• Visiting a pumpkin patch in Somerset
    Autumn - days out - parenting - Somerset

    Where to pick your own pumpkins in Somerset {Farrington’s Farm Shop}

    October 22, 2017 - By 

    Top of my Autumn wishlist was to visit a pumpkin patch. I researched all the pumpkin patches in London but we actually ended up visiting one in Somerset whilst we visited family in Somerset. I love a good farm shop and Farrington’s Farm Shop in Farrington Gurney, between Bath and Bristol. As well as the Farm Shop there’s also a cafe, playbarn and all kinds of little shops. Spookley Pumpkin Festival Spookley Pumpkin Festival runs in late October and supports national anti-bullying week. Spookley tells the story of a square pumpkin who lives in a pumpkin patch with a crop of…

  • Win a Warner Bros. Halloween DVD bundle
    competition - film review - parenting

    Win a Warner Bros. Halloween DVD bundle

    October 22, 2017 - By 

    Yay for half term! We’ve all been looking forward to half term for a while. The weather isn’t great so it’s so easy to stay at home and catch up on some films. I love embracing the seasons and watching seasonal films so have been watching some classic Halloween films from Warner Bros. including Beetlejuice, Corpse Bride, Scooby-Doo Zombie Island and The Witches. Read on to find out just why we like these films and for your chance to win them! Beetlejuice (1988) After Barbara (Geena Davis) and Adam Maitland (Alec Baldwin) die in a car accident, they find themselves stuck haunting their country…

  • handmade felt owl brooch
    Autumn - homestyle - subscription box

    Autumn Craftpod review

    October 21, 2017 - By 

    I really enjoyed the Summer Craftpod subscription box. I loved the contents so found it easy to set aside time to make the craft projects. It’s the only subscription box I’m paying for at the moment and I really love it. I loved the sound of the Autumn Craftpod box so bought it as soon as I could. It’s slim enough to fit through the letterbox which is a big bonus for me. Inside were some lovely goodies: a toadstool embroidery hoop and notebook by Maggie Magoo Designs, two little felt owls, a postcard by Amy Rose of The Floral…

  • Win a copy of Ronald the Rhino from Twinkl
    book review - competition - parenting - Twinkl Blogger

    Win a copy of Ronald the Rhino from Twinkl

    October 20, 2017 - By 

    Have you heard of Twinkl? They provide instant access to a complete range of award-winning teacher-created, engaging and inspiring teaching, planning and assessment materials. These are not just for teachers however, and are also great for parents, childminders and home educators. It’s a great resource and I find a lot of inspiration for learning at home. You can find out more about them here. Earlier this year we reviewed their new ebook, Ronald the Rhino. I’m delighted to say that this is now a proper book and I’m delighted to have a copy to giveaway today. Ronald the Rhino is big and…

  • The colour yellow scavenger hunt
    crafts

    The colour yellow scavenger hunt { A-Z Play at Home}

    October 20, 2017 - By 

    I can’t believe we only have two weeks left of the  A-Z Play at Home blog hop organised by Teach Me Mommy. We’ve really enjoyed taking part, even if we’re finding the final few letters quite hard! The idea behind the blog hop is to be inspired each week by a different letter to set up a different play or learning activity using items in the home. The colour yellow scavenger hunt I was a little stumped by the letter Y but thought a scavenger hunt would be fun. The weather has totally turned which means we’ve been spending a…

  • Acorn sun catcher craft for kids
    Autumn - crafts

    Acorn sun catcher craft for kids

    October 19, 2017 - By 

    My little magpie has been picking up ‘treasures’ every day on the school run. She loves leaves and conkers and her latest findings have been acorns. She swaps them at school with her friends but luckily a few made it home for our nature table. I challenged her to make an acorn sun catcher to add to our collection. It was simple but looks great hung up in the window so I thought I would share it. Acorn sun catcher craft for kids We used a sheet of A4 white card Brown cellophane Contact paper Scissors Brown paper bag She…

  • Baking Speculaas Spice Biscuits for Autumn
    baking - gingerbread - homestyle

    Baking Speculaas Spice Biscuits for Autumn

    October 18, 2017 - By 

    The weather has turned over the last few days so I spent today in the kitchen baking. I love baking, especially in Autumn. It instantly warmed the house and filled it with the most delicious smells. I’m a huge fan of gingerbread and spiced biscuits so today made some delicious Speculaas Spice Biscuits. I used a delicious speculaas spice mix and speculaas mould from The Speculaas Spice Company. Speculass spice was used in The Netherlands in the 18th century due to trade with the East. Many Dutch families and independent bakers used their own blend of secret speculaas spice mixes…

  • parenting - Siblings

    Siblings {October 2017}

    October 18, 2017 - By 

    You can tell we’re back at school as there was such slim pickings for my monthly Siblings post. Looking back over my photos it doesn’t feel like we’ve had many adventures, just homework, after school clubs and not too much fun. Thankfully I found a few photos for my monthly post. Now my children are at different schools it seems that they look forward to seeing and playing with each other after school and at weekends. I’m not sure how long this will last but it has been so lovely watching them play together, read books together and help each…

  • Halloween essentials for a kids party from poundworld
    homestyle

    5 Halloween party essentials

    October 17, 2017 - By 

    At the grand old ages of 5 and 7 my kids absolutely love Halloween. When I was out shopping last week I popped into my local poundworld to pick up some Halloween decorations. We love to go all out for Halloween, decorating the house, dressing up, and even having a Halloween dinner on the day itself! I love to shop around and found some brilliant decorations and Halloween supplies in poundworld. I’ve shared some of my favourite products over on Twitter already. They were good quality and excellent value so I just had to share our 5 Halloween party essentials.…