I’m big time glam crushing all over Fiona at the moment! She is a one stop shop doing both makeup and hair, which makes life so much easier when you have an event to get ready for.
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STUCK IN BED? YOUR GO TO NETFLIX BINGE WATCH LIST.
Whilst stuck in my bed for over two weeks recovering from my Hernia and Tummy Tuck operation I watched A LOT of TV. I mean hours upon hours as that’s all I could bring myself to do. So here was my go to list of Netflix binge options, some are girly, some are easy watches and others are gripping!
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THE BIG CUT – MY EXPERIENCE WITH A TUMMY TUCK
Grab a cuppa, take a seat as this is a long one. I have put off writing this blog for a few months now as I was healing and didn’t know how to tackle it, there is just so much to say. When I first wrote about my hernia, Diastasis Recti and tummy tuck operation I was so nervous to how people would react, but I only had an out pouring of positivity, which was so nice to receive prior to major surgery.
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HYDRATING MISTS ARE A BIG THING – HERE ARE MY PERSONAL FAVOURITES
Hydrating mists have been big in the beauty world for the last few years and I totally understand why. They are one of my favourite beauty items for a number of reasons; they’re portable so it’s easy to give the skin a blast of moisture or freshen up when needed, use before applying makeup to add to application or set your powders with it, they invigorate tired skin as well and give you that dewy look everyone is after. What’s not to love girlfriends, get amongst if you haven’t already!
Here are a few of my personal favourites I’ve used from $10 – so something to suit everyone’s budgets.
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Ch ch chaaaaanges
Ok guys, this is bloody huge news for us. No there isn’t another nugget on the way, we are moving! MOVING! To the Mount, Jays home town. I’m nervous but excited all at the same time. At the end of August, the beach will be our new home for the foreseeable future.
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Asian Broth with Chicken and Mushroom Dumplings – Recipe
I have nevr really been a dumpling soup kinda gal, pan fried was more my jam. But when I was sent this recipe along with the ingredients this week I was keen to give it a whirl. I wasn’t expecting it to blow my mind like it did, it was the most amazing thing I have cooked in a while. It seriously was delicious and the amount of requests I had to share the recipe were insane. So here it is, perfect for these cold winter nights!
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All You Need To Know About That Dermal Roll Life
I have been taking part of a Skin journey with Caci Clinic for the last few months and today was my second appointment with what looks like a tiny little torture device, the Dermal Roller. While it looks like a tiny torture device covered in painful needles it’s more like a one-stop shop skin savor device for the skin. Why? It has a tonne of benefits, reduction in deeply pitted acne scarring, fine lines and wrinkles, stretch marks, skin discoloration, collagen induction, pore shrinkage and enhanced product absorption. Sounds good right?
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All The Feels
In a matter of seconds, I kind of lost it today. Not in the crazy throw shit around kind of way, but went from feeling ok to feeling exhausted, frustrated, mad, anxious, sad and teary all at the same time. I had a little bit of a rant on my Instagram story as I am a firm believer in venting, but I still held back.
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Dads View – Welcome To Your New Life
In the nesting period prior to the boys arriving Anna had created a well-oiled infant care factory, everything was within arms reach from the change table, creams, wipes, and nappies muelled back from the States by Anna’s father, we had in-exhaustible stock piles of everything imaginable. Anna would park up like a breeding sow while I passed her our sons, burped, changed, swaddled and settled them on a two hourly schedule. Feed, burp, sleep, shit, change, repeat. We were getting maybe 30-40 mins sleep in-between the grueling schedule. Anna’s mother moved in full time during the day with us, cooking, cleaning, forward momentum. Linear never lateral remember. This wasn’t exactly what I had planned for parenthood, I had anticipated spending time at cafes with my wife in active wear, myself in loafers, khakis and polo shirts, fuck I don’t know, whatever I thought it wasn’t this! A relentless punishing schedule of screaming infants and sleepless nights was the hand we were dealt and it started to take its toll. The boys had both colic and reflux, this meant all the time Anna would spend feeding them would be instantly wasted as the only meal option to them would turn and burn its way back up and out of their mouths. We were forever covered in the sweet sickly smell of breast milk vomit. We tried everything, and by everything, I mean, EVERY FUCKEN THING. Gripe water, losec, kumara mash and breast milk, dietary changes for Anna who at this stage was still suffering from hyperemesis, you can imagine how much fun it would be spewing while breast feeding twins at the same time and tearing your c section stitches. There was nothing in her tank other than love and it was beginning to look like that wasn’t enough.
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Dads View – Hello Babies
I can still remember the drive to the hospital, last nights drinks had me stragely relaxed. I was taking photos of the sunrise along the motorway as we drove, more photos out the hospital window where we waited for the plan of attack. I guess at this stage it still felt like we were just going to be sent home, we were 34 weeks and I still had a couple of big nights up my sleeve and our OB wasn’t around, neither was his back up so here we are with option number 3 in his casual morning attire. This isn’t the plan. Turns out it is.
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Shot By Aaron K
You Asked, I Answered.
I get asked random questions all the time on Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook so I thought I would do a call out and pull some together into a blog post. I’m an open book, so am happy to share anything people are curious about. Topics covering Alopecia, Oscar & Hunter, Tummy Tuck (as of recently) and what I used to do prior to motherhood are the most popular topic of questions it seems. If I have missed anything ask away and I can add to this or do a round 2.
Anyway here goes…..
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Springfree Trampoline and the genius Tgoma…is it worth it?
I have been asked so many times since we got the Springfree my thoughts on it…so here goes.
The Nuggets are full of energy, what better way to be able to burn that energy off at home than with a trampoline? So the hunt was on for the best tramp to suit our needs. It seemed every tramp these days came with a net system to stop falls, but only one stood out in terms of the functionality and safety standards and that is Springfree. Not only does it not have springs and pads for chidren to fall into or have little fingers stuck between (those springs/pads cause 90% of product related trampoline injuries), but because the springs were underneath all that space that is usually taken up by pads was now functional jump space, we have the medium oval. Which is awesome when you have a tiny backyard like us!
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ST JOHN – A CHARITY WE NEED TO GET BEHIND
You may see people from St John out in the streets next week April 9 – 16 shaking their buckers as part of the annual Heart Of Gold street appeal to raise money for command units and specialist specialist equipment to be used when responding to major emergencies.
I don’t think you need me to tell you how important St Johns is to our nation, they run all our ambulance services and are a charity. Which means they rely on donations and grants to help treat nearly half a million people each year.
Read MoreHernia Repair And…..A Tummy Tuck. It’s Happening.
Tomorrow I am getting my hernia fixed and a tummy tuck.
I’m very excited but I’ve debated blogging about this decision for ages.
Why I’m nervous to share this part of my life? I can just imagine people chiming in already with “love yourself for who you are” “embrace the mummy tummy” blah blah blah.
So why blog about it?
- I share a lot of my life online with you all, and I pride myself with being open and honest with you all. Basically I try to keep it real.
- If I didn’t share this I would feel dishonest, like I was hiding something. That doesn’t sit right with me. This I a personal space, so it is just pointless if I don’t share personal changes in my life. There are definitely some things off limits, but this isn’t
- I have already shared my previous experience with plastic surgery.
- I want you to realise that it’s ok to do something like this for yourself. I’m not saying everyone has to get rid of excess skin, if you are happy with it then that’s awesome. But if you’re not, and you want to do something about it then that’s ok too.
- I feel there is so much pressure either way on women these days, you can’t win. People being made to feel embarrassed that they are “vain” enough to want to make a change, to feeling extreme pressure to accept their tiger stripes and be proud of them. Which is funny, because I don’t mind my stretch marks at all, they don’t actually bother me and yes, are a visual reminder of the amazing thing my body did, grow and carry twins. For me it’s the excess skin that they cause that has lead me to this.
Why I’m getting this done?
- It all started with my hernia. I have one in my groin which is really strange for women to get during pregnancy. They usually get them around their belly button. But mine is a complication from my c-section and still suffering from hyperemesis. The constant heaving and vomitting caused a tear in my abdominal wall. It can only be fixed via surgery. I put it off for the last 3 years as it wasn’t causing me too much pain yet and the recovery would be tough with small very dependent babies.
- The last 6 months it has gotten worse and worse, if I sneeze or cough now I have to hold the area to stop it protruding and if I move in certain directions (twisting etc) fast it is such a sharp take your breathe away pain. So time to get that sucker fixed.
- My excess skin has bothered me for 3 years now. I literally can feel it on my lap when I sit down. It gets in the way of how I dress. I know a lot of you will think I’m crazy and don’t think I have this tummy at all, but I hide it well. I have naturally very slim legs/ams etc so people always tell me I’m being silly when I say my midsection is a problem. I wear baggy tops, dresses, nothing from fitting to hide my “issue”. It’s been a problem even when I have been much lighter than I am now, the skin just gets in the way. Jeans are a nightmare, to buy jeans that fit my legs I get massive issues with the skin on my stomach spilling out everywhere…but to get jeans that fit around/accomodate that skin they are massive on my legs and actually fall down constantly.
- The two procedures can be done in one go as the incision for the hernia repair is the same area as the TT. Ideal. I also have the hernia part of the operation covered by ACC as it’s a complication from the c-section. So it just seemed right to combine them and have the down time all in one hit and have some of the hospital/theatre costs etc covered.
So there it is, I hope you are all supportive during this time. I can tell you I won’t have the energy to deal with anyone making snarky comments about it and they will be deleted. Trust me, I do love myself, this isn’t going to make me love myself any more (I’m very good at accepting not so ideal things about myself, hello full body hair loss!). It’s just a step to make me feel more comfortable in day to day life, literally. I won’t have something dragging me down around my middle. Oh and I can tell you now I can’t imagine doing before and afters as it’s not about that for me.
So, I’m going to be stuck in a jazzy recliner power chair I have hired for the next few weeks, so hit me with some good tv series recommendations that I can get stuck into. I’m going to have ALOT of spare time!
Chillsculpt – Freezing Away Stubborn Areas Of Fat
Cryolipolysis…what on earth is that you say? Cryolipolysis is the process of freezing your fat cells which crystallise, break down and then pass through your body through you natural metabolism process. Fancy right? But so clever. Now don’t get too excited, this isn’t a weight loss solution, you can’t freeze the fat off your entire body, it’s used to target specific areas of stubborn fat that isn’t budging through diet and exercise. That for me? The back of my hips giving me that sweet little muffin top.
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Osmosis Colour - Review
About a month ago I visited the Osmosis headquarters and was schooled in their new beauty line Osmosis Colour, well I shouldn't say new, as it isn't, but for some reason I hadn't come across it which is weird as I know all about their skincare range. Madness I tell ya! The collection is mineral based and I have fallen in love with it more and more from the day I started wearing it. Where to start?
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Chicken Lettuce Cups - Recipe
So I made my Chicken Lettuce cups and snapped them the other day and had so many requests for the recipe, so here it is. I usually double this so I have left overs for the next few days. It even gets better with time, all the flavours melt together
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Breakfast Bun On The Fly - Recipe
As a mum of two young and rambunctious toddlers I’m always looking for easy, but delicious breakfast option for the Nuggets, Jay and I. I personally try to avoid Gluten where possible, looking like I’m pregnant with a second set of twins isn’t fun, and that’s how gluten affects me. Flat tummy one moment, painful bloated one the next.
So when Vogels got in touch about their new gluten-free wholemeal buns I was happy to try them out and whip up a recipe, if you can even call it that as its so easy. This is a take on one of our friend’s dishes they served us when I was pregnant, they called it Ghetto Satay Eggs and it’s delicious and easy peasy.
So here it is, simple, easy Satay Eggs.
Get ready for it…
Step 1, toast lightly your buns in the oven or toaster so they are warm (but ditch this step if you are in a rush)
Step 2, butter your Bap and then cover the base in crunchy peanut butter. For my big boy I add chilli flakes as Jay likes all things spicy.
Step 3, fry an egg
Step 4, pop your egg on the bun, close and serve.
BOOM I told you it was easy, I know it sounds weird but it’s such a good combo and because it’s served in a bun the boys can take it in the car if we are rushing out the door. Which lets face it, is often the case! It’s easy clean up too, no mess or fuss. Trust me, please give it a whirl and let me know your thoughts. If you are down with gluten then try it on toasted Vogels bread, just as delish!
Oh My Glitter...M•A•C MARIAH CAREY
The brand new and highly anticipated M•A•CMariah Carey collection landed on my door step today and oh my oh my it has me excited. The packaging is so beautiful, and EVERYTHING you would expect from Mariah herself. Glitter, glitter and gold! Check the epic range below.
Read MoreBeautiful Beauty Gifts
Christmas time, a time for connecting with family and friends, eating, drinking and being grateful for our wonderful lives...AND all the beauty brands release their holiday collections. I LOVE the holiday collections, they are usually packs of adorable minis, limited edition prints, products and colours, makeup bags and general awesomeness. That's totally a word! Here are a select few of my favourite gift sets this season. Plus a giveaway for one lucky reader.
Advent calendars are so much better when filled with Jo Malone minis. Am I right or am I right?! The House Of Jo Malone is so lust worthy, just look at that packaging!
In all those gorgeous little boxes is a mixture of travel candles, bath oils, hand lotion, body creme, hand wash and cologne. Jo Malone can't put a foot wrong in my book, so you know you will LOVE each and every treat awaiting you on your lead up to Christmas.
$380 available at Jo Malone.
While we are on the Advent calendar bandwagon how about this bad boy of surprises from Clinique? Such a vast array of products and perfect for any Clinique lover.
The 24 days of Clinique is RRP $169
I'm a Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream addict, have always loved the original and this year became obsessed with the oil. If you haven't tried it, you need too!
Eight Hour Cream Beauty Set is $85 and comes with Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant Original 50g (full size), Eight Hour Cream Lip Protectant Stick SPF15 (full size), Eight Hour Cream Intensive Moisturizing Hand Treatment 30ml, Eight Hour Cream All-Over Miracle Oil 30ml and Eight Hour Cream Intensive Daily Moisturizer for Face SPF15 15ml
I couldn't choose between these two from the M.A.C Nutcracker Sweet collection. The warm eye compact comes with 3 beautiful shades that covers you for all your holiday looks and comes in a compact with a mirror and double ended eye shadow bash for $96. Love.
The Pigment and Glitter kit also come sin at $96 but the M.A.C pigments have so much bag for your buck. I seriously have pottle of these that I use regularly that are over 5 years old and are still 3/4 full, a little goes a long way! I love the red colour in this set, so beautiful. And you can remove the plastic insert and use the drawer container it comes in for storage.
Too Faced Let It Glow Highlight & Blush Kit $39 from Mecca Maxima.
Christchurch were bestowed upon them a a Mecca Maxima last week and they get a raft of goodies that aren't available here in Auckland's Mecca Cosmetica, like this gift set here. But little tip, you can stalk their products online and if you must have it ring and make a purchase over the phone and they can send it direct to your door. This trio kit comes with "mini glow-granting, cheek-flushing and bronze-bestowing goodies" aka deluxe Candlelight Glow Highlighting Powder Duo in Rosy Glow, deluxe Love Flush 16-Hour Blush in Love Hangover, deluxe Snow Bunny Luminous Bronzer and a heart-shaped flatbuki brush.
I love the sample sizes, a good options to try the colours before committing to a full sized product and perfect travel sizes to pop in your handbag whilst away or out and about.
One lucky reader can win the above Too Faced kit. All you have to do is comment in the section below, Instagram or on my Facebook page about what's on your beauty wish list this Christmas.