3 Alternative Oral Health Products For A Sparkling Smile*

It seems to that we live in a time where everyone is looking for natural alternatives to traditional household favourites.

We’re finally becoming aware that the planet’s resources are not ever-lasting, and it’s about time.

But the difficulty is discerning a decent alternative — do you have time during your weekly supermarket shop to sift through label ingredients and quiz staff over the provenance of products? Or can you dedicate a few hours in your busy schedule for researching information about sustainable manufacture and supply chains online?

The good news is that you don’t need to engage in any of those onerous activities whatsoever, because we’ve locked ourselves away for days preparing a hattrick of alternative health products which will bless you with a beautiful smile.

Get your chops round them right now and prepare to illuminate any room with a superbly sparkling smile.

Toothpaste and Mouthwash

Perk up your smile with natural toothpaste made from coconut oil from healthy superstore Kijani Living.

This product’s made with the most essential oils and guarantees that you have a wonderful white smile and fabulously fresh breath if used according to instructions — so slap it on before brushing for at least two minutes and remember to spit excess paste in the sink rather than rinsing your mouth — the residue left on your teeth can then work its protective magic for much longer.

Match it with a mouthwash featuring bamboo extract, chamomile extract, aloe vera juice and witch hazel water to ensure that your mouth feels soothed after brushing.

Natural mouthwashes don’t have harsh abrasives, yet still guarantee breath that’s as fresh as a mountain stream — brilliant!

Natural Facemasks

Using natural facemasks is a perfect way to ensure that your skin is in perfect condition.

And the Mega Greens Galaxy Pack from Glossier is like cleansing juice for your skin. Made with completely natural ingredients, it’ll clean your pores, calm your skin and refresh your face.

Key ingredients include leafy green parsley and spinach to protect against environmental pollutants and Bitter orange a a super soft, exfoliant that helps balance the oils in your skin.

And the masks have been dermatologically and allergy tested, so they’re suitable for all skin types.

Bamboo Toothbrushes

We’ve been brushing our teeth in one form or another for thousands of years — it’s become such a part of part of the daily ritual that we don’t pay it much mind

However, the environmental impact of a generic plastic toothbrush is massive — it’s estimated that 3.6 billion toothbrushes are used a year and most of these end up in the sea.

So buying bamboo toothbrushes, which have much less of an environmental impact, is more beneficial to the planet.

These tend to be pricier than plastic varieties, but you can’t put a price on protecting our oceans.

That’s our list! Can you add your own alternative oral health products? Let us know in the comments section.

Bar + Block Review | Aldgate

Recently I was in charged of arranging where to go out for dinner and a girlie catch up with a friend and I knew straight away Bar + Block was the place to go.The new venue in Aldgate boasts an open kitchen, slick modern interior and is just a stone throw away from Aldgate East station on the Hammersmith & City line.

When we arrived we were greeted by a friendly staff member, before being shown to our table by our waiter who bought us some table water and a tub of popcorn. But this was not any popcorn, cooked in beef dripping and coated in beef flavouring. It sounds a bit weird but trust me when I tell you that it works.

The drink menu is huge and were spoilt for choice, was we couldn't make up our minds. We were suggested the Salted Caramel Espresso Martini (7.99) a twist on the traditional recipe made with Salted Caramel Kahlua & Absolut Vodka, which was delicious and perfect to sip on whilst we checked out the starters.

Together we shared the Pulled beef tacos (4.95), which are new on the menu. Soft taco shells topped with pulled beef, beans with bacon, smashed avocado, tomato salsa, Cheddar cheese and coriander, and the Salt and Pepper Squid (6.50) mixed with chilli and garlic, served with lemon & garlic mayo and a wedge of lemon.

On my visit to the Kings Cross branch last year I was pescatarian, now that I am now flexitarian I knew that I wanted to try a meat dish this time. The Surf and Turf (23.95) caught my eye straight away, 8oz sirloin, topped with a lobster tail cooked in garlic butter over charcoal. The steaks at Bar + Block are aged for a minimum of 28 days and this makes the meat really tasty,the steak was medium rare as requested and was tender and melted in the mouth. I had the Creamed Sweetcorn (3.25) for a side which was rather moorish.

My friend opted for the Deconstructed Beef Wellington (28.95) which features a 10oz sliced fillet served on layers of puff pastry filled with garlic spinach and creamy truffle flavoured mushrooms, served with a rich Malbec sauce. She swapped the chunky chips for Halloumi fries which are new on the menu. I have to say I had major food envy after trying one. They are the best halloumi fries I have had to date, light, crispy and slightly salty.If you are a cheese lover you must order them, you will not be disappointed!

Did we have puddings? of course we did! For me Salted Toffee Apple Crumble, served with vanilla ice cream (5.95) – another new menu item – for my friend they recommended the Chocolate Churros Sundae (5.95) which is churros coated in cinnamon sugar, served with vanilla ice cream, salted caramel ice cream, brownie chunks, cream and chocolate toffee sauce. The Churros are normally served inside the mason jar, however my friend asked for them to be served on the side.

We ended the night with a Instagram worthy Unicorn Juice (7.99) which was almost too cute to drink, rainbow layers of strawberry purée, passion fruit and pineapple juice, Bacardi Superior Rum and a blue curaçao drizzle, topped with a candy unicorn! and a classic rum and coke.

As well as great food, we received fantastic service from Rais who looked after us for the entire evening. He was attentive but not overly and gave us some recommendations when we couldn’t decide what to have from the menu. Everyone I saw served by him had massive smiles on their faces and I even caught him doing the floss with some kids. He is a credit to Bar + Block.

As well as dinner, the restaurant also serves breakfast, brunch and lunch opening from 6.30am till late 7 days per week.

Have you heard of Bar + Block before? check out their menu and let me know what catches your eye.

We were provided with a complimentary meal in exchange for this review but all thoughts and opinions are our own.

What's In Darcy's Christmas Stocking 2019*

Do you ever struggle with what to put in a stocking over Christmas? The difficult decision of not wanting to go over the top, but also wanting to gift something that will be enjoyed?

Darcy has turned very girlie recently, and has strong opinions about everything. I am not over stuffing her stocking as she also gets a Christmas Eve box, so everything is cheap and cheerful. Of course I will adding the usual to the stocking as well.. socks, candy canes and of course an orange. I love watching her open her stocking on Christmas morning.

You know when you go into Primark for some socks and you come out with everything but socks? I was spoilt for choice for stocking fillers. It can be hard sometimes to find age appropriate. Darcy loves Disney and Primark have loads of Disney theme things including this perfume which was only £3 and the cute penguin lip balm was a quid.

The fluffy cat key ring is from Home Bargains and will be put her school book bag, and the tree pen is from one of my favourite shops Flying Tiger and was also £1.

After LOL Suprise dolls, Darcy is obsessed with JoJo Siwa. Obviously I had to get her a
JoJo Siwa x Hair Secretz brush*, it's not just cute looking. It has storage for hair clips inside the brush and dual sided bristles, one side to detangle the other to smooth and style.
The detangling side has three different heights of bristle which allow the brush to glide through hair in seconds. JoJo Brushes available from B&M Stores nationwide and at Amazon for £7.99
Zoo imagination biscuits* are not only gluten and lactose-free, they are the perfect snack for between breakfast and Christmas dinner. You can find Zoo Imagination at Tesco for £1.79.

I hope you find something on this list helpful in your search for stocking fillers. Do you put similar things in yours? Or what other things do you put in your Christmas stockings? I always love hearing stocking filler ideas.

Hippity Hop Review

One thing that Darcy and I loved to do, is go to the theatre. I think it is important that families make time to see a show from time to time as it allows you to have quality time as well as help children to be creative, learn to communication and to be imaginative. So when Darcy and I had received a invite to review Hippity Hop at the Artsdepot I jumped at the chance.

Photo credit Suzi Corker

Before the Hippity Hop starts you are greeted by the performers themselves, and everyone gets a colourful cap to wear. Just don't wear your cap back to front or your child will end up giving you the evils, apparently it is not cool to wear it that way and who am i to argue with a four years old.

The production focuses around a pram containing a baby who had rolled away from the its Mummy. Whilst travelling around colourful Hippity Hop town calling on various shopkeepers to see if they have seen the baby's missing mum.

Hippity Hop is different to other productions, there is puppetry, rapping and singing. It is a sensory delight full of colour, scent and sound. Which makes it perfect for children with autism.

Darcy and I favourite was The Soundman, I watched her really lose herself in the music and she has informed me that she wants all her friends to go and see it.

The production is aimed for 2 - 5 years old, but I feel it is perfect for all ages. We absolutely adored the production and would definitely see it again. I urge you all to do the same!

Hippity Hop is at the Artsdepot until the 31st December 2018, before going on tour in the New Year to The Burton Taylor Studio, Oxford (12-13 January), Attenborough Arts Centre, Leicester (15-16 January), Gulbenkian, Canterbury (23-27 January), Theatr Clwyd, Mold (29 January – 2 February), Stratford Circus Arts Centre, London (8-9 February) and Southbank Centre, London (13-17 February)

Last Minute Party Planning Ideas*

Ah, hosting the Christmas party. It's your turn and suddenly you need to come up with a theme, a guest list, a menu, the entertainment, the decorations--all at the busiest time of the year. But never fear because believe it or not, you are only a click or a phone call away from getting teverything you need for your party. It'll kick your party up a notch or two and make it hassle free for you all in one go. You ready?

First off, you need to decide where to host your party. As it is last minute, hosting the party in your home maybe be the best idea. Get some friends or family members to help you set up, put those valuabes and breakables some where safe, move some furtinure around for space and decorate to room to your theme. You canget the kids involves by making paper chains, it will also keep them busy. So you can get on with other things without being intrupted.

If you do not fancy hosting at home you could looking into hiring one of many party houses. They perfect for gathering groups of friends, family or colleagues, corporate events, special occasions or as stag do venues.

For a work christmas party, see if you can use a board room for a few hours. If not many resturants have rooms you can hire or you can look into hiring out a area in a pub. Many places will have a christmas set menu which will suit every dietary needs.

You'll need entertainment and depending on your guest list (young, old, mix, coworkers, family, etc) as it's a Christmas party you're creating so why not invite the jolly old elf, Santa, himself? You've got fun right in the palm of your hand when you rent out a performer for your special day.

For children parties, keep it simple! Kids love parties foods, party time can often mean an excuse for overloading kids with sweet treats! But do you really want a bunch of sugar-fuelled kids running around your house?! The trick to serving healthy party food is to make it look as appealing as possible to the kids. Buffet food such as; String Cheese Snowmen and christmas pudding cake pops are so simple to make.

For office parties, a great thing to do is to make funny awards up, either in the form of made trophies or just certificates that you have printed off the computer. These can be for anything from 'first to arrive at the office each day', 'the one who always makes the coffee', 'the one who never late for work', 'the one who always wears a quirky tie', etc. and is a great way to 'award' coworkers for their silly habits. All in good fun of course.

So those few a few last minute christmas party ideas to help you get started, I hope you found them useful. Do you have any parties ideas you would like to share with me?

The ultimate Christmas gift guide for everyone on your list — all for under £50

Christmas is so close! But don't freak out I GOTCHU! Here is a gift guide for LITERALLY anyone... For Her, Him and the kids! I have some expensive things and I have some cheap things. These are all things that I generally like or have used, so they are Leighanne approved.

So what are we waiting for, let's start the Bump and Beyond ultimate Christmas gift guide 2018

For Her

Gin has become a favoruite tipple to a lot of people, including myself lately. I am always on the hunt for some new favours to try. This Gin & Tonic Infusion Set* is perfect as it livens up the classic G & T or even create your own personalised gin infusions.

Add a personal touch with a bottle of personalised Prosecco* it is a perfect way to mark a special occassion.

We are all trying to be more environmental friendly, one way we can do this is by reducing the amount of plastic we use. A Chilly's Reusable Bottle*, is not only gorgeous and res usable it is lightweight and insulated enough to keep the contents cold for up to 24 hours or hot for up to 12 hours.

A goal setting planner which everyone needs, Deluxe Law of Attraction Life Planner is perfect for the woman in your life.

For the kids

From LOL Dolls to Num Noms, kids just love collectiable toys. A new one on the market is Party Pop Tennies, which is currently on offer at Argos. Pull, twist, and pop six Surprise Poppers to discover stylish dolls and fun accessories! For ages 4 years and over.

Do you remember last year when the Fingerlings were sold out everywhere! This year they are back with Fingerlings Hugs. Kiss them, swing them, or throw them in the air for different reactions. Fingerlings can also repeat what you say in a funny voice, For ages 2 years and over.

The cry babies, cry real water and make realistic baby noises. Give them their dummy and a cuddle to stop them from crying. For ages 18 months and over.

You cannot go wrong with a Leap Frog toy, The Learn and Groove Music Player is a child-friendly portable music player pre-loaded with 20 upbeat songs to encourage children to move as they learn.

The Untamed Raptor Dino is part of the Fingerling family. They react to sound, motion, and touch, and roar hiss and chomp to scare off your enemies.

The PJ Masks Stretch Catboy is Super Strong! Super Stretchy Fun! Grab hold and stretch Catboy's arms, legs and torso! Release and Catboy returns back to his normal size and shape. You can even tie him in knots! Not suitable for children under 3 years old

For Him

What do you buy the man who has everything? A star of course! With the Name a star gift set* You receive detailed info to help you track down your star with a telescope, and an official certificate proving that it has been registered.

The Spice Kitchen: Flavorful Recipes from Around the World

A Nintendo Switch is the perfect present for all the family, and now that Fortnite Battle Pass Season 6 is now available on the switch. It will make the perfect present for the man in your life.

Drones are at the top of plenty of wish lists this year, and if you want to take aerial photos or just get airborne, this Hawkin’s Bazaar drone is cheap and cheerful and should gives hours of fun.

Are Your Windows Ready for Winter?*

It only seems like yesterday, that we will moaning about how hot it wass. Cracking open all our windows and sitting in front of the fan. Now the weather has most definitely changed and it is time to keep our homes nice and toasty over the winter period.

Don’t wait till temperatures drop to weather proof your windows – use these helpful, cheap tips to keep your home warm. If your windows have seen better days, it is time to invest in some brand new Upc windows to not only keep your home warm but also safe over the winter period.

Clear sills and moving parts of dirt and debris. Debris like dirt or leaves can get caught in window sills and moving parts of windows or doors. Clean these areas with a dry brush to create a tighter seal and enhance window and door performance.

Make a DIY draft stopper
Common places for drafts to enter your home include; underneath doors and around windows. Making a draft stopper is rather easy. Al you need to do it make a tube with fabric and stuffed it with dried rice, padding or even old pieces of clothing. You can place these on any drafty windowsill in your home to help keep heat in and cold air out

Insulate your windows using plastic wrap
Window film creates an insulating barrier between the interior of your home and your windows. Kits typically include plastic shrink film that you apply to the indoor window frame using double-sided sticky tape. Simply heat the film with a hair dryer to shrink it and remove wrinkles.

Hang thermal curtains
Insulated curtains are designed to effectively block the cold outside air from seeping inside your home. It is also a way to add some must needed colour and drama to your home.