Category: #Littleloves

As I sit here to plan this #littleloves post, I’m thinking back on my week and it seems such a long time so much more than 7 days. Last Friday we were enjoying our Butlins break, then we were back at home for New Year and now I’ve already done 3 days back at work!

Since being back at work, I’ve settled each evening with Susan Calman’s Cheer Up Love. It’s an autobiography with a strong narrative on depression. I’m enjoying it, in parts it reminds me of Matt Haig’s Reasons to be Alive but there is more on Susan’s life too and stories we can all relate to.

Our children love Butlins, especially the Skyline Gang and Rainbow the dog. This week I’ve watched lots of shows at Butlins not simply watching what’s on the stage but my children’s reactions too. Its lovely to see how happy and involved they are, Butlins will always be our happy place.

This week I’ve seen lot of references to Gretchen Rubin’s 18 in 2018 and I’ve made my list here https://seasidesparkles.net/2017/12/30/a-new-little-project-18for2018/ I’m excited by this little project and am looking forward to my new adventures.

Despite this being mid-winter I seem to have been outside a lot this week, my Fitbit steps show this too. Its been a week of woolly hats and scarves and wearing my new bag from White Stuff. I love the bright colour which brings a pop of colour to my dark clothes.

After reading about Gretchen Rubin, I found her Happier podcasts online and have been listening to them non stop since. It’s a great podcast and one I would readily recommend.

January is a fresh start and I like focusing on our home this month. The decorations are down and I am looking for new ways to make the house sparkle. It’s my day off today and unusually I’m looking forward to sorting out the children’s bedrooms and just making the house tidy and organised.

Happy new year to Morgana and all the #littleloves posse.

This week we’ve been enjoying the first week of our Christmas holidays and its come as a welcome break.  Despite my best efforts life has felt a little overwhelming at times in the past few weeks, so a quiet week was just what was needed.  We started with a few days away at my parents and then our days since we returned seem to have developed a routine of a long walk or outdoor activity in the morningand then a film or Wii U in the afternoon.  We still have a few more traditions to do before Christmas but these are always reserved for the final days of advent.

I’m sure I’m not the only one this week who has sat down to read the  Radio Times with a highlighter to mark my programmes for this fortnight.  I think the programmes I’m most looking forward to are Call the Midwife and the new tv adaptation of Little Women.

I’m also continuing reading The Christmasaurus with the children which is such a delightful book.  Its not only at bedtimes this week either as we worked out that if we want to finish it by Christmas we need to sit down and read a few chapters during the day too.  There are far worse ways to spend your time.

On Saturday I sat down and watched the Strictly final.  I didn’t have a clear favourite before the show and would have been happy with any finalist as a winner.  However given their performances, the majority of my votes on the night went to Joe and Katya and I was pleased they won.  We were enchanted by their show dance, the way Cinderella’s rags turned into a ball gown was magical.

Although I’ve watched much of the series I missed the Apprentice final, its been an uninspiring series and then when I heard that they both got picked, I felt the whole series was a bit rubbish this season.  It really needs to improve next year with some quality candidates and solid business ideas.

Okay be warned there are some tenuous links in this section this week.

Firstly, I made a discovery, Bounty spread, OMG has anyone tasted this coconut spread it is gorgeous on a crumpet or whispers on a teaspoon from the jar.

I also made a purchase.  I was given a gift voucher at work but decided to use it against some household purchases so I could swap it for cash.  At the Bristol Christmas markets (which were gorgeous) I found this clay decoration on a stall called the Nutcracker.  Not only does it light up when you put in a lit tea light, but if you put water and some essential oils in the chimney it emits smoke and a little festive fragrance.  I love my new decoration and it fits in beautifully with what I like to describe as my Hansel and Gretel display.

I have a new Christmas scarf which I bought when I was in Bristol.  For those familiar with Bristol, the scarf is from St Nick’s market, where I used to love to hang out when I was younger, there are always lots of quirky finds here and I impressed myself with only buying one thing here!

I have been a football fan all my life and Bristol City are my team.  I was a season ticket holder at Ashton Gate for many years and I only stopped going when we moved away.  Bristol City will always be my number 1 team.  This week they were in the Carabou League cup quarter final against Manchester United and I listened to the commentary on Radio 5.  I was so proud that Bristol City beat Man Utd and it was exciting to hear the match and the late, late winner.

 So its nearly time for Christmas now and I am ready and looking forward to the big day.  In the meantime we have few special things we do in the last few days, making gingerbread decorations, touring the local Christmas lights and visiting neighbours with gifts and cards.  We have my father in law staying with us for Christmas and then on Wednesday we’re off to Butlins for a little break, which we’re all looking forward to.

Merry Christmas to Morgana and all the other #littleloves contributors, I hope you all have a happy and sparkly Christmas.

I love this time of the year, its a period of preparation, anticipation and excitement and I have all the festive feels.  As we are breaking up early (really who thought Dec 15 to Jan 2nd for the school Christmas holidays was a good idea!!) lots of things are a little earlier this year to fit in with the school term. Its been a busy Christmas week, Friday saw the school’s Christmas fair, Saturday, a visit to Santa’s grotto, on Sunday, we put up our tree, Monday saw parents invited to share a mince pie and have a festive singalong with the Brownies and Thursday was the fantastic Christmas tree festival.  With trying to balance a job and just everyday life I am incredibly organised at this time of year, it is my way of keeping sane.

Even whilst things are busy I’m still trying to keep a few minutes each day to relax.  The easiest way to relax is to enjoy a book and I am loving The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan, it is beautifully written and a pleasure to read each night.

This week we have been very busy practising our songs for our Christmas concert at work.  Its not just singing as signing is very important to us too and all staff are expected to be fluent in the Makaton signs for the concert.  I have been watching Singing Hands’ A Christmas Cracker DVD a lot this week and I love these women for what they do, their songs are signed making them a fantastic resource to teach from and they are just so cheerful and fun too.  I really enjoy signing, its a big part of my job and a very useful skill.  However singing and signing takes some practice, especially on the faster songs.

I also got to watch the reaction of my children to the 40+ stunning Christmas trees at the town’s Christmas tree festival.  I love this idea, businesses sponsor a tree and local schools and groups decorate the trees.  I was so proud of my school’s tree this year, we had worked hard on our decorations and it looked amazing.  The local secondary school did a superb job on theirs with an under the sea theme, whilst the badminton club who are always creative, transformed a shuttlecock, always featured on their trees, in to a robin. Visiting the tree festival is one of my favourite festive activities with the children, especially to watch their faces as they enter the room and see the lights and trees it really is magical.

Other things I’ve enjoyed watching this week are the A word, seriously that soundtrack is amazing and I have been dipping in and out of I’m a Celeb.

Not many makes this week, soppy as it is but at this time of year I’m making happy memories.  On Saturday when the children visited Santa and his elf workshop, they got to make decorations, reindeer food, ice a biscuit and a write letter to Santa.  I have no photos to publish in this post as they all have the children in them but it was a lovely little visit and as my two are 8 and 9 now, possibly the last year I can convince them of Santa’s magic, there are already questions being asked….

I’ve been wearing Christmas jumpers quite a lot this week, I like to look festive for the special events. I have two I’m alternating, the robin is from Primark and its gorgeous, I’m really pleased with it.  The reindeer was from Tescos last year and is warm and cosy.

I was surprised how much I enjoyed the Brownies sign a long on Monday.  It was one of those evenings which was so simple, but everyone was just in such good humour that the evening flowed with a warmth and Christmas glow. The girls’ singing was beautiful and it was a pleasure to listen to them.

On Monday night I was in the kitchen wrapping a pile of books for the PTA (is it just me or do working mums try too hard to pretend we can do it all?) and listening to Jo Whiley on the radio on which Tom Chaplin was doing a Christmas session.  I’ve downloaded his album, 12 Tales of Christmas as a result of the session.  Its an album of new and covers of Christmas songs, it is really chilled and relaxing for when you want something a little Christmassy without the jingle bells et al.

So we’ve made it to the final week of term and probably my craziest week of the year.  I am working full time (ish) next week as its just easier to be in school than not.  So far on our family calendar we have the Christmas market , 2 carols by candlelight services, one for school, one for beavers, same children, different uniforms, different nights!, Christmas dinner, parties and two nights out for me with friends.  Fortunately the week before Christmas is much quieter so we can all chill out and relax.

I’m looking forward to reading about everyone’s festive #littleloves and thanks to Morgana for our inspiring linkie.

I don’t know if its because the children and I are breaking up early for Christmas this year ( December 15th) and the schools and clubs are doing special events earlier because of this but the I’ve been feeling unusually Christmassy this week when we’re still in November.  Its been hard keeping to my December 1st date to start my Christmas season but I did and I am now very ready and enthusiastic for Christmas.

I have started December with a lovely festive day today, if not a bit busy! I went to big town for a Christmas shopping trip and as its an hour’s drive each way, I got to listen and sing along to all my favourite Christmas music on the journey.  The town looked so pretty with all its decorations, lights and alpine market huts, the shops were full of festive delights and I ticked off plenty on my lists too, so a very successful trip.  In addition to my Christmas shopping trip, I’ve also had the children’s school fair this evening and as I was helping on the tombola, I felt inspired to wear a Christmas jumper.

After reading a couple of inspiring autobiographies recently I wanted to read some fiction this week that I could just dip in and out of.  I saw that the follow up to Paper Aeroplanes by Dawn O’Porter was on offer on Kindle, so I downloaded Goose, which is aimed at the Young Adult market.  Its exactly what I needed and I’m enjoying the continuing tale of the two teenage girls.

Last Saturday we went to our county town to watch Paddington 2.  We all loved it and the film had all the feels, I may even have cried a little at the end.  I think its my favourite film of the year (with Breathe.) Hugh Grant as the villain steals every scene but the themes of the film make you leave the cinema a little more inspired to be kind, polite and to always think of others.  Paddington is definitely my favourite little bear.

This year I decided to try something different with our Christmas cards and went online to design a card on OptimalPrint (not an ad) I’m not a fan of having a picture of our little family on the cards (although for those closest to us, we add the new school photo in the card) so I created a list of things that we like to do at Christmastime.  I hope the cards will be appreciated in the spirit they were designed.

Its not a wear from me this week, although today’s Christmas jumper might count, but from Little Miss.  As Paddington is set in London, Little Miss wore my favourite Boden print pinafore to the cinema, yes I really coordinated her outfit with a film! I love this print and it will be an outfit I will keep for the happy memories.

Today it was all about the Christmas songs, I love them and have so many memories from all different songs,  Jim Reeves Silver Bells reminds me of my Dad and putting the Christmas tree up as a child, Band Aid was the first single I ever bought, Mariah Carey is Christmas eves in nightclubs.  Christmas songs are simply magical.

We had a lovely surprise at the Christmas fair tonight when in the raffle, we won the VIP pass to visit Santa and work in his elf workshop, we are going to be doing this tomorrow and are all very excited.  We’re also going to be putting up our tree this weekend, this is a little contentious in our house, I would prefer to wait at least another weekend but I am outnumbered. Putting up the tree will always be one of my favourite parts of Christmas.

Thanks to Morgana and all her contributors, I’m loving the festive feel to all the posts at present.

I’m a little late in writing this week’s #littleloves as all our lovely plans got scuppered through illness last weekend and I’ve been doing some very serious ‘adulting’ at work.  It can be quite scary when you’re involved in a very serious matter and think sh**, I’ve 20+ years experience, relevant training and I really am that grown up person needed in this situation. The combination of both;  sickness and work demands made the first part of the week not quite the background for #littlelove entries.  However, I am now over the sickness bug and I managed to make the most of my day off on Friday so I feel that I have a little more to write on now.

I really enjoy Nigel Slater’s books, I have The Kitchen Diaries 3 and like not only his recipes but the prose which accompanies the recipes, observations on nature, seasonality, ingredients etc..  I managed to get his new book ‘The Christmas Chronicles’ in Sainsbury’s for half price and have been busy reading it since.  It is superb, again similar reflections as above but with added customs and Christmas thoughts.  A perfect read at this time of year and I have many recipes already marked to try.  I think this could be become our family’s Christmas cookbook and am planning in on pencilling a few thoughts as we try the recipes.

I’ve watched far more television that I normally do this week, I think that I was so exhausted from the sickness bug and the intensity of work that TV was an ideal distraction.  I enjoyed The Boy With the Top Knot on BBC2 on Monday, a powerful drama about family secrets, mental health and cultural differences.  I also enjoyed the A word, although I was a bit eagle eyed about the special needs school in it this week, I can’t escape work!  We watched the Apprentice but its not a series I’m enjoying as much as previous ones, there’s too much arguing, bitching and rubbish ideas, I’ve not yet found someone who wows me.  Following my listen below, I watched Kay Mellor’s new drama about registrars which was just right for a Thursday evening. I do like the lead, Ashley Jensen and think this series could develop nicely each week.  Finally I watched some of Children In Need on Friday and found it very emotional and humbling.  I sobbed my way up to bed last night!

I made my daughter very happy this week by helping her get ready for the Children In Need disco at her school.  She and her friends were all very excited as it was an evening disco, well a 6.15 pm start and I allowed her to colour her hair with coloured hair spray and to have painted nails (my brand new Essie varnish) She had a brilliant time and was so happy it was just gorgeous to see.  We were so busy doing the hair, it had to be perfect that I didn’t have time to take a photo as I had to dash out and pick up Little Man from another party, it was one of those nights in our house! The pink and blue looked beautiful in her blonde hair.

Today I have worn ice skates, as Little Man and I went ice skating as part of our mummy and son day out.  His sister is out on a Brownie day and Mr S had a few appointments so the two of us went through to big town for some time together.  I am so wobbly on the ice but was very proud I didn’t fall over today.  Its somewhat ironic that I used to work at an ice rink (my part time student jobs were all great) yet I never learnt to skate.  Little Man had a great time, he started holding onto the polar bear but managed a few circuits on his own too.

As I was getting recovering from my bug, I caught up on some Desert Island podcasts.  Kay Mellor’s session is a brilliant listen, an amazing story of how she went from 16, married and pregnant to the writer she is today, inspirational.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09bxmyb

I also listened to Prof Phil Scraton who was heavily involved in the Hillsborough campaign and its a superb episode too.  I do love DID for sharing some stories which we might not have heard before with added music too.

Even with parties, discos, Brownie days out and ice skating this weekend isn’t done yet as we have a christening to look forward to tomorrow.  I am having a slight panic over what to wear for a Sunday afternoon service, smart but warm and how to keep my son amused in the church.  However there’s a party after so there may be room for a little negotiation  bribery.

Thanks to Morgana and all the #littleloves crew

So my big #littIelove of this week has been fireworks! I do like the tradition of Bonfire Night although after watching a bit of Gunpowder, it’s a lot more gruesome than I realised. We had a lovely night out for fireworks, but as our town does fireworks during the summer we had to travel a little further for the display on Saturday night. Fireworks were definitely the highlight of the week, which has seen a quiet return to work and minor surgery. However there are always sparkles in our week for #littleloves

I have loved my book this week, it’s made me laugh and cry and try to remember how we got through a similar journey too. The book is Emma Sutton’s ‘And then there were four’ and is about her and her husband’s adoption journey. Her glossary and description of terms is just brilliant and if you ever want to know what happens in adoption then this is a superb and honest book. Fortunately it’s funny too!

On Saturday we got to watch fireworks at the rugby club in our county town. It was a great display and the evening was lovely, big crowds, lots of tasty treats to eat and drink, sparkler area and stalls and rides to enjoy. The weather was remarkably mild, although that could have been my layers of clothes! The whole evening was wonderful and it made me smile for the whole Britishness of it, everyone wrapped up in scarves and hats, wearing wellies in a muddy field, oohing and aahhing at the colours in the sky.

A little bit of a tenuous link for makes, but I made a trip to hospital this week for minor surgery. Fortunately I got an appointment in our town’s hospital which is a hop, skip and jump from home and the service was unbelievable. I arrived early, was seen immediately and had the loveliest 3 ladies looking after me. I’ve had a little discomfort this week and am awaiting some results but I really was super impressed by our NHS and our amazing cottage hospital. I did return to work the next day but made sure it was a quiet week both at home and work.

My winter clothes are creeping in to my wardrobe now, woolly jumpers and polo necks. I think I may need to inject a little more colour in my jumpers, they all seem to be black or navy, practical but a splash of colour just adds a little bit of zest to an outfit.

I do like to make a mix tape and now I have Spotify it is so much easier to create something for every occasion. Whilst everyone was busy on Saturday afternoon, I had a little play to create a playlist for our car journey to the fireworks. It had the obvious Firework by Katy Perry but the theme just lent itself to some fun choices, My Guy, November rain, She Bangs, True Colours etc.. I started the playlist with Bjork’s Its oh so quiet which is a little favourite of mine. I really enjoyed making the list and then playing it in the car for us all to enjoy.

We’ll be welcoming my parents this weekend for a visit, I have a few possible trips out pencilled in but we’ll wait to see how the weather is before we finalise the plans. On Sunday, we’ll walk down to the Remembrance parade in town and pay our respects. The diary looks quite quiet next week so I may do a little Christmas planning in the evenings. I hope everyone has a week full of sparkles and #littleloves.

I’m joining in with Morgana for #littleloves

Well hello #Littleloves lovelies, sorry it’s been a long time but I’ve been busy with #Blogtober17 for the past month. I have been reading all your posts on my feed and many have given me inspiration and ideas.

This week is busy in our little family, with my Mum’s birthday, Halloween and Mr S birthday all falling within a few days. Fortunately, I have a two week half term so it’s not been as crazy as it could have been with work too. My extra week holiday has also given me the time to focus on Christmas and I have done a little shopping and lots of lists.

#Blogtober17 led to some serious discipline with writing every evening, so my reading reduced. I have really enjoyed The Break by one of my favourite authors, Marian Keyes. The break in the title refers to a 6 month period in which the main character’s husband wants to go travelling and have an open relationship for the time. It’s a great read and Marian has created a stellar cast of characters in her book and a few questions for everyone’s relationship.

I have also read the Invisible Child, a Moomin story republished by Oxfam to raise funds and awareness for women’s rights and empowerment in the world. It’s a very clever little story, which Little Miss understood but has so many levels it is a thoughtful read for adults too. The Little Girl in the story is invisible and it is only when she is shown love, kindness and learns to play that she starts to become visible to everyone. The book is available in Oxfam and is worth every penny for the story and project.

I’ve been to the cinema twice this week, this never happens but I really wanted to see the film Breathe. I took a bit of self-care time and combined an early Christmas shopping trip with a trip to the cinema so I could see it, to me an afternoon on my own at the cinema is a real luxury. Breathe is a wonderful film, based on the true story of a young man, Robin Cavendish who contracts polio and is paralysed from the neck down and on a respirator for the rest of his life. It’s a film about hope, love and determination. I did have a little cry in the film, not for the sadness but the positive messages it shared. Breathe more than made up for our family trip to see Lego Ninjago, its unusual that I don’t like a children’s film but this one just didn’t rock my boat.

It’s been a busy week for makes all inspired by Halloween. On Monday, the children and I had a baking session using the pumpkin from our carvings on Saturday, we made pumpkin and orange muffins and pumpkin and cheese biscuits. As it was back to school on Halloween, I made special lunches for the children, their lunch boxes were decorated with Halloween stickers and contained sandwiches cut into scary shapes, skull shaped cheese biscuits, pumpkin cakes, a little satsuma with a pumpkin face drawn on and a sensory toy spider. It was all a surprise for the children and it’s these little things which I love to do.

It’s that time of the year, when my hats and scarves come out, I love cosying up in my warm knits on the school run. There’s definelty a nip in the air now and the dark nights inspire a little hygge!I do love a bit of a theme so I made a Spotify Halloween playlist for our Halloween day on Monday, Ghostbusters, Thriller, the Monster Mash etc.. nothing beats a kitchen disco.

Mr S is busy decorating our dining room this week, so the weekend may be spent making the finishing touches. I am back to work on Monday but do have an appointment for minor surgery in the afternoon, I have a really busy week so I am hoping there’s little recovery time needed.

Thank you to Morgana for being the host of #littleloves, hope everyone has a fabulous week.

 

 

 

 

This is a two week special, as last week I was busy with a little project. We’ve had some lovely bright autumnal days in the last fortnight so lots of opportunities to be out and about.

READ

I think it was on one a Little Loves post that I read a recommendation of Amy Poeller’s book Yes Please and downloaded into my Kindle. I really enjoyed the read, I admit that I was not particularly familiar with her work but this book is so much more about a career in comedy, its about following your passion and it offers wise advice for women at all stages of your life and other chapters on random subjects which are engaging, thoughtful and funny.

I am now enjoying Marian Keye’s The Break. I’ve been a huge fan since Watermelon and eagerly wait for her new novels, she never disappoints. After seeing a campaign to celebrate female authors with The Jane Austen £10 note, I used my first to buy this book, a great idea and another example of how fun Twittter is.

WATCHED

I am actually watching more television than normal at present, Strictly and Cold Feet are my absolute faves, but there are some good dramas on tv too. In this period I have watched Sully, starring Tom Hanks, whom I just love. Its a film about the pilot of the flight which landed successfully on the Hudson. I read the book Inside the Black Box, in which this episode was a case study so knew that Sully was quite severely questioned about his role. It is a great film and thoroughly recommended.

MADE

I’ve been busy with my upcycling project and am very proud of my new bureau. It’s great to have a little project and enjoy doing it.

In a burst of domesticity I made biscuits for the children coming in after school, I then froze half the mixture for freshly baked cookies on another night too. I still can’t get over that I did this!

WORE

I wore a cycling helmet for the first time in more than decade! Mr S and I used to cycle quite regularly when we lived in Bristol, where lots of the old local train lines were converted to cycle paths. However where we live now is not very bike friendly, with lots of steep hills and the country lanes and roads can be dangerous. So instead of scaring ourselves on roads, we went to our local forestry commission country park and hired bikes so we could ride as a family. We take the children cycling often in the park however now they are confident riders we decided it was our turn too! It was a perfect morning, the weather was warm and bright and we had so much fun riding through the woods, it reminded us that it really is the simple things which give so much pleasure. I was incredibly relieved that I could still ride after all these years and I really loved every second of our ride.

I’ve been shopping in big town today, this is a rare occurrence for me. It was good to potter around, all my favourite shops are there and there are department stores too! I got clothes for myself and the children, I discovered Zara Girls and Little Miss is made up with her new sequin colour changing jumper from the shop. I bought myself a new blouse and cardi from Fat Face and wore it tonight to the secondary school open evening with my skinny jeans. I’m a bit in denial that I have to start thinking about this but at least we have another year to make a decision as Little Miss is still in Year 5.

Photos from Fat Face website, the print is gorgeous!

HEARD

After a dance on Strictly this week, I found myself listening again to Harry Connick Junior’s Album, A Recipe for Love. I had this album as a teenager and I still love the big band style and songs.

And finally

It’s a relaxed time at present, I’ve been able to catch up with friends and potter around. I fancy a little project so will be trying #blogtober from Sunday, to me it’s a scary challenge writing daily on a variety of topics but October is a quiet month with only 12 working days so its the time to step out of my comfort zone. With all the writing, I may need to take a pause from #littleloves but will still be reading the excellent posts.

Happy week everyone and thanks to Morgana for hosting #Littleloves