HOME, GARDEN, LIFESTYLE AND WELL-BEING BLOG
Hi Everyone
This week's blog is a yummy one, I had to tell you about the kitchen appliance you won't be able to live without once you have one!!
And I’ll be showing you how to make my famous and favourite lemon drizzle cake that never fails to make your mouth water!!
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All the best
Nicky 😊
Hi there
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| Meet the Blackpop Team |
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2016: 'Digital Innovation' - The English Home Magazine’s ‘New Years Honours List’
2015: ‘Best New Product in Show' - Decorex International
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Hello there
Well, if like me, you found yourself looking at ways to save money on electricity this year, I read quite a lot of articles on how to do this. I decided to dig out my Slow Cooker, something I am sorry to say has only ever been used a few times in the past 5 years of me owning it!!
It may interest you to know that the slow cooker is one of the most economical ways to cook, using much less electricity than any other kitchen appliance when cooking meat, roasts, stews, casseroles and baking, etc.
But before I ramble on, I thought I’d just show you a little video of my method for cooking a roast shoulder of lamb in the slow cooker to wet your appetite.
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Nicky :)
I recently came across Nobody's Child an eco-conscious and affordable fashion brand, thankfully through following the lovely Fearne Cotton on Instagram. Fearne has a collaboration with Nobody's Child and you can read all about that below. I instantly fell in love with this brand and their wide range of beautifully designed collections. Read on and I have a personal code for you to use at the checkout if you would like 20% off, this offer is for a limited time so scroll on down.
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| Nobody's Child |
The ethics behind this company are truly inspiring and ticks a number of boxes for me personally. What's not to love about their Responsible Statement:
Responsibility is in our fabric:
"Nobody’s Child is a responsible brand on a mission to bring beautiful fashion to every woman, everywhere without costing the Earth. Passionate about lower impact fabrics, we’ve spent the last eight years running away from materialism. Nobody’s perfect. We’re proud that our spring/summer 2023 collection is our most responsible yet. It’s designed in-house at our London-based studio and is made from over 95% organic, lower impact or recycled materials.
Our unwavering commitment to sustainable fabric innovation has driven us to prioritise responsible materials alongside promoting ethical sourcing and continually improving our practices. Believing strongly in the power of collaboration, we work with NGOs and industry experts to share the knowledge, critical expertise and oversight needed to further our mission. Our employees, the very backbone of the brand, are deeply engaged in our sustainability initiatives. Similarly, our customers play a crucial role as advocates of sustainable fashion. It’s your demand for responsibly made clothes that allows us to do what we do.
Finally, we work closely with our wholesale partners, supporting them on their own paths to sustainability, creating a ripple effect in the fashion industry as a whole. Nobody’s Child isn’t just about us. Every step we take is a collaborative effort."
Nobody's Child, 2023
Their clothes are bright, comfortable, well made and fun to wear. The prints are divine and I am thrilled with my own recent purchase of the White Fruit Print Starlight Midaxi Dress, this will almost certainly be a style that will stay in the fold for ever, it's such a flattering shape. I wish I had taken more note of their advice on sizing down if you like a slightly closer fit because I am afraid I had to replace mine as I ordered wrongly. However, without any hassles at all I was able to return the dress and order a replacement size straight away.
This iconic dress is made from plant-based fibres blended with a touch of organic cotton, I particularly love the fruit bowl print. The quality of the sleeves is incredible with double material to give soft puff gathering, the buttons are covered and add a lovely touch to the very flattering shaped front and oh my goodness it even has pockets!!
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| White Fruit Print Starlight Midaxi Dress |
In September 2022 Nobody's Child partnered with Fearne Cotton, English Broadcaster and Author and together created "Happy Place" a joyful collection of clothing incorporating Fearne's unique easy to wear style with the sustainable, eco-conscious branding qualities of Nobody's Child. This is truly a superb collection. You can shop Fearne's collection HERE
Here you can catch up on this interview with Fearne:
Nobody's Child flagship store is situated on Carnaby Street and is definitely worth a visit if spending time in London. This year you can also enjoy to search through the collections in a number of London Pop-Up's. I am happy to pop below all the information for you. If however, like me you enjoy to shop online, the service is great and ordering is easy so you can pop directly to www.nobodyschild.com
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| Nobody's Child Shops 2023 |
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| Carnaby Street Covent Garden Kings Road Spitalfields |
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Rent 2 items for 4 days for £35 using code 2FOR35 at the checkout.
Rent 3 items for 10 days for £50 using code 3FOR50 at the checkout.
NOTE: This discount cannot be used in conjunction with any other discounts and Items rented using 2FOR/ 3FOR codes and capsule orders are not eligible for rental credit.
At the time of writing this post there is a 50% off Sale on the website.
If what you fancy is not in the sale, then, for a limited time only you can click my link to get a 20% Off code to use at the checkout.
(this offer ends 1st August 2023)
CLICK MY LINK FOR 20% OFF HERE
We’re on a
journey to transform our business so it’s completely circular, giving back what
we take away. We’ve highlighted three goals below that we’re focusing on.
Our plans are underpinned by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which were adopted
by all United Nations Member States in 2015 as a universal call to action to
end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and
prosperity by 2030. Here at Nobody’s Child we align our activities, goals and
reporting to these SDGs.
We’ll train
our design and buying teams on circularity. In fact, we’ve already started.
We’ve introduced specific training for our design team and we’re developing
tools to ensure circular principles are incorporated into all our clothes.
Responsible
fabric alternatives will be continually assessed for all product types and
integrated into our material mix regularly. We’ll continue to always choose
the most responsible versions of all key fabrics and stay up to date with the
latest innovations in the industry.
We’re in the process of updating our carbon
footprint with the overall aim of becoming climate positive. This goes beyond
achieving net zero emissions to create an environmental benefit by removing
additional carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Nobody's Child, 2023
I think the future of fashion is in safe hands with intelligent, forward thinking company's like Nobody's Child, I for one will be watching their journey with huge interest and will happily support them along the way.
I hope you have enjoyed reading the blog post, I also hope you will enjoy to investigate this gorgeous brand for yourself. I love to hear what my readers think of the posts I publish and also about the brands I am blogging about, so please feel free to comment below and share your thoughts, be kind!
Thank you and take care.
Nicky :)
Hi there
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Today I'm talking about the amazing skin care range BALANCE ME, which can be found at www.balanceme.com. I first came across this incredible brand during the lock down whilst watching the gorgeous, Lisa Snowdon on Instagram. Lisa, a TV Presenter, Celebrity Master Chef Winner, Author and Brand Ambassador did a post covering Balance Me products and the brand. I took advantage of the collab offer she had at the time and have not looked back, I truly love the products, they make my aging skin feel rejuvenated, plumped up, hydrated and healthy, I just had to share this with you.
When swatting up for this post it quickly became apparent that I was unlikely to do this incredible company and its founders' justice, so I have tried to highlight the main uniqueness of what I learned and hope that it will inspire you to delve deeper and follow the links I have attached to lead you on your own journey of exploration!
Balance Me is co-founded by two sisters, Clare and Rebecca Hopkins. Back in 2005 long term stresses and 21st century fast paced living had taken its toll on their health and skin. They were experiencing everything from sensitive skin reactions to hormonal breakouts and they were eager to turn to natural skincare to balance their skin.
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| Clare & Rebecca Hopkins (Courtesy: Balance Me Website) |
Rebecca retrained as a reflexologist after working both in Paris and London for a Global beauty giant; Clare harnessed her passion for aromatherapy, having discovered the power of essential oils as a student, and travelled the world to learn yoga, saying goodbye to a successful business career in the City.
In the name of balancing skin and minds, as well as doing good for the environment, Balance Me was born.
Both Clare and Rebecca were meticulous in ensuring Balance Me lived up to its name to deliver balanced, happy skin – naturally – for every skin type, solving skin concerns without creating others.
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Balance Me is very proud to hold B Corp status, an achievement not to be taken lightly. B Corp certification is an ongoing commitment to continue to be assessed, to strive for even better scores and ways to improve the business.
B Corp Certification is the World's leading measure of how consciously a business makes its products, treats its people, chooses its suppliers, governs its actions, respects its community and helps the environment. All certified stakeholders adhere to:
The Declaration of Interdependence
We envision a global economy that uses business as a force
for good. This economy is comprised of a new type of corporation - the B
Corporation - which is purpose-driven and creates benefit for all stakeholders,
not just shareholders. As B Corporations and leaders of this emerging economy,
we believe:
That we must be the change we seek in the
world.
That all business ought to be conducted as if people
and place matter.
That, through their products, practices, and profits,
businesses should aspire to do no harm and benefit all.
To do so requires that we act with the understanding
that we are each dependent upon another and thus responsible
for each other and future generations.
Being B Corp Certified is a really big deal and demonstrates that Balance Me not only create brilliant skincare, but show respect and care to the people in their business, our planet and their profit.
In their own words:
"When we first started Balance Me, we wanted to create a brand that helped women like you feel good about their skin, using the best blend of natural ingredients we could find to achieve that. However, what has also been at the heart of everything we do, is ensuring we’re responsible. That is why we’re so excited to make our official B Corp announcement!
In short, it shows our commitment to balancing people, planet and profit. We are now part of a wider Global movement that is committed to making business a force for good. We’ve lived and breathed these standards from the very beginning, however now we have the B Corp framework to help us achieve even more.
Thanks for your ongoing support on this journey."
Clare + Rebecca Hopkins
Co-Founders, Balance Me
Balance Me creates skincare with purpose:
"...20% of our profits going to charity, where we are responsible with our sustainable packaging and where we award our employees with private healthcare that rewards them for staying active. And we will not stop there. We are constantly improving our social and environmental performance with transparency and accountability.
Simply put, we are championing for change within the skincare space."
Balance Me has actively supported many charities over the years including; Beauty Banks, House of St Barnabas, Surfers Against Sewage, Hackney Food Bank and Shelter to get products to those under the poverty line, with product donations, team volunteering and monetary donations.
For 2023, Balance Me are thrilled to donate 20% of profit in products to their official charity partner; The Hygiene Bank.
"Everyone has the right to be clean"
And, as if all of the above isn't enough, you simply cannot afford to miss out on the latest Collab Offer with Lisa, pop over to BALANCE ME and grab yourself this incredible collection - Lisa's Super Hydrating Trio.
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You can learn all about this fabulous Trio by watching the most recent Self Care Sunday slot on Lisa's Insta, she has a fun LIVE chat with the lovely Rebecca from Balance Me. They take you through the products and show you how to apply and what the benefits are. Lisa's Self Care Sunday slots are always a must for me, they are informal and fun and she puts so much into researching and supporting great brands.
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Thank you so much for taking the time to visit the blog, I hope you will be inspired to try out the products for yourself, please leave your comments below, I would love to hear if you found this useful and what products you tried out.
All the best
Nicky :)
Hi Everyone
Let's talk Keepsakes! What lovelier way to store all your memorabilia and personal keepsakes than in a personalised box, which in itself is decorated to reflect personal favourite characters, flowers, hobbies and special colours.
A few years back, I was approached by a friend, with a plain wooden box and asked if I could do something with it, so that it could be given as a gift to a special family member.
I hadn't thought about doing something like this before so, as with most things in my life, I said yes and then set about learning how to do it justice. Here is that first ever Keepsake box, one of many now!!
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| "Beatrix Potter" |
Of course that opened up the floodgates and since that very first box I have produced a variety of different boxes all unique to each recipient.
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| "The Construction Box" |
I was amazed at the list of things people stored in them but I think the most important thing in all of this is that each one is totally unique and I have found them to be especially popular for people keeping memories of past and present loved ones for the younger generation. Photo's, medals, remnants of teddies and special baby clothes, premium bond certificates and collectors stamps and coins. Letters are a good one, full of sentiment and truths, personal love letters, timeline letters being left to a surviving child or friend.
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| "Alice with an Environmental Twist" |
I remember last Christmas racing against a deadline to produce 4 boxes all for the same family so with a general theme but each slightly different. I personally loved the Steampunk, Clocks and Watches theme and had a lot of fun putting them together.
It's always worth remembering that if you are using a light coloured paint, there is the risk of bleed-through from the wood so I always use a Shellac Based Primer which will prevent any tannins from the wood bleeding through. I would suggest something like Zinsser Primer which is not particularly nice to apply and will need a light sand between coats but it is good and I use this on my furniture as well, because of it's reliability. I purchase a lot of my painting supplies from My Paintbrush Decorating Supplies, they are always so prompt and very helpful if ever you need advice.
I tend to use a variety of paints depending on what shade or colour I am trying to achieve but my go-to's are Vintage With Grace and Dixie Belle All In One, both these brands give a fantastic coverage and the depth of colour with just a couple of coats is great. If you are going for a blended look then the Dixie Belle Chalk Mineral Paint is great for achieving this effect. If you are local to East Sussex you could try the lovely Angie the owner of Fantissimo, who has a great range of paints and products available in her incredible shop. I have included the links where you will be able to find local stockists near you. To be honest a tester size pot is more than adequate to complete a box so if you want to attempt your own box then don't waste money on buying full size tins of paint.
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| Moulds, Transfers and WoodUbend |
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| A work in progress! |