• #IWD2017 #5by20
    homestyle - International Women's Day

    Supporting women on International Women’s Day {5by20}

    March 8, 2017 - By 

    I received products from Coca-Cola’s 5by20 program; however, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. Today is International Women’s Day. It is celebrated on March 8th all over the world and commemorates and raises awareness of women’s rights. So today I’m going to share a great initiative from Coca-Cola and how they are working to empower female entrepreneurs worldwide with the tools and training they need to grow their businesses and income. I may be a stay at home mum at the moment but I am so lucky that this is a choice, taken between me and my husband. Some women…

  • crafts for kids to celebrate the Queen's Sapphire Jubilee
    crafts - Royal crafts

    10 crafts for kids to celebrate the Queen’s Sapphire Jubilee

    March 8, 2017 - By 

    Last month, on February 6, the anniversary of the day she became Queen, Elizabeth II has reigned for 65 years. She is the first British monarch to reach their Sapphire Jubilee, with royal gun salutes to mark the historic day. I heard some rumours that we might be getting a public holiday this year to celebrate her Sapphire Jubilee. This would be great for the children. I don’t remember celebrating the Queen’s Silver Jubilee back in 1977 as I was too young but it’s always fun to create memories at special occasions. The Royal Mint is marking the 65th anniversary with…

  • The Cath Kidston Classic Colouring Book
    Cath Kidston - competition - homestyle - Mother's Day crafts

    Win 1 of 2 adult colouring books for Mother’s Day

    March 7, 2017 - By 

    Do you celebrate Mother’s Day? It’s coming up towards the end of the month on March 26th here in the UK. I always look forward to receiving a handmade card and little gift. I quite like it if I get a day off from cooking too, just someone else to take over the food preparation and the dishwasher is my idea of a perfect day. I’m not quite sure what we’re doing but I’m hoping there will be some time for a hot cup of tea and an hour with my favourite adult colouring book. There are some gorgeous books around…

  • St Patrick's Day cork craft for kids
    crafts - St Patrick's Day crafts

    St Patrick’s Day cork craft for kids

    March 7, 2017 - By 

    Spring is the perfect time for crafting. My husband has Irish ancestry so we quite like to mark St Patrick’s Day. We love recycling and raided our stash of corks to make this fun St Patrick’s Day cork craft. We used: 3 recycled wine corks a rubber band green paint card St Patrick’s Day cork craft for kids This is the perfect after school craft as you only need a few things. Take your corks and wrap the rubber band around them. Make sure the band is nice and tight, and also make sure that all the corks are flat…

  • parenting

    The power of positive thinking

    March 6, 2017 - By 

    I’m always surprised how both my children are so quick to say they can’t do something. I’m a firm believer in the power of positive thinking, and try to encourage them to try anything and everything which comes their way. It really saddens me when my 5 year old says she can’t read and plays up when we look at her school reading books. I have no idea where she gets these ideas from. I try to encourage them by by focussing on the positives and showing them examples of everyday achievements. I think it is important to push your…

  • a paper template with March flowers on
    days out - mindfulness - Monday Happy List

    Monday happy things {Week 127}

    March 6, 2017 - By 

    I know I say it every week but last week was busy! Somehow we survived Pancake Day and World Book Day, as well as the normal school routine and after school clubs. Thankfully our weekend was pretty quiet so we all had a chance to recharge our batteries. Time for my weekly post about the 5 things which made me happy the previous week. Monday happy things {Week 127} I really love helping at my children’s school and started the week with a trip to our local Church with Year 2. No-one had checked if there would be a service…

  • The Fun at the Farm box {Mila and Pheebs}
    crafts - Kids crafts - subscription box

    The Fun at the Farm box {Mila & Pheebs}

    March 5, 2017 - By 

    I have two very crafty children who were delighted to receive the new stationery and activity subscription box from Mila & Pheebs. My 5 year old is currently learning all about the farm, and has a school visit planned later this month, so we had a lot of fun exploring the box together. The March Mila & Pheebs sub box had the theme Fun at the Farm. The Fun at the Farm box This sub box is lovely and slim and fitted nicely through our letterbox. It was waiting for them when they got home from school. They both love receiving…

  • Lion Guard Talking Plush review
    playing - toy review

    Zuka Zama {Lion Guard Talking Bunga Plush review}

    March 4, 2017 - By 

    My 5 year old love her cuddlies. Every morning she comes downstairs with her favourite cuddly and her muslin. As she’s only 5 she has a lot of soft toys, they seem to rotate on a regular basis. We recently received one of the new Lion Guard Talking Plush toys from Just Play Flair. Both my children love the Lion Guard. Have you watched it? The Lion Guard is a spin off of the original Lion King, and follows lion cub, Kion, the second-born cub of Simba and Nala, as he takes on the role of leader of the Lion…

  • Jungle Monkeyz
    days out - London

    Wet weather? {Jungle Monkeyz}

    March 4, 2017 - By 

    With the wintery weather we are forecast this weekend I thought I would write about one of our favourite places to go when the weather is bad. My children have always enjoyed soft play. When we lived in North London we would frequent Clown Town and Little Dinosaurs. We went so many times we actually had loyalty cards! When we moved over to West London we found that soft play areas were few and far between. Fortunately we quickly discovered Jungle Monkeyz. It doesn’t look much from the outside, in fact you have to drive past quite a few houses…