• 5 hair care tips for Autumn
    beauty - parenting

    5 hair care tips for Autumn

    September 10, 2017 - By 

    Photo by Dan Gold on Unsplash Today I was actually cold! As much as I love Autumn, and it’s pretty much my favourite month, I wasn’t quite as prepared for the change in temperature that we experienced today. It’s been damp, cold and windy and I didn’t like it. This evening we put the heating on and I finally felt warm.I love cosy evenings in but did you know that artificial heat and lack of sunlight affects your hair? Hair responds to sunlight, just as plants do. Our hair loves the warmer months of Spring and Summer but everything changes come Autumn. Photo…

  • 5 pumpkin patches near London for families
    days out - Halloween crafts - parenting

    5 pumpkin patches near London for families

    September 9, 2017 - By 

    As I sit and type this the shutters are closed, I’m wearing an extra jumper and I’m thinking about pumpkins. This evening the heating tried to come on so I don’t think I can pretend that summer is well and truly over. I love Autumn and my youngest has given me quite a collection of acorns and conkers since we started walking to school. The leaves were falling as we played in the park today so it seemed only right to start planning a trip to a pumpkin patch. For some reason I really want to visit a pumpkin patch.…

  • L.O.L. Surprise Series 2 {Collectible Dolls with Mix and Match Accessories}
    parenting - toy review

    L.O.L. Surprise Dolls are back {Series 2}

    September 8, 2017 - By 

    My very own Little Sis just loves making her own unboxing videos. She watches them on YouTube and loves having a new toy to unbox and share. We’ve opened a few of the LOL Surprise dolls and today are sharing you one of the Series 2 LOL Surprise dolls. Little Sis made an unboxing video of her unboxing the LOL Surprise. In case you haven’t heard of them they are collectable dolls and extremely popular with unboxers as you get seven layers of fun with every L.O.L. Surprise doll! Inside there is a secret message sticker, a collectible sticker sheet, a water bottle…

  • Star Wars Story Stones
    crafts - Painted rocks - Star Wars crafts

    Star Wars Story Stones {A-Z Play at Home}

    September 8, 2017 - By 

    Now the children are back at school I have started to get some play prompts ready for them when they get home. The first few days they just wanted to play on the PS4 or watch YouTube. In understand they’re tired but I really don’t want them to get in the habit of switching on and zoning out. My 7 year old loves to create, I guess that’s why he loves Minecraft, so I left out some smooth stones and Posca pens. These are great for drawing on almost any surface and we use them quite a lot. My son…

  • Tom Chaplin at Pizza Express Live (Holborn)
    days out - homestyle - Local Review - London

    Tom Chaplin at Pizza Express Live (Holborn)

    September 7, 2017 - By 

    Last Friday the hottest ticket in town was to see Tom Chaplin at Pizza Express Live Holborn. I knew that you could listen to live music at Pizza Express Soho but it’s been a long time since I went out in the evening thanks to my children and no babysitters nearby. When I heard that Tom Chaplin was playing I knew I had to do – tickets first then worry about a babysitter later. Miraculously we got two tickets! I persuaded my mum to come up for the weekend so she could look after the children and we could go…

  • Sylvanian Families inspired gingerbread biscuits
    baking - gingerbread - homestyle

    Sylvanian Families inspired gingerbread biscuits

    September 7, 2017 - By 

    Over the summer holidays my daughter wanted to bake some biscuits. She’s going through a massive Sylvanian Families obsession at the moment. Our house looks like a toy shop as her playsets cover the floor. For some reason I used a packet mix I picked up at Waitrose. It was one I hadn’t tried before but only needed an egg white so was easy to make with my daughter – I’ve forgotten the name but I’ll add it if I remember. She made the gingerbread dough, we chilled it briefly, before rolling it out. Ages ago she received a plastic…

  • Schleich Marvel Thor figurine review
    parenting - toy review

    Schleich Marvel Thor figurine review

    September 6, 2017 - By 

    We love the toy brand Schleich. Regular readers will know this as they feature quite often here on our blog. Schleich make the most beautiful, realistic, hand-painted figure which my children love to collect and play with. A few weeks ago we were sent the new Marvel Thor figurine from Schleich to review. One of the latest superheroes to join the Schleich collection is the mighty Thor! This new figurine looks exactly like the character in the up and coming Thor: Ragnarok film. This is part of their Marvel range which includes such as Spider-man, Captain America, Hulk, Black Widow, Dr…

  • Win a teapigs last days of summer prize
    competition - homestyle - Summer

    Win a teapigs last days of summer prize

    September 6, 2017 - By 

    My children were both happy to go back to school today. Yesterday there were a few nerves but today they were both happy and relaxed, and there were no tears from me either! Although they are back at school I’m hoping we’ll have a warm September. I’m not quite ready to pack away all our Summer clothes. Over the summer I made quite a few iced teas. I find them lovely and refreshing and my children do too. They make a great alternative to fizzy drinks and you can make a batch and keep it in the fridge to last…

  • Awesome Little Green Men tabletop game review
    parenting - toy review

    Awesome Little Green Men tabletop game review

    September 5, 2017 - By 

    It’s so secret that we’ve been reviewing a fair few toys over the school holidays. The weather wasn’t brilliant so it was lovely to see my children having so much with their toys. They were sent the brand new Awesome Little Green Men tabletop game to try out. Awesome Little Green Men Awesome Little Green Men is the military collectible which combines blind-boxes, soldiers and vehicles with a gameplay experience. We received the Deluxe Battle Pack and two of the Blind Boxes to open. They may be small but their characters are larger than life and serious about the mission ahead. The…