Akamuti...

Is anybody looking for a skincare brand which doesn't use petrochemicals, preservatives, or additives? One that uses as many sustainably sourced, organic and fair trade ingredients as possible, and all from a company made up of people who actually care about mankind?

Well, just recently i came across skincare brand Akamuti which does all of the above. Id seen the brand in magazines and was then reminded of it through another blogger and so i popped over to the website to see what they had on offer. I normally buy all of my beauty products from local health food shops but i fancied stepping out of my comfort zone and trying a new brand. To be honest im getting a little fed up if the same fragrances which ive been using for a few years now.

From Akamuti i bought some body butter to try and rescue my super dry hands, some more perfume as i really struggle to find chemical free perfume anywhere, and some rose water as i use this to cleanse my face and remove make-up every day. After using all 3 products for about 3 weeks now i would certainly recommend them all, and in fact i will be going back to the Akamuti site pretty soon to buy some more!

The cocoa and almond body butter was recommended on the site as a hand cream. I don't know what has happened to my hands and feet this winter but they are in the worst condition they have ever been in - dry, flaky, rough and totally unpleasant and embarrassing. My hands look like those of a hard working 60 year old (seriously - and im only 25) and my feet, oh gosh, just terribly terribly dry and rough. I don't know if it is down to just the cold, or something to do with my post pregnancy hormones but either way, something just has to be done about them. So ive been using the body butter to try and soften my hands and feet up and it works, until i miss a few days and then it gets bad again. Ive also been using the body butter on my face and at first i wasn't so sure about it. It smells very chocolaty and i wasn't sure if that was a smell that my husband would want to smell on my face, but ive got used to it now (and he doesn't seem to mind!).So yey to the body butter. (Oh, and it lasts ages too).

Then theres the little roll on perfume i bought. Now this is possibly the most beautiful fragrance ive ever applied to my skin, i will DEFINITELY be a repeat customer on this one. The fragrance is almond and buttered rose - i tend to always wear rose or lavender fragrance and not a lot else (there is very little choice with natural perfumes but these would probably still be my favorite oils even if there were). It smells very much like marzipan, and buttered rose and almond is a perfect description, its just heavenly. Honestly, it is simply beautiful and when i first got it i just couldn't stop smelling it. In fact, in just 3 weeks, ive nearly used it all!

The third product i bought is the distilled organic rose water. I use rose water on my face every morning and night to cleanse and remove makeup. Its fantastic for both purposes and totally natural. Rose has a soothing and calming effect on the skin and is helpful for inflammation. It helps the skin to regenerate and i notice this when i use it. I normally buy the cheap (as in 49p) rosewater from my local Indian shops so £6 for a bottle of it was expensive to me. I wondered if there really would be much difference in the two. But there certainly is, and il pretty much never use the cheap stuff again. The Akamuti organic distilled rose water smells much more fresh and natural, and feels softer on the skin. In fact, when smelling my old bottle of rose water it just smelt like a chemical mix (even though it wasn't). So im pretty sure il be a repeat customer for the rose water too.

Its not just what a company offers which matters to me, its the customer service. If i find the most perfect product, but feel like the sales people are rude or incompetent, then i wont return to the company. Ive boycotted many companies for these reasons. But Akamuti were brilliant. My order arrived within a couple of days and they were quick to reply when i emailed them. The products were wrapped well, and the website is clear and professional.

I know i sound like they've paid me for all of this, but i assure you they haven't! Honestly, they come highly recommended by me. Oh, and they do a baby range too!!!

Please please PLEASE ditch all that chemical cr*p and visit their site.

Oh, and on a totally unrelated note, i found this bunch of flowers (worth £7.99) lying on a pavement and bought them home, not bad for a freebie hey?!

Aqeela xx

Dont forget to donate to Haiti!

We've had some lovely weather here in my part of England just recently. After the snow cleared up everyone stopped moaning and over the weekend the sun was shining and there was a gentle warmth in the air. I spent 45 minutes out in the garden tidying up, moving pots, pruning and sweeping, and after that i felt all relaxed and happy. Gardening always does that to me. The garden is very green all year round - as we have such a small space ive always bought plenty of evergreens and lavenders so that we do not end up with a lifeless and bare winter garden. The only colour comes from my heathers at this time of year, but i have quite a few green shoots standing up through the soil so in just a couple of months i hope to see a little bit more colour insha'Allah.

Alhamdulillah, life has been all round pretty pleasant round here lately. Ive been keeping up with my January mission to save the world buy organic / fair trade / British etc etc and am feeling positive (even though my bank balance has dwindled some what!)



But that doesn't stop me from remembering those people affected by the Haiti earthquake, i know that i am extremely blessed right now (well, always actually) and although all i can do is donate money and pray, i feel hopeful that i can at least help ease the pain of just someone out there. Lets not forget how blessed we are.



If you fancy treating yourself to something original and handmade, but would also like to donate some money to those in Haiti, then why not pop over to the 'Craft Hope for Haiti' etsy shop? There are many different items over there which have been donated by various craftsters, and all proceeds will be contributing to the relief effort over in Haiti.


If you don't want anything on the site then just think about donating some money anyway, even £1 would help. Here is the DEC (Disasters emergency committee) site where you can donate if you want to. There are many other sites to donate through but the DEC site is the central hub for this kind of thing. I always send my donations through islamic relief.

And if you simply just cannot afford anything, then please just pray sincerely for God to guide and help those affected.

Don't do it later, do it now!

xx

PS: I just found out that if you visit the hunger site and click here and there a few times, then sponsors of the site will donate cups of food to those who need them the most. So far 23,198 cups of food have been given to those in Haiti through their site - you could help give more! (You do not need to register with them or give them your email addy)

Also, ive been receiving the money saving expert weekly email regularly for a couple of years now, its invaluable! If you sign up to receive it then 50p is automatically donated to Haiti relief efforts on your behalf, at no cost to you! This offer is for UK based email addresses only. Sign up here.

Highchairs

Dave is just over 8 months old now, and although he has been eating solids for about 4 months we only just got him a highchair. Before now he has either sat in his bouncy chair, Bumbo seat or booster seat.

Bouncy chairs are good while the baby is still small and needs extra security & comfort.

But now that he can sit unsupported and weighs a lot more, its about ready to be stored away in the attic ready for another baby insha'Allah.

The Bumbo seat (below) is too low down for me to feed him comfortably, and he tends to arch his back to try and wriggle free.

(Dave was only 15weeks old here, look at those wrinkly little feet!)

To be honest, we've barely used our Bumbo and i think there's not that much point in them.

A booster seat is a little seat that you strap to your normal dining room chair so that the baby can sit at the table.

(This is the one we have)

They save on space (and money) but the one i have is recommended for age 12 months plus so Dave always looks a little unsupported and uncomfortable in there. What it is great for though is travelling. It folds away into a little bag and is fantastic for when we eat over at other people's houses.

So it was time to buy a highchair. We didn't want to order one online as we wanted to test it out before hand and check its suitability. So the only two options for us (time and distance were limited due to all the snow we've had over here) were Toys r us and Mothercare (next door to each other).

In total there were around 15 different chairs to choose from. I always had hopes of getting a nice traditional wooden highchair, as aesthetics are quite important to me when it comes to things for my home. But all the wooden ones looked either too uncomfortable or had pretty useless trays on them with extremely shallow rims, just perfect for pushing a bowl of food onto the floor. So on to the plastics. There were either typical looking chairs, very plasticy & bulky, you know, just 0% style, and then there were slimmer ones with designery fabrics and extra features. The latter also cost a lot more money. As much as i wanted a nice sleek highchair, this time i had to be firm and decline as they were charging triple figure amounts and we just couldn't justify it right now. So 0% style it was then.

The highchair we bought in the end is the Chicco happy Snack Highchair in 'blue scribble'. (Also available in pink)

(And yes we did get 16% off!)

A member of staff in Mothercare recommended it to us and we sat Dave in and fiddled around with the fasteners, reclining seat back, and adjustable tray and decided that despite its bulk it seems to do the job. And it does, its really good actually. And Dave likes it too. It seems to have brought a whole new dimension to meal times, they are a lot more enjoyable for both of us and the chair helps to free me up to do the odd job if i need to while he chucks food everywhere feeds himself.

Like many new parents, i find these milestones really exciting and feel so blessed at every one. We are progressing and things are getting easier with each and every new thing which comes along. And he's getting so big now marsh'Allah, i cant believe that he will be one in just a few more months insha'Allah. I know its a huge cliche but time really does fly.

If you need to buy a highchair any time soon then there are more stylish ones out there.

Some which i particularly like are;

The Svan Natural Highchair.I love the Bloom Fresco. (It comes in lots of different colours)

(And a similar version is available from Mothercare, see here)

Now this is stunning - The Zoobie Jigsaw Highchair.

However, with my very small amount of experience i would recommend putting aesthetics second after looking out for:

• A highchair with a tray so that the baby's food area stays (relatively) confined to his highchair rather than all over your table. A removable tray is essential so that you can easily get your baby in and out of the chair. (It may be easy with your 6 month old, but what about a big 2 year old?)


• A highchair with reasonable height so that you don't have to stoop or slump to feed the baby.
  
• A washable (or even better, removable) seat cover for easy cleaning.
  
• Adjustable straps.


• Although my highchair (and a lot of them actually) have baskets underneath for storage, its not that great an idea as food tends to fall down into the basket, and also, when your baby is toddling everything will get pulled out of the basket anyway. I guess that's ok if its just for toys, but will you need toys in the area where you feed the baby? For now though, my basket is handy for all Dave's bibs and cloths for wiping his hands, face and tray.

So that's it! I hope this helps someone out there!

A book review...

Last month i finished reading an excellent book called 'Home', written by Julie Myerson. Its part fiction, but mostly non-fiction and is the authors story of everyone who has ever lived in her house (built over 100 years ago) up until the present (herself and her family). She managed to fit in ALOT of research using public library's and records offices, and an info disk (which is like a yellow pages). Through talking to previous tenants, or their families or friends, or even other people who ever lived on her street, she built up a wealth of stories about probably 50 or so different residents. Its a fantastic read, and there were only a couple of pages which i ended up skipping (she was adding a fictional account of how she perceived a particular family to be and i didn't much like it).

It really got me thinking about everyone who has ever lived in my house, and ive been wondering about all of the things that could ever have happened here. My house is over 100 years old also so im sure theres probably quite a lot of interesting stuff gone on in here. I wonder if people have been born, or died here? How many happy celebrations have been held here, how many people have wept over sad news whilst sitting in our living room. Did anyone living here loose their sweetheart during the war? I wonder how many babies took their first steps here, and how many have managed to fall down our steep stairs. It would be absolutely fascinating to find out.

About 3 or 4 years ago we built a raised bed in our small garden and when i filled it up with compost i also placed a bottle in the soil with a note inside - about who i am and how long we had lived here at the time of writing that note. i mentioned a few current affairs of the time too. It may just fascinate someone in another 100 years time perhaps?

I really would recommend the book to anyone who enjoys reading. In fact, i normally give my books back to the charity shops once ive read them but 'Home' is a keeper!

Organic cotton on the high street.

I like to have a look around the high street clothes shops occasionally (although i rarely buy anything from them). I just like to see whats going on in the world of fashion nowadays and seek some inspiration for my own style.

When it comes to Dave's clothes, most have either been given to us as gifts, been passed down to us from my friends, or ive bought them myself from charity shops or eBay. But every so often i like to seek out something brand new for him, if its something i really like, or need, or theres a special occasion coming up. When these moments come along i like to browse John Lewis or Boots as they pretty much always have something that appeals to me. But i recently discovered that H&M have a great children's range, stylish but not too expensive.

I visited my local H&M earlier this week and was very pleased to discover organic cotton baby clothes. And unlike most organic cotton baby clothes, these were within my budget! I just bought some simple long sleeve tee's and a long sleeve vest, for just £1.99 and £2.99 each. Strangely (i really don't understand this) the 100% organic tops were cheaper than the organic cotton mix tops (50% organic, 50% ordinary)! Very annoying, i just don't understand that one!

Does anyone know of any other good places to seek out organic baby clothes?

xx

New year = plans to change (oh how original i am)

I'm going to challenge myself in this new year, this new decade. Things will change, there will be new experiences to come, and i will learn more and insha'Allah grow more as a person. This should happen every year, but now that im a mother, it is almost inevitable for 2010.

As well as the usual (or should i say cliche?) challenges (or resolutions as most would say at this time of year) such as spending more time in reflection and worship of our creator, dedicating more time to gaining religious knowledge and studying the Quran, and becoming an all round better person with better behaviour, manners, and personal qualities, i have a much more worldly challenge for this year.

For me, 2010 is the year to waken myself from the slumber that is my life, regain consciousness and compassion, and steer myself back towards the me of yesteryear. I'm talking about that 'me' who used to rigidly seek out the organic, fair trade, British, natural, handmade and second hand. Morals, morale, and principle took somewhat of a back burner during 2009 (i put it down to the whirlwind and tiredness of pregnancy and motherhood) and i admit it - i slacked. I slacked hard. 2009 was good in terms of money, i had the freedom to spend and not to worry, and that's where Mr D.E.V.I.L slipped in quietly and secretly slipped chains around my ankles to lead me to his way. Now that my maternity leave has ended and the bank balance is beginning to dwindle i must punch that Mr D in the face and come back to my way. "Its my way or the highway" il tell him.

So the challenge is this....

Much more of what i purchase (including groceries) has to hold one or more of these attributes:

1. It must be pre-loved (Ive always been a lover of visiting the charity shops, second hand market stalls, and eBay, so this ones pretty easy and definitely fun)
2. It must have been produced within the UK (Hmmm, this one will be hard, and possibly more expensive too, but i will try)
3. It must be natural, organic or partially organic (again, this may be a more expensive option but definitely worth it in our opinion. To be honest, a lot of what we eat is already organic, but i haven't really delved into the world of organic clothes, toys, etc etc yet)
4. It must be fair trade (the fair trade movement is very important to me, but i certainly don't do enough to make sure that what i buy has been produced in a fair environment. I do ALWAYS buy fair trade tea and bananas though so that's a teeny start right?)
5. It must be handmade (I'm looking forward to this one. 'Handmade' is important to me because it generally tends to mean that the product is original, carefully made, and produced fairly. So Etsy here i come!)
6. It must support a small business ( i would prefer my money to go to those who have worked hard to set up their own business as they are passionate about the product, rather than my money be pocketed by those who already have a few million in their bank account. And i love to support my local grocery shops too, we must support these people or in 10 years time we'll be left with just big, ugly supermarkets)

I think that about covers it right? A huge challenge, i think most of you will agree. But it matters to me that i make some effort to realise my 2010 dream. Of course im not super woman, i will fail somewhere along the way, but i trust that i will repent and change my ways within good time!! I am a moderate woman and sometimes ease and money will come before ethics.

So, do any of you have similar aspirations for this new year? Come on, lets do this together!!

xx