Sleeping in style - obsessed with bedding

If I ever want to freshen up one of our bedrooms, I start with a new duvet set.  I am rather addicted to them.  Luckily we have a large airing cupboard and under-bed storage so I am able to store quite a few.  We probably have too many, but at least we have plenty of bedding available for guests or when the children are sick (or have an accident!!).

I love how you can keep your room fashionable with something as simple as changing the bedding.  You can suit the season, your mood and for such a small cost.  What is even more fantastic is that it is so easy to pick up bargain bedding these days.  Whilst I really love buying from smaller independent companies, I am also a bargain hunter.  These days I have to admit that the supermarkets are the places to go for bedding.  In particular, George at Asda are brilliant at staying on trend and affordable.  You can often pick up a new duvet set for around £12.  Fitted sheets come in at around £5 so for less than £20 you can have a completely new set!

I thought I would share my top 5 places to buy bedding and some of my favourite picks from their current collections:

1) George at Asda

George are excellent at staying on trend, their prices are hard to beat and the quality is actually very good:

Bedding from George at Asda

2) Ikea

Ikea bedding makes my palms sweaty.  When I visit Ikea my heart rate increases once we reach the bedroom part of the showroom.  I find it very hard not to buy bedding when I go to Ikea.  Good prices, some are crazy cheap, most are average prices.  The quality is astounding though:

Ikea bedding

3) Wilkinsons

Wilkinsons were a real surprise to me.  I hardly ever go in "bargain" shops like Wilkos, I always think it's a little like a 99p shop.  However, I ended up on their online shop a few months ago and was astounded at the choice. Like Asda, their bedding prices are amazing and very up to date:

Wilko Bedding

4) H&M

I started shopping online with H&M a few years ago when I discovered just how good their children's clothes are.  I love them for me and the boys.  Even hubby relies on them for their underwear!!  Their homewear range is growing all the time and is very stylish.  Their bedding sets are fantastic and often sell out within hours (anyone who knows about their very Mini Rodini style tiger bedding set will know what I mean.  I actually feel like crying when I think about missing out on that..).  Prices are very good and quality is also great:

H&M Bedding

5) Argos

I stopped buying from Argos a while ago feeling they were very old fashioned and out of date.  However, a recent Google for geometric bedding led me back to them and boy do they have a good selection!  Prices range from the very cheap to the much more expensive so there's something for everyone.  I'm impressed!

Argos Bedding

How do you like to brighten up your bedroom?  I hope I've inspired a few people today to try some new bedding out and maybe try somewhere new to buy from! Have fun!!

Leggings, leggings, I LOVE leggings!

I'm not sure when it started, but I have fallen for leggings in a big way and my collection is growing all the time.  

They are so comfy.  You can wear them with a T-shirt, a dress, a skirt.  They are just the perfect mum outfit solution!

These are a couple of my newest editions:

H&M Leggings

Salt City Emporium Leggings

The top pair are H&M.  I spotted them in a catalogue a few months ago but decided to buy a zigzag pair instead.  I adore my zigzag pair, they fit really well, so when I spotted these for 99p on eBay I decided to take a punt.  As you can see, they are now mine! Bargain!

The bottom pair are one of my favourite brands, Salt City Emporium.  I'm always harping on about them, but I think their prints are some of the coolest out there.  I picked these babies up in their sale and less than a week later they arrived through my front door.  I love buying something like these - you can bet no one else in Clevedon will be rocking these babies!

I'm linking up today for #RealMomStyle.

Trendy Thursday - Geometric Fashion

Can you believe it? Thursday has rolled around again! You must know what that means by now! Trendy Thursday - time to show off what the smaller members of our families have been wearing!

Geometric patterns are so in at the moment, whether it's in clothing or homewear.  They really appeal to me, especially when mixed with classic stripes!  This weekend just gone, Ethan has been wearing his new Handmade is Haute harem pants.  He really put them through their paces when we went to the park.  He was rolling around in the mud like a loon.  A good scrub with Fairy soap and a session in the washing machine and they are as good as new, thankfully!

Handmade is Haute

Felix has been wearing his harliquen esque H&M leggings and Beau Loves shorts over the weekend.  On Sunday he wore the shorts along with a heap of Polarn O Pyret.  Personally, I thought the overall look rocked!

Geometric Kids Fashion

Well, that's what my little trend setters have been wearing - over to you!  Please share your children's fashion blog posts using the linky below.  Don't forget to comment here and to visit others who join in.  It's really important to share the love!

Have a lovely rest of the week folks!

Trendy Thursday - Vintage clothing and Golden Docs

Happy Thursday everyone!  Yes!  It's Friday Eve! Let's all have a big sigh of relief - the weekend is in sight!

I got some gorgeous bargains via eBay last week.  Ethan finally grew out of his collection of waistcoats recently so I sourced some replacements on eBay.  I'm more than happy to buy second hand.  I managed to buy three, one smart Next one that came with a shirt and two woollen style ones, one Jasper Conran and one from Tesco Clothing.  For all three I think I paid less than £10.  I love the woollen ones, they can make an outfit slightly smarter but are also good for adding an extra layer of warmth and make an outfit extra trendy!

Stripy Waistcoat - Cherokee For Tesco via eBay

Rocket print top - Smafolk

Checked leggings - H&M Girls

Gold Doc Martens

I'd been looking for some Docs for Ethan for an age.  I find it hard to buy something like that brand new for him - they go through shoes so quickly and Docs aren't cheap.  I've no issue buying second hand shoes as long as they haven't been heavily worn.  Finally, I got lucky and found a pair in Ethan's current size on eBay.  The starting bid was £9.99 but with free postage so I went for it.  No one else bid and they were ours!  Total bargain I think.  Ethan's feet will probably grow out of them soon but at least I can save them for Felix.  They look amazing on him, really go well with his leggings and skinny jeans.  He loves them as well, he calls them his golden dancing boots.  I'm happy to report that he's comfy in them as well.  Perhaps in the case of Docs it's better buying them slightly worn in - I know it takes a while to make them comfy!

Felix hasn't been left out.  I found a lady selling a whole load of vintage children's clothing from the 50s - 80s.  It was old shop stock, unworn.  I decided to limit myself to one item but it was very hard to pick!  I went for a 1970s Ladybird romper.  So adorable!  It's a little big for Felix just yet, but it'll be great for spring and summer!

I also bought a couple of items from the new season collection at Zara Baby - I really like their clothes for children.  I've never been a big fan of them for myself (I feel they are the same quality as H&M ladies clothing but more pricey with less choice) but really do like their children's items.  I bought a cute t shirt which I think is super trendy and some of their baby trousers - I especially like their baby trousers because they are generous around the bum which is great for big cloth nappies!

Gold Docs - eBay

Vintage Romper - eBay

Teepee t shirt - Zara Baby

Trousers - Zara Baby

My boys at the weekend:

Ethan - as above

Felix:

Collar - Polarn O. Pyret

Long Sleeved Vest - Katvig

Bloomers - Beau Loves via Scandinavian Minimal 

Tights - Trumpet

What have your little fashion monkeys been wearing this week?  Link up below!  Please don't forget to link back to my blog and/or include my button.  Please comment here and visit others who join in!  You can tweet me your link as @MedicatedFollow well using the tag #TrendyThursday.

Trendy Tuesday - Children's Fashion - is it worth it?

This might seem a strange subject choice for Trendy Tuesday, a linky which, after all, focusses on children's fashion.  However, I feel it's the perfect time to write about this.

Children's fashion - is it worth it?  What do I mean?  Well... from a personal point of view, I LOVE children's fashion.  My boys are a huge part of my life.  I love clothes and fashion and rightly or wrongly, the boys are an extension of me (at their young age at least!) and as a result, I love dressing them as much as I love dressing myself.  Probably even more so.

Does it matter what our children wear?  No.  Of course it doesn't.  As long as they are appropriately dressed  for the weather in clothing that is of good quality (i.e. not falling apart!) then it doesn't.  All they need is to be warm, dry and comfortable.  They aren't born with a need to be in the latest fashions.  So.  Why does children's fashion exist?  Well, for the parents of course!  It is us who buy their clothes, and to make more sales, brands have to appeal to us.  Hence the huge variety of choice.

Panda cap - H&M

Bright as Day top - Boys and Girls

Arrow leggings - Saltcity Emporium

Fashion isn't about necessity, it's an indulgence. It's about expression, personality... even showing off.  I enjoy dressing my boys.  I enjoy having lots of clothes to put them in so that they look different from day to day.  I find exciting outfits interesting to look at.  They inspire me, clothes allow me to express myself.  I like to think that by exposing my boys to colours and patterns that they will be happy to wear whatever they like and be happy to express who they are, not who they feel they should be.

Neck warmer - Polarn O Pyret

Fleece - H&M

Jeans - Asda

Wellies - Joules

There are other benefits to buying slightly 'higher end' children's clothing, such as the use of materials which are better for the environment and kinder to the skin.  There is also the argument that better quality clothing washes better and lasts longer allowing the clothes to be worn by siblings, cousins, friends etc.  In our case, I am saving the best items for my grandchildren once the boys have grown out of them!!  If I don't have grandchildren, well, I'll pass them on to someone else!

Romper - What Mother Made

I do buy cheaper items for my boys, I'll happily buy second or third hand, but I do love to have a lot of variety and it gives me endless pleasure dressing them in gorgeous clothes.

Bib - Funky Giraffe

Leggings - Saltcity Emporium

Moccasins - Mocons by Sock-ons

What are your thoughts on children's fashion?  Do you have a huge selection of clothing for your children?

If you have a children's fashion blog post, you can link it up below!  Share the love, comment here and visit others who join in!

Trendy Tuesday - some warmer weather!

Yay! The sunshine has finally found us! I'm not sure how long for, but at last, it's been time to break out the sunnies, hats and even... SHOCK HORROR!  Shorts.  Not for me you understand.  I'm still stuck wearing laddered and unsightly compression tights rendering anything other than maxi dresses and leggings worn over the horrible (but helpful) tights impossible.  No, for Ethan.

I thought I'd share a few of this outfits from the last seven days.

Top Left:

T shirt - Boys & Girls

Leggings - Polarn O Pyret (old)

Socks - Ted Baker

Top Right:

Sunglasses - H&M

Jacket - Hatley

Leggings - DUNNS via bebaboo.com

Bottom Left:

Hat - Asda

T Shirt - as before

Star print shorts - H&M

Socks - Next (old)

Bottom Right:

Hat - as before

Vest - Cath Kidston (last season)

Trendy Tuesday will probably go a bit quiet from here on in... well, for a few weeks at least.  I'm 38+2 weeks pregnant now, and whilst I know I could easily go on to 42 weeks before baby arrives, I want to make sure I'm not pressurising myself to be doing anything beyond keeping the house ticking over and relaxing as much as I can.  When I was pregnant with Ethan, I went on maternity leave quite early and I didn't blog.  I spent loads of time just relaxing and reading.  This time around, I've got Ethan to look after, make sure he gets to preschool, keep the house running (which always takes more effort when there's more than two of you!), keep food shopping, cooking etc.  You know the drill!!  Blogging is too easy to continue with in a way.  Unlike with maternity leave from work, you can always blog.. your phone is always there, your laptop near by.  I'm going to have to force myself to take a bit of a step back.  That doesn't mean nothing will be happening on the blog.  I have a couple of reviews that need to be written up and published and I hope to do a weekly pregnancy post, but other than that, I'm planning to take a break until the baby arrives and I feel up to blogging again.  I hope this won't put people off popping by and reading.  I will be back to normal one day, but for now, for me, I need to slow things down.

I'll hand over to you now - if you have any trendy children/fashion blog posts this week, please link them up using the linky below.  Don't forget the simple rules!!  Please PLEASE remember to comment here and link to my blog post/use my badge.  After all, it's only fair!  Thank you!

1) Link back to my blog in your blog post and/or display the Trendy Tuesday badge (code available to the right).

2) Comment on my blog post and please visit others who join in - share the love!

3) Tweet me @medicatedfollow with your blog post link so I can retweet it.




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