Five Frames to Consider this Winter

As the outfits in your closet rotate from sherbet bright knits and silk, to more substantial fur, velvet and wool, you need to think about updating your accessories as well. In addition to shopping for purses and shoes, you should think about the statement your eyewear is making

The winter fashion season is a great time to play with colors, shapes and textures of eyewear.

Indian Summer

If you are the type of person who loves your aviator sunglasses in the warmer months, you can transition the shape to winter by tweaking the styling slightly to channel Ashton Kutcher or David Beckham's recent looks.

The trick is to get frames that are more brushed than shiny and lenses that feature more nontraditional dark finishes.

Maui Jim Sun Readers look especially fresh this winter with a cool evergreen fade on the lenses. This shade will play off of winter's structured military coats, as well as inky black velvet blazers, making it a wise choice for versatility.

Prim and Proper

With "Mad Men" still going strong on television, fashion is continuing its love affair with the fashion trends of the 1960s. New for women this year are the re-imagined cat eye glasses, which were made famous by Audrey Hepburn and since have popped up on trendsetters such as Rihanna and Nicole Richie.

Newer styles are slightly rounded on the edges, making them more wearable for the average person.

Scarlet or tortoiseshell are safe bets for winter, but you might want to try the ghost-like drama of a clear frame or add a punch of color to neutral winter outfits with mustard gold frames.

The style looks especially dramatic with blunt bangs or high ponytails.

The classic Wayfarer silhouette is a nice complement for the men who want to get in on the 1960s trend, giving them the type of polish Roger Sterling or Don Draper would approve of.

Scandinavian Minimalism

The perfect eyeglasses to play off of winter's chic Nordic prints and skinny jeans in an array of colors, are the semi-rimless frame’s with colored accents.

While the most wearable style features rims on the top portion, you can mix things up by having the frame solid on the lower portion of the eye instead.

                                                                               

Goo Goo Eyes Half Frames

This style demands a simple, geometric haircut and a love of intense colors.

Orange, lime green, royal blue and red metal will show your artistic side without taking yourself too seriously.

Family days out in the UK

Photo attribution: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Most of us have a dream to make it across the pond to the UK at least once in our lifetimes whether it’s to trace our ancestry or explore some of the historical towns and cities.  Traveling such a long way with children can be quite daunting, especially if you’re not sure what to do when you arrive.  Follow our guide to the best family days out in the UK.

Anglesey Sea Zoo

This is an aquarium like no other.  With more than 150 species native to UK waters, children and adults alike will enjoy just how close you can get to underwater creatures while remaining completely dry.  A day out here is as informative as it is entertaining with daily talks and feedings with the resident biologists included in the ticket price.  If you’re staying at a Sykes Cottages’ holiday home on Anglesey make the most of your entrance ticket which lasts for seven days.

Alnwick Castle

Not only is Alnwick Castle a wonderful day out for history buffs, this 11^th century Northumberland castle doubles as Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft in the Harry Potter films.  Watch your children’s faces light up as they follow in the footsteps of Harry, Ron and Hermione while you get stuck into the 1000 years of history on offer in Alnwick.  Children can also dress up as a knight or princess to try out medieval crafts or come face-to-face with a scary dragon.

Longleat Safari Park

Drive through the first safari park to be built outside of Africa and get really close to lions, monkeys and giraffes from the comfort of your car.  This is a great way to get the kids interested in wildlife while keeping everyone safe.  The monkeys live up to their cheeky reputation and have a particular fondness for car windscreen wipers!  There’s also an adventure playground with plenty of activities to keep children of all ages entertained.

Enchanted Forest

Only an hour from London, The Enchanted Forest in Tunbridge Wells is the perfect day out for an active family.  Enjoy the raised walkway through the forest with rope walks, balance beams and a puzzling spiral pathway.  If Mom and Dad aren’t tempted by the giant swings then perhaps they’ll enjoy the more formal gardens at neighbouring Groomsbridge Place.

Start planning your dream holiday to the UK by visiting www.sykescottages.co.uk to view more than 3,500 self-catering holiday cottages across the UK and Ireland.

Can’t cook, won’t cook? Cooking from home

Not everyone has the inclination or the ability to prepare his or her own meals, something which the entrepreneurially minded can take advantage of to provide a much-needed service.  It is becoming increasingly fashionable for those who want to hold a dinner party to arrange for the catering to be done by somebody else, although the host may not want to broadcast this fact.  The catering company will then deliver the food discretely and even arrange for dirty pans and crockery to be left out to make it look like the party hosts have done all the work.

Starting a cooking business

In order to thrive in this type of home business, it is essential to enjoy cooking and also have some good cooking skills.  It is also best to check the local regulations on running this type of business from home.  There will be health and hygiene regulations to consider as well as implications for home insurance.  All regulations will need to be met in order to avoid any official action or fines at a later date.    

It is important to run the business professionally.  Food will need to be delivered on time, so the chef will need to ensure that for each task, everything is planned to the last detail.  For maximum efficiency, organize the kitchen so that everything is within easy reach.  Ensure that all equipment is in place before the work begins.  It will not be easy to step out partway through the cooking process to purchase a missing utensil, but those who are considering offering basic home cooking services will find that they already have most of the items required anyway. 

It is a good idea to have a business concept, and it is acceptable to be specific about the type of food that will be offered.  Will it be haute cuisine for elegant dinner parties or something a little more down to earth for groups of friends who just want to get together for a simple meal?  Every business should have a target market, which should be kept in mind when planning the marketing of the business.

It is also a good idea to check out any local competition.  If the concept of the business is original enough, then competition may not be an issue, but any sensible business owner will look at what is available first.  This can also give new business owners an idea of the prices being charged by competitors and help figure out how to offer something that already established businesses do not.

A cooking business – a practical concept?

There is a market for this type of business in almost every town and city.  Everywhere, there are people who lead very busy lives and will not always have the time to deal with their own catering if they want to host a party.  Cooking services can also be expanded upon to offer busy customers a home-cooked meal when they return from work each evening.  A successful business may even outgrow a home kitchen over time.  With plenty of land to buy, developing and building a business premises is easier than most people believe.  

Red Envelope Review

I had the opportunity to check out the Red Envelope website and review an item.  RedEnvelope.com has a lot of really cool items. They are a part of one of the best companies to buy gifts from.  Since Noah is in kindergarten and the holidays are coming up. I had started thinking about teacher gifts for Noah’s two teachers. They are both amazing women and they have really made Noah’s transition in to school very easy.  I really cherish them and I wanted to give them a gift as our token of my appreciation. They have gone above and beyond the normal teaching duties. When we went to Meet the Teacher Night, she found out he loves fish so for The Great American Teach In she had a curator of a local museum come in and talk to the kids.  I wanted to find something that we could give them that they don’t already have. I wanted to find them something unique that they would really love.

 I thought about all the possibilities of gift cards, cheesy world’s best teacher items, apple themed things, school supplies. My mom is a teacher and I have taught in preschools before so I know what things teachers would like and what they don’t. I know that all gifts are appreciated though.  RedEnvelope.com helped me find the perfect gift for each of them. I wanted to get them both the same thing, because I don’t know a lot about their personal lives.  I ordered The 100 WishesCandle Set. It is absolutely beautiful.  It has two candles with 100 wishes each.   I thought that I would split it up and give them each one. There is one green one and one blue one and they are covered in inspirational words that when you light it the words glow.  I really think that this is a unique and positive gift that will give them a calm sense after a crazy day of 18 Kindergarteners.  It’s hard to go wrong with a candle, even if it is just for décor. The candles are 3 inches wide and 6 inches tall. I want a set for myself because they are so gorgeous.  Ordering was so easy and fast. I can’t wait to give Noah’s teachers their holiday gift with a nice card expressing how much they mean to us.

I had the chance to receive a gift card from RedEnvelope.com all thoughts and opinions are my own.