Category: lifestyle

baking, food, fun stuff, healthy, lifestyle

The Allergy & Free From Show 

ramblingmads

This past Saturday my mother and I went on one of our increasingly common outings. This time we went to Kensington Olympia to explore free from foods and allergy busters. 

When my mum isn’t buying me lunch (thanks!) she’s an incredibly hard-working and somewhat brilliant nurse working in public health and school health. She recently celebrated 40 years in nursing and is my go to for any ‘should I take this weird thing to a doctor’ query (lucky her).

We had free tickets because the event gives loads away every year – I will share the link for next July once I get it. I did however miss the blogger meet up because I was too busy sampling cakes, oops. 

I also failed miserably to take any photos of use, although I will include the entirely random few I did manage at the end. 

Seriously I blame all the free cake samples and the abundance of dairy free treats. I had a truly delicious magnum style caramel ice cream and got chocolate all over my white top – I shouldn’t be allowed out. 

We did stop for actual lunch too – the prices in the Olympia’s cafes are eye watering for two salads and two drinks. 

My mum became pals with an allergy nurse from a children’s asthma charity – discussing epipens and inhalers. Joy. 

I located the make up stand and got a bit of a makeover while I was at it – once a beauty blogger, always a beauty blogger  (this will be getting it’s own post so stay tuned). 

I even came home with not just a goody bag full of snacks but some little purchases including gluten free samosas, rocky road mix, vodka cocktails (mum and I split 4 between us, she enjoys the odd tipple and free samples) and a few other little bits and bobs. I also found some new and some familiar brands to add to my shopping list. 

There was some live music from the imaginatively named Thomas and Thomas who played cover versions of a range of songs that definitely had at least one fan – the little boy dancing away in front of them! They were actually quite good but the dancing was very entertaining and quite distracting. 

We were ambushed by the man from the WWF and spent the rest of the day not walking past him again. I know why charities rent stands at these events but I wish they wouldn’t. 

I managed to get us lost finding the cocktails stand when we decided to make our purchases before leaving, thank goodness we found them again! Maps are very much not my strong point, though I can scent a goody bag at 500 paces it seems. 

Anyway, it was really interesting to see how far the free from and allergy market has come along since I was a sniffly asthmatic kid with eczema now that I am a sniffly asthmatic adult with eczema. 

Me & the Mothership and a giant samosa
Thomas & Thomas doing Jessie J’s Price Tag
The Green Sisters’ amazing free from samosas
food, healthy, life, lifestyle

Milk alternatives for the lactose intolerant 

ramblingmads

I can’t digest lactose – found in cow’s milk, properly. It causes havoc with my gut and makes me quite unwell. Overshare warning – I’m talking non-stop diarrhoea and sometimes vomiting. Also hives and a super sexy all over rash have featured. 

Now, I always say that life’s too short to never eat cheese or chocolate but I have to be very sensible. The mac and cheese I made last week was delicious but it had me in agony all night. Too much dairy. 

Lactose is a protein in milk – most people digest it pretty happily. It’s not found in sheep or goat’s milk fyi – but they tend to be much more expensive as you get less per animal. Though goat’s cheese is delicious. 

I have tried dozens of milk alternatives over the years – from soy milk to oat milk and most nut milks. 

Hazelnut milk is like drinking a milkshake – sweet and creamy, I drink this on its own. 

Almond milk is my preferred alternative – doesn’t have too strong a flavour, copes well in hot drinks, cereal, porridge, makes good smoothies and shakes. 

Coconut milk – I cook with this, bake with it, it goes pretty well in most dishes with lots of flavour – curries, casseroles, mac and cheese, cake. I also use coconut oil in baking. 

Cashew milk – this was very expensive (cashew nuts are pretty pricey) and was lumpy. No thanks. Shame as it didn’t taste too bad but I’m not straining pre-made nut milk every morning. 

Soy milk – my mum swears by this but I honestly can’t get along with it. To me it’s basically coloured water – no flavour, no creaminess like nut milk. 

Oat milk – I was really curious about this, would it be liquefied porridge? I bought a carton when it was on offer (free from being the most expensive thing out there apart from maybe caviar), and was utterly disappointed. It went all funny in my hot chocolate and made my cereal taste a bit odd. I know there are different varieties (mostly made by one company) including one designed specifically for hot drinks, but I want to be able to buy one milk for everything.  

Milk itself is a deeply weird thing – we don’t all keep drinking breast milk as we get older and cows milk is essentially breast milk for baby cows. Cows are kept in a perpetual pregnant/feeding loop to produce milk – no wonder they always look grumpy, and their babies are taken away from them. 

I’m not vegan, or even a very good vegetarian (sorry Mum) but milk is one of the things I find a bit weird. Who discovered you could drink it? Turn it into food stuffs (cheese, chocolate, yoghurt, ice cream, cream, custard etc etc). Who is that person?

healthy, life, lifestyle

Quip – the iPhone of toothbrushes?

ramblingmads

I have always been a bit weird about electric toothbrushes, and until now have dodged them, despite repeated and less than subtle comments from my dentist. But I was offered a pretty decent offer for a Quip toothbrush – advertised as the iPhone of toothbrushes.

You can pick your finish, and I went for a brushed metal finish in copper, it’s a very stylish toothbrush.

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It comes from the US so you have to wait a while, but every three months when it’s time to change the head, a new one will appear in the post.

It’s rather fancy in appearance and has a sticky strip to mount it on the bathroom tiles. It runs off a AAA battery, so you can take it anywhere, unlike the kind that need charging all the time.

My plan was $55 (approx £38) and the replacement heads are $5 – but if you sign up online now, your first head is free and if you register, you can get them free for a whole year – which is what I did. Bargain. I didn’t order the toothpaste as well, mostly because I am fussy about my minty freshness, but that is another option.

I’ll let you know how I get on with my new gadget – a pearly white smile is always a bonus. 😁

baking, birchbox, lifestyle, lifestyle boxes, reviews

Birchbox Home – Limited Edition Box

ramblingmads

The postman brought me a lovely treat this week. The limited edition Birchbox Home box.

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This would make an amazing gift for Christmas if you’re stuck for ideas.

Inside is a range of lovely home accessories and foodie treats to add a touch of colour in these dark days. I mean, sunset before 4pm, what’s that all about!?!

Coming B Birdie Recipe Holder – this sweet resin bird holds your recipe cards so they don’t end up covered in sticky fingerprints.

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La Cocette Paris Chic Chick Oven Glove in Ochre – really cute oven mitt, but the Mr says the print on it is something a little cheeky. 🍈🍈

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Jamini 2 Table Placemats in Blue Wave – these are lovely and machine washable (which is very important when you live with a messy eater!)

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Birchbox Home Tea Time Mug – this has already been swiped and filled with a brew.

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To accompany the mug –

Mini Labo x Birchbox Home Tea Time Ball Infuser and Kusmi Tea Tsarevna (a Russian inspired blend of black tea with spices and oranges)

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Continuing with the tea time theme are a recipe card and jar of lemon curd from Kitchen Trotter

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There’s also an English Scone Mix from Marlette – all you need to add is butter, milk and eggs, everything else has been measured and mixed for you.

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Garden Trading 4 Measuring Spoons – ceramic measuring spoons to help you get your measurements perfect.

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Mini Labo x Birchbox Home Tea Tray (see above) – this is a lovely way to make your afternoon cuppa seem like a luxury, put your mug and biscuits on this pretty patterned tray to serve.

Finally there’s a lovely scented soap bar to scrub up after all the baking. Scented with rose, white musk, jasmine and iris, with poppy oil.

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I can’t wait to pop the kettle on and make great use of these goodies.

Cheers ☕

ramblingmads

fashion, fashion friday, lifestyle, shoes

Fashion Friday – Converse Obsessed

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I love shoes, there are a lot of them in my wardrobe but whatever shoes I buy I always come back to my beloved Converse.

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Photo from Converse Facebook page

I have had so many pairs over the years, in a rainbow of colours and styles.
My first pair were hot pink high tops, and discovering how comfy they were – started an obsession.

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Photo from Converse Facebook page

My idea of Heaven is the Converse Gallery above Size? on Carnaby Street, every colour, style, fabric imaginable. Oh yes, please. They had rainbow sequin ones last time I went, I wanted to stroke them, they were so beautiful.

Even when I go shoe shopping for work shoes or a particular thing, like winter boots, I am drawn to the Converse display, I won’t show you a picture of my many beat up pairs, but at last count, one pair of boots, two high tops, three low rise (including Wonder Woman ones) and four pairs of the pump style ones I live in all summer.

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Photo from Converse Facebook page

I’m started to crave a new pair, roll on the sales, I might even get two!

What are your favourite shoes? Do you have a pair or brand you wear all the time? Let me know in the comments.

ramblingmads

beauty, beauty boxes, lifestyle, make up, my little box, reviews, skincare

My Little Provence Box

ramblingmads

After a delay in posting (don’t ask) my May MLB is finally here. Here’s my thoughts.

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Provence in France is supposed to be a beautiful place. Blue skies, fields of lavender, so it’s no surprise that My Little Box has taken inspiration from it.

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However I have my reservations about this box.

Provence is the home of cult beauty brand L’Occitane and this box feels like an homage to that company, and having recently had a sample box from L’Occitane, this felt a little repetitive (although not everyone will feel this way).

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As always the box is beautifully presented (above are my unboxing pics). Inside is a slightly confused selection.

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There have been a lot of blogger and Facebook complaints about this box, and how MLB seem to be a bit muddled about who their box is aimed up – not for the first time.

The stickers in the My Little Super Box caused the same moans, this time it’s magnets. I will most likely give them to my friend’s little girls to play with, although they are very nice, I don’t need more fridge magnets.

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Most of the actual beauty items are L’Occitane, Verbena soap, Verbena body lotion, Mer & Mistral body wash, Rose hand cream. They also included a My Little Beauty eye shadow crayon. They come in a themed mini canvas bag.

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Eye crayon - a brown with a little shimmer

The lifestyle item is a gold cuff bracelet with two shades of blue thread so you can personalise it (check out their Instagram for ideas).

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MLB are always pretty generous with the box contents – for £10 this box is worth about £40. There is also a L’Occitane voucher (that ran out on May 31st).

There is, as always, a copy of their My Little World magazine. However they’ve changed the format and now it opens out like a poster, which makes it harder to look through. There’s also a cute illustrated quote card, which will find a home on my wardrobe inspiration wall.

All in all, not thrilled with this box, I prefer a wider selection of products, not an advert for one company. Hopefully June’s box will do better. Still fancy a trip to Provence though!

ramblingmads

beauty, body positive, healthy, lifestyle

Cover girls – what’s wrong with a fuller figure?

ramblingmads

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Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson are starring in the upcoming Pitch Perfect 2, and popping up on magazine covers all over the place to promote it.

I rarely bother buying glossy ‘fashion’ magazines full of pictures of hungry looking models in ridiculous, over-priced clothes.  If I do it’s usually just Glamour, which I grew up with – picked up a copy from my cousin’s bedroom floor aged 12, read it pretty much ever since.

Very occasionally if a cover star or strap line intrigues me I will buy another. I think some of them are wildly over-priced for a thick bundle of shiny adverts.

This month I got Glamour and Elle, both of which claim feminist credentials.
Glamour’s cover depicts Kendrick, a slim brunette, full figure in a dress, Elle has her co-star Wilson but a close up of her face framed by blonde curls.

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A quick flick through Instagram or Facebook shows that this is common. Slim actresses and models are most often photographed in full, while curvier women are cropped to just their face.

Inside Elle Wilson is shown in lovely dresses, but never a close up of her body, either just her face or from a distance and we know these magazines love their photoshop.

Apparently the subscriber’s edition featured a full figure shot but the one on display in supermarkets and newsagents isn’t the same and that’s where they have the most impact and influence.

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As a child I was all legs, they’re still pretty long but a cruel combination of genetics, medical issues and mental health in my teens caused me to put on a lot of weight.

I’m lighter now than I was but still have a way to go to be fully happy in my skin, although I will always be curvy, my bone structure dictates that (broad shoulders, wide hips).

But if I were growing up in today’s culture, with the focus on image and appearance, I would struggle to find anyone who looks like me on the covers of the magazines, arranged as they are at eye level and often above or next to ones aimed at  younger girls and teens.

Rebel’s pretty, and her weight has clearly not been an issue in her career as she’s going from strength to strength. So why not put her whole body on the cover and celebrate some body diversity (and yes I’d like a range of ages and ethnicities on covers too).

I’ve been trying to gain some confidence in my body, hence the healthy eating and exercising. I’ve also been following some body positive bloggers and Instagram accounts (check out @fullerfigurefullerbust @curvesandcurlsuk #effyourbeautystandards @tessholliday @toodalookatie @ladyvoluptuous @biggalyoga) for some of women I’ve been taking inspiration from.

I’m also addressing the medical issues that affect my weight, i’ve been diagnosed with an under-active thyroid and started treatment but what I’ve mostly been learning is that confidence doesn’t rely on the number on the label of your clothes (much of which varies widely anyway) but on your embracing your body, personality and comes at any size.

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So let’s celebrate ourselves, whatever size or shape you are. You are good enough, beautiful enough, cool enough, strong enough #effyourbeautystandards society and let us feel good about who we are.

ramblingmads

beauty boxes, healthy, lifestyle, mindfulness, reviews, skincare, yoga

BuddhiBox – review

ramblingmads

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BuddhiBox is a yoga lover’s beauty and lifestyle box from the US.

They don’t currently ship to the UK as a subscription but you can buy the boxes through Etsy. Which doesn’t make a huge amount of sense and costs a lot more than the equivalent on their website, before shipping.

I also had to pay a hefty customs charge, which means until there’s an easier way to order this box, I probably won’t again. Which is a shame because their Instagram is full of lovely things included in their monthly boxes.

Anyway, back to this one.

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It’s not a huge box but it is quite full. I said I didn’t mind which box I got, this is March’s. April’s is curated by a yogi called Jo and contains different items.

I received a small pot of rosewater ghee face & skin cream, which intrigues me as ghee is more commonly used in Indian cooking.

An organic sanitizer spray for use after yoga to kill any bacteria that transfers from the mat to your hands. I recommend giving your yoga mat a spritz of anti-bac every now and then and hanging it outside every now and then to air it so that feet smell doesn’t linger. This will probably end up in my bag, I like to carry hand sanitizer when commuting.

A fancy bottle of nail polish in Namaste, this has no formaldehyde and other not very pleasant chemicals and is a nude shade.

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There was also a small yoga strap, which is used to assist with poses.

A small malas or Buddhist prayer bead bracelet to aid in meditation.

A recipe card for a dish called kitchari, which seems to be a bit like dhal with mung beans and rice.

A yoga pose card – tree pose, which is one of my favourite poses as it’s a big stretch to the sky and you have to focus to maintain your balance.

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The card listing the box’s contents has a great quote on it “you are the sky. Everything else is just weather” – Pema Chodron. 

Loose leaf oolong tea, custom blended for BuddhiBox. It also has a reusable muslin tea bag, which is a clever idea. I don’t drink black tea or coffee, mostly just water and herbal teas so this will come in useful.

There are a couple of business cards from the different companies involved – some with discounts and then the randomest item. A temporary tattoo.

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I don’t really get the need for this item and would have preferred something else. This seems to be a bit of a trend because I’ve had at least one beauty box recently with temporary tattoos in them. I remember they were all the rage the summer I was 9, I think a cereal company were giving them away, but I don’t see many grown women feeling the need.

All in all it’s a bit mixed and not all of the items seem connected to yoga or meditation. As I said at the start this was pretty expensive so I’m a little disappointed at the contents. Hopefully they’ll start shipping internationally through their website soon and the prices will be comparative to the US.

ramblingmads

art, challenges, healthy, instagram, lifestyle, mindfulness

Mandalas and mindfulness

ramblingmads

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Mandala means ‘sacred circle’ and in Eastern cultures are symbols of wholeness and eternity.

They are often used as a form of art therapy as they are absorbing and meditative.

I’ve been trying to practice mindfulness and learn to control my anxiety better.

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And this week I’ve been colouring as a way to relax the part of my brain that panics and worries, and stimulate my creative side again.

I got the first issue of Art Therapy magazine which had some interesting patterns to colour in.

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I’ve got some colouring books for adults to work on, so far I’m quite enjoying it and I do feel calmer when I’m doing it.

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I’ll be posting them over on my  Instagram so if you’re interested come and take a look.

ramblingmads

beauty boxes, clean eating, food, healthy, lifestyle, recipes, skincare

The Vegan Kind Mystery Box

ramblingmads

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So a little box of treats winged its wayt to me from Glasgow.

I am trying to eat better and stay away from chemical heavy cosmetics and beauty products so I thought The Vegan Kind’s boxes would be worth a look.

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This is apparently a mystery box, presumably they are themed. This one contained several edible things and a body wash.

There was a pouch of pear puree which went into my herbalife shake along with a banana.

The red banana powder is something I already use and like, so this was a bonus as it’s not particularly cheap.

The gingerbread topper mix – designed for I think granola or muesli will either end up in a shake or on a fruit salad.

Quinoa crisps which I will try during the week with some quark dip.

Teabags – I like a herbal tea every now and then – so these will be drunk at some point.

Recipe card – what a lovely idea, including a recipe card so you can make something tasty – this one’s for a super green smoothie.

Finally the Organic Surge shower gel – started using this yesterday – smells amazing and really cleansing. And it’s a generous full-size bottle not a dinky sample.

I’ve also ordered their vegan beauty box to test out, will review once it’s delivered.

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