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How to be a mum with a clean slate

I’ve got a new secret weapon in my make-up bag: Clean Slate cleanser by Mama Mio. I haven’t been asked to review it or sent the product free of charge: I paid £22.50 of my hard earned cash for it, which may sound on the pricey side for a face wash, but Oh. My. Goodness. This stuff is amazing. So I’m writing about it because I thought you might like to know too. I have never, ever, come across a skincare product that has actually delivered visible results instantly, but this one did. Here’s a picture of my clear (un make-upped) blemish free skin, two weeks in, to prove it. I’m not quite sure how they’ve done it: it contains a mix of high protein organic aloe leaf juice with probiotics and essential oils and omegas, and my skin felt more alive after the very first use. Even Misery Guts, who normally wouldn’t notice if I wore a paper bag over my head, commented on how good my skin looked just a day after I first used it. […]

By |November 13th, 2013|Beauty, Reviews|1 Comment
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Read With Me Violet: mum’s best friend

BB has a new pet. She’s called Violet (pictured) and since she landed on our doormat last weekend they’ve been everywhere together. And I mean everywhere. I’ve found Violet perched on top of the toilet, sitting on the open dishwasher door and being ‘fed’ apple juice. I even had to wrestle her from BB’s arms at 9pm on Tuesday night because, despite having switched her off, BB had turned her on again and the pair were chattering away in the darkness to the dulcet tones of Frere Jacques. […]

By |October 25th, 2013|Books, Family life, Reviews|0 Comments
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A talking etch a sketch…whatever next?

We’ve come a long way since the days of the etch a sketch. This week BB and I have got our hands on a new toy: LeapFrog’s all-singing, all-dancing scribble and write pad to practise writing letters and numbers (pictured). Think talking etch a sketch with flashing lights and music. My main reason for being keen to review this tool for 3 to 5 year olds is to reinforce BB’s numbers – she can count and recognise numbers 1 to 20 so now seems as good a time as any to start learning how to write them. The pad comes with a keyboard featuring upper and lowercase letters and numbers and a stylus attached to a cord which kids can use to write on the retraceable screen. Once they’ve pressed their chosen letter or number red dots appear under the screen and Mrs LeapFrog talks them through how to write it – ‘start at the top’, ‘draw a curved line’ etcetera. […]

By |October 11th, 2013|Reviews|0 Comments
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Thomson holidays in Majorca: no more worries for a day or two

The kids are back at school, the nights are drawing in and flights are finally back to their term-time price tags. Meaning there’s no better time for some late summer sun. As a result BB and I have been on our first girlie holiday together: an all-inclusive package deal to Majorca where the temperature at this time of year averages a respectable 27 degrees. Envious? You should be. It was a week of firsts for us: the first time BB has had her own seat on a plane, the first time I have travelled solo with a toddler, suitcase and pushchair in tow, the first time BB has been without her daddy for more than two nights in a row, the first time we have visited the Balearics and the first time we have experienced an all-inclusive package holiday. When Thomson – which is targeting young families with its pioneering Family Resorts concept – first asked me to review its Majorcan offering, the Protur Aparthotel Bonaire in Cala Bona, I must admit I was sceptical about whether a holiday with obligatory wrist bands, buffet meals and evening entertainment was really for us. […]

By |September 25th, 2013|Family days out, Family life, Food, Reviews, Travel, Uncategorized|9 Comments
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Pink LEGO brick lunchbox? Yes please!

It’s been a week of reviews this week and I’ve saved the best until last. Feast your eyes on this: LEGO is branching into lunchbox territory and I’ve managed to get my hands on this pink little number complete with a lego man shaped drinking bottle. Isn’t he/she gorgeous? They come in a rainbow of colours from hot pink to sky blue from aplaceforeverything.co.uk and it’s such a clever – and simple – idea one wonders why the boffs at the lego factory didn’t think of it before. In fact a brand such as Lego, which would you believe it has existed in its present form since 1947, could easily have been left behind in the last century but with innovation such as this there’s no danger of that. Think lego brick but 100 times bigger. […]

By |September 13th, 2013|Reviews|0 Comments
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I can’t get enough of…John Lewis

There’s nothing like climbing into a bed with fresh clean sheets or wrapping yourself in a nice clean towel, and if those sheets and towels are brand new, even better. Which begs the question: how often is it ‘right’ to update householdy things such as pillows and duvets and towels? Once a year? Every three years? Every five years? I’ve got no idea, but what I do know is that when it is time to (re) feather the nest, it’s not cheap. So when John Lewis asked me to review their new active anti-allergy pillows and a super duper lime green bath towel (pictured) I jumped at the chance. So crisp and plump and new, the pillows make our old – and by no means passed it – pillows look very sorry for themselves indeed. Now I hate feather pillows – spikey stemmy bits sticking out everywhere, the need for constant replumping and the thought of other people’s heads sweating into the feathers are just a few of my bugbears: the only good thing about them is that luxurious sinking feeling when one first lies down. […]

By |September 11th, 2013|Reviews|0 Comments
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The best burger in the UK?

I have just eaten one of the top 5 burgers in the UK, apparently. A large a-board declares the accolade outside Lucky Beach café on Brighton seafront (pictured), and although it’s not clear to which burger on the six-strong menu the achievement belongs, exactly when the claim to fame was awarded (this year? Last year? Five years ago?) or who voted for said burger, I must (grudgingly) admit mine was genuinely among the best I’ve ever tasted. And – shock horror – there was no beef in sight. Grilled halloumi topped with a large flat field mushroom, roasted red pepper and kale, all skewered together in a glazed bun (pictured). That’s a positively healthy burger, in my book. […]

By |August 26th, 2013|Food, Reviews|0 Comments
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Pippa Middleton I (might) need you: words I never thought I’d say

August is almost upon us which means BB’s birthday is just weeks away and the party planner of the century [...]

By |July 29th, 2013|Books, Family life, Food, Reviews|0 Comments
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The (nappy) bag of my dreams…

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a mother in possession of a small child must be in want of a nappy bag. After almost two whole years I am finally in possession of the one I always dreamed of: Cath Kidston’s cowboy changing bag (pictured). Isn’t it beautiful? It’s shiny and red and has pockets and pouches galore and I can’t stop looking at – or stroking – it. Pre BB the £65 price tag for a nappy bag seemed £65 too much, so I settled for a £25 eBay copy in a different pattern instead. I’ve regretted it ever since: given a nappy bag is the only one I ever use – day in, day out – think of the saving I must have made by not buying handbags for two whole years. […]

By |July 24th, 2013|Family life, Fashion, Reviews, Travel|0 Comments
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A girl can never have too many…headbands

Now I’m not normally a fan of headbands on babies – I don’t really see the point, especially when they don’t have any hair – but check this out (pictured). This super duper little number from Cute Cute landed on our doormat on Friday and I’m in love. Forget plastic or fabric covered metal, this one is made from the softest lace, boasts a glittery pink rose and is about as Downton Abbey as you can get. Needless to say my little rose adores it, and it’s been round her head ever since. It even fits round my head, and as Misery Guts unhelpfully pointed out, it would also make a great garter (for me, not BB, of course). […]

By |April 22nd, 2013|Beauty, Family life, Fashion, Reviews|0 Comments
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I'm a wife, mum of four, freelance journalist, author & blogger. Not necessarily in that order! Join me as I navigate the previously unchartered territory of motherhood always safe in the knowledge there's a bottle of wine in the fridge...

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