Spontaneous trip to Mani and Cheshire Oaks (Part Two)

After our over indulgence of hashbrown and brown sauce we headed off to Cheshire Designer Outlet.

Being just under 4 miles away, it takes us 10 minutes max to get there. Hence why we choose the Holiday Inn at Ellesmere Port with the banging hash browns.

Knowing full well that we wouldn’t be shopping much- as the sales hadn’t started we thought it’d be nice to just see what we could get if anything. If not- a nice stroll will do.

A nice stroll..

It started off steady- just walking in and out of shops. I found myself a wallet from Karl Lagerfeld, and it suited what I needed. A wallet is something that everyone gets fussy about. I need a big coin pocket inside because I forever have change. I don’t know why, but I just do. And this had that. I don’t like too much fuss on my wallets. Plain and simple does it. It ticked the boxes and so it went into the basket.

At £34 (real price £90)

Next we stopped at G-Star. The eldest boy wanted jeans, he wasn’t after G-Star jeans in all honestly. He had seen some in Topshop for £40 which he was going to get once home. Here the jeans were 2 for £95. It would be stupid of him not to get these instead.

We always stop for some doughnuts and tea mid way. And the Doughnut Diner has the best Doughnuts.

Yup, and they taste better!

After our short break -back to shopping again, I was quite surprised that some shops had sales going on, usually at this time of year- you get the normal 20% off, but that’s about it. But alot of the shops had something on top of the 20% aswell.

What we do best

Going in and out of shops, we ended up spending quite a bit of time in Lacoste. I would say 90% of my husband clothes are from Lacoste, and that includes trainers too. He really should have some sort of loyalty offer/ card from them.

And that’s another 6 tops added to his collection. He got all 6 for £267. Not exactly a bargain as in December time it does get alot cheaper, but we do struggle with sizes and colours so he picked it up.

I was content with my wallet, I had purchased one thing- that’s enough for me untill…. I stepped into ‘The Sunglass Hut’. I do have a weakness in this shop- so I really should have known before I walked in, I’ll get something… But today the offer was better then I’d ever seen before… Buy first pair- get second pair at 70% off…

I got both at £136. Usually I pay more than this for one pair. The hubby dearest was so pleased he paid for them. Extra bonus. And I now have my sunglasses ready for my next holiday (hopefully I don’t loose them. I have a tendency to loose or break my frames- it’s not Evan considered news anymore. If my frames survive a holiday, then that’s news worthy!)

My 2 nephews have there birthdays coming up, 3 weeks apart, and the Adidas store had a good sale, they go for football together every Saturdays, so football boots seemed like the best thing to get for them for their birthdays.

Both trainors were for £32, usual price being £40 for the one pair. Another thing added to the Amex.

We also picked up a few bits and bobs from jack and jones for the boys at standard price- just to top them up.

So all in all we had a very productive day, more productive then we thought we would (no complaints off me).

We then headed off to fill out bellies. Shopping is exhausting and almost like a workout. We headed off to none other than the famous Wilmslow Road. We wanted to try something different. We almost always do, so we told ourselves whilst walking around let’s see what we find and decide….. We ended up in our normal spot. Antalya Cafe.

It’s Lebanese food. So can’t go wrong and we know it’s good food.

We had lamb chops, chicken tikka, chicken shawarma, and chips, and it was just as good as it’s always been.

And then we made our way home.

Seriously? When did chiverly die? Like he wants a nap while I drive home? Who does that? What happened to driving the woman around? We got something wrong when we asked for equal opportunities. Driving should have been left to the men.

All in all – a spontaneous trip cost the hubby just under £800. I’m up for going next weekend too! Hehe

Love and regards

M11bna

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Toothpain and 6 ways to relieve it.

I suffer really bad from toothpain, because of my addiction to all things fizzy, I don’t need to tell you the condition of my teeth. (Sure don’t look like the photo I posted!)

In a year I will have 6 visits to the dentist minimum just to have a filling either put in, or Re-put in. I’ve already lost 2 teeth, and I’m sure the one that’s hurting me now is next…..And it’s horrendous. My worst visits in life.

The worst for me is- I am allergic to codeine so for that reason they can’t use the anesthetic with codeine in. And because of my low blood pressure- the other anesthetic ‘Adreneline’ is also questionable as that reduces the BP more- so I could end up collapsing (which has happened twice to me so far)

To top it all off- I have reflux issue- so that means they can’t fully lay me down- and the dentist and practitioners all end up with backpain because they have to work on my teeth in funny angles. I’m surprised they have kept me on.

So a trip to the dentist for me, is like a mini surgery- I have doctors on standby- a pulse reader- checking my heart rate, an ambulance parked outside. It’s crazy because it’s a small procedure, and I feel awful because they have to do this for me (I have to cut out the fizzy drinks!!!)

But I am grateful that they put up with me, and take it all in there stride. Forever grateful. (I promise I will stop the fizzy drinks!)

Toothpain has to be the worst kind of pain after labour. How a single tooth can affect your whole body is crazy. It affects your head, can have headache, feel nauseous, feel heavy eyes, your jaw and ears ache, body temperature goes up and you can have fever, and the irritable mood that comes along does not help either! Not for me or the person on the receiving end.

So I thought I’d share a few tips that I use whilst waiting for my appointment, and yes those couple of hours before the appointment are the longest ones of my life!

Orajel

I only discovered this little beauty like a year ago. Why nobody had told me about this goes beyond me. Use a pea sized amount and rub on to tooth, it numbs the pain down for a couple of hours. And yup it does work. The relief is amazing.

Nurofen and Paracetamol

A must with toothache. A Nurofen (400mg) every 6 hours, and Paracetamol 2 of them- every 4 hours. This also helps relieve the pain for a couple of hours. If you are having this and pain does not subside it’s a sign of an infection.

Clove Oil

Put a drop or two of this oil on to a cotton wool and then put around gums and tooth. This is actually very strong and may feel tingly especially if lips or tongue touch it- but it is a natural remedy used from ancient times, and works well. It numbs down the pain for a little while. Sometimes pain can go away naturally. Alternatively if you have clove in the house- cut up a small piece and wedge between the tooth in pain- crunch down- allow the juices to come out. Wait 3-4 minutes and allow the magic to happen.

Salt and Water Rinse

The most common one . Add salt in warm water and gargle and rinse out. Salt water neautralises acids caused by bacteria- so it there is an infection- it will bring down the pH allowing you to relax temporarily.

Cold Compress

One of the oldest method of painrelief, not just for teeth but all around pain aswell, including bumps and bruises. It works by lessening the blood flow therefore numbing the area around the nerves.

Peppermint Tea Leaves

Use a cooled down used peppermint tea leave and press down on affected area. The herbs in the tea leaves have numbing properties which will help soothe the area. You must make sure it’s cooled down though.

All the above are temporary fixes- so that you can get through the days before your appointment.

I’ve managed to get an emergency appointment as I haven’t slept all night- and all above are not helping.

I’ve just been advised that I have an infection which needs to be cleared- and then I have to consider another removal.

That’s the 3rd tooth now. I’m not Evan 40 yet. Things are not looking good ( officially throwing away all fizzy drinks from my fridge!!)

Please keep me in your prayers. I hate the dentist

Love and regards

M11bna

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Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Do you know anyone who doesn’t like Chocolate covered Strawberries? I don’t. Everyone loves chocolates, everyone loves strawberries.

If I’m invited for a dinner anywhere, be sure I will never go empty handed. And be sure that’s it’s definitely desserts. Anybody who’s had me over more than once will know not to make desserts on the next invite.

Weird thing is the most popular of my desserts is Chocolate covered Strawberries, and I’m not complaining as it’s the easiest one to do out of the whole lot.

So I’ve been invited, and here’s a quick tutorial on my super quick little treats

Ingredients- Chocolate and Strawberries (hehe).

I use Aldi strawberries, the ‘Nature’s pick’ ones are the best, and always so sweet, and in size aswell they are usually the larger ones. And the Chocolate is also from Aldi- it’s the basic ‘Everyday Essential’ milk chocolate one. Alot of people say to use Belgian chocolate or Dairy Milk- I’ve tried both with strawberries, but by far this chocolate is so much more tastier, and when melted it’s really nice and flowy. But feel free to use any chocolate of your own preference. Everyone’s taste buds are different.

Chop chocolate into pieces- put into microwave for 1 minute. Take out and mix and after this put back into microwave 30 secs at a time untill chocolate is melted. (It is important to do this this way- as chocolate may burn if not mixed. And burnt chocolate leaves a smell, so it will waste the whole thing)

Once done the chocolate will be flowy like above.

Get your strawberry and start dipping…

I like to leave the top red part of the strawberry showing as I think it looks preetier this way, hold up strawberry untill the chocolate drops off.

Get trays with baking paper ready….

And line up your Strawberries

I use white chocolate to decorate- you will only need 1/2 bars of this depending on how many strawberries you doing. Melt in same way as milk chocolate. As there is less it will be done quicker so keep eye on it.

Pour the white chocolate into a piping bag. (I use a latte mug to hold bag. It makes it easier to pour in.) Cut off end of bag.

Pour white chocolate over chocolate covered strawberries in lines as above.

And how preety do they look? Allow the chocolate to set and harden. Usually takes a couple of minutes- but this does depend on heat of room. Today it was cool- so it was done within 5 minutes.

Then take them out (if you put on baking sheet- it will pull right off sheet with no chocolate left behind) I’ve put them on a cupcake case each because it looks preety.

And here they are all preetied up.

So who’s inviting me next?