Stowell's Light Wine

Please note this post has been sponsored by Stowells Wine via Hand Picked Media. Please drink responsibly.

I saw a picture of myself at a wedding recently. On the day I thought I looked really slim and svelte considering I am a mother to two children. However the picture conveyed something rather different; quite a porky looking tired woman who looked like she had had rather too much to drink! Now that the nursing days are behind me, I can at last enjoy a good old glass of wine. However as I am still up and down during the night with Son 2, it makes sense for me to only have a glass or two so I still have my wits about me. This is where new Stowells Light comes in! I was lucky enough to be sent a bottle of the Rose wine to sample.  It is a new low calorie "light" wine that contains 30% less calories per glass than a typical glass of wine (60 calories per 125ml glass). Perfect for the holiday season, and for those Mummies trying to manage their weight. Stowells Rose also has a low alcohol content at just 5.5% which is great if you don't want to get sozzled after a glass or two.  This is what Stowells have to say: -

"A refreshingly light taste experience, Stowells Light is a delicious treat that’s both full of flavour and low in calories.  Stowells Light stands up to taste tests. Bursting with fruity aromas and a touch of sweetness, it’s a fresh choice which can be enjoyed at every occasion, plus it has the added benefit of containing less calories and alcohol than your usual glass of wine."

This Shiraz Rose is a vibrant youthful pink, full of juicy strawberry, raspberry and cherry fruit flavours.  Perfectly balanced with a zesty acidity and a touch of sweetness. 

Stowells Light is available at all ASDA stores nationwide for RRP £5.49

I really enjoyed the wine, I thought it was light and full of flavour without that sickly taste that Rose can sometimes have. I couldn't tell by the taste that the alcohol content was lower than other wines as I thought I would. I liked the fact that I knew the brand of Stowells and feel it is a brand I can trust, especially as I wanted to be sure the wine actually does have a low alcohol content which is especially important for nursing mothers.  My husband enjoyed it too which is unusual for him as normally he isn't keen on Rose. |I also think the wine is very reasonably priced with an RRP of £5.49 as I usually buy wines around the £5 mark. I would definitely buy myself especially round the Christmas period when muchos calories are going to be consumed elsewhere! Love love love.

Although wine is lovely, please drink responsibly ;)

My Awesome Photo

I remember in the old days, I had loads and loads of photo albums in my bookcase. As a child I loved looking at photos of my friends and family enjoying themselves and smiling. The magic of all that has kind of been lost in this digital age. No-one seems to have the space or the inclination to keep loads of photos lying around like we used to. It's better now really, much more cost effective, no more wasted shots of your thumb or someone with their head cropped off.

Now we have children, we have simply thousands and thousands of photos on our laptop. We keep meaning to back them up or something, we really should do that in fact. I would be devastated if we lost any of those precious pictures of our children, as there are very few we have printed out.

I was looking at Sticky Fingers blog today and have decided to add a picture to the gallery. This week's theme is "My Awesome Photo". So the idea is that you submit a photo that you took which literally made you gasp because it was so good. Now, we don't have a great camera, but just through sheer luck I have taken quite a few pictures which took my breath away, but mainly because they captured something special that only I would see.

Anyway here is my special shot of our special boy with his beautiful blue eyes, on a special holiday in France two summers ago.  Son 1 was just learning to walk and talk and it was so blissful being on holiday in a cottage in the middle of a meadow. He learned so many new words like Pear and Apple and Cow and Digger.  What a wonderful memory that is now.

But I found another picture that I love too....this was the day I congratulated myself for choosing and marrying the right man....

Fancy Dress Outfitters Review

Most kids love dressing up. In fact whenever we go to playgroup there is "home" corner where most children are fighting over the dressing up clothes. Children seem to enjoy the role play involved and pretending to be a grown up or some sort of super hero.  I can relate to that, however Son 1 cannot!

A few months ago it was Halloween and I was surprised how keen Son 1 was to wear his pumpkin outfit (see pic)

He really seemed to enjoy wearing it so I was hoping we had turned a corner and his phobia of dressing up would be over.

Therefore I was thrilled when I was contacted by Fancy Dress Outfitters about a review of their kids fancy dress range. Here's some info about them:

"Welcome to Fancy Dress Outfitters, your new best friend for fancy dress costumes and all things party.  We want to help you find the perfect outfit to make sure you have the best time, whether you're stopping in or going out.

Why hire when you can buy?  Our costumes are great value, and much more cost-effective than hiring an outfit.

Our fantastic products give you a huge range of choice and quality.  Our reliable UK and international delivery services mean you'll have no worries about getting to the party on time and looking great!  We hope you enjoy visiting us and have an even better time once you've received your items.

Now there's just one question you need to ask yourself – who do I want to be?"

I was sent two outfits (there was nothing in Son 2's size) for Son 1 - a spiderman outfit £19.13 (which he chose himself) and a christmas elf outfit £9.99 (again, he chose himself). However for quite a while I could not persuade him to put either outfit on, he seemed to have an unnatural fear of the spiderman mask. Thankfully my cousin kindly agreed to review the spiderman outfit for me....read below....

My son loved it because it's spiderman and his hearts desire.
 
The colours of the bodysuit were strong and it seemed well made (the  
mask not to the same standard though).
 
The real challenge was the design, in terms of getting on/off as  
rather than having a vertical seam down the back it had a horizontal  
opening at the neck. This proved a real challenge and the Velcro even  
did some superficial damage. The opening was simply not wide enough to  
make this easy to get into/out of.

The outfit itself was age 3-5 and my cousin's son is 4 so I would say the 

sizing is on the small side.

This evening however, after agreeing to "play at Santa". I managed to get my 

son to put the elf outfit on!  

 There was a hat with the outfit but Son 1 was unable to get this on his head! He liked the bell on the end of the hat and kept asking what the bell was for. Naturally I answered it was to call Santa.  

I thought the material of the outfit nice and light, as so many fancy dress outfits can be very hot for children.  He has worn the outfit all afternoon and hasn't been bothered by it at all. He loves the big buttons on the front which cover the velcro fastenings so it is easy to get on and off, in fact he is able to fasten it himself which is a plus from my point of view. 

I have to say he looks really cute in the outfit and I'm looking forward to him wearing it for his Christmas parties. I am going to send him into school wearing it for the party there and also take him to the Christmas party at the children's centre wearing it (with welly boots).  Naturally he will be wearing it on Christmas day too! I think the sizing on this one is pretty good, it is elasticated so quiet forgiving. My son is 3 but quite a big boy for 3 so I think it would easily fit an average size 5 year old (is age 3-5). All in all I am pleased with the outfit and would definitely use this website again.