Here is an idea you might want to try or as in my case, you might want to let your children try.  This wide framed mirror in my kitchen lends itself perfectly to having old pictures and cards stuck onto it. These old memories tend to end up in boxes so better to enjoy them in a contained area.

I treated myself to my first Ochre lamp when my business reached a certain milestone.  That was 12 years ago and the Cherub lamp gives me as much pleasure today as it did then.  To add understated, timless elegance to any interior see www.ochre.net

Anyone looking to decorate their children’s rooms should take a look at Bobo Kids in Chelsea. Inspired by the French concept Bourgeois-Boheme, widely used in France to describe a particular lifestyle group, bobo refers to style-conscious consumers who embrace diverse fashion and interior trends to create individual style which is unique to them. You won’t find many all matching furniture suites here and thank goodness for that I say.  Also, if they don’t have what you are looking for, they can source it for you.  www.bobokids.co.uk 29 Elystan Street. Chelsea, SW3

So influential was Rachel Ashwell’s style, that it coined it’s very own phrase, know as shabby chic.  Whilst the look has been copied countless times, it can seem rather twee, but only Rachel can keep it whimsical, elegant and rather playful.  Personally I can’t do the whole look, but on visiting her new shop in Westbourne Grove, I found so much to delight and surprisingly taking it out of context made it look even more appealing.  If you are in London, don’t leave without visiting this treasure trove and my personal favorite – the floral union jack throw; I am going to put mine on batons and use it to hide the horrid plasma.  If you can’t get to the shop, buy her book for tips on creating the look.

I know Sania Pell; the creative mind and stylists behind The Homemade Home, because I had the pleasure of featuring her on the cover of Family Home.  Who can forget that precious baby and those fab Prada wedges teamed with fishnets.  This booked is packed with easily accessible create ideas and in doing the hard part of conceiving them, Sania offers the reader the pleasure of translating them with absolute ease.  The photography is by the talented Penny Wincer, who shot my Family Home book, so you can be sure The Homemade Home by CICO Books will be an inspiring visual treat – out now.

I was recently introduced to Senkai, who are now my newest clients and just happen to be the most passionate, dedicated team of personal trainers on the planet.  In the name of research, I booked myself onto their boot camp in Bordeaux – France.  I wondered how the children would cope, but not only did they positively encourage me to go, they even suggested, I take the husband!  And so it was, with children packed off to best friends, we packed ourselves off to France.

The weeklong boot camp was everything I had hoped and more and even thought it rained constantly, nothing could dampen our spirits as we got out in the fresh country air and tried something new each day, which took us beyond our known limits.   We returned home lighter and fitter, but beyond that and of far more value was the lesson it taught me – that to give 4 of the 168 hours available in a week, to exercise is time well spend and of vital importance.

Senkai boot camps can be booked by a group of friends or college who want a tailor made service or you can join their next retreat in September.   For further details click here

Senkai’s tips for a fitter, healthier you

1. Split your workout routine into 65% cardio and 35% weight training / core and abdominal work.

2. Running or power walking is one of the best forms of exercise you can do and it does not require a gym – just step out of your front door and get moving.

3. Train early in the morning and on an empty stomach as that way you burn body fat rather than the food you have just consumed. If you want to train later in the day, make sure you leave a two-hour gap between eating.

4. You can lose weight by eating well, but to change your shape requires targeted training. And the other positive by-product of this is that it helps preventosteoporosis and arthritis – especially important to women.

5. Eat five to six small evenly spaced out meals a day as the more Regularly you eat the higher your metabolic rate will be and so you end up burning more calories. Each meal needs to consist of protein, carbohydrates and good fat.

6. Eat fish and lean meat and red meatonly once a week cut out bread (I can’t do this one) and limit dairy. Drink 2 litres of water per day.

If like me, you enjoy the beauty of functional, everyday objects then you will love these hardwearing enamel kitchen accessories that just get better with time – for more visit www.labourandwait.co.uk

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In an ideal world we would be able to buy whatever we desired for our homes.  But personally I have found that having to ‘make do and mend’ has stretched my creativity and resulted in a space that feels so much more inviting.  If you are not sure what you can do for quick, easy and effective updates in your home, look for clues in any retail space as they are masters of the make-over.  Here the shop Merci in Paris has simply spray painted twigs and created a magical clothes display.  You could do the same and hang memento’s, photo’s and even change the display to be in tune with the seasons – perhaps hand made paper flowers in summer and glass baubles in winter.   The possibilities are endless but the price is low – my kind of decorating.

Shame that this iconic poster has been re-worked to death.  I truly am bored of it now.

I have just come across this new site that offers cool classic furniture at low prices by simply cutting out the middle man.  There is not much on site right now, but it’s new and worth keeping an eye on it as no doubt their offering will increase over time.  - see made.com