It's time for my monthly roundup of what's good and great out there in the world and this month was all about refreshing, wether that be your look, your garden or your home, it's only a short roundup this month, Easter and Mother's Day both being in March meant a bumper round up and I found my inbox to be a much quieter and calmer place although I was still sent a handful of gorgeous products.

I always think of April as the opener to the year, we've suffered through winter and now spring is here at last although if you live in the UK like me you're probably still imagining that we're in the throws of the most grim winter we've ever known.  Hopefully these products might make you smile, and some might even make you want to run outdoors, although, I'd take an umbrella with you if I were you.

1. Small Window Box in Hampstead Lead from Bay and Box, Now I should say that I had plans to have these planted up already but oh my the weather, I have 2 of these boxes and yes, we're growing our own funky veg in them, I think you're going to have to stay tuned to see what we do with them.  They're actually planned to go on brackets on the wall but even the gardener dismayed at the weather, once that sunshine comes though, they're going to look fabulous. I'm ordering an Arbour for the garden so it's a big transformation project, we really do need the weather for it though.

2.Cable and Cotton Fairy Lights, I love fairy lights, I have them all over my house and it's only a couple of weeks ago when I decided to take down the icicle lights to replace them with these beautiful rainbow lights from Cable and Cotton, the best thing about this brand is that you can have any colour combination you want, in all honesty, I haven't quite decided if they're going to stay in the lounge, they're USB powered so they have to stay in the house but they could go out doors for short periods when I'm entertaining and I think they'd look amazing.

3. Sweeties and Treats from Haribo, the darlings at Haribo sent these for the March guide but sadly they arrived just after it had been published so I wanted to include them in April, I mean just because it's past Easter doesn't mean you can't get some spring themed games on the go, it is the long Easter holidays currently and anything to entertain the kids is a good thing!

4. Buff Infinity Scarf - Lastly, my good friends over at Buff sent me an infinity scarf and I can't tell you how handy this has been during all of the cold and rainy/snowy weather we've been experiencing, it's snuggly and warm and huge and it's certain to last me for many years to come on my many dog walking adventures with Holly Bobbins, did I mention that Buff do a dog wear section?!

So there you are, short but sweet but wonderful, thanks to all of the companies involved, my monthly roundup could not happen without you.

Top 13 Gifts for Mother's Day and Easter - March Roundup

It's the first of March and that means it's time for my March roundup of the best products out there for Mother's Day and Easter, yes, although Easter is the first of April officially, my April roundup, well it'll be over by the time that goes out.

Now I know it might seem far fetched looking out of the window today but spring really is just around the corner.  Mother's Day is on the 10th of March and I think I have some pretty beautiful things, gifts for all budgets to make your mums day whether you're treating her on Mother's Day or perhaps you want to buy her a thoughtful gift for Easter, let's look now at my top thirteen list of Mother's Day and Easter gifts for the people you love.

1. Lumie Bodyclock, Active 250 - Lumie are the makers of the original wake up light and for anyone who doesn't know what one of those is, it's a clock which wakes you gradually mimicking the rays of the sun coming through the window, the Active 250 also features an FM Radio, some relaxing sounds and you can even drift off with the light gradually fading.  Me?  Well I wake up with the rays of the sun and some birdsong and it really does wake for a much lovelier morning.  It also helps with SAD and I can't wait to use it through the whole of next winter as I think it's really going to help.

2. Sol Republic Amps Air bluetooth wireless headphones with charging case.  I can honestly say that these are the best earbuds I have ever had, they've never once lost connectivity, the case charges them 15 times before it needs it's own charge and it'll even charge your phone if you are low on battery.  the sound is phenomenal and it's made my dog walks a happy bouncy occasion with music in my ears, now I can listen to musicals wherever I am, they come with three different sized adaptors for your ears and for me this was the most brilliant feature as since I've had a Daeth piercing some earbuds are too large.  If you have a mum who loves her tech like me, she's going to love these!

3. Demijohn Rhubarb and Ginger gift set - So, those classic combinations come together, a Rhubarb vodka liqueur made in East Linton and some Ginger wine made in Lyme Bay, it's a juxtaposition not unlike Yin and Yang and that's reflected in the Yin/Yang shaped bottles which fit perfectly together, you might just want to book a lie in the next day as this stuff is seriously moreish.

4. St Pancras Gothic Arches Mug in Black  - did you know that this year St Pancras is 150 years old?  To celebrate they have released a whole range of beautiful merchandise inspired by the station itself and with everything from mugs to beautiful classic prints of St Pancras rail station there really is something in the collection for everyone.

5. Ines De La Fressange Parsian Chic Journal This beautiful journal, perfect for travel comes from legendary french supermodel, artistic director and writer of Parisienne Chic, it's the most beautiful little journal and when I go on my next adventure you can be sure that I'll be packing this is my carry on luggage to record all of the special memories.

6. Personalised Peppa Pig and Me books from Penwizard.  You know, I get a lot of great products sent to me but to star in my own Peppa Pig book was something truly special and I'm not even joking, and yes, that is me on the cover with Abigail, Looby, Peppa and Mummy Pig.  To tempt you even further I have managed to bag you all a code for 20% off, just enter code "MANDY20" at the checkout, T&C's - *Not valid in conjunction with any other offers or discount codes. Discount valid on personalised books only. Offer valid until midnight Saturday 28th April 2018. Penwizard cannot provide refunds for unused discount codes

7.Wasgij Celebrity Chief Chef Jigsaw from Jumbo Games If mum, granny or uncle bob is a massive fan of Jigsaws then this could be the one to keep them entertained for many hours, the picture on the front of the box is only a suggestion and the real picture is what the health and safety manager sees, Start now and you might finish it by Christmas!!

8. Pet Portrait from Pawtrait If you are a mama, it's not necessarily to kids and so for those of us who are also pet mama's I have the perfect idea, this "Pawtrait" of Holly Bobbins was expertly created by Billy who runs the company, he captured her perfectly, it's just a shame when I asked her to pose with it, she had so many more "impawtent" things on her to-do list like sleeping, sleeping and ooh, a bit of a nap!

9. The Guylain Master's selection is perfect for Mother's Day or Easter, in fact these chocolates are so good, they're the perfect gift for any occasion and with 30 mini chocolates there's one for nearly every day of March should you be able to avoid eating them all in one go!

10. Guylain Easter Chocolate Egg with seashells gift box, whilst we're on the topic of beautiful things Guylain make, this Easter egg is waiting for me on April first, those classic seahorses filled with delicious praline and then packaged with a chocolate egg, no one tell the children I have this!

11. Booja Booja Hazlenut crunch Easter Egg, would you believe this has just been voted this years top egg out of 142 entrants by Good Housekeeping, it's beautifully painted wooden box contains the best Hazlenut crunch truffles you'll ever taste, except mine doesn't because just after I took this photo, Abigail arrived and ate it, Abigail and I are somewhat addicted to Booja Booja truffles.

12. Boy Rabbit Easter Treat Holder from Born Gifted This sneaky but gorgeous gift holder has a zip in the back to fill with delicious tasty easter treats and it's a surprisingly big pouch that Mr Rabbit has, I'll be carrying it with me to all my photo shoots to gift the small ones chocolate eggs over the Easter period, he also has a loop at the back so you can hang him up on your fireplace, your little ones will love it!

13. Botonique, The botanical drink for wine lovers When this arrived I quickly photographed it, took a sip and didn't quite know what to make of it, however a few hours later after a good chill in the fridge I have to say it's delicious, it feels grown up with a light bright taste and as someone who's mostly allergic to alcohol I don't mind drinking this as an alternative, great for dinner parties and garden parties or simply an evening in and there are only 14 calories per glass which is one of my favourite things about it.

I want to thank my generous contributors of my monthly round up post, this guide would not be possible without the generous contributions from Guylain, Sol Republic, Lumie and the others featured here.  I'm sent each product to test and review and if it passes muster it makes it into my monthly guide, all opinions are honest, mine and yes, I do get to eat all of the chocolate...

9 Ways to Make February Lovely

After this weeks bombshell posts about having a facelift and giving up sugar, I'm pleased to say that today's is a little more gentle, actually, it's a lot more gentle and 100% lovely because it's February and we all know that for the main, February is about love.  Not only is it about love, it's also my birthday and so I've combined these two things for my monthly roundup, ways to make February more lovely.

Now you don't have to be in a relationship to have a more lovely month or even to celebrate Valentines day because love isn't just for couples, it's about loving you more, appreciating your friendships, it can be about falling in love all over again with a hobby, an aspect of your life or even a person.  Love creates infinite possibilities, it is the human condition to seek it out and when we don't feel loved, we feel desolate and empty so let's take a look around and see what love we can find around us, let's plan to make February the loveliest month of the year.

9 great things to make February the loveliest month of the year

1. Have you ever tried any of the Great British Biscotti range?  If you haven't then there's never been a more perfect month to indulge as they've just brought out a chocolate orange version, once my family had waited (im)patiently for me to photograph them it took them about 0.36 seconds to eat them so I reckon, if you can't say it with flowers, say it with chocolate orange biscotti.

2. If you love meat like I love meat then you will be delighted to know that Meat Stack, Newcastle's best burger joint (in my opinion) is now not just resident at No 28, it's also got it's own outlet in the Grainger Market which is open for breakfast from 7.30am until 5.30pm, so potentially you could do market meat stack followed by No28 meat stack for a day full of the amazing burgers, I can honestly say that as a family we never eat burgers from anywhere else anymore, and yes, I'm deadly serious when I say that.  I also never eat burgers with meat in them anymore because the southern fried paneer burger literally rocks my world.

3. What now follows is a very chocolate heavy post so if you have just given up sugar for February you may want to go buy these, lock them up and enjoy them in March, I cannot tell you the pain of having boxes of chocolates currently sitting on my desk staring at me lovingly.  This one though has already gone to a great home as a thank you for trimming a spiky Berberis.  Jenny Wren chocolates not only taste gorgeous but look at that box, it's like a delightful piece of art and the best thing is that you can purchase this expensive glossy looking box for only £6.49 at the moment at your local Sainsbury's

4. I'm going to own up right now and say that these chocolate truffles from Booja Booja didn't even make it to February, they're vegan, they're dairy free and they taste like small dreams when inserted into the mouth gently, what's more the box from the artists collection has been hand painted by artists in Kashmir, India, they're perfect for those who love chocolate and beautiful things and I think the thing I love about them most is the fact that I now have the prettiest wooden box I can treasure.

5.  Blog favourites Guylain have done it again for Valentines day with this beautiful heart shaped box which you can give to your honey or if you're single you can give them to yourself or even your best friend, the first person to run to my desk and hug me gets them!!

6.  Now I think that we'd all agree that there's nothing quite as lovely as a good nights sleep and to help I can tell you that this Nutri Expert Pillow spray not only smells divine it's also an essential oils pillow spray which can help aid you to have a wonderful and restful nights sleep, it's the perfect present to yourself.

7.  While we are on the subject of relaxation, another blog favourite company Amphora Aromatics have released their own range of essential oils, the relax calming oil is perfect for busy mums, teens just about to sit their GCSE's and can be burnt, or mixed with a carrier oil for that perfect massage, maybe that's a great idea for Valentine's evening after dinner with your love?

8. cold hands, warm heart or so the saying goes, well I know one thing, cold head leads to hypothermia and that is never attractive so if you have a friend like me and it's their birthday during mid-winter why not pick them up a buff hat, buffs are available for men, women, children and pets, I've been a long time fan so I was pretty thrilled when they offered to send me this one which goes perfectly with my face, it's a great gift if your soulmate likes to embrace the outdoors.

9. Finally for this month, well you know, being single is something I am a particular expert in although it's always made me a little sad and don't even get me started on the tricky and often ridiculous world of dating, luckily I have Jennifer Boon's book Survive and Thrive by my side to guide me through the tricky waters, will it work better than an evening spent on Tinder, well you just never know but there's only one way to find out.