Baby Ebay Finds

Knee High Fox Socks//Soft Bow Moccasins//Soft Tassel Moccasins

Recently i have noticed a high rise in the number of "shops" selling items for much much more than they can be found elsewhere . I am all for shopping local and small business when it comes to handmade quality items but All the popular items i see are things which can be found on Ebay, all for less than £5! Yes they come from China but if you are prepared to wait a couple of weeks for delivery then they are all bargains.


I have bought a few items from China via ebay and have never waited more than 2 weeks, i actually received items about 4 days after ordering a few months back, something you can struggle to get from a Uk seller.

So i thought i would give you all a few links to some of these popular items so you can all save some pennies to!

Would you order from Ebay, or have you already done so? Let me know!

Getting Crafty

In times of stress I get crafty and lets just say Blaire's nursery is looking good for it! Is it just me who does things like this when stressed? My most recent effort is this Rainbow melt canvas, created using crayons and a hairdryer. Pinterest has a lot to answer for, this is where many of my ideas stem from.

It is super easy to do and below are the steps and equipment I used. All in I would say this cost around £5 to make (Crayola crayons are £1.25 in Tesco right now)

Equipment

• White Canvas (I got mine from the pound shop)
• 3 Packets of Crayons
• Super glue
• Plastic bag/Newspaper (melting the wax gets messy)
• And a good old trusty hair dryer

Method

• I started by glueing the crayons to the canvas, I used 3 of each of my selected colours. (Apart from the purple I used 4 as I miss judged the size) Once done it should like the above picture. Leave the glue to set for a few minutes.
• Lay your plastic bags or newspaper on the floor (this really is needed, I had no idea how much the wax would shoot of the canvas once melted!) 
• Now comes the fun messy part! Go to town with your hairdryer on a medium setting. I started by melting each colour at a time the once they started running I ran the hairdryer back and forward along them all to mix some colours together.
• Keep going until you have the desired effect.
• The wax drys almost instantly once you turn the hairdryer off

Voila, you are left with an awesome piece of art work to hang on the nursery wall! 

Has anyone else made their own decorations for their little ones room? Let me know if you try this, I am off to pin my evening away once more in the search for my next project!

Review: Amber Vs Teething

Anyone with a teething child will know they will try anything to help the little ones through the pain, and to try keep you sane! On my hunt for teething remedies I came across a lot of people talking about Baltic Amber bracelets. Needless to say I was intrigued so I ordered one from Amber Anklets.

Here is a bit of an explanation from the packaging of the bracelet;

Baltic Amber has been treasured for centuries as a teething aid in Eastern Europe. The Amber itself is a resin that is formed from resis producing trees in the Baltic region. the Amber is a natural anti inflammatory and when worn against the skin can help to greatly reduce any ailments relating to inflammation, thus making it the perfect teething remedy.

Baltic Amber can help to reduce a number of things, irritability, drooling, red cheeks and swollen gums. due to its anti inflammatory nature it can also help to calm skin conditions such as eczema.

When Blaire was showing signs of teething it was hellish, we no longer had our happy little baby. she was super rosy cheeked, drooling all over the place and would sit and make a growling noise all day long (this was the worst)

When it arrived in the post I was skeptical, surely this is just plastic and won't make any difference, nonetheless I popped the bracelet on her ankle and the next day, I kid you not she was like a different baby! No more growling and much less drooling, hallelujah!! 

When Blaire has it on I never leave her unattended, I always pop some socks on her provided it is cool enough to help keep it on her ankle as now she has found it she like to pull on it and has stretched it! 

I must admit I am now a believer in the Amber helping, we have no teeth cutting through just yet so that will be a big test for it, however for the moment it has greatly reduced her symptoms. and as a mum I can't really ask for more than that.

What are your experiences with these bracelets?

Are you a fan of the Baltic Amber or do you think it is all a boohockey? (Love a friends quote)

All items were purchased with my own money

Stokke Tripp Trapp Dupe

After MANY hours of trawling through the Internet looking for an alternative to the Stokke Tripp Trapp I stumbled across this. We couldn't justify spending all that money on the Stokke, especially with my Statutory Maternity Pay looming this month.

I found this via Amazon sold by a company called Bonjeur Bebe. With a price point at £54.99 what was not to love, and the choice of 3 colours! A few days after ordering it arrived and I was pleasantly surprised. It took me about half an hour to build it (I am sure all you out there can do it faster, but my sausage fingers hate Allen keys)

I must say the chair itself is extremely sturdy and sits at the perfect height for the dinner table, it also comes with a detachable tray if feeding baby away from said table. It also comes with 2 seat cushions included in the price. And like the Tripp Trapp it grows with baby, always a bonus in my opinion!

The only negative I will say about this is the wood scratches very easily as it is not sealed or varnished, but I can live with this for the price!

And as you can see my little B is pretty happy with the new purchase!

Are you looking for a high chair?  If so which one did you go for?

Be proud of your Mum Tum

As a new mum i found there is alot of pressure around loosing your "mum tum" and returning to pre baby size. 

Now i don't know about everyone else but i was far too busy with a newborn to be concerned about my weight. Sleep deprived and coping with a colicy baby i would eat whatever i could get my hands on to give me energy. 

During my pregnancy i put on 2 stone, immediately after birth i had lost a stone. Leaving me with 1 stone to shift, which to this day i still have.

My go to wardrobe for the past few months has been black skinny jeans and baggy tees. Last weekend i was going out for lunch and was feeling good. I decided to wear a midi dress, meaning no hiding the tummy.

I have decided I shouldn't be ashamed of my mum tum, i carried a child for 9 months in there and since have been raising my daughter and having fun. Any spare time i have is spent tidying the house or sleeping! 

The weight will shift eventually and i am ok with that. If people make remarks, then that is their issue not mine!

Has anybody else felt the pressure to shed that mum tum? 

Oreo Truffles

Hi everyone, tonight I thought I would share with you my recipe for these amazing truffles. They are super quick to make using only 3 (yes 3) ingredients and taste amazing!

Ingredients

• 2 tubs of soft cheese
• 2 packets of Oreos
• 3 bars or milk chocolate

Tools

• 2 sandwhich bags
• Kitchen mallet,rolling pin or glass bottle
• 2 bowls
• Grease proof paper

Method

• Place the biscuits into a sandwhich bag, (i find a packet per bag works best) and using a kitchen mallet or glass bottle smash up the biscuits
• Place the biscuits crumbs into a large bowl and mix in the soft cheese
• Once combined take a spoonful of the mixture and roll into a ball, place these onto some grease proof paper until needed again.
• Next up is the chocolate, break up into chunks and place in a microwaveable bowl
• Pop into the microwave and melt at 30 seconds intervals until fully melted
• Now the fun part, cover all the Oreo balls with the melted chocolate and place in the fridge
• Leave them to set in the fridge and voilà! 

See easy peasy to make but trust me they are out of this world! 

Let me know if you make any by tagging me in your pictures! 

Until next time guys

Eilidh x

Creme Egg Cheesecake

With the Easter holidays starting tomorrow i thought i would pop up this really simple but extremely tasty cheesecake recipe.

I made this the other night and i swear it is one of the lightest fluffiest things ever!

Ingredients 

Base

• Chocolate Digestives 300g
• 150g Unsalted Butter (melted)

Cheesecake

• 600ml double cream
• 150g icing sugar
• 3 bags of mini Creme Eggs (unwrapped and chopped)
• 560g cream cheese

Decoration

• 1 bar white chocolate 
• 1 bar milk chocolate
• Yellow food colouring

How to

• Bash the digestives until small crumbs and then mix with the melted butter.
• Once combined line the base of your cake tin, ensuring its all nice and compact. Place in the fridge until later.
• In a large bowl beat together the cream and icing sugar until thickened up enough to form small peaks
• Now fold in the cream cheese and chopped up creme eggs
• Cover the biscuit base with your mixture ensuring its nice and even and place back in the fridge.
• I left it to chill for a couple of hours before taking out to decorate.
• When ready to decorate melt the milk and white chocolate in the microwave, once melted drizzle over the cheesecake. Take some of the white chocolate and add the yellow food colouring, again drizzle over. (This step gives the cheesecake a tie in with the creme egg)
• Finally chop up a few creme eggs and place on top.

Voila! 

One super tasty cheesecake to share with the family this easter weekend!

Let me know if you give this a try.

Aldi "Mamia" Nappy Review

I thought I would do a quick post on why I love the Aldi Mamia nappies.

Before B was born I read a lot of reviews on All of the different brands available, since she has been born we have used Pampers New Born, Aldi Mamia Newborn and Asda Little stars (these were horrendous I would never recommend them to anyone)

After using Pampers for a couple of weeks I realised how much money we were spending, so after hearing the rave reviews on the Mamia range I picked up a few packets. Best thing I have ever done!

I find these nappies on a par with Pampers, at a fraction of the cost £1.49 for 24 Newborn Size 1!

B is now wearing size 3 (£4.39 for 56) and we are still loving them, I swear these coupled with Water Wipes have kept nappy rash away.

Things I love about them;

• They look and feel great, soft to the touch
• The sticky fasteners do not budge once fastened and they are elasticated giving a snug fit.
• The wetness indicator is a life saver, always tell when the nappy is full with the yellow line turning blue.
• Leakages and explosions have been minimal, even with the worst nappy!
• And finally PRICE, such an affordable price point

I honestly can't say anything bad about these nappies, I have been recommending them to everyone I know who is expecting.

I will continue to buy these nappies for the foreseeable, in my opinion they are giving all the big brands a run for their money.

Have you tried the Mamia range? What did you think? 

*All thoughts are my own, 100% honest review and purchased with my own money.

First Birthday being a Mummy

Yesterday was my 29th birthday, normally I would celebrate by going out for dinner, having a few drinks with friends and being suitably hungover the next day.

However this year was my first birthday as a mummy!

Blaire kickstarted the day by sleeping until 8am (this never happens) I however awoke at 7:30am thinking something was wrong! Do any other mums do this when their baby does something out of the norm?

We had a lovely chilled morning before getting ready for an afternoon of shopping.

My accessories for the day

Being a mummy now means you can't just up and go, it takes a while to get the bags sorted,bottles made and car packed with the pram! But we managed and off we trotted to Silverburn.

We had some lunch at Five Guys (Hello Cherry sprite) and wandered around the shops. I didnt actually buying myself anything, I did get Blaire a My Little Pony from Build a Bear! 

Shopping selfie

Can we all take a moment to appreciate my amazing sequin mermaid trainers!

Blaire was a wee star being dragged around the shopping centre and sat in her pram most of the day! This is an achievement I know many other mums and dads will agree is major!

Unimpressed Blaire

The past 3 months have flown by and have been very trying at times but I would never change it. Being a mummy has completely changed my life, but for the better! Everyday brings something new and Blaire is growing into a proper little girl with her own wee personality and I love seeing her grow! 

So I am now in my last year of my 20s (something I refuse to accept) and can you believe I will have a 1 year old when I turn 30!!  I ended my birthday the way I do every single day, falling asleep on the couch! 

What do all my fellow mummy friends do on their birthdays now? 

Where has the time gone!

Hi guys, I am back!

As some of you may know I recently had a little baby girl in December. Blaire arrived 8 days late after 3 very long days of labour in the hospital! I won't go into the details but it has been enough to put me off child birth for a while!

But really, where does the time go?! like everyone always tells you, enjoy each day as they will be at school before you know it. This is so true Blaire is now 13 weeks old on Thursday!

Since having Blaire I really don't know what day it is or even what time it is, babies are hard work! And if anyone ever tells you different they are lying!

But we are now in a good routine and I have the evenings back to myself (she has even slept through the night twice already!) So as I have some free time again I am resurrecting my blog, I will write about baby related things and also fashion posts (when I am not in my pj's all day)

Speak soon

Eilidh x