AD / LIFE IN LOCKDOWN DURING COVID

It’s been a whole year now since the world went into absolute turmoil and we are finally coming out of it slowly but surely, and what a rollercoaster this year has been.

AD / WHAT I WORE THIS WEEK #3 | FEMME LUXE

Another what I wore this week and the weather has definitely been hit and miss, we have had all sort this past week, it’s been madness for sure .

AD / THE ADVENTURES OF PADDINGTON MAGAZINE | REVIEW

 Paddington  bear has been a love in this house for many years . Kadiann use to love him when she was little and she will be 18 next month , I love how the children’s childhood favourites have been passed on down. 

AD / 5 SURPRISE FAIRY UNICORN MYSTERY CAPSULES | ARE YOU READY FOR NATIONAL UNICORN DAY?

 Unicorns are definitely a firm favourite in this house , I mean come on , we’re talking unicorns here! ,the best mythical creature going :) 

 

EASTER WEEKEND

The half term definitely couldn’t of come quick enough, we’ve all been absolutely exhausted and ready for a break!. Getting back into the swing of things was definitely a challenge and we ended up with isolation, tonsillitis and a house full of cold.

HOW TO DAMP PROOF YOUR HOME | COLLABORATION

 If you have followed me for a while then you will know we have been on a massive journey in the last few houses we have lived in with damp.

We also vlogged some of our journey and I actually got really poorly because of it when being pregnant with Nila , and it was such a horrible experience.

Fast forward a few years later , and we are now in our forever home , damp free and it is definitely a breath of fresh air.

I wanted to share some tips with you on how to damp proof your home that we have tried and tested and have made such a difference .

First you need to figure out which type of damp you are working with , yes there is more than just one . 

RISING DAMP

 This is known for most of us and most will of had it at some point. Almost like it feels wet in the air , and you might notice the walls looking wet ,this is usually linked with drying clothes on the radiators.

WHAT WILL HELP

Getting a clothes horse to dry your clothes on rather than the actual radiator makes such a different , also opening the windows in the room you are drying your clothes in will massively help.

CONDENSATION 

Condensation is quite a common one and we’ve had it in most of our homes. Poor ventilation is normally the cause of this and we actually had no air vents in some of the rooms in our last home which made it even worse .

WHAT WILL HELP

Investing in a humidifier was an absolute god send for us . It collects all the moisture out of the air and you just empty it when it’s full. If you can’t afford one then leaving a window open a tiny bit does help along with leaving doors open rather than shutting them all ,let’s the air circulate through better.

These are just a few damp issues we have had and some of our solutions that helped us along the way to a damp free home .

DBI have recently wrote an article of the different types of damp in great detail , why they occurr and all the different solutions to fix them . 

If you’ve got any tips when it comes to damp proofing your home then do share .

3 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD LEARN THE PIANO | COLLABORATION

I have always loved singing and playing musical instruments from a young age , ever since music lessons in school, I definitely think I got the feel for music then ,and ever since it’s been a passion of mine.

A fun fact about me is I can actually play quite a few instruments- the drums , guitar and the piano.

I can remember always wanting to go round  a particular friends house after school as her mum had the most amazing piano in their dining room and she always let me practice on it .

Piano definitely took me to a calmer place when I was a teenager , the notes just fell off of your fingers and you really get drawn in. Piano is such a lovely thing to be able to play and Art of the Country have some great learning tips on their site to help beginners get started.

I’ve got 3 reasons why you should learn to play :)

STRESS RELIEVER 

playing the piano is an amazing stress reliever. Anxiety played a big part in my childhood and playing the piano really did release a lot of it and it forces you to focus on what you are playing rather than what is bothering you.

YOU CAN TRY BEFORE YOU BUY 

Pianos aren’t the cheapest of musical equipments so it’s lovely to see that this paints store is one of London’s oldest and well established piano stores are still offering long term loan services, which is amazing .

For people who aren’t quite ready to full commit to a big purchase or just haven’t got the money , loaning one is a fantastic idea.

They also have a piano advice section on their website, so if you had any questions or wanted to know something then definitely check it out as there is lots of information on there :)

GAIN SELF CONFIDENCE 

Self confidence in this day and age can be so fragile can’t it?. We often doubt ourselves all the time and feel like we’re not good enough.

Creating your own music and hearing it played aloud , especially in front of friends and family is so rewarding and a massive confidence booster.

Starting from scratch and coming up with a beautiful piece of music after putting so much effort in is so satisfying and really does make you so proud of yourself , it really does build up that self confidence and belief in yourself .

I’d love to know if you can play the piano or if you ever played one and if so what is your favourite piece to play? Mine is definitely Celine Dion , my heart will go on .