Tuesday 25 January 2011

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder...

.....oh and a little make up helps.

Here is a quick MOTD. I felt I had to put my naked palette to the test! Also I wanted to post a before and after picture to show how make up can not only cover your sins but also enhance your best feature. 


I have actually got foundation on here, my skin is so bad at the moment.





I know a lot of people patter on about natural beauty blah blah but personally I love make up!!!

Make Up:

Estee Lauder Double Wear - shade shell (I think)
Benefit Boi-ing concealer - 01
MAC MSF - Light Medium
MAC mineralize blush - dainty ELF studio blush - peachy keen and Bourjois Delice de Poudre highlighting power all blended together

Eyes
 All from the Urban Decay Naked Palette
Virgin all over lids and up to brow bone
Hustle on lids and lower lash line
Toasted on outer corners and  lower lash line
Sin on inner corners
24/7 eyeliner in whiskey

MAC Haute and naughty mascara 

xxxxx

Rosie: 12 week update

Hey Folks,

Well Rosie is 12 weeks today! I can't believe how fast time has been going recently. For the first month it went so slow but now the weeks have been flying by.

Rosie has come on leaps and bounds recently. She has been properly smiling since about 8 weeks but now she also gets excited and throws her arms about. I am sure she will start laughing soon. She also thinks its great that she has learned to blow bubbles and does this constantly so her tops are getting soaked. On with the bib! 

She is really taking everything in now and looks about the room. She also recognizes faces and voices. I love it when she sees your face and smiles, there is so much character  in her eyes.

The breast feeding is getting a bit tiresome and I feel she is getting more and more formula. I think that in the next couple of weeks the breast feeding will come to a natural end. I have mixed feelings about this. I love the closeness of breast feeding and like knowing she is getting lots of good stuff but my oh my it can be tough work. And on a more selfish level - I would love to be able to wear nice bras again! On an even more personal level - breast feeding is not kind to your boobies and I am going to try get my hands on some cream that hopefully helps them go back to a more "pert" shape! 

I am also trying to get her doing some "tummy time" but she hates it! If any mummys read this and have any tips then please share. She also has her next round of jabs next week :( her daddy will be taking her again! And I also want to get her to the swimming pool!! 


xxxx




I finally did it!!

Hi folks, 

Well I have finally done it. This afternoon I filmed by first ever Vlog! I know blogs can be a bit one dimensional and  the writer's full personality never really comes across. 

I think I am going to use the Vlogging as a "Support tool" for my blog so I will be mostly blogging but will also do a couple of videos every now and again! 

I will get Tom to put a link in my side bar but for now here is the link:


SO please subscribe and let me know what you think!



Monday 24 January 2011

Weight Loss Weigh In

Well I wish this was a celebratory post - I really do, but its not! I stepped on the scales this morning to find out I was still 10st 7lbs - GUTTED! I thought I had done quite well this week with food and exercise. I started drinking my first ever Green Monsters that i discovered through Victoria's blog. They are amazing. Total Green Monster addict, I also tried out her Yaki Soba recipe last night which was also delightful. On the exercise front I have been on two runs using the couch to 5k app on my Iphone and managed them surprisingly well, and I have done 2 Pilates classes.

I did however have a cheeky McDonalds and Tom made the most delicious sponge cake with chocolate butter icing filling. Annoying that my boyfriend is better at baking than me! 

This week I am going to try really hard again on all fronts! Lets see what the next weigh in holds!




xxxx



YouTube

Yikes! I have uploaded my first ever YouTube video - of Rosie of course. Still have to work myself up for my debut appearance! 

Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiwIKFz5tzY

Not much going on at the moment but hope to get working on that!

xxxx

Rosie OOTD and PJOTN (PJ OF THE NIGHT)


Fleece lined hoodie - H&M baby
Hat and mitts - Next Baby
Jeans - Sainsbury's
Shoes - Sainsbury's

This was R's first time wearing Jeans and she is now after a comfy pair of skinnies which I think I have found at Next.


Had to include this picture of R in her Baby Gap Pjs - adorable! 


xxxxx


Weekend Summery

First up - Hello to all my new Subscribers. I am pretty chuffed that 13 people have decided to follow me! If you enjoy what I am writing or know someone who might enjoy it then please spread the word!

I feel like I have not posted in agggggges and my blogger train of thought has somewhat managed to go right off track! But anyway here is what has been going on in my life over the last few day!

I dyed my hair brunette - After a couple of year of expensive highlights I decided that I wanted to go back au natural. So off I popped down to Boots and purchased Loreal Excell 10 in spiced chocolate - school boy error! Although the shade is a lovely deep chocolate brown with reddish undertones it was unfortunately too big a jump for me and at first I looked like I was wearing a wig. Thankfully it has faded a bit but it is still too dark and I look awfully pale - although not as pale as Rosie Webster a la Corrie. 

I feel like I have to apply a lot of make up now in order to look normal whereas as a blonde I could get away with wearing a lot less.

I have also began jogging again but I will do a separate weight loss update all about that. 

My order arrived from ASOS (eventually) but again thats another blog post in its own right!

On Friday Me, Thomas and Rosie went to visit our good friend Clare, Ali and little Hanna. We had a great day of hanging out, painting my little ponies - I got a bit carried away with that - and eating a yummy dinner prepare by Ali. 

Now for the bad news:

Last saturday my lovely mum was complaining of aches and pains, by night time she was in bed with fever, chills and nausea. These symptoms progressed over the next few days and she gradually got weaker and weaker. She went to the docs a number of times and had lots of tests done before being admitted to hospital last Thursday. She then had every sort of diagnostic test under the sun (no joke) before being diagnosed with pneumonia on Saturday afternoon. It was a big shock but at the same time I felt relived that they knew what was up. So over the weekend I have spent both nights going to visit her. Thankfully she looked a lot brighter yesterday and she has text me today saying that if all her heart tests come back ok then she will be out tomorrow. So fingers and toes crossed for Mummy Blanc as she is missing wee Rosie dreadfully.

However, that was not the only bad news of the weekend. My poor lovable Peugeot car - Pablo has also been a bit under the weather and now has no breaks! So he has been sent to get checked out. Luckily we have Tom's car as well but he uses that to get to uni and work so I am currently car - less. Means I can catch up on blog reading though! Pablo is very old (p-reg) but such a great wee car and has hardly had anything wrong with him so hopefully he will be back with us soon!

And some good news to end things on - I got a place on the fashion and photographic Make Up course at college and begin classes a week on Tuesday so I will no doubt be posting a lot about that.

Oh and I finally got my hands on an Urban Decay Naked Palette but keeping my happiness low key for that as Thomas is yet to find this out - although he will no doubt read this - whoops

One last thing - My dad has kindly given us his video camera which is so tiny and cute. So I will be doing lots of filming of Rosie and may even do an occasional vlog but I am not sure if anyone could handle the scottish accent! 

Some cutesy pics of Rosie to end with:






Wednesday 19 January 2011

Avon, Hair Dye and Hips

Hi Guys,

First off big thanks to the 5 that have been so kind to follow me. I am no way writing this blog to gain followers or popularity. I just use it as a medium for splurting out my thoughts and feelings and as a journal for Rosie. 

Anyways....

Today I became an Avon rep and I am a bit terrified. I am doing it to raise a bit of pocket money. Since becoming a mama, my wants and lusts have taken a back seat to Rosie's needs so it would be good to earn some extra pennies to treat my self to nice things! No idea how it will go but fingers crossed!!




I also purchased hair dye - I was going to nip to Salon Services to get some but I had Tom and Rosie in tow. Tom hates shopping and I thought standing about waiting for me to choose a colour would end in disaster. So i choose to go for Loreal Excell 10 in spiced chocolate - as recommended by a friend. I am currently in the skin test process, which normally I would never bother with but had an urge to do it properly this time. It says to wait 48 hours but I think the dye will be applied at some point tomorrow. I will post before and after pictures! 
Rosie had her follow up hip ultrasound today - she was a breach baby so when she was born her legs stuck out to the left, which is  common in breach babes. She had to have a couple of hip scans to check that everything was growing and developing as it should and today we got the all clear. Yah!! Otherwise she would of had to be fitted with a hip harness. Here is a pic of her squint hips when she was born:
Its hard to believe she was so teeny tiny!
xxxxxx



Tuesday 18 January 2011

Products I am using right now

Hey guys,



This is a tag that was floating around a while bag and I noticed a few bloggers have done it so I thought I would go for it! Enjoy :) 


Shampoo -  Pantene Ice Shine - We ran out of shampoo the other day and this is what Tom picked up. I normally buy shampoo when I am at the hairdressers which can be pricey and I just cant afford it at the moment. 

Conditioner - Pantene Ice Shine 





Styling products - I havent been using any of late but I feel I need to invest in a good blow drying serum or cream - anyone got any recommendations? 

Shower gel - Santex - cheap and really good!

Body moisturiser - Soap and Glory righteous butter but the lotion variety. I use the butter once or twice a week for a deep moisturise. 

Deodorant - Mitchum - the roll on. It has lasted me months and months! 

Fake tan - none at the moment, can never be bothered in the winter

Cleanser - dermologica ultra calming cleanser 

Exfoliator - Soap and glory Scrub of your life

Primer - dont use one - am i missing out?

Foundation brush - my fingers at the moment! no idea why as i have a perfectly good brush

Concealer - Dont really use thins but I am awaiting a delivery of Benefit Bo-ing

Powder - MAC mineralize skinfinish natural

Blusher - mostly MAC lady blush that I received from my lovely boyfriend

Bronzer - Bourjois Delice de poundre bronzing powder - the one that smells of chocolate! I have had this for about 3 years now and still have loads left!

Highlighter - this varies from day to day but at the moment its  Bourjois Delice de poudre highlighting powder (smells amazing). Got some elf ones to try out though

Eyeshadow base - MAC paint pot in bare study

Eyeshadows - a wonderful array from bella sugar cosmetics - check out the etsy shop - will do a review soon 

Eyeliner - Mac powerpoint in engraved

curler - no idea -  a silver one!

Mascara - MAC  haute and naughty - will add this to my review list too

Lipstick - GOSH darling or MAC snob

Lipgloss -  MAC creme sheen glass - deelight





Nail Colour - none at the moment but this will change soon! 


Rosie's OOTD no.2


Spotty Joggers - H&M Baby (amazing baby clothes!)
Lilac Tee - Tesco


Just a cute one of Rosie and her beanie hat


Awww Sleepy baba

xxxxxxx

Weekend Round Up

Why do weekends always go in such a flash!! Even though I am currently on Mat leave so everyday is technically a weekend, they are still as important as Tom is off work/uni so we can have so family time. 

Tom has his first proper night out with the boys on Friday since the arrival of baby Rosie. So me and Rosie went to stay at my mums. We had a lovely time as one of my oldest friends came round to visit and we got to have a good old natter and catch up as mum looked after Rosie for a couple of hours. Need to do that more often!

Saturday was such a busy busy day!! Rosie had her very first Birthday party to attend! My bezzie Clare's daughter, Hanna, was turning 2. In the morning I got to work to bake some party cupcakes. I rolled half in hundreds and thousands and the other half were decorated with magic star and edible glitter! They looked so pretty!! Whilst I was busy at work another old school friend and Thomas arrived. We all got ready and headed off to Hanna's Pirates and Princess party.

Oh my god!!! Two year old's parties are crazy. Now even though I have a cute little bundle of baba myself and think she is utterly adorable I am not the most maternal person at all! Just watching all the kids running around screaming made me exhausted. Luckily there were a good few adults there too so we set up camp in the kitchen where it was a lot quieter. 

Even though Rosie is almost 11 weeks, she really hasnt been out and about much due to the horrible snowy weather so this was her first major outing and had a lot of people to meet for the first time. She was brilliant and didnt get gurny or grumpy, even with all the passing around!! In fact she didnt want to sleep at all, in case she missed out on something!! 

The majority of people left around 5pm so we spent a couple of hours chilling out a bit and catching up. Its so lovely to catch up with old friends :) Made me think that we really need to get out and about a bit more! 


Here are some pics from the day:





Me, Thomas and Rosie were staying the night at my mum's again as it is just down the road from where the party was held and lucky we did because when we went home on Sunday afternoon we were greeted by floods and fire engines. We live in a little village on the banks of a river and due to all the thawing of snow plus the downpour of rain we had during the night, the river had burst its banks!! Our house is save from the floods but the road to our house was completely under water - it even made the news!! So we headed up to Tom's parents for a couple of hours whilst they pumped some of the water away. Luckily when we came back, although there was still a pool of water on the road, we were able to pass and get to our house. We then spent the evening chilling, watching dancing on ice (come on Comedy Dave!!) and drinking tea. Tom is back at uni today after the christmas break so he was getting organised for that. 

All in all a lovely weekend full of cake and catching up with old friends - perfect! 


xxxxx

Monday 17 January 2011

Blonde v's Brunette

As you can see at the moment I am blonde but today I have started to get that niggly "should I go back to brunette" feeling. 

Naturally my hair is dark brown so it is so hard keeping up the blonde routine. I could really spend money elsewhere at the moment. I also think that when I am brunette my hair seems a lot more shiny and better conditioned. I have also just used up all my blonde shampoo so no better time to change really. 

I am thinking a nice chocolatey brown or I could also be tempted by an auburn colour for a more dramatic change! 

All I can say is watch this space!


xxxxx

Baby Night Terrors :(

I hate it when Rosie has little night terrors. At the moment she is napping next to me in her chair, making little whimpers :( I try to stroke her head and let her know I am near but its horrible. Sometimes she just bursts out crying for a second or so then stops - all in her sleep. Tom googled it the other week and supposedly its because they are growing or they dream about their mummy's going away - awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww - but how did the boffins ever find that out? 

Maybe she needs one of these: 




xxxxxxx


Baby Weight Loss Challange

I know I know, there has been an abundance of posts about weight loss recently due to it being a new year and all and this is just another addition!

My weight history
When I was at school I was a skinny minny and hated it!!I could get away with eating anything I wanted and not put an ounce on! In fact I worked part time in a chinese take-away and munched myself through 3 chinese meals a week! Wowzers!!!

When I turned 19 *BANG* all those chinese meals caught up on me and suddenly I could no longer shift the weight so fast!! And so began the beginning of my weight loss roller coaster. When I went to uni I really shifted on the pounds and got up to my heaviest weight of 11 and half stone. I managed to lose that and put it on and lose it again a number of times. From about 2008 I have remained around the 10 and half stone mark. I did go down to the nines a couple of summers ago but then it all came back again.

Then I fell pregnant and my weight was no longer an issue as it was a given it was going to go up! Well Rosie is now here and I am on my weight loss mission again! 

I dared to go on the scales and discovered that I weigh either 10st 4 or 10 stone 7 (weighed myself on two sets of scales). The mission is to lose 21 lbs in 12 weeks - starting from now!!

I am doing between 40 - 60 mins of pilates a day by signing up for Pilates Anytime. Its a great website full of pilates video classes. You pay around £10 a month and have access to hundreds of  videos! I was initially going to join the gym but the reality is I would never have time to go as I look after a teeny baby full time! Pilates Anytime is ideal as it means I can work out. I am also going to dust the old running trainers and try get running a few times a week and I am contemplating purchasing the 30 day shred  which is much raved about by Victoria over at lilly love lola ( a fantastic blog by the way that had me enthralled for hours and hours, so much so that Tom was slightly bemused!).

I am also going to sign up to either the 5 or 10k race for life. I have already done the 5k so would love to up the ante and do the 10k but I am not sure if my lungs would cope. 

Anyway I will no doubt give you regular updates on how its going - maybe a weekly round up or something. 




***EDIT - Just had a look at race for life site and the race days have now been announced so I think I will do the 10k Edinburgh race  on the 19th June. Anyone else plan to do that? **




xxxxxx


Thursday 13 January 2011

Sophie and Rosie's OOTD


Rosie's outfit was a present from her Auntie Lauren and is from Baby Gap. There stuff is so cute but pretty pricey so I let my sister spoil her from clothes from there - haha


This was a bit of a monumental day for me - fashion wise. As I managed to fit into my skinny jeans for the first time in about 6 9 months! 
Top - £6.99 H(it)&M(iss)
Belt - around £2 from Primark around 4 yrs ago
Jeans - £30 Topshop - Jamie Skinnies


Mama and Baba together (Rosie looks petrified!) 


One from the back..


And I just had to post this gorgeous picture of my two favorite people!


And I just had to post this cute one of Rosie in her sleepy-bag. She looks like she is praying! C-U-T-E 

xxxxxx