Five on Friday

Posted in Five on Friday by A Spoonful of Style

Rush, rush, rush – that is how I would sum up this week. In between working, trying to sort out childcare, cooking, cleaning and making at least a half-hearted attempt at spending some quality time together, it’s been a struggle keeping up with the blog. Most of my time seems to have been spent refereeing various arguments that have erupted between the children. Half term + rain is definitely not a good combination, resulting in bored kids mooching around the house moaning that there is nothing to do whenever you switch the Xbox/iPads off. Throw in a few late nights – the boys are addicted to Britain’s Got Talent at the moment and have been staying up later than usual to watch the semi finals every night this week – and it’s hardly surprising that tempers have been fraying left right and centre the past few days. But we have had some good times too, catching up with friends, watching movies and playing board games at home. Yesterday and today I had to work so the boys went to football camp while my parents looked after Clemmie. It certainly did the trick as far as bedtime was concerned – Casper was so tired he asked to go to bed at 6.30pm yesterday!

{We went on our annual family trip to Ikea last weekend. It was relatively painless as we got there half an hour after the store opened so managed to beat most of the crowds. As you may recall it is not everyone’s favourite destination…}

{It seems ages ago now but last Monday was a Bank Holiday here in the UK. It was grey and drizzly so we went to nearby Hampton Court Palace where the kids took part in a digital fact finding mission around the palace. The boys were really happy as they got to use an iPad but hopefully they learned a few things!}

{The burger chain Five Guys opened a restaurant near us a few months ago and the boys have been desperate to go so this week we finally relented. It was more expensive than McDonalds but the food was miles better. Clean plates all around}

{I made another batch of my vanilla granola this week. Really enjoying it with fresh berries and Greek yoghurt at the moment.}

{I also bought a couple of books, both on recommendations from other bloggers. I was going to save them for the summer holidays but I don’t know if I can wait that long.}

Happy Friday to you all! What are you up to this weekend? We have friends coming for dinner tomorrow night so I have an apple pie baking in the oven, which we will have for pudding. Apart from that, we are just hoping for some sunny weather so we can get outside in the garden. X

19May2014

The Weekend in Pictures

Posted in Family Life by A Spoonful of Style

Monday again! Hope you’ve all had a good start to the week. I can’t believe how fast the days are whizzing past. Next week is half term and I have yet to sort out any childcare for the two days I will be working. Better get my skates on!

We had a lovely weekend – busy but relaxing at the same time! A great combination of gardening, kids activities and a bit of ‘me’ time, plus the weather was glorious which always helps!

{Clemmie and I gave the playhouse its annual spring clean. It could do with a lick of paint but at least we got rid of all the cobwebs.}

{Cameron came back from his school trip late on Friday afternoon and then had to be up for a football tournament at 8.30 the next morning. Four hours later he was tired but happy to be on the winning team!}

{I may not have made it to Bruges but my lovely friends still brought back some chocolate for the children.}

{One of the nice things about sunny weather is that it makes healthy food seem more appealing! On Saturday I made a simple prawn pasta dish topped with rocket and sundried tomatoes.}

{On Sunday my friend and I took the train up to London, sans husbands and kids, to visit the Glamour of Italian Fashion exhibition at the V&A.}

{A quick drink in the outdoor cafe before we went to see the exhibition.}

{We rounded off the day with cocktails and a light dinner at Zuma in Knightsbridge. The perfect end to a great weekend!}

16May2014

Five on Friday

Posted in Five on Friday by A Spoonful of Style

{Clemmie playing school with her dolls. It must be a girl thing – I don’t remember the boys doing this}

{This guy went away on a school trip for three nights this week – the longest we’ve been apart since he was born. He returned safely today – tired and dirty but having had a fab time with all his friends}

{Husband came home from work early yesterday so we put the kids in the car and went for an early dinner at our local Thai. The yummiest Pad Thai I have had in a long time and a cheeky glass of rose on a Thursday night}

{I’ve been admiring the gorgeous flowers on display at our local florist. Now the sunny weather has arrived it is time to spruce up the garden, methinks}

{A football tournament for Cameron, swimming for Casper, a princess birthday party for Clemmie and a trip to London for me to see The Glamour of Italian Fashion exhibition are all on the agenda this weekend. It’s going to be a good one!}

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend! X

7May2014

A Family Outing to Osterley Park & House

Posted in Family Life by A Spoonful of Style

I know I’ve said it before, but we are lucky to have so many amazing places filled with history on our doorstep. Last Monday was a Bank Holiday so we grabbed our National Trust cards and drove down to Osterley Park and House, near Isleworth in Middlesex. A huge imposing Georgian mansion, dating back to the 1780s and surrounded by the most stunning gardens, it is one of the last surviving country estates in London. We had a quick coffee and snack in the stables tea room and then set off exploring the house and the colourful formal gardens.

It’s funny, both my husband and I can remember ~~being dragged to~~ visiting these places as children and while our own kids may not love all of it (the guided tour of the house springs to mind!) they do enjoy roaming the grounds, playing hide and seek and climbing trees. Hopefully, in years to come these outings will also give them some appreciation of this country’s history and culture that they in turn can share with their own children.

{I love the sweeping staircase}

{A beautiful summer house}

{Jumping high}

{And there goes the next one}

{Every corner of the garden was bursting with colour}

{I seem to have developed an affinity for taking pictures of flowers – unlike the children they stay in one place!}

{Gorgeous tulips}

{I wish I could have brought this flower pot back to my garden}

{A short rest before the next game of hide and seek}

3May2014

Five on (almost) Friday

Posted in Five on Friday by A Spoonful of Style

I’m a day late with my Five on Friday post but it’s been a busy week. Last night was spent pricing up the last few items for the aforementioned NCT sale and this morning we dropped off two carloads of stuff at the local Sixth Form college where the sale is held. Fingers crossed it all goes! I’m not too bothered about the money but any unsold items have to be collected this evening and I really don’t want any of it back.

We also took six large bags of children’s clothes to the charity shop so at least I can see the floor in my bedroom again. But a temple of minimalism it ain’t (yet..) – six zip-up bags stuffed full of winter gear are going back up to the loft for the next sale in October. One step at a time…

{It has been rainy this week and there is still a chill in the air but spring has officially arrived, which means switching from dark polishes to pastels and neon. I love this Chanel ‘Riviera’ polish – sadly it was a limited edition four years ago and is no longer available.}

{We have also officially entered the Princess Stage and this week both Rapunzel and Cinderella accompanied me on the school run. Princess dresses are fine for sitting in the buggy but no so practical when the little lady wants to get out and run around the playground or jump in puddles.}

{I finally booked tickets to go and see The Glamour of Italian Fashion at the V&A later this month. It promises to be a great exhibition with high octane outfits by the likes of Gucci and Dolce & Gabbana. Can’t wait!}

{How cute are these pink Converse that I bought for Clemmie? I need a new pair too, but maybe not in pink…}

{I met up with a good friend yesterday for a quick catch up over coffee and a to-die-for slice of almond cake. The perfect way to start the weekend. And it’s a three-day one which makes it even better!}

Happy Saturday to you all! X

18Apr2014

A Slice of History on our Doorstep

Posted in Family Life by A Spoonful of Style

It is very easy to take the things that are on your doorstep for granted. Although central London and all it has to offer in terms of history, culture and entertainment is only a short train ride away, there are still many places we haven’t taken the kids to see. Yesterday we decided to play tourists in our own city and visit the Tower of London as a family. I last went there as a 12-year-old on a school trip but the kids had never been and, amazingly, neither had my husband despite being born and bred in this country.

I have lived in or around London for most of my adult life and I love this city from the bottom of my heart in all its grimy, often chaotic, but always beautiful, glory. In my eyes, what makes it so special is the way traditional and modern are juxtaposed in a way that somehow seems completely seamless. While London pushes the boundaries in edgy fashion and is at the forefront of the music scene, much of the city is still steeped in tradition, from the doormen at old school establishments like Claridges to the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace. These contrasts perhaps come through most clearly in the architecture: yesterday we saw the ancient and magnificent Tower of London standing only a stone’s throw away from the glass covered ultra-modern wonder that is the Shard.

Brimming with history, much of it dark and disturbing, the Tower of London is a must-see for every tourist visiting the city. As we picked a beautiful, sunny day in the Easter holidays to visit, the place was fairly busy and the queues for the Crown Jewels and the Bloody Tower (where prisoners were held and tortured) were too long for us to contemplate standing in with the children. But I’m sure we will back again to see the bits that we missed, although to beat the crowds, next time we may choose a rainy day in November!

11Apr2014

Five on Friday

Posted in Five on Friday by A Spoonful of Style

{I went for a morning run with my boys on Tuesday. Two laps around the block followed by some lunges, situps and press-ups. Not enough to burn off all the chocolate I’ve been eating but it’s a start…}

{By mid-week Clemmie had recovered from the flu and was ready for a short outing to the playground}

{I went to see The Grand Budapest Hotel at the cinema with a friend. If you haven’t seen it, I would really recommend it: a really cute, quirky film with a stellar cast, funny but with a tinge of sadness.}

{At his request, Cameron and I made fruit salad, with a mix of apples, grapes, bananas, clementines, strawberries, melon and kiwis. I had it for breakfast the following day with a dollop of Greek yoghurt, a squeeze of honey and a generous sprinkling of my homemade muesli. Yummy!}

{I popped into Waitrose to get some milk this morning and they had some great bundle deals on magazines. I got five for only £10, a pretty good deal considering that they normally cost around £4 each! That’s my reading material sorted for this month}

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend! X

6Apr2014

Five on (ehrm..) Sunday

Posted in Five on Friday by A Spoonful of Style

I’m a couple of days late with my Five on Friday post. It is all very well having a posting schedule to follow but sometimes life just gets in the way (as it should, I’m sure you would agree). The best laid plans as they say…

We’ve had a busy weekend, celebrating my mum’s birthday and also finally starting in earnest on the spring cleaning projects I’ve been planning for weeks. It is a mammoth task so we still have plenty to do but at least I’ve bagged up lots of old clothes, toys and crockery, ready to go to the charity shop. Some of the nicer bits that I cleared out from my wardrobe were dropped off at a ‘Labels for Less’ dress shop yesterday so hopefully I will make a little bit of money out of my old purchases. We will be tackling the loft and the garage over the next few weeks…

Last night my husband and I were supposed to go out to celebrate a friend’s birthday. The babysitter had been booked, the present bought and outfits (mine anyway!) decided upon, but again things did not turn out quite as planned. Just after we had finished eating the birthday cake at my parents’ house yesterday Clemmie suddenly came down with a temperature of 40 degrees and started complaining of a sore throat. She has had several bouts of tonsillitis in the past (a couple of times she has even ended up in hospital – once her tonsils got so big and inflamed that she struggled to breathe and turned blue, and another time her temperature soared to over 42 degrees) so I wasn’t prepared to leave anything to chance. The babysitter was cancelled and we made an appointment to see the out-of-hours GP at the local hospital. Luckily it turned out to be a virus and after some Calpol and a lot of sleep, her fever was almost gone this morning. My husband went to the party on his own for a couple of hours while I put the kids to bed, had a glass of wine in front of Revenge and then went to bed myself. Such a shame, but the main thing is that Clemmie is OK and rather than dwelling on the missed party, here are some good things from the past week:

{The walk home from preschool takes twice as long now that there are flowers to pick!}

{It’s rainy today but we had some lovely sunny days last week so I grabbed a moment to sit outside with my coffee and magazine}

{I’m enjoying having a new bottle of my favourite perfume. The kids were very generous and bought me the large size of Viktor & Rolf’s Flowerbomb for Mother’s Day. After years of switching between different perfumes I think I’ve finally found my signature scent.}

{School’s out for Easter! Cameron’s school celebrated by holding their annual Eggstravaganza – a chocolate fueled frenzy of raffles, tombolas and fun games.}

{Clemmie and I in matching stripes on Friday. I love this jumper from H&M, it was only £7.99 so I have just ordered it in a couple of other colours.}

Hope you’ve had a great weekend! X

31Mar2014

The Weekend in Pictures

Posted in Family Life by A Spoonful of Style

We had a balmy, sunny weekend here in the UK and, fingers crossed, this could be the week that I finally put away all the winter coats, hats and scarves. As usual the weekend went by in a flash but we had a lovely couple of days full of family time, which is not always possible with two (soon three!) school-age kids who often have their own activities and parties to go to.

{Clemmie and her best friend hanging out at the bowling alley}

With three children aged 3-10 it can be hard to find activities that will please all of them but this weekend we definitely found one: bowling. The boys have already been several times, in fact Cameron had a bowling party for his ninth birthday, but it was the first time Clemmie tried it. I’m pleased to say that she loved it, even if I did wince every time she insisted on picking up the bowling ball, fearing she would drop it on her feet.

{Cameron going in for the strike}

{No visit to the bowling alley is complete without a slush puppy to drink}

Sunday, of course, was Mother’s Day and, after I had enjoyed leisurely breakfast in bed (or as leisurely as it can be with the kids fighting over the toast and covering the duvet in strawberry jam!), we walked up to Hampton Court Palace. After strolling around the gardens and playing a few games of hide and seek, we enjoyed some yummy cakes in the cafe.

I’m proud to tell you that some of these pictures were taken by Cameron who is developing a real interest in photography. He’s now saving up for his own camera and I think it would be great to have a hobby that we can both share.

{Me and my brood}

{Hampton Court gardens in bloom is one of the prettiest sights around this time of year}

Sorry for bombarding you with so many pictures but on the rare occasions that we remember to bring the DSLR with us, we take A LOT of photos!

Hope you’ve had a good start to the week. ‘Til the next post xxx

30Mar2014

Happy Mother’s Day ♥

Posted in Family Life by A Spoonful of Style

Happy Mother’s Day to all you mums out there, hope you have a fantastic day. Young or old, married or single, working or stay-at-home: remember you are all fabulous! XXX

{My eldest son woke my husband up this morning at 7.30am (it was really 6.30am I suppose as the clocks moved forward today and my husband is NOT a morning person) saying “C’mon Daddy, it’s mummy’s day, we need to get organised!”}

{And get organised they did! I had breakfast in bed – smoked salmon and scrambled eggs, my favourite – and was showered with gifts and (best of all) lots of kisses and cuddles}