Wishlist of pretty girls clothes

I can't wait for spring, I'm fed up of layering clothes and feeling cold. I was browsing through Millie's wardrobe this morning and she really does need some new clothes. Her clothes from last year are far too small because she grows so fast she's catching Toby up and there are 2 years between them!

I would really like to discover more clothing brands. My go to shop is usually Next or I pick up a few things from Sainsburys and Tescos whilst shopping. So here's a little wishlist.

Dolls Face Dress £14.99 from Bambino2tots. I discovered this website after they hosted a competition on Twitter. I think this dress is fun and perfect for spring.
Jersey and Tulle Dress £19.50 from Bells and Whistles. I really like the floatyness of this dress 
Startrite pink leather shoes She's got a high bridge so i wouldn't know if these were suitable until she tried them but I think they are cute.
Navy Ted Baker dress I love Millie in Navy although it doesn't look like a girly colour I think she really suits it. She's a bit of a toyboy anyway with having two brothers.
Floral John Rocha coat £24 I just think this coat is fun and bright.

So there you have it my wishlist of things for Millie! I;m sure at three shes not too bothered what she wears but I like her to look nice :)

Atlantic #Barstool competition entry

Atlantic Shopping are currently running a competition and have 5 vouchers up for grabs to spend on their site. All you have to do is choose a photo that you would have a on bar stool and say why you choose that one. Entries can be made via facebook twitter or a blog post.

It's really got me thinking about what I would have. My favourite pictures are of my children but it just doesn't seem right sitting on a barstool with your children's face on! In fact I don't particularly like any furniture with people's faces on, I just think its abit tacky. Plus I don't think when they get to teenagers they would sit on the barstools if they had pictures of themselves on!

Its got to fit in with the kitchen and the decor as you change it over the years. Its got to fit with the seasons, a wintery image wouldn't cheer your days up in the summer and vice versa.

I thought about my bouquet of flowers on my wedding day, or pictures of my favourite places in Italy or of the Eiffel tower from when we visited, my children's handprints and fingerprints. The list really is endless of favourite things. Then I thought food...

Most of our time spent in the kitchen is because of food, either preparing, eating baking and cooking. So I thought images of my favourite foods. Or of the favourite cakes I've baked. I think they will fit just right in the kitchen.

These are my favourite cupcakes I have made,mainly because I love shoes! Food and shoes we're on to a winner really :)

I think the ET on this is possibly the best icing model I have ever made, I was so proud of it! So it would be a nice reminder of what I have created.

Do you ever grow out of Wallace and Gromit?

Yummy warm food, this is a favourite in our house too and fun food always cheers you up whatever the weather or the season.

Bright, fresh food to liven up the kitchen, I love this picture it was taken in the summer, its just bright and juicy. Of all the pictures this is really the one I can imagine best. I have a cream kitchen so with this on the barstools it would really brighten the place up and inject a nice bright colour.

All these pictures would really get my creative juices going in the kitchen not to mention my tastebuds!

Which picture would you choose if you had to choose on of these?

Weekly weigh in

Hello there! Its been a while since I last blogged mainly because I've been ill. I've had a horrible cough and cold for the past two weeks and just not felt like blogging or doing much else really. But I'm on the mend now and feeling much better.

I shouldn't really call  this a weigh in because I haven't actually weighed myself. Although whilst I have been ill I have been eating extra things that I shouldn't I have tried not to go overboard. I haven't weighed myself because I don't want to get disheartened which I easily do. 

I'm just going to try and be good this week and continue exercising and making good food choices. By next Monday I'm really hoping I will be the same as I last time I weighed myself which was 12st8lb.

This week I'm going to be reviewing The fat burn Revolution by Julia Buckley. I'm hoping to pick up some hints and tips on good exercises and ways to burn fat!

Hows your weigh loss going?

A new routine (MILLIE STARTS PRESCHOOL)

My little girl, my baby, started pre-school last week. Whilst she's absolutely loving it, its been a funny week for me. Its strange having no children at home and having some time to myself. Although I have decided to work whilst she's there so I don't seem to have any more time than I normally would.

It's really hit me though today that I won't have much time with her and before I know it shes going to be plodding off to big school.

I'm trying hard not to have a day were we don't really do much or I do housework and leave her to watch tv. Whilst she's not at pre-school its going to be full on playing games, reading stories, going to the park and bikes rides without her brothers that just zoom on ahead leaving her behind :)

As its rained most of this week we haven't gone out much, we've played and baked. I'm desperate to get into the habit of taking my photos and filing them properly on my computer. I just have numerous amounts of sd cards and when they are full I just move on to the next. I don't actually do anything with the pictures which is a shame.

Here she is on her first day of pre-school. She's super excited and she didn't seem nervous at all. I guess she's used to taking the boys.

I wanted to get a picture of her stirring the cookie mixture but she went all shy. I'm trying to experiment with the different settings on my camera rather than just using the automatic.

Then she remembered she was never ever camera shy, just being awkward :) Bless her, I know I'm bias but she's just the cutest. She's always so happy and brings a smile to my face every time I look at her. It makes me feel so lucky to have such a happy loving family

I really miss her when she's at pre-school.

Do you enjoy driving in the winter?

I've mentioned before I'm a car person, I like cars, I like driving, I like car films and I like looking at fast, expensive cars. 

This is me in a my new Lambo cruising round Paris and having street races! (In my dreams , dreams that I don't share with my children)

I don't like cars in winter, they take forever to warm up, the windows mist and sometimes they can be unreliable. Not to mention when its frosty or snowy it can add a good 20 minutes onto any car journey and that's before you've even set off. These days I'm glad I don't have a hot sports car.

So unless you've got a top of the range 4 wheel Rangey your likely to hit some problems. So for those of us that don't have an awesome winter car we might need a helping hand.

There are loads of different things you can buy to help get through winter easier. I love the sound of a 16v car heater the you can clip to the front of your dash to help warm your car up much quicker.  Even my children start complaining once they have been sat there for a few minutes, wanting to know why we aren't moving, so a heater would definitely help.

Do you mind driving in the winter and what would make your lives easier?

*PR Collaboration

Weekly weigh in (EXANTE REVIEW)

If you read my last weekly weigh in you will know that I have been doing the Exante weight loss diet. I did really well the first few days then I started to sneak in a little cake (cake day at work) and last night I completely fell off the band wagon and had a pasta dinner with everyone else. Also I didn't fit in the daily recommended 20 minutes of exercise.

The meals are made up from shakes,porridge, soup and evening meals. The evening meals certainly take some getting used to and towards the end of the week I found them easier to eat I wouldn't say they were tasteless but they certainly don' taste as good as 'normal' spaghetti bolognese or chicken curry. There are no chunks of meat and they is a very fine texture to the meals, they are almost like a chunky soup.

However I loved the shakes and the porridge, they were so tasty and really set you up for the day. I couldn't chose a favourite flavour milkshake as I thought they were all nice. As for the porridge it was actually the nicest porridge I've ever had. I probably liked them because they tasted so sweet and I do have a sweet tooth. They both kept me full until dinnertime.

I didn't enjoy the lunch time soups as much as the breakfast. I felt like they tasted as if they were bulked out abit and I thought you could tell they were made from a powder. Again though most of the time I didn't feel hungry.

Overall I would definitely do the diet again IF you can choose the meals that you are sent. I didn't particularly enjoy the soups but if I could have the porridge for breakfast and the shakes for lunch it would work perfectly for me. I didn't feel hungry during the week which I thought I would, I never thought looking at the packets that they would be enough for me to last the week.

I lost 6lb this week which I'm super impressed with. It the most I've ever lost in a single week so I would consider doing it for a longer period of time if I could choose the meals.

This week I'm going to concentrate on getting enough exercise in rather than what I'm eating. What are your thoughts on Exante diet, would you try it?

What I bought this week

This year I'm going to try and make an effort to make my money go further. I've always been good at buying bargains and waiting for things to go in the sale but 2013 I didn't. I just bought things when I wanted, mainly because I had the money. But I'm on a mission to save lots this year so we can be ready to move house by the end if the year.

I've seen lots of other bloggers put themselves on a spending ban, but this would be impossible for me, I like breaking my own rules and I like buying new things :)

This week Millie started pre-school so she needed some new hair bobbles, we loose them all the time so I do buy them every few months. As I walked past Claires I saw in the window buy one get one free on sale items. So I got these grips and tiny little bobbles just for £1. They had loads of other jewellery,phone cases, earrings and lots more things in the sale. As you can see she has already hidden the orange and yellow grip somewhere :)

 I called into to Tesco last night as I saw on facebook people were saying they are having a mega sale on. I didn't see anything that they were talking about but these boots were only £11. I really like how plain they are but they look so nice on.

I didn't technically buy this jumper. My Mum bought my one for Christmas but it wasn't really my style so I exchanged it for this one. I loved the colour more than the style, its super warm and soft when its on too. I hate washing jumpers though they never feel the same the next time you put them on!

What do you think of my new purchases and are they worthy bargains?

Bad Driving Habits

It's not that often I get angry at other people I'm really quite laid back and I let most things other people do go over my head. There is something that makes me really angry though... and thats bad drivers. I mean there are careless drivers and then there are really freakin bad drivers. Its not often I get mad at them and most of time time I do like driving, I love my car so I've got no reason not  to!

My car that could do with a wash!

I can't stand it when people are driving along chatting away on their mobiles and they cut the corner in front you or pull out when its clearly your right of way or they can't signal the direction they are going because they are too busy with their important phone call to take both hands off the steering wheel to push the indicator down.

I often wonder how important that phone call would be if they knock someone over, or clip their car on a curb or they get caught and fined or worse they have to slam their brakes on and their phone goes flying into the windscreen and smashes into a thousand pieces... hmmm maybe thats just wishful thinking.

My other driving pet hate and I hate to say it is... old people. Not all old people just those that can't see, have slow reaction, the ones that can't park and shuffle their hands around the wheel instead of steering it properly and the ones that think its OK to pull out on you.

Like the other day coming home from work I was driving up my street and an old lady pulled out straight in front of me from one of the side streets. I had to put my brakes on because she seemed completely oblivious to what happened and what she was doing!

It seems I'm not the only one who gets mad at 'bad' drivers, this survey from trucklocator.co.uk, shows their latest findings on what makes UK drivers tick. It seems the biggest thing is people who drive whilst on their phones. Also can you believe people judge drivers on the colour of their car, the modifications or by what the bumper sticker says!!

What makes you angry about other drivers and can you relate to the survey?

*This is a feature post

Weekly weigh in

One of my resolutions this year is to loose weight, in fact I want to be around 10 stone by the end of the year. I plan on doing this with plenty of exercise and good food choices.

I did weekly weigh in last year but gave up at the beginning of December when all the festivities started.

This week I am reviewing the exante diet and have my meals planned out for the next 7 days. I'm hoping its going to give me a real boost that I need to get me on my way.

 This morning I started with a banana shake which was actually delicious. The diet recommends at least 20 mins of exercise each day and to drink 2 litres of water.

If you fancy joining me on the exante diet there's a groupon deal at the moment with a 68% discount. There are only 2 days left to buy. I will be doing a full review when I've finished though.

I weighed myself this morning and I knew it was going to be bad, I ate so much chocolate over the Christmas period and had many meals out. When I stood on the scales I weighed 13st, I'm really disappointed in myself that I put 7lb on over Christmas. 

Is anyone else trying to loose weight, leave your links and I will follow your progress!

Resolutions

I haven't really thought about resolutions until this week. I've had a good read through what everyone elses resolutions are and I've thought what I'd like to improve and change about my life. Mine are more like year long tasks rather than resolutions.

Lose weight

This is something I have been battling with for the past 3 years. I've never really had the willpower to loose the weight simply because I've always thought I would like another baby and kind of thought I will put weight on anyway so there's no point in trying. For the last 8 months we have been 'trying' to get pregnant however during December I really thought long and hard about weather this is what I want or not. I've decided for many reasons (I may write a blog post on this) to stay with the 3 wonderful children I've got. I'd really like to loose around 3 stone this year.

De-clutter

I'm abit of a hoarder and tend to save things just in case or to pass down I've got bags of clothes that are too small for the kids and toys they have grown out of. We are planning to put our house on the market towards the end of next year/beginning of next so I have plenty of time to de-clutter before then. So I'm going to try and sell as much as possible to help to pay for the new house!

Bedroom

We haven't decorated our bedroom since we moved in 7 years ago. This is something I want to do in the next month or so I'm putting together a mood board of how I would like my bedroom and will share with you soon!

So that's it! I'm determined to complete these 3 tasks. The main aim is that we will be able to afford and be ready to move house at the end of the year and be slimmer in the process :) What are your new years resolutions?

I'm linking up to share it Sunday with Oh So Amelia. You should to!

Crystal Encrusted Dazzling Bangle giveaway

I've had a break from blogging and twitter over Christmas and the new year. I thought I had scheduled a couple of posts but they didn't work!

To start of the new year I've got a lovely little competition for you. Up for grabs is this beautiful

Crystal Encrusted Dazzling Butterfly Bangle bracelet from a new online shop Store2love.

Store2Love...sourced with love, stored in your heart. 

Accessory shop Store2Love opens its online doors

Newly established online shop Store2Love launches its

beautiful accessory and jewellery collections inspired by

celebrities’ style and fashion sense.

Offering the latest catwalk looks, Store2Love is the best way

to bag the best trends of the season without spending a

fortune. 

Sourcing the most celeb inspired jewellery designs, this new

online boutique is a must for trendy fashionistas out there.

Good Luck everyone. Just enter via the rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms and conditions

• UK only
• The prize will be sent out by the promoter
• Closes 30th Jan 2014

My 2014 wishlist

My wish list for 2013 was really ambitious and I didn't really seek out the particular competitions. But I still did pretty well. Here's what I wished for and how I did!

• DIY or garden vouchers
• Food shopping vouchers  I won over £150 of Sainsburys and Tesco vouchers combined
• A weekend break
• Children's clothes vouchers £25 Tesco clothing vouchers came in handy for PJs
• A years supply of anything useful  I won a supply of zoflora cleaning items that will last well over a year.
• A TV
• A Hamper I won a Easter and and a chocolate hamper.
• A sofa We bought one with the cash we won.
• A new laptop

This year I would really like to transform my bedroom. We've not done anything to it since we moved in and it need some love! So my wish list will be based around that as well as other things!

• A TV
• Vouchers for B&Q or other DIY stores
• Vouchers for furniture e.g Laura Ashley, slider robes, 
• Vouchers for soft furnishings e.g. dunelm mill, Marks and Spencer, John Lewis
• A new bed
• A weekend away
• Children's clothes or vouchers
• A years supply of anything useful e.g cleaning products, teabags
• A hamper ( I love hampers!)
• Something nice for myself... anything :)

I know its another ambitious list of goodies but you've got to aim high. With a holiday already booked for next year and not much spare cash I'm determined to do even better than last year. 

Happy new year everyone and good luck with your comping, leave your wishlists in the comments  for me to have a look at!