Winner winner chicken dinner

Drum roll please......

Congratulations to Ashleigh from Milk Teeth Mummy, you have won my give away!

Check your emails lovely and I shall package your goodies up and get them in the post to you as soon as possible!

Mel x

A little me time...

Last week I was supposed to have a few days Lifeguard training as I've recently become a Baby and Pre-School swimming teacher, however it ended up being cancelled but Finn was already booked into nursery for the today. I half enjoyed my day and half felt like my right arm had been chopped off. My lay in was bloody lovely though!

I did what any childless shopping lover would do and took myself off for a day of shopping. Aside from the bits and bobs I bought for my blog give away (here) I picked up a few pieces in Primark.

First up this scarf in a gorgeously wintery plum colour with skull print. I own this is beige and pink and adore it, this one is perfect for fall.




Not wanting to break out the winter coat just get but feeling the need to embrace the cooler weather, I picked up this gillet, sure it's more practical than fashionable but I like it!




Lastly I picked up the studded pumps that are all over the blogosphere at the moment, I love these so much, i'm hoping for some crisp days instead of rain so I can get some wear out of them!




Finn did well out of my shopping spree too, I picked him up these two shirts and some long sleeve vest. I love the denim shirt with the elbow patches.




He's growing up so fast now, I'm finding myself taking more and more photo of him so to not miss a thing.







Mel x

A little thank you

Last week my little blog turned one. I can't quite believe it, I started it as a way to record some memories of Finn and to write about a few bits and pieces that I enjoyed, I didn't expect to get one follower, let alone you lovely lot!

So to say thank you for sticking by me when my posting goes awol every now and then and for listening to my ramblings I thought I'd do a small give away of my favourite things.

 

 

 

Firstly is a Emma Bridgewater notepad which combines my two loves, stationary and of course Emma Bridgewater. I am sucker for stationary, I could amble round Paperchase for hours and my favourite part of school was buying a new pencil case each year!

 

Secondly is a Revlon Just Bitten Kissable lipbalm in Darling Cherie. I bloody love these and this is my most favourite shade of the collection.

 

Next we have a Sleek Blusher in Rose Gold. I absolutely adore this and wear it daily, it is such a pretty shade.

 

Then we have a little facemask and a Collection nail polish in the shade Milkshake which is a gorgeously muted nude.

 

Lastly the chocoholic in me cannot do a give away of my favourite things without chocolate, so I thought I'd throw in a Nutrageous bar, they're just amazing.

 

The give away is open from today until 18th Sept, just fill in the rafflecopter widget and leave me a comment with your email address or twitter name so I can contact you if you win. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Hey cowboy

I'm totally and irrevocably in love with these studded ankle boots from Zara.



I'm trying to justify a pair of heels to myself in a northern winter, I fear they wouldn't get worn much, but they are just so gorgeous.

Joliebox - August

For some reason it seems like forever since I received my last Joliebox, so I was quite happy when it appeared at the door this morning. I'm pleased they're delivering with a courier now rather than royal mail, the tracking number provide prior to delivery is very helpful!

Dr Bronner's, Pure Castile Soap Pillows

these all in one soaps loved by the a-list cleans and revives from heat to toe

Phil Smith Be Gorgeous, Dry Clean Revitalising Dry Shampoo

this dry shampoo blitzes oily roots and leaves fair feeling fresh and clean

So Susan Cosmetics, Lip Cushion

a sheer gloss to tint and moisturise chapped lips

So Susan Cosmetics, Wide Awake Face Palette

a palette of skin enhancing colour tools to give you a summer glow

Joliebox, Leather Hair Styling Lace

a leather lace to create endless updo's

I'm quite happy with this months box, I'm sure I'll use everything in it, except maybe the leather lace as I wouldn't know what to do with it!

The Lip Cushion smells like strawberries, it's d'lish. Having a toddler, I'm a massive fan of dry shampoo so looking forward to trying a new one. I haven't heard if the soap pillows before but am keen to try them. Not so sure about the wide awake palette, it seems a little 'tween' make up, like it would come free with the Sugar magazine, but I'll give it a whirl!

Do you subscribe to JolieBox? Are you happy with this months selection?

Mel x

Location:Joliebox - August.

A Norwich Week

Finn and I had the bestest week in Norwich, we did so much in 10 days, I won't write about it all so I'll just include a little collage of our time down south.

x

Prairie Charms

I was recently contacted by the lovely Stephanie at Prairie Charms to take part in their recently launched 'Project Blogger' which offers 50% off their products. The discount still enables them to donate a minimum 10% to the charity they support, GOSH and their 'Kiss It Better' campaign.

After having a little look at their website I jumped at the chance. I chose two bracelets, one named "all imaginable futures" and the other "this day with never happen again" the fact that the bracelets had names really appealed to me and it gives them their own sense of character. To my joy they arrived beautiful packaged, I love buying myself things that arrive wrapped like presents!

One was a set of two, a gorgeous cream bead bracelet with a gold bow charm, the second a black bead bracelet with a feather charm. These look lovely together and really work well with any outfit.

The second, my favourite, is brown wooden bead bracelet with a lovely little elephant charm.
 

I love to wear these stacked up with a few other bracelets but they look equally as good worn on their own. I like the fact they are quite fashion forward.

I do think the postage charge is quite steep, overinflated postage is a huge bugbear of mine. I paid £2.99 2nd but could have paid £3.49 for 1st when the postage charge was actually 69p. That miffed me off slightly.

Prairie charms are currently offering free p&p and 35% off so its definitely worth a look on their website to see if anything tickles your fancy, I have my eye on the Florence ring.

Prairie Charms are also on Twitter so you can keep up with their latest news & offers.

Do you own anything from the Prairie Charms range?

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

Please excuse my absence over the next couple of weeks. I'm going home on Sunday and I bloody can't wait. I'm super duper excited to see all the beautiful people I've been missing for months and to see my family!

Traveling with a toddler isn't easy and I'll be driving back by myself. it's about 5 hours drive so I'm setting off at 7pm and driving through the night, if I'm lucky he'll sleep the whole way and go straight into his cot at the other end. Wish me luck.

Planning this trip has been like a military operation, I don't have time to breathe but that's the way I like it.




I'll post again when I'm back to the grim north! Eeeeeeeepp I'm excited, can you tell?!

Mel x

They're real! A review

When I went to the Trafford Centre with the lovely Clare from kisses n smiles I had my eyebrows waxed at the Benefit Brow Bar.

We had a little make over by the equally lovely Sam, I asked him if I could try out the new They're Real! Mascara out, he told me that one was being sold every minute and it was due to become the UK's best selling mascara.

I tried Bad Gal years ago but it really irritate my eyes so I had to stop wearing it, luckily They're Real! is a completely different formula. I've totally fallen in love with it.

What they say;

Why we love it

they're real! lengthens, curls, volumises, lifts & separates. Our jet black, long-wearing formula won’t smudge or dry out. A specially designed brush reveals lashes you never knew you had!

What else you need to know:94% saw dramatic length & volume*
90% saw base-to-tip curl*
94% saw visible lift*
100% saw long-wearing results

Naked (ooer!) lashes

One Coat

Two coats & liner

I bloody love it! It lifts, curls and separates fantastically.

I don't think they look false but they certainly look better than they do with any other mascara.

 I've read a few reviews that say it clumps with a few coats but I haven't found that, nor have I found it difficult to remove, a few swipes with my Bioderma Crealine and it's gone.

They're Real! retails for £18.50 for 8.5g

Thought I'd also post a quick photo of Finn showing his support for Team GB whilst watching the Olympics.

How have you been showing your support for Team GB?

imPRESS Press-On Manicure

I love having beautiful looking nails, unfortunately my job and a toddler means they rarely look at their best. When we visited Leeds I was child free for the weekend so thought I'd try some press on nails, I haven't used stick on nails since I was about 15 and I'm glad to see they've greatly improved!

I chose imPRESS press-on manicure nails whilst browsing in Boots. I went for a gorgeous print called 'lovestruck' but there is an impressive 36 styles to chose from. They came in a cute little nail polish esq bottle and retail at £8.99 for 24 nails.

I loved how easy they were to apply, simply peel the cuticle tab off and stick on, they had amazing staying power, supposedly a week which I can well believe but I took mine off after 4 days as nails and nappy changes don't go well together!

Every sales assistant in each shop I went in in Leeds commented on them, this print was very eye catching and they look like you've had a salon manicure. I liked the length too, they were quite short which I was pleased with as I'm not a fan of long nails.

Do you wear false nails, which brands to do prefer?

Joliebox July

This is my second JolieBox after cancelling my GlossyBox, I much prefer it but I do miss the pretty packaging of the GB!

I received;

Etat Pur - Biomimetic Skincare B-09 - Express purifying mask

What a mouthful! Full sized product retailing at £7.50, I've been meaning to buy a new facemask for a while so I look forward to using this.

Jane Iredale - Tantasia Self Tanner

This is a diddly squat tube, I'm hoping there will be enough in it to cover my face!

Nailgirls

Two mini polishes from the Medal Collection, i received gold & bronze, not sure what I'll do with the bronze but the gold will look perfect with coral.

Wen by Caz Dean - Sweet Almond & Mint Cleansing Conditioner

Can't wait to use this, it smells absolutely divine. It's SLS free too.

To make up for last months box being late, JB have included some mini toe separaters and an extra gift, I received a Yardley's Peony Body Wash, retailing at £3.50.

Do you subscribe to Joliebox, what have you received this month?

Sunny sunday

I can't quite bare to put up a photo of me in summer clothes, I still need to drop a few *loads* of pounds, however as Sunday was a gorgeously sunny day, we got out the paddling pool and spent a lovely afternoon playing, crap clothes and no make up aside!

How have you been enjoying this weather? I need short shorts legs!

Leeds loving

So, I am currently stuck on my armchair watching The Open as I have just steam mopped the floor and forgot about the fact I can't stand on it. The glamorous life of a mummy!

Conveniently the laptop is under this armchair so I thought I'd do a little post on my trip to Leeds. I bloody love Leeds, the shops are great, and the Victorian Quarter? I was in heaven! We stayed at the Mal Maison hotel which was gorgeous, they even left me a little card and some chocolates for my birthday and their cocktails are to die for, Watermelon Martini was just amazing.

We also had lunch at Jamie's Italian which was really nice, fabulous service and the food was yummy.

I was amazed at how easy Leeds is to get around, considering we have never been we were able to walk everywhere and find our way easily.

Train art//sweet shop//cupcakes//hotel room//watermelon martini//eye makeup//ootn//king scallops//espresso martini//mojitos in jakes bar//the boy//new sandals//crispy squid//seafood risotto// more squid - need more to pay more attention to my colleges!

Trafford centre//haul//nails//hotel card//birthday present//ootn//the boy//us/boy again//drinks//bubba//cath kidston buys//impassioned//best birthday card//Pandora charm (a little boy)

Clearly you can see my diet is going well from those photos. I have issues with it at the moment, I can't stick to anything, god knows why as I'm fed up of feeling fat!

Have you been to Leeds before? I think we'll definitely go again considering it's just over an hour on the train.

Mel xx

Looking forward

I'm super excited to have a busy week lined up from Monday.

Myself and Clare from Kisses n smiles are off to the Trafford Centre for a spot of shopping & lunch on Monday and I have a fake bake spray tan booked in for thursday night as a little birthday treat to myself.




On Friday Ryan and I are going to Leeds for my birthday, we're staying in the Mal Maison hotel which I'm very much looking forward to, we have a bit of a tradition for booking each other hotels stays for our birthday and trying to outdo each other! Do let me know if there are any must see/do things in Leeds also any good bars/clubs, neither of us have ever been!
Saturday we have booked a meal at a lovely local italian with 12 other family and friends, and in Sunday it's my birthday, I think we're taking Finn to Knowsley Safari Park, I'm quite excited about that!




The following Friday I'm off to The Open. Each year it's on over my birthday so we always watch it on tv, however with Ryan's club holding the Local Final Qualifying for it, he has been able to secure some tickets. I want to make a little banner and take my autograph book just to embarrass him but I think he'd leave me!




Do you have any nice plans for next week?
Mel x

Cambridge Weight Plan

Today I embark on the Cambridge Weight Plan. Not to be seen as a quick fix which I think the recent publicility from Lauren Goodger and Frankie Essex portrays.




Here's what they CWP has to say;

"Millions of people around the world have successfully lost weight and kept it off with Cambridge. The secret of their success? Not only is CWP nutritionally balanced, it so gives you much more flexibility and choice than other weight loss options, making it easy to fit into your every day life. It comprises a six-step programme that combines an easy to follow eating plan, and some realistic, practical lifestyle changes, with the ongoing advice of an accredited Cambridge consultant. CWP is about more than just losing weight - its about helping you reassess your future approach to food"






I shall be doing Soul Source + which is VLCD of approximately 640kcals a day, you also need to drink at least 2.25 litres of water a day.

SS + is either 4 Cambridge products plus 200mll of skimmed milk OR 3 products and one 200kcal meal from a list of approved foods, mainly lean white protein 170g chicken, 255g fat free cottage cheese, 230g cod etc, and 80g of certain vegetables.

Im starting today until the 13th July, then will be restarting the following monday, its my birthday that weekend, probably not how it should be done but will be fine for me.

This diet gets your body in a state of ketosis, which is not harmful. It is where body fat is used to produce energy. Most people don't feel hungry when is ketosis, some feel euphoric, but your breath will stink so have some spray handy!

I'm off to buy some scales when the gas man turns up, I've no heating or hot water at the moment which is a nightmare, and I'll post up my weight and measurements later.

Mel x

Thursday Fashion

I had a little browse of the shops on Tuesday whilst Finn was in nursery which was lovely, I did miss the pushchair to hang my bags on though!




I picked up a gorgeous pair of jeans from Primark, I love the pastel pink stripe it's super flattering and makes my stumpy legs look much longer.
The bralette I'm in love with, I haven't a clue how I'll wear it or if I'm even brave enough but it's very pretty. This was £12 from Primark
Lastly I picked up this gorgeous peplum top from River Island for £28, unfortunately I'm going to have to return it as its too big but again this is very flattering, you can keep the look quite causal or dress it up. I'm hoping they have it in the size down because it looks so nice on.
Have you found any fashion finds recently?
Mel x
Mel x

A change...

I thought I would change the name of my blog today, so long Adventures of Mummy, Daddy and Finn, hello Mummy Roc.

I aim to bring this blog away from Finn and back to my passion for all things fashion, beauty and food (read diet!) related with some lifestyle posts thrown in.

I still blog about Finn and our adventures here, http://yummymummyblwadventures.blogspot.co.uk , please do come and visit us there!




Mel x

Bourjois Dissolvant Miraculeux -

I will never be a beauty blogger, I'm one of those people that walk round with chipped nails because I can't be bothered with the faff of removing my nail varnish. Cotton wool makes me cringe and I hate them nail polish removal pads.

Enter forth the Bourjois Dissolvant Miraculeux. Oh my gosh I love it. Effectively a bottle of sponge soaked in nail varnish removal with a hole in the top which you swizzle your nail in, and, hey presto, polish free nails. I would express my undying love to it if I could. Never again will I have chipped nails with this baby.

This beaut has sweet almond oil in it, which my cuticles are very thankful for, they're in lovely condition now. It is also fragranced with red fruit and vanilla so you nails smell lovely.

It's not so fab with glitter polish but what is?

Retailing at £4.99 I shall be stocking up! I wonder if I can dip my toes?




Mel x