Do It Yourself Colored Lip Balm

I have been on the look out for colored lip balm since I can remember. It is handy when you do not have time to put on lipstick on top of your clear lip balm. I have been eyeing Burt's Bees one but it is so difficult to find. It seems like it is always out of stock. 

Then I saw this on You Tube.

I thought this was brilliant as I would be able to customize it to my favorite lip color. So I did not waste time. I got my favorite lip balm and one of my favorite lipsticks from Body Shop. Shaved equal amounts of each (you can use vaseline if you do not have a lip balm in mind), placed them on the spoon and put it over a candle. I then poured it into an empty lip balm container and voila, my very own bespoke colored lip balm.

Brilliant!

Eye Makeup

I am a late bloomer. A late bloomer on just about anything. I did not wear makeup, lipstick at that, until I was already in my twenties and was working. I learned to wear proper makeup, with foundation, blush and all in my early thirties and now that I am in my late thirties (uh-oh, revealing my age there) I am starting to really go for eye makeup. I did not used to like eye makeup as it can be so fiddly but looking at my photos where I wear some, it just defines my eyes and looks really nice. So I have decided to start learning. The other day, I got myself a basice eye makeup from Benefit, the big beautiful eyes palette.

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And here is the tutorial

And my go to for makeup tutorial - Michelle Phan on YouTube.

I cannot wait to try and learn. I guess I am growing up after all.

The Fourth Birthday Party

It is always something to think about what the next birthday party theme is going to be. For her previous birthdays, we have done Strawberry Shortcake and Minnie Mouse. This time I decided to veer away from character themed party and opted for something a bit different. We hired someone who does arts and crafts parties and we had the Make A Bear party where they, well, make their own stuffed teddy bears. The party package came complete with face painting, beads making and figurine painting. It was really good value for money. It kept the little ones busy indoors while it was pouring outside as the month of November here in the UK is normally dark, cold and rainy.

I also decided to put up a Sweets Buffet having gathered the idea from Pinterest. 

I put up DIY pompoms with tutorials that I followed in YouTube and gathered together different candies and chocolates from any thrift store I can find. I did go all the way to Central London just to get all pink M&M's from M&M's World. 

The labels were done using free label templates online.

The Face Painting station.

The Beads Making station.

The teddy bears waiting to be stuffed.

The little ones keeping busy.

It was a wonderful birthday party enjoyed by the young and old alike, most especially enjoyed by the birthday girl.

Medallions

I have been obsessed with religious medallions since I came back from Portugal with this beautiful medallion necklace that I got in Fatima. I find that they are not only to express your faith, they can also be a great accessory. I am so glad that aside from this, I got some more lose ones that I hope one day I will make into a beautiful charm bracelet.  My only regret is that I did not buy loads as they were really inexpensive at one euro or less depending on the type.

Here are the rest. One I used as a pendant and the other two I'm hoping to incorporate into my charm bracelet, once I get one.

Beautiful.

What's App

Me, my iPhone and iPad are inseparable. They are my favorite gadgets in the world not only because they bring me my favorite TV series and books right at my fingertips but also because they really make life so much easier for me. From my banking needs to my grocery shopping and even on what to wear. Having said that, here are my favorite iPhone/iPad apps.

Stylebook

It helps me keep track of the clothes and accessories I have as sometimes, they are left at the back of the closet or with shoes, in boxes that I tend to forget I have them. With this app, I take a photo of all the clothes and accessories I have and then I upload it to this app under certain categories.

 

And I can even prepare my outfits way ahead  for certain days on the Looks section.

Another good thing about this app is that they have really good support team on Twitter. They reply and answer your queries straight away.

For my banking needs, the Natwest app is brilliant. I have been banking online for a long time now and I used to find using the laptop a task. It takes time from turning the laptop on to logging on to the website. But with the app, I can just quickly grab my phone or iPad and with just a touch of a finger, I am already paying bills, transferring funds or just checking my account balance. This app is perfect. So far, there has been no hitches at all.

I cannot talk about apps and not mention Tesco groceries app. I have been using Tesco deliveries for years and I used to shop online using their website but with this app, I can even do my grocery shopping while on the bus going to work. As a busy working mom, online shopping has made my life easy and it saves me two to three hours in the weekend which would have been spent grocery shopping. With these 3 hours, I can either do other household chores or just spend quality time with the little girl. This wonderful app has made it even better.

The age of technology has not only made it fun but it has definitely made life easier for busy moms like me.

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Little Girl Talk

The little girl has has expressed time and again her desire to become a dentist. It has been a couple of years as she was still two then when she first told us what she wanted to become when she grows up and at four, she still definitely wants to be a dentist. I know it is still a long way but glad that she already knows what she wants at her age. She does not want to be a nurse like mommy nor a computer engineer like daddy. Neither does she wants to be a doctor nor a lawyer. This little kids knows what she wants and she always tends to get it so it might be free dental consultations for mommy in the future. With prayers and guidance, I know she will achieve it.

Glamping

The husband has mentioned every now and then about going camping. For those who know me, I am not the camping type. I do not like sleeping in cramped spaces, using common toilets and having to weave your way around in a limited nature. Inconvenience is just not my type of holiday.

A holiday for me is staying in a nice hotel abroad or in another city and not having to clean or make beds and not having to cook! So, camping is always out of the question.

I do not remember when I exactly first heard the word “glamping” but I remember looking it up on Google and was astonished to find the most beautiful and glamorous camping sites I have ever seen, thus the word “glamping” for glam and camping put together.

These are just examples of how you can camp out in style and glamour.

I like the fact that you sleep in a proper bed and still sleep under the stars. All I need to wish for now is a prpoper  English summer.

Photos not my own and taken from the net.