The Best Christmas Yet?

I am writing this on the evening of 23rd, sitting in front of the tree with its lights twinkling, and Oliver's Christmas Eve box placed beside it, waiting for us to open in the morning. Normally we'd put our presents under the tree as and when we receive them, but this year it remains completely bare, through fear that Oliver will go after them, just as he does with the decorations! They will all be laid out when he is in bed tomorrow night, so the first time he sees them will be Christmas morning. Sitting here in my festive setting, with a candle burning, and a Christmas tea nicely cooling, has got me feeling all reflective.

My Christmas Favourites

I can't believe Christmas Day is almost here. I've had the most amazing time being off work this year and enjoying the entire build up with my little boy! Today I thought I'd share with you some of my festive favourites, feel free to share yours in the comments too!

The "Driving Hone For Christmas" Playlist

If you haven't already, I'd imagine quite a lot of you are going to be driving home for Christmas today. I have to say, that's one thing I've missed this year. That moment when you get in the car, pop on some festive tunes, and think "that's it, I'm done, the holidays can begin now!" I have, though, been listening to Christmas songs for about a month, to get myself in the mood when I started my Christmas shopping! I've put together a list of my favourite Christmas songs to hopefully get you in the festive mood, whether you're finishing work today or not!

My Perfect Winter Night In

I'm not one for big nights out at any time of your, but particularly in the winter. I'm much more content snuggling up for a cosy night in at home. It's warmer, it's cheaper, and nothing beats the comfort of your own home, especially in the run up to Christmas with the lights from the tree sparkling. Here's my recipe for my perfect winter night in.

Day Out At Hatton Country World

My husband has had a couple of days off in the run up to Christmas, so we wanted to have a nice day out as a family. With Oliver still being so young, we didn't want to be travelling very far, and with Hatton Country World being just a 20 minute drive from our home, it seemed like the perfect place to go.

My Christmas Traditions

I've mentioned a few times through blogmas that I've wanted to start our own little family traditions now that we have Oliver, but what about all of the traditions we already kept? Here are the things we have done in the run up to Christmas practically every year, some of them since I was a little kid myself.

A Slimming World Christmas

If you've been a long time reader of my blog, you'll know that I've previously followed the Slimming World plan to lose weight, and I'm now a member again as I lose my baby weight. And let's face it, Christmas is the most challenging time for anyone trying to lose weight. Today I'm going to share a little bit of advise for anyone else who is trying to follow a Slimming World Christmas.

What's In Oliver's Christmas Eve Box

I can't believe it's only a week until Christmas Eve! This month seems to just be flying by! Even though Oliver, at just 9 months old, is far too young to understand Christmas yet, I wanted to start the Christmas Eve box tradition now, so that we can say to him it's something we've done since he was a baby - plus it's a little bit of fun for me! Today I'm going to share with you what we've put inside he first ever Christmas Eve box.

Christmas Baking

Every Friday evening my family get together at my Gran's house for dinner and a catch up, which I'll quite often go to. This week I decided to pop along, and bake some festive treats for us to enjoy as dessert.

Cutest Festive Outfits For Kids

I had a lot of fun researching for this blog post - kids Christmas outfits are so adorable! A couple of years ago I dressed my niece as a reindeer, and I'll be doing exactly the same to Oliver at some point next week! As well as the reindeer costume, he also has the obligatory Christmas jumper for today's Christmas Jumper Day, and a couple more festive pieces. After searching through the web, here are my top picks of the festive kids outfits out there.

Festive Date Ideas

The build up to Christmas can be full of parties and big meals out, but what about spending quality time just with your loved one? I've put together a list of festive themed date ideas, to suit all budgets and all weather eventualities.

Mini Festive Haul

I always like to treat myself a little bit when I do my Christmas shopping. After all, it's a lot of hard work, so you need rewarding for your efforts, right? Whilst past years have seen me buying the likes of luxury beauty sets and fitness trackers, this year I've been on a much tighter budget - plus I have way too many products to get myself through now - so I just picked up a few bits & pieces that I liked the look of, plus a few cute little decorative things, all of which were under £5.

The Best Christmas Jumpers

Christmas Jumper Day is only a few days away now. Although I'm not currently in my usual work environment, I'll still be taking part, and I've dusted off my Primark Santa jumper ready to go! If you're still looking for ideas, I've put together some of my favourites from this years picks, whether you're a fan of full-on-cheese, or prefer something a little more subtle.

Creative Christmas Ideas

Christmas is always a time that inspires my creative side. It's always nice to do some little DIY projects, especially if you've got young ones that can get involved. Making things yourself can also save you money on things you would normally just go out and buy, perfect if you're doing Christmas on a budget this year. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Party Outfit Ideas

I don't know about you, but my wardrobe is seriously lacking in party wear at the moment. Not good as we're now heading towards that time of year when the festive parties are in full swing. If like me you're struggling with what to wear, I've trawled the web to come up with a few outfit ideas. I've put together outfits where all pieces are from the same shop, so you don't have to go here, there & everywhere to complete the look. Most are available on the high street, with one online only store, and there's also a budget friendly supermarket option in there too.

Our Home At Christmas

If you follow me on Instagram you'll know that as soon as December hit, I started decorating my house for Christmas. I would've done it sooner if I could, but I don't think my husband would've been impressed! The trees went up on December 1st, and I've been adding other little finishing touches in the week since. So, this is what my house looks like this Christmas.

The Under £10 Gift Guide

We've been on quite a tight budget this Christmas, so I've been on the look out for those more affordable gift options. I've managed to find my top gifts, all £10 or less, for him, her and the kids too. Whether your on a strict budget like me, or on the hunt for stocking fillers or that perfect secret santa gift, I hope you'll find some inspiration here.

Lush Christmas Haul

There's nothing like a trip to Lush to get you in the festive spirit. I'm not a regular Lush goer, but once their Christmas products have come out each year, you can guarantee I'll be in there sometime soon after. It's not the biggest haul ever, but here's what I picked up this year.

How To Survive Christmas Shopping

I personally love Christmas shopping, but I'm one of the few people in my family that does! For many it can be a source of stress, and they just want to get it over and done with as quickly as possible - I know a few people that would happily pass on their Christmas shopping to me if they could! Today, I thought I'd share with you my tips for making the process as stress free as possible.

Easy Handmade Christmas Cards

I really wanted to make a few handmade Christmas cards this year. A few years ago, I made cards for every single member of my family, spending a tonne on card stock and embellishments, and sitting down for hours on end to put them together. This year, however, I didn't have a great deal of time, having to squeeze it in to Oliver's nap time, and I had a much smaller budget, so I decided to simplify things and make just a few, with a much simpler but still creative design. After scouring the internet for inspiration, I liked the idea of fingerprint designs, and settled on reindeers. This is how I made them...

Tanya's Christmas Review

I'm not one to jump at the latest YouTuber book release, but when I heard about Tanya's Christmas, I was very excited. I've been subscribed to Tanya Burr's YouTube channel for quite a few years now, and her Vlogmas videos are probably my favourites to watch, mainly because her love of all things festive is so infectious. Every year, when I watch her video from her annual Christmas party, I think I'd love to be able to host a gathering like that one day, so I was really interested to read her take on Christmas, and what tips she had to offer.

My Christmas Bucket List

I know lots of people who have written bucket lists, but I never have. I was browsing the internet a few weeks ago and came across a few festive themed lists, which seemed to be more generic, so I decided to create one personal to me and the things I'd like to do this December. As it's our first Christmas as a little family, there were lots of new things I wanted to experience and traditions I wanted to start for when Oliver is old enough to understand what's going on. Hopefully you'll find some inspiration for things to add to your own bucket list too.

December Makeup Menu

I like to switch my makeup collection up a bit on a regular basis, just so that I don't have products that sit in my drawers forever, going unloved. Now we are into December, my makeup bag has had a bit of a festive makeover. Here are the products I'll be reaching for most over the next few weeks.

December Reading List

It's December, time to dust off those Christmas novels! I've built up a small collection of Christmas books over the years, but when it comes down to it, I've never actually sat down and read many of them! I'm making it my mission this year to have a bit of me time before bed every evening and try to get through three books in the run up to Christmas. So here's what I'll be reading this month.

50 Blogmas Post Ideas

I can't believe we are almost in December already! Although I'm still getting back into the swing of this blogging thing again, I've decided to give Blogmas a go this year. I've always enjoyed it when I've done it in the past, and I had quite a few post ideas that I wanted to be able to share with you. If you're thinking of taking part in Blogmas yourself, but are struggling to come up with enough post ideas to fill the 24 days, here are a few to give you a bit of inspiration.

My Newborn Essentials

When you're pregnant you're bombarded with giant lists of things you absolutely must get for your little ones arrival. Whilst most of it can be useful, some of the items are just completely unnecessary. I'll probably do a post soon on the things I regret buying, but today I'm focusing on those that I really couldn't have survived those first few months without.

Lush Sleepy Body Lotion Review

I've been a really bad sleeper ever since my early teens. Every night without fail, as soon as my head hit the pillow, my mind would be racing with things I need to do and remember, or something that has been troubling me would suddenly pop back into my head, and that would be it, I'd be lying their for hours, wishing my brain would just switch off. I tried changing up my pre bed routine from time to time, banning technology after a certain time, slowing myself down by reading or colouring, which helped to a certain extent, but I would still never fall asleep particularly quickly, and I would still often wake in the night. Back in the days when I could nap whenever I got home if needed, this wasn't such an issue, but looking after a baby all day is exhausting, and I can't just rest whenever I want. Since Oliver started sleeping through the night, I thought it would be best to start taking advantage of it and try to start getting as much sleep at night as I could. This is where the Lush Sleepy Body Lotion comes in...

A Typical Day At Home With Oliver

I'm not trying to blow my own trumpet with this picture, honest! When I think back to the early days with Oliver, it was pretty much take each day as it comes and roll with it. Now that he's much more settled and growing up, we've managed to get ourselves into a bit of a routine. Obviously, not each day is exactly the same, and we do like to get out and about with friends, but I thought I'd share with you what a typical day looks like when it's just the two of us.

Motorola MBP49 Baby Monitor Review

Making the big baby purchases can be a daunting experience. You want to make sure you're getting the best for your baby, without completely blowing the bank. I already had an idea in my head of which brands I wanted to opt for when it came to most things, but the baby monitor was a tricky one. I thought the one my sister had was a really good choice, and I knew it came recommended, but when I browsed the internet I discovered it had been discontinued, so it was either completely out of stock or the websites that still had some were charging the earth for it! Whilst scrolling through the products in one of the Mothercare baby events, I spotted the Motorola MBP49 Monitor at half price (£99.99 - it's now £199.99 but may go in the sale again!) and decided to add it to my basket. The blurb looked impressive, and with it usually being so expensive, I thought it had to be good. Oliver's been in his own room for four months now, so how have I been getting on with it?

Recent Beauty Favourites

Usually I have real trouble when it comes to beauty favourites, trying to narrow down my new purchases, but I have to say I've not really bought too many new things over the last few months, so it was pretty easy to select just a few new products I've been enjoying recently.

My Labour Story

Apologies for the extremely unflattering photo, but it's one of the first we have of Oliver, and the first as the three of us as a family so I wanted to share it, no matter how bad I look! I wanted to share with you my labour story. I researched quite a few of these whilst I was pregnant, purely out of curiosity as I know every labour is different, but I had quite a positive experience, much better than I was expecting, so I thought it would be good to share for those of you reading pre-baby.

Life Update - Meet Oliver

Well it's been a long old time since I've sat at my computer to write something for you goes...it feels kind of odd to be back but I've been itching to do this for a while, so I thought I'd just bite the bullet and do it. As you can probably tell, my life has change a lot since my last post, so here goes...

Recent Beauty Favourites

I was going to call this my February favourites, then I realised it had been a heck of a long time since I'd actually done a favourites post on my blog, and that a lot of the products I have to share with you I've been loving for a lot longer than just the month of February, so recent favourites it is!

February Primark Haul

It's been quite a long time since I did a good old Primark haul on my blog, way too long! I went in recently to pick up a few essentials for my hospital bag (post on that coming soon!), but it kind of turned into a full on splurge, so I thought I'd share with you all of the bits and pieces I picked up.

My Tips For Decluttering

In the last twelve months my husband & I have moved house, and had the arrival of a new addition to our family to prepare for, so we've had our fair share of big house clearouts to do! Having lived in our previous property for over five years, these were never a regular thing for us, and we soon came to pay for it when moving day approached! I'm now a firm believer that we should be doing this on a much more regular basis, just to keep on top of things and ensure we don't end up with just so much unwanted clutter again! I've actually come to enjoy a good clearout - it's quite a therapeutic experience, and seeing just how much more space you have in your home afterwards is great. Here are my top tips that I've learned to do when approaching decluttering your home.

Gestational Diabetes & Pregnancy Update

Apologies for todays post going up a bit late, I'm sure you'll all understand though. This post was just meant to be a gestational diabetes update after my last round of appointments on Wednesday, but a lot has happened in terms of the pregnancy in general since then too, so I thought it best to fill you in on everything.

My Favourite Drugstore Face Masks

Whilst I do like to splash out on the odd skincare item now & again. it's always great when you can find something from the drugstore that works well for you too, and means you can save those spare pounds for other things. I've tried quite a few different face masks from the drugstore in recent years, with varying results, but here are three I would most definitely recommend buying, all of which are £10 or less.

My Baby Shower

If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen already that 12th February was my baby shower. I had a really lovely afternoon with a relatively small group of my closest friends & family at home, and I think my mum & sister did a brilliant job of organising the day. I thought I'd share with you the highlights in pictures.

Winter Weekend Pamper

Whilst we've had a couple of sunny(ish) days recently, it's still been pretty damn chilly outside, reminding me we are still very much in the middle of winter. To make me feel much warmer and snuggly after a long day sat in the cold yesterday, I decided to treat myself to a little bit of a wintery pamper session, and here's what I decided to use.

My Maternity Leave To Do List

So today is my last day at work before I head off on maternity leave, and I cannot wait! I'm so looking forward to having the option as to whether I get up and go out somewhere, and being able to stay in bed if I'm having a pants day, as I'm starting to get really uncomfortable and could do with some rest - I can now see why my sister chose to start her maternity leave much earlier than I am! As well as some much needed rest though, I've still got a few jobs that still need doing before little one arrives, and I thought that as today marks the start of my leave I'd share them with you.

Exciting New Beauty Releases

I guess I could call this a bit of a wishlist too, as I'm actually excited about every single release I'm writing about! I feel like the beauty world has absolutely exploded with new launches over the last few weeks - why is this happening when I'm trying to save money for my maternity leave?! I may treat myself to a couple of things here, but I thought I'd share the lot with you nonetheless, so here are the beauty launches I'm most excited about at the moment.

How I've Become More Productive This Year

Those of you that have been long time readers may have noticed that last year I was very much on and off with my blogging. There were various reasons for that throughout the year, but one of the main ones was that I just wasn't giving myself enough time to get any blog related work done. I wasn't very organised at all, and as a result my productivity suffered. Fast forward to this year, and I feel like I'm in a much better blogging mindset. I've really worked to make sure I'm the most productive blogger I possibly can, whilst also growing a child inside me and continuing my full time job, and as a result I've been able to keep up a regular upload schedule so far. Here's just a few changes I've made to achieve that.

New Charlotte Tilbury Lipsticks

It wasn't that long ago that I shared with you my Charlotte Tilbury lipstick collection, but after seeing her new lipstick releases, I couldn't just leave it at that and had to get both of them! So, as a little add on to my collection post, I thought I'd share with you my thoughts on the two latest additions to my lipstick stash.

My Favourite Ways To Pass Time Without Technology

I'll admit, one of my favourite ways ever to spend my spare time is having a good old YouTube marathon, but I've become a firm believer that we should be spending less time with our gadgets, and more time doing the simpler things that we used to do, especially in the late evenings, as too much time on our phones etc before bed can disrupt our sleep. Here are my favourite things to do when I need some time away from technology.

Date Night Makeup Menu

I must admit, I don't go on many date nights anymore! I think it's still important to make the effort now & again, but a lot of mine & my husbands money is being poured into baby prep at the moment, so I'm hoping once he's here, we'll be able to sneak out for a few date evenings to make up for it! However, with Valentine's Day just around the corner, I thought I'd share with you what products I'd currently wear for a date night with my other half.

What Excites & Terrifies Me About Having A Baby

As I'm now approaching the final few weeks of my pregnancy, it's all starting to feel very real now. The nursery is almost finished (tour coming soon!) and all of the big baby purchases have been made. Plus, it's now less than two weeks until I go on maternity leave!! It's got me thinking about all of the things I'm going to love about becoming a mother, and also the things that terrify me ever so slightly. They are only little worries, so this post in a way is meant to be taken a little lightheartedly!

*CLOSED* Beauty Blog Sale

As our spare room is currently being turned into a nursery, and my beauty setup has had to find a new home within our house, I decided it was the right time to have a huge clearout. I have way too many beauty products, I was just never going to get through them all in time before they became really gross! So, I've decided to put just a few (yes, this is not everything!) of the bits I'm getting rid of up for sale so you guys can grab yourselves a bargain!

DIY Valentine's Gift Ideas

The other day, I posted my Valentine's Day gift guide, with lots of beauty and lifestyle goodies that you could treat your loved one to/ask for this Valentine's Day. However, not everyone wants to splash the cash, so I've come up with a few do it yourself ideas, if your budget is a little lower, or you just want to add a bit more of a personal touch. It will certainly show your Valentine that you've put a lot of thought and effort in.

What's In My New Acrylic Storage

So I'm using the term "new" in the title quite loosely here - I actually got this acrylic storage set off my in-laws for my birthday, in July, but it's taken til now, and a little furniture move around, for me to get around to chucking out my manky old Muji, and putting this to good use. I have to say, I prefer this much more to my old Muji setup. I can fit so much more in here, plus I absolutely adore the space to store lipsticks etc on the top. So, here's a little tour around my new storage system, and which of my most used products I'm currently keeping in there.

Valentine's Day Gift Ideas

It's just over two weeks to go now until Valentine's Day. I don't know about you, but it only seems like five minutes ago that we were packing away our Christmas trees, so having this occasion so soon after can make it a little difficult to think of fresh gift ideas. Whether you're here looking for something to hint at your loved one, or looking for something to buy your wife or girlfriend, hopefully you'll find some useful ideas in this guide.