Three Confessions of a Happy Housewife!

We all need a bit of encouragement, inspiration and motivation so here are my top three happy housewife confessions!....

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1. I confess, I don't iron! Scandalous but true. Try washing on the lowest spin cycle then removing anything you would usually iron immediately after the spin cycle has finished and hang it on a padded hanger. You can then set the rest of the load to spin again on a higher rpm. That's why I don't iron. (that, and consciously purchasing clothing with elastane or synthetic fibres, less than 100% cotton content and lots of fabric conditioner!!!)

2. I confess, I don't cook every night. Welcome to the Ready Meal Revolution! Yes, I know, it's hard to believe but at least twice I week Mr. Redressing heats up a ready meal for the 2 of us and it's delicious! Look out for offers on readies (M&S Meals are some of the best) and budget accordingly on your weekly shopping funds. Removes hassle, is speedy and fortunately the options have moved on from Shepherds Pie or Lasagna! If cooking is a housewifely bug-bear let yourself off with a pre-prepared meal once in a while (if you don't already!)

3. I confess, I don't drink instant coffee. Yes, I am a coffee snob! I have found, 3 children later, that I am in need of a rather large and rather good quality cup of coffee to start my day. I take some time with this particular cup of coffee as it's the first real chance I get to look at my 'to do list'; assess the days requirements and determine realistically just how much of the said list will in fact get done! If this is the time in my day to plan strategically, be decisive, effective and efficient then I am sure as heck not going to do that over a cup of instant coffee! I also adore the smell of fresh coffee; have a clever little machine which keeps the pot hot for a couple of hours and also have low blood pressure so can take the caffeine induced palpitations hit!!!! In line with a well known hair care brand, I do feel that I am 'worth it' and therefore my coffee reflects my values. Nectar.

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The best housewifely tip I can pass on is to value yourself and by doing so, validate what you do. Remeber dolls, you are gorgeous, inside and out!
               xXx

The Re-Script workshop: D is for....

Today's re-script workshop challenge is a really exciting and easy one! Honestly, as D is for Dresses!
As women who want inner strength and outer gorgeousness, we can often end up falling victim to fast-fashion, fashion fads and frankly, just bad buys. Items which appear to be a bargain, but which in fact are ill fitting, don't go with anything and will inevitable end up in the back of your wardrobe until they hit the eBay pile.

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Your challenge for today is to ensure that your inner strength is indeed reflected in your outer gorgeousness by culling that wardrobe and making sure that said wardrobe contains at least one dress!
Dresses are fabulous- no matter what your shape, style or lifestyle there is a dress to suit you and you really do need to be wearing it! Apart from being thoroughly stylish, adaptable and easy to dress up or style down, a dress is your best friend simply because it is a single garment. Gone are the daily dilemmas surrounding what to wear. You have the fab jeans but no suitable top, or you have a great shirt but your skirt isn't quite right. Enter, the dress. One item which you can quickly pull on, layer up with a cardi, warm up with tights, chill out with sandals or notch up with high heels. If you don't have a dress in your newly culled wardrobe then I urge you to get one. Try on some of a friends, find out about your bodyshape and see if you can find one to suit you, but nothing will give you that feeling of ultra-outer gorgeousness than a dress.

Don't forget, you can send your unwanted clothing off to the local Chazza, recycle things by giving them to your friends and even keep pieces with cool fabrics for future make do and mend projects. Inner strength is our goal and it includes outer beauty so get culling and make sure you own that 'I look amazing' dress!
Do let me know how you get on girls!
                      x

*If you need a great source for that fab frock pop in to Redressing!

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

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

B is for balance.
Thank you to those of you who have already signed up for the Re-Script workshop! It's wonderful to have you on board and I hope that some of my own journey will be of benefit to you and that you can share how you're progressing with the various challenges..

Most of today's workshop comes out of a post I wrote a little while ago when I was trying to find some balance in my life.

Being a woman can be hard. Add in being a worker, Mother, Sister, Wife, Daughter, it can get harder. Being 'Superwoman' is frankly not achievable nor is it desirable. As women we are built to carry a lot and we tend to carry things emotionally from a deep place inside. You could almost say we carry things 'hysterically'; meaning from the Uterus; deep deep down, from that safe place of strength, life and nurture. (Not from a place of emotional instability!) Carrying these things is often not really the problem, it's what the weight of them does to us and knowing how to handle that weight and then put them down successfully.
Finding balance is all about knowing what we are authorised to carry and knowing when to put some of these weights down.

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Today's interactive challenge is to simply write down the things in your life which you feel you carry as weights. This might be your family; your job; your need to be needed; elderly parents; your fears for your children's future. Have a good look at the list. Are there things there which you simply don't need to carry anymore? If so, strike them off! For the other things, what needs to happen in order for you to have balance in these things? Remember, your world is unique and different to every single other woman so no comparisons allowed!
For some people, like I found, building a more obvious structure into my week helped move some of that feeling of being overwhelmed when I thought of all the 'weights' in my world. This might work for you. Or you might need something else. Take some time in the next few weeks to name your weights; only then will you know the right way to carry them so that they don't have the opportunity to crush you.

If you'd like to join the Re-Script workshop you can add your name here. Simply scroll to the bottom of the page and click the 'you're next' linky and add your name- no further details required (unless you want to!)

Let us know how you got on if you'd like to
                     X

The Re-Script Workshop: A is for.....

Welcome to the first post in the Re-Script Workshops!

.....A is for Attitude.... a Positive one at that!

Before we begin our journey let me explain why this journey is such an important one for me. I believe that all women are beautiful. Every. Single. One. We are designed to be able, capable and beautiful. Sometimes, life tries to take over. We get busy at work; we have children who need us; we get tired with life and we forget. We forget to remember that we are strong. We forget to remember that we are beautiful. We forget to remember that we have a purpose, a destiny, a choice. Today's post is our first attempt to re-script that lack of remembrance and to begin to change our attitude towards ourselves so here's your challenge. Take a piece of paper and a pen. Write down 5 things you really like about yourself. Things you really like. Write them in really large letters! Use the kids glittery gel pens, whatever you have to hand, but write them down big enough for you to read them easily. If 5 is just too many then start with 3. If you have more than 5 then that's great. Now write them down. These are your new script. This is going to become the way you think, talk, hear things and respond to others when it comes to your view of yourself. Stick them up somewhere you can see them. If you aren't ready for others to see them them stick them to the inside of your knicker drawer- but stick them somewhere you can see them  and read them. Everyday, read them. Know them. Own them. This is you. Welcome to the re-script workshop.

If you'd like to share how you feel within this challenge I'd love to encourage you. If you already have a positive attitude towards yourself and love who you are then share your journey with us. Become a member of the Re-Script workshop here or share your thoughts in a comment post.

So you want to be Self-Employed? Hints & Tips #4- Branding and Image

Image & Branding- definitely two key buzz word in business speak! But what do they mean?!

 When you start a small business you are relatively unknown. A small fish in a big pond, especially if your business is up against others who are trying to achieve the same results, tap into the same markets or who are simply cheaper than you are. The only way to assert your business is to thrust yourself out there into the world of Social Media. Whether you like Face Book, Twitter, My Space or any of the other social media platforms available, the key issue is how you brand yourself. It's vital that you understand before you begin that as a small business or as a self-employed outfit, that you are your business. This way you can begin to establish some parameters for how you market yourself and to whom!

Firstly, you need to know the Unique Selling Point of your business and who constitutes your target market and go out there armed with both pieces of information together. Your brand has an identity so who you follow on Twitter for example should be those who reflect the same ethos, values and principles as your business which may not be the same group of individuals you personally may choose to follow. You have to know the difference! Everything you touch, post, comment on, blog about or tweet has to be in line with your business platform so ensure that it is. One thing that is imperative however is that you follow your client base/customers as you want to keep them in the loop about your business but also because real communication is a two way street. No-one wants to hear your great sales forecasts alone- they also want to know about you as a person and why you do what you do. When you own, run, manage and finance a small business, you absolutely have to understand communication etiquette correctly. Don't fall into the social media hole of trying to be someone you're not (especially on Twitter), its false and frankly quite annoying! If you believe in yourself and your business then your values are what communicates and sells what you have to offer, not a phony who will ultimately be found out.

Does your business's social media activity fully represent your brand and your image? I Hope so.
Don't forget to sign up for the "Re-Script Workshops" here too!

Can dressing up stop you feeling down? Introducing 'The Re-Script Workshop- an A-Z to being inwardly strong and outwardly gorgeous.'.

People often ask me if I'm going out somewhere nice, am I off to a party or perhaps a 40s theme night?! More often than not I'm going to pick up my kids, run to the supermarket, bank cheques from work or other slightly less exciting errands! I have made a decision to dress everyday as if I am 'going out' because, quite simply, why shouldn't I look my best and feel good about myself everyday?

 It's not as though I don't go out but I don't save certain clothes for when I do go out. I dress the same way pretty much everyday no matter what's on the agenda.
I've chosen to do this for several reasons. The first one being because I want to. I love getting dressed up, I enjoy choosing vintage inspired outfits to put together; recreating a look of yesteryear and feeling that I am worth bothering about quite frankly. My decision to dress up is because I see no reason not to. OK, it's a little easier for me as my children are all now school age so I'm not crawling around on my hands and knees anymore but even when I was I simply refused to become a 'Frumpy-Mummy'.

Rebeccah Jolley

Personally I place far more value on what is inside of a person than their external or outward appearance, yet within this I firmly believe what you wear on the outside really does say something about your internal value system. In fact I think I would go as far as to say that dressing up can stop you feeling down as taking pride in your appearance, making the very best of what you've got, dressing for yourself first yet outwardly displaying inner values really can make you feel good. I also believe, like Audrey that the prettiest girls are the happiest girls, and know that taking pride in yourself certainly makes you happy in a way that pulling on a pair of yesterdays jeans and any old top and leaving the house in a rush only to bump into someone you would have rather bumped into wearing something slightly more thought through, may not!

Audrey Hepburn- Gorgeous and Glamorous

Being Gorgeous and Glamorous is most definitely possible. If I can manage it with a husband, 3 kids, my own business, a women's mentoring group, a house to run and a whole host of other time commitments, then we all can! It's more about a change in attitude than anything else. It's about placing value on yourself because you know that this places value on everything else you touch and all will benefit.

Because this is so important to me right now in a world which is, quite frankly, confused by feminism, that alongside my regular posts I'm going to devote a series of workshop style blog posts to it. Simply entitled  "The Re-script Workshop: An A-Z of being inwardly strong and outwardly gorgeous."
The whole purpose behind the Re-script Workshop is to give you the opportunity to discover for yourselves some of the things I have found and applied in order to re-script and re-discover internal strength and its external expression. I really hope that what I can share will help other women to become gorgeous and glamorous ladies, both inside and out. My hope is that this 26 part set of workshops will result in an amazing journey together with plenty of opportunities for you to join in, try out new things, share in the journey and re-script your sense of yourself. After all, we are all gorgeous inside and out! I do hope you will join us.

X

Get your Frocks on, Get your Frocks on Honey!

It's events season again at Redressing- those Friday Night Glam-Fests where frocks are tried and  admired; new looks discovered and body shape sussed and you can really refresh the way you dress.
These are just a few of my all time favs!

Don't forget- at a Redressing event or a Pop-In-And-Shop there is never any obligation to buy; rather a desire to refresh the way you dress, add some vintage glamour and style and know that you are gorgeous, inside and out!
If you fancy hosting an event or know someone who does, drop me a line!

(Oh and the hostess receives a free colour analysis or £10 dress voucher too!)
                                   x