An exciting announcement!

Wednesday, November 30, 2016 Permalink
Baby scan photo on calendar showing June 2017

Yes, it probably is what you're all thinking! You might have noticed I've been a bit quiet on the blogging front lately. But I'm so pleased to be able to finally let you all know the reason why - we're expecting a new addition to the Hot Pink Wellingtons family! Assuming all goes to plan, in June 2017 we will be welcoming a new little one into our family - Max will be a big brother! I'm so excited, and it's something that we've wanted for a long time. But it's been a hard going 12 weeks so far. I think anyone who knows me in real life will know that I had terrible pregnancy sickness last time, and this time round ...

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A magical visit to Lapland UK 2016

Tuesday, November 29, 2016 Permalink
Mummy and Max making a wooden bear in the Toy Factory at Lapland UK

I should say from the outset, that I'm a huge lover of all things Christmas. I just can't get enough of it - whether it's Christmas carols, decorating the tree, making wreaths, baking gingerbread, I love all of the traditions that make Christmas what it is. And last weekend we were lucky enough to have a Christmas experience that will stay with us forever - a visit to Lapland UK. Lapland UK is based in Swinley Forest on the outskirts of Ascot and is in it's 10th year. Living locally to Lapland UK I've heard friends raving about it, but this is the first year that we've felt that Max would be old enough to go, being 2 and a half. ...

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Living Arrows 48/52

Monday, November 28, 2016 Permalink
Lapland UK for 2 year old

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth – Kahlil Gibran   Last weekend we were lucky enough to visit Lapland UK to see Father Christmas. Max (and I!) loved every moment, and one of the highlights was building this little stuffed reindeer in the elves' Toy Factory. Max did such a great job, and was so proud to hand it to the elves at the end ready for wrapping!  

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A lazy Sunday morning with breakfast in bed

Sunday, November 27, 2016 Permalink
Croissants, coffee and jam

I love the weekends - especially when it gets to this time of year, there's nothing better than all snuggling up together in bed. Having exciting things to do at the weekend is great, but sometimes you just need that quiet time at the start of the day, to all get together and just relax. Time just slows down and there's no rush to anything - just you and your family all cuddled up together. So when we were sent lots of yummy pastries from the lovely people at Brioche Pasquier, I knew that Max would love having a breakfast picnic in bed.     There were mini croissants, pain au chocolates, pain au lait, all individually packaged to keep everything fresh, and ...

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#SharingtheBlogLove #22

Thursday, November 24, 2016 Permalink
#SharingtheBlogLove

A big welcome to week 22 of #SharingtheBlogLove! I love running this linky with my lovely friend Laura at Dear Bear and Beany. Thank you so much to everyone who joined us last week - there were some wonderful posts to choose from, and I'm starting to see lots of Christmas posts appearing which always makes me so happy!   On with the linky!   What's #SharingtheBlogLove all about? If you are new to Sharing the Blog Love it is a weekly showcase of our favourite posts that have linked up. It's a chance to introduce you to new blogs and to share the wonderful writing that exists in the blogging world. All you have to do is link up your post, then Laura and I will both read all ...

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Sharing the Blog Love - Showcase 22

Thursday, November 24, 2016 Permalink
Sharing the Blog Love - Blogger Showcase

A big welcome to our 22nd week of #SharingtheBlogLove and our weekly Blogger Showcase! If you're new to #SharingtheBlogLove, these are mine and Laura's favourite posts from last week's linky. As part of the linky we'd like you to choose one post from each showcase post to head over and leave a comment to show them some extra blog love.   Lucy's Locket In this day and age I find it incredible that society still has such outdated views of what a Dad should be. So often we hear about Dad's 'babysitting' their own children, and people seem to find it necessary to congratulate any Dad who appears to be a hands on parent. Lucy's post 'Dad's Day' got this spot on for me. The admiration for Dad's ...

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Growing your Instagram Following

Wednesday, November 23, 2016 Permalink
How to build your Instagram following

I don't profess to be an expert on Instagram by any means. But it's fast become my favourite social media platform, my 'happy place', and I'm really pleased to have built a following of over 2000 followers from scratch in a year. It's perhaps not a hugely impressive figure compared to accounts with over 10K, but it's one that is very achievable for someone starting out. Of course, it goes without saying that follower numbers aren't the be all and end all, but if you're serious about using your Instagram account as a business, then a large follower count is a huge part of why a brand would want to work with you, as well as factoring into things like your Tots100 and Klout ...

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5 Happy Things #26

Saturday, November 19, 2016 Permalink
The Island - St Ives, viewed from Portmeor Beach

I can't believe it's been 3 weeks since I posted a 5 Happy Things post - time flies! But that means there are lots of great things to choose from to go into this week's list.   01. We had a lovely week's break down in St Ives, Cornwall, principally to celebrate both my parents turning 60, but John, Max and I managed to sneak in a few days on our own too before everyone else got down. I always worry that a change of scenery will be difficult for Max but he's becoming much more adaptable as he gets older, and was very taken with the 'holiday house'. Of course his sleeping was a different matter and he definitely found it difficult ...

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#SharingtheBlogLove #21

Thursday, November 17, 2016 Permalink
#SharingtheBlogLove

A big welcome to week 21 of #SharingtheBlogLove! I love running this linky with my lovely friend Laura at Dear Bear and Beany. Thank you so much to everyone who joined us last week. There are a few changes this week - Laura and I have decided to close the linky on Sundays instead of leaving it open until Tuesday. We've noticed that later linkers are not getting as many comments, so we hope that this will benefit everyone. We had a lovely break last week down in Cornwall - mixed weather as you'd expect from this time of year, but it's always a beautiful part of the country to escape to. It's been a push to get back on track with the ...

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Sharing the Blog Love - Showcase 21

Thursday, November 17, 2016 Permalink
Sharing the Blog Love - Blogger Showcase

A big welcome to our 21st week of #SharingtheBlogLove and our weekly Blogger Showcase! If you're new to #SharingtheBlogLove, these are mine and Laura's favourite posts from last week's linky. A big thank you so much to everyone who has joined us, it really is a pleasure to have such a variety of posts to choose from every week!   Five Little Doves I'm a regular reader of Laura's blog, and I've really felt for her watching Eva settle into school and finding it so tough. I found her post, What to do when your child hates school, such a heartbreaking read. It's always awful to watch your child going through something that you can't help with, but when you notice such a big change in ...

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