#mamabakescakes

This week saw me actually make a cake! Hooray! It is just a simple sponge with icing and spooky sprinkles. It looks really effective and is very seasonal for this week!

Baking is one of those things that when I do it, I feel really happy. The smell of cakes in the oven fills the house and as soon as they are out and cooling you see little people just peering up to the work surface to get a peek!

Top left to right @martinamorley11/ @amy_fullbrook_x/ @nandawiaderna/ @johanna.hc

This selection of sweet treats really made me feel like I wanted to sit inside with a cup of tea and just eat snuggled up in blankets!

Really beautiful bakes ladies!

This months sponsor Say What You C will be picking a winner to give one of their personalised bar necklaces too. Make sure you are following their account on IG to see the announcement!

Keep baking and keep tagging ladies.

Emily

#mamasblooms

How dark is it on an evening since the clocks changed? I was lighting candles this week at about 3pm as it was getting so gloomy! That is a pro really though as candle light is lovely! 

This week my pumpkin collection grew a bit and after collecting some leaves on a walk I made a trug of vegetation! I think that can still very loosely be tagged with #mamasblooms!!!

I also dried out a few tiny bloomed rose heads this week. I noticed that they weren't dropping but had opened into the most beautiful shape. I just snipped them right under the head and sat them on a radiator. They have just dried perfectly!

As always there is so much to cast your eyes on in the gallery. From mellow blooms to bright pumpkins filled with flowers. So many pretty shades!

Top left to right @lindiespatch_accessories/ @rebecca_lou_72/ @@bonnieandbumble/ @littlemaldod

The simplicity of these shots really caught my eye, I just loved how pretty they are.

This month's sponsor Lindie's Patch will be giving one lucky winner a £30 gift voucher for her shop so make sure you follow her account to see if it's you! You also have a few days to use the code BLOOMS25 in her Etsy shop to get 25% off!

Keep tagging all!

Emily

Littlies telling the time.

Children's learning always becomes more noticeable when there has been dedicated input into it. It's like starting a new dance class or swimming lessons, over the weeks you can really see that they are learning and developing in a good way. Since Raph started school he has become really good at pointing out numbers and letters around the house or when we are driving somewhere. I suppose, Rob and I now find lots of moments or give Raph more opportunities to learn the phonics or count objects. I have 'P' written on chalkboards shaped like pumpkins dotted around just to have them there which he points out most days. He has also started calling Rob "Rob" instead of dad every so often to point out that he has the same "R" sound at the beginning of his name.

I know that time is a concept which will be taught at such a basic level at the moment. Children learn about the concept of time in the early years; before/after, yesterday/today/tomorrow and they work on understanding a daily routine; getting up, brushing teeth, eating breakfast, going to school, eating lunch, etc. by way of organising pictures of each action into the right order. I always think that if there is any option to give a child an opportunity to aid their development and understanding then you should take it. Raph was given this watch recently and it is a fantastic tool in supporting his learning. Obviously, Raph can not tell the time, he uses it most of the time as a way of "Communicating" or to shoot with (as most of us probably did) rather than to read the time, but it offers great opportunity to read and recognise numbers. 

This Limit Active watch is great for this kind of learning. It is clear and simple and for optimum enjoyment whilst playing, it also has a light up face!

As far as encouraging opportunities to learn, this watch is one of the little things that is helping with our home learning. With Raph having a space station in the ''role-play area'' at school, this is also helping us practise our backwards counting in the countdown to blastoff!

What other tools do you like to use to help your children learn?

Emily

 *Thanks to the Watch Shop for giving Raphael this watch.

Our Halloween Home

If you know me well then you will know that I have never been into the scary Halloween thing. I could talk about why for ages but it pretty simply boils down to the fact that I just can't understand why we would encourage any kind of darkness on our ourselves or our children. Yes, yes but it's just pretend, etc., but I just can't encourage something that lets people play out absolute horror when we live in a world where true horrors are taking place.

I do live with someone who has always loved Halloween though so we compromise and compliment each other in how we celebrate. We attend parties, welcome trick or treat-ers and enjoy the time where we can get together with family and friends.

I did quite a few posts last year about Halloween if you fancy checking out the archives for but this year I just wanted to share some ideas for decorating the home.

As cobwebs, zombies and blood splatters aren't my thing, I have gone for a much more 'pretty' approach to my home's decoration this year. We went to a fantastic party on friday night with the kids and the hosts had made such an amazing effort! They had displayed cobweb fabric from the entrance gate, over their car and onto to the outside of the house! And with a smoke machine and eerie music playing, the whole scene looked fantastic. I think Rob was thinking "How can I slip this into our house". You can try boy!

Using mainly peachy pink and metallic shades I have been able to display seasonal colours in a much softer way. One of the main pieces to the decoration is the paper letter bunting. I have had this for a few years now and it is still gorgeous. Here is a link to them on Amazon and they are only £13, a bargain!

My homemade ribbon garland is a really easy make, just strands of ribbon tied onto one long piece. It looks really effective with the mix of colours and against the bunting, the colours all compliment each other.

My sequined table cloth was an ebay find. It only comes out on special occasions but it is perfect for this. Matching it with the other metallic shades of decoration we have, I am finding all the different hues are complimenting each other well.
This year I picked up some amazing glass pumpkins from TKMaxx. I know some of you have been able to get some as well. Aren't they just brilliant. The glass really makes them a lovely piece to have, and something that is autumnal rather than just for Halloween.

With a mix of different sized candle holders it creates a lovely neutral scene of colour, very muted making it easy to match to any other colour. I added in some extra fresh pumpkins from Lidl to bring a spot more colour and freshness.

Using homemade bits are also very important. Last year I made some clay leaf imprints which I turned into handy decorations, but in this case I used them to decorate the napkins. I also made a clay pumpkin garland using a cookie cutter and some gold leaf as decoration. It still looks perfect. I also painted some bright orange clay tea light holders in softer colours and decorated them in gold leaf too. I love how they still fit in with my theme.

With pink fresh roses and more decorative pumpkins, our home has a lovely seasonal feel without straying away from the style that I love to have. 

I am enjoying being able to decorate like this for now as in a few years I might have more pressures from the kids to get 'into it' more!!

How do you decorate for Halloween? Do you like making it scary?

Emily

My new favourites!

Welcome to the first of this feature. Every so often I want to share my new favourite fashion pieces with you so I have called this "My new favourites!" Hopefully my ideas will help inspire you in your fashion choices and maybe pick up a few bargains!

Bargains like these amazing jumpers that I have just got from Primark. These are a key style this season with the lace up chest and oversized fit. At only £14 each I had to have 2, the oatmeal/ beige and the grey. They also do it in a plum/ berry colour but I thought 3 was too excessive! These are going to look amazing with skinny jeans, in any colour! I am even thinking of getting my white jeans out as they will look great with some light coloured ankle boots!

I have them pictured here with another new item this week. These amazing disstressed Daisy jeans are my new favourite pair. For a mixture of reasons really but mainly the fit is absolutely perfect for me. And I love the style with the big turn up, with the oversized Primark jumpers and pumps these jeans are a perfect compliment for easy styling. What's more perfect about this week's buys are these AMAZING red LIMITED EDITION River Island lace up shoes. If you want a pair I would purchase immediately as they are just so lovely. I literally feel like clicking my heels together in them! 

My final new piece this week was a bit of a treat really for Etta and I to have. I am loving the pompom trend at the moment so I got Etta and I little matching hats from River Island. Don't they look just adorable!

Child's size 5 is age 3-5 years/ Adult hat

Have you got any new favourites this week?

Emily

This weeks #mamabakescakes

If there ever was a gallery that made me feel hungry, this is the one. I think it is because I love that it makes me feel like I am in the kitchen with you. That real feeling of you all putting your time and effort into something really comes through. 

This week I felt that the gallery looked really seasonal; the bakes were truly inspiring and very beautiful.

Top left to right @fin_langman / @ewabill / @nandawiaderna / @amhayden23

I really need to get my baking game on. Luckily it is half term this week so I think with Raph around I will get in the kitchen. 

I wanted to give a special shout out to @mrandmrstplus3 who has created this gorgeous cake which she actually shared to the #mamasblooms but I wanted to share it on here as it is so so gorgeous! Beautiful Amy!!

This month we are really lucky to have Say What You C as our sponsor and she will be gifting one lucky baker a personalised bar necklace! These are really gorgeous so keep tagging with your chance to win one!

Keep tagging all!

Emily

This Week's #mamasblooms

What a week! #mamasblooms is as bright and bold as ever. The beautiful pictures that everyone are sharing are wonderful and it is always so nice to see how much you all love flowers!

This week it seems Nanda and I have both been loving pink roses and having them displayed in our homes. 

I really struggled with choosing this week. I like to pick four pictures only, otherwise I think I would have about fifteen! I love how we all have such diverse tastes in flowers; how we arrange them and how we use them in our lives. The one thing I am so pleased about with this hashtag is just how beautiful the gallery is; bursting with colour and so much happiness!

The pictures I have picked made me smile so much. You know when an image is just perfect, the colours, the styles, I just loved the moments that were captured!

Top left to right @teaandbiscuits_x / @captureblucy / @mrs_browning / @littlemaldod

Thank you for sharing ladies!

Remember this month we are lucky enough to have the gorgeous Lindie's Patch accessories sponsoring us. She will gift her favourite picture a £30 gift voucher to spend in her Etsy shop and she has a 25% discount code BLOOMS25 that you can use this month! She is very talented so have check out her stuff!

Can't wait to see what the next week brings!

Emily

Bargain lip glosses that are actually good!

I must say, buying lip glosses is one of those occasional things for me. I love a bit of colour so lipstick is usually what I would use, as I find a gloss just comes off too easily.

I was rushing through our local Wilko the other day when I spotted that they had enlarged their make up department. Having a quick browse to see if they had an bargain pieces I picked up a lipstick gloss from their Essence range. It was just a light pink but when I got home and popped some on I was really pleased. The initial colour was really muted in shade but it painted on as a thick colour. Just like a lipstick really and I felt that it was more than just a gloss. Feeling very pleased with my £2.50 bargain I carried on my daily routine. Something that I noticed after cups of tea and food though was that it stayed really well, the colour faded but only slightly and it remained on my lips and was still moist. No drying, no smudging, just a perfect little lip colour. I was so pleased with the result that I went back and bought another 2 colours. At £2.50 each, compared to other brands at £5+, I think these little lipstick glosses are brilliant and actually one of the ones that last through the day.

You can only buy the glosses in store so next time you are in town pick up a few; you won't be disappointed!

Do you use any other good bargain brands?

Emily

Folk Style

,

When it comes to dresses, I seem to always pick a couple that are not to my usual style. This gorgeous Zara folk dress is one of them. I just loved the colour and the floaty fit that I thought it would just be a perfect piece for warmer autumn days. The cut of this dress is so simple; a dropped waist, loose sleeves and simple tie at the neck makes it perfect for day wear and even for styling with jeans as more of a tunic. Worn with a chunky scarf and brown ankle boots I feel it really is perfect for bringing a bit of hippie folk styling to my normal wardrobe.

Dress/ Jeans/ VERY similar boots

Emily

Daydream Believer!

It has to be said that I am a compulsive daydreamer. So often Rob says to me: "what are you thinking about?" as I look blankly in his direction but not actually at him at all. Most of the time my answer is "nothing", and sometimes it is just nothing but most of the time I just don't bother telling him that I am redesigning the house, or my wardrobe as he would probably have a melt down every time!

I spend so much of my day thinking. Luckily, I can multi task so it usually comes hand-in-hand with cleaning or sorting washing. By the time evening comes I am just so exhausted that once I lie down in bed and try to switch my brain off, it just keeps buzzing with all the possibilities, scenarios or just random thoughts that I have pondered on through the day.

I was thinking about the use of daydreaming and thought I would write about it as sometimes it gets a bad rep. As a child, I remember being told at school to 'stop daydreaming'. School and I didn't have the best relationship so I probably spent most of my time thinking about everything other than what I was meant to. The reality of it is that daydreaming was teaching me so much. It is not a negative thing to let your imagination run away from you. In fact, I think it is quite a forming thing. To be able to have the ability to create destinations, goals and imagine a more exciting life for yourself only feeds our creativity. Sitting, thinking about redesigning inspires me to be more creative, to read more, to discover more and to actually get on with a task. It is where my ideas start, pondering on the ideal home or great experience.

Daydreaming is in no way a waste of time. Yes, it may be distracting but for me it really opens my mind to all sorts of possibilities.

Do you find yourself daydreaming a lot? Does it inspire you?

Emily

* Necklace by Say What You C

This week's #mamasblooms

Well it is well and truly pumpkin season and it is lovely seeing pops of autumn colour in all your flower pictures. Whether its Nanda's leafy floor showing off all the shades of the season or my barrow of bright orange squashes, all the different shades of nature are shining through.

You know me though, still always pining after pinks in my home. This week I have had a gorgeous array of pink and purple roses.

I have chosen this collection of gorgeous pictures to share this week. I just loved the colours and attention to the little details like the pumpkins, leaves and scissors. Such a nice way to display lovely little bits of nature.

Top left to right @rachel.marilyn.reeder/ @ccaitriona/ @murphysmum0/ @capturebylucy

Wonderful additions to the gallery this week so thank you all for getting involved!

We are also lucky enough to have the beautiful Lindie's Patch Accessories sponsoring this month's #mamasblooms. She will be giving a lucky photographer a £30 gift voucher to spend in her Etsy shop and if you fancy buying anything now, use the code BLOOMS25 to get 25% discount.

Emily