A few gifts

of the Laura Mercier and White Company kind.

There have been two occasions where my OH has arrived home with a gift for me over recent weeks. I haven't quite decided whether it is because he knows things have been tough or he likes spending the money I am now earning.

Either way I won't say no to gifts of the following calibre.

Laura Mercier ambre vanille souffle body creme - Oh this is good, so good!

Two white company goose down large, square pillows in soft grey . Perfect on the bed and for propping myself up whilst having a lie in over half term ( and in the sale I believe!) 

....and no my bedding wasn't ironed!

I could get used to this.

Beauty Boxes.

I must admit I have a bit of a weakness for what we used to refer to as kids as 'smellies' - only now that desire is not really satisfied by a simple  bottle of pink Mr Matey bubble Bath. I love new products . Hair products, face creams , nails varnish , hand creams, perfumes .... anything pretty, smelly and if it does what it says on the tin then I'm interested!

I've decided as a birthday treat this year to sign up for the monthly beauty box by JolieBox . You get a box of four to five beauty samples to try every month and can cancel at any time. It is only £10 and the register of companies that the samples come from look great! There do seem to be a few of these beauty box companies , but for what I wanted JolieBox seemed to fit the bill for now. If you wanted something that would give you a full size product and a couple of samples, then Amarya Beauty Box would be a good one to have a look at  - from the videos it looks like some of the samples in this box are limited, but you do get a really lovely full size product from their range worth about £20 so it balances out.

I 've seen a fair few reviews on these in Blogland.......! Some positive , some not so good, but I'm going to give it a try and getting a parcel every month is always a treat anyway. I have a monthly magazine subscription to Red that I got for a bargain with my Tesco vouchers and I love getting that in a life that continually revolves around football, tennis, swimming lessons, kids parties, what to cook for the next meal......etc etc.  A little something for me!

Amarya Beauty Box example.

JolieBox example.

Check out my Beauty Page at Beauty

Tufty the Guinea Pig

Life in our household has been pretty traumatic this week to say the least with the untimely death of 'Tufty the Guinea Pig.' Many tears and much heartache from my oldest boy and too many difficult questions about death from my 4 year old, to which I answered as all self respecting Mothers do .... "Daddy will talk to you about that". I remember a few years ago when my Gran ( Grandy) died at 102, the funeral directors very kindly gave us a booklet to read with all the questions children ask about death in it . This was apparently to help us answer what they would ask and to help them process what had happened. Needless to say not one of the questions my children asked me was in that book!! They were more concerned with issues such as "What if you don't like the new body you get when you get to heaven?" and " If Grandy has a new body how will her husband know it's her?" I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at my inability to give them answers that they were happy with!!

Anyway - the death of a guinea pig - that I can cope with. We got another one! He is so cute. Named "Bud".....settled in and very happy in his new home with his two  friends! 

House Project 1.

For the past couple of years one of the most frequently heard phrases in our house begins " When all the children are at school I will..... ! The opportunity of having some time to complete many of the unfinished projects was suddenly drawing closer to being a reality, with all three children at school! Despite the fact that my little girl had pneumonia within a week of starting school and then was home again for some time , I do feel that there is now some time to tackle some of these jobs around the house! My aim is to start room by room so I am not completely overwhelmed by all there is actually to do to complete this project of a house. We do have some fairly major plans to knock down two garages and create a beautiful kitchen/family room. The plans have been agreed so hopefully I will be able to share that journey and pictures of progress with you soon.

In the meantime I decided that for once I would make us a priority instead of the kids - radical I know- and am starting in our bedroom! We have some pretty vibrant pine furniture - all of which needs a good coat of white eggshell to soften it down. I have also decided that working on my lap is not good for my long suffering back, so a desk is in order too. So off I set on a trip to one of my favourite places in the world - second hand furniture stores. I ended up at Steptoes - full of junk, or if you are like me, treasures that just need some TLC. I came out with a large chest ( I must admit this is not for me but for my little girls room , but too good to leave behind.) , a pine table - perfect for a desk for sewing and a laundry basket in gold ( !!!)

A pot of undercoat, a couple of pots of Farrow and Ball and some elbow grease and they all had a lovely new coat of fresh paint. The laundry basket is in Farrow and Balls plumbago grey and the pine furniture in Farrow and Ball's All White.In addition to the table, desk and laundry basket  I have managed so far to also paint the two bedside cabinets and am hoping to tackle the chest of drawers and wardrobe next week. However , here's how Ive done so far. I'm pretty pleased! I'll post some complete before and after photos of the bedroom when I'm completely finished!

Table washed, sanded and ready!

Table and Laundry basket undercoated and first coat done.

3 or 4 coats of paint later - done!

With all my bits and bobs!

Another New Day

Another New Day - the reason behind this blog title. I really do start every day with the intent of being mostly as good and as angelic as Mary Poppins, but I end it as self motivated and as insane as Cruella Deville without too much regard as to when that transition happened.... the pressures of parenting, workload and being the perfect wife to my One And Only , just to mention a few. So to have another new day to try again is much appreciated . Oh and also I  love , LOVE the track by Jazzanova - title the same. Another New Day. Just enough to soothe the troubles away.............. have a listen.

The Beauty Of Time

Beautiful blossom in our garden today - despite all the rain !