Month: Mar 2015

beauty, charity, give and make up, refuge

Give and Make Up

ramblingmads

Every week in the UK 2 women are murdered by their current or ex-partner. A woman will experience 35 incidents of domestic abuse before she calls the police.

Fleeing violence and abuse is a really difficult thing to do, even more so when children are involved. Refuge is a UK based charity that helps women to find a safe place for their children and themselves.

Every Christmas I donate to their present drive, you follow a link on their website to a John Lewis (department store) gift list and select which gifts you want to buy. I usually buy two presents for women and two presents for children.

Most women fleeing abusive relationships leave with little or nothing. Often just the clothes on their backs.

Which brings me to Give and Make Up. Set up by blogger Caroline Hirons in partnership with Refuge, this is a scheme that encourages us to donate unused make up and cosmetics (all those lotions and potions) to women who had to leave everything behind and have nothing.

http://www.carolinehirons.com/p/give-and-makeup.html?m=1

This is currently only in the UK but it is worth seeing if a similar scheme exists where you are. I have loads of sample size and full size creams I’ve never used and several unused make up palettes cluttering up the place that I will be sending along to Refuge.

Put a smile back on the faces of women who desperately need something to smile about.

ramblingmads

adventures, crafty stuff, friends, reviews

Make It Craft Fair 27 Feb – 1 March

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This Saturday just gone Cal and I went to a craft fair with my friend Ruth, her husband and their little girls.
Held in a huge tent at Farnborough airport, the fair featured dozens of suppliers, workshops, talks, try-it-yourself stations, with dozens of different crafts represented, from knitting to woodwork, metal sculpting to lace making.

I splurged on crafty bits, from buttons, to gorgeous purple yarn and other little bits. I also bought a new cutting tool and a build it yourself 3D advent calendar for Cal and I to work on together (he makes minature planes and things).

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It was really interesting to see all the different crafts people do, and to see some wonderful examples. I bought a felting kit to make some Easter bunnies (new skill or giant mess?).

It was also lovely to catch up with my friend, we went to school together and now she runs her own knitting business emhttp://etsy.com/tippingknits or http://facebook.com/tippingknits

Her girls are very cute, aged 5 and 3. We bought them a cookie each – it was the size of her youngest daughter’s face, and they seemed to enjoy themselves a lot more than that. I also took on a new opportunity (more on that to come).

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ramblingmads

beauty, beauty boxes, birchbox, make up, reviews, skincare

Beauty box review – Birchbox

ramblingmads

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I rarely get called wonderful so it was rather nice coming home to find a parcel in my letterbox doing just that.

Inside was February’s Birchbox. I had opted for the slimmer letterbox size, and as you can see above, it was packed with beauty goodies (and a sample packet of oats + chia porridge, not pictured).

There were discount codes and vouchers for beauty products.

The products themselves were a mixture of sample and full sizes.

I had filled in a beauty profile on the site, which should mean that the items in my box are tailored to me.

I received: a sample of Benefit High Beam, which is a product I already use so this was a little bonus bottle.
T London Darjeeling Bath & Shower wash, perfect size for my washbag and holiday travels.
Fullsize Eyeko London Fat Eye Stick in gilt – I like an eye crayon, easy to use and no mess.
Electric Hairdressing Hydrate Shampoo, again perfect size for my washbag. Finally Caudalie Paris Radiance Serum – I don’t use serums much so this will be fun to try out.

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ramblingmads

clean eating, food, healthy, lifestyle, recipes

Eating for health

ramblingmads

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Recently I have been trying to improve my nutrition and eat better. In the last couple of years I’ve fallen into bad habits and need to sort my food choices out.

I enjoy cooking (and baking) but have been lazy when I know better and eaten junk food, takeaways and other rubbish.

The Greek salad above is one of the simplest ways to eat better. Feta cheese, tomatoes (I like different coloured cherry toms), red onion, cucumber, olives (if you like them), drizzled with olive oil and a scatter of ground black pepper. Done. Takes a few minutes, tastes great and all that veg is great for you.

And for dessert? How about this:

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Fat free yoghurt, fresh raspberries and sprinkled desiccated coconut. Tastes delicious, good for you too.

Now, neither of these things require much effort or actual cooking, so they’re perfect for a lazy person.

More recipes soon. (Problem is I never photograph my food, too busy eating it!)

ramblingmads