Blogmas #3 - Christmas nails!

So as some of you may know I am a big fan of gelish nails. Although I get them all year round, Christmas is by far my favourite time of year as you can really go all out.
I get them done by a lovely lady called Bex. I go to her beautiful house and get made a cup of tea (which I get to drink while it's hot!) and get pampered for a couple of hours. Luckily for me is very talented and has a huge range of Christmas nail art! Check out the pics on her Facebook and Instagram and you'll see what I mean - I think Rudolph's cheeky face has got to be my favourite.

As I have mentioned countless times before I love anything that sparkles (I think I may have been a magpie in a former life) so when Bex mentioned that she had some new loose glitters I got very over excited.

This time round I have gone for red loose glitter nails with a little bow on my baby fingers like they have been wrapped up, ready to put under the tree. I'm totally in love with them and have already had tons of compliments. 

I have managed to squeeze in one more appointment for a final set of festive nails before Christmas Day so I'm thinking I might go for gold glitter with black snowflake stamping... what do you think? I'd love to see any of your Christmas nails - tag me on Instagram if you want to show me your creations!

Happy Blogmas! X

I am thankful for wine.

I was talking to a friend recently and we realised that we are not thankful enough for the things we have and how lucky we are to have them. It is so easy to focus on the things that aren't right and the things you don't have in your life and while doing that, we forget all the wonderful things that we have in our lives. Big or small, I think it will do me the world of good to focus on the positive things, be more grateful and realise actually how lucky I am. So here goes... What am I thankful for?

My husband. Yes sometimes he does my head in. Yes he doesn't always do what I'd like or help as much I want. And sometimes I swear I'm going to commit murder. But then I actually think about it and realise how lucky I am. 

He is always on my side. He hugs me when I'm sad and buys me chocolate when I'm really sad. He dances around the kitchen like a lunatic to make me laugh. He works his butt off to give us a good life. He de-ices my car on frosty mornings so I don't get cold hands. And he buys me my favourite wine when I've had a stressful day. He's not always perfect but I think I need to appreciate more often that he's actually pretty bloody good. 

Wine. Ok it sounds cliche and maybe a bit desperate. But seriously can you think if anything that beats sitting on the sofa after a long day which started at 5am full of nappies and sick and crying, and taking that first sip of delicious, tummy warming wine. Mmmmm I can't...

My dog. She steals nappies and tries to eat the contents. She wees on the floor when she gets excited and she barks at anyone who comes within a mile radius of our house. She steals my pants and takes them to bed with her. But she is the most loving dog I've ever met. She gives me cuddles on the sofa at the end of a hard, tiring day. She is always excited to see me, no matter how much of a grumpy cow I'm being that day. She sits with Luke and doesn't bat an eyelid when he grabs her fur. And she has a mega cute wrinkly face which makes the world a better place. 

My mummy friends. My mummy friends have helped me through one of the toughest and most challenging times in my life. They've seen the hysterical tears (sometimes of joy, but mainly of desperation!). They've seen me looking exhausted, disgusting, un-showered and covered in sick. We have talked about poop, labour, sex, useless husbands and lady parts. There are no boundaries and yet they continue to love me and be there for me no matter what. And I think that's amazing. I honestly couldn't live without them. 

My parents. I am lucky enough to have my parents close by. That doesn't mean they have to help. But they do. Whenever they can and without question. Yes sometimes they interfere when I wish they wouldn't and I find myself wishing they lived in Australia. But they've enabled date nights to happen, sleep to be caught up on and most recently for me to be able to return to work. And I can't thank them enough.

Mascara. Because let's be honest - it doesn't even bare thinking about what I'd look like without it. All I can say is Lancôme, I love you. 

My little boy. My beautiful, healthy smiley little boy. It's sometimes hard to be thankful for babies. Of course we are, but when it's 3 am and they've been screaming for the past 2 hours it's hard to be thankful. And when you give everything you've got and it still doesn't seem to be enough for them it's hard to be thankful. 

But then I think, and realised how blessed I am to have a baby who is healthy and happy. 

He smiles when he sees my face first thing in the morning. He gives me kisses (well he kind of licks/eats my face - that counts right?!). He snuggles in to me when he's sleepy and gives me amazing cuddles. He coos at me and has the most amazing giggle. And he makes me feel so full of love that sometimes I feel like I actually might pop.

It is so easy to forget the wonderful  in life, no matter how big or small they seem. This next week I want you to do something for me. Every day write down 3 things you are thankful for. It can be as important as your husband or as trivial as your favourite lipstick. But give it a go and I think when the week is up, you will be amazed at how many wonderful things you have in your life that maybe you didn't realise or appreciate until now. Let me know below what you are thankful for. 

Confessions of a nearly yummy mummy...

I've read a couple of confession blog posts recently and they always make me chuckle. So I thought I'd share mine with you in the hope that I'm not the only one who does these! 

I use babywipes for everything...

Yes I do literally mean everything. Cleaning baby, cleaning surfaces, wiping Windows. I even use them as makeup remover wipes (sometimes I just don't have the energy to cleanse, tone and moisturise!)

Sometimes I pretend to be asleep... 

Usually at the weekend to see if my husband will take a hint and get up to feed Luke instead of me (it never works but it's worth a try right?!)

My 6 month old watched CBeebies...

Not often. But sometimes I need to clean or put on the washing. Or do my makeup so I don't look like a 15 year old sleep deprived drug addict! And sometimes the only thing that keeps him quiet is the Twirlywoos (even though it does my head in)

I have called my baby an arsehole...

Ok this I am not proud of. I will try and justify it by letting you all know that it's usually preceded with "I love you but..." Still not great I know, but when it's 3am and you've been awake for the past 2 hours for the millionth night in a row it's kind of true...! 

I'm a bit addicted to shopping online...

I have always been a slight shopaholic but since having a baby I have so much more time to browse the Internet (mainly asos while feeding/being a human mattress) which inevitably ends in multiple deliveries to our flat and a sad and empty looking bank account at the end of the month...! 

By baby's favourite toy is my iPhone...

At this rate he will be more tech savvy than me (not that it's particularly hard) by the age of 2! 

Monday's are pyjama days...

Every week. There's something about Monday mornings that just make me not want to leave the house or get out of my super comfy jammies (they're Ted Baker and I LOVE them)

Sometimes I dry shampoo my hair 3 days in a row...

Yes this does mean that I haven't washed my hair for about 5 days. But sometimes it's just too much effort. And dry shampoo makes it look so lovely and volumous! 

I 'go to the toilet' so I can check Facebook...

And get some peace and quiet. I know it's trivial but sometimes I need to know what's going on outside mummy world! And sometimes it's the only way to get my husband to take the baby and not hand him back after 2 minutes! It does however make people a little suspicious as to why you spend so long in the bathroom. 

I told you mine... Now tell me, what are your best and worst confessions - mummies and non mummies! 

Mummy makeup...

Back in my pre-baby days I used to spend a leisurely half hour carefully applying my make-up every morning. However the days of contouring my cheekbones or spending 20 minutes applying beautifully sleek black flicks to my top lids are now far behind me.

I still wear make-up most days as I find it makes me feel a little bit less far away from my pre-mummy self. I am quite proud to say that I have managed to perfect a full face of make up in 7 minutes so I thought I would share with you my favourite products that help me achieve this.

My favourite ever item of makeup has got to be my foundation. Although I only suffer with the occasional spot, my complexion is appalling. Team that up with the now enormous bags under my eyes and it is safe to say my skin does not exactly radiate a healthy glow! It has taken me years to find a foundation that gives good coverage and stays put for more than a few hours but I have found that the Estee Lauder double wear foundation is second to none for giving you flawless skin that lasts all day. It's a little pricey but you don't need a huge amount and it is worth every penny. 

Because my foundation gives very high coverage, I tend to resemble a ghost if I don't apply some sort of blusher or bronzer. Summer I tend to bronze myself and winter I opt for blusher. My favourite bronzer at the moment is a fairly reasonable Bodyshop one which is like a bronzer and blusher combined so saves you having to apply both separately!

This is only something I have started using since I had Luke. My skin doesn't even look close to glowing anymore (the joy of zero sleep) but highlighter means I can pretend and apply my own glow! I use  Soap & Glory Glow All Out which I apply it down my nose and on my cheek bones. It is literally magic - you will look like you've had a whole nights sleep. 

A definite mummy essential. My 2 favourites are Lancome Grandiose Mascara which gives you super lashes with just one coat (and has a really pretty tube!) and Seventeen Va Va Voom Mascara if I want something a bit more subtle (and affordable!)

The other essential in my mummy make up bag is my Benefit Instant Brow pencil. This is amazing and gives you gorgeous brows in less than a minute.

I finish off with a quick slick of lippy to make myself look extra polished and I'm done! My favourite lipsticks are nude colours by Estee Lauder, Lancome and Rimmel.

Those are my current make up favourites... What are yours?

P.s. I challenge all you fellow mummies to a full face of make up in less than 7 minutes!

Sometimes it's nice to feel yummy...

Maybe it's just me, but in my mere 6 months experience as a mummy I have found that the occasional bit of pampering is extremely important!
It's sometimes the little things that get you through the hard days - really yummy smelling hand cream, your favourite perfume or miraculously having time for a bath when (IF!) the baby finally settles.

The last few months I have found that I cannot live without my Gelish nails. Once every 2 weeks, I leave the baby with my hubby and visit a lovely lady who spends an  hour or so making my hands look gorgeous. A whole hour all to myself where I don't have a screaming baby and can stop being mummy, just for a second.

And to make it even better I have beautiful nails for a whole 2 weeks. God knows I no longer have time to sit and patiently wait for regular varnish to dry without being interrupted by dirty nappies, baby sick or the dog barking and putting and end to nap time - have you ever tried holding a baby with wet nails? Don't. It does not end well...!
For me, this seemingly trivial little treat means that on the days where the night has been crap, I am wearing pyjamas covered in *insert bodily fluid* and I look like I've been dragged through a hedge backwards, I catch sight of my hands and still feel just a little bit fancy. It's the little things that make all the difference.

So if you know someone with a baby, offer to babysit and send them off for a treat. And mummies if you are feeling the need for a little TLC (I don't know a single mummy that doesn't) enlist the help of partners, friends or family and get yourself down to a salon for a tiny bit of you time - occasionally it's allowed :)