Zip and Zoe by Babymel

Before Christmas a fantastic email landed in our inbox from the lovely people at Babymel saying we had been chosen to be ambassadors for their gorgeous new range of kids bags Zip and Zoe!

We got the choice of one of their bags to review, so we went for the kids Dino multi for James!

James absolutely love the bag! He has used it for school everyday! He's actually carried it on his back rather than making mummy carry it like he does when we use his book bag!

The bag has a fantastic large main pocket, which we can fit in everything James needs for a day at school! We always keep his reflective waistcoat in there as some days it is dark when we are going to and from school! Going to and from school in bad weather, we have had: his reading book, key words folder, reflective jacket, pair of shoes and still had space in the bag!

The smaller pocket on the front is the perfect size to keep his hat and gloves in so they are not lost in the cloakroom! The bottle pocket is brilliant and it means James always has his bottle on his way to and from school!

My favourite part of the bag has to be the chest strap! James can put his bag on and then I clip it up and it does not fall off his shoulders when we are walking to and from school!

When we have had bad weather and James has needed to wear his wellies to school, I have been able to put his school shoes into his bag to change into. Although sometimes I might be better off just sending the wellies for all day use! 

Not only does James use the bag for school, he also takes it to aldi. We always take rucksacks to aldi with us to do the shopping and since James got his, he's been wanting to take it with him to help carry bits of shopping home!

Over all I am 100% happy with this bag and would recommend them to anyone with kids! 

Zip and Zoe sent us a fantastic discount code ZipAndZoe20 at checkout 

Disclaimer; We were sent this bag free of charge in exchange for this review! All words and pictures are our own!

What's in my hospital bag?

So I'm now 36 weeks pregnant, so I thought it was time to pack mine & baby h's bags for the hospital.

At the very top of my bag are my notes! These will go in at the last minute as obviously I will need them for appointments before I go in to have baby h! 

My bag is a cheap holdall from primark. In that I have packed the following: Old tshirt for giving birth in, Pjs for after birth as it will be winter, Sleep bra & Normal bra these are from primark, Socks To keep my feet warm, Big pants again from primark, Maternity pads, Home outfit which is joggers tshirt & hoody, Phone & charger, Straws & my Wash bag. I also have a blanket for baby and his first outfit. 

In the wash bag I have toothbrush, toothpaste, brush, lip balm, hair bobbles, deodorant and shampoo.

For baby h I am using our Babymoov style changing bag. In his bag I have packed: Nappies, Wipes, Nappy bags, Small sudocreme, Vests x3, Sleep suits x3, Hats x2, Blanket which was actually one of James when he was newborn, Teddy, Going home outfit, Dummies x2, Bibs x3, Muslins x3. We have chosen to bottle feed straight from the word go like we did with James. So the baby milk is in my baby along with two bottles in our bottle bag. 

I'm hoping I haven't forgotten anything important, but since the hospital is like ten minutes walk from the main shopping area in Newcastle I'm sure my mum & dad can go pick things up if we need them! 

I really should have taken photographs but James was pestering me and running off with the camera as normal!

What's in our Changing Bag?

I have been meaning to do this post for ages but yep kept forgetting or as I was getting the bag to take photographs, James would run off with it.

I'm crazy about keeping the bag organised hence stuff being in ziplock bags pus it stops stuff getting messy.

There are six ziplock bags in our changing bag.

Bag one this has a spare stuff in, ie vest T-shirt pants and socks. Quite often if James does a wet through when we are out he tends to need a full outfit change.

Bag two this has his spare trousers in. 

Bag three this houses the pull up pants normally about three pairs as I sometimes forget to add more to the bag.

Bag four houses the calpol sachets. I never go anywhere without them especially when the boy has molars coming through.

Bag five the neufophen sachets again these go everywhere. If the calpol does not cure the teething pain then neufophen normally does.

Bag six has the dentenox eye wipes in. These are a god send especially if not just James gets sore eyes but the rest of us. 

A packet of Tesco baby wipes. These are the current ones.

Our skip hop wipes case which I actually use for nappy bags so I don't lose them.

There is also my old pink draw string bikini bag, which I use for throwing the wet clothes in as it can be hung on the pushchair handles, meaning it gets taken straight into the kitchen for washing. It may be odd using that, but I haven't found anything else as good for wet clothes.

So that's what I carry around for a two year old everytime we leave the house.

You might wonder why no drink or snacks? Well these normally go in the buggy basket so they are easier to grab when needed. 

What's in my make up bag

I'm seeing a lot of what's in my...? posts at the moment on different blogs, so I thought I would do a post on what's in my make up bag.

This is my small bag with what I would normally wear on a day out. I have another big case in my wardrobe with some other stuff in, but this is what I'm favouriting at the moment.

These are the eye shadows I have in the bag at the moment. The one at the back is an Estée Lauder 02 Cappuccino. I got this a few years ago as a birthday present and it's been in and out my bag ever since. In front of that we have my two latest buys from the new range at poundland. We have Pink Champagne number 4 and Vintage Rose number 6. At the very front is colour trend by Avon spirits. Again this was a purchase a few years ago and has been in and out my make up bag.

Here we have from left to right my Max Factor Masterclass under eye concealer in Ivory 303, this was first purchased four years ago when we got married and was worn on our wedding day. Then we have my new buy again from the poundland range, never ending story lengthening mascara. This is really good. I absolutely love it and it's great for just popping on quickly. Finally we have my Max Factor Masterpiece high definition mascara. Again this was another wedding purchase and loved it and still do four years later.

Again left to right we have Max Factor Lipfinity Lip Tint in shade 08. This was bought a couple of years ago for my best friends hen party as I needed a darker lip colour that would stay put all night and it worked. Then we have two lip salves. Normally these are in my drawers. But seeing as we are due to be moving so. They got put in the bag. Then we have my two new colours again from the poundland range. We have 01 perfectly nude this is perfect for wearing during the day. Then we have 18 black cherry. This is a fantastic colour for wearing on a night out. I have worn it on a day time but it's just too dark for daytime.

Finally we have my foundation and blusher. The Max Factor weightless foundation again was another wedding purchase and has been bought and bought again since as it lasts all day and suits my skin. Then we have the poundland gorgeous flawless in Ivory 1. I have just bought this so haven't actually tried it yet but hoping to try it this week. Then will review it in full. Finally we have my Max Factor blusher in 220 classic rose. This is the actual one I bought for my wedding day four years ago. I don't wear blusher much. Normally only on a night out, so no wonder it's still going strong four years later!!!

So that's what's currently in my makeup bag. If you can think of any products you think I might like leave a comment or drop me an email.