It's that time of the week again for Street Style Sunday and I hope some of you can come and join in. I thought since John recently purchased this jacket it was time to do a little mens outfit post as he actually has a larger wardrobe than I do (which will be immediately rectified when we move later this year). He wore this outfit earlier in the week when we managed to get away for 2 hours and enjoy and amazing afternoon tea (post to come).
Eastland shoes, Edwin Jeans, Ralph Lauren shirt, Beams jacket
So this week John is wearing a Beams jacket, Ralph Lauren Shirt, Edwin jeans and Eastland shoes. I have also picked up a few new things that past week and starting to get around to updating my wardrobe for summer so lots more outfit posts on the way.
Come and share what you have been wearing this week or what has been inspiring you
It finally feels like winter has truly moved on and we are almost touching on summer and to be completely honest our garden is looking a little sorry for itself and really needs an injection of design, so I thought it was time to put together a little mood board and wish list...
I especially love the watering can - never thought a watering can could be so chic. This time of the year is always exciting as we start to get back into gardening and making it a special place we want to spend time in. Do you have any plans to change or update your outside space?
As some of you may already know the wonderful and educational animation Puffin Rock has arrived in the UK, showing on Nick Jr at 6:50pm every evening and is aimed at 2-5yr olds with its soft and gentle storylines that follow Oona and her adventures exploring the small Irish island she lives on. It's great for the bedtime hour and Mr A loves it as it provides such feel good wholesome viewing.
The lovely people over at Penguin books who helped co-produce Puffin Rock have been kind enough to offer one of our readers the chance to win this limited edition Puffin Rock print signed by the illustrator and comes with a certificate of authentication it's super easy to enter
If you follow us on instagram you might already know we recently jumped on board a First Great Western from Cardiff on a family city break adventure to the historical city of Bath. We love a good train trip and its easy to forget how accessible Bath and Bristol is from Cardiff and it was really refreshing not taking the car and instead enjoy watching the countryside fly by from the comfort of a table seat. We have been to Bath a few times but mainly day trips so we had a few things planned, including visiting the Roman Baths, museums and taking a boat trip on the river Avon.
We arrived just after lunchtime and once we found our hotel the Premier Inn Bath City Centre which was walkable from the train station we headed out to explore, first stop however was a cup of coffee and some homemade pastries from Society Cafe, a lovely independent coffee shop and the perfect way to start our holiday. Once we had filled up we made our way over to The Roman Baths, Mr A was particularly excited to see what it was all about and I cannot recommend this place more, it's totally worth the money and it was both inspiring and educational to walk around the Roman Bath ruins and think back to how luxurious it must of been.
Mr A taking the Roman Baths in.
We spent a few good hours there and I never realised how big it was and how much of it you can explore, with the ancient changing rooms, indoor baths, mosaic floor and being able to taste the water at the end we all found it very fascinating. As the evening was still young we decided to have a lovely stroll along the river Avon taking in the sights of the beautiful Abbey before heading back to the hotel for some much needed super. We decided to let Mr A pick where we ate on the first night and whenever we travel he tends to be a bit of a homebody for the hotel and wanted to eat at Thyme restaurant where I enjoyed a lovely leek & potato soup while they boys had veggie packed pizzas - I mean were on holiday after all.
With full tummies we headed up to our family room which was really comfortable and spacious, we settling down and had a pretty early night as we had a lot planned for day two, including a little trip down to Bathgate on a boat which I cannot wait to share with you in our next instalment of Being A Great Westerner.
Thanks to First Great Western for inviting us to explore Bath
It's that time of the week again, Monday morning! I know most don't like the thought of another working week but I actually try and approach Mondays with as much enthusiasm and optimism as possible and it's also a day I try and discover and share creativity and inspiration and thought this week I would start with some fun Kids furniture and interiors because I mean how can a Shark chair not make you happy? In fact I would have this in my living room if I could, it's just so striking and every now and then we all need an injection of fun into our lives. I put together this little mood board and wish list of a few key pieces to bring a bit of colour into our child's bedroom and I hope you all have a fantastic Monday!
Its that time of the year when we are on the brink of summer and we putting together our adventure list of things we want to see and do, summer festivals, city breaks, outdoor adventures and needing stylish but suitable summer clothing, which is why I love this waterproof nautical lines jacket from Trespass and its perfect for my busy lifestyle but still fun and well designed.
As you may already know I have a soft spot for Breton stripes and anchor prints so I have paired this jacket up with one of my go-top tops from Boden as well as skinny jeans from Wallis and a pair of UK made Cheeky shoes.
I also wanted to say a huge thank-you to everyone who vote for Side Street Style in the BIBS Awards and I am very happy to announce we are now finalists for the Style Category and looking to see some of you at Britmums this year.
Why not share your style and join in with Street Style Sunday linkup - anything fashion related goes
If you follow the blog you probably already know we are huge fans of the outdoors, in fact it's our happy place, pond dipping, looking for bugs, learning the names of trees and plants and basically running around and having fun. We limit screen time during the day to allow for a more natural start and so we don't get sidetracked, once we come home and I need to start cooking supper thats when Mr A gets to have some down time and a few selected gentle shows such as the recently launched Puffin Rock, in fact I did a post about it last week and it fits our outdoor loving ethos perfectly as it's about a Puffin Oona and her brother Otto who love discovering everything about the island they live on and encourages children to go out and do that same.
So this week we have had a few mini adventures including a forest walk up the mountain and a wonderful stroll around Roath Park which is such an interesting place this time of the year with some many flowers in bloom, Swans nesting and Dandelions to blow. It's also a big enough space to spend a few good hours there and we took a picnic along with us which we enjoyed on the grass. There are also some great trees to climb, they are a bit lower making them perfect for Mr A to get onto. We managed to find a few leaves and pinecones to add to our nature table at home.
We support anything that makes exploring the outdoors fun and exciting to young children as it's something that as a family we believe is not only good for your physical wellbeing but also your mental one. Saying that we do also practise moderation in our house which extends to screen-time, food, education etc and as long as we have had a productive day Mr A can enjoy some cartoons , animal documentaries or fun apps in the afternoon and we really love the soft nature of Puffin Rock especially as I know it won't be long before Mr A wants to move onto other more "grown-up" shows.
Check out the cute trailer above and you can also print out this fun colouring sheet for your little people to enjoy getting creative with.
As much as we love cultural city breaks we also enjoy a more slower paced holiday and one that preferably involves sunshine and swimming pools so this year we are planning a trip to Spain and the South of France, with our eye on the area in and around San Sebastian and Urrugne which has a stunning coastline famed for it's world class surfing and blissful dry summer season.
The last time I was in Spain was for a week in Barcelona and wow what a colourful and creative city but this time we have decided to explore somewhere new and I must admit that even though San Sebastian is a city we do plan to stay a bit further out and enjoy relaxing as a family and taking it easy as well as hoping over the boarder and exploring the more rural villages of the South of France. One of the reasons we have picked this part of Spain and France is because we can take an overnight Ferry from either Plymouth or Portsmouth down to Bilbao which for one will be a really interesting way to travel and a new experience for the kids and also allows us to take the car which means we can explore more of the rural areas as well as giving us more choice with regards to our accommodation as we won't have to reply on public transport so we can easily stay outside of the city centre.
Some of you may know that we spent a week in the South of France last year, where we stayed in a hillside Villa in Valbonne, around 25 minutes from Cannes. We had so much fun and really enjoyed the freedom of self catering that we plan to do the same this time, although with places like that you do need a car and I actually really enjoyed driving around the French Rivera even if it was on the other side of the road.
So why choose self catering? For us when we are away for more than 3 nights we always opt for self catering, for one it's much cheaper to eat in and it also gives us flexibility with regards to what time we decided to eat and with two young children it's a far less stressful choice than carting them to a restaurant each night only to have them turn their nose up at the expensive meal you just purchased them.
We have been looking at a variety of places to stay and are really impressed with what Olivers Travels has to offer with it's world class Villas in Spain as well as the rest of Europe and whats better is they even have a whole section all about family friendly Villas and holidays. I also really like the home away from home aspect about staying in this type of accommodation and I think that provides quite a comforting feeling for young children who can be prone to experiencing moments of homesickness. You could also opt for getting back to nature but with the hoe comforts with a luxury glamping trip in France.
All we need to do now is decided when we want to go, either before or after the summer holidays to avoid the rush as well as the hight of the summer heat as we found late September the perfect time last year when we were in France as it was in the mid-twenties each day without being to overwhelming for our 4yr old. We are really excited for the kids to experience some Spanish culture well as return to France this year and are already taking steps to learn some basic phrases to help us enjoy the most this beautiful country has to offer and cannot wait to share this adventure with you. I have also put together a simple summer style mood board
As the weather has slowly started to warm up with blue skies scattered between cloudy ones we have started to spend more time outdoors on countryside walks as well as in our own garden which has been taken over by weeds and is in need of some TLC, something Mr A and I love to do together although this year we are running behind on our vegetable patch but hopefully a few more sunny days and we will be well on our way.
I really love bring nature into the home, especially when it's flowers and produce that has been grown on our own garden. It's made me think about a few bits and bobs I want to pick up, perhaps a flower press, some new gardening tools, a beautiful woven basket to collect flowers in or a vitnage watering can to display them in.
Either way I love all the inspiration that the outdoors can give you and I am really looking forward to pottering round in the garden this summer and hopefully having a fruitful year in terms of produce like we did last season. Here is to Summer
I am really happy that the trainer trend and sporty style seems to be sticking around for a while as it's not both stylish but also very comfortable and perfect for when your spending a whole day running around a city centre or city park. The great thing about sportswear is that in generally they are very well made and robust which means they can last season after season and you can also mix and match trainers with more formal dress which was seen at London Fashion Week this year as well as popping up a lot in Street Style.
The thing about sportswear is that is doesn't come cheap, although like I said as long as you go for better brands they should last a couple of seasons, although saying that there are still bargains to be found and I have recently come across a site called Stylzz which allows you to search hundreds of brands and then does a online price comparison and finds the best deal for that particular garment, which means possible savings up to 70% - win! I cam across this layered summer dress I have my eye on from Adidas.
I always find spring and summer the perfect time to update your fashion wardrobe and bring in some new styles and colour and the main thing to remember is always to have fun and wear what makes you feel good and what you are comfortable in. I don't know about you but I am really excited about spending time on the beach, in the sunshine in loose dresses and tops and enjoying the warmer season. I am also hoping to be more active this summer, especially after having the baby and wanting to get my fitness levels back up and purchasing some nice new trainers such as the Adidas boost's below or sports design dresses and tops may also inspire me to get moving, well thats the plan anyway.
So what makes your home a happy place? A long hot bath and a good book, time spent in the garden, the sound of children laughing, fresh flowers in the hallway? Well those are a few things that brings happiness into my home and making our home a happy and positive place has never been as important as since we have had children as we want them to have fond memories even if we are planning to move again.
The one thing I do have love having in the home is fresh flowers, preferably wild ones we have picked up from a countryside walk and have been thinking I really need to get some better vases for them so put together a little mood board
I love all these simple vases especially the painted mason jars
Legal and General have also put together a little survey to basically find out what if your happiest room in the house and what gets on your nerves to get a better overall of what makes you smile when it comes to your own home. The survey should only take 30 seconds and one of my readers will win £200 for filling it out! The survey will close on the 15th June 2015 and is open to UK Residents
Last weekend we jumped on a First Great Western from Cardiff and headed off to Bath for two wonderful nights - it's always lovely to get away and we do love a good staycation and Bath is the perfect city for that. I cannot wait to share all that we got up to but for now here are four taster shots as we enjoyed wonderful food by the riverside, exploring the Roman baths, finding pretty mosaic floors and those punting boats - perfection
So I cannot believe how quickly time has passed and that the little man is already 12 weeks old, growing and gaining weight very well and with lots of smiles and giggles along the way. Having breastfed Mr A until he was 2.5yrs old it was one of those things I was excited to do again as well as apprehensive on how my experience would be the second time round, as they say every baby is different.
Right from the start this time around was a much more calmer and relaxed birth which meant unlike with Mr A, baby G was placed directly onto me for immediate skin to skin, then after all the routine checks when I was being wheeled out of the operating theatre he latched on straight away and since then I have been feeding him on demand.
I do think that having all the experience of breast-feeding my first has helped in making me feel more confident and less stressed the second time around as well as knowing what to expect as all these changes in your body can come at quite a shock. I have also realised how much Mr A's tongue affected him, the way he fed, the amount of weight he put on and explains why by this point we had already had a few ups and downs but with Baby G it's been pretty much problem free since the start, something I am very grateful for.
The one thing with breastfeeding that can make some people become a little unstuck is the fact that it's a full-time commitment, which of course any aspect of parenting is but suddenly you have a newborn or young baby who is totally reliant on you for what it needs and nobody else, which is an incredible feeling especially when you see them thrive. The great thing about this modern world we live in is the easy access to decent breast pumps, something that was a real lifeline to me the first time round as I was still attending Uni two days a week but didn't want to use a breastmilk substitute so expressing became a daily occurrence.
Even though I am no longer at University I am still pretty busy and having some expressed milk stock up int he fridge does allow for some flexibility so I was over the moon to be asked to become a Medela Mum and try out their two pumps - The Electric Medela Swing and the manual Medela Harmony, both of which I have put to the test and have been equally impressed with.
The Swing is a powerful and cost efficient electric pump, which is simple and straight forward to use and is without a doubt the best pump I have ever used and really wish I had had this one the first time round. It has a let down setting to start off with and then different degrees of strength.
The Harmony is a manual pump and therefore requires no electric outlet and is perfect for those on the move or to take with you while travelling or on holiday. It makes no noise although does of course require more work on your side and I found takes longer than the Swing but when we go away later this year I will be packing this for sure. It's also easy to dissemble and clean.
Medela also gave me the chance to discuss any worries or concerns I had with a lactation specialist in the run up to having Baby G, one of my questions was related to when it is a good time to start expressing as it's important to establish breastfeeding first.. this is what I asked
Question - "I didn't start expressing last time until I was around 6 weeks post-birth. I was told expressing too soon would increase milk production but knowing I will be breastfeeding my next child as long as I did the first (2yrs) does it matter if I express a little from the start to ease comfort and to build a small supply should I ever need it?"
Answer - It is advisable to wait 3-4 weeks before you start to express to build up a store as your body is adjusting to the feeding demands that your baby needs to maintain a supply. If you are full and engorged yes you can express earlier but be cautious as the more you empty the breast the more milk you make and it’s the early few weeks that lay down the blueprint for milk production and storage capacity. Once baby has had their 3 week growth spurt and you feel more confident with feeding you can start to build a supply with occasional expressing to support your breastfeeding.
As, quite possibly, your biggest asset, investing in your home is usually a smart move. So freshen up your living space and add value to your property.
Change things up by installing wood flooring and give your home a classic and expensive. Then simply reap the benefits wood flooring will bring to your home if you ever want to sell. It will be well worth it!
What type?
There are so many wood flooring options available it’s hard to know where to start. Choose either solid wood or try engineered wood flooring, which is composed of two or more layers of wood to form a plank.
Some practical concerns to think of first would be issues such as humidity levels and the condition of your subfloor. This is because solid wood is likely to expand and contract as humidity or temperature levels change. So if your home experiences humidity changes or you have underfloor heating fitted, then engineered wood flooring could be a better choice for you.
What style?
Light or dark wood, modern or traditional? What’s your home’s style? Darker woods, such as a rich mahogany or walnut look great in larger rooms and add luxury and warmth. So give your room a little TLC.
Small rooms can look bright and fresh too. Lighter wood such as oak or ash can achieve this. Use lighter shades as an excellent contrast to a bolder wall colour.
Existing wood
If you already have wood flooring, then you’ll know how great it can be when it’s looking its best. Revitalizing wooden floors can make a huge different and have a massive impact on your home. Both solid wood and engineered wood floors can withstand being sanded a number of times then after sanding you can recoat the wood. This allows you to rejuvenate your existing floor while also saving you money.
Wooden floors can cause problems though, whether this is noise levels or moisture issues. Underlay is the answer to this. Underlay is fitted beneath your flooring and provides many benefits from protection to comfort. It’s definitely worth investing in.
A good quality underlay provides a solid base on which to lay your new flooring. It can level out uneven surfaces providing a smooth subfloor for floor covering, protect your room against rising moisture and can really help you reduce noise levels. Basically it’s an added extra for your house that enhances your wooden flooring and creates a home that is cosy, comfortable and practical.
Revitalise your wooden flooring and keep your flooring looking its best. Use our tips to get your home looking revamped and rejuvenated with great wooden flooring and feeling cosy and comfortable with great underlay to match.
It's been a bit of a long week, both the Baby and I came down with colds so Mr A has been kind enough to step in for Street Style Sunday this weekend as believe me when I say I have not been looking my best of late but I have a few new purchases I cannot wait to share with you soon.
I thought it was also the perfect time to showcase Mr A's new custom hand crafted bag by creative mama Helen from Jack Be Nimble which is super cute and very well made and I love the retro polka dot print. He has paired it up with a green Cos hoodie, Ralph Lauren shorts and Kicker boots.
I really hope you can come and join in with Street Style Sunday and share the family fashionable love. Like I said I will be sharing some of my own outfits next week, once I look like a normal person again as the cold seems to be coming to an end *yay*
Oh Sunday mornings you are my favourite, even when I don't get the chance to lie in you make me dream of long lazy mornings, white sheets and the natural morning light coming through the windows. Going downstairs to homemade pancakes and a good cup of coffee...you will forever be my favourite day.
If you like me love the simple things in life come and following my simple pleasures board on Pinterest
