Christmas Party Dresses - George @ Asda

This is my last instalment of my search for a new party dress for this Christmas season, and I have been having a good look through the George @ Asda Direct website.

1. Metallic Flower Mesh Dress - £20

I think is really lovely, and I love the mesh top part. The pattern on the top part is pretty.

2. Chiffon Batwing Dress - £18

I think this is amazing. I have a batwing top from ASOS and it is one of my favourite items. I think it gives you a great shape.

3. Moda V-neck Dress - £18

This is in a beautiful cobalt blue, and I love a V-neck!

4. Lace Shift Dress - £20

What better colour to wear at Christmas but red! And the lace sleeves are lovely.

5. Barbara Hulanicki Patterned Collar Dress - £18

This is a great black dress, and with the little collar, I think this would be a great staple dress for different occasions.

DAPW review

A few weeks sent a product to review from Duvet and Pillow Warehouse. I had a few items to choose from, but in the end, I went for their Luxury Mulberry Silk Throw in Seaspray.

I had been looking at getting a throw for our lounge for a while, not just for just a visual impact, but to act as a blanket on these cold winter nights. The throw comes in 3 gorgeous colours, Seapray, Taupe and Biscuit. I opted for the Seaspray colour as our lounge is painted a mixture of light blue and turquoise shades. I was so excited when it arrived to get in on the sofa! So that's what I did....

It came just before the school pick up, so I had a good look at it and put it onto the sofa, then went down to my son's school. When I got back, this is what I saw.....

Well at least it gets the seal of approval from Lulu! She looked so comfy all curled up on it, and it took her a while to want to get off it! Anyway, then it was my turn to have a go! That evening, as usual in our draughty house, it started to get cold in the lounge, so I pulled the throw over my lap and continued to do my work on the laptop.

It was so comfortable and kept me so warm! Even Lulu decided to curl up next to me, which she never normally does. It is so soft, and is a great size (140 x 200cm) and a good weight (380gsm). I have looked at throws before and they have either been really light and fleecy, or heavy and uncomfortable. But this throw is the best of both being 100% Mulberry Silk! I also love the tasselled edges, they are so soft and add a lovely flair to the throw.

This throw has an RRP of £100, but is available for £46! I think it is such a great deal, and at the moment, they have an extra 20% off everything on their site, and with free P&P on orders over £30. And with the amount of amazing items on their site, it would be easy to do that!

Our Santa Experience

A few months ago, along with Mike's family, we decided to book tickets for Ruxley Manor Garden Centre in Sidcup to visit Santa. The were really popular and sold out very quickly, but we were some of the lucky ones. I had never been to a proper 'Visit Santa' thing before, only really seen him at school fete's or at local shopping centres. So when we got the confirmation email through about our booking, I was pleasantly surprised to see that we would be spending an hour seeing Santa! 

I had told a few of my mum friend's at Jack's school about our booking, and they all had said how great it was and that they had missed out on tickets. This made me even more excited to go! So, we headed off there last week and met all of Mike's family there, as we were all coming from different directions.

We first were lead into a little room by Santa's elves where we were told about a rat problem and how we were going to help Santa. Then we had to sing a song called Reindeer Pokey - which was in the tune of Hokey Pokey - and the kids enjoyed that, and maybe me too. Then we went through the next door and we greeted by a coconut shy-style set up, but with rats and snowballs. We had to throw the snowballs at the rats and see how many we could knock down. This is where the guys got a little competitive and a a bit violent in trying to smash the hell out of some toy rats!

Then we went into another room where the kids got to sit at desks and decorate their own Christmas Tree decoration. Jack went for a Santa and Maria chose a reindeer. They got a little pack with their wooden decoration and a set of 4 colouring pens. They loved this, and I wish I could have done one too!

Next, we went into Santa's kitchen where the children got to make some reindeer food. They had to sprinkle in different things into their little hessian bags from fairy sprinkle dust to elf crystals, and they loved it. Jack can't wait to sprinkle his reindeer food in the front garden on Christmas Eve.

Family photo

Then it was time to see Santa! We weren't really allowed to take pictures in there...but I took a sneaky one just of the room with Santa in.

Santa had a little chat with the kids about Christmas, and then it was time for presents. Santa had a magic chimney, and the children had to clap twice, then a present fell down the chimney. All of the kids got a present - Maria got a badge making kit, and Jack and his cousin who is 5 got a dinosaur fridge magnet making kit. Their little cousin who is 2 got a reindeer cuddly toy which he really liked. They also gave the kids a baby Christmas tree to give to their parents as a 'Thank you for bringing me to see Santa' present. Jack handed me his one and said it very politely! We were in there for exactly an hour and the kids had a really good time.

The kids tree decorations and reindeer food

We then popped over to the ice rink to watch people going round. There was some great music on, and the kids were high-fiving the man dressed as a penguin going round. It was a nice evening, not too cold, and a really nice atmosphere.

Christmas Party Dresses - New Look

I'm still looking for some dress-piration for Christmas parties this festive season, and now is the turn of New Look.

1. Teal Chiffon Glitter Cuff Long Sleeve Tunic - £26.99

I was immediately drawn to this as the colour is beautiful. And I love me some long sleeves!

2. Burgundy Lace Contrast Embellished Neck Maxi Dress - £34.99

I have seen these dresses for a while, and I think I would love to try one, and this is a lovely colour.

3. Dark Red Embellished Bandeau Prom Dress - £49.99

This is a little bit on the girl side, but I think it is really cute.

4. Red Sequin Mini Dress - £24.99

This is fab! I love the sparkle, and the colour is gorgeous!

5. Black Beaded High Neck Dress - £26.99

I don't own anything with a high neck, but this looks so lovely.

I Feel Good

You know sometimes when you spend ages getting ready for a night out, an event or even just a blog post, and the reflection in mirror isn't what you hoped?  This challenge is for those times when you look in the mirror, no pre planning involved, and think "I look good today".   

We all have our good days and our bad, but this challenge is to record those good days and to remember that confidence, at any size, is beautiful.

Last weekend, Mike and I took the kids to see Santa at Ruxley Manor In Sidcup with the rest of Mike's family (post coming soon!) and after we had finished our hour doing Christmas fun in his grotto, we all went outside and watched people on the ice skating rink. There was some great music, and it was a lovely atmosphere. So, being me, I took a selfie in front of the rink and thought I looked quite nice :)

Don't forget to check out the other fabulous ladies: 

Becky http://www.doesmyblogmakemelookfat.com/

Bee http://www.thelittlestbuzz.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Felicity http://felicityhart.blogspot.co.uk/

Hallie http://knitteddaisy.blogspot.co.uk/  

Karen http://toodulltoblog.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Kaye http://www.polishedcurves.com 

Laura http://laurapantslifestyle.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Leah http://justmeleah.blogspot.co.uk/

Mhairi http://www.lilybobombslovelylumps.com/ 

Natalie http://awheelbarrowfullofstyle.blogspot.co.uk 

Nikki http://nattynikki.blogspot.com 

Toni http://theonlywayist.com/

Vicky http://www.thecurvedopinion.com/

Christmas Party Dresses - ASOS Curve

Welcome to the second part of my search for a Christmas party dress. This time, I have had a good look throught ASOS Curve and found some beauties!

1. ASOS Curve Skater Dress with Lace Applique - £38
I love this monochrome looking dress, and the long sleeves make it even better!

2. ASOS CURVE Smock Dress In Holographic Sequin - £55

I love the bit of glitz and glamour with this one, and it's a little different to the normal Christmas colours of red and green. 

3. ASOS CURVE Exclusive Swing Dress with Embellished Cross - £45
I love the cross on this! A bot of glitz, and you can't beat a swing dress.

4. ASOS Curve Exclusive Skater Dress With Lace V Back - £35
This isn't as 'dressy' as some of the others, but I like the colour and you could easily dress it up.

5. ASOS Curve Skater Dress With Baroque Embellishment - £75
I really like the patterning on this dress, and how it transfers from the top down the skirt.

Another lovely range of dresses....more choices!!

A day with my mum

Last month, I was lucky enough to accompany my mum along to a spa day at Rowhill Grange in the lovely Kent countryside. Luckily, it is only about 15 minutes from where I live, and after navigating my way there, I realised I have actually driven past it a few times! 

Rowhill Grange is a hotel and Utopia Spa in Wilmington, Kent, and is set in 15 acres of private grounds, including a Victorian walled garden, some beautiful wild flowers and ancient roses and was so tranquil. We arrived at just after 9am and drove up their amazingly beautiful driveway, meandering through their picturesque grounds. 

We started off by having a nice cup of coffee and perusing the lunch menu to make our choices for what we would like. Mum and I both went for the Leek and Potato soup with croutons for starters, then I followed that with the Salmon, and mum went for Chicken. We then had a little chat before being shown around the spa so we knew what we were doing. Then we got changed and got straight into the pool! 

There were three different pools - a full length swimming pool, a hydrotherapy pool and a jacuzzi - and a sauna and a steam room. We had a lovely morning and used most of the facilities, and then got showered and dressed for our lunch.

It was gorgeous! The soup was lovely and thick, and tasted very leeky - this sounds weird, but a lot of leek and potato soups I have had in the past have been a lot creamier in colour, and therefore contained more potato. This soup was a lovely green colour, and the first thing you could taste was the leek. It was very nice. Then along came our main course, and they both looked amazing. My salmon was cooked perfectly, and went really well with the chorizo and bean cassoulet. Mum enjoyed her chicken, and the red wine joux was delicious.

After lunch, we headed back down to the changing rooms, spent a little time in the sauna, then headed back to the swimming pool. As we were one of the first ones to have lunch, when we got back to the spa, everyone else was still eating. So we had the pool to ourselves. I swam about 15-20 lengths, something I miss doing when we go swimming with the kids as I have to be watching them all the time. But being able to just swim, something I used to love doing as a child, was so nice. I could clear my mind and just concentrate on swimming, and that was a great feeling.

After a couple of hours of going between the steam room, hydrotherapy pool and jacuzzi, it was time to get showered and dressed. In the changing rooms, there were some great hair dryers that worked wonders on my thick hair, and also some GHD straighteners. I made full use of those bad boys!

So after getting dressed and packing all our bits up, it was time to head home. We had a great day, and it was really nice to spend time with my mum. We both lead very busy 'mum' lives, and don't get to spend a lot of time away from the children, let alone with each other, so it was great to just chat and relax.

The setting was amazing and I wish we had had more time to explore the gardens of this beautiful place. The staff were all very helpful, the facilities were brilliant and I can't tell you how much I enjoyed the food. I would highly recommend this spa for a lovely relaxing day. 

Check out their website here.