Velvet Lashes: asos must haves

Saturday, 2 December 2017

Acts of kindness

Kindness

"the quality of being friendly, generous and considerate"

Its that time of year where its about family, friends, love and all those Christmas festivities we love. I have done a lot of thinking the last few weeks with things being a bit tricky in my personal life but also knowing that there the world is full of sadness and misfortune. I aim to teach my children the importance of kindness so have started a kindness calendar where they have to carry out acts of kindness.

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My job shows me the sadness that surrounds us and that acts of kindness can make such a difference so whilst you are creating your Christmas wish list, tuck into your Christmas treats and drink your warm drink snuggled on the sofa please pause and think of those that live a life of sadness. The thing that shocked me when I started my job was that the sadness is on our doorstep, the sadness is in your street, your town and that people haven't a clue and neither did I.

Here are some acts of kindness I thought we could all consider doing over the festive season, as this season can be the worst time of year for many people.

1. Volunteer- you could volunteer at your local soup run or see what charities are in your town and ring them or drop in to see what you could do to help them.

2. Collect food for your local food bank- over the festive period its always good to do a reverse advent calendar, so each day you add an item to a box and after 12 days or more give it to your local food bank.

3. Give to the homeless- buy bottles of water or cups of tea and some sandwiches and blankets and go around your town/city to hand these out to the homeless. Do be careful and don't do this alone.

4. Give to your local refuge- you cant know the location of your refuge due to safety reasons but you can ring the womans aid line to find out how or who or where you can give the box of treats. Go through your clothes and add these to the box, go through your childrens toys and books and donate some of these too as these children have barely anything sometimes nothing.

5. Write Christmas cards- write Christmas cards and hand these out at an old peoples home.

6. Smile- yes that's right smile, such a simple act of kindness that can make a difference to a stranger. Smile at strangers, you never know how they are feeling and how your smile can help them feel better.

7. Compliment- it could be a friend or a stranger, compliments can change a persons confidence within seconds. If I see someone whilst shopping I will try to compliment then so if a lady held the door for me I would say thank you then take that opportunity to give them a compliment so for example, I love your hair or that bag is lovely and then watch how there face lights up! I always make sure I am genuine with it.

8. Social media love- if ever I see someone tweet that they are low I always make sure I tweet them to make sure they aren't feeling alone. Instagram is another platform I like to use to let people know that they are great so I will try to compliment peoples photography, outfit or makeup skills as I feel its important to lift people up rather then get jealous and drag them down.

9. Donate your old books or magazines- donate these to a local doctor surgery waiting area or some childrens books to a local school or childrens centre.

10. Make some cookies- even if you don't know your neighbours its still lovely to make some cookies and pop them on there doorstep with a little note, we don't know what goes on behind closed doors so this act of kindness could be just what they need as a pick me up.

Let me know if you carry these acts of kindness by using the hashtag #velvetkindness and tweet me @lil_alessia I would love to know how they went.

Let me know what other acts of kindness you have done.

Outfit details:

Jacket: Zara but here is a similar one, click here

Trousers: Pretty little thing, click here

Tshirt: ASOS, click here

Earrings: Zara, click here

Shoes: New look but here are some similar shoes, click here

A xx

5 tips for a Happy Soul

I am my own worst enemy when it comes to feeding my soul, being happier and generally looking after my mental health, so I thought I would write a list of things that always spark some light and can then motivate me to ensure I make it a habit!

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One of the most important parts of my day, pre children, used to be my time to read! I would either buy or head to the library to gather up some books to get my mind wandering into pages of great literature, I found I would switch off from reality and my anxiety would reduce. Reading can relax the mind where it gets lost inside the words of a book rather then getting lost in worry and anxiety.

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Accept compliments, this is something I have struggled with over the years where I haven't got the greatest self esteem I find it hard to accept compliments but I started to consciously change this, instead of saying oh gosh no when someone would say something nice I now pause and thank them reiterating what they said in my head. This helps to accept what they have said and to store it away in a little lovely box inside our mind. We need to give ourselves more credit for being awesome.

Have a moment away from the fast pace lives we live. When I was little me and my family would go for walks every Sunday in beautiful places to feel free and have fun, these are some of my happiest moments. We recently moved home where our garden backs onto fields, I am so lucky and love the views! I try to make sure I take the children across the fields for a "bear hunt" like the ever so famous We're going on a bear hunt book, I want them to feel that sense of freedom, peace and fun exploring like I did as a child. Going on walks is a time I find myself feeling relief, where I can take a deep breath and walk off my worries. My favourite places are forests and beaches, they are the places I feel most at peace with myself, so when you feel like you can't escape your mind go for a long walk.

This is something I have always given to people I work with to help them recognise how they are good people, to recognise what makes them as awesome as they are. We aren't great at looking at us in a positive light, where we can stand in front of a mirror and with great confidence say why we are a great wife or a good friend.....so now let's do this! On a various pieces of paper draw a cloud in the centre of the paper with a heading on each piece of paper, one could be daughter, one could be friend, partner, colleague etc. Draw five lines out of each cloud and then write down a reason you are a good friend on each line....so a good listener? Loyal? And answer 5 positive reasons on each cloud.

Laugh. Laughing is good for the soul, surround yourself with fun loving people who guarantee to make you laugh, or pop on that funny film. The film that guarantees to make me laugh is Stepbrothers, basically anything with Will Ferrell! Even when I am at my lowest and feel so deep in sadness I am guaranteed to at least crack a smile when fun lovely people or a funny film come on the screen. Laughing is also infectious! Spread the laughter and the fun.

Shop the look!

Just click on the links below.

Bag
Jeans
Earrings
Jumper
Shoes
Jacket- Primark

Hope these were helpful, I'm now off to read my book!

What tips do you use?

A xx

ASOS Wish List

Hello beautiful readers,

So its been a year, yes I repeat a year! I am sat here thinking wowzer what a break! but boy have I missed you all. Lets see what has happened in a year.....and of course take a look at my current ASOS wish list.

Moved house

Yes that dreaded sentence we moved house! It is so stressful isn't it, we needed to get a bigger house for our growing family and have now moved into a three bed house overlooking gorgeous fields. The house needs doing up and eventually an extension needs to be added onto the property to make it a better living space for us, so expect some home interior posts!

New baby

So I had a 1 year old and 4 year old when I last posted but then had another in March this year, our little beautiful boy. We now have a 5 year old boy, 2 year old girl and a 6 month old so I will look at doing some parenting posts. Having three with 2 and a half jobs isn't easy but I wouldn't change them for the world and am so grateful and so lucky!

New business

I started doing wedding makeup a few years back but only did little bits here and there then in the last year on my matenity leave I decided to build this business up which has become a success, you can honestly put your mind to anything never give up!

So there is my little update for you all, lets hope this means I am back for good! I do want to get back into my Youtube but my confidence isn't great at the moment so not sure how that will go down, bear with me lovely people.

Lets take a look at my every growing ASOS wish list.

First things first a good pair of jeans, these ASOS Mom jeans make me smile! Firstly they are high waisted Mom style which I love and have been wanting a pair for so long so these without doubt were saved in my wish list. I adore the cropped look and the acid wash, perfect for Autumn/Winter.

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£35.00

ASOS Mom Jeans

I adore leopard print be it on a bag, a shirt or dress but even better is a leopard print shoe!! I love this new style shoe where the top of the shoe is pointed with a block heel, it elongates my legs, being short this helps! These are Boohoo but I found them on the ASOS site.

£28.00

Boohoo Leopard shoes

Stop what you are doing and admire this stunning check skirt with bow detail! When I stumbled acros this River Island skirt on ASOS I couldn't stop visualising the possible outfits with this beauty.

£35.00

River Island check bow skirt

These are pricey but I can't help but love them, teamed with heels or boots these would look perfect! I love the way ASOS styled these too. Throw them on with a long sleeved jumper or even a ruffle sleeve shirt.

£155.00

G Star Dungarees

I love mustard at the moment and have found it popular on the highstreet so this scarf is perfect to add that bit of colour to any outfit. This is a brand I had not heard of before I found it one day on ASOS, I have a pair of trousers from them which are such good quality and the brand always have great pieces at affordable prices.

£14.99

Stradivarius Mustard Scarf

Again here is the mustard colour popping up in my wish list. This Missguided flare dress is so pretty, team it with boots, a deep purple lipstick and a leather jacket for the ultimate autumnal look.