• Win the perfect bedtime book for toddlers
    competition - homestyle

    Win the perfect bedtime book for toddlers

    September 14, 2017 - By 

    10, 9, 8 … Owls Up Late! Ten cheeky, bouncy, noisy owls are playing in a tree. It’s bedtime, but they’re having far too much fun to go to sleep! Uh-oh. Will Mummy Owl ever convince all her little owlets to fly down to the nest? Ideal for children who like the owlets are reluctant to sleep, 10, 9, 8 … Owls is a gorgeous peep-through book that uses the concept of counting owls to make bedtime a fun, educational, and ultimately relaxing experience. The muted colours and count-down helps children relax at the end of a busy day, making…

  • What I'm watching on Netflix this Autumn
    homestyle - Netflix Stream Team

    What I’m watching on Netflix this Autumn

    September 13, 2017 - By 

    I’m a huge fan of Autumn. Yay, for dark evenings and cosy nights in! Thankfully school seems to tire my children out so they’re in bed a lot earlier than they were over the summer holidays. This means we get to pick up on some of the series we were watching on Netflix. This evening we finished watching Season 2 of Shooter. Shooter is based on the best-selling novel, Point of Impact, by Stephen Hunter and the 2007 film starring Mark Wahlberg. In the first season Bob Lee Swagger (Ryan Phillippe) is an expert marksman living in exile who is coaxed…

  • Ideas for a ninth wedding anniversary
    homestyle

    Ideas for a ninth wedding anniversary

    September 13, 2017 - By 

    I can’t believe we’ll be celebrating our Ninth wedding anniversary next month. I’m not sure my husband really wanted to get married so we don’t do much to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We usually swap cards and go out for lunch. I really like looking out for handmade cards and found a great one on Etsy. The traditional gift for a ninth wedding anniversary is pottery and willow in the US and copper in the UK. These materials have been updated to include leather in the UK too. I love copper so chose a really lovely design on Etsy from…

  • how to personalise a playhouse
    homestyle

    Curtains for the playhouse

    September 12, 2017 - By 

    Today I crossed something off my to do list which has been on it for over a year. I made curtains for the children’s playhouse. You probably think that I should have made these at the start of the summer but I just never had the time. So let’s gloss over the fact that I bought the fabric last year from Ikea. I picked something bright and colourful which would complement our playhouse. You may remember we have a cute wooden playhouse at the bottom of the garden. As soon as we built it we painted it in two tones.…

  • Schleich Mobile vet with Hanoverian foal
    parenting - toy review

    Schleich Mobile vet with Hanoverian foal

    September 11, 2017 - By 

    Over the Summer holidays we reviewed some wonderful Schleich toys which we will be sharing with you over the next few weeks. We’re big fans of Schleich toys and have reviewed quite a few. Just in case you haven’t heard of them before, Schleich is a German producer of handpainted toy figurines and accessories. They are highly realistic and detailed and perfect for imaginative play, which we all know is so important for children. Schleich Mobile vet with Hanoverian foal My 5 year old loves horses and has a few sets from the Schleich Horse Club range. She received the…

  • homestyle - mindfulness - Monday Happy List

    Monday Happy Things {Week 154}

    September 11, 2017 - By 

    It was a huge week for us with both kids going back to school. I think they were both happy to see their friends again. My 7 year old started a new school and so far seems really happy, coming home each day with so much to tell me about all the new routines he’s having to learn. I’ve missed them both but I can’t deny it’s been good to have some time to myself. My children love painting rocks and on Saturday we visited our local park to leave some painted rocks. We joined our local painted rocks group…

  • 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…