Wise Thoughts

Before I stated trying to have a baby my husband and I already knew how we would bring up our future children and already talked about things such as co-sleeping. My mother had me in a cot next to her bed until I was two years old, but then she was pregnant with my younger sister and had to get me used to my own room. The transition wasn’t as bad as I was older and understood but as soon as my sister came along and slept in ‘my cot’ I wanted to be in it again.

This is why I decided that when I have children I would have them sleep in their own crib or cot next to me for the minimum of 6 months until I would move them to their own room. I don’t believe in co-sleeping as it makes it harder for the child to move onto their own bed when they are older, I know many mothers who have made the mistake of letting their young children sleep with them. 5 years on and they still refuse to sleep in their own bed!

I came across the swinging crib and found it to be the most beautiful bed for a baby, not only are they modern and small you can rock your little one to sleep without having to hold them. You can get them in nearly any colour, pink, blue, all wood finishes and with extras such as a canopy that makes it even more stylish. In my bedrooms I have co-coordinating pine furniture so it made sense to stick with pine rather than go for cheap white.

The prices range from £50 – £250 for a swinging crib, for the average of £75 you can get one that includes the mattress too. I paid £75 for my swinging crib; I got the mattress and bedding free including a canopy. Most people will think that its madness to buy a crib that a baby will only use for 4-6 months of their life but buying a cot it hideous and extremely large. After my baby out grows his crib he will go straight into his own bed, I will put up bed guards but I think it is unnecessary to have to go and buy new furniture and a baby bed when an adult one is perfectly fine.

What I like about my swinging crib is it is much smaller than a standard cot and with the little canopy looks so cute, I can also use it again for any other children I may have. After that I can pass it on to my sister, brother or any other family member who would like it. The only thing that would need to be purchased each time is a new mattress but they are as cheap as £15, so I find a swinging crib is well worth the money compared to a cot.

As a recent customer with Kiddicare I wanted to share my experience of waiting for Interlink to deliver my order. Kiddicare has been using Interlink as their courier for deliveries for some years now with next day delivery for orders placed before 5pm and delivered within a time slot as standard. So gone are the days where you have to wait in all day for a delivery, interlink sends you a text message on the morning of delivery and tells you your one hour time slot so you can make sure someone is home at that time for the delivery and you are still free to carry on your normal daily tasks.

I placed my order in a Thursday afternoon and my order was approved, later that evening I received an email and a text message to inform me that my delivery would take place the following day (Friday) and that I would get a text message in the morning to let me know my time slot. At 7.30 am the next morning I did get a text advising me that my delivery would take place 12.39-13.39 but if I wanted to reschedule then to call up and change it hassle free. I decided to leave it and waited; my time slot came and went. 10 minutes later I got a text message to say ‘sorry we missed you’ I was fuming! How could they miss me if they never came! I didn’t get a standard card through the letter box advising me that I missed my delivery but a lazy text from the courier who couldn’t be bothered or was running behind in his deliveries. I paid nearly £250 for my order so why wasn’t it a priority!

I called them up but interlink operate an automated service only, so I was forced to contact Kiddicare who my order was with, they managed to contact them and said the courier would call me within the hour and will try to come back with my order. They never came and they never called back!

I understand that deliveries may not always run to time so why did they give me a time slot? I would have been perfectly happy to sit in and wait had they told me that they couldn’t guarantee a time. That is what makes it even more frustrating, making promises that can’t be kept. I have also found that Interlink is a very bad provider when it comes to deliveries, forums are buzzing with irate customers who have waited all day for the delivery to not take place.

If you are ordering anything from an online retailer check to see who the courier is and if it is Interlink, don’t buy from them! If you are a company that relies on customers coming back then do not get a contract with Interlink as you will lose thousands in cancelled orders and negative reviews.

Since last year I have been researching and bookmarking my favourite products that I would like to purchase when I start my family. One year later and I am now 31 weeks pregnant, I always knew that this would be the perfect time for me to do all my baby shopping as I found it unnecessary to start any earlier. Before I was pregnant I came across Kiddicare and found the prices to be competitive and products to be unique and well sought after. Now that I was ready I decided to order many of my items from them in one transaction rather than buying one or two items here and there.

What I ordered from Kiddicare
I purchased a Closer to Nature starter kit £99.99
Closer to Nature breast pump £18.95
Changing station £99.99
Sleeping bag £12.99
Cuddle robes £9.95
Socks £2.95
Total: £244.82

Everything that I bought I needed for the baby and with free delivery for orders over £70 it was an added bonus, but even if I had to pay the £4.95 for delivery it would’ve been fine because I saved £10 on the breast pump so it would’ve evened out.

I got an email to say that the order had gone through and delivery would be the following day, 7.30am the day after I placed my order I received a text message to say that my delivery slot was 12.39 – 13.39. As Friday is the day I do my weekly grocery shopping I waited for the delivery before going out. The time came and went and there was no delivery, a few minutes after my allocated time slot I got a text message to say that they were sorry they missed me and to call and re-arrange delivery.

I was fuming both me and my husband were home and waiting and never did a van pull up on my street! It was bullsh*t! I called up to speak to someone from the courier company (interlink) but it was all automated, I didn’t want to re-arrange delivery as they never came in the first place I wanted to speak to the manager to let them know that no-one ever came.

After being unsuccessful I called Kiddicare customer services and explained what happened, they asked if a card was left and I said no, no-one has been. The customer service representative kept me on hold while she tried to contact Interlink, when she got back to me she said that they were trying to get hold of the driver and they would call me within the hour. I knew that they wouldn’t call or come back with my order to so I went out anyway. I never did get a card through the door and the courier never did call me back! I wasted a day waiting for my parcels after spending £244.82!

I was very angry with the courier so decided it wasn’t good enough for the amount of money that I paid so I called up the next day, explained what had happened and cancelled the order. Never once did they try to convince me to keep the order and they were happy to see the £244.82 refunded! I have since done a search online and found many customers complaining of the same thing that has happened to me, Kiddicare has been aware of this problem for some time and have still refused to resolve it.

My conclusion is they either never had my delivery to begin with or they didn’t have enough time to get to me so they lied and made it look like they came and went. I will never use Kiddicare again as they don’t really care about any money they are losing. I understand that my case is probably just one in the thousands that experienced problems but I find that for nearly £250 that I paid in goods I wasn’t treated better. I didn’t spend the minimum for free delivery I bought all that I needed regardless, I’m glad I didn’t buy anymore as I would’ve been even more disappointed. If you want to save money I suggest eBay and Amazon not Kiddicare!

After asking my mum what she wanted for her birthday I decided to buy through Next, my mum has bought suits from them for years and they last a long time. Unfortunately for her she cannot afford to shop the regularly so usually asks for clothing from Next when it’s her birthday or Mothers day.

After shopping in store at Next I found that they never had her size, they did offer to order it in for me but I refused as I wanted to purchase the blazer, trousers and shirt together. I decided to do it online instead. I found Next online to be one the worst designed websites I have ever come across, the links at the bottom of the page do not work and the contact us section failed on me numerous times too. Anyhow I found the suit I liked a continued to check out, I then decided to buy a few other items as I had already reached more than £100, the total of my basket then came up to nearly £200.

I needed the items very soon and the website stated that delivery could be placed until 9pm for next day delivery; I placed mine early as I didn’t trust this statement. Most places I have shopped with online have given me free delivery for purchases over £75 I was very shocked that after spending twice that amount Next still had the audacity to charge me a further £3.99 for delivery. They were also cheeky to try and persuade me to get the catalogue for £3.75 instead of paying £3.99 for delivery, I couldn’t believe it!

Next delivery sham
I found that it clearly states that when you place an order for next day delivery you will be given a choice of delivery times either AM or PM I was given no such choice. I tried changing the day to get delivery time options but it remained the same, I even tried to change my delivery address and still was not given the option to choose my delivery time. Why do they state this on their website when it is clearly a lie?

I didn’t enjoy my online shopping experience with Next at all and their delivery service has just further put me off! I don’t like the claims they may for them to turn out false in the end, the only thing they did do right was send me an email on the morning of delivery giving me a one hour time slot that the courier managed to adhere to. If you want a pleasant online shopping service and flawless delivery then Next is not for you!

As we get more adventurous and save up for those once in a lifetime trips it would be a shame to miss the opportunity to take some fantastic and unique pictures with a digital camera that people will got to extraordinary lengths to do so. Disposable cameras are cheap and do not take very good quality pictures so there has been a steady decline of them in recent years. One product that is selling well at the moment is waterproof cameras and cases.

If you enjoy water sports, diving or snorkelling then it’s well worth investing in one. But as prices start from £150 for a decent underwater camera many people are forced into looking into other options such as waterproof camera cases or bags. A very much talked about product that is circulating on forums is the Aquapac.

What is an Aquapac?
It’s basically a small clear plastic bag that is waterproof, resembling a sandwich bag but with a cord along the top so you can hang it around your neck. They are used to protect personal belongings or even for placing a small camera inside to take clear good quality pictures when in the water or even to protect it when out of water.

There are a few models of the Aquapac around for the use of digital cameras but with the cheapest costing £20 it is a bit on the expensive side. I purchased the Aquapac small camera case 414 retailing £25 it came with 5 desiccant sachets that are meant to prevent condensation inside the bag in humid conditions. The purpose of the purchase was because I was going to the Blue Lagoon in Iceland and wanted to take my camera with me into the Lagoon to get unique and beautiful pictures. Whilst other people were walking around with their expensive digital cameras and DSLR’s I was in awe as to why they would risk it falling in the Lagoon so was happy that my digital camera was safe in the bag.

We did test the Aquapac before putting my digital camera in and it didn’t let in water so we were happy that it would be safe. At the beginning it took really nice and clear pictures but after a while the inside began to steam and the pictures were no longer clear but fuzzy and cloudy. The desiccant sachets that were included clearly did not work and I was left disappointed.

The problem is that many people will buy the Aquapac when they go snorkelling but unless it is a cool place the bag will steam and the pictures will not come out nice. So unless you need a splash proof bag buy an underwater camera instead as the pictures will come out better, the Aquapac is a disappointment.

When I bought my house I knew that my bedrooms would have memory foam mattresses and pillows. I suffer from a bad back and the reviews and feedback I have gotten from friends who own them have been very good. I have tried all the mattresses available on the market including the so called ‘orthopaedic’ mattress but it still didn’t help. I had a colleague who once spent £5,000 on just a mattress because she thought it would help her get a good night’s sleep. It lasted no more than a year before she had to replace it. Like most people I enjoy getting a good night’s sleep and if I don’t I get cranky, also as I suffer from a bad back the thought of waking up in the morning all twisted and sore would really ruin my day.

Choosing a memory foam mattress?
When I decided that a memory foam mattress was for me I went to all the major furniture and mattress shops to see what the retail price was and to try them out. It turns out that the mattress would cost more than the actual bed frame and this was the case everywhere I went. The cheapest memory foam mattress I saw in the larger stores were no less than £200, they were also thinner than the standard mattresses and I would also have to pay delivery. Memory foam mattresses also come in grades of firmness so you can get a softer or firmer mattress depending on your needs, just like spring mattresses. The mattress I wanted was retailing £900 or more but the bed frame I wanted was only £120, it seemed silly and outrageous but I was determined that I could find the same thing cheaper.

Buying a memory foam mattress cheap
I searched online as I know all the shops were over charging but even then some internet sites were charging silly prices for delivery. In the end I found somewhere that I could buy the mattress that I needed at a fraction of the price that included delivery and two free memory foam pillows. Memory foam pillows on their own retail from £50 so to get them free with a mattress seemed perfect. The mattress cost £120 with two pillows and free delivery. I know what you are thinking, ‘there’s no way it was the same as a £900 mattresses, but how many people really know the difference? Memory foam mattresses are all made the same way with the same materials the difference in price is in who manufactured it and where it came from. If you buy one from Dreams you are being over charged but if you buy from the source you pay factory prices and this is what I did.

You can buy a good quality memory foam mattress without paying over the odds you just need to shop around, read reviews and make sure it’s a trusted company before you buy. If you buy online then make sure that you can return it if it doesn’t meet your expectations or you don’t like it. As memory foam mattresses are vacuum packed they are rolled up into a log shape and once you open it, it will unravel into a mattress and plump up. Some places will not allow you to return it if you have already let all the air out the vacuum seal, so check first.

Over the last few days the weather has certainly improved, so much so that having a barbeque seemed the norm. Seen as we don’t have one we decided to buy one and put it to good use, we wanted one that was easy to store and that we could also take to the beach. As the weather forecasters are also predicting that this year will not be a washout and that summer will be a month longer I’m hoping to get my moneys worth before the summer is over.

Gas BBQ vs charcoal BBQ?
My husband wanted a gas barbeque whereas i wasn’t so fussy, after doing a little research i found that the most commonly used gas for barbeques is propane gas which is widely available and also available at B&Q and Homebase. We decided to go to B&Q to take a look and see if we could take advantage of the 15% off BBQ’s that weekend. We found one that was reduced but it was quite large and the only way to store it was to leave it out and cover it which would look slightly odd in our immaculate garden. I decided to enquire about the propane gas that it needed for the BBQ to take place. The B&Q advisor told me that the bigger canister cost £25 but we would also have to pay another £25 to rent it, when you no longer want a refill and the gas canister is empty only then will you get the deposit back.

The other thing about gas for barbeques is when it finishes and you are in the middle of cooking what happens? Most people only have one gas canister at a time due to the rental cost so in the end we opted for B&Q’s 46cm Kettle Charcoal Barbeque. It was actually a little bigger than the gas one selling for near £60 but for a bargain price of £24.48 and also small enough to fit in the boot of the car for when we go for a day down at the beach. Assembly was easy and the barbeque was over within half an hour!

It cooks really well and comes with its own lid so theres no need to cover it, its also small enough to store in the shed. Overall it was a very good buy and well worth the money!

After buying my house the garden needed a makeover so I set out to find all the local or recommended garden centres in Hertfordshire. My neighbour who is much older than me and absolutely adores her plants advised me on a few places not too fat from where I live. I decided to visit them all before I purchased any plants and flowers. I prefer to buy everything in one place as you can’t keep track of how much you’re spending if you buy from loads of different places. I took my mum with me and off we went to check out the Garden Centres in Hertfordshire.

What garden centres are there in Hertfordshire?
The first thing that strikes me is there aren’t that many to begin with but they are scattered all over the place so we planned our journey and visited them all on the same day.
Aylett Nurseries in St Albans – this was the closest to me and had the most extensive collection of bulbs of all colours and varieties to purchase. As there are always on offer you can’t complain too much about the price. Since I have a really big garden the prices there for everything is outrageous! The staff was friendly and they did have some nice flowers and plants but I just couldn’t believe what they were charging.
Wyevale in Codicote Garden Centre – this garden centre was impressive in terms of presentation and range but again massively overpriced. They didn’t seem to have the lesser known varieties of plants and flowers they were all too common. The garden centre is never busy; this might be because of their prices!
Nottcutts Garden Centre in St Albans – although they had an impressive range of bedding plants and friendly staff, there were still some of the most sought after plants that they did not stock. Prices were also very silly.

All of the garden centres in Hertfordshire seem to be very overly priced, there are certain things like different variety of roses and fruits like grapes that are hard to find. Due to be a very picky and hard to please person I prefer to select and buy all my plants and flowers for my garden but after visiting them all I was left very disappointed.

I do have a very large garden so this may have an impact on my decision to buy certain plants for example it will cost a minimum of £80 just to buy tulips for my driveway and entrance to my house. Imagine how much it would cost to buy for a garden 5 times as big. In the end I went to good old Crews Hill in Enfield. It has everything and more, if you can’t find what you’re looking for you just pop into the local nursery next door it is fantastic. Buying all my plants in Hertfordshire would’ve cost me in excess of £2,000 but by bulk buying in Crews Hill I only spent £1,200 making a saving of £800 which went on a well deserved outdoor furniture set and barbeque.

I wouldn’t recommended any of the garden centre in Hertfordshire but try local nurseries and even supermarkets that tend to be cheaper for the same product. It’s also worth looking on the internet as you can buy rare roses and plants that are not usually available in a garden centre and if you are lucky to find it you will pay over the odds.

As we all know ladies love pearls nearly as much as they do diamonds. Pearls will retain their value and if looked after properly can last forever. Knowing how to spot a good quality pearl is hard and unless you have experience in this field you couldn’t recognise a fake even if it was staring you in the face.

Buying pearls online
Most people will prefer to buy pearls, diamonds and clothes in a shop rather than online but did you know you can make substantial savings buying online and better from the supplier directly. Cutting out the middle man will bring costs down as a shop will buy pearls cheap and then add a hefty profit on it for when it comes to selling. If you choose to buy online make sure it is an accredited company holding a Jewellery Professional Diploma and with most pearls you get a certificate authenticating the pearls value. Having certified jewellery not only gives you piece of mind should you need to sell it to raise some money but also proof if you need to make an insurance claim.

Buying pearls from Pearls Only UK
My partner was the first to discover this website and treated me to my very first Tahitian pearl pendant for my 22nd birthday. I like to be different and he made the right choice by choosing a Tahitian pearl, all my work colleagues are much older than me so they knew that Tahitian pearls are expensive and well sought after. Unfortunately my colleagues have never had the chance to own good quality pearls and after I told them about Pearls Only they are now proud owners of lovely pearls.

After this my husband bought me Japanese Akoya pearl earrings, they do match my Tahitian pearl necklace but there is a slight difference if you look closely. Again my partner made the right choice as they are beautiful.

What I like about Pearls Only is they have fantastic customer service, delivery and products. Due to high demand for some bespoke products they do give you an average delivery time so you can plan ahead and purchase in good time. Pearls Only also offer a gift wrap service and a little message if it’s a present for someone. They also sent an email when the pearls were being dispatched so we could look out for them. As part of being a valued customer with Pearls Only they remember you and give you further discounts when purchasing more products.

Pearls only also include a little pouch that is used to preserve pearl quality and prevent scratches, as a bonus you can also get a free gift depending on how much you spend. In the past I have gotten a pearl necklace and earrings. Remember to wear pearls every now and again to allow them to breathe as keeping in a pouch can also affect quality.

As I have recently done my kitchen my mum was so impressed at ho something so simple could transform the home she decided to do hers too. My mum has been extremely lucky in some ways as she has never had to do a kitchen before in her life. I offered to help her choose one and plan it all as I had recently been through it myself so off the journey that would soon turn into a nightmare began.

Finding Wickes kitchens
As I had already advised my mum against Homebase kitchens she looked into getting a B&Q kitchen instead. She had made an appointment and I was there with her, we went a little earlier to check out the whole kitchen range. It was very disappointing and massively overpriced, as we contemplated if we should stay or go when I looked at the carcasses I knew B&Q wasn’t for her. We proceeded to Wickes and looked at all the kitchen ranges in Waltham Cross. When my mum found the kitchen she liked we made an appointment for the following week. We went home and double checked all the measurements and other kitchen companies.

Wickes kitchen designer
We were greeted by Andy the kitchen designer who thanked us for making a wonderful choice; he then said straight away that he had a Wickes kitchen and that he had sold 10 alone this week!  He then made the kitchen plan and we then started to choose accessories such as door handles sink and tap. I’m so glad I was there with my mum as he tried to make her buy a £250 sink excluding taps! There was nothing special about the sink and we declined, the taps were also overpriced so we decided to purchase it separately. The cost of the kitchen rose to £4,500 and my mum got a free dishwasher for spending over £3,500. As I looked at all the costs the appliances alone were costing over £2,000! I went onto Curry’s, Comet and even Dixons to find the appliances cheaper, we purchased them separately saving my mum over £800.

There is a design flaw with Wickes kitchens as all cheap DIY store kitchens do. The corner cabinet doesn’t allow one of the handles to stick out as the doors have been badly designed. It’s truly a shame that there were also some fitting problems due to poor workmanship. As we got an experienced carpenter to fit the kitchen he truly did a good job where you can’t notice all the imperfections.

If you are looking to buy a Wickes kitchen I would only advise them for rental properties, and to buy appliances separately. Also be careful of Andy as he just wants to make a sale to claim commission and doesn’t really care about anything else. I would also never advise a woman to go alone as these sales people can be very persuading and persistent.

I would like to add that ideally we all want a luxurious kitchen where no expense is spared but in the current climate where no one stays in the same house for more than 5 years it was silly to buy a Moben kitchen at the cost of £10,000+. If my mum had a lovely country home in the countryside where the style and cost would be appreciated then that’s what she would’ve gone for. At the end of the day you only buy what you need and all my mum needed was a hob she could cook on a some extra worktop space.