Been Busy!

I've been so so so busy this week! But I promise that I will be back on form this week!

• I've been busy - Creating christmas jars, cakes and a Santa outfit for my son's school fayre
• Busy buying loads of Orla Kiely things, to store up for when we move house in the next year or so (because My son is disabled we need a house with a lift in it - which is going to be like looking for a needle in a haystack!) 
• I've been busy preparing for Christmas... have you? 
• And busy looking after my boys , baby boy has a chesty cough, which is no fun, and bigger baby boy has had a chest infection. 
• We've had builders in our home ALL week ( which they told me would take TWO days, and now they say it'll be finished next Tuesday they hope! )I don't mind though, they are amusing!
• AND I am especially excited about receiving a portrait of me and our baby boy from Natalie Smith  who is my favourite illustrator right now!
  
  

70% off Orla Kiely!

At Achica

Dick Bruna's Caleb's Ride on Noah's Ark.

What a wonderful (big) book!

Not the 'traditional' version of Noah's Ark most of us know, Dick Bruna has written a lovely story for children based on the original story of Noah's Ark.

The book is more of a A4 size, and has really lovely big illustrations in it!

Avaliable from Amazon for as little as £1.69 used.

Christmas Fabric

I've had a few emails since I featured the IKEA christmas Fabric, and people were asking me where they could get nice, inexpensive christmas fabric.

Well, I looked through my bookmarks on my Mac and thought, " yes, Fabric Rehab!"

Check the bundles out, they are amazing! If I get one of them I am going to make stockings for my boys! Lovely fabric which is timeless. Inkeeping with alot of your Scandinavian style too, from what you mentioned in your emails!

There you go, ENJOY and post a link in the comments to anything you make!

I love nurseries.

I love baby nurseries! This week I had a few emails asking for my advice on picking up cheap stylish baby items for the home, and more luxurious ones.

I love all things baby, but, for me the nursery is so special. When I was pregnant with our baby boy who is now 7 months old I had severe Hyperemeisis , which meant I was in hospital for most of my pregnancy! 27 admissions..... no fun I can tell you! So when I was at my lowest I would lay there, all IV'd up, imagining what kind of nursery we'd make once I was better...

I love the idea of creating a special place for your baby to come home to, even though they actually sleep in Moma's room for the first, 6, 12, 18 months? Who knows? 

I loved the idea of getting a really cool, chic cot for the new baby, even though we had his big brothers IKEA cot safely stored away.

We ended up using the hand-me-down IKEA cot as It's sentimental to me, when I sit and think teary eyed about my first born standing in his cot for the first time, or shoving his hands in the air wanting me to pick him up fuzzy haired from a restful (or unrestful) night. 

Babyboy didn't like a cot or crib though, OH NO! He likes co-sleeping in Mama & Papa's bed! (Safely may I add)

So here it is, my wish list of nurseries:

1) Bloom Baby Alma Folding cot, available at Amazon
2) Dwell Studio Blanket, avaliable at Lula Sapphire
3) Whale Print Limited Ed' from Mengsel
4) fermLiving cushion available at Heal's
5) Eames Rocker from Conran Shop
6) Orla Kiely Sofa from OrlaKiely

Cot, Sofa, Chair from IKEA
Cushion from AliceApple
Print from InkJet Pop Up shop

Baby, it's cold outside .... ( and Inside!)

I love winter, but I do not like a baby who feels the cold and ends up with cold toes. ( Insert sad face here)

So, why not treat your little one to some wintery goodness? I especially need the quilt and the Gingerbread cloth nappy. (We only use cloth in our house. It's lovely for the planet and means I get to introduce even more colour into our son's wardrobe, if you've not ever used cloth it's never to late. )

1) Ferm Living Quilt
2 & 3) Tots Bots Gingerbread and Robin Print Cloth Nappies
4) Santa PJ's by John Lewis
5) Baby Sleeping Bag from Olive and Moss

starting to sound like The Smiths

I don't know if you find this problem reoccurring in your life, but.... since I became a Mother I can NEVER find more than 2 outfits a season what I would, a) like enough to buy, or b) look good in. 

( I know that 'b' won't last forever , but right now it's there poking me in the face each time I try and look for things)

I also have the issue right now of 'nursing clothes' as my son is only 7 months old.

However, when it comes to children's clothing, or things for the home I find so many it's hard to choose between them.

Above from Loveit Love it Love it.
Do you have any stores you can recommend? Where do you shop for clothing for yourself? (  I imagine you're all going to come back and tell me that you make all your clothes or you get them from Charity shops, where everyone but me seems to get amazing things. ( Yes I'm talking to you Miss Lester! )

So, share any stores where I can get some bits from. I seem to live in 3 different capsule outfits.

Also I thought I'd share.

70% and 50% off Orla Kiely Bedlinen

Christmas Vintage Gift Wrap Ideas.

 

1, 2 & 3 - Orla Kiely Gift Wrap avaliable at John Lewis

4 - It's a decoration, but I'd use it as a Gift Tag/ gift wrap decoration. From Etsy
5- Child's gift bag - At Paperchase

6- Vintage Inspired Christmas Stocking From Jane Foster

7 - Scandinavian Gift Wrap from Ikea

I'm back Folks!

Sorry for my AWOL behaviour ! I've been doing emergency home repairs . To balance it out ( the boring stuff I mean) I bought new Orla kiely bed linen for the bedrooms !

Colourful Christmas

Alice Apple shop here

Paperchase shop online here

Habitat shop online here

Ahem... beards annomous anyone?

I saw this on Molly Makes today. I'm so going to make one!!! I think i shall had a chartreuse green one! Like the green shaggy HAMPEN rug from IKEA....

I don't know what it is about beards? I could never date a man who didn't have one though ....  also like mustaches too.

innocent - the big knit

I love Innocent drinks . 

(Just incase you don't believe me, that's a photo of part of our humungous American fridge freezer which has a impressive 120 Innocent magnets on it, )
Even their packaging makes me smile and feel happy (most days) , our fridge is always full of their smoothies & juice as it's healthy and good for us, and this time of year I love them even more because....

People volunteer and knit hats for their bottles in aid of Age Uk, which is a FAB charity helping to keep the old folk of Great Britain warm over the winter. ( And just between you and me, we've been forcast a AWFUL winter this year. ) How colouful & creative! I love them

Do you have fifteen minutes to spare, umm I mean waste?

I love a store called Hema, which is like IKEA but more colourful and doesn't do much furniture.

Even though I've never been there in real life, sometimes if I need inspiration, or I'm just bored ( which i never have time for these days I've just realised as I'm typing this... is that a good thing? - I think so! ) I venture onto Hema - ( click to see their award winning animated home page! )

Click here if you want to view their products... they are oh so colourful,

They don't ship to the UK, so it's pointless that I go online to look at it... and I can't even understand the language so I randomly guess what the words mean.. I would LOVE it if Hema started doing international shipping....

It's so colourful, and inexpensive from what I see, in England if you were to find things like this in a shop they'd rip you off like nobody's business!

(Those cakes above look immense! )

Do you have any guilty pleasures aka  websites that you just can't help your self going onto, even if it frustrates you that they don't ship to the UK or where ever you live? Mr Green has promised me that in the near future we will go to Amsterdam so i can visit Hema & the Miffy Huis.

I wonder if I could fit this children's play supermarket trolley into my suitcase if we go? It's only 15,00Euro! Which is about £12.90.

Creative Weddings....

Are you married?

My partner recently asked me to look for engagement rings... I find this so hard, as I am not a jewellery person , I *think* i've found a ring I like, he's not asked yet of course but he wants to 'know' apparently.

I then lay awake, thinking what our 'big day' would be like.  I love weddings- I'm that girl you see staring through the window of the bridal shop, or looking  through the Bridal magazine pretending to be casualling flicking away but really I'm looking for dresses I would wear.

It will be so so hard one day when we eventually do get round to planning our own wedding.... I never got it when people say, "Oh it's the brides day really, the groom just wants to drink!" , well they never obviously met the right man if he's not bothered about the wedding!  

Mainly for these reasons.


- He wants to get hitched abroad as he only has 3 family members, and I have about 300.

- We both have a very usual style which I'm sure you guys reading this will understand, but most others don't.

- I am a perfectionist and always prefer quality over quantity....

- And I will want to Hand make everything (that I can make) myself, decorations, floral pieces etc.

So, what was your big day like? Leave a comment or link to share. I'd love to hear from you!

Holidays are coming !

Am I the only girl around here who gets stupidly, ridiculously , over the top excited about Christmas here in blog land ?

What have you got planned for the holiday. Christmas season within your family , home decor, or party planning ?

Here in our home we have a decoration already up , it's huge !

Tk maxx £14.99