Last updated on May 5th, 2024 at 01:40 pm
The weekend is upon us – YAY! I couldn’t be more happier to see the end of this week. I hope the weather has good intentions this weekend because I have a lot of catching up to do and fun things with the kids planned. It is seems we normally have a million parties and social things with other people going on leading up to Thanksgiving and Christmas but this weekend it’s just me and the kids and I really can’t wait.
Many of you might have caught my instagram post the other day about struggling with some bad family news and trying to still maintain a perfect balance with how I look, the kids, the house, work, blog, social media and how striving for perfection all the time is hard but even impossible when you are struggling emotionally. I am so grateful for all the comments and support coming in. I think sharing your life online as a job becomes a little tricky when you are trying to get pass something emotional. While I am very much the person you read on my blog and on social media, I hold back so much. I have always been a people pleaser and the one that strives for perfection in EVERYTHING. It’s totally exhausting on normal days and lately I have been looking at it so differently.
I am finding the courage to open up and share more of my personality and more of my life than just the easy family fun stuff. Not to say that it’s going to become all doom and gloom here on LTM – that will never happen, that isn’t me at all. But I want to break out of my comfort zone and stop comparing and striving for perfection in so many things that don’t matter in life. I realized going through all that I am going through, at the moment, the only person that cares if my house is perfectly clean and organized – is me! The only person that cares if my hair and makeup and outfit are perfect – is me! The only person that cares if I have responded to every comment on my social media, instagram and blog – is me (ok maybe two others because no one knows we reply to comments unless they are on wordpress themselves). You get the picture. I am putting all this pressure on myself each and every day to only look back and think what am I doing? No one else cares about all this extra effort to make my life look and feel like a picture perfect experience when it’s perfectly imperfect just how it should be. I wonder what made me be so vain. I will admit it. It’s only vanity that would make me care how I appear to the people outside of this house whether that’s baking, cleaning, organizing, running around with my head cut off, taking time to curl hair and pick out outfits for the school run. I hate that part of me. So as I work on myself, work on finding courage and also changing a few things on my vlog and my blog, I hope you will stick with me. I also hope I will motivate and inspire you to do the same. I will be sharing another separate blog post, but it’s so easy to compare ourselves with others and fall into this striving for a Pinterest Perfect life. Don’t do it!
THIS WEEK I AM LOVING…
I am finishing up a few books that I mentioned last week and been pouring over everyone’s cozy winter fashion blog posts this week. I have been searching high and low for trendy bobble hats, cozy sweaters, tall boots and nice tops for winter. I swear everyone is finding these items very easy this year and I just haven’t landed on some that I am ready to purchase and in the meantime I am absolutely freezing.
Tigerlilly Quinn
Fritha is the biggest fashionista I know. I swear she should be in fashion magazines and strutting for brands left and right. She always has the perfect pose and looks amazing in everything. I love her style. Here this post is bursting with her vintage chic look with three items and accessories too. Check her blog out….
I admire and love Alison’s blog and love her style too. It is usually bursting with color and style all the same. I pour over her style on instagram and just drool with envy because she puts items of clothing together so funky and chic and I wish I had the knack for that. I am loving her latest Autumn Winter Styles including this cozy jumper above. It looks the part and she is working it. You must check out her blog…
Have you heard? I am running a few Christmas giveaways leading up to the big festive day to give back to all my loyal readers. This week, you could WIN a Hotel Chocolat Advent Calendar by entering below. It’s the creamiest and smoothest chocolate I have ever tasted. I love getting a box in for guests during the holidays and each year I team up with them as they always have something new and exciting for the holidays to try out. I am truly in love with their variety of flavored chocolate wreaths like the large Christmas Wreath Cookie. It makes me drool just typing it. We are testing out the Dark Chocolate Advent Calendar like the one I am giving away which feels extra special.
I have been working hard revamping my youtube channel and getting it ready for Vlogmas. I really want to challenge myself to step out of my comfort zone and try to get more comfortable in front of the camera. That won’t happen if I don’t push myself to vlog more and do it more in public. SO I have a lot of ideas to share with you this Vlogmas from room tours, shopping hauls, days out, to a few personal challenge vlogs in between. I hope it will be interesting enough to come watch every day leading up to Christmas. So to prepare I have been making all my thumbnails the same so it flows across my channel nicely. Putting end cards to all my videos and changing a few things around with sections so you can find the topics you love to watch easier. I hope this makes you all enjoy my channel easier and more. Here is out latest video from Half Term if you have a minute. Would love a thumbs up please!
It’s been pretty boring if you haven’t notice on my ig stories this week. I normally, share my daily outfits on there and sometimes the kids too. It’s been raining, dark, horrible and I am full of a cold and cold sores. UGH, no one wants to see those. So it’s been minimal on the wardrobe front. I did scoop up this gorgeous sweater for MM though at Asda. I love it so much full of sparkle and ears are 3d. It was a bargain price too at only £6! 
I have been working on my food styling while taking Emily Quinton’s Makelight Food Photography course. I hope that it is showing in my photos too. I have such a passion for styling food and creating images that make you drool or tell a story of what you are about to make. I only wish I was a better cook to go along with it. lol Here I was getting ready to make some rosemary roasted potatoes cut into little squares as the kids absolutely love them and all you have to do is cut potatoes up and fresh rosemary and place on a cookie sheet with some oil and bake! Presto!
It’s been a beautiful week over on my instagram community hashtag – #lifecloseup! I get so excited with new instagrammers joining in each week. I am a bit giddy about instagram if you haven’t notice over the years of my blog. If I have to say, it’s my favorite social media by far and adding in ig stories. I truly spending most of my time on there…. I can’t help it when you are all sharing these gorgeous captures that pull me in like these below. Click the grid to be taken straight to the hashtag community and see for yourself! Most importantly come join us!
Linking up to Coffee Work Sleep Repeat for #LittleLoves weekly roundup.
Oh Jenny I want to give you a big virtual hug. It’s true that we always seem to put too much pressure on ourselves to be perfect in every corner of our life. I am guilty in that in some respect, though I adopt the ‘scruffy mum’ look for the school run. Hope everything turns out ok for you hun. Oh and the chocolate advent calendar looks divine . Have a lovely weekend #littleloves x
Thanks for the hug lovely virtual ones are just as good as in person ones. In a society like we are living in I worry how much more pressure will our little ones put on themselves if it keeps getting worse. If we don’t break the cycle now. Can’t beat a little chocolate to make us feeling better.
Wow Jenny your food styling is ace! Nice one. Thank you for including my blog on here – so kind of you xxx
Thanks babes it’s got a long way to go to hit the cookbooks and magazines with though! lol Of course, I love your blog and while I don’t always have time (ever) to comment anymore on anything these days I always love reading your posts I truly do my lovely. I couldn’t not share my fashionista mentor either.
I’m lending you my Present Over Perfect book, I think you’ll find it so beneficial.
Love MM’s jumper, so cute! I need to get myself down to Asda.
Enjoy the weekend – hope the weather perks up a bit xx
Oh yes please do I think it’s very needed right now. Thanks lovely. Asda has some great tops/ sweaters for kids at the moment. Weather is looking grim this week but maybe next will be great for us.
Oh Jenny I didn’t see you’re IG but I hope you’re okay? I agree that’s it’s impossible to have perfection all the time, we definitely need to give ourselves a break sometimes. I love MM’s jumper, and looking forward to seeing some more of your vlogging. I was really inspired by Blogfest vlogging sessions and want to do more myself come the New Year x
YOUR IG- such bad grammar today, gah! x
Thanks lovely I got SO much out of the vlogging sessions too I am even going to attempt vlogmas! Watch out! Not sure if I won’t quit half way through it but I am going to give it a go. IG isn’t bad grammar darling you just sound like you are hip and cool. All the kiddos talk in abbreviations why not us?
Dark chocolate is my favourite
My fave Christmas chocolate is dark ginger chocolate.
I love this post and think that every one can relate.
I’m looking forward to receiving my favourite choc (the Eton mess one!). I love white chocolate
Thank you so much. Oh my goodness they make an eton mess chocolate now that is kill over my favorite dessert ever. Making my mouth water now too.
Milk is my favourite.
Hope you’re okay lovely, and taking care of yourself. We’ve had a pretty crappy week here with some awful family news which knocked us all for six. Hopefully we are through the worst but there were a very scary few days and it isn’t something I shared as I struggled to get my head round it. Sorry, I’m rambling but just to let you know you’re not on your own and I love your more honest posts. xxx
No you aren’t rambling I feel the exact same. I couldn’t eat, sleep, or breathe after the news and it will be along road before we have happy answers ahead of us. But coming together and supporting each other is so helpful and I am trying to learn the right way to stop putting so much pressure on myself to stay perfect in all areas of life all the time especially when I am struggling to even smile. Life can be really hard sometimes and not fair. You aren’t alone either what ever you are going through I am just down the road shout and I will be there we can help each other.
Dark chocolate is my favourite xx
I love milk chocolate!
my favourite is milk chocolate 🙂
Milk chocolate is our favourite, then white, then some dark at a push! 🙂
milk chocolate is my favourite yum yum
Milk chocolate with added yumminess of nuts, salted caramel or praline
Milk with praline oor Thorntons Viennese Truffles
My favourite chocolate is milk chocolate and if it has nuts in it is a bonus
I’m feeling so sad for you Jenny, but can’t tell you how pleased I am that you’re getting all this stuff ‘out’. I’ve been on a journey this year and have had some therapy of sorts. It’s been exhausting but I’ve learnt so much about myself, I would highly recommend it. If you’re a perfectionist, it’s utterly exhausting, please do get some help in trying to figure that out. Loving your little one’s Fox jumper and at £6, I want one! Have a nice relaxing weekend. x x
Thanks Suzanne you are always full of encouragement and wise words. I love it. So true sometimes we do need that extra help and guidance. Being a perfectionist is the worse thing about myself and I wish I didn’t put so much pressure on myself to be what ever it is I am striving for as I worry what is this teaching my children too? How much pressure will they start putting on themselves to be perfect when it doesn’t really exist. It’s truly exhausting when you get bad news and can’t think of anything else but feeling like a failure when really we aren’t failing.
dark chocolate for me
My favourite Christmas chocolate is definitely dark chocolate
my fav is Dark Chocolate
Oh Hun, it sounds like you’re really beating yourself up-I know exactly how you feel and it’s so hard to j’let things go especially when you’re a perfectionist-im the same! Your food pictures always have me drooling! I usually get hotel chocolat from a friend at Xmas and oh wow so yummy! I love Instagram too much better than any other social media and your #lifecloseup community is fab x
Thank you so much I am really loving the little community that is forming over on #lifecloseup it makes my sunday’s every weekend to go through them again and again commenting, liking and resharing some favorites I hope others are getting know each other in it too. It’s really hard in life when you put added pressures on yourself I am horrible at it and I don’t want to teach my children that it’s ok to be like this because it’s not.
Im the only one to like dark at home , lucky!
Probably white, but it’s a close call 🙂
I love the combination of dark chocolate and ginger for christmas
I prefer milk chocolate
Your food photography is always stunning! I’m excited to see what you have planned for vlogmas, it’s definitely good to push yourself sometimes! The advent calendar looks delicious – I definitely prefer white chocolate. Enjoy your weekend xx
Oh a white chocolate lover you are rare darling. lol I am so nervous for vlogmas will I keep it up, will I stay entertaining, will I have the energy to do it everyday. Eeek but it’s something for three years I wanted to do and now I am either going to do it or never. hahaha Trying to get organized this year for it a few topics written down. It won’t be like what I do every day “day in the life” diary like some do I will have some mixed up content, crafting, shopping hauls, days in the life, family days out, etc to mix it up and keep it me!
I love love love milk chocolate – this year I’m 6 months pregnant and my craving is chocolate 🙂
Dark for me, love it all but Dark is my fav
Milk chocolate is my favourite
I just love it all but dark is my fav i love the bitter taste
I love milk chocolate the most 🙂
Love milk chocolate ~
I love Hotel Chocolat, what a great prize. 🙂 My favourite has to be dark though! Yum.
White chocolate is my favourite
Sorry to hear you’ve been feeling so down. I completely missed your IG post, but sounds like you’re really going through it at the moment. Always makes it worse when you’re an expat and you can’t just be with your family or old friends when you want to be. You seriously have nothing to worry about how you look, you’d look lovely in a bin bag! Give yourself a break and just deal with whatever it is you’re going through at the moment and everything else can be put on the back burner until you’re ready.
Love MM’s little jumper, she looks so cute in it. Your photography is always fab. I seriously need to brush up my skills as mine is terrible. One of the many things I never seem to get time for though unfortunately. Hope you have a good weekend x
Thanks lovely. It is harder when the bad news about family is back home and I can’t be there to help to support to just be there with them. Everything else will be fine I know it’s hard being a perfectionist and just feeling like everything is being down halfly when your heart isn’t in it at this moment. I hate falling behind.
Your food photography can really change with just a few steps lovely. Take a big flat board from a wreckage yard or charity shop even a rusty of cookie sheet on top of a table cloth pull your table or on the floor right up to a window and use ONLY natural light. Turn your house lights off. Buy a cheap cheap reflector off amazon and put it behind the items you are photographing use the light from the window or sliding door I sit in front of my sliding door on the floor for most of mine. Snap a bright nice flat lay to start why not go to your local b&Q ask for a few wallpaper samples for free and use those as a backgrounds. Trust me in seconds just a few tricks you can have improved by miles try it let me know I am always here to help with props ideas and setting. No expert I am taking Make Light Food Photography Course 2 right now but I am always here to share what I have learned through doing it from others.
I thought it may have been something from back home, just by reading between the lines and because you were left feeling so helpless. I hate being away from everyone when things get tough and I’m not there to even help out, take the pressure off others a bit, or simply just be there. It’s one of the things that really gets to you as an expat, despite the lovely things it can so often bring.
I’ve been wanting to do one of the Makelight courses for ages. Never seem to get any time with the day job pretty much ruling my life lately. I barely even blogged for about 3 months, let alone do anything else for me. But I may just ask for one of them for Christmas and get a few probs from Amazon. I’m in Malta at the mo (was next on the relocation list after we left Spain) and I’m yet to find anything decent here to use as backdrops etc but I saw Lucy from CapturebyLucy saying she was going to be starting her own range soon so I may well see if I can sneak some back in my suitcase at Christmas. My teen is a budding photographer though and has loads of photography books on her Christmas list so I will have to have a read of those once she gets them. You should do your own tutorials, you’ve always been great at taking photos and the ones you take of the kids are so lovely.
If you ever want to vent to a fellow expat about anything I’m always here if you need me x
Thank you so much for your kind words, your advice, encouragement and support. It’s good to know I am not alone and have friends to lean on when I need. I appreciate that so much. I really do. Even online friends sometimes support from our online groups is even more powerful.
Lovely giveaway, milk is my fave 🙂
It has to be milk chocolate
My fave is always dark chocolate, especially with ginger.
Milk chocolate
I love all but my favourite is dark chocolate
Milk chocolate
What an almost impossible decision. It depends on my mood. Today I’m feeling like milk chocolate 😉 x
I love milk chocolate 🙂
I love dark chocolate (especially with coffee or ginger)
So sorry you are having a tough time. I can relate to the seeking perfection. Part of the reason I blog anonymously is that no one knows I blog! My blog is a million miles from the type of blogs I read and I guess I’m not proud of it or confident enough in my own skin so I keep my blog secret from my real life family and friends. Unfortunately my instagram account has been discovered recently and it’s tempting to stop but I enjoy blogging and like you instagram is my favourite social media by far. I’ll stop waffling now.
Love MM’s top. Can’t wait for your vlogmas. #littleloves
Don’t stop… if anything take baby steps to get out there. I have been the same I was mortified when a family member found me online and even worse after three years of hiding what I do from friends- the school moms have now found me. It’s hard to share it all and being shy and unconfident at the same time. I struggle with it a lot. Recently I started vlogging which is way out of my comfort zone and I get nervous and cant’ talk and stutter but I am working through it to get better and so that everyone can get to know the real me, and more of my personality. I think people relate more to us when we do that. It’s so hard though. I feel you.
I love milk chocolate 🙂
That advent calendar looks amazing! I love MM’s style, loving the fox jumper! Looking forward to watching some of your Vlogmas videos!
I am getting really nervous in the lead up to our vlogmas challenge. I was buzzing thinking yes I can do it. Now I am nervous. lol Fingers crossed.
I agree – Fritha and Alison are so chic and I get great style tips from them! I hope you’re all doing OK and hope for more positive news soon for you. You always light up my social media feed when I see your photos. Love, Jess xx
They are very chic…did you hear that girls! lol Ahh that’s such a sweet thing to say so thank you so much for your kind words and your lovely support.
I love all chocolate unless it’s fruit flavoured (not counting orange), but my go to is usually milk chocolate. Have to be in the right mood for white or dark.
I’m a bit of a chocolate tart. I like them all lol.
I love white chocolate
I’m so glad to see that you have realised how much of your stress is self-induced. Nobody else expects perfection and we really do need to learn to let go sometimes. Unrelated, my favourite chocolate is dark, but as no-one else likes it, I tend to feel guilty when I eat it. Another thing to beat myself up about.
Oh never feel guilty about eating it. I am the only one that loves dark chocolate that’s beyond dark like 90%/99% People cringe at me I am not a fan anymore of milk chocolate after so many years of dark. Yes you are so right and it’s hard to realize how much pressure is just silliest on my own behalf.
Loving reading your fabulous blog for the first time. x Although I’m now in my forties I still find myself going through phases 😉 and this also applies to my love of chocolate where I go from milk to plain to white and then back again..hehe! x
Welcome thanks for stopping by, lovely to have a newby reader here. Definitely fun to share the love to all the types of chocolate. I tend to be in the mood for one or the other depending on the day. hahahah Nothing wrong with that.
milk chocolate
I love chocolate that’s a little darker than milk and a little lighter than dark – actually, any chocolate at all will do just fine!
Oh an in betweener … I like it.
Such a lovely honest post. I hope you’re feeling better and are having a good week. I will definitely be entering that competition, I love Hotel Chocolat. I didn’t realise you had a YouTube channel, I’ll pop over and check it out. That fox jumper is too cute! x
Oh and milk chocolate is my favourite! x
I keep trying to wean myself onto dark chocolate so I will eat less, but milk is most definitely my favourite!
Milk choc for sure xxxx
love milk choc x
Jenny you sound so like me in terms of putting too much pressure on yourself – except you are 100 times more beautiful and successful!! But I still get what you are saying, and people will respect you for sharing the low times as well as the highs. It makes you more human and people can relate to that. So I’m sorry you are having sad times, but it sounds like you are taking positives from it, and that’s great. Hope things are brighter soon. #LittleLoves
Milk chocolate is my favourite
The Darker the better for me
I like all three, just depends what sort of mood I am in!
i love Dark chocolate
Dark chocolate is my personal favourite, however if I were lucky enough to win I’d get the white chocolate for a relative who prefers white chocs.
It’s got to be milk chocolate, especially a chocolate orange!
Dark chocolate is my favourite
It used to be white chocolate but now I prefer dark.
love milk and white chocolate
Milk chocolate is my favourite
Favourite chocolate? It can only be white. deeeeeelish!!!!
I love milk chocolate for Christmas (or any other time of the year!) 🙂
Milk chocolate.
I like all three, but I’ll plump for Milk if I have to make a choice!
It’s got to be milk. If I can have a hint of booze and some seasonal fruit or nuts in there too then I’ll take that as well!
Milk chocolate is my favourite!
Dark chocolate is my favourite 🙂
Miilk is my favourite
I love milk chocolate but try to love dark chocolate! @elainesavage400
white chocolate x
my favourite is milk chocolate x
I love white chocolate.
Milk Chocolate
I like dark but I am the only one in the family, the rest like milk.
Milk – but I’m open to a bit of white and dark as well, I’m an equal opportunities chocolate lover 😀
I can’t choose between plain or milk, love them both
has to be milk choc
I love creamy white chocolate,even more so if it has caramel inside
Milk chocolate xx
I really love a good dark chocolate, not a big fan of milky ones x
Milk chocolate – especially ones with praline in them 🙂
Dark chocolate
I love dark! But to be honest, I’ll eat any kind of chocolate 😉
Its a hard choice as all chocolate is amazing – choosing white as my fav at the moment though that might change in 5 mins
My favourite is dark 🙂
that would have to be milk chocolate
Milk,no perhaps white,or then again dark,I just love chocolate as long as it doesn’t have nuts in it,that’s the one thing I really don’t like x
i love white although milk is nearly on par with it!
I love milk chocolate! I find white too sweet & dark too bitter!
Milk for me!
White chocolate.
my favourite is definitely milk chocolate 🙂
All chocolate, but dark is my real favourite
I love dark chocolate the best, especially with another flavour like mint or ginger
I love dark chocolate the best – and it is supposed to be healthier too!
Cadburys milk chocolate followed by white chocolate
Milk yum yum
oh i love dark chocolate!
My favourite chocolate is milk chocolate praline. Love chocolate with nuts in!
I love milk chocolate, oh and mint chocolate, yummy!
My favourite chocolate is milk chocolate- especially Lindt Lindor
I love milk chocolate 🙂
Milk chocolate but with some nuts or fruit in it around Christmas time.
Milk or white chocolate are my favourites depending on the occasion 🙂 x
I love Dark Chocolate Ginger
Milk chocolate is always my favourite, at Christmas time and every other time of the year.
I love white chocolate
Milk chocolate for me, thanks for the chance x
It has to be dark <3 x
I like Dark Chocolate the best
My favourite Christmas chocolate is milk chocolate
Mines Milk
My fave chocolate. Milk.
Dark chocolate with a natural flavour and pieces in is my favourite.
milk chocolate is my favourite chocolate
I love milk and white, not keen on dark.
White – lovely and creamy, I’d love to share it with the whole family, especially my Dad, who has an intolerance towards other forms of chocolate xx
Oh it has to be either White chocolate or anything with mint in.
Love white chocolate!!
Dark, especially when its wrapped around marzipan 🙂
White pips the rest to the
Post but I love all chocolate really
Milk chocolate is my favourite
hope you are feeling a bit better now, it can be even harder to cope when you feel you have to for others sakes.
my favourite chocolate is white
So true, thank you for your kind words and commenting. Good luck to win.
White 🙂
I love WHITE chocolate – yummy!
Has to be Milk ones for me.
milk chocolate
My favourite chocolate is milk chocolate but I eat most chocolate!
Milk chocolate is my favourite
I like dark chocolate, I can makeso many different things with it
My favorite is milk or white…I can’t decide!
Milk chocolate is my favourite 🙂
I absolutely love White chocolate. I have quite the sweet tooth.
Thank you for running such a generous giveaway & Merry Christmas!
Dark Chocolate is my favourite by far, its smooth, rich and delicious and its a little bit of heaven 🙂
I would love to try the dark chocolate have been a fan of the milk but never tried the dark
Most definitely milk chocolate.
Milk for us!!
Milk
Love white chocolate! In fact, all chocolate!
Always milk chocolate for me
milk chocolate
I love milk chocolate, I can eat it all day
I like all 3 but milk chocolate is my favourite
Milk
I Love Dark chocolate 🙂
hasto be milk chocolate for me 😀
Milk for me! Yum! 🙂
DARK OR WHITE
I love Milk chocolate the best, though I do eat White now and again, dark not too often x
My favorite is dark chocolate.
mine is milk x
Milk choc is my fav. Combine it with berries and I’m in heaven.
Has to be dark 🙂