We would like to be organised and manage to complete all our Christmas shopping by, say, September, but life always seems to get in the way, so we are always scrabbling around like lunatics a few days before Christmas.  Well, don’t despair, fellow last minute mamas, here at NotSuchAModelMum, we have come up with a last minute online gift guide for friends and family.  And best (and most importantly) of all, the gifts will all be delivered before the big day.  Nearest and dearest, look away now – as clearly your presents are featured!

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The blog world has been awash with this season’s must-try pleated midi skirt.  The midi length is a three quarter length skirt, that even at the best of times is notoriously difficult to style.   Add on some pleats and it becomes a challenge!  Let it be known that I have tried and failed abysmally in the past with this shape skirt…

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We have always loved good old Marks and Spencer.  Not just for underwear and food, but also for the cashmere and knitwear.  Now we love it for its cool dresses as well.  In all honesty,  ‘M&S’ is not the first shop I think about when on the search for a dress,  but it has come up trumps on several occasions, and this time is no different.

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If like me, your life does not conform to an everyday office routine – then wearing an off beat version of the power suit can have its benefits.  A good suit is perfect for those mornings when you stare longingly at your wardrobe with absolutely no idea what to wear, and need to get dressed in three minutes before the kids charge into the bedroom.

Welcome to the look that shouts ” pick me today!”  There is a reason why men enjoy wearing suits to work. It’s easy, classic and does not require much thought in the morning.  Just throw it on and off you go.  If Daddy is off to the office in his power suit, then Mummy can power suit herself up for the day as well… Mama means business with those tantrums today!

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The catwalks have been awash with velvet- velvet blouses; velvet shoes; velvet jackets- the list goes on.  This trend harks back to the late nineties where every teenage girl rocked crushed velvet dresses and scrunchies, and genuinely thought that they were the epitome of glamour… or maybe that was just me and my sister!  Anyway…

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Whilst having my make up done for a photo shoot, I began chatting to the make up artist about skincare and skincare routines.  If I manage to brush my teeth before face planting into my bed at 7:30pm, I am happy – so my night time skincare routine is equally unorthodox.  Simply put, I don’t have one.  A slather of my Nivea Night Cream is about as thorough as it gets.  When I explained this to the make up artist at the shoot, she suggested that I all I needed to do was to add a little something more to my skincare routine, and that this little something will reduce wrinkles, increase collagen, improve skin tone, texture and dark spots.  Now this is something, I am sure we can all do with.

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As much as we like to pretend to deny it, we love a scroll of Daily Mail.co.uk for the celebrity gossip and photos.  When it pops up that the latest celebrity to fall out of the Big Brother house has collaborated on a clothing line, our hearts sink. Surely, there is only so much flammable lycra a girl can buy. It is for this very reason that we tend to steer clear of celebrity clothing collaborations.  Kate Moss collaborating with anyone; and Alexa Chung collaborating with… well, anyone again, are the only two whose clothing lines we covet- we genuinely love them and their unique style.  But now, the times they are a changing, and we now have another celebrity clothing line to add to our very short list of ones we love, and surprisingly it has come from a very unexpected source.

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As soon as the first of November arrived,  there was a not so subtle shift in the weather.  I opened my front door, and got smacked in the face by a blast of Arctic cold.  This means that we can now pull out our jumpers and start to nest until Christmas.  Nothing says crisp November days more than a good jumper, and every winter I invest in a couple of pieces of knitwear that will see me through the winter.  When I spied this little number on another mum in the playground, and left my kids in the sandpit to run up to her to ask where it was from, I knew I had found one of my new winter essentials. Continue Reading

I am sure that we all have a “Comic Strip History of Space” or the “Comic Strip Big Fat Book of Knowledge” at home that we read to the kids, or we’ve drawn with our kids in her brilliant “Draw It” series of books, published by Bloomsbury. The wonderfully funny and informative illustrations in these books are drawn by the well-known children’s book illustrator and author, Sally Kindberg.  Have a look at your children’s books – at least one of those will have been illustrated by Sally.  With an uncanny ability to create comical characters and interlace them with interesting and educational subjects, Sally’s is a talent to be admired.

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A deep fried Mars bar is a throwback to my Edinburgh University student days, and it was one of my favourite late night (ahem, 3am chip shop queue) treats in that wonderful city.  A deep fried Mars bar sounds so unappetising and so wrong, but in reality in all its oozy, chocolatey joy – it is simply out of this world!

In other words, ‘so wrong, it is right’…A bit like these shoes.  Yes, you heard correctly – I have linked a deep fried Mars bar with a pair of furry shoes.  But hear me out.

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