Our Enchanted Woodland: 2014

This Christmas was definitely all about Lily however I still got lots of lovely things that I am extremely grateful for. I personally think I'm really easy to buy for.. I like all the stereotypical girly stuff..candles, perfume, bath products, photo frames etc so I'm not hard to choose for really!

Here are a few of the smelly things, I received. I love them! I actually received a soap & glory box set from my auntie too but have already used most of the products in there haha!

In the last few years my mum has asked me to choose what I want rather than surprising me so I picked these from New Look a while ago. So comfy and so me ;)

Posh tea and Biscuits yum! <3

I'm definitely a very lucky girl! What did you all get for Christmas?

What I got for christmas!

Tuesday 30 December 2014

We're very lucky that we have so many beautiful parks so close by to us. As someone who loves walks its definitely not something I take for granted! This afternoon we decided to go to Meanwood valley park - one of my favourites. The park is only a 5 minute drive away and has one of the most beautiful woods to walk through. It was nice and quiet today, not many people around which was nice however we didn't count on it being quite so muddy or cold! I swear my feet had frostbite by the end of the walk!

Where do you like to walk with your little ones?

A Cold Winters Walk

Sunday 28 December 2014

Happy Christmas! I hope everyone had a lovely christmas day and that you are all enjoying the days that follow. For me boxing day is every bit as lovely as christmas day itself!

This Christmas was really special for me, infact, I might go as far as to say it's been the best one I've ever had. Possibly because I had next to no expectations this year (I've been ill in the run up to christmas and this is our first christmas without an important member of our family) and therefore wasn't expecting it to be anywhere near as joyful as it was.

I think what made Christmas day so special this year was Lily and the age that she's at now. Last year she was 1 and didnt have a clue about christmas at all, but this year she totally understood the concept that santa might come in the night and leave her presents and quite frankly her excitement was totally infectious! We read the night before christmas on christmas eve and left milk and mince pies out for santa before bed, reindeer food for rudolf and all the other little traditions I used to love as a child.

Christmas day itself was full of warmth and laughter and seeing Lily so elated for the whole day made my heart ache with happiness. Having a new little baby in the family made the day even more memorable as did having extended family members over who we dont usually see.

*checking to see if santa had eaten the mince pies!

*cuddles with little cousin Bigby

Dont forget to check out my YouTube for footage of the day :)

Our Christmas 2014

Saturday 27 December 2014

This Sunday we took a trip to the Sundown Adventure Land 'Xmas Spectacular.'

Tickets are £15 pp (only a slight increase from normal sundown price) and the price you pay includes Park entry for the day, use of all the rides and attractions, the night before Christmas ride, a visit to Santa, a Gift for children aged 2-10 and live reindeer.

It was a magical day and Lily absolutely loved it.

We left completely in the christmas spirit and would recommend this as a christmas day out to anyone!

Sundown Adventure Land Xmas Spectacular

Wednesday 24 December 2014

This year has been all about the DIY decs! Now that Lily's older and enjoys arts and crafts many of our Christmas decorations are ones that she's put her stamp all over. I love it! I love seeing the home full of things that she's made and it almost makes the house seem more homely :)

Here are a few that she's done in the last week -

It was a struggle to get her to not eat that gingerbread man let me tell ya!

Have your little ones done DIY decorations this year?

More DIY Decs!

Monday 22 December 2014

What a busy weekend its been! On Saturday we drove down to Derby for Emily's 4th birthday which was so much fun. It was only Lilys second time at a soft play centre and I thought she might be a bit shy and clingy but my gosh she was the complete opposite! She was so fearless and determined to do everything the big kids were doing (she was the littlest) and it was so cute to watch! She was well behaved all day and made me super proud <3

The next morning we all slept in till 20 past 9 which is UNHEARD of in our household (!) and after getting up and having some brunch and watching some peppa daddy took Lily to visit grandma and grandad for a few hours. This afternoon after her nap I took Lily to carols in our local park which was a complete mudbath but really good fun. There was a big firework display at the end which Lily enjoyed at first and then decided halfway through she was scared <3 bless her. Its been an absolutely lovely weekend!

Weekend Watch | 13.12

Sunday 14 December 2014

Last Thursday myself, James and two of our friends went to the Warner Bros Harry Potter Studio Tour. This is something I've been wanting to do for ages and even the 3.5 hour car journey down to London wasn't going to stop me!

The Studio tour took us about 2.5 hours to get round, although it can take a lot longer if you're planning on stopping and taking in every little detail! There was so much to see, from model replicas of all the buildings used in the films (inc Hogwarts itself) to costumes wore by the actors and even the opportunity to ride broomsticks infront of a green screen.

My favourite part of the whole tour was Diagon Alley which just had the most magical feel as you walked through it (although I have to say I was a bit disappointed by the fact you could only see the outside of the shops and couldn't actually go in) and the outdoors section which had Privet Drive, The Knight Bus, Godrics Hollow and Hagrids Motorbike as well as the opportunity to purchase Butterbeer, which tasted delicious! We decided to book to go in December because we heard that the tour is really christmassy around then and I have to say, it really was! There was a demonstration of how fake snow was made for the films, 2 huge christmas trees, an outdoor snow machine that really made it feel like it was snowing, general christmas decorations dotted around and the opportunity to buy Mulled wine and Mulled cider off the menu and this all made the tour extra special.

I did have a few gripes about the tour, mainly the quality of crowd control as it was extremely busy and you had to queue to see a lot of things. Although I'm sure the aim is to make as much money as they can, I do think that the tour would benefit from a limit to the amount of people in each time slot so there isn't overcrowding. On the subject of making money the souvenirs at the gift shop were ridiculously overpriced, and I mean ridiculously overpriced..I'm talking £9 or £10 for a keyring, £70-80 for a jumper etc. I do feel as though the tour would also benefit from actually having somewhere warm and indoors to sit and drink your butterbeer and any food you purchase (The three broomsticks perhaps!) rather than having to stand outside, especially in the cold winter months. One of my favourite things about the Harry Potter tour is that everyone is as much of a Harry Potter nerd as you are, so you can take as many selfies infront of Hogwarts as you like without feeling embarrased..because everyone's doing the same ;)

So on the whole, and for the £30 price of a ticket, there is so much to see here and so much to do that it is in my opinion a fantastic day out and most definately worth the entry fee.

Abigail Bryony xx

Warner Bros. Studio Tour London - The Making of Harry Potter

One of my favourite things to do with Lily is to go walking. We're very fortunate that we live on the edge of one of the most beautiful parks in the UK and boy do we make the most of it! Its very rare that we dont go out for a walk at least once a day. Its a great way for Lily to burn off energy and walking with no set destination is just something I genuinely enjoy anyway, I find it therapeutic. Which is strange because if i'm walking to get to a particular place at a particular time I hate it & it becomes a chore! Weird huh!

So this afternoon we walked down to the park and Lily spent her time chatting to the ducks as the sun set <3 Its been a perfect end to a lovely day!

Abigail Bryony xx

A Late Afternoon Walk

Friday 5 December 2014

This post is a bit different to my usual ones, in fact, its a post that I've uhmed and ah-ed about writing on a number of occasions after having Lily and the recent tragic story of Charlotte Bevan has now prompted me into doing so.

In short and for anyone who isn't aware of the story Charlotte Bevan was a new mother from Bristol with a history of depression and schizophrenia. Charlotte left the hospital not long after giving birth, under the noses of oblivious hospital staff, and the body of her and her 4 day old baby girl were found yesterday.

For me this story brings forward so many questions - why wasn't Charlotte given the adequate care she needed when having a known history of mental illness? Why was she so easily able to walk straight out of the hospital doors? I think the main question on everyone's lips since this story hit the news is was Charlotte Bevan badly let down & most importantly could more have been done? For me, the answer is an absolute unequivocal yes.

I've never spoken much about my own hospital stay after having Lily except to briefly mention in passing that I hated the few days I spent there after Lilys birth. Its a time of my life that I choose to block out, which is sad because those first few days with your child are precious moments that I'd have liked to have remembered with fondness.

Is there adequate mental health support for mothers post natally?

For me Next has always been one of those go to shops where I go to buy all manner of things..decor for the house, Clothes for me & Lily, gifts for James.. there's just always something in Next that I want! So as you can imagine when the next blogger network set bloggers a challenge to make their own #NextChristmasWishList I jumped at the chance! So without further ado 6 of my currents wants for my next Christmas wish list are as follows -

A - This is a Rustic collage frame that Next sell for £35 and I just love it! The type of wood and overall style of the frame matches the theme of my living room perfectly and I just love the personalized feel to having your own photos around the house, so this type of frame is perfect for me!

B - These £75 pair of shoes remind me of a pair of winter ankle boots I had last year which unfortunately are a bit too worn in to wear again this winter season so I had to chuck them out. The thing I like most about these shoes is that they go perfectly with any outfit - skinny jeans, a skirt and tights, leggings.. you name it! & the faux fur at the top is a nice little nod to these winter months too.

C - How cute is this house storage? I'm a teeny bit obsessed with storage-y things like this and the second I saw this on the website I loved it! I love the colours on it and really think it would look lovely in Lily's nursery for her bits and bobs, such as her many many many hair bows! This is sold in next for £16 which I think is an absolute bargain!

D - Possibly my favourite thing from Next are their children's clothes. Lily has been a 'next baby' since the day she was born - infact I think the very first outfit she ever wore was from Next! This dress and braces set for £17/£18 is so so lovely. Braces add a bit of difference to the everyday dress look which is what I like about them and the autumnal yellow colour is very striking.

E - I am a SUCKER for jewellery, like, seriously, if you were to see the amount of jewellery I hoarde away in my wardrobe I think you'd all be shocked! I've been looking for a nice jewellery box for a while now and honestly this is the first one I've seen that I genuinely like. It costs £35, has 8 different pull out compartments and matches the white theme of my bedroom to a T!

F - I actually spotted this Ochre collar dress on a little girl at Lily's play group and when I asked her mum where it is was from I wasn't surprised to hear the answer was Next. The dress costs £15-£17 depending on what size your child is in and is a beautiful deep yellow colour. The collar creates a nice blend of smart casual and I can really see Lily rocking this with a pair of tights and her new tan winter boots <3

So there we have it, my Next Christmas Wish List! What would be on yours?

Abigail Bryony xx

Next Christmas Wish List

Wednesday 3 December 2014

Saturday morning started off quite slowly for us this weekend. I was recovering from my bug from the day before and still wasn't 100% and Lily wasn't in the best mood so we let her spend the morning watching peppa pig dvds, playing with mummys phone and daddys ipad. By midday I was starting to feel better and so we decided to go to the park and feed the ducks. The weather was rubbish but it was just nice to be out of the house to be honest, especially after spending all day indoors the day before.

After feeding the ducks we went to the Lakeside cafe where I had my favourite amaretto hot chocolate (seriously its soo good!) However when we got home Lily started getting a temperature which got progressively worse until it reached 40.2, by which point we took her to out of hours and didnt get home till midnight. Sunday was therefore spent much the same as Saturday, just getting through it really!

(I think you can see in her face here how poorly she is, poor munchkin)

It's now early Monday morning as I type this and I've had the most hideous night ever with Lily, its taken me right back to the newborn days actually! So if this post isn't very well written, I blame the sleep deprivation!!

You can watch video footage of our weekend here

Abigail Bryony xx

Weekend Watch | 30.11

Monday 1 December 2014

This year I've been really into having Lily make a lot of our christmas decorations. For one, money this year is a lot tighter than last but besides that I think it's just nice to have some personal decoration that actually mean something to you and your family and that can remain a constant through each festive season as your child grows. Last year Lily was too little to attempt anything remotely DIY, infact I think she was barely holding her own head up! (although we did put her teeny tiny footprints on a bauble that will now be on our tree for all the years to come.) So this year we wanted to take full advantage of all things art and crafts!

These are my favourites of the decorations she's done so far -