How I'm changing my social media

Recently I've been really thinking about my social media and how I use it.

As any blogger will know, social media is the cornerstone to a blog. Without it, growing a readership and following is pretty difficult (though not impossible, SEO can gain you many more views).

The thing with social media though, is knowing how best to use it to get the best possible return for your effort.
So I've been doing a bit of thinking and assessing, and have decided on how I want to use my social media platforms going forward, and I thought I'd share it with you so you know what to expect.

Winter baby skin tips with Water Wipes

Baby it's cold outside! And although I love it, but my skin, and Henry's skin doesn't. 

My skin always dries out that little bit quicker in the winter, and I suffer really badly from chapped lips, so I'm on the lookout and doing my research, to make sure Henry doesn't follow suit, and if he does, the most natural way to look after his super soft and delicate baby skin. 

Water Wipes* are the World's purest baby wipe, containing only two ingredients; 99.9%water and 0.01% fruit extracts, meaning they are as gentle to a baby as cotton wool and water - perfect for the harsh UK winter months coming up. 

Autumn Degustabox

Anyone else loving Autumn right now? I know it's not just me - I'm pretty sure autumn is sponsoring all bloggers this year with all the love it is getting right now.

I'm loving all the crisp autumn days, with lots of sunshine and hot drinks, and getting all the layers. Plus food, I swear food is just better in autumn and winter!

So to celebrate the start of Autumn, Degustabox* has put together a super cue box of autumn goodness.
(see the end of this post for your discount code!!)

Books from my childhood

Reading has always been a huge part of my life, and a really big part of my childhood and growing up. I can't tell you how many hours I spent in the local library, or how many books I borrowed from there over the years.
With Henry, I also want it to be a big part of his childhood. We've already started his collection of books for his library, which to be honest is a quite enviable collection.

With this post I wanted to share some of my favourite stories from when I was little. Books that have followed me for the last 26 odd years, and moved home with me for the last eight years. Books that I want to share and love with my little boy, and any other future children I have.

Oxygen Free Jumping

Last weekend, I kind of did some exercise!!
I know, don't freak out, but it wasn't the traditional kind of exercise, and you guys are going to love it.

A little while back, Oxygen Freejumping came to Southampton, and ever since I've really wanted to go. And last weekend thanks to the Sotonbloggers I got to go!!

Oxygen Freejumping is basically a huge trampoline park! And it is the most amount of fun!
The park is filled with trampolines across the floor and walls, with sections for little ones and dodgeball, as well as the professional area including wall-walking. There is also a foam filled obstacle course, and giant airbag to throw/bounce your way into.

Living a life of Hygge #thelittlebookofhygge + microwave mug brownie recipe

Since starting a family a major priority of this is making sure we have lots of happy times. And a major part of this is making family time. This is where hygge comes into play.

Hygge is of Danish origin and kind of means a mixture of different things. 

According to The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking of the Happiness Research Institute, hygge can be explained as 'creating intimacy', 'cosiness of the soul' or 'taking pleasure from the presence of soothing things'. And in the infamous words of Winnie-the-Pooh "you don't spell it, you feel it" - much like love. 

The reason I've found hygge so completely fascinating is that it truly resonates with me, and how I want my life, and my families life to be. I want to create a feeling of togetherness and closeness within my family, and I really feel that hygge is so appropriate for creating this.

Pumpkin Patch

I love autumn, and that ain't no lie.

We're really lucky about where we live, as we're really close to the city, but also are surrounded by loads of rural adventures like farms and woodlands.
Within walking distance of our home is Pickwell Farm, and it's a place that both myself and Dann have both expressed a want to visit. So luckily for us, when Alice messaged me last weekend to invite us on an impromptu trip for pumpkin picking,we strapped Henry into our Ergobaby and wandered on down.

We had beautiful October sunshine for the lunchtime trip, and honestly we had such a laugh. I mean three bloggers (Arran also blogs - Alice and Arran are basically working on being the Beyonce and Jay-z of the blogging world, I swear) and a pumpkin patch, plus a sleeping four month old, made for a picture perfect photo session, plus we all needed MANY pumpkins for our homes. Alice will be getting crafty with hers, and ours will be used for Henry's Christening at the end of the month for our autumn picnic theme party!

Here's some photos from our morning in the fields (word of warning, this post is very photo heavy!! But you know that's kind of my jam!!).

Mumma multitasking skincare with Bee Good

Life is a bit manic as a parent. So much time is dedicated to looking after your little ones and making sure they are happy, healthy and cared for. Free time is not exactly in abundance, and that free time is usually used for eating, downing a glass of wine, and catching up on your favourite TV shows before getting that much relished sleep. Skincare really isn't high on the agenda, and unfortunately after giving birth and dealing with lack of sleep and general day to day skin trauma, your beauty regime is very much needed.

Luckily there are multitasking skincare options out there to give us mums a helping hand, minimising our time spent in the bath room, whilst giving us ladies beautiful skin again. 

NectaPerfecta Beautifying Mask* from Bee Good is the UK's first multi-usage head-to-toe enzyme treatment mask, and it is a must for every mum.

Henry's four month update

So we're at four months!
Four months of being parents, and being responsible for a small human!
Not going to lie, I still can't believe he's mine, that we created this little person who takes up our whole lives. People really don't exaggerate when they say kids take over your life!

Our little guy has changed so so much in the first four months of his life, and although it has been a rollercoaster, I don't think I'd change it for the world.

Travelling tips with babies

We love travelling in our house! Well I do at least, Dann does as long it doesn't involve flying or really hot weather. And to be honest Henry doesn't have a choice in the matter, but I'm hoping he develops my love for travel too.

You may have seen that we took a trip up to Leeds a couple of weekends back for the Bloggers Blog Awards. As Henry is still young, it only felt right for him and Dann to come up with me, so we drove up for the weekend.

With that, we learnt a few things about travelling with a little one. Back in the summer, I blogged about car essentials for travelling with little ones, but this time I'm talking about the essentials for the trip, especially overnight with a baby.

Westquay's Your 5

What girl doesn't love to shop? And with us heading straight into Autumn and Winter right now, the fashions are a'changing and that means a wardrobe update is required.

And what shopping trip is complete without a little personal shopping.

Last weekend, Westquay's team of personal shoppers and stylists were helping out us ladies of Southampton with our five key wardrobe items for AW16 - Your 5. 

Liptensity with Mac Cosmetics

You all know about my love of lip colours right?
I'm usually a budget girl when it comes to make up. Yes I like good quality but I don't relish paying out lots of money for lipstick - well that is until recently.

Being close friends with a number of beauty bloggers means I'm getting a real education in make up and the pros of paying a little more for a great brand.
I have to admit the two brands on the top of my wishlist for lipstick is Urban Decay and Mac, so when Mac Cosmetics in Southampton's Westquay invited bloggers to their recent lip launch I was really excited to learn a little more about the brand and what they had to offer. 

The Bloggers Blog Awards 2016

The 2016 Bloggers Blog Awards. They were literally all over twitter the last couple of months, and rightly so because anything that celebrates the hard work and dedication of bloggers should always be a viral cause in my opinion.

This year I was lucky enough to get a ticket to go up to the awards ceremony in Leeds, and a number of my blogging friends were also nominated so we decided to meet up there and give each other some support.

Here's a few photos from our afternoon at the Canal Mills.

A day in the life of a stay at home mum

 Being a stay at home mum is a bit of a rollercoaster ride. It has huge ups, and massive downs, and twists and turns unexpectedly, and occasionally makes you want to throw up. It also has the ultimate highs and that amazing feeling of being completely invincible.

I decided before Henry arrived that I wanted to take the full year of maternity leave that was on offer. We've been making sure that we have money saved for the last three months of the leave when maternity payments stop so we should be fine.
It's been an odd few months getting used to being at home with a little one and developing a routine.
More often than not our days are pretty consistent, with the occasional curveball thrown in for good measure and to keep me on my toes.