I love finding local gems here in St Albans and lucypeachslice is most definitely a local gem. From the quirky name (after a guinea pig called Lucy who arrived in a carboard box that had once carried tins of peach slices!) to the unique funky clothes they sell, lucypeachslice is not your run-of-the-mill children's clothing range. Based here in St Albans, the company was founded earlier this year after their creator turned her attentions from making clothes for her own daughters and their friends, to designing and curating her first collection for little girls. All the fabrics are ... read more
Escaping to the beach
Amazingly the hot spell here in the UK seems to be continuing, and to be honest when the weather's as hot as it has been, sitting with a hot laptop on your knee isn't exactly fun. I'm sure I'm not the only blogger who has spending time away from their keyboard to make the most of the weather. Last Monday we decided that it was time to make a dash for the coast from our inland home in St Albans so we bundled the kids into the car and headed north to Hunstanton for the day. It's a 200 mile round trip and on the way there the traffic around Cambridge did make me wonder if it ... read more
Honk Honk! Baa Baa! & Time for Bed – Petr Horacek
It's nearly a couple of years now since I discovered Petr Horacek after happening across a copy of Silly Suzy Goose in a local charity shop. All three of us really enjoyed it and I've been keeping an eye out for more of his books ever since. I was delighted when we were sent a couple of new books in the Baby Walker series and I've been saving these to enjoy with Master C. It's really only been in the last couple of weeks that he's started to enjoy snuggling up together with a book and from what I can tell he's really enjoying it. After his bedtime milk he actively ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: The Weather
This post on The Weather can now be found on Penny Reads, the new home for Ladybird Tuesday. It is located here. ... read more
Thrifty Friday Five – My go to thrifty books
Something a little bit different on today's Thrifty Friday Five. Instead of giving you five top tips I'm instead going to share with you the top five books on my bookcase that I go back to time and time again for thrifty tips. 1. Practical Self Sufficiency - Dick & James Strawbridge It was the Strawbridge's TV series It's not Easy Being Green that first started me off on my green journey several years ago - and that in turn was what lead to me starting this blog. When Dick & James' Practical Self Sufficiency came out in 2010 it became my bible for ... read more
I’m dreaming of a White Company Christmas…
I have a dream. It's a dream I've had since I was about 21. In this dream I live with my family in an absolutely gorgeous house in the country. A house in which everything is just perfect. Every single thing is in the right place and is absolutely gorgeous. It's a dream. A complete fantasty. Real life isn't really that perfect. Is it? Last week though I finally stepped inside that dream house. It may have been in central London instead of the countryside, but every other detail was spot on. Inside my dream house it was Christmas Eve. Gifts were wrapped under the tree. ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: Tricks and Magic
When I was a child my Gran used to come and visit us every Saturday afternoon and we always ended up by having tea and scones round the dining table (with the same tea service) and something that was classed as "family entertainment" on the TV. Apart from the time that a hot airballoon had a crash-landing into a neighbours back garden (honestly - quite mad) the most exciting part for me was watching the Paul Daniels Magic Show whilst we ate. One year I was even lucky enough to receive a Paul Daniels Magic Set for Christmas. I was so excited! I would have loved to have owned a copy ... read more
An evening of berries at Tesco
When my friend Jenny from Cheetahs in my Shoes asked me if I was free one evening I thought she might be thinking about a few drinks at a pub in town, or maybe even trying to catch a film or something mad like that. When she then followed it up with "would you like to come to Tesco with me?" I honestly thought she'd lost the plot! What sort of mum goes to wander up and down the aisles of their local supermarket in an evening through choice? But it seems Jenny had something else in mind... Our local Tesco store, which happens to be one of the super big ones and is also ... read more
The mutiny over the mutiny over the Bounty Mutiny
If you've had a baby in hospital here in the UK over the last few years you're likely to have encoutered a lady (and I think I'm right in saying that they're nearly all ladies) from Bounty visiting you in your hospital bed to give you your "Bounty pack" and offer you their service of taking some photos of your new baby. You're also likely to have been given another bounty pack by your midwife at your first booking appointment. These packs come full of (helpful) leaflets, plus lots of advertising, vouchers and free samples from companies that you may not have heard of pre-children, but that are ... read more
Eleanor’s Eyebrows – Timothy Knapman and Davis Tazzyman
When it comes to subjects for children's books I've seen some slightly strange ones, but this is the first book I've ever come across where the main characters are a pair of eyebrow, but in Eleanor's Eyebrows that's exactly what you've got. Eleanor's never been too sure what her eyebrows are for and as a result they're left feeling a bit unloved. One night whilst Eleanor sleeps her eyebrows go off on an adventure of their own visiting the zoo, working for a magician and being false legs for an ant who wanted to be a spider. When Eleanor gets up the ... read more