As much as I hate the thought of saying goodbye to Summer (let’s face it, it barely feels like we have had one at all), I do love the onset of Autumn and Winter.
I love the season of crisp leaves, snuggly fires and occasions such as Halloween, Bonfire Night and of course *shudder* Christmas. What I love even more however, is the excuse to go and get the girls some new season clothes that start to hit the shelves towards the end of August / early September.
I was recently approached by Nutmeg, the clothing brand available in Morrisons stores across the UK, to see if the girls would like to try some of their new Autumn / Winter collection. Having never bought Nutmeg clothing before, I was keen to see how the clothes compared to other supermarket and high street brands.
About Nutmeg
One thing I wasn’t aware of is that Nutmeg offer an amazing no quibble 200 day(!) guarantee on their clothing. If for any reason you are unhappy with your purchase, you can return it with proof of purchase within 200 days to receive a replacement or refund.
They also pride themselves on the Thoughtful Details that are incorporated into their childrenswear designs – everything from super soft fabrics, non itchy labels, and even easy side poppers, making the process of getting clothes on and off a wriggly little one a whole lot easier.
Our Experience
We were sent a selection of items from the Nutmeg Autumn / Winter range for both Erin and Neve.
My first thought was ‘YES!!! ITS NOT PINK!!!!!!’ – If you follow my Instagram feed, you will notice that although the girls do wear the odd pink item, we tend to go for more gender neutral colours – as such, the girls wear a lot of blue, grey, yellow and green. None of the items in my selection were pink, and for me this was an immediate plus point!
Neve was sent a pair of stretchy jegging style jeans with small turn ups at the bottom. These were really easy to get on (despite her being the wriggliest baby ever known to man), and she seemed very comfortable and unrestricted crawling and clambering around in the garden.
We were also sent a pack of three t-shirts – I absolutely love the black floral design, as well as the Cute is the New Cool slogan tee.
Trying to get Neve to stay still enough to capture the text clearly was no easy feat, but hopefully you get the general gist!
All the tshirts had two little poppers at the neck making them much easier to remove. The third tee in the set (below) featured this adorable soft appliqué bunny.
The sizing was fairly accurate – Neve is wearing 9-12 months and is 11 months at present.
Erin’s clothes were quite different to her usual style, but when she saw them, she actually exclaimed “WOW I LOVE THEM!!”.
These cat leggings are really cute, with a cats body and tail incorporated into the bottom half of the legs.
She also loved this cute slogan tee, with a bold bright pattern and stripy arms. At just £4 this tshirt is an absolute bargain!
Overall we were really impressed with the Nutmeg range. They were great value-budget prices but high quality items. I would definitely consider buying Nutmeg again.
I am now ten months in to my breastfeeding journey with my second child, which means in my life so far I have breast fed for almost THREE WHOLE YEARS. That is insane – almost a tenth of my life! I am therefore what you might term an established breast feeder, and as such, I have got through my fair share of nursing bras. Overall… my consensus has been pretty much unanimous, in that most of them are a little bit pants… (excuse the ubderwear related pun).
Whilst I have found the odd nursing bra that has been comfortable, as well as easy to gain access at the crucial moment, nearly all of them have become misshapen, lacked support, or made my boobs look flat, making me long for the days of squeezing my mammories back into something that at least resembles attractive underwear.
When I was asked to review Bravado Designs nursing bras, I have to be honest I wasn’t holding my breath. Sure, they looked fantastic in the pictures, but what would they be like in reality? Would they be just like all the others?
After a couple of weeks, I have to say I am actually very pleasantly surprised. I have finally found a nursing bra that doesn’t squash my boobs flat, washes well, is super lightweight and comfortable (even during the night), and unfastens quickly and easily for a feed. Here’s our review.
About Bravado Designs
You have to love the back story of Bravado Designs – the story began 25 years ago when two Mums simply couldn’t find a comfortable or stylish nursing bra. So instead of just sitting moaning about it (like me!!), they made their own at their kitchen table using some extra leopard print fabric and an understanding of what nursing mums really want. The early success of their Original Nursing Bra led to their vision to make nursing bras infinitely more comfortable and stylish, while supporting new nursing mums through all of the highs and lows of breastfeeding, of which, lets face it, there are many!
My Experience
I was sent two different designs from Bravado Designs – The Confetti Nursing Bra in Plum (£28) and The Body Silk Seamless Yoga Nursing Bra in Charcoal (£34)
The Bravado Designs Body Silk Seamless Yoga Nursing Bra
Super comfortable with a sporty look, the fabric is very soft and lightweight, so that I didn’t really feel like I was wearing anything at all! The straps are convertible using a little clip included in the packaging, so you can swap from traditional straps to a criss cross back – which is super helpful if you want to wear a halter neck or embrace the exposed shoulders trend that is so popular at the moment.
The clips are very easy to unfasten one handed, which is even more important now Neve is wriggly and annoying at bedtime, and removable pads meaning that even with my still essential nursing pads inside the bra looks seamless and smooth under my t-shirt.
I felt supported and comfortable, and could happily wear this to bed at night without feeling like I was wearing underwear which is a massive plus.
At £34 this is the more expensive bra of the two, and you are probably paying extra for the alternating straps – if this is less of a concern you may prefer one of the other designs.
The Bravado Designs Confetti Nursing Bra
I loved the colour (deep plum purple) of this bra, and it felt a lot more feminine than the previous sporty design. I actually felt more supported in this one out of the two – the centre rouching of the design created more of a cleavage, and again, this was comfortable enough to sleep in without feeling like I was wearing a bra.
Again, the clips were easy to remove one handed, and as such, feeding was quick and easy.
The confetti nursing bra retails at the slightly cheaper price of £26 and is available in a number of colours including fawn and black.
For both bras, the sizing is relatively easy using their online sizing guide chart – and rather than them coming in individual sizes you use the chart to select small, medium or large. I would say the chart is pretty accurate, as the bras I received fit well.
Overall, so far I am really really pleased with my bras from Bravado Designs and will continue using them to see if they last the test of time! Whilst they are not what you could deam sexy underwear, they are fresh and feminine and perfect for everyday comfort whilst making life just that little bit easier. They don’t automatically scream nursing bra, and for me, that is a very refreshing change!
You can check out the full range of Bravado Designs nursing bras on their website here.
*Disclosure – we received two bras from Bravado Designs free of charge for the purpose of this review, however all thoughts and opinions are my own*
I can hardly believe that in just a few short months, Erin, my first born and still teeny four year old will be starting school. As emotional as buying her uniform has been, there is something ever so exciting about buying school shoes! Erin has had a fascination with school children for months now, and is so excited about wearing a uniform.
Having watched Milkshake TV since she was little, we have seen our fair few Lelli Kelly adverts, so much so that I can’t even say the words without singing the extremely catchy song!
Because of this, Erin knew exactly what school shoes she wanted to try!
We were asked if we wanted to review some of the school shoes range from Jake Shoes – and when we saw they stocked Lelli Kelly’s – these were the obvious choice!
About Jakes Shoes
Jake Shoes is an independently owned and family run company set up in 1975 to offer a choice of shoes different from the rest of the high street.
Jakes stock a huge range of ladies’ shoes, men’s shoes and children’s shoes. Their products are sourced from around the world and include all the top brands such as Ugg, Vans, Converse, Hunter, Lelli Kelly and many more as well as lesser known brands from from smaller factories to offer styles you won’t see anywhere else!
For children, Jakes offer a full measuring and fitting service in both of their stores which are situated on the upper floor of Manchester Arndale and in Stockport town centre. For people like me however who are buying online, they are also happy to advise over the phone if you have any sizing questions.
Jakes offer free next day delivery if you spend over £40 – and free exchange returns if you accidently order the wrong size – this is great for peace of mind, and even better if you suddenly find your children have had a growth spurt over the summer!
Our Experience
We were sent some shoes from Jakes Lelli Kelly back to school range. Whilst some of the Lelli Kelly shoes can be a bit bright and, date I say it – CRAZY, their school range is perfect for girls like Erin. They are smart enough and sensible enough to be worn as part of a specific school uniform, yet include special feastures which make them so much more exciting then a boring old black patent shoe.
We ordered the Colourissima Dolly Shoes in Black Patent – Erin has really narrow feet, so it was great to see that Jakes stock the F fitting, which is sometimes hard to come by.
The Colourissima Dolly Shoes are pretty special, they come with interchangeable straps so you can pick the feature of the strap depending on your mood.
Everything from a plain strap, to a bow, to this fantastic heart, which children can design and colour themselves using the special fabric pens included in the box.
The shoes were a massive hit with Erin, and she can’t wait to wear the Colourissima Pair on her first day at school. We tried them out for size with her school uniform in the garden and my heart melted a little!
You can check out the full range of shoes at Jakes on their website here – I now have my eye on a gorgeous pair of Converse for me too! (Be warned, if you look, you will be counting down the days till payday!)
A big thankyou to Jakes for making Erin’s starting school experience that little more exciting!
*Disclosure – I was gifted these shoes from Jakes in return for my honest review, however all thoughts and opinions are my own*
If you haven’t heard of Shimmer and Shine yet, where have you been?
Erin has become slightly obsessed with these genie’s in training and their magical adventures on Nick Jr, and I have become ear wormed by the theme tune! Trust me, when you’ve heard it, it will stick in your head for hours. If you are reading this and know it, you will probably be cursing me for the rest of the afternoon.
These super fun genies Shimmer and Shine grant three wishes a day for their human Leah, but often make mistakes! Each episode is written to teach children that it is ok to make mistakes, but it’s how you learn from them what you do to put them right that counts!
When we heard about the new range of Shimmer & Shine dress up toys, I knew that these would be right up Erin’s street! We were sent the Shimmer & Shine Dress Up Trunk to review.
The Product
The Shimmer & Shine Dress Up Trunk retails at £12.99.
Children can dress up like genies Shimmer and Shine with the Shimmer & Shine Trunk that is filled with genie sparkle!
This beautiful storage trunk contains enchanting dress-up accessories, including a pair of play slippers, 2 bangles, 12 interchangeable jewels, 2 hair clips and a decorative genie bottle storage container. Spin the mystical arrow and use which ever jewel the spinner lands on to decorate your bangles.
Our Experience
I decided to film Erin opening her Shimmer & Shine Dress Up Trunk, as I figured this would show her genuine reactions to the product, as opposed to just my version of events! 🙂 Check out her unboxing video below 🙂
Erin was very excited when she saw the trunk and couldn’t wait to get it open and reveal the products inside. If I am honest, that was the first challenge! Even I, at the age of 34, took a bit of time to figure out how to release the catch on the trunk, and even once I’d established how it worked, it took a bit of getting used to! It looks like a basic clip, but it is actually a sliding latch, which is not the easiest to open! This initial challenge meant Erin wasn’t able to open the trunk unassisted – which in one respect is a positive, but on the other hand meant she got a little frustrated trying to break in! 🙂
Once open, Erin was really chuffed with the items inside. Included in the set was a pair of purple slippers featuring a badge with the Shimmer and Shine genies on the front, two large gold bangles, lots of interchangeable gems, two genie bottle hair clips and a large genie bottle. The bottle featured a spinner which you could use to help decide which gems to pop onto your bangles next.
Erin got to work with the bangles straight away, and didn’t need any help. She enjoyed putting the different colour gems on and off the bangles, and then popping them on her wrists (or legs) – yes my child likes to be unorthodox! 🙂 I think Erin would have been content with just the bangles as she played with these alone for quite some time!
The item she played with least was probably the slippers, possibly because they were a little too big for her at this stage (she is nearly 4), and they did slip off quite easily.
The trunk itself is really useful, particularly as we have a nearly crawling baby in our home. Once Erin had finished playing with the accessories, she could pop it all back in the trunk for storing away. This was great for teaching Erin about the importance of tidying up and not leaving small pieces lying around. The message seems to be going in at last! 🙂
At £12.99 I think the Shimmer & Shine Trunk is good value for money, and would make a great gift to accompany a genie outfit to wear alongside it. Other items in the Just Play range include Shimmer & Shine Wig sets, and boxed dress up sets.
Overall, the Shimmer & Shine Dress Up Trunk had a big thumbs up from Erin! The Just Play Shimmer & Shine Sets are available to purchase at Toys R Us . You can learn more about the product here.
Disclosure – We were sent a Shimmer & Shine Dress Up Trunk free of charge for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions mine, and Erin’s own*
I have always been a massive fan of Made4Keepsake, having previously reviewed their Personalised Birthday T Shirts. When I was expecting Neve, I fell in love with the idea of my two girls – my two daughters, having Big Sister/Little Sister outfits, so the idea of personalised ones was particularly appealing. The siblings sets from Made4Keepsake feature classic yet striking designs and we couldn’t wait to get a set.
About Made4Keepsake
I first came across Made4Keepsake on Twitter, and was immediately impressed with the wide range of keepsake items on offer, including Keepsake Bears (made from babies sentimental first clothing), Date of Birth Prints, Christening Prints, and Handmade Personalised Photo Albums. Made4Keepsake was created by Leanne, who as a fashion designer, has created and designed all of the artwork and imagery for every single one of the products on offer. She wanted to create products with an added personal unique touch so that important moments can be cherished forever.
Our Experience
We ordered a Big Sister / Little Sister sibling set from the Made4Keepsake website. My eldest daughter is on the petite side, so despite her being three and a half, I ordered her tee in a size 2-3. I then ordered a 0-3 vest for Neve who is now almost 12 weeks. Both fitted perfectly.
The order process with Made4Keepsake was quick and easy, we simply completed the online form outlining my daughter’s names and selected the size of vest and tshirt we wanted to order. We received a confirmation to advise that our order had gone through successfully. Note – it is crucial that you check the accuracy of the spellings you submit online.
The postage was very quick – our set arrived just 7 days after order (Made4Keepsake advise 7-10 days), which for an individually personalised item is a really fast turnaround. The items were wrapped in tissue with a Made4Keepsake tag making them perfectly well presented to send as a gift.
The vest and t-shirts are both soft to the touch, with no rough texture where the design is present on the fabric. Unlike some of the other Big Sister t-shirts on the market, this design is classy and subtle, and is perfect for doing your own mini photoshoots, something which I am very fond of doing! (Even better if you can get someone better to take the photo for you!).
I took a number of photos with the girls in their outfits and I absolutely love the final effect! 🙂 I have had loads of lovely comments about them, and this is a photograph that I will cherish for years to come! 🙂
Overall, I was really impressed with the sibling set and for £20.95, I feel they are excellent value for money, particularly for a personalised product. The t-shirts are available in ages 1-6 years, and the vests from 0-12 months.
Pros:
The designs are subtle and beautiful!
I have very rarely seen what I would describe as ‘classy’ sibling tshirts, as some high street “big sister’ tops can be a little on the tacky side!
Personalised with your children’s names.
Good quality vest/tees – both have washed well and have not cracked or peeled.
Completely unique, you won’t see them on every street corner!
Available in the size of choice, so if your child is small or big for their age, you can find a vest or tee to fit!
Great value for money!
Make a great outfit for a photo card to announce the arrival of your new child!
Cons:
Not a con but a suggestion – don’t leave it to the last minute to ensure you have item in time! Products are sent by Royal Mail and delivery in our case was very quick, but to be on the safe side I would recommend that you order early particularly around Christmas.
The smallest size vest at the moment is 0-3 so if you have a very teeny baby you may need to wait a few weeks like we did before taking this shot! 🙂
Hi, I’m Lucy, a thirty something mum of two from Birmingham. A memory maker, tradition keeper, stationery addict and Mr Men fanatic. HR Advisor by day and sleep deprived Mama by night!
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