44/52 The GraceFaith year long art project

Choosing a favourite piece of art, each week of the year

43/52 The GraceFaith year long art project

Choosing a favourite piece of art, each week of the year

Travel Musings of a 4YO

As we touch down on the runway of Thessaloniki, Sofia stares out the window and exclaims:
S: Hooray, we are here! We are in Lyme Regis.

LIFE AS IT IS - This week in October 2015...

This week has been a roller coaster. A metaphor often bandied about, but used to full effect here. The ups and downs and twisty unexpected turns, sudden jolts, stops and starts have each been stressful. So much so, that the out of control week long ride resulted in bruising and torn ligaments.

Autumn Winter Trends 2015 MUCK BOOTS - A review

Last week we started building an extension, and our once garden just outside the front door is fast approaching mud slide status as the rain arrived this week. However, these gorgeous Muckboot wellies also arrived this week - how is that for good timing?

DETAILS:
Brand: The Original Muck Boot Company
Style: Women's Breezy Tall Insulated Rain Boot
Price: £95
Sizes: UK 3-9
Available from: The Original Muck Boot Company


Tagged as the welly boot that doesn't need a sock, the new Breezy Tall Insulated Rain Boot keeps you comfortable, warm and dry in the 'muckiest' of weather. 
Really?

42/52 The GraceFaith year long art project

Choosing a favourite piece of art, each week of the year

This week, Sofia proves it is all about the detail

NORTHERN high LIGHTS - A travel feature

Travel writer Emma Oliver takes her family on the 

trip of a lifetime to experience Arctic conditions in Lapland 

Do you want to build a snowman? Or an entire snow family for that matter? Then this is the place to head. And while you are here, pop in on Santa (of course).

Families will appreciate all that Lapland has to offer though - not just the Father Christmas magical experience of a lifetime, which kids of any age will love. We found a destination to suit families that enjoy the great outdoors - and all manner of unique activities that the Arctic Circle provides. 

Since 2002, the award winning tour company Activities Abroad has been bringing families (children aged 4+) to Luosto in Finnish Lapland, to revel in adventure; including husky safari, reindeer sleigh ride, amethyst mining, cross country skiing, and my particular favourite, ice fishing.

Just imagine sitting on reindeer skins holding fishing rods, the worm end of which dangles down through the metre thick ice you just drilled a hole into. There's no doubt that seeing my young children settled a la Eskimo style is going to stay with me forever, but that's the thing about this sort of visceral holiday; it is the trip of a lifetime.

Christmas Musings of a 7YO (yes, already).

E: I think this morning I'll play the 100 Best Christmas Songs CD. After all, 
it is only ten weeks to Christmas.

Reclaim your lunch and your mojo!

Having a hot lunch is hot news!

So I've been up to town for work this week, and it's so cold isn't it? Anyway, hungry, I simply had to stop for food. Fortunately this is London and I knew looking for somewhere to grab a sandwich wouldn't take long. Although I kept walking past Caffè Nero - hey, I don't drink coffee anymore... Although I hadn't realised that they started doing hot dinners. When did that happen? Actually, the smell is what got me through the door. Check out my lunch...

Fit for school with ProVen probiotics

For years now I've had the kids on a probiotic. Initially, this stemmed from their cows milk allergy days; irritated digestive systems and upset guts. As time has gone on and my children have started at school, (the GraceFaith girls are now 7 and 4), I've realised that as a result of being on a probiotic, they haven't picked up on half as many nasties as other kids, and whenever they have potentially picked up a sick bug, symptoms have never been severe. Hence my children are still on a probiotic, for really why should they suffer? 

41/52 The GraceFaith year long art project

Choosing a favourite piece of art, each week of the year...

This week Fia came home from nursery with this picture, announcing it was Halibut Jackson.

It's a polka dot flock of moonbeam mermaids thing

DIY in style: A new room in a day courtesy of Graham & Brown

With the help of design specialists Graham & Brown, we created a new look for both our daughter's bedrooms, each taking a day, (give or take a shelf being put up here and there).

Graham & Brown has a wide variety of designs and a brilliant choice of colour, ranging in style from the beautifully understated to the downright weird and wonderful.

Looking on the website at the children's collection of wallpaper, Esme (my creative 7YO) and I, first fell in love with this frame paper, but my husband, Simon, put his foot down as far as having that as an option. I really like the idea of being able to encourage the children to draw on the walls, but I guess his playroom over bedroom argument won out on that one. Shame we don't have a playroom as the frame paper really is creative fun at its best.

Esme eventually settled on a very girlie polka flock paper, a pink velvet raised dot which is now covering all four walls. Sofia on the other hand, (my gregarious 4YO) went for a bold blue paint, with a feature wall of mermaids - yes you read that correct.

I think it is fair to say my pictures in this post, don't do this beautiful foil type paper justice, for I couldn't achieve a clean photo with flash photography or the light streaming in through the window. Frankly, it is exquisite -with a name containing the words Mermaids and Moonbeam, it was always going to be. I love how the two children chose so differently, reflecting their personalities. Look in Fia's room and you see a bright blue background and a drum kit, and look in Esme's and you see a tidy desk, offset with pink and pretty.

Why and how? Well this week is the inaugural National Wallpaper Week and to be honest, with all that has gone on in my LIFE AS IT IS recently, I welcomed the opportunity to redecorate the GraceFaith girls rooms with both arms. Our house build (ground floor extension) that was set for March 2016, has been rescheduled to start this week, and as a) we are going to be spending a lot of time upstairs over the next few months, b) the girls are in the same rooms that we decorated when I was pregnant with Esme, and c) they both totally deserve a special space, it is a welcome change of scene.

In this house, when it comes to decorating, we are usually your average tin of paint sort of people. Truth is, neither of us have ever tried to wallpaper in our lives. Naturally I asked wonderballs Simon to help and he did brilliantly. Especially as the walls are over 200 years old - wonky walls and all that. There are a couple of tricks we picked up along the way; using a pin to help release stubborn air bubbles and going for paste the wall over paste the paper, and although the walls do not bare close inspection(!), we are really pleased with the results. What do you think? Here are the before and after shots...

The need to clear out - physically and mentally

People that regularly visit my blog will know that over the last couple of months its content has often reflected on my mission to change things for the better. (I always think of September as the start of a new year). Anyway this September, lots has been happening...

FRAMED - Autumn Harvest

The Nonsense Show by Eric Carle - A book review

Surely everyone has heard of Eric Carle? An American designer, illustrator and writer, his book The Hungry Caterpillar has sold more than 33 million copies. No surprise there, this clever story covers colour, maths, science, language, and, lollipops! The real questions is, has everyone heard of his latest book, released next week: The Nonsense Show?

40/52 The GraceFaith year long art project

Choosing a favourite piece of art, each week of the year

This week, Sofia is inspired by the birds in the garden

FRAMED - car boot - Turning clutter to potential cash (3)

September to me, has always been about new beginnings. More so than New Year. Sorting crap and clearing out. What better way of doing so, than by having a car boot and selling the stuff you no longer need/want/use? After a little research, it turns out the way to find your nearest, is via carbootjunction.com. So having found one, Esme and I did one today. We managed to make over £80, which considering there were a lot of £2, £1, and 50p's going on, was brilliant - and meant we cleared a lot of stuff.

FOOTNOTE
Head to Jumbletrail.com to initiate a jumble sale on your street with your neighbours. Or sell online via Vinted.co.uk (clothes) or musicmagpie.co.uk (CDs/DVDs/mobile phones).

Turning clutter to potential cash (2)

Esme and I have planned a car boot sale. The thing about car boot sales, (the really big inner city kind), is that most of us only ever do them around once every eight years, and then after they're done, feel a number of things... relieved that we managed it and made some money out of our crap, but also relieved that, well frankly, we survived.

Life is too short

Read this today... simply needed to act on it.

In Regrets of The Dying, Bronnie Ware, a hospice nurse, says 'many of the patients she nursed in their final days regretted most that they lived a life other people expected of them and not the life that they truly wanted to live.' 

Do me a favour people... don't leave room for regret.

My Little Duckling - A baby/toddler hat review

Take a look at this gorgeous hat from the innovative company My Little Duckling, whose many fresh ideas (and quite simply adorable products) are showcasing this month at The Baby Show (Kensington, Olympia - 23-25th October, stand number B112 - opposite the Mothercare message).

Life As It Is got a sneak preview of one of these cute winter pilot hats and can tell you that the product is of the highest quality, thick and warm, yet soft and comfortable. We are sure that this hat is a fine winner for them, and can't wait to watch the company spread their wings and fly.

Check out mylittleduckling.co.uk for a gorgeous selection of hats suitable for boys and girls aged between 0-3 years of age.

Life As It Is/Emma Oliver, received a My Little Duckling Pilot Hat, in exchange for this review. 

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