What's In My Bag - Spring Edit

Today we shall delve into what sometimes feels like a Mary Poppins bag and where my kitchen sink wouldn't feel out of place. 

For all my nic nacs, i like to designate a little bag to keep them all in from being lose in the depths of the main bag itself. 

A pen. So i feel organised when someone asks, 'anyone got a pen?'

A mini bottle of deodorant, for those days i work up a sweat running errands. 

A snack bar, to keep me energised whilst running said errands.

Tampons, for when mother nature comes a knockin',

Tissues, to wipe away evidence of chocolate from previously shown snack bar & for the occasional blow of the shnoz. 

Hand Sanitiser, because sadly, i can't fit the kitchen sink in my bag so i had to downsize instead. 

A bobble & clip, for them days my hair just needs to get.out.my.face.

A tote bag, i like to use less plastic and save as many 5ps as poss. 

Headphones, for when my heart calls to listen to blast from the pasts.

A bottle of water, for when i'm spitting feathers. 

Glasses, for when i get tired of squinting and remember i need to wear glasses. 

A hair brush/mirror compact, for when it's a windy day & it's causing problems to my bonnet.

Finally an empty purse. I like to imagine i have money, so i obviously need something to carry it all in. 

Thank you for coming along with me to see what i pack into what is often seen on the crook of my arm trophywife.

Thank you so much for reading <3 

Chat soon, 

love

Emilie xx

The video version <3 

My Spring Cleaning Plan 2019. Organising, Decluttering and Cleaning

One of many reasons why i love Spring, is Spring Cleaning. Any excuse to have a good old clean and sort out i'm there for.

Today i'm sharing with you 10 of my Spring cleaning plans to complete before the end of April. 

1. Clean Oven & Oven Trays.

Preferably, i like to get my hands on the pink stuff but i'm not gonna be spending £10 plus on amazon when poundland do some very similar stuff from the brand Astonish. Its a paste that you can rubadubdub over your own in hopes do get all the cooked in grime off. For the oven racks and trays that are very much well loved, i have a oven cleaning bottle of solution from home bargains that you let the trays and racks sit in for over 6 hours, which means while thats a cleaning away in my kitchen, i can get on with some more spring cleaning. 

2. Descale Kettle. 

As we have a see through glass kettle, it gives me constant reminders to descale. You would think it would be spotlessly clean, the amount of times i boil it throughout the day for my cups of tea. Home bargains treated me well by selling me a descaling pouch that you drop into your kettle for just £1. It should only take about 10 mins to tick off my list too! Jobs a gooden'.

3. Organise memorabilia boxes.

I love hoarding cinema tickets, plane tickets, little nic naccy things to keep as souvenirs from trips and memories. These boxes are OVER FLOWING and need some attention asap. I'm going to dust the boxes for a start. Then piece by piece organise all my bits into sections and then hopefully come up with a way to organise and sort them to keep everything need and tidy.

4. Declutter Seasonal Box.

Ahh yes, another box of trinkets. I love to decorate my home for seasons all year round ( spring being one of my faves ), which means i have a collection of goodies from autumnal ornaments to summer bunting. Some of the pieces are a little worn and old now and could be doing with going in the bin. After decluttering, i can give everything a good clean and shine to ensure them staying as good as new throughout the seasons to come. 

5. Organise and clean protein cupboard.

Also known as the cupboard next to the oven full of goodness knows what! When me and my husband moved into our flat we was showered with wonderful pieces of kitchen wear from friends and family. Nearly being in our apartment for 2 years, most of the stuff that was given and not instantly put to use has been sitting in this cupboard, from extra bowls to teapots. I think i'm going to have a good old tidy up in there and give some items to a better home. Oh the protein in the protein cupboard yes, i shall be checking the dates and making they are all in order ready for use. 

6. Clean the inside windows.

Once a month we have a fabulous window cleaner come to clean our outside windows and does such a fabulous job that it puts my inside cleaning abilities to shame. I want to get my washing liquid out and a buffing towel and get cleaning and shining up my windows to match the dazzling ones outside. 

7. Vacuum under the bed.

This used to not be an issue when i had no drawers under the bed, but now our bed has heavy fitted chunky drawers, jam packed with shoes, clothes and MORE seasonal goods, it's not very regular for me to vacuum under there. I'm sure there's going to be gathers of dust and lost treats my cat will be more than happy to find again (picks them up quick before my cat gets her chops on them, goodness knows how long they've been there! they have a coating of fluff n all)

8. Organise hallway cupboard and give a good clean.

What would be the cupboard under the stairs but in our case, just in the hallway. This place holds our everyday shoes, coats, spare coats, going out coats, light jackets, shoes we forgot we had, shoes that don't fit and a collection of stones that have come from our shoes. This place needs a good sort out i tell you. I need to declutter the shoes i don't wear and hopefully sell them or give to a good home and get the vacuum and duster all up in the corners to make it look spic and span. 

9. Clean out letter drawer.

It's so full it has now overflowed into another drawer and down the back of the cupboards. It's in a right state. I'm going to grab some folders and spend an hour or maybe 5 sorting out and shredding unwanted/unneeded paper and letters. Why do i need 5 leaflets from farmfoods? Oh that's right, they have coupons that you always forget to take with you grrrrrrr. 

10. Clean and vacuum airing cupboard.

This is wear my little cats supplies are kept. It has a massive space that really could do with some sort of DIY storage unit to make the most of. But first things first, i would like to organise the cupboard by sorting through toys my cat no longer plays with. Gather the empty treat packets that we just chucked in there out of the way incase someone got their paws on it and chewed it open to check there's not one last crumb left. We also keep our bath towels in there too. With the flannels being bunched up with them, i'm wanting to come up with a storage solution to separate the two, so when wanting to wash my face, i'm not yanking out a beach towel. A few cobwebs are lurking in the corner too, so vacuum ahoy! (saves spiders first)

There we have it, my Spring cleaning plan. It won't just stop there i'm sure. You try and stop me cleaning out the fridge with some spring meadow Zoflora and feather dusting my radiators.

Thank you so so much for reading, chat soon...

Emilie x

The Diva Cup Review

Are we ready to talk all things inserting a silicone funnel shaped cup into our foofoos?

Right then, lets get 'stuck in'!

What is a diva cup you ask?

The Diva Cup is a menstrual cup that is worn internally to collect menstrual blood flow.

What's it made from?

A natural un-pigmented, 100% health grade silicone. Latex, BPA, plastic, dye and chemical free.

Does it come in different sizes?

Yes. 3 in fact.
Model 0: 18 years and under. It is smaller than model 1 by 1/8th inch in diameter.

Model 1: Under 30 years with a medium flow who have never delivered vaginally or by a caesarean section. 

Model 2: 30 years and over and/or those who have delivered vaginally or by caesarean section & who have a heavier flow. It is 1/8th inch bigger in diameter than model 1.

(The Diva cup is a soft silicone bell shaped cup that can with body heat, form to your body)

How long can it be worn for?

Up to 10 - 12 hours maximum. 
It does however need to be emptied, washed and rinsed 2-3 times daily. It is only to be worn during menstruation and not during any other time in the month. 


How long does the Diva Cup last for? 

With regular inspection, it's life span can vary. A general guideline is to replace once a year. If signs of deterioration, sticky or powdery film, severe discolouration, odour then replace with a new one straight away. 


Benefits: 

On the Diva cup, there's a feature of measurements to enable you to keep check of how much you collect. 
Model 0: Holds 17ml
Model 1&2: Holds 30ml

No odour. Odour is produced when it is exposed to the air. As it is worn inside this = no odour.

Eco-friendly, reusable and economical. 

My Experience

Where did i buy the Diva Cup?
I brought my Diva Cup from amazon, for £17.97. But that price can always fluctuate and be even cheaper. It was the cheapest place i found it as Superdrug sell it for £25.00!
Although, worth mentioning it is only free delivery when you spend £20.00. So worth having a mooch around for something else to tot up the total to avoid delivery charges.
It came 2 days later, so super fast shipping!

Initial Thoughts

Packaging: I thought the box was great fun. Pretty colours and well presented. It had information all around to grab your interest and quick and easy to read diagrams on the side to give you a glimpse of what's to come. It comes in such a cute little cotton drawstring bag too, to keep clean and tidy when not in use.

Information: Inside held a info booklet, in many a different languages. Although the print being small to read, it was laid out with clear instruction of what to do in all areas of the Diva Cup experience.

Product Itself: Inspecting the cup closely, i saw little tiny wholes dotted around the rim, one being block (one for the sewing kit needle to get through) quickly came apparent that they helped with the suction process.

The little spout, i first thought was open. Racking my brain as to how the cup even holds the blood was beyond me, until i look closer (admittedly have bad eye sight and ironically couldn't find my glasses doh) that it was in fact closed. ah harrr.

Ways of Folding

I then had a go at the different ways and shapes that you can go about inserting this up in your down below. Following the step by step diagram, i'm feeling quietly curious as to how on earth this going to go. When moulding the cup, it was surprising easy. Flexible, but not flingy.

Fold one

Fold two

Before Use

I assigned a mini saucepan from poundland to be my DIVA CUP SAUCEPAN which can be stored away until needed again. (well kept out the way of my husband, who might misplace it for cooking the frozen veg in lol)
Plopped the Diva cup into the pan with boiling water and gently simmered on a low heat for about 5 minutes. This then sanitised it before use. Letting it cool down before taking it out, i then placed it on some kitchen towel, air dried and then popped it back in it's carrier until my ovaries were ready for action.

1st Ever Try

Ngl, i usually dread realising i have to go and grab a sanitary towel/tampon (dependant on mood) when i come on my period. But this timeeee. I knew i could use my new ' bloody gadget ' and take it for a spin.

Already boiling it, i decided to go another step to further to clean it before use. So i just ran it under some lukewarm water and used some of my femfresh was to give it a little lather making sure to throughly wash it after to avoid irritation.

After watching Diva Cup's video on youtube with some helpful tips i decide the stand and squat would be my best bet as this usually works well when using a tampon.
Choosing my desired technique of origami fold it would seem, i decided to for the 'flatten and role' fold.

It was less messy than i anticipated, as my flow wasn't full on at this stage. My only concerns at this point was how the flip will i know, when the cup as opened and i'm good to go.
The leaflet and video, suggest to turn the cup clockwise when inserted, to release the fold and ensure the cup is suctioned onto the vaginal walls.

Did this. After a bit of a fumble round, i was able to turn it and was pleasantly surprised when i felt good to go and get on with the day.
My main concern was the little sticky out funnel section of the cup, i was worried that i would be able to feel it sticking out when i walked or sat down. The information from Diva Cup told me to insert the cup until the little 'stick part?' was even with your VAAAAAGINAL OPENINGGG. (i just had to capitalise that for less of a cringe worthy read)
Doing this, relieved me, as i didn't feel anything at all really. Yes i felt let's say, the rim? of the cup, suctioned on to my internal walls, but it wasn't uncomfortable. I was shooketh. Revolutionary, i thought.

After around 6 hours, i thought, better see how it's doing and give it a swill out. (purely out of curiosity and impatience to see it in all it's unabsorbed glory)

To give you un-pictured but graphic example, i collected around 7ml? About at the way point. This was only after, the spillage of all spillage occurred. I was not prepared for the very uncomfortable feeling and view i was putting my body through. Inserting fingers, you have to press against the cup, to loosen suction, else when the cup passes through below deck, the feeling of a 'pop' like sensation down there, would be rather painful.

Tucking in on the cup, i then began to pull it out. Not aware of the angle my body was positioned in crouched over the loo, the cup then spilt on to my bathroom floor and resulted in what only looked like a vampires paradise.

Emptying my cup into the loo was rather mesmerising. I then cleaned up my mess to prevent sharks swimming up my loo smelling the scent of fresh blood, i then hobbled into the bathroom (separate bathroom to toilet you see) to then swill the Diva Cup out. Cleaned out quick and easy, i decided to opt for the second 'squish and hold' fold. This was so much easier to insert as well as it releasing on it's own and made the whole, turning clockwise technique a lot easier.

Later that evening, i repeated this and inserted the cup into my blooming flower for the foreseeable  night to come. Waking up, it had been around 9 hours, that my cup had been in. Aware to be slow and careful, i managed to arrange the cup in a way as it came out, to not spill evvvvvverywhere. BE WARNED. It's a good job i woke up when i did, because the cup was ready to OVERFLOW!!
Were talking the whole 30ml here.

After cleaning, getting on with day, i did notice sometimes, that when taking the Diva cup out, the rim of it would almost scrape against the walls of my vagina to be blunt and cause me GREAT discomfort. But with taking it slow and to make sure i've got a good bend in the cup before taking it out of my body, made it easier.

I didn't need to take it out, empty and clean whilst being outside of the house this time of the month, but i do worry at little at how i'm going to get on with mess and faff when in a public confined cubicle, but we shall wait and see for that one.

TOP TIP

Take your Diva Cup out in the shower.
Yes, it does look like you are tipping a jar of beetroot juice down your plug whole, but trust me, it's not much less faffffffff. You can spread out, open and free and release your collection without being concerned about drip dropping all of the place in your loo.

Avoid leaving it for 12 hours.
The longer you leave it until you empty the cup means more probability that it may over flow. When this happens, it's just like when you leak with a pad or tampon. It doesn't gush out don't worry.
But esp when your in mid week on your period/at your heaviest is best to empty every 2-3 hours. This will then mean, taking it out will be easier due to less blood being collected.

When, my period, for this month was done and dusted, i then swilled my Diva Cup as i usually would after each time i emptied it, with femfresh and water. I then used the same method with my saucepan and boiling water, ready for mother nature the following month.

Would i recommend the diva cup?

ABBBBBBSOLUTLY.
yes. It can be a faff. But i think the more times your use it the comfortable it is to insert and take out. I personally didn't experience much discomfort only the times that i mentioned and maybe towards the end of my period when quite frankly my fandango had just had enough at this point and wanted to be left alone with a nice pair of granny pants to console with.

It is sooo much cleaner than wearing sanitary towels. That was my biggest baine, was how messy i felt when i wore them. With tampons, my biggest concern was TSS (toxic shock syndrome) which always worried me. I always felt some discomfort to during the week with inserting and taking out. Also with tampons, i didn't want to wear them over night, as it would exceeded the maximum time to keep them in, which then resulted in sani pads, which can sometimes leak onto bed sheets.

So it's swings and roundabouts really. The faff of insertion definitely gets easier, the taking out part not so much but again, doing that in the shower if possible is so much better.


It does give me peace of mind knowing that i can if need be, leave it in for the maximum 10-12 hours and i am so happy my body has accepted it and doesn't cause me personally too much discomfort.

Thank you so much for reading. I know how it was long winded read and rather frank and uncouth and some points but i hope you found this somewhat helpful. In the future, i'll do little catch ups with my Diva Cup, of how i get on with exercising and when out in public. So stay tuned.

Thanks so so much for reading and i shall chat soon...

Emilie xx


KEY POINTS

Eco-nomical

BPA, latex, dyes, plastic and chemical free

Comes in 3 sizes

Pretty handy travel pouch

Easy to clean

Comfortable

Can be worn for a maximum of 10-12 hours

Uses less waste than pads and tampons

Saves money over time

March Favourites

April is here, it's officially Spring and the nights are getting lighter which means i am a HAPPY CHAPPY.

Let's take a glimpse at what i've been adoring throughout the month of March and see what's been floating my boat.

1. Game of Thrones

                                                              

It's official. I am HOOKED. Me and my husband started watching g.o.t at the beginning of March and have sailed through nearly all the seasons. First things first, isn't it a bit *in a Miranda voice* sexxxxxxual. Talk about raunchy. Second, the gore! I wasn't prepared for the amount of gore i was about to see but now i've sat through some pretty horrific scenes, if someone warned me there was a bit of a scramble and blood in a movie, pft piece'a'cake. 

2. Online Course 

Being home educated, i never took my GCSE's = No qualifications. 

Up until this point in my life it hasn't been a necessity to have any and my previous employments haven't desired any particular experience or qualifications. But now i am looking to try something different when it comes to my career, I needed to delve into the realms of learning. I'm taking an online course that was offered to me through a job search website called Reed. It's a free online course to hopefully give me a business and administrative qualification. I am LOVING it and it really is so easy to follow online in the comfort of my own home. Also knowing that i should *providing my assessments go to plan* get a certificate at the end of it too. I haven't earned a certificate since i swam a whole length in primary school. 

3. Essence Fresh All Day Foundation

I'm going to be popping a full review of this over here on my blog in the next few weeks as it has become my go to product for my base. I love applying it to my skin as it smells so fresh, a bit like baby wipes. It gives a radiant fresh looking complexion and lasts such a long time on the skin. My favourite thing about it is that it only costs £5.00!

4. Wedding Anniversary

Towards the end of March, my gorgeous husband and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary. 

We shared snuggles with our cat, cards and little gifts to each other and looked back to our wedding day and pondered over the delightful day that it was. I treated my hubby to see Captain Marvel in the cinema which how the americans put it, he was so STOKED. I'm actually curious as to wether now i have lost some weight if my wedding dress fits me again? hmmm, maybe i shall have to shimmy back into it at some point this month. 

March was a goodun' and hope that yours was fabulous too!

Let me know somethings you have been loving as i would love to know. 

Thank you so much for reading, chat soon daffodils...
Emilie x