Valentine's Day Inside the Wendy House

My wonderful husband started my Valentine's Day in a manner befitting our marriage with his hand made Zombie card....the inscription was "Even if I was a Zombie I'd still give you my heart!"  True romance or what!!!

A trip into town after the school run was a lovely start to the day.  I had a balanced breakfast...chocolate muffin and a chocolate stick with my mocha....perfectly balanced.  Well it is Valentine's Day after all!

Freddy got in on the act too!

Even on a day off, conference calls rear their ugly head.  Is is wrong that I found my 'obviously-so- incredibly-important-that-work-can't-leave-him-alone' husband's Blackberrying a little bit sexy today?

I bought Ian a little pressie from Asda! Twit-twoo and half price too!!

I really do adore my man...I feel very blessed to still feel this way after 18 years together as a couple.  There's been ups and downs but they've all been part of our journey to here and now...and this is a really good place to be!!

Blue Friesian Personalised Glossy Magazine Cover Review

Blue Friesian is a new company that specialises in producing personalised 8 or 12 page glossy magazines and glossy magazine front covers for any occasion.  The website offers a host of themes from celebrity gossip magazines to sporting magazines...you name it they have it! You can personalise the templates with your own photographs and text to produce a unique, individual piece of artwork.  Perfect as a thoughtful gift for a loved one, they would also be excellent for weddings, family parties, birthdays, new babies or christenings. They are a beautiful keepsake that would certainly bring a smile to the recipient's face!  Sports teams or corporate events could benefit from having their own bespoke glossy mag.  A wonderfully original and unique idea with the potential to impress and entertain.

Today I was thrilled to learn that I had won a prize from Blue Friesian's Facebook Page.  They are running a fabulous prize draw everyday until Valentine's Day to win a personalised glossy magazine cover. So pop across, check out their competition tab and see if you can get lucky too!

I approached Blue Friesian to ask if they would like me to write a review of my prize and was very happy to be offered an upgrade so I could create two different magazine covers for the purpose of my review.  Without hesitation, I headed to the website. I am a bit geeky.  I love using the computer to produce photo gifts so I was quite excited to check out the Blue Friesian site and have a 'play'!

The site is really user friendly and appealing.  The covers and magazines are displayed so you can see exactly what you can create with a just little time and effort.  The designs are stylish and authentic looking and there is a theme to suit anyone young or old.  Pet lovers, parents, sportsmen, boys, girls, music fans or newly weds can find something to suit them.  You can make your friends, family or loved ones the stars of the show and create your story instantly.

The software allows you to overwrite text and upload photographs into the templates. The number of images and amount of text you can add varies, but the scope to personalise is very generous. You can see exactly how your changes look as you go along by updating your creation, so you can rework the cover or magazine to get it just right.  You have to make sure your photos fit into the spaces as there is no cropping or resizing option on the templates themselves, but this didn't pose any problems.  You can crop your pictures and save them onto your PC before starting the project.  There is flexibility in choices of colour on some of the covers so you can create the perfect piece to suit your needs.

There is helpful advice and prompts at every stage of the process.  I really enjoyed making my covers, it was a fun process that I found quite straightforward.

The first cover I made was a music magazine 'EMN'.  It was a simple template using one large photograph and overlaid text. It was very simple to create. The second cover was 'Girl Alert' which was slightly more complicated as it had four smaller photographs each with captions, on top of the main picture.  This took a little longer as I had to try a few pictures to find which ones fitted best.  I was delighted with both finished results.

You can opt for a digital version of your artwork to print yourself at home, or you can order a high quality printed version from Blue Friesian using their state-of-the-art digital printing presses.  If you want multiple copies, there are great value reductions to be had.  Turnover is between 5 and 7 days.

As part of the package, you are sent an email with an image of your finished magazine cover artwork or a link to a digital version of your magazine.  You can share these on Facebook or email them to your friends so they can share your creation.  I think this is a very thoughtful extra.  I'm looking forward to receiving my covers which I intend to frame and put into my daughters' bedrooms.  They are going to love them.  When they arrive I'll let you know what I think of the finished product.  I'm sure they are going to be wonderful...I can't wait to find out!

Listography...5 Things I'd Love This Valentine's

This week's Listography theme as thought up by Kate Takes 5 is "5 Things I'd love this Valentine's".  With February 14th rapidly approaching, our minds are turning to love, romance and passion.  So what five things would I really love to receive??

Ian and I don't really do the present-buying thing.  We buy things for each other throughout the year if appropriate...a prime example of this being when my romantic and thoughtful husband bought me The Human Centipede on Blu-Ray on the day of its release!  Unsolicited surprises are always the best kind.  Unsolicited surprises involving unwilling victims stitched together in an unimaginably grotesque way are even better.

However, Valentine's Day makes you feel duty-bound to spoil your loved one.  One year Ian wrote and recorded me a song called "Hey Wendy (It was Always You)" which is a fabulous rocky, love song, sang in the style of Axl Rose!  I think that would be hard to top...it really was the most amazing present ever :)

So aside from that, what would I really LOVE!!

1:  Ian is taking the day off on Valentine's Day so we can enjoy some together-time while the kids are at school.  (Together meaning me, Ian and Freddy!)  So I want to be whisked off for a fabulous lunch somewhere a bit special (not Gregg's for a veggie pasty!)

2:  I don't really do flowers.  Something about that smelly water *shudders*.  I also don't do houseplants, because of the dirt. (I sound like one of those clean freaks....however if you saw my house you'd know that is just not the case!!)  I'm also on a diet so chocolate is a bit of a no-go area for me. Being tee-total champagne is out of the question.  Instead I would like a Valentine's Balloon Creation from Balloon Baboon.  Calorie, alcohol, smelly water and dirt free!!

Image from Balloon Baboon

3:  I would like my husband to serenade me with the aforementioned Hey Wendy song, the acoustic version.  Ian is very talented but not much of a performer.  I want to be performed to!

4:  I would like to watch a film uninterrupted by children (now that is a BIG ask!!) 

5: I'd like matching tattoos to celebrate our love!  Ian has actually designed them, we just haven't got around to getting them inked onto us.  I'd love to get them done!

Ian is so very, very demonstrative with his love and affection.  He tells me he loves me and thanks me for being his wife everyday (not even exaggerating!) So even if he totally bypassed Valentine's Day and failed to do any of the above, I'd still feel incredibly blessed to have him!! 

My Love Story

My long suffering other half really is a wonderful man. I count my blessings everyday  that I got to marry my best friend. Especially when I look back at our history.  I guess some things are just meant to be, and us being together is one of those things.  But the path to here and now did not run smoothly.  

This is our Love Story....

I have known Ian since we started secondary school in 1981.  I don't remember the moment we met, but we had friends in common and our social circles merged.  Soon, he was the one I fancied.  He was tall, slim, cute, with blue eyes. Looking back at photos he had really bad hair (his mum still cut it) and pretty poor dress sense (again I blame his mother in hindsight!)  It took him three years to slip me a piece of paper during English class that said "Will you go out with me?"  He had a way with words, the smooth talker!

We were both pretty shy and our relationship didn't get much further than hand holding and going for rides on his tandem bike while drinking from 2 litre bottles of cheap cider from the off licence...but the seeds were sown.  Ian left school at 16 whereas I continued on to the sixth form.  I ended things with him and broke his heart. 

We never lost touch. I would do my own thing but my thoughts would always return to Ian.  He was always the person I turned to when things weren't going well.  Without fail he was there for me. If I got into trouble he was there to rescue me. When I found myself pregnant and single at 19 it was Ian that I phoned up from a phone box near where I lived.  He came round.  He continued coming round every day to sit with me and chat and give me support.  After I gave birth he came and visited me.  He was my support when my baby had his heel prick at six days old.  He was my rock.  Then I had the opportunity to go and live with my sister.  I went and I let Ian drift out of my life again.  


If we'd had the internet, Facebook, mobile phones or Twitter during this time, we wouldn't have kept losing touch.  But contact required a lot of physical effort and I always let it slide.

In 1989, I ended up in a really toxic relationship with a man that I worked with. He was a salesman with his own flat and the gift of the gab. My sister's house was on the market as her family was relocating because of her husband's job. I was a soon-to-be-homeless single parent. I was vulnerable.  He promised us the world.  I was able to move out of my sister's house and in with him, but that is when it all started going wrong.  We should never have been together in the first place. I did try to make it work, but it soon became clear that it was never going to happen. He started drinking. Things spiralled downwards rapidly from there. Somehow I got pregnant...whether it was a subconscious decision to try to make things work, or whether I needed something to give me purpose, I don't know.  Our relationship worsened and I felt that my son and my unborn child were at risk.  I became stronger, more determined and I found the courage to leave.


Again, I phoned Ian.  He was by my side again.  He took me out.  He took care of me.  He held me and comforted me and made everything all right.  I gave birth to my daughter.  He brought me flowers.  We carried on seeing each other off and on.  He was a great friend.  The very best. 

The more I saw of him, the more I realised that we were destined to be together.  He had been in love with me for ever, but has subsequently told me that he thought I was totally out of his league and he wasn't good enough for me, so he was content with the friendship and he was happy just making sure I was happy.  We had started seeing more of each other in the evenings and we had moments when he'd hold my hand under the table in the pub, or let his friendly goodnight kiss linger a little.


It was a real dilemma.  He was my best friend.  If we took our relationship to the next level, we could never go back to being friends if it went wrong.  That would be a huge loss.  


I took the chance.  


In 1993 we became a couple.  I have to admit it was a little weird at times ("But you're Ian!!!" is a real passion killer!)  

Being together soon became the most natural thing in the world. We got married in 1997. Ian is my soul mate, my best friend, my first love and my last love.  He is the best daddy to all five of our children and they all adore him.  I count my blessings everyday that he was so patient.  He never judged me and he waited for as long as he had to.  The road that lead us to here and now has shaped us and made us appreciate each other and what we have.  We make each other better people.  Being together was our fate!

Valentine's Pampering with Montagne Jeunesse...go on spoil yourself!

January will soon be all but a memory and we find ourselves looking forward to the most romantic day of the year....  Valentine's Day!  A day of love hearts, romance and true love :)

To prepare for a passion-filled Valentine's this year, Montagne Jeunesse recommend these four lust-have lovelies!

Reveal your inner seductress and bask in the confidence of your cleansed, clear complexion with the Passion Peel Off  face masque.

The blissful blend of pomegranate and passion flower, infused with raspberry, grape and cranberry banishes blemishes and leaves skin fresh, purified and primed to get up close and personal! Simply smooth on, relax while it sets and peel off for gorgeous, kissable, totally irresistible skin.  Perfectly packaged at 99p a sachet there's no excuse for not having a loved up Valentine's this year with a Passion Peel Off!

It'll make you feel fruity!

Keep the passion alive longer with a fabulous Tottle (the love child of a tube and a bottle!)  With ten applications they contain plenty of the gorgeous masque...enough to share a pamper session with a loved one!

Revel in the romance of the divine Damask Rose Deep Cleansing Masque.  Renowned for its cleaning and hydrating properties, delicate Damask Rose is infused with Africa's miracle Marula oil, ridding the skin of anti-oxidants and leaving the skin deeply moisturised.  The sensual blend of Shea Butter and creamy cocoa butter leave skin feeling soft and enticing. The inviting floral fragrance will leave your man completely love struck.

Make sure this Valentine's Day you get your roses in Tottle form for around £5...it would make a long lasting gift to yourself!

As well as roses, chocolates are another perfect Valentine's gift.  This year indulge in a guilt-free chocolate Valentine's Day treat...with a zero calorie Chocolate Mask!

This deep cleansing and luxurious Chocolate Mud Masque is rich in natural ingredients which help to unblock pores, drawing out impurities.  This scrummy mask is devoted to love!  With skin healing properties of Dead Sea salt and moisturizing benefits of cocoa and Shea butter you'll be left with renewed, re-hydrated and irresistible skin...a chocoholics dream beauty product.  You'll be sure to melt any hunks heart for 99p. Mmmm...divine!

Are you desperately dreaming of a perfect, kissable pout?  Then this natural, super soothing lip balm is an absolute must have for Valentine's!  The yummy Cranberry and Aloe Vera balm with 100% natural beeswax will ensure your lips stay magically moisturised and hydrated for all unexpected lip locking moments!  A blissful blend of juicy cranberries, soothing Aloe Vera and smoothing Shea Butter and pure beeswax will guarantee you have gorgeous, kissable, luscious lips all day long.  At around £3 these fruity faves are a beauty bargain.  Perfect for popping in your handbag to keep your lips lush all night long.


Montagne Jeunesse products are bursting with natural ingredients and goodness and are as eco-friendly as possible.  All products are vegetarian and animal friendly.  

Montagne Jeunesse love the planet and our animal friends making them the perfect choice for Valentine's Day!


If you don't have someone to love this Valentine's Day, spoil yourself with a Montagne Jeunesse face masque and a good romantic chick flick!  Lovely xxx