Nikiniknak

My top five favourite christmas films

2016-12-06T23:24:00.000+00:00

As soon as November starts, I can be found re-watching all the classic Christmas films. I think I've seen the majority now and consider myself some sort of an expert. There's nothing I love more than a winter night with a hot chocolate, a blanket and something festive on the telly. For Christmas, I find it's the cheesier the better, and most of these remind me so much of my childhood. So here is a countdown in reverse order of my top five favourite Christmas films...

What is your favourite Christmas film??

2016-12-04T11:39:00.000+00:00

Our Christmas bucket list 2016

See the local pantomime (this year it's jack and the beanstalk)

Christmas eve boxes

A north pole breakfast

Christmas film day in our pyjamas

Go to at least one Christmas market in a city

Go to the local light switch on

Go and visit santa in his grotto

Sprinkle reindeer food on Christmas eve

Have a party/get together at our house this year

Make a hot chocolate station

Spend lots of time with family and friends

Wear Christmas jumpers

Get matching onesies for me and the two boys

What's on your bucket list for the Christmas period?

My christmas wishlist

2016-12-03T21:31:00.000+00:00

As an adult who saves for and buys everything I want when I want it, it's hard to come up with suggestions when family ask "What do you want for Christmas?", but for a change I've been able to come up with a few ideas.

This book really excites me. I've got into writing a lot lately and have started a bullet journal (a post coming up on that soon) so the idea of a five year diary to document my thoughts/feelings/experiences each day is exciting.

This tower 8 in 1 gadget allows you to slow cook, fry, boil, steam, roast, grill, braise and saute. Cooking a meal for people used to be my idea of hell, but as I'm getting older I am enjoying it more and more and this multi cooker looks brilliant for all my cooking needs.

Like I said earlier, I have got back into writing lately. I am firing up my blog again, as well as trying a few little private projects. 642 things to write about looks like a brilliant way for me to gain inspiration and use my creative mind more.

Listography is the final book on my wish list. I write lists about everything. To do lists, shopping lists, inventory lists, goal lists etc.

This lipsy bag looks like the perfect everyday bag to carry around all my essentials. I love the classic, elegant look of it.

I love these ASOS Chelsea boots, theyre perfect to wear with every outfit. The colour looks like a mixture of burgundy/brown and I love how different they are.

Let me know what you're lusting after this Christmas, hopefully I can get some inspiration!

Blogmas

2014-12-01T20:14:00.001+00:00

To introduce me back into the world of blogging, I've decided to join in with Blogmas: a blog every day leading up to Christmas.

Today was spent food shopping, looking after a poorly baby, opening advent calendars and relaxing. I've been trying to buy a few things at a time towards the Christmas shop and stocking up on essentials. I've already found myself with a cupboard full of sweets and goodies in time for the festive season. The plan is to spend Christmas Day at my parents, but we hope to have a party at our house one day too with means lots of food and alcohol. Most of the children's Christmas present are bought now, so everything is slowly coming together.

Alexander has seemed poorly for the last few days. It's hard to tell what's wrong with a baby but I have a feeling it's his ears/head, so I'm going to take him to the doctors tomorrow.

This year me and Martin decided to join the kids and get an advent Callander!!

Alexander loves peppa pig and will often pick up the remote shouting Peppa as a subtle hint for you to change the channel. Jakstan (my partners child who lives with us) is another 6 year old frozen addict. For me and Martin? Just a dairy milk Callander... The best chocolate around!

I hope you've enjoyed the first day of the Christmas month! We can now officially be excited for christmas and start counting down the days!

Come back tomorrow for more and let me know in the comments what content you'd like to see in the month of Blogmas xx

Summer 2014

2014-09-13T23:47:00.000+01:00

Niki xx

Superdrug haul!!

2014-02-28T14:21:00.000+00:00

I used to be the type of girl who only bought make up when I needed it, but now it's become second nature to swatch everything in store and come out with one or two bags full. These are the latest gems that have been added to my collection.

I also nipped into the poundshop and found a couple of bargains I couldn't resist sharing with you.

Post coming up in the next few days on these polishes

Thanks for reading

Niki

Downsizing

2014-02-27T14:40:00.000+00:00

Google images

Recently I have been trying to downsize. Not my house, or my figure, but my clutter. I'm not quite sure I'm classed as a 'hoarder' yet, but surely it can't be long. I have a habit of shopping for household things. I love the idea of having a house full of things, somewhere where you can never get bored. My recent hoarding consists of books, toys and games. I'm that person in a charity shop, buying everything just because it's 50p, regardless of whether it'll be used or not. I'm also that person who keeps clothes three sizes too small, who's going to "get back into them one day".

I've finally decided to curb my frivolous ways and cut back on the clutter. I've recently been listing things on Facebook, eBay and Amazon in an attempt to get rid of the hoard, as well as getting some of my money back!! I've decided that any money I make will be split 50/50. Half will be spent on flattering clothes in the correct size, whilst the other half will be going into Alexander's piggy bank.

I now dream of having a clutter free, stress free house... And gradually, I think I'm finally getting there!

Niki

Guest post: Gradient dots nail art

2014-02-26T12:36:00.002+00:00

Hello everyone!

I'm Kizzy and I have a little nail art blog. When Niki asked me if I wanted to do a blog post swap I was so excited! I've never done one before and after some deliberation of what I would do settled on some really pretty but easy to do gradient dots that anyone can do even if you've never done any nail art before :)

I painted my nails with 2 coats of Barry M Blueberry Ice Cream. Then I used a dotting tool and Rimmel Blue Vogue, Barry M Cobalt Blue and Barry M White for the dots. I got the dots on my ring finger by mixing a bit of Barry M Cobalt Blue and Barry M White. If you don’t have a dotting tool you can find loads of things around the house to make dots such as bobby pins or a pencil which work really well! I usually take a drop of polish, put it on a sheet of plastic, dip the dotting tool in it and then dot the polish on my nail.

I really like the gradient on my thumb! I think it's my favourite nail :)

Let me know what you think and thank you again to Niki for letting me post on her blog for the day! Make sure you take a look at my blog to see what Niki posted!

Thank you very much for the post Kizzy!! You can go and check out Kizzy's blog here and follow her on twitter here

If you're interested in being the next person to feature a guest post on my blog, please don't hesitate to email me nikiniknak@hotmail.co.uk and we can sort something out!

Thanks for reading

Niki

Alexander

2014-02-23T14:20:00.001+00:00

Just a quick video of Alexander playing in the ball pit he got for Christmas. Watch the video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNw5SlXSbus&feature=youtu.be

Niki

Valentines day

2014-02-15T14:39:00.000+00:00

Hey everyone! Yesterday was valentines day and a chance for all of us in relationships to show our other halves what they mean to us. Being a couple with a 10 month old son, we didn't get a chance to go out for the night, so we had a lovely night in instead.

Once Alexander was in bed, we cuddled up on the settee, ordered an Indian and watched tv all night.

What did you do on the most romantic day of the year?

Niki

Estee Lauder fresh white linen

2014-02-12T16:20:00.000+00:00

Hello everyone. Today I will be doing a review of Pure white linen by Estee Lauder. I recieved this for Christmas from my partner, Martin. It came in a gift set which also included a moisturiser.

Firstly I'd like to start by saying that I love the packaging. It strikes me as really simple and yet classy at the same time. The lid of the bottle was hard work and I found myself having to pull it really hard before it eventually came off. As the lid is see through, it appeared to me that the nozzle was going to be pulled off as I was opening it, and I was terrified I'd ruined it before even trying it out. To be perfectly honest, I think the design of the lid is ridiculous, and could end up breaking the bottle of an expensive perfume. I'll definitely be leaving it off from now on.

Onto the smell itself, and the name of the perfume really does describe it well. It smells fresh and clean and really crisp. The smell is quite sophisticated and grown up, and I really enjoy wearing it. The scent stays for hours, and I found I could still smell it at the end of the night.

Overall, I absolutely love this perfume, and without the design flaw, it would be a 10/10 for me. Estee Lauder, change your bottle tops!!

What perfumes have you been enjoying lately?

Niki

Avon haul

2014-01-31T14:29:00.000+00:00

With darks, cold nights well and truly upon us, it's inevitable that I am going to get into my pjs, make a hot drink and shop. My recent obsession has been Avon. They have such great products in their brochures and they're such affordable prices!! Here is what my latest haul contained...

I love buying new makeup and beauty products. There's something so excited about opening a new thing that you've never tried before! Is that just me?

Thanks for reading

Niki xx

FM perfumes

2014-01-29T13:22:00.000+00:00

How much do you usually pay for your designer perfumes? £30? £50? More? If, like me, you like the finer things in life, let me introduce you to FM. FM is a company which produces over 160 fragrances from £7.49 to £24.99. We cut out the middle man, advertising, celebrities and fancy packaging to cut down the costs, meaning more savings for the customer. The fragrance oils of our perfumes are sourced in the same factory (DROM) as high street perfumes. FM are one of the only non-designer companies to buy direct from the same company as well known high street brands.

What's the catch? Nothing. We offer quality fragrances, make up, homeware and even coffee at affordable prices.

Designer perfumes have between 7-16% oils in them whereas our perfumes start from 20%.

If you'd like to know more simply tell me which high street perfume is your favourite, and I'll tell you which you will be best suited to.

As I'm new to this I am currently holding an offer. Two £11.99 perfumes for only £20! All you need to do is pay via paypal and I'll post them to you free of charge.

If you want any more information feel free to ask! Email me nikiniknak@hotmail.co.uk, join my facebook group here for exclusive offers and giveaways and check back here for blog only offers and prizes.

If you are interested in receiving some samples, email me nikiniknak@hotmail.co.uk and I'll be sure to pop them straight in the post!

Stay tuned for more information, news and reviews!

Thank you for reading

Niki xx

Poundland nail polish

2014-01-29T12:00:00.000+00:00

Whilst browsing the aisles in pound land, and looking for hidden treasures, I noticed a big display of nail varnishes. This was unusual in itself as everything in pound land is normally thrown into one big heap. I took a look and found lovely looking nail varnishes in a huge variety of colours. The brand name is Jess and I picked up two to show you, but I imagine I'll be buying plenty more.

The nude colour is called mink coat and the blue is mystery. The nails painted on the nail wheel above are shown after using only one coat of nail varnish. I am extremely impressed with these. After thinking they'd turn out to be a crappy, cheap polish, they surprised me by being great consistencies, colours and quick at drying.

Have you tried any of these? How did you find they applied?

Niki

Make up of the day

2014-01-25T18:00:00.000+00:00

Today was just a quiet day where me, Martin and Alexander went out to have a look around the shops. The above are pictures of the make up I wore today. The products I used are

115 fit me foundation

Collection lasting perfection concealer

Miss sporty perfect stay pressed powder

Natural collection blush in peach melba

NYC kohl pencil in dark brown and mua clear mascara for my eyebrows

Avon colourtrend lipstick in coppered camo

MUA just mattes palette

What have you all been up to today?

Avon haul

2014-01-23T15:00:00.000+00:00

Although it's much easier to order online these days, I love having an Avon lady come to my door once a month, settling down with a brew, and browsing through all the lovely new products. Therefore I am really excited as just before Christmas I finally found a new Avon lady. Here are the first purchases I made

Far away limited edition perfume

Little black dress limited edition perfume

Colourtrend lipstick in coppered camo

Double sided eyeliner pencil in polished bronze

Ideal flawless invisible coverage concealer in ivory

Ideal flawless invisible coverage foundation in ivory

Planet spa Mediterranean olive oil hot oil hair treatment

Advanced techniques Moroccan argan oil mask

Skin so soft dry oil spray

I will come back to review these at a later date when I've had chance to try each of them on a regular basis so I can get a good idea of how much I like the product.

Thanks for reading

Niki

£5 dresses

2014-01-21T15:17:00.000+00:00

There is nothing in life that delights me more than shopping and finding a bargain. Not only have I found one bargain dress over the last couple of months, I've found five!!

The first three dresses are from Primark. I originally loved these when I first bought them, but after a few washes the colours have started to fade and the material is starting to shrink. It's such a shame as I love this style of dress. I wouldn't pick anymore up as I know they don't last very long but I have learnt that this is the shape and style I need to go for to suit my body shape.

The last two are from Matalan and again were £5 each. They are both identical midi, tshirt dresses and I absolutely adore them. They are so flattering on me and make me look like I have huge boobs and no belly. They also fall at a perfect length on my leg, making my legs look a lot slimmer and longer. For £5, what more could I possibly ask for?

Which bargains have you picked up lately? Link your post in the comments and I'll be sure to check it out!

Niki

Bargain eyeshadow

2014-01-15T13:00:00.000+00:00

Whilst shopping for Christmas presents, I stumbled across these eyeshadows in Home Bargains. At only 99p for a packet of three, I couldn't resist buying a few to try out.

The first packet contained a black, silver and white, all of which have a shimmer to them. When swatching the colours, I found that the black was really pigmented and hardly any product was needed to be used to achieve a result. I imagine this would be nice to use next to the lash line. The silver and white however needed a lot of product to build up the colour.

The second contained a gold/brown, natural brown and a white. The two browns again were really pigmented and I found them to be really beautiful colours which I think would suit my eye colour perfectly. I imagine that the white would be a nice colour to use as a highlight under the eyebrows and on the cheekbones.

Each eyeshadow cost only 33p and four of them achieved a lovely look. I am definitely going to add these products to my collection, and will come back to show you a make up look very soon.

Niki

Poundshop perfume

2014-01-13T13:00:00.000+00:00

I have been on a mission for quite a while now to find a lovely, unheard of perfume that doesn't cost the earth. It occurred to me that there could be an undiscovered perfume lying around in a cheap shop, that is only there because it's from another country (hence why it's not heard of) or the brand cannot afford advertising. With that said, today I picked up Precious Amelia from a pound shop.

When I first sprayed this perfume, it was quite overpowering. However, after ten minutes the scent had settled and developed into a really fruity, sweet smell. Two hours later and the smell was completely gone, as though I had never been wearing a perfume. The longevity of this product therefore isn't as good as a more expensive, upmarket perfume. Saying that, I'd rather take this out in my handbag for a quick spruce up than risking a £60 bottle! For the price I'd say that this is a really nice perfume and overall I would give it 5/10. I haven't yet found my poundshop wonder, but I'll still keep looking and report back.

Niki xx

Nine month update

2014-01-07T13:00:00.000+00:00

Alexander was nine months on the first on January. He can now stand up and say mumma and dadda. He is trying to climb up everything like a little monkey and has developed such a cheeky little personality. His normal sleeping times are 9pm until 9am and he never wakes up through the night. Alexander is also crawling a lot better, rather than dragging himself, and is really fast at it. He loves to play games such as being chased from one side of the room to the other and peekaboo. He has had his first visit to Santa in the last month, and we have shared our first Christmas with him. He is just starting to fit into his 9-12 month clothes and he is eating a lot more variety of food. Every day he has more of a personality and learns more about the world and I love every second I spend with him.

The Christmas season

2014-01-03T13:00:00.000+00:00

Jacob Martin Green

2014-01-02T12:57:00.000+00:00

Many people may ask why I want to write this on such a public space, but to me my blog and it's readers are my best friends. This is the only hobby I have ever stuck at, and it's the one thing that cheers me up and makes me feel better about myself and my life.

If you've been following me for a while you may have noticed that in July/August last year I announced I was pregnant. Although a big shock to me and my partner, we couldn't wait to have two little boys a year apart who could grow up together.

At my 20 week scan the sonographer noticed a problem, our baby's stomach was in the top half of his body next to his lungs and heart. After inviting several experts into the room including the head midwife and a doctor we were told our son had CDH, which is a congenital diaphragmatic hernia. In simple terms this meant that out sons diaphragm had not fully developed/developed a hole whilst he was growing. This meant that his stomach and bowel came through the hole and into the place where his heart and lungs were growing. We were initially told from that point that his lungs would not develop to the full size and he would instantly be put onto a ventilator at birth. We were also informed that the heart would now not grow in the right place, as it was being pushed to one side and therefore would find it harder to beat.

We were sent to Manchester's specialist unit for another scan, as that is the place where they have doctors specially trained in foetal abnormalities, therefore giving us a better diagnosis. Once the scan had finished, we were taken into a counselling room and told our baby's hands were clenched together. This is one of the common signs of Edwards syndrome. With both his hands being clenched, and CDH, they were almost certain our child would also be born with Edwards syndrome. Edwards syndrome is a chromosomal abnormality, which is the second most common after down syndrome, meaning that our son would have heart and kidney problems, difficulty breathing etc. We were basically told he had no chance of surviving.

On the 17th November, at 22 weeks pregnant, we lost our son. The hospital had a mini apartment that was separate from the labour ward where we could spend some time with him and take some photos. We decided to have his hand and footprints done and have a few pictures of him wrapped in a blanket. We were supplied with a neonatal box which contained two teddies, a blanket and hat, a card for hand and footprints as well as other bits and pieces. We decided to keep one of the teddies and have the other buried with him. After they took our son we stayed the night and left the next afternoon.

The funeral took place two weeks later. We had a burial with a graveside service. Close family came along to the service and placed flowers on his grave.

Whilst at the hospital, we both had blood samples taken, which we should receive the results from within January, to check if we are carrying anything that could have caused this, or whether it was a completely random occurrence.

There is nothing like losing a child. I cried so much when I found out he was ill, and when we lost him, that eventually no tears would come. I didn't cry at the funeral, I just felt completely numb, and afterwards felt guilty for not crying. Ever since that day I have had a cloud over my head. I have been carrying on life as normal for the sake of Alexander, but there will always be something missing and always be a reason I can't be fully happy.

I'd love if this post could raise aware of these two illnesses, especially CDH, as I think it's not well known of or spoken of. I can't believe that something so awful has happened to us, and I can only hope that in years to come, they will find treatments to save a child life.

14 things for 2014

2014-01-02T11:54:00.002+00:00

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and a fantastic new year. I aim to make this the year when big changes happen, from finances and home life to more education and a career. Having said that, my first step on the path of improvement is the '14 things for 2014' post which was created by Pixee. I know that there will be a lot of people who say that if you want to improve something in your life, you should do so regardless of the day. However, having had a terrible end to 2013, the start of 2014 has coincided with me wanting to change everything. All fourteen things I have chosen for this post are blog related. I have a separate list of things I want to achieve this year that I may post on a different day. For now, take a look at the ways I'd like to improve my blogging this year.

1. Do 5 guest posts- If I want to get my blog out there this year, I need to post on other people blogs. That way, not only could I gain a new blogging friend, I could get a fresh perspective of blogging and learn new things from another blog.

2. Join #bbloggers chats- According to the research I've just quickly done, these take place on Wednesday and Sunday at 8pm. For some reason, I miss these chats every week. I am going to make a lot more effort this year to get to know the blogging community a bit better and get chatting to new people.

3. Improve my photos- I never edit photos, nor do I particularly focus on lighting. Which is why they're so awful. I am always rushing whilst Alexander has a nap to take some quick shots to upload later that night. This year I am going to put more effort into the quality of my photos.

4. Have 5 guest posts on my blog- To reverse my first resolution, I'd like to give some bloggers a new audience, as well as gaining some fresh content on my page.

5. Use facebook more- I created a facebook page for my blog here about a year ago and, whenever advertising posts, I always forget about that little space. I will now upload a lot more to that page and focus on making it more informative and enjoyable for followers.

6. Start using instagram- You've met her! That one person who's never instagrammed in their life. It may be because I don't have an iphone, or it may just be laziness. Either way, I am going to start using it!

7. Do more mummy posts- Since having Alexander nine months ago, I have uploaded the odd post here and there but I'd like to connect with more mothers who blog and wriggle my way into that community too.

8. Do more reviews- I'm one of those people who upload haul after haul, but never go back to the products and review them on a later date. I'd like to upload a lot more make up and skincare reviews from now on.

9. Start a youtube channel- This is something that has burnt inside me for years, but I have never had the confidence to do it. After recent events, I've decided that life is too short to care what people say or do. This year I want to make myself more happy and content and I know this would bring me a lot of happiness.

10. Do an outfit of the day- Although I've been blogging for two years, I have never posted an OOTD. This is purely due to shyness and lack of confidence in myself. However, I feel that my readers may want to see the clothes I haul actually worn.

11. Appear more on my blog- I never really take photos of myself or appear much on my blog, which is something I'd like to change.

12. Post every other day- This will be quite a challenge for me, as having a nine month old child is quite hectic. I'd like to let my viewers know when to expect content as it's been a bit all over the place in the last 12 months.

13. Create a blog button- This year for me is definitely about networking and making new friends. I'd love to make a button for my page and do lots of button swaps with all your lovely bloggers (I just need to learn how to first).

14. Have a blog redesign- I'd like to think I'll read up and do this myself, but in reality I may have to invite someone to do this for me. Either way, I'd love to have a completely new design that I could be proud of showing people.

That's it. My 14 blog related goals for 2014. I aim to come back to this post once a month and see how I am getting on. If you're interested in doing a guest post, me doing a guest post for you, if you have any blog button advice or a blog designer in mind, let me know in the comments below.

Thank you for reading

Niki

What I got for Christmas 2013

2014-01-01T22:24:00.000+00:00

Happy new year everyone!! I thought I would share with you what I got for Christmas today, as it's definitely something I love to read on blogs and watch on youtube. I was well and truly spoilt and had a lovely day. Let me know in the comments what your favourite Christmas present was this year.

Thanks for reading

Niki

Alexander's Christmas presents- Clothing

2014-01-01T13:00:00.000+00:00

Hi everyone. Today is just a really quick post to show you what Alexander received for Christmas. The first part of this will be clothing as he received A LOT of everything.

Thanks for reading

Niki xx