I overslept yesterday morning, picked up one of Boo’s friends on the way into school and made it before the bell, had a quick meeting with our headteacher, ran for a bus, caught up with e-mails on the run, stopped for a very late breakfast aka lunch battled a migraine most of the day, picked Boo up from school, cooked dinner – just the usual… oh and I had a smear test.

For me having a smear is something to be added to a to do list just like a dental appointment or exercise class yet I was astounded to learn that over one million women failed to book in for their smear test when invited last year. Yes you read right, one million women – that equates to 1 in 5 who receive the letter through the post asking them to make an appointment. Any embarrassment should be cast aside – chances are that the majority of women by the age of 25 when called for their first smear test have more than likely gotten naked in front of someone (come on we’re all adults here) yet don’t fancy spreading their legs for a matter of minutes for a nurse to potentially save your life?

Ok so me whipping off my knickers on a cloudy Thursday morning isn’t up there on my wishlist but neither is dying from cervical cancer so you know… choices! Yes the cervical screening programme has its fault (I for one would like the initial screening age to be lowered to 21) however to be offered an early detection tool like this is key if women are to stand a chance of beating this all consuming female cancer.

The actual test in tself takes less than five minutes and I barely felt a thing, someone women describe a slight discomfort but that’s it. As I hotfooted it out of the room (I was late for another meeting!) the nurse said I should receive the results within three weeks though the post, and fingers crossed it’ll show no signs of abnormal cells; but if it does the smear test will have given me time and options.

Smear tests are like voting to me, I don’t care how you do it, just get it done. You owe it to yourself. So raise a glass and say cheers to all the ladies who dropped their knickers this week for a smear test…

You can’t beat online shopping for last-minute holiday purchases – with offers, next-day deliveries and easy free returns, it’s one of the most convenient ways to get our wardrobes ready without hours and hours trawling the shops. What you may not know, is there’s a load of Instagram stores that can make it even easier – you can shop when you’re scrolling. Here are our top Instagram stores to try.

Pool Party UK
For Pool Party UK, it’s all about swimwear. There’s super-cute slogan swimsuits to suit any mood and any holiday – our faves? ‘I’d rather be a mermaid’, ‘Heart breaker’ and of course ‘Cocktails’. If you don’t see the message you want – you can custom make one for you and your squad!

KJ Style Boutique
Up the holiday glam factor with KJ Style boutique. Their clothes are all about flaunting your curves – with body-cons, cut-out maxis and co-ords for days. Their collection help you to show off the summer bod you worked so hard for – in the hottest possible way!

Motel Motel Swim
A sub-brand of Motel Rocks, Motel Swim has some of the cutest bikinis on the market – and there’s something to suit every girl’s shape and style. From daring cut-outs to vintage style one pieces, and everything in between, you are spoilt for choice on your holiday swimwear.

Sonya Bee Boutique
Sonya Bee’s Boutique will help you keep your holiday look stylish and on-trend without the hefty price tag. There’s tailored pants, draped maxis for holiday parties, and cropped sweatshirts for summer nights. They have only a few key pieces on sale but trust us, you’re going to want them all…

Research provided by DLM, letterbox distribution company.

Disclosure: A fee was received for this post.

Kaleidoscope are a brand that most of you will have come across in the past but as it’s transitioned from 90s to purse friendly e-tailer, their style has like their online presence has gone from strength to strength. Riding the elevator up to the penthouse at St Martin’s Lane Hotel I was hoping that I wouldn’t be confronted with festive home fashions – as a blogger you try your hardest to delay the onslaught of premature Christmas because once it starts you know it won’t stop until the main man has delivered the presents under the tree.

The Kaleidoscope AW 17 press preview couldn’t have been further from garish festivities and predictable winter trends. I was greeted by the living area trends which include small accent pieces of furniture that have been designed to be space conscious allowing the eye to flow as much as possible.

Kaleidoscope focuses on key décor pieces and small furniture that can be incorporated into your existing home style at home. For each theme throughout the seasons there are standout pieces that will set the tone for your room and for those of you like me who have a consistent style throughout your home (aka white white and more white) they have key pieces that allow you to softly introduce and incorporate key trends without giving way to masses of seasonal change and maintaining your home’s distinctive style.

I love this living room set up, the clean lines and modern framework are the perfect canvas for family life that is still stylish while being practical. My absolute standout piece of the whole AW17 collection has to be the grey SOHO armchair, at only £275 it’s one of the best priced accent chairs on the market and would be the perfect finishing touch to my living room…

Autumn winter sees the return of layered textures at Kaleidoscope but without the same old pieces, striking the balance between comfort and opulence with their soft furnishings collection for living areas, bedrooms and even bathrooms.

Christmas bling grown up style, these gold finished cutlery by Viners are dishwasher safe; I repeat they are dishwasher safe -no more having to chose between practicality and dinner table bling and whilst they can be styled up for an opulent festive setting, they’re also just at home in your home on a casual date night dinner anytime of the year.

Alongside their classic room set ups, Kaleidoscope also set aside a whole area for a Gin Station – every home should have one! With the largest LSA collection this season there’s a gin glass and cocktail for everyone.

The joys of Kaleidoscope being an online only shopping destination is that preview pieces in their home collection – just like their fashion line – will begin to appear on the website from as early as next month, no more waiting months to get your hands on next season trends.

Kaleidoscope have been slowly but surely repositioning themselves as a serious competitor for the likes of Habitat, Oliver Bonas and the like; they’ve achieved this not with gimmicks, but with consistently improving their home wares offering, each season building on versatile and livable style themes.

So next time you’re looking for those key pieces to add to your home, head to Kaleidoscope – I guarantee you’ll be surprised by the treasures you discover…