adventures in post, fun stuff, jewellery

Happy Flair – plants are friends

ramblingmads

Happy Flair is a super cheery box of bits and bobs from the team at Punky Pins, one of my favourite indie jewellery and accessories companies. 

You can opt for pin only or full flair, which obviously is very me.  Each month’s box is themed and slipped through the letterbox by the postman. 

This month’s is full of all things green. I love my plants, mostly cacti and succulents, and clearly the Happy Flair team have the same taste in plants. 


Inside the box are stickers, a postcard, pin, necklace, patch and a note card. Each box is different but this may just be my favourite. 

fashion, fashion friday, wardrobe

Fashion Friday: big shoulders are back! 

ramblingmads

Flicking through Glamour the other day I saw one of my fashion nightmares amongst the endless pictures of overpriced (and often unappealing) clothes. 

I have the shoulders of a shot putter (gold –  year 10 girls shot putt – thank you) or a rugby player (I was very into that as a sport aged 14, excellent for dealing with teenage angst). 

In other words they’re broad. I avoid shoulder pads like the plague and spaghetti straps look lost floating somewhere between where my neck ends and my arm begins. 

The Mr just about pulls these off (ice hockey pads)

Bold shoulders are not a good look if you’re broad – I don’t want to draw attention to them thanks. Even more so as I start looking at wedding dresses. Yes I could probably carry a sheep slung round my shoulders like my ancestors may have done, but that’s not really what I’m going for if it’s all the same. 

Those awful 80s shoulders

I am very lucky I think that I was a baby in the 80s and missed shoulder pads in everything, my skinny shouldered mother on the other hand just looks odd with pointy jackets on, her current slim, tailored look suits her better (apparently one of the benefits of getting older is you stop caring about fashion and instead go for quality and cut that suits you.  Bring it on I say.)

Even Dolce & Gabbana couldn’t convince me

After a summer of the cold shoulder top – also not a friend of the broad of shoulder, do we really need a winter of mad looking clothes that scream, hello I’m good with a discus. If you’re me, anyway. 

fun stuff, gardening, happy mail, lifestyle boxes, reviews

Buddy Box – Plant Life

ramblingmads

This month’s Buddy Box from The Blurt Foundation has arrived and it’s a green fingered box. 

I love growing things, I’m just not very good at it. 

There’s a clever little grow your own kit, adding that to my windowsill garden right now, a cute pot plant pin, cactus shaped rubber, vanilla scented soap, herbal tea and postcards. 

Although summer is drawing to a close my plants are still blooming so this feels a timely little treat as the evenings begin to get longer. 

fun stuff, life

30 Years Young

ramblingmads

Happy Birthday to me.  

Thank goodness my mum dropped the tradition of ringing the birthday person at the time they were born – 6am in my case. I would not be pleased. 

Despite this being a ‘big’ birthday, I’m keeping it low key – dinner with the Mr and Sunday lunch with my parents to come. No wild parties, too old now, way past my bedtime. 

Do you have any birthday traditions? I did but since I moved out of my parents’ house a few of them have fallen by the wayside.  Like birthday breakfasts – my mum used to buy pain au chocolat for birthdays. I also didn’t have a cake, mostly because I forgot to buy one. 

challenges, charity, exercise, fun stuff, refuge

#Walk4Refuge 

ramblingmads

Sunday saw me hobbling around London raising money for Refuge. Here’s some photos. 

Tower Bridge
From the modern to the ancient
Tower of London
City Hall, Walkie Talkie, Gherkin
Shakespeare’s Globe
Tate Modern & Millennium Bridge
City of contrasts
Goodie bag
Number
The route
Medal

You can still sponsor me (all money goes to Refuge) here: https://walk4.everydayhero.com/uk/madeleine 

beauty, beauty boxes, glossybox, reviews

Red x Glossybox 

ramblingmads

I honestly think I’m done with Glossybox. This month’s collaboration with Red Magazine just isn’t good enough. 

Also where is my bonus MUA palette?? Last month Glossybox sent out an email saying that people had received the wrong palettes so a replacement would be included in this box. But nope. 

Too Faced Better than Sex mascara.  You know my feelings about mascara in beauty boxes. I am not going to repeat them. 

Revlon Gel Envy Diamond Top Coat – eh. Not feeling particularly thrilled by this. 

Radial Smokey Eye Pen – what is the point of filling out a beauty profile if almost every month they send another eye liner. 

The Organic Pharmacy Antioxidant Lip Balm – this may be the only thing in the box I get much use of. Even though I have 9 million lip balms. 

Just completely underwhelmed. 

Uncategorized

Suicide Prevention Day 

ramblingmads

Today is World Suicide Prevention Day. 

I am someone who has attempted suicide, I am someone who is fighting every day to stay alive. 

At the moment I decided I didn’t want to be here anymore I wasn’t being selfish, I genuinely thought the world and the people I love would be better off without me. 

I was in so much pain, my heart felt like it had broken, I couldn’t cope with the weight of my emotions, my depression, my anxiety anymore. I just wanted to be free from that. 

When you call someone who has attempted suicide selfish or attention seeking you miss the point entirely. 

Mental illness causes pain and terror, just like physical illness can, and has no cure. Yes you can manage your condition but you’ll never be entirely free from it. 

Walking through the Tube station I spotted posters telling people to speak out if they’re having suicidal thoughts but that’s easier said than done. 

I’ve been told to ‘walk it off’ after an anxiety attack that left me unable to breathe or stop shaking. I’ve been told to stop being so dramatic, to do some exercise, to eat healthier, to just relax. 

You don’t say anything after a while, you get tired of dealing with people’s responses, with the unhelpful things they say. You’re already dealing with the voices of disappointment and self-loathing that sound just like yours, you don’t need to hear theirs. 

For the time being I’m still here – but I’m not predicting anything. I know that this darkness swirls inside me, kept just at bay by meds and support. I cannot guarantee that it won’t ever reach up and drag me with it. But for now I’m alive. 

If you feel like you can’t cope anymore, please know you’re not alone, there are others who feel the same. There is help, if you feel able to ask for it, please do. 

#stayalive is one of the hashtags related to World Suicide Prevention Day and if you want to share your story – please use it so we can support others in their journey and let them know they’re not alone. 

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

Birchbox Heroes

ramblingmads

It’s a Birch-drawer this month, which I prefer to the boxes – they’re really reusable too. The top is decorated with a pastel geometric design which I like. 

Inside is possibly my favourite Birchbox collection ever. 

Starskin Eye Catcher mask – a bio-cellulose mask with coconut juice and liquorice root to brighten, smooth and de-puff. My eyes often need a little love by the end of the evening so these little pads will come in a treat. 

Nuxe Prodigieux Shower Oil – this is very nice, I’ve had it before, it’s fab on freshly shaved legs in the shower. 
Nailtiques Protein Formula 2 – keratin, protein and calcium to bond the layers of nails to stop them splitting and peeling. Which is something that happens to my stressed out nails desperately need. 

Model Co Highlighting Trio – slightly sparkly, this cream highlighter gives you a glittery glow on cheekbones, brow bones and eyelids. 
Amika Bombshell Blowout Spray – volumizing, smoothing and texturising in one, with sea Buckthorn Berry oil antioxidants to strengthen and repair. My hair is a law unto itself – but maybe this can tame it. I’d like some volume and less madness please. 

As a bonus for introducing a friend to Birchbox  (not 100% sure who) I got a dinky little bracelet, embossed with ‘Imagine’ 

There was also a voucher for a photo box from Lalabox – a photo printing app which sends out your snaps in a gift box.  

The drawer/box will be reused too, like previous ones, to store various bits and pieces, and I wish they did it every month, they’re much nicer than the boxes. 

After a few slightly lacking months which have seriously had me thinking of cancelling the box, this was a really good selection of bits. So Birchbox is on notice – next month’s will make or break it. 

beauty, beauty boxes, look fantastic, make up, reviews

Happy #LFBday #LFBeautyBox 

ramblingmads

Look Fantastic is celebrating its second birthday, conveniently in the same month as I celebrate my 30th. 

Inside the box are six mini treats to celebrate. 

Argan Liquid Gold BB Cream – infused with argan oil and 24 carat gold this has a clever formula designed to adapt to your skin tone for a healthy glow. 
BareMinerals Mini Moxie Lipstick – packed with Vitamins A, C and E, Omega Fatty Acids and Abyssinian Oil to nourish your lips while delivering a hint of colour.  

Lord & Berry Mini Luminizer Stick – doubling as a concealer, this super silky formula blends into skin to leave a radiant look. 
Bliss Lemon and Sage Maximum Moisture Cream – Coconut oil and Vitamin E improve skin tone and Sodium Hyaluronate locks in moisture. Plus it smells nice. 

Christophe Robin Purifying Shampoo – chemical free with Jujube Bark and Cherry Flower Extracts to remove dry skin and flaking. 

Gatineau Collagene Expert Eye Pads – designed to refresh and revive tired eyes with Collagen, Glycerin and Allantoin.

Not a bad bunch really.  A bit of everything in a box. And after the week I’ve had this is a real treat. Now I’m off to pamper myself. 

life, updates

Life

ramblingmads

It’s been a bit quiet recently here in my little corner of the internets. Blame life, it keeps getting in the way of blogging. 

I haven’t had the best week, including spending Wednesday afternoon in tears after a really bad, sad thing happened. I’ve also been so tired that I’ve risked nodding off at work. Oops. 

So what’s keeping me up at night? Well, I never sleep very well anyway due to my delightfully restless legs (muscle spasms all night long) and habit of stopping breathing  (asthma) but there’s been some actual things that my brain has been struggling with.  

In happier news – wedding planning continues apace, but it’s keeping me up as the perfectionist part of me stresses out over details and the obsessive part of my anxiety goes into meltdown. 

The aim is to get everything organised well in advance and then not stress out at the time. Stress does funny things to my body and has caused issues for my mental health in the past. So no-stress wedding planning it is. 

I’m confirming venues this weekend and then paying deposits all over the place – for photos, hair and make up, a jukebox with kareoke (the Mr loves kareoke), a photo booth. You name it, it needs paying. 

A friend is making the cake and another is doing the flowers  (these are their actual jobs) and that’s less hassle. My cousin’s girlfriend has kindly offered to design our invites (she’s a graphic designer) and the Mr is in charge of kitting out the menfolk. 

My lovely Dad has offered to help pay the deposits so we can still afford rent and food, yay. I know not everyone’s so lucky to have family who can help out, so I’m really grateful. 

I just need to sort out the little touches and we’ve even picked our colour scheme, so that’s simple. 

Would you like more wedding posts? A how-to guide if you like? Please let me know.