Lush Catastrophe Cosmetic Review.

Tags

Beauty, Lush, Lush face mask, Lush review, product review, products, skin care, skin product, skin product review, Vegan, vegan products

I never do reviews do I? But I really think it’s about time that I do, so, why the hell not start with my favorite brand, Lush.

Lush is my favorite store there is.(as many who follow my instagram would know) I don’t honestly think there is a store that could even compare. Seriously, have you ever walked into a store and been greeted with the most amazing, delicious smells before, then walked about and wanted every-single-friggin’-thing?? Well Lush is that store to me. The staff are perky, friendly and genuinely just really nice people. You feel so welcome as you step through the doors.

Everything in there is Vegetarian or Vegan, and they don’t believe in testing on animals. I have to say, it does wonders for my skin.

So, my skin, my skin is the most annoying, piss take flesh you could ever imagine. I’ve used near enough every product on it you could think of, every face mask, spot cream and moisturizer  everything. And every single time the results are disappointing. I step in front of the mirror after using a new product and I’m usually staring at either a god damn lizard who is peeling, or a oil factory. If not that, a face full of spots or rashes.

It’s SO hard to find a product that actually works for my skin!

One day I was tempted to buy a face mask from Lush, why the hell not, the bath bombs are all absolutely wonderful, so why not try something new.

So I purchased my very first Lush face mask, Catastrophe Cosmetic, I couldn’t wait to try it. The results were amazing.

After I smothered my face in it and left it applied for a good 15 mins, my skin felt smooth, silky, and smelt wonderful too. No sign of dry skin, no oiliness, and best of all, it stopped my break out and calmed down the sprouting red pimples that were about to rear their ugly heads.

I have religiously used this face mask since then. I buy a pot at least once a month and it lasts for ages.

Simply take it home, stick it in the fridge then run a nice hot bath, slap on a generous amount of Catastrophe Cosmetic and lie back and relax. Soak while smelling the wonderful fresh scent it provides, then, smile, and it’ll all crack and crumple. Wipe it off with a warm cloth and you’re good to go. Try not to stare at yourself in the mirror for too long though.

I advise anyone to go out there and try it ASAP, you will not be disappointed.

Nursery germ madness!

Tags

chicken pox, illness, parenting, toddler

It’s been now about a month that Alexandra has been going to a Nursery. I’m actually certain she’s been off more days that she has been in. It’s been a constant battle with germs! I feel like going in there and spraying every child from head to toe with anti bacterial sprays!! Stop giving my monster germs!

So, now what do we have? The chicken pox!!

That’s right, those nasty little pox that itch like crazy and make her look a ton worse than what she is. Can someone just give her a break?

I awoke this morning to a very happy normal little voice, “Wake up mummy, it’s wake up timmmeee” I opened my eyes and was confronted with a face full of blotches and spots. She was absolutely none the wiser.

So, day one of the chicken pox and everything seems to be “ok”? The monster doesn’t seem to be ill, she’s cheery, bubbly and being so very, very good. (maybe she should have them more often hehe)

We spent our sicky day having a total movie day. It was wonderful! We haven’t had a day this lovely in a while.

I put Alexandra in a lovely hot bubble bath with a nice Lush robot bath bomb which she loved!

Nana brought round a little bunch of flowers, some chocolate fingers and a peppa pig magazine. We watched My Neighbor Totoro and ate the chocolate fingers, then watched Snow White, then Rango. Next we filled in the magazine and made everything in it.

Honestly, it was a ton of fun considering the state of my poor little monsters body.

As the day has gone on, she has got a little poorly I suppose, she had a much needed nap at around 4 (naps have been long gone for over a year) and then awoke at 8 to have a late night dinner, we filled in her star chart, had some calpol, read stories and now she’s back to sleep again.

Hopefully, tomorrow she’ll be in a good mood again and everything will be as lovely as today. *crosses fingers*

Trendy Toddler Tuesday!

Tags

child, toddler, toddler fashion, trendy toddler tuesday, ttt

As modeled by a moody little Alexandra today!

She was also in a world of her own due to the tv *sigh* none the less she has what might just be her favorite clothes on and she looks lovely!
Top is my own design tie dyed and studded by me 🙂
American apparel leggings, which are wonderful. They’re perfect for a toddler due to how stretchy they are, Lexi can run about tons, they’re so comfortable. They’re super bright and can be purchased in different colours too, they make her feel so original!

And her Uggs (wonderful for keeping her toes warm) and in the last photo her h&m shirt with a lovely warm fur coat from Matalan.
And a cheeky side bun to match her funky little outfit!

Trendy Toddler Tuesday!

Tags

parenting, toddler, toddler fashion, trendy toddler tuesday

Although I’m banging my head against a wall with Lexi today, she’s looking the cutest!

Purple shirt and black leggings from H&M with her new little Uggs. She looks so cute!

Ginger and Honey Pork

Tags

food, Good food, Healthy eating, Healthy food, Recipe, sauce

This is such an easy meal to make, I had it on Saturdaynight and although my boyfriend wasn’t too please because of all the “Green Shit” I think he enjoyed the pork and sauce haha.

You will need;

• 250g/9oz pork tenderloin,chopped into pieces,
• 2 Garlic cloves, chopped,
• 1 Green pepper, chopped,
• 100g of Mange Tout,
• 2tsp of Cornflour,
• 2tbsp of Soy Sauce,
• 1tbsp of Honey,
• 1tbsp of oil,
• 1 “Thumb size” piece of ginger, finely chopped,
• 2 Nests of egg noodles.

Method;

Boil some water in a pan for your noodles and place the nests into the pan.

Mix the cornflour, with 1tbls of water then add the honey and soy sauce and stir it up.

It should look like this; 

Heat the oil in the wok and then add your Pork, cook until it is browned all over then add the  Ginger, Garlic, Pepper and Mange Tout. Cook for a further 3 mins.

Reduce the heat and then add your mixture, stirring and cooking, themixture will bubble and thicken, add a little more water to your pan and mix again.

Drain your noodles and serve topped with your pork and vegetables. 

How simple was that?!

It’s such a delicious, simple, healthy meal!

Three Herb Pesto

Tags

cooking herbs, Healthy eating, herbs, home cooking, home made, pasta meals, pesto

I’m an absolutely huge pesto lover, and there is nothing better than home made pesto.

And if you don’t grow your own herbs to do this, I highly suggest you start doing it! They come in handy all the time.

The traditional way to make pesto is just with Basil, but I’ve mixed it up a little and it really works.

Also, ingredients are not exact measurements, but I suppose that’s all down to taste and personal preference, or that’s what I have always figured! 

You will need;

A food processor,

A large handful of basil leaves,

A handful of flat leaf parsley,

A smaller handful of Mint leaves,

2 Garlic cloves, chopped,

50g of Parmesan cheese, grated, 

2 tbls of Olive Oil (if it’s too dry add a bit more, but you really don’t want it to be too oily!) 

Method;

Take your herbs and chopped garlic and put into your processor for a few seconds until the leaves are chopped into chunks and the garlic is a little smaller. Scrape the herbs and garlic and give them a quick mix with a fork to make sure they are all chopped.

Next, add the cheese, turn it on until the mixture looks a lot like bread crumbs, now add the oil, and mix with a fork. 

Taste test! See if anything needs adding and if not, you’re done!

Pesto is also wonderful with nuts, pine nuts, chestnuts or mixed nuts, it’s your choice, or even add a few sun dried tomatoes. And it goes with anything, chicken, pasta or fish!

Here’s a meal I made not that long ago with chestnuts in the pesto and also chestnut mushrooms. It was lovely! I added a little Feta cheese as dressing too.

 

 

 

How to make the best pancakes in the world.

How to make the best pancakes in the world..

Trendy Toddler Tuesday.

Tags

Childrens Clothing, daughter, Fashion, mother, parenting, toddler, toddler fashion, trendy toddler tuesday

Sometimes I can’t stand the site of these posts, parents simply dressing their children up for a blog post to show off how much money they have spent making their child look “fashionable”. Although most of the time that is never the issue and I adore seeing cute tots in their lovely outfits, making me incredibly broody awww!

So, here’s little Alexandra showing off her cute outfit she had on today.

I just couldn’t help but take photos, there is something SO cute about matching woolly clothing with shorts on tots.

(she’s currently really ill which is why her eyes are a little red 😦 my poor girl)

The jumper is from H&M

Shorts are recycled jeans which fit her waist but didn’t fit her legs! Recycle your children’s clothes, especially if there is nothing really wrong with them and you can simply cut them up!

Some lovely woolly tights bought by our nana for Christmas, they have a lovely pink heart too but the boot covers them.

And finally her cute little Hunter wellies which she LOVES and her adorable Hunter welly socks to match.

Vegetarian Butternut Squash with Feta Cheese.

Tags

Butternut Squash, food, Good food, Healthy eating, Healthy food, Healthy recipe, Recipe, Simple recipe, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian

New year, new start? I can bet a ton of you are making new year resolutions to eat healthy and get fit? Same here! Although mine isn’t to lose weight, or get fit, it’s simply to treat my body with respect and the way a body should be treated! Time to detox my body.

The first meal of the year was absolutely lovely; Butternut Squash with Feta Cheese. Even writing that I’m suddenly craving it.

So, here’s the recipe.

I originally found it on BBC good food, but I’ve changed it slightly  added more detail, and added photos to help out a little more.

You will need;

• 2 Butternut squash,
• 1 Courgette, 1 Red Pepper and 2 Small red onions (or one large one) all chopped chunky,
• 200g of Cherry Tomatoes,
• 1 Crushed garlic clove
• 1 tbls Thyme chopped (I didn’t use fresh Thyme as I had none handy at the time, works just as good and easier to measure.)
• 1 tbls Parsley (same as above!)
• 1 tbls of Parmesan cheese. (Parmesan cheese is not vegetarian, you can buy similar cheeses that are, or just simply leave it out)
• 100g of Greek Feta Cheese.
• 50g of Pine nuts
• 3 tbls of Olive oil

Method 

1. Stick the oven on 200C/Fan 180C/Gas mark 6.
2. While the oven is heating, chop your butternut squash into halves and scoop out the seeds. (Feels a bit like you’re doing a pumpkin!) Then, carve criss cross patterns into the cut side of each half. Put flesh side up onto a baking tray and put to the side.Lexi’s wonderful photo of me cutting the butternut squash haha
3. Mix together 2 tbls of Olive oil, the Thyme and then the garlic. Brush this over the flesh of your squash. Put them in the oven on the middle shelf and bake for around 30-40 mins, if you find your squash is still quite hard (give them a jab with a butter knife or fork) stick them back in the oven for longer (depending on how big the squash is will depend on how much longer, keep checking back, treat it like a jacket potato!)
4. While your squash is baking chop up all your veg (minus tomatoes) chunky. Put the pepper, courgette and onion into a roasting tin and drizzle with 1 tbls of Olive Oil and mix the veg so the oil coats them all. Stick it in the oven and roast for around 20-25 mins. Half way through give them a mix and stick them back in the oven. (if veg is done before squash, don’t worry, you’re putting it all in together later!)
5. Add the cherry tomatoes and pine nuts to your veg, give it all a stir and put it back into the oven for a further 10 mins.
6. When everything is ready, mix the parsley and Parmesan. Flip your squash over then place all of the veg and feta cheese onto your butternut squash, scatter your parsley and Parmesan over each half and then place into the oven for a further 10-12 mins.

And you’re done! Enjoy. All the flavors combined are really delicious and I can not wait to make it again! You don’t even need anything else with this, it’s satisfying and filing.

New year, new post, and all that.

Tags

New year

Oh my gosh, where do I even start with this?!

I never blogged over christmas, never shown you guys the awesome mince pies we made or posted the recipe or the wonderful photos to match, never posted photos of christmas day or the joy it brought to all of us. I didn’t even bother to reflect on the old year or new year…. What do I do here then? Where do I start? Do I separate my blogs or….what?!

Ouch my head hurts.

SO, lets start with, Christmas, it was amazing, I made amazing food and my nana, grandad, mum and of course Alexandra all ate up and I was told I made them all proud with the amazing dinner I made. I managed to perfect the parsnips, something my mum and nana have both been trying to do for years on end. So phew! After all the stress it caused me, it turned out wonderful. My wonderful boyfriend stayed over for the third year, and instead of spending all our night snaking on left overs and watching films and giggling, we fell asleep. Ha! He treated me to possibly the most amazing presents ever this year, wait for it…. The Agyness Deyn Black Dr Martens I’ve been after for ages, tons of Lush treats, and a beautiful Bombay Duck teacup and saucer. He’s a keeper, that’s for sure.

Boxing day was wonderful, the full family went round to my nana’s house for our second christmas dinner, we all laughed constantly and Davy got along with everyone great, which was lovely to see.

New year Alexandra went to her dad’s to have a little party with her cousins and me and David went out with friends, it was so, so good to see everyone again and drink wine. Oh wine. Yum. 

So, that brings me to my new years resolution, to eat healthy! Really healthy, buy fresh food and grow my own herbs again. Make most of my food from stretch and replace cups of tea with cups of herbal tea. It’s not to lose weight, it’s simply because I really do need to start treating my body with a lot more respect, feeding it what it needs rather than being greedy. 

It’s day two and already I have replaced weetabix covered in sugar with my actual fave cereal  Special k, I’ve bought herbs and planted them, bought a ton of veg and replaced chocolate with healthy yogurts. Already I feel amazing. I love real food, and I hate that I get lazy and buy crap instead! I will stick to it though, I know it!

What are your resolutions and how are you planning to stick to them? 🙂