The Matchmaker - A Book Review

I absolutely love the idea of matchmaking. I also love Fred from ‘First Dates,’ I mean who can resist a smart man with a gorgeous French accent? Honestly, I could quite happily listen to him chat away in French or English, all day long. Anyway, as usual I have digressed, but  there is a point to my slight aside, since I have been very fortunate to be gifted a copy of The Matchmaker to read in exchange for an honest and unbiased review; and given that it is inspired by the aforementioned show, I was suitably excited and extremely happy to have the opportunity to do so.

Since Innes works for Cosmopolitan as their Features Director, I had very high hopes for the standard of writing and story construction (back in the day, I was a huge Cosmo fan) and I can say hand on heart, I was not disappointed. From the very first paragraph, she draws you into the story, endearing you to the central character, Caitlin Carter, who disillusioned with her career in PR, sets up her own business as a Matchmaker. She is inspired to follow this path having met and married the love of her love Harry, and having a natural ability to know, just who will click with whom. These two things make Catlin very successful and her business, goes from strength to strength, with people eager to sign up and an Instagram account aspiring bloggers would give their right arm for! However, as we read on, it becomes clear, all is not as it seems to be.

I really enjoyed this book. Actually, I enjoyed it so much, I really didn't want to finish it and found myself missing Caitlin, her friends and her story; which makes writing a review horrendously difficult. What I want to do is blurt out the entire story to you, but obviously I can’t do that because that would completely ruin it for you. What I can do, is tell you that this is a well written book; the story flows effortlessly, the characters are well thought out and are easy to relate to (worryingly, I found I related most to Caitlin during a visit to the zoo - you'll need to read the book to find out what I mean). I particularly loved the way Innes cleverly drops breadcrumbs, letting the reader know that something is off, giving clues the further into the story we go, but without ruining the twist once it is finally revealed in full.

This isn’t the rom com I thought it was going to be, this is a journey of self discovery, friendship, support, family and change. There are highs and lows, laughter and tears, and holding it all together is love in all it's forms. If you are looking for a story to inspire you and remind you that even in the darkest times, hope's light still shines, then this is for you. I really hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

The Matchmaker is now available in paperback RRP £8.99.

Beauty Sleep - A Review

It’s no secret, my favourite animal is a sloth. I adore them. They are so cute and friendly looking; they don’t rush to do anything, and they do like to sleep. Perhaps that is why I like them so much, because I do like my sleep. My bed is one of my favourite places to be. It’s warm, it’s cosy and it’s comfy. The perfect recipe for a good night’s sleep; which is good, because much as I love sloths, sleeping hanging from a tree is not an option for me and even if it were, let’s face it, I wouldn’t last five seconds before falling to the ground in a big heap. I’d need a very big crash mat beneath my tree, or at the very list a nice soft, comfy bunch of pillows.

Speaking of pillows, it is so important to have a good one on which to rest your weary head at the end of a busy day. There is nothing worse than tossing and turning all night because your pillow isn’t right and then waking up with a pain in the neck (and no, I am not referring to your other half). Yes, the right pillow really can make all the difference.

Kenya, A Mountain to Climb - Book Review

As many of you who read this blog regularly will know, I suffer with mental illness. I have a diagnosis of depression and anxiety, which was first made almost ten years ago. Unlike some people, I know my diagnosis is a 'forever' condition. My father suffers and so does my youngest daughter. For some of us, there is an hereditary element. In some ways, I'd rather that, it makes it easier for me to manage. I'm able to identify my triggers and let those close to me know my triggers, enabling myself, and others, to rein me in when necessary and practise some self care. I'm lucky, to have a fabulous next door neighbour, an amazing fiance and two wonderful daughters, who tell me to take a break when they can see I'm taking on too much.

I also have some awesome friends on Twitter, people who got me through my darkest days and to the place I am now in; which is a place where I work my wee butt off to raise awareness of mental illness and try to help people living with a diagnosis, or caring for someone, to cope and seek help. Hence, when I saw that Rod Wood was looking for people to review his latest book, I jumped at the chance.

Julie May Lingerie Review

Now I’m not sure how much common knowledge this may be, but certainly amongst close friends and family, I am known for my love of underwear and my need to wear matching undies. This has caused much amusement to many people. Over the years I have relaxed a little, but even if the undies are not from the same collection, they must be matching in colour; also a very important rule, they can only not be matching if they are plain, simple undies, if they’re lacy or fancy in any way, then they absolutely have to be from the same collection. In short, if the undies don’t match, I feel uncomfortable all day and less confident (don’t ask me why, it’s not like anyone can see I’m unmatching, but that’s how it is).

Anyway, as usual I have digressed somewhat, the point of the undies talk is that I am a very lucky and very happy girl, because the lovely folk at Julie May were kind enough to let me review their beautiful Serenity range.

A Paws from Christmas

Are your kids fed up with traipsing around busy shops, battling the crowds, getting trampled on by other shoppers and having you constantly yelling, 'Would you please stop running off, it's too busy, you'll get lost!' after them? Actually, you are most likely fed up with it all too. Fear not, there is a solution (if your child is an animal lover).

How about booking the kids on to one of the free workshops run by Pets At Home? They are only half an hour long, so if you do need to run the gauntlet of the High Street at Christmas time, you could use the workshop as a break in proceedings, or a treat at the end of the trip.

A Super Sunday Lunch

For some time now, I have been meaning to get my backside down to the lovely Kent Coast, namely Dover for a Sunday Lunch and a catch up with a fabulous young man whom I once had the privilege of working with.

As you know, I did indeed go to Dover recently, but had to rush home after visiting the Castle so didn't make it to the pub, but this weekend, I decided the girls deserved a Back to School treat and given that they both love a roast dinner, we made a reservation at The White Horse.

I am rather good at finding my way to Dover nowadays, well the Castle at least, but I don't really know the area and wasn't entirely sure where The White Horse was located, so I printed off the directions (as a back up) and set the rather dodgy SatNav up. Now to be fair to the SatNav, it does need updating, or better still replacing, but when Dr. BD and I used it last week, she (SatNav lady) wanted me to turn right in the middle of the M2, and couldn't correctly count the exits on any of the roundabouts...need I say more?

We had a relatively clear drive down and found the pub really easily. What I'd not realised was its close proximity to the Castle. Bonus, because as we all know by now, Dover Castle is one of my favourite places to visit and knowing that there's a super friendly pub just around the corner makes it all the more appealing.

I like to be prepared when going somewhere new for the first time so I'd checked about parking when I booked and was advised by the lovely Stuart that parking in the adjacent leisure centre car park is free on a Sunday (it's pay and display otherwise). The pub is located next to the ruins of St. James' Church, which was sadly damaged in World War II. I imagine that during it's lifetime it must have been beautiful, but even now in it's collapsed and ruined state it holds a certain beauty that warranted a couple of photos.

We headed in to the pub, to a warm and friendly welcome from the lovely Stuart. After ordering our drinks we were shown to our table in the wee 'bistro' area. Stuart was super, he made us so welcome, and chatted away to the girls, which they loved.

The Sunday Lunch menu was fabulous. Nice and simple, three choices of main course and four dessert choices. This is perfect, especially if you have indecisive children (or adults) with you. Goodness only knows how much time I have spent waiting for someone to make their mind up when faced with a massive menu. It's very frustrating when you're starving hungry. So a nice concise menu is well and truly welcomed.

Miss. D went for the beef whilst I went for chicken and Miss. L, a child sized chicken dinner. Whilst we waited for our meals to be served we enjoyed some time chatting; well Miss. D and I did, Miss. L was busy playing a game on my phone, her tablet was out of charge.

I won't lie, I was a little concerned when the plates arrived, well, mine and Miss. D's anyway, because there was a lot of food on there and I only have a little appetite. However, it was so delicious I needn't have been concerned. Who am I kidding, I could have done seconds. The beef looked great and must have tasted good, because Miss. D made very short work of it. The chicken was perfectly cooked, it was full of flavour and was still lovely and moist. No dry chicken nor soggy vegetables at The White Horse! The veggies were sheer perfection, with just the right amount of 'crunch' and do not get me started on the gravy which was, to coin a phrase, 'to die for' because it was homemade gravy; you really can tell the difference.

She wasn't happy that I insisted on photographing her dinner!

Miss. L didn't mind having her food photographed.

I must apologise, because the dessert was so scrummy that I clean forgot to take photos, thankfully, I remembered just before Miss. L stuck her spoon into her Sticky Toffee Pudding. I had the same and it was so good, I finished Miss. L's off for her (she only managed half of it). Sadly, Miss. D polished off her apple pie before I got a chance to try it, but it did look good and I may well order it myself next time.

You can't beat Sticky Toffee Pudding

The lovely Jules came and joined us for a bit after he'd finished off (at least for a wee while) in the kitchen. It was fab to catch up with him, over a nice pot of tea, (tea is so important, don't you think) and reminisce about our days working in a call centre together. It may not have been the best of jobs, but fair to say it was the best of times and the best team I've ever had the privilege of working with.

I am so pleased for Jules and Stuart for taking up the challenge of running The White Horse. They are an amazing couple and are both totally people focused. You cannot fail to feel welcomed by these lovely gents. We enjoyed our visit so much that we will definitely be returning and would highly recommend you visiting too, should you ever find yourself in Dover. You really won't find a friendlier place to relax.

I won't apologise for really plugging this fabulous place (let's face it, if you can't use your blog to big up a friend's fab business, why blog) and, as such, you'll find all their contact details below:

The White Horse
St. James' Street
Dover CT16 1QF

01304 213066

You can also follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Finally, we made our way back to the car, but not before taking a couple more photos of the church next door.

*Please note this review is totally independent and has not been commissioned by The White Horse, I just happen to love these gents.

Review of bakerdays Letter Box Cake

Well, the lovely people at bakerdays were kind enough to let us devour, sorry, I mean review one of their very scrumptious cakes. I am rather fond of cake, as is Dr. BD and both the girls, so it really hasn't been a chore at all!