Q by Christina Dalcher

Imagine a world where everyone was perfect. A world where everyone is equal in terms of intellect. A school system with ample time for students because they'd be no 'dunces' to take up the teachers time. No genetic abnormalities or predisposition to certain illnesses. Constant screening and testing to ensure your 'Q' score remains within an appropriate range. No divorce, no rule breaking, no freedom. A world of fear where every choice you make can effect your score and cost you your place in society. Sounds...perfect, doesn't it?

AD Review | VAX ONEPWR Glide Hard Floor Cleaner*

If you've got dogs or children you will know how valuable a good vacuum is. If you've got hard flooring like we have you'll know how valuable a good mop is. I thought hard flooring would be easier to keep clean than carpet but honestly it's just as much hard work. Daily vacuuming and a weekly steam mop then top up mops when drinks inevitably get spilt or the dog's water gets knocked over during an over enthusiastic game of musical chairs (happens more often than you'd think!) keeping a family floor clean came be a challenge, especially flipping back and forth between vacuum and mop. That's where the VAX ONEPWR Glide Hard Floor Cleaner comes to the rescue. It vacuums, washes AND dries your hard floors. Sceptical? so was I- could one piece of kit really do all those jobs?

Review | Two Of Us Can Keep A Secret by Karen McManus

Having read 'One Of Us Is Lying' by Karen McManus I was under the impression that this is the second book in a series but it's actually an entirely separate story. Two Of Us Can Keep A Secret focuses on a pair of twins sent to live with their grandmother in the eerie town of Echo Ridge. A town famous for disappearing teens and dead homecoming queens. Will history repeat itself or will Ellery and Ezra's arrival unveil the secrets this town has kept hidden all these years? 

Days Out | Tattershall Farm Park

Tattershall Farm Park is a small farm park with plenty of outdoor animal pens, outdoor play areas and a small assortment of places to eat. We visited Tattershall Farm Park during the time period when indoor attractions had to remain closed under the coronavirus restrictions, due to this the indoor play areas, indoor animal barns and the cafe were closed.

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

I've heard so many good things about The Guest List by Lucy Foley so I was eager to dive in. Set on a now uninhabited Irish island the novel focuses on the upcoming nuptials of successful online magazine editor Jules and the suave, charming and privately educated Will.  Bride and groom must face some unexpected truths as  family and friends disembark onto the mysterious island bringing with them more baggage than expected. The exclusive wedding, the first of its kind on this island, may bring more attention than originally planned.

Accommodation | Tythe Lodge, Lincolnshire

Tythe Lodge is a wooden holiday lodge situated in the tiny hamlet of Howell. It's situated in the grounds of the owner's home. The owner's are on hand to help in emergencies (like when you forget ketchup for nuggets on the first day!) but the location of the property in relation to the owner's home  makes it feel exclusive and private. A lot of love and thought has gone into this holiday accommodation and it really shows.

Review | imooore Crocodile 3D Puzzle Set*

We were very lucky to be chosen as Toy Testers for Imooore's 3d Puzzle campaign. We got the opportunity to test out the 3D Parent and Baby Crocodile Puzzle in exchange for our honest opinion. We were under no obligation to review the product anywhere other than the feedback form but we love the products so much I felt they deserved their own blog post- especially as Imooore toys may not be a brand you are familiar with. 

Never Let Me Go By Kazuo Ishiguro

Where do I start with this one. I'm a bit stumped. I read the glowing reviews and I loved the dystopian concept of a segment of human society created purely to donate to others but this book just felt so far away from the dystopian fiction I usually love. I feel like Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro is going to divide people, you're going to love it or you're not and I'm definitely in the 'don't love it' section of society.

Travel | Tattershall Lakes

Tattershall Lakes is a holiday park situated in the Lincolnshire countryside. The site is quite large and the accommodation is nestled within woodland or dotted around lakes. There are various types of accommodation on offer at Tattershall Lakes, from standard static caravans to luxury woodland lodges.  There are many ways to book a break at Tattershall Lakes, Hoseasons and Away Resorts being the lead booking sites but there are many private owners on the site so you can find some great deals by shopping around, I've even managed to find some on Booking.com. We stayed in an 8 berth caravan with hot tub that we managed to get as a last minute deal from a Facebook selling site.

All Mine Cakes By The Lake

All Mine Cakes By The Lake, Maythorne Lane Southwell, NG25 0RS

I wrote a post about how I'm coping with having Coeliac Disease a year on from my diagnosis and though I admit it's been emotionally challenging learning to accept gluten free life I've begun to look for the positives and I'm trying to embrace life as a coeliac foodie. A family member tagged me in one of All Mine Cakes Facebook posts and I couldn't quite believe that such a place existed. A tea room that is entirely gluten free and the best part is it's just 30 minutes away.

Review | The Catch by T. M Logan

T. M Logan has quickly become one of my favourite authors. I came across his work by chance in the first lockdown. The library ebook lending service had barely anything available except The Holiday. I judged a book by it's cover and thought it perhaps looked a little cheesy but I couldn't have been more wrong. This is my third T. M Logan book and every one has kept me up later than I wanted reading 'just one more chapter'. Here's what I thought about The Catch.

Review | 1984 By George Orwell

Title: 1984, Author: George Orwell,  Pages: 384, ISBN: 9780141187761, First Published on: 8th June 1949

1984 by George Orwell is a dystopian classic. In fact it's THE dystopian classic. Even if you've not actually read it  you will have more than likely heard of Big Brother, The Thought Police and Room 101. 1984 was incredibly ahead of it's time, so much so that modern life shares many parallels with this book that was written in 1948.It's a book that everyone quotes but I  think very few have read.

One Of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus

I'd heard a lot of glowing reviews for Karen McManus' work and downloaded the first one, One Of Us Is Lying eager to begin. Upon seeing the front cover and the tagline 'A Geek. A Jock. A Criminal. A Princess. Who Would You Believe?' I thought it sounded like a cheesy American teen novel so I left it for the best part of a year before picking it up again to read and I am so pleased that I got over the somewhat trashy front cover as this book is actually a very well written and cleverly thought out murder mystery.  So good in fact that a television series is currently in production. So what made this teen fiction such a good read?

The Doll Factory By Elizabeth MacNeal

Title: The Doll Factory, Author: Elizabeth MacNeal, Pages: 384, Published by: Picador, Publication Date: 2nd May 2019, ISBN: 978-1529002393

Iris and Rose spend their days creating dolls for the oppressive and most often comatose, Mrs Salter. Though fortunate to be employed, the passionate and creative Iris longs for more than the monotonous life she currently leads. Iris yearns to escape, to paint more than doll faces. She wishes to paint freely and with no constraints- to be an artist in her own right.

Could a chance encounter with Silas Reed, collector, taxidermist and prop creator for the Pre-Raphealite Brotherhood set Iris on the path to freedom? Will love, life and art blossom? Or is death and decay the only fate for those that wander the dark, dank streets of Victorian London?

Save Money | Bargain Shopping At Pound Toy

I have to confess that I absolutely love a bargain. In a pre-covid world you would often find me browsing the aisles of my local pound shop and scouring the town's charity shops in search of a bargain. Now shopping for leisure is a somewhat banned activity I've found myself venturing online to get my fix of bargains and one place I cannot get enough of is Pound Toy!

Books I Read In 2020

Reading has always been a passion of mine. Since a very young age I was reading independently and disappearing into worlds of fantasy and wonder. Books were an escape from my sometimes scary, often confusing reality. As I got older I began to read less, not because I didn't want to, it was more that as I got older, life got fuller and things such as 'self care' and reading for pleasure took a back seat. One positive of the Coronavirus pandemic is that it allowed me to prioritise myself a little bit more and perhaps I needed to escape reality again. I've spent the last six months reading a few chapters before going to sleep and it has been so beneficial. When I read I sleep better, feel more relaxed and have something to get excited about. Nothing beats going to bed on 'new book day'. The joy of perusing my virtual collection and choosing a new adventure is so exciting. My enthusiasm also leads me to talk more. Seems silly but I find talking about books to be therapeutic. If i'm struggling with my mood you can ask me what i'm reading and i'll instantly come alive. It's been a real pleasure rediscovering my love of reading and I wanted to share with you the books I've discovered throughout 2020.

Books | The Best Interactive Books For Children

It's no surprise that we love books in our house. Reading has been such an important aspect of my life and is an activity that the family regularly enjoy together. It's easy to think of books as being just bedtime stories but books have so many other valuable learning and playing aspects beyond just getting a child to sleep at night. Below is a small selection of our favourite interactive books.

*please note this post contains gifted items, all opinions remain unaltered by this. Words and opinions are my own.  Affiliate links maybe used. These may earn me a small commission but the reader will incur no cost. Thank you for supporting my blog.

Most Used | 2-3 Years

The terrible twos. The age of "I don't want to walk" but "I don't want to go in the buggy". The urgent cries of "I need a wee-wee" followed by a mad panic and no actual weeing taking place. A challenging year yet an amazing one. The year of long winded conversations and awkward observations in the most inappropriate of places. The emergence of people skills, kindness, turn taking, please and thank yous. A bright and brilliant time. Here's the things we've used the most throughout this wonderfully daunting year.

Days Out | Equine Dreams of Bawtry

This review is slightly different to the ones I've previously written (Yorkshire Wildlife Park, Rufford Abbey Park, Thoresby Hall Park) as this is a place that I hadn't visited pre-Covid-19 and so I can't really compare their new procedure to their old one, I can only comment on how I feel they've catered to the needs of the Covid-19 world.

Visiting Rufford Abbey Park During The Covid-19 Pandemic

Rufford Abbey is one of my favourite places in existence. I've been a regular visitor for the last 10 years and even have old camcorder footage of me there with my grandparents when I was just a toddler. We love it so much it is our wedding destination of choice when the coronavirus allows us to resume our wedding plans. It's a place firmly etched into my heart but like everywhere it's undergone some changes recently.