Lifestyle and Parenting blog based in Surrey.

Thursday 24 December 2015

Last Minute Christmas Decorations



We live so close to Waitrose that we’ve started calling it the larder, popping in when we realise we need something last minute. This saved me a few months ago when I realised I had completely run out of nappies for baby S…! But this does mean that I potter round most days eyeing up any new arrivals. Over Christmas this has meant that we have got a few new Christmas decorations from their as I picked them one by one on days where my will power was low! 

As I’ve mentioned previously, I do have two christmas trees, and the decorations I’ve chosen from Waitrose have suited my ‘Scandinavian Forest’ theme perfectly. The little wooden squirrel with gold acorn and tail was a steal at only £1 and I just loved the little wooden house, like Grandma’s house in the wood £3. Uncle Ryan bought Sophie the lovely Reindeer (£3) for a first Christmas treat, it has a little bell inside so she loves to hear it jingle. I bought these bark stars from John Lewis, and being Waitrose’s big brother I thought I’d pop them in this post too. They were such a good buy and were only £4.20 for a pack of 8. So if you are popping into Waitrose today, do have a little look at the decorations section, especially as lots of them have been reduced now too...








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Tuesday 22 December 2015

Baby It's Cold Outside



Or not as the case maybe! Having had a super mild winter so far, I am trying to get mentally prepared that January temperatures might be a bit of a shock. My poor little spring baby has been used to being snug without having to get too wrapped up, but I’ve been prepping her wardrobe ready for any cold-snap that might appear.

Hats and mittens will keep her little head and hands cozy, I just love this Alpaca wool hat from Toastie Pig £35 (the I featured in my christmas gift guide) with its fur bobble and these mittens from H&M are a bargain at £2.99 even though I think her thumbs will go in the min hand section!




I love a winter knit (as you may have noticed from my baby christmas jumper post) and this pretty knitted Fair Isle cardigan from Boden £28 - now reduced to £15.60 has 5% cashmere to keep you little one cozy. As will this Pompom jacket from The Little White Company £27.20.



When the mercury really falls, snowsuits are the order of the day and this white fluffy wadded number from Mothercare £32 will fit the bill perfectly. It has detachable mittens and a cute eared hood to keep your little one extra cozy - perfect for our trip to the slopes in the new year!



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Monday 21 December 2015

Emma Bridgewater VQ Radio


If you follow me on Instagram you’ll have seen I do love a bit of Emma Bridgewater. Her Black Toast pottery made up the majority of our wedding list! Her patterns are now being used on all sorts of gorgeous products, I love her stationary ranges and the latest addition is on digital radios. As we have a Sono sound system in our living area, I really wanted a radio for our bedroom. Which, being a much more feminine space really suited the roses print. This beautiful fresh patten is already gearing up for spring. I have set me fave radio stations on the pre-sets but what I love the most is being able to play my music through the bluetooth from my phone, perfect for getting ready to go out, or on a lazy weekend morning! Priced at £79 from View Quest, it is available in the Roses, Black Toast, Polka Dot and Sampler print from Emma Bridgewater and other patterns too. They are also sold at John Lewis too.




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Sunday 20 December 2015

Baby's First Christmas: Gift Guide


I have withered on and on about baby BMB so you can imagine that I am rather excited about the first Christmas with her. No doubt she will be more interested in the wrapping than the actual gifts, but that hasn't dampened my enthusiasm for coming up with a baby's first Christmas gift guide, or stopped my shopping!

Of course a little winter outfit had to go under the tree, how cute is this little penguin dress and leggings?  It will keep her all snug in January and beyond. (£12 Mothercare)




The other clothing item going under the tree is this cute star covered baby grow (£16 JoJo Maman Bebe) the embroided stars are beautiful and the JoJo sleep suits are super soft and really good quality, I loved the ones she had when she was tiny.



To keep her cozy when it does get chillier outside, this super cute fur bobble hat from Toastie Pig will be just perfect - being made out of superfine alpaca it is just so soft (£35 Toastie Pig). The beautiful wrapping and gift box makes it a perfect present to boot. I have a similar grown up one, so we can have matching hats for our boxing day outing.



If you read my blog, you'll know I have a bit if a thing for everything from The White Company. I have only recently discovered they do baby toys as well as there amazing clothes! My fave is this animal stacker (£35 The White Company), all the rings are soft and cuddlerly and either rattle or circle, so are toys in themselves even if staking them doesn't happen!




Both Grandma's couldn't wait for Christmas and made their main pressie purchases early, A stoke high chair came back in September which has been amazing (I'll blog about this another time) and at the end of November over a glass of bubbles my mother in law bought Sophie this beautiful wooden rocking horse from The Little White Company (£95) which will look just gorgeous in her grey and white nursery. I just can't wait to have her playing with him!


Although I don't think anyone needs any help choosing pressies for babies (I find it way too easy shopping for little ones!) I hope this has got you in the festive mood!

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Friday 18 December 2015

Meeting Father Christmas


This year I've been getting super festive, getting the tree up nice and early, going skating at Hampton Court and going to lots of Christmas themed baby groups and parties. However, the one thing that has excited me the most, was organising to take baby Sophie to meet Father Christmas. I know she won't have had a clue about what was going on, or won't remember going, but I just had to take her! Back in September mummy blogging pal Nathalie from This Surrey Mummy was running me through the possible venues and I took up her recommendation of Painshill Park. Luckily Nat is super organised and reminded me through her blog when the online booking system opened and we were in! 

Last weekend was THE magical weekend where we got to meet the big man. Despite being slightly worse for wear from my work Christmas party the night before we all donned out Christmas woolies and headed towards Cobham. 



 I am in love with my Boden Christmas jumper (£79 - now reduced to £55.30), the reindeers around the neck are beautiful and their little red noses stick out slightly too, which adds to the appeal. It's also think enough to be snug, but not ridiculously thick that you're melting as soon as you go indoors. I've had more than one admirable comment on it so far! Sophie was wearing her penguin jumper from mother care (£12-£13) which I wrote about in my baby Christmas jumper post here and I event persuaded Mr BMB to join in and wear his reindeer jumper from fat face too (£45). 


Directed by wooden elves and Santas through the woodland and round the lake we arrived at the crystal grotto, where we were directed into a cabin by an elf and eating until it was our turn. Our elf collected us and took us through http the grotto making Sophie laugh and giggle on the way. The grotto was truly beautiful, full of crystals and lights making it twinkle. The Man In Red was waiting for us and I was so impressed that he was a 'proper' Father Christmas, he totally looked the part. Little S was sat on his knee and I took far too many photographs, although Santa's heater gave out a funny red light that have made the photos all look a bit strange... I loved that it was our moment, we couldn't see or hear anyone else who was waiting it had just been which would have totally changed the experience. 





Tired out S had a nap in her pram whilst Mr BMB and I wondered round the beautiful park making Christmas plans, then we went home and hung our wreath on the front door (last year from M&S). What a lovely festive day!




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Thursday 17 December 2015

OOTD: Iceskating at Hampton Court









London has got some of the most beautiful Christmas ice rinks, outside The Natural History Museum being one of my favourites, however, taking up little ones into town isn't the easiest. So this year, I headed to a venue just as beautiful, but a little closer to home.

My sis and I headed onto the ice at Hampton Court Palace with my niece and nephew whilst grandma and little Sophie watched us from the sidelines. We found our ice-feet after a few minutes and soon I was skating Little George and Evie confidently.

The weather has been ultra mild of late, so my coat was quickly handed over to our photographers whilst I danced on the ice. Jeans do tend to soak up water if you take a tumble, so I opted for my coated and slightly shiny Leigh Toyshop jeans (£45 Topshop). I teamed this with a silk fronted t-shirt (Reiss £40 - similar) and my pale grey Waterfall cardigan from The White Company (currently on sale reduced from £75 to £45) I believe head gear is essential this time on the year, even if it's warm, and I opted for my white faux fur headband (£12.50 M&S - similar). 





After our hour on the ice, we retreated to the cafe for hot chocolates and hotdogs, a well deserved treat after all that skating!!



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Tuesday 15 December 2015

Baby Christmas Jumpers

Christmas Jumpers are now a firm part of the festivities, with  Christmas jumper day being my favourite mufti day in school! Now even the littlest people in the family can join in the party and here are the favourites I've found that have made their way into baby BB's wardrobe.

I fell in love with this classic nordic style Christmas jumper in JoJo Maman Bebe (JoJo Maman Bebe £22) at their Christmas shopping party event, so I picked it up for little S and one for her cousin Evie too. Only on looking at the JoJo catalog have I realised it is from the boy section.... oh well, never mind! I think more unisex anyway. Sophie wore it to my afternoon tea with my girls from school that I styled my Christmas table for (pop over for a peep at that post here).


More of a winter, rather than strictly just a Christmas jumper, (so can be worn well into the new year!) this cute penguin is just too cute. He looks even rounder when worn over a little baby's tummy too. There are sparkly threads in the white wool to make it shimmer and the penguin's tummy is all soft so Sophie (and I) like to stroke it. She wore this to see the big man in red last weekend! (Mothercare £12-13)



Most definitely in the girls department is this Reindeer jumper from The Little White Company (£32 The White Company - In Store only). Again, it has added play value with the pom pom nose. The edging and antlers are a slightly sparkling thread which looks just too pretty - I wish they made it in my size too. My only problem with it is that dribble shows up on the light grey, so maybe it would be a better option for a slightly older child - it is available in girls sizes as well as babies. Sophie has worn it to two Christmas parties already and I'm sure it is going to get plenty more wears over the next 10 days!




This Christmas jumper-dress from Boden (£28-£30 Boden)  is too cute not to feature, with Mr Polar bear and Penguin looking up at the star! With cashmere in the mix, this dress is beautifully soft and snug. Worn to our NCT Christmas lunch and she is wearing it tomorrow for our trip to Hampton court iceskating too, although little S has a date with grandma watching the action! Sophie is on the move and was far too interested in me and the camera rather than posing in the dress for the final picture!!



So which is your favourite?


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Saturday 12 December 2015

Christmas Gift Guide: For Him


I have zero problems shopping for the ladies in my life (as you may have seen for my For Her Gift Guide). There are endless amount of luxurious items that I know they wouldn't be able to justify for themselves but would love to be treated with! But I do struggle shopping for men. I insist on a detailed list from Mr BMB to ensure that I get him something that he'll love. However, along with his main pressie, I want to get him a few surprises so I thought I'd share with you some ideas I've had for him and the other chaps I'm shopping for.

Men do enjoy a bit of luxury in the bathroom so a lovely gift set of some shower gel, moisturiser or body spray will always be welcomed, especially as most the men I buy for wouldn't splash out on these themselves. I like to pick a brand they recognise, so this Reiss Mens S Duo (£15 Boots) is an easy win.

Men's washrags do get a bit trashed from being in the bottom of a sports bag, so a nice new one will smarten them up again. This Hillingdon wash bag from Ted Baker (£24 Boots) which is also filled with some goodies to keep them smelling good too.


A personalised gift does make them the feel special, and these leather luggage tags from Aspinal are smart and sophisticated to boot. Aspinal Black Saffiano set of two luggage tags £35 and an extra £15 for personalisation.


Feeling brave? Christmas and birthdays are an ideal time to update their wardrobe with items that your approve of too. Jumpers, coats and accessories make the perfect gift. This quilted jacket from Boden (£110) is a perfect gift for the traditional english gent and the red zip gives it some fashion credentials as well.



Cheap and cheerful christmas jumpers are the type you buy yourself, but a proper wool knit is so much nicer. Why not treat your chap to a festive wooly that he will wear for years to come. I love this Novelty Running Stag Crew Jumper £45 from fat face, this one has sold out online, but is still available in stores.


As well as updating their wardrobe, Christmas is a great time to give their undies draw a make over, so treat them to some new ones and then you can mysteriously 'lose some in the wash' that have seen better days. This Chetwood Boxers Set from Jack Wills at £25 will do the job nicely, and there are lots of other colours and pattens to choose from.


So I hope this has given a little inspiration for the harder people to buy for this year!
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