Oreos & Gin

It's been a while since I did a Travel post on here! It's been a Month since I went to Brussels, hard to believe it really. A lot has happened since then! I bought my earlybird ticket last year, I knew i wanted this adventure to look forward to. I really enjoy travelling as you guys know but I'm finding that I enjoy Solo travel too. Having  RA has meant that I have become cautious and my adventurous spirit has been restless. I have learnt not to count myself out too eagerly. My mobility and stamina might be compromised somewhat but I should still be able to taste life.  Although Plannercon itself was exciting, I loved exploring the home of my favourite detective Hercule Poirot. My favourite bit of the weekend was making new friends.  I took the Eurostar and chose the Standard ticket ( no accessibility perks) the first thing I noticed was how far back the chair was. I used my Jacket to create some lumbar support and it was fine. 2 hours later, I was in Bru...

This week has been an intense one. After the shock of receiving my surgery date quite mundanely on the Thursday before Mr B left for his work trip, I quickly reverted to my trusty coping mechanism - PLANNING. I rallied friends to help me pick the boys up from school, one to take them to school on the surgery date, my sister to be home as a contingency & Taxis to drive me about for the week. I agonised over asking friends to pitch in, I’m someone who grew up having to sort her shit out by herself so relying on others doesn’t come naturally, I lamented to geographically distant friends about my conundrum, my fear of appearing to take liberties but they rightly assured me that I should ask. I’m so glad I did because the response was amazing and a MASSIVE weight off my shoulders. I felt so loved. The actual date came, Tuesday. Everything ran with Miltary precision. The taxi was on time, We dropped the boys en route to the hospital and I was at the reception desk with 5 mins to...

It is Tuesday and I think it is safe to say that I'm right in the midst of "big meet blues" . This weekend was just amazing! What is The Big Meet? For non Planner people, it is simply a day of Planner love. We talk about planners, craft, shop and more importantly we strengthen our friendships. What is a Planner? People call them diaries , organisers. There are different kinds and there are different people all over the world that love them. This was my first time going to The Big Meet so I Vlogged about it. Check out my video below: If you enjoyed that then please Like, Comment, Share & Subscribe!

I wondered what to call this blog post. I thought, my body & I but that seemed too general. You see there is this narrative about how my body is trying to ruin my life but i don't think that's what is actually happening.  Let's not deviate though, I wanted to write specifically about my breasts. When I first got them I was 7/8 (i.e same age as my son is now) I honestly hated them. I was one of the boys until they arrived and then suddenly I went from climbing trees, riding around the neighbourhood on my bike with the guys to being told not to do those things anymore. Close your legs Lucy. Sit like a lady. I was being catcalled as I walked the streets by grown men. People changed the way they behaved towards me and also tried to modify my behaviour. I hated it. I hated my breasts so I wore baggy tops and walked hunched over - literally. I wanted to disappear. So I did to boarding school. The first term I had grown from an "A" Cup to a "C" Cup r...

Fishbourne, IOW - Lucy Benton Photography  I’ve always been the sort of person who wants to learn about how other people live their lives. A few years back - think when I became a parent, I started really wanting to live very intentionally. Over the last few years this has looked different depending on where we are in life.  When E was 15 months & we were starting our business, we got rid of the telly. This was a 2 part action. 1) my toddler’s first sentence was “tiddy on pees “ & 2) Shaving off our Sky subscription & TV licence would do our budget good. We were Live Telly free for 3ish years. However now we’re hitting our 30s some sooner than others (*cough cough* Mr B! ) I started to think more about doing this intrinsically. You see as a kid, I had this immense pressure to perform. I had to be the best at EVERYTHING. There was no room for failure. There was no space for emotional weakness. So what followed was me seeing my value & sense of sel...

Funny how people have opinions when they've never been in that situation before. I think News anchor, Alistair  & Mum Lucy both handled the situation perfectly. Have you ever tried to get a toddler to sit when they don't want to? Armageddon occurs ok? So all you "she needs discipline" brigade , please take several seats. Instead of seeing it for what it was , an adorable incident at a an inconvenient moment, you choose to preside as judge & jury.  I don't know Lucy (the mother) personally but I am a mum with two rambunctious kids who also suffered with allergies. I can tell you now it's not a walk in the park. Parenting children with allergies mean you end up being hyper aware of things around you (in case of cross contamination etc) It's always said "It takes a village to raise a child, bring back the village" blah blah blah... how about YOU BE the village? What are YOU doing to support a mother that you know? Please think about i...

At the beginning of the year, I set myself a few goals (like i always do) but this time it pushed me past my cushty corner. It boiled down to living 2017 with intention & not letting Fear, Anxiety and all that stop me from trying to achieve my dreams. Lofty stuff wouldn't you say? In business, it meant starting Lucy Benton Photography & Daisy Meadow Designs. Whilst also working with my hubby on our baby - MB Carpentry. Some may say that it's a lot , which sometimes it can feel like but the other option is to not do it and resent myself. I've been steadily working on both. However, DMD got a lot more attention as i prepped for the fun day hosted by Wessex Cancer Trust. It was an intense day, with not much to say £ wise but validation was in abundance. Also I met lots of lovely crafters - Networking. It helped me clarify business models too. So all in all, a good experience. What's more a few of my items are being worn by actual people i don't know! ...

Well what can I say? My first ever planner meet up was all I thought it would be! I had an absolute ball. I had wanted to come to the last one but being an islander meant it was just too far for me to consider however things changed when this date was announced. 22nd July was only a few days away from our wedding anniversary. We'd planned to spend it at Disneyland Paris so it made perfect sense to do the crafty catch up on the Saturday, and then continue on to France the following day. Serendipity. What I didn't account for was the mania that it would entail. Kids breaking off for summer Friday afternoon, finishing packing, cleaning the house etc , getting the 7am ferry, driving to Kent, etc on the Saturday. As I arrived, I saw the beautifully laid out Lydd Community Hall. In the hallway was the table plan, I was on table 3... I met great people! I was reminded that all kinds of people love crafts, I was inspired by their creativity Specifically the mummy/daugh...

It's been nearly a month since our group "The Equals Friendship Group IOW" took part in the Mardi Gras parade held in our town. I have been wanting to write about my experience since that Saturday however, life got in the way (more about that later). The Equals group are made up of different women from different countries, I guess you could say we are a multicultural bunch. I haven't been part of it for long. In fact, I was at work minding my business when one of my mates asked if i'd like to help with the costumes for the carnival. Me being me agreed. Suddenly, I was actually part of the procession... standing in a hall wearing a bin bag trying to prevent Evostick getting on my 'Les Mis' tee whilst a photographer from the local press took our photo for the paper supplement. I mean, WHAT?! That was just the prep though. Saturday itself came along and as i walked unto the field where we were all meeting, I was so excited to see different parts of o...