The Winter Coat Edit (for small females)

We ordered Matilda & Winnie their new winter coats a few weeks ago, I'll show you what we went for and I have also put together my current favourites if you're looking to buy one too.

Matilda's

Pink Faux Fur Collar Coat by Next but as you can see from the photos I have taken the coat is definitely more pink toned than the greyish tone in the Next picture.

I love the pink collar and the button detail on this coat, Matilda loves it too which is a bonus! There is  low stock in some sizes on the Next website and a longer delivery time on others.

Winnie's

Smart Pink Coat from Next. Ideally I would've gone for Matilda's coat had they done it in Winnie's size. So I needed something that would go nicely together.

It is quite basic, but I chose it for the pale pink tone which I thought would go with Matilda's nicely and it also has a hood, so handy!

Here are my picks of the best coats online

Boden

I love this military coat from Boden, it is for older girls (5 years+) and does come with a heavier rice tag than Next, Zara etc. but just look at it, the red piping keeps things fun too. Buy here.

For a brighter look, this red duffle coat from John Lewis is gorgeous. The fur around the hood looks super cosy, and this starts from 3 years at £40.

This classic khaki parka is a great price at £34.99 and is from Zara. I love the pink hood & fur, giving it a really girly edge.

Finally this pretty little number from Marks and Spencer is so lovely! It is a fantastic price too and they've got a really great selection online that are such good value for money!

Thanks for reading,

Chloe x

October Favourites

Yep it is the 6th November but I'm going to give you my October faves anyway.

Beauty and Skincare

First up is the Pixi x Caroline Hirons Double Cleanse. I am now on to my second pot of this since June, which is pretty good going considering I use it every evening. The oil works so well at lifting makeup and dirt from my face, the cream then gets rid of it all perfectly leaving my skin beautifully cleansed and refreshed. £24 from ASOS.

Next step is the Ordinary acid toner, which I am obsessed with. I am certain that as soon as I apply this, my skin looks more awake, plumped, rejuvenated etc etc. I just love this product! And the price is amazing. I went for the 5% Lactic Acid concentration as I've never used acid toners before so wanted to ease myself in gently. Available from Cult Beauty for £5.50. The ordinary advised this is used in the evenings.

For daytime moisturising I love the Clinique Superdefense SPF 20. Fragrance free and offering sun protection, perfect! I love the texture of this and I can see an improvement in the appearance of my skin since I started to use this. Cheapest on allbeauty.com currently for £34.90.

For my night cream, I've been using the Nivea Pure & Natural regenerating night cream, love this too! My skin feels hydrated when I wake up, there is no residue so I know my skin is taking in all the benefits. Great price too for around £5.50.

Body lotion, I've been using this Burts Bees product that I actually purchased from Walgreens whilst in Vegas, as I'd stupidly forgot any body moisturiser! I can't find this specific one online, but my sister is in Florida at the moment so I think I might ask her to get some for me as I really like it. Soaks in well, keeps my skin feeling hydrated, quickly sorted out some dry skin patches on both shins - f**k you winter!

Beauty wise I am going to sound like a broken record because two if the items are in my Sephora Haul but they are so amazing they deserve a second mention! The Cover FX drops are just (praying hands emoji). The shade sunlight is working well for these sunny Autumn days, I love the glow from within look they give under my foundation. and then the Too faced chocolate bronzer is so perfect, blendable, smells like chocolate, matte - what else do you need in a bronzer?

I've been reaching for the Charlotte Tilbury KKW lipstick for day-to-day wear, the perfect semi sheen nude. Nails, I love this dark red from Rimmel in shade Rita Rouge. It is the ideal burgundy red for Autumn/Winter. I am going to put Essie Bordeaux on my Christmas List though as I had a lot of recommendations for that when I asked on my instastories what you guys were wearing.

Mother & Baby

We have started using the Childs Farm products on the girls after the Johnson's fiasco in the media. I did try the Dove body wash but it left zero scent on them both, and you want your kids to smell amazing don't you?! The Childs farm stuff is expensive, but it is sensitive and suitable from birth, plus it smells! Yippee! So we use the bubble bath which smells like oranges and the body wash smells like apple & blackcurrant. Really like both of these products. We also love the Burts Bees baby range but we can't buy these locally.

Favourite Place

This will come as no surprise to you, I am sure. We LOVED Las Vegas. Somewhere everyone should experience in their lifetimes. We will definitely go back!

Favourite Fashion Item:

This utility jacket from Next hasn't left my back since I bought in the sale (sorry!) in September. It was £22 and I love it. Goes with pretty much everything I wear and is surprisingly warm. I've linked a similar one from Topshop here for £40. 

Instagrams:

Here are the accounts I've been obsessed with over the last month

Hunters and Heels - read Lauren's blog here and she also has a Youtube channel. Gorgeous insta feed too.

Miss Megan Meeke - also blogs here and features loads of travel stuff for the wanderlusters.

I'll make sure I'm up to date with all of their content so hope you like them too!

Thanks for reading,

Chloe x

Life With Two; 6 Months In (almost!)

As Winnie Bluebell is nearly 6 months old I wanted to post about how I've found it all so far. In complete honesty.

The first few weeks were hard, barely any sleep, getting to grips with feeding Winnie myself (even though I'd fed Matilda too, breastfeeding is hard. End of). Then add on top the anxiety thanks to those hormones, I was basically in thick fog again like last time. Thinking it would never end and I would never feel OK. As I'd done this once before, I thought I'd skip by the baby blues doing cartwheels but nothing could stop that ugly beast getting to me. I vividly remember walking along the beach with the two girls and Andrew, sobbing behind my sunglasses. I couldn't tell you why I was crying, I just was. I hate that part about birth, I am usually so in control of my emotions and extremely laid back. That anxiety sends me into turmoil. (Needless to say, Winnie is our last baby)!

Then, about four weeks in, Winnie got colic. Or what I presume to be colic. Quite mild compared to some cases I'd read or heard about, but Jesus Christ, colic is a bitch. Every evening, without fail from 6-10 our little baby would cry and cry and cry. I used to dread evenings so much. Nothing would settle her, we'd be rocking, singing, feeding, winding, swinging, even driving her to McDonalds for a McFlurry didn't work. I was emotionally tired, not just physically. I lost it a few times through complete helplessness, frustrated that we couldn't do anything to help. Anyway, it subsided as soon as I stopped breastfeeding - weird.

What I really struggled with, was having to split myself in two between Matilda and Winnie. I wanted to be the one putting Matilda to bed or give her a bath, but that couldn't always happen if Winnie needed a feed. I remember my Mum saying to me that Winnie needed me too and Matilda was young enough not to be jealous or upset etc. That really helped, Matilda had me all to herself when she was a baby and we could take everything at a snails pace!

Second time around, there is no being lazy. I've got a toddler to run around after, drop her at playschool, take her to ballet class. I'm conscious of saying to Matilda 'shh, Winnie's asleep' or 'oh, be careful because of Winnie' as I don't want Winnie to be the sole reason of me disciplining Matilda, I don't want her to get a complex or whatever. I'm probably thinking too much into that, but there you go. That's what we do as mums isn't it? Overall, Matilda is fantastic with her. And that is what makes it all so worth it, watching Matilda kiss Winnie's feet. Seeing Winnie's little face light up when Matilda is singing and dancing for us all. It's so magical. Not just that we've created two beautiful little girls, but that we've created two sisters, two best friends, a special bond.

I feel like we are really settling in to life as a four, that this is our normal now.

Having two children is hard, it's made us decide that two is enough for us. But even though as a mum you're physically split between the kids, you're heart has absolutely no limit.

Thanks for reading,

Chloe x