• 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.…

  • win a goody bag
    competition - days out - homestyle - London

    The Knitting & Stitching Show London 2017 {goody bag giveaway}

    October 17, 2017 - By 

    On Sunday I enjoyed my annual day out at The Knitting & Stitching Show London. I try and go every year. Not only do I love fabric shopping but I also find Ally Pally a beautiful venue – and just down the road from where I used to live – happy memories. This year I went with a school mum friend and it was a totally different experience but still a lot of fun. If you’ve never been before then The Knitting & Stitching Show London took place between 11th-15th October at Alexandra Palace. If you love crafting then it’s a…

  • Making tracks with a Family and Friends Railcard
    Buckinghamshire - days out - parenting

    Making tracks with a Family and Friends Railcard

    October 16, 2017 - By 

    On Saturday we planned a grand day out. Our diary was free of play dates and parties and we really wanted to go somewhere new. We live on the edge of West London and we’re so lucky to have the countryside on our doorstep.  We decided to head over to High Wycombe for the day. We’ve passed through many times on our way to Hughenden Manor or Odds Park Farm but decided it was time to stop off and see what it had to offer. My husband loves to drive but we were recently offered a Family and Friends Railcard which…

  • Tatty Devine acrylic sewing machine necklace
    homestyle - Monday Happy List

    Monday mindfulness {5 happy things}

    October 16, 2017 - By 

    Week 159 of my weekly Monday happy things post, about the things which have me happy. Last week was really busy, and the week-end was too. I’m hoping for some quieter time to get ready for half term. Only 2 parent evenings, after school clubs and homework to get through first! Monday mindfulness {5 happy things} I think that Facebook has a lot to blame for my purchasing recently. Someone mentioned that Orla Kiely had designed two exclusive bags for The Royal British Legion. I found them on the Poppy Shop and just had to buy them. Jute bags are…

  • Star Wars Coding Projects
    book review - parenting - Star Wars crafts

    Star Wars Coding Projects {book review}

    October 15, 2017 - By 

    My 7 year old is really enjoying his lessons in the computing room at his new school. In Year 3 they start to learn Scratch which he’s really excited about. He loves computer games, especially Minecraft, Cars 3, Mario Kart, Splatoon 2 and anything Lego. We’ve played around a bit with Scratch at home, he can make a sprite walk across the screen and move around. It’s something he loves to do with his Dad and it’s great to see them doing something together. Star Wars Coding Projects Combining the beginner coding language Scratch with the indomitable Star WarsTM empire, Star…