I can still remember the first time that I had stationery envy. I was about 7 years old and had gone on a playdate to Lucie's house. I think most of the girls in my class were slightly in awe of Lucie as she had an older sister, and in those days an older sister meant that you knew and understood what was on trend at the time - and back then fancy stationery was THE thing to have. I clearly remember Lucie showing me her new pencil case and the new pens, pencils, ruler, rubber and pencil sharpener that she had inside. Ever since that day I have just loved stationery. There's part of me ... read more
TASSIMO Green Tea Detox
January is very much the month when you try to watch what you eat and drink after all the excesses of Christmas. Well, it's supposed to be, but if you're like us the first half of the month was spent eating the incredible amount of chocolate that was left over after Christmas and this latter part was spent moaning about the lack of chocolate in the house once the Christmas supplies had run out! I therefore had to raise a smile when the January blogger challenge arrived from TASSIMO. This month's package contained a pack of their Twinings Green Tea and Mint T DISCs and a reminder ... read more
Product of the Year Awards 2014
It's fair to say I don't get out much in an evening. Certainly not when it involves finding a posh dress to wear and heading to a swanky venue in London. Most definitely not when it involves an award ceremony presented by a household named comedian and a private gig from two number one artists. Amazingly Thursday night was just that though when I was lucky enough to be invited along to the Product of the Year Awards 2014, held at the stunningly beautiful 8 Northumberland (which bizarrely used to house my old office when I was a civil servant!) Some of you may not have heard of ... read more
Taking care of Master C’s eyes with Dentinox
When you have a baby to look after it soon becomes apparent that a large amount of your time will actually be spent keeping them clean and healthy. As well as all the nappy changes and baths you also end up spending quite a bit of your time thinking about things like nappy rash, cradle cap, weird bits of dry skin and how on earth you're ever going to get a toothbrush near their mouth. At first it can take quite some getting used to. Working out how to deal with some of these ailments can be a bit tricky at first, especially until you know what's available in the shops to help you. One little ... read more
Woolly and Tig iPad App Review
Little Miss C is rather a big fan of the CBeebies series Woolly and Tig. If you've not seen it this series features a three year old little girl Tig and her friendly toy spider Woolly. In each five minute episode Tig goes through a new experience with the support of her spider friend. When you're three years old something new like a first day at nursery can be rather scary, but when faced with things like this Woolly suddenly comes to life in animated format and he's there to help Tig through the situation. I'm rather fond of the TV series myself as I think it's really helpful to guide LMC ... read more
Review: Tesco Chocolates
When the email came in asking if I wanted to review some chocolates for Tesco I think my response was something along the lines of "is the Pope a Catholic?" I am a self-confessed chocoholic, but what I hadn't counted on was a nasty dose of the flu coming along which forced even a well-practiced chocolate lover like me to completely lose my sense of taste and desire to eat anything for over a week. Apologies therefore for this review being somewhat later than planned. Tesco have brought out a new range of festive chocolates this Christmas, created by master chocolatiers behind ... read more
Thrifty Mrs C Review: Wilko Cleaning Range
I should start this review by telling you that I am a HUGE Wilko fan. My family has lived near their HQ for years and my mum even lived in the same village as one of the Wilkinson Family for quite a few years. I've been to their shops all over the country and I love the range they sell and the quality of their own brand lines. Here in St Albans we have quite a large branch which I probably go into about once a week and buy everything from chocolate bars, to moisturiser, to cold and flu treatment, to fish food to kids craft materials. Where else can you get all that under one roof and at ... read more
Marks and Spencer Chocolate Advent Calendars
I don't mean to worry you, but I'm afraid that those nasty rumours about Christmas getting closer are actually true. Even the TV adverts have started in full force - although I admit that I'm yet to see the distinctive red and white trucks coming over the horizon yet. And as if that wasn't enough Advent is even closer still making it the perfect time to turn our attentions to chocolate advent calendars. I know you can buy advent calendars without chocolate, but let's be honest, unless you have a deadly allergy to chocolate why would you? Marks and Spencer kindly sent me a ... read more
Review: Matchbox 60th Anniversary
The world of toy cars is still a little bit of a mystery to me. I know that there is supposedly no difference between boys' and girls' toys, but I don't really recall having toy cars when I was a child and Little Miss C's never had many either. Whenever we used to visit DorkyMum and DorkySon for playdates (before they moved to the other side of the world!) I saw a true car obsessive in action. DorkySon loved nothing more than playing "traffic jams" when he would line all his toy cars up all over his road rug and I can see Master C going the same way. As soon as he ... read more
Octupus’s Garden – Ringo Starr and Ben Cort
When I first heard that there was going to be a children's book version of the Beatles song Octopus's Garden I was a little bit sceptical as to quite how it was going to work. I mean, we all know the song, but just how would a child relate to the lyrics in printed form? It was back in 1968 when Ringo Starr first composed Octopus's Garden after the captain of Peter Sellers' yacht told him about how octopuses trawl the sea bed looking for shiny stones and other objects that they then put in front of their caves, like a front garden. The idea is rather cute ... read more