Girl In The Pretty Dress

A couple of weeks ago I put my National Trust membership to use again and visited Dunham Massey . I'd never been before and I'm so glad I got to see it. The parkland and garden are just wonderful on a summer's day and the house is hosting an interesting exhibition on how it was used as a hospital during the First World War. I didn't spend too much time indoors however, as there's so much to see on the outside. Each of the blocks is inscribed with a patient number representing one  of the  men treated here during the First World War.

1) First things first, I am buying this t-shirt . 2) I'm visiting Vienna right now but I've already started planning my next adventure and I'm sure this guide to booking cheap flights will come in very handy. 3) Crossing my fingers that we have a great summer and I get to experience one of these alfresco restaurants  in my favourite city. 4) Being inspired by The Tall Mama to help the Wrap with Love cause. 5) The fact that Ben and Jerry's now have Cheesecake Brownie Ice Cream .

When I was starting out in TV I worked as a runner on The X-Factor, but I always secretly wanted to work on it's sister show: Britain's Got Talent. The X-Factor is great fun but it's not a patch on BGT. So for this week's 'Positive Vibes' post I've decided to showcase all of the golden buzzer acts from this series ahead of the live shows. The happiness these guys experience when the gold buzzer goes off is infectious. I challenge you not to smile! My favourite has to be Amanda's show choir from week 3 - which gets your vote?

The last few weeks have been so fun-packed that I've not had much chance to shoot an outfit in a while. This post is something I've wanted to do for a long time though, so I decided not to put it off any longer. I read on The Elgin Avenue a while back about the #LiveinLevis marketing campaign and realised that I'd never actually owned a pair of Levi's.  Jeans shopping for me is always a trying experience. This is largely because I'm pear-shaped and my legs measure 35" - which is an exceptionally awkward length to find. But after a LOT of experimenting in the Levi's store (and no small amount of patience from the store assistant) I managed to come away with this pair: a demi-curve with a 34" leg.  They aren't *quite* long enough if the truth be told, but that works for me as it means they avoid the mud (and in summer I'll just roll up the cuff and wear capri-style). Unfortunately Levi's don't sell anything longer than 34" ...

A couple of weeks ago we were blessed with a rare springtime blast of sunshine and warmth (you all know by now how much I love the sunshine!) so I decided to take myself off for the day to Lyme Park . I've visited it in the past but I was about 5 at the time and purely there to see Santa - and understandably I wasn't so fussed for the gardens or the house. Lyme Park is pretty recognisable as it's been used in dozens of films and TV programmes in the past (A rather soggy Colin Firth famously climbed out of the lake here, when he was playing Mr Darcy in the BBC's adaptation of 'Pride and Prejudice') and luckily it's not too far from where I live. The house and grounds used to belong to an old aristocratic family but after the second world war it was sold to the National Trust - who now manage and maintain it. The National Trust is a charity I am very proud to support as they do a lot of work maintaining hundreds of sites of historic importance. I was so i...

Image via Pinterest This week I've gone with a bit of a female-empowerment vibe. Given that it was Mother's Day for all the USA readers on Sunday it felt like good timing. Enjoy! 1. I love this alternative interpretation of the 'Ladies' sign #itwasneveradress 2. Read this article on being a daughter of a strong woman (or in my case strong parents) 3. Watch this highly entertaining take on sexism in the media industries - there's an important message in there too. #MakeItFair 4. Make your way through this list of 10 great documentaries directed by women 5. Watch as Allison Janney and Anna Faris help each other complete the Ninja Warrior course in spectacular fashion.

Today is my birthday - so naturally I took the whole week off to celebrate. What better way to spend it than a trip to one of my favourite places? The west coast of Scotland boasts some truly spectacular scenery. I've been a few times now and I can never get tired of it. Links to all the places we visited are below (I whole-heartedly recommend a visit to all of them) but this post is going to be quite picture heavy so I'll shut up now and let the images do the talking. Where we stayed: The Galley of Lorne Inn in Ardfern Day 1: Where we ate: Brambles (Inveraray) & The Galley of Lorne Inn The Castle: Inveraray Castle (One of the locations used in Downton Abbey) Day 2: Where we ate:   The Lord of the Isles (Craobh Haven) We went riding with:  Lunga Stables  (Craobh Haven) Where we explored: Craignish Point & Ardfern Marina Day 3: Where we ate: The Oban Chocolate Company  (Oban) Boat trip (not pictured): Sealife Adventures  (Seil Island)...