26.10.14

Little Jones Style: Belle Vintage Elsa Dress

Pretty much every little girl in the country is obsessed with Frozen right now and my Mini Fashionista is no exception! She has been begging me for an Elsa dress since she first saw the film earlier this year, so I was very excited for her when I won this beautiful Elsa inspired outfit in an Instagram competition a few weeks ago. 


The dress is from Belle Vintage, who specialise in tutus and petitskirts with a vintage twist. We absolutely love this dress which also comes with a gorgeous iridescent cape. The outfit is, dare I say, far more beautiful than the original and a little bit more age appropriate for my three year old. 

As luck would have it, E has her a Fancy Dress party coming up in the next few weeks and therefore the perfect opportunity to wear her new outfit and be the Belle of the ball!

Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend.  

21.10.14

The Spooktacular Challenge

It's almost Halloween and all the shops are full of sweets and chocolates in preparation for all the trick or treaters next week. Aldi contacted me to take part in their Spooktacular Challenge and I thought it would be nice to take a break from scoffing pumpkin shaped chocolates and try something a little healthier. 
I'm tend to be a bit clumsy when it comes to anything creative so I'm quite pleased with how these turned out! The Vampire apple was made using just an apple for the lips and almonds for the teeth. The Frankenstein's Monster is just a pepper cut in half with slice olives for the hair and facial features , goats cheese for the whites of eyes and a mushroom for the bolts.



17.10.14

Buying a new Maclaren

So here's the thing, right before we found out that Mr Rufio was on his way, I decided to purchase a very girly, very flowery Cath Kidston Maclaren Stroller for little E. Now don't get me wrong, It is a fantastic pushchair, that has travelled all around the world with us ( you can see E in it below left on the beach in Batu Batu Malaysia and Rufio is on the right again on a beach in Elafonisos, Greece) it is super light weight, practical yet stylish you name it BUT I do feel a little bit guilty pushing my boy around in such a feminine buggy. Even though it is predominately teal, I do get a few funny stares from passers by!


Up until now I have mainly been using our Bugaboo Donkey but now that Rufio is bigger, I actually prefer to use something smaller and more convenient. We took the Maclaren on holiday with us last month, Rufio seems really comfortable in it so I have been using it ever since. We have more than had our money's worth of our Cath Kidston stroller so I don't feel to bad about trading it in for something slightly more neutral in appearance. Mr Jones and I have decided that we would like to stick with the Maclaren brand it is just so trusty and reliable. I was asked to take a look at Maclaren pushchairs and here are some of neutral options that we are considering, I don't want anything too masculine as E very occasionally still uses the buggy so I'm going for something slightly more gender neutral this time :) 
The Maclaren Triumph push chair (Left) in black & charcoal is great value for money. I am obsessed with black framed buggies too these days!

The Maclaren Quest (centre) weighs in at just 6.4kgs and has four reclining seat positions.I love the black & Teal print, Teal is one of my favourite colours! 

The redesigned Maclaren Techno XT (right) comes with a larger shopping basket- tres important! It has an improved break system, can be used from birth and has the obligatory black frame. This stroller literally has it all. LOVE! 

16.10.14

My day at Bumpfest with Aldi

Last month, I was very fortunate to be invited to the first ever Mumsnet Bumpfest event, which was sponsored by Aldi

Before you ask, no I don't have any news for you ;) Indeed the event was geared towards expectant mamas but it was also quite relevant to relatively new mamas such as myself.

I attended a fantastic infant first aid speech given by the British Red Cross. I have been meaning to enrol myself and Mr Jones on a child first aid course for eons, and the lecture reinforced to me just how important it is to have some basic first aid knowledge, especially when you have young children as I do. 

I also sat in on an incredibly interesting and thought provoking speech by Penelope Leach who is a psychologist specialising in parenting and child psychology. She has very strong views on controlled crying, and as a mother who has never been able to leave my children to 'cry it out' it was refreshing to hear for once, that my views on this matter are supported by her extensive research in to this area.   

Right about the time this lecture had ended, I received a frantic call from Mr Jones informing me that both children were ill with a tummy bug and that I was needed back home urgently. I think I have mentioned before that since E started nursery, they have both been picking up all sorts of bugs and today was no exception, in fact we're still feeling the aftermath of it now, eek!! 


I was sad to miss out on a manicure from Wah Nails who had a stall there and not to be able to listen to more of the guest speakers. I really wanted to go to the Attachment Parenting section but Mama duties called..... not before stopping at the Aldi stall to say hello! Since our trip to London Zoo with Aldi this summer, I have become quite a convert to this supermarket. As a family, we especially love their rice cakes, the nappies are also incredibly good value too! I was therefore very pleased to find that the Mumsnet Goody bags were packed full of Aldi treats, including their extra sensitive wipes, which we hadn't tried before and LOVED. 

Thank you once again Aldi!! 


14.10.14

Little Jones Style: My 1st Years Review

Few things are cuter than chubby little baby legs. My little Rufio is quite mobile these days, I'm pretty sure he is shedding his adorable puppy fat by the second and before I know it he is probably going to be towering over me. Images like this won't be around for too long and are to be treasured.


These gorgeous little personalised faux fur lined booties are from My 1st Years. I chose these boots because they look like they would be really warm and cosy for Rufio with winter coming. Rufio has quite a lot of grey and neutral tones in his wardrobe too so these would go well with the rest of his clothes. The product description says that they can be worn outdoors but personally I think they're a little too nice for that. We will keep these for indoors and for posing in his buggy. Boots can sometimes be a bit of a nightmare to put on young children but these go on easily and fasten with some velcro at the side. They also stay on too so I suspect he might like them just a little bit!



The product arrived promptly in an exquisite little  'tiffany blue' box. No further gift wrapping needed if you are buying these as a gift!


My 1st Years specialise in personalised gifts for babies and young children, ideal for baby showers, christenings, 1st birthdays and beyond. I have been so impressed with the product range and the boots that we have received that I will most definitely be back for more and will also be recommending My 1st Years to anyone who will listen.



The best things come in little blue boxes, wouldn't you agree?? 


www.my1styears.com

10.10.14

Mrs Jones Loves: Bourjois Bronzing Primer & Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Stick

I am a bit behind with blogging, you may have noticed! So I thought I'd make this post something of a two for one ;) I have used the Bourjois Bronzing Primer and the Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Stick all summer long and now through in to the autumn. Both products really compliment each other and let's face it, powder bronzer never really works all that well with creamier foundations does it!

Starting with the Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Stick. I bought this to replace my much loved and now sadly discontinued Becca stick foundation - their new range just isn't cutting it for me these days! But perhaps Becca cosmetics did me a favour, I think I actually like this product more. It is much easier to blend, covers well, lasts well and perhaps even a better colour match for my skin! It's also really portable for holidays or touch ups when you're out and about - no risk of pesky spills! I whack it on where I need coverage and blend with fingers or a foundation brush.


I picked up the Bourjois Bronzing primer because I was looking for something for contouring/bronzing I had heard that it is supposedly a dupe for Chanel Soleil de Tan and yet it's on sale for a 3rd of the price. Firstly, I wouldn't really call these dupes, the Bourjois product is a much softer mouse and I therefore find this easier to blend. I also prefer the colour, it feels slightly less orange on me and more suited to my colouring. I apply the mousse with a brush, creating a '3' shape on each side of my face and then buffing this in. This product is quite buildable so I apply lightly first of all and then go over it again if needed. My only gripe about this product is the AWFUL packaging. It fell apart within days and is currently held together with tape, I the mousse doesn't dry up as a result.


I have really oily skin combination skin and I find that the more I try to matify my makeup, the worse it looks! The combination of the Bobbi Brown fountain and the Bourjois Bronzing powder just works really well at giving me the dewey no make up look I love and stays put for the most part of the day without looking cakey.  I admit that I even wore these in very light layers to the beach whilst on holiday!


6.10.14

Little Jones Style : Autumn Stars

As I put this post together, I can't quite believe that this photo was taken just a few days ago given the sudden temperature drop here in the UK! Nevertheless this blush and taupe A-line dress from Next should see my little Etoile through to winter once layered up with leggings or tights and a chunky knit cardi.

  

We have a bit of a star theme going on in our house, mainly due to the origin of my daughter's name! So obviously E & I were drawn to the pattern of this dress, it also has a really cute dipped hem at the back which I totally forgot to photograph, oops!! 


The rose- gold canvas trainers from Mothercare were a total steal at just £6 although the Annabel Kern hairband from Bobo Kids in Chelsea was a bit of a splurge. I have to admit I was completely sucked in by the star packaging..... see what I mean ......

Despite whining about the weather, I have to admit it is kinda nice having a chance of wardrobe and I am loving buying new bits and pieces for the little ones. Except lots more style posts in the coming weeks. 

p.s. Am writing this post as I return home from work on the bus, using the blogGo app. on my phone so fingers crossed this works. Do you use any apps to blog? I would love recommendations for a good blogging app for the iphone! 


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