Cool gadgets for your Smartphone.

Nearly everyone I know owns a phone, they're either on it to play games, talk to people or promote their blog/shop etc. I'm one of those people who love using my phone especially when it comes to using it to take photos and I love coming across photography lenses that attach to my iphone. I came across a few cool gadgets (not just photography ones) which can change the way you use your phone and no I didn't include the selfie stick;

The Smartboy
As far as I'm aware this device hasn't been launched yet it is still a concept but such a good one I had to share it with you all! A company named Hyperkin are working on this device called The Smartboy, The smart boy allows you to turn your iphone 6 into a gaming device, it has the same design as the game boy. It let's gamers insert actual Gameboy cartridges giving you the same expierences as an old Gameboy, you can use this without any batteries as it gets power from the iphone, I do hope it launches soon because I would love to try it out!

Mpow® 3 in 1 Clip-On 180 Degree Supreme Fisheye + 0.65X Wide Angle+ 10X Macro Lens
This is a 3 in 1 clip-on detachable jelly lens for mobile phones and digital cameras, for such a cool little gadget it comes with a small price tag but from what I have read from the reviews it's brilliant for the price tag £12.99. This lens lets you see the image with the range of 180 degrees from the right to the left on your phone, the fish eyelense doesn't leave behind a dark circle giving you nice clear pictures. It clamps onto your phone and is detachable, it works with most types of mobiles just as long as their camera lenses are no bigger than 13mm, it can also be used on laptops and tablets. you can purchase this lens from Amazon for £10.09 at the moment!

MiJuice 
I came across Mijuice on Instagram sometime last year, I was actually pleased to see such sleek a nice cases which extend battery life, you put the case on like any other case except this one has a built in battery the battery inside the case automatically switches off when your phone reacherd 100% battery life. Other cases that I have seen like this are big and bulky and I'm more of a slim phone kind of girl. They don't just stock cases for the iphone either, they cater for Samsung's too, with different designs and colours, their prices range from £4.99 to £39.99 depending on what kind of case you want, I personally would pay more for a quality case which gives my phone more life than something cheap that is bulky and ugly, my phone is something that I don't fancy breaking due to a cheap charger breaking it so Mijuice is perfect!

Prynt
This nifty gadget is a portable printer that your phone slides into and prints out pictures from your phone, I love this idea because what person wants to waste their time doing down to Asda and plugging their phone into the photo machine to get pictures printed out when you can do it at home or out and about yourself! Right now you can only pre order this device and is currently only available for  iPhone 5/5S/5C/6 and the Samsung Galaxy S4/S5 right now it will be retailing at $129 for the case and 10 photo sheets and refills will be $5.

Pocket Projector Mobile, 100 Lumens

I love LOVE this, it is a mini projector that your phone plugs into, it had duel built- in speakers and focus control, rechargeable battery which doubles as a USB backup battery for your smartphone devices, the battery ;asts up to 2 hours and has an AC adaptor, the projector connects via HDMI but to use on iphone you will need an Apple digital AV adaptor which isn't included with the projector. So if you want to your videos you have recorded or even YouTube videos why not watch them via this projector! It does have a pretty big price tag of £299 but it's a pretty cool gadget!

GameKlip

Yes another gaming gadget for your phone, what can I say, I love to game! GamingKlip was made and run by Ryan French from Redmond USA. He created the Gamingklip so it attaches to your Android phone to a duelshock3 controller which are normally used for the PS3. The GamingKlip allows you to use a real controller (instead of the screen on your phone) to play games on your smartphone, which gives you the real full console experience at just a fraction of the cost. The GamingKlip retails at $19.95 which is a steal!

(To view products click on the title of the products.)

An NCS sufferers mini guide to summer.

I'm sure most of you who suffer from NCS (neurocardiogenic syncope) are aware of how hard it is to function in the summer, it's the worst time of year for me personally. There are tears, anger and me eventually accepting there is no stopping my condition, I just have to push through it as best as I can, this is just a short guide to how I deal with summer:

1. Keeping hydrated is a must. If you're not hydrated you're going to feel worse then ever. I normally buy myself a drink or carry a drink with me all through out the year but in the summer I end up needing more fluids than ever, So please don't let yourself get hydrated, keep your fluid intake up!

2. Be close to somewhere that has seats/bench. I'm terrible for sitting down all the time people seem to think i'm lazy or being an idiot just because I can't walk up a hill without fainting or down a street without having to cling to a wall. This is my reality, if I don't try and stop myself fainting I may end up seriously hurting myself on the fall down, which I have done many times, so please don't go judging me for having to rest.

3. I know a lot of people as well as myself suffer from blood pooling. I get it badly in the summer. My legs swell up so big which makes them sore and achy, wearing compression stockings are your best bet for this, I know they aren't pretty and don't go with your outfit but they do help. I end up having to keep my legs and feet elevated to help the swelling and my BP.

4. If you wake up feeling dizzy don't even attempt to do anything. Sounds lazy but there is no point making it worse. I would rather be able to have enough energy to eat during the day than having to sleep most of my day away because I pushed myself.

5. Don't stress yourself out over mess, the mess can wait. Your health is more important than that little bit of hoovering that needs to be done. You don't want to start the cleaning only to end up with a bigger mess than when you started do you? Put your feet up, watch some TV or even have a little snooze instead.

6. If you can't get out of bed, don't attempt it! Lay there until you can manage it, grab yourself a snack and some water or get someone to bring it to you. I sometimes end up feeling really sick due to my NCS but when I don't eat properly it doesn't help me one bit.

7. Cooking is a big NO. You're hot already so why stand over a cooker making yourself hotter and risk harming yourself? Know your limits and know when to stop pushing yourself. If you have people who offer to help, let them do it, they're not trying to make you feel any more less of a person. 

Last year sometime I did a post similar to this where I spoke about how summer makes me feel whilst having NCS which you can read HERE.

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Bandelettes!

Let's face it, there are a lot of us out there who get chafing, it's not fun nor is it something people like to admit but old young, big small, boy or girl all of us can have it. I for one am one of those people who do, I have big thighs and they touch, I'm not even going to deny it. I hate when i'm hot in the summer and they rub, I tend to wear skin coloured tights or leggings to make the chafing some what better. When I was browsing through Mish Lingerie I discovered they do these things called Bandelettes (band thighs) that prevent chafing and I immediately had to have them, I was sold on the lace ones straight away!

I decided rather than buying them online I would purchase them at Mish's blogger event that way I didn't have to wait around all day for them to be delivered. Whilst I was in Mish they measured the top of my thigh to see what size I needed and luckily had mine in stock, they retail at about £19.99 but Mish stock them for £12.99. When I got home I tried them on properly straight away, they are very comfy and don't slip down because they are backed non- slip silicone, they come in varies colours. The ones I chose are black lace, but unisex ones are also available for the same price.

Not only do they prevent chafing (chub rub) but they also can look very sexy, I have tried mine on with a few dresses and some underwear and I have to say they do boost my confidence a bit! Now when I go out in a dress or skirt in the heat I won't feel uncomfortable because my thighs are rubbing because the bands help so much with it! I couldn't recommend them enough, they are much better and much nicer looking than having to wear comfort shorts or having to sweat in tights and leggings. Here are what they look like on: 

If you wish to buy these, you can purchase them from Mish HERE

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Anxiety in a relationship.

As a person who does suffer from anxiety and who is in a relationship I thought I would just list a few things some partners may incur when they start dating someone with anxiety. It's important to understand that these things I'm about to list are what I personally do because of my anxiety, not all anxiety sufferers do or say the same things: 

• Having to apologise more times than necessary and sometimes apologising for nothing. 
• Asking my partner "are you ok" throughout the day because the look on their face or the way they're acting towards me makes me feel like something is wrong.
• Phoning my cab for me or going to the shop to get us food because I'm too anxious to do it myself/go with him.
• Repeating myself over and over again just so they don't forget what I said because there is no doubt I would if I was the other way around.
• Asking them to text me when they go to sleep or wake up because I have irrational fears that something bad could happen to either one of us. I need to hear/read/say I love you because of my irrational fear or I need to know that the are safe and well.
• Every part of me sweats, especially my palms. They become so sweaty causing me to become anxious about being out in public and thinking I'm about to pass out (most times I am) or that someone can smell me sweating.
• Asking my boyfriend to be reassuring as I get anxious about ridiculous things such as what people will think of the way I look.
• I'm always early, I get worried in case I'm late. When I do end up being late I go into panic mode and my anxiety goes through the roof.
• I get nervous about seeing people who I have known for ages or having to leave the house at all. I still get nervous about going to see my boyfriend, I have no idea why.
• Too anxious and scared to have nights out with mates, unless I'm with someone who can tell I'm getting too anxious/or feeling faint and want to leave.
• I cry a lot, sometimes for no reason but after I've cried it helps and I end up relaxing a lot more.
• I go silent a lot, not because I'm moody but because an anxiety attack is coming on, so when people accuse me of being moody with them it just makes me feel uncomfortable and as if I'm in the wrong.
• Eating at a restaurant is a huge thing for me, I hate eating around strangers and people staring at me it makes me feel like I'm being judged. So when I finally do it, it's like a big achievement for me and I end up breathing a sigh of relief when it's over.
• I like to be close to my boyfriend, some would say it is clingy but I don't do it all the time only when I feel like a good huge and a kiss will help (which it does). Other times I can be distant and act like I'm uninterested but that's just me having a thousand things running around my mind, it doesn't mean I'm not interested in him anymore.

I'm thankful that I have a very loving and understanding boyfriend who looks after me when I'm not feeling well. Knows what to do when I faint and understands that I have anxiety as well as depression. But what you have to remember is you can't always rely on your other half to take care of you, you need to try and take care of yourself, self care is important;

What is self care? 

Self care kind of explains it's self in the name, it means looking after yourself in a healthy way, it can be from eating to brushing your teeth or event taking your medicine when ill, self care comes from you caring for yourself. You don't have to push yourself to do anything you can't do, instead do the things you can do or the things you enjoy, but trying to stay healthy is one of the main things. Personally for me when I eat rubbish food it makes me feel worse, so by eating more healthy it makes me feel a bit better. I understand it can be a big step to make to have self care, believe me there were times I just gave up on it, I ended up being a shell of myself. But over the past few years I have realised that even though I can get help from doctors I also need to help myself. It's all well and good being told I need to take a certain medication to help with something, but that's not going to do anything if I don't take the medicine when i'm suppose to, or if i'm barely getting enough fluids. Don't be afraid of helping yourself, you may feel like you will fail but life it's about trial and error, not everyone is going to be able to do something for the first time so don't beat yourself up over it!

Free the Squeeze!! Mish & Panache Lingerie Blogger event.

A few weeks ago I received an email from Mish Lingerie asking me if I would like to attend their first ever blogger event, I was so flattered and happy to be asked so of course, I said yes. Mish Lingerie was created to help us ladies with larger boobs, sometimes it can be hard to find pretty lingerie for the bigger breasted woman but Mish gives us women access to beautiful lingerie that does our curves justice. Mish is a Cornwall based shop located in Bodmin, each of their customers are offered a bra size fitting from one of their professional bra fitters. They have a wide variety of bras to fit all sorts of body shapes and bra sizes such as mastectomy bras, Bridal lingerie, matching bra and knicker sets, garters, maternity etc.

This was my first ever blogging event that I have attended, I have been invited to a few before but they were all based in London which was very far and expensive for me to travel to for one day. But back to this blog post, the day of the event was a very muggy and rainy day I had no idea what to wear because rain and heat are two of the hardest a combos to dress for, I just ended up wearing a flowery dress from boo hoo with some cut out boots, I wasn't feeling too well that day and my NCS was playing havoc with me but I still managed to stay from 10am till 3pm instead of rushing off home.

To start off with we learned about Panache and who their brand is specifically aimed, For those of you who have no Idea who Panache are, they are a lingerie company that has been going since the 1980's stocking lingerie in sizes D-K. They have a number of different brands the main one being Panache which is for the everyday comfort, Panache black for a luxurious and glamorous feel, Cleo for the young at heart, Sculptresse is the plus range sizes), Panache sportswear and swimwear. Their main focus has been about 'the best class' when it comes to their D cup plus lingerie, for them, it's not just about designing beautiful garments but also to craft products that enhance and support each body type. Panache lingerie is being sold in 53 countries worldwide, they are now available at many of the world's best lingerie retailers. They have also won a number of different awards including:

2012 & 2013 - Sports Bra Brand of the Year at the UK Lingerie Awards

2013 - Queens award for International Trade

2012 - Best Maternity Bra, Bloom Awards

2002 - Queens award for International Trade

Here are a few pictures from their ranges:

Panache Jasmine 

Bra // Knickers 

(Images from Mish Online)

Elle by Panache 

Bikini Top // Bikini Brief

(Images from Mish Online)

Panache Evie Bridal 

Bra // Thong

(Images from Mish Online)

Mish managed to get hold of some lovely customers of hers who volunteered to model some of the underwear for us from the summer, autumn and winter collections. Unfortunately and foolishly of me, I didn't take any pictures of the models my phone has been a nightmare and started to die, but more pictures can be seen on Instagram just type in #freethesqueeze to see more from the event! My favourite out of all the Panache collection has to be Cleo, its fun bright and quirky at and got to see a sneak preview of the autumn/winter collection which will be launched some time towards the end of this month.

(pictures from Mish Lingerie Instagram)

After the learning about Panache, Mish went on to tell us about why it's important to wear the right bra size and how to find out if you're wearing the wrong one this is where #freethesqueeze comes in, she explained to us that squeezing into the right size bra means you're not getting the support that your boobs need, most women think the should go up a size around the band in bra sizes when they should be going up a cup size, if your boobs are squished inside of a bra and giving you double or even triple boobs it's not because of the band it's more then likely the cup size is too small so it's important to get measured rather than trying to guess your bra size (like I use to). If your band that you're wearing is riding up your back it could either be because it is too big or the elastic has gone in the bra, there is a lot of science that goes into bras that I never even knew! We were all given a size fitting to see if we were wearing the right size after Mish provided us with a yummy lunch, I found out that my cup sizes were two sizes too small and I should of been wearing a 36DD and not a 36C, which was a huge shock for me! I tried on the Tango Balcony bra in white, which I fell in love with and ended up taking home with me, Mish provided us all with an underwear set of our choice (my knickers are being sent out) and a gift bag, I will hopefully have a review up of my underwear set soon. 

If you want to see what the other bloggers from the event wrote in their blogs check them out:

Alison - Shut The Frock Up // Sam - Sofa Dodger// Stevie - A Cornish Mum //

 Jo - Slummy Single Mummy // Hannah - Cupcake Mumma

I'm glad that I learned so much from bras and that I can now tell how a bra properly fits rather than taking a guess, I seriously urge others to go for a bra fitting it's much easier than second guessing all the time! I would like to thank Mish for inviting me and making me feel comfortable even when I ran out the room, you and the girls never made a big deal out of it and I appreciate it, I had a wonderful day and I shall be ordering from you soon! If you want to see what other range of underwear Panache and Mish Lingerie stock the links are below:

Panache // Mish Lingerie

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my little ramblings #1

Yesterday was a big step for me in terms of my anxiety, I attended my first ever blogger event (a blog post will most likely be up next week on it) I'm proud that I actually managed to go their and stay for the whole thing rather then letting my anxiety and NCS get the better of me. I was feeling very light headed yesterday morning whilst getting ready to leave for the event but I tried my best to push forward and go as I've wanted to attend an event for a while now but I've been to scared or embarrassed over what people would think of me, my biggest fear which causes most of my anxiety is fainting in front of people who I've only just met or strangers, I wouldn't want them to take on the responsibility of making sure I'm OK after fainting or not knowing what to do if I did faint. I did have two episodes where I had to walk out of the shop and go downstairs to get air as I could feel myself slowly blacking out, luckily everyone was lovely about this and didn't make a big deal over it which made me feel very comfortable and not out of place so I'm very thankful for that. I know everyone says they have anxiety today but those who do actually have it will understand how hard it is to battle especially when you're in public, so for me to actually put myself in a situation where I knew that my NCS would play havoc was a huge deal for me personally. I do go out places but it's normally with a small group of 3/4 or just me and James alone, I would usually put earphones in and blast my ears with music when surrounded by more people so that was my little triumph. 

The next thing I have to ramble about is shaming people, I know everyone knows what happened on Benefits Twitter a few days ago (fat shaming) so I won't go into much detail over that but I do want to talk about why it's not OK to tell someone who is slimmer than you that they can't have an opinion on a matter such a the benefit one because they aren't fat. This is wrong, everyone is entitled to an opinion whether it's a good or bad one, we should all be able to have a mature debate without having to shut someone down because they're slimmer or even bigger then us. No one knows if that person has battled with their weight or their appearance, you don't know their life story. You may be against fat shaming (I am against any kind of shaming) but you're shaming someone else by telling them they can't do something because their not big enough, which is what bigger people face a lot of the time so no it's not right to tell them they can't do/say something because of their size, you wouldn't want people to be like that towards you so please be considerate towards others.

My last ramble is about sending small home made businesses/ or big emails demanding free stuff for you to review. I am all for bloggers receiving free stuff but you have to go about it the right way, demanding a product just because you blog isn't the right way. I have and I will never demand a free product in fact the only thing I normally do is send the business an email saying I have ordered/purchased a product or products from their shop and would love to do a blog post on them and asked them if I could possibly use any of their product posts for the blog post as well as my own, they have always been polite and lovely and more than happy for me to do this some even told me they added a little freebie with my products, I was very grateful that they had done this, they didn't have to but they still did, they even shared my blog post on their social media which gained me a few of you lovely followers. So please next time you think about sending a hand made business big or small an email or message demanding free products think about how that makes you look, just because you blog doesn't mean you're entitled to free stuff.

That's all I have to say for now, sorry if I ramble too much, it's just nice to get some things off your chest!

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My life after Hyperemesis Gravidarum.

It's been a good few weeks since my post about my pregnancy and I finally feel ready to talk about it a bit more. I've been pretty low and trying to hide it from everyone which just ends up in ridiculous arguments and me telling people they don't understand, but they can't really understand if I don't open up and talk about it can they? Every time I see that someone has announced a pregnancy or had a baby, I feel an ache in the pit of my stomach that I can't shake, not because I'm jealous but because I would be around 20 weeks pregnant by now, that's half way through my pregnancy and I had to take the easy way out with a termination. But I had no choice, I risked making my other problems worse, how would I be able to cope with the rest of the pregnancy when my body itself wasn't coping at all? I've had a few people trolling me calling me a murderer but that's fine it's their opinion, I can't be bothered to argue and explain why my termination was wrong, it's not for anyone but me to judge which is what I've been doing a lot of. I felt like a really bad person but I'm not, I'm only human and I had to do what was right for my health and my relationship. I don't know how James would of coped if I got worse throughout the pregnancy, we both needed each other and I wasn't able to show him the support he was showing me, which he continues to show me. He reassures me all the time that one day (in the distant future mind) we will be able to have a baby together even if I'm suffering from HG, we will find a way to cope and hopefully I will be able to get more help from the doctors. 

I actually was pretty much ignored by the doctors, I wanted to see someone anyone because my GP was on holiday and I needed to sort out some kind of medication combination to help ease my sickness, instead I was ignored or told no one can see me so early on in pregnancy, my stepdad went mad at the doctors he was so angry that they knew what I went through with my first pregnancy yet they wouldn't listen to me. I know a lot of people say "why didn't you go hospital" that would of been pointless as they wouldn't take me in until my ketones were high and at this point I was early on in my pregnancy and needed to be started on a course of sickness medication so going into hospital could be avoided. This is a huge pet peeve of mine right now when it comes to people speaking out about their HG; If a woman tells you she is suffering from HG don't suggest ginger biscuits or crackers, they won't work if anything the thought of eating them will just make a HG sufferer throw up all over you! HG is a disease, it's not just bad morning sickness, it turned me into a shell of myself I went into a very dark and lonely place where I just wanted to sleep forever because sleeping was my only escape. I'm still dealing with the after effects of HG, I'm not the same old Elle I was once was, I just hope that I go back to the outgoing person I once was. 

 I understand I'm entitled to feel sad but I'm going to enjoy my life and enjoy my time with James, dwelling on the fact that I had a termination isn't helping my health or relationship with loved ones, so I plan to enjoy every minute of it and enjoy being in love rather then destroying it with something I can't change, I want James to know I do love him and appreciate everything he has done to help me throughout this difficult time, I would fall apart if he didn't reassure me in the ways that he does. Sorry this has been a huge ramble but I feel so soo much better opening up. If you have a family member or a friend going through a hard time during pregnancy or after, just let them know you're there for them because pregnancy isn't all smiles and sunshine for everyone. 

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Glory boon vegan cosmetics.

I was pretty surprised when I found out that you could buy makeup from etsy, I probably shouldn't have been because it's packed full of so many different varieties of shops! I was curious to see if any shops sold foundation as I wanted to try something different and wanted to see if any shops had a light shade for my skin. As soon as I searched for foundation Glory Boon popped up, I clicked on the shop and was happy to see they sold such a variety of cosmetics which were all vegan which was most appealing to me, I would rather buy vegan products.

I want sure what kind of foundation for go for, they have the option or liquid and mineral but I decided it would be best to try out a liquid based foundation in the end. They have quiet a few options for skin colours which I like a lot! I don't really like foundations that are heavy coverage as they bring me out in spots badly, my pores really don't appreciate being so blocked up from it, so that's why I prefer to go for something very light on my skin when it comes to foundation. The Glory Bloom foundation is not too thick and not too watery and spreads nicely on my skin, very evenly too, my biggest issue is when my eyes water or my face gets hot the foundation looks like its melting off my face, luckily that doesn't happen too often and I normally set the foundation with a transparent face powder which helps it from doing that, If you want to have a dewy look though I would skip using powder. The concealer seemed very dark when it arrived and I was scared that it wouldn't match my skin, but when I tried it I was pleasantly surprised to see that it blends in very nicely to my pale skin and doesn't look dark at all (as you can see from the pictures below). I do love both foundation and concealer but as you can see they do come in tiny pots and are pricey for the amount you get (bare in mind it is handmade and not mass produced), if you're ordering from the UK like I was you will more then likely have to pay custom charges like I did which were about £12. The concealers are priced at £7.90 and the foundation was £11.85, they are perfect for people who want to start using vegan cosmetics they're 100% cruelty free, if you wish to check them out I will leave their link below.

(Foundation straight out the bottle)

(foundation blended)

(Concealer)

(Concealer blended)