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29 September 2015

Win a Barbie Princess Power Doll

A few months back we were sent the fabulous Barbie Princess Power Doll to have a play with, we had a party to celebrate the release of the doll and DVD and it was great to see my daughter become a little superhero.



27 September 2015

Black & White Photography Project Week 64


This weekend we visited Southwell Ploughing Match, we visited a few years ago and it was such a great experience for the children to see some history and agriculture, a sometimes forgotten part of our lives. But with livestock, shows, ploughing and much more it was a brilliant way to spend our Saturday.

23 September 2015

Barbie in Rock N Royals Doll Review

My daughter is growing up rather quickly and part of that means finding new toys that excite and engage her. She has an unbelievable imagination and can often be found playing the most wonderful games and telling stories.

Since she found my old Barbies at my mum and dads house she has loved dressing them up and using them as her play friends. So when we were sent the new Barbie in Rock N Royals doll I knew it would be a hit but I didn't know how much. From the moment we took her out of the box she was full of excitement and spent hours singing with her, it took only a few plays of the song for her to know the words to sing along to.



22 September 2015

Looking After Little Eyes

We all know that eyes are important, but do we do enough to look after them?

This week is National Eye Health Week and I have been talking to our children about their eyes, how we can look after and protect them, as well as what would make them even better.

With iPads, computer screens and other mobile devices becoming more prominent in our daily lives it is important now, more than ever that we put in place ways of protecting our children’s eyes. We need to ensure that they are kept up to date with eye checks at the opticians and make sure we limit their time spent playing on these devices.

To help promote National Eye Health Week, Boots Opticians asked me and my children to talk about our eyes.

To start off, we talked about our eyes and the colours of them, how they worked and what we could do to make them even better, here's what they thought.


21 September 2015

Autumn/Winter Boot Wishlist

A pair of good boots are a staple for your autumn and winter wardrobe, whether for work, wearing with your favourite comfy jeans or dressing up with a skirt. Now more than ever, there are a vast selection of ladies boots out there to enjoy.

I love these Timberland boots, they would look absolutely fabulous with skinny jeans and a big chunky coat, a stylish look for cool dry autumn days.


Next up, another great pair, these boots are a classic chelsea boot and a staple for wearing with jeans, trousers or skirts, this dark rich brown is the perfect colour for autumn.


And finally, I have never owned a pair of knee high boots, I would love to though and I adore these Rieker Boots, the buckle detail is great and the not overly big heel is ideal for someone tall like me, great for busy mums on the school run or for a day out shopping.


Nothing says autumn more than boots, snuggly coats, scarves, gloves and hats and with these boots then the cool days are sure to be even more stylish.

NB: This is a collaborative post.

My Favourite Instagram Acounts

I love Instagram, it's such a friendly place with inspiring pictures and people.  It is always the first place I turn if things aren't going great that day.

Full of wonderful snippets of life, whether staged or not, they are tiny squares of prettiness, sadness, glory, hope and everything in between. So I wanted to share with you some of my favourite Instagram accounts, people who have inspired me and made me smile and always bring a little square of joy into my life.

First up, I love Capture By Lucy, Lucy's photography, her styling and kind heart always shows through on her pictures and I love the little snippets into her life (even if I am slightly envious of them). She gets to play with such wonderful flowers and I adore her honesty and love that shows in every picture she takes.


Next is My Little Wildings, this gorgeous mama Zoe has the most adorable children and the most wonderful of jobs, her feed is just full of life and her beautiful work, each picture makes me smile and a lot of the time the pictures of the cutest tiniest babies make me feel broody!


I first saw Katy from Apartment Apocathary at BritMums Live this year and have been swooning over her feed ever since. Her beautiful styling and home are something I aspire too and her pictures are truly stunning.


For a colourful feed full of handmade gorgeousness, then look no further than Hollie at Flora Fairwather, she has the most beautiful handmade blankets, her feed is wonderful, bright and is sure to brighten up any dark day. I adore her feed and she is a lovely lady to boot.


And finally, this account offers the most fabulous foodie delights and after stalking her for the Springtime Surprise Project earlier this year, I can honestly say her feed makes my mouth water and my taste buds tingle. Claire at Foodie Quine has an amazing food blog and her feed is full of foodie inspiration.


Who inspires you on Instagram? Do you love it or loath it? And finally if you are on there then do pop over to my feed and say hello, I can usually be found posting pictures of stuff I make, love or my jelly shoes.

20 September 2015

Black & White Photography Project Week 63


We bought this beautiful loaf of bread last week from a local market, I loved the chap and lines on it and it looks wonderful in black and white.


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16 September 2015

Keeping Children Occupied When Travelling

We were sent some children's activities from Boswells of Oxford to give a try whilst on holiday, but to be honest these items are great no matter where you are travelling and are useful for when you are out and about in restaurants too.


We were sent some Dinosaur Top Trumps which we did already have but I have no idea where they are and were great for my son, he didn't stop playing with them the whole two weeks and they not only kept him occupied but helped him with numbers and his reading too.

We were also sent a fabulous magic picture colouring book, which isn't just any ordinary colouring book but instead you have to use a coin to rub over the blank page to reveal the picture, included were some really bright and easy to grip felt tips which meant my daughter could be kept occupied colouring in once she had revealed the picture using the coin.


Along with these bits, they also included a sing a long CD, I feel our children were a little old for this and as awful as this makes us sound we have never listened to children's CDs in the car. It does mean our children have inherited our great taste in music though.

The CD does however have some classic songs, which, if you are into this sort of thing would make for a great ride along treat.

Having things to do in the car or when you are out and about are always a must for us, these are all relatively small but exciting things which makes them great for just popping in your bag when you are heading out.

NB: We were sent these items for the purpose of this post, all words and opinions are my own.

13 September 2015

Black & White Photo Project Week 62


Autumn is fast approaching and for the first time I miss my old garden, I miss the treasure that was my apple tree. Thankfully our local green grocer stocks some wonderful British varieties, but still the joy I felt collecting apples I miss so much.

7 September 2015

My Broken Heart

Today a little piece of my heart broke, my daughter, my smallest baby started school. It was hard the first time round but second and final time round it has broken my heart!


My son walked her in to school, as proud as punch to be showing his little sister the way. They ran around the playground together until it was his time to go in.

A little bit early we headed to her playground, she was desperate to get in, we were early but her amazingly lovely teacher ushered her in with a smile.  As my daughter walked into her classroom, confident and proud, I knew her journey in school life had begun and she was as ready as she'd ever be.

It's funny, our school isn't classed as 'Outstanding' but the teachers have been amazing and I cannot wait for her to grow as my son has, she already had so many stories to tell and she's only been there a day.

I kissed her and left, having expected to stay for half an hour I felt a little forlorn, lost and sad that she didn't need me. As tears streamed down my face her teacher said I could stay, but I knew my daughter wouldn't need me, her teacher smiled and told my husband to take me for a cup of tea, we laughed and I walked across the playground with the tears rolling at an ever faster pace.

We got back to the car and my husband went to work, I chatted to another mum for a few minutes and then got back into my car, I sat and sobbed for ages, finally pulling myself together to drive to see my old next door neighbour for a few hours.

When I got home the house was quiet, normally there is someone in the house but no noise was strange, even when I am up before everyone else there is a creak or snore. For the last four and a half years my daughter has been with me Monday to Wednesday and it felt lonely. I know it will change, I will work more and i'll have things to occupy me but oh my heart aches.


I adore my children, they are kind beyond words and I couldn't be more proud of these wonderful little people. My heart will always ache but I will enjoy the time I have with them more, those special moments will be more special.

Here is to all those parents going through the same this week.

6 September 2015

Black & White Photography Project Week 61


Another one from our visit to the beautiful Le Treport on our last day in France, as we got to the top of the hillside via the wonderful funicular railway the view was amazing. I just had to take a shot before we headed back to the car.


3 September 2015

How to be an Allergenius with AO.com

Earlier this summer, we were invited by AO to meet with them and learn about allergies and how to combat them in the home, I was at work so I sent my hubby and the kids to find out more. 

The event took place at the Think Tank science centre in Birmingham, an ideal location to learn about these biological threats. As many as 1 in 4 of us suffer from some form of allergy, with the most common being to pollen, dust mites and mould. The ladies from AO had first organised a treasure hunt for the children to find cartoon allergies hidden around a typical home, once they found them, these had hints or tips on how to limit the impact of bugs around the home. The kids loved this and the adults found it informative too, even if some of the tips sounded like hard work!


Once we had learned about the allergies and what we could do to fight against the cause of them, we hopped over to speak with a Hotpoint representative about the new features they are adding to their products to help. These include, additional anti-allergy cycles on washing machines at 60Âșc  with extra rinses as well to kill bugs, anti-allergy cycles on tumble dryers and also a new range of vacuum cleaners with washable HEPA 13 filters to help contain as many allergens as possible.

After the informative part, we spent some time crafting and made some flowers from pipe cleaners and tissue paper, with a little help from the AO life team.


To finish of the day, we spent a few hours discovering what the Think Tank has to offer. Everything from an outdoor science play area, complete with water experiments, a human sized hamster wheel and a cart with a square wheel (it really worked!), to some enormous steam trains and a model of a spitfire with WWII dressing up. The children particularly loved the Kids City, which had a doctors, dentist, cafe and even a TV studio, they really enjoyed role playing in the various areas.


Thanks to AO for inviting us to this informative and fun day out.