Make Your Own Toy Bag

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It’s so much fun to see Maggie grow and work her way through different interests and therefore different toys. There were some that she looked at as a 3 month old with a ‘what do you call this?’ face and then a few months later they couldn’t be prized from her little hands and there were some she instantly loved and now lie untouched at the bottom of her toy basket. One toy that seems to have stood the test of time however, a must have when I pack our bag to leave the house, is her wooden blocks.

A Scent Tour Of Our Home with Yankee Candle

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This is a sponsored post in collaboration with Yankee Candle

I have a pretty acute sense of smell and my feelings towards a place or a person seem to change a lot depending on how said place or person smells. That sounds quite odd writing it down but it’s definitely true, which is why I love finding ways to fragrance my home and create a a different atmosphere in each room. I’m excited to have teamed up with Yankee Candle to take you on a scent journey through my home, made possible by their enormous selection of candles. It’s hard to know where to start but I’ll begin by introducing you to their new ‘Just Go’ range, which serves up a healthy dose of escapism to lands far away. Just dreamy! They even give you the top, mid and base notes for each scented candle so you can get an idea of what you’ll be smelling and how strongly.

New Adventures with Baby Jogger

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This is a sponsored post in collaboration with Baby Jogger

Until about 25 weeks into pregnancy I was totally oblivious to the vast world of buggies. I’d never thought about what I would pick or eyed up someone else’s (pram perv), in fact I didn’t even notice any one had buggies unless I was being mowed down by one driven by an angry Mum on a mission. It’s one of those things a little like engagement rings. You don’t really look out for whether other gals are engaged until you suddenly have a ring on your finger and then for at least the first few months engagement rings on finger are literally all you see! That was my experience anyway and out of the blue I was bombarded by a sea of buggies, literally everywhere! I mean Westfield is about 80% buggies I swear! Anyway all of this to say, this naive parent realised that choosing a buggy was much more involved than I’d ever imagined and when so many have ‘remortgage your house’ style price tags, it really does feel like a big commitment. Well ten months into our buggy journey I’m so excited to be partnering with Baby Jogger to try out what they have to offer in this crazy buggy saturated world.

Baby’s First Safari With Bloom & Wild

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Maggie’s nursery has always been her favourite room of the house even when she wasn’t yet sleeping in there at night or for naps for that matter. If she needed calming down it was definitely the place to take her and usually all was well. I made our spare bedroom into the nursery this time last year which was one of the parts of the prep I enjoyed the most and with working right up until the day I went into labour, it was only really the little pockets of time I had decorating the nursery that really afforded me the time to process what was coming next and to get excited about it. Having said this, as with most things design wise, I tend to start itching to change things up pretty quickly. I’ve been working on a little update for her room, slowly but surely and so far one end of the room is starting to come together and I’m currently filling the picture shelves with my prints and adorable, little keepsakes, the perfect timing to introduce this sweet pair from Bloom & Wild.

Summer Days with Teapigs

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Tea is my jam! It was an unexpected turn of events when I ‘the coffee drinker’ and Nick ‘the full on tea snob’ got married and somehow swapped places! I have no idea why I wasted so much time without tea in my life, always without the comfort drink on a cold Winter’s day or without the perfect accompaniment to a slice of cake. Thankfully I’m making up for it, particularly since Maggie was born. The first thing the midwives offered me after delivery was tea and toast and refusing the toast I opted for a black tea which was bliss and I’ve been in overdrive on the tea drinking front ever since. That’s why I’m so happy to be collaborating with my favourite tea brand, Teapigs.

Heartbreak & Loss: Two Years On

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Two whole years. That seems like a vast amount of time with so much change in our lives and yet it seems like no time at all. It feels weird to write about this again but it’s certainly been on my mind a lot as the two year anniversary has been steadily creeping up. For those of you newer readers, may have gathered that me and my my husband suffered a miscarriage two years ago to the day. I wrote this pretty in-depth post about my feelings, good and bad, not long after it had happened and was overwhelmed by such a huge response from people sharing their own stories of miscarriage and in many cases multiple. It was humbling, encouraging to hear from others who understood and yet so sad to see the statistics come to life in my inbox. It really is heartbreakingly common. I cried with every single story I read as my heart felt raw for each and every couple that had lost a baby. But what happened afterwards? What happens after the meals have stopped arriving at your door, after your hormones settle back down and your cycle starts again as if nothing’s happened. Past the point where you’re on the verge of tears every minute and people stop asking if you’re ok?

Brunch-time Picnic Pizza Perfection with Villeroy & Boch

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This is a sponsored blog post with Villeroy & Boch. All words, ideas and imagery are my own.

It’s officially Summer, the parks in my neighbourhood are in full bloom and the light hours are far more generous than at any other time of the year. Life feels somewhat more laid back in these Summer days and I’m constantly looking for any excuse to get outdoors. Ironically last Saturday wasn’t the sunniest day of recent weeks but it was still warm and dry and therefore fair game for a picnic. I desperately wanted to put to use the new ‘Pizza Passion’ range I’d received from Villeroy & Boch to conjure up a sweet brunch pizza.

Summer Balcony Makeover

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Out door space in London is in short supply but amazingly we’ve been very fortunate in both our flats to have a slither for ourselves. Our first flat had a rather large rooftop terrace, all be it a bit strange as the door out was from our bedroom and then the space actually had no sides so probably not somewhere you’d want to let kids loose! Our current place has a much safer balcony but it’s much more compact and sadly has been lying dormant since we moved in. I’m not one to be afraid of heights but weirdly seeing through the railings whilst being so far up kind of freaked me out. Last Summer I was sad to see it wasted, especially as it’s south facing! I wanted a little space to eat and drink outside in the evening or to soak up some rays in the day (probably not realistic now with a baby) but I was also craving some privacy and a means of blocking out some of the horrible scaffolding from the laborious building work next door, that has been stealing our view ever since we moved in. When Out There Interiors got in touch to introduce their brand and a possible collaboration I loved what I saw and knew I had to suggest a balcony make over! They have such a huge range of products to suit so many different tastes but I particularly fell in love with their rattan collection.

Pretty Little Thing

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Since Maggie was born I’ve often dressed her in headbands because usually she isn’t wearing particularly girly outfits or colours and so it’s the easiest way to avoid the question, ‘is it a boy or a girl?’ Having said that I’ve definitely still been asked if she was a boy whilst sporting a bow on her head but what can you do eh?! I love being able to accessorise her outfits with headbands but recently the lovely ones I’ve been using from Evie Michelle since she was born, look a tad too miniature for the size of her growing head. It spurred me on to make some larger versions but with the same soft nylon bands that are so comfy for her, not to mention better at staying on than other her head than any other type. Turns out they’re refreshingly easy to make!

A Sneak Peak of Autumn / Winter at Tesco Home

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This post is a paid advertorial with Tesco but all opinions and some of the photography is my own. Thanks for supporting the collaborations that keep this blog going.

It’s that time of year again when the sun’s finally out and we’re embracing picnics and bare legs but meanwhile all the shops are gearing up for their Autumn/ Winter ranges. I’m not one for wishing time away but I have to say that I’m eagerly awaiting the moment I get get my hands on some of the pieces I saw at the Tesco Home press day last week! There was an array of varied styles to suit different tastes and a bargain price tag to boot which definitely left me sold. I think it’s great when style is affordable, particularly when you’re a London dweller like myself and all your money ends up going on rent with little left to actually make your home look beautiful.