Tried and Tested - Homemade Foot soak

In the middle of winter, dry heels is not something that I normally fuss (tis the season of tights) about but my feet have been so dry lately that I needed an intervention. I remember seeing a quick fix home-made remedy on facebook during the summer and as I had all the ingredients in the house, I decided to give it a go.

Here is what you will need:

There are no fancy methods with this. You literally throw everything together in a basin and soak your tootsies for about 20 mins.

Did it work? Yes and no..

It softened the hard skin on and around my heels all right but I think just soaking them in the warm water for that long would have done exactly the same job. There was no notable peeling or removal of dry skin. Your feet feel tingly and refreshed but that's about it I'm afraid. To really get polished heels, you would need to use more vigorous methods, like filing or using a chemical peel.

The overbearing smell of vinegar in the bedroom just isn't worth it



Have you tried this foot soak before?

Kel x

The BIG Reveal - Irish Beauty Bloggers Secret Santa

Good morning and a very merry 4 day countdown to Christmas to you!

It's the 21st of December which means it's Secret Santa Day! Can I get a whoop whoop
Before I get into things I just wanted to say a big Thank you to Aisling from Total Makeup Addict for setting the whole thing up and adding me onto Santa's list last minute.

This was my first year to get involved and if any of you have read last years Christmas post you will know that I'm not that into Christmas. (I'm a strange one alright). Anyhow, this year I promised to try and get into the spirit of things and the Secret Santa task gave me just that opportunity. There has been a serious buzz on  twitter over the past few weeks and I've really enjoyed keeping up. Some of the gifts that were sent look great and people went to a lot of effort. I'm looking forward to seeing what was inside those perfectly wrapped presents.

My Secret Santa to me . . .

Champneys Cracker Collection

4 x 50ml bottles of bubble bath.

Distant Shores Bubble Heaven
Mediterranean Bliss Bubble Heaven
Exotic Retreat Bubble Heaven
Oriental Opulence Bubble Heaven

With two kids I don't get much time for Baths these days so I look forward to cracking these pretty gels open 'one day' lol

Noel Essential Oil

 Thank you Zoe Fitzpatrick! (Zoecoco.com)

Me to my secret recipient . . . 

I was matched to Sarah Priestly Keogh of Flame Coloured Skies

I would be lying if I said I found the task of buying something that Sarah might like easy. I wanted to make sure I got her something that she might genuinely be interested in. Unfortunately for me, Sarah's blog was set to private so I couldn't have a read of that without risking giving myself away. I managed to find her on pinterest so I used her pins as inspiration. 

For Sarah, I purchased a pretty Paris notebook, as she likes to sketch. The Paris connection relates to her love and admiration for models. Paris being the fashion capitol of the world, I thought this was fairly apt.

Sarah's love of Lana Del Rey popped up somewhere (her blog title!) so I researched some Lana makeup tutorial videos to see what look she goes for. With that in mind, I purchased 2 lip products so that Sarah could recreate one of her favourite singers looks.

Last but not least, I got Sarah some sparkly festive nail polish...fun Christmas nails and nail accessories.

I really hope you liked your gift Sarah.

A very Merry Christmas to Sarah and Zoe.... 

Til next year!!

Kel x

Budget Beauties #1

Ya'll know I'm a buyer of mainly budget friendly products. While I love Chanel and YSL among others, I gotta be honest and tell you, I'd be totally punching above my weight with those babies. The Chanel logo alone makes me go weak at the knees, but I've got to wait for special occasions (Birthday & Christmas) to add Chanel to the collection. In the meantime, my focus is on the likes of Catrice, NYX, Essence, Rimmel etc.

If, like me, you scan the posts of beauty bloggers on a daily basis, you will note that a lot of BB focus on the budget friendlier products also. If they are going to appeal to the everyday girl, they've got to have some budget friendly options in there too :-) . Among my favourite posts are dupe posts, where the blogger compares high end products to something similar and more affordable. Cha ching!!

I don't buy makeup every single month. I wish I had the money too. So I'm not going to post 'monthly favourites' posts. As I add some budget beauties to my stash, I'll keep you posted!

Here's a peak at the treats I picked up recently.

Milk Anyone?

Ah, the fine art of milking oneself. A skill I have perfected over the last 5 months. (Compared to the difficult days, the ones I live right now seem pretty perfect to me)

Breastfeeding and me

Milk coma - Baby Petit :-) x

I breastfed my first child for literally 3 weeks before throwing in the towel. I was tired, scared, worried, sore, fed up, young etc etc.... A 7 year gap between babies gave me enough time to forget I didn't enjoy it much the first time around and allowed me the chance to have another go. I was more determined this time around to stick at it and whether I went down the route of bottles again, I was always going to breastfeed for the first few days anyway. 
I was lucky and my little one latched on quite well from the very start. Her nickname is the 'little monster' (boobie monster, to be exact). She loves her grub and was never going miss a drop. I decided to just take it day by day and see how we both got on. 
Oh man, there were days that I struggled. The worst part of which was the fact that I didn't know which aspect of feeding I was struggling with.

Pain: Yes I was sore. I know all the experts say that if you are sore then you are not doing it right. I don't believe this. I think everyone is sore at the very beginning. If something has to break through thick skin, i.e. milk through the nipple...it's gonna get sore. Plus, you have a baby sucking the life out it 24/7. Anyway, Lanolin cream will be your 'breast' friend (see what I did there lol) in the first few weeks and no new breastfeeding mum should be without it. 

Tired: I was tired, but compared to my first post baby experience I actually felt grand and pretty on top of things (that means I managed to get dressed occasionally) 

Feeding in public: Never bothered me and I had no negative experiences either. 

Feeding schedule:Ah ha! Sweet baby jesus......Why did no one tell me I would have no life. This, for me is exactly where the problem lay. For 6 weeks I struggled with this big time. I just kept thinking, why did nobody warn me. When my little one was about 4 weeks old, I fed her and then went to collect my other little girl from a friends. I was gone for 30 minutes. When I got back, my husband was pacing the floor with a screaming baby. It is in that very moment that I realised I couldn't leave the baby. (Unless I expressed beforehand....this could never happen as she constantly drained both breasts)
Ssssshhhhhh, I can hear loads of breastfeeding mums shouting at me telling me their child fed every 3...maybe 4 hours. Great, fantastic..for you! I'm just saying, my little monster wanted boob all day every day :-) 

Now I will admit here that I focused so much on getting breastfeeding right that I kinda ditched a sleep routine. Big mistake as poor Petit baba was unable and unwilling to fall asleep anywhere but on the breast. 

Anyway, once I realised, that I was no longer able to just get up and go, or that such things as 'cluster' feeds existed, I started to chill out a bit. So what, I can't get up and put a wash on. So what, I can't change the beds today....So what, I didn't get dressed. 

Once I had made peace with things, I rejigged a few other things too. I focused more on nap times which in turn gave me a little, predictable break. I made sure, that when I did get dressed, I wore something that had easy access to the boobs plus was comfortable for me to hoist up and down all day. At 4 weeks, the nipple pain eased and at 6 weeks was completely gone. The let down discomfort was not as noticeable and my breasts no longer became engorged as quickly. 

6 weeks to now..... I LOVE BREASTFEEDING. ! All those happy endorphins being released with each feed has me feeling great. Yes, it's hard when your sitting up in the middle of the night alone, feeding your little one but embrace it. Time passes so quickly and you will not have the opportunity with your little one again. There are many years of sleep ahead for me but only this one opportunity to Breastfeed baby Petit. I get such a buzz out of picking her up and watching her little head bob around until she finds her liquid gold. 

I look at how much she has grown and stretched already and think, wow, I grew that little beauty inside of me and then nourished her til now. 

With my return to work date looming, I have started to wean her off the breast. I do hope to keep feeding her morning and evening after I return to work but we will see how things go. For now we are both happy out :-)

How was your experience of breastfeeding?

Kel x



*(Each to their own, I'm not concerned with whether you breastfed 1 child or 16 children. This post holds no judgement and I would appreciate the same in return)

Sweet Soul Sunday

There is a gap in the clouds and the sun is peaking through. What a beautiful Sunday morning. I'm sitting back, a cup of tea in hand and listening to the sweet soul sounds of Sam Cooke. 





Check out some of my favourite tracks:

Bring it on home to me

A change is gonna come

Twistin' the night away

Chain Gang

Cupid

She was only 16

And 1 more . . .  Dreamlover

Are you a fan?

Kel x

Tress in Distress

Oh Lord, I have heard that you lose a lot of 'dead' hairs post pregnancy but things are getting ridiculous around here. So much so, my husband has suggested I knit a jumper with what comes out of the hair brush!!

I think drastic action is needed if I don't want to be as bald as the Christmas Turkey on December 25th. First things first, instead of my usual  - grab whatever Shampoo and conditioner are on sale, Ive bought myself some nice new hair products. A bit of luxury for the tresses. I'm hoping my hair will thank me by staying firmly rooted to me head.








Shampoo : Prosys, Organic Shampoo

I had not heard of this brand before but it smelled so good I had to have it. The shampoo has a creamy consistency with a pearl, shimmery look. It lathers quite well. I have medium -long hair and use about 3/4 pumps. Lately, I have been shampooing twice to really get my scalp clean and all those loose dead hairs out. This shampoo rinses out well and doesn't leave a film on your hair.

If you are thinking of buying this based on the organic label, I'd think again - looking at the ingredients, this shampoo does not say organic to me.






Conditioner: Mastey, Frehair detangling Conditioner

Mastey is the original sulfate free shampoo which says a lot about their product ethos. It is also paraben free. I love the salon smell from this product. Two days ago I washed my hair and as usual with no time to dry it, I tied it up wet. I do this all the time with no issues. This time though, my hair looked and felt so greasy and slimy. It was horrible.

My scalp has been seriously itchy also and I'm not sure whether to blame the shampoo or conditioner yet... So my friends, the jury is still out on these products.

1 positive I have to mention is the price point. These products were a bargain in TK maxx






What are your go to products for shampooing and conditioning?

Kel x

Busymum Family Organsier

I'm not normally a 'family organiser/diary' type of person but there are only so many days you can pack your child off to school, only to discover she has a day off when you reach a closed school gate.  (*shame face). I bought one of these Busymum organisers last year and found it really good for planing out the weeks. When they hand  out the school calendar in September, I am able to fill in all the dates for the year. This means I don't have to worry about losing that sheet or remembering what days are half days etc.

I'm not bad at remembering birthdays but when your 7 year old starts getting invited to 10 plus parties a year, things can start to get a little tricky. I found the organiser great for planning ahead. Usually, when a birthday pops up, I'm reactive, as in, the day before I run out to get a present. With the busy mum organiser, I can look ahead a month or two and pick up what I need at a more proactive pace!

The organisers run from September to December and come with cute little stickers for highlighting special occasions. Each month gives busy parents little tips and cute suggestions.

You can write each family members name along the top and their co-ordinating activity on the dates underneath. The layout allows you to see quite easily if anyone's schedule clashes. To those of you that only need to look after numero uno, you won't see the benefit in this. Anyone with more than themselves to look after, a household to run, a job to go to etc etc needs one of these in their lives!





This little doozy retails at €12.99. I bought my 2014 organiser in Carraig Donn and 2015 one in the pop up calendar shop @The Blanchardstown Centre.

Kel x