Zoe Loves the Second Act

  Often in Midlife we have a little more time for ourselves to pursue new hobbies & interests to enrich our lives. Our children are older and don’t need us quite as much and we might have cut down some of our work hours but we’re certainly not ready to sit and watch Netflix every night! (although now and again a cosy night in with a Netflix movie is just what you need). Hobbies enrich our lives, can help with our confidence and we might meet some new friends along the way.   I like to have 4 categories for my hobbies and try to pursue at least one in each of these categories but hopefully more.   HOBBIES THAT ARE EXERCISE/FITNESS BASED HOBBIES THAT ARE EDUCATIONAL & CULTURAL HOBBIES THAT ARE CHARITABLE HOBBIES THAT ARE CREATIVE   Here are a few ideas of Hobbies, activities & interests that I either alreadyI enjoy, plan to start soon or that I know friends and family members enjoy to give you some ideas.   CREATIVE Knittin...

  MY CAN'T MISS PODCAST I'm loving podcasts at the moment and I'm currently enjoying Giovanna Fletchers 'Happy Baby Happy Mum', Ferne Cottons 'Happy' & Frankie Bridges '........   MY CAN'T MISS TV PROGRAMME I'm a bit of a TV geek and I have a few programmes I watch on catch up including 'Corrie', 'Emmerdale', 'Masterchef', 'Strictly', 'Cold Feet' & 'The Crown' to name a few   THE CANDLE I LOVE TO LIGHT  Any Neom or Jo Malone   MY FAVOURITE SHOP Ted Baker, Michael Kors and also Next & House of Fraser for day to day items.   MY SIGNATURE LIPSTICK I've always gone for a coral shade as pale colours wash me out, but just recently I've gone for a more plum shade and I'm loving Mac ........   FAVOURITE SKIN CARE PRODUCTS I swear by Elemis for my skincare   FAVOURITE MAKEUP PRODUCTS My go to foundation is Estée Lauder double wear & Estée La...

  My mum & I were incredibly lucky to be gifted a Prosecco Afternoon Tea at the stunning Holdsworth House in Halifax West Yorkshire & so on my day off last Friday we eagerly anticipated our visit. Holdsworth House is a beautiful Jacobean Manor which dates back to 1633. It has connections with Anne Lister and the Bronte family from the 1800’s and still retains many of its period features.   More recently it was seen in a few scenes of the popular BBC drama ‘Last Tango in Halifax’ in all its beauty. I have been a few times before, most recently at a friend’s wedding which was absolutely beautiful, and I was very much looking forward to a lovely Afternoon Tea with my mum. We were greeted immediately at reception and were shown to our table in one of the delightful historic rooms. Our lovely waitress was friendly, efficient & professional and our drinks were served very quickly. A delicious glass of crisp prosecco and our Earl Grey Tea.     Very s...

  ALWAYS BE A STUDENT The day you think you know everything is the day you stop learning & progressing! We never stop learning no matter how old we are which is vital to keep us relevant and inquisitive. To be honest, regardless of my education and early career, I’m definitely more open to learning new things the older I get and I absolutely embrace it.       PUT FAMILY & FRIENDS BEFORE WORK The saying goes – ‘if you dropped dead tomorrow, you’d be replaced in your job within a week & this really is true. As somebody who has a job they’re passionate about, I do give a lot of my time and energy to it, in the past it’s been too much time at the expense of my home life. As I’ve got older I’m so much better at putting my boundaries in place and family & friends ALWAYS come first.   GET RID OF TOXIC PEOPLE Like many people, I’ve learnt this the hard way but, getting rid of 2 hugely toxic people in my life is the best thing I ever did f...

  I drive a lot for my job and there’s nothing I love more when I’m driving than to put a good podcast on. These days there are a vast selection of podcasts available covering any topic imaginable for every age & every gender. The knowledge out there is vast & I love podcasts to learn new things on a daily basis and, as a woman in midlife, these are a few of my absolute favourites of the moment.         1.      The Mid-Point Gabby Logan  I love this podcast. Gabby Logan is simply a likeable person which comes through greatly in her podcast. She has some fantastic guests who are all interesting and happy to open up to her with their own personal stories, successes and struggles. Gabby is authentic & compassionate but isn’t afraid to ask the questions we all want to hear.    2.      Postcards from Midlife – Lorraine Candy & Trish Halpin I find this a very relatable podcast for lad...

  Throughout my 40’s & as I approach my 50’s I have made some very positive & permanent changes in my life! At this age you’re now a fully fledged ‘grown up’ and certain things you may have done or put up with in your past needed to change for good. I have found my 40’s a very positive experience. I had a bucket list of things I wanted to achieve, which I did, and a list of changes I needed to make in my life, which for the most part I did. It’s definitely a time to take charge of your own life and stop doing things to please other people and put your family and yourself first.   SAYING NO TO THINGS I DON’T WANT TO DO I am a people pleaser and hate any kind of conflict so in the past I’ve definitely done things and agreed to things to please others even when I didn’t want to or it didn’t benefit my life. I fully appreciate in life we all have to do things we don’t want at times but often it was at the expense of time with my own family and not good for me menta...