INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY // 2 0 1 9

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Stay soft. Stay brave. Stay fierce. Stay kind. Stay curious. Stay honest. Keep supporting your peers, your family, your friends & strangers, who happen to be WOMEN. Oh and just love with your whole heart, you wonder WOMAN 🖤

These words, by Elizabeth Gilbert, resonated with me⤵️
“The women I love and admire for their strength and grace did not get that way because shit worked out. They got that way because shit went wrong and they handled it. They handled it a thousand different ways on a thousand different days, but they handled it. Those women are my superheroes”.

BTW – I’m all for equality and you’ll usually find me defending men, actually. “But how is that fair when a man isn’t able to get involved too?”. For today, today, let’s just celebrate the WOMAN and her achievements, yes? ✌🏼✌🏿✌🏾✌🏽✌🏼✌️

C
✖️✖️✖️

& Other Stories | Recycling is EASY.

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&Other Stories is one of my favourite places to shop in store, browse online and take general inspiration. I love their forward-thinking, on a not so expensive level that doesn’t make your pursestrings tight. I was browsing online the other day, looking for more shoes, of course, and came across the recycling scheme that Stories are currently involved with. I thought it was bloody great, so wanted to share! They’re recycling both used & Other Stories Beauty packaging and Textiles (from any brand).

See full details below on how you can get involved in-store; you will also receive a 10% off voucher as a thank you!

 

 

 

RECYCLING WITH US IS EASY

We want to reduce the environmental footprint in the fashion world, and recycling is a big part of that. We try to find solutions for it in every part of our process and have, since our launch in 2013, established an in-store recycling program for our beauty packaging. Starting in 2015, our stores in Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom and the United States offer in-store textile recycling too. To make the most of this exciting task, we cooperate with experts within this field, and rely on you to recycle with us.

BEAUTY RECYCLING:

We have an overall sustainable approach within our beauty range, using standard packaging and keeping the paper use to a minimum by printing all necessary information on the inside of the boxes instead of on a separate folder. To recycle & Other Stories’ beauty packaging, bring back the empty containers from our colour cosmetics, bath & body and skin care ranges to any one of our stores.

This is how it works:

1. Simply return one, or more, of our empty beauty containers to one of our stores, and get one voucher with a 10% recycling treat as a thank you. Please note that your voucher can be used once and is valid for three months.

2. The packaging is sorted according to material directly in the store and then passed on to the nearest recycling station.

Recycling with us is easy

TEXTILE RECYCLING:

Bring any textiles from any brand (old socks and tired towels are welcome too), to any of our stores in Sweden, Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom and the United States and wish them luck in their new life as insulation material for the construction materials industry, geofleece, carpet underlay, and rear shelves in cars, stuffed toys, shoe insoles, among many, many other things.

This is how it works:

1. Simply fill a bag with any textiles (all brands are welcome!) and bring it to your closest store, and get one voucher with a 10% recycling treat as a thank you. Please note that your voucher can be used once and is valid for three months.

2. Your bags are then collected from the store by our recycling partners. They have the infrastructural solutions in place to sort the items ensuring that the different materials are handled in the best possible way. Each piece (no matter its age or condition) is a valuable source of raw material – a treasure ready to embark on its second chapter. By recycling with us you create a circle that keeps all these raw materials from being produced again from scratch.

3. All textiles are passed on for their next best use via our recycling partner and are sorted into the following categories:

• Recycling – everything that is not suitable for producing new garments is converted into recycled fibres and non-woven fabric.
• Rewear – garments that are still wearable move on as second-hand clothing.
• Reuse – textiles that can’t be worn anymore are turned into special products, such as cleaning cloths.
• Upcycling – when the product is turned into another product of higher, or equal, quality.

Read more about our partner I:CO and their process on
www.ico-spirit.com

We are recycling-ready, hope you are too!

 

 

 

 

Mr Eli turns 2!

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I can hardly believe it. Our darling little boy turned 2 on Wednesday!

We had a wonderful day celebrating. We started off our day at 5:30am, (as we do most days!), we had lovely cuddles in bed before heading downstairs. We’d set the living room up the night before, ready for Eli to pounce bright and early the next day. We sauntered down the stairs and said a big “1, 2 3… HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” as Eli entered the room. He stood completely still, mouth gaping, in utter shock! It was amazing. We must have stood there for a minute before he gathered that all these bright and exciting presents were actually for him! It was so sweet. He spent the entire morning overwhelmed, not quite sure where to look or where to run to next. It was amazing to see him opening presents this year, and even better when he realised what was actually beneath the wrapping paper. Just the best feeling in the world – I could have watched him all day,  as he was just enjoying EVERYTHING. He even blew out his candles himself this year! (I spent the day previous baking his cake – never have I ever been so stressed in the kitchen in all my life! Blog post on the cake to follow)

We went off to the Big Smoke a little later than anticipated due to the present-opening overload. The weather forecast was torrential rain for the day… but it was bright when we got to London Zoo; and swelteringly hot by mid-afternoon. We went to Colchester Zoo for Eli’s 1st birthday last year… think we may make a Zoo visit it an annual thing for Eli’s birthday as he absolutely LOVES the animals! To the extent that he cried when we would leave a section of the zoo to move onto the next area! His highlights were definitely the giraffe’s, hyena’s, goat’s (!!!) and all the different monkey’s (takes one to know one!).

We had a very full day at the zoo and Eli had TWO naps! TWO! We had a not-so-good experience at Strada in Camden and headed home – we didn’t get in until 10:30pm! Time certainly does fly when you’re having fun!

Eli is the happiest little boy who loves adventure’s. It’s incredible seeing him grow – I never thought we’d actually be able to see it happening before our very eyes, but he is developing every single day. He completed our lives he arrived on 6th August 2012 and we couldn’t be prouder parents. Eli is quite literally magic.

Our precious boy, always ask questions – always be curious. We love you to the moon and the stars and back!

Here are some snaps from Eli’s 2nd birthday celebrations!

#MrEliTurns2

MM.

x

#MrEliTurns2

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So there we have it. As of 21.43 on 6th August, we have our very own 2 year old human!

 

 

 

 

Recipes | Harissa Chicken and Bulgar Wheat Salad.

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We’d tried this lovely Harissa Chicken and Bulgar Wheat salad a few times, from the Hairy Bikers ‘Hairy Dieters’ cookbook before we even knew about the 5:2 diet! It really is a delicious, well rounded meal – very tasty! And better still, it’s very filling – just what you need on a Fast Day! This cookbook is perfect if you’re also undergoing the 5:2 diet. A lot of the recipes are under 300 calories! So perfect for Fast Day’s.

So here is the recipe!
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HARISSA CHICKEN AND BULGAR WHEAT SALAD*.
SERVES 4 – PREP 15 MINS – COOK 20 MINS
270 Calories, per portion.

Bulgur wheat salad:
100g Waitrose bulgur wheat
150g  cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered if large
1/4 cucumber, diced
4 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
Small bunch of flat-leaf parsley (about 10g), plus extra to garnish
Small bunch of fresh mint (about 10g)
Finely grated zest of 1/2 unwaxed lemon
Freshly squeezed juice of 1/2 lemon
Freshly ground black pepper
Harissa chicken:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 tsp sunflower oil
1 tbsp Harissa paste (preferably Tose Harissa, I used Waitrose Ruby Rose Harissa).
Lemon wedges, to serve

1) To make the salad, rinse the bulgur wheat in a fine sieve and tip it into a medium saucepan. Cover with cold water and bring to the boil, then cook for about 10 minutes until just tender, or follow the packet instructions. Rinse the bulgur in a sieve under running water until cold and leave to drain.

2) Tip the cooked bulgur wheat into a large serving bowl and add the tomatoes, cucumber, spring onions, garlic, parsley, mint, lemon zest and juice. You’ll need about 3 heaped tablespoons of each herb once chopped. Season with lots of freshly ground black pepper, toss everything together well and leave to stand while you cook the chicken.

3) Place each chicken breast between 2 sheets of cling film and beat with a rolling pin until about 1.5cm thick. You need to make the chicken breasts about the same thickness so they cook evenly.

4) Brush a griddle pan or non-stick frying pan with a little oil and place over a medium-high heat until hot. Griddle or pan-fry the chicken breasts for 2 minutes, then turn them over with tongs and cook on the other side for another 2 minutes.

5) Brush the chicken breasts with half of the harissa on 1 side only and turn over. Cook for a minute while brushing the reverse side with the remaining harissa. Flip over and cook for a further minute or until cooked through. Check that there is no pinkness remaining.

6) Transfer the chicken to a board and leave to rest for 3–4 minutes before serving. Garnish with extra parsley and the lemon wedges and serve hot with the bulgur salad.

ENJOY!

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Do you have any 5:2 recipes to share? Get in touch! I’d love to try them out!

 

MM.

 

*Extracted from THE HAIRY DIETERS by Si King and Dave Myers published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson priced £14.99.  Copyright (c) Byte Brook Limited and Sharp Letter Limited, 2012. 

 

BRAND IN FOCUS | SAINT LAURENT.

That’s right, SAINT LAURENT.

Saint Laurent Creative Director, Hedi Slimane, decided to drop the ‘Yves’ ahead of the ready-to-wear collection during Fashion Week last year. A bold move, that of course did not come without criticism. A spokeswoman for Slimane said “he was drawing inspiration from 1966, when the ready-to-wear line was launched as Saint Laurent Rive Gauche. The name changed again after Saint Laurent retired. He produced the label’s last haute couture collection in 2002, and died in 2008. The founder himself may have approved, as he enjoyed making radical changes: he became the first couturier to diversify into ready-to-wear, pioneered the trouser suit and introduced the first black models to Paris catwalks.”

I was confused when I first saw ‘SAINT LAURENT’. I steered clear. But now I am well and truly obsessed. The re-brand has been magnificent. I want it ALL.

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SAINT LAURENT – Gold Vermeil Bapteme I.D. Bracelet, £260.00 | Available from MatchesFashion.com

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SAINT LAURENT – Polka Dot Silk Blouse, £605.00 | Available from MatchesFashion.com

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SAINT LAURENT – Medium Bucket Bag, £1265.00 | Click here to purchase from Selfridges.com
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SAINT LAURENT – Rock Suede Chelsea Boots, £695.00 | Available from MatchesFashion.com

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SAINT LAURENT – Zip Jersey Sweater, £395.00 | Available from MatchesFashion.com

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SAINT LAURENT – Slit Detail Leather Pants, £3, 395.00 | Available from Net-a-Porter.com

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SAINT LAURENT – Paris Suede Court Shoes, £390.00 | Click to purchase at Selfridges.com

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SAINT LAURENT – Sac Du Jour, £1560.00 | Click to purchase at Selfridges.com

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SAINT LAURENT – Classic Babylone Art Deco Ring, £395.00 | Available from SaintLaurent.com

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SAINT LAURENT – Leather Card Holder, £110.00 | Available from Net-a-Porter.com

 

 

Talipes | Struggling to find First Walker shoes.

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As I’ve mentioned, our darling boy is doing well with his walking – despite being born with Bilateral Talipes.

We’ve always just wanted Mr Eli to wear his Converse – just like Daddy (and occasionally Mummy too!). But we noticed that the Con’s just weren’t offering him much support around his ankles; and frankly, his new red Hi-Top’s are absolutely massive a wee bit big.

Eli’s Size 4 Black Converse trainers were too small, his toes are end the toe cap, so he had been wearing his new Red Hi Top Converse – which are a 5. We went to Clarks at the weekend where Eli was measured – his feet came up as a size 3F. The assistant did advise that Clarks sizing does vary against branded shoes, but it did make us think that Eli is really not wearing correct footwear right now. He requires a pair of shoes that will support his feet as he gains confidence in his walking, but also a pair that will encourage him to keep walking. The Converse he has right now seem to deter his walking as they’re ill-fitting, so he’s been mainly in stocking feet. Obviously, he can’t go outside the house like this, so we need to find him so First Walker shoes.

Here the issue begins…

It’s very common for children with Talipes to have odd-sized feet or feet that are on the smaller side. One foot could be a size 4, while the other foot could be a size 6. Meaning many children are bought two pairs of shoes to ensure they have correct fitting shoes for each foot. Clarks DO offer a discount for children affected however – you can read all about the Clark’s Odd Sized Feet Scheme on the STEPS charity website. Luckily, Eli’s feet do match up perfectly – but they are small. We didn’t realise until we started looking at the First Walker shoes in the shop… all of the shoes start at a size 4. The Pre-Walker/Cruiser shoes start at a size 3. But the sole is very thin on these styles and there isn’t the support on the shoe for a child who IS indeed walking.

We were looking online last night. Call me ridiculous if you will, but there are A LOT of boring or frankly unfashionable First Walker shoes out there. I know Eli is not par-taking in a fashion show, but we do take pride in our little man’s appearance, he has his own style. Also, these shoes are not cheap, so we want to make sure we’re all happy with them as he’ll have them on most of the day.

We don’t want velcro – we’re not a velcro family. We’d prefer Eli to be in Desert Boots, Brogue style shoes or at a push, some fashionable trainers. Take a look at the styles we’ve seen so far below…

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First Walker Shoes, Desert Boots in Brown £36.00 – Click here to purchase at Clarks.com

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First Walker Shoes, Desert Boots in Brown £36.00 – Click here to purchase at Clarks.com

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First Walker Shoes, Crazy Crew in Khaki, £36.00 – Click here to purchase at Clarks.com

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Digby, Zip up Brogue Boots, £40.00 – Available from StartRite.com

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Sullivan Brogue Shoes, WAS £49 NOW £18.00 – Available from StartRite.com

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Sullivan Brogue Shoes, WAS £49 NOW £18.00 – Available from StartRite.com

As you will notice, all of the lovely shoes above start at a size 4. So we’re in a wee pickle. If you have purchased from StartRite.com before, do their shoes match the size guide of Clarks? I’m so tempted to just get the size 4F shoes, especially considering the rate of growth; but can’t be sure that they will fit Eli correctly. So would ideally like to go into a shop to be able to have them expertly fitted.

Can you recommend any other stores where you can buy similar styles to the above? That perhaps start at ‘Clarks size 3F’ or the measured equivalent?  (And styles that don’t cost an arm-and-a-leg, to boot).

MM.

Women’s Fashion | Check Mate.

I’ve been looking at Womenswear for some style inspiration this week and I’m noticing a lot of check prints across online stores. Check print is a great way to jazz up your Winter wardrobe – you can go for full on geometric digital prints or more muted tones to suit the weather.

Here are some of my favourite pieces, on my must-by list!

(Some check’s might be cheating as they’re not quite your stereotype check’s… but you’ll catch my drift, I’m sure).

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Houndstooth Check Blouse, £29.99 – Zara.com

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Noisy May Checked Shirt Dress, £28.00 – ASOS.com

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Lace Trim Check Top, £29.99 – MANGO.com

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Black & White Check Full Skirt, £30.00 – RIVERISLAND.com

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Checked Coat, WAS £14.99 NOW £79.99 – ZARA.com

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ASOS Smock Dress in Chain Print, WAS £30.00 NOW £24.50 – ASOS.com

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Lacoste Live Shirt, WAS £60.00 NOW £32.00 – ASOS.com

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Vintage O & O Trousers, £48.00 – UrbanOutfitters.com

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HOUSE OF HACKNEY Tartan Swing Dress, £175.00 – ASOS.com

See more on my Pinterest board: Women’s Fashion | Check Mate.

MM.

Happy (post) Halloween!

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As previously mentioned, at Halloween Mr Eli is ALWAYS going to be a Mr Skellington (complete with Converse!). Here he is in his second year of skellyton-ness! This year his outfit is actually pyjama’s from Gap KIDS: Glow in the dark skeleton sleep set. It’s sold out at the minute, but always comes back in stock.

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We love this little Skeleton Boy SO MUCH! 

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Flying Mr Skellington!

After Mr Skellington Eli had his bath, Daddy asked if Eli could indeed go to bed in his skeleton outfit pyjamas. Who are we to decline a skeleton of his threads? So Mr Skellington did indeed go to bed suited and booted! He was a little confused at his outfit when he woke up I think…

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Please do share what your little ones dressed as this Halloween!

 

MM.

Halloween costume inspiration, for kids!

We LOVE Halloween. But, we’d already decided before Mr Eli arrived that he was ALWAYS going to be a skeleton, with Converse on, at Halloween. Well, until he’s old enough to say “NO MORE NOW, PLEASE!”, of course.

But I can’t help but adore these following costumes I’ve found on Pinterest. Most of them would work at any time of the year too, not just Old Hallows Eve. ENJOY!

(Below is a small selection of the costumes I’ve pinned, to view the whole lot, click here >>> Halloween Inspiration)

UP!
UP, image taken from Pinterest.

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E.T, image taken from Pinterest.

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Fox costume, image taken from Pinterest.

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Lady Liberty and Honest Abe, image taken from Pinterest.

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Spray painted toy soldier (not sure how the poor bairn walks!), image taken from Pinterest.

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Cardboard box dinosaur, image taken from Pinterest.

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Don Draper (not sure how appropriate this is!), image taken from Pinterest.

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Jesse and Walt (REALLY not sure how appropriate this is, either!), image taken from Pinterest.

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Zombie kid! Image taken from Pinterest.

MM.

Pinterest.com/MaternalMusings

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Did you know?

Did you know, I’m pinning my ‘loves, wants and NEEDS’ over on Pinterest? No?! You kidding me?!

Follow me HERE!

MM.