Easy Peasy Jewellery Cleaner

I've been meaning to get my hands on a jewellery cleaning kit for ages. My mum has a really good one, so whenever we visit home, I always bring my jewellery to give it a proper scrub and polish! But today I spotted this cleaning kit and I thought it was about time I picked one up! This cleaning kit is simple to use, quick and very effective! I mainly wanted to clean my wedding rings today as they haven't been done in ages and now they're sparkling! 

The pot contains a cleaning solution and a tray inside to hold your jewellery for a couple of minutes. Then there is a small brush to scrub excess dirt off and, after rinsing, the polishing cloth brings your jewellery to sparkling condition! 

I'm really quite pleased with the results, though if you don't fancy purchasing a pot you can always soak your jewels in warm water with a bit of washing up liquid. That works pretty well too if you have a brush you can gently remove excess dirt with.

So there you have it, a quick but effective stay at home cleaning kit...it certainly saves the hassle of sending your jewels off to be cleaned professionally, and, if I do say so myself, my result was just as pleasing!

Love Bunty

xXx

Getting ready for holidays

We've had a busy last few days as we prepare for our holidays. We're going away on Friday for 'phase 1' of the summer holidays and as we're going to be away for most of August doing some very different things, I've needed to make sure we have all basis covered in terms of luggage. 

I'll be taking the blog away with me for most of our hols so you'll all get to see what we're up to! 

Phase one will begin in Dorset where we are meeting all of my side of the family for a week of blissful sunshine (fingers crossed!) and, as we've been teasing my mum, a 'Downton Abbey' moment in this beautiful house my parents are renting for the week.

I'm really excited to spend time with everyone: from the newest addition of our latest niece, Joanna, to 'Grandad', the family patriarch! 

I have lots to do around the house to 'shut it down' for the month ahead: including cleaning the fridge, the bathrooms, hoovering, sorting the beds out, getting to the bottom of the laundry and not least, purchasing all the bits and pieces we need for our holidays! (I'm thinking some nice maxi dresses wouldn't go amiss!) haha!

It's all very exciting and I'm really looking forward to sharing everything with my wonderful readers!

Happy Holidays!

xXx

Milk & Cookies

I love taking something really simple and making it a bit special. After Noah's afternoon nap today we made our own take on milk & cookies using party rings and some pretty straws. They just look so cute and would make a perfect refreshment at a birthday party, wedding reception or any event really! 

Or, if you're just feeling a little adventurous, you can come up with your own ideas for 'break time' in your own home.

I've spotted lots of variations of this on Pinterest, from mini donuts to lemonades! The choices are endless, but I thought Noah would particularly appreciate the large glass of milk. He especially loves practicing sucking milk, or any drink from a straw. I think he is quite fascinated by the whole thing!

I just love cheap and simple fun for the whole family! 

Time to get dunckin' our party rings!

Love Bunty

xXx

Summer makeup look

Hello everyone! I thought it would be fun to show you my simple summer makeup routine today. As the weather has been considerably hotter over the last few weeks, I haven't felt like wearing a lot on my face and as we prepare to go on holiday this weekend, I know I won't be wanting to pack much makeup for our time away either! I've simply used a few key products to create a natural look which isn't going to melt off my face in the heat of the sun.(Never a desirable look!) haha! 

Okay, so this is my bare face! How I debated showing you this....but, in the spirit of honesty, there you go!

After moisturising, I use Mac's Prep and Prime skin illuminater. This is a light fluid which just adds a subtle glow to the skin whilst creating a base for further makeup.

Next up is my concealer from Benefit. This is their boiing, in the shade 01. I use this under my eyes, around my nose and on any imperfections on my face, ie breakout or redness. This works so well to create a flawless base and cover the harshest of breakouts!

Then I apply a little bit of Bobbi Browns foundation stick, in the shade 2, sand. I love this because you can use as little or as much as you want to. You can really build a fuller coverage look, or just lightly blend it to create a natural, 'invisible' look. I used only a small amount and blended it in with my real techniques expert face brush.

Ooh, sorry about the camera glare here! I next used a hint of blush from The Body shop. I'm not sure what the colour is called, but it is a lovely pigmented summery pink which has always worked well on my skin. I dabbed a small amount onto my cheeks using my big fluffy Body Shop brush.

Then I decided to use a hint of highlighter. This one was so cheap, it's from Seventeen at Boots and is called the Instant Glow shimmer brick. I purchased the lightest shade and sometimes use it to highlight the tops of my cheeks, making a 'c' shape round to above my eyebrows. This creates a light sun kissed glow which looks really pretty in the sun!

Then I applied a small amount of Urban Decays Eyeshade Primer Potion. I use their original formula, although they have a few different gorgeous ones you can test out! This always promises to hold any eye makeup in place all day...no blotting, no re-applying, no melting! This stuff is brilliant!

Then, just for a touch of eyeshadow today, I swept Bourjois' champagne coloured shadow, in the shade 08, under my browbone and in the corners of my eyes. This little trick always appears to lighten the eye area and make you look very fresh faced with a healthy glow.

To finish my eyes I apply a couple of layers of mascara. Today I am testing out one sent to me, this is Rimmels scandaleyes retro glam. Although the brush has a bit of a funny shape, I quite like this one so far!

For a pop of colour on my lips, I chose an all time summer favourite. I'm wearing Sleek's Coral Reef which is literally a lovely bright coral colour...take me to Hawaii!

And that's about it! I don't have long to get ready in the morning, so this routine is great because it only takes about 5 minutes to complete-which suits me down to the ground!

Love Bunty

xXx

Hampering on about picnics!

I know I have posted quite a bit about picnicking in the summer and the fun we have had outside with Noah. However, I have not even introduced you to my favourite picnic accessory which makes it SO easy to go off for a lovely sunny lunch outside. Whether it be a coastal feast by the sea, or a few strawberries in the park, I always love to pack up my picnic hamper to hold all our essentials together!

My older sister got me this hamper as a wedding gift and it is one of my favourite items in the house! I love it's cute design and it's practical interior. These types of hampers are very easy to get hold of during the summer, many homeware shops sell them and the internet is always flooded with them! 

It makes it so easy to throw your beakers, cutlery and food into one hamper so everything is on hand when you arrive at your chosen picnic location. 

Happy summer everyone!

Love Bunty

xXx

Toddler tantrums!

We seem to be entering a new season of parenting Noah as the famous toddler tantrums have well and truly begun! There are many reasons why children between the ages of 1-3 throw tantrums, a lot of which are to do with their own frustrations with communicating. Children often have a much greater understanding of vocabulary at this age than they are able to express verbally. 

At the moment, I feel that Noah's moments of 'acting out' are more related to his tiredness, for example today he has not really settled for his naps at all and as a result he is much more crankier than usual! 

Taking the television remote off of him, or computer cables, or anything that is not a toy to play with, for that matter, can result in a fully blown tantrum with a full display of screaming and kicking. Most parents out there will know these are not always easy to deal with and offer new challenges to parents who are just at the beginnings of disciplining our little darlings.

Now, I am no expert on this topic by any means, but I do believe the most important thing to remember in these situations is to be consistent. If I give into Noah and let him use the remote control as a toy, it sends him a confused message and also reinforces that bad behaviour will eventually end in getting what he wanted. This kind of pattern will certainly not bode well in the future years to come!

I do find distraction techniques work really well to diffuse opportunities for tantrums. He responds so well to praise and so by giving him easy tasks, like passing mummy his book to read to him, I am able to give him lots of praise in return. He is quickly learning how to win praise by being obedient and the confidence this gives him is increasingly obvious to see.

All children have to learn at some stage what is right and wrong and what kinds of behaviour are acceptable. The only way they learn is by 'pushing the boundaries' (at first not even realising they exist.) But having consistent parenting is definitely key to their quicker grasping and understanding of what is expected of them and also of respecting their parents.

We definitely have a journey ahead of us and it won't always be easy but, hopefully, following some simple guidelines that I have mentioned will work in our favour!

Happy Sunday!

Love Bunty

xXx

Preserving wedding flowers

   

 Two years after our wedding, my bouquet and centrepiece for our top table have both (thankfully) preserved beautifully! Unlike the tradition of 'throwing the bouquet', I couldn't bear to part with mine so soon and so I took it home after our wedding, along with our heart wreath where I preserved them.

By hanging my bouquet upside down, the flowers have dried but remained perfectly intact. Obviously, the overall size has shrunken with the drying of the flowers, but it still stands today, an impressive reminder of a wonderful day.

I currently keep my bouquet hanging upside down at the side of my kitchen dresser and my hope is that it will remain intact for years to come! 

My heart wreath is much more delicate as with every movement there is fall away of dried petals now, but it currently sits in front of our display mirror quite happily and still looks so lovely.

(Eddy's corsage also preserved!)

I think it's a lovely thing to be able to preserve your wedding flowers. They are a constant reminder of our wedding day and a very real one too! Ours have aged beautifully so they don't just look like a bunch of dead flowers, I think they look really charming, especially in the autumn as the richness of their colours seem to really catch my eye. But then, I am somewhat biased after all!

Keeping cool

This week has been for us the hottest week of the year. We've seen temperatures in excess of 31 degrees down by the sea, so as you can imagine, we have had our work cut out trying to adjust Noah and keep him hydrated and as cool as possible! I have been living in shorts, skirts and loose trousers this week as jeans have definitely been OUT of the question!

Our apartment has also been getting extremely hot as there is little airflow in the corridors adjoining and as the air has been very still outside, there has been little relief from the heat. Although It is so wonderful to have a 'proper' British summer, (and my younger self would relish in the thought of a heat wave), but having a little one to look after has made me wish for a bit more of a breeze lately!

Today the temperature has been right back up there again, so, as Eddy is not at work today we have decided to have a chilled 'beach' morning. We took Noah along to our local spot and enjoyed paddling in the waves together. 

Noah loves this, especially as when the ships pass in the distance they send huge waves to the shore! We stripped Noah down to just his nappy and, after lathering the factor 50 sun cream on him and ourselves, we got paddling our toes!

This made for such a heavenly respite, it was amazing! Just feeling the cool water lapping over our toes has been a gift today!

I hope you're all having a relaxing weekend! 

Love Bunty

xXx

Dry brushed chairs

Since painting my dining chairs white a few weeks ago, I have felt they looked a bit too stark white in comparison to our other furniture. We have quite a neutral/ gentle palette of colour in our living area and I was a bit unsure about the bright whiteness of the chairs. I knew I didn't want to paint them all one colour either, so I decided to give dry brushing a go.

Without 'preaching to the choir' on this technique, I dipped my brush in the paint and wiped off most of the excess paint leaving only a small amount left to brush over the painted wood. This gave the effect of dry brushing- a rough brushed technique which lends itself well to those quaint English cottage inspired looks. I only painted two chairs, but I'm happy with the result so I will probably do the other ones soon! The paints I used were (you guessed it), Annie Sloan's Paloma and Antoinette. Antoinette, (the light pink colour) looks very light and soft, so much so that it's quite hard to see the paint technique unless up close. As for Paloma, you can really see the paintwork, it has a really weathered, organic look to it and I think it is a perfect colour to try out this technique with!

What do you all think? Sorry about little man photo bombing below...he has recently discovered our radio and won't let it out of sight!

Love Bunty

xXx

Jamie Oliver Dinner

Recently I've been trying to get more into cooking the family meals as it is a bit of a longstanding joke that I am useless in the kitchen. I can bake a mean cake, but when it comes to actual family meals, I just don't know where to begin!

My mother has always been fantastic cook and growing up we always had wonderful meals to come home to. I love the idea of taking on a more 'domestic' role in the kitchen as so far, Eddy has definitely trumped my culinary skills! But I also think it would be nice for Noah to grow up eating lots of home cooked meals and, hopefully, having a mother who can actually throw ingredients together to make something tasty and nutritious!

I have really enjoyed following some of Jamie Oliver's recipes and creating meal plans around them. Last night I had a go at making his sausage carbonara from scratch- sauce and all- and I was so happy with the results! The recipe serves four which gave us plenty of leftovers for lunchtime today.

It was actually really simple in the end and has given me confidence that I CAN do this more often! 

Here is what my sausage Carbonara looked like....and, if I say so myself, it tasted amazing with the lemon zest!

Noah also really enjoyed his portion...concentrating very hard on every mouthful!

If you would like to see the recipe, click here. As you can see, I swapped the linguine for penne pasta as Noah finds penne easier to eat.

Hope you all find some dinner time inspiration from Jamie too!
Love Bunty
xXx

What we ate in london

Even though we planned to have lots of simple picnics in the park this weekend, the practicalities of keeping some kind of routine for Noah whilst away from home meant it was just far easier to eat at our hotel for our evening meals. That said, we were fed like Kings! The food was simply divine and I really must take my hat off to the chef...whoever you are! I enjoyed the most amazing tomato and basil soup that I have ever tasted! It had a wonderful kick to it and went down beautifully with some bruschetta topped with haloumi cheese. 

Our hotel breakfast was also divine, featuring just about anything you could possibly imagine for breakfast, and luckily for my boys, it was on an 'all you can eat' basis! We enjoyed warm croissants, fresh fruit and a hearty full English! And the coffee first thing really hit the spot perfectly!

On our first day, Saturday, we found a gorgeous little tapas restaurant where we enjoyed some lovely light bites. It was scorchingly hot so we didn't want to eat much, but stopping for a refreshing drink was essential by the afternoon! We shared a few small plates of tapas, one being this pan of pate with almonds and various other amazing ingredients...it was one of those dishes that just tasted heavenly, but because it was blended so perfectly, we really couldn't work out what was in it! 

Delicious fresh calamari at the hotel

Cheeky little strawberry cheesecake

One of my all time favourite meals: Penne Carbonara with Pancetta! This was absolutely gorgeous!

My mouth is seriously watering after looking at all this food again! Haha! But it was soo good, I felt these recipes deserved their own post!

Love Bunty

xXx

Mumma's new handbag!

One of my anniversary treats was a bit of a spree in Zara and, after a long time trying to find the right one, I found a handbag that ticked all the boxes for me. This one is a lovely pale pink handbag, which also has a shoulder strap. I really wanted one with a shoulder strap because it's just so much easier to have a bag physically on my person when I'm out and about with Noah. Constantly reaching down to dig around the bottom of the pram for my purse is just not practical anymore and, considering the amount of stuff we have to take with us these days (food, books, milk, water...etc) saving space underneath the pram has become a bit more necessary!

Anyway, I love this bag because it has nicely organised areas and pockets so I know I won't be rooting around for my phone or keys anymore. The plan is( crazy, I know) that I will actually know where to locate my stuff exactly when I need to reach for it!

Happy Tuesday!

Love Bunty

xXx