5 Ways To Spruce Up Your Home For Spring

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It's almost spring, I can feel it in the air. I can't wait to soak in all the natural vitamin D after a dark, cold winter. I like to spruce up my home at the start of each season, it's become quite the tradition over the years. With this in mind, I thought I'd put together a post featuring my top tips, and feature a couple of ideas from some blogging friends of mine too.

1. Deep clean

I start my spruce by undertaking a full-scale spring clean, throughout the house. I tackle a room a day and focus on the areas that are easily forgotten about (back of cupboards, behind sofas, skirting boards, and so on.) I make a list of every job which needs to be done in each room and check them off as I go. It's very rewarding to see all the boxes checked off at the end of each day.

2. Clear out

While I'm spring cleaning a room I make a pile of items that I no longer need and ignore it until I'm done. Once I've finished cleaning I sort them into two sections, a charity shop pile, and a bin/recycle pile. It feels so good to take bags of clothes, books, toys, and bric-a-brac to the charity shop because not only am I doing something good but I'm also decluttering my home.

3. Invest in a new storage
We started our home renovation over five years ago. It's been such a work in progress but we are now at the stage where we have money left over to buy new pieces of furniture, and storage for our home. I would like to invest in a fitted dressing room from Urban Wardrobes. Not only do they look super chic and stylish but they are functional and very useful.

4. Update your decor & furniture

A simple way to brighten your home for summer is to change up accent pieces in certain rooms. I like to switch my cushions, rugs, and ornaments around, however, I don't always buy new. I like to look in charity shops for bargains or even buy and sell pages online.

5. Choose a home fragrance

I'm quite new to the world of home fragrance and I'm hooked on finding the perfect scent. The subtle use of home fragrance can freshen up your home, especially if you have young children and pets like I do.

Do you have any tips you would like to share?

5 things to do this Summer

Although the weather has been a little hit and miss lately summer is officially here. Even though one week we have sun and then the next we have rain I am attempting to be proactive when it comes to making plans for this season. 

Here are 5 things that we want to do this summer.

Have a couple of BBQ's.

It's not summer without a family BBQ or two. There's just something about lounging around the garden, with the grill on and a refreshing drink in your hand. As soon as the sun is out I am the first to suggest a BBQ and we had our very first of the year a couple of days ago, it was heaven.

Bring out the paddling pool. 
Another past time which just screams summer to me is splashing in a paddling pool. I have so many fond memories from my childhood of having fun in the pool with my siblings. It's the perfect way to spend hot days as it's a great way to keep the kids entertained while keeping them cool too.

Plan a day out. 
We spend a lot of time in our garden and at local nature parks but it's nice to get out and about too. We've been looking at various experience days as we would love to do something a little different this summer. I would love to book a have a pamper day with my Mum or even be a Zoo keeper for the day.
 

Visit local nature attractions.

As a family we love to explore. We are all very outdoorsy and spend the majority of our time outside in the fresh air. One benefit of living in Lancashire is that there are many nature attractions that we can visit at the drop of a hat.

Book a holiday

We haven't been abroad for four years now and really want to take Noah away this year. We have been looking to book for September this year so it's certainly on my Summer to do list.

Do you have any plans for the Summer?

Guilty pleasures, hot weather and trash TV - #littleloves

Read
Can you believe that 5 months later I am still reading Divergent? By the time I crawl into bed at night it's way past midnight and too late to read. That being said I do try to squeeze in a chapter here and there but usually end up nodding off. I miss reading like I used to, I was such a bookworm.

Watched
If you know me then you will know my guilty pleasure of reality tv shows. Lately I have be glued to the screen not just watching Big Brother but Love Island too, slightly embarrassing but there you go! I'm really hoping that Nick win's BBUK this year as he's such a gentle and nervous soul, I just want to mother him!  

Wore
With it being so hot lately I have been trying to keep cool in summer dresses and shades. Though I do need to purchase some new sun glasses from Optical Express as Noah decided to borrow mine and I have no idea what he has done with them.



Heard
Another guilty pleasure is this song! Has it got stuck in your head yet?

Made
I've lost count of the amount of picnics I've made these past couple of weeks. With the weather being so nice we've been making the most of it by getting out and about every day. We've been taking our lunch to go and have been enjoying our picnics here, there and everywhere.

And lastly
Summer is here! Finally!
We've transformed our front garden into a little haven for Noah and his friends. We have a slide, water table and paddling pool and they have all been having a blast.

Have you been enjoying the weather? 

Little Tikes Fish 'n' Splash Water Table

With Summer just around the corner we have been eagerly anticipating the sunshine and have been excitedly preparing for it's arrival. We've been prepping the garden at the new house and have been deliberating over what garden toys to buy. Noah has just turned 19 months old so it's the first year he's been able to enjoy garden activities so we can't wait!

We were recently sent the Little Tikes Fish N Splash Water Table to review and it couldn't of come at a better time. I was so excited to show it to Noah because he does love a good splash!   

The water table arrived in a rather large yet light box. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy the table was to set up, we had it up and ready in a matter of minutes. 

As soon as Noah spotted the water table he headed straight for it and dove in. I didn't even have time to roll his sleeves up as he was so eager to dive in and play. 

Details-
The water table costs £49.99 (Currently on special offer at £39.99 online.)
Minimum assembly required but comes with an easy to read manual.
Recommended age 2 year and onwards.
Holds up to 30 litres of water.
Can also be used as a sand table.
Included are 10 accessories; a fishing rod, net, cups, turtle, fish, frog, a crab. 

What we liked-
The water table was so easy to assemble, which was a huge plus for Nick and I. We are usually terrible at trying to put anything together but thankfully this was almost fun to put together. 

The product is bold, bright and attractive to the eye. It's also sturdy, well made and easy to move.

I like how it's a toy that is going to grow with my child. He is 19 months now and although he can't hook a fish yet he will in time and I can see him having many years of fun with it.
 
We all loved the different accessories that were included, they made the water table so much more fun. They were a nice addition.

Noah just loves it in it's entirety! He spent a good half an hour stood there splashing about. This is pretty incredible considering he has a very short attention span!


What we didn't like-
The water fountain and spinning Lilly pad is a good idea and an attractive feature but for some reason it wouldn't spin very well. I don't know if this is how it's supposed to work but we couldn't get it to spin very well.
Another little niggle we have is that the legs cannot be removed from the tray once it's been assembled. This of course isn't a huge problem but it would of been nice to be able to dismantle come autumn to save on storage space.

All in all we were all a fan of this product. As you can see by the photo's Noah had an absolute blast splashing about and pouring the water all down himself. The Fish 'n' Splash water table is certainly going to be enjoyed this Summer and will be treasured for years to come.


-We were sent this product for the pupose of this review however all opinions are my own. 

Create a Mini Allotment for a Summer of Fun

Now that winter has officially faded away and the good old British summer is fast approaching it is time to prepare our gardens for the wonderful fun that can be had as a family.

Encouraging the little ones to get outside in the sunshine and enjoy the garden can be a great way of keeping them entertained all while teaching them about the wonders of nature. By giving your children their own allotment to manage you are giving them the responsibility of looking after their own plants and flowers and you can also make it an exciting event when they grow something tasty!


Prepare
The first thing to do to get your mini allotment looking both bold and beautiful this summer is to get rid of those weeds! No garden looks glamorous with those gloomy, dull looking weeds lurking in the saddened soil. So with the help of the little ones pull the weeds out and lay down some fresh soil which will get the flower beds looking fresh. The kids will love getting muddy and feeling the mud between their fingers.


Plant
Have you brought your bulbs and plants ready to plant into your freshly prepared garden? If not, to pop down to the local garden Centre with the children and let them pick something which they enjoy looking at daily, something which will brighten up the space and is easy to maintain such as; Sunflowers, Sweet peas, Californian poppy’s, Pansy’s and Marigolds. 

Alternatively if you’re looking to encourage healthy eating, pick out some fruit and vegetable seeds such as these that will educate your little ones on where there food comes from. Plus they’ll love feeling proud of themselves as they pick their home grown food for dinner.


Enjoy
Once the basics are done and the plants are planted think about what else could benefit the children in the garden. Helping them to craft a bird feeder such as this one, or some colourful bunting for the garden fences can all make the outside space feel more fun.

Remind them to keep on top of their little allotment throughout the summer with books at bedtime about the garden, and their own set of tools.

There are so many benefits for encouraging the little ones to enjoy the great outdoors, but if you feel stuck for inspiration do a little research on Pinterest or with Home Magazines. There are plenty of fun ways of making the garden more child-friendly than you may expect.


Have you started preparing your garden? Do you have any tips you would like to share?

Loving the outdoors

Now the weather is becoming milder and the sun is finally making an appearance we have loved getting outdoors and making the most of it. Wether it just be in our back yard, a walk to our local park or long walk around a nature reserve we love it. Noah loves to watch everything go by, especially the tree's. Little nature baby. I was sat on the park on Monday with my baby in my arms and the sun beaming down on us and it was bliss. I remember just thinking, this is the life! 

Have you been enjoying time out in the sun? How have you been spending it? 

I hope we are in for a lovely long Summer!