• JAPAN CANDY BOX
    competition - homestyle - subscription box

    Japan Candy Box September unboxing and giveaway

    September 15, 2017 - By 

    We love learning about the wider world. My kids love to find out about other cultures and traditions and especially food! Monthly subscription boxes are a great way to learn a little about new products so we were delighted to be sent a Japan Candy Box to review at home. We’ve tried a few Japan Candy Boxes before, this is a delicious monthly subscription box filled with 8-10 sweet treats from Japan. I love kawaii – who doesn’t it? – and we all loved looking at each packet and trying to guess what was inside. Take a look at our video…

  • Shopping for Autumn fashion
    Autumn - homestyle - shopping

    Shopping for Autumn fashion

    September 14, 2017 - By 

    Photo by Pineapple Supply Co. on Unsplash The other day I told you that I will soon be celebrating my Ninth wedding anniversary! Woo hoo! Nothing screams wedding anniversary like a date night in a fancy restaurant. Nights out are pretty limited as a parent living in the suburbs, so I’ve been planning my outfit and general autumn wardrobe with thanks to Lyst.co.uk I love shopping online and shopping around to find myself the best deal. Nothing beats gathering ideas from the comfort of my own sofa. There are some brilliant fashion trends for autumn and I’m excited about updating my wardrobe. Not…

  • Win the perfect bedtime book for toddlers
    competition - homestyle

    Win the perfect bedtime book for toddlers

    September 14, 2017 - By 

    10, 9, 8 … Owls Up Late! Ten cheeky, bouncy, noisy owls are playing in a tree. It’s bedtime, but they’re having far too much fun to go to sleep! Uh-oh. Will Mummy Owl ever convince all her little owlets to fly down to the nest? Ideal for children who like the owlets are reluctant to sleep, 10, 9, 8 … Owls is a gorgeous peep-through book that uses the concept of counting owls to make bedtime a fun, educational, and ultimately relaxing experience. The muted colours and count-down helps children relax at the end of a busy day, making…

  • What I'm watching on Netflix this Autumn
    homestyle - Netflix Stream Team

    What I’m watching on Netflix this Autumn

    September 13, 2017 - By 

    I’m a huge fan of Autumn. Yay, for dark evenings and cosy nights in! Thankfully school seems to tire my children out so they’re in bed a lot earlier than they were over the summer holidays. This means we get to pick up on some of the series we were watching on Netflix. This evening we finished watching Season 2 of Shooter. Shooter is based on the best-selling novel, Point of Impact, by Stephen Hunter and the 2007 film starring Mark Wahlberg. In the first season Bob Lee Swagger (Ryan Phillippe) is an expert marksman living in exile who is coaxed…

  • Ideas for a ninth wedding anniversary
    homestyle

    Ideas for a ninth wedding anniversary

    September 13, 2017 - By 

    I can’t believe we’ll be celebrating our Ninth wedding anniversary next month. I’m not sure my husband really wanted to get married so we don’t do much to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We usually swap cards and go out for lunch. I really like looking out for handmade cards and found a great one on Etsy. The traditional gift for a ninth wedding anniversary is pottery and willow in the US and copper in the UK. These materials have been updated to include leather in the UK too. I love copper so chose a really lovely design on Etsy from…

  • how to personalise a playhouse
    homestyle

    Curtains for the playhouse

    September 12, 2017 - By 

    Today I crossed something off my to do list which has been on it for over a year. I made curtains for the children’s playhouse. You probably think that I should have made these at the start of the summer but I just never had the time. So let’s gloss over the fact that I bought the fabric last year from Ikea. I picked something bright and colourful which would complement our playhouse. You may remember we have a cute wooden playhouse at the bottom of the garden. As soon as we built it we painted it in two tones.…

  • Tom Chaplin at Pizza Express Live (Holborn)
    days out - homestyle - Local Review - London

    Tom Chaplin at Pizza Express Live (Holborn)

    September 7, 2017 - By 

    Last Friday the hottest ticket in town was to see Tom Chaplin at Pizza Express Live Holborn. I knew that you could listen to live music at Pizza Express Soho but it’s been a long time since I went out in the evening thanks to my children and no babysitters nearby. When I heard that Tom Chaplin was playing I knew I had to do – tickets first then worry about a babysitter later. Miraculously we got two tickets! I persuaded my mum to come up for the weekend so she could look after the children and we could go…

  • Sylvanian Families inspired gingerbread biscuits
    baking - gingerbread - homestyle

    Sylvanian Families inspired gingerbread biscuits

    September 7, 2017 - By 

    Over the summer holidays my daughter wanted to bake some biscuits. She’s going through a massive Sylvanian Families obsession at the moment. Our house looks like a toy shop as her playsets cover the floor. For some reason I used a packet mix I picked up at Waitrose. It was one I hadn’t tried before but only needed an egg white so was easy to make with my daughter – I’ve forgotten the name but I’ll add it if I remember. She made the gingerbread dough, we chilled it briefly, before rolling it out. Ages ago she received a plastic…

  • Win a teapigs last days of summer prize
    competition - homestyle - Summer

    Win a teapigs last days of summer prize

    September 6, 2017 - By 

    My children were both happy to go back to school today. Yesterday there were a few nerves but today they were both happy and relaxed, and there were no tears from me either! Although they are back at school I’m hoping we’ll have a warm September. I’m not quite ready to pack away all our Summer clothes. Over the summer I made quite a few iced teas. I find them lovely and refreshing and my children do too. They make a great alternative to fizzy drinks and you can make a batch and keep it in the fridge to last…