Help me decide...

I really want a change for my living room, I've gone shabby chic mad! but I really can't decide if I  should redecorate or just work with what I have :/

I currently have this on one wall, the other walls are white and black & I have a zebra rug which is so hard to keep clean with little ones in and out ...

I really love this, I won't have to change my living room completely but it gives me more choice of accessory colours, I'm thinking blacks,greys and either a teal or a purple for accessories like vases,rugs and even sofa  etc

If I keep the zebra I'll be wallpapering the wall opposite the wallpapered one and hoping it isn't to much, What would you do? I'd really like a fresh look but I'm so undecided

The Liebster Award

 

A huge thank you to thejollyfashionista for nominating my blog for the Liebster Award  :) 

An award for upcoming bloggers with less then 2OO follower, a way for new and upcoming bloggers to gain a bigger audience and meet other bloggers. 

The rules for the award are:

1-Each blogger should answer the questions the tagger asked

2-Choose 11 new bloggers to pass the award onto and link them in your post

3- Create 11 new questions for your chosen bloggers to answer

4- Go back to their page and let them know about the award

5- No tag backs!

Here are the questions I was asked and my answers

1. If you could raid any celebrity's wardrobe, who's would it be?

It's got to be Helena Bonham Carter

2. Which high street shop is your favourite?

I love topshop but i'm quite the tightbum when it comes to myself, so I try and create the looks i would achieve from topshop the best i can with primark, for my girls it's NEXT

3. What is your favourite piece of fashion that you own?

Hmm.. Got to be my new rocks although I hardly wear them they are my fave head turning item

4. Where do you see yourself in five years time?

Hopefully happily married, with possibly a little brother/sister for my girls

5. When did you first start blogging and what do you feel you have achieved since then?

I started blogging on the 13th April, I've achieved a passion for something that I haven't given up on, although i don't post my personal struggles it's been a great way for me to just get away for abit 

6. What is your favourite food?

Oooh toughy, I love my food it would have to be my mums bacon pudding

7. What is your favourite beauty product?

Ooh, it's got to be hair dye (I'm not even sure if that's the kind of beauty product you mean,sorry if it's not)

 8. High street or designer?

High street, you can create the same look with well over a fraction of the price if you put it together correctly 

9. Which season do you prefer to dress for?

Summer I dress for comfort and warmth in the winter 

10. How many blog followers would you like to have this time next year?

I'd love to have 1OO but I'm thankful for any amount I have, it's a wonderful feeling waking up to a new follower knowing they would like to follow to see new posts 

11. What is your dream job?

I'd love to be an extreme body modification artist, doing things from implants,scarification,tongue splitting although were I live there really isn't a market for it unless 

I have nominated the following bloggers 

Heather @  butterflieshavesouls

Emma @ bitsnbeautys 

 Biruté Sim @ golovelife

Terri @ Mum-wife-girl

Sarah @ yummymummyintraining

I'm struggling to find 11 blogs I'm following with less then 1OO so I will update this asap!  

My questions for these bloggers are

1- Where would you most like to go on holiday?

2- If money was no object what would be the first thing you would do?

3- What is your favourite colour?

4- Whats your favourite season?

5- Do you have names picked for any children you may have?

6- If you could meet anyone from the celeb world who would it be?

7- Sweet or Savory?

8- Heels or Flats?

9- Whats your favourite film?

1O- If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life what would it be? 

I look forward to reading your answers :) 

It's that time again already

I can't believe how quick this year has gone, Today is Issy's last day of being in a reception when she goes back in 6 weeks she will be in year 1!! So now I have the task of stocking up on lots of fresh uniform for the new term, so I've been looking around for the nicest uniform style and good value for money. F&F have really amazing prices on their school uniform bits, the girls tops have a lovely scallop design around the buttons that looks really pretty and I've fallen in love with a pair of shoes coming to ALDI soon.

Any trousers or skirts I buy have to have an adjustable waist, Issy has such a small waist but has really long legs so if they fit in the waist they are to short and if they fit in the leg they are to big round the waist.

Any recommendations on places to buy school uniform from?

Graze Box - FREE box with this code

 

 I signed Daisie up to the Graze kids goody boxes the other week,  I'm super excited to have one come through but I'm having problems with them being able to take payment from either of my cards :(

I made sure I had money on them when I signed up all seemed okay but then I had an email saying they wasn't able to take payment. They've been really great because of this I've been offered a free box but I'm still having no luck with payment :( I've updated all my details and made sure they are correct, I'll carry on trying and I'll go into my bank to check if its their end that's stopping it because I'm really excited!

It's such a great way to try her with new things the price is just amazing and it all comes in a posh little box with her name on. I'll be trying Issy with one too :) 

I may even attempt one myself

Has anyone else had any trouble with making payments?

Get yourself a FREE box with this code 

OR

click here

Daisie turns 2

My smallest bubba turned two on Monday, so I'm now a mumma of a two and five year old!
We didn't get to do the zoo or aquarium plans that I wanted to do as absolutely everything that could go wrong, did on the run up to her birthday weekend :( so money was super tight (I'm so glad I shopped for her presents early) but we still managed to give her a great birthday party/BBQ and we spent all morning Monday opening presents & playing then we went for lunch and fed the ducks in the afternoon :) which she's now addicted to and asks for ducks ever since so it will be a regular thing to do from now on. I plan to do the zoo/aquarium plans on the first week of the school holidays but I might just change my mind when I see just how choker everywhere gets when its the holidays either way my girls are going some time this year!

Crochet

God do people make this look easy!! My hooks finally arrived today so I gave it a shot, I have a book I got out from the library but it's all so confusing and two balls of wool I got in ready for when my hooks arrived. I'm managing to do the starting stitch with no problem but I'm stuck there :( It doesn't help I haven't picked a granny square pattern I'd like to learn and stuck to it, I keep trying what ever looks easy. My wool seems so small compared to all the tutorials I've watched (I asked if I could crochet with it when I bought it the woman said it's fine to crochet with) I sat with my aunty and she showed me how to get a pattern going but as I'm doing it I'm still ending with the beginning stitch I done that looks like a plait :/  instead of moving outwards I'm still going upwards.

Any recommendations of a simple granny square I could start off with?

My blog layouts/themes/backgrounds/headers

My two most recent blog layout/themes/backgrounds/headers have been done by a wonderful friend of mine who I met online a few years ago, she's become a really great friend we may not swap texts, phone calls or meet up but I know if I ever need an ear to listen she will be there with nothing but supportive words for me!
so this post was to let her know just how much I appreciate her making my layouts for me and give her credit for her work :)

 Please pop by and check out her blog http://butterflieshavesouls.blogspot.co.uk/

Things to do this summer...

Being England there is no guarantee that this weather will be staying with us for to long but here's just a few things I'd like to do this summer....

Go strawberry picking, i don't like strawberries and neither does Issy but Andy & Daisie do so they'll have plenty to eat when we are done :) for free entry and £4.OO per KG it's a pretty cheap day out as it's just up the road from us

Go to London zoo, I've never been before it's quite pricey once you add it all up and then there's train tickets but a little bit of saving and we'll be able to go :) I will NOT be going anywhere near the butterfly part

Go to a farm, I have two choices of really good farms although I've not been to one I've heard a lot of good things about it, one is free entry and you just pay for some of the rides being the hop farm, then there's Christmas tree farm where you pay  £2 for kids and £4 for adults and get to feed all the animals I took Issy there when she was younger

Go to a beach, Of course its free but our problem is as none of us drive we have to rely on trains and most beaches are an hour or two away on a train and some you have to get two trains and with a 2 year old a train ride that long can get pretty stressful

Few trips to soft plays, There's a new huge one that's just been built in our favourite place to go swimming and just beside it there's a bowling alley so two trips in one :)

Go to London aquarium, The sun isn't really essential for this as it's indoors but it's never fun to get on a train with a buggy loaded up with coats and brollies

Adventure Island, Great little theme park for kids with a beach just next door but in a car it's about an 3O minutes or so to get to by train it's 2 hours :/ I'll find a way there some how :)

Do plenty of swimming, Again the sun isn't essential for this one but it's so much better getting out the pool with wet hair and not being freezing or worrying about drying your hair before you head home

London dungeons, this one is of course more for me so the kids won't be attending this one as it seems pretty gruesome in places for a 5 and 2 year old to be going

Is there anywhere you fancy going this summer?

Any recommendations on places i should check out in and around London?

❤

School problems

I've had nothing but problems with Issy's school I'd love to swap schools but I really don't want to take her away from her friends and my reasons aren't good enough for a new school to accept her into theirs :( here's a few of the problems I've had so far

1- She went a whole term without a P.E kit because I wasn't aware she didn't have one on her peg until I came across her plimsolls at the bottom of the shoe bag in the living room, when I asked if she had one they found just her P.E bag on her beg and brought me someone else's shorts asking if they were hers (which was what threw me as her P.E bag wasn't at home I assumed she had one) I'd have thought they would have put a note in her diary to let me know she needed one?

2- She went almost a week without a reading book or words after sending her one back in, I asked her teacher why and she said her book hadn't been returned again a note in her diary wouldn't have gone a miss (me and Issy are both 1OO% sure it went in) Issy explained she had put it in her box they said she hadn't, I said I couldn't find it at home they told Issy to look hard and in her room I then said she isn't allowed them in her room, she only has them on the sofa then back into her book bag they again proceeded to tell Issy to look for it as if I was lying :/ I was then fined for a book I saw a little boy get 2 versions out of his book bag along with the actual book he was meant to be reading, explained it all to then be told it was a different book so in I went and showed them the fine I received to be told 'oh they will be the same price so just pop back to the office and pay it' until this was done Issy didn't receive a new book or words to learn! I still haven't come across this missing book I'm meant to have at my house.

3- Issy had to be re-tested on her spelling test around 5 times and it wasn't until I went in and mentioned she was doing them fine with me and was upset because they didn't sound it out with her which I understand they have a group to do them with but it took me going in for them to put her down a group because she was clearly struggling with the words they were giving her, She gets her B's and D's round the wrong way they corrected it on one and not the other marking her wrong the word being DAD and she knows how to spell that she writes it every time she gets a piece of paper but surely you can't correct one and not the other?

4- Following the spelling one she hadn't done so well with they put a :| face in her book because she didn't get many right, now that was upsetting for me to see let alone a 5 year old, I spoke to my friend who is a teacher and she said they aren't allowed to do that they are only allowed to put encouraging words/next steps.

5- Issy has started showing alot of signs of how I was when I had my eating disorder when I was younger, she was on school dinners until she didn't want to go to school one day I sat down with her and asked why and it was because she didn't like the dinners so of course I put her back on packed lunches, the reason she doesn't like dinners anymore is because the teachers pressure her to eat more and she started putting her dinner in the bin which she was caught and told off for, I know she shouldn't waste food but isn't that where it was going to go anyway? and I understand they are meant to be making sure they eat their dinner but Issy gets clearly distressed about being pressured to eat her dinner and I think telling her off was abit much so much so that she didn't want to go to school and any mention of school dinners she gets upset :( I've spoken to one of her teachers about my concerns with the signs she's showing and she's been okay the head teacher sits with her on occasions and she seems to be happy with her lunch being packed by me :)

So that's to name a few things I'm not happy about am I wrong for being just a little bit angry? am I just being an overprotective mum? Is a note in her diary to much to ask?

2 weeks.....

Can't believe that in two weeks my little Doo bug turns 2!!!!
It doesn't seem that long ago I was getting my stuff together ready to be induced, I'm almost all done just need to get in all the party food, loot bags and the fillings & her cake :) I was thinking of doing a few games but as most of the kids are around the same age as her I don't think they'll quite understand them just yet. I'm so glad I got things in as I saw them as my washing machine broke on me yesterday so I need to spend out on getting another but for now my mum's doing my washing like a diamond, so I can focus on Daisie's birthday, As always I don't think her present pile is big enough :/ although it's more than enough to keep her busy, every year be it Easter,Christmas or Birthdays I never think the girls present piles are big enough then I spend the rest of the year sorting out all the bits that don't get played with.

❤