"We're All Going on A Summer Holiday" - Packing Tips

Happy 31st May 2012 to my readers.....today is my birthday :)


So.... I have 11 days annual leave away from my full time job as General Manager, so this means  I have some time to write blogs and run The Lifestyler (www.thelifestyler.co.uk) :)


I am having a lovely day so far.  It started with a professional make-over by my very talented sister Jess.  www.jessicamillsmakeup.co.uk.  Jess went for a natural day look with a slight smokey eye.  It was lovely to be pampered on my birthday.  I then went to the hairdressers for a quick cut and blow dry.  

Later on today I am having a meal with my family and then I am off to Devon for one night with Mr B.  We are hoping to visit The Angel in Dartmouth, a Michelin starred restaurant on the harbour (which I will probably write a post about next time).  My little trip away gave me some inspiration to write about packing.  If like me you end up taking the whole contents of your life away with you and you need some tips on "packing light" have a butchers on this:


Tip 1
Good Luggage is Key
It is a good idea to invest in a strong, light, wheeled suitcase that has lots of pockets.  Try a reputable brand like Antler.  I like this Union Jack medium case (very Jubilee inspired - but probably not the best for a business trip!).

http://www.antler.co.uk/luggage/medium-suitcases/antler-union-jack-medium-case


Good luggage will expand when you need it to, will keep your clothes safe and neat, is easy to wheel around, is light, easy to maneuver and to spot.  It doesn't even need to be expensive.  


Tip 2
Think your outfits through

Now that we have the luggage covered, on to the actual packing.  A lot of people just throw everything in, thinking that they may need that particular item.  In today's world of baggage fees and lost luggage - this tactic just won't do.  


Chart out the number of days you are away for, and the number of outfits per day that you will need.  Something casual during the day, and some "going out" clothes and accessories for the evening.  If you plan what you are going to wear than there is less room for "ooohh I MIGHT need this top that I haven't worn for about 3 years!".


Pack versatile day-to-night items that you can dress up or down, whatever the circumstance.


Tip 3
Think your Airport/Travel Outfit Through
Try wearing the heaviest or bulkiest items on the day you travel - this in turn gives you some precious extra space in your case.  Also these items are usually the comfiest (jeans, jumpers etc) and will keep you warm on the plane or in the car.  Try not to wear too much jewellery (unless you want to be frisked by airport security!).


Tip 4
Don't Bring Too Many Pairs of Shoes
Shoes are heavy and bulky.  Also the amount of pairs you pack depends on the length and type of your stay.  For a weekend city trip I would probably take some flip flops, wedge heels (for the evening) and perhaps some comfy pumps for sightseeing.  It really is up to you but try to wear the most heavy pair whilst travelling.  Roll socks and pop accessories into your shoes so no empty space goes unused.


Tip 5
Keep it Organised
I obviously would include this tip as I organise things as part of my business, however a little thought can save you a lot of hassle later on.

• Use packing cubes like these above from Lifeventure.  They keep your clothes near and organised - really useful  http://www.lifeventure.co.uk/htm/ultralite/packing-cubes.html
• Things that crease easily pack at the bottom of your luggage with less wrinkle-prone items on the top.
• Put your shoes (stuffed with socks and undies) in shoe bags at the bottom of your case
• Pop all your jewellery in a clutch bag

Once you have packed just enjoy your holiday feeling so much more organised and ready to party!.


Hope this has been useful - have a fabulous holiday whether you are enjoying a "staycation" like me or going somewhere more exotic.


Olivia x

An Evening of Fashion

Had a lovely evening running a fashion event for local ladies. John Lewis provided the outfits, with models strutting their stuff on the runway, Clinique showcased their cosmetics and demonstrated some key looks on some of the lucky guests!   The event saw around 130 people joining us with £1 from every ticket sold going to Cancer Research UK.

Here are a few photos from the event:

Right off to bed after a long but successful day!

Olivia x

The Diamond Jubilee is coming...!

Been very naughty and not blogged for over a week! I have been moving house, so have a good excuse :)

With my love of event management, I wanted to post something about the Jubilee fever that is about to sweep the nation.  So Queen Liz is going to celebrate 60 years of her time on the throne ... BIG congratulations to her!  Love the royals and love the patriotism.  Bring on the red, white and blue colour schemes, flags, national anthem, cupcakes, tea and fun times.

If like me you are attending a Jubilee party at the beginning of June with family or friends or are organising one, here are some ideas to make your party extra special:

1. Bunting Oodles of the stuff. Bunting is brilliant and this is the perfect moment to go bananas with it. Personally, I like the old-fashioned fabric kind but there are all sorts of options out there now, from beautifully embroidered stuff to nicely weatherproof plastic. Use it in copious quantities indoors and out. Try the below from http://www.theflagshop.co.uk/red-white-and-royal-blue-bunting-981-p.asp

2. Red, white and blue You may not want to plaster your house with Union Jacks, but any terribly British party should really have a colour scheme that incorporates the colours of our flag. This has the added benefit of leaving you with some items that you might actually get to re-use at some point before the next big Royal event. Ask your guests to dress in our nations colours perhaps?

3. Best of British Feed your guests a selection of traditional regional classics in miniature, from a regional cheese board to mini fish & chips in newspaper print canapé cones. And for Drinks? It’s got to be gin & tonic!

4. More tea, vicar? Reference our national obsession with tea by serving tea-based cocktails in teacups, poured from tea pots.

5. Cake In the UK, we love our cake. Make gingerbread princes and princesses, and biscuits shaped like crowns with jelly tot jewels. Why not get any children attending to make some cakes to bring with them.  Check out these cake toppers http://www.hunkydoryhome.co.uk/hunkycat/queens-jubilee-cupcake-toppers-p-1785.html?cPath=127&osCsid=v7f39o8a294nhcuflch85qblv7

6. Great British music Fortunately for us, the UK has a rich and varied musical heritage, which means that you can make an all-Brit soundtrack to suit every taste, from the Beatles to Queen.

7. Queen for the day Party guests love to dress up - it’s a great ice-breaker - so get online and order a big pile of cheap novelty crowns, tiaras and jewels from party suppliers. Throw in a few grey wigs, and purple sashes and you’ll be up to your ears in royal impersonators before you know it.  You could hold a fancy dress competition. Check out some Union Jack inspired fancy dress from http://www.fancy-dress-forever.co.uk/search.php.

 

   

8. Lawn games No British summer party is complete without lawn games - whether croquet, lawn tennis, cricket or badminton, they’re perfect for a lazy summer afternoon’s socialising.

Well that is it for this evening.  Hope it has been interesting for you.  Have a fun Jubilee party!

Olivia x

What is Lifestyle Management?

As my business is in its infancy, I have to use the "elevator speech" quite frequently.  Which goes something like this:

"The Lifestyler is a fresh thinking lifestyle management company offering support to those that need assistance running their homes, lifestyle and business."

The word "Lifestyle Management (LM)" visits this sentence.  So what is LM?

There are no actual definitions available online, so I have tried to put it into my own words:

"Lifestyle Management is the provision of services by a Lifestyle Manager to people who have little time.  Services such as diary management, marketing, personal shopping, event management, decluttering and relocation services to name but a few.  Basically activities that busy people need organising like a dinner reservation, travel and website management.  A Lifestyle Manager is a professional organiser."

The benefits of using such a service are:

• Exceptional quality service, 7 days per week
• Trade discounts off lifestyle services, such as florists, hairdressers, alterations, dog walking,  and more
• No recruitment fees, no PAYE and no holiday pay
• Pay by the hour only, as and when you really need some help
• And above all, the gift of time to spend time doing things you really want!

If you are busy and need a little support or if you know any one that needs some help, I am offering up to 4 hours service at £15.00 per hour (instead of £25.00).  Just quote "Lifestyleblog" to info@thelifestyler.co.uk. 

Thank you for reading.

Olivia
x

Why I love Wedding Fayres

So...I am lucky enough to manage a pretty stunning venue called Old Down Manor (www.olddownmanor.co.uk/), which opened only last October and is fastly becoming the areas most popular wedding venue.


After the success of last years Fayre, we decided to organise another..so Sunday 22nd April 2012 was the date!

The lead up to the day was exciting with exhibitors tweeting about it, brides tweeting about it and us telling every bride and her groom about it!  With over 30 exhibitors there was a real buzz and fabulous atmosphere during set up.  Each exhibitor (we believe), who we invite are the bees knees in the wedding biz.  They know their stuff, they are professional and most importantly friendly :)

Here are some images from the day...will have some more soon.

As well as the beautiful Orangery, Atrium, Library and Bernay's Room, we were lucky enough to have a marquee organised by www.countymarquees.co.uk.  The room was styled by Kirsten at www.littleweddinghelper.co.uk/ and flowers by Maria at www.sororidesignflorist.co.uk.  It just looked stunning with the starlight lining, dancefloor, DJ courtesy of Matt and Corinne www.newcitysound.co.uk and first dance instructors www.movementor.co.uk.

The marquee was also used to showcase the true artistry that our Head Chef Manuel Perez-Monzon creates on the foodie front. Canapes such as Goats cheese puree with tomato bread and Westphalian ham and fig to name but a few.  With the delicious canapes a selection of our wines were served (this obviously went down a treat!).  We also created a little cafe serving refreshments such as homemade West Country cream teas.

In the Orangery (where we conduct wedding ceremonies and wedding breakfasts) we had the following suppliers:
www.hannahbanks.co.uk/

www.icedmagiccakes.co.uk

www.auntiesvintagechina.co.uk

www.weddingdaymovie.co.uk

www.5starcelebrations.co.uk

www.ctheworld.co.uk

www.hopedesigns.eu

www.menshire.co.uk

www.archibold-edwards.co.uk

www.dcmagic.co.uk

www.celebrationroadshow.co.uk

www.lizzy-may.co.uk

In the Hallway we had music by http://www.harpmariefrance.co.uk/ and John the pianist and a very talented Caricaturist. Along with our stand.  We held a raffle for the RSPCA with lots of goodies to be won.

In the Piano/Bernays Room:

www.jessicamillsmakeupartist.co.uk

www.trulyyoubridal.co.uk

www.cupcake-delight.co.uk

www.caroline-alexander.co.uk

www.bijouxfloral.co.uk

www.partyfromabox.co.uk

www.englandsfinestcars.co.uk

www.kenskars.co.uk

The day just ran so smoothly.  Lucy did a great job of organising the event, Matt and Jane worked solidly for 6 hours taking people on tours, Chloe was fab making sure everyone had drinks and cupcakes, Manuel and Sian talked about food and wine non-stop, the chefs ensured that copious amounts of canapes were available and the exhibitors just did their thing...and it worked.  Lots of happy couples and their families left the event with new ideas and new contacts.  So all in all it was a very successful event...here's to the next!

I am so so proud of the team and where we have come since we opened only 6 months ago.  It has been massively challenging but I am confident that huge success will follow.  With over 50 weddings already booked and many local people hosting their parties here, Old Down Manor will be sure to leave a lasting legacy.

Olivia x

Being a Bridesmaid

Well....what an absolute honour! I have been asked, along with my closest friends from school (N, A & P), to be Katie's bridesmaid.  I haven't been a bridesmaid since 1999 when I was a school girl, so I am really looking forward to being a grown up b-maid!

We have all known eachother now since secondary school.  We have all shared so much together like the school prom, holidays, GCSE's, A-Levels, nights out, nights in, cocktails, boy talk, tears, tantrums, sad times and fun times.  I am so pleased that we have all remained close since I left Chelmsford in 2007.  We tend to meet up at least 3 times a year if we can.

Now two of my closest friends are engaged to be the Mrs to their Mr's :) I am so happy for them both and I am so excited to share such a special time with them.  Being a wedding and event planner, I guess I get more excited than others to a certain extent.  I deal with weddings every working day and don't get bored of it!  I would like to think that the girls could ask for advice about trends and general organisation.

Although I deal with weddings on a daily basis, I am a bit rusty on the old bridesmaid duties and what is expected of us, so I did a bit of research and came up with the following:

helping the bride shop for her dress and bridesmaids’ dresses

when asked, giving advice on decorations, favors, music, and more

helping the maid of honor to plan a bridal shower, and, if appropriate, chipping in for the costs of food, decorations, or venue

helping to plan a hen party

helping the bride dress (and stay calm) before the ceremony

providing moral support at all times

being useful at the wedding reception. The couple may ask you to help direct guests to the guestbook, assist with a special moment, make sure that suppliers have arrived, or do crisis management.

being social. Be sure to talk to as many guests as you can, making them feel warmly welcomed. If there's a dance floor, help get the party going!

We are all so excited we could burst.  2013 is going to be a good year.  Congratulations Nicola and Katie!

xxx

Moving House?

If like me you are moving house very soon, there is quite alot to think about! I have 1 month to organise my move and relocation, you may have more time. 

Couple of to do's before the big move:

• Buy some nice "New Address" cards to send to family and friends.  Why not try these http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/lottielane/product/change_of_address_cards or for a more environmentally friendly option send an ecard at http://www.ecards.co.uk/

• You need to inform a variety of people of your new address such as: DVLA, car insurance, house insurance, TV licence, Internet/phone provider, loyalty schemes such as tesco clubcard or nectar, utility providers, banks and building societies, council tax and schools
• Contact the new local doctors surgery, dentists and opticians and register your details
• Start packing.  You can gather free cardboard boxes from supermarkets or local businesses.  Start with the items you don't use very often and then closer to the time finish with your everyday items but keep the boxes open and accessible
• Organise a removal firm such as www.mrgrays.co.uk or a nationwide firm if you have a lots of belongings!  Alternatively (and like me) how about hiring a van try http://www.selfdrivevanhire.co.uk/

Relocating is exciting....

If I am honest I am a bit nervous about relocating.  I love where I am now but for me and Mr B to be together we have to make sacrifices.  The town we are moving to though has so much Cotswold charm and is very up and coming. 

Here are a few pointers when relocating:

• Join a local club/society in something that you enjoy - in my case this will be AmDram! You will meet so many people
• Check out local websites for the latest news
• Read the local newspaper - familiarise yourself with the area
• Go on some walks in your new location - you see so much more than travelling in a car
• Join a fitness class at the local leisure centre
• Pop for a drink at the local pub
• Say hello to your new neighbours.....introduce yourself - what are you waiting for?!
• If you are a business owner join a local networking group and get your name out there

If you need some assistance with the moving process or relocating, please contact me at info@thelifestyler.co.uk for affordable and helpful support.

Good Luck with the move! :)