A fabulous few days!

Wow it's been a very busy weekend here as my fabulous friend Vik is getting married in a few weeks and her sister and I had to plan the hen weekend!

Our lovely Vik is always the first to organise a celebration for our group of friends so we wanted to do things she would enjoy.

Saturday's activity was "Go Ape" an aerial assault course in a Yorkshire forest. Proud to say that even those scared of heights did it! Unfortunately I couldn't go as my little angel won't take a bottle so I had to be on hand at all times to feed her.

Instead I snuck into Viks house and laid out a little feast for when the girls got back along with a case of chilled Prosecco which went down very very well! I even managed to join everyone for a drink and my lovely partner looked after our daughter. Sadly she wasn't quiet for long so I slinked home after dinner while the hens went out.

I also presented Vik's sister with a triple layer caramel cake made for her 30th birthday- which is tomorrow! You will see a pic below. The cake went down a storm after our pizza and wine.

Today we whisked the bride off to a posh hotel for a gourmet chocolate making course which proved a great hangover cure and a hit with everyone- pics of the chocs I made can be found below.

Tonight me and the other half enjoyed a curry with Vik and her fiancée (baby even slept in her cot the whole time too!)

So between coffee mornings, baking birthday cakes, setting up buffets and making gourmet chocolate it's been a pretty mad weekend. I haven't been to bed before midnight for an entire week and I am now pretty tired! Worth it for all the fun though.

Tomorrow I will be back on the Princessing- I have stuck to the alcohol rule as I am still breastfeeding but the fruit and veg and no crisps has gone out the window. That said the weekend wasn't a total write off as I still managed to cleanse, tone and moisturise each day, apply my hair oil and take my vitamins.

Hope you all had an amazing weekend- see you tomorrow!

Cake, cake and more cake!

So I didn't manage to post yesterday- because I was baking and cake decorating for my Macmillan coffee morning!

I was very very tired by the time I got to bed last night (still suffering with the cold so a bit run down!)

The coffee morning was great fun with plenty of mums and lovely cute babies. Below are some pictures of the cakes! We also had some gorgeous cupcakes courtesy of my lovely friend Katharone.

I'll be back later on to give you a princessing progress update! Off for more cake!

At least she wasn't wearing socks....

I'm currently sitting at home drinking a gin and tonic and eating a LOT of chocolate. My partner is attending to our daughter who is very vocal tonight!

I was hoping we'd get out today and visit my friend and her new baby. However when we got up this morning my daughter was very snotty and still had a bit of a temperature. The last thing I wanted was to pass the cold on to my friend's baby so we ended up staying home.

The Princessing has gone pretty well in the past 24 hours. Last night I had a lovely bath with some Elemis Bath Foam (you will find a picture in The Day in Pictures below), exfoliated, put on a lovely Liz Earle Moisture Mask and moisturised everywhere- lovely! Went to bed feeling very very chilled out!

Today has gone quite well, I managed my flossing, anti-ageing cream, eye cream, a healthy breakfast (yoghurt and fruit today!), applied hair oil, took my vitamins/fish oil, avoided crisps, moisturised and stuck to my two cups of tea! I have to say that after the first 10 days I really do feel better, my skin looks great and my hair is lovely and shiny. I feel generally a bit less stressed, I think because I am taking time out to look after myself.

I also took the time to plan my list for the coffee morning, I'm going to make a Chocolate Orange Cake, Victoria Sandwich, Rocky Road and a Lemon Drizzle Cake. A couple of my friends are supplying cup cakes so there will be plenty cake to go round. Really excited about the prospect of making all these yummy cakes for a good cause.

Today's "It wouldn't happen to a real princess" moment comes courtesy of my daughter who managed to kick her foot into her (rather dirty) nappy just as I was changing it. Thankfully I had taken her socks off (after a prior poo and sock incident) so it was only her leg that I need to clean, although she did manage to get in right the way up to her knee. (!)

Tomorrow I am going to stretch myself and hit all 20 targets. This may mean I am up until some crazy time of night baking!!

Here is the day in pictures:

I ate.....I applied.....I admired.....I wore.....

Fish and chips (naughty!), Elemis Sp@ Home Bath Elixie

Pencil Skirts on red.co.uk, Wrap cardigan from Warehouse 

Happy Princesses!

I'm sad to say the weather hasn't improved, still cold, still wet, still raining! That meant I didn't do much exercise today- just a lot of running in and out of cover with the pram. Hope it gets better for the weekend as I am organising my friends hen weekend (and yes, it's weather dependant!)

Luckily my little girl had a much better night last night and seems a lot happier today. We met with some friends for a play-date (which actually means we sat around drinking tea and chatting!) My cold is a lot better too which meant I could re-start the challenge with renewed commitment.

What sort of Princessing have I done today?

I managed eight glasses of water, flossed, applied my anti-aging cream, did my nails, used eye cream, ate a healthy breakfast, applied hair oil, avoided alcohol and crisps, took my vitamins and fish oil, body brushed, de-fuzzed and moisturised!

Failing with the cups of tea today- the cold weather has really made me crave hot drinks so I have had about 6 cups so far. If I can't sleep tonight I'll know why! I fully intend to put on a face mask and have a nice long bath after this post.

A few people have asked me what the point of Princessing is? When I decided to undertake the challenge it was my way of taking back some control over how I look and feel- it's really tough to juggle things when you have a new baby and on reflection I was spending too much time trying to tidy my house and not enough time looking after myself.

I want my daughter to have a strong and confident mummy who she can look up too. I feel that if I am happy with how I look/feel I will project that confidence and teach her that beauty comes in many guises! I would love to hear why others have taken up the challenge so please feel free to add your comments!

Here is the day in pictures:

I ate.....I applied.....I admired.....I wore

Spaghetti with plum tomatoes and prosciutto, Body Shop Intensive Foot Cream

A heart shaped potato (can you tell it was a quiet day!), Waterproof jacket

I've got that Monday feeling!

Hi everyone,

I am blogging from my phone today as its been quite hectic. My little one was up most of the night with her cold. She spent today napping on me and screaming when she was awake.

So that means I didn't do much Princessing, sometimes life just gets in the way! I did manage to paint my nails when she went to bed, cleansed, toned and moisturised, drank a lot of water and took my vitamins.

My lovely neighbour made me a bit of dinner and even held my little one so I could eat it (she is fantastic!).

Hoping that my baby will be better tomorrow and I can get back on the challenge and bring you some more pictures.

Don't cha wish your girlfriend was s'not like me...

Well don't cha?!

How's the princessing going everyone?! I managed to start the day feeling even worse than I did yesterday but I was determined to give it a good go.

So I've managed 12 targets today. I had a very nice gin and tonic tonight with Sipsmith gin which we recently bought from Majestic Wine. I hadn't heard of Sipsmith until earlier this year and I am so glad we decided to give it a try- it's my new favourite.

Didn't even venture out of the house today, instead I did some housework in between napping and inhaling large amounts of Olbas Oil. The day ended with an episode of X-Factor as it's easy viewing when you've got a little one to look after.

Today's I admire can be found on Mumsnet and describes one mum's mission to send books to children in a womans Refuge. The concept is called Story Senders I think it's a lovely idea and I certainly will be logging on tomorrow in order to send some books. One of my favourite memories as a child was reading Enid Blyton books and I can't wait to read with my daughter so it's a cause that I really do think is valuable.

Here is the day in pictures:

I ate.....I applied.....I wore.....

Porridge for energy,  lovely Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic, Mismatched thermal socks (and yes those are trakkies!!)

My Great-Grandmothers Scotch Broth (Serves 6)

Hi everyone,

Below is the recipe for my great-grandmothers Scotch Broth. When my mum gave me the recipe I asked her why there was no onion added as I thought it was an essential soup ingredient. She told me that my great-grandmother never ever added an onion to the broth as she said the onion overpowered the other flavours too much.

My mum also told me that in order to save energy, my great grandmother would also add whole vegetables (e.g. carrots) to the pan. When the soup was cooked she would remove the whole veg from the pan and slice them. These would be served along with the meat which was the main course.

If you find that you end up with soup that's too "watery" and not as flavourful as you like then you can add a chicken stock cube (but they certainly didn't have these in my great grandmothers day)

The soup will keep for a couple of days in the fridge, just place in a small pan and cook through to reheat.

Ingredients:

Broth Mix (Great Scot is particularly good. It contains Barley, Yellow Split Peas, Red and Green Split Lentils)
4x Chicken legs
2x Carrots (Sliced)
1x Leek (Sliced)
1x Turnip (Sliced)
Dried Parsley
Salt
Pepper

Method:

1. Soak broth mix overnight in water. Drain water and then rinse mix with cold water. Note: There are some soup mixes which can be cooked in 40 minutes rather than soaking overnight. Scot's mix uses the traditional overnight method.

2. To make the stock: In a large saucepan, place the chicken legs and cover with water (aim for 3/4 of a pan full). Boil for 2 hours and then remove chicken legs from pan. Pass the stock through a sieve and return to the pan. Take the meat from the chicken legs and return to the pan.

3. Add broth mix to the pan and simmer for 30 minutes.

4. Add vegetables to pan, season with salt and pepper and simmer for 1 hour.

5. Serve and add salt/pepper to taste.

All cold on the Western front....

Hi everyone!

Sorry for the lack of blog action today- it's been a bit hectic. I have decided to play around with the layout so I can bring you bigger pictures. Let me know what you think!

We all woke feeling worse than we did last night, our poor little girl is so blocked up and it's pretty horrible to see her ill and upset.

Today's healthy breakfast was porridge and a drink of hot water with honey and a slice of lemon to soothe my throat which worked a treat. Then yet another hot shower to clear my sinuses after some body brushing.

I did walk today but for an even shorter time than yesterday and only because we went out for a look round the shops, bought 2 bedside tables and there was no room for me (and baby) in the car along with them. Still, it was nice to get into the fresh air and sunshine even if I felt like I had run a marathon by the time I got home. I've only achieved 13 of my targets today, might try and squeeze in some more water before bed to make it 14!

My lovely friends at Monkbar Pharmacy donated some gorgeous handmade soaps as a raffle prize for my Macmillan coffee morning next Friday. So jealous of the lucky girl who gets to take them home. I've decided to make a chocolate orange cake for the big day, it always goes down well and it's gluten free too. Really excited about bringing you pics of gorgeous cakes next Friday.

We're a tad subdued tonight as we were supposed to be attending a 1920's themed birthday party- I would never miss the chance to wear sequins! Instead we are sitting with a box of tissues, Olbas Oil and fruit to give us some vitamins- oh the glamour!

So here's the day in pictures:

I ate.....I applied.....I admired...... I wore.....

Strawberries for a vitamin hit, Sweet Cecily Chocolate Lip Balm, Gorgeous Handmade Soaps and Mac by Mango

Chicken soup for the...

...cold.

As soon as I posted this morning I did some body brushing and then had a very hot shower to clear my sinuses. By that time my little lady was hungry so I fed her and decided to nap, then we woke up 2 hours later!

Since we were all feeling so terrible, I decided to make Scotch Broth, the recipe was handed down from my great grandmother and I have fond memories of my mum making it when I was a little girl. We still have it as a starter every Christmas day. It's so simple to make and incredibly nourishing which makes it perfect when you feel unwell. I had a lovely big bowl with some sourdough bread for my dinner tonight and I feel better already.

So, how's the princessing? Today's walk was a much shorter 2 miles, it was pretty hard going, especially as my wee girl decided to scream half way round! I'm determined to keep going, even with my red nose, and today I have managed to achieve 15 of my targets. I did cheat with the water by having it hot with honey and lemon to soothe my poor sore throat (it really helped and meant I avoided extra cups of tea!)

I hope that tomorrow we will be fighting fit and ready to get back on the challenge!

So here's the day in pictures:

I ate.....I applied.....I wore

Great grandma's scotch broth, Elemis Papaya Enzyme Peel, White Stuff Boots

The snotty princess....

No, I don't mean that I've turned into a snob! I mean that we have the cold- all three of us.

Clearly the vitamins and extra fruit and veg I have been having as part of the challenge haven't kicked in yet! That said I do seem to be coping better than the man of the house.

So the day has started with a big glass of orange juice to get a vitamin C hit which will hopefully help the cold. I've decided that I will make some soup to soothe our sore throats. With the weather as horrible as it is I think it's the perfect time to laze around, eat some yummy food and recover!

Follow us by e-mail

I have had a few questions about how to follow the blog- just a reminder that you can follow the blog by e-mail- subscribe using the box to the right of the blog entries!

A huge thanks for all the messages of support!

The sofagate scandal

Firstly, I would like to apologise for the short nature of tonight's post. I haven't managed to do pics for the day in pictures, all because we are in the middle of an incident I have called sofagate.

Sofagate involved our black, cloth sofa and a particularly explosive nappy. I won't go into the specifics but essentially I have had to take of EVERY single cushion and wash it. So we have spent the evening sitting on a giant beanbag or the floor!

So, how's the princessing today? Well I have achieved: flossing, applying anti-ageing cream, applying eye cream, a walk, a healthy breakfast, using hair oil, no alcohol, vitamin and fish oil taken, daily body brushing achieved, make-up removed before bed, regular hair removal, no crisps or fizzy drinks and daily body moisturiser. So thats 14/20. Not as bad as I thought!

I'll be back tomorrow morning to give you a progress update on the sofa (cushions currently drying!)

Night all!

It's been a loooong night...

I had a lovely bath last night with some rather posh Elemis bath elixir that my mum bought me as a christmas gift. Did a lot of exfoliating and a lot of moisturising while my lovely partner looked after baby. So I felt pretty much like a princess when it was time to go to bed.

Unfortunately our daughter had other ideas and only wanted to sleep on mummy or daddy. No matter how hard we tried she just didn't want to go into her own bed. I used every blanket she has to make it comfy, put her musical mobile on, even put a hot water bottle in to warm the bed and took it out when we were about to lay her down- still no joy!

It was gone midnight and she was still going strong which is why I am sitting here still in my dressing gown and with something that resembles a birds nest on top of my head. The british winter looks like it's starting to make an appearance as it's very cold, very grey and very rainy here today.

There's only one thing for it- kettle on, vitamins taken and the princessing has begun!

Even the men from Sainsbury's have seen it....

Online grocery shopping is great, mainly because it saves me a trip to the supermarket. Whats not so great is when they turn up unannounced, half an our early when you have your boobs out! Then proceed to come and stare in the patio doors because no-one has answered the front door. And why, oh why did there have to be 2 of them today?!

So there you have it, even the men from Sainsbury's have seen it...

I had a better princessing day today, achieved 12 of my targets and after I post this I am off for a bath/exfoliate/moisturise sesh which will bring me up to 15! Consistently performing badly with the water though, it's just so boring!

Really excited because my registration pack for Macmillan Cancer World's Biggest Coffee Morning arrived today. Some of you might know that my grandad was recently diagnosed with cancer, I can't do much for him but I hope that by hosting a coffee morning that I can give something back to Macmillan who were incredible to my grandmother when she was passing away. I don't know a single person who hasn't had their life affected by cancer in some way. The day is going to be mum and baby friendly- most of us will have babies under 3 months so if you fancy joining us please e-mail me on: beautybellabellezza@gmail.com

Here's the day in pictures:

I ate.....I applied.....I admired.....I wore

Salmon and broccoli bake, Benefit Erase Paste, Macmillan Coffee Morning Kit, Zara Studded Moccasins

Bright eyed and bushy tailed!

Stop what you're doing!

I have to tell you that last night, for the first time in 3 months, I got 8 hours of unbroken sleep! And today I feel so good I could run a marathon. Well, that's a slight exaggeration as these days I can't even run for a bus!

My lovely little lady had a nice long sleep last night so how did mummy reward her? With a trip to the doctor for her 12 week vaccinations. Ooops.....

She was very very brave and only cried for a couple of minutes and is now having a nap after all the trauma.

So how's the princessing today?! Healthy breakfast done (grapefruit and yoghurt if you'd like to know), hair oil done, vitamins done, two cups of tea done and about to start on the water.

Have designated tonight a "princessing night" where I will attempt to have a nice long bath, a massive exfoliating sesh and slap on lots of moisturiser. Of course, this will be baby dependent.

I'll be back later with the day in pictures and a progress update.

Boys...well girls....are back in town!

The day in pictures:

I ate.....I applied......I admired.....I wore.....

A naughty burger, VO5 Miracle Oil, My newly groomed brows, Zara Suede Boots

After my slightly stressful beginning to the day, I decided to try and salvage what I could of the challenge!

After a fish finger sandwich (I needed some comfort food), I slipped on my new boots and walked to our second playdate of the day. Yesterdays squats at baby yoga had obviously done some good as my thighs feel seriously sore today! At the playdate I was plied with another cup of tea and some more cake (it was chocolate swiss roll) while showing the little one's a book with various animals- I even added noises for comic effect!

I have achieved 13 of my targets today, I find the easiest ones are things like taking vitamins, going for a walk, using an eye cream etc. The tough ones for me are diet related- I don't know if other people feel this way but when you have a new baby to feed, there is so little time to prepare food. Today I've found myself having comfort foods and reaching for fizzy drinks to boost my energy because we had a bad night. I really do take my hat off to all the other mums doing the challenge, it's tough.

Have bathed my little girl and popped her down to bed, I hope she'll sleep well after her busy day- we have her vaccinations tomorrow which makes me feel a bit nervous!

Pride comes before a fall...

After a highly successful day yesterday I decided to have an early night. This princessing stuff is going great I thought....

That was until I was up at 11.20pm, 2.15am, 4.20am, 6.30am and 7.45am. I love my little girl very much but since she discovered how to roll on her front she likes to wake us in the night when she is stuck and can't roll back over!

So I woke up this morning feeling pretty tired, and pretty cranky. And late!

On my rush out the door my "healthy" breakfast was a cereal bar with my vitamins and a glass of water. Body brushing?! No, not today- a quick shower and no moisturiser as I try to dress myself and mop up the puddle where my daughter has decided to have a wee while I was changing her.

After we returned from our play date (where my lovely mummy friend provided tea and home made chocolate cake) I decided to sit down with a well deserved cup of tea while my little one napped. That was until I poured the milk and found it was curdled. Off to the shops to buy some more. I'll be back later to give you the daily round up of my progress.

As they say, pride comes before a fall....

Does Kate shampoo her own carpet?!

Hi everyone!

Time for a progress report, today I have achieved 18 of my 20 targets! Yay! I may achieve 19 depending on what time I get to bed.

I mentioned earlier that I decided to buy a beauty treat- a lovely Chanel nail polish.

Am I the only one who feels a bit of anxiety approaching the make-up counter? The ladies always look gorgeous, glamourous and very well groomed. On arrival, I was windswept, sporting a monobrow (I hadn't gone for my threading at that point) and looking a bit knackered due to a severe lack of mascara.

I decided to brazen it out: "I'm looking for a winter nail polish please, I quite like Dior Greige but I wanted to see what Chanel had to offer."

Seriously?! I need to point out that I don't generally bother with summer and winter nail polish, just whatever I like the look of in the drawer and isn't too gloopy! It's also worth pointing out that I only know "Greige" is the colour of the season thanks to a very well informed magazine article....

Luckily the lovely Chanel lady was very accommodating and painted their winter shades on card for me. I settled for Frenzy, a pale gray/taupe type colour which I believe to be the perfect shade for busy mums because it goes with everything and the light colour won't show too many chips!

Before all this princessing goes to my head, I decided to hoover the livingroom. On pulling back the new red rug, I found that the cream carpet is stained pink. Forget princessing tonight- does Kate shampoo her own carpet?

The day in pictures:

I ate......I applied.....My nails look like....

Chilli and Ginger Prawns with Noodles

My new Chanel nail polish

Showing off my new shade.......

It wouldn't happen to a real princess...

Hi everyone!

It's been a really busy day so far- we were up early to attend our weekly baby yoga session. I managed to body brush and moisturise and saved some time by not having to wash and blow-dry my hair. Don't get me wrong, this princessing is very time consuming and I was still wandering around topless 5 minutes before we were due to leave!

Had a (very sour) pink grapefruit for breakfast with some yoghurt afterwards and my usual cup of tea- I know that some fellow princesses are having warm water and a slice of lemon first thing but no way will I be parted from my morning cuppa!

Yoga was great fun and I felt so relaxed afterwards, my little girl was so chilled she fell into a deep sleep in her pram. I decided to take advantage and get my eyebrows done (as I have been neglecting them a bit and they were starting to lose shape).

My personal preference for eyebrow grooming is threading- I like it because the results last longer than plucking, someone else does it for you so generally you end up with a better shape as they can look at the "full picture" and there are no chemicals involved like there would be with waxing.

Anyway, I sat down in the chair and the therapist began to thread my right eye brow. She did a fantastic job, trimmed a couple of stray hairs and checked I was happy before applying some rose water to soothe the area. And then my daughter woke up.....and screamed.....and screamed!

She wasn't hungry and she didn't need a nappy change, she just wanted to be held. I was going to have to take her home and have lopsided eyebrows! Luckily, the lovely therapist had a colleague who wasn't working on anyone offered to hold my daughter while I had the other brow done- great service and my daughter loved her. So here's a big Beautybellabellezza thank you to the girls at Glow Eyebrow Threading in Fenwick York! See you again in a couple of weeks! It wouldn't happen to a princess......

I'll be back later to update you on today's progress and show you a little beauty treat I bought earlier!

99 days to go: Progress so far....

Excellent progress has been made with the challenge today!

The day started with a healthy breakfast of fruit and yoghurt, whole-meal toast was going to be added however the bread was mouldy (it wouldn't happen to a real princess....)

Body brushing was followed by the application of generous amounts of body butter (I am using Body Shop Mango Body Butter at the moment) followed by foot cream.

I then decided to try a new purchase bought specifically for the princessing challenge- hair oil! The oil I chose is going to be my product of the week this week and a full product review will be posted later in the week. What can I say- I was surprised with the results.

Had a 4 mile walk (in the freezing cold, dull british weather) and pondered which colour of nail polish I would like to buy for the winter season- leaning towards Greige at the moment.

Dinner was a (late) thrown together affair of vegetables and pasta.

The day in pictures:

I ate.....I applied.....

Pasta with courgettes, yellow and green peppers and tomatoes.

L'Occitane Immortelle Brightening Moisture Cream                    

Up and coming on Beautybellabellezza

Hi to everyone who has been reading so far, thanks so much for looking at the page and I hope you feel inspired!

I wanted to post about what will be coming up on Beautybellabellezza:

Every day there will be an update about my progress with the challenge, I'll tell you what I have done, what I haven't done and any funny stories which happen along the way!

Each week I will review a beauty product that I am using on my princessing journey- some old favorites and new additions to my bursting full cupboards.

There will be posts about princessing on a budget, a man's view of the princessing concept and also food fit for a princess!

Lots to look forward to so please follow me by e-mail!

If you have any suggestions for things you would like to see covered in the blog please let me know! If you would like me to review a product I aim to trial products for a decent amount of time before commenting on them so please bear this in mind.

So today I hope to inspire you....

Morning everyone!

It's 10:06 am UK time and I am here to tell you what I have done this morning (not that much!!):

Healthy breakfast is done, 2 of my 5 a day is done, vitamins are done and that's my lot so far. Lot's of baby sick mopped up and a couple of nappies changed.

Anyway....I decided that staying motivated for 100 days was going to be quite a challenge, especially if all I had was a list staring back at me from a screen. With that in mind (and also hoping to inspire some others to join the challenge), I decided to create a mood board.

If you don't have the time (or inclination to channel your inner child!) you can do something similar on your phone with apps like Pinterest, that way you have a motivational picture to take with you at all times and get you through those princessing challenges (crisps in my case....).

Please feel free to add any comments about the board, you can steal the picture for your own motivation if you like! I'll be back later to give you my daily update and also tell you what's going to be coming up on Beautybellabellezza over the weeks and month's.

The countdown from day 100- progress so far!

It's been a huge challenge to start princessing today! Last night we had a party to celebrate my partners 30th birthday. This meant cooking for 14 people whilst looking after a teething baby!

Luckily it all went well, the food was gorgeous and the baby eventually slept at midnight.

All this meant I started the princessing challenge a little more tired than I would have liked, here's a summary of today's activities:

Healthy breakfast of banana on toast and yoghurt washed down with water, took vitamins and omega 3, 6 and 9, face mask on, exfoliated and moisturised as per my daily target.

Nails were done yesterday so didn't have to worry about this. Eyebrows getting threaded tomorrow!

I haven't done so well at drinking water (only 3 glasses today) and I totally forgot I wasn't allowed crisps. Oops.....

All in all:

Targets achieved: 14
Targets not achieved: 6

The princessing 100 day challenge list!

So here's the list as promised! I have tried to set goals which are achievable with a young baby, others undertaking the challenge will aim higher (for example undertaking a workout each day rather than walking) and some will aim lower (limiting the list to 10 important things perhaps).

1. Drink 8 glasses of water daily. (I really struggle to drink 2 per day at the moment!)

2. Exfoliate weekly.

3. Floss each day.

4. Use anti-ageing skin cream.

5. Intensive nail treatment. (for hands or feet)

6. Apply eye cream.

7. Walk daily.

8. Aim for 5 fruit and veg per day.

9. Eat a healthy breakfast daily.

10. Use hair oil.

11. No alcohol during the week. (easy on the alcohol at weekends.)

12. Take a multi-vitamin and fish oils daily.

13. Body brush daily.

14. Remove make-up each night. (and not with a baby wipe!!)

15. Have one early night per week. (with a 12 week old baby?!)

16. Regular hair removal.

17. Give up one naughty thing. (I have chosen crisps!)

18. No fizzy drinks.

19. Daily body moisturising.

20. Limit myself to 2 cups of tea daily. (Instead of the usual 10!)

The 100 day princessing challenge!

Hello and welcome to Beautybellabellezza,

This page is inspired by the concept of "Princessing" which was coined in the run up to the 2011 wedding of Kate Middleton to Prince William. The process of princessing involves following a list of goals (which can be defined by the individual) in the run up to an event to make sure that you look and feel your best.

So many women feel under pressure to look perfect all the time, maybe you're a busy working mum, a single woman with her own business, someone with grown-up children and elderly relatives to look after or a stay at home mum with a huge list of chores! Whatever your circumstances, hopefully we can all relate to the feeling that when we look good, we feel good. 

Quite simply very few of us have the time (money or inclination!!) to spend focussing entirely on our appearance. This is why the concept of princessing works. Small changes in the run-up to an event add up to one big (and lovely) picture. These changes can be as small as plucking your eyebrows or as big as running 5 miles a day- the aim is that they all add up!

My personal princessing challenge is taking place over a 100 day period from September 15th until Christmas Day! It's been a big year for me as I had my first baby in June so I've let myself go a bit and I feel a little glum. Now my baby is 12 weeks old I feel like it's time I have myself a lift and started taking care of myself.

The challenge was set by a group of women on the website mumsnet, I have joined the challenge and look forward to hearing about everyone's progress. Later today I will post my list so that you can see the little steps I am undertaking to feel fabulous for christmas!

Please feel free to add your comments, queries or suggestions.