Family

The Happy Jar 2020

On 1st January 2016 we began what has turned out to be a new family tradition: the Happy Jar. The Happy Jar started out as just a fun activity to do with the girls and, in truth, I wasn’t sure how long it would capture their attention for although I was hopeful it would last. …

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Lola: Eleven

Exactly a month ago, at the beginning of January, Lola turned eleven years old.  Eleven!  I still can’t quite believe it – how is my baby eleven?  Looking back at her birthday blog post from last year I’m amazed at how much she’s changed and, well, grown up.  Of course this time last year none…

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Little Loves: January 2021

Hello 2021.  The start of a brand new year is usually full of anticipation, promise and excitedly scribbled down ideas & plans for the coming months.  Instead January began in much the same way as 2020 ended: lockdown number three.  Schools closed, shops closed, still unable to see the people we love.  It wasn’t what…

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2020: My Year In Numbers

In 2017 I took a leaf out of Suzanne from Inside Outside and Beyond’s blog pages and started tracking my year in numbers, measuring the year according to all the things that are important to me and which I value the most: family time; love and connection; travel; creativity; helping others and personal challenges/growth. I enjoyed documenting…

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Little Loves: December 2020

December has felt like an extraordinarily mixed month, as I’m sure it has for many people.  I think everyone has experienced the entire spectrum of emotions in rollercoaster form on repeat over the last few weeks: Frustration at extra layers of restrictions and the ‘too little too late’ response from the Government regarding case numbers…

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50 Activity Advent Calendar Ideas

Christmas is a time of year that my girls look forward to for months.  They get so enthusiastic about all things festive and one of the things that really ramps up their excitement levels is our modest little advent calendar, which of course appears on the 1st December.  Usually, there’s just a small chocolate in…

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Little Loves: November 2020

November 2020 has been a month of naked trees, drizzly rain and lockdown 2.0.  Normally I find that November, the cusp between late autumn and early winter, drags on and on and on.  This year has been quite the opposite – I feel like I’ve barely been able to catch my breath in between doing…

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Little Loves: October 2020

October felt like it sped by fairly quickly.  Usually this autumn school term drags and seems to take forever to get through and yet time seems to be following a completely different set of rules this year.  I found myself surprised to be putting the clocks back an hour on the oven and in my…

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Little Loves: September 2020

September is one of my favourite months of the year: a crisp chill in the morning air; warm afternoons; golden light in the evenings; the new school term; autumn colours beginning to creep into the landscape; soup and porridge making a return to the menu; and a different kind of energy that fuels a positive…

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Little Loves: August 2020

In all honesty August hasn’t really felt much different to the previous five months of lockdown.  Most places are open now (albeit with some restrictions still in place and lots of forward planning needed) but we still chose to stay quite close to home.   It’s felt a lot like we’ve been in limbo, just waiting…

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