A few years ago I bought a beautiful dull gold top. From the minute I first wore it, Anya insisted she had to have the same. She was only 3 years old. Since then, she has often wanted us to wear matching clothes when we go out together. Her sweet, sweet sentiment of wanting to be like her mama gives me a warm and happy feeling all over. While I adore this sentiment, I can’t do full on matching mama and daughter style. Can you? I can do complementary style yes, but matching head to toe, no. So recently, when Pisamonas offered to send us both a pair of shoes, I thought this was the perfect opportunity for some similar mama and daughter style. Both Anya and I opted for ballet pumps – she chose the sparkly pink ones while I opted for the black leather ballet pumps.
As your kids move beyond the baby stage, life starts zooming by even quicker than before. I mean it feels like one minute they’re learning their ABC’s and the next they’re reading to you! That phrase – ‘they grow up too quick’ – that only parents understand, has never meant more to me than now. Knowing this, I’ve realised when decorating your kids room, you have to keep in mind that they grow so quickly. Keeping this reality at the back of your mind will save you money, angst and the headache of re-decorating every year or two. A while ago I shared some ideas on how to design a room your kids won’t outgrow and today I wanted to share this great shelving system that has so, so many possibilities. As far as changeable, practical and adjustable wall shelves go, I don’t think I’ve seen better.
I am more than a little obsessed with fresh flowers as they always brighten my day, no matter what. I like to think of them as my happy makers. At this time of year, fresh flowers are in abundance so I love to treat myself to a bunch as often as I can. Many times it’s just a few daffodils or a single stem, other times it’s a full bouquet. When I get my flowers, I’m always thinking about different ways to display them. Just sticking them in a vase is fine sometimes but other times I like to play around with different displays. Here are 3 of my current favourite slightly more unusual ways to display flowers: Continue Reading "3 unusual ways to display your flowers"
When I was pregnant a friend of my mum’s jokingly said to me ‘be prepared not to sleep for the next 18 years’! I laughed. Little did I know that her joke wasn’t quite as funny as I had thought. Seven years into parenting, I am still sleep deprived. Just because your kids aren’t babies waking up for night feeds, it doesn’t mean that the sleep depravation and tiredness ends, right? I mean when was the last time you had a lie-in? Or woke up feeling really refreshed?
While it may not be possible to change the number of hours of sleep you get, it is possible to get a better night’s sleep and that’s what really counts. It’s scientifically proven that better sleep is more important than more sleep. I’ve been doing a few things recently to help myself get a better nights sleep so that I wake up refreshed in the morning and these may help you too. I’ve tried to suggest things that you can do immediately and that have worked:
We’re not huge on repetitive games apps in this house – you know the kind where the only aim is to progress to level 2000! For me, I love an app that makes my life easier or more organised and for Anya I like creative or stimulating apps. Once in a while a new game comes along that does more than being just a repetitive game and that’s when it gets my attention.
A few weeks ago I shared this app that tells you how toxic or not your cosmetics, toiletries and kids toiletries are simply by typing in the name on the label. I have been addicted to the app ever since and as a result have decided to switch quite a few of my products including the kids products I use on Anya.
One of the first things I ditched was my deodorant because even the one I was using was considered relatively toxic. But of course I needed a replacement quickly! I searched around and I liked the sound of the 100% healthy Lavanila’s pure vanilla deodorant. Naturally I checked it out on my app and it got a score of 0 which means no nasties whatsoever.
Recently I’ve been hunting around for useful apps for me and educational ones for Anya. We’re a bit bored of the apps we have and with so many out there I thought it was time to find some new ones. I will be sharing the good ones we come across as and when I find them. The first one I wanted to share with you was Think Dirty. I just wish I had discovered this app earlier!
“Have you said thank you?” is the line I often find myself saying to my seven year old when she receives a gift or she’s leaving a party or a play date. She’s a well mannered child and does remember to say thank you most of the time but I still remind her just in case. It’s our job as parents not only to teach our kids good manners but more importantly to lead by example. I’m sure most of us are polite and always remember to thank our friends and family for the obvious things like gifts, their hospitality and their help. But what about the little things?
UPDATE: unfortunately post party is no longer trading. That post baby slump is one I remember all to well. After a difficult birth, not only was I feeling low but my clothes didn’t fit, breastfeeding wasn’t going well and I felt isolated – to name just a few things. What you are led to believe (pre-baby) should be the happiest time of your life was anything but. Thankfully things have changed – there is a lot more open talk about what really happens after you give birth and how you may feel. Still not nearly enough but far more than there was even a short seven years ago when I gave birth. In the end it took me close to a year to start feeling ‘normal’ and two years to shed the baby weight. At the time I wondered what was wrong with me but now I know that this is perfectly normal.
As the weather starts turning colder, I always find my skin getting dryer. Especially the skin in those already dry places like heels, elbows and knees. So a few weeks ago, I went looking for something that could help and I came across this organic skin saviour which I liked the sound of. I bought it and haven’t stopped using it since the day i got it. Whenever I come across a beauty product that I love, I share it here and this one is too good not to share.
This One Love Organics Skin Savior is the best smelling skin balm that I’ve tried – so natural and divine smelling yet the smell is very mild and gentle. But more than the smell, I love it because I was so pleased to discover that this one little jar does so much:
1. Its a great cleanser to remove make-up and dirt and doesn’t leave your skin feeling dried out. For a really good face cleanse I’ve started using this with my other favourite cleanser, the konjac sponge that I wrote about a while ago and still swear by.
2. Beyond your face, it works so well on those areas that always need extra moisture, especially in winter – think heels, elbows, knees and wherever else your body is needing a bit of tlc. You can also use as an all over body moisturiser although it may prove a bit expensive.
3. This One Love Organics Skin Savior is a fab lip balm too. You just need to use the tiniest bit and your lips feel softer and moisturised.
4. We’ve just returned from a beach holiday and while there I decided to use this skin saviour on my eyebrows and it worked a treat in making them look neat and tamed. On holiday, especially in the sunshine, I prefer a much more natural make-up look and so experimented with this jar even putting a little on my eyelashes instead of mascara. The result was gently glistening lashes that looked natural and perfect for a no make-up look.
5. I used it as a hair tamer too, to control those flyaways. Again just a tiny amount was all that was needed to smoothen out my straight hair and make it look neater. I’ve read that it’s a great conditioner for hair too but so far I’ve only tried it to groom my hair.
As mentioned, we’ve just returned from a fab holiday to Thailand and this little jar of One Love Organics Skin Savior was just the thing for a trip away – acting as a moisturiser, cleanser, conditioner and beauty aid – I don’t know how I managed without it before. Hot weather or cold, this skin savior has so many uses and it’s all natural too so no nasty chemicals. It’s definitely a product that is going to be a permanent fixture in my beauty bag for home and away. I’ve only had it for a few weeks so I haven’t fully experimented with it but I suspect I’ll be finding even more uses for it.
P.S. This isn’t a featured post, just something I bought and loved and think you will too.
Ebabee Likes is a style guide for babies, kids, teens and their mamas. It’s all about inspiration, ideas and indulging yourself and your brood. It’s written by me ~ Nomita ~ a style loving girl from Mumbai who now live’s in London. Read More...
