Review - My Summer Wear From Jacamo

You may have read recently that Michelle was invited to choose and review some new clothes from J.D. Williams. I was lucky enough to also be invited to try some clothes from Jacamo. My clothes tend to be a bit scruffy. I wear typical ‘Dad’ clothes most of the time when I’m not in work. Tracksuits, Everton Shirts, Shorts and Film and TV orientated T-Shirts.  I noticed recently that Big J’s wardrobe is actually a lot smarter than mine, and decided it was time I got myself some smarter clothes to wear.

Monthly Review Round Up - September

This month we have been trying out Good 4 U, Go Outdoors and Degustabox.

Our Family Fortnight 01/10/16

The past two weeks haven't been very exciting really. We haven't done as much as we would usually do but I think it's mainly been because of the weather, it's been rubbish here up North. We've had lots of wind and rain so it's been quite miserable. Anyway here is a look at the last fortnight.

Mummy 2 Monkeys Advent Giveaway Day 12

I am so excited to be hosting an Advent Calendar style giveaway this year. When I used to enter competitions I loved advent giveaways. The idea of an advent competition is every day a new door on the virtual advent calendar would open and you had the chance to win the prize behind that door. I am so lucky to have worked with some amazing brands and companies this year on my blog. I am so grateful to those who have offered me 24 prizes so that I can host my very own Advent Calendar giveaway. Its very simple each day from midnight - 11:59pm a door on my virtual calendar will open. The prize will be revealed and you can enter  to win that prize using the giveaway app below. Once the door closes at 11:59pm the giveaway is over and the winner will be chosen and announced.

Day 12 

Vertbaudet Boys Fleece-Lined Parka Review

I love Winter because you get to wrap up all warm and snug in fleece jumpers and thick coats. Unfortunately my monkeys don't share the same enthusiasm as me for adding layers to keep warm. Both boys actually don't like coats at all, although I do make them wear them when its cold outside they both usually kick up a fuss. After hours of browsing online for a suitable coat for little J I finally chose a Vertbaudet Boys Fleece-Lined Parka.

Natural History Museum Shop - Personalised T-Shirt

One of the many things I love about being a blogger is finding out about brands, companies or shops that I haven't heard of before. When it comes to buying presents I do like to find unique and special presents and I spend lots of time browsing through google especially around Christmas and birthdays.

Personalise Your Accessories At JD Sports

When big J was in primary school he never wanted to take a school bag, he didn't feel there was a need for it as he had the schools own book bag. Since he started seniors that changed, in fact his school bag has become a big deal.

Back to School Nike Trainers From Get The Label

I think its just a 'boy thing' but I am forever buying trainers or tracksuits for big J. Trainers for running, boots for football, trainers for playing out and trainers for best. It goes on and on. With school starting he needs a good pair of trainers to be able to use for multi sports indoor or outdoor. I have used Get The Label before and was very pleased with the price of the items we chose and the service too so I popped online to take a look.

Preparing For Summer With LamaLoLi

I am a huge fan of character clothing and always have been. I used to love dressing big J in Disney or Star Wars but unfortunately now he is a teenager he isn't so keen to walk around with Mickey Mouse on his chest. Luckily I still have little J and this month he has been wearing lots of new summer clothing from LamaLoLi

Star Wars - The Clone Wars (2 Pack T-shirt)

Wrapping Up Warm with Vertbaudet

There is something about January, February and March that makes me want to get up early, get dressed and head out for a walk. Most people would rather stay tucked up under their duvet in the winter months praying for Summer to come along but I have always enjoyed wrapping up warm and heading out for a winter walk. I have already planned some walks for us and I can't wait. Vertbaudet have a lovely collection of clothes that would be perfect for winter walk.

I have never shopped at Vertbaudet before although I have seen it advertised online many times but never had a look. I did however have a browsing session recently and the clothes are really nice.

I love the denim shirt under the jumper look in this photo. 

The Army Green Parka is perfect for a winter family day out. Big J used to have a coat this colour when he was younger and it made a change from the usual blue and black.

Again i love the colour of this Parka - Honey. Its so easy to stick to the same colour when buying clothes. I always come home with clothes for little J that I have bought and they are dark. Its nice to add a bit of colour to the wardrobe and I am always surprised how different he looks when he has reds or greens on.  

Little J will be trying out a lovely Parka and Hat and Scarf from this collection on our winter walks so keep an eye out for that coming soon but for now if you want to browse you can visit the website here - Vertbaudet Do you enjoy heading out in the winter months for a winter walk? or do you prefer to hide under the duvet?

Image 1 - Scarf & Hat Set, olive-blue sky, £13; Denim Shirt, untreated, from £19; Sweater, off-white, from £17; Combat Trousers, charcoal, from £16 

Image 2 - Parka, army green, from £44; Hooded Cardigan, pebble grey, from £19, Jeans, stonewashed, from £16 

Image 3 - Chapka, charcoal, £11; Hoody, pebble grey, from £19; Combat Trousers, black, from £14; Parka, honey, from £44; Sweater, black, from £19

Win a Selection of Jockey Underwear Competition

Christmas will soon be here and I haven't started buying presents yet so I really need to get a move on because before I know it, the big day will have arrived. I have a few items that I HAVE to buy each year for family and friends, socks and underwear are a must at Christmas time. They make great stocking fillers and I am so pleased to team up with Jockey to give my readers the chance to win a selection Men's Jockey underwear. A perfect gift for Christmas.   Jockey offer a wide selection of underwear, socks, thermals, sleepwear, active wear, sports wear and lounge wear. They come in Men's, Women's and Children's and you can view the ranges by visiting the website.     One lucky reader of Mummy 2 Monkeys will win a selection of Men's Jockey Underwear just in time for Christmas.   All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is answer this Christmas question...   Q: Who would you like to kiss under the mistletoe?   Remember to leave your answer as a blog comment and only readers who leave a comment will be entered into the draw.   Once you have left your comment more ways to get extra entries will open up on the gleam app below.   GOOD LUCK  

Win a selection of Jockey Underwear

Terms and Conditions Competition closes on Tuesday 9th December 2014 at 11:59PM Entrants must have a valid UK address Bulk, third party or any other entries using automated software will be disqualified All entrants and entries are checked and verified. All entrants must follow the mandatory step and answer the question as a blog comment. 1 lucky winner will be chosen at random by the Gleam application. Mummy2Monkeys will contact the lucky winner within 1 day of the competition closing The winner must respond within 28 days. If no response a new winner will be chosen. The prize is a Selection of Jockey Underwear - Size Small There is no cash alternative.    

Preparing for Bonfire Night

This year we are preparing for bonfire night early with Zhoodz, House of Fraser and Heatholders. Every bonfire night we buy our own fireworks and visit my mum and dad. We do our own firework display in the garden. The past few years we have been really lucky and had no rain, it's been cold but dry. I'm hoping this year will be the same. Little J will be able to watch them this year. Last year he was to young so had no idea what was going on, his eyes did light up though when he saw all the colours. While Daddy has been browsing at what fireworks to buy I have been looking at clothes as I like my monkeys to be wrapped up warm. Big J hates clothes shopping he loves new clothes he just doesn't enjoy the trying on part. We have just bought some lovely tracksuit pants for big J from Nike and a lovely gillet too so he will be wearing that. He just needs a long sleeved tee or jumper to go underneath. We were sent a lovely hoodie recently from zhoodz

I have to be honest and say that I hadn't heard of zhoodz before but I am so glad I checked them out. Its new and unique and the first of its kind. They have designed a range of clothing that lets you be seen day or night. Not only does the collection of hoodies, tees and sweatshirts come with cool designs they have enhanced visibility colours and reflective designs. Perfect high visibility piece of clothing for night time. 

During the day those skulls cannot be seen but as soon as night time comes the light off a camera, or a cars headlight will reflect and the skull becomes visible. Reasonably priced, washes great and big J absolutely loves it. I have been browsing the House of Fraser website to try and find a nice suitable outfit for little J to wear.  There is so much choice for both boys and girls. I used the filter to select boys age 2 and it still came up with over 1,000 options eek! 

I filtered again to jumpers and I found the perfect one. Made by Howick and priced at just £24.00, it is so cute and perfect to fit in with little J's style. It has a very wintery feel with a snowflake pattern but I know will keep him warm on bonfire night and throughout the cold months. I chose blue but it also comes in a lovely dark red colour too. I wanted to team the jumper with some nice jeans. Jeans are perfect for winter months. They are so thick and warm and I always think they are great for little ones who are still in prams.  I found these from Pumpkin Patch And they are currently priced at £22. The have a lovely soft feel and the have elastic at the bottom of each leg which is perfect to keep little J's leg brace in place. 

I was really please with the outfit I chose. As soon as it arrived I tried it on little J to make sure they both fitted. I ordered 2-3 in the jumper and it is quite a generous 2-3 so he will have plenty of wear and the jeans were a 2 and again a nice fit.  He looks so grown up. Daddy isn't getting a new outfit for bonfire night he is too old...haha but he will still be warm. You all know already we are big fans of Heat Holders. We have tried the socks and a gorgeous throw blanket and now Daddy is trying out the thermal underwear.

They are perfect for the coming winter months and Daddy has used them already. Brilliant for wearing underneath his football shirt when he goes the match - sitting still for 90 mins he is usually freezing but he's been nice and toasty. Heat Holders have a wide range of items to buy now. I love the leggings and tights so lots of variety to choose from to help keep you warm. So when Daddy is setting off fireworks and my two monkeys are enjoying the display I will be sat inside watching from the window. I absolutely hate Fireworks night. I wont even hold a sparkler I am that scared. So no need for me to buy nice clothes or thermal underwear because I will be indoors in the warm with a cup of tea. * we were gifted the above items. Our opinions and thoughts are our own*

Wool Overs Celebrates 25 Years

I have said it before but Autumn / Winter is my most favourite time of year. I love shopping for new clothes when the cold weather starts to creep in because it means I can buy nice warm jumpers, cardigans and jumper dresses to keep me warm and cosy. I love wrapping up warm on a cold wintery day. I recently found Woolovers website and I was so impressed with their choice of knitwear. 

Loving My Christmas Socks Already.

Winter is my favourite time of year. I love everything about it. Daddy loves the summer, sun, light nights and wearing shorts and T shirts. I love dark winter nights, lots of layers, snuggling on the sofa with hot chocolate. I love buying PJ's for winter because as soon as I am home and I have no where to be I get in my PJ's and nice toasty socks.  I recently had the chance to order a set of socks from UK Tights and I had to share with you just how perfect they are for winter and Christmas time.

 The socks are Pringle Ladies Snow Flake Patterned. They are just so cute. I love them.

They come in a box of six pairs and I was actually pleasantly surprised they arrived in a box. The presentation is lovely and would be perfect to buy for a gift but I got them for myself.

The gift box has 6 colours inside there is 

Grey

Pink

Blue

Red

Black

Green

Although pink is my favourite colour I have to say I prefer the red, they just look so Christmassy.

I checked the website and they are made with 80% cotton, 18% Polyamide and 2% Lycra.

They are very toasty warm and will be perfect with my Christmas Pj's

Unfortunately they are now showing out of stock as I type this, sorry I must have nabbed the last box hehe. 

You can keep checking to see whether they are in stock by viewing the website HERE.

When I ordered they arrived two days later and delivery was only £1.95 so really reasonable.

Do you like to buy winter PJ's and Socks?

Daddy Gets Work Shoes From Jacamo

When we were asked to review an item of footwear from Jacamo I have to admit that firstly I didn't think they sold shoes and secondly I always had this idea that Jacamo was a shop only for the 'larger' man. I was wrong on both.

Actually I was very impressed when browsing the Jacamo website. There is a whole range of brands to choose from including Lambretta, French Connection and Timberland.  They offer sizes from S to 5XL and footwear right up to size 15. Daddy got the chance to browse and choose a pair of shoes from the Jacamo, Black Label or Label J range. When it comes to shoes for Daddy he usually chooses a similar type every time and he was pleased to find a pair that he likes.

Jacamo lace up shoes Formal lace up shoe featuring panel detailing, smart, sophisticated and stylish. Come in both a standard or extra wide fitting. Available up to a size 15 Choice of colours - black or brown At the bottom of the page their was a review section were customers have wrote about their experiences with this shoe and to be honest there were a lot of negative comments. Most people seem to experience the heel or both heels falling off in just a couple of wears or said they look cheap. This didn't stop Daddy giving them a go as for £25 they seemed great value.

When they arrived we were happy with them. They didn't look cheap. Daddy tried them on and they are a lovely fit and Daddy actually said they feel like wearing slippers.

Daddy has been wearing these to work and after a week of wear there is no signs of the heel wearing away and it does not look like it will fall off either. I guess only time will tell but for now Daddy is very pleased. You can find out more about Jacamo by visiting the website HERE
*we were sent the shoes in return for a honest review*

Back To School Shoes from Wynsors

I still can't believe the Summer holidays are over and its back to school already. It only seems like yesterday that they finished. We have to buy Big J's uniform from the school uniform shop but we can buy any school shoes. We usually tend to buy Big J's school shoes from the same shoe shop every year although this year we were sent a pair for big J to try.  

We were sent a pair of Kickers for big J from Wynsors.   Wynsors is a shop that is local to us but we had never really shopped there although I know people who have. At the moment there are huge signs outside promoting that they are the biggest stockist of Kickers in the area.   Big J has quite a wide foot so because he hadn't tried them on before they arrived I was unsure whether they would fit. He has struggled with shoes in the past and that is probably why we shop at the same shoe store each year. Also he varies in size. Some shoes or trainers he is a size 5, others 5 and a half and others a 6.  

When they arrived they were really nice and looked very smart. We had decided on Velcro fastening because big J finds that easier if he wants to make them a little tighter.

Big J's school requires that all school shoes are ones that are able to be shined and I know from when Daddy has had these that they shine really well.  

The soles are lovely and chunky with good grips. I don't like shoes with thin soles because they wear down to easily and you end up having to replace them in no time.

When it came to trying them on big J didn't seem happy. They felt a little too big. We had ordered a 6 but as we already know different brands sizes can vary a lot. The width seemed fine which was good but they were slipping up as he walked.

We took them along to Wynsors to see if they could maybe swap them for a smaller size. I have to say the staff were so pleasant, friendly and very keen to help find the right size for big J.

They brought out a size 5 and also insoles to try with the size 6. They also brought out other Kickers shoes that are not as wide at the front as others. They really did go out of their way to try and help us and I would give them a 10/10 for customer service.

We managed to sort out the right size thanks to the member of staff and big J was very happy with his shoes and the fit.

All ready to start a new school year.

I'm hoping the kickers will wear well especially during the winter months. Will post an update soon

You can view the Kickers range by visiting Wynsors online HERE

  *we received the shoes above in return for a return, all thoughts above are our own*

2014 FiFa World Cup Brazil T-Shirt and Bermuda Set

During the Summer Big J is always in football kits. They are usually expensive but they are perfect for this time of year. They are cool, comfortable to wear, wash well and don't normally need ironing.   We searched high and low for kits for little J but only found Everton, then I found some on Lamaloli. They looked great and perfect for our trip to Butlins.   When they arrived I wasn't disappointed. They looked and felt just like a football kit but didn't cost a fortune.  

We chose a yellow Brazil kit which was a yellow t-shirt and blue shorts.   There is a Fifa motif on the front of the t-shirt and on the shorts too.On the back is Brazil and the number 11.   The T-Shirt is a v neck and the shorts are elasticated waist. Perfect for a little monkey who loves to crawl around and doesn't like to stay in one place too long. They looked really comfortable and no buttons digging in to his tummy.   We ordered age 2 and they were a perfect fit.   The set washed really well, dried within hours and didn't need ironing.   You can buy the Brazil kit by visiting Lamaloli. Available in ages 2,4 and 6.   Currently it is £4.95 and delivery can take up to 5 days with a charge of £4.95   I am really impressed with Lamaloli. They have some really lovely clothing and feature lots of characters that I am sure would put a smile on any little ones face.   If you would like to see my review of little J's summer PJ's from Lamaloli click here and to see him at the beach wearing his Blue Brazil kit click here     *we received the above set for the purpose of this review - all thoughts are our own*

Our Teddy Bears Picnic

Day 10 of #OurSummerDays was a very wet and chilly day and we spent it inside. We planned lots of activities and didn't let the rain dampen our spirits.

Late afternoon it was time to prepare for our Teddy Bears Picnic.

We had planned to do the picnic outside but the rain meant we couldn't. There was no reason to cancel it and I had just the items to make it perfect. It was such a wet and chilly day so I was so pleased I had my heat holders socks ready to wear to keep my feet warm. 

Heat holders had also provided us with large blanket which was perfect for us to put on the floor and use as a picnic blanket. It is so soft and little J kept putting his head on it. When I unfolded it, it was huge and filled the floor. It was great.

So it was time to set up the picnic - I let little J pick what he wanted to include in the picnic. He chose a Barney Cake, Milky bar buttons and a yoghurt. Some delicious Ribena for our drink. We got out all the plates and cups and then filled them with the tasty treats.

Then we had to decide which teddies were invited. Little J chose his huge big ted, stuffy from Doc McStuffins, Bolt, Green rabbit and Lady from Lady and the tramp.

He snuggled in next to big Ted and started to eat. I had my heat holders socks on and was lovely and toasty.

Everyone enjoyed all their food although little J kept pinching off other guests plates.

and lady enjoyed her yoghurt.

Another perfect rainy day activity and we had lots of fun although after the picnic everyone went off to play and I was left doing the dishes.

  To view more of the heat holders range you can click here
So another fun and rainy activity done,   To find out what else we got up to on Day 10 of #OurSummerDays click here