• Halloween Monster Bagels
    baking - Halloween crafts - homestyle

    Halloween Monster Bagels

    October 14, 2017 - By 

    I love Halloween. Have I said that enough lately? I love coming up with Halloween crafts and I’m not sure what’s more fun – Halloween crafting or seeing my kids faces when they discover what I’ve been up to! Every day at pick up they ask me for a snack. It’s now fully ingrained in my head that I have some yummy healthy snacks for them. Today, however, I didn’t pack treats. Instead I spent the afternoon making them some very spooky Halloween treats – monster bagels for when they got home. As a busy mum I love to share…

  • homestyle - Monday Happy List

    Monday happy things {Week 157}

    October 2, 2017 - By 

    Where did the weekend go? It’s seems I write my favourite things post a lot, or perhaps it’s just the only chance I get to sit down and reflect on the previous 7 days. Now we’re officially in October I feel like we can start celebrating Halloween. My kids are really excited to start crafting and decorating. Monday happy things {Week 157} It’s been a busy week for me and a lot of it has revolved around eating. So much so that I’ve fallen off the Slimming World wagon completely! There have been delicious lunches out to celebrate our ninth…

  • Johanna Basford's 'Ivy and the Inky Butterfly'
    homestyle

    Johanna Basford’s ‘Ivy and the Inky Butterfly’

    September 30, 2017 - By 

    You all know that I can’t resist an adult colouring book. I’ve featured quite a few here on my blog and although I’ve had to cull a few due to running out of space, I’ve kept quite a few of my favourites. With two small kids we are never short of colouring books, pens and pencils. We often share our colouring books as 3 people working on a page is a lot quicker than one. I recently received a copy of Johanna Basford‘s ‘Ivy and the Inky Butterfly’. This is one book I don’t think I’ll be sharing. Johanna Basford is an ink…

  • Ai Weiwei Surveillance Camera and Plinth at the RA
    homestyle

    Day and Night All-in-One IP Camera

    September 29, 2017 - By 

    My husband is a big fan of the Internet of Things and it’s safe to say we have a connected home. My friends laugh at me as my Apple Watch and iPhone are constantly buzzing and beeping when I leave home but my husband lovesto try the latest gadgets and make our home ‘smart’. I think there’s a lot to be said for having everything connected and I like the fact we have a smart thermostat, smart lights, smart sockets, internet doorbell, internet connected weather station, smart tv, internet connected SONOS, temperature, humidity sensors in every room and smart smoke…

  • New Banksy murals spring up in central London near Barbican
    days out - homestyle - London - Monday Happy List

    Monday Happy Things {Week 156}

    September 25, 2017 - By 

    Happy Monday morning everyone! I’d forgotten how quickly the weeks go when the kids are back at school. They’ve both settled into their new years so well and I’ve been really proud of them. I haven’t enjoyed policing the increased amount of homework though and we’ve had to tweak their reward charts to make sure it gets done! This week I reached 900 subs on YouTube which made me so happy. I love making videos with my children. I have hours of unedited footage which I’m not sure will ever see the light of day, but as long as my…

  • clothing - homestyle - shopping

    Autumn days, when the grass is jewelled

    September 24, 2017 - By 

    Photo by Allef Vinicius on Unsplash My husband is such an Alpha Male. He took us all out for the day yesterday and spent today boarding the loft! He’s really lovely and does so much for us all, I’m sure we never tell him how much we all love him. Our ninth wedding anniversary is coming up this week but we’ve been together for a whopping 14 years and known  each other for 16. We were driving around our old London stomping ground yesterday and it was quite strange remembering the places we used to go on date night, our favourite Italian restaurant…

  • Vintage ottoman makeover
    homestyle - Pinty Plus Ambassador

    Vintage ottoman makeover with Pinty Plus

    September 21, 2017 - By 

    Recently I was given a lovely vintage ottoman. An ottoman is a piece of furniture consisting of a padded seat or bench, usually without a back or arms, which typically serves as a box. Ours has a hinged lid and is perfect for storing bedding and towels. Our linen cupboard is overflowing so I thought this would be a great addition. It’s also quite slim so fits perfectly on our landing. The only problem was that it was dark brown with a stained fabric top. It was pretty horrible and definitely in need of some TLC. Here’s the before photograph of…

  • Win tickets to the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace
    competition - homestyle - Local Review - London

    Win tickets to the Knitting and Stitching Show London

    September 20, 2017 - By 

    Are you looking for inspiration for your next craft project?  Ticket lines are now open for The Knitting & Stitching Show London which takes place at Alexandra Palace (affectionately known as Ally Pally) from 11th-15th October 2017. This unique show is the biggest event for the UK’s textile art, craft and design community and there is no better place to get great ideas, learn new skills and meet like-minded people.  The show attracts over 30,000 visitors and hosts Textile Galleries by world-leading artists and groups. Headline exhibitions for 2017 are: Units of Possibility – The Reknit Revolution (supported by Rugby…

  • homestyle

    Top tips for keeping your family gas safe

    September 20, 2017 - By 

    Did you know that this week is Gas Safety Week (18-24th September)? Today we’re partnering with the energy company SSE to share 5 simple tips to help you and your family stay safe at home. Now the weather has taken a decidedly chillier tone I have to admit that the doors and windows are closed, the heating is on and the winter duvet is out! I love Autumn as you know, I can’t stop writing about it! I love an Autumn clean as much as I love Spring cleaning and it’s a good time to check all your appliances are safe for…