In which a not very girly mummy blogger reviews some dresses...

I'm 52 and not glamorous. If you are a regular reader or follow me on social media you will know that I'm more about scrunging around in jeans and a geek T shirt than being girly. In fact I'm more likely to be seen wearing a a super hero costume than a dress!

But when I saw the JD Williams range (you may have seen some of their recent TV adverts)

I was tempted by the maxi dresses. JD Williams sent me two dresses to try. One was a hippy style swishy handkerchief hemmed summer dress from the Joe Brown's range. It will be perfect for summer days and festivals, easy to slip on and elasticated at the waist the size 14 fitted perfectly.

The straps are adjustable too so you can choose how high to wear the top...and also alter the length, although as the dress is only down to mid calf that's not an issue for me.

You can see how swishy the dress is, the viscose hangs so softly, and the colours are lovely, bright on a navy background.

The second dress is a longer maxi dress, in a striking black and navy pattern on a white background. Perfect for days out or something more formal. Not a festival dress but nice for sitting around a beer garden and it would look lovely at a wedding.

Again the straps are adjustable so that the dress can be adjusted by a couple of inches, on me the dress skims the ground. The straps just tie at the shoulder, so I think once you've sorted the bow you'd be wise to pop a stitch through the ensure they don't come untied at an inopportune moment!

The dress is loose and really comfy but the size 14 is fairly snug at the top, even with my tiny boobs! So if you are a well endowed lady this might not be the dress for you. I'd suggest ordering a size larger that your usual size in this dress anyway.

Of course there are loads of others to choose from, and if I were off to any weddings this year (I'm not) then I think I'd take a look, I like a dress that is formal, but not too formal, you know, the sort of dress that fashion bloggers say will 'go from day to night' ...not that many people ever do that, but could be useful on holiday if you were short of packing space.

I'm really happy with the service from JD Williams and with the range of dresses and shoes they have on offer (Note to self - you do not need more shoes!)  As a 'woman of a certain age' it's nice to see a good selection of fashions that are neither 'too young' nor 'too frumpy'. Take a look at the website and see what you think.

I apologise for the awkward looking model in these photos (me).

I was sent two dresses to review but have received no payment for this post and the words and ideas for it (along with the dodgy photos) are all mine.

To see the dresses on professional models check out the JD Williams website.

And let me know what you think of my choices by commenting below.

Premium quality dog food put to the test by my premium quality dog

Guess what Fizz has been up to this week! She has had the best dog chore after testing dog beds, yes she's been dog food tasting!

We were lucky enough to be sent a variety of flavours from the Webbox wet dog food range to try out and review. I let Fizz do the trying out and then I wrote the review - I felt it was best that way around, although maybe less entertaining for you, the reader.

When Fizz arrived with us over a  year ago she was incredibly fussy. Despite our careful planning and searching for the best dog food, she often went a whole day without eating and even then would only try a mouthful or two, because how does a human judge what the best dog food is? I can't taste test it myself! Luckily we finally found a quality dog food she liked. Gluten free and full of meaty goodness she was happy to eat Butchers complete, and later we added some James Wellbeloved gluten free kibble. Now she has a mix of those and enjoys them. So how would she take to a new food? A new taste?

I had a look at the ingredients first of course, because only the best dog food for Princess Fizz. Webbox Natural food is free from wheat gluten, and is a complete dog food (you don't need any supplements or extra mixers) . It has no colours or preservatives added either, so it lives up to the 'natural' name. It looks almost exactly like paté too - so careful not to confuse it and spread it on a baguette.

According to the feeding guide wee Fizz could have up to one and a half of the little pots a day, but I'm not so sure, and she doesn't want to get tubby, so we stuck to just one and some snacks from the Natural Treat bar range. (in the image below she's having half a tray for breakfast)

The wet food foil trays will be great to take away when travelling and camping as the trays are small and light, and using a whole one in a day they will be better than big tins for little Fizz.

The treat bars are gluten free too and are 50% meat. they look a bit like protein bars! (do not feed them to your OH if they annoy you....they might like them) They are quite hard but you can cut them with a knife, Fizz had an inch as a chunk to chew and she really liked it. It took her a while to chew it all up but like the brave soul she is, she soldiered on and ate it all.

She was suitably impressed with the Duck Paté too, snuffling it all down very quickly and licking her bowl to check she hadn't left any. Other flavours include Salmon, Lamb, Chicken and Beef.

So Fizz is happy to give Webbox Natural wet food a ten out of ten for tastiness, and the treat bars score highly too. They include the super festive flavour Chicken with Duck and Cranberry.

I'm happy to give it ten out of ten too. It looks nice, is easy to serve up and being a complete food it's nice to know that that's all you need to serve up to keep your dog happy and healthy.

Exhausted from all the eating

You can buy Webbox dog foods (the paté foil trays are 65p) and treats at Morrisons, Asda, Ocado, Tesco and Sainsburys, and even online via Amazon.

I was sent product free of charge for the purposes of the review but have received no other compensation and all views are my own (and Fizz's)

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott - Goodreads review

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Ok so, despite my snarky comments during the listen (I bought the audio book) I have given this book 4 stars.

Spoilers from here on

The reason I gave the book 4 stars is because the writing is charming (dear lord I have fallen into the March girls' way of speech!) The book itself is hideously moral in tone and terribly preachy at every turn, at one point Louise May Alcott actually suggests her reader may have fallen asleep during one of her little homilies, so even she is aware!

As an educational pamphlet for the young lady of the age I'm sure this book would have been wonderful. There are numerous top tips about gloves, ribbons, keeping skirts clean in the mud and bonnet adornment on the cheap.

The girls do however seem convinced that they are 'poor' which seems to translate as 'lower middle class with only one servant'. Poor Hannah, despite being a perfect dear with the children, seems to have no time to have a family of her own.

Beth's death scene, promised since about chapter 4 and yet not actually happening until near the end of the book, was a blessed relief for us all. Much was made of her saintliness and goodness, but as she barely rose from the sofa after chapter 5 I'm not sure what naughtiness anyone expected from her. I was absolutely thrilled when she finally popped off.

Amy remained my favourite daughter, Meg was far too smug, Jo tried far too hard to be 'boyish' and Beth was in bed.

The only highlight for me was when Prof. Bhaer proposed to Jo in a touching scene in the rain. Maybe I was swayed by an older bearded man proposing to an unconventional girl in odd circumstances (wink) who can say but I did feel a drop of moisture rise into my eyes. Sadly this was instantly dashed by him asking her to wait a year due to some obscure reason that made no sense at all.

The book ended on a delightful note with everyone either dead, married or otherwise happy. And Jo able to be both suddenly feminine but also able to indulge in her odd obsession with young boys.

The writing and language was lovely, the plot could have been fun but was spoiled by the obsession with gloves and morals.


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Random Acts of Unkindness - Goodreads review

Random Acts of Unkindness by Jacqueline Ward

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


There were things that annoyed me in this book. The repetition of the main character "what if it was your child" to everyone she meets who has a child...maybe that's realistic but as a reader it just feels lazy, yes we get it, your child missing is horrendous, we are reading all about it, we don't need a regular prod to imagine it's us. The bit about the shoulder blade (see previous update comment) grates a bit with me and there were some other bits too 'baby left on a doorstep' vs 'baby left in a phone box' which was it? Don't jump between the two phrases, it's a crime story, facts need to be precise. And the ending was annoying and inconclusive. Maybe because this is the first in a series but even within a series I like my books to be able to stand alone. The actual (enormous) crime did seem strangely ignored when it was finally discovered. Not much seemed to be made of police officers being murdered, or of the main crime scene when in reality surely newspapers would have been all over it and doing plenty of probing of their own regardless of the police.

That said, the story was interesting, very emotional at times (witness my red rimmed eyes and public crying face) The links to real missing child stories and the interweaving of the fictional parents was good. In general the writing was clear and pacey, if you like crime thrillers you'd enjoy this and I hope that as she writes more Jacqueline will get into her stride. I look forward to reading more about our flawed heroine and the team.



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Gross books for gross kids

OK the title to this post is a tad misleading. While the books may be gross I don't think kids are, but they do all seem to go through phases of being fascinated with things that, as adults, we have been conditioned to see as 'not nice' or 'not to be talked about' so it's a jolly good thing that some books are around that cover these subjects to help us squeamish adults cope with life, and kids.

I have just been rereading Snuff: (Discworld Novel 39) (Discworld Novels)by Sir Terry Pratchett and Vimes's son Sam is fascinated with poo and dirt throughout the book, which made me think about children's books that we had loved..

So here are my suggestions for 'gross books' based on books that DD had a smaller person, and that we both really enjoyed, because you know what? Poo IS funny!

Dr Dog - Babette Cole
A book about a family dog that happens to also be a Dr. He struggles with his family as they are rather silly and at times quite disgusting, sharing hairbrushes, scratching their bums and farting far too loudly. Along the way Dr Dog teaches small children some hygiene tips and gives us all a laugh, he also gets rather exhausted...poor Dr Dog

Drop Dead - Babette Cole
Another book by the same author looking at the stark fact that however exciting and wonderful (or not) our lives may be, we will all suffer the same fate in the end and just Drop Dead. Tackled with love and humour this is a funny book for small children. It only tackles death due to old age, and does have a weird reincarnation hint at the end, but is simple and funny. As always with Babette's books the artwork is lovely.

The story of the little mole who knew it was none of his business -
This was bought for DD when she was small and soon became a firm favourite at bedtime. A mole finds himself in the unfortunate position of being pooed upon. Having poor eyesight he is not sure of the culprit so he sets off to find out, and to exact his revenge. On the way he explores many types of poo. Poo lovers will enjoy this book, and will find it invaluable on trips to farms to help identify poop.

Here Comes the Poo Bus - Andy Stanton
A Bus is coming to take the insects to the seaside! The bus is made of poo so who could resist? A totally gross story in rhyme of a trip to the seaside, some laugh out loud moments, some truly horrible illustrations and a rather dark ending make this a hilarious read for all!

There are many other poop themed books for small children, but I cannot say I have read them all!
Books about Poop

But what about wee I hear you ask! I'm glad you raised that point!

Why not have a read of :

Father Christmas needs a wee -Nicholas Allan
In which Father Christmas tries to deliver presents before he goes to the loo. Any child who has hopped about declaring they don't need the loo yet will be able to appreciate Santa's predicament...will he be in time? Read this rhyming book out load for tense chuckles and to find out the answer! But don't laugh too hard!

I want my Potty! (Little Princess)  -
Any parent who has run through the house with a potty will  be cringing along with the story in this book. The Princess needs her potty, but where is it? and where is she? Who is in charge and can they get the potty to her before it's too late?

Mummy Laid and Egg - Babette Cole
And last but by no means least - my favourite book ever about sex. A manual for everyone, from 3 years and up. Take care with the ways 'mummies and daddies fit together' some of the ways are not for the faint hearted...or those with poor balance. The perfect book to teach children where babies come from.

Have I missed any books that you love that are slightly (or even very) gross? Do let me know in the comments.

Meanwhile I'm off to read my book (yes I really have a copy, and yes it is full of glossy photos of poo)

Post contains Amazon affiliate links - if you buy a book via these links I get a small percentage, and it costs you nothing.

The Guardians of Oz - DVD Review

What happened after Dorothy went back to Kansas with Toto? How did the Tin man, Lion and Scarecrow get on with being rulers of Oz? Was Eveline the Wicked Witch of the West really gone for good?

This cartoon introduces us to a small flying monkey, one of the very flock that scared us in the original movie, though this little fellow is far from scary. In a land of magic, it's no surprise that witches don't always stay 'melted' and when Eveline commands her flying monkeys to search for her hidden magic, trapped safely inside a broom, things get complicated.

I really enjoyed this film, although it's obviously aimed at kids. There is a fair bit of fighting, dungeons and chases, which may or may not be to your taste (I know some small boys are over keen to emulate movies!) but the plot is the usual good vs evil one, with the added problem that one of the flying monkeys is questioning the whole 'follow orders even if they are bad', thing....

There are nods to other movies throughout and I enjoyed spotting them, of course my favourite was this nod to Deadpool as a search was underway...

Though this little reminder of Monty Python and the Holy Grail made me snigger too..."is it behind the rabbit?"

Harry Potter was evoked in the flying broom chases, and even King Kong got a look in - I'm sure there are lots more - I'll leave you to spot them all.

It's a fun family movie, made all the better for the total lack of musical numbers (in my opinion) and while it might help to have seen the original Wizard of Oz, it's not essential.

The Guardians of Oz is out on DVD from 13^th February.

See the trailer here

Disclosure : I was sent a copy of the DVD for the purposes of this review

Teen gift idea and Printed Sweatshirt Review

Finding something for a teen for Christmas is always tough. Partly as we live in an age of having much more than we need, and partly as teens have money to get what they want when they want it, and so many things that were 'saved for christmas' or your birthday when I was a kid are now just seen as essentials and bought during the year.

Unless you are the sort of parent that buys £600 phones as gifts (I'm not) you'll probably be looking at Christmas albums (interesting aside, vinyls are now outselling downloads, so maybe getting a retro record player should be on your list!), maybe books by their favourite reality stars (DD was thrilled to receive a signed copy of Hannah Hart's book for her birthday this year) or clothes.

I've heard some people say that clothes aren't a real gift. And I sort of see where they are coming from with that, obviously getting a new school skirt or some plain grey socks might not cut it, but clothes that you wouldn't normally buy yourself might be just the thing, especially if they can be personalised.

Don't worry I'm not suggesting you get your teen a T shirt with their name on like you did when they were 4,  but there are things that only you know about your teen that can make a T shirt or sweat shirt into a rather fun gift. Teens like slogan tops (so I have been told by my own teen who recently pinched my 'Nothing But Tea' T shirt, a slogan that amuses her as she's teetotal) and so why not have one specially printed?

I've always thought T-shirt printing places (the online kind, not the seaside 'I'm with Stupid' kind) were for promotional brand stuff or for teams, maybe if a group of you are going to run a marathon, or hang out as a hen group in the town, but they can be used to print individual stuff too, and they are not as pricey as you'd think.

Garment Printing make printed T shirts and sweatshirt and other things too, and the prices are around £24 for a single printed T shirt  inc. delivery and all set up and design help. (of course if you ARE running a marathon as a team then it gets cheaper per item if you order more). Standard delivery is 7-10 days but they provide an express service, and can print and deliver next day if you've left it late.

You can choose your base colour and then decide if you want a picture, logo or other design and if there is any text you fancy.

"Yes mum I cleaned my room!"

"I'll be back whenever"

"My parents made me wear this, to keep my kidneys warm" ~~ seriously considering this for the future!

"Can you lend me £10"

or one of many other well known teen and family phrases.

Garment printers have a team of designers who will make a mock up of the design and send you an image to approve. When they made the one they sent me for review I let them pick the font though I supplied the image, and it works really well, DD loves it, but you can do the design however you want. Once the design is approved, the garment is made and delivered.

DD Can't even think straight

DD and I are really pleased with the quality too. The sweatshirt is nice thick material, it feels llike a quality product. It wears well and has washed well too. The print doesn't fade or peel. I'm really happy with it.

So for a fun teen gift (or for anyone really) why not consider unleashing your sarcastic wit on an unsuspecting T shirt or sweatshirt. Garment printers have a best price promise and will confirm your quote in 5 minutes. (and with a 20% discount for charities - if you are planning doing any fund raising in 2017 as a new years resolution, they'd be a great company to work with)

Best advert for this company I think is DD who has barely taken the sweat shirt off since it arrived! (so it has been washed several times!)

Halloween Fun, Fear and Fancy Dress

Halloween has become a proper mishmash of cultures and ideas since it all started. And who even knows when it all began? The celebration seems to have started around the ancient Gaelic festival of Samhain, a sort of harvest festival linked to the collecting of crops and the slaughter of animals for winter, the Celts also linked this time of year to a thinning of the walls between the worlds, where spirits may pass.

Later, half stolen by the church (as so many pagan festivals were) it became All Hallow's Eve, the eve of All Saint's Day (hallowed meaning holy) and All Saints day a day to honor the saints. Of course people liked to cling on to the superstitions and fears of the past too, so spirits and the departed were caught up in it all over again.

The idea of dressing up seems to stem from the Scottish tradition of guising, where children dress as the dead and perform entertainments in exchange for apples, cake and nuts. In Americia this has become trick or treat with vague threats for those households not giving treats to those dressed up!

The Day of the Dead in Mexico (Dia de Muertos)  also occurs around this time so it is of no wonder that it too is stirred into the melting pot of myth, magic, respect and fears of the dead in costume and decoration, though it's origins are slightly different.

Zombie Bride

In the US trick or treat costumes have totally moved away from those of the dead or of scariness, with people dressing as cowboys, cartoon characters and animals. But in the UK we still look to scare or at least cause a squeak of surprise with our costumes, drawing from around the world with vampires and werewolves from Eastern Europe, mummies from Egypt, voodoo and zombies from Haiti, ghouls, wraiths, goblins, ghosts and skeletons. (and even killer clowns!)

Spider Ghoul - guaranteed to give you nightmares

While I won't be attending a halloween party this year I do plan on greeting the trick or treaters that visit the house in costume!

Stop staring at my coccyx!

There is no excuse not to look fabulous while terrifying if you pop over to the Morphsuits website and check out the amazing costumes. This year I will be wearing the gorgeous Sugar Skull suit, with a mask of course. But there are many frightening suits to choose from. How about a clown costume? A monster? an alien?

What would you choose?

Pop over to Facebook and let me know - or let Morphsuits know! and visit me on twitter to see me in the suit on halloween.

You still have plenty of time to choose and buy a suit - prices start at  £9.99 and they have suits and fancy dress costumes for all shapes and sizes, adults and children.

I was sent a Sugar Skull Morphsuit in exchange for this post. And for reference, I'm a size 12/14 and the ladies large is slightly too big on me! So while there is extra room for pumpkin pie and sweets, you might be better buying a medium if you are a 12.

Cool Wood Watch from Jord - Review

It seems that, barring a late burst of heat, summer is almost over. I love the summer and am sad to see it go. Cooler days and darker nights can be a come down after the sunny days of August so to cheer myself up I feel I should update my wardrobe a bit. I can't help but feel that the autumn me needs a new look, some new colours and a swish new style.

I've always loved natural colours and brown shades, so I should embrace that autumn look I think, with some new oversized jumpers and some long brown boots, perfect for tramping through the woods and along the seashore.

Luckily the lovely people at Jord Watches are here to help. They sent me a unique watch in Koa wood and rose gold, with just enough sparkle to lift the inevitable gloom that winter will bring.

I live close to the coast and adore a beach walk, and while I'm bemoaning the loss of summer I will really enjoy those last golden evenings of autumn after the holiday makers have returned home where I can wander alone with my dog, looking out to sea and of course, watching the time on my lovely wooden watch.

The Koa and Rose Gold Cora watch I have for review is simply beautiful. Taking the best of natural colours and combining them with stunning craftmanship. I've always admired skeleton watches, and this one, with automatic movement (encouraging me to wear it daily and keep active - who needs a fitbit! I need to move to keep my watch wound!) is really gorgeous.

The Cora watch is slightly heavier than the Ely (battery) watch I reviewed before, due to the mechanism, but it's not a heavy watch, the wood has very varied tones which I think add to it's charms. Cora is available in other colours - all very pretty.

Have a look at the great range of women's watches. (Prices start from $129 with free shipping worldwide!)

Delivery time from America is remarkably fast, and the staff at Jord are really helpful in sorting out what you need, you can even send a note of your wrist size and have the watch strap sized for you before it's sent.

Disclosure : This post was sponsored by Jord Wood Watches

(I was sent the Cora watch free of charge in exchange for this review)

My Wraps - Wearable Headphones Review

My daughter, like many teens, lives with her headphones in her ears, listening to the soundtrack of her life on her phone.

I am a more discerning listener, by which I mean I listen less frequently than she does. Because of this I'm forever forgetting my headphones or finding them tangled and/or broken and useless at the bottom of my bag. When I was sent a set of My Wraps headphones to review I realised I may have finally found the solution!

My Wraps are headphones designed to be worn around the wrist like a trendy bracelet. They come in various colours and even with wooden beads, but the brown suits my style perfectly, nestling comfortably alongside my wooden watch and other bracelets.

They look so good on that I actually wore them for 3 days before I tested them as headphones! They work fine as headphones of course, and I don't lose them and have not been able to tangle them either. They are my new favourite thing, never again will I be trapped on the bus unable to watch a hilarious Youtube clip because there at my wrist will be the answer to my needs! From now on - I'll be wearing my sound.

They are really easy to put on, just wrapping around your wrist (even my skinny one) and then the jack slips into the silicone grip on the earphone end.

My Wraps start at £14.99  for the basic colours, but they are available in leather or beaded too. Perfect for men or women they are available in various colours to suit your mood or style.

They would make a perfect gift for the fashion conscious teen or the forgetful parent :-) Buy some for every outfit!

Specs for Classic Wraps…
Anti-Tangle Fabric
Includes S, M & L Silicon Tips
20Hz – 20kHz Frequency Response
10mm Dynamic Speakers
3.5mm Gold Plated Jack
80dB/1mW Sensitivity
16 Ohms Impedance

Disclosure - I was sent the wraps free of charge for the purposes of this unbiased review.

Camp Bestival 2016 - out of this world

I have been going to Camp Bestival with DD since 2010 when I first head about about it. Every years there are new things to surprise us. For several years the Dingly Dell was a quiet arty location but lately it has been full of excitement and fun and extreme tree climbing for example!

The lovely layout with fields of different types lends itself to discovery and for some reason we seem to spend most time in the same field for most of the festival, though the field we pick has varied by year! This year we spent a lot  of time in the main castle field, and in the lower kids field.

A highlight for DD and for me too was Mr Motivator on the main stage, getting an entire field of adults and children alike, swinging our arms and leaping around to music. Dick and Dom were as chaotic as always with plenty of laughs for the children and innuendo for the adults, once again they made a small child cry on stage (which always makes DD and I feel bad when we giggle).

Fatboy Slim's set was a triumph and quite possibly my favourite act of the weekend.

Though Mr B the Gentleman Rhymer and his 'chap hop' was certainly a contender for most fun set of the weekend.

This year the theme was Space and so our fancy dress Saturday costumes were R2D2 and a StormTrooper. The fancy dress costumes and buggy pimping just get better year after year and this year my Morphsuit costume, while wonderful, was put to shame by a real stormtrooper! and even Chewbacca on a rare day off.

Me as a Stormtrooper

An actual Stormtrooper

Chewbacca

The theme didn't put me off wearing my Deadpool Morphsuit though, and so one day was made more surreal as Deadpool met the Clangers, and Camp Bestival does do surreal very well, with giant spacemen too!

The food was great, plenty of simple choices for small children (and fussy teens!) and more fancy fayre in the  Feast Collective tent. 

As always the end of the festival was marked by an amazing firework display around and even on, the castle.

Some people have remarked that for 4 days it's an expensive festival. But I honestly think you get value for money. If you look at how much you would pay to go to a circus, watch several well known bands, see comedians, meet the Clangers, go to a movie (we watched Pete's Dragon, the new Disney movie 2 weeks before it's UK release date!!) as well as have a camping pitch I think you'll see you are getting a bargain.

Saturday Morning Pictures Camp Bestival Style - in the Big Top

Tickets for next year are already on sale! Why not take advantage of the payment plan and spread the cost over the year. (from as little as £5 a week)

Disclosure : I was invited to attend the festival for free in exchange for promotional blog posts and an honest review, but in previous years I've been happy to pay!