Anna Saccone Joly

8:45am

This week's What I Ate is brought to you by Pancake Tuesday! Pancake Day has honestly always been one of my favourite days of the year, ever since I was small. I love pancakes and looked forward to this day all year round from as long as I can remember! For breakfast we didn't actually eat any as mornings are normally pretty rushed with the school run etc. and it was just me on my own after bringing Emilia in so there wasn't much point in whipping them up! So I had a slice of seeded toast with avocado (mashed up with a bit of salt & pepper) and some smoked salmon on top. I also had a black coffee & bottle of water.

10:30am

Mid morning I was hungry again and found this little snack box of nuts in Jonathan's office! These are really good - we picked some up at the train station in London the previous Friday...of course I devoured mine straight away and Jonathan forgot about his. It's one of Graze's boxes full of different kinds of nuts. I really like this one because it fills you up and is high in protein!

12:30pm

I ate lunch before picking Emilia up from school & bringing her swimming. This was a pretty big and filling salad which included chicken breast, butter beans, lettuce, red onion, sundried tomatoes, olive oil and salt & pepper. I also drank another bottle of water.

After I got back from swimming I was exhausted and took a nap at about 4pm. We had had quite a late night the night before and I know it sounds ridiculous but swimming lessons are killing me at this late stage of pregnancy! I think it's the heat/humid environment coupled with lots of bending over with getting Emilia ready and showered afterwards. I honestly feel like I've run a marathon or climbed a mountain after I get back home! And I'm not even the one doing any swimming!

6:10pm

Traditionally on Pancake Tuesday my mum would always serve up savoury pancakes first, followed by sweet ones for dessert. So that's what we did this year...we had savoury crepes filled with chicken, mushroom & leeks. They were AMAZING! With this I had a bottle of water and then while I was waiting for my dessert (Jonathan's the expert pancake maker in our house), I ate two more plain pancakes on their own because I was so impatient!

7:10pm

By the time all the pancake flipping was over, it was quite late but we all had our sweet pancakes together which was really nice. The kids & Jonatan had theirs with Nutella and I had mine with a dollop of Green & Blacks vanilla bean ice-cream and maple syrup. Best dessert ever! I was pretty stuffed afterwards (having eaten SIX pancakes, hahaha!) but it was totally worth it!

9pm

By 9 o'clock I was exhausted and ready for bed, so I made myself a peppermint & licorice herbal tea, grabbed another bottle of water and headed to bed. That was honestly my favourite Pancake Day yet :)

Check out my vlog from the day above! And let me know how you celebrated Pancake Tuesday!

So it's been a while since I blogged...in fact it's been half a year!! *insert hiding monkey face emoji here* Err, since then a lot has changed. I've had a baby! Hahaha, in case you hadn't noticed the missing bump!? And if you follow me on YouTube of course you did know that already but I haven't officially updated you all on here yet so it feels weird to ignore it. On March 30th we welcomed our third baby, Alessia Francesca to the world. She is absolutely beautiful and perfect in every way; you can watch my labour & delivery story video here and also her monthly updates! I will do an official blog post on our newest addition soon but in the meantime, here's a good old outfit of the day!

Since Emilia & Eduardo went back to school in September, life has been a whirlwind of breastfeeding, school runs, packed lunches, six fluffy barking dogs, nappy changes and attempting (very badly) to squeeze work life in there too. It's been hectic, to say the least. I thought back to school would make it easier but truth be told, I feel like now we're busier than ever! I love it though...I adore being their mama and wouldn't change it for the world. However that all means that blogging has taken a bit of a backseat but now that Alessia is 6 months old I'm ready to jump back into it.

I've managed to sort out some childcare a few hours a week so I can get back to work and so far it's only been a few days & I am loving it. I want to do it all but I find there aren't enough hours in the day! Being a mama is definitely my #1 priority but at the same time I don't want to give up my career either. I let so many opportunities pass me by because I simply cannot do both, so now I'm ready to take the reins as I'm beginning to feel more myself again.

Onto what I'm wearing! Today my sweatshirt is from a local boutique called Joie de Vivre and the brand is Sweats.Co. I'm wearing a size medium Neon Tri Star jumper in navy blue. I love it! The feel is amazing & it's such a cosy yet casual piece! Unfortunately this colour is out of stock but I've also got this grey one with a neon pink star. My jeans are from All Saints which I purchased about a year ago and I'm wearing a size 28. I'm not sure if the ones linked are exactly the same as mine have zips at the ankles but they look extremely similar! My shoes are Converse Ox Festival Trainers (I'm wearing a size 5) which I got from ASOS earlier this year. These are unfortunately now out of stock but you can get a similar pair here which don't have the embroidery on them.

I hope you like the look - also don't forget to check out my YouTube channel this evening at 8pm for a new video (Alessia's 5 & 6 Month Update!) and I will see you guys on Wednesday!

I decided to bring back What I Ate Wednesday posts to my blog because people love them so much & although they are quite repetitive I think there's something quite nice about them! I also like looking back on them to see what I was eating at that time. Recently for breakfast I have been gravitating towards this one as my go-to, as it's quick, easy and when Alessia is fussing or I'm trying to feed her at the same time I just can't justify preparing something that takes longer to make! So this is my current breakfast of choice; Rude Health organic muesli with almond milk warmed up in the microwave for 1 min 30. I love this muesli! It's chock full of dried fruit, chia seeds and all sorts of yummy, filling goodness that it always keeps me full until lunch! I also have a black coffee and water. Muesli always reminds me of my granny - she used to eat it every morning and it was a staple in her house!

For lunch I had an egg salad sandwich made with that Waitrose Duchy seeded bread which I love so much and always rave about on my YouTube channel, two boiled eggs, mayonnaise & cress. I also had a tomato with some Italian herbs on top and another water. This was also super filling and I've been craving eggs recently (not pregnant or anything!).

In the afternoon around 4pm is when I normally need another pick-me-up so I made myself an almond milk cappuccino. I use the Almond Breeze Barista Blend milk which gives the best foam and isn't too sweet either. I use my Aeroccino to make these and I genuinely look forward to them everyday. I also had a Nature's Path Dark Chocolate Chip granola bar which are so yummy! Jonathan and I are obsessed with these. He has one for his morning snack and I have one in the afternoon!

This afternoon we had Parents' Evening at the school at 5 o'clock so we were late getting back and had dinner after the kids went to bed. So I had to quick snack to tie me over to dinner time as I was quite hungry by then! My favourite yogurts at the moment are these Rachel's Organic Luscious Fruits ones - I had the raspberry flavour.

Okay so here's where I kind of royally messed up this What I Ate as I was so starving by the time we actually ate dinner (after 8 o'clock by the time all the kids were asleep!!) that I completely forgot to take a picture and just ravaged my entire plate without thinking! So I'm really sorry but I have no photo of my meal :( It was delicious though...we had lamb stew with mashed potatoes, carrots, peppers and tomato sauce. Real comfort food!

After dinner I had a lemon cheesecake. We have been loving these mini ones by Gu and my favourite is the plain one (Gu York Cheesecake) but tonight I had the lemon. I also drank another bottle of water and took my (breastfeeding) prenatals before bed.

And that's it! Please do check out my YouTube channel for a video version of another What I Ate Wednesday (filmed on a different day) if you'd like to see more of what I eat. Let me know what yummy foods you've been enjoying lately and if you like you can leave a comment telling me what you ate today!

This week we've been celebrating autumn and the lead up to half term. We attended Emilia & Eduardo's Harvest Festival at school which was super cute (although Eduardo didn't even see me there...he saw his daddy but never made eye contact with me! :( ) I got my nails done & a much-needed pedicure (it's actually embarrassing how long it had been) and went with a nude biscuit-y taupe colour (number 019 from the Gel Bottle Inc.) which sort of match my boots!

Today's outfit consists of my Replay light denim jeans which I bought before I got pregnant with Alessia (similar wash without the stitching here). Although I do like the look of these jeans I'm not a huge fan of the stitching detail on the front of them as it gets quite irritating and scratchy on my skin. I'm wearing these in a size 27, but they are quite stretchy and forgiving! I also wore these to Emilia's 4th birthday party which you might remember!

My checked shirt is from Joules and it's in a longer style so I tied it in a knot at the front. This look is such a great cheat for when you're feeling bloated (as I was today because I ate about 6 chocolate chip cookies the night before!!). The knot kind of puffs out the top in a natural looking way so you don't have to worry about your tummy sticking out! I love this trick ;) I'm also wearing a basic navy t-shirt from J.Crew underneath which I've tucked into the jeans for comfort & to make breastfeeding more discreet. I'm wearing the shirt in a size 8/34 and t-shirt in size XS (both run big).

My boots are by Toms and these are SO comfy! For quite a high heel (about 3 inches) I have walked around NYC in these with absolutely no problems and I reach for them quite a lot in the autumn/winter when I want a slightly more dressed up look. I'm wearing them in a size 38/UK 5 and they are true to size. Unfortunately they're sold out on ASOS but you can get a similar looking version (with a lower heel) here!

Hope you guys like the outfit and don't forget to watch my new Q&A video this evening! It's one I filmed back in August (oops) which I finally got the chance to edit and upload this week! It's a good one; I address some rumours about cosmetic surgery and chat about lots of other topics you've asked me on Twitter & Facebook!

Top - Abercrombie & Fitch (similar top), Boots - Toms, Jacket - G-Star, Jeans - Abercrombie & Fitch, Vest - Zoa NY (same top in metallic blue)

Lately I've been feeling totally overwhelmed...it's almost as if my life has descended into this whirlwind of total chaos and there are times when I feel like I'm going to hit breaking point. No filter & no fakery here...you all know I like to keep it real! Don't get me wrong, I love my kids, adore my husband and care deeply about my six crazy dogs. But sometimes running a business together while simultaneously trying to raise a family and not lose your sh*t at least 12x a day is hard. Adding to all of that was the fact that we were delivered 4000 books on our doorstep which needed to be signed over one weekend. The same weekend that we had family over...suddenly our kitchen erupted into what looked like a sea of books & sharpies. I'd be lying if I said we didn't all feel like murdering each other by Sunday evening.

Hopefully this is just temporary (I know deep down that it is) and although there are 150 other things going on that I don't share on here because I choose to keep them private, I just want you all to know that not everything you see on social media is real. Everyone has problems, EVERYONE! You might see someone's "perfect" outfit picture on Instagram and while it looks like they have their sh*t together behind that smile is a whole story you know nothing about. I have been struggling lately...my life feels out of control and I hate that. I'm trying to get back into the swing of things but working from home means you never really switch off from "mummy mode". I'm not complaining and I am obviously grateful for everything I have. But let's be totally honest here, no matter who you are or what your situation is raising little people is HARD WORK. There are days when my children break me...they wear me into the ground and I feel like I'm doing a rubbish job. Sometimes I don't understand how the people you love SO much with all of your heart can also break you into a million pieces that you just want to sit on your kitchen floor and sob.

I also kind of know that's normal! That everyone has days or weekends like this (or even weeks!). It's just important to remember not to judge a book by its cover, if you'll pardon the very appropriately timed pun. I want you to know that nobody's life is picture perfect and it's okay to feel inadequate or like your life is a total mess. In fact that's exactly what I feel like 99% of the time...a hot (the sweaty kind, not the attractive one) mess! But a problem shared is a problem halved, right? And I hope that by spreading a lot more of this "honesty" message in a world of pretty Instagram filters and themed squares showcasing the highlights of people's lives, we can come together as a positive, loving community that supports each other. Who's with me?

On a totally separate note, here's a cute video Eduardo and I made together...it's his three year update or an (attempted) interview with my three and a half year old! Hope you it makes you smile.

Before I start this blog post I feel like I need to address the comments on my previous one. Thank you SO much for the wonderful support and lovely messages you all left me both on Instagram and here...the reaction I got was unbelievably positive and not what I was expecting at all. You shared stories of similar days/weekends/weeks and made me feel less crap about myself...and for that I want to say thank you. Thank you for reminding me exactly why I started blogging in the first place; to share my experiences with and relate to people all over the world who I would otherwise never be able to reach. You've all just reaffirmed to me why social media is important and how it truly can be used for good.

I don't want to sound like a broken record here because I'm actually feeling MUCH better now but unfortunately this What I Ate was filmed right in the middle of my stressful weekend...so, well you'll see how the day unfolded! I was seriously contemplating scrapping it and refilming the whole thing but I want to be honest with you guys and show you that not everyday is perfect!

Breakfast was pretty standard - I had two boiled eggs and a slice of wholegrain toast with butter, a black coffee & bottle of water. I always soft boil my eggs and add salt! I love having this breakfast if I have time to make it in the morning.

My lunch was a sesame seed bagel with tuna, mayonnaise, sweetcorn and some cherry tomatoes & cucumber on the side. I also had another bottle of water.

At about 3:30/4pm I started to get hungry again so cut up a kiwi which I wasn't even really craving but thought it would be good to eat some fruit as I haven't been having a lot of it lately :( I don't know why but I've just gone off fruit lately or I just forget to eat it which isn't like me at all! I'm not sure if it's because it's getting colder outside and I normally enjoy fruit in the warmer months but that doesn't really make sense considering I'm always hot at the moment (breastfeeding hormones anyone?!).

A little bit after that I made a cappuccino with almond milk. I use the Almond Breeze Barista Blend for a really frothy cup and then I also had a Nature's Path Dark Choc Chip granola bar which are my favourites lately!

By dinner time things were going a bit downhill...children were screaming and fighting, dogs were barking and everyone was a bit frazzled, hence why this photo isn't even in focus! Our dinner was good but I didn't really enjoy it unfortunately :( We had chicken drumsticks with homemade potato wedges, carrots & peas in coconut cream sauce. I also had another bottle of water though I don't remember if I finished it or not!

After we put the kids to bed and cleaned up a whole load of dog wee and a house that looked like it had been hit by a hurricane, I had a bit of a weepy moment in the kitchen before cheering up over a Twix bar (not pictured because it was inhaled in about .000005 seconds) followed by this Rachel's rice pudding followed by a packet of veggie crisps FOLLOWED by two little packs of mini Oreos. It was one of those days...hahaha! The only reason I didn't photograph the other stuff is because emotions were high and I didn't feel like whipping out a camera. But trust me, I felt A LOT better afterwards! :)

So that was my crazy stressful day which sort of continued this way for the whole weekend! I'm glad I shared it with you guys because I feel much better but now I'm ready to put it behind me...and never speak of it again...haha only joking. Be sure to check out my video from today on my channel later this evening. And I will see you on Friday!

Jeans - 7 for All Mankind (similar style without the rips), Top - Mango (out of stock), Boots - Whistles, Watch - Michael Kors, Necklace - Anna Saccone, Bracelets - Louis Vuitton, Anna Saccone, Van Cleef & Arpels

Yesterday was Jonathan's book publication day which means The SacconeJolys and The Great Cat Nap is now available from all good bookshops across the UK and Ireland! The book tour starts tomorrow, which is super exciting yet also kind of stressful (trying to figure out logistics with the three children, dogs etc.) but one thing is for sure - I am SO proud of Jonathan! Writing a children's book and this entire project has been his dream for so long. He is truly a family man and watching him become a father has been one of the most special and rewarding experiences of my life. I am so thankful that he is my partner to raise our children with because unlike so many other men I know, he is a team player when it comes to bringing up our kids. Jonathan is one of the most hands-on dads you'll ever meet; we actually have to fight over who does the school runs as he feels left out if he doesn't do them! He will ALWAYS choose his family first over anything or anybody else and that is one of the things I love the most about him.

This is why I think this book is such a perfect fit for Jonathan because I know in my heart that he would never release a product or sell something that he didn't 100% believe in. I saw the whole process that went on behind closed doors while he worked on this book from coming up with the initial idea to choosing an illustrator and working together on getting each and every character exactly right. Seeing the book in its completed physical form is such an amazing experience when you know how much care, time & effort went into creating it.

Reading books to our children has always been a huge part of their night time routine since Emilia was a tiny baby. It doesn't matter what has happened during the day, the bedtime book is always something they can rely on and I feel that they look forward to that quality time with Mummy & Daddy. For me personally, the bedtime story is what replaced breastfeeding as I always drop the night time feed last after my babies turn 12 months. Reading a book to your little ones is such a lovely bonding experience and these are the memories our children will cherish forever.

If you do pick up a copy of The Great Cat Nap, let us know what you think of the story by tagging us on Twitter or Instagram and tell us who your favourite character is!

I've recently been getting quite a few questions about Emilia & Eduardo's bedding sets as some of you may have seen them featured on our vlog. Both children were lucky enough to get some new sheets, quilts and throw cushions from Christy's #ChristyJunior collection and they are in love with their "new beds"! Eduardo's set is the Christy Junior Galaxy Teal and he also has the Christy Junior Cosmos Collection quilt & cushion. This whole set is perfect for him because he loves space and stars! His favourite item of all is the Christy Junior Ticket to the Moon cushion; he and Emilia have so much fun pretending they are going on a real adventure into space with this!

Emilia's duvet set is the Christy Junior Willow Coral and she was very excited about the fact that there are "real pompoms" on her bedding! She also has the Christy Junior Hetty Cushion and actually likes snuggling with this when she goes to sleep! Both children have Christy Junior Speckles Jersey fitted sheets and I think these are my favourite of the entire collection. They are super soft and remind me of when they were babies and I would buy similar jersey sheets for their cots.

I really do love this bedding range and was so impressed with the high quality of the cotton. Everything is beautifully made, 100% cotton, super soft and feels amazing. The packaging and way in which it was all delivered felt very premium and the price point is reasonable & fair for the luxury quality of the products you receive. Emilia & Eduardo love the feel of their beds and that is the most important thing because it means their sleep-deprived mummy & daddy are less likely to be disturbed in the night!

You can shop any of the #ChristyJunior products I mentioned here, and also get 10% off the whole range using the discount code ANNA.

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Christy. All opinions are my own, as always :)

This WIAW is actually from Jonathan's book publication day. This was such a lovely day as we celebrated by going out to lunch with our whole team; Francesca, Vivian and our PA Izzy. Jonathan got a HUGE cake with the cover of his book on it from his publishers, Egmont and the children baked Halloween cupcakes. It was just an all round happy & exciting day and I'm really happy that I documented it!

For breakfast I had my current go-to which is the Rude Health Ultimate Organic Muesli. I make it with almond milk and heat it up in the microwave so it goes nice and mushy (hahaha, this might be gross to some people but I love mushy cereal!). I also had a black coffee & bottle of water.

We went to Bill's for our celebratory lunch and we all ended up getting burgers. I got the halloumi burger (my favourite!) with sweet potato fries. This is always a winner, honestly! I get it all the time. Jonathan got the chicken burger and everyone else copied me...haha not really ;) I also had a bottle of still water.

After lunch we were all pretty full but around 4 o'clock I needed a pick-me-up, mainly because I was falling asleep after having been kept up all night by Eduardo :( So I made myself an almond milk cappuccino and an apple & dark choc chip granola bar.

For dinner we had already planned to have chicken chow mein stir fry with wholewheat noodles so we ate a smaller portion as we were still kind of full from lunch (not that it looks that way in this picture...hahaha it looks huge!). This was yummy though and the kids love this dinner so it's definitely a family favourite. To drink I had another bottle of water.

Remember how I said I was full earlier...yeah well I clearly still saved room for two cupcakes!! Hahaha! These were made by Emilia & Eduardo and are actually really delicious! They're the ones I normally bake for Halloween; pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese icing. The kids had so much fun decorating these! And I had just as much fun eating them!

And here's the video version of this post, which also contains an exciting announcement (no, I'm not pregnant)! Let me know what you ate today in the comments below and I hope you all have a lovely rest of the week!

Today marks the launch of my new jewellery line - Written in the Stars! Those of you who are my loyal blog readers or the clever ones who signed up to the website which I announced last week will have already had a sneak preview of the whole collection as well as a head start on shopping the new line. The video launching this shop goes live at 8pm today but if you're reading this before then, you can get there sooner! I am so excited to share the new pieces I've designed with you & I hope you will love them as much as I do!

The Written in the Stars collection consists of three different necklaces. All of them come in silver, rose gold plated and gold plated. They are all handcrafted and made from 925 sterling silver. The first necklace is the Birthstone Star Choker which is possibly my favourite piece of the collection (although that's really hard for me to say as I love each of them so much!). These come with a tiny birthstone in the centre of the star and the choker is adjustable. I wear it around the middle of the chain and my birthstone is Topaz.

The next necklace is the Engraved Bar which also comes in a choker style but I like to layer it with the Star Choker and wear it on the longest setting. You can engrave your own name or the name of a loved one, which I think is so special and meaningful!

Last but not least is the Constellation Necklace which is a beautiful piece that you can personalise according to your own star sign's constellation. I am actually wearing Emilia's (Virgo) but of course you can wear whichever one you like! This pendant is slightly smaller than that of the Zodiac Collection and is encrusted with swarovski crystals. It comes in three different chain lengths (like the Zodiac necklaces) and I am wearing mine in the 14" (small) chain.

Each of these are gorgeous stand-alone pieces but you can also layer them either two or three at a time like I've done here. Alternatively what I've been doing is layering the two chokers with my Scorpio necklace...it depends on your mood or what you prefer to do! Let me know in the comments which your favourite piece is and if you do purchase one (or all three!) send me a picture of how you styled yours!

What I'm Wearing in This Outfit

Duster jacket - New Look (out of stock)

Pink top - Maje (Christmas present 2013)

Embroidered jeans - Abercrombie & Fitch (out of stock)

Boots - Toms (out of stock)

Necklaces - Topaz Birthstone Star Choker in gold-plated

Engraved Bar "Anna" Necklace in gold-plated

Virgo Constellation Necklace in gold-plated (14" chain)

Bracelets - Scorpio Zodiac Charm Bracelet in gold-plated (medium length)

Van Cleef & Arpels Perlee Signature Yellow Gold Bracelet

Louis Vuitton Box it Bracelet (leather strap)

Earrings - Tiffany & Co Soleste Earrings in Rose Gold

Rose gold watch - Michael Kors

Makeup

- Bare Minerals Concealer in Summer Bisque

- Bare Minerals Original Foundation in Medium Beige

- Bare Minerals Bronzer Warmth

- Bare Minerals Mineral Veil

- Charlotte Tilbury Cheek to Chic Love Glow Blusher

- BareMinerals Ready Luminizer Duo

- Benefit Browzings in 04

- Benefit 3D Browtones in 02

- Urban Decay Primer Potion

- Charlotte Tilbury Instant Eye Palette

- YSL Shocking Eyeliner Pen

- Benefit They're Real Mascara

- Bobbi Brown Lipliner in Cocoa

- Charlotte Tilbury Lipstick in Kim K.W.

8:30am

I went old-school with my breakfast this morning and cooked up some of my favourite porridge (you know I love those Flahavan's Oats!) with almond milk, chopped dates, raisins and cinnamon. The yummiest breakfast for cold mornings! I also had my standard black coffee & bottle of water with this.

12:15pm

Right before I put Alessia down for her afternoon nap I started to get really hungry and couldn't wait for lunch so I needed a quick snack & ate a pear. At around ten to one I ate lunch (which I was so hungry I forgot to take a picture of...sorry!!!). I had a salmon & cream cheese bagel with some cherry tomatoes. I actually forgot to drink water until later on in the day which isn't ideal because when I don't drink enough I start to get headaches. (Especially since I'm breastfeeding!)

4:25pm

Later in the afternoon when the kids were home from school I made myself a coffee (almond milk cappuccino) and we didn't have any of my favourite granola bars left so I had this Graze box flapjack which was amazing!

7:12pm

We didn't eat dinner until after all the children were in bed and this was actually supposed to be our dinner on Saturday so it's kind of a "fun" dinner of homemade chicken burgers with cheddar cheese in a brioche bun, corn on the cob and a little ketchup. The kids love this one and were really excited to have burgers for tea on a Monday (when this was filmed) which doesn't normally happen!

After dinner was when I realised I hadn't been drinking much water all day so I grabbed a 1L bottle and chugged that until bedtime.

8pm

For dessert I had a slice of this amazing lemon tart which was actually meant to be my birthday pudding on Friday but we were too full after the BBQ so we didn't eat it and ended up taking it home instead! It was delicious :)

And that was it for today! My first WIAW as a 30 year old...hahaha! Let me know what you ate today in the comments below and don't forget to check out my video later this evening!

What I'm Wearing in This Outfit

Henley top - Free People (sold out)

Embroidered jeans - Abercrombie & Fitch (out of stock)

Boots - YSL (out of stock)

Necklaces - Topaz Birthstone Star Choker in gold-plated

Scorpio Zodiac Necklace gold plated (45cm chain)

Bracelets - Scorpio Zodiac Charm Bracelet in gold-plated (medium length)

Van Cleef & Arpels Perlee Signature Yellow Gold Bracelet

Louis Vuitton Box it Bracelet (leather strap)

Earrings - Tiffany & Co Soleste Earrings in Rose Gold

Rose gold watch - Michael Kors

Makeup

- Bare Minerals Concealer in Summer Bisque

- Bare Minerals Original Foundation in Medium Beige

- Bare Minerals Bronzer Warmth

- Bare Minerals Mineral Veil

- Charlotte Tilbury Cheek to Chic Love Glow Blusher

- BareMinerals Ready Luminizer Duo

- Benefit Browzings in 04

- Benefit 3D Browtones in 02

- Urban Decay Primer Potion

- Charlotte Tilbury Instant Eye Palette

- YSL Shocking Eyeliner Pen

- Benefit They're Real Mascara

- Bobbi Brown Lipliner in Cocoa

- Charlotte Tilbury Lipstick in Kim K.W.

Today's video is a highly requested one; my night time routine/get unready with me! I do apologise for the crap lighting but this was filmed at 9pm and in a house full of sleeping children and dogs, I didn't really want to haul a big studio light into my bathroom!! Anyhow, I hope you find this helpful as this is exactly what I do every night before bed (minus the fake tan, that only happens twice a week). Here is a list of the products mentioned in case you missed them!

Products Used/Mentioned

Caroline Hirons x Pixi Double Cleanse

Emma Hardie Cleansing Cloth

Oral B SmartSeries 6000 Toothbrush

Janina Ultrawhite Intense Toothpaste

Zoella Beauty Gelato Shower Shake

Obagi Foaming Gel Cleanser

Obagi ClenziDerm Pore Therapy

Obagi ClenziDerm Therapeutic Lotion

Sanex 0% Deodorant for Sensitive Skin

Oral B Satin Floss

Tata Harper Restorative Eye Creme

Tata Harper Rebuilding Moisturiser for Oily/Combination Skin

Dove DermaSpa Summer Revive for Medium to Dark Skin

Dr. Lipp Original Nipple Balm

Burt's Bees Coconut Foot Cream

The irony of this blog post is that although the video I put up is all about how to achieve my wavy "mermaid hair", in these photos my hair is straight. Haha, oops! This is actually the outfit I wore on Halloween night. No I didn't dress up...I was too cold and getting all three kids (and the dogs believe it or not) into costumes proved difficult enough so I didn't bother! I do love our pumpkin family though, I think my favourite outfit posts are those taken around this time of year purely for the fact that these cute little orange guys make their annual cameo in the background!

What I'm Wearing in This Outfit

Ribbed pink jumper - MiH Jeans (out of stock)

Distressed jeans - Ted Baker (out of stock)

Boots - YSL (out of stock)

Necklaces - Topaz Birthstone Star Choker in gold-plated

Scorpio Zodiac Necklace gold plated (45cm chain)

Bracelets - Scorpio Zodiac Charm Bracelet in gold-plated (medium length)

Van Cleef & Arpels Perlée Signature Bracelet in Yellow Gold

Louis Vuitton Box it Bracelet (leather strap)

Earrings - Tiffany & Co Soleste Earrings in Rose Gold

Rose gold watch - Michael Kors

Makeup

- Bare Minerals Concealer in Summer Bisque

- Bare Minerals Original Foundation in Medium Beige

- Bare Minerals Bronzer Warmth

- Bare Minerals Mineral Veil

- Charlotte Tilbury Cheek to Chic Love Glow Blusher

- BareMinerals Ready Luminizer Duo

- Benefit Browzings in 04

- Benefit 3D Browtones in 02

- Urban Decay Primer Potion

- Charlotte Tilbury Instant Eye Palette

- YSL Shocking Eyeliner Pen

- Benefit They're Real Mascara

- Bobbi Brown Lipliner in Cocoa

- Charlotte Tilbury Lipstick in Kim K.W.

If you do want to see how I achieve my wavy hair look, then check out the video above! Here is a list of products I featured:

Nume Curl Jam 3 in 1 (32mm wand)

L'Oreal Elnett Hairspray Extra Strength

Batiste Dry Shampoo XXL Volume

My breakfasts have been quite boring lately but I tend to just reach for the same thing almost every morning because it's easy and quick! Today I had Rude Health The Ultimate Muesli (which is amazing) with almond milk, heated in the microwave for 1 min 30 seconds and that's it! The perfect breakfast which keeps me full till lunch time. I also had a black coffee & bottle of water (like always).

Lunch was a bagel with chicken salad filling (not pictured because I got distracted and forgot). The chicken salad was basically grilled chicken, mayo, peas, cucumber, pickle and some seasoning. It was really yummy and I'm so sad I never took a photo of it! But my two gorgeous girls, Annie & Amy-Lou came round to my house for cake & tea so I was having too much fun and just forgot! They brought me this amazing rocky road cake from Lola's Cupcakes which we all ate a slice of after lunch and I also had a cappuccino...the combination was divine!

For dinner we had mashed potatoes, veggie sausages (these are the Cauldron cumberland style sausages - really recommend them!) and green beans, broccoli & peas. I'm just now realising I ate quite a lot of peas today, hahaha! I had a bottle of water with lunch & dinner.

After dinner I decided to keep it a bit healthy and had an orange with a mini packet of quinoa chips. And that was it!

You can also watch the video of today's What I Ate Wednesday here! I hope you enjoy and let me know what you ate today in the comments below!

What I'm Wearing in This Outfit

Tara Sand Curved Hem Jumper - Joules

Distressed jeans - Ted Baker (out of stock)

Boots - YSL (out of stock)

Necklaces - Topaz Birthstone Star Choker in gold-plated

Scorpio Zodiac Necklace gold plated (45cm chain)

Bracelets - Scorpio Zodiac Charm Bracelet in gold-plated (medium length)

Van Cleef & Arpels Perlée Signature Bracelet in Yellow Gold

Louis Vuitton Box it Bracelet (leather strap)

Earrings - Tiffany & Co Soleste Earrings in Rose Gold

Rose gold watch - Michael Kors

Makeup

- Bare Minerals Concealer in Summer Bisque

- Bare Minerals Original Foundation in Medium Beige

- Bare Minerals Bronzer Warmth

- Bare Minerals Mineral Veil

- Charlotte Tilbury Cheek to Chic Love Glow Blusher

- BareMinerals Ready Luminizer Duo

- Benefit Browzings in 04

- Benefit 3D Browtones in 02

- Bobbi Brown Lipliner in Cocoa

- Charlotte Tilbury Lipstick in Kim K.W.

I realise this outfit is basically the exact same as my last post except I swapped out the jumper for a different one! But I've been loving this look lately; ripped skinny jeans, an oversized jumper and ankle boots. The perfect autumn uniform!

And here are my favourite products for the month of November! There's a mish-mash of beauty, skincare, children's products and err...food. Well that's nothing new really when it comes to my favourites! I've linked all the products below in case you want to check them out.

1. Buxom May Contain Nudity Eyeshadow Palette

2. Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb Bloom Perfume

3. BareMinerals bareSkin Perfecting Veil Medium

4. First Aid Beauty Skin Rescue Blemish Patrol Pads

5. Kiehl's Creme de Corps Body Moisturiser

6. Childs Farm Blackberry & Organic Apple Hair and Body Wash

7. Childs Farm Baby Moisturiser

8. Skin Doctor InGrow Go

9. Rude Health The Ultimate Organic Muesli

10. Graze Original Fruity Flapjack

9:20am

Here's what I ate today! Breakfast was scrambled eggs on toast; I make mine with 2 eggs, almond milk, salt & pepper. I fry everything in a bit of coconut oil and serve on top of well-buttered seeded toast. So filling and delicious! I also had my usual black coffee & bottle of water.

12:15pm

For lunch I made myself a wholewheat bagel with tuna, mayonnaise and sweetcorn with a side of pickles. I am NOT pregnant but for some reason have been seriously loving pickles lately?! No idea why... I also had another bottle of water.

3:45pm

In the afternoon I got hungry again so made myself an almond milk cappuccino and had a caramel almond & sea salt Kind bar. These are AMAZING! Especially the caramel at the bottom...this is the yummiest snack. I also drank another bottle of water.

Later on in the evening (while putting the kids to bed) I got hungry again as we eat so late so had a banana which I ate so fast I didn't get a chance to take a photo...sorry!

7:20pm

For dinner we had turkey lasagne with carrots, mushrooms & homemade béchamel sauce. It was good but I personally think it's better with beef or lamb or full vegetarian. But Jonathan's been trying to eat less red meat so this was his request! I used a Jamie Oliver recipe however there were lots of modifications...so it's not this exact one! I also had another bottle of water with dinner.

8pm

Ocado were sold out of these cookies for so long and it broke my heart because they were the best thing ever! These are their walnut studded Belgian chocolate raisin & oat cookies and they are super chewy, American style. I had one this evening but the night before I ate two and went to bed full which was a mistake, haha oops! I think my eyes are bigger than my belly! Although full disclosure after this one cookie I also had two chocolate Oreos!!

That's everything I ate today. Let me know what you ate in the comments below & if you've ever tried these amazing cookies!

Do you want to know something really embarrassing? Alessia has never even been featured on this blog. I know, awful!! So while there are hundreds of videos of her on YouTube and even pictures of her on Instagram, until now I had never managed to find the time to get some proper photos of her (taken by an actual camera and not a phone). So finally 8 months later...here she is! Alessia Francesca Saccone Joly in all of her beautiful blue-eyed glory. We happen to think she's adorable and I hope you all do too.

Height/Weight: I actually don't know any of these because she hasn't been weighed or measured since she was about 4 months old! But she's growing and that's all that matters. She is in size 3 nappies and age 6-9 month clothes.

Routine: At the moment Alessia's routine looks like this:

7am - Wake up & breastfeed

8am - Breakfast

9:30am - Breastfeed and nap of 1/2 hour

10am - Wake up

11am - Breastfeed (sometimes...she had actually dropped this and then she got ill so she picked it back up again)

11:30/11:45am - Lunch

12:30pm - Breastfeed followed by 2 hour nap

2:30pm - Wake up

4pm - Breastfeed

5pm - Dinner

6pm - Bath, breastfeed & bed

Sleeping: Alessia sleeps for 1/2 an hour in the morning, 2 hours in the afternoon and is normally fast asleep by 7pm until 7am. She was sleeping through the night but again, recently she's been feeling poorly so she has been waking in the night off & on. It's not every night though and I think once she gets back to normal so will her sleep.

Eating: Alessia loves her solid food and she eats a considerably large amount for such a small baby! She never ceases to amaze me with how much food she can put away...especially breakfast! She normally has three courses: porridge, fruit purée and toast! She likes to eat most things though she does like banana & avocado purée the best and is a fan of root vegetables. She doesn't mind peas or broccoli but hates spinach & courgettes. She has tasted beef, pork, chicken, salmon and a tiny bit of cod. I have finally got her to drink from a sippy cup which until this month she absolutely refused. I had to feed her water from a spoon! But now she seems to like her cup and I don't have to fight her to drink from it anymore.

Milestones

- She has four teeth! She grew her two front top ones this past month although one of them grew in after the other so she looked like a little jack-o-lantern there for a while!

- She can give me a high-five and wave bye-bye

- She recognises people by their names...so if I mention "daddy" she knows where to look and same thing for "Emilia", "Eduardo" and "doggies".

- She's standing a lot (assisted) and has taken a few steps holding onto our hands. I feel like she likes standing more than the other two did, or at least she prefers it to sitting!

- Lots of babbling and chatting away but no first words yet! We're still waiting patiently.

What I'm Wearing in This Outfit

Ade Cropped Fluffy Jumper - AllSaints

Hunter Stretch Modal Blend Skinnies - Splendid

Taupe Suede Lunata Heeled Boots - Toms (out of stock)

Army Jacket with Embroidered Artwork and Quilted Lining - Maison Scotch

Necklaces - Topaz Birthstone Star Choker in gold-plated

Scorpio Zodiac Necklace gold plated (45cm chain)

Bracelets - Scorpio Zodiac Charm Bracelet in gold-plated (medium length)

Van Cleef & Arpels Perlée Signature Bracelet in Yellow Gold

Louis Vuitton Box it Bracelet (leather strap)

Earrings - Tiffany & Co Soleste Earrings in Rose Gold

Rose gold watch - Michael Kors

Neverfull MM Handbag - Louis Vuitton

Makeup

- Heliocare Gel SPF 50

- Bare Minerals Concealer in Summer Bisque

- Bare Minerals Matte Foundation in Medium Beige

- Bare Minerals Bronzer Warmth

- Bare Minerals Mineral Veil

- Charlotte Tilbury Cheek to Chic Love Glow Blusher

- BareMinerals Invisible Glow Highlighter in Fair to Light

- Benefit Browzings in 04

- Benefit 3D Browtones in 02

- Urban Decay Primer Potion

- Buxom May Contain Nudity Eyeshadow Palette

- YSL Shocking Eyeliner Pen

- YSL Babydoll Mascara in Black

- Bobbi Brown Lipliner in Cocoa

- Charlotte Tilbury Lipstick in Kim K.W.

Today's video is an important one and a topic that I very feel strongly about. Postpartum body image is something that often gets swept under the carpet and women are expected to effortlessly "bounce back" a few short weeks after giving birth. The pressure put upon us by the traditional media (TV, magazines, etc.) our diet-obsessed culture and more recently social media to live up to these impossible standards is overwhelming. I feel like our whole sense of what's important post baby has become completely warped and in a world full of technology & apps to solve every problem, people are forgetting to just trust their instincts. Women don't need a crash diet to "lose the baby weight" as quickly as possible, they need love & support during those special first months with their baby. Instead of cutting calories they should be taking in more, especially if they're breastfeeding. Add starvation to sleep deprivation (both methods of torture) and you've got a recipe for disaster. I'm fed up with the horrible, unhealthy messages out there in the media shaming new mothers into thinking they're not good enough and urgently need to set a goal to change their bodies after giving birth. What a terrible message to send anybody, let alone someone who has just created a miracle. Let's all remember that the postpartum body everyone is so quick to find fault with and shame has just housed that little miracle and singlehandedly grown it for 9 months so I'd say it deserves a whole lot more respect than that.

Today I was inspired by Emilia's English muffin she was eating for her breakfast and decided to have one too! I actually kind of forgot about them as I've been really into hot breakfasts like porridge or muesli with warm milk but this is another one of my favourites as well! I love the combination of banana and peanut butter so this is super yummy. I toasted a muffin, then slathered both halves with peanut butter, topped with banana and a sprinkle of chia seeds. I also had a black coffee and bottle of water.

For lunch I had an egg salad wrap (basically egg, mayonnaise & cress). My favourite kind are the seeded wraps which I find more filling & satisfying than the white ones. I also had some cherry tomatoes, cucumber and another bottle of water.

Later that afternoon I made myself an almond milk cappuccino and had one of these Graze fruity flapjacks. They are so delicious! I've got Emilia into them as well and she loves them.

We always have quite a big gap between snack and dinner as we eat later than the children and sometimes their bedtime has a tendency to drag on so I end up getting really hungry! Bedtime with three exhausted kids can also be very stressful...so sometimes you need a little something to get you through, hahaha! On my way downstairs to get Emilia's reading, I stuffed my face with two chocolate chip brioches which were left over from Saturday's breakfast (one even had a bite taken out of it...I have no shame!!) and an opened packet of Maltesers which I had taken two out from the day before in an effort to bribe Emilia & Eduardo to smile for our Christmas family picture. This is real life folks!

For dinner we had salmon fishcakes filled with hollandaise sauce, home made sweet potato chips and green beans. I had another two bottles of water before bed and was quite full from earlier so didn't feel like anything else after this!

And here's today's video for you to enjoy! I didn't include the cooking bits today just because it was a hectic day with loads of people coming in & out of the house, plus Jonathan and Izzy were working all day on #SJXMAS...basically we need a bigger house and I need an office!! Hahaha...but seriously though. It gets pretty crazy in our house with three kids, six dogs and two adults who both work from home! Anyway, hope you enjoy and let me know what you ate today!

Sorry this blog post is late but the run up to Christmas and end of term has been crazy! Blogging and YouTube have sort of taken a backseat for the short time-being just so I could catch my breath as it's been so busy preparing for Christmas and all of the festivities involved with Emilia & Eduardo's school. I also made a conscious decision not to let myself get unnecessarily stressed out this year and it has been an amazing feeling! I love Christmas but sometimes you lose sight of what it's all about as you can get too caught up in minor details and end up feeling stressed or overwhelmed. So I do apologise if you've been missing the regular posts on here, but please know that I'm not going anywhere I just will always prioritise being a mum over everything else!

Having said that I did manage to film a What I Ate Wednesday this week...didn't get it up on time but better late than never! This was my breakfast - my winter staple of warm muesli with almond milk, black coffee & water.

Lunch was a ham, cheese and pickle toasted sandwich with cherry tomatoes & fresh pickles (one tomato and one pickle slice is missing from this picture, haha!). I also had another bottle of water.

Later that afternoon I made myself an almond milk cappuccino and had one of these Kind bars with caramel, almonds & sea salt. I feel like I say this all the time but these are delicious! My favourite part is the caramel coating underneath.

In between my snack and dinner I got really hungry right before putting the children to bed so I grabbed an apple from the fridge. Pink Lady apples are my all-time favourites!

Finally after a rather stressful bedtime routine it was time for our dinner! We had baked salmon and mixed veggies in a coconut cream sauce. The vegetables are sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, peas and I also added some seasoning & fresh dill. This is one of our staple mid-week meals and the kids love it too. I also drank another bottle of water with this!

I genuinely could not stop laughing at this most pathetic photo of a mince pie EVER! I'm so sorry for this rubbish presentation but this is the reason why I'm no food blogger!! I love mince pies but I'm the only one in the family who eats them! So putting one in the oven each time just seems so silly (it would make more sense if we were heating up half a dozen) plus it takes about 10 mins which frankly is too long when your stomach is grumbling! So I shoved this one in the microwave for what ended up being too long and it kind of collapsed! Then I added some double cream but it just looks like a puddle. Not the prettiest looking pudding in the world but it did taste amazing!!

If you want to see a bit of what Alessia ate today as well as the video version of this WIAW, you can click play on the video above and let me know what your favourite Christmas treat is! Mine is definitely mince pies!

What I Ate Wednesday {28.2.17}

Blogging Again

What I Ate Wednesday {10.10.17}

Celebrating Autumn

Don't Judge A Book By Its Instagram Feed

What I Ate Wednesday {14.10.17}

My Husband is A Published Author!

Emilia & Eduardo's Bedding #AD

What I Ate Wednesday {19.10.17}

Written in the Stars

What I Ate Wednesday {6.11.17}

My Night Time Routine | Get Unready with Me

Mermaid Hair Tutorial

What I Ate Wednesday {14.11.17}

November Favourites 2017

What I Ate Wednesday {28.11.17}

Alessia's 8 Month Update

Postpartum Body Image

What I Ate Wednesday {5.12.17}

What I Ate Wednesday {12.12.17}