Independents Day - Fathers Day

Be an individual, shop Independents

Here we are again on the 29th of the month.   The date each month we celebrate all Independent businesses.  As #IndependentsDay falls a little too late for retailers to send out in time for all things Queens Diamond Jubilee, I thought it might be a good idea to support all those hard working businesses who sell items suitable for celebrating Fathers Day on the Sunday June 17th .

HERE'S HOW IT WORKS

Any type of independent business or even if you have a favourite one you love to support you can join in.

If you have a blog, please write a short post mentioning and linking to three or so independent businesses you follow, buy from or just plain admire. You can of course link to your own business if you want to. Its all about building up the traffic to help people find our businesses.

Leave a comment below with a link to your blog so we can all pop over and take a look. It would be really great if you would link back to this post.

and/or

Tweet about the independent businesses you are supporting and mentioning the hashtag #IndependentsDay

and/or

Link or share this or your own post on your Facebook page and encourage others to share

and/or

Link up your business below

You don't have to be an independent business to get involved or have a blog. Comments, tweets and Facebook mentions will all help enormously.

Here are my selection for this month

Wonderful personalised gifts for the whole family from Moobaacluck

Stylish and unique word art from Wall envy Art

Is the daddy in your life a fisherman ?  How about amazing mosaic wall art from Just Mosaics

and if your budget will stretch to it, how about this stunning chair for Daddy to relax and read the papers. Wonderful Earmes style chair from Rose and Grey

If you are a business don't forget to submit your link below so we can find you.

Fathers Day - Mercimaman Giveaway

We are really fortunate to be sent lots of lovely things to review.  Mostly they are for the home, for me or the twins.  So it made a lovely change to be offered an item for the bigger boys in the household.  Hubby although "a modern man"  isn't a great wearer of jewellery.  Jacob (No 1 son) on the other hand considers himself the coolest teenager around and more than happy to accept the open disc personalised bracelet from Merci Maman to review.

Described as a personalised charm bracelet.  This is an on trend waxed cotton braid with a sterling silver disc which you can have personalised with your own words.  Jacob choose "“Veni, Vidi, Vici “ on one side and on the other side “No pain, No gain “

Jacob loves his bracelet and hasn't taken it off since receiving it.  He highly recommends it and that is praise indeed coming from a 16 year old !

 Merci Maman have a very kindly offered  an open disc personalised bracelet as a giveaway.  Perfect for Fathers Day, you can choice from Sterling silver or Gold Plated open disc fixed onto a colour braid of your choice and personalised with upto 20 letters maximum.

TO ENTER

Pop over to the Mercimaman website HERE and leave a comment below telling me which item you like the most and why the dad in your family should receive the price.

For one each additional entry

subscribe to Mercimaman newsletter, the subscription box in on the homepage at the bottom of the left hand-side. www.mercimaman.co.uk

  Like the MerciMaman Facebook Timeline page  http://www.facebook.com/MerciMamanGifts

 Follow MerciMaman on twitter @MerciMamanGifts and tweet about it.
 

The giveaway is open to UK residents only (sorry)

The giveaway closes Wednesday 6th June 2012 at 8 pm

Winner will be selected at random

No cash alternative.

We received a bracelet for the purpose of this review and giveaway.

Create a World Review & Giveaway

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

Many thanks to all who entered.  The winner picked at Random by No 1 son is

ZOE ARTHURS - Congratulations !

***********************************************************************************


We were recently sent a Create a World to review.  Unfortunately my twins felt it was "for babies" and were not interested in it.  Luckily I know another mummy of twins who was more than happy to receive it for her boys. 

Julie's Review

Review of Simply Good – “Create-a- World” – soft imaginative game offering endless playtime fun.

Suitable for 12 months plus

(My kids are 3 ½ boys(twins) and 7 year old girl)

Younger product than I would buy for this age but they did have good interactive fun with it for about 20 minutes or so.

Having researched the price I felt it was a little bit too expensive for what it was. (Approx RRP £45ish??) Would probably pay around £20 if buying as a present for younger children. 

Size of product did mean that more than one child could play with it.

Equally great for mummy and me time as the play mat is big enough for you and child to sit around on the floor.

Great detail on the fuzzy felt pieces, great bright colours to capture younger childrens imagination.

Promotes interactive play between older and younger children (or mum and younger toddler) as there is simply so much to talk about. Colours, people, make up stories etc. and it can really encourage children to chat about what they are creating.

Opportunity to link animals or people to settings and then talk about it. Giving children good language skills.

My older child took the lead and the boys followed her and they were imagining what would happen between the characters etc and what would link with what. Eg princess with castle and dragon etc. Never heard my boys talk so much!!

Think as a child gets older it would be nice to have wall mounted and then they could create a scene as some wall art.

My kids biggest disappointment was on the box it showed a beach scene and a sun. They searched endlessly for these pieces to link with their scene and story and could not find them. We counted the pieces at the end (there were 61 present as stated on the box) but not all of the ones depicted on the exterior of the product. I found this a little misleading as they felt short changed by it. (Perhaps they should state on outside “may contain only some of the pieces depicted”). (On Amazon it says comes with 90 pieces so this may have been rectified…??)

To summarise I would say a great product for say 12 mths – 2 ½ years old but a little expensive and misleading packaging. 6 out of 10??


Julie's review is complete and unedited in anyway.  I think she (and the children) did a great job of reviewing this set.

Create a World available to buy from Whitestep 

GIVEAWAY

I have a brand new and boxed "Create a World" to giveaway if you would like to be in with a chance of winning it.  Please follow this blog and leave a comment below, making sure you are contactable either through google, twitter, email or facebook.


Giveaway is open to UK residents only (sorry)
Will close on Monday 14th May at 8pm
Winner will be picked at random

We received the item to review and keep, no payment was received and all views expressed are Julie's : )

THANK YOU & GOOD LUCK

Independents Day

Here we are on a very windy and wet 29th of the month and our third #IndependentsDay.  Although its a Sunday I thought I would still go ahead as I know most (if not all ) independent businesses work 7 days a week.  No shutting up shop or day of rest for us.

BE AN INDIVIDUAL, SHOP INDEPENDENTS

I was interested to listen to a discussion on the radio last week about a new term that has come about  called "zig zagging" .  The phrase was coined by Sir Mervyn King, The Governor of The Bank of England and refers to the ups and downs in the recovery of the UK economy. 

The programme discussed how when we talk the economy down, it affects shoppers habits and  people stop spending.  When the economy is talked up, they start spending again !  Not rocket science is it ?

I have always felt that too much negativity on the news and tv has a detrimental effect on peoples spending patterns.  They get frightened and become cautious.  So would it really be as simple as just being more positive ?  Why is the only new bad news ?

Here are the wonderful hard working businesses I am featuring this week.

LindleyWoods - Original Handmade products

Swings and Pretty Things - Inspirational gift ideas

Showler and Showler - beautifully illustrated Art prints and postcards

Trunk Reclaimed - Makers of bespoke furniture from reclaimed wood

HERE'S HOW IT WORKS

Any type of independent business or even if you have a favourite one you love to support you can join in.

If you have a blog, please write a short post mentioning and linking to three or so independent businesses  you follow, buy from or just plain admire. You can of course link to your own business if you want to. Its all about building up the traffic to help people find our businesses.

Leave a comment below with a link to your blog so we can all pop over and take a look. It would be really great if you would link back to this post.

and/or

Tweet about the independent businesses you are supporting and mentioning the hashtag #IndependentsDay

and/or

Link or share this or your own post on your Facebook page and encourage others to share

and/or

Link up your business below

You don't have to be an independent business to get involved or have a blog. Comments, tweets and Facebook mentions will all help enormously.

How Low Maintenance are you ?

It occurred to me today as I was "putting on my makeup" I use that term loosely as I am not, and have never been big on wearing makeup, and that actually I really am very low maintenance.  I thought it might be fun and probably quite shocking for some people, to see the contents of my makeup bag.  People like MostlyYummy might not want to look at this post.  I  feel for sure she will be horrified !

I have never been a girly girl although I have tried in the past.  I remember the red lipstick day.  EVERYBODY was wearing red lipstick  with smokey eyes and pale skin.  Luscious, red slashes across their face making them look glamorous and grown up.  Me ?  I just looked liked Coco the clown, and it stained my bloody lips.  I couldn't get it off for about two days.  Comments of " have you cut your lip ?"  and  "Have you been eating an ice lolly ? "

What ! Too much ?

Then there were the good old 1980's when it was really cool to wear blue eye liner with pink eyelids.  I can do this one I thought.  The blue actually looked OK with my blue eyes.  It was probably the blue mascara that was a touch too far !  At the time I was living with a man who thought every evening after work had to start in the local pub (in those days you could still smoke in them too). 
The result ?  Eyes watering so badly from sitting amongst the smokers trying to look grown up and sophisticated but actually having rivers of blue running down my cheeks.  I looked like my blue eyes were in fact melting !

Or the time the same man decided we would stay over in London after going to the theatre.  Being the low maintenance girl I was I only had a Tampax and a pink blusher in my handbag.  Result , Blusher on my cheeks, lips and eyelids the next morning.  I thought I looked OK swanning out of a five star hotel in my evening clothes, killer heels and pink panther face.  The staff on the other hand just gave each other knowing sideways looks.  Another businessman with his hooker!

Anyway, so here are the contents of my makeup bag (look away MostlyYummy) .  Makeup bag is actually one of those in flight pouch things you are given when you fly first class with British Airways!  Not me of course, stolen from my mother's house.  She has cupboards full of them. 

Contents :

Big silver thing at the top - retractable blusher brush another donation from mothers house

Gold thing underneath -  is actually a touche eclat I picked up at the airport on my way out on honeymoon ! yep, it is actually nearly 9 yrs old.  Didn't work for me, just made me look like Donald Trump with big white patches around my eyes.  Can't bring myself to throw it away ! It was SO expensive.

Pretty red round tin - Cherry lip gloss included in the goody bag from the first Cybermummy I think.  Do use it sometimes but just end up licking the sticky stuff off.

Lacura Blusher and Mascara - best value makeup that suits my pocket

Teeny pencil - my grey eyeliner, how Small can YOU go ?

Blue Shark pencil sharpener stolen from the twins, AND it still sharpens the eye pencil !

That's it.  What do you think, can you improve on my low maintenance makeup bag ?

http://mostlyyummymummy.com/