Monday, June 30, 2014

Living Arrows - Week 25 & 26 ♥



I am taking part in I Heart Snapping's weekly Living Arrows project, a photography project to capture an image which represents childhood to you through the actions, likes, dislikes, looks and movements of your own children. As we were away last week below are my pictures for the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth week of Living Arrows. 

 This picture was taken on the day that my boy felt sand for the first time. I love this picture. He's staring out to sea and the sun is shining on his gorgeous, golden curls.
 This picture was taken out our back garden and my boy was curious about the purple flowers on the bank. He was feeling them and holding them in his hands but didn't pull at them which I was surprised at. He's such a little nature lover.




Share:

Stokke Steps Chair & Bouncer - The All-In-One Seating System For Your Growing Child ♥

Recently we were given a Stokke Steps Chair, all it's accessories and a baby bouncer to boot. We were so excited for it to arrive having seen the pictures on the Stokke website of the super stylish chair and after reading the countless positive reviews and we weren't disappointed when it came. We chose our bouncer and cushions in orange, a colour which is supposed to be very positive for babies and I love how it looks. The bouncer and baby set cushions for the chair are also available in red, blue and grey but orange was our definite favourite. It's so bright, vibrant and is quite fun, something which I think needs to be an element when it comes to baby/children's products. The Stokke Steps Chair is one of the most stunning children's chairs I have ever seen. It's quite modern and fits in with our home decor quite nicely. It isn't big or bulky and doesn't take up much room in our kitchen. It isn't too heavy either so can be easily be moved from room to room if needs be.
Beginning with the bouncer, it offers a very comfortable, cushioned seat for little ones and has a gentle, soothing motion to keep babies happy and entertained. The bouncer has an insert which gives a 'hugging' sensation for babies, such a lovely thing to comfort them and has soft, padded straps which all click together to lock in and make sure baby is safe. The bouncer also comes with a detachable toy bar, handy for providing extra entertainment and something for the little one to look at whilst they are bouncing. The toy bar is flexible too which is handy for older babies who may want to pull and grasp the toys dangling down in front of them. The bouncer feature four different seating positions which can be altered to your babies growing weight. This bouncer is most definitely one that will grow with your baby, suitable from birth it's something which will be used a lot, especially as it's so comfy! The Stokke Steps Bouncer is €195.

 As for the Stokke Steps Chair itself, this really is a stunning chair. We chose ours in natural wood but walnut is also available. This chair is so pleasing to the eye, it's stylish, chic and most importantly - it's functional. It comes with a whole host of accessories which you can pick and choose from depending on what you want the chair for and your child's age. It comes with a foot rest which can be easily adjusted up and down depending on your child's height. We love that Tyler Lee is able to rest his feet on this whilst eating or playing as he couldn't on his old highchair as it couldn't be adjusted. The Stokke Steps Chair itself is €210. We got the Baby Set which attaches so easily to the chair - in fact, no screwdrivers or any other devices are needed to set up the whole chair. The Baby Set is essentially the 'highchair' mode of the Stokke Steps. It's so sturdy and quite comfortable for children as it's ergonomically designed ensuring that your child is sitting correctly. The Baby Set features a chair back which can be used in two positions to accommodate younger children at different ages and heights. The straps on the Baby Set are the same as the bouncer and click together to lock in securely ensuring that little ones can't open them on their own. The Stokke Steps Baby Set is €104. With the Baby Set we also got a cushion set which matches the orange colour of the bouncer. I love the fact that everything matches for each stage of baby's development. The cushions are soft and quite padded, perfect for little ones to sit on and they cover the chair back too. The Stokke Steps Baby Set Cushion Set is €43.

 We also got the tray accessory which is ideal for making the Stokke Steps Chair and ideal highchair. The tray is quite large and is able to fit even Tyler Lee's biggest plate which I am delighted by as his old highchair tray was too small for this. It's super easy to clean and doesn't stain, in fact, every surface on the Stokke Steps Chair seems to be a dream to clean, just one wipe and it's clean, I'm impressed as meal times can get quite messy here! The large tray is also ideal for letting children play or draw whilst in the chair, not only is it a comfortable sitting space for little ones but also a perfect play place. The Stokke Steps Baby Set Tray is €51.

 Overall, we are delighted with the Stokke Steps Chair, Tyler Lee loves it and it's one of the nicest baby/child products we've ever had. We love all the accessories and the functionality of the chair itself. It's something which is used everyday in our house and is ideal for everything we use it for.

You can find more information on the Stokke Steps Chair and see more from the Stokke range on the Stokke website.


Share:

Friday, June 27, 2014

Weigh-In Wednesday #8 - My Herbalife Journey ♥

Ugh, the dreaded post-holiday weigh-in, actually it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be but my stats have gone haywire! This post is a little late as I was only able to weigh-in with my Herbalife coach today. This weeks weigh-in just goes to show what not getting enough protein, being sick and having a few drinks can do to your body and least to say that I'm getting back on track with everything this week and there shall be no drinking whatsoever, expect water of course! I'm beginning to get frustrated with my Herbalife journey but hopefully next week my stats will be going down again and I'll be feeling a lot better. I really thought I would be doing a lot better than I am after two months of being on Herbalife, I am losing inches and weight but the weight seems to be dropping very slowly.

Centimeters and inches lost
9cm/3.5 inches lost off my body bringing my overall total to 56cm/22 inches lost off my body.
 
My stats for week 8 -
  Weight loss since last weigh-in - 7lbs
Body fat - 48.3 went up to 50.1
Water - 38 went down to 36.7
 Muscle - 118.3 went down to 114.1
Body age - Stayed at 39
Visceral fat - 10 went up to 11
 BMI - 36 
 
I'm going to be working hard this week and making sure I get as much protein as I can as I want those stats to go in the right direction again. Wish me luck!
 
 
Share:

Loving Lately... ♥

 Mrs. H - Handmade & More's Dolls. I have a bit of a doll obsession (hey, my blog is called Dolly Dowsie after all!) and recently stumbled across a lady who makes the loveliest dolls, I seriously can't get enough of them and I'm not the only one, they are super popular! I picked up Tyler Lee two Merbaby boys for his handmade shelf - which I shall be featuring on the blog soon and a ballerina doll for myself who reminds me of someone special. Mrs. H does the most beautiful Alice in Wonderland and Little Red Riding Hood dolls too, they are on my wish list.

Vita Coco Kids Drinks. These Vita Coco Kids drinks are tasty, refreshing and a healthier beverage option for little ones as they contain around 20% less sugar and calories than other children's drinks on the market. Tyler Lee isn't a big drinker so I'm always on the lookout for something which may entice him to drink up and luckily he's been loving Vita Coco Kids, especially the tropical Mango and Pineapple flavour. It's great to see him drinking something healthy and tasty, and there was me thinking he didn't like anything with coconut water in it!

 John Frieda Brightening Oil Elixir. I'm using quite a few John Frieda products on my hair at the moment but this Brightening Oil Elixir really stands out. It makes my hair bright, shiny and soft as well as making it really manageable and easy to comb through after washing. I also use it on the ends of my hair why they're a bit dry to give a sleek and smooth look. This product smells gorgeous too, I'm a fan.

 My New Cushion Covers. I really can't get enough of them! I now have them on all the cushions in the living room and they really brighten the room up. These are all handmade and are done to perfection. I love how each flag is a different fabric, they are so pretty. Such a bargain too at just £1.50 each, these were my favourite bargain from last weeks carboot sales which you can read all about here.

 The new additions to my Urban Decay palette collection. I'm a lucky lady, recently my wonderful fiance treated me to the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette to complete my Naked collection and also got me the new Electric palette - seriously how amazing is he?! I've yet to use my Naked 2 palette but the colours look gorgeous and it came with a free mini lip gloss. The shades in the Electric palette are so 'out there' and I can't wait to start experimenting with them. I've already worn the neon green shade 'Freak' and I loved it. Jacek was able to get both at a great discount too - bargain!

Tyler Lee's new Cath Kidston plate and cutlery. I've been wanting to get Tyler Lee a new divided plate for awhile now as his other one is quite small and I like to give him a variety of foods to pick at for his lunch and dinner. I spotted this gorgeous plate with polkadots and trains on it in the Cath Kidston store in Jersey and had to pick up the fork and spoon to match. I was delighted to see Tyler Lee using the spoon himself with his dinner, he's really taken to his new additions for meal times.


Share:

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Carboot Sale Bargains ♥

Whilst I was visiting my Dad I went to some carboot sales with his girlfriend and it's safe to say I have got the carboot sale bug. I never knew there were such bargains to be had and the gems you can find at carboot sales are actually some of the biggest bargains you'll ever find. Funnily enough, most of the things I bought at the carboot had never even been used! Let me show you what bargains I found...

 I picked up nine of these gorgeous, handmade cushion covers from a lovely old lady who had a stall full of her own creations, these being just some of them. I was immediately drawn to the bunting design as I'm a bit of a bunting-a-holic and I thought they looked beautiful. These are now split between my living room and bedroom and they give that shabby chic feel decor which I've been going for throughout the house. The backs of all these cushion covers are done in beautiful fabric too, that lovely woman has a great talent for sewing. These cushion covers were just £1.50 each and I got a bargain on a couple with two for £2.

 Off the same lady I picked up these two gorgeous looking cushions, she again sewed the covers herself. I love the fabrics she used and I think two of them are Cath Kidston fabrics, ones I love. I also think one of these cushions is a duck feather cushion so extremely good quality! These little beauties were just £2 each and are perfect for my bed.

 As you can probably tell I was a bit obsessed with this lady's stall so I went back a third time and picked up three lots of her gorgeous bunting which I think I'm going to stream across the living room ceiling to give the room a cosy yet fun feel. Once again some of the fabrics used are Cath Kidston fabrics. These bunting lines were just £1 each, a complete bargain! I also picked up the little felt heart for just 50p.

 At the same carboot I picked up this Cath Kidston posy print oilcloth bag for just £8 and it was brand new with tags, such a bargain! This retails for €22 so I got more than half off even when the currency is converted. I'm not sure I really need it but I couldn't resist it really.

Sadly my GHD has broken after 10 years so I really needed a new hair straightener just to cover me before I'm able to afford a GHD again and luckily enough Jacek spotted this GHD at another carboot for me and I snapped it up for just £2 - bargain! It's working perfectly and all that's missing are the round covers at the side which doesn't really make a difference to the straightener at all. Such a bargain!

 I was looking for fabrics to cover our couches (I hate the leather!) and spotted these duvet covers with pillow cases. I love the design on the both of them and only discovered once I got home that they're both king size which is the size of my bed so now I'm not too sure whether to use them as a duvet or to cover the couches, they're just so lovely! I picked up both of these and their pillowcases for £5.50.

I love wooden toys but find them to be quite expensive in the shops in my local area so when I saw this little pull along crocodile and snail I just had to get them for Tyler Lee. I love how they move along when pulled, they have a really cute motion to them and are great quality. These were £2 for the pair and he loves them.

I'm a huge Alice in Wonderland fan so when I saw this gorgeous pop-up book. It's very detailed and even had all the characters to go with it. I haven't been able to find this book online to price it but I picked it up for just £1.50 which I thought was a great price for something so lovely.

There are so many bargains to be had at carboot sales. I've even been looking up where they're on in my local area so I'm hopping to pop along and see what other gems I can find. I'm even thinking about getting my own pitch to do a bit of de-cluttering!

Are you a carboot sale fan? What's the best bargain you ever picked up from one?


Share:

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Steamcream - Ume Ni Uguisu Tin ♥

 Look at this little beauty! This may quite possible be the nicest looking moisturiser packaging I have ever seen. This is Steamcream an all in one moisturiser for the face, body and hands which was designed by the lovely people behind LUSH (and we all know how much I love their products!). Steamcream is suitable for all skin types making it the ultimate moisturiser in my opinion as not only is suitable for all types of skin, it's also suitable for skin in all areas, ending the hassle of having to buy and use different products for different body areas. 

The texture of this product was a lot more fluid like than I was expecting but that only means that it goes a whole lot farther in one application than a thicker product would for me. The cream is so soft and leaves skin feeling soothed, soft and slightly scented of lavender. It's so moisturising and really is safe to use on the face, I had no nasty reactions after application. It's gentle on the skin and doesn't feel greasy and that's something I love in a moisturiser. The tins that Steamcream come in are one of the biggest drawing points to this product, there are so many designs to choose from and some are even limited edition. I love my design on the beige and green tin with cherry blossoms and a bird, it's so pretty! The name on my particular tin is Ume Ni Uguisu which means 'great match' and it really is!This is one product packaging I won't be throwing out once the product is gone, that's for sure!

Steamcream's formulation is based on an oatmeal infusion and orange flower water, these are great ingredients for sensitive skin and are so soothing. Steamcream also includes almond oil, glycerine, cocoa butter and jojoba oil to hydrate and soften the skin. It contains lavender oil and other lovely essential oils which give a lovely, relaxing fragrance that actually soothes me to sleep when I moisturise using this product before bed. Another element to Steamcream which I love is that it is 100% vegan and is not tested on animals - something which I love to see on products I buy and use.

Steamcream is available from between €15 and €17 for a 75ml tin and is available from all good beauty stores nationwide.

Stay pretty people!




Share:
© Dolly Dowsie | All rights reserved.
Blog Layout Created by pipdig