Sunday 20 March 2016

Easter Festivities


Miss Etoile "Enjoy" Tin

Easter is definitely up there with one of my favourite holidays of the year.  Not only do most of us get to enjoy a long weekend away from the stress of work but we get to spend some quality time with our families – usually in the spring sunshine – and of course we get to eat chocolate for breakfast, lunch and dinner!!

I have so many great childhood memories of Easter, one of the main ones being egg hunts at my grandparents’ house!  My granddad would find immense enjoyment in hiding little foil covered chocolate eggs in the most obscure and difficult to reach places around the garden and we would spend what felt like hours hunting them down!  Being the youngest by 7 years my sisters would beat me to it every time and end up with a bowl full way before I had even found one, but my g’dad would cheat and give me a few extra right out of the packet!  We would never ever find them all and the adults would forget where they hid them all, so sometime during the summer we would be playing in the garden and would find a melted mini egg stuck to the rose bush or in the cracks of the patio!

Another fond memory I have of Easter is making Easter bonnets which I don’t think is much of a tradition these days!  It’s such a a shame as we used to get so into it and create some really elaborate fancy hats complete with fluffy chicks, colourful feathers and mini eggs to take into school the next day! 

Of course we were always spoilt with chocolate eggs but being the weird kid that I was I never used to eat them and they would sit in the cupboard until they eventually got thrown away.  But as I got a bit older I went through a stage of melting them in a bowl and eating them with a spoon!  I told you I was a bit odd..

I feel like the build up to Easter and the whole celebration of it gets bigger and bigger every year.  We have always spent time with family during the long bank holiday weekend but I don’t remember there being so much merchandise around and we definitely never had an Easter basket like the ones people put together these days!  I hadn’t bothered making Harry an Easter basket in previous years as he has just been too little to get anything out of it, but this year I am fully embracing this Americanised trend!  I will do a separate mini post about whats in his basket soon!

We will be spending the Easter bank holiday with our families and there will be egg hunts on the agenda for sure but it feels like Easter already in our house as we have already started our festivities.
Amara, the online deparement store, have been kind enough to send us some beautiful things from their tableware and baking collection to use this Easter and I chose some pieces from the gorgeous Miss Etoile.  This is such a girly and fun collection stocked with gorgeous cake stands, teacups and saucers as well as milk jugs and tins.


Miss Etoile Egg Cup & Plate Set
Miss Etoile Mini Bird Bowl

For some reason we only seem to have boiled eggs at this time of year so we have been starting our days with boiled eggs and soldiers in these cute little egg cups and we have been nibbling on chocolate mini eggs for days already!!!

Miss Etoile Mini Plate on Stand
Miss Etoile Gold Heart Serving Plate

I had pinned a billion ideas for some great bakes, so we made some little chocolate cornflake nest cakes as I think these are pretty much fool proof and easy to do with a toddler (nothing can get burnt) We also made some shortbread which didn't really turn out as planned and my chicks and bunnies look a little mutated!!!  I tried..
I think the Miss Etoile gold heart serving plate I have displayed them on looks like something straight out of Kate Spade and it could be used as a trinket or jewellery dish as well as something to serve your Easter cakes upon.

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Here are some of my favourite Easter activities to do with a toddler

Easter Egg Hunt:  Mini eggs are cheap as chips if you pick them up in the £1 shop and even the littlest ones will enjoy an egg hunt.  You could even use their Easter baskets as egg holders

Easter Bonnet Competition:  You can find some really cheap wicker hats in crafts shops or make your own with some card or paper.  All you need to do is get creative with paints, glue, chicks and feathers!

Easter Card or Picture Making:  Stock up on the paint and googly eyes and give your relatives some Easter pictures or cards to put on their fridge!

Easter Cake Baking:  You could get really fancy by making a speckled egg cake or like me go simple with some chocolate egg nests

Egg Painting:  Pinterest has some amazing Egg painting ideas whether you paint real egg shells or cheat like me and get some wooden ones!

Easter Colouring Pages: I found some great ones here that you can print out for free at home!


What are your favourite Easter activities??


*This post was written in collaboration with Amara

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Sunday 6 March 2016

A Mother's Day Salute




Just a short one today to say a very Happy Mother’s Day to all you mums out there.
To my online “Mama tribe” and my nearest and dearest best friends.  To the working Mum enjoying her weekend off and to the stay-at-home Mum still trying to work out if it is in fact the weekend.. and of course to my own Mamma Mia

I wish you all breakfast in bed washed down with hot tea and OJ, well behaved babes and toddlers and a day off of doing mundane chores

Happy Mother’s Day buddies, enjoy it, savour it, live it... it only happens once a year!!!
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Friday 4 March 2016

A Year of Sound | Harry's 1st Hearing Birthday



To my darling Harry,

Today, 4th of March 2016 marks your very first "hearing birthday" and my my, how you have changed since that very first sound you heard.  I still can't believe that 11,000 people have watched your special moment at your big "switch on" on YouTube.  One whole year of listening to mummy sing her silly made up songs, telling you off when you're naughty and chatting to you about your day.

I always knew you would be my best friend even before I had met you.  When you were fresh and new in my arms I instantly couldn't imagine a life BH (before Harry) and your colicky cries!  I knew you would be a real mummy's boy always willing to give me an extra kiss and cuddle for another biscuit.  You absolutely adore your daddy too though, he likes to wind you up just before bedtime with play fighting and running up and down the living room like a loony!  

You are saying so so much now, words like "peppa" "more" "biscuit" and "get down" among so many more, and if you don't know the word you will sign what you want to tell us.  You also insist profusely on calling me "Lucie" which I think you are now doing on purpose the more I tell you that I am mummy!!! You love to sing along to Frozen and Paw Patrol (at 5.30 in the morning) and lots of annoying songs from random videos you find on YouTube!  Cute!

You aren't all milk and cookies though.. You have the wildest temper on you that you most definitely get from your Daddy!  You throw a strop at pretty much anything, sometimes resulting in smashing your own head on the floor, throwing things and screeching!  You're 100% a typical two year old and you know how to play us up and get our blood boiling!!




But the best thing about you Harry is that you are so very kind.  Its the sort of kindness you don't always see in little ones your age.  Don't get me wrong you can be one hell of a pickle, you lash out when you're angry and you struggle with sharing but you will always give an upset child your toy or offer them a few of your precious raisins. You hate to see people upset and you do your best to make them smile, usually by giving them the biggest cheesiest grin or a stroke on the shoulder. You very rarely pass up the chance of giving people a smooch and one of your most used words right now is "cuddle".  You are ever so friendly and you'll play with anybody that will have you.  You love to run after the bigger kids, especially your cousins Lily and Issy who dote on your every move!  I'm just waiting for the day that they start to find you annoying and the raging fights begin, but for now I'll relish in the beautiful relationship you have with them.

In a way I feel so lucky the world decided you would be deaf and that I would be the one to take care of you.  I've felt tremendous pain for you, felt so incredibly sad but mostly felt pure happiness and wonder.  You have opened up a whole new horizon for us as a family, we've met people we would never have met, done things we would never have had the opportunity to do and ultimately lead us down a path I never imagined we would be walking.  That path has been really really special and actually pretty fantastic and you have had so many people by your side cheering you on every step of the way. 

Don't be afraid to be different my love, you were born to do something unique and distinctive.  You are going to grow up to do some really amazing things, I can see it in that sparkle in your eyes and I'm so excited to watch it happen.  

Happy First Hearing Birthday Harry, I love you little bug,

Mummy xx




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Thursday 3 March 2016

Sharing the Mum Blogger Love | My Favourite Pregnancy & Baby Blogs

Back in 2013 (wowser that seems so long ago!!) I shared with you some of my favourite pregnancy and and baby blogs
Whilst I am still an avid follower of them all, there are some amazing ladies out there with some beautiful and informative not to mention humorous blogs who i find myself scanning Bloglovin' for on a daily basis!  





Katie is the author of Mummy, Daddy and Me Makes Three and is one of my absolute favourites in the whole world wide web!!  I am in awe of her beautiful but very real photography skills capturing her gorgeous little family and stunning home.  I completely relate to every post she writes and I enjoy following her journey as a Mum to her 2 girls and bump!  She's also such a lovely friendly person and so bright and happy, I can't wait to see how her family blossoms with a baby boy thrown into the mix!
Read for: Pregnancy updates, stunning interiors and nice quotes




London based Emma from Mamalina, is one in a million for me.  Her approach to parenting is ultra modern and ever since having a beautiful son Jack she hasn't let being a mother define her or change the way her and her husband go about their life.  This includes Jack going along to festivals, napping on tubes and seeing the other side of the world before he even turned two.  Now pregnant with her second baby and having just got back from travelling, Emma to me is a breath of fresh air and a rare find in this routine filled, soft play consumed parenting world
Read for: travel advice with a baby, yoga and the prettiest smiles



AKA Peachie (also known as Charlotte) is one of the more comical reads on my list.  I LOVE catching up with her latest going on via Instagram and her blog, I find everything she says so funny and she is just all round pretty cool!  Shes very real very relatable and VERY honest and that is why I love her.  She has also promised me a "virtual coffee date" so I think i'm in there ;-)
Read for: Real talk, cool jumpers




I've actually met Donna in the flesh for all of 52 seconds at Bluestone and I can assure you she is just as dainty and beautiful in real life as she is in her stunning blog photos! The London Mum is her blog and I get so excited every time I see a new post as I immediately know i'm going to enjoy it.  Her blog is so varied, including product reviews, travel diaries and tips and tricks as well as monthly favourites.. all of my favourite things in one place!
Read for: Cool kids clothes, travel tips and reviews


I am always on the lookout for new blogs to follow so If you have any suggestions for me or you want t leave your blog link below, then comment away!!!

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