Willow & Wild Box Subscription - review

We recently received a subscription box from Willow & Wild Box to review.  The boxes were founded by local Mum Roz with the idea to share her passion for teaching her kids about planting and growing seeds.  Read more about the concept here, it's about making it easy for parents to enjoy spending this time with their kids which I love and appreciate as a busy working Mum with two of them keeping me on my toes!  They're for kids aged 3-8 and inspired by nature, designed to get the kids interested in cooking, crafts, outdoor adventures and conservation, learning and having fun.

Holidaying with twins in Antalya, Turkey

For our recent holiday to Turkey we had a few specifications, the main one being a kids club which would take children from age three.  (It turns out most of them are form age four but it is possible to find them for three year olds, although it's not always easy to find out this information!)  We also wanted a bit of luxury, we needed it after the hard work - Nik's exam study and my PND flare up and a few months of extra hard work plus it had been almost 2 years since our last holiday so we decided to spend a decent amount on a really great trip.

Holiday Fashion Finds, my love for maxis is back!

It's a while since I wore my once trademark maxi dress/skirt.  They're just not practical for running around with two kids whom I may potentially have to carry (stairs and maxis require extra hands so you don't trip) or crawling around on the floor.  Plus I just haven't felt like making much of an effort on how I looked since the start of this year (when my PND got bad and eventually diagnosed).  However, I'm feeling more like me again and that called for less of the black vest and jeans outfits and injecting some colour and "me" back into my wardrobe.

Nik may be a little distressed at the many parcels which have been arriving lately but I'm calming down now I have a new colourful selection of clothes that fit me properly since I have been a bit too relaxed on the old healthy front.  I decided there was no point waiting and waiting for the time I feel good enough to do something about fitting back into my old clothes and actually started to make myself feel better in what I can currently wear instead!  So, retail therapy, obvs.  After all, since working like a dog for a couple of months, I had some bonus cash as a result (not sure it was worth the stress but I may as well enjoy it now)!

I've found a few great bargains among some more expensive options (I finally see what the fuss is all about when it comes to Boden!) and will share a few of my finds below.

First of all, I have finally invested in a couple of jumpsuits.  A trend I have hitherto avoided due to never finding one that worked with my shape/height - no one wants a supposedly comfy outfit cutting into the crotch when they sit down, nor being tight over my wider hips and showing off curves in a less than flattering way.  It just wasn't the trend for me, even though I often admired it on others, although I always wondered if it was too much of a faff when toileting anyway!  Luckily I've finally found not one but two jumpsuits I really love and actually suit me!  One is from George at Asda (£25 - now sold out) and the other from Apricot (£29).  They both have wide legs and cinch in at the waist (but without making my larger post-baby belly more pronounced, damn you diastasis recti!) and the Apricot one has wrap over trousers which makes it even more flattering and nice and cool as the waft open as you walk.  (Sometimes a little too much I discovered as my entire thigh up to my pants started to be revealed recently!!  I have invested in some legging shorts with lace hem to wear underneath now!)

Catching Up!

Wow, it's all busy, busy, busy again!  The summer holiday starts on Tuesday and I don't feel ready for it at all!  I thought I'd write a quick summary of the last few weeks before I start bombarding you with posts I want to share in my next Uckfield FM chat next Thursday (we had to change this month's from the 1st to the 3rd Thursday due to various holidays).

So, what is keeping me so busy?  We had our amazing trip away in Turkey and I am DEFINITELY going to be writing more about that - I always struggle to post about our holidays because I'm usually knackered when we get back but this time I was away again the very next day for a photography workshop I booked months back!  That was amazing too and has me all fired up and making plans for my Bexphoto business, exciting times ahead!  Nik is back into study mode already as he passed his last big exam, whoop, so proud, but that means part 2 is imminent (September) so I'm trying to prepare for constant solo parenting again without getting into such a mental mess like I did last time!  My CBT starts tomorrow to help me learn coping techniques for the things that cause me anxiety and make it difficult for me to cope so hopefully that will make a difference and at least work has settled down to a more comfortable pace so I'm happy there again now.