Thursday 26 September 2013

Fabulous Fashionistas

Recently channel 4 showed a documentary about older women with a vibrant attitude to life and their clothing.  It really struck a chord with me, I found the ladies featured in the program inspiring.  Watching a programme like that makes you feel OK about getting older.

I know, I know.. I'm only 31, I'm not that old.  The thing is though, I've been very lucky so far.  I've no grey hairs, my figure has come back more or less then same after two children and my skin looks OK.  I have noticed the beginnings of some wrinkles beginning to form though, and I have to be honest, I don't really like it... but I know it's inevitable, so I'm trying to come to terms with it.  Watching this program was reassuring.

I'm not someone who wants to have plastic surgery and procedures one day.  Whilst I want to look as good as I can for as long as I can, I have no desire to go under the knife or have horrible sounding chemical peals.  I use creams on my face, and sun protection.  I always have.  I started a skincare regime aged 11 and have always stuck to it with a few changes here and there.  I've only ever gone to sleep with make up on once or twice.  I don't use expensive creams though.  Just Superdrug own brand.  I suspect a lot of how we age has to do with personality and genetics.  My parents are only beginning to get grey hairs in their 60s.  My maternal grandmother died with a head of mostly black hair, only a few grey, aged 76, so I'm hopeful on that score.  Mind you, I quite like the silver hair look, so I might well embrace that one day!!


I'm getting sidetracked... back to the program.  I suspect that these women and their interest in style/being smart/being active is not something that started once they hit 70.  I suspect these women have always been that way and will carry on in that vein until they die.  I like to think that as I've always loved colour, statement fashion, funky patterns and looking well put together that I'll stay that way as well.  I would LOVE to end up like one of these ladies.  Their attitude to life is amazing.


I have suffered with depression in my life, but one thing that has always kept me going is getting dressed and putting my make up on.  I always have make up on.  You will not find me at the school gates in tracksuits and no make up (well, unless I'm heading to an exercise class - though I'd still have my make up on!!).  I'm just not that way.  I'm not doing it to piss other mothers off, to make them feel bad because I have a dress and mascara on.  I just can't leave the house without doing that stuff.  It's a coping mechanism.  I feel better, I feel more ready to face the world when I have put something on that lifts my mood and popped a bit of eye shadow on.  I ALWAYS find time to put my make up on.  It does often mean I don't eat anything until 11 am because getting myself ready and getting the boys ready comes before eating (I know, not great, but again, it's me!!).  I'm not trying to be a "Yummy Mummy" just as I suspect these women aren't trying to be "Fabulous Fashionistas" or even be exceptional for their age.  This is me and that is them.

The day I don't get dressed and put my make up on is the day I know I need more than my citalopram!  I don't say that lightly either.

Did you catch this program when it was on?  What did you think?  Did you find the ladies inspiring?  Would you like to be like that when you're older? Or are you like that now?  You can catch the program on demand still, go and check it out if you haven't seen it!

Tuesday 24 September 2013

The wonderful world of Richard Scarry

If you were a child in the 60s, 70s, 80s and beyond, the chances are you are familiar with Richard Scarry and his fantastically illustrated children's books.  I loved his books as a child so when I received an email from Harper Collins offering two of this books for review, I nearly broke my phone trying to reply to the email with a huge YES PLEASE!

I love his illustrations so much that, to me, his books are artwork.  They are so evocative of a simpler time and filled with so many happy memories for me.  I remember pouring over his books as a child, always finding something new in the illustrations.  They are so detailed and there are so many funny little things to spot.  Silly things to make a child laugh, like a corn car, funny everyday details such as someone pushing a pram, or brushing their teeth.

We were lucky to be given two books that have been released to celebrate 50 years of Richard Scarry (can you believe it?!).  The first is the Best Word Book Ever.  This book is packed, and I do mean packed with words and illustrations to amuse you and your children for hours.  What I like about Richard Scarry books is that you can leave them lying around for your child to dip into whenever they want.  They aren't "story" books, they are the kind of book you can pick up and look at for a few minutes.  Ethan often chooses to have a look when he has a few minutes before school, or if I'm getting us ready to go out.  He'll have a look at a few pages.

Ethan is at the stage where he's starting to pick words out.  He's able to pick out his name, surname and a few simple words like The, It, And.  These books are great for helping with reading - most objects in the book have their word written next to them.  Obviously, Ethan can recognise a car, but he can't yet read the word.  Having the word car next to the object will help him to recognise the two together, I'm sure.

The second book we received is the Biggest Word Book Ever!  This book isn't joking.  It is huge.  Again, we are really enjoying it.  This is a piece of art, there's no doubt.  Whatever room you place it in, it's a statement!  At the moment, because we've only just got it, it's in our living room.  I will move it up to Ethan's room eventually and I know it'll look so cool in there!!  It's the kind of thing every child would want in a playroom.  It looks fantastic when it's not in use, but it's big, fun and easy for a child to use by themselves.


Rather like the other book, this is something you can dip in and out of time and time again.  Ethan and I love laying this book on the floor and looking at it together, pointing different things out.  It's a great activity for us together but also something Ethan will enjoy on his own.



Felix is also attracted to this book due to the size and bright colours.  It's just so much fun!

We really are Richard Scarry lovers in this household!!

**These books were provided for us in exchange for review but all views expressed are genuine and my own**

Trendy Tuesday - Moomns, Monochrome & Tie Dye

Two of my favourite styles at the moment are monochrome and tie dye.  I love tie dye because it's so easy to do yourself - you can funk up a boring item of clothing and feel crafty whilst doing it.  It's so nice when someone compliments you on an item of clothing and you can say "Oh, I did that!" as well.

Ethan loves tie dye.  He only has a few tops.  Felix on the other hand has had loads.  When I was pregnant I died all the neutral and white baby clothes we owned in a variety of tie dye colours.  The looked so cool.  He's grown out of those now, but there is one t shirt I dyed, age 3-6 months which fits him now.  When I made him that one, I made Ethan one to wear as well - I'd happened to find a white Next t shirt in a charity shop for 50p so I thought it was ripe for the dying!!

The results were pretty good and Ethan loves having a top that is a little different to his brothers but similar as well.  They look cute together when they are both wearing them.

I've got to mention this cute long sleeved Moomin vest the lovely Anna from Funky Little People sent us when Felix was born.  I loved Moomin stories as a child and the clothing line is so cute.  Apeals to little ones and adults alike!


We've been enjoying lots of Autumn walks lately, picking blackberries as we go.  I've got to say that I think the tie dye tops look a bit like they've been dyed by blackberries!! Not the case though.. I used them to make a crumble!!

Monochrome I love love LOVE at the moment. On me, on the boys and on our accessories.  I've just had amazing winter accessories made for our Xplory in monochrome chevron and I think they look AMAZING.



What have your little fashionistas been strutting their stuff in this week?  Link up below, comment here and visit others who join in!! Let's try to grow this linky as well - do you know any other bloggers who you think would like this linky?  Let them know!


Thursday 19 September 2013

Alex & Alexa Competition - Win a £1000 wardrobe upgrade!

Just a quick post, lovely readers, to make you aware of a Competition online retailer Alex & Alexa are holding.  You might remember me mentioning them before - I bought Ethan's statement lunch box from them, a gorgeous Beatrix New York number.


Alex & Alexa stock some fantastic items for children, stylish clothes, shoes, gifts, nursery items.  The prices are competitive as well.  If you shop with them between now and the 30th September, you will be entered for the competition to win £1000 worth of designer clothing.  You can also enter via their blog.

I'm off to enter now..

**This is not a sponsored post, just sharing some info**

Wednesday 18 September 2013

Loving statement legs!

In the first few weeks after having Felix, despite having lost my pregnancy weight, I didn't have the energy to get too excited about what I was wearing.  I was enjoying not being in maternity clothing and fitting back into old clothes, but that was about it.

Now, a few months in, I've got the shopping bug BAAAAAAD. I've not actually made it out on a proper clothes shop, but there's online shopping, my local Asda and the charity shops to keep me happy for now.  I've been buying quite a bit from H&M online because they stock current trends at such bargain prices and I'm usually pleased with the quality.  Plus, I get less guilt because I always get a few things for the children at the same time (like they need it!!).  I've also bought a few things from New Look online because they stock way more than my small local branch but I can get it delivered to them for free which is VERY handy.  All of these are great options for a busy mum!

So, what have I been buying?  Well, in particular at the moment I'm really enjoying patterned leggings and skinny jeans.  I bought a gorgeous pair of floral print jeans from New Look online last week in the sale.  A nice fit and the floral pattern is ontrend.  What I love about pattern is that it actually does the opposite of what you think it might.  Yes, they are statement, but the pattern also distracts from bulgy areas and often has a slimming affect on your silhouette!  Love it.

Medicated Follower of Fashion - Floral Jeans from New Look
Mustard vest top - H&M - current season
Grey Vest - H&M - last year
Floral Jeans - New Look

My number one faves at the moment are these fantastic monochrome leggings from H&M.  I total bargain at £7.99.  I could wear them every day of the week!  They are really slimming, look fantastic with oversize tops which are really in at the moment.  They work well with boots and flats.  I adore them.  My friend who is a huge Split Enz fan (heard of them?  Some of their members became Crowded House, like Neil Finn) says they remind her of the outfits they wore and I know what she means:

www.medicatedfollower.com - Split Enz image source: Google
Printed oversize top - George at Asda - current season
Cardigan - George at Asda - last year
Grey vest - H&M - last year
Leggings - H&M - current season
Moccis

It's nice to finally get round to writing up a style post that isn't about the boys!! Love them as I do, life is SO BUSY now.  Ethan still isn't full time at school, but as of today he's there until 1:45pm and actually, that's already giving me enough time to write this up!  So, hurrah!!

Just because, here's a few other outfits from the last few weeks.  I'm sorry for the image quality today, but all photos are taken from my phone...

www.medicatedfollower.com
Orange jeans - H&M -last year
Floral cardigan - Yumi - current
Green dress - Top Shop - old
Lace tights - New Look - last year
Duck print dress - Yumi - current
Denim jacket - New Look - last year
Floral maxi dress - New Look - last year

Linking up today with Transatlantic Blonde, The Pleated Poppy and on Friday, Rachel The Hat.

Tuesday 17 September 2013

Trendy Tuesday - Staying bright when not at school!

We're now into week three of Ethan's school life and I think we're starting to get into the flow of things - kind of!  It's still a bit tricky as he's not doing a full day yet so there's lots of too-ing and fro-ing still but so far getting out for 8:30am has been OK.  It's always a rush but we make it and we've not been late yet.  Which I think is impressive seeing as we have a young baby and are up several times each night.

One of the things Ethan and I both miss with him being in school is the lack of opportunity for cool outfits!  Of course, I understand the need for uniform, and I do think uniform is a good thing.  Whilst it does make everyone seem a little less individual, it does remove some chances of bulling and most importantly, if they get mucky at school, it's the uniform that bares the brunt, not nice home clothes.  Ethan is one for getting messy, so that's definitely a good thing!

I'm quite looking forward to the first non uniform day and the first school disco though.  Ethan will get a chance to shine there, I'm sure he'll be one of the funkiest dressed children!  I love that he enjoys his clothes, enjoys picking them out and wearing fun bright colours and prints.

So, what have the boys been rocking when not restricted by uniform?  Well, here's our week in photos:


Felix wears:

Lief top - bought from the charity shop
Zezuzulla trousers - Funky Little People
Green knitted cardigan - charity shop
Striped trousers - Asda
Owl Vest - H&M

Ethan wears:

Orange top - GAP Kids
Brown trousers - Polarn O Pyret
Ampersand T Shirt - Boys & Girls
Jeans - Ej Sikke Lej from Bebaboo.com


Ethan wears:

Stripy jumper - H&M
Chevron leggings - Indikidual via KyNa Boutique
Panda hat - H&M


Felix wears:

Smafolk all in one - bought on ebay years ago
Legwarmers - Babylegs

Ethan wears:

Coat - Smafolk via bebaboo


Felix wears:

Green stripy bodysuit - Rainbow Kids from TKMaxx years ago
Bird print long sleeved vest - Polarn O Pyret
Stripy leggings - H&M
Spotty vest - H&M
Romper - Zara Kids
Little Lamb nappy

What have your children been strutting their stuff in this week?  Blog about it and link up below!  Please comment on my post and share the love, visit others who join in!!

Sunday 15 September 2013

Cosatto Supa Stroller Review

It's a Sunday evening and at last I have the time to write a review I've been desperate to write for a while!

If you follow me on Instagram I expect you'll have noticed our rather wonderful fox print stroller.  It's quite the statement, so I'm sure you'll have spotted it!  It's a Cosatto stroller, to be more precise, it's a Supa Stroller in Foxtrot design.

We've been using our Supa for a good few weeks now.  I wanted to make sure we'd had a good chance to use it before writing my review and now we've now used it in a variety of weather conditions, temperatures and locations so I feel I can write a detailed review.

There was no missing this stroller when it was delivered to our door.  The packaging is a statement in itself.  Sturdy and funky.  I was so excited about opening it up.  I knew what to expect, but this stroller really dose surpass expectation.  The Foxtrot design is beyond eye-catching and I couldn't wait to get it out and about!


We've always used an umbrella fold stroller (such as this one) as our "car/travel buggy".  I like to have something that is lightweight and easy to store in a car boot.  We are lucky in that our car boot is large, however, this stroller fits in with loads of room to spare!  We go out and about a lot at weekends as a family so despite being our "car buggy" it gets a lot of use.  

The Supa comes with some really exciting and different extras such as a multimedia/gadget pocket with a speaker (yes - really!) and a cup holder as well as all of the bits you'd expect such as a shopping/storage bag underneath, a rain cover.  A gorgeous cosy footmuff is included for free.


Three features we really truly love about this stroller are the extendible sunshade, adjustable handle height and the free standing feature when folded.  To my knowledge there are no other umbrella strollers out there that offer these.  I wouldn't want a stroller without them now!  The extendible sunshade has been invaluable this summer - as we've actually had a summer this year, it's been in almost continuous use.  With our old umbrella fold I'd have been hanging muslins or extra sunshades over the hood, but with this stroller you simply unzip the extra part and pull it down.  It comes down a long way and Felix's head is very well shaded from the sunshine.  No screaming baby complaining about being in direct sunlight!

Being able to have the stroller standing when folded is fantastic.  A great feature if you are travelling and staying somewhere with little space and also great if you are putting your stroller away in your car but don't want to leave it lying on the ground in the dirt.  Obviously don't leave it unattended though, whilst it's quite sturdy it could be easily knocked down by a child or dog etc.  Still a fantastic feature.

Pete and I are quite different heights - I'm a little over 5ft (the height of Red Rum to the withers according to our height chart) and Pete is around 6ft (the same height as Elvis apparently) so it's highly useful for us to be able to adjust handle height.  It's easily done with the click of a button.

From the get go I've been impressed by how easy the Supa is to push, nice and smooth.  Like most two handled strollers it's easiest when being pushed by two hands, but on the odd occasion I've had to push with one hand for a short while and it's a lot easier to push than our old stroller!  Much smoother.  The wheels are sturdy and a decent size which aids the ease of pushing and steering.

We've found very few cons with this stroller.  My biggest issue would be that Felix is front facing when in the stroller and as he is 16 weeks that isn't my preferred choice.  But it's a fact that umbrella strollers all face forward and as it's not the only stroller we use with him (we babywear as well) I'm not overly concerned about this.  Besides, with the footmuff on and the sunshade down he's nicely secluded from the world if he needs to be and you can keep noise and stimulation to a minimum this way.  I also love that there is a little viewing panel on the back of the stroller - there is a flap you can lift with a clear plastic "window" behind allowing you to see in.  I adore this feature.  I can check up on him easily without stopping the stroller, without disturbing him.  Very reassuring!

Not really a con, but I admit that when I first got the Supa out of it's packaging I wasn't sure of the quality of the plastic used in the wheels and break etc. but I have to say that they are surprisingly sturdy and are wearing very well.

Another very minor moan (I'm nit picking here!) but it would be nice if the handle height could be adjusted just a little more. There are basically two settings.  A third would be lovely, seeing as Cosatto have gone to the effort of making the handles adjustable, it'd be really cool to have three height settings.  Still, I'm really finding things to moan about here!

As this is a fairly small wheeled umbrella fold stroller, it's not really made for off-roading and whilst we have found it possible to push through long grass, it's not easy going.  Again, I'm nit picking on this point because you don't really expect a stroller like this to be good for off-roading and you'd be mad to buy one like this expecting it to be good for that sort of thing!

The wonderful folks at Cosatto have really tried to think of everything with this stroller.  Eye catching design, wonderful features, excellent quality.  The details are fantastic, everything has been thought about.  Even the handles and wheels are beautiful with little fox heads in the handles and on the wheels.

The raincover is sturdy, it feels nice and strong unlike other ones we've had.  It fits over the stroller nicely and quite secure.  Again, more secure than the one we had on our previous umbrella fold.  


The footmuff is cosy.  I love the little hand warmer panel on the front.  It's easy to get on and off as well which is very hand for Autumn.  We've had temperature changes from 24 degrees to 13 degrees in the last week so it's been great being able to unzip the front of the footmuff off according to our requirements.  

I can't rave about this stroller enough.  You get comments and compliments wherever you go. Every time we step out the door with it we get stopped, asked where it came from etc.  When I discuss the features with people they are amazed.  Felix is comfortable and secure and has had many happy naps whilst being pushed around.

I've pushed the stroller, Pete has, Ethan has.  Even my parents have had a go and my Mum commented on how easy she found the 5 point harness to use.  She was never able to undo the one on our old umbrella fold but this one is easy peasy.  So far no one has caught their fingers in it either!


Retailing at £180 it isn't the cheapest umbrella fold stroller on the market, but I feel it is leaps and bounds above the rest!  You can use this stroller from birth so you'll be using it for a good long time and the quality feels good enough to me to last more than one child.  Ethan can happily fit in this stroller and he's 4.  Apart from anything else, this stroller lifts my mood.  I love to push it and it puts a smile on peoples faces wherever we go - and if that isn't a good thing, what is?!

**The Nitty Gritty**

-Suitable from birth
-Lightweight aluminium chassis with carry handle
-Adjustable handle height
-Integral hood sunshade protection
-Cup holder which can be used on either side of the frame
-Multimedia gadget pocket with speaker
-One hand recline with 4 recline positions
-Adjustable calf support
-Spacious storage basket
-Free-standing feature when folded
-Compact umbrella fold with Auto lock
-Fully removable seat unit for easy cleaning
-Lockable front swivel wheels
-FREE Chest pads and headhugger 
-Reversible 4 way Cosy Toes with kangaroo pouch and reversible zip-off fleece liner
-FREE raincover

***All views expressed are my own - we were provided the Supa Stroller for review purposes***

Friday 13 September 2013

Teething Terror

It's not been an easy week. My poor blog is suffering but that's the way it has to be, isn't it? The children, family & home have to come before it.  I don't like letting it slip & have lots of reviews pending & it all weighs heavy on my mind. Still... It's not always going to be like this!

Felix has been teething for ages but it's been particularly bad this week. He's been up multiple times during the night & sleeping an hour during the day in 20 minute blocks. Not really enough! Combined with Ethan only being at school between 8:45 - 11:30am, it's been a mad week, rushing out the door at 8:30am and rushing out again two hours later to pick Ethan up. 

Ethan has been grumpy & difficult all week
Playing up, moaning & whining.. I have been driven to the desire for booze but keep forgetting to buy any!

I think the baby is awake again, so off I go!

Keep checking in.. I don't intend to forget the blog forever!

Tuesday 10 September 2013

"It's really hard to make a 4 year old look cool!"

We went out into Bristol on Sunday to see a few more Gromits before they were being removed.  We headed to the Broadmead/Cabot Circus area as we hadn't seen any of those and I also needed to pop into GAP to get some baby socks (they really do the best socks, don't they!?!).

Whilst out we received a lot of compliments on the boys' outfits and also our fantastic Cosatto stroller (more on that another day).  I do dress my boys quite differently to how other people dress their children.  I'm not afraid of colour, pattern or things that are a bit different! However, I've never received as many comments as we did on Sunday! My favourite comments came from the staff in the Bristol branch of Lush including:

"Wow, It's really hard to make a 4 year old look cool, but he really does!"

"He looks cooler than me!"

"He couldn't be more on trend - tie dye, jellies and socks.."

Girl one "That is the coolest buggy I've ever seen, where is it from?!" 
Girl two "Are you getting broody?  You're not even pregnant!!"
Girl one "No, but when I do have children, that's the buggy I want, I want to know where it's from!"

I know it's a silly thing, what my children are wearing isn't really that important, but then I do want to teach them that it's OK to be individual, to be yourself and one of the ways I've always expressed myself is through my clothing.  I've always dressed a bit differently, not been afraid to wear unusual items (I used to rock a red Lycra cat suit when I was 12 - bit difficult to go to the loo when wearing though!!).  I hope that by dressing them like this they learn to express themselves and not to be afraid to be who they are.  Of course, I'm not going to force them into certain clothes.  When they get to the stage that they want to choose their own I'll hand the reigns over to them.  Even now I ask Ethan to choose items he likes.

So.. what was the outfit Ethan was rocking that sparked so much attention?  Here we go!







Ethan wears:

Tie Dye top - handmade by a friend
Leggings - Salt City Emporium
Jelly Shoes - JuJu Jellies via Project Jelly

Felix wears:

Chevron print dribble bib - Funky Giraffe
Ship print babygrow - Ej Sikke Lej

Foxtrot stroller from Cosatto 

Do you use Instagram?  I LOVE Instagram, it's about my favourite thing online, it's one of the first things I check in the morning!  For a while now I've been following a lovely lady on there called Susan who'd I'd like to introduce to you because she has the most stylish family ever and the way she dresses her daughter Penny is nothing less than inspiring.  You need to follow @soobylynch NOW!!

Thank you to all of you who linked up last week.  I hope you got to your blog to comment.  I'm afraid my head is all over the place at the moment.  Of course Ethan started school last week, we've all had colds and the baby is teething.  Last night we barely slept and all of us have been awake since 5am so I'm only just managing to cobble this together! Have a good week everyone - now it's over to you! Link up your children's fashion posts below, don't forget to comment here and visit others who join in!

Wednesday 4 September 2013

Here I go loubilou - a fantastic shopping experience!

Have you heard about Loubilou.com?  If you haven't, I'm going to tell you all about them in a minute, but lets just pause for a moment to sing... because if you're anything like me, you can't see/hear the word loubilou without breaking in to song:

"Here we go looby loo
here we go looby light
here we go looby loo
all on a Saturday night"

Yes.. that about sums up my Saturday nights!!

Loubilou are, in their words; "the leading source for original children's clothing, toys, and accessories from around the world.".   In other words, you can visit Loubilou to shop for a whole variety of child related wares from clothing to toys to gifts, but the nice thing is that they unite all sorts of sellers from around the world in one place.. like an online mall!

Loubilou asked me if I would like to try out their shopping experience and you can imagine I was more than happy to oblige.  I was provided with £20 to spend on their site as I wished.  I can't tell you how difficult it was to choose what to purchase.  They really do showcase a wonderful variety of sellers and in particular, a lot of small businesses.  I've noticed my lovely online friend Claire On Cloud 9 is selling via them and I was tempted to purchase another one of her gorgeous items, but then I stumbled across What Mother Made and their beautiful pantaloons.   I had to add a little of my own money as the pantaloons exceeded my £20 budget, but can you blame me?

The Loubilou shopping experience is a pleasant one.  Their site is clean to look at, bright without being over the top and crowded.  It looks professional but friendly and is easy to navigate. I think it's a fantastic way to showcase small businesses and individual craftspersons.  Once you've placed your order you receive an email confirming the order from Loubilou and an email is also sent once your order has been despatched by the seller.  All very reassuring.

If you happen to be reading this and you have a business selling childrensware or goods then I would seriously consider contacting Loubilou about selling via them.  I'm not saying that because I feel I have to.  I really enjoyed using their site and plan to again.  It's such a lovely way to look for different and unusual items all in one place.  You can create your online store yourself here.

Now, on to the pantaloons.  Well, they arrived very quickly, especially fantastic seeing as they were made to order!  They were beautifully packaged and just as wonderful as I'd hoped they'd be!!  At the moment they are a little big for Felix but I can't wait to put them on him!


Tuesday 3 September 2013

Is real grass worth the effort?



Is real grass worth the effort?

A new study has found that we Brits spend two months of our lives mowing the lawn – that’s a lot of time with the lawnmower! Combining the front and back garden, this may not come as a surprise for many since it always seems to take all day to finish the job!

Cutting the grass with a mower is only the start of it; trimming around the fence and shed is an ordeal of its own, dragging out an already arduous job much longer than we’d like. I don’t think this is what the Government was hoping for when it asked us to start being green!

The survey found that the average gardener will treat their lawns 2.4 times per month, and spend around 60 minutes performing the task. This roughly translates to two and a half hours every month we’d love to spend actually relaxing in the garden!

The time alone is not the only factor which makes this job so troublesome. Back and joint pain is common for even the healthiest of people, while those with joint problems can find mowing the lawn to be too painful to contemplate.

Worth the results?



But is this pain really worth the results at the end of the day? We hope to see our garden as a vivid land of bliss, with soft blades soothing our feet and a relaxing atmosphere to enjoy with the family.

However, here in Britain, the weather is so interchangeable that it’s almost impossible to achieve a perfect result without professional help. In summer, lawns transform into dry, yellow masses of dead grass, which can irritate those susceptible to hay fever as well as offend the eyes!

Sure, we get a decent amount of rain all year round which, for a day or two, can make our gardens flourish. However, you can always get too much of a good thing, and often the downpours will leave our gardens overgrown or patchy, meaning you have to repeat the back breaking job on an almost daily basis to keep it looking clean.

Not to mention what can happen to the grass once the kids are let loose in it – my eldest is constantly pulling up the blades, leaving patches across the lawn and muddy hands and feet running around my house!

What’s the alternative?

Is there any chance of escaping this routine? If you’re willing to explore the alternative, there are options out there meaning you can keep your green lawn and reduce the effort dramatically. Paula Rodham from Hi-Tech Turf commented upon the survey, saying:

“Some people love to mow the lawn and that will never change, but for those who hate the task an artificial lawn is a great solution. With the unpredictable seasons we now have, artificial grass takes away the chore of having to mow, feed and nurture the lawn whilst also having to second-guess the weather.

“The result is an attractive, lush lawn all year round.”


 

Monday 2 September 2013

Trendy Tuesday - SCHOOL!!

I can't believe it.  My little man is having his first session at school today.  I'm not sure how I feel.  Apprehensive, excited, sad.  When I first started this blog, it was called Baby, Me & Fashion and it was a place for me to record Ethan's outfits, write about what we got up to.. He was a little baby, not much older than Felix is now, and today he starts school!  How can it be?

I'm not going to write a feature about school uniform today, after all, there's not much to say about it, but I can't not feature a photo of the boy himself, can I?  So, this is Ethan yesterday, trying out his uniform, backpack and lunch box:


What do you think of his lunch box?  I must admit this was a bit of an indulgent purchase at £30 but once I saw it on alexandalexa.com I couldn't resist.  Ethan had already chosen a new backpack for school with a lion on it so this seemed the perfect lunch box!  It's designed by Beatrix New York - check them out, there are quite a few funky designs!!

Last week Emma from They Grow So Quick featured a pair of lightening print leggings she bought her son from Zara.  I fell in love with them so was straight on the Zara site.  I managed to buy one pair, all they had left was 6-9 months so it'll be a little while before you see Felix modelling a pair, but I also spotted the most adorable retro style romper.  I am a sucker for retro/old fashioned baby clothes and just had to order it.  Personally I love it.  I think Felix looks cute in it.  The reaction has been good on Instagram and my parents love it.  Pete thinks it looks like he's wearing a dress and one lady did assume he was a girl when we were out at the weekend and he was wearing it, but whatever, I don't care!!  What do you think:


Bib - H&M
Long Sleeved Vest - Ej Sikke Lej
Romper - Zara Baby

Well, it's over to you guys now - link up below and please don't forget to visit others who join in and comment here!  Thank you! xx