make an anchor and and then wrap it around the bunch of foliage you want to add in. Poke the wire into the area of the wreath that’s lacking.

The second demonstration showed us how to embellish our wreath. This is where you can get creative! Again using the stubb wire you can attach embellishments such as baubles, berry’s, pine cones, dried fruit, dog wood sticks and bows.

I wanted quiet a traditional looking one so I added a more rustic style bow, pine cones, berries and cedar wood sticks which are a lovely red colour.

A few tweaks here and there and we were finished! It was lovely to see although we all started out with the same stuff everybody’s wreaths came out different.

I was pretty pleased with how mine turned out, I think maybe it could of see a little more embellishments though. The whole afternoon was really lovely and I will definitely be doing a wreath next year. I might even attempt drying some fruit to add. It got me thinking though that maybe I could do an Easter one next!

Why not have a go at wreath making? I’m obviously no expert but I thought this post may help to guide you a bit and inspire you.

Rachael 🙂 x

Woolly Willow creations do many other crafty courses, go check them out here – https://m.facebook.com/groups/305417686849882

How to Elf on the Shelf like a Master!

When my son was 4 years old I came across this wonderful Christmas idea where in December an elf arrives at your house to watch your children for the month… I don’t need to fully explain elf on the shelf here… if you are reading this post chances are you are looking for inspiration and thinking why the hell did I start this?!!

I consider myself as an elf master. What gives me that right? Well… I was elf on the shelving much before it became a mainstream thing in the UK. When I started nobody on my Facebook knew what it was. Sure enough though people loved the posts about our elf Alfie causing mayhem in the run up to Christmas. My son was literally bursting with excitement every December morning.

Now I can be a bit of perfectionist with things so no half hearted elf effort was going on in my house! In total I completed 5 years of elf magic – that’s some serious planning! However when my son this year uttered the words I know about Santa my heart broke a little as much for the end of Alfie as it did for this. Out the other side of this I thought I would tell you guys some of my favourite ideas and what I consider the best way to elf on the shelf without loosing your mind!!

My son was Five when I first heard about this so we only started it then (silently breathing a sigh of relief). I know many who are starting at three! That’s seven years planning guys… but I get that you want in and are excited! At three your kid has no idea or concept of time. Do yourself a favour and have him arrive on the 15th – that applies to until they start school and of course then you won’t get away with this as others in the class will be chatting about theirs.

Only move him the first year… make it a game of ‘find the elf’. Don’t over complicate things when at such a young age they can’t fully appreciate your efforts.

Year two… have him move but only do good things. This is where my confusion came in with elf on the shelf… this little dude comes to watch your behaviour and report back to Santa yet the little s*** is causing absolute carnage! Ha ha! Talk about double standards!

Year three onwards (age five) I think then is the time to up your game. Your child is older and will appreciate the naughty behaviour and be shocked by it. But again don’t max out your ideas… save the best ones until a few years in.

Now I know some people have like a full on calendar planned but sometimes life gets in the way and the idea you had for a particular night is no longer practical. So I kept a list of ideas in my phone instead. I did ‘elf’ shopping towards the end of November and picked up any bits I then needed along the way.

Now I will share 30 of my favourite elf ideas I did along the way. I also asked my son which he remembers best and of course it’s the ones where he was extra naughty, ha ha!

1. Think about your elf’s arrival! I think the year we did North Pole breakfast was a favourite.

2. Simple ideas like this with photos are great! Also you could use a white board marker or simply turn pictures upside down.

3. Feeding the ducks… definitely one younger children will like.

3. Did you know elves only drink green elf milk?! Food colouring is obviously your friend here. My son looked for ages to find him this morning!

4. I took too long getting the decorations out so Alfie did it for us creating a right mess! (I must be mad!)

5. Have your elf make breakfast… if you don’t mind cleaning the mess ha ha! My son loved this one!

6. When your elf wants to be on top of the tree and takes the fairy hostage!

7. Elf olympics – bringing snow from the North Pole and check out his knitted scarf!

8. Elves only bath in marshmallows ha ha!

9. I’m sure school loved me this day… I swapped my sons whole lunch for chocolate stuff and marshmallows! When I arrived at school to collect him that day practically the whole class ran at me to tell me about this ha ha!

10. I have hair extensions so I cut the old ones and when I heard my son stirring that morning quickly arranged myself like this. Let me tell you he was shocked!! I think he was scared for Alfie but he also found it hilarious… I threatened to send the elf home! Ha ha!

11. With I’m a celeb always on at this time of year and my son liking to watch it I had to take advantage of this!

12. Curtesy of Halloween stuff stored in the loft, Alfie finds himself in a spin!

13. One for every year – something baking related. This was my sons favourite I think, decorating a gingerbread house. But we also did mince pies, cookies etc.

14. When your elf gets into your make up and draws you a picture! (Old make up used of course!)

15. Could this be the ultimate elf trick? Changing the bed to Christmas bedding whilst they are sleeping!

16. My son adored this one! It took him ages to find him hidden in the Christmas tree!

17. Would only recommend if your going to decorate anyway! However I had the intention but it stayed like this almost a year! Ha ha!

18. Caught by the Lego superhero’s one night!

19. Face painting whilst asleep always raised laughs in the morning!

20. Quite a simple one but one he loved non the less! The sign said ‘I flew your mums car to Lapland last night to show all your toys where I live, we didn’t make it back in time before the magic ran out!’ I also parked the car erratically on the drive/half on the grass!

21. Pick and mix shop… luckily he did listen to Alfie and only took a few to school!

22. Banister sledging on candy canes!

23. When your elf doesn’t make it back in time!

24. Elf washing disaster! (I used bubble bath, made them in the sink and then moved to the floor)

25. When your kids not keen on showering your elf comes to the rescue by filling it with balloons (warning – don’t be deceived this took almost 2 hours and approximately 75 balloons)

26. Shrinking the cookies to elf size! Good for younger ones.

27. When your elf cuts up your mums top in the laundry!

28. Alfie plays Star Wars and bring cinema tickets to the movie! Your elf can do good too if your little one is behaving!

29. The year Alfie took Lex home to see Santa! Look at his face! A surprise trip to Santa is always a winner… we were lucky to be able to do Lapland that year.

30. When you want a night off! Ha ha! Seriously though this one is great of behaviour isn’t good. The getting up rule was not before 6am… he got up at 5am!!

So there we have it… I hope this has inspired you! Our elf Alfie had his own page on Facebook too… I will post the link below if you want to check out what else he did. I’m no longer posting to the page as sadly the magic is over for us but the page is live for ideas. I’m going to follow this post up with another one on the perfect end to elf on the shelf.

Now I’m out the other side do I think it was worth it? Absolutely… yes it’s a commitment but your kids faces each morning… well that’s just priceless! These little elves will make the run up to your Christmas so magical, your kids will love you for it. When my son found out one of the first things he said was ‘oh wow mummy, you did all that? I can’t believe it! Thank you!’ I know he will forever remember our Alfie’s antics with a warm heart and a smile.

Happy elfing guys… remember it doesn’t last forever!

Rachael 🙂 x

Link – https://www.facebook.com/alfieselfantics/

Visiting York at Christmas time…

York is up there with my favourite cities I have visited in Britain. Take a walk along the walls, soak in views of the minster and explore the shambles. Shopping is plentiful and tea rooms are everywhere. I have to confess I’m not a massive city lover but York is a pretty city with cobbled streets and amazing architecture – the oldest building dating back to as far as 1350!

However I had never been at Christmas time so this weekend (the last weekend in November) we ventured there to take in the city once again and get in the festive spirit around the Christmas Markets.

In York I have a go to hotel… it’s up there with my favourite hotels ever! If you are going to York and want a bit of luxury the only hotel to stay is the Grand Hotel and Spa. It’s a grand Edwardian railway hotel and very deserving of it’s five stars – the only hotel to boast such in Yorkshire. The whole hotel is very grand as per its name, Edwardian features are kept but blended effortlessly with more contemporary colours. The corridors alone are wider than I’ve seen in any hotel, the ceilings are high and the stone staircase magnificent. I was pleased to see on arrival that their Christmas decorations were up instantly putting me in the festive mood.

As we arrived late afternoon we wanted to make a quick exit to go exploring but not before seeing our room. We were staying in a classic double room which as expected was gorgeous but definitely worth a mention here is the double shower in the bathroom and heated floor – bliss. The Christmas decorations in the hotel were beautifully done.

Recently hearing about Evil Eye lounge which hit the Guinness world records for having the most gins available for sale (if you want numbers approximately 1028!) whist in York it would be crime not to check it out. We had to queue outside maybe 15 minutes however if you just wanted to go in the shop you could walk in.

Inside it’s just a quirky laid back bar complete with sticky tables and menus ha ha! If your after a sophisticated affair this isn’t it but all the same worth a little stop off. It’s more of a cocktail bar but does offer plenty of options. I settled on a ‘gin and sonic’ and the other half on orange gin and tonic.

Next stop was the St Nicholas fair Christmas markets. Apparently they are easy to find but we did a fair bit of wandering ha ha! Once stumbling on them they were everything you would expect from Christmas markets. Little chalets with twinkling fairy lights line the streets selling your usual christmas wears, jewllery and gifts. Plenty of goodies are available to eat and of course your mulled wine. They were busy but show me a Christmas market that’s not! (This was taken the next morning as I forgot to take one at night!)

I really enjoyed browsing the little stalls and admiring hand crafted items, some people are so talented. We came away with amazing cheeses, different flavoured tonics, a Christmas tree decoration and some cool peaky blinder coasters.

A few mulled wines later (with an extra shot of brandy!) we started to head back to the hotel stopping off for two drinks in other bars along the way. If drinking is your thing you won’t be disappointed in York! Back in the Grands bar called 1906 it was nice to be out the cold and in an intimate plush setting. More gin and tonics followed but the rhubarb gin with elderflower tonic was the best! It’s not cheap in the Grand – £30 for two doubles but service was impeccable and the lovely setting made the prices worth it.

Now no visit to York is complete without a visit to the Shambles. So we swerved breakfast at the Grand as we had a lie in (I can say though from a previous visit it’s very nice but £20 per person it’s pricey) breakfast in a quaint little cafe up the road did the trick.

The Shambles are amazing to see… made even more famous after being revealed as J.K Rowlings inspiration for Diagon Alley in Harry Potter and the likeness is easy to see. Dating back to medieval times the street was once full of Butchers shops. Despite visiting the shambles several times I learned this time that the quaint looking timber frame buildings actually were built close set to protect the meat hanging outside from direct sunlight. Outside the shop windows (the shambles is now a street of shops) you can still see the meat hooks.

It was raining and soooo busy so we headed back to the Grand to enjoy the spa. As a self confessed spa addict I will tell you although nice the spa in the Grand is nothing special. It compromises of a pool, jacuzzi, sauna, steam room and relaxation lounge. Of course an array of treatments are on offer and a bonus is Espa is the brand of choice (Espa is my favourite).

It’s £15 per person just to use the Spa facilities and they give you a gown, slippers and towel. We had an hour or so hanging out there and yeah it’s nice but it’s just lacking a few things for me like no room to relax properly by the pool, no experience showers and no drinks in the relaxation room – nobody came and offered to get us one either. You don’t really want to come out and wander down the corridor to quench your thirst when relaxing. For a five star hotel it’s just not quite up to par for me.

Is it worth a visit? Yeah if you want a little relaxation and it would probably be enhanced by adding treatments (I already had a massage and facial booked back home by my regular go to beauty people so gave it a miss with the expense of Christmas looming too!) but I would not recommend it as a spa break, it’s merely a supplement to an amazing hotel.

All in all we had ourselves a lovely little weekend break away and did it get me in the Christmas spirit? It certainly helped. Have you visited York at Christmas time?

Rachael 🙂 x

Making a Simple Advent Calendar…

A couple of weeks ago I decided to make an advent calendar this year for my son. He’s 10 years old and has just asked the dreaded ‘Santa’ question. Keen to still make the run up to Christmas a special time for him I started thinking of ideas.

I decided to go for a fairly simple design as it’s the first one I have attempted. The thing that appealed most to me was being able to fill it with his favourite treats. I considered little envelopes and then decided pillow boxes would be better to fit stuff in so opted for those. I thought the best way to do it was to fasten them to some kind of board.

Hobby Craft is my first stop when doing a project like this. Whilst in there I decided that a notice board would make a good base. It eliminated the need for decorating as it looked nice as it was. I picked up a glue gun for only £2 – essential for this project. Some little wooden numbers and decided to also add my sons name too. I went to the works (cheaper shop for craft supplies) to get ribbon, washi tape and embellishments.

Most the stuff I used can be seen above but here’s a list of what you need:

• 40 x 60 cm notice board

• Glue gun and glue sticks

• Ribbon – at least 2m to do the edge

• Wooden numbers

• Christmas embellishments

• Washi tape

• Pillow boxes

• Scissors

• Name letters

• PVA glue

• Glitter

• Treats or tiny toys

The glue gun is your friend in this project! I have to laugh because although I have always loved crafting a hot glue gun I was never allowed. Today at 35 years old I am nursing a blister on my finger from using it! Not a bad one but still my mum was right to not give me one ha ha!

Start by edging your advent calendar in ribbon. Use the glue gun to put blobs along the edge and stick the ribbon down and cut to size.

Next make up your pillow boxes by folding in the ends. Arrange them on your board so you can see how they look… you should have five rows of five. Once arranged on the board look at your embellishments. I chose a total of seven different ones. This gave me enough so none were next to each other in any direction.

Use your glue gun to attach your embellishments and ribbon. Make sure you think about where your numbers are going at this point. Then glue the bottom of the boxes too.

Once all your boxes are assembled check your happy with the order on the board. At this point you can switch them round if your not.

Once satisfied it’s time to attach your numbers. Using the glue gun I put mine in the top left corner.

Now you are ready to put in the treats. I thought when I came up with this idea that I would fit little toys in too but it was very difficult to find anything. The beauty of this project is you can fill it with your child’s favourite sweets and chocolate and of course some more Christmas themed treats.

Someone also suggested Lego men so I bought a set of 8 of these for £10 off eBay. I thought it would be nice to mix it up. They fit perfectly and came part unassembled in little packets which I liked.

So now it’s time to fill your boxes. Larger items like the freddo I only put one in but things like the maoms I put in four or five.

Once filled it’s time to attach the boxes. I did worry if they would hold but given the things in them are light they did. Just put a line of glue down the centre of the back of each one and press into place.

I then stuck on the numbers into the corner of each box alternating between red and white for effect.

Finally it was time to do the letters to finish off the top of the board. First I tried painting them but the paint wasn’t strong enough and the card showed through. I decided glitter was the way to go keeping with the sparkly theme of the ribbon. I used PVA glue to coat the letters and then just simply sprinkled the glitter all over.

Finally I attached the letters to the board – again with the glue gun and added some little bells in the top corners to fill the gaps. It’s important to leave your board flat for at least an hour whilst everything dries and sets properly.

So here is the finished product…

The only thing I don’t like is the ‘L’ is larger but I wanted a capital and it just came bigger! I’m made up with it and I’m sure my son will love it too, I can’t wait to give it to him. Start to finish it was probably a 2 hour project. It was easy and enjoyable!

Have you ever made an advent calendar? How did it turn out? Let me know if you give this one a go in the comments 🙂

Rachael x

Vampire Facial… Is it Worth it?

We live in a very vanity conscious world these days, everyone is trying to look there best. Be it Botox, lip filler or fancy facials most people are after starving off time. We even filter our photos to perfect our look.

At 35 years old I am very conscious of ageing. You see I can see changes in my face and it hard to accept them. It’s easy to see why people feel the need to get some help. Whilst I am yet to go down down the Botox route I have had a slight lip enhancement which I have to admit has given me more confidence. Sometimes people tell me ‘oh I didn’t know you had lip fillers’ and that is exactly the look I’m after.

I’m a girl who has regular facials, massages, wax’s and is not a stranger to the spa. I love to be pampered. So when I came across PRP a few years ago I was intrigued but not enough to look into it properly. PRP was made famous by Kim K… yep the vampire facial. What the hell is this you say?

A vampire facial, also known as a PRP facial, involves extracting 11mls of blood from a patient’s arm before placing it in a centrifuge to separate the platelet rich plasma from the blood cells. The 6mls of extracted PRP is then administered into the numb face via 120 individual injections. This treatment regenerates your skin cells by producing more collagen in turn reducing fine lines and wrinkles. It can get rid of acne scarring, dark circles and enhances your overall complexion.

After following my practitioners page for some time and being so intrigued by the results I decided to book in. I don’t really like needles… I mean who does? Yikes! 120 injections in my face?! I could cry when I get my brows microbladed so is this really for me? The things we do in the name of beauty.

So the procedure started with me filling out the all important client information form whilst my practitioner Scarlett explained all about it. I would like to say I was at ease but I wasn’t! Whilst excited to look 18 again (I wish!) I was crapping myself. My nerves were slightly eased by Scarlett’s professional manor and confidence in the results. She’s a PRP addict herself and her skin looked fabulous to me!

I lay down and she took the blood from my arm. Thanks to the emla (numbing) cream I purchased from the chemist I felt nothing – result! She whisked off my precious blood to put in the centrifuge and voila it came back like this…

Oh yeah and that’s numbing cream all over my face now! You can see the yellow (platelets) and the blood below.

Next she drew the platelets out into several needles ready to administer. I lay down and closed my eyes and she got to work. At first I thought oh my god this is a breeze! But she had warned me it would be at first and then I might start to feel it as my pain receptors kicked in. She was right as I felt it quite a bit around the inside area of my cheeks which she did last. Was it bearable? Totally in the name of beauty ha ha!

Here I am once the injections were all done. She massaged my face a bit too which is why the blood is smeared everywhere.

When she sat me up and I first saw my face I was slightly horrified… more so that I had work in three days (with kids – kids are so unforgiving at pointing things out) but Scarlett assured me I would look fine by then but also you can put make up on the next day so any bruising or needle marks can be hidden. After care you just go about your normal beauty regime however no retinol. For that day she recommended leaving my face alone and not touching it.

This was like an hour later… not too bad at all! I look knackered through not sleeping worrying about it the night before ha ha!

I could immediately see a difference in the volume of my skin but I guess that’s it surprising given it had been traumatised!

Come 3 days later when I went to work I was confident that nobody could even tell I had anything done – to be honest I was confident the next day. Wow! A treatment with minimal down time – result. I was going to work dressed as a witch for Halloween and honestly I can say my skin was positively glowing…

Now to see the real results of PRP they say 4 – 8 weeks. I have specifically waited until the 4 week mark to give my verdict. Honestly my skin has been amazing… plumper and more glowing but also the pores on my cheeks are much more refined. I am very happy… I feel PRP just might keep starving off that Botox, we will see.

Final photo… this is one Scarlett took pre treatment (excuse the hair I had been wearing a hat!) vs one I have taken this morning. In both photos I have no make up and no filters are used. I see the biggest improvements under my eyes and the overall texture of my skin, I am really pleased.

So some more facts…

How long does it last? Up to a year

How many treatments do you need? Some clients may only need 1 treatment whilst others may be recommended 3 within the first year to give skin that extra boost.

How much? £225… but this is fairly cheap. Scarlett did say the reason she does it cheaper is she wants it to be available to everyone not just the elite. Therefore she charges for her time not the results like many clinics do.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely and I totally skeptical but I’m sold! I will be having the 3 treatments within the year and will continue to in the future… if your on the fence about Botox go try this first!

Rachael 🙂 x

For those in the Cheshire area or further if you don’t mind the travel. I can 100% recommend Scarlett for this treatment. Take a look at her work here https://www.facebook.com/lettiejam/ and https://instagram.com/enhancebeautyaestheics?utm_source=ig_profile_share&igshid=17ppvoyvfi6n5

The Joys of Moving House!

So blog posts have been lacking and it’s due to a house move. What.a.nightmare. I’m no stranger to moving as in my lifetime I calculated this to be my 13th move. That’s quite a lot. I have a real envy of friends who only ever lived in one house and still go back to the same house to see their parents. I mean that never would have been me as mine separated when I was 17 but still I think it must be really lovely. All those memories in one home.

This move has been extra tricky as I’m moving in with my boyfriend you see and he already has a house full of furniture and things. I too have a house full of the same. I also have a hell of a lot of dance kit for my dance school that all needs to be housed. So my lovely other half has boarded out all his loft ready for me to relocate my dance stuff. He’s so pleased with his new found space he keeps saying things like ‘I might put my weights bench up here’, or ‘chill out up here’ I’m like seriously?! He has no idea… I tried telling him but I’m sure when 1000+ costumes descend on his home he will not be ‘chilling’ or ‘working out’ in his loft. Just to give you an idea here’s a shot of one side of my loft currently…

It’s been hard work getting rid of everything. Honestly the charity shop must love me! I’m taking a few bits of furniture with me and obviously personal possessions but otherwise I’ve been selling things left right and centre. That in itself is a pain. I had a women turn up with a fiesta to collect a three door wardrobe… it gets worse… with her child in the car and a boot full of shopping. Palm to face.

Then there was the epic moving of my beloved lizard Eugene today. My bearded dragon friend who I have had for eight years has moved once with me. He didn’t like it, his beard was black for a week! (For those who don’t know they go black when stressed) with the vivarium loaded in my dads van I popped Eugene in my car and set off. Now he can’t get too cold so I lovingly strapped him in the passenger seat next to me and put on the heated seat, ha ha! I was hoping it would be a quick journey but typically I was caught behind a tractor, two learner drivers and a road was closed. Still we made before he was cold and his beard was not black… result!

Moving house would not be so bad if everything else stopped whilst you did it. But that’s not the case for me. It’s been a busy week with my dance school doing awards too. I’ve not had a minute. I’m actually fuming that I’ve not had a bath in two weeks (don’t worry I’ve showered ha ha!) what I mean is a soak in the tub with bubbles, I’m missing it.

I am lucky in the fact that I currently rent so I have been able to move my stuff bit by bit. I dread to think what it would be like all done in one day! I’ve been in my house seven years so I have kind of forgotten. I am hoping to be all moved in by a week Friday. Between now and then though here’s what’s on the agenda… lunch with a friend, more furniture collections, cheerleading classes, a dance party, the big loft sort, two Halloween fun days with my dance school and 25 pumpkins to carve – BUSY!

Wish me luck guys! I think I’m gonna need it!! Here I am looking frazzled, tired, with greasy hair, no make up and my fellas hoodie… so glamorous!

I will back with more blog posts after the big move… once I’ve been to the spa to rejuvenate myself of course.

Rachael 🙂 x

Zero Gravity Dubai… Know before you go!

I’ve recently come back from a hen break in Dubai. It’s hard to choose the best day as honestly it was so good from start to finish. But ladies day at Zero Gravity pool party we attended on the Tuesday was seriously amazing! It certainly give Ocean Beach in Ibiza a run for its money. So I thought I would share our day there with you guys.

As a party of eight we had prior booked a large bed. The cost of this was 450AED so approximately £90. Although some may think this is steep I beg to differ as it just works as a minimum spend. You use the money you’ve paid for the bed to get your food and drinks so essentially the bed is free – I mean you would spend that money anyway right on a night out?!

Once paying we headed into the pool area but not before stopping for a photo in front of the themed wall with a unicorn ha ha!

Once inside we were shown to our bed which of course wasn’t going to allow all eight of us to lie on. But this wasn’t a problem as it was more of a base. I’ve been to pool parties and not had a bed before and this is a serious pain in the arse… you need somewhere for your gang, even if it’s to dump the stuff – trust me. One thing I loved about being in Dubai as well is I was never worrying about being robbed. This is a problem in Ibiza… you always have to have an eye on your stuff. Too many opportunists about, which is not great when your dancing on a sun bed oblivious to the world drunk!

Now let me tell you the setting is amazing. There is an impressive stage for the DJ to do his thing. You’ve got a jacuzzi and the 39m glass fronted infinity pool surrounded by plenty of sun beds. Then the beach in front of that with a view of the Dubai skyline. Ahh what’s not to love?

Now I know what your thinking… yeah go on but how much were drinks? I was presently surprised to find that a pitcher of cocktail or pimms was around 169AED so that’s approximately £35. This is something you share (unless your a hardcore drinker!) so I thought that was pretty reasonable for where we were. We got through several of these pitchers though ha ha! I don’t think they are that strong to be fair but they were refreshing. Just to mention as well service was good with bar tenders floating about it was easy to grab someone to order and drinks came pretty quick.

After a few hours we decided to order some food. There was a vast choice on the menu so it was hard to choose. Sushi, salads, sandwiches & nibbles! All reasonably priced around 60-80AED so £10 – £16. I settled on a tuna avacado panini and my friend a goats cheese and beetroot salad – which was nicely presented. I like attention to detail…

We were here at the beginning of October so not the busiest time, not all the beds were full. But the vibe was great and more than enough people to converse with. Plenty of room in the pool to swim and chill by the sides or standing pouting if that’s your thing! Which you see a lot of in Dubai, the vibe can be a bit pretentious. However I didn’t let this bother me one bit! I’m more than happy to dance around the pools edge alone in my own little world ha ha! We’re here for a good time not a long time…

The music was mainly house which worked well for a pool party obviously. A saxophonist performed over the tunes throughout the day which I loved. I think this trend started in Ibiza as I’ve seen this in Ocean beach club to but to a better standard dare I say. However he was good and us hen girls had a good dance in the sunshine to him playing on the stage.

A few other things that made the day were giant inflatables in the pool, unicorn cakes brought round by scantily clad men ha ha!unicorn cup holders to float your drinks in and bubble machines blowing. Also they were doing complimentary massages or polish changes which was a lovely touch. Also worth a mention are the bathrooms… fully equipped if you wanted to go from pool party to night club. Dressing tables, hair dryers, straighteners all at vanity tables. I opted for space buns in my hair before leaving the hotel though – up and out the way… once I’m ready I don’t want to spend time in the bathroom preening… I’m only missing the party!

We were at Zero Gravity from about mid day through to the sun setting at around 6:30. The day went pretty quick which is always a sign of having a good time! We actually struggled to spend all the money we had paid for the bed as when we checked we had quite a bit left. We had all had plenty to drink and eat though. If you want a full day of fun is the sunshine that’s good value in a beautiful setting Zero Gravity is the place to be. It’s won several alwards over the last few years too including best beach club and it’s easy to see why… it will certainly be on my list again.

Rachael 🙂 x

Mindful Buying…

Following on from a recent blog post where I mention I’ve been looking into minimalism I decided to tackle a clear out of all things beauty. This included clearing bathroom cabinets, draws and my dressing table. I’m not particularly a beauty junkie but I was actually shocked at how much I unused products I had.

I can’t blame myself for all of them though. You get bought things from time to time that you would just feel ungrateful if you immediately got rid of. You put them into a draw knowing full well you will never use them. STOP. You know what would be better than this… taking them unopened to the charity shop or giving them to a friend.

Also among the discarded was facial products, sun cream (erm when did I buy this?!) hair bobbles (I could have put my hair up in a different bobble for a year!) shampoo and conditioner (tried once and discarded as it didn’t suit my hair) body products (just not a smell I enjoy!) and make up. Loads of make – up! Now when it comes to make up I’m a simple girl. I have an active job so having a face full of it is not on my agenda so why I have bought such items as a contouring kit I will never know! (The one time I used it I looked like a panda).

I shop when I think I deserve a treat. We’ve all been there… when you feel you’ve worked non stop and you just want to get out and buy yourself something. This is the most dangerous type of shopping. This is when you buy things you DON’T need and probably won’t use. So as I stared into the pile of discared things bought mostly on such shopping trips I silently scolded myself.

I decided if it didn’t fit in the dressing table draws or one set of wicker draws it had to go. It was not an easy task as some of the stuff was expensive. Now I know what your thinking… you should have given it away. Slight problem… most the items had that little symbol on the back saying 6 months or 12 months. Now I think these labels are somewhat overlooked (don’t shout at me! I’m no beauty expert, I just use things till they are gone!) but I’m not about to start asking friends ‘hey do you want this eye shadow pallet I think I bought it in 2012… it’s never been used though so should be ok!’

The point here is definitely excessive buying but also not regularly organising my things. I vowed to start buying more mindfully. But what does this even mean? For me I decided it means when I pick up a product I ask myself these 3 questions…

1. Do I need this?

2. Do I love this?

3. Will I use it/wear it more than once?

It’s okay to buy things you don’t need if you really love them. But I concluded it’s not so great if you won’t get good use out of the item. So this is the start of my more mindful buying. I will let you know how it goes ha ha!

When did you last have a clear out? Do you buy mindfully? I must admit there is something therapeutic about clearing stuff out and everything being tidy. Maybe there is some truth in the saying ‘tidy house, tidy mind’.

Rachael x

The Guide to Not Having a Stressful Overwhelming Children’s Party!

Amongst my talents I site party host as one of them. Having a dance school, dance parties was another thing I could offer and make an additional wage from. But if was to think it would be an easy number I would sadly be wrong. Parties are HARD WORK. You have the birthday child plus usually around about 25 more friends. Plus parents, aunties, uncles and grandparents. Time and time again I turn up to parties and within the first 15 minutes the birthday child is overwhelmed. I see tears and tantrums galore. I thought I would put together a little guide to not having a stressful overwhelming party!

INVITES

Gone are the days of written invites… if they are given out they rarely make it home, left in the depths of the school bag or lost in the class room. These days save the stress and email or use Facebook or text to send invites. Another bonus to this is if you aren’t inviting the whole class children who aren’t invited will be left unaware. See below for more on this…

NUMBERS

You might not want to leave people out but such is life… this is a lesson you will learn away so why not start young? Inviting the whole class plus cousins and neighbors etc is going to make for a stressful party. Is your child really close to everyone of those children? The more children the more noise, the less 1:1 attention on your child and a million other kids all vying for the party hosts attention. I’ve done parties for 30+ and it’s wild! I try to encourage people to stop at 20 by charging per head over. Honestly when I do a party for around 18 children I feel like every one of those kids has had a lovely time. The birthday child has been spoiled with attention, isn’t that what you want?

NOISE

A party is noisey… like really noisey. Parents like to chat, it’s a social gathering for them too. They stand about filling each other in on what’s going on in their lives totally oblivious to the party. For the host the noise is sometimes unmanageable. Trying to keep 20+ kids attention over the nattering of all those parents and relatives can be exhausting. Tip: If your renting a room that allows it set chairs out at one end. You party host can work from the other. Do not let the parents stand and chat round the edges… or worse still in the middle of the room. This interferes with the party space and again keeping the kids focused.

CAKE

I see these elaborate cakes time and time again go to waste… it seems many kids don’t even like icing… picking it off! Cakes are for show, I get it. But if your moaning about the cost of your party get the cake from a local supermarket – kids don’t care as long as it has something on they like! Also I’ve seen parents have a birthday cake but not cut it up, this is because they already bought another cake and have it ready in the party bags – genius! No frantic cake cutting at the end and you get to keep the main cake for family and close friends.

FOOD

Platters of food are a waste! Sandwiches get left in favour of goodies. With platters you over cater. The best parties I’ve been to either have hot dogs, pizzas, chips or crisps – easy! If you want to add something healthier cucumber and carrot sticks all the way, these seem to go down well. Alternatively you can buy a cardboard lunch box (like a happy meal box) add a sandwich, maybe some mini sausages, bag of crisis, veg sticks, cake or biscuit. This way you don’t over cater as you have a box for each child.

ENTERTAINMENT

This is what will cost you the most so choose wisely. There are an array of options out there and a great party host that keeps the kids engaged will massively reduce your stress. That said just because your child loves to dance it won’t mean every other child wants to learn a dance. Some may sit out and that’s okay. Games will usually pull all children in so make sure you ask your party host for those to be included.

GAMES

If you are braving doing a party yourself my advice on games is KEEP IT SIMPLE. Traditional party games have died a bit of a death in recent years in favour of more elaborate party themes. But honestly if you child is up to 7 years old in my opinion they still go down a storm. Get the music right and musical bumps, statues, pass the parcel are still firm favourites. I often see piñatas at parties too now which are fun but again if your having a party with 25+ put older kids at the back so they leather the hell out of it last. I’ve seen many teary tantrums when not all party goers have had a go before the sweets have rained down. Also the Hokey Cokey is great to finish on with up to 7yrs. It still raises lots of smiles and laughs as they charge at each other but be sure to have a few adults help hold the circle together and keep them from getting too wild. Limbo always seems to be the highlight at parties I host, kids all ages absolutely love it!

PARTY BAGS

I still watch parents try to hide their reaction as they recoil in horror when their child is handed a party cone or bag FULL of sweets. We live in a world now where parents are seemingly more conscious of what there kids are consuming. Many kids have gluten and dairy allergies too. Check before hand if any of them do. Keep party bags simple – bouncy ball, bubbles, a few chocolate coins, mini bag of haribo and the birthday cake is plenty.

I would like to finish by saying I have made many birthday party mistakes with my 10 year old son. I have been the queen of stressful parties at times! Striving for perfection… we all know where kids are concerned there is no such thing. I hope my guide saves you from party stress, but if it doesn’t… there’s always wine! 😉

Rachael x

I’m Just a Dance Teacher…

Much like stay at home mums do I get the phrase said to me ‘oh your just a dance teacher’ this is of course after asking me what else I do. I know people think I’m just off all day. This couldn’t be further from the truth… Now let me start by telling you that I have my own dance academy. I don’t own a premises but I do rent several buildings to teach in. Not being in one base means I have over 220 pupils at present. That’s a lot of kids! My classes range from 10-18 children each, no more, thank goodness. So that’s 220 pupils I manage, 220 parents.

In any one day I can get up to say 30 texts ‘*insert name* can’t come today’ ‘what’s the song they are dancing to?’ ‘Have you seen *insert name* coat/water bottle/school bag) ‘I have this friend, can she start’ You get my jist… this is time consuming. On top of this there are the new starter enquiries which are constant and worse still the ‘I’ve been on the waiting list a year, how far along am I now?’ Which always make me feel awful. I am also contactable via email, phone and WhatsApp. I have a very active Facebook page too and a relatively new Instagram (that actually I keep failing to post on, is it any wonder why? ha ha!) I play constant catch up replying to people.

I teach 22 classes in total in a week, 8 cheer, the rest dance. I work 6 days out of the seven… yes I just teach after school but all these dances need choreographing. At any one time I can be choreographing over 40 dances if classes are learning more than one routine. That’s ALOT of dance ideas to churn out and remember! I do some on the spot but I do have to take out at least 15 hours a week for choreography. Also the music doesn’t download itself and certainly doesn’t edit itself… one track can take several hours for cheer.

Then there is the admin side. Registers, enrolement forms, emails keeping parents in the loop, slips to hand out in class. Don’t get me started on keeping up with accounts too! Keeping up with UKCA information for the cheerleading. If we’re doing merit awards they all need filling out and medals ordering. It’s not unusual for me to be doing admin till 1am in the morning at times.

Then there is the annual show… for dance this is every May. The show whilst not until May gets prepped by me from January. Not that people realise… it takes me a whole five months of graft to put together that two hour performance you see on stage. Endless planning, letters, staffing – plus chaperone licensing. Costumes… I sort all the costumes… everyone has two. Yup… that’s around 300+ costumes I kid you not. Some just simple t-shirts etc but they all still need sourcing and sorting. Ticket sales, seating plans, lighting plans, props, running orders, dressing room arrangements, rehearsal arrangements… the list is endless.

On top of my usual working six day week I quite often work a Sunday too doing dance parties. Which whilst I love them are probably the hardest of all. You see little *insert name* loves to dance so she’s having a dance party… this doesn’t mean all the other kids do though so you have a hard job keeping everyone interested and involved. Add to this the birthday child might be turning 7 but she’s got several 2-3yr old cousins that are running wild and make sure you bring your loudest voice because your not only shouting over the 25 party kids also the chatting parents. I’m not gonna lie… after a party wine usually follows ha ha!

Some weekends we enter cheer competitions which takes over the whole day (usually a Sunday) these take a lot of preparation for. Through the summer months we sometimes dance and cheer at local carnivals.

Like many kids activities I stop for school holidays… ahhh rest time! Ermmm no… if I’m not working I don’t get paid and whilst I do have some school holiday time to myself I also run holiday club to keep my wages coming in. This consists of me entertaining up to 25 kids all day. Dance, crafts, sports, games etc. I’m paid to play, I love it but this all needs planning.

Now all this sounds like I’m moaning about my job… but I’m not. I absolutely love it! Not so much the admin side as the actual creative side but I live to dance. Dance is life for me and without it I would be half a person. I am blessed to teach so many children and be part of their lives… I am grateful every day for that. I don’t go to work… I go to dance! I like to think of us as one big dance family. I pride myself on actually knowing the children as well as just teaching them. I like to know what’s going on in their lives and hear about what they’ve been up to (Some of the stories I hear are hilarious – I know everything about you parents ha ha!)

But no… I’m not just a dance teacher… I’m a business owner, marketing expert, girl boss, choreographer, administrator, accountant, stylist and events planner… does that that cover it?… and you know what… I wouldn’t have it any other way 💕

Rachael x