The beautiful weather at the weekend made it a perfect opportunity to get out in the garden and have a barbecue. This was the choice for many of my friends this weekend who were raving about their amazing garden parties. They all did say that they had to tidy up the garden before they had people round. It seems the advice that if flying around at the moment is all about tidying up your flower borders, the best kind of lawn mowers, special clippers for the hedge and getting new stones for your garden walls or rock pools! It is true though, we are due a fabulous summer so now is the time to get outside and sort your gardens out. It’ll be worth it.

What do you do with all the leftover paint you have when you move house and have to do up all the rooms? I have the answer for you my friends. You may need to invest in a couple of little pots of different coloured paint, but why not try making your own abstract art using the colours you’ve already painted the walls (this will work if you’ve not just done the whole house magnolia!) and by adding a few dashes of complimenting colour such as magenta, electric blue and yellow to the mix. Abstract art is best when just thrown together so try dripping paint over a large canvas, maybe using household objects to move it around the canvas slightly and also try flicking paint over it to create splashes. It’s up to you how it looks but it’s an excellent way of getting some original art into your new place and having a bit of fun whilst you’re turning the house into a home.

DIY has always been traditionally a man’s game, however with the advancement of everything relating to women and the increasingly impressive development of the manly ‘feminine side’ it was only a matter of time before the roles reversed. I have found that most of my female friends are assembling their own IKEA side tables, doing their own hoover repair and even getting under the hoods of their own cars to try and sort out all manor of issues I don’t even want to think about! It’s not to say that all men have stopped being ‘men’, however when my car battery died over Christmas outside work it was myself and a female friend who managed to jump it from her car while all the guys stood around looking useless and probably feeling pretty pathetic. Have you seen those ‘pretty useful tools’ which have floral handles? I’ve got a hammer, tape measure, stapler, scissors and bottle opener and they look amazing in my garage alongside the pots of paint in varying colours which I bought to brighten the place up and have never used because I can’t be bothered to paint. “oh boys…!”

Say you’ve got a favorite pair of shoes that you would never find again or that were too expensive to replace. Say these shoes get scratched, scuffed or get a chunk taken out of the heel on a night out. You would be upset right? Many people don’t know what to do about this and would possibly never wear them again or throw them out. Not me, because all is not lost. For black and brown shoes or boots the shoe repair place can sort them. For different colour leathers, get down to your local hardware shop and find some miniature matte waterproof paint pots in the right colour. All you need to do is clean the area and paint a little of the paint onto the area that is damaged. This may not take them back to perfect condition but it will definitely make it look a lot better and unless you look closely you’d never know.

I was watching Michael McIntyre’s Live and Laughing the other night, and one of his sketches was hilarious and really made me think about people’s DIY habits. It was the sketch about the ‘man drawer’ and in it he goes on to describe the kinds of things men of this day and age tend to keep to make them feel manly. There are usually lightbulbs in the mandrawer along with batteries of indeterminate life scattered throughout There are also usually keys from homes they don’t live in anymore, stocks of lightbulbs and allen keys which remind the men of the various products they have bought from Ikea and assembled with the help of a guide that comes with the perfectly cut pieces of wood which just need slotting together. In my Dad’s day people used to make things from raw materials, cutting down pieces of wood, sanding them, painting them and creating furniture that will last a lifetime. Now all you need to do is buy whatever you want flat packed and assemble it yourself. It should be called ‘AIY’ for assemble it yourself!

We all complain about work, however when you have to take your holidays and there is no-one else off work it becomes a bit boring. I am really climbing the walls at the moment as I have got a week off before the end of the month (we all have to take our holidays before the end of March) and no-one is around! This is the perfect time to do all those housy things I’ve been putting off and putting off with the thought “I’ll get round to it”. You never do, however if you force yourself and take the initiative to use your days off to become a domestic god or goddess you’ll thank yourself. Today is for planning and shopping for paint and tomorrow will be for cleaning the banisters and windowsills. I will paint them the day after and then it won’t need doing for another few years!

Now, when you think about it, most of us girls have a wardrobe packed full of random items from years past that we hold onto in the vain hope that they may come into fashion again. True, there are many people that wear these things anyway, and kudos to them for having the courage! If I could get away with the bleached denim jeans, white cowboy boots a glitter tube top and crimped hair extensions, my god I would wear them with pride! Due to the fact that I am slightly more reserved than that I wanted to inform you of the staple items I believe should be in every wardrobe. These items should be invested in and cherished. Every girl needs a pair of really good fitting dark blue jeans and a pair of smart black trousers. Take note of your shape also; if you are pear shaped or curvy, a slight flare is advised, if you have legs up to your face, go for the skinnies. T-shirts in white, black and navy is also important, just make sure you buy ones that suit your figure, with v neck for those with big busts and with cap sleeves if you have great arms. Basically play to your strengths! Buy two dresses, one plain shift dress in a bright colour that suits you and a classic sexy LBD. You also need a cardigan in every colour! Cardigans are my very favourite items of clothing by far and can be worn with everything! If you can’t get one in every colour, go for black, grey, pink, red, blue and either yellow, purple or green depending on your preference and colouring. With these items, and  some excellent accessories, there’s not a day in the future when you will have nothing to wear!

My sister is ten years younger than me and therefore i’m just old enough to have a good perspective on what’s important at her age, but not that old that I have forgotten what she’s going through and why she does what she does. She is the one that has been blessed with the musical ability in our family, and yes I am very jealous! Over the years she has won various trophies and awards for her participation in local events and we are all very proud. It just so happens that recently she took part in a local arts festival and had to play the piano as part of a duet, and also solo. If you bear in mind that she is now 14, you can imagine what a nightmare it is to get her to do anything, let alone to practice her piano pieces. The piano teacher had been on the phone a couple of times in the previous weeks telling her she needs to practice more and she promised she would.. and then painted her nails instead. She performed her duet at the event with her friend (who is a few grades above my sister and has been playing piano for about 5 years longer) and they did well. They came second in their category. My sister was not happy with this as she expected to come first, even without much practice, and therefore she decided that she wasn’t going to do her solo piece. Basically the moral of the story is that you cannot get what you want without making an effort. Also, it is hard to make an effort when the basis of your existence at 14 years old is all about NOT making an effort. I think she’s learned her lesson.

I’ve had a few different office jobs over the past five years where I have been sat at a desk behind a computer, and over the past five years my back has been getting more and more painful. There may possibly be a link here. It is important to make sure your office furniture, and in particular your office seating is adequate for the amount of time you sit there.  In my current place of work I was impressed as they asked me when I started, and again a while later, if my work station was adequate and if I needed any adjustments; such as a screen platform, a foot rest and a different chair. I have since been thinking that I would like a cushion and a throw over my chair to make it more comfortable and I have started the process of “testing the water” to see if anyone has a problem with this. I have introduced my huge woollen pashmina, wrapped it round myself in the office and also draped it over my chair. No-one has said anything bad, and actually a colleague borrowed it when she was cold. I’m going to bring a cushion in next week and see how it goes with that. Might be a step too far, but at least I get to shop for a cushion!

There are various things you can do with a tiny budget to bring your house into the 21st Century. A couple of little tips would be to add a colourful throw and a couple of cushions to your sofa for an instant pep up, to clear the clutter from each room and just have on show some striking ornaments or focal pieces, or even to create a focal wall in a dull room with some designer wallpaper. These are all fabulous tips, however my newest trick is to pay attention to the little things such as the handles on your kitchen doors, wardrobe, bedroom and living room doors, and to keep your eyes peeled for pretty and individual kitchen door handles, curtain rail ends, and various other handles and knobs which will add a bit of sparkle and individuality to each room. It might be just a little change but it will add a big difference to the feel of the room. If you’ve got a metallic or wooden bed with high head and foot boards and prominent corners you can even add decoration to them. Curtain rail ends are good for this as (depending on the bed) you can just remove the original corner decoration and stick the decorative fixtures on. Simples!