Category: Views & Ramblings

1. Changing a room with Vertbaudet : Bedroom review

   Posted on 9:14pm Sunday 14th Sep 2014

   When I was pregnant with the little one, I didn't 'want to find out whether it was a boy or girl, so plumped for a very classic cream look for her bedroom. Now 3 years later, the sides are off the cot and her favourite colour is pink. Cream is just not cutting it any longer.

   So with a little help from Vertbaudet, we added a little bit of pink magic and sparkle to this neutral space ......

   

   First we added a pink heart rug. As the youngest member of the family, she has the smallest room so at 100 x 133cm it fills a large proportion of the floor (which saves me getting a new pink carpet) and it is so soft, the little one keeps flexing her toes over it! 

   

   We then chose a gorgeous butterfly hanging lampshade which casts a beautiful soft pink glow across her bedroom. A couple of people have aked me if there should be a frosted base on the bottom of the lampshade but there isn't and I prefer it that way (and it would be just somewhere that dust can gather). At 25 cm with a base diameter of 50 cm, it is almost oversized but with the cut-out butterfly motifs let the light through, it lights the bedroom softly and warmly. (It is also available in white, if you really don't fancy pink).

   

   So with the addition of some new bedding, the room definitely begins to feel a like more like a girls room, rather than a nursery. I know it seems sterotypical to choose pink but this was her colour of choice and it just goes to show that with a few key items, you really can change the look of a room.

   

   As a huge fan of Vertbaudet, I had purchased some butterflies from their website a little while ago and so we added these to the walls to create a bedroom that she can now "flutterbye" the hours in.

   

   So what do you think? Would you add anuthing more? I just have my eye on this beautiful butterfly mirror!

   Disclaimer : We were given the rug and lampshade as part of this review but as a regular customer of Vertbaudet, I would highly recommend their clothes and homewares for children.

2. Country Kids : The End Of Summer

   Posted on 10:12pm Friday 5th Sep 2014

   I know it is not technically the end of summer but it is the end of the summer holidays and we wanted to make the very best of the final days before the school term. I had pre-arranged a playdate with one of the little ones friends but looking out of the window in the morning made me inwardly grown as once again it was raining.

   Now I am a bit of a fair weather park goer. I am not a massive fan of getting wet but as if by magic, someone somewhere heard my plea and, the rain cleared.

   Tamworth Castle grounds were our destination and once again, it is somewhere that is literally on our doorstep, it has an amazing park for the children and it is FREE!

   

   It appeals to my inner castle geek (and we all know I love a castle)

   

   The girls could run around freely (with their little friends) and the park has great facilities from a little coffee shop and toilets (which we signed the petition to keep open).

   

   We played, laughed (and someone showed off her gymnastic abilities)

   

   And we chased a squirrel for what seemed like a ridiculous amount of time. I think he was enjoying teasing us as he darted through the trees.

   But best of all, we were outside, together, enjoying the final days of no timetable or school bell. And it was free. The best things in life usually are.

   

3. Country Kids : Finding some fresh air

   Posted on 9:27pm Sunday 31st Aug 2014

   This week we have been ravaged by a sickness bug. 

   We went into hibernation for a while. Every single one of us caught it.

   I began to feel a little like I had cabin fever.

   I wanted to go outside.

   The girls wanted to go outside.

   We missed my nephews first birthday party, I was gutted. The girls were gutted.

   But we didn't want to pass the bug onto anyone that hadn't already had it. So we sat inside and waited for it to pass.

   Then today, we braved it outside and went to Nanny & Grandad's house.

   A place that is always home.

   A place you can go when you are happy, sad, excited, scared ..... or in this case, poorly.

   

   It is also a place that the little one can go outside and feed the fish, when she needs a little fresh air too (with a little help from Grandad).

   

   

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4. The benefits of having a family pet

   Posted on 12:00pm Thursday 28th Aug 2014

   We talked recently about having a family pet.

   To be honest, there is generally a lot of talk about animals in our house as we live next door to a farm so we regularly see chickens roaming or get woken up by a rather noisy cow mooing first thing in the morning, but aside from all the farmyard animals we also have a cat.

   The cat provides much amusement to everyone that visits us, mainly due to the fact that she has no tail. She was unfortunately ran over as a kitten and lost her tail (and some of her sense of humour, which is hardly surprising) and now runs a little bit like a rabbit. She also has a thing about running after the farmers dog but that is a whole other story.

   We are very definitely a cat family, we are always up to something and cats are so much more independent than dogs, which works for our busy family. 

   She is absolutely part of the family, she maybe bonkers but then again that is probably why we love her. We keep trying to convince my Nan to get a cat, she is almost 90 years old and cannot walk very well, so a dog is out of the question as the poor thing would never get walked but a cat would be perfect for her from both a companion and affection point of view.

   Sunrise Senior Living have put together an infographic to show just how beneficial it can be to elderly people to have a pet, from improving physical health, mental health and overall sense of wellbeing.

    

   I know a few children that are scared of cats and dogs and I think having a pet at home promotes a good understanding and tolerance of animals from a young age but the happiness they bring is ageless. You can be 9, like my daughter or 90, like my Nan and somehow having a pet can bring rewards no matter what your age.

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   This infographic was provided by Sunrise but all pets and grandparents are our own!