Bluestone Wales is a luxury holiday park set in 500 acres in the lovely Pembroke countryside. Awarded and reaccredited with a five star rating from Visit Wales, a stay at Bluestone can be as relaxing or as fun and energetic as you wish.

With nearly 300 well appointed lodges, cottages and studios and a range of over 100 activities it's a holiday park suitable for all ages, families, couples and those that love the countryside.

If you love nature you will love Bluestone, the park is located around a lake where you can watch the wildlife and birds and enjoy walks around the nature trails.






We stayed in a Gateholm lodge, which had three bedrooms downstairs, an ensuite bathroom and separate shower and toilet. Upstairs is the lounge/dining room with an open plan kitchen. The lodge is deliberately set out for 'upside down living', so you get views over the beautiful valley.

As you can see from the photos above, everything was new, modern and of a very high standard. The kitchen for example includes a fridge, dishwasher, full cooker and microwave, and you could easily cook a full meal with the appliances and equipment on offer. The lounge had two comfy leather sofas as well as a TV with freeview and a DVD player.  The dining area had a large wooden table and chairs big enough to seat six. The bedrooms had one double bed in the main room and two other bedrooms with two single beds. We had a very good nights sleep and found the mattress they use excellent, not too soft or too firm.

Everything was well looked after and considering the amount of people that stay in the lodges, that is no mean feat.  




Activities

There is an abundance of activities on offer at Bluestone. You get admittance into the Blue Lagoon with every stay and this is an under cover all weather water park featuring large flume rides, a river rapid ride and an indoor wave machine. For the little ones they have two interactive wet play areas, and for the adults a spa pool too. The Blue Lagoon is particularly brilliant for families and can provide hours of fun in the Welsh weather. 

For adults the Well Spa has a thermal spa experience, with 6 rooms including an Ice room, Hot Brick Spa and Salt Room, a pool and experienced staff to treat you with the latest ESPA treatments. Spa packages are available for an indulgent treat or you can book treatments separately. 

Other activities are almost too numerous to mention so I have listed some of them below, and this is without the lovely walks and watching the wildlife.

For the little kids
Mini rangers, Junior rangers and Celtic Rangers
Teenage adventures
Pond Dipping
Baby Sensory
Toddler Sensory
Messy Play
Soft Play
Bouncy Castle
Ball Pool
Outdoor adventure area

For the older kids and grown ups
Archery
Steep Ravine zip wire
Laser Clay
High Ropes
Laser combat
Climbing wall

For adults
The Well Spa

For everyone
Bike Hire
History walks

Dining Options

The food at Bluestone is locally sourced wherever possible and there is a wide choice of cafes and restaurants including a pub - The Knight's Tafarn. There is a bakers, a shop to buy provisions, a cafe in the adventure centre as well as one in the Well Spa and a special dining restaurant called Carreg Las. In better weather Camp Smokey provides barbecue food outdoors.



We ate the first night at the Farmhouse Grill. I had the turkey and ham pie with chips and my husband had the butter bean and tomato pasta. I enjoyed my food, the chips were brown and crispy and the pie generous in portion size and well seasoned. It also came with fresh salad from the salad bar and warm bread and butter, which was a lovely touch. For £8.50 I felt it was good value, considering the extras you get as well. My husband felt his pasta could have been better seasoned and when he asked for parmesan it had run out, which was a little disappointing. Although I realise it is a family friendly place, we did feel that it would be a more grown up environment if the plastic tablecloths were removed. 





My Top Tips

Bring enough essentials with you such as tea, coffee, milk, bread, juice and toiletries. You can buy food and some items in the shop, but it is small and not keenly priced.

Consider hiring a buggy if you have small children or those with mobility problems in your party. Cars have to be parked at the top of a hill after unloading and it can be a big walk for little ones.

The Knight's Tafarn pub has activities in the night, such as bands playing or pub quizzes. We were involved in a game of Deal or No Deal and won a bottle of wine!

Visit picturesque Tenby, a lovely little seaside town. Excellent places to eat include The Mooring Cafe and The Blue Ball restaurant. Narbeth is a small town within a 10 minute drive and worth visiting for lunch.

The cheapest time to go is January. Out of high season the accommodation can be very reasonable in price. This time of year you can book a mid week break for around £150 which is excellent value for money. In peak season obviously the prices increase.

If you are visiting in the Summer, Oakwood park, Wales' biggest and best theme park, is next door and this is the perfect place to stay.

This time of year, I start dreaming about the mouth watering goodies I will get from my husband on Valentine's Day. Those of you who read my blog regularly may know that I am a massive fan of Hotel Chocolat, so I'm always leaving hints for my husband, with their web page open on special occasions.

What I like about Hotel Chocolat is the detail. If you order from the website for home delivery, everything is packaged beautifully. Your order is delivered in a Hotel Chocolat bag and lovingly wrapped in tissue paper with a card. It's the finishing touches that make you realise what a quality brand they have.




Then when you open the tissue, you get chocolate of an outstanding quality and creaminess, and with each chocolate you can tell great thought has gone into the flavours and the ingredients. The company are hot on ethics too, and pay farmers a fair deal for the cocoa they produce. 

What do you get the man or woman that has everything for Valentines Day? Something sentimental, something lovely and romantic, or something jokey and even a touch risque? Toxic Fox has it all. 

The company started in 2011 when a group of enthusiastic friends got together to start a personalised and unique gift company. With the average age of 25, but with experience beyond their years, they struck a chord with the UK public as within 6 months they were recognised as one of the fastest growing retailers in the UK.

If you have a look at the Valentines Day Gifts you will see that they have some unique presents. This is my pick of the best ideas.

If you like any of these gifts or want to see what else Toxic Fox have to offer, pop over to their website and use the code TFLove for 10% off all Valentine's Gifts.

Tell me, what do you think of these Valentine's gifts? What was the most romantic gift you ever received?


*Code can be used on all Valentines Day categories except for 3 for 2 offers

Choosing one of the many home phones out there can be a complicated business. I know when I first thought about looking for a new home phone I didn't know where to start.

Garden Escape is full of gorgeous colours like flowers blossoming in the Spring woods - pretty pink and soft corals in the lip colours and blushers mix with earthy browns and dark greens in the eye shadows and eye liners.

I was sent a selection of the lip balms to try. The new range of Instant Light Lip Balm Perfectors are full of moisturising and nourishing ingredients such as mango and shea butter as well as Vitamin E. The Winter weather has left my lips dry and needing some TLC, so I could't wait to try them out.

What I noticed first on applying the lip balm is the sweet smell, which reminded me of being in a candy store. The lip balm tasted slightly sweet as well. On application my lips felt drenched in moisturising ingredients and completely nourished. The look was one of shine and understated glamour. Perfect for ladies who want a light colour look, a sheer veil almost, but a definite shine.

They have one shade called 'My Pink' which when applied reacts to the PH levels in your skin, giving you a bespoke pink lip balm, your very own shade. How fantastic is that!





Another feature of this lip balm is the natural peptide it contains. Now for the science bit....what this does is encourage the synthesis of hyaluronic acid, which in turn gives lips a fuller appearance and heightens hydration.

They also sent me some Jolie Rouge Brilliant Sheer Shine Lipsticks as well.



These lipsticks look bright before applying but don't be afraid as they are transparent. They do however give more coverage than the lip balms, and I would say they are a cross between a lipstick and a gloss. They have a sweet smell similar to the lip balms above and give a hint of sweetness on your lips. The rose petal colour would be beautiful on those that have fair skin with blue eyes and blonde hair. I have dark hair and eyes and I think the colour was a little light on me. The Coral Dahlia is more the colour for me, a peachy pink delight, it suited my skin tone perfectly.  These lipsticks although not ultra long lasting left some colour on my lips for at least 4 hours. You would need to reapply throughout the day.

This has benefits not just to jet-setting business people but as technology comes downs in price, it is becoming affordable and within reach of people like you and me as well, and smart technology for families can really be a bit help.

Assistive and home technology can also be a life-changer for those with some form of disability. You are in charge, having greater control over things around you like turning on and off your lights, or opening doors and windows. This can be extremely reassuring for family and carers as making a phone call and turning appliances on and off can be done easily, without any hassle.

Examples Of Smart Home Technology

British Gas Hive heating allows you to control your heating at any time from anywhere. Users can do this via a mobile device, laptop and even tablet. With this great little system, you can set your timer so that your house is warm as you wake up, you have plenty of hot water when you come home from work, and the temperature in your house can be controlled easily and efficiently. If you don't have a smartphone you can even use text messages to adjust the heating.


Remote control blinds such as the VELUX Integra blinds system, allow you to open and close windows, shutters and blinds with one touch of a button. Adjusted using a control pad, it has predefined programmes such as Wake Up, Airing and On Holiday. Also available in a solar-powered version as well as mains, with no need for wiring, technology can be eco-friendly too. It even comes with a rain sensor that closes your windows when it starts raining. How nifty is that?

I have a little confession to make. This week I will be mum to an eighteen year old for the first time. Yes, I know I don't look old enough!

He is an incredibly talented artist, and I am so proud of him. Last year he won the only award for art in the whole school for his GCSE coursework. Did I say I am proud of him?

He wants to work in film but on the creative side, and when I sat down with him to go through his options, studying for a degree in film making and visual effects was what he wished to do. He has just applied for degrees in this area through UCAS and before he did there were a number of things he had to consider. 

Closing date for applying this year is the 15th of January, so if you or your child or someone you know are considering going to university, this post may help you pick your right choices.

Important Factors to consider




The Course - Every course is different even those that sound exactly the same. There are a host of things to consider. Look at the modules, can you personalise the course? What is the calibre of the teaching staff, do they have relevant experience?  Is it a sandwich course with a year working or are there any shorter work placements? What are the job prospects at the end of the course and where are past students now working?

The University - Is it big or small? Does it have great facilities and modern state of the art equipment? What is the student life like on campus and what facilities/activities does it have or run? Is it local or further away and do you want to stay local or move away? You need to consider how would you get there, and would you live in close by or travel. You need to consider the reputation of the university and would this benefit you in finding a job at the end of the course.  You really have to find out as much as possible about the unis you could be attending

The City - Is it a big bustling city or a smaller town, and what would you prefer? Does it have easy transport links and is it accessible? Is the cost of living reasonable or more expensive? Is student accommodation easy to get, reasonable in cost and close to the university? 

The Funding - You need to consider how you are going to fund the tuition fees and living expenses. Are you going to apply for a loan from the Student Finance Centre? Can you apply for a grant that doesn't have to be paid back or a scholarship? Do you have savings you can use and are you going to supplement living expenses with a part-time job? You could consider getting a rail/bus card for a reduced fare on public transport.

These are just some of the points you need to consider and there are many more. Thorough research is essential so the course and university is the right fit for you.

The University of Greenwich 



Kiss FM presenter AJ went to the University of Greenwich to show potential students how to get under the skin of the university and what you can get up to in their faculties. Open Days and initiatives like these are brilliant to get a real feel for what a uni is like. 







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The online shop is a fashion lovers delight. From pretty balconette bras to silky chemises, padded plunge bras to super soft thongs, you can guarantee there is something for everyone.


One of my favourite underwear brands is Freya. This brand is always fashion led, stylish and fun. Freya use the best quality fabrics too, sourcing most from Europe and every part of each bra is thought about in detail, straps are tested, different underwires are used for each bra depending on style, and fit is never compromised. Real women test each design for fit, and each design is adjusted painstakingly until it is perfect. Freya also make a fun and flattering range of swimwear too, which is definitely worth checking out.



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