I’M BACK IN THE COTSWOLDS! 🌳 STARTING MY 2024 GARDENING & SEED SOWING + Beauty Unboxing

Back from our Honeymoon and I’m sharing a big Beauty haul of essentials for the year – and my first gardening and seed sowing of 2024
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Garnier Micellar Rose Water Cleanse & Glow https://prf.hn/l/8jyE0qN

By Terry Cellularose CC Serum https://prf.hn/l/EJzjYe0

Redken One United Multi-Benefit Treatment Duo https://prf.hn/l/xElJPp5

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Pureology Colour Fanatic Top Coat and Tone Purple https://prf.hn/l/55MLMvV

Face Halo Glow Skin Set https://prf.hn/l/XZJpmep

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So Eco Multi Tasking Brush https://prf.hn/l/Oqy9ypN

So Eco Detangling Leaf Hair Brush https://prf.hn/l/eOq4k8D

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Oatly Barista – https://bit.ly/3HtIIGT

APL Trainers – https://bit.ly/3Ocke8E

Microgreen Seeds – https://bit.ly/42d9jRT

Chapters:
00:00 – Post Honeymoon Catch-Up
04:30 – Garden & Greenhouse Check
07:50 – Coffee & Reading
16:24 – Beauty Unboxing
33:18 – Bamford & Daylesford
37:54 – Propagation & Seed Sowing
54:42 – Lunch
59:11 – Homeware Unboxing

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good morning my darlings and welcome
back to the cot worlds welcome to a
brand new
Vlog Charlie and I actually got home
from our honeymoon last night we got
home at about 9900 p.m. so not too late
after a I think it was an 11h hour
flight back from the males we pretty
much went straight to bed after kissing
the boys who I I’ve literally been
kissing them nonstop all morning I
probably could have started this Vlog 3
hours ago had I not just been kissing my
babies nonstop today every time I try to
get up from kissing them I just think no
I’ve missed you too much and then I
start kissing them again it’s a miracle
that I’ve actually been able to have a
peleton get showered and do a few loads
of laundry and unpack a little bit this
morning because honestly I’ve just been
in puppy kissing mode nonstop so yeah
we’re back home it’s Sunday we have got
a Sunday roast booked at the bull later
on today which was a really really good
shout from Charlie because well we have
nothing in the house foodwise aside from
some eggs and bread that my mom very
kindly picked up for us and I think by
that time we’ll be starting to feel a
little bit tired a little bit jet lagged
and having someone else do the washing
up for a Sunday roast is honestly the
best thing the bull is also one of our
new favorite pubs here in the cotwell so
really looking forward to that um while
we’ve been away it has been as I’m sure
you might have seen from other people’s
Instagram stories and videos it has been
absolutely freezing here while we’ve
been away my mom was sending the most
gorgeous photos of Frosty mornings
minus5 on the thermometers and sorry
I’ve got makeup BR brush bristles on my
schels um yeah really really cold days
and nights here while we’ve been away we
left the heating on in the house just
ticking as in just not completely
switched off because we actually have
underfloor Heating and it’s not ideal if
your underfloor pipes get frozen so
thank goodness we did that but what I
didn’t do was prepare my
Greenhouse for frosts um and I’ve got
some micro greens I’ve got some
Narcissus and I’ve got some anemy and
I’m just I’m a little bit nervous about
the anemy so I’m going to head in there
now there’s a lady in our village Jack
who often comes and helps with our
garden in the summer when there’s um a
lot more work to be done and I saw in
her stories she was literally making
like um what’s it called that Poppy
stuff bubble wrap she was literally
making bubble wrap beds for her and
enemies um so yeah I don’t even know if
the door was left open or not so let’s
go and head into the greenhouse and see
if anything has
survived fingers crossed outfit of the
day just super cozy um I’ll probably get
Chang in something a little bit smarter
later I’ve just got on a nice Lily silk
white knit this is a strategy that I
like to do on return from holidays I
always like to wear white because it
makes the small tan that I do have look
a little bit better I never really try
to get too much of a tan when we’re away
obviously Factor 50 cuz it’s much better
feels skin and then I am in the shade
during the hottest parts of the day uh
wearing a cap on my face Etc but then
also when you get home especially if you
go on holiday at this time of year I’m
literally covered from head to toe
thermals leggings so what is the point
what is the point I always think to
myself anyway cannot wait to get my
nails done on Tuesday because they are
super grown out I keep catching I keep
catching my hair underneath the bottoms
of them where they’re starting to like
flick up um but yeah they lasted really
well no chips or anything I think this
was a gel bottle color anyway enough
chitchat that’s all very boring let’s
head into the greenhouse and then I
think it’s time to make some
lunch
[Music]
well I’m exceptionally glad that we’re
coming home to a blue sky day it would
be seriously depressing coming back to
miserable rain although I think that’s
probably not too far off well this is a
good sign the door is
shut
ooh this is a very good sign my
narcissus are blooming they’re looking
really good actually so I planted these
I think probably in November just as the
bulbs um I called it a bulb lasagna at
the time but obviously it wasn’t because
there’s only one layer but yeah they’re
really lovely you might remember a few
weeks ago I propped them up well this is
a pleasant
surprise I thought you might be all
flopped over and looking very miserable
my anemones anemon anemy and yeah
they’re looking pretty sprightly we’ve
also got the the bride and enemies doing
quite well over here these will just
look amazing amazing when they grow up
um yes in fact I think these have
sprouted really since since we were away
um these are starting to shoot up as
well so that’s a good sign these are
really going wild I think they probably
need a little bit of
support my what what’s over
here more narcissist looking quite happy
these will start to be growing outside
soon so um no surprise at them
fine in the greenhouse my pelagonians
probably need a little bit of water but
overall I would say that’s a great
success are you okay my bum bun oh look
at that sweet little boy with the wind
blowing in his
ears
oh you’re definitely my tiniest
friend ly teeny
weenie oh you’re so
Ry it’s unlikely but let’s see if
there’s anything edible in the kitchen
Garden what on Earth is that oh that is
our our old water tanks we had them
replaced while we were away that was
great
timing so kitchen Garden wise the Cavolo
Nero is looking quite sad however
there’s a few edible leaves left over
here which I might stick in an omelette
tomorrow there’s a few carrots left
the herbs are still looking
good and we’ve got a little bit of kale
but really everything just needs tidying
up and preparing for spring
really we’ve got some very early signs
of our 2024
rhubarb
no nothing going on in
there I just have to show you this cuz
it’s rather hilarious Charlie has
actually left a note saying please
leave on his delicates I do have a
little bit of a track record for uh
shrinking a few of his things so this is
what it’s come
to I apologize if you you can hear the
milk forther going off in the background
you might be thinking why are you having
an espresso when you’ve got a very fancy
Loko machine it’s actually been playing
up a little bit since Christmas I think
we just overused it it is designed for
personal use and we were literally
making as many coffee coffees as a cafe
over Christmas so um yeah Charlie needs
to have a look at that
but does anyone else this is maybe a
little bit naughty of me to say but does
anyone else find it a little bit
hilarious that David Beckham is the new
face of Nespresso when he’s so clearly
has a lar zoko machine in his
documentary that we all saw on Netflix
we were laughing because there were so
many similarities between David
Beckham’s um habits and the things that
Charlie does even to the extent of like
the coffee machine has to be cleaned to
Perfection after every use and the coat
hangers in his wardrobe have to all be
perfectly spaced out and facing the
right way it was very funny um yeah we
did have a little chuckle when we saw
the Nespresso ad
um something that I’m just never going
to be able to give up I was actually
reading a book which one of you guys
recommended called food isn’t
medicine while we were away and I would
give it maybe a six out of 10 I
definitely prefer um I preferred reading
Tim spectre’s spoonfed while we were
away I preferred um Dr Peter ata’s
outlive it just they just felt a lot
more kind of professional whereas food
isn’t
medicine I guess the whole idea of the
book is to combat a lot of these big
fads and things that we see a lot of
online like talking about keto diet and
intermittent fasting things like that
and I thought it’ be a really
interesting read to kind of get the
other side of the story or the opposing
opinion to what I have been reading and
I did find the book quite sarcastic and
it was a very I don’t know this is a
good descriptive word but it was very
woke like I don’t know how to describe
it um other than saying it did feel
quite woke um which I didn’t mind but I
it wasn’t my favorite style of the way
that it was written but it was saying
that a lot of the foods that we’ve been
kind of led to believe are not so good
for us including pretty much an entire
chapter on vegetable oils and things
like rape seed oils he was saying that
actually there’s no real conclusive
evidence that they’re not good for us
there might have been some conclusive
evidence that they’re not good for rats
and mice in these studies but I would
say his most common line throughout the
whole book was remember you are not a
mouse on the flip side I would say that
if there is evidence that a certain
substance is giving mice medical issues
then do we really want to be consuming
that substance as humans possibly not um
but anyway I’m not going to go into a
big Health chat in my first video back
from back from our holiday but yeah I’m
just I’m not going to demonize this so
much in the way that I had done
previously and even though I did was
thinking that it was not the best thing
for me that did not stop me from
consuming this I try not to have it as
the first thing that I consume in the
morning but um you just you just really
can’t beat it anyway I’m not going to go
on about that today I’m going to enjoy
my
coffee complete with frost up oatly
breast oat
milk and I’m going to have a little
flick through my nfu Countryside
magazine if you watched all the vlogmas
you might know that a subscription to
this was one of the gifts from Charlie
this Christmas
and I don’t know it just shows our
changing um what’s the word changing
interests the fact that a farming
magazine I actually genuinely find
really fascinating now and we had a
lovely delivery yesterday from lere it
is their limited edition Valentine’s Day
red and pink heart box of macarons so
I’m going to open this
up yay my
favorites let me know down below so
which is your favorite macaroon I have
definitely got a top three number one
unsurprisingly is pistachio number two I
would say is the raspberry with the
raspberry um jam in the middle number
three may be a bit controversial but I
do quite like the vanilla and Orange
Blossom I think that’s what this one is
but yes this is the limited edition
Valentine’s Day box which is very cute
so I’m just going to take my top three
on a little plate and enjoy them with my
coffee with my farming magazine while
this washload
finishes um yeah that’s the
[Music]
plan okay so I’ve got a few interesting
facts to share with you from the first
12 page pages of the countryside
magazine um the first fact is that well
done to Morrison’s because they are the
first British supermarket and they now
have a Brit click campaign and you can
actually click on a buy British tab on
their website so if you want to make
sure that the food that you’re buying as
part of your weekly shop are British
grown then you can click on the um by
British tab on Morrison’s which is
amazing that’s one fun fact um another
fun fact is that where was it that it
said the next
page yeah so the UK has 46 areas of
outstanding natural beauty or a NBS one
of which and in my opinion the best of
which is obviously here in the CWS or
the the CWS itself is an A andb and they
are going to be rebranded as National
Landscapes this year as part of a
government bid to boost the
understanding of their significance
which is very exciting so our area is
getting a Rebrand and another
interesting bit of news is that a
25,000 square meter vertical Farm is
being completed construction is being
completed near Norfolk this year with
LED lights and Ultra efficient energy to
produce crops on just four acres of land
I guess where they say 25,000 square
meters that is the growing space because
do you remember when I talked to you
about Ole skincare how they have a
vertical Farm just outside Paris where
basically inside these vertical Farms
you can control the lighting the
humidity the temperature so we’re able
to really perfectly grow so many
different things and it just makes so
much sense that we have a big one here
in the UK to produce crops that you’re
very unlimited with what you can grow in
these vertical Farms so that is very
exciting and then I just told Charlie
that is actually such a nice kitchen
advert look at the color of these units
and that gorgeous arur um yeah I just
read out this fact to Charlie apparently
the reason why cows have to be rotated
around in their fields is because when a
bit of grass is bitten as opposed to
just being lawn mode it actually goes
into shock and doesn’t grow back until
another 21 to 30 days later so the cows
can’t just like stay in one field
because they will literally nibble it
all away and it won’t grow back so
that’s why cows get rotated around from
field to field I I did I presumed it was
to do with the grass growing back but I
didn’t realize that grass grows back
differently when it’s bitten as opposed
to being lawn mode so there we go
there’s your fun farming facts for
today I thought I would do a little
beauty unboxing with with you it’s
Sunday today and this just arrived via
Royal Mail since when do Royal Mail
deliver on Sundays that is mindblowing
to me I always think of the Harry Potter
is it Mr dersley and he’s like no post
on Sundays what’s the best thing about
Sunday Dudley no post on
Sundays that was the first Harry Potter
film isn’t it what a throwback
anyway this is an order that I placed
yesterday while on the airplane using ba
wifi to stock up on my um Essentials
basically from look fantastic it’s just
the kind of bits that maybe I don’t talk
about that often the things that are
just regular the work hses in my beauty
routine and a few bits that I need to
chop up on so I thought I would show you
these little beauty Essentials if you
will I do believe that we have a
discount code for look fantastic so I
will leave that up on the screen here
and I’ll leave these bits Linked In the
description box down below so that it’ll
take you straight to them to make your
shopping really easy if you would like
to add any of these to your beauty
routines look fantastic I’ve got so many
incredible Brands and it’s just so easy
to get all of your beauty essentials
from your hair tools to your Wellness
pieces to your you know everyday
requirements just all in one place which
is what I absolutely love about them so
first of all we have got my Mela water I
don’t know if I’ve actually tried this
flavor before it says new formula it’s
the rose water from Garnier there are so
many my Waters out there but honestly
I’m pretty sure they nearly all do the
exact same thing so I I’m not really a
big fan of spending a lot of money on a
mela water if a lovely brand sends me
one to try then of course I will use it
but when I’m buying myself a top up good
old Garnier you just can’t really go
wrong and I use a my water on a reusable
cotton pad every single morning as my
first cleanse and I very often just do
it as almost like a a third cleanse in
the evenings as well just in case
there’s anything else that I need to
remove on my skin I am nearly out this
is my old one of the by Terry Sunny
flash CC serum it’s just the most
gorgeous base to give you a real lip
from within glow so what I like to do is
obviously my my serums my moisturizer my
SPF I leave my SPF on my skin for around
15 minutes and then I will apply this
before putting my makeup on and it just
really helps you to look healthy and to
Glow it has got um skincare benefits
hydration Radiance and color correction
um but to be honest especially like now
when my body is maybe a little bit more
T than my face it just helps to bring
the warmth and the healthiness to my
face I’m actually even though there’s a
tiny bit left in this I know that it’s
very old so I’m actually going to ditch
ditch the old one there’s only like two
pumps left in there
anyway this is quite funny because I
actually um not slated but dissed I
guess you could say hairburst in my 10
Healthy Habits video I was talking about
um um supplements need to take mine this
morning I haven’t taken them yet today
and how you should avoid ones with too
much sugar in them but anyway this is
not a supplement this is their lash and
brow enhancing serum and I like to as
also part of my everyday routine at the
moment let me show you what I’m using so
I bought the ordinaries Lash and brow
serum but I didn’t like the applicator
it was like one of those really thin
almost like a lip pencil brush but I
like my brow serum to be applied with a
bristle brush so I took the bristle
brush can you see I don’t know if you
can see it I took the bristle brush out
of my old I think it was a rapid rapid
lash and stuck it in the ordinary’s brow
serum and then I’m actually praying that
this is going to be a brush yes thank
goodness so this is a bristle brush
which is great because then when you’ve
done your skin care routine when you’ve
done all your serums even when I’m going
to bed so this one’s actually going to
live in our bathroom downstairs I like
to just brush through my brows before I
go to bed because then I honestly feel
like I look so much better just when
I’ve shaped my brows my brows kind of
just flop down and don’t really do
anything when I’ve not brush through
them so I know it sounds silly cuz I’m
literally just going to bed but um it
helps me to stick to my brow serum
routine and yeah I’m quite happy with my
brows at the moment considering maybe a
year ago I didn’t really have any um
they have been growing back sometimes I
don’t even feel the need to put any
pencil on just use my bare brow but yeah
for longer natural lashes and thicker
stronger brows vegan formula I won’t use
this on my lashes I just I’ve got this
thing with lash serum and I really feel
like sometimes it makes it’s just too
heavy for my eyes and I often find that
when I use lash serum I get really like
baggy under my eyes and I always look
tired and I look a bit puffy so yeah
I’ll just be using that on my brows in
the evening I’ll have that in the
bathroom downstairs and then I’ll have
my
little combo up here another absolute
essential that I get through maybe I
probably get through one of these every
couple of months I think there was a
special
offer yeah I got two cuz they were it
was like a bundle pack um it’s the
Redken one United all-in-one multi
benefit treatment spray I used this
every time I wash my hair I take it out
of the hair towel and then I spray this
into my hair and then I add an oil or a
cream into the ends it has so many
benefits quick drying detangling
anti-humidity
fluffy um split end repair heat repair
it’s incredible I could not recommend
this any more highly I also think that I
got
yes from pureology now
purologix own by L’Oreal and I think
their formulas are really similar
there’s also a product from P pure
there’s also a product from pury I think
it’s called the best for blondes spray
and it’s basically identical to this is
it called the hair filler or something
something like that um but yeah it’s
also great if the pury version is on
offer then I’ll buy that or I’ll buy the
Redken one but this I was influenced by
flood of force in her what was the video
called I think it was just her 2023
Beauty favorites and this is a top coat
and toning product from the color
fanatic range of pury which I’m a huge
fan of and I think if you are a blonde
like me and maybe your hair is in need
of a little refresh when it comes to the
color if you like your color to be a
little bit more
Ashy and take away any yellow tones
that’s what Flur was saying that this
does so next next time I wash my hair
I’ll give that a
go right so next is a facial tanning
serum this is from tan Luxe and um as I
mentioned before I wear a capf on
holiday Factor 50 and even if I do get a
tan on my face where I’m wearing makeup
and then cleansing thoroughly every day
my face gets pale a lot more quickly
than my body so I wanted a nice tanning
serum for my face and I find that tan
looks products work so well and this
one’s really easy to integrate into your
skincare routine it’s mixed with
hyaluronic acid and it just gives you
such a nice glow I’m always tanning my
face whether it’s with drops that I put
in my existing serum full tan serums or
a Mist I love the Sant trpe Purity
Mist
so yes that’s going to be very
helpful the brand that I wish I had
invented face halos I am such a huge
advocate of face Halos I know that you
guys have seen me using them a million
times in every single evening skincare
routine you’ll see me using a face Halo
and I decided that a few of mine are
looking a little bit worse for wear so I
decided to treat myself to this
little this multi pack of pink ones
annoyingly this one is an exfoliating
one and I don’t normally use the
exfoliating ones so I kind of wish there
was just three of the regular ones in
there these are what I use every single
day as my first cleanse I will often do
two cleanses after this but what it does
with simply adding water you don’t add
any product simply by adding water these
will take the makeup off your face it’s
amazing so then when you go in with your
cleanser you’re actually cleaning your
skin as opposed to using your lovely
cleanser to get rid of makeup you might
as well use something reusable like this
to get rid of your makeup and then use
your gorgeous cleansing products to
actually get the benefits of them on
your skin so could not recommend these
any more highly amazing gifts just just
try them because trust me you’ll love
them I will leave this set link down
below I would also recommend getting a
load of the black ones I also randomly
have a load of red ones um and then
obviously you just stick them in the
washing machine and they come perfectly
clean so I probably about 20 face halos
in rotation and I swear by them ah how
funny this is what I was talking about
earlier from pury I must have seen this
and then seen the Redken on special
offer I’d be interested to know what the
price differences are are they all 200
mil ah this is 150 mil this is 200 mil
so bear that in mind 21 essential
benefits leave-in conditioning
spray detangling blow drying moisturizes
parched hair helps smooth the hair fiber
weightlessly conditions primes hair for
styling helps prevent split ends helps
prevent from breakage from brushing and
combing helps strengthen the hair fiber
helps protect against heat damage
protects against environmental aggresses
there are literally 21 benefits listed
on this and if you have got blonde very
easily breakable hair um and maybe it’s
a little bit
naughty try this because it is
sensational
okay last couple of bits I did mention
in my beauty clear out video from the
beginning of the year that I was looking
to treat myself to some new brushes this
is a brand called so Eco and this is
their multitasking
brush this window apparently is not
plastic it’s made from corn starch I
think they’re all
completely biodegradable as well
compostable recyclable and biodegradable
the bristles are super soft and and
cruelty-free that looks like a gorgeous
brush I can imagine using this for
buffing and blending Foundation popping
powder on blusher you could even use
this for quite precisely adding bronzer
to certain places and it’s got very
satisfying I don’t know if you can see
little dents
here don’t know if you can see them so
it just makes it really satisfying to
hold love that
so that’s my first brush from so Eco
I’ll let you know how I get along with
it and then Spectrum did a collaboration
with Katie Jane Hughes and I just loved
the
color of these
brushes I think this is her number two
brush from the collection but how
gorgeous dark green with a gold tip and
then a white brush o that is just that
has got to be one of the most beautiful
makeup brushes I have ever seen I love
it love it love it love it and that
looks like a really practical brush
again for just applying
powder so many different uses cannot
wait to use that one and then last but
not least this is also from the so Eco
company this is their detangling hair
brush I thought this looked a little bit
like Wet Brush um I actually dropped one
of my wet brushes the other day and
sadly it snapped so I’m in the need in
the need in need for a new in shower
hair brush and this looks absolutely
perfect what is it made
of that’s just amazing that it’s
compostable and
biodegradable love that as I mentioned
in the malds when I was talking about my
switching to a more natural deodorant I
am conscious when I’m buying anything
new to try and find find the more
sustainable option you might be able to
pick apart many things that I’ve shared
in this video and Perfection is not what
we’re striving for but when I’m
presented with two choices for example a
plastic hairbrush or one that’s going to
decompose and biodegrade I’m leaning
towards buying the more sustainable
version especially when I mean this
literally looks like a wet brush feels
like a wet brush it’s really nice and
lightweight you there are no down sides
in this instance to choosing the more
sustainable version so that’s what I’m
trying to change um just one product at
a time choosing the more sustainable
version oh there is actually one more
thing that I haven’t showed you cuz I
got it out the way um early on but yeah
I hope that makes sense and maybe if we
all make little changes and it makes a
big impact this I didn’t need everything
else here I kind of needed um this I
didn’t need because Charlie actually
bought me a new hair wrap for Christmas
but I actually just couldn’t resist this
one um and the ones that Charlie bought
me are very practical and like quite
thin whereas this looks like a
really luxurious hair wrap so on the
inside it is microfiber so it’s going to
help to dry my hair but on the outside
it is pink satin so if for example I’m
just going to be sat around doing my
makeup while my hair is drying then this
is going to ensure that I look a lot
more glamorous so there we go those are
the pieces I picked up in my essentials
order from look fantastic I will leave
them all linked down below as well as
the discount code information and as I’m
using all of these bits over the next
couple of days well and months and years
I will show you and report back
especially things that I’m like
switching to like the brush my new
makeup brush brushes but then yeah
things like this you’ll have heard me
talking about this 12 million times so
the old faithfuls that’s what they are
so I’m going to spread these all around
the house now and then get ready to go
to the
pub come
[Music]
on
Dixie come on Dixie
oh he so
[Music]
handsome we’ve just got back from a
little dog walk and sometimes I look at
this house and I really can’t make sense
of it because these two rooms here that
window and that window that’s our office
and then that
is the stairs going up to my dressing
room but what is this what is here
there’s really not that much else going
on inside the house and yet that’s
pretty much a third of the width of the
house
there
[Music]
crazy good morning my darlings it is 10:
to 700 in the morning the jet lag is
working in my favor in the mornings
because I have been up for a couple of
hours and very much ready to get going
for my Monday morning Pilates which I’m
so excited for it has been well like 16
or 17 days since I last did a reformer
palates class so I’m so looking forward
to it I’ve got a a double whammy you
guys know the drill Monday mornings
reforma Pilates and then the lower body
sculpt class at um the gym that I go to
so really looking forward to that I’ve
got on my absolute coziest um Pilates
outfit because it is so chilly and the
wind was howling down this wind this um
fireplace last night so much so that
Charlie actually had put ear blogs in
it’s been so windy so I’m going to have
to drive really carefully cuz I’m sure
there’ll be a few branches in the road
gym outfit wise you can’t really see but
dark green
adanola
leggings they are the ones with the
cross detail I’ve actually got that
really nice lightweight fer t-shirt on
as an extra layer and this very cozy
brown teddy
bear um throw on top which is from
Valley a couple of years ago I’m so
tempted by the new Valley collection but
I did say I don’t need any new workout
bits um so I’m going to practice a
little bit of self-control I’m going to
pop on my Barefoot trainers I ordered
these um and they DED while I was awake
cuz I love slip-on trainers they’re from
APL um and they’re really nice for like
getting myself to the gym but because
I’ve got the lower body class today I
prefer working out in barefoot shoes so
yeah that’s my gym outfit of the
morning finished Pilates I’ve got my
matcher doing a little shop now and
doesn’t this just look absolutely
gorgeous they’ve got some Twisted Willow
in with a narcissus in this giant low
Bowl I think that could look so lovely
outside the house definitely need to do
a little DIY version let’s see what
they’ve got in the
greenhouse
[Music]
this literally been my breakfast this
morning oh my gosh it’s so
[Music]
delicious
[Music]
l
[Music]
so here we are in my happy place in the
greenhouse um I’m doing a no makeup day
today there is just no point in putting
any makeup on after a morning oh I think
I’ve grabbed Charlie’s fleece by
accident never mind I just need some
extra layers um yeah morning of Pilates
midaf afternoon just catching up on a
lot of work admin lots of emails to
catch up on after holidays and now I’m
going to do a little bit of um a little
bit of gardening kind of I mean it’s a
very cold day to do gardening hello my
dexi come on then let’s have a kiss
let’s have a
[Music]
kiss fellow dog owners do you think your
dogs are born with their personality or
do you think that your personality as
their
human gives them their personality cuz I
definitely think it’s the latter
because I think we’ve made these boys
needy and totally
Bonkers he’s always my shadow ever since
we got back from our holiday he’s just
been my my
shadow that was nice very smelly so I’m
just going to do one little job this
afternoon um I’m going to take my bucket
around the garden and I’m going to take
the leaves of our
helbor because that really sends the
energy back down into the root again and
it can encourage your helor to have a
second flowering which would be lovely
you’re very smelly and heavy I’m going
to put you down um yeah so I’m going to
basically deaf my
helor and I’m just going to have a
little look in the kitchen Garden see if
there’s anything that needs cutting back
so yeah very exciting I probably should
put some nonwhite shoes on yes I’m going
to have a change of Footwear and then
let’s get
pruning oh side note I’ve literally just
pressed live on our most requested blog
post of all time which is our cworld
recommendations we’ve done a little
update for 2024 it’s not too long I mean
I could have done like a 10,000w essay
on cord recommendations but we’ve kept
it quite succinct so that it’s not too
overwhelming but we wanted to share top
pubs top um
like mental an what are you barking at
it’s a squirrel it’s a squirrel in dex’s
Garden top HBS top uh like cafes top
places to visit top Villages and
obviously the best place to stay is
straw top Cottage By the way um this
year is looking pretty full we have got
a lot of bookings but I think we have
still got some availability in March and
April and quite honestly ly spring in
the CW worlds is just gorgeous you could
come and do some wild garlic picking if
you come in those months so I will leave
the link to book straw top Cottage down
below just in case you want to have a
nice little station and um I will give
you a straw top 2 update very soon I
have just ordered the sofa the straw top
2 it’s going to be gorgeous the I think
everything that we learned from straw
top one we’re taking forward and
improving on in STW top to so it’s going
to be really lovely but anyway enough
chitchat I’ll leave the blog post link
down below I’ll show you a little
preview of it on the screen here and
have a little look at that if you’re
coming even for the day for a week for a
weekend I think you’ll find it very
useful and I actually have a really long
note saved on my phone and anyone that
direct messages me on Instagram asking
for more information I basically just
send you the note that I’ve got on my
phone so don’t be afraid to ask or email
if you want more recommendations and um
we’re going to be putting a lot more
local things like local businesses on
the STW top Cottage Instagram so @ stup
Cottage on Instagram we’ll share a lot
more kind of local businesses that we
love places to visit places to eat for
example I just found out that one of the
like best Walnut producers in the
country is in our nearest town so I
definitely want to pay them a visit and
just chat to them about producing
walnuts I think um I just think we’re
surrounded by so many amazing businesses
and incredible producers around here so
it would be nice to highlight them
somehow okay let’s get
gardening
[Music]
okay sorry about the crazy Lighting in
here so something that all gardeners
know is that mint is mental it’s
absolutely crazy do not ever put mint in
a garden bed because it will take over
you always always always have to put
mint in a tub by itself so that it
cannot take over your entire Garden
because trust me it would if it could so
what I was just doing was trimming back
a very not old but like last year’s mint
so that um I can put some compost down I
don’t need to plant anymore because once
a mint root has been in soil it will
basically forever be a mint bed so all I
need to do is put some compost on top of
that pot and the mint will start to grow
up again in fact it already started
growing a little bit on some of the um I
mean look at that it’s been growing
throughout winter very very good but
anyway we actually need some mint for
inside the house as well and Charlie was
talking about going and buying some more
and I was like no darling mint is
something that you should just never
need to buy because it’s so prolific so
what I thought I would actually do
inspired by for example some of these
bits I’ve just pulled up can you see
that’s got a root system within it so
I’ve got a terra cotta pot and I’m just
going to fill it with compost stick that
one maybe I’ll do like five bit of root
in there give it a water and I bet
within a couple of weeks we’ll have a
flourishing pot full of lovely fresh
homegrown mint so let’s give it a try
this pot has got a hole in the bottom
for drainage but of course you want to
put some bits of broken terra cotta down
at the bottom cuz then it stops the soil
from just congealing and if you’ve got
some heat free
compost you probably also want to add a
little bit of drainage bits as well some
vermiculite or something like that so
let’s do it I’m always a little bit
afraid of spiders in compost
bags
I’m just like shoving my hand into a
dark abyss that could be full
of spins I’m actually too afraid to do
that I don’t know what I’m going to do
here um I need to tip it into
something no be brave JY just do
it okay no
spiders no spiders in that one
either okay it’s about half full of
compost I’m never literally just going
to like I don’t have any idea if this is
going to work but I’m just going to
shove a few bits of mint in there if
anything this will help remind me what
I’m trying to grow this one has got the
root so I’m feeling quite positive about
that one I have no idea if this is going
to work but my logic tells me that it
will
look at this so this is something that I
pulled up and you can see it’s got such
a mega root structure and new mint
plants already trying to grow up from
this so I’m definitely going to plant
this one in
here prolific mint
Chute okay that’ll do that’ll do
donkey okay so next I’m just going to
have a little Rummage in my seed box
because I really want to do some micro
greens you can buy specific micro green
[Music]
seeds um and one that I really like to
buy specifically is broccoli micro green
seeds you can actually get them on the
buy Whole Foods online website um which
I definitely recommend you can get
really big bags of them I’ve definitely
got one somewhere um I need to have a
little rumage but I thought I’d have a
look in here as well because so many
different things can can be made into
micro greens I know for example rocket
you definitely can so I think I’ll do
some rocket and do we have any beetroot
in here I quite like to do beetroot
micro
greens peas you can definitely do peas
and that’s a really really nice one as
well because pea micro greens are really
pretty they go all curly and spiral so
lovely to put on like an avocado toast
or on a salad or things like that micro
greens they are pretty much foolproof
they always work and they are so good
for you as I mentioned before you don’t
even need a greenhouse you don’t need a
garden you just need a window sill or a
kitchen counter and in 2 weeks you will
have the most delicious good for little
shoots that you can put on so many
different
um dishes okay right I think that’s
enough to do for today five different
types here I am and getting carried away
as always I don’t really think there’s
any seed that doesn’t work as a micro
green I’m yet to try any and it not work
so yeah let’s give these a go I’ve never
done I’ve never done coal rabie micro
greens before I might just give it a
quick Google cuz I don’t want to waste
any seeds but I want to see why it
shouldn’t work okay I just did a very
quick Google and karabi micro greens are
one of the fastest growing micro greens
and can be ready to harvest in as little
as 7 to 10 days according to Google
which is amazing apparently they taste
mild and peppery making them versatile
and easy to incorporate into various
dishes without overpowering flavors I
did however just say that I wasn’t sure
if there’s anything that you can’t do
for micro greens and it does actually
say on Google that you shouldn’t eat
shoots from tomato oine Pepper or potato
as they are in the night shade family
and could be toxic
however col rabie microgreens um have
many Health Benefits full of
antioxidants great for fiber vitamins a
c and b complex calcium potassium copper
which is basically all the immune
building energy pumping and Bone
strengthening good stuff so moral of the
story grow micro greens they are just
incredible for you and also I have to
say if you like me I hold my hands up
and say I have got a problem with buying
seeds I always buy far too many it’s
actually ridiculous you can do this with
your spare seeds because it’s exact same
seeds as what you grow in your garden so
what you’ll need is a fairly flat um
dish doesn’t have to be flat but these
are tiny little plants like they only
are going to grow to this big they don’t
have much of a root system so there’s
not really much point in filling a whole
pot with compost when the roots are only
going to go down like this much
woo it is so windy it’s crazy um I feel
very protected in my little Greenhouse
so uh yeah basically I’ve just put some
old soil down at the bottom of this I’m
going to put a fresh layer of compost
and then let’s have a look I think col
rabi seeds are tiny so you probably
don’t even need to like bury them you
can just sprinkle them on top yeah I can
see they are teeny weeny teeny weeny
there’s actually not very many in here
um so I’ll probably get like 30 shoots
but that’s enough for five avocado on
toasts which is great but I will
probably do um some rocket micro Greens
in the same tray just because that’s a
lot of space for just 20 or so micro
greens okay let’s get some compost in
where did I put my Trel where’s my
Trel where is
it I’ve lost my
Trel
it’s also a very soil efficient thing to
grow because that’s literally two Trel
fulls of compost it’s also a really
really wonderful thing to start growing
it this year when you just cannot wait
to get into your Greenhouse but really
it’s too cold to do any proper gardening
um and not much really grows at this
time of year but you can always rely on
micro greens as long as there’s a little
bit of warmth and a little bit of
Sunshine then they should grow so I’m
not being too careful here I’ve just
sprinkled them
there okay that’s done where are my
rocket
seeds this is perfect because these
seeds are very similar size to the col
rabby and as any Tim Spectre followers
will know a variety is key so this is
going to be so good for you to have a
couple of different types of micro
green
perfect so there we go I have labeled
them as Rocket and corabi and I’ve just
popped the data on just for my own um
knowledge I can let you know how long
they take to germinate so I’m just going
to pop these here on the window sill
they should get enough Sunshine back I’m
going to do the peas today and then I’m
going to stop because I do tend to get
carried away um and I think the four
types of microG green will be the
perfect place to start for this year’s
this year’s um
[Applause]
Harvest so as an
FYI the P size sorry the seed size size
can give you a little bit of clue as to
how deep you should plant them so the
seeds that I just did for the rocket and
the K rabi they were like mini mini mini
so they can go on top of the soil
whereas a pea seed is essentially a
dried up old pee um or baby pee that
never got eaten and because they’re
significantly
bigger these do need to have a little
layer of soil on top which is why I did
it in this little Terra cot pot just a
thin layer normally you want the layer
of compost you put on top to be about
twice the um thickness as the seeds that
you’ve just been planting and make sure
it’s nice and light nothing too lumpy
that would prevent the new growth from
coming
up okay my darlings I feel really good
for spending a little bit of of time in
the greenhouse today and now I’m back in
the kitchen and I’m a little bit peckish
I did have um some salad bits for lunch
but it just didn’t really hit the spot
now this might be the last thing that
you expect well actually I don’t think
it would be the last thing that you’d
expect me to make because the main
ingredient is cheese um but possibly not
the most January thing to make in the
world but you know I have that thing
where when I see something it really
plants the SE seed and then I can’t stop
thinking about it until I eat it it’s
always cheese related Goods at Christmas
it was fondue um throughout my entire
life it’s macaroni cheese but a couple
of days ago I saw someone share on
Instagram it might even have been this
morning or last night I saw someone
share the most amazing looking grilled
cheese sandwich and I actually bought
this um Bill Tong from delord this
morning thinking how how amazing it
would be with a grilled cheese sandwich
so that is what I’m about to make at
halfast 3 on this January afternoon now
a few things with the grilled cheese
sandwich obviously the bread is very
important I would recommend a really
nice sourdough I actually happen to have
some like seeded
loaf here so two slices of seeded loaf
you want some salted butter and I would
recommend buttering both sides of your
bread so that it gets amazingly crispy
and then something else that I would
recommend are two using two different
types of cheeses it really just elevates
the entire cheese toasty experience this
morning at delord they had these little
samples like little sample bits like the
brownie um but of cheese of this goats
goua cheese oh my goodness it is so
delicious and then I’ve got some good
old parmesan that also needs eating up I
will have it with some bong and then
I’ve also got some Bramley apple and
chili
Chutney um this is from a company called
Rose Bud Rose Bud preserves from
Yorkshire o it literally says ideal with
cured meats and Farmhouse cheddar and
then I’ve also got some of this organic
fig and balsamic Chutney from dwood and
I’m just going to like dip the corner of
my cheese toasty into these and it’s
making my mouth water just sinking about
it so you will of course need a griddle
pan or a like heavy sturdy cast iron
pan ooh I’m excited to do this so let’s
get
[Music]
started
[Music]
I might actually put this in the arer
for a few seconds just to melt down a
little bit more but it is looking and
smelling amazing and I just tried this
Bill Tong and I’m very sorry for anyone
doing a meat-free January this is one of
the most delicious Bill tongs I have
ever ever tried and it’s all from the
dford herd so nice grass-fed beef oh my
gosh it’s
delicious okay I have two announcements
first is to say that this is absolutely
delicious with the Chutney and the
billong a leach level snack second thing
to say is that I just went on Instagram
and I have seen a mac and cheese cheese
toasty oh my goodness me did you hear
that
Dickens that is absolutely Sensational
they’ve done a gotu jang mac and cheese
and put it in a cheese toasty oh my gosh
I feel like after a long afternoon in
the garden or a long Country Walk This
Is What You Need to consume right I’m
going to sit down for 10 minutes enjoy
this absolute 10 out of 10 snack and
then I’ll catch up with you
later okay that was undoubtedly one of
the
most
delicious things that I have ever eaten
would definitely recommend I just came
downstairs to unbox um a Mrs Alice order
here and I’ve just seen the most
hilarious thing that I have to share
with you I’m just going to use my phone
to um hide our address which is printed
at the top here but Charlie has printed
out a bin collection schedule how
hilarious is this so we’ve got food
waste recycling gray bins and garden bin
wins and he’s done a
timetable
hilarious right bin schedule aside we
arrived home to this massive box from
Mrs Alice I think Charlie actually
placed this order to get a few more
nutcrackers because a lot of The
Nutcrackers that we loved this Christmas
were from Mrs Alice and I think they
went into the sale I’m not sure if
they’ll still be in the sale but I’ll
leave them linked down below if they are
I’ve had mixed experiences with Mrs
Alice I’m sorry about the bless by the
way it’s getting very dark outside and
very cold lighting the first time I ever
placed an order with them 8 weeks went
by and nothing arrived and it got to the
point where even the customer service
people weren’t replying to me I actually
had to find actual Alice on Instagram
and message her to be like where is my
order it was the lovely scalloped tray
that I’ve got in my dressing room um and
then she gave gave me her PA’s WhatsApp
number it was all very strange so it was
not the best customer experience but
they have got some really nice bits on
there and um we’ve ordered from them
since then and it’s been okay so yeah
two sides to the story I’m just going to
have to move you cuz that lighting is so
awful I don’t know if that’s any better
this is the joy of this time of year but
anyway let’s have a little rumage in
here so everything comes wrapped up in
tissue paper it’s really beautifully
presented and they have got such a nice
selection of products on their
[Applause]
website
ooh this is really funny because Charlie
bought all of these pieces not me but
that is definitely the kind of thing
that I would purchase I’m guessing that
a lot of the Halloween or Autumn or
Christmas things were in the sale um but
yeah I very much approve of this it’s
got like green plattered it’s like um
straw material yeah love that I’m
guessing there’s loads of these
pumpkins slightly bigger
one slightly flatter
one I’m guessing that he’s bought
multiple so that we can put them in
straw top Cottage as
well
little green reindeer he’s rather
adorable Are the pumpkins for straw top
yeah that was the most of it a straw top
was the idea but if there stuff you
really like I think we should keep one
of each pumpkin and some of the reindeer
they’re so lovely
[Music]
yeah
whoa very Bling That
[Music]
[Music]
cracker well here we have quite the Mrs
Alice sale haul as you can see Charlie
has chosen very seasonal pieces a
mixture of Ratt pumpkins and nutcrackers
and reindeer I love the color of this
sage green Nutcracker he looks a little
bit menacing doesn’t he um but yeah we
love having these in our guest bedrooms
and just dotted throughout the house as
a way of adding festive touches that we
can obviously bring out year after year
and add a little bit of festivity to the
bedrooms and and as I mentioned for
straw top Cottage as well now we’ve got
two small and one mediumsized ratten
rain deer they’re actually really heavy
they’re quite sub quite substantial um I
think they’re really nice quality and I
love the slightly more natural look to
them where they are this rat and straw
material obviously the pumpkins two
different sizes again really nice green
really nice natural materials I think
we’ll keep a couple here and take the
rest to the cottages and then we got
some very sparkly bling nutcrackers here
as well three different I know two
different kinds of Nutcracker and yeah
he’s chosen very well so I’ve saved some
of the packaging here for our storage
purposes this area looks so empty at the
moment without the Christmas tree very
very sad but yeah there we go that is
the Mrs Alice sale haul I’m actually
going to have a look on their website
now obviously Charlie chose all these
bits but I might have a little look and
see if there are any other delightful p
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
pieces