Kitchen Cool

Liking this clean and light kitchen from Harvey Jones So we are slowly making our way through each room and ticking off our snagging list, we have finally set ourselves a goal with getting the house on the market by September and our next room to work on is the kitchen. Our kitchen is probably the best room in the house, it's light and airy and has an island as well as space for a dining table but I just feel it needs a bit of an update in terms of style. As you may already know I am quiet taken with the white and copper trend this season and want to incorporate that into the kitchen.  First of all the walls which are Apple white (not our choice) need to be repainted and this time with clean and crisp white which will work well for all the art work I plan to hang up. We also need to replace our well worn stools and I am loving these white ones below from George. I have also been wanting to replace our wall clock with a piece I know I will keep forever such as this ic......

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Our Ultimate to-do List for Travelling with Kids in Sicily

Before going away anywhere we put together a list of things we would like to do, must visit museums, cultural sights and places to eat - we even do this for places we have not booked yet and want to compare with other countries or cities on our wish list, as everywhere we write down where we want to go and then narrow it down. I have been to Italy, mainly Milan and Venice and a few smaller towns but have not made it down South to Sicily and it's somewhere we all want to go to and for some many reasons as you will see in this post. Taking your kids to a fantastic vacation amidst the ancient archeological and natural wonders of Sicily in Southern Italy is an educational experience apt for all ages and one that is sure to be filled with fun excursions. You can choose from visits to magnificent gardens and natural reserves; ancient Greco-Roman Temples and Arab, Norman Cathedrals and Byzantine monuments, volcano-treks to Mt. Etna, many water and adventure parks and hikes through......

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Garden delights

It finally feels like winter has truly moved on and we are almost touching on summer and to be completely honest our garden is looking a little sorry for itself and really needs an injection of design, so I thought it was time to put together a little mood board and wish list... 1. Garden white ceramic stool  2. Potting shed garden in a Pail - Lavender 3. Garden trading beach chair   4. Lene Bjerre Affair Hammock 5. Gardman Copper & Cream watering can  I especially love the watering can - never thought a watering can could be so chic. This time of the year is always exciting as we start to get back into gardening and making it a special place we want to spend time in. Do you have any plans to change or update your outside space? ...

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Family Festival love

The one thing we love about summer is the prospects of festivals - we have been taking Mr A to festivals since he was around 18 months old and so far we have done Wychwood, Camp Bestival and Beyond the Border, as well as Glastonbury, Reading and Guildfest before Mr A came along. This year as we have Baby G with us so we are looking for slightly more chilled out festivals, perhaps smaller and more intimate ones. I always enjoying camping before having kids - John was pretty indifferent but it has over the past few years become one of our favourite summer pastimes and Mr A just loves sleeping under canvas. We have faired good, bad and terrible weather and this year and it will be interesting to see how coming with a young baby will be like, something we are very excited about. So here is our mini wish list if you will of festivals for 2015 - ones that are child friendly and offer something a little bit different. Larmer Tree Festival , 15th-19th July, Salisbury - we have bee......

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Our exotic and sporting travel wish list

Me chilling in Rimini, Italy a few years ago Between the both of us we have done a fair bit of travelling, I think it's 26 countries in total - Me mainly Europe, Africa and America and John has explored places such as Iceland, Maldives and the Dominican Republic but neither of us have gone to the Middle East or Asia yet which is very much on our travel wishlist. There is of course something very alluring about the Middle East and Asia not only because of the visual draw but also the cultural one, it really is different to the western world and  it's a part of the world we want to share with our children. We also like to visit places that offer us some outdoor activities, something a little different, like surfing in Cape Town, fishing in the Maldives or snowboarding in France or Austria, it's things like this that we have really fond memories of and can be a great way to do something new together as a family. On the slopes in France We really hope to take ......

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Our 2015 Cruise Wish-list

Being parents and leading rather busy lives, planning ahead is key, of course, we still love to do things on a whim but with another little one on the way in February we are already putting our travel wish-list for next year together now and we have found ourselves for the first time talking about the possibility of a cruise, something we may have not considered before but I have to say with all the amazing child-friendly options today it's sounding more and more appealing and here are a few more reasons why you should not discount taking a cruise next year They are very family-friendly and offer some great entertainment options and on-board facilities which will be perfect when we have a newborn travelling with us. Taking a cruise also allows us to visit a few destinations in one visit which is something that is very attractive to us. It's something a little bit different, I have been on a month long cargo ship before but it was nothing like a cruise ship woul......

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My kitchen wish list

So when we moved into our house, there was basically only one room finished and that was the kitchen and even though it's nice and large with an open plan feel it's not really our taste but we are not going to do any big changes as we plan to sell the house and the kitchen is very much a focus point but that doesn't mean we cannot dress it up with more personal objects which we have already started doing. Our first port of call is to change the bar stools as we want something more us, more simple with a country type feel but fits into the slightly modern look our kitchen has. Our kitchen when we moved in We have been looking around and have decided to go with something more natural and wooden and love the pop of red from this stool at Homebase as well as this plain white one from Ikea. I also tend to go with white and build on top of that but I am trying to bring more colour into our life and home and love the red stool which is reasonably priced at £85. I lo......

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Family Friendly things to do in Egypt

Think of a family holiday and Egypt might not be the first destination that springs to mind. But, Egypt holidays have a wealth of things to do for kids, and it doesn't all revolve around ancient sights. After all, as spectacular as they are, some kids don't appreciate history lessons while they're on holiday! So you'll be pleased to know that Egypt has plenty of other child-friendly tricks up its rather long sleeve, which will no doubt put family holidays to Egypt firmly on your radar… Beaches For the ultimate family beach break, head to the holiday resorts along Egypt's Red Sea coast. Sharm el Sheikh is the big one, which is full of daytime activities, gorgeous beaches and stacks of restaurants and family-friendly eateries. There are plenty of all-inclusive hotels in this part of the world too, so if you're after a laid-back escape that's fuss-free and cost-effective, make sure you check out some of the all-inclusive holidays on offer in Sha......

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2014 Travel Wishlist

We managed a few adventures last year, lots of camping and festivals which we hope to do this summer as well expect with a few more overseas trips as well, last year longer trips were on hold due to purchasing the new house but we have put together what we see as a fairly realistically wish list to aspire to over the next year, especially since we both really want to tick of a few new countries to our list which currently stands at 26 countries. 1. Scandinavia Inspiration - We really want to take our first steps (as we are sure we will visit more than once) to exploring those beautiful countries further north - possible a trip to see the Norwegian Fjords or the stylish Stockholm or possibly a having a danish in Copenhagen, either way there are chic cites and stunning outdoor landscapes to inspire the soul and we really want to explore this part of the world. Inspiring Norwegian Fjords  2. A Chic City Break - we plan to visit Paris which I have been to many times but c......

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