Christmas Sales Fashion Picks!

This is the first time in quite a while that I've been excited about the Christmas sales - this time last year I was 20 weeks pregnant and the year before, well it's a blur. I always prefer the sales at this time of year to any other - usually it's stuff I've been looking at for months and all of a sudden there's a massive price drop, Frankly I love it.

For the past six months I've been desperately trying NOT to buy any clothes, convinced that very soon I would be able to fit into my pre pregnancy clothes. However 7 months down the line and I'm nowhere near, and I'm getting sick of constantly wearing and washing the same three pairs of trousers, so the time has come to take the plunge and actually buy some stuff. The hardship.

I've been a bit of a fan of Laura Ashley clothes for a few years now, mainly because there's a huge Laura Ashley just near us and it's easy to get to and park. Yesterday I bought this boiled wool jacket - though weirdly in store it was £39 not £45, but it's lovely. Warm, cosy, smart and versatile.

Laura Ashley Boiled Wool Jacket in Navy - £45 though £39 in store.

Speaking of lovely jacket/cardigans = coatigans, I love this one from Karen Millen - a real classic and good value for £70.

Karen Millen Two Tone Blazer £70.

While I was having a browse in Leeds the other day, I tried this grey cardigan on - lovely Karen Millen zip on - only XS left online but more in store. I think I needed a medium - which they didn't have in Leeds so I didn't buy - but for me I like this style as often their cardigans and jumpers are a touch short on me.

Karen Millen Zip Front Longline Cartigan £65.

On to something totally different but very wearable all year round, this Soft Stud Detail dress from Warehouse. Not great value at £35 in the sale, but I bought it because I've had my eye on it for AGES.

Warehouse Soft Stud Details Dress £35

To go with it I bought these Piped Detail Leggings - they look SO much nicer in real life!

Piped Detail Leggings Warehouse £15

Now to Baukjen - I still love their clothes SO much. For Christmas my mum bought me this v neck jumper, which is cosy, warm and a beautiful colour. I love it. But for £119 so I should!

Pink Dahlia V Neck Jumper BAUKJEN - £119

Also this looks great with the grey leggings. Double love.

A few weeks before Christmas I bought myself a black all-in-one from Baukjen and again, I love it. The quality is great - though it does have a tendency to attract bits of fluff and jumper etc which is annoying, though maybe because I'm rolling around with baby all the time.

Weston Jumpsuit now on sale at £79 from Baukjen

There is a Felton Jumpsuit which is equally nice, though maybe that one is a little more fitted.

Maybe time to stop spending now!

The Book of Everyone Review

One of the biggest perks of being a blogger, are the great products I get to review, and this one is a cracker! I was approached by the lovely people at The Book of Everyone to see if I would like to review a book for Christmas - however it's my husband's 40th coming up soon, so I thought I would get him a book instead (sorry to hubby who is probably reading this post!)

"The Book of Everyone is a beautifully crafted book that can be about anyone you wish, printed and dispatched in under a week!  The Book of Everyone showcases through the options of digital, paperback, hardback and deluxe books the journey through the world they were born into. Full of glorious personalised facts and fun statistics. The pages have been created by some of the world's best designers and the copy crafted with care and charm.  With the option of personal touches, like photos, quotes and dedications."

I really love the modern design of the website, where you can choose to either make a birthday or Christmas book - what a great idea for a present that's a bit "different" 

It honestly looks like a "proper" book,  as if it's been professionally published -which I guess it has! You can choose between paper and hardback (prices start at £19.50) in a choice of colours and designs!

If you get a birthday book, you can choose to have the person's age on it, and you can personalise it to add your own message, photos, and more! It's got a really modern twist to it, I think it would particularly appeal to people in their thirties and forties.

The website is really clever and pulls out key events that happened at the time of the birth of the person the book is for - it's really nostalgic which I think people will love!

The customer service is also brill. I accidentally put my code in too soon and had to ask for my order to be cancelled, and the service I received was amazing! Thoroughly recommend  The Book of Everyone, great easy present literally for everyone! If you want one of these books for Christmas, don't delay, last day for ordering is 17th December.

Want to spread some Christmas cheer ? Then why not make and share a unique snowflake using the hashtag: #snowmyname  

I was given a promotional code to get my Book of Everyone for the purpose of review, but all thoughts are my own.

DC Super Hero Girls

When I was a little girl, there were precious few girl heroes in cartoons. Even the ones who were pretty awesome also had to be beautiful, which basically means not only do you have to look amazing, but it helps if you are super strong and have super powers as well. I'm not sure many girls identified with them - the likes of She-ra never really took off. Basically, the Spice Girls were pretty much my first introduction to girl power, how bad is that?

This time around, if your kids are looking for action-packed girl power, look no further than DC Super Hero Girls. DC Entertainment’s latest animated series, features a dynamic group of Super Heroes on their journey of discovering the power of their unique abilities and friendships. What I love is how dynamic the characters are, from strong and fearless to edgy and fun; there is a character for everyone, this is really important for girls who need to see that female characters are sort of real people as well as being amazing.

Like a lot of children these days, my two sons are pretty obsessed by YouTube, although I'm keen for them to identify with good role models. It's good news to me therefore, that the DC Super Hero Girls YouTube channel makes it easy for kids to watch their favourite characters, on-demand, and from any device. Click here for their YouTube channel.



For even more fun for your kids, there is an extended online experience on the website where kids can play games, download free printable activities, and more.

AND if that wasn't already a LOT of good stuff, you can also enter a giveaway to enter a £100 gift card, what's not to like?

ENTER BY CLICKING HERE

How to spend time online...

I sometimes wonder what mums did before the time of facebook. God it was lonely. We had to rely on emails, and people wrote LONG ones. Ridiculously long. And they had to be funny! Oh yes, if they weren't funny they wouldn't get responded to. Those are the rules.

I sometimes look at other mums and wonder what they do all day. Honestly, if it wasn't for my social media addiction and my baby, I don't know how I would spend my time! I am still very much into online shopping, in fact I spotted this lovely skirt and jumper combo from Warehouse the other day.

Very nineties, but like my email style..

Warehouse Skirt £40

.It's a lovely way to get suede without the price of suedette - they call it suedette!

Stripe Rib Lurex £28

Such a great combo for Winter and a great nineties throw back look too!

So how do you spend your time online? One way of passing the time and relaxing in the evening is using bingo sites as a sort of hobby! And why not? Lots of people spend time these days playing bingo both in real life and online. It's a fun way to pass the time and everyone needs a hobby!  For a while I was totally obsessed with Mah Jong, especially when I was pregnant. I found it so relaxing, I think it's used for meditation techniques. These days I spend my time chatting to friends on social media, watching reality TV and drinking sherry... heaven.