Yes, you read that right, Boo is nearly four and as I get rid of the last of the baby kit I’ve come to realize that I really didn’t need all that ‘stuff’ or at least not as much to justify spending the equivalent of a small nations GDP in baby shops – hey I challenge you to find me a pregnant woman who hasn’t panic bought in Mothercare!

Wanna is a soon to launch mobile app which connects buyers and sellers of goods and services within their local communities – they seem themselves as becoming an everyday utility as part of busy family life.

Wanna set me a task, to come up with three things that I wished I hadn’t bought brand new for Boo. I decided to take this one step further and conduct some highly accurate and scientific research – I took a straw poll at the last nursery pick up of the year yesterday to see what the biggest ‘brand new’ wastes were and what as mothers we’d buy second hand next time round. Here’s what I learnt:

Highchairs
Love them, hate them, no matter how many times you trip over them highchairs are kind of a staple when it comes to 8+ month baby life. However that doesn’t mean you need to buy one brand new; with most highchairs having removable inserts they can be transformed with a new liner plus I was surprised to learn from other mums that many owned more than one highchair as they felt the initial large investment of the super duper all singing all dancing top of the range model wasn’t in fact the most practical – what a surprise!

Buggy Boards
Ok so I may be cheating slightly with this one as this isn’t a purchase you are likely to make with your first child unless you’re uber organised (in which case I salute you and think we’d get on as friends!) – yet everyone I spoke to said that in nearly all instances a secondhand buggy board would work just as well as a brand new one and would be considerably cheaper. Let’s face it by the very nature of what they’re designed to do it’s not like they need to be as new to do the job!

Nappy Disposal Bins
This one is totally me – I completely admit, I got sucked in with the marketing of a nappy disposal unit, so off I went buying one at full price (heaven forbid I’d have waited for a sale, there might have been a national shortage! Haha!!). I can tell you I used it for exactly two weeks before I realised I could do something completely different… Just use a bin! Rather than admit defeat and get rid, I felt bad that I’d spent a considerable amount of money on something that was a fad, so it sat in the corner of Boo’s room for at least six months until I felt I’d got value for money out of dusting it weekly before getting rid.

I’ve always been put off buying secondhand goods and that’s mainly down to whole buying/selling online from weird Facebook Selling sites – if you don’t believe just spend an hour or so browsing your local sites, the mind boggles! To giving up with Gumtree because well, life is for living and not for spending hours catergorising your item only to receive irrelevant enquiries anyway.

Wanna is set to change all that and you can sign up now to make sure you’re one of the first to know when it launches; as they say themselves Wanna is for you, for me, for everyone.

Disclosure: A fee was received for this post.

Foods that improve and bolster the functioning of the brain have been known about for millennia, and there’s a host of delicious ingredients one can employ to get those brain cells operating at peak efficiency! This recipe is just that, and will help anyone to get a leg up on the competition, the velvety, yet incredibly dark chocolate mixing perfectly with the sharp yet sweet blueberries, warm hazelnuts and delightful walnuts.

All of the ingredients in this easy recipe are proven to boost brain activity. The nuts are high in protein, Vitamin E and focus-inducing amino acids, these being a godsend for when you’re enjoying some games online at a site like www.rubyfortune.com, play some sudokus or solitaire. (Very) dark chocolate features caffeine and endorphin-producing chemicals, both great for heavy thought-based tasks, and blueberries, well, are simply one of the best brain foods known to man. Memory, concentration, energy; the blueberry is king of the super foods!

On top of all these health benefits, it is also a really easy recipe and you could even get your kids involved!

For 1-10 bars (depending on how large you like your portions!)

200g Dark Chocolate (80%+ cocoa solids)

1 tbsp Golden Syrup

100g Butter or Margarine

Dried Blueberries (amount depending on preference)

Chopped Hazelnuts

Chopped Walnuts

1. Line a medium sized baking tray with baking parchment.

2. Melt the butter, chocolate and golden syrup in a glass bowl that is sitting in a pan of simmering (but not boiling) water. Heat and stir until the mixture is completely fluid and there are no lumps visible. Remove from the heat.

3. Take all of the berries and nuts and pour them in to the mixture. Stir until every ingredient is completely covered by the mixture.

4. Tip all of the mixture into the parchment-lined baking tray and spread evenly.

5. Place the tray in a refrigerator for 3 hours or until completely set, remove from the tray and cut into however many slices you’d like.

And there you have it! This is an incredibly easy recipe that anyone can make and enjoy, and the entire process takes less than twenty minutes from melting to refrigeration! What’s best about this mind-boosting super bar is that you can effectively use the recipe as a basis for all manner of deliciously snackish creations. If you’re making bars specifically for the kids, try swapping dark chocolate for white, and including more traditional rocky road classics such as biscuit and marshmallow. Alternatively, you could go fully healthy, using 100% dark chocolate and a little more golden syrup (to balance the bitterness) alongside a true host of nuts, berries and other delicious treats!

Enjoy the recipe or have your own hit rocky road formulas? Let us know below!

Hot summer evenings were made for alfresco dining and Beefeater agree so invited us along to an exclusive preview taster evening a couple of weeks ago at Coombe Lodge. Boo, me and my sister – Grace decided to make it a Corriette Clan date night especially as Coombe Lodge is where Boo had her Baptism reception back in 2012 – The Orangery is just the most beautiful space to hold a family celebration – and holds so many special memories for us.

Beefeater have launched their delicious menu just in time for summer and were excited to show us the new additions as well as the classics we love and know. People often assume that you’ve got to be a meat lover to enjoy a meal at Beefeater but that’s simply not the case with Beefeater determined to satisfy everyone’s tastes from fish, to salads and everything in between – not forgetting the mouth watering grill!

We sampled a selection of starters, mains and desserts and I think I speak for everyone there when I say it was a struggle to pace ourselves through eight tasting courses, each dish tasted so fresh and the flavour combinations worked so well.

Boo got to try out the children’s Mr Men and Little Miss menu which has the familiar modular concept which allows younger guests to choose every element of their meal; form starters, to sides, to desserts they’ve got it covered and Boo loved the choice on offer which really does go beyond the stereotypical burger, chicken or fish options.

While Boo had fun playing with her activity pack I managed to grab a couple of minutes with Paul Fletcher, the new brand development and research chef who coming from Gaucho as former head chef there means he certainly knows his meat! I asked him what is his favourite dish on the menu and for him the choice was simple: the burgers as so much work had gone into the development and the meat is really tasty.

There wasn’t anything I tried that I didn’t like and the presentation coming from the kitchen was brilliant, there are so many favourite dishes from our tasting evening but for me the absolute stand out star was the cheesecake -you can tell a lot about a restaurant by its cheesecake (doesn’t everybody use this highly scientific method of assessment?!) and the density, consistency and all round flavour was just perfect, I’d be really rather happy if that was the only dessert I ever ate again.

Well done Beefeater, you summer menu is packed full of classics to love and plenty of new flavours to entice your taste buds and all while having fun with all the family with a brand we love and trust.

My Protein and My Vitamins are well known in the fitness and nutrition world as being a go to brand for sports nutrition and supplements so I was excited to try them out when they sent me a selection of products. I was sent some vitamins and Impact Diet Whey along with a couple of handy slim Smartshakes for on the go.

The first thing I noticed was the clever packaging: protein powders typically come in bulky rigid plastic packaging which takes up way too much space and let’s face it a massive plastic cylinder isn’t the easiest thing to make space for in the kitchen cupboards! My Protein comes in clever re-sealable pouches regardless what size you order. This clever packaging also applies to My Vitamins which is great for on the go and packing them when I travel.

I’ve been using the My Protein Impact Diet whey powder after workouts as part of #operationyummymummy and I’ve tried the double chocolate flavor as we all know chocolate anything is always good; ad I wasn’t disappointed – the flavor was spot on it mixed well with water and also almond milk if I fancied a creamier treat.

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Smartshake so I was really pleased to get my hands on the new Slim Shaker – I love the fact that they fit in virtually any cup holder (no more praying it doesn’t spill while balanced on the passenger seat!) and as always gives the best consistency for protein shakes on the go… winner!

I tired out a fair few different products from the My Vitamins range; I loved the green tea extract capsules while I was in Alicante as I’m really not very good at drinking hot drinks when I’m away and it’s a great convenient way of getting it in. I also used the Vitamin Effervescent in raspberry flavour while travelling, it’s nice to have a vitamin C supplement that isn’t orange flavour as I’m not the biggest citrus fan.

Overall My Protein and My Vitamins offer fantastic value for money without any compromise on quality it’s also really good that their products are not only developed but manufactured in the UK meaning the best possible supplements and nutrition to help you no matter what your goal.

Disclosure: We were sent a selection of My Protein and My Vitamin products for review. No payment was received and all opinions are 100% honest.

The sun is out and our weekends are spent enjoying the sunshine with friends and family getting out to parks and woods and even the odd trip to the seaside; Anyone who knows me will say that I’m never seen without my sunglasses, come rain or shine (heck I’ve even been known to wear them when it’s snowing!) I love the sunshine but I also know it’s really important to protect my eyes… and I’m not going to lie, it’s another excuse to indulge in designer labels – let’s just say I may have a slight addiction – which wouldn’t be so easy to satisfy if I had to add prescription lenses.

I’m fortunate enough to only have to wear glasses when I’m working at a computer and when driving at night and my eyes are tired – basically my eyes enjoying being lazy every once in a while!

Even so I’ve still considered the possibility of laser eye surgery; whilst I may not seem the obvious candidate I love the idea of having complete freedom from glasses. I can’t imagine what’s it like having to juggle multiple pairs of glasses and then adding sunglasses to the mix in the summer – just as my Mother she’s the queen of glasses cases and wondering where glasses are… 99% of the time they’re on her head!

Yes the cost of laser eye surgery is a significant spend but I prefer to see it is an investment and with Optical Express there are plenty of finance options which are clearly illustrated to help you stay in control and spread the cost.

Glasses are pretty cool nowadays, they even have designer frames; but having eyesight freedom is still something that for me is way better in the cool stakes – oh and it means even more opportunities for designer sunglasses – I’m fancying the Prada Minimal Baroque round style next…

Disclosure: A fee was received for this post.