Tuesday 30 October 2012

A Trip To The Zoo.

We recently took a drive up to Southampton for a day out at Marwell Wildlife Park for my cousin's daughter's 3rd birthday.

It was nice chilly day (I say nice as it is quite a walk around the whole park so wouldn't have been as much fun if it was baking hot) so we got wrapped up in our woollens and coats, which always makes a day out seem more fun to me! I just love this time of year.

The park were great, they gave a reduced entry fee to my disabled Uncle and free entry to my Aunt as his carer and also offered use of a wheelchair for a £10 returnable deposit which really helped him to enjoy the day.

The younger kids had a fantastic day, being so close to animals they had only seen before in books and on TV was really quite fascinating for them. Mine, being six now, really enjoyed reading all the information given about the animals and telling me 'I ALREADY KNEW THAT!!' about the ones she has already learnt about at school and we got to see the giraffes being fed which they all absolutely loved.

Unfortunately there were a lot of empty enclosures on the day so a bit of time was spent looking for animals which weren't actually there!

The gift shop at Marwell (always my favourite part of a day out!) is really quite spectacular. It's HUGE and has a great range of posters, all the usual gift shop souvenirs (stationary, magnets etc) some great toys, lots of educational books, sweets and a face-painter  I have an ever-growing magnet collection (I know, right? How cool am I?) so G picked one out, along with a postcard for school, a small monkey (she loves monkeys as we've always said she looks like one. Bit cruel?) and got her face painted.

All in all a great value, good fun day out for all the family. Just be prepared for achy legs the next day if you're anything like me and your daily exercise is the walk up the stairs to bed at night, as like I say, it is really quite a long walk round!


Sunday 28 October 2012

Day Zero Project.

I seem to be a bit late to the party but I have just come across this challenge http://dayzeroproject.com/ and think it's an absolutely fantastic idea for self improvement.

The idea is to make a to-do list 101 things and complete them over 1001 days.

My starting date is today, Sunday 28th October 2012, meaning my resulting date is;

Sunday, 26 July 2015


So, my list is as follows, I will cross them off as I achieve them.

1. Be a size 12 again.
2. Open a savings account. 21.12.12
3. Qualify as a Beauty Therapist.
4. Build a client base.
5. Start a writing course.
6. Decorate G's bedroom. 03.11.2012
7. Give up smoking.
8. Spend a weekend camping.
9. Buy a sewing machine.
10. Improve my crochet skills.
11. Get my lounge window fixed.
12. Take a vintage make up techniques course.
13. Dip dye my hair.
14. Buy a new washing machine. Dec 2012 (OK my Dad bought it, but at least I got one!)
15. Do the marvelash course.
16. Go to Disneyland.
17. Write a letter to myself to open on day 1001.
18. Tell G, at bedtime every night, something she has done to make me smile that day.
19. Say yes to something I would usually be too scared to do.
20. Update my blog at least once a week.
21. Answer the '50 Questions that will open your mind'.
22. List 20 things that make me happy.
23. Learn to stick to, and complete, one task before starting more and overwhelming myself.
24. Don't swear for a whole week.
25. Talk to my Nan.
26. Read a self help book on confidence.
27. Write G a letter.
28. Don't say anything negative for a whole week.
29. Deactivate Facebook for a week.
30. Get G's name tattooed on my hand.
31. Get my nose pierced.
32. Go a month without buying anything I don't need.
33. Sell something on Ebay.
34. Save a £500 'emergency stash'.
35. Save £1 for  every cigarette I smoke for 2 weeks.
36. Spend the above on G.
37. Develop an alternative source of income. Dec 2012 ( Started writing for WattKidsNews)
38. See 10 classic movies that I haven't seen.
39. Write a short story.
40. Leave a note inside a library book.
41. Buy The Big Issue.
42. Print my instagrams and put them in a collage frame.
43. Document a 'day in the life of me' in photographs.
44. Do an Easter egg hunt for G and L.
45. Sort out my storage boxes.
46. Have a picnic in a park.
47. Visit Brighton.
48. List 10 things that have made me happy every month.
49. Make G's teacher's Christmas gifts. Dec 2012 (Made them hot chocolate and snowman biscuit sets)
50. Learn nail art.
51. Make G a memory box.
52. Take G abroad.
53. Fall in love.
54. Get a new phone. 20/12/12
55. Go to Camden Market.
56. For a whole month, tell people how they make me feel instead of just being polite.
57. Get a new job.
58. Don't drink coke for a whole week (doubtful about this one if I'm honest)
59. Have a real xmas tree.
60. Make my own xmas decorations.
61. Have a weekend away with friends.
62. List 10 people I love and tell them why.
63. Don't move house for the whole 1001 days.
64. Make a Halloween costume in it's entirety. Halloween 2012 - Corpse Bride.
65. Make a 3 course meal from scratch for friends.
66. Take a whole school holiday off work. Christmas 2012 
67. Enrol G in a drama class.
68. Make 5 new friends.
69. See Madness.
70. Do the shoebox Christmas gift thing.
71. Move on from the people who make me unhappy.
72. Deal with my self-doubt.
73. Visit the North.
74. Read 50 books.
75. Don't eat out for a whole month.
76. Have a facial. 08.11.2012
77. Wear heels.
78. Don't be late for anything for 2 weeks.
79. Bake and decorate a cake.
80. Get my teeth whitened.
81. Get an article published.
82. Teach G to swim confidently.
83. Try sushi.
84. Have my hair done for a night out.
85. Give a street artist money.
86. Meet a celebrity.
87. Go to the cinema or watch a film once a month.
89. Do a carboot sale.
90. Apply for a job I would usually consider out of my reach.
91. Create a new CV.
92. Help a stranger.
93. Say yes to every social event I am invited to for 2 months.
94. Repair the stairs.
95. Make a dish I wouldn't usually go for.
96. Be ready for Christmas by December 1st.
97. Tell the truth about why I don't want to do things for 1 month instead of making an excuse.
98. Do something for the BDFA Battens Disease charity.
99. Buy someone flowers 'just because'.
100. Get at least 3 certificates, even if they are all in the same field.
101. Make sure Grace has a reason to be happy every day.

I would be massively proud of myself if I achieve every one of these in the time frame but of course, some are more important than others and some a lot more achievable so I would consider 75% a success.




How My Children See Me meme

My daughter's drawing of me for the 'How my children see me' meme over on Sticky Fingers. Just lovely... don't know what's happened to my cheek?


Silent Sunday - One photo to sum up my week.


Tuesday 23 October 2012

Skin Truth Products Review

I am a student Beautician and have been asked to review some products. I won't be including them all on here but as this one is so affordable I thought I'd share it.

I've recently been trying out Skintruth Equalising Cleanser, Toner and Moisturiser on myself.

I had always used Clinique products in the past, but being a single Mummy and all I can no longer justify paying out so much on what is essentially a luxury. OK I know cleansing isn't a luxury but using such expensive stuff when there's great affordable products just doesn't make sense for me!

Skintruth's Cleanser and Moisturiser retail at £7.30 and the toner at £5 but less if you buy from trade stores (many of which are open to the public) and are fantastic value for money.  The Cleanser and Moisturiser are in huge 500ml bottles and the toner in a 250ml.

I have combination skin. A very oily forehead but dry nose and chin, and the equalising products claim to er.. equalise!

And do that they have! My skin feels absolutely fantastic and that is not something I can say often. I have even (wait for it....) stopped wearing foundation (!!!) and have had comments on how clear and 'plump' my skin looks.

The cleanser doesn't dry out quickly so you only need a small amount for a good, thorough cleanse. 2 drops of toner is plenty and the moisturiser rubs in well and spreads nicely so again, only a small amount needed and leaves my skin feeling very fresh and clean.

I would highly recommend these products to anyone with combination skin and intend to use them on my clients as they are such great value for money.



My own take on Carbonara.

Now I LOVE a Carbonara. But fancied giving it a bit more flavour and slimming it down a bit so here's my virtually fat-free version. Bit of an odd combo but everyone who I have cooked it for has been very complimentary. And that includes my Mum who doesn't do polite so I know she meant it!

Great for kids too, it's my daughter's favourite and it's very quick to make.

Ingredients -

250g dried pasta (and type really, I usually just use penne)
1 red or green pepper
12 cherry tomatoes
5 rashers of trimmed bacon (I usually just buy medallions to save time but if not just ensure all visible fat is cut off)
200g mushrooms
Garlic (as much as you like really, I use ALOT, like 4 cloves or 2 tbsp if I'm using the lazy stuff)
Fry Light One Cal cooking oil.

Sauce-
100g Quark (skimmed milk cream cheese)
1 egg yolk
Salt and pepper

Method to the madness -

While the pasta is cooking, chop up the pepper and shallow fry over a medium heat in fry light, chop the mushrooms however you like them and add them next. These 2 take the longest to cook in the fry light so best to start with them. Then slice your bacon and chuck that in too then finally half your tomatoes and add them.

Now if you're using fresh garlic I'd chop and add that now.

Turn down to a low heat and mix all the sauce ingredients in a large pan. Also take a couple of tbsp's of the pasta water and add to loosen the quark. If using lazy garlic add that now.

Finally when all your ingredients are cooked (about 10 minutes from start to finish usually) add them all in to the pan of sauce, with the pasta and mix it all together and serve!

Serves 4, I'd usually do it with a bit of chopped salad or broccoli.

Enjoy!


Monday 22 October 2012

Intro.

Hiya, welcome to my blog.

So first post usually starts with a bit of an about me and what to expect so here goes...!

About Me.

I'm a 29 year old, single, working Mummy of one.

I'm a part-time secretary and a Beauty and Make Up Student, hoping to become a freelance Beautician and Wedding Make Up Artist when I'm qualified.

My daughter is 6 and is truly wonderful. She makes me ridiculously proud on a daily basis with her kindness and intelligence, but she's also very short tempered and a mega show off so, swings and roundabouts and all that hey?

I have a very dry, verging on inappropriate, sense of humour. If it's one of those 'I shouldn't laugh' moments, you can guarantee I'm already laughing.

I live on the South Coast, in a rented flat. It's lovely and cosy and we're very happy here. BUT I move ALOT so I don't know how long that'll last!!

What To Expect.

I like to cook. I try to make things as healthy as possible (not because I'm a SuperMum but because I'm a fat bastard and I'm constantly on a diet) so will post a few recipes of the fat free(-ish) dishes I like to make.

I love vintage fashions and interiors so will be posting idea's and showing the crap I pick up in charity shops and car boot sales.

I have an opinion on pretty much everything so to be honest, it'll be a bit of pretty much everything! Mummy stuff, reviews, bit of make up and beauty and tips I pick up along the way.

Hope you enjoy reading!

J