It’s true when they say that a woman can never have too many bags. Having options to pair with all of your outfits is never easy, and most of us will want to have enough of them to keep our outfits fresh and up-to-date. This isn’t always easy, though, given the price of a lot of the luxury options on the market. To help you out with this, I will be exploring four of the very best ways to bag a bargain when you’re buying your next handbag and ways to save you loads of money.



Browse online marketplaces

Over the last couple of years, websites like Depop have managed to make a name for themselves acting as a marketplace for people who want to sell the items which they don’t want to keep. Anything, ranging from clothes to shoes and handbags can be found on this platform, and its a great place to find vintage bags of all different designs. You can snap up a bargain at a percentage of the original asking price.

Explore the outlets



In some cases, you won’t want to go second hand with your handbag purchase so looking for a way to save money on a new one will be of utmost importance. One of the easiest ways to do this is to use outlet stores, which is much cheaper than going for the normal high street options. At outlets, the goods on sale may have slight defects or imperfections or are last seasons designs but you will get them at a great reduction on the RRP.

Check out discount codes

You should be able to find loads of stores on the web which can help you to find products like luxury handbags. Some sell new, some sell second hand, and loads of them will offer special deals if you have the right code. Michael Kors Voucher Codes, for example, can be used to get some great savings on handbags which you’d never be able to afford without it. This sort of route can be taken with most of the shops and designers you can find.

Join social media groups

I like to decorate my home with the odd travel-inspired item and recently I've been looking to newly decorate our computer room with a travel theme. It will be somewhere to make videos for our YouTube channel too.


The problem is knowing exactly how to design the room to make it perfect. The most important thing is to pick items that really suit our travels. First of all, I’d love to pick up this world map mural from Wallsauce above and use it as a feature wall. I think the colour palette is gorgeous. This made to measure mural would certainly add interest to any wall space.





Following on from that idea, I’d love a globe that I could have on a side table so that I could spin it and pick where we should go next - there are still so many places I’d love to visit, as would Mr W! I also think an ornamental compass and telescope would make a fab addition to the decor - we’ve all seen those age-old films of people sailing the world, spying other boats with their telescopes and finding their way with the help of an old compass - they really epitomise travelling in the olden times and I’d love some ornamental pieces if I was to have a travel themed room.




Whilst suitcases may seem cliche when it comes to travelling, there truly is so much you can do with your home decor with them. I’ve browsed Pinterest many a time and seen them being used as a corner piece or as some sort of side table. You don’t necessarily have to use full-size cases either to get the travel theme - smaller cases make for some perfect shelving and I’ve even seen people turn their suitcases into a gorgeous retro turntable.

I think every woman dreams of having their own personal dressing room or walk-in closet. Everyone wishes that they had a man like Mr Big from the Sex and The City franchise - who can forget when he gave Carrie a walk-in closet as a token of his love? 

Want to travel the world, but have a limited budget, then why not consider house sitting? 

Mr W and I love to explore the world, and as travel bloggers with two blogs, this one and Fly Drive Explore we need to create content all the time. We've been lucky enough to go on a number of press trips, but we still pay for a lot of trips ourselves. So when we were looking into ways of travelling recently without paying a fortune we came across the concept of house sitting.

House sitting, is what it says it is, you basically sit someones home when they go away. Most house sits also include looking after pets as well. 



Benefits

There are many benefits to house sitting for both parties.

1. Someone is living in the house so it's great for security.
2. Pets are looked after and kept company.
3. Saves money for the homeowner on kennels fees.
4. Agreements can be made to water plants for example. 
5. House sitters get to travel and stay in accommodation for free.
6. If you are a pet lover it's a great way to travel and look after different animals without the constraints of having a pet yourself.
7. You get to stay in someones home, so have more space than a hotel and an authentic local experience. 

How to become a house sitter




There are a number of sites for house sitting. The majority expect you to look after a home and one or more pets. Some popular ones are below. There are a few that offer professional house sitting for a fee but I do not have experience of these. 

Trusted Housesitters - many listings, one of the most popular sites. Free to browse and costs house sitters £89 a year. If you sign up with my link you get 20% off and I get two months free!
Nomador - Free to apply for three house sits, 65 Euros for the year.
House Sitters UK -UK specific, costs house sitters £20 a year.

What you need to do



Each site is different but there are some processes that are common and that you need to do. 

After signing up which some will let you do for free with limited access, you need to create a profile. House sits are built on trust. so it's important in your profile that you show your personality, that you come across as trustworthy, have experience with animals and are generally a nice person.

Ensure you mention any previous experience of house and pet sitting and if you have had pets yourself. It's good to mention any jobs that show how responsible you are, for example, if you have been a teacher or nurse.  If you have had a CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) check its also worth mentioning this, as this can help reassure the owners. Upload photos of yourself and photos of you with pets. If you can get a character reference or a reference from a previous house sit this will all help and should be mentioned in your profile.

Some sites will allow you to select animals you are confident in looking after and these can be added to your profile. 

Once you create your profile then all you need to do is search for a house sit.  If you want to get full access then pay the subscription charge and apply for your first house sit.

Our experience with Trusted Housesitters



I decided to sign up with Trusted Housesitters because they seemed like a professional company, they appear to be the largest and have the widest selection of house sits available at any time. 

After creating a profile, emphasising how trustworthy we were and our experience with animals, I signed up for full membership. Trusted Housesitters have three levels of verification - Basic, Standard and Enhanced.

For a basic level, you need to provide an email address, phone number, and an external reference. My friend gave me a character reference and mentioned the fact that I had house sat for her and looked after her animals when she was away.

To get to the standard level of verification, you need to complete a document check, which can be done online through the site and doesn't cost anything. A passport or driving licence or an identity card is needed for this. 

To get to the enhanced level of verification you need a CRB check, and this can be done again through the site. The cost for this is £100. 

We have both had CRB checks in the past so decided not to go ahead with an updated one. I think housesitting relies on trust on both sides, and a CRB check doesn't really tell you how trustworthy a person is, how responsible and how good they are at looking after your home and your pets. Also, of course, there are the cost implications so we decided to see if we could get a house sit without one.

So we applied for a house sit and waited. After a couple of days, I thought that we didn't have a chance as we hadn't heard anything and applied for another house sit but got turned down as they had already found someone. All was not lost, however, as the original house sit I applied for got back to us and asked to speak to me on the phone.  After a phone call and a chat with the owner, we were pleased to be offered it, our first house sit!

Our first house sit was in the beautiful Cotswolds, in a gorgeous grade 1 listed house. The owners were lovely and really laid back. We looked after two dogs, one older dog and a younger one under a year old. We really enjoyed our time exploring the area and the dogs were so loving but not without their challenges, however, we came through generally unscathed!

Some things to consider




Make sure you have some sort of house sitting agreement in place. On Trusted Housesitters the owners can create a welcome pack, with all the important information on and this is essential. There is a lot of information you will need, about the home and the animals and this should be written down so there are no misunderstandings. When you get to the home I recommend you spend some time with the owners to run through everything and ask any questions you have.

House sitting is an exchange of services. You will be expected to keep the home tidy, maybe water the odd plant or two as well, and feed any small pets like gerbils, and goldfish.   It's not just restricted to dogs and cats and small animals though, I've seen donkeys, alpacas and lizards for example. Some may even leave bikes and cars for you to use. Make sure you are covered by the insurance and are aware of any terms on using them.

On leaving it's an unwritten rule to leave a gift, such as a bottle of wine, maybe get some basic food in for their return like bread and milk and leave the home clean. Don't forget you want a glowing reference from the homeowners so you can add it to your profile, and build a breath of references.

House sitting is perfect if you are a single person or couple. There are house sits where you can sit as a family but some people may not want children in their home, or cannot accommodate children / may not have space. 

House sitting is a great way of seeing the world and we hope to apply for house sits in Europe and the US in the future.

If you want to try Trusted Housesitters go through one of my links above to get 20% off or apply code RAF145494 at check out.

Would you ever consider house sitting?

* This post contains affiliate links 

Are you paying enough attention to natural elements?

Is there water in your garden?

My son and I visited Ruka in March for five nights and it was a jam-packed trip. I've included all the activities we tried ourselves, so all of them are suitable for children, although this is not essential! All the activities we tried are available either at the resort, or a short drive away from Ruka and there is also a reliable bus service. All our activities were organised through Ruka Safaris, who offer friendly and helpful guides to make sure you get the most from your experience. Although it is sometimes possible to hire equipment and go it alone, I highly recommend making use of them, especially if you are short of time, as they know all the best places to go to get the most from every activity.

Skiing

Ok, I'll confess, I am a bit of a fan of the French restaurant chain Bistrot Pierre.  I've eaten at a few of their branches and they are head and shoulders above the rest of their competitors for the quality of food and the prices. Last year I reviewed the Swansea Bistrot Pierre in Mumbles, so I was excited to be invited to try out the new Spring menu range in their Cardiff branch last week.  Read on to find out what I thought and to get a free drink with your meal!



The Cardiff branch is just off the Hayes, on Caroline Street (affectionately known as 'chip alley' to the locals). Don't let that put you off though as the addition of this restaurant adds a touch of class to the area.

The restaurant is understated and tastefully designed inside and service is pleasant, attentive but certainly not stuffy.



My son and I were welcomed by Erica our server and shown to our table. Bistrot Pierre like to focus on seasonal ingredients and great value French cooking and the menu reflected that. 

We ordered from the A La Carte Spring Menu see below and chose the Salade de canard and the Calamars. I ordered a glass of Sauvignon Blanc and my son a coke. There was a selection of about 40 choices of wine, including champagne, almost all available by the glass as well as by the bottle. 


My Calamars (squid) was perfect. It wasn't overcooked and rubbery, instead, it was easy to cut into, coated in a mildly spiced batter and melted in the mouth. Served with garlic aioli I devoured it in no time. A very good dish.



My son really raved about the Vietnamese duck salad and said it was similar to Cantonese crispy duck but without the pancakes! Crunchy, crispy duck with yielding duck meat underneath, rested on a thin julienne of Asian vegetables.  A smattering of sesame seeds and hints of five spice, chilli and coriander made this a dish packed full of flavour.  A great start to our meal.




For our mains, my son ordered the 9 oz Entrecote or rib eye steak and I ordered the Poulet printanier, a chicken dish with a creamy tarragon and mushroom sauce. 

The steak wasn't as good as expected.  Unfortunately, It tasted as if it was not seasoned and was gristly. The herb butter didn't add anything to the dish and made it greasy. The fries, however, were crispy, light and very good. My son has had steak here before and has never complained about it previously, so I just think it was an off day for this dish. 



The latter dish, poulet printanier, was new on the Spring menu - pan-fried chicken breast sliced and served in a rich sauce of mushrooms, peas, asparagus and tarragon.  You could really taste the mushrooms in this dish and this was further enhanced with the addition of yummy truffle oil adding an earthy flavour. The tarragon really shone through as well. A good dish and one well worth ordering on the Spring menu.



In Bistrot Pierre, most mains come with roasted potatoes and seasonal vegetables unless otherwise stated, and the vegetables were seasoned and drizzled with butter. The baby roast potatoes were incredibly tasty. I think they are cooked in olive oil, and you get a great flavour but they aren't crispy like traditional roasties, just a note if you are expecting them to be. 

At this point, we were both full, but I couldn't resist dessert!



We ordered the Mousse au chocolat and the Frangipane. 



The chocolate mousse very good indeed. Rich and smooth and made of the best Valrhona chocolate, it was topped with small crunchy balls of chocolate that added a nice texture to the dessert. It had a slight orange taste but the waitress asked the chef and it didn't contain any. Odd but delicious all the same.



I've had the frangipane before and just couldn't resist ordering again as I remembered how great it was. A light sponge flavoured with pear and almonds, with a secret thrilling raspberry layer. It comes covered in cream and decorated with almonds and pistachios, adding a nice crunch. This frangipane pudding really is a delight and totally moreish and is one of my favourite dishes on the menu. If you like puddings I urge you to order this - you won't be disappointed. 

At this point, we were full to bursting so declined the cheese course and any further drinks. 

We really enjoyed our meal at Bistrot Pierre Cardiff. It was very good indeed the only slight disappointment being the steak.  What I like about the menu is that there is always a decent selection for those that don't eat red meat, like my husband.  Chicken and fish is always featured on the menu, with a couple of vegetarian options, and usually a pork dish too. 
The Spring A La Carte menu has a wide range of dishes and they also do a Spring Prix-Fixe (fixed price) evening menu with any two courses for £14.95, which I feel for food of this quality is a bargain.  The lunch menu has two courses for £11.95 and three for £13.95 which is also a great deal.


The chain also has a groovy Bistrot Pierre app, that allows you to collect points towards a free drink, starter, main course or even two-course meal. I do have this on my phone and it's surprising how fast the points add up. At present they will give you 1000 points if you download the app (which is a free one-course lunch or breakfast), but do check out the website to see if this offer is still valid.  I was so pleased to be given a free carafe of wine on my birthday, just for having the app! 

For my readers today that visits any Bistrot Pierre, and there are 24 around the country, I am giving you something free too! When you order a main course you can claim a complimentary 175ml glass of house wine, a bottle of beer or soft drink. 

Print off code LBPBWCKJ and hand it to your server when you dine quoting 'blogger free drink voucher'. Check out the terms and conditions here, valid until 20th July 2018. 

Tell me, do you like French bistro food? Would you give Bistrot Pierre a try?

1. Invest in a storage bed

2. Build shelves

3. Bed organisers

4. Make use of the door

5. Fold down desks