Christmas gifts 2014

Christmas is over :( but instead of shedding a tear for my favourite time of year, I'm being thankful for the quality time that I've spent with my family and the lovely gifts I received this year. I got quite a few small gifts so I wanted to quickly share a few of them with you.

Christmas Cookies!

Tis' the night before christmas and it could not be complete without... Christmas Cookies!

Enjoy and Merry Christmas ☺

Kids Craft: Felt stocking tree hangers

A fun thing to do with the kids at this time of year and really easy to make. This year we are not putting up the traditional stockings and my daughter was quite disappointed, so I suggested we make these ones as mini decorations for the christmas tree and she jumped at the idea. I love making all sorts of things from felt and I wanted to share this one with you.

3 Ways to store your jewellry

I have quite an abundance of jewellry and seem to be constantly on the lookout for new ways to store and display it all. I don't like tucking it away in jewellry boxes because if you can't see it then you are less likely to wear it, so I prefer to use displays and stands like the following. It keeps it all in view and in easy reach in order to accessorize any outfit. These are my top 3 at the moment.

Snowy sky blue nails

Whilst shopping with my daughter recently, I happened to spot this nail polish on sale and thought that it would be perfect for the holiday season as it looks so christmasy. At 50% of the normal price, I couldn't let it go.

In The Nude // palette review

In The Nude by W7 is a fair priced dupe to the notably more expensive Naked 3 palette by Urban Decay. Retailing at €7,99, it's an absolute steal as the quality is extremely good. W7 also brought out another UD dupe called 'In The Buff' which I haven't yet had the pleasure of trying for myself but have heard good things about.

Golden Rose lipstick

This lipstick is lovely and that's coming from someone who doesn't wear full-on bright lipsticks very often. I got this in a Beauty Box that I posted about here and I'm extremely happy with it. I'd never encountered this Turkish brand before I started getting the various beauty boxes but so far I'm quite impressed.

You can't do everything

Life is short and in this day & age, it is also extremely fast paced. We have more opportunities now to see and do more than the generations before us so naturally we want to do everything. When I think of the things that I want to do in a week; it's unrealistic to do it all unless I turn into super woman!

Christmas bits & bobs

I have found and used some great ideas this year when it comes to my christmas decorations. In the picture above I used some empty wine and rum bottles with LED lights to create a festive decoration for my windowsill.

Rimmel Keep Calm lip balm

Tinted lip balms are all the rage at the moment and when I came across this one from Rimmel, I jumped at the chance at giving it a try.
Moisturising your lips and giving them a gorgeous pop of colour at the same time... bonus! Especially in these harsh winter months when you have to take extra care.
I'd already heard of the baby lips balm from Maybelline but haven't managed to find it in the shops here yet admittedly, I may be looking in the wrong place but who knows. 

Beauty Box Nov '14 // Unboxing

I love the excitement of receiving packages in the mail, especially when I don't know what goodies are awaiting for me inside. Box subscriptions are really good from that perspective because they allow you to try out new things and also get you that little bit excited when you know it's on its way.

This is the 2nd box that I've now received from Beauty Box and here is what lay inside...

CARGO Suited to a Tea Palette

The moment I saw this palette online, I thought it looked lovely with its beautiful colour selection and cute & kooky packaging... how could I resist. I had never tried any make up from Cargo before but had read good reviews so I bought this at the first opportunity that I had which happened to be whilst it was on sale (bonus!).

Brussels // day trip

After a two hour drive we arrived in Brussels in Belgium, a place well known as the capital of Europe. It was a lovely sunny day and not too cold so perfect for just walking around and taking in the sights. As it was the first time I'd been to a belgian city, I didn't have a specific plan of what I wanted to see or do except for going to the hard rock cafe which I'm a huge fan of but that's something for another post.

Urban Decay Smoked Palette

When it comes to smoky eyes, look no further than the Smoked palette from Urban Decay. It is by far the best selection of eye shadows that I have ever used to create a sultry smoky look. The palette consists of 10 colours that are velvety and highly pigmented. 

Festive sparkly eye look

Yes the festive season is upon us and this usually means that there are more parties to go to and it's when you meet up with people you don't seem to see during the rest of year for drinks or dinner.

Christmas Wishlist 2014

Holidays are coming, holidays are coming... and of course by this I mean CHRISTMAS! 

Maybelline Color Tattoo 24hr

I absolutely love the colours offered in this range from Maybelline and found it difficult to choose only a couple to try but I opted for these gorgeous shades in blue and pink (20- Turquoise Forever & 65- Pink Gold). 

So Susan eye shadow palette review

This eye shadow palette was a pleasant surprise for me when I received it in the Pretty Box from Oct which I reviewed here. It was a surprise because the last two products that I got from this brand were disappointing to say the least, but this palette is lovely.

Inside my make up bag

My make up collection has grown to a decent size but I don't tend to carry much with me when I go about my daily business unless I'm planning to go out after work or something like that. I used to carry more with me but recently I streamlined it down to only a few things.

Make up storage

My make up collection has grown exponentially over the past year and because of this, I have had to find storage solutions that will not only make it all tidy but also accessible so that I can rotate what I'm using easily. So here's are a few of the things I use to store my make up

Pimp your plimsolls

Recently my daughters gym plimsolls have gone missing at school. They have eventually shown up but it has meant that for many gym lessons she has had to do without them. So my husband and I decided to pimp her new plimsolls so that they could not easily be placed in someone else's bag by mistake. We're so happy with how they turned out that I just had to share.

Beauty Box Oct'14

As my second beauty box subscription I opted for this one as I liked the look of what the previous months had contained and I must say that I wasn't disappointed. I got this along with the Pretty Box this month which you can find my post about here.

Pretty Box Oct'14

I've had this box for a couple of weeks now but only just managed to get round to posting about it. This is my second box from the Pretty Box subscription service and I am considerably happier with this one than I was with last months which I posted about here.

Halloween party decorations

Tomorrow is Halloween but as we are having our party on Saturday there's still plenty of time for putting together those last few decorations. When you have a themed party, it makes it slightly easier to plan as you plan everything around that particular theme. This year our theme is 'Pirates of the Caribbean' which just happens to be one of my favourite movie franchises ☺

They're Real! mascara by Benefit

I feel like I'm on a constant quest to find the perfect mascara and after participating in some forums and hearing which mascaras other people recommended, I found that so many people swore by this one that I thought it was time to test it out for myself. Brands such as Benefit are not readily available in stores where I live but you can buy them quite easily online. Maybe I'm strange, but I really wanted to see these products with my own eyes and be able to touch them and try them out before I made a decision to buy, so I was very happy when I was on a shopping trip one day in a different city and happened to come across a store that had some Benefit products.

Friday facial

It's finally Friday and as part of my new wind down routine to get ready for the weekend, I've decided that every Friday I will use a face mask so I can chill out and give my skin a deep cleanse at the same time. After wearing make up all week, it's good to de-clog your pores from any built up oil and dirt and it makes you feel good too.

Pretty Box Sept '14

I am new to the whole beauty box subscription service. In fact, I didn't even know they existed until I read a blog post about one. So I researched it a little and found a few in the Netherlands.
They all cost around €15 per month and you get a selection of 4-5 beauty items sent to you each time.
As many people on the web were raving about the Pretty Box, I thought I would pop the cherry of my beauty box subscription virginity and order this one first.

Healthy lunchtime salad

As part of the healthier lifestyle that I am trying to lead, I decided to invest more time & effort into my salads. Honestly my salads before consisted of mainly lettuce, cucumber and a bit of tomato with a drizzle of bog standard salad dressing. End result = Boring as hell!

So I began experimenting with some other ingredients and came up with this healthy lunchtime salad. 

September favorites '14

I haven't been using too many different things this month as I have been trying to build a routine with some staple items. Here are some of my favorites.

Things to do with the kids... Handy Art!

One of the great things about my kids is that they love to be creative and rather than letting them loose with the art supplies (paint on the walls & furniture isn't the look I want to go for), I prefer to channel they're creativity. I got the idea for this art piece when my eldest daughter and I were thinking of how we could brighten up the bathroom.

Purple eye look ♥

Just a quick share of my subtle daytime look.

I love the colour purple and it is a close second to my favourite colour, which is red. I find it so

Beautifying Lip Smoother

This is the first time that I've tried a lip smoother and I must say that I'm quite impressed. I tried the lip perfector from Clarins in the shop and really liked it, especially as the applicator is soft and spongy. It's not too badly priced at around €15 but I didn't pick it up at the time. 

Wishlist - Sept/Oct '14

Here are a few things that I'd like to buy over the coming month.

Cargo 'Suited To A Tea' eye shadow palette

This palette features absolutely gorgeous eye shadows and I can't wait to get it. It's top of my list!

Especially looking forward to playing around with the colours on the bottom row like 'Macaron' and 'Ritz'. 

Things to do with the kids... go to the beach

Constantly finding fun things to do with your kids is quite a feat. Especially when you have been busy working all week and then when it comes to the weekend (and all you want to do is sleep), you are met with these little people who seem to have endless amounts of energy. 

e.l.f. nail polish in Blush

This is the first nail polish from e.l.f. that I have tried and it certainly won't be the last. I am really impressed with the quality and especially as it only costs €2,50!

Nature is beautiful ♥

I have always had a fascination with nature. All of the different creatures, plants and trees combine to make this world a place of true beauty.

I love having a garden where I can relax and enjoy nice sunny days, and the wonderful changes that

Nails - Quick dry drops ☺

I am certainly not an expert when it comes to painting my nails. I think it stems from not having much of interest in it during my teens. So any helpful tools or tips are greatly appreciated.

MUA nail polish first impression

I have been very excited to try out this nail polish from MUA (Make Up Academy). It is in the colour 'Pistachia Ice Cream', which I think is an absolutely beautiful mint green colour.

L'Oréal Casting Crème Gloss hair colour review

I have been colouring my hair myself for years. In my late teens, I was a big fan of being blonde which most people I meet now can't believe until I provide photographic proof. Since I've been older though, I prefer to go for the darker look and of course, I have those pesky grey hairs now which tend

August favourites ♥

Here we go with my August favourites. It's a little bit late, but better late than never!

I have selected a few of the things that I've been using a lot of this month and have just been loving.

W7 - In The Nude

This is a gorgeous palette and extremely affordable. It is a dupe of the Naked 3 palette from Urban Decay

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

I've just discovered Bloglovin' and I honestly am loving it. All of my favourite blogs in one place and lots of new ones to check out too.

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12793551/?claim=5xp6ea26cpm">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

My normal nail routine

I love this neutral colour from Catrice. The funny thing is that on the bottle, it says that it is called Hip Trip but on the cap it says that it's called Nude & Rude. Either way, it's a nice colour which goes really well with any outfit and has an air of sophistication to it.

Blue mascara!

I already have the L'Oreal Miss Manga mascara in purple and liked it so much that I thought I'd buy the blue one too and... wow!
I absolutely love it. The purple one gives a subtle hint of colour to your lashes but the blue one just says "Hey, look at me!" which is great for when you want to add that pop to your look.
You can use this to create a natural daytime look with a twist (as seen in the pic) or a funky look for a night on the town.
I've been looking at other peoples reviews about this mascara and the general consensus is that it is a decent mascara for a variety of looks.
I think that wearing it on both the top and bottom lashes at the same time may be a bit much, but wearing it on either works a lot better.
I would definitely recommend this product to others.

Getting older!

A few weeks ago, I reached a milestone in my life. I said goodbye to my fun-filled twenties and an apprehensive hello to my thirties. Although I didn't experience what many would call the "dread" of turning 30, it did encourage me to take a long hard look at my life so far!

Compared to others I know of a similar age and background, I would say that I have had quite a lot of

varied experiences in the past decade.

Working with a family... making it work

There is no doubt about it... trying to juggle a full time job and a young family is difficult!! I have heard many different ways that parents of young children deal with this and find it very insightful to hear each individual story. Some work part time to reduce the whopping costs of childcare (can be over 1000 eur/gbp a month for 1 child/full time), others rope in the grandparents to help as much as possible. Either way, we've got to work or return to work at some point so you have to find the best situation for you and your family.

NYC Smoky eye shadow palette for green eyes

I do love a nice smoky eye look. It can make you look and feel sexy and mysterious. A smoky look isn't only for nights out, it can be used for any occasion.

L'Oréal Miss Manga Mega Volume mascara in purple

I feel like I am on a constant search for the perfect mascara. The one that doesn't clump and gives you luscious long looking lashes without having to build it up too much.

During this search, I heard about the Miss Manga range from L'Oréal that comes in different colours and since then, I've been wanting to try it but haven't seemed to find it locally.

Reading

Books, books everywhere! Well, we do have a lot of books but I wouldn't say that we have loads more than other people who love to read.

Reading is a passion that both my husband and I share. This is part from the serious sci-fi/fantasy addiction and other things that we both like. But there is just something about getting into a really good book.
We do differ however on our choices. Whereas he will pretty much read anything and likes authors such as Stephen King and Robert Jordan; I am quite selective in my reading choices.

Market day

Almost every Saturday, we go to the market in the nearby town. We love going as a family because not only is it a nice thing for us to do together, but it's also good for the kids to see all the different things that are on offer.

So I gave my eldest daughter the camera and asked her to take pictures of our time at the market. I think she

Encouraging the kids

Like every parent, I want my children to grow up to be happy and successful individuals. Of course there is no manual on how to encourage them in the right direction. If only there were such a book!
So we all have to figure it out the best we can.

We try to encourage our children to be active and do things that they enjoy, like playing a musical instrument or dancing. I've found that you can't force something on them because if they don't enjoy it, then they won't continue to do it. Luckily my girls enjoy doing a lot of different things, so only require a little bit of a push to get them going.

I recently began running with my oldest daughter on Sundays. She was a bit reluctant at first as she found it difficult to keep going, but she has warmed up to it now that she's getting used to it. She