What a Year!

Saying Goodbye to 2013

I am sitting here contemplating whether this year has been good or bad? Well my answer is BOTH... Our year has been very rollercoaster-ish! (if that's even a word) I wanted to share some of our 2013 memories with you, so here it goes....

January

It was cold, cold and cold. England is always cold, even in summer it's cold. But at the same time we decided to start renovating our house... hmm... what a good idea... NOT. 

The renovations began, builders were treating the house for damp; knocking walls down; building new walls etc. We continuously asked eachother... "Is january over yet?"

February

PANCAKE DAY (12th February) - My husband could finally eat as many pancakes as he would like without being judged! - I had been feeling off for a few days, I just thought I was overtired, but something in my mind told me that I needed to do a pregnancy test.... Well I did and the 12th February was the day we found out we were expecting MOO :)!! We were over-the-moon! I spent the rest of february with my head down the toilet, whilst the family celebrated the news... definately a bitter-sweet moment.

March

March is always a busy one in our family, as most of my husbands family's birthdays are in March. We spent most of the month eating cake and spending time with family! 

April

April brought some sad news to us, my grandfather-in-law passed away. This threw us into an emotional spiral, which was hard to break out of. My husband was very close to his grandad and he will always be loved and missed. We made the promise to eachother and our family that we would share the memories with our baby.

May, June, July and August

Well the year goes before you know it, these months just flew right on by...

We had finished the house renovations and were just waiting around for our baby to arrive! (sounds so casual... trust me it wasn't)

September

My favourite memory of the whole year... on the 26th September 2013 @10.18am, our beautiful baby girl was born... weighing only 6lb2oz, the perfect little bundle of joy. We named her "Miley Hope" and from that moment...

EVERYTHING CHANGED...

October

Well time flew, our gorgeous little girl, was happy healthy and sleeping well. We hadn't got a complain in the world. We were the perfect little family... :)

November

There are 2 words to describe my whole feelings about november and these are "HELLO COLIC" now for any other parent who has had the pleasure of a colic-y baby they will probably be thinking... OH NO!

Well yes... "OH NO!" the nights got longer, our baby girl was screeching all night... and daddy was struggling to function at work. I nearly lost my mind, but then a magic medicine came along "Colief Drops" I read review after review on these drops... most saying... doesn't work. Well for us they did, our precious baby girl slept again, it was silent at night time. 

December...

Well december has been one of those months that has gone in a blink of an eye. But we have had an amazing christmas with family and enjoyed moments like... Miley's first roll at 11 weeks old; Big Smiles; My first ever attempt at christmas dinner and of course the mountain of presents that santa has brought for our little girl.

So that's our year... highs and lows... but one thing still remains, our love for eachother and family. Our world only got better when our daughter came along and that is why I will NEVER forget this year. Definately one to remember.

What memories have you got from 2013? Has it been a good year for you?

See you in the New Year!

Buh Bye xxx

Quote Happy!

I have recently noticed that more and more places are selling the little plaques or canvas' with quotes on...I'm smitten with them, I love to have little snippets of positivity around my home and to make me remember and be grateful for the life I do have...

The question I have for everyone is...

Can you be quote happy? Is it possible to have too many cute and quirky items around the home?
My personal opinion is NO.
We use our home as a canvas of our life together, we have lots of photos, positive quotes and also I display my daughters crafts. Our walls are full of photos of mainly our daughter but I like to look around and see how much she has grown in such a short period of time.

I have always liked quotes but it was never really a way of decoration in your home, until I watched a YouTube video of LoraandLayton's House Tour. Lora and Layton are from the US and I have been watching their videos for a while, when I watched their house tour I noticed she had lots of quotes around the house and from then I began added a few around our home. Since then family, friends and a few sales later I have at least one quote in every room... WOOPS!! :)

I have recently brought a new canvas from Next - On sale for £10 -- What a bargain!!

My parents also brought us a little heart figure for christmas, which we absolutely loved. I love little quotes and will continue to put them around my home.

There is no right or wrong answer to this question, I just guess it's down to personal opinion. 

So what is your opinion? What does your house say about you? Have you got any cute quotes around your home? If so, what do they say?

Buh-Bye :) xx

REVIEW : My First Talking Ted

My First Talking Ted - From The Early Learning Centre (UK)

Is this the best teddy I have come across for a young baby? YES.

We received the Talking Ted as a gift for my daughter, who is 3 months old. As a parent of a 3 month old baby, I often find it difficult to play with Moo without continuously repeating the same thing. She doesn't mind us playing the same games, singing the same songs and me just chatting away to her about everyday items and activities, but for a parent it soon gets quite mind numbing and you definitely want some variety in your day. For 3 month old babies the toy market is quite small, so when we received this Talking Ted, we couldn't wait to get it out of the box and play!

The teddy is soft and cute looking. As soon as my daughter saw him, her eyes lit up and a smile appeared from ear to ear! There are no plastic hard bits on the outside of the bear which makes you feel comfortable that your baby isn't going to get hurt whilst playing and that nothing will fall off the bear. On the body of the bear, there are 6 star shapes and when you press them, the teddy will say a phrase, ask a question and then sing a song. The stars are all really sensitive so that any age baby will get joy as they can make it work themselves. It also has an OFF switch, all noisy toys should be installed with an override OFF switch, so all parents can take a break from hearing "can you touch your nose?" or "Tommy Thumb, Tommy Thumb, Where are you? Here I am, Here I am, How do you do?"

I can't say enough good things about this teddy and it will be top of my buying list for all of my pregnant friends and family! I love this bear!

It retails at approximately £16.00 and is available in any Early Learning Store or Mothercare, you can also buy online at www.mothercare.com 

I wanted to share this toy as I really struggled to find a suitable toy that my daughter would enjoy.

Is there any toys that you think me and my daughter would interact with? Have you had any experiences with toys that have changed playing between you and your baby?

That's all for now, but keep popping back to see more reviews of some of our favourite products and also some disappointing ones too.

Buh-Bye :) x

SALE or FAIL?

Hi Everyone!

I was bitterly disappointed at the Boxing Day Sale this year. Last year, My husband and I shopped the sales, brought loads of great bargains and were throroughly happy! This year we really struggled.

I got up at 5.30am to go to the Next Sale -- If you live in the UK you will know this is one of the biggest high street sales. I got there, stood in line for approximately an hour before entering the store. I brought a few items for myself and the house, but mainly clothes for my daughter. After the hustle and bustle of people frantically shopping the sale I got home and woke my husband up.

We then went to the local shopping centre to continue bargain hunting! We found NOTHING! -- Well we found a few things but not much clothing etc. 

My favourite sale was the Boots Sale, All of their christmas 3 for 2 items were on sale!! - Half price!! My aim was to buy items that I had seen prior to christmas for myself and my husband, but also pick up a few small items as gifts throughout the year. e.g fragrance sets and bath items.

Well here are some of the items I purchased. Unfortunately most boots stores have now sold out of the sale items. 

The first item was a "Baylis and Harding Gingerbread Bathtime Shop" Orgininally £12.00 but on sale for £6.00. I loved this little set for a female who loves having some nice products for the bath. It contains 8 products - 2x Chocolate Cupcake Shower Creme; 2x Spiced Gingerbread Body Wash; 2x Vanilla Body Lotion and 2x Cherry Glaze Body Scrubs. 

I got 2 FCUK fragrance sets for men, "The Urban Duo" Originally £8.00 but on sale for £4.00 and "The Trio Selection" Originally £10.00 on sale for £5.00. I thought these were good sets for the men in the family just as a bit of something to go along side a gift.

Soap and Glory

I absolutely LOVE soap and glory products, they smell so good and don't dry my skin out! So I brought a few sets, some for myself and some for family.

YOU DO THE BATH

This set was originally £16.00 but it was on sale for ONLY £8.00...

It comes in a red and pink box and contains 500ml FOAM CALL; 300ml BUTTER YOURSELF and a Shower Puff. 

ONCE UPON A LIME

This set was originally £18.00 but it was on sale for £9.00...

I thought this set would be perfect for some of the girls in our family, so I brought a couple!!

The set contains 1x 250ml Fresh and Foamy Body Wash; 1x 50ml Body Scrub; 1x 300ml Body Buttercream and a Pink Body Puff, all displayed in a pink and silver tin.

WASHFUL THINKING

I brought this little set for myself, I love the smell of the set! It was originally £10.00 but on sale for £5.00

It contains 1x 250ml Hand Wash and 1x 250ml Hand Cream.

I was overall pretty disappointed with the sales this year, but hopefully the mid season sales will be much better!

Did you pick up any bargains in the sales? What did you get?

Buh-Bye! :)

December Favourites -xo

Hi Everyone!

I am going to be writing a blog each month about my favourite items that I have used or brought this month. It will be a range of products, from baby to beauty and even home. Most of my December favourites are from christmas, I must admit.

My MONTHLY STAR has to be an item we brought for our baby girl and in the blog world i'm going to refer to her as "moo". (This is a nickname that our family already use). Anyway, It is a beautiful 3-in-1 sit me up bear. Moo is continuously wanting to be propped up to see everything around her or even being held up to a standing position *don't worry, we don't let her put pressure on her legs* We looked for something to help her do this whilst also being fun. After much deliberation, we decided on the...

 "Mothercare Loved So Much Sit Me Up Cosy" 

After being used for a few days, it starts to deflate, but it is easy to blow up again and don't have to continuously blow it up before every use.

We paid £39.99 for this bear from Mothercare (As far as I am aware, this is only available in the UK) and she LOVES it, it converts from a sitting aid, to a cozy nest and can also be used as a playmat. (We don't use the playmat alone as we have a matching playmat with the toy arches.)
It is excellent quality, really soft and baby friendly, with no plastic hard bits. The sit me up bear is actually inflatable so it is quite flexible to the baby but still sturdy. However, it should come with warning about the amount of air needed to blow it up. Me and my husband took one part each and struggled to blow it up *forward thinking would have told us to use a pump, we always seem to do things the hard way*
                                                                                                                                

The next one is a bit of a "man" gift. My husband got this item as a gift, it was the...
"Spuddy Buddy Couch Potato"  

I am unaware of how much our family paid for this gift but on Amazon they range from £10-20 and are available in a few different colours. This gift was mainly brought because of the name. (I have always called my husband "SPUD" I don't know why, it happened one day and got stuck.) After the initial laughing about the name of the gift etc. we realised it was a very useful gift. It is a soft toy that sits on the sofa and has storage pockets for items such as "beer", "munchies" and "remote", it also has a hand warming pocket on the front. My husband loves this gift and for the price, it is a really good gift for that "hard to buy guy" in your life.

                                                                                                                                

If you are a candle lover like I am, then you are sure to love these little treats...
"Wax Lyrical Candle Tins" 

I brought ours from the local Tesco, however you can buy them online at  http://www.wax-lyrical.com/  
In tesco they range from £4.00 to £11.00 depending on the size of the candle, the little candle tins I brought were £4.00 each. At the time, I remember thinking, are they worth £4.00, they are in tins so not the most beautiful of item, they aren't very big etc. This deliberation went on for a while, I then picked up a candle and opened the tin. It was then I knew I had to buy this candle! The scents are DIVINE, I brought two different scents, "Let it Snow" and "Gingerbread Man". When i lit them for the first time, I must admit I wasn't expecting much, but OH I was wrong. The scent filled the room, and when we had guests the first thing they said was "it smells nice in here!". I liked these little candle tins so much, I went and purchased a couple more and also some for my mum -- Also a candle lover! - My mum was equally happy with them!

                                                                                                                                

I absolutely HATE being cold and after watching Zoella's Vlogmas (I will put the link to her youtube/blog at the end of the post) I noticed her Fleecy PJ Bottoms... I NEEDED SOME OF THESE. I went on the hunt for them at Primark -- I always find it really difficult to find anything in Primark due to the large amount of people in there. Eventually I came across these beauties...

They are £6.00 each and they are the warmest PJ Bottoms I have ever worn. They were mainly available in christmas designs, however, I don't really care as long as I am warm. :)

                                                                                                                                
Last but not least, I have loved LUSH's Snowman Bath Ballistics this month. I brought a couple as I have really dry skin and it said "moisturising ballistic" so I thought, why not!?! *and it's festive* 

The first time I used this particular bath bomb I wasn't sure what to expect apart from a lovely smelling bath. I got in the bath and it felt really calming and after my long soak, my skin was beautifully moisturised and will be sure to use this one again. I went and stocked up as they won't be on sale for much longer. But the alternative is the Lush ButterBall in Vanilla. (I won't go into too much detail as I will soon be doing a review on some LUSH products)






                                                                                                                                

So there are some of my december favourites...What are your favourites from the month? Did you buy/recieve anything you REALLY love?!?

Buh-Bye! :)

Links to Zoella:-
Youtube: MAIN CHANNEL: http://www.youtube.com/zoella

SECOND CHANNEL: http://www.youtube.com/morezoella 
Blog: http://www.zoella.co.uk