lifestyle posts

Advent Calendars with style

| blueskygirlie

So, today it is the 1st of December (how did that happen?!?) and if you have kids (or are a kid a heart) its time to put out your advent calendar. The question is, what do you do to count down the days of December? 

A few years back I decided that I (and my stylish home) could no longer live with the cardboard calendars filled with cheap chocolate that come covered in advertising for the latest TV show or movie. Plus when you have three children in the house under 10, you end up with three Peppa Pig/Spiderman/ Star Wars/Disney etc ones dotted around. Also just to make it a bit more complicated we are a ‘blended family’ so at different times we have different amounts of children living with us – the idea of having uneaten chocolate building up and calendars three or four days behind didn’t feel festive at all, just slightly depressing.

So what to do? I have seen some lovely ideas via Etsy of bespoke handmade creations – here are some of my favourites…

Envelope advent calendar by MummyPuddleduck  buy here

Box tree advent calendar by DorsetHodgepodge buy here

Fabric pocket bunting advent calendar by SewSweetViolet  buy here

Paper bag kit advent calendar by PeachBlossomUK 

buy here

All lovely reusable and flexible solutions.

I happened to be in Ikea when I chanced upon our stylish solution – a 3D cardboard calendar in a Scandinavian style design with 24 drawers that could be filled with whatever (and most importantly whatever amount) of sweets we wanted! We decided to fill it with milk and white Christmas chocolate coins but you could as easily add small toys, messages or small amounts of money. And best of all its completely recyclable and something we can bring out every year as a family tradition. I love that.
  The kids are happy, my partner is happy and I am happy. I call that a win!

Why not try something new this December and create a family tradition of your own?  Look out for more blogs this month on how I like to do Christmas.

Monday Mantra

| blueskygirlie

Yep, its the beginning of the week again, the weekend has flown by and here we are at Monday morning! Here is todays quote or thought that has inspired me and I hope it inspires you too. Have a great week!

Todays thought – 


Source – my Pinterest

Are you a parent? Its hard isnt it? As parents we are often toughest on ourselves and this week I am making a conscious effort to stop obsessing on all the things I think I should or could be doing better as a perfect ‘super mum’. Instead I’m going to celebrate the tons of stuff that I am doing and do everyday. 

What words have inspired you recently? I would love to know.

Monday Mantra

| blueskygirlie

Yep, its the beginning of the week again, the weekend has flown by and here we are at Monday morning! Here is todays quote or thought that has inspired me and I hope it inspires you too. Have a great week!

Todays thought –

 

Source – my Pinterest

Love to be creative? Is there a piece of art, a story, an idea or project bubbling inside you? Let the sky (and beyond) be the limit…

What words have inspired you recently? I would love to know.

Monday Mantra

| blueskygirlie

Yep, its the beginning of the week again, the weekend has flown by and here we are at Monday morning! Here is todays quote or thought that has inspired me and I hope it inspires you too. Have a great week!

Todays thought –  

Source – my Pinterest

I’ve always been a bit ashamed of being so emotional, wearing my heart on my sleeve, my wild nature and my heart over head mentality. But this clever quote makes me remember hearts are meant to be like that. My heart will never be tamed!

What words have inspired you recently? I would love to know.

Monday Mantra

| blueskygirlie

Yep, its the beginning of the week again, the weekend has flown by and here we are at Monday morning! Here is todays quote or thought that has inspired me and I hope it inspires you too. Have a great week!

Todays thought –  

Source – my Pinterest

I have learnt that people will critise you whatever you do, and you know what? Its not a bad thing. The trick is how you handle that criticism…

What words have inspired you recently? I would love to know.

Monday Mantra

| blueskygirlie

Yep, its the beginning of the week again, the weekend has flown by and here we are at Monday morning! Here is todays quote or thought that has inspired me and I hope it inspires you too. Have a great week!

Todays thought –  Source – my Pinterest

Oscar Wilde’s wit is never a bad thing and this is a little reminder that sometimes we can take life and all its ups and downs a little too seriously… I can often get myself worked up about something I really should just let go of, so for me this is a great quote to remind myself.

What words have inspired you recently? I would love to know.

London Fashion Weekend 2015

| blueskygirlie

At the weekend I was lucky enough to go to this years London Fashion Weekend having won a pair of silver tickets from Very Exclusive.

So what is London Fashion Weekend? Following London Fashion Week, London Fashion Weekend is a fashionista extravaganza taking place straight afterwards, letting everyone experience the fabulous world of fashion. The Saatchi Gallery is transformed into an exclusive fashion experience, brimming with designer catwalk shows, pop-up shops, hair and beauty areas and days of educational panels and talks.

The beautiful location of the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea had been cleared of art and filled with lots of rooms of pop up shops plus a huge catwalk area on the top floor. The sun was shining and it was teeming with bloggers, fashion lovers and creatives. 

 

I wore a simple, yet (hopefully you’ll think) stylish outfit of a black jersey roll neck from Select and a Primark pleated animal print maxi skirt with leather heeled boots from Next. Instead of a necklace I tied a chiffon scarf around my neck to create a pussy bow effect and added a fab studded belt I have from Warehouse which always creates the most flattering silhouette for me.  All high street clothing too!

 
I took one of my favourite people in the world, my friend Ciara, who also loves fashion. Once there we were booked in to see the AW15 trend show by Very Exclusive which showcased key looks for the season in 4 fashion stories. It was hosted by fashion write & stylist Angela Scanlon and really filled me with inspiration.

Here are a few of my favourite looks… 

A Modish colour pop dress with a retro vibe:

 A stunning red statement coat:

A laid back Boho smock dress:

Luxe trousers with a berry leather biker jacket:

And the finale… My only real critism of the show was the models were so thin and there was no mix of age. In all this talk about plus size and more ‘normal’ models there wasnt a girl over a size 6/8 and no girls over about 21/22 years old… There were quite a few young girls there with their parents and you have to question what message it sent – I’m a size 10/12 and watching them made me feel enormous!We then went around the venue looking at all the different brands most of which had special offers and discounts of between 20-70% off. 

Heres my top 5 favourites…

Wolf & Moon jewellery:    The Cambridge Satchel Co.’s collaboration with Vivienne Westwood:Wooden Prada sunglasses: In fact I fell in love with a lot of sunglasses! These are Prada and Mui Mui respectively and its clear that theres definitely going to be a lot of fun OTT oversized styles coming out next season. Frends ‘Taylor’ headphones in rose gold coloured metal & white leather: Helene Berman London coats:  

It was great fun and I’m looking forward to reading the official magazine and deciding what pieces I cant live without for AW15!

Whether it’s shopping for your new season wardrobe or experiencing the atmosphere and drama of the catwalk or a VIP experience like no other – London Fashion Weekend is a great event. To be the first to find out when tickets go on sale for the February 2016 event, sign up to their newsletter here.

  

Monday Mantra

| blueskygirlie

Yep, its the beginning of the week again, the weekend has flown by and here we are at Monday morning! Here is todays quote or thought that has inspired me and I hope it inspires you too. Have a great week!

Todays thought –  Source – my Pinterest

Cecil Beatons note to self encourages us to not be ordinary, to not be afraid of being different…in fact to revel in it. Being very creative and all that comes with it can be hard, many people dont understand it at all, but personally I wouldn’t want to be any other way.

What words have inspired you recently? I would love to know.

Childrens Book Review: Mr Cleghorns Seal by Judith Kerr

| blueskygirlie

This is a new story by Judith Kerr, partly based on a true story which happened to her father and is about a man rescuing a seal pup, falling in love and ultimately finding a new purpose in life.

Our family very much enjoys the work of Judith Kerr and our nursery bookshelves have always been filled with her work – The Tiger who Came to Tea and the Mog the Cat series being particular favourites.  The story is aimed at children 7 years plus but could easily be read to children younger than that. I think that any child older than 12 years or so might find it too old fashioned and twee but I personally found the book charming and would read it to my youngest child quite happily. My eight year old enjoyed the seals antics and the zoo parts and definitely liked that there was a happy ending as he looked a bit worried after the seals mother never returned! Phew! Its a story that feels like its from another time in the very best way, with communication via letter, travels by train and an old fashioned courtship that reminded me a little of Esio Trot by Roald Dahl. Without giving the story away its a lovely adventure with a happy ending that all children (and adults) will smile at. Plus a story featuring a cute seal pup can never be a bad thing! Its 88 pages are peppered with lots of lovely pencil drawings by Kerr so is a relatively quick story to enjoy too. I also love the fact that at the back there’s details of the real story which although did not have the happy ending is still a fascinating read. My 8 year old was very interested in this particularly as it based based on how he puts it, ‘a real life story like a reality show but a book!

If you are looking for a new bedtime story that is gentle, sweet and wistful with a slight vintage vibe to it then this would be a great addition to your childrens bookshelves. It’s presented beautifully too with a dust jacket with gold embossed type so would also make a nice gift.

Mr Cleghorns Seal by Judith Kerr* is priced at £12.99 published by HarperCollins and available at all good bookshops