Category: Reviews

1. Hatton Country Park : Pumpkin Week

   Posted on 9:31pm Thursday 30th Oct 2014

   Halloween happens to be one of my favourite holidays.

   Hatton Country Park in Warwick also happens to be one of our favourite places to go with the children (we had the toddlers birthday here last year).

   So Halloween at Hatton sounded a little bit like our ideal day out. It didn't disappoint.

   

   The whole park was decorated, not just by a few simple decorations but all the staff were dressed up, there were pumpkins everywhere and there was no escaping Halloween.

   

   The little one was more interested in the goats than the ghouls but at least she wasn't scared (by either of them).

   

   During Pumpkin Week at Hatton, every child gets the chance to take home their own pumpkin ....... you just have to find one in the Pumpkin Patch!

   

   So the search began ......

   

   The tween became a little obsessed with finding the "perfect pumpkin".

   

   This went on for some time .....

   

   And as for the pumpkin ...... well the tween is fairly sure she picked the best of the patch!! Although it is Daddy's job to carve it (I will keep you posted on that one!)

   

   There is still time to get your pumpkin and enjoy some fun with the family at Hatton this half term, you have until the 2nd November to enjoy the festivities! What are you waiting for??

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2. Afterschoolchefs Challenge : Let's build a waffle house

   Posted on 9:31pm Tuesday 30th Sep 2014

   I am going to pick up the (chicken) pieces and build a waffle house .....

   

   Okay, okay, it might not have the same ring to it as Ed Sheerans version but he does say "if things go wrong we can knock it down" and we love a chance to knock stuff down. However the Man on the Lilypad really loves a challenge and when he heard that we were going to take part in the #AfterSchoolChefs challenge, he was ready with the fish fingers and waffles.

   We are huge fans of making mealtimes fun, especially on a Monday evening when we have the madness of the school run, then swimming lessons, which means that dinner time is later than usual. Getting back into the routine has taken some getting used to, so we need something healthy but quick and easy too and Birds Eye give us both. Unfortunately for me, the Man on the Lilypad wanted to help the girls create something amazing this week, so I left them to it.

   Ed Sheeran says ....

   "I'm out of sight, I'm out of mind" and while I was out of sight, they built a waffle house complete with fish finger roof, chicken dipper trees, and petit pois grass.

   

   "I'm out of touch, I'm out of sauce, I'll pick you up and swallow you right down

   And out of all these things I've done I will love you batter (or breaded) now.

    

   This post is an entry for #Afterschoolchefs Challenge, sponsored by Birds Eye. Learn more on the Birds Eye Facebook Page

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3. The Sticker Club : Review

   Posted on 10:17pm Monday 29th Sep 2014

   There is an obsession with stickers in our house. Although I think this *may* not be isolated to our house, so when a bright yellow envelope drops through the letterbox there is a flurry of excitement as the envelope is opened. It is addressed to the littlest member of the family, who doesn't really get very much post but she now knows the envelope design and can't wait to rip it open to see what is inside.

   

   The Sticker Club is a weekly subscription service that was created by two dads who noticed the desire to move back towards traditional, creative play. There is no denying that with everything being done online these days, children still love receiving their own mail through the postbox and the cool design makes it unmissable.

    

   Each week there is a different selection of stickers to choose from and although the stickers come for the little one, there is always something that the tween covets.

   

   The stickers have been made into pictures, cards and frequently found on varying pieces of furniture or doors but I love the creativity they help to develop, the imagination they help to inspire (and maybe the half an hours peace it also helps to give me whenever they arrive).

   Presently priced at £1.99 per week, they may not be the cheapest stickers you will find but the designs are fabulous, the service is great and it is less than the cost of certain fast food restuarants children's meals and is much more educational, fun and certainly less calories!

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4. Changing a room with Vertbaudet : Bedroom review

   Posted on 9:14pm Sunday 14th Sep 2014

   When I was pregnant with the little one, I didn't 'want to find out whether it was a boy or girl, so plumped for a very classic cream look for her bedroom. Now 3 years later, the sides are off the cot and her favourite colour is pink. Cream is just not cutting it any longer.

   So with a little help from Vertbaudet, we added a little bit of pink magic and sparkle to this neutral space ......

   

   First we added a pink heart rug. As the youngest member of the family, she has the smallest room so at 100 x 133cm it fills a large proportion of the floor (which saves me getting a new pink carpet) and it is so soft, the little one keeps flexing her toes over it! 

   

   We then chose a gorgeous butterfly hanging lampshade which casts a beautiful soft pink glow across her bedroom. A couple of people have aked me if there should be a frosted base on the bottom of the lampshade but there isn't and I prefer it that way (and it would be just somewhere that dust can gather). At 25 cm with a base diameter of 50 cm, it is almost oversized but with the cut-out butterfly motifs let the light through, it lights the bedroom softly and warmly. (It is also available in white, if you really don't fancy pink).

   

   So with the addition of some new bedding, the room definitely begins to feel a like more like a girls room, rather than a nursery. I know it seems sterotypical to choose pink but this was her colour of choice and it just goes to show that with a few key items, you really can change the look of a room.

   

   As a huge fan of Vertbaudet, I had purchased some butterflies from their website a little while ago and so we added these to the walls to create a bedroom that she can now "flutterbye" the hours in.

   

   So what do you think? Would you add anuthing more? I just have my eye on this beautiful butterfly mirror!

   Disclaimer : We were given the rug and lampshade as part of this review but as a regular customer of Vertbaudet, I would highly recommend their clothes and homewares for children.