Working From Home

What do I love about being freelance? I can work from home.

What do I hate about being freelance? I can work from home!

Yep, picking and choosing your hours and where you can work from is great, but it can also lead to distractions and there's plenty of those at home!  If you're a freelance you have to be disciplined.

[Img from Dashburst]

On the days I'm working from home I still get up around 7am, just like I would if I was going into the office.  Having a routine helps me get into work mode and I'm usually ready to face the working day by 8:30. However, there's always those little distractions there to tempt you away from your paid work.  Like the washing. Or vacuuming.

Who would have thought household chores could be so inviting!?  I confess, my house is always at it's tidiest when I'm working from home.

So how do I make sure I don't become distracted?  I allow myself to do those little household jobs which also helps to break up the day.  If I don't, I find it hard to concentrate and that's ten times worse.

I'm not the kind of person who can sit in my PJ's knowing there's a wash load which could be on. Or the floor needs mopping.  If I can get those few extra jobs done it helps me focus.

For me, a tidy workspace (or in this case house) means a tidy mind, which equals productivity.  We don't have the luxury of having a home office so I can't just close the door on the rest of the house and pretend I'm at work.

It might sounds a little crazy and probably means I work longer hours, but when you work from home you have to find the best solution that works for you.

Are you a freelance?  Do you work from home?  How do you make sure you stay focused?

Win a £50 prize with Ask Her Friends

Are you full of the joys of Spring? Fancy winning a prize worth £50 with Ask Her Friends? Me too! Pop over to their website and vote for my set.  There's lots of ways to enter. Just click here.

I've gone for an indoors/outdoors Spring home set.

1. Hand Painted Bird House by Pretty Dandy 

2. Cycling Indicator Mittens by Twisted Twee 

3. Vintage Painted Rose Cushion by Pretty Dandy 

4. There’s No Place Like Home Print by DeBono and Bennett

5. Fairy Tale Mug by Heather Alstead

The Orange Tree, Newcastle Under Lyme

After a hard days wedding dress shopping, it's an exhausting process honest, mum and I felt we deserved a some lunch at The Orange Tree in Newcastle under Lyme.

Now although I'm a real foodie, I've never felt compelled to write a restaurant review. Until now.  You see, I loved everything about this place. The food. The décor. The staff. Even the toilets! Yes I kid you not, even the toilets get a mention!  How many times have you visited a really nice bar or restaurant only to nip to the loo and discover they forgot to include the toilets in their extensive and rather expensive refurb? It always raises the question, if they can't be bothered about the toilet's what other corners have they cut? In my opinion, attention to detail is essential and this place has got it in the bag.

Light fittings made entirely of feathers (Image courtesy of The Orange Tree)

Not only was the food and presentation pretty spectacular, the staff were lovely.  They were chatty but not in your face, professional yet friendly and constantly working to ensure you received the best dining experience ever.   I chose the Monkfish & Marlin skewers with a honey, lime and coriander , neither of which I'd tried before. The waitress was really knowledgeable of the entire menu and recommended them and I'm so glad she did! The fish had so much flavour I would have sworn it had been freshly caught that day!

Monkfish & Marlin Skewers (Image courtesy The Orange Tree)

The Restaurant (Image courtesy The Orange Tree)

The menu is a little on the pricey side but you're not just paying for great food, you're also paying for the overall experience which in my opinion is worth every penny.  If you're looking for somewhere new to eat and don't mind paying a little extra, you should definitely pay a visit to The Orange Tree.

Have you been somewhere new to eat that you can recommend? Let me know so I can pay them a visit!

P.S. If you get a chance it would be lovely if you could vote for me over at  Ask Her Friends bloggers panel, you could win a prize worth £50!

How To Transform Your Home With £50

Due to the recession most people think more carefully about how they spend their money.  We often think twice before spending large sums of money but we do know that by making home improvements we'll eventually be adding value to our home.  When Tesco Compare Home Insurance asked me to become a DIY Home Improvement reviewer, by challenging me to improve an area of our home for only £50, I was more than game!

The kitchen window was one of the last areas in our home that we had to finish.  We'd recently re-tiled and painted the kitchen  but hadn't got round to choosing a new blind. The area next to the sink was becoming a dumping ground for the recycling and on a whole it was letting the rest of the kitchen down.  It was in desperate need of some finishing touches.  

The following items were chosen by myself and supplied by Tesco's Direct: - 

Roller Blind
Plant pots x 2
Banksy Canvas Artwork x 2

All other items were already owned by myself.

Before

The window needed dressing and the recycling was an eyesore.

After

The blind, artwork, plant pots and previously owned ornaments transformed the kitchen window.

We re-potted our herb plants and hung postcards and ornaments from garden twine

Banksy Canvas Artwork

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I'm delighted with the results.  The kitchen is finally complete and certainly looks a whole lot better.

So what do you think?  Do you have an area at home that is in need of a makeover?

P.S Just in case you missed my last post I'm featuring over at Ask Her Friends bloggers panel.  It would be awesome if you could pop over and vote for me. You might even win £50 worth of products. x