Ways To Win At Confidence

We all suffer from problems with confidence every so often. I don't know anyone that doesn't suffer from confidence. Sometimes we are full of confidence and others we feel like we are failing at life. If you suffer from mental health problems, you will find that you have a love/hate relationship with confidence. I know I do, but at the moment my confidence is a 10/10 and I am loving life, but it isn't always the way. 

I want to share some tips on how to build your confidence and maintain it for as long as you feel you can. If you have anything that has worked for you please add it on the bottom in the comments and share it with others.

Photo by Steve Harvey on Unsplash

Accesories And Styling For Autumn And Winter

I actually struggle with accessorising my clothes I normally wear plain clothes because Patterns scare me and I never know what to wear with them but recently I've been getting more confident in the clothes that I wear and I am introducing more patterns and more dresses into my wardrobe which gives me more confidence and I'm learning how to accessorize my outfits.

The weather is getting colder autumn is here and winter is going to be coming sooner than we want it to. obviously, you accessorize differently when the weather turns cold because you can't wear the same accessories that you would wear in the summer! Can you imagine going out with a winter coat on and flip-flops? 

When you accessorize you need to know when is a good time to stop. You don't want to over accessorize because it will look too much and then you don't want to under accessorize because your outfit won't look finished. I remember the days in the 1980s when we would wear red shoes a bright red necklace that had huge beads on it red thick Bangles red Bows in her hair and a red belt around a dress that would be black. This look was in fashion back then but the 1980s was 30 years ago and it was ok to wear that fashion then but you couldn't wear it now. These days less is more!

Shoes

These are probably the best accessories that you have to dress with. How many pairs of shoes do you have? I'll admit I have too many and only stick to two or three pairs. my main shoes for going out a pair of silver sparkly stilettos they seem to go with most outfits that I wear and they are a real talking point. Stilettos make an outfit look elegant the answer practical in the autumn and winter when it starts to get slippery outside so if I'm going out I always put a pair of flat shoes in my handbag too. Then I walk to the event and walk home in my flat shoes but put my stilettos on when I'm there. In the winter you mainly wear shoes for comfort and warmth but you still want to look fashionable.

Jewellery

Don't go over the top with your jewellery. There is nothing worse than seeing someone dressed in loads of thick gold chains. You only need one or two pieces to accessorise your outfit if you're wearing a simple black dress, a necklace will give it a completely different look but don't wear big earrings with it, because the attention is drawn away from your neckline. I usually wear loads of bangles instead of any other jewellery. Also look at dress rings, these can be from elegant imitation diamond rings to huge handmade fashion rings.

Bags

I will be honest, my bag is always huge! But when you have kids, that's all you seem to use, isn't it? When I go out, I take a handbag, but it still has to be a good size because I carry so much in it. On a night out, I shove, flat shoes in my bag, as well as my phone, my lipstick, Mascara (even though I never touch it up when I go out). I use a patterned bag if I have a plain outfit on, but if your outfit has patterns, you will find that your bag clashes.

Scarves

It's probably not cold enough yet for woolly scarves, but as it gets a little chillier, you might want to start wearing a decorative scarf. These are great for adding a splash of colour to an outfit and make a suit look smart. Having a scarf hanging around your neck looks fantastic with a blouse. As it starts getting colder, there is nothing comfier when you're outside than a thick woolly scarf. But you don't have to sacrifice looking good when you wear a scarf.

Photo by Soroush Karimi on Unsplash

What accessories do you use to enhance your outfits?

Tips On How To Be A Successful Baker

Tips on how to be a successful Baker

Start with a clutter-free and clean kitchen, nobody wants to eat cakes that have been baked in a dirty kitchen and you don't want to have to work around dirty dishes from yesterday's meals or cereal bowls that have been left over from the kids this morning. Clear the sides off, making sure you've got plenty of space to work in. If you don't have much workspace on your kitchen sides use a use a table instead. If the kitchen sides or table are clear it's going to be so much easier for you to find equipment that you need for your baking session.

Zuru Smashers Series 2 Review

When I had a little girl 8 years ago, I had visions of her being cute and wanting to play with dolls and girly stuff. But Oh No! she has grown up in a house where you don't have to play with cute girls dolls and grow up to do hair and beauty. She had the influence of older brothers and sisters who encouraged her to play with all sorts of toys, So when she received some Zuru Smashers Series 2 products arrived last week, she was in awe of the grossness that they bought.

Zuru Smashers are an unboxing to with a difference because there is no plastic wastage that comes with a lot of unboxing toys. The Smashers are little eyeballs that you smash open by tapping them on the table or something similar and they fall apart, revealing the toy inside. Then you keep the eyeball bits because they will go back together again to be reused or to keep your little Smashers together.

Tilly was sent an 8 pack of smashers, this pack included 6 eyeballs to smash and 2 Smashers that are already unboxed. There was also a slime Smasher, this came in a plastic bag inside one of the eyeballs. This added to the anticipation of the surprise because it was different from the other Smashers that she had opened. She knew there was going to be something special about it.

As I said earlier in the blog post, don't throw the plastic from the eyeballs away, because you reuse them, this saves on so much plastic rubbish going to the landfill and it means the kids have fun over and over again smashing the eyeballs. It would be lovely if more toy companies followed this example. Some of the Smashers have holes in the bottom of them, this is to place them on the toy bus that you can get in the series too.

The Sludge Bus comes with 2 exclusive Smashers, one in an eyeball. The bus itself has a top deck where you place all of your Smashers and they can ride the bus because the wheels go round, then you open it up for it to become a playset. But this is a playset with a difference, it opens up and there is a toilet that opens and a springboard. You pop the Smasher on to the springboard and let it go, the Smasher then flies through the air and hopefully lands in the toilet, but sometimes it overshoots and goes further than you want - so think about how much you use the springboard. Tilly loves this because she gets such a thrill when the Smasher lands in the toilet. It makes her giggle so much because playing with the toilet is not allowed, she feels naughty.

The playset has pictures of maggots and splattered poo all over it. It's funny and so gross, but its the type of grossness that kids love. The Sludge Bus also carries 50 Smashers in one go!

The set also comes with a plastic pile of poo, that has a maggot coming out of it if you press the button. There are over 100 Smashers to collect and you get a tick list with the packs that you buy. The series 2 Smashers 8 pack costs £7.99 from Smyths and the Smashers Sludge Bus is £22.49 from Amazon. Both of these are perfect for a Halloween kids gift.

Kickass Women Bloggers that I Love

Kickass women? That's today's #Blogtober post subject. I was going to write about some famous people that inspired me, but instead, I think I am going to write about the Top bloggers that inspire me as a person and a blogger.

Kim at Me, My Life And The Tardis is my daughter, she inspires me every day with her kindness for others and empathy for others. She was my rock when I was suffering from PND, she stayed by my side when I needed support and I couldn't leave the house without another adult. She gives up a lot of her spare time to help out at the local brownies and looks after Tilly so I can keep my job two days a week at Superdrug. She helps me to parent Tilly and She encourages her and helps her grow every day. 

Sarah at Life In A Breakdown is a lifestyle blogger and I yearn to be a successful blogger as good as she is. She writes about lifelong illnesses that she lives with because she suffers from fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, hypermobility syndrome, keratoconus and a number of mental health issues. BUT this does not stop her from being a superblogger! She runs a few Facebook groups where she helps bloggers and encourages them with their own blogs. 

Emma at EmmaDrewInfo left her job as a website admin for a biotechnology company and was earning around £25k. One day she decided that she was going to quit and go full time on her blog. This gamble paid off for her and now she runs a successful business on her blog and offers training courses for other bloggers to become as successful as she is. She also runs the Poundland Appreciation group on Facebook that has nearly 24,000 members in there. She offers money saving tips and also has a column in a weekly magazine.

Rebecca at Mum Of A Premature Baby, having a baby is stressful enough, but can't imagine how mentally challenging it is to have a baby born at 33 weeks and watch him grow from strength to strength. Rebecca started her blog as a place to keep her memories of her little premie, but it has grown like her kids and now she writes about geeky stuff, kids and family life. She is a keen comper too and has won some amazing prizes over the years.

Rebecca at I Always Believed In Futures blogs about her little family and the things that they get up to. She is a mum to Jack and Olivia and also helps to run Facebook groups to help other bloggers with their blogs. She has helped me a few times over the years and was one of the first people I turned to when I found out something that crushed my family. 

Sadie at SadieQuinton.com, I first met Sadie at a blog event a few years ago, but she stopped blogging for a while after her long-term relationship collapsed. Now she is back with a new blog and is stronger emotionally than ever, I have seen her confidence grow over the past year and her new blog is about her and her kids. Sadie is exactly the same as me, she is always ready for an adventure, she loves the same things that I do and we often find each other at events. 

Anita at The House That Never Rests, Anita is like my missing half. I first met her on a camping trip and we clicked straight away. We have had nights away in London together and fond ourselves in some funny situations. She has been blogging for a while now and Anita has three teenage boys and lives with them, her husband and the most gorgeous Siberian husky called Coco. She is spoilt like a kid! Anita loves to travel and is always happy on a camping holiday somewhere.

Mary at My Model Mummy Mary is mum to little Olivia and he is the kindest person. She lives in a lovely house in the countryside and I am so envious of her beautiful home and garden. Mary has the most amazing green fingers and blogs for Laura Ashley. I am in awe of her Instagram feed and she is always so much fun to spend time with. Mary is happiest when she is outdoors and you can follow her adventures on the blog. 

8 Tips For Fantastic Hair

My hair! It was in need of a cut and it was so dry that it needed it all cut off. It was frizzy and very much uncared for. I knew something needed doing, so instead of having a full head colour, I went for weaved highlights. It covers some of the roots and it is much kinder for my hair. Then came the big cut. I knew it needed it, but it broke my heart to see it so short. Then I looked at it again in the mirror, felt how soft it was and played about with the style. You know what? I love it! Now comes the hard part of keeping it in tip-top condition. I am going to share my new tips with you that I have been doing for the past few weeks that I have had my hair cut.

An Invitation To Walk In My Shoes #worldpostday

As part of the month of #Blogtober, we are invited to write about a certain subject each week. Today it is to celebrate World Post Day, but my blog post is different, because we never send invitations through the post these days, my post is an invitation to everyone.

People often say try walking a mile in my shoes then you'll see how difficult things are but I'm saying even before you put the shoes on you will encounter my life. People actually seem to think I've got my s*** together when it couldn't be any more different from the truth. I know from the outside it looks like I have a perfect life perfect family perfect lifestyle but the truth is I don't. You need to look a little bit deeper than what's on the top level. So I am going to invite you to talk a walk around my head.