Give Your Home a Makeover this Spring

As the winter months come to a close, spring is just around the corner. It's time to think about refreshing your home and breathing new life into your living space. You'll begin with a thorough cleaning, clearing out the dust, shampooing your rugs, and scrubbing the entire place from top to bottom. It's also the ideal time to give your home a facelift. With some simple changes, you can really liven up your haven. Shake Things Up As you're running through your home, tidying up, consider ways that you can experiment with your furniture arrangements. Bring down that treasured piece from the attic and pack others away. Consider buying that wicker patio furniture you've been eying. Trade your furnishing from one room for another. They say that change is good. See what it can do to revitalize your home. Change Your Color Scheme If you're tired of looking at the same colors on your walls, give your interior a paint job. You can go with bold cont......

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Premier Inn Tenby - A mini review

Last month, just before Mr G arrived into the world we had one last mini jaunt as just the three of us and decided to have a night in Tenby in West Wales. We have been on day trips to this pretty seaside town many times and have stayed family close but never actually in Tenby as a lot of the hotels are somewhat outdated or the B&B's not that family friendly and when we are not camping it's nice to have somewhere you can drop in and know what your getting so it was nice to see a new Premier Inn has opened up as I think this popular summer destination really needed something like this - as much as we love boutique and independent hotels. Location - right in the heart of Tenby, 1 minute away from Restaurants, cafes and the coast. It also has it's own parking attached to the hotel which is really convenient especially since we were travelling by car. Rooms  - we had a large and spacious family room which was spotlessly clean and had everything we needed including......

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Alternative easter gift guide

How cute are these hand painted candle eggs £4.50 Easter doesn't have to be all about kiddies chocolate and sticky fingers, why not make it your own and as well as treating your family why not treat yourself to some Easter fun. Whether it be something cute for the home like the hand painted candles above or a nice little necklace or some wine to go with your Sunday roast, there are lots of alternatives to hollow eggs and even if you do want a spot of chocolate you could opt for something a bit more refined like some delicious Belgian  praline truffles. Here is a little Easter gift guide with a difference Easter treats by laura-sidestreet featuring a crate and barrel dinnerware 1. Guylian Belgian Chocolate Easter gift box 2. Easter Rabbit interior decoration - Joss and Main 3. Lindemans Wine 4. Happy Easter Chalkboard £31 from Etsy 5. Crate and Barrel hand painted egg £3.50 ...

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Monday Interiors with Zespoke Giveaway

I love this retro table from Zespoke I don't know about you but I love furniture that is functional, practical, stylish and best of all customisable - which is what Zespoke offer with their retro styled coffee tables, side tables and TV stands. I love these sixties inspired tables and how easy it is to customise them, with any colours and finishes you want, plus they also do some fun prints such at the Union Jack and London Underground. The tables are handcrafted by skilled craftsmen right here in the UK, each to the customers needs and are very high quality and would certainly add a dimension of individuality to your room. They also take care to be as environmentally friendly as possible by using the best materials and producing minimal waste in the process. I love the range of choices and colour and pattern combinations making each chair very unique. Best of all the lovely people at Zespoke have kindly offered one of our readers the chance to win a vouche......

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Street Style Sunday - Spring Throwback

Casual style in the spring sun It's that time of the week again - Street Style Sunday - I was really excited about this week as I have a lovely new outfit that I am eager to share with you all but the last two days have been spent under the covers as I have a cold and believe me I don't like good at all at the moment, in fact I look pretty awful, so I thought I would have a little throwback to what we were wearing this time last year. Going Monochrome with a Vero Moda shirt, Max Studio trousers, HM shoes, Paul Costello bag Spring is a bit of strange but exciting time of the year, one day you could wearing a big coat while the cold wind whistles through the air and then next day you could be in light shirt enjoying those first blissful moments of warmth from the spring sunshine. Joules dress perfect for spring paired with a Radley bag I also cannot believe how much Mr A has grown, he looks so young in these photos from spring last year and it just seems ......

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Preparation Can Save Travellers Time and Money

We use our two together train card and always travel off-peak for the best prices Travelling is a hobby that strikes people of all ages. Experiencing the culture and imagination of any city or location can inspire even the most wide-eyed of tourists. However, travelling can be expensive and travelling abroad can get out of hand quickly. Hotels, airfares, rental cars, and sightseeing expenses can quickly tap the budget of any traveller. Finding cheap hotels in London is completely possible by using the right mix of travel dates, location, and public transportation. We are always flexible with dates and travel to London/Brussels at a quiet time of the year Travel Dates One of the best keep secrets in the travel world is that dates and times of the year matter. Researching the destination and getting online quotes for a number of dates can reveal some pretty steep discounts during slow times. Since London is pretty much busy all year, it can be tough to shave a few bu......

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Mr McGregors Garden Salad

Easter is a really special time for us, it's one of those kind of holidays that brings back a lot of happy memories and simple pleasures. We are not talking about mindlessly buying loads of chocolate but rather all the little things that go with the coming of spring. Making crafts, spending time as a family, lovely breakfasts, good food and reading books together. So I was over the moon when I was invited to take part in the Happy Feaster Blog Tour by Ladybird Books and The Happy Foodie. We have been asked to take storytelling from the page to the kitchen by creating a Spring recipe inspired by our favourite Tales of Peter Rabbit! I've decided to create Mr McGregors colourful Garden salad with my little bunnies. It's super easy and healthy to boot. It's super simple and a dish we hope to have a lot in summer from produce in our little vegetable patch.  You can make this salad as big or small as you want - I did two largish portions for John and I and it ......

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Simple things to help create a stylish home office

Even if you don't work from home many of us have some kind of office space, wether it be for sorting out the accounts, a place to store your bills and paper work or where you run your business from I find not only keeping it fairly clutter free helps but also having one or two inspiring things that brings in some colour and keeps the creative juices flowing can go a long way in helping to create a happy home office environment. You don't need to spend loads to improve your home office space...just a few simple things could help. Flowers and pot plants add instant colour to an office space ( image ) Pot Plants Indoor plants have been proven to improve the health and happiness of anyone who comes into regular contact with them. A pot plant on top of a desk perks up a work space no end and provides that bit extra oxygen provides a much-needed combatant against fatigue. You do however need to care for it a bit, nothing looks more sad than a neglected plant......

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Instalife

I thought it was about time I did a little instagram roundup of what we have been getting up to the past few weeks. Since having the baby and my time recovering we have been trying to take things slow and enjoy all the simple pleasures such as the changes of the season, good food and min family adventures. 1. Indulging in some Easter egg crafting 2. The two boys having fun 3. Treated myself to "The Art of Eating Well" by Hemsley Hemsley 4. Daffodils always mean spring to me...I love having flowers in the home 5. My favourite breakfast smoothie - Banana and Oat 6. Cherry blossoms in Roath Park 7. Brotherly love 8. Homemade veggie soup for the soul 9. This little guy is growing fast ...

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Gift Ideas for Aspiring Artists and Art lovers

Bring Art into the home and creativity into your heart ( image ) If you know someone who is into drawing, painting, sculpting or any other art form chances are you want to encourage their hobby. If they have a birthday coming up, other special occasion or you simply want to show your support try getting them one of the following gifts to really encourage them. A lot of the following products are available on Artifolk .  Guidance DVDs There are lots of instructional DVDs for all kinds of art forms out there. This is a great way to teach the basics and also develop different techniques. But if you think your friend is already too proficient in their art form to benefit you might want to gift them a DVD which offers instructions on a discipline they haven’t had much practice in. Inspirational Books As well as instructional books, you can also get books all about the lives and works of famous artists which will offer inspiration. It’s a good idea to buy a book on a cont......

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Mini Spring Adventures

So since having baby G we have slowly been getting back out there as like some of you may already know we don't like to stay still for long and with spring arriving we have tried to make the most of every dry day with some kind of mini adventure wether it be at the park down the road, planting seeds in our back garden  or a picnic further afield, we have been enjoying the spring sunshine and while I am still recovering from the c-seeciton my Cosatto Giggle Stroller has been a god-send on these adventures with the little man being tucked up nice and cosy. My mother, Mr A, baby G and I enjoyed a lovely picnic in oath park with some yummy fresh food, hummus, pittas to dip and what not after which we enjoyed a little walk around the greenhouse followed by feeding the swans some bird seeds. It's these simple pleasures that we really love and enjoy the most and seeing all the flower buds starting to pop up is very exciting, can't wait for all the outdoor ......

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Build a Suit Wardrobe with These Amazing Style Tips

How amazing is this men's wardrobe, so better than mine ( image ) Let me guess… Your other half want to build a suit wardrobe but doesn't know where to begin. Of course, there is a ton of information available online about how you should dress and what to buy but it’s often confusing and overwhelming than helping you to decode men’s styling. In short, it sucks, doesn’t it? But you’re not alone. There are terrible fashion faux pas that many men make, including both mortals and celebrities. When it comes to building a suit wardrobe, you need to be strategic and plan it out. Now, a quality suit is expensive and you will need more than one in your wardrobe. And this can burn a hole in your pocket. To resolve this dilemma it is crucial to decide which suits to buy first. In this post we are going to rank suit colors, starting with the most useful and versatile so that you can prioritize as per your budget to build a functional suit wardrobe. In vesting in quality me......

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Monday inspired living

Hello Monday ( image ) Goodbye weekend and Hello Monday....this week I wanted to share some happy thoughts and interiors to start off the week in a happy and positive way. I am feeling full of wanderlust at the moment but in the same breath have been enjoying some homely time, enjoying the simple pleasures, cuddles with the boys in the morning and making some yummy pancakes this morning. What is so wonderful at the moment is the change of the season, from winter into spring and the beautiful light that is now starting to flood in through the windows each morning. Here is to a great Monday and hopefully an inspiring and creative week How stunning is this bedroom ( image ) A quote to live by ( image ) ...

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Street Style Sunday - Kids Edition

Mr A wears Paul Smith tee, Ralph Lauren shirt, M&S trousers and Vans shoes So it's that time of the week again for a little fashion inspiration and I thought it was the perfect moment to share a new love with you...the wonderful online kids store from France - Melijoe.com  which stocks some amazing clothes. Having two boys I sometimes feel limited when it comes to cute, quirky and stylish clothing as a lot of highstreet stores seem more geared towards girls but the great thing about Melijoe.com is that it has a great selection of both girls, boys and baby clothes and Mr A simply loves his Lion Paul Smith tee paired up with a Ralph Lauren shirt. Like I mentioned they also do baby clothes and have some seriously cute outfits. We are looking forward to summer and sitting outside in the sun and I love this stripped Ralph Lauren vest for Mr G, who is going to be a whole 4 weeks in the next 2 days (time is seriously flying by). Would love you to come and join in......

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