THEMED PARTYWARE ON A BUDGET

Party themes are so much fun to have but can also be very pricey, for items your going to be using for a matter of hours before they are binned or shoved in the junk drawer because they cost that much you tuck them away in hope you may end up using them again one day. 

This year I went for an alternative to the branded themed partyware available, Daisie's party theme was My little pony and her table cover alone cost £2.79 (which is pretty good but it took a lot of hunting down as most were being sold for £4+) Now maybe I'm just a major tight arse but I find those prices a little steep for something that will have all sorts spilt on it until it's eventually rolled up and binned once the parties over. 

So this year instead of going for the themed party plates, cups, decorations, party bags etc 

I went for the colour scheme of each pony on the table cover, We had a ceiling of crepe paper running from each side of rainbow dash hair colours, a tassel garland of Twilight sparkle colours and plates in the colour scheme of Fluttershy.

Thankfully a few of the children picked up on the look I was going for and it saved me a good few pennies which I was able to put towards another present for Daisie.

You can do similar with most loved programmes, I've used Avengers Assemble as an example above using the colours from the Hulk, Captain America and Iron man.
Coloured partyware can be found pretty much anywhere from Asda,Tesco and eBay for as little as 99p.

THE BIG ONE | ANXIETY & ME

If you've followed my blog for awhile you'd have noticed my little series of Anxiety & Me posts, In my last update I mentioned having a 6 week course of CBT therapy and how well things had turned out despite my doubts at the beginning.
During that time one of my aims was to get myself a job or at least apply for a few without having a total meltdown, well since then I have applied for many jobs confidently sadly nothing came of the majority of them and the 3 interviews I had didn't mount to anything either.
After a little while the job centre told me about a work programme with M&S through the princes trust.
I went along to the first information day not showing any major enthusiasm not knowing the experience would be absolutely life changing for me, With all the information in hand I went along to the second information day and a taster day at one of my local M&S stores were I met an amazing group of people. We had a run down of what the next 4 weeks would involve and done some group exercises something which a few months earlier would have sent me into a complete meltdown.
Then came day 3 where each of us had to wait for the phone call to see if we were successful with getting onto the programme I was one of the 18 lucky people to have made it onto the programme  and had secured a place in my first choice of store to complete it in.
My time at M&S during my work experience has been an amazing journey, I've made some amazing friends, I've had hands on experience with the general day to day of retail, Things my heart was always in and already doing but my mind was so scared of doing.
Finally being given the chance from a company that saw my struggles and saw something in me I didn't entirely believe I had myself.
(I covered my background of anxiety in my small interview before leaving the taster day for them to narrow down the 30 to 18)
4 weeks of great work experience and an emotional celebration day with everyone involved. I returned back to the store in which I completed my work experience in. Sat in Enrica the store managers office along with Nina who has been my work bestie (who was also part of the programme) and two of our amazing coaches Angie and Jon. Where both me and Nina got the news they had decided to keep us on!!!

Your now reading the blog of a newly working mummy who can be found in the GM section of Marks & Spencer.

SUMMER HOLIDAY FUN | FAIRY HUNT

With the six weeks summer holiday in full swing the challenge is on for parents everywhere to find things to do to keep the little ones busy with it costing as little as possible.

First on our hit list was the free fairy hunt at our local Ruxley Manor garden centre, We collected our Fairy Hunt booklets from the main reception which had a beautiful fairy on each page, in total we had twelve fairies to hunt for and find their names, once you found them all you could hand in your completed booklet into the Mulberry Tree restaurant and get yourself a FREE cupcake with any hot drink purchased.
After finding the first two fairies the girls did get bored of filling out the booklet and it was left for me to do but they still enjoyed wandering around spotting the hidden fairies with their little friend.

Not being one to drink hot drinks and not to mention the price of said drinks we missed out on our cupcake but we did enjoy a lovely lunch before heading back for the bus home. It was the perfect thing to kick start our things to do this summer holidays.
Next on our list is a Dino day in one of our local shopping centres.

LUSH | FATHERSDAY EVENT - GOODIE BAG & PURCHASES

You've read all about the recent LUSH fathers day event I attended, if you haven't you can do so 'here', Now for the goodie bag!

The LUSH staff were very generous with our gift bag contents, I was so happy to see my name and my blogs on my bag label (it really is the little things) 

Not only did we get to take home our creations of Sunny Side bubble bar and a Big Blue bath bomb but we were also lucky enough to take home a Super Dad bath bomb, Smugglers Soul facial scrub and a Smugglers Soul shampoo bar.
Also included in our bags was a Fresh Thinking catalogue and a Spa Treatment menu (everything's so tempting)

I didn't purchase a lot as it was the dreaded bill week, the week every adult despises!
No matter what I was set on buying Andy the Lush Mechanic cold pressed soap, He's now fully stuck in with motorbike building with requests coming out of his ears which means oily dirty hands near on every day, which never mixes well with my white door frames, white tiled bathrooms or pretty much anywhere touchable.
I grabbed myself my first Lip scrub I know, I know where have I been?
I'm an awful Lushie.
I also grabbed myself some Tea tree toner tabs, I need to find a time where I am home alone because I know the girls or Andy wouldn't ever let the chance of the perfect opportunity to wind me up and me not being able to do much pass them by.

LUSH | FATHERSDAY EVENT

Recently I was very kindly invited to my second LUSH event in my local store, Who can say no to a night full of LUSH goodness? this time being for this years Fathers Day range.

Bloggers were welcome to bring a male along to this event be it dad, brother, partner or friend but  Andy was looking after the girls so I could attend but next time I'll make sure I have a baby sitter on stand by (If you've stumbled upon my blog mumsie you are more than likely the chosen one *flutters eyelashes*)

Although it may not seem it LUSH is very much a unisex company and this event was based all around products for the special men in our lives, all of which can also be used by women too of course.

(The lovely Emily from fashioneyesta.com adding one of the very important ingredients to sunny side)

On arrival we were offered a drink and a selection of fruit to help ourselves to given our name labels, checked in with Raif's register and our bags/coats were taken ready to get really stuck in.
In true LUSH fashion our drinks were served in the little pots some LUSH products come in, 

First up we were introduced to our lovely hosts for the evening and given a little run through of how the evening would go, to warm us up we got to make our own Sunny Side bubble bar before getting stuck into any of the sections they had prepared for us, There were 4 different sections Shower, Hair, Baths and Skincare.

Each section packed with the perfect pamper for any special man in your life and even for yourself.

We were put into 4 separate groups, I had the lovely Emma from emmainbromley and Nat from beautyboxobsessed in my group, as a group we all got on really well which is always something I panic about before attending events there's nothing worse than arriving on your own and spending your whole evening on your own. I wish I'd grabbed a snap of all of us together but theres always next time!

We were talked through the barbaric history of Sandalwood which features in a lot of the Fathers day range, Giving each item that manly scent the sort of scent that makes you think of your own dad and how safe one of their hugs makes you feel.
After each group had rotated and been talked through each section of products, to wrap up the evening the LUSH staff had gloves at the ready for us to get messy again when each of us got to make our very own Big Blue bath bomb.
Once each of us had successfully made our bath bombs we were free to shop if we wanted and handed our goodie bags, I was so excited to see my name and blog written on the label on my bag.
I'll save the contents of my goodie bag and my purchases for another post!

A huge thank you to everyone at LUSH bromley for inviting me and for holding such a fun packed evening. It was great to catch up with some familiar faces from my first LUSH event back in October as well as meeting some new lovely bloggers that I hope to catch up with at future events.

 One of my faves from the October event couldn't make it this time and her pretty face was missed very much! 

 (Yep, I'm talking about you Christina if your reading this) 

CLUBBERCISE THE NEW WAY TO KEEP FIT

For quite a while now I've been talking about wanting to join a gym or at least get a fitness dvd to follow at home but each idea hit a brick wall, Gym memberships are a little to pricey for me and with a fitness dvd I was in control of the pause button and that's likely to be how half the work out would end up before I eventually just gave up and turned it off.

I was still determined to keep fit in some kind of way and while scrolling through Facebook a few people on my friends list had liked a local clubbercise page and I done exactly the same as well as tagging a few friends in a post to see if they would be interested in attending a session with me. 

As well as mentioning it to anyone that would be likely to come along with me, with the next session approaching I was determined to go wether a friend came along with me or not and purchased a sports bra as my boobs may not be the biggest but boy do they fly all over the place when going down the stairs let alone a energetic work out.
Since attending my first session I've been out and got myself some sports leggings, sports trainers, a top and even some snazzy little sports socks!

Clubbercise isn't your usual boring work out and with it being in the dark you don't feel conscious of other clubbers seeing you and if like me getting all the moves wrong but enjoying yourself none the less, with the hall lit up with disco lights and glow sticks, it really is just like a night out without the heels or hangover.
After my first session I really felt the work out in my legs for three days but after a second session I don't feel as achy and even managed a little jog home.

I highly recommend anyone wanting to give some kind of fitness a go while having fun to look for any clubbercise sessions running local.

EBAY FINDS | BRUSHEGG

There's nothing better than a bargain and eBay is heaven for a really good bargain.

BUT they really can be hit and miss, usually for the price it isn't a major loss,

since purchasing my Real technique brushes I've been washing them by using a H&M brush cleansing spray and rubbing them on a face towel, I knew this wasn't the best way to be cleaning them and if I wanted them to last I'd need to invest in something else.

While browsing eBay I came across the brushegg in a wide range of colours for 99p so I snapped it up, I'm one of those people that hates touching things with wet hands including my own hands so I never have braved washing my brushes under running water because the thought alone made me gag!

So the brush egg seemed perfect although my hands would get wet I felt a little more at ease with the brushegg on my fingertips.

When it arrived it was a little smaller than I imagined it to be but for 99p that wasn't an issue, I finally got round to using it months after purchasing it, I didn't get the magical brushes as good as new results I was expecting but I am new to using an egg for my brushes so I'm not completely writing it off just yet as there could be a nack to it that I just didn't have with my first use.

(do real tech brushes even return back to their beautiful white newness after use?)

It took quite some roughness to see any kind of results a lot of the product still seemed to be right at the top of my brushes even after quite a scrub but being new to it I didn't want to be to heavy handed and ruin my brushes, not only was the egg new but using water on my brushes was too.

(Before and After, After picture brushes are still damp)

Do you have a brushegg or something similar to wash your brushes?

PURE COLOUR NEW LOOK MAKE-UP

Another make-up range high up on my wish list is New Looks range.

So when I saw that beautiful red sale sticker on a few items, I knew it was time I made my first purchases!

I picked up 3 eyeshadows and two lipsticks, one scanned through at full price but only being £3.99 at full price it really wasn't bank breaking.
For some reason I've gone eyeshadow crazy yet I never wear the stuff but there's so many pretty colours, My theory is one day I'll have enough time to sit and have a play around with different looks and then in turn be brave enough to actually wear them daily.
One of my issues is I have quite hooded eyelids and I also wear glasses full time so is it totally pointless to even bother? If anyone has any eye make-up looks for hooded eye lids I'd love to have a read/watch!

The eyeshadows I picked up were mink, dark grey and cream
(listed in photo order)
I picked up lipsticks in number 17 Camel and A matte lipstick in 75 Sweet Rose.
After trying on the sweet rose I'm not so keen it's a lot pinker than I thought but as the season changes I may change my mind, I used to wear hot pink shades quite a bit and I look back at photos and cringe so that could play a big factor in my disliking for it so I'm not going to write it off just yet.

Have you tried anything from the New Look PURE COLOUR range?

EASTER BASKETS 2016

For the past few years instead of buying the girls easter eggs (because they end up with loads from family members) I've put together a little basket with a range of different things to do to keep them busy over the Easter holidays.

This year I wasn't so sure I was going to do one but get them a giant kinder surprise easter egg instead but as the easter stuff started showing up in stores everywhere my hands were starting to get twitchy, Then when Daisie very sweetly asked about the easter bunny bringing baskets this year I just had to.

So I got hunting for anything and everything that could keep them busy as well as being Easter themed, I dug out the previous years christmas eve box now they've had an upgrade, I spent a good week hunting for one convinced I lost it until Daisie wanted to paint nails and I got my nail varnish basket down to realise that it was the one I've been hunting for Doh! 

In this years boxes we have 

A colouring book - Asda

Paint your own sun catcher - Asda

Easter stamps - Card Factory

Iron bead sets - Poundland

Pack of 3 books colouring, word search, activity book and crayons  - Poundland

Bunny Glasses - Poundland

Easter Nail kit - Card Factory 

Chocolate bunny lolly - Random corner shop 

Block building set - Poundland 

Do you put together an Easter basket for your little ones?

MAKE YOUR OWN SCRABBLE KEEP SAKE

This mothers day (although late, thanks ebay seller) I finally put the frames I bought a little while a go to make some kind of scrabble frame into use and made the girls Grandma one from the girls.

I was originally going to have the word GRANDMA with a number of different words of how the girls would describe her coming off the odd one -  four letters, then I realised each of her grand children's names would fit perfectly.

For the background I was going to buy some scrap book paper but struggled to find any the right size for my chosen frame then came the idea of a map of where she grew up and where her mum lived to add even more hidden meaning but after speaking to Andy I decided against that idea so while in my local Wilkos I took a look at their wallpaper display and chose one Andy liked. 

Before starting anything I put together a number of different ways the names could go, once I'd decided on one I was happy with I laid them all out in the frame to be sure they would fit and which way would be best. 

Then out came the glue, I'd originally set out to do the frame the opposite way but it really wouldn't have looked right without any spaces either side of the frame and names, It's not until writing up this post I realise how much I dislike it with the wallpaper running the other way so it's tempting to re-do it again with the wallpaper flowing the right way instead. 

Something I'd recommend is to double check your lettering lay out with the frame on as it wasn't until I put mine in its frame that I noticed some of my letters are slightly off at first glance it's fine but the longer you look at it the more obvious it becomes.

If I don't re-do it I plan to use the excuse of their Grandmas wall being wonky ;) 

She once had a HUGE map which was wonky but she always said her map isn't wonky the world is so that excuse should work just fine.
Now I've done one I've got the bug to make another and will be making one ready for the girls new room.

Scrabble pieces pack of 100 - £2.99 eBay

Glue - £1.99 eBay can also be purchased in wilkos

Frame - £1.75 in Asda sale 

Wallpaper sample free from wilkos or any other store with a wallpaper selection.

MY FAVOURITE PLACES TO SHOP FOR EASTER BASKET FILLERS

For the past few years I've put together a little Easter basket each for the girls full of crafty bits to keep them busy, along with some easter goodies.

Each year since living in our current house we've also had a little easter egg hunt, last year I filled mini eggs with clues on where to find each egg which you can read about 'here'

Whenever easter is upon us and they start bringing out the easter stock in shops, I go on a mad hunt for anything crafty and different to previous years I always check out three main shops.

Card Factory

Card factory is amazing when it comes to seasonal events they always have some cute little bits for the girls Easter and Christmas eve boxes. 

They always have something different other shops don't have too last year I got the girls easter finger tattoos for 79p this year I got them a nail kit for 79p with 4 easter nail files and a set of nail stickers.

Poundland

Poundland is another of my top faves when it comes to seasonal buys, they always have a hidden gem somewhere be it cute chocolates or crafty stuff it's another store that has something new each year. 

This year I've got the girls an easter block tech and bead set like the hama bead range.

Asda

Asda has always been pretty hit and miss for Easter items but this year they have a really good range of easter crafts and fillable eggs.

This year I got some large fillable eggs although I'm tempted to go back and get the cute ones because they are really cute, an easter colouring book and a sun catcher painting set. 

LUSH HAUL

It's been awhile since I've had a good lush splurge, so it was only right to have a little spend up when my local LUSH had their valentines, mothers day stock in! I was given the heads up of the easter range coming within the next week so I made sure I returned as soon as I could and got my hands on the famous fluffy egg.

I'll be honest I'm not one to go into lush and even read whats in or what a bath bomb/bubble bar does if it's cute I'm having it and we shall live happily ever after well until I use it and it is no longer.

This haul seems so much bigger when I lift and look in the bag, now I've got pictures of it seems like such a pathetic haul.

Mothers Day Range

Ladybird Bubble bar - How cute is this little guy! He's almost way to cute to break up and use.

Rose Bombshell - This is another bath bomb I picked up simply because look how beautiful it is!

The little hints of colour peeking out leave me full of excitement of what sort of colour my bath is going to end up!

Valentines Day range 

Lover Lamp - This purchase was simply because I needed to get my hands on something from the valentines range, being white it's not usually a bath bomb I'd go for because I'm a huge kid at heart and the more colourful the better, but looking at those random bits of red hearts I know I'm going to be impressed.

I picked up Fizzbanger and Yoga bath bomb because of their colours, Look how bright they are! 

The colours alone I just know I won't be disappointed with them.

Think Pink is one of the girls favourite bath bombs so it's a must have if I ever nip into LUSH. They get as excited as the first time they had this one when the hearts start making an appearance. 

Easter Range 

Fluffy egg - It just wouldn't be easter without it really would it?

Which came first? - I picked this up as a joint gift for the girls easter baskets this year, In previous years I've always thought £6.95 was a little steep for a bath bomb but this isn't just A bath bomb, you can easily get 3 baths out of this maybe even 5 if you don't want to use a whole half of one side of the egg and could split each side into twos and still have plenty left to enjoy later.

I'm dying to get my hands on the bouncy bunny shower jelly for the girls but I totally forgot to look for it, I'm hoping to get back over there before Easter and get my hands on it!

Have you got anything from LUSH recently?

MY FIRST KIKO PURCHASES

After spending way to much of my time browsing the KIKO website filling up my basket just to laugh and close the tab again, I finally got my hands on some products from my local store.

I popped in before but felt way to overwhelmed and walked back out again empty handed, this time I didn't leave with everything on my list as I forgot it but I also noticed some price differences from what I'd seen on the websitre for example the Smart lip pencils I had my eye on are £1.20 online but £2.50 in store not a major difference but I'm all for a saving no matter how small.

They did however have a deal on of 5 products for £10 and that's a deal I can't say no to!

If this hadn't have been the first store I went in I'd have easily got double the amount I did and after not buying much more after leaving Kiko, I'm gutted I didn't go back and buy more of the eyeshadows in the offer.

KIKO packaging reminds me a lot of MAC but at fraction of the price, I love how simple the packaging is I'm not sure if I'm actually going to unpackage anything because it all looks so posh in the black boxes.

I picked up a bottle of the Brush Cleanser 50ml for £5.90 looking at the picture of this online I expected the bottle to be double the size but couldn't bring myself to put it back when I realised how small it was compared to my H&M one, even tho I've also recently purchased a bottle of baby shampoo to clean my brushes with too.

I also picked up a Smart lipstick in 925 hazelnut.

In the 5 for £10 offer I picked up three of their Infinity eyeshadows in 210 Satin Brick, 239 Mat Gray Taupe and 271 Pearly Gray.

Two automatic precision lip liners in 501 salmon pink and 502 deep pink which both retail at £5.90 each on the website!

After doing the swatches (which just looked pants nothing to do with the products but my dodgy photography lol) I have really high hopes for the lipstick and lip liners they took quite some scrubbing to get off my arm, there's nothing worse than applying lippy before leaving home and being left with just the lining of your lips by midday and realising you left your lippy at home so can't even reapply.
My basket is already full of lipsticks and lip liners ready to order, Did you know kiko have a reward card scheme? I totally forgot to download the app and missed out on my 1O% off these purchases but you can even earn points for engaging with them on social media, how cool is that!

Have you purchased anything from kiko recently?

NETHERMINED NEWCASTLE EVENT

You may have noticed not so long ago the world of Minecraft took most of our little people into a world of pixel looking objects that look like they came from something from the 80's.

I often lose my mini human to the world of Minecraft and get asked questions about nether dragons, portals all sorts of things I'm totally clueless about, luckily Andy is quite the wizz at it and can assist her when needed, she has recently how ever taken to youtube (parental lock is on) to find out information and inspiration on new builds she can do within the game. 

Nethermined is a two day event taking place at Northumbria University on 5th and 6th March at £15 a ticket per day and is perfect for any Minecraft fan, with a large selection of youtubers attending just that alone would have made Issy's day she often comes out with fancy youtube usernames and has been known to ask me if I can leave a comment on videos with her say on things they've asked in videos, I know just getting a reply would have made her day but to get up close and actually be able to speak to one? That would be the dream for my fast growing 8 year old who would love to one day have a youtube channel of her own.

Sadly we are unable to attend the event as we are to far away but if it was to ever come to London without a doubt I'd be snapping up a ticket as soon as I could, Minecraft is one of the only things Issy shows a real passion for everything else comes and goes like Zelfs for instance she LOVED them for all of about a week, Minecraft however has stuck and seems to show no signs of going anywhere soon, if she had her way she would play or watch youtube videos on it all day, only ever leaving her computer for food requests and going to the toilet if I'd let her get away with it.

The creations she comes out with on the game amaze me I gave the game ago once and I totally sucked at it!

(photo credit - Nicholas Gray) 

This event would have been amazing for not only Issy but for me too, It would have been great to have a little more of an understanding of the game she enjoys so much because not only is the event for fans but for parents too, there will be 3 Minecraft EDU educators who will be giving talks about Mincraft and it's educational value, as well as the Parents Zone where parents can ask questions and learn to play Minecraft. Along with the Youtubers too there will be live gaming and youtuber panels, 4 retro gaming machines, 2 Oculus Rifts, an art zone, face painters, Minecraft and geeky merchandise so there really is something for everyone!

You can purchase tickets 'HERE'

OUR TRIP TO KENT LIFE

Yesterday we made the most of the girls week off school coming to an end by going along to Kent Life in Maidstone for the day.

Neither me or Andy drive so trips like this don't happen as often as we'd like but we are very lucky to have good friends that treat the girls as if they are family and often take them out on lots of amazing adventures that we are unable to, This time I tagged along for the day.

Kent Life is the perfect day out for any family theres something for all ages, The girls enjoyed cuddles with the smaller animals in the cuddle corner, feeding the bigger ones, a play in the play park, bouncy castle, soft play and a tractor ride all of which were completely FREE. 

You had to buy a bag of animal food for £1 when paying your entrance (£19.95 for a family of 4) but that's a small price to pay for a day full of fun. 

One of the activities Kent Life offers is a crafty corner where you can paint a pot of your choice with prices ranging from £3 up to £7.50, £3 being for a small figure and £7.50 for a very nicely sized figure well worth the price I'm gutted I couldn't really stretch the extra £5 for the girls to have painted one of the bigger ones but they love their £5 bunny and dragon figures.

Issy's sits proudly on her desk and Daisies sits snuggly in her bed despite warnings of if he falls he will break, which I did in fact hear him fall in the night and was called in at 4am when she could no longer find him in her bed BUT he survived the fall and is now snug between two pillows and on the wall side of her bed.

As well as being able to get up close with the animals there is also buildings such as a WWII Cottage from nearby Lenham, Victorian Petts Farmhouse and the blacksmiths forge which are set up exactly how they would have been back in their time, I now regret not going in for a peek as it would have been lovely to see but theres always next time.

There was also a classroom set up with the old wooden desks with the lift up tops really taking you back to what school life would have been like back in the day. Also in the school was a black board listing Honours gained by Lady Boswell's girls school, I went over to have a peek and see if any of my family surnames were listed anywhere and there in the middle column was two names with the same surname as my dads birth surname.

Whether they are part of my family tree I don't know but it's always fun to find a name you could possibly be linked to in some way!

We didn't come prepared with lunch as we were unsure if we would be allowed to eat our own lunches on the grounds so half way through the day we stopped off at Dotty's tea room a 1950's inspired tea room serving a delicious range of home made cakes.

The girls went for cheese on toast with chocolate milkshake and I went for a baguette and apple juice, I also couldn't leave without trying their macaroni cheese so was a little piggy and ordered that too something I planned to share with the girls as they were undecided on that or their cheese on toast but Daisie had a few mouthfuls and Issy wasn't keen so I was left to shovel it in on my own.

My camera kept misbehaving throughout the day so I saved the moments it did behave for shots of the girls feeding the animals rather than lunch and a few of the other things we got up to which really sucks but Andy the tech will hopefully be with us next time and be on hand to help with any problems I may have.

Through out the year Kent Life holds all kinds of events from Half term fun & frolics, May day celebrations, Peppa pig days, Classic vehicle shows right up to the usual seasonal events Easter eggstravaganza and easter egg hunt, Halloween spooktacular, Firework spectacular and meeting Santa.

You can get yourself an Annual membership for £95 lasting 12 months which gets you free entry to the grounds and buildings for the whole year.

NEW LOOK | PERFUMES

 (please excuse the photo quality)

On one of my many random strolls around New Look looking at what I'd buy when I next have money, You know the ones I mean the ones where you wander around aimlessly with no where near enough money once bills are paid to even be considering spending money right now.

(and I wonder why the security guards follow me every time I enter my local primark)

The truth is I'm not only window shopping its the best place to get a wifi signal when I'm on my lunch! I'm stuck in the 90's of pay as you go and haven't topped up since December.

Anyway enough of my yabbering back to the point of this post, during one of my many strolls I came across New looks fragrance collection after a wiff of one I instantly fell in love and promised myself I'll go back and get myself the £7.99 bottle of heaven, but in true me fashion I never did go back and get it until this week I was in a different store and headed straight to the beauty section but again to tight to treat myself to the £7.99 bottle which I'm now regretting. I grabbed myself two bottles of their 10ml perfumes for £2.99 BARGAIN or what!

I grabbed them in the scent I fell in love with previously which was Pure Blush and a second scent I loved as soon as I smelt it Pure Dusk.

There was a set of all 4 scents they do for £9.99 but I had Andy with me and he doesn't get the whole 4 for £9.99 taking my total up by £4 and getting every scent they do but instead just getting the two I love and saving £4 which is no doubt going to leave me whinging about it until I go back again, He may well be right but wheres the fun in sensible thinking while shopping?

Each scent smells amazing, I've worn Pure Dusk since I purchased it and you'll often catch me sniffing myself, the staying power for £2.99 is unreal, I have more expensive perfumes I can barely smell once I've reached the school but the bottles are way to heavy to carry around in my handbag to top up through out the day which makes these 10ml bottles even more amazing as they fit perfectly in your handbag! I've not needed to top up while out yet but I always take it with me just in case.

The fragrance range is available in a number of different sizes all at very reasonable prices the most expensive being £12.99 for a 100ml bottle.

Next time I'm near a New Look I'm not even going to think about it, I'm going to grab a 50ml bottle of one of these scents for at home and will be keeping one of these ones as a permanent fixture to my handbag.

Have you tried any New Look fragrances?

SALE BUYS | JANUARY

January has to be one of the best months but equally the worst month,

Whether it's recovering from the cost of christmas, getting back into routines, the pressure of keeping to any resolutions you've made etc theres always something BUT all those sales sure do make it that little bit better to handle!

I've never really done any major January sale shopping sprees only because money simply doesn't allow me to but I have spotted loads I'd have got if my children weren't so inconsiderate wanting to be fed everyday of the week not to mention bills coming from every angle.

(I'm joking before I get burned at the stake for that)
But I sure do miss the days were all I had to worry about was what I was having for dinner and not how much it was going to cost to put together, The joys of being a adult eh!

I haven't got my hands on a major amount but I like to think I've picked myself up a few little gems in the sale this month from Primark, Store twenty one, Superdrug and Asda.

Excuse the worn boots they are so pretty I couldn't hold off wearing them until I got some decent pictures but if you have me on twitter you'd have read that my love for them was very short lived.
After the first day of wearing them I noticed one of my toe nails were red but put it down to one of the girls recent atacks of nail varnish, I went on and wore them for a second day but when I took my socks off 2 of my toes on each foot were covered in blood! BOO...
I seem to have a crazy obsession with make-up sponges even tho I don't use them, if I find one in a new shape or colour I just have to have it and the primark one was no different I didn't spot it until I was at the till and saw the glorious £1.50 down to 70p sticker I just had to have it.

I spotted the copper/rose gold pen and letter holder in store twenty one before christmas and fell in love with them but didn't pick them up, I plan to swap rooms with the girls and my desk will actually be used as a desk rather than another place to put washing piles, store anything and everything so these were just perfect and a must have for the small price tag. Just like many others in the blogosphere I'm  in love with rose gold and copper recently so the next time I was near store twenty one I ran straight to the section they were stocked to grab them.

Since putting the palettes I purchased in the letter holder while they waited for me to take photos of them I fell in love with them as a palette holder so I'm considering grabbing a few more for make-up storage too.

I had my eye on so much of the make-up revolution sets in superdrug over the christmas period and sadly didn't get my hands on any of them until boxing day and they had the Ultra Salvation lip collection right down to £1.99!!!! 

Of course they went straight in my basket, I also had my eye on the Studio classic eyebrow series before Christmas too and was more than willing to pay the full price but never did get round to it so when it was down to £1.99 I didn't hesitate in grabbing it.
Another thing I've gone crazy for is eyeshadow palettes I don't even wear eyeshadow but palettes are so pretty and if I own them I can start playing around with eye looks!
I have my eye on a few of the W7 palettes so when I saw the In the night one down to £2.50 in asda it was another must have buy.

Did you get your hands on any bargains this month?

10 steps back | Anxiety & Me

Ever felt like your finally getting to where/how you want to be then suddenly out of no where you seem to end up 10 steps back?

No idea how or why but everything's unravelling?

I started 2016 with so many high hopes and goals after all the hard work I had put into showing my anxiety disorder I was boss and I was the one in control, I started attending some courses to improve my C.V to fill in the blanks of my missing GCSE's and the gap of not working where I've been bringing up my little ladies.

I was there and I was doing great very rarely having a bad day, Then the girls returned to school and I was supposed to return to complete my maths course.

All was going well then all of a sudden like a switch my mind just told me no and all I could do was cry at the thought of going back there, I just couldn't do it I didn't want to face people I was stressing out about affording my bus fare what with recovering from christmas and then Issy's birthday the following week.

So I rang my course providers and let them know I'll be in the following week but I promised myself this was just because the stress of affording to get there, Along came the following week and I went along to my course with no problems for 2 days but day 3 is where it all went spiralling out of control.

I sat my maths exam next minute I'm talking to the manager about my next steps fighting back tears! I was told  to take the rest of the week off and to return the following week to start my English course, Telling me to focus on how far I had come and to not even think about the result of my maths test because attending the course alone was a big thing for me and how proud they are of me for doing just that alone.
(He was made aware of my anxiety before I attended my first course)

I ended up crying with frustration the whole bus journey home I gave myself a few options that I felt would help 1. run straight to my mums and just break down to her 2. Go to my local park sit on the swings and just scream as loud as I could but I didn't want to worry anyone and finally go home sit in my car that I can't drive yet and just scream there before I went in doors.
As I stepped off the bus I expected to cry some more and have to dodge everyone I know at my local market but as soon as the wind hit me there seemed to be no more tears there and my mood lifted the wonders of your comfort zone eh?

I was so tired of being in a constant battle with my own mind, I felt I didn't have much fight left anymore I wanted to give up and let it win, live some more of my life hiding away from the world and not facing anything BUT after a little bit of fresh air seeing my girls faces  my whole attitude changed I refuse to give up! I've come this far and I only plan to go further after all it was a bad day and we are all entitled to those aren't we?
It doesn't mean tomorrow or the day after that and the day after that are going to be bad ones!
So a BIG F you anxiety I refuse to let you win, you've won the past few years but not no more I WILL be returning to do the other courses I plan to do and everything else I've planned to do in 2O16.

Writing it down seems so pathetic but at the time it felt like all I could do, I wanted people to see just how real Anxiety is and just because you can't see it doesn't mean it doesn't exist, I wanted to go to those that don't quite get it and roll their eyes when I mention it and let them see just how broken it had left me over something so simple.
By the time I'd reached home the me that doesn't want anyone to see my struggles and my weakness was back.

What better way to mark my determination?
Dye my hair the colour I've been talking about and pestering anyone I know for their opinion on it for months.

Ebay Basket #1

Hat / Leopard Glasses / Vintage Glasses / Faux Leather Skirt / Shirt Dress / 10 Piece Brush set / Eye shadow Palette / Thigh High Boots / W7 Eyeshadow Palettes / Tassle Stilettos


This year I really want to step out of my comfort zone and find my style again it doesn't even have to be my style it just has to be a style that looks like I actually own a mirror, I want to stop putting outfits together in my head and having them going no further than that.
This year I plan to wear those thigh highs without worrying I look like a hooker, wear that Faux leather skirt out to dinner because it looks gorgeous, Wear a hat without feeling like I may look like a stuck up cow or something I'm not to someone and generally just wear what I want without worrying about what people think.
I'd like to try new frame styles without being signed up to those lenses to actually be able to see! eBay is perfect for cheap glasses which I can play around with different styles and if theres a frame I like but not for everyday wear it will give me the extra shove to go and book my contact lense appointment then I can also finally wear the many sunglasses I own and do my make-up without practically straddling my mirror just so I can see.

NEW YEAR GOALS

I'm not even going to try and fool you guys into thinking the new year will bring a whole new me because I'm not even kidding myself and to be totally honest there's a few tweaks I'd make but a whole new me is just a tad extreme.
That being said if I wanted to make any drastic changes I don't think I'd wait because theres no better time than the present a new year is a perfect start just as a memorable marking but this year I decided to stop waiting and just went for it something I plan to continue throughout 2O16 and all other years from now.

So I'm going to make a list of goals I'd like to achieve through out 2O16!

Blog
- I really let my blog slip at the end of this year, there was plenty of opportunities to schedule posts but I just didn't take them and I'm truly gutted now looking back so one of my goals for 2O16 is to have a blog schedule I can hopefully keep to around general life.
- Attend more blogging events I've attended a couple since starting my blog but I'd love to take the leap and attend a few more that are out of my comfort zone I tend to shy away from a lot of them because I don't think I'm quite worthy of the 'blogger' name.

Myself

- Take more pride in my appearance I own more than enough tools for the job but when I can I'll always opt for the extra 3O minutes in bed or just to laze about before heading out, There was once a time I would never leave the house without making an effort.
- Drink more water I very rarely drink water and always opt for a fizzy drink, I managed to kick the habit of drinking a litre of coca-cola a day more water is the next step.
- Enroll onto a few make-up courses and other courses that take my fancy.
- Pass or at least be close to passing my driving test, Twice I've started lessons and given them up near to christmas the first being 2O1O

Home life & General home
 - Have more of a structured routine with our home life
- Clear both gardens and keep it that way, making them as I've imagined them for so long
- Turn my house into the home I've been lusting after for so long

Do you have any goals you'd like to achieve in 2O16?