It’s been a tough three weeks without a bathroom. Luckily we have been able to stay overnight at my mother-in-law’s and there are people with bigger problems so I don’t want to complain.
My son has been really good about keeping out of the workers’ way and not complaining about the noise, mess or disruption – it hasn’t been easy for him. He would have loved to have given them a hand but it was too dangerous.
I felt he deserved a treat and when I saw Good Bubble had released a new Gruffalo range, I knew it would be the perfect treat.
https://instagram.com/p/Bf1IVlLBs_o/
He was really happy when he saw his new products sporting the Gruffalo, one of his favourite storybook characters.
The Review
Here is what I thought of the new line and the yummy fruity prickly pear scent.
Bubbly Gruffalo Bubble Bath (£3.99): The bubble bath made a decent amount of bubbles and smelt delicious. We have had the bubble bath before in Dragon Fruit and CloudBerry.
Grubby Gruffalo Hair & body wash (£3.69): It was easy to get a lather and my little boy was confidently by washing himself. We have had the wash before in Dragon Fruit and CloudBerry.
Little Softy Moisturiser (£3.99): This is new to the brand and an excellent addition. My little boy loved having his first body moisturiser. At first, he thought it was a hand cream until I encouraged him that he could apply it all over. This was easier for him to use than their Organic Coconut oil (£7.99).
Grizzly Mane Detangler (£3.99): He doesn’t have long hair that tangles but he does get flyaways so I decided to give this a go to see if it helped tame the problem. I think it has worked. It smells really good and can be used on dry hair so we are using it to freshen up between hair washes.
Dragon Fruit was my favourite but now it is the Gruffalo prickly pear. We will, definitely, be buying this again.
I was only able to get this range direct from their site but I’m hoping Sainsbury, Ocado and Holland & Barratt will get some in stock soon as they sell the rest of the range.
It is a monthly subscription box full of cruelty free beauty products. If that’s not enough to make you feel good, they also donate a portion of their profit to Animal Free Research UK from each box sold.
This product claims to improve the appearance of skin whilst providing nourishment. The main active ingredients are Kale (vitamin C & E) and Cocoa Butter.
Review: I’ve found this cream to be light. It doesn’t have a scent. It dries fast so I can put makeup on immediately afterwards. It is a small tube so I’m not sure how long this will last but the product cost is the price of the subscription fee so I’ve already got my money back with this one item.
This brand prides themselves on being diverse and creating a brand everyone can use to express themselves (reminded me of Illamasqca). The shade Tainted Cupcake is a champagne pink with rose gold. It can be applied dry or wet for a more intense pop of colour.
Review: The eyeshadow has a shimmer to it so if you are not into that this then the shade is not for you. The shade chosen is a safe choice for most people but if you fancy something more daring they have some bolder colours on their website. It also came with a free brush which I really like.
RRP $15.00 (about £10.86 by exchange rate on 4 March 2018)
Above is just a snippet of all the goodness this brand delivers. One of the first The Pip Boxes I received contained the ‘Green Clay’ face mask, I then went on to buy more products by the brand (a body oil and their petroleum free jelly).
Review: I haven’t had a chance to test this yet but I have previously used their green clay version. It is a power mask and you have to mix it with water to create a paste. If you enjoy making your masks then you will love this.
I prefer my masks already made so I wouldn’t have chosen this for myself but I am looking forward to trying it out because I know this brand always delivers and the mask will be effective. You mix up what you need and there is enough that you will get plenty of uses out of the pot making it very cost effective.
I struggled to find the product on their website but other oils in the same packaging were the organic certified oils. I expect they have just not updated the product images yet on the site and this is new packaging. There was a wide range of products on their site and gift sets for people who like making beauty products like bath bombs etc.
Review: My skin really does love organic oils. Since receiving this, I have been putting it on before bed. You only need a little bit to cover your face and it dries quick. There were also instructions on how you can use the oil for your hair or mix it to make a serum. I’m not keen on the smell of the product – it smells like cooking oil.
I will use it up but not sure I’ll re-buy. I am interested in trying their bath salts…
This brand is difficult to get in the UK but not impossible, however, I had trouble finding a supplier that sells all the shades of lip paint yet so this is possibly a new line. The product is a liquid lipstick with a matt finish and stays on all day.
Review: The shade Cowgirl is not for me. I put it on and it is a pale nude colour that made my lips look like they had no colour and I am a red lip girl. However, I couldn’t get it off and realised I was stuck with the shade all day unless I wanted to start my make-up over. I went out in it. It did last all day.
I am very tempted to get this matt lip paint in another colour because I love the fact you can put it on and forget about it and as a busy mum, doing my makeup once is about all the time I’ve got.
RRP $12.00 (about £8.69 by exchange rate on 4 March 2018)
JOM stands for ‘Just One More’ and the brand is appropriately named.
Review: So, I opened the packet to show the sweets and tried one. Before I had even uploaded the pic to Instagram, the contents was gone. Honestly, I meant to share them with my husband and son but they really were moreish. I highly recommend!
I can’t wait to order some more of these and try other flavours.
RRP £1.25
Share to social media
Currently, boxes contain a card encouraging consumers to share pics of their box and contents on social media and how to tag to enter the monthly raffle. If your pic is chosen, you win your next box free. It’s rewarding that this support and loyalty is recognised by The Pip Box.
I take pics every month because I love my The Pip Box. I then use my images on my blog. This month, I won! So, my March box will be free and the contents will be worth £65!
I’m no professional photographer. I just took pics with my mobile. This shows anyone can win. So, if you buy The Pip Box, don’t hesitate to share your joy with pics. Do it, tag it, and you may just win it.
This post is for me. Today has been such a special experience, I want to look back and remember it, forever.
Snow morning
https://instagram.com/p/BftbdIeBWMT/
This morning began with my little boy getting to see snow for the first time. He wanted to go out in his PJs and it took some negotiating to get him to sit down and eat breakfast and get dressed first.
I wasn’t sure he’d have time to go out before nursery but I told him if he ate quick & got dressed fast he could play in the snow. I’ve never seen him get ready so fast!
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SNew Experience
He was desperate to get outside but could I find his gloves and hat? We had them out in November but this morning they were missing.
I gave him a pair of my mittens to keep his hands warm and we tried to make a snowman (unsuccessfully). Then we threw snow at each other. He’s a better shot than me – I was lucky we had the excuse that we needed to leave or I’m sure he would have annihilated me.
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Snowy Nursery
I managed to find his gloves and hat from 2 years ago. A Benjamin bunny hat and bunny gloves made by my mum (his Grandma PoPo).
After checking nursery was on, I drove him very carefully and slowly in. I was gutted they weren’t having a snow day as I wanted to stay & play with him. He was so excited and it was infectious.
At the nursery, he didn’t want to take his snowsuit off. His key worker had to promise him that after the morning activities and registration there would be time to play outside in the snow.
I couldn’t wait to finish work and pick him up from my mums and hear all about how he played with his friends in the snow. As soon as we got home, he was straight out in the garden to play some more, before it melts.
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Lobbing snowballs at me.
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Giggling in the snow and eating it!
Here’s hoping that tonight it snows enough that we can stay home and play together tomorrow.
I watched on Netflik and it was rated mature and described: “A budding teen psychopath and a rebel hungry for adventure embark on a star-crossed road trip in this darkly comic series based on a graphic novel.”
Here’s the trailer:
What did I think?
To be honest, I almost switched it off in the first few seconds. It opens with the male lead killing animals (he’s a budding psychopath – see description). You know when something is really awful and you want to look but you can’t… that happened. I ended up watching the whole series and loved it.
The two characters are brilliantly created. They are so complex and messed up, it makes them likeable – I never thought I’d say that about a ‘buddying psychopath’. Their background stories reveal what drives them and how they became who they are. The writer of the series did a brilliant job.
As the pair rebel against their parents and go on the run, they find themselves in some crazy situations and breaking some serious laws. The Police are after them and… I won’t spoil the ending.
I ended up binge watching the series because every episode ended on a cliff hanger and by the end I really cared for the pair and wanted them to be alright.
Do I recommend?
Yes, but be warned there are some shocking, disturbing and dark elements to the series – it got its mature rating for a reason.
Who wrote it?
Charles S. Forsman (as Chuck Forsman) wrote the Graphic Novel that the series is based on. Then, Jonathan Entwistle wrote the screenplay and directed the series.
I must confess I am in love with Canva and been using it for a few months. I started off using it on my laptop and then I discovered there is an app. Now I can use it anywhere.
Canva helps you create visually effective images for a wide host of reasons. I used it a lot to create my blog titles and images for tweets and Instagram. I also have used it to create a party invitation for my son’s birthday party. I discovered the site via Wattpad when looking for software to create a novel cover.
Here are some examples of what I have created:
What is Create with Canva?
This company is currently offering a free beginners course for people that want to get better at using Canva. They also have a resources page with useful information and recommendations for blog host sites and other courses you can pay for like how to earn from you blog with affiliate marketing.
Free Beginners Course
I found the course via Twitter and enrolled. There are five lessons and each lesson is delivered daily to your inbox. The lessons are bitesize YouTube videos and just 5 minutes long. You can join their Facebook page to have access to the course in full right away. Here is what I think:
Dashboard tour:
This is sent out with the ‘welcome’ email and is an introduction to Canva.
Lesson One: Working with templates, text and color
This covers the basis of using the templates on Canva. How to amend the template and colour theme. How to edit the text, add more text and resize. I thought I knew most of this simply from using the site but they did teach me a new trick – spacing! Everything in this class used the free features in Canva.
Lesson Two: Working with images in Canva and uploading your own images
This was about using the images in Canva and how to add your own. Again, I thought I had this sussed but they taught me some new tricks. I make use of the free images in Canva (there is a vast collection), however, I didn’t know that some of the free images are cropped and you can change the cropped area and use some of the hidden parts of the picture! There were other tricks they taught that I expect I’ll be making use of in the near future.
Lesson Three: Working with free photos, frames and grids
This lesson started by introducing collages – a feature I have never considered using (seriously missing out). They taught us how to use different photo layouts from scratch and for Instagram. Finished with how to use and edit backgrounds.
Lesson Four: Working with shapes, lines, illustrations and icons
This started off nice and simple with adding elements to your design. I haven’t really used this part of Canva and through watching the lesson I saw how useful they can be. Gillian also covered some useful time saving short cut keys and how to group objects.
Lesson Five: Getting organized in Canva, creating templates and batch producing designs
This was incredibly useful and I haven’t used any of the features covered. I learnt how to create a brand theme in Canva (rather than saving notes on my phone), how to sort my files in folders on Canva and how to make a batch of designs.
Would I recommend the course?
Yes. It starts of quite easy so it is suitable for absolute beginners. It also is likely to uncover a trick that you haven’t worked out on your own, enabling you to get even more out of Canva.
When I signed up, I was worried that it was going to be five lessons telling you why you need to buy the premium service but it didn’t. Every feature I was shown how to use was using the free features available to everyone.
I honestly don’t know how Canva do it. If you haven’t got an account on there you need to go create one.
Presenter – Gillian
The course is presented by a lady named Gillian who has a nice clear voice that is easy to understand and not irritating. You don’t see what she looks like as the video is showing what is happening on the screen.
