May Lust List

I have a wedding to go to at the end of November. I know its ages away but I can't stop thinking about outfits, hair etc. Call me organised! ;-) So, basically this lust list is geared towards that.


1. Rene Caovilla beaded lace kitten heels - a steal at £795. ;-)
I can't walk in high heels. Its not a good look on me and I always end up in agony, going over on my ankle and embarrassing myself or both! Kitten heels are the best option for me but I'm really torn about what would suit?


2. Vera Moda blazer - £37
As said, the wedding is in November so I'm thinking I will need a wee blazer.


3. River Island jumpsuit - £45
This one is maybe a bit too casual for a wedding? Though, while making this list I was really struggling to find a smart one. I have a wee boy, a very active wee boy so for some reason I've got it into my head that a jumpsuit would be most comfy while I'm entertaining him in between the different stages of the day.


4. Selected.com Statement necklace - £33
I love a statement necklace and I'm particularly in love with this one at the moment.


5. Lauren's Way bronzing lotion - £11 in Debenham's
Time to perfect the old fake tan application again! I could go for a spray tan but it will be very close to Christmas and I'm Santa Claus so if I can do it myself then the money would be better spent elsewhere.


6. Up do for the wedding.
I love my hair off my face for weddings. Once its back its one less thing I need to worry about going wrong. One drop of rain and hours of straightening/curling is wasted!


This list is by no means the done deal and I know there's so much more to think about - bag, earrings, make up etc. I would love reader's input and suggestions. It will be the first time I will have seen some people since having my wee boy so the vain person in me wants to look the business!

Loreal Paris Studio Line Salt Spray

It's not a very positive review this time folks I'm afraid.

Last week I was in Boots and purchased a bottle of L'oreal Paris Studio Line Matt and Messy Shine-Free Salt Spray. What a mouthful! :-) 

I'm currently bored of using my curling wand. My hair is so thick that curling sections takes forever! And it's not pleasant during the warmer weather. 

I've heard a lot about these salt sprays, how they give a beachy, tousled look with minimum effort. Exactly what I want!

Unfortunately this wee 150ml bottle of salt spray doesn't do that...not on any level. Luckily I only paid £3.75 or I'd be pretty ticked off right now. 

Below is L'oreal's style advice:

Style Advice

1. Spray on dry or damp hair and ruffle for instant texturising effect.

2. For tousled waves, define sections and twist them with your fingers.

Tip: to give a more wild and voluminous feel to your tousled look, crumple your hair into your hands while spraying.

I tried all of these suggestions on different days and not one worked. My hair looked no different. The only difference was that it didn't feel particularly pleasant. 

Massive disappointment.

Did any of you have any luck with salt sprays?

Silent Sunday No.8

Blogging Anonymously....for now.

Recently I read a blog post by @amandaniescior on Niescior's Notes. It was about regretting going public with your blog.

It was an interesting read for me because this was something I thought about a lot when I first started Kid And Capers.

Very early on I decided not to "go public" with mine and to stay relatively anonymous. 

My reasons for this? I wanted my blog to be somewhere that I could talk about about anything, but more specifically, my experiences as a single mother. I wanted somewhere to chart my journey. A place where I could return to reminisce.

It's not necessarily something I want my son to read when he's older. Not because I will be saying anything awful! It's just my personal thoughts/feelings and I don't necessarily think that O needs to read those when he's older. He certainly doesn't need to read about his mum thinking about "dating" again. :-) Nor does he need to read that his mum used to worry in the very early days that people would judge her for being a single parent.

There are things I will need to tell him when he's older but I want us to sit down and talk about it all openly. I don't want him to possibly read it all first on here and then draw his own conclusions.

For the same reason I didn't want family and friends to read my blog. I just wanted to be able to talk (or vent!) without judgement...my own wee personal space.

That said, I've got to know some great people through Twitter and blogging. Those people know me, they know my back story. It's not that I don't want people to get to know me (quite the opposite in fact!) I just want to have a wee bit of control over people in my life reading my thoughts. 

I understand that may all sound contradictory - I'm happy for strangers to read whatever I write but I don't want family and friends to. I guess its because if readers or strangers want to judge me, that's ok. I'm indifferent to it.

Maybe one day I'll feel differently....

Did you "go public" with your blog?

Did you ever consider not going public, for what reason(s)?

Silent Sunday #7

Ginger and Co. review and COMPETITION!

I have always believed that the most expensive items are not necessarily the best ones when it comes to beauty products. Ginger and Co. bath and body products are the perfect example that the cheaper end of the market can be every bit as brilliant.

I recently got my mitts on what I think is their full range of products. They really are pretty great! I love the look of their packaging, they have quite a vintage/pin up girls look about them and look so cute on my bathroom shelf.

The range consists of:

Hand It To Me Hand Cream 100ml - £1.99

Soft On You Daily Body Lotion 500ml - £2.75

Soft On You comforting Body Butter 485g - £2.75

Double Up Creamy Body Wash 250ml - £2.75

Heavenly Hands Hand Wash 500ml - £2.75

Bathing Beauty Bubble Bath 500ml - £2.75

How cheap is that! I mean you can get the whole range for a little over £15. They're definitely going to be a staple in my bath and body routine from now on.

Their fragrance is so nice. It lingers as well so I can still smell it on my skin hours after showering or moisturising. I know some people have called Ginger and Co. the perfect dupe for Soap and Glory and I can see why they say that. They do smell quite similar but their price tags are vastly different so its Ginger and Co. for me each time!

Ginger and Co. products are available in the USA via Ulta and have also been available in the UK for a while now through SemiChem. Its an exciting time for them at the moment as they have just recently launched their products in Penneys here in Ireland. Yay!

To celebrate this I'm having a giveaway here on Kid And Capers. 

Three lucky people will win a Ginger and Co. Mini Trio Set and they will also win a €10 Penneys voucher, or if the winner is in the UK they will win a £10 Primark voucher instead. All you have to do is enter the Rafflecopter below.

The rules bit:

~ Ginger and Co. will fulfil the prizes. I will just hold the competition and pass on the winner's details.

~ Competition is open to UK and Ireland only.

~ Winners have 72 hours to respond to email before another winner will be chosen.

~ There are a few mandatory entries required and they will be checked.

~ Competition ends on Friday 2nd May.

Good luck folks!

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/7aca811/" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway

Silent Sunday #6

The Bloggers Snail Mail Project

About a month ago @GemmaMarieJames tweeted about arranging a Bloggers Snail Mail project.

The idea was that each person involved would be paired to a partner. We were to take a few weeks getting to know our partner and then we were to send them gifts (to the limit of £5) and also send them a postcard and some positive words to make them feel special. I loved the idea of this. It was something that wasn't going to break the bank but it was also nice to receive something in the mail other than bills, flyers etc.

I got paired with the lovely Dani (@_danimeatsix) She's a wee spring chicken just setting out on her wee journey and it was great to hear about the plans she has for herself for the future. I have no doubt she'll achieve them all.

Her wee package arrived this week and it was geared towards pampering. A big thumbs up! She also sent me a cute coffee related postcard so my addiction clearly didn't go unnoticed. ;-)

I've enjoyed getting to know her and I hope that we keep in touch in the future.

As for this project, its been a lot of fun and I would definitely participate in Gemma were ever to arrange another.

Thanks to Dani for the lovely gifts and thanks to Gemma for organising it all. xx

Silent Sunday #5

Spring Beauty Swap (2014)

I follow Kat (@Talesofpaleface) on Twitter. A few months ago she started talking about a Spring Beauty Swap. I'm relatively new to Twitter and blogging but I was intrigued.

I decided to sign up for the swap. I said that I was happy to be paired with someone from the UK or international. It made me smile when I got paired with Carol (@flittychick), a woman who, like myself, is also from Ireland.

We spent a few weeks corresponding via email, talking about our lives, our interests and we spent some time reading each other's blogs. There's still so much to learn about Carol but I would love to keep in touch and get to know her further.

When her parcel arrived I felt like a wee kid at Christmas. Nowadays its so rare to get something in the mail, other than bills. Plus, how often do you receive something as an adult and have no clue what's inside?

When I opened the box I was met with the most delicious scent. It didn't take long for me to realise that it was coming from a Pixy Limelight bath bomb and a Pixy Honeysuckle soap. Both smell divine and I can't wait to use them! I knew about Pixy from before the swap. A local beautician used to stock a few of their bath products but then she stopped so I was really surprised and happy to see these items in the box.

There was also a can of Batiste Dry Shampoo. As you'll have seen from a previous Empties post, I had just finished a can and kept meaning to get another. This one is the cherry fragrance which I haven't tried yet so I'm looking forward to giving it a go.

Onto the Yankee Candle sampler candle. The scent is soft blanket, genuinely one of my favourites! We're both Yankee Candle fans, now I just need to introduce Carol to Busy Bee Candles and watch her struggle to pick her favourite. ;-)

There's a tea tree and peppermint intensive treatment hand pack. I tried the foot pack previously so I'm keen to compare the two.

Carol must have known I was a tea tree fan because she also sent one of her favourite Boots face masks, a tea tree and witch hazel peel off mask. There's something very enjoyable about peeling your face off after one of these types of face mask!

Then there was a tube of Nivea Soft. I've used this before and love it - the smell, the texture, how soothing it is on my hands. The funny thing is that Carol mentioned how she uses it on her face, neck and hands. I raised an eyebrow thinking its a bit strange to put hand cream on your face but whatever works! It wasn't until I looked at it again that I realised its for face, body and hands. How did I go through an entire tube before and not notice?! Dunce. :-)

She also very kindly enclosed a truck for my little boy. I wish she could have seen the smile on his wee face when I showed him what someone had sent him. He's obsessed with wheels of all sorts so his face just lit up.

Thanks to Carol for all the wonderful treats and thanks to Kat for organising the whole thing!