Lifestyle

Are You Road Trip Ready?

- cupsofcharlotte Leave a comment

If your family are anything like mine we seem to be spending more and more hours on road. Whether it traveling between the two hours we currently reside in. Trips to see family or exciting days out. The car is a place which on average we spend up to 2 hours a day in per week day and this can increase on a weekend.

As a result of spending so many hours in the car we need to make sure that our car is always ready at all times for the trips we are making. Whether this be making sure we have snacks and juice for Jess so she doesn’t become too grumpy should we end up stuck in a traffic jam for a long period of time. Miles from anywhere would be our luck I always make sure that we have these supplies stocked up.

Music

Making sure that we have some good music is also essential for us. Some of the drives which undertake are long motorway routes. Meaning that there is no beautiful views so having music on can help pass the time. One of the CDs which we have been loving is the now that’s what I call Rock music. I also had Spotify which allows us to choose songs based on our mood. This reminds me before our next road trip I might have a look and invest in another CD.

Clothing

As Jess is still only 2 making sure that we have a spare set of clothes within the car. She does still struggle with car sickness and has had to travel in just a nappy before. She can get very messy and wet in days out which means that she would be uncomfortable to travel home. Which would no doubt end up resulting in a tantrum all the way home. Something for sure we want to avoid.

Windscreen Wipers

As a result of living in the UK and the large amount of rain we seem to get here in Yorkshire. The windscreen always seems to be dirty so making sure that your car has enough screen wash in is important. Before going on a long road trip make sure that you have it topped up because you never want to be in the position where you go to use the screen wash and it’s run out leaving you with a dirty windscreen barely visible out of. We also leave a small bottle int he car now meaning we need to only apply water which can be done at a petrol station should we start running low.

Inflated Tyre’s

Make sure your tyres are inflated to the correct pressure needed for the load which you are carrying. For example if you are just going on a normal day out with the children you do not need them as inflated as if you had a boot full of heavy items. If you have them under inflated you may find it harder to slow down quickly something you might need to do if something runs out in front of your car. It can also make getting out of the way harder. However, if have them over inflated you run this risk of a blowout occurring. This is something which I am very scared of occurring as there could be some serious consequences. You can check your pressure at most petrol stations or even have your own portable pressure checker.

Tread

Finally make sure that your tyres have enough tread on them. There is nothing which is going to spoil a road trip more than been pulled over by the police due to your tyres been illegal. Make sure that you have the legal tread left on them TyrePlus can help you with this. If you do not have enough tread left they will replace them for you as having too little tread could result in you failing to be able to stop in an emergency.

Electrics

If you are like us you may end up traveling a lot when it is dark or in bad weather which means that you require your electrics. Things such as your indicators, lights, heating and also your windscreen wipers. Failing to have checked that these are working and then finding that they are broken could result in you having to pull over at the side of the road and wait for the recovery. Due to driving without lights and indicators in this conditions would significantly increase your chance of been in a collision.

Making sure that you have done these checks and have snacks, drink and entertainment in the car should result in a smooth road trip.

What checks do you do before traveling in the car on a road trip?

Charlotte

This post is a collaborative post

Advice For Millennial Renters

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Keys

As some of you may know we are looking at purchasing our first property this summer. However, I have been in the position where I have rented a number of student houses in order to live in different cities to the one I am from to complete my studies. I also have a number of friend who you could class as millennial renters after speaking to a few of them I have complied a list of what you should looks for when renting a house.

Stay at home

This might sound like a strange one when sharing tips for renting a house. However, renting is not cheap in some cases it is more expensive than having your own house. If you have the option to still live with parents or friends take it up I am not saying that it is going to be completely free to do this however you will be paying nowhere the price of rent. I know for one that when looking at 2 bed rent prices in York I couldn’t find much under 1000 a month. Currently we are loving with my parents while we save up enough money to be able to purchase our house. I think now we have enough of a deposit, we just need to find somewhere that we love.

Take Pictures and Read your contract

Take pictures of the property when you move in making note of anything broken or missing. For example when I lived in my third uni house for a few months there was no curtains for a period of about 2 weeks. This was an issue as I lived backed onto a school and anyone could have seen into my room. The landlord was convinced there was some curtains in the room. It was in my contract that there should have been and this meant that he had to to sort the problem out. If I not read my contract I might have actually ended up purchasing some curtains when I wouldn’t have needed to.

Have Contents insurance

You want to make sure that your possessions are safe and this will give you a piece of mind. This is something which I never did when I was at uni because of the fact that I had my laptop and phone on their own kind of insurance. However, speaking to my friends it is important to get some contents insurance this something which we will be doing when we purchase our own house anyway. But if you are renting you may need some more advise on what kind of insurance that you need and what your landlord’s insurance will cover you for. You can find more information about insurance with Homelet.

Make it your own

A tip one of my friends shared with me was that even though you can not paint the walls and make major changes it does not meant that you can not make the place your own. For example they recommend getting things such as cushions and other soft furnishings to make the place like a home. If you want more storage make sure that you have things which you can take to your new place when you move out. This will not end up annoying your landlord which is something which you never want to do.

Deposit Protected

Make sure that your deposit is protected this is something which we had when I was again in my third university house. Your landlord has to put your deposit into a protected scheme this means that you’ll get the full deposit back at the end of the tenancy provided you’ve met the terms of the tenancy agreement .If they do not do this they are actually breaking the law. I remembered that we got an email from the scheme when our landlord put it in the scheme and then 30 days after our tenancy we got the deposit back.

Do you rent if so what advice would you give to those who are looking to rent their first place?

 

Charlotte

This post a collaborative post

Keeping Hydrated with Aqua Carpatica

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As some of you know that I am in training as such for my 100km in under 30 hours.  I am trying to get a little bit fitter because of course, this is going to help me feel better while doing this. Increasing my water intake is also going to help I know that I do not drink enough water as you are meant to drink 2 litres per day this is something which I have been trying to achieve since the start of the year. I am having a lot of mixed days sometimes I find it very easy to drink a lot of water other days when I am bust and not working on my laptop I can find it a struggle to drink water.

I was contacted by the lovely people at Aqua Carpatica to see if I would like to review their water. This is untouched spring water which has is source in Romania close to the forest which is in the free from chemicals and farming. This does mean that it is pure spring water which is as pure as it can be. Which is always a bonus when you are drinking bottled water as it is a lot better for you compared to water with a lot of chemicals pumped into it.

I got sent these huge 1 liters  bottle of still water which means that you could very easily carry it around it with you for example I could have it in my University bag. The still natural water is great for when the body needs healthy hydration and it also has the lowest sodium level of any bottled water which is currently on the market within the UK.  This is great for me because I can get dehydrated because I forget a lot of the time to drink when am busy writing my dissertation.

I have been putting this in the fridge because of course chilled water is always the best. I think that it made it taste even more clean and fresh. You can taste the difference compared to normal tap water it is a lot more softer maybe this is because I live in an area which does have hard water.

Due to the fact that the bottle is a large it can be kept in the fridge and you can grab a glass when you need it for me this is sometimes after doing a lot of time on my computer or when I have been running around like a crazy mummy.  It does allow my body to have the fluid which I need to refuel and stop me been very dehydrated which can be come a problem for me.  I can completely tell the difference when I have been drinking water I seem to have a reduction in the amount of headaches which I get and also I feel like I have a lot more energy. This could be due to the fact that I am not dehydrated and my body is trying to shut down.

For a 500ml bottle the RRP  for the still natural water is 69p and 1 litre is 89p while 1.5 litre only 99p,. This is very cheap considering other brands charger 99p for 500ml this can be more expensive depending where you are purchasing it for. This for me is very good value compare to the other prices. Aqua Carpatica is amazingly priced. You can purchase these bottles through out the UK in Tesco, Ocado, Amazon and independent stores.

Conclusion

I would recommend giving this water a try if you are like me if you are struggling to drink enough water. The benefits are huge drinking water this is very clean and easy to drink which makes me want to drink more so I feel refreshed and feel the benefits. It is great for those who are like me who are always on the go but still need to be able to stay hydrated .

Do you drink enough water?

 

Charlotte xx

I was kindly gifted Aqua Carpatica however, all views are my own

 

Forest Holiday’s – Compton Golden Oak Hideaway Review

- cupsofcharlotte 1 Comment
Log Cabins

In the middle of December, the weekend before Christmas Joe and I decided to go on a child-free break.  Due to the fact we had not been able to have a holiday with him been away for the majority of 2017.  We did not want to travel that far because we know travelling over the festive period was something which was going to occur.Forest Holiday’s are a company which we have stayed with before so we knew there high standards.  The Compton site was where we stayed at this time which is not very far from Pickering in the North Yorkshire Moors. There are 10 locations in total we have now stayed at 2. For sure I would love to go to some of the other ones maybe not in December though. Due to the fact that we having a really nice treat yourself break we choose to stay in the Golden Oak Hideaway. This was even more luxurious than the standard golden oak we stayed in a year previously, however, these do only sleep two people.

Robin

Tree Line

With views like this from the windows, how could you not want to visit? Even in December when the cabin was surrounded by ice the views were stunning and you felt so remote and disconnected from the world. This is something which I think all of us need time to time.  There was a wide array of wildlife which visited while we were in our cabin I am sure this would only increase during the summer months.

Log BurnerEven though it was minus -2 outdoors that did not stop us having a cosy time with golden oak you get fluffy robes, great for throwing on after been in the outdoor hot tub. There is always a log burning stove in the lounge which makes it even cosier I can tell you there aren’t much better things. Than to cuddle up when its cold outside in front of the log fire.  In our cabin, we also had underfloor heating throughout which was great when you were on the cold kitchen floor cooking or just out of the shower.   If you go in the summer months there is also a hammock and a gas barbecue to use on the decking, however, it was way too cold for us to be using that this visit.

Sunken Bath

One element which you do get as a result of this being marketed as an ultimate romantic package is a sunken double bath. I will warn you that it did seem to take an age for the bath to run and we couldn’t get the temperature correct which meant we did not spend a lot of time in it.  You can make this even more romantic by having the mood lighting on as you can see in this picture.I would say that this element would be great if you went with someone who liked baths. I know for sure I could take a couple of lush bath bombs and spend hours in this bath.  There is also a walk in shower which is great for using before and after the hot tub.

Hot Tub

Talking about the hot tub this is something we did spend a lot of time in this year. Even though the cabin is designed for two people it still has a hot tub which could easily cater for four people. It is attended to every single day which means that it is always ready for you to use.  Also, it is clean as you can see it has a light so you can see what you are doing. This also has jets which can be moved you get the benefits where you want them. Even in the winter you can enjoy the hot tub and have a few drinks in it this is something which amazing. This is something I can imagine doing with friends even if you had a shared cabin.

Kitchen

After all of the chilling out you might want to cook you could order food from the forest retreat either straight to your cabin. On the other hand, you could eat it in their restaurant however, we have always cooked in our cabin. This is something which we like to do as it gives us something to do and cooking is something we enjoy anyway.If like us you like to cook there is a fully equipped kitchen meaning you can easily cook. It even has a dishwasher which means there is no need to wash up which is always one of the boring jobs. You can buy food from the shop, however, it can be pricey and the selection is not that vast. I would recommend going to the supermarket before you arrive. The cabins also come with a dining table which means that you do not have to eat from your lap which is something we do not like doing often.

Lounge

Of course, a trip to forest holidays is all about chilling for us so the comfy sofa is a must for us.  It was very cold when we visited and walks in the countryside were limited due to the ice. If you know me I am clumsy and would have ended up slipping and spending Christmas in plaster.  We had a large tv as well which kept us entertained we did pay for the entertainment package which is around £35 for a weekend. This allows you the movie channels and wifi which for us are essential as we go when it is bitterly cold. We even found blankets which

Love Bed

One of the best things about going away for me is always staying in a new bed as mine is terrible. The golden oak hideaway has a really comfy double bed. The pillows where that soft as soon as my head hit them I think I drifted off to a deep sleep. As parent sleep is something which I am aware I usually do not get enough of so this for sure helped. The room did not become too light and wake us up in the morning either as the curtains are thick enough. I am not sure if the same could be said in summer months.

Overall 

I would recommend a visit to forest holiday’s their cabins can be more on the pricey side, however, for sure memories will be created.  They are beautiful high-quality cabins which I for sure would love to visit again. I would love to go back in the summer to experience the difference and maybe some of the activities which are on offer. Such as zip wire and archery however, with hopefully moving house this summer that does not seem to be on the cards.

Have you ever been to forest holiday’s if so what did you think?

 

Charlotte xx

 

 

Personalised Photo Frame – Giftsonline4U Review

- cupsofcharlotte Leave a comment

Personalised items are always special when it comes to receiving a gift. It means that someone has put the thought into the gift and had it created for you. Photo frames are something which is super special even more when they are personalised due to the fact that you can add a picture which means so much to it as well. Giftsonline4U is an online website which allows you to do this. They also have a website full of personalised gifts this means that you will always be able to find a perfect gift for a birthday, valentines day, mother’s day even father’s day

As you can see I was lucky to receive this personalised photo frame which has the words the crazy bunch we are a family.  I have chosen to put a picture when Joe met Jess for the first time in this as it is a very special picture to me which I want to treasure and display.  The photo frames come in a 6 x 4 inch frame which is amazing as this is a standard photo size.  I have found before some picture frames can be very strange sizes meaning you can not get your pictures into the frame.

Even though this item is of course personalised it does not come with a huge price tag it is very reasonably priced as a gift it is priced at £19.99. This means that you could gift this to a number of different people for different occasions for example a picture of you and your other half in this frame would make such a nice valentines day idea. Maybe you could put a quote which means something to the both of you under the picture. You do have 40 characters to play with which can be engraved onto the frame. Mother’s day is also fastly approaching this would be perfect for this as well I for sure know I would love to receive a personalised photo frame. With standard delivery you wait between two and seven days which means that you always have time to order even if it is a little bit last minute.

When you receive the photo frame it does come boxed and well packaged meaning that it will not break in transit as this is something I am always scared of when purchasing fragile items online. I managed to get mine with no damage so I would recommend if you are scared don’t be. The photo frame is of very high quality the engravement  you for sure can tell that this is very professional. I would recommend getting too many characters as this could possible effect the quality however, mine is perfect and does have a large number of characters I think it is close to the limit.

I found that the website was full of amazing gifts which could be used for any occasion I have found several gifts which I would love to be able to gift to people in the future. Due to the fact I know how high quality they are I would even send them straight to the person as some of you know we have family who do not live close and we have to send gifts directly to them. There are gifts of all different prices which would suit all kinds of budgets with the majority of them having the option to be personalised it a makes it look like you have spend more money. For sure this is a site which I will be looking at when I need gifts in the future.

Have you purchased from Giftsonline4U if so what did you think?

Charlotte x

This item was sent to me for review however, all views are my own as always

When Do I Get My Time- Mummy, Blogger and Student

- cupsofcharlotte Leave a comment

I know when you have a child everyone tells you that you end up losing all the time you had. As some of you know I am not just a mummy I am also a third-year student and a blogger. I have 3 more assignments and then I am done I hand my final piece in on the 18th May. I can not believe how fast it is going but at the moment because I have so much going on I feel like I have no time for myself. At the moment I am getting a maximum of 7 hours sleep which is hard when you have a toddler. The tantrums can be enough to make me want to cry sometimes at the moment I know I have a few weeks of solo parenting in the next few weeks which is going to make everything else even harder.

I have found at the moment that if I try and spend my weekdays between 9-5 in the library completing uni work because it needs to be done. I do not have lectures every single day however, I do treat it like a full-time job because this is going to be something which hopefully I am going to have it in the future. During this time Jess is in nursery which means that she is able to play with other children which are always amazing. This allows me to focus on work without the having the distraction of having a toddler trying to play on my laptop when I am working. Or having Peppa pig on in the background which gets super annoying. I think that this is something which suits us all because of course, Jess wants to be with her friends.

Time on a weekend is at the moment spent as Jess time it is not something that I want to give up because I know how special this time is. I am adoring watching her grow up and having days out and exploring the local area at the moment. At the moment one of the days usually spent exploring and of course, if we end up having some days out  I will review them and share them on my blog. The other day of the weekend is usually spent actually doing jobs this can be cleaning the house, decluttering which is something I am having to do as we are hoping to move house in the summer.  This is sometimes when we end doing blog pictures because I am usually at my house with my lighting and products should I get them from brands are sent to my house.

I am finding that I am working on my blog on my lunch break which means that I am not getting much time away from my computer which I know is never good for you. I am even doing blog posts on the commute home because it is some time which I am not doing anything else productive. On nights I am even having to write posts because I do not want to get behind on this at the moment I think I have a weeks worth of posts written. This is because I might actually have to take some time off when my workload becomes even more. I hope you understand if I go quiet for periods on my blog until the end of may. Don’t worry I will be back but I am hoping to keep blogging throughout.

This makes me wonder though when do I have time for myself because at the moment I feel like I rarely have any time for myself.  I do not want to make myself poorly because my work load is too high so please work with me if I do go very quiet. I am still reading and watching videos trying to keep up to date with you all.  I know in a few years I am going to look back and actually wonder how I managed to do all of this

Do you feel like you have no time for yourself?

Charlotte xx

Has Emo Died?

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Music is something which has played a huge part of my life. If I am traveling alone I usually have my headphones on and music blasting out, the same can be said for when I am sat in the library. This is something which has the power to change my mood if I am feeling down or angry if I put certain music on I can change my mood completely it is pretty amazing the power which has on me.  For me, I am a huge fan of what you would have called a few years ago Emo music.

Recently I have gone back to listening to bands such as My Chemical Romance, Blink182 and Fall Out Boy yes it really does take me back to high school. I think I was playing some of the music while at uni the other day and a girl told me that she had not heard of these bands were they new and upcoming.  I know that MCR broke up a fair few years ago I think it was 5 years now and I am not over it but bands such as Fall Out Boy have recently released new material.

It did make me wonderer wether alternative/ emo music whatever you want to call it is actually dying. I have noticed that now stores like Blue Banana when I have the chance to go to a store have less band merch in and they used to be full of bands even Green Day and Nivarna.  I popped into a similar alternative store and could not believe how much Harry Potter and the odd Marvel items there was. But hardly any music merch it made me look into it a bit more and released all of the bands that I love have not really made any new material in a fair few years. This made me sad because these are bands which if you play no doubt I could sing my heart out knowing most if not all of the words to the songs.

However, I feel like I am one of those people who are not easy to admit that they are the only people listening to this type of music still. Please tell me that people have it all become the same and all listen to popular music such as pop. Been able to get Kerrang magazine every single week to discover new bands used to be amazing this is something which I have not done in a long time because I rarely see the magazine now. Maybe it is time to admit the type of music is dead and that we should educate people close to us about it in order to still have people listening to it in the future. I for sure in Jess is going to know the words to a lord of the My Chemical Romance and Green Day songs.

What’s your view is Emo music dead or is it just the people I know?

Charlotte xx

Date Ideas For Busy Parents

- Charlotte Leave a comment

Going on dates is something which all of doing when we are dating, however, once you actually have children it is hard to find a lot of time to go on dates. This is because you either are doing things which are related to them, for example, we now spend a lot of our weekends spending time doing toddler-friendly things such as going to museums or the park which might not be things we did if we didn’t have a child. Doing housework is something which you spend a lot more time doing because toddlers as we have found make more mess which means you have to spend more time cleaning and tidying.

 Today I have decided that I am going to share with you some tips which busy parents could use as date ideas because as we all know Valentine’s Day is upcoming and we all want to woo that special person and show them that the love is still there despite having a child.
The idea is why if your schedules allow instead of having date nights have date days, for example, Friday afternoon is a time when both of us are usually free. We have found that we actually can go to restaurant Wildwood which is a chain. They do food which Jess would eat, however, I know I would feel very uncomfortable their should she kick off which is why we do not eat there with her. There is a branch in the York which is only 20 minutes away from Jess’s nursery which means should she need collecting she could be very quickly. If you have not read the review which I did I recommend going to check it out. Of course, you can go to a restaurant that you enjoy maybe one which you have been to pre-children.
There is no need to leave your own house you could actually get a dine-in meal that m&s became kings a few years ago because you get a bottle of wine a main, side and deserts for between £10-20. This is something which you could do while your child is upstairs sleeping meaning that you do not actually even need a babysitter. As we all know they can be hard to come by. To make it even more romantic you could burn candles and play romantic music like you are actually in a restaurant.
If going to the cinema is something which you liked to do pre-children. Why do you not get some snacks such as sweets and popcorns from the shop and stream a movie because you now do not have to wait as long as you used to in order to see films on DVD. For example, I know that the most recent Thor movie was available within 3 months and this is not that long compared to what it used to be a few years ago. As some of you might know things do not seem to be at the cinema for as long either which is not great when you have to plan trips rather than a spontaneous trip. Also, it can be a lot cheaper than going to the cinema which is always great if you are saving for a house like me.
If you can actually get a babysitter you could book a weekend away it does not have to be somewhere that is a distance away. For example, Newcastle is somewhere which I am visiting at the start of April which is only about an hour and a half away. Make sure that you have someone to look after the children because it is illegal just to leave them at home when they are so young. Exploring a new place and creating some amazing memories is something which would make a special date. Even if you do this once a year this may be worth it, for example, I have a post coming up about something which we have done in order to have a date weekend.
What do you do to still have some romance while being a busy parent?
Charlotte xxx

Keeping Organised On My blog

- Charlotte Leave a comment

Keeping organised is something which I have to do as you know I am a Mummy, Student and blogger. This can take up a lot of time meaning that being organised is key. Today I am going to share how I keep organised on my blog I am thinking about doing posts on how I keep organised in other elements of my life in future posts,

The first thing which I spend a lot of time doing is scheduling tweets. I try and do at least 3 days worth of posts because it means that more of you lovely people are able to read my blog.  I can see a lot of you come from my social media pages. Currently, I use buffer which allows me to schedule all of the tweets along with Facebook.  One thing which I love is that I can use the app which means that I can schedule my social media when I am on the go which as you know is a lot. There is also hootsuite which you can use instead of buffer however, this is not something I have tried.

Planning is something which I have to do because other use I would never be able to get my posts up. I currently have the dot creates ultimate blogger planner. This does have the days of the week and you can write the posts you want to be able to get up. It also has a to-do do list which allows you to tick them off as you have done them which is amazing it makes you feel like are actually getting somewhere which is something.  It also has weekly stats for your social media which is good because I am someone who does not think that I am growing on social media.  This element allows me to see that I am actually growing on a weekly basis. I might do a whole post on my planner and how I actually use it let me know in the comments if this is something you would like to see.
I try and write at least a little bit per day because then it does not feel like it is so daunting when you know you need to get a post up. Some of the posts I write can take 3-4 hours which I do not have time to write in one sitting. I have found that using the app called blogtouch pro is a savour because I can write on my phone a draft. Then when I use a laptop I can edit and add pictures which saves me so much time. I do a lot of the posts sitting on the train which means that it is not time wasted. It does save me looking out of the window a lot of the time.
Taking pictures in bulk is something which I do because it means that I have pictures ready for when I have time to write. Due to the fact that I am hardly at home, it means that I have to take all the pictures on the weekend. I do not have time to get my background out and lights on a night. This also helps me know what I should publish in the next couple of weeks because I already have the pictures so I can post ASAP or schedule it to go live. Scheduling is something which I have to do . I try to make sure that I am a couple of weeks ahead should life get crazy busy it does mean that I have content going up.
How do you get organised if you are a fellow blogger?
Charlotte xx