Meal Planning Monday - 20 May 2013

Welcome to another Monday. Let's calmly gloss over the fact that it's been around a month since I last did one of these. Needless to say, I have been eating in that time! On the menu this week:

Chicken breast with a herby crust and roasted tomato sauce (left over from last night - score!)
Roast Beef in big Yorkshire pud. Possibly pot roasted in slow cooker depending on time
Frittata with sweet potato and peppers
Vegetable curry with spinach, butternut squash, sweet potato.
Sausage and onion casserole (or barbequed in a bun, depending on weather)
Left overs

Six meals and one night of probably brown dinners (fish fingers/nuggets, beans, you know the drill) or maybe tortilla wraps with salad and cooked meat if I get to the supermarket. A lazy cook's night, anyway.

Have a great week. I have been pinning delicious looking recipes like mad, and am off to check other Meal Planning Monday posts on Mrs M's blog, so next week should be more inpsired.

How to Get Flip-Flop Fabulous Feet

As a result of all this fantastic sunshine most parts of the UK have been enjoying lately, I have noticed a disturbing rise of two surprising words on Twitter: trotters and hooves. Yep, that's how women have been referring to their winter feet. Ladies! It doesn't have to be that way. You don't have to be the woman wearing biker boots as the only alternative to displaying heels so horrible and cracked they'd be the envy of any self respecting farm animal. Nor do you have to spend a fortune on pedicures and potions to get your tootsies in tip-top condition.

I have both a total loathing of a) horrible hard heels and b) spending money on pedicures. Living in Wales means I don't get about in flip-flops very often but I take pride in being able to bare my feet in public if necessary. Don't let the British summer take you by surprise. Follow these steps and your feet will be worth of baring in Clarks Scent Flower summer wedges all year round.

Clarks Scent Flower Coral Suede Wedges. Gorgeous, aren't they.

1) Pumice
Every time you have a shower, give your feet a quick pumice. Focus on your heels and the ball of your foot just underneath your big toe. This is where skin tends to thicken the most but a quick rub with something like this will help stop that from happening. Rub the sides as well as the base of your feet, but don't go crazy - it's not supposed to hurt.

2) PedEgg
If you need something a little more robust than just a pumice, get yourself a PedEgg. They cost around a tenner and you can buy them where you get JML products (eg: Boots, Asda, and www.jmldirect.com). It looks scarily like a cheese grater and gently files off dead skin to leave your feet soft and smooth.

3) Moisturise
Regular moisturising is the key to keeping your skin soft. I just use my normal body moisturiser. At the moment it's E45 because I am currently Bzzing* it, so I have been given two bottles for free. I use the regular (white) E45 moisturiser at night because, while it feels nice and rich, it doesn't sink in that quickly. I use the purple (Nourish and Restore) version in the morning because it absorbs quickly and smells lovely. If my feet a really dry I'll slather them at night and put socks on when I go to bed. A bottle costs around £4.50 but a little goes a long way and since you can use it on your whole body it's good value.

4. Prepare and polish
Even if you don't wear polish on your toenails you should still keep them trimmed and tidy. I use cuticle clippers and a cotton bud dipped in vitamin E (or olive) oil to keep the cuticles neat and pushed back. I clip or file my nails straight across before polishing them the same way I do my nails (base coat, two coats of colour, top coat). While my fingernails are usually pretty conservative, I tend to go a bit brighter with my toenails. Hey, it's summer after all! Even though I rarely paint my toenails in winter, I still keep them pretty tidy because it's easier than starting from scratch when I want pretty toes.

That's it! Keeping your feet in good nick only takes a few minutes a day but it means you'll never be that woman beautifully dressed with fantastic shoes that is being completely let down by her trotters.

Now all I need to do is sort my winter-white legs and I'm ready to bare some skin.

*Being a BzzAgent means I get stuff for free to try every now and then, like the E45 cream. The words and review are entirely my own. Find out more about Bzzing at www.bzzagent.co.uk

Matilda Mae Memorial Auction

It's been bonkers around here lately but I had to make sure I put up a post about the Matilda Mae Memorial Auction. This awesome fundraiser is being run by Tots100 from 11-20 May in memory of the angelic Matilda Mae who died on 2 Feb 2013 aged just nine months. Nine small months so packed with life, love and laughter that it seems inconceivable SIDS could remove it all in moments. Of course, Matilda Mae will never be forgotten. Her tiny footprint left a massive imprint not only on the hearts and lives of her family, but on all who knew, or knew of, her.

The desire of a huge, supportive online community to help Matilda Mae's mum, Jennie, doing something both meaningful and practical led to the auction to raise funds for the Lullaby Trust. You can find out more about The Lullaby Trust and the work they do at www.lullabytrust.org.uk.
The Lullaby Trust funds research into SIDS so that families like Matilda’s can be supported and given answers they so desperately need. The Lullaby Trust also guides and supports families in making the first steps towards growing their family once more, with their Care of Next Infant program. They also provide a bereavment support service and help to educate parents on the importance of safe sleeping.
(via Ghostwriter Mummy)

Today, 2 May, would have been Matilda Mae's first birthday. It breaks my heart that Jennie and her family aren't able to celebrate in the way they had expected, and the way all parents should be able to celebrate their child's birthday. Find out more about the auction by clicking the badge at the top and bottom of this post.