A Bit of Crochet and a Catch Up

Long time, no speak! I really don't know where the last few months have gone but I must be honest and say that they haven't included any makeup shopping and barely any lemmings. Instead, my free time has been occupied with lots of book reading, meeting new people and discovering new ways to waste time on the internet hobbies.

Thanks to my local WI (waves at the Tea Birds), I have learnt how to crochet. My principal motivation was not missing out on the opportunity to go to the pub every two weeks for Knit and Natter! I can't claim any particular expertise: I know these things are supposed to be relaxing but I have been known to suffer with yarn rage. However, I managed to keep up on my first crochet course at Purlesence last week and I seem to get as much pleasure poring over expensive wool online, as I did looking at taupe eyeshadow swatches. Who knew?! My current work in progress is a cushion cover made with Noro Silk Garden and I've just bought a knitting pattern (I have no idea if I can actually knit) in the hope of making this rainbow dress for Miss MB. I won't share how long I've wasted looking for the right shade of blue for this particular project. Maybe one day, when I grow up, I will pick a pastime that doesn't hoover up time and money like a vacuum.

Now, if you will forgive me, I want to share a few gratuitous family shots from the summer, as well some other highlights from the last couple of months.

Beale Park

The Summer Pamper Evening

Miss MB's discovers the carousel

Cheese!

The boys

Miss MB's birthday present finally make in onto her wall, only six months late...

I'm not sure whether my makeup blogging mojo will ever return properly. I do still enjoying wearing makeup and watching tutorials, but these days I tend to stick to wearing my tried and trusted staples and I find that's not great for inspiring blog posts.  However, I do have a few things I would like to review, so hopefully dipping my toe in with a bit of general chit chat will help me find my way back. Feel free to share what you've been up to, it would be lovely to catch up on your news too.

Firmoo Glasses Review

I have been in desperate need of a new pair of glasses for longer than I care to admit so when I was approached by Firmoo to review their glasses and the process of buying glasses online, I jumped at the opportunity. I hate shopping for glasses and finding a good frame shape for my face is always harder than it ought be: those of you that have been following my blog for a long time may remember the "Penfold" episode! I had been dabbling with the idea of going down the online purchasing route for a while, so Firmoo's offer sounded ideal.

Firmoo is an online optical store that ship worldwide. They have a reasonable number of frames to chose from and they are relatively inexpensive as glasses go. They have a first pair free program so if you're completely new to online glasses shopping, as I was, you can order a pair and only pay the shipping costs. The free glasses come with 1.50 index single vision lenses as standard.

The process of browsing and measuring up for buying glasses online made me realise there was an element of truth about what I'd been told at Specsavers. Glasses that are too wide across my face do not sit or look right and as each of glasses thumbnails also gave the recommended pupillary distance range, it was far easier to narrow my options. I found the virtual trying on tool useful too. Although it's not a perfect guide, as you will see for the #CP6061 frames, it definitely gave me a clearer idea of which shape to go for.

Top - #CP6061, Bottom - #CP6096

From the options I was given, I chose the frames #CP6061 ($46/£31.74) and #CP6096 ($39/£26.91). I've always wanted to have a pair of glasses with quite chunky frames but I've never found a shape that I was happy with. This seemed like the ideal opportunity to experiment with something a bit different.

The process of browsing and selecting the glasses was easy, as was inputting my prescription details. As with buying at an opticians, you are given a range of lens options including varying lens thickness and coatings, tints etc. at extra cost. What I did find tricky was measuring pupillary distance or PD. It isn't given as standard on your prescription in the UK and I wouldn't be surprised to find that opticians are reluctant to give you that information. I found a youtube video which I made my husband watch and asked him to measure for me. I did get an unfortunate case of the giggles whilst he was measuring which I'm certain professionals don't ever have to put up with!

The glasses arrived very quickly. Each pair comes in a fairly basic but sturdy case complete with cloth, and there was also a little pouch included with tools for adjustments. I immediately tried both pairs on when they arrived. I really like the shape of #CP6096 and would love a pair like this in lighter coloured frame, possibly tortoiseshell, as I think the black is a little too much on me. The depth of the #CP6061 is greater than I was anticipating from the virtual tool and I have likened myself to Mike Read in this pair! The shape also accentuates the natural wonkiness in my features. This is something I've come across with other frames in the past.

#CP6096

#CP6061 - AKA The 'Mike Read' Specs

Moving away from the frames, I have had some issues with the lenses. For reference, I am shortsighted and I do have to wear glasses all the time. When I put these glasses on, the lenses are absolutely fine for things that are near distance (so I'm generally fine around the house) but the perspective in the far distance is off and also when I look at the ground. I have a suspicion that this problem is a minor error in my PD which I've already mentioned was not measured by an optician. The PD measurements are in mm, and go up in increments of 0.5mm, so you can see how someone that is not professionally trained could easily make such an error.

For me, this has been a really interesting experience. I think if you're a confident about your prescription and PD, this could be a inexpensive way of experimenting with frame shapes or buying a second fun pair. It has given me useful ideas about frame shapes and potential colours but I'm not sure I would go the online route again because of my error with the lenses. I think the first pair free program is certainly an inexpensive way of seeing if online glasses shopping would work for you too.

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. I received the glasses free of charge in exchange for an honest review of glasses and online shopping process. I have not included affiliate links.

I'm still here!

I'm sorry about the lack of posts so far this week. Mr MB is away with work and things have been hectic. By the time I've got all the children off to bed, I've just wanted to flop and catch up on films on my laptop. I have so much respect for solo parents who manage this all the time.

However, I haven't put beauty things on the back burner. I seem to have hit another pocket of using lots of products up at once and I did a spot of beauty DIY that I'm looking forward to sharing with you in the next couple of days. I'm also really excited about my upcoming Desert Island post for the Beauty Spotlight Team.

For now, I wanted to wish you all a wonderful Friday evening. Have fun whatever you're up to!
MB x

Book Review: Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

Shadow of Night is the second part of Deborah Harkness's All Soul's Trilogy. The series certainly isn't one that I would universally recommend and this review is probably best suited to anyone that read the first part, A Discovery of Witches and is undecided about reading whether to read Shadow of Night.

My main frustration with A Discovery of Witches was the really unsatisfactory ending. After wading my way through 500+ pages, I was frustrated to find the story stopped almost mid-air. I realise the book is part of trilogy meant to be read in sequence but I feel strongly that each book should work as a standalone piece too. As you would probably anticipate, Shadow of Night picks up exactly where A Discovery of Witches ends and, yes, unfortunately this book also suffers from a lack of satisfying ending.

Shadow of Night is a fantasy novel, weaving historical figures and events into the tale of time-travelling, star crossed lovers, Matthew the 1500 year old vampire and Diana the spell-bound witch. Deborah Harkness manages to keep the characters believable rather than ridiculous, however, this isn't always consistent and at times I found the dialogue really absurd. On more than one occasion, the 'love scenes' between the two main characters stray into Mills & Boon territory which really detracts from the rest of the book. If you're going to write about a vampire and witch having sex, it's probably not the best moment to become too coy. For a pair of creatures, the couple have a surprisingly vanilla sex-life!

Whereas A Discovery of Witches was mostly set in the present, the plot of Shadow of Night plays out in late 16th Century Europe with the occasional tie-in to the present. At times, the narrative is griping and I found the depiction of Elizabethan London and Prague during the rule of Rudolf II very entertaining, even if I can't vouch for the historical accuracy.

There's a reasonable amount that unfolds over the 574 pages but I suspect that if you're not a devourer of books, you could get a little bored in parts. There's more history than science in this second novel and probably more focus on character development and romance. There was sufficient repetition for me to suspect that they could have cut at least 100 pages without compromising the story and my preference would have been for greater focus on Diana developing her magic. I will admit that I found it overly schmaltz and at times the brooding vampire/academic Matthew was reduced to a character better suited to Dawson's Creek.

Despite the flaws, overall it was an entertaining read and if you made it all the way through A Discovery of Witches (and you can face another frustrating non-ending) I would recommend it. I suspect I am never going to feel fully satisfied by the first two books until I read the final part of the trilogy.

LEGO Lord of the Rings: Mines of Moria

It's Son2's 5th Birthday today. The day started unsurprisingly early but the present opening session more than made up for the lack of lie-in. As we're somewhat geeky parents, we were more than happy to oblige when he asked for a LEGO Lord of the Rings set for his birthday. After a trip to the LEGO shop in Milton Keynes last week, he settled on this one: The Mines of Moria. I think his favourite piece is the cave troll but for me, it's the other characters that have captured my geeky little heart! The attention to detail is really impressive.

If you're here for the makeup, you'll probably want to give this one a miss. However, if like me you loved the Lord of the Rings trilogy and you've always wondered what Gandalf and Gimli minifigures would look like, keep scrolling...

Happy Birthday W!

The Olympic Torch Relay

Yesterday, I took my family along to see a local leg of the Olympic Torch Relay. We don't have tickets for the games, so I thought this would be a good way to help the children understand that the Olympics is really happening here in the UK and not just somewhere in magical TV land! I was surprised by how much I enjoyed seeing the parade and torch myself.

I hope you will forgive me for sharing a few pictures from the occasion. We watched the parade pass through the pretty village of Waddesdon (home of Waddesdon Manor, for anyone who has ever visited). The torchbearer for this leg of the relay was Tina Read, who was touchingly nominated by her friend to carry the torch. Until yesterday, I was completely unaware that people had been nominated and I assumed all the torchbearers were athletes and celebrities.

My children really enjoyed themselves and even my youngest really got into the flag waving. Apparently the highlight for them was seeing Wenlock the Olympic mascot. I suspect they have been learning about the mascots at school as I had no idea there were two different mascots (one for the Olympics and one for the Paralympics). They've even made some animated shorts starring the mascots. Who knew?!

Wenlock waving

Miss MB and Son2

Have you been to see the Olympic parade in your local area? Will you be going to watch any of the games in London?

Currently

I'm sorry that posts are so erratic at the moment. Work has really limited my free time but yesterday was my last session for the exam season, so I'm hoping things will get back to normal now. Well, once I've fully recovered from the small people germies that is. In the meantime, here's a bit of a general ramble about what's been keeping me entertained and catching my eye.

Watching...Wallander. I watched the English version with Kenneth Brannagh first and was so taken with it, I had to watch all of the Swedish series too. I have two more episodes from Season 2 left to watch and I suspect I'm going to have to read some of the Henning Mankell books once I've finished. I have surprised myself by picking up quite a variety of Swedish words with all my recent viewing. I do have a habit of homing in on the swear words for some reason...

Buying...clothes. Clothes shopping is most definitely NOT my favourite pastime but I need to find an outfit for a baptism I'll be attending this weekend. I managed to find lots of lovely Lazy Lu cardigans and tops on sale which will be great for updating my wardrobe generally, but I still need to find a pair of smart trousers. I anticipate I will be tearing my hair out over trousers by tomorrow evening!

Pondering...what makeup to take with me for my weekend away. I feel fairly certain taupe will be involved but I've yet to decide which one.

Source

Lusting after...these beautiful gunmetal high tops from Ash. I blame Kat from Does my bum look 40 in this? for this current obsession. I live in my Converse trainers and these look so comfy. It's probably a good job they're sold out everywhere, as I'd be coming up with excuses to wear them in church for the baptism.

Celebrating...the fact that I've stuck to the Couch to 5k running programme and I'm about start the 9th (and final) week. Not feeling well has prevented me going out for the last couple of days but I've been regularly going out and jogging for 25+ minutes for the last few weeks. Although I still don't feel like a natural at running, I do get a real buzz from completing each session.

Looking forward to...the end of the month and therefore reaching the end of my eyeshadow and nail polish no-buy. I've toyed with the idea of extending my ban, as it has helped curb my spending but I honestly don't think I can face it. You can look forward to splurges on Burberry and Chantecaille in the near future.

Products I'm loving...Zelens skincare, NARS Pure Radiant tinted moisturiser and Sephora Waterproof Jumbo Liner pencil in taupe. I'm poised to review the Zelens products* but I'm not sure if I'll get opportunity to write it before the weekend. I've been using the Radiance Cleanser, 3t Complex Face Cream and Triple Action Eye Cream and they all get a big thumbs up on texture and results. The NARS tinted moisturiser and Sephora pencil were surprise gifts from a very kind friend and I've been using both constantly since they arrived last week. The Sephora pencil in particular is a wonder. Waterproof taupe that you can use on its own or as a base? Genius!

What have you been up to recently?

* PR Samples

Recommended Viewing: The Bridge

I discovered Scandinavian crime drama, The Bridge on BBC Four, just as the last episode was airing and summarily spent last Saturday night and all of Sunday watching the series on iPlayer. It only has a couple of days left on iPlayer, so if you think it might enjoy it, get to it!

I don't really watch much on television these days. Twitter has drawn me into a few of the reality TV programmes, but on the whole I like to watch well made drama and not much else. I rather like that BBC Four provides access to excellent European drama as homegrown drama seems a bit thin on the ground. Anyway, with that sly dig over and done with, let's talk about The Bridge.

The Bridge is a Scandinavian made detective series and opens with the discovery of a dead body in the middle of the Oresund bridge which connects Sweden and Denmark. It's the first in the series of murders committed by a perp seemingly intent on raising social and political awareness. The investigation unites Swedish detective Saga Noren and Danish Martin Rohde, and for me it's the excellent character development and awkward friendship that develops between the two detectives that was a engaging as the plot itself.

In the early episodes, there are several of sub-plots which run alongside the main thread. I wasn't sure whether these would eventually be connected to the main plot or simply run as parallel stories in a similar way to French series Spiral/Engrenages. I have to admit that I was pleased when they were neatly tied to the main plot over the course of the ten episodes, as I generally find sub-plots tedious.

Another aspect of this series that I found interesting was the introduction of a character with quite obvious Asperger's traits. I realise this isn't necessarily new and there were many hints that Lisbeth Salander from the Millenium Trilogy similarly had Asperger's Syndrome, but Lisbeth Salander was a really hard character to warm to. I found Saga Noren much more endearing. Predictably, her lack of social mores were used as good excuse to add a bit of 'the sex'!

I really enjoyed The Bridge and would heartily recommend it. I won't say much about the ending other than to say that it was gripping and had the sort of tempered happy ending that I approve of. I think that if you enjoy crime dramas, excellent production and don't object to sub-titles, this is a must-see.

Image credit: BBC website