Family fun, podcasts and some great offers

Hi there, how are you? I hope you are doing OK and still managing to navigate the world as it is right now. It’s a funny transition right now as more starts to open up and become a new version of what it was. I know not everyone is ready for it and many still have to stay shielding so I hope you are still doing ok? We are trying to get back to some of the things we enjoyed before while doing it as safely as possible and it’s been nice, although we are doing it gradually.

We put our house on the market!

I took last week off from work without any plans just because it felt like a good time to take a little break. In the end it was perfect timing as almost out of nowhere we took a big jump and decided to put our house on the market after seeing what might just be the perfect house for us. Weirdly the day after we made that decision it was announced that the stamp duty threshold was to change, which was most definitely an added bonus and set the ball rolling even more.

So the week I was taking to relax a bit became a week to start sprucing up our home for the estate agent pictures. I re-stained decking, painted skirting boards, cleared cupboards and cleaned everything. Fred meanwhile cleared all the mess down the side of the house to take to the dump that we had accumulated over lockdown.

One thing that felt quite emotional was that I painted over the wall that had all the pen markers of the girls getting taller. I of course took photos and got one last measurement of each of them but it had to be done as it looked a real mess.

A few days later the pictures were taken and our house went online, so I’m keeping all crossed that we find the perfect home for us and that someone else thinks our house is the perfect home for them. We are staying local just hoping for something a little bigger so watch this space.

Out for pizza

Once we got the house sorted we made sure to do some fun things to make it feel like a bit of a mini break. We went out for our first family dinner at a restaurant and it felt so good!!! It wasn’t fancy, it was just pizza but it was so exciting to sit in a garden restaurant and enjoy food cooked by someone else. It actually felt like a slice of normality other than the hand sanitiser pump on the table. I think that may be a permanent fixture moving forward.

Fossil hunting

Our next day out was a trip to Kimmeridge to go fossil hunting on the Jurassic coast. Last time we did this I wrote about it on the blog and it was winter so full hats gloves and coats. This time we got to enjoy the warmth of the sun on the rocks which felt so nice along with the sea breeze. Last time we went to a different part of the coast and the fossils weren’t quite as plentiful, whereas at Kimmeridge they are everywhere and all over the larger rocks.

You can see the swirls and circles on so many of the cliffside rocks jutting out which is amazing to see. It was so good to get the kids out as they were not having a good sister day that day. Sometimes they just want to wind each other up and there is not a lot you can do about it. I remember this with my own sister, you can go from super-close and inseparable to fighting over every little thing.

Pictures paint a lovely picture but I do think it’s always important to be honest that these days out are not always perfect. Thankfully the memories of their excited faces finding ammonites in the rocks outweigh the bickering.

Legoland

On Friday, which was officially the last day of term, we decided on a trip to Legoland. Tilda and Ivy had been asking for ages and as it was now open again, and we managed to get discount vouchers off a snack box, we figured it was worth doing even though some of the rides would still be closed.

We took our masks and hand sanitiser and made it there for midday. They have limited the number of people at the park and even though the queues weren’t really long it still took a while to get on rides as they have had to reduce the number of people who go on each time.

I will be honest though social distancing was not working particularly well. Even though the park is marked out with lines and arrows, most people aren’t sticking to them. We did what we could to keep our distance and made sure to hand sanitise before and after the rides. They have dispensers after every ride. On quite a few of them you have to wear a mask and the girls were really happy to do this so it didn’t feel too weird. I bought them pretty floral ones and they are weirdly excited about them. It was a fun day out and it was so nice to be able to treat the girls to something fun.

My fashion pick

A few weeks ago I had a fun show with Gok Wan and his collection WULI:LUU and I tried on the check blazer which I instantly loved so had to order. So here’s one of the ways that I will wear it. Styled simply with a white T-shirt and jeans. These jeans are the NYDJ Sheri slim ankle jean and are a really good summer style as they are slightly cropped and a nice light colour denim.

The shoes are the ones I featured in my recent fashion shoot from Sam Edelman called the Loraine Leather Loafer and I’ve hardly taken them off. There are matching trousers to the blazer but I like being able to wear it more casual. The blazer has 4% elastane so it is really comfortable and gives you freedom to move without feeling restricted.

The Emma Guns Show

Last week I got to do something fun and record a podcast with Beauty Expert and Podcaster Emma ‘Guns’ Gunavardhana. She wanted to talk to me about my career and life at QVC and we covered so much more than that too. Her show is one of my favourites to listen to so I was so chuffed that she asked me on. Emma has been a guest at QVC before and so it was so easy to talk to her as she is part of our QVC family. If you fancy a listen then you can by clicking here.

Some of the great offers coming your way!

Now who doesn’t love an Elemis Today’s Special Value?! We’ve got a fab one for you this weekend and it’s already available online. Other than the amazing anti-ageing skincare that is included the thing I am most excited about is the British Botanical fragrance in this collection. Essential oils are my favourite, particular lavender and geranium (I put them in my diffuser at home) so this collection might be my favourite fragrance ever from Elemis. The saving is incredible, if you bought them individually from us you would pay £225 so to get this collection for under £70 and on Easy Pay is brilliant.

So, what will you be getting?!

1 x Cleansing Micellar Water (200ml) – infused with organic English rose water and soothing antioxidant rich chamomile, skin is gently cleansed, whilst the natural moisture barrier is maintained

1 x Pro-Collagen Super Serum Elixir (15ml) – offers superior moisturisation to leave your complexion feeling smoother, plumper and more youthful looking. Formulated with a unique blend of intelligent bio-actives such as anti-ageing tri-peptides, African birch bark, red seaweed and padina pavonica

1 x Pro-Collagen Overnight Matrix (30ml) – harnessing a powerful blend of padina pavonica, drone peptide technology, microalgae and wild indigo oligosaccharides, this revolutionary formula works throughout the night to target areas of the face to help restore the natural balance to your skin, creating a protective matrix that helps seal in hydration

1 x NEW British Botanical Bath & Shower Milk (300ml) – cleanses, hydrates and leaves your skin beautifully fragranced. Formulated with British echium oil, a rich source of Omega 3,6, 9

1 x British Botanical Body Cream (120ml) – moisturises and comforts dry skin leaving it silky soft and hydrated. Blended with precious essential oils of soothing lavender and chamomile, with uplifting geranium and palmarosa

1 x British Botanical Hand & Nail Butter (50ml) – a luxuriously hydrating everyday hand and nail butter, which intensely moisturises your hands for lasting comfort. Contains shea butter and moabi butter

1 x large tote bag

Overnight Matrix is the big hitter in this kit and I can’t wait for you to try it if you haven’t already! It launches on air on Saturday night at 9pm and on air throughout Sunday while stocks last so snap it up now in our pre-launch to secure yours.

California Innovations

There’s another great offer coming your way this Monday 27th that is a really handy set of 4 foldable shopping tote bags. The difference with these is that they are insulated for hot and cold food, have a zip closure and added outer pocket. They fold up into an envelope shape and close with a popper and come in 4 colours. You get all of them though so don’t have to choose. There’s red starbursts, French girl stripes, blue linked circles and purple geo links.

They have a leak-resistant design and Microban technology to help prevent against bacteria. They each come individually boxed in corresponding colours so are a handy way to stock up the gift cupboard with a practical gift. They will launch Sunday night at 9pm so make sure to tune in as they are perfect for all those picnics you may be having particularly if you are picking up a take-away. I gave mine a test run to the supermarket to pick up a hot roast chicken and it kept it so lovely and toasty until I got home.

That’s it from me for another blog but as always make sure to keep up with what I’m getting up to on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and let me know what you have been up to lately.

Lots of love

Katy xx