BIG TOP Scooby Doo: DVD Review

I was lucky enough to be asked to take part in a DVD review for Kidspot, I received BIG TOP Scooby Doo on DVD to watch and review and here's how it went -

when we received the BIG TOP Scooby Doo DVD, my almost 3 year old daughter was more than excited to watch it, we had to put on it straight away!
I was a fan of Scooby Doo when I was younger so it was kinda cool to be sitting down and watching it with my little girl.

BIG TOP Scooby Doo is about the Mystery Inc gang going to Atlantic City, with the plans of having a relaxing vacation but they soon find themselves
involved in a mystery at the circus! You'll see Fred as a trapeze artist, Velma as a human rocket, Daphne as a clown with Shaggy as Scooby's trainer,
"teaching" Scooby crazy stunts and tricks all in hopes of catching some fiesty werewolves!

I love that this movie can be enjoyed by a large range of ages, from my daughter who is almost 3, to my brother-in-law and sister-in-law (8 and 9, who were excited to watch it
after school pick up) to myself, 22.

I think it is perfect for those times when you all want to sit down and watch a movie but can't make your mind up on one that is suitable for everyone.
This movie wasn't scary either which is good, because they definitely take into consideration that younger children will watch it, my daughter didn't
get scared once. It was funny and silly, lots of giggles were shared whilst watching it.

I will be recommending this DVD to my friends and family for sure and will definitely be searching for more titles in the range. I thought the way the movie was
produced was great, it is great quality but also keeping with the "old school" look that adults will remember from their days of watching it on TV (I cannot stand when
they change the animation too much on shows and movies!)

So there you have it, my family LOVED the DVD and I think it will be one that will be requested many, many times in the future to watch.
Thank you Warner Bros Entertainment and Kidspot for giving me the chance to review it.

I hope you all will enjoy this movie as much as my family did!
Scooby Dooby Doo!

Tara-Lee xo

I love you, Daddy

Yesterday we did some last minute shopping for Father's Day and I have wanted to find a cute little story book for my daughter and partner to read together. We stopped into the book store and I saw there were a few Daddy type story books (less than all the Mummy ones which I was a little disappointed with, being Father's Day is tomorrow and all). I flipped through a couple but this one was just too cute not to get - yes, I may have read the entire book before purchasing it and yes, I may have almost shed a tear because it was so cute. What can I say - I'm a sucker for kid and parent orientated books!

I love you, Daddy is a cute story about a child and Daddy, the child describes all the things they love about their Daddy and it's just really a sweet little book.

Reading the book this morning for Father's Day.

I think it will be a lovely one for my daughter and her Daddy to read together and enjoy for many years to come :)

Happy Father's Day!
Tara-Lee xo

Do you need help organising?

Hi my name is Tara-Lee and I am quite shocking when it comes to organising things around the house. Trying to find a permanent home for items is a challenge because we don't have much storage areas in the house. We are planning a massive, ruthless cull of somethings we own so this little challenge that I am about to share with you all has come at a perfect time!

You may have seen a post on my old blog (my Mummy blog before I decided to combine to two), a post about Inner B's wonderful organisers, well now, not only are they helping you with cute little organisers, they have created an Organising Challenge to help get things under control in your life. Here's what it's all about -

"September 3rd, sees the exciting launch of Inner-B's first ever
Organising Challenge.  This month they will be focusing on the hub of
the home, the kitchen. Join facebook at: www.facebook.com/B-Organised
for support, inspiration, motivation, giveaways and fun!  You can do the
challenge yourself or purchase one of our new Organising Challenge packs
for $16.95.  Each pack contains everything you need to get your kitchen
organised, decluttered and maintained.  Head on over and see our
kitchens transformed!!!  "

How great does this sound?!! I can't wait to get involved and hopefully get some things sorted out haha.
Will you be joining us? What areas of your house need the most organising?

Decluttering,
Tara-Lee xo



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Update to my skincase routine

Hello Candylanders! So last Thursday I posted a blog about my skin becoming super sensitive and how I was changing brands of skincare (if you haven't read it you can click right here) and tonight I just wanted to post a quick little update on my thoughts of the products I am now using as well as how my skin is feeling.

Above are the products I am using by Cetaphil (I received the moisturiser on the right for free with the cleanser so I am yet to try it out but wanted to show it to you all).

Even within a week I have noticed a huge difference in my skin, it isn't burning or stinging and the itching has settled down too. These products are so gentle and soft on my skin and I love that they are safe for the whole family to use!

I have ordered an exfoliating face brush like the one shown in the photo above too so I can exfoliate maybe every 2 or 3 nights depending on how my skin is feeling.

I am so glad I decided to make the switch to a more gentle brand because my skin is thanking me for it!

Finger Painting Fun

Nothing is more fun than dipping your fingers into some paint and going to town on some paper, according to my 2 year old anyway =)
The one thing that I think most, if not all, parents dread is after painting clean up - paint in the hair, up the arms, possibly on the face and we are left thinking how in the world are we going to get this off without needing to scrub?
Crayola have made it super easy to get messy and get clean just as fast with their Non Toxic Washable Finger Paints!

No scrubbing to wash the colours off, it comes off your little one's skin easy and the same goes for their clothing also - luckily haha!
I highly recommend these finger paints to parents of kids all ages because it's not just toddlers who can make a huge mess with paints!

Rainbows and painting,
Tara-Lee xo

Sensitive Skin

Happy Friday Candylanders!

Recently, I have noticed that my skin is becoming more sensitive than it use to be. I have always been the type of person that tends to build up a tolerence to a product after a while and I continuously have to change which skin care products I use, but lately I have started getting itchy skin and it slightly burns after I use any of the array of cleanser I have in our bathroom. Not a good sign. So I have decided to clean out the bathroom, get rid of all my cleansers and moisturisers and start fresh. With a cleasner and moisturiser that is specifically for sensitive skin. I have heard many good things about Cetaphil so I am going to give this brand a go and fingers crossed my skin will start feeling better asap - it is driving me crazy at the moment.

I will be sure to keep you all up to date with how these products go!
Sick of itching my poor face,
Tara-Lee xo

How to help coloured hair last longer

For a few months now, I have had pink in my hair, recently just dying it all magenta, and I have noticed the colour is lasting ridiculously well.

One big thing to remember for having bright coloured hair is, unless you are prepared to dye it weekly, you can't really wash it nightly. I wash my hair once or twice a week. Every time I wash my hair, I add a little bit of dye to my conditioner and apply it to my hair and this helps the colour stay bright for much longer.

I have read that washing your hair in cold water is also another good way to keep the colour locked in but in this weather, you aren't going to hear me say I was my hair with cold water haha!

I use Alfaparf Jeans Colour in Magenta but to get it the bright pink colour it is, when applying the dye, it was mixed with conditioner and left on for about 40 minutes I think from memory. This hair dye smells ridiculously good for dye and leaves my hair feeling nourished and soft too. By far my favourite and great value for money also.

My favourite conditioner to use is by Herbal Essences, I have recently just switched over to it and am really happy with it. Hello Hydration by Herbal Essences not only smells amazing (coconut and orchids - hello Summer!) but it leaves my hair feeling super soft after I use it too. I like to leave my conditioner in for about 5 minutes to let it really soak in and after I wash it out, my hair feels great.

So there's a quick look into how I keep my hair colour vibrant!
What are you favourite ways to lock in colour?

Tara-Lee xo

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How to do a "hair bow"

Hello all you lovely Candylanders! Hope everyone is having a wonderful day!
Again, I have been super slack and haven't posted a blog in so long! That is all about to change, I need to get myself organised and make sure I keep writing posts regularly because when I don't, I miss it!

I have been asked by a few readers to put up a tutorial on how to turn your hair into a hair bow and I finally got around to doing it last night, this is such a fun and simple hair style, I wear my hair like this all the time =)

I dyed all my hair magenta the other day - loving it!

Step One - Make a high ponytail, but instead of pulling your hair all the way through, make a loop. Make sure the bit of hair at the end is facing the front.

Step Two - Split the loop in half, pull down and secure with bobby pins.

Step Three - Grab the ends of the hair that are facing the front and pull them over the middle and secure at the back with bobby pins.

So easy and cute!

Let me know if you give this style a go =)

Magenta and bows,

Tara-Lee xo



Eggs In Baskets

Happy Friday Candylanders!
This morning I tried a fun and cute little breakfast recipe for my little girl which she absolutely LOVED so I wanted to share it with you all =)
It is super easy and you could get really creative and add extra ingredients to it if you want to but because I was testing it for the first time, I wanted to keep it simple.

Eggs In Baskets

• bread (cut off the crusts)
• butter
• eggs
• cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Butter both sides of each slice of bread and also grease the muffin tray to make it super easy for the eggs in baskets to come out once cooked.
3. Put bread slices into muffin tin and pop in the oven for about 5 minutes.

4. Once the bread has browned a little, crack an egg into each "basket" and bake for 10-15 minutes depending on if you want a runny or hard yolk. About 1 minute before you are ready to take them out of the oven, sprinkle some cheese over the top.

This would also work fantastically if you cut up some bacon/ham, capsicum, tomato, zucchini and whisked it all up together with the egg and added it all in together.
I also cooked some tomato and capsicum in the frying pan and put it on the side of my daughter's plate, she really loved that too =)

What's your favourite breakfast item to cook for your little one? Or yourself if you don't have kiddies yet =)

Fun in the kitchen,
Tara-Lee xo

Toddler Friendly Veggie Muffins

Coming up with new and exciting snack and lunch ideas for a toddler is not always easy, so I wanted to share a little recipe for some Veggies Muffins I gave a go recently. These are perfect because you can pop them in some zip lock bags and into the freezer they go, ready to be thawed out when you need them.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups of Self Raising Flour
• 1 1/3 cup of milk
• 1 egg
• 90g of butter
• 2 handfuls of baby spinach, finely chopped
• 1/2 grated cheese
• 1/2 grated parmesan cheese
• 1 grated carrot or zucchini (or both!)

(some tomatoes and bacon would be awesome in this recipe but I just used what was in the fridge at the time)

Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Sift flour into a large bowl and put aside.
Whisk milk, egg and butter together in a seperate bowl to the flour.
Add the mixture to the bowl containing the flour.
Add the veggies you have chosen.
Stir until it is all combined.
Bake for 20 minutes or until cooked through.
Enjoy!

Chicken and Veggie Soup

I kind of have to laugh when people think that diets mean you eat nothing or just "rabbit food", because they are so wrong, I have made some amazing meals since being on this diet that I will keep using even when I am not "dieting" anymore. One I wanted to share with you all is a Chicken and Veggie Soup. I have made this numerous times and O.M.S (oh my soup!) it is amazing. I altered the recipe a bit, it wasn't suppose to have chicken but I adding it and I had some trouble finding the can sizes that they requested in the recipe too so I will just give you my version of it...

Chicken and Veggie Soup.

300g of chicken breast, cooked and shredded
3 cups of chicken stock
1 medium onion, diced
2 celery stalks, sliced
2 carrots, thinly slice
410g can of sliced green beans, drained
1 small zucchini, sliced
400g diced tomatoes
1 Tbs Italian seasoning
1 Tbs garlic powder
Salt and pepper, to taste

• In a large pot, pour in the chicken stock and then add the chicken, onion, celery and carrots, cook for about 10-15mins.
• Add green beans and zucchini; cook, covered for another 10-15mins.
• Add the tomatoes and seasonings; cook for an additional 15mins.
• Serve with crusty bread and enjoy!

Totally meant to do that =/

I cut up all the ingredients earlier so I didn't have to rush to get dinner ready.

Miss 2 was having a ball dipping her bread into the soup.

Yum!

It is so easy, tastes delicious and what's best is that it is so healthy and good for you!

I love soup season!

Soup and crusty bread,

Tara-Lee xo

Just a thought for the Mummies out there.

Please note that I posted this blog previously on my old blog but I think it deserves to be reposted on this one for you all =)

I am a follower of many, many Mummy bloggers and admire each and every one of them. And one thing I admire about them is how brutally honest they are - about everything! I tend to keep things to myself and people close to me and these women just throw it out there - and I love it!

A lot of my friends don't actually have kids, and the ones that do, most of them are Facebook friends. We have never met, and if we have, we rarely hang out (being on my Learners does add to the fact that my darling daughter and I rarely leave the house so there goes hang outs for people who aren't a quick bus ride or walk away! Haha). Now back to what I was saying, most of my friends don't have kids, but there are those times when you have had a hard day and you just wish that you had a Mummy friend close by to come over and chat to (and to have a play date to help keep the little one sane also!). Friends without babies do the best they can to help but sometimes, unless you have kids, you just don't get it. And I am not saying that to be mean. It's just the truth.

I admire the women who just come right out and share on Facebook or their blogs 'Hey, today sucked, I am going crazy". I suppose I just admitted to Facebook and my blog readers that I have days like that too haha!

Do any other Mums feel like they are the only ones having a bad day, but then when you actually talk to other mums, you find out that everyone is in the same boat?! This is me every bad day! Haha.

Being a Mummy is no easy task but I assure you that, with all the "bad" comes the amazing.

So I say, let's all just chat to each other about our days and help each other out. Take 5 minutes to recharge and have a cup of tea - let your little one/s make that mess just for 5 minutes so they can have a refreshed Mummy and not a cranky pants one.

Becoming addicted to tea,
Tara-Lee xo

That glorious moment when pre baby clothes fit again!

As some of you are aware, if you have been following my blog for quite some time now, I have recently lost quite a bit of weight (19kgs for those of you that wanted to know the updated number hehe). My friends and family will tell you that there are certain items of clothing that, over the past few years, I have refused to part with even though they didn't fit. Well, I have news for those items of clothing - majority of you fit my body again! Woo Hoo!

One item of clothing I was desperately trying to squeeze back into was my pair of "pre baby" skinny jeans. Anyone else miss the feeling of their favourite pair of skinny jeans hugging their butt? Please tell me I am not alone! In a previous blog post on my old blog (which has now been closed down to makeit easier to follow my posts in just one blog), I wrote this to my beloved skinnys before I could fit them again -

Pre-baby skinny jeans. One day. One day you babies will be hugging my butt again and I will be able to slide you over my thighs with ease and there will be that glorious moment of doing the button up. One day my pretties.

A little dramatic you say? Yeah, that's me haha! But I longed to fit into them for a few years now. It was a special moment when I saw the zip go up with ease and the button not want to burst.

Do you have any pre-baby items stuffed in the back of your wardrobe that you keep in hopes of one day fitting into again? Mine have stared at me every single day (unless I am having a pj day and don't need to look at my clothes haha), out in the open, hanging up with all my "post baby" clothes.

What item can't you wait to fit back into? Or if you are back into pre-baby clothes, what were you most excited to fit back into again?

Thankful it is Winter because I live in my skinnys now because I can,
Tara-Lee xo

Unleash Your Inner Pin Up

I have been meaning to post a review about a wonderful make up set that I received a little while ago for quite some time now, but as some of you may have noticed, I have been a little quiet and haven't been posting much on both my blogs or my fan page lately! But I have so many amazing and exciting products to share with you all so stay tuned!!

The Lindy Charm School's Mistress Chrissy, released a make up range a few months back and I was lucky enough to get my hands on some! Can I just say, I LOVE these products! I wear the lipstick, lipliner and liquid eyeliner constantly, they have easily become some of my favourite items in my make up case.

Loveliness that costs so little...Loveliness that lasts so long!

This make up set includes five essential products to turn any woman into a 50's siren!

• Hither Brow Pencil - is the perfect shade for any skin/hair colour. A look is never complete without defining your brows ladies!
• Define Liquid Eyeliner - create a flawless winged eye look in seconds with this liner, with a brush so easy to use, the liner just glides onto your lids.
• Russian Red Lipstick - are you stuggling to find the perfect red lipstick? Then look no further! This lipstick has ridiculously good staying power, I can eat and drink and it doesn't budge - for extra insurance, team it with the matching lip liner.
• Rubis Red Lip Liner - this lip liner is smooth and creamy, it applies to your lips wonderfully and doesn't drag across them like others I have tried.
• Look At Me Silken Pink Blusher - no pin up look is complete without a little sweep of blush across your cheeks to give you a gorgeous glow, and this blush is the perfect shade of pink for everyone!

With a flash

Without a flash

 I think that this set should be in every woman's make up kit, they are all such good quality!
You can purchase all these products directly from The Lindy Charm School's website for $75 or you can purchade each item seperately from there too, but if you purchase the set, you save $15!

Chi Chi "Viva La Diva"

Yep, another lipstick post haha. A girl can never have too many lipsticks!

I have always been a fan of Chi Chi products, everything is such a good quality and especially for the price you pay! Their lipsticks retail for about $18 I am pretty sure and that's a pretty good price for lipstick.
I was given Viva La Diva in "Valley Doll" which is a bright matte pink (oh how I love matte lipsticks!). I have to say the consistancy is a little different to what I am use to, usually I put on a lipstick and it starts out as very moisturising and then slowly dries, whereas this one was dry from the start. I am not saying that's a bad thing at all, it was just different. But I liked it!

As for colour lasting, it is long lasting for sure. It didn't bleed either which is a big thing we all want in lipsticks.
It's definitely a brand to try out, I have a few eyeshadows by Chi Chi also which I love! I will do a blog on them soon also!

You can never own too many pink lipsticks,
Tara-Lee xo

NYX Narcissus and Circe

A few weeks ago, I decided it was finally time I gave NYX lipsticks a go, and after a bit of researching on the internet to see what colours I wanted, I settled on Narcissus and Circe. While I was checking out swatches and information, I saw many people said that these two colours were dupes for Viva La Gaga 1 and 2 by MAC. Now, I am yet to try MAC products so I can't tell you my opinion on if they are dupes or not but they are very pretty, very wearable shades regardless.

I am always on the hunt for 3 lipsticks colours, which I already own a few of, Barbie pink, nude and red. You can never have enough! So when I saw that these two shades were having so many good things said about them, I couldn't resist.

NYX lipsticks have a very creamy, smooth texture and they don't leave your lips feeling dry which I love. I guess you could say they almost have a gloss like feeling when first applied on your lips.

First up, we have Narcissus, I would describe this as a soft Barbie pink.

 

Next up is Circe, it is very hard in my opinion to find a nice nude lipstick shade, and I think this one is just the right hint of nude for my liking =)

All in all, for about $6 each off ebay, you can't go wrong. These lipsticks are definitely worth adding to your make up bag.

Lipstick and kisses,

Tara-Lee xo

Donuts For You Hair!

Or as I like to call them, "The Flustered Mum's Hair Saver" hehe, I remember when my hair donut arrived in the mail, I had to go pick up my little brother-in-law and sister-in-law from school, so I was racing to get out the door with my daughter, quickly chucked my hair donut in and off we went. I walked up to the school thinking "Damn, these hair donut things is a god send for mum's in a hurry" haha.

Some people aren't big fans of them, but I can't get enough of them. Perfect to keep your hair off your face and neck and is great if you want an easy but cute hairstyle for going out.

You can get them in a few colours so you can hide them easily.



Here's a shot from a wedding we recently attended, I am rocking my hair donut hehe.

Also known as the "Carrie Bradshaw" bun, this hairstyle has

been a huge hit.

I purchased mine off ebay, it's only cost me something crazy like $1.50 or something. You can get them from Price Attack and other places like that but they are a lot more.

Hair donuts and sprinkles,

Tara-Lee xo

Lip exfoliation and some beauty products you will just want to eat!

For so many years now, I have been a complete lip balm addict. I am actually using the term addict very lightly. In highschool, I had such an obsession with lipbalm, my Maths teacher asked if I had a compulsion because I applied lip balm so often, no actually Miss, I don't have a compulsion haha. See, when I was younger, I had gotten such bad wind burn that I vowed I would never let my lips get that chapped and gross every again, and that is when the obsession started.

Lip maintenance is obviously a big thing for me, as it should be for everyone, and one way to have luscious smooth lips is to exfoliate them once a week. Don't be afraid, I am not asking you to get out the sand paper =P. Lip exfoliation is as easy as grabbing a damp flannel or an old toothbrush and lightly rubbing it over your lips, once you have done that, apply a generous coat of your favourite lip balm and you are good to go!

I have always loved Blistex Lip Conditioner (ol' faithful is actually right next to me as I type this), it keeps my lips constantly moisturised and has SPF 20 which is an added bonus!

Though, there is one brand I have heard many good things about that I am wondering if it will take over Blistex's reign of awesomeness. Treat Beauty is an American brand that has some of the most yummy sounding lip, body, bath, skin care and hair care products that I have ever heard of! With products like - 

Treat Soft Candy Vanilla Buttercream Old Fashioned Jumbo Flavored Lip Balm

(Don't you just feel like eating it?!)

Treat Kiss and make it Butter lip scrub

Treat Cotton Candy Lip Crème

Treat Peaches & Cream Lip & Cheek Stain

(As a Mum, I am all for beauty products with multiple 

uses that means saving time and money!)

Treat The Bath Truffle Coconut Cream Bath Melt

(I literally want to reach through the screen and use this right now!)

Treat Soft Candy Refreshing Hair & Face Mist

Treat White Chocolate Organic Body Cream

(Are you drooling yet?)

Treat Soft Candy Vanilla Buttercream Organic Aloe Souffle

Treat Butter Your Muffin Organic Anti-Cellulite Body Cream

(I love the name of this!)

paraben free     mineral oil free    sulfate free     organic ingredients

cruelty free     phalate free   recyclable packaging

 

All of their products are natural and organic so you know that they are going to be amazing!

The one thing that totally bums me out though - this brand isn't yet available to all us Australians =(

One thing is for sure though, when they start shipping to our little country, I will be at the top of the list!

Sugar and sweetness,

Tara-Lee xo

Paw Palettes

The more I research make up, the more I stumble upon awesome and genius tools, one that I have loved since the moment I saw it was the Paw Palette!

These little hand palettes are perfect for any make up artist (or aspiring make up artist like me haha) when doing make up on clients, much more sanitary than the back of your hand, even though everyone is guilty of doing that, and cleaner too!

I just think they are fun, cute and so clever!
Get yours here - http://crystalpowder.com/INK.aspx

Heart shaped hand palettes,
Tara-Lee xo

Pretty nails!

If there is one thing I try to make sure I always have done when it comes to my appearance, it is my nails. Ever since I can remember, I have had the horrid habit of biting my nails. Having a beauty therapist as a mum, I always wanted my nails done, so when I was old enough (I was in highschool, late highschool I believe haha), I would get my nails done by my mum here and there. 

I spent a lot of time with them off and it was just ridiculous how much I would bite my nails, even when there was nothing there! Oh it was terrible (and still can be if I don't get my nails done regularly). 

So anyway, enough about the history of my nails, I wanted to share with you a few photos of some nails I have had done by a good friend of mine, just because she is so talented and I adore every single design she has done on me. Prepare yourself for prettiness and awesomeness -

Barbie Pink, always a winner with me.

I may have a slight obsession with bows =P

Pink, black, white and some sparkle - always a good combo!

Told you I am obsessed with bows hehe

I currently have the bottom 2 photos done at the moment, oh I love them!

I love bright and fun nails and it's so nice to have a nail technican 

who love that too!

Pretty nails,

Tara-Lee xo