Treasure Every Moment: hm

Saturday, 1 October 2016

TODDLER STYLE: A week of outfits #60

Happy 1st October!!

We're back with Toddler Style this week, after taking last week off because I was poorly. I'm loving the autumn vibe coming into everyone's wardrobe, toddlers and adults alike. Layering, scarves and wrapping up warm are all my favourite things, so I'm welcoming autumn with open arms. However, we still have loads of summer dresses that are a bit big for Isabella. So I'm hoping we can layer them up and at least get one day wear out of them!

Day 1

TODDLER STYLE: A week of outfits #52

We have had such a lovely week this week - I got a lot of work done, we visited the farm and have done loads of cooking. I'm usually quite apprehensive about taking Isabella out on my own these days, dealing with the tantrums alone is quite daunting. However, I put my worries aside and we had such a fun day at the farm. Last time we went there Isabella couldn't walk, so she loved running around looking at the chickens, goats, sheep, duck, rabbits etc. She enjoyed riding on some toy tractors, playing in their huge sandpit and staring at all of the other children there. Does anyone else's little one do this? She'll stand and stare for such a long time if I let her, it can get a bit embarrassing! Anyway, our day out has encouraged me to do it more often :)

Day 1

TODDLER STYLE: A week of outfits #51

So summer has mostly definitely arrived this week...it's been so hot! I'm not the biggest fan of the heat and the added stress of work and keeping Isabella cool enough has meant it's been a rather exhausting week. The tantrums seemed to have dwindled off at the moment (touch wood) and it's been so lovely creating happy, smiling memories together again. I really am very lucky to have the life I have and sometimes it's nice to stop and appreciate the small things.

Day 1

TODDLER STYLE: A week of outfits #50

This week has been a lot more positive than last week - with some good news about a relative who isn't very well, changes at work and far less tantrums! Thursday seems to be Isabella's worst day of the week, with tantrum after tantrum, however hard I try to make the day nice and fun. I'm not sure if it's because it's the first day of the week she's not at nursery, or that she gets so overtired from being at nursery for three days that I get the brunt of that? Who knows. She's also continued to wake up in the night with the most horrendous screams. One night this week we couldn't settle her until 9pm (Thursday night in fact), which hasn't happened since she was very little. I'm not sure if she's at an age where this happens, but we aren't in a Wonder Weeks thunderstorm so I'm at a loss as to why.

Day 1

BABY STYLE: A week of outfits #45

It feels like I haven't done a Baby Style post in ages because I missed last week. We were away with my family for a few days and there was seriously limited/if any wifi, so I couldn't publish the post from last week. Anyway on to this week - it's flown by with work whizzing past at the start of the week and then Isabella and I have both relaxed and hectic days at the end. I've been busy working on some new blog posts, new pieces for my business Isabella Mai-de (follow here to keep up to date) and creating new refined sugar free recipes for Isabella to enjoy. I didn't realise how much I missed creating recipes until I started doing it again! Now it's all about preparing/thinking about Father's Day next weekend...when did that sneak up so quickly?!

Day 1

BABY STYLE: A week of outfits #44

Happy bank holiday weekend everyone! I've actually got a few days off next week, so I'm looking forward to a bit of break and lots of quality family time. It's been so busy with the launch of Isabella Mai-de (which is now available on Etsy), Isabella's had conjunctivitis and trying to keep on top of blogging. We've got some fun plans over the next few days, including a trip to the beach to celebrate our niece's third birthday and lots of quality family time. There's also a whole day to myself when my husband will be at work and Isabella will be at nursery - the first day alone since Isabella was born almost 14 months ago! What to do?? I'll probably just enjoy working on Isabella Mai-de and this blog with a hot cup of tea. Hope you all have a lovely long weekend, whatever you get up to :)

Day 1

BABY STYLE: A week of outfits #42

This week has been a VERY big week - two very exciting things finally happened. Firstly, the plans for starting a new venture are really starting to take shape now. I will be selling selected summery designs from my hand stamped baby and toddler clothing range!!! I can't believe I've been brave enough to take this leap, it's very unlike me. I'm just so excited to start creating new designs, making unique hand stamped clothing for your lovely little people and seeing the way you style them. I have been working hard on the summer collection this week and without giving too much away expect bright colours, fruity designs and nautical themes. I hope you're as excited about it as me - if you want to follow the journey and be one of the first to find out when the selling begins follow the 'isabellamaide' instagram account where it will all be happening!

The second exciting thing that happened this week is that this blog finally became self hosted, now it's www.treasureeverymoment.co.uk. It's something I've been meaning to do for a long time, so pleased to have finally ticked it off the to-do list. Now to work on increasing my DA!

Day 1

BABY STYLE: A week of outfits #41

Well hasn't the warmer, sunny weather been lovely this week? On my two days off Isabella and I have spent hours playing in the garden, collecting stones, going on the swing, practising her walking and having our first ever picnics together. These are the kind of days I dreamt of when I was pregnant and I couldn't be more filled with love for these days. Spending time showing Isabella the big wide world, that she has so much to learn about, is truly an honour. However, we do now need to work out how to teach her to explore safely. Any tips? Roll on the summery outfits...

Day 1

BABY STYLE: A week of outfits #38

This week has been a really positive one - Isabella is now eating more and sleeping longer at nursery, I had a good half week at work and filled the other half with seeing friends and family. Sometimes I get nervous about filling up my diary with seeing people because it means Isabella doesn't nap for as long, often resulting in less sleep at night. But this week I've realised I need to change this attitude and embrace everyday as it comes. Recently Isabella hasn't been sleeping well at night whether we go out for the day or not, so why not have a lovely day anyway?!

Day 1

BABY STYLE: A week of outfits #36

This week has been a crazily busy one filled with more nursery settling in sessions, party prepartions, catching up with friends and about seven trips to the supermarket! Lists have been my best friend as we've been making the final preparations for Isabella's birthday party. Hence there are only two outfits this week, we'll be back to three next week. I've cooked, cleaned, sorted, crafted, organised, shopped, ordered and decorated my way through the week and I've loved every single second of it. I love hosting, especially one that is so special. In the few spare minutes I've been spent reminiscing about this time last year when I was in labour with Isabella, this past year has been the best year of my life. I am so incredibly lucky.

Day 1

BABY STYLE: A week of outfits #15

After a couple of long weekends away in a row it was nice to get back into our Mummy Daughter routine again this week. We went to Hartbeeps on Monday, which had a fun Halloween theme and it was our last one in the smallest baby group. Next course we're moving up to the 'sitting to walking' class - how Isabella is already in that class beyond me! Time is flying by. There are also a lot of birthdays around this time of year in our families, so there were a few trips into town to buy cards/wrapping paper etc. Wrapping up the presents got me so excited for the mass Christmas present wrapping that will be here in no time!

Day 1

BABY: Nursery Tour

I've been meaning to do a nursery tour for a while now, as I love reading these posts - any excuse for a good nosey! We have been adding new bits here and there to Isabella's nursery since she was born, so kept putting off doing a nursery tour. It's still not completely finished but she'll be out of the nursery before I do this if I don't get on with it!

HOME: HandM Home Haul and Wishlist

As we are starting to have a proper kitchen again (very exciting!) I've been shopping around for some new kitchen accessories. I've never bought anything from the H&M home section before but have always swooned over so many of their items. They are often reasonably priced and so stylish - definietly worth checking out. Here's a few pieces I picked up recently...

Cotton Table Runner - £6.99

Pot Holder - £2.99

Tea Towel - £2.99

Storage Basket - £7.99

Now onto my H&M Home Wishlist...

Metal Tray - £14.99

Wooden salad servers - £7.99

Scented Candle - £9.99

Metal Tealight Holder - £2.99

Metal Tray - £14.99

Glass Tealight Holder - £2.99

Storage Box - £3.99

Metal Photo Frame - £9.99

What are your favourite pieces from H&M Home?

Feel free to leave me a comment :)

Helen x

NURSERY: Storage Ideas and Solutions

When it came to creating our daughters nursery I wanted it to be stylish, practical and organised. The practical aspect was especially important, particularly as she won't be sleeping in there for the first 6ish months. It needed to be a space that we can change her, get her dressed and I can breastfeed her. We looked at various types of nursery furniture, which came with a variety of types of storage - from drawers to shelves to a hanging rail. Though babies are only tiny and their clothes are small too, all of the things they need quickly take up a lot of space! We eventually decided on a shelving/changing unit and a wardrobe with two shelves in. Therefore the majority of available storage was shelves. We couldn't just pile her clothes, nappies, wipes etc on the shelves as it would have been hard to find anything and probably looked messy. Neither of which I really wanted for the nursery.

I hunted around for reasonable storage boxes to put her clothes in, so that I could organise them and they would sit on the shelves neatly. If you're thinking of doing a similar thing make sure you measure the height, depth and length of the shelves you have. This allows you to find storage that will make the most of the available space, rather than buying a box that's big enough to fit on the shelf but then doesn't leave enough space for another box. It's just worth thinking ahead slightly.

IKEA was of course an obvious place to look, especially as we were already there buying the nursery furniture. I found the following storage containers that fitted perfectly on the Hensvik Changing table/cabinet.

^KASSETT Box with lid - white - 2 pack - £3.75^

^I can't seem to find these on the IKEA website, they were brand new out so may take a while to get on to the website. They were £3 each. The turquoise container is almost the perfect match to the colour of our cot bed - match made in heaven.^

^HYFS Box with lid - Grey - £3 each^

The following storage items I picked up at H&M (in New York but there's a similar one currently being sold in the UK) and The Range.

^Similar - H&M Storage Basket - £1.99^

^Again these don't seem to be on The Range website but we only bought them a couple of weeks ago, so I'm sure they'll still be in store. It's a three pack of white wicker baskets for £8.99.^

What did you use for storage in your little ones nursery?

Feel free to leave me a comment :)

Helen x

MATERNITY OUTFIT: Autumn Stripes (plus my bump at 13 weeks)

Since being pregnant and looking for maternity wear I've realised just how hard it is to find flattering, stylish outfits. Asos have a good maternity range but I didn't have a massive bump at 13 weeks. I was in that awkward stage where my normal clothes are too tight but maternity clothes are generally far too big. So I've settled on 'normal' clothes that have a bit of stretch in them.

Cardigan - New Look - £17.99

Deer Scarf - Gift

Stripy Long Sleeved Top - Primark - £4

Black Tube Skirt - H&M - £3.99

Tights - Primark - £3.50

Shoes - New Look - £8 in the sale

(Bump at 13 weeks)

Feel free to leave me a comment :)

Helen x

SHOPPING: HandM, Asos and Internacionale Haul

Shopping. Shopping. Shopping.

As much as I love it, it does seem to be all I'm doing at the moment, if it's not for a holiday then it's a Summer Ball or because my size has changed! It's all very expensive and I need to stop. But anyway Tom and I went to a Summer Ball, which was the perfect excuse to dress up! We haven't been to a formal event since we were at university, I haven't therefore bought or looked at 'occasion' dresses for over 3 years - so out of practice! I really wanted a new dress, not only to suit my body which has gone through some changes recently, but also as a treat being as the last time I bought one was such a long time ago. Of course, I couldn't just get one dress I ended up buying a number of other items - there's just so many nice pieces out there at the moment!