Category: Lifestyle

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Greece has always been one of those destinations I’ve been itching to travel to. As a child when I began learning about Greek mythology I slowly became obsessed with the Greek Dieties, myths and legends. In college I choose Ancient History as one of my topics to study and learning of the battles and philosophers to come from Greece just kept inspiring me. As an adult I find myself gravitating to stories and retellings based on these myths. I am eager to travel there and visit these places that still have structures and buildings of ancient times. To walk on the ground where these myths are said to have taken place would be extraordinary. I did have the opportunity to visit a few years ago and stay on the island of Zakynthos with my family but shortly after booking found out I was pregnant and I would be too far in my pregnancy to travel.

Where to go in Greece

For me, the obvious choice is, and has always been the island of Crete. It’s been somewhere I have wanted to visit for years. The weather in Crete is supposed to be quite pleasent in the summer months making it an ideal choice for a sunny family holiday. For me, I just think seeing these old ancient structures and feeling like part of the land and walking through history would be a little nicer to do in the summer half of the year rather than the cooler, wintery time, although I wouldn’t rule out travelling to Crete in October. I feel like it’s a great place to start when searching for the myths and legends of ancient Greece as Crete was where King Minos had his Labyrinth where Theseus used his golden thread to find the centre, fight the mintoar, and escape. The Minoan Palace or Palace of Knossos can be find on Crete and to walk among these ruins would just be amazing. Another location drenched in mythology on the island of Crete is Mount Ida. Here it is said that Rhea hid Zeus in a cave away from the titan Chronos (because he kept eating his kids!) to grow up unscathed and unharmed, eventually to overthrow his titan parents and form the pantheon of Gods we know today. How amazing to step into a place where the king of the Gods was thought to grow up.

Delos was a sacred island to the Gods and would be an ideal place for those wanting to travel to these fantastical locations. Delos is said to be the twin deities Artemis and Apollo’s birthplace. There are old ancient temple ruins around the island where the people of Greece used to visit to worship the pantheon. Another place that would be amazing to visit is the Archeron RIver which just looks abasolutely stunning. It is located within Epirus and is said to be the river that borders the underworld. The Archeron river itself, one of five rivers within Hades’ realm, also thought to be the River of Woe to lead spirits into the underworld. There was apparently an ancient temple dedicated to the worship of Hades and Persephone, known as a Nekromanteion, along the border of the river and said to be the entrance into the underworld itself.

For fans of the legend of Achilles Aegina is an interesting destination. Achilles had a fearsome group of soldiers known as the Myrmidons are said to orginate from this island. They were incredibly strong and loyal to their leader and Achilles’ links to the island, and it’s people, comes from his father Peleus who was banished from the island of Aegina. Some of these soldiers followed him and stayed with him, and then his son for the Trojan war. You can also visit the supposed home of the Gods in Greece, Mount Olympus. It’s the highest peak in the country and offers ideal locations for hiking and glorious scenic views. The ancient city-state of Thebes is another location that exists today, although now known as Thiva, it is said to be the birth place of Herakles and the party all night form a cult kinda God Dionysus.

Two other islands within Greece are ideal destinations for sunny holiday lovers and myth hunters alike. These are Papthos, on Cyprus, which legend claims is where Aphrodite first walked when she rose from the sea in a scallop shell. I only ever see that famous painting when I think of Aprhodite, the Goddess of all things Love and Beauty. It’s absolutely a place I would love to visit and spend a few glorious, sunny weeks swimming and travelling around. I’d love to visit the remains of her ancient temple on the island of Paphos. The other island I’d love to visit with links to Mythology is Corfu which was named after another Nymph, Korkya. There are just so many beautiful places around Greece with these wonderful ruins that I think I would find interesting and inspiring on my hunt for mythological sites.

Celebrating Valentines Day with Moonpig Moments

I’ve always thought of Moonpig as a convinient way to send cards to friends and family online however they are so much more than that now. Moonpig has a huge range of celebration cards alongside a range of gorgeous gifts to celebrate any special occasion. I am collaborating with Moonpig to share some of the gifts that make ideal options for a lovely night in this Valentines Day.

I think this is mine and Adam’s 9th Valentines Day now and with kids, lockdown and just general time passing we haven’t really done much just the two of us for a long time. I think the last time we had a date night was in November 2019. We went to see Dave Gorman in Basingstoke and had such a good night. I think it was also the first time we had been in the car as a couple too as Adam had only bought it six months prior. It will be nice to have an evening together despite the circumstances. Moonpig sent a range of gifts for us to try to set the mood for a date night in including a candle, flowers, fizzy bath slabs, some Gin and a date night in gift card to try for some games which should be fun.

We are both quite introverted people and homebodies so staying in together with a film, some good food and the kids in bed is absolutely fine with us. A digital games night is something a bit different and I’m sure will be fun for us. A hot bath with some scented bath slabs sounds ideal and the flowers are a gorgeous Spring bouquet that I am trying very hard to look after. Moonpig have a lovely selection of gifts and cards to suit any couple and need. I was pleased to see the bath crumbles were vegan. There were also a selection of chocolates and hampers, other drinks and beautiful rose bouquets. The card selection is fantastic with loved up romantic cards and so many that had me howling with laughter too.

I received the Crystal growing set in exchange for this post.

STEM toys are in their absolute prime right now. Children have so much choice to help them learn about Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics and it’s something I wish I had access too when I was growing up. As much as I’ve always loved humanities and English and literature there were times when I wanted to learn how to make things and STEM toys would have been the foundation for that. I would have loved a Crystal growing kit like this one that was gifted to my daughter to use. We haven’t had the time to use it just yet with Evie being with her dad for most of the Christmas holidays and it’s something she’s been eagerly waiting to do together but I’ll be posting a full review of the I’m Genius Crystals kit soon to show off our creations. You can purchase this alongside many other STEM toys from Toys and Bears.

The I’m Genius Crystal kit comes with everything you need to make a set of grow your own crystals and a really informative book on crystals and different creations you can make. There is also a useful leaflet talking about kitchen substitutes you can use as reagents to recreate the experiements. I think once you have the intructions booklet and an understanding of how the kit works it would be able to be done again or more experiements could be explored.

The foundation of STEM toys I think really starts with lego, or duplo, for the younger years and something my son loves to build things with. It’s colourful, versatile and really allows your imagination to lead in what you can create. There are plenty of other building blocks around too from branded names to low cost versions and made of a variety of different materials too. We also have plain wooden blocks and shape sorters for my younger son which have been great for his development and understanding of colour, size and shapes.

Children as well are drawn to our electronics because we spend so much time playing with our own gadgets I am always on the hunt for games and apps that can help develop their learning. We love video games so we are not a family that shy’s away from tablets and electronic devices but I do want to see some learning going on. We have access to audiobooks which are a great way to relax to and an alternative to reading. I remember Evie had a mathematics game which really helped her with her numbers and as a result maths is an area she does really well with in school.

Children will always learn best through play and to encourage their learning STEM toys can develop a passion for a subject that can turn into a hobby and a lifelong career. The possibilities really are endless and with so much choice at a variety of prices it makes it easy for parents to choose STEM toys to help develop their child’s interest and passion for inventing, creating and developing technical skills that will help them continously through their lives.

Disclaimer: I received a gift voucher to purchase products online at Smiggle. All opinions remain my own.

How are you getting on with your 2020 festive shopping? Considering the year it’s been I’m feeling pretty organised for once! We have ordered our food shop, the tree and decorations are up and, most of the presents are bought for the family and our friends. What’s left is the stocking fillers from Father Christmas. I have a go to list of things for my daughter but this is the first year my son will really get a taste of Christmas magic, although he might not understand it all properly for a couple of years yet his little face seeing the tree and having his advent calender. He’s only two so stocking fillers for him will be pretty basic but I have a go to list of things each year for my daughter (which I’m sure my mum did with me!).

Regular readers of the blog will know my daughter, Evangeline, loves Smiggle and they have become our go to for stationary and school shopping supplies. Smiggle have a great range of stocking fillers online for children (and adults too, if you’re anything like me!) who love scented stationary, squishes and collectibles. There’s even our go-to Smiggle advent calendar which is a great alternative for those that can’t (or won’t) have a chocolate one. Evie always loves the advent calendar because it comes with a variety of stationary products of all shapes and sizes and really feels like a little gift each day. So far she has opened up days one and two and found a multi colour pen and tiny notebook. I don’t know about your children, but mine are always more amazed by things that are really tiny. I think I was when I was that age too!

Alternatively, Smiggle has such a range of products that if you have a resuable advent calendar and prefer a home made approach some of the scented goodies and character rubbers could make excellent fillers. Other stocking filler ideas could be the squishy toys, scented gel pen sets or a pot of galaxy goo. If you’re looking for more ASMR stocking fillers or gift ideas then there is fluffy sand and slime kits for kids that need that extra stimulation. I love the fluffy sand, it feels so satisfying!

Other things Evangeline loves from Smiggle are the moving sequin notebooks. We’ve had a few different ones over the years from unicorns to mermaid tails. The most recent one is this cute little panda notebook. There are a great range of character notebooks suitable for different tastes depending on your child’s favourite animals or colour. A lot of the stationary is a little on the quirky side too like these colourful bendy rubbers that remind me of marshmallow sweets.

What are some of your go to stocking fillers for your children?