This is still me ❤️

Wow. What a week it has been. I enjoyed a fabulous relaxing weekend away and this week I have caught up with some friends at lunch, even managing to control my alcohol intake, without even trying. I am happily riding a high vibe at the moment and I am enjoying every single minute. I love it when life is like this, I am happy, things are going smoothly and I just need to embrace each and every moment. Every time this happens, there is the little voice in the back of my mind saying "Clare, you know that this isn't going to last" That voice used to be a lot louder, so loud in fact, that it used to stop me from enjoying the happy moments. Now, I am getting a lot better at embracing the highs and riding the lows. Every week, I feel like I am overcoming another obstacle in life, sometimes they are big, sometimes they are small, but either way, the feeling of overwhelm is getting easier to deal with. Its still overwhelming, but my stress levels are not as through the roof

Elegance & tranquility I couldn't think of two better words to describe my weekend at Stapleford Park. My friend and I had originally booked a different hotel, but when we realised that they only had one restaurant and no bar, we decided to have a rethink. On our new search, we stumbled across this beautiful country estate near Melton Mowbray and quickly decided that this was the place for us. We booked ourselves in for the rejuvenating spa package. This included an overnight stay, dinner, breakfast, afternoon tea and a one hour spa treatment per person, all for £450 for 2 people, we wanted to go away for two nights, so we added another nights stay. The website, although it displays beautiful images of the hotel and grounds, could not possibly do it justice. We drove through the grand entrance and along a narrow drive lined on both sides with woodland, you then drive through an archway in the building and are led around an impeccably manicured lawn, to the magnificent m

I am so happy to see Grace is back on ITV! I was apprehensive when the first book, Dead Simple was brought to our screens last year, but I needn't have worried. They didn't deviate from the storyline and the casting was brilliant. I downloaded the next episode, Looking Good Dead, yesterday morning and hoped for the same, especially as one of my favourite characters, Norman Potting, was about to make an appearance. I was so pleased they had nailed it again, despite knowing the storyline, I was still gripped. Craig Parkinson is a brilliant Norman Potting, I look forward to seeing more of his antics and I am thrilled that I only have to wait until next week for the next installment.

I’ve found some fab posts for this weeks Monday. They fit right in with my intentions for this week. Let’s do this 🙌🏼

As of yet no miracle has been invented to prevent me ageing so I am finally going to have to accept that I actually have to start looking after my body. I want and need to get myself back in shape. I’d like to have more energy and just generally feel less sluggish. I’ve read in many articles that strength training is better for women in their 40’s, so I am going to include some of this in my weekly routine. I also want to try and get a hold of my water intake, my skin is clearly feeling the effects of my lack of water so I just need to make more of an effort to not only incorporate this into my daily habits but stick to it. I have a really busy week this week and after (another) weekend away, I need to not only plan, but schedule my blog posts and newsletter. I’ve got myself into a really good rhythm with this and things are going well so I don‘t want to let things slide. I only plan to move forward from now on.

I had a tarot reading with Tanya Short Energy Reader back in January and she told me I would be going to a retreat and there would be a well. I have just arrived at a spa weekend with my friend Rachel and this is the name of the room we are staying in and the view from our window. We only booked this hotel last week!

As I mentioned in this weeks blog post I spent a lovely Easter weekend with the husband. We visited my brother in his new house and then we spent the day and night in beautiful Canterbury. I was rather relieved to have a quiet week ahead. Yesterday, I received a message on Medium, inviting me to be added as a writer on one of their publications. It’s a personal development publication, which I already follow, as I do really enjoy the articles on there. I was so excited, I did wonder if maybe they had sent it to the wrong person! Writing for a publication means that my writing will reach a wider audience, this particular publication has over 2000 followers. Once I am back home from my relaxing weekend, I will be devouring all the information provided and making a submission. Wish me luck 🍀

Doesn't it make a nice change to have sunny weather for a long weekend! I certainly made the most of it, getting as much of the vitamin D as I possibly could by sitting in the garden on Friday with Toby, who honestly thinks he is my husband. He sits in the husbands chair when he's not in it and tries to fight him when he does decide he wants to sit down and does the same with the bed. He follows me around all day keeping me company and is currently in his usual spot on the windowsill in the Sanctuary, making sure the bin men are doing their job. On Saturday, we travelled to Harwich to visit my brother and niece in their new house. Its such beautiful house, with so much space, I couldn't help but get a bit excited for when we finally move. We had a lovely day, walking into the old town part for some food in the Samuel Pepys (fish and chips obvs!) We walked back to my brothers house along the beach, which is at the end of his road, stopping in the swing park with my niece.