Top 10 Ways to Wind Down in the Evenings

| Suzi Tench

Copy of Copy of TOP 10 THURSDAY INSTA (1)

Winding down in the evening is essential for our brains to disassociate from the day and prepare our mind and body for a good night’s rest in order to prepare ourselves for the following day and all that we have planned.  Today I am sharing my Top 10 ways to wind down in the evening.

  • Have a hot bath with lots of bubbles, not only are you mentally washing the day away but you are increasing your body temperature and soothing any aches and pains.
  • A warm drink, I love a cup of tea or hot chocolate which not only feels like a treat but has become part of my nightly routine and now acts as a trigger to mentally switch my brian into unwind mode.
  • A good book that you can get lost in, even if only for a few pages can help you to forget about all the troubles that have crossed your path in the day.
  • Watching a show on tv.
  • Mindfulness (I love the app Calm which has lots of really good meditation and mindfulness exercises)
  • Gentle stretching which helps to release any tensions built up in your muscles over the day
  • Journaling, whether it is good things that have happened in the day or something that has annoyed you, getting thoughts out of your mind and onto paper can help to stop you dwelling on them in the night
  • Preparing for the following day – getting your clothes, lunch and other things sorted can help avoid any morning stress
  • Calming music, I really love to listen to a cd of New Age Music called Stonehenge by Runestone
  • Aromatherapy oils, pillow spray or rollerball aromatherapy oils (such as these by Tisserand).  Scent plays such a big part in how we feel and lavender has been linked to making us feel calm and relaxed which is why it can be found in so many “relaxing” fragrances.  I find that applying the Sleep Better fragrance to my pulse points after a bath and before bed can really alter how I feel and help me to unwind and relax.
  • And, an extra to my Top 10, but only on a Friday or Saturday night 😉 , a small glass of wine and a bit of chocolate!

What are some of your favourite ways to unwind in the evenings?  I’d love to hear about any ways you unwind, so let me know in the comment!

Words on Wednesday – A Catch-Up!

| Suzi Tench

Wednesday (3)

I feel like I haven’t done a catch-up post in ages, and thanks to not having internet for a while I haven’t…. but, I am back today to share with you what I have been up to for the past few weeks.

I gathered a few friends for another Crafternoon a few weekends ago and we had a really lovely time being taught cake decoration by my friend Jez.  We had a brilliant time and raised some funds for Mind, a mental health charity (you can read more about Mind here).  If you would like to donate, you can do so via this link to my JustGiving page.

There were 5 of us in total and we got to decorate cupcakes that had been baked by Jez with different coloured butter icing and piping bags with different nozzle attachments, we then got to add all manner of different embellishments to finish them off!  I was really pleased with how mine turned out even though I hadn’t really thought about design and just wanted to try all the things!  Lol!

I bought some sparkly gin that I enjoyed one evening, it was raspberry trifle flavoured but wasn’t sickly sweet and was lovely with tonic water!

I bought some flowers that were on clearance in my local Tesco, it was the anniversary of my Grandma’s passing so I wanted to take some flowers up to my Grandpa and her grave, I ended up buying a few bunches for myself too!  They had been marked up at £10 per bunch but on clearance, they were only £2.70 which I thought was crazy as the buds hadn’t fully opened or anything.  It took them nearly 2 full weeks to fully bloom.

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The weather has been really crazy here, lots of storms, high winds, rain, hail, sleet and snow.  Luckily none of the snow has stuck but lots of places have been affected by really bad flooding.  Roxy and I have spent a lot of time snuggled up and staying in, away from the bad weather.  I did treat myself to some icecream one evening and we sat and watched a few films together, Roxy is an excellent inspector of empty icecream containers!img_7221

Aside from that, I have been working on a few projects that I might reveal soon!  I have a few different plans and ideas that I want to work out and see what happens first though!

What have you all been up to?  I’d love to hear any news you may have or anything you have been up to in the comments!!!

Top Tip Tuesday

| Suzi Tench

Top Tip Tues

I have to hoover my home fairly frequently due to haveing a dog (Roxy!) but I have found that over time, although the suction on my machine remains strong, it starts to smell a bit.

I have a Dyson and take time to clean the container that collects the dust and dirt and use a brush to clean away debris from any visible parts but sometimes that isn’t enough to get rid of the smell.

Unfortunately, the way all vacuums are designed, air is sucked in along with any dirt, and air is blown out.  It is this air that is emitted that sometimes can smell a bit musty.

When I have performed a clean of the machine I like to add a few drops of essential oil*  (my favourites are lemon, lime or orange) to a cotton ball or tissue and place that into the container before replacing on the machine.  Another thing I like to do is to remove and clean the filters, thoroughly dry them and add a little bit of scent to the filter.  I try to steer clear of adding oils to the filter as they can capture dust and block up the filter really quickly, instead I like to spritz on some room spray or a body spray (my favourite scents for this is Charlie Sexy –  a vanilla orchid scent) which leave the room smelling lovely with a hint of scent rather than being too overpowering.

*If you have pets, please be careful when using any essential oil or any product that contains essential oils as some oils can be toxic or even fatal to pets.  Please do your research before using any essential oils.

Motivation Monday

| Suzi Tench

Learn Something New!

There is always something that we are wondering how to do, a skill we would like to master, or something we wished we knew more about and today’s Motivation Monday is a call to you to use this week to learn something new.

Whether it is using a new cooking recipe, mastering the settings on your digital camera, learning a new craft or just brushing up on skills that you haven’t used in a while, there is nothing better for boosting self-esteem than getting to grips with something that we want to know.

There are lots of places that offer tutorials such as Pinterest, YouTube, WikiHow or Skillshare that offer really useful and enlightening step by step tutorials or you could get together with a friend that already has skills or knowledge that you would like to learn and have a skill swap day where you both can learn something from each other.

I recently hosted another Crafternoon with my friends, we all got together and another friend taught us all about buttercream icing and we got to decorate our own cakes with different piping attachments and I was amazed to learn that the nozzles we used, while all looking similar, produced vastly different effects.  We had a really fun day and raised some funds for Mind along the way!

What are you thinking about learning?  What sources are your favourite for tutorials?  I’d be really interested to hear all about them so let me know in the comments!

Top 10 Thursday – 10 Ways to Relieve Stress and Anxiety

| Suzi Tench

Everyone, at some time or other has experienced a bout of stress or anxiety of some kind, and in today’s culture of being constantly busy, switched on and contactable the number of cases of stress and anxiety are rising. I have stress and anxiety related mental health issues and have started to learn some of the triggers but even knowing what can start anxiety and stress doesn’t help to stop the feelings from coming. Today I am sharing my top 10 ways to relieve stress and anxiety when they do happen.

  1. Listen to a podcast
  2. Read a book
  3. Practice mindfulness (Calm is a fab app that I use regularly)
  4. Have a bath with essential oils (I find lavender and basil to both help relax me)
  5. Sleep
  6. Switch off all electronic devices even for half an hour
  7. Do a jigsaw
  8. Get out a colouring book or sketch pad and doodle
  9. Go for a walk
  10. Clean (I like to hoover the floors or even do some ironing)

What are some of your favourite ways to relieve stress and anxiety? I’d be really interested to hear so leave me a comment!

Words On Wednesday

| Suzi Tench

Wednesday (3)

I don’t really follow the news but one headline and news story really caught my eye – the death of Caroline Flack and it made me feel so sad, for her, her family and her friends.  I don’t want to start speculating about what happened but it really got me thinking about how we all act and carry out our day to day lives.

It is so easy for us to formulate negative thoughts and opinions about others by what we read, see and hear, and it is even easier for us to voice these thoughts and opinions via social media, emails, text messages and in day to day conversations, and it is really easy for us to agree with others when we hear their points of view.  We forget that the subject of these opinions is a human being who has thoughts, views and opinions of their own, along with a life we know nothing about, a story of their own to tell, fears and dreams loves and hates…

This negativity towards another human being is strongly seen in the media against famous people but so many of us have had negativity aimed at us, whether it is physical or emotional, written or spoken, and yet we still continue with sharing our own thoughts and opinions about others.

We need to start being kind, not just to ourselves but to each other, when someone speaks derogatorily about another we need to be the one to challenge those views rather than just agreeing.  We need to stop sharing stories about others that may or may not be true and we need to stop and think before we say anything.  There are 2 sides to each story and unless we can see both sides and understand the full picture then we really can not judge someone else.

Today’s culture means that we see things daily, and often things are shared on social media repetitively, especially sensationalised news items, and we believe them to be true, but we need to step back from this and think about the person involved in the story and the impact these stories have on their lives. The less we share these kinds of items or buy papers or magazines that print negativity the less we are feeding the beast that is so harmful to us all.

It would be brilliant if there was no kind of hate or negativity in the world and the only way we can do that is to be kind to each other.

Rest In Peace Caroline.

Be Anything You Want But Always Be Kind

 

Top Tip Tuesday

| Suzi Tench

Top Tip tuesday(1)

I am pretty lucky that I don’t mind cleaning, and dare I say it, I do enjoy it on the whole but one of the things I really dislike cleaning is the bath or shower, no matter how much cleaning they never seem to be totally clean.  My top tips for today are things I have learned to make the job easier.

  • Clean the bath or shower after it has been used.  The heat and steam generated by having a bath or shower makes it easier for the dirt to come away from the surface, whether it is the bath or shower screen.
  • Use a window squeegee to remove water from tiles and shower screens, this helps to leave a sparkling finish with no watermarks.
  • Old toothbrushes are brilliant for hard to reach areas such as the shower door runners, around taps, the shower hose and showerhead.
  • Remove the showerhead and soak it in a solution of white vinegar to remove limescale.
  • Clean the plughole after every use of the shower or bath, this will stop any hair or other matter from building up and blocking the drain.

Do you have any tips for cleaning the bath or shower?  I’d love to hear about them in the comments!

 

Motivation Monday – Get it Done

| Suzi Tench

Copy of Looking back

I am a huge procrastinator and love nothing more than putting off things until the last minute instead of getting them done and dusted as soon as I think about them.  This goes for chores, phone calls, emails and any other task that I should do.

But, I have started to get things done as soon as is possible which has made a huge difference in my life.  I used to feel pretty guilty for stalling on doing things, and the task would lurk at the back of my mind so I couldn’t fully enjoy whatever I was doing in place of getting that task completed (mostly reading a book or watching something on the tv).  I’d also get stressed out when I finally got around to doing that task and end up making a rush job of it.  Since I started to get into the mindset of getting things done I have started to feel less guilt, stress and worry, and also, surprisingly, I have gained motivation for doing other tasks that I had otherwise put off.

So, today’s motivation for you is to “Get It Done”, whatever that thing maybe!

What have you been putting off?  And what have you been doing instead?  I’d love to hear about how you procrastinate in the comments!

Top 10 Thursday – Favourite Mobile Phone Games

| Suzi Tench

Copy of Copy of TOP 10 THURSDAY INSTA (1)

Having a mobile phone is not just about being able to keep in touch with friends and family via calls or messaging. It’s about the apps you have, social media, news and weather streams and games.  My phone has so many different things on it to keep me entertained and I thought that today’s Top 10 should be about some of my favourite games.

  • BlockDoku – a game where you make lines and squares using given shapes.  This game is a really simple concept (similar to Tetris but instead of falling shapes that you have to try to make fall in the right place, you have a series of shapes that you place yourself)
  • Block! Triangle Puzzle! – a puzzle game where you have to fit the given shapes into a larger shape to fill it.
  • Candy Crush – a game where you switch different candies to gain points, special boosters and “save” ingredients.
  • Animal Crossing Pocket Camp – this is a game where you have to help other animals, make friends and create your own camp site.
  • ReDecor – An interior design game where you are set a brief and have to decorate the room accordingly (probably my number 1 game!)
  • Merge Magic – there are levels to complete by merging items, creating orbs and finishin in a certain timeframe and another part of the game where you can play in “the garden” and clear cursed land, create creatures and collect items.
  • Design Home – Anotehr interior design game where you choose furniture and other room items and decorate according to a brief or specified style or item range.
  • WordStacks – a word finding game where you have stacks of letters that make words associated with the “theme” of the level.
  • Words With Friends – play against other players in a game of scrabble.
  • Sand Balls – this game entails moving balls from one point to another by creating a path through sand, avoiding any obstructions and collecting other balls or keys along the way.

What are some of your favourite games to play on your phone?  I’m always on the look out for something new to play so let me know in the comments of any recommendations you have!!!!