If you follow me on Instagram, you will probably know that I have recently come back from a holiday in North Cyprus. My younger sister got married at the Bellapais Abbey in what was a beautiful and perfect day. So we had a lovely family holiday for 10 days. As I mention in my previous travel post North Cyprus | Where We Ate, I took photos not intending to write any specific blog posts but have enough to show you all what we got up to on holiday.
I have actually lost count how many times I have been to North Cyprus as I used to go a least twice a year since I was born. It is where my family are from and a place I call a second home. This visit was planned for my sister's wedding and we had a lovely time relaxing, eating and even a little sightseeing.
There is so much to see in North Cyprus, from the historic ruins of Salamis or the home of an old gangster, Mavi Kosk and a choice of some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. There is something for the whole family.
This time however, we had a large group so we didn't do as much sightseeing as usual. We did however visit a few of my favourite places and went on a boat trip day out, all 28 of us!
Here are just a few of the 100's of photos I snapped on our vaycay to North Cyprus...
GIRNE HARBOUR | GIRNE/KYRENIA
BOAT TRIP | GIRNE/LAPTA
(Lunch & Jet Skiing)
MY NENE'S HOUSE | LEFOKSA/NICOSIA
(My Nene's Garden)
BELLAPAIS ABBEY | BELLAPAIS | GIRNE/KYRENIA
Love & Light
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It has been a whole year since I first started using The Happiness Planner. At six months I wrote a review on how I was getting on, which you can find here. I have decided to write my one year review and how The Happiness Planner has helped me in more ways than I thought it would.
Recently I was sent some protein milkshake drinks from UFIT which I have reviewed here & here. They also sent me this product to try, Collagen+ Beauty Milk milkshake. I was more than happy to try this product as my skin lacks collagen and scars really easily, so I was willing to try anything that would boost my collagen levels.
It has been two weeks since we have been back from North Cyprus and I still have the holiday blues. We had such an amazing and memorable time with family and friends and not only did I watch my little sister get married I also got to show my babies where their family are from. I will be honest I didn't pay much attention to taking photos for my blog because it was a family holiday and I wanted to be laid back and enjoy every moment instead of stressing about what to take photos of or write about for my blog. Now if you know me you know I TAKE TOO MANY PHOTOS so looking back through my holiday snaps I have enough of them to make a few blog posts haha!
I have always been one for a bedtime routine, yes even as an adult. No matter how tired I am, some nights it can take me a little while to fall asleep. This has improved since I started regular exercise but some nights I just can't drift off to the land of nod!
After years of trying, I have now got myself into a good bedtime routine. Here are a few of my bedtime secrets to help me relax and de-stress for a good nights sleep.
* A warm shower (maybe a bath if I have the energy after a day with the kid)
* A good skincare routine
* A mug of Camomile tea
* Lavender oil on a muslin cloth hung over headboard
* Sleep Eye Mask
I was recently sent a Spacemask to try and review; from what I have read about Spacemasks, this product sounds perfect for me and my bedtime routine.
Since my second pregnancy I struggle a lot with my sinuses and periodically suffer with acute sinusitis, which is no fun anyway let alone when running around after two kids every day. I usually use a cold migraine pad (I suffer from migraines too!) to soothe my head and eye area; before trying the Spacemask I had never thought to use a heat pad on that area. One afternoon my plan of using the Spacemask at bedtime went out the window as I decided to use it for an afternoon nap (I struggle to fall asleep in the day as I can never switch off) so that's when I gave my Spacemask a try.
Spacemask is a self-heating eye mask, which is activated when removed from it's little pouch. The mask unfolds and has a little loop on each side that goes behind your ears to secure the mask over your eyes.
Not long after wearing you can feel the heat from the mask, as oxygen molecules activate the iron particular's to create natural heat through the mask. The calming scent of Jasmine transported me back to my happy place in Cyprus, where my favourite plant in my Nene's garden would be where I would sit and make jasmine flower chains for my Dede to hang in his car, a scent that always relaxes and soothes me to this day.
I was able to completely relax and feel the tension in my forehead and eye area completely disappear, feeling stress free and unaware that after nearly 20 minutes of laying there I relaxed into a great half an hour power nap and felt amazing when I woke up.
I will 100% be purchasing Spacemasks to use when I'm suffering from sinus tension or struggling to switch off at bed time.. something so simple has really helped me complete my bedtime routine.
I will be purchasing mine on my next payday direct from Spacemasks where you can get 5 in a box for £15 and I will be taking some on my next holiday for the plane journeys...bliss!
*this post contains PR samples
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On Sunday I organised an Afternoon Tea Hen Party for my sister at Rowhill Grange Hotel & Utopia Spa in Kent. This place is a lovely hidden gem tucked away in the Kent countryside with beautiful gardens and a beautiful 19th Century Victorian Manor house, this venue is perfect for weddings, weekends away and even Spa days.
In the last instalment of posts on my holiday to Santorini, this post is all about Places to See.
The majority of this post will be photos as words can not describe the beauty of this island and the mesmerising views it has to offer.
If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen my Insta-stories and posts while I was away visiting the beautiful greek island of Santorini.
I have written up my travel diary in three parts, Our Villa, Places to Eat and Places to See. This post is all about where we stayed, our beautiful Villa in a little village called Vouvolous, just outside the main town of Fira.
Recently I was sent a sample package to review, which included a variety of products by UFIT, a high protein drink brand. They aim to reach people that are looking for a healthier snack alternative for a healthy lifestyle and that is great for on the go.
Win Free Tickets to the Grand Designs Live Show with CLC World Resort
It's competition time! Are you a fan of the TV show Grand Designs or are you looking for some inspiration for your own grand design project?
You could be in with a chance to win 2 tickets to the multi-award winning home event, Grand Designs Live Show, at the ExCel in London between the 29th April -7th May 2017.
Recently I asked my lovely twitter followers to tell me what posts they would like to see on beautybakingbella and surprisingly health/lifestyle & fitness posts won over my food recipes (don't worry there are going to be more recipes coming up later this month.)
Recently I decided to do a 14 day Teatox using BOOTEA. This was the first time I had ever done anything like this before, I've never even done a diet. Firstly, I chose BOOTEA because it is a brand I have seen and heard of a lot over the years so I decided that I would use their 14 Day Teatox for my first try. My decision to do a teatox was not to lose weight but to have a full cleanse and detox in my body.
I eat healthy all the time (if you follow my Instagram and Instagram Stories you will know by how many food photos I post!) and I exercise 2-3 times a week, so I have a balanced and healthy lifestyle and eating habits. This is recommended before starting a teatox to see the best results and it is a good habit to get into, I feel amazing for it. Check out my My Top Tips For A Healthy Lifestyle post for some great tips and suggestions.
The BOOTEA 14 Day Teatox kit is £19.99, I got mine from Boots while doing a toiletry shop. I did wait a while before I started as I wanted to be 100% sure I wanted do the detox.
The kit came with two bags, one had 14 daytime teabags and the other had 7 bedtime teabags. The daytime teabags were to be drunk as soon as or just after waking and to be brewed in nearly boiling water for 3 minutes. The bedtime teabags were brewed the same but drank every other night starting on the first day of the teatox.
In case you are wondering what the teabags are, here is the list of ingredients of each teabag.
The daytime teabags:
Oolong tea
Yerba Mate
Ginger
Lemongrass
Fennel
Danelion Leaf
Siberian Ginseng
Nettle
Gotu
The bedtime teabags:
Peppermint
Fenugreek seeds
Psyllium Seeds
Liquorice
Burdock root
Hawthorn leaves
Dessicated Coconut
So here is how I got on..
WEEK 1
I drink a variety of herbal teas daily so knowing that I had to drink these every day was no issue for me. These teabags were slightly more pungent than my normal herbal teas and the night time ones tasted even more sour; but that was nothing a quarter teaspoon of honey couldn't sort out. I drank the daytime tea within the first half hour of waking every morning. After the first day I noticed that I looked less bloated (I usually get bloated when eating any carbs and some fruits) and even after meals my stomach didn't looked bloated at all.
The bedtime tea, at first was difficult to drink as the taste was very strong but I did get used to it after a few days.
On the second day I noticed upon waking that my stomach looked "flatter" and this actually continued on for the full 14 days of the teatox.
After 7 days I weighed myself and I had lost 2 lbs which surprised me as my aim wasn't to lose weight. My waistline also looked slimmer and overall I was very impressed with the results I was seeing.
WEEK 2
Continuing my teatox into the second week I was very positive at what my end result would be as I felt good and full of energy. However, on day 11 I started to notice some stomach cramping and mood changes. I developed regular stomach cramps like I've never experienced before (and I suffer from IBS!) I was feeling full really quickly when I ate and actually lost my appetite by day 12. On day 13 (sorry to be so graphic but I want to be honest here) I wasn't able to go to the toilet. Now, I usually drink at least 2 litres of water a day and eat very good and whole foods so this was not normal for me. I however continued to finish the final day 14 and it wasn't until the following day when I had not drank anymore tea that my stomach cramps had disappeared completely. A few days later I got my appetite back and felt normal again.
Overall I lost 4 lbs and physically saw a reduction in my waistline so this Teatox obviously works but at what cost?! After talking to a few friends and colleagues, who had also done this exact teatox, it surprised me that they too had the same symptoms of cramping, trapped wind and constipation towards the end of their teatox.
Now I'm wondering was it really worth me putting myself through those painful last few days just to lose a few pounds that I know I could do on my own with changing my food portions and more exercise?!
I personally WON'T be doing this BOOTEA teatox again but it hasn't put me off trying alternate styles or brands of teatox as maybe some of the ingredients in these teabags really didn't agree with my body.
Have you tried the BOOTEA teatox? What did you think? If you have any alternative teatox recommendations please leave them in the comments, thank you - Pinar
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MY FIRST GIVEAWAY!
I have been blogging for over 3 years and I have never done a giveaway! I am overwhelmed by how far I have come in my blogging journey and have made some lovely blogging friends, so as a thank you and a way of connecting with more of you lovely bloggers I am holding a SPRING BEAUTY ESSENTIALS GIVEAWAY!
So I have put together a few lovely beauty treats that I personally love as a treat to give away to ONE lucky winner!
WHAT YOU WILL GET
* Real Techniques Concealer Brush
* L'Oréal Skin Expert Pure Clay Purity Mask
* Kind & Natured Foaming Sugar Body Scrub
* NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream - 06 Istanbul
* Fleur De Force Lashes by Eylure
All products have been purchased by me and this giveaway is not in association with any of the listed brands. All products are brand new and are all in their original packaging and sealed.
HOW TO ENTER
I am giving you 2 options to enter and you can enter on both socials to double your chance of winning..
TWITTER
Retweet the Giveaway Pinned Tweet and make sure you are following me. No quoted tweets and you must be following me at the end of the Giveaway, or your entry won't count!
INSTAGRAM
Follow me and like and comment tagging a 'real' friend on my Giveaway Photo (again you must be following for your entry to count!)
RULES
* UK ONLY
* Must be following for both entries
* No quote tweets
* The winner will be selected at random and will be notified both on Twitter and by direct message
* Giveaway will end on Monday 3rd April 2017 at 21:00 and will be delivered to the winner as soon as possible
Good Luck!!
Love & Light
HAPPY WORLD BOOK DAY!
In celebration of World Book Day, I have dedicated a post to share my love of reading and some of my favourite books. I will also share my children's favourite books and what we like to read during the day and at bedtime.
For February's first post I have decided to share my top tips for living a 'healthy lifestyle'. A lot of my friends ask me how I do it, I eat healthy all the time, I exercise at least twice a week and have an active social life with my family.
Post-pregnancy skin can be a big shock to many new mums and we are made to feel pressured to get back into 'shape' after. However, it is important during pregnancy that we moisturise our precious baby bump to prevent stretching and splitting of the skin which for many become our 'tiger marks' and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, I'm proud of mine! Just because your body has visibly changed that doesn't mean you can't try and improve its appearance, not for others but for yourself, you can still continue to look after your skin post pregnancy by continuing to use lotions and potions.
I have now been using The Happiness Planner for 6 months and thought this was a good time to reflect on how I have benefited from using this type of daily planner. My planner is a monthly planner with dates which has been a good way of me making time on a daily basis to take a seat and a cup of herbal tea and sit and plan or reflect on my day.
New Year's Day was my daughter Melis' 4th birthday so we decided to go into Central London for the day. So we got to the train station and boarded the train and as you can imagine Melis was very excited about our train ride to London.
This year I decided to book the kids to see Santa at our local garden centre, Ruxley Manor. This will be Melis' fourth Christmas and Luca's second, although he was only 10 days old for his first Christmas, this year the excitement coming from my 3 nearly 4 year old has had me in the happiest of Christmas spirits and can't wait to see their faces on Christmas day!
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