Weekly Eats

Good Evening, Everyone :)

I have been mighty good at taking pictures of what I've been eating lately, so I figured I'll share a few of them with you as well.

This was my first attempt at poaching eggs. And they turned out amazing. Apparently the trick is to get the water simmering not boiling and then dropping the eggs in there for 3 minutes. It worked for me :) So I guess I have to say thank you to Jamie Oliver for that lesson. I'm eating my eggs with a plain bagel, smoked bacon and hollandaise sauce.

Stir fry noodles with salmon. Loads of veggies and some great fish make up for the ''notsohealthy'' noodles :D

Battered fish and feta cheese salad. This was my quick meal. It was the week when D was away and I'd ran out of pretty much everything :D I found the fish at the back of the freezer and used up all the leftover vegetables and piece of feta cheese for the salad. The dressing is a very unhealthy Pizza Express House salad dressing.

More Fish. Salmon with pesto and a crunchy leaf salad with mangetout and oven roasted potato wedges. I really like the combination of hot and cold foods in a salad...D found it weird though

Chicken Fajita night with homemade quacamole. To be honest the quacamole is just a mashed up avocado with a bit of salt and pepper, so nothing fancy :D Chicken is stir fried with onions and peppers with a bit of sweet chilli cooking sauce.

A bit random, but this is a whole chicken in a bag. I just wanted to add this here because I went to get chicken fillets but instead got this....because...4 small fillets cost exactly the same as this MASSIVE whole chicken. We had it with corn and potato wedges and coleslaw :)

Sunday Roast in one of my favourite Italian places ''Piccolino'' I like how it's not as stodgy as the usual pub roast. And the meat was cooked to perfection.

Hope you enjoyed the post :)
Stay tuned
xoxo

3 Months Postpartum

Good Evening, Everone :)

In the light of Oscar turning 3 months old I figured it's time for my post partum update. I haven't done an update on how I'm doing after the birth in a long time, so I guess it's about time for it to happen.

Over all I am doing pretty great. I actually feel normal again and I think my body is getting used to the lack of sleep or shall I say the broken sleep. 

Some of it is completely my own fault, because I really should be going to bed earlier than I do. Oscar goes down at around 8-9 o'clock and I go to sleep about 2 hours after that. I could blame the fact that I take my shower then and then I have to sort out the bottles and formula for his night time feed, but it wouldn't be fair. In all honesty, all this can be done before he goes down for his night time ''nap''....it's just that grown up time I can't give up. That few hours in a day when I don't have to take care of him. I quite like it, and I'm hoping he will start sleeping for longer stretches rather than me having to actually change my bedtime. 

I have now lost all my baby weight, or pregnancy weight, however you want to put it. I can easily fit into all my old clothes now, but I do feel the elasticity of my stomach has to improve somewhat before I can confidently wear a tight dress or a t-shirt again. I actually miss that I don't have to suck it in...loved that part of being pregnant :D I can easily fit into my size 6 zara jeans (size 2 for US) but I'm much more comfortable in size 8 (size 4 for US)

Ok so, I am actually doing something for my stomach to go back to where it was before getting preganant, not just talking about how I don't like the state I am in now. I am doing a lot of stand up excercises for my abs while I bounce O around, which makes them work even more, as he is my weight :D No excuses being unfit with a baby. And O loves the action anyway so I'm quite lucky in that sense. I also do excercises while I sit on the sofa with him. Half crunches while holding him again...work magic I tell you guys, they really do :D Another thing I have noticed is my arm muscles...bouncing a 6kg baby for hours in a day will make you one strong mama. I am pretty sure I would be able to carry my weekly food shop bags for miles :D

The only thing I must say about all this strength and weight exercises is that my back is taking the toll. I could really do with a nice and painful deep tissue massage to relieve all the tension....maybe next year :D

I have also done a few changes in my diet. Now that I'm not breastfeeding I have stopped eating those extra calories I needed to produce the milk. I think I have gone to pretty much what I did before finding out I'm pregnant, which is having one big meal a day. 

I usually have a light breakfast. I have a yoghurt and a banana or a cereal bar if we don't have any fruit. 

It is very rare when I have a big lunch, or that I have lunch at all to be honest (I know I shouldn't do it, but lunch time passes without me even noticing it most days) The only time I do have a big lunch is when I make something for me AND D. Or if D is making lunch. In this case I keep my dinner light or I have whatever D is having, but a smaller protion.

Most of the days I do have dinner as my main meal though. And that happens around 6-7 pm. After that I snack on either some chocolate or I have some ice-cream. I do treat myself...I'm a woman...I need chocolate every now and then :D

The last thing is a bit of tmi, but hei, what the hell. When I was still breastfeeding I went on the pill that was safe to use during those days. Unfortunately the pill I was subscribed did not suit me at all. And when I say at all, I mean, at all :D I turned into a right old bitch...honestly. It made me so hormonal and not only was I a bitch to D I was also really moody and I even a bit depressed at times. It also made me bleed all the time. I only lasted 28 days and then stopped taking them. And now I can really say that I am much happier and I feel like I am in such a better place. Pills or any other form of hormone to prevent pregancy has never affected me in such way before. And I must say that if you have any history of hormonal problems before, steer clear of this pill called Cerelle. I do need to go see my gp again to get a different prescription, but I'm being incredibly lazy. And lets be honest ... if those pill would be 100 per cent effective, I would'nt have Oscar, so I'm in no rush :D

I think I have pretty much covered everything now :) 

Hope you enjoyed the post, or at least found it a bit informative :D

Stay tuned, follow my blog and leave some feedback :)

I would love some feedback, or maybe a post request

Until next time xoxo

I will try to add pictures. But the selfies just don't do it anymore, so I'll have my sister or my mom take them for me tomorrow :)

Writers Block

Good Afternoon, Everyone :)

I have been on a bit of a lazy streak these days :D I know it, you know it, everyone knows it. I just haven't gotten round to do anything interesting worth talking about what so ever. 

To be honest I have been just chilling and having fun times with Oscar, having walks and cooking...just the normal things :)

We have also been in search of a house. Our contract in this flat will end at the end of January and instead of renewing it, we are looking for a house. We are currently in a 2 bedroom apartment in the City Centre, and this flat just lacks the room we need as Oscar is growing every day.

As I've also mentioned O sleeps in a co-sleeper that is attached to our bed. And right this moment it fits and it suits us all. But as he gets bigger and more active we need to move him into a crib, and there is absolutely no where to put the crib in this flat. I know I said we have 2 bedrooms, but one of the bedrooms is D's office, as he mainly works from home. 

I actually can't wait to move out of the city centre. We are looking at an area, where there is loads of parks and little nice cafes and bars/pubs and little boutique shops, which will be great as I hate walking with O and only seeing buildings and people. It will be nice to have some greenery around :) It will also be nice to have a bit more grown-up space, as at the moment, every single room looks like a nursery :D How can such a tiny thing take up so much room??? I just don't know.

Anyway, this is what has been going on or more like not going on in my life :D 

I just think I need to get into blogging again, excpecially because O is quite happy on the playgym without me having to entertain him all the time, so it's not actually hard to pick up my laptop and actually write. 

I do also want D to help me set up my blog on my personal domain and maybe help style the design up a bit :D Benefits of having a boyfriend who actually knows something about web design. I just have to make him because he is as lazy as me :D

There is some exciting news though...

All my family apart from my dad are coming to visit me, so I will have the benefits of having my mom help me with O for a whole 5 days :) I do think it would be absolutely amazing to have my parents close by, because I know they would be happy to babysit whenever we would need/want it. Unfortunately they live in a different country. And I know if I would ask any of my friends they would be happy to do it, but I just think that having family to help out is just so much better :( Anyway I went from good news to being a mong and complaining :D 

That is all folks. That is all the news I have. This is all I've come up with. I will try and be better and actually do some real posts as well rather than me just blabbering 

so ... stay tuned...subscribe and leave a comment below if there is a post you would like to see  :)

xoxo

Christmas Wish List

Good Evening, Everyone :)

It's not been about presents for me during Christmas for a very long time now. I do love this time of the year though...yes...I know it's only November, but if they have lit the Christmas lights in town, then I'm certainly allowed to talk about it :D 

I love Christmas, I hate how some people just make it so stressful for themselves by making it all about the presents. It's like some kind of a competition these days. Who gets more and who gets more expensive ones. Christmas trees get bigger just so the pile of presents will fit underneath it. And I don't think it should be about that. I think it should be about spending time with your family and friends. Why ruin it with stressing about weather you got the right present or not. 

I think we are quite lucky that O is still so small, that we don't have to think about getting him anything. Of course the time will come where we have to start the whole Santa Claus thing, because when you are a kid then it's really exciting and it's part of growing up. (My family is not religious by any means, but we have always celebrated Christmas)

It will be his first Christmas though, and even though he won't remember it, I want to make it special. This does include getting the decorations up and getting the tree and the whole feeling of Christmas with candles and lights :)

Our flat is quite small so it won't be too hard to decorate it, but I do have some essentials that I just think make it special...and this will be my Christmas wish list...it's not presents, it's the decorations, that I will store and re-use year after year, and it will be kind of our first family tradition so to speak I guess. Getting the decorations out and having that first cup of mulled wine and gingerbread :) While the cinnamon scented candle burns and the tree lights twinkle in the background.

Getting too emotional with this story now :D so better get on with the list :)

1.First things first. The Christmas tree - as much as I would like to get a real tree (we always had a real tree when I was growing up) I'm not quite sure if it's something we will do this year just because I have no idea where to get it from :D and also the needles will start falling off and if they end up anywhere near O and his tiny grabby hands, all hell will break loose. So I think for this year we will get a fake Christmas tree, probably a 6ft one and just decorate it really nicely :)

2.Christmas scented candles - Cinnamon, gingerbread, pine, chestnuts, clementine...it doesn't matter. The ones that I will be picking up are the ones that will instantly remind you of Christmas :) And since the days are getting shorter and shorter for now, I will need quite a few candles. Don't go overboard though. One scented in the middle of a few unscented plain cheap ones will do the trick. You don't want your rooms to smell like a candle shop :D

3.Christmas tree decorations - I'm all for the big packs of decorations, that will fill your tree. I am also all for getting a few special baubles and decorations, that will probably be a bit more expensive, but they will be that much more special, because they will be handpicked. I love the fact that there is a big Christmas market in the town centre, where people sell their handmade decorations. That is exactly where I would start my search for the decoration to last generations...or until it breaks :D

4.Wreath for the door - it's something you will only see when you come to the house, so maybe it's not really a necessity, but I think getting that Christmas feeling before you even enter your house is great. Don't get it when you live in a shady area, because it will probably just get stolen...

5.Christmas bedding - I'm not a kid anymore, but there is just something about getting in your Christmas themes bed and having a good snooze :D If you don't think getting a whole new set of bedsheets you can only use one season is a waste of money, get a throw instead...maybe in the fair isle pattern. It will cost less money and if you don't like it in the bedroom it can easily be moved to another room :) Nothing like snuggling into a comfy throw and watching Home Alone, while drinking hot chocolate.

6.Christmas napkins - No need to get a new set of plates and cups and glasses. A nice pack of Christmas napkins will go a long way in creating that feeling at the Christmas table. Last year I hosted a party for my friends and instead of spending a lot of money on crockery I spent about 10 pounds on Christmas themed paper plates and napkins...no washing up. This year I won't do a party, and we will probably end up spending Christmas home with just the 3 of us. That means we will use normal plates and glassware (only me and D will need them obviously :D) so to make it more special I will probably get a table cover (I can use it year after year) but otherwise keep it simple :) 

7.House Decorations - This will all be kept very simple. I think the most important is the tree. I will have candles and maybe a Christmas throw. But the one thing I do love is the Christmas flower...I think it's called Pontensia???? something like that :D And it's a potted plant, that has red and green leaves. They only sell them during the Christmas period, and it's the perfect inexpensive way to make your home look christmasy :)

That is it for my list :)

Do enjoy this time of the year...it only comes once. Don't ruin it by stressing about money and presents, there are other ways to celebrate. I mean, we are all grownups and know Santa Claus doesn't exist...why keep pretending :D

Stay tuned everyone :)

xoxo

Oscar Is 3 Months Old

What a months it's been. I feel like he has hit so many of his milestones this month that it actually feels like a year. He just changes every day, and every day brings some new experiences :) To be honest I think it has been one of the best months yet. From getting use to him being awake more often and settling into his own routine, to sleeping at night and... I don't know it's all kind of worked this month. I guess it's because I'm just that much more confident with what I'm doing and I have also settled into his routine. Basically it's been a great month and I can't wait to share some of it with you guys :)

EAT

This is the part that has completely changed in the last month. Last week Wednesday little Oscar decided that he won't breastfeed any more and will just cream at my breast :D It might sound funny now, but at the time I was just getting so frustrated about it. It actually happened overnight. I breastfed him during the night and in the morning he was just not having any of it. It was especially frustrating because I had just spent a week double pumping to get my milk supply up. At the end I just decided that I won't continue pumping either, because it's just so time consuming and he is absolutely fine with the formula. We are now solely using the Hipp Organic Infant formula milk. I prepare all the bottles and formula in the morning. We are using the MAM anti-colic bottles with a nr2 flow teats and I use the containers for breastmilk to store the right amount of formula for each feed :) At the moment he still eats about 150 ml. Which means I have 120ml room temperature water prepared in a bottle and then when the time is right I add 30 ml of boiling water (this makes it exactly the right temperature for him, because he does enjoy warmer milk rather than just room temperature. I also think warmer feeds help with the digestion and gas. We haven't had colic problems yet, I hope it stays this way. He does have gas every now and then, but he is more than capable of passing it with no medical (infacol, gripe water) help) Once I add the formula I have about 170 ml of milk which he rarely eats all of. But the last week he has been eating more frequently, which I think is because his stomach is going to stretch, which means he will eat more now and stays full for longer as well....at least this is what I'm hoping :D We still have a few packets of the ready made infant milk, but he doesn't really like it anymore. I even use the powder at night...instead of boiling the water I just keep it in the thermos though. That is actually one of the things that I hope will change with him eating more....the night feeds. He still wakes up about 2-3 times during the night. And it's not really all that bad because usually he falls asleep eating, which means I have to be awake for about 20 minutes max but it's just the matter of preparing the bottles :D I just can't be bothered with it. 

PLAY

He is now able to just entertain himself for a good half an hour without getting bored. I think this is one of the main parts I love about this age. Because I use to do all the house work and MY things while he was having a nap. But because he doesn't need me there at all times I can easily just get on with the things I need to do when he is awake, which means that when he does finally go down for a nap, I can spend that time solely on myself either having a nice lunch or writing the blog or whatever I feel like doing at the time :) 

He is really into the rattling toys with lots of colours and noises and textures. I hang one of them above him on the play gym and he just coos and gurgles at it and is able to full on grab and pull it now. It's so much fun to watch, because sometimes it looks like he is talking to his toys :D

He still enjoys lying down and playing, but I'm sure the time won't be far, where he just won't do it any more, and then we have to find another way for him. Another thing which I think goes under ''play'' is that I read books to him and show him the colourful pictures. I must say though that it doesn't really keep him entertained for too long :D I'll keep trying though. I don't read to him at bedtime because he likes a bit of peace and quiet before dozing off, but It's definitely something I want to start once he is older, because it's great for bonding, developing and calming :)

SLEEP

Oh, please start sleeping through the night, baby :D He doesn't. The longest stretch of sleep is still in the beginning of the night. He sleeps about 4-6 hours, depending how nice he is :D and then wakes up every 3 hours to eat. A bit has changed though. He goes to bed a bit earlier than he use to at around 7-8 rather than 9-10. And he usually sleeps for about 12 hours (this includes the feeds every 3 hours). Another thing that has changed is his daytime naps. He only has about 30 minutes after about 2 hours of awake time and one longer nap that usually happens around lunch time, but sometimes happens about 4-5 as well :)

I had the side up for his nap, but to be fair he usually has his naps in our bed :) and his is attached to it most of the time...always at night

DEVELOPMENT AND MILESTONES

watching tv on his 3 month birthday morning :D

He is getting sooooo tall. Definitely getting this from his dad. I haven't had an official measuring, but I've done my own and it looks like he is about 62cm, which is 7 cm longer than at his 6 week checkup (it was more like his 8 week check up really) I still need to weigh him, but I keep forgetting :D And he is now very comfortable at his 3-6 month old clothing. I can still fit him into the 0-3 month as well, but it's getting a bit tight and the sleepsuits with booties are getting very short for him...guess it's shopping time again
I actually started writing this post yesterday, but I'm glad I didn't finish it because he started rolling over yesterday evening. He was holding his head up for a longer period of time since the middle of this week. And yesterday I put his on his stomach to show D's family and he just rolled over :D It was so cool and happened so suddenly, I was expecting some kind of a struggle to get to this point, but noup, happened in a second :D The only thing now is that he just won't stay on his stomach and rolls over every time. He doesn't do it both ways, but he is already turning himself on the side when he is on his back so I'm thinking it will happen very very soon :)

Another thing that has happened very recently and actually quite suddenly is his voice has changed a bit and he is very very vocal now :D he just keeps oohing and aahing and does this scream :D it's all really cool. It's like he is getting a personality.
So he has actually hit all the milestones that he should hit by the end of this month at the beginning...the child is a genius :D



This is pretty much all I can remember now...:) Hope you enjoyed the post :)
Stay tuned
xoxo

Outfit Of The Day

Good Afternoon, Everybody :)

I thought that, since the last two outfit posts were quite casual, I'll do a fancy, pancy, dressy outfit today :D And I've gone all out wearing my new clip on hair extensions as well :) To be fair I should've done all of this after coming back from town (I'm in need for some beauty essentials) but I just didn't think. Not that it's a problem, but it means I have literally gotten myself all prettied up for 10 minutes :D and then now I have to take it all off...anyway, I'm sorry about the weird words...I just can't think of any normal ones :D

Back to the post..this one is all about the pencil skirt. I must admit, the ''skirt'' here is actually a bottom part of a dress. I cut it off because I would get more use having it as a skirt as I would wearing it as a dress...I don't think I even have the top part anymore :D I really like an all white/off white look with a few metallic or colourful accessories :) I have gone for the blues. I think the contrasting colours just work really well together and it's definitely a christmas party look :)

Wearing :

Skirt (half of a dress) - Asos

Blazer - h&m

Shirt - New Look

Shoes - New Look

Bag - New Look

Watch - fake Cartier...don't judge me, it was a present :D

Hope you enjoyed the post :) 

Stay tuned and why not follow my blog so you wouldn't miss anything ;)

Love Meril 

Outfit nr 2

Good Afternoon, Everyone :)

Day 2 of finding new life for my old clothes. 

I do feel I have an upper hand in this challenge, because I haven't been able to use most of my wardrobe for the past year or so due to pregnancy. So now every item I pull out is like new to me and I get all excited about it again. Or I'm able to wear a belt to completely change the look of something.

The look I'm going for today is all about the boots. I bought these New Look boots about 2 years ago on sale for 7 pounds...could've been 8 or 9 :D...but none the less, they were so cheap. I think the last time I wore them was last winter :S It just shows how little I use my wardrobe. I have my everyday favourites and even when I go out...I just keep going back to outfits or clothing pieces that are tried and tested many times. 

Back to todays post though...it's something I haven't worn before(i've worn the pieces as part of different outfits but never together) and I think that's the whole point...reinventing the pieces of clothing you already have in order to shop less and spend money on things that matter :)
I have paired the dark brown boots with earthy colour for that Autumn feel.

Boots - New Look
Shirt - h&m
Jeans - zara
Knitted vest - h&m
Bag - New Look
Watch - Olivia Burton
Belt - h&m

Outfit Of the Day

Good Afternoon, Everyone :)

Today I dressed up purely for your entertainment :D

Theeverygirl.com has put a great challenge out there, to try and wear the clothes you already have in your wardrobe for the whole of November. And I am all for it...

The thing is though, that with a 3 month old baby there isn't much for me to go anymore :D 

Hope you still like the outfit, even though it didn't get to see the outside. 

In the spirit of the 30 days of no shopping though, I thought it would be great to find outfits for a whole week for you guys :)  D is away for work so I can do my thing without him thinking I've lost it completely :D So this is the first of the outfits I've come up with :)

Kimono - Apricot

blouse - Forever21

Jeans - Zara

Shoes - Michael Kors

Watch - DKNY

For more details leave a comment below :)

And if you don't want to miss any upcoming posts then why not follow through blogger, google+ or bloglovin :)

SHOP THE STYLE

xoxo

Daily Makeup Routine

I'm going to start the post by saying, I don't think there is any need to wear make up every day, specially when all you do is stay at home. But even going out...if you don't want to wear make up then I think you have every right not to. It's all about feeling confident in yourself. 

I don't wear makeup daily, I don't think I need to. I do have a few blemishes and a bit of uneven skintone, I've got redness and my skin is not as tight anymore as it use to be, but it's fine...I'm ok with that.

But sometimes there are these days, when you maybe just want a little pick me up, or maybe you don't feel as confident. I mean we all have these days, and those are the days when I have a simple makeup routine. 

I do like playing around with different products and colour, but for my daily makeup I have my old favorites :)

The before and after pictures are completely unedited, just so you can get a clear view of the changes :)

They are also pretty bad quality :D ever so sorry, I am in search for a good compact camera, so hopefully soon enough I would be able to have better quality photos :) Also it's really rainy today and it got really dark, which is why the colours are different...I had to turn the light on

These are all the products  and brushes I used 

I start off by applying the  Rimmel London Stay Matte liquid mousse foundation in colour 100 Ivory.

I love how it just evens out and makes my skin look really smooth. And I use the real techniques stippling brush to apply it.

Then I use the Makeup Revolution Vivid Baked Bronzer. This only costs 4 pounds, but I think it's amazing. The colour is really nice and intense. And the name of the colour is Ready To Go.

I apply it with a big blush brush. 

Then i add a bit of highlighter at the top of my cheekbones, just under the eyes. And I use an angled blush brush. This highlighter is a new buy from Revlon in the clour 020 Rose Glow

The next thing I do is my brows, because my hair is actually light brown ( I die my hair dark) my eyebrows don't really match, so I colour them in using the Collection Work the Colour Eyebrow kit. I use the middle colour and an angles eyebrow brush. The 

One of the last things I do is my eyeshadow. I use the Maybelline colour Tattoo cream eyeshadow in colour 35 - On and on Bronze as a base and then use the Revlon Photoready eyeshadow set in 505 Impressionist on top. 

I use the primer (the bottom right colour) all over my lid on top of the color tattoo shadow, and then with a soft blending brush add the medium brown colour in the creases of the eyes. I then use an angled shadow brush to add the darkest colour in the outer corner of my eyes and blend it out. Finish it off with mascara. Today I used the Estee lauder Sumptuous Extreme mascara (picture above)

And I use the Revlon Colourburst Lip Butter in the 095 Creme Brulee shade :) I really love these lip butters, the colours are so pretty and they do make your lips really soft. I love this nude one as a daily lippy and I keep it with me for a top up when I need one :)

Hope you guys enjoyed the post :)
Also If you have a post request or a product you would want me to try out for you, leave a comment below  :)

Have a happy rainy weekend everyone :)
xoxo

Outfit Of The Day

Good Evening, Everyone

This is an outfit I wore yesterday for a bar reopening and a friends birthday. It was a casual Wednesday event :).

Coat - New Look

Cardigan (only seen) - Forever21

Shirt - h&m

Jeans - Zara

Shoes - h&m

Bag and jewelery - New Look