Beauty | My Pregnancy Skincare Routine

Hello there! Hope everyone is having/had a fab January! Thank goodness it's almost over though, it's definitely one of those months that just seems to last forever, and when you have animals and horses it is one of the worst months there just seems to be rain, mud and grey skies everywhere. Oh and wind no one likes that thing either. Hurry up spring, you are very much wanted now.

I thought I would do a post on my pregnancy skincare routine. Can't lie, to some of you it might be rather simple and boring but I've found since being pregnant this so called 'pregnancy glow' does not exist or is still trying to find me! I've not had an easy pregnancy, can't say I'm enjoying it either but I know the end goal will be worth it!

Instead of this so called glowing skin I seem to have found dry, spotty skin. Thanks little thing in my belly I hope your glowing inside there! Firstly the majority of my pregnancy has been spent either being sick or feeling sick so a skincare routine has not always been at the top of my list, but seen as they go on about how you should look after yourself when your pregnant I have been trying harder recently. Also don't want to scare the little thing when he pops out my belly and see's a scary looking mum so thought I should try and improve the look for him a bit.

I've found my skin has become super sensitive in this pregnancy, it seems to react to everything. The joys of hormones hey! I've tried sticking to fairly basic products that don't seem to make me look worse. I'm also using the products my mum has been using since forever because thought I should probably take more of the mum approach now, plus she seems to have great skin in her late 40's so something must be working.

The first product I have been using is No7 Beautiful Skin Cleansing lotion. I have this one in the normal/dry version which is also hypo-allergenic. I use my cleansing lotion as my first step of my skincare routine. Sorry I have no fancy new unused bottle to take a picture of, thought a half used one is more of a reality. This product seems to work great at removing all of my daily grub off my face, and it's nice and gentle to. The other plus is that it doesn't really smell of much which is great as those pregnancy hormones make everything smell like rubbish and make those gag reflexes kick in so this has definitely been one of my go to products. It's easy to use too just put a blob on one of those round pad things (names gone silly baby brain) rub round your face gently and jobs done! I try and use this morning and night but the reality is that once a day is a bonus and it seems to help calm down my face and make me feel better.

The second product I use in my skincare routine is the No7 Soft and Soothed  Gentle Toner. This one is also hypo-allergenic. Again apologise for no fancy unused bottle but again thats not always the reality plus life is hectic getting ready for the new arrival. I use this after the cleansing lotion and it really helps to soothe my skin and makes me feel refreshed. The other great thing about this is that it also does not have a strong smell if any smell which is a big bonus if your pregnant. Those smelly products just don't smell nice at the moment. 

The final product I use in my skincare routine is the No7 Beautiful Skin Day Cream. Again this is also hypo-allergenic and this has the added bonus of also having SPF 15 in it. Remember you should also put on some sun protection even when it's dull and cloudy. Apparently your skin will thank you in years to come but can't give you my opinion on that seen as I only have 22yr old skin at the moment. I love this moisturiser as it is nice and thick and as my skin seems to have gone lovely and dry (thanks again pregnancy hormones) it helps to put the moisture back in my face and makes it feel all lovely and smooth again. 

This blog post photo is a Robin one today as he was feeling in the mood to pose for the camera and well you can't say no to those eyes! 

Hope you are all well and jolly :)

Anna-Louise

xx

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Lifestyle | Where have I been?

Well hey strangers! It's certainly been a long while or should I say a few years even! Apparently life can get very busy and well take up all your time. My blog definitely took a back seat whilst I've been traveling around the world (that's a lie but sounds cool), whilst I've been travelling around my bubble as I like to call it! I'm not sure where to start with filling you all in with what I've been up to otherwise I could be writing this post for years but I'll try and do a brief summary for you all!

What exciting things have you all been up to over the past couple years? 

So let's begin.....

First I moved house which I mentioned before. Then I bought my own home with my now husband (yes someone was mad enough to marry me). We then spent what felt like forever doing it up and decorating it and making it look lovely, which it is. However I then decided that it was all too much for me to be living in my own home thanks to my aspergers and was just too much for me to cope with so we are now much to my parents excitement (or not) back living at theirs. But not just Jack, Barney and me, also an incredibly annoying but lovely cocker spaniel named Robin oh and if that wasn't enough a soon to be newborn baby as I'm now pregnant! You can probably imagine how thrilled they are to have us back and their peace and quiet taken away! 

So yeah in the past couple of years I've managed to gain another dog to the collection, he is awesome but beyond annoying and incredibly lively! Basically the dog version of me; drive you mad most of the time but the cuteness and the character makes you love us! As lovely as it is having two dogs I'm not sure how mum and dad feel as it means there are currently 4 in the house as they have two of their own; we are not short of dog hair to say the least! I've included below a picture of me dancing with Robin on my wedding day as everyone dances with their dog at their wedding!

Aswell as the added addition of a dog I got married last April! It was by far the best day of my life so far as I married my best friend Jack who is currently snoring next to me so thought I would write this post! I'm planning on doing some blog posts on my wedding day and about how I made it autism friendly.

And then just because I'm someone who loves change and being busy (haha biggest joke yet) Jack and I decided to start a family. We are expecting our first baby in April this year!!! Not long to go now! We are incredibly excited although I can't lie I'm not enjoying this whole being pregnant thing. I'm also planning on doing some posts on pregnancy and then baby posts too so if thats not for you sorry you'll have to skip those ones. The bad quality image below is of our small human despite the fact he looks more like an alien at 16 weeks old. He is now a lot bigger and so am I!

And as always I will continue to do a Barney photo at the end of my posts, although to spice things up a bit I'm going to alternate them between Barney and Robin as I can't be seen to be favouring one or the other! The one below for this post is them pulling Jack and I out of the church! 

Hope you are all well and jolly :) 

Anna-Louise 

xx

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Lifestyle | Things that make me smile :)

Hello there :) How is everyone today! Hope you are all fine and dandy! Really not long till christmas now, I am literally super excited! Who else is excited or do you think it's to early for christmas? I'm desperate to wear one of my christmas jumpers but jack keeps telling me he will be grumpy if I do, so thats a no go as then the only way of making him not grumpy would be feeding him and well he eats a lot and thats effort to cook haha! Sorry Jack :P 

Some exciting news, well maybe not exciting for you but I'm super excited and happy about it, I am coming off one of medications! Yippee! So I thought I would share my excitement on here :) Mental Health is something that should be talked about more and made an easier topic of conversation! I'm so grateful for my lovely family and supportive boyfriend for helping me :) So yeah I guess that is one thing that makes me smile. 

I think it's important to write down or remember the things that make you smile so that if you are having a more of a frown day than a smiley day you can look back at the things that do make you happy in the hope of turning that frown upside down. I'm incredibly lucky and have a lot of things and people around me that make me smile so I thought I would share with you guys :) 

Okay so animals make me smile, how can they not when they are so cute, especially dogs! My grandparents have recently got this adorable little puppy Kimmy and well she is just beautiful and so cuddly! She is a proper andrex puppy. I don't know about you guys but I love the smell of puppies so spend a lot of time smelling her! Promise I'm not weird. 

My ponies always make me smile, I'm fortunate enough to have them at home now and there is nothing better than waking up in the morning and seeing there little faces or in daisy's case her big face peering over their stable doors or going and giving them goodnight kisses. These are little things but always make me smile and I'm incredibly grateful for having them in my life :) 

My brother makes me smile, I can't believe I'm actually writing this but he does, well a lot of the time anyway. We have are arguments but what siblings don't hey! He makes me smile because he has turned into a lovely young man. He went to uni in September and I miss him a lot more than I thought I would but he was kind enough to bless us with his company last weekend for dad's birthday which was a lovely surprise. 

Okay now I'm about to be soppy so if your not into that stuff then skip this bit! One of the things well people that makes me smile the most is Jack! He is the most supportive and kind boyfriend I could ask for and he has made me in to a much better and happier person. I'm so lucky to have him in my life, I never really believed that you could find your perfect match but then I met mine :) So I guess that is something worth smiling about everyday. He even manages to make me smile when he farts although I usually do have to reach for the gas mask! 

The Barney photo today is one of him, Jack and Kimmy. Barney loves both of them, Jack seems to think Barney loves him more than me but I think he is just trying to wind me up! Barney always makes me smile, just looking at his cute face does :) 

What things make you smile? 

Hope you are all well and jolly :) 

Anna-Louise 

xx

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Holkham Beach Photoshoot

Hello there :) How is everybody today?! Can you believe we are in November now? Where has the year gone?! Time just flies by when you are having fun or when you get older haha! Guess what only 7 more Monday's till christmas! Yay I hear you all shout, or not depends whether you are christmas mad or bah humbug! I am definitely christmas mad, already watched one christmas film and yes I am proud to say the christmas pjs have made their first appearance! 

I've been bad at the whole blogging thing again recently sorry fellow readers I will try and make it up to you with more blog posts before christmas although I can't promise that they won't be christmas based! 

Recently I was given an amazing opportunity to go along to a photoshoot and be the makeup artist. As I have only recently this year qualified as a makeup artist and am in the process of trying to build up my own business this was an amazing opportunity. It was all done for free but in return I get the photographs which I can use in my portfolio which is great as good photographs are so important to have in your portfolio especially professional ones. 

The thing that made this shoot so exciting for me was that it was a bridal/wedding themed photoshoot which is what my passion is, bridal makeup and hair. I also just love everything about weddings, there is just something about them that is so magical and lovely, I cannot wait till I have my own wedding to plan and have (secretly I have it already planned but thats being at wedding fayres for you). The couple in the photoshoot were already married, they got married two years ago and are still very much in love, which is a good thing haha so were happy to dress up again for the shoot. They were such a lovely couple it was a pleasure to work with them. 

There were a number of local businesses that were involved in this shoot, all for free again as we were basically helping each other out and trying to promote our services. There was a cake maker who made the most amazing wedding cake I have seen, a florist who produced some beautiful bouquets of flowers, a stylist who helped set the scene, provide the props and design the table for the photographs, me the makeup artist and the lovely photographer who has produced some amazing photographs, I just can't help but love her work! 

We were incredibly lucky and had a beautiful day for the shoot so hopefully there will be some fantastic photographs as Holkham beach in Norfolk is such a unspoilt natural beach. I will share the professional photos with you guys when I get them but until then I thought I would share with you the ones I took so you could see a bit of what we got up to :) 

We looked normal walking along the beach with a chair!

The Barney photo today is one of Barney and Katie as well they are just both so cute and this one looks like they have taken a selfie which makes me chuckle! 

Hope you are all well and Jolly :) 

Anna-Louise 

xx

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Catch up

Hello there! Hope you are all well and jolly! 

I'm afraid I have been rather useless at the whole blogging thing, just been getting carried away with the  fairies and all that and well time just runs away with you sometimes. 

It's been so long since I've blogged I'm a bit rusty, rust is a funny thing actually, it's everywhere. Not really sure why I'm talking about rust but why not hey! 

Are any of you netflix fans? I've become super addicted to it, it's all I seem to watch these days. I'm not even sure if I know what normal TV is anymore although I have been watching the great British bake off religiously! I don't about you guys but I love the bake off, it just makes me want to bake however whenever I try my masterpieces never seem to look like masterpieces like they do on the bake off! What is your favourite thing to bake? 

So one of the reasons I have not been blogging recently is because I have moved house and have got a couple of new ponies! Get ready for super cuteness! We have added two shetland ponies to our family called Teddy and Bear, who I am planning to start pony parties with soon so if you are after a pony party hola at me :) 

I've also somehow managed to find my better half! I'm not quite sure how but I have and well he is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Just want you other aspies out there to know that relationships are possible even if they are harder for us than others and there is someone out there for everyone that will except you for who you are even if you are a little crazy! 

Anyway that will be all for today as I'm watching Doc Martin as it is a long term favourite of mine! Will try my hardest to blog more often

Here is the Barney picture as well it's tradition to put one at the end of my blog! Barney says WOOF! 

Hope you are well and jolly :) 

Anna-Louise 

xx

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