We’re now halfway through our summer holidays. The days are flying by and we’ve had lots of fun this week. My Monday happy things are: I went to a fun workshop to celebrate the launch of Furniture Hacks by Hesta Van Overbeek at West Elm. Her book is lovely, packed full of ways to upcycle and update your home, and I will be reviewing it here shortly. I made a clock using a plate from West Elm which is one of the projects in the book. My 3 year old went to her first ballet class. She sulked a lot…
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It’s a little known fact that I’m a Belgophile. I adore Belgium and have visited many Belgium cities including Brussels, Ghent, Ypres, Ostend, Bruges and this month Antwerp. I have a long list of more Belgian cities I want to visit, much to my family’s dismay. Obviously travelling at home and abroad can be expensive. According to some recent research by the Santander 123 credit card team the average daily spend while ON holiday (excluding flights and accommodation) in Barbados is a massive £109! Belgium is £88 and Poland and India came out cheapest with an average daily spend of…
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I love reading and sharing my finds here. I read lots of lovely craft books but I fell in love with the cover of my latest book, The Tea Planter’s Wife by Dinah Jefferies. Nineteen-year-old Gwendolyn Hooper is newly married to a rich and charming widower, eager to join him on his tea plantation, determined to be the perfect wife and mother. But life in Ceylon is not what Gwen expected. The plantation workers are resentful, the neighbours treacherous. And there are clues to the past – a dusty trunk of dresses, an overgrown gravestone in the grounds – that…
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I love to try new things so when I spotted the new Philadelphia Deliciously Whipped during my weekly food shop I picked up a few pots to keep in the fridge. Philadelphia Deliciously Whipped comes in three flavours – Philadelphia Deliciously Whipped Original, Philadelphia Deliciously Whipped Black and Green Olives and Philadelphia Deliciously Whipped Fine Herbs & A Hint of Garlic. If you’re a fan of Philadelphia then these pots are the perfect size for sharing, or equally enjoying on your own. We had some friends round for lunch and we enjoyed the Fine Herbs & A Hint of Garlic with…
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As Baker Ross ambassadors we were sent a selection of craft kits to review. The latest one was this fun set of Solar System scratch art containing 6 designs including space ships and planets. When I was at school we made our own scratch art but these kits are much easier. Simply scratch the specially coated surface to reveal stunning rainbow colours. Each pre-cut planet shape comes with a scratch tool and coloured ribbon for hanging. How to make a Solar system scratch art display You will need: Solar system scratch art kit from Baker Ross Cardboard box Centre punch…
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We’ve been really lucky to be sent some lovely toys to review over the school holidays. As I’ve mentioned before, my 3 year old loves to dress up and Doc McStuffins is one of her favourites. She received the product the Doc McStuffins Pet Vet Bag Playset from Flair. Whilst we all know that Doc McStuffins loves to fix her toys we are looking forward to the new episodes as she looks after her stuffed pets too! Yep, she’s expanding her practice with her Pet Vet Clinic which means the The Doc McStuffins Pet Vet Bag Playset is one of…
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This week we were invited along to our local Beefeater restaurant to experience a family meal and see for ourselves the new refreshed Mr Men menus and activity packs for the little ones. I love our local Beefeater, it is really family-friendly and good value. Dine with Mr Men and Little Miss at Beefeater this summer, along with the themed menu the children were given a fun Mr Men and Little Miss activity booklet and pack of crayons. This kept them busy whilst we were waiting for our food. They especially enjoyed the Mr Men Space Game game which was…
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Today my daughter finished at her lovely nursery. She has a couple of weeks off before she starts at her new preschool. In September she will be spending afternoons at her new preschool. She’s really excited about this, especially the uniform and book bag for some reason. I’m also looking forward to it. She needs a new challenge and so do I. My challenge is probably not so fun as hers – de-cluttering the house and starting to think about going back to work. Our house is in need of some attention, much like my CV. Although blogging is a…
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Yesterday I shared our review of the July Japan Candy Box. This is a delicious monthly subscription box filled with 8-10 sweet treats from Japan. We enjoyed trying all the different products and we found the packaging gave a pretty good indication of what was inside – no need to worry about the language barrier! I’ve teamed up with Japan Candy Box to offer one lucky reader the chance to try a Japan Candy Box for themselves and entry couldn’t be easier. Japan Candy Box giveaway: For your chance to win the next Japan Candy Box and try a carefully…