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Jess July, 2017

Green Velvet Sofa of Dreams | My DFS Bailey Sofa

Let me start by saying, I’m incredibly grateful for all the awesome experiences and offers I get from writing about my family and home. But, if I’m completely honest, free stuff doesn’t pay the bills, put chicken fajitas on the table or clad my children in Adidas as they desire. There’s only so much stuff we can fit in our house along with the 7 of us – so, a lot of “gifts” end up being re-gifted or on Ebay. When I initially got the email from DFS asking me to “pop to Milan” for design week, then style one of their sofas for my blog, my first thought was “Eeeeeekkkkkkk YASSSS!” but my second – we really don’t need another sofa, I’m happy with the ones we bought 4 months ago (from Ebay), but I suppose I could sell it for a few hundred quid after I’ve snapped it for the blog!

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Jess June, 2017

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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Jess October, 2016

Getting Cosy | Matalan Sheepskin

It’s come to that time of year when Mr Only Girl and I start to wrangle over the thermostat as my inner hibernator craves to whack up that central heating and surround myself with cosiness. Heading into autumn harks the beginning of log fired evenings, lighting spice-scented candles by the dozen, throwing on my much-loved grey cashmere hoodie and convincing the kids it’s bedtime a little bit early, just because it’s dark! Nothing screams cosy more than natural sheepskin rugs – nature’s answer to a warm hug, so when I found this double Sheepskin ready for Autumn, I did an inner-jig at all the styling possibilities.

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Jess September, 2016

Housework Sucks | Oreck Hoover Review

Being the domestic goddess (ha!) in a house of 7 humans and 2 dogs, doing a silly amount of hoovering comes with the territory. I find myself lugging the overworked sucker from the cupboard at least once a day for a quick whip round – then there’s the extra outings it gets treated to when someone explodes a packet of crisps, upturns their croissant plate at breakfast or the mother-in-law’s popping in! So when the team over at Oreck got in touch and asked me to give their Oreck Magnesium a whirl, whilst it might not have seemed like the most glam of opportunities, on my scale, it rated it pretty highly. After all, I was the gal who actually got excited when she received a hoover for Christmas (it wasn’t feigned excitement either) and anything that runs the risk of making my life a little easier (yes, contraception would’ve been easier) is a bonus in my book.

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Jess September, 2016

Extension Update | Hexagon Tile Trend

We’re getting to that dizzying point in our mammoth extension build where the fun starts – I get to pick out the finishing touches. No longer am I being bugged by builders about supporting walls, first fix plumbing and suspended floor options – instead, I’m losing hours to Pinterest to ensure bathrooms, kitchens, bedrooms and even windows hit the interior’s nail on the head.

As a mum to so many boys, one of the only places I find solace, peace and privacy is the bathroom. Need a 10 minute re-group after a fraught dinner time or a 5 minute breather from a relentlessly tantrumming toddler? Excuse yourself and leg-it to the bathroom, lock that door and soak up the calm. (I generally ensure there’s another adult in charge prior to the above!) With this in mind, my sanctuary needs to be a space I retreat to without the thought of “Eugh, I hate those tiles!” – nothing’s worse than trying to regain your inner buddha whilst being distracted by a regrettable interiors decision made in

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