STYLIN'

Phiney aka Poet aka Pebbles.

GROWING

1. I find myself packing away a neat little pile of too-small clothes every month or so. I try to be ruthless, only keeping hold of the essential basics and extra special pieces for future babies, with the rest making it's way to the charity shop or a lovely friend with three little girls to dress. This little pile is full of those special items that I will always cherish, with this little bonnet and these beautiful shoes especially hard to fold away.
  
2. Of course with growing comes the discovery of clothing I've been waiting patiently to fit. Vintage and second-hand finds and bargains that were too good to pass. These little t-bar shoes are now fitting perfectly, and just in time as Josephine has started walking holding only one of our hands to steady herself...

3. And it's not just limbs that are growing rapidly. Phiney's curls have gone crazy over the last month and tiny clips and hairbands were a necessity (although trying to find clips not covered in glitter and Hello Kitty was a real mission.) She looks too cute sporting her new accessories, so I'll save that for another post.

CHILDHOOD FAVOURITES: great story/sweet style

It makes me so happy to see how much Josephine loves books. Whether it's a picture book in her toy box (cardboard only as she's still chewing everything she gets her hands on!) that she'll sit and flick through quietly on her own, or the stories we read together in the afternoon or at bedtime.

Of course, right now, it's up to Ben and I to choose which books we read to Phiney and we're loving the opportunity to re-discover our own childhood favourites. For both of us the beautiful stories by Shirley Hughes and Janet and Allan Ahlberg bring back fond memories and have been the first picked from the bookshelf.

Looking at these books now it's not just the story that I'm enjoying, it's the illustrations and style of the characters too. Traditional children's clothes - think homemade knits, t-bar leather shoes, sweet little dresses and woollen bonnets all of which are offering some fantastic winter wardrobe inspiration - as well as beautiful toys and prams, and real and endearing family scenes that are lovely to see. And that make these classic reads as enjoyable as ever.

Josephine's favourites? Peepo, of course, and The Baby Catalogue. Our cardboard copy of the latter is, as you can see, much loved :)

PARK LIFE: catching the last light

It feels like autumn changed to winter this week and last night, as the sun began to set and all the other families packed up to head home, we braved the brisk air and popped to the park. Wrapped up in her gorgeous bonnet and new mittens, Josephine swung and bounced and climbed and watched in awe as dogs ran in the park and the older kiddos chased a ball around. We kicked crispy leaves around the empty playground and talked of the Christmas fun that is just around the corner.

We hope you all had a lovey weekend too x

THE C WORD: the countdown begins

Today, when Josephine and I popped into our local greengrocers, I was hit with the smell of Christmas. Two boxes sat by the door; just delivered, they were piled high. One with Clementines, the other Satsumas. Some of the first of the season, a little crowd gathered round them - admiring this bright orange treasure.

I took two juicy looking Clementines for Ben and I to enjoy while snuggled on the sofa tonight, and gave into the temptation of listening to a Christmas record when we got home; a treat normally saved for December only, but I figure that now we have a child we have a responsibility to extend the joy of Christmas that little longer.

I can hardly believe that Christmas is now so close. Time is whizzing by and it seems a whole week can disappear in the blink on an eye. It's almost the weekend again, and it's going to be a busy one getting everything ready for the launch of some new Happy Circus goodies and our second vintage sale at the beginning of next week. Do you have any fun plans?

Right now though, I'm off to eat that Clementine....

EXCITING TIMES: november fun

Happy November everyone! I can't believe we're here already - this year has flown by like no other.

This month is going to be a crazy one round here. As well as all the new stuff hitting Happy Circus soon, there will be some changes on this space too. The main one being the inclusion of some very lovely Sponsors.

Over the last few months I've been contacted by a few companies about advertising and, as I'm now officially without a paid job, it seemed like a good time to take up their offer. We're really excited to be supporting companies that we love and trust, and to have them support this little blog. As you can see we already have some lovely people taking space and there are still some spaces left for November. Our rates are nice and low, plus with Christmas just around the corner it's time to start promoting your business - so if you'd like to join them just drop me an email and I'll send you our Media Pack. 

Still not sure? A recent giveaway supplier emailed me a couple of months ago to let me know that she had had considerably more visits to her website from our blog in two weeks than she had from advertising with one of the biggest American baby blogs out there for a month. Since then we've grown in the number of followers and last week had the highest number of visitors to the site in one day. We may only be small, but it appears we have pulling power. So come and join the party!

BUSY BUSY BUSY

Things round here are so busy right now. So so busy. Between knitting a whole bunch of new things for Happy Circus as well as coming up with a range of new bits and bobs too, photographing and pricing the pieces I've collected for my next vintage sale (save your pennies because there are some serious gems to be had...it'll bring a tear to my eye to part from some of it!) and chasing this monkey round the place, the days just zip by.

There are also some exciting new things happening with this space too, which we'll be sharing very soon.

Plus I've been making ears and a tail for my little witches cat for Halloween tomorrow. Boy oh boy Phiney's gonna look cute...

WEEKEND DREAMING...

On this lazy Saturday, as a cold chill sets in, I'm sat with the winter sun on my face dreaming of....

This beautiful little house, we'd love to call our own. Just around the corner from where we live now, in the area we want to stay in while Josephine grows and we make more babies. If anyone has a spare £300,000 you'd like to donate to our 'buy a house' fund, just pop me an email...

This fantastic kitchen. I've been swooning over Mel's home for a while now and her blog is definitely worth a visit. How fantastic is that rustic table?

The G Plan vintage collection at John Lewis. My Dad text me a picture of the window display in London earlier in the week and we were both swooning over it. I'd have to take The Fifty Three sofa and chair, in case you were stuck for Christmas present ideas Father dearest!

Family fun in this awesome little tent, found at A Beautiful Mess a while ago. Ben and I are going to make one for Phiney's first birthday so I'm hunting for the perfect vintage fabric.

As soon as Josephine is up from her nap, we're going to wrap up warm and head out for a walk. Stopping at a little antique shop that's closing down and has bargains to be had, just for a look of course, and then buying something yummy to eat for dinner.

Dreaming is cool but, with my favourite boy and favourite girl as companions, real life is better. Happy weekend everyone x

Photograph by Tori. Another one, I know, but when they're so lovely how could I not use them? And life's so busy round here right now I simply haven't found time to pick up the camera. But more on that next week...

MONTHLY PORTRAIT: nine months

Josephine's Monthly Portrait. Taken in her nursery on the 18th of every month.

Nine months old today, and so much fun. A little bundle of laughter and cheekiness, bravery and confidence, love and kindness. And did I mention that she's the most beautiful creature; curly locks swept to the side, beestung lips, the longest eyelashes and bright blue eyes. Heartbreaker in the making.

Likes: The water, whether it's splashing in the bath or swimming in the pool, she's our little water baby. Music and singing, playing with other children, walking with her little walker, eating banana and having her teeth cleaned (she's obsessed with teeth; her own and everyone elses).
Dislikes: Spending too much time in her pram; she'd rather be crawling or holding your hand and walking. And she's really not a fan of daytime naps, but that's nothing new.
What makes her smile more than anything: Mama and Papa both being on the floor playing with her toys. Building towers, reading books and messing about with teddies and dolls. There's also plenty of smiling at the prospect of getting in the bath with Papa and hearing the key in the door when he gets home from work.
Favourite toys: Her vintage Fisher Price house, her walker, her doll Jenny and her teddy, a wooden pull along duck and this rattle. Oh and not forgetting a wooden spoon from the kitchen, our coasters and any cardboard boxes or Tupperware pots she can get her hands on; hours of fun!
Mama's favourite thing: Her singing is hands down the sweetest thing in the world. I hum a tune to her and she'll sing back to me. My heart melts every time. And she's started giving me such snugly cuddles too.
Papa's favourite thing: How happy she is when she learns something new; she was so frustrated at not being able to open one of the doors on her toy house, but when she finally mastered how to do it she was grinning away for ages. And my random little chats with her are awesome. She still says "Dada" more than anything else, which I love!
Career prediction: Vet. Her love for animals is growing all the time. My grandparent's dog Bella is chased around their house constantly when we visit them and we have to stop to look at every dog or cat we pass when we're out. Plus she has mastered her "woof woof" and "grrrrrrr" sounds and her Eric Carle Animal Sounds book is one of her favourites.

We could bottle you up at this age Josephine, so cute you are. We love you xxx

These photos were taken on the 18th, and most of the words written then too...it's just that I didn't quite get round to finishing the post until today. Nine months = a very busy baby and very busy Mama!

HERE AND THERE

You may have noticed that right now, this little blog of mine is being featured all over the place...

The ever so lovely Bron asked me to be part of her Meet the Mama series, and my answers are up on her blog now.

Kirsty from Here Comes Baby has featured Josephine's nursery over at Spearmint Baby, where I've shared how to achieve an eclectic vintage space for your child.

And we've also taken part in Charlotte's awesome At Home With series over at her brilliant blog.

Thank you all lovely ladies for asking me to take part. Go check them out :)

Photos of our home by Tori, of course.