Sunday 22 November 2015

Details

I feel like sometimes I lean way too far towards the more 'proper' photographs of my children and forget to capture all the small details that in 20 years time is the one thing I will want to look back on. 

Thick eyelashes, freckled cheeks and little, still podgy, fingers.

The posed 'everyone stand and smile' photographs are great every so often but my mission to finish off the year is to capture the imperfect details too. For anyone wanting to capture their little beauties in a more unposed and relaxed approach, just focus on the little things and big things will happen! (cringe.)

Not only will it bring out your creative side, you will get some beautiful snaps too! Now I am off to start lens shopping, it has been a good 6 months or more since my last lens purchase I feel a new one is imminent.

Char x




*Disclaimer : No fingers were harmed by goats. Promise. ;) 


charliefarliephotos

Friday 20 November 2015

What I have learnt since quitting Facebook.

I will admit it, I was obsessed with social media. Completely and utterly hooked. I had made attempts to 'cut back' before but it never really worked. I said to myself so many times that I would limit the amount of time spent on it but I'm just not strong willed enough.

Not that long ago I realised that not only was Facebook (and instagram) pissing me off, it was also bringing me far more sadness than happiness. Yes it was great to connect with friends and family but I can do that via email, texting, PHONE CALLS, or whatsapp!

So here is what I have learnt in just 2 weeks.

1. I am way more productive.
This is the biggest thing for me. I used to think I wasn't that bad. But I really was. The mornings seem less stressful, the evenings I spend working I am getting things done far quicker and during the day I am getting. shit. done.

2. Going completely cold turkey was the way to go.
Deleting the app off my phone means I can't just have a little peek. I have to log on for work but only on my laptop, and I have found myself getting frustrated when I log in and see my top news feed topic and it makes me even more sure I have done the right thing. I go straight to my work page or school page and stay on that until I am finished, and come straight off. I have kept messenger on my phone as it means I can still stay in contact with important group chats.

3. It is purely an ego boosting platform.
I would say 90% of what people share and yes,what I used to share too, was purely to show off. I didn't think about it that much whilst I was on Facebook but now I am not on it, and I think about something that has happened that I would have normally shared I realise it has little interest for anyone else and actually it is purely for boasting about. 

4. The pressure of life has gone.
That sounds massively extreme. But no more feeling guilty that I haven't donated to Joe Blogg's half marathon charity or that I haven't sent a birthday message to someone I barely know or I haven't responded to an event that is happening in 2 weeks time that has little interest to me. No slapping me in the face with petition after petition. And breathe a sigh of relief. 

5.  No one is reading this blog.
This is quite an amusing one. I wasn't surprised that since quitting Facebook my blog stats went hugely down. Before, whenever I blogged, I shared the link with everyone. Now that isn't happening, I have lost the ability to shamelessly self promote but thats okay. I am fine with that.

I guess the big lesson for me is that it is totally okay to lead a private life and it is okay to not share every little detail with the world. You can make decisions without consulting 300 'friends' and you can lead a life that not everyone has to know about. And I really quite like it. Although I do REALLY miss instagram.

No pictures from me this week as I have been so busy with work I haven't had a chance to grab the camera at home. Promise I will bombard you next week to make up for it.

Char x

Monday 16 November 2015

Fashion Christmas Wishlist

I absolutely LOVE reading about what people are after at Christmas time, especially cute ideas for the children. So I thought I would do a series of my own, starting with my fashion wants this Christmas!

First up is me. Of course. I literally have a list as long as my arm each year of things I quite fancy. It's terrible. I am terrible. But hey, if you can't have a good wish list at Christmas when can you!?

I really feel like i'm getting into my groove with fashion lately. I never used to like it that much and I think it was because I was never very good at finding things that suit me. I definitely know my body shape now and know what suits me and the colours too. I tend to sway towards block colours rather than patterned clothing and all the autumn winter colours are what suit me best (wahoo!).
Black/grey/cranberry/navy. Yum.

I decided to use Next for my day time outfit choice as their new winter catalogue came through and I loved everything in it!!



Orange & Navy Check dress / Next / £32
Cable tights / Next / £8
Grey pom pom hat / Next / £10
Grey scarf / Next / £14
Tan chelsea boots / Next / £55

I am totally digging cheque at the minute and this long shirt is right up my street. I adore burnt orange and navy together, I think the colour combo goes so well! I have been after some tan chelsea boots since the cooler weather kicked in, I may have to treat myself early with these!!

For evening wear I went with a mixture of different high street stores. With such a gorgeous dress you can really dull down your accessories. I couldn't actually find a clutch that i thought went perfectly with it but i thought this one would do, and it IS christmas time so you can't go wrong with a bit of gold!




Myleene Klass sequin dress / Little woods / £87
Close toe pointed ghillie heels / Boohoo / £30
Navy pearl drop earrings / Debenhams / £6
Gold clutch / Boohoo / £10


Kids Fashion

I dress my boys in very similar clothing although Harvey (my eldest) suits the darker colours whilst Oliver (middle) suits brighter colours.



Navy blue turtle neck / Zara / £3.99
Red Chinos / Zara / £17.99
Knit sweater / Zara / £19.99
Brown Chelsea boots / Next / £28
Grey scarf / Zara / £8.99
Bobble hat / Matalan / £4.00

I absolutely LOVE Zara for kids clothes. Especially for little boys. They are such amazing quality for a really reasonable price and they also fit my kiddies perfectly due to their very slim waistlines!

I absolutely love kids in scarves, I think it looks so adorable. I am a scarf fanatic so I guess that has rubbed off on the kids too! I was told about these hats by a client, she bought them for her kiddies and matching for them too for their Christmas photoshoot and they looked adorable. Matalan are selling these hats and 100% of the profits are going to Alder Hey Children's Hospital Charity. The campaign is called Beanie Vs Bobble and they are all gorgeous. For £4 each you really can't complain, feel warm and look cute this winter knowing you have donated to an excellent charity.

I am quite fussy when it comes to girls clothing. I am not a fan of character clothing or anything with motifs (mainly cats and rabbits!!) so I do find I look around so many shops for Elsie more so than the boys that quite often I find things in the first shop I look.



Red chord dungaree dress / Zara / £10.99
Ecru ribbed roll neck / La Redoute / £7
Knitted pocket cardigan / Zara / £15.99
Mustard tights / Zara / £5.99
Patent Lace up Boots / Zara / £17.99

I am completely obsessed with cranberry and mustard together, I know it may look a bit full on but I just can't help it!! The boots are just hilariously adorable too, I am not normally a fan of glitzy or shiny but I really love these for the winter. Elsie isn't a pink sort of girl so this outfit suits her down to the ground!

And thats that! I hope you enjoyed reading. I was going to do a mens fashion wish list too but Joe has no care for fashion at all and it would be all me wishing he would wear it... Pointless!!

Next week will be my make up and skin care wish list!

Have a great week,

Char x









Wednesday 11 November 2015

October Favourites

October literally whizzed by, I can't believe we are in November now and the countdown to Christmas is officially ON! I am usually quite hyped about Christmas but last year I just wasn't feeling it, and this year I am pretty much the same so far. I actually find it a huge effort! We are really calming down this year on presents for the kids. We spend so much money to then spend the rest of the year moaning about the extent of toys in the house that never get played with and end up de cluttering on a 6 monthly basis.

Anyway, October is always a difficult one skin wise for me. It is right in the changing weather period and my skin really doesn't cope well with change. I have to take extra care through October and November and really treat my skin, especially on my face.

Which brings me to my first favourite this month.

Skin care

Body shop Drops of Youth Bouncy sleeping mask

I have had this since the summer but I haven't truly appreciated it until recently. This stuff is literally amazing. It says its a mask but as my skin is so so dry I use it like a moisturiser, sometimes twice a day! It has a real clingy bouncy feel which I think some people probably wouldn't like, but I love it and it sinks into my skin so nicely giving me a great base for my make up or a real nourishing feel through the night. If you suffer with dry skin at this time of year it is a MUST HAVE!!

Body shop / £22

I have also been loving the dead sea spa magik range. I discovered this range in Tesco as our local store expanded their beauty and skin care section to mammoth size and now have a real good selection of all things beauty. I was dubious as I have tried sooo many day to day moisturisers but this one really does beat all. I use the rich moisturiser which is £8.20 on feelunique and it is so soft and lasts most of the day!

I haven't been loving anything particularly different in the way of make up in October so I am skipping straight to clothing!

Fashion

I have got into a real rut recently with outfits so after a trip to Primark to spruce up my autumn wardrobe I was quite excited and really loving the autumn colours and layers.

I got a couple of ribbed turtle neck tops, one in burgundy and one in black and I have been pairing them with either black skinnies or denim jeans and an oversized poncho or cardi.

I also got a couple of baggy v-neck tops, long sleeved and super soft. One in khaki and I went back again and got another one in a burnt orangy/cranberry colour as I loved them so much. They have an ever so slight bat wing and a seam down the front, perfect for hiding those extra few lbs I have put on recently!!!

Another piece I have been loving, also from Primark, is my tartan scarf. I have pretty much worn it every day and it goes with so much of my A/W wardrobe! At just £5 you really can't go wrong and it turns a boring outfit into something a bit more colourful! It is really soft and more of a blanket scarf so its really wide, and snuggly!



Home

I have been loving stocking up on little Christmas bits this month too and I recently got these copper ball fairy lights from Sainsbury's. I am a sucker for fairy lights and I do love them around the house all year round, so I have put them around the fireplace already! They look so pretty in the evening and the kids think its super cosy to have them on. They especially love the patterns it makes on the walls!

You can pick them up for £12 in their Christmas section


And I am going to end on a bit of a random favourite.

Aldi.

Okay, so I haven't actually been in a store yet but we decided to make the change a month or two ago and Joe does the weekly food shop (reason 7357 why I love him.) and we both can't get over how much of a saving we are making. What usually would be a good food shop in Sainsburys for about £70-£100 is now nearer £60-£80, or less, which really isn't bad for a household of 5! The only thing we don't like so far is the sausages, and the onions have been going off quicker than usual too. But other than that, I am total Aldi convert! Wahoo!

Char x

Sunday 8 November 2015

Autumn groove

I wrote a post a while ago about why I wasn't quite ready for Autumn, but I will now admit defeat and announce that I am LOVING IT. Probably due to the fact it has been super mild in Sussex and we haven't had many, if any, cold COLD days yet. Although the scarves are out and I even wore my wooly hat to bonfire night last week. I am officially in Winter mode and I am just about getting my head around the fact Christmas is just under 7 weeks away.

This year we are buying fewer good quality presents, and stuff we actually know they will play with and enjoy rather than loads of tat. And my pal Charlie over at Farlie Photography told me a good phrase to go by 'Something they want, something they need, something to wear and something to read'. That way everyone is a winner!! So that is what we are going to do. Thanks Charlie!

We have been really enjoying walking lately, we lost our way a bit in September and I will admit to not walking the pooch as often as I should. The past few weeks have been dog walk after dog walk and I enjoy it so so much. Especially in this beautiful mild autumn temperatures! The kids will always find something to play with, look for or climb and there is nothing better than walking off last weeks cakes whilst the kids are enjoying each others company so much. So a lot more walking will be happening whilst the colder weather sets in!

Here are a few recent snaps of our woodland walks.

Char x

charliefarliephotos




Wednesday 4 November 2015

Why I'll be taking a step back.

Hiii!

It is late Tuesday night as I type and the more I think about this post the more eager I am to get it written down. I am not sure when I will actually post this but hey. Here goes! This has been pondering on my mind for quite some time and I think the lead up to Christmas is the right time for me to really take a step back. From what you ask? Social media. Why now? Because I am in too deep and I don't like the person I am becoming.

Shock horror, gasp! OMG! I know, right. As my husband will tell you, I check my phone A LOT. I love to browse most social platforms, my favs being instagram and Facebook. I do use Twitter every now and again too. Not sure if Pinterest counts?! Anyway, I digress, I feel like a huge chunk of my life is being taken up and perhaps taken over by social media and I don't like the way its going.

Not very often now do I sit at the dinner table without checking my phone. Not whilst I am eating, but waiting for the kids to finish or whilst they eat their pudding etc. I just get bored and it has become a bit of a habit. I'll say 'Oh i just need to check if so and so has emailed back.' or 'Oh, Mrs Perriwinkle is having a moment, I need to check they are okay'. I am now screaming at myself IT CAN WAIT!!! I'll pull up in the drive and before I have even turned the engine off I grab my phone to see what i've missed. And that is pretty much where it stems from, my massive gigantic FOMO issues (Fear Of Missing Out if you have no idea what I'm talking about). It isn't that I sit there posting all the time or tweeting every 5 minutes, it is completely for being nosey. I like looking at what other people are up to and I love to see other peoples outfits of the day or their make up routine etc etc. After all, we all live for inspiration through other people. No matter what anyone says, you got your idea from something someone else has done or said, and that is totally fine! That is how we live, that is how society works. You see something, you take a bite of it and make something grow. But actually that can become an obsession, and I have let it take over too much. I have an addictive personality, I get way into stuff and I want that to stop.

However, there is a huge part of social media that I hate. Things pop up in my news feed that I don't want to look at, that I don't want to read or listen to. Pages telling me how to raise my children, or somebody telling me the best way to make a freakin' pizza, and because I am a worrier and because I over think things, it makes me feel like a shit person. I know I am not a shit person, I know that I do the very best I can for my family yet some article that is telling me I shouldn't teach my boy a certain thing and I should let my daughter be independent, gets into my brain and takes over my train of thought. I can't keep living like this and I should not let this affect how I parent, how I view things or even other people.

I don't want to be strapped to my phone anymore and I feel like if i don't just cut all ties with all my personal social media accounts, then I won't ever reel it in in the long run. I have this you could say, awful, obsession with over sharing. I am honest with everyone I meet, I share every detail about myself to everyone I talk to and I chat chat chat chat. I feel like I have reached a point in my life where I no longer need to do that anymore, and I am not even sure why I did do it in the first place. I am not trying to change myself, I am just trying to dull it down a bit. Enjoy things as a family just the 5 of us, without sharing it with the world all the time or telling someone. I don't need to share my whole life with people and I don't need to know what everyone else is doing 24/7 either. And I am okay with that now. I'm over it, and I am so ready to call it a day. I feel like the deeper I get into social media, the more I think about stuff, and I worry about my own life. Knowing full well that so many people I follow are fake, who tidy the one segment of house they are photographing or make stuff up their kids have 'said' to sound like they have THE most perfect child in the world. I know that as a society we are letting reality slip through our fingers and the more I think about how my children will feel in 10 years time, or less, the more it really does scare me. I don't want them to feel that pressure or false outlook on life and what example am I setting to them if I am doing exactly the wrong thing?! What do they see when they look at me? I do not want them to see the Mum who is staring down all the time. I need to be looking up, and soaking it ALL up!

Of course, I need to stay on all of these social platforms for my business. I don't think I will stop blogging either as I don't do it very often and I enjoy the creative side of it and it is a good way of family to catch up with what we have been up to. But hey, there is a thing called a phone and the sole purpose of it is to call people. Let me do a bit more of that and a little less of the social media. But I won't be on Facebook / Instagram / Twitter for personal use. If I could, I would delete all the apps but alas, I do really rely on it for work! So if you see me about and I am checking my Facebook or Instagram for no reason whatsoever, slap me and take it out of my hands!

Here are a few snaps to end the post from last weeks bonfire night and Hallowe'en!

Char x







Monday 2 November 2015

Joyful Norfolk

Half term was a busy one for us, we started off by visiting my grandparents in Norfolk. We hadn't made any specific plans we were quite happy to just chill out and take each day as it came.

Having recently moved we were super excited to spend some time with my Gran and Grandad and explore more of Norfolk. It is hands down our favourite county we have visited (apart from Sussex, of course!) and we absolutely adore it every time we visit. The coastline is always so quiet, the towns are never really that busy and the countryside is nothing but breathtaking.

If it wasn't for our work and family commitments here in Sussex we would up and move in a flash. Although we didn't go in to Norwich this visit, it is one of my all time favourite cities too. I know i'm gushing, but we really do adore Norfolk!

I won't ramble too much, just leave you with a few of our favourite snaps from the 4 days we were there. I actually didn't take as many as I usually would, it was nice to just enjoy our time without putting that creative pressure on myself. I did however, video our week! You can have a nosey over on my YouTube channel right HERE!

Char x