Monday 24 April 2017

Darice's Wardrobe: 3-6 months

Hi everyone,

I thought I would start a new little series called 'Darcie's Wardrobe'. In this I thought I would feature all of her new clothes we have brought her for her next clothing size. For example this one is for her 3-6 months clothes. Obviously I will probably end up buying her more clothes after the post goes live. I will probably just do haul posts on these in between the 'Darcie's wardrobe' posts. I will try to put a link to where the items are from. However, some shops may not sell the items anymore so I will apologise in advance if I cant find any of the items. Also, we have had to open some of the packs of vests for example, but I will still include them and just mention this has happened. Do ask if you have any questions.

Before I start though I will just mention we have been lucky enough to have had a few bits brought for Darcie. I also look out for good deals on 'like new' or 'new with tags' clothing on my local selling sites or on apps such as 'Depop' and 'Vinted'. I am not afraid to say I do this as she grows so quickly and if I can get stuff in good condition for half the price, I will do that. Also, I find bits on there that I want in the next size up that I didn't manage to get before.

To start with:

Asda: George baby



asda

These were a pack of 3 sleepsuits (we had to take one from it). I can no longer find these on the George website, I have however, found one's similar: Floral print sleepsuits 3 pack. £10. As I am writing this, Darcie actually has the blue one on (and blowing raspberries) and she looks very sweet!

asda

These are a 3 pack of assorted bodysuits. I think these are so cute! Especially the one with the bee on that says 'adorable'. I love the cute collar on it. £6.

asda

If there's one thing I love. It's Disney stuff for my Darcie. This Bambi floral sleepsuit is just the cutest! George actually have some gorgeous Bambi items in at the moment for little girls! £5.

Asda

Darcie has worn this crochet trim cardigan once already. She wore this with one of her little dresses. Whilst on the George website I also found a pink one, I now want the pink one for Darcie...

Asda

Socks and tights are essentials! Especially as dress weather is slowly starting to roll in. From left to right we have 3 pack of lace detailed tights (£5), 3 pack of cable knit socks (£3) and 2 pack f heart embellished tights (£4). Darcie has worn every pair of the socks and has worn the cream/white pair of lace tights.


Next up is a gorgeous Looney Tunes puffball dress and leggings set. Darcie has worn this once and it looks lovely on. We brought this for £7 and at my time of looking on the George site, it is currently going for £5!

asda

We go through so many vests! So, packs like these 7 pack of assorted bodysuits come in handy! These have cute little rabbit and heart designs on them. They are a bargain at £7.50.

Baby GAP:


I have only brought a couple of bits from baby GAP. However, I have seen some bits in there that I love and I am eager to buy. The leggings below (left to right) are the Ivory frost lace-trim leggings and the pink cameo bow-back leggings. Both are £7.95 each.


Facebook buy's:


I posted on my local Facebook selling sites about wanting 3-6 months clothing. A lady happened to get back to me with 5 dresses all new with tags including Spanish baby wear. (I am a big lover of Spanish baby wear.) I only know where one of these dresses were from the others were probably from a baby boutique. One of the dresses is currently being washed as it was worn the other day.


I believe the first dress was originally around £25.00. The second dress is from Primark and was £6.


The first Spanish dress I believe was originally £38 and I am unsure how much the romper suit was. Both probably came from a boutique. You can find some lovely baby Spanish wear boutiques on Instagram and on Facebook if you don't have any local to you.

All together I brought all 5 outfits (brand new with tags) for £12.

M&Co Baby



M&Co, all in one

First off from M&Co is this lovely romper. It's a denim look with a built in cardigan. This was £12 and sadly I can no longer find this on the M&Co website or anything similar.

M&Co


I love these 2 dresses. The Minnie Mouse dress is a dress Darcie has had in a similar design since birth. The first dress is the 'Guess how much I love you floral dress' (£14) and the second is the 'Minnie Mouse mock cardigan dress' (£14).


M&Co

Another piece of clothing Darcie has had similar of since birth, so she now has two of the little tatty teddy's that come with them. This was £14.


Matalan




Matalan

I love this on Darcie! My friend has a little boy and noticed these in Matalan. Her little boy has the Mickey Mouse version! I can't wait to get them together in these outfits, how adorable! For the set of 3 (the vest, sleepsuit and bow) it cost £12.

Morrisons (Nutmeg)



I love Darcie in jeggings, her long legs look so sweet in them! These jeggings from Morrisons Nutmeg I believe were £4! If there is one thing I have a weak spot for in baby clothing, it has to be the shoes! I would have all sorts if I could for Darcie. These were randomly placed on one of the rails in Morrisons and happened to be in Darcie's size. I obviously had to have them for her. I believe these were £3.50. (Tags have been removed off of both items so prices are a rough estimate.)

Morrisons

Again, tags have been removed from both items. I would estimate the 'I love my Grandma lots and lots' top at about £3/£4 (somewhere in that price mark) and the jeggings again would have been about £4.

Morrisons

These are a pack of 2 sleepsuits. I am unaware of the price but I am sure we didn't buy these that long ago. The labels are long gone, but I would estimate these at around £6ish (I may be completely wrong).

Mothercare

Mothercare

I love these little dungarees from Mothercare! Darcie hasn't had a pair yet so I am excited to see what she looks like in them. Underneath is a light-weight white vest and the dungarees/bibshorts have poppers at the bottom so it's easy to change nappies. The back is lovely and is a platted cross design. This bodysuit and bibshort set is £16 on Mothercare.

Mothercare

These are a two pair set of leggings from Mothercare. I especially love the pink pair! These pink and floral 2 pack of leggings are £6 in Mothercare.

Mothercare

The last thing from Mothercare is this pack of three tops. This particular pack consists of a floral top, a top with a bunny on saying 'spring has sprung and a pink top. The set of 3 floral tops cost £12.

Primark


primarl

I fell in love with this dress/top! I love the colours and the flowers. I can't find it on the Primark website but I believe it was around £3/£3.50.

Primark

We brought a set of 7 vest and a pack of 3 sleepsuits (Darcie has worn the other 2 so are not shown). I can't remember how much both packs were but they weren't expensive.

Spanish Boutique


Spanish wear

I love these shoes way more then I should. These are 'baby pods'. I picked these and the cute little pink knee high socks with bows on from a Spanish wear boutique near me. I have managed to source the shoes on Ebay at £7.95 (plus P&P). I have also found the socks in a variety of different colours on Amazon.


This is a cute little sleepsuit in a beautiful baby pink. I love the peter pan collar on this. This cost me £17 and I have actually found it on Ebay for £12.99 plus postage!

Tesco F&F

tesco

These are a lovely floral pair of dungarees. It also comes with a long sleeved bodysuit, I find these really handy when they come in sets like these. This 'Long sleeve bodysuit and embroidered dungarees' are £10 in Tesco.

tesco

This is no longer on Tesco's website, but I love how super soft this is! I am unaware of the price of this fluffy hoodie as it was brought by one of my friends who is going to be Darcie's god-mum! I love the ears on the hood, how super cute are they?!

tesco

Again, this isn't on the Tesco website and I am unaware of the price as it was brought as a gift by Aron's parent's. It also has the little ears on the hood. Darcie is going to look adorable!

tesco, f&f

This is a set of 3 leggings brought from Tesco. They are in grey, light pink and pink. They are £6 for the set and I think they are excellent value. Find them here: Set of 3 leggings.


Last thing from Tesco are these tops. Again they come in a set of 3. The leggings above and these tops were also gifted by Aron's parents to Darcie. So I am unsure of the price but would estimate at the £6 mark.

Zara baby


When I walked into Zara baby I was prepared for big prices. However these tops were £3.99 each! You can find them here.


 These jeans are super soft! I love them! You can find the grey jeans here but the peachy pink jeans don't seem to be on there, maybe I just didn't spot them.


Another bargain find at £3.99! These tops are going to be perfect for the spring and summer. They are light weight and they are so pretty! You can find them here.

What is your favourite thing in Darcie's wardrobe?

Tasha x

Friday 21 April 2017

StickerShop sticker review*

Hi everyone,

I had recently been sent some personalised stickers from the StickerShop. I chose to have what was my blog header at the time. I love stationary and I think stickers and labels are a must in my collection of stationary. It's also such an odd feeling (but great at the same time) to see my head on a printed sticker. Here they are below:



The sticker shop offer printed labels and sticker printing at a great price. There website is easy to navigate around. You can shop by shape, material, adhesive and finish. There are a few different shapes to choose from and you can even custom make your own. The StickerShop will even send you sample pack to make sure you are going to be totally happy with how you want your order to look. Also, a huge bonus is that shipping in mainland UK is free! There is also a loyalty point scheme where you can earn 200 points by just creating an account! That's great considering the first reward of a £5 voucher is at 500 points! If you need any help along the way there is the option to have a live chat with someone who can help you.


I am definitely pleased with the stickers I received. They are great quality and they are easy to peel and stick on to things. I have used some already to put on my envelopes for my #BeeChat snail mail. I am even considering buying some with my new logo and header on.

You can buy stickers from their website: www.stickershop.co.uk/

You can also follow their social media here:

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

Do you like stickers? Have you ordered from the StickerShop before?

Tasha x

*I received this product in return for a fair and honest review*

Wednesday 19 April 2017

A-Z of Parenting with Makeup & Mummy Days

Hello,
I am Keighley from makeupandmummydays.com. I am a mummy blogger who also writes about makeup, fashion and lifestyle!
A - Appetite - My God can babies eat! You know before you have a baby and you think that 3 hours in between feeds is a long time? You're wrong. Blink and you're going to be right back at feeding time. As for your own appetite, please try to remember to eat and drink something in the days because some days you will forget.
B - Bottle or Breast? - For some reason, this is one of the most controversial and most debated topics in motherhood. You are constantly told "breast is best" but what if breastfeeding does not work for you? What if you just do not what to breastfeed by choice? Do what is best for you, there is no right or wrong answer.
C - Chaos - Complete and utter chaos. The feeds, the tidying, the washing. You are going to be running around like a headless chicken and realise that there are not enough hours in the day!
D - Dummies - Ah the Dummy Debate. Yet another controversial mummy subject. Are you for or against dummies?
E - Eating - You must master the art of doing this one handed (and eating cold food).
F - Fussy Hour - The hour before bedtime where you child just goes crazy. You kind of have to ask yourself if this is still your child. My baby never screams like this? My baby is never this fussy? Welcome to fussy hour. My question is why do children fight sleep so much? If you are tired just go to sleep!
G - Groups - Mum and baby groups. You will become the queen of these. You may constantly attend or feel guilty for missing them one week. Your baby will love them and to be quite honest, you might go a bit OTT on the singing yourself.
H - Hormones - Poor love our partners is all I am saying. There are a lot of hormones after you have a baby. You will find yourself crying over ridiculous things e.g. loving your baby, your baby being so tiny, not being able to find a shoe. The list goes on.
I - Instagram - Welcome to the world of constantly bombarding your Insta followers with cute photographs of your baby. * Note: this will either annoy or cause broodiness. 
J - Judgement - For some reason, parents get judged for everything, every single decision you make with regards to your children - someone will have something to say about it. The most annoying being judgement from your childless friends or family. Move on you know you are doing what is best for you and your baby.
K - Kisses - ALOT OF THEM. Why are babies faces so kissable? My son is probably sick to death of kisses but I just cannot stop.
L - Leaving the house - AKA mission impossible. You will spend hours setting up prams, packing bags, making up feeds and wrestling a small child into a coat and a car seat. Beware, there are no spontaneous trips out of the house anymore!
M - Mother's Instincts - Trust your instincts. Mother knows best and all that jazz. If something feels wrong, do something - do not feel like you are overthinking things. You know your baby best.
N - Napping - Remeber when you were pregnant and ever Tom, Dick and bloody Harry gave you the advice "sleep while they sleep". What utter BS. If you slept when baby slept you would never get anything done. Obviously, for your own health please allow yourself the odd nap every now and again because you will need it.
O - Oversharing - For some reason, once you become a parent you magically lose the social skills that tell you what is a bit TMI. You will share stories about poo, sick and labour and your non-parent will be mortified.
P - Pyjamas - Meet your new uniform. As a new mum, you will quite possibly live in pyjamas. You may do what I did and get dressed, do my makeup and go out with the baby from 2 days after having a baby (crazy, I am aware), just note that one week later it will come crashing down because you have overdone it. You will then proceed to live in pyjamas.
Q - Quickly - You must learn to do everything super speedy! You need to have a power hour cleaning routine for when baby is sleeping and when that magical hour of nap time rolls around you are going to be trying to get everything on your never ending To Do list done.
R - Routine - Establishing an efficient bedtime routine that you can be consistent with is essential, trust me!
S - Social Life or lack of - Maternity leave for me was a lot of watching Netflix and saying "I need to get out of this house, it is driving me mental". Make time to meet up with a friend for a coffee date or call a friend. For no other reason but to keep your sanity.
T - Teething - Your enemy. This is possibly one of the worst times. Trust me, invest in some good Calpol and nappy rash cream. You'll thank me later.
U - Under a baby - You will spend approximately 80% of your life stuck under a sleeping baby that you just know will wake up the moment you try to put them down. Learn to hold in your wee.
V - Vaccinations - Three visits to the doctor which are vital and necessary but will leave you and your baby sobbing (if you are a wimp like me, that is).
W - Washing - An uphill battle that you possibly will never win.
X (like a kiss, what a cop-out) - X goodbye to lie ins, a good lie in now is 7.30.
Y - Yay, It's bedtime - You will rejoice when this magical time rolls around so you and your partner can talk about your days and spend some time together (or so you can have a nice hot bath).
Z - Zombie - What you will look, feel and probably smell like when you have a newborn.
Hope you enjoyed this post! You can also find me on twitter at @makeupandmummy or Instagram at @makeupandmummydaysblog.
K xx

Friday 14 April 2017

How to make Easter nest cakes with a hint of Nutella

Hi everyone,

Welcome to my first food post! For my first post is something great to make over this weekend (and super easy to make with children). I am going to show you how to make Easter nest cakes.

Here's what they will look like:

I rate these an EASY make and suitable to make with children.

Prep/cook time: 15mins

Total time: 2hrs15mins

Equipment you will need:

  • A cupcake tin
  • A heatproof bowl
  • A saucepan
  • A rolling pin (or similar)
  • A mixing spoon
  • Scales
  • 2x teaspoons
  • A sandwich bag (optional)
  • Cupcake cases
Ingredients you will need:

  • 250g Milk Chocolate
  • 4 Shredded Wheat
  • Mini eggs
  • Nutella (optional)
Method:

*Don't forget to wash your hands*

1. Using your scales and heatproof bowl measure 250grams of chocolate. For reference I am using Dr Oetker fine cooks' milk chocolate 35%. Also, take your cupcake cases and place one in each hole of your cupcake tin.

2. Take your sandwich bag and place all of your Shredded Wheat inside. Use your rolling pin to crush the Shredded Wheat. TOP TIP: Using a sandwich bag helps keep the washing up to a minimum as you can keep it in the bag until it is needed at step 4. It also creates stops the Shredded Wheat from flying everywhere.


3. Time to melt the chocolate. You can melt it in the microwave but I feel it impairs the taste and the chocolate can split. So for this reason, I will be using the bain-marie method. For this, take your saucepan and fill it half way with water. Place it on the hob/stove and bring to a simmer. Now you'll need to get the bowl of chocolate and place it in the saucepan. It will need to fit like the picture below. Keep stirring the chocolate until it has fully melted. After it has melted, remove the saucepan from the heat and remove the bowl from the sauce pan. *Remember the bowl will be hot!*


4. Take the bag of crushed Shredded Wheat and pour into the bowl of melted chocolate. Stir together until the Shredded Wheat is fully coated in chocolate.



5. Now you will need your cupcake tin with the cupcake cases already in them. Take your spoon and spoon the mixture evenly into the cases. You can use a teaspoon to help slide the mixture into the cupcake cases.


6. Now for the messy part! With clean hands, make a well with your fingers in the middle of the nest cakes ready for the Mini eggs and the optional Nutella.


7. This step is optional. With your teaspoons, spoon a little Nutella into the well you just made. This will act as a kind of glue for the Mini eggs and it's just because I love Nutella!


8. Now you can place 2 Mini eggs into the centre of each nest cake. There will be some Mini eggs left over at the end of this step to eat later.


9. You will need to create a space for the tray on a shelf in your fridge. Place the tin into the fridge and leave to set for 2 hours or until they have set (the cakes have hardened). This is an ideal time to eat those left over Mini eggs from the previous step whilst you are waiting for your Easter nest cakes.


10. All that's left to do now is take the Easter nest cakes out of the fridge and eat them! Enjoy!

I hope you have a lovely Easter weekend! What are your plans for the weekend?

Tasha x

Wednesday 12 April 2017

March blog and YouTube favourites 2017

Hi everyone,

I've been wanting to do this for a while now but I have been so swamped with everything else. I also know we're well into April now, but better late than never.



Frist up is Claire!

A bit about Claire: 'I'm Claire, 21 year old from Glasgow! I'm super new to blogging but have always loved writing and sharing my experiences with others. I love animals, makeup and all things crafty and love to meet new people!' Claire blogs over at clairelouiisexo.co.uk and you can find her Twitter here. I love Claire's style of writing. I love reading her posts even her posts on university, as I didn't go I don't know what it's like. Claire's posts on university are a great insight and a lot of people relate to them. I definitely recommend checking Claire's blog out. I have recently enjoyed Claire's A-Z of self care post and she is looking for contributions towards this.

Next up is Charlene.

A bit about Charlene 'I'm Charlene McElhinney. A 20 year old blogger & aspiring blogger from Glasgow, Scotland. I also created and run #beechat twice a week which is an online community that hosts twitter chats twice a week, a snail mail campaign & promotes people's work. I'm a professional writing student in the creative industries and have a huge passion for writing. I'm a cat lover, a mental health advocate, a massive fan of Coronation Street and an avid reader. I love people watching and getting to know new individuals. The world is full of unique individuals and that's what makes it so precious!' Charlene blogs over at charlenemcelhinney.co.uk/ and also has a YouTube channel CharleneMcElhinney. Charlene is a great writer and also has her own poetry book on Amazon. I have recently been enjoying her Easter Break series. Find her on Twitter here.

Steph from Steph's World is next.

About Steph: 'I am a Lifestyle Blogger from West Midlands who blogs mostly about Beauty, Theatre, Days Out Activities, Baking, Monthly Favourites and anything in between. I have been blogging for about a year now and love to collaborate on posts and also be a guest blogger as well as hosting guest blogger series on my blog.' Steph's blog is lovely and easy to read. I have recently enjoyed her London Photo Diary post as it has made me want to take a trip into London. Find her on Twitter here.

Time for Single Vegas Girl.

A little about Single Vegas Girl: 'I'm a girl testing all the dating apps while living in Vegas and blogging about it at a friend's suggestion.' Her post's will either leave you laughing at what goes on the sights or thinking 'what just happened?!' as there is some completely weird and wonderful things that happen to her, especially the Tinder Barney is a dinosaur post. I enjoyed this one as it left me thinking about the character from my childhood on Tinder. Find her on Twitter here.

Next up is Aqy.

Aqy blogs over at skinnydecxflatte.blogspot.co.uk/ and also has a YouTube channel here. Here's a bit about Aqy: 'I'm a fashion and lifestyle blogger who enjoys sharing her personal style on the world wide web.' Aqy offers great posts on outfits she puts together. I love the fact that at the end of the month she also puts together a photo diary, like this one I liked of March. Find her on Twitter here.

On to Leah.

Here is a little about Leah 'I'm 19 years old with a 6 month old baby', Leah blogs over at theprescottfamilyblog.wordpress.com/. Leah blogs about everything from, motherhood to Mental Health. Leah puts great posts together and I really enjoyed this moving post of Leah's all about being Housebound. Find her on Twitter here.

Next up, Lola Mia.

Lola Mia blogs over at lolitabonita.co.uk/ and also has a YouTube channel here. A bit about Lola Mia: 'I am a food and lifestyle blogger documenting my journey to a healthier lifestyle with chronic knee pain.' Lola Mia's food and the places food she visits makes my mouth water! I loved the look of her Triple Chocolate coconut pancakes. Find her on Twitter here.

Katie from lifewithktkinnes.com/ is up next.

A bit about Katie: 'I'm a lifestyle/student blogger living in Glasgow and blogging my thoughts and experiences as I try to travel the road to being a "real adult" because no, 21 years old is not really an adult. I love doing absolutely anything so if I do anything new it'll probably appear on my blog within a few days!' I loved reading her Lanzarote mini break as it brought back memories for me when I went at a young age. Find her on Twitter here.

Next up is Jordan from www.sweetsandmascara.com/.

A little about Jordan: 'College student aspiring to be a journalist one day, coffee-addict, travel guru, and fashion stylist to many.' Jordan's blog is all about lifestyle and beauty. This is one particular post I enjoyed of Jordan's Travel Tuesday Walt Disney World.  have always wanted to go to Disney World and posts like these make me want to go even more! Find her on Twitter here.

Next up is Francesca Sophia.

Francesca Sophia is a YouTuber over on her channel, Francesca Sophia. Here's a bit about her: 'I'm newbie YouTuber who tries to keep it all real - vlogging my redundancy, talking about how your bra fits, everything I can!' Her video on Why Job Hunting Sucks couldn't be more real. I also love the fact she says it how it is! Find her on Twitter here.

On to The Frugal Teen.

A bit about the Frugal Teen: 'Money and lifestyle blogger who is giving YouTube a go! I love psychology as well as money saving and getting to know new people.' I love her Chatty Video, I love chatty style video's and as it says in the title this is just that. She also has a blog over at thefrugalteen.wixsite.com/thefrugalteen. Find her on Twitter here.

Last but by no means least Sophia.

Sophia blogs over at www.sophianeve.com/. A bit about Sophia: 'I'm Malaysian & I can't wait to travel around the world. I'd Probably settle down in Edinburgh or Brighton.' I love here posts on covers like this one: This week music 4. I love finding new people to listen to and her posts provide just that. Find her Twitter here.

If you would like to be in my April round up complete the form below and pick one of your posts or videos you have created in April. I will be picking 5 from the form this time.




Tasha x

Lush Giveaway winner!

Hi everyone,


So today I am announcing the Lush Giveaway winner, drumroll please...

Keziah!

Congratulations Keziah, I have sent you an email and will tweet you. If you could reply to me in the next 48 hours that would be great!

I am planning another giveaway so keep an eye out! I will be running a poll on my twitter (@itsatashathingg) so you can vote for what you would like to see.

Tasha x

Sunday 9 April 2017

My Little Star Boutique Jewellery*

Hi everyone,

As a Mummy there is one thing I love to have and that is stuff personalised with my daughters name or initials on it.

The lovely Gemma over at My Little Star Boutique sent me a set of 3 bracelets. There are no other words to say other then I am in love!

My Little Star Boutique offer women's fashion, gifts and accessories, beauty products, quirky children's fashion and jewellery that can be personalised.

Here are the bracelets I received personalised:

Mama, mummy, set of 3

To start with, they came in amazing packaging! They were sent in a very pretty padded holographic postal envelope and on opening I found the lovely soft drawstring bag protecting my 3 bracelets.

When Gemma mentioned to me about the fact she could personalise the bracelets to have Darcie's initials on them, I thought for a minute. Darcie has 3 middle names, including her first name and last name that equals 5 initials. I sat thinking 'it's probably going to be to big to fit.' I was very wrong! Gemma came back saying that was fine and handmade the bracelets for me. I have had so many compliments. It is very rare my boyfriend compliments my jewellery, but when he looked at these he couldn't believe how lovely they were. He found it even more special that they had Darcie's initials on. I have small wrists and find it difficult to find bracelets but these fit lovely! They are elasticated so will fit different sized wrists. I received these in great time as well! For being handmade I thought they would take longer, but I would say I had these in about a week or so!


mamma, set of 3, mummy, initials


They are honestly the most beautiful bracelets ever! They are lovely and shiny and are great quality. The stuff on My Little Star Boutique is brilliantly priced and I would recommend anyone to have a look at what Gemma sells! Don't forget to give her a message to ask about having things personalised!

You can find My Little Star Boutique here:

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

Tasha x


*I received this product in return for a fair and honest review*