Rainy afternoons. We've had rather a lot of them lately. Watching a family film together with a bucket of popcorn is a simple and easy way to pass the time. The hard bit is finding something you can all agree on watching. Once you've watched Star Wars and Frozen a million times, it's great to ...
Everything stops for tea
It's a very good English custom Though the weather be cold or hot When you need a little pick-up, you'll find a little tea cup Will always hit the spot In our house, everything really does stop for tea. Usually it's a cup of builder's, but on a sunny day it's great to get the teapot out and ...
Stripes were made for summer
Stripes were made for summer and summer was made for stripes. Especially when they're on dresses. Every year, without fail, I'm there in my Breton t shirt – pairing it with jeans, pretty skirts, dungarees... but stripy dresses are a new one for me. Aren't horizontal stripes supposed to be a bad ...
A very royal birthday and a special treat!
Over in my shop, our summer collection has everything you need to make your days colourful and fun – from lunch boxes and bunting, to pretty jewellery and scarves. To celebrate the Queen's official birthday, and the start of summer, I'll pop a free pocket notebook in with all orders placed this ...
Brown paper packages tied up with string
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens Bright copper kettles and warm woollen mittens Brown paper packages tied up with strings These are a few of my favourite things! I can never resist a brown paper parcel tied up with string. Functional, yet pretty; the perfect backdrop to ribbons and ...
Adding depth and interest to a long garden
If you live in an old terraced house, then you probably have a narrow garden like us. We're lucky as our garden is also very long – so there's plenty of space for plants, games and sheds. But it can all get a bit boring sometimes – all those straight lines and nowhere to hide. But change is afoot ...
My matcha challenge
Have you heard of matcha powder? No? I hadn't either until Tea Pigs invited me to take part in their 14 day matcha challenge. Matcha is basically a super-concentrated green tea powder. When you drink a cup of green tea you're just drinking an infusion of the leaves. Matcha powder, on the other ...
#OnePerfectThing in May
Perfection often feels out of reach. But however imperfect you’re finding life, you can make an effort to find #OnePerfectThing. Something which makes you pause, smile and feel thankful. Earlier in the month I started my new hashtag #OnePerfectThing over on Instagram. It's all about capturing a ...
How to be a relaxed parent
I have two children, aged five and seven. Ever since they were babies I’ve tried to be a relaxed parent. I say tried, but really it wasn’t a conscious decision – it was my instinctive response to becoming a mother. So, what do I mean by relaxed parenting? In a nutshell, it means don’t be ...
My half term survival list
It's half term next week. If you don't have children that means that you'll be tripping over small people every time you go out. If you do have children, the same applies – except you'll also be in charge of keeping them amused and happy for a week. A half term holiday is a great chance for ...
Creating a cosy new bedroom for a little boy
For four happy years my boys have shared a bedroom. They've been cosy in their bunk beds and kept each other company every night. They're now seven and five, and although they're still great friends, they're also fiercely competitive. The time has come for a bit of space. A creative space of ...
Introducing byEloise…plus, a giveaway
I'm thrilled to be stocking these byEloise hair ties and bracelets in my shop. Now my hair's getting longer I'm forever putting it up and down, up and down.. and usually have a tatty old hair elastic on my wrist. Well, no more. These are hair bands, but they're also bracelets. They're soft, ...