All You Need for a Cosy Night In

This week has welcomed some truly chilly Autumn weather, in fact with Monday seeing in our first frost of the season, it is more than fair to summon our inner John Snow (Game of Thrones of course) and say that Winter is coming.

Halloween is just one sleep away (If you have children it is only so long before you start counting in sleeps. Fact.) and it almost feels like we have bypassed your typical Autumnal weather and hopped straight down the rabbit hole into sub zero temperatures. 

It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I for one love nothing more than a good excuse to curl up on the sofa, with a good film and lose all track of time. Throw in Leo, a hot water bottle and cuddle blanket for good measure and you are truly on to a winner.

Tonight we decided to shut the cold outside and draw the curtains, we fired Hocus Pocus up on the big screen and snuggled down under a big fluffy number (and copious amounts of snacks!). 

Home Bargains very kindly sent us some luxurious treats to encourage our less than energetic behaviour, and Leo was more than willing to snuggle down with me and enjoy a evening of down time. It's currently half term here in Worcestershire, but just because school is out it doesn't mean that I have time off from work, so we have to make the most of the time that we do have off together, and this evening was the perfect example of that.

Our cosy night in kit has everything you could possibly need to put your feet up and relax, and two of my personal favourite touches were the Gin and Tonic Reed Diffuser and the Prosecco Bath Salts. 

What do you need for a cosy night in?

- Gin and Tonic reed Diffuser

- Bath Salts (These Prosecco ones smell AMAZING!)

- Chocolate

- Big Cuddle Blanket

- Face Mask

- Foot Soak

- Pedicure Set

- Hot Water Bottle

- Candles

We have a doctors appointment booked for Leo this Friday, and it's something I have had to talk to him about so that he doesn't feel worried or anxious when I suddenly start talking about the topic of conversation in 3 days time. 

I  will go into this a little more in the coming weeks, but for now it was just nice to spend some quality time together curled up with a classic Halloween film, and it was nice to see Leo happy and settled as we shut the cold out behind the curtains and cosied up for the evening. 

Disclaimer: We were sent the above items for the purpose of this post.

Autumn Appreciation

This last week you can most certainly feel that Autumn chill in the air, and I have found myself wrapping up warmer on the school run, and even for those dog walks that up until recently have been too warm for a jacket of any sort. 

It really is pretty incredible what only a few weeks can do to the weather, It was only a couple of weekends ago that the entire family dispelled to Kenilworth Castle to make the most of the beautiful sunshine in nothing but shorts and t-shirts, yet now summer has all of a sudden just vanished into the distance, almost as though it had never been at all. 

I do love the cooler weather, but equally I hate being cold so I have to make sure that I am dressed for the occasion, and that for me involves a thick snuggly coat that is comparable to a duvet or a warm hug. It can't be argued with that Autumn is a truly beautiful time of the year, yesterday I decided to take the puppy out for a long walk to take in all of the gorgeous colours that were now starting to show on the trees.

There is one tree in our village that I always admire, the leaves have already started to turn and very soon the entire tree will be dressed in a sea of orange, almost as though it is alight in flames, before finally they will all drop to the floor and Winter will be truly here.

With it getting so much chillier I am having to start thinking about a new coat, and as it will have to be something that accompanies on walks with Lux (aka the asbo puppy), I always tend to opt for darker colours as he has a tendency of  getting me pretty mucky while we are out and about in muddy fields. 

I found this gorgeous puffer coat which would be ideal for those colder dog walks, being a dark colour means that I don't need to be as precious with it as I would if I was going to wear White, Cream or Beige. 

Image Credit: Lyst

There are some really nice new Winter Coats in at Topshop right now.

It might only be September but it really does feel like we could be in for a rather cold few winter period, and I for one would absolutely love that. Leo has only ever seen snow when he was very young, and he has been wishing for the last couple of years that it would come back for him to build his first proper snowman, as for the dog he has never seen it before at all. 

How nice would it be to have a white christmas? Yes I did just say the C word, because realistically now is the time to be preparing for the big day. I have already started making lists of gifts that I am planning for those nearest and dearest to me, because I am determined not to be running around last minute come December. 

I am definitely going to be adding a new dog walking coat to my own Christmas list this year!

Winter Is Coming (So are the Spiders!)

Today is the first day of the new school term, summer has officially ended and the (dare I say it?) wind down to the Christmas season has commenced. X Factor is back on our television screens, Tesco have brought out the very tempting boxes of chocolate, and there is a familiar chill in the air again. 

I have always loved this time of year, watching as Autumn brushes past each tree and gently changing the leaves from green to golden. There is something very satisfying about being able to wrap up warm when you step outside into the seasonal breeze, and something as equally satisfying about coming home, relaxing in a hot bath and slipping into your favourite PJ's and watching your favourite box set on Netflix (with a hot chocolate of course!).

I am one of those girls who needs to be warm, I quite simply detest being cold and the nights have certainly got colder in the last few weeks, I have dug out my onesies from the very depth of my wardrobe (Much to the other halfs dismay!), but it has lead me to discover that I really need to invest in some new PJs and cosy nighttime wear before it get's too cold. 

I love a little bit of luxury when it comes to my PJs, I know I am not going to be wearing them out in public, but there are occasions where I will be in them as early as 5pm, so I don't mind splashing out. I have been looking at the luxury dressing gowns at David Nieper and think I might have to treat myself to the floral soft satin wrap. Usually I would opt for a thick fluffy gown, but I love the idea of satin and it means that I will still be able to make use of it when the weather starts to warm up again.

So far I have managed to avoid turning the heating on and hoisting the electric blanket out of the cupboard, but I think in the coming weeks and months this will change. I am not the only one who has noticed that the weather is cooling down... Have you seen the size of some of these house spiders that are making there way in right now? 

I was catching up on Suits the other evening when I saw a something black trotting along the carpet, thankfully the puppy saw it too and bee lined for the offending trotting spider. Unfortunately for me Lux decided to sit on the sofa and play with it (until he finally ate it). 20 minutes later I was heading through to the kitchen when out from under the bathroom door, came the original spiders twin brother! Thankfully Lux was close at hand and took care of it (I knew that there was a reason I wanted a puppy!). 

Lux has become the resident spider assasinator, a role that he seems to be thoroughly enjoying, and the training for said position has gone from strength to strength, all we need to do now is ask Lux 'Where's the spider?' and he scours the walls/ floor until he finds it!

As I cannot see the spider invasion coming to a halt anytime soon, I guess I will just be thankful that Lux is now eating spiders and not the kitchen floor anylonger...

Hello Autumn

Well that's another Summer vanishing into the horizon, and in it's place are crisp Autumn leaves and subtle hints that colder weather is on it's way. I have to admit that as much as I love the Summer months, I also adore this time of year. There is something magical about the way the leaves change colour, the way the nights draw in invite you to cuddle down under a fluffy throw on the sofa with a hot chocolate to warm you from the inside out. 

There is just something satisfying about getting to wear wooly clothing and slip on your knee high boots for the season, and I think that is one of the aspects I love most about waving farewell to the sunshine for another year, it's the wardrobe possibilities.

My typical September wardrobe would usually consist of a pair of boots, dark denim jeans and a nice thick jumper with the potential for a thick woolly wrap around for that additional layer to keep the chill off my body. I feel the cold all the time, I am one of those people who would be sat in a room full of people with my coat on while everyone else is wondering what is wrong we me as they are all feeling the heat!

The last few months have literally been all about getting everything ready for the house move, so every spare penny that I have had, has been ploughed into everything that we need for the move, and of course furnishing the house to put our own personal touch on the place. Now we are in and the majority of the essentials list has been ticked off, I am looking forward to being able to update my wardrobe for the colder months ahead. Sometimes we take treating ourselves forgranted, and it's not until your in a position to not buy these things that you realise what a luxury it really is.

I absolutely love the Esprit clothes and in the time frame that I haven't been able to spend any money, I have been putting together a new outfit consisting of :

- Navy Ultra Stretchy Cotton Jeans - £45.00

- Bouclé Coat with Large Collar - £99.00

- Stripey Long Sleeve Top - £15.00

- Black Ankle Boots: £69.00

I cannot remember the last time I went on a shopping trip and allowed myself to splurge, all I seem to have done recently is count pennies to make sure that Leo and I have everything that we need. What we have wanted has had to be brushed under the carpet until we were in a position where there was some expandable income at the end of the long list of bills.

That makes this upcoming shopping trip an extra special one, because it follows a particularly hard year (there might be a post on this at some point, but the jury is still out), that has ultimately seen me stand on my own two feet and get Leo and I into our very own space, just the two of us. 

I have to say that I am feeling pretty proud of myself right now, I look around the house and although there is still so much to do, I can actually see it taking shape, It's already feeling like home to both Leo and I, which just makes the late nights and hard work to get here, absolutely worth it, and now I can get back to a normality that allows me to make a few purchases every now and then, because we all have to treat ourselves occasionally...Right!?

These Autumn Days

The leaves that were only a vibrant Green a few short weeks ago, have mellowed and crisped taking on their golden coluring for Autumn. Slowly the golden leaves have relinquished their hold on the tree and floated down to the woodland below. 

Autumn has rolled around again.

Leo loves any excuse to get out and about, and now he is at the perfect age to do just that. I walked him down to the local nature reserve today, a place I used to play as a child. I would be running around there in my welly's rain or shine, and as the reserve backs on to my parents house, I was given the freedom that any young child desires.

My time was spent building dens up high in trees, or among the clearing of a bush and even now those memories are clear in my mind. Once upon a time I was a ample tree climber, a tom boy through and through. On occasion I had to be hosed down with a hose pipe in the middle of winter due to falling in a few mud baths on my adventures... I re-call a less than impressed Mother not letting me come back into the house until every shred of mud had been washed away.

Suffice to say it was a little cold...

With Leo proudly sporting his wellington boots we opened up the garden gate and peered into the now overgrown nature reserve. The paths I had once walked were grown over with relentless nettles and the entire space I had once known like the back of my hand looked like a completely different world. Leo walked around triumphantly, and gladly let me pick him up and run down that rather steep hill that I had once done with ease. Today I was a little skeptical as to whether it was a good idea or not, but luckily even in wedge boots I managed to pull it off.

Leo saw no fear at all and giggled the whole way down, the bumpier the better.

Leo proudly held my hand as we walked around the nature reserve, and smiled as he found that Autumn had not yet diminished all of the Blackberries. Stealthily Leo took ample supplies from the Blackberry bush, and streaked the berries around his lips leaving that dark mustache as a tell tale sign that he had been munching them. His main mission after this was to hunt down the remaining Blackberries that were hanging around the place.

Although the old pond where I used to catch Newts and Tadpoles has long since dried up and grown over, some of the trees I used to climb have got old and blown over in the wind, there are still some land marks of my childhood around the place. A tree I occasionally used to climb is still standing tall, and as I showed my curious 2 year old, he seemed incredibly excited to have a climb for himself. He tried his darnedest but admittedly did take a few tumbles, but he got into the crook he had aimed for eventually. 

A very triumphant moment for him and a very proud Mummy moment for me!

Feeling a little bit of my childhood returning to me, in my wedge heels I climbed up past Leo balancing my iPhone in the sides of my jeggings, and hanging my big camera on a branch...All the while willing myself not to fall. When I perched myself a few branches higher than Leo, he wanted me to lift him up with me... I took this as my time to act my age and not my shoe size and climbed back down to his level.

I forsee future tree climbing experiences in our future...

After our very lovely stroll around the Autumn woodland, my mind pondered how we were going to get back up the hill again. The slippy, muddy hill that may prove a little difficult if Leo decided he wished for me to carry him. But my little champ climbed all the way back up with complete ease.

What a superstar!

Here is Leo's Autumn Adventure in the woods.
The very first of many..

  

Autumn Adventures

The leaves are starting to change their colour from luscious Green to a golden haze; some are now relinquishing their hold on the tree and floating down to the ground. A sure sign that the seasons are changing and autumn is officially here.

I was driving home from work the other day and there were children playing with conkers and I was reminded of all those autumn adventures from my childhood.

I have always been lucky and lived in areas full of space to run around. Our house currently backs on to a nature reserve full of wildlife and trees to climb. In my younger days I used to spend every waking hour down there kitted out in pretty dresses I swore blind I would keep clean and wellington boots, much to my Mother’s dismay…

I really was a sight for sore eyes.

I loved the great outdoors and I made it my personal mission to collect as many conkers as possible. My brother and I gathered them by the bucket load, not for any particular reason other than just because we could.

There were times I think my Mum wondered if I would ever outgrow my tomboyish ways, especially when I came home one day completely covered in mud. It was just after she had put me in a dress and specifically told me ‘do not get dirty’. I guess I may have taken that as a guideline as to how dirty I could really get, and when I got stuck in the biggest, stickiest mud I could find, lost my wellington boot and was given a little push by the local joker, I went head over heels.

Walking home with my feet squelching in my socks, I knew I was in big trouble. It was November and it was not the warmest day around in the area of Yorkshire we were then living. I was not expecting my Mum to deny my entry into the house though, but that is what happened. She grabbed the hose pipe and began to wash away the sticky mud.

I was filthy and she was not inviting all of that mud inside!

When we first moved into the house we now occupy, our next door neighbours actually thought they had a family of gypsies moving in next door, and they meant us. This was all thanks to my brother and me, running about on the mud where the lawn was yet to be laid, completely filthy despite our parent’s greatest efforts.

It really was a losing battle for them. We were absolutely determined to just get as filthy as humanly possible.

Luckily… Somewhere along the path of growing up I did outgrow my tomboyish ways, and I even bought an alternative pair of shoes to the wellies I used to wear day in, day out. Now though, I know it won’t be long before I am trying to keep up with Leo and his autumn adventures. Trying to keep his clothes as mud free as possible and letting him know of the situations that may come around. There will be many occasions where he will get his feet stuck in a big puddle of mud, and if he pulls too hard then he may just loose a boot!

This again is life experience talking…

I cannot wait to collect some conkers with Leo and show him the joy of making a great old pile of them, of course now I am the responsible adult, I will have to make sure we get rid of them before they begin to decompose…

I have to admit that I am very excited at the prospect of pulling the wellington boots out of retirement and taking Leo on an autumn walk. I am excited to show him all of the things I used to get up to as a child, and I have a sneaky suspicion that Granny will be telling Leo and I ‘not to get dirty’ and the hose pipe experience form my past may just become Leo’s future…

Wait until I show Leo the marvellous way to make mud pies!

Recipe to follow…