Keeping Feet Warm with Morlands Glastonbury - Review

When I was given the opportunity to try out some gorgeous sheepskin slippers from Morlands Glastonbury I jumped at the chance. I hate nothing more in this world than cold feet and as Autumn rolled in so quickly, they couldn't have arrived at a more perfect time.

With several classic and modern designs there is a slipper for all tastes and for me I chose these gorgeous classic loafers in chestnut. Coming up a smidgen small I had to opt for a 9 instead of my usual 8, so this is something to bare in mind.

With non slip bottoms they are perfect whether you have wooden, tiled floors or carpet, since we have a bit of everything they are great for me to wear around our house.

I adore the classic chestnut colour however they also come in mocha, navy and taupe, all beautiful colours and something for everyone. They have some other classic styles, shapes and patterns too, including ballerina, backless and leopard print.

For me though I love the loafers, they look lovely with jeans and are just the perfect modern slipper, with that snuggly sheepskin to keep my feet warm on those cold winter mornings.

They also do the most snuggly looking boots and some beautiful accessories such as gloves and scarves.

These slippers cost £64, which for sheepskin is about what i'd expect. They are an investment piece and not something that will last you a few months and then fall apart, with sturdy bottoms they support your feet and could be worn out of the house too.

I absolutely adore these slippers, so much so I took them with me on holiday, they were the great accessory for our cabin in the woods.

I think these would make a brilliant Christmas present as they come in a gorgeous classic green box, and the slippers arrive in dust covers and with a shoe horn.

Morlands Glastonbury have been making classic items for over 150 years, so their knowledge and experience in creating beautiful well crafted pieces is second to none.

NB: I was sent these slippers to form this review, all words and opinions are my own.
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Gin Explorer Box Review

We first saw the Gin Explorer Box at the Gin Festival in Nottingham earlier this year, they offer a monthly subscription, where you receive a box of four different gins to try, with a bottle of tonic and a little treat.

The box was delivered by Parcel Force and although I wasn't in to sign for it, it was taken back to the local post office the next day, so there is no waiting around for re-delivery or having to travel too far to pick it up.

Gin Explorer Box at the Gin Festival

Arriving in a little cardboard suitcase, it looked like it's ready to whisk away on a gin tour. The gin was accompanied by some Joe & Sephs Gin & Tonic Popcorn as well as a few sweeties and printed information about each gin.

In June's box, we were treated to the following, a 50ml bottle each of Pinkster, Lakes Explorer Gin, Anno Kent Dry Gin and Masons Yorkshire Gin, along with a bottle of Peter Spanton Cardamom Tonic. 

The bottles each contain two measures of gin which means you could share them if you really want to!

I love the simple labelling on the bottles of gin, they are clean and easy to read, it was great having the booklets on each gin so you could read a bit about them. We both agreed that we loved the Lakes Explorer Gin, it had hints of lemon and grapefruit and was really easy to drink, either on it's own or with some Fever Tree Indian tonic water, the Pinkster wasn't for us though, with no real flavours coming out, just alcohol, it was our least favourite of them all.

We both loved Masons Gin when we visited the Gin Festival, it is full of flavour with the juniper really coming through, my husband received some of their Yorkshire Tea Gin for his birthday this week, this was especially tasty with the cardamom tonic. And finally the Anno Kent Dry Gin, on its own or with tonic this gin had a wonderful flavour with with the lavender and hops coming through.

The Gin Explorer box is £24.99 a month (slightly cheaper if you pay for 6/12months) which gets you the four bottles (containing a double each) as well as a mixer, and some extra goodies. If you are looking for a present for someone who loves gin, then this would be great, and if you were looking to give some gins a try without having to buy a whole bottle then this is a great way to do that, it's also something to look forward to each month.

We loved trying some of the gins in this months Gin Explorer box and they are definitely on our list of bottles to buy in the future.

NB: We were sent this box for the purpose of the review, all words and opinions are my own.

Barbie Dance & Spin Ballerina Review

We were recently sent the Dance & Spin Ballerina Barbie to review, this colourful and eye-catching doll jumps, spins and pliés with ease.The wand clips easily on to her waist and and as you push her leg down she leaps into the air and spins, her leg spinning round like a real ballerina, her dress spinning out out in all it's glittery glory.

I am not sure who loves this more, myself or my daughter well obviously its my daughter...just! For any little person that loves ballerinas, this Barbie is perfect, her pirouettes and pliés are very close to the real deal and even simple for little hands to operate.


With a pretty two tone dress and bodice this doll has everything you could want in a Barbie friend, putting on their own swirly, twirly dress they can dance and spin around together like ballerinas.

My only slight issue with this doll and possibly the frustration of my daughter is that both legs don't straighten and so for when she wants to play with her as a normal doll, she can't. I completely understand why it doesn't but I do feel that if this could be different it would make it more useable with her other Barbies.

This doll would make such a wonderful present for any ballerina loving Barbie fan this Christmas, with an RRP of £19.99 this fabulous doll is a toy that will get played with time and time again.

NB: We were sent this doll for the purpose of this review, all words and opinions are my own.

A Record Breaking Day Out

During the October half term, we were invited to the Guinness World Record HQ, for a day of record breaking fun.

I feel bad to say now that before this, we didn't got one of the books in our house. So, once I knew that we were going, I tracked them down in the library and showed the children what it was about and what we might expect.

We headed on the train down to London and walked from the train station via the British Library to their head office, we were welcomed in their rather fun office with goodie bags and a party buffet.

My son was instantly entranced by their latest offering, the Guinness World Records Gamers Edition, he loves Minecraft and playing games so this was just perfect for him. My daughter looked through the shiny gold book which was the actual Guinness World Records. We also had a little booklet with some interesting facts in, including a picture of the tallest man in the worlds hand....just look at how tiny mine is in comparison.

image courtesy of ivan gonzalez

With our tummies full, we sat down and got ready to hear all about the new books and how they were created.  

The talk from Craig Glenday about how they put together the Guinness World Records book was really insightful, he quizzed us on our world record knowledge and shared lots of fun facts with us. He even showed us some dinosaur sick that they had just lying around the office.

Then we went on to hear about the new Gamers edition from editor Stephen Daultry, my son really enjoyed this session and was intently watching and listening to what was being said. Him learning that you could break a record for something he loved so much was great to watch.

After we'd heard all about the new books, we headed to a bar down the road to try and break some records ourselves.

In the bar, there were set up six different records that we could attempt to break, it was an exciting prospect that a few of us could potentially break a record.

First though, we were treated to some fantastic hoola hooping, I can't hoola hoop with one hoop let alone many hoops! The girls from Marawa's Majorettes are part of a team that hold the Guinness World Record for Most Hula Hoops Spun Simultaneously, it was fantastic to watch and then my son and daughter had a go too.

Image courtsery of ivan gonzalez

We got on and started trying to break some records of our own. These were of the physical variety first and the children had goes at trying to break some hopping, jumping and stepping records, they loved getting involved, but it was a little too energetic for me! It was lots of fun though and I think the kids both really enjoyed themselves, we didn't manage to break any records though.

Next, we got to see a few other amazing tricks, from freestyle football to cup stacking, watching these guys who are experts at what they do was astounding.

We got to try a few more of our own record breaking attempts although we didn't make it to the top of the boards and therefore didn't get to attempt a record but it was super fun none the less. I wasn't really any good at the Minecraft one but not too bad at the lego, my daughter spent a good five minutes building a lego tower up, not sure she realised it was supposed to be against the clock but it was cute none the less. Even if myself and the little man didn't break any records it certainly gave him something to aspire to, so he's been practicing at home, in fact we all have, even getting Daddy involved.

We have the loved reading through the books, in fact the gamers edition hasn't left my sons reading pile. These books are definitely on our gift list, for both birthdays and Christmas.

On the day two records were broken, one by freestyle footballer John Farnworth and another by one of the other children there at the day, how amazing is that!

Below is a video of our day at the Guinnes World Records HQ and what we got up to, it was an awesome experience and we would like to thank the team for looking after us.

Meet Finn, the Doll for Boys (or Girls)

I don't really like the idea of guns and things that shoot, my son loves Lego and Playmobil and using his imagination with castles, cars and similar toys, so when I was asked if he'd like to review the Finn doll from the makers of the fabulous Lottie dolls I knew he'd really enjoy it.

Arriving with everything you need to get started, Finn comes full clothed and a with rather lovely kite to fly, we were also sent an extra set with fishing gear.

I love that the outfits are fun and age appropriate, my son loves that he has a gilet on just like the one he has. The first thing he did was ask to me to get his Fisher Price house down, he then got to work putting the fishing rod in the garage and finding other things to play with alongside Finn.

The doll itself has posable arms and apart from the hair, which has a rather drastic haircut (the hair at the back is cut quite close to the head), it is well put together, his clothes withstood being taken on and off by a six year old boy.

I really like the idea behind the whole range of Lottie & Finn dolls, they allow children to be children and play with toys that don't promote violence or are overly sexualised as some dolls can be.

Finn is priced at £16.99 which I don't think it too overpriced, the Gone Fishing set is £7.99, it is suitable for ages three and up too so the perfect toddler present.

If you like what you see, then the lovely people over at Lottie are offering my readers 20% off purchases over £20 (Offer code is LOTTIE10 and works at the Amazon checkout only (not on the LOTTIE website cart) offer allows 20% off orders over £20 across entire range.  Offer ends Midnight on Sunday, 14 December 2014)

NB: I was sent the Finn doll for the purpose of the review, all opinions are my own.

Stretchkins Review

We have acquired many soft toys over the years but none have caused as much of a stir as the Stretchkins we were sent recently.

Stretchkins aren't just something to hug and cuddle, they are also a great way to get children to be active. With straps on their hands and feet the Stretchkins really live up the their name and stretch so as your children move, they move too.

They stretch up to about four feet but also offer some resistance, so they are exercising little arms and legs at the same time.

My daughter has fallen in love with her unicorn, it spends most nights in bed with her but she loves to dance with it and give it lots of hugs!

My son is the same, the poseable legs and arms means they look so life like and can be put in daft positions.

When I first heard about them I thought they were a little gimmicky but I can see their use and both of the children have used them for their intended purpose.

I think they're the perfect Christmas present and are currently on offer in Argos at £30 for two.

NB: We were sent two Stretchkins for review, however all words and opinions are my own.

A Novel Gift Review

I love bunting, it is a simple yet effective way of making a space look pretty and can brighten up a dull wall too.

So when I was offered a piece of beautiful bunting from A Novel Gift I looked forward to finding a new home for it somewhere in the house.

You can choose from several different books and several coloured threads and ribbons so you can personalise your bunting, I went for Sherlock Holmes as we love watching Elementary and Sherlock.

I chose purple thread and ribbons to go with our bedroom and also our dining room so I could choose between the two places to hang it.

In the end though I put it in the bedroom  above the bed, where it looks stunning and really breaks up what is currently an empty wall.

I really love the bunting, if you know someone that loves books this would make a great gift, it would also make the perfect bunting for a wedding or party.

Being made from old books it is the perfect up-cycled piece and is handmade to order, so you know you are getting something unique.

It's really light so can be secured with blu-tak or if you have some I used wash tape, it not only secures it perfectly but looks great too.

The bunting is £12 and has 10 flags on it, each with a button or ribbon in the centre. I absolutely love this bunting and have enjoyed reading the snippets of the book on each page

As well as this beautiful bunting, you can also find some gorgeous unique cards and prints all book themed. Laura who owns and makes these beautiful items also has a wonderful blog, it's a really lovely read so if you like to find new blogs to look at then do pop on over and say 'hi'.

Supporting Small Businesses this Spring - Poppy Sparkles

It is my mother in laws 60th birthday on Sunday and since my husband is away it is left to me to sort out her present.

I had been wanting to buy myself something from Poppy Sparkles for a while so this gave me the perfect opportunity, whilst also supporting a small business.

For my mother in law I chose this gorgeous Pearl and Peridot Pendant, although it isn't her birthstone I think the green will go great against her skin and suit her hair colour.

For me I chose these two gorgeous bracelets, yellow for a pop of summer colour and I adore the turquoise teamed with the gorgeous pearls I think they are simple and lovely, plus pearl is my birthstone.

I ordered on Sunday night and they arrived this morning, what better service can there be? With shipping only £1.50 for the first item and free for the rest this was a darn site easier and cheaper than traipsing into town with two children.

Plus they were beautifully wrapped in tissue paper and within that a gorgeous organza bag with little paper hearts....plus a little heart lollipop in the packet.

This is one reason I love buying from independents, they always put a lovely personal stamp on it and for me the washi tape the parcel was sealed in and lovely note really made my day. Thank you Viv :)