I was given a jade roller for Christmas last year and used it off and on in the months after without much success. However lately I have been more consistent and now I am obsessed!

What Is A Jade Roller?

By now, a lot of people will have heard of them thanks to Instagram and beauty blogs who picked up on the trend last year. But for those of you who are uninitiated, it’s essentially like a small paint roller made from jade – however, thanks to the recent rise in popularity you can now buy them in almost every stone.

Originating in ancient China, jade rollers have been used for centuries claiming to boost your skin’s appearance and health, while jade itself is said to ward of negative energy…

…And let’s be honest, in 2020 we need every method for wading of negativity that we can get.

How To Use A Jade Roller?

There seems to be a huge debate on this, however, I’ve seen the most results from this method:

• Firstly, it should be said that I only saw noticeable results once I started doing it daily. I do it every morning, and often at night time too.

• If you’re only going to roll once a day I’d recommend doing it in the morning as I honestly don’t think the results would last long enough for them to be visible in the morning if you did it the night before.

• Apply your skin care products as normal then with gentle pressure work the jade roller from the centre of the face outwards and upwards.

• Only roll in one direction (outwards!) When I first started, I would roll the roller backwards and forwards over the same space thinking this would iron out any lines. However, I’ve since learnt that you will not see any results from doing this. Instead I now try to use long sweeping rolls in one direction and go over each section about five times.

• This goes without saying really, but the larger roller can be used almost anywhere on your face whilst the smaller roller is better used around the eyes and mouth. To be honest I still struggle around the eyes sometimes as it does feel slightly weird!

Jade rollers are generally cool to the touch, but many hardcore fans advocate for keeping your roller in a fridge for added benefits. This said, I don’t have a dedicated skin care fridge so I tried it in our main fridge… only for it to end up smelling like garlic. So don’t say you haven’t been warned!

Why Bother Jade Rolling?

Well I guess there is two main reasons, firstly the pressure helps to push fluids towards your lymph nodes which then get to work processing toxins. Meanwhile the coolness of the jade also restricts blood flow in the area.

This in turn helps your skin to seem brighter, whilst reducing any puffiness. Thanks to allergies I often suffer from puffy eyes in the morning – especially during hay fever season – and rolling definitely helps to ease it.

On a more niche note, my allergies also mean I sometimes get areas of redness and the coolness also seems to help calm these. I’ve heard that many people with Rosacea also say it helps with their redness too.

So yeah, in a long winded way that is why I have become a jade roller aficionado! If you have a jade roller I would love to know if you’ve seen any benefits – or on the other hand, why you won’t be using one!

Lockdown has been hard for many people, and since being furloughed I’ve found that one of the hardest parts has been having so much time to think.

I’ve tried to stay busy, I’ve tried to create To-Do lists… but even then, it’s easy to get lost in my thoughts. After all, doing the washing up for the hundredth time today hardly calls for rigorous mental focus.

I don’t think I’m alone in this, because every trending article at the moment seems to have a focus on reflection & rebuilding.

Whether on a grand scale (hello, the UK economy) or on the personal side in terms of career changes and new-found passions or skills.

So, in attempt to brain dump, here are the things I’ve missed, haven’t missed and will miss from my time being furloughed.

What I’ve Missed.

• The obvious one here has to be family. Normally I visit my parents 5-6 times a week, and regularly see my sister at their house… so as you can imagine, it’s been hard not seeing them properly.

I’ve been bombarding them with Facetimes, but then there’s always the pressure to talk. Which is even harder given nobody is doing anything.

I guess I miss simply being with family. Not being forced to talk, instead just sharing a brew, half-heartedly watching TV and pottering around together.

       2. In an unexpected turn, I also miss the gym. Prior to lockdown, I’d attended HIIT and weight training classes four times a week and for the first few weeks of furlough I attempted to keep up the same momentum at home.

Turns out I need the peer pressure of being in a class to work out regularly – I just have no love or motivation for home workouts.

• Popping to the shops.

I used to believe I knew how to meal plan, however not being able to pop to shops whenever I wanted has taught me this was all I lie. I never buy enough snacks, but always manage to end up with too much spinach. Perhaps we should put that down to good intentions…

• Having a reason to look nice.

While in recent years there has been a big push in the belief we women dress for ourselves. While this may be true for some, it turns out my appearance was mainly performative. Lockdown has made me almost fully feral, and I long for the days when a smokey eye or bright lip seemed more than just a pointless indulgence.

Things I haven’t missed from ‘the old world’

• Feeling constantly guilty because I don’t enough time to do everything as well as I would like.

If an abundance of time has taught me anything, it that the old saying is true – we only do the things we view as a priority. With all the time in the world, I still have yet to finish reading Dracula, watch the endless list of ‘classic’ films I’ve missed out on or re-organise the closets.

• Materialist comparisons.

In the old world, I interacted with a lot of people who financially better off than me. Which meant it was hella easy to fall into the trap of materialist comparison.

Pre-lockdown I was desperately craving a new car, but now I couldn’t care less along as my loved ones are safe & healthy.

Things I Will Miss

• Celebrating the small wins and truly valuing things.

The first time I secured a click and collect spot, I honestly nearly cried. It was the height of the pandemic and it meant me and my parents (they shared my delivery slot) could shop in relative safety. Also, the shortages caused by panic buying served as a great reminder to be grateful for even the bare the necessities such as food.

It also made me savour the moments of joy, whether that’s sitting out in the back yarden with a good book, or seeing our seeds sprout. In such uncertain times, small moments of joy have seemed even sweeter.

• Working together

It seems the world has got a lot more collaborative recently. From me and Craig creating joint DIY projects, to our local community sharing plants and growing tips, it feels like there has been a real sustained effort to make things easier for each other.

It’s made me want to give back more once this lockdown is over. I’m not sure how I’ll do it yet, but it seems more important than ever to give back to our local communities, even if it is in the smallest ways.

When I’m back working full time from an office, I’m sure they will be plenty more that I’ll miss from this stretch of enforced rest. In all likelihood, there will be days where I yearn for a few days filled with nothing much, but I hope I’ll remember how lucky I am.

How do you postpone your wedding? It’s actually fairly simple.

Step 1: Take A Deep Breath.

Here is a post I never thought I would write.

Even before the lockdown was announced, we were quietly muttering to ourselves that the wedding might not go ahead as planned. With the number of people allowed to attend gatherings getting increasingly smaller and smaller, the thought certainly crossed my mind.

More often than not, however, that same thought would swiftly be pushed away, our wedding was a good 3-4 months away… We’d be fine.

Or so we thought.

Now, I want to make it clear we were very lucky that our wedding wasn’t planned for March, April or even May. I’m incredibly grateful for that and cannot imagine how stressful, heart-breaking (and not to mention expensive) it must have been for those couples.

That said, whether it’s due to COVID19 or other personal reasons, when it comes to postponing, you’re wedding… where the hell do you start?

I’m a firm believer in letting people know where they stand, so as soon as we made the decision to postpone the wedding we contacted all of our suppliers… It was basically just a short message to let them know that although we didn’t have a new date, the wedding wouldn’t be going ahead as previously agreed.

As many of our suppliers were freelancers, it felt important to let them know asap, so they could re-schedule/plan their finances etc accordingly.

Next, we contacted our venue and tried to secure a new date.

With regards to Coronavirus, nobody really knows what is happening so the official advice in our area was to push it back until Autumn/Winter and see what happens. Needless to say, we ignored this advice.

Whilst we desperately want to get married, we didn’t want the hassle of possibly messing around our guests and suppliers a second time, so instead, we pushed the date back a full year.

Once we had our new date, we contacted all of our suppliers and checked to see if they were still available and if we could move our date without it affecting the payments we had already made.

We were really lucky in that only our photographer was unavailable for our new date.

If your suppliers are unavailable check you contracts and have a look on Which? as we found that many of the terms used in the contract were not legally enforceable anyway.

For example, a “nonrefundable deposit” doesn’t actually exist. If you give the supplier enough time to get new clients, there is no reason why they should not refund your money. We decided not to argue the point though, as obviously it was highly unlikely that they would be able to secure new clients given the Panny-D.

Either way, we learnt a lot from Which? And it’s definitely worth a look.

After our date was secured we posted a message on social media and contacted all of our guests individually too just to make sure everyone was aware.

I’m not going to lie, it felt horrible to send that text, so maybe make sure you have a lot of wine nearby.

One thing I wish we would have done sooner is to check with the registrars. I dread to think what would have happened if they weren’t available on our new date! However, I have been reliably informed that many work on a locum basis so they can easily draft more into the ranks if needed.

As our new date is over a year away, we will have to get a new marriage licence, however, definitely check this with your local registry office as this can vary from place to place.

Finally, don’t forget to contact your insurance company!

If you’re now planning your wedding for 2021, don’t forget you can find advice on booking your venue here.

As you can probably guess from the title of the book, this story is all about sisters – so it instantly had me intrigued.

My sister is one of my favourite people. She’s strong, fiercely intelligent and the funniest person I know… over the years she’s been both my hero and my mentor. I cannot imagine life without her and the relationship we have. In short, I am incredibly lucky and I know it.

The plot (no spoilers) is simple, Becky’s parents separated when she was young and now in her thirties, she discovers her mum may have had another child, so sets out to find her.

The narrative alternates almost perfectly between Becky and her mum Selma, though they cover different times and places.

Whilst the book follows the search for the ‘Lost Sister’ it explores so much more. From an outsider’s perspective, Selma is your typical ‘fallen woman’ trope – she’s confident, she’s sexy and she knows it. She leaves her husband and is more interested in her writing career than her child.

Selma is everything society believes a woman should not be. She acts like a ‘good’ woman wouldn’t. She offers to bake for a child’s birthday purely to show off… then buys a supermarket cake to pass off as her own. She knows she has to keep up appearances, but honestly, she’s beyond caring. Her fucks have well and truly flown and they are not coming back.

Her daughter is the antithesis. She’s honest, whilst Selma gains a reputation for deception. She’s family orientated, kind to her elderly neighbours and rescues dogs. She’s the heavenly Madonna to the fallen angel.

As the plot progresses it’s hard not to fall for Selma – she serves as a stark reminder. Our parents aren’t just parents. Before us, and after us they are people. People with hopes, dreams, desires and fears. They have their faults and their sins. They are human.

Touching upon mental health, romantic relationship and family ties, it could be viewed in a similar light to The Third Life Of Grange Copeland.  The influences of a poor mother-daughter relationship are passed down the generations, with each new daughter running from the same hurt.

The characters are well crafted, the descriptions of food are numerous and the geography vast. Basically it’s the perfect piece of escapism for our current lockdown.

The plot twists are often and unforeseen. In fact, I had to ring my mum at the end (she’d lent me the book pre-lockdown) because I was flabbergasted by the ending – and for two reasons.

Whilst it focuses on families, it just goes to show that we never really know what someone is going through and that personal redemption is often granted, but invisible.