Monthly Archives: July 2015

Jul 20 2015

The Warren Evans Sleep Naturally Campaign

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How much sleep do you get in your house?

For us, with two children, not a lot! In fact, bedtimes are fairly dramatic in our household. Just yesterday we had to call out an ambulance at 1am as Heidi awoke hyperventilating and writhing around her cot. It turned out to be a night terror, but it was utterly terrifying for us at the time. Toss in Dexter (a.k.a. “The Silent Assassin”) who will sneak into our room in the middle of the night, pillow in hand, and Craig and I are averaging just a handful of hours of sleep every night.

Silent Assan

Hearing me complain on social media, the fabulous guys at Warren Evans, sent me two luxurious pillows to help Craig and I achieve a deeper sleep. They’re stuffed full of duck down and feathers and are nothing short of heavenly at the end of a busy day. With our memory foam mattress and super king-size bed, you’d think we’d be all set for our 8 hours every night, but life just isn’t that simple.

Bed

Looking at a recent study by Warren Evans as part of their Sleep Naturally campaign, it seems we’re not alone in our night-time battles and too many of us are going about our day having had an insufficient amount of shut-eye.

Gemma

“We have lost connection with our natural bodyclock that help us sleep. With modern technology and the internet we are living in a time where we expect everything to be instant. People expect to fall asleep on demand but you cannot switch the human mind and body on and off like a power switch, so we’re left feeling tired but wired.” Dave Gibson, Warren Evans’, sleep advisor

It seems our lifestyle choices aren’t doing us any favours and we’re all sinking too many expressos throughout the day. More of us than ever are also allowing our worklife to follow us into bed, and mentally running through presentations, meetings and the like when our brains need to switch off. Our bedrooms have also been taken over by technology and most of us are sleeping with our iPhones less than a metre away from our heads.

Moreover, some 66% of us cite our partners as the main reason our sleep is disrupted. A combination of snoring, rolling into one another and fighting over covers is not only making getting to sleep more challenging, but staying asleep too. Bed size plays a key role with couples sharing double beds 49% more likely to be woken by their partner (4 nights a week or more) than those in king-size beds or larger.

In bid to help us all with our nightly commute to the Land of Nod, Warren Evans is working with a team of specialists in order to provide expert advice, helpful tips and useful tools, all to help you sleep naturally. There’s also chances to win sleep-time bundles and more, blogger diaries and great deals on mattresses so you can finally join the king-size club. Visit Warren Evans’ online magazine, Inspire Me https://www.warrenevans.com/inspire-me/ and follow on Twitter and Facebook to discover more about the Warren Evans Sleep Naturally campaign.

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Jul 17 2015

Dreaming of a honeymoon in Dubai

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When you’ve spent a day playing Spiderman with your 3-year-old and your teething baby, you find yourself mentally channeling “the before”; before you had kids, before you worked two jobs only to whittle away your paycheck on nappies, Baby Gap and a house you can’t really afford - I’m talking about the simple days when boy met girl and you spent your days either drunk, in bed or holding hands.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my life and I love my babies. But sometimes, I miss spending time with Craigy on my own.

I expect the next time this will happen will be our honeymoon. Although Craig has yet to put a ring it, he will. When he does, I have every intention of rushing through the wedding to get away at the end of it. I’m quite serious, although I’m a really girly girl, I can’t say I’ve ever been that excited by my wedding. The honeymoon though, well that’s a different story, and I have my sights firmly set on Dubai.

3SOURCE: hmcdubai.org

Why? Where else could go up the world’s tallest building, ride ski slopes and sand dunes, visit an aquarium on a manmade island shaped like a palm leaf, and have cocktails at the top of the world’s only 7-star hotel, all in one day? … More importantly, where else are you ever likely to see one of these?

pictures-rich-dubai-3SOURCE: emirates247.com

Home to the super-wealthy?

If you think this is super-wealth at its most ridiculous, what if I told you the police drive Ferrari’s, and some hotels offer you complimentary iPhone gold-plating.? I know, it’s insane. In fact, Dubai was arguably built to shock. Formerly a simple fishing village, the city has experienced a literal gold rush to become a veritable hub of world-class tourism and business. To compete with the likes of New York City, Shanghai and Moscow, it needed to burst onto the scene to compensate for its lack of cultural heritage.

Yet as with any city that experiences exponential growth, there are so many that are left behind. Although the city can count the local-born Emiratis and its celebrity and superstar expats among its super-rich, it was largely built off the backs of its working class neighbours. Although the city’s PR machine will churn out jaw-slackening images, its poverty-stricken underbelly will be apparent to its thousands of annual visitors. Nowhere else on earth will you witness the juxtaposition of rich and poor so apparently - and so intriguingly.

Breathtaking shopping experiences

20110816-aquarium-1254051_0x420 SOURCE: vogue.it

Dubai has some of the most impressive markets and malls in the world. TIME describes them as “realisations of unrestrained fantasy, offering surreal attractions to lure you (and your credit card) in”. Take the Souk Madinat which boasts its own waterway to transfer people from its shops, bars and restaurants to neighboring hotels, or the Mall of the Emirates much famed for its indoor ski slope with real snow. Dubia offers you a grown-up and more sensational version of Vegas, with malls that swell as far outwards, as its hotels do upwards.

The Gold Souk is also a must-see, as is the soon to be open Mall of Arabia which will host the Restless Planet dinosaur-theme park, which is being designed in collaboration with the Natural History Museum of London. Yep, to you and I, that’s a mini Jurassic Park…

Fantastical hotels

01 SOURCE: atlantisthepalm.com

It’s taken less than 15 years for Dubai to become what it is today, so its portfolio of 4 and 5 star hotels haven’t had time to age. As with all in Dubai, each one is more sensational than the last and it counts the world’s tallest, the Burj Khalifa (829.8m), among them. For those wanting something truly extraordinary, there are also underwater suites at the Atlantis The Palm, or the chance to take in the ’7 star’ opulence at the Burj Al Arab with its fleet of white Rolls Royces on the forecourt and dancing fountains in the foyer.

Although it’s reportedly the second most expensive city to stay in there are some deals to be had and travelbag.co.uk is a great place to start.

Man-made Islands

palm-jumeirah-dubaiSOURCE: e-architect.co.uk

Perhaps the most audacious of all of Dubai’s megaprojects is its collection of reclaimed islands just offshore. The palm-tree shaped Palm Jumeirah, is lovingly referred to by locals as the eighth wonder of the world, and the first of many to be crafted into something inhabitable. Now home to residents, hotels and beach apartments, this is perhaps best viewed by taking one of the several daily boat trips that traverse the cities coastline. Incidentally, these are also great for a spot of yacht-watching (…well it would be rude not to)…

Right, I’ve shown you mine, what’s your dream honeymoon destination?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jul 15 2015

Huggies wipes showcase their reformulated Pure range by treating babies to a spa day!

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Huggies121

I missed out on an amazing day out recently. Although my two cherubs are slightly too old for this particular baby spa, I was still hopeful they’d enjoy the luxurious surroundings, and maybe score a little massage. Unfortunately however Dexter picked up an ear infection that left him weak and sickly, so I’d have lost serious mummy points if I’d dragged him halfway across London only to infect the other bubbas.

So whilst I was putting Huggies Pure wipes to the ultimate challenge and mopping up toddler sick from every conceivable surface, my fellow Huggies Ambassadors were having an altogether more civilised time at an exclusive baby hydrotherapy spa in London.

HuggiesSpa

Yep, these babies got the pampering of their lives in a purpose-built baby spa in Kensington. They received the full spa experience with sensory floatation devices and sumptuous baby massages set against a backdrop of relaxing music and a Laura Ashley-esque interior. Such hydrotherapy sessions are proven to support brain and physical development and the experience is incredibly relaxing for baby. Best suited to babies up to 6 months, I wish I’d have known about it when Heidi was tiny.

All this pampering was to mark the re-launch of Huggies Pure wipes. So whilst the babies got the A-list treatment, my fellow ambassadors sat with dermatologist Emma and Midwife Natalie, to learn all about it.

HuggiesChat

The Pure wipes have now been reformulated to ensure your baby’s skin is left feeling naturally clean and healthy. Now free from parabens, alcohol and phenoxyethanol they’re perfect for delicate bums, hands and faces with no oily residue to aggravate the skin.

Our family are already converts to the Huggies Pure brand. Their wipes are stronger and perfectly textured to deal with even the most challenging of nappy changes, and as they’re made from naturally absorbent fibres, they also perform amazingly on drink spills and weaning mishaps. They also don’t have the strong odour that some brands have, which means children are less likely to squirm out of your clutches whilst you make their faces presentable.

HuggiesBums

As the name suggests, these are also suitable to use from birth. I hadn’t realised this when my two were dinky and used an expensive water-only brand instead. I was the envy of other first-time c-section mummies at hospital who were dutifully cleansing their baby’s meconium-ridden bums with cotton wool with water. Now, Huggies Pure are endorsed by midwives as just as gentle as cotton wool and water (better yet, they’re on permanent rollback at ASDA for just £1 a pack) hopefully more new mums will be saved from the faff of cotton wool balls!

I’m absolutely gutted to have missed a catch-up with my fellow Huggies Ambassadors, but will be catching up with them in the next few months to find out what’s next for Huggies wipes, and maybe sneak in a couple of glasses of wine.

Until then, you can find out more about all the wipes in the Huggies family, and discover which one is right for you, by heading over to Huggieswipes.co.uk. Don’t forget, you can put these to the test yourself for free and enter the #ChallengeYourWipes competition too!

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