Thursday, March 31, 2016

My Love For Vintage Clothes ♥

I've made no secret of my love for vintage clothing, sharing lots of my vintage buys on my Instagram @fiandtylerlee and sharing posts of my son dressed in the most adorable vintage pieces here on the blog, all of which you can find here. For me, vintage clothing offers something quite special, something which is distinctly lacking in the modern clothing you'll find in high-street stores, etc. I always look on the modern clothes of today as disposable pieces - I have no trouble sorting through my wardrobe on a regular basis and throwing out things which no longer catch my eye, however, all of the vintage pieces my son and I own will stay firmly in the wardrobe, awaiting a day when they can be worn again.

Vintage clothes offer something unique and if I'm honest, that's the aspect of vintage that appeals to me the most. I began buying vintage clothes for my son as I wanted him dressed differently, I wanted to give him his own sense of style. Of course he still has lots of modern clothing, but when I dress him in something vintage I am absolutely besotted with his outfits. I've also made no secret of my hatred for the boys clothes on offer these days - I'm not into character clothing, dinosaurs, garish colours, etc. I favour a more classic look for children, especially when they're little and buying vintage pieces means they'll most definitely be the only child sporting that outfit. Vintage clothing also makes for perfect spur of the moment photo sessions too, I can't help but capture all those darling looks on camera.

People always ask where I purchase our vintage pieces from and I think this is great as hopefully that means people are liking them! I mainly buy them from Instagram shops, Ebay and Etsy - I have specific search terms on those sites to find what I'm looking for. I also purchase from specialist vintage clothing sites such as Rokit, who have a great range of children's vintage as well as vintage pieces for adults.

Now that my son is getting older it's getting harder and harder to find vintage clothes in his size - I'm always finding gorgeous dresses for girls his age but the boys clothes are lacking. He does have a fab custom metal/rock inspired denim jacket that he has yet to wear though and I can't wait to see him in it. I've been searching for some vintage pieces for our new little baby too and have found lots of gorgeous rompers which will be perfect for a summer baby. I can't wait to share my finds in some future posts here on the blog.

Are you a fan of vintage clothing? Where do you shop for your pieces?

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33 Week Pregnancy Update | Baby #2 ♥

I'm now 34 weeks pregnant and the time has come to reflect on my 33rd week of pregnancy, I can't believe that there's just six weeks to go, if everything goes to plan of course. This week I've really been suffering with the silent reflux, it's constant and it's really making my life a misery. I can't eat or drink anything without it aggravating it and my throat is burnt from all the acid. It's also been keeping me awake at night and if I cough to try and clear it I feel as though I need to throw up, it's awful.

This week the pains I've been experiencing have gotten a lot worse too, I've found myself trying to think back on my labour experience with Tyler Lee and trying to remember how bad the pains were before I rang the hospital. On his labour I had no show and my waters didn't break until I was actually having him so I'm wondering if it'll be the same this time around.

I was in so much pain yesterday and it was difficult to walk, I had to go to bed early and tried to get some rest - surprisingly it was the calmest nights sleep I've had all pregnancy! I only had to wake up once for the bathroom and that's because I heard Jacek getting ready for work - I wonder if baby has dropped down and has eased the pressure on my bladder?

This coming week Jacek and I are going to get the nursery cleared out, painted and the new cot bought. I have some ideas for the nursery but I'm so stuck on a theme, maybe we'll just go with the flow and put things we like in there rather than a set theme but one thing I do know is that I don't want any clutter!


This week...

Baby is the size of a - cauliflower blossom, according to my Ovia pregnancy app.

I'm looking forward to - the nursery finally getting cleared out, it will be done this weekend.

My favourite moment was - Tyler Lee telling me that I was his best friend, I thought it was the sweetest thing ever.

I've been feeling - in pain, thankfully a nice, hot bath has been helping to ease the pains in the evening.

I've been buying for baby - still nothing, I've managed to stick to my spending ban. I do have some John Lewis vouchers to spend though so I think I'll get some things from the nursery from them, if I can decide on a theme.

I'm missing -a pain-free life. I'm getting so many pains now from the baby, I think they may be lying on a nerve and the silent reflux is making my life an absolute misery.

I'm craving - nothing, in fact, if anything, I've gone off my food. I haven't had a dinner two nights in a row now.
I'm loving - the brighter, sunnier weather. The sun just helps to put everyone in a good mood.

I've been meaning to - still make that GP appointment, I was supposed to have gone this week - oops. It'll be next week now before I get in there.
I can't wait for - our next hospital appointment on April 13th at 36 weeks.

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Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Things We Always Bring On Our Outdoor Adventures ♥

As a family, we go on a lot of outdoor adventures together, whether it's just Tyler Lee and I whilst Jacek is working or the three of us together on one of his sunny day offs, and this is an aspect of our life which I really love. We've traveled to a lot of places around Ireland with our son in tow and to some destinations further a field too and I've found that there's always some staple items we take with us just to make our adventures more comfortable for us all.

Comfortable shoes/wellies for Tyler Lee if needed and a change of socks - We can do a lot of walking on our adventures and not necessarily on the most smooth and clean terrains, so a comfortable pair of shoes is a must - I've learnt the hard way that ballet pumps just weren't made for treks through the woods. As we spend a lot of time at the beach with a three year old who will readily dive into the water, a pair of wellies and a change of socks is a must too. I've recently bought some very comfortable walking shoes and if you're also looking for a pair, Regatta have a whole range of great footwear that was just made for the outdoors.

Water - Walking up and down hills means that we're always left gasping with thirst for a drink so I always bring some bottled water with us - it stops the toddler having a meltdown, especially if there are no shops nearby, which is almost always the case. I bring Tyler Lee a sports bottle filled with flavoured water and a bigger bottle for Jacek and I, these are always empty at the end of our adventures.

Camera and lenses - It's no secret that I like to take a lot of pictures when we're out and about and Jacek likes to snap some too, so we always bring the camera bag with the Nikon DSLR, Canon Bridge camera and the three lenses for the Nikon. At Christmas I bought a small rucksack for just taking along the bigger lens, if I know that I'll only be swapping the lenses once, it's been very handy instead of lugging the bigger bag with us always. I also always bring a spare battery and memory cards.

Sling/baby carrier - this is something we haven't used for quite some time, for obvious reasons of course, but we loved bringing Tyler Lee out and about in his Connecta Integra baby carrier when he was smaller and I can't wait to do the same with the new baby. I have my eye on a Kari-Me sling and think it'd be ideal for keeping baby comfortable and both my hands free for photographing when we're out and about. Jacek has no aversion to baby-wearing either so I'm sure he'll take the baby in the Connecta or sling too, just as he did with Tyler Lee.

Baby wipes - Being in the great outdoors means that little hands are bound to get dirty so I always have a packet of baby wipes on hand for freshening up.

Snacks - We can be out for a long time without setting eyes on a shop or café so having snacks on hand is a must. I always have a supply of fruit sticks for Tyler Lee as well as some fruity or yogurt covered rice cakes for us all to enjoy. These always keep him happy and content until we do stop off for lunch somewhere.

Spare clothes for Tyler Lee - No matter where we end up I can guarantee that Tyler Lee will make it back to the car either covered in dirty or soaking wet, so having a spare change of clothes for him is a must. I actually think I should begin keeping an 'emergency' set of clothes in the car for him too as he always seems to need changing!

It's hard to imagine that this list is going to grow once our new little one arrives in May! Good thing I have Jacek on hand to help carry the bags and the children!


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Monday, March 28, 2016

A Very Rustic Looking Gluten- Free Carrot Cake ♥

I really do love baking and  even though I'm not the most skilled baker in the world, I still like to give things a go and try new flavours and creations. Now that the chocolate fest that was Easter is over, I was looking to make something cake-like but with a healthy twist and gluten-free carrot cake seemed like the perfect option - giving my toddler a treat with vegetables hidden inside seemed like a great idea to me.

I've never made a carrot cake before and I can't say that my first attempt has turned out beautifully at all, it's very rustic and homemade looking indeed, but it's incredibly moist and does taste delicious, if I do say so myself. I followed one of the recipes from Discount Supplements, supplier of cheap protein bars and decided to share the recipe here for anyone who is up for a bit of baking with a healthy element to it. Hopefully yours may turn out a lot prettier than mine too.

Ingredients:

400g sugar
256g all purpose gluten-free flour
315g icing sugar
2 teaspoons of baking soda
2 teaspoons of baking powder
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
354ml of olive oil/vegetable oil
120g chopped nuts (I used walnuts)
150g of grated carrot
4 tablespoons of Meridian Almond Butter
85g of cream cheese
4 eggs
3 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of salt

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 176 degrees Celsius and lightly grease two cake tins - I only had one so used this and then cut the sponge in half once cool.

2. Cream sugar and eggs in a large mixing bowl with an electric beater or stand mixer. Add oil and
vanilla and beat just until smooth.

3. In a separate bowl combine gluten- free flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat until blended.

4.  Stir in grated carrots and nuts. Pour the batter into prepared pans. Bake in preheated oven for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.  

5. While the cake is cooling place butter, cream cheese and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and beat on high until smooth. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth and creamy.

6. When cake is cool frost. Serve and enjoy.

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Thursday, March 24, 2016

32 Week Pregnancy Update | Baby #2 ♥

Today I turn 33 weeks pregnant, so it's about time I recorded the 32nd week of my pregnancy with baby number two. I usually like to have these pregnancy updates lives on a Wednesday, but as I've said before, the days all seem to be melting into one now and I feel as though I don't have time for anything. Blogging has had to go on the back-burner for a bit whilst I try and look after my health, my increasingly needy toddler and everything else that daily life requires of me too.

Honestly I'm exhausted. If I could book myself into a hotel and spa for a couple of days just to unwind I'd do it in a heartbeat - lack of a childminder and funds mean no break for me! I take my hat off to people who have to cope with more than one child during pregnancy, I honestly don't know how you ladies do it, I'm in awe and would love to know your secret.

The coughing which began almost two weeks ago, due to what I think was a chest infection, hasn't stopped, but thankfully the phlegm has - it's not a great feeling when your bodily secretions are trying to choke you! I had a very strange episode the other night when, after I put Tyler Lee to bed, I began getting very painful shooting pains in my bump. As I lay in bed I felt as if I needed to get sick but when I went out to the bathroom nothing happened. Back in bed I began to shiver and didn't want to move as this made my bump pains even more painful, it was as if my body was going into shock for no apparent reason - very bizarre!

Aches and pains in my bump are a regular occurrence now, I don't remember having anything like this with Tyler Lee. I must visit my GP next week so I'll be asking him about them, until then I'll have to come to my own conclusion that they're Braxton Hicks. The silent reflux has been absolutely awful too, my throat is constantly being burnt by acid no matter what I eat and I'm not only drinking plain water, a fizzy drink just isn't worth the hassle now.

I can't believe there's just seven weeks to go now, I feel so unprepared and we've tons to do!

This week...

Baby is the size of a - cantaloupe, according to my Ovia pregnancy app.

I'm looking forward to - getting the box room cleared out, painted and getting a new cot for the baby.

My favourite moment was - Tyler Lee coming into me one morning, saying hello to my bump and then saying "I love you" to the baby, it was incredibly sweet.

I've been feeling - exhausted and so fed up of silent reflux... any solutions greatly appreciated!

I've been buying for baby - nothing again but we have picked out a cot and I'm currently searching for nursery inspiration.

I'm missing - being able to go out and about without feeling like I'm going to drop down. I can't even shoot pictures when we go out on our adventures now because I get so out of breath and dizzy.

I'm craving - still nothing, I find it so strange that I've never had true cravings on either pregnancy.

I'm loving - having some time to myself whilst Tyler is at Easter camp, I love the boy dearly but I'm just so tired!

I've been meaning to - make an appointment with my GP, I always leave it to the last minute so I'm trying not to do that this time.

I can't wait for - our next hospital appointment on April 13th at 36 weeks.

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Wednesday, March 23, 2016

4 Tips For Styling An Empty Room | Home Decor ♥

You’ve probably noticed from a lot of my home decor and interiors posts that I love to search Pinterest and interior design sites for the latest trends and for some much needed inspiration too. I have so many ideas for our home, but it’s a work in progress, and with a new arrival on the way we have lots of updating and decorating to do, especially for the nursery, which at the moment is an empty shell waiting to be transformed.

I like to start each of my room makeovers as though the room is completely empty, so I’ve put together four key tips for anyone needing a fresh look for their spare room (like ourselves) or a living area makeover.

Use each wall as a separate canvas
Whenever I start on a room makeover I like to get lots of paint testers and swatches, just so I can find the perfect shade - this is something I'm currently doing for the nursery because nowadays there really are hundreds of shades of the same colour. You can pick these up from any DIY store for free (or almost), and it means you can try different tones on different walls in the room you want to change. At the moment I'm looking at subtle, off-white shades with hints of mint, I think this is far nicer than plain white.


One big trend (and one which is evident in our living room and kitchen) is mixing pale tones of a colour you really love and having one feature wall for wallpaper or a more vibrant coloured paint. You can experiment by getting different wallpaper samples, leaving them all to dry on the wall where you want to feature something bold and look at them in different lights to see which ones give the best effect for your room. You can see how I experimented with a wallpaper feature wall in our bedroom here.

Take function into account
Never forget that the room you're making over has a purpose. I always get a little too focused on what’s pretty and have to rein myself in. If it’s a study or office space, make sure there’s plenty of desk space to work and lots of light, by using white furniture and pale walls. If it’s a bedroom, think about where the bed, draws and wardrobes will physically fit (this is so important, especially if you're house is on the smaller side). Once you have your colour scheme sorted, it will help you to narrow down the kinds of furniture you’re looking for and avoid making any mistakes when buying.

Try a furniture rental company
These kinds of services can be really useful. If you’re not sure how to style a room or you can’t afford to buy everything right away, why not rent some furniture for it instead? For one thing, it helps you to narrow down what colours and styles you want, as you’ll know almost instantly whether or not you like it. Plus, you can decide on the functionality of a style by living in and using it.

Companies like Emblem Furniture also do home-staging too, so they often have great design expertise that you can use to your advantage, as they’ll be able to give you an idea of how to use the space.

Add bold colours in accessories
I love bright colours like pink, turquoise and gold (as featured in my dream office moodboard), but these don’t always look good when there’s too much use of the colours together in one space. As well as decorating a feature wall, use the bold colours you love as accessories to a room, so that if you tire of any daring colours you can easily change them. I find shops such as Penneys/Primark great for picking up decorations and knick-knacks for our home quite cheaply when I fancy a change in decor. I just picked up some bits for my sons room yesterday, to give it a fresh new look and a few small items really did inject some much needed colour and personality into his room.

Are you doing any interior design projects at the moment?

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Friday, March 18, 2016

Get Crafty By Ali Coghlan | Fun, Creative Crafts For Children ♥

Is there anything nicer than a new book? I love picking them up, especially when they look great (I use them as 'coffee table' books) and come from one of my fellow bloggers too, so you can imagine how delighted I was to receive a copy of Get Crafty by Ali Coghlan, a gorgeous looking book filled with lovely, colourful photography and a whole host of crafts which are perfect for children. Ali is a fellow Irish blogger who blogs at Hey Ali.

Now I have to admit, I'm not the craftiest of mothers, letting my son do the majority of his art and craft time in preschool. However, at Christmas I decided that I should step up my game, buying him some art and craft supplies for him to use and home (which he did, as you can see from the paint splattered background) but I've been wanting to do some proper crafts with him and Get Crafty is full of inspiration.

Get Crafty has over 40 craft ideas and each one is laid out in a simple step by step guide, accompanied by some beautiful, colourful pictures. Each craft also tells you what's needed before you begin and most items are either things you can reuse from around the home, collect from nature or that you can find relatively cheaply in pound shops.

One of my favourite crafts from the book and one which I really want us to do are the driftwood sailboats. Living on an island I've always loved anything nautical and Tyler Lee loves boats too. On our next visit to the seaside I'm going to be on the lookout for driftwood and we have a plethora of unwanted pillowcases in the airing cupboard so these will be completely cost free too - even better!

Congratulations to Ali on such a wonderful book, it truly is inspiring, especially to the mummies like myself who want to be crafty with their little ones but don't really know where to begin.

Get Crafty by Ali Coghlan is published by Mercier Press and is available in all good book stores nationwide for €14.99.

*I was sent this book for the purposes of this review, as always, all thoughts and opinions expressed are 100% my own.

 
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Win A Magical Campervan Getaway To Cornwall With Frugi ♥

Tyler Lee and I have recently joined the #FrugiFamily and this is something that we're both very excited about - him because he gets the chance to wear some fun and colourful new clothes and I because I get to photograph him in them! I just love Frugi's range of fun, colourful, organic and super soft clothing for little ones, so you can imagine how happy I was that we were asked to join in with the #FrugiFamily this year.

Frugi are based in Cornwall, a stunning looking part of the UK, judging by the beautiful pictures I've seen of it and Frugi would like to give two lucky families the chance of experiencing all the delights that Cornwall has to offer for themselves on a magical campervan getaway. 

Up for grabs is an exciting mini break in two retro campervans from Fistral Bays Campervan Hire. You, your best friend and your families will tour around gorgeous Cornwall and stop off at some super exciting places, all arranged by the lovely folks at Frugi.

It sounds amazing doesn't it? I've always wanted to holiday in a retro VW campervan so I'm wishing I could have entered for this prize myself! You can find full details on the full prize on offer and you can also enter the competition by filling out the form here. Best of luck to everyone who enters!

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Thursday, March 17, 2016

31 Week Pregnancy Update | Baby #2 ♥

Today I turn 32 weeks pregnant, but I'm only sharing my 31 week update now as I was offline the past two days - sometimes it's just nice to take a break from things and to stop me going on the laptop so often I've even begun drafting blog posts on my phone. I just feel as though I need some downtime at the moment. Thankfully, this week has been much better than last.

Jacek came home on Thursday evening and we were so delighted to see him. Things have been so different since he came back, actually being able to spend some time together has been amazing because it felt as though we were passing ships in the night for months, he was so busy studying for his exams whilst maintaining a full-time job, so family life went on the back burner and if I'm honest, it was horrible. It's been great to feel like a family again and not have so much pressure. We've begun organising the house, clearing out what we don't need and will hopefully be preparing the nursery very soon.

Yesterday we had our 32 week scan and thankfully all is well with the baby. I was delighted to hear that baby is now head down and is no longer breech - as I shared before, I'm absolutely terrified at the idea of a c-section and am hoping for a natural birth again. I also learnt that the reason my bump is so high is because baby's bum is sticking upwards! The little round lump that I can see on my bump when I getting up from lying down is their little bum, I thought it was his or her head! Baby is becoming a lot more active now, before I didn't feel much movement, except for when I got into bed at night, now I feel some throughout the day too and I'm sure baby even had hiccups during the week as my bump was jumping constantly.

I've began thinking about baby names more and more and I'm pretty sure I have a girls name chosen, although it may change when I actually see the baby. As for a boys name, there are two names that really stand out to me and Tyler Lee actually calls the baby one of these names, he even says "Tyler and ..." as if he's imagining them together and if he's asked what the baby's name is he says this name. I feel now as if I can't change the name if baby is a boy because Tyler Lee seems to love it so much!

This week...

Baby is the size of a - romaine lettuce, according to my Ovia pregnancy app.

I'm looking forward to - finally being able to get the nursery decorated, we just need to pick a theme.
My favourite moment was - getting to see baby again at the 32 week scan, thankfully everything is going great.

I've been feeling - sick again this week unfortunately. I'm pretty sure I'm getting a chest infection again and I'm starting to feel quite weak and dizzy.

I've been buying for baby - I haven't bought anything for the baby this week either, nothing has caught my eye, even though I've had a look in Penneys and Mothercare and online on the John Lewis site. I think the next few bits will be things for the nursery, the first thing being paint!
I'm missing -being able to go somewhere and not feel as though I'm going to pass out. I always get too hot now and feel as though I need to sit down before I fall over. It's made shopping trips impossible.
I'm craving - I don't think it's a true craving but I really wouldn't mind some quiche, chips and salad right now!
I'm loving - having Jacek home and being able to actually spend some time together. Yesterday we even treated ourselves to lunch, just the two of us, which is something we never do.
           
I've been meaning to - begin clearing out the box room, which will eventually be the nursery. We have so many buggies that need to go up for sale and everything in that room needs to find a new home.

I can't wait for - our next hospital appointment on April 13th. I'll be 36 weeks along then and hopefully we'll get to see a doctor who doesn't rush us through our appointment.

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Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Tyler Lee's Easter Basket | 2016 ♥

Every year I put together an Easter basket for my boy and it's something I thoroughly enjoy doing for him. Ever since I was a child, Easter has always been one of my favourite times of year and although I never received an Easter basket myself, my mam always made sure we had a chocolate egg and a surprise - one year, much to mine and my brothers delight, this was real live bunnies! I want my son to have the same fond memories of Easter and I love making the day as fun and as special as I possibly can for us all.

This year I'm recycling a few items for my boys basket as he hasn't really looked at the Peter Rabbit books much, due to their Easter theme and he now has a fondness for Peter Rabbit (just like his mummy), so I thought it'd be nice to include these books again for him.

Once again this basket was very cheap to put together. Jacek and I picked up the majority of the basket contents in Dealz and Aldi. I don't want Tyler Lee's Easter basket to be something to rival his Christmas Eve one, it's just simply a nice surprise for him to rifle through on Easter morning and I'd very much like to keep it that way.

 Included in Tyler Lee's basket this year are:

The Bunny of Bluebell Hill book.
Little Lamb to the Rescue book.
Peter Rabbit Easter Surprise book.
Happy Easter Peter book.
A sweet little yellow bucket for our Easter egg hunt, we'll put his crayons in it after Easter.
Bunny Boppers.
Natures Purest Pure Love Boy Bunny.
Chocolate Easter bunnies.
Cadbury's Buttons Easter egg and packet of buttons.
Milky Bar chocolate treats.

I decorated the basket (which is one I got in Penneys awhile back) with some blue and white polkadot ribbon, a little wooden rabbit decoration and some decorated eggs which I also got in Dealz, I'll be using these as part of our Easter egg hunt again. As you can see, we haven't gone overboard with the basket, it has a nice array of things in there and nothing expensive at all, the most I spent was €12 and I think that's perfectly acceptable, especially as people would be spending that much on a few Easter eggs anyway.

If you're looking for some more Easter basket inspiration you can see the baskets I've put together for Tyler Lee for the past two Easters here.

Do you put together an Easter basket for your little ones?


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Saturday, March 12, 2016

Important Things To Consider When Buying A Family Car ♥

 
I've been needing a new car for quite awhile now, but I kept putting it off due to lack of funds, not using my car that often and actually being quite fond of my little car, which I've had since I was seventeen. However, now that we're expecting baby number two it's become inevitable that I really need to invest in a new car, my current one just isn't practical for taxiing two small children about in.

My current car is a three door and there's no way that I can clamber in through the seats to not only strap Tyler into his car seat (already quite a task I can assure you!) but a newborn into the rear-facing car seat too. A five door is what I need. I also need a bigger boot. I'm going to be using my Silver Cross pram again with this baby and the chassis is slightly bigger than a normal buggy so I need a roomy boot for fitting it all in.

However, getting a new car can be quite costly. I don't mind getting a second hand car but I need something reliable and if I'm honest, I'd actually love to get a new car, something which I can have for many years and not have to worry about upcoming repairs, NCT, etc. There are a few things I'll be keeping in mind when purchasing a new car and I thought I'd share these with you all too.

1. Safety is a priority
No parent is willingly going to but their children in an unsafe car, hence why I'm more inclined to want a new car. However, if you're going for a second hand car make sure you do thorough checks before purchasing. Bring a mechanic or a family member who you know is knowledgeable about cars, with you to the viewing and let them check the specifics of the car and determine in just how good a condition it is. Also, one important aspect of cars that a lot of people seem to forget is having tyres that are in good condition. Have faulty or old tyres can be detrimental to the safety of your car, but buying new tyres doesn't have to be expensive either, autocare sites offer great tyres at afforable prices - so there's no need to be slack when it comes to keeping your tyres in check.

2. Determine your budget
Although I know I would love a brand new car, I know that it would be quite costly and with a new baby on the way I have to judge whether or not I can take on an extra bill every month. If you think you can afford it then car finance can be a great route to go down when it comes to being able to purchase your new car and pay back it back on a weekly or monthly basis, but remember to look carefully at the interest rate (APR) to make sure you're getting a good deal. This is an option I'm currently looking into, I just need to work out my monthly budget. If however, you only need a car for a certain amount of time - the summer months for example, then leasing a car could be a great route to go down. Sites such as Parkway Contracts offer great value on a VW Golf Lease and considering that my other half has a golf, I highly recommend it as a family car.

3. Take your family size into account (and if it'll be growing some more!)
As I said I need a five door car as we'll have two children. There's no point in sticking with a small car just because you've had it for a long time. I need more space in the car and I really do need those extra doors! It's important to take into account how much space you'll need for car seats and booster seats as your child will be using them for a considerable time. Also, it's important to think about whether or not your family will be growing some more, going for a bigger car can help you in the future by not having to upgrade or change your car again too soon.

4. The Economical Aspects
It's important to take into account, when changing your car - the cost of insurance on the new car - whether it will be going up or down, how much tax you'll have to pay on the car each year and petrol/diesel costs (if you're going up an engine size). My current car is only a one litre and is quite cheap to run and tax, hence why I've been slow to change it. I'll be considering the economical aspects before I purchase a new car as these will also have to be factored into my monthly budget.

Remembering these four tips will help you to choose the right car for your family and your budget.

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Friday, March 11, 2016

Perfect Easter Gifts For Toddlers | £20 & Under ♥


Every year I put together a little Easter basket for my son, full of sweet treats, bunny themed things and anything that reminds me of Easter. It's always lovely to see his little face light up when he sees this baskets and I think it's nice to gift a child something other than mounds of chocolate for Easter too. My relatives are also fans of gifting the children things other than chocolate for Easter and I think it's a great idea. Tyler Lee's Easter basket for this year shall feature in a later post, but I wanted to share some perfect Easter gifts for toddler, in case there was anyone out there who was in search of inspiration for their own child's Easter basket or for simply, a non-chocolate based gift alternative.

1. The Peter Rabbit Library (£12.99) - nothing makes me think of Easter more than chocolate eggs and bunnies and the most popular rabbit of all for me is Peter Rabbit. This set of ten Beatrix Potter books encased in a lovely storage box would make a lovely Easter gift for little ones. My son has this set and they really are so lovely to read through with him at bedtime.

2. Yellow Easter Bonnet (£1) - a bonnet is such a pretty thing for little ones to wear at Easter time and they can make for a fun craft activity too. This yellow bonnet is the perfect sunny shade for Easter and you can have fun making it something personal for your child too. This Easy Easter Bonnet tutorial by the lovely Sadhbh at Where Wishes Come From has lots of pretty Easter inspiration for decorating a bonnet and making it your own.

3. Easter Painting Bunny Kit (£3) - if the child you're buying for loves painting and crafting then this Easter Painting Bunny Kit is the perfect gift choice. It comes with a wooden bunny, two brushes and six paints so they can create their own, colourful Easter bunny. This is just one of the fun and inexpensive crafting kits available from The Works.

4. Peter Rabbit: Easter Egg Hunt (£5.06) - I love including lots of books in my sons gift baskets and this pop-up Peter Rabbit Easter Egg Hunt books is one of the sweetest I've ever come across. I've gotten this for my son and the illustrations are just adorable. There are lots up pop-up sections and flaps to open that show hidden surprises along the way of the story. This is a perfect gift for Easter and a lovely one for story time.

5. Jellycat Bashful Bunny in Silver (£16) - if the child you're buying for loves cuddly toys then you can't go wrong with this adorable Jellycat Bashful Bunny. I think they're super cute with their long floppy ears and snuggly soft fur. They come in lots of colours too but the silver is one of my favourites.

6. Sylvanian Families Cottontail Rabbit Family (£16.99) - I included a Sylvanian Families rabbit family in my sons Easter basket last year and he still loves them to this day. Sylvanian Families are such a classic toy and with so many sets and families to choose from they're highly collectable too, making them a perfect gift. I think this Cottontail Rabbit Family are perfect for Easter - the mother and sister's dresses have a real Easter vibe to them with all the floral print and yellow.

These are just a few of the gorgeous things out there which would make lovely Easter gifts for toddlers and it's great that they're all for £20 and under too. If you're looking for even more gift ideas or ideas for Easter baskets then you can find our past Easter baskets here.

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Smoking | Breaking A Bad Habit For Good

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One of the most important jobs you have as a parent is making sure that you live a healthy lifestyle. Not only is exercising regularly, eating a balanced diet and generally looking after yourself a good thing for you – it sets a positive example which your kids can follow as they get older.

Of all the of the steps you can take improve your health, giving up smoking is probably one of the most beneficial. Cigarettes produce around 3-4000 chemicals on average and around 70 of these are known carcinogens. It’s no wonder then that there around 100,000 deaths caused bysmoking-related illnesses in the UK alone each year.

By quitting tobacco, you can be sure that you’re doing the right thing for your family and for yourself.

Many smokers over the past few years have increasingly turned to e-cigarettes in order to help them quit tobacco. The use of e-cigs around the world has increased dramatically since they appeared, and their popularity shows no sign of slowing down.

An e-cig, if you haven’t come across one before, is a battery-powered device which works with an e-liquid filled chamber or cartridge. Firing the battery causes an element inside the chamber to heat up, which then vaporises the e-liquid that the user inhales.

E-liquid vapour is free of the thousands of chemicals mentioned above. Particularly nasty substances such as tar and carbon monoxide, which are some of the most dangerous chemicals found in a cigarette, are entirely absent.

And e-cigarettes offer a great deal more choice for the user, with e-liquids available in a huge variety of different flavours – something to suit everyone.

The positive health effects of switching to vaping are the most talked about benefit of vapour cigarettes. Last year, Public Health England even went on record to say that e-cigarettes are at least 95% safer than continued use of tobacco, but there are other benefits as well.

The cost of smoking has skyrocketed over the past twenty years, with the average price of a pack of cigarettes now well in excess of £8. The average smoker can expect to spend £3000 per year on their habit - think of the things you could be buying for yourself and your family to enjoy instead.

E-cigs, on the other hand, cost a fraction of the price of cigarettes, which means a much-appreciated saving in your pocket, particularly if you have a young family at home.

If you’re a smoker, or even know someone who is, and are seeking an effective way of quitting tobacco for good, switching to e-cigs is definitely an option you should be considering. Your purse, your health and your children will thank you for it.

*This is a guest post written for Dolly Dowsie on behalf of  JAC Vapour.


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