Lunch Break Reading, the Serial Podcast and Oxford #LittleLoves

This past month has been a whirlwind! Returning to work has been such a big (and welcome) change to our everyday routine and it’s been far easier than I thought for it to feel very normal. Pickle loves going to nursery, and it’s obvious how much he enjoys spending a day with his Grandpark (our nickname for his Grandad, my Dad) too. He recognises the road my parents live on, and when we pull into it, he always does his signature ‘Ooooh’ excited sound. Very cute.

Anyway, now that I’ve had a taste of ‘freedom’ away from Pickle, I’m determined to keep up with some better selfcare routines and allow myself a little bit of time each day to do something I love. Just for me. So what better way to help me focus on the things I love than writing a new, and much overdue, #LittleLoves post.

I know this is meant to be a #LittleLoves post and filled with things I love… but can I first mention something I don’t love? I always feel so guilty when I write these posts, as I always have the ‘Read’ section at the top, and nine times out of ten, guess what? I’ve not read any books. And it upsets me every time I realise, as I bloody love snuggling down with a good book. And realising how often I’ve not allowed myself the time to enjoy something I really love is quite sad. I’ve started taking my Kindle into work with me and grabbing a quick half hour read on my lunch break. It’s a nice way to switch off from work for a bit but is at the expense of a much needed walk around and breath of fresh air. I need an outdoor treadmill which you can read on. That’d be the dream.

I also managed to enjoy a bit of a read on the train back from Oxford at the weekend. I’m just slowly trudging through The Time Traveller’s Wife (by Audrey Niffenegger). It’s not the most engaging book I’ve ever read, and not 100% my cup of tea but I just need to finish it now – know what I mean?

I’d love to know what books you’ve been reading lately – I need to start putting together a reading list. I read Laura’s post about Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman and it’s amazing how many times I’ve heard someone rave about this book! It’s definitely going on the list. What else should I add?

Did anyone else used to watch Queer Eye for the Straight Guy? I used to love it, and when I saw there was a brand new series of Queer Eye, with an all new Fab-5 on Netflix, I felt a bit anxious. Would it be as good as I remembered? Would I warm to a new set of hosts? Would I still enjoy it? The answers all round were YES, YES and YES! And this new series is even better than before. There’s a real depth of heart, emotion and confidence building that has reduced me to tears several times, leaving me cuddled up on the sofa sobbing ‘everyone needs their own Fab-5!‘.

I really want to get into podcasts. I know I’m late to the party, but I did a quick google for the best podcasts to listen to and Serial came up. It’s a bit like the podcast version of Making a Murderer (you know, the Netflix documentary that everyone was obsessed with for a while?). The ingredients are the same: a real life murder case, and the potential of a wrong conviction. I’m only about fifteen minutes into the second episode but I’m already a bit addicted and eager to see how the investigation unfolds. It’s quite an old podcast, so some of you may have already heard it years ago – but it’s new to me and if anyone fancies listening along with me – let me know! I think it’s going to be one of those things I’ll be eager to discuss with others.

I’ve been keeping quiet on a little craft project I’ve been working on as it’s a gift for a very special little girl that has just entered the world. Every chance I get, as soon as my laptop is closed at the end of the day, I pick it up and try and get a bit more done. I was DETERMINED to get it finished before I met her for the first time, especially as the craft project I started for her older sister’s arrival still hasn’t been finished… but I failed. At least I was able to hand over a couple of hats I made in the interim – one for baby girl, and one for his big sister!

I think I raised a few eyebrows at work today by getting it out during my lunch break. ‘Anything you want to tell us, Holly?’ I was asked. Definitely not. I am not in the market for any more little Pickles for the time being, thank you very much.

I have to confess, I’ve been really enjoying getting ‘dressed up’ for work. After 20 months of maternity leave throwing on whatever wasn’t covered in food or mud, it’s really refreshing to look smart and wear heels. It has to be said, my work wardrobe isn’t particularly varied at the moment. I’ve got a handful of outfits that I’m wearing on a fairly tight rotation, but I’m keeping my eye out for bits and pieces in the sales to help put less pressure on my washing machine schedule!

As a special treat, I spent last Saturday in Oxford with my best friend Chloe. It was a proper girly day: shopping, chat, giggles and afternoon tea. Chloe is really stylish and knows her stuff when it comes to fashion so she helped me pick out a few different things for me to try on, in an effort to steer myself away from navy blue florals or stripes. I did buy a really lovely top from the Billie & Blossom range at Dorothy Perkins (which wasn’t navy, or striped) and another little something that’s reserved especially for LPD! *wink wink*

Have you seen my exciting announcement on Instagram? I’m really pleased to be working with Johnson’s Baby this year as one of their Ambassadors. I’ll be learning lots about baby skincare and the science behind their iconic baby care products. I’ll be sharing more about what I’ve learned so far very shortly, but in the mean time – do you have any questions about skincare or Johnson’s that you’d like me to find out the answer to? Let me know by writing a comment below or dropping me an email, and I’ll see what I can do for you.

Being Pickle’s Mom has been the biggest learning curve of my life, and every day is a school day. I’ve had to learn all sorts of things: how to change a nappy, how to breastfeed, what’s baby led weaning, what’s the ideal temperature for the nursery, how to function on an insanely small amount of sleep, and how best to negotiate with a toddler… Some things come more naturally than others, and I definitely don’t have all the answers. One of the areas I have always felt a bit clueless about is skincare. With such a wealth of information out there (with lots of conflicting opinions), how are you meant to know what’s best? Should you bath your baby every day? Every other day? Once a week? What does it mean if a skincare product is organic? And is that a good thing? How often should I moisturise Pickle’s skin? And do I need to be using a nappy cream at every change? To help me answer some of these questions and more, I’m really excited to be working with @johnsonsbabyuk over the next year, to hear from some of their experts all about baby skincare and the importance of their medical research. Because the more I know, the more informed and confident I can be in my decisions about Pickle’s care. And I’ll be sharing my journey every step of the way. I’m a Johnson’s Baby Ambassador, and this is why. #ad #johnsonsambassadors

A post shared by Little Pickle’s Mom (@littlepicklemom) on Mar 15, 2018 at 1:01pm PDT