Like, Love, Loathe (Link Up)

I'm linking up this week with Sarah (Life in a Breakdown) and Bex (Futures) with the like, love, loathe linky. 

So what am I liking, loving and loathing I hear you cry??! Well please read on to find out more. 

Liking: This week I have been liking the fact that it's nearly pay day, well in actual fact I was meant to be paid on Monday but it went into my bank account on Saturday which was a stroke of luck considering I was away for the weekend. Thanks to that I was able to have a little splurge in the MAC shop.......me likey!!

Love: Well it was all about the 4 day weekend.  I know what you're thinking that was last weekend, well not for me I worked over the Easter weekend so I had my long weekend over this one instead and I loved it! I spent time with best friends and had a great weekend away, I am also loving my parents for kindly looking after Alfie over this time, especially considering he's been quite poorly over the last week. Yesterday (Monday) I got to spend the whole day with my little man which was just lovely.

Loathe: Illnesses. That is what I have been loathing for about a week now. Alfie picked up a tummy bug and we've basically been knee deep in toddler d&v (bad times), not only has Alfie been ill but then my husband became poorly over the weekend while we were away. There is nothing at all to like about illness and I've definitely loathed it over the last few days!

So there you have it, what are you liking, loving and loathing this week? 

Silent Sunday - 27/04/14

 

Jacy and Jools - Jewellery to Love.

I'm sure you have all realised by now that I love to wear jewellery, I like many different styles and try to wear at least a necklace when I can to dress up an outfit. My job doesn't allow me to wear jewellery other than a ring so when I can wear my favourite bracelets and necklaces I make the most of the opportunity. When I was contacted by Jacy and Jools to see if I would like to receive a necklace to review I was of course happy to oblige. 

Jacy and Jools are a Cheshire based company offering contemporary and fashionable jewellery using fine and sterling silver, gold and rose gold. I was so pleased to be asked and write this for them and champion a British brand, I find more and more these days that smaller companies need our support and I always try and purchase from smaller companies where possible.  

On arrival I received a beautifully packaged item in hot pink tissue paper and a little information card, I couldn't wait to see inside the little package to see what I'd been sent. 

Nestled inside the pretty pink tissue paper was a delicate necklace, I received a sterling silver necklace with a peace embellishment prettily dangling on the chain.  It took me back to the 90's and the Spice Girls when the peace sign was all the rage again! The chain is beautifully fine and it's a simple yet striking necklace and very wearable.  Retailing at a very reasonable £9.99 what's not to like. 

For more information please visit the Jacy and Jools website.

As always thankyou for reading!

When things don't go according to plan!

As 4pm ticked around on the clock yesterday I left work looking forward to spending Bank Holiday Monday with my boys,  after working the previous three days I was in need of some wine and relaxation! We had decided that we were going to take Alfie to the Mid Suffolk Light Railway as a little Easter treat, the railway is just a few miles down the road and I knew he would love to see the 'choo choo's', Knowing Alfie he would absolutely love it as he currently obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine. I was really looking forward to seeing his little face light up when he knew he was going to be having a ride on a real steam train! 

Fast forward to 2:30am and I get woken up by pitiful cries and I knew it wasn't the type of cry where he would settle himself back to sleep. I scrabbled for my glasses (in the pitch black I must add!) and dragged myself out of bed to see if my little man was ok, I scooped Alfie up out of his cot and as I did felt something wet in his cot......wahhhhhh I knew exactly what had happened as soon as I felt it......sick booooo :-( never a good thing in the middle of the night, this in turn started me faffing with Alfie in my arms covered in sick and him crying for Dadddyyyeee! I never get the appreciation at these times! I hollered for hubby after a few minutes to help me with the carnage. 

How Alfie normally sleep, peacefully!

About 3 hours later, 3 bed changes, 4 changes of pyjamas and a wash in at 4:30am Alfie did eventually settle but not for long he was awake at 6:45am with issues at the other end!! Such bad times, so now we had not only to contend with vomitting but the joy of a toddler with diarrhoea too, from then on I knew that our family day had just gone down the swanee! 

I have spent the majority of the day cleaning up sick and poo oh and not to forget actually being vomitted on earlier, all part and parcel of being a Mummy though but it's days like this that really test your parenting, even a common illness such as v&d really worries me, we ended up seeing the OOH GP in the end purely because he started to refuse fluids and I know how quickly dehydration can set in, thankfully the GP was confident that he will be ok. 

I have just put my tired little man to bed and touch wood we have had no sick since this afternoon and the runs have ceased slightly, I do anticipate a restless night though but time will tell.

Today just goes to show you can't plan and should always expect the unexpected! I'm just pleased in a way I was off today as I couldn't have gone to work with him like this. We will take him to see the steam trains another time, my main priority now is that he gets better soon and back to the little tinker that I love. 

We're absolutely shattered though and have mainly been running on caffeine and adrenaline, that being said we have enjoyed lots of sleepy and ill cuddles which we don't always get on a day to day basis!

Here's hoping for a better night and a bit more sleep.

Silent Sunday - 20/04/14

Glossybox April 2014 Sweet Treats Edition - Review

How do I start this review? Let down that's how. After the last couple of decent Glossyboxes here comes the dud, I didn't think it could get worse that January's but I think it just did. Glossybox what are you doing??? Sweet treats? This box doesn't really contain what I would class as treats full stop! 

I'm going to try my hardest to not be overly negative but on first impressions of opening the box my eyes were immediately drawn to the QV wash......QV wash...really!! QV is a brand that we use in the community for nasty skin conditions and leg ulcers, this is NOT something I expect to find in a beauty box!  Anyway read on to find out what else I have received this month. 

I start with my favourite item in the box and on a positive note, Monu Spa Warming Ginger Massage & Body Oil (30ml received RRP £25.00 for 100ml) this is the best item out of this months selection in my opinion. Already a fan of MonuSpa I'll make good use of this in the shower, it smells divine aswell without being too over powering of ginger. I do have to say I also love the fact that this is a British brand and it's always nice to support brands from the UK. 

Next up we have the QV Gentle Wash (15g received RRP £6.06 for 250ml) why oh why have they sent this out? Rubbish packaging, tiny sample size and in my opinion something that shouldn't be included in a beauty box, it doesn't really fit the bill, and as I mentioned above I have used this brand of product in an emollient form in the community to treat nasty skin conditions on patients! 

The next item that I am umming and ahhing over is the MeMeMe Cupid's Kiss Cheek & Lip Tint (full size 12ml received RRP £5.99). Now I do quite like MeMeMe products and have used several over the last couple of years but this one I'm not so sure about it's a pretty looking item and it should be good but I prefer to wear highlighter rather than blush and when I did try this out on both my cheeks and lips it is so sheer that it can barely be seen. Little bit disappointed to receive this, shame.

The fourth item in this months box is an Emite Slanted Lip Brush (RRP £17.00) Glossybox have previously sent out Emite items which have been ok but sadly I don't really ever use lip brushes as I mostly wear gloss so this is either going to go unused or I shall try and make us of it as an eyeliner/fine eyeshadow brush. The brush is made of synthetic taklon hair meaning that the brush is allergy free which is obviously a bonus if you do suffer from any sensitivities. Worth the £17? I'm not sure about that.

Finally the last item in this months box is Tresemme Instant Refresh Cleansing Dry Shampoo (100ml received RRP £4.99 for 200ml) Designed for use in between shampoos, dry shampoo does what it says it does, a handy item to receive but hardly wows me. I'm sure I received a dry shampoo in a previous box not so long ago too! One to pop in the suitcase for when I'm on holiday though to keep my hair fresh.

So there we have April's Glossybox in all its 'glory', really quite disappointing this month and I don't really get the sweet treats theme? Holding my hopes out for a good May box in the meantime I'm going to get some recommendations for some other beauty boxes to perhaps try instead of Glossybox. 

What did everyone else receive? Any other beauty box recommendations?

Bargain Beds

I love being in bed. Come 9:30pm......sometimes even 9:00pm if I'm being completely honest I quite happily retreat to the bedroom, curl up under the duvet, switch the TV on or read a book. B.A (before Alfie) I used to really enjoy my sleep and lie ins, there was something ridiculously indulgent and lazy about staying in bed past 10am and maybe rolling out around 11:30 to start the day, I now cherish the sleep I do get and although Alfie sleeps brilliantly I probably average about 5-6 hours a night now but my body has got used to it so it's not all bad.  

What would make my sleep and bed times even better would be if we had a new bed! The bed we have at the moment is about 8 years old, it's just a standard wooden slatted bed with faux leather cushions, it's been a great bed other than the fact that you quite often crack your shins on the wooden rim around the edge (stupid design) and the slats that have been broken once by me and once by Adi.......I know what you're probably thinking but it definitely didn't happen because of that (you filthy lot!) the slats broke when myself and then hubby decided to take a shortcut over to the other side of the bed by jumping over and obviously slatted beds just aren't designed to have unnecessary force subjected on them! So now we are left with a bed that slightly slopes on one side and makes the most annoying creaking noise when slight movement is detected, this became even worse when I was pregnant and was literally like the Titanic manoeuvring in bed! 

Anyway as per usual I digress. So we need a new bed and I happened to stumble across this great website called Bed Sale Online that sells some really nice beds but for a bargain price.  The problem that we have with our main room is it's not a huge room so we need to be quite clever when it comes to storage.  Ideally I would like a bed with drawers underneath that are easily accessible something like Deluxe Denby Faux Leather Divan Base would be perfect, this would allow us to use underneath the bed for accessible storage but also looks stylish and for £263.00 I think it's a great price.

I also like the Limelight Sedna Wooden frame, this one has a really deep space underneath so would be perfect for getting some clear under bed storage boxes underneath, this one retails at £179.00!

Decision, decisions! I just need to decide what colour and style we want to go for but I wouldn't hesitate to use an online site for a cheap bed!

Has anyone ever used an online site to purchase a bed before?

* Sponsored post.

Win with Footstools 2 U!

Hands up who likes to put their feet up in the evening......me!!!! I love the pouffe that came with our sofas, not only handy but I enjoy having my feet up at the end of the day and relaxing. 

The very generous people at Footstools 2 U are offering one lucky reader the chance to win a very cute faux leather drumstool in a colour of your choice worth £119! I think these are fabulous and incredibly useful to have in the house and with a choice of 14 colours there is a stool to fit in with most colour schemes. These little stools will bring a touch of style to the home while at the same time being incredibly useful. Hand built over a wooden frame and fitted with plastic glide feet in durable faux leather Footstools 2 U ensure that they are suitable for most environments. Perfect for playrooms, living rooms and conservatories this drumstool will be a welcome addition to any household. 

To win one of these funky footstools enter via the Rafflecopter below. UK entries only and please read the T&C's. Winners will be notified via email so please leave an address that you check regularly. 

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Silent Sunday - 13/04/14

 

Bloggers Block

I have to confess, recently I've not been writing as much as usual. It's a combination of things really, I like to call it bloggers block but honestly I'm just exhausted! The days just seem to whizz by and by the time I am home, seen Alfie, cleaned and cooked etc it's 9pm and I just don't seem to have the motivation to sit down and write (or do anything other than slob on the sofa!).

I had this before a while ago and my motivation returned and I was spurred on to write again so I'm fairly confident that my motivation will return it just might take a few days to get back into the swing of things, I have lots of lovely things to write about I just need to find where I hid my mojo. 

Someone said to me a little while ago why don't I give up my blog? Why should I though, it's a hobby and I enjoy it but I think at times  do I put myself under pressure to produce content but if I'm not really feeling it I'd much rather wait until I can start writing happily again, hopefully that makes sense. 

I guess what I'm getting at is that I'm trying not to get too stressed about things and please to bear with me as I will be back to normal soon, if anyone has any advice on bloggers block please do leave me a comment. 

Henryka Amber Jewellery

It's no secret that I love jewellery but lets face it what female doesn't! I like lots of different styles varying from quirky, fun, sparkly and statement pieces but also I really like nice jewellery, the sort that you wear on special occasions or make an effort to show it off. I do have to admit that I own alot of jewellery, over the past few years I have collected many beautiful pieces and quite a few of them hold lots of different memories. I have just recently discovered a company called Henryka who specialise in Baltic amber and silver jewellery which I also particularly like, on searching the site I couldn't resist a couple of cheeky purchases. 

I do truly believe that you can never have too much jewellery or too many necklaces so I chose two necklaces one from their sale range and the other non-sale and when they arrived it's fair to say I was pretty happy with my choices! 

The jewellery arrived in beautiful embossed boxes as you can see in the above pictures. Nestled inside them were two beautiful amber necklaces that I couldn't wait to wear. Both chains are sterling silver and are manufactured to a very high quality. Henryka, being a member of the International Amber Association means that you can be assured that they only sell genuine Baltic amber and Silver Jewellery Hallmarked in the UK.

Amber has been around for years and years about 40-60 millions years, the Greeks and Romans were often seen wearing amber as it was believed to contain magical properties and to bring good luck. Amber is fossilised tree resin and is widely loved for it's colour and natural organic beauty. 

One of the legends that surrounds the Baltic amber in jewellery is the association with Jurata, queen of the sea who fell in love with a fisherman names Kastytis. According to legend her jealous father punished Jurata his daughter by destroying her amber palace and changing her into sea foam, it is said that the pieces of Jurata's palace can still be found on the Baltic shore. How cool is that legend!! 

My first choice was a beautiful butterfly necklace from the Little Princess Trust Collection this cost £10.00 and all of the funds go to the charity which is dedicated to providing specialist wigs for children who are sadly suffering from cancer or hair loss. I think this is an excellent charity and I hope my buying this necklace can ease a child's suffering in some small way. You can read more about the charity by clicking this link to The Little Princess Trust. Butterflies are also sentimental to me, they were the theme for my wedding and when my Dad was poorly he gave me a butterfly necklace and since then they've remained a special part of my life. 

The other necklace I chose is unfortunately now sold out, it's a really pretty flower necklace featuring 3 daisies with small amber stones in the centre of the flowers. It's stunning, originally was priced at £60.00 but I paid less than half price for it.  I think it's beautiful and as I said above amber is ever so versatile and can be worn with pretty much anything.

I think what I particularly like about amber is the way it catches the light and is multi-dimensional, it can look so beautiful and different from various angles and I love that about it. I find it very pretty and I look forward to wearing both these necklaces and adding them to my ever growing collection of jewellery.

Do you like amber and what do you think of my jewellery choices? 

Silent Sunday - 06/04/14

Step into Spring with La Redoute

There is nothing I love more than gorgeous Spring time weather and being able to slip into a pair of beautiful summer sandals or flip flops. Generally when the sun starts to shine I pretty much live in flip flops but when I want to dress things up a bit there is nothing better than a pair of stylish strappy sandals. When La Redoute contacted me and asked if I would like to review something from their Spring collection I was over the moon and knew immediately that shoes would be the option for me! La Redoute, renowned for bringing glamorous French style home has a gorgeous Spring/Summer collection available to buy and I opted for a beautiful pair of summery sandals by designer Laura Clement (RRP of £89.00).  Having never heard of Laura Clement before I was curious to see whether I'd like them and I'm happy to report that I am in love!

These sophisticated dual fabric high heeled sandals are just gorgeous, they have an almost retro 40's style feel to them and will be pretty versatile to wear. Featuring a 9cm heel these sandals will add glamour but are not too high that I'll be tottering all over the place, I love the two different materials used, the tan is leather style and the navy is suedette creating a nice mix of the two materials. The quality and finish of the sandals seems high quality and they seem very well made so I can imagine them lasting a while, the strap and the buckle seem a good quality so hopefully the strap or buckle won't snap when worn which can be one of the things these type of ankle strap sandals are prone to.

My favourite part about wearing sandals like this is how they lengthen your legs and look beautifully flattering when worn, the benefit of a slightly lower heel (I say lower but they're not that low really!) also means that they are pretty comfortable to wear, obviously I wouldn't wear these if I was to do alot of walking around as I think they would pinch after a while but for short walking distances (ahem in between bars perhaps?) would be perfect. 

I will mostly be wearing these with leggings and summery tops, playsuits or summer skirts and being a neutral colour means that they can definitely go with several outfits and I can't wait to wear them when I go on my holiday to France later this year, I can rock the Parisian style whilst en France! 

The La Redoute Spring/Summer collection is lovely and there are some absolutely gorgeous pieces that I urge you to check out, I guarantee there will be something that you will love!

What do you think of my choice? French style made easy! 

Thanks as always for reading!

 
* Please note I was kindly sent these shoes free of charge in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts and opinions are that of my own.

Competition Time - Win with H&A!

Our first very exciting task as part of the H&A bathtime fun squad was to test out some Ben 10 shampoo and run a competition. This mild and gentle shampoo is designed to keep your little ones hair soft and shiny while leaving a subtly zingy fragrance after use. 

As Alfie is not quite 2 years old yet he isn't really familiar with Ben 10 but he was particularly taken with the packaging and tube that the shampoo came in and was quite insistent that he wanted to squeeze it on his hair himself (this did not go to plan and did require a helping hand from Mummy!).

The shampoo smelt zingy and fresh and created a nice lather when used, the tube itself was easy to hold and the shampoo easily came out once squeezed which is always handy when you are negotiating a slippery and wet bottle!

As with all of the H&A products the shampoo is hypoallergenic, mild and has a no tears formula. The Ben 10 shampoo is available from Tescos for a very reasonable £2.00 (250ml). For more information about all of the items H&A offer you can visit their website here or visit the Facebook page here. 

The lovely people at H&A are offering you the chance to win one Ben 10 shampoo and one Minnie Mouse shampoo via the Rafflecopter below. As you can see in the picture above Alfie is super excited about us running this competition.

All you have to do is fill in the required fields and the winner will be notified within 24 hours of the competition being drawn, the prize will be sent direct from the supplier once I have passed the winners details over. UK entries only please. 

Good luck from myself and Alfie!

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