HARRY POTTER & THE DREAM PET

For the last 5 weeks Harry Potter has been the most talked about subject in our house. Yes the kiddo is obsessed and has been sooooo excited for his HP themed 7th birthday party. Our house has pretty much become a storage facility for all things Hogwarts related: wands, spell books, Nimbus 2000, wanted posters and now thanks to the folks at Petplan we have a Phoenix to add to the mix too!

SHORTSTITCH STYLING SERVICE FOR KIDS

Every now and again a company comes along and you think yes this is ace! and that's exactly what happened when I was approached by ShortStitch, a personal shopping service for kids fashion. OK so it might sound a little luxurious, reserved for the likes of celebrities and London's elite, but ShortStitch are here to shake it up and make cool affordable for the likes of me and you.

The truth is parents are busy creatures, unlike the slower days pre-child where you could leisurely lie in until eleven and spend hours enjoying lunch out, we're now running on a whole different schedule. In fact I don't quite remember what on earth I used to do with ALL that time now that every minute is so packed with busy. So when a cool kids company, ShortStitch, creates a way to take the stress and strain out of shopping – because let's face it, who wants to play find the runaway child in a department store while having a small heart attack – then I'm going to say a whole lot of yes to that!

I love fashion, especially kids clothes and I often mix up high street finds with independent labels when picking outfits for F. So when I trialled the ShortStitch service I wondered how I would find it and if they would be able to pull together the sort kids fashion I love. The Answer? Oh yes!

The clothing is aimed at 4 - 10 year olds and using the service was super easy, you simply click on the website for your own personal consultation – sounds quite fancy ay– and fill in a few details: age, gender, show size, clothes size. You get asked whether they like to play any sports? Do they have a particular interest and what do you tend to do day to day?  Then you click a few buttons and whoosh your order is done. Now just sit back and wait for your box of yay to turn up.

I was excited to see the rather cool box arrive at my door, full to the brim with wonderful brands that I know and love, as well as a few new ones. With a selection of t-shirts, jeans, sweatshirts, shoes, boots, hats, shorts and cardies, I was pretty much prepared for any event. There is a cute tape measure and the all important price list so you can see what everything costs, and the best bit is you try on the clothes in the comfort of your home. What you like you keep and pay for, and anything you don't, well you just send back with the box. So simple.

I must admit F loved trying these on, I think getting a big important box in the post made him feel quite special ;) We tried on a few of the outfits and F let me take a few pics of our favourites so I could share them with you, and as a treat afterwards we went to the ice cream parlour and enjoyed a few scoops with sprinkles.

I really can't get enough of these 10IS boots! I love the tan colour with white laces and toe and they look ace with light denim, especially the I Dig Denim pair that he's wearing here.

The items in our box ranged from £20 up to £110, the higher priced pieces being a rather gorgeous hooded rain jacket and the above boots, but with plenty of gorgeous t-shirts, jumpers and jeans all around the £25 - £40 mark, I would say this would be a perfect hassle free way to pick out an outfit for any occasion, as every piece of clothing is high quality and beautifully designed. 

I love these cute looks for summer with this Scotch & Soda Straw Hat and Vigro embroided tee, and I was very excited to see my favourite Finger in the Nose label in there too, like this two tone t-shirt above.

After picking out choosing to keep a few pieces to keep and take with us to Berlin next week, I simply packed the rest back into the box, sealed it with the provided labels and used the nearest Click + Collect service, although there is a courier collection available by appointment at no extra cost.

This is such a great way for style conscious parents to see the new season trends at home and try them first hand before purchasing. The best bit is you are only paying the recommended retail price so there are no hidden costs to you *great ay!* the service is free making this a brilliant concept in Kids fashion!*We were asked to trial the ShortStitch service for the purpose of this review. All words and opinions are 100% my own and I couldn't recommend this wonderful service enough. 

COOL MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTION FOR KIDS

The thing about kids magazines, and ignore me while I sigh at the stacks of peppa pig decorated with random delights of plastic tat and strategically placed at the height of small grabby hands, is that they are so disposable and quite frankly ugly. 

Yes I know seeing your little ones eyes light up in recognition of their favourite character can do wonders when you’re desperately seeking a five minute break, but really I want something a bit better than matching the Octonauts to their Gups or what Daddy Pig has got going on. I want something which will inspire, be informative, engage conversation, packed with crafts AND be well designed without the hefty price tag. Something that can sit on the shelf and make a good stocking filler – yep I've got Christmas shopping on my mind!

Too much to ask you say? Well we’ve been a long term fan of the Fabulous Messy Monster book which has made it on screen with the brand new series, Messy Goes to Okido on CBeebies, and F is so excited to share his name with one of the main characters that it has him hooked.

Okido Magazine is the arts and science magazine for 3- 8 year old children. It's designed to engage young children in scientific discovery in the most fun and creative way. From seasons to dinosaurs and all the good bits in between, it's chocked full of fun doodles, cut out and make sections, recipe ideas for little ones to get stuck in, crazy cartoons and surreal sequences.

I love the bold colours and quirky design, and F seems to love it too! He spends ages pouring over the pictures, trying to pick out words he recognises and it’s great that the Messy Monster comic strip is at the front allowing kids to connect the TV character to paper. 

Okido magazine subscription would make the perfect stocking filler for kids, imagine having bi-monthly brilliance drop through the letter box to the delight of your kiddo. I know a certain five year old will be getting one off Santa Claus.

*We recieved copies of Okido magazine for review purposes only. All opinions are 100% my own and F's.

HOW TO MAKE BUTTER BISCUITS AND THE KID WHO

As you might remember I'm collaborating with the fab independent store The Kid Who to showcase some of their super gifts for kids and last month I focused on all things school related. Well with Halloween creeping up I've picked out some fun products that I thought would inspire our spooky side and creative play.

One of my favourite things to do with F is create biscuit recipes – you can see some of our favourites here and here. So as soon as we found these Halloween cookie cutters I knew we'd spend a morning baking at home, and what better way to display our Butter BOO Biscuits then on these cool Fox and Wolf plates by Helen Dardik! With such a huge range of fun characters to choose from you can make any meal time fun.

We made Gluten Free biscuits due to Paul's intolerance and they are so super easy to make with only three ingredients needed!

To make your Gluten Free Butter Boo Biscuits you'll need:
• 225g Gluten free white bread flour
• 85g Caster sugar
• 170g Organic unsalted butter

To make:
1. Sift your flour into a bowl and add in the sugar and soft butter. Mix together until combined – you might need to get your hands stuck in to make a good dough.
2. Roll into a ball, wrap in cling film and pop it in the fridge for 20 minutes.
3. Take your dough out the fridge and roll onto a floured surface and cut your spooky shapes.
4. Place your biscuits shapes on a grease proof baking tray and into a pre-heated oven at 180°C.
5. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden and remove. Allow to cool before getting stuck in!

As well as making spooky biscuits F loves wearing temporary tattoos and picked out some fun Fruit & Vegetable tatts. I'm not sure why he thinks this is a spooky carrot but anythin that helps get stuck into fruit is a great idea in my mind.

This next product has provided a perfect solution for a storage issue we've been having in F's room. This boy loves LOVES dressing up and has a huge amount of costumes to choose from, as you can see they're starting to spill out of his storage basket. With Halloween coming up and a Frankenstein outfit joining the collection I thought this Kolor Paper Bag would be perfect for keeping the clothes contained.

The reinforced paper bag is printed in neon and can be shaped to create a sculpture like storage solution in your room, plus you can choose from paper, stuff and toys depending on what you're using it for. I love the cool scandi style feel to this bag and how it hides all the clutter.

The last item we chose was Endless City New York, this fab game engages your child's imagination by creating a different street scene depending on the order of the cards. In fact we love this so much we have the Endless City London edition. The New York version is atmospheric showing the characterful NYC at night. We both take turns to make a street scene and explore it by making our hands take a walk. F loves this version saying it's fun to be out at late at night, just like trick or treating and I'm secretly hoping to take him there next year for a stateside adventure!

What fun things do you have planned for Halloween? Are you going out Trick or Treating or staying cosy at home?

*A huge thanks for The Kid Who to ask me to collaborate with them over the next six months as a Gift & Interior Advisor and sending me these wonderful products in exchange for a review.

AND THEN YOU WERE FIVE

I had all intentions of posting this at the weekend, to celebrate you turning the big five! In fact I did sit down to write something several times but my emotions got the better of me. So I switched off and enjoyed the moment, being in the weekend with my you, eating cake, opening presents, surrounded by all the family, running around in Transformers outfits – yep me included – at your party and generally doing whatever I could to make your day special.

But I didn't want to let it slip by without reflecting on what this day means to me, to us.

Yep I officially have a five year old, FIVE! I'm sure I said the same when you turned four and there's no doubt I'll greet each year with same bewildered smile as weeks and months blend into years...and yet I'm not quite ready, in fact I don't think I've ever been ready for any of this, but somehow you've always known that and that's OK.

When you first entered the world not crying as expected but silent, wriggling under my gown blinking up at me I panicked. This small new person loving me, calm in my arms knowing I was safe even though I was scared. I asked for you to be taken off me, to be handed over to your daddy, and still you stayed calm. No tears, just quiet and seemingly patience, waiting for me to catch up to you.

Over the years you have remained that way. My beautiful boy, so calm and kind, you have been patient with me and loving, always loving. In times where I have been swallowed by grief from babies lost, struggled under dark clouds, where tempers have frayed and I have felt lost, you have been a beacon of light in stormy waters. You have shown such kindness and love, with whispered words that could melt a thousand hearts. When I felt like I was not enough, you hugged me closer and when I thought I was about to break inside you made me smile, and no doubt as I teach you all I know and help pave your way in life, you will undoubtedly teach me more than I could ever imagine.

...and now you are five, starting school, navigating your own little life and I could not be more proud of you. My little love, my boy.

GET YOUR CHILD SCHOOL READY WITH THE KID WHO

As you might remember from this post I have been tasked with the awesome job of Interior Advisor for the wonderful award winning online children's lifestyle and gift store The Kid Who. Each month I've been asked to choose some of their fab products to share with you and as I love design and cool kids pieces I couldn't think of a better brand collaboration!

As you can imagine this month has been all about starting school, and what with parents evenings, washing uniforms and a kiddo old enough to be in school I'm suddenly feeling officially old. So to get myself prepared for this next huge step I focused this months items on things that will get my child school ready.

Already last week we've had four letters, yep let's just count that again, f-o-u-r letters from school, two gold smiley stickers for good listening – which F is oh so proud of – and my attempt at decoding his descriptions of his new friends and potentially identify them at the school gate with the class name list to hand. Who knew it would be so complicated! So to help us/me get better organised and let F have a bit more independence I chose this Pegboard by Block in light blue. I thought this would look great in either his room or the kitchen – A.K.A keeper of letters/notes/vouchers/general paper information  – and be solely dedicated to school stuff. So any badges, stickers, drawing etc can be displayed and he can feel proud of himself knowing he's got a dedicated display space. I love the light blue colour and the wooden pegs each with contrasting colour ends.

Next I chose this super cute Meo & Friends keyring from Danish designer Cristine Crebas, at £3 I'm hoping this friendly little character will keep F company at school while giving his school bag a bit of personality. He's already super keen to get some more fun badges to pop on their too and jazz up his navy bag.

Lastly I chose this fun kids book, Stargazers, Skyscrapers & Extraordinary Sausages, I'm a huge fan of kids books and have been collecting book filled with beautiful illustrations and great design since my early twenties, so knew this had to be added to our shelves. F was so excited to have a book to put in his book bag – even though that's not quite how it works – and I'm happy he's excited about school. The book unfolds the imagination of Henrietta and her dog Frank, and while she's dreaming of all the things she wants to be when she's older, there's only one thing on his mind.

What do you think? Can you imagine any of these beauties in your home? I'd love to hear what your favourite prodct is from The Kid Who.

*A huge thanks for The Kid Who to ask me to collaborate with them over the next six months as a Gift & Interior Advisor and sending me these wonderful products in exchange for a review.

PERFECT KIDS GIFTS FROM THE KID WHO

What better way to celebrate my love for design and independent stores that combine an eye for detail with beautiful products, than to share with you the awesome online shop The Kid Who. Yep this award winning online children's lifestyle and gift store make for browsing heaven with a huge range of contemporary brands all under one virtual roof.

I'm super excited to be working with them over the next six months as an Interior Advisor to showcase some of their fab products making a perfect gift for those big and small kiddo's in your life! I'm hoping to pick out pieces that I think would spruce up a kid's space, giving their room and interior that special touch, and F starts school next week I'm focusing on giving his room a little makeover which I can't wait to share with you. I'm so grateful for these opportunities that allow me to work with such wonderful brands and treat F in the process.

My first choice were these Friends From New York Mini Prints by Ingela Arrhenius, I've had my eye on for these while now and this pack of 7 large postcards are a great to use as notes sent to friends or as mini prints to brighten up a room, plus  I love the cute characters illustrated on top of photographs of NYC landmarks. In fact I love these cards so much I'm keen to add Paris, Berlin and Amsterdam to my collection and F's walls.

My next choice were these super cute Helen Dardik In The Woods Nesting Dolls, we have quite a few Russian dolls dotted around the flat and F loves playing with them, spending time stacking them and including them in his games. So as soon as I saw these animal nesting dolls I knew they would make the perfect gift, not only do they act as a great display piece in his room but he loves acting out scenes from fairy tales with them and making up stories, I particularly love the squirrel don't you?

I totally fell for this super cute Red Dog & Wolf Cup also from the talented Helen Dardik, I really wanted to get a stylish yet functional product that would look good is F's room and he would enjoy using. I love how it looks on his Eames kids table, the cute illustration and the way the colour pops, plus it's a steal at £5.50!

Finally what better way to give a room an instant face lift than this cool giant Ideas Poster by Stephanie Wunderlich, I love the illustration and quirky style promoting big ideas and creativity. It will spruce up any wall and inspire little minds at the same time.

What do you think? can you imagine any of these beauties in your home? I'd love to hear what your favourite is and if you have any suggestions of any fab products from The Kid Who would help transform F's room.

*A huge thanks for The Kid Who to ask me to collaborate with them over the next six months as a interior advisor and sending me these wonderful products in exchange for a review.

CREATIVE ONLINE COURSES AT MYPHOTOSCHOOL

You might have noticed that I have a soft spot for photography, in fact it's fair to say I love it. My shelves are full of books – like this and this – by various photographers such as that have inspired me along the way and I always try to keep a camera handy just in case. While I don't assume to know the technical side of photography, that hasn't stopped me from documenting my life and flexing my creative muscles. So when I was asked if I would like to complete an online course with at MyPhotoSchool I jumped at the chance, and enrolled onto the Introduction to Professional Reportage Documentary Photo Journalism course.

Our first assignment was to take three shots only using 40 frames, focusing on a standard portrait shot, an environmental shot and a detail shot. There are four lessons in total set two weeks apart, each including a video lecture discussing case studies and assigning homework, as well as a forum to chat to fellow students and ask questions.

I chose to document my kiddo to see if I could capture different moods with the camera and after half  a day following him around trying to compose the perfect shot I finally submitted my work. I was interested to get feedback on the images, to see where I'd captured a mood successfully and where my weaknesses lie.

Personally I love all three images but I feel the final shot doesn't quite sit as well in terms of colour and tone, plus it's more of an artistic piece than documenting him – although I still love that I found him hiding behind the curtain, peeking out to the world while hidden away.

In our next lesson we have to document someone at work, showing their workspace, their job and their character. This will give me the chance to capture moments in a different way, especially as I'll not have the close personal relationship that I do with F. I'm certainly excited to see what develops from this course and I'll be hoping to post my work along the way so you can follow.

*I was offered a place on this course for review purposes. All words and opinions are my own.  

6/52

"A portrait of my son, once a week, every week, in 2015."

F: My Sofa Boy.

You might have noticed I've been a little quiet and the reason is this week – or the last eight days – I've been at home with this little sick bunny. Normally my boy is full of energy, first up in the morning and on the go all day until he falls into bed at night. But not this week, instead he has been struck down with a nasty virus which took a bit of a turn and almost ended in an emergency trip to the hospital. Thankfully it didn't come to that and I've watched over him as he snoozes on the sofa or on me, him waking only when I move away from his side.

This morning his fever broke and he seemed his happy self again, even if a little pale. So I've spent the day tidying, cleaning and trying to catch up on all the work I've missed while looking after my baby. It's so easy to forget how little he still even at the age of four. All those cuddles and kisses, strokes and comfort needed, I cling onto those as he gets back into his routine of superheroes, dare devil jumps and pretend sword play.

Also I'd just like to say a HUGE thank you to all of you who voted for me in the #3cities competition.  Although I didn't win the grand prize, you kept me in the final three and I'm happy to say I won a GoPro camera to document our travels with.

Here's to a fun filled week. x

Linking in with The 52 Project.

4/52 • 5/52

"A portrait of my son, once a week, every week, in 2015."

4/52 Above : His little pouty face.
5/52 Below: Always running, the best way to take in art.

After spending most of the day awkwardly positioned on the sofa/floor/chair with back pain due to lifting my poorly – not so little boy – up for a snuggle this morning, I'm late in posting a few things. But hey, sometimes real life takes centre stage and with a kiddo off school, a night of no sleep and some crazy trapped nerve, electric shocks type pain going up and down my body, I'm going to cut myself some slack.

As February starts I'm making an important mental note to take time with this little one, who is so full of life and growing so fast that even he seems to be in a rush. I'm off to London tomorrow for blogging related work and hopefully enjoy a some art, cocktails and city skyline views.

I hope this week brings you lots of fun and laughter.

Linking in with The 52 Project.

3/52

"A portrait of my son, once a week, every week, in 2015."

F: A lazy morning.

It seems weird that I'm posting the third photo of the year as this signifies that January is on its way out already. How does time pass so quickly?! We've been having a little furniture shuffle and F is loving the space in his bedroom, spending lazy mornings playing with lego and and drawing on his blackboard wall. While he takes it slow things couldn't be busier this end. I'm now at the start of another solo week as Paul is away in Bucharest for work, so I'll be leaning on the caffeine a little to help me get through the week. I'm still focusing on getting the flat sorted out with plenty of DIY and painting under way, as well as planning more travel for 2015. I hope you have a great week!

Linking in with The 52 Project.

2/52

F: Playing at the park and oh boy that smile gets me every time.

So I'm firmly into the new month, work is going well, there's exciting plans in the pipeline and my travel plans for 2015 are starting to come into shape, with a trip to Amsterdam already booked in. Last week I focused on getting F settled back into pre-school, de-cluttering the house with lists upon lists and checking out the sales. I especially love Anthropolgie at the moment and might have left with five a couple of pieces from there yesterday *shhh*

I'm also getting back into fitness and might even start my own #gofit15 hashtag so people can join in on Instagram or dip in and out for healthy living inspiration, what do you think? I'd love to see if we can motivate each other into a healthier 2015.

Linking in with Jodi's The 52 Project. 

1/52

F: Pretending to be a pineapple.

So here it is, the first portrait of 2015 and although I didn't end up posting the last four of 2014, I have them ready to share with you in the next week or two. Normally I wouldn't take on a project like this but I love looking back over the year, seeing F's face change and his personality shine through in these pictures, so here I am ready to go again and join in with Jodi's The 52 Project. 

You may have noticed I had taken a little time away from the blog to make the most of the Christmas and the New Year, and while spending time with family has been blissful, I can't keep away for long and as of tomorrow I'm officially back in work mode.

So here's goodbye to the end of the holidays and hello to reality, let's make it a good one.

AN ADVENTUROUS ADVENT

As a child I would get super excited about my advent calendar, you know the ones filled with little chocolates, well what kid wouldn't right? So obviously I was keen to get F one too, but after him waking early to get his chocolate fix every morning at crazy o'clock I soon changed my mind and swapped over to a Lego advent calendar the following year. This pretty had the same effect but this time swap sugar fuelled child for tiny bits of coloured plastic strewn over the floor at 6am, while a barefoot bleary eyed me is trying to find coffee... not so good.

So this year we've taken a different approach and bought a red wooden house with numbered drawers to open, but this time each one has a Christmas activity instead of that chocolate high.

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