What Mama Wore // Lighthouse

My mama style has changed significantly since Dylan was born.  As I look around shops I have to think about what is practical as well as what looks good.  At the moment things need to be suitable for breastfeeding in, easy to throw on for early morning school runs and warm enough for standing around in the park.

A yellow coat has been on my wishlist for ages, I love the colour and with the daylight hours shrinking I like to feel a bit bright.  I couldn't resist this one from Lighthouse when they asked me to pick something and I just love it.  It is warm and light at the same time, more than just a raincoat but not a thick winter coat.  It keeps me dry when I can't hold an umbrella and I know Dylan can spot me when he runs out of his classroom after a day at school.

I pair it with everything, I think I have worn this coat everyday for the past few weeks.  I love Autumnal colours so I often have navy, browns and mustard colours on, but I firmly believe that yellow goes with everything!

Thanks to Lighthouse for sending me this beautiful coat, I need to check out the kids section next!

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What Mama Wore - Radley Bag

My pre-pregnancy clothes don't fit, my hair usually needs a wash, I often have a wet patch on my left shoulder that Cora just loves to lick and every morning when I dress myself I have to think about how practical my outfit is for breastfeeding in.  My wardrobe needs updating desperately but I keep putting it off with a 'I will start eating healthier / doing more exersize' and fit back into the jeans that tease me every morning when I open the doors.  When Radley offered me a new handbag, the obvious answer was yes!

Every Mama needs their own bag, something a bit more grown up than a baby bag, something without crumbled up rice cakes and empty nappy bags in the bottom.  We all deserve something that makes us feel good and this bag is it for me. 

Baby bits are banned, no wipes, no dummies, no toy cars and lego bricks.  This bag is for me and when the day comes where I can leave the house without a baby attached, this will be the bag that accompanies me and reminds me of all the things I am as well as a Mama.

For now it is kept high up so that no Playmobil people or plastic keys mysteriously find their way in.  It is kept baby free even when I want to quickly throw a nappy in there rather than open up the changing bag and it is looked after, kept special in anticipation of the day I leave Cora at home and venture out without her.

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Melijoe - Stella McCartney

You may have noticed by now that I love kids clothing, especially things a bit different to what you find on the high street and Stella McCartney's kids range is one of my newest discoveries.  I put together a polyvore with some of my favourite pieces available on Melijoe

Melijoe - Stella McCartney by beckygower on Polyvore

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Molo at Melijoe

You may have noticed that I have a bit of a love with scandinavian clothes and Molo create stunning photo print designs as well as some more simple pieces.  They don't come cheap, but they are sure to stand out, and the quality is superb.  All three of my boys have some Molo in their wardrobe, and I thought I would share some of my favourite pieces from the current autumn winter collection.

In fact, we have three out of these six already.  I love the simple star top with the sleeping animal trousers and watch this space as Finn has these ready to grow into.

Archie has the star jumper top centre and the simplicity combined with the quality make it perfect for the coming season.

I love the bird print at the bottom with the little pops of colour, and I would love the space themed ski jacket for one of the boys this coming winter - I can imagine it on Dylan.  The cars blanket is so different, and I know that all three of mine would love it.  Not only does it look cosy for Finn, but it is a great talking point for all three, discussing their favourites - bound to brighten up any buggy this winter!

Molo at Melijoe by beckygower on Polyvore

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Festive Fashion

The boys have plenty of Christmas parties lined up over the next month so we have been searching for the perfect Party outfits for them both.

It needs to be Smart,

It needs to be comfortable,

It  must be practical, well fitting and warm.

.

It should be a little trendy,

Protective whatever the weather,

And the boys need to look great separately and together.

Most of all it should be easy to wear, and they should love it as much as I do.

We were sent a £50 voucher for F & F at Tesco and managed to get all of this, with a little spare change

Archie:

T-shirt and Dungaree set (9-12 months) - £12

Dylan:

White Thermal T-shirt (from pack of 2) (3-4 years) - £6

Checked hooded shirt (3-4 years)- £8

Jeans (3-4 years) - £9

Brown Boots (size 7) - £13

There are some wonderfully smart outfits on there, but I wanted something practical for us and I think these outfits are just the right balance of smart, comfortable and Toddler-worthy.  I managed to dress both the boys for the party season, and still have a couple of pounds change which I was really impressed with.

We have already put the clothes to the test at a birthday party last weekend and the boys looked great, had no problems getting stuck in and had lots of fun.

What do you think? 

Disclaimer:  We were sent a £50 voucher for F&F kids parywear and this post is entry into a competition to win a further voucher (us mums need partywear too don't you know!  All thoughts, photos and opinons are my own

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Name It Clothing Review

I love boy's fashion and blogging has introduced me to so many amazing brands that I had previously never heard of.  There will always be space in the boy's wardrobes for some supermarket bargains but I love finding them something different which usually involves online shopping. 

I discovered the Swedish brand 'Name It' through Zalando earlier in the year and brought the boys some adorable fire engine vests.  When Name It contacted me a few weeks later, I couldn't wait to see what they would send me and I wasn't disappointed.  

Dylan was sent a pair of swimming shorts, some blue turn-up trousers and a checked shirt.  Archie has a pair of pyjamas, a blue T-shirt and a pair of jeans.  The quality of all the items is superb and they are really not that expensive at all - the same prices as you would pay at many high street stores.  

The pyjamas are soft and stretchy and I love Archie in them.  They wash well and haven't lost any of their shape.  The T-shirt is bright and the print is saying on perfectly.  The jeans are not the style I usually go for with Archie and they wouldn't fit a cloth nappy underneath but they are a great fit in a disposable.

Dylan's shirt and trousers look really smart and he wore them recently to a friend's wedding.  The shirt is soft and washes well and the trousers are perfect for this weather as they are quite thin yet seem hardwearing (as I need them to be with a toddler!)  The swimming shorts are a great fit and got plenty of use this summer at the beach.

I am really impressed with all of the items, they are great quality, wash well and the boys love wearing them.  Name It have some lovely stuff on their website and I am eyeing up a rocket tee an these gorgeous cord dungarees for their winter wardrobes.

Disclaimer:  I was sent these clothes free of charge for the purpose of this review,

but all thoughts and opinions are completely my own.

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Boots Mini Club Clothing Review

When I found out I was having a baby boy, I was over the moon.  I was also rather glad to be bypassing the pretty pink dresses and shopping for gorgeous dungarees and funky rock Tees.  I thought having a boy would save my pennies, but that couldn't be further from the truth, as there are so many gorgeous  clothes for little boys now.  One of my favourite places to shop for them is Boots and I was lucky enough to be send an outfit for each of the boys from their new season Mini Club to review.

The outfit that they sent for Dylan is not one I would usually have chosen.  I have never bought him cords before and tend to stick to a certain colour pallet, but as soon as I dressed him in this I was in love and it is on again as soon as it is comes out of the washing machine.  The cords look fun and are a great fit and the long sleeved T-shirt is super soft and keeps its shape well in the wash.  The shirt is my favourite part of the outfit and is something I would definitely have picked myself.  It looks great with everything and is perfect for this weather.  I have found that Dylan has quite a long body and I would have loved the shirt to be a couple of inches longer, but compared to other stores we have shopped in, this was the longest.

Dylan wears:
Shirt - Boots £12
Long sleeved top - Boots £5
Cords - Boots £11
Trainers - Clarks

Archie's outfit comprises of a vest with long sleeved top attached and jeans.  I am a huge fan of the integrated bodysuit as there is less fiddly clothes to try and put on a wriggly baby, but it still keeps them just as warm as two layers.  The top layer doesn't ride up as much and when it does Archie's little belly is covered.  The jeans look so cute and have a soft elasticated jogger style waistband for comfort and fit.  They are lovely and soft which is very important to me as Archie is in a sling often and needs clothes that give him flexibility. 

Hanging out with Aunty NatNat, Archie wears
Integrated polo bodysuit- Boots £8
Jeans - Boots £10
Socks - Boots from 3 pack  £4

Overall we are really impressed with the quality and fit of both these outfits.  The T-shirts are lovely and thick cotton, perfect for Autumn/winter and the trousers are clearly designed for babies and toddlers on the go.  Everything down to the socks (which were pretty cosy looking too) was a great fit on them both.  Dylan is 25 months/ 35lb and wearing age 2-3 and Archie is 7 months/19lb and wearing 6-9 months.  The trousers are generous in length (they are longer than they look in Archie's picture) and we haven't found any shrinkage after several washes with any of the items.

I have already bought from Boots Mini Club and I am eyeing up another hooded shirt for Dylan and some dungarees for Archie.

Disclaimer:  I was sent these outfits free of charge but all thoughts and opinions are completely my own.

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Base Kid's Fashion

Summer is meant to be on the way, and despite the grey clouds I have been busy planning the boy's summer wardrobes.

For Dylan it will be all about bright T-shirts and knee length shorts and Archie will be in rompers or dungarees.  Base asked me to take a look at their kid's range and I thought I would share my favourite pieces.

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Grown Up Style

I have spent a busy weekend sorting out my wardrobe, and painful as it was, I now have several bags of clothes to take to the charity shop.  It turns out that the last time I cleared out my wardrobe was quite some time ago and as well as having two children in those years, I have also changed body size, body shape and style.  I am no longer a carefree student but a mother of two.

I don't believe that being a parent should change the way I dress, but it does.  Some things just aren't practical any more and some things I just feel far too old for.  Although I still love to throw on a pair of baggy jeans and a slogan T-shirt, or a little summer skirt and vest, I now have to check that what I wear is easy to breastfeed in and is practical for running round after a toddler and bending down to pick him up.

My staple winter wardrobe appears to be skinny jeans, vest, and baggy jumper and whilst it is certainly comfortable, the 'me' of five years ago would have found it incredibly boring.  My summer style is looking to be pretty summer dresses with cropped leggings or vests and shorts, so that I can happily keep up with my troublesome duo.

It is inevitable that our style will change as we grow up, and sadly my days of cropped tops are long gone ( thanks to the two 8lb+ babies I carried!)  but I am determined not to dress old before my time.  My wardrobe now resembles something more fitting for my lifestyle rather than looking like I am still at Uni, and I am wondering whether I should buy a few bits to fill all the empty hangars now?!

Have you found your style has naturally evolved since becoming a parent or do you still dress the same as ever?

Disclaimer: Sponsored Post

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Jeanography Review

Having had a baby only seven weeks ago, I am certainly not feeling my best.  The bags under my eyes seem to have settled in for the long run and it is proving rather challenging finding time to get dressed every day let alone style myself a nice outfit!  As for going shopping, you clearly have not met my boys- they work as a tag team and the toddler has far too much energy to be let loose and far too long arms to be confined to the pushchair.  This has meant that since having Archie I have yet to hang up my maternity jeans!

Jeanography offer a service called Fit First Time, where you can shop online for jeans with a little help from their wonderful guides, and pick three pairs to be delivered to your house free of charge.  Once you have them, you can try them on in the peace of your own home once the children are in bed, and with all your own mirrors to see how they look.  Once you have chosen which pair are the right ones, you can return the other two completely free of charge, and then pay for your new jeans!

I have always struggled to find jeans that are a good fit on me and I find many high street brands cater for one particular shape - which I am very often not.  Jeanography has information about the fit and there seemed to be something for everyone.

I tested out the service this week and was so impressed.  I spent a while browsing the different styles, brands and designs before settling on three pairs that I really couldn't choose between, Hudson Jeans Signature Regular Rise Bootcut in Gower, James Jeans Twiggy Mid Rise Legging in Blue Black and Hudson Jeans Collin Signature Skinny in Stockport.  I picked out my size and ordered them for home delivery.  If you order before 4pm they should be with you next day but having a newborn, my hands are tied until the bloke is home and toddler in bed so I did my shopping with my feet up on the sofa and some trashy TV in the background.

I had an email early the next morning from the team, who noticed I had ordered a bigger size in one pair and letting me know they had a shipment just arrived with the smaller size in that pair if I wanted to swap - I was really impressed that they thought to do this and I decided to try the smaller size.  The jeans arrived the day after, nicely packaged and ready for me to try.  Not only did I have peace and quiet, I had the bloke to tell me which looked best and all my shoes and boots to hand to check that they were the right length for how I would want to wear them.

I loved all three pairs and thanks to the advice on the website, I had picked the perfect size in them all.  Making the decision was tough but there was one pair that seemed to fit perfectly and I fell in love.  Sending the other two pairs back was easy, and the courier collected them at a time convenient for me, free of charge.  The box that the jeans arrived in had a handy way of resealing, so there really was no hassle whatsoever!

The jeans I chose are the Hudson Jeans in Gower.  They have a bootcut which I love with my tiny heeled boots and even more with my flip flops in the summer (I am being optomistic, I know!)  Jeans are a staple part of my wardrobe as with two under two, I need something hardwearing and that goes with everything (including baby sick and tomato sauce!) and these are perfect.

I was so impressed with this service and would completely recommend it to any parents out there that just don't get to make time for themselves any more.  Shopping from the luxury of your own home with the easiest free delivery and returns I have ever come across!

Jeanography are running a fantastic competition for you to win your choice of jeans up to £250 so don't forget to enter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer:  I have kept my chosen pair of jeans free of charge in exchange for writing this review but all thoughts and opinions are my own, and I honestly do love this idea so much!

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Homemade Nursing dress / Breastfeeding Fashion

I have finally found a way to combat the boring post pregnancy / nursing wardrobe - make your own! Homemade, made to fit, made to feed nursing dresses are so easy that even an absolute beginner like me can make!

Breastfeeding and fashion are two words rarely put together.  Having to get your boobs out at any moment limits what you can wear, and the inevitably flabby post baby tum is best kept covered.  After 7 months, I have perfected the art of dressing to feed, but there are still those lovely knitted dresses at the back of my wardrobe that have now gone unworn all winter.


There are very limited places to buy feeding friendly clothes, and they are usually complete with high pricetag, and boring colour options. When I first went searching,

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