It’s that time of the week for my Monday happy list: – I was given 48 hours notice to dress my 3 year old as a Superhero for nursery and I managed to make her a Supergirl costume thanks to some clever upcycling of the ladybird costume I made last year. Phew. – We baked…
book review
The Scarecrows Wedding
My children adore any book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. They were so excited when we got our hands on their latest collaboration – The Scarecrow’s Wedding. This is a great story for any time of year but especially around Valentine’s Day. The Scarecrows’ Wedding is a fantastic love story. Two scarecrows, Betty O’Barley…
What I’m reading: Mindful discipline
Today I wanted to share two new parenting titles from Scribe with you. They aim to help parents solve two of the most commented on, despaired over and debated about parenting dilemmas: sleep and discipline using Mindful discipline The Happy Sleeper by sleep experts Julie Wright and Heather Turgeon offers an alternative sleep training method…
What I’m reading: The Playful Parent by Julia Deering
I’m not a huge fan of parenting manuals. You can probably tell from the books I share here that I love my craft books and the odd piece of fiction. At the end of last year HarperCollins asked if I wanted to take part in in their 31 days of inspiration and ‘live a book’…
What I’m reading: Indigo by Nicola Gouldsmith
Indigo is one of the colours of the rainbow, as easily recognised as it is fashionable. From its origins as a naturally produced dye, most common in India, to its ubiquitous appearance in blue jeans today, indigo has travelled far and wide. Just before Christmas I was sent a copy of a new book called…
Book Advent 2014
My children take a real pleasure from books and I love that they are excited by our Book Advent. A Book Advent is a Christmas themed book-a-day during December, much better for you than chocolate! This year we’ve had a whopping 29 books, so nearly 1 for every day of December. We’ve taken out some…
Looking back over 2014
Is it too early to be feeling a tiny bit fed up about Christmas? I’m beginning to feel the strain of two excited children, a very cluttered house, presents to wrap and quite a few meals to plan and cook too. So I thought I would take a break from reality and instead look forward…
On my mantle – November
I’ve gone all minimalist for November. This month my daughter turns 3 and we’re having a Frozen-themed birthday party to go with her Frozen-themed presents. It’s probably no surprise that some of the colours have crept into our living room and on my mantle. We have ice blue candles standing proud in my great-grandfather’s brass…
How to make The Gingerbread Man story stones
The story of The Gingerbread Man is a perfect book for reading at this time of year. It’s a classic fairy tale about a Gingerbread Man’s escape from various pursuers and his eventual demise between the jaws of a fox. The Gingerbread Man There are variations in the characters but our favourite features an old…

