29

It was my 29^th Birthday on Friday, I had a lovely day and got some gorgeous presents I am feeling very spoilt and lucky.

His Lordship got me a kindle and I love it (I suspect he got the hump with me constantly borrowing his). I am reading Jane Eyre at the moment and (though I feel a little stupid for admitting it) I am finding the dictionary so helpful.

My sister got me some L'Occitane Almond Shower Oil, I will do a review after I have used it a few more times but it smells divine and left my skin feeling so soft.

So with one year to go until I hit the big 3 0 I have decided I need to find my style. I love dresses and I have a few but I don't wear them as often as I should. I manly stick to jeans and a jersey top during the week as it is easy to just throw them on but I always feel like such a frump. I think the best way for me to make more effort with my clothes is to plan what I am going to wear the night before that way I don't have to think any more than necessary in the mornings. I'll see how it goes though.

Autumn Nails

My favourite nail varnish at the moment is Sally Hanson Complete Salon Manicure in Pat on the Black that his Lordship brought me back from a work trip to America.

Sally Hansen introduces Complete Salon Manicure, an extraordinary new nail enamel that delivers a complete salon manicure in every bottle. 5 Steps in 1 Bottle: Base Coat, Strengthener, Growth Treatment, Colour and Top Coat. 

I use 3 thin coats and it is a dark purple berry creme colour perfect for Autumn and very chic.

Pic to follow...

The best thing about this polish for me is that it lasts a good 3 days with no chipping which is a miracle for my nails, normally I am lucky to get a day with no chips no matter what polish I use. I also love the wide brush I am hopeless at painting my nails I get it everywhere and clean up after so at least I can get the polish on quickly and evenly before I clean up the cuticles when I am finished. Available from Boots £6.99

Chilli Jam

Last Christmas I made Nigella's Chilli Jam to give as gifts, it went down so well that I have decided to make another batch for this year, here is the recipe I use.

I only use my cauldron for making a few things mostly Christmas Eve Ham in coke or if I am making a huge batch of something to freeze, but I am terrified of this boiling over resulting in me and the kitchen getting covered in boiling hot jam. There is no way the jam will bubble up enough to escape the cauldron it is huge. 

I have made 4 batches of this now and I always seem to get a lot for froth round the edges which I ether skim off or make a jar for His Lordship with the scummy bits in (he assures me it tastes fine it just isn't as pretty).

The recipe says to keep for 1 month before eating and will keep for a year unopened, but I'm never 100% confident with sterilising my jars so I normally put keep for 6 months on my jars. Now I just need to find away of getting the smell of vinegar out of the house, though on the plus side my sinuses are really clear now.

Konjac Sponge

I have been looking for something to quickly cleanse my face in the mornings as I am lazy, but if I am wearing make up I know it goes on much smoother if I have properly cleansed and exfoliated skin.

I use Liz Earle cleanse and polish in the evening and I am really happy with that but it is a bit of a faff for me in the morning with the boys to get ready too. So after seeing Strawberry Blondes review here a few months ago I decided to try the Konjac sponge out.

From there website

Konjac is reputed for its health giving properties & used by the Japanese for over 1500 years, having originally been used as a medicine in the sixth century

• 100% Natural Sponge
• Gentle exfoliation
• 100% Colouring Free
• 100% Additive Free
• 100% Biodegradable
• Naturally Sustainable
• Environmentally Safe

A naturally moisture rich plant fibre which is by nature alkaline, and thus balances the acidity of the skins impurities and oils.

I went for The pink clay version for tired and devitalized skin as my face starting to suffer with the change in seasons.

My first impressions are it is so very soft and left me with no redness at all after washing my face. It leaves your skin feeling really lovely after using it just with water. 

I love that is is a natural product, I will be using this in the morning then moisturising and applying make up if I can be bothered. I will use it for a month and see how I get on with it then do a follow up review.

Also I ordered form the website at midday and it arrived in the post the next day so brilliant service too.

Wardrobe revamp

So I have recently been reading a lot about minimising your wardrobe and have decided to have a major sort out of mine. I am ashamed to admit I have a wardrobe full of clothes that I never wear, I mostly live in jeans and basic jersey tops which I am not sure are entirely flattering.

I like the sound of project 333 (basically wearing only 33 items including coats, shoes and accessories for 3 months) so I might give it a go.  I really struggle with shoes, my feet are very wide and I have a real problem finding anything that fits and can cope with the amount of walking I do as I don't drive and the boys school is a good 40 minute walk there and back. I tend to wear out a pair of boots in about 5 months and trashed 3 pairs of flip flops this summer. Really my only choices for shoes are M&S and Evans and they do tend to be really frumptastic.

Now the weather is feeling more Autumnal I can finally put away my summer dresses and linen trousers and dig out my winter stuff.  So the first step for my new streamlined wardrobe is clearing out everything and giving it a really good clean and vacuum, I have also bought some new hangers.

So hopefully soon I will have a slightly more organised wardrobe and then I will decide if I am going to give project 333 a go. I am full of a cold at the moment so I will have to put it on hold for a few days.

Christmas Shopping

Only 81 days to go

I am one of those people that adores Christmas, but I always do my best to buy, make and wrap everyone’s presents before the 1^st December so I can really enjoy the run up to the big day without having to fight my way through the boiling hot shops with everyone else.

I love taking time to find or make gifts for people that I know they will enjoy, rather than mad dashes around boots 3 for 2 on Christmas eve and getting things for the sake of getting them. Though no matter how organised I am buying for the men in my life is always a nightmare.

I have a spreadsheet so I can keep up with what I have got for who (it is also helpful for seeing if I keep getting the same people the same things every year) .

We have a Christmas savings account which we pay into monthly, so if I see any bargains during the year I can get them and squirrel them away in my present cupboard. Then whatever is left in the account come December usually covers the food and drink so we don't have such a tight month January. We have had a savings account for Christmas for 4 years now and it really takes the pressure off covering the cost of it all.

I am getting all excited about it now.

One of those days

I have had one of those days were lots of little things have happened that have led to me being completely stressed out and grumpy.

Firstly I am not good in hot weather least of all the 28c we had here today, not in September when I should be wearing cardies, boots and snugly scarves. I got a call from the boys school this morning W had broken his glasses at play time, so up I trudge in the boiling hot to take his spare pair and retrieve the knackered ones.

Then the boys were both tired and grumpy walking home from school which always puts me in a bad mood. I turned the oven on to make dinner, 10 minutes later I got a whiff of melted plastic so ran into the kitchen to be greeted with clouds of smoke and what can only be described as a molten lump of black goo on top of the cooker, seemingly one of the Herberts had turned one of the rings on and the top of the cooker was less than clear, the worrying thing is I have no idea what the melted goo was originally. Then after I had cleared the smoke from the kitchen I managed to incinerate the pizza I was lovingly heating up for the boys.

I think I will just take my miserable self to bed and hope for a better day tomorrow.

Crochet Baby Boy Blanket

I have been making this blanket for some time now, it is for my cousins baby boy, I love the colours unlike the pink and orange monstrosity I made earlier this year for my sisters sister in law to go with her buggy.

I got the pattern from HERE and I used King Cole Bamboo Cotton DK which I have used for quite a few projects now including my Nephew's blanket that I made over a year and a half ago, it still looks perfect now after repeated washings so I am really impressed with the yarn and it is nice to make a baby blanket out of something other than acrylic.

The pattern itself is really simple and if I didn't do my usual of getting bored halfway through a project I could have finished it off in a week. Hopefully I will get it done soon so I can make a start on the Christmas presents I am going to be making this year.

I'll try again

I'm Ellen, Mummy to two crazy boys W (6) and T (4) and one smelly dog Vinny.

My boys are both at school full time now so I have a little time on my hands, I have decided to have a go at blogging. I have spent along time reading others blogs and really enjoy it so hopefully you will enjoy mine too.

Pretty flowers

First up I'll explain why I chose the name Magnolias and Mess. I set this blog up in April when our Magnolia tree was in full bloom and was looking beautiful. Then there is my home it is always a mess, largely to do with my messy boys W & T and not at all helped by my dislike of housework. Therefore I decided on the name Magnolias and Mess.

T helping in the garden back in April

I'm not sure what this blog will be about but I love cooking, crochet, gardening, crafting and being a Mummy so it will be along those lines.