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Sunday 30 November 2014

Christmas Crafts - Hand-print Christmas Reef

James is so excited about Christmas! Especially as he is at school this year and they have of course been practising for their christmas nativity and learning all about christmas (this has only increased James excitement lol!). So we have been doing lots of christmas crafts and today we made these...


Hand-print christmas reef's. 


They are simple to make and all you will require is -

Thick white paper/ card,
Green paint,
Glue,
Embellishments such as sequins, pom-poms, glitter etc

You will need to get several hand prints from your child, So just simply paint your childs hands and print them onto the paper. We used 10 hand prints for ours. 
Once you have your hand prints cut them out and stick them together in a circular shape like this-
You can then let your child loose with the embellishments and let them decorate the reef as they please (the more sparkly the better of course!). 
We then made a small hole in the top of ours and hung it with a piece of ribbon and tah-dah you have your reef! 


xXx

Saturday 29 November 2014

Christmas Giveaway Number 1!!

So we are going to be running several giveaways from now throughout the run up to Christmas and here is the first one! 

For our first giveaway we are giving away a Chocolate mug brownie kit from the lovely people at BakedIn.  (You may have seen our previous review of the BakedIn cinnamon swirl kit but if you didnt you can find it HERE).



"Looking for chocolate heaven in an instant? You just found it.
Go from zero to brownie hero in just 60 seconds. Grab a mug and add a spoon of butter, a splash of water, and one of our mug brownie pots - then watch the mixture transform into a gooey brownie in the microwave in one minute! Each pack of mug brownies contains four individually sealed portions, so there's plenty to keep you going!
Made with great stuff like organic flour and Belgian chocolate - and no nasties. Ever.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

A winner will be picked at random via rafflecopter. This giveaway is open to UK residents only and I will contact the winner via email within 48 hours of the giveaway ending. The winner will need to email me with a full name and address for me to send out their prize!

Thursday 27 November 2014

Christmas Crafts - Hand-print Santa Salt dough decorations.

These easy to make santa decorations are fun for children (and adults!) to make and are a lovely keepsake for years to come. 

They are simple to make and just require 3 items to make the dough itself -

- 1/2 cup of plain flour
- 1/4 cup of water
- 1/2 cup of salt

Just add all of the above into a bowl and mix/knead to form a dough.
Roll out the dough to approx 1.5/2cm   thick and then create your hand-prints in the dough!

Cut around the handprints leaving a small border and don't forget to poke a hole into the top of your decorations (around 2cm from the top) so that you can hang it up!.

Now place onto greaseproof paper and place into the oven on the lowest setting for your oven or around 100C for 3-4 hours and then leave to cool. 

Once cooled you can decorate your hand prints as you please! Here are ours.... 
You can also them in PVA glue to set them and keep them lasting longer and give them the shiney finish, You could also use a lacquer spray or varnish to do this. 

Dont forget to pop over to over facebook page HERE and show us your creations! 

xXx

Saturday 15 November 2014

Nonabox **Review** our second box!

Last month we reviewed our first ever Nonabox and we really liked it (you can read our review here NONABOX REVIEW). 

Nonabox is a monthly subscription box aimed at mums to be right through pregnancy right up until your child is 2! Each box contains 6-9 high quality products picked especially for your stage of pregnancy/childs age.

We have recently received our second box and here is what was inside....



Water Wipes


I have tried these before and we love them! They are so kind and gentle to babies skin and are especially good if you have (like us) a baby with very sensitive skin as they as 99.9% water and 0.01% fruit extract. I was a little disappointed that it was only a sample size pack in the box though as I am not really a fan of sample size products in subscription boxes but that is just a personal thing. 

NUK First Choice bottle. 



These bottles are so cute! The bottle we were sent featured a very cute unisex winnie the pooh scene on which was a nice little touch. The NUK first choice bottles feature a new anit-colic air system to help baby drink without taking in air. They also feature a super soft, natural and orthodontic shaped teat to help baby feed. Unfortunately the bottle we were sent only holds up to 5oz and my little milk monster is drinking much more than that! However the bottle does state it is for 0-6 months so is no fault of nonabox as this is within Evie's age range. 

Bennetts Baby Products



I have to admit before receiving this box I hadn't heard of the make Bennetts before but im really glad I now know about it!.  We received 2 products the first being the Bennetts baby bum creme. This bum creme helps create a water repellant base to form a barrier between wet nappy and babies bum. The creme contains Lanolin, Zinc Oxide, Starch and Essential Lavender Oil and is really delicate even on sensitive skin! 
The second product we received by Bennetts was the Aqueous bath drops. This water based oil is simple added to babies bath water or it can be applied directly to the skin. Evelyn has quite dry and sensitive skin and this really worked well! The oil was really easily absorbed into the skin and left it feeling soft and smooth! Really recommend trying this product!

NUK Soothers



These came in a handy reusable sealable pack and in a size 2 so the right size for Evelyns age. However we do not use soothers as Evelyn has never taken to them so we will be passing these on to a friend. 

Chillipeeps 3 in 1 spout



This is one of my favourite items in the box this month!! The Chillipeeps 3 in 1 spout is a really handy little device that can be attached to a normal bottle, a carton or a bottle of water therefore making feeding baby so easy! It means no more ensuring you have a clean steralised and empty bottle with you at all times as this can just be attached easily to all the items mentioned above! Yay for no more spillage trying to decanter a carton of milk into a bottle whilst on the move! Highly recommended! 

Aden + Anais swaddle.



I am in love with this product! The giant muslin square can be used for so many things including swaddling for younger babies. The square measures a massive 120cm by 120cm and is made from 100% cotton making it soft and breathable. We were sent the Red star design which is lovely and bright but there are so many lovely designs to chose from on the Aden and Anais website we will most definitely be ordering more!!

Overall we LOVED our box this month. There were a few items in there that were unsuitable for us however this is down to personal choice and not the box being unsuitable. A lot of the products in the box I had not heard of before and it was great to be able to try them out at a fraction of the retail price by purchasing the nonabox. 

The nonabox is £24.95 per month and the products inside are always worth lots more. P&P is included in this price and there is no long term contract you can cancel when ever you like. 

xXx

* I was not paid for this review. All opinions given are my own.
* If you would like me to review your product or service, please email me on xJessLegresleyx@hotmail.com.

Wednesday 12 November 2014

Little Dot dress **REVIEW**

Little Dot is a new business that was launched this year by the fabulously talented Sophie Allen. 

Having left Leeds University with a BA Hons in Fashion Design, Sophie began designing and making unique one off dresses for her family and friends children and very quickly she established the Little DOT brand you see today.

Sophie kindly sent us one of her handmade dresses for Evelyn to try out and here is what we thought.

We were sent one of the Autumn dresses in a pinafore dress style.




The dress is made from a floral patterned black corduroy and lined with cotton and corduroy . The dress features a red and white polka dot cotton trim edge to the bottom and a red applique flower, complete with a white button to the centre. The dress is fastened via 4 white buttons 1 on either side of the dress and 1 of either strap. This makes getting baby in and out of the dress really easy!
I paired the dress with a simple white long sleeved t-shirt and white tights to complete her autumn look. 



The Little Dot dress is exceptionally well made! You can really tell a lot of time, effort and attention to detail has gone into it. The dress is priced at £20 which I think is a fair price for a lovingly handmade dress. 
I would suggest ordering a size up. Evelyn is currently in 3-6 month clothing however this dress is 6-9 and fits her really well now. 

I really like that a lot of the designs on the Little Dot website are in lovely bright colours and they are not all the typical pink and blue!

Little Dot is also on facebook! So you can keep up to date with all the latest news and products and purchase your own Little DOT clothing. You will find the page here - www.facebook.com/littledotdresses so why not pop over and say Hello! 

xXx


* I was not paid for this review. All opinions given are my own.
* If you would like me to review your product or service, please email me on xJessLegresleyx@hotmail.com.

Monday 10 November 2014

James new badge!!

James has been attending swimming lessons since February 2014 and loves them! I think swimming is one is those essential life skills that children really should know how to do, After all it could save their life!

James has gone from not being able to swim at all (and hating his face getting wet) so being able to swim short distances completely unaided and will happily splash his face, dive under water and swim under water!

He attends group lessons which consist of around 15-20 children with 3 teachers who are all in the pool. Our local leisure centre has also started offering 1 to 1 lessons too so I signed James up to one to try them out and they were great!!

After just one 1 to 1 lesson James had achieved his 5m badge and was extremely proud (and so was I!).


He will still be attending his weekly group swimming lessons but will now have a top up 1 to 1 lesson at the beginning of each month.

I am so glad he is learning something so important whilst still having fun and enjoying himself! I am so proud of him.

Do your children enjoy swimming?

xXx

Sunday 9 November 2014

5 Month update.

Evelyn turned 5 months today!

Time is going so quickly and it only seemed like yesterday we were bringing our tiny bundle home, Now our not so tiny bundle is 5 month old! 

Evelyn has already become such a little character. She recently found her voice and now happily chirps, squeals and chatters away at any opportunity (its so cute!). She has also really found her laugh and finds it hilarious if you sniff her toes and tell her they smell LOL!!

She dressed as a little witch for her first Halloween party!


She also has her first tooth just breaking through so soon these gummy smiles will be a little less gummy! 

We have started introducing food to her as she really seemed ready and with her awful reflux she was really struggling with keeping milk down and after some discussions with health visitors we decided this was the way forward for us.

She loves "trying" to feed herself lol!



She has also started to sit up by herself although its just for a few seconds at the moment before she leans to the side and falls over but I am sure we will get there soon.

She is such a good girl in the night and sleeps all through the night! Usually having her last bottle around 9pm and waking around 7.30am for a snuggle in bed with mummy and some milk. 


Evelyn is still totally in love with her big brother and is full of smiles for him when we pick him up from school. In fact regardless of Evie's mood James can always make her smile! It is so lovely watching them grow together, He loves her, She loves him and James is so protective of her! I cannot wait for the years to come to watch them grow and bond even more.

I cant believe next month with be half a year since Evelyn joined us and made our little family complete!! 

xXx


The Lost Lanes - Personalised Batman T-shirt **REVIEW**

If you are looking for Funky, Unique and quirky gifts, home items, jewelry, clothing and much more then you need to check out The Lost Lanes



The Lost Lanes is the creation of Michael and Raquel who are a husband and wife team living in East London.  Together they share a love for East London’s creative scene discovering new markets as well as hidden away boutiques, searching for all that is unique and inspiring.
Their mission is simple and clear, to only take on and showcase designers who are just that, designers, people who built their ideas from dream to concept. 

We were sent a personalised Batman T-shirt by Rusks and Rebels to try out with James. 



James loves batman and the fact this t-shirt came with his name on made his automatically his favourite! Although the t-shirt looks more black on the website it is actually more of a charcoal grey with a lovely vibrant yellow batman symbol badge and your choice of name (up to 10 letters).



The t-shirt is such good quality and has been through the wash several times and still looks as good as new. The yellow badge has shown no signs of peeling or fading at all. The actually t-shirt itself feels lovely, soft and comfy and is made from 100% cotton. 

As well as the washed black pictured above the t-shirt is also available in washed white, green and pink all featuring the same vibrant yellow batman symbol. 
With regards to sizing I would say order a size up. James has just turned 5 and although he is relatively tall me ordered a 6-7 and this fits him perfectly now.

The RRP is £20 and is really worth it! This includes the personalisation of adding your childs name to the front. It is available in sizes 2-3years right up to 10-12 years!

To check out more on offer from The Lost Lanes check out their website here - www.thelostlanes.com

What is your favourite item from the website? 

xXx

* I was not paid for this review. All opinions given are my own.
* If you would like me to review your product or service, please email me on xJessLegresleyx@hotmail.com.

Wednesday 5 November 2014

Fireworks Photos!

Today we went to a friends house for some child friendly low noise fireworks! James favourite bit was most definitely the sparklers! 

Here are a few photos of our evening...








We are having some more fireworks at home on Saturday so we will have some more pictures to share with you then! 

What did you get up to? Did you see any fireworks? 

xXx

Sunday 2 November 2014

Nutella and Marshmallow squares!

Have you seen our latest Degustabox Review? If not check it out HERE.

Inside our box this month was Toasted Marshmallow Creme! So I put some of it to good use and made these yummy and easy to make puff pastry squares!

All you need is Puff pastry (I cheated and used ready made!), Nutella and Marshmallow creme. 



Preheat your oven to around 180C.

Rolloll out your puff pastry and cut out as many squares as you want to make, I made my squares around 3 inches by 4 inches in size but you can make yours smaller or bigger if you wanted. 

Then place a tbsp of nutella in the centre of each square and spread it out, Remember to leave the edges of your square completely clear. 

Now add a tbsp of your Marshmallow creme on top of the nutella and place your squares in to the over for around 15 minutes or until the edges of your squares are golden brown, 


Allow to cool slightly and enjoy whilst still warm! 




They were delicious and so quick and easy to make! When they come out of the oven the pastry is crispy on the outside, The chocolate is melted just enough to make it soft and the marshmallow has turned soft and gooey! 

xXx 

October Degustabox **REVIEW**

Its that time of month again..... DEGUSTABOX time! As usual as the end of the month came around I eagerly awaiting the arrival of my box. The day before delivery I got an email to let me know my box would be delivered the next day and on the following day (day of delivery) I received a text with a 2 hour delivery time slot! Our box came bang on time in the middle of the 2 hours we were given! 

Here is what was inside our box this month - 




Jelly Belly jelly beans


These jelly beans come in such a huge variety of tempting and tasty flavours (over 100 infact!) including kiwi, caramel corn, cotton candy, red apple and so many more! These beans really do pack a punch of flavour and were a big hit in our house with the big and little kids! RRP £2.50.

Enhance Drinks 


Enhance drinks pods are packed full of natural flavour and are designed espicially for the adult palate. Made with real fruit juice, one quick squeeze of your enchance drinks pod transforms your plain water into a light and fruity drink. They contain no added sugar and are the perfect size to pop in your bag. Each pod can make up to 32 drinks! RRP £2.49.

Blue Dragon sweet chilli sauce


I have to admit im really not a fan of sweet chilli in any form so this one was passed on to my dad who is a big fan of making his own Chinese style food. He said it was lovely and really gave the food he made a zing! RRP £1.39.

GetBuzzing bars 


Getbuzzing bars come in a fab range of flavours including wowbutter flapjack, nut free berry flapjack, nut free cherry protein flapjack, nut free banana flapjacks and nut free original. We were sent the original nutty bar and it was delicious! These healthy eating flapjacks provide fast and slow releasing energy to keep you energized for longer! RRP £1.30. 

Special K Cracker Crisps


Offering 60% less fat content than most other crisps on sale these delicious thin and crunchy crisps are a healthier item to snack on. We were sent the bbq flavour and they were really packed full of flavour. These are really crunchy and if like me you are watching what you eat but don't want to miss out on things like crisps these would make a great alternative. RRP £1.89.

SOLO Marshmallow Creme


This tasty american treat is available online via americansoda.co.uk and is amazing! It can be used as a baking ingredient but equally tastes just as good straight from the tub! There are 2 flavours the original marshmallow creme and the toasted marshmallow creme, we tried the toasted marshmallow and it was delicious! The tub is pretty big and priced at just £1.99 is a bargain! We made Nutella and Marshmall squares with ours, Fancy trying them? You can find the recipe HERE

Dr Oetker products 


This month our box contained 2 products from Dr Oetker and there were no complaints here! We love baking and have discovered lots of fab products from Dr Oetker via the degustabox and these are no exception. The premium extra dark chocolate contains 90% cocoa solids bringing a very indulgent and intense chocolate flavour to any baking. The Fine dark cocoa powder is made from the finest cocoa beans and comes in pre measured 25g packs.  Premium 90% chocolate RRP £2.49 and Cocoa powder RRP £1.89.

Brioche Pasquier products 


We were sent 2 products from Brioche Pasquier in this months box, When I first saw them I was a little suprised as we recieved very similar brioche pasquier products in last months box, however it was still nice to try some slightly different items from there range. The brioche pasquier sliced brioche loaf and the brioche pasquier pain au lait with choc chips.  The pain au lait were a big hit with James and they are the perfect size to pop in to a lunch box for something a little different. The sliced loaf offers soft and chunky slices they smell delicious! I am going to attempt to make some chocolate and apricot bread pudding with this so keep an eye out for the recipe coming soon! Sliced loaf RRP £1.69 and Pain au lait RRP £1.60.

Kent's Kitchen



Kents kitchen bring to you these 1,2,3 step authentic meal kits. The 3 pots you get in each pack contain all the herbs, spices and oil you will need for your meal and you just need to add the fresh ingredients. These little pots are handy to have in the cupboard to whip up a tasty meal in no time and minimal mess. I would say these are more for adults than a family based meal though as it was quite spicy. RRP £2.50.

Bear Paws + Sample bear cereal


Inside the box this month came something a little different, As well as all of the full sized products we were sent a sample of Bear Alphabites. These crunchy cereal are made with 5 tasty grains  and coconut blossom nectar. They are shaped like letters and James seemed to enjoy. They also stayed crunchy in the milk for quite a long time which is great as James can take a while to eat breakfast! Also included from Bear were Bear Paws which is a pure fruit snack with no added sugar. They are gently baked into little paw shapes and James thought they were sweets and thoroughly enjoyed them! 

We loved our Degustabox again this month with some great new brands included for us to try.

Priced at just £ 12.99 a month degustabox offers great value for money with the excitement of finding out what you will receive each month. I would thoroughly recommend trying them out! There is no obligation to continue so if you try your first box and decide not to continue you can simply cancel your subscription. 

Order yours or find out more about Degustabox via their website or social media pages here - 

http://bit.ly/DBhomepage - website
http://bit.ly/DBUKfacebook - Facebook
http://bit.ly/DBUKTwitter - twitter


xXx

* I was not paid for this review. All opinions given are my own.
* If you would like me to review your product or service, please email me on xJessLegresleyx@hotmail.com.

Saturday 1 November 2014

Halloween!!

We had a spooktastic Halloween this year! 

James was insistent on mummy carving him a spider pumpkin and so off we set to support our local farm shop and buy our pumpkin from there. 
James helped me scoop and seeds etc and then mummy set to carving... 



Then James and Evelyn both dressed up in there Halloween outfits and off we headed to a spooky Halloween party at a large soft-play area near us called Jump and we had a fantastic time. There was a spooky disco, face-painting, glow in the dark fun and games with prizes and lots of running around in the soft-play!

Here are some pictures of James and Evelyn in there outfits...




What did you get up to this Halloween? Did you go to a party or perhaps you went trick or treating? 

xXx