Wednesday 30 July 2014

Boden AW14 Press Preview

One of the things I get most excited about as a blogger is the Boden Press Day - I've been to a few of these now and they are always brilliant fun and I get to indulge in one of my personal favourite brands - not just for my own wardrobe but also for both my children! 
Boden AW14 Press Preview #bodenpressday Maegan Clement
Boden AW14 Press Preview #bodenpressday
Boden AW14 Press Preview #bodenpressday

So back in May was the Autumn Winter 2014 Boden collection press day, it happened to fall on a day that for me was a sad one - my Nanna passed away earlier this year - not only was she the grandparent I was most closest to, but also my last one, being grandparentless has been hard to adjust to. The press day fell on what would have been Nanna Betty's birthday - the first one since she passed away. 
Boden AW14 Press Preview #bodenpressday
Boden AW14 Press Preview #bodenpressday Maegan Darcie Clement
Boden AW14 Press Preview #bodenpressday


I headed into Central London for the event and I took with me, my beautiful daughter Maegan - she absolutely adores coming along to these things with me, she's a shoe girl and a poser so more than happy to be a part of it! 
Boden AW14 Press Preview #bodenpressday
Boden AW14 Press Preview #bodenpressday
Boden AW14 Press Preview #bodenpressday


Boden had done (as expected) a brilliant press day - the room was set up with amazing details and the theme was clear - two distinct themes to be precise 
Country and City these for me were an instant hit! I'm a country bumpkin northern girl who did rural science at school and misses the Lake District and northern beaches more than I could ever put into words - although as a stroppy teenager listening to nirvana and stomping up Helvellyn in cherry red DM's ( when DM stood for Doc Marten's, not Direct Message) - I did not appreciate the countryside and wanted nothing more than to live in Canary Wharf - I'd decided this at the age of 9 and moved to London 14 years ago - now I fight my inbuilt urge to run for the hills! I'm an equal blend of both countryside and city so this collection spoke volumes to me!
Boden AW14 Press Preview #bodenpressday


Now, Maegan is normally an absolute delight to take along and on our journey, excitedly chatted away about what we were going to do and see - I timed our trip to the press day to fall before she got too tired and ready for nap so afterwards she could drift off for a little snooze...of course anyone with a 2 year old will tell you things never go according to plan!
Boden AW14 Press Preview #bodenpressday Boden Bench Maegan Darcie Clement

After only 10mins at the event, Maegan chose to have the biggest tantrum she has ever had - the mother of all tantrums, the one I will never forget - I'm talking violence here - she pulled out a handful of my hair, kicked me, hit me and bit me so hard on the cheek, I had a bite mark for 3 days that resembled a strange love bite! I was feeling emotional enough that day anyway and this just tipped me right over the edge - I found myself stuck in a corner, crying my eyes out with a two year old going mental and refusing to let go of a dress! Mortified doesn't even come close!
Boden AW14 Press Preview #bodenpressday

After a tearful emergency call to the hubby (My Knight in Shiny Armour) who fortunately for me was at close by Selfridges at that very moment, careful detachment of the said dress and a mad, tearful, hiding behind the toddler sprint to the exit - I left.
Boden AW14 Press Preview #bodenpressday


I'm way to old to do this but ... I cried all the way to Selfridges, for many many reasons - the tantrum, the humiliation, the painful bite mark, for not being able to see most of the Boden collection, for not even getting to chat to anyone at the event, for missing out on all the yummy refreshments, for feeling like I'm never allowed to be "just me" and for my Nanna Betty's missed birthday.

Boden AW14 Press Preview #bodenpressday

As you can see from the few pieces I did manage to spy, the collection is wonderful and it is currently becoming available so please do take a moment to browse the lovely Boden A/W 14 collection - a big digital round of applause for all the brilliant Boden people, I do hope it hasn't put you off inviting me to the next one (although I may come alone!)
Boden AW14 Press Preview #bodenpressdayMaegan's sad face

Emma in Bromley xx
(@beachpebble)

Monday 28 July 2014

Pizza Express Bromley Review

I had a meal last week in the Bromley branch of Pizza Express, I was there to review it and take a look at some of the new additions to the menu - there's an impressive summer menu which reflects the season perfectly!
Pizza Express Bromley

I went for a lunch time meal and took my husband along for company and menu sharing :)
We've been to Pizza Express before - it tends to be one of the places we go to when there's a big group of us for birthdays - it also used to be one of my regular Friday working lunch haunts, before I became a play at home mum. I have my usual favourite - to be honest, I enjoy my usuals so much that I often bearly glance at the menu because I know what I'm having before I even set foot through the door, but for the sake of my review, for this meal, a dough balls starter and pizza margarita were banned - I was determind to explore the menu and try new things!

The second we walked through the door, we were welcomed by a friendly smile and shown to our table, something new for me - I always eat in the window, this time I was further into the restaurant and seated in a lovely little round booth - my new favourite table - it felt very intimate and special while at the same time, allowing me to people watch! The staff were all friendly and professional, with our waitress having sound knowledge of both the Bromley Pizza Express and a neighbouring branch.
Pizza Express Bromley

In addition to the main dining rooms, the Bromley branch has a lovely outdoor dining terrace as well as a elegant spiral staircase leading up to a further dining room. 
Pizza Express Bromley Outside dining


For starters we chose:
* Olives Nocellara del Belice - these are beautifully vibrant green olives with a buttery taste, I'd recommend these over other olives.
Pizza Express Olives Nocellara del Belice


* Leggera Panzanella - classic Tuscan inspired, santos and vine tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, surfine capers and croutons marinated with extra virgin olive oil, garlic, basil and balsamic vinegar.
Pizza Express Leggera Panzanella


* Risotto Fresco - oak roasted peppered salmon fillet, garlic and parsley in a creamy white wine risotto finished with rocket and lemon.
Pizza Express Risotto Fresco


Something special to drink
* Hugo Pizza Express - Prosecco with Elderflower, fresh mint and lemon over ice - a magnificent summer drink.
Hugo Pizza Express


For the main course, we both chose from Romana Pizza selection- boasting bigger thinner crispier bases.
* Toscana - crumbled chilli and fennel sausage, tomato and mozzarella, gran Moravia cheese, fresh basil and extra Virgin Olive oil.
Pizza Express Toscana


* Pomodoro Pesto - marinated santos tomatoes, fresh basil, baby mozzarella, tomato and garlic oil.
Pizza Express Pomodoro Pesto

And for dessert? Well ... It'd be rude not to! 
* Chocolate glory - a must have for any chocoholic!
Pizza Express Chocolate Glory

* Raspberry sorbet with chocolate stick (dairy free) - I was very excited by this because most sorbets contain raw egg, which I avoid, so finding dairy free sorbet was fantastic - and this is my new favourite dessert - it's perfect!
Pizza Express Raspberry sorbet with chocolate stick (dairy free)


Pizza Express boasts a great menu, and takes great consideration for those with dietary requirements - a generous veggie menu without a single stuffed mushroom in sight and there is a plethora of gluten free choices all coeliac uk accredited, not to mention a thoughtful children's menu.


Pizza Express Bromley

We enjoyed our meal, all food was well presented and simply delicious and the atmosphere, decor and staff are a credit to a wonderful branch of a Pizza Express.

Emma in Bromley xx
(@beachpebble)


* I received a meal from Pizza Express for the sole purpose of being able to carry out the review. All words, thoughts and photographs are my own.



Sunday 27 July 2014

Bourjois Volume 1 Seconde Mascara Review

Bourjois Volume 1 Seconde Mascara - blogger review
Mascara is my one make up item I couldn't live without and I never leave the house without wearing it! 

I have a current love - hate relationship with mascara - you see, back when I was an online marketing manager in Central London, I always wore a Chanel mascara, but then when I became a play at home mum and even more recently since buying our family home, pennies are a bit tighter, Chanel mascara is no longer an option so now I'm in this whole love - hate thing of trying to find one that stands up to my high expectations for less than half the price! I did love an Urban Decay one but because there isn't a local stockist, with having to add on postage costs, it seemed a bit pointless really and I'm too impatient to wait as I have a habit of not realising my mascara has run out with enough time to allow 7- 10 days postage.

When I was asked if I'd like to review Bourjois Volume 1 seconde Mascara, I said "yes please!" - I've spent a small fortune on the easily available brands in Boots and I'm never happy with them, they usually either have a useless rubber stick to apply it with, start flaking off after four hours (problematic for my contact lenses!) or they are brilliant for a week and then dry out already!

But I'm please to say "I'm happy!" I absolutely have enjoyed Bourjois Volume 1 Seconde Mascara - it doesn't need a billion coats, it looks great after literally 1 second! It doesn't start shedding small black bits onto my cheeks and contact lenses and it still looks fresh by the end of the day and I've had my pot open for 3 weeks and it hasn't dried out! I think I've finally found my Chanel replacement - it's on an intro offer at Boots at £7.99 and it's usually £9.99. 

This mascara volumises and coats well, it dries very quickly so if you want to apply more than one coat, do it fast! I didn't find any clumps, smudges or flakes from this lovely deep pigment black mascara and I will actually buy it again.

Emma in Bromley xx
(@beachpebble) 

* I received one Bourjois' Volume 1 Seconde mascara for the sole purpose of being able to carry out this review. All words and thoughts are my own.

Silent Sunday - Thor and Flying Fairy


Emma in Bromley xx
(Twitter @beachpebble)

Monday 14 July 2014

Finding Out You Cant Legally Own The house You Are Buying


Stay at Home Mum, Emma Clement and Maegan Clement
So you're on a career break while having babies - you like to remind people you have a degree (with honours you know!) and you did have a successful career in London but living in the London boroughs means being out at work 7am to 7pm  which your husband also does, so being a play at home mum works best for your little family.

But hang on? You bought your little starter home with hubby way before getting married and having kids but the time has come when a little bit more space is needed - a bijou 2up2down isn't quite right for a family of four with a boy and a girl child. Your current home was your big leap up onto the property ladder - you worked hard to get it, you put in equally on your joint mortgage payments etc until you started that career break in pregnancy - in the 9 years you've owned it, the equity has grown and you've made enough for a decent deposit for the next house - a big jump to the family home.

You find a buyer for your house, find a house you'd like to buy and grab a meeting with a mortgage guy. This bit we knew would be tricky - what, with not actually being paid and everything for being a stay at home mum. We could apply for a new joint mortgage however as a rough guide, for two it's 3 times your income so if one isn't earning then it's just 3 times one income - plus student debt counts as negative equity - so the value of being an educated stay at home mum is negative. Applying for a sole mortgage is roughly calculated at 5 times your income so for a family where only one person is currently the earner, this is your option. 

Your breaking through the (slow) selling a house and buying another one process.
You hear the horror stories of friends buying houses, including the one where your fellow stay at home mum couldn't be on the deeds because this was their first home. 
This is your second house, your putting in equity you earned from your own investment in the first house so it's different right?

You get all the paper work - seriously! A book worth you go through it all, crossing the tees dotting the eyes and signing in front of witnesses. Your buying your home together, with money you made together from property you invested in together for your family.

However, some days later you receive contact from your solicitor - it is not possible for you to be a legal owner. Because the mortgage is in one name, your husband, it is only him that can be a legal owner of the property as set out in the t's and c's of the mortgage agreement. It basically comes down to this, should you both be on the deeds but only one of you is party to the mortgage, if there was a default on payment, the mortgage company could not claim against the person on the deeds not party to the mortgage. It does not matter that you are putting in your own earned money to the purchase, or that you have to sign an agreement accepting the mortgage terms as an adult occupier. 

I have to accept that the only way for us to purchase our family home is for me to go from being a homeowner to not, and to not have any legal entitlement to my own home. I worked hard to gain that first step on the property ladder and now I'm back at the bottom and it sucks. 

Fed up of being penalised for being an educated stay at home mum - even the prime minister is negative towards us!

Emma in Bromley xx


Sunday 13 July 2014

Silent Sunday - Moving In

80's reproduction farmhouse kitchen
Emma in Bromley xx

New House

new house, 80's reproduction farmhouse kitchen
Those following me on social media will know that on Tuesday I completed on both selling and buying our new home! 

I can tell you that I haven't been this stressed out since my finals at uni and moving house with two little people totally gazumps being bridezilla!

The stress has seen a return, with a vengeance of my IBS to the point that my GP gave me a gallstone scare, I'm sure I've gained more wrinkles, grey hairs and inches round my tummy!

Well it's been one heck of an emotional rollercoaster but I can confirm we are finally finally in our family home ... Well not quite - it need a bloom' good scrub first! It's very dusty, the kitchen is dirty and I've never seen so many spiders in one house in all my life ... So we're sleeping at my inlaws for a few nights!

The entire house is fine to live in but all the rooms need a freshen up - this is most obvious in the kitchen and bathroom! I found several spiders living in one of the kitchen cabinets and the cooker is filthy!

 I can't wait to put my own stamp on the place, I love decorating - just as well given the amount that needs doing!

The house hasn't got a washing machine or a dryer at all so with two small children, this is at the very top of our list! Along with a kitchen table and chairs, some doors and windows need replacing, I'm desperate for bookcases, new carpets and bedding not to mention childproofing the garden!

Be warned - there will be many, many home and interior blog posts over the summer!

Emma in Bromley xx


Saturday 12 July 2014

The Selling Your Home Emotional Rollercoaster - from Listing to Offers

After deciding which estate agent to go with (you can read about that here if you like) we were all set to sell!

selling your home - sold sign

The Bromley estate agent we chose was confident of our schedule - we'd be marketed as a guide price with a realistic expectation of achieving above this. The photos would be taken on the Friday and we would be live on the internet that evening or the Saturday morning at the latest with the following Saturday being our open day.
The open day would see one viewing at a time but several scheduled after each other. Offers wouldn't be accepted that same day but rather people would be invited to submit their very best offer by lunch time on Monday after the open day and we would be able to sit down, go through the offers and pick the one we wanted to accept. Sounds simple right? 


So this is how things actually happened ... We didn't go live online that Friday - we didn't go live until the Monday, there had been a computer update at the estate agents which caused a delay in uploading new properties. Being an ex online marketing manager I panicked, we wouldn't even have online presence for a full week before the open day, but the estate agent was calm and confident that this wasn't an issue, they'd already been using their database to establish interest and bookings for our property.

selling your home


The day before the open day and I was busy busy busy! I had my father in law's help to mow the lawn and clear any rubbish (including animal poo!) from our front garden and my mother in law had made up some hanging baskets, planted some plants and vaxed the carpets! I had our window cleaner come round and do all the windows, I put fresh flowers all around the house and polished everywhere, hid as many toys as possible and made sure our home looked it's best! The big stress point was that the local council had decided that this was the day they were going to close off my entire road and dig it up! Arrgh!  I was nervous but our estate agent was very positive and confident and we were left with happy thoughts of all these exciting offers above the guide price to expect after the weekend.
selling your homeIt was finally happening, we are selling the house! Our estate agent had expressed such confidence that we dared to view a possible house for us to buy!




But that lovely happy confident bubble popped. The open day didn't bring in the promised plethora of offers and not one above guide price - actually not even any at guide price. It sucked, we felt really low, disappointed and let down but you've got to keep going right?
The estate agents confirmed they had two bookings for Thursday evening so from that low we rode all the way up to a new high - two evening viewings sounded promising. 
Although terribly inconvenient - our children are 2 and 4 so evening viewings suck - it means starting the bedtime routine at a nearby family member's home but it has a negative effect on the kids - they really struggle having such a disrupted bedtime - but you've got to do whatever it takes right?
So that Thursday, I'd cleaned, scrubbed, gardened and spread even more fresh flowers everywhere  but part way through the morning I got the call to say one of the evenings viewings had cancelled so only one would be coming. I packed everything for the evening and bedtime into the car so we could have dinner and start the bedtime routine elsewhere  and we set off half an hour before the only viewing left was due.
Then we got the call - just 15 mins before the viewing was supposed to happen to say that one had also cancelled - I could have cried, getting everything ready and getting the kids out had been hard work and it had all been for nothing. 
Back to feeling rubbish.
selling your homeThere was a viewing booked in for Saturday but that would mean that in an entire week - following the failure of open day, we would have had just one viewing - that is really rubbish and not at all a reflection of the confidence and impression given by the estate agents. Needless to say, that viewing didn't go well either - apparently the kitchen dining area was too small (ouch! That hurt, I'm particularly proud of our kitchen - its impressive for a 2up2down!) we fit all four of us in and there's room for a bigger table than ours if you wanted!
Then came even more evening viewings - back to a happy place - 2 viewings is good right?  one on Tuesday night and one on Wednesday night - both school nights, both nights really took their toll on my four year old - poor little soul.
The Tuesday viewer said our home was far superior to any of the other ones he'd viewed yet complained the bathroom was too small - well we manage with it as a family of four but you could change it to a wet room, or a walk in shower instead of bath if you really wanted even more space - I'm starting to wonder if the agent has lost interest in our property or isn't pointing these obvious things out to people? 

Things continued in this way and just when we were contemplating our choice of agent and considering swapping to a rival - afterall, It had come down to a choice of two for me, we had good news! Not only had we viewed a house that felt like "the one" but we also had an offer at guide price on our home! After some negotiating and three revisions, we had an offer accepted on the house we wanted to buy and we accepted the offer to buy our house so now we swap onto a whole other rollercoaster!

Emma in Bromley x


Friday 11 July 2014

An Honest Answer From An Estate Agent


You may have noticed that I've just moved house (literally on Tuesday!) and some of my recent blog posts and social media content has been all about the stages I'm going through, including estate agents! So when I heard about the debate style mini shows all about the various hot topics - I thought it was perfect timing to share with you - I found them very insightful, especially the fees one!

Have you always wanted to see an Estate Agent give an honest answer? Now is your chance!  Knight Frank, the leading independent global property consultancy, decided to put itself on the front line and face questions about the estate agency business from people just like you. A panel of specialists from Knight Frank answered questions in a new debate show - An Honest Answer

The conversation spanned a number of topics including:
  • Fees
  • Valuation
  • Investments and Mortgages
  • Property: The Process
  • Gazzumping
  • Agent Expertise
  • Property market Insight
  • Choosing Your Agent 

There more info here too:   www.knightfrank.co.uk/answers

Emma in Bromley xx (yep! I'm still in Bromley!)