Halloween Pumpkin Carving

It’s that time of year again to go wild with the face paint and walk the streets in search of sweets and mischief. One of the best traditions in our house has been the halloween pumpkin carving. This is totally the domain of my OH. I’m so proud of him I couldn’t resist the urge to showcase our previous years offerings. We are set to try and beat these beauties this year but we haven’t even bought the pumpkins yet! Everything has been so busy and even though I have seen them in the shops they are yet to make their way to our house. Stay tuned and they will be on show soon! So, back to last years carvings.

The evening started with the humble pumpkin…

A couple of years ago we brought a pack with all the carving tools in it. It was obviously the OH setting the scene for him to get serious!

The preparation has started and all of the insides are taken out. Sounds gruesome but it’s definitely in the Halloween theme. He uses the stencil for the main shape and marks out the outline.

Before we know it, the unveiling is upon us and look….

Oh yeah, not just one, but two! the Prince of Darkness is joined by the Spooky Spider.

I love them and the kids think they are fab! They will sit outside our house on Halloween with candles in them and let people know that we are joining in the fun.

How is your Halloween going so far? Do you love to get into the spirit of it, if so how do you celebrate?

If you have any links to your carvings, please share in the comments section.

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Once you have had fun with the carving you could try my delicious savoury halloween special 4 Steps to a Camembert Funny Mummy

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10 Ingenious Ways to Entertain Kids on Holiday

I’ve been taking my children away on holiday since they were both tiny. I even remember very clearly taking my 2-year-old abroad while I was pregnant and I did that alone whilst potty training the 2-year-old. Now I know lots of parents, single or not have had to do this but I just wanted to set the groundwork that I have some experience of juggling traveling with kids and having to find ways of keeping them entertained! A happy mummy is a happy child in my book. So, I thought that I would share some of my own tips with you which you can add to your own tried and tested methods.

1. Food! Kids love to eat, so whatever is their favourite snack – pack! Remember to pop a small pack of wet wipes in your bag for those sticky fingers!

2. Soothing toy – when mine were tiny my eldest had a small blue bear that went on each and every travel. Even now at 8 and 11 there is always something special that they like to have close to them. I let them decide and *whispers* it’s usually a soft toy!

3. Magazines – whatever the age and whatever the gender there are so many different types of magazines out there to suit almost everyone. It’s a good way to get some reading going on for the kids besides their electronic devices – we’ll get into those later!

4. Colouring books – again, a bit like the magazines there are so many that really cross the different age ranges and the children can be really creative. Colouring books theses days don’t just satisfy the 2-5 year olds thankfully.

5. Textiles – crochet, knitting, teddy bear making, all of these activities can easily be taken on holiday with very little fuss. I remember learning to knit from both of my mans when I was little and it would keep me amused and occupied for hours. It’s also such a great skill to learn for boys and girls.

6. Writing a diary of the holiday is a great way of getting the kids involved in the whole process of the holiday. As you are planning the holiday they can start jotting down what is happening and sticking in pictures from brochures etc. While away they can collect different flyers and leaflets to do with where you are staying and stick and paste.

7. Kids Club – I always book something that has a kids club of some description. Holidays are for all the family and you need some downtime as well. There are baby crèche, mini club, maxi clubs and all sorts to suit all different ages. All you have to do is look for them. It doesn’t mean that they have to go to the club all the time but it’s there as an option. Leave the guilt at home and pop them in there so you can have a couple of hours by the pool without any worry. You’ll be surprised how good it feels if you haven’t tried it.

8. Take your mum or another family member if you can. I’ve been having a holiday with my mum and my children ever since they were born. It’s amazing and for us it adds a very positive dynamic to our holidays. We noticed this year that there are so many grandparents holidaying with family now. I don’t know if I just didn’t notice it before or that it’s become so much more popular. A few years ago we had fun in Alcudia and it was mainly down to my mum being there with us.

9. Take one of their friends….No I’ve not lost the plot. If they are a certain age, around 9 and above then this is a genius idea. Your child will have their buddy and not need anywhere near as much attention (in a good way) as if they were on their own. They will be happy and feel a bit of independence as they will have their mate to explore the venue or even just the kids club where you are staying. Plus and this is a bonus….your child might even get invited away with them next time. It could be time to get out the Romantic weekend away brochures. I bet you thought that would never happen again!

10. Photography – this year my son started wanting to take photos. Whether this is on your phone if you dare trust them or on a disposable camera it’s a great way for them to feel part of it all and take some photos that they can then show around when they get home. It doesn’t really matter if it’s just the tops of heads or random sky photos, it’s theirs and can form part of lots of craft projects when you get home.

Bonus one – If you really need to and if it makes everyone happy then take the kindle, ipad, or whatever it is away with you too. Remember, everything in moderation and “a happy mummy or daddy is a happy child”.

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Please share with me what other ideas work for you and your family. The more the merrier to help make the holidays go as stress free as possible.

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How To Ensure You Don’t Wear The Same Dress As Someone Else At The Prom

For the young fashion-conscious girl who is about to attend the prom, there is always a chance that she chooses exactly the same outfit as another prom goer. This nightmare scenario is at the back of every girl’s mind as she browses prom dresses, and with that in mind, here are some useful tips to ensure that you do not have to endure the awful embarrassment that comes with a twin outfit on the night of the prom.

Create a Closed Group on Facebook – Why not make the best use of technology in your quest to wear a unique prom dress? Then you can invite all of the other girls who are attending to post images of their chosen outfits, which will ensure that you are all wearing something unique. It is always worth remembering that the other girls are also worried about another selecting the same dress. With everyone posting a photo of their chosen outfit, all will be well on prom night.

Buy Your Prom Dress Online – If you go to the local stores, there’s a high chance that some of the other attendees will also shop there and by searching online for a prom dress supplier, you are really narrowing down the odds of a double dress. If you want to look sophisticated in 2019 red prom dresses which are expected to be popular. If you make sure you don’t pass on the URL of your dress supplier, there’s next to no chance of a replica. Buying online is usually less expensive than buying from a traditional dress store, as they do not have the high overheads of a bricks and mortar retailer.

Choose Something Unusual – If you are the self-confident sort, why not throw caution to the wind and choose a dress that is unusual? If nothing else, this will virtually guarantee that your outfit is unique. Also, you can add some colour to the outfit with some stylish accessories, making sure that your outfit stands out for all the right reasons. Once you have made up your mind and purchased your prom dress, keep it a secret, which will ensure that no other girl knows.

Do Some Research – If you wait until the last few days, most of the other girls will have purchased their prom dress and there’s no reason why you can’t ask them about this. In the event there is one who has gone for the same dress, you will have to select something different, although it is highly unlikely if you buy from an online prom dress supplier. If you would like to know the history behind the prom, there are informative articles that will enlighten you.

While this might be every girl’s worst nightmare, by following the above advice, it is highly unlikely that anyone would be wearing the same dress as you. Should the very worst happen and you are wearing the same dress as another girl, laugh it off and put on a brave face, after all, it isn’t the end of the world!

Need help with making sure the dress is perfectly looked after? Look here to see how to make that happen.

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7 Photo Steps to Making a Raised Bed Natural Cover

Using your natural environment to help out with organic gardening is fun and fulfilling. Check out this photo step by step guide to make a natural cover to help keep your veggies that bit safer.

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You can see how we made our raised beds in 5 easy steps here.

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The Long Road to our Loft Conversion

The thought of building work and having the roof of our house taken off is a big step to take. But the space, oh the space and taste of luxury we could end up with! Could be a dream come true.

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After our big project of having the conservatory built we have now started planning on moving upwards into the loft. We’ve been thinking about it for quite a while and even cheekily went to see one of our neighbours who had had a loft conversion to see how they had ended up with their new space.

When we spoke to them we found out that it cost quite a lot of money, way above what I thought. For some reason I had in my head that it was only going to be about 20 or 30k but there was a big big difference. Building is so expensive now, it seems to be a bit over the top. Still I am determined to try to go ahead and see if we can get it within our budget.

I don’t know about you but I tend to rush into things a bit too fast and sometimes that doesn’t always receive the best outcome. Even though it’s a bit difficult for me to say that, my other half is far better at doing all the planning and really looking into things properly. I like to think that I have a good general overview but I must say, Pinterest is normally my best friend when I have any sort of ideas. I can go on that ‘pin’ button and hundreds of ideas come forward immediately, it’s absolutely brilliant and helps me to visualise some of the tiny seeds of ideas that I have flitting around my head trying to take form.

The long road to our loft conversion — So many ideas! Pinterest has alot to answer for.

I left the sourcing and phoning around of people to my other half which he did and before I knew it we had three different builders lined up to come round to give us quotes. They were so different, the first one was a big company type where they have the architects, make the plans and deal with any sort of building regulations and planning applications. They would do the build all for one price and promise if anything goes wrong then they will plan in for any eventuality so you don’t have to worry about a thing. Of course, for this sort of peace of mind and hands off approach you pay a really big price! Eek! This price came out of £55,000+ way ahead anything that we would even think to be able to afford.

The second person who came along was a builder who barely even looked at the loft space and just said well when you’ve got the plans get back to me I can make a price from there. That was really disappointing, that they didn’t seem to have any ideas or give us any guidance at all, he just wanted to work from some plans.

The third one however in my Goldilocks story seem to be just right, they came in and straight away hit it off with my OH, he was personable, not to showy and came up with some really good ideas that we hadn’t t even thought of. The fact that they got on well was great since they would be the two people leading the project suited me down to the ground. I really do want to take a back seat with this and not have to get involved too much with the building side or managing the builders. One of the other little extras that we liked was that he put in a call to one of his clients whom he had completed a loft conversion previously and arranged for us to go round and have a look. To actually see first hand the quality of the craftsmanship was a bonus and my OH took him up on the offer.

the long road to our roof construction — Can you imagine if it rained during this part?

As yet we haven’t come to a firm decision and the price even from the 3rd one is way above what we first thought. We are now at the stage that we have to think;

Can we afford it?

What will it mean to us as a family to have this extra space?

Do we need all the added extras or should we scale down the plans?

Lots to think about but my gut feeling is to go ahead and keep working in the direction of getting it done. This one is a slow burner and needs time to develop.

Any tips or ideas would be so welcome, goodness knows there’s so much to come to grips with, we need all the help we can get.

Please get typing and let me know what you think:)

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Estarer Laptop Bag Review and Giveaway

Timing is key to most things and considering my laptop bag was falling apart at the seams the time was right now to look for a new one. My computer travels more miles than I can imagine. It comes to work every day, it will accompany me on business trips and it travels in continuous circles around my own house, from room to room, up and down the stairs being the faithful servant it is.

So, news flash! I have a new bag! Boy am I pleased with it, I’ve got that office chic feeling again. It’s great what a new bag will do for me.

Today I am not only telling you about this great bag from Estarer but I also have a Giveaway too! You can get your hands on a bag just like this by entering at the end of this post. First though let me tell you a bit more.

I have chosen the brown the version and it also comes in a plum colour. The bag is large and has space for just about everything. If you are a multi tasker then this will be just right. There’s even space for the odd nappy and baby wipe.

I like the short straps as I often get shoulder ache when I have a shoulder strap so this suits me a bit better. However for those of you who like the shoulder strap then there is one included.

The front on the bag has zips and compartments with easy access. If you use a note book jotter for those instant ideas such as blog post ideas or extra items for the never ending to do list then the jotter will be easily within reach using one of these outside pockets.

The bag is large enough for a 15 inch laptop and will also accommodate A4 folders alongside it.

Product Dimensions: 30 x 9 x 40 cm
Weight: 980 g

Overall view of the bag is that it is a good size for me, I will have to be careful not to overfill it or I will struggle with the weight. It is stylish and stands out from the normal run of the mill cases which I have looked at previously.

The Giveaway!

Estarer Womens Laptop Bag

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!

Mainy

Open to EU entries. All entries will be verified. Prize distributed by Estarer directly. Full t&c’s here.

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5 Easy Steps to Making a Raised Bed

With 5 easy steps to making a raised bed you can see in pictures how to put together this easy construction and to get ideas for what materials you can use.

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We have become more and more involved with gardening since moving into our new house a few years ago. I find it so relaxing to be able to potter outside when I get home from work and on the weekend. There are so many jobs that need doing and I spend alot of time with my OH talking about what we can do to make our ideas come to life. Like most people we have to remember to balance what we want with the reality that our garden has to be right for the whole family. Back when we moved in our first project was the spring garden make over where some of the things we considered were how we could make the garden ‘boy friendly’ as our boys love playing football.

This year we have looked at having a raised bed at the far end of the garden to make use of a little patch that has been all but forgotten. It’s a bit shady and was just a great big mound of earth that really looked a bit soft and not good for anything.

For ages we said that we should do something with it and last year I scattered a few beetroot seeds over it just as a passing thought. Nothing came of them really as it gets trodden on when the bikes are bought out of the shed and once again its left looking a bit sorry for itself.

So this year it was time to do something about it and make it work for us. We decided on a raised bed, we are not full on DIY people but as you can see from our pallet garden, my OH can construct a thing or two and that recycled garden area has been a great success using free pallets and a little bit of brain power. It lasts really well too.

So back to the raised bed at hand. We decided on a structure we could put together easily without cutting and drilling, one of the reasons being because we don’t have the tools to hand. We are big fans of recycling so it was a step away from using what we had around to buying in the metal and using the fast track choice. This will mean that we will be making use of it for a long time or if we do change the use of it then we will ourselves recycle the materials. There are lots of different stores which sell these and we chose one that was having a closing down sale so picked it up for a bargain price.

For this 5 Easy Steps to Making a Raised Bed I’ve used pictures to show how my two happy helpers got stuck in …and how quick it was to create.

Step 1

Here’s the patch of earth I was talking about before, pretty basic eh? We gave it a rough measuring out beforehand. My son and OH then created a flat area and gave it a good weeding.

Raised Bed — My son showing off the ‘before’ area.

Step 2

Like any good construction project my chaps had a good long look at all the bits they were going to assemble! Oh and by now it started to rain!

Step 3

Structure up and slotted together perfectly, no banging on the fingers, hopping on one foot after dropping a hammer, nada!

Step 4

At this point I think I did help with the carrying up to the end of the garden, or at least shouting encouraging words, I can’t quite remember. The bed fitted in perfectly.

Step 5

Numerous trips then followed to bring the soil and compost up there to fill it up. We roughed up the base soil which it was sitting on first so that it would feed in the nutrients from the rich soil we were putting on above.

We were now ready to go! I have been reading and thinking about what I want to try growing in this area and it will be mainly root vegetables but for the first year I will have a little experiment with a few different types. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes. For now this is a brilliant raised bed completed in just one afternoon.

What projects have you been carrying out in your garden?

What do you think to the idea of a raised bed?

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Free Pallet Patio Garden

Easy Step by Step Guide

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Fancy growing your own fruit and veg? I thought the same and am now managing just that! Here’s how to build your own free pallet patio garden.

Last year I had a new patio and it’s a great area to sit out in as it captures a lot of sun. The boys use our garden to play football and I learnt the hard way that football and plant borders don’t mix well! I actually get upset when I see the ball thud into the plants and race over to see whats happened. The boys then scurry away waiting to see if yet another tomato plant has bitten the dust.

So when the patio was laid I started thinking of ways that I could enjoy growing some fruit and vegetables on the patio.

I wanted a way to use recycled products and make something that really made the most of the small compact space we had.

Here’s a step by step guide to how I made this brilliant pallet patio garden out of mainly recycled bits and bobs, for free!

Free Pallet Patio Garden — Our blank canvas!

We put a base down so that the structure wouldnt sit directly on the slabs and cause too much discolouration.

Here is my other half fixing a free pallet that we picked up onto the back of the crate used to deliver the patio slabs in. If you can get hold of more pallets then use them to make a crate. You can find them on free sites or even in skips.

We had some weed suppressor mat in the shed and if you havent got anything like that hanging around then they are easy to pick up very cheaply. I just wanted something lining the inside that would help with keeping the pots contained and not having the water running straight out onto the ground.

The you are all ready to go and start putting in the pots that you wish to have there. What I found useful was that on the sunny days I can move the pots onto the top of the back pallet and they can make use of the sunshine. When it’s a windy day they can nestle back into the base and be a bit more protected.

You can see by these photos how the plants are coming along. The potatoes are growing well and the carrots on the right hand side in the base are showing nicely. I’ve planted onions next to them as apparently they fend off one of the mites that would eat the carrot tops.

Come back soon for an update and more than likely a recipe made out of some of the home grown veg. It will be great to see you again.

Have you got any tips on growing veg in small spaces? You might be a seasoned pro or just starting out. I’d love to hear.

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First written by me in the summer of 2017 and as I’ve started putting my new seedlings in it again this year I just had to share it with you again.

How to Select the Perfect Stone for Your Partner’s Engagement Ring

The stone is a crucial, central element to any engagement ring. It will be the main focal point whenever your fiancé shows the ring off to her or his friends. The stone will also be the first thing your loved one sees.

It’s a big decision and one that shouldn’t be rushed. A good amount of thought and effort should be done before selecting the appropriate stone for the engagement ring.

If you are still searching for the perfect engagement ring, why not check out The Diamond Jewellery Studio. You will discover a range of rings boasting an array of stones with all various cuts and shades. To find out more information, simply arrange an appointment or visit their website.

What Factors Should You Consider When Choosing The Stone?

There are a few factors you should think about when you start looking at stones. These are:

Understand your partner’s stylistic preferences

Getting to know what your loved one likes and dislikes is crucial to choosing a stone they will fall in love with. You want to check their collection to see what diamonds they may have already, shades and colours they love and which gemstones they are naturally drawn towards.

Getting to know your budget

Being confident on how much you have to spend on the engagement ring is another important factor. This will ultimately dictate the stone and various other factors such as carat and cut. It’s also important to remember that the price tag isn’t everything. You can often find something much more meaningful that expresses what you want without spending huge amounts of money. Check the exquisite range at The Diamond Jewellery Studio and be amazed by what they have on offer.

If you want to get a ring that will fit more with your budget, you can go down the customized route and design the engagement ring yourself. Nothing is more personal and intimate than this. You will also be surprised to discover that this option has a good amount of flexibility and can tailor to a range of budgets.

Think about the stone’s durability

You don’t want a stone that will scratch easily or catch. Each gem will have its own set of rules to keep it looking pristine and in great condition. This will be dictated largely by the type of stone and how durable it is.

As you may have guessed, diamonds are the most durable with the highest rating for hardness. However, there are an array of different stones out there that are long-lasting and tough also.

Consider if your partner would appreciate a unique stone

Your loved one might not be the typical diamond type and take you by surprise. Going for something stunning yet unusual like a sapphire is a lovely and more affordable alternative. You will often find these unique gemstones come in a wide range of hues and also are scratch-resistant. This means they will stand the test of time and be durable.

Considering these factors before you choose the stone is crucial to finding something special that your partner truly loves.

Don’t forget, you could add to the surprise by baking a chocolate treat! Just a thought:)

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This is a collaborative post

London in the Wintertime

I love the winter and it was great to be in London recently with the London Eye sparkling in the winter sunshine.

London in the Wintertime

The day was hectic with work and a lot of rushing around and pre-speech nerves then the buzz of the presentation being over. To whiz over the bridge afterwards and to catch this view made me feel really happy and thankful.

I would’ve loved the time to walk along the Southbank but that will be for another day.

One of the many benefits and joys of having my blog is I can share this glimpses with you.

I’d love to see some of your favourite photos. You can always tag me in on Instagram as I’d love to visit and you can find me on Instagram at myrealfairyblog

For now I will leave you with this view. Even the reflection of the taxi window adds to the essence of the photo for me.

I’d love your thoughts 💭

Mainy

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For some more stunning scenery pictures have a look at my trip to Stourhead National Trust site.