Woohoo for Boohoo!

I am so pleased to be writing this. It's so refreshing to receive such fabulous customer service from a big well known brand.

So many of them now allow their big names to hide them from sloppy mistakes and service, but not Boohoo!

I ordered these two swing dresses from their eBay shop late on a Saturday night, with standard delivery rates paid expecting to receive the dresses in the post by the earliest Wednesday.

They arrived on the Monday! Monday! Logistically, I don't even know HOW they did it. They just did. And they're gorgeous too.

This was my first shopping experience with www.boohoo.com, and I'll definitely be back, time & time again!

5 Signs I'm Old Before My Time!

"Are you really only..<insert number here>.?" 

A question I have been asked so many times. When I was younger, this was such a compliment. People saw me as mature, level headed and sensible. I looked older than I was too. People still say it to me now. Someone said it to me today. At 20, I can still, just about take it as a compliment.  I wonder how long that will last? Fingers crossed the wrinkles will hold out long enough to get me through the next decade without being told I look 40! They're right though. Sometimes I have to question myself! And this is why...

1) My ideal Friday Night is sitting at home in my PJ's and slippers with the Mr & Pup watching 8 out of 10 Cats and The Big Bang Theory Repeats, after a long and usually stressful week at work. The thought of clubbing (especially in this weather) literally fills me with dread. 

2) The most exciting day of the month is pay day. Nothing unusual about that I'm sure. But I don't look forward to pay day for the same reasons most 20 year olds probably do. On pay day I don't go and get bladdered or have a spend up online. Pay day is Pets at Home day. A monthly trip to our local store to stock up on bits & bobs for Pup. And yes.. ok... maybe a quick pop into New Look too! 

3) I stress so much over things most people my age don't even think about for at least another 5 years. I worry about money and how I need to work now to be able to support any little ones in the future. I fantasise about house colour schemes and home cooking. 

4) I say things like 'when I was young...'. I am young! <quickly reminds self > I am only 20 years old. 

5) I'd much rather be 'comf' instead of 'cool'. Don;t get me wrong. I follow fashion, but you'll never see me try and squeeze into a pair of jeans 2 sizes to small because 'Beyonce' wore them and looked awesome. You'll find me in pencil skirts & blouses at work, what I call 'safe' dresses at parties and leggings at home. As long as I'm comf, I feel cool. 

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/11656723/?claim=2qg5m4pxhhr">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Dear Matilda Mae

I remember the very first time I saw your face. Your very lovely Mummy had agreed to review my first ever product for Beebies. Your big brown eyes stood out in a photograph among a sea of colour.

It was just the very beginning for both of us really. You in your little life and me with Beebies. You were just 2 months old. A smiley, happy baby who without realising it, was helping me and  Beebies to make our first mark on a community which has taken us from strength to strength.

I remember the day you passed so clearly. The 2nd February 2013 was a date I knew was going to be horrible. I just had to do all I could to distract myself from the events that had unfolded exactly a year before. I spent the day with my very best friend. Chatting, shopping, keeping busy, and the evening was spent quietly with Sean as we both, in our own ways, reflected on the year just passed.

I avoided social media that weekend. In fact I did not go online until the morning of Tuesday 5th February. A strange, completely out of the ordinary morning. I had arrived for work an hour early for no reason at all, with no keys to the office. I sat in a cafe, ordered toast and a hot chocolate and logged on to facebook to pass the time. I sat confused as my timeline filled with messages of condolence being sent to your Mum. Something had happened. Something truly terrible had once again happened  And then I read it. And I cried. Cried & cried. Sobbed. 2/2 had struck again in an even more horrible way.

I cannot believe it has been almost a year. I am amazed by the utter strength your Mummy has shown every single day. Even though she is grieving, even though her heart is shattered into millions of pieces she still she has helped others so much. She has helped me so much. You would be so proud.

I once told her I think that she was sent to me. And I honestly do.

I am amazed by hows strong your family are. How kind and welcoming your older siblings are to everyone they meet.  By the way a community has pulled together to build your not so  little legacy and to ensure that you are never forgotten. You will never be forgotten.

Your name has been shouted to skies across the world. Bubbles and stars have a whole new meaning. Life's little problems have become so insignificant.

Because of you friendships have been made that will last forever.
Because of you money and awareness of this horrific unknown is being raised around the world.
Because of you people hug their children for longer, look at the world differently, make sure they capture every moment.

I speak on behalf of so many when I say thank you.

People have walked in wellies in your honour, jumped from planes, painted, drawn, lit candles and blown bubbles for you with love in their hearts. We will never stop. I promise.

For you Matilda Mae, there is so much love.

There is not a day when I don't think of you Matilda Mae. I wish with all of my heart that I could turn back time to February 1st 2013 so that you would still be here with your family who love you so so much.

Sweet dreams Baby Tilda, shining star  xx

My Make Up Bag

I don't wear make up everyday.  In fact most days I wear none at all! But that doesn't mean I don't love it.

My make up bag contains the basics of my make up collection. The essentials for an 'everyday look'.

First of all I start with these fabulous skin care products.

Halo Eye Make-up Remover Pads for removing any of the make up from the day before that was left behind. 

The Body Shop Vitamin E Cleanser, Toner & Day Cream. A really gentle skin care collection designed for daily use on all skin types to protect skin from premature ageing. It also protects against pollution, cigarette smoke and UVA/B rays. PLUS it smells of baby lotion! 

Maybeline Super  Stay 24h Foundation (030 Sand) - Perfect for those long days! It's non-transfer, suitable for all skin types and has SPF19 for added skin protection. 

Rimmel London Stay Matte Powder (005 silky beige) This provides up to 5 hours of natural shine control while helping to minimise the appearance of pores. I often have a quick top up of this on my lunch break to ensure a full day of coverage. 

Now for eyes.  I have dark brown eyes with very dark eye lashes and eye brows and so I try to keep my eye make up subtle, wearing neutral colours to highlight them. 

Avon Colortrend Cream Eye Shadow (flirty eyes) I use the two lighter colours of this pallet to form a base for powder eye shadow. This handy little case of four complimenting colours is ideal for glamming up your every day look if you need to go out after work! Sometimes I  use my Ted Baker Cream Eye Shadow instead for the same effect. 

Next Eye Pallette (just pink) This is a highly versatile pallette containing 10 shades to enable you to match your make up to your mood and outfit choice. There are 5 colour pairs; white & silver, dark silver & black, maroon & pink, bronze and pale pink & copper & gold. These shadows sit perfectly on top of a light cream eye shadow for longer lasting beauty! 

I use two mascaras, Avon MEGA Effects Mascara (blackest black) and the Maybelline MEGA Plush Volum' Express Mascara (very black). These two mascaras work together to extend and expand the look of lashes. 

And finally AVON Glimmerstick Eyeliner (Blackest Black) which I apply to the bottom of each eye to bring the whole look together. 

What's in your make-up bag? 

I Love Sundays

Sunday is my very favourite day of the week.

Most Sundays I wake early next to The Mr. I lay blissfully cosy and snuggled until fully awake and then quietly climb out of bed and set to work on the computer until he wakes and drags me back to bed for breakfast and a snoozy morning of watching Sunday Brunch... often still tweeting from my phone but shhh- He'll never know!

Sometimes we pop into town and mooch around the shops. We often grab lunch with friends and once in a while an afternoon trip to the cinema or a visit to his Grandma's slips in too. This quality time is so important to our relationship. This is how we have spent nearly every Sunday for nearly four years. We don't yet live together, we both work into the evenings and until we fly the nest this one day a week is our only real time.

I arrive home mid afternoon in time for Sunday Dinner with Mum & Lobster. We sit around the table and talk about our week gone and week coming. Another rarity. With the comings and goings of us all, it is very rare that we get to do this during the week, properly converse, joke and chatter. It's the one time of week when the hormones and stresses which tend to fill our all female home go out of the window. The love around that Sunday table is precious.

As the evening draws in, it's time for Me & Alfie time. I try my very best to make sure Alfie has a longer than usual walk on a Sunday. We walk side by side... Okay fine, he runs miles ahead and I spend half of the time running after him. Regardless of this my time walking him is my peaceful time. My time to reflect and think everything through. Some of my biggest and greatest plans have come to me during a Sunday Afternoon Alfie walk. When Alfie arrived in our family, my heart was in pieces, I was not in a good place at all. At that time we would spend hours walking around our little village, in and out of the parks and around our local lakes. That time spent was my therapy. A god send. It's easy to forget the value of this time spent, but by making sure I take this time out, just us two as much as I can, I keep my head clear.

And then for my favourite Sunday hours. I run a bath, and indulge in all things indulgent - My Sunday Night Soak - in preparation for the week ahead before retreating to my room for some quality me time. Clean sheets, new PJ's and Yankee Candle bliss! Sometimes my resident beautician even paints my nails for me!

For those of you who know me, will know that yes, all of these hours are also filled with Beebies tweets & website updates. But I really wouldn't spend them any other way.

Sunday is a day for quality time. With family, with friends and also with yourself. It's a day for head clearing, preparation and cuddles.

Sunday is my very favourite day of the week.

How do you spend your Sundays? 

Time to fly the nest

Me & the Mr have come to that point in our relationship where, as lovely as it is to have a lack of huge financial responsibility and our washing done and ironed by the magic fairy, we need our own space to be together and continue to build our future together. That requires a house. A home.

Working for an Estate Agent often leads me to far too much time looking at Rightmove. Analysing the market. Trying to work out when and what will be best for us. We had intially considered renting, but it just seems like we'd be throwing money down the drain. We want to buy & we are officially on the hunt.

So what's the next step?

We need to meet a mortgage advisor and discuss how much we will need and can afford to borrow. The Mr has a well paid job. Me not so much. I feel bad, but most of my income is spent on travelling, investment into my business, and helping out here. He is so good at saving. So good with money. I like to think I am too, I just need more of it to prove it. (Aggghhh!).

Are you on the hunt for your first house? What are your next steps? Any tips?