Friday, October 31, 2014

Happy Halloween & Tyler Lee's Halloween Basket ♥

 Happy Halloween everyone! I hope you all have a lovely, fun day! It's going to be a quiet day for my boy and I as his Daddy is working but he will be dressing up (pictures to follow) and we will be having lots of Halloween themed fun. To be honest we've already had a breakfast of buttons and gold coins but that's fine at least one day of the year isn't it?! 

I wasn't going to make Tyler Lee a Halloween basket but I thought it would be fun to put everything Halloween themed we've gotten him the past couple of weeks into a basket to let him rummage through it this morning and he loved it. I put in his five Halloween books, seems that the Wickle Woo tab book is his favourite! His bat print onesie, his pumpkin costume, a pumpkin headband (which he loves!), a bat and a Dracula mask and a Frankenstein pail filled with chocolate. It was so simple and cheap to put together, the masks were only 69c each and the pail was only 1.49 as were the chocolates. I used an old skull and web print scarf to cover the inside of the basket and add to the Halloween theme even more. My boy loved it and I'm so glad that I did put it together in the end, I love making festive themed baskets for him.

Have a great Halloween however you may be celebrating and enjoy all the sweet tricks or treats that the day may bring!

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Thursday, October 30, 2014

Halloween Decor ♥

This year I haven't put up any Halloween decorations in our house apart from a banner as I know my curious little toddler would just rip them all down but my mother has gone all out, as she does for every festive occasion and we love looking at her decorations. I wish I could claim this Halloween display as my own but hopefully next year I'll have something similar going on in our own house as Tyler Lee will be a bit older and will know just to admire the decorations and not try to destroy them! These decorations have really made my parents house feel cosy and fun this Halloween.

 This is the display on the hearth and I love the orange and black theme. The witch decoration is hanging in the middle and is surrounded by pumpkin garlands and hanging pumpkin baskets on either end of the hearth. I think this is probably my favourite part of my mothers Halloween decorations, I think it actually looks quite pretty.

 These are the lights which are in the kitchen window and the hall. These ghost and pumpkin lights have been around since I was a child and they still look great. The huge spiderweb light is a new feature and I'm told it was a total bargain too from Heatons. These lights look fantastic at night time, unfortunately my little one was itching to get home so I couldn't get pictures after dark to show them off in their true splendour.

 There are silver spiderwebs on the doors inside the kitchen and hall and a black one on the back door. There are also inflatables in the hall which I think my little one would have a ball with if he got his hands on them!

Have you gone all out decorating for Halloween like my mother has?










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Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Clouds - A New Obsession ♥

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This past week I've become completely obsessed with everything cloud related - cloud print clothes, cloud shaped soft furnishings and photographs with clouds featured in them. I couldn't resist getting my boy some more clothes (I know, I know, I said he had enough, but who are we kidding here?!) adorned with cloud print and I've even decided to add a cloud theme to his room after his birthday, I think it'll fit in well with the rainbow theme that's already going on in there as all those pieces have clouds on them too - a fab coincidence! I've decided to put together some of my favourite cloud themed finds to give some inspiration to any other cloud obsessives out there.

The beautiful grey cloud toddler bedding is from Farg Form, a new favourite brand of mine. The have cloud print everything from baby clothes, soft furnishings and accessories. I was tied between the grey and black versions of this for my boys toddler bed but have decided on the grey as it's one of my favourite colours.

The large (so large it won't fit in a square frame!) dark grey cloud cushion is available from Cissy Wears. I love the knit look of this cushion and the sweet little cloud face. This cushion is also available in white and a lighter grey shade and I think it'd be lovely in my boys teepee that he's getting for his birthday - the boy loves cushions and cuddly things!

The half cloud half rain print leggings I've featured on the blog before and they're by a great little Instagram shop I discovered called Muffin and the Bear. These took an age to arrive to me from America but they finally came! I'm so happy because they're gorgeous and the blue shade looks even nicer in reality.

This long-sleeved top is also by Farg Form and I just love it. This is also available in grey and there are also leggings available in this print, my boy is now the stylish owner of both. Farg Form also have bandana bibs and hats available in this fabric to complete the cloudy look.

The cloud, rain and lightening print bunting is from an Etsy shop called Alphabet Monkey and I'm completely in love with this - well I am a bunting-a-holic! I think this would be a great update for the bunting my boy has in his room that is looking a bit babyish now with the teddy bear flags.

This sweet little printable is also from Etsy and is from a shop called iDIYjr, I think prints in white frames can really make a room and I love what's written on this print as it ties in with the rainbow theme of my boys room as it is.

The white cloud garland is also from Esty, from a shop called LilyRazz. This features nine little felt clouds all hung together on a ribbon colour of your choice, my boys one has a silver ribbon (every cloud has a silver lining and all that!). I'm going to hang this on his wall or possibly on the front of his cot, either way it's going to look super sweet.

Another pair of leggings I hear you ask?! Yes, I have an obsession and I'm not ashamed to admit it. I saw these gorgeous Storm Boy leggings from Tobias and the Bear yesterday and just had to get them. This is a new print for the shop and I think it's a fab addition. I like that these are quite boyish with a superhero type feel to them with the lightening bolts.

Finally, more cloud cushions which are from Noodoll. I think these cushions are rather sweet as they have a lightening bolt attached to the cloud. They come in white, grey and blue and in a choice of large or small. I love the large ones and think they grey or white one would be a lovely touch to my boys toddler bed when his bed is all nice and made, ready for him to sit and read his books.

These are just a few of my favourite picks from the wide range of cloud shaped and print pieces which are available out there. Which is your favourite?
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Monday, October 27, 2014

Family Holiday Ideas 2015 - Villa Pia In Tuscany ♥

 Is it too early to be thinking about next years family holiday? I don't think so, especially when I've been greeted every morning with the sight of gloomy, cloudy and wet weather all week - please don't tell me this is going to last all autumn and winter, where is the sun?! Jacek and I are the type of people who start to think about our next holiday as soon as we return from one and we also begin saving straight away for it too. Last year Jacek expressed that he'd like to visit Italy again, we've both been before but to different places and not together. I wasn't too keen on revisiting a country as I always like to try somewhere new but then I saw what Villa Pia in the beautiful Tuscany region has to offer and I honestly couldn't think of a lovelier place for a relaxing family holiday (well, as relaxing as our very active toddler would allow!).

 Villa Pia is located in the town of Lippiano in the beautiful Tuscany countryside amidst green fields, vineyards and olive groves and just outside the gates of a 10th century castle (fabulous for us castle loving folk!). The villa itself has a charming, rustic, old Italian feel to it and has quite a romantic look to it too with it's shutters, classic Italian decor and ivy adorned walls. The villa offers a romantic atmosphere for parents but is also the ideal place for children as it's set on five acres of land which is perfect and safe for the little ones to run around in to their hearts content. The villa itself has seventeen rooms so I can imagine it has the feel of a boutique hotel and I like the fact that the villa won't be swarmed with people unlike those resort holidays we've all been on where you can't even relax due to the crowds and race to the sun chairs.

 Villa Pia offers a range of facilities including two swimming pools, a sandpit (I know my little one would love this!), a tree house, a tennis court and a range of other play activities to keep little ones happy and entertained. For the adults there are beauty treatments, art, Italian and cookery classes as well as yoga (something I've always wanted to try).

I think Villa Pia offers a different type of holiday experience from our usual excursions to the beach. I think it'd be great to experience something new and more relaxing and to be in a place which is safe for our son to run around, surrounded by beautiful scenery and a new castle to explore and getting a taste of the true Italian experience. It sounds idyllic to me.

You can find out more information, view more pictures and make bookings on the Villa Pia website.


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Saturday, October 25, 2014

Twit Twoo GoGlow Night Bright Light ♥

 October is the month when we really begin to notice the nights getting darker more quickly and the clocks going back (which is happening tomorrow if you didn't already know!) mean the days get shorter, these things can have a great effect on our little ones sleeping habits (I know they have on my little boys for sure!) and with the nights becoming so much darker earlier little ones can develop a fear of the dark and even conjure up images of monsters living under their bed! One way to banish these fears of monsters and the dark is to introduce a night light into your child's bedtime routine. I have to admit, I never did have a night light for Tyler Lee before we received our gorgeous Twit Twoo GoGlow Night Bright Light* but I wouldn't be without it now. As he's getting older he tends to wake up earlier or throughout the night looking for his dummy, the GoGlow Night Bright Light stays on for hours (20 to be exact when fully charged!) reassuring him if he does wake up and allowing him to see what he is looking for. I love the design of this night light, our one in particular has little owls and stars on it but these night lights are also available in character designs such as Peppa Pig or Thomas the Tank Engine, I prefer the more neutral design of the Twit Twoo though as Tyler Lee doesn't watch those cartoons. 

 Another great aspect to the GoGlow night light is that it's battery powered meaning that it can be kept on all night without wasting electricity. The night light can be charged up during the day so it's ready for use at bedtime. It's also a 2-in-1 night light and torch so it's fun for older toddlers too, you simply click the torch into the stand to make it a light and pop out to make a torch again, so easy to use. The light can also be turned on and off by patting the top of the torch, very simple for toddlers to use themselves. The glow off the GoGlow night light fades after two minutes allowing your little one to fall asleep effortlessly without a glaring light in their face yet providing enough light to give them reassurance and calm. The glow in the dark finish of the night light makes it easy to find if your little one wants to reach out and use it as a torch to find something in the middle of the night. This really is such a great product and I'm so glad we now have one for Tyler Lee.

I would highly recommend the GoGlow Night Bright Light to any parent whose little one is having problems sleeping, imaging monsters in their room or who is afraid of the dark. It's so easy to use, functional, energy saving and is really love to look at too. The GoGlow Night Bright Light has worked really well as part of Tyler Lee's bedtime routine and he often stares at it as he drifts off to sleep, I think he finds it quite calming, at this stage we'd be lost without it and I love the fact that it keeps him calm if he does happen to wake up during the night as he's able to see around him. The GoGlow Night Bright Light ranges can be found on Amazon.
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Thursday, October 23, 2014

Personalised Gift Ideas For The One You Love ♥

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The festive season is quickly approaching and this year I'm loving the personalised gift options which are widely available on various sites on the internet. I think personalised gifts are so much more thoughtful than things which can be bought simply on the high street and personalised gifts tend to be far more special and unique to the receiver - who wouldn't want the one they love to feel special when being given a gift?! I've decided to put together a little gift guide of some of my favourite personalised gift options for other halves which are available at the moment. All of these things are suitable for both men and women and would be amazing gifts for loved ones this Christmas or even as an anniversary or birthday gift.

I am so in love with the idea of this gift, the Name A Star Gift Box. This box allows you to name a star for a special person in your life. I think this is such a sweet gift and something which would be treasured forever, how lovely would it be to know there's a star in the sky named after you? This gift box contains Name a Star introduction letter, personalised registration certificate bearing your star’s new name, star coordinates that help you find your star in the sky, a ‘Stellar Star’ fact sheet, a beginner’s guide to astronomy, a night sky book and a star chart.

I personally don't drink tea but everyone I know does, including my partner who loves his tea so getting a personalised teapot for someone is such a lovely gift. These can be made in male and female designs and can include a name or any other text you like. I love this girly, cupcake design tea pot. I really wish I drank tea, it'd suit me so well. Something that would go very well with this particular gift is the Advent Christmas Tea Gift Set which includes twenty-five beautifully packaged tea teabags which all have a festive theme and a range of flavours. My tea-addict partner would love this!

These Love You Too pillow covers are such a lovely gift for the one you love and would look lovely in the home too. I'd love these on my bed and think they're a really sweet gift. These can be made to say whatever you like but I think this particular design is so sweet.

Personalised photo calenders are another lovely gift and are great for photography addicts like myself. I always use Photobox for creating photo gifts and they have lots of layouts to choose from for their personalised calenders. I'd love to receive a calender filled with memories with my other half from the year before and I think these would be great made with seasonal photos for each month. The possibilities with this gift are endless and a calender is something everyone needs plus they are so simple to make and lovely to look at each day remembering your special memories together.

The Globetrotter Personalised Print is another gift I love and something which I'm thinking of getting for my well-traveled partner. You can add a title and up to twenty-five countries to mark your travels from previous years. I think this would look lovely in my partners office or on display in our living room. The Scratch Off World Map Poster is a similar gift to the print but this is something which the gift recipient can personalise themselves by marking all the places they travels to in their lifetime. You simply scratch off the countries you've visited and this can be displayed straight onto the wall or in a frame.

This Personalised Story Of Us Print is another great gift for the ones you love. I'd like to get this as a wedding gift for my partner when we do eventually get married. This can come framed our unframed and you can add in seventeen chapters of your life with someone, three landmarks and the years that you visited them. This would be such a lovely gift to display in the home.

I love this Family Tree 6 Picture Frame, this is another great gift for those who love photography and like to display their family pictures. This comes with six frames that are attached to the tree with ribbon so they can be removed or added to personalise the tree how you would like. I think this would be so sweet in the living room with a picture of my little family.

If none of the above gifts take your fancy you could always opt for making something for your loved one yourself.  There are so many great DIY products out there and honestly, what better gift is there to give than one crafted with love from your own hands? The great thing about making something yourself is that you can also personalise it however you want for that special someone. I especially love this herb garden box how to, a perfect, unique gift for budding gardeners like my other half.

These are just some of my favourite picks from the wide range of personalised gifts that are available out there. I'd be delighted to receive any of these as a gift from my partner and I know some of these are going to be things which I get for him this Christmas.
Have you any special gift in mind for the one you love this Christmas?








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Wednesday, October 22, 2014

What I've Been Buying For My Toddler Boy #1 ♥

I've been buying some new clothes and other small things for Tyler Lee lately so I thought I would share with you all as I love seeing posts on what others have been buying for their own little ones.

This is actually a Christmas gift so I shouldn't really be showing it until November at least but I really couldn't resist. I got this adorable little handmade wooden camera with surf coloured chevron design from Fawn Over Baby. This camera had sat in my Etsy checkout for far too long so I decided Christmas was the perfect occasion to buy it for. Tyler Lee loves hanging things around his neck so I ordered this with a crisp white strap.

Tyler Lee was in need of a pair of slippers as it's colder in our house now in the mornings and downstairs is all wooden floors and tiles so I got his him his first ever pair of slippers and how adorable are these little Rudolph the Reindeer ones? I love how fluffy they are and they're super soft so they'll be perfect for his little feet. These are from Next. 

I picked up this hat, scarf and mittens set on a whim while I was getting the slippers but how could I resist something with stars, I simply couldn't. The boy probably has enough hats to last him until he's five but this one is pretty cute with the little bobble on top. These are his first scarf and proper little mittens too, so sweet. This set is also from Next.

I also picked up these cute little mittens for Tyler Lee as a second pair because I think he'll take a liking to chewing on his mittens, everything goes in the mouth! I'm not sure what animal these are supposed to represent but they're sweet nonetheless. These are from Penneys/Primark.

 I spotted this cloud print jumper on another blogger, Katie from Mummy Daddy Me's little girl and instantly fell in love with the print. This jumper was in the girls section but I honestly can't see why a grey jumper with clouds on it would be classed as girls only. This jumper is from Zara.

 The colder weather calls for super snuggly pyjamas and these fleece dog themed onesies from Penneys were too cute to resist. Tyler Lee loves dogs and anything with dogs on them so these were perfect for him. They have grips on the feet too to keep him from slipping and sliding on the wooden floors and tiles whilst keeping him cosy and warm.

 Tyler Lee was in need of a new pair of shoes so we got him these gorgeous Geox boot type ones. We had stupidly gotten him two pairs of Vans before this and one pair won't go on very easily and the other is way to big, the perils of children's shoe sizes! Thankfully these shoes fit great and are super stylish with all his clothes.

Halloween isn't too far away now and I want something seasonal for Tyler Lee to wear to bed. I picked up this cute bat print onesie (which is super long!) in H&M.

Did you know that I have a slight leggings obsession? I seriously can't resist them and I love these two in exclusive prints from Urban Mum Shop all the way from Australia. I seriously can't get enough of the crown print, however, the pair with the crosses has been washed once and look at the awful wash wear! I'm really unhappy with this as these are supposed to be black and were washed on a 30 degrees delicate wash, not impressed.

I've also been stocking up my boys little library with some new books in a Halloween and autumn theme. You can read about the books featured above here and about the first lot I bought him here. I've now also started buying winter and Christmas themed books for something special I'm putting together for him, more about that in a future post.

This sweet little Snowdog plush by Rainbow Designs* is going to be part of Tyler Lee's Christmas Eve basket. It'll go perfect with the musical Snowman we got him last year.

This beautiful Rachel Riley duffle coat was such an amazing find. I fell in love with the sea foam colour and the lining is beautiful with it's quilted gold fabric. This coat was such a bargain too reduced from £154 to just £54! This coat is sadly too big for this winter but I think it'll be perfect for my boy next winter. This is from Ruby and Kitty.

Have you been buying anything new for your little ones lately? Do leave links to your buy posts if you have any, it's great to see what others are buying to get inspiration from.
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Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Halloween Inspired Devils Food Cake Cupcakes ♥

With Halloween coming up next week I decided that it was excuse enough to make some tasty, fun looking cupcakes once more. I haven't baked since before the summer but having seen some fun little sugarcraft decorations whilst I was out shopping I just had to pick some up (I wish could have made them myself but sadly I'm not that talented when it comes to baking but will we just pretend I did for post purposes?!) and make some tasty treats for my family and I to enjoy. I loved how these turned out and I think they'd be great for a Halloween party or even a child's party if their birthday was on or around Halloween. These cupcakes feature almost every Halloween symbol thinkable, from witches to ghosts to bats and the rest. Not only do these look good they taste great too with their chocolate sponge and chocolate chip filling - delicious!

  Ingredients:
50g butter
115g soft dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
115g plain white flour
1/2tsp bicarbonate of soda
25g cocoa powder
125ml soured cream
Chocolate chips 
Orange icing
Mixed sprinkles
Halloween themed sugarcraft decorations

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Line a cupcake tin with cupcake cases.
2. Place the butter, sugar, eggs, flour, bicarbonate of soda and cocoa powder in a large bowl and beat together until smooth. Fold in the soured cream and chocolate chips and mix well. Spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases.
3. Bake for 20 minutes or until a knife comes out clear when inserted into the middle of the cupcakes.
4. Take out of oven and leave to cool completely on a wire rack. I cover my cupcakes with a tea towel to keep in the moisture.
5. When cool apply icing of you choice. I chose to do orange icing but black or green icing would work well with the Halloween theme too.
6. Decorate with sprinkles and other decorations of your choice.
7. Serve and enjoy!
 You can see my Halloween chocolate orange cupcakes with red and black swirled icing from last year here if you're looking for even more Halloween baking inspiration.

What do you think of my Halloween inspired cupcakes?
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