8/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013."

Oliver: our Human Dynamo. Gosh it must be fun to fly.

Lila: it's been so cold this week, she's had rosy cheeks and a chilly cherry nose wherever we've been.

Joining Jodi as always on a Sunday.

Some lovely...{arm candy}

If there’s one thing that helps me feel just that little bit more zhusshed (you know the word I mean, right?) of a morning, it’s a lil bit of arm candy.

Yes, I may be wearing my unwashed hair in a bun for the third day in a row. And yes, I may also be wearing the same jeans AGAIN (with designer Weetabix smears on the side) and had precisely 2.38 minutes to slap on some make-up before the school run. But chuck  a few jangly bits on my arm and I feel ready to face the world.

Here are my top picks of bracelets to make you feel good of a morning…

Cat Hammill

Oh how I love my Cat Hammill set. A little leaving Australia present from Paul and quite possibly one of my favourites from him yet (apart, perhaps, from my children and my engagement ring). My collection is navy and silver (a bit like this) and it comes everywhere with me. Versatile as anything, I might wear one of the bracelets one day and the whole lot the next. And it always gets commented on. Always.  

Merci Maman

I love this range. So sweet and simple and being able to personalise the charms makes them even more special. If I had to choose, I think I'd go for this simple little number. Such a gorgeous colour.

Annie Haak 

A friend of mine pointed me in the direction of this fantastic range recently. And oh my goodness, so much pretty. The bracelet collection is extensive (I’ll have one of these please) and check out the wonderful pendants for extra morning bling.

Joma Jewellery 

I received a bracelet from Mum and Dad this Christmas by Joma Jewellery. Such a lovely surprise and one that has been worn regularly ever since. And the best bit about it is that the particular design I have is called the Lila. Meant to be. Joma Jewellery has some really reasonably priced bracelets and I love their little single charms, complete with cute words. The perfect gift. 

So tell me friends, are you a jewellery person? And if so, do bracelets like these float your boat? 

The Weekend Edition

: bath. candle. wine. Enough said. 

: peepo 

: watching the world go by 

: Spring! 

: a rare shot of the two of them - watching an aeroplane I presume? 

: she never wants to be in the pram these days (even with her chilly little nose)

: always following Olla 

: more Spring!

: I have no idea

: the sentinel and his lance. He was deciding whether or not to let me pass.

: beautiful light

: Sunday night tired

Those 24 hours of solitude were utterly blissful. I did exactly as I said – cooked a nice meal, drank wine, cleaned. Then woke – at NINE A.M (yes, nine o’clock in the morning. I know) – did some yoga with the sun streaming through the windows, drank tea quietly, studied, worked, walked Bella in the late afternoon sunshine, enjoyed a candlelit bath (accompanied with wine and cheese. I know) and then prepared to see my beautiful family once more. It was heavenly and quiet and delicious and a must, I believe, for the sanity of all mums once in a while.  

Then yesterday we took the little tadpoles swimming, pottered and played and went for a gorgeous afternoon walk to the Winkworth Aboretum. Have you been? Go. It was lovely. And Spring was everywhere I looked – daffodils, pussy willow, crocus buds, snowdrops, little blooms all over the place and so much sunshine.

And now here we are at the start of half term and a busy one at that. We have playmates planned with old friends, a trip to the theatre tomorrow and then I’m in another three-day training workshop for the remainder of the week (thank you Mum, you are the best!).

Are you on half term duty this week? What’s in store? 

7/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013."

Oliver: like a little magpie always ready for one more mouthful of Daddy's cereal.

Lila: "Lila, where are your teeth?" (I NEVER get tired of this game).

Joining Jodi as always on a Sunday. 

It’s oh so quiet…

There’s a quiet around here tonight that I haven’t felt for a while. That’s because I haven’t had this for a very long time. Because tonight, for the first time in three-and-a-half years, I am home alone, for the whole of tonight and all of tomorrow.

And as much as I probably should say something here about how I’ll miss my family and can’t wait to see them again tomorrow and that I’m counting down the hours for cuddles with my babes, I am actually SO excited about the whole thing. Oh my god am I excited. 

So while Paul is down in Dorset with my parents and the kiddos (I can’t be bothered to explain why, it’s not that interesting), I get some proper, uninterrupted, quiet time to potter. Just me, myself and I.

Tonight, I will eat roasted salmon with spinach and vine-ripened tomatoes, for one. Then, with wine in my hand and the music on, I will clean. Boring? Yes. But to wake up tomorrow in a quiet and clean house. Bliss.

In the morning, after I’ve woken naturally, with not even a hint of a child in my bed or the call of ‘muuuuuuum, can I watch CBeebies?’, I will drink tea, practice yoga and eat in peace. Then I'll settle down at the computer to study some more (I've been at it all week) and complete a series of online exams, which form part of the training process for my new business.

I’ll get to spend time making a decent lunch, I’ll take the dog for a walk to clear my head and I’ll just enjoy being here by myself.

What a little moment of luxury.

Do you enjoy time alone? What are you up to this weekend?

One rainy afternoon

Over the weekend, during a rare child-less wander around town with my sister-in-law, she asked what the local library was like. 

To my horror, I realised we weren't members. We've been living here for nine months and haven't yet made it to the top of the high street to claim our library cards. Shameful! 

I love libraries and books and yet for some reason, seeking out our new local had totally slipped my mind. 

And so today, we did what should have been done months ago. We spent two lovely hours pottering about, reading and choosing books. Ollie headed straight for the transport section. Lila headed straight for the stairs - oh how she loves to climb. They both enjoyed sitting in the reading nook. And we came home with the biggest stack, with a very definite theme - super cars, stock cars, fast super cars, monster machines, speed machines. I'm sure our boy will be a racing car driver one day. 

Do you belong to the library? Do you visit often? 

6/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013."

Oliver: Playing happily in his curtain den. Engrossed, oblivious and lost in his huge imagination - the very best way to be.

Lila: Oh Lila, you melt my heart with your always-so-serious post-sleep face and those great big baby blues.

Joining Jodi as always on a Sunday. 

Ta Daaaaa...

Well lookie what we have here! It’s certainly been a long time in coming, but I have finally managed to get round to giving my little blog a much-needed makeover.

It’s something I’ve had on my radar for a long time now, but for one reason or another it didn’t quite happen. Until that is, I had the rather excellent idea of contacting the lovely Jen to see if she fancied designing me a new blog header.

And she did! So here we are.

I’m so pleased with my gorgeous new header, so a heartfelt thank you to you Jen, especially for fitting this all in around designing new prints for your shop. You are the best! 

And a great big thank you as always to everyone who has stopped by here in the past year. With a special thanks to some of the lovely bloggers who have passed Leibster awards my way in recent months. I’m looking at you Claire, Tammy, Karen and Tara.

And while we’re on the subject of change, I thought now would be a good time to touch on my thoughts about sponsored posts. There have been a few different bloggers writing about the subject recently and their words have made me sit and take stock of this whole blogging caper.

I write this blog for free, because I enjoy doing so. I started writing it to have something to do while I was on maternity leave for the second time. It then quickly became a place to share my thoughts on our monumental move and the settling-in phase in England. Most recently it’s become somewhere I like to use to share my journey into photography and I’ve no doubt that my new role as a work-at-home-mum will feature here this coming year.

Ultimately though, it’s a simple record of our family life, which I like to maintain just because. And I intend it to stay that way.

However, now and then, when a great brand gets in touch and asks if I’m interested in working with them, I say yes. It doesn’t happen all the time, but when it does, that little extra pocket money when you don’t earn a bean is pretty nice.  And being lucky enough to try a new product here and there or to be able to put my baby girl in a gorgeous new dress is also a nice little bonus. 

I don’t run sponsored posts frequently, but I am happy to consider them from time to time, and only from brands that I genuinely like (and think you will too). These posts are sponsored because they have been paid for in some way – either with cash or product and I will always disclose the fact that a post is sponsored or if a product is c/o (although from now on you will find this at the top of each post, rather than the bottom). I also always write sponsored posts myself, because that’s the way I like it.

So there we are… a brand new green tea & toast and a word on sponsored posts.

Where do you sit when it comes to blogs & brands?  Isn’t Jen a clever little artist?! Do you like my new digs?

* I am fully aware this photo has absolutely no relation to this post whatsoever, but she's cute, so I popped her in. 

** I'm not done fiddling with this blog makeover just yet, so bear with me while I primp and preen. And does anyone know how to get rid of those annoying grey bits at the side? 

The Weekend Edition

: tea parties are the new game of the moment for Lady Lila. 
: birthday biscuits. 
: hostess with the mostess.
: my poorly boy. You can just see it in his eyes. 
: there's always time for hummus and batman. 
: I had, and cherished, this toy when I was her age. We just love Fisher Price classics. 
: cheeky madam. 
: this is her new way to get what she wants. Boy is it loud. 
: see that bed? That would be our bed. She sleeps for hours in between both of our pillows. Like I said, cheeky.

And so the weekend drifted on by us really. Thankfully a little night out in London for me on Friday night and a couple of early evening drinks at a neighbours house on Saturday helped us to keep a foot in the real world!

Looking forward to this first week of February and all it may bring. Only one more month of winter. My goodness that went fast. Didn't it?!

Until next time... x