It’s the first full week of the new school year and the reality of the routine has well and truly set in. This week marks the first week of all the extracurricular clubs. Somehow Boo’s managed to amass four (not too sure how) and each one is something Boo has taken an interest in. Today was her first after school football coaching session. She greeted me hot and sweaty and most importantly with a smile on her face. I may have committed the cardinal football mum sin of not getting her a football kit – spare PE kit anyone 😉 but as we walked home she explained why a sly tackle isn’t allowed and that she hopes to be able to master a rabona!

I mentioned a few weeks ago on social media that Boo was starting football club and the popular response I got was ‘Oooh never realised Boo was a tomboy, she’s such a girlie girl’ and the like. Boo isn’t a girlie girl or a tomboy she’s a girl; a child with enthusiasm and appetite for life and I can’t understand society’s need to pigeon hole her interests; and her gender shouldn’t define either what she likes or what she can achieve.

Boo is the girl who plays with Barbie while humming the imperial march – she isn’t a contradiction she’s a child and we need to spend less time attempting to justify children’s diversity and curiosity and more time nurturing their individuality.

The only pigeon holing I’m doing this evening is when it comes to cheese – Boo is most definitely no longer a fan of Babybel and only a cheese string will do! Oh and apparently after football Boo feels the need to recline on my bed while watching Aladdin… standard!

Football has joined the ranks of Boo’s extracurricular pursuits and is just another string in the bow of Boo’s quest to have it all.

Healthy skin is luminous and glowing, so it’s not surprising that everyone wants to achieve a radiant, dewy complexion. However, ageing, stress and environmental pollutants can all hamper your efforts to achieve glowing and healthy skin. If you want to rejuvenate your skin and look your luminous best, check out these top tips now:

Cleanse daily

Your skin is exposed to millions of germs, bacterium and pollutants every day, so cleansing is a critical part of your skincare regime. The right cleanser will gently remove these contaminants from your skin without being too harsh or drying. This reduces the risk of spots and pimples developing and helps to nurture a glowing and luminous complexion.

Stay hydrated

If your body is dehydrated, your skin won’t be as radiant as it could be. In fact, dehydrated skin is known to be dull and lacklustre. Fortunately, you can reverse this by adding moisture to your skin. Just take a look at this website to see how effective rehydration skincare products are. Using these and upping your daily water intake will have your skin looking luminous in no time.

Exfoliate regularly

Exfoliating your skin enables you to slough off dead skin cells and reveals a smoother, clearer surface. As exfoliation is one of the best ways to get luminous, radiant skin, you’ll want to make sure it’s a staple part of your skincare regime.

However, be wary of exfoliating too often or using products that are overly harsh. Face scrubs can generally be used two or three times a week but stronger options, like face peels, should be used less frequently.

Use nutrient-rich serums

Serums can be a great option for your skin. With so many options available, it’s easy to find formulas that suit your skin type and soothe problem areas, no matter how your skin happens to behave. By choosing nutrient-rich versions, you can increase luminosity too.

Scan the list of ingredients and look out for vitamin A, C or E. Additionally, keep an eye out for products that claim to ‘brighten’, ‘renew’ or ‘even out’ the skin tone. Providing they’re effective, these will help you to achieve the glowing complexion you’re after.

Add faux glow

If you want your skin to glow instantly, help is at hand. There are numerous makeup products designed to deliver an instant glow, so you won’t ever have to worry about having a dull or lacklustre complexion. Hyaluronic acid and glycerine draw moisture into the skin, which helps it to appear fuller and plumper, so look out for products containing these ingredients. Similarly, minerals that reflect the light will make your skin instantly radiant.

Get Glowing Skin for Good

If you want to enjoy a glowing complexion all the time, remember to eat right. While the products you use can transform your appearance, your diet has a major impact on the health of your skin. Foods with high amounts of antioxidants, such as berries and nuts, are great for making you look as good as you feel.

Disclosure: This is a collaborative post.

Jumping on the bed is one of those childhood pursuits that always seems like a good idea but if you’re anything like me you’d quickly remember that it was a bad idea as your Mum shouted up that “You’d better not be jumping on that bed!” Although I have to confess that whenever we check into a hotel one of the first things that Boo does is jump on the bed, and yes on occasion I have been known to join her!

To celebrate the launch of the new Virgin Kids App today, Virgin TV invited children of all ages to jump for joy on a 15 square metre bed outside Kings Cross Station, London.

The Virgin TV Kids app has been designed for children 3-7 and the first thing that impresses me is that’s it’s free from advertising, and other commercial influences including in-app purchases which helps to reassure parents that it’s a safe space for kids online. We got a chance to have a play with the app today and Boo was immediately drawn to the bright and easy to navigate interface and with over 2000 episodes of on demand kids TV, along with reading books and interactive games there’ll be no more 5am wake up calls on a weekend that can’t be entertained – yes I’m one of ‘those’ mamas who fully utilises the child-minding capabilities of an iPad while I snooze next to Boo!

It was also great to learn that TV shows can be downloaded to allow kids to watch them offline, such as on a plane or car journey.

As you can see Boo absolutely loved jumping on the gigantic bed, firstly she couldn’t get over just how big it was – I always thought my super king bed won in the size stakes but this was something else! Boo also couldn’t quite believe that I wasn’t shouting at her to stop jumping on the bed; although I did gently remind her on the way home that jumping on beds was only allowed when outside a train station – or in a hotel! 😉

The Virgin TV Kids app is available from today for all Virgin TV customers on the Fun and Full House bundles to download for free from the Apple App Store, and Google Play.

Disclosure: A travel fee was paid.

We all know that I spent the majority of last year working on our home after our plans of moving house ended. At the time I did wonder whether I would be able to fall back in love with out house, after all we’d grown use to living surrounded by cardboard boxes and then we had to unpack it all and try and rediscover the joys of our home.

Fast forward a year and the house is 90% finished (I’m starting to wonder if anyone actually ever makes it to 100%) and whilst the walls, ceilings and electrics are all fresh the majority of our furniture as stayed the same. Both mine and Boo’s bedrooms are exactly how I want them – both are calm and softly feminine without being too girly and I smile every time I walk into my bedroom at night; it really is my sanctuary.

That leaves our living room: whilst there is nothing wrong with how it is now, the old furniture doesn’t really do justice to the hard work that has gone into transforming the walls and ceilings – not to mention the chandelier which I absolutely love.

The Oak Furniture Company is a new brand to me but one not to be overlooked, as well as offering the traditional rustic solid oak furniture we’ve come to expect from oak they also have great ranges that combine white/grey and pine to help tie in with the contemporary home interior trends. The Etienne Oak Living room range is one of my favourites; the soft grey would compliment perfect my Farrow and Ball feature wall in Plumet.

Our living room also is where we eat (hello London living) and I think it’s really important that as a family we have a dining table – in fact looking back I even had a dining table when I was a student, that’s how integral they are to me. I like the fact that the Etienne range is also available for dining table and chairs, any by playing round with the colour way of the chairs you can create a look that really reflects your family home character.

Now that the dust has settled – both literally and figuratively – from our house renovations, I’ve got the opportunity to really think about what new pieces we want to bring into our home, although with so much choice one thing’s for sure: it’s not going to be easy.

With baby showers pretty much the norm, it can be tricky to see past the commercialism and enjoy it for what it should be – a celebration for the mother-to-be and a bit of a ‘calm before the storm’ aka sleepless nights.

For those of you out there that want to give a gift that is thoughtful and can be used long after the baby shower is over, there are some options for making something that is truly unique and a welcome change from the mountains of too-small babygrows – if you learn one thing it’s that size newborn is an absolute waste – and cuddly toys that everyone else will have spent far too much money on. If you’ve got some spare time and want to make something special (particularly if it’s a close friend or family member), give these ideas a try!

DIY Baby Box
Baby boxes were originally given to new mothers in Finland to prevent SIDS but now they’re a bit of a trend, with several UK companies selling fresh, decorative versions. I love the Finnish idea that every child has an equal start and wish they’d been around when Boo was born.
Why not make your own? Find a beautiful cardboard box (a white one is probably best), get creative with paints or prints and decorate it how you like. If the parents have already decided on a name, you could personalise the box, but if not, try out some other ideas like creating a jungle scene or a brightly coloured shape pattern. Once it’s complete, fill with useful items and blankets for a perfect and practical gift for the parents-to-be.

Scrapbook
Make your own baby book – instead of forking out for one in the shops, why not create your own for the new parents to fill with your own choice of paper and a unique front cover design. You can fill the first couple of pages with pictures of the couple before the baby is born, and mark a page for them to stick the scan photo. Then either leave the rest of it totally blank for the parents to fill in, or mark pages with suggestions like ‘first haircut’ or ‘favourite toy’ to prompt them to keep filling it in.

Get sewing!
If you’ve got the skills or are keen to learn, you could try your hand at crochet, quilting or cross stitching. Lots of shops like Hobbycraft have complete sets providing everything you need, and you could make something really beautiful that can be used for years to come, like a child’s height chart for their nursery or a baby blanket.

Upcycle child’s furniture
Why not try buying a small second hand children’s chair and personalise it yourself? Take a look on ebay or other second hand websites for a small chair or stool and upcycle it yourself by sanding it down and painting it with your own design. If you’re struggling to find one locally, try a more far flung seller and use Shiply to have it delivered.

Food
All baby showers need food – if you’re a clever clogs in the kitchen or a pizzazz at cake-making, you could attempt to make a cake for the occasion – if in doubt I always bake. Think pastel colours and animals – the artistry behind will make it taste better too! You could even be super-ambitious and offer to tackle providing the food for the day with homemade sandwiches, snacks and mocktails – taking this on will take a load off the mind for the organiser and you know your ‘gift’ will definitely get used! I did this for one of best friends a few years back, I hosted the baby shower and it really was the best gift I could have given her.

Have you made your own gift for a baby shower? Let me know in the comments below.

Disclosure: A fee was received for this post.