**Sponsored post**

They say a cuppa can solve everything.

It was Saturday. The end of a very very busy week. I was feeling exhausted, a bit snappy (sorry, mum) and emotionally overwrought.

I’ve literally been burning the candle at both ends.

My new freelance existence comes with a whole heap of pros and cons. Let’s just say, your usual 9-5 routine goes out of the window. There’s this luxurious free spirited nature with which you approach work. But then there’s also the devil on your shoulder reminding you that you no longer have the comfort of a steady income coming in each month, so you better work hard or you’ll max out your credit cards.

Me. I wear three hats. It depends who’s asking.

I’m a lifestyle blogger. I’m a photographer. I’m a creative digital strategist and social media consultant. But it’s always non-stop.

Back when I lived up north, my weekend routine was much slower paced in comparison to the crazy existence that I now have in London.

Picture this:

A Saturday in a sleepy little northern town.

A walk to the Co-op to pick up the weekend papers.

Maybe a quick pop into town to run a few errands or buy an outfit for a night out.

A ride to the pie shop, to wait in line for beautiful pastry goodness, to tuck into at lunch.

But best of all, an afternoon at my nan and grandad’s.  In the cosiness of their kitchen. Surrounded by family… love… laughter… and biscuits.

The biscuit tin in our family is a BIG thing. On arrival, it’s normal to be offered a cup of tea or coffee, then crack open the treasure trove of goodies – usually moonlighting as an old chocolate tin or Christmas biscuit box. I watch, as five sets of hands – five generations – dive in to claim a minimum of two biscuits each. Yes, we have a sweet tooth in our family.

And then, with our tools – a biscuit and cuppa in hand – we talk. We rant. We laugh. We ponder. We joke. We comfort. We howl. We share stories. We put the world to rights.

And what better biscuit to munch on than a Bahlsen? The people behind the rather delicious Choco Leibniz and PiCK UP! biscuits. Choco Leibniz are a favourite of mine and I usually go for the milk chocolate variety, so I was rubbing my hands together in anticipation, when the package arrived containing a few other flavours. Dark. Orange. White.

It’s not just a biscuit, it’s a Bahlsen. The saying goes…

Being a few hundred miles away from my family, down in London, and with so much work to get done before by trip to California, my heart leapt at the offer of a visit from my friend James and a catch up with another of my besties – my housemate, Mel.

Our eyes light up as I unveiled our mountain of choccy biccies. So much for my bikini body…. I was craving chocolate.

We spent a few hours being silly together, catching up about recent trips and discussing our hopes, dreams and future travel plans. Biscuits dunked in tea. Melted chocolate sucked off fingertips. Tales of heartbreak and life lessons shared.

They really do have high quality biscuits for every occasion.

We spy the PiCK UP! biscuit wrapper and laugh at the memories of the biscuits of our childhood that this brings to mind. The biscuits our parents lovingly used to put into our pack lunches, alongside our Billy Bear sandwiches, juice cartons and packets of crisp. At school, for a child, biscuits are currency. They form friendships, bridge divides and add a little lift to your day.

And even as an adult, tea at the table with friends, followed by a stint on the sofa watching tv, was exactly what I needed before I carried on ploughing through a mammoth photo editing session.

When I’m working alone, I make a pot of tea or coffee and smuggle another Bahlsen biscuit upstairs to munch on. A quick sugar rush and my mind is transported back to my grandparents house. If I close my eyes, I’m sat around their kitchen table, sharing my woes, tasting chocolate, and feeling happy again.

Check out the new Choco Leibniz ad at : www.biscuitcase.co.uk

Follow their biscuity adventures on Twitter @BahlsenBiscuits & @Bahlsen_UK

Photography © Lucie Kerley

Disclaimer: This post in done in collaboration with Bahlsen. Sponsored posts allow me to do/share more of the stuff that I love (like travel to California to mend my broken heart), and write about the things that I don’t get paid for – that I hope you love too. 

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