Hannah Elizabeth

I try to post reviews on Friday's but next week start's my new series of Christmas gift guides and I didn't want to wait weeks to post this, so instead of a review this week, I'm sharing a mini birthday gift guide. Here are the items I got for my boyfriend this year for his 26th birthday.  The main presents I got for him was a trip to Chester. He's wanted to go for a few years so I treated him to a hotel and a fancy meal out, then the day before we went to Chester Zoo. I also paid for the latter but it was something he didn't particularly want to do, and I'd been wanting to go for forever so I was very much excited for that part! I then got him some useful items for the kitchen. He's been asking for a meat thermometer for a few months now so I decided to finally buy him one. We've not yet used it but it's looks quite good and I like that it's digital. I then bought him an extra little gadget I thought he'd enjoy. It's a resealer and a...

I’ve previously spoken about minimalism and organisation . They’re both topics that o personally love talking about and of course, implementing into my life. I hate clutter and really do struggle with my mental health when life is a mess. Now that I’m continuing my tenancy at my current rental for the foreseeable future, I thought I’d finally get around to organising my little kitchen. I thought today it would be worth sharing some of my top tips, hacks and things that I just love.  Let’s start at the basics. First of all, I bought a 12 pack of large boxes to store both baking supplies, pasta and rice. I love that they came with a chalk pen and black labels. Personally, I would prefer if the labels were all the same but for the price, these are definitely good value.  Staying with the cupboards, for my spices, I bought a pack of new glass containers , again with labels and a chalk pen. I love that these also came with the dispenser that simply clicks in the top.  For the...

For months, if not years, NHS midwives and maternity bodies like the Royal College of Midwives has asked the government for more funding, more staff and more service provisions. Maternity care is struggling across the UK right now, and now we are pleading for support.  On Sunday 21 November, midwives will be holding peaceful vigils in city centres around the country as part of a campaign recently launched called March with Midwives UK . The nation’s midwives are taking action to "preserve the women in their care and their profession from desperate and dangerous staffing shortages".  The UK staffing crisis is real. We are over 2,300 full time midwife equivalents short in the country. We are training more staff to be qualified with the degree, but people are leaving the profession faster than they qualify. The population more likely to leave are those newly qualified staff, citing lack of support as reasons for leaving, and I personally know many that already have. On top of th...

I threw my first own home Halloween party, headed to Yorkshire for a mini Bonfire Night at my mum's and finally revealed the big renovations at the farm house.  Click here to watch the vlog or see below.  Halloween was honestly a little bit of a fail. I threw a mini Halloween party which was a lot of fun, but still a little sad that more people couldn't come. You can read in detail my full Halloween party post here, but let's just say I let my inner child come out. We had lots of yummy food and snacks, some party games, music and the chance to talk and catch up. We also got a Save the Date for a wedding!  The next weekend, I headed up to Yorkshire for Bonfire Night. I had a long weekend off so after finishing work at 9pm on the Thursday, I went down Friday afternoon, just after lunch. I had a few jobs to do around the house, so I sorted those first and then headed up. It was a lovely surprise when I got up there as the new roof on the conservatory is finally completed, a...

As has been the theme of this year, sustainability has been at the core of many of my lifestyle changes . It was one of my New Year's Resolutions and nearing the end of the year hasn't stopped that. I love celebrating everything in life and I will use any excuse for a party or a chance to decorate. I feel I am quite careful about looking after decorations and I reuse many items year on year. I also am selective about which items I buy, and I love multi-use products.  It's coming up to my partner's birthday and I wanted to make him feel loved and at home, given that it's his first time waking up in not his mother's house on his birthday. I looked for some stylish yet sophisticated items to decorate the birthday table and I ended up falling in love with the fun rainbow theme that's making the rounds at the moment. I found some lovely eco birthday wrapping paper . It's thick and really good quality, plus the fact that it's 100% recycled and made in the...

As you all probably know, I love celebrating anything and everything. Give me a holiday event and I will make a big deal out of it...Valentine's Day, Easter, Birthdays, Halloween and Christmas! Which is one of the reasons I'm struggling with my Christmas off duty this year. Anyway, this year I threw my first Halloween party and I had so much fun, especially in the organising and planning aspect. Whilst the guest list ended up a little smaller than I had originally anticipated, it was still a success.  1. Decor Halloween decorations is a must. This year I went a little more sophisticated in the lounge area, sticking to neutral shades matching my permanent decor, then a switched to orange in the hallway instead. Depending on whether it's a children's party or more for adults, you can gage your style. Since I decorated, I added a boo sign with balloons above the table and also popped some table sequins on the table, before finishing with carving tools and buying Hallowe...

Last Monday I got my first Christmas off duty and I am honestly heartbroken. I love celebrating holidays and seasons, and I especially love celebrating with family and friends. This year is the first year I am working over Christmas and of course, with last year's Christmas being the crazy season that it was during the Covid pandemic, I feel like I was defintely cut short of the celebrations.  Starting my job back in January, I had told myself that I wouldn't mind working over Christmas and I was somewhat prepared for the worst, working one of the three major holiday days. However, I then got my rotations and when I realised I was only going to be on week 2 of my rotation on the postnatal ward when it was Christmas week, I was really excited and happy to realise I was supernumerary.  For those that aren't shift works and don't know the language, each month we get a new "off duty". Our "off duty" is essentially our working days, but of course it also ...