I know, it’s not normally the season for talking about slippers.

But I have to tell you about these!

Lets face it, The Great British Summer is shaping up much as it usually does. Meh.

And I’ll be honest- I get chilly feet even in summer when its grey and damp. But of course big thick warm winter cosies are just too much even for my feet in July.

And in stepped Ruby & Ed (quite our fave people when it comes to slippers), who sent me these gorgeous jersey mules.

They are very thin and soft jersey, with a synthetic suede sole. Totally perfect to slip on to tired and chilly feet – I even slipped mine into the suitcase to France. Tis true. There is simply nothing like encasing tired feet in the gentle hug of a soft pair of slippers at the end of the day, is there?

They would also be ace for expectant mums to pop in their hospital bag – taking up practically no room, and fab for slipping on and off during your stay in hospital.

As with all Ruby & Ed footwear, they come with the obligatory touch of pretty – those big floppy bows are NOT my thing at all. And yet… when I have these on my feet? I feel a bit… glamourous. Silly, but true.

Bestie best of all – they’re reduced to just £10.40! Buy! NOW!

Says it all, yes?

And there’s a whole range – you can plot to be A Star, The Boss, A Superhero.. or just Ridiculously Rich.

Available from the always awesome Mollie & Fred for a whiffle under £7.

Come on, hands up everyone who had a knitted toy in their bed when they were small.

One with nothing but dangly limbs and a sweet little sewn-on face to recommend it?

Yes, me too; and I still have my Rabbit.

How refreshingly simple these Loopy Lapin’s are from The Black rabbit. Funny plump ears, swingy legs and pretty little smiles sewn on to their stripy faces.

Gorgeous. We love them.

Available from The Black Rabbit for £30

When those brilliantly marvellous people at Wee Gooseberry heard we were taking the small people to France they sent us this, saying they thought it might help.

It did.

It’s brilliant.

A wooden board, with the alphabet displayed on elasticated blocks. The pen you need is attached – and even has a rubber on the top.

I presented it with a flourish when we were about half an hour into the journey from Cherbourg, and I don’t think it was actually out away until the ferry. Going the other way.

Hangman is an enduring family travel game for a reason – it’s simple, easy, and there’s no limits on the number of players. This board simply makes it slightly more fun.

Boy (9) and Jolly (8). One long car journey. And one whole HOUR of peace. Truth.

We unanimously love it.

It’s well-built too, and has been carefully stowed away for all long car trips of the future. Actually, I can see it still coming out for the grandchildren…

Melissa & Doug’s Travel Hangman Board can be nabbed over at The Wee Gooseberry for a smidgeon under £10.

Our competition to give away two Original Theraline Maternity & Nursing Pillows (worth £44.95 each) to two lucky winners ends tomorrow.

The Original Theraline Maternity & Nursing Pillow has a filling made up of millions of micro beads that are light as a feather. This amazing filling conforms to the shape of your body, no matter what position you are in… whether lying down or sitting up and, unusual for a pillow, it always remains firmly in place without giving way. It is antiallergenic, warm, breathable and can be washed at 140° F.

Brilliant. Just… brilliant.

Retro Space Boy in his rocket – what small boy wouldn’t want THIS brightening up his breakfast?

It’s not melamine either – oh no, it’s all ceramic. You get the mug, bowl and egg cup, and the all-important Case For Important Things.

A smidge under £24 from the reliable-brilliant Cloth Ears.

Snap up a bargain, quick! These fab organic bamboo PJ’s from ergopouch are a warm winter weight – but tuck them into the back of the cupboard, and you’ll bless us this Autumn.

Only in sizes 2-3 and 3-4, and a certain little fox has warned us they’re in VERY low stock, which is why they’re reduced to just £12.

Rush over to the Quick Brown Fox of Dulwich‘s site and snaffle up a pair for your small person to be snug in this winter.

What a gorgeous warm summery bracelet! I just saw it and had a little “oooh!” moment of Happy.

There’s a necklace to match, y’know. *nods*

Available from the wonderful Nkuku, one of my latest fave places for a 5 minute browse.

OOooooo, exciting… the gorgeous Mamami Shivali changing bag has been shortlisted for the award of Best Baby Changing Bag in the Loved By Parents Awards.

If you agree with us that it is one of the best baby changing bags then please, go and vote and make it a winner! Click here for the voting form and scroll down to the Best Baby Changing Bag section and give it a tick. You don’t need to vote in every category, just the ones you like. Voting closes on 5th August.

Good luck Shivali!

Oh I LOVE this idea! What a terrific gift – sucha  totally genius idea!

The pretty gift box contains a lovely watch face – and 11 interchangeable grosgrain ribbon straps.

Fabulous!

Available from Cox & Cox, and currently reduced to just £15.75.

We are giving away a £50 voucher to be spent at WoodenToyShop.co.uk to one lucky winner!

WoodenToyShop.co.uk was born out of a passion for classic wooden toys that they remembered using when they were children. They strongly believe that in this electronic age there is still a place for timeless toys that reward imaginative children with hours of wonderful play. The good folk at WoodenToyShop.co.uk have witnessed at first hand young children playing with all kinds of toys and have noticed that children love classic wooden toys as much as they did.

Our Lollibop Festival/Organix Mighty Meals competition closes today!

LittleStuff and Organix are giving away five prize bundles to five lucky winners in this competition. The first winner will receive a one day family ticket (2 adults & 2 children) to the Lollibop Kids Festival (5th-7th August 2011) and an Organix Mighty Meals bundle. The four runners-up will receive an Organix Mighty Meals bundle each.

Sometimes, a girls doesn’t want to wear pyjamas. Or even (in our house) Jymamas. Sometimes a girl wants a pretty nightie.

Sometimes a girl wants a pretty nightie that’s not white and fairy-like.

If you should happen to possess one of those girls (*eyeroll*), you might want to take a meandering saunter over to The Wee Gooseberry. Because they sent us this rather adorable vintage-styled nightie by Powell Craft… and I have to fight to get it off the girl to wash it.

And it’s not just a pretty face (and an adorable button front) Being a nice lightweight 100% cotton it was a godsend on our recent trip to France, where temperatures in the caravan, even in the middle of the night, were touching on 25 degrees.

It’s unbearably cute, there’s a distinct lack of any kind of popular-mass-media characterisation adorning it,  it’s comfortable and light to wear on a summers night, and there’s bags of growing room.

What more are you looking for in a girls nightdress, huh?

Now shoo, go buy your own.

Powell Craft Amber Girls Nightdress available from The Wee Gooseberry for £20.

GORGEOUS!

Plus that beautiful little Lunch Owl is PVC-free. Non toxic! Oh yes!

The soft bag has a roomy main compartment, an insulated, wipe-clean interior, plus an inside mesh pocket for an ice pack or a spoon.

Fab!

The Skip Hop Lunchie range can be seen over on Little Acorns Mighty Oaks, and one can be yours for £12.

I know, I know, we’ve been Blog Love Slackers. Tis true. Sorry.

You know how it is, end of term, children, summer weekends, blah blah…

Anyhoo. We’re here. As are you, we know. So come share a little Blog Love. Tell us about the bloggers who have written something which has made you sit up and take notice recently. Remember that 70% of our readers are NOT bloggers – they won’t have heard of any of the posts we feature, and it’s a great introduction into blogging for them, so please do join in and share your tips.

So. There’s no Linky, no Hop, no theme, no rules. We just want you to share some Blog Love – and tell the rest of us about a fabulous post you’ve read over the last few weeks. Maybe it made you laugh, brought a lump to your throat, gave you instructions for something you intend to try out – or simply made you nod furiously in agreement. We don’t mind – there is no theme, we’re just looking for those posts which are worth talking about.

Simply leave a comment with a link to the post, and a quick line about why. Leave as many as you like (but more than one link in a comment will find you in the Spam folder, so maybe you could separate them pleasethankyou?). Oh, and self-pimping is totally allowed… but we’re reserving editors rights on those self-nominations.

On Monday we’ll do a Blog Love round up, and send some Blog Love out to all the posts YOU think are worth it.

The Quinny Senzz

Our competition to give away a Quinny Senzz stroller to one lucky winner closes tomorrow.

The brilliantly designed Senzz provides parents with the best of both worlds, by successfully combining all the advantages of a fully-featured stroller with all the compact flexibility of a buggy. There is no need to compromise on features versus flexibility when transporting your baby in this stroller.

Oh. SO excited! No, REALLY!

LOOK at what this clever bookbinder in Bath is doing!

She’s seeing so many books that are just too lovely to throw in the recycling… but not good enough to rebind. So she’s salvaging what she can, and creating oh-so-perfect new notebooks out of them! GENIUS!

She keeps the covers, where possible makes the spine into a bookmark, and a few inside pages. Adds sheets of good quality (150 gsm) cartridge paper, and then a good and chunky bug spiral bind.

Each book is unique.

I love them.

And I have a sneaky feeling you will too.

There’s a range of titles available from Vintage Notebook, prices start at £8.

When we went to France, I took with me two children who, whilst enjoying being in the pool, were rather hesitant about the whole actual swimming deal. Boy is nearly 10, and can swim, but really rather hates getting his face wet. Jolly, 8, can’t quite swim, and will not, no way, no how, go under water for any reason, areyouinsane thank you.

So, what happens if you throw a couple of pairs of goggles ta them?

I’ll show you. This happens…

In case you didn’t catch that – look. LOOK!

That's my two scaredy boys. Having a chat. Underwater. UNDER THE WATER! *grin* -

It was amazing to watch their confidence just blossom and grow.

Speedo Mariner Mirror Junior in Blue - £10.00

Boy is wearing the really uber cool Speedo Mariner Mirror Junior Goggles in Blue. They fit his rather narrow head perfectly, and never once shifted. he took a day or two to become accustomed – they are a snug fit, and narrow around the eyes, fitting tightly to the eye socket. But once he was used to them he never took them off.

Cressi Fox Junior Goggles in Dark - £10.35

Jolly is sporting the Cressi Fox Junior Goggles in ‘Dark’. Honestly? I though these looked a bit.. odd. Dame Edna Everage-ish after the sleek cool-ness of Boy’s.  But actually – they’re really well thought out for children. The whole goggle is moulded out of a really soft rubber – they not only sit snugly, but they’re so soft there’s no ‘ouch’ factor when you put them on. The eye piece is wide enough to sit comfortably around the whole eye socket, and again is nicely soft – whilst being grippy enough to never slip. In purely practical terms, these were my favourites, and were perfect for an 8yr olds first pair.

By the end of our week, BOTH my non-swimmers were swimming like..um.. fish. Well, perhaps, one fish and one slightly startled turtle. But they were underwater and laughing, purely down to these goggles. Ace.

The goggles were sent to us by SimplySwim, who do a rather grand range of goggles, swim wear, buoyancy aids and water toys. Go see them.

Gorgeous!

From the Queen of Vintage quirk that is Petra Boase, these Vintage Pets Invitations (and Thank You Cards too) are just wonderful.

A pack of 12 personalised party invitations printed on ecological recycled 250gsm card  which has a lovely matt finish and a joy to write on.

Available over at our beloved Not On The High Street for £12 a pack. Bargain.

How cute is that Blossom, huh?

I’m a bit of a snob parent when it comes to characters on childrens clothes. With a few exceptions I really don’t like them. Miffy is one of those few exceptions.

Miffy is a design classic for kids; it’s hard not to fall in love with Miffy’s simplicity and I’d say he (Is Miffy a ‘he’? I’m not sure… could Miffy remove trousers so I can check? No?) has become synonomous with childhood iconography.

We were sent the Miffy pyjamas (only available from Marks and Spencers) to review and overall I was impressed.

The quality is great. The pure cotton pyjamas are really soft against Blossom’s skin, and they wash really well and dry quickly. An essential for pyjamas as we all know.

However, in my opinion the design could have been a lot simpler and genderless. To me, Miffy is all about the primary colours, and these have been very ‘girlified’. There is an unneccessary frill on the shoulder, a splash of glitter and flowers on the trousers.

As a Mother of a girl I know that the whole pink thing is a bit unavoidable, but I’d love it if the big clothing manufacturers were a bit less cliché. Girl-baby does not have to go hand in hand with pink, flowers, glitter and plonking a bit of applique on everything. I would happily have put Blossom in these in nice bright primary colours. And then they’d be unisex and everybody would be happy!

Rant over. Whoops!

The pyjamas are available exclusively at Marks and Spencers.

Reviewed for us by Blossom (with Bec’s help), who lives mostly over at Beetroot and Gherkins.