Typecast

There's definitely been a boom in podcasting in 2017. I have a podcast app on my phone and, apart from the main social media channels, it's one of the most used apps I've ever downloaded. I currently have 41 podcast feeds stored in there and refresh the downloads about twice a week. Some are radio show round-ups (or segments from the show), some are comedy, some are crime related and some are hobby/interest related. I tend to listen to my podcasts in the car on the way to work as most are around the length of the 25-minute journey. Here are my favourite podcast picks - if you haven't already, you should give them a try. My Dad Wrote A Porno Right... I know I'm late to the party but I've just started listening to My Dad Wrote A Porno . It's been downloaded to the app for absolutely ages and I decided to give it a go this week after reading rave reviews (and realising that it's now on the third series).  Anyway, Jamie's dad wrote an erot...

In my role as "Stationery Blogger Of The Year", I often indulge in my habit of going round all the local stationery stores and stroking notebooks checking out the most recent stock. I wandered into The Works to take see if I could take advantage of their summer sale  and grab some bargains to pass on to the grandchildren for when they go back to school and also to see if there was anything I could put away ready for (dare I say it... ) Christmas. The Works is always a great place to pick up a few books - and there's a huge collection of  non-fiction books  - my favourites are always a good biography and a new recipe book - although I'm definitely thinking about picking up the " How To Brew Your Own Beer " book and take myself back to the 1980s when there was always a demijohn or two in the airing cupboard from Dad's experiments! "...a mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge." Game of Thrones is ...

Earlier this year I wrote about my summer holiday essentials  on this blog and I also shared my holiday packing tips on the Hotter Shoes blog.  Now that the summer is almost over *sob* I thought I'd share my favourite summer beauty products. Orly Breathable When visiting my nail technician, I switch between using acrylic nail powder  and having a Gelish manicure as both last a good three to four weeks however, in between manicures, I've been loving trying out the different shades of Orly Breathable and I'm really impressed at how I can get away with just one quick coat for a couple of days. Vaseline My summer holiday saviour was Vaseline and their Intensive Care range . The Radiant Spray Moisturiser is really their hero product this year (the directional spray means there's hardly any waste) and I've been a fan of their Lip Therapy for years now.   BC Body Collection Foundation I've been on the hunt for a tinted face moisturiser but came a...

Today marks the first ever World Calligraphy Day and, as National Stationery Blogger of the Year, I wanted to share a couple of ways for you to get involved. Photo by  Joanna Kosinska  on  Unsplash Over at the Pen Museum in the heart of Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter, the Manuscript Pen Company are hosting world renowned creative artists to celebrate calligraphy and hand lettering trends - many of which you've probably seen on quotes on Pinterest or in videos on Instagram.  It's a perfect opportunity to explore the Pen Museum too, learning about the history of the trade, starting with quills and working your way through to the modern day fountain pen. A post shared by Marylin - SoftThistle Life (@marylinmuir) on Mar 12, 2017 at 9:06am PDT If you can't get over to the event then the Manuscript Pen Company have provided a practice sheet which you can download by clicking on the image below !  You can find lots of calligraphy tutorials...

This year, our summer holiday took us to Corfu. We were staying in Roda on the north coast of the island and had a wonderful time. It's a beautiful Greek fishing village and has the most chilled and welcoming atmosphere I've ever experienced.  I'd love to share my recommended seven things to do if you visit Roda. Sunset over Roda harbour Swimming With The Fishes The coastline at Roda is completely flat so you can walk out quite a distance and still only be in shallow water.  The beach in the village is very sandy but becomes rocky as you move out of town towards some of the beach front hotels (twenty paces out to sea, it becomes sandy again). The water is generally very calm, beautifully warm and clear enough to see the occasional fish swimming by.   Chill out at the Boathouse As we walked down from our hotel, The Boathouse was one of the first bars we stopped at before continuing into Roda. It is perfectly placed between the rural coastal road that l...

Photo by  Patrick Tomasso  on  Unsplash We use our cars for everything, from commuting to work, dropping kids off at school and going on holiday. You spend an average of 17,600 minutes per year in your car. They are brilliant and practical machines, but they don’t have everything. Once you have found a car on a great car lease deal or bought a new one and checked when the MOT expires , you need to find yourself some additional accessories. There are a variety of accessories available for you to use on your journeys. Some of these accessories are only used for certain times, but it is well worth owning them regardless, in case you ever need them. We’ve partnered up with Hippo Leasing to let you know what their most commonly seen car accessories are. Cup Holder Car Mount Let’s be honest, how many of you actually use your cup holder to hold a cup? I bet it is actually filled with change for car parks and other items. So, what if you could put somethi...

Photo by  Tommy Pequinot  on  Unsplash There are those in our lives who love cars. They watch motorsport, they stare when a supercar rumbles passed. On Netflix and Dave, they rewatch old episodes of Top Gear and read all the websites. They absorb everything to do with cars . So what do you buy someone like that when it comes to giving a gift? Whether it is for birthdays or you are planning your Christmas shopping well in advance, there are many a gift you can give the car lover in your life. We have partnered with Zero Deposit Car Leasing to ensure you know what their most commonly seen gifts are for car lovers. Dashcam A dashcam should really be owned by every driver, not just the car lovers you know. They don’t have one, you should get them one, as dashcams are brilliant for a few different reasons. The main one is for you and your insurance. There have been stories in the news about groups trying insurance scams by either breaking hard and sudd...

I have NO IDEA how I get into these situations but * deep sigh * my friend, Rowena, is very much like the human version of the over-excited puppy part of my brain that thinks some ideas are good ideas but never gets chance to put them into action , thank goodness .  It's a dangerous friendship... When I was 10 years old a whole school term was taken up on a project with the theme of 'sport'. I wrote off to Grandstand and World of Sport to request signed photographs of presenters to glue into the pages of my folder. To my amazement, Des Lynam, Jimmy Hill, Dickie Davies and Frank Bough wrote back! It was definitely those signed pictures that won me first prize for my project but this was when your Radio 1 Roadshow and supermarket openings were pretty much the only way to catch a glimpse of any famous person, never mind actually get them to sign your autograph book or a publicity photo of themselves. Since pretty much all of our modern day celebrities are now using so...

Recently I've been moving all the pictures around in my house.  I now have a "family gallery" in the hallway which is like a living history display of our family and how it's expanded over the year. There's no rhyme or reason to it but it's a huge talking point. But because I'd moved all the family photos from other places in the house the rest of the walls were looking a bit bare.  Wall art is such an affordable way to brighten up a space in your home so I was really excited to work with Posterlounge - an online art publishing house based in Leipzig, Germany - to fill up those blank walls. For this review, I selected three different styles of wall art. First was a motivational poster (unframed) which I have gifted to my daughter.  The theme is ' carpe diem ' and fits it perfectly with her bedroom decor as it was a black and white print (80cm x 70cm).  Next I selected a Tina Melz print on acrylic glass (80cm x 30cm). The title of this pr...

Last year I saw Becky talking about her ' Positive Life Plan ' and made all good intentions to use the prompts to get my life in order.  Suffice to say that this didn't happen and I forgot all about it.  That was until I collaborated with Becky on the 'fitness' section of her Positive Life Plan a couple of weeks ago. I provided her with five top tips for new runners as she's working her way through the 'Couch to 5k' plan, and we all know what a big fan I am of that . The problem with me is that I find it hard to focus on long term goals. I'm crap at new year's resolutions, diets, blogging targets.... in fact, anything that requires me to make a plan and put effort in. I'm very much a 'in the moment' type of person, grabbing opportunities as they arise but it's very clear that I still need some sort of focus so I'm going to take each of Becky's prompts and revisit them monthly to see if I can get my life into so...