Tag: london

Wrinkles, blackheads and dead skin cells!

So, what did you do on your 40th?  Um, err, I thought it would be fitting to head into the heart of Plastic Surgery in London to have some non-invasive treatments at the Cavendish Clinic.  It seemed like a great way to mark the occasion.

Originally, I was going to have some Zeltiq, which promises to freeze fat away with a Dalek-looking machine.  It’s not designed for people who have a lot of weight to lose, but for those annoying pockets of flab that you can’t shift, in my case a muffin top and lower back sag. However, for a number of reasons we decided this treatment wasn’t for me at this time so we opted for a facial with microdermabrasion and a light chemical peel.  Microdermabrasion is like a mini-hoover that sucks up all the dead skin cells.

The clinic shares its waiting room with the plastic surgery hospital on the ground floor.  I must admit I’ve never been so curious, I kept taking sneaky peaks at the others wondering why they were there.  There were some obvious candidates for liposuction, breast enlargements and Botox.  However, there was a woman in the corner with dark glasses and a sombrero sized floppy hat that really intrigued me.  I can’t help thinking she was someone famous.

I must admit whilst walking to the clinic I started wondering what the h*ll was I doing.  It’s my face and if something goes wrong, I could be permanently damaged. But as soon as I met the beautiful Madja, she put me at ease immediately.  She kept me fully informed throughout the entire procedure, telling me what to expect, whether I should feel anything or not. She even removed my black heads around my nose which I didn’t realise I had.

Too be honest, I slightly panicked when she put the chemical peel on as it had a slight burning/tingling sensation but she’d warned me about this and it wasn’t uncomfortable really.  Prior to the chemical peel she did the microdermabrasion. After she’d done half my face she stopped to let me feel the difference and oh my goodness was there a difference.  It was so smooth!

I don’t look any different but my skin feels amazing.  Unfortunately, as a family, I can’t afford to do it on a more regular basis as it costs £160.  However, they do have some introductory offers.

I’ll probably have to wait till my next big birthday for my next treatment and depending on how life treats me you may find me downstairs having a facelift!

Disclosure:  The treatment was complimentary in return for this post

 

 

 

 

Nausicaa Sea-Life Centre only an 1.5 hours from London!

I had no idea there was a Sea-Life Centre, in Boulogne, which in only 1.5 hours from London.  We hopped onto the Eurostar at St. Pancras International and within an hour we were in Calais.  The Sea-Life centre is only 20km from there.  The journey through the tunnel was enough excitement on it’s own for a 4-year-old. The journey was a breeze, still stunned at the lack of immigration control on the other side we just strolled right into France!

On the face of it, Nausicaa looks like any other aquarium that you would find at the seaside in the UK with giant aquariums and underwater exploration.  However, they’re absolutely passionate about conservation, education and raising public awareness of the need to live in harmony with the sea.  In 1997 they were awarded the Centre of Excellence in recognition of their work.

‘They’ve been into conservation long before it became fashionable’.

To celebrate Nausicaa’s 20th Birthday we were treated to a behind the scenes tour by the Aquarium’s Curator, in his flamboyant fish shirt, to meet the baby animals that have been born in the centre and their parents such as Sharks, Rays, Lumpfish and Guitarfish.  You could feel his passion and commitment as he spoke to us about pollution, global warming and the threat to fish stocks.

My favourite was the Sea Dragon as it looked mythical.  My daughter squealed with laughter at the unicorn fish and we both came to the conclusion that the large shark looks rather grumpy!  We also watched the Sea-lion training, visited the penguin enclosure and we even got to stroke a ray.  They were almost puppy dog like.

As it was a gorgeous day we finished off the day with a quick visit to the beach.  My daughter played in the sand while I digested everything that I’d learned with the sea as a backdrop.

It was a fantastic day out and I would highly recommend it.  To keep the costs down you may want to enquire about a Ferry Crossing.

Entry into Nausicaa when booked online:

Adults £14.60

Kids £9.40

Family Ticket (2 kids and 2 adults) £39

If you want to learn more about being a responsible fish consumer, including information on selecting seasonal fish visit the Mr. Goodfish Website where you won’t find any lectures but good solid advice.

Disclosure: all expenses, inclusive of lunch, entry and travel were covered by Nausicaa.

Lost for ideas….try a pick your own…

Don’t you just love summer holidays? Not!  I’m only on day 3 and already on my knees.  I don’t remember as a kid having such a fun filled agenda, my mum used to open the front door shoe us out and that was it for the rest of the day.  Now I find myself busier than a party planner and getting paid diddly squat for it!

We have had a full on day, gymnastics followed by a picnic in the park but this afternoon we did something a bit different.  We went to our local Pick your Own (not nose) and picked some strawberries and blackberries.  I think they’ve missed a trick; they should really weigh the kids before and after and not the punnet as not many berries made it into the pots.

It was a lovely way to kill an hour!  However, it dawned on me afterwards, ‘now what am I going to do with all this fruit?’ I’m no dab hand in the kitchen, a few people suggested making jam followed by scones.  I nearly fell about laughing.  Someone did suggest making wine with it and I was tempted.  I already had a punnet of strawberries and raspberries in the fridge that were out of date, ready to be composted.  My mate was going to make a crumble so I thought I’d give it a go as well.

It was really dead easy.  I used the following recipe….

We had great fun!  But now I know why I don’t bake just imagine we also made a trip to the shop especially for custard….

But her final words were….’I don’t like crumble!’

These kids don’t know they were born.

 

Christmas Day?

I’m really struggling with what to do for Christmas Day.  My family are in Canada and hubby’s family is deceased.  So on Christmas day it is just the 3 of us. Too be honest it can be a bit boring, as all our friends are busy with their families.

The morning is fine.  We get up open our presents and now that Madame is 3 she’s much more excited about Christmas it should be magical.  Then we’ll have some breakfast: salmon, bagels, creamcheese, and scrambled eggs.  I may sneak in some Champagne and orange juice or maybe Bailey’s and coffee.  Then we head out to the pub for a couple of hours to enjoy a drink or two courtesy of the Landlord.

However, it’s the afternoon that is the challenge.  I can’t be bothered cooking a slap up meal for just the 3 of us.  I know it’s just a Sunday Roast with a few poppers and Christmas crackers but it is a lot of effort.

Last week we were invited to the 5* Anthenaeum Hotel in London to celebrate the opening of their children’s themed play room in conjunction with promoting their Christmas Package; Where guests who stay for three nights between 19th November and 4th January will receive complimentary ice skating tickets to Winter Wonderland, VIP afterhours access to Hamleys, four hours of free babysitting and they have a Children’s Concierge. I have to say the four hours of free babysitting nearly swung it for me.

If we could do one night I could justify it, unfortunately you have to do a minimum of two nights.  My husband would have a coronary if I spent £700 for two nights.  However, I did have a look around on the internet and one local to us is charging £2000 for 3 nights so it actually looks like a great deal!

So, in the end, I think we will book into a local pub for lunch or I will make hubby cook!

What are you doing over Christmas?

Disclosure: we received 3 complimentary VIP tickets to Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park and High Tea at the Hotel