Embracing Autumn adventures with Ecco

We love getting outdoors all year round but as we move through Autumn into Winter there is something particularly wonderful about this time of the year, the light, the fallen leaves, the biting freshness that makes you feel awake. The thing is as it starts to get colder more preparation is needed for outdoor adventures so that you are comfortable and cosy and don't have to retreat back indoors simply due to being under dressed.  Over this half term we decided to head to one of our favourite National Trust Properties, Dyffryn Gardens to enjoy all the Autumn activities such as scare-crow making and pumpkin carving. We love this place as it also allows for all those simple pleasures such as climbing trees, getting muddy and walking through acres of woodland and I often struggle to get the boys to leave even when it's late afternoon.   We easily spend a couple of hours here as there is always something new to discover, even on weekends it feels quiet and......

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All weathers with Muddy Puddles

If you are a regularly reader of our little blog you will probably already know we love the outdoors and aim to spend some time outside each and every day no matter what the weather. Living in a wet (and often cold) country means you do need to be prepared and as long as you have the right equipment even rainy days can be a lot of fun. Since we are finally emerging from the wintery cold into the refreshingly warmer springtime the wonderful people at Muddle Puddles asked if Mr A would like to put their Spring/Summer lined Muddy Mac to the test. First of all we both love the bright yellow fisher mans colour with the striped lining. It's made out of ultra waterproof soft and flexible fabric and has fully tapered seams which basically make this mac storm proof. We paired his Mac up with a pair of splash proof over trousers and Puddlestomp wellies which meant he could has as much puddle jumping fun in the rain as he wanted. Mr A can be quite fussy when it comes t......

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Puddles, spotter sheets and autumn inspiration

So since Mr A is learning at home we try to keep things as flexible as possible - we love being outdoors and autumn is the perfect time for seeing the changes of the season first hand as well as spotting different leaves, berries and wildlife. There seems to be so much change going on and it's always wonderful to get out into the fresh air and see it for yourself.  Luckliy it was quite mild as Mr A seems to get warm very quickly, even though I remind him constantly to keep his jacket on he has hit that age were he is adamant to make certain decisions and one of those being what he wears. At least he is finally wearing socks again, after our trip to the South of France he refused to wear socks for a month, so that is some improvement. We collected a lot of fallen Autumn leaves and I have been putting together a few ideas on what to do with them and how to bring more Autumn inspired nature into the home...don't you love these simple crafts? I love......

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Tips to planning an Autumn and Winter wedding

Fritha looked stunning on her big day A few weekends ago I attended what was one of the most heartfelt, beautiful and relaxed weddings I have been lucky enough to attend. I was kindly asked by the bride, Fritha (you may know her from her wonderful blog TigerLilly Quinn ) to photograph her day and it was a real privilege to be apart of something so lovely. With so many homemade touches, getting all her creative friends to make things and a wonderful and mild autumn day you couldn't of asked for anything better. I am also going to be attending another wedding next month and it's made me think about what it takes when planning a wedding in the colder months, in fact the first wedding I ever shot was on a very crisp morning in January a few years back. I have found lately that when you reach a certain age, weddings start to crop up left, right and centre, not to mention baby showers and christenings. Sometimes certain weddings can all look the same, the term ‘cookie c......

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Reflections of the day

We are back from London and back to the typical Welsh weather - Rain,  I think this photo captures the mood today ...

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Muddy Adventures

Despite all the rain we have had a few moments of not only dry but also glimpses of the sun, if one for a few minutes. We have tried to make the most of every day and have had some lovely adventures this week to the Common and Roath Park, as well playing in our garden and making plans for planting our vegetables - the time is fast approaching to get everything ready. With all the rain comes a lot of mud - and what child does not like squelching and jumping in mud! I know I love to. We have also started to see a few first signs of spring with some daffodils starting to shoot up slowly and we even came across a few daisy's yesterday. Of course winter is still prevalent and discovered some amazing Holly bushes on our walk up a local common space. John also joined up on one of our adventures this week - we had a lovely light lunch at our favourite veggie organic and local indie deli that is Milgi Bar before dodging the rain at Roath park, lucky after a downpour the s......

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A Castle and Lanterns

So it's been another crazy busy week with our schedules becoming increasingly packed with activities and it's been a huge step for Mr A as well who has started kindergarten 2 mornings a week. But as always we still fit in our daily adventures and our weekend jaunts and this week the highlight was visiting a castle not too far from us- Castle Coch. The one great thing about Castle Coch is it's perfect inside/outside exploration, with the castle hidden in a forest area with lots of walks and wildlife to admire allowing as much time to be spent outside as info ors. The castle is also free of any gimmicks to distract from imaginative play even though it's not a ruin and the rooms are beautifully decorated it's perfect for Mr A who loves pretending he is a knight of the castle. Castle Coch is only about 15 mins from Cardiff but being located in a small hamlet called Tongwynlais, that has a rural feel and community we were not surprised to see a horse tide to ......

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Back to the Farm

So some of you may know that we have had a few car issues of late and have been without a car for about 2 months now, which we have no problem with except that we cannot get to some of our favourite places, St Fagans being one, so when I was leant a car for the day we couldn't wait to make our way there and it really made no difference it was raining. We really put Mr A's regatta puddle suit through it's paces and I have to say even with the intermitten downpours it kept him nice and dry, alongside his waterproof gloves and wellies, I think as long as your well prepared rain really shouldn't stop you from enjoying the outdoors, well it doesn't stop us anyway. Wet weather won't stop us First thing we did was check the small apple and pear orchard as the last time we were here the trees were filled with fruit and I always encourage the little man to have an understanding of where his food come's from. The trees are now bare, with the odd apple and......

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Spring in Cardiff outfit Post

So even though it is bitterly cold you can start to feel the change in season...spring is on it's way, the days are slowly getting longer and sun is making more and more appearances. I cannot wait for summer this year...I have so many things planned, but I am going to put my plans to paper otherwise I forget and end up going to the same coffee bars and the same galleries, but this summer is all about exploring the local area as there have been a flurry of new boutiques and antique shops popping up so I need to get those thrifting shoes on and see what gems I can find. John and I had a lovely, if not cold, Sunday in Cardiff and finally got around to doing an outfit post.  John wears Nudie organic jeans, Penfield parker, St James jumper and Red Wing shoes   Laura wears Ben Sherman Jacket, Next Jeans, ASOS Belt, ASOS penny loafers, Vintage sunglasses, Mulberry Tote Bag  ...

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