I will be a part of the fabric of your life because my thoughts will have been taught, my example will have been seen and my love will have been felt your whole life.
It's not often I stop to really think about the enormity of bringing up a little human being.
Almost too massive to process, the scale of the responsibility can be a little daunting, to say the least. You tend to get caught up in the day to day learning – manners, sharing, how to fasten shoes – which are all important in their own way.
But when I think of the future, I know that I want my son Theodore to grow up with certain values. One of the great secrets that adults hopefully kept hidden from you back when you were little is that we're all making it up as we go along. While kids can – and should – see mum and dad as the all-knowing authority with everything under control, we know that isn't the case!
So while becoming a mummy has made me grow up in an awful lot of ways, I don't feel especially wise. I'm still learning myself!
As I move through my 30s, however, there are definitely some truths that I'm living by. Perhaps I've always known them. But its taken me until recently to truly accept them, to dismiss the negative internal voices we all have and concentrate on living my life by the truths below. If there's any way to be immortal, its by passing on some knowledge or some of your spirit to someone else.
So here's what I'm hoping I can teach Theo as he grows:
The rise and rise of TAM Beauty – the emerging make-up giant behind affordable-but-coveted makeup brands Makeup Revolution. Freedom and Makeup Obsession – continues to be a disruptive and alluring force.
On the one hand, they make very desirable, high-performance products that have a lightning-fast lead time and crucially, are really purse-friendly.
On the other hand, almost their entire strategy revolves around 'duping' (or, to put it more unkindly, 'ripping off') premium brands.
I'm never sure how I feel about this. I was an early lover of Makeup Revolution as it really did offer fantastic value and products that performed just as well as higher-end ones.
I’ll come right out and say it, I was less than inspired by this month’s offering from Birchbox. I do find that with beauty subscription boxes, they go in cycles. You’ll get a couple of so-so boxes, think about cancelling, and then something killer will come along that makes you want to sign back up.
I was almost going to cancel this month as the May Birchbox pretty much made me want to go to sleep, but I’ve decided to keep it running for next month and make a decision then. Perhaps brighter things are just around the corner!
This month, I felt like there was a lot of recycled stuff in there that’s been in previous boxes, and I hate that. It means you’re essentially getting the same thing twice and that’s lazy. Then there were a couple of the usual suspect – there are a couple of brands that just seem to be eternally popping up in these boxes and you never see them anywhere else, and I get sick of receiving them.
The theme of May’s box is ‘little changes that can make a big difference to your daily rituals’. It remains to be seen if any of these will be game-changers for me, but I’m not feeling positive about it! The box itself is a gorgeous marbled affair with touches of rose gold – very pretty! If only the contents this month were as exciting as the box itself…
Sometimes nothing beats a good old drugstore haul, does it?
When it comes to makeup and skincare, what I look for is results- and I believe that you can get that with both high-end and affordable products. My favourites certainly come from both ends of the spectrum!
There's something really nice about having a wander through Boots and seeing what's new. I did just that recently and here's what I picked up to try....
Shock horror, I'm a few days late with my final holiday outfit post. We've been back since Monday afternoon, but on our last evening in Italy we just wanted to relax.
Monday was wiped out with travelling - why does it always make you feel so tired and wretched, even though youre literally sitting there doing nothing?
Then straight back into reality and a busy day at work, so the posting had to take a back seat.
We've had an amazing week spending time as a family. Theo is growing and changing so fast at the moment - every day its a new word or something hes learn to do - so it was so precious to spend all that time with him uninterrupted.
I can't believe that this week has gone so fast, but doesn't it always when you’re having fun? I'm already planning where we can go away to in September!
Today in Garda the weather has not been so great, and actually it's not going to be that nice for the next couple of days. We had considered getting the train to Florence, as I've always wanted to go there.
I'm a day behind with my daily holiday outfit posts, mainly because last night I spent hanging out in the garden with my husband once Theo had gone to bed, drinking some rather good Italian red!
Yesterday, we hired bikes to ride around the lake to Sirmione, an absolutely stunning little village that we came to last time we were in Garda. It has a beautiful castellato as you walk into the city.
The bike ride has to be the most beautiful one I've ever taken, whizzing around the shore with the mountains in the background and the sun shining down. It was such a nice thing to do as a family. We had a front-mounted bike seat for Theo, so he felt like he was steering the bike himself!
Day three is when you really start to relax into your holiday, isn't it? Home and all its cares begins to seem very far away.
Of course, holidays when you have a toddler are a little far removed from what you may have been used to, pre-kids. For a start, they still involve waking up at the crack of dawn - but when you get woken up with a cuddle from your little one it isn't so bad.
The days are pretty busy too, and I haven't actually read a single book yet, which is definitely not like me on holiday. But I have been busy making some great memories with my little boy.
Day two of our trip has been a little more of a mixed bag with the weather. It was forecast to be thunderstorms all day, so we weren't sure what we were going to be able to do, but luckily although it rained a little in the morning, it cleared up to a sunny afternoon.
We decided to hop on the train and go to Verona, which is only 20 minutes away from Pescheria. We visited Verona and Venice on our babymoon a couple of years ago, and although it had always been my dream to see Venice, I actually fell more in love with the laid back vibe and beautiful cobbled streets of Verona.
I'm writing to you from the shores of the fabulous Lake Garda, where we are currently taking a family holiday.
Work and home life can get a bit crazy sometimes, so its always special to be able to escape for a few days.
As you may have gathered, Italy is a really special place for our family and one we love to visit. We last came to Garda when I was pregnant, and at the time I vowed to come back with my baby to enjoy the deep peace, awe-inspiring views and il dolce vita that it has to offer.
We weren't staying here last time, so its been good to spend some proper time.
I'm going to be doing a daily outfit post while we're here for the next week. I love seeing what people's holiday style is when they're away, so if you have any similar posts, please link me below.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
