What I Wore Wednesday

Posted on May 15, 2013 by

It’s Wednesday..

..so it’s what I wore!

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Striped grey bouclé jacket – Next, cream vest – H&M, vintage wash skinny jeans – Next, skull friendship bracelet – Links of London, watch – Michael Kors, jewelled silver ballet flats – Next 

Another week, another blazer, jeans and ballet flats combination. This is pretty much my Spring uniform until the weather sorts itself out. How is it still so cold in May? This week in my little corner of Yorkshire we have seen sun, rain, hail and gale force winds. Seriously, enough already! *shakes fist at sky*

I spotted this little jacket from Next ages ago but couldn’t really justify the need for it but then when it came up in the sale, well it would have been rude not to. It’s in a super soft bouclé material so on the comfort scale, it’s more like wearing a cardigan than a jacket. It’s in creams and greys with a stripe and there are silvery threads running through it too. It has a zip so can be worn fastened up but I prefer to wear it biker style as I don’t think boxy shapes really suit me. It’s so pretty, the picture doesn’t really do it justice.

The cream vest underneath is from H&M and it has pleats of material running down the front and a fab zip back BUT it is seriously see-through and I don’t think I’d dare wear it without a jacket over! Sensible nude underwear is an absolute must unfortunately. I say unfortunately because sensible underwear is always so bloody ugly, isn’t it? I’m not sure that anyone has ever managed to find a way of making nude underwear look more appealing than an old dish rag but if you know of anywhere, I’m all ears!

These are my favourite jeans at the minute. They were from Next and I usually find their jeans a bit mumsy as they tend to be too high on the waist for me but these are a great fit. I love the colour of them too they are perfectly distressed enough, just like a good pair of jeans that you have worn in yourself if that makes sense?

If you enjoyed this post, you might like to take a look at some of my other outfit posts right here and don’t forget to check out the rest of the entries for this weeks What I Wore Wednesday with Transatlantic Blonde.

love-mostly

 

 

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UGG Australia up for review

Posted on May 14, 2013 by

I love my UGG boots probably a little bit more than I should do. So when the lovely people at UGG Australia got in touch asking if I would like to choose a pair of new boots to review, I didn’t have to think twice!

The minute I tried on my first pair of UGG boots many years ago, I swore that I would never ever take them off my feet. I did of course but honest to goodness I have never felt such comfort in my whole life! I must admit that I had tried imitations in the past and they didn’t come close to the quality or the comfort of the real thing.

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I have had the Classic Short boots in the past so for this review, I chose the Bailey Button in chestnut. I think they make a lovely new take on the classic boots and I love that the Bailey can be unbuttoned to be worn cuffed or you can wear it buttoned as a short boot of course. As you would expect from UGG, they are made from the softest sheepskin and have a lightweight but surprisingly hard wearing sole.

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I love the way that the Bailey looks but more importantly, I love that way that they feel. They truly are a hug in a boot and if they are anything like my other UGG boots, I will be wearing them to death for years to come yet. I live in my boots at home and yes, on some days when I can’t bear to take them off, they even make it on to the school run. I don’t wear them to bed though, promise. Even I draw the line there. Well actually, if I could get away with wearing them to bed I think I would but I think Mr Mostly might have something to say about that!

love-mostly

 

Disclaimer: For the purpose of this review I was very kindly sent the UGG Australia Bailey Button boot as shown here which is priced at £175. All opinions and slummy mummy confessions are of course my own. 

 

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The one with a bit of an update

Posted on May 13, 2013 by

It has been a few months since I first wrote about having my arse well and truly kicked by insomnia here. I have been meaning to do a follow up post for ages but just haven’t got around to it. Well, actually that isn’t strictly true, I started to draft a post a few weeks ago about how much things had improved then I hit a really bad patch of sleeplessness and felt like I had jinxed myself. So I quickly deleted it in a fit of exhausted superstitiousness. As you do.

Quite by chance, a couple of big things that had been worrying me resolved themselves, such is life of course. It’s not something that I want to go into detail about here but I feel that this had a big part in easing my overall feelings of anxiety. Things always seem so much worse in the dead of the night and these worries would turn over and over in my mind as I struggled to sleep. But just like that they were gone. I also started to take Kalms herbal sleeping pills but to be honest, it’s hard to tell if they had any effect or not but I’m quite sure that they didn’t do any harm. I don’t take them all of the time now. Just when I am going through a bad bout of not sleeping which thankfully is less than it once was. 

013I had got into the habit of coming downstairs when I couldn’t get to sleep. I used to distract myself until I felt sleepy but actually with hindsight, I think this was just creating even more bad sleeping habits for me. The only time that I do this is when Mr Mostly’s snoring is driving me absolutely mad! A snorer and an insomniac do not make the best of bedfellows! Ha! It’s not his fault for one minute of course but trying to sleep over the sound of him snoring is not the easiest, and of course it only serves to remind me that he is sound asleep while I am not! So yes sometimes, I do take myself downstairs to read for half an hour or so before coming back to bed and trying all over again but I definitely have a higher tolerance to his snoring than I once did. Similarly, Mr Mostly is learning to tolerate my quietness on a morning. He was mistaking my quietness for moodiness which it really wasn’t, it was just sheer exhaustion. I think it can be hard to understand how somebody can wake up exhausted unless you have been there yourself. But I think we have both learnt to be kinder to each other over these last couple of months and that can only ever be a good thing. 

Another thing to make a difference to me is to have an afternoon nap. I used to be terrified that sleeping during the day would mean that an awful night would follow but actually for me, it seems to have the opposite effect. I’m not talking about hours and hours here just the smallest of nods, normally about ten minutes, never more than twenty. I don’t get to do it every day of course but I sneak it in whenever I can and it makes me feel so much better for the rest of the day. I started keeping a journal of everything that I thought might make a difference to my sleep patterns and there was little rhyme or reason to any of it except for the nap thing. On days that I had a nap, I normally went on to have a good night and I don’t think it was a coincidence. 

Things are much better than they were when I wrote about them back in February but I don’t think I will ever be ‘cured’. At the moment I am having more good nights than bad and that is good enough for me. The biggest thing has been coping with the feelings of anxiety and teaching myself that actually it’s okay just to rest and that sleep isn’t the be all and end all come bedtime. That actually, it’s okay just to lay there to quietly rest. As simple as that sounds, that was a huge revelation to me and lifted so much pressure. The thing is that I don’t think that I can ever imagine having a proper nights sleep again and a big part of dealing with my insomnia has been accepting that.

So that’s where I am right now. One of the main reasons that I wanted to write a follow up though was as a thank you to all the people who gave me so much advice both here and on Twitter. There’s reassurance in the fact that so many people have had the same struggles and that some have managed to overcome them. And of course, I was open to any help that I could get as I was caught up in such an awful cycle of anxiety and sleeplessness. So a huge thank you to you all!

love-mostly

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The one where the Andrex puppy moves in

Posted on May 11, 2013 by

Having as many children as I do, means that we manage to get through so many toilet rolls that you’d think that the Andrex puppy had moved in. And being a blogger that talks about having as many children as I do means that such anecdotes are sometimes shared here with the world of course. You’re welcome!

So when the press office from Andrex got in touch, I couldn’t help but raise a smile. The Andrex puppy really has moved in. Times four. And he brought with him even more toilet rolls than even we can get through in a day.

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Thank you Andrex!

love-mostly

 

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The best spaghetti marinara. Ever.

Posted on May 9, 2013 by

Life with four children can be hectic at times not that I’m complaining, I actually love it! But some evenings are more crazy than others of course when you have children that all need picking up or dropping off at different places at different times and somehow I have to get them all fed in the middle of it all. Arghhh! On my more organised of days *ahem* I will plan ahead and bung something in the slow cooker that can be ready for when we are. But on my less organised of days *cough* I have to be able to whip something up in a flash. Don’t get me wrong, my children are no strangers to junk food, fish finger pizza anyone? But actually I don’t think that lack of time is always a good enough excuse not to cook properly. Real food can be real fast too.

This marinara sauce is so simple to make from scratch and it doesn’t take much more time than it takes to cook the pasta. One of the reasons I love it is that it is so versatile and works well with so many things that you can bung it together with whatever you have in the fridge. Perfect for busy days. It’s worth noting that the sauce keeps really well and can be made up in advance and kept in the fridge (which I actually think makes it taste even better) or it can be frozen if you are feeling super duper efficient and want to get ahead. I’m a bit of a throw it all in and taste it as it goes along sort of cook but I’m guessing that this will give you enough sauce for at least four greedy people.

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Ingredients for the marinara sauce: 

1 tablespoon(ish) olive oil 

1 small onion finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic crushed

1 tin of good quality chopped tomatoes

1 tablespoon(ish) dried oregano 

pinch of sugar 

splash of cream 

salt and pepper to taste

I served it this time with spaghetti (you need to allow about 90g of pasta per person) and about 300g of cooked and peeled prawns 

Cook the onion and garlic in a pan on a medium heat with the olive oil until they are lovely and soft and smelling delicious.

Add the tin of tomatoes then turn down the heat. I always find that in such a simple sauce, it really is worth spending that little bit more on really good quality tomatoes. I’m liking Cirio Tuscan chopped tomatoes at the minute. They are not much more than a pound a tin but more importantly, they taste fantastic.

Now add the oregano, a good pinch of sugar and season to taste. If you are cooking for teeny tiny people you might want to leave the salt and pepper for the table but of course I don’t need to tell you that. I must admit that I’m not so precious about these things as my youngest is now five!

I now leave the marinara sauce to simmer away as I cook the spaghetti. And then I usually spend the next 10-12 minutes emptying the dishwasher while shouting at children to clear their PlayDoh and or Littlest Pet Shop pets away from the table so that I can set it. But that might be just me.

Drain the cooked spaghetti. In the meantime, add the cooked prawns to the pan of sauce (they literally take a minute to heat through) I like to add a splash of cream at this point too but this is optional. If you follow me on Instagram, I don’t need to tell you that I’m not big on counting calories but if you are more virtuous than me, the sauce works well without it too. Now add the cooked pasta to the pan of marinara sauce with prawns and give it a big old stir then serve. With piles of crusty bread if you must.

Et voila! The best spaghetti marinara ever – enjoy!

If you liked this, you might want to take a look at some of my other recipes here.

 

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What I Wore Wednesday

Posted on May 8, 2013 by

I feel like I haven’t joined in with What I Wore Wednesday for ages (and that’s probably because I haven’t) but anyway, it’s Wednesday, so it’s what I wore….

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Grey blazer – H&M, white tee (underneath) – Primark, grey skull scarf – Primark, jeans – Next, jewelled ballet flats – Next, watch – Michael Kors, skull friendship bracelet – Links of London 

Blazer, jeans, ballet flats. Such a classic look. But I have to admit that I struggle to find blazers that I actually like on me. If they don’t finish in just the right place I look lumpy, or if they button in the wrong place I feel like I’m going to pop out of them, or if the cut isn’t just right they make me feel even broader in the shoulder than I already am. Fussy? Moi? But I love this blazer from H&M. It was an absolute bargain as you’d expect but it’s in a lovely tuxedo shape and I hope that it suits me.

The jeans are new from Next and they are supposed to be skinnies but they actually fit more like straight legs. I tried on and bought some other skinny jeans at the same time that fit me perfectly so I stupidly just picked up this other pair thinking that they would be of the same fit but I was wrong. It’s bad enough that sizes and styles vary so much from shop to shop but from the same shop? Is it too much to expect? Honestly! I should really have taken them back but I couldn’t be bothered. It just feels strange wearing jeans that aren’t skin tight! Oh well!

My gorgeous new skull bracelet was a birthday present from Mr Mostly and I absolutely love it. He really does have the best taste in jewellery. And women too of course *ahem* Can you believe that this weekend saw the ‘anniversary’ of our engagement? Nineteen whole years since he proposed to me and he’s still waiting for me to make an honest man of him! Ha!

If you enjoyed this post, you might like to take a look at some of my other outfit posts right here and don’t forget to check out the rest of the entries for this weeks What I Wore Wednesday with Transatlantic Blonde.

love-mostly

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Mophie Juice Pack Air up for review

Posted on May 7, 2013 by

When I was asked if I would like to try out the new mophie juice pack air, I must admit that I was fascinated to put it to the test. Anything that promises to extend the battery life of my beloved iPhone5 by hours can only ever be a good thing of course!

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The juice pack air not only acts as a fully protective case but also as a battery pack so you never have to worry about your phone dying on you again when you are out and about. I know that I can’t possibly be the only one to struggle to make it to the end of the day without having to charge my iPhone and of course, this isn’t always an option if you are out and about.

The juice pack air has an integrated standby switch which allows you to charge whenever you need to. When your battery is low you just switch the button on the back of the pack to ‘on’ and your iPhone will begin charging immediately. Smart battery technology actually means that the power will be drained from the juice pack first and when you’re done, you will be left with a fully charged iPhone. It’s worth noting as well that the iPhone uses additional battery power just to be at a constant charge so using the standby switch will give you even more total battery life. 

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The pack comes charged and ready to go but after the initial use, normal charging will take between 2 and 3 hours for maximum power. You can charge it by itself or while the iPhone is still inserted using the micro USB cable provided. Also, the battery power of the pack can be checked at a glance thanks to the integrated four light LED indicator on the back.

Obviously because it acts as a case for your iPhone too it fits perfectly. The lightweight pack comes in two parts and you simply slide the iPhone into the main case then the bottom part just clicks into place. You don’t lose any functionality when you use the pack. All of the side buttons, speakers, camera etc still work exactly the same and it even comes with a headphone adapter.

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I was really keen to put the mophie juice pack air through its paces to see if it delivered on all its promises and it really really does. After a couple of weeks of me using it, I already couldn’t be without it when I’m out and about. I am rubbish at making sure that my iPhone is fully charged before I go out and this offers me the perfect solution while also doubling up as a protective case. I LOVE IT!

The mophie juice pack air for iPhone5 is available nationwide including the Apple Stores both online and on the high street costing £89.95. For more details and to see mophie’s full line of products please visit www.mophie.com. 

love-mostly

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