So thank you to everyone who follows my discoveries here, and as I try to pack it all in, with just the odd afternoon nap, I will be posting more frequently about all the things that make me smile and affect this woman of a certain age, (don't mention the menopause).
As a blogger I have access to try out many different things and I promise that on this blog I only feature items that I have personally approved and photographed. Luckily for me I tend to be approached by the coolest companies, but whatever the product I hope to put my personal twist to it, and maybe my enthusiasm will encourage you to try it too.
Last week was all about the outdoors, so this home body, put on her boots and left the comfort zone of home for a few days in the fresh air, something that usually only happens in small doses when I'm doing a wildlife rescue.
A visit to an instagram meet in East Sussex for WWIM13 and a ramble in the bluebell woods got me thinking about exploring the UK more and particularly finding interesting places to stay.
When I worked in the music business I travelled extensively with recording artists, literally to every corner of the globe, we were on the road for years doing promotion. I would fly back only to plan the next schedule of travel and interviews and then off again. Fortunately we were entitled to business class and first rate hotels, and whilst I was terribly spoilt there is always a down side to everything. Hotels all begin to look the same and nowadays I find that Im quite picky about what I am paying for.
So for me hotels can be a double edged sword. Whilst I should be enjoying the change of surroundings, often the accommodation is somewhat lacking in imagination and pizazz, which got me thinking that really, a hotel needs to be more than just a place to sleep. And it's not all about expense either, as we realised when we visited The Welsh House, it's about so much more.
I was never a fan of camping or caravans, due to the fact that back in the annals of history, camping involved a flimsy piece of tarp, a narrow straight jacket of a sleeping bag, on hard, damp and bumpy ground. The one time I stayed in a caravan in the 1980's I awoke to discover the walls and windows running with condensation and let's not mention being kept awake all night by the other campers. But all that has changed.
So what has happened to peak my interest in this area now - one word - glamping.
What a brilliant idea. The internet has made is possible for individuals to rent out a space, whether it's a room in their house for b and b or something really cool on their grounds like a yurt or an airstream. Breaking away from a chain is very rewarding.
Some of my favourite bloggers are part of a collective for Canopy And Stars, an online collection of unusual places to stay, specializing in outdoor accommodation with a luxurious twist. From tree houses, camper vans, boats, shepherds huts to yurts, geo-domes and safari tents, they have curated a site with the best of these in the UK and parts of Europe.
I'm so happy that through instagram I have found so many cool new things and I've already booked my first Yurt which is situated in a part of Norfolk that I've been meaning to explore for some time. A new skill for me will be to learn to cook outside, and I shall be consulting with the Beach Hut Cook for tips and ideas on that.
I got quite hooked looking on the Canopy And Stars website, oohing and ahhhing over all the places that I simply must try out, my bucket list is endless. As I travel either solo or with my other half, we have a fantastic selection to choose from and for me I'm particularly interested if there are photo opportunities. I'm not the most hardy of people but I often surprise myself with my flexibility and optimism in any given situation. Be sure that you will see it on here as I tick it off the list, reporting back to the readers who, maybe like myself, get more adventurous with age and not less.
