Posts tagged winter

Fun In The Snow!

3 months ago

by DawnieBrown in Family Life

It’s been a great weekend here One of the joys of having young children is that it gives us the excuse to get out and play in the snow with them! We don’t get snow very often so it was lovely to have a weekend of snowy fun. We are lucky enough to have a big garden which is great for sledging so we didn’t have to go far

Here are just a few photos from our weekend

How To Make Bird Seed Cakes

4 months ago

by DawnieBrown in Family Life, Veggie Life

With all the snow around, I always feel sorry for the birds and so this morning myself and the kids made some bird seed cakes for them They are really quick and easy to make and the kids loved seeing them turn from lots of seeds to solid cake.

You will need:

Bag of mixed bird seed
Honey
Vegetable Suet (we are veggie so if you are a carnivore then other less animal friendly versions can be used )
A couple of yoghurt pots and some string.

1. Cut a couple of holes in the bottom of the yoghurt pots and thread the string through so it leaves a loop.

2. In a saucepan, gently heat the suet until it has melted and then start adding seeds until the fat is all mixed in.

3. Add a squirt of honey for good measure (not a vital ingredient but I thought the birds might like it).

4. Stuff the seed mixture into the yoghurt pots, making sure the string comes out of the top. Squash it down as much as you can. We had mixture left over so we put it into a small plastic container to make an extra cake.

5. Place in the fridge for a couple of hours to solidify.

6. When solid, carefully cut off yoghurt pot with a knife and tie a knot in the bottom of the string.

Then hang outside and wait for the birds to find them

The kids have been waiting patiently all day to see if any birds arrive for their cake

birds cakes Fat cakes feed hungry snow winter

Kids Boots From Barratts Review

5 months ago

by DawnieBrown in Fashion, Reviews

It’s no secret that MissB is obsessed with shoes, she has a bigger collection that me nowadays but when the lovely people from Barratts contacted me and asked if I would like to review a pair of their Girls Boots, I couldn’t say no After much deliberation (because there is such a huge choice on their website) I finally decided on this gorgeous pair of Hush Puppy Coley Boots! MissB has a new pink coat and so I thought they would match perfectly (and no matter how much I resist, we really are entering the pink and girly stage nowadays!) I was given credit to spend online so I could experience the full buying online process and I can only say how impressed was. I ordered the boots around 8pm on a Tuesday evening and they arrived Thursday morning. (There was even 25% off online and free delivery – it’s definitely worth checking out their website for current offers!)

MissB instantly fell in love with her new boots – I mean what isn’t to love about them? They are pink, furry and gorgeous! They are also extremely good quality and sturdy so I’m expecting them to hold up well to her busy toddler lifestyle! I ordered MissB size 7 boots as she currently has new trainers in this size, I was impressed that along with the boots arrived 2 spare insoles in different thicknesses which meant I can adjust the size slightly to ensure that they fit her perfectly (which they do). As you can see below, they complement her coat perfectly and she now looks like the uber trendy winter toddler

These boots sell for £40, when I got them there was a 25% off offer (I’ve just checked their website and there is currently a 30% off offer available!). I think with the discount it is an excellent price for these gorgeous boots, the quality is excellent and they really do look fantastic! MissB wants to wear them everywhere and if it were up to her she’d probably wear them in bed Would I shop with Barratts again? Definitely! I’m just about to order MasterB some new shoes from there as I’ve been so impressed with the service!

barratts boots pink reviews winter

Heatholders – Review and Competition

6 months ago

by DawnieBrown in Christmas 2012, Christmas Gifts, Open Competitions, Reviews

I don’t know about you, but I absolutely hate cold feet! It’s one of the worst things for me about winter so when Heatholders sent me a pair of their socks to review I was only too happy. They also sent a children’s pair for MissB but they are a little too big for her at the moment.

Heatholders have a tog rating of 2.3 which apparently is a lot higher than other branded outdoor socks. I’ll have to take their word for it but this is what makes Heatholders so special.

Now I like my socks bright and colourful, the pair I was sent aren’t the most exciting in Brown but looking at their website I particularly like the look of their Ladies Stripe Socks. They also do a great range of Wellie Socks, Slipper Socks and Children’s Socks. You can pretty much kit out the entire family in warm socks this winter and have no excuse for cold toes whilst out playing in the snow (That’s if we get some!)

What do I think of my Heatholder Socks? Well apart from the colour being a bit drab and boring for my liking, they are so lovely and comfy to wear. It’s like wearing a fleece on your feet. They feel so soft and they certainly feel warm, although admittedly I’ve not really had much chance to put them to test in extreme weather yet These socks will certainly stop me moaning about the cold this winter And dare I say it? If you HAVE to buy socks for Christmas for anybody this year, why not make them Heatholder socks

The lovely people from Heatholders have offered one of my readers the change to win 3 pairs of Heatholders, 1 x Wellie Socks, 1 x Slipper Socks and 1 x Original Heatholders of your choice. That should certainly keep your feet nice and toasty this winter All you need to do is complete the rafflecopter form below, there is one mandatory entry and the others are entirely optional. The competition closes on 30th November so hopefully the winner should get their prize before all the snow arrives

Good luck

a Rafflecopter giveaway

competition heatholders outdoor socks slipper socks socks thermal warm feet wellie socks winter

Trendy Toddlers – Rocking The NEXT Autumn/Winter Collection

9 months ago

by DawnieBrown in Fashion, MasterB, MissB, Reviews

Regular readers of this blog will know that we were lucky enough to be invited to a Mummy Blogger event held by NEXT recently where we got to preview their children’s Autumn/Winter 2012 collection. We were also given a gift card with which to buy some outfits for our children. I’ve finally got round to going shopping and so here is MissB and MasterB rocking their new clothes I love NEXT clothes, they always look beautiful, wash well and are really well made. I’ve managed to find links to most of the clothes online but there are a few items which we found instore which I can’t find online at the moment.

MissB wears top found instore costing £9.50 and navy leggings costing £3.50. I love this pretty top and it’s perfect with a pair of plain leggings for those warmer days

MissB wears Butterfly Print Blouse costing £13, I think this is so beautiful

MasterB wears Polo Shirt in blue and grey costing £7. I think MasterB looks so grown up in this, we can never have enough tops for him as he is constantly drooling everywhere at the moment bless him.

MissB wears Dad T-Shirt and Turn Up Jeans (see below). The Dad T-shirt and the big sister t-shirt were 2 for £8 instore. These were Daddy’s choice but very appropriate as MissB is a complete Daddy’s girl

MissB wears Super Star T-Shirt costing £7 and Rib Waist Turn Up Jeans costing £11. MissB loves anything sparkly so we had to get her this top

MasterB wears Train T-Shirt costing £7 (found instore, I can’t find it online at the moment) and Jeans costing £9. I tried so hard to get MasterB to stand still for a nice photo in this outfit but he was having none of it so this was the best I could do. The blue of the shirt makes his blue eyes really pop and I love the little train

I personally think they both look gorgeous in their new outfits (obviously I’m biased) and I can’t believe I managed to get all these clothes for around £75. We are off on holiday next week so it’s lovely to have some brand new outfits for them that they can show off

2012 autumn next winter

Next Autumn/Winter 2012 – My Top Picks

10 months ago

by DawnieBrown in Fashion, Reviews

Today I was lucky enough to be invited by Next to see their new Children’s Autumn/Winter 2012 collection. As well as beautiful clothes they really pulled out the stops with providing lovely food, beauty treatments and children’s entertainment. I was also given a £75 gift card with which I will be buying some outfits to review shortly

Below are a selection of the outfits which I loved…

I really like the combination of blues and mustard, I can see MasterB looking cute in this

And this outfit I absolutely love, MissB will love the sparkly star t-shirt and I think the skirt is super cute

I think MissB may be a bit big for this outfit now but I love the little cap and denim jacket combination

This outfit may be a little old for MissB yet but I really liked the tweed style waistcoat and shorts combination and I love love love the sparkly bag!