The June Favourites – Holiday Edition

It’s the end of June already – how the flip did that happen?! It’s been another pretty shit month, I’ll be honest. 2017 is just not a great year for us so far. Our holiday was lovely of course, but that seems like ages ago now. But I’m hoping July will finally bring a little bit of happiness with it, and plus it’s my 33rd birthday at the end of the month, which I’m excited about. I feel like I’m at an age where I kind of enjoy getting a bit older, and learning a bit more about myself and about life. Ask me that again at 35 though, and I might tell you differently.

We’ve also got VitalityMove festival this month which I’m really looking forward to, and hopefully we’ll get some more lovely weather and get to spend some time outside at the weekends and after school.

And then it’s the summer holidays which I’m both looking forward to and dreading in equal measure! I can’t wait to have lots of time with Ava and to forget about the school run for a while, but six whole weeks with her off?! How on earth am I going to get enough work done, and keep her entertained for that long?? I’m sure it will be good though.

I thought I’d share some of my favourites this month, in particular bits from the highlight of my month – our holiday to Portugal.

Barbeques and having dinner outside

We stayed in a villa and had a really lovely outside area with a pool, a great barbeque, and a nice big table and chairs. So we spent lots of evenings enjoying a barbeque and a drink sat outside together, which was so nice. We ate loads of amazing salads, fish and meat sat in the evening sunshine together, and I loved it.

My bikini from Next

I took three bikinis away with me, but I ended up wearing this one from Next most of the time. I love the bright colours and the shape of it, and it was really comfy too. I struggle with bikinis, because I have boobs, so I need some support from a bikini top (and ideally a bit of padding now too!), but then often I will find a good top and the bottoms that go with it are just ridiculous and don’t cover my bum at all. I get cross every year that bikini bottoms seem to be made for people without any junk in the trunk at all, and I have plenty of junk in mine. If I go up a couple of sizes then they’re way too big on my waist and hang off me – it’s infuriating. Most women I’m sure have a decent amount of bum so could do with enough material to actually cover it.

Anyway! I really liked this one from Next, and it managed to cover the majority of my cheeks.

Staying in a villa with a pool

Staying in a hotel when you go away with kids can be great, but having a villa with outdoor space and especially a pool just makes it so much easier. We had quite a few days just spent mainly at the villa – swimming, sunbathing and playing and it was really nice. Plus it’s great when you have to consider naptimes and bedtimes – it doesn’t mean your evening is over once the kids are in bed, and you’re left stuck in a hotel room for the rest of the evening.

Our villa was really lovely, and the outdoor space was perfect. I’d definitely stay in a villa for our next holiday if I could.

Trunki suitcase

We took Ava’s Una the Unicorn Trunki suitcase with us as her hand luggage and once again it was brilliant to have. Her cousin N also had his Gruffalo Trunki with him, so they both played on them whilst we were at the airport and in queues, riding on them and pulling them along. Then I’d filled A’s with a load of puzzle and activity books and a new small toy for each of the kids to keep them entertained on the flight which worked really well. We have one of the Trunki tidy bags and they’re just brilliant to keep all the bits and bobs in. Once we’re settled on the plane we can get that bag of stuff out and then put the Trunki back in the overhead lockers. It always works really well.

The suitcases also got played with lots by both of them at the villa too, so they really are so practical for holidays with kids.

Gel manicures

I had a gel manicure again over my holiday and I love them so much. It’s the only time I manage to grow my nails longer and keep them nice, and they tend to last so well. When I paint my own nails they start to chip and look a mess after only a couple of hours, so a gel manicure is brilliant at times like a holiday. I love having brightly painted nails whilst I’m away, and they look great with a tan!

Having a tan

I can’t help it – I just look sooo much better with a tan. I think because I’m dark, having darker skin just really suits me and makes a huge difference to my face. My eyes stand out more, and I just look so much healthier and alive, rather than the pasty white face I so often have in this country. The trouble is, a tan on my face fades so quickly and a fake tan just doesn’t give you quite the same glow.

Do you have any particular things you’ve been loving this month? I’d love to hear about them!