Lostmy.name Personalised Books Review

Posted on August 6, 2014 by Jocelyn Reading

We read a lot of books here, and I love choosing new books with Boo and Little Man. It’s my greatest area of weakness, truth be told, as I can never resist them asking me for a new book, and so budgeting always goes out the window! And when it comes to their birthdays and Christmas, they’ll always have a book each. I was on the lookout for special books for both of them, as their birthdays are just around the corner, when LostMy.Name got in touch with me and offered me a chance to review their personalised books.

I popped over to their website, and was immediately sold on them!

The illustrations looked so beautiful and I loved the premise for the story – the child has lost their name, so the pages take us through finding each letter to make up the name. The video that they have on their website explains it all…

When you click to ‘create your own special book’, it’s an easy 3 step process. Pop in your child’s name, select their gender, and then click preview. You’ll be able to see every page of their book then and buy it if you want it. Fast and effective, I liked this part! I then received an email confirming that my books were being created, and they then arrived around a week later…

Love them! Yep, totally love them. They feel so sturdy, with thick, quality paper, and the matt illustrations are adorable.

The books are around A4 size, and are aimed at children aged 2-6 years old. If you’ve a child with a very short name, there are filler pages to pad the story out. Boo’s name is 5 letters long which makes for a good story, and then Little Man’s is 9 letters long, so his book’s a little heftier! His name has a letter repeated in it, but there are variations on each letter, so he has no duplicate pages. The story’s all come together and flow perfectly.

At £18.99 (with free worldwide shipping) they’re not the cheapest of personalised books, but they are gorgeous keepsakes, and the quality of the book absolutely lives up to the price tag. They are books to be enjoyed, magical tales to be spun and treasures to keep. I cannot wait to see the kids’ reactions when they open these on their birthdays now. I couldn’t have hoped for more special birthday books for them.

I have 3 15% discount codes available now. Let me know if you’d like one by midnight 13th August 2014, by way of commenting here or over on social media, and I’ll then select 3 people at random to receive them.

Disclosure: I received these books FOC for the purposes of this review. As ever, all words and opinions remain my own.

Eccentric Fox Review and Discount Code

Posted on August 6, 2014 by Jocelyn Reading

Today I’m bringing you a shop full of papery beauties! Probably best if you look away now, actually, fellow stationery-geeks, as I’m pretty certain that once you see what there is, you’ll be over there ordering! Fortunately for you, as I know you’ll still be peeking, I do have an exclusive one week only discount code, so you can keep reading safe in the knowledge that you’ll be getting yourself a bargain anyway

Eccentric Fox, run by the lovely Zoe, stocks such wares as notebooks, stickers, paper and washi. I was fortunate enough to receive a bundle myself for my snail mailing…

It’d be fair to say I was delighted with my post the day that this arrived!

I’ve not bought packs of craft paper before like this, for letter-writing, but I am now converted. The designs are just so pretty, and I love the idea of choosing different pieces for each sheet of paper. The quality, as it’s used for crafting, is very good, as they are quite thick and sturdy and lovely to write on. The only problem I’ve had with them is deliberating over which patterns to use and send! The fabric brads are so pretty, and I’m always on the lookout for new little treats to send to my pen pals, so these will make a lovely surprise. And then I have the stamp stickers, which are just so sweet. I always like to decorate the envelope with a sticker or two and often a little washi, too, so these are a very welcome addition to my letter writing box.

A few of Zoe’s favourites and best sellers from the shop include these papery delights: (click on images for links through to the shop)

Nice, yes?!

Now, I promised a discount, didn’t I? Well, you can get 10% of everything in the shop, until midnight 12th August 2014, with the code ‘BringBackPaper’ – happy shopping!

Disclosure: I received stationery FOC for the purposes of this review and post, though all opinions and words remain my own

Bubble Buster Kazoo Review & Give-Away

Posted on August 5, 2014 by Jocelyn Reading

We’ve been putting a Drumond Park game to the test here, Bubble Buster Kazoo, perfect for garden play in all of this lovely weather we’ve been having..

This perfect ‘run-around’ game will have little ones jumping for joy amid squeals of excitement and laughter!

Gameplay is simple: Each child pops as many bubbles as they can in thirty seconds. One player takes the kazoo bubble blower and creates wonderful streams of beautiful bubbles complete with cool sound accompaniments. The other player dashes around bursting as many bubbles as he or she can with a well aimed, purposeful prod of the smiley, two-pronged wand.

When the time is up, the smiley wand plays a short, triumphant tune and it’s time for the children to swap over. The oh-so-clever magic wand keeps track of both scores and announces the winner at the very end of the game. Sheer magic and wonder… especially through a child’s eyes!

This is a really straight forward game to play, takes only a couple of minutes to prepare as you pour some bubbles mixture into the tray provided, and is nice and small to store away, too, which is always a real plus point for me. The premise of it being based around blowing and chasing bubbles is great, as what child doesn’t like playing with bubbles?! As you blow the kazoo, out come plenty of bubbles along with it making a noise, so I’d say Boo probably favours this part, though she does give a good chase when she’s got to burst the bubbles, too. The happy little smiley wand there is light and small enough for little hands, and makes a noise when it makes contact with a bubble and bursts it. To be honest, that part was a little trickier for her, at 4, as she was more about hitting the bubbles exuberantly, than ensuring the sensor touched them! Not that she cared and not that it mattered at all to her enjoyment of the game…

‘The perfect run-around game’ is so apt a description for this game! Boo throws herself into it with total gusto as she leaps around the garden chasing the bubbles enthusiastically. It’s brilliant for getting her to burn some energy off, and she loves blowing the bubbles, too..

It”s a fun and simple garden game. A nice one to bring out and get the kids running about and giggling within seconds, and it’s easy to put away again after they’ve finished!

It’s definitely one we’ve enjoyed and the kazoo is a really good bubble-blower, so that alone has kept Boo entertained long after we’ve deserted her and stopped chasing the bubbles she’s blowing! It’s a nice summer buy, and an inexpensive one, too, at just under £10, and one that keeps coming out here, day after day.

I’ve got one Bubble Buster Kazoo game up for grabs now, available to UK entrants only. To be in with a chance of winning it, simply use the rafflecopter below. Competition closes 31st August 2014 – good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: We received a Bubble Buster Kazoo game FOC for the purposes of this review, but all words and opinions remain my own.

The Blog Lowdown – At Home With Mrs H

Posted on August 5, 2014 by Jocelyn Reading

Today on The Blog Lowdown, I’m delighted to be hosting Louise from At Home With Mrs H….

Please Introduce yourself:
My name is Louise and I live in rural Greater Manchester with my husband and two boys who are in year one and year two at school.

When did you start blogging?
I began my blog, At Home With Mrs H in May 2012. It has finally formed into its current state after name changes, which lost me followers I think, and the various reasons I started it in the beginning. I used to take part in regular craft events selling some things I made, but I never earned much money and had the time possible for it, so I decided to spend the time I did have making things for myself, friends and family. It evolved into me just liking the idea of rambling on about stuff as opposed to my Facebook page which I had at the time. I deleted my account last summer and I sooo do not miss it! I prefer that people visit and interact with my blog, even though my traffic numbers are low, instead of a Facebook account where I seemed to get so wrapped up with the lives of people, who frankly, I didn’t want to bother with.

Tell us a little about your blog
I love sharing my baking, I get withdrawl symptoms if I don’t bake regularly, and making projects and just chatting about things which interest me.

Who designed your blog?
I designed my blog! It is not a professional blog in that I don’t earn any money from adverts or anything as my visitor numbers are not high enough for that. I guess it is a bit rough around the edges and sometimes I am so desperate to share something I have done or made that I make a little mistake and have to go back and do some editing! I change things here and there but am a bit scared that I will lose everything if I change the back ground or anything!

Which of your posts have been the most popular? Are there certain types that get more interest?
I have had some really successful posts and these were, I freely admit, mainly promoting somebody else! I took part in a blog hope for Ruth Clemens, she of The Pink whisk blog and Great British Bake Off fame, promoting her new Creative Eclairs book. I LOVE Pretty Nostalgic magazine and when they were in a spot of bother recently I did my bit to encourage support for them and then I was a guest blogger on Dormouse And The Teapot a blog which is run by a friend.

How do you promote your blog posts, and which methods do you find to be most successful?
As I said, I don’t have a Facebook account but I do have a Twitter account and tweet when I publish new posts.

Which linkys do you most enjoy joining in with/reading?
I don’t do linky tools or anything. I suppose I just rely on “tweet of mouth” which is fine by me. I have enjoyed Twitter much more than Facebook and discovered some wonderful blogs and correspondents.

When are your busiest days on the blog, and why? (if you know why!)
I don’t really have busy days with my blog because I just post when I think of something, have made something I would like to share or have something that I feel somebody might enjoy reading.

Can you name 3 things that blogging has brought you?
I enjoy blogging because the people who read and comment on my posts do so because they take the time to read and look at what I share so I guess the first thing it has brought me is the act of sharing interests. Secondly, blogging just gives me the chance to write, which I have always enjoyed doing now and then. I also feel interacting with other people through mine and their blogs definitely inspires to make and create different projects and find outlets for my creativity.

My Top Tips for Bloggers:
As for top tips with blogging, I think you just need to enjoy it, if you are not writing a blog to make money it can be a real fun thing to engage with. If I am including a piece of writing in one of my posts I always write about something I am interested in then I feel the passion shows in my words. Don’t feel pressured into writing about anything political, there are plenty of other platforms for that kind of thing.

My Social Media Links:
You can find me on Twitter and Pinterest. Hope you have had fun learning a little about my blog and maybe you’ll visit when you have chance to sit down with a brew and slice of cake some time.

Thanks very much, Louise. You’re so right about sharing interests, too – I’ve found many a kindred spirit through blogging!

If you’ve any questions for Louise, feel free to comment on this post, and she’ll pop by and check in. Next week, we will be hearing from Tanya at Mumaleary so be sure to pop by for that on Tuesday morning. You can catch up the previous posts from other bloggers here, too, if you’ve missed them.

If you’d like to feature on The Blog Lowdown, just email me at [email protected] to get involved.

To ensure you don’t miss any blogger posts, you can now sign up for my newsletter, and I’ll always include The Blog Lowdown round up in those.

Time For Take Off!

Posted on August 4, 2014 by Jocelyn Reading

The kids have been enjoying lots of free time, relaxed time, with no preschool and plenty of summery days when we are in no rush to be anywhere. As such, just after breakfast time now becomes a time for them to run about and do whatever they want to.

Boo has a wonderful imagination and loves making up stories and acting them out. The other day the pair of them played for quite some time at ‘holidays’ The living room became a caravan, which the poor dog was banned from (I had to intervene there and allow him in!) and the kitchen was the aeroplane. They’ve never been on an aeroplane, but maybe because Daddy had to fly to work earlier in the week, it was on Boo’s mind. They took luggage with them and here they are having their snack on it!

It’s so lovely to see them doing things like this. I can see how much my gorgeous Little Man is growing up, as he becomes totally engrossed in the game, too. And they remind me so much of my brother and I when we were young. It fills me with love as I find it all so totally endearing, pride that they get along so well, and excitement for them, as I know how great my childhood was with my little sidekick around!

Silent Sunday & Week 31 #Project52

Posted on August 3, 2014 by Jocelyn Reading

Our Conkers Adventure

Posted on August 2, 2014 by Jocelyn Reading

We were excited to be off to Conkers, outdoor pursuits centre, in the National Forest last weekend. We’d heard of it and often seen signs and leaflets for it, but this was to be our first foray and we were keen to find out what it was all about.

On entering, we were given a map and directed to a board sharing various activities on that day. On the day we visited, they had storytelling, pond dipping, gingerbread-man making and Forest Dwellers and Pirate Pat shows, as well as all of the normal attractions and activities. I was immediately impressed!

On entering, we took in the Discovery Centre….

There are lots of interactive exhibits about the world around us, from recycling and energy through to nature and wildlife. I found it fascinating, and though the children were a little young to appreciate it all, there was plenty there for their senses to take in. There’s also an Enchanted Forest play zone, with rope walks and slides, but it’s for slightly older children (though the Husband still enjoyed a good look round in there!)

We then had lunch in The Olive Tree Restaurant. They have both hot and cold meals, and a kids menu, and as well as the service and food being good, there was a little tree slide in there that kept the kids happy while waiting! After lunch, we headed out to explore outside, and this is where Conkers really comes into it’s own.

It’s in the National Forest, so all activities and trails aside, it’s beautiful. A place to stroll around and take in the nature around you, or run about like little crazy people in loads of space, as my children are wont to do. There are plenty of trails to keep you busy..

We headed to the Fairy Labyrinth…

As you walk round there are fairy signs for each month, a little like horoscopes, so we were looking eagerly for Boo’s as she wanted to see what hers would be like and was delighted that her ‘fairy symbol’ was a butterfly.

We then strolled a wildlife trail through the woodland, putting hands in boxes to discover what they held (I couldn’t really get past the whole Flash Gordon thing with this, so struggled, but the kids loved it!)

We took a train ride…

We loved the train! It’s quite a short journey, but it’s part of the ticket price, and the kids loved going on it. They run every 10 minutes, have room for pushchairs on the back and the drivers are really friendly. Little Man’s highlight would have to be the ConkerChoo!

The train took us to a fabulous playground, and as you can imagine, we spent a fair bit of time there, chasing both of the children around…

And my highlight of the day, we all took a Barefoot Walk..

Now, be prepared with this one. You do walk across stones so it will be uncomfortable! Boo put us to shame, just running around it all, whereas I was there yelping in parts! There is a little cabin to wash and dry your feet in at the end, but there’s only one little dryer that you’ll wait a while for on busy days, so take a towel to save you waiting.

We had a great day out there, though I’d say to make the absolute most of your time there, the kids would need to be a little older, as much of the Discovery centre went over Little Man and Boo’s heads, and some of the trails and activities were for older children. I can see it being a place that we’ll be returning to in a couple of years time, when they’re both that bit older, and we will definitely return as this is now on our list of brilliant places to visit! That said, there is plenty to do here for little ones, as you can no doubt see, I just want them to be old enough to every single part of it!

We visited Conkers as part of our Stay Play Explore pass. For £109, a family of four can stay at a 4* hotel in Leicestershire (we’ve yet to do this part but I will fill you in when we do), and choose to visit 3 great attractions from a list of 5, so we’ve been to Twycross Zoo, which we loved and I blogged about last week, and we’ll be going to Twinlakes Theme Park in a couple of weeks time. There are other breaks available, too, for family adventures, theme parks, and adults gourmet breaks, amongst others – take a look, they’re fab!

Disclosure: We received a Stay Play Explore Family Fun Break FOC for the purposes of this review, but as ever, all words and opinions remain my own.

Word of the Week – 1/8/14

Posted on August 1, 2014 by Jocelyn Reading

Thank you so much for continuing to share and to link up. I do love reading about everyone’s weeks!

If you’re new here, Word of the Week is a nice and simple weekly linky, with everyone welcome to pop by and share. You reflect back on the past week and sum it up in one word. Then share your word with us in a blog post, with as little or as much explanation as you like. Come join in! All that I ask is that if you link up, you link back to me, and visit as many of the other blogs as you can and comment on their words.

My word of the week this week is:

It’s been a great week for seeing family. We’re lucky enough to live near to my mum and my in-laws, so we always see them weekly, which isn’t something that I take for granted, but really value it as it’s lovely for the children. My sister-in-law also pops in to see us each week, and as it’s currently school holidays, the kids are having the added excitement of their big, oh-so-patient, cousins coming along with her. In addition to this, this last week, we’ve also seen my brother and his wife and had a visit from my dad, all of whom are dearly loved by the kids (as well as myself, of course!). And as if this wasn’t enough of their favourite people in one week, my aunt and my cousin were over from Belfast for a few days, and not only do they adore their great aunt, they’d not met my cousin before, and to say she’s been a hit is an understatement – they want her here all of the time now! Mix into all of this a few play dates with friends old and new, and the children have had a very happy week, and I’ve felt very sociable!

What about you? What one word sums up your week best? Please grab the badge, link up and share.

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Linky opens at 6.30am Friday, to midnight on Sunday.

PS – Don’t miss my ‘31 Days of Paper‘ starting over on Instagram today! One for book, snail mail and stationery fans!

CRU Kafe Review, Give Away & Discount Code

Posted on July 31, 2014 by Jocelyn Reading

When I was offered the chance to review CRU Kafe coffee pods, I literally jumped at the chance. The Husband loves coffee, loves it! His parents bought him a lovely Krups coffee machine for his birthday a few years back, and it’s possibly the best, certainly most used, gift he’s ever had! He needs that morning coffee, especially on those mornings after a night of broken sleep with the little ones. He was rather pleased to be trying CRU Kafe coffee out for me, so here’s what he thought and some more information about them…

Their website tells us a little about CRU Kafe…
We only use 100% high altitude Arabica coffee, meaning CRU’s beans boast complex flavours that result from the extremes of sunny hot days and cool, brisk nights. The outcome is a coffee unlike any other. You wont see cheap Robusta beans in our coffee either – which many commercial roasters use to bulk out cheaper blends.

CRU is partnered with some of the most specialised producers in areas recognised for growing the world’s best coffee, including an Ethiopian collective, a Peruvian cooperative, and a community estate in India. All of our partners employ traditional and certified organic farming methods, which means no nasty chemicals or fertilizers, no aggressive farming practices, and only 100% natural ingredients.

And so the lovely people at CRU Kafe sent us this…

They fit in the Krups machine perfectly. They are also recyclable pods, and the team at CRU Kafe are currently looking for ways to make them biodegradable.

And the taste? Hurrah, it’s good! It has a nice frothy top on it and it can be an espresso or a lungo. It tastes smooth, with a fruity undertone, and is a lovely way to start his day.

You can choose various subscription packages, with the right to cancel at any time, starting from 24 pods per month, for £10 including P&P.

I’m delighted to now have 2 great offers for you, in conjunction with CRU Kafe. I have an exclusive discount code, which entitles you to 20% off your first order placed with them, and can be redeemed until 31st August 2014. Simply use the code ‘JocelynLovesCRU‘ at checkout. AND, I’ve a give away- hooray!

The winner of the competition will have the choice between 1 kg of coffee beans or 60 pods according to whether they have a Nespresso machine or not. That’s a lot of lovely coffee up for grabs! If you’d like to be in with a chance, simply use the rafflecopter below. Open to UK entrants only, closes 25th August 2014. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: We received a free sample, for the purposes of this review, though all words and opinions remain my own (and the Husband’s)

My Dream Garden

Posted on July 31, 2014 by Jocelyn Reading

Oh, to dream. I meander around lots of beautiful gardens these days, with our National Trust days out, as well as enjoying my own and my mum’s. They lead me to daydream about my perfect garden. You know, the one you’d have if you won the lottery? If money and time were no barrier.

So, my dream garden? It’d look a little something like this…

I’d best start with the kids. They’re pretty small, but there’s nothing more that they love than to have huge amounts of space to run about in! So, I’ll need a very big lawn (the Husband can have one of those ride-on mowers as a treat here) and on and around it, they’ll have one of those great wooden playhouse structures, with climbing frames, swings, a slide, tunnels, lookout tower – the works! They’ll also have a trampoline, sandpit and plenty of garden games…

I’m thinking they might actually never come back inside!

So with one part neat lawn and crazy play area, then I can create the magical place that I want. It would start with archways, doorways and gateways, all covered in greenery and colour…

It would be walled. That’s a given, right?

And on entering, you’d be assailed by scents and blooms. It’d have an overgrown look, cottage garden at it’s best, with flowers drawing your eye at every single turn…

It would have winding pathways, secret areas and archways, taking you on a journey through, and for the kids to enjoy running around..

And central to it all, with a little bench for me, I think, I’d have to have a rose garden. You were waiting for me to mention, that, weren’t you?!

And then, add in a summer house for me to read, relax and write in, with a beautiful writing bureau in the corner, and I do believe I’m set.

Photos taken at National Trust’s Gunby Hall. Yes, I’d happily live there!

What would your dream garden be like? I’d love to know, so I’ve added a little linky to this post and am inviting you to come share with me. Linky is open until the end of this year, so you’ve a fair bit of time to daydream and blog it!

Visit The Reading Residence’s profile on Pinterest.