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Good food is important to me and it's important that I ensure the food I put together for our family meals is healthy, nutritious and has a good mix of everything we need, and enjoy. I've always been really good at putting together a hearty breakfast, prefer a light snack for lunch and cooking all sorts of cuisines when it comes to dinner time. Since returning to work in late 2016, I've had less and less time on my hands and so I've started to opt for quicker meal ideas, particularly when my work hours mean some days I eat alone whilst Willow has her meals with her daddy. Straying away from the microwave meals we're used to, Fit Kitchen is an easy way to eat a healthy, balanced meal that also happens to taste delicious. They're the perfect portion sizes to grab and have by yourself and the flavours are really fresh and vibrant.

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I used to be the kind of girl who would shop at Ann Summers, filling my drawers with flirty sets of lingerie that made me feel confident and sexy. Now? I am all about the comfort, and there is nothing more comfortable than a Bravado Nursing Bra. A brand whose range I discovered when I was pregnant with Willow, I wore one of their Body Silk Seamless Yoga Bras towards the end of my pregnancy and when I was breastfeeding Willow, which made feeding an absolute breeze. Recently I've been trying out the award-winning Body Silk Seamless Nursing Bra range, which has recently expanded to include plus sizes so mamas of all sizes can find the perfect nursing bra and fit for them.

One whole year has passed since Willow came into our lives, celebrating her 1st birthday today, enjoying the most magical day together. It's hard to believe that she's really been here a whole year, that the day she arrived was so long ago, but without a doubt, it has been the best year of our lives.

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Every few months Tesco hold their hugely popular Baby Club Event, an event which takes place both in-store at Tesco nationwide as well as online on the Tesco website. The event takes place over a two week period a few times throughout the year and has been a fantastic way for us to save money as a family when needing to stock up on baby essentials; I was shopping the baby event when I was pregnant and we still check out every event that comes around now that Willow is almost 1.

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Since I was around 22 I have had a real big thing for skincare. There are few things I love more than a pampering and effective skincare routine and I like taking the time, morning and night, to make sure I cleanse properly and pop on my skincare products afterwards. When I had Willow the routine I had spent years perfecting went well out of the window and for months, I was doing the basics - if that, for which my skin seriously suffered. As a result, I've spent the last 6 months clawing back my skincare routine, stripping things back to basics and using specific products to combat the skin woes I was facing after a long time being very slack on my usual routine.

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Although I love wearing makeup, there are few things I love more than removing my makeup and applying my skincare. For me, cleansing is one of those magic moments in the day where no matter how busy you are, you can take a few minutes to cleanse and pamper your skin. I adore cleansing and have tried every formula and cleanser type going, but my favourites are always cleansing balms. I enjoy massaging them into my skin as they melt my makeup away and leave my skin looking fresh and clean. A balm cleanser I can't get enough of at the moment is the Temple Spa In the Beginning Deep Cleansing Melt. 

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Fragrances can be one of the most personal beauty products we use, often using a scent that we feel some sort of connection to, a scent that evokes an old memory, a favourite smell we can never resist, or reminds us of the way we felt the first time we wore it. Often when well-known brands release a new scent it's one which has a special sort of something-something, that makes it stand out from other brands and scents, that little added extra that makes you think "Yes, this is for me."

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It's no secret that Urban Decay are one of my ultimate favourite brands when it comes to makeup and I often rave about their products, particularly the lipstick ranges which include the Revolution range (check out my feature A Lipstick Revolution to find out why I think this range is so beautiful) and the more recent Vice Lipstick collection (my Find Your Vice with Urban Decay feature introduces this incredible collection of 100 Urban Decay lipsticks). A go-to brand for lip colour, their lipsticks rival the most popular high-end and premium brands and the limited edition Urban Decay Junkie Vice Lipstick Palette is one that lipstick adorers will find hard to resist.

Lush Fresh Face Masks have been a favourite of mine for going on 5 years now, a big fan of the concept of the range which needs to be stored in the fridge and used within a certain time frame. When I recently visited the Oxford Street store I had to try their exclusive mask, Prince of Darkness, really excited to see why this mask was so special that it was limited to Oxford Street shoppers.

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Oribe may be best known for their Dry Texturizing Spray, but there's one product in their range everyone should have their eye on; the Cote d'Azur Luminous Hair & Body Oil.

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I was introduced to a wonderful natural beauty brand back in 2016 that has since found it's way to becoming a welcomed addition to both my daily skincare routines and products I feel are safe enough to use with Willow. That brand is Jurlique, well loved for the beautiful range of skincare products that are effective and a joy to use.

There's nothing more lovely than applying your skincare products and really enjoying the products you use, knowing you'll be happier with the results it gives to your skin. Jurlique products tick that box for me, and my skin is particularly adoring the Rosewater Balancing Mist Intense, a limited edition rose facial mist, based on the best-selling original Rosewater Balancing Mist.

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Leicester is becoming a real favourite of mine when it comes to delicious food that leaves the proper foodie in me satisfied. At the end of 2016 I popped along to the press night of a brand new venue which has opened up on Granby Street, just a short walk from the City Centre shopping centres and one that will definitely please the meat eaters of Leicester with it's original menu, punchy flavours and gluttonous dishes you'll find hard to resist. Welcome to Leicester, Boneyard.

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Swimming is something I really enjoyed as a child and still now, it's something I wish I had more time to do more often. Although I'm not personally the biggest fan of popping on a swimming costume and diving in at the deep end, I always feel really quite serene and content when I'm swimming. Outdoor pools and sandy beaches are my favourites for a swim, and on childhood holidays you'd be hard pushed to get me out of the water. Snorkelling is another favourite too, although I'm not sure I'd ever have the guts to do deep sea diving.

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I'm one of those odd ones who likes cleaning (particularly polishing, I have no idea why), especially now that I have a very active almost 1-year-old who likes to crawl everywhere and is starting to walk, picking up everything in her sight.

When we moved house in July, we moved into a home which featured carpet throughout the upstairs, which meant we needed a few more household essentials to keep on top of things, as our old home was wooden floors throughout so we didn't need anything fancy. You'll find a hoover in pretty much any home in the UK, yet we'd always had second or third-hand ones from family, and so trying to find one which was reasonably priced and easy to use was quite a task! Who knew vacuum cleaners were so hi-tech and confusing?

I've gone a bit Lush mad recently, which seems to be a yearly trend as soon as the colder weather starts creeping in and all of a sudden I have a desperate need for hot bubble baths with colourful water and softening lotions and potions. Winter brings out the pampering addict in me, and Lush is the perfect brand to keep my skin happy this winter. I've picked up a few products over the past month or so, some limited edition, some exclusives to the Oxford Street store and some old favourites that I couldn't resist trying again.

Boxing Day was special for more than one reason for us. As well as celebrating Christmas, Boxing Day marked my partner's, Willow's daddy, 31st birthday, as well as Willow turning 11 months old. Her update is a little late this time, usually posting on the day she reaches a new month, but with the festive season and a New Year to see in, I think we can let that slide.

In 2016 my love for journals and planning ahead really upped its game and in 2017 I am using not one, but six individual diaries, planners and journals to help me organise my life and utilise my time in the best way I can. For me, planning ahead really does work wonders and it keeps me on track with goals as well as keeping everyone in the family on a nice (and very flexible) schedule. Whatever kind of planner you are, you're bound to find a fab new planner for 2017 in my little stash of organisers.

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I'm a sucker for a liquid lacquer, my favourite product to use for the last couple of years as the ease of application and longevity wins every time. I've recently been trying out the Giorgio Armani Lip Magnets, a high-end range of liquid lipsticks in a gorgeous selection of colours, a range of liquid lacquers which has taken the beauty world by storm, but are they really worth all the hype they seem to be getting?

2017, you're finally here, and much anticipated you are too. 2016 has been a difficult year around the world, but for me personally? It was the year that I became a Mother, and well, I don't think you'll ever be able to top that for me. My entire world changed in 2016, I had a daughter, my priorities drastically changed and I feel like I changed as a person, too. A lot of that was down to becoming a mama, but a lot of it was down to changing the way I looked at the turn of a New Year and how I approached 2016.