women

Top 10 things to do for Mother’s Day

February 1, 2013 By Rossel Leave a Comment

Mother’s day is the perfect excuse to celebrate your mum. Want to pamper her to the max on march 10th 2013? You needn’t splurge on costly mothers day presents. From yummy homemade cream tea to a mother and daughter photoshoot, here are a few mothers day ideas guaranteed to put a big fat sunshine smile on your dear old mum’s face…

Say it with Flowers

What’s the point in buying your mum a bouquet when she can easily make her own? Send her off on a mother’s day floristry workshop where she can learn to make a beautiful centrepiece to take home with her. Alternatively, plump for personalised flowers – simply add her name and a special message to the ribbon, and she’ll smile from ear to ear. If your budget allows it, take her out for a spot of lunch afterwards – the perfect mothers day gift!

Whip up a Cream Tea

Sure, taking mum out for tea is a sure-fire way to impress, but if you’re up for earning double the brownie points, prepare a nice spread yourself. Bake a batch of english scones, some chocolate muffins or – even better – a carrot cake. Dish up some smoked salmon sarnies and serve tea in your prettiest china, and you’re onto a winner.

Keep Her Sweet

While a box of choccies makes a great gift for mothers day, why not push the boat out and get your mum something personalised? numerous online retailers stock yummy bars, which can be customised with any name of your choice plus a special message on the stylish bar wrap. There’s no better way to say a sweet ‘n’ chocolatey “happy mother’s day“!

Do your Bit

Can’t stretch to a costly pressie? The best mothers day gift would be the gift of your time. How about washing her car, showing her how to set up a facebook account, gardening, clearing out the loft, vacuuming… the list is endless.

Adopt an Animal

Does she love animals? Then adopt a meerkat for mum, a horse, panda or even a shark for her. Your mum will receive a personalised certificate, a poster, welcome letter, fact sheets to name just a few, and even a tour discount voucher so she can visit her adopted animal in person.

Make her Something

They say the best mother’s day gifts are the ones that come straight from the heart. Remember when you were little, you used to give your mum tissue-paper flowers, make cards and draw pictures of her in crayon? Get yourself a card-making kit and create a homemade card; make a movie featuring messages from all the family; prepare a handwritten letter telling your mum how much you love her. if she’s into music, make her a cd of all her favourite songs or if she’s more of a sweet-tooth, craft her a gorgeous gift box for some tasty chocolates or sweets.

Gonedigging has a humongous range of personalised mothers day gifts up for grabs, all of which can be customised with any name or personal message. Why not get yourself online and have a browse? Just go to www.gonedigging.co.uk to find the best mothers day presents.

How to Create your own Royal Wedding

January 18, 2013 By Rossel Leave a Comment

We were all moved by Kate Middleton and Prince William’s wedding – the theme was ‘unpretentious, simple, and natural,’ and we could barely hold back the waterworks as we dreamed of our own fairytale ceremony.

royal wedding

(image from the web)

Now that you’ve set the date, take a leaf out of Kate’s marriage portfolio, and feel like a true princess on your big day. Here’s how to create your own royal wedding:

Choosing The Dress

One of the most important decisions before the wedding: the dress. We all remember Kate’s stunning Alexander McQueen gown which was both tasteful, simple, and flawless. To get the Kate look, opt for a dress with a lace bodice and a satin skirt. Don’t be afraid to remain conservative and cover up your shoulders. Bearing all is not always beautiful.

Accessorise with a little tasteful bling: diamond earrings are a must-have adornment, as well as a simple veil with minimal lace trimming.

Your Wedding Bouquet

If you’re wondering which flowers made an appearance in Kate’s bouquet, she chose lily of the valley, sweet William (of course!), hyacinth, ivy, and myrtle. Use similar arrangements to get the same, gorgeous assortment of blossoms.

Instead of throwing her bouquet, Kate placed the flowers on the grave of an unknown fallen soldier – a tradition in the royal family that began back in 1923. Follow in her footsteps by placing your posies on the grave of a loved one who couldn’t be at your wedding, in honour of their memory.

Treetastic

We’re sure you remember the simply stunning aisle of 20 foot trees that decorated Westminster Abbey on Kate’s big day. You can replicate this lovely sentiment at your wedding venue. Although it’s unlikely many indoor venues will accept large, potted trees in their rooms, it doesn’t hurt to ask, as country house weddings are perfectly posh.

Alternatively, you can have your wedding outdoors and either sneak the foliage in there or have your ceremony in a forest! With lights in the trees, you can really capture the fairytale magic.

Do Your Hair and Make-up Like Kate

We all love Kate’s signature hairstyle – those loose, long, and chic curls. On her wedding day Kate stuck by her guns and supported a similar ‘do to her everyday look. You can achieve the same style by separating your hair into three sections (maybe more if your hair is particularly thick) and curling each one. Don’t let go of the curl, but pin it back and leave it to cool.

Once you let down your hair (Rapunzel!), spray it with a good layer of hairspray and run your fingers through your hair gently to slightly loosen the curls. From here, you can attach your veil however you want or pin your locks back into a half-up/half-down style.

Serious points go to Kate for doing her own makeup on her wedding day. Here’s how you can get the same look for your ceremony: swipe a neutral shade of eyeshadow across your lid. In your crease, use a slightly darker shade. Line your eyes with black kohl and blend with a cotton bud.

Add a few coats of waterproof mascara (just in case!) and then turn your attention to your cheeks – pink blush on the apples, blended up to your hair line. Finally, finish off with nude/pink lip gloss and you’re good to go!

Filed Under: events, women Tagged With: dream wedding, make-up like Kate, wedding bouquet, wedding royal wedding

Provide Relief for the Most Common Symptoms of Pregnancy

October 5, 2012 By Rossel 1 Comment

A woman’s body undergoes radical changes during pregnancy – but learning to cope with some of the changes is difficult.

common symptoms of pregnancy

Here are a few tried-and-tested ways of dealing with the symptoms of pregnancy.

Morning sickness and heartburn

One of the most dreaded signs of pregnancy is morning sickness.

Around the sixth week of pregnancy, the symptoms (such as nausea and vomiting), will be at their most frequent and vociferous – so be prepared!

Avoid fatty foods such as fried eggs and fried onions, as most pregnant women find not only the smell and the taste disgusting, but even the sight of them may well send you running for the bathroom.

Spicy foods such as chilli and curry can also make you feel particularly queasy, and can also lead to chronic heartburn, so as a preventative measure most experts advise avoiding these foods, or at the very least approaching them with caution.

Aches and pains

Pregnant women will normally experience a series of aches and pains during pregnancy, week by week. The symptoms of these sure signs of pregnancy can be alleviated in a number of different ways:

1. Leg cramps
For leg cramps choose a diet that is rich in calcium with plenty of milk (4 glasses a day is recommended) and potassium. It is recommended that you consume 4,700 mg of potassium per day while pregnant.

Potassium-rich foods such avocados (which contain 1000mg of potassium), and bananas (containing 422mg) will help provide those much needed nutrients for you and your baby.

You should consider wearing the right shoes – padded insoles will help to cushion your feet comfortably, removing pressure from your legs.

2. Back pain
Approximately half of pregnant women experience back pain, especially in the lower back.

This is because your back muscles work harder to support your abdominal muscles as they loosen to accommodate an expanding uterus.

A lumbar support cushion should help support your lower back when sitting and promote good posture, this is especially useful if you work in an office and sit at a desk for hours on end. When standing you should always straighten your back to further promote a good posture as a sure-fire way to decrease back pain.

Exercise is perhaps the most effective way of decreasing both of these types of pain. Leg cramps can be alleviated by massaging your feet, which is something your partner may have to help you with. When sitting or lying down, make sure that you flex your ankles and that your toes are pointed towards your face.

Maintaining strength in your muscles lessens the chance of strain in your whole body – specialists suggest swimming and pre-natal aerobics classes to relieve pain in joints, muscles and back, giving you a full body workout.

Exercises should be performed even in the early stages of pregnancy. Exercise will make you stronger, and will prepare your body for what is to come before you experience any actual symptoms.