Aldi bedroom special buys range! Get yours now!

I haven't done my usual Friday trip to Aldi in a little while, so thought I'd pop today after I'd dropped Mstr J at school, and boy I was glad I did!

This week Aldi's special buys, their 'once they're gone they're gone' items, have a Bedroom range!!  Being a woman, obviously I love a bit of bedding!!  The timing couldn't be better, we're currently doing up our spare room, so I was keeping an eye out for bargains in the bedding department!

My first spot, was the beautiful duvet sets they have ........

Printed Duvet Set (£6.99 - £12.99)

Give your bedroom or guest room a spring makeover with Aldi Specialbuys stylish printed duvet sets. Available in a choice of six reversible designs in single, double and king sets, each set gives you two-looks in one.

I bought the double, for £9.99. It was meant for the spare room, but it is very similar to my fave Cath kidston designs, and also very similar to some expensive bedding I've bought in BHS. It might end up on my bed instead!

Out of the pack, it feels really soft and silky. Better than other "cheap" sets I've bought in the past. I can't wait to try it out.

I also picked up a mattress protector. This cost £5.79 for the double.  My mattress is getting a bit 'springy', I am hoping it will shield my poor ribs from a spring in the night!  It was a bargain!!  I've put it on the bed already, and of course I had to try it out with a little lie down.  It definitely felt so much better, so I can't wait for tonight to try it out properly!

These are also great for single beds where you have kids who aren't, 'well trained' yet. Saves your poor mattress getting spoilt.

I then kitted out the spare bed with a double duvet, only £12.99, and a pack of 4 pillows, only £7.99!

These are the cheapest I've found so far. The duvet is 10.5 Tog.  And the pillows as you can see look huge! I can't wait to get my head down on one!!

They had plenty of stock to fit single beds up to king size.

They also had an inflatable double bed and child bed. Great to have in the cupboard as a quick solve for those guests that just won't go home ;0)

As usual with Aldi special buys, when they're gone they're gone, so get yours before they go!  And get yourself a good comfy night sleep, at a bargain price!!

Valentines day at Asda

So, in a last minute bid to get a couple of bits for valentines day, I decided to have a browse in Asda while I did my shopping!

I love Asda as they always seem to make sure they have plenty of stock, so even last minute people like me don't miss out!

There was loads of great ideas, whether it be the main gift you are looking for, or some little bits & bobs to supliment your gift. Even some cheeky bits ;o)

As you all know, I love to bake. So my eyes were drawn straight to the baking items! There was loads to chose from! I decided on the Love Hearts cookie cutter and stamps. They had a whole range of cute Love Heart items. How lucky will hubby be with some sweetie shaped biscuits of his own! That's if the kids don't get to them first!  This cost £4!  This is a great price for one of these. I've eyed similar in baking shops & they've been a stupid price.

Ok, so the next thing I picked up was kinda a gift for both of us. I thought it was beautiful, and I wanted it! Lol. A lovely little memory box. You can  put a photo in the top of it and keep all your memories inside. This will be ideal for keeping all the ticket stubs and things like that from the gigs we used to go to. And the bit for hubby..... It's full of praline chocolates! So he gets to enjoy emptying it, and I get to fill it up with all our memories!  What a lovely item!

I bought a jokey gift for hubby too. Only £1 got me a toast stamper. So when he makes me breakfast in bed next time (a girl can dream), he can stamp I Love You on it for me!!!  I'm hoping he'll catch the hint!

There really was loads of fab ideas, from icing to decorate your cookies (yes I got some of that too), to the usual flowers and chocolates! 

Get down to Asda now, get in the mood for luuuuuuuurve and pick up a treat, at such good bargains you can get yourself a little something too!!

Happy Valentines everyone!!!

Baby bargains at Aldi

It's that time again, Aldi have a baby event!!

I went today as I had nothing to do on my weekly day off. And was surprised and pleased to catch the baby event!  I always love an Aldi deal, but their baby event is one of my faves!!

First in my trolley, was a book. Miss Iz has started to get a bit book crazy like her big bro, Mstr J.  A beautiful, colourful big book. The pages were lovely and clear for little ones, and minimal words, which is great when your little one constantly wants to turn the page!  The book is called "I Love You When...".  It cost only 99p!!!!!!

Next was a lovely soft cellular blanket. They had a choice of colours. I picked pink, of course!  Since winter has kicked in, in full force, I don't feel like you can ever have enough blankets for your little one. It's lovely and soft, and big at 70 by 90cm.   The best bit, the price, only £2.49.

They also had beautifully soft fleece blankets, the same size, for only £2.79. The girls colours had all gone, but I couldn't resist picking one up for a friend at this price!  As I said, you can never have enough blankets! Lol

I grabbed a pack of nice pink girlie Muslins. Since Mstr J was a baby, the price of these things seem to have sky rocketed! So I grab some here & there if I see them at a good price. Only £3.29, I couldn't resist.  Since the picture below was taken, I have since used one of these top mop up a particularly nasty Miss Iz stain.  It soaked it up great and I can say it also washed up beautifully!

Some other great items I saw they had were.....

Baby sleepsuits, 3 pack for only £3.99

Baby character tshirts, 2 pack for £3.99

Infant tights, £1.99

Hooded towel, £3.49

Baby monitor, £19.99

My fave was a hungry caterpillar gift set, at £14.99!!

So, as I always say, get down to Aldi, as when these great items are gone, they're gone!!

Quick reads ! The little books for busy mums

"Have a bit of you time" said my husband! "Yeah right" I said. "When do I get time for me, and anyway, what would I do?".  "You used to love reading" he said. "I don't have time for that now! I'm lucky if I get 5 minutes to myself to have a wee! And even that isn't alone most of the time!"

I'm sure this is a conversation that has gone on in a lot of homes. The busy mummy who has no time for herself. Missing one of her old loves, a good book! 

Well, this changed a couple of days later, when he arrived home from work....

"Look what I found" he stated. Like a dog with a bone he was all excited with himself.  In his hand was a Quick Read book. These little books are aimed at those who don't have time to get stuck into a big thick read. I was pretty impressed that a) he'd thought of me & b) he'd even remembered our conversation of the days before!!  Memory is not his strong point!

That night after putting the kids to bed, I decided to grab 5 minutes to myself before starting the chores. I grabbed my new Quick Read book 'Paris For One' by Jojo Moyes and a bar of Galaxy from the fridge (the diet starts next week).  Galaxy are proud supporters of Quick Reads, so it just felt kinda right!

Ok, so 5 minutes turned to 15 as I got stuck into both the chocolate & the book! It was turning into a great little read. But in true mummy style, a kiddy called, and I was able to put the book down and leave it til later.

Luckily a couple of days later I found myself with another few minutes to myself and I got stuck in again.

The book was then put in my hand bag and at every opportunity I'd grab it out & get another few pages read. It was a great time filler when I got to school early for pick up. 

I found a love for reading again and I felt like in them 5 minutes here & there I was getting a little bit of me time.

The book was finished, a great little story and I was left wanting more! I told hubby. He must have been feeling generous, as he arrived home the next day with 2 more!!

Then I noticed something I hadn't before, the price!! At only £1 each, they weren't breaking the bank!!  What a bargain!!

At that price if you're not keen on the story, you don't really mind.  I spent too much time & money in my younger years starting books & passing them on as I just couldn't get into them.

My 3 books so far....

I am really pleased with my Quick Reads. I think they are perfect for the mummies like me, always on the go with little time for yourself.  I can't wait to get stuck into my next one.

There's a number of titles out there & I'm hoping they will keep adding more as I'm loving them too much to have to stop when I've done all of them!!

You can get these Quick Reads books in a number of stores and supermarkets, including Waterstones and Whsmith. You can also buy online from Amazon etc.  Or even buy in the form of an ebook if you have a kindle etc. Failing that, you can borrow them from your local library!

Stockists......

And even treat yourself to a bar of Galaxy! In supporting Quick Reads they are supporting your reading happiness, so it's only right to get stuck into a bar, or two, I intend to!

Daves reptiles birthday party in dagenham

So, Mstr J's birthday was coming around and we wondered what to do. Every year so far we've just had a little close family get together. But school started and the impending doom of  'doing what the other parents do' & having a party was felt!!

So, for the first time, I decided to do the whole birthday party thing!

Neither Mstr J or us are ppl who like big groups, so weren't keen on a massive hall disco, or a large group soft play type thing.

I was thinking about what we could do. His friend had had a bowling party, that was quite good.  Then I remembered seeing daves reptiles party rooms on a Facebook mums group! A light bulb went off! We all love lizards etc and it would be a nice small party. 

I gave Dave a call and we went to visit. Dave is a lovely friendly guy who is very helpful and extremely knowledgeable on his reptiles. While we were there we saw the raport he has with his customers.  It is not just a pRty venue, but also a working reptile shop. I could have stayed all day.

Dave is super helpful and can tailor make your party package.

We booked the show & tell session, followed by face painting and disco. He also allowed us extra time for party games.

The day itself went swimmingly. The children had such a fantastic time looking, touching, learning about the animals. The gentleman who did the show and tell was so good with the kids. Letting them hold them, stroke them etc. He helped the ones who were scared conquer their fear and join in. I was so impressed. Even the parents were getting involved, asking questions & holding the animals too. Everyone seemed to be having a great time.  Even Miss Iz tried to dive in, grabbing for the corn snake!

It was so much fun and we were all engrossed in what we were being told and seeing the fantastic creatures!

Me joining in! Loved it

Then it was face painting time. What a lovely young lady she was. Very willing to try and do whatever the kids requested. Mstr J, the birthday boy got to go first, and in usual Mstr J style came out with the request of 'I want to be The Flash!'. Typical!! Bless her though, she googled it, and soon he was the best flash I've seen!! There was frozen, a tiger, a minion and the best teenage mutant ninja turtle I've seen too.  She even had the patience to sit me down with Miss Iz and calm her enough to let her paint some flowers on her face! So thank you!!

Mstr J aka birthday boy as The Flash..

And Miss Iz looking butterfly beautiful...

The next bit was our time. The kids ate, partied, played in the soft play, and enjoyed the party games we put on.

The bouncy castle was up in the soft play room, and the main room had the lights turned down, with flashing lights going & a smoke machine like a proper disco!

When the time was over, a lot of happy faces left. Even the parents! Most parties the parents leave looking exhausts & bored, but these actually enjoyed themselves too.

I'd like to say a massive thank you to Dave for all his help in making Mstr J's birthday a sucess & such a great day!

If you're interested in a child's party, check out Dave's Facebook page.

Or email him for info on 

davesreptilespartyrooms@yahoo.co.uk

Slow cooker delights

I'd been contemplating a slow cooker since my job relocated me to the other side of London! I'm spending more time away from home and hate getting the kids home late, with minimal time to cook a meal for them.

We were sadly slipping into the 'stick some quick junk in the oven rutt', and I wasn't happy about it!

Christmas was approaching, and I never know what to ask for. I have my birthday just before Christmas too, so I've long run out of suggestions for gifts by Christmas.  My family hate buying gifts for people that are for the home. But I suggested to my sister that instead of buying it for 1 of us, buy it as a joint gift for me & hubby. It was what we wanted. She agreed!

I was a little excited Christmas Day to open my new spangly 6.5litre machine!! I couldn't wait to get started!

I popped to Tesco & Asda to see if I could get any meats on the reduced bits. I came back with quite a haul.  Pork shoulders, beef briskets, chicken etc.  I couldn't wait!

My first try was going to be my much anticipated & a favourite in restaurants, Pulled Pork!!

I put my pork shoulder in on low at 9am. With a can of Pepsi poured over it as was suggested online.  By 12 lunch time I decided to add some hassleback potatoes.  These are potatoes with cuts made into them & cheese or whatever you want in the gaps.  I wrapped them in foil so they could sit in the Pepsi without getting wet.  I turned it up to high.

By 4.30pm I couldn't wait any longer. I got the potatoes out & put them on a tray in the oven with the foil open a bit to brown & crisp a bit. You don't need to do this, but I wanted to.  Plus it gave me time to take the pork out. On a plate it fell apart! I shredded it with ease. I poured the residue from the slow cooker away. Put the shredded meat back in & squirted on a load of BBQ sauce. I let this warm through.  The result was scrummy!!  The meat was plenty for us to have for dinner that night, and again the next day in rolls!!  Yum yum!!

More of my yummy slow cooked delights coming soon.........

Aldi super Winter SALE!! Get in there quick!

Starting instore on the 8th, Aldi have their 1st ever winter sale!  

With huge savings on DIY tools, technology, gadgets and even clothing!

There has never been a better time to hit the January sales!!

Featuring a range of items, to name a few ....

A Garmin sat nav, was £89.99 now £59.99

A deckless Bluetooth car stereo, was £34.99 now £19.99

A sunrise alarm clock, was £24.99 now £12.99

A 4 step safety ladder, was £39.99 now £24.99

A pasting table, was £24.99 now £12.99

Boys and girls tshirts, was £2.49 now £1.49

And many many many more!!

As always, products are available nationwide, but only while stocks last!!

The ladder....

The clock......