CRAWLING

WEARING: Nanny-made cardigan // Zara blouse // vintage French denim shorts // La Coqueta tights // Happy Circus booties // 

Crawling, crawling everywhere. And barely a moments rest...

WHAT PHINEY WORE

WHAT PHINEY WORE: Kitipongo Dress tk maxx // Handmade Cardigan // Tights h&m // Hair Bow happy circus // Desert Boots clarks (find similar here)

This week, Josephine is wearing the sweetest dress I found while rummaging the rails at TK Maxx. I have a love/hate relationship with that store. It's awesome if they have what you want in the right size, but so often you find the perfect piece and they only have one of them, three size too small. Ben shops there a lot for work clothes so I take a look in the kids section for Phiney when we go in. The reduced, past-season prices are always so reasonable, and sometimes you can snag a real bargain. When I bought this dress (for the grand sum of £12) I also found a soft grey Petit Bateau cardigan for next winter for just £10 (reduced from £65!). If you're happy to scour the rails, it's a great shopping destination, but if bargain hunting isn't your thing, i'd stay clear! 

My Mum made Phiney this beautiful cardigan from a vintage design she found in her pattern stash. It coincidentally matches this dress so perfectly and I love it's longer length; perfect for autumn. Having my Mum on hand to whip up a cardigan in a matter of days is wonderful. Thank goodness for your pro-knitter Nanny, Phiney. 

Finally, Josephine is the best model for my Happy Circus hair bow clips and I have to make her some more in other colours soon. They just look so sweet buried amongst her curls. 

HAPPY CIRCUS: new listings

Just wanted to pop by and let you all know that I've listed a whole bunch of lovely vintage pieces in the shop. French, British and even a couple of South American items, all of which are fantastic! Above are just a few of my favourites. 

There are also a few bow ties, hair bows and baby knits on offer at just half their normal price. Yes...HALF PRICE! All were knitted to be photographed for the shop and promotional purposes and are in absolutely perfect condition. Go grab yourself a bargain, because once they're gone...they're gone!! 

Thank you, as always, for supporting my little store. I hope you find something you like :) Happy weekend everyone. 

HAPPY CIRCUS: at little hanbury

I am so excited to say that Happy Circus' knitted boy's bow ties are now stocked at the very cool and super stylish Little Hanbury; a new store especially for the little boys in your life. 

Owner Sarah has sourced the highest quality pieces from around the world and her store is packed with items you're going to love; including my little bow ties, of course. Alongside my green and blue designs is a custom mustard yellow design, and they are styled to perfection with Quenotte and Imps and Elfs shirts. Classic and traditional yet so modern, and totally gorgeous. Go check it out :) 

HAPPY CIRCUS: women's bow ties

Totally inspired by my beautiful friend Tori, Happy Circus is now stocking bow ties for women. 

I don't think I could ask for a more stylish model in Tori, whose modelling a custom Brown Tweed bow tie here; so chic and elegant. This piece is perfect for everyday or a special occasion  and comes in Olive Green Tweed, Rust and Grey, each on a Liberty-inspired floral cotton. Head over to the shop to see this and all the other bow ties and hair bows Happy Circus has on offer :) 

HAPPY CIRCUS: knitted bows and beautiful people

As well as being a wonderful diary, recording our lives together, firstly as a newly married couple and then as new parents, this blog has bought with it new friendships; the opportunity to meet lovely people who just so happen to live on the other side of the world to us rather than just round the corner. People with whom an an email conversation is as fun and easy as a catch up over a cup of tea.Tim and Kesh are two of those people. They are good people. We are so excited to have them come visit when they're in the UK in the summer; to see our babies play together and show them our little corner of the planet.Having Tim shoot these pictures for Happy Circus, and Kesh model, is awesome. And I hope you'll agree that these shots are awesome too. I think they are. So, thank you guys for your time and kindness. Roll on the summer :)ps. I currently have 299 followers - how brilliant! But that odd number is playing on my mind (I like a nice round, even number thank you very much!) so if you're not a follower, go on and hit that button. You know you want to. Go on. Please.

GIVEAWAY: felty goodness

So, earlier today I realised that my last post was my 350th. Wowza! To say thank you to all you lovely people who stop by this space and leave lovely comments, I thought I'd offer one of my colourful felt garlands as a little giveaway. These have seriously been flying off the shelves since I launched them in the shop, and they really do look awesome hanging on the wall. Just check out the one hanging in little Emma's nook (thank you for the lovely picture Carine!)


All you have to do to enter is...
^^ leave a comment below
^^ become a follower (if you're not already one)
^^ head over to Facebook and 'like' the Happy Circus page

I really do appreciate your support and thank you for taking the time to say hello round here. Every comment makes me a very happy blogger :)

Good luck to you all - the winner will be drawn next Monday xx

This giveaway is open to all our readers, near and far.

UPDATE: I AM VERY HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE THAT THE WINNER IS KAREN :) DROP ME AN EMAIL WITH YOUR ADDRESS LOVELY LADY AND A HAPPY CIRCUS GARLAND WILL BE HEADING YOUR WAY XX

HAPPY CIRCUS: grab yourself a bargain

I just wanted to pop in and let you know that, after a serious hit to the vintage section over the last few weeks (thank you lovely customers :)!!) there are just a few pieces remaining. To make way for the new stock I'm planning on listing soon, i've heavily reduced these last few gorgeous items to ensure they find their way to a good home. So head over here now and find a bargain for your little one xx

HAPPY CIRCUS: christmas sale

Still searching for a special gift for that little person in your life? Well, head over to Happy Circus now and get a whopping 20% off all our vintage pieces for the next 24 hours only. Just enter the promotional code VINTAGECHRISTMASSALE to claim your discount.

Discount applies to vintage clothes only, not knitted or felt goods.

ROLL UP, ROLL UP: christmas shopping at happy circus

After months of really hard work and hours of scouring charity shops and markets, I am so pleased to announce the launch of a whole host of new goodies at Happy Circus.

Firstly, after the increasing requests and success of my hair bows and bow ties for weddings, I've designed a new range of bows for boys and girls, men and women, that are perfect for everyday and those special occassions. For the boys, the bow ties now feature knitted bows on carefully selected cotton fabrics with classic bow tie fastenings, while the girls can enjoy hair bows without ties (no more clumpy knots at the back of your head) in the classic size, oversize, little girl size and bow clips. I've also replaced synthetic wools with beautifully soft, plump cashmerino and almerino yarns in sorbets, tweeds and faded vintage hues.

Next I've added a new material to the ranges here at HC. I've loved working with felt over the last few years in an array of different projects, so I'm really excited to bring some of my designs to the shop. From multi-coloured triangular felt garlands to fun wall hangings that will look awesome in your child's room (or any other room in the house for that matter) these bright and colourful additions make me smile everytime I look at them, and hope you find the same.

Finally, I'm so excited to launch the second Happy Circus Vintage event. Over the last few months I've been gathering items for boys and girls of all ages and there are more than 30 truly awesome pieces on offer this time. The sweetest smocked dresses sit alongside chunky knitted jumpers while delicate blouses work perfectly with classic Osh Kosh dungerees.

I hope you'll go visit the shop and discover some treats for yourself, your kids, your friends and family this Christmas. I'm very happy to be offering you all a 10% discount off all your purchases over the next 48 hours - just become a follower if you're not one already and go 'like' our new Facebook page here, where you'll be first to know about new pieces, special offers and all behind-the-scenes news. Then enter the promotional code HCChristmas at the checkout to receive your discount.

Thank you as always for your support with my little shop. I'm really excited to see what 2013 brings in developing the store and hope you'll enjoy wearing your purchases as much as I did making and sourcing them.

Happy Monday everyone :)

NEW ARRIVALS

Yesterday, while we were celebrating at one friend's wedding, another beautiful friend and her husband were welcoming three daughters into the world. Triplets, naturally conceived; Florence, Livvy and Eloise. All doing well, with just a little help breathing all that was needed.

These are three very special babies, for reasons it's not my place to go into here, and their arrival is greeted with so much love and joy. Liz and Chris are going to make such wonderful parents, a role they've been waiting so patiently for.

We can't wait to meet these gorgeous girls. And we hope you love the Happy Circus knits Mama. They're teeny tiny, but are still likely to be far too big for now. It's also super impossible to find a triplet card, so we set Josephine to work and she produced the best card ever. A very special parcel for some very wonderful people. 

OCTOBER: what a difference a year makes...

The first of October already. The last twelve months have sped by so quickly, it's hard to believe how much has changed. This time last year, my belly was getting bigger by the day and we were slowly gathering bits and bobs for the arrival of our new baby, trying to guess if it was a boy or girl.

Now here we are. Beautiful Josephine is crawling at high speed around the house, pulling herself up wherever she can, chattering about this and that in her own funny language.

Our lives last October were full of excitement and wonder and a sense of unknowing; of how things would change and what they'd be like in a year. Today, every day is packed with just as much excitement and wonder and a sense of unknowing. And it's awesome. Things have changed, of course, but absolutely for the better.

That Ben and I created this little one with our love is the most wonderful thing in all the world. That we now have the privilege to help shape her life is a role we cherish, and in turn she is shaping our lives too. Every day is an adventure, and I can't wait to see what tomorrow holds.

ps. how amazing is the top Phiney's wearing? It's French vintage at it's best, and it will be going into the shop later in the month with a whole host of other fantastic vintage finds. I was trying it on Josephine to see roughly what size it was, and I couldn't resist snapping a few pictures of her modelling it. To be honest I was very tempted to keep it, but right now Phiney has enough vintage in her wardrobe...

HAPPY CIRCUS: vintage goodness

As I mentioned a few posts ago, the pre-loved and vintage sale I went to recently was seriously packed with goodies. Too many to justify buying for Josephine, yet lots that were just too good to let go. So I had a think, decided to buy them up anyway and thought I'd pass them on to you, lovely readers.

Ben and I had discussed my rather lucky knack of finding really good secondhand and vintage kid's clothes in charity shops and markets and how maybe it could be an interesting way to make some extra cash and keep me from heading back to work full time. Which is something I don't want to do - but that's for another post.

So, for now, Happy Circus has a vintage section. I'm not sure how long it will be there, I suppose it all depends on how quickly this initial haul goes, so head over quick and don't miss out. Sizes range from newborn to age three (ish). It's all vintage, it's lovely and there are quite a few items I'm finding hard to part with. I've kept prices nice and low, so you can grab yourself a bargain, and each item has been freshly laundered and will be posted within two days of purchase.

Plus to celebrate this little launch I'm offering 15% until 9pm tomorrow evening. Just as a little something extra for you! So pop over and enter HAPPYCIRCUSVINTAGE at the checkout.

Let me know what you think, email me if you have any questions and I hope you find something you just can't resist ;)

*GIVEAWAYS*

This is my 250th post and I can't believe it. So much in our lives has changed since I started writing for this little space and it's so lovely to have a diary of the amazing adventures Ben and I have been on over the last two years. Almost two years exactly, in fact. I just realised that next week it's the second anniversary of On The First Day Of Marriage too. Happy Birthday to you blog, old friend!

More than anything, I'm so grateful for the beautiful friends I've made through this awesome community. Across the seas I've found people to rely on for great advice and plenty of laughs, as well as the chance to catch a glimpse into the lives of some very lovely people.

So to say thank you to all my lovely readers, new and old, I've got a couple of little giveaways and awesome discount codes for you to enjoy.

First, a brilliant discount offer from Lazer Baby Vintage. I found this little store thanks to this lady and her tip to purchase Josephine that simply amazing blue and white striped romper up there (which obviously I did!) along with some cute little bloomers and a floral denim dress and beautiful white embroidered dress for Phiney to grow in to. Owner Lindsey has stocked the shop to the rafters recently and there are some really great pieces on offer. I'm talking coolness like this, this, these and most definitely these. And as a special treat to all you lovely people, Lindsey's offering a very generous 20% discount for the next two weeks. Just enter the code FIRSTDAY when you get to the checkout to claim yours. You won't be disappointed!

Next up is a chance to win a copy of the very cool Papier Mache magazine. Through a chain of rather uninteresting events I ended up with two copies of the latest issue and so I thought I'd pass the spare on to a worthy winner. Packed with pretty pictures, lovely stories and plenty of wish lists that will send you into a shopping frenzy, it's a great read. If you'd like to be in with a chance to to win just become a follower of the blog and leave a comment below.

Finally, I couldn't miss the opportunity to offer some Happy Circus goodness to you all. And this time it's a double whammy. Firstly we're giving you the chance to win a piece of clothing from the shop, in the size and colour of your wish. Choose from this, this, this, these and these. All amazing pieces for any baby's wardrobe, believe me. Phiney has one of each (if not more) and rocks them all. You can see Josephine wearing her brown version of the dungarees here and her patterned cardigan here.

All you need to do is become a follower of the blog then leave a comment (separate to the one for the Papier Mache giveaway if you're entering both) letting me know which item you'd like and in what colour and size.

We're also offering a very lovely 20% discount off all Happy Circus items for the next two weeks. Again, just enter the code FIRSTDAY at the checkout.

Both competitions close on Sunday 24th June and the winners will be announced the following day. The discount offers also end on Sunday 24th June at 12pm. The offers and giveaways are open to all readers.

Once again, thank you so much for all your support over the last two years. We can't wait to share the journey we'll be on over the next two.

Much love,
Ben, Nell and Josephine xx