GIVEAWAY! : naturalmat.co.uk – Organic swaddle + winner of Miss Matatabi Fabric

I’m excited to announce that I’m holding a FANTASTIC giveaway from Naturalmat. A company based in the south of England selling natural mattresses, bed toppers, baby bedding supplies, blankets and MUCH more

Naturalmat was started with the aim of helping babies and children sleep safely and comfortably in the best, most natural environment possible. Harnessing the amazing potential of natural and organic materials like organic coir, latex and organic cotton, we have created a range of handcrafted mattresses that are superbly comfortable, breathable, washable and non-allergenic.

Naturalmat are pioneers in natural fibre technology and have developed the most comfortable range of mattresses using innovative new raw materials.

• Organic lambswool from certified Soil Association farms as well as being anti-dust mite, anti-bed bug and anti-moth.
• Organic coir fibre– this sustainable material greatly enhances the ventilation and spring of the mattress.
• Organic latex– the organic latex we use comes from the only certified organic rubber plantation in the world and we are the only UK mattress maker using it. The latex layer provides an immensely supportive core that is naturally breathable and totally hypoallergenic.
• Horsehair tail– this is one of the most highly prized materials in the upholstery industry. It has long been used in mattress making for its incredible resilience and superior spring. We needle the horsehair tail onto a hessian backing which provides extra strength and protection for the springs whilst still allowing flexibility for independent movement.
• Mohair and bamboo and are all from environmentally conscious sources and biodegradable.
• Organic cotton– All our organic cotton sheets and bedding are certified in accordance with GOTS by the Soil Association.
• Cashmere– one of the softest fibres available, cashmere is the ultimate in luxury natural fibres. The soft spring provided by cashmere gives an added dimension of comfort. Like wool, cashmere has inherent properties of ventilation and insulation but the quality of the fibre helps to create the most sumptuous mattress in our range.
• These raw materials are combined to create a truly green product made by a British company.

The prize for this giveaway is a super-practical and baby essential  organic swaddle by aden and anais (I wish I had one of these when my little one was born)

It comes in a variety of prints though for the giveaway, the winner will receive on in the ‘enchanted’ print (great for baby girls and boys too):

For countless generations, mothers have swaddled and cared for their children with natural muslin. These organic swaddles are made of organic cotton that is grown and manufactured in an environmentally and socially responsible manner. Luxuriously soft, it is the ideal fabric to use on delicate baby skin. Measuremens 94cm x 94cm

• Breathable – prevents overheating
• Generous size – makes swaddling easy
• Comfy – the more you wash it the softer it gets
• Multi-use – stroller, nursing, or changing table cover, burp cloth, tummy time blanket and more
• 

You have 3 chances to win! TO ENTER:

• leave a comment below.
• share this giveaway on the web (blog post, twitter, facebook etc) and let me know that you have done so.
• ‘like’ my facebook page (over there at the top on the right) and let me know that you have done so.

The 3 winners will be picked by using random.org at the end of February and announced on this blog.

Good Luck!! x

Now for the 3 lucky winners of the Miss Matatabi fabric!

Using random.org I have selected that the 3 winners are:

’tillymintboutique’ – you have won – Kokka Japanese Fabric Melody Miller Ruby Star Spring – Bee Tomato Vine – 1 yard

‘GG‘ – you have won –  Kokka Heather Ross Far Far Away III Girls with Horses Japanese Fabric – grey – 1 yard

‘Celine Richard’ – you have won – Kokka Yoshie Miriporun Sunny Farm Japanese Fabric – orange, white – 1 yard

Congratulations!! 

this moment……….

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. – soulemama

(feel free to add a link to your own ‘this moment’ in the comment section below)

Today….

Today is slow going. I decided to make a pie from Jamie Oliver’s ‘Jamie’s Great Britain’ book (I’m really enjoying this book and looking forward to making many of his recipes). Ok so I have just tested it and it tastes absolutely wonderful but it did take a long time,well the filling alone took 2.5 hours of cooking, plus the preparation and making the pastry etc, hence I haven’t got a lot else done this morning, though of course the good thing is that I have somehow managed to make such a large amount that  I have enough for 3 meals, thank goodeness for the freezer! Anyway – a post coming soon about the pie, for now I’ll update you on the scarf. It STILL isn’t finished, I’m begining to get bored of knitting it now but I’m desperate to finish it off soon. So here it is at it’s current state:

Remember to head over to see Ginny at Small Things as well as over to Frontier Dreams too x

Cajun bean potato bake recipe

Using up what we already have at home has led me to be a bit more inventive in the kitchen and I came up with this meal the other day. It’s really delicious, full of goodness and super cheap too!

Ingredients:

• 1 x cup mixed beans (I’ve used pinto, mung and haricot in this recipe though any would do – or a pre-soaked can would do fine too)
• 1 x tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 x stock cube (or teaspoon of bouillon etc)
• salt and pepper to season
• 2 x teaspoons cajun spice
• 2 x chopped garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
• 1 x chopped onion
• 4 x medium sized potatoes
• splash milk
• knob butter
• olive oil
• 1 x cup grated cheese

Method.

In a saucepan cooke the pre-peeled and chopped potatoes. When soft, mash with the butter, all of the cheese and milk and set aside. In a seperate saucepan cook the chopped onion until softened, add in the mushrooms and beans and cook until mushrooms are also soft. Then add in all of the other ingredients.

Pour the bean mixture into  your serving dish:

Top with the mashed potato mix and score with a fork to help crisp up:

Cook in the oven for 25 (ish mins) at 180C until golden on top. Serve with salad or mixed steamed vegetables.

 

Weekending.

This weekend we have been………….

• Playing with ‘T’s new swimming toy (her ‘flashing gem’ which she uses in her Water Babies swimming lessons. She hasn’t quite mastered collecting it from the bottom of the pool yet though has had lots of fun with it in the bath)
• Making a new pork casserole recipe. Perhaps the best casserole yet!
• Drawing, sticking and making pretty pictures, being in charge of the glue seems to be the highlight of this activity for ‘T’.
• Out for a VERY blustery walk at Old Sarum, oh it was a windy day!
• Stocking up on cough medicine for the little one. Poor mite has a terrible cough and cold as well as suffering with teething (what a bad design fault they are!)
• Enjoying reading Anita Shreve’s ‘Let It Snow’ – I think she may be my new favourite author
• Worrying about what our futures hold in Australia, some weeks seem to make us excited for the move, others seem to leave us worried. This has been a worrying week!
• Catching up with a lovely friend and old neighbour. What a treat, was so nice to have a catch up and a coffee with such lovely person.
• Trying to complete the scarf I started knitting for ‘T’, I want to get started on making something else though Im not allowing myself to do so until I’ve finished this project!
• Baking cheesy scones and chocolate chip cookies.

Hope you’ve all had lovely weekends xxx

GIVEAWAY: Little Shoes Pattern & Little Dress Pattern

It’s giveaway time again!

Ann has the Etsy shops  Little Shoes Pattern and Little Dress Pattern – adorable little shoes and dress patterns for little people! I have given the little shoes a go myself and they were really easy instructions to follow, no measuring required as the patterns come accross via email and can be simply printed off. I did the shoes by hand as I wanted to watch TV at the same time!

There will be 2 x winners for this week’s giveaway!

The first winner will win any 2 x little shoes patterns from the store, just look at some of the cute designs:

The second winner will win any 2 x little dress patterns from the store, here are just some of the options:

There are 3 ways you can enter:

• Leave a comment in the comments section below
• Blog, tweet, facebook or share this giveaway somewhere on the web (and let me know)
• ‘Like’ my facebook page – over there on the right at the top

The winners will be drawn during the second week of February by using random.org.

Good luck! (Oh and Ann has another shop – go take a peek!)

Oh and it’s time for another round up of Handmade Monday – don’t forget to head over and take a nosey! x

Winner of Pomadour24 GIVEAWAY!:

I have used random.org to randomly generate a winner for the 2 x books from Pomadour 24 and the winner is ilovelyla’

Don’t forget to head over to take a look at the other gorgeous books and goodies she has for sale……….

Here are  just a few of the adorable designs they have:

this moment……….

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo (I couldn’t decide which photo so added 3 this week)– no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. – soulemama

(feel free to add a link to your own ‘this moment’ in the comment section below)

Memory Lane

Friday morning was a beautifully sunny and frosty morning, it was the perfect morning for a stroll in the woods with a very old friend. We used to live in the same road together which leads on to these woods when we were children. We chatted about how time had flown passed, we wandered past our old playschool and school whilst we pushed our little ones in their pushchairs.

We wandered in the woods and spotted lots of squirrels and ‘T’ enjoyed squelching in the mud and running around. We came home to warm home-made soup before ‘T’ had a snooze. It was a lovely trip down memory lane x

An attempt at a teddy

I’m still being boring and knitted VERY easy things. Including this little teddy bear that I have started. I’m happy with simple, easy things at the moment that don’t require too much concentration, and I’m pleased to say it’s using up yet more of the free wool I got from freecycle!

I’ve borrowed a stack of knitting books from the library to inspire me for my next knitting project though. I enjoy flicking through them and getting ideas and trying to think of what to do next (perhaps I should finish that scarf first?!)

I’ll put up some pics if this teddy ends up working out okay! x

(I’m takign part in Ginny’s ‘Yarn Along’ from Small Things…….head on over!…………..