DYRHAM IN THE MIST

There are so many things I love about blogging and Instagram, but one of the best has to be the wonderful friendships I've built with lovely people around the world. Lucky for me, some of those friendships have crossed into the real life, and I'm so happy about that. 

Amy and Edie and Amy and Bertie are pretty cool people to spend a day with. It's lovely to see three gorgeous two year olds running around and exploring with each other and it's lovely to chat to two such creative, funny and kind Mamas. 

Last week's trip to a very misty Dryham Park was our latest and, armed with a brand new lens (which is amazingly awesome - thank you for your help with that one Tim!), I just couldn't stop taking pictures. So apologies for the slog of photos up there, but when your subjects are so cute, it's hard to resist :)

Plenty more days of fun and games to come this summer with these lovely folks, I hope xx

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.

TREASURE

Josephine gave me this beautifully dishevelled rose yesterday, after a trip into the garden at my grandparent's house. Carefully picked by Nana, Phiney looked so pleased with herself as she carefully bought it in and gave it to me. Although she quickly wanted it back and tried to eat it. It's now sitting pride of place on the mantelpiece - the first gift from my little bird. A true treasure.

Also, Tori has posted more of the photo shoot we had with her on her photography blog here. I'm more enamoured with those gorgeous captures every time I see them, and will treasure them always.

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I just wanted to write a quick note thanking you all for the amazing and supportive comments on my breastfeeding post. I wrote and re-wrote that post and thought about hitting the Publish button for a long time, so the fact that so many of you took the time to write such heartfelt comments really touched me. And a special thank you to those people who also sent me amazing emails recounting your own struggles with breastfeeding - I'm writing the replies they deserve and promise to send them as soon as I can.

Writing that post has really helped me understand my feelings and come to terms with them. Today, as I sit here, I can honestly say that those last pangs of guilt and disappointment are fleeting. The bond between my daughter and I has in no way been damaged by my bottle feeding her and the most important thing is that she's happy and healthy and blossoming beautifully. Like I said before, that's all that matters. Plus, as Ben reminded me after reading my post (and buying me these pretty flowers because "you are amazing and I wanted to get you something to make you smile") bottle feeding Josephine has its benefits. He loves his feeds with Phiney; the time they get to bond even more and look into each other's eyes, and how Josephine always clasps her fingers over his when he's holding her bottle. And on Fridays and Saturdays, Ben happily gets up to do a night feed, giving me some much needed sleep. Which. Is. Awesome.

I was quite staggered by the response to my post, and by how many women struggled through the same thing I did. Some of you fought hard to continue feeding, some of you chose to embrace another route and some, like me, had that choice made for them. Whatever happened to you, thank you for sharing. Over the last two years this blogging community has continued to surprise me with what a wonderful thing it is and that, whether you live in the next town or across the seas on the other side of the world, the blogosphere ensures that no matter what you're going through, how you're feeling or what advice you're searching for, there are people out there going through the same, ready to lend an ear and support you.


Blimey. The last few posts have been rather hardcore, what with 3am cot side cries and recollections of my toughest days of motherhood so far. Tomorrow there will be talk of birthdays and presents and how I'm going to celebrate turning 28 next week and my first birthday as a Mama. Plus I'll need you're advice again...on what to add to my birthday wish list! Because, whether it's the most difficult of topics or the most frivolous and fun, you guys always offer the best advice.

Much love to you all xxx

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Lovely ladies Lou (who has an awesome giveaway going on right now btw) and Maria passed the Sunshine Award to me over the last week, so to celebrate all the sunshine we've been having, here are my answers...

Favourite colour: Green, but I'm partial to a bit of mustard yellow too.
Favourite animal: Don't hate me but I don't like animals, really. Sorry about that. Thankfully I married someone who feels the same. Josephine my darling, you'll be lucky if you're allowed a rabbit when you're older. Sorry poppet!
Non-alcoholic drink: Sparkling Elderflower. When we were younger my Grandma used to call it 'children's wine' and gave it to us in fancy glasses at family dinners.
Facebook or Twitter: Facebook I suppose, because I have an account, but I'm rubbish at updating it. I don't understand Twitter.
Getting or giving presents: Giving. Love the browsing, the buying, the wrapping. Love it all. But that's not to say I don't like a present or two myself...
Favourite flower: Peonies.
Favourite pattern: Stripes or teeny tiny floral, Liberty-style.
Favourite number: 7 and 18.
Favourite day: Love that Friday feeling. 5.30pm when Ben is on his way home and we have the whole weekend in front of us.
Passion: Being a wife and Mama, crafting, thrifting, knitting, blogging, anything vintage, photography, eating and making our home feel happy and look pretty.

And I'm passing this on to...
Dora
Kristi
Tori
Kellie
Bron

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From quite early on in my pregnancy, we knew that once bub had arrived we'd want to have a family photo session to capture our days as a new family of three. I'm sure you've all swooned over these, these, these and these (basically anything by this dude) as I have, but it's harder than you'd think to track down a photographer who wants to capture real life and natural moments as oppossed to cheesy grins and forced poses in front of a white background.

I spent many an hour searching for a photographer we could entrust this task to; someone who would deliver pictures we would treasure forever. Annoyingly, I had no luck. Unless we lived in London and had a whopping budget to play with, of course.Then a few weeks ago I visited this lovely blog and my search was over. I've always admired the stunning photographs Tori takes so was in no way surprised to hear she had launched her own business. Instantly I emailed her and I'm so happy to say that we're booked in for 4 hours of fun in the (fingers crossed) sun towards the end of July. We decided to leave it a few months so Josephine would be sitting up, playing and offering a few more poses and smiles for the shoot than she could right now. We're thinking a family walk before stopping off for a homemade picnic. Just me, Ben and Phiney enjoying our time with each other.

I am so excited about seeing the end result and trust Tori and her beautiful skills entirely. She has sent me the loveliest emails since I contacted her and I can't wait to meet her come the summer. If the pictures above are anything to go by, I know we'll end up with a selection of images that will adorn our home forever. That will simply, yet beautifully, capture the essence of our new family.

All images by TH Photography. Go check out her work.

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Wow, blogging with a 3 week old baby is tough. How some of these other ladies do it, i'll never know. Right now Dora is sat snuggling Josephine so I've got some time to tidy, eat and write a quick blog but it's quite possible that over the next few weeks the posts round here will be pretty sporadic until we get our little routine a bit more sorted.

In a nutshell though...
*Day by day Josephine and I are learning more and more. Cuddles aside, nothing calms her quicker than a bit of white noise so the bathroom fan and sound of the shower, the fan in the kitchen and my hairdryer all keep her occupied (and often send her to sleep) when Mama's trying to get clean, wash up or make herself look a little presentable. A quick shower and non-frizzy hair make me feel so much more with it and prepared for anything, so have become vital 'to-do's' in the morning and the fact Josephine sits quite happily in her bouncy chair while i'm doing them is a blessing.
*I've started to understand that a bad night, with little sleep or things not going to plan, doesn't mean a bad day or visa versa and it's best to just take every moment as it comes. Plans are pointless with a newborn. For example, on Tuesday night our little bird woke up at least once an hour and I got about 2 hours sleep in total. When Ben left for work I wondered how I was going to make it through the day, but it turned out to be one of best yet. Josephine slept the whole time I was showering (I even shaved my legs and moisturised), we visited my Mum for a bit of lunch and then headed into the village to meet fellow new Mama and lovely lady Ash to introduce our little girls to eachother. A pretty tough night was followed by a really great day.
*I'm so thankful I treated myself to an iPhone (and internet access at my fingertips) before Josephine arrived. Typing comments with my left hand can be tricky, but i'm still visiting all your blogs as much as ever; they're keeping me going through those 4am feeds so that, thank you!
*And speaking of blogs, I have to say that these are fast becoming some of my favourite posts in all of blogland. Kellie is one cool cat and quite possibly my new style icon. Also, check out these wedding pictures. Oh so pretty.
*Little by little I'm writing our Birth Story and Breastfeeding Saga and hope to get both finished over the weekend. Neither went as planned and it's amazing how theraputic writing down your feelings can be in coming to terms with things not turning out how you expected.
*Finally, with blogging a little tricky right now, come follow us on Instagram where I've been adding little snapshots of our first weeks together. Just search FirstDayOfMarriage.

And the picture? Beautiful Josephine soundly dreaming, wrapped in blankets and snuggled up against the February snow.

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Some fantastic paper treats from the awesome Kerry and her awesome shop. Some for Baby’s room and some for elsewhere in the house.

In other news, I am now officially on Maternity Leave. Tonight is the work Christmas party (which has also become known as my leaving do) so I’m off to glam it up and decide which heels I’ll be able to survive the night in.

This morning I was so excited about it being my last day, but after a little presentation with some very lovely and generous gifts, and even lovelier words, I’m feeling a little sad. Although I’m sure that when I’m lying in bed at 11am on Monday morning I won’t feel quite as bad…

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Some snaps from our Saturday afternoon walk along the canal, all bundled up enjoying the December weather and taken using my fancy pants new iPhone. Man I love this thing. And all the genius camera and video apps I have downloaded. Claire, I know you’re playing with the 8mm video camera as much as me. The belly was taken to feed the ducks, splash in puddles and generally have a ball. Give it a couple of months and they’ll be a pram on walks like these.

Saturday morning was just as fun, with my first blogger date – a catch up with the fab Amy from here and here, and her little bundle of loveliness (wearing the most awesome trousers ever I might add) who slept soundly through the whole thing. I’ve watched many bloggers meet up over the last couple of years and always feel a pang of jealousy, so I was so happy when Amy emailed me. We chatted away in a cool little cafe like we’d known each other for ages, so here’s to new friendships and hopefully many more coffees and cakes.

ps. Today, someone at work told me I was the most content, moan-free pregnant lady they had ever met, and that I seemed utterly happy and peaceful. What lovely things to say.

pps. Hello Braxton Hicks!

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Bump Day. 25 weeks down.

Today we had a midwife appointment and all is looking well. The bump is growing nicely, Baby’s heart beat is as strong as ever and all test results came back fine and dandy. It all leaves me feeling rather proud of how well I’m doing, baking this little bun of ours. Turns out I’m pretty good at cooking things after all. Who knew?

And thank you for all your lovely comments on my last post. My back is now fine, the legs have stopped aching and it looks like I’m going to be given a parking permit so I can drive to work plus the washing machine is now working. Funny how things can go from bad to good in the blink of an eye. And Jodi, I’m using your advice as a little mantra this week.

Slowly, slowly. Take your time, don’t rush.

Something I’ll remember as I walk from here to there and also as I walk through this amazing adventure. I want to savour every kick, every moment together and each time B whispers something to this belly of mine. Sharing such a journey will only make the arrival of Baby all the more amazing.

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Some rather lovely things that are making me a happy bunny today and cheering up the day. Sometimes it’s the little things that make the day a little brighter. Something I’ve noticed more and more recently. Maybe it’s the little hands and feet knocking me in the belly that remind me the best things always come in small packages.

Firstly is this beautiful book. I saw a copy in a store in town and had to grab it. It’s basically how I want our house to be. Plus it’s written by Emily Chalmers, the owner of Caravan. Such a cool shop. The gal knows what she’s talking about.

Next is this awesome package from Kelly. The magnetic buttons are making their way to the fridge right now and I’m trying to decide whether to use the card and label or just keep them for myself. Thank you lovely Kelly.

A few days ago I got a message from Hinke, letting me know she was showcasing some of my Happy Circus booties on her blog. I was so happy to receive such a note, as it led me back to House of Hink. A beautiful blog from another corner of the world. Go check it out.

Another bundle of treats from the knitting machine that is my Mum, including these dungarees which are up there with my favourite pieces for the baby. And she made the pattern up as she went along. We’re building some ideas for her additions to Happy Circus and I think these have made the grade.

And this brilliant card, drawn by my sister and sent to us from her crazy rattakins to say thank you for the new cage B grabbed off the forums at work for a bargain price. Apparently Bette, Diane and Goldie are loving the extension to their home. Name explanation? Dora and I love the movie First Wives Club.

Oh, and thank you for the brilliant comments on our nappy quandary. It was so good to read some first-hand reviews and find out what works and what doesn’t. What fabulously helpful readers I have. Don’t go anywhere…your services may be required again.

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We’re currently in the middle of some serious picture hanging. That’s right people. 4 months after we moved in we’re finally getting the last bits sorted, the last boxes unpacked. I’m on a mission.

While our house isn’t quite ready to be photographed, I thought I’d give you a glimpse into my grandparent’s house. I took these when we were in Cornwall because it’s always been such an inspirational place. Overlooking Lands End, their cottage is rammed with treasures. Seriously, it’s like walking through the best antique shop ever. I could happily steal so much.

My Grandma’s interior taste has rubbed off on my sister and me greatly since we were kiddos, when we spent many weekends there playing with everything. That’s what I love the most – my Grandma always views these treasures as pieces to be used. We were never told to not touch and bits were never moved out of reach. We always knew to be careful and to take care of these beautiful trinkets, but there were there to enjoy as they should be. From vintage clothes when we were dressing up and linen textiles on the table and bed, to the antique settle that would be our horse and cart or the Victorian high chair we were all sat in.

This is something I really want to emulate when our own bambino arrives. Our house is full of trinkets too and while I’m not naive enough to believe a crawling toddler may not grab this or that, we won’t be changing the way we live or decorate. Our baby will learn to touch and play gently, to enjoy these things as we did, and I will learn to let that happen and not be scared of breakages. Well, that’s the plan anyway. Get back to me in a year and we’ll see how well that one’s working out...

Oh, and a big hoorah for reaching 120 followers. Hello newbies and welcome. It’s lovely to have you all here xx