14/52 The GraceFaith year long art project

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

Eric the Oracle series by Kate H.N. - A review

DETAILS:
Eric the Oracle series by Kate H.N.
Illustrated by: Tim Bulmer
Written for Key Stage 1&2 children, 7-11 years



Published by: Blockley Bank Books
Ebooks available from: March 2017
Price: ebooks £2.99, printed copies £5.99 or a set of 6 £29.95

13/52 The GraceFaith year long art project

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

Mother's Day flowers

Medusa Musings of an 8YO

I started the day, with my 8-YO Esme Grace, quoting me the following sentence...

'Look me in the eyes’, chanted Medusa menacingly, her hair hissing ferociously, jiggling about like lots of jelly fish, tentacles all swirling around creating a multicoloured blur.

...Sometimes they just amaze you, don't they!

12/52 The GraceFaith year long art project

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

Sofia Faith cuts out her creation

Ashdown Park Hotel & Country Club - A review

Seeking downtime in the beautiful Sussex countryside? Ashdown Park makes for a wonderful break from routine

Like many working parents, I struggle to find the time to connect with my family, and all too often weekends are spent catching up with the mundane at home. To break that, recently, my husband and I took our two girls away to Ashdown Park Hotel and Country Club to spend some time together. What we found was a most relaxed setting and a return to innocent childhood days…

11/52 The GraceFaith year long art project

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














Fia kickstarts the tractor causing Spring to wake up.

My London Colour, Draw, Explore - A review

 
DETAILS:
My London: Colour, Draw, Explore by Majel van der Meulen 
Paperback
Published by: Laurence King
Available from: March 2017
Price: £7.99
ISBN: 978 1 78067 9112

My London: Colour, Draw, Explore - well the clue's in the word explore really. Out this Spring, the London themed activity book is the perfect accompaniment for a trip to the capital. It has a whopping 40 pages for children to make London their own as they weave along the river Thames from Big Ben to Tower Bridge, spotting all the famous landmarks, buildings and people as they go. Encouraging imagination, it asks children to, for example, draw the people on the London Eye, design a bridge, create an art exhibition at the Tate, even build a skyscraper; surely this book is any budding architects/artists idea of heaven?

LIFE AS IT IS VERDICT
My London: Colour, Draw, Explore is a fun and unique London themed activity book for children incorporating travel and doodling. It is a journal of sorts, with colourful trendy pages full of London landmarks, and space for children to add their own stamp on them, as they make (and keep) memories. A great souvenir.

Emma Oliver and the GraceFaith girls received a copy of My London in exchange for this review, all ideas and comments are my own.

10/52 The GraceFaith year long art project

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



Stack the bike on the car and set off to a hotel in the countryside... I like your thinking Fia!

A Story of Cancer, Struggle and Hope

A while back, Life As It Is was contacted by a young woman Heather Von St James, a cancer survivor who asked if she could share her story with my blog. I was more than happy to be used as a platform for this cause. 18 months down the line, I have since been contacted by Virgil Anderson, also wanting to raise awareness of Mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer that is caused by exposure to asbestos fibres, resulting in 43,000 deaths around the world per annum. We know today how dangerous exposure to asbestos is. It is banned in 60 countries. Tragically, it is not yet banned worldwide.

Whether it is the sufferer or their family and friends, Life As It Is for so many people, is one affected by cancer. Here's Virgil's story...

A delicate flower - Esme at 8.5

Esme, at 8.5YO you're a delicate flower.

You worry about whether you should stay home with me or go to the pool with Dad and Fia.

I tell you, the pool will be so much more fun; but you think you will be bored.

"What if I don't see any of my friends there?"

"So what if you don't... Daddy and Fia will be your playmates."

"But I have homework to do and it's a nice day, I'd get to have time on my own with you..."

In the end, you decide to swim. You make the right call my lovely girl as I'm about to hoover.


Oh my Esme. At this stage of development, I'm seeing you often worry about the little things. Emotion is creeping in... not quite door slamming, but very much flouncing off one minute, returning for a cuddle the next, bursting into tears and not knowing why. It'll pass chickydoo. Wait and see. I love you.

9/52 The GraceFaith year long art project

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



Oh little one shining bright, you remind me of the shooting star you drew this week.

Match a Track - a game review

This game is a great rainy day activity and over half term, fast became one of our favourite pastimes. It's not as easy as you may think either!

DETAILS:
Match a Track
Illustrated by: Marcel George
Suitable for ages: 4-7
Published by: Laurence King
Available from: March 2017
Price: £12.99
ISBN: 978 1 78067 964 8

8/52 The GraceFaith year long art project

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



An inset day prior to this half term found us at a pottery painting place. Sofia Faith has really come on in her focus for this. I'd love to say she was responsible for the perfect eyes and mouth but I'd be lying. The lady that owns the shop did that for her, but the rest... great job Fia!

Garden Design - When Mud turns to Magic - Watch Our Space

I am so excited at the prospect of our new outdoor space. Three weeks in and the landscaping is in full force as the transformation on the garden and drive gets well and truly underway.

Doing the work for us are Ben and Paul of Haslemere Landscapes, who I have to say have so far been great. You'd never think two men could accomplish so much in such a short amount of time... and in such trying conditions.

7/52 The GraceFaith year long art project

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



Esme Grace begins to sew a love heart. But who will she give it to on Tuesday?!

Chicken Pox Strikes

At 5.5 Fia finally has caught chicken pox. You can tell from her picture that they are mainly on her tummy.



And that she misses playing with Patrick.

6/52 The GraceFaith year long art project

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



Esme is in love with dophins. That said, I've never seen her draw them freehand before. Good effort girlie!

Life As It Is - This week in Jan 2017 - Sickness & swimming pools

Life As It Is is - well now, that's a thought. How is it? Frankly better that it was. I'm getting over ocular shingles. That's shingles in the eye for anyone that wondered. Triggered by a chest infection and a very high temp prior to that. All of January, Queenie's Cough has played havoc with my lungs, and to think this was supposed to be my year for good health...

Dry January is officially over and thanks to the aforementioned state of me, I did quite well. Only one real night of boozing, and that was civilised. I could conclude that I'm no better for cutting out alcohol, although an underlying and potentially reocurring peptic ulcer would no doubt disagree. Jesus I'm ageing. You know in Spring I'm going to emerge a thoroughbred? My cunning plan is to drink an Apple Cider Vinegar antidote heh heh. It is what I'm currently sucking up (through a straw though, for as well as viruses, it eats enamel).

5/52 The GraceFaith year long art project - Foxy ladies

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



Love love love seeing what each girl made of their blank canvas

4/52 The GraceFaith year long art project

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



This week I've seen a shift in Fia's artwork - much more confident - defined as big and bold.

GREECE is the word

Halkidiki’s best-kept secret

Unlike its neighbouring peninsulars, far from a commercialised holiday destination, Athos, the third leg of Halkidiki, is home to very few hotels. And Eagles Palace is the only five-star in the area…

Landing in Thessaloniki, the onward journey took me by surprise. I had expected a dry landscape, not lush green hills dotted with bright flora and fauna. It’s a picturesque yet dramatic (I arrived to leaden skies) ninety minute ride to the five-star ‘Small Luxury Hotel of the World’ Eagles Palace Hotel & Spa, situated just outside the coastal village of Ouranopolis. 

Next morning, the every which way horizon dawned blue and I looked out to the private pool and the perfectly painted Aegean sea - with an espresso to help me drink it in. And wake up - I've never slept so well anywhere. 

First thing in the morning musings of a 5YO

So Fia stumbles in first thing and hugging her father says: "Dada, why do you smell so ponky?"
Made me smile.

3/52 The GraceFaith year long art project

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



Esme stands still for a moment to sketch fruit

8.5 years and counting

It's happened. You stayed up later than Mummy and Daddy last night.

You were out and we were in.

You went to the Panto with Brownies, and from the sounds of it, had the time of your life.

By the time you got into bed it was nearly 11.

And my girl, you looked so happy - complete with dark shadows under your bright eyes.

8.5 years and counting.

Post hysterectomy

No longer do I have to explain it is not a pregnancy.

Mayfair Lady

Emma Oliver heads across town to taste the wares of the newly launched Low Tea at The Luggage Room - notably one of Mayfair’s best-kept secrets…

Imagine you’ve seen the latest exhibition at the Royal Academy and just (window) shopped Bond Street. Now you’re ready for something to eat, but have a dinner booking later. What could possibly fill the gap?

2/52 The GraceFaith year long art project

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



Amongst triangles, circles, hearts and lines, Sofia Faith decides interestingly to split the page in two here. One wonders if she is covering symmetry and shape at school this first week back after the Christmas holidays? I really should read that topic letter that came through!

Dream catching

This morning I woke thinking about these two things: My Gran and money. Connecting them both I thought about how she used to give me pocket money - not only as a child, but as a mature student at university, handing me a tenner and saying spend it for me. Those handouts kept me afloat. But my visits to her kept me sane and secure.

Shortly I came down to breakfast - just as the postman delivered a cheque from my Uncle re my Grandma's affairs. It's been five years since she passed away so this was completely unexpected.

Enclosed was a comforting note saying that although not much was left, she had always thought she had the most talented grandchildren in the world, and the idea that she might be able to help them one day, was very important to her.

I wept for Gran. I wept for the fact that throughout her life Gran gave us so much more than money. I wept for the fact that only ten minutes earlier I had been thinking of her; and that even today we have a connection.

1/52 The GraceFaith year long art project

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



The GraceFaith year long art project began at the end of 2013. Primarily I saw it as a chance to capture my children's art throughout their childhood and to watch how it developed over time. Indeed from toddlerdom's paint splodges to a seven year old's more intricate mask design, I've been able to collect it in this way and enjoy it all again and again. What parent can possibly hold onto every single colouring or junk model? One with a bowing loft. Photographing it all has been the perfect way of storing each one of those special designs. More than a record though, this project makes for my very favourite posts on this blog.
Happy New Year everyone!

Ring the bells... by Leonard Cohen

Ring the bells that still can ring,
Forget your perfect offering,
There's a crack - a crack in everything.
That's how the light gets in.

52/52 The GraceFaith year long art project

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

FRAMED - our Father Christmas visit

51/52 The GraceFaith year long art project

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

Shopping impulse control (aka a later look online)

Last week I took the girls to see Santa (amazingly, he had set up camp at a garden centre not far from us). I have to say, it was magical. There was a delightful woodland walk too, and all in all, it was a great experience. The girls were mesmerised.

PARTY SEASON – dealing with the day after the night before

Want to know how to help with your hangover? Life As It Is got in touch with nutritional therapist Shona Wilkinson for some expert advice in the run up to the party season…

Lots of us have experienced the discomfort and frustration of alcohol hangover at some time or other. But let’s face it, with Christmas and New Year knocking on our doors, and the party season soon to be in full swing, there’s potential for many sore heads looming. So why and how does a hangover occur and what can we do to help ourselves?    

50/52 The GraceFaith year long art project

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

LUTON HOO HOTEL, GOLF & SPA - a travel review

Born of aristocracy, the luxury five-star Luton Hoo Hotel, Golf & Spa is a destination where you can revel in playing at Lady Grantham. Actually forget that, the Luton Hoo mansion house experience knocks Downton Abbey into a cocked hat. You see its rich history spans the 3rd Earl of Bute, Tsar Nicholas I and Winston Churchill. Royalty has been entertained here. And since it is now a charming hotel, you can be too. Live like a king (or queen for that matter); arrive conveniently by helicopter if it suits? Whatever your preference, this stately home appears to be able to accommodate every request, no matter how bespoke.

49/52 The GraceFaith year long art project

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

48/52 The GraceFaith year long art project

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

LIFE AS IT MAYBE for you my girls

Esme Grace and Sofia Faith, although you are but 8 & 5, as far as living your life my girls, here's a glimpse into what I hope your future holds... Remember at the end of the day, LOVE is the only thing that matters.


1. You find yourselves laughing. A lot. Out loud.

2. That you never take yourselves too seriously.

3. That if you want to, you can lasso the moon. And the stars.

4. That you always try to give everything a really good go and that you don't give up easily. And that if and when you do make a hash of it, you can resort to number one on this list.

5. That you continue to be honest and brave.

6. That you appreciate the beauty that surrounds you, the earth and all life on it.

7. That along with kind and generous you are humble and grateful too.

8. That you are always yourselves - and although you'll care about one another's opinion, you won't worry about other people's.

9. That you are able to express anger as and when you need to, but then can quickly let it go.

10. That you always appreciate one another. My goodness girls, you are so lucky to have eachother.

47/52 The GraceFaith year long art project

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

Esme shows her true colours when it comes to colouring in a comic football strip
(Foolish girl)

2016 Top Ten Christmas Gifts from Laurence King

Over the course of the year I have worked with Laurence King. It's not the first time, indeed you may recall this Life As It Is post showcasing many of my faves from last year. However 2016 has seen some fabulous new releases. Let me update you with the current top ten LK gifts - just in case you were looking for any Christmas present shopping inspiration:

Transformed by freedom

...am no longer precious about them padding around parks, gardens, forests barefoot. I have been reintroduced to the purpose of play for play's sake; as a means to natural movement, to free up that sedentary spine. But the latter would not have been possible without the lifting and clearing of the old debris - the stuff that weighs us all down, and fools us into thinking that we can't, or shouldn't, or mustn't.
Somehow over the course of the next few weeks, I transform. It is slow going, but the dedication you give to the retreat stays with you. There is no other way now that these freer instincts feel so natural. The day after the retreat, flung straight back into work, I wake with the darkest circles under my eyes that I've ever had. Once the working day is done, I sleep and sleep and sleep, and meditate, and place crystals around my home, and read books, and feel as though my eyes are wide open for the first time since childhood. I see my children in a different light. I want to learn and grow and heal. I want to be a better mother and ensure my children live free of my own mistakes and misgivings. I stop blow-drying my hair. I donate half of my clothes. I clear out my cupboards. We collect wood from the forest and make bonfires and sing in the garden. We map the stars. We marvel at the moon. We retreat back to a place where the good things live... and vow never to lose sight of them again.

What an exquisitely inspirational excerpt from the Nov 2016 Psychologies magazine, 
written by Health + Wellness Director, Eminé Rushton 

46/52 The GraceFaith year long art project

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

Fia draws bunkbeds

Lest we forget

Today I've been for my usual Friday walk taking in the National Trust café up top. Except of course it isn't a usual Friday.

Today is Armistice day, and although the café was full, it wasn't so busy that everyone didn't stop and share 11am.

We all managed to find a moment of stillness. Peaceful quiet, give or take a little one's mutterings, which somehow made it feel all the more poignant.

Peaceful quiet? When guns and bombs compose the rhythm of the soundtrack, and blood shed, tears cried, life lost; the score.

My peaceful quiet moved from loss to futility to hope. We all know that even though the war dead are glorious, war itself is certainly not.

Not a usual Friday then. November the 11th caught me unaware. I didn't expect to pause and remember those gone before, those leaving now, and those preparing to fall, when I set off on such a sunny morning. Nor for that matter, did I expect to share the moment with an entire café of strangers.

It was moving.

And more than death, it reminded me of life.



This post also appeared here

Oh neglected blog space, how are you?

Oh neglected blog space, how are you?
How is Life As It Is?

Bloody marvellous to be honest.
Didn't expect that now did you?

Work, health, family, all is well and I can't complain.

I can't write you either. It's hectic.

Work is busy and so, alas personal blog writing takes a backseat.

Health is healthier than ever (that kind of happens when you have a football removed from your insides).

Family, well I ought to always find the time to write about you - and I will. Girls you are my life. And your father is my all.

I'll check in again, but for now I'll keep posting the art every Sunday.

I cherish the art.

45/52 The GraceFaith year long art project

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

44/52 The GraceFaith year long art project

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



As Esme settled into a collage, her sister happened upon a garden snail. She eventually put it back again - complete with sticker.

FRAMED Autumn colour

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Whether you’re planning a party or heading over to someone else’s, these ideas are bound to inspire terrific tricks and treats for all the family to enjoy.

43/52 The GraceFaith year long art project

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



Who lives in a house like this Fia?

42/52 The GraceFaith year long art project

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

41/52 The GraceFaith year long art project

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

40/52 The GraceFaith year long art project...

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



And so the owl went camping on his third birthday!