End of term!.... Juggling working from home & holidays well

I can't believe it's the end of the school year already! My, how quickly has that flown by. Now it's summer holidays time, well, for my children anyway.

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Juggling work and school holidays is never very easy so here's my advice on managing both well.


1. Plan your time well. If you are self employed like me, you can't always give much time to work during long school holidays so you have to plan your time well. I find, organising the 6 week stretch into distinctive weeks really helpful and making sure my 3 children know what's going on even more so.

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2. Balance work & play. I know each job is very different and has different requirements but I find splitting up each week so that I have given the right amounts of time to the needs of my business and of my children is imperative. There are some jobs I can get done before the end of this week, so I'm busily trying to accomplish as much as possible before the holidays actually start, but there are also plenty of things which need to happen week in week out. Use everything at your disposal to get as much done as possible before you have your children at home- scheduling your tweets, website updates and blogs helps and try to switch off completely on some days if you can!

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3. Plan play dates in advance. Set up play dates so your children are out at the same time as one another on certain days then return the favour on a day where you have less to do. Get those dates in the diary NOW! Last minute never works well if you have more than one child you need to plan for. Involve your kids in who they would like to see; their ownership of the process will stop them feeling 'pushed out' so that you can 'get on'.

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4. Decide as a family what 'events' or 'activities' you'd all like to do (if you having a staycation) and plan those in first, then plan work around them so everyone knows you have prioritised family times and then make sure they actually happen- that may mean ordering tickets now; sorting travel arrangements or paying for stuff upfront so whatever you all decide, just make sure it happens. We use a big roll of lining paper and literally write out every day so everyone knows just what's going on when.

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5. Enjoy it! Children grow up fast. In the immortal words of Ferris Beuller "If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it".

Have a great summer whatever you are up to!.....
                             x

The Re-Script Workshop. C is for....

Hello lovelies- it's been great to have you in the re-script journey so far! Today's encouragement towards inner strength and outer gorgeousness is all about connectivity. Who are your primary connections in life and just how much do you value them?

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There is a saying among my community that we are 'not brilliant, but connected'. In other words, there are many things we cannot do on our own but because we are part of a wider network we can access the strength and resources of one another. This is true when it comes to inner strength; you have to know that we are not designed to operate alone; we are designed to be part of community and to benefit from this, this is part of what enables us to have inner strength and for many of us, that's our best friends.

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Today's challenge is to write to your best friends. Tell them why they are invaluable to you and your pursuit of inner strength. Encourage them as to why their presence in your world helps keep you strong and that they are truly valued. It's their friendship and honesty that enables you to look gorgeous and not commit some fashion faux-pas! It's the knowledge that they are and will always be there for you that gives you the strength when you most need it. I know they will appreciate it.
Do let us know how you get on. Remember, we are not brilliant, but connected!
Have a great week.
            x

Vintage 1950s Agatha Christie Style! A visit to Greenway.

While on our hols in glorious Devon we visited 'Greenway', the summer holiday home of Agatha Christie and her family from 1930. The house was then given to the National Trust on the death of her daughter and was opened in 2009.

View from the gardens of the river Dart

The property is built on a steep hillside and the gardens have been tiered with amazing flora & fauna (I've always wanted to write that!!), including lots of varieties of Magnolia tree, Camellia, Rhododendron and even a few Eucalyptus. My 10 year old was our family photographer and did an amazing job of it!

NT Welcome sign!

The house itself was bought in the 30s by Agatha and her second husband Max Mallowan. The National Trust have set it up more or less as it would have been in the 1950s with lots of family photos, souvenirs from the couples many travels and family paraphernalia. Agatha's bedroom has an amazing chest of drawers originally from Damascus! (complete with woodworm apparently until it was removed after Agatha could hear scratchings coming from it at night!!)

Greenway House

We took a family picnic (although it does boast not one but 2 tea shops!), and enjoyed an unusually warm afternoon moseying around the grounds. I wore my Heyday 1940s swing trousers as they are so my go-to outfit for dodgy weather this Spring! (Think I need a suitably vintage alternative to the Ikea bag though?!)

Picnic time

The Girls!

As a family we do love the National Trust; how amazing to have so much of our history made available to us and future generations to enjoy; and how wonderful of these great houses original owners to bequeath their own heritage for the benefit of others- I can see so many principles of generational transfer in that; passing on ideals, standards and values to future generations and the recognition that however beautiful, amazing and enormous houses are, at the end of the day they're just 'stuff'! People should never be remembered for where they lived or even what they did, but rather who they were and what motivated them.

What would you be remembered for?!

Here's a few more photos......

The house from the upper terraces

Views across the river

And even a retro 1950s style Agatha Christie tour bus to take you from the nearby village!

If you get the chance to join the NT or visit one of their historic house, parks or gardens, just think again... what will you be remembered for?!

                       x