There is just something about the old classic, the pasta bake...
It instantly reminds me of my mother and dark, rainy nights snuggled in front of a cosy fire when we lived in the country. Happily eating her pasta bakes covered in crochet blankets!
Warm memories.
I love the way food is such an experience that certain foods are linked for us with events and times of our lives. Food really does tell a story and for me the pasta bake was one of my first comfort foods.

Now I make it for my kids too, but with a healthy twist, now we are also not gluten intolerant but I like to do a large amount of our meals and snacks gluten free as I believe it is more kinder on the bowels!!

This dish can be whipped up in not very long at all, it freezes really well and makes fantastic leftovers and school lunches too or a bring a plate dish for the next BBQ!

If you like pasta bake or macaroni cheese you will love this healthy version.

• 1 box of gluten free pasta, cooked according to packet directions.
  (I also find it helps to add a little dash of oil in the boiling water with gluten free pasta to stop it all sticking together.
• 2 tablespoons gluten free flour
• 500ml almond, soy or dairy milk ( I used almond.)
• half a teaspoon nutmeg ground
• 2 teaspoons paprika (look for a really good quality one - it makes a lot of difference!)
• !/2 cup broccoli, very finely chopped.
• 2 carrots peeled and finely grated.
• 4 stalks celery, finely chopped.
• 3 large tomatoes. 2 chopped one sliced.
• 1 zucchini, peeled and grated.
• 1 cup grated cheese.
• Freshly chopped parsley to taste ( I used about a good handful ).
• Fresh and thinly chopped chives to taste. (I used about 9 stalks).
• 2 teaspoons wholegrain mustard (or to taste)
• 1 free range egg.
• 1/4 cup of sundried tomatoes (optional)
• pepper
• himalayan salt - to taste
• 2 cloves garlic finely chopped.

• Cook gluten free pasta according to directions, rinse very lightly and then drained and set aside.
• Very, (extra very for fussy eating kids) chop the broccoli
• Grate the carrot and zucchini.
• Place the vegetables into a mixing bowl or even straight into the baking dish.

• Place the butter into a saucepan and melt slowly over a low heat.
• Once melted add in the flour, stir constantly for 1 minute.
• Add small amounts of the milk stirring the whole time until they are combined with the flour mix, keep doing this until all the milk has been used and it is a nice consistency. Use a whisk of needed to make sure it is nice and smooth.

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Up to 60% of the human body is water, every cell in our body uses water. We need water to function, to live and yet so many people don't drink enough water! And don't worry for many years that was me too...
More and more studies have been done that show dehydration to be found in almost every known disease to mankind and it also makes almost every illness's symptoms worse.
Think about it, when something is seriously wrong what do they do in hospital? Put you on a drip! Because they know how important proper hydration is.
Last year I read an incredible book on this very subject coming from decades of medical research called, "Your not sick, your dehydrated."


It wasn't long after reading it and being inspired to include much more water into my day that I began to really notice and worry about the chemicals and toxins found in tap water.
I can totally understand why they are in there. Council's have to make sure no moulds, bacteria or anything harmful gets into people's drinking water, no easy feat when it usually comes from lakes and dams I can imagine.
BUT, if I am making all this healthy, chemical free, beautiful food and trying really hard to have a chemical free house then surely these chemicals are counterproductive?



It was right when I was thinking this over and wondering also at the state of the inside also of my rainwater tank which the owner told em he wasn't sure had been ever cleaned (eek, I know right) that I was contacted about reviewing an amazing, high tech, extremely efficient (and complicated)  in home water filtration system that conveniently is all inside a handy jug!

It is just the perfect size for a family, would fit into any household and is portable so also very convenient for anyone who is renting.
And while the process it undertakes to clean and energise the water is highly complex, you don't have to do much of anything! (Perfect for a busy mum like me) who has little time for more complicated things in life.

It is even designed into an attractive jug that would not clash with any kitchen decor either for that matter.
Which funnily enough has always been of great importance to me and my kitchen purchases ;)

I also LOVE that the company you buy it from is created by Joanne Musgrave, a certified health coach who uses her own training along with naturopath Julie McNab to offer a range on her website that you know has been really well researched, not just the ingredients but the company itself too and their ethics. What is there is beautiful products and you know you can trust what you find at Shop Naturally.

Now this means a lot to me, and I really place a lot of value in businesses that take their products and their word on said products seriously. This makes my life so much easier as a shopper and busy mum and also gives me great respect and admiration for their integrity and passion.
I am just delighted to say that Shop Naturally is one such business.

I don't have hours and hours of spare time to research everything, I just don't so when I can trust a beautiful business that makes my life and shopping experiences so much better.
On the Sunshine Coast I have this trust with the Jeffers Market stores where I know Stephen Jeffers would not stock anything he had not extensively researched and now I have it online at Shop Naturally now I have discovered them too.

The water jug I reviewed and fell in love with is called

Waters Co Bio Mineral Pot Ace 1.5L Water Filter Jug
Check out out here 

It is 1.5 litre, adds minerals back into your water, has a nine stage filtration system, alkalines the water and filters out chlorine and fluoride.

" The 9 filtration stages are: prefilter, activated carbon filter medium, ion exchange resin, bio organic alkaline minerals, organic germanium, far infrared and magnets. They filter out chlorine, heavy metals, fluoride, nitrate, odours, sediment, bacteria, cysts & viruses. At the same time, the filtration system adds around 60 bio organic trace minerals & restructures the water molecules to significantly increase cellular hydration, adding 'Ki' (Life energy)." Website quote. 

It even comes with a PH testing kit, something as a horticulturalist I was very impressed with and interested in.
I have long since suspected the Sunshine Coast water to be acidic and I found out I was right and considering research also sais that cancer can only live in an acid environment I think we all want to improve our bodies PH to be more alkaline and one of the easiest ways to do this is drinking alkaline water everyday.

Improving your hydration and becoming alkaline improves your skin, eyes, hair, weight, mood, bowel movements and is said to be powerful healing for everyone and especially people with auto immune diseases, arthritis, Ankylosing Spondylitis, Reactive Arthritis, asthma, chrons, eczema etc etc

Drinking more water always sounds simple but in reality so often ends up being a bit slap dash!!
I find this jug not only gives me better tasting water that is so much better for me and my family but it also keeps me accountable too as I know just how many times I should be refilling it and drinking from it for me and my two gorgeous girls everyday!

Thank you goes to Shop Naturally for this review and for introducing me to an easy way to beautiful, clean, alkaline healing water for me and my children.

Eat Beautiful, Be Active, Live Well, Find Calm AND stay hydrated!

LOVE Bek XX

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Line a baking tray with baking paper, I use non bleached If You Care brand.

Heat jam in a saucepan with the water, stir and set aside.

Cut a large potato in half. Then take one half and score/cut a dinosaur shaped foot print into one side so that it sticks out.

Beat butter, sugar and vanilla until it looks fluffy and well together.

Gently fold in the flour and baking powder with a wooden spoon.

Once mixed well roll into small balls and place on the baking tray.

Flatten down slightly.

Use the potato to put a footprint indent into each biscuit.

Fill indents about ½ to ¾ with the jam.

Bake for around 12 minutes or until nice and golden looking and firm.

Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

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Dream it. Do it. Do more. I will do.
DO - it's a rather powerful word isn't it?

"Do or do not, there is no try." Yoda

The more you do, the more you can do, so the more you do."
The Pram Diet Book, Random House.

As 2014 is coming to a close and 2015 is just around the corner we are on the brink of that exciting time of year when we seem to find extra enthusiasm and determination. We set goals and dreams, we often start out the new year wanting to be healthier, fitter and often slimmer!
We think wistfully about sports and dancing done in youth, and ones we would love to try.

We plan on fun runs and marathons in the year ahead, we might decide to take up a sport or active hobby, climb certain mountains, run 5k, beat our own running times  - even compete in a sport.

The Australian Institute of Sport has long been a very highly regarded and respected institution and one I really respect; sport and being active is something I personally am very passionate about and think should be heavily encouraged for all children and also parents and adults too, as sport increases our physical activity level in a fun way and makes us healthier people.

Exercise improves your health, helps prevent disease, helps you lose weight or maintain a healthy weight, boosts mood, reduces stress, helps ease and prevent depression and has a very important link to reduced Post Natal Depression and also easing PND symptoms. For me exercise was key to getting through and then over my PND, and also boosting my self esteem and confidence and general overall happiness - something so important for us mums.

I also loved the way exercise empowered me and gave me goals and challenged me. I was so proud that I was able to go from not exercising at all, to walking my pram around the block to eventually jogging with the pram 8 km a day! And lost over 30 kilo's in the process.
We all have it in us to be active and find ways of doing it that are fun, exciting and challenging to us.

"DO: MORE is a philosophy, a rallying cry for those who want to devour life and all that it brings. It is a motivator for the doers of this world and a reminder to us all that we should maximize every moment, commit to those things that move us and pursue our passions with an unrelenting hunger."

 The I will do campaign is a new and exciting way to help Australians achieve their fitness goals through the help of the Australian Institute of Sports and Rexona sports ambassadors.
In this campaign everyday Australians will have access to information and articles written by the AIS normally only reserved for professional athletes.

Next year, for me, I will do more by trying a sports class like either tap dancing or ballroom dancing, or maybe go back to my past love of boxing and taekwondo. Something fun, active, challenging and just for me!
I am planning on pushing myself to do more and have fun doing it too and with tools and tips like the I will do campaign I am sure I will get there!

What is your fitness goals for next year?
What is something you would love to do? Or have done?
Is there a sport you would like to try? Maybe you would love to do a fun run!


Live Well. Be Active. Eat Beautiful, Stay Calm. Be Happy.

Bek XX

**This is a sponsored post**

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• Weight loss.
• Increased Energy.
• Immune boosting. Our immune system is our own personal army and defence system, anything we can do to support it and protect it is .
• Drastically increases your intake of fresh fruits and vegetables easily which is always a great thing!
• Liver Cleansing and Support. Your liver is such an important part of your body. Your liver cleans your blood and removes harmful and dangerous toxins from your body, you need it in a really great healthy state. The sad thing is they say it is actually quite common for a large proportion of us all to have fatty deposits and livers not in the best state, and this is not a good thing at all. Plus giving your liver a detox improves general wellbeing and even improves your skin in so many ways and helps skin conditions like acne.
• Lusher hair. Due to all the nutrients it is said that juicing can improve hair growth and condition. 
• Digestion. Due to the fact that juicing gives your body a large amount of nutrients while your digestive system has to do little work this is amazing for resting your digestive system and allowing it to heal and look after itself, which is so beneficial for everyone and especially anyone with an autoimmune disease, bowel or digestive issues. 
• Cancer fighting abilities. Due to the extreme amount of antioxidants juicing is said to help prevent and fight cancer, so it is enormous benefit to everyone. There is amazing research out there on this field alone.
• Cold and flu fighting. Due to all the nutrients in a powerful raw easy to access formula juicing is an incredible way to help your body and immune system fight off all sorts of colds, flu's and bugs.

If you have kids juices are a fantastic and easy, fun way to get a big does of vegetables into the kids!!

This Christmas and with the new, fresh year coming up upon us I think one of the best investments we can make for our family and our own health is actually fresh homemade juices using something like the Vitality 4 Lifes Juicers. I use my juicer so often it s honestly one of the best investments I ever made in my home and for my health too.
 I also make small juices in glass bottles for the kids to take to school sometimes and I just love the feeling of giving them a juice with their breakfast in the school morning, or after school on the way to sports or dance knowing what a powerful does of nutrients their bodies are getting.

Plus if your keen to get Summer beach body ready then juicing is your new friend! It can help you drop dress sizes, reduce bloating and clear up skin so you can GLOW this Summer!

We have a few favourite juice recipes but this beautiful, rich Healthy, Happy Life juice is a current favourite!

• I juice the beetroot, watermelon and red apple together.
• Then I juice the kale, spinach, cucumber, green apple and celery.
• In serving glasses I pour some of the red juice then top with some of the green and while it ends up dark you get this lovely swirling effect of the two colours on top, which adds to decorative effect - not essential you can absolutely just juice it all together of course!

• I purposely left the ginger out of this one as my kids often find ginger in a juice just too much, sometimes you can hide it but it is nice to have some juice recipes that are ginger free for them too.
• I highly recommend letting the kids make the juices with you!! Kids love putting the fruits and veggies in and turning them to liquid and this fun element means they are going to be excited about trying them
• If kids, especially older kids are new to juicing, you will want to start with extra fruit in there like apples and then slowly reduce the fruit and increase the veggies over time.

• For an extra anti inflammatory effect you can add a little fresh turmeric.
• Make yourself a large batch and keep one in the fridge for an afternoon pick me up.

Recipe, styling and photography (c)rebeccamugridge2014
This is a sponsored blog post with Vitality4life.
Information on this blog is general interest only and based upon the authors own experiences and should never be taken as medical advise or replace the expert opinion of your doctor or medical professional.

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Smashing ingredients in a mortar and pestle, releasing their intense smells and flavour is one of my favourite kitchen experiences. My beautiful Thai friend Peta brought this into my life when my oldest was just a tiny little thing. It is so different to just chopping or mincing them up.
It is like passion added to the flavours; with this very earthy and intimate hands on experience with your food and its ingredients.

Unlocking the flavours in an earthy, beautiful way

• 1/2 kilo green prawns
  (I was given a big batch of super fresh, local ones from my neighbour as he is a fisherman- I know right?! Cool neighbour!) Try to find Australian ones if you can and don't be afraid to ask about them and where they are from and if the place supports ethical fishing practises.
• Fresh Turmeric. I used a piece about 2 cm long and 1/2 a cm wide. Wash, peel.
• Fresh Ginger. If applicable look for local! Washed, peeled.
• 6-7 cloves of Australian garlic. (Or at least a non bleached kind)
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced longways.
• 2 zucchini's peeled and sliced longways.
• 1 large red capsicum. sliced in long strips.
• 1/2 lemon
• 1 teaspoon cardamom (or use freshly ground)
• 1/2 a kilo of natural yoghurt. I like to use Jalna or Maleny Dairies brands
• 1 & 1/2 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
• 1/2 bunch fresh coriander
• Pink Himalayan salt to taste (optional) 
• olive oil

• Prepare your prawns. I also devein mine and left about 1/3 with their tails on for decorative effect.
• In a mortar and pestle smash your turmeric, ginger and garlic until it is pulp like. Take the time to slow down and enjoy this process. Make it a moment in the kitchen. Be present. Enjoy the smell sensations and you hands on with your gorgeous ingredients. If you drink, this is a lovely time to sip a nice glass of wine.
• Cook the Barilla gluten free spaghetti according to packet instructions. I served mine el dente.
•  
• In a deep pan gently fry the onion in some olive oil on a medium low heat until wilted.
• Add in the turmeric smash, stirring well for a minute or so.
• Toss in the carrots, zucchini and capsicum, stir through for another 2 - 3 minutes.
• Add prawns, yoghurt and cardamom and cook for around 4 minutes or until prawns are cooked.
• Squeeze over lemon right at the end and season with a little salt if desired.
• 
• Arrange spaghetti on plates.

• Top with a layer of spinach and coriander leaves.
• Pour over some of the prawn mixture and drizzle with extra sauce from the pan.
• Top with a little fresh coriander.
• Serve and enjoy!

• The gluten free spaghetti used here is available from woolworths.
• This works just as beautiful vegetarian, increase the veggies and leave the prawns out. 
• For those who do not like coriander this works perfectly without it as well, though I would recommend some fresh parsley in its place.

• I leave a few strands of spaghetti long for fun but also chop a fair bit into easier eating sizes.
  My kids did not find this too spicy at all, but you could always serve kids portions with a dollop of a lovely creamy natural yoghurt on top as well.

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I love a good theme, its so much fun and I love any reason to celebrate, party, cook and....decorate!
Yep, I love Christmas, Easter, Halloween, Fancy Dress Parties

Its also always a great, fun opportunity too cook and create new things.

As a mother of two girls I never thought I'd be doing a dinosaur theme, and I have to say I am so glad my youngest is such an eclectic girl, the type who wants to wield a lightsaber while wearing a tutu! Its fun.

My little V loves dinosaurs, so it was only natural she would want a dinosaur party! So Kindy and ballet friends invited the dino planning fun began.


Discovering the non fiction section on dinosaurs at the library has been a highlight of V's year!



Dinosaur Jumping Castle by Jump Sunshine Coast

TAKE HOME BAG IDEA ***Dinosaur arts and crafts - great little addition for the take home bag that is not sugar and additive laden lollies is a paint your own dinosaur plaster of paris figure and cut out dino shapes, its personal, the kids love making them and who doesn't like glitter :)

Dinosaur footprints lead the way

 And such a fun part - the party food! Now I do believe in living life pretty much 80/20, yes my kids eat very healthy a large percentage of the time but I will also let them have abought icecream on a hot day out, fish and chips at the beach and a normal cake for their birthday! But I do still try and have lots of party food that is home made, additive free, fresh, wholefoods and refined sugar free as much as possible. In fact I even had the face painter comment at V's dino party just how calm and happy all the kids were - and yes, the kids were all still munching away happily! It is just that, yes its a party so you have some treats but you can also have lots of fun and delicious food that is healthy too.


Dinosaur footprint biscuits! These are fun and simple! I'll blog this recipe soon - why not sign up over on the side so you don't miss it.

Dinosaur eggs - these are my bliss balls made small get the recipe HERE

Flower Fossils - gluten free , get the recipe HERE

I found this idea on pinterest, I just made little mini spelt muffins, turned them upside down, cut them flat and then when cold topped with melted white chocolate that I mixed a few drops of food colour & beetroot juice into.

Viola iceburgs - these made the kids drinks of cold water funky, always a great idea to provide lots of iced cold water at parties, if you want you could add some cordial, there are also stevia varieties out there.

We also served a sausage sizzle right before the cake, we had gluten free meat sausages and vegetarian sausages (cooked separately) and gluten free and fresh baked bread. We served with the Natvia refined sugar free tomato and BBQ sauces (find in Coles). Always a reliable hit for kids (and parents) and everyone loves the smell of a cooking bbq and onions :)

The Dinosaur Cake Ok, yes it does look a little like a chameleon haha but the kids didn't notice - I blame the eyes!

To make a Dinosaur cake I made 2 of my chocolate yoghurt cakes with organic sugar (but you could use whatever kind you liked really). One round, one rectangle. I got the idea from a food ideas magazine and then tweaked and played around with the design. I drew the shapes I wanted on baking paper to use as a trace to cut out the pieces, waited until the cake was stone cold and then used green butter cream icing to decorate and cut down ice cream cones for spikes and horns, you could actually put spikes right along the back of the dinosaur as well.
The frill was cut as one piece and slipped over the head.
I recommend making the cake the day before if that works for you timing wise. I didn't decorate mine with lollies like the food ideas magazine but you could if you wanted too, I was just trying to keep additives to a minimum, but that are brands out there that are additive free and you could of course make this with a gluten free cake mix as well - if you were looking for an easy, instant one I recommend Tania Hubbard's from Gluten Free Grain Free.

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• Get organised. Yes, it really does work. Have a calendar (I have two) plan out each day and major events/appointments/sporting activities/school dates/bill due dates/fee due dates/birthdays/banking reminders. Have it somewhere visible that you see all the time and use it as the great tool it is. If you’re a blogger you could even have one just for your blog and what you need to do/post and when.
• Have an organised space in the home for all the kids activities. I have a rack with containers for school (including bags), kindy, ballet, swimming, gymnastics etc. It makes life so much smoother to know everything for each activity is right in its spot when you need it and always has that organised home to go to. I find it also empowers the kids to look after their own stuff and also know where to put it each day.
• Bake it Sundays. This cuts out so much stress! Each Sunday I spend quite a few hours baking muffins, biscuits, quiches, sausage rolls or pies type things and then freeze them for the busy school/kindy week ahead. I can then take out what I need as needed for lunchboxes.
  I also try and make a few dinner options for “those night” things like a cannelloni, quiche, and lasagne, bolognaise sauce that I can freeze for any easy meal during the week.
• Mummy Time. Oh yeah, we soooo need it!! This can be as simple as an Epsom salt bath for 10 minutes, reading a book somewhere quiet, a walk on the beach, a gym session, yoga class, art class, dance class, a run around the block, catching a chai with girlfriends, making jewellery, painting, going to the cinema by yourself (and it’s not Disney), doing laps at the local pool, even cooking to music in an empty house – whatever makes you feel relaxed and full of JOY.
• De-Clutter – it’s amazing how much better you feel when you declutter! One of my favourite books, “Does this clutter make my but look big” helped changed my life and inspired me to de clutter my life! Yes, I am still not perfect and yes I have ornaments and things and occasionally some clutter creeps in here and there but every so often we have a family culling and it always feel wonderful!
• Insure what matters in your life.
  This can take a MASSIVE chunk of worry off your shoulders.
  Imagine rushing about your morning routine, kids in the car ready to go to where they need to go and you head down the road and the unimaginable happens someone goes right through that stop sign and hits you. You and your kids are all ok but your car, is a write off. What would you do? Who would you call? How when you still get the kids to where they needed to go, not just today but every day? You never realise how much you rely on your car for everything until you can’t.
  Trust me, I have had this exact thing happen and you guessed it, we were not insured and the other driver at fault’s insurance company only paid out the lowest market value they could find on the internet for our car. Not taking into consideration work or improvements (it was a 4 wd with accessories) and they took forever and a day too.
  We have more than enough on our plates already so take some stress away from the occasion, take out comprehensive car insuranse.
• Have regular health and dental check ups. Yes, it might seem boring but when they find and treat things early on – it works out so much better (and cheaper) in the long run!
  This year I got both my kids well known to our local dentist, they have had check ups and cleans and talks with him about the importance of brushing, plus he gave them barbie toothbrushes which as you can imagine went down rather well!
• Get on top of that paperwork. Did I hear you groan? Or maybe you are one of those super ocd organised people that I wish I was!! Yes, it can be heavy going but really a draw, cupboard overflowing with folders or a filing cupboard you just thing eergh about is not aiding to your new zeness! If you can afford to (and need to) hire a bookkeeper! Or make a day once a month to go through it all and keep it organised and filed and shred what you don’t need and if its not glossy – turn into super urber useful garden compost J
• Be Prepared. Some might laugh that know me well but yes, I like to be prepared! I have an extensive first aid kit in the car, one for the pram and one at home. In my boot I will have an umbrella, torch, mini tool kit, rope, 2 towels, change of clothes for both kids (including undies), spare thongs for everyone, money for a phone call, picnic blanket, bottles of water, non-perishable emergency snacks for the kids, wipes, sanitiser, even a toilet roll! Just In Case. Haha
  Yes, I guess it is a little dorky maybe even OCD of me ( I am a little bit) but you would not believe how many times over the years it has come in handy! And not just for me, sometimes for other people I have helped!
• Teach Your Kids Your Phone Number & Address. Easy to overlook put this is a really simple thing that could be very important if they ever got lost.
• Tee up Emergency Parent Pick Up Friends. Ever had that day when something happened and you couldn’t get to the school in time to collect your kids? Or needed to drop them off too early?
  A really great idea is to form a small network with some parents you trust that live near you where you can swap each other’s details and organise to be a drop off/pick up back up option when something important comes up. This really will REALLY reduce stress in your life. There is such relief in knowing if you get stuck, can’t get away from work, your car breaks down, an appointment runs over or is too early that you have someone you can call who can help!

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My favourite ornaments for our tree this year, personalised baubles for my girls, what a wonderful idea Myer! These are available through all Myer stores after November 8th

A beautiful princess carriage - sigh - and an event calender that is timeless, classic and has no sugar filled treats that the kids would want to eat at 6 in the morning #winner

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Since hitting my 30's I have noticed my skin go through a real change. Gone is the oily skin of my youth and now I have skin that needs, wants moisture.
I can still hear my mother saying to me when I was young what her mother had told her and her grandmother had told her mother (and all had great skin and aged very well) you must moisturise your skin every day and with moisturiser you can trust, look after your skin as a woman, especially your face, neck, cleavage and hands and you will be forever glad you did.
Even when I look now at photos of my grandmother (whose last boyfriend was 34 years her junior!!) and my great grandmother I am amazed at how great their skin was and how well they aged, even my own mother in her late fifties now looks younger than she is and ix not heavily lined at all.
But did I, a modern girl born in the good old 80's listen to advice from generations of women in my family?? 
Gah, I wish!!
No instead I have spent years in the sun (horticulturalist so sort of comes with the territory I guess), in salt water and when I did put anything on my skin it was usually chemical laden make-up with no doubt toxic levels of who knows what!?
And yes, I have started to noticed those lovely face friends, wrinkles...
Well, good old hindsight and all that at least I am on to it now!!

Proof I am looking after my skin more and getting sun savvy!

So this year in my life self care and self body love is playing a big part.

When I watching the series breaking bad, (yes I was surprised that I got right into it), there was a scene when the pregnant Skylar was moisturising her pregnant belly and her arms and neck, it instantly triggered in me memories of always watching my mother moisturising and I realised that I just don't spend that much time doing simple acts of self love like this...

Am I really that busy or tired after the kids have gone to bed that I cannot spend even 10 minutes shining some love on myself and body?
No of course not so this is now a part of my nightly ritual!!

As part of this I have been on a mission to search out and find brands of skin care products that I can trust, that my skin actually likes and that really resonate with this self love and appreciation act.

In my search I have been delighted to come across a gorgeous brand called
The name appealed to me right away as it sounds like a natural beauty range made by a woman who is proud to put her name to her product.
Of course it was (and some of you may already know I have a real thing about getting parcels ;) sent to me in a gorgeous packaged way with such detail it made my day!
When I first looked over the products I was absolutely thrilled reading the ingredient list - what a change from some out there with all those scary long unpronounceable chemical ingredients!
Here is an example:
The **beautiful** lip balm
Wheat germ Oil
 Borage Seed Oil
 Golden Seal root extract
 Calendula flower extract
 Slippery Elm extract
 St John’s Wort extract
 Simple Tincture of Benzoin
 Pau D’Arco
 Vitamin E (botanically derived)
 Jojoba
 Rosehip
The lush cream:Golden seal
Calendula Herbal extract
Borage Seed Oil
Aloe Vera
Simple tincture of Benzoin
Colloidal Oatmeal
Vitamin A

How could you not be thrilled with ingredients like that? Now I have also been trying quite a few natural skin care ranges lately and some have been great, some meh, some just lovely and the Caroline's Range definitely came under just lovely. Especially the lip balm - which I had to hide from my daughters and my visiting mother ( I guess I know what they will be getting in their Christmas stockings!)

Caroline's is also said to be excellent for Eczema, Dermatitis and Psoriasis.

My review? I really liked the range, I would add this to me fave natural ranges. I find the face wash leaves your skin really smooth and clean feeling, the moisturiser is nice and light - I could probably use a little heavier/deeper moisturising for my skin type on top of it but it felt just lovely on with no greasy residue and you can easily apply make-up after it without having to wait or worry about it not applying properly.
Also I know this range is safe, chemical free and even safe for my kids should they sneak some (which being girls they are wont to do!)
I will definitely add the lip balm to my beauty essentials, it is one of the best I have tried.

You can find the Carolines range and check them out yourself HERE
And find them on FACEBOOK here

Stay beautiful. Live Well. Cherish Yourself and get your self on too!

Bek XX 


Note: This is not a sponsored blog review, I was sent products from Carolines to try all opinions and review is my own at my own discretion.

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