The Daxon VIP Challenge

Those folk at Daxon have challenged their VIP bloggers again.  This time, we've been challenged to pick an outfit, for up to £200, and someone will win their choices.  Sounds good to me.

Well.  Some friends of ours have just announced their engagement (and about time too, if you ask me!).  So, in anticipation of the date being set, I've got to choose an outfit for a wedding.

First off, I've chosen this Anne Weyburn dress for £69.00.  It's pretty, it's unusual, and the flower on the front adds a lovely bit of detail perfect for a summer wedding.  I think it'd work quite nicely on holiday as well, strolling along a foreign beach as the sun goes down, sitting by the beach bar with a cocktail in hand.  Sorry, I forgot I was a parent for a minute then.  Ah well, dream on.

Then, to go with the dress, I've gone for these silver sandals for £24.00.  I'm not very good at heels, and like shoes that look pretty but are still sensible & practical.  These tick all my boxes, and I could dance the night away in them.  Wedding disco.  That means the Cha Cha Slide and a bit of shuffling round in circles with your loved one, doesn't it?

Being paranoid about the British weather, I'd need a jacket to go with the dress in case of sudden downpours.  I've opted for this Anne Weyburn jacket at £55.00.  It's light enough to not weigh you down, but will take the chill off shoulders in the evening, and keep the dress pretty if the British summer plays its usual games!

What good is a new outfit without a new handbag?  Especially if there's a wedding to go to.  That's why I've chosen this gorgeous little zip bag for £23.00.  Just big enough for a lipstick, purse, phone, and the all-important confetti!

So, what do you think guys? Will I be the most glamorous guest at the wedding?  Or should I worry about outshining the bride?  Let me know what you think of my choices.

Packmate Storage Solutions Review

My airing cupboard, before

I had something of an epiphany recently.  One of those moments where you realise where you've been going wrong all along.  While our new house is so much better than our old one, in many many ways, I'm still adjusting to the changes in storage space.  I've got less wardrobe space, but I've now got an airing cupboard that I didn't have in the old house (and discovered more towels & bedlinen than one person could reasonably use in a lifetime).  I had to work out a better way to organise them.  So when Packmate offered me the chance to try out some of their storage solutions, I had to give it a go.  (Secretly, I think Squeaky Daddy had been in touch with them first, as he despairs of my inability to keep things tidy.)

I am slightly, just slightly, ashamed to show you these photos.  This is what Packmate had to do battle with.  The organised chaos of my airing cupboard, organised in as much as I knew what shelf things were on, but nothing more than that.  And the complete disaster area of my wardrobe.  This is AFTER I had a massive clear out of clothes that I don't wear any more & took them to the charity shop.  I'm not going to say what you can learn about me from these photos.

Packmate sent me a selection of their products.  I received a set of  vacuum storage bags, a set of travel storage bags, a hanging storage bag for suits, a blanket storage box & underbed storage bags from their Storeasy range.

My wardrobe, before

I have to admit I was sceptical about the vacuum bags.  I've bought vacuum bags before from various places, and then found that because I've got a Dyson, and it has a non-standard nozzle, I couldn't connect it up to the bag to suck the air out, meaning I couldn't get the full shrinking effect.  I'm pleased to say that wasn't the case with Packmate, as the vacuum outlet was small enough for my Dyson's nozzle to fit, so I finally found out what vacuum bags are meant to do!

What I really liked was that thought had gone into the design of the bags.  Rather than just clear, or plain bags, they've got a really attractive leaf design.  I haven't got the patience to get things up into the attic twice a year, so my vacuum bags will be living on the top shelf of my wardrobe, and I'm glad to have something that I don't mind looking at! The travel storage bags had a different, striped design, equally attractive.

The vacuum bag's groovy leaves

Airing Cupboard, after

How did I get on?  That's what you really want to know, right?  Well, see that airing cupboard up there?  I took out the towels & bedding that weren't in current rotation (use, wash, spare, guests) and put them into the blanket box, and look at it now!  You can actually see that it's an airing cupboard, with a hot water tank in it!  The blanket box fits in at the back on the top shelf, you can just about see it in the top left of this shot.  Now I can not only tell which shelf something is on, but I can actually find it without running the risk of falling victim to an avalanche of bathtowels.  Seriously, I think there were more in there than in my local Matalan!

What of the wardrobe?  Well, I originally thought I'd chosen the wrong time of year to do this, moving into springtime, and I decided to vacuum pack away all my summer clothes.  This time last year we had a mini-heatwave.  However, I'm very glad right now that I didn't pack my jumpers away instead.  In tidying my wardrobe I found jumpers, shirts and trousers that I'd completely forgotten, because they'd been pushed to the back never to see the light of day again.  Now the summer clothes are bagged up, as you can see at the top, the winter clothes are hanging up, I can get at my shoes in the box at the bottom, and I've even got space to put my perfumes.  (Keep them in the boxes, in the dark, they retain their scent longer that way).

Wardrobe, after

The vacuum bags were very easy to use, and had space for a massive amount of clothes in them.  There's actually more in those bags than was in the wardrobe, as I also emptied a couple of drawers into the bags at the same time.  The travel bags (the green striped ones on top) were even easier.  These don't need the vacuum hose, you just place items in, zip it up, and roll the air out at the bottom, so they're ideal for travelling, as you can squeeze so much more into your hand luggage, and avoid the excess charges for checking your bags in at the airport.  I wish I'd been thinking a bit more, I could have used these last week to pack our clothes in for the trip to the caravan, I would have saved so much space in the car!

Packmate are available from Lakeland, TK Maxx, Homesense, and various online retailers, with prices from £9.99.

Disclosure: I was provided with a range of Packmate storage bags free of charge for the purposes of this review. I was not told what to write and all opinions are my own.  Links are provided for your convenience, I am not a member of any affiliate scheme & will not receive reward for their use.

Simply Swim Review

Sometimes a review opportunity comes along that I can't resist.  Especially when it's from a company that I already shop with, and happily recommend to people without it being for blogging purposes.  If I get to blog about it too, all the better.  One such opportunity happened recently, when I was approached by the folk at Simply Swim, who asked if Squeaky & I would like to review their swimwear ranges.

Well, they got in touch shortly before Miss Squeaky came down with the chickenpox, so this review has taken a bit longer than I would have hoped, because people don't take nicely to your child being all spotty in public places, so the local pool was off-limits until the spots had completely gone away (and also, our local pool has been closed for a few weeks for repairs & asbestos removal, bah.)  Last week though, we finally got the chance to try out our new swimming costumes.

Image from Simply Swim, used with permission

I love Simply Swim.  I've shopped with them before, and have been amazed by the ranges they stock.  Everything from "posing by the pool" to serious competitive swimwear, and a range of sizes that I can't begin to do justice to.  My favourite thing is the multitude of ways you can sort your selection.  Size 8, want something with low cut legs, in red?  You can narrow it down like that.  Specific cup sizes, or a favourite brand?  You can do that too.  It's mind-blowing, and makes me very happy.

I'm a fussy one when it comes to swimwear.  Aside from having big boobs, which need to be kept securely in place, I like to swim fairly long distances, so I want a costume that can stand up to chlorine, that will stay on my shoulders, and doesn't make me look like Free Willy, and I have a favourite brand.  Putting all those together, I chose the Zoggs Mandalay BootySuit D-Plus.  And I didn't tell Squeaky Daddy.  When I put this on last week, for the first time, he not only noticed, but actually said "Wow! That's a really nice costume" (or words to that effect, I didn't have the tape recorder to hand).  If your man-creature is anything like mine, you'll know how rare these kind of events are - to notice a new item of clothing is unusual in itself, but to complement?  Well, nothing short of a miracle, so for that alone, I have to say a huge thank you to Simply Swim! (You don't get a picture of me in a swimming costume, sorry. I have my limits.)

Move over Kate Moss

For Squeaky, I chose the Zoggs Tots Girls Bowen Swimdress, at least partly because I think Zoggs are a great brand.  And I bravely risked being thrown out of a leisure centre somewhere on the South Coast to take a photo of Miss Squeaky mugging for the camera in her new cossie!  (Do not try this at home, swimming pools are not known for their tolerance of photography)

As I mentioned, we hit the pools last week.  Squeaky & I put our new costumes through their paces with an afternoon of leisure pool sliding & wave machines, and a morning of learner pool & proper lane swimming.  And the verdict?  Excellent.  Both costumes stayed exactly where they were put, looked great, and mine felt really comfortable, even when I was pounding out proper lengths.  They dried quickly, and the costumes are made from high quality, durable materials.  At £32 for mine, and £14 for Squeaky's costume, they're reasonably priced, and I can honestly say from past experience they will last & last.  I've worn Zoggs costumes for years and they are fantastically durable.

What better time to go shopping and stock up for the summer?  Who knows, if enough of us start dreaming about the beach, maybe the weather will finally pick up!

Disclosure: I was invited to choose two items from Simply Swim's range free of charge for the purposes of this review.  I was not told what to write and all opinions are my own. All links are provided for your convenience, I am not a member of any affiliate scheme & will not receive reward for their use.

Calling All Fellow Lovers of Fashion - Daxon

Daxon is a pretty new name to me, but they're part of the world's 3rd largest home shopping network, and a sister company to the ever stylish La Redoute & Vertbaudet brands, which gives me a feeling that they're going to be worth trusting, and very tempting to buy from.  And Daxon are on the look-out for fashion-loving bloggers to be a part of their blogger network!  How could I possibly resist?

If you've met me, you'll know, my sense of style can be summed up with the word "convenience".  I buy a lot of my clothes in the supermarket, because it's so easy to throw a top into the trolley alongside your pizza and washing powder.  But if anything, home shopping has to be even more convenient.  There's more choice, and they'll bring the clothes to your door! No need to leave the house in this never-ending rain.

I'm already eyeing up this striped top for work...  only £27 in the sale.

The clothes have that hint of French style that is so familiar to La Redoute & Vertbaudet shoppers, little touches of style that you don't always see on the UK high street.  It's always nice to feel that you're less likely to bump into someone wearing the exact same outfit as you, if you've bought from somewhere outside of the same few shops in town that everyone visits.  (I spend the next few hours muttering to myself "I look much better in that than she does", whether it's justified or not!)

I'm also quite taken with these Mary Janes.  I haven't worn heels in a very, very long time, and cute flat shoes can be hard to come by. At £39, they're very reasonably priced, in my opinion.

Daxon don't just stock women's wear, they also have a great range of menswear and homewear.  So you can restyle the man in your life (if you dare!), and pick up some beautiful new bed linen at the same time.  They also have an extensive and stylish Plus Size section, with clothes actually designed for a fuller figure, rather than standard designs made larger.

If you'd like the chance to join me as a Daxon blogger, and earn yourself a £50 voucher for your time, then pay the Daxon blog a visit for all the info you need to know.

Whether you want to be a Daxon blogger, or just want to go shopping, why not pop over to their website http://www.daxon.co.uk and have a look around. They've got up to 70% off in their sale, so you might grab a bargain if you're quick!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. It's still interesting though, and the items I have chosen, I genuinely like.  I have not been told what to write and all opinions are my own.

Pip's Garden Review

Yes, that's her name. It's not a secret.

I was approached recently to review some personalised clothing for Squeaky from Pip's Garden.  I hadn't heard of them before, but they sell personalised children's clothing, as well as bedding and towels, all ethically sourced, making for a unique and very special gift.

Squeaky received a personalised pirate ship t-shirt with her real & proper name on it (though I wouldn't have argued with The Jolly Squeaky!)  Pirates are a big favourite in our house, so it was a great item to receive.  The pirate ship is embroidered on with appliqué sails & ship body, making each piece unique, before you even get to the personalisation.  The stitching is top quality - I've had a good old look, and there's not a loose end to be seen, so I'm quite confident that the shirt will look great for a good while.

 I mentioned above that the products are all ethically sourced, this was backed up further by the tag attached to the shirt - 100% organic African fairly traded cotton.  I know I'm not perfect, particularly when it comes to my own clothes, but where I can, I do try to make sure I buy ethically.  The small difference made to my costs makes a massive difference at the other end of the supply chain, and to the lives of some of the poorest people.  The content of this tag, and the detail in the shape, made me very happy.

Detail, yes, that would be the word.  Even the packaging was gorgeous.  I don't normally take many photos of paper wrapping, but I just couldn't resist.  Had wrapped, tied, with a hand written message on the tag.  The attention to detail in every aspect of the shirt, and its packaging, is just amazing.  It makes it a really special item.

And what does Squeaky think to it?  What do you reckon?  We were sent the age 2-3 sized shirt, she'll be 3 in January, but there's loads of growing room, so I think we'll be able to get plenty of wear out of it, before looking for another little pirate with the same name to pass it on to.

I always make sure I've given clothes a full wear & wash cycle before I review them, there would be nothing worse than writing a great review, & then finding something fell apart on the first wash. No such problems here.  The shirt washed beautifully, kept its shape, even with the embroidery & applique.

At £19.50, it's not the cheapest shirt ever made.  But considering that includes personalisation and shipping, it's not as pricey as it would first appear.  I think a Pip's Garden shirt, or romper would make a beautiful gift for a special child this Christmas. Or a personalised dressing gown for the favourite blogger in your life!!  (hint hint)

Disclosure I was provided with a personalised shirt free of charge for the purpose of this review.  I was not told what to write and all opinions are my own.  Links are provided for your convenience, I am not a member of any affiliate scheme and will not receive reward for their use.

M&S Man-Over Challenge

Christmas is a'coming
The goose is getting fat
You can't seriously think
I'll let you out like THAT!

Don't panic, folk, don't panic.  It's not a Christmas blog post just yet.  But I'm planning, OK?

This is Squeaky's Daddy.  He's what's generally known as a right scruffy bugger.  We're both quite lucky in that we have jobs where the dress code is relaxed to say the least, and so we spend most of our time in jeans.  That's great most of the time, but every now & then, you've got to step it up a notch.

Even the camel is amused by those shorts

Image courtesy of Marks & Spencer

I recently won a very special prize.  A night's stay in a 5 star hotel, with a 3 course meal for two in the hotel's bistro restaurant, all the trimmings.  Generally, something a wee bit out of the norm.  Not too bad for me, I can find something pretty in the back of the wardrobe, but what about Daddy?  He can hardly go in those flipflops, can he?  What he needs is something like this suit.  That would go down much better amongst the great & good of South Wales society, and he could roll it out again for the Christmas party season, Valentines Day, even Squeaky's wedding! Good tailoring doesn't go out of fashion, and she seems to have a boyfriend for every day of the week.  I'm sure it won't be long!

I'm no expert on men's suits, but the people at Marks & Spencer are.  That's why I'd love for Squeaky's Daddy to win their current Man-Over competition, and receive his very own suit consultation, rather than having to rely on my questionable taste in menswear.  He does far more than he gives himself credit for, and really deserves something special.

This is our entry to the M&S Man-Over challenge.  Wouldn't you love to see me with a smile as wide as that camel's?

HABA Toys Review – Yui Doll

Oddly, one thing we don't seem to have many of in our house is simple dolls. We have ones that make a noise, sing a song, or are characters from assorted TV shows, but straightforward dolls seem to be in short supply. So I was really happy when our latest mystery parcel from HABA turned out to be the Yui Doll. Squeaky was also really eager to get her hands on Yui, so much so that by the time I'd got the camera, the box was already just a dozen pieces of torn-up cardboard.

Yui is a fabric doll, with soft stuffing and a beany bum. Yui is a Japanese doll, part of the Lotta & Friends range, and she comes with a traditional Japanese outfit of Kimono, obi, undergarment, shoes, a hairband and a fan, though Squeaky is quite adamanat that it's a drink, turning it upside down & placing the handle to Yui's mouth as a straw. I can see her logic, for once!

Squeaky took to Yui immediately, calling her “my doll”, and soon set to work taking off all Yui's clothes, and then instructing me to put them back on! Repeat that for hours, and you can see that Squeaky's had a lot of fun. I was surprised to notice that Yui has a belly button, stitched into her middle, so we had a little chat about belly buttons. Yui's clothes, with the exception of her shoes, and Yui herself are washable, washing instructions are shown on the items, which I thought was a very handy touch, as well as realism for children as they see the same tags on their own clothes. All the fastenings are velcro, and the stitching is firm, it's already been given a good tug or two in our house, with no problems.

The attention to detail that we've come to expect from HABA was present here again. Yui's hair is a soft chenille type black, which actually looks very authentic, and is lovely and soft to the touch. The patterns on the clothing are vibrant and attractive, and carried through to the print on the fan. All in all Yui is a very welcome addition to our household, as a friend and as an educational toy sharing a little learning about other cultures.

Yui is suitable for children from 18 months, and retails for around £33 from various retailers, including Amazon, My Small World, and Boxes and Bags of Fun. She'd make a beautiful gift, especially for a little girl who loves her clothes & shoes.

For more HABA toy reviews, why not pop over to the HABA Mums Club?

Disclosure: I am a HABA Brand Ambassador. I was provided with the Yui Doll free of charge for the purpose of this review. I was not told what to say, and all opinions are my own. I am not part of an affiliate scheme, links are provided for your convenience & I will not receive reward for their use.

Magpie Monday - The green shoots of spring

I know, it's been a while, but I've been gathering up a few treasures to share with you over the coming weeks (or as often as I remember), so I thought I'd share a single beauty today.

My lovely friend MummyMandy, PirateGirl's mummy, is a whizz with a sewing machine. She makes me quite envious to be honest.  Anyways.  I was out & about in Caerphilly a few weeks back, when I spotted something in the hospice shop that really caught my eye.  Let's face it, it was pretty hard to miss a double duvet cover in this fabric!

For the princely sum of £1.50, I was the proud owner of a huge quantity of  green fabric with flowers on it that screamed "Hello and welcome to the 1970's".  It would've been rude not to, right?

The lady on the till was a bit upset when I vaguely mentioned making something out of it, so I quickly had to backtrack & say that it doesn't match my bedroom at the moment, but we're thinking of redecorating (true, we freshened up in the same colours), so who knows.

I had a million ideas for what I was going to do with this, except I realised one important fact.  I can embroider, cross stitch & tapestry for England, but actual making-stuff sewing? Not a chance!  Buttons & hems are as far as it goes.  My kindle case will have to come from eBay, because I'd like one that doesn't fall apart.  So MummyMandy now has a huge quantity of insanely green bedding, and I can't wait to see what she creates with it.

Oh, and to give you some idea of her creations, take a look.  Those of you who have been paying attention will have seen this picture once or twice before, but I can't resist using it again, it's so cute!  MummyMandy made this apron for LaSqueak, and we love it.  More another time.

Keep up with the Magpies! 

Babies In Sheep's Clothing High Performance Swimwear Review

The sun's been beating down here the last few days, and it's time to start thinking about summer.  Squeaky's nursery even asked for suncream & sunhats today!  (What they've done with last year's, I don't know).  I don't envy them trying to get that many small unco-operative people liberally covered in factor 50!

But along with summer comes playing on the beach. And whether they like it or not, our little darlings DO need their skin protected from the sun.  Delicate skin can burn very easily, even through clothing, and sunburn is a sign of skin damage, and can lead to skin cancer in the longer term, which none of us wish on our children.

Well, the kind people at Babies In Sheep's Clothing got in touch with me recently, and asked if I'd like to try out something from their new range of High Performance Swimwear from Little Red Fish.  It might sound early in the year, but as we were soaking up some March sunshine in Spain last week, the timing couldn't have been better, and a red & white striped bathing suit found its way into our case to join us on our travels.

The suit was a bit thicker than normal "high street" swimwear. Not as thick as a wet suit, but a little thicker.  It was also much, much softer, almost like a thick t-shirt.  The cleverest part of the design, in my opinion, is that the zip does up at the back, like a wetsuit.  We've had an all-in-one costume before, but the zip was at the front, and little fingers find them quite interesting.  Putting the zip at the back means it stays zipped up.  Squeaky loved the Little Red Fish logo on the arm, and kept looking at it.

Fishy!

We were sent a 1-2 year old size.  Squeaky turned 2 in January, but she's at the smaller end of her age bracket, and wears 18-24 month clothes for the most part anyway, and it was a great fit, with plenty of room for growth, so I'm confident it will still fit her in the summer and beyond, there was plenty of stretch, we just didn't need to use it!  We found the suit wore and washed well, dried quickly, and didn't lose any colour, despite the intensity of the colour on the suit (shame the same can't be said for some of the other items I took away with us!).  We gave the suit a full test over the course of a week, in the pool, the sea, the sand, and the children's play area.  It still looks brand new, not a snag or a single sign of wear.  As the fabric is designed to handle New Zealand summers, and in most cases the sizes cover a 2 year age group, they are meant to be durable, and it certainly seems to be the case in our experience.

Daisy says Yes!

The fabric offers the same level of protection as factor 50 suncream - which doesn't mean you can forget all about it, there's still arms, legs and faces to deal with, as well as the bits that start out covered by the costume until they start running around, but it means that the body gets the same amount of protection, and you can rest a little easier.  As you can see, the design met with the Squeaky and Daisy Seal of Approval.  By reaching her elbows & knees, it meant she stayed cool, but had freedom of movement.  (Yes, I am the person who believes you stay cooler if you have a layer on, don't give me science, I just trust my own experience)

The Little Red Fish range at Babies In Sheep's Clothing includes Swim tops and bottoms as well as One piece suits in a range of styles, in blue or red stripes.  They aren't cheap (prices range from £24.99 to £49.99), but the quality of the costume, as well as the peace of mind knowing Squeaky's skin is protected, makes it worth every penny in my opinion.  The only thing it didn't do was magically attract the fishes in the sea, despite the fish on the sleeve.  We went paddling, and called them, but only one fish came to see us.  They must be waiting for the school holidays.

Dig For Victory

Diclosure: We were provided with a Little Red Fish swimsuit free of charge for the purposes of this review.  I was not told what to say, and all opinions are my own.  Links are provided for your convenience, I am not a member of any affiliate scheme, and will not receive any reward for their use.

Magpie Monday - Old Friends

Every now & then I figure I should write a Magpie Monday post that's not JUST made up of toddler clothes.  (Spoiler... there are still toddler clothes in this post, but not yet).  This is that post.

When Squeaky was a tiny little Squeak, I had a Poinsettia plant in the window, I'd bought it just before Christmas when I was huge & pregnant & thought it would brighten the place up a bit.  Didn't expect it to last a week, I've got a notorious black thumb. However, somehow this brave little poinsettia made it all the way til May!  Squeaky loved it, as much as a newborn can, and spent a fair number of her waking hours staring at it, and squeaking occasionally.  Fast forward 2 years (OMG, it really is that long), and I spotted out friend Plant in the supermarket. Decided to see if I could make this one last a month, and brought it home to sit in the same place as its predecessor. Then I realised it was just sitting in its cheapy plastic pot & looked a bit rubbish.

Off to the charity shops go I, with a mission, for once.  A pretty plant pot.  And there, in the Salvation Army shop (my least favourite, usually just full of smelly men, school uniforms and bobbly cardigans), was the perfect pot.  Right size, suitable balance of bling and restraint, and all for 50p, when the lady on the till could bring herself to stop gossiping and serve me.  (Please ignore my horrible blinds. I know, believe me, I know.)

Admittedly, the pot now has a length of green tinsel wrapped round it, but I couldn't have found a better home for Squeaky's friend Plant if I'd tried.

So, after my success in finding a plant pot, I thought I'd have a quick look at what the other shops had to offer - hoping I'd find some granny blankets to chop up & turn into ponchos, or generally some crafting talent, because mine ran out a good few years back.  Sadly they were all out of talent, and granny blankets (even the PDSA shop!), and my travels led me to the nice new Marie Curie shop - which reminds me of something I found in there the other week, but haven't taken photos of yet.

They've made a good job of the shop, nicely colour co-ordinated, and volunteers that actually do stuff.  That's more than can be said for a lot of our local charity shops, so as a result I took them in a big bag of stuff earlier in the week.  Well, I had to see what they'd got now, right?  And there, on the children's rail, was a treat.  Squeaky doesn't believe in coats at the moment. Zips are no challenge to her, normal buttons only slow her briefly.  Surely though, the combination of a zip and loop buttons will be beyond her for a week or two?

And better yet, look who's peeking out of the pocket!  It's Upsy Daisy!  You've heard about her Upsy Daisy obsession, right?  And not just one Upsy Daisy on the pocket, but three of them dancing across the back.  In Squeaky World this is nothing short of a miracle.  There's a couple of velcro patches inside the arms, so I think there were originally gloves, but they weren't with it, and I couldn't see a rummage bin to nose through for matching gloves, so we'll have to do without.

Honestly people.  I can't begin to explain how excited Squeaky was to see this coat.  I'll try to transcribe.  "Daisy, Daisy, Daisy, Daisy, Mummy, Daisy! Daddy, Daisy! One, Two, Three, Four! Daisy!"  I put it through the wash (as is my usual way with charity shop clothes), and she spotted a corner of the fabric in the machine this morning.  Not an Upsy Daisy, just a little pink flower.  And stood in front of the washer shouting DAISY until I opened it, and then she dragged a damp coat around with a big grin on her face until I distracted her with toast.  Such are the excitements of life in our house. Toast & Daisy.

Pop along to Lizzie's place & see who else has been shopping this week! 

Christmas in Squeaky Mansions

If only...  But as it's December tomorrow (have you got your advent calendar ready?) I thought I'd start our Christmas posts, to give you a little insight into the World Of The Squeak.

Neither of our families has a huge number of "Christmas traditions", except they both share one very important one (aside from the dinner, obviously), namely Avoiding The Queen.  Walks, feeding ducks, washing up (if things are really desperate), the age of satellite telly has been the death of this age-old family tradition, because there's always a repeat of a 1970's Christmas Special on somewhere.

So as we didn't really have any family traditions, we decided we'd try to make our own, so that Squeaky will have things she always associates with a family Christmas.  First off, the Christmas Pyjamas. It seems to be quite a popular tradition this one, at least round South Wales, so much so, I don't know who I "borrowed" the idea from. Quite simply, everyone in the family receives a brand new pair of pyjamas to wear to bed on Christmas eve night, which they then wear to open their presents the following morning.  OK, this is a tradition that involves spending a little bit of cash, but everyone needs pyjamas, so it's a good chance to get everyone in decent condition for at least one night of the year!

Second of our traditions is one that truly is part of a traditional Christmas.  After the dinner has been eaten, the pots & pans washed & put away, and at least one round of turkey sandwiches has been made, it's time to break open the cheesy footballs, and gather round the table for a game of cards or two.  Good chance to turn the telly off (please!), cards are always a source of entertainment, and someone will have to remind me the rules of almost every game.  They're much less prone to arguments than scrabble (my dad is legendary for cheating at scrabble and inventing new words), and it's a great way to get an insight into what people are REALLY like - who is determined to win at all costs (me, usually), who throws a temper tantrum when they're first out (brother-in-law), and who is just not paying attention to their cards?  And if you can win actual cash from your nearest & dearest (pennies, admittedly), then all the better!  I have an admission though, the Greek Gods, snooker mascot & Bali Beaches cards above are strictly not for playing with. I have a bit of a love for pretty playing cards, these are for looking at, boring brewery corporate cards are for playing with.  Cards cost next to nothing, especially compared to the board game du jour, can be tailored to almost any age (snap & happy families spring to mind), they're fab for a budget Christmas.

More to follow, another time.

Magpie Monday - NCT Round Two

Part two of my Magpie finds from last week's NCT sale insanity.  My bruises have just about healed, I almost considered a second run at the Albany Road charity shops over the weekend (common sense & bank balance won out in the end) and I can now get my head around the all-important question "errr, what the heck did I buy then?"

First out of the starting stalls today, a pair of grey Next skinny jeans.  I'm a sucker for skinnies, and La Squeak is all length and no width, so they look better on her than chunky trousers.  There's a bit of a grass stain on the left knee, it's faded now after a wash with the Vanish, but hey, even if it hadn't, for £1 I'm not about to argue. There'll be grass stains on both knees by the time Squeaky's finished wearing them.  (I left the price stickers on the first couple I took photos of, then decided it was too much work to take sellers' names off & just took the whole tag off the others, in case you were wondering)

Nothing special these, I broke one of my golden rules - check the labels. They're only Tescos, but again they were only £1.  It's so much easier for nursery and when Daddy's on Squeaky Wrangling Duty to dress her in trousers, they're more practical than skirts & tights (much to my dismay), and these are in good nick, a sensible colour to hide the dirt, and have lots of pockets.  Squeaky has just developed an obsession with pockets.  She doesn't tend to put anything in them, but she likes to have them, and look inside them a lot.  Maybe I should hide small but interesting things inside them to surprise her?  Raisins, perhaps?

And while I'm breaking my golden rule of label-checking, I spotted these in the boys section while I was in the queue to pay, and to quote Little Bo Peep on Show Me Show Me "Oh My Woolly Word, I just gotta have it!"  We had a pair of khaki cropped trousers last summer, which turned out to be a wardrobe staple for ages, and these are just FABulous.  I have absolutely zero qualms about dressing Squeaky in boys' clothes, if they fit & look cute, I don't care.

Then I grabbed this very festive stripy t-shirt. The photo doesn't do it justice, there's a sparkly gold thread in amongst the stripes there.  I'm looking forward to dressing her up over Christmas in this, it's so soft & cosy, and it'll hide cranberry sauce stains nicely.  That's right, I have a child that refuses to eat dinner, but will eat yorkshire puddings, gravy and cranberry sauce. Hmmmmmm...

I foolishly ventured upstairs to the toy section.  I was actually very good, they also have bedding & things upstairs & I resisted the temptation to grab an In The Night Garden sleeping bag, partly because it was £8, which was WAY over my budget, and mostly because the last 2nd hand one I bought cost me 50p and I'm spoiled now.  I did grab this noisy shape-matching game though.  The puzzle is a bit (OK, lot) simple for Squeaky, but the noises are very entertaining & she's enjoying learning what the animals are, and copying the noises.  I'll probably get sick of this very soon & donate it somewhere, but right now it's doing OK.  (I also bought a Waybuloo Fuzzy Felt set, but that's upstairs in my wardrobe hiding out with the Christmas presents, so no photos for you just yet.)

And a last minute, bonus entry to today's bargain bonanza!  We went to the carvery for Sunday lunch, and when I took Squeaky for a change, through the connecting doors into the Travelodge next door, I spotted a table of books, on sale raising money for Cancer Research.  Well, internet, you know me by now, I'm not one to turn down a book.  There were 3 or 4 Enid Blyton books there, all short stories, and in varying conditions.  Squeaky actually chose this one, and I asked her if she wanted any of the others as well (I was feeling generous), but no, she only wanted the Watering Can book.  The stories include such gems as "The hole in the mackintosh", "Mr Binkle's Boots", and the intriguing sounding "Mr Pink-Whistle and Santa Claus". I'm not sure I want to find out how Mr Pink-Whistle got his name.

Well, if you've got your breath back, that's all from me for today. See what everyone else has been finding, over at Missie Lizzie's place. 

Silent Sunday 27/11/11

Magpie Monday - Winter Warmers

Saturday was the quarterly (if I remember to go to them all) test of endurance and pointy elbows that is the Cardiff NCT sale.  Squeaky & I bundled into the car with my friend & Squeaky's and off the four of us went for a shopping expedition.  If you'd seen the contents of my bag, expedition was the right word, you'd've thought we were off to conquer the Antarctic by the amount of food 2 toddlers seem to need.

We hit one of the charity shops before lunch (there's LOADS on that road, and you can usually pick up a fair haul of bargains, but having the girls with us kind of slowed us down a bit), where I found this gorgeous Pampolina hoodie/cardigan.  It looks to be brand new, there's not a bobble on it.  I love the colours, I'm not one for pastels, and I'm really not going to miss her in this am I?  The embroidery on the hood is fabulous (though it seems to be more a decoration than a proper hood, it doesn't sit right), and the detail on the breast patch, wow!  SPARKLES!!!!  Every little girl needs sparkles from time to time, right?

The ladies in the shop were struggling to size it, it's a German brand, and like a few continental brands I've found, the label just gives a measurement, not an age. We guessed at roughly a 2-3, but it comes up a little bit small and is a spot-on fit for Squeaky right now.  Perfect for the chilly weather.

My friend picked up a vintage dressmaking book, a Wombles bed linen set (screamingly 1980's, I think I had the same one myself) and a toy laptop to entertain the girls over lunch (which was left in the cafe when we finished, it'd served its purpose!)

Then onwards to the NCT Sale.  The usual rugby scrum of over-entitled mommies, grannies and volunteers who are REALLY regretting volunteering and would much rather be sipping a latte in Starbucks.  I'm going to spread these finds out over the next few weeks, but today is all about the snuggly warm stuff.  The rails weren't inspiring me, I have to admit, so I spent my money on the rummaging tables in the middle of the room.  There, I spotted a Laura Ashley girls cardigan, again looks to be brand new, hiding amongst the George at Asda babygros.  I know I just said something about not wearing pastels, but creamy-beige doesn't count, does it?  I just fell in love with the detailing.  Covered buttons & the collar, oh.  I'm a sucker.  But £2.50?  For Laura Ashley?  I brought it back to its spiritual home, Laura Ashley was from Merthyr, so it's only right that the cardigan comes here.  That's my excuse anyway.

And finally for this morning, also hiding out on the rummage table, though I honestly don't know why... a Ted Baker hoodie, for the princely sum of £1. It would've been rude not to, for that price.

We learned a few ideas for how to handle the next sale better - merge our shopping into one bag, so only one person needs to queue, and the other can wrangle toddlers, then settle the money up afterwards.  The queues are crazy, and that seems to be where most of the patience (and tempers) are lost, adults as well as children.  Still, we each came away with a bag of bargains, and enough to keep the washing machine busy for a day or two.

Why not pop over to Missie Lizzie's place & see the other bargains? 

Magpie Monday - All Quiet

I'm shattered.  It's been a long week.  My car has been back to the garage for the third time in as many weeks for something that may or may not actually be fixed yet.  This has really had a knock on impact on my bargain hunting.  It's taken me to Brecon every week, which should be a good source of bargains, because Brecon's all posh, like.  But out of the 3 or 4 charity shops I can find, most are rubbish, and the only one with real bargains is a complete jumble sale, and if I've got Squeaky with me, I really haven't got the patience to deal with it.  And I've spent a sodding fortune on car repairs (and expensive coffees to pass the time) which has eaten up my shopping budget.

My friend got married on Saturday, so I had to wrangle Squeaky into a party dress and deal with an over-excited, over-tired toddler who'd already spent a few hours at SqueakyGran's house being fed Too Much Cake.  Can you guess what happened to the pretty party dress?  Put it this way, I was very glad that I'd kept a couple of changes of clothes in the back of the car, for Squeaky at least. I just smelled less of J-Lo Glow and more of Toddler Throw for the rest of the evening.

No actual new finds this week, but Squeaky's party dress was one that featured way,way back in an early Magpie Monday post, so I thought I'd share how it looks now she's grown into it.  See also her favourite toy, a no-longer-working mobile phone - another piece of Magpie-ing I guess, finding a new life for something that would otherwise have been chucked out.  (and please note tidy hair, in pigtails. Don't ask how, it was a miracle)

A couple of new charity shops have sprung up in town, though they hadn't opened when I was shopping last Thursday, so I'll be making a tour later in the week, see if there's anything good.  And I finally located one I'd been looking for for AGES today, though I was working at the time & couldn't really stop & go shopping.

The magpies have migrated for a week or so. Pop over & visit.