The Only Girl in the House

Start-Rite | A Year On | Aqua Warrior School Shoes Review

Start-Rite | A Year On | Aqua Warrior School Shoes Review

It’s crazy to think that it was a year ago I first wrote a review for Start-rite shoes – in that time our Rhino Warriors (that’s the shoes not the kids) were seriously put through the ringer and still made it out in bloomin’ amazing condition. We loved their Rhinos so much, that when the little gits’ feet decided to grow (it’s somewhat irritating that kids’ feet do that when there’s so much life left in their shoes) I bought them exactly the same again!

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Nuna Mixx SUITED Collection Review

Nuna Mixx SUITED Collection Review

Throughout the years, with babies, toddlers and “I don’t wanna walk”-ers  I’ve put quite a few buggies through their paces; my standards are high and expectations endless when it comes to a buggy. I need a work horse to not only ferry my precious cherub around in, but to carry the wherewithal that comes with a family of 7; withstand Sunday morning, winter football matches; traipse around a bumpy car boo sale, deal with beach days and, of course, look the part!

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My Utility Room of Dreams | John Lewis AEG Washing Machine & Tumble Dryer #AD

My Utility Room of Dreams | John Lewis AEG Washing Machine & Tumble Dryer #AD

One of the things I love about being a blogger is the weird and wonderful stuff that comes into my inbox; from offers of lube reviews to can I make pet insurance an exciting content matter? (The answer was NO!) But sometimes, some brands just ‘get me’ – get my blog, my family and come up with a collaboration that’s so god damn on point even I recoil in amazement. When John Lewis asked if I’d like to try out their new AEG washing machine and tumble dryer, it was as if all my parental dreams had come true! Needless to say, a family of 7 gets through a shiz load of washing and for anyone who follows my insta-stories, you will only be well aware of the drama it causes when one of my trusty washing steads fails me.

For a long time, as a family of 7, it’s been necessary to have two fridges, two lounges, two bathrooms (even two houses in the beginning) so it seemed almost a natural progression to upgrade my domestic goddess-ry to two washing machines and tumble dryers. I’ll be keeping my old work-horses (for now) as it seems a travesty to be loading the new shiny machines with muddy football boots and questionably stained bed sheets!

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What to Expect from The Only Girl in the House | Mission Statement

What to Expect from The Only Girl in the House | Mission Statement

When I hit the very scary “publish” button for the first time two and a half years ago, I had the intention of bringing stylish family interiors to the masses. But I found bringing my interiors day job into my hobby of writing like latching on a creative leech to the heart of my ju-ju – it sucked the life out of my writing. In addition, I was about to drop our boy number 5 into the world so my brain was addled with all the new amazing baby garb that had been invented/re-invented since 2008; we were living in a rather uninspiring, dark rented house – so taking swoonworthy interiors shots was like trying to catch the slippery soap in a lukewarm bath (impossible) and I found it piss easy to bemoan life with a brood of boys to anyone that would listen, whilst struggling for my next interiors post subject matter. Something had to change – and it did.

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Trend-Led Threads from John Lewis for 8-14 yr Olds

Trend-Led Threads from John Lewis for 8-14 yr Olds

It’s no secret I’m a John Lewis obsessive. What’s not to love? I’ve lost many an hour perusing their swoon-worthy kitchenware, caressing their luxurious towel collection and drooling over their skincare ranges. Their staff are off-the-scale amazing – Sarah in the Horsham store intervened, with perfect timing, when my parenting was critised (by a fellow shopper) post-tantrum as I wouldn’t let Cas grapple the Wedgewood display. Bravo Sarah for spotting a speechless, teary mother in despair. And that, right there, epitomises everything that’s fabulous about the lot behind John Lewis – they just seem to know what it is you want/need.

With this in mind, it seems they recently read my mind. Trawling through their website one evening, having lusted over some tribal cushions and hankered the Hush collection, it dawned on me that John Lewis had considered everyone in my family except four of the loudest, most obvious members of the crew, the 8-14 year olds. That was until NOW!

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