Gifts waiting to be given.....

....we recently went a a family holiday abroad and brought back some little presents for the ones we love....

My dress is your dress...

Last month a very dear person who is very special in my life came for a visit. She had flown half way round the world to the UK on her summer break to catch up with family and friends and we were just one of her many stops on her whirl wind tour around the country!

I hadn't seen my friend since New Years 2009 where we spent three days with our boyfriends celebrating and getting quite tipsy! Little did we all know that I was literally falling pregnant with my daughter! Two months later she jetted out to South Korea, I was 3 months gone and we said goodbye over the phone feeling very sad that it would be a while before we saw each other again.

Fast forward two and a half years later and she arrived down south and met more daughter for the first time! We had a lovely few days together and had some proper girly fun, cream teas, paddling in the sea, dinner out and shopping! She mentioned that she really wanted a long summery maxi dress but she couldn't find one in Korea and wanted to get one whilst back in the UK, "just like that one hanging in the wardrobe in your spare room" she said to me.

Well the one she was talking about is one I have had for at least 5 years and the last time I wore it was about 4 years ago! Being in a relationship and having a baby has been more than generous to my shape and the dress hasn't fitted me properly for a while now, but as the length was perfect (I am a short arse and find it very hard to get maxi dresses off the peg!) I had kept hold of it dreaming that I would fit into it again one day!

So after a full day of shopping and no maxi dresses to be found I thought about that dress and asked my friend if she wanted it. "Are you really sure?" she asked, and I was! It had been hung up all this time without and wear all this time, it deserved to be set free and my lovely friend was the perfect girl to do it, after all it wasn't getting any love from me!

I know she will enjoy wearing it and will look so much better in it than me! I also loved the idea that a little part of me was heading back to Korea with her, plus ultimately giving her my dress made her happy - did do a little dance and squeal of delight. Our friendship has stood the test of time and many countries and our dress will too!

One woman's rags is another women's riches.....

I posted a few weeks ago on my other blog about how great it feels to clear out the clutter from your wardrobe, cupboards and selves and making your home a relaxing and peaceful environment, you can read more about this here http://365pearlsofwisdom.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/feel-good-live-better.html
When I had finished my mega de-clutter session on the wardrobes I also went through some cupboards in the kitchen and spare room and put into bags some old baby bottles and other baby items and bits and bobs we weren't using and bagged them up too. I then thought about how I wanted to get rid of it all, I could of just chucked it out for the bin men or taken it to the skip or a charity shop but it was decent stuff that still had a lot of life in it and use to give to others, so I decided to call the local women's refuge.

Some of the clutter we no longer needed

A few years ago I used to work in a homeless hostel for men and women, sometimes we would have people turn up for a room with only the clothes they were wearing, they needed a shower and to wash their stuff and didn't have anything to put on so having a cupboard of clothes that people had donated to the hostel was a god send for them. Often we were also able to move our service users on into supported housing or other accommodation, which was great but again they didn't really have any of the basic household things you need when moving into a new home so again when people donated things like bedding, curtains and bits and bobs for the kitchen, bathroom etc, it was so useful and welcome to these items all ready to go to a new home.

I always remember how grateful the hostel residents were to have these items available to them when coming in or moving out and how over whelmed we always were by other peoples generosity that enabled us to make such a difference to lives of the people who stayed in the hostel.

With this in mind I searched the internet for local services and found that there was a local women's refuge. I gave them a call and asked if they could make use of our old unwanted things. They were very happy to take our clothes and bric-a-brac off our hands, in fact they didn't have any storage at the refuge but had a shop near by in partnership with a local trust took on all donations and sold them on. The money from sales was donated to refuge and when women move on to their own home they are able to pick up bits and pieces they need at a minimal price, they also support the local night shelter too.

So on Monday I dropped off 7 bag loads of our unwanted clothes and items at the shop, it was lovely to meet the ladies who donate their time to run it and see that they put so much effort in to run the shop and displaying all their wares. I like the fact too that at some point these items that I once needed but no longer used were going to become essentials for someone else and see them also through an important phase of their life, new life for old things!

* If you or someone you know is effected by domestic abuse or homelessness you can get in touch with Women's Aid http://www.womensaid.org.uk/ and Shelter www.shelter.org.uk for information and support through their websites and/or advice lines.

Give a little love......

Today makes me want to hug my baby girl so tight, she is funny, clever and beautiful! I am so incredibly proud of her and her little life so far and feel blessed to be her mother.

Not everyone gets to share in the joys of being a parent the way I do, to watch they babies grow in to amazing little people, teach them, laugh and cry with them and watch them blow out their birthday candles every year.

Today I hug my baby girl a bit tighter as I remember a special little boy, who was everything my little one is, who showed the world he was a brave little fighter too and meant so much to the people who love him. He was born too soon in to this world and sadly had to leave.

Today I hug my baby girl a bit tighter and remember how lucky I am to have her in my arms, I think about her cousin and show her a picture of him and tell her how wonderful he was.

Every year on his birthday we have vowed donate a special present in his memory to an amazing charity called Bliss who have helped many Families who have sick and premature babies and do so much good work towards ensuring that these babies have the best quality of life.

Happy 1st Birthday my darling nephew, you are loved and missed and will never be forgotten x x x

If you would like to donate to Bliss please follow the link to their donation page http://www.bliss.org.uk/get-involved/donate/

For my friend....

I have never been one of those really popular girls, with lots of friends on face book and a constant stream of social engagements and invites. I barely keep in contact with anyone I know from school or college or from past employment positions. But over the years I have made a few very close, dear and important friends and this weekend one of those beloved friends got engaged!!

I am beyond thrilled for her, we had spent the recent bank holiday weekend with the happy couple and my friends boyfriend (now fiancée!) had let slip to my other half that he was popping the question, in Paris, for her birthday! My other half told me of this when we returned from our stay at their house and I have spent all week brimming with excitement knowing that she was about to have a birthday she would never forget!

So on her arrival back to the UK, I finally got the news that he had proposed, at the Moulin Rouge no less and of course she had said yes! Well, as I said the lucky bride to be is someone very close to my heart and we have been through many ups and downs together, some of them love related, some of them not and she is well deserved of this joyous event!

I doubt I will ever be a bride, who knows I am wearing a diamond ring on my ring finger that was given to me by my other half but our views on weddings and marriage can be poles apart sometime, but that another story.  Anyway my feelings about being a bride is that it should be a special and magical time and so I wanted my lovely friend to feel that and to congratulate them both properly. I have found this sweet little card to send them from me and my family (you can't see on the photo but when you shake the card lots of glitter floats about over the picture) and a little note book for her to jot down all her ideas, important phone number, dates and thoughts and hopefully stick a few pictures of potential cakes, dress etc!

I wanted to give her a little something to get her started, to feel like a bride to be and to keep forever and look back with fond memories! I hope it makes her feel special when she gets, because she really deserves to be!

What is the Kindness Connection all about?

This is a space to share random acts of kindness expressed towards others around me in the world, to bring joy, happiness and something deliciously lovely and fantastic that will make them feel loved, special and cherished or quite simply put a smile on their face!

My hope is that by being kind to others and doing something for them that is that little bit extra special, that makes them feel good or something that is beyond the norm that gives them a sense of being appreciated and thought of, that I will bring some joy love and laughter in to my life, to brighten my horizons and learn to live in the now and enjoy it for all it can be!

"When we do the best we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another". – Helen Keller.

This quote has become and inspiration and a bit of a mantra for me and is the spirit behind the blog. 

Testing, testing 123...

This is just a test!