Kerry Louise Norris

Friday, 30 October 2015

Christmas sacks from Izabela Peters

Gone are the days that just wrapping christmas presents was the norm. Over the last few years there has been a huge rise in using christmas sacks to present your christmas presents. In fact I bought one last year. I think there is nothing better than seeing sacks and presents around the tree. Nowadays you can get them in all sort of shapes, materials and sizes. I think sacks are brilliant space savers for small rooms. I know our living room would be swamped if we didn't use them.

I was delighted to be asked to review one from Izabela Peters. They're an award winning textile and design company and they really do have a beautiful collection. Another great thing about them is that everything is created in their UK studios.

The sack we received was the grey penguin which was personalised with Merry Christmas Eva. They come in 3 different sizes, medium, large and extra large. It's a beautiful print and is certainly unique compared to ones you will find on the high street. The penguin print is childlike so it's great for little ones. I love the fact that it's linen and not a hessian style (like most that are available). This means that it's completely machine washable so it can be used over and over again as the years go by. The sack is very sturdy and doesn't feel like it'll break at all when placing presents in it. It's great that it can be personalised as that always makes things feel more special and unique, especially for children. I'm gutted that I don't have any decorations up so that I can photograph it amongst a christmas decorated room so you can see how lovely it really is.

There are also lots of other great designs on the website, sacks. I'm thinking about getting one for all of us and especially bump that is due in 2 weeks. Here's all my favourite prints. I think they are suitable for all ages including us grown ups!

There are also other christmas linen's available on the website such as stockings, decorations, table covers and runners. I absolutely adore the robin printed table cover and runner.

Overall, I am really happy with Eva's new sack. I think it's great value for money. Delivery is also very quick. I can't wait to let santa use it and Eva's face light up when she see's it filled!

Do you use sacks for presents? What's your favourite print from the others I have picked?

Reviews

18 comments

Thursday, 29 October 2015

Disney Junior 6-in-1 game collection

We were recently sent the Disney Junior 6-in-1 game collection to review. I jumped at the chance to review it as Eva loves the Disney Junior channel so I knew she would be over the moon at having a new game.

When it arrived, Eva was delighted before she'd even opened it (as predicted). Just the sight of all of her favourite Disney Junior characters such as Princess Sofia, Mickey, Doc Mcstuffins etc was enough to send her into excitement overdrive. Of course we had to play with it straight away.

The collection as it states contains 6 different games to play which are Bingo, Go Fish, crazy 8's, dominoes, matching and four in a row. The box itself contains one game board which has 4 sections, matching tiles and domino tiles, picture cards, a deck of cards, tokens, a spinner and of course some instructions. It seems like a lot but actually the box and it's contents are fairly small and well contained. The manufacturer suggests that the game is suitable for ages 3+, which is currently perfect for Eva.

Eva loves to play the matching game. It is definitely her favourite of the six. Another firm favourite is bingo which she likes to play with her dad a lot. I think she really enjoys the fact that the game doesn't have to be the same thing over and over again. She likes to play all 6 games and then she will put the game away. I think the fact that there are 6 games in one, really captures her attention and allows her to concentrate through all of them as she is not getting bored.I'm afraid there's no pictures of her actually playing it as she seems to get annoyed at me for not paying attention when we are playing together. I get told 'mummy no photo's, just play!'.

As a parent I am really happy with this game collection. It's an ideal starting point for preschoolers to learn about playing games. It helps encourage them to learn about turn taking and playing with other people. I also love the fact that most of the games help promote memory learning. Eva has had other board games before and has had things such as snap but it's only been since she's been playing all of these games that she now clearly understands the concept of matching pairs together.

I would recommend this game to anyone with young children. I also noticed that there is a Frozen 6-in-1 game collection which I have added to santa's christmas list after the success of playing with this one.

Reviews

7 comments

Tuesday, 27 October 2015

Bump Watch - Week 37

Week - 37

Baby developments - Baby is now pretty much fully developed as she is now considered full term. Baby is now in the engaged position, so is ready to go.

My bump - I'm pretty pleased with how my bump is looking. I have hardly any stretch marks at all and I seem to be carrying weight all in my front. It's completely different to how I looked at this point with Eva.

My symptoms - Where do I start!!? I've had two bleeds but thankfully both myself and baby are fine. I am having the most hideous braxton hicks contractions, all the time and I have such an intense pressure lower down constantly. I don't remember suffering this much with Eva. When I move positions I now hear all my bones clicking and i'm super, duper, tired!

Movements - These are very intense now and can sometimes be quite painful. I guess this is because there's not a lot of room left in there now.

Cravings - I'm still loving ice cubes!

Aversions - I haven't had any aversions to anything.

Exercise - Other than walking the dog and chasing after Eva, I can't say i've done much else. I just haven't had the energy.

Baby items purchased - No baby items bought this week. I have to say we are very unprepared and disorganised this time around.

Best moment this week - Getting another scan was the best moment this week. I had to have one because of the bleed but Arwyn and Eva came with me and it was lovely to see the baby this late on.

Worst moment this week - Having to go to hospital and stay there for pretty much 2 days. They let me home in the evenings. I'm hoping the next time I go in, it will be to actually have the baby.

What i'm looking forward to - Feeling organised and prepared, which we aren't at the moment. We can't decide on a name, the nursery still hasn't been started and I haven't washed any of babies clothes!

How Eva is feeling - Eva talks about her sister a lot but I honestly still don't think she has any idea of what is actually coming. Her world is going to be turned upside down. She has a new baby doll recently which she seemed to think was her sister.

Pregnancy

5 comments

Monday, 26 October 2015

ByStroom Changing bags

If you've read my blog for a while then you will know that I am a bag fiend. If there's one fashion accessory that makes my mouth water then it's the bag. However, since having my daughter, it's not often that I get to take a bag for myself out and i've swapped my arm candy for a change bag. With baby number 2 due in just over 2 weeks, I can kiss long goodbye to my Mulberry but thanks to ByStroom, I can say a big hello to my new beautiful change bag, The BEA.

ByStroom have got the most desired collection of changing bags that I have seen in a long time. If you're looking for a bag that's not only practical but oozes style and trendiness then you will definitely find one from this brand. They are a perfect brand match for me as they have managed to capture exactly what I am looking for. Every single bag allows you to still be fashionable whilst hiding your baby essentials.

My BEA bag is beautiful. The shape is quite unique and is large enough to fit anything and everything in it. In fact i've joked about it being similar to a Mary Poppins bag. I just keep pulling more and more things out of it. For now I am using it to carry around all of my essentials such as phone, purse etc and my daughter's essentials such as change of clothes, snacks, and a drink. I have no doubt that when my new baby arrives, I will be able to fit all of our things in it, which as a mother is music to my ears. You always have your hands full, so the more I can get in one bag, the better. With my last change bag I found I couldn't get everything in to it.

I adore the style of it. The handles are braided so it gives it a more special look. The colour black goes with pretty much everything but it is available in 10 different colours. The bag is easy to clean as it's water and stain resistant so you can wipe it with a wet wipe or wet cloth. This again is also very handy when you have a baby and a toddler as things do tend to get very messy. The bag contains a changing mat, bottle holder and a toiletries bag and also has lots of different compartments and pockets. This is great for me as I'm also a bit of an organised freak.

I am loving using this bag and I can't recommend them enough to anyone. I will write another blog post once baby arrives, so that I can update you on how it is working with using it for the essentials for all 3 of us. Keep your eyes peeled for that.

I've also chosen my other top picks of bags from their website. It was very hard to narrow it down as I could honestly happily use any of them. I would like to get a tan coloured one too, to match any outfits i'm wearing that black doesn't look good with.

1) This is a new bag to the website which is called the INGA. I absolutely love the shape of it!!!!

2) This is the GANLY which is a best seller. I love the style of it.

3) This is the ALMA. It does look a bit smaller than most of the of the other bags that they do but I am still a big fan of it. I love all the buckle detailing.

4) Is the INGA again but in a different colour. I must like this one seeing as I've featured it twice.

Have you heard of the brand before? Do you like their bags? What changing bag did you have? Make sure you like their Facebook and instagram pages to keep up to date with any offers and competitions, Facebook, instagram.

Reviews

11 comments

Friday, 23 October 2015

Reminiscing about our engagement 5 years ago

It's been 5 years yesterday that Arwyn and I got engaged in Kilimanjaro. I cannot believe how time just seems to fly by nowadays. As I realised it had been 5 years, I started to think that years move to quickly and I wondered where the time had gone.

I hadn't started my blog at the time we climbed Kilimanjaro so I've never written about it. I'll briefly describe our experience. We went with the charity Scope and were lucky enough to be put into a team with some amazing people who we still speak to today and who came to our wedding. The climb itself was gruelling. There were good times and bad. If you had asked me about it for a few months afterwards, I would have said it was the worst experience of my life and wouldn't recommend it to anyone (hubby would have said the same). However, looking back on it now it really was life changing. It really pushed you to the limit. It was physically and mentally draining. I had a really bad day one day where I broke down in tears but all of my team supported me. It was if we'd all been friends forever. They were am amazing group of people. Having to wee and poo out in the middle of nowhere was also an experience I'll never forget (the views were pretty good though). The food was awful and I was put off camping again for a long time! I've lost my two big toe nails because of the climb too.

We didn't actually make the very top as we suffered badly with altitude sickness whilst attempting to reach the summit so the doctor sent us back to camp.

After the climb we all went back to our hotel to get ready for a big party. Arwyn was acting very weirdly. Finally he asked me to go outside and look at the mountain in the moonlight. Stubborn me was shouting at him telling him we'd be late for the bus and I never wanted to see the mountain ever again. I really did make it difficult for him. When I eventually went outside he got down on one knee under the stars and the brightness of Kilimanjaro in the background. I was so shocked. It ended up being the perfect time to propose as we had a huge party that night. The night was so special as we spent it with all the people that we had experienced Kilimanjaro with. We drank lots of champagne and partied the night away. I couldn't have asked for more.

Even though it seems like only yesterday this happened we have been through so much ever since. We had a wonderful wedding (with Eva already in my belly). I found out I was pregnant 3 days before our wedding day. It was lovely knowing we had a little secret to ourselves. We had a fantastic honeymoon in Las Vegas and Hawaii. We got Alfie our dog. We had our first daughter and are now expecting our second. Plus we have had lots of fantastic other holidays and trips.

Doesn't time fly when you're having fun!

7 comments