Snow, Cake & Pugs!

 I had a very lovely, chilled out 1st Mother's Day, last year doesn't really count because Nahla had only been in my tummy about 3-4 weeks!

I woke up to a big smiley face... who was bringing me breakfast in bed (Nahla was still asleep) and a lovely card, from Nahla, who's handwriting is suspiciously like her Father's.

Simon had to work for a couple of hours so the morning was spent in bed, watching Caitlin Moran and Peppa Pig, weird combo or what?!

 We decided that, although it was snowing like mad outside, that we might as well make the most of the day and pop out for a hot drink. We popped into a really lovely Cashmere/Wool/Bits and Bobs shop close to us where they sell loads of really lovely kitcheny bits, from Cath Kidston to Emma Bridgewater.

Nahla was so nosey and kept trying to turn her head all the way around to get a 360 view!

Passers by kept giving her lots of compliments, which was lovely.

This was my OOTD...

Elbow-Patch Knitted Sweater- Primark £16
Leggings-Wallis £10

Scarf- A Gift

Hunter Wellies- £89

Nappy Bag- Cath Kidston- £60

I loved these little mugs and will definitely be getting one next payday! They are SO ADORABLE! I love Pugs and will probably get one when we have our own house and Nahla is quite a bit older.

I just love the little one wearing a top hat and monocle! :')

 Next door to the shop is a really lovely little posh cafe. As soon as we walked in I felt a little nervous, it was full of middle aged and elderly couples, we were the youngest there and this was the first time we had taken Nahla out to eat on our own, I was expecting her to have a complete meltdown and spit fire at the other customers, but she was an absolute delight.

She had her bottle there, looked around and grinned at everyone, she was very interested in my pink cake!

(which, btw, was more icing than actual cake... but that's not a ratio I'm going to complain about!)

 

I had a cup of hot chocolate and the most delicious cupcake, Simon had a very dark coffee and a rock cake... he bit the side of his mouth, which was a bit unfortunate!

 Walking back through the shop I spotted some really lovely things, from gorgeous quilts, to beautiful Orla Kiley pieces and this amazing fish-bowl display with driftwood around it... I also almost screeched when I saw they sold Neom candles, I've blogged about how much I've wanted one for ages and my husband was lovely enough to buy one for me...

 ...it's such a gorgeous smelling candle; Moroccan Blush Rose.

I'm in love with it and will be burning it whilst I'm in the bath Simon's running for me tonight after he's cooked me a lovely meal.

I've really enjoyed my first Mother's Day, although I can't wait until Nahla's old enough to treat me herself!

Love,

Laura xxx

(Lots of love to my Mummy too!)

What I've been up to...

February has had it's ups and downs but it's been mainly good times! I've really enjoyed blogging this month and finally have an idea of what I want to do with the blog and where I want it to go. I've changed it around so much in regards to it's style and layout, hopefully I'll be happy with it's design this time!

This month has also been a month for 1st's, I'm managing to fit back into my old clothes and I'm starting to feel well enough to venture out for the odd drinky-poo with my friends/colleagues.

I'm also experimenting more with homemade food and have started to make all of my sauces from scratch... most of it is trial and error but it tastes good!

Nahla is growing like a Runner-Bean and continues to surprise us and make us smile, she loves interacting with people and is so cuddly!

Valentine's Day was a big success, I've also started to put together outfit ideas for my Uncle's Wedding in May.

February really is the month of love!

Love,

Laura xxx

Birchbox Jan 2013

Joliebox is now Birchbox!

This is the first month that I've subscribed to Birchbox (having been disappointed quite a few times but Glossybox) and I could not be more pleased with it!

Birchbox runs a £10 a month subscription service that send samples of high-end beauty for you to try, if a particular product tickles your fancy then the full size version is available to buy in their store...sometimes at discounted prices!

One thing that really impressed me is the fact that the packaging is so pretty! I know boxes aren't that exciting but I'm going to keep both, they're pretty and will make for excellent storage!

The first product I pulled out of the box is this absolutely sumptuous lip balm.

It smells like roses and blackcurrant and leaves your lips really moisturised and soft, without feeling sticky. 

Once this runs out I think I'll be re-stocking!

The next product confused me a bit... is that a lipgloss?

Nope, it's actually a cuticle repair gel.

Once I got past the thought that I was applying sticky lipgloss to my nails it actually felt nice, and smelled rather pleasant. 

Lastly, I recieved the most amazing smelling volume hair treatment by KMS California and a firming and hydrating cream by WEI.

Both products look and smell luxurious and has left me feeling that the £10 a month subscruption fee is defintely worth the money.

If that hasn't convinced you then maybe the knowledge that the more you buy, the more Birchbox points you receive, which, in turn, earns you money off!

Love,

Laura xxx

Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette Review & Smokey Eye Tutorial

I finally bit the bullet and coughed up the cash to pay for the Urban Decay Naked Palette. I have been in two minds about it for months and months but decided that it would be a good investment, especially for the things I want to do in the future.

 Everything about it is just so stylish, the tin it comes in is lovely and surprisingly heavy. It comes with a double-ended brush, one is for the crease of the eyelid and the fluffier one I use to blend in the colours and to give smooth edges.

The pigment of the shadows are thick and a little goes a long way, this is the first time I've been able to achieve any kind of blending of colours, before the eyeshadows I was trying to blend would just mottle into one horrific colour. Now I'm able to get a beautiful ombre effect.

The range of colours are supposed to be basic nudes, darks and golds that you can use as both a day and an evening look. The bronzes and golds are so shimmery and thick, they're just a delight to use!

The Naked palette definitely puts the fun into putting make up on!

I achieved this brown/shimmery/smokey eye look by blending a lot of colours together and layering.

I started by spreading 'Verve' all over my eyelid (I'll add a photo of all of the shades at the end), particularly towards the duct. Next I blended 'Suspec't into the lid, started from the middle of the eye, I dragged it outwards to form a cat-eye effect. On the outer-corner and into the crease of the lid I applied 'Busted' which is a beautiful chocolate colour. In between all of these steps I took a very fluffy brush and gently blended the corners so get a soft look. 

Lastly, I applied a teeny tiny amount of 'Half Baked' over the darker part of the eye, just to get a light shimmery bronze look.

I love the look, and like I said earlier, this is the first time I've been able to achieve it so I'm really glad I bought the palette and would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to oomph their eyes!

L'oreal Wild Ombres Review

(Excuse my face! Baby N was kicking the hell out my ribs whilst I was taking photos, so it was hard to look chirpy and delighted!)

I bit the bullet and ombred my hair last night! I'm so glad that I did!
It was a pretty easy process but I'd been putting it off for so long. I asked my hair-savvy followers on Instagram if they'd had any experience with it before and I got some really helpful advice, along with some mixed reviews.
I bought two packs from Boots for £6 each, which is pretty good, considering it's only going on half of my hair!
(Disclaimer!! I'm 9 months pregnant and it has come to light that dying your hair during pregnancy is absolutely fine and poses no health risks to you or your baby. Of course, your skin and allergies change whilst your 'with youngling', you should always do a 48-hour patch test before dying all of your hair, you should ideally be doing that anyway, baby or no baby. Apart from that caution, it's fine, I even asked my midwife when I was a few months along, she replied 'What do you think happens to hairdressers when they have their babies?' Good point!)

I chose shade No1 and No3. I planned to see how blonde the first shade made me, if it wasn't blonde enough then I would add the second shade a few days later, after giving my hair a bit of a break!
I loved the wild-themed packaging, and the models, as usual, are gorgeous. giving women, myself included, the delusional thoughts that the hair dye will also change their face to look like them.

Inside the box was the usual plethora of gloves, creams, dyes and powders to help lighten the hair. It came with a caution that instructed that you shouldn't inhale the powder... which was the first thing I did. It was hard not to when it rose from the packet like smoke. I spluttered a bit, but apart from that assembling the dye was very easy.

This was my hair colour before, please excuse the quality of the lighting, I've mentioned in previous posts how photo-taking in my house during night time is a no-go area. My lights make everything look yellow and orange!

The dye was easy to apply, you're given an application brush which you load with the dye and comb through your hair. I have medium to long hair so started my gradient just under my ears. I noticed my hair started to lighten straight away. I left it in for 45ish minutes, it was very obviously a lighter colour than the rest of my hair towards the end!

My shampoo and conditioner of choice at the moment is TREsemme's Keratin Smooth, which is great if you have hair that gets bullied by you on a daily basis!

Here's the end result! I wish I'd blended it a bit better, there are a couple of places where the line between brunette and blonde pretty much STARES you in the face. If I curled it it would be hidden, but I can't be bothered! I love the subtle colour it's created, I was so worried that it was going to go bright ginger!

I'm impressed with the first half of my ombreing journey! I plan to add the second shade into the ends of my hair in the next couple of days. I think it'll be more blended then and look more professional.
I'm a huge fan of this hairstyle, its a bit different, although everyone's doing it now! It adds texture and colour to an otherwise boring shade of brunette!

What's in my Hospital Bag?

So I only have about 2-3 weeks left before I have my baby and it's just been non-stop preparations and shopping all the time!

I've only JUST packed my hospital bag, at almost 38 weeks pregnant. Most ladies have theirs sorted by about 33 weeks, along with their pram, their cot and their baby's clothes.
We've left so many things until the last minute, it's unreal.

It's only now that I've started having contractions, period pain and backache that I've realised I need to get my act together and my arse into gear. Baby N is on her way and she needs a Mama that's organised.

The 'What's in my Hospital Bag?' tag is pretty popular amongst bloggers with babies on the way so I thought I'd join in. I love watching YouTube videos and reading blog posts about people getting ready for their sproglets! :]

My actual 'Hospital Bag' is small suitcase, the sort of thing you'd use for inland flights or weekend trips. Alas, with labour being so mysterious and tricky, I don't know how long I'll be staying in hospital, it could be overnight or, if I have a cesarean, 4-5 days. I've sort of packed for in-between that time, we only live 5 minutes from the hospital so if I need anything my husband can always pop some bits in for me.

So, in my bag I have packed...

Slippers, a purple birthing gown, a matching purple lightweight dressing gown, HUGE knickers (apparently that's a must-have if you have a c-section scar, so the knickers don't sit on your wound and irritate it) maternity pads, breast pads, nursing bras, leggings, strap tops and a couple of thin cardigans, which will make it easy to breastfeed. It's going to be warm on the ward so I won't need jumpers or anything thick until we leave the hospital.

Regarding toiletries; I've bought lots of little travel items so that I'm not burdened with heavy or expensive bottles of products. Funnily enough I don't plan on having a long lazy bubble bath whilst I'm there, my mum said I'll probably only get the one shower after the birth, then it will be all about the baby, so I've just gone for the basics: shampoo, conditioner, body spray, face wipes, deodorant, anti-bac hand gel, toothbrush and toothpaste, hairbrush, hair ties, dry shampoo and my vitamins.

Finally there's the cosmetics side of things. I really don't plan on doing much to my face after I've had my daughter. I think I'll be too besotted with her to care what I look like to others so I've just packed a couple of things, in case I'm staying a few days and I have visitors. 

I've been told by my friend, Lara, that she's willing to give me an hour with the baby before she invades the ward! 

So I've packed little travel versions of my usual make up: True Match concealer (for those tired eyes) Benefit's Bad Gal Lash, Nivea Lip Butter and a mini version of my Liz Earle moisturiser.

I think I've got a good balance of things, not an excessive amount but not too little so that I'm missing things.

Once the baby's clothes and blankets have dried and I've packed them I'll do a 'What's in my Baby's Hospital Bag?' post, which guarantees to be much cuter and 'awww' inducing that reading about my pants.