A Little Bit of Bosom*

Post baby, lets say, that you really don't feel your best; your body looks like nothing you have seen before! yes, it has created this amazing bundle of joy and kept it safe for 9 or in my case 10 months; but I am sure I am not alone when I say you can't help feeling a little selfish when you look in the mirror and see your new, what is meant to be, yummy mummy body! Nearly 9 months on, I still get this! In my case, it has never got easier but you do some how accept that this is what you are left with.

Working with Amble Bosom I have been on a quest to make those of you with a tum that you don't feel is so yum to feel sassy and sexy again.

For this post it's all about the body suit! They're the perfect thing under any fancy frock to make you feel super sassy and absolutely gorgeous but also perfect for those of you who really do want a full belly coverage when you are wanting to feel more sexy and dying to say "look at me"!

Fantasie Echo Lace Body
£62.00
Currently the black is reduced to £20.00 (23/06/2017)

The detailing on this suit is so gorgeous and really will be so flattering around the waist!

Rosa Faia Scarlett Body
£85.00

My second body suit is this gorgeous dusky rose lacy number!

Fantasie Jacqueline Lace Support Wired Body 

£60.00

With its flattering detail and the extra lace around the top of your thighs this piece is really for the win!

Much Love 

Eden x

A Truffle Twist*

Who's up for a truffle treat but with a twist? 

I have been lucky enough to team up with the Japanese food experts, Yutaka, to create a range of delicious chocolate treats that have a slightly more intense flavouring. 

The Truffles which we made were:

 Miso Caramel - This is my personal favourite!

Shaoxing Rice Wine – A truffle with a alcoholic twist

Wasabi Furikake –  A little spice and a little crunch

Pickled Sushi Ginger – A Ginger essence with a tang of pickle

Yuzu – A truffle for those of you who like a citrus burst

The Miso caramel truffle had to be my absolute favourite; but then I am a sucker for anything caramel.

You can find all the instructions which we followed to make the truffles below.

Truffle Ingredients to make approximately 30 - 36 (we halved the amounts given to make around 15)

200g dark good quality chocolate

60ml double cream

80g unsalted butter 

Truffle cases

Method for all truffles

In a double saucepan (or a Pyrex bowl in a saucepan), place chocolate, butter and cream. Heat through slowly until smooth whilst whisking.

Remove from heat and divide into 5 equal portions, adding the various flavourings to each individual portion as below. 

Place in the fridge to set

 – overnight if possible.

Filling and Coating Ingredients

Yutaka Shaoxing Rice Wine Flavouring

 2 tbs Shaoxing rice wine warmed

 Vermicelli for coating

Yutaka Wasabi Furikake Flavouring

 2 tbs Yutaka Wasabi Furikake

 Drinking chocolate for coating

Yutaka Pickled Sushi Ginger Flavouring

2 tbs chopped Yutaka sushi ginger

Cocoa for coating

Yutaka Yuzu Flavouring

2 tsp Yutaka Yuzu

100g white chocolate - gently melted for coating

Miso Caramel Sauce Filling

75g sugar

25ml water

50ml double cream

1 tbs Yutaka Miso

100g dark chocolate – gently melted for coating

Pink salt crystals for sprinkling on the top

Miso Caramel Flavouring Method

Put sugar and water in a heavy bottomed saucepan, stir and leave on a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until caramel in colour.

Carefully add double cream (it will hiss a little) and whisk whilst off the heat.

Add miso paste and whisk thoroughly until smooth. 

Add 2 tbs of miso caramel sauce to the remaining truffle mixture. 

The remainder of the sauce saved and used over ice cream for a delicious dessert.

To finish the truffles remove the various truffle mixes from the fridge and, with a teaspoon, scoop out a goodly amount. 

Roll into a ball and place on a plate (remembering to keeping the various flavours separate) and continue until all the mixture has been used.

Roll the ginger truffles in cocoa and place in truffle cases. Roll the Wasabi Furikake in drinking chocolate and the rice wine truffles in vermicelli and return to fridge.

Using a double boiler (or Pyrex bowl in a saucepan) melt the white chocolate over a low heat and, when removed from the heat & cooled slightly, spoon over Yuzu truffles until coated. You can use a cocktail stick pushed carefully into a truffle to help you turn and coat with the chocolate. This needs patience! Leave them to set on a plate.

Melt the dark chocolate and coat the Miso caramel truffles as above.

Sprinkle a couple of pink salt crystals on the top.

As you can see ours didn't turn out the prettiest but they were super tasty! 

What is your favourite chocolate recipe? 

Much Love,

Eden x 

Children's Rooms - A Reading Corner Must Have*

With our house move getting ever closer, I am so excited to finally get planning Harper’s room. The kitchen, dining room and living room are all somewhat planned but Harper’s room is the one I have been looking most forward to doing!

Those of you that follow me through social media, will be aware that when Harper was born our house was due to go on the market. So, we decided it would be daft to design and redecorate her nursery; meaning that I didn’t get that ‘I’m pregnant, I’m having a girl, lets go wild and make the cutest nursery EVER’ moment!

I have so many ideas for her room. One been that I really want her to have a little reading corner, where she and I can sit and read all her books before bed. It will be a super cosy corner with cushions, blankets and of course, a beanbag. I have been on the hunt for the perfect bean bag for a little while now; so, I thought it would be only right that I share these with you.

The bean bags listed are all from a local business named Children’s Rooms who stock everything you need, for well, Children’s Rooms.

My Little Pony Beanbag - £21.95

Been a very horsey family the first bean bag on my short list is obviously a no brainer!

Find Dory Bean Cube - £21.95

This must be the cutest bean cube that I ever did see! Dory is a firm favourite of mine, I just can’t help but smile when I see her little face and this bean cube catches her character and personality, well, as much as a bean cube can.

Jungle Theme Beanbag – £19.95

As Elephants are a running theme in Harper’s current room, they are likely to have a large presence in her new room. 

Thomas the Tank Engine Beanbag – £14.95

Yes, this is not girly in the slightest BUT I shall let you into a little secret, when I was younger I had a slight obsession with trains and obviously, Thomas the Tank Engine!

What would you want in your children’s a reading corner?

Much Love,

Eden x

Give Your Home That Extra UMPH With Love Lights *

With a house move in the pipe line I am starting to get my design hat on … yet again!

I have recently been introduced to Love Lights and I must say that I LOVE the products on offer. If you are wanting to spruce up your living room, give your kitchen that WOW factor or even if you’re are having a general house over haul then you need to check out the lights that Love Lights have to offer; PLUS you get free delivery on orders over £39 – ideal.

I thought I would put together a few of my favourites from the Love Lights website to inspire you -

Gaucho Ceiling Light- £148.50

Been more on the pricey side I would say personally that this would be a more luxury item but please, how nice is this? I think it would look so nice in either a kitchen or dining room and give a room the perfect finishing touch. 

Aurelia Ceiling Light - £299.50

This is really a WOW piece! I mean it, just look at it! 

Eden Splash Proof Ceiling Pendant - £71.10

This is right up my street, the fact it is named after me is just an added bonus! I really love these type of lights, the ones with a more industrial feel. I feel that they are just what I am after for our new house and hopefully give me the end design goal that I am wanting.

Bilbao Ceiling Light - £76.50

I like the simplicity of this light. I feel that it has a real elegant look to it. 

Lazenby Ceiling Pendant - £49.92

Even though this is such a similar shape to the light above it has a different edge to it all together! Its so surprising how different changing a finish to matte can make an item! 

You can find the Love Lights website by |clicking here|

What do you feel really helps a room have that finished edge? 

Much Love 

Eden x x 

It's Time to Bare

It’s that time again when the sun is starting to come out and you are dying to wear that midi dress which you bought in the sales at the end of last summer; but your legs are well, not so ready!

Well do not panic my dear friends, for I have a few little treats which will make you feel ever so splendid and have you flashing your legs off in no time!

Dove Summer Glow

This is a product which I love and rely on each summer! It’s a great way to build a natural tan and keep you nice and moisturised too!

All I will say is make sure you get the right one for your skin, for example don’t get normal to dark if you are fair skinned!

Dove Derma Spa Summer Revived

This is something which I really want to try! Yet, I don’t know how different it will be to the Summer Glow? It claims to be a ‘Spa like body lotion combining natural, gentle tanners with cell moisturisers’

I guess with this product the proof would be in the pudding – so to speak.

Petal Fresh Body Butter

This, again, is something which I am pretty desperate to try! I am in love with all things coconut oil at the moment so this for me is an easy choice; the fact it is cruelty free too makes it an ever-easier choice! It claims to be ‘ultra moisturising’ and with the ingredients I can very much believe that claim.

Garnier Body Ultimate Blends Restoring Butter

Garnier products at the moment seem to be spot on and I don’t think this would be any different. Claiming to be for very dry skin and been both non greasy and non sticky – both of which I hate in moisterisers – I cannot wait to give this a go! I suffer so badly with dry skin so if this makes me silky smooth I would be a very happy lady!

What are you putting on your skin right now?

Much Love,

Eden 

Breast Feeding - What Worked For Me?

Breastfeeding for me wasn’t all that easy! I found some days better than others, especially to begin with; but as time passed I can honestly say I really did feel I got the hang of it. The pain, pressure and all negativity within my own mind disappeared. Obviously, I can’t promise that if you follow this post you will have great breast feeding success but I can say these are some tips that helped me on my way through my Breastfeeding journey.

Support

This is the biggest one for me! You really need to find someone, be it someone you know already, a partner, someone who you meet on a mummy forum or Facebook, a family member: Someone you feel like you can really rely on to support you through this journey. I was lucky enough to have the support I needed through my partner and a few close friends. If you feel that this isn’t there for you, don’t worry! I have seen on many of the Facebook breastfeeding support groups other mums giving amazing advice – these are also irreplaceable for those 3 am feeds where your baby decides its play time rather than sleep time. So, if you are struggling to find that support system, you really don’t need to look too far, Facebook, online forums, mummy groups, breast feeding groups, anywhere in which you can surround yourself with mummies that maybe going through or have been through the same thing!

Lansinoh Lanolin

This, for me, was the best nipple cream. You will see so many on the shelves so if this doesn’t work for you, don’t be disheartened, as they’re plenty to Try. The main reason I loved this product so much is you don’t need to wash it off before feeds and as a new mum it was once less thing to remember …  or well …. forget!

This product is a little pricey at around £10 so it is worth catching it on offer and stocking up. 

Breast pads

STOCK UP I didn’t use one brand in particular; but I did buy them from most super markets such as Tesco and Asda. I didn’t find one product greater than another, but they did their job! I produced so much milk I had to change these after each feed and throughout the day. Sometimes, more in the early days, I would have to fold a muslin cloth and put it into my bra to prevent me soaking everything! I have heard other mums in the early days using bibs, nappies, sanitary towels … the list is endless!

Maternity bras

These are a must must must! You can just unclip and feed anywhere! Make sure you get some that will fit as your boobs grow! If you ask in your usual bra shops, such as M&S, they should be able to offer you some advice on fitting.

Get Comfy

In the earlier days, especially when you and baby are both trying to get the hang of feed times, you can be sat for a while so been comfy is a must! Make sure you have been for a wee (if you need it obviously) have a glass of water handy and even little snacks if you feel peckish.

DRINK PLENTY

You will find that as you feed you will get thirsty, I don’t believe this only happened to me! So make sure as you are feeding your baby you are also upping your water intake! I found that before I realised this I was getting headaches and felt generally lousy.

Food Watch

After talking to many mums this doesn’t occur in each baby; but harper was so sensitive to what I ate. In the early days I started to notice that she would get really bad gas and generally a poorly bottom. After googling and looking through some forums I found that it was me that was causing these issues for her (I felt so bloody guilty!!!!) from then I started to keep a food diary to help me understand what food would affect her in what way. In the end I found that cabbage, sprouts and broccoli would give her terrible wind. Chilli and Garlic if eaten in excess would make her bum very sore when she went to the toilet or passed wind. Finally, caffeine would make her wide awake!

You will realise as you read through this post that a lot of my advice points to the earlier days on my breast-feeding journey. I completely feel that this is when breastfeeding is so tricky, especially if you are a first-time mum as no training is, or can be, offered with the real thing in front of you! Remember, a baby fed is a happy baby, so if you’re been hard on yourself, STOP and just look at the perfect bundle in front of you that you have created and are doing an amazing job with!

Do you have any top tips to pass on?

Much Love

Eden x