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 Little People - Summer Sale!

One of my favorite online retailers and one of our longest standing sponsors, Funky Little People are having their summer sale!

There are some amazing bargains to be had from funky Smafolk bedding to wonderful Dunns t shirts.  It's got to be one of the best places to stock up on your Scandi addiction!!

Go check it out!

Trendy Thursday - Legoland Dudes

My boys were looking like total dudes during our recent stay at the Legoland Hotel (more to come on that soon).  Ethan loves the weekends, being able to bust out of his school uniform and wear something bright and fun.  He asked to wear a Barbabpapa top to Legoland so I created his Saturday outfit around that:

Trendy Thursday - Legoland Dudes

Cap - Asda

Barbapapa top - H&M (old)

Leggings - H&M (girls section)

Converse & Shwings - eBay

I am so glad I picked up the cap for him in Asda a few weeks ago.  It was the only one there in that style and cost something silly like £2 and I think it looks so fantastic on.  The colours are great and the pattern really on trend with a tribal feel to it.  It goes with pretty much anything and of course, keeps the sun out of his eyes!

On Sunday purple was our theme:

Trendy Thursday - Legoland Dudes

Bear t-shirt - GAP Kids

Tie Dye top - Made by a friend

Trousers - Smafolk

Rucksack - Mibo by Coq en Pate via Pippa & Ike

Ethan loves to wear his Coq en Pate Lion rucksack when we're out and about.  Originally I bought it for him to use at school, but he doesn't really need it due to having a book bag.  It's too gorgeous not to get used though, so it comes out with us when we go out.  Ethan likes to carry a bottle of water, his Gloworm and some paper & pens in it.. and whatever other treasures he has!  It's great because it's just the right size for him.

The bear t shirt from GAP is one Ethan picked out himself last year.  I got it in their sale for about £2 so a bargain.  Such a different image on it as well.  Who doesn't love a bear playing keyboard whilst rocking some sunglasses?!

What have your little funky monkeys been rocking recently?  Link up below so we can all find out!  Please don't forget to comment here and visit others who join in - oh, and if you haven't, why not grab the Trendy Thursday badge to display on your blog?

Thanks for joining in!

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!!

Trendy Tuesday

I'm writing this at 10:30pm on Tuesday.. I think I'll just get this posted in time!  It's hard to find time to blog when both children are with me 24/7.  I don't think it's fair to get my laptop out and blog when they are awake.  Ethan didn't go to sleep until after 9pm tonight, hence this post being so late!

One of the best things about the children being home for the holidays is being able to dress them in lots of nice fun outfits.  No uniform - yay!  Three weeks from now Ethan will be in uniform 5 days a week.  Of course, Felix is only 11 weeks old, it'll be a while before he's subjected to that.

It occurred to me recently that I'll have to stop buying so many clothes for Ethan.  I've always bought a few years ahead and stock piled clothes, but now he's a school boy, he really isn't going to need as many, so I'm going to have to curb my habit!  Booo..

I thought I'd share a few outfits from the last week:

Scarf - Lidl

Top - Katvig via bebaboo.com

Leggings - Hjorn Hoarth via Funky Little People

Hightops - H&M

Top  left: Romper by 4 Funky Flavours via Monkey & Bo

Top right: Leggings by Indikidual via KyNa Boutique, socks Ted Baker

Bottom left: Poncho by Boys & Girls, shorts by Katvig, Converse hightops with Shwings

Bottom right: Felix wears a Brights & Stripes babygrow.  Bib & nappy via ebay.  Ethan wears a Smafolk top (bebaboo.com), Polarn O Pyret leggings and Moccis.

Do you like our new pushchair?  We've been sent it to review by Cosatto and we are LOVING it so far.  A full review will follow in a few weeks of course.  We need ample time to test it out!

What have your little folk been wearing this week?  Link up below, comment here, visit others who join in - let's see what all the little fashionistas have been rocking!

Trendy Tuesday - Shwings - wings for your shoes!

I'm still here... I'm still (just about) managing to do a Trendy Tuesday post.

I thought today I'd write about Shwings.  I can't remember when I first saw these.  I know it was online.  Perhaps on Instagram.  I thought they looked fantastic though and I knew Ethan would love a pair.  For ages I've had them on my eBay and Amazon wish lists.  I had a bit of spare money in my PayPal account last week so I thought, what the heck, I'll buy Ethan a pair.

They arrived last Wednesday when Ethan was at preschool, so I popped them on his pink Converse whilst he was out, excited to show him them later.  On Thursday he wore them out for the first time when he spent the day with my parents.  He was ecstatic when he saw them and, according to my Dad, spent the day "flying".  Bless him.

www.medicatedfollower.com - Shwings

I got a pair in a turquoise type shade.  I knew they'd contrast nicely with his pink Converse but also be the kind of colour that will work well on other shoes in the future.  After all, unlike his shoes, he won't "grow out" of these.  They are one size, for adults or children.  Hubby has mentioned he quite fancies a pair now, and when I get myself some Doc Martens, I think I'll want a pair to funk them up!  So, yes, we're all loving Shwings in this house!

www.medicatedfollower.com - Shwings

T Shirt - Smafolk via Bebaboo.com

Leggings - DUNNS via Bebaboo.com

Socks - Ted Baker @ Debenhams

Converse - second hand via eBay

Shwings - eBay

I bought ours on eBay but you can also get them on Amazon and probably loads of other places as well :)

If you'd like to link up for Trendy Tuesday, please do so below. Don't forget to comment on my blog post and visit the others who join in! Oh, and if you can, send me some labour vibes!!  Whatever they are.. but it's time for this baby to come out and star in his own TT post!!

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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Trendy Tuesday - Festive Tops!

I had a little break from Trendy Tuesday last week.  I'm still not quite over this cold (16 days and counting) so that combined with pregnancy leaves me feeling very drained and tired a lot of the time.  Pete (hubby) is now quite poorly with it as well so I have a patient to look after.  Combine all of that with getting ready for Christmas, I'm tired... and blogging is falling behind a bit.  I might take a bit of a break for a week or two over Christmas, I'm feeling the need for some time away from it all, it's starting to feel more like a chore than a passion...

Anyhoo, on to today's subject for Trendy Tuesday.  Festive clothing!  I love a bit of Christmas clothing, I'm a sucker for anything with a fairisle print, or snowflakes.. Even better though is something with Father Christmas on.  This year I've found my No.1 favourite Christmas top EVER.  It's designed by one of my favourite brands, Smafolk and I bought it via bebaboo.com.  They don't have any in stock now unfortunately.  Luckily I'm signed up for their emails so as soon as they had them in stock I was able to dash over there and click buy BUY BUY!!  I'm glad I did.  I love it.  I got it a size too big so it should do Ethan for this year and next.  I'll be happy to see it come out again!

I've bought a couple of other festive tops for Ethan this year, one (pictured above) I bought in a charity shop for 75p (originally from Asda) and the other is a fantastic knitted reindeer jumper from Primark.  I got myself a very similar one so Ethan and I can look really cheesy!! Unfortunately I don't seem to have a photo of it on my laptop or phone, but believe me, I will have pics of us wearing them over the next few weeks!!

Do you like to buy "festive" clothing?  Do you buy a special outfit for your children to wear on Christmas Day?  Something else I like to do for Ethan is to buy new pyjamas to wear on Christmas Eve night - all part of the excitement!!  I wonder if others do that.

It's easy to join in with Trendy Tuesday.  Got trendy offspring?  Take their picture, blog about it and share with me!  These are the "rules"

1) Link your blog post to the linky below.

2) Please display my badge (to the side) and your blog or in your blog post and link back to my blog.

3) Please comment on this post and visit as many of the other linked up posts and comment too.  We all love a comment!

4) Tweet me (@medicatedfollow) the link to your blog post so I can retweet it!

Thank you all for reading and joining in!

What I Wore Wednesday - New (old) boots

On Friday Ethan and I were in Nailsea visiting my parents and decided to trawl through all the charity shops there.  We found some fantastic bargains, but I think the best find was a pair of Wrangler boots for £4.99.  Suede and in excellent condition.  I had to snap them up!  They have a heel but are actually very comfortable to wear.  I wore them all afternoon on Sunday and they remained comfortable.

Dress - MOST by Smafolk via bebaboo.com

Necklace - Olivia Bib Necklace by Stella & Dot

Cardigan - New Look (last year)

Belt - New Look (old)

Leggings - Asda

Boots - Wrangler via charity shop

I really do love this dress.  It looks like a sack unless you wear a belt, but with a belt I love it.  The print on it is sooooo cute.  I think it worked really well with my new (old) boots.  I do think it needs a statement necklace thought!  I think this outfit is quite smart for a Sunday doing nothing much, but it was all very comfortable, so I was happy :)

As you can tell from my photos, I was "haunted" by Ethan the helpful ghost.  Bit freaky isn't it!  Must be because Halloween is around the corner.

Have you snagged yourself any good second hand bargains lately?  I couldn't do without charity shops these days - about the only place I can afford to shop!!

Linking up today with Transatlantic Blonde and The Pleated Poppy for WIWW.

Trendy Toddler Tuesday - Katvig, Polarn O Pyret & Smafolk at Newark Park

Last week we were still on holiday.  Not away, but on a "Home Holiday" as we call it.  On Wednesday we had a family day out - the three of us plus my parents and the family dog Alfie.  Despite the rain we managed to have a lovely day.  We visited a National Trust property, Newark Park.

We were all impressed with Newark Park.  There was a very relaxed atmosphere, especially among staff which you don't always get at a NT property.  A very interactive and interesting building, but the part we loved the most were the gardens and the peacocks/peahens.  I've never seen so many in one place!  I adore Peacocks.  Apart from the obvious (their gorgeous colours and feathers) I love the over the top crazy noise they make!  I went a bit OTT on Peacock photos so I'll share one or two of those with you.. but of course, none of this is really relevant to TTT!

As we were going to be walking (read running after Ethan) and travelling in the car, I wanted to make sure Ethan would be comfy.  So, out came some of his classics - Katvig trackie bottoms and his Smafolk outdoor gear:

Hand ball!

la la laa... I'm ignoring you camera woman!

Mother Nature - the original fashion designer..

Boo!

What you lookin' at?

Don't you just love the contrast in pattern and colour?

Oh wow!

Top - Polarn O Pyret

Trousers - Katvig

Vest (poking out) - Katvig

All in one/jacket - Smafolk

Wellies - bought in France last year.

Whilst Maria is away in Chile, Angela from Mum of Three Boys and I are taking it in turns to host TTT.  It's Angela's turn this week, so pop along here if you want to see more trendies!