Lifestyle | Pregnancy Must Haves

Hey there! Hope everyone is well and jolly and enjoying this fantastic spring weather we have been having!! Oh wait we have just had shit loads of snow instead, and in March?! What's wrong with you weather?! Anyway lets hope that was just a minor blip, and that the nice person who controls the weather sends us spring soon.

I find it hard to be consistent with blog posts as being pregnant is tough and exhausting, and it's taken it's toll on me. Pregnancy has not been easy for me at all, with a) having Aspergers / Anxiety and being pregnant ( I hate change so why did I do this) and b) there being complications with the pregnancy and c) just being pregnant,  so I'm afraid I'm not always in the mood to write and be positive. However I'm trying to be positive and put on a smile as I have less than 2 months to go now and I know the end goal will be worth it! Plus I love blogging and rambling rubbish to you all.

In this blog post I thought I would talk to you all about pregnancy must haves, well the things that have helped me to get through the rough times.

A comfy pair of slippers! Now these are a must for any pregnant woman, unless you don't like slippers. Pregnancy brings a whole load of glamours things, one of which being swollen feet and ankles. My feet are so uncomfortable in anything at the moment and to be honest don't fit in much. If I had my own way I would go everywhere bare foot but that's not realistic in this country. So a nice comfy pair of slippers is great alternative as they will actually fit your feet, plus it's an excuse to treat yourself to a new pair.

A smelly candle! Now this isn't a must have for everyone but it is for me. I love candles, especially smelly ones (non smelling ones seem pointless if you ask me) and when I'm feeling down and miserable lighting a candle just helps lift the mood a little bit as it's not healthy for me to sit in a smelly room 24/7,  so Jack and my parents tell me anyway! I'm particularly in love with the candles from Magnificent wax - they have a great range of smells and they last for ages! Plus they are all homemade by a family.  Check them out on Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/magnifiscent_wax/

A Pregnancy pillow also know as giant Michelin man legs. Firstly the size of this pillow is hilarious, not only is it great as a pregnancy pillow but it's also great fun to pretend you have giant legs because that's what everyone would do right?! This has been my absolute lifesaver throughout my pregnancy, I don't know how I would sleep without it. It's cosy to hug, doesn't smell like a human,  and I can hug something without touching a human (It's an Asperger thing) and I can rest my bump on it! Jack's not such a fan of this as he now only has a small corner of the bed.

A hot water bottle. Not much to say on this other than it will become your best friend when you get all the lovely aches and pains that come with being pregnant.

A plastic cup and straw. Now this is not a must have for most but has been for me. Since becoming pregnant I have started to drink like a fish. I seriously drink soo much! So I invested in a few plastic bottles with straws and have taken a real liking to drinking from straws since I've been pregnant. So I always have one with me full of ice and water and one full of apple juice (think this baby is going to come out drinking apple juice not milk with the amount I drink)

A smile. This is a must have for any pregnant woman. Pregnancy is tough and it's certainly one of the hardest challenges I've ever had to face and more often than not I forget to smile. But it's something we should all do to remind us how incredible our bodies are for growing a little human and to remind ourselves that we can do this and it will all be worth it. 

Have managed to actually get a picture of Barney for this blog post so here he is :) 

Hope you are 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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Lifestyle | Barney's week in photos

Hello there :) 

Howdy! How is everyone today? Hope is all fine and dandy! I love the word howdy reminds me of Toy Story and makes me feel like a cowboy well cowgirl as I'm not a boy but you know what I mean! Did anyone see the solar eclipse thingy? I don't really understand what it is to be honest, I didn't see anything either, it was far too cloudy where I was! If anything it just went a bit colder and maybe a bit darker but who knows that could have just been me I do feel the cold! It's the weekend YAY! I hope you guys are all having a lovely jubbly one :) 

I've just tried to tidy my room which I'm rubbish at so I thought I would have a break! Most of the things on my floor are Barney's toys!! He has so many and he gets them all out and leaves them all over the place for me to trip over or stand on! He is so kind. I asked him to help tidy up but apparently being a dog is hard work and sleep is more important as he is fast asleep! He also didn't reply to me when I asked him to help as dogs can't talk. 

Anyway I'm pretty much obsessed with my dog and he is just so photogenic.  I am constantly taking photos of him so I thought I would share some with you!

He looks like he is smiling in this one! 

He loves to shake right next to us just incase we wanted to get wet too! Silly Dog! 

Walking with Katie dog, Kirstie (my mum) and me are some of Barney's favourite things to do!

Barney is the best thing to ever happen to me, I don't know where I would be without him! Dog's really are the best friends going! 

Hope you are all well and jolly :) 

Anna-Louise

xx

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Lifestyle | Tips to try and relax

Hello there :) 

How is everyone today? Hope you are all well and jolly! Have you been up to anything exciting this week? Maybe jumped out of a plane (safely) or met someone famous or maybe just rowed a boat? I'd love to say I have done something exciting this week but, that would be a lie and lying is bad! I've spent a lot of time with a good friend of mine called bed! It's so comfy and cosy!

I've kind of lost a bit of my blogging enthusiasm recently but that's probably because I have lost a lot of enthusiasm with life. I'm going through a low phase at the moment, I know why but when your so down it's hard to get out of feeling like you do. I seem to cry all the time at the moment, I don't want to get out of bed or leave the house, I feel like I just don't know how to be happy at the moment and I'm fed up. So I guess when I feel like this it's hard to blog because I don't have anything to blog about! Anyone have any tips for feeling happy? Please send them my way if you do! 

FUN FACT : Prawns are not always a pink/orange colour, they are instead a blue/grey colour before they are cooked! They look much better when they are cooked, they look a bit creepy before hand! 

So my mum bless her has been racking her little brain at the moment for ways for me to relax and things for me to do to cheer me up so I thought I would share them with you in case you are feeling under the weather too, as it's all about helping each other right :) 

• Smelly Candles : Whenever I'm feeling a bit stressed I love to have smelly candles on in my room, I find them super relaxing and it makes my room smell nice and gets rid of any Barney fart smells. 

• Read a book: I love reading, well I do when I manage to stay awake to actually read a book, I find reading very relaxing and also a great way to help me sleep if I can't. I've also joined a book club recently which is great although I haven't managed to read any of the book club books yet! 

• Listen to music: Now this is one of my favourite things to do to relax, I love just putting my headphones on and forgetting the world and listening to music. I also find this a great way to calm me down when I'm feeling angry. 

• Face Mask: I find face masks so relaxing, although I did try one of those peel off ones the other day and that was lovely till I tried to take it off, I thought my whole face was going to come off! Anyway I think they are a great way to relax, it's always important to pamper yourself and it's a great way to destress. 

• Have a bath: Nothing beats having a nice relaxing bath, well a spa or hot tub would maybe, but annoyingly I don't have either of those in my house. Baths are so relaxing especially when you have a nice bath bomb to put in it or some lovely bubble bath! Bubbles are the best, I like to make a beard out of the bubbles to try and imagine what it would be like to be santa! Does anyone else do that?! 

• Watch TV: This is something I have always loved to do to relax. I tend to watch TV shows such as Friends and Big Bang as they are two of my all time favourites and watching them makes me feel like I'm there and I'm friends with them. I was in bed for most of year 11 with ME and Friends is one of the only things that kept me sane! I've recently become a massive PLL fan too so that's what I watch at the moment. Netflix was the best purchase ever! 

• Getting my nails done/painting nails: I love having nice nails, I instantly feel happier strange but there is just something so great about having good nails. I was lucky enough to be treated to getting my nails done by my gran this week, I love getting them done it's so relaxing and the people are so lovely where I go. The only annoying thing is that it costs money so I only get them done for treats or when I can afford it and if I can't I will paint my nails :) 

• Spending time with Barney: This is the best thing and always helps me to relax/calm down/destress. Spending time with my best friend is the best thing in the world. He is always there for me and I can tell him all my troubles and he doesn't tell them to anyone (he couldn't if  he wanted to though). He doesn't judge me and he loves me, he is always by my side when I need him even if I'm cross or upset. Taking him for walks in the countryside or playing ball with him is a great way to relax as I love seeing him so happy and it's so peaceful!  I couldn't ask for a better dog to own, he is one in a million. 

(this is his new favourite toy) 

What things do you do to relax?? 

The Barney picture today is one of him curled up on my bed with his pheasant. Poor Barney just wanted to sleep and then there was me putting a camera in his face! He just takes such pretty pictures I can't help it! 

Hope you are all well and jolly :) 

Anna-Louise

xx

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FOTD | Quick and easy everyday spring makeup

Hello there :) 

How is everyone today?! Hope all is fine and dandy and that the sun is shining nice and brightly with you :) I hope you are all having fantastic weeks, not long to go till the weekend and Mothers Day! Have any of you got any nice plans for Mothers Day? I'm working, we are fully booked twice over so it's going to be a busy old day fingers crossed we might get some good tips though! My Dad being the best Dad in the world took me to the cinema today as I'm really struggling at the moment and feeling quite low. Friendships seem to be a big problem at the moment I don't seem to have any, apart from the lovely Hannah from Suitcase and Sandals ( go check out her blog it's a lovely one). Having Aspergers has meant that friendships have always been a struggle for me and well at the moment I'm just feeling very lonely! Have any of you lovely people got any tips for how to make friends? 

Anyway we went to see Big Hero 6 which is a new Disney film, and it was brilliant and rather funny! Definitely recommend going to see it! I really want to go and see the new Cinderella film, looks so good! Is anyone going to see it? Let me know what you think of it!! 

So today I thought I would do another beauty post as that is where my passion really lies and I could talk about beauty products all day long! My favourite bloggers chat at the moment is #bbloggers. I love talking with like minded people about beauty! 

Seen as the weather has started to improve I have changed my makeup a little bit. During the winter months I tend to wear much heavier makeup but when the sun starts to shine I much prefer the subtle and natural looks! Also as the weather gets warmer I don't like to have too much on my face as it makes me feel hotter if that makes sense so I tend to opt for as little as possible. 

For my base I like to use a tinted moisturiser as they provide SPF which is great for added protection in the spring and summer months. Tinted moisturisers are also great because they give your face the moisture they need as well as providing your skin with a subtle tint to even out your skin tone and give your skin a healthy looking glow! I'm currently using No7 tinted moisturiser in fair/medium. I'm not 100% sure yet whether I love this particular one or not, I used it all last summer and my mum is a big fan but I'm just not quite in love. I think I may try some other brands this summer to truly make my mind up. I have heard lots of good things about the Laura Mercier tinted moisturiser so I think that's going to be the next one on my list. 

I don't really tend to use a powder or bronzer when I'm using tinted moisturiser as I don't feel my skin needs it so I jump straight in for the blusher. I sometimes use a bit of concealer when I need it but forgot to add it in the photo opps sorry! My current favourite blush at the moment is the Bobbi Brown Cheek Palette in Pink. I absolutely love the colours in it and I think they add a really healthy looking pink colour to my cheeks. 

For an everyday easy makeup look I tend to keep my eyes super simple and I also think simple eyes really helps me to keep a natural looking face. At the moment I'm using a MAC Paint pot in Painterly as this is a lovely nude shade and just provides a lovely base and covers up any veins. 

I then just put some of Benefit Cosmetics roller lash mascara on as this makes my lashes look extra long! And then thats my eyes done, boring I know but it's super quick to do makeup look. 

I'm obsessed with having good brows, always have been since I was about 13! So this is the most important part of any makeup look I do. If I'm really short of time I will just do my brows because having good brows just makes me feel ready to go into the outside world! Crazy I know! Anyway I'm currently using Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade as in my opinion she has some of the best brow products currently on the market (I'm also a big fan of brow wizz) and the great thing about the Dipbrow is that it's perfect for the summer months as it's waterproof and doesn't smudge so even if your face is dripping in sweat your eyebrows still look great! And this product really doesn't move! 

I then use some of the Anastasia Beverly Hills clear brow gel to set everything in place :) 

Then to finish off this look I use my current favourite Lipstick which is MAC Pink Pearl Pop. I absolutely love this lipstick at the moment and think its the perfect colour for spring :) You can read my review on it here. 

What are your favourite products for spring and summer? 

Today's Barney picture is one of him on a walk the other day! This lovely weather is amazing as it's meant that we have been able to go on some fantastic walks and not come back covered in mud! He looks so handsome in this picture he really does love to pose for the camera! We have just been over the road to play ball which he thought was amazing and is now completely shattered and fast asleep on my bed bless him! I'm so grateful for my dog, he always makes me smile even when I'm feeling down, 100% best dog in the world (well to me anyway). 

Hope you are all well and jolly :) 

Anna-Louise

xx

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Review | MAC Pink Pearl Pop Lipstick

Hello there :) 

How is everyone today? Hope you have all had lovely weekends, and if you have had the amazing sun and warm weather we have I hope you have been able to make the most of it. If you haven't had any sun I shall send some your way :) I swear the weeks seem to go by quicker and quicker I don't know where this week has gone! I've been working everyday this week which has been great as it has given me something to do but it's fair to say I'm knackered now so can't wait to curl up in bed later! 

So today's post is another beauty post because why not!  Okay I know it's another review of a MAC lipstick, you are probably all bored of seeing MAC lipstick reviews but they are just so great it's hard not to review them, and well they are kind of an all time favourite for everybody! MAC lipstick reviews seem to pop up all the time in the blogging community so I thought I would jump on the band wagon and do one because why not join in hey! Some of you might be big fans of these reviews so are probably over the moon right now (slight exaggeration). If this is you then welcome, keep on reading, however if this isn't you well it would still be nice for you to keep on reading but not to worry if not! If we all liked the same things life would be very boring.

I had never really heard about MAC lipsticks or MAC in general till about 9 months ago, and oh my I wish I had found out about them sooner because not only have I fallen in love with them but Mumma M has too! We are both hooked so have started to build up a little collection together because sharing is caring or something like that! 

Anyway my latest addition  to the collection is the gorgeous Pink Pearl Pop! Which is a shade that I had not heard of before I stumbled across it at a MAC counter. This could be an incredibly popular colour that I'm just a bit slow to find out about or just one of those ones that you happen to stumble across. Either way I'm so glad I stumbled across this shade because I absolutely love it, infact it's probably my favourite lipstick at the moment especially as it's such a perfect colour for spring!

Pink Pearl Pop is a bright pink cremesheen lipstick which leaves a really pretty finish. When I first saw this I was a little bit put off by the colour as it is so bright, but once I swatched it I fell in love. As it is a cremesheen the brightness is not overpowering. It gives a warm pink sheen tint to the lips and doesn't look unnatural. I'm not very good at describing looks and colours so I do apologise. It's sort of your perfect barbie pink doll colour that once on your lips looks almost neutral pink (because it's a cremesheen). It's a really cute colour that works well with a number of different looks even a smokey eye and would be a great go to lipstick for a spring/summer makeup look. So if you are looking for a new lipstick to add to your spring makeup collection then I definitely recommend Pink Pearl Pop or if you just fancy a new lipstick then this one is worth checking out :)

What is your current favourite lipstick?

The Barney picture today is another one of him on one of our sunny walks this week! I love this photo as it looks like he is smiling! He is such a little cutie at times, he is also a great poser for the camera. He has enjoyed some lovely long walks this week in the sun, hopefully this lovely weather will continue. I'm just about to give him pilchards in tomato sauce for his dinner as a Sunday night treat as it's his favourite. 

Hope you are all well and jolly :) 

Anna-Louise

xx

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Barney's February Favourites

Hello there :)

Hope everyone is fine and dandy! Can you believe we are now in March?! Where does the time go? I swear it seems to go faster as I get older, I remember time going so slowly whilst I was at school and wishing for it to go quicker, now I'm in the real world time goes so quickly I now wish it would go slower funny isn't it! However now it's March it does mean spring is quickly approaching YAY, and then before we know it summer will be with us which is an even bigger YAY! Anyway it's the time of the month for a favourites from the previous month and well this time I thought I would share with you something a little different! I thought I would do Barney's favourites from the previous month because lets face it, his are probably more interesting than mine :)

Barney has had a fairly busy February as he has been away on holiday to Wales with us and well as you can imagine being a dog is hard work and there is lots of sleeping, walking and eating to be done!

Barney has been enjoying lots of lovely long walks in February so going for 'Walkies' as we call it was definitely one of his favourites. 

Another one of Barney's favourites has been playing with his best dog friend Katie! They have had lots of fun this month, apparently running round in circles chasing each other is the fun thing to do these days :) 

Barney also has a thing about brown cardboard and toilet rolls so was over the moon when he found a giant toilet roll (it was actually from wrapping paper but he doesn't know that). He thought the world of it and was very proud of it until he felt the time was right to rip it all up and leave a mess for his mum (me) to clear up! 

Another favourite for February for Barney was sitting at the table with Simon (my dad) watching tv with him! I swear my dog thinks he is a human really! 

Barney has also had enjoyed going stick fishing in any water he can find, apparently the best sticks are underwater. 

this stick was obviously trying to float away from barney

Barney loved having a snooze by the huge log burner in the cottage in Wales that we stayed in :) He spent most of his time there :) 

So those are Barney's February favourites! As you can see being a dog is lots of fun ;) I would love to be a dog just for a day to see how they see and hear things, do they actually understand or do they just think we are pure crazy?! 

Hope you are all well and jolly :) 

Anna-Louise 

xx 

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