Lust Have It - August 2015 Birthday Bag | Thinking About April

Even before I received Lust Have It for August 2015 I knew it was going to be something special.  LHI's bags are generally amazing value but when they do birthday bags they are always amazing!  Well 2015 Birthday Bag certainly did not disappoint!  Everything in the bag was FULL SIZE - enough said :)

So here is what we got this month...

Lust Have It August 2015:
Red Carpet Kolour Body Glow in Light $49.95
Reed Orange & Poppy Seed Scrub $6.50
Mellow Cosmetics Baked Eyeshadow in Plum $9.50
Mellow Cosmetics Mineral Auto Twist Liner in Black $8.00
Ulta3 Volume & Length Mascara $6.95

TOTAL:  $80.90 for the box!


I love the fact they have a good assortment of cosmetics and skin care in this month's bag and also the fact that I haven't tried any of these brands before.  Also it's good having the Ulta3 mascara in there as it's a new product which is exactly what beauty subscriptions are there for.  Overall I was extremely impressed with this month's bag and can't wait to see what Lust Have It have in store for us next month!

If YOU would like $5.00 off your first month's Lust Have It Women's Beauty Box simple enter the code THINKAPRIL at the checkout and your first bag will only cost you $14.95!  

 Let me know what beauty boxes you guys are subscribed to and what you thought of your boxes. Also if you'd like any individual reviews on the products you see here let me know, I'd love to do them for you!

30 Weeks - Pregnancy Update

So I am currently 30 weeks and 5 days pregnant and I haven't posted an updated since I was 23 weeks.... naughty April ;)  So I thought that since I finally posted the photos of my Lust Have It boxes that I would update you on mummy-me.

I am still loving pregnancy.  I don't know whether this feeling is going away soon (a lot of people promise me I'll hate it towards the end) but right now I love my tummy and I love the little kicks I feel.  Scratch that.  They aren't little anymore!  I'm feeling my little one's legs/arms all the time now which is so crazy and beautiful because it means there's an actual baby in there!  I love looking down at my tummy and seeing movements and I love the fact that my husband can feel bubs too!

As far as preparations go we have made a lot of big purchases since I last updated you.  My amazing husband surprised me with a cot, change tablet & bassinet/rocker that I'd seen on Gumtree and loved.  We've also been gifted a pram and maxi cosy from my parents and it is amazing!  They also brought over a whole lot of "essentials" like sleep bags, clothes, sicky cloths, muslin clothes, etc. which are so nice to have.  I feel a lot more on top of things now which is nice.

We still haven't set up our nursery properly but we're hoping to get it painted and then set up soon!  I always want to get my bags packed in the next few weeks so I don't have to constantly think about them.  I might have a while to go but being over-prepared helps me to not constantly stress that I won't be under-prepared or not ready.

We've been to two more antenatal classes, one on normal labour and the other on complicated labours.  These classes made things extremely real as you have to start thinking about your birth plan and thinking about what you want to happen if things don't go as planned.  I'm really enjoying the classes and would recommend any mummys-to-be out there booking into them.

And that's all I can think of for now!  :)  Let me know  if you have any questions and I'd be happy to answer them for you!  Only 9 weeks and 3 days until my due date! Crazy.

Lust Have It - May & June 2015 | Thinking About April

So I have been absolutely terrible at getting my Lust Have It monthly box reviews up which is unfortunate because they've been great boxes.  Lust Have It ended up skipping the April box and went straight through to the May box which sorted out all their shipping issues and they've been fine ever since.  I thought I'd just do brief write ups on both box so you can see what I got and what the box was worth...  So enjoy :)

Lust Have It May 2015:

Bloom Liquid Foundation Brush $35.00

Soak Shampoo & Conditioner (deluxe sample) $1.25 each

Soak Skin Booster Body Lotion (deluxe sample) $1.50

Hola Seaweed Moisturising Lotion $17.95 - 24.95

Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse (10ml sample) $4.99

Lonvitalite 24K Active Face Mark $9.95

BONUS Lonvitalite 24K Active Eye Mask $9.95

TOTAL:  $82 - 89 for the box!

Lust Have It June 2015:

Teez Trend Cosmetics Eve's Ready to Wear Lipstick $32.00

Nak Thermal Shield $25.95

Chapstick Hydration Lock $4.99

The Cosmetic Kitchen Peppermint Foot Mask $24.95

The Cosmetic Kitchen Wake Up Body Scrub $29.95

TOTAL: $118 for the box!

 As you can see the value of the boxes have been crazy and the contents just as good!  Most of the items received were full size and both boxes had multiple products I was excited about.

If YOU would like $5.00 off your first month's Lust Have It Women's Beauty Box simple enter the code THINKAPRIL at the checkout and your first bag will only cost you $14.95!  

 Let me know what beauty boxes you guys are subscribed to and what you thought of your boxes.  I've heard of a new one called Splash Box Australia that looks interesting so let me know if any of you are subscribed to them.  Also as always let me know if there are any products you'd like individual reviews on and I'd love to do them for you :)

23 Weeks - Pregnancy Update

As of today I am 23 weeks and 5 days pregnant... can you tell I'm quite bad at being regular at these!  A lot has happened in the pregnancy world

Antenatal Classes
Over the past two weeks my husband and I have attended the first two of the six antenatal classes we are going to at the Lyell McEwin Hospital which is where we plan to have our little one.  I was a bit dubious about the Lyell Mac but after going to the first class which was a tour of the birthing unit my fears have been wiped away.  The rooms are pretty amazing with double beds, spa baths and a courtyard where you can go outside.  If you're in these rooms you can't get an epidural but I wasn't planning on that anyway.  The second class the dads and mums were separated and the mums were led by one of the physios at the hospital.  I am hoping to get a one-on-one with a physio at the hospital as I was a bit unclear on some of the exercises but the class was still very useful.

Movements

Well I am well and truly feeling movements now and I am loving it!  Everyone keeps telling me I'll get sick of it but at the moment it's a pregnancy highlight.  I'm not feeling them all the time but definitely several times a day especially when I'm relaxing.  What's even more exciting is that my husband has finally felt the movements himself which makes me so happy.  I almost felt guilty that I could feel our baby but he couldn't so it's awesome that now he can.  Funnily enough I still haven't felt it from the outside but I'm sure I will soon enough :)

Bump
 My bump is here to stay... at least for now anyway!  And after the movement this is what I love the most.  I love the fact that I have a little baby in me and that I can cuddle my bump :)  Haha I probably sound a bit mushy and lame but it's true.  I already can tell that I'll miss my bump... no matter how many people tell me I won't.  There's something special about carrying your child inside of you.

Emotions
I'm still emotional but I expected this.  I've started with the stress again but not as bad as last time.  My life is just so extremely busy at the moment so there's no wonder.

Nursery
Due to being very busy I haven't done a whole lot more with bub's room.  I have however sorted out all his/her things and hung clothes in cupboard properly which is quite exciting!  I want to get some more baby coat hangers so I can hang the rest of the clothes we have up.  I know I'll probably never use these once bubs is here but they just look so cute!

And those are all the updates I can think of :)

Hope your week is going well

20 Weeks - Pregnancy Update

Today I am 20 weeks and 4 days pregnant!  Officially past half way and feeling great :)  As you can see these update posts won't be a weekly thing but I thought it might be nice to have them to look back on and to only write when there is actually something to say.

20 Week Scan

On Monday night we had our 20 week ultrasound.  The tech we had got all the pictures she needed except for the heart.  After jumping round the room, going on a 5 minute walk and then a 15 minute walk the baby still wouldn't flip over so we had to reschedule for the next day.  This made me slightly worried but we'd seen the heartbeat and the baby moving around on the screen so I wasn't too worried.  Then yesterday I went in again to get the final pictures.  The baby was in the same position so the tech still couldn't get all the pictures needed.  She sent me back to waiting room for 15 minutes, tried again, then asked me to go on a 30 minute walk and have a coffee or a coke (basically some caffeine).  Well by this point I'd been there over 2 hours and was getting upset.  My husband had come to the Monday scan but was working so couldn't come to the Tuesday.  I spent the 30 minute walk on the verge of tears.  Thankfully when I got back the baby had moved (THANK YOU CAFFEINE) and she got the pictures needed straight away.

Movements

I hadn't felt an awful lot of movement before, just some flutters occasionally that I really wasn't sure where anything at all.  At the ultrasound I found out I had an Anterior Placenta which means it's at the front.  This made me feel a lot better to know there was a reason I wasn't feeling much yet.  Yesterday in the scan however I could feel kicks, and the coolest thing is that you see baby move just after you feel it.  This morning I had a whole lot of kicks just below my ribs and I could actually feel them outside my tummy!!  This is just such a miracle to me and I'm going to enjoy them while I can :)

Bump
Last weekend I started really noticing a more defined bump even in the mornings.  I'm pretty wearing maternity clothes now just because they're more comfortable and I don't need to worry about my tummy poking out.  It's so nice actually looking pregnant finally though people still say I have a small bump.  That doesn't really worry me too much anymore now I know bubs is fine but it did for a while.

Emotions

I have been copying with my stress a bit better.  Haven't felt so out of control like I have been recently.  Still feel like I'm going to cry any time I see anything cute/sad/happy/beautiful, etc...  It's a bit embarrassing but not the worst thing in the world.

Nursery

My husband told me I wasn't allowed to start out baby's room until we'd had the 20 week ultrasound.  Well that's past now and I am so excited, though slightly overwhelmed, about getting started!  We've already got a nursing chair which we bought off my friend which is a lovely black leather one that is sooo comfy.  We also have a big white wardrobe that we'll keep in there but everything else will be new/second hand but new to us :)

So that is my 20 week pregnancy update! Let me know if you have questions about my experiences so far and I'd love to answer them!

17 Weeks - Pregnancy Update

As of today I am 17 weeks, 5  days pregnant and I can't believe I'm actually writing that finally!  I don't plan on writing a lot of these weekly update posts (though who knows, sometimes I surprise myself) but I felt like writing one today.  I don't really have a structure, just thought I'd document a few things that have been happening.

 

Things that have happened this week...

Today & yesterday I've really noticed myself starting to get more of a bump which is very exciting.  That was something I really was looking forward to because until you have a bump it's all a bit surreal.  But now I can feel my tummy getting harder and rounder and it feels pretty great.

I felt a few things that I've thought to myself could possibly be a movement but being my first baby I'm not too sure.

I haven't been sick for a while now which is amazing and I completely have my appetite back.  I still haven't really gained any weight though I was sick a bit at the beginning so didn't really expect to.

Every now and again I'm a bit emotional... the other day I was home alone watching TV and I bawled my eyes out because there was a bird on TV... that's right... I cried because of a bird.  Now I love animals but generally don't cry when I see them.  I also have been cranky every now and again but can control that pretty well... I hope :)

 

No idea if this is due to the pregnancy but this past week I have been extremely stressed.  I felt like I had a to do list a mile long but when I sat down to write my to do list out I couldn't think of anything.  One main thing I was stressed about was telling my work about my pregnancy and since I did that on Tuesday I have felt so much better.  I also booked all my antenatal classes at the hospital, my next ultrasound and my next midwife appointment and now I feel super organised.  I'm starting to think the only way I'm going to maintain my sanity is to morph into Miss Organised so we'll see what happens :)

We have been given so much already which has thoroughly surprised me!  I never realised how happy having a baby makes other people :)  Luckily having a few bits and bobs has made me realise that I don't need to go out and buy the entire baby section of Target though I must say I want to!!  I might do a post on baby wishlist items because there are so many nice things!!

Something I've been loving lately is reading old blogs of people that are/have been pregnant to see what they felt at this stage.  If any of you have any people you've enjoyed reading let me know!!

Life Changing

Our life is changing and I love it.  After a really hard year in 2014 I am extremely excited to write the following words...  I am pregnant.  On Sunday I past the 16 weeks mark, something I thought would never come.  At the end of last year my husband and I lost our first baby at 13 weeks.  We turned up at our ultrasound and the baby was there but no heartbeat.  That was one of the hardest days of our lives.  Losing our first baby has made this second pregnancy really hard so far.  Everyday I wonder whether my baby is even still there as I'm not showing or feeling anything yet.  I worry about becoming too attached to this baby in case I lose it too.  I was waiting to post anything on here until my appointment tomorrow night just in case I didn't hear a heartbeat and then I realised I was being ridiculous.  I have a baby inside of me that I love and am excited about it and I need to have faith that it will all be ok... and if it isn't all ok that I'll get through it.

So.... BUN IS IN THE OVEN!  And my husband and I are so happy and excited about beginning this next chapter in our lives.  I am due on the 8th of November but, as everyone has told me, bubs will come when he/she is ready.  I look forward to taking you all on this journey with us!!!  

Let me know if you have any tips for this first-time-mumma :) Trust me, I'll need a lot of them! 

Injecting a little bit of happy into your day

I feel like blogging at the moment.  But I don't have any fancy pictures to put up online or anything ground breaking to say.  Well maybe I do.  But I'm not ready to say it yet.  So I though instead of all that I would inject a little bit of happy into your day...

 

I hope you enjoyed that :)  Little things like the above make me stop and smile.  Perfect thing to read on a Monday if you ask me!  Gotta love a pun!

Hope you have all had a lovely weekend and that your Monday isn't getting you down too much!

Lust Have It - March 2015

Long time no blog.  So much has happened in my life lately which I will update you shortly.  But not now... because Lust Have It March finally came!  There was some serious delay with delivery for the March bag that it only just came on the 18th of May.  Because of this Lust Have It have decided to cancel their April box so they can get May back on track.  Good plan Lust Have It!  This month's products came in a shiny black parcel/box thing with hot pink tissue paper instead of the regular hot pink makeup bag.  To be honest I didn't mind the different packaging as it felt a bit higher-end and meant I don't have yet another identical bag to put in my spare room.

So let's get on with what we got...

$22.00  Model Co BB Plus Cream in Light - I really like getting foundations and BB creams in beauty boxes because then you don't have to fork out money when you really don't know whether you like it or not.  I was very happy that this cream was in light!

$8.18  Appelles Hair Care Duo Pack:  Blackseed Shampoo & Tamanu Conditioner - Another product I love getting in beauty boxes because it means I don't have to buy it myself.  I'm not someone that buys special shampoo and conditioners but I do love trying new ones.  This was a good sample size too!  Perfect for traveling :) 

$4.36  Uriage Tolederm Hydra-Soothing Cream - This is one of those samples that I tuck away for a cosy night in and then use up and never think about again.  I'm not good at buying fancy creams... just give me a nice moisturiser and I'm good to go.

Uriage Tolederm Soothing Cleansing Water - Similar to the sample before I will use this and I'll probably enjoy it but won't use it again.  Still I do like receiving these samples.

$1.62  Urban Skin Care Tonic Hand & Body Cleanser - I've received an Urban Skin Care moisturiser in Lust Have It before and I really loved the smell so I'm looking forward to giving this a go and seeing if I like it.  This is another really good sized sample.

$ 9.95 Lonvitalite C4 Coconut Milk Hydrating & Nourishing Face Mask - I never really notice the difference when using these and I always just feel like a kid in a mask when wearing them.  But I will give this ago on my next night in and see if it's life changing.  Yet another fantastic sample!

Total month's value = approximately $46

Lateness aside this was a great month for Lust Have It!  Hopefully this is a sign of great things to come and I know I can't wait to get May's bag/box!  The box wasn't worth as much as some other months however I actually think this month's box was one of my favourites as I'll actually use all the products.

If YOU would like $5.00 off your first month's Lust Have It Women's Beauty Box simple enter the code THINKAPRIL at the checkout and your first bag will only cost you $14.95!

 Let me know what beauty boxes you guys are subscribed to and what you thought of your boxes.  Also as always let me know if there are any products you'd like individual reviews on and I'd love to do them for you :)

Courage | Thinking about April

I really like this quote.  It's a good reminder that you don't have to always get things right in life to succeed.  What really matters is how you recover from your mistakes, the things you learn and that you don't do them again.  You don't have to be the strongest or bravest person in the room, you just have to be a big enough person to get up the next day and try again.

I was looking through my pinterest and saw I'd pinned this quote and thought hey why not share it on my blog?  I know I haven't been the most consistent blogger in the universe for the past year.  Things happen in life and you realise that perhaps your little spot on the internet isn't the most important thing.  But I do want to get back into blogging every now and again.  If I feel like posting something I will, but if not I won't.  The fun in blogging disappeared when I felt like I had to stick to a schedule so I'm doing away with that!  But hopefully I can come back to this little spot and write every now and again because guess what?  It's fun! :)

A quote that makes me happy

A quote that I really love is the following by A. A. Milne:

Something about this quote just makes me happy whenever I read it, whatever mood I'm in.  It's a reminder in the times when we might put ourselves down, or someone may do that to us, that we are better than we or they might believe!

Just a quick little post to hopefully cheer you up!  I'm having one of those weeks where every day I wake up and really feel like chucking a sicky.  Luckily it's finally Friday!!!

Let me know your favourite quotes that cheer you up when you're having an off day :)  And have a fabulous weekend!

22 before 22 UPDATE! | Thinking About April

6 months ago I wrote a post about 22 things I wanted to achieve before I was 22.  Well I turned 22 on the 1st of February so let's see how I did :)

1.  Get 100 followers on this blog and 50 followers on my Cooking Blog.

I went from 30 followers on Thinking About April to 36 & 13 followers on Learning to Cook to 18.  I didn't reach my goal but also didn't try as hard as I should have.  Plus this probably wasn't the most important goal ;)  BTW If you're not following me on Bloglovin you should!  Click here to follow this blog or here to follow my cooking blog.

2.  Achieve my goal weight.

I lost another 5 kilos and am feeling so much better about myself!  I want to lose a bit more but right now I am feeling really happy and actually want to go clothes shopping for the first time in a long time! If I lost another 5 I'd be happy and if I lost 10 I'd be ecstatic!!

3.  Become more organised week-to-week.

Some weeks I was more organised but most I wasn't.  But I really want to be!!  Let's see how I go this year :)  My friend bought me a Kiki K voucher for my birthday so I want to get one of their beautiful diaries and have my life organised!  I'll let you know how I go :)

4.  Become a calmer & happier person.

I'm definitely happier in most things than I was a year ago.  It's funny how much more confident in yourself you become, the older you get.  I could definitely be more calm though...

5.  Start talking to people I don't know.
I've been trying with this one.  I wouldn't say my list of new friends is overwhelming but I have put myself out there in certain situations that I wouldn't have before.

6.  Buy a "big girl's camera".
My husband and I purched a Nikon D5300 with a 18-140mm lens.  We love it!

7.  Own something from M.A.C.
I own 2 lipsticks from M.A.C. now and I love them :)

8.  Redo our main bedroom.
I haven't done this but it's definitely on my list of things to do next.  I have so many ideas so I might do a wishlist post for it.

9.  Go on a long holiday.
Done.  4 weeks in Canada and America was amazing!!

10.  Redo my rabbits hutch.
My darling husband completely this for me and it's fantastic!

11.  Have an organised pantry.
With all my time off over the new year I reorganised my pantry but I think this is a step that will be ongoing for all time.  It's not that it's unorganised now, I just like constantly updating how I store things.

12.  Own a Michael Kors Watch.
My birthday present from my husband was a gorgeous rose gold Michael Kors watch from America and it's beautiful.  When I do my American haul post I'll include a picture.

13. Get my two blogs organised!

Hmm.... we'll skip this one will we? ;)

14.  Cut my hair.

Well I cut my hair but didn't do anything different or dramatic... I still want to do something but really want to keep the length.

15.  Be able to run 10km without stopping.
Haha I can walk that without stopping but I don't think I could do more than 5km running.  I didn't really try to achieve this one.

16.  Learn some new songs on the Piano
I played the piano more but didn't learn any more actual songs.

17.  Entertain more on a fortnightly basic.
I didn't really do this one, but I did entertain more often.

18.  Reach my aim for our mortgage.
I can't for the life of me remember my "aim" so I have no idea whether I achieved it.  Given we went on a four week holiday I'd say probably not but I am still really happy at where we are at.

19.  Think of others before myself more.
I'd like to think I did this but I think this is something you can't really measure.

20.  Get over to Melbourne more.
We saw my family quite a bit particularly towards the end of the year.  Again you can't put a limit on this one.

21.  Get a hobby.
Still don't have a hobby.  I wonder whether I'll actually ever have time for one.

22.  Become more spontaneous.
I can absolutely say I became more spontaneous.  Gone are the days where I just want to go home to bed.  I am constantly wanting to have friends over and go over to friends' homes.  I am loving spending time with people I love at the moment.


Writing this post has been really good for me.  I can see how much I've grown over the course of 6 months and how I've developed as a person.  I'd highly recommend writing one of these.  It doesn't even matter whether or not you succeed in all your "goals" because you might come to the end of the year and realise they don't matter any more.

Another Update | Thinking About April

So I've been away from this blog for a long time and finally I am ready to come back.  I'm not saying that I'll be a super organised blogger because, let's face it, that will probably never happen.  But I am ready to start writing posts again.  In December something shattering happened to my husband & I, something I may write about one day but now is not the time.  All of a sudden writing about beauty boxes, my upcoming holiday and my makeup collection didn't seem important.  It almost seemed wrong.  So I stopped.

But I am back, feeling a lot better and ready for some outlet from life's busy-ness!

I got back from my trip to America & Canada on Friday and have gotten back into work and it is crazy!  I might share some photos on here of some of the amazing places we visited!  I ended up not buying as much as I thought I would (because I realised there was so much I didn't need) but will show you what I did get.  I celebrated my 22nd birthday in New York City which was lovely.  I am officially ancient... haha :)  I actually managed to keep a diary and a budget the whole time which I am proud of, usually I don't manage to finish those type of things.  We spent an amazing week with my brother and sister-in-law and shared so many great memories.

So now time to start a new year properly.  Let me know what you want to see on Thinking About April this year.  I'd love to know your favourite types of posts!  I hope to get back and do some of the ones I promised and didn't deliver on like the Chi Chi Palettes reviews and makeup collection posts.  We've bought a "big girl's camera" so the photos should be better in quality which is exciting!  I like the idea of having a hobby like this blog that I am actually trying hard on... I think it would be good for me.  Just writing about it makes me excited :)

I hope you are all having a lovely week and I look forward to writing again soon!!

As always,

Any Tips? | Thinking About April

It's the 13th of January 2015 and there's less than 5 days until my husband and I leave on our holiday to the US and Canada!! Woot Woot :)  We're planning on going to San Fransisco, a week visiting my brother and his wife, New York City, Washington and Los Angeles. And we are so excited!  Every few hours I google the weather to see if there is any snow fall and every so often I have a look at tourist websites.  I plan to do all the normal touristy things but was wondering whether any of you had any little gems you think are "must see things" in any of the above cities?  Are there any touristy things that are overrated and not worth the time, etc... I'd love to know!

As a little bit of an update (I know it's been AGES) I have finally bought what I like to call a "big girl's camera" and can't wait to show you the photos that I plan to take!  I hope that having this camera means I can expand my blog and make it a better quality space of internet, something pretty to drop by and see :)  I plan to do a proper update post but this will have to do for now as I've got to run!

Let me know what your favourite part of the US or Canada is!