iPod Touch or not to Touch?

So it's that time of year again and although I should be feeling excited at the thought of cosy, winter nights in snuggling with my boys, lots of yummy festive food and seeing all the sparkly christmassy decorations (now come to think of it, I am extremely excited about that!) the slight panic of what to buy and how much it'll all cost is sending me into a cold sweat!
So, the boy is another year older. And any parent knows, the older they get the more they want, and the more expensive they get!
This year I'm just not sure how to play it. I spent the last few months clearing out his room of toys he's accumulated over the years and doesn't play with or doesn't look after and have vowed not to spend hundreds of pounds on random toys that he just won't look after. It seems all he's interested in nowadays is football and playing on the computer (online, educational games I might add!). Fortunately the balance between playing on the laptop and running around playing outside is pretty good so luckily I don't have to worry about him wanting to stay in sitting in front of a computer all day. But the technology these kids have and can use nowadays is scary!

So I come to the problem in hand. He wants an iPod Touch for Christmas. He's 6. When I was 6 I'm convinced I was still receiving Princess Barbies for Christmas. I know times have changed and I'm not denying he can't use one. I'm just worried he won't look after it. My partner and I both have iPhones and we have an iPad, and he plays games on them whenever we're feeling generous :)
And he'd love the music. I'm just worried he won't look after it properly. He's a very boisterous little boy and very easily led. I have visions already of his friends asking to play with it and him sneaking it outside and losing/breaking it.
Maybe I'm over reacting, maybe I just need to set down some rules and be strict with it. Maybe I'm just in denial that times are a-changing and my little boy is growing up!
What do you think? Too young? Keeping up with the times? What do you plan on buying your children this Christmas?

Lianne. X

Twitter.com/lianne84

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Nails Inc Sale

Normally, when my nails are a nice length, I get my nails done at the salon. But currently, my nails aren't in great condition and won't seem to grow!! Grr. I think this has been since I've been back at work, they have been prone to breakage. (a sign I have been working hard 8 guess ;) )


I've recently been using a nail hardener (Patons Nail Hardener, £1.79, Bodycare) and painting my nails myself while waiting for them to reach a nice length.


I've been off work sick these past 2 days, and inbetween sleep and daytime tv I came across a link on Twitter directing me to the Nails Inc Sale. I really like the quality of Nails Inc polishes and have been using them on my nails a lot recently, but they can be quite pricey at approximately £12.50 a bottle, so I thought I'd check out the sale and see what they had to offer.

I managed to bag myself the 'Ice Cream Collection' 4 scrumptious shades; Spring Mews (Id describe this as a creamy, lime colour), Devonshire Row (a yummy purple), Maple Street (a coral-pink) & Strawberry Hill (a cerise pink). Worth £40. I got it for a tenner. Also got a pastel collection but I can't remember the exact name of the collection or shades and it's no longer available in the sale. There's a nice lilac, baby pink, blue & pale green. Again, worth £40. In the sale for £10. Bargain! They are also offering Next Day delivery for the price of normal delivery.

Ice Cream Collection

So, I got £80's worth of nail polish for £20 and delivered the very next day. This cheered a very poorly girl up! So go check out the Nails Inc 60% off sale before it finishes on Sunday!


Nails Inc Website - SALE
Nails Inc - Twitter


I shall attempt to paint my nails later if I get time and will post pics :)
Any other beauty sales on at the mo we should keep an eye out for?


Lianne. X

www.twitter.com/lianne84

Nails of the Month

Okay so time to show off my August nails!! :)
This week was time for my monthly manicure and I treated myself to a pedicure too! Well its 'meant' to be summer after all right? :)

I wanted a nice bright, summery colour and after seeing the new hot pink cover on my iphone, my nail technician suggested I match it! So I went with a plain hot pink colour. I had my nails cut down quite short as one of my nails had broke, booo! :(

August Nails - Hot Pink gel overlays

Since it is flip flop weather, I treated myself to a pedicure too. Was so nice to have my feet pampered! :) I had a spa pedicure.. a soak, scrub, moisturise, massage, cuticle clean up and toe nails painted.. bliss!

In the salon

We tried to match the pink gel with a similar pink colour on my toes and finished off with some pretty diamantes. What do you think?? (apologies for the picture quality, were taken on my iphone)

Sooo, suggestions for next months colours? :)

Lianne X

I love Gel Overlays!!

Us women love having pretty nails right? I love painting my nails and you'll hardly ever see me without painted finger or toe nails!

Gel overlays are my fave at the mo. With busy lifestyles, work and running around after kids.. nail polish doesnt last long, it soon chips no matter how good the top coat! :) So gel overlays are perfect!
For those gel polish virgins.. a gel polish lays over your natural nails, so no 'fake' feeling, it is a strong polish that promotes natural growth and best of all wont chip! It lasts approx 3-4 weeks, depending on what product is used and how quick your regrowth is. And costs vary depending on where you go. My salon charge £25, yet Ive had them done at Nails Inc a few times who charged approx £40.

My July nails

I think theyre perfect for us women with busy lifestyles! Pretty nails that wont chip! And we all deserve a bit of pampering!!

I have mine done once a month. Now and then I'll get acrylics for a nice change, but usually, especially during term time (while Im at work) gels are better suited! Theres nothing better than a nice pampering!! I feel a regular Nail of the Month coming up!! :)

Show us your gel polished nails!!

Lianne X

Summer Hols - Butlins

As the Summer holidays were looming, thoughts of how I was going to amuse the little man filled my head! 6 weeks off work and school felt amazing!! But what were we going to do??
After a stressy final week at work, a messy break up and a lively 6 year old on my hands - I knew Id need to get away!!

As a single parent, I was worried about what I could manage on my own.
I trawled the internet looking for ideas, day trips here, overnight stays there.. I didnt think I'd be able to afford anymore than that. But then I checked the Butlins website on a whim..

3 nights. Half board. Silver room. 2 people. For the Skegness resort..   £159.  BARGAIN!!
I got a free child place and a massive internet discount. I booked and paid for it there and then and told Bradley the good news. He was really excited and it made the final week of school/work go by much quicker knowing we had something to look forward to the following week.

National Express run coaches direct to the Butlins resort which proved a lot cheaper than trains. I was pretty chuffed, for approx £200 Id managed to book 4 days away at a fun-packed seaside resort, complete with food and travel. Result!

They sent an informative little booklet a few days before we left, telling us all we needed to know, things to expect and including all the FAQs.

After a comfortable journey, we arrived at Butlins on the Friday at about midday, left our luggage in the left-luggage room and went to explore.. Bradley was in his element, playing football with newly made friends in the Skyline while I had a drink and a sit down, looking around all the shops spending Mums well-earned money.. and trying out all the rides at the funfair.

Bob The Builder's yard

There is so much on resort to do for free..
The swimming pool - Splash Waterworld is fantastic, spacious, clean and with plenty to attract young and old. Bradley loved the Master Blaster ride and splashing around in the childrens area.
There are always sporting activities going on, we had to visit the football pitch every day for Bradley to 'practise his skills' :)

The funfair is great, lots of fun rides for all ages. It also includes a few things available at an extra charge.. inflatables, bungee trampolines, go karts etc.
The indoor play area is great to allow the kids to explore and climb while you have a quick rest!

Bungee Trampoline

We checked in at 4pm, which was quick and easy and the staff were all so friendly and helpful. The room was clean and perfect for the 2 of us, and was nicely set between the adventure park and the football pitch, much to Bradley's delight! ;)

Superslam Wrestling

Over the 3 days we never stopped, there was so much to do! There were characters walking around the resort, entertainment always available and the food in the dining court was great, even for the fussiest 6 year old!! :) Evening entertainment was brilliant, we often visited the Skyline to see the entertainment aimed at young children before going to Reds to be entertained by the Redcoats. Bradley quickly made friends and was up throwing shapes on the dance floor to the party dances :)

Titan the Robot

The resort was very busy, as expected for the first week of the Summer Holidays. Finding a table on the night Stacey Soloman and Twist & Pulse were in was a task and a half! Id never seen the place so packed!

All in all, our break was perfect and Id recommend it 10 times over for families with children!
My advice - keep checking the website for those late deals! And take lots of spending money!! :)
Neither of us wanted to go home, I was so tempted to nip into the Holiday Booking Shop on site and see if we could stay a few more days :)

On the 4th and final day, my partner came over and we spent the day at nearby Skegness. The weather was fantastic so we relaxed on the beach and had fun at the fair, before coming home.. sunkissed and happy :)

I'm already looking out for those next great deals on the Butlins website. :)

Lianne.. X

Rodarte MAC - gate!

Okay so, I kept seeing tweets on Twitter about people being disappointed with MAC Cosmetics. Me being a massive, totally biased MAC addict, I had to find out what the issue was.. and I have to say, its quite shocking!

This autumn, MAC cosmetics are due to release a new collection. Exciting as always, huh? Read on..
This new collection is in collaboration with American fashion designers Rodarte. Rodarte is a clothing and accessory range founded by sisters, Kate and Laura Mulleavy.

Kate and Laura Mulleavy   -    Rodarte

And the products, as always, in the classy black trademark MAC casing, look fantastic..

Rodarte for MAC collection

So far, all this sounds and looks great right? Wrong. This collection was, apparantly, inspired by the sisters road trip through the towns of the Texas/Mexico border. Influenced by the 'ethereal nature of the landscape' they went on to design the collection..

Now, let me give a brief background to the towns the girls tripped through and the things they may've seen..

There are such factories in Mexico, particularly in a town called Juarez, that we may describe as 'sweat shops', here they are known as 'maquiladoras'. They make cheap export goods, predominately made by women. Over worked, under paid, very badly treated women. We've all heard of these types of places right? Unfortunately this kind of thing happens all over the world right? But when you dwelve deeper into Juarez and read that this town is notorious for the number of women (aged between 12-22) who are raped or murdered and it seems that violence towards women seems acceptable here and that many women have to seek second jobs, often in the sex industry, to make ends meet. Many women are murdered or missing and nothing seems to be being done. Some of the things I came across whilst researching were shocking! Google 'Juarez' and 'Maquiladoras' for more information.

The Mulleavy sisters must have come across some awful things. They decided to use this to create their collection for MAC. So we have products which to me seem to reflect the image of dripping blood. As I say, this is merely my opinion. You may think otherwise, but see what you think..

Alongside press pictures that, again in my opinion, reflect a woman looking ghostly, almost corpse like, next to a shadow of another woman which again, to me, looks as though she is dripping with blood.. Make your own minds up..

Rodarte for MAC

Complete this campaign with the eerily named products. How about 'Sleepwalker', 'Factory', 'Juarez', 'Ghost Town', 'Quinceanera' (which I understand as a coming of age party celebrated in Latin American countries - thanks to Big Fashionista for this info!), 'Badland' ..and those are just a few of the product names Ive picked up during my research. Tasteless right?

Okay so top marks for creativity, I get that what the girls saw then inspired them to create ths collection using the things they came across. And I really dont think they meant anything malliscious by this. But I think it is highly tasteless, extremely controversial and the fact that MAC cosmetics, supporting such campaigns as Aids, didnt pick up on the negativity this collection may cause is shocking!

Both parties have given statements regarding the back lash this has caused..

Official Statement from Rodarte

'Our makeup collection with MAC developed from inspirations on a road trip that we took in Texas last year, from El Paso to Marfa. The ethereal nature of this landscape influenced the creative development and desert palette of the collection. We are truly saddened about injustice in Juarez and it is a very important issue to us. The MAC collaboration was intended as a celebration of the beauty of the landscape and people of the areas that we travelled.'

Official Statement from MAC Cosmetics

'We understand that product names in the MAC Rodarte collection have offended some of our consumers and fans. This was never our intent and we are very sorry. We are listening carefully to the comments posted and are grateful to those of you who have bought your concerns to the forefront of our attention. MAC will give a portion of the proceeds from the MAC Rodarte collection to help those in need in Juarez. We are diligently investigating the best way to do this. Please be assured that we will keep you posted on the details regarding our efforts.'

Hmm. Controversial. So MAC are going to give a portion of the proceeds to those in need. I guess this could be seen as a good thing, it has raised awareness to what is going on out there. But in my opinion, it should never have taken a few complaints from offended consumers to make them sit up and realise the negativity this collection gives off. And for Rodarte to turn around and say that the collection was meant to celebrate the natural beauty of what they encountered?? Yes, and naming the products 'Sleepwalker' and 'Factory' and advertising it with a poster of a woman that looks half dead clearly does that! Ridiculous.


In my opinion, the least MAC could do is to change the product names before the collections release this Autumn. As I certainly wont be buying anything. Would you get any pleasure out of using a product with a name such as those given, knowing the story behind it?


Inspiration, images and research taken, with many thanks to the following..
Rodarte - Wikipedia
My Fashion Life
Style List
Big Fashionista
Temptalia


Please feel free to leave your views and comments on this issue, and link your own blog articles.


Lianne. X


UPDATE

MAC & Rodarte have released new statements this morning.

MAC say..
We understand that product names in the M·A·C Rodarte collection have offended our consumers and fans. This was never our intent and we are very sorry. We continue to listen carefully to the comments we have received and have the following plans to address concerns:

We are committed to donating $100,000 to a non-profit organization that has a proven, successful track-record helping women in need and that can directly improve the lives of women in Juarez in a meaningful way.
We are changing the product names in the M·A·C Rodarte collection.
As we have done in the past, please be assured that we will communicate details regarding our progress in this matter.

Rodarte say..
We recognize that the violence against women taking place in Juarez needs to be met with proactive action. We never intended to make light of this serious issue and we are truly sorry.

Helping to improve the conditions for women in Juarez is a priority for us and we are thankful for all the comments calling attention to the urgency of addressing this situation.

So what do you think?
I dont think this should ever have become an issue, but I am happy they will change the product names. But I dont know about you, I'll definately still shiver with disgust when I walk past this collection when it hits our MAC stores in a few months..

Lianne X

My Race For Life

Well, today I ran / power walked [lol] the 5k Race For Life for Cancer Research at Western Park, Leicester. And I feel really proud and really fab! :)

I promised you pictures so here goes..

All dressed up and ready to go :)

Me & my friend Donna arrived at Western Park at about 1.30pm, the park was a sea of pink, everyone looked fantastic! :) There were over 1300 people there, and that was just the PM race. There was an earlier race also, and a 10k race yesterday.

The weather was gorgeous! The sun was shining and it was really hot. Leicester Sound were playing in the background and everyone sat around in the sun, it was a really nice atmosphere.

Reading everyones messages on their backs saying who they were racing for was really inspiring. Made us feel really proud of what we were doing.

To get the crowd warmed up, the Nivea Male Cheerleaders came on stage and cheesed it up by teaching us a dance routine to SClub7's Dont Stop Moving. :)

This was followed by a warm up dance routine by a local dance instructor, which was loads of fun and we were all definately warmed up ready to begin the race!!

We thought we'd be brave and headed for the 'Running' flag rather than the 'Walking' and they counted us down to start..

We ran and power walked alternately around the course, which we completed in 44 minutes. It was such a great feeling!

Check out the medal! :) Excuse the red face!

Although I havent totalled up completely as I still have sponsors coming in, I raised approx £100 and feel really proud to have been a part of the event for such an amazing cause!

We will definately be taking part again next year and aim to beat our time!! :)

There is still time to make a small donation if you would like to. Visit my fundrasing page at www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/lianne1984

If you are due to take part in a Race For Life event near you, feel free to comment with your fundraising links!

Lianne XX