Let's Discuss Podcast

This week we're exploring a subject close to our hearts: the question of whether or not we'd like to have children, and how we feel about the wider dialogue around that choice.

Plus . . . ! We are over the moon to be joined by our great friend Wendy Gilmour, of Thankfifi blog, for part of the show. Wendy recently welcomed a beautiful baby boy, Hunter, into her family. Wendy shares her journey into parenthood, and how her choice wasn't always clear.

Every person is different, and your choice surrounding parenthood is uniquely your own. We hope that this episode will resonate with you, and we'd love to hear your thoughts on this subject too.

EPISODE 51 SHOW NOTES

Ella's blog - Coco's Tea Party

Monica's blog - The Elgin Avenue

Ella's Instagram account - @CocosTeaParty

Monica's Instagram account - @MonicaBeatrice

Our show Instagram account - @LetsDiscussPodcast

Wendy's blog - Thank Fifi

Wendy's Instagram account - @ThankFifi

EPISODE 51 SHOW LINKS

8 Women on Choosing Not To Have Kids on Cup of Jo

Dear Sugars podcast by Cheryl Strayed and Steve Almond

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

Laura Jane Williams' episode on Let's Discuss

The 12ish Style

To mark our milestone 50th episode(!), we are taking an in-depth look at the future of blogging.

With 21 years of blogging experience between us, we have seen the industry's landscape change dramatically. Many times over!

The blogging world, as it now stands, is SO different to when we first started.

As social media platforms, like Instagram, become increasingly more prominent, we're exploring blogging's relevance in 2019, and what the future of the industry holds.

We also share advice for newbie bloggers, and bloggers looking to go full-time with their platforms.

We dip into the relationship between our egos and our analytics, and how we try to keep comparison at bay.

And finally we round things off by sharing our long-term blogging plans, how we feel about blogs and social media playing a part in our lives, and some of our all-time favourite blogs.

This is VERY in-depth conversation about the blogging industry, and we hope that you'll love diving into it with us!

EPISODE 50 SHOW NOTES

Ella's blog - Coco's Tea Party

Monica's blog - The Elgin Avenue

Ella's Instagram account - @CocosTeaParty

Monica's Instagram account - @MonicaBeatrice

Our show Instagram account - @LetsDiscussPodcast

EPISODE 50 SHOW LINKS

Laura Jane Williams

Episode 43. with Laura Jane Williams

Katherine Ormerod's book Why Social Media is Ruining Your Life

Episode 47. with Katherine Ormerod

The ASA guidelines

What is the Saturn Return?

Why Your Blog Is More Important Than Ever on A Pair & A Spare

10 Social Media Trends to Watch In 2019 on entrepreneur.com by Deep Patel

Monica's favourite bloggers:

Geneva Vanderzeil from A Pair & A Spare

Anna Newton from The Anna Edit

Sivan Ayla from Sivan Ayla

Ella's favourite bloggers:

A Cup of Jo

Grace Atwood from... For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

This week we are thrilled to welcome world-famous ethnobotanist James Wong to the show.

James is a plant scientist, broadcaster, science writer, author and self-proclaimed indoor jungle creator.

Since 2014 James has been the in-house ethnobotanist for one of our favourite skincare brands Liz Earle, and to say that we were excited to sit down with James at Liz Earle's HQ would be a huge understatement.

During the course of our conversation we quizzed James on a whole array of subjects, from what ethnobotany entails, to the power of plants in our lives, all the way through to how to care for our houseplants.

James is one of the smartest people we have ever met, and this episode is a crash course in plant science, the use of plants in the beauty industry and how to keep your succulents looking fresh.

Plus SO much more.

We hope you'll love virtually sitting down with James as much as we did! We felt a LOT more educated after an hour in James' company!

A huge thank you to the Liz Earle team for making our time with James possible.

EPISODE 49 SHOW NOTES

Ella's blog - Coco's Tea Party

Monica's blog - The Elgin Avenue

James' website - James Wong

Ella's Instagram account - @CocosTeaParty

Monica's Instagram account - @MonicaBeatrice

James' Instagram account - @BotanyGeek

Our show Instagram account - @LetsDiscussPodcast

EPISODE 49 SHOW LINKS

Liz Earle skincare

James' work with Liz Earle

Skincare is a subject we could chat about ALL day long!

We try so many products through our work (and personal obsessions) that we decided to open up our bathrooms to you and share our skincare shelfies.

From the daily routines we go through, to how we tackle our skincare problems, we're opening up about ALL things skin.

If you suffer with pigmentation, hormonal acne, or just love a great beauty chat, we hope today's episode will resonate with you.

We'd love to hear your thoughts!

EPISODE 48 SHOW NOTES

Ella's blog - Coco's Tea Party

Monica's blog - The Elgin Avenue

Ella's Instagram account - @CocosTeaParty

Monica's Instagram account - @MonicaBeatrice

Our show Instagram account - @LetsDiscussPodcast

EPISODE 48 SHOW LINKS

MONICA'S PRODUCT LIST

Origins GinZing Ultra-Hydrating Energy-Boosting Cream

Liz Earle Skin Repair™ Light Moisturiser – Combination/Oily

Mario Badescu Glycolic Foaming Cleanser

ELEMIS Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm

ELEMIS Soothing Apricot Toner

REN Ready Steady Glow Daily AHA Tonic

ELEMIS Pro-Collagen Marine Oil

By Sarah London Organic Facial Oil

ELEMIS's Peptide⁴ Night Recovery Cream-Oil

Dr Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Exfoliating Moisturizer

Allies of Skin Promise Keeper Blemish Sleeping Facial

ELLA'S PRODUCT LIST

Dr Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Pore Perfecting Cleansing Gel

Dr Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Alpha Beta Universal Daily Peel

acast.com/privacy

Welcome back to a brand new season of Let's Discuss! We are so happy to be here with you.

To kick start Season 7 we sat down with writer, speaker, influencer and author Katherine Ormerod to discuss her book Why Social Media Is Ruining Your Life.

As bloggers ourselves, and avid users of social media, we empathise with the emotional ebbs and flows of using various platforms.

During this episode we dive into the impetus behind Why Social Media Is Ruining Your Life, and discuss at length the impact using social media can have on our lives.

We also discuss the simple habit changes we can all make to have a healthier relationship with our apps.

We hope that you'll love virtually chatting this through with us, and we'd love to hear your thoughts on the topic! We have a brand new Instagram account which you can connect with us on: @LetsDiscussPodcast.

EPISODE 46 SHOW NOTES

Ella's blog - Coco's Tea Party

Monica's blog - The Elgin Avenue

Ella's Instagram account - @CocosTeaParty

Monica's Instagram account - @MonicaBeatrice

Katherine's Instagram - @Katherine_Ormerod

Katherine's motherhood Instagram account - @MamaLovesGrey

Katherine's website - Work Work Work

Katherine's book - Why Social Media Us Ruining Your Life

EPISODE 46 SHOW LINKS

Episode 24. Burnout, Exhaustion & How To Get A Good Night's Sleep with Rosie Curtis

What a year it's been! We can't quite believe that we're wrapping 2018. It's been an incredible year of sharing on the podcast, and we are so grateful to you for listening, reaching out and letting us know how much you enjoy the show. We do a happy little dance every time we hear from you!

In this episode we're reviewing 2018, our highs, lows and all of our favourite things.

It's so important to take time to reflect, and we hope that you'll enjoy doing so with us. We also hope that it may help you to look back on 2018 too.

Thank you so much for supporting the show! Happy holidays!

EPISODE 46 SHOW NOTES

Ella's blog - Coco's Tea Party

Monica's blog - The Elgin Avenue

Ella's Instagram account - @CocosTeaParty

Monica's Instagram account - @MonicaBeatrice

EPISODE 46 SHOW LINKS

Episode 33. Weddings, Monica's Engagement, Our Favourite Famous Wedding Dresses & Advice For Being A Bridesmaid

Our retreat with Philips at Lime Wood Hotel - on The Elgin Avenue, on Coco's Tea Party

Episode 32. Decorating On A 20-Something Budget - Our First Ever LIVE Recording With Sainsbury's Home & Argos Home

Monica's poster collection now stocked at hero

The Coco's Tea Party Book Club

OUR FAVOURITE THINGS FROM 2018

TV Shows: Big Little Lies, Killing Eve, Grace and Frankie, Queer Eye

Movies: To All The Boys I've Loved Before, Crazy Rich Asians

Podcasts: Happier in Hollywood, Happier, Dear Sugars, Homecoming, Case File, Goaldigger, Love Stories, Pop Cast, The Teacher's Pet, Dear 1995

Internet beings: Adriene Mishler of Yoga with Adriene, Kaitlyn Bristowe of Off The Vine

Books: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman, acast.com/privacy

Nothing says Christmas quite like The Nutcracker ballet, and this week we're over the moon to welcome Beatriz Stix-Brunell, a First Soloist at The Royal Ballet, to the show.

Beatriz is dancing in the iconic role of the Sugar Plum Fairy this winter, and we're diving deep into the magical story of The Nutcracker, and why the ballet is just so enchanting, with her.

We also chat to Beatriz about the intense preparation she goes through for her work, as well as what it's like to celebrate the festive season backstage at the Royal Opera House.

Beatriz opens up about her early journey into ballet, her incredible career focus and the intricacies of being a dancer.

Finally, we chat about one of our favourite shared hobbies. Can you guess what it is?!

This is a magically festive episode which is a must-listen for all fans of the ballet and anyone who loves a big dose of inspiration.

EPISODE 45 SHOW NOTES

Ella's blog - Coco's Tea Party

Monica's blog - The Elgin Avenue

Ella's Instagram account - @CocosTeaParty

Monica's Instagram account - @MonicaBeatrice

Beatriz's biography - Royal Opera House

Beatriz's Instagram account - @BStix-Brunell

Beatriz will be performing in a leading role over the following dates at the Royal Opera House:

The Nutcracker – Tuesday 1 January, 2pm

The Two Pigeons- Saturday 19 January, 12 noon

Romeo and Juliet- Monday 13 May, 7.30pm/Saturday 25 May, 1.30pm

Beatriz will be in the cast of every performance for the above shows, but on the dates above Beatriz will be dancing in the lead role, should you wish to watch her. We recommend you do!

All tickets and details can be found here: Royal Opera House events.

We are so excited to welcome wellness guru Cat Meffan to the show! Cat is a yoga teacher, wellness retreat host, Youtuber, blogger and all round sunshine-emitting lady. We met Cat a year ago, via our dear friend Kristina Karlsson, and since our first dinner together we've been hooked on Cat's work.

During our interview with Cat we discussed a whole myriad of wellbeing-related topics, including: comparison on the internet, finding your groove with exercise and how to approach the festive season with a healthy mindset.

With Christmas right around the corner we can't think of a better time to hone in on our health and wellbeing priorities, alongside a healthy (no pun intended!) dose of celebrating too.

We feel so inspired by Cat's approach to life, and we hope that you will too.

EPISODE 44 SHOW NOTES

Ella's blog - Coco's Tea Party

Monica's blog - The Elgin Avenue

Ella's Instagram account - @CocosTeaParty

Monica's Instagram account - @MonicaBeatrice

Cat's blog - Imperfect Matter

Cat's Instagram account - @CatMeffan

Let's Discuss Podcast - Episode 21. Kristina Karlsson On Positive Intentions, Setting Goals & Dreams

Cat's 2019 retreats

Welcome to Season 6 of Let's Discuss podcast! How quickly have two years of podcasting gone?! Thank you so much for listening, supporting the show and for all of your amazing DMs/emails and comments; we are always so (so so!) happy to receive them!

This season we've invited a whole roster of incredible guests onto the show. We hope they'll inspire you as much as they have inspired us, especially as we head into the festive season and think about 2019.

To kick off Season 6, we chatted with the incredible Laura Jane Williams. Laura is the author of two memoirs: Becoming: Sex, Second Chances and Figuring Out Who the Hell I Am and Ice Cream for Breakfast: How rediscovering your inner child can make you calmer, happier, and solve your bullshit adult problems.

We had the pleasure of meeting Laura via work this year and we were immediately hooked on her hilarious story-telling, warm nature and no-bullshit attitude.

Laura has lived (what feels like!) 100 lives already, and in this interview we discuss a whole manner of things including Laura's journey to becoming an author, her stint living in Siberia (really!) and how to let go of self-imposed guilt.

We also talk about productivity, priorities and how to make your 'yes' mean something.

Laura has so much wisdom to share, and we can't wait for you to get to know her better.

EPISODE 43 SHOW NOTES

Ella's blog - Coco's Tea Party

Monica's blog - The Elgin Avenue

Ella's Instagram account - @CocosTeaParty

Monica's Instagram account - @MonicaBeatrice

Laura Jane Williams' website - Superlatively Rude

Laura's Instagram account - @SuperlativelyLJ

Laura's column for Red online

Becoming: Sex, Second Chances & Figuring Out Who The Hell I Am by Laura Jane Williams

Ice Cream for Breakfast: How Rediscovering Your Inner Child Can Make You Calmer, Happier And Solve Your Bullsh*t Adult Problems by Laura Jane Williams

Wow! We can't quite believe that we've come to the end of another season of Let's Discuss! Thank you so much for joining us for Season 5. If it's possible to choose a favourite season, this has to be ours so far.

As per tradition, the last episode of this season is a listener Q&A. And you guys delivered! We have a whole host of juicy questions to answer from you. From career quandaries and love dilemmas all the way through to soul-searching discussions.

This was a super fun (and at times high emotion!) episode to record. We hope you'll love listening as much as we loved recording it for you.

Enjoy this season's Q&A and we can't wait to be back with you again a little later on this year.

EPISODE 42 SHOW NOTES

Ella's blog - Coco's Tea Party

Monica's blog - The Elgin Avenue

Ella's Instagram account - @CocosTeaParty

Monica's Instagram account - @MonicaBeatrice

EPISODE 42 SHOW LINKS

Career Q links:

Baz Lhurmann's Everybody's Free To Wear Sunscreen

The Lively Show

The Everygirl

Career Contessa

Advice From A 20 Something

The Lifestyle Edit

Lifestyle Q links:

Cook frozen foods.

All Plants plant-based food delivery

Anthropologie candles

Plum & Ashby's Pomegranate candle

Neom Organics' wellbeing pod essential oils diffuser

Relationship & soul Q links:

How Reclaim & Reframe Your Milestones on The Elgin Avenue

You're Not Behind, You're On Your Own Path by Dolly Alderton for Red Magazine

Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton

Podcasts we love:

Happier in Hollywood by Liz Craft and Sarah Fain

Happier by Gretchen Rubin and Liz Craft

Goal Digger Podcast by Jenna Kutcher

Smart Passive Income by Pat Flynn

Case File Podcast

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