Beauty is only skin deep but it is a good place to start...

Beauty is only skin deep but it is a good place to start...

My skin care regime has always been very important to me. If I don't look after my skin I don't feel good living in it. I hate the feeling of feeling dry and dehydrated, the same as don't like the feeling an oily  T-zone. If I do not look after my skin I get ugly blackheads and little spots which i can't resist to have a go at. Sorry, I know it's disgusting but I kind of get the feeling the majority of us do it, when no one is looking.

I remember my mother spent ages in front of the mirror using different lotions and potions and I was always fascinated by it and admired her devotion to this routine and I am sure she still does it. And somehow this has gladly been passed on to me.

I love trying out new skin care ranges and preferably leaning towards the more organic and simpler ranges. There is so much unnecessary ingredients added into these creams for whatever reason. I love the +Dr Hauschka range,   +Weleda , +Neal's yard   facial creams and remedies. These may be a lot more expensive than the average high street range but the results are so much better and healthier for you skin.

So when I came across a brand called +Arbonne  I was very interested in trying them out. They are not stocked on the shelves of your local supermarket but are sold through social networking. In a similar way to Avon where there is local representative that can either host an evening or coffee morning presenting the products and you can then get to try them on first hand. I met these +Arbonne International - Independent Consultant  ladies at a few different events and it is nice to see how it is becoming a more recognisable brand. The product are suppose to be all vegan approved and only contain the healthiest of ingredients. I know I haven't read every single ingredient on the labels and nor would I actually know what they all were but from just trying them on my face I am very happy with the results.

 

My bathroom contains a wide range of creams and potions as I get such joy in trying them out. I like experimenting and find it hard to stick to one brand. I know the more organic range is better for you but with a large family we go trhough a lot so it is not always possible to keep it purely organic and natural. But where I am strict with these organic makes is for my face and the body. Same goes for the rest of the family. The ones that wash off straight  away like shower gel and Shampoo away we try to use lesser harsh on the skin brands and we love Aussie Haircare range as we are rather a hairy family!







So why not  have a different kind of coffee morning and get in touch with your local +Arbonne representative.

Postage and Packaging

Postage and Packaging

I have recently started to re-use my old paper bags. I love browsing through EBay shop and putting items up for sale to get a little pocket money. But rather than saving it it seems so much easier to spend it on something else especially on line. 

The thing that I noticed was that there is so much wastage on all this postage and packing. I therefore decided on the idea to re-use the old paper bags that have that has been sitting in my cupboard for so long waiting for a better occasion to be use. 

I somehow am a little bit precious about these bags. I love prints and typefaces, materials and the whole idea of how something is packaged fascinates me. So what better use than to use these lovely bags for when I have sold items on EBay and recycle something old into something practical and new.   

 

1. Simply unfold the bag and stitch up one side of the open edges with double stitching.
2.  Slip your item inside or maybe even put it in a plastic bag before you put it into the paper bag. (Depending on the thickness of the paper).
3. Then close the bag and hold firmly the open edge and stitch along the other side, two times.
4. Trim down the excess paper and there you have a lovely looking parcel!

And who would not be smiling when they get one of these!

Happy packing! 

Never finish the new year with laundry in the basket.

 Never finish the new year with laundry in the basket.

 

With this lovely sunshine we had yesterday and this morning I decided to hang out my laundry on the line as it is so much quicker and easier to dry them that way. It feels so wonderful to have them hanging there in the sun, reflecting the light back into the house. I also love the smell of freshly laundered clothes. Especially the sheets. They feel and smell so healthy. The small pleasures of a house wife!

With all this washing going on I came across this Old Wife's Tale on washing.

"Never finish the new year with laundry in the basket. Otherwise you will never get to the bottom if it for the rest of the year." That explains it, my laundry basket if forever full. Here I am thinking that we are a big family with lots of clothes but maybe, just maybe I have been doing it wrong. I have got til the end of this year to practise and get it right.

TTFN,

 A X

Tuesday is pancake day, again!

Tuesday is pancake day, again!

We love pancakes in this house especially the kids. Pancakes are one of those meals that can be made quickly, any time and any day.

We have them with traditional lemon and sugar. We also add a little more interesting topping on some occasions with fetac cheese, lambs lettuce, a nice crab stick sallad, the combinations are endless. The chocolate Philadelphia always goes down a treat with the little ones.

 

Pancakes are one of our staple diets in the home. Simple ingredients that we always have stocked up on.

What is your super duper meal that suits any day in your household?

Happy cooking!

The Spring Cleaning Continues

 Spring Cleaning Continues

We are still on Easter Holidays and I am running out of ideas of what to do with the kids. Normally we have the days filled up with activities, play dates, run in the park, crafts and so on. However with the British rainy weather we mainly stay indoors. As we normally are rather full on here, it is quite nice to chill out and just stay in the home and potter about with whatever needs to be dealt with. The only thing is there is not much time for tidying and clearing up. As soon as I have cleared one room I just have to walk out of there and come back five minutes later and it looks like a hurricane has gone through it. 

 

photo:  www.woodchipandmagnolia.co.uk

I look at all these wonderful sites and blogs on organised living. How do you keep it so organised. Is this order kept all the time or is there just a little quick tidy up done before the snapshot gets taken? Or do you guys not have any children to rearrange the nicknacks that lie about. Maybe you are better and stricter than I am?  Don't touch, means don't touch. Whilst here in this house 'Don't touch!' seems to mean not to touch right now while I am looking but please go ahead, trash the room when I am gone.

My house; kids room ages 4 and 6 yrs

I need advice. I am forever picking things up, forever folding clothes back in the drawers, wardrobes, sorting toys, my stuff, husbands stuff, cooking, cleaning and the only little bit of joy I get is to sit by the computer and empty my thoughts for a few minutes. Or maybe I should forget the blogging and emails etc to concentrate on my messy home. But who really enjoys this clearing away all the time. In reality I can not stand it. I have come to a point where I just loathe it and don't know where to start.

I try to see what urgently needs doing and the rest just gets put off until later........later when I am fed up of looking at it and out into the rubbish bin it goes. We still have our wonderful skip on the drive so for the moment my joy is chucking anything that gets in my way out of a window and to hear that smash as it lands! Ahhh the sound of clearing out is great!

My beloved skip

My 9 year old daughters room.

The thing is with keeping order in a household of 6 people, everybody has to follow. But for some reason this does not work. I get my regular clear out, throw away and sorting and organising moods and emphasise on the importance of keeping things in order but who seem to care? I care!......

 The junk room/ dressing room.

So look at these embarrassing pictures. Is my house, the only house that is in chaos and full of clutter? Really, be honest! What advice do you have to give me? I would love to have a house keeper and cook. Oh wouldn't that just be wonderful. I am happy to play about with my little troop til hearts content but when I have my duties to carry out throughout the day I am just worn out by the thought of it. 

One can only dream of a beautiful house with tidy rooms, if not even a minimalist look. But for now I have to address my mess in due course.

Time to wash up some dishes and start preparing for dinner. Where has the day gone?

Thanks for stopping by, Ann 

Membership of acceptance.

 

Dear reader,

I am now an official member of the National Federation of Women's Institute. My card welcome letter came through the post. I am really excited and hope that I can make use of the membership by attending courses and local meetings.

It's strange but as you get older it is harder and more difficult to get to know new people. I have always enjoyed the company of others and am genuinely interested in people, their culture, backgrounds, family life, luxury life, hard working life, leisurely life. We all come from different walks of life and yet we seem to be striving for more or less the same thing, which is fulfilment and inner peace to some extent. We all want to fit in, either by a way of joining in or just to be accepted for who we are.

I thought by joining my local WI I will get to know some familiar faces and and share my story with. It feels good to have a purpose and a little push to get out of that comfort zone and make yourself known. And maybe there is someone out there who feels just like me.....I want to get to know more people and I would like to make a difference. May it be in the community or to make a difference in someones life by offering a friendship. I understand one gets on better with others while with some you only may meet up for this, that and the other and some, you just cross paths when you need to. But it still intrigues me as and when this all happens and it feels almost as if it has a purpose in just 'being' there at a particular point in time.

Do I make any sense at all? Some days I feel I have totally lost the plot. Other days I am on the right track and other days, you just ride along and see what happens.

So how has your day been? I genuinely want to know and would love to hear your story!

Best wishes and lots of love, Ann