A Little Mother's Day Gift Guide

It's Mother's Day this weekend of course and I for one am looking forward to breakfast in bed, preferably with tea, pain au chocolat, a magazine, and if I'm very lucky hopefully a couple of homemade cards from the kids! I'm always torn on Mother's Day between wanting to spend the day as a family, enjoying quality time together and feeling thankful for being a mum to two lovely little kiddos (assuming that is that everyone is on their best behaviour of course, no nail varnish is being painted on the newly painted walls - yes that happened this week - and we're not arguing about how it's not nice to call mummy a meanie every 2 minutes when things don't go their way!) and wanting a whole day off, all to myself, without the kids, which might sound a little harsh but would be oh so lovely!

At 5 and almost 3, my two are still a bit young to co-ordinate any sort of present buying themselves, so it kind of falls on my husband's shoulders to arrange a gift for me, if that's what's happening this year... As a I said, breakfast in bed, flowers and cards (homemade or otherwise) are always a delight on Mother's Day but sometimes a treat in the form of a present is nice too of course!

So here's my sort of gift guide to Mother's Day this year...

1. A classic stripe tee is perfect for day to day wear with the kids, and this tee from Chinti & Parker has a fun twist which I love.
2. A bit budget-busting, but if you're on the look out for something extra special, this gold necklace from MayaBrenner.com is perfect. I'd have T and S obviously for Tabitha and Sam, but it would also be nice with just your own initial too.
3. I've been eyeing up these triangle earrings by Tom Pigeon for ages now, and would be great for adding a little extra something to an everyday outfit of jumper and jeans. They come in lots of colours, but these pale grey ones are just so pretty.
4. You can't go wrong with a leather pouch, for cards and small change, or for carrying around make up bits, etc, and this Mog Leather Zip Pouch from Donna Wilson is just the right side of quirky!
5. I don't know about you but I generally seem to carry around about 4 different lip balms at any one time, and yet I still think I could find room in my life for this one - Mojito Lip Balm from Malin + Goetz sounds too good to pass up!
6. I recently bought myself this little cat enamel brooch on a bit of an impulse but as soon as I saw it I couldn't resist. It's cute right?! (And no this post is not sponsored by Donna Wilson, ha ha!)

I hope you all have a lovely Mother's Day, whether with your kids, your own mum, or whatever you do... Enjoy!

x

A Big Day

I haven't blogged for ages - what with the summer holidays in full flow and not getting a break from the little ones with nursery finished and all, somehow it just slipped off my radar. I hope to be spending more time blogging again now we're getting back into a routine around here, but for now I just wanted to commit to memory this big day - Tabitha started school!

Yeah I know I'm biased, but oh my gosh, cute or what!!? I can't believe my little bean is nearly 5 yrs old and that school is now going to be such a big part of our lives! We've been so used to lazy morning starts, playdates in the park, and generally being the rulers of our own day, I'm not sure how long it'll take to get used to this new set up, but I'm so proud of my little girl - she really took today in her stride and made some new little friends already. I can't wait to see how she'll blossom at school. I can't say I shed a tear (that's not really me), but it's definitely been emotional folks!

My Week/Weekend

Well another week has rolled by (and then some!) and it's been a bit quiet on here, but without sounding like a broken record the kids have been full on and life has just taken over as per usual! Mec has been working overtime with some major project at work (something techy, I don't ask, just try to be supportive as a I can!) so we've barely seen each other this week and it's meant I've been in charge of the kids all week and over the last weekend. I actually took them for a short break down to Bexhill to see Grandma Seaside which was really lovely, and they had a great time jumping waves and running along the promenade.

The view from my deck chair! Nice :)

The De La Warr Pavillion - and yes, I did look round the design shop, again!

There's love between these two sometimes!

My mum and I also took the kids up to London during the week, for fun and frolics along the Southbank.  It's so easy on the train it was a no brainer, and there's just the right amount of stuff to do along there, and more really, to fill a long afternoon in the sun. We couldn't help but hop on the bright pink bus for frozen yogurt, it was really delicious and the view out across the Thames from the top was fab! Tabby and Sam got romantic on the top, so cute when they want to be!  

Pucker up! 

I have a photo just like this from last year when I took the kids along the Southbank so couldn't resist a double take to see how much they've grown up! 

We checked out the view from the Tate restaurant - I felt weak at the knees as the kids crouched up against the floor to ceiling windows, eek!

I hope you've been enjoying the summer, whatever you're up to - kids or no kids, summer hols or not! 

Here's hoping for a restful weekend ahead and hopefully feeling a bit more pulled together next week!

x

The Bear Essentials!

I don't know if you have noticed, but bears seem to be all around at the moment and I'm really loving looking out for them and discovering lots of lovely bear things!

It started a little over a year ago when, on our anniversary, my hubby gave me this Butty Bear card above, from Lisa Jones Studio. I stock some of her lovely cards over at a neat little shop and had loved this card for ages so it really put a smile on my face when I opened it (even though the bear looks a little sad!).

Then, knowing how much I love my little card (seeing as I've had it up on the mantlepiece for a year!) M also surprised me the other day with the new Butty Bear mug from Lisa Jones' new ceramics range. I love it so much (I'm a bit of a weird cup-obsessive when it comes to tea drinking and the size and weight/style of this cup is perfect!) and so now always drink my tea from it :)

So I thought I'd round up some of my other favourite bear friendly things at the moment... 

This set of bear tableware from the fantastic Donna Wilson is definitely something for the wish list - I have a couple of her plates already on my wall (the Fox and Meg plates) which I love very much - and these are just as wonderful. Especially that set of Daddy, Mummy and Baby Bear bowls, would make a lovely new baby gift for a family.

Bear Plate

Daddy Bowl

Mummy Bowl

Baby Bowl

Bear cup, all by Donna Wilson

I also love Seventy Tree, since discovering Kerry Layton's blog of the same name, a couple of years back, and particularly like these bear prints, perfect for a cool kids room. 

B is for Bear, Seventy Tree

Circus Bruno, Seventy Tree

And sticking with prints, as we all love a nice print don't we, this small print from Old English Company is cute - perfect in a simple, little frame. I like this edition from Southwood Stores, but there is a grey edition available on the Old English Company website.

Bear Hug Print, Old English Company at Southwood Stores

And I really love this print from Banquet Atelier - the red is so striking and would make an eye-catching statement on the wall. I kinda wondered about this for Sam's bedroom wall in the new house (it's becoming like a running joke now, 'the new house', that's if we ever move!) but M thinks it's a bit scary for a kids room - I saw it here and it looked cool, but the jury's still out I guess. 

Bear Print, Banquet Atelier

Looks good right?!

So, want to join me on my bear hunt?! :)

What A Glorious Weekend!

I hope it's been just as warm and sunny where you are as it has been here, my skin has quite a rosy glow from so much time spent in the park and in the garden this weekend. We just had a laid back weekend, with fun to be had in the park, a spot of tidying at home (got to love a clean kitchen!) and my new tshirt from Zara arrived yesterday which I got to wear out today, much to my delight! 

I hope you all had a lovely weekend too, it really feels like summer's begun :)

Hooray For The Weekend + Simple Summer Dresses

Man, have I got that friday feeling this afternoon! 7.30pm and a glass of wine beckons! It's been a long week... Half term kind of crept up on me and I wasn't really prepared with a schedule of action packed activities like some other, more organised mums. So it's been a week of ad-hoc outings to soft-play (mental!), the big park (Sam fell in the lake!), and the farm today (which was actually ok, until the overtired meltdown at the end!) in a bid to keep everyone occupied and happy. This photo from today reminds me that it's (almost) all worth it though - Tabby and Sam loved the carousel today, going on it 3 times back to back, and were busy blowing kisses to everyone. It was very cute, Sam thought it was hilarious. Kids eh!

The week might have been somewhat more enjoyable if the weather had played it's part and been a bit sunnier. It's been mild, granted, but the constant threat of rain has rather put a dampener on things. It can't be long now til the summer sun arrives for a good, surely!?

Just in case it does anytime soon, I've been indulging in some summer wardrobe shopping and bought a couple of little summer dresses. I'm not one to wear anything skimpy and generally the word sundress fills me with dread. However, I refuse to spend another summer limited to trousers and maxi skirts just because I don't have amazing (or even half decent!) legs - I'm hoping with a hint of fake tan perhaps and some effort put in to help tone that I can too enjoy that effortless feeling of slipping on a summer dress and some sandals and being all set for fun in the sun.   

Topshop, Contrast Denim Tee Dress, £38

This Topshop denim dress, above, will look great with some chunkier heeled sandals (which also should help balance out my pins) and a statement necklace. And this uber-summery dress, below,  from Mango is a definitely one for that super hot day when only strappy sandals and a pair of sunnies are required.

Mango, Ethnic Embroidery Dress, £44.99

Have you got your eye on anything for your summer wardrobe? I'm also on the look out for a denim jacket and summer hat (H&M looking promising for both), and a new swimsuit - I like this one, in Tropical Orange, from Boden but can't really justify the £59 price tag!

Have a good weekend - we've got our annual street party on Sunday, I hope the sun at least makes an appearance! 

Happy Easter!

Well I don't know about you, but I'm am beyond tired this evening. As we draw close to the end of the Easter Holidays I feel quite impressed at how much we managed to squeeze in. What began as a slow start to the spring break, ended up turning into an action packed week where we celebrated Sam's 2nd birthday, travelled up to the Midlands to visit Thomas Land, visited Grandma Seaside at, well, the seaside, met friends at the nearby Butterfly World, and made numerous trips to the park for ice cream! With Mec being off all week it's been fun to hang out altogether as a family and spend some quality time with the kids. Now it's time to collapse on the sofa with a glass of wine and a much needed easter egg! I hope you've had a lovely Easter too :)

A few photos from the past week - I'm the laziest iPhone photographer around so apologies for the poor quality pics but hey, that's life!

Sam on his birthday, opening his much loved train set and battery operated train!

A quick pit stop in Costa for refuelling!

Exploring Tamworth where we stayed the day before visiting Thomas Land

Exploring the local park land... Kids seem to have a natural ability to hunt down the nearest playground, even if it's somewhere we've never been to before!

Dinnertime!

Tabby got camera shy whilst meeting Mike the Knight!

I'm not sure who had the most fun at Thomas Land, us or the kiddos!

Ice cream, ice cream and more ice cream - the local park did well out of us this week!

A lovely day spent with a friend at nearby Butterfly World

An outing to the local garden centre on the hunt for sunflower seeds, and the planting of this year's sunflowers. Tabby was really good at growing them last year and it's lovely to see her out in the garden with her little watering can!

Totally bad photo but I had to include it as if you're going to eat an easter egg, Sam knows how it's done!

Happy Easter one and all! x