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"A portrait of our daughters, once a week every week in 2014".

Josephine: Sometimes an over-exposed shot is actually rather glorious. My girl in the sunshine.

 

Coralie: Already so used to having her photo taken - by me or Josephine!

 

Taking part in Jodi's 52 Project.

 

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"A portrait of our daughters, once a week every week in 2014".

Josephine: Josephine in Autumn, 2014. Josephine in Autumn, 2013 here.

Coralie: Such a frowner. Just like her Mama.

 

Taking part in Jodi's 52 Project.

INSPIRED: robin & mould

My sweet friend Amy, half of the super cool Robin and Mould, gave the girls some of their awesome cushions when Coralie was born and they have become favourites in our household. Josephine takes her hedgehog cushion to bed every night, and Coralie's cat regularly takes part in tea parties, trips to the 'park' and boat journeys across the sea.

Just a little shout out for an awesome Mama (and Papa) doing such awesome things creatively. The beginning of a new series celebrating some of the brilliant designers, photographers and writers who are inspiring me right now.

Check out their shop here. Beautiful colours and prints and perfect presents for Christmas.  

GEORGE HOME: my wishlist

On the tight budget that we're on, I'm always on the lookout for pieces for our home that offer good value for money. Absolutely I'd love to shop with independent brands making handcrafted items all the time, and yes I agree with buying less rubbish and spending more on quality items; but you know what, you can find some lovely pieces in unexpected places too that, importantly, look great and won't blow the budget.

Supermarkets are one such place, where you can find a little bit of treasure amongst the milk and frozen pizza, and the new ranges at George Home are particularly nice.

As I'm sure is the case for most parents out there, when you have a spare bit of cash it tends to go on the children, and there are certainly a few lovely pieces the would be quite at home in Josephine's room (sometime soon to be 'the girl's room'!)

Firstly, in the Kid's Room section, I love this toy box. It's clean and simple style is timeless and will grow with the girls as they get older. Plus, you can never have too much storage as for as I'm concerned.

There is also a really wonderful selection of wooden toys, perfect for (dare I say it) Christmas. From farm set to pirate ships, and the sweetest shop and café stand that may well be finding it's way to our house on Christmas morning. And all at really great prices.

Finally, if you're on the look out for a stylish and contemporary bunk beds (that's a bit further down the line for us!) you should check out this one. I love the wood, the simplicity and the desk and storage on the end. What more could you ask for?

This is a sponsored post, but all thoughts and opinions are my own. Photos taken from the George Home website.

THE 52 PROJECT: september so far...

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 Josephine: Enjoying the warm September sunshine in the garden. Autumn is my favourite.

Coralie: Looking up, always. She loves being outside as much as her big sister, and the look of amazement on her face is just beautiful.

 

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Josephine: That glorious smile brings me so much happiness. It's infectious, for sure.

Coralie: The last two weeks have seen nights of little sleep and plenty of feeding frenzies; a growth spurt, I'm sure. I've been handling the exhaustion rather well actually, but on Saturday I was close to the edge. Hanging on to my composure and patience with a thread, in serious need of some good, uninterrupted sleep. I'm sure these little ones sense these thingsand on Saturday night, for the first time in weeks, Coralie blessed me with just one night feed, sleeping from 7.30pm until 4am and then back down until 7am. Sleep is a wonderful thing! Now, if you could do that every night my darling, Mama would be most appreciative...

 

 

"A portrait of my daughters, once a week every week in 2014".

Taking part in Jodi's 52 Project.
 

THE 52 PROJECT: august

Nearly there catching up with The 52 Project...something to tick off the never-ending to do list, for sure!

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My Nan and all the Great Grandchildren (and Matilda, her youngest Grandchild!) What a gorgeous bunch.

 

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Josephine had been dreaming of sharing this kind of trolley with 'Baby' ever since I was pregnant. Every few months I get a snap of the girls together in one, to see how much they've grown. It fully lives up to Phiney's expectations, and she loves sharing a trolley with Coralie.

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Beautiful girls in peach vintage dresses at my cousin's wedding. How I love them, and how I love finding them wonderful vintage to wear!

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Coralie: That wonderful smile is pure joy.

Josephine: Pretty in pink...a very rare sight. But when the pink in question is vintage Liberty print, how can I resist?!

 

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In Norfolk a few weeks ago for Ben's Grandma's 80th birthday. We stayed with them and it was a special weekend for everyone; Ben's Grandparent's adored having the girls at their home and Ben loved seeing Josephine playing the games he used to with his brothers when he was little. Happy memories; the best birthday present for Ben's Grandma. (Fun fact: Ben's Grandparents are called John and Anne, and so are mine. And both John's were woodwork teachers too. What are the chances?!)

"A portrait of my daughters, once a week every week in 2014".

Taking part in Jodi's 52 Project.

MONTHLY PORTRAIT

Four months old, and you're really becoming your own person now, little one. You laugh and laugh and it's the most wonderful sound. Mostly you find Josephine the funniest, but you also love scary noises and Daddy is the best at surprising you and making you chuckle. And boy, are you ticklish! The most ticklish baby I've ever know. My favourite chuckles though come at 4am when, in the hazy glow of the night light I see you watching me as you feed and a little giggle escapes your sleepy head as I smile at you.

 

As well as the laughter, the screeching has to be noted. I guess when there's three other noisy people in the house, it's the way to get heard, and you're quick to let us know when you're board of sitting in your chair or lying on the floor.

You'll happily entertain yourself now for long periods of time, with chew toys and cuddlies, or just watching Josephine play her games; always craning forward to try and get involved.

You've nearly rolled over, but haven't quite made it; although your caterpillar style crawling is far more entertaining and gets you to where you want to be pretty fast. And you still love the bath and being outside more than anything.

It's hard to believe you've been with us for more than four months already. Every day I see your beautiful Grandpa in your expressions (those eyebrow movements are SO him!) and that brings your Mama more happiness than I can explain.

Our little Coralie Boralie (Josephine's nickname of choice for you!) How we all love you so xx


TJE 52 PROJECT: june and july

So, the catching up continues...crikey, it's taking me a long time to trawl through the photographs of the last few months and choose portraits for The 52 Project. And I have to admit that, for the first time in more than 18 months of taking part in this project, I'm having to resort to iPhone snaps for a couple of the weeks. They're great photographs though, that perfectly represent that moment in time, so I'm not too bothered.

Below are the portraits from the end of June and July and I'll catch up on August's portraits later on - because Great British Bake Off is about to start and it's our favourite programme on TV (AKA the only thing we watch on TV) Priorities, people!

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The bestest of buddies. Josephine and Coralie with my best friend's boys, Oliver, Theo and George - my beautiful Godson, born just 3 weeks before Coralie. Friends for life. 

 

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Coralie: Cuddles with Auntie Dora in my Grandparent's bedroom in Cornwall. My sister and I spent many happy days with my Grandma in her room, looking at her treasures; jewellery and scarves, gloves and hats. I love that I get to share that with my own girls now.

Josephine: So happy to be on the beach. All day, every day if you could. Not phased by the icy cold sea or the boiling sun; just happy to feel the sand between your toes and have a selection of family members to call on for a spot of exploring. No joke, she pretty much wore this outfit all week.

 

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Our first holiday as a family of four. It was such a special trip, for so many reasons. Pretty stressful with a two month old in tow at times, but wonderful. And I'm trying to get over myself and post pictures even if I think I look a bit chubby in them (or have enormous boobies thanks to the aforementioned two month old and a feeding frenzy!) In years to come I, we and they won't care about a little post-pregnancy softness. It'll be about the memories of that lovely week in my favourite place on Earth.

 

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Coralie: People say she's the image of me. And I love that.

 

Josephine: The sweetest little copycat. Ben is doing up an old bike he found and Phiney has been 'working' on her balance bike alongside him. I snapped this through our bedroom window; spying on these two is the most heart melting game. Anything Daddy does, Phiney does too.

  

"A portrait of my daughters, once a week every week in 2014".

Taking part in Jodi's 52 Project.

ROUND HERE LATELY: part one

Over the last few months there have been photos a-plenty taken. There have been times I wanted to write posts about things that are happening, beautiful days out and moments I want to remember, but time has past so quickly and they have remained in my head; the words not making it to the page, the photos un-edited.

So here begins the task of documenting those occasions, beginning with June...

Sunday trips to the Botanical Gardens with my Mum, and usually my sister, have become a weekend tradition. As the place we've adopted for our Dad, it always means so much taking the girls there. This was Coralie's first trip. And she slept the whole time :)

Watching these two together makes my Mama heart burst with happiness. They adore each other, and have done since day one. I'm pretty sure Josephine thought Coralie would come out wanting to play though, so those early weeks where she really just laid there and slept were a little boring for her! As time goes on, Josephine loves how much more Coralie will interact with her and it makes Josephine's day when she does something to make Coralie laugh.

 

Making her voice well and truly heard! And can I just say, Bonds Wondersuits are the best babgrows. Totally worth getting them shipped over from Australia.

Our beautiful girl. She's grown so much in these few months. Physically, emotionally and mentally. What a change she has been through, and how wonderfully she's dealt with it all. We're so proud of her. 

As the sun shone at it's brightest and hottest this summer, we spent the day at my best friend's family's pool. Where else would you want to be? Splashing around in the pool with Josephine was so much fun. Lots of laughter. I took some great photos of Josephine with her best pals Oliver and Theo too, but as they're all butt naked, we'll save those until their 18th birthdays. Or Oliver and Josephine's wedding (hehe!)   

 

In June it was Father's Day here in the UK. A really hard day for my brother, sister and I, and for our Grandpa. We visited the Botanical Gardens with my sister and her fiancé and enjoyed a lovely picnic. I wish with all my heart I got to speak with my Dad, but I know he was there with us.

The family that Saltwaters together, sticks together. Same applies for Rayban Wayfayers...

This has become the position of choice for Ben and Coralie. I have many a photo of them like this. She's also become affectionately known as Captain Squawk round these parts...part Gigglebiz reference, part on account of her aforementioned desire to be heard!

 

BACK

I've been thinking about this space so much over the last month. Always wanting to make new entries into this online journal of mine but never quite finding the time. Constructing posts together in my head (that's the writer in me) and taking lovely pictures, but never quite finding the energy to put it all together.

Last night, at about 2.15am (night feeds, pretty much the only time I have a moment to sit quietly and think!) I realised that today would be the perfect day to come back to this place. I do love to start things on a Monday, or on the first of the month. The stars had clearly aligned.

In all honesty, what has kept me from posting anything here is the sheer enormity of what I do have to post; what I want to include on this blog from the last few months. Special occasions, simple family walks, moments I always want to remember. I had wondered whether to catch up before starting afresh, but I think that is too huge a task. So, I'm going to mix it up - get ready for some random catch up posts from way back in July and August! I mean, Coralie turns four months old on Sunday (how?!) and I still haven't posted her three month portrait.

But I will, I'm back in the game. And I have so many things to share, exciting times and beautiful memories. So thank you if you're still here, reading this. How have you spent your summer? I hope it's been magical. Can you believe it's September already?! xx

INSTA-AUGUST

1. The most beautiful 1930s and 1950s vintage for our girls, all pressed and ready to go to my cousins wedding this afternoon.
2.The washing never looked so cute!! I mean, look at those big ol' cheesy grins
3. Another party, another vintage dress...
4. She's just so scrumptious!
5. Ratties
6. Photobombed to the max!!!!!
7. This girl has such a great smile, her whole face lights up :)
8. An awesome morning with sweet friends, feeding the animals.
9. Exploring Great Grandma and Great Grandad's garden...
10. She has pretty expressive eyebrows, and does this thing where she raises one in a quizzical manner, just like my dad did. I think she looks so like him here :)