Christmas Shopping in Dublin

The title of this blog post is kind of a lie because technically we didn't get any Christmas shopping done today. But we tried! We attempted to go to the Disney shop but it was so full of people we could barely move (though Emilia enjoyed herself and somehow convinced me she needed 100 more bath toys). We then ventured into Brown Thomas to pick up some goodies for friends & family we were visiting but that was equally as packed so with two restless little ones it didn't last long! Though Emilia did serve tea to a mechanical polar bear (and waited with wide eyes for his reaction!). But although our shopping experience was short-lived, it really didn't matter as there was a wonderful buzz about town. Dublin is bustling with people and it feels like everyone is in the Christmas spirit! 

What definitely adds to this seasonal cheer is the Christmas tree in our room! This is probably my favourite thing about our hotel so far...even Emilia & Eduardo have made "saying goodnight to the kissmiss tree" part of their bed-time routine. I am wearing a cream chunky knit jumper from Juicy Couture with these khaki pants that I got from Primark (about 3-4 years ago) and my H by Hudson boots. Underneath the jumper I'm just wearing a basic brown tank top from In-Wear. Emilia is wearing her UGG boots, a cream faux fur jacket from The Children's Place, Zara leggings and a cream teddy bear hat which is also from Zara. And yes, she is pulling my hair in the last picture. But she's smiling for the camera so I forgive her!!

xoxo

Anna

Travelling to Dublin!

This is what we wore for our long day of travelling to Ireland...and here we are in Dublin airport! As you can probably tell Emilia was in no mood to have her picture taken. And I don't blame her after being dragged through airports & having to sit still on plane for a whole hour (which, at two years old is no easy task!). Oh yes, today was stressful to say the least. It's funny how quickly we allow ourselves to forget these things though...it's some kind of coping mechanism. While booking flights to Ireland I often think to myself "it's only a short flight...how hard can it be?!" Err, on my own?? Easy peasy. With two children under the age of three? Not so much. 

One of the biggest nightmares for me is going through airport security. It's almost like somebody decided to play a sick joke on parents when they came up with this entire process. Try explaining to a two year old that she needs to take off her coat/backpack/shoes and hand over whatever toy she has chosen to be her best friend/security blanket/travel buddy for the day to total strangers and placed in plastic bins to be sucked into a conveyer belt never to be seen again (in their minds, anyway). This.ALWAYS.Ends.In.Tears. And as if that weren't bad enough...your small baby who is sleeping soundly at this time (they always are - in fact I'm convinced Eduardo has programmed himself to fall asleep EXACTLY 2 minutes before we hit airport security) will need to be woken up because they have to be taken out of the stroller/pram/harness in order to walk through the metal detector. Then once you are through, and have wiped everyone's tears & reassured the children that everything is going to be okay you need to reassemble everything, dress yourself, put on shoes, jewellery, belts, etc. etc. at which point your toddler has run off into a crowd of people and you go into complete panic mode!

Anyhow...enough of my ranting, let's get to the lighter stuff and the original point of this post! For travel obviously we wanted to be comfy so I'm wearing my UGG boots (these are the Bailey Button Bling in grey), acid wash skinnies by Zara (about 4ish years ago) and my grey oversized jumper from Olive. Emilia is also wearing her UGGs and her entire outfit (hoody, leggings, top underneath) is from M&S. Her bow is the "Emilia" bow from Ellie Rose Bows & Clothes! 

I hope you all have a lovely weekend! Now with all that stressful travel stuff over with, I am looking forward to it! 

xoxo

Anna

Eduardo's 6/7 Month Update!

Today I filmed a video for my main channel with these two clowns...an occurrence that has become very rare due to the fact that it usually ends up in total chaos - like this! I attempted to film a 6/7 month baby/postpartum update which resulted in my bed & bathroom being completely ransacked. During the filming of this video Emilia managed to line up a whole village of bath toys on my bedside table and then proceeded to empty an entire box of panty liners (stickers) over her brother. 

Having said all of that, we actually had a lot of fun. There was some baby selfie-taking...

Investigating of mom's cool "stickers" 

And plenty of tickles...

One of the topics I talked about in the video was one that I had wanted to address for a long time...I had even mentioned it in a previous postpartum update but edited it out because I was embarrassed & afraid of what people might say. BUT I have since changed my mind as I feel like the beauty of these updates and blogging in general is that it's honest & relatable because I'm sharing my real-life experience with you all! After having two children back to back, your body understandably goes through a lot of changes...for me light bladder weakness was one of them! I got it whenever I laughed at something funny, or sometimes even if I coughed or sneezed! It's got progressively better with time as my body has healed but a product that I found helpful was Lights by Tena (or Emilia & Eduardo's newfound "stickers"). Lights by Tena are both comfortable & absorbent for those...ahem, awkward moments! However these feel super light - you wouldn't even know you were wearing one.

To see what else I talked about in Eduardo's 6/7 Month Update and to witness the aforementioned craziness you can watch the video here: 

Hope you enjoyed! Stay tuned for this evening's outfit post :)

xoxo

Anna

*This is a paid-for advertorial. All opinions are my own, as always :) 

Packing Day

It's no secret that packing before a trip can be stressful. Throw two small children into the mix and you're basically on the road to having a nervous breakdown (okay, that's a little dramatic...but you get my drift!). I think it's fair to say that travelling with kids is no parent's idea of a good time so I'm trying to be organised and stay on top of things but it's hard! So this is my rather frazzled & thrown together look of the day where comfort was key. I am wearing my boyfriend jeans from ASOS (about 5 years ago), one of the new v-neck Velvet tees I got from Tessuti last week, a blue cardigan from Soaked in Luxury (a few years ago) H by Hudson boots and a soft navy blue scarf which was a gift. I didn't have time to style my hair after washing it so it's a mess but this is the natural texture of my hair for those who always ask! It's neither straight, nor curly...just kind of wavy/somewhere in the middle!

I'm going to cut this blog post short as I've actually done two today (stay tuned!) as well as uploaded a video (okay, okay Jonathan did that part for me...but I am knee deep in lists, snotty tissues and piles of clothes!). But all that aside, I am SO excited to meet some of you in Dublin this Sunday! I am really looking forward to what I hope to be a great time and getting to hug each & everyone of you! 

xoxo

Anna

Matchy Matchy

Trying to pose like mummy!

Emilia and I are getting in the festive spirit today with our red Christmas jumpers! Mine is by the brand "Star Clothing" (same as the reindeer one from this post) and was bought by our set designer for the calendar shoot so I have no idea where it's from but this jumper on Amazon is the closest thing to it I could find. Emilia's jumper/cardigan is from John Lewis. My jeans are my GAP 1969 Always Skinnies and Emilia's are from Guess Jeans. My boots are from Whistles, Emilia's are UGGs. Her snowflake bow is by Ellie Rose Bows & Clothes. I felt like this jumper needed a bolder lip so I'm wearing Rimmel's Kate lipstick in #01 which is a deep red. 

Last night for once I did the sensible thing and went to bed at the decent hour of 10 o'clock...added to that was the fact that Eduardo slept through (hooray!) so I actually got a full 8 hours of sleep which is unheard of nowadays. It truly made the world of difference and if I had any shred of common sense I would do the same thing every night...yet here I am at 10:30 at night typing a blog post, ha ha ha! Oh well, I'm enjoying this 30 Days of Style series and hope you are too. Even if it is difficult at times, I've found myself becoming more creative with my outfit choices each morning as I'm forced to come up with something new everyday! 

xoxo

Anna

The Perfect Accessory

What better way to brighten up a rainy day than with a cute toddler-sized Hello Kitty umbrella?! Ha ha, I have a feeling Emilia wouldn't be too happy if she knew I had borrowed this...and this wasn't the first time either! Though I actually think it adds a fun pop of colour to an otherwise monochrome outfit. Apologies for the recycled bottom half of this look (see yesterday's post) but to be completely honest it's a wonder I'm even dressed at all today what with last night's crazy partying! I use this term verrrry loosely - and totally relative to parents with small children...to us sleep-deprived parents a night out in London (without alcohol) is pretty wild!! We even took the tube...almost gave up, used about twelve different apps, route planners, journey mappers alongside Google maps to do it but we succeeded. We are HARD CORE Londoners, I tell you! 

Onto the outfit...it's pretty basic (when aren't they!?) and I have kind of a love-hate relationship with this cardigan. On the one hand, I'm not sure if the shape/fit does me any favours when I look in the mirror yet I love how it shows up on camera and in pictures. It was a present from my mum, about 2 years ago - the brand is Senes Paris. I can't find any information about the brand online - I'm sorry! :( My top is just a basic black long-sleeve from Vila, the jeggings are from ASOS (5 years ago) and my boots are by Whistles. The umbrella is from H&M if you're interested, ha ha! Aaaaand I've just realised I basically wore this exact same outfit for Easter 2013...oops!!

xoxo

Anna

Evening in London

Finally, some sunshine again! I can't tell you how relieved I was to not see rain today. Especially because we are going out tonight! So this is more like my outfit of the evening...we are going to Zoe's book launch (in fact, by the time this post goes live we should already be there!) and I wanted to wear something a little bit more dressed up but still comfortable & warm...who am I kidding this isn't remotely warm, in fact I almost turned into an icicle while taking these pictures. But here's what I came up with! I also plan on throwing a big scarf around my neck before we go. I'm wearing a polka dot flowy camisole which I got 4 years ago from Amity Cork. I layered it under a black collarless Vila blazer which I got about 2.5 years ago. I'm also wearing black jeggings from ASOS (these are ancient too...possibly 5 years old and one of my first ASOS purchases!) and my Whistles wedge boots.

I curled my hair with my Tigi curling wand (most recent tutorial here), on my lips is Lancome Rouge in Love lipstick #200B Rose Thé and my nails aren't painted yet...but all going to plan hopefully they will red by tonight! Emilia & Eduardo are feeling much better, thank goodness. Thank you for all your well wishes! They woke up this morning looking a lot healthier so I am hoping this cold/cough/sore throat just runs its course! Emilia even wanted to get involved in these outfit pictures which is a rarity at the moment! She is wearing the sweetest little poodle top/tutu ensemble from The Children's Place. Her tights and slippers are from The Children's Place too and she is wearing a bow/headband from Layniebug Designs.

I'm actually really looking forward to a night out with no kids (how horrible does that sound...oh, the guilt!) especially since we are making the most of it and having dinner out too...although let's be honest, I'm actually counting down the hours till dessert. I just hope I don't freeze to death in the meantime. Unfortunately I intend on carrying a ridiculously tiny pre-babies Moschino flap bag with me...if only changing bags were acceptable evening wear! I could have stuffed a spare woolly jumper inside.

xoxo

Anna 

Basics

Yes, that is a milk stain on my left boob. And no, I'm not ashamed to admit it! Ha ha ha...these pictures were taken right after putting Eduardo down for his afternoon nap so, what can I say?! It also seems that Nivea decided to join me for today's photoshoot...she is the doggy with the pink bow who appears to be frozen on the spot. Not sure what's going on there...I think she was debating in her head whether she should go out into the pouring rain or not. Which leads me to my next excuse point - it has literally not stopped raining all day so unfortunately these had to be taken inside. 

Not that my outfit is particularly exciting but it is a Sunday after all. You can be sure that we didn't leave the house today with two sick children and this miserably wet weather! Even the doggies won't go out...they are all huddled together either on the sofa or in one bed (I found FOUR of them squished on top of one another). I am wearing my trusty GAP 1969 Always Skinny jeans along with a striped Boob Design nursing top (the one I linked isn't the exact same as this is from almost 2 years ago but it's the closest to it!) and my H by Hudson boots. Basic, comfy, mommy attire!  

xoxo

Anna

November Rain

Today was such a dull day...one of those awfully dreary, wet & depressing ones where all you want to do is just curl up on the sofa in your pyjamas and stuff your face with chocolate. But alas, the inspired blogger in me decided to pick NOVEMBER to do 30 Days of Style. Why couldn't I have picked June?! Or even September for goodness sake! I can't count the number of times I've carefully timed taking blog post pictures around downpours of rain (*shakes fist at cloudy skies*).

This outfit consists of a lot of items you've seen before, just styled slightly differently! The rust-coloured top is a nursing one from Boob Design which I layered underneath this shearling gilet from Vila (almost 3 years ago). My pants are from Zara (about 3.5 years ago!) and my boots are from H by Hudson.

I know I've mentioned previously that Emilia & Eduardo are sick, but I think Emilia is actually worse than we realised :( The cold seems to have gone into her chest and I think she might need antibiotics. This is just my gut feeling, I don't know for sure but I will be taking her to the doctor's if not tomorrow then on Monday. Thank goodness neither of them have a temperature, but I can see that she's not at all herself - poor thing :( Eduardo is still his happy little smiley self, ha ha ha! His runny nose hasn't got the better of him!

I hope you're all having a good weekend and the weather is less depressing where you live!  

xoxo

Anna

Boyfriend Chic

To be totally honest this isn't one of my favourite outfits - but I'll admit it is getting increasingly difficult to come up with new looks as this 30 Days of Style series goes on! I think the jumper would have looked better with a denim shirt (*adds good quality denim blouse to Christmas wishlist*) or a darker colour jumper would have made the white shirt pop more. Oh well, you live and you learn! The white shirt in question is from ASOS, the jumper is from Vero Moda. My boyfriend jeans are another ancient ASOS purchase, from about 4 years ago. Ankle boots are from H by Hudson - in fact this is the only part of the outfit I'm pretty happy about...I will be wearing this jeans/boots combo again. 

The babies are still sick :( Poor Emilia didn't do too well at football today and we ended up skipping ballet completely as she was so off-form. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they'll both be better by next week for our trip to Ireland! 

xoxo

Anna

   

Chunky Knit

This jumper was one of the items I purchased at Bluewater yesterday. I'm quite a fussy shopper, definitely not an impulse buyer and I have to really love something in order to make a purchase. This caught my eye at the last minute when we were in Tessuti - I had already picked up two basic navy & white v-necks from Velvet (boooring, but necessary!) and was about to give up with nothing "special" but then I saw this! I'm always a fan of black & grey in the colder months but am trying to change my ways this season. A colour I often forget about is cream or off-white. It can actually look really warm & snuggly in the winter, especially paired with warm tones and gold jewellery. 

This chunky knit pullover is from Juicy Couture and priced at £144 but all womenswear in the shop was 20% off so I got a good deal! (I realise the girl on the website is wearing this off the shoulders - I feel mine are too broad to pull off this look but I may try it off one-shoulder next time!) Underneath I am wearing a basic cream high-neck tank top from Forever21 (couldn't find it on the website, but this is the closest thing to it as it's also 100% linen). My olive green pants are from ASOS, about 3 and 1/2 years ago. The tan ankle boots are from H by Hudson. 

Aside from the fashion picks I mentioned, I also did a little bit of home decor shopping. I can't tell you how many times I had passed Zara Home but dared not to enter with small bored children and far too many beautiful items just begging to be picked up & smashed. So I saved myself the embarrassment and bided my time. Yesterday was the perfect opportunity, I was child free and Jonathan was on the phone (distracted husbands make for amazing shopping partners. You can literally buy as many items as you want without them even noticing - ladies, take note!). I needed a new blanket as well as another duvet set so I got this furry deliciousness and this striped grey set. I also got a blue star cot sheet for Eduardo...and a few baby boy spoons as I am sick of feeding him with pink Minnie Mouse cutlery. Not that it makes the slightest bit of difference, but I feel bad for him sometimes!

xoxo

Anna

Rose Gold

Today we had the rare luxury of a shopping day out sans kids. We headed to Bluewater, did some damage and were back for the decent hour of 4 o'clock...just as the babies were waking from their afternoon nap. Perfect! Emilia & Eduardo made reindeer & snowflake Christmas decorations for the tree and rolled/cut out shapes with home-made glitter play-dough. Okay let's be honest, Emilia did those things...Eduardo tried to stuff as much play-dough as possible into his mouth. Both had an amazing time! In fact, Emilia loves our childminder so much that before we had left this morning she turned to me and said "go away, mummy!" as I was stealing her quality time having "grown up" conversations with Emma the childminder...I didn't know whether to be happy or offended!!  

I bought this outfit last year right before getting pregnant with Eduardo and it is all from Ted Baker. It features this brown & rose gold light-weight knit jumper and faded pink pants with rose gold hardware. My boots are from H by Hudson, like in almost every other post this autumn! It's not pictured in this post but I also got the chance to carry something other than a massive changing bag...it was a life-changing experience! I felt like a teenager again and my once "heavy" tan Chloé Paddington seemed like a flimsy little clutch. Amazing!! 

Also, just to let you guys know - the Saccone Joly Calendars are now available to pre-order! (You can pre-order them here.) I am so excited to share them with you all! So much hard work & preparation went into them, and we are so happy with how they turned out. Let me know what you think! 

xoxo

Anna

Check Mate

My poor two little nuggets are sick with a cold at the moment which means lots of sniffles, runny noses, snotty tissues and late night wakings (*wails*). I know this is all strengthening their immune systems but that doesn't make it any easier - I hate seeing my babies sick! Not that you can really see it, but Eduardo's outfit here is from The Children's Place and his dribble bib is from Jack & Jillaroo. His hair is starting to grow a lot! I think he's going to be lighter than Emilia - right now it looks like an ashy blonde.

My outfit of the day features this check shirt which you guys have seen many times...it was such a steal from Heatons three years ago and it has taken me through two pregnancies and beyond! Every time I wear it I get so many questions & compliments about it - I wish people knew what a bargain it was! Underneath I have on a plain white Boob Design nursing singlet (perfect breastfeeding outfit) and another pair of Selected Femme pants. These ones are the exact same type as yesterday's tan pair but oddly enough they fit completely differently. When I bought them both were called "Annie Twill" skinny trousers and I got them in the exact same size. However this pair fit A LOT smaller than the other. It drives me crazy! I genuinely can only fit into them comfortably if I've lost a few pounds and am having a really skinny day! Today was not such a day, which is precisely the reason why I've since taken them off and replaced them with a far more comfortable pair of velour sweatpants in the same colour (no-one will ever know...). My boots are from H by Hudson, same as yesterday! On my nails is Deborah Lippmann Razzle Dazzle polish (a glittery plummy red) and on my lips is none other than Lancome's Rouge in Love lipstick 200B Rose Thé.

Tomorrow Jonathan & I are heading out to do some child-free shopping...it is pretty ridiculous how excited I am!! Although I'm fairly certain I will just end up missing our two little monsters the entire time we're gone. This was also why today's blog post was so late - I was pumping like a mad woman and am not multi-talented enough to blog and milk myself at the same time. Perhaps someday I will master that along with reverse-parking and other difficult things ;)

xoxo

Anna