Hands up if you hate ironing, hardly ever reach for the iron and practically forgot you have an iron stashed away somewhere? I hope your hands are up, because both of mine are!
Ironing for me is the worst chore imaginable, which becomes even worse when you find yourself 32 weeks pregnant and facing an ever-growing mountain of clothes in the washing basket. Add that with a boyfriend who likes to confirm washing is 'dirty' after wearing it to a 2 hour parental class and you're faced with even more washing and ironing to do than you should be!
Day2 Sprays are the world's first dry wash spray for clothes and I can't believe it has taken 2019 years for the world to invent a god send like this. The Day2 sprays pretty much work in the same way as dry shampoo does on your hair. What do you do when you can't be bothered to wash your day 3 hair, have no time or the hot water has gone off? You reach for the dry shampoo and don't look back!
The inventors of Day2 researched into the average household wash and discovered that 40% of clothes we fling into the laundry basket or onto our 'chairdrobe' or 'floordrobe' are actually not dirty at all. Darling boyfriend of mine, if you're reading this, I am looking at you.
Day2 sprays simply allow you to revive these clothes with a quick spray and smooth out of the fabric. I will admit, I was rather sceptical and was in slight disbelief that something like this could ever work. Hell yeah, it might make clothes smell nice again, but could a spray really remove crumples and creases?
The answer is simply, yes!
I tried it out on several of Ricky's t-shirts using the Original Day2 Spray. However, there's also spray options for Delicates and Denim! The instructions say to distribute the spray evenly over the garment, smooth out with your hands and then hang up to set for 15 minutes.
I found it worked particularly well at clothes that needed a little bit of a freshen up, but a little more TLC was required for those crumpled cotton t-shirts that crave an iron so bad. However, I did find that spraying and smoothing out both the front AND back of the t-shirt gave it an extra bit of love. So much so, Ricky wore one of the t-shirts I had worked on after 15-20 minutes of it hanging on a door to set.
The Day2 Delicates Spray work great on knitwear or any kind of garment that requires extra TLC like cashmere. As for the denim spray, I literally never iron jeans as I find the creases disappear one you put jeans on. However, after a few wears, they can look a little stretched out and crumpled... but are literally still clean to wear. So, I found the Day2 Denim Spray works particularly well at freshening jeans up and making them smell and feel like they have just been washed! It also claims to prevent fading!
The full range of Day2 sprays are now available online (with free shipping included!), at Wilkinsons, Waitrose, Ocado and Amazon. The full size 200ml bottle is RRP £7.50 and the handy 75ml travel size bottle is RRP £4.00, which I imagine is really handy in a gym bag!
Disclaimer: PR samples - all words, opinions and photographs are my own.
The 10 week countdown is officially ON! I cannot believe we have hit 30 weeks already, but we are so ready now to meet our son.
We decided to book in for a private 4D scan on the 28 week milestone, returning back to Window to the Womb at the Walthamstow branch. We booked our first Early Scan at 6 weeks there, returning backk again at 16 weeks for an early Gender Reveal scan; which also gave us a sneak preview of baby in 4D. However, baby was so small that features hadn't yet developed completely and he more so resembled a little alien!
I had always known I would probably book in for a 4D scan further along in my pregnancy. Not only is it lovely to see your baby and what they look like, but it's also peace of mind for me for our baby to have a wellbeing check. I have always said that a final scan at 20 weeks is not enough and pregnant women should be offered another scan even if their pregnancy is looking healthy! It's a long time to wait to see your baby again at birth!
There are many different packages available to book, depending on how far you are in your pregnancy. The 4D scans have 3 different packages, all slightly different in price. We went for the 'Born To Be A Star' package, which is priced at £109, but we was kindly given a discount if we could share our experience.
Below are all the different scan packages Window to the Womb offer.
This time, we brought along family members to experience the scan with us. The amazing thing about booking a private scan at Window to the Womb is that you're allowed up to 5 people in the scan with you... and that doesn't include you or the second parent!
The sonographer we had was the same lady we have had for all 3 scans and she is a diamond. In NHS scans, you are made to feel like you're just a number and the scan experiences can feel quite rushed. However, at Window to the Womb, you are made to feel as if you and your baby are the most important two people that day. With spa music playing, dim and cosy lighting, sofas for guests to relax and a huge projected screen infront of you, you really cannot beat the experience. You are guided on where to lay, helped to get up at the end and updated on findings all throughout the scan experience.
The experienced lasted around 25 minutes and we got to see our little one in both black and white 3D, but mostly in 4D. Baby never likes to cooperate in scans, which has seen him upside down, hiding behind his hands and this time, he was cushioned up against my placenta. It took a while for the sonographer to capture some clear images, but you have to work around the baby! I did some stretching and some wiggling of the hips which moved him slightly, so we was able to see him a lot clearer.
The wellbeing checks also gave me peace of mind that everything is looking healthy. The sonographer told us that if they see anything wrong, then they write their findings in your antenatal book for you to go to hospital with. The only thing that worried us slightly was that at the beginning, we was told that the cord was laying on baby's chest, but close to his neck. However, by the end of the scan, he had moved around so much, the cord had moved and was no longer near his neck.
We had around 50 images to choose prints from, but there is also an app called Bumpies you can download, where you are provided with your scan's unique code, so you can download ALL the images captured; as well as any video footage captured.
Our experience was magical and it left both nannies-to-be, an auntie-to-be and parents-to-be feeling SO excited. We all celebrated with a cake from the bakery after and went home with some beautiful photos of our baby boy.
I cannot recommend Window to the Womb enough and will definitely return for any future pregnancies. From the moment you walk into the door, you feel as if you're at home and the reception staff even share their joy with you when you walk out feeling excited and happy. Thank you so much to Annabel and the rest of the team at the Walthamstow branch for the best experience!
Disclaimer: I was offered a discount on this service by Window to the Womb, but all words, opinions and photographs are my own.
It can sometimes be such an effort to plan a holiday. From the flights, accommodation, itinerary, food and drink. However, if a cruise offers everything in one package, then it is no wonder the cruise bookings have rapidly increased over the last few years.
With a $400m budget to revamp NCL cruises, there is no better time than now to get booked on an NCL Cruises ship - a holiday that you may have been dreaming about forever or feeling inspired to book just now. There is a fantastic amount of choice when it comes to accommodation choices, food and drink and things to do at NCL cruises, which makes them one of the biggest competitors to beat in the cruise holiday world.
It is worth looking at all of the different fleet packages. What part of the world do you fancy seeing?
Accommodation at NCL
Right at the top of the cruise ship is The Haven by Norwegian, which boasts the most laid back and luxurious suite. Here you can find a 24 hour butler service, private sundeck and priority access across the whole ship.I didn't think you could get any better, but the lower packages sound just as good. You can book a wide range of accommodation choices, depending on how many people are in your travel party and of course, your budget. With three bedroom villas on deck with their own gardens, sky high penthouses and family suites, NCL cruises is one of the first to appeal to couples, families and groups of people of all ages.
Some accommodation suites allow you to book something a little extra. Imagine staying in your very own spa suite, with your own hot tub and waterfall shower. No queuing to use public ones!
Things to do at NCL
The biggest thing for me if I am to ever book a cruise holiday, is having a clear indication of things I can do whilst on board. As I do like to travel, it means I like to get out and about and explore new things that I may have never done back at home. Or, I simply may want to visit new food places, an aqua centre or a local market.
NCL say you are sure to never be bored of being on board! There's a fantastic range of activities from peaceful and tranquil yoga, zumba and exercises classes, abseiling and watersports and wine tasting. There is even an aqua park on board which entertains the kids. Expect to find water slides, jets and jacuzzis for you to relax in whilst keeping an eye on the kids.
There is also evening entertainment for you to enjoy either before or after dinner. NCL are very popular for putting on the best shows - some appealing to adults or family friendly ones.
If you are an adult only party, then you may not only enjoy the adult humour shows, but there's an onboard games area for you to kick back and get competitive in. With around 200 tables, the experience is set to be a dazzling one.
Food and drink at NCL
You will be pleased to know there is plenty on offer when it comes to food and drink at NCL. I for one, like to experiment in trying different foods when on holiday - some that I love and some that I have never tried before. So, you are in for a treat as each cruise vessel on board has up to three dining rooms to choose from. Each serve a rotating complimentary menu throughout the day and night and even better... it's a part of the package you pay, so no extra costs!There are also many other food and drink options on board depending on what tickles your fancy. Head over to the onboard coffee shop for tea and cake, Asian Fusion for some sushi and buffet food or if you really fancy a steak then Cagney's Steakhouse is on board for all your carnivorous wants and needs.
There are so many benefits and a thousand recommendations everywhere as to why cruise ship holiday bookings are increasing. I always overlooked them, but I would definitely consider booking a cruise holiday in the future. Who could say no to a on-suite spa for personal use AND a 24 hour service butler?!
Disclaimer: In collaboration with ROL Cruises. All words and opinions are my own. Images are stock images.
The Nags Head is a prestigious pub, restaurant and bar based in Brentwood, Essex. With a wide range of pub classics and more premium restaurant meals and plenty of drinks to offer punters, it's to no wonder that The Nags Head attracts many locals and passing by visitors. The team kindly invited my family and I along to the launch party to explore and taste the new menu - aswell as the exotic drinks menu (gin, lots of gin!) and kick back and relax in the new refurbed areas of the bar and restaurant.
We had a table booked in the evening and upon arrival, was greeted by Paige who I had been corresponding with over emails. She explained that we would receive some canapies to try out first in the bar area and then we could ask to be seated at our table whenever we was ready.
As soon as I walked in, I could tell the whole place had has a serious refurb. It looked much more inviting, cosy and appealing to spend an evening in. I remember it being quite open plan before and the seating areas not being very well laid out. However, the bar area now has a more than generous size seating area with tub chairs and cushions for comfort in one area and higher studded bar stools with tables on another side.
Whilst waiting for the canapies, we each ordered a drink from the menu. As I am pregnant, it was a passion fruit mocktail for me which tasted delicious. Just judging by how good a mocktail from the menu was, I already can't wait to go back when I can drink alcohol and explore the extensive cocktail menu!
After sampling some canapies, it was time to get seated at our table and choose our three courses to try out. It was 8pm on a Friday night after a long week at work, so the 4 of us were starving.
We were taken to the back of the restaurant and seated at a comfortable table in the corner. It gave us enough space and privacy to enjoy our meal. The interior is quite industrial and earthy, with shelves of succulent plants and there's even coat hooks on the wall.
I was pleased to see they offer a NEW vegan menu and Sunday roasts on the weekend. It can be so difficult to find local places that offer a good roast dinner, so I am sure we will be taking full advantage of that soon!
I was pleased to see that some of my favourite dishes remained on the menu and was also excited to see some brand new additions. Next it was time to get choosing!
Ricky went for his infamous Salt and Szechuan Pepper Squid (£6.95) with airlo mayonnaise for dipping. The perfect tease for what was yet to come.
My sister, brother in law and I all went for the Crispy Karrage Chicken (unsure on the price and it's not online), which I have had before at numerous different sister restaurants and it never disappoints.
As mentioned in previous posts, this more-than-satisfying starter features ribbons of fresh cucumber, mouli, kale & cauliflower salad; with a pot of hot katsu curry sauce to pour or dip into - or both! I 100% recommend this to anyone.
Onto mains and of course Ricky was feeling famished enough to order the Dirty Burger (£15.95), with an added side of house cooked fries. Another new addition to the menu and it's proven to be delicious, but mighty. If fat burgers with crispy bacon, lashings of cheese and beef dripping are your thang', then you might want to go for this bad boy.
There was always going to be a steak on our order and that's exactly what my brother in law did. A succulent and premium cut of steak can range from £18.95 - £25.95, depending on what type of steak you like and how hungry you are. This meaty beast came with triple cooked chunky chips, a roasted confit tomato, onion rings and a sauce to relish it all up.
Bump and I wanted the Chicken, Leek and Cream Fraiche Pie (£15.25), which was so scrumptious that we have since bought one in the supermarket and it's also inspired me to try and make my own one. A new addition to the menu and one that should always be there for when I plan to return to this Essex gem.
A golden shortcrust pie with a flaky and crumbly ham hock top, served with thick and buttery mash and a side of green beans and gravy. DELICIOUS.
My sister went for the slow roasted butternut squash and sweet potato tart, which she thoroughly enjoyed and was served up as a generous portion. As the is also a new addition to the menu, it's not yet online so I am unsure on the price, however was more than affordable.
Feeling just a bit more than stuffed, it was time to push away our demolished plates and wait for our desserts to arrive and wow, they were worth the wait.
With my brother in law going for the cream brûlée, this was presented in an adorable vintage looking teacup and saucer, with sliced strawberries to decorate.
When I am feeling pretty stuffed and don't want anything too sickly, I always go for a cheesecake. This New York Style baked vanilla cheesecake is again something I have had before and will probably order another 101 times in the future. It's fluffy, creamy and just so damn naughty, but nice.
Ricky ordered the hot chocolate brownie. Shock. However, Louise also went for this and was not disappointed. It's exactly what you expect - gooey, sickly but you're left wanting it again on your next visit.
There we have it - our positive experience dining at The Nags Head. We cannot recommend this restaurant enough and we are already planning to go back very soon. It was THAT good!
Disclaimer: A complimentary service was offered in exchange for an honest review on my blog. All words, opinions and photographs are my own.
As I am moving into my third trimester of pregnancy, we knew it wouldn't be the best of ideas to travel 2-3 hours in the car in Ricky's work van, but at the same time we wanted a quick getaway before we become parents.
We was thinking of looking into car leasing and liked the idea of travelling in comfort and style - with the option of looking at sensible cars before hand; perfect for road trips. With the possibility to lease a mercedes and wanting to limit the amount of distractions so Ricky could drive us from A to B safely, we had a look into car leasing. However, it just so happened that we ended up getting our new family car a few weeks earlier than planned, so things worked out by themselves!
A recent survey for a campaign #UKDrivingDistractions by Lease Car UK saw 1,000 people being quizzed on their top driving distractions. A whopping 24% of people said music often distracts them; with heavy metal, rock and electronic music being the worst genres. Whilst 32% of people admitted to eating in the car which can be distracting, a worrying 45% of women admitted they often apply lipstick whilst driving - with 10% of those reaching out for mascara or blusher too.
I think our biggest distractions whilst driving are bad drivers; although Ricky now limits the amount he reacts to someone cutting him up or pulling out on him! Sometimes it sounds much more appealing to leave your expensive wheels at home. Although, with a baby on the way, I don't think we will be doing that!
I'm so sad that we are back to reality and back home from a luscious three night stay at a cute and cosy log cabin. We were kindly asked if we would like a complimentary stay at Woodlakes Park, Norfolk - which Ricky and I thought would be an excellent excuse for a well deserved "baby moon".
Woodlakes Park
Holme Road
Stowbridge
King's Lynn
Norfolk PE34 3PX
Woodlakes Park is in Kings Lynn in Norfolk - somewhere neither of us had been before. It's originally a fishing resort - a popular attraction for people to kick back and fish, although the rule is to release the fish back into either of the FIVES lakes inside of the park. However, with Woodlakes Park now wanting to attract couples and families for short breaks, it was the perfect opportunity for us to head down there and have a relaxing weekend.
If you fancy watching a vlog, I filmed little snippets of the weekend which you can watch below!
It took around 2.5 hours to get there from Essex, stopping off at a service station for some lunch both on the way there and back. Upon arrival, we couldn't believe how quiet everything was. We pulled up outside the reception and was greeted by a friendly lady who checked us into our cabin. The reception also has a large shop inside of it which sells almost everything any person could ever need to fish. They also sell daily essentials from local farms (sausages, burgers etc) and sell more household essentials like kitchen roll, washing up liquid etc.
We stayed in one of the brand new log cabins at the back of the park, which overlooked one of the huge and beautiful lakes. Our cabin had a double room, twin room with single beds and an open plan kitchen, dinning room and living room. You really wouldn't need much more for a short break!
The cabins really had that log cabin wood smell and feel which was lovely; with huge windows that allowed natural light to flow in - but with blinds on them to shut the world away at dusk. It really did feel like we were out in the middle of no where, but it was warm and cosy with radiators available for you to get your toes all toasty.
A 4 people seating table is set away from the living area, which has two sofas, a coffee table (we used it for evening snacks!) and a TV with all of the digital channels you could ever need. We had also brought a laptop and HDMI cable along, so that we could watch films on the bigger screen.
The french doors at the back opened onto a decking area that wraps around all of the back of the cabin; with an outside seating area perfect for BBQs and there are steps provided leading down to the lake area. I spent a while sitting out there one evening around 6pm with a duvet wrapped around me and it was the most peaceful I had been in ages.
We was jokingly warned that we would probably be joined by a bunch of ducks most mornings... but they came over to us for bread every morning and evening. To be honest, they never really left at all!
The only two things we did during our stay (although there's plenty of things to do!) was visit Banham Zoo on the Saturday and then have drive down to Hunstanton Beach and have a roast dinner at a local pub on the Sunday. Most places stopped serving Sunday roasts at 2-3pm which we thought was a bit bizarre!
Both Hunstanton Beach and Banham Zoo are about 40 minute drives from Woodlakes Park, so the cabins are in a nice location for days out for the family.
I found it quite difficult to walk along Hunstanton Beach for too long before my back started hurting (pregnancy problems!), but Banham Zoo was great as it allowed me to stop and rest as many times as I wanted. We also got lunch there which wasn't the best, but the zoo itself is nice.
We made it just in time to watch the giraffe feed at around lunch time and the red panda was the cutest thing we have ever seen, he was so chilled out!
We had a really comfortable and pleasant 3 night stay at Woodlakes Park and would recommend it to anyone looking to kick back and relax. We virtually had no service on our phones most of the weekend - which to be honest, was really nice not having to text people back or update social media!
OFFER FOR MARCH/APRIL: Receive 10% off telephone bookings (subject to availability) during March & April 2019 when you quote code ASHLEIGH10 :)
We have already recommended the park to so many friends and family and really look forward to returning one day with our little one when he's here.
Thanks so much to Woodlakes Park for having us. We enjoyed every minute!
Disclaimer: I was offered a three night complimentary stay at Woodlakes Park in return for an honest review on my blog and social media. This post is also in collaboration with Lease Car UK.
It is not often that I leave a restaurant and think ‘wow', from start to finish. Whilst the food and the service at restaurants I visit can often be described as satisfactory, they rarely go both hand in hand at blowing me away. Unless of course I have a table booked in a 5 star restaurant where a bottle of wine costs requires you to remortgage.
However, I’ve found a true gem and cannot wait to go back for more. Let me introduce you to; Côte Brasserie. A brilliant little French cuisine restaurant that we was invited along to review. They have restaurants dotted all over, but we visited the Bluewater branch in Kent.
We had never tried French food before, so it was something new for us to experience together, whilst also offering me the chance the explore the Bluewater shopping centre for the first time, despite not living too far from it.
Bluewater is like no other shopping centre I have been to before and it requires more than a few hours to really get to grips with the layout and where certain places are located. The building is essentially a giant dome, so you’re walking in one big circle from A to B, rather than straight down and back. It took us 10-15 minutes to find Côte Brasserie, but there’s big maps dotted around, which made it easier for us to locate.
I was pleasantly surprised to see a small queue of people outside the restaurant waiting for tables and upon approaching the windows, could see the restaurant bustling with a mix of different kinds of people. Whilst it can be annoying to wait for a table as a paying customer, a busy restaurant shows popularity and with people actually queuing to wait for a table, we couldn’t wait to get inside and see what the fuss was all about.
I showed our booking confirmation to the front of house staff and the lady knew of my press booking and immediately sat us down at a cosy table in the middle of the restaurant, tucked away from people which gave me a better chance for snapping photographs of the scrumptious dishes.
Our waiter came over and introduced himself, presenting us with menus that had a vast selection of different modern French dishes. I tend to not look at menus before attending restaurants for review, so to save the surprise.
He then brought us over two glasses of what looked like red wine and explained they was compliments of the restaurant manager. I was about to say thank you and that due to being pregnant, I wouldn’t be able to drink it. However, before I could explain, he congratulated me on my pregnancy and explained that my drink was a cranberry juice, whilst Ricky’s was a rosè wine. I thought this was such a lovely touch and went to show that the staff were attentive as soon as I arrived. I hadn’t told the PR or the restaurant I was pregnant beforehand.
Our starters came shortly after sampling Cotê Brasserie’s home made bread and trio of oils and olives. You could really tell the bread was freshly made, which is always nice to know that it’s not being sitting inside a bag for a few days.
Ricky did his classic move and ordered the Calamari (£6.75). He tends to order this if it's on the menyuat new restaurants we visit reported back that these were the best ones he's ever tried! The classic squid in breadcrumbs is sautéed in garlic, lemon and parsley; accompanied with tartare sauce.
I'm not a fan of squid and due to pregnancy, was unable to try their many fish dishes, raw steak or chicken liver pate (something to also bare in mind if you're a pregnant customer). So, it was between trying the French onion soup (£5.95) or the delicious sounding Prawn Gratinèe (£7.95). King prawns are soaked in a creamy white wine, garlic, chilli and tomato sauce - with toasted garlic and croutons to add some crunch.
These were absolutely scrumptious and something I would love to try and cook at home. The king prawns were soft and very meaty - whilst the tomato sauce had a slight kick to it and an added crunch due to the croutons. Beautiful. The waiter did remind me that the dish contained a small sample of white wine, which again I thought was very professional. However, I personally found there was no harm in a tiny bit of white wine being diluted into a sauce.
The mains menu leaves you feeling spoilt for choice. There's a vast range of options from meat, fish, steaks and lighter mains.
Ricky did the opposite for his main and ordered something he's never tried before. The Beef Bourguigon (£16.50) is served with a generous portion of traditional stewed beef, with potato, chive purèe, bacon lardons and chestnut mushrooms - with a heart shaped crouton to soak up all of the juices. Mmm-mmmm!
I ordered the Half Chargrilled Poulet Breton Chicken (£11.95), which was predicted was absolutely delicious and very much recommended! The corn fed chickens are reared in rural Brittany, France and then shipped over to England for the finest chicken on menus you can find. Accompanied with a salsa dip and some fries - what more can you ask for?
Lastly, it was time to raid the dessert menu and choose something naughty but sweet to eat.
I couldn't believe it when Ricky didn't order something chocolate related. He usually always orders a chocolate brownie and with two chocolate options on the dessert menu, he chose to order the Tarte au Citron (£5.75). Think of this as a traditional lemon tart, with a dollop of cream fraiche and some fresh raspberries. Delicious!
I ordered the Tarte Fine aux Pommes (£6.25), which I had to compliment the chef on afterwards. A fine layer of sliced and baked apples are layered onto a puff pastry tart; finished with a dollop of vanilla ice-cream. The apples were delicious and this was a different option to a traditional apple pie!
We had such a splendid time at Cote Brasserie and cannot recommend the food and service enough. The food and service are of a high quality and no customer is forgotten or put to the back of a list. It's a thumbs up from us!
Disclaimer: We was invited for a complimentary meal in return for an honest review. All words, opinions and photographs are my own.
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