How to create curb appeal for your home

Whether trying to sell your house or just improving the charisma of your property, consider the curb appeal and those important first impressions. On all budgets there are steps that you can take to spruce up the exterior of your home and create a welcoming appeal.

Image credit: A1 Lofts and Extensions/homify

A rainy Dig the City - urban garden festival

 It was a very rainy day but I don't like to miss Manchester's Dig the City and have very much enjoyed the festival in previous years. Gardens amongst the city architecture and some great community gardens, perhaps a little scaled down this year but I still saw some fabulous creative ideas to share with you. 

Join in the Pass Around the World

My little boy is still quite unsure of team sports but his two older brothers, my step sons are very keen on all sports. And I mean sports mad! Watching it, talking about it and joining in. Over the years I have know them to be keen football players and also try rugby and cricket through both school and outside clubs where they have made many friends. Team sports in my opinion have made them mature into to great young men who are able to socialise and communicate with people and has given them a level headed attitude.

That's why it is always good to hear of initiatives for young people and in honour of the 2015 Rugby World Cup, Allianz and Saracens RFC are partnering to bring people from all walks of life together to join in and create a Pass Around the World. 

Get together with family and friends and upload a rugby pass to www.passaroundtheworld.com to link together all over the world and create one very long rugby pass. That's got to be something to do over the summer holidays hasn't it? 


You can win super prizes from a £150 Ticketmaster voucher to exclusive Saracen prizes, such as tickets to see them play, signed rugby balls and our top prize; lunch with the team after getting attending a training session!


It’s so easy to participate following these steps:

Get mobile Ready: Remember to turn your phone side ways to film your pass.

Film Your Pass: The ball must come in from the left and out through the right. What you do in-between is up to you.

Upload: Make sure your video is no more than 10 seconds long and is under 30MBs. Upload it on the Pass Around the World website and share it with your friends!

All entries will be submitted into a prize draw (terms and conditions apply, please visit www.passaroundtheworld.com for more information.)

We will certainly be doing this when the boys are staying over the summer, it will be a fun activity for a laugh on the local field and we will enjoy seeing other people's passes online too! Have a look, it's very addictive and funny watching the passes! 

**Collaborative post with Allianz**

How to keep your bathroom tidy

In a family bathroom it can be hard to keep everything in its place. You want the focal point to be the lovely suite and not a row of toiletry bottles on the side of the bath, the children's bath toys or cosmetics. Clever storage will keep your bathroom more a place of relaxed sanctuary than of cluttered chaos.

Image source: bathroom Shutterstock

Here are some ideas to keep the bathroom looking tidy: 

Happy Yorkshire Day and why I love Yorkshire

Brimming with charm and history, spectacular coastline and dramatic landscapes there is something to interest everyone in this fabulous county. I have barely scratched the surface of the area despite being a northerner and not living really that far away at all. In little over an hour I am in Leeds and I've really only been there a handful of times.