Sleep Well At Ibis? Oh Yes!

As the husband had gone on his little trip abroad that I won and where I couldn't go with him, and the children were each going on their own little holiday, I happily accepted and looked forward to a one night break away at an Ibis hotel to try out their new Sweet Bed system. As someone who lacks sleep due to many reasons I had to attend this sleep related event as I desperately wanted to learn lots of new tips and tricks for getting a good nights kip. I was also very excited to hear there would be a talk from leading physiotherapist and sleep expert Sammy Margo who really knows her stuff. I was invited along with 9 other bloggers to the newly opened Hotel Ibis Shepherds Bush This particular Ibis has 128 rooms all featuring the new and revolutionary bedding concept that Accor unveiled, and with an in-house committee comprising sleep experts and outside researchers worked together for several months to develop. This bedding system has been designed to deliver the perfect nights sleep so my expectations were already very high. 

The new Sweet Bed system has been incorporated throughout all Hotel Ibis's and more than 66,000 beds are already in place. This short video details all the components to the Sweet bed....

* Support- provided by the bed frame and mattress

* Comfort- provided by the mattress and topper

Oh I couldn't way to try it out. On arrival at the newly opened Ibis in Shepherd's Bush you could really feel a fresh contemporary vibe and everywhere was so clean and tidy....

The open plan ground floor incorporates the reception, bar and restaurant and has a modern décor with very stylish touches and creative lighting which I really liked as well as the business corner....

 Then it was up to the my room to drop my bags off and it really was lovely, being a very calm, uncluttered and well designed room and which I looked forward to spending the night in. Of course I couldn't resist trying out the new bed system, with it's hollow-fibre pillows, smart foam and spring mattress and uniquely designed 'S' duvet ;) I almost climbed in and fell asleep right there and then.

 However after a quick brush of the hair etc off I went back downstairs for the event sessions which I was looking forward to, along with a lovely cup of peppermint tea....

First up was a tour of the hotel with the general manager, who was helpful and friendly in answering our many questions about the hotel. I really liked that here our towels help plant trees....

And the pod style en suite bathrooms were great....

After our tour is was time for lunch....

And being a very enthusiastic cake lover I was delighted to see this plate of delicious offerings....

Next up after lunch it was time for Sammy's 'The Art Of A Good Night's Sleep' talk, and which I have to say was fantastic and a real eye opener. As I am someone who finds it hard getting to sleep I shall now be taking a banana to bed with me everynight ;) For sleep inducing purposes of course as they contain melatonin and serotonin as well as the muscle relaxant magnesium. We learnt why sleep is important for a healthy lifestyle and even that separate bedrooms from partners can be a real worthwhile decision, also how pillows can break and here is Sammy doing the shoe test....

Then it was time for Sammy to climb on board her pretend bed to share some tips on sleeping positions....

Apparently green is the perfect colour choice for a bedroom due to its calming influence, I however pointed out I couldn't think of a worse colour as green reminds me of hospitals and that certainly wouldn't have a calming influence on me ;) Bedtime routines can be very important, there should be no electrical gadgets near by, sleeping positions are very important and further on in this post you can see Sammy and I in our practical session to find my perfect sleeping position. A milky drink really does help before sleep as does trying to empty ones mind of all those worrisome thoughts, something that effects me being a natural worrier. After a short break it was indeed time for the practical session on one of the Ibis hotel's Sweet Bed's. I was asked if I didn't mind our session being recorded. At this point I did wonder what sort of event I had indeed come to ;)

It was a very valuable experience. Being a front sleeper, I now know why I often wake up with neck pain and my sleeping position has been improved since coming home. I am occasionally finding that I keep rolling over on to my front during sleep so a little more practice at my new sleeping position is probably needed. 

So, after we had all had our one to one practical, it was time for some Q&A's which again I found very useful. I really learnt lots at the event and I couldn't wait to do my very own shoe test to see if any of our pillows at home are indeed broken. After a lovely dinner which was a short walk away from the hotel it was time to head back to my room and get into my bed....

Oh it was lovely, perfect for me and that 7cm topper a delight to sleep on. so I did indeed wake up refreshed after a good nights sleep and was all ready for breakfast before heading home. I made a fond farewell to my sweet bed....

  

And a lovely big hello to breakfast....

I can't resist a bit of Nutella in the mornings and the breakfast on offer for a small charge at Ibis was super, I couldn't resist going back for more and more....

So, a thoroughly enjoyable event and I would like to thank, Ibis Shepherds Bush (who also kindly forwarded on my iphone charger that I left behind in my room) Kelly for her super organisational and friendly pr approach, Ellie for the heads up on the event, and lastly but by no means least Jeremy for bringing everyone together and being the main man on this.

As for now, I'm off to catch some more Zzzzzz's. I just wish it was on one of the Sweet Bed's ;) 

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Disclosure: I was provided with a one night stay at Hotel Ibis, including lunch, dinner and breakfast for the purposes of this blog post.   

Why I Shall Keep Buying LEGO Friends

As those who know me understand I am very much a people person, and so really enjoy attending blogging, brand, and press launch events that I get invited to. If I think it is an event I shall enjoy and learn from, and also something that you may find interesting hearing about, I am more than happy to accept those invitations.

When one landed in my inbox from LEGO Friends I have to say the fact it was being held here and there  would be a lovely indulgent breakfast served, it did get a very quick " Thank you for the invitation and I would be delighted to attend" response. This event was of interest to me especially, as there has been so much coverage of the new LEGO Friends, and some of it not favourable. Thinking the range stereotypes genders, too girly, even perhaps stifling of girls ambitious career plans for the future. I was also quite  shocked to hear there maybe even plans for petitions to get the range off the shelves....

I am perhaps what one would call a girly girl, pink is one of my favourite colours and so a range like this shall always get the thumbs up from me. I also have a daughter, a 10 year old daughter as it happens and who loves playing with LEGO, what ever the colour. When we were in a toy shop over Christmas, she had some money to spend and straight away went over to the shelves of LEGO Friends where it had only just been launched and bought a set for herself. She liked the look of it, I was happy with her to buy it and she loves it. We don't own a wii, an xbox, or DSi and am very much encouraging of my children to still play with *toys* as such. Ten year old Miss. Poppins has the most incredible imagination, has won awards for her story telling, is bright, and very ahead of her years. As her parent I want my daughter to decide for herself what she may like to play with, how SHE feels she should be as a young person growing up, and not how others think she should be. She was excited about me going along to hear more about the new friends range.

When I arrived here....

And was greeted by these....

I made my way down to where the event was being held. It was a lovely intimate get together, very personable, relaxed, friendly and I had great fun playing with the LEGO.

The range was developed after four, yes four years of extensive LEGO research of finding out what girls want, and this it seems is what is wanted. It is certainly what MY daughter wants and am guessing on reading the many, many positive threads on this range is what other girls want to. It may not be what you want, or indeed what your daughter wants, but I can't help but feel I would be doing my intelligent daughter a disservice by saying she SHOULD not be playing with such things. If she wants to dream of being a hairdresser, a pop star, a baker, a candle stick maker, an astronaut, a scientist, a prime minister, or indeed any career, I want to let her. My 5 yr old son loves playing with his LEGO, he also enjoys doing role play and has fun with the friends sets, and I am more than happy to let him do so. In my opinion LEGO is just trying to meet the demands and interests of many young girls and as for limiting her imagination, well have a little look at what Mark Stafford came up with using some LEGO friends...

LOVE the lipstick claws ;)

I can often be the person that sits on the fence regarding the (so many) debates online you see, though on this one, have stepped off just a little and want to let you know I love it, my daughter loves it, we shall keep buying it and look forward to the second wave which shall be released later this year around August. In fact I had to nip into Harrod's ( as you do ) on my way home to pick a little something up for my daughter, and guess what she wanted....

When I got home, she greeted me with a lovely hug and couldn't wait to have a little play with her new set. She loves intermixing some of the LEGO CITY with it too, and don't they say variety is the spice of life....

If playing with some pink themed lego brings a smile to my precious daughter's face, then I am all for it....

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My Experience Of The Mad Blog Awards....

So, last Friday I attended The MAD's ( which celebrate's what's brilliant about British mummy and daddy bloggers ) organised by the very efficient Sally and an award ceremony was taking place to crown the winners. More than 50,000 nominations and votes were received and I was very honored to have made it as a finalist in the craft category. Craft is in reality quite a small facet of this blog so I was very flattered that people took the time to vote. The event which took place at the Talk Talk customer experience centre in Soho, and who along with Parentdish were the main sponsors of the event, was built up to be a very glittery affair, and certainly not one to be missed. Having somewhat of an *effervescent* personality and who loves new situations, and meeting new people I was very eager to attend, however, I was of course a little nervous, but I like to taste life, and experience all it has to offer so along I of course went. When I arrived at Euston I was met by two bloggers, Lindy  and Nickie and we made our way together to the lovely hotel

Then it was a quick drop of bags, and we made our way to a little tapas bar around the corner ( or at least we thought it was ;) along with my lovely room mate Merry for a little bite to eat and there I met the lovely Louise, Heather, and Adele. It is so nice to meet other bloggers, sometimes blogging for me, can feel quite a solitary thing, tapping away to a screen, but meeting all these very talented people, makes you realise how truly big blogging is. Is there anyone out there that doesn't blog ;) So after a bite to eat it was back to the hotel, a quick get changed and onwards to the event. There was a little confusion over tickets, I ( being the ditsy thing I am ) had left my ticket in my room, and was thinking they shall know who I am, and I shan't be abandonded at the entrance, however I decided to be a good girl and make my way back up to get it. Once back down, many of the troops had gone and was all alone in London ( ahhhhhhh ) Then some very sassy women, who included Jane  and a different  Heather came to my aid and I popped in their taxi ( thanks gals ) So, we all got there safe and sound and here is the very lovely dress I ended up choosing from TKMaxx who, I was very thankful too for dressing me for the evening.

The front....

The back....

And on me....

And one of my favourite's taken by the lovely Violet Posy....

I loved the TKMaxx bag too....

As for awards, I didn't win, though hand on heart knew I wouldn't, and I can't really remember the last time I got all crafty with an egg carton ;) But who did win was the very, very crafty Red Ted Art and a very worthy winner too :) As they say tis not the winning....All the finalists are winners of a sort, and here they all are....

Of course a girl can pretend....

Thanks to Tom for letting me borrow his award he got for best baby blog, and congratulations too on becoming a dad to be again Tom. I had a lovely time, met some lovely people, even had a go at karoke....Please see beyond the technical hitches, we were actually rather good ;)) If you want a nose feel free to have a look here. I especially connected to Jane who also happened to be a finalist in the same craft category as me and we can't wait to meet up again, and we found out through our chatter....

that we only live about 7 miles away from each other....

Jane or I did not partake in any vino, though I think we are both quite extrovert in nature so we were more than happy to play the fool at times....

Soon it was time to say our goodbyes and we all headed of back to various hotels etc, for me I was ready for my bed, though after a long olde, lovely chat with Merry didn't enter the land of nod till well past 3. In the morning, after my hearty breakfast I headed of for a little walk before catching my train back home. It was lovely....

So I boarded the train, and couldn't wait to see my little Poppins again. Of course I was a little shocked to find one certain little Poppins with a fractured wrist on my return but that is another story....

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Vacuuming Can Be Sexy! Dirt Devil & Mr.Stink Event....

Do you like vacuuming? I have to admit I am not an expert housewife and vacuuming is probably about 101st on my list of things to do. However, I do love to shop, ( you may have gathered this ) and I can find greatness in most things, even vacuum's. I understand, even though vacuuming is not my most favourite chore, someone has to do it, and occasionally it is I who has to do the deed. So when I was invited along to a Dirt Devil event to have a little play with some vacuum's, I of course was intrigued to see if even I could find sexiness in a vacuum cleaner.

This is their new, only just been released and a more traditional looking, Dirt Devil Pure A bagless upright with a 1900W motor ( ie it has good suction), it has an 8m cleaning radius and an ingenious switch on the front to vary the brush depth depending on your carpet length. I was really rather taken with the folding handle, which meant it could be stored quite easily, and don't they say storage is the key to a tidy house, so this aspect of the model appealed to me very much. This red and white number ( which actually I did think rather sexy looking ) also includes an intense turbo brush attachment, perfect for picking up all those unwanted pet hairs. Priced at £79.99 I thought quite reasonable, and in my opinion you certainly get alot for your money.

Next, I got to play with a man's hose....

The hose in question belonging of course to the Dirt Devil Reach notice the reach in the title here. Well this vacuum, has possibly the longest hose I have ever seen, and when at full capacity ( when combined with the 5m cord and 1m telescopic tube ) can cover the equivalent of two tennis courts. The Reach also includes Microban antibacterial technology in the filters and bags, and considering Microban is the world's leader in providing safe, durable and effective antibacterial solutions, this is a very worthwhile benefit of the vacuum. Priced at £69.99, if you like your gadgets nifty, compact and smart looking ( with a long hose ) then this is the vacuum for you.

Dirt Devil, who btw have a blog too, also invited the Poppins children along with me to watch a theatrical performance of Mr. Stink which was having it's run at The Lowry where the event was held. After we had had a play with the nifty vacuums and the children had been entertained, off we went to find our seats in the theatre to enjoy the show.

Having studied drama, and performed in many shows myself, I cannot help but perhaps over analyze performances, when I go to the theatre. I almost watch from a directors point of view, do the costumes look good, does the stage set wobble, do the lfx's and sfx's look like they are on time, are the actor's performances realistic, believable etc etc. However on this occasion, I just wanted to sit down in a comfy chair, relax and enjoy the show with my children. Oh it was fun. I don't want to give too much away if you may be popping over to see it, but the show itself is accompanied by a scratch and sniff book ( that you get to keep ) and basically as an audience member, you get to scratch and sniff your way through the book, whilst the show is going on, you are given cues however, so you don't ( like norty me ) scratch too early.

   
A really enjoyable family show, and one I would certainly recommend going to see. Infact I bumped into Lotte Gilmore who plays the lead female, Chloe, a little later on, and we had a very brief chat and she is just charming, and does a very decent job of playing someone much younger than her actual years. You can read a review of Mr. Stink here So, after the show, it was time to say our goodbyes to the Dirt Devil team, who were accompanied by an ever so slick pr crew as well. Before I could shake their hand to say my ta'ra's, I was handed over a very smart looking vacuum, and as it happens, one just the right size for me. I was told it was a little gift to take home and to have a play with it in the comfort of my own home.

As it is I am a quick learner and the vacuum in question, the Dirt Devil Easy Handheld Vacuum is pure joy for someone like me as I like things small, perfectly formed, and easy to hide away when unannounced guests come a calling. This little number is perfect, made for me. It comes with a range of features and attachments, one of which is called the Crevice Nozzle ( I told you vacuums can be sexy ) that can help make family life easier, what could be better I say. It is Dirt Devil's most powerful handheld and comes with a wall-mounted charger that allows for continuous charging, so always ready, charged and eager for action, you never know what spillage is around the corner. Perfect for the car, getting rid of those unwanted pet hairs and also the only handheld vacuum in the UK that comes with microban. Priced at £59.99, for me this really is a wonderful handheld. Also perfect for our little retro caravan. I have to say bravo to the experts, Matthew, the marketing manager for Dirt Devil Uk, and James, their Communications Manager who came along, and who didn't over egg their products, or shove them down our faces, that some brands can be a little guilty of. I don't know about you, but for me, I tend to warm more to people who don't give it the big * buy our product* *buy our product*, but rather, communicate their ideas and then let us decide for ourselves what we really think. They laughed like it was the first time they had heard the * my what a big hose you have got * type jokes from all us blogging ladies, true professional's they really were. All these thoughts and words are my own opinion and I genuinly think the products were good and I enjoyed playing and learning all about them. There may even be some video footage knocking about the internet somewhere, where I have my little say of what I thought of the day. ( I really do enjoy flirting with the camera, and I wish I got chance to do it more often)

So, after an enjoyable day, I have come to realise Vacuums can, if you want them to be, a little va va voom sexy, lets face it vacuuming can be rather a boring chore, but with one of these Dirt Devil's at the end of my arm, it at least, with all their turbo brushes, attachments, very long hoses and crevice nozzles, makes vacuuming a little more, how can I say it....interesting!

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Nuts About Nutella....

Hands up who likes, no, loves Nutella....

Me, me me, me!  When I am in the shopping isles, I often pop a jar or two of the hazelnut spread in the trolly. I happily give it to my children (in moderation and who are happy, healthy, alert and not over weight )and was fortunate enough to get an invite to go along to a delicious Nutella Breakfast, with a chance to talk to top experts on how to encourage our children to eat in the morning, and get a good start to the day. Also the Television chef Alan Coxon would be there amongst others to show us how to create some delicious recipes, and my lovely children were invited too, and whilst I would be learning new and exciting things about nutella, they would be entertained with a mix of magic, juggling, animal balloon making, entertaining and fun nutella activities and much more besides. All this to be taken place at the fun adventure land, that is known as Legoland. Hmm let me check my diary....

How could I say no, so I kindly accepted the invitation and very much looked forward to the exciting event. The day before the nutella breakfast, which also happened to be my birthday, a lovely and pretty looking hamper arrived, Ohooo what lovely has the husband got me I thought. Well imagine my delight when the PR company that were organising the event sent me this mouth watering hamper from Hobbs House Bakery

I love posh, healthy, tasty bread, I love nutella, could a birthday girl be any happier....

A true feast for my eyes....

The breads were delicious, extra tasty with the nutella on top ;0)  As we were staying with a lovely friend that night who doesn't live far from legoland, we piled some of the breads and nutella in the car to entertain our stomachs should they get hungry on the way.

I thought you may like a little peek at my sleepover room in my friends beautiful home....

After a lovely birthday evening and sleepover, we made our way to Legoland early in the morning. The traffic queues were quite something heading into legoland, so I was a couple of minutes late, dropped the children ( and husband) off with the wonderful entertainers and made my way upstairs, walked in, looking a little sparkly and with everyone already there. My eyes were drawn to pile of yummy looking breakfast delights in the middle of the table. Introductions were being made and I sat down, next to the very charming Mauro De Felip who is the U.K.'s marketing director for Ferrero, ( loved his trendy orange swatch) and had not long got my breath when everyone turned to me for me to say my hello's, and a little about myself. It always makes me chuckle a little when I introduce myself as Mary Poppins, it was a blogging event and was lovely to meet some more lovely bloggers. I explained that I am a lover of Nutella, infact we all are as a family, maybe too much, but being the ickle size I am can get away with eating more than I probably should, but that I would love to learn a little more about it, the nutritional aspect, and how to conjure up some super recipes, that had more ingredients, other that one jar of nutella and one silver spoon ;0)  

We were than introduced to a very knowledgeable and in my opinion stylish lady, Professor Karen Pine who shared with us some very informative facts about the psychology of food, and how children's behaviours/habits around food can often have us, as mother's and father's, pulling our hair out, but that these issues can be resolved. One of her theories is around the letters, and word E  A and T 

Here are Karen’s ideas:

E is for example.... always set a good example and have good eating habits ( having a sweet tooth, this is one of my hardest ) How can I refuse my children a bag of sweeties when they see me scoffing them by the bucket load

A is for attention – do your best to try not to focus on your children's eating habits, or food related  behaviours ( my son was recently referred to speech therapy for a slight stammer, as soon as I and the family stopped focusing on it, it went, and I think that says something in itself )

T is for try - try, try again, and then try some more with introducing good healthy habits and food related behaviors.( My two are generally good eaters but my 8 year old has become a little of a fussy eater, and introducing new tastes is sometimes a battle, but I now know to keep at it and keep on trying....)

I really enjoyed my one to one chat with Karen afterwards (photograph above courtesy of Karen Pine) and learnt some very interesting things, especially about shopping, my favourite past time, more about that on another post.
Then it was Sian, who is a nutritionist's turn to talk, and who taught me some very interesting nutritional advice, and then it was a question and answer session where we all had lots of questions, refusal of milk, picky eaters, times to eat, choices of breakfast foods being many of them. Sian explained how breakfast really is the most important meal of the day, which I knew and agree with. She also told us that one portion of Nutella, which is 2 teaspoons ( 2 teaspoons is never enough for me)  but has less fat and sugar than jam, another of our family loves. A 15g portion of nutella combined with other breakfast components such as a slice of wholegrain toast, a bowl of unsweetened cereal with milk, a glass of fruit juice can be a good option at breakfast time (375 calories, 19% GDA) You many not know that nutella is a hazelnut spread and releases its energy slowly. It is a low glycaemic index (GI) food. In fact, every 15g portion contains 2 whole hazelnuts, some skimmed milk and a dash of cocoa. When using nutella the hazelnut spread there is no need to use butter or an alternative fat spread, and low glycaemic index (GI) breakfasts (because they release energy slowly) can help maintain energy levels and reduce the need for snacking later on. So after our nutella breakfast it was then over to Television chef Alan Coxon to entertain us with some exciting recipes, and boy did he do just that.

We had fun donning our aprons, of course took me 10 minutes to get my bow just right ;0)

 Alan demonstrated some inspiring recipes using Nutella and I especially liked the idea of using a spoonful of it in smoothies, and the banana and nutella wraps looked delicious. Then it was our turn to have a go and we were put in little teams and it was then I really needed the toilet, and when a lady has to go, a lady has to go, so my team got on with making up something lovely and original, we only had 7 minutes and the toilet was good 2 minute walk, so I knew I had to be quick. Quick I was, and got back to see my team had come up with some lovely ideas, and had enough time to make up my recipe idea for the group, a wonderful strawberry, blueberry and nutella skewer.

 Isn't the presentation wonderful ;0) We were given some super recipe ideas to come away with and shall definately be having a go at them, please do share with me any lovely things you have made with my favourite hazelnut based spread. Also the  Nutella Website is re launching on the 30th August, so keep your eyes peeled for some wonderful and new ideas nutella shall be bringing us.

So after all that fun and frivolity, we were treated to a fun day at legoland, and along with the q-bot, definitely helped on our queuing time, and a super day was had by all.

Please Note: I have not been offered Nutella for life for all the lovely mentions of Nutella in this post, ( I do genuinely love it ) but a girl has got to give it a go, so if you are reading  Mr/Mrs.Nutella, you know where I am ;0)

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