Christmas Gifts for your fave foodie

Christmas is all about the food right?
Well it is for me anyhow, after the presents, of course!
And one thing I love is foodie presents, and luckily, so does Dann. However we have pretty much all the standard kitchen utensils, so I've been on the look out for new and obscure bits.

So my foodie gift guide, perfect for the food fan in your life, who spends all their time in kitchen.

Christmas Gifts for a Photography Fiend

You guys know I'm like the biggest photography fan ever right? I'm still learning, and feel like I could keep learning new things every single day, but I love photography and camera stuff.
To be fair, if you've been reading this blog for a while you'll know how much I adore photos, so I think this might be my favourite of all my Christmas guides. 

For your favourite photography fiend and camera lover, here's my top pics.... (yes that was intentional!)

Christmas Gifts for your geek friend

I always always find Dann incredibly difficult to shop for, in fact, guys in general are pretty hard to shop for. So my fail-safe is always geek inspiration.

Of course I know that not all geeks are guys, but I will admit this guide was inspired by the guys in my life, and a little something, something for the geeky girls.

So I've pulled together some of my absolute favourite geeky gifts, perfect for any lovable nerd.

Christmas Gifts for a toddler

Christmas shopping for kids, particularly babies and toddlers, can be a bit of a mine field. What do kids really want? And possibly more importantly, what does mum and dad want the kid to have?

To kick off my gift guide season, I've put together a few of my favourite finds, perfect for toddlers - including a mix of keepsake items, as well as role playing toys and educational and fun play room additions.

Welcome to Paradise.... Wildlife Park

About seven years ago, okay, almost exactly seven years ago, Dann took me to a zoo for my 21st birthday and paid for me to be a big cat keeper for the day. It was probably the best gift I've ever received and has stayed with me as one of the best experiences of my life, and paved the way for my trip to South Africa in 2012.

So when we were invited back to Paradise Wildlife Park* I jumped at the chance. Taking Henry to a place that holds such great memories was an absolute must, and as it just so happened to be my birthday weekend, it was the perfect excuse.

We also took along Danns sister and her girls to have a big family trip out and it was all kinds of perfect.

Why we're not a perfect outfit family

The other day on the way to nursery with Henry it kind of hit me that his outfit was pretty ridiculous! And I have to admit right now, it was partly my doing, so I can't entirely blame Dann for the "dad outfit".
So on this particular day he was wearing
A white long-sleeve vest
A black t-shirt
A handmade Flash romper (from his very talented Auntie Sammie)
An orange and grey dribble bib
Bright green Dinosaur wellies
A dinosaur woolly hat (it was cold, hence the extra t-shirt layer and the hat.)


And I realised that literally none of that matched - apart from the wellies and hat.

#OneLessWorry How We Get Christmas Ready

My favourite time of year is almost upon us, but I have to admit I usually start my Christmas prep way before December hits.
I like to think I'm a pretty organised person, and that quality seems to go into over-drive when I start planning Christmas.

One of my favourite things about Christmas is actually the present buying. I just love buying gifts, and I really love shopping for them. Searching out that perfect gift just gives me a little buzz, especially when I know they are going to love the gift.

But this means preparing early as one thing I have learnt from becoming a mother is shopping centres, kids and crowds are a cocktail for catastrophe, even if the pushchair does give you ample storage for all those bags.

How we transformed our conservatory into a playroom

When we bought our home two and a half years ago we were a little perplexed on what to do with the conservatory that was unceremoniously attached to the back of our house.

I must admit, it's never really been something I've wanted, though it wasn't a deal breaker having one either. We just struggled to know what to do with the space. It's a large area, but with it being colder than the rest of the house in the winter, and warmer in the summer, it's a difficult space to use. 

For a long while the room was used for storage or like an over sized cupboard of junk and miscellaneous home items. Then we discussed turning it into an adult den/escape, filled with plants, a little storage and seating. However we finally decided to combine the last plan into a playroom too. The playroom we had upstairs wasn't really practical and would eventually become a second bedroom. Plus we got the rabbits and decided to house them in the conservatory too, so playroom/conservatory is what we've created. 

And it's fast becoming my favourite room in the house. 

Yellow Coats and Sea Views

Aren't these matching coats just the cutest?

After falling in love with this photo on Pinterest, I knew I had to get matching coats for Henry and I.

It's always been a bit harder to do the matching outfits thing. It's not quite so easy as the mum and daughter co-ordinated dresses (and no lie, if I ever have a daughter, you can be sure that I will do doing matching dresses!) but I'll take the mum and son clothes when I can.