Five Of My Favourite Pinners

Last month I shared some of my favourite Instagram accounts, so I thought this month I would share some of my top Pinterest-ers. I have been a fan of Pinterest for a few years now and although I don't have a huge following on there, I prefer to use it for ideas and inspiration. I have many boards on there from home decor, birthday party planning, recipes to play ideas, and I regularly pin new ideas when I need something different to try or when the children are fed up and need entertaining.

So here are some of my go-to pinners who always share amazing ideas, fun playtimes and gorgeous images that make me return to their boards time and time again.

Edspire

I think Jennie was one of the pinners I discovered right at the start and have always loved. A big advocate of safe sleeping, learning through play and of course SID's, her boards are a great resource for anyone with babies and young children. And her Messy Play for Matilda Mae posts were a great inspiration for myself and others last year to celebrate a young life whilst teaching our children through play.

Grow A Jeweled Rose

When Messy Play For Matilda Mae began last year I was inspired to create imaginative and amazing worlds for the children involving different textures and themes. Since then the messiness of our play has reduced however I still like to make it fun and different. This is where Grow A Jeweled Rose comes in. There are so many ideas on these boards you will never have enough days to get through them all. No matter what you are searching for I can guarantee you can find it here and she is a must-see pinner.

Rebecca English

Whilst I have been following Rebecca's boards for a while, I only really began to take notice and appreciate her boards after listening to her talk at this year's Blog On conference. She has taught me a lot about Pinterest and I love having a peek at her pins. As well as a multitude of craft and play ideas, do check out her blogging board for tons of tips on how to get the most from Pinterest and your blog.

Red Ted Art

If there's one blogger that Pinterest was made for, it's Maggie at Red Ted Art. Her boards are an amazing resource for any craft activity you could ever think of - nature, recycled, teachers, seasonal being just a few. If you are looking for some ideas made from items you can often find laying around your home and are looking to introduce more crafts in your children's learning then this is one pinner you really shouldn't miss.


Red Rose Mummy

A fellow northerner, I really enjoy Pippa's boards, which not only have the popular crafts and recipes ideas, but also lots on local days out. She hosts the What's Happened, What's Happening linky and repins posts from everyone who joins in each week, which makes a great collaborative board of fun days out.

Review: Rockabilly Toothbrush

Brushing teeth has always been an important part of the children's routine for me, however it has been met with many a battle. At firs the kids love it and think it is a great novelty, then you practically have to pin them down when that novelty wears off. As they get older they need encouraging to actually brush rather than suck the toothpaste off and this can be met with more challenges.

Low Energy Play: Gloop

This month's low energy play seems like a very messy play on the outside. Stick with it though, as looks can be deceiving.

Giveaway: Vosene Kids

It's that time of year when many parents are preparing for Back To School. Many of us are doing that for the first time and it can be completely overwhelming (and emotional) when you've never done it before. Vosene are doing their bit to minimise the stress and have put together a back-to-school backpack filled with some essential bits to give us parents a helping hand.

Whilst it's nothing something we really like to think about, nits can be a common problem in schools. Vosene have created a go-to website filled with information and also offering a place where parents can register a concern about head lice and be in with a chance of winning samples of the shampoo and spray. Their Kids 3in1 Conditioning Shampoo and Conditioning Defence Spray is included in the pack as well as a pencil case and £10 Tesco voucher. To enter simply follow the Rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Eureka Museum With Little Live Pets

At the weekend we were invited to visit Eureka Museum in Halifax for the day with Little Live Pets. The last time I visited the museum was with high school about fifteen years ago and I remember really enjoying it, so I was looking forward to visiting as an adult and having a day with the children.

Living With Invisible Illness

The world has been shaken this week by the sad loss of Robin Williams. Battling depression and apparently in the early stages of Parkinsons, he decided he could no longer carry on and took his life.

Unfortunately for many of us these thoughts are not foreign. I'm sure lots of people out there battling their own demons have gotten to the point of 'I just can't do this anymore.' To some of us it is a fleeting thought, for some of us it is a call for help and to some it is a decision, one that that changes lives.

Home Decor: A Fairytale Bedroom

Six months ago I wrote about my plans for H's bedroom. After living in our new house for eighteen months we have slowly been working through it room by room, getting rid of the magnolia everywhere and adding our own touches. It is still an ongoing process but when we moved Little J into Miss H's toddler bed in May and bought her a new mid-sleeper bed I knew the time had come to get on with my ideas.

It has still taken another three months to finally get it all done, and there are still a few bits to finish off, but I want to show you the result of months of planning, preparing and creating.

Four Easy Farm Play Ideas Featuring Fisher Price

We have recently been sent the Fisher Price Little People Fun Sounds Farm to try out and it has made a fantastic addition to our playtime. We already have the Noah's Ark Boat, Zoo Talkers and DC Batcave in the Little People range and it was great to have a new addition to our sets. I decided to set up a few farm-related plays for the week so we could really discover all about the farm and get the most out of our playtime.

Birthday-Versary 2014

Every year myself and Mr H try to do something on our to celebrate both my birthday and our wedding anniversary - which are on the same day. Sometimes it's a weekend away, sometimes it's just spending the day together quietly at home. This year we hadn't planned anything in particular so when they day came we decided to have a quiet wander around the nearby village of Knutsford and then visit Tatton Park.

Beautiful Knutsford

I can't do too much walking and the gardens at Tatton were quite enough for me, but the weather held out and it was a really lovely day. I even managed to peruse a crafty shop or two and, of course, make some purchases.

My purchases

It's now been eight years since the day we took our vows and celebrated our special day in front of all of our family and friends. Several moves and two children later we are still going strong. I don't know where I'd be if it wasn't for this man. Happy Anniversary to my darling husband. May we still be just as crazy in another eight years!

Review: Sun Jellies Shoes

When I came across Sun Jellies across several feeds on Instagram I adored them. I had a pair when I was a child, along with the Jelly bag, and it really took me back to times of splashing in the sea and exploring rock pools on holiday. So when we were offered two pairs to try I couldn't say no. The timing was also perfect as we were due to go away to Cornwall.

My Top Buys This Week

I am an avid Internet shopper, whilst I am battling M.E. it is a struggle to get out of the house and as a result I am often hitting the online high street instead. With apps like Instagram I get tons of inspiration and find lots of unique buys, as well as hunting websites myself. I thought I would share some of my recent buys, a lot of which I share on my IG account, so do take a look over there too.

The White Skirt

I have been looking for a long pleated white skirt for a while, ever since I saw the lovely Charlotte at Write Like Noone's Watching wearing one. Unfortunately at my short stature it is hard to find a length that suits me so it took a couple of tries. This weekend it arrived - a gorgeous skirt from ASOS with a lovely sheer overlay that billows beautifully in the wind and flies down the stairs behind me. It is reduced to £26 and is actually classed as midi length, but it's the perfect length on me and I loved wearing it for our anniversary day.

Me & Mine: June & July

Unfortunately I have fallen a little behind and so missed last month's Me & Mine, so here is a double catch up of our activities!

Miss H

Our little lady is becoming more grown up by the day. She now has proper conversations with me and I sometimes feel I'm talking to a child much older than she actually is. She seems to have dropped all her baby-isms - the last one being 'lellow'. Although I've encouraged her to overcome these milestones, it still makes me sad - soon she will be telling me she's not going to say mummy anymore!