Eat.Love.Live

How To Create Your Very Own Ballet Themed Party For Your Ballerina

2018-09-26T23:17:00.000+01:00

On August 21st my biggest baby turned four years old. Then just three weeks after that she started big school. I honestly can't believe that I'm now a school mum! Life has been hectic settling into our new routine but we are managing.

We're all feeling a bit more settled now and the first thing I wanted to do having some more time on my hands is to share all the details of her fourth birthday party. I hired a room in our local area and started with a blank canvas with one goal in mind - to create her the best birthday party yet. That could only mean one thing. Her very favourite thing right now - a ballet theme.

I'm going to talk about how I created everything through this post and then detail the suppliers at the end of the post.

If you've followed the blog since the beginning you'll know from Baby Girl's first rainbow polka dot party and her second ice cream party that I like to do most things myself. This party was no exception. The only difference this year was that for the first time she invited her friends from nursery so there would be more kids than ever before.

With this in mind the first thing I planned and one of the things I did outsource was an entertainer for the children. There really wasn't a choice in who the character would be other than her very favourite Disney Princess Elsa. She ran the whole party for two hours and was brilliant with the children both boys and girls. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect Elsa! The look on my princesses face when she saw Elsa walking up to attend her party was just priceless.

The next thing I did when working out the decor was purchase a ballet themed digital printable kit and I created the rest of the theme around it with pink and gold colours. The printable kit was jam packed and included everything from water bottle labels, cupcake cases, popcorn boxes, chocolate wrappers, personalised bunting and more. The kit I brought was customisable. It was meant to be simple to edit but it really wasn't. I spent way longer than I wanted trying to get things just how I wanted and when it came back from the printers some of the text just simply didn't print. I took a deep breath and got my gold pen out to do some of my own calligraphy. I think the bunting looked better handwritten anyway so it wasn't too bad but it took more time than anticipated.

I feel like many of you were with me the week before the party. Each night I would document what I was doing on my Instagram stories and it was so lovely to get your feedback as I was going. I created a saved highlight on Instagram so you can go and have a looksy if you fancy (@eatlovelivelondon or click the link in this paragraph).

Another thing I outsourced was the cake. I had no guarantee that Baby Bear would let me invest the hours I would need to be able to create what I wanted so I went to the best cake maker in London and she created the beautiful pink ombre cake I had in my mind.

I did manage to make some sweet treats for the table which were chocolate coated marshmallows, breadsticks dipped in chocolate and coconut cupcakes with cream cheese icing and oreo cupcakes with buttercream icing.

I got the balloon backdrop for the cake table by a local party supplier and I was so pleased with the way it turned out. I found a picture online of exactly what I wanted and they recreated it for me. They even delivered all the balloons and set it up. Which is just as well because there's no way they would have all fit in our car. There was enough balloons for each of the children to take one home with them which also meant I didn't need to worry about how to get them out of the venue!

I created a little dress up corner in the room and filled a basket with ballerina tutus and gold crowns. It was a lovely thing for the kids to help themselves and kit themselves out for the party.

I kept the food for the kids really simple. The time of the party was from 3-5pm so it was an afternoon tea kind of time. The menu was:

A selection of cheese, jam and ham sandwiches
Pom bears (I filled the popcorn boxes with them)
Mini cucumbers
Watermelon and strawberries
Yogurt tubes

I also ordered some savoury platters for the adults of sandwiches, wraps , mini muffins and quiches.

I would say the party was a success. We hosted 20 happy children and their parents. Baby Girl had a smile on her face the whole afternoon.

She's already talking about turning 5 now. Better get my thinking cap on!

I googled for hours to get the perfect everything for this party, but if you want to create something yourself just like this - I've made it easy for you. I've tried to list as many things as possible cos, you know, I'm a sharer :)

Re-Create This Ballet Themed Party

Entertainer (Elsa Disney Princess) - My Little Princess Parties
Ballerina Party Package Printables: Etsy
Ballet Shoe Cupcake Topper and Tutu Cupcake Toppers- AliExpress (order in plenty of time, prices as great but delivery can be up to two months)
Tutus and Gold Crowns - AliExpress - (order in plenty of time, prices as great but delivery can be up to two months)
Dress Up Basket - Homesense
Pink Ombre Cake - Ermioni's Bake Shop
White Paper Party Bags - Amazon
Personalised Ballerina Cake Topper - Ebay
White Gold Foiled Napkins - Ebay
Pink & Gold Tall Candles - Ebay
Pink Ombre & Gold Paper Cups - Amazon
Pink & Gold Paper Straws - Amazon
Gold Plastic Forks & Spoons - Amazon
Savoury Food Platters - Marks and Spencer
Oreo Cupcake Recipe
Coconut Cupcake Recipe
Baby Girl's Birthday Tutu - AliExpress - (order in plenty of time, prices as great but delivery can be up to two months)
Baby Girl's Gold Sequined Top - Etsy (MayaMIforgirls)
My dress - Ted Baker

Kat x

I would love to connect with you! You can find me on:

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Kidzania London For Kids Under Four And A Very Special Leap Start 3D Launch

2018-08-23T00:07:00.000+01:00

You guys all know that I live on Instagram and that's where you'll hear everything first - including all about our awesome day at Kidzania earlier this month.

I shared some stories on the day - the funniest being a video of Baby Girl showing her moves on the dance floor. The way that girl wiggles her hips is hilarious. It's just as well she's enrolled in multiple dance classes - it's definitely her 'thing' right now. Dance Mum of the year over here! I digress...

LeapStart 3D

We were there for the launch of the LeapStart 3D which is an Interactive Learning System aimed at children aged 2-7. We started our day by the LeapStart 3D station just outside the Kidzania University where Baby Girl and her cousin played around with the console.

The lovely team took the time to show them the ropes and they both loved it. There was loads of the same things I've been teaching Baby Girl at home to be ready for school in September - and it seems a lot more fun in game form! We're going to spend some time at home playing around with it over the next few weeks before Baby Girl's first day of big school - so pop back soon for a more detailed review if you want to know more.

Kidzania

After the event, the kiddies got free rein to do whatever they liked in Kidzania. Ever since I heard about the concept of Kidzania I wanted to take Baby Girl. She keeps herself entertained through role play all day long so I knew this kind of thing would be right up her street. I'm going to give the details on my thoughts about Kidzania for kids under four years old but if you're not familiar with the Kidzania concept check out their website for some context - it's most suitable for kids four and above.

Baby Girl started off by meeting the Head of the University, all decked out in her graduation gear and ready to hit the town. Even though Kidzania is primarily aimed at children aged 4 and over, I found loads of activities to keep Baby Girl and Miss Two entertained for our 4 hour slot. There is even more that we could have done but didn't get to because we also had two milk monster babies with us slowing down the fun.

The first activity was K-Mart. The older kids (4 and above) get to 'work' in the supermarket, and the younger kids get to cruise around it. They need to fill their trollies and take it to the check out to pay. They get issued a receipt and everything. Both girls loved this activity.

It was all fun and games until it came to the end and they were both asked to pack their shopping away again. Miss Two genuinely believed she had brought her groceries and was devastated when she wasn't allowed to take it with her. "Don't take my chicken awayyyyy...". It was so funny!

We grabbed lunch from The Fire House which served pizza, hot dogs, burgers and sides. There's also a crepe shop, a coffee shop that sells drinks, cakes, snacks and sandwiches and a Gourmet Burger Kitchen. I wish there were some healthier choices but the burgers we had hit the spot.

After lunch we took the girls to the Face Painting Studio where they got a full face paint included as part of their ticket. They both wanted to be butterflies but there was books and books of options for them to choose from.

We then went upstairs where they took part in the Baby Disco - as I mentioned Baby Girl was in her element. It lasted 15 minutes and they all took part in a giant Just Dance game where they rocked out to Disney songs - the favourite was Moana.

There's quite a few things upstairs to keep the little ones entertained. There was a 'Kindergarten' that we didn't go into - it's a room full of toys and activities to keep toddlers entertained but seemed a bit too young for Baby Girl. She had a blast in the RightZKeeper's Residence which is like a mini house kitted out with a kitchen/ dinner, bathroom, bedroom (with giant soft play like beds), and a chill out area with sleeping bags and iPads.

Baby Girl absolutely loved the kitchen. She spent ages organising it when she walked in and everything was everywhere. After she cleared up, she kept taking my order and making me special meals. She has two kitchens at home, one inside and one outside mud kitchen and between them both she probably spends 70% of her time playing using them. So a giant kitchen like this is what her dreams were made of. We spent quite a bit of time at the end of our day in this space and it was nice because Miss Two was tired and needed some resting time in the chill out area just across from the kitchen.

Between feeding kids and babies, changing nappies, toilet breaks, going from each activity, waiting time and play time, our four hour slot was over very quickly. Time always flies when you're managing the needs of little ones right? The girls both had so much fun and it was so nice to be able to do something different with them.

The activities for under fours that we didn't get to see were:
Science Lab
Being a British Airways Passenger
Viewing the TV Studio
City Bus Tour
Library

My verdict on Kidzania for the Under Fours?

If you're heading to Kidzania with children under four just make sure you're aware there's lots of activities they won't be able to do, and judge whether or not you think your child will enjoy the bits and pieces they can do. Personally for us, Baby Girl and Miss Two loved the whole day and really enjoyed everything they got to do.
If you're going with multiple children and you need to supervise them all then I would recommend them all being under 4 as a group, or the other way around. For example, if you take a 3 year old, and a 6 year old there will be a lot of waiting around on both sides as they won't be able to participate in the same activities.

Since visiting Kidzania Baby Girl has now turned 4 (as you would most definitely know if you follow my Insta - a post on a ballet themed party is coming very soon), so I'm already planning to take her back before the year is done with some of her four year old friends. If she loved the little snap shot she got, she's going to be mind blown when she finds out what the whole city is about.

* I'm very grateful to the lovely team at threepipe who hosted us for the LeapStart 3D event and our day at Kidzania.

I have lots of blog posts up there in the memory bank, so keep your eyes peeled peeps. More coming very soon.

Much love,
Kat

I would love to connect with you! You can find me on:

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A Letter To My 6 Month Old Baby Bear...

2018-08-05T22:48:00.001+01:00

I record all kinds of things on this blog from travel to food to fashion and lots in between. But these, these types of posts are the most precious. Because today we live in a world where we can leave more of a footprint than ever before. And when my days are done, my children and my children’s children will have a window into my thoughts and feelings during a moment in time. I think that's pretty special...

To my second born daughter,

You are 6 months old. It’s crazy to imagine that you have only been around for 6 months but it’s also so obvious that this is how it was always meant to be.

You brought something to our little family that we never knew was missing, but most definitely always needed. From the moment you were born you just slotted right in and it was instant love.

You are the most incredible baby and your little personality shines through so strongly. You are the happiest baby I know, hardly ever a cry and almost always a laugh. You love life, you love your family. You love people in general, you can flash your winning smile at a stranger from the comfort of your pram, and they just melt. Many have!

You and your sister are besotted by each other and I just know you’re going to be the bestest friends always. She was protective of you from the moment she met you. It makes my heart melt to watch the loving way she talks to you, and the way your face lights up whenever she’s around. You laugh at all of her jokes and she laps it up, she’s quite the entertainer and you think it’s hilarious.

You still have a thing to learn about sleep. We are a family of sleepers that loves to nap and you haven’t quite caught on yet. You’re not too bad in the night time but during the day you just don’t want to miss out. Don’t worry, I’m sure it won’t be long until you realise sleep is awesome!

We’ve just started to introduce you to food. That’s another thing you’ll learn. We love our food! So far you’ve had carrot, sweet potato, pear and parsnip. The looks you give me after the first taste of everything is quite something. Its a mixture of shock, disgust and..... ‘what on earth?’. Don’t worry my baby, I will do my best to cook you wholesome and delicious food always. I hope that one day you’ll think I’m the best cook on earth, just like I feel about my mum.

We’ve just got your fist ever passport and I’m going to show you as much of the world as I can. We have lots to see together. You are lucky enough to have roots in multiple continents and will probably end up with at least 3 passports.

Just wait until I take you to Australia. I can’t wait to show you the place where I lived as a little girl and to introduce you to all my nearest and dearest over there. The tickets are booked and it will be happening this Christmas, your first Christmas.

I have 5 more months to enjoy you all to myself before I go back to work and you start nursery. I plan to live in the moment as much as possible and enjoy each and every minute with you.

Thank you for enriching our lives, thank you for choosing me as your Mama and thank you for being the absolute delight that you are.

Words can’t even express how much I love you.

Your Mama xxx

I would love to connect with you! You can find me on:

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A Treehouse Glamping Staycation - North Hill Farm (Owl's Lookout)

2018-07-30T00:49:00.000+01:00

If you're here for the travel, I'm sorry! This blog has been very short of any travel related content recently. My obsession with dreaming of, researching and booking holidays that chase the sun has been over taken by my other priorities. However, the house renovations are pretty much completed now and Baby Bear has just turned six months old so I'm finding I have some time on my hands again these days.

So if you are here for the travel, by the end of the year you will have some content on Croatia (new destination), Singapore and Australia (you like what you like right?). Plus I'm already dreaming about what I'm going to book next - New York? Woohoo!

In the mean time, in the first half of this year we've taken advantage of some staycations close to London. There was one particular glamping experience that I shared on Instagram and so many of you were asking me about it, so here's some more about our lovely stay at the Owl's Lookout at North Hill Farm.

North Hill Farm is in Chorleywood which is just outside the M25. It's one of those places that is so close to London, yet you feel so far away. It escapes you from the hustle and bustle and takes you to the country where the air is clean (and quiet), you're surrounded by trees and you feel instantly calmed.

My mum had been visiting the UK from Australia to help me out with the kiddies and I wanted to treat her and change the scenery for her and book a little break for us all. I'm anything but a camper, and even the thought of glamping made me nervous in the past. However in the interest of trying something different when I came across the Owl's Lookout, I knew I just had to try it.

The Owl's lookout is a recent addition to the North Hill Farm family and they built it because of the demand for treehouse glamping. It sits amongst the trees and has 4 sections leading off a main light filled centre. In the 4 sections there are two bedrooms, a bathroom and a kitchenette/ dining area.

In the middle hub there's a spiral staircase that leads down to an awesome enclosed outdoor area featuring a hot bath and a sauna.

The wonderful thing about the hot bath is that you need to make your own fire outside to heat it up. You get all the bits you need to get it started and keep it going and this is what makes the bath hot. It gave us a real sense of camping but with all the luxuries we could want. There is also a fire pit and a BBQ in the outside area.

When the sun set the bath was ready. Sadly, Baby Bear was being a bit needy so I didn't get to go in but my mum and Baby Girl loved it.

Night time was a real treat. I shared bedroom #1 that had a double bed with my littlest princess and my mum and my biggest princess shared bedroom #2 that had three singles.

We had all the comforts of cozy beds, duvets and air heaters but felt like we were sleeping outside. Waking up for a night feed and watching the sun rise was a real treat.

The other fun feature in this unique treehouse is the slide that goes all the way from the inside centre of the Owl's lookout and through to the the outside BBQ area. They really thought of everything when they worked on the design for this one!

The Owl's lookout is just one of many unique glamping experiences at North Hill Farm. The farm itself is set in peaceful country side surroundings. They offer B&B, camping, glamping and treehouse accommodation. We chose to stay in and enjoy our accommodation but if getting out an exploring is your thing, there are some gorgeous walks to be done. They even loan out bikes and offer disc golf activities.

This trip was absolutely one for the forever memory bank. Baby Girl still asks me regularly when we're going back and I think that one day again we just might have to find time to.

North Hill Farm

North Hill

Chorleywood

Hertfordshire

WD3 6HA

Kat x

I would love to connect with you! You can find me on:

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Baby Bear's Birth Story Part 2 - Planned Cesarean after EMCS

2018-07-15T22:27:00.003+01:00

This is the story of the day I had my planned cesarean with my second daughter Baby Bear. There's a part one to read with how we got to this point if you fancy catching up.

I spent the night in hospital and I knew it would be the last night before I had my newborn in my arms. J had gone home to our first Baby Girl and I was in a hospital bed updating my family and friends on WhatsApp and FaceTime about what was going to happen the next day.

I knew I should sleep but my mind was in overdrive so it took a long time before I drifted off and even then I kept waking. It was a particularly windy evening and the swooshing of the wind from outside mixed with the sounds of a labouring woman desperate to be dilated enough the be sent to the delivery room did not make for a peaceful sleeping environment. It was actually really creepy.

One of the midwives woke me at 6am for observations and to give me a special tablet that would reduce my stomach acid. I wasn’t allowed to eat and I was only allowed to have a small sip of water to get that tablet down. She left me with a hospital gown and a pair of tight socks to put on when I was ready. I had to be ready for surgery as early as 10am and J was coming in at 9am after he dropped Baby Girl to nursery.

I needed to bank as much sleep as I could, but the anticipation was too much and was a mixture of excitement and absolute terror. The feeling of going into a planed cesarean rather than an emergency one as I first had is very very different. My mind couldn’t stop to think about anything other than wanting my baby to be safe and to get her out as quickly as possible with the emergency one, but with this (somewhat) planned one, I have to be honest.... my thoughts were intense. How long will it take? Would the room be cold? What will the spinal be like? What if I couldn’t sit still while they were injecting a mammoth needle into my spine and it paralysed me? What if I bled? What if I died? (morbid, but when you’re going through major surgery and your thoughts consume you it happens). What is the recovery going to be like? What if I couldn’t care for both of my children? How will I change nappies? Is she ready to come out? etc etc etc.... no wonder I couldn’t sleep!

So from 6am - 9am I lay awake consumed by my own thoughts until J arrived. It felt like it was getting real then. I put my gown and socks on and I was surprised to see the consultant that had examined me and made the decision that the surgery should happen that day arrive at my bedside. She told me that she would be performing the surgery and assured me that she’d had sleep over night - to this day I still can’t figure that one out! But I felt quite reassured that she would be my surgeon that day as I had a good feeling about her. She had done a thorough scan of me the day before and had taken notes on exactly what my insides were measuring like. She told me there was one other planned section before mine and to expect to come up to the operating theatre in about an hour.

J begged me to sleep so I could get as much rest as possible but I just couldn’t. We seem to have these moments that happen in hospitals around the birth of our children that are just peaceful and reflective and I feel totally as one with him. After the surgeon left we had one of them. One minute we were talking and the next minute, it was 11.30am and we had the caesarian midwife gently tap my shoulder and let me know it was time for my surgery. Somehow we had both fallen asleep, and when I woke I actually felt well rested, at peace and ready for this surgery.

It was strange packing up our things, walking into the surgical room and being greeted by a room full of smiley people introducing themselves and what part they would play. All my details went up on a white board and everything was very calculated. J put on his scrubs and this time managed to get a selfie of himself in them as he was disappointed he didn’t get one last time.

I propped myself up on the bed and the anaesthetist prepped me for the spinal. My pre thoughts were a lot worse than the reality and very quickly I was lying down and couldn’t move my body or feel below my neck. Such a strange sensation. I don’t remember them announcing they were going to start, but I think I asked and they concurred that they had. J had strict instructions to stay by my head and with the huge screen as a barrier he couldn’t see anything.

The time it took to get my princess out this time felt longer than last time - it must have been about 30 minutes, but when they mentioned I would feel a bit of pressure soon and that I did I knew she was coming. Before they even told me she was out I heard her crying.

It was 1.05pm on the 29th January 2018 and she sure did make herself known from the very minute she took her first breath in this world.

She cried that perfect little newborn wail and I felt immediate relief. They held her up above the screen and showed her to me like a scene from the Lion King at baby Simba’s introduction. They lay her next to me for a short time so I could give her a cuddle and wish her a Happy Birthday and then took her off to get cleaned up and dressed.

J went across the room to go and see our baby and I watched from afar as they did all the checks on her. She weighed in at 9 pounds and was a healthy baby. Such relief! Once she was dressed the nurse brought her over to me for more cuddles and she just relaxed her body into me and fell asleep, just like my first born I felt an instant bond. She was here and she was safe and now we’re a family of four!

It was around this time that I noticed there was a lot of chat amongst everyone that I couldn’t understand and I felt as though something may be wrong. I asked if everything was ok and the anaesthetist told me that everything was but things were taking a bit longer to put back together because upon cutting me open they realised I had lots of scar tissue from my previous cesarean and that my uterus had attached to my stomach so they had to be really careful.

Careful they were, but the surgery took such a long time. Nearly two hours in total from start to finish. I started to feel a little strange and couldn’t hold my baby anymore so she stayed in J’s arms for the rest of the surgery where I could see her right next to me.

I went from feeling ok, to feeling like I was going to pass out, then feeling like I may be sick. I even felt sharp pains in my heart at one point and the anaesthetist explained it wasn’t my heart but a reaction of something they were doing around my uterus which I found very strange. Every time I felt something I mentioned it to the anaesthetist and like magic she would top up the drip with something and I would feel normal again. I also started to feel more and more internal pressure and although I still couldn’t feel pain it was getting very uncomfortable. So much so that I needed gas and air to get though the last of it.

Over an hour after my Baby Bear was born, I finally heard the ping of the staple gun (cringed as that was the one thing I wanted to avoid), and the team told me they were done. The surgeon came over and explained exactly what she had done and what the care plan would be following my operation. She was also really honest with me and told me I would need to be careful with any future pregnancy and be aware of further issues with scar tissue. In that moment it kind of all went over my head. I was so very grateful to the team for successfully delivering my baby but I also wanted to get out of that operating room and into recovery where I could cover my newest princess in kisses and cuddles and feed her for the first time.

Being in recovery gave me plenty of time to bond with Baby Bear and it was wonderful but I also couldn’t wait to get out of there in time for visiting hours so my biggest princess could meet my littlest. That happened about 6 hours later. Thanks to my sister in law I have a video of the moment that the two of them met and I will cherish it forever.

In that moment I was totally and utterly complete. I was, I am, a Mummy of two precious little girls and that makes me feel on top of the world.

The complicated delivery, came with a complicated recovery. It’s not easy trying to look after two children when you can’t even laugh or pull yourself out of bed but luckily I had loads of support. Then comes the baby blues and by day 6 I was convinced I was going to die from an infection - but I didn’t and I am here to tell this story.

It’s now nearly 6 months on and I’m doing great. Baby Bear is doing great, her big sister has been even more brilliant than I could have ever imagined and their bond is unreal. And as for me and hubby? We just have to pinch ourselves sometimes when we look at the two humans that we created.

Love made them!

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Birth Story - Part 1: The Birth Plan After An Emergecy Ceasarean

2018-03-20T23:26:00.001+00:00

The first time I said the words "my children" caught me by surprise. What an amazing thing to be able to say....

You see, my Baby Girl made me a mother in 2014 and that was the happiest day of my life. Fast forward 3 years and I have been blessed again with another princess. I shall call her Baby Bear. And all of a sudden I have "children".

How could I have ever imagine that back In 2009 when I made an impulse decision to book a one way ticket from Melbourne, Australia to London would bring me to the 29th January 2018? The day that my Baby Bear made me a mother of children. The greatest gift I could ever ask for.

I told myself that I would enjoy my second pregnancy. I didn’t want to miss a single moment of appreciating the miracle of growing our sweet princess, so I made the most of everything. Every feeling, every kick, every hiccup, every scan, every day my bump got bigger. The only thing that I let worry me was how I would safely bring Baby Bear into this world. Having had a emergency caesarean the first time around, at times I wish I could have had a crystal ball to help me decide how I would plan my second birth. I wanted to birth naturally, of course I did. What I didn’t want was to go through labour, put stress on my baby if things weren’t progressing and end up in another emergency situation that we weren’t able to plan for. The 6 week recovery time and having to look after my three year old also gave me sleepless nights but I felt that if it was planned we would be able to manage better at home.

After a number of chats with the midwife, a group discussion, and a one on one chat with a consultant I made a birth plan that I felt in control of, that was both sensible and planned but also left the ultimate outcome up to the universe. I would go all the way up to my due date and if I went into labour I would try to birth naturally but I was also booked in for a caesarean 2 days after my due date. The theory behind that was the later in the pregnancy the more chance that it wouldn’t happen on its own. I had a plan that I felt comfortable with and put myself in the headspace of what will be, will be.

The universe certainly had a plan and it wasn’t either of those two!

The whole way through my pregnancy I was always happy with Baby Bear’s movements. She was an active bubba. I knew her awake times and her sleepy times. There were some days that were quieter than others but normally if she had a quiet period, after a few hours she would be kicking again. This was different one Sunday the week before my due date. I woke up and things were a little quiet with my Baby Bear. I spent the morning playing with my three year old and we all sat down and had lunch together as a family. I realised that even after drinking a cold lemonade that I hadn’t felt movements so I told my husband J. As soon as I told him we decided to ring up our maternity unit and seek advice. They assured me things were probably fine but the best thing to do would be to come in for monitoring just to be safe. There was something in me that knew everything would be ok, but not willing to take any risks we rushed over to the hospital with our first Baby Girl and thought we would get hooked up and sent on our way in no time.

When we got there we realised things were very busy that day. There was no bed for me in triage and we had to wait about 45 minutes just to be hooked up. J wasn’t really happy that we had to wait when potentially this could be a situation that needed urgent attention. I was strangely calm and still had the feeling that everything would be ok. Baby Girl was entertained by the new environment for all of 10 minutes and started to get restless after that.

When I finally got a bed, I was very grateful that it was a private room. I made myself comfortable in the bed and they put the pink and blue straps on me. The midwife found my baby’s heartbeat (thank goodness) and left me there to monitor the movements. I have learnt to appreciate these times in a maternity unit. So on that Sunday afternoon as I was hooked up and stuck to a bed - we talked, we waited, we laughed and we enjoyed what I now know, was our last few hours together as a threesome.

When my first observation time was up, the midwife picked up that Baby Bear’s heart rate was on the higher side of normal at between 160 - 165bpm so they decided to keep monitoring for longer. By this time Baby Girl had enough of being stuck in a hospital room so we decided that my husband would drop her to his family. When I said goodbye I wrapped my arms around her extra tightly and felt pretty emotional. I knew that it could be my last when I was all hers.

Straight after J had popped out I was visited by a consultant. She wheeled in a scan machine with her and I was happy I was going to get to see my baby but felt sad that J and Baby Girl has just missed it. The consultant had a good look around and said that she was very comfortable that the baby was ok and that she could see movements, however she did agree that they weren’t very strong movements so she could understand why I was concerned. Along with that and observing the higher heart rate, she didn’t want to send me home just yet. She asked me to go for a walk to the hospital cafe, have something sugary and come back to see if that made a difference.

I took my heavily pregnant body down to the cafe and enjoyed a hot chocolate and a bag of crisps. I walked around a bit more and went back to triage for more monitoring. At this point J was back after dropping Baby Girl off and before we knew it, it had been 6 hours and it didn’t look like we were going anywhere any time soon. Baby Bear’s heart rate was still on the high side of normal. Still not happy to send me home they inserted a canulla and put me on a drip because maybe I was dehydrated. I am someone who hates needles so having a big one inserted and taped into a vein on my hand was no fun. According to the midwife, they love putting them in and they played scissors, paper, rock in the hallway to determine who would be the lucky one to put mine in.

After being hooked up to the drip, Baby Bear’s movements were still sluggish and her heart rate remained the same so we were told that we would be seen by a consultant again as soon as the 8pm changeover happened.

Now the only time that I really panicked that whole day was when the room filled with doctors. They all came in saying who they were and what they did and for a split second I felt like we may not have been kept informed on exactly what was going on and for some reason this room full of doctors was going to deliver us some terrible news. They quickly put my mind at ease when the lead consultant explained that at handover time, every doctor on the night shift visits every patient and there was nothing to be worried about.

They all looked at my charts and then gathered around the scan machine where the lead had a really thorough look at what was going on. They could see clear movements and they showed me on the scan and pointed out times when Baby Bear was moving and asked me if I could feel them. Some I couldn’t others I could just. They showed me a shot of Baby Bear practicing her breathing. They also measured her and let me know that the scan was showing she was a big baby and running out of room in there!

They all concluded and said while they had no concerns at all they would take my feelings of reduced movements seriously. I was just a week away from my planned section date and she was very well cooked so they would go away, discuss the next steps and see if they could bring forward my section date. 30 minutes after that the midwife popped back in and let me know that I was being admitted over night and I have been scheduled in for surgery the very next day. It was happening!

I had my alternate plans and left it to the universe, but even then the universe decided otherwise...

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The Sister I Never Had

2017-12-29T10:22:00.000+00:00

I feel like I have spent the last year apologising for my lack of activity on this blog. I'm sorry! I wish I'd had time to document my pregnancy on the blog more but the reality of undertaking major house renovations, starting a new job role, increasing my hours at work, having time for my three year old, growing this baby and keeping general order to my life has left me with very little spare time.

I will be on maternity leave soon, and our house work is nearly complete so stick with me. I hope to be back to a more regular posting pattern. In the mean time I find Instagram a far quicker and easier way to share my thoughts and if you've been following me there you're probably feeling more connected to me. Yesterday I posted a very special gender reveal and it didn't feel right not sharing it on the blog so I thought I would come on here and do just that.

Growing up, I always wanted a sister. I ached for one. I felt like I was meant to have one. I waited a whole 7 years for my mum’s last pregnancy and when she told me I was going to have another brother I didn’t talk to her for days. After I got over the fact that I would be the only girl sibling I decided that I wouldn’t have my brothers any other way. Actually - being the only princess in the family wasn’t so bad. I have learnt many lessons in this life and I have always found that with patience things always fall into place exactly as they should and in time everything makes sense. Which brings me to the now. I am so happy to say that this little bubba I’m growing that’s nearly ready to meet the world is a GIRL! My first baby girl gets to have the sister I never had and I get to live their sisterly bond through my babies eyes. And in this moment, I know this is just the way it was always meant to be. Little sister, your mama may be a little unorganised right now but I’m working hard to get everything in place ready for you and we are all so excited to meet you. You are so very wanted and so so loved ❤️❤️❤️ #35weekspregnant#girlmama #mumofgirls

So there you have it! I'm having another girl. Another princess to join our family. Baby Girl is super excited and just I know she is going to make the best big sister. I'm now 35 weeks pregnant so I'm running around trying to get all my baby bits together (luckily I kept a lot from the first time round) and packing my hospital bag.

How am I feeling?

Apart from being a bit frantic and having that weird mixture of insomnia and tiredness plus a few extra aches and pains I'm feeling great! I promised myself after my first pregnancy that if I was ever blessed enough to experience a miracle like this again that I would appreciate every moment. And that I have! I think I'm coping much better with everything this time round, because maybe my body feels familiar to pregnancy. It knows what it's doing this time.

Heavy - I'm not one of those yummy mummies who has a neat bump. Nope. My bump is spread far and wide and I feel like I'm carrying a bowling ball. Let's put it this way - I'm not very agile with my movements these days.

A little apprehensive - as the birth looms closer I must admit I'm feeling nervous. Particularly with the natural birth vs c-section decision I've had to make after my first Baby Girl was born by c-section. I've come up with a plan that I feel like I have some control and have made some decisions but also partly leaves things up to the universe. You know my mantra - what will be, will be. I just need to keep reminding myself of this.

Signing off for now and I'll touch base again in a couple of weeks when I start my maternity leave.

Much love,
Kat xoxo

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The Next Chapter....

2017-08-30T23:12:00.000+01:00

Well guys, it has been a minute! Nearly four months in fact. My last few blog posts were published with the promise of more travel posts from our epic Australia / Singapore trip. I have so many photos that were meant to compliment many awesome travel posts. And then I went quiet....

If you follow me on social media you would have hopefully kept up with some bits and pieces of the goings on of the last few months and realised I didn't just fall of the face of the earth. Most importantly, I hope you caught our very special announcement over the weekend.

I'm pregnant!!!

Very shortly after we came back from our travels I fell pregnant. I was immediately hit with exhaustion and not long after sickness which lasted up until a few weeks ago so I lay low and focused on my family and growing this new precious little bundle.

Hubby and I feel it is the perfect time to be preparing for our second baby. Baby Girl is now three and was absolutely ready for a sibling. She had been asking me for months beforehand. I still can't believe how blessed we are. We are going to be a family of four. My heart is full!

I'm 17 weeks, close to halfway there. Things are progressing well. My bump is definitely a lot bigger this time round. I felt 6 months pregnant at 6 weeks and I was sure that everyone must have guessed I was pregnant just by looking at me. I'm embracing my bump and it's almost about time to buy some maternity clothes I think. Surprisingly, I haven't put on any weight yet and that's just as well. I certainly don't need to add to my junky trunk.

We had a gender scan last week so we know what we are having. I'm going to wait to share that news until our 20 week scan just in case. The sonographer had to really dig around for a bit before she could confirm as baby was being a little stubborn so I just want to be 1000% sure. Watch this space.

Now that my sickness has subsided, I feel great! I still have the sudden urge to nap a lot and I'm not one to shy away from sleep so I'm resting as much as possible. My biggest pregnancy symptom? Preggo rage! I'm not able to take any BS, like even a little bit. If you know me in real life and have been at the receiving end - sorry about that. Except for that parking ticket man. You totes deserved it!

Now that the cats out of the bag, I hope to share as much of this next chapter with you as possible. If there's anything particular you want to know about do give me a shout.

Along with this wonderful news, I've been busy with lots of other things. I've just taken on a new role at work where I can use my creativity more and I'm super excited about. It means I no longer do a job share and I'm working 4 days a week. Just when I thought my career was ramping down, its starting to ramp up again. Life works in funny ways. We've also been very busy working on a few renovation projects. I know I haven't shared any of that with you yet, but keep your eyes peeled for loft conversion updates. We've finally started the work on our home this week and I'm so excited to have a whole new floor in our place. Bring on nesting with a whole new space!

It's nice to be back and I'll see you again real soon. I promise!

Kat xx

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A Fun Wine Tasting Afternoon with Co-Op Food

2017-05-24T23:19:00.001+01:00

This mama sitting behind the keyboard right here, loves her wine. Yes I do!

Wine is perfect for so many occasions: gossip sessions with the girls, date nights, to kick start the weekend - or any kind of weekend excuse, lets be real and even to take the edge of a terrible day. Wine is my friend :)

Over the last few years, I have become rather particular with my wine and it's not just about choosing a bottle with a pretty label. I really love to enjoy the taste of my wine. So two weeks ago, when Co-op food invited me for an afternoon of wine tasting, not only did I jump at the chance but I also grabbed my girl Stacey Leigh to enjoy the experience with me.

The event was held in their gorgeous offices by St Pauls and began with one of Co-op food's wine buyers Gyles running a wine tasting masterclass featuring a small selection of wines which we tasted and paired with food. I was so surprised how different wines can taste when paired with different kinds of foods.

Gyles is a buyer for Spain, South Africa, Portugal and Fortified wines and let me tell you. This man knows his stuff!

So we tried a selection of wines like sauvignon blanc, rose, some reds and desert wines and paired them with nibbles like smoked salmon, crisps, cheeses and even a delicious Co-op cake. But that was not all.....

After feeling like we had some knowledge, we were taken to an adjoining room and faced with a mammoth table lined with 60 + bottles of wine for us to explore, see, touch, smell and taste.

So Stacey and I floated around the table with our glasses and found some real gems. We also spoke to the team about how all the wines came to being on that table and I was so impressed. I really didn't expect to see the dedication, planning and thought that Co-op very clearly put into their wine selection or to see a team so passionate about what they do - I guess they do have pretty amazing jobs right? All was very evident in the delicious tasting wines that we got to enjoy.

So next time you're looking to purchase a cheeky bottle of wine, you should definitely head to Co-op to make your purchase.

To make it easier for you, I've included some of the faves I tasted on the day that I LOVED LOVED LOVED!

Henry's Drive Padthaway Shiraz | Padthaway Australia | £16.99 | deep, oaky & deelish

Peter Yealands Sauvignon Blanc | New Zealand | £8.99 | crisp & sweet

Borgo Molino Prosecco NV | Italian | £9.99 | light dry & floraly

Champagne Les Pionniers Vintage 2008 | France | £25.99 | citrusy, fresh & soooo good!

Escudo Vinho Verde | Portugal | £5.99 | crisp, fruity & refreshing

I saved the best for last. My favourite wine that I know I'll be enjoying this summer was the Escudo Vinho Verde. It's a still wine but has a slight sparkle to it. It's so fruity and refreshing and is only 9.5% alcohol so you can enjoy more of it! This wine is perfect for drinking in the garden on a hot day and that I will be doing.

Co-op have also set up a great rewards system and for every Co-op own brand wine purchased, customers will get 5% of what they spend back into an online wallet to be used at any time for future purchases. Also 1% of everything spent on Co-op own brand products and services will be given to the Co-op community fund.

Thank you so much Co-op for such a fun afternoon and for opening up my eyes into the world of wine. You guys all rock!

I would love to hear what your favourite type of wine is? Let me know in the comments.

Much love,

Kat x

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Review: Shangri-La's Rasa Sentosa Resort & Spa - Singapore (Sentosa Island)

2017-05-15T23:19:00.004+01:00

Just like that, our month long holiday is over..

We've been back home for nearly three weeks now and it feels like so much more than that. I must admit that this time, I got a great big dose of holiday blues when we arrived home and I'm only just starting to shake it. It's been pretty quiet on the blog as I adjust back into the daily grind. I have quite a few travel posts to come, there's so many posts written in my head. And photos to sort through and edit and I haven't been sure where to start.

So I thought the best place to start would be right at the beginning. On our way to Australia we stopped over at Singapore for 4 nights and although we were incredibly jet lagged we had such an amazing time. Last year we stayed at Shangri-La on Orchard Rd and loved it, so this time we decided to stay at Shangri-La's Rasa Sentosa Resort & Spa on Sentosa Island. In this post I'm going to share my thoughts on our stay.

The Location
This resort is located in Sentosa Island. Sentosa Island is a resort and escape away from the bustling city but still very close by being only a 10-15 minute drive away. It's home to 14 hotels, attractions, Universal Studios, beach bars and restaurants and a man made beach. Shangri-La offers a free shuttle bus that will take you all around the island and everything is close by. The shuttle bus also goes to VivoCity Shopping Centre just outside Sentosa which hosts a range of shopping spots and more restaurants. Shangri-La is the only hotel on the Island that has a beach front. We had no need to ever leave the Island during our stay here.

Checking In
After a long but uneventful 13 hour flight into Singapore we whipped through the very efficient Changi Airport, jumped in a taxi and in about 25 minutes and at 5.30pm local time we were pulling up across from a humongous waterfall and next to the lobby of Shangi-La on Sentosa Island. From the moment we arrived and I got a view of the ocean I felt instantly relaxed. The team at reception were super friendly and helpful and the welcome we received was just perfect after a long haul flight. When we were showed to our room we were greeted with an amazing welcome treat of fresh fruits, a bottle of wine and a delicious selection of truffles and macaroons. Amazing!

The Room

We stayed in Room 983 which was a Deluxe Sea View Room. Let me let our view speak for itself....

The room had a king sized bed and there was also a travel cot set up for Baby Girl. The bed was super comfy and big enough for all 3 of us (did I mention the jet lag and non sleeping toddlers?). The room was light, bright and airy.

The first round of drinks in the mini bar was complimentary and included some local treats too. Bottled water in the room was also complimentary and was topped up daily.

The bathroom was stocked with Shangri-la amenities. As a nice touch they included a children's amenity pouch with soaps, shampoos and wipes. There was the choice of a bath or a big shower and we chose the shower. The shower was super roomy and had a shower seat inside. The shower head was a pull down so it was easy to give our 2 year old a good wash too. It does seem to have been a few years that the rooms have been refreshed and some parts of the room you can tell have seen a lot during it's time but everything is well kept and clean.

The bathrobes in the room were super plush. I spent a lot of time in mine inside the room. The hotel slippers were slides which I thought was a bit strange until I wore them down to the pool, and they were absolutely perfect for pool ventures.

The Pool & Beach

I've done a lot of research and visited multiple SG hotels and I feel like this pool and beach area is probably the best Singapore. There is a corner to suit each member of the family. From the kids pools, to the splash park and the two waterslides, to the larger pool, the poolside bar and then the beach. There's also water sports by the beach. Whilst the beach is man made, I think it does a pretty good job of being a tropical escape only a stones throw away from one of the worlds biggest financial districts. We spent as much time here as possible however when we were leaving I felt sad that we didn't spend more time.

The pool bar resident pet.

The Food

A breakfast buffet was included in the price of the room and was served in the choice of 2 restaurants. We ate at Dine on 3 most mornings. The choice was endless. There was literally every kind of western and asian style breakfast you could think of. There was also a great kids corner separate from the main buffets that had a scaled-down-to-height buffet counter perfect for children and a selection of kids breakfast delights. Everything was help yourself including the teas and coffees. You could order your eggs to be cooked any way you fancy.

Singapore knows how to put on an exceptional buffet and in the past I've been really spoilt for choice. In comparison to the others I've tried this would be a 3/5. Don't get me wrong, we enjoyed a yummy breakfast every day, our bellies were always full and we had a selection of and kind of breakfast our bellies desired, however the 5 star hotels closer to Singapore city seem to do breakfast where the bar is much higher than most other buffet breakfasts I've had anywhere in the world.

We also ate dinner at Dine on 3 and snacks at the pool bar and the food was yummy. We missed out on eating by the Italian and Seafood restaurant by the water and it's one of my regrets. We heard rave reviews about them both. There's a video at the end of this post featuring more about the food so have a looksy if you want to see more.

For The Kids

Shangri-La Sentosa have kept children in mind in every part of their offering. There is a kids club that operates from 9.30am - 9pm with different activities every day. Whilst we didn't use the kids club as I'm a neurotic mama that worries too much, there was loads of kids that took part and they always looked like they were having the time of their lives. There's an awesome soft play with separate areas catering for both under 5's and over 5's. The section for the older kids has a giant slide spanning across 2 storeys. The equipment was in great condition and they made sure that all children and parents entering the area sanitised their hands. They also took everyone's temperatures to make sure no one was going in sick and passing germs. Genius right?

The pool area has a kids pool, TWO waterslides and a splash park and there are lots of cool kids activities by the pool.

The smaller details like the kiddie amenities pouch, kids breakfast buffet and kiddie cutlery sets made me feel like this hotel really valued and cared for their kiddie customers.

My verdict

I will choose this hotel every single time, and over again if I fancy a bit of Singaporean beach side relaxation. As well as having the best pool and beach side in all of Singapore, I couldn't imagine a hotel that would host kids just as well as Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa do.

What this resort isn't, and doesn't pretend to be, is like their 5 star hotel friends closer to the city. We have stayed in hotels in Singapore city that have been a little more luxurious and grand. The manner at Shangri-La Sentosa is more relaxed. The decor is beach lush, rather than city luxury. The lobby is an outdoor set-up where you enjoy the ocean breeze hitting your face rather than a grand lobby where you are surrounded by fancy chandeliers.

I'm the kind of girl who sometimes wants a lush hotel where I can simply sit by the pool all day, enjoy the atmosphere and soak up the rays. This, my friends, is the perfect place to do that.

Thank you Shangri-La's Rasa Sentosa for the most perfect start to our holiday. You surpassed our expectations and more and we can't wait to see you again.

Finally here's some video footage of our stay:

Let me know if this has helped and if you want any more details!

Another post is on it's way really soon.

Kat x

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From London to Singapore To Melbourne

2017-04-06T02:06:00.000+01:00

We have made it to Melbourne, Australia. Yipppeee! My little family of 3 jumped on a BA flight from Heathrow and had a wonderful 4 night stop over at Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa which is Singapore's only beach front hotel. We loved our stay there and I'm working on a little review to share with you all so stay tuned if you're interested in hearing more about that.

We have been here for 6 days now and it feels like far longer. Melbourne has a funny little place in my heart. It's my first home as well as the home of all of my family and oldest and dearest friends. I feel compelled to put as many catch ups as possible in the diary and make the most of any precious time I have. I also have this desire to show my husband J and Baby Girl as many sights as possible and especially for Baby Girl try and give her experience that relive my very own childhood. Although London is very similar to Melbourne in so many ways, there's also many differences and I don't want my daughter to miss out on any of it.

Feeling like a tourist in your home town is the most bizarre feeling, however being able to share this special place with my two most special people is the best. As is showing them things I've seen so many times before and watching them see it for their firsts.

In typical Melbourne style the weather has been up and down. We've had days where we have been cold all the way through our bones and days that we've been wearing our summer threads and chilling at the beach. I've even been able to bring Nigeria to Australia and rocking this awesome skirt that was made for me when I visited Lagos this time last year.

Skirt: Custom made for me by a designer in Lagos, Nigeria. Get in touch if you want her details
Top: New Look (current season)
Shoes: New Look (last season)
Prescription Sunglasses: Glasses Direct

I thought I would check in and say hi. I'll be sharing a lot more of this trip with you over the next few weeks. If there's anything particular you want me to share please give me a shout.

Much love,
Kat x

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How I'm Preparing For Long Haul Travel With My Two Year Old

2017-03-22T23:10:00.001+00:00

Please, for my own sanity, tell me I'm not alone in this very similar scenario.

You book a holiday with enough notice to spend months dreaming about your adventures, making getting through the daily grind of life that little bit easier. You feel like your countdown is still so far in the distance. It is initially, but time flies and before you know it, your holiday is just around the corner. This follows a mad dash and panic to get everything organised, shopped for, packed, lists sorted and everyone and their bags in the car headed to the airport. The marathon that can last for many days leading up to take off. Only feeling complete in that moment when you take your seat on that plane. By that time you know that no matter what you've forgotten to pack, you are only a flight away from your holiday and there's nothing else that you can do about it but relax and look forward to your arrival.... and breathe....

Me. Every. Time.

So this time, being so close to our departure date, is no different. I've barely got our suitcases down from the loft, never mind starting to think about what I'm going to put in them. I've got work to finish. My house has been turned upside down and we have friends staying at our place while we're away so I want the house to be nicely in order for them. I'm not looking forward to the marathon that I know is inevitable, but my goodness am I so looking forward to taking my seat on that plane.

This time we are going long haul, and the one thing I have been planning for and organising is making sure we are best placed to take Baby Girl who's two and a half years old on such a mammoth journey. Last time we did long haul with her she was just over one. This time is going to be slightly more complex. Firstly she is potty training and although she is pretty much fully out of nappies during the day now but I worry about how that will go down on a long plane journey. She has her own seat this time, and not her own bassinet like last time where she was able to go down for some sleep. She also takes A LOT more to keep her occupied.

In this post I wanted to share some things I am doing to prepare for this long haul journey with Baby Girl, and I'll follow up with a post after our travels and let you know how it all went down.

How we're preparing for long haul travel with a toddler

SLEEPING

Firstly, we have booked night flights. We've done this in the hope that we can all try and get some sleep while we're flying. When we get to our destination we'll have major jet lag to deal with so making sure we do our best to try and get to sleep on the plane will definitely help.

Through doing research in dealing with children and long haul flights, we came across this amazing invention called a JetKids Bed Box. If this works, I will be shouting from the rooftops about it. It's kind of like a Trunki and is a ride on suitcase which will be handy for navigating through airports. The most amazing thing about it, is that it's meant to be able to transform a standard economy chair to a bed. I'm going to have to believe this when I see it, but how genius is this idea? I'll do a proper review of this baby. Watch this space!

TOILET TRAINING

Baby Girl uses the toilet with a kiddie seat the majority of time she needs to go bathroom but does also use a potty at times. I thought long and hard about how we'll manage this and I discovered another product called Cushie Traveller that I'm hoping will really help (pic below). It's basically a cushioned kiddie toilet seat. It's foldable and comes in a washable bag that makes it really easy to carry around. This means that even on the plane, we'll be able to try everything possible to keep consistency and make it easy for Baby Girl to be able to use the toilet.

TO PASS THE TIME

I plan to pack a backpack full of new things she hasn't seen before. Reading books, sticker books, toys, activity cards, crayons and colouring books. All things that will keep her occupied. If I have time, I may even try and wrap them. I'm thinking that will keep her interest and may even be able to be used when bribing is necessary. Yes, I'll hold my hand up and say that sometimes I am the mum who thinks that bribing is necessary. I think a long haul flight is as good a reason as any to have to do it. Who's with me here?

Finally, I'm going to pack a pair of her own kiddie headphones. She seems to be at that age where she can sit through a movie. I tell you what, if they have Trolls on that plane, there is the potential that we could have 2 hours peace. She LOVES that movie. I like kiddie headphones as they are volume controlled and I have peace of mind that the sound will never get too loud for her precious little eardrums.

So there we go. Does this all sound like a plan? What could possibly go wrong?

I'm looking forward to reporting back on how we went. Stay tuned for more holiday themed posts and to find out where we're off to :)

Kat x

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Review: Bottomless Brunch At Tootoomoo, London (To Tickle Your Pan Asian Tastebuds)

2017-03-02T13:47:00.001+00:00

This blog has evolved massively from that late night in the middle of March 2 years ago when I pulled out my laptop bleary eyed, had a snoring 6 month old sleeping beside me and I instinctively decided to start writing a blog.

I couldn't imagine not having this blog now. It's not only my happy place. It's the place where I wind down. The place where I get to use my creativity. It's the place that I have all of you! I have your amazing support when I need to wear my heart on my sleeve (the latest open letter to my lady squad is the perfect example). It's also the first place I think to come when I want to shout about something - whether it be the latest restaurant I've dined in, my travel recommendations, hotel reviews, kids fashion you just HAVE to know about and all of my favourite recipes. There's a joke in my office that I am the queen of recommendations too so it's not just on the blog. I guess you can say I'm just a sharer :)

I visited a brunch place a couple of weekends ago, which was so amazing I was always going to share it with you. However I have to admit that the thought did cross my mind to just maybe keep this one to myself. I feel like London hasn't been let in on this secret and I want to make sure I can always book a table - I only counted 9 of them.

Tootoomoo are a group of restaurants in North London with a mouth watering Pan Asian menu and a selection to cater for any preference. They have a dine in option as well as delivery service. On the weekends they do a bottomless brunch. Now ya'll know how much I love my bottomless brunches so as soon as Tootoomoo got in touch, told me their deal and asked me to come in for a review I rallied my best friend and we were there. I was lucky enough to visit the Islington restaurant which is cozy hideaway on St Paul's Road. It's colourful and the awesome decor makes you feel like you could be sitting in a joint in China or Vietnam eating yummy street food.

Bottomless Brunch At TooTooMoo

Here's the deal on the brunch. You can chose from four options depending how long you want to order for and if you want drinks or not:

1.5 hour food & drinks - £35
1.5 hour food only - £30
2 hour food & drinks - £45
2 hour food only - £40

We had a 1.5 hour slot (90 mins). The time started from our first order. Now here's the best bit - in your time you can order anything on the menu - asian tapas, main plates, sides ANYTHING! As well as anything from the bar which has a huge selection of cocktails, mocktails, wines, beers and soft drinks. I kid you not ANYTHING! The only caveat is that they take last orders early. So for our reservation it was 70 minutes in to your time so its not a true 90 minute slot but if you order wisely you will need that 20 minutes to digest, believe me.

The food. Oh the food. It was delicious. It was fresh. It was tasty. There were too many options to choose from and although we had to stop ordering food before our time was up because my belly was telling me it couldn't possibly fit in any more, my mind was wishing I could experience more. My best friend and I are both vegetarians so if you are a meat eater there are even more options to explore and you will totes have a dilemma on your hands when it comes to menu selection.

We enjoyed multiple rounds of Tootootapas consisting of vegetarian spring rolls, vegetarian potstickers, edamame and kapa sushi maki (sushi rolls filled with cucumber). If I was pressed to pick a favourite I would say it was the vegetarian potsticker which is a fried dumpling of Tootoomoo goodness but they were all so so yummy.

We were almost too full after the tapas selection but we fancied trying a main so we pressed on and ordered a tofu Szechuan chilli with vermicelli noodles on the side. This is a dish packed with tofu, Szechuan pepper, cashews, crisp veggies and a 'to die for' sauce. The noodles were the perfect accompaniment.

Last but not least I need to mention the drinks. Most bottomless brunch places in London offer free flowing prosecco but these guys include their whole cocktail menu. They can be served by the jug if you all fancy drinking the same thing or if you want to try different things they can do individual cocktails too. Between us we tried the Mojito mixed with rum, lime. fresh mint, soda water and crushed ice. The Cosmopolitan with vodka, cointreau, lime, cranberry juice and orange zest, shaken not stirred and Caipirinha which is a classic mix of cachaca, fresh lime, sugar and crushed ice. This is only half of the menu and the rest of the cocktail collection looks just as wonderful.

The day that we dined the restaurant was super quiet which is why I get the very distinct feeling that London doesn't know this secret yet. If they did I have no doubts that there would be a queue to get in. We felt like we had a lot of special attention being one of only a few diners during our reservation which was super cool. There was always someone around to reach out to when we wanted to place another order and for me that is key to a good bottomless brunch experience.

My verdict?

This is going to be a big call here - This has been my favourite bottomless brunch experiences in London so far. Not just for the amazing food. Not just because of the excellent service. Or the super cool decor. Not just because the place feels super cosy and you're not jam packed with people spilling out of the restaurant. It's a mixture of all of those things and the fact that it's something very different to what most of the other London brunches offer. I also love that it's truly bottomless - no rules, no restrictions on what you can and cant order. Come with a rumbling belly and be prepared to fill it with endless, tapas, sushi, sashimi, aromatic duck with pancakes, grilled salmon, noodles, stir fries, curries (I could go on and on). Drink allllll the cocktails, OK maybe not all of them but do a good job of getting through the list because they are good and will not disappoint. Be prepared to roll out of the restaurant and not be able to eat for the rest of the day. You will love it!

My final mention will be that even the basement bathroom is cool and I had to include a bathroom selfie in this review just to show you the cool tile patterns :)

TooTooMoo offer Bottomless Brunch in the Islington, Crouch End and Whetstone restaurants and they also have an additional location in Highgate that offers takeaway, collection or delivery.

North London is my hood, and this is definitely my latest hot tip. Do you have any for me?

Kat x

** Tootoomoo very kindly invited me and a friend to try their bottomless brunch experience for the purpose of this review. All opinions are honest and my own. I will be back as a paying customer very soon!

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An Open Letter To My Girl Squad: From One Frazzled First Time Mummy

2017-02-28T01:03:00.001+00:00

TO MY GIRL SQUAD:

You know exactly who you are. My ladies. The sisters I never had. My confidants. Fellow gossipers. Shoulders to lean on. Fellow wine connoisseurs.

We've loved together, laughed together, travelled together, lived together, worked together, partied together. United through sisterhood.

I've always held the importance of my girl squad so very close to my heart. I have no sisters through blood (although am blessed to have some brilliant sisters in law) and over my life time I've adopted some amazing ones. You know who you are. We went through school together becoming friends at the tender age of 9. We've done our growing up in the same neighbourhood in Melbourne Australia. We've become adults together. Some of you I've met later in life. We spent our 20's dancing all night. We've been on some amazing girls holidays together. Some of you were my first friends that I ever made when I moved to London and I am forever indebted to you because you made London feel like home.

I have always counted my blessings having such an amazing girl squad to share so many life memories with. The moment I told you all I was pregnant, I always knew my squad would be behind me, and even though I was the first of us to enter this crazy new chapter called motherhood. You have embraced Baby Girl, my new life and my frazzled sense of state far better than I think I would have had the shoe been on the other foot.

To be very honest with you, since I jumped on the motherhood bus I feel like there has been many times where I haven't been the friend I should be, shown the support I should have or simply let you down. In the moment I have apologised and you have understood but I still feel guilt for many things and this has been on my mind a lot recently so putting this to words this is my therapy and this is for you my girl squad:

I'm sorry that for the first 9 months of my pregnancy and following 6 months in my newborn bubble I became a total hermit. I loved that you still invited me to every occasion even though you know I wouldn't make it.
I'm sorry that I missed one of your weddings. You travelled from Australia to the rolling hills of Tuscany to be my Maid Of Honour and I just couldn't make it happen to attend your Australian wedding. I know you said you forgive me, but I can't myself and I still to this day feel so very bad about it.
I'm sorry that I sometimes go days, weeks and even months without replying to texts. And I'm sorry I don't reply to some at all. The simple task of writing a two sentence reply can be many attempts in the making in between Baby Girl's demands and many times I read and forget the text ever existed. I'm sorry.
I'm sorry to my UK squad for never answering your calls. The previously normal 8pm gossip chat timeslot is now smack bang in the middle of the 'evening routine'. Some nights my little sleep fighter doesn't settle until 10pm. By the time I've done dinner and won the bedtime battle I'm absolutely exhausted and the only ounce of energy I have left I use to crawl in to my bed.
I'm sorry that when we do speak that often I can't string a sentence together, the sleep deprivation is REAL.
I'm sorry you had your first day at your super amazing new job and I didn't wish you good luck. I hope you know how very proud of you I am.
I'm sorry I can't be included in girl's trips. I can't stand the idea of leaving my princess for even one night, but I'm working on that one ;)
I'm sorry to my Australian squad that Skype and FaceTime sessions are nearly non existent. That UK/ Australian time difference is terrible and completely not baby mama friendly. I value our whatsapp chats so much and even more, spending treasured time with you during my annual trips home (1month to go until my next visit, yippee).
I'm sorry I'm unorganised, I forget important things. I cancel our lady dates and sometimes don't offer you the support you really deserve. I am one frazzled mummy just trying to master the balance of life...

I thank you for sticking by me. I'm forever greatful for you all and the support you have given me. I thank you for so lovingly embracing Baby Girl, she adores her extended Aunties so very much, and I have to say she is one lucky kid to grow up with so many brilliant role models surrounding her. Thank you for allowing my chat to change from the coolest bars and the best lady to visit for eyebrow threading to baby poo and weaning stories - not only for letting me bring them to the table but for being interested in them. Thank you for showing me what unconditional friendship really is. I am so blessed.

And just know this..... You ladies are my squad for life. There are still so many life stages for us to experience together and together we will grow. Remember I am always here for you no matter what the circumstances. And if you ever need to know how to handle your child throwing their whole bowl of dinner that you've lovingly spent hours preparing on the floor. Or you're wondering how you are going to get through the day when you have had no more than a 1 hour sleep stretch through the night. Or you simply need someone to show you it's OK to not be perfect. Don't worry, I got you covered ladies.

Love you.

Kat x

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Recipe: Roasted Vegetable Cous Cous

2017-02-01T20:58:00.001+00:00

Last week Co-op Food reached out to me and told me they were sending me a surprise. When it arrived I was delighted to see it was my favourite kind of delivery - a recipe box!

Co-op have teamed up with the YouTube channel SORTEDfood to tackle the cooking skills gap amongst youngsters and have created #nowcookit - a campaign all about educating and encouraging by offering free online cooking courses.

The recipe box I was sent was for a roasted vegetable couscous and let me tell you, this is a dish I have a love affair with so it couldn't have been more appropriate to appear at my doorstep.

The challenge was this: Visit the nowcookit website, find the couscous recipe from the selection of deeeeelish recipes and GO GO GO!

The steps were simple:

** Measure

** Chop

** Roast

** Couscous prep

** Mix

** Season

** And in 35 mins including roasting time you should be ready to service this tasty, healthy dish

Roasted Vegetable Couscous

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

1 red onion
1 red pepper
1 lemon
1 clove of garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1 courgette
100g cous cous
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp dried oregano
2 plum tomatoes (or half can of chopped tomatoes)
50g cucumber
1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp greek yoghurt
100g cous cous

For directions - head on over to nowcookit.co.uk for the full Vegetable Couscous Recipe. Not only does it give you all the details you need step by step but also video tutorials on bits like - deseeding the pepper, cooking couscous (which if you've never prepared before you'll be shocked at how simple it is) and knife technique. Keeping things simple in the kitchen - just how I like it.

Often being one to deviate from a recipe, I doubled the amount of couscous so the veggie to cous cous ratio for the one that I prepared was slightly different to the original. It served 2 adults, and 2 babies with leftovers.

If you're looking for a super easy, healthy, meat free dish you should definitely try this one. If you do I would love to hear what you thought.

Keep your eyes peeled on this blog for more recipes really soon.

Much love,
Kat x

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Review: Plaza Hotel Lucchesi (Florence, Italy)

2017-01-27T16:30:00.001+00:00

I sit here on a cold Friday in London looking outside my bedroom window staring at a grey sky. The days are short, the cold is growing old and daydreaming about travel is high on my agenda.

We have our next long haul trip on the horizon that I'm excited about and I have the very dear memories of our family weekend away in Florence that we took in December. There were so many reasons that made the trip so wonderful and one of them was definitely Plaza Hotel Lucchesi - a 4 star boutique that we spent two nights in. If you follow me on social media you would have seen me raving about this stunning place during our stay. Heres some more detailed thoughts:

THE LOCATION

Florence is a small city so things are mostly within walking distance. We loved that this hotel was not in the heart of one of the main squares so is a little more peaceful however within minutes you can be right in Santa Croce which leads to many cultural, shopping and dining adventures. The hotel is right beside the Arno river so half of the hotels rooms have river views. We arrived at Santa Maria Novella station which is the main train station. The hotel is just a little too far to walk especially as we had luggage for all three of us and pram but it was super easy to catch a cab and it was a leisurely 10 minute drive away.

CHECKING IN

We arrived in Florence by midday having been up at 3am to make our super early flight from London. Although check in wasn't meant to start until 2pm, the lovely lady at the reception started checking us in straight away and told us our room was ready and that was very much appreciated. All the staff during the check in process were fabulous and made us feel very welcome at the hotel. We did have a slight issue with the first room that we were allocated which I'll explain in the next part of this post. As soon as I raised this, the front desk was straight on it and found us a more suitable room within 10 minutes. We didn't have any coins so tried to tip the porter helping us with our bags £5 but he politely refused it and said it was too much and that he was just doing his job. I was shocked!

THE ROOM

This hotel has been around since 1860 but all the rooms have recently been renovated and there is the perfect balance of history, elegance and freshness to the rooms. Many of the rooms come with different lay outs which is often the main bedroom another little space and the bathroom. The first room we were given had a smaller room at the entry, which then led in to the main bedroom. This would have been the perfect set up for the cot and Baby Girl having her own sleeping space. I don't want to take away from the beauty of the first room because it was gorgeous, but the bathroom had no bath and when we opened our window our 'city view' actually lead to a closed in internal courtyard. There was very little light that came through from the courtyard and the room was dark. I called the front desk very quickly. They were very accommodating and found us a new room and we were in it in no time.

The room we ended up with was at the end of a long corridor and Baby Girl loved running down it every time we were on our way back to our room. The door opened up to a little entrance with a coat rack and space for our pram and lead on to the main bedroom. The room was stunning and super big. There was enough room for a king size bed, double wardrobe, cot bed set up and still so much room for Baby Girl to run around.

The view of this room was wonderful. We could see the Santa Croche bell tower and we all loved that our room was filled with church bells at certain times of the day.

You may already know that my love for marble bathrooms is extra and I loved our marble bathroom at Hotel Lucchesi. The bathroom is the room was a lot bigger and had a bath. It was filled with cosy robes and some lovely toiletries by a range called Floga.

The room has a large flat screen TV which we didn't really use. The room also had a climate control which was operated by an electronic touch pad by the door. The touchpad also gave updates on the weather and hotel information. It was super fancy.

THE FACILITIES

There are so many lovely things about this hotel but my favourite thing hands down is the rooftop. There's something very magical about seeing Florence from above and so the fact that we could do this whenever we fancied was a huge plus. We took many trips up there to soak in our surroundings.

I can't help feeling that we only got to enjoy part of this wonderful rooftop. During winter months the bar is closed and during summer there is a rooftop pool to enjoy, a very cool bar and live music every evening. I do need to come back in the summer to take advantage of this. I definitely love a rooftop especially in the basking sun!

We did however get to enjoy some really peaceful time on this amazing rooftop with just the three of us and I can't imagine we would get the chance to do that in the summer months. I'm sure it would be bustling.

The main lobby in the hotel is simply stunning and decked out with fabulous sofas, coffee tables, flowers and candles. We were always able to find a little quiet space if we needed one and it was a really relaxed environment. There was also a little business centre with two Apple Macs and a printer for any guests to use and there was free wi-fi throughout the hotel and it was a great connection.

THE FOOD

Included in the price of the room was breakfast. When travelling love having breakfast at our hotel before we set out for the day. We can fill our bellies up and get ready for the day at a more leisurely pace. This is even more important to us now that we have Baby Girl to also think about, I'm sure any of you fellow parents can appreciate how long it can actually take to set out for the day....

Breakfast is served at a front room in the hotel right beside the Arno river and is a buffet. There is everything you could possibly want from eggs many ways, sausages, mushrooms, grilled tomatoes, potatoes to a huge selection of breads, a huge anti past spread, cereals, fruits, juices, biscuits, pastries, sweets and more. The food is refilled regularly and is as fresh as if it would be if it were made to order.

The only problem that we had with breakfast was that we were too tempted to fill our breakfast plates too many times and we had many other food adventures waiting for us throughout the day. No good for watching the calories, but hey ho!

This hotel has a downstairs bar, restaurant and an extensive room service menu but we didn't try any of it because we were too busy being out in the day enjoying eating at the local eateries. The bar did look wonderful and I'm sure something that I would have really enjoyed in my child free days.

THE VERDICT

I absolutely loved our stay at Hotel Lucchesi. From the very first moment that we walked up the gold carpet at the entrance, to the warm reception we got from all the staff during our whole stay, the beautiful decor, peaceful surrounds, the breakfast and that breathtaking rooftop. Hotel Lucchesi was the perfect base for my husband, 2 year old and I to use during our weekend in Florence and we had such a brilliant time.

The only thing that I would say is make sure you get in touch with the hotel prior to your stay and be clear on what you are hoping for with your room booking. You'll need to request a bath of you need one to guarantee you do and I would recommend requesting a room that doesn't lead on to the internal courtyard.

I am not always loyal when it comes to hotels because I like to enjoy lots of different experiences even if in the same city but I can safely say that next time we visit Florence I really hope we can stay at this fabulous hotel again, especially if it's during the warmer months.

I hope you enjoyed this review. If you pass by and are thinking of staying here I would love to hear what you've thought of this review.

Kat x

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Mini's Wardrobe #4 (Some January Sales Finds)

2017-01-20T11:54:00.002+00:00

We are two thirds of the way through January already and it's already flying before my eyes.

This is the funny time of year when we are though Christmas and the buzz of coming into a new year but we are still faced with frosty mornings, short dark days and coldness. I've kept myself excited through January with lots of fab deliveries of things that I scored in the January sales.

Today's toddler outfit features some bits that I found in the sales that I absolutely love. Both have become a wardrobe staple from the very minute I opened our happy post.

This lovely black duffle coat is both a zip up and has the lovely duffle buttons with a cozy black and white checked lining. This is a size 3-4 and will see us through next winter.

The camera was actually a christmas gift which baby girl loves. I searched high and low online for something just like it and eventually found one on Etsy through a seller called Craffox Kids.

I feel like my love of taking photos is definitely rubbing off on Baby Girl. She's at that age where she just soaks everything up and wants to copy every little thing I do and say.

The cute little acid wash jeans are a Primark find I purchased a few seasons ago. They are a super comfy fit and great to keep her warm during colder days. I find that a lot of her leggings are just not thick enough.

The boots are fabulous! They are so comfy and the fluff wraps around her little legs from her ankles to her knees and keeps them toasty. I love the little faces on the front. Cuteness overload.

Gap booties | Primark jeans | Gap duffle coat | Craffox wooden toy camera

January is definitely the time to grab some winter bargains. There's still a few months of coldness ahead and if you get the next size up, which I always do for big things like coats, they'll see you through to next winter.

With all the discounts and free delivery I ended up getting the boots AND coat for £32 which I thought was a steal for Gap quality.

The coat is now sold out at Gap and there's only a few sizes of the boots left but if you're totes in love with this look, I've done some searching and found some similar bits.

SHOP THE LOOK

Duffle coat in navy, pink or red | JoJo Maman Bebe | £39.00
Cozy bear booties | GAP | £20.99
Acid wash toddler jeans | River Island | £12.00
Wooden toy camera | Craffox Kids | £24.93

Have you been stocking up on toddler bits through the sales? I'd love to know where you've found some steals.

Kat x

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Press Play: A Mummy Day Off (Camden, London)

2017-01-13T15:11:00.000+00:00

Here's a post I've been planning to share for some time but haven't because A. I've been hesitant and b. My blog schedule was terrible late last year.

I wanted to talk about a vlog I shared on my YouTube channel at the end of November. I've been slowly getting used to sitting in front of the camera at home and talking to you all but on this particular day something inside me gave me the drive to pick up my camera and take you with me on my mummy free day out.

My hesitation to share this comes for so many reasons. Reasons that when I vocalise them sound silly. Are my editing skills good enough? Is it actually interesting enough for you to spend 10 minutes of your day watching? My skin was terrible on this day. My camera angles make me look terrible. My voice is annoying. I'm not confident enough vlogging in public yet and it shows....

But you know what I realised? This is me - flaws and all.

And this is what I chose to share.

And I always said to myself that I wanted to share my authentic self and not an edited version of me.

Yes, my videos still need loads of work but this is my journey and you have to start somewhere right?

So now that I've got past this hesitation and I'm working at getting my blogging schedule back into action. Here is a snap shot of one cold day back in November last year when this mama left her baby at home and went to catch up with her friends in Camden for a nice day out.

Press play:

To see the minute I got out of bed....

To me doing my make up....

Heading into town....

Mooching around Camden Market....

Brunch at Greenberry Cafe....

Mulled wine at Edinboro Castle, my old local....

And some funny outtakes at the end.

Let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions on what you would like to see (or not see) on my channel.

I hope it is worth 10 minutes of your day :)

Kat x

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Photo Diary: Our Family Weekend In Florence

2017-01-11T22:10:00.000+00:00

At the beginning of December we decided it had been far too long between travel for us so we booked a weekend away for my husband J, Baby Girl and I to go to Florence.

Florence is somewhere very close to our hearts. We were married in the hills of Tuscany and have already created some amazing memories in this amazing city so close to our wedding venue. We decided we just had to go and show Baby Girl.

There is beauty in every corner you turn in Florence. It's one of those cities that takes my breath away. I'll be sharing a review on the hotel we stayed at, as well as a separate post on some practical details but for now I just wanted to leave you with a small selection from the hundreds of photos I took during our break. Hope you enjoy!

Plaza Hotel Lucchesi was amazing.

Plaza Hotel Lucchesi was amazing. The best bit? The rooftop pool and bar with incredible views of the whole city

Florence, through her eyes. The Duomo is in the background and is completely stunning.

Our hotel was right near Santa Croce and there was an amazing German Christmas market covering the whole square

We brought home one of these wooden trees with dangling bells for the tree

Father and daughter. The best pair xx

Beauty everywhere. Like this stunning marble bath just chilling. I want this in my home!

Gelato in Italy is the business.

And pasta, both Baby Girl and I are still dreaming about the pasta.

There's a leather market in Florence that has anything leather you can possibly imagine in any shape, colour and size.

The first few times I visited Florence, I looked straight though this carousel in Piazza della Republicca

There's so may things you 'see' for the first time when you're sharing it with you little mini.

Florence by night.

Looking through these photos makes me want to go ahead and book another weekend. If you haven't been to Florence I highly recommend putting it on the bucket list. Getting there is pretty straight forward and doesn't need to bust the bank. Check back in a couple of weeks for everything you need to know about planning a weekend in this wonderful city.

Next bit of planning..... Singapore!

What are your 2017 travel plans?

Kat x

** Linking this post to #coolmumclub

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My Plans & Wishes for 2017

2017-01-08T15:52:00.000+00:00

A happy new year to you my lovely friends. I hope you had a great time over the holidays and it was filled with my three favourite F's - Food, Family and Fun.

Here we are, a week into January and I know that this year is going to fly by just as quickly as 2016 did. We have a very busy year ahead of us and I'm determined to do two things 1. Be productive and 2. live in the moment. I've been learning to master this balance over 2016. It's not easy and I'm not there yet but I'm better and I'll keep improving.

Here's what we're working towards and putting out there to the universe for this year. With the aim of being a better blogger this year, these are the kind of things I'll be documenting on the blog so stay tuned.

Travel
We have our first big trip of the year already planned and have been thinking about what else we could book in for the rest of the year. In April we'll be heading back out to Australia with a stop over in Singapore. We've had this booked for quite a few months and it's felt like such a long time away, however now that we are in 2017 the countdown feels real and I'm so excited. I'm also thinking I would love to take the family to Dubrovnik, Croatia. I've been there before by myself and loved it so much. I could only be so lucky to take my family and explore with them - so I'll keep hopeful that we'll be able to make it happen and keep you in the loop.

Home Improvement Projects
We've got a few exciting things in the pipeline in terms of house projects. This gives me heart palpitations because you guys know how much I love making a house a home. We have already delayed one big loft conversion project that was meant to happen last year and we'll hopefully be able to do really soon. There's some other exciting things in the pipeline that haven't yet come to fruition so I'm not going to say too much - but it's really exciting!!

Family Time
This is always my number one priority and will continue to be. I will continue to spend as much quality time with my daughter as I can. I will also make more of an effort for husband and wife time. We really sucked at that last year and we have both made an agreement that we'll be better in 2017. We are the foundation to our family and need to be strong. Let me just put this one out there.... After feeling very unsure on the timing of baby number 2, I feel like this is the year that I would like to get pregnant. Eeeek!

Cooking
My husband will be the first to say that I was winning in the cooking delicious dinner stakes in the first part of the year but definately dropped the ball in the last part of the year. I've been rotating the same quick meals for quite a few months now and it's time to put my chef hat back on, do some awesome meal planning and get back in the kitchen for real. I will also be making time for recipe developing and posting my creations on the blog again. Watch this space.

I think that sums things up nicely. I'm so hopeful and excited for what 2017 will bring us and I'll try and share as much of it as I can.

What are your plans for 2017?

Catch you all really soon.

Kat x

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Preparing For Christmas

2016-12-09T14:39:00.001+00:00

It doesn't feel like that long ago when I was writing about spending Christmas 2015 in Australia with my parents and siblings.

And just like that another year has passed. As a family we've had one of those years that whilst it doesn't feel like much has changed, when you actually think about it so much has in regards to every aspect of our lives.

I come into this Christmas so excited that for the first time Baby Girl is so very aware of this time of year and her anticipation for it is infectious. I am definitely one for Christmas traditions and for the longest time of having to share many years away from my immediate family and all the special little things that we would do around this time of year, I can create them with my own little tribe.

Christmas decor, tree assembly, Christmas carols, church, family, friends, laughter, baking, cooking, eating, drinking, games, giving. These are all traditions that we are going to incorporate into our very own family celebrations and I'm so very blessed to be able to have my little family of three to be able to share these moments with.

Here's how we've been preparing so far.

Christmas tree has gone up. I ditched the red and gold decorations we have used for many years prior and picked up a collection of natural, wood, white and silver decorations to match our house decor.

Here's some of my faves:

Next reindeer

Paperchase hanging antlers

Sainsbury's hanging silver pinecones

A gorgeous decoration that we picked up at a Christmas market during our trip to Florence last weekend (more on that soon).

I've purchased Baby Girl her very first advent calendar and I'm surprised that she understands that she's only able to open one window a day. I've been really impressed with this WOW toy calendar and Baby Girl is well on her way to building a little town.

We now constantly have Christmas music filling the house. If I forget to put it on, Baby Girl will remind me. Her favourite song is Jingle Bells.

Candles always.

Something about Christmas screams candles and they are another constant in our house. I was lucky enough to be sent this gorgeous 3 wick Kartel candle from Amara Living. They are a home living online store that I always lust after and they have a to die for home scents section. I picked this one from the fresh category which is totally me and this baby will see us through the whole season. They have so much more than candles and if you still have some Christmas shopping to do you should definitely head over for some inspiration.

On the weekend the Christmas baking will commence. I'm entering a work Christmas bake off and I beleive there is some stiff competition so I will have to put on my fierce chef hat and make something amazing. I will have the assistance of a little helper. She's watched me bake all her life and it's rubbed off on her. She loves it! I may also post a cheeky recipe if I'm really organised - it's been a long time since I've done that!

I've nearly finished the Christmas shopping, there's just a few more bits to get. It's almost time for a mammoth present wrapping session.

And so today marks the 9th of December. That's 16 more days to enjoy this wonderful time of the year and I'm going to make sure me and my tribe enjoy each and every one.

I would love to hear about your traditions and what you've been up to?

Kat x

I would love to connect with you! You can find me on:

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A Thank You & Giveaway: Gazelle London African Inspired Notebook Collection (Closed)

2016-11-08T22:14:00.003+00:00

Here's a little something I shared with you guys on Instagram last week:

*****

I love to write. Some of my earliest memories are creating story books in my first year at school before I could even properly spell.
The jury's out on how good of a writer I am now. The truth is, I often feel inferior being part of a group of some amazingly talented bloggers.
I don't let that stop me because having a creative outlet where I can express myself is far more important. I also love sharing my story and if I can help just one person by doing this, I'm happy.
This may not make sense but I'm like an extroverted introvert and I love that I can express my written word in a far better way than I could ever articulate verbally. I want people to know my journey but I'm not always comfortable with being so open and vocalising it.
Thank you to everyone who reads my blog. I appreciate you x

*****

I often share things through Instagram that never hit the blog but I thought this was a really important message and I just has to post here too. I mean it from the very bottom of my heart. Thank you for letting me have a voice and thank you for sharing your voices with me. You have no idea how much you lift me up and help me through this crazy ride called motherhood.

To pass on my thanks, I want to share with you all a very special giveaway. I'm so excited to be collaborating with my sister in law who has just launched Gazelle London. All the cool kids seem to have their hands on her notebooks but if you haven't heard about Gazelle London, let me give you a little insiders view.

Gazelle London is home to an amazing collection of African inspired notebooks. The love and attention that went into producing these thought keepers was all encompassing and you can tell they are something special as soon as you lay your hands on them. All of the books are padded and wrapped in Ankara print fabric which is 100% cotton. The prints are bold, gorgeous and African inspired and I love how vibrant they are. I'm a journal addict and I've not come across any as beautiful as these.

Each notebook has its own name and character. My personal favourite is the Inspirer. I love the colours and print. The pages of this one are unlined so I can get creative and jot my thoughts on one page and then stick on some photos or images on the next.

The best bit about it is the inspiring quotes that feature throughout the book at the bottom of the pages. It's such a nice touch and this notebook sure does live up to its name.

Each book in the collection is unique both outside and in. Some of them come with pages that are lined with spaces for date entries and some have blank pages and are filled with special quotes throughout. 1.5% off all the profits made from Gazelle London goes to CAMFED, a charity set up to invest in the education of young girls across Africa. This is a company that not only has a beautiful product but aims to inspire and uplift people of all walks of live.

Find out more about Gazelle London by:
Shopping the collection
Following on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter
Read a little more about my sissy Kemi, the face behind Gazelle London

GIVEAWAY

As a big THANK YOU to all of you I am joining forces with Gazelle London and we will be giving away 3 of these thought keepers to one lucky winner. The winner will get to choose their 3 fave journals from the collection. Keep them all for yourself or take advantage of the timing and spread some Christmas love, it's totally up to you!

The giveaway will run for just over 3 weeks. To enter all you need to do is click into Rafflecopter below and follow the steps. There are many different ways to enter and you can choose as many or as few as you like. The more entries you make, the more chances you have of winning but even choosing one option will give you a chance. It's open to UK residents and will run from today until 11.59pm on Sunday 4th December. The winner will be selected on the 5th of December and notified by email. Terms and conditions can be found through your Rafflecopter entry.... What are you waiting for?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!

PS. Can you tell I'm a proud sister? Hands up if you want a sister tag on YouTube! :)

Kat x

I would love to connect with you! You can find me on:

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A New Kind Of Normal

2016-11-02T16:14:00.000+00:00

Well the past two and a half years feels like a whirlwind. It takes me to a place where I feel I've been running so fast, but everything around me has changed at such a quick pace it's been hard to keep up.

Becoming a mother has been a far bigger life change than I would have ever expected. I wouldn't ever take it back, not for a second. It has just been the biggest adjustment of my life. The transition of picking up my life and moving from Melbourne to London wouldn't even come close.

The thing about change and dealing with it, especially when it's not just you that you have to worry about, is that you can have the best laid out plans in the world but the universe works in it's own way and what you think are the next best steps for you just aren't.

I've shared moments through this blog when I resigned from my beloved job after deciding not to return from maternity leave. I started my little baby clothes bouquet business with the intention of working flexibly from home and being there for my family. It then all got a little too much and I had to take a step back from a lot of my commitments and finally last month I had to close down my little business. And that was a hard decision to make but the right one for me and my family.

Truth be told, I think I got so caught up in being the perfect everything, I was the perfect nothing. The biggest issue I had was that my home became the place where I strived so badly to be the best mother and wife that I could be but I couldn't switch off from my business, ever.

This brings me to today and I seem to have done a total 360 in terms of my thinking, desires and wishes for my family and I. A big factor in my decision to not return to work was feeling really anxious about someone else looking after my child more than I would be. On the flip side, I felt that I wouldn't be as successful in my job as my priorities have shifted.

It turns out all I needed was some time. Because sometimes adjustments can't just happen over night. You need time, you need to grow and you need time to think.

For about a year now, alongside my other projects I've been working casually getting back in the HR game. It started off as very few hours and it's increased over time. The first few months were very difficult and it took me awhile to get my self confidence back. Over time, I've started to love my job again. It's been so nice to get out of the house, work hard, banter with some new found work buddies and feel like I'm making a positive impact. I've also come to the realisation that I can be good at my job and be a mummy and I'm getting closer to mastering the art of to balance.

Contracting was never going to be a permanent solution and the job that I do really is a busy Monday to Friday type thing. However just recently, the universe did it's thing and I''m so happy to tell you all that I've been offered the chance to try out a job share arrangement. I was a little nervous about how this could work initially but the more I think about it, the more I realise what a wonderful opportunity it is.

So as of next week my 'new normal' starts. I really think it's going to be the most normal things have been since becoming a mother. I will work for half the week. I will get to go into the office and do a job I truly love. I will advise people who will listen to my opinions (because I tell you there are some days where I truly wonder if Baby Girl or hubby take anything I say seriously). For the other half of the week I get to be a mum, with the confidence that my fabulous job share partner is looking after things in the office leaving me no worries. Being able to leave my job at the office will mean that when I am home my only focus will be my family.

I can be comfortable that whilst Baby Girl loves her time at nursery, I will still get to be there for her more often than not. I will still have more days that I get to spend with her over being in the office. And even though she is adamant that "Daddy is her best friend" right now, perhaps I'll be able to work at changing that.

Thank you universe, I know that you know what's good for me, better than I do for myself. You're kind of alright :)

Now let's please keep this new normal going for a little bit because I think I'm going to like it here.

I would love to hear how you balance things as a mum whether you're a stay at home, working mum or work at home mum?

Kat :)

Linking this post to #coolmumclub

I would love to connect with you! You can find me on:

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A Little Homeware Haul

2016-10-27T22:12:00.000+01:00

Today I'm coming at you with a little homeware haul. I like to refresh my house often with little pieces that are small touches but make a nice difference when you do lot of little bits here and there. I'm a homebody, I spend the majority of my time in my home.

I'm most relaxed when my home is clean, updated and everything is in it's place. Shopping for homeware gets my excited. If I'm ever doing any late night online shopping you can probably bet I'm scrawling through the home section of my favourite online stores. Anyone feeling me?

Here's my latest buys:

TIGER cereal & salad bowls | M&S wood and marble board | OLIVER BONAS teaspoons

OLIVER BONAS marble pestle & mortar

M&S round cushion | OLIVER BONAS - white & grey united blanket

KMART AUS - marble base lamp | TIGER blue vase

I'm most excited to share with you my favourite homeware shop of all time - Kmart. Kmart is in Australia and the home section is so totally amazing. Very sadly they do not ship to the UK however whenever I have people coming to visit me or when I visit Australia I stock up on all the latest goodies. This marble lamp is like something you would find in Oliver Bonas for £70 but I actually scored these babies for $20AUD - according to today's exchange rate that's £12.44! I'm heading back for an Aus visit for Easter next year and can't wait to stock up again.

I posted a video showing these bits up close and personal (plus a few extra items I got for Baby Girl's bedroom. Here it is:

I've tried to list down all the items (or similar) if you want to find them. Enjoy! :)

Strawberry cushion | Kmart | $7.00 (£4.36 based on today's current exchange)
Cloud pillow case | Kmart | $7.00 (4.36 based on today's current exchange)
Marble table lamps | Kmart | $20.00 (£12.44 based on today's current exchange)

Pestle & Mortar | Oliver Bonas | £40.00 (similar)
Knitted blanket | Oliver Bonas | Now sold out in stores but if was still in stock I would buy myself a spare one I love it so much
Set of teaspoons | Oliver Bonas | £19.00 (similar)
Metal cocktail cups | Oliver Bonas | Sadly these beauties are now no where to be found, check back next summer

Round button cushion | Marks & Spencer | £14 sale price (pink sold out but duck egg colour in stock)
Marble & Wood | Marks & Spencer | Sold out online but still in stock in my local store so if you love - go have a look

Blue vase | Tiger | £2.00
Small bowl | Tiger | £2.00
Large bowl | Tiger | £3.00
Tiger doesn't have an online shop but all these items are still in stock in stores

I hope you enjoyed. I would love to hear where your favourite places to shop for homeware is?

Kat x

I would love to connect with you! You can find me on:

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Minis Wardrobe #3

2016-10-19T22:33:00.001+01:00

I decided that one of Baby Girl's winter staples this year just had to be a cute, warm and comfy pair of girlfriend jeans. She's been rocking her skinny's all summer and suddenly she has developed a dislike for tight trousers, so it had to be done.

Baby Gap denim is the best kind of toddler denim, so a few weeks back when they were having an amazing sale on their whole range I stocked up. A pair of girlfriend jeans was at the top of the list.

I think I'm a little bit in love....

Just take a look at every little inch of love that was exuded when making this gorgeous pair of toddler jeans. You can see it in every single little detail.

I think these jeans look gorgeous paired with simple bits so I normally just throw on a trusty white long sleeve vest and a pair of trainers.

To keep her extra toasty we pull out on her beloved Zara bomber.

Toddler slay much?

Gap kids girlfriend jeans | Mothercare long sleeved white vest | Adidas mini superstars

All of these bits are current and can be found in stores now.

Shop The Look

Girlfriend Jeans (Indigo Destroy) | Gap Kids | £19.95
My first body suit in 18 - 24 months | Mothercare | £7.00 for a 3 pack
Adidas superstars | Schuh | £35

The socks are just a Primark bargain - they don't have an online shop. Errrm... get with the program Primark!

I need to share more Minis Wardrobe posts. I've stocked up loads for winter and can't wait to show you all some of my finds. Eeeek!!

Much love,
Kat x

I would love to connect with you! You can find me on:

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