My Christmas outfit

Wow, it's the 8th December today; how can that be? My oldest friend has her birthday on the 15th of November and I always feel that once we've celebrated that, I start to focus more seriously on Christmas but this year I feel like I'm behind on everything.  Hope it's not just me...

I've got friends who've had all their Christmas shopping done since early September.  Not me I'm afraid.  I don't mind collecting up odd things throughout the year but I prefer doing it in November and December.  It adds to that festive feel I find!  My boys have made their lists, I've bought some items and other items I've planned where to buy them.  Plus, of course, Father Christmas is taking care of a few.. As I've got my head (pretty much) around gifts for others, I've found myself thinking about what I'd like to wear on the big day itself.  Everyone does Christmas Day their own way, but, for me, dressing up in something special (and new!) is pretty much essential.  This year, as I am working again, I also have a Christmas party to attend! I am most definitely on the search for a party outfit!

I shop online for clothes most of the time, mostly due to time constraints and the fact that our town doesn't have much in the way of decent clothing shops.  If you exclude the charity shops.  I love a good second hand bargain! I usually start off with a good google for the kind of thing I'm after and see what pops up.  Last night I found myself perusing Esprit.  When I'm looking for my Christmas Day outfit, I'm looking for something special.  A bit of luxury, a true party outfit. 

I definitely struck gold stumbling across Esprit.  It's hard to pick just one dress! But my budget dictates that I must.  A lot of the velvet dresses they stock appeal to me (there's something so festive about velvet!) but for my body shape I feel this lovely  is the one for me.  I love the simple black top half, it's unfussy and compliments the patterned skirt well.  The fact the dress actually looks like a separate skit and top is something different, I don't have something quite like this in my wardrobe (and as I own over 130 dresses that's quite an accomplishment).  The skirt has just the right amount of "shiny" about it and I love a bit of bronze.  It's still a very on trend colour but also one I feel is Christmassy.

Of course, once you've chosen a dress, you have to accessorize, right?! Footwear at Christmas time has to have an element of practicality, I feel.  For one thing, it's chilly.   I'm not one for strappy high heels at the best of times.  I think these metallic ankle boots have the right combination of complimenting the dress, keeping feet toasty and looking a little bit different too.  I'm also not a fan of going for the most obvious choice.

I'm a tights girl.  I have almost as many pairs of tights as I do dresses.  Which is actually pretty logical, I think! This is the time of year for soft and cosy tights and I think these cotton tights would work perfectly with the dress and boots.  Keep my legs nice and warm!

So, how about you?  Do you like to wear something special on Christmas Day or is it a pajama day for you and your family? Whatever you wear, however you spend it, I hope you enjoy it!

Christmas jumpers.. of course!

I couldn't really write a fashion piece at this time of year and not mention the old Christmas Jumper, could I? How long is it since they've been back in fashion now?  Seems it's been quite a while.  I know it was ironic to start with but I think it's gone beyond that now, and to be honest, I think we should just admit that most of us just love the chance to fling on some cheesy chic.  Am I right?

We do love a Christmas jumper in our house.  Pete only had one, which I bought him a few years ago, and he lamented recently that he liked the look of a geeky one he'd seen online (a Street Fighter one if you wanted to know!) but it was over £25 and he just couldn't justify it.  Well, it got me thinking.  Why not get him one for Christmas but give it to him early so we could all "enjoy" it well before the big day.  So I did.  And I think he was extremely happy to find it waiting for him after a long day at work one day.  He's hardly taken it off since!!

Christmas jumpers for all!

I have quite a few Christmas jumpers, t-shirts and dresses myself.  Even tights.  The boys really have heaps of stuff though.  They both have an actual "Christmas section" in their wardrobes.  I love seeing them wear the clothes each year.  I do add to them each year too and of course, they grow out of things.  Though I have to say that we have quite a bit of Smafolk and DUNS Christmas wear and it just goes on and on.  Ethan has a beautiful Smafolk top he's been wearing for 4 Christmases now.

I don't think many of us don't go in for festive wear these days, but just in case, I'll post the question.  Do you go in for the cheesy clothes fest or do you avoid it like the plague and stay classy?

Me - Merry Christmas Robin t shirt - Cath Kidston (very old).

         Elf t shirt - Tee Fury (I think - sorry!)

         Gingerbread people dress - DUNS - Funky Little People

Pete - Streetfighter Christmas jumper - Amazon

Ethan - Mini Rodini Christmas print top - KyNa Boutique

Felix - Reindeer Print Christmas jumper - Sainsburys  

Linking up with gorgeous Hannah today.  Congrats on the Insta 10K lady! XX

Christmas with Zazzle

Zazzle have really opened my eyes this year.  A few weeks ago you might remember me featuring a tiny selection of their printed t-shirts.  Well, they don't just offer clothing!  Not at all.  Zazzle print on just about anything you can think of!  Not only that, there are more independent artists and designers than you can imagine uploading their designs to be printed.  You can type just about anything into the search box on their website and something will come up!

Zazzle stock a vast range of cards, postcards, invitations, stickers, wrapping paper.  It's all there. I was very kindly allowed to try out some of their stationary goodies and I have to say it was a wonderful experience!

When using Zazzle, you must brace yourself.  Prepare yourself to be a little overwhelmed by choice.  I would say it's a good idea to have something in mind when approaching Zazzle, at least at first.  I decided I'd really like to find some retro/vintage style cards so when I arrived at their site I typed in retro Christmas cards and a whole heap of designs popped up!

It took a while to whittle down my choices.  There were so many fantastic designs I could pick.  I chose a selection of cards but I was also drawn to their packs of Christmas postcards.  I like the idea of a  Christmas postcard.  Something a little bit different!  So, on top of my selection of individual cards I ordered two packs of postcards.

I then decided to delve into the world of extras - stickers and labels!  Again, Zazzle stock just about every kind of sticker and label you can imagine.  I chose a pack of label stickers (for presents) a pack of return address labels to go on cards (as we moved recently I thought it'd be handy so people have our address!) and some stickers to add decoration to envelops and gifts.

I've always experienced great service with Zazzle.  The items all arrived quickly.  They were securely packaged, not bent or damaged in any way.  The quality of the card used is excellent.  The cards are lovely and glossy and feel substantial.  Same goes for the postcards.  The stickers look brilliant, good quality, bright, well printed.  I really love sealing a Christmas card envelop with a cute sticker!  I should add that the cards all came with an envelop -  not the postcards though, of course!

Retro AND rude!

If you're after something a little bit special then I would wholeheartedly recommend Zazzle.  And now's a good time to check them out because they'll have some great Black Friday deals on!

Funky Kid Friday - Festive Fashion for 2015

Is it too early to be thinking about Christmassy clothing?  Well, as November is just hours away, I think not! After all, if you don't get planning and buying now, it'll be too late!

Last December I ran a kids fashion tag on Instagram, #12DaysChristmasKids.  I gave 12 prompts and asked people if they would like to join in and tag their photos.  Quite a few people did and it was a lovely display of festive fashions.  Great fun.  At the moment, I'm not sure if I'll be doing the same this year but one thing is for sure, I'll be digging out all our Christmas clothing.

Christmas or festive clothing is a tricky one.  After all, if something has Father Christmas printed on it, it's only going to be worn a few times a year.  Add in the fact that children grow quite quickly when they are young, well, you have to think carefully about cost.  I tend to buy Christmas/Halloween/themed clothing larger than the boys need so they can wear it for two or three years in a row.. And of course, anything Ethan wears I hold on to for Felix to wear later on.  So at least most things get a good few wears.  I also look out for bargains online and in charity shops.

My top places for festive clothing are:

1) Smafolk & DUNS (available at Funky Little People and others) -  Smafolk and DUNS relese a new range of Christmas clothing every year.  Their clothes last really well, wash well, are soft and look wonderful.  Ethan has a top from them which he has now been wearing for 3 Christmasses.  It still looks fab.

2) Supermarkets - Each year I pick up a few little bargains.  Festive socks, slogan tees.  If you are looking to boost your child's Christmas wardrobe for a small price, places like Asda and Tesco are great for this.  Sizes tend to be more snug so I often size up.

3) Charity shops - Obviously Christmas clothing doesn't get much wear and charity shops often end up with a heap of it which is in great condition.  Come the end of November they start getting it out.   Great for Santa suits and fancy dress items.

4) Independents - If you are looking for something a bit special and want to support smaller business, independent is the way to go.  Etsy and Instagram are awash with cool small brands showing off their Christmas '15 wares.  My faves this year come from Fred & Noah.   They are seriously storming it with their Christmas collection.  An amazing geo print Father Christmas, reindeer and good old candy stripes.  Love it!

Have you ever bought any Christmassy clothing for your children?  If so, do you go all out or is it just for Christmas day itself? Don't forget to link up your kids fashion posts today (see top post).

Funky Kid Friday - New Year!

Christmas and New Year have come and gone.. and here we are, the second Friday in January already! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas/New Year/Holiday!  We enjoyed a good amount of family time.  I like to have a break from the blog over the Christmas holidays.  For one thing, I don't have as much time to work on it.  I also think I benefit from a break from it though.

If I'm entirely honest, my blogging mojo isn't quite back, but it's Friday, Mum and Dad have Felix and I should really get something productive done!

I love having both boys at home with me during the holidays for many reasons.  It's hard work when they are both home but at least we don't have to rush out for school in the morning.  It's nice not to have the time constraints the school days bring.  I also like that Ethan can choose his own clothes in the morning.  Something he really enjoyed each day.

Here's a selection of the boys outfits over the last few weeks:

Want to share what your children have been wearing?  Link up below! Don't forget to comment here and visit anyone else who links up.  It's all about the love!

Next week I'm sure a more normal service will resume.  And hopefully as Spring gets closer Felix and I might stop catching a new cold each week!

Happy 2015 everyone! XX

Our Next Christmas Wishlist

Who doesn't love to dream a little and create a wishlist?  In the months running up to Christmas (Oh, OK, from about May onwards ;-D) I have a little list on the go - ideas for the boys, ideas for hubby and, if I'm honest, ideas for me!  Don't get me wrong, I know life isn't all about presents and spending money on material items, but it is nice to have some nice things around you.. and sometimes, just nice to think about having them!!

I've been trawling the Next website tonight doing just that, creating my #NextmasWishlist.  I've picked 10 items, some for the boys, some for hubby, some for me.  This is what I've picked:

For Felix:

WOW tee:

Felix says wow about 300 times a day so this is totally him!

For Ethan:

Ecru pattern jumper:

Just perfect for winter!

Suede boots:

Keep those tootsies warm!!

Geo pom beanie:

I love this,  It's so bold.  Totally on trend with the pompom and geo print.  It'd go with loads of outfits too!

For Pete:

Midwash slim fit jeans:

Pete could really do with a new pair of jeans and I think these would be just right.  Since he changed jobs he no longer needs to wear "work clothes" which is good but it means his casual clothes get a lot more wear.

Christmas jumper:

Come on, everyone needs a festive knit!  I like this one because it's festive but not too in your face.  You wouldn't feel a total dork in it.

For me:

Black jacquard dress:

I love the idea of this dress.  It's the kind of thing I could wear all day or wear out to meet friends in the evening.  I could dress it up with bright tights and a bright cardie.  It'd be good for Autumn, Winter and Spring!

Fairisle sock set:

These socks are gorgeous.  I love the patterns and they look really snug!

Star print tights:

I love a pair of statement tights, these are just up my street!! To funk them up even more I'd wear a coloured pair underneath.  The stars would look even cooler then!

Faux fur flat boots:

These boots look awesome.  Practical, comfortable and I think they'd work really well with my endless collection of jeans and leggings!

So, there you have it.  A nice little festive wish list!! I'm off to bed now so I can dream about stomping around in new boots with snug fairisle socks!!

Top picks for Christmas with The Dandy Kid

One of my favorite online shops, The Dandy Kid, have shared with me their top picks for Christmas and the best thing is that not only do they stock amazing items, they have something for every budget!  I thought I'd share with you - after all, it's not long until the big day now!!

What did I tell you?  Amazing stuff, isn't it!  I adore the tents.  I want to get a tepee or tent for my boys but unfortunately I don't have the budget this year.  Hopefully for one of their birthdays!! If I were picking off this gorgeous list of suggestions I think a Metsola playsuit would make it's way into my basket along with something from Hello Apparel for me - hehe!!

Trendy Thursday - The 2013 Round Up!

It's time for the final Trendy Thursday post of the year and I thought a nice way to wrap up the year would be to share some of my favourite outfits of the year - but not ones my boys have rocked - no, ones you lovely lot have linked up!! So, without further ado, here's my pick of the bunch:

Lovely Emma from They Grow So Quick has been joining in with my Trendy linky for a loooong time now. I always love her posts, I love that she has two boys like me, and a really similar taste in clothing.  Her boys always look awesome, but overall, I really love the post in which she shared Seb's denim shirt.  It reminded me that Ethan didn't have one and had me heading out to the shops to find one for him.  Love to be inspired!

Up next we have the lovely Kara and her gorgeous daughter Addison.  Kara has a real eye for fashion and her three gorgeous children have just the right balance of cute and trendy in their outfits.  I love this outfit of Addison's that Kara shared with us back in April.  It's cute, but the dark colour of the shoes balances it.  I particularly love the trousers!

Sarah of Mum of Three World started joining in with the Trendy linky earlier this year and has become a regular - thank you!  Her daughter has a great style and as she's a little older than a lot of the other children featured in the linky, it's especially interesting seeing what she's wearing because she is a lot more involved in choosing what she wears!  I adore this beautiful dress that she wore for a Christening in July.  Delicate and striking in an understated way!

Emma from Bubbablue And Me is another long time Trendy buddy.  She has a classic taste.  I think it's fair to say that her taste and my taste are different.  Mine a little more out there I think!! Still, I love to see her posts.  Her little man always looks lovely, well dressed and comfy.  Emma picks some lovely trousers for N and so I've picked her post on chinos.  Love the colour!

Hannah of Make Do and Push joined in with Trendy for the first time a few months ago and I adore her style.  It's so lovely to have new bloggers joining in.  The outfits she puts together for her gorgeous Busby are so bright and funky.  Like me, she's a lover of Slugs and Snails tights so I had to pick this post of hers!

Finally, we have Claire of What Elsa Wears.  Oh, I DO love a blog all about what a child is wearing.  This is a blog after my own heart!  I had to pick this post showing Elsa's Christmas jumper collection.  What a collection!!!  I think the snowflake print is my favourite.

That completes my round up!  I've got the linky live, so link up any outfit posts you have for this week if you like.  I want to thank everyone who has joined in with Trendy Tuesday/Thursday this year.  It really means so much to me.  It's such a small linky but I do love it. It makes me so happy to see people linking up and even if it takes me a few days, I do try to get to everyone's post to comment.  Children's fashion is my passion and I love sharing it!  Trendy Thursday is taking a break now until the new year.  I look forward to seeing you back and hopefully a few new faces as well!

Happy Christmas and Happy New Year all! xx

Nothing but Christmas..

Felix went down for his nap this morning and I set myself up at my laptop, coffee to one side, phone to the other, radio on blaring out the Christmas tunes.  What should I write?  A few things popped into my head, there are a few child rearing type issues I want to write about.  Of course, there's Trendy Thursday, but that's a few days away yet.. But, I thought, at this time of year, all we really want to read about is Christmas!  Well.. most of us, anyway!  Who wants to read my thoughts on how Baby Led Weaning is going, or how Ethan is getting on with Felix these days.

So... that's it.  I give in.  I'm just going to blab on about Christmas for a bit.

You've seen the festive clothes.. we're all rocking them, almost on a daily basis now!  Ethan hasn't broken up from school yet, not until Friday, but there is definitely a more relaxed feeling at school.  The teachers are wearing Santa hats, there are decorations up.  He has a Christmas Party at school tomorrow morning and then I get to join him in the afternoon for a table decoration craft session.  Quite excited about that!  I love some one on one time with my big boy.

The tree has been up for two weeks.  It's dropping needles like a... well, like a tree that has been up rooted and stuck in a warm living room!! Thank goodness for my hand held vac.

Christmas cards are arriving in the post, despite the ever increasing costs.  I've even managed to send mine.

The presents have been bought but are yet to be wrapped.  When do you wrap yours?  Do you have a Christmas Eve mad wrapping session (ehem, tradition? ;-D).  Talking of traditions; what are yours?  I don't think we have many, but I suppose we do without really thinking about it.  The same decorations coming out each year.  There's this horrible singing Santa that my Mum bought us years ago that everyone hates... and yet, it comes out every year to torment us.  Many of our traditions are Christmas Eve based.  The boys will have new PJs (quite a few people do that!).  We sprinkle "reindeer food" for the reindeer in the garden.  We put out the plate of mince pies and sherry for Father Christmas and a carrot for the reindeer.  Love that someone has the job of drinking and eating (or at least biting at!) those.  I believe that always fell to my Dad as we were growing up.  Now I think Pete and my Dad share it (we always sleep at there house on Christmas Eve).

On Christmas morning, it's all about stocking opening.  One of my favourite memories of Christmas is a child is that feeling as you wake in the early morning.  The feeling of the heavy stocking lying on the bottom of your bed, maybe resting on top of your feet a little.  It was always so exciting!!  Growing up, my brother and I were always allowed to choose one present from under the tree after we'd opened our stockings, to "keep us going" until the big present unwrapping session.  I always got clothes for Christmas so I'd choose the parcel that felt the most like clothing in the hope that I'd be able to put my new clothes on!

Post Christmas lunch, we have a quiet time.  Before the Queen's speech.  I think it's the same for many of us!  As a child I would go up to my bedroom.  "Father Christmas" always bought me a new audio tape in my stocking so I would put that on and drift off.  Something like Rebecca or a new Dickens.  Lovely.

Do you have Christmas traditions?  I'd love to hear them!

I expect my blog will be quiet for a while now until January takes off.  I'm planning a Trendy Thursday for this week, a round up of some of my favourite outfits from the year from those who've linked up.  Apart from that though, I'm going to take a couple of weeks off.  Enjoy the time with my family and away from time keeping and deadlines.

So, I wish you and your family a very VERY merry Christmas. Enjoy.  Here's to 2014!!

Trendy Thursday - Christmas clothes are go!

My poor little Ethan has been really poorly recently.  A horrible virus.  High temps, fevers, coughs, rashes, aches and pains.  Poor sausage.  At the weekend we bought our tree.  We've always gone out and chosen as a family and had been really excited about doing so as a family of four this year.  Ethan wasn't feeling up to leaving the house though, but insisted we get the tree as "I want to see it sparkling when I'm poorly".  Bless him.  Mum and Dad came over so Pete and I could pop out to get the tree.  It was weird going out without either of the boys (Felix stayed behind in the warm as well).

On Sunday we put our tree up as a family.  Ethan still wasn't well but he had enough energy to help with a few of the decorations.  I'd dressed him in something soft and comfy and a little festive.  A pair of Krutter velour dungarees and a Christmas print Smafolk top from last year.  I think he looked as cute as cute can be!

Are your kids rocking any Christmas prints yet?  Just wait until I post some of Felix's stuff next week!!

Link up below, tweet me, comment here and visit the others - have fun!!

Happy 2013!

Happy New Year all! I'm back.  I really, really needed a break from my blog over Christmas and the new year.  I love having a blog, but it can be hard work at time, and that's just it, I don't want it to feel like "work" or forced.  So, I'm back, somewhat refreshed.  Only somewhat, because how refreshed can a pregnant woman be?!

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and New Year?  Overall, we had a good time. Pete had to work a few days here and there which was a bit annoying, breaking up the holiday a bit and making it feel a bit funny.  We've been lucky the last few years and Pete has been able to take 2 weeks or so off (his birthday is 4th Jan so he usually stays off work til then).  It did make Christmas a bit odd because Pete had to go into work on Christmas Eve (not so bad), New Years Eve and then back to work properly on the 2nd... I know it could be far worse, but it put a slight dampener on things for us.  Overall though, it was a good time.  Ethan LOVED Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  I think he found it all a bit overwhelming, even though we didn't go crazy with presents.. but it's still so much, especially with a stocking as well!!  I think one of the funniest things was finding him in bed with his stocking on Christmas night covered in chocolates and marshmallows (or mashymoes as he calls them).  What a sticky mess.

On New Years Eve, we let Ethan stay up with us.  It wasn't a crazy night, just the three of us (and bump) watching TV and playing games.  At midnight our neighbours held a firework display which Ethan stayed up for - he ended up staying up until nearly 1am which amazed me (Pete fell asleep on the sofa!!) and he loved the fireworks.  He never really caught up on that missed sleep but it doesn't seem to have had an affect.

New Years Eve was exciting for another reason because we had our 20 weeks scan and found out the sex of baby 2!  If you've missed the news, we're expecting another boy! I must admit I was hoping for a girl so we'd get to experience both, but you get what you get and what we're getting (unless they're wrong, but it didn't look like that to me!) is another boy.  A little brother for Ethan.

Dress - bought from New Look in 2008 when I was last pregnant - not maternity, just a size up from normal!

I'm 21 + 2 now and hoping I've passed the half way mark.  I made it to 42 weeks with Ethan, so when everyone was saying to me at 19/20 weeks "Oooo, half way now!" I must admit I've been thinking... possibly not!!  I am very happy to report that over the last two days I HAVEN'T FELT SICK!!!!!  I don't know if that will last, but it's amazing!! A nasal spray from the doctors is allowing me to breath at night again so I'm able to sleep... that is helping a lot... and *shhhh* I think my energy levels are picking up a little.  I still have itchy huge uncomfortable boobs of doom, but we can't have everything, can we!

Today marks the start of getting back into the routine of every day life.  Ethan is back at preschool despite protesting and I am back blogging... Tomorrow marks the return of Trendy Tuesday so if you're reading today and you have a trendy child in your life, pop back tomorrow and link up a blog post showing off their style!!

I'm linking up today's post with Visible Monday, Sunday Style and Watch What I'm Wearing.