Using gNappies on holiday with a toddler

Last year, I wrote a blog post about using gNappies on holiday with a baby. We recently went to Spain, and since our little one is nearly 2, I thought I would write an update on how I found using gNappies abroad with a toddler.

We still use cloth nappies at home. But we would find it very difficult to use them on holiday due to the amount of space they would take up in the luggage, as well as storing wet nappies and washing them. So for us, gNappies are the next best thing. 

My gNappies drying in the sunshine!

Although they are not completely reusable, the outer "pant" part of the nappy is made from cotton and washable, so softer and more natural against his skin. And the disposable insert is 100% biodegradable and apparently decomposes within 50-100 days. Plus they look super cute :) 

I was concerned that we might have issues with leakage as my son drinks a lot of water and, well, it has to come out somewhere! However, we did not have a problem at all. He was pretty much dry the whole week and didn't have any issues with nappy rash or soreness.

Another great thing with gNappies is that they do up at the back (unless your husband puts them on an forgets, frequently). This means that, if you have a toddler who is prone to taking off their own nappy it's much more difficult for them to undo the Velcro tabs because they are round the back. So, in hot weather, you can have them running around in just their nappy without having to worry about it flying off.

gNappies are perfect for
toddlers that undo nappies-
fastening at the back!

We had three of the gNappies nappy covers (Good Fortune Red, Guppy Green and Gigabyte Blue) with us and a 32 pack of the disposable inserts. This easily lasted us the week with us doing a wash every other day (which we would have done anyway with our messy toddler!).

All in all, I'm a big fan of gNappies. They look really cute and, although not completely reusable, I think they are a good eco alternative for holidays. Especially if you consider that disposable nappies take 500 years to degrade in landfill and we'd have probably used 30 of them in a week which is a horrid thought.

Ps I wrote this on 16th June and they have a special offer on gNappies until 20th June, with 20% off all purchases. Use the code SUNNYSUMMER apparently.

Wine Tasting at Majestic's Summer Spectacular

The other day, I finally got invited to one of the Majestic Wine tasting evenings. I'd been wanting to go after someone mentioned it on one of the wine forums I sometimes chat on. So was delighted when Liam, a Wine Guru from my local Salisbury Majestic invited me along to their Summer Spectacular. At last, I thought, I've made it in the guest list!

The store was set up with four different tasting stations, each manned (and womaned) by a Wine Guru or a Wine Guru in training. There were also various nibbles to try with some of the wines (although all the Manchego had already gone on our evening!). 

We started with a glass of Champagne which was very civilised. Then moved onto white, red, some higher price point wines and then finished off with some whiskey, gin and rum. In all, there were 16 wines, plus the spirits. Frankly, I was pretty sozzled by the end of it!

Some of the highlights from the tastings for me were (from what I can remember!):

• Ned Rose 2015 from Marlborough in New Zealand. I'm not a massive rose fan as it can often either be bland or sweet. However, this quite colourful drop of pink is a mix of Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir which means it has more flavour and creaminess without being super sweet.
• Incanta Pinot Noir 2015 from Romania. Yes, a red wine from Romania. Fairly light but with all the fruity flavours you would expect and pretty reasonably priced at £5.99 a bottle. I'd recommend it if you want to try something new and different.
• "Angels Share" Shiraz 2014 from Two Hands. I love all the wines Two Hands make. This Australian brand is not cheap, but all their wines whether from Barossa or McLaren Vale are all delicious. This Shiraz is very rich but, although it's pretty strong, its not overpowering but rather deliciously
  
  smooth.
• Au Bon Climat Chardonnay 2014 from Santa Barbara in California. Again, not cheap at just under £20 a bottle, but worth every penny. Rich, buttery and complex and worth the extra spend if you want something special.
• Penderyn Myth Single Malt Welsh Whisky. I've never tried a Welsh whisky before, but being half Taff, I was fascinated to try it. Apparently it won a gold award at the Whiskies of the World Masters 2015 and I can see why. It's matured in Bourbon casks and it does have a slight sweet taste to it. Not too fiery, but full of flavour and dangerously drinkable.

However, the actual highlight from the night, was someone coming up to me and asking if I was Pinotnoirgirl from Twitter. I'm actually famous, it's finally happened!

In all seriousness, the whole evening was really nice. Not overly busy and no pushing and shoving to get to the wines. We chatted to some really friendly people and learned lots more about Majestic. For example, a Wine Guru called Lauren told us that all of the staff at Majestic have to take their WSET Level 3. Which means, if they give you advice on wine, they know what they are talking about.

There was no hard sell either (although we did, of course, buy a whole load of wines!). It was just a really interesting and informative evening. And wines at lots of different price points from £5.99 a bottle up to just under £20.

I think you can sign up to be invited to these sort of events on the Majestic website. But don't you all sign up, I want to be invited next time!