• days out - film review - London - parenting

    The Diary of a Wimpy Kid screening with Joules Clothing

    Today we were invited by Joules Clothing to attend a screening of the latest film, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul, at 20th Century Fox. I’d heard of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series of fiction books, written by the American author and cartoonist Jeff Kinney. All the main books are the journals of the main character, Greg Heffley. We haven’t read any of the books or watched the previous films but were excited to see the film based on the trailer, which we all thought was funny. We had a lovely afternoon in London before the…

  • days out - holidays - Local Review - Wiltshire

    A visit to Great Chalfield Manor and Gardens with kids

    I can’t quite believe it’s half term next week. The last few weeks have flown by and I haven’t written half the posts I wanted to about our Easter holiday adventures! We’re off to Wiltshire for a few days over half term. On our last visit we were lucky to visit Great Chalfield Manor and Gardens, a charming 15th-century manor house with Arts and Crafts garden, near Bradford on Avon in Wiltshire. Entrance to the manor is by guided tour only. Unfortunately we were unable to get tickets for the house so had to be satisfied with the gardens. Fortunately they…

  • days out - Local Review - London

    Join the Smyths Toys Superstores party {May 27th}

    If you’re looking for a fun event for the kids this half term then I have found the perfect event to kick start it. Smyths Toys Superstores are throwing a party and everyone is invited! All of their stores across the UK and NI will be hosting a party in-store that will be bigger and better than ever and it’s taking place on Saturday May 27th from 9am-2pm. Join in the fun in your local Smyths Toys Superstores and collect your FREE goodie bag* which will contain FREE giveaways from your favourites including Play-Doh, My Little Pony and LEGO! There…

  • days out - Hillingdon - Local Review - London

    A visit to the Dog’s Trust Harefield {exploring the local area}

    Living on the outskirts of London we’re lucky to have so much on our doorstep. A quick hop on the tube gets us into London, or we can take off in the car to the country. We’ve mused about having a dog for a few years now but it just doesn’t seem practical. So instead we visit the Dog’s Trust Harefield, which is only about 10 minutes away. The Dog’s Trust Harefield is an animal centre belonging to the Dog’s Trust, the UK’s largest dog welfare charity which aims to help abandoned dogs. Their Harefield Centre is one of 20 re-homing…

  • days out - parenting

    Top tips for saving money during the summer holidays

    As much as I am enjoying May my thoughts are beginning to turn to the summer holidays. With two children in school full-time our holidays are really precious. We don’t go on huge holidays, preferring to spend a few days with grandparents in different parts of the country, and plan lots of day trips too. The downside to those wonderful 6 weeks of holidays is the cost of it all. With only one of us, working money can be tight, so I’ve been looking for ways to save money for the summer holidays. Top tips for saving money during the summer…

  • days out - homestyle - Monday Happy List - Star Wars crafts

    Monday happy things {Week 136}

    Last week was good. I love a Bank Holiday Monday and we decided to visit Buckinghamshire Railway Centre and Waddesdon Manor.Buckinghamshire Railway Centre was huge and although the weather wasn’t great we all enjoyed riding on the trains. We had a lovely day out but it was pretty tiring. The highlight of our week was of course Star Wars Day! We started with a yummy Star Wars breakfast of green Yoda milk. It would have been blue Bantha milk but we didn’t have any blue food colouring. There were also Star Wars pancakes which were a fun way to start the…

  • days out - parenting

    A Fairy Trail in the Woods {Clanger Wood }

    A few weeks ago we were staying at my mum’s in Wiltshire. We wanted to go and see some bluebells so headed to Clanger Woods. This is a lovely little area managed by the Woodland Trust. We parked up and spotted a poster which read ‘FAIRY TRAIL’. Now, my children love fairy play so I thought this would help keep them occupied as we walked through the woods. We looked a little closer and found another more detailed poster which read: Welcome to the Nature Detectives Fairy Trail – Blue and Belle are woodland fairies and they need your help!…

  • days out - Hertfordshire - Local Review - London - parenting

    A visit to Bhaktivedanta Manor {exploring the local area}

    As a stay at home mum I have plenty of free time to help at my children’s school. This is something I love to do. Every week I listen to children read for a couple of hours and I’ve helped on a few school trips too. Last term I was lucky to visit Bhaktivedanta Manor with my son and his year group. Their topic was religion and we had previously visited the local Church of England Church. A visit to Bhaktivedanta Manor Bhaktivedanta Manor is a Gaudiya Vaishnava temple, just outside Watford. The Manor is owned and run by the International Society for…

  • Buckinghamshire - days out - Local Review - parenting

    The perfect Spring day out {Odds Park Farm}

    Now the weather is warming up I’m really excited to get out more at the weekend. Not that we don’t go out in winter, it’s just a lot more enjoyable when the weather is warmer. Living on the outskirts of London the countryside is at the end of the road. We’re lucky to have Odds Park Farm only 20 minutes away and in the last we’ve been for a friends birthday party as well as the Reception class school trip. The perfect Spring day out  at Odds Park Farm Odds Park Farm is a certified Rare Breeds Farm at Wooburn…