• How to celebrate Middlesex Day
    Family Life - Hillingdon

    How to celebrate Middlesex Day

    May 14, 2021 - By 

    Did you know that Middlesex Day is celebrated on May 16th? We’ve proudly lived in Middlesex for the last 8 years and are looking forward to celebrating Middlesex Day this weekend. Does Middlesex still exist? A little bit of background – Middlesex is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbouring ceremonial counties. The name means territory of the middle Saxons and refers to the tribal origin of its inhabitants. The word is formed from the Old English, ‘middel’ and ‘Seaxe’ (‘Saxons’). Established in the Anglo-Saxon…

  • Care Bears Birthday Bear
    Family Life

    AD/Care Bears Birthday Bear {review}

    May 12, 2021 - By 

    My daughter loves her soft toy collection and was delighted to be gifted a gorgeous new member of the Care Bears family, Birthday Bear from Basic Fun! Unfortunately we don’t have any birthdays coming up to celebrate but that hasn’t stopped her enjoying her new Care Bear. Care Bears Birthday Bear I remember the original Care Bears toys when I was growing up in the 1980s. I had some of the small, plastic figures which I loved, but remember the Care Bears books, magazines, stickers and almost everything! I’m delighted to see that they are back for a whole new…

  • Family Life

    Top tips for creating a grown up outdoors area

    May 11, 2021 - By 

    Disclosure – this is a sponsored post With restrictions easing finally here in the UK we are looking forward to entertaining outdoors again. We can’t wait to invite friends over to enjoy our garden. Top tips for creating a grown up outdoors area Over the last 12 months we have all spent a lot of time at home. From making a home office to staying local for our daily exercise, we have all spent more time at home that we ever imagined. We are very thankful to have a garden large enough for our family to enjoy and the past…

  • dogs at polling stations
    Monday Happy List

    Monday Happy List {Week 343}

    May 10, 2021 - By 

    Starting the week by writing the Monday Happy List  is something I’ve been doing for a while. It’s a chance for me to sit down and reflect on the things that made me happy in the previous week, as well as to record some of our family adventures. It’s a post I always love to write. Monday Happy List {Week 343} On Bank Holiday Monday we finally got round to visiting Chenies Manor House and Gardens. The weather was pretty cold and windy but we still enjoyed exploring the gardens. We are looking forward to going back when the Tudor Manor House…

  • Jack's Lock Harefield
    Family Life - Hillingdon

    Exploring Jack’s Mill, Harefield

    May 8, 2021 - By 

    The Hillingdon Trail is a 20 mile path through Hillingdon’s countryside from Cranford in the south east to Harefield in the north west. Since we moved to Hillingdon we have been exploring parts of the Hillingdon Trail. One of our favourite spots is a walk along the canal to Black Jack’s Mill. Exploring Jack’s Mill, Harefield We walked from the car park at The Coy Carp and Copper Mill Lock. This is a great location to explore and stop for an afternoon drink! A few years ago we took the children on a special Santa canal boat trip run by…

  • Cricut made Numbers Day shirt
    Crafts for adults - Cricut Maker

    Cricut made Numbers Day shirt

    May 7, 2021 - By 

    For the past few years my children have taken part in the NSPCC’s Number Day at school. The NSPCC Number Day is a maths-inspired fundraising event where schools across the UK raise money for the NSPCC whilst taking part in fun maths activities and wearing clothes with a number on. My children were asked to dress up as numbers but there was no way they were going to do that. So I came up with a fun little tshirt on my Cricut inspired by those silly words we used to type out on our calculators when I was at school!…

  • stitched calendar
    Monday Happy List

    Monday Happy List {Week 342}

    May 3, 2021 - By 

    Starting the week by writing the Monday Happy List  is something I’ve been doing for a while. It’s a chance for me to sit down and reflect on the things that made me happy in the previous week, as well as to record some of our family adventures. It’s a post I always love to write. Monday Happy List {Week 342} I do love a Bank Holiday weekend! This weekend we have been catching up with lots of friends which has been amazing. We also visited our first car boot of the year. It’s been a long time since we went to…

  • Harefield Church and Commonwealth War Graves
    Family Life - Hillingdon

    Harefield Church and Commonwealth War Graves

    May 2, 2021 - By 

    A few weeks ago we re-visited St Mary’s Church in Harefield which has Commonwealth War Graves in the cemetery. The church is on the outskirts of Harefield and a lovely place for a walk. St Mary’s Church, Harefield St Mary the Virgin is the parish church for Harefield and the oldest building in Harefield. Mentioned in the Domesday Book it has some notable monuments, such as the 17th century tomb of Alice Stanley, Dowager Countess of Derby. She lived nearby at Harefield Place (demolished in 1813). When we visited the snowdrops were out in the older parts of the graveyard.…

  • Crafts for kids

    Crafts to celebrate VE Day

    May 1, 2021 - By 

    2021 marks the 76th anniversary of VE Day. VE Day – or Victory in Europe Day – is marked on 8th May and commemorates the Allies accepting the surrender of Nazi Germany in the Second World War. Sadly we won’t get an additional Bank Holiday to enjoy the anniversary as it falls so close to the May Bank Holiday. Last year we enjoyed decorating our house to celebrate the anniversary of VE Day. We had a socially distanced street party, which was strange, but worked. It’s something I want my children to know about too which is why I thought…