Rosie Corriette

Notes from a retired blogger

Category: Uncategorized

  • Getting The Best From Dreams For Little Ones

    Regular readers of my blog know that I don’t share videos much, but here I am breaking the trend today.

    I recently saw a video by Adjustamatic and Ian Wallace (he’s a well known dream psychologist) which is about children’s dreams. It got me thinking about mine – being a single mama and freelancer doesn’t exactly lend itself to stress-free sleep. And it made me wonder how my odd little dream scenes reflect the good and the bad. How they help me work through things I didn’t even know were bothering me.

    But my main thought was about Boo and how much she must learn as she dreams. That as a baby all of her many hours asleep were spent reflecting on all the new things she’d seen, and how as she’s getting older her wonderful mind creates creatures, and people, and places. All I hope is that her dreams are as magical as she deserves (we’re fans of booking bespoke trips to dreamland) and not plagued by a ‘bad goblin’ like the little girl in the video.


    This is a collaborative post.

  • Today I Failed At Juggling

    Today I Failed At Juggling

    It happened today, if I’m completely honest I’m amazed it’s taken this long; this morning I dropped the ball and the juggling act came to a crashing halt. I failed to deliver on a freelance deadline – the fist time it’s ever happened! I mean I’ve pulled all nighters, I’ve cut it ridiculously close but this is the first time I’ve had to e-mail a client at 9am to say that the project wasn’t finished and would need an extra day which I can’t deliver on until the end of tomorrow. It sucked. Big time. I am the master of juggling swan style – making it look like I have everything under control and 90% of the time I do, but not today.

    The significance of dropping the ball today has hit me hard – maybe I can’t do it all? But the problem is, I have to. The buck stops with me; I’m responsible for everything in our family and I’m used to it. But that doesn’t stop the self doubt creeping in when you wonder if you can be a good mother, a respected professional, a friend oh and that little thing called general dogsbody round the house.

    Single-Parent-Juggling-Act

    Life as a single parent is one massive juggling act trying to keep the balance – when I’m doing well work wise the guilt starts to creep in that i’m not devoting enough time to Boo. It’s her last day of the summer holidays so we met with a few friends for coffee and cake and that felt lovely but then I was sat there making a mental list of how many other deadlines I have this week.

    I suppose there is no real answer and perhaps I just need to recharge and reset: easier said than done when you’re the only one who can make a cup of tea. So for now it’s knowing that whilst I dropped the ball today, there’s nothing stopping me picking it up tomorrow morning… The juggling act must go on.

  • Birthday Ideas For Little Women

    Birthday Ideas For Little Women

    My regular readers on here will know how much of a fashionista my little Boo is. She has all the style, sass and charisma of a true fashion designer, so when it comes to picking out something special for her birthday or Christmas, it can sometimes leave me scratching my head for new ideas.

    Chlo-Blo-Review-Mummy-And-Boo

    She already has a very mature way of looking at clothing; she has her own unique style, she’s very particular about her summer and winter wardrobe of course, and it already feels like living with a little woman in the house. If you’re the same and you’re wondering what to buy your daughter this year, then I hope a few of my own ideas will give you some inspiration.

    1.A charm bracelet
    Boo doesn’t have really expensive jewellery – I think she’s a little young for that – but I know that she would love a pretty bracelet to wear on special occasions so that she can feel like mummy. There are many fun charm bracelets based around Disney and the like out there at the moment though; they’re incredibly cute and just perfect for any little girl.

    As she gets older and reaches her teens, I’ll then have the perfect gift in mind. Picking up something like this rose gold bracelet by ChloBo is a great starting point for Boo’s jewellery collection. These dainty bracelets can be worn alone for a simple look or stacked up. Hopefully it will be something for my not-so-little-anymore girl. It then gives you a starting point for future gifts too, as you can collect the different charms and stones.

    2.An embroidered handbag
    When we were in Alicante, we walked through the open air markets in the evening and there were so many stalls where sellers would print your name on things or carve it onto little trinket boxes. I remember thinking then what a great idea that would be for birthday gift, and there’s a lot of that kind of thing you can buy online too, like this embroidered handbag for toddler’s, or this clutch purse for older girls.

    The great thing is that you can get something very personal, such as a nickname or a message added to them, so it will always mean something.

    3.Personal touches
    You could decide to get your princess lots of little touches rather than one big gift, in which case, why not add some personal, grown-up elements to her bedroom? You could pick her up a money box in the shape of her favourite animal or character, as well as her very own purse to keep her pocket money in.

    Why not create some artwork for her bedroom, and add some floral storage boxes for when she reaches school and has somewhere to put her belongings? She’ll love feeling like she’s more grown up, and they’re all items that will help her in future too.

    I hope these ideas have given you some inspiration for your own daughter. Do you have any more birthday gift ideas?

    This is a collaborative post.

  • Want It Wednesdays | 31st August

    Another week, another Want It Wednesday, this week is all about mixing the quirky with the luxe as we get ready for the start of autumn; as much as I love/need/crave the sun and heat, there’s something welcome about autumn when it comes to dressing – maybe it’s the opportunity to play with different textures and start six months of layering but I like it. A lot.

    The colder days just around the corner, I’m loving this M&S cashmere bobble beanie, at less than £50 it’s a great way to introduce a dash of luxe without breaking the bank. As is this Parisian sweater by Mango – we all want to be french when it comes to style and this is perfect for that off duty look (anyone else feeling this is shouting out for a messy bun?!). Off duty style also means it’s time to buy myself a new pair of everyday trainers that can carry me from the school run to meetings to coffee catch ups and Addidas Superstars are the go to along with converse for the versatile yet practical mum trainer! I’d be tempted to pair them with this simple yet EVERYTHING navy ruche hem dress from Cos, it’s silence of fuss screams minimal style and is one of those additions to your wardrobe that will have you wondering how you managed without it.

    I spotted these Kurt Geiger block Jessie mules while out shopping this week, I love the femininity and drama of the oversize bow yet the sassiness of the block heel, these are set to be a Londoner’s best friend – not even the cobbles of Covent Garden can slow me down!!

    Autumn means layers and layers undoubtably lead to jeans, tee and lots of warmth on top, I love how a quick and quirky slogan by Zara jazzs up the plainest of tops and would be work well with a bright lip for that no effort on purpose/by mistake Monday morning vibe.

    Now this Carat* Emerald ring makes no sense what so all, and that’s what makes me want it all the more. I’m certain it doesn’t go with a single item I own, but it’s brazen ostentatious in your face dazzle (literally) would make it at home on my finger from dawn until dusk – because even the purgatory of suburban supermarkets deserves the attention grabbing emerald beast.

    And I’m finishing this week’s Want It Wednesday with a generous spritz of the brand new Scent of a Dream by Charlotte Tilbury. With joy top notes, fleurotic heart notes and psychoactive base notes, this is a scent that has you not only smelling fabulous but seeking ‘more’ as it’s designed to work with your pheromones lasting up to 9 hours… I’ll take 100 litres please!

    So there you have it, my wants this Wednesday – let me know what floats your boat from the collection and what makes me sounds like a magpie crazed fashion love…

    Happy Wanting!

    Want It Wednesdays - August 31st

  • Tefal Cook4Me: Releasing The Inner Lazy Nigella

    Tefal Cook4Me: Releasing The Inner Lazy Nigella

    I like good food and want to feed Boo the best, home cooked meals, however if I’m being completely honest I neither have the time nor inclination to stand and cook a meal from scratch everyday – c’mon I’m the woman who gets up before 5am to sit and work so you can guess what my energy levels are like at dinner time! So imagine my intrigue when Tefal invited me to an afternoon of cooking and filming with their Cook4Me, with the promise of home cooked meals ready in a matter of minutes not hours.

    Tefal-Cook4Me-Review-Mummy-and-Boo

    Tefal-Cook4Me-Review-Mummy-and-Boo

    The Tefal Cook4Me is an intelligent pressure cooker coming with 50 pre-programmed recipes; it guides you easily thought the ingredients required and recipe with step by step instructions and automatic cooking times and temperatures. Plus each dish can be adjusted to serve 2, 4 or 6 people – perfect for me and Boo as many cooking gadgets are designed for a family of four which doesn’t suit us at all.

    Tefal-Cook4Me-Review-Mummy-and-Boo

    Tefal-Cook4Me-Review-Mummy-and-Boo

    We had a great afternoon getting to try out different recipes, my two favourites being tuna puttanesca and the leek and butternut squash risotto. Yes I’d read the claims at just how easy the Tefal Cook4Me was but until I tried it for myself I chalked it down to just another gadget… I was wrong.

    Tefal-Cook4Me-Review-Mummy-and-Boo

    It’s like my new little black bowl of kitchen tricks – it’s sleek design means it sits really well on the counter top and doesn’t look too bulky and we’ve used it so much. I love how Boo can be really involved with helping to cook a dish in a safe and fun way. Recently we’ve been cooking risotto a lot which is great as it’s one of my favourite dishes of all time (and is fast becoming one of Boo’s too!) but it’s not something I would ordinarily cook as a) it’s a lot of work for the two of us and b) the whole stirring a pan for the entire time kind of puts me off (are you sensing a theme with my reluctance to commit to cooking?), thanks to the Cook4Me the risotto is ready from opening the fridge for the ingredients to dishing it up in less than 20 minutes – amazing!

    Tefal-Cook4Me-Review-Mummy-and-Boo

    The Tefal Cook4Me isn’t just a one course trick pony, it can make soups (the Italian vegetable soup is super tasty), cook meat joints (imagine a roast chicken in less than an hour!) and even rustle up a crème brulee – that’s our Sunday dessert sorted!

    Thanks to the Tefal Cook4Me I’m able to up my culinary game and retain my title amongst friends as the lazy Nigella!

    Tefal-Cook4Me-Review-Mummy-and-Boo

    Disclosure: We were kindly sent a Tefal Cook4Me