Faux fur fashion...

I am loving grey this Winter! I actually had very little grey in my wardrobe so I've been picking up a few new bits but these grey over the knee boots from Penneys are a new staple in my wardrobe! I wore them out recently with leather look leggings and my grey faux fur gillet from Only,,,and of course my new pride and joy, my grey Michael Kors handbag! The black sheer long sleeve top is also Penneys.

Faux fur Gillet...Only...similar here: BooHoo

Leather jeggings...Penneys...similar here: BooHoo

Over the knee grey boots...Penneys...similar here: River Island  

Christmas Jumpers and Santa Visits!

I LOVE our visit to Santa every year! Truth be told I put way to much thought into where to go and what Christmas jumpers I'll get the boys!! But I just think it's such a fun, special, memorable time of year! 

Last year we went to 'Breakfast with Santa' in O Mearas Garden Centre just outside Mullingar. TJ was a bit under the weather but we still had a lovely morning. 

http://www.omearasgardencentre.com/index.htm

The year before we went to Santa in Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Senan is soccer mad so he loved this tour! TJ was a bit young so it went over his head! 

http://www.causey.ie/causey-events/causey-christmas-experience

I love this picture because it was TJ's first Christmas! We went to Causey Farm in Co. Meath. It really is a fantastic experience but you need to book early as it fills up very quickly!

This year is Annabels first Christmas which I think is so exciting!! I can't wait to buy her lots of tartan and red dresses! I haven't decided where we are visiting Santa yet but I need to get something booked very soon! I have made a start on our Christmas jumpers though, I'm going for navy and red theme this year :) 

http://www.dunnesstores.com/younger-boys-light-up-christmas-jumper/younger-boys-3-9-years/dunnesstores/fcp-product/5380315?colour=navy

http://www.dunnesstores.com/older-boys-christmas-jumper/older-boys-9-14-years/dunnesstores/fcp-product/5384193?colour=red

http://ie.nextdirect.com/en/g942178s1#425935

RTE make-over experience!

A few weeks back I emailed the Today Show on RTE to nominate my amazing mother for a make over. I could write paragraphs about what a wonderful mother and woman she is but in a nutshell she has raised 6 children, is the most self-less person I know and would go to the ends of the earth to help anyone in need. So she without doubt deserved to be pampered and spoiled for a day!

We were delighted to get the call to say she was one of the lucky ones to be chosen so myself, Mammy and my sister Doreen packed our bags and headed down to Cork! (A bit of a spin from Westmeath but totally worth it!) 

We stayed in the Imperial Hotel in the city centre of Cork, the rooms were fab, gorgeous breakfast and fantastic location for the shops! 

That night we went around the corner to Il Padrino restaurant for the tastiest Italian meal! After bruschetta and garlic bread for starters I had a creamy salmon and linguini dish, it was so tasty but very heavy! 

So, getting to the good bit now! 

We were in RTE studios for about 9am and honestly for the entire morning everybody we met was so nice and friendly and chatty, it was a wonderful atmosphere! 

Mammy had her choice of about 8 dresses from Debehnams, after trying them on she had a clear winner, it was fab! The colour suited her so well, the fabric really emphasised her great hour glass figure and the bit of bling and rooshing just gave it that edge! She matched it with a fab pair of Jasper Conron kitten heels. 

Her hair was put up into a classy French roll and the make up artist from Yves Saint Laurent did a fab job...and she got to keep a gorgeous goodie bag of products! 

Myself and my sister got to be in the middle of everything going on, it was great fun to see the 'behind the scenes!' 

Daithi and Maura were so lovely and chatty and friendly, I suppose I always expect they'll be too busy or self absorbed to chat to us mere common people but no they were full of chat and just the same as the rest of us!!

We popped into Electric for some lunch after the excitement of the morning, it was the perfect way to round of the day!

If you've ever thought about emailing in you should! It's great fun and a special treat and way to show someone you love just how much you really think of them! 

My Everyday Makeup Musts....

Here is the make up I use everyday...

It usually takes me about 5 or 10 minutes in the morning to pop on my makeup, I'd love to spend longer but 3 kids, lunches, signing copies and getting to work on time means time is limited!! 

1. Blank Canvas 

I LOVE this palette for contouring and as you can see I love the soft peach as a nice blush. 

http://www.blankcanvascosmetics.com/products/6-contour-highlight-palette-1-powders.html

2. Mac Blusher

I adore the sheen of this blusher.

3. Mac Lip Liner-Subculture 

A really natural lip colour....as you can see I love it so much it's almost gone!! 

4. No. 7 Beautifully Matte Foundation.

This is my everyday go to foundation, I use 'Warm Beige'. I love the matte-ness as I have quite oily skin. 

5. Eyes Uncovered Nude Pallete 

I use this to fill in my eyebrows with the darkest shade and then a soft natural look on my eyelids. 

6. Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer

I use this more so as contouring under my eyes, on my nose and forehead, I just like the coverage and shade. 

7. No.7 Dramatic Lift

I love this mascara, possibly one of my favourite ever! I would highly recommend this mascara. 

And tadaaa....

This is the finished look, quite a subtle everyday makeup :) (no filter)

Baby Annabel 8 month Update!

How is Annabel eight months old already! Third time around I can definitely say it's gone by in the blink of an eye!

Annabel had her 8 month developmental checkup the other day. All went well. The only area of concern is that she is not 'weight bearing' which basically means when I stand her up she makes no effort to stand on her own two legs. So, I have to get practising with her and bring her back in a month to see if there has been an improvement. 

Annabel was a big baby when she was born (10pd 5ounces) and she's still at the top end of the graph, the 98th percentile to be exact, again,because everything is in proportion I don't think there's anything to be alarmed about, I'm just hoping she might have long legs and not my short stumpy ones!!

Weight: 10.22kg

Height: 73cm

Size clothes: Annabel is wearing size 9-12 months clothes. She's the full of them and any new clothes I buy from now on will be 12-18 months. 

Nappy size: Annabel has just moved up the Size 4 Aldi nappies 

Food: The public health nurse told me I should be cutting back on the bottles and Annabel should be getting 3 meals a day. At the moment I give her baby rice/cereal for breakfast. She gets a fruit pouch during the day, some days she devours it, other days it's hardly touched.  I don't give her a proper dinner as such, just tastes of what we are eating, so I need to start giving her a proper dinner. She gets 4x8oz bottles, one when she wakes up, one at 11, one at 4 and one in the evening from about 7. She loves trying to feed herself finger food. 

Sleep: Annabel sleeps quite well (which I am so thankful for!) She wakes at about 6:30 every morning and goes down to sleep between 8:30 and 9pm. She naps at about 9:30am for an hour. Again at 1ish for an hour and has a 30minute cat nap at 6in the evening. She sleeps through the odd night unless her teeth are bothering her she might be a bit unsettled.

Teeth: Speaking of teeth, she has none yet! I can see one about to break throughout the bottom gum so I'm sure it'll make an appearance soon! 

Annabel is starting to babble lots! She loves playing peek a boo and loves songs and rhymes. If she's unsettled in the car she loves twinkle Twinkle or even turning the radio up on a good song settles her! She is quite a placid, happy baby. She has however started to notice if I leave the room and will bawl!!! So it's definitely more difficult to leave her down and get anything done around the house! She can sit up by herself, and she can roll over, she's happy on her belly and can move around but is by no means crawling yet. She loves her two brothers and always smiles and jumps and babbles when she sees them in the morning.  

I have to say I really love this stage, she's interacting, she's eating food, she's sleeping all night...I hope I haven't just jinxed myself!