19 Weeks Pregnancy update

Well one more week and I will be half way through this pregnancy and only two weeks until we find out if it's a girl or a boy - time really does fly the second time around. The bump has grown even more - I promise next week to show you all. I am starting to look a little fuller in the face and have been struck with sweet cravings and paired with my birthday and the little mans this month I have to admit I somewhat over indulged...oh well. My hair is feeling thicker and fuller and I am enjoying wearing it down. I also bought my first piece of maternity clothing in the form of an organic pair of leggings from H&M for the bargain price of £7.99 and oh wow they are seriously comfy. After some unexpected bills this pregnancy is going to be very much on the frugal side of things and luckily I still have a few pieces from last time, although mainly summery clothes but have also been enjoying looser tees I had packed away a while ago as well as a pair of jeans that the other ha......

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Embrace every moment #PowerOfSoft

There is literally nothing I love more than chilling out with my little man. The above photo captures a wonderful moment in what was actually a bit of a rubbish day but it's these moments that make everything else not that important because at the end of the day your health, family and happiness is really what is important. I cannot believe how time has flown by and now he is four years old! Everyday he is funnier than and smarter than the day before and our conversations become more interesting every week, luckily I have the luxury of spending a lot of time with him as we have held off with starting school for now and have opted for homeschooling which has been very fun in itself as I watch this little man grow in front of our eyes. Even though I am not having to do the school run and the long wait at the gates I too feel the pain of time and how fast it flies by us as parents and how we all really need to embrace every day and every second we have with our children beca......

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Creating a Living Room that Doesn’t Centre on the TV

Love this happy and colourful living space ( image ) Whether you’re fed up of the TV taking centre stage, or you simply want to focus more on your family and less on what’s going on in the latest re-run of Friends, creating a living room that doesn’t centre on the TV is a vital yet challenging step that many homeowners are now taking. Of course, simply saying that you’re going to make an anti-TV living room is trivial compared with actually doing it, but don’t worry – we’ve put together this straightforward guide to help you turn your living room from one where everybody sits and faces in the same direction to one where you’re all looking at each other. It doesn’t even really take much effort, once you know a few of the essential tricks. Outside Looking in The most important thing that you need to implement is the rearrangement of your existing furniture so that instead of all facing in the same direction, it’s all facing inward. Although this sounds like it would be straigh......

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Street Style Sunday - The Holiday Edition

Wearing Boden Tunic, Holster jelly sandals, New Look Bag and Necklace So as some of you know we recently went on an amazing holiday down to the South of France and that meant only one thing - warmer weather and getting in a little bit of summer style before the end of the year. Being 18 weeks pregnant at the time of this photo, taken in Cannes, meant that I was in a bit of an in-between phase, not quite big enough for maternity clothes but yet all my normal clothes are somewhat on the tight side of things so this Boden tunic was perfect for me, very loose but with a belt it brought it in and gave enough space for the bump and paired up with my super comfy Holster jelly sandals as well as my Bag and Necklace which are both from New Look As always I have paired up with the lovely Natalie from Style Me Sunday blog to bring you Street Style Sunday linkup which is open to any fashion related posts - mood and inspiration boards, outfits of you,your kids or partner - in ......

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Sticker Club Love

I think it's pretty safe to say that all young kids and toddlers love stickers so it's no wonder The Sticker Club weekly sticker pack, that pops through the letter box in a nifty square envelope has been going down a storm in our house and seriously what a great little idea. I personally love the cute and creative illustrations, they are super cute and different to what you would find normally in a store and I like that they are not TV Characters but instead lovely wildlife, animal, colourful, bunny people style graphics.  The other day we had to pop into London for an event and as we don't have a tablet or anything like that and with it being a two hour train trip to the Capital it always means I have to have a few tricks up my sleeve to keep Mr A entertained and the pack is super portable and he had a lot of fun sticking his rockets, stars and other bits and bobs into his journal and it mean 45 minutes of blissful creative time, making up worlds and sto......

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End of the summer daze

Enjoying my energy levels before I hit the third trimester So we made a little list of things we wanted to do over the summer. I had been to the Amelia Trust farm before with Mr A but we had not been as a family and thought the first week all the kids went back to school would be a perfect time to explore (pros of not having a child in school). So we headed out to this lovely community run farm in the Vale of Glamorgan There is a lovely array of farm animals as well as a great little nature inspired play park with an old tractor that Mr A would happily spend all day sitting on. They had some organic veggies on sale and we picked up a lovely little pumpkin after which we sat down at the little farm cafe for a coffee and homemade shortbread as well as picking up some fresh eggs for home. Our favourite part of the farm is the forest walk which eventually leads onto a wild pond filled with beautiful water-lillys. We spent a lot of time at the pond, just sitting and wa......

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Backyard Style Tips for Beginners

Is the onslaught of DIY renovation TV shows making you feel insecure about your backyard? Don't think your yard measures up? The good news is, with some simple styling tips, you'll be on your way to a dream backyard. Read on to get started. Make a List Before designing your backyard, make a concise list of your needs and wants. To create this list, ask yourself what purpose you want and need your backyard to serve. For instance: Do the kids need some space to play? Do you want to grow fruit and vegetables? Would you like to use the space to entertain friends? Once you have defined your objectives, draw some very rough sketches of your outdoor space, in regard to where you would like to place things. Both making lists and sketching the area are great organisation principles in landscape design for beginners. I love this cute DIY planting project - start small ( image ) Start Small Although reality TV renovation shows like to claim anyone can transform an enti......

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A quick and simple Bedside Project

I love the results of my mini bedside table project So we have slowly started to work on the bedroom - we have so many projects on the go but finally got one finished - it was fairly quick and simple and I love the result. Basically took a very unloved pine bedside table and with a little chalk paint brought it up to date with a much fresher look. I also painted the wooden lamp to bring in a bit of colour. I sanded the corners and door knob to give a bit of an aged feel. The great thing about projects like this is that you can have them finished within a few hours and its very cost effective and gives a rather unwanted piece of furniture a new lease of life. Are you working on a little interior project? Would love to hear about it ...

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Holiday sneak peak

So for those who don't follow me on instagram - I have been sharing a few sneaky peaks of our amazing holiday on there. We are finally back home after nearly two weeks away which included two  nights in Paris before heading down to the South of France and our beautiful JamesVillas Villa, exploring the coast, riding the high-speed train across the french countryside and finishing with a fun night and day in London. We celebrated two birthdays, ate good food, swam in the pool and the sea, ate cake and way too much cheese and buttery delights, saw the sights all while running after our little man.  Can't wait to share all of what we got up to with you all. ...

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Top Tips before heading on a Road trip

We love heading off on an adventure - in fact we have just come back from a wonderful holiday in France - can't wait to tell you all about it but first I thought I would put together some top tips when planning a road trip - even though our latest holiday was mainly spent on some lovely high speed trains we did hire a little Fiat while in France for a week and the same rules apply when making sure your mode of transport is safe for you and your family. 1. Always pack a roadmap and have an idea of where you want to go. it's lovely just jumping into a car and following the sunset but some practicalities do need to come into play, especially if your driving in another country. You don't need to spend a lot of money, a decent road map will do and perhaps a copy of local camping sites and hotels so you don't get stuck without somewhere to stay. We would of been totally lost on our road trip to West Wales last month without our map 2. First Aid kit is essential ......

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18 Weeks Pregnant and Nursery inspiration

Mama style - Dress M&S, Jacket Topshop, Shoes Converse, Necklace Tigerlilly Quinn shop Once again time is really flying by - we l left to go on our holiday I was 16 weeks pregnant and now I  have returned at 18 weeks and cannot believe I will soon be at the half way mark. My energy levels have started to pick up and I have started to feel little flutters and movements. The bump has really arrived now although I am still making do with the clothes I have for now such as this soft jersey knit dress I was given for Christmas last year. Lately I have also been opting to relaxed and casual trainers as being on your feet with a 4yr old and pregnant can be hard work. I have started to get a little bit of the nesting feeling creeping in and have started to do mini spring cleans around the house. At some point we are going to have to think about the nursery, which at the moment is our very cluttered box room/office space in the eves. We are going to keep things fairly simple......

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Styling up your new kitchen

I love these bar stools and drop down lampshades ( image ) The kitchen is an expensive room. From the jazzy appliances to the little extra bits and bobs you can’t quite live without, this will always mean the cost ends up skyrocketing. It can also be a tad too clean cut for my liking and can often do with an injection of personality. If you have everything in place in your new kitchen, but there happens to be something missing (that “je nais se quoi”) then what can you do? Go bold! Don’t be afraid to insert even more of an impact. Kitchens often adopt neutral colours and delicate patterns, and there is a reason for it. Dark, dingy kitchens are not going to inspire the culinary goddess within you but this doesn’t mean your kitchen should fade into the background, just becoming another room. Going bold with lettering can be really fun  Why not try something striking for that boring back wall? For something a little different, massive lettering makes a ......

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Street Sunday Style: The Kids Edition

The very stylish Victoria from The Owl and Accordion   Hi, Vicky here! Laura’s off on a little break, so I’m helping to fill in while she’s away – today I’m bringing a good dose of colour and pattern to Side Street Style with my usual Sunday Style post, and this week it’s all about the kids. Autumn is pretty much here already; although the weather is still good in our part of the country (no winter coats coming out of the cupboard just yet!), the leaves are starting to turn and there’s a definite chill in the air in the morning. A new season is a great excuse to grab a few new pieces for the kiddos, and there are some great things about at the moment; I’ve been loving the Donna Wilson for John Lewis range (there were some great sewing accessories and tote bags for adults, but that’s another post!), and Tootsa MacGinty have produced some amazing tops and jumpers which are all completely gender free and happily unisex as usual. We’re all about relaxed, colourful and quirky......

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Etsy Wishlist by TigerLilly Quinn

The lovely Fritha from TigerLillyQuinn Hello! I'm Fritha from Tigerlilly Quinn sharing a little guest post for the lovely Laura whilst she is on her holibobs!  I've done an Etsy wish list. I think mainly because I've had little time to spend over there, but on a rare evening of freedom this week I found myself trawling though yet more beautiful items to add to my 'one day' shopping basket. Rock and roll ey? I though I'd do a travel themed 'wish list' because y'know, holiday! So let's start with: ‘ New Adventure ’ journal I love that this can be used as a note book for your travels or just as a chapter of a new stage of your life! Weekender bag  I love anything with a vintage floral print and this is just perfect! Look at those colours!  New York City print One of the places that is top of my wish list to go to..one day one day and lastly this locket , isn’t it just perfect? To remind you ......

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