Keeping Kids Busy On a Budget

This is my first mumsie post but i know its something I've always struggled with.
My children, like most, are constantly needing some kind of entertaining. You may have thought, like me, that having two kids would mean they always had company and someone to play with. Nope, not at all! mostly for me that has meant always having constant bickering going on when there is nothing else to do.
Half term can be an expensive time when you have two kids. All the day trips, entrance fees, travel expenses and lunches add up.
Here's some of my favourite things to do with the kids without breaking the bank.
Firstly a pack lunch will become your best friend. No need for anything fancy. A bag and a frozen bottle of water to keep it cool (no need for an icepack) and of course a huge selection of food. Buy some sandwich bags and fill them with homemade sandwiches, fruit, veg, crackers and a few sweeter treats with a bag of crisps. Think out the box a little too (try little pots of tuna pasta or potato salad and chicken) so you don't get bored of the typical lunch box food. Your already saving money.

If your local to London The science museum is great for kids. Not only is it free, but it has something for all kids of all ages. The toddler area is AMAZING and my daughter can spend hours there. its called the garden and is aimed for kids 3-6yrs though we've been taking my daughter since she was two. There's lots of fun hands on lights and sounds activities a climbing frame and a really fun water area where the kids can play with boats and watch them drop down the current. aprons are provided! they also lave large over sized Lego bricks too. my daughter enjoys building towers big enough to sit on. check it out here

The Garden. My partner is a big kid

For the older kids there is so much to get involved in hands on too. For ages 5-8 they have the pattern pod. It encourages learning through play without them really realising! Again so much hands on interactive fun. They encouraged to make pattern prediction while playing. You really cant not

love to learn in that place. Check it out here.

for the 8-14year olds they have the launch pad. Its full of 50 interactive exhibits and even live shows and demos. You can again find out more here

Its so fun that the kids always ask to come back, and lets not forget FREE.

On sunny days my favourite place to take the kids is dukes meadow in Chiswick. Its a fun paddling pool with a fountain in the middle. Its gated up so you can let the kids run free. It also has a large sand pit and a massive park with so much to do. For the football loving kids there is a huge field, so let them bring a ball. Make sure you take your costumes, towels and a blanket to lounge on. There is a slightly pricey food hut here, though its all free to use so bring your own lunch and your golden. Buy yourself a snack or an icecream to help continue keeping this place open to the public as i believe they are not government funded. It would be a real shame to loose this attraction.

Oldie But A Goodie

Saturday mornings (and even sundays with some branches) local cinemas show films for around £1 a person any age. These are usually films that have just been released on DVD or left the cinemas a couple months ago. That has never been a problem for my kids though. They love re watching their favs. Avoid the cinema food and pop into your local supermarket for some low cost sneaky snacks and drinks. 

Me and the kids love a day out to bushy park. The play area is massive and has a huge sand pit. The play equipment is designed for all age groups.
There is plenty of field space too. The best bit for us is getting up close and personal to the deer that run free. But if your find them too intimidating, like my daughter, feeding the ducks entertains the little ones for ages. So bring a picnic, a blanket and a load of bread and find your self a nice sunny spot to spend the day.

Lammas park in staines is also great. It has a dry play park and a wet play park. Theres a river to feed the ducks and a large field to picnic on, fly kites or play football. Me and my partner like to set up a badminton net so we can keep ourselves fit too! The wet play park is great fun with lots of water squirting everywhere. Though this is only on certain times of the year so you'd need to check that if you plan on taking costumes and towels.

The Wet Play Park

I Love These Pics 

Lets not forget all our own, more local, parks. Pack all the balls and bats you own, let them take their bikes or scooters and take yourself a flask of tea and a good book perhaps. It gets the kids out the house for a couple hours and gives yourself a break too. 

If you want a day in during the week insure there is enough at hand to keep them occupied and of your case. Event fun games that will make them work together, leave you alone for a bit but also make them feel that your more involved then you may be. Tell them to hide an object around the house and draw you a detailed colourful map that you can follow to try find the item. Hopefully that will occupy them long enough to get some of your own chores done. Then you'll be more willing to play along later, to find the item. They will feel so clever too! make some homemade play dough with them and then leave them to play with it. Heres a very simple recipe. You can also decorate cakes together or get them to help with the cooking :)

With all the money you've saved you can maybe splurge out on a trip to the farm or your local pool. These usually tend to be reasonably priced and with your packed lunch, you wont be breaking the bank!
Sorry if you found this blog very photo heavy but hey, I love my babies! hehe :)

Please share with me some of your cheap day out ideas or link me to similar blog posts. I'd love to hear them!

Thanks for reading, I hope this gives you some inspiration xx

Liebster Award Nomination

I'm so happy and excited to receive a Liebster Award Nomination from the lovely Shani over at Fierce Obsession. I love that you've read and enjoyed my lil old blog here! Thanks you so much, it means alot :*

This award is given to up and coming bloggers with under 200 followers. It is a great way for bloggers to recognise each other and simply say "i enjoy reading your blog and would like to direct readers to you"

The rules are as follows,

1) Link the blogger(s) that nominated you.
2) Answer the questions that the tagger set for you plus create 11 questions for the people you’ve tagged to answer.
3) Choose 5-11 other bloggers with less than 200 followers and link them in your post.
4) Go to their page and tell them.

Heres my questions given to me by Shani and answers. Hope you enjoy finding out a little more about me.

1. What’s the one bit of advice you would give to someone starting a new blog?

Not to put pressure or high expectations on yourself. Write because you love to write

2. Who inspires you? 

My mummy :) she doesn't see herself as a strong successful person but she is truly incredible. The things she's gone through in life are terrible by anyone's standards and of every awful experience she's created something amazing. From a tough childhood she's become an amazing mother. From an awful life threatening relationship, she started a help line that supports millions of women today. She has always proved to me that nothing can stop a person because she always succeeds in her goals regardless how small they may seem in her eyes. Even to see herself through uni as a single mum with two small children after everything else she moved away from. What she today sees as her biggest weakness, I see as her proof of strength. [*Weep*I love my mum]

3. Where in the world would you most like to live?
This one is easy for me. Holland. Because that is where the majority of my family lives. and when I'm there around them,  it feels like home

4. What do you do in your day job?

School runs? Housework? Erm... clock watching? Lol. I'm currently stuck in the 'my kids are all grown, yet my daughter annoyingly attends 2 and half days at nursery so it's hard to work around' stage. I always knew I wanted to be at home to see my kids through to full time school.

5. If you could only eat one meal everyday for the rest of your life what would it be?

Omg.... erm.... wow... I'm literally so obsessed with food that most my friendships are hugely based around it! If we can't obsess over food together we frankly won't ever be besties. I think I'll have to say roast? Because I can alter that each day!

6. Besides blogging, what’s your favourite thing to do?

I get anxious when I'm alone for too long and my most favorite thing to do is to force myself upon friends and family at every possible opportunity

7. What's your favourite type of music?

I really can't give this a simple answer. Every day I wake up I want to listen to diffrent music. I could listen to afro beats one hour and then placebo the next.  It's that eclectic.

8. How would you describe your style?

I feel I still haven't found my style. I wish I could wear pajama bottoms everyday to be fair. Im Not brave enough to wear what I'd like to alot of the time and 5 days of the week I'm likely to be in leggings a top and trainers.

9. If you could be anything in the world, what would you be?

I hate this question lol sorry. I have had a lot of dream careers that for one reason or another have been almost taken of me it feels. I wanted to be a personal trainer because I used to be obsessed with sport and fitness but falling pregnant with my son meant being kicked of the course. My best skill i'm most proud of is novelty cakes but I have a condition called fibromyalgia, and a major three month flare up meant I had to drop out my course. Now the first option is completely  out of my reach too.
My answer might feel boring as there are so many amazing fashionistas and incredible unacclaimed MUAs on here with huge goals. I'm just really hoping that by September ill be working in a nursery and starting a career as a nursery nurse. the one thing my condition has never stopped me doing is being there for my own children so I'd like to do that for other people's too. That right now is my dream.

10. What is your one beauty must-have?

Sleek eyebrow palette! 100% I feel alien with out my eyebrows

11. If you could ban a word or phrase from ever being used again, what would it be? 

Easy! 'YOLO' I cringe and die a little inside when ever I hear someone seriously say this. 

So now ladies its your turn!

i would like to nominate,

Jade at Rotten Red Cherry

Hannah at Blogger Hannah

Mellisa at Poppy Bird

Jade at Her Little Loves

Amy at Amys Life Of Beauty

Here are your questions!

1. How did you come up with your blog name?

2. Who is currenty yout favorite blogger?

3. What made you decide to start writing a blog?

4. Tell us something about you that we would never know from reading your blog?

5. What is the most Spontaneous thing you have ever done?

6. If you could meet any celebrity in the world, who would it be and why?

7. How, in your opinion, is the best way to spend a saturday night?

8. Share with us your biggest fashion disaster

9. What are 3 of your favorite things about yourself? Promote the self love ladies!

10. What have you done in life that you are most proud of?

11. And my favorite question i answered, Who inspires you?

Let me know when yours are up and posted as i cant wait to read!

much love xxx

L'oreal Nude Magique CC Cream UPDATED

This is just a quick post on my first impressions of a product. I'm talking about the the L'oreal Paris new nude magique CC cream. A 'colour correction beautifier' in anti-redness green.

The claims on the packaging sound amazing! ...but don't they always. it says 'transforms into foundation, neutralises redness for a perfect nude look' and all with the added benefits of SPF 20 may i add. Anyone who's read my previous posts may have picked up on my annoyingly red face grrrrr. I always photograph redder then my friends and it irritates the life out of me. When i look in the mirror i don't feel i look red but yesterday when sharing this with my darling partner he in fact told me "yeaaaa it is quite red" hmm straight into Superdrug i go! 

so on the back of my hand when i squeeze a little out it comes out quite watery and green then rubbing it in it instantly turns into a lovely nude shade that's first wonderfully creamy and then into a nice matte, almost powdery, feeling finish. it doesn't have much of a scent that i can tell which is great for me as anything perfumed seems to put me right off. especially when it comes to foundation. 

so far so good but lets face it, I'm not going to be wearing this on my hands so i'll get on with my make up and then see how i feel the results are on my face!

Aaaaaaand I love it!

I didn't expect much coverage from a cream but it actually covered brilliantly.  I felt no need to add extra foundation other then my beloved mac pro longwear concealer under my eyes. It felt lovely on my skin and doesn't seem to be settling in any creases. As for the anti-redness and staying power, that will all be put to test tonight as I'm in my way to Drake at the o2 eeeeeek! There's bound to be plenty of sweating and photos. Fingers crossed because so far I'm really loving this.

Let me know if you've tried this product and whether you felt it worked for you

Thanks for reading! Mwaah! Xx

UPDATE
I just feel like I owe it to anyone reading this to update this post and tell you all just how amazing this product really is. Its the day after and i got in just before 2am. This CC cream out done any of my expectations. It stayed on all night flawlessly without any creasing what so ever that i would usually get from foundation (usually around the chin crease area, smile line and the frown creases between my brows). My skin was definitely red free in any photos I've seen and this with all the heat and madness of the nights events.. and i definitely didnt hold back! Not once did i feel like my makeup was sweating of my face either, like I usually would on a night out. Goodbye foundation, you have been replaced!

red free face :D

Me and the lovely Monika. Find her blog here xxx

Neon Gradient Tutorial

This is a simple way to make your nails stand out and is easier to do then it may look.

This is what you’ll need:

• Some colours of your choice. I used models own neons. 
• A makeup sponge (soaked in water and well squeezed out) 
• Acetone/polish remover 
• A brush for clean up 

For this look you need to start with a white base. This is so the colours stand out. 

I find using a makeup sponge that has been soaked in water and then squeezed out makes the sponging more even. Paint your chosen colours directly onto the sponge then press it onto your nail. 

Continue this over each nail then let the first coat dry.   

Do a second coat the same way to make the colours darker.  

Take your brush dipped in acetone or polish remover and clean up your cuticles and the skin around your nails. I finished mine of with a glittery top coat.  

And you’re done! hope you like this and give it a try!

Home Made Face Scrub

With the weather currently changing, everyone needs to spend that little bit of time helping their skin stay revitalized during the transition. Personally for me I've been really unwell this week so I feel my skin is super dull and unloved. The joys of being run down!
This is a very simple face scrub that not only helps to moisturize and clear your skin, it also can be easily adapted to your personal skin type and needs.

All you need is three simple ingredients! 

Firstly you need something that will basically make this a 'scrub'. My personal choice is ground rice. It stays gritty enough to clear into my pores and doesn't dissolve. Also the grains are very fine so your skin isn't having to harsh of a treatment. These are some other options you can use instead of ground rice. Organic sugar is one I've used before. I don't use this so much now as it can be a little more course then I like plus I feel like it doesn't keep as well due to dissolving. But if you wanted to make a smaller quantity and have a more deeper scrub then you can try the sugar. If you have more delicate skin and don't want to give it such a harsh scrub then try oats. Oats will definitely be more of a softer option but still a good base. I like this option in the summer when my skin feels more delicate.

The next thing you need is an oil. I use an argan oil that I got from a local Caribbean hair shop. It was only £7.99 which is the cheapest I've ever found. We all know the great benefits of argan oil on the skin! It's high in vitamin E, helps with anti-aging, acne, dry skin and eczema to name a few! other oils you can use are almond oil, walnut oil and even extra virgin olive oil. All these are great for the skin.

The last thing you'll need is an essential oil. This is where you can really adapt the scrub to suit your individual skin needs. Here are some idea of what you can use along with their different benefits and skin types they're best for

-Lavender- 
dry acne, dry skin, scars, regeneration
-Lemongrass-
skin toning, cleansing, large pores, blackheads
-Peppermint-
oily skin, cleansing, puffiness
-Rose-
toning, large pores, thread veins
-Tea Tree-
acne, blemishes, dry skin, revitalizing

(I AM IN NO WAY AN EXPERT AND FOUND ALL THESE OIL BENEFITS HERE)

Feel free to do your own research though and find something that's beneficial to your own needs.
I'm using tea tree as I have shamefully spotty skin right now that really needs revitalizing. When not using tea tree I like peppermint for the fresh feeling i get from it and simply the smell.

Find yourself an air tight container and mix you scrub base, oil and essential oil in it. This is how much off each i used
-Half a cup of ground rice
-100ml Argan oil
-Around 30 drops of tea tree oil

You can add more or less oil though depending on the consistancy you like. I like for mine to hold a shape when stirred but to then settle when left for a minute (or as my friend called it, slush puppy consistancy lol)

Now your free to use and store it! 
I recommend to give it a mix before each use so the ingredients don't separate. Grab some, rub it on your damp skin for a minute or two. Rinse off and pat dry.

Some essential oils can make your skin sensitive to the sun for a few hours so use this in the evening. Then your free to go to bed with clean fresh feeling skin knowing exactly what it is you have used on your face. 

Let me know if you try this, liked it or have similar suggestions I may like to try. As always, I'd love to hear from you! 

p.s. Have a friend with specific skin complaints? This can also be a lovely thoughtful and personalised gift. Perfect with mothers day coming up too! :)

E.L.F Cosmetics Haul & First Impressions

Hiiiiiiiiii!!!
I'm so glad I finally have something I can blog about after nearly a week of feeling rough, not doing my hair or makeup and basically just about managing to get out of bed! (man flu waaaah!!)

I've always wanted to try E.L.F cosmetics so I was really excited to hear they had a brilliant promotion on. My best friend, Monika, filled me in that there was a 50% of discount code along with free shipping if you spent over £30. So that means only £15 out of my purse. There wasn't that much that I wanted to try so what I did was place an order with my sister. In the end I think I spent just under £12 and got 6 items. Exciiiiiting! Delivery took a lot longer then I expected. My friend had only waited a day and a half for hers but I imagine that may have had a lot to do with a high volume of orders during the promotion. It was in the warehouse from Thursday till tuesday, but once shipped on tuesday it came today (Thursday).

So the first thing I got was liquid eyeliner (£1.95) I heard good things about this from a youtube video. Annoyingly I can't remember which or whos. The applicator is long and by the picture I thought it was a brush (which is what I'm used to) but its actually a long felt applicator. Hoping I can get on with it. It dries nice and matte which is a plus for me. I find shiny liquid eyeliner looks quite cheap. You want your make up to feel like a bargain but not look like a bargain! lol. I have tried it on my hand and so far, it doesn't seem to be moving or smudging. 

The next thing I bought which I was keen to use is their cream eyeliners (£3.95). I got two of these in black and coffee. These both came with little angled brush applicators. At first, trying them on my skin, I was unimpressed with the colour pay off and felt they weren't pigmented

enough. I was using the applicator it came with though now having tried it with my own eye liner brush I'm much more happier with it! the colour is actually a lot better then I first thought and again dries very fast and matte. So its a plus for the product but not so much the applicator but thats absoloutly fine with me. My beastie Monika uses her cream liner, in coffee, for her eyebrows and they stay on all day and night without any brow gel.

I also bought an all over cover stick (£1.95) in the shade spice. Now my idea with this was that I wanted a dark shade so I could use it for a creamy contour as my skin is quite dry right now. The less powder products I use the better. But this colour is just so so wrong for that. I wanted to buy it in the shade toffee but it was out off stock so i went for the second darkest shade which was this. I've never actually met someone the colour as this lol. In the packaging its a light caramel looking colour but on my skin tone it comes out as a pastel orange? The product its self is creamy and blends well. It doesn't feel heavy on my skin at all either. The smell bothers me though... it smells like Terrys chocolate orange. Don't get me wrong,  I like the chocolate but I dont want to smell it on my face all day. Im sure the right colour though and if you don't mind the smell it would be a great product. I'm interested in knowing if all the shades have the same smell, so if you've tried it then do please let me know!

OK so next thing I have is the high definition powder (£6.95). Don't let the colour scare you. Its in the shade corrective yellow. I believe the idea behind it is to counter act any redness on your face. When I take photos with my friends I notice my face is much more redder then theirs. Hopefully this will help! This was also again a recommendation from Monika. She uses this as her skin is oily and feels her make up slips and becomes shiny and patchy through out the day. She loves this powder and no longer has the problems she had before using it so I'm hoping it works for mine too.

The last thing I bought is the studio conditioning lip balm (£3.95). I looove this! The shade I got is bombshell brown. Its a balm so don't expect a massive colour payment but it is definetly enough. Exactly what I was after. It makes my lips feel great, look healthy and with a lovely hint of colour. It feels really nice on my lips and smells wonderful too, like cocoa butter. I've mentioned before that I had badly dry lips and they've been getting a lot better lately with the help of a lip scrub and large amounts of carmex over night. I'm Glad I now have something I can wear during the day that will continue to condition my lips. It also has an SPF 15 which is great no the sun is making an appearance. I plan on definetely buying more of these in different shades. 

Anyway, these are my first impressions of what I've bought and I'm also excited to hear my sisters views on her purchases. 

Thanks for reading and please let me know your views and recommendations for this brand. I'd love to hear from you! Mwah!!

Lime Crime Velvetine Vs MUA Velvet Lip Laquer

These are my views of the mua/lime crime 'dupe'
So I've been desperate to type this up but wanted to give both products a fair chance.  I used one for one day and one for another. This is my personal take on this so called 'dupe'. I'm talking about lime crimes velvetine and MUAs velvet lip lacquer. So both items came in glass packaging, with a soft sponge applicator, in side cardboard bottles. They also both claim to give a matte 'velvet' effect on the lips. Even the name is similar. But for me, this is were the similarities end!
Let me just quickly say each product was a different colour, though both brands make a version of both shades. the lime crime shade I used was suede-berry and the MUA funk.

Let's start with the lime crime. this retails at £12.50 on cocktail cosmetics. Firstly as always with lime crime, the packaging was very cute! They never fail in this department. It also smells great, in a yummy kind of way!  The texture of the lip gloss is veeeery.... wet? this sounds weird I know but it literally felt like water going on my lips. When applying it you have to be really careful because any mistakes or messy application stains fast, so fixing it is a pain. I find scraping the wand a little first helps with this. This way it's not to full of product thats kind of not simple to control with such a wet texture. Though it does dry very fast to a lovely matte finish. Now I have really dry lips so it does draw attention to any dry spots I had but that's expected with all matte lip products. I found I avoided a lot of that by using a lip scrub before hand. I had it on all day and yes it did start to fade of in places, like where your lips touch, but it took a good few hours to do that! I ate, i drank and It basically lasted all day for me. I love this lip stain and it's effect and I just wish I had softer fuller lips to do it justice!

lime crime suede-berry

Sorry for the bad lighting. Was having to much fun at the park, i forgot to take a decent picture!

OK now onto the MUA. I saw it in my local superdrug and got really excited! At a fraction of the cost, only £3, and far more easily accessible. I bought one and youtubed a few clips on it on the way home. I'd not heard if it before then! People seemed to really like it and even called it lime crimes dupe. This made me even more excited to try it! Though, sadly, this was not the case for me.

It smells like, well, paint... It goes on thick like, well, paint, and it flakes of like (yep you guessed it!) Paint!! I tried to use it for the day to give them a fair comparison but only half an hour later I looked in the mirror and found that, where my lips touch, it had already been flaking of a quarter way down my bottom lip. I was really aware of it on my lips too the whole time like I wanted to pick at it! But I resisted because we was out and about for my daughters birthday. The second we was back in the car I rubbed my lips and flaked it all off. It was driving me crazy and by that point looked terrible. I'm so upset because I really did love the way it looked at first and wanted it so badly to be great. But the truth is, yes it is hugely cheaper and yes so easy to get. But frankly, so is paint...

MUA Funk

less then five minutes after application

I now know that I have to definitely buy the lime crime in the similar shade Because I really did love the colour. 

With this one i couldn't get a better picture as it had come off before i even had a chance!

Have you tried the mua and had a same or different experience? I'd love to hear your views.