About

Thank you for visiting Lulu & Poppet. I’m Emma (aka Lulu – the affectionate name my mother gave me as a child),  and I’ve started this blog as a place for me to share the life I live with my little girl (aka Poppet). Our home, food, life and loves.

I am a forty-something, single mother by choice, writer, communications consultant and social media manger, living in Surrey, England, where I grew up.

We returned to life here in the mother country in summer 2013, after I had spent six years living in Sydney, Australia, where Poppet was born.  I’m not missing life by the beach nearly as much as I thought I would and am embracing a stable family life with my little girl, close to our family and my oldest friends.

I recently embarked on a no-sugar, low-carb diet and exercise challenge, I’m exploring new things on a daily basis – new foods, beautiful things for our new home, ideas about how to live our lives, be more organised, how to be a better (less shouty!) parent, hair and beauty tips and tricks. I’ll be sharing all of the above, and more, with you here.

I’ve taken some big chances in my life, I’ve won and I’ve lost, I’ve travelled the world, made friends and lost friends, found love and lost it. I’ve learnt a lot, but also have so much more I want to learn and know. Now I want to share what I’ve learned, and what I’m discovering. It’s a new adventure.

Find out how you can contact me, work with me or advertise on this site.

Want to know more, here’s a few quick facts about me, Poppet, and our likes, loves and pet hates:

• We live in Tadworth in Surrey in a Victorian mid-terrace three bedroom house I bought in January 2015.
• The first record I bought was ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’ by Tight Fit (yes, records were still going strong when I was a kid!).
• I love: chocolate; the sun; the colour blue; red wine; the music of my childhood and misguided youth (Elvis Presley, Billy Joel, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam, Tori Amos) and cuddling up on the sofa with Poppet to watch The Voice in a Saturday night.
• My pet hates are: chocolate; chipped nail varnish; not getting a parking space outside my house; people who stand too close to me in the supermarket check-out queue (one of the reasons I now shop online); the tube and being woken up at 6am on Sunday (yes, I’m looking at you Poppet!).
• Poppet loves: me! (and her Baby Born). She hates: socks (the enemy), me tying her hair up too tight (or at all), and yucky tomatoes.
• The things I miss most about Australia is Tim Tams. Oh, and yes my friends of course!
• I’m a coffee snob. Australia does that to you.
• I have unashamedly expensive tastes. When it comes to fashion, I’d rather buy a few classic investment pieces than lots of cheaper, fashion-forward pieces that need to be replaced next season. I have an Agnes B classic black coat that cost me an eye-watering £400 in 1999, but unlike the coats my friends bought at the time it is still going strong.
• At the same time I’m a money-saver and economiser. The Money Saving Expert, Martin Lewis (who I went to university with) is my go-to source of personal finance wisdom!
• I’m a firm believer in upcycling. A few years ago I made it my policy to avoid buying new furniture where possible, and to give a new lease of life to old furniture instead. While there’s always a place for shopping at Ikea I’d rather buy preloved pieces that have a sense of history and character.
• I like to looked groomed, but I’m a low maintenance kind of girl, and with a nearly five-year-old to chase after some days the groomed look just doesn’t happen!
• I eat too much chocolate. It’s my ultimate weakness (just don’t tell my trainer!).