OOTD - Sisters Edition!

Happy Weekend Everybody!

My outfit today was very casual and nothing special but I thought my sister Naomi looked cool so I wanted to do a little outfit of the day post!

Naomi - Long sleeved shirty - H&M

Blazer - New Look

Shorts - Not sure!

Shoes Navy Vans, even though cheeky Thomas got in the shot and you can't see them in this pic! You can below though!)

Me - Neon coral tshirt - H&M

Jeans - New Look

Sandals - Primark

Mwah x

Then and Now!

I wanted to do a couple of 'Then & Now' collages to remind myself how far I have come in terms of weight loss since I had Thomas!  

I was pregnant in the 1st pic and the 2nd one was taken at Xmas time, 10 months later

I know shape and size doesn't matter but for me personally I feel more confident and happy being slimmer, I still have a way to go regarding toning up but these pics have made me realise that I am not doing too badly so far!

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Thomas is 2 months old in the pic on the left and the pic on the right was last week!

Sorry if this post was a bit self indulgent!

Have you been up to anything over the last few years that you are really proud of? xx

My Favourite Dresses for Nights Out

For someone who has an 18 month old and therefore doesn't go out on the town much I have far too many dresses!

Here are a few of my recent favourites, although I do have many more that I love!

Topshop £9 in the sale!

Missguided approx £23

InLoveWithFashion approx £30

ASOS £22

These pictures were all taken on nights out between January and now!

I would love to see your favourite going out outfits! x

Local Walks

Recently I have been going on a lot of walks around my local area with friends and family, to make the most of what little summer we are having!

There are a lot of  places to visit close to where we live, including nature reserves and country parks, which is brilliant for a Mummy like me who is looking for cheap or free places to take my son and keep him entertained!

Here are a few photos that I thought were pretty and wanted to share with you!

Thomas enjoying a jog across the field!

Do you have any local walks nearby? x

Beatlemania!

We have just spent a fantastic 2 days in Liverpool with my parents in law!

My husband loves the Beatles so we decided to splash out and stay at the Harddaysnight Hotel When we had a look at booking up the rooms we wanted were £225 each per night, however when we made the booking we were told they had gone down to £90! Whoop whoop, what a great surprise!  Simon and I had stayed in this same hotel in August 2 years ago, when I was pregnant with Thomas, so it was really nice to go back and see it again, and of course for me to have a drink this time!  Thomas stayed between my parents and my sister so we were really able to relax and   let loose!

Simon in our room

We drove up and it takes about 4 hours from where we live so we set off nice and early.  As soon as we arrived in Liverpool we dumped our bags and went for lunch in one of the many pubs close to our hotel.  I get so excited about food and I have to tell you that the Sweet Potato Salad that I went for was really really good! I need to add sweet potatoes to my shopping list for this week so that I can recreate that treat!

Me in our room!

After lunch we headed over to the Albert Docks and after a quick mooch round headed to The Beatles Experience.  This is a great activity where you walk through a sort of museum which talks you through the history of the Beatles from the very beginning!  There are so many photos, items of memorabilia and quotes to look through and read and even though I wasn't born until the 80s I found myself feeling nostalgic!  It really makes you want to go back and be a part of Beatlmania as it happened!

Magical Mystery Mirrors!

Included in the ticket price at the moment is also an Elvis and Us Exhibition and a Fab4D experience so we headed over there next.  It was fun to see some of Elvis' outfits and read up a bit more about him but for me the highlight was definitely the Fab4D experience!  It was a 10 minute animation about a boy who has to try and meet his date on time to play a gig together and he goes on a Magical Mystery Tour bus to get there!  As it was 4D there were bubbles in the air, water sprayed on us, the seats moved, there was a strawberry scent in the air and more!  Great fun! 

Back up to change for dinner!

It was 5 o'clock by this time so we headed back to our rooms to change for dinner.  I wore a little black dress that I got from ASOS recently and my Carvela shoes that I talk about in this post.   

We had a drink in the hotel bar before dining in Blakes, the adjoining restaurant.  They do a deal between 6 and 7 whereby you can have 3 courses for £14.95 which is pretty good so I went for that and I choose a cauliflower soup to start, then I had aubergine terrine with apricot cous cous (this dish was also a winner with me and I will be doing a bit of research to see if I can make something similar!) Then I went for sorbet.  I get so excited about food so I had to share with you all what I had, haha!

Its not just me that loves to take the bathroom smellies home is it??

We then had to head to the Cavern Bar and the Cavern Club! It is international Beatles week at the moment so there were non stop live bands on so we picked the perfect week to visit!

My in-laws are so much fun and out partied me (I put it down to getting up early with an 18 month old every day!) so I headed back at midnight whilst the other 3 stayed out a bit longer and listened to an Argentinian Beatles tribute, fancy! 

We had to start heading back fairly early today to collect Thomas so we made sure we were up and out early and headed back to the Docks so that we could take a trip on The Yellow Duckmarine, which is a tour around the city and the docks on a World War 2 DUKW.  The tour guide was particularly funny today so we all had a good giggle!  Have a click here to be directed to their website and read up a bit more about this activity! 

I would highly recommend Liverpool as a location for a weekend away and we absolutely love the Hard Days Night Hotel!  Obviously it helps to be a Beatles fan but there is so much to do there that you wouldn't need to do any Beatles type activities if that doesn't float your boat!  Last time we visited we did the Magical Mystery Tour and a few museums and I could go on and on about the city and our 2 stays but I think this post is long enough already!  We have already said that we should visit again in another couple of years to do some of the things we have not had time for!

Which is your favourite city to visit for a few days? xx

OOTN - Simon's Birthday

It was Simon's birthday yesterday and his sister kindly offered to have Thomas overnight so that we could go out and have a few drinks.  This is what I wore:

Dress - Missguided

Sorry for the blurry quality!!

Shoes - Jeffrey Campbell

Simon enjoying a drink in our local pub whilst we wait for our taxi!

He always blinks in photos!

Today we are going to watch the cricket with our friends, they are having a fun day with music and a funfair so it should be really good!

Hope you are having a good weekend! x

NOTD

Actually this is a picture of some Gellux nails I did for a client last night.  She is not really allowed anything on her nails for work but is being a Bridesmaid on Saturday so we kept things super simple with just a teeny tiny  basic flower in the colour of her dress.

She also went for some red Rockstar toes!


I hope you like them! x

Food shopping!

Happy Monday everybody! 

I saw this post by Lea at Its Such a Wonderful Life and wanted to do a similar one!  I absolutely love food shopping and always get excited on Sunday evenings when I am doing the shopping list ready for Monday, how sad am I??

Obviously we have more food in our cupboards, things such as spices, herbs, 

balsamic vinegar, rice, pasta etc, but this was just what I needed to replenish this week!

Firstly I have my fruit and veg, this is my most favourite section in Tescos and I love getting all the fresh goodies!  Pretty much every week I have to buy spinach, lettuce (this week I went for Romaine), celery, mushrooms, tomatoes and onions.  I tend to add these to most meals in the form of a small side salad or to bulk up the vegetables in a recipe!  This week I also need carrots, parsnips and spring onions.  Simon wants burritos on his birthday, which is this week, so I got a bag of mixed salad too.  I prefer to make my own but he will only eat salad from a mixed bag!  I also picked up some lemongrass stalks as I am making a chicken and lemongrass dish on Wednesday! 

For fruit I just picked up bananas, grapes, apples and blueberries this week.  We still have some raspberries and mixed summer berries in the fridge.  Thomas loves grapes and strawberries so I always make sure I have one or the other kicking about! He calls them 'bubbles' Cute!

So then we also picked up some bits for Simon's work lunches, he is so boring and has the same every single day!  Tandoori chicken in a roll, a Pepperami, a packet of crisps and a banana!  I have tried and failed to send him with something different!  We also got grated cheese for the burritos, this bag is massive so I will have to make some cheese salads or sarnies for Thomas and try not to keep nibbling mouthfuls of it here and there!  Mmmm, cheese!  There are some choccy mousses and some low fat yogurts.  We always have these as well, the mousse' are 90 calories and the yogurts are 100 calories so these make great puds if we fancy something sweet after dinner.  I always have these cheese strings in my fridge for Thomas too as they are useful if we go out and I need to take a snack pack!  I would prefer him to have real cheese but he is temperamental with it so I usually only try at home, I really don't want to end up out and about with a hungry toddler and nothing that he will eat!

In the next pic we have white pasta, Simon is resisting my brown pasta as well, so I needed to get him some more white!  I also got some quinoa for salads and to use as an alternative to rice, pasta or couscous  and almonds for snacking.  We have the essential squash, orange, lemon and apple & blackcurrant!  The tortillas and salsas are for Simon's birthday burritos!  I picked up some normal salsa, some refried beans and some green jalapeno relish, as I thought I would get a few extra since it is a special meal.  As you have probably guessed Simon can be fussy so he will either love or hate the extras, but I hope he likes them!

Coming to the end we have fridge basics, red milk for every day and a pint of blue milk for Thomas, although he usually will only drink Cow & Gate I am persisting with the cows milk to see if he comes round to it.  Pink grapefruit juice which I have one glass of every day with breakfast and then some Alpro Almond Milk and Hazelnut milk, which is a new addition to my every day diet and I will be doing a post on soon! 

Finally we have a few store cupboard standard items, chopped tomatoes and plum tomatoes.  I use the chopped ones for meals but I love having the whole plum tomatoes for lunch with cooked mushrooms, they are sooo juicy!!  Finally some beef stock cubes! 

As you can see I try and buy as much of the Value range as I can, with things such as fresh fruit and veg and tinned tomatoes, squash etc I just don't see the point in buying more expensive alternatives, especially as we are saving to move!

I hope you like this post and I would love to see some similar ones so please send me a link in the comments if you do one!  I am such a nosy parker but it would also give me some ideas for different meals and maybe foods I have not tried!

Sorry about all the pics being at the end and being higgeldy piggeldy!  I think I need a Blogger masterclass as I seem to be able to move them with no problem on some posts and on others have no chance!

Health and Fitness Tip #3 - Don't sweat the numbers

Rather than being a tip on something you can physically do or change this is a tip for your mind and happiness! Ahh!

For a very long time I was fixated on the 'numbers' What I mean is my dress size and the number on the scales.  I always wanted to be a smaller size and if the scales show a number that isn't round i.e exactly on a stone or a half stone, then I would think, if I can just get to that number I would be happy.

Sometimes though its just not possible or more important healthy, to chase these things!  Again this is so obvious but something I didn't acknowledge when I was younger, but not everyone can achieve size 8, 10 or 12 etc, even if they carry not an ounce of fat, because their bone structure or body shape just won't allow it!  For example I have fairly broad shoulders that are very straight, so I need a bigger size jacket.  If I pick up the smaller size it just doesn't sit well across my shoulders and then trying to squeeze a jumper underneath would be uncomfortable and does not look good!  There is no point in me being upset or annoyed that I have to get a bigger size, it is what it is and it really does not matter!  If I lost too much weight my shoulders would stick out and make me look like a scarecrow, haha!

I used to compare myself to people of my height, thinking if they can be that slim then surely I can too.  I now realise their bodies are a completely different make up to mine!  They may be blessed with a flat tummy, I may have thinner calves!  Everyone has something that others envy and that is worth remembering!

Being healthy and sexy is not all about being as tiny as you possibly can be, attractive girls come in all shapes, sizes, heights etc!

Since making changes to my diet I have lost weight but now that is not my goal, it is simply a bonus, I want my body in tip top condition so that I have more energy, better skin, shinier hair etc, these are the things that bring out your beauty, not a size 8 dress!

There are women out there who are a size 10 but are a bit podgy or soft and then there are size 16 girls who are perfectly toned.  Neither are better, neither are worse, they are both great and beautiful!

So remember, no chasing numbers, if you feel comfortable and confident and are living healthily (no calorie restricted diets please!) then that is the perfect place for you! xx

Keeping Busy!

I have been so busy over the last few days that I have not actually been able to put up a post!

There is a lot of exciting projects coming up and they after lots of planning and plotting things are starting to get moving!  Whoop!

I will tell you all about it once things are more concrete!  But definitely watch this space...

Here are a few pics of things we have been up to over last few days!

Do you like my Granny's glasses?

Enjoying lunch with my parents

Yay, bouncy castle fun!

Mum's Vintage find

Ready to meet friends on Saturday evening

How to keep your feet soft!

Have you ever noticed how men's feet tend to not have so much hard skin as women's?  Not fair is it!  This is usually due to the fact that men tend to wear socks with their shoes and don't often wear heels!

Keeping your feet callus free and looking smooth and beautiful is actually really simple, all you need to do is spend a few extra minutes in the shower and a few extra minutes moisturising!

Dry filing or using too much pressure can actually make the issue worse and the callus thicker, so be gentle with your feet!  When you are in the shower or bath take a foot file and swipe the skin using a medium pressure, remembering not to see saw the skin, use the same motion as you would to file your nails!

There are many different files and pumices out there and I personally prefer the kind that look like a giant nail file, these usually come with a courser side and a smoother side. 

Body Shop - £4.50

Lloyds Pharmacy £5.49

Amazon £3.24  Everready Footfile

Finally you need to moisturise your feet well and the best way is the old trick of moisturising before bedtime then popping on a pair of cotton socks over night.  I must admit though that I just cannot do socks in bed so I slather something on whilst I am moisturising the rest of my body after my morning shower and then wear socks around the house until I need to go out!

My preference is good old Vaseline, but again there are so many foot creams out there that I am sure you will find something you love!

 

Start adding these two quick and simple steps into your routine and you will see a difference almost immediately! Keep it up and you will never be embarrassed of your feet again!

Happy heel wearing everyone! x

Steak and Salad recipe - Delish!

Wowee, would you just look at what I had for dinner last night!  Now I don't like to blow my own trumpet but this was good!  

I have recently come across and added Eat-Yourself-Skinny and added her blog to my following list!  This blog is a great resource for low fat, healthy recipes which include snacks, main meals and puds! 

Kelly, who writes the blog, put up a recipe for Southwest Flank Steak with Peach Salsa, which just sounded so good!

Simon didn't fancy the salsa and I had intended to make that for me and do him something different but alas I was feeling lazy so I made the following, and just swapped the spinach on my plate for new potatoes on his! Ding dong it was good!

So in this picture we have :

 Raw spinach, which I eat at almost every meal as a little garnish or side salad, even if it is just a few leaves I can't seem to get enough and always have it! 

Mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, red pepper and onions.  I cooked these in one teaspoon of  GIA Garlic Puree, which is garlic in vegetable oil.  I pick this up in the tinned vegetable aisle of Tesco and we use it in most meals.  It is convenient, saves any raw garlic from going off and I use it instead of oil.  I do sometimes have to add a smidge more oil but for this recipe I didn't bother, mushrooms will happily dry fry, as will tomatoes and the peppers and onions are nice when they go a little bit smushy and charred.  Yum!

Then to the steak! We don't often have red meat as it is more expensive and not so healthy, but every once in a while in is great to have a treat! You can have a look at the link above for Kelly's original recipe which I did follow almost to the letter but had a teeny tiny few changes, mainly as I used what was in my cupboard!

So I simply mixed together 1 tsp chilli powder, 1tsp ground cumin, 1tsp balsamic vinegar, 1tsp garlic puree, 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce and 1tsp cayenne pepper.  I used far smaller quantities than Kelly but it was more then enough!  Then you just spoon the sauce over the steak and pop under the grill.  4 minutes on each side was good for us but the timings really depend on your own preference, and I am no gourmet chef to advise you I'm afraid!  Don't forget to add more sauce when you flip the steak! 

I can't tell you how yummy the whole meal was and I am already looking forward to having this again! 

I didn't count the calories but I believe the whole thing to be about 400 and definitely under 500 calories, which is fab for a main meal!  Add more if you are having the new potatoes!

I hope you like this recipe and urge you all to check out Eat Yourself Skinny for some more great ideas! 

Have you made anything especially yummy recently that you want to share? xx

FreeBra Update!

If you didn't see my post on my recent eBay purchase of a FreeBra then here it is for you: freebra

I just wanted to do a little update for you incase anyone was thinking of buying on from this seller!

I did send the seller a message to say what had happened, that they had sent me the wrong size and it initially took going backwards and forwards a few times for them to understand what was wrong, they kept saying 'But you ordered a D'! When they eventually got the picture they then would not believe me and said that the items get checked 3 times before being sent out, so I offered to send a photo of the packaging where it clearly states Size C but they have never replied with their email address so I am unable to do that!

For the price I paid its not the end of the world and my friend is able to make use of the bra, but I just think that the seller should have acknowledged the mistake!  I would not have sent it back aS it would have cost too much all the way to China and I would probably have ordered another but as they have been so unhelpful I am not going to bother!

Ho hum! Can't win them all!  x

Wish List!

Just when I think that I have all the clothes etc that I need and should steer clear of town for a while I find a reason to pop in and see more things that I need (read want)  This time it was meeting my sister off of the train for the weekend.  Now I could have simply driven to the train station picked her up and gone straight home, but alas, Simon had taken the baby car seat to work so we had to get the bus, the Naomi was an hour late..so what was I supposed to do...

Here are a few things I spotted and am now desperately trying to resist buying!

Gingerbread Ultra Soft Jeggings These babies come in so many different colours and I really can't decide which I like the best, I think the Gingerbread, Wine and Forest Green ones are my favourite 3 but I do also like the Green, Ginger, Mid Wash & Indigo ones and black is always useful to have! Blimy!  At £23 they are a good price (probably not so great if I get 3 pairs...) and I think these will be perfect for the Autumn and Winter tucked into high boots which cosy jumpers over the top!

Ombre Twist Jumper  How cute is this?? And it would look great over the aforementioned jeggings!

Abama Western Ankle Boot These would be great for a Mummy like me who gets sick of always wearing flats but has to push around a buggy! The heel is nice and chunky so they are casual enough for the day and sturdy enough for me not to go flying when I have Thomas!

Revlon Just Bitten Balm Stain So I know everyone already has these and I do have the shade Rendezvous already, but I have seen a lot of swatches of the Honey shade and I think it looks lovely so I would like to pick up that one next!

DKNY Pure I have almost run out of perfume - horrors - and this one is my favourite so I need to pick up a bottle sharpish!

Sadly our microwave, hairdryer and washing machine all decided to give up in the same week, so I have a few more pressing things to buy before I can think about getting my hands on this lot!

What have you got your eye on at the moment? x

Not relevant but here is a Charlie pic! Judging by the Popeye arm I need to lay off the spinach...

Autumn Inspirations

Whilst I love the Summertime and the fashions that go with it (not to mention evenings sat outside and days playing in the park with Thomas) it is hard to get overly excited with the weather not being able to make up its mind!  I have barely made use of the Summer skirts and shorts I bought, ho hum!

So seeing all the Autumn fashion inspiration pictures popping up on Pinterest has made me very happy indeed!  I love all the seasons as they change and I like to really make the most of them, if possible!  In the Summertime we can only hope to be able to wear our playsuits, maxi dresses and shorts on a handful of occasions but in the Autumn it is pretty much a definite that we will be able to bundle up in some cosy outfits!

Here are a few of my faves from Pinterest recently.  They seem to all have a similar look!  I just love the simple look of tall boots, cosy socks and a big knit! Simple, cute and cosy, winner!



      

You can find me on Pinterest here  I must admit though that my boards are all a bit muddly and I need to go through and repin things in their rightful homes! Opps!

What are you excited about wearing this Autumn? x