Seeing as though the warmer weather has made an appearance over the last few days, it has got me thinking about the summer and how I need to get my body summer ready now! All those extra pounds I have gained over the winter months need to be banished, so I am now on a mission to lose some weight and keep running so I can tone up too. That is one great thing about the winter, it is all-out layering and covering up any lumps and bumps with baggy jumpers. However, once the weather warms up, layers are stripped back and all those wobbly bits are more exposed aren’t they?
Therefore, a couple of weekends ago I had a sort out of my clothes, sorting out clothes I do not want anymore, clothes that no longer fit me, and putting my thick winter jumpers away (fingers crossed I will not be needing those again for several months!) to make room for short sleeved tops and summer skirts and dresses.
Another reason for me to get myself into shape is that I have now have something to aim towards, and that is our family holiday to France. We will be taking our camper van and travelling to France, via the Euro Tunnel, for two weeks of camping with my OH and our two boys. Hopefully, this holiday will be dry and warm and not constantly raining like our trip to the Lake District last July!
Mind you despite the rain and wet camping pitches, we still had a brilliant time and managed to get out and about in between the showers. There was still plenty of sunshine and fun things to do with the boys.
One of the down sides about camping, depending on your point of view I guess, is that you are limited as to how much ‘stuff’ you can pack and take with you, especially when there are four of you sharing such small living quarters. At least by going abroad, I am hoping that I will not need to pack wellies, warm jumpers and a warm coat this year. This should make for more space in my case for summer holiday essentials. When I say case, I actually mean a ruck sack and a smallish one at that as my OH has made it very clear that I really will not be able to take too many items (spoil sport!).
Therefore, I need to be holiday clothes packing savvy and take lightweight items that do not take up much space and can be multi purpose to cover all occasions, such as cycling, walking, sailing, beach days, relaxing etc. I have been researching this by looking for some new clothes for my holiday and I have been impressed with JD Williams , who have such a wide and varied selection of summer shoes and clothes for all occasions and all types of holidays. I already have my eye on a pair of black comfy sandals, a tee shirt maxi dress and a playsuit which case all be dressed up or dressed down to suit my camping holiday needs. Add to these a couple of pairs of jeggings, strappy vests and some long sleeved tops, a hoodie ,shorts, trainers, pac a mac, maxi skirt, a couple of dresses and a jumper and my swimming costume and that is probably about it. Luckily for me I can always wash clothes half way through our time away I guess!
I think I need to search for a travel bag which is like a Tardis inside, so I am not restricted as to how may clothes and shoes I can take with me. Not to mention my toiletries, hair straighteners, hair dryer, books etc…. I think I am going to have to find secret nooks and crannies inside our van to sneak in my holiday essentials! Aaaaagh this is going to be hard to be so strict with what I can and cannot take with me! Wish me luck.
I was sent some clothing in exchange for writing this post.
I love camping too. We have a caravan and we can get a lot of things, but it’s not as versatile as a camper-van though.