Life through my iPhone

Hello lovelies, 

I thought I would share a few pictures from my phone with you as a quick update.

These are just a few photos from my camera roll from the past few weeks. My favourite has to be Anthony and Edward cuddles, it just melts my heart.  

 I used the project life app to put together the photos and journal card. The app was free yesterday from the apple App store, I'm not sure if it still is or if it is available for other devices but I definitely recommend it. 

What have I missed since I last posted. Let me know what you have been up to in the comments. 

xx

Liebster Award

Hello Lovelies, 

A while ago I had a lovely nomination on twitter for the Liebster Award from Jess over at Mums the new name. 

The award is for bloggers with under 200 followers, it's a great way of finding new blogs to follow and connect with.  

There are some rules for this Award, for anyone who isn't familiar with them:

1. Post the award on your blog

2. Thank the blogger who nominated you and link back to their blog

3. Write 11 random facts about yourself

4. Nominate 11 bloggers who you feel deserve this award and have less than 200 followers

5. Answer 11 questions posted by the presenter and ask your nominees a set of new 11 questions

So here are my 11 random facts:

1. I am a fully qualified early years teacher

2. I lived in Scotland for around four months

3. I hate getting my socks wet 

4. I always have to have the tap running on full when I'm cleaning my teeth (sorry planet earth for the waste of water)

5. I would rather have a film night with pizza and pj's than get dolled up and go clubbing

6. I prefer Autumn and Winter to Spring and Summer

7. I once died my hair black and I am reminded of this mistake every time I look at my driving licence 

8. I like going to bed early 

9. I get hayfever

10. I faint if I see blood

11. I had a Lizzie McGuire (makes me feel so old hehe) / Hilary Duff obsession when I was younger 

  

The Questions I was asked

1. Why did you start blogging? 

I had just left my first teaching job after four months as I had a not very nice time. I wasn't feeling to good and needed something to do with my time between jobs. It was a distraction for a while.  

2. How long have you been blogging?

I think just over one year.

3. Any other hobbies you have?

I enjoy crocheting, it's a bit of a secret hobby of mine. (not anymore though ha)

4. What is your guilty pleasure?

Crisps is my guilty pleasure. I once banned myself from eating them for over a year as I just ate too many. I also hardly ever buy them in anymore.

5. If you had 1 day to yourself, what would you do?

Shop!! 

6. Favourite food?

Oh I sort of already answered this one. My favourite meal is sausage and mash. 

7. Favourite drink?

Costa's latte 

8. Do you prefer to text or call?

Text, I don't really ever call it makes me feel awkward.

9. Are you a working or SAHM?

I'm currently on maternity leave but plan on returning to work after.

10. Where in the world do you live?

Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England.

11. Would you choose to live somewhere different? Where?

I don't think so, I love Sheffield. I would maybe like to live n Cornwall. 

My questions are...

1. Why did you start blogging?
2. Which blog is your current favourite to read?
3. What is your favourite holiday destination?
4. How long have you been blogging?
5. Do you friends and family know that you have a blog?
6. Which post of yours did you enjoy doing the most?
7. Are you city or countryside person?
8. What beauty product do you recommend the most?
9. Have you ever completed a post and never published it? 
10. Your favourite scent?
11. Favourite high street store?

I nominate:

1. UmmBaby

2. Mummybexem

3. Steps With Sarah

4. Jennifer Cooper

5. emfranced

6. Mum's Days

7. Mummyandmonkeys

8. The Knott Bump & Us

9. Lovedbymummy

10. Love of Living

11. and You!!! 

Thanks again to Jess and apologies that it took so long. 

xx

Catch Up

Hello Lovelies, 

I haven't blogged in a while *hangs head in shame*. So I thought I would share with you a few moments from that past few days. 

  If you follow me on instagram you may have seen most of these pictures. Over the past few days I've had some lazy pyjama days I have been feeling a little under the weather. 

Myself and Anthony have been doing some top secret hopefully soon to be revealed stuff and it has had it's ups and downs. It's been full on which is probably why I have been MIA. 

On Valentines day Anthony surprised me with a beautiful bunch of roses and a card. The top right collage is a few photos of myself and Anthony from the past few years. I can't wait for many more to come. Also once I have lost the baby weight I can finally get my ring resized and share with you how beautiful it is.   (I think there's a sneak peek on my engagement post).

Edward has changed so much over the past few days/weeks, he has started to smile and coo. It's so amazing to watch him change, it's hard though to put him back in his moses basket at 2am when he's cooing and smiling.

The Johnson's baby bedtime bath is a bit of a random photo but I have been loving this stuff and not just for Edward, it's so relxing. I asked my mum to watch Edward the other day so I could go for a long(ish) soak in the bath. This could possibly be making it's way into my February favourites.

 The Pret tea is from a caffeine filled day in Leeds, I met up with my friend from Uni whilst Anthony was working in the city. It was an early start setting off at half past 7, not easy with a baby so a lot of coffee and tea was needed. 

What have you all been up to whilst I have been away? 

xx

Quick Twists Recipe

Hello Lovelies, 

It's a quick impromptu post this evening. Although I am trying to shift the baby weight I couldn't help but have a go at a spot of baking. I had seen the recipe for Cinnamon Twists on a few blogs, I also had a quick look on pinterest as well. I have become slightly obsessed with pinterest my user name is Missbeth90 if you want to follow me (cheeky I know ). 

So I thought I would do my own quick twist on the recipes that I had seen (see what I did there hehe). To make it quicker I didn't make my own puff pastry I bought some in, didn't think that I would have the time to make it with having a new born. 

Here's a quick step by step for each recipe.

Preheat the oven at 200 degrees C for both recipes.

The ingredients that I used are:

• Jus-Rol low fat puff pastry 
• Nutella 
• Butter (around 100g)
• Cinnamon (2 tablespoons ish)
• Granulated Sugar (3 tablespoons ish) 

Nutella twists: 

• Cut off around 1/4 of the pastry which is already rolled
• Spread as much nutella as you want on 1/2 of the pastry leaving the other half plain 
• Fold pasty over so the nutella is sandwiched 
• Cut into 1" (ish) thick stripes 
• Then twist holding both the top and bottom of each strip   
• Bake in the oven for 10-15 mins or until golden brown 

Cinnamon Twists:

• Melt the butter either in a pan or a microwavable bowl in the microwave
• Brush the butter (leave a little for the top) over the remaining pastry
• Mix sugar and cinnamon in a separate bowl
• Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon over the butter (again leaving some for the top)
• Cut pastry into strips and twist. I didn't fold it this time to make them longer. 
• Brush the tops of the twists with butter and sprinkle the remaining sugar and cinnamon.
• Bake in the oven for 15-20 mins or until golden brown   

Let me know if you have a go or have any other ideas for fillings. 

Enjoy!! :D

xx

Quick Make Up | Mummy Face

Hello Lovelies, 

I have had this post half finished since Sunday and have only just found time to finish it off. I have been nominated by Jess over on mums the new name for the Liebster Award which I have half finished as well so that will be up in the next couple of days. 

Getting ready for a day out now takes at least a hour. So I rarely have time to apply a full face of make up. I have managed to whittle my daily make up down to just the essentials which I shove in a make up bag just in case I have to apply on the go.

Left to right: 
Soap and Glory you wont believe your eyes has been featured previously here. I definitely need this now to reflect light from the lovely bags under my eyes. I find this really cooling and love the three ball applicator. 

Rimmel Wake me up foundation again another go to of mine, I always seem to come back to this foundation. It has a good coverage and can be built up on the skin, at the moment I have fairly dry dull skin. So the dewy look of this foundation really helps to brighten my complexion. As you can see I am desperately in need of a new foundation, I'm scraping the edges of this one.

Body Shop all in one BB cream, I've not had this for very long but it's great for days when I can't be bothered to put foundation on and just need a quick fix. I did notice a difference to my skin though it definitely felt more quenched. 
  
Real techniques brushes, I use the contouring brush for my blusher and the expert face brush for blending my foundation. They're the perfect size for this make up bag. 

Soap and Glory sexy mother pucker gloss stick in the shade Nudist, I have wanted this for so long and every time I went to my local Boots they were sold out. I finally found one and it was the last one on the shelf, it was fate. I love this it gives such a natural shade and stays glossy for ages. It's so easy to apply as well so good for on the go or a quick slick before rushing out. 

Collection lasting perfection concealer, not a lot needs to be said about this one it's that well known. But it has to be the BEST concealer I have used. 

Lancome Hypnose mascara, I used to use this way back when I was a teenager (feeling old sigh) my sister bought me this one for Christmas and I have rekindled my love for it. it just gives the best curl and length. 

Vaseline is an essential item at the moment. Ever since I have been in hospital I've had ridiculously dry lips, it could just be the cold weather. This is one of their vintage tins, i love how they have gone back to the older designs.

Lancome blush, hands up I don't know what shade of blush this is (and it may be my sisters oopsie) but this is my go to blush as it is matte. A lot of the blushers that I own have shimmer in which I do like but for an everyday look I prefer a matte and this one is perfect it gives a light flushed look. 

Last but not least is the Ted Baker make up bag/ pencil case. I was looking for a small make up bag as I recently purchased a Ted Baker hand bag that I didn't want to just throw my make up in in case it leaked. I picked this one up in Boots and it is just the perfect size for my bag.      

What make up essentials do you have in your make up bag?

xx

    

10 Tips For New Mums/Mums To Be

Hello Lovelies, 

Having only been a Mummy for nearly five weeks I am most definitely not an expert I have however learnt a lot! I thought I would just take a few minutes to share 10 useful (hopefully) tips that got me through my pregnancy and the first few weeks of motherhood.

WARNING: this post turned into a big mamma.  

1. Accept help - I am very lucky to have such a supportive family and fiancé who are willing to help me in any way that they can. In the last few months of my pregnancy it became so hard to do so many things like bending down and walking around shops, this wasn't helped by sciatica pain. 

I remember getting so frustrated because I couldn't even put on my own shoes or socks, I would try and do this myself but would just end up making things worse. So as hard as it may seem at the time or as frustrating as it can be it is better most of the time to just say yes and accept the help. 


2. Feeding your baby how you feel comfortable - this is a bit of a taboo subject but hey ho. The big breastfeeding debate has been going on for years and everyone has their own opinion on what is best. I felt so pressured by some specialists to breastfeed, I remember coming away from one meeting with a spinning head thinking  that formula feeding was not even an option. 

I did eventually decide to breastfeed because of my birth circumstances and breast feeding difficulties in hospital I ended up formula feeding whilst we were there. Then once we came home I expressed breast milk and topped up with formula if we needed to. I found that this worked really well for me. I am now feeding fully with formula and things are running smoothly. 

So in a nutshell; everyone is different, everyone has their own opinion and you need to do what is right for you and your baby.   

3. Have a back up plan - This links to above as I said I had decided to breastfeed but a week before Edward was born I was reading up on techniques etc and I realized that it does not always work for everyone. 

I decided to buy just one box of formula just in case and thank god I did. So even if you are planning on breastfeeding I would really consider getting a box in even if you don't use it.

4. Clothes rotation - Oh my goodness, I can't believe how quickly you go through vests and baby grows. Edward has already outgrown some of his. At least once a week I have tried to rotate his little outfits so that he wears everything he has, putting the smaller outfits at the top of the piles so that he gets a few more wears out of them before they are boxed away. 

5. Ready Meals - Again I have been lucky as we are living with my family there are more than enough people to cook tea. On the rare occasion that I have been at home alone I have been so grateful for a stock of tinned soup and cuppa soups (even if they do go cold because I've been distracted). 

6. To Do Lists - Keep them short, sweet and simple. 

I like to give myself a short mental list of things to do in a day, usually of about 3 things. Just to keep on top of things, I usually get these done whilst Edward is asleep. 

7. Don't be hard on yourself - This is something that I have to keep reminding myself. I'm new to this, there's no guidebook on how to be a perfect mum, I'm still learning. 

So if I don't get all of my list done in that day, I do go for a nap whilst someone watches Edward or I don't manage to get dressed until late afternoon. IT DOESN'T MATTER! IT'S NOT THE END OF THE WORLD!

8. More than enough - Make sure you have more than enough of the essentials e.g. bottles. I originally had only 6 bottles after washing them and filling up the sterilizer one day it occurred to me that if Edward needed feeding in the time that the machine was on I had no bottles so I bought a couple more just in case. 

9. Pick and Choose - Advice, whilst your pregnant and after everyone has an opinion and advice on what is best for you and your baby. 

Just like this list, this is just what I have found helpful it is my opinion and everyone is entitled to their own.

 From the advice and opinions that people gave me I picked what I wanted to take on board. It is hard though especially when a stranger is giving you advice and you just want to tell them to go away. I found myself just nodding and agreeing (even if in my head I was waiting for Carl Pilkington to fly in and shout "bulls**t.")

10. Take a step back - This is something that I didn't think I would struggle with but I found it so hard, especially when we came home. 

I found myself wanting to jump in anytime that Edward was fussing or crying, even when he was with his Daddy. I had to take a step back and remind myself that it is not just me that is learning and that bringing up a baby is a joint effort.



A big virtual high five if you made it to the end of this one, it's a biggy. Let me know what you're top tips would be for a first time mum in the comments. 

xx

Bakewell Walk

Hello Lovelies, 

I hope you all had a fab weekend. On Saturday Anthony, Edward and myself went to Bakewell in Derbyshire for the day.

Derbyshire isn't too far from where we live so we often like to venture out for country walks and a look around the villages.  

It was pretty cold so it's a good job that we all wrapped up. Edward slept almost all day, he only woke up once for a bottle but we still had a good time. 

After looking at these photos I desperately need to get my hair dyed roots galore haha.   

I hadn't been to Bakewell for while (possibly over a year or so) and was so surprised that they had a love lock bridge. I also forgot how busy it gets at a weekend so would suggest if you are going to visit do it on a weekday if you can. 

Let me know how you spent your weekend in the comments, also leave a link to your blog if you have one so I can have a peek. 

Thanks

xx