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Emilia's 6 Month Update!

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I can't believe Emilia is already half a year old!  You definitely realise how quickly time goes when you have a baby...they grow SO fast!  I have to say I'm really excited now that she's 6 months - I feel like this is the "fun" stage of baby-hood ;)

Height/Weight: I will try to update this after our 6 month checkup...she still has not been weighed or measured since her 4 month one!

Daily: I've started to notice a definite structure to Emilia's days where she takes two naps, one longer one in the morning/midday and another shorter one in the afternoon.  Without these naps she becomes a little demon baby and we call her Little "No-Naps" Saccone Joly ;)  But generally speaking she sticks to this loose schedule and it seems to work for everybody.  There are other things that she enjoys doing everyday like playing in her Exersaucer in the mornings while she watches Peppa Pig (I mentioned this in last month's post - it hasn't changed!), rolling around on her playmat (she has now mastered rolling both from tummy to back and back to stomach but not crawling yet!), and she also really likes her new bouncer from her grandma...even though her feet don't quite reach the floor yet! 



Bedtime: Her bedtime routine is pretty much the same as it was last month...and she is still sleeping in bed with us for the most part.  It just works a lot better for everybody and ensures that we get the longest amount/best quality of sleep.  I still don't feel any reason to change this as we're all happy with how it's going...honestly I really love the closeness of sleeping together and think it's been so beneficial to breastfeeding & our mommy/baby bond :)



Eating: I started Emilia on solids a few days ago!  Initially I thought I would be able to wait till exactly the 6 month mark but she was getting to the point where she would refuse to feed during the day and was basically just dream-feeding all night...she wouldn't take her milk in the daytime because she was too distracted by everything else that was going on and she was obsessed with the food we were eating!  It was crazy, she'd try to grab things off the table, from our hands, plates, etc.  Now she is so enjoying eating solids...even though it's been a very slow process and she hasn't really "eaten" all that much, just little tastes here and there.  So far she has had baby rice with breast milk & water, pureed pear, apple and sweet potato.  Watching her reactions is so much fun and she has enjoyed every taste...I can't wait for her to try more!



Sizes: Emilia is fitting into 6-9 month clothing but leaning more towards the 9 months end of that scale, ha ha ha!  She's definitely gotten too big for most of her 6 month clothes (sad face) and is fitting comfortably into 9 month vests & even goes up to 6-12 months sizes sometimes!  In terms of nappies she's wearing a size 4 (EU).



Milestones:
  • Sitting on her own!  I still put pillows/cushions around her though in case she falls backwards or loses her balance but usually she will sit comfortably in a stable upright position completely on her own.  Yay!  Such a big girl :)
  • TEETH!  She now has her two bottom front teeth!  I can't believe it, but they are so cute and make her smile all the more adorable.  Although this also means she has started biting the boob a little bit...ow :(    
  • Playing peekaboo!  She doesn't play it herself but reacts really well now to when we do it.  She loves the game!  She also gets excited about her toys and will try to move towards them/retrieve them.
  • Raspberry blowing!  I can't believe I forgot to mention this in my update video...but she has been doing this non-stop since my sisters taught it to her.
  • Pulling off her socks!  Now her socks are always going missing...and not because of Theo!!  She has become the culprit, as she loves to pull them off and shove her feet in her mouth.  
  • Weaning - she is now eating one meal a day (usually lunch) in her highchair, which she loves sitting in and watching us prepare her food!   
  • Rolling around the floor.  As I mentioned earlier, she now rolls both front-back and back-front which makes her a lot better at getting to where she wants...ha ha ha!  Not crawling yet though!
That's all I can remember for now!  You can also watch my video update here!   

Stay Stylish!


What I Ate Wednesday!

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Breakfast
Alpen Raspberry Apple & Raisin porridge with almond milk, 1/2 banana and cinnamon. Black coffee (Lavazza Crema e Gusto!).


Lunch
I had lunch at "On The Pig's Back" with my mom & sister.  I got the grilled pear & blue cheese salad, it was delicious!  Emilia chewed on some of my bread...she loved it! 

Snack
I spent the day with my mom - so this was eaten at her house!  I had an apple and a kiwi!


Dinner
Jonathan cooked one of our favourites - Green Thai Chicken Curry with wholewheat noodles and Asian veggies!


Dessert
I took this picture way after eating as I completely forgot to take one before...sorry!  I finished off a packet of Oreos (I had about 4 or 5 I think) with a cup of Nescafe Mocha...yum yum ;)  

What did you eat today?!  As you can see I'm not doing very well with my "no sweets" plan :(  I wish I was the kind of person who could keep it healthy in the evenings but my sweet tooth is toooooo demanding, I envy those of you who manage to not give into cravings!  *Sigh* 

Emilia is on her second week of solids and onto two tastes a day.  For breakfast she had pureed pear with baby rice and for lunch/afternoon snack she had pureed carrot.  I will try to take pictures of her meals too in future WIAW posts once they become a bit more substantial - right now she's only taking a few spoonfuls alongside her regular breast milk!   

Stay Stylish!

Fashion Friday: Purple Power!

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Cardigan/Soaked in Luxury, Nursing tank/Boob, Chelsea boots/LoveClothing, Scarf/Zara, Jeggings/Zara

Really, purple power?! Yup, that's when you know you're running out of good titles for your outfit posts...ha ha ha!  But I don't wear purple that often so when I do why not make a song and dance about it??  And Emilia was wearing lavender today so we kind of matched ;)


I'm pretty much in love with this cardigan except for the fact that it has sequins in it which are kind of scratchy and I'm conscious of that when breastfeeding...poor Emilia but pain is beauty, right girls?!?  (Joking...heh heh heh) 


My hair is getting loooonger even though I only got it cut a little over a month ago - what can I say, it grows like a weed...so I think I'll make an appointment to get it cut again next week.  I feel like sticking with a "style" is what moms and other responsible adults do and this should hopefully make me a proper grown up and give me some sort of wisdom/insight into the meaning of life, right??  Instead of not cutting it for another thousand years and just letting it grow out/do whatever it wants which is what I usually do!!


And the famous Chelsea boots, well these are just wonderfully comfortable and look good with most of the other items in my closet (or at least I think so) which means they have become some of my favourite shoes to wear!  Along with my black wedge booties, these would probably be up there with my most worn winter/autumn/early spring/most of the Irish year footwear.  On the topic of weather, I am still holding out for a heatwave this month (March 2012 anyone??) but until that magic happens we booked our summer holiday to Sorrento in July so at least I have that to look forward to!  Sun! Sea! Good food! Bikinis! And first big trip with a baby :)  So much excitement.


And just in case you thought this blog couldn't get any better, well guess what.  It just did.

Have a great weekend and stay stylish my fashionable friends!! ;)

March Glossybox 2013

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This month's Glossybox had a "City Chic" theme and came with a cute little travelling book, full of information on various cities like their street style, best beauty stores, places to eat, etc.  I thought this was a nice added touch and appreciated the illustrative style of the book - it even came with some adorable stickers & address labels!  Here are the products I received in this month's Glossybox: 

Jason Rosewater & Chamomile Normalising Shampoo
This is a paraben-free, no sodium lauryl/laureth sulfates, animal by-product free shampoo which claims to remove build-up without stripping the hair.  My stylist would probably approve ;) I am curious to try this out and love the full-size sample!

L'Occitane Immortelle Brightening Hand Care SPF 15
I love L'Occitane products...they have a shop here in Cork which always smells delicious whenever I pass by!  I can't wait to try this and think it will make a lovely addition to my handbag collection!

Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream
This was a bit under-whelming for me as I would think most beauty-savvy people either own this or have tried it before.  It's pretty much a staple so not a very exciting product to test out.  I suppose it's nice to have a smaller size version for your purse/travel!


Jelly Pong Pong Lip Blush
I got the red one and I must say that this product looks very interesting!  It isn't very pigmented when first swatched but when I rubbed it into my  hand it developed into what can only be described as a blush-like stain.  These definitely remind me of the Clinique Chubby Sticks or Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains.  Red isn't a colour that I wear very often but I do like it on special occasions so I will do my best to test this out!

Renu Flash Relax Mask
This is a gel mask which claims to smoothe fine-lines and give a "face-lift effect".  My skin tends to do well with gel-like formulas so I'm interested to try this!  And I will see if it really gets rid of my wrinkles...ha ha ha!

On the whole I certainly don't think the March Glossybox was the best one so far but it isn't the worst either.  I am most excited about the L'Occitane hand cream and the face mask - and I am really loving the travel book.  


Onto a little review of the products from January's box - to be completely honest the only two products I ended up using were the Murad Hydro-Dynamic Ultimate Moisture for eyes and the Monu Micro-Exfoliant.  The eye cream was very light-weight, hydrating and felt nice on my skin.  I would probably purchase the full size version if I didn't have a whole bunch of other samples to try out!  I used the Monu Micr-Exfoliant bi-weekly for about the last two months instead of my usual exfoliant and really liked it.  The beads are tiny and feel like sand on your skin...at first it sort of scared me how "deep cleaning" it felt but it didn't strip my skin or leave it feeling dry/sensitive so I feel it did a good job!

You might have noticed that there was no review of the February Glossybox (the Valentine's edition). That is because unfortunately it never arrived...I'm not sure what happened but I didn't get one last month!  I was quite disappointed as I had heard some great things about it but I waited in anticipation and alas it never appeared.  Although I am not a typical paying customer of Glossybox (like a lot of other bloggers they are sent to me for free to review on here/my YouTube channel) I do expect to be treated the same so I was disappointed that it didn't come and I never heard anything from them :(  I have yet to contact them about it either however, maybe I should have done so but I guess I just kept waiting for it to arrive!  I will say that aside from this Glossybox have always been a very positive and nice company to work with.  I hope you all know that it is by no means my intention to discourage you from using their service by sharing this info with you guys, I still love Glossybox and am a fan of what they do I just want to stay truthful about my experience - freebies or not ;)  I hope you all understand!

If you'd like to sign up to Glossybox you can do so for £12.95 a month here.  They do ship to Ireland and now also to the US.  If you do subscribe to Glossybox and you also received this box, let me know what your thoughts are!  As always, I would love to hear from you guys :)

Stay Stylish!


What I Ate Wednesday!

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Breakfast
I had the Alpen Apricot, Almond & Hazelnut Porridge with almond milk, cinnamon and some whole almonds...this turned out to be a very almondy breakfast, ha ha ha!  We were actually out of bananas - eek!  And I also had my usual black coffee :)  Emilia had pureed apple for breakfast but she only took a few mouthfuls.  The weaning is going a lot slower than I had expected.  To be honest I think I went into this a little bit over-enthusiastic, thinking that Emilia would love everything that I put in front of her!  And while she has certainly not hated anything I've fed her yet she isn't as excited as I had hoped she'd be and tends to lose interest after two or three mouthfuls.  She has also started nursing more during the day (which is good to get her used to regular mealtimes as opposed to only too many night-time feeds) however that surprised me as I had thought the amount of feeding times would decrease!  I don't mind this as I plan to breast feed for the full year, it was just different to what I expected! :)  We will continue with our couple of spoonfuls a day and I definitely enjoy having my "breakfast buddy" but for now she still prefers her milk!


Lunch
We went to my mom's house in the afternoon and I had a bowl of her butternut squash soup!  It was so delicious...I wish I could make soup like this.  I actually bought a butternut squash so that I could attempt to make something with it but I'm still too afraid to open it...ha ha ha!  I don't know why vegetables that are difficult to cut scare me so much!! (Not the taste, just the preparation part!) 


Snack
A little bit later in the afternoon I had a Yoplait Hazelnut yoghurt which reminds me soooo much of when we first moved to Ireland, I think my mom used to buy them for our school lunch boxes!  These are so good & creamy!


Dinner
Well this is embarrassing...I only realised afterwards that this is the exact same dinner we ate last week!  Oops! :(  Sorry guys!  But it really is a favourite in our house!  Jonathan made Chicken Thai Green Curry with Asian style veggies & wholewheat noodles.


Dessert/Snack
We are enjoying a scary movie tonight so I made popcorn!  This is the Kelkin Lo-Pop, my favourite kind :)

And that's it!  What did you eat today?  

Beauty Tuesday: How I Style My Short Hair! (No Heat)

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I've been getting lots of questions about how I style my short hair recently...it's really quite simple, easy and most importantly - quick!  It also does not involve any heat which definitely appeals to the lazy side of me as well as being healthier for my hair so it's a win win situation!

Let me preface this by letting you guys know that my hair type is dry and its natural texture is wavy (the shorter the wavier) with a tendency to be frizzy.  I wash it twice a week and it rarely gets greasy or oily at all...it really is quite dry!  The shampoo & conditioner I use currently is the Aussie Miracle Moist and 3 Minute Miracle Reconstructor.


After I get out of the shower I towel dry, brush out my hair using my Tangle Teaser and then apply a pea-sized amount of Phyto 7 Hydrating Day Cream for dry hair.  I distribute this through the ends and continue getting ready/applying my makeup.  


When I'm finished getting ready I go back in the bathroom, turn my head upside down and scrunch about two pumps of Redken Curvaceous Ringlet Perfectiong Lotion for Classic Curls into my hair.  By this stage it's still wet but has air dried a little bit so it's not soaking/dripping wet.  This stuff helps to give it a more defined curl rather than a weird frizzy wave, ha ha ha!  I then leave my hair to air dry completely. 


Whenever I don't use a blow-dryer on my roots it tends to look a bit flat (unless it's been slept on) so I always like to finish off my styling process with a couple of sprays of the Batiste Dry Shampoo Big & Bouncy XXL Volume.  This stuff is AMAZING, it gives such volume and doesn't make your hair look grey or white once you really work it in!  I love this stuff so much I normally use it on Day 2/3 hair as well just to spruce up my roots a little.  


If my ends are looking a little shapeless on Day 2/3 or I just feel like they need some more definition, I will use a pump of Redken Curvaceous Wave Ahead Texturising Mousse and just scrunch it into my hair to give the curls and waves more body.  This isn't always necessary, it kind of just depends on how it turns out the next day after washing it!


These two Redken Curvaceous products were sent to me back in October and I haven't had a chance to try them out till now as I think products like these work better on shorter hair!  Back then my hair was really long and I feel that these would have only made it look straggly and gross (believe me, I speak from experience!  I sported the "wet look" on long locks when I was about 17 - I looked like a witch!).  But on a short, layered up style these products have become my best friend.  They are both €17.70 and are available from salons nationwide.  I think I will definitely repurchase when these are emptied!


And that's my current hair routine at the moment!  I'm really happy with how quick and easy this is especially with a 6 month old baby...my hair is normally the last thing on my mind so it helps to be low-maintenance!  Let me know if you have any tips on short hair styling products or techniques!  I would love to hear them :)

Stay Stylish!

My Cupcake Room!

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Welcome to my cupcake room!  This is really just a spare room in our house that will eventually probably become Emilia's bedroom when she's bigger.  (Right now her nursery is the smallest "box room" next to the master bedroom - click here for pictures!)  For now I use this room as my study/filming set-up/make-up/cupcake memorabilia storage and my sister loves to sleep here when she comes to visit too!  I love it, it's like my girly haven...a little girl's dream room!   

View from the doorway.  


Opposite view of the doorway!


Back wall - what you see in the background of most of my videos!


Other side of the bed - where I usually sit and film!


Window opposite which I film and my deskspace!


Windowsill and desk area.


Wall opposite bed.


Pink hearts lampshade from Dunnes Stores!

I hope you liked my room tour!  If you have any questions about where I got anything let me know and I try to get back to you - some of them were gifts so I might not know but I will do my best! :)

Stay Stylish!

Happy Easter!

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Happy Easter!

It's Emilia's first Easter - yay!  And at 6 months old she is a lot more aware of what's going on so she actually got very excited about her presents this morning :)  The Easter bunny came and brought her a Peppa Pig egg which came with a cup/bowl/spoon set and giant blowing bubbles which both Emilia and the doggies liked a lot!  


Look what a big girl she is!  I actually can't believe how grown up she looks sitting in her crib like this...how did that happen?!  You can't really see it very well but she is wearing a warm pink Easter dress & striped top from her Oma (M&S) along with some matching brown tights and her pink ShooShoos.  Her pink headband is from Layniebug Designs.  


Of course Emilia beamed and was her usual smiley self while I took these pictures of her in her crib but when I tried to get a mommy daughter one, this happened: 


She's like "really mom?  All I want is some chocolate..."

My outfit details: Cardigan/Senes Paris, Nursing top/Boob, Jeggings/ASOS, Boots/London Rebel

Nope, nothing.  I don't know why but she just wasn't feeling it!  I'm wearing a very spring-like outfit aren't I...ha ha ha!  Well I didn't feel very springish when I looked out the window this morning at the pouring rain - but my mom did bring me back this cardigan from Amsterdam and I was looking forward to wearing it so that's what I went with :)  


I hope you all had/are having a lovely Easter Sunday! 

Stay Stylish!


Mommy Monday: Photo Session with Emilia

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I did a little photo session with Emilia in her nursery today.  She just loves hanging out in her crib!  Though she doesn't sleep there yet, she does like to have quiet time in there and will quite happily play with her toys or entertain herself while I tidy up or put her things away.  Also, I'm a really crappy photographer so I apologise for the poor focus on all of these shots...I really have no idea what I'm doing with a DSLR camera!  Usually Jonathan takes all the nice pictures!  


I just think she looks so cute peeking out from behind the bars of her crib :)  Her outfit is from Zara (the top and leggings) and this is what I bought for her daddy's birthday as he loves navy blue and the nautical look!  Her socks are from Baby Gap and the brown headband is by Layniebug Designs!


I hope you're all having a great Monday!


Nighty night from Emilia & me :)

xoxo

Beauty Tuesday: March Favourites 2013

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Here are my favourite beauty products for the month of March!


Let's start with hair: I picked up a new shampoo and conditioner last month, Aussie Miracle  Moist Shampoo and 3 Minute Miracle Reconstructor for damaged hair.  I love the smell of these, especially the shampoo!  I like how they make my hair feel and wanted to continue using Aussie after buying their Luscious Long range back when my hair was longer.  I mentioned the Redken Curvaceous Wave Ahead Mousse and Ringlet Lotion in my most recent hair styling post but if I had to pick one the mousse would be my absolute favourite!  I used this the most last month to define waves/curls and add shape and body to the ends of my hair.  One pump goes a long way and doesn't leave my hair feeling gummy or give it that wet look.


Two Body Shop products made the list for this month's skincare faves.  The Nutriganics Softening Cleansing Gel is a rediscovered favourite for me, as I used it for the first time two years ago and loved it then too!  Unfortunately right now my skin is an absolute mess as I am breaking out due to hormones (sob!) however I still highly recommend this cleanser especially for removing make-up.  It does an excellent job and makes my skin feel super soft afterwards.


The Nutriganics Softening Cleansing Gel is a gel-to-oil formula which sort of melts into the skin.  It also claims to fight the first signs of ageing which is always a plus!  It doesn't make your skin feel greasy or oily afterwards, just more plumped and soft!  I wouldn't advise using it on your eyes though as it can sting!  


I have been using The Body Shop's Cocoa Butter Body Butter on all my dry spots as the weather has been so cold lately!  I love how rich and nourishing this is - plus the smell is delicious!


One of the items that I received in my box of goodies from L'Oreal was this Blackbuster Super Liner in black.  I am completely useless at applying liquid liner so felt tip ones like this are absolute life-savers for me!  They make it so easy to just "draw on" the line.  Here's what it looks like applied to my upper lashline:


What I like about this particular liner is that it lasts all day, doesn't smudge and is the blackest black colour - very highly pigmented!  


Finally, here were my two most worn lipsticks of the month!  Estee Lauder Crystal Baby and MAC's Angel.  Both are very pretty nudes (are you surprised?!) yet completely different from one another.  Crystal Baby is one of those universally flattering shades which compliments any outfit/colour palette and is quite warm-toned.  In some lights it looks very pink and in others it looks almost brownish nude.  Angel is a much cooler toned nude pink, very opaque and soft.  Here's what it looks like on!


And here are the two lipsticks swatched - Crystal Baby on the left and Angel on the right.  


Let me know what you think of these products!  What were your beauty faves for March?

Stay Stylish!

What I Ate Wednesday

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Welcome to What I Ate Wednesday!  (And a little bit of what Emilia ate too!)  Here's what I ate today.  


Breakfast
I had a bowl of Flahavan's Organic Quick Oats with almond milk, 1/2 banana, cinnamon and a cup of black coffee.  After reading how many ingredients were in the Alpen ones I decided to change to these, which are actually a lot heartier and only contain one ingredient so they're much better for you - yay!  For Emilia's breakfast she had this Organix Wholegrain Fruity Apple Cereal which I mashed up some stewed pear into - here's what it looked like!


She actually really enjoyed it!  She is getting a lot better at eating solids, especially breakfast.  I think that's her favourite meal of the day - just like her mama ;)  We are breakfast buddies!


Lunch
...If you can even call it that, ha ha!  We were very naughty and went to McDonald's for a quick caffeine boost!  We had a lot on this morning with the groomer's, doctor's etc. so didn't get a chance to eat lunch.  This made up for it ;)  I got my guilty pleasure of the moment - an iced caramel frappé...Jonathan was a good boy with his smoothie, ha ha ha!


Snack
In an effort to try and make up for my unhealthy indulgence I had an organic apple & natural low-fat yoghurt for my afternoon snack when we finally got home!  Emilia had a mini pot of the Glenisk organic baby fromage frais - she really likes these!  She eats about half a pot which is good going for her!


Dinner
I had the King Prawn Red Thai Curry from City Kitchen - a very easy yet healthy quick solution to dinner when you've forgotten to take anything out of the freezer...ahem!  


Dessert
The best way to end a cold day - a hot mocha (courtesy of Nescafè) and a few Cadbury's Rich Tea biscuits.  I was going to devour my Lindt bunny but I decided to save it for another day ;)

I hope you enjoyed my menu!  What did you eat today?

Puppies' First Birthday!

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Happy Birthday Bianca, Theo, Nivea and Nuvola! 

(The picture above is actually Theo, Sina, Nivea and Nuvola...ha ha ha!)  I can't believe the puppies turned 1 today!  I will always associate them with Emilia as Sina and I found out we were pregnant around the same time so this just reminds me of how quickly Emilia's 1st birthday will creep up on me too!   


To celebrate the puppies' first birthday we threw them a puppy party!  Their new best friend Gaby a really pretty Cavalier King Charles who turns 3 on Saturday also came to visit and they had a ball :)  


I baked them all "pupcakes" which are a firm doggy favourite in our house - you can find the recipe here.  I just use cottage cheese for the frosting!  


I also baked some doggy cookies in the shapes of bones and water hydrants - ha ha ha!  (Recipe here.)  We got them all some new toys to play with and some chicken flavoured bones...Gaby even gifted them all rawhide shoes and chewy sticks.  They were spoilt rotten! 


Thankfully the sun was shining today so Jonathan set up their new agility training tunnel in the back garden!  I don't think they've quite gotten the hang of it yet, but they did have fun running through it and Albi marked it a few thousand times...wonderful.  And so it became an "outside only" toy!  

Here are some snaps of the pups on their special day.


Bianca "Bebo Stunner" Neve


Theo


Nuvies (Nuvola) - with the pink bow


Nivea, beside Nuvola


Sina - my hero!  Can't believe she gave birth to all of these babies one year ago!


Albi


And my first human baby...Emilia :)  She was so excited for her furry brother & sisters' birthday party!  

Even though they're technically not pups anymore, the four will always be known as "the puppies" in our family!


Master Bedroom Decor

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I picked up some new home decor items from Dunnes Stores today, so we're finally making some progress with the master bedroom!  I was quite impressed with what Dunnes had to offer actually - I never realised how nice some of their homeware section actually is!  Prices are affordable too and I did manage to get some things on offer which is always a bonus!  


I had been wanting to decorate this dresser for ages and while I still haven't found the perfect photo frame I think it's looking much better.  I picked up the gold & cream lamp and a stained glass jar & bowl for make-up brushes and various nick-nacks.


The lamp matches my candle & ring-box perfectly (these were a Christmas present from my mom, from Monsoon!)


The stained glass bowl & vase were reduced to €6 and €8 I think and are really good quality, very heavy and look beautiful!  The vase is a bit bigger than I had realised so I might fill it with sand or beads to stand my brushes in.  The bowl keeps all the other crap items I had floating around on my dresser in some sort of order!


We have a huge floor-to-ceiling window in our bedroom and the windowsill was looking a bit lonely so I got this brassy/gold hurricane candle holder for €30.  The candle inside is a taupe pillar one from the Paul Costelloe Living range.


And here's what the dresser looks like from the other side of the room!  Sorry about the ugly blur on the windows...privacy issues etc.  Don't mind Emilia in the co-sleeper - I had to put her somewhere while taking these photos, she wasn't very happy with me as you can probably tell...ha ha ha!


I still have not found anything for our back wall over the bed...let me know if you have any suggestions!  The mahogany frame on Jonathan's bedside table is new - also from Dunnes :)  Emilia has the same one in her bedroom!

I hope you enjoyed this home decor post - sorry it wasn't really mommy related but I just wanted to share ;)

Stay Stylish!

What I Ate Wednesday (Sorry It's Late!)

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Sorry this is so late but Emilia is pretty much attached to me all day so the only time I get to blog is late at night!  Anyway, here's what I ate today!

Breakfast
Same ol' same ol'!  Flahavan's Organic Quick Oats with almond milk, 1/2 banana and cinnamon.  Black coffee (Lavazza Crema e Gusto).

Emilia had Organix Fruity Apple Baby Cereal with Glenilen Fromage Frais (Pear & Apple) for babies.  She ONLY wants to feed herself now so this is what our mealtimes look like!

Lunch
We had a reeeally late lunch in BB's, which Emilia slept through!  I had an orange chicken wrap with lettuce, cucumber, red onion and sour cream.  It was actually really good! 

Snack
When we got home I had a pear and some almonds as a snack and Emilia had some pear in her mesh feeder thingy.

Dinner
While cooking Emilia's dinner I felt inspired to cook for us too (this never happens!) so I made spaghetti bolognese with wholewheat pasta.  Surprisingly it went down quite well and nobody in the house has food poisoning (yet) so I will probably make this again!  

Emilia had Leek, Sweet Potato & Pea Puree which she basically fed herself!

Dessert
Finally for dessert I scoffed three ice-creams!  Naughty, but they were small-ish so that's okay.  Two chocolate Milky Moos & one Twister...yum :)  Now I'm craving Twisters again...and it's almost 2am.  Oops!  But they are so good and refreshing!  

What did you eat today? 

xoxo

Style Saturday - Woop, I Just Made That Up!

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Jeans/Gap 1969 Always Skinny, Boots/LoveClothing, Blazer/Zara, Top/Boob, Scarf/Gift, Earrings/Jan (Amsterdam), Necklace/My dad's, Changing Bag/Storksak "Elizabeth" 

This was actually my outfit from Wednesday, which I meant to upload yesterday but never got around to it...argh!!  We'll just call this "Style Saturday" ha ha ha!  Anywho, Emilia is currently being entertained by a packet of cheese & tomato puffits so I took the opportunity to finally post this now!  


...and then the sun came out.  It's crazy how dramatically the weather can change here, the lighting in one photo is completely different to the next!  Yesterday was blissfully sunny and we got lots of spring cleaning done - so motivated were we from the sun's shining rays (that and the fact that it highlighted all of my dirty windows...out with the Windex!!).  Today on the other hand is back to dreary, drizzly and depressing :(  How sad!


I had hoped to film another driving vlog - this time on the road, as I passed my theory test on Tuesday, woo hoo!  But Jonathan thought it would be too overwhelming in the pouring rain and obviously I agree whole-heartedly.  The stress!  At my level I can barely cope with a singular car coming towards me let alone rain drops on the windshield!  


On another note I happen to think this picture is hilarious...Theo and I trying to play it model cool while being completely windswept, ha ha ha!


And this...what is going on here?!  It's like Theo (with the visible bow) to Albi (beside him) is saying "c'mon let me into your secret club-house, I won't tell a soul!!" while Sina (in the front) pretends not to hear.  How can I tell who's who from this picture you ask?  Because I am a crazy dog-lady, that's why.

Stay Stylish! 


Sunday Style Diet

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Boyfriend Jeans/ASOS, Shirt/Heatons, White Tank/Boob, Wedge Boots/LoveClothing, Bracelet/Vintage, Necklace/My dad's, Earrings/Accessorize, Hair Tie/Layniebug Designs

Yikes-a-roo, I lost my feet.  


That's better!  I hope you are all having a great weekend!  This outfit is from sometime last week...I can't remember the day exactly but it was nice and sunny enough to take pictures outside so it must have been a good one ;)


This is the comfiest most casual outfit ever and it's one of my all-time faves.  Boyfriend jeans, a flannel shirt and wedge boots - low maintenance with a little bit of height, ha ha!  


This was also the day that Emilia fell asleep in her Tripp Trapp.  


The glitter shoes really steal the show...a future diva in the making ;)  

Stay Stylish!

Mommy Monday: Emilia's 7 Month Update

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Hi, I'm 7 months old! ;)

I can't believe this little chicken nugget is 7 months already...where does the time go?!  She's such a big girl!  Here's what's been going on this month.

Height/Weight: I don't know Emilia's height/length but we haven't had to move the level on her exersaucer yet so I'm guessing she's still quite petite.  I did weigh her myself this month and she is 20lbs right on the button!  She definitely feels like a big ol' 20 pounder anyway...it's becoming increasingly difficult to lug her around for long periods of time, ha ha ha!  

Daily: I think I mentioned last month that Emilia was starting to settle into a routine of two naps (mid-morning/early afternoon and late afternoon) a day.  This has become even more apparent this month, especially as her mealtimes are more regular.  She is now eating breakfast, lunch and dinner (albeit TINY amounts) with about 3-4 milk feeds in between.  Her day usually looks like this:

9am - Wake up & play with her toys while I get ready.
10am - Watch Peppa Pig in her exersaucer while I make breakfast.  Eat breakfast with me.
11am - I dress her for the day, then give her a milk feed and maybe a bit of playtime before her nap.
12pm - Nap time
1-2pm - Eat lunch with me, this time varies depending on how long she slept for
3pm - Playtime!  She usually plays on her mat or in her saucer...whichever she prefers.
4pm - Milk feed and a short afternoon nap (if she doesn't have this she gets REALLY cranky in the evening!).
6pm - We start preparing dinner and she usually sits in her highchair to watch.  She loves her Tripp Trapp!
7pm - Eat dinner with us.  She doesn't have the same thing yet but we try to eat together at the dinner table as it encourages her to have more :)  
8pm - I bring her up for her bath and get her ready for bed.  Change her into pyjamas and bring her down for her bed-time feed.
9pm - I usually feed her to sleep on the couch then settle her down.  She normally wakes again right before we go to bed at about 11pm and then goes to bed with us where she "dream feeds" to sleep.


Bedtime: Her bedtime is pretty much the same as last month.  She goes to sleep around 8/9pm but still always wakes up around 11pm for her last feed.  This suits our schedule in the sense that we start going to bed around this time anyway.  The only thing is sometimes the night time "dream feeds" are a bit draining!  I did think that once Emilia started eating more solids they would decrease but that hasn't happened as I think it's more of a comfort thing.  She is still sleeping with us so I suppose that doesn't really help that habit, ahem ;)  But I have to say I don't mind the co-sleeping at all...I find it to be a lovely bonding experience and I know it won't be forever, so I'll make the most of it and enjoy it while this lasts :)


Eating: As I mentioned earlier, Emilia is now eating three meals a day but the portions are still pretty tiny and we are a bit behind on the feeding schedule from Annabel Karmel's book because I decided to take it slower than she recommended.  We are also doing a little of both baby led weaning and purées because Emilia seems to prefer feeding herself rather than being spoonfed.  She LOVES bread, rusks and any kind of carbs really...ha ha ha!  What I have just started doing is sort of spreading her meals on pieces of bread or toast which works surprisingly well at getting her to eat more!  She also really likes those Ella's Kitchen Cheese & Tomato Puffits and is entertained by trying to pick them up for ages...the puppies love them too as the vast majority seem to end up on the floor!


Sizes: We are now in that annoying in-between stage where Emilia fits into somewhere in the middle of 6-9 and 9-12 month clothing!  I haven't swapped her clothes out yet but we're almost at that stage.  Her nappies are now size 4+ and she still uses Pampers.  

Milestones
  • First word!  She said "da-da" and more recently has also said what sounds like a mixture between "yes" and "yeah".  She doesn't say these words discriminately though, it's more like she is practising how to make different sounds.
  • She hasn't started to crawl yet but she does this funny movement when she's on her tummy like she's trying to do the worm...it's almost like a belly-flop which usually gets her to move direction slightly, ha ha ha!
  • Weaning - she has moved from one to three meals a day, as I mentioned before.  It's also nice because now we eat at the table together more as a family instead of in front of the TV which we did when it was just the two of us.
  • Assisted standing - now that she has mastered the art of sitting on her own she likes to stand while we hold her or holding onto something else.  We think she enjoys discovering new points of view!
  • Moving things from left to right hand - because she is sitting up on her own a lot more now, she can now pass toys over from hand to hand which is very exciting!
That's all I can think of for now.  I hope I haven't missed anything!  Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below :)

Bye-bye! :)

Emilia & Me

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This is what we did today.


Hung out in the sunshine :)


Emilia liked my stripes.  

Happy Tuesday! 

Fashion Friday: Mommy & Baby

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Pants/Primark, Top/Boob, Blazer/ASOS, Boots/Dune, Necklace/Agatha

Okay, so it is still quite cold out but it's beginning to feel a bit more like spring!  Emilia's outfit is very appropriate and mine is more "blah" with all the greys but...what can I say, I have the circulation of an old granny and I wasn't willing to break out the short sleeves!!


Speaking of which, I have discovered a new trick to get use out of all Emilia's pretty spring short sleeve tops - put a long sleeve vest/onesie underneath and voilà!  No-one even suspects that this isn't how it's supposed to look.  I've actually seen a lot of babies' clothes in this style...if only grown-ups could get away with it too, eh?


Emilia's t-shirt and leggings are from Baby Gap, the socks are from Tesco F&F and her hairbow is by Layniebug Designs.


Biker boots in the spring...ugh.  Only in Ireland!  


How cute is the little peplum detail on her t-shirt?!  Adorable!  


Looking like her daddy here (I think it's the eyebrows!).  And showing off those two teeth!  

Hope you are all having a fabulous Friday!  Enjoy the sunshine ;) 

Stay Stylish!

What I Ate Wednesday!

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Breakfast (10am)
Flahavan's Organic Quick Oats with almond milk, 1/2 banana and cinnamon. Black coffee.
Emilia had 1/2 a Weetabix with whole milk and a banana.  (She never finishes anything, just FYI!)  Oh and I am totally cheating with this picture...it's from another post on my blog! I forgot to take WIAW pictures this morning so apologies for that! But my breakfast is almost always the same so it doesn't really matter :)


Lunch (2pm)
Emilia had cherry tomatoes, avocado, rocket watercress & baby spinach salad along with half her dad's Babybel cheese and a few fingers of wholegrain toast.


I had Sri Lankan Chicken Soup (Tesco Finest) with a Linseed & Oatbran roll (Lifefibre).


Emilia has really begun to love her solid food recently!  The last 2 weeks or so have been amazing - she eats everything and anything!  I am so proud of her :) 


Snack (5pm)
Organic dessert apple & a Babybel cheese.


Dinner (8pm)
Thai Prawn Chilli and Lemon Grass Fishcakes (Tesco Finest) and Mediterranean Vegetable Rice with watercress, spinach & rocket salad and a few cherry tomatoes.  


We were going to give Emilia some fishcakes but holy moly were they spicy so it was a no-go for now!  Instead she had some avocado (she loooved it at lunch!) a bit of our veggie rice and a few carrot sticks.  To drink during the day (aside from breast milk) she had some freshly squeezed orange juice diluted with water (1 part juice, 2 parts water).  


Dessert (10pm)
A bit weird but Jonathan had TONS of marshmallows left over from his Chubby Bunny video so I toasted a few of them on a candle flame...ha ha ha!  Please tell me I'm not the only freak who does this, I love toasted marshmallows!!

To drink throughout the day I had 2L water and 2 cups black coffee incl. breakfast :)

What did you guys eat today? 

xoxo

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