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Fragrance, comfort and candlelight

Fragrance, comfort and candlelight: preparing your home for Christmas

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I’ve mentioned before that I’m completely obsessed with the concept of hygge (n): a Danish word that conveys domestic cosiness and warmth. As far as I’m concerned, once the temperature drops, the idea of cosiness and a feeling of wellbeing is exactly what we all need. I find a bit of nesting - which usually involves PJs, a favourite book and some frothy hot chocolate - really comforting. Happily, the lovely chaps at M&S let me loose in their home department to choose a few essentials that will bring fragrance, comfort and candlelight to your home, to put you in the perfect frame of mind for Christmas.

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The Christmas gift guide: beautiful and useful

The Christmas gift guide: beautiful and useful

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Here goes, then, with my first Christmas gift guide of the season. I’m so excited! Get the Bublé on! And - bearing in mind my winter self care promises - I’m going to stay true to myself and say - here goes - Christmas pressies can be horrendous. Oh, come on now, we’ve all been there: ugly jumper that you’ve gone ‘oooh, lovely!’ and worn religiously even though you hate it because you didn’t want to upset the giver, useless gadgets that you never used and DVDs when you haven’t owned a player since you got Sky Cinema years ago. I say it every year, but even when we’re embracing our inner William Morrises - I’m paraphrasing here - and having (or giving) nothing that we don’t know to be useful or believe to be beautiful, we need to remember that our idea of beautiful might be different to someone else’s. I’ve come up with a few ways to overcome the gift dilemma and I’ve teamed up with M&S to give you my top picks. Here goes, then… Read more

Managing your finances when your kids come back from uni

Boomerang Kids: managing your finances when your kids bounce back from uni

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I don’t know about you, but I didn’t go to university (it was free then, too!), so it was quite a steep learning curve when Sam, and then Charlie, went off to uni. There’s so much to think about, from accommodation to finances, but one of the things we never really considered was what would happen when they came home again after graduating. I’ve heard of parents turning the spare room into a gym as soon as their offspring were out the door, but we’ve always made it really clear to our kids that this is their home forever. The thing is, though, it’s an expensive old business, in fact, new research from Skipton Building Society has found that 2.7 million parents in the UK are supporting their grown-up children into later life. But what does this mean for your own finances? Can you help out your kids while still saving for yourself and planning for your own future? And how do you readjust as a household full of adults? Skipton asked me for my managing your finances when your kids bounce back from uni, so here are my top tips:

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new high street homeware from River Island

Weekend wishlist: new high street homeware from River Island

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If you’ve been on Instagram recently, you’re bound to have seen all the home bloggers talking about River Island’s new homeware range. I’ll be honest, a lot of it is a bit, well, loud for me. In particular, some of the Baby Doll and Electric Opulence collections are a bit bright, although, as with all things for the home, I guess it’s about mixing them in with the things you already have rather than buying the entire Baby Doll range, which would probably be a bit pink, fluffy and headache-inducing. It’s a small collection, mainly featuring home accessories like candles, rugs, decorative items and cushions, but it seems really great quality. I was reading an article recently (I think it was Alex at The Frugality) discussing the lack of decent, affordable, stylish furniture, so this new homeware from River Island is a brilliant start. Let’s hope the range expands into bigger items before too long. Read more

Belvoir rhubarb and apple crumble

Delicious, autumnal rhubarb and apple crumble

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One of the best things about autumn for me is getting back into baking proper roast dinners and, of course, delicious desserts (any excuse to slather a load of custard onto something). I’m an enthusiastic forager too - the blackberries have been amazing this year (it’s also bittersweet, as it’s the first year I haven’t been able to help myself to the wonderful apples from my Dad’s garden). Still, there are loads of apples around (either to be scrumped or purchased) so it’s the perfect time of year to get baking. To take advantage of this bumper crop, and celebrate this most gorgeous of seasons, I’ve teamed up with the lovely Belvoir Fruit Farms to create a comforting crumble, and have given it some extra zing and a really interesting touch of cardamom, by using Belvoir’s Rhubarb and Apple Pressé. I adore crumble - what’s not to love about sweet, buttery, crumbly topping lavished over delicious sweet-sour fruit?

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Weekend wishlist: home essentials for university with M&S - charcoal throw modelled by Lyra

Weekend wishlist: home essentials for university with M&S

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It’s that time again *sniff*. This time last year we were shopping to furnish Charlie’s first university room and it was honestly such a hard thing to do. The house seemed so empty and the dog sulked for about two weeks (Charlie’s her favourite). I know it’s always a bit emotional when the kids go back to school: the little ones start in reception when you still feel like they’re your baby, and the bigger ones seem so tiny when they start secondary school. And then it seems like seconds later and you’re saying goodbye to a kid who’s off to uni and it’s pretty darn hard. This year, he’s moving into his own flat with a couple of friends (how can this be possible? He was only just starting school, like, yesterday!), so we’ve been on the hunt for reasonably priced, good quality home essentials for university living, and where better to start than good old M&S? Read more

The positive life plan: a September life audit

The positive life plan: a September life audit

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Don’t you just adore September? It has such a lovely fresh start feel about it: new stationery, new uniform and of course the promise of crunchy autumn leaves, roast dinners and blackberry and apple crumble… You might have seen that I wrote recently about some of the lessons I’d learned after 12 years of blogging. I made a mental note at the time to revisit my positive life plan and update a few of the categories, because I feel like I’ve been making quite a few changes recently, both with my work, my health, and my general outlook on life. If you’ve never come across the positive life plan before, it’s a chilled out way to perform a bit of a positive life edit, where you can take stock, set goals, record your hopes and dreams, then keep referring back and updating to keep track of your progress. I find it hugely helpful, so it thought it was about time for a September life audit. Here goes, then:

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Our tips for making the leap to university (copyright vanessachampion.co.uk)

Our tips for making the leap to university

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This time last year, we were just beginning to get everything ready for Charlie to go to university. He was delighted to be offered a place at Leicester, and we were slowly ticking off items from the ‘to do’ list, from sorting out a student bank account, to shopping for bedlinen and essentials for his new uni accommodation. Making the leap from living at home is a huge undertaking and can be a really stressful time for even the most confident teenager. Student accommodation provider, Unite Students has recently released The Leap – a report about the challenges involved in making the transition to uni, and providing tips for making the leap to university from a range of experts, parents and students.

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The best vanilla cupcake recipe

The best vanilla cupcake recipe to celebrate 12 years of blogging

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12 years, though. 12 whole years! I can’t actually believe it’s been that long since I sat at my enormous, clunky computer in that little house down a long drive in County Dublin and listened to it making that weird, warbly dial-up sound connecting to our bloody awful internet connection. They say the journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step and for me, my journey really began when I started writing down my thoughts about moving our young family to Ireland. This led on to being a part of the very early blogging community in Ireland, and from there - well, you know the rest! And what better way to celebrate with you than with cake and sprinkles, and to give you, dearest reader, the most precious of gifts: the best vanilla cupcake recipe I own!

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Top tips for buying and selling on Gumtree

Top tips for buying and selling on Gumtree

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If you’re a regular reader, you’ll know that I’m incredibly interested in sustainability. Whether that means committing to preserving our natural resources and lessening our individual environmental impact by eating less meat, doing my bit to save our planet by working towards ditching the single use plastics (sorry, favourite takeaway, your plastic containers mean that we won’t use you), or just committing to reusing and recycling as much as possible in our day to day family life and trying to reduce the amount of waste we create. Of course, one of the best ways to work towards zero waste is to sell your unwanted items, be they clothes, furniture, cars, or anything else, online. It’s a great way to save money and then, of course, you can purchase something to replace it feeling completely guilt-free. It’s a win/win way to live more sustainably. I wish I’d known then what I know now, though. I’m definitely going to give it a go a lot more often, and it’s all thanks to some top tips for buying and selling on Gumtree that I’ve learned.

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10 ways to live a more sustainable life

Weekend wishlist: 10 ways to live a more sustainable life

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Whenever I’m away on a cruise ship, the saddest thing for me is seeing all the plastic floating in the sea. I think as a whole, the cruise industry needs to work much harder to become more sustainable and eco-conscious. This goes for the airline industry too, whose overuse of plastic cups, bottles and straws always frustrates me on flights. On a recent cruise I was on, a plastic bottle of water was handed to each passenger on disembarkation at every port, and my request to refill my reusable water bottle at the bar was refused. When I persisted, the barman opened aplastic bottle of water and poured it into mine. Hmmmm. So what can we do to live more sustainably? Well of course, we can recycle as much as possible (I spend my life fishing recycling out of the bin because the boys seem incapable of grasping what’s recyclable), but I’d like to go further and have been doing a bit of research about the sorts of things that are available. So for this week’s wishlist, I’ve gathered 10 ways to live a more sustainable life:

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Shades of granite and khaki for the kitchen

Shades of granite and khaki for the kitchen

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You know Mr E, he loves a bit of upcycling. Now the wall has been taking down between the kitchen and the dining room, I’ve obviously lost all the kitchen cupboards that were on that wall. Hence, I’m always complaining about not having enough storage in the kitchen, so wasn’t at all surprised when he appeared one night with his latest Ebay find: a tall, pine unit with a cupboard and lots of shelves. It looked absolutely perfect, the only problem was that it was a pretty hideous shade of orange. As we discussed colours, I mentioned that I’d seen some really dark grey interior finishes recently, and that I really wanted shades of granite and khaki for the kitchen, with accents of copper that have been dominating my Pinterest for a while now.

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Sainsbury's new Supper Club range

Staying INin with The Supper Club range, new from Sainsbury’s

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Picture the scene: it’s Friday night, we’ve both had a hectic week and we’re slumped, finally, in front of the TV, bra off (me), joggers on (him), and both boys out with friends. It’s the perfect opportunity for us to head out to dinner together, just the two of us. We discuss options and various restaurants we quite fancy, but it would mean getting dressed and putting make up on and driving/taxis and whatever and there’s a good film we both fancy on the telly, and delicious wine in the rack. What to do? We don’t have the luxury of many takeaways that deliver here, plus that option can be expensive (and frankly not always great), and although I love to cook, sometimes the thought of getting creative in the kitchen when I just want to chat and sip wine with Jim while we catch up after a busy week means I’d love an easier, but still delicious alternative. This week we’ve been trying The Supper Club range, a collection of premium luxury ready meals new to Sainsbury’s, so we popped the Red Thai Chicken Curry in the oven instead.

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Fresh new interior pieces from M&S

Weekend wishlist: fresh new interior pieces from M&S

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Are we allowed to talk about spring yet? I’m SO ready. I’m one of those people who loves to have something to look forward to, and at the moment, it’s new buds on the trees, longer days, beams of sunlight shining through the window, and maybe even a little bit of spring cleaning. To inspire us, I’ve chosen a few fresh new interior pieces from M&S in a pretty palette of blue and white, which should help to cheer up even the most miserable of January mornings!

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Scandi home update

Weekend wishlist: Scandi inspired home updates

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Welcome to the first weekend wishlist of 2018! I’m in a positive frame of mind at the moment, and I have loads of plans for updating our home. I want to create a cosy, calm home that’s a retreat for us all - first order of the day will be a massive declutter (that goes for my wardrobe too - more of this later), and then maybe a fresh coat of paint (I’m thinking about saying goodbye to the blue wall in the kitchen and replacing it with a more stylish Scandi-inspired grey), as well as repainting the chairs in more muted tones. I want our home to be enhanced with fresh greenery, pale wood, clean lines, soft textures and elegant functional furniture (I’m after a perfect, mid-century inspired chair for an empty corner in the lounge at the moment). Here are a few of the Scandi inspired home updates that I’ve got in mind:

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My top tips and recipes for Christmas dinner and beyond

My top tips and recipes for Christmas dinner and beyond

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I really enjoy writing this round-up post - traditionally my last one before Christmas. I probably say more or less the same thing every year (don’t panic! It’s just a big roast dinner), but as usual, remember that it’s your Christmas too. Grab a few willing helpers to make some Christmas cookies, or whip up some of my perfect frozen whipped cream hot chocolate and have a little prep-party on Christmas Eve (it’s amazing how much you can get done the night before). Need a little inspiration? Read on for my top tips and recipes for Christmas dinner and beyond: fresh ideas, old favourites and more!

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