MarisWorld « The Great British HousewifeMarisWorld

What I’m wearing to BritMums Live #Zalando

Only 3 more sleeps to go and I’ll be enjoying the 2013 BritMums Live and I cannot wait for it all to start. With Kirsty Allsop kicking off the conference and Katie Piper adding a very emotional touch with her speech – Things get better - I have a feeling we’re going to be bombarded with emotions this weekend.

I’m monitoring Room 1, the main room (hear the pride in my voice?) and there are some brilliant sessions in there including Storytelling, How to take video on your smartphone and Working with charities close to your heart that will give me invaluable insight to how I want Mari’s World to progress over the next year.

Of course I shall be on the BritMums stand during breaks looking to meet as many bloggers as possible and tell them all about BritMums and how they can use the popular platform for their benefit.

This means I need to look the part, but what does one wear?

It’s pointless me wearing breakneck heels, tight skirts and power sholder pads as that is so not me and would be very uncomfortable so when Zalando kindly offered me £100 to spend on their site, well, I spent an entire evening browsing before making my mind up!

I knew I wanted to wear a dress or a skirt and I wanted it to be noticeable not wishy washy, something to reflect my personality and Zalando is full of ideas and all sorts of brands and prices. To prove my point I bought my favourite skirt from Desigual discounted by £15 and the red jacket for only £12! I chose a jersey dress that hangs loosely allowing me to feel comfortable at all times and cool made by Anna Fields, who is knew to me but she has some gorgeous pieces for very good prices.

Another brand I discovered on the fab fashion site was Pier One, I almost chose one of their dresses but in the end went for some classic black ballerinas that will cover all items in my wardrobe. I did go slightly over budget, in all I spent about £115 but I got four fabulous pieces that I shall enjoy all summer and come winter, I’ll be back looking for jackets and the children’s wear

Take a look for yourself at Zalando and allow about 3 days for delivery

The perfect cup of tea – Tea India #review

I am a tea girl through and through. Even when I was in Italy I asked my parents to send out boxes of the good stuff for me as Italy is a coffee country and don’t do good tea.

I love the fact that whenever there’s something going wrong in life, putting the kettle on for a cup of tea seems to already eliminate the brunt of the problem and suddenly you know the situation can be solved one way or another, the world looks a better place already.

I love that when I am really tired, I can fix a quick brew and it picks me up.

I love that when I have the flu or horrible virus dragging me down and making me feel dreadful, a cup of tea seems to work magic on my system and flush the bug out.

And I love that when I’m really thirsty a cup of tea can quench it, refresh me and put me back on the right track again.

So all of the above makes me a tea girl and when Tea India asked if I’d like to review their cuppa I said YES please.

They sent me through two kinds of tea and I love the packaging, it’s really simple and eye catching don’t you think?

I tried the Black Tea first, a 2 star Great Taste Gold Winner* (Pink box) and added milk to it as is the norm for me. Verdict: Delicious in fact I filled up my tea caddy with the entire box and even husband mentioned, ‘Really nice cup of tea’ without knowing we had a new brand in the house. In fact my grandmother even mentioned ‘What a lovely cup of tea?’ Whose is it? When she popped in the other day and she has had a fair amount of tea in her 93 years!

This 100 per cent black tea has a high Assam content for a robust, golden flavour. Tea India’s signature blend, it has been sourced by the master blender, who grew up in Assam, north-east India. His innate knowledge of creating the perfect blend, using only the top two leaves and the bud of the Assam tea bush when the tea is at its freshest, ensures a superior cup of reviving tea every time.

The second tea I was sent to try is one I called a perfumed tea, it’s Cardomom Chai, a 1 star Great Taste Gold Winner* (green box)

For a truly distinctive tea experience, Tea India’s Cardamom Chai blends premium tea leaves with exotic, aromatic cardamom. An authentic Indian ingredient, used in many traditional sweet and savoury dishes and to flavour hot drinks, cardamom seeds are often seen as a symbol of hospitality. In true Indian tradition, this invigorating blend is a real treat for the senses and will put a spring in any tea lover’s step!

I didn’t add milk to this one and although a delicious cup of chai I would use it to accompany a curry or some strong tasting food rather than drink on it’s own.

Tea India definitely gets the thumbs up from Mari’s World.

Disclosure: I was sent two boxes of tea to try for the purpose of this review

Tips on Choosing Travel Insurance

A lot of time and money goes into preparing and planning a trip. They are your chance to escape and explore for a time. However, it is worth taking the opportunity to choose the right travel insurance. Getting an injury abroad is the last thing you expect and if you aren’t covered it [...]

The week that was 365/24

Saturday 8th – It’s been about a month now that EVERY day I am asked by the little people, how many days to our birthday mummy? And quite frankly it’s doing my head in soooo I sat down with them and designed their own little countdown calendar which they have taken enormous pleasure making [...]

When the kids get hold of the camera – eek!

Can I take your photo mummy?

It’s not a surprise to hear the words ‘Mummy, can I take a photo?’ meaning with my camera or smartphone after all they’ve been photographed more or less every step of their journey so far in the five years they’ve been with us. We spend a lot [...]

How I’ll be making a splash in Florida!

SeaWorld-Antartica-Empire-of-the-Penguin

Guest post by Sam Baker

Sun, sand and the sea… Yep, Florida ticks all my boxes for a summer holiday.

I’ve done LA, San Fran and Vegas, so the South East Coast of the US was next on my list. While I love the stream [...]

Brita filter kettle for a lovely brew #review

A cup of tea is essential to my daily well-being. Mum said I had my first taste from a teaspoon and liked it so much I proceeded to drink it from my sippy cup.

Tea is part of my life and in order to make a good cup of tea one needs a kettle.

[...]

Watermouth Castle, Devon – fab family day out

Tucked away on the northern coast of Devon is a beautiful castle dating back to 1825. It was built by Arthur Davie Basset for his bride Harriet, isn’t that so romantic?

Evidence of a labyrinth of tunnels leading to the harbour suggests to historians it was a smuggling hotspot in years gone by. The [...]

The week that was 365/23

Saturday last week saw us up at 6am and leaving Woolacombe by 7. We were well on our way home when we passed Stonehenge. I ask EVERY SINGLE TIME WE PASS if darling husband will stop so I can visit but going down – he’s getting tired of the [...]