Monday's Moments ~ 26/06/17

Oh it's been a while, right? But we got some celebrating, some thanksgiving & some reflection on just how sweet life is right now to do. 

Be sure to tell me what's great in your life right now, even highlighting the smallest thing can turn your day 180 - suck it and see - or ya'know - comment below...

In no particular order of deadliness, my five Monday's Moments this week are: 

1. Home Girl has only gone and made the FINALS in the Irish Beauty Blog Awards in the Senior category! 

2. Bringing Bax to pick out a new harness & collar on his 9 month 'birthday' and having him weighed. HE'S 6.7 STONE! There may be grizzly bear in there, never mind Great Dane. 

3. Storming into week 3 of my second month on the Centra Challenge, I'm feeling fantastic, certainly more energised from consciously making better decisions each week and now another 

dress size down! 

There aren't many collabs that have had such an impact on my day to day, I'm delighted I said yes to this one. 

4. Joining in the first ever Feminist Ire podcast on Consent! There will 100% be more on this to come but I'm not only grateful for the inclusion in something so powerful but excited for everyone to hear it too. 

Empathetic and empowering, this group of women are awesome in the very real sense of the word.

5. Introducing Monday's Moments Snap Giveaways! To share a little love & say a little thanks, I've introduced these beauties on Snapchat. Open internationally, with no other T&Cs other than answering a simple question. 

I've been thrilled with the response & the goodwill it seems to create of a Monday. Today's is live for a gorgeous prize - be sure to enter HERE! 

Tell us, what's great with you? 

Things That Rustle My Jimmies ~ 24/06/17

What a fabulous week it's been in Ireland, the weather, the end of exams - THE CONSTANT BUFFOONERY!

In no particular order, (some of) the things that have rustled my jimmies this week:

1. 'Sure she brought her little one to the playground but did you see her on her phone the whole time'

2. Related to 1: Clawing Sancti-Mammys policing other women's parenting in FB Groups, 

usually co-sleepers, often helicopter parents, 

always sleep deprived MELTS!

3. The staggering disappointment that was 

OITNB Season 5... 

4. People that rock into clusterf*ck threads, 700 Comments Deep to say 'What's this girls? 

What I miss?'

5. 'That'll be it for our summer now'

Tell me, can you relate? What's been rustling your jimmies this week? 

The House - Movie Review!

Who's In It?

Jason Mantzoukas, Amy Poehler, and Will Ferrell


What's It About?

When the town mayor rescinds the scholarship for Scott and Kate's daughter, they start an illegal casino with their gambling addict best friend.

Any Good?

I sort of got the feeling they were going for an Old School look for this movie, but it turned into f****ed up scenes with f***ing boring ones in f***ing between. Did I say f**k too much? Yeah, they f***ing do that too.

I honestly don't really get this movie, it feels like it was written as a bad Epic Movie style parody of casino movies but the film producer made them put in a family trouble to be 'relateable'. They shoved in the family motive, but left the rest of the really messed up stuff in.

I was surprised that they put a character that gets PTSD in it and the scenes are clever, but they just go back to doing seriously f'd up things the next day, and being proud of it. There also are (sort of) consequences, but they again disappear over night and it just takes away any of the point to a lot of the scenes.

A lot of f***s, bloody over-the-top scenes and cliche characters really do make this feel like the Casino Movie that they (thankfully) never made. It wasn't really interesting, or funny, but I can't really say I feel disappointed cause I was pretty WTF through a lot of it. 

Rating:  

Epic England Road Trip ~ Part 4 ~ Fort Nelson & Brighton!

Welcome back to our Epic England road trip across the south of England. This week I’ll tell you about our drive from the New Forest to Hastings stopping off along the way at Fort Nelson & Brighton sea front.

During the 50 minute drive from New Forest to Fort Nelson in Hampshire our daughter Orla let out a squeal as we drove past a huge Porsche dealership in Portsmouth (she loves everything about Porsche) so my husband drove round the roundabout and brought her in for to her to see the luxury cars. 

Each member of staff was really lovely to her giving her a tour of the forecourt and letting her see the vintage Porsches out back before sending her on her way with an arm load of posters. Thanks very much guys, you made her week!

What is Fort Nelson?

Fort Nelson is a fully restored Victorian Fort dating back to the 1860’s, it’s one of 5 defensive forts built along a 10km stretch of Portsdown Hill, the forts were built to prevent a land attack by the French on the dockyard of Portsmouth. Today it is part of the Royal Armouries and it houses the national collection of artillery. There’s 19 acres of ammunition bunkers, ramparts, outer fortifications, barrack rooms complete with a hospital, a kitchen where you can learn all about what life was like for a Victorian garrison. 

We particularly liked exploring the secret tunnels and learning from the interactive exhibitions. Like Edinburgh Castle Fort Nelson have a live fire demonstration everyday at 1pm. Our kids couldn’t believe it when we told them that both my husband & I used to be gun commanders on the 25pdr field gun that was used for the demo during our time served in the reserve defence forces.

How much is admission into Fort Nelson?

Admission is completely free of charge all year round except for special event days. Have you ever wanted to fire a historic artillery piece? Well now you can as Fort Nelson sell vouchers for Gun Firing Experiences, starting from £50 you can be the person who gets to fire the One O’clock gun! For further information click HERE.

Where to eat in Brighton:

After our visit to Fort Nelson we jumped back in the van for a 40 minute drive to Brighton for lunch and some sea air. When I was planning this trip I knew we’d want to eat in Brighton and I immediately decided on JB’s Diner as the kids love rockabilly and all things 1950’s Americana. We luckily got on street parking a block or two behind the diner as it is located right on the seafront overlooking Brighton Pier. Kid’s meals are £5.95/€6.75, consisting of a main, a milkshake & ice cream, perfect to fill little bellies. 

I had hot wings & a cold beer which was divine while my husband had a burger & a shake. The food was delicious & the kids took their time eating as they loved the atmosphere of the diner & listening to Elvis & Johnny Cash on the duke box.  

We had time for a walk along the shingle beach before we headed for Hastings where we were staying overnight.

Where to stay in Hastings:

Travelodge! Would it be anywhere else on this budget trip?! Travelodge Hastings is located just up the road from Hastings castle unfortunately we got there too late to visit as last admission is 4pm and we were leaving fist thing to drive an hour and a half to Chessington. 

The hotel is very well maintained & one of the nicer Travelodge’s we’ve stayed in. At check out I mentioned that the light wasn’t working in the bathroom; the guy behind the desk immediately got up and headed to our room with a bulb. We filled up on the full spread of fresh continental and tasty hot breakfast buffet in the restaurant before we set off for a full day of theme park fun. 

We paid £67.50/€76.63 for 1 night B&B for 2 adults & 2 kids.

Check back next week to see what Chessington has to offer!

*** Disclaimer: 

There is nothing 

to disclose! ***

Epic England Road Trip ~ Part 3 ~ Beaulieu!

So far on our Epic England Road Trip we’ve visited The Big Sheep in Devon & the Fleet Air Arm Museum in Yeovil, this week we visit Beaulieu home to the National Motor Museum in New Forest National Park, Hampshire.

What is Beaulieu?

Beaulieu (pronounced bewley) is so much more than just a motor museum, there’s so much to see and do we just about got it all done in one day. Whether you’re into cars, history, architecture, the Army, Top Gear or just roaming stunning gardens Beaulieu has it all and if you can’t fit it all into one day you can return free of charge within the following 6 days.


What is there to see/do in Beaulieu?

Our first stop on our visit had to be the Top Gear challenge cars, my son Séamus (9) made a beeline for the Dampervan as that was his favourite episode of Top Gear and he was over the moon to get to see it up close. Unfortunately the Enormodrome was closed for filming so we didn’t get to feel what it would be like to be in the BBC’s famous studio.

Unlimited rides on the monorail are included in the entrance fee so we took a ride on it down to Beaulieu Abbey where we learned about the monks that lived there over 800 years ago via various audio visual displays. Then we strolled through the stunning flower gardens as we made our way to the Secret Army Exhibition where Orla (10) was thrilled to learn that during WWII Beaulieu was a secret finishing school for British special agents.

Next we paid a visit to Palace House the Montagu family home since 1538. Aoife (10) was delighted to see the guides dressed in Victorian era costumes, they were so welcoming and every one of them took the time to chat to us. Our two youngest lads Cillian (5) & Lorcan (2) loved getting a go on the open top veteran bus. 

The highlight of the tour for Orla was getting to see the screen cars; she particularly loved Elvis Presley’s Cadillac & the flying Anglia from Harry Potter. The National Motor Museum houses over 250 cars, they’ve everything from F1 cars to a car shaped like an Orange! There are some brilliant interactive displays and we even got to go on the retro pod-ride where we learned about the history of motoring in the UK.

Our visit was complimentary. Avail of a discount on door prices by buying tickets online priced at £19.50/€22.43 for adults & £9.50/€10.93 children over 5 years old, admission is free for children under 5. Discounted family tickets are also available. For further information visit HERE


Where to stay for Beaulieu:

The night before we visited Beaulieu we stayed just under a 50 minute drive away in Bournemouth Seafront Travelodge so we could bring the children for a walk along the pier. We paid £65.50/€73.35 for 1 night B&B for 2 adults & 2 children. The family rooms are very spacious and the breakfast was delicious, that coupled with the lovely staff & perfect location it’s the ideal spot to rest your head if you find yourself in Bournemouth.

When I was planning this holiday I knew we’d need as much time as possible to spend at Beaulieu so I chose a Travelodge quite close to stay after our visit. Travelodge Stoney Cross Lyndhurst cost us £57/€65.57 for 1 night room only for 2 adults & 2 kids. The hotel is located facing a dual carriageway but we didn’t hear a peep as the rooms have two sets of double glazed windows to block out the noise however the hotel could do with a revamp as it’s a bit shabby and run down in places.


Where to eat near New Forest National Park:

Luckily I had asked for recommendations of places to eat from the receptionist as I was checking into Travelodge Stoney Cross as that’s how we found out about The Swan Inn, Emery Down. It’s a traditional countryside pub located in the heart of the New forest. It was a bit on the spendy side with dinner and drinks’ costing us £110 /€126.54 for the seven of us but it was totally worth it as we all thoroughly enjoyed our meals.

Have you been to Beaulieu? Did you like it? Is there anywhere in New Forest you’d recommend we visit next time?

Check back next week where we take to the road again to visit Fort Nelson, Brighton and Hastings!

*** Disclaimer: As advised above we received complimentary admission to Beaulieu. As usual all thoughts are my own, I was not asked to write this review. As ever neither free services nor payment would ever sway my opinion. ***

Things That Rustle My Jimmies ~ 8/06/17

I'm typing this with my shades on indoors such is the glare from my monitor and wondering if poor aul Bono was misunderstood all along. It may be the Black Lung that's gotten me but I could have easily had 20 jimmies this week - EASILY - you? 

1. Completing the mini marathon 10k with ease only to be TORRENTIALLY rained upon for the 10 minute walk FROM HELL to the pub afterward  

2. The sudden lurgy that's stricken me down, it's quite likely related to those 10 minutes (& possibly that 10k too)

3. Mothers that tell other mothers 'Forget about your needs for now, they're only small for such a short time, you'll regret not spending every second with them so soon' somehow suggesting your children suddenly hate you when they reach 10 years of age. 

Tbf I already hate these people and I'm not even related to them...

4. 'Hi Guys, sooooo many people have asked me where I got this...' 

5. When it's two days into the Leaving Cert & we STILL don't have Leaving Cert weather!

Tell me, quietly, can you relate? What's been rustling your jimmies this week?