4 Top Tips for Choosing a Second-Hand Car

If, like me, you’re pretty clueless when it comes to cars and all of their intricate mechanics, you’ll no doubt find the prospect of buying a second-hand car incredibly daunting.

Unlike new cars that are guaranteed for several years and often come with lots of added extras, buying a second-hand car is a risky business. How do you ensure it’s going to be as reliable as that all-too-convincing car salesman says?

5 Ways To Add Value To Your Home

To renovate or not renovate? That’s a crucial question when you’re planning to put your house on the market. If you want to work your way up the property ladder to own your dream home, or you just want to make your home the best it can possibly be, you need to know how to maximise the value of where you live. You can get a quick valuation with Andrews to give your a starting point to work from. Here are 5 of the best ways to add value to your property.

4 Ways To Maintain A Family Car

When it comes to buying a family car, there are many factors that can attribute to which you decide to buy in the end. Things like fuel consumption, size, mechanical workings and issues are obvious, but once you have children, there is an even longer list to make sure it's a car that will fit your needs.

Once you've bought the car, the list to maintaining a family car is important, as a neglected vehicle can cause serious issues. So, here are my 4 ways of maintaining a family car...

Low-Cost Ways to Update Your Home

Keeping your house looking fresh and modern can be a bit of an uphill struggle, especially if you are working with a tight budget. Fortunately, as you will see, there is actually plenty of affordable ways to get the job done. Here are a few of the ones I think have the potential to work well.

Win My Living World Bug Safari & Ant World

The WildLife Trusts 30 Days Wild is running throughout June. The campaign encourages everyone to do something wild every day in June and to get outdoors. Nick Baker’s My Living World Nature Study kits are a great way to investigate nature’s creatures up close. Nick Baker is the vice president for the Wildlife Trusts and he has worked closely with Interplay to create the My Living World sets. 

Today I am running a giveaway to win 2 of these amazing sets - Bug Safari and Ant World so that one winner can truly get outside and explore what nature has available.

Keeping My Bleached Hair Maintained with Philip Kingsley

They say that the hair is an extension of your personality and I think this is so true. I mean, when I'm having a fun month, I'll tint my hair pink, in winter, I'll go a shade darker, and in the summer, I like to go light. 

I have been blonde my whole life. Starting out natural but then going lighter as I got older as my ashy locks left me feeling a little boring. At the moment, my hair is really light blonde and is hard to maintain. Going lighter blonde means trying to combat the yellowing that comes with it. 

Planning The Perfect Day Out For The Family

With summer here, it’s high time to begin planning how you’re going to keep your family entertained over the holidays. It’s a good idea to plan a number of days out as this way you have something to look forward to, and you have time to spend quality hours with your partner and children. Get ahead by looking online and in newspapers for offers and discounts to theme parks, theatre plays, sports activities, and so on. Get hold of a notebook and a pen, and begin planning your day out from start to finish to try and avoid mishaps along the way. Try and cover elements such as travel and cost, nearby facilities, suitable clothing to wear, whether you can use cash, and age and height restrictions of certain pursuits.

Simba Hybrid Super King Mattress Review

Being a married couple, it's safe to say that the bulk of our disagreements have been about our bed, the space in the bed, and just how we love differing things when we are both trying to sleep. I hate sleeping near anyone as I sleep and loathe when I roll towards my husband, and he has had spinal surgery so needs a good firm mattress that will alleviate any pressure on his spine. 

I was recently contacted by Simba who have their signature, Simba Hybrid Mattress which comes in a box. A box! How weird is that! I was sent a Simba Hybrid Super King Mattress and it arrived vacuum packed and sealed in a box which is much smaller than the mattress - thank goodness. 

How to Quit Smoking with Electronic Cigarettes

I am sure that you are aware of the many benefits of electronic cigarettes and how they are more beneficial than regular cigarettes. One of the major benefits is the fact that it can help you save money and can even help you save enough to enjoy that family holiday you have always been longing for.

In addition, electronic cigarettes have health benefits as you will not have to inhale those nasty toxins and chemicals associated with regular cigarettes. The best thing about switching to electronic cigarettes is that it will eventually help a smoker stop smoking entirely.

How City Design Affects The Way You Feel

Have you ever heard of the famous Winston Churchill quote “We shape our buildings and afterwards our buildings shape us.” He said this when considering repairing the House of Commons in 1943 after multiple bomb attacks.

The idea behind this may have seemed a little strange now as well as at the time, but it seems that Winston Churchill may have just hit the nail on the head.

Amazing DIY Firepit Ideas for Your Garden

Have you always wanted to include a firepit in your garden but don’t like the style of shop bought ones? If so, making your own is the option for you but building it properly so that it can withstand the heat is critical. But it is possible. And here’s how.

The flames of a fire are mesmerising as they are warming and so it is no wonder that many people are including them in the garden. By adding heat in this way, you can use your garden long into the evening and also on cooler evenings in the autumn too.

5 Things You'll Realise When Vacationing With Your Family

Vacationing with family can be one of the most fun, stressful, and eye opening experiences of your life. It doesn’t matter whether you’re travelling with your entire family including long lost cousins or you’re simply going with your kids - you’re bound to realise a few things on your trip together. Here are just 5 of the things you’ll probably realise when vacationing with your nearest and dearest: 

5 Frugal Tips for Families living on a Single Income

It's been very difficult for families of all shapes and sizes to make ends meet lately. However, few people feel the pinch quite like families on a single income. Whether someone in your clan has unexpectedly lost their job, or you're expecting a new child and know that someone's going to have to take some time off to care for the baby, it's important to know how you can cope with living on a single income.

While making ends meet on one income can be difficult, it's not impossible - particularly when you have the right tips and tricks to help you. The following ideas might give you the guidance you need to live comfortably with the cash you have.

5 Tips To Make Your CV Stand Out

Writing a CV always takes a lot of time and can be one of the toughest challenges of job hunting. This is the case whether you are starting from scratch or updating your details to make it zing. As someone who writes a lot, I find that family and friends come to me when it comes to checking over these sorts of things, and for me, there are many parts of the CV that are being let down.

Recently, TMI Resourcing asked me all about how I make my CV zing, and so here are my 5 tips to make you CV stand out from the crowd...

Taking Our First Family Holiday Abroad

For years we dreamt of being able to take the children abroad. Each time we did, something came up to stop us being able to afford it - or J turned up which meant no travelling whilst he was too young to enjoy it.

We saved and saved, every last bit of extra money available, and eventually was able to fly abroad as a family of 5. Spain was ideal for the boys first flight as it was only 2 and a half hours so we could see how they would react to flying. Luckily they all loved it!

Gaining Body Confidence With Hunkemöller

As someone who suffers really badly with my self-confidence, going on holiday to Spain and wearing a bikini whilst there, would have never normally have been on the agenda. Usually a swimsuit would have sufficed, and I'd have still been conscious about my body whilst wearing it. 

But over the past few month I have been working on my self-confidence loads. Going to the gym to help me lose weight, and firm up, eating better, and just trying to love myself for me. It's been such a hard journey, and I'm still not finished, but it meant that when we flew to Spain a fortnight ago, I actually wore a bikini. 

Miele W1 WWG120 9KG 1600RPM Washing Machine Review

Having a large family means that we go through tons of loads in the washing machine each week. As soon as one load is washed and dried, another is going in to be washed. This means that we need a machine that is reliable and can cope with the amount of washing that I'll be throwing at it. 

I was lucky enough to receive the Miele W1 WWG120 washing machine from AO.com and it arrived the day after we got back from Spain so it had a very good workout in it's first few days with us - 11 loads in fact!

Dyson AM06 Cool Fan Review

Bank holiday weekend has been a gone, and since we got back from Spain, the weather has been scorching. It's been the perfect week full of gorgeous weather - I think we may have brought it back with us!

The day after we arrived back from our holiday, as we were starting to melt from the British sun, a fabulous Dyson Cool AM06 Fan arrived from AO.com and it was out of the box and ready to be used in no time at all. 

Children's Holiday Essentials

When it comes to going abroad for the first time with a child, it's important to have a couple of things with you to make the transition easy. Playing outdoors, and in the pool all day, can come with it's own problems so having items ready to combat this is the perfect way to start a holiday.

How to Create the Perfect Girls Bedroom

There are many factors that you will need to consider before making the perfect girls’ bedroom. You will want to create a bedroom that is full of warmth and colour as well as a bedroom that can stand the test of time and be useful and relevant as your child grows up. Here are some of the ways you can help transform a room into the perfect girls’ bedroom.