Chunky Knits

 Chunky knits = gorgeous.  Perfect for this cold spell!

(Photo from Asos)

Made with love by Mrs Booth

The products in this shop are absolutely gorgeous.  The alphabet print would look so cute in a nursery, and that penguin picture is so sweet.  Find them and lots of other beautiful items at Mrs Booth.

BooBoo dolls

I think these BooBoo dolls are so gorgeous.  The idea is that children can unzip their mouths, put any worries they have inside and the doll will gobble them up.  Such a sweet idea.  Find them at Toyella.

Italy day

Do you remember I told you we had planned an Italy-themed day for Jamie?  Well, we did it on Saturday and it was a success!  I made a few cards with Italian words and their meanings on (I kept this very simple to keep it fun), we looked at different types of pasta, tried Amaretti biscuits (it turns out Alfie loves these!)  We also made a pizza, and had ice cream to finish.  (We didn't get round to making biscotti but I'm sure we will do another time).

It got me thinking about other themed days we could try - French day, Spanish day, British day...

Chanel

Pretty dresses from the Chanel show.  Such gorgeous pale colours.

(Photos from Chanel News)

Orange & ginger chicken casserole

This recipe, from the brilliant Fay's Family Food, has very quickly become one of our favourite meals.  This book has given me so many ideas for meals, everything we've tried from it has tasted gorgeous and the big bonus is that everyone - grown-ups, children and babies - can eat the same meal.

Perfect for Sundays, when you want something simple and easy to prepare, leaving you plenty of time for playing with the kids.  (This is also one of Alfie's favourites!)

Ingredients for the marinade:

1 tsp grated ginger
2 crushed garlic cloves
zest of an orange (I just use orange juice here if I'm being lazy)
3 tbsp olive oil

6 chicken thighs
1 chopped onion
3 carrots roughly chopped
150ml chicken stock
juice of 2 oranges

1.  Mix the marinade ingredients together in a bowl, put the chicken thighs in, cover, and leave in fridge for 30 mins or longer

2.  Put the chicken and marinade into a hot non-stick pan to seal on both sides, which only takes a few minutes

3.  Fry the onion and carrot in a separate ovenproof casserole dish for about 10 minutes / until soft

4.  Put the browned chicken, stock and orange juice in the casserole dish with the onion and carrots.  Stir, cover, and cook for 45 - 60 minutes in the oven at 180c (fan) 200c.

We like this with peas and broccoli but it would work with whatever you have in.  This makes enough for all of us (2 adults and 2 children) plus a couple of freezer portions for Alfie.

p.s.  This makes your kitchen smell gorgeous too!

New York Hotel

This is the Crosby Street hotel in New York.  I would love to sit in that bar terrace for a meal.  Gorgeous.

Have a fab weekend!

(Photos from Crosby street Hotel)

Paperchase

Paperchase is one of my favourite places to pick up little bits for Jamie.  I put our spotty oilcloth mat on the kitchen table, put all our craft things out, and let him get creative. Messy, but great fun!

Toy till

Love this wooden toy till by Bigjigs.  Perfect for my little shopkeeper!  You can purchase this at Amazon.

Monsoon wallpaper

I love how pretty these wallpapers are.  Monsoon is one of mine and my Mum's favourite shops to browse around, their homeware is really beautiful.  Find them and some more designs here.

Italy

This coming weekend we're having an Italy-themed day.  We'll be making pizza, biscotti, eating ice cream, and we're really looking forward to it!  I thought it would be a really good way for Jamie to learn about different countries and cultures.  We're also planning on making Italian flags, and learning how to say hello and goodbye in Italian too.  I will let you know how it goes!

(Photos of Venice from ItalyLogue)

Jamie's Christmas pictures

When Jamie brought these home from nursery my heart just melted.  Of course I'm biased, but I think that snowman is the cutest I've seen, and the googly eyes on the angel make me laugh.  These have had pride of place on the notice board we have in the kitchen over Christmas.

It's Friday!

I love Fridays (who doesn't?).  We have a ritual of tucking the boys in bed, making a nice meal, pouring a couple of glasses of wine, and watching a film.  Such a nice way to end the week and relax for the weekend.  This weekend we have one of Jamie's friends coming round to play.  Jamie is so excited!  I'm also hoping the weather isn't too miserable so we can get out for a nice walk - one of the things on my to-do list this year is to get out for as many walks as possible.

Hope your weekend is fab.

(Photo from we heart it)

Sophie la girafe

Have you met Sophie?  She's possibly the cutest teething toy I've come across.  Alfie has one, and loves it.  He can be biting on it all day and she doesn't look any different than when she came out of the box.  Definitely a must have for your baby :)  You can buy her at Sophie la Girafe.

Californian Wedding

How beautiful is this wedding?!  Those cakes look absolutely stunning.  It is everything I love about a wedding - romantic and casual, it looks so effortless.  I bet the bride and groom had a wonderful time.

(Photos from Style me pretty)

Zara

I'm a big fan of Zara, and their children's clothes are amazing.  I love the bow on the striped dress...so sweet.

Jamie's fourth birthday

On Saturday Jamie turned four (can you tell he's excited from his big cheesy smile?!)  In the morning he came downstairs to his presents (little cars, pens & pencils, some dinosaurs) and lots of balloons all over the floor which had the added bonus of keeping Alfie entertained too :)