Hello Jennifer Helen

Baby Loss Awareness Week: My Story

October 15, 2016

Many of you won’t know that this week is Baby Loss Awareness Week. In fact, every year from 9 – 15 October it is Baby Loss Awareness Week. I didn’t know before this year, because baby loss was something that had only affected me indirectly. I know friends who have had miscarriages and I have felt their pain deeply. But it was only when my brother and sister-in-law lost their beautiful daughter, Pip, that I truly understood that pain myself. My lovely little niece was stillborn on 12 July this year, only three months ago. She was perfect in every way and already past 40 weeks’ gestation, but for some unknown reason her heart stopped beating the day before she was born.

Fashion: Beautiful Bracelets from ChloBo

October 13, 2016

When we were on honeymoon, we had the most amazing close encounter with an elephant. Our camp was in the middle of the bush and there was nothing stopping wild animals just wandering in. And one day, a big bull elephant did just that. Not only that, but he lumbered right past our lodge and ate the bushes right in front of our balcony. It was one of those once in a lifetime experiences that makes me smile just thinking about it! What’s this got to do with bracelets, you might ask? Well just wait until you see what I got from ChloBo…

2016 Blog Goals Progress and a Redesign!

October 10, 2016

Back in January this year, I set myself some blogging goals. Now I know there is this huge *thing* about numbers and how it’s not the number of followers, but how engaged they are. And I totally agree! However, I have found that setting myself some goals for this year has really given me something to aim for personally to help keep me motivated and committed towards creating great content and posting regularly. So how have I got on so far?

Sampling New Beauty Brands from Ideal World

October 7, 2016

When my lovely blogger friend Chloe, aka Lady Writes, got in touch to ask if I wanted to sample some beauty products for her day job role, I just knew I had to say yes! Chloe works at Ideal World, a TV shopping channel. I love finding hidden gems like this – Ideal World stocks loads of great beauty brands that you can spend hours browsing and reading reviews of. As much as I love the big, established brands that I am familiar with, there’s nothing better than coming across something new and being able to share it with your friends. So here I am sharing what I found, with you!

Fashion: What to Wear in Cape Town in Winter*

October 4, 2016

Cape Town is a truly beautiful city. With so much to do there, you are spoilt for choice! It is the perfect place to get adventurous in, whether that means taking a trip up Table Mountain, spotting penguins at Boulders Beach or scrambling along cliff sides at Cape Point. We visited the city on our honeymoon last month, when Cape Town was just coming out of winter and heading into the early days of spring. Coming from the 37° heat of the greater Kruger park, the cooler climes and occasional rain came as a bit of a shock to the system. I had no idea what to wear! So when Thomson asked me to create a fashion mood board for Cape Town, I jumped at the chance.

Travel: Our South Africa Honeymoon Itinerary

September 28, 2016

There are so many amazing places to go in the world, so how do you pick where you want to go for one of the most amazing holidays in your life? Andrew and I both knew we wanted to go big for our honeymoon. We wanted it to be the holiday of a lifetime. I can’t quite remember exactly how we chose to go to South Africa on safari, but it was a bit of a no brainer. There were a couple of other contenders, but going on a safari feels like a real privilege and is a really exciting trip to plan and book. Because there was so much else going on (planning a wedding takes A LOT of time!) we decided to take the pressure off and enlisted the help of Trailfinders. With their advice, we came up with a fabulous South African honeymoon itinerary.

A Pop Up Thai Restaurant at The Sidegate Gallery

September 22, 2016

Last week I had the pleasure of trying out one of Gateshead’s best kept secrets and didn’t think I could keep it to myself! Sidegate Gallery, a gorgeous shop and boutique in Sunniside has started to host monthly pop up restaurant. Each month they bring in chefs and offer a three course meal, with a different cuisine every time. This month was the turn of Thai food and Oodles of Noodles were the caterers of choice.

Getting Married And Changing My Name

September 19, 2016

Anyone who knows me will know that I have really struggled with the idea of changing my name now I am a Mrs. I have gone into my settings on Facebook and typed in my new surname at least five times, but every time I go to click Save, I get a wobble in my tummy and I just can’t do it. It’s absolutely mad and I can’t explain how frustrated it is making me feel. What should I do? How can I make my mind up? I’ve spoken to a few people about what they think to try and help me make a decision. Here’s what they said and what I have decided to do!

Health: Staying Hydrated With elete Electrolytes

September 16, 2016

In case you hadn’t noticed (and I wouldn’t blame you for not) then it’s currently the Great British Summertime. And occasionally, the sun emerges from behind the clouds and blesses us with its presence. When it does, I feel like I need to take on even more water and I find hitting the gym even harder than usual. I turn into a big, hot sweaty mess and find myself chugging back more and more council pop. But hydration isn’t all about H2O, as I learnt when I tried electrolytes from elete Holistic Hydrate.

We Got Married!

September 12, 2016

Well, what can I say? We got married! Our wedding day, on 20 August 2016, was absolutely wonderful. Andrew and I both felt so emotional, so surrounded by love and just had so much fun all day long. I swear my cheeks were aching from smiling so much. There is so much to tell about our perfect day, I don’t even know where to begin! I suppose I will break it down into some smaller bite-sized chunks so I don’t become a dreadful wedding bore. In the meantime, here are some of my favourite snaps from the day. We don’t have our official pictures back yet so these aren’t the best quality but I love them nonetheless!