Testing the mattresses at John Lewis

Only a few months ago, I felt completely housebound. It seemed I would never again make a trip into town, as little L would start crying in her highest pitched voice, as soon as a stranger would come too close. Which happened about every 5 minutes. Add to that the fact that I never mastered the art of breastfeeding in public, and there goes the so-called freedom.

But as time goes by and ‘little L’ becomes ‘a little bit bigger L’, lunch invites are received with great pleasure – especially when they are extended by the likes of John Lewis. Last Monday, I joined fellow bloggers 40 Not Out, Dulwich Divorcee, Notes from inside my head and Who’s the Mummy – and her amazingly well mannered daughter Flea – for an exclusive presentation of all things Christmassy at the John Lewis headquarters on Oxford Street.

I have written about my favourite shops in London before. And so far, John Lewis hasn’t been among them. However, if you would rank shop popularity by number of purchases and items bought, JL could easily claim pole position. Have a look at this, for example:

This is only a fragment of what John Lewis has added to our household recently. Plus car seat, cot bed, duvets, pillowcases, vacuum cleaner, … the list goes on and on.

Maybe my assumption, John Lewis was all about the practical things in life, and thus a bit mumsy, led to the above conclusion. On Monday though, I was proven wrong.

From gingham chequered PJs by The Little White Company for little L to the Mulberry handbag for mummy – they do have it all.

What finally won me over was John Lewis’ free store magazine ‘edition’. Well written and very well balanced with a surprisingly low amount of pure purchase recommendations. I inhaled the 126 pages with glee.

Recently, a lot has been written about how not to approach a (mummy) blogger. If anything, the JL experience has to be booked under positive examples. Lovely Anna from PR company Cohn & Wolfe did an excellent job!

In classic shop-till-you-drop fashion, little L fell asleep on our way home.