Lifestyle, food and drink, and our family life and travel adventures.
Hello!
I can’t believe that we are at the beginning of November already – how the blooming heck did that happen?! This whole year has absolutely flown by, and I absolutely cannot believe that it is so close to Christmas again already! I swear it was only just the new year and I’m not ready for it to be Christmas again soon. I’m sure the years go faster and faster every year.
There are lots of things that I have really been loving recently, so I thought I would share them with you.
Lidl night cream
I bought this night cream from Lidl on a whim, after hearing some good things about the great value skincare ranges in Lidl and Aldi. I thought it was worth a try for around £2.50 and I love it! I wake up with really soft skin every time I use it, it has a really nice thick (but not too thick) consistency and it’s such a nice night cream. I usually use a Body Shop night cream, which I do love, but I’ll definitely be buying the Lidl one again, and I want to try the day cream too – they’re brilliant value!
Cups of tea
Yep, I know it’s a weird favourite to have, but I don’t think I could survive without endless cups of tea at the moment (Yorkshire Tea, obviously)! I don’t feel properly alive in the morning until I’ve had those first sips that burn my mouth because I need it right now, and it keeps me going throughout the day. I love it, and drink far too many cups at the moment. Caffeine does really affect my sleep though, so I do try not to have any more tea after about 3pm – I notice it at bedtime if I do!
Making a cup of tea every (half an) hour also gives me a couple of minutes to stretch my legs, tidy up a bit, have a wee, or wash a few pots, so it does encourage me to have regular short breaks, which I wouldn’t have otherwise.
Routine
Although as I was writing this, Ava was breaking up from school again (I swear she only just went back), I have been loving being back in a routine again with her at school. At the end of September we went to Scotland for a week, and I was ill before and after that. So it only feels like it has been the last couple of weeks that I have finally been able to get back into a routine again.
I didn’t really think I was someone who thrived on routine, but I have realised in the last year or so that I really do. I love having to get up with Ava to get ready for school (okay, I hate it with a fierce passion, but you know what I mean), do the school run and then get straight back home to sit down and work, until its quarter past 3 and I rush to get her again. I need that routine in my life and I feel so out of whack and overwhelmed when I don’t have it.
Power on Netflix
I haven’t heard anyone talk about this yet, which is strange, but I’ve loved it and have watched the whole five seasons on Netflix already. Power is a crime drama series, which is produced by 50 cent (he is in it too), about a well-liked nightclub owner, James ‘Ghost’ St Patrick (played by the rather beautiful Omari Hardwick), who moonlights as a drug dealer with his best friend, Tommy. But you find out pretty quickly that Ghost wants to leave the drug world behind and focus on being a club owner.
I did find it slightly slow in places after the first season, but it got back up again quickly every time, and I couldn’t stop watching it (or Ghost’s disappearing sideburns..) and I can’t wait for it to be back again, which will unfortunately be a while yet. Isn’t it so annoying when you binge watch something and catch up with it and then have to wait forever for a new series?
You, Me and the Big C Podcast
I absolutely love the You, Me and the Big C podcast from three incredible women; Rachael, Deborah (aka Bowel Babe), and Lauren (or Girl Stole London) who say that they are all part of the coolest club you never want to be part of – in other words, the cancer club. Sadly Rachael Bland died in September (I started to write passed away and then changed it – if you listen to the podcast you will know!!), which is just devastating, she was brilliant, but she and the other two women have done so much to raise awareness, making people more aware of the stereotypes around cancer, what it’s really like living with cancer, and so much more.
They’re all brilliant women and the podcast is so great to listen to, whether you know anyone with cancer or not, and it’s not as depressing as it might sound! It’s so inspirational and all three of them are great presenters, and they have such interesting guests too. Everyone should listen to this podcast.
Magnesium oil
Many of us are deficient in magnesium, and it can affect our health in so many ways, as magnesium is such an important mineral. It helps keep blood pressure normal, bones strong, and the heart rhythm steady. I suffer with many of the symptoms associated with magnesium deficiency, such as migraine and insomnia, so I always make sure I take a magnesium supplement. A magnesium oil spray is the most easily absorbed by our bodies, as it is delivered directly to cellular level through skin and doesn’t require any further processing. The sprays are said to be great for sore muscles, leg cramps, headaches, migraines and other various bodily aches. It can also help you to relax in the evening, fall asleep more easily, and sleep better throughout the night.
The best way for it to be absorbed is by spraying onto the soles of your feet, but you can also spray it on your body too. You can even put it on your head for a migraine, which I haven’t tried yet but I need to.
Magnesium oil can sting or itch a bit at first – this is said to be when you are deficient in it, although I don’t know how true that it is. It stings for me in certain places for a few minutes, but is fine on others. I buy this magnesium oil, which lasts forever.
Ashley James on Instagram
I love Ashley James on Instagram; I’ve been following her for probably a couple of years now. She’s bloody gorgeous and real, and what I love about her and her posts the most is that she shows the real life photos so often – the ones that we wouldn’t normally share because you can see a belly roll or a bit of cellulite. She sometimes shows the difference between the photos where she is posing at the best angles, in the best light and holding everything in tight, and the ones where she is sat normally looking like we all normally do. Ashley doesn’t photoshop her photos either, and she discusses it if she’s not feeling so great about herself or addresses it if she’s not been exercising and has put a bit of weight on.
I just find her really inspiring, and even though she always looks beautiful whatever the pose or how many rolls she has, I love that she is real and authentic and shows the stuff that many people wouldn’t on Instagram.
Lily Allen’s Audiobook
I’ve heard lots of people say how good Lily Allen’s new book ‘My Thoughts Exactly’, is. I decided to get the audiobook version as I had a credit available, and I love being able to listen to something whilst I’m doing something else like washing up or cleaning. I loved it so much. It was fascinating listening to her talk about her life and experiences in so much detail and in her own voice particularly.
I hadn’t realised how much she had gone through from a young age, and it was fascinating and insightful and I actually want to listen to it again, which I wouldn’t normally do.
I’m really enjoying audiobooks in general at the moment, as well as podcasts. I struggle to read a book when I’m so busy and so tired, but I can sit with my eyes closed if I want to for a few minutes and get further in a book. I’ve just finished a fiction book – One Day in December, which I really enjoyed and listened to pretty quickly. Although I always listen to a sample of an audiobook before buying it to make sure the narrator doesn’t irritate me, and I hadn’t realised that this book is narrated by a man and a woman – I really liked the woman’s voice, but my god I thought the male was awful (sorry mister if you happen to randomly be reading my blog!). I ended up actually buying the kindle version (thank god it was cheap!) and switching to reading rather than listening for the man’s parts! I would recommend the book though – the kindle version of One Day in December is only 99p on Amazon at the moment.
Is there anything that you’ve been particularly loving recently? Let me know in the comments!
Welcome to Birds and Lilies! I'm Lou: mother, blogger and freelance writer. This is my lifestyle blog, where I talk about motherhood, infertility and IVF, beauty, my love for food and wine, as well as my thoughts about stuff, and our real-life and travel adventures.
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