• days out

    Planning a Family Road Trip from London to Sheffield: What to Check Before You Go – Including Tyres in Sheffield!

    October 20, 2025 - By 

    Planning a family road trip from London to Sheffield can be a lovely adventure — but, like any journey, it takes a bit of preparation and forward planning. Whether you’re setting off from the capital with excited kids or planning a quick stop-off in the North, it’s always wise to know which garages or service centres could be useful along the way, it’s a point in your favour to check which garages or service centres could be useful during your journey. One of the most important things to check is your tyres. After all, a comfortable and safe trip starts…

  • Five Happy Things

    Five Happy Things {Week 42/2025}

    October 19, 2025 - By 

    Starting the week by writing the Happy List is something I’ve been doing for the last few years. It’s my chance to sit down and reflect on the little or big things that made me smile in the previous week, as well as to record some of our family adventures. Five Happy Things {Week 42/2025} Last week we went to watch Mel Brooks’ The Producers at The Garrick Theatre in London. It was a great production, I hadn’t seen the film, and I loved the songs. The teens went into London with their Scout group for the day. They spent…

  • Pumpkin picking at the Pop Up Farm London
    days out

    Pumpkin picking at the Pop Up Farm

    October 18, 2025 - By 

    Last weekend we had our annual trip to go pumpkin picking at the Pop Up Farm. This is the nearest pumpkin patch we’ve found to us in north west London, and is about a 20 minute drive away. I booked flexi tickets as our weekends are filling up fast. Fortunately we were able to visit last Saturday. Pumpkin picking at the Pop Up Farm This year the kids wanted a variety of pumpkins, a big pumpkin to carve as well as smaller pumpkins to decorate their rooms. We also wanted a large pumpkin so could make pumpkin soup. We picked…

  • parenting

    Safe Ways to Share Family Photos Online

    October 15, 2025 - By 

    Have you ever taken a second to think about how exposed your family’s private pictures could be? Things have changed, and we no longer possess our family moments physically. We are most likely to have them stored in a digital cloud. That doesn’t need to be a risk in itself, but you deserve to feel safe when taking, sharing, or handling your family’s private moments.  We’ll walk you through some simple and practical tips to protect your privacy.  A Photo Is Not Just a Photo Anymore Most people don’t know this, but nowadays, when you share a photograph, you’re sharing…

  • Pop Up Farm pumpkin patch
    Five Happy Things

    Five Happy Things {Week 41/2025}

    October 13, 2025 - By 

    Starting the week by writing the Happy List is something I’ve been doing for the last few years. It’s my chance to sit down and reflect on the little or big things that made me smile in the previous week, as well as to record some of our family adventures. Five Happy Things {Week 41/2025} I found a book token with some money left on it so treated myself to a copy of the new Dan Brown book The Secret of Secrets. It’s hardback and heavy but a gripping story. This will be book 19 of my 2025 Goodreads Reading…

  • days out

    A trip to The Knit & Stitch Show 2025

    October 11, 2025 - By 

    Yesterday I made my annual trip to The Knit & Stitch Show in London. It was held at Ally Pally and as we used to live nearby, I am always happy to visit the area with it’s magnificent views over north London. A trip to The Knit & Stitch Show 2025 I booked my workshops in advance and had an early start to get there for 8.30 before the show opened. My first workshop was making re-useable fabric crackers with Janet Goddard. I’ve wanted to make these for ages and a workshop was a great way see if I would…

  • Simple paper cone cat craft for kids
    Crafts for kids - Halloween crafts

    Simple paper cone cat craft for kids

    October 8, 2025 - By 

    With Halloween a few weeks away I’ve been sharing some of our favourite Halloween crafts over on Pinterest. Our origami witch’s hat and accordion fold bat are always super popular. This year we’re excited to share a new Halloween craft for kids with you, our simple paper cone cat craft for kids. This makes a lucky black cat which is perfect for Halloween! List of supplies: Coloured craft papers Scissors Googly eyes Pencil Craft glue Sharpies Paper cone cat template Simple paper cone cat craft for kids Print out and prepare the template patterns. Select coloured craft papers for the…

  • The Maid's Secret by Nita Prose
    Five Happy Things

    Five Happy Things {Week 40/2025}

    October 6, 2025 - By 

    Starting the week by writing the Happy List is something I’ve been doing for the last few years. It’s my chance to sit down and reflect on the little or big things that made me smile in the previous week, as well as to record some of our family adventures. Five Happy Things {Week 40/2025} We spent the last week trying to enjoy the seasons but Hallowmas/Christoween continues and it’s so confusing. It feels like Halloween is being replaced by Christmas in the shops, and it’s far too early for me. Although I’ve been enjoying stitching the small motifs on…

  • Crafts for adults

    What I made September 2025

    September 30, 2025 - By 

    We love September, with the cooler days and leaves turning all different colours. Although we are busy with the teens back at school and their after school activities, the short evenings make it a fun time to sit around and craft. With Halloween and Christmas to look forward to, there is no shortage or projects to work on. What I made September 2025: I started the month by making the embroidered postcards which came with Love Embroidery magazine. It was fun to embroider onto card. Then we made Halloween costumes for our Maileg mice. It’s been many years since we…