Family Holidays - Coombe Mill

Morning! Friday already I hear you cry, nevermind at least it's almost the weekend.  Are you spending the weekend researching your family holiday or have you already booked? With five children a little extra research is normally required in our house!  However we do seem to fit in some holiday cottages, usually a million miles from anywhere.  Last year whilst I stood on my soapbox about holidays always being for families with 2.4 chidlren I got chatting to Fiona of Coombe Mill on Twitter.  She has six children and understood where I was coming from.  But more importantly Fiona owns and runs, with her husband, Coombe Mill, which has holiday accomadation for small and large families alike. 

image courtesy of Coombe Mill

Coombe Mill was originally a 16th century water mill but is now a beautiful hamlet set admist a 30 acre private estate between Bodmin Moor and the beach.  With a selection on Scandinavian and riverside lodges and picturesque holiday cottages I am sure Coombe Mill have a little piece of holiday heaven available for you and your family.

image courtesy of Coombe Mill

Farmers Nick and Ted offer children the chance to help feed the animals and ride on tractors six days a week.  The river Camel travels through the estate and the private fishing lake offers anglers the chance to relax and enjoy some holiday fishing.  Coombe Mill offers plenty of opportunity for outdoor play, whether in the outdoor playground or around the estate, but should it rain there is also an indoor play area. 

image courtesy of Coombe Mill

As Coombe Mill is owned and run by parents you can be sure your childrens safety and home from home needs have been catered for.  All of their properties include free bedlinen, teatowels, fridge with freezer compartment to store your ice lollies, electric cooker with oven and hob, microwave, crockery, cutlery and cooking utensils, digital tv, DVD player and free Wi-Fi access to cover the most important things.  The Scandinavian lodges also have a washing machine and dryer, hairdryer, iron and ironing board and one of them even has a playroom, now that is an added luxury for a holiday with young children.

image courtesy of Coombe Mill

I am sure you will have so much fun exploring the estate that you may not even think about exploring the surrounding area, but being a beach person I could not visit Coombe Mill and Cornwall without several trips to the beach.  The thing I love most about Cornwall is that you never seem very far from a gorgeous beach.  Our favourite beaches include Perranporth, where Jack took some of his first steps in the outside world and Fistral Bay to watch the surfers.  I am reguarly found on our local beach mesmerised by the kite surfers and have captured some fab tricks on my camera, so I would have to do the same when we visit Cornwall again. There are also lots of other great places for family days out in Cornwall. Fiona and her team at Coombe Mill have a great page on their website with lots of ideas for things to do that are all within forty five minutes of the estate.  This shows further that they understand the issue of travelling around with young children, as we all know too many long car journeys make children cranky. 

For full details of accomadation, availability and prices please visit Coombe Mill's website.

Have fun planning you holidays.
Zoe
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P.S. This is NOT a sponsored post, just me sharing a great idea for a family holiday!

Smart Meter - Energy Efficency of the Future

Morning! A little warmer here in Suffolk this morning and the sun even made a brief appearance.  Strangely it feels almost like Spring is on the way, but I am sure we are going to have our hopes dashed and temperatures will drop and the thermostat will be turned up.  As we all worry more about rising energy costs it’s important to look at ways we can save energy and be a little greener too.  Today I am pleased to be working with Britmums and British Gas on a campaign to help educate about energy conservation.

In a drive to improve our energy use and to aid energy reduction the UK government and others around the world have plans for a Smart Meter to be installed in homes.  By 2019 every household in the UK will have to ensure that they have a Smart Meter installed.  These Smart Meters will allow the government to forecast daily energy usage more accurately and enable better planning and efficiency in generating the nations power, which hopefully will mean producing cleaner, greener electricity. To find out more about Smart Meters, visit the British Gas website.

I know, 2019 is yonks away and should we be doing anything to help reduce our energy bills now?  Yes, of course we should.  There are many ways we can reduce our household energy consumption and live a greener life.  I am quite strict about putting the heating on and regularly make the children put on a jumper if they are cold.  I also set the dial to 20 and rarely is it turned up any higher.  Although this winter has been a lot milder and the heating has only been on first thing in the morning for a couple of hours and in the evening.  I am sure in colder weather we would have it on a little longer.  Aswell as layering up to keep warm during the day, winter duvets are a great idea to reduce the need to turn the heating on overnight. 

Earlier this year my tumble dryer finally gave up after seven years good service and very regular use.  Instead of replacing it I decided to make the use of the whirligig in the garden and the clothes horse in the hall! Already I have seen a reduction in my electricity bill.  Maybe you are not quite ready to be as bold so instead look at how often you use your tumble dryer.  Perhaps you could just use it to dry sheets, duvet covers and towels and the occasional load of washing you need dried quickly?  I have washing out on the line today, in January.  Well I did say it was milder this winter.

It is also important to consider the energy efficiency of other household appliances.  I will need to replace my washing machine very, very soon and whilst cost is the main factor in my choice of machine I will also be choosing a product that is energy efficient.  Maybe my money won’t stretch to a triple A rated machine but I will get as close as I can.  With five children I have a lot of washing to do every day and am very conscious of the amount of water I must use.

More and more councils are providing different bins to ensure recycling is separated and that more of us recycle.  We have three bins where we live and the only recycling we still have to take to a nearby recycling centre is glass, otherwise it is all separated at home and put in the correct bin.  Putting out the recycling is meant to be part of our childrens weekly chores, taking it in turn each day to do this, which helps them earn their pocket money! However with darker evenings after school this chore seems to have fallen with Drew.  I guess the trick is to buy products with less packaging to ensure less needs to be sorted and recycled. 

I know there are many ways we can live a greener life and I hope todays ideas have helped a little.  Just remember it is not just about saving a few pounds but helping to teach the next generation to make better energy choices.  So next time Lucy leaves the light on I might just have to dock 2p off her pocket money or when any of my children leave the television on and leave the room I will stop them playing to come back to switch it off.  Maybe that’s being tough but surely the next time they will remember to switch things off when they leave a room!

Do you have any top tips for saving energy? I would love you to share them below.

Have a fab day

Zoe

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I'm participating in the British Gas Smart Meter campaign. Smart meters work with an in-home display to show how much energy you're using in pounds and pence. You can see how much you're spending by leaving your phone charger plugged in all the time, or the heating on at night. And when you can really see how much you're using, you can start to make small changes to become more efficient. Smart Meters automatically send British Gas readings so they represent the end of estimated bills! British Gas is committed to install 1.5 million smart meters by the end of 2012.

Vintage Wedding Fair

Morning! I hope you are all warm and well.  Today I am just taking a little detour from my usual posts to share details of a wonderful event coming up next month in Milton Keynes, Bucks.  My wonderful Twitter friend Hayley, known as Mrs Scoops to the tweeting world is organising a fabulous vintage wedding fair.  Hayley is the owner of Vintage Scoops, who I first read about in Country Homes and Interiors over a year ago, when she won their annual country business competition.  I have to admit I am very envious of Hayley as she spends her summers tootling around country houses and beautiful locations in Betty, her vintage ice cream van, serving up delicious locally made ice cream to wedding and party guests. 

The Vintage Wedding Fair is on Sunday 26th February from 11am to 4pm at a beautiful 14th centuary barn, Cruck Barn, Bradwell Abbey, Milton Keynes.  Along with Little Miss G, Hayley has booked several fabulous wedding suppliers who offer beautifully vintage inspired designs and wares, including a Zoe & Drew favourite, Poppy Children.

The fabulous Betty

Vintage Scoops

Hayley says of the Vintage Wedding Fair - "Along my journey of owning and running Vintage Scoops I have met some amazing and very talented people within the wedding industry.  I really want to show them off to the people of Milton Keynes!

Vicky Trainor

We have an amazing line up ... To mention a few we have Vicky Trainor, Nevie-pie cakes, Calico moon, Rosewarne Cox Photography, Gormet Trotter, Rose and Aster, Poppy Children, Magpie Crockery, Angelina Cupcake, Vintage Caravan , 1940's singers and of course Betty the vintage ice cream van will be there x the list goes on and on. We are also really lucky to have the London based designer Johanna Hehir attending."

Poppy Children

So if you are lucky enough to live near enough to visit the Vintage Wedding Fair I am sure you will have a wonderful time, even if you are not getting married soon or are already married, but just a vintage lover. 

Have fun!

Zoe

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PS Stay up to date with all the latest info from Hayley about the fair on their Facebook page.

Wrap Up Warm & Play Outside

Morning! I hope you all had a fab weekend.  I would like to say ours was nice and relaxing but sadly not as the children are back at school the running around begins again, with Hockey practices and school musical rehersals this weekend.  I had hoped to fit in a walk in the forest, maybe next weekend? Thankfully the weather has been fairly mild so far this year, I know I've tempted fate and six inches of snow will now fall overnight!  But how many of us still take our children to the park or for a walk across the fields or along the beach in these chilly winter months? I know it's all to easy to stay indoors, watch a movie, play Scrabble and drink tea, or hot chocolate piled high with marshmallows if you are one of my chidlren. 

Owl Hats from Totally Rad Crafts

When Connor and Jack were little I spent hours freezing in the garden as they dug for worms, rode around on their pedal tractor or we played tag or 'What's The Time Mr Wolf?'.  These were such fun times and the boys loved being outside, even if it was cold.  We would go for walks to the park where they had the slide and swings to themselves as other mummy's weren't quite so brave in the winter months.  Even when we were joined by the girls I made sure they all got to play outside and also made sure they wrapped up warm. 

Girls Fleece from Joules

Now they are all at school, so outside play is limited and obviously Connor and Jack are too old and too cool to dig for worms but they still like being outside.  Jack is miserable when it rains and he can't go and play on the trampoline or that it's too dark when he gets home from school but thankfully he often has sports training after school to ensure he gets to be outside.  As a family we reguarly wrap up warm and head out for a walk in the forest or on the beach, even if it is cold.  You learn to wear more layers! 

Great waterproofs from children from Muddy Puddles

We are very lucky that we have both a forest and a beach very near and also we have big open fields just across the road. Even if you live in  a flat with no garden or a city far from a beach you can still get outside and play.  Parks are great, especially at this time of year, as many people avoid them as the equipment is cold and damp.  Take a small towel with you to dry the swings and  slide and if need be invest in a pair of waterproof trousers to keep little bottoms warm and dry as they play and explore.  A pair of wellies are essential too, what better way to spend an afternoon when the rain stops than splashing in puddles!

Shark Wellies from Joules

Being outside has huge health benefits for you and your children.  Fresh air will clear the cobwebs and break the routine for a while. Rosy cheeks and big smiles all round! Collect conkers or leaves and go home and make pictures, draw on the patio with big chalks, spell names or make pictures with twigs, leaves and other garden treasure on the lawn.  Playing outside opens up so many more adventures and it will also help your little ones sleep and any parent is glad of a better nights sleep.

So wrap up warm and get outside, it's not really as cold as you think!

Have fun,

Zoe

xx

Boden SS12

It's here, I've been waiting patiently all morning as I knew it would be live today! What you ask? The Boden Spring collection.  Whilst my budget does not allow a major splurge I am a huge fan of Boden, as many of you know, for their quality, style and love of print and colour. 

I want NEED this yellow mac!

So I am off now for a good look! What is on your wish list, I'm yet to make mine.

Have a stylishly fab weekend everyone.

Zoe

xx

Heart Home Magazine

Morning! I hope you are all well and easing yourselves gently back into work.  Yesterday I shared the new Laura Ashley blog with you, today I want to share a relatively new online magazine with you.  Heart Home Magazine is the creation of some rather talented interiors bloggers and is a feast for our post Christmas eyes.  I am sure I am not the only one busily planning decorating and DIY projects for 2012!  

Open publication - Free publishing

Heart Home is a quarterly online publication and a major reason why I need an iPad, so I can read it in bed!  With two publications under their belt the Heart Home team have successfully created a fabulous lifestyle magazine chamioning British design and designers.  And if the magazine isn't enough they also have a blog which is updated daily. 

Go and make yourself a nice cup of tea, sneak that last slice of Chrsitmas cake and sit and indulge yourself for a little while.

Enjoy!
Zoe
x

Laura Ashley Blog

Morning! I hope you are all well and had a lovely time celebrating the new year.  We had a fab evening at home with the children, playing cards, scrabble, charades and eating lots of delicious food and of course sipping champagne (us not the children!). 

In the chaotic run up to Christmas I forgot to blog about the fantastic new blog from Laura Ashley. 

Not may big brands have joined the blogosphere but I am pleased to say Laura Ashley have done it with amazing success.  Their blog is fresh and full of ideas, offering lifestyle inspiration, creative musings, style advice and much more besides.  Encompassing the classic values of their brand, the folks at Laura Ashley have created a contemporary lifestyle online treasure chest.  Whether you want ideas for arts and crafts projects, recipes or inspriation for interiors and fashion the Laura Ashley bloggers have it all.

I am also thrilled that they have interviews with artisans and that their blog isn't just crammed with their own products.  Finally a high street brand that has welcomed the wonderful and diverse world of blogging without it being all me, me, me. 

I am sure you are all looking for blogs to add to your readers this year and I suggest that the Laura Ashley blog is added immediately! 

Happy reading,
Zoe
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