The end of a great summer

Hi there! Firstly I feel like I need to say sorry for not having posted as much this last month. It was due mainly to the fact that we headed off to West Cork for two weeks but also because it’s been such a juggle with the kids off that I just haven’t had time to myself to do more. Now though, as I’m sure you are well aware, after nearly 6 months of having the children at home they are now finally back to school. Will they all be there for the whole term? Your guess is as good as mine but I am hopeful.

As I write this the girls are on their first day back at school and the house seems very quiet. They went off mainly excited and only a little apprehensive. We have of course prepped them for the changes that will be made at school, without laying it on too thick, but I’m sure it will still be a little weird for them. It seems funny to think that they will be sitting in class the way that many of us grew up doing at school, facing the front of the class with the teacher staying up front at the board. We turned out OK……didn’t we?!

Ireland

Our trip to West Cork was a welcome break and also extra special having not seen my parents in the flesh since the end of February. It was a lovely reunion for us all as my sister was able to come over too. As I have written about before my parents have their retirement cottage there and this is where they were when lockdown happened.

Thankfully they couldn’t have been in a better place and have kept themselves busy with the house and the garden! They were fortunate to be able to buy themselves a little fishing boat as it all happened too, so that has kept them entertained this summer.

The boat was of course great entertainment for us too and we made the most of getting out to sea. We would moor in a nice quiet cove and have lunch and let the kids jump off the back of the boat. I have to admit I chickened out of that, I blamed not having a wetsuit! The kids even took it in turns to have a go steering the boat under the watchful eye of my mum which was amazing to see.

Ivy was particularly happy with herself. On one of the trips we were lucky enough to see a pod of dolphins who joined our journey back to shore, they played with us by racing our boat at the front and we all got to see them up close which was incredible. Ivy and Tilda couldn’t believe it.

We had a fantastic time and got a mix of sunny days to spend at the beach but also a double whammy of storms which were pretty wild! It wouldn’t be Ireland without some wild weather though. Wild and wet beach walks are some of the best fun, the kids always complain at first and then we can’t drag them away.

My dad has been working so hard on his vegetable patch this past year and boy has it given back! It was amazing to see his little veggie empire at the bottom of the garden and it was extra special to be able to send the kids down to him to help dig up potatoes and carrots for dinner. He’s also grown onions, beetroots, corn, rhubarb, broad beans and more. He could start a vegetable shop. There is something really wonderful about making a meal from things grown in the garden.

We had a really lovely break, and I feel very fortunate we were able to have it. Food, fresh air and family, just what we needed. The journey back was a bit hard work though. We chose to drive over so that we could have the van with us for bikes and surf boards etc but also so that we could avoid the airport and planes and masks. We booked a cabin so we could get straight on and have a place to be to avoid mixing with anyone else. The problem is the return boat docks at 1am followed by a 4 hour drive, so you can imagine we felt a bit ropey the next day!

What I wore

A few pieces that you may have spotted in the pictures that are available from QVC are the cream and navy stripe jumper which is by Baukjen and now on a Clearance price and the navy polka dot cropped trousers I am wearing in the family picture, which are Joules and are also on Clearance now. (I had to go up a size in these to a 14)

Back to work and Estee Lauder

I was straight back to work the next day which was a little bit of a shock to the system I have to admit. It often takes a show or two to get back into the swing of things. It didn’t take too long though before I was back in my stride and also getting really excited about some of the brands that are coming to us at the end of this year.

I don’t think I can mention them yet but I will say there’s a jewellery brand coming that I am already a big fan of so watch this space. I can however now mention that one of the biggest beauty brands in the world has come to QVC and is already available on our website. Estee Lauder!! We are thrilled to have their incredible skincare already available on our site ahead of the live shows.

My first experience of knowing this brand is from my childhood as my mum’s favourite fragrance is ‘Estee’ and she has worn it most of her life. Over the last 3 weeks I have been fortunate to try out the skincare range. I have been more than thrilled with the results of using their iconic Night Repair Multi Recovery Complex, along with the Revitalising Supreme Global Anti-Aging Cell Power Cream, both morning and night and the Advance Night Repair Eye Supercharged Complex.

I really stuck to just using these three products to see if they made a difference and my skin has been genuinely glowing and clear, I’ve now used it for three weeks. At the end of my holiday in Ireland my mum actually commented on my skin, which doesn’t happen very often, she now wants to get it too! Normally she only comments when I look tired, in a concerned mum way.

The premier show will be this Saturday (12th September) at 1pm with our beauty expert Alison Young, I hope you will tune in to hear more from the lovely guests we have lined up from Estee Lauder.

This week

I’m back in on air today (Tuesday) and will also be in on Friday for the Diamonique event which is live online now and I’m also in on Saturday when I have a Ruth Langsford Fashion Edit show. I hope you’ll join me.

Don’t forget we have Easy Pay offers on some of our Big Brands this month using the code BIG3EZ, find out more clicking here.

Also ‘Refer a Friend’, give your friends £10 off and to say thanks, we’ll give you £10 off when you spend over £25 for each friend who purchases for the first time. Click here to read more.

I hope you all have a great week, let me know how you are all getting on too and as always you can get in touch with me via Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Lots of love

Katy xx