Covering your phone in style

Phones are not what they use to be, I mean they have become our diaries, our life planners, our social networking devices, our cameras, our portable internet in our pocket and last of all a phone and wether you like it or not, most of us would be lost or at least put out if we lost or broke our phone. 

Unfortunately I have had first hand experience of this, due to living a very active and outdoor lifestyle and also having a very active toddler, when you think of the design of most smart phones - it's basically a huge piece of glass with some plastic around it the combination of everything is not really good and of course ended up with a shattered screen so I am currently nursing my phone which has a screen covered in cracks until I can get an upgrade in two months time.

The sad thing is this is not the first time this has happened in fact it's the 2nd time in 6 months! On both occasions the phone fell a very short distance to the floor but it was the angle in which it hit the floor that caused the cracks by catching the corner of the phone causing cracks which over time have got bigger and bigger. I suppose in a way it was my own fault, for both I didn't have a cover or any extra protection around the phones, as I look after my belongings and just felt I didn't really need one - how wrong was I, and what makes more more annoyed is I didn't learn from my mistakes, but not next time, that is for sure, the first thing I am going to do will be getting a cover for my next phone.

I love all the amazing designs on the market at the moment and covers are not only useful in protecting your screen but can also be very stylish and fashionable as well as unique and fun making phones in themselves a fashion accessories, with big brands such as iphone using people like Zooey Deschanel it's hard not to be sold. 

There are some great covers out on the market as very reasonable prices from shops such a MobileMadhouse  which do covers from £2.50! I have my eye on a few, I love the quirky character ones as well as the more eco friendly covers, I don't want anything bling but something that is fun, here are a pick of my faves

Case Mate Iphone 5 Bubbles Monkey £19.90

Polka Dot case red £3.90

Retro Cassette Case Iphone cover £3.90

Silicone Penguin case iphone £3.90

I also love these natural and eco friendly options, although a little bit more expensive, you can find them on Esty. I think for my next phone I may have more than one cover - a fun cover and an eco cover

Handmade Bamboo wood iphone cover from Hake Gu £16.85

Handmade from recycled tweed, iphone case from ToggleUK £25

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Adventures in all weathers with Country Kids

Our favourite time is the time spent outdoors

Wow what a week, we have been so busy being outside which is the reason this post is a little late joining the Country kids linky. Since it's been warmer it's meant even when it's groggy or raining we have had fun jumping in puddles and going on muddy mountain walks and when the sun has been shining we embarked on our longest walk - a 2 and half hour trek through some beautiful forest and fields with the little man. This week we have crossed bridges, past beautiful bluebells, encountered an angry bee, watched out for stinging nettles, climbed trees, found wooden swords and explored new ground. We started the week off having fun in Bute Park, then we went for a mountain walk near Barry Sidings and adventured on the Taff trail around Blackweir Gate. Such fun spring brings.

Mr A tree climbing skills are really coming on

As with all out adventures I actively encourage Mr A to climb, jump, pick up things and investigate his surroundings, he more muddy and messy the better I say. It's really important for children to experience all different kinds of textures and surfaces as now more than ever children are surrounded by plastic toys in the home or flashy technologies such as ipads and really the most stimulating place for active minds is the outdoors.

We are lucky enough to live between the city and the valleys and have a mixture of large city parks, country parks, rural areas, the Taff Trail and the countryside to choose from, for which I am hugely grateful. We often stay within walking distance of the house, or take public transport, we are not afraid of long walks but on some occasions we do drive so that we can venture a little bit further from home.

Our muddy mountain walk at Barry Sidings

Saturday was such a beautiful day we decided to walk apart of the Taff trail we had not done before - this turned into a nearly 3hour walk - with a toddler - who loved every second of it and didn't complain once - and who would when you have a forest filled of wonderful sounds and smells to explore.

We came across some beautiful bluebell fields on our walk, a much welcomed sight, I love this time of the year.

Running across the mini suspension bridge

A happy boy makes a happy Mama

These are the kind of spring evenings I love and a great way to end the week

Every week we join up with the lovely people at Coombe Mill and the Country Kids linky - a great place for people to share their love of the outdoors with their family, why not join in.

Boys in straw hats

Just a quick little post, had to share this cute little straw hat we pick up for Mr A at Sainsburys. It's really hard getting hats for him as he has to pick them and be happy otherwise he won't wear it and as soon as he saw this he wanted it and I love straw hats on little ones.

Outdoor Inspiration and family tents

Mr A having fun in the rain

Just when you think spring is one it's way, back to the normal sight of rain in Wales - literally that is all we seem to see and when I feel a little bit low about it, I realise that to a child it really doesn't matter what the weather is doing there is fun to be had. We have, as usual been out every day this week, we do try to avoid heavy downpour but Mr A had been asking to jump in rainy puddles so that's what we did and thats a great way to approach the British Summer - to embrace it with everything it has to throw at us.

We are going camping very soon, in a couple of weeks and we are making our final lists of things we still need to get - I will share this with you closer to our first family camping adventure of the year, but for now I have started a little pinterest board to keep me inspired - here are some of my favourite picks

Me and the little man last summer and beach/forest camping is what I love

We are also going to be trying out a new tent this year - a family tent, as before Mr A came along a 2-3 man tents with a decent hydrostatic head (waterproof level) would be enough but when you start to camp with little ones in tow a bit more thought needs to go into what kind of tent you use - it's the basis for comfort and keeping dry. Here are a few little picks that we are loving at the moment....

Vango Icarus 500 - Blacks - £149.00

The Vango Icarus is the go-to tent in terms of families first starting out in the wonderful world of camping, festivals and short breaks and want something that pitches within 10 minutes, good ventilation and can deal with any heavy rainfall the UK weather can throw at it and best thing is Blacks have it on sale at the moment for £149.00

Blacks Constellation DLX Serpens 4 man tent - £330

The Blacks Constellation has some amazing features - pitches in just 10 minutes, has reliable waterproof protection for any downpour, LED integrated lighting system to provide light within the tent - how amazing is that! Is tough, durable and has excellent ventilation and is made by Blacks -  an outdoor company with 150 years of tent making behind them and is well worth the money if your looking for a tent you want to use year after year.

Coleman Galileo 5 man tent - £223.99

The Coleman Galileo is another popular option with the slightly larger family as it sleeps 5 comfortable and has an optional bedroom divider to separate the parents from the kids. Extra large windows and doors give a spacious feel to the tent and it's UV 50+ protection and fire retardant make it a very safe choice. Sports Direct currently selling it for a special price of  £223.99 instead of £279.99

Outwell Nevada Family Tent - £349.99 - Go Outdoors

This family tent was voted a "best buy" product by Which? Magazine and is a deluxe 5 person family tent with ample space to live and have fun. It's easy and quick to set up, provides a living space for all the family, good ventilation and is very waterproof with an electric cable tie and large front window. It's a simple and roomy tent said to provide comfortable and trouble free camping - which is what we all want. Go outdoors is selling this for the special price of £349.99 usually £440


This is NOT a sponsored post - I am simply sharing my tips on camping with you.

Boys Club - shades and shirt

So it's that time of the week again when John get's to share his outfits, loves and wants with you. As the weather is meant to be warming he has recently purchased a pair of Clarks collaboration with YMC loafers which will be perfect with shorts in the summer. He also got to review some SXUC sunglasses and the little man Mr A is taking after mum with his Boden camera tee.

First off all his favourite outfit of the week consists of the Ralph Lauren Polo he bought as a gift for himself at Christmas - it's been a pretty hectic year for us, with John completing his first successful year as being self employed so it was well deserved, especially since I have tight reins on our small budget. He is also wearing Edwin jeans and his Clarks YMC loafers.

So the nice people at sunglassesshop.com where kind enough to send both John and I a pair of sunglasses for summer - I hope we get to use them! Here is John rocking the SXUC clubman style shades, they have a really subtle but interesting turquoise shade on the frame and fit well and offer protection from the sun at a quarter of the price of ray ban sunglasses if your on a budget but still want to be on style as they cost around £20-£30. The great thing is they are also Unisex and I would be lying if I said I haven't been wearing them a bit as well.

The little man has also been modelling his new little Boden top I ordered about a month ago and luckily we had a beautiful Bank holiday so he managed to were his first t-shirt of the year, I bought it bascially because it has a little camera on it and because it's so cute

The little man taking after his mama

Mr A rocking my new pink shades and doing his best to impersonate Elton John