Day Trip to Dungeness

I’m trying to have new days out to different places that aren’t packed and don’t cost the earth. It’s the summer holidays we need a balance and so my mum made up a hugely delicious picnic and off we went to Dungeness for the day just to see what we could find down there and as somewhere new to investigate. The sun was shining the car was packed and after a 50 minute journey we arrived.

We began buy heading straight to the lighthouse on the way there are lots of lovely little shack studios of art and photography. Finley was amazed by this masterpiece of leftover beach items outside a beautiful art shop, it must have took some years to build up.

My grandad always inspired us to at least try and attempt those funny location photographs, although trying to instruct Finley on hold to hold a lighthouse was quite impossible 🙂

We paid the £9.50 entry for 2 adults and a child and proceeded to climb the169 steps to the top of the lighthouse. On the way up there was loads of facts about the lighthouse and maps of hundreds of shipwrecks that ha happened along the coastline, there was a keepers book and all the information on how they recorded the seas, weather and such. As geeky as it sounds that kinda stuff fascinates me and I like to tell Finley about where we are, I like that everyday is a new opportunity to teach him new stuff.

Once at the top the light itself was huge and the views across some of the coastline were just beautiful, plus looking out across the sea at all the boats and the little hits scattered closely along the shoreline, plus the smiles captured of me mum and Finley.

After a steep decent down the 169 steps we went back to the car got our picnic and walked to the pebbled beach, it was a sunny and glorious day perfect for stone throwing in the water, a yummy picnic and some special time just to take time out with 2 very special people who make me smile lots. We stayed on the beach all afternoon Finley paddled in the water throwing stones, watched some rather unsuccessful fishermen, went for a walk along the beach with nanny and collected lots of bits he wants to stock in his summer journal 🙂

xoxo

Sharing a Smile, Precious Memories

Sometimes it’s not about the whole picture this was one when me and my lil dude were messing around on a day out. It may not have captured us completely but the smile in his eyes and the laughter in my smile makes me smile every time I look at it. It makes me feel complete.
Plus the picnic blanket we are laying on is one my very talented mummy made. Kaz kreationz.
I’ll write a whole post about this day out with my Mum & Finley in Dungeness but for now just wanted to share a smile.
Have a fabulous weekend xoxo

Opening the Sweet Cheeks Beauty Room at Athena Fitness

So in my last post I told you a little (well quite a lot) about what it took me to get to the point where I could announce “Sweet Cheeks Beauty has a home, a gorgeous beauty room at Athena Fitness” you can have a read of that here, but this post is to tell you about my new beauty room where it is, transforming it, the fab Athena Ladies I get to work alongside and making one of my dreams come true.

It all came about by not only one of my best clients but also my oldest and dearest friend.

I was doing my Kaleighs minx and she is an amazing pole fitness instructor and told me about a beauty room that had become available where she teaches, having already said no to two beauty rooms already this year my gut instinct told me this was it, this was the next step and my perfect opportunity. That evening I emailed the lady I knew who ran Athena Fitness Olivia and having been established and respected within her industry for so long with a team of amazing and highly trained staff i was excited by the possibilities of what could be (i think that enthusiasm came across in that email).

Meeting Olivia at the beauty room located within Athena Fitness Gravesend for the first time I knew straight away we could both make this work and within that little beauty room I was going to make magic happen, I agreed at this first meeting, this was not an opportunity I wanted to miss.

The day after receiving the keys I spent the day decorating I wanted this to be transformed and to be Sweet Cheeks Beauty quaint and just perfect, new and relaunched.
Here are some snaps I took through the transformation.

Me looking every so glam (but incredibly happy) as a painter & decorator

From green to a soft mauve just beautiful!

All complete with couch and products

So now I need to tell you all how you can come get pampered in this amazing little beauty room, well you can keep up to date with the latest updates through the posts on my Facebook page my website Sweet Cheeks Beauty is currently being redesigned, all part of the new dreams, expansion and exciting things to come. If you want to pop in and see me though head down to The Loft, Unit 2 Milton Business Park, Milton Road, Gravesend, Kent DA12 2PG. I even added a map for you to come find me 🙂

If you come in on a Tuesday-Thursday evening you may get chance to see the girls working there magic in pole, aerial hoops and aerial silks, if your feeling really brave you could take them up on there offer of a free taster session 🙂

xoxo

With special thanks to kaleigh, the friend who has always been so important in my life, Olivia for giving me this amazing opportunity being so supportive and all the Athena girls who I love seeing through the week, absolute amaze me in their classes and for making me feel so welcome. And of course goes without saying my gorgeous fiancé who puts up with my occasional psychotic entrepreneurial tendencies and my little boy who makes it all worth it every day when he says “I love you” and on days like when I was telling him about my work and he replies “I’m proud of you Mummy” (that’s pretty amazing coming from a 6 year old).

Ben 10 FourArms & Orange Angry Bird Face Paint

Keeping kids entertained on days when the ironing is piling up, the sink is full of washing up and I have a to do list as long as my arm can be hard, but even though I only have one little boy I actually find it easier when I have 2 to entertain so today my son Finley had his friend Finley (confusing is an understatement) come over to play, they are good as gold and have walked to the shop with me, played, tidied up and not had one argument so they each chose how they wanted there faces painted this afternoon. Hence the rather unusual and not normally requested Ben 10 Four arms and Orange Angry Bird. Go google them now just so you can compare to the actual characters and tell me what you think!!

Ben 10 FourArms

Orange Angry Bird (I personally prefer my red mini version!)

Finley and Finley my helpers of the day 🙂

xoxo

A Sneak Peek Of the Wedding Make-Up from Saturday

So this is just a quick share of the beautiful Bride I got the pleasure of working for this past weekend, Fay was one of the most calm cool and collected brides I think I have ever worked with. I had so much fun with her and all the Bridal party I can’t wait to share more details and photos at a later date.

All that’s left to do for now is wish this gorgeous couple a lifetime of happiness together, congratulations Mr & Mrs O’Grady

xoxo

Photos courtesy of the very talented Helen at Rowe Studios, UK

Why I have been a bit quiet

Life can be a bit of a whirlwind sometimes and as much as i love writing and sharing all my little moments, stories and updates with you it’s hard to keep it up when life takes hold.

As well as it being the summer holidays where I get to entertain and have lots of fun days out with this gorgeous little monster

I have also moved into my very own beauty room where my Sweet Cheeks Beauty business has gone from strength to strength and feel all my hard work building up a business that means so much is finally coming to fruition.

So going forward what does this mean? It means I’m setting aside some time to write up all different things relevant to my life not just my business. I’ll be telling you about beauty products, training and business in general, ill be sharing some amazing businesses I get to work with and ill be telling you all about my family, funny moments, days out and everyday funny tales of being an opinionated workaholic mummy who loves nothing more than time with her loved ones and like minded wonderful people. It could get emotional but I think it’s going to be fun, if you have any suggestions on what you want me to share please comment and I promise from now on I’m in this for the long haul.

xoxo

The Sweet Cheeks Beauty Room

Just writing the title to this post made me smile because of all the time and effort I put in to making that dream a reality, my beautiful company Sweet Cheeks Beauty now has its very own beauty room and I couldn’t be happier.

So when I decided to write about it I was wondering what avenue to go down and then I decided I wanted the first one to be one that would inspire others, because whilst I am so happy to have achieved this now, it’s taken a long time, a lot of dreaming and at so many times failures and moments I thought I should give up.

I have been in the beauty industry for ten years and I wanted this a lot sooner than I achieved it, I’m impulsive and if I put in the work today I kind of expect to see the results tomorrow and it took me a while to realise this didn’t happen. So what was the change? What was the shift for me that made me start seeing some amazing results? If I’m honest it was mainly my attitude.

I sat down and I looked at my faults and the things I didn’t like about myself;
-procrastinate, a lot, like way too much deadlines were the starting line for me when it came to the need to do jobs!

-compare myself to others & being a green eyed bitch, seeing others gain success made me feel like a failure and I was so horrible and bitter for their triumphs

-multitasking – no not in the good way, I mean multi tasking projects and not keeping my eye on one ball at a time

-emotions – I am a highly emotionally strung person and sometimes this gets in the way for business for me, because I want everyone to like me. That in itself is a humongous task and whilst I don’t like the word impossible that comes pretty close.

-people pleasing constantly meant a lot of my time was spent agreeing to help and please others and being so disappointed when they weren’t supporting me and my business in some of the simplest ways, I felt this as a personal rejection when the likely hood was they either didn’t want to or were too busy with their own projects or just weren’t as easily pushed over as I was

-constantly thinking I wasn’t already successful, doing well or surrounded by lots of abundance and blessings

I then thought how I can change them and the person I wanted to be;
-stopping procrastination – I now have clear weekly and monthly goals I’m not perfect I still leave things to last minute occasionally but I have more focus and a bit more of a schedule for different things (also this week I’m setting up accountability for my job list with another entrepreneurial friend we are meeting monthly and speaking weekly to motivate each other and get the jobs done!)

-stop being a mega bitch – I of all people know how hard the journey can be so why did i presume others had just leapt to success and not had their own journey? I now celebrate others success, I find ways they inspire me, I learn from their stories and I support their goals its much better being on that side of the fence rather than a lonely monster wallowing in self pity and jealousy 🙂

-multi tasking – I still have the urge to do it all I’m a workaholic but whilst I may add an idea to my dream board I don’t have to do it all now it means there is less pressure and my work is better I pay even more attention to detail (I just have to get it started pretty soon on one of my monthly targets)

-emotions – I feel them I take full accountability for them but I don’t let them decide who I am going to be or how my day or week is going to feel. I also have to understand that my bubbly, enthusiastic, energetic behaviour, my fast talking and constant happy thoughts and smiles do get on some people’s nerves and not everyone is going to like me, that’s ok too not everyone is meant to like me it toughens my skin and also makes me understand other people’s personalities and behaviour. As well as teaching me the way I am towards others and how my behaviour may effect their emotions and make them feel.

-people pleasing for this I read a book, a New York Times best seller called The Disease To Please. I had enough of trying to keep everyone happy and the minute I couldn’t say “yes” being made to feel guilty when the fact is I give so much, so I saw this book recommended and have shared it with lots of others since it was attitude changing it opened my eyes

-changing my attitude I now meditate most days, I take photos, i write poetry, I take in the moments I love and smile, I write in my gratitude jar normally about 20 things a day (that’s a lot of blessings), i share happiness with others, i find ways to pay it forward and I’m happy. Don’t get me wrong bad things happen but what can I do about it throw myself a pity party or think “how do I deal with this shit?”

And as silly as it sounds once I faced up to all the above I kind of felt like I knew where I needed to go, I’m not saying it was easy it took me years to face up to the things I didn’t want to blame on myself, I wanted to find other excuses now I know there is no need for excuses because that’s just lying to myself and delaying me finding the true answers and making the changes I need to make. These shifts haven’t just got me to the beauty room but they have made me appreciate and love all the finer things in life and watching all of that grow around me.

I’m going to share another post later on the actual opening and setting up of the beauty room ill share some pics of me decorating, moving stock in and just what a beautiful tranquil place my Sweet Cheeks Beauty room is 😉

xoxo