Amazon Prime Day Is Back – Here Are the Early Deals Worth Knowing About

 

It’s that time again… Amazon Prime Day is back! 

And although Prime Day hasn’t officially started yet, the official days are October 6th and 7th, Amazon clearly didn’t get the memo about waiting because the early deals are already appearing — and there are some pretty good ones!

You know me, I love a bargain, but I don’t love scrolling through page after page trying to work out what’s actually a good deal and I thought that some of you maybe the same.  So, I asked on Instagram if there was anything in particular any of you would like me to find deals for and since then I’ve been doing the scrolling for you (and me) and puttinging together some of the best early Amazon Prime Day deals I’ve spotted so far.

I’ll be adding everything worth knowing about to my Amazon Storefront  from beauty, home and toy bargains to everyday essentials, tech, travel, pet bits and those completely unnecessary things that somehow end up in your basket anyway. 

So grab a  cup of tea, or whatever you like, and have a look through, and hopefully I can save you a bit of time AND money.  

Please remember to follow my Amazon Storefront by clicking HERE and check back on it even after the Amazon Prime Days have finished, as I do update it regularly. 

If you didn't see my Instagram where I asked if there were any deals anyone wanted me to search for, please leave me a comment, or email me at mammaful@gmail.com and let me know what you'd like me to look for. 

Let’s see what bargains I can find for you, 

Thank you for reading, 

Zoë x

Summer Try-On Haul: The Good, The Bad & The Horrendous!

 

Welcome back, 

Well, it’s that time again… I’ve been buying clothes for our annual summer holiday, and now it’s time to see whether they actually look ok or not, as the case can be when I do these videos!

I’ve got a little summer try-on haul to share with you, and as always, I’m keeping it 100% honest. There are pieces I absolutely love, a few that surprised me, and yes… There may be one or two that had me wondering what on earth I was thinking when I ordered them! 

If you know me, you’ll know I’m not here to pretend everything is fabulous just because it’s pretty in a photograph. I want to show you what these pieces actually look like on a real person, how they fit, how they feel and, most importantly, whether I’d actually wear them again.

So grab a cuppa, get comfy and come and see what made it into The Good, what landed firmly in The Bad, and what deserves its own special category of The Horrendous! 

Let’s get trying on...

Click the link HERE to watch. 

If you'd like to buy anything, you can find the links HERE 

All the links are also in the "August" and the "Links" highlights on my Instagram page.  

Let me know which items you would have kept or returned in the comments below.

Thank you for reading and watching!

Zoë x

 

How to Create Your Own Water Feature: A Simple DIY Garden Project

 

Welcome back,

In today's post, I am sharing with you how to create a water feature for your garden, balcony, or any other outdoor space. 

Below is a photograph of the water feature in our garden. 

My daughter Alicia made it as she is the gardener in our house since my health decided I wouldn't be able to do it anymore. She has always loved gardening, and as a little girl, she helped me. She had her own little tools and gardening gloves, and she loved to go outside every morning to check the progress of "her garden" This is something she still does now as an adult. 

I love that Alicia enjoys gardening. I loved it too. Sadly, since becoming unwell and disabled, I am no longer able to do the gardening, but I enjoy seeing what Alicia has done with it. I go to the garden centre with her to choose new things, and then she loves to show me where she's planted them and how they're doing. It's something we both love. 

Alicia is also growing vegetables this year and really enjoying that too. 

What You'll Need: 

1 Large Planter. 

1 Bowl Style Planter.

1 Solar Water Fountain.

1 Bag Of Compost.

Bedding plants of your choice. 

A hosepipe or watering can. 

We Bought These:

Large Planter - Click me to buy

Bowl Style Planter - Click me to buy

Solar Fountain - Click me to buy

Compost - Click me to buy

Bedding Plants - Click me to buy

Because the large planter is very large, a tip is to either place some cardboard or broken pots, any will do, if you have any chipped mugs you don't want, you can smash them and pop those in, or cut up a pool noodle into 2/3 inch pieces and pop them in the bottom of the planter. This just saves on how much compost you will need to use and is good for drainage. We had a big box from the planters, so Alicia ripped those up and put them in.

How To Make Your Water Feature:

Before starting, put your large planter where you want it in your garden, ensuring it's in a sunny spot. 

1: Drill or use scissors to make quite a few holes in the bottom of the large planter. 

2: Use cardboard, cut up pool noodles, broken pots or plant pots and put them in the bottom of the large planter. 

3: Put the compost into the large planter, leaving a big enough gap to put your bowl planter in. 

4: Once the planter is filling up to where you want the compost, take the bowl planter and put it in the middle of the large planter and add compost around the sides. DO NOT DRILL HOLES IN THE BOWL STYLE PLANTER. 

5: Once you have the amount of compost you want surrounding your bowl planter, plant your bedding plants around the bowl planter in the space around it. 

6: Add water to your bowl planter and water your bedding plants. 

7: Open your solar fountain, read the instructions and pop it in the water. 

8: You may need to swap out the different spray options on your fountain until you find the one you like best. 

9: All done, you now have a water feature. 

10: Alicia added some solar lights in our water feature, it looks lovely at night. 

Our Water Feature At Night:

Total Cost Of Our Water Feature:

Large Planter - £25.00 

Bowl Style Planter - £15.99 

1 Solar Water Fountain - £8.99

1 Bag Of Compost - £8.00 

Bedding plants of your choice - £14.99 

Total = £72.97 

The same costs we had were the two planters and the solar fountain. Our bedding plants were bought at a local garden centre and cost around £10.00, and our compost also came from our local garden centre and was around £6.00. So it was slightly cheaper, but the items I have listed aren't badly priced, as I searched for the best prices.

So, that's how to create a water feature like ours, which is easy to create and looks really pretty. I especially love our water feature at nighttime when it's lit up. Alicia has done such an amazing job, our garden looks so lovely, and she's worked really hard on it, especially since she currently has a broken foot in two places! 

To buy all the items listed, you can find the direct links by clicking HERE.

Do you think you'll create your own water feature? Or do you already have one? I'd love to see if you do have one. 

Thank you for reading, 

Zoë x

Links included in this post are affiliate links, and if you buy something through my links. I may make a small amount of commission. 

The Hidden Harm in ‘Funny’ Christmas Jumpers

Welcome back 

Today’s post is a little different, but it’s about something I’m incredibly passionate about. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you’ll know that I’m a strong advocate for eating disorder awareness and mental health. The reason for this is deeply personal — my eldest daughter has been suffering from Anorexia Nervosa for the last 21 years. Even after all that time, there still isn’t anywhere near enough awareness surrounding eating disorders, particularly anorexia. Considering it’s the biggest killer of all mental health conditions, that’s just not good enough.

Christmas can be a very difficult time for those suffering from or recovering from an eating disorder. Recently, I saw something that honestly left me stunned, especially in 2025. It was a Christmas jumper on the Next website. I love Next as a brand, and it’s one of my favourite places to shop for clothing, shoes, and homeware, so I was genuinely shocked to see this jumper being sold on their website.

This is the jumper in question:

I am absolutely appalled that this is on sale, not only in Next, a reputable clothing store, but at all, in 2025. Why do we need diet culture rammed down our throats any more than it already is? January is already a minefield of “new year, new you” messaging, but I haven’t seen anything like this before Christmas for quite some time, and certainly not from a brand like Next.

The wording on the jumper is outdated and dangerous. Young children seeing it and asking what it means could lead to unnecessary and potentially harmful conversations. I’ve spoken before about how we talk around children, saying things like “No thank you, I’m being good” when offered cake. Being good? As opposed to what, being bad for eating a piece of cake? Children absorb everything, and this kind of language can plant unhealthy ideas about food and self-worth, especially if they’re already predisposed to mental health struggles.

A slogan implying “eat whatever you want, because it’s Christmas” might sound light-hearted to some, but it’s equally damaging. Because the moment Christmas Day ends, the messaging flips, suddenly we’re told to lose weight, get “summer body ready,” and join slimming clubs. Diet culture goes into overdrive on Boxing Day, and every TV advert seems to be about dieting, “healthy” food ranges, or gym gear.

It’s not just Next, either. Marks & Spencer is just as bad with their food adverts. One minute, it’s all “indulge” and “treat yourself” and we all know the slogan, “It’s not just any Yule Log…” and then, come Boxing Day, it’s all about the M&S “healthy” range. I understand that diet culture is a multi-million-pound industry, but I wish these companies would take a moment to consider the impact this has on people who find this time of year incredibly difficult.

And to release jumpers with slogans like this in October, meaning they’ll be on display for months, just makes it worse.

If the CEO of Next had a child suffering from an eating disorder, would they still think this jumper was acceptable? I doubt it. I’m not saying people shouldn’t buy it or wear it,  that’s a personal choice. But please, think about how it might come across to others. And if you hear someone say it’s funny or harmless, try to gently educate them about the dangers of eating disorders.

I’m not trying to dampen anyone’s Christmas spirit, I absolutely love Christmas. But I also love my daughter, and watching your child suffer at the hands of anorexia is absolutely devastating. It’s something I wouldn’t wish on anyone, and as long as I have breath in my body, I’ll never stop trying to raise awareness of eating disorders and the damage caused by careless messaging like this.

I hope my post today has come across as I wanted it to, not preachy or miserable, just a mum who's trying her best to educate and raise awareness of a condition that, when my daughter began suffering with, I had no idea what to do or where to turn, there wasn't any information out there for me to get advice. This is one of the reasons I do what I do, because if I can help one mum or dad, friend or other family member from feeling as desperate as I did, well, it's all been worth it. 

Thank you for reading, 

Zoë x