We’ve decided that as a large proportion of our readers are NOT bloggers, it would be a nice idea to run a series where we introduce you to a new blogger every Friday. We’re really lucky to have Keris as a regular contributor here on LittleStuff (she only loves us for the freebies, to be honest) – a journalist turned successful YA author, we simply love her writing. And her sons. And her – a little bit. So we were extra thrilled that despite being on a tight deadline with her latest novel she took the time out to answer some stoopidity for us…

Describe yourself in 20 words:
I’m rubbish at describing myself, so I asked Harry who was loitering, waiting for me to get off the computer. He said: Beautiful. Stylish. Works a lot. Always wearing glasses. A naughty husband. Helpful. Kind. Angry sometimes. Reading books a lot. Good.

1. Name three things you like that start with the letter B.
Books, obviously. Couldn’t manage without books. Bread – I just bought a rye/linseed loaf in Asda yesterday. It’s absolutely gorgeous. There’s very little of it left. Booze – I love a glass of red wine and in LA last year (*flicks hair*) I got addicted to margaritas, but not in a bad way…

2. A web site you visit frequently that we might not have heard of.

http://www.scoutingny.com/

I love New York (which is why I wrote a book about it) and this site just proves how endlessly fascinating it is.

3. Tell us one beauty product you can’t live without.
Oh dear. I’m embarrassingly low maintenance (Harry was very sweet coming up with “stylish”, but he couldn’t be more wrong), but I’d be very sad without my Mac Fling eyebrow pencil. My eyebrows are blonde and feeble.

4. Tell us about your pet(s) and/or share a photo.
I don’t have any pets, but I did have a budgie when I was growing up. His name was Nipper and I loved him. I actually got sent home from school when he died, I was so upset. And this was secondary school.

5. What are five of your favourite books?
Waiting for Birdy by Catherine Newman. This book actually helped me decide to have a second child and I’ve reread it at least three times. It’s funny and sweet and I sent the author a gushing fan letter.

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. Yes, it’s YA and it sounds a bit like the Groundhog Day of Death, but don’t let that put you off. It’s a beautifully-written, breathtaking, book.

The 52 Seductions by Betty Herbert. Betty and Herbert (not their real names!) decided to try something new sexually once a week and blog about it. I read one post after seeing a link on Twitter and was completely blown away (fnar) by Betty’s honesty, humour and wonderfully warm writing.

Millions by Frank Cottrell Boyce. I’ve just started reading this to Harry, having read it myself when it first came out. It’s just a joyful book. (The film’s good too.)

Delusions of Gender by Cordelia Fine. I’ve been recommending this book to everyone for ages now. It’s a brilliant study of gender difference and research, but it’s actually very accessible and often very funny.

5. If you could cross-breed two animals, which ones would you choose and why? What would you name your new hybrid?
What weirdo came up with this question?! I’d cross a tiger with a cat and have a little cuddly tiger round the house.
I’d call it a tat, obviously.

6. Share a photo you’ve taken that you’re proud of;

I love this photo, taken in London a couple of years ago. I fell out of love with London when I lived there in the mid-90s and it's only recently that I've started to fall back in love again. When I took this photo, I'd been for a long walk along the river and I was looking back and thinking about how in some places the view probably hasn't changed for hundreds of years.

Do go and visit Keris’ blog, it’s a fab read. Don’t forget to say hello, and tell her we sent you – she’ll no doubt put the kettle on…

You can also see Keris’ writings for us here – but she does quite a lot more than that;

OUT NOW! Jessie Hearts NYC
“A breezy summer rom-com, with oodles of New York glamour.” The Bookseller

Twitter @keris
My website
Girls ? Books
The Big Zeroes
Ready for Ten

*NEED* it for my desk.
That is all, really…

Red 1930s ‘Series 302′ phone available from Debenhams for £50.

We’ve collated an archive of our top Spotted! items over on Pinterest, which is such a great way to mosey around the eclectic stuff we come across and ‘spot’ for you.

Next up is the Books board – all the books we’ve talked about on one quick-to-browse shelf of loveliness.

New to Pinterest? Fret not! The lovely Domestic Goddesque has just written a Beginners Guide to Pinterest, which is fantabulous and definitely worth bookmarking.

So, if you pin – you know where to find us! If you don’t, and would like an invite to try it, just leave a comment and we’ll see what we can do.

I *want* one of these in the corner of MY bedroom, never mind the children. Year of the Dragon, and all that.
He’s just. so. CHEERFUL!

Davy Dragon Pouffe is a flame under £120 from Kids Rooms.

Just a genius thing to have stashed away in the pushchair, in the car or in the bottom of your handbag. They scrunch up small – but will carry the most scary amount of shopping (40lbs!) when needed. The large strap also looks vay comfy (across the body or over the shoulder).

Milano String Shopping Bag Available from Natural Nursery for just a knot under £4.

Annoying Monsters. Man these things are well-named. Seriously.
They burp, they fart, they laugh til they judder, they repeat what you say in a weird, irritating, mimicky-fashion… and just when you think they’ve finally gone quiet they start to snore. Very loudly. They’re rude, stupid, pointless and seriously annoying.
Naturally, the 9 and 10yr olds LOVE them.
*sigh*
The boys thought they were funny when they just made weird and rude sounds. But once they figured out that the monsters record what you say and repeat it… oh, the fun is limitless.
Rude messages for brothers, stooopid sing-song noises which get replayed over and over and over and over…
These monster-things do my head in.
And yet…
Of all the things they got for Christmas, these irritating little beasts are the things I still see most often clutched and carried and played with.
When I see my two boys, roaring with laughter, not a computer screen in sight… I find I’m rather fond of these odd-looking little aliens, with their SERIOUSLY annoying little voices…

The full range is available direct from the Annoying Monsters (rather brilliant) website for £18 each. But we have just spotted there’s a few of them currently half price over at play.com.

What’s not to love about Dr Seuss? And on a t shirt? *squee!*

Loving the small  “the cat in the hat” detail printed inside the collar too!

Dr Seuss t shirt available from Fabric Flavours in ages 1-6yrs, for sixteen of your pounds.

It’s the last day of Raspberry Red’s sale, and this fantastic (100% Organic no less) nightgown (probably the MOST practical sleeping wear ever invented for babies) is reduced to under £8!

And we’ve not even mentioned the HEDGEHOG on the front…

Organic Blue Hedgehog sleep gown on sizes between 0 and 12mths from Raspberry Red

The last four fantastic competitions from our 2011 Christmas Advent Calendar close tomorrow.

You snooze, you lose…. enter now!

Click here for our KIDSEN Rice Garage Toy Storage Box competition

Click here for our Parent & Child Bath Robe Set competition.

Click here for our Kodak Easyshare Touch Digital Camera competition.

Click here for our Keycamp Family Holiday competition.

Good luck!

As any parent knows (or very quickly learns) there are some things you just don’t cut corners on. And felt tips are one of the high things on my Only-Buy-This-Brand list. I’ve been buying them for 12 years now, and only one brand will cross my threshold, as it’s the ONE brand I can guarantee really will wash out of nice tops, pale skirts and dining room chair seats when it says it will (except for green. Why oh why is the green so evil about leaving a faint stain behind?).
So when Bic offered to send me some ‘ultra-washable Kid Couleur‘ felt pens, I may have laughed at them.
Washable?
Hmm. We’ll soon see.
But blow me down with a feather if they’re not.
They really DO wash out!

Not only that but they come in great colours, are a joy to use, and there’s all sorts of sets. We LOVE the ‘plasti-decor’ triangular-shaped crayons; perfect for left-handers, and also learning-to-writers as they’re so easy to grip correctly. They don’t shed minute coloured flakes, and they really don’t snap easily. most importantly of all, they colour beautifully
And click here to see how they make their woodless pencils – yes, woodless. And chew resistant, and the ‘lead’ doesn’t snap when it’s dropped, either. Truly.

Bestie best of all? They’re cheaper!
You may notice a distinct lack of the Other Brand in our house in future…

Well, it is, isn’t it?

I’m lucky – I married a good’un who thinks about nice flowers on a whim, not because the calendar tells him he ‘must’. But for an awful lot of people (men AND women – yes, yes, I buy him flowers too), 14th February is Where It’s At on the flower diary.

And, yes, half the red roses of the world who have been teased and encouraged into believing “yes, it’s summer, honest” are about to be beheaded in the name of love.

But, gentlemen, please, remember there is more to it than a dozen red roses, even if you ARE pottering around the Interflora site. Seriously – look at this amazing gift box in the Gifts for Her range…

Oh yes. someone did their homework. This gorgeous box contains a bath preparation with Himalayan green tea and soothing rice starch, a 100% cashmere eye mask, Organic hand lotion , a handmade pewter leather journal and some Belgian chocolate. And NO roses. £100

But maybe it’s not THAT time of year for you? Maybe you’re hunting for Birthday Gifts?

A white grapefruit and May Chang essential oil reed diffuser, vodka liqueur from Chase Distilleries, Prestat dark chocolate Marc de Champagne truffles and a handmade 100% linen napkin from Thornback & Peel. £80 - and stress free.

Or of course there’s the most tricky of them all – the wedding anniversary gifts. What DO you get the woman who already has everything original you could think to get her? The woman who KNOWS you’ll be plumping for a nice safe bouquet – and probably has the vase all ready and waiting? Well… okay. Sometimes, flowers really ARE the right thing to do… (just do something else as well, okay?). And personally, I’m loving this vibrantly gorgeous hand-tied bouquet – none of your wishy-smishy pinks for me, thank you…

***Sponsored Post ***

Last week the daughter turned 5 (*gulp* FIVE!), and so, as per the Rule, we had to have a party. Naturally, upon questioning, the theme was to be typically girlie – “FAIRIES!” was shouted before I’d even finished asking the question.

Pink. And sparkly. Of course. *eyeroll*

And so, I started the checklist. As it grew longer, I started getting a little concerned – I’d left things a little late (two weeks to go) to really get my organised efforts into line and sort this out… But then in stepped Dreambox Parties.
Initially I was a bit sceptical – seriously, they were going to give me EVERYTHING I needed in the one box? But heck, it would at least give me a head start, so I said yes please to a review, and waited for the box to arrive.

When it did, I was even more sceptical… it really wasn’t that large. And I had six fairies (plus a home-grown one) arriving in four days time…
But, opening the box was like opening a  treasure chest. Only for a fairy party. She didn’t want Pirates. Though Dreambox have one for that too (and after 3 boys I’m a dab hand at a pirate cake…). Anyhoo, I digress. The box. Looked like this…

And as we removed everything it soon became clear that those clever bods really had thought of everything. Seriously! Room decorations, tableware, games (AND game prizes)… the only thing I needed to sort out was the food. *relief*

More to the point, the items were GOOD. None of your nasty fall-apart rubbish, these were good quality. And there were extras I would not have remembered to get – the room decorations were incredibly pretty, very effective, and were carefully taken down again post-party to be stashed away for decorating her bedroom with.
The balloons were excellent quality – and I loved that separate ones were provided for the games. In fact, the method of the games was really excellent – the box comes complete with a booklet which will lead you through two hours of games and food, making you an instant children’s entertainer (though we tweaked it a little, as I had promised some craft activity – I picked up some cheaper-than-chips little lidded wooden boxes, and they decorated them with sequins and glitter to make tooth fairy pots).

We already had the helium - and the 10yr old willing to be balloon-whacked by 7 fairies is home-made I'm afraid (though am happy to hire him out) *NB - we had the helium for the balloons already, that doesn't come with the box.

We also added Pass the Parcel – but the prizes were in the box, and I used the tissue paper to wrap alternate layers of the parcel in (you all KNOW to do this, yes? Alternate layers to make sure only one layer comes off at a time?). The lily pads for a fairy version of musical chairs was a big hit, and the balloon-popping game was hilarious (suggesting anyone too shy nominated someone to pop on their behalf worked very well too).

The table looked totally brilliant, and caused much “oooh!”-ing when everyone came to sit down for their Fairy Tea.

everything except the food is supplied - from plastic-backed tablecloth, to wooden toadstools, leaf platters for the food and straws with flowers on.

Honestly – the party was a breeze. I felt organised, in control, and totally ready.

I wouldn’t hesitate for a second to use Dreambox Parties again, and have been loudly singing their praises to all and sundry ever since. they make it so EASY!

I *may* have overdone the pink thing with the food, though...

You go to the website, pick your theme, pick the number of guests and hey presto – you’re good to go! They also do a range of costumes and extra’s if you’re looking for them, but the box is all you need. The one thing that I would suggest was missing was small guest party bags for the cake. What I love best is the lack of branding in any of the themes – there are no Disney characters, no TV tie-ins. Just plain, simple, recognisable fun themes. Even the fairies and princesses are more more quirky-fun than gaspingly-beautiful. And not everything was pink either – there was plenty of green and purple too, which worked really really well.

But seriously? These Fairy teacups were the HIT of the party *proud face*

A standard Dreambox Party Box is £99 for 6 guests – which when broken down into everything you get for me is really reasonable. Add in the time you’ve saved, and the lack of a need for any kind of extra entertainment and it’s a total no-brainer. Themes are generic and simple – fairies and princesses, pirates and knights and a universal Jungle too. Extra guests are simply £6 each.

Pink was just a little sad when it was all over...

Frozen microwaveable jacket potatoes, McCain? Seriously?

Well, I promised I would try them out, so I did… but there was no way I was going to like them –a jacket potato for me is food from the gods.
In fact, my last meal on earth would probably be a crisp, fluffy, slow-baked jacket, oozing butter and sprinkled with some strong cheddar. *pauses to salivate*

I have been known to nuke a potato for lunch – but it’s just not the same, is it? The skin is thin and soggy, and the potato just doesn’t have that lush baked flavour.
So, in all honesty,  I didn’t hold out much hope for a microwaved frozen version.

When I opened the box I got my first pleasant surprise – the potatoes were at least of a decent size, and actually looked like… um… a jacket potato.
No, really, they did (though I’m not sure what I expected them to look like?).

I microwaved both, and ended up needed double the time as stated on the box. But once they were hot through, I added butter… and stuck in a fork.

They tasted… like a jacket potato. Really, they did! The skin wasn’t as good as it looked – there’s no way it was going to crisp in a microwave, but it was at least quite thick and the right colour. But the potato itself? Lovely.
Although still no substitute for a slow baked fresh-from-the-oven version, it is a gazillion times better than a straight microwaved anaemic imitation of a jacket potato. Definitely not the fool product I first thought, this is actually a great idea for quick lunches.

£1.29 for a box of two, £1.99 for four – from all supermarkets, good ones and bad ones.

It’s always this time of year that we start to get hit by the ‘bugs’. You know, once a cold or sore throat or cough enters the house it morphs and changes, not stopping or resting until it has infected everyone at least once.
It’s the time of year when our resistance is at its lowest, of course, when our bodies are at that low end-of-winter-and-yearning-for-spring ebb, and they maybe just need a little extra boost.
I have to say I’m not one usually for supplements – I firmly believe that a healthy balanced diet provides all a child needs in terms of nutrients. But I do admit that at this time of year I’ll take any help I can find in keeping the family healthy – with six of us for the bugs to pass around, an infectious illness is really no joke in our house; they can last for WEEKS.
But of course there’s all those scare stories in the media about what else is in the supplements besides the nutrients – yet another reason to put me off. So I was interested when Nordic Naturals sent me some of their Omega-3 gummies, specially designed with children in mind. The orange pastilles can easily be accepted as a daily ‘treat’, and I’m safe in the knowledge that they contain nothing except Good Stuff.
The fish oil is collected totally responsibly – every day before sunrise, Sea Trolls swim out past the wave break to gather essential nutrients along the bottoms of the deep Norwegian fjords to make the gummies. And of course fish oil is one of those wonder-substances – not only is it fab for the immune system, but it’s also really great for children’s concentration and brain development.

So if you’re going for supplements, I think you’d be hard pressed to find better one’s than Nordic Naturals – no Bad Stuff, packed full of fresh pure Good stuff – and they taste good too!

 We found them for under £14 for a pot of 60 from Chemist Direct

Would you just LOOK at this Betty the Bunny newborn gift set by Olive & Moss? *meep!*

The romper is 100% cotton,  and is Far Too Cute, really.

One size only, sadly, which is a generous 0-3 months – but what a perfect newborn gift! Not to mention the fact that it’s half prize in the sale, down to just £16!

Betty the Bunny newborn gift set, £16, is available from the gloriously named  Burp! Boutique…

The penultimate batch of our advent calendar competitions close tomorrow.

Do it now – enter – go on!

Click here for our Babes with Babies Funky Cow Washbags competition.

Click here for our Verbaudet Children's Coats competition.

Click here for our Luxe Tie Maternity Sweater from Isabella Oliver competition.

Click here for our Aspace Oak Newbury Dresser competition.

Good luck!

*squeee!*

Talk about comfy… and LOOK at those orange planes!

Mala blue airplane baby pants for a propeller under £15 (only in size 0-2yrs) from the fantabulous Tootsie & Fudge.

We have got five packs of three new Skylanders characters to give away in our new competition! Squeeee!

Skylanders Dino-Rang!

Skylanders Hex!

Skylanders Wrecking Ball!

Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure is the video games success story of 2011. A massive hit with families, this is the first time a video game and toy have combined to provide a brand new innovative way of playing. With more than 30 characters to choose from, players can explore mysterious new worlds, battle enemies and solve fiendish puzzles. And, now sees the arrival of Skylanders Spyro’s Universe, an even more imaginative way to play, even if you don’t own the game.

Click here for further details and entry form.

Yes, it’s been a while, but this is the very last in our Carless Whispers series, in which Keris went from two cars to no cars inside a fortnight – and so decided to save the money and remain carless. You can go back and see the series here if you’ve missed it – but here’s the Very Last One. *sob*

I’m not sure whether it was the week with the Skoda Roomster, the relentless rain, or the prospect of another snowy winter, but I finally had to accept it was time for our carless experiment to come to an end.

We lasted out for over a year, which is much longer than I ever would have imagined we could manage without a car and I am actually glad we did it. You could read back over the columns to find out why, but I know you’re busy so I’ll just summarise:

- The boys got used to public transport. It was often a massive pain in the backside, but I think it was good for them to have the experience of waiting. And of other (sometimes unpleasant, sometimes drunk) people.

- Walking the school run made me fitter, but I didn’t actually lose any weight. Possibly because I often stopped at the newsagents. In both directions. On both journeys. Ahem.

- The conversations with the boys while walking the school run made the whole thing worthwhile. We talked about everything, we laughed, we sang, we even danced. And we saw lots of wildlife and other things (like the plumber’s van with a trompe l’oeil door featuring the  bottom half of the plumber sitting on the loo) that we probably would never have seen from the car.

So we bought a car. Second-hand obviously – and sadly not a Skoda Yeti – but it’s rather lovely all the same.

There were a few teething problems: the inside lights didn’t go out, the back wiper didn’t work, the battery ran out as I was driving home and I mounted the kerb while squeaking out a swear, but it was all sorted out quickly and easily (albeit expensively) and now we’re fully mobile again.

And honestly? It’s so much better.

Aren’t these brilliant? JUST the thing for small chilly toes. Handmade in the UK from soft stretchy fabrics (which make them easy to put on and the “sock” part makes it very difficult for babies to kick them off!), they will keep babies  and toddlers feet totally cosy and warm.

The baby sizes ( 3 and 6 months) are all fabric (and machine washable), and the bigger  12, 18, and 24 months have a leather sole.

Just the NICEST baby and toddler slippers we’ve seen in AGES…

Rather keen on these fab spotty ones too!

A range of Tiny Tulip Booties is available from the brilliant Bubbahub, all priced at £17.