A Mum's Life

So I am off to a hair appointment and I am walking down a local parade of shops. As I zoom past a charity shop, this beautiful candelabra catches my eye. I stop, walk back and just look at it. I stand there thinking….. ‘Should I? I have always wanted one of those. Maybe it’s a sign. I think it’s calling me to buy it. I’ll just find out how much it costs’.

You never know what pre-loved things you can find in a charity shop

I walk in, take a closer look and it’s even better close up. It’s really heavy and just looks ‘grand’. I tell the lady working in the shop that I have always wanted a candelabra. After we have had a little chat about it, she tells me it’s £25.

As I am standing there, I think, £25…..urm. I don’t really need one, but it just looks lovely. Can I afford it? What shall I do? I suppose it is for charity after all.

She then tells me that Bob who works in the shop has spent hours and hours out the back cleaning it up – and that was it. I was sold. How could I turn down buying it after so much love and effort has gone into restoring it. So I bought it and I don’t regret it at all. Obviously it’s not the real mccoy at £25, but every time I look at it, I just love it.

I have never really shopped in charity shops before, but you never know what other pre-loved treasures you can find. So this is 100% most definitely My Star Buy Of The Week.

Thanks for reading….AML x

On a night out last week, I was travelling in a taxi to the restaurant and took a quick look in my compact mirror.  Not only did I have a streak of black eye liner down the side of my face (not the look I was going for) I also looked really rather shiny.

Although I usually manage to cram the make up essentials into my little clutch bag, I didn’t have any powder and nor did my fellow companions. I don’t normally wear powder anyway, just bronzer, as my skin is usually quite dry but I must have over moisturised and it looked like I had glossed my face as well as my lips!

But then my friend Rose, the make up saviour of the day, pulled this little envelope out of her bag which looked like a business card holder. This was then the moment I was introduced to these…..Kleenex Shine Absorbing Sheets.

They are really thin sheets that you use to dab/rub on your face to absorb any grease on your face to give you a mat finish. I was pretty sceptical at first that a soft little sheet could make such a difference, but it does. Bloody brilliant. So this is why they are My Star Buy Of the Week. These will definitely become one of my make up essentials.

Some more reasons why I liked these so much:

• There are 50 in the envelope and are only £2.99 for a pack
• They are small enough to fit in the smallest of handbags
• They don’t give you that white, ghostly look that powder can give you
• They are nothing like the paper powder sheets you used to be able to buy (if anyone remembers them – they were like tracing paper!)
• They are great for people who have a problem with greasy skin or anyone who ever looks a bit shiny.
• You can buy them in supermarkets as well as the usual places like Boots and Superdrug.

Don’t think they are just for women though. My husband has stolen a few of them too to keep the grease at bay. But please don’t tell him I told you.

Thanks for reading…AML x

I am a self-confessed shopaholic – it’s dreadful. It really is. I can’t go anywhere without buying something, anything! And it really can be anything. I just convince myself that I ‘need’ it and make the purchase, getting a little rush of shopaholic-style adrenaline. I work in a town centre, which is lethal for me. I can easily take a trip to Boots…..£50 quid gone…..just like that.

We went to a market the other week, it was an awful market, full of stalls for dog food and toys, DIY stalls, awful market clothes – you get the picture. Being the shopaholic I am, I bought myself some ‘garden shoes’. Garden shoes!! Honestly, what was I thinking?

1. I am not over 60.

2. I have PLENTY of shoes that I could wear out in the garden.

3. Who really wears garden shoes anyway.

They are basically a really cheap pair of crocs. And at £5 I needed them, as urm…..garden shoes. When I got them home, I did have a little chuckle to myself and made myself walk around the garden in them, just to say I’d worn them.

Anyway, the reason for my post was to showcase my purchase of the week. This week I ventured into town in my lunch hour and made my way to H&M to stock up on some new clothes for my Little Man.

So my *Star Buy Of The Week** is…..

Red Skinny Chinos – £5.99 from H&M – Size 2-3 years

Bargin….and also SUPER cute. The Little Man is so rocking the look.

Thanks for reading…….AML! x