Christmas in November

Okay don't think I'm crazy, but this year with a growing bump and a toddler to contend with, I've decided to start my preparations for Christmas a little early.

It's been quite fun actually, I really feel like me and froggy are starting a magical Christmas tradition. He's been a fantastic helper, and hopefully it means I can but my feet up a little more in the run up to Christmas rather than dashing around with swollen ankles and spd. *shakes fist and rotten pregnancy symptoms*

So here is my week that was:

Sunday: Me and the toddler made some Christmas gifts

Using just scrap jars, glass bottles and tissue paper. The result was surprisingly pretty, and very different from your traditional toddler made macaroni necklace style Christmas gift. He especially enjoyed the mix of texture from scrunchy paper to sloppy pva.

Monday: we made pumpkin cookies .

The recipe is vegan and dairy free but still tasted great. We tested our new mug hugging festive cookie cutters.

Tuesday: we braced the wet and the cold to have a magical late autumn adventure at The Vyne in Basingstoke. It's a lush place to go with kids and easy to get too as it's just off the M3. They also do cracking hot chocolates and baby cinos.

Thursday: we tried making our own mincemeat. It was really easy and Homemade mincemeat taste so much better.

Friday: was Christmas Chutney making day. Froggy helped me style the photos for my post. He also enjoyed the taste testing very much.

Saturday: we made piccalilli for daddy. It takes a while to mature so should be quite pokey on Christmas day when we give it to him.

If you too are an early festive planner, make sure you follow me on Twitter to join in with #festivefridays link up starting this week.

Little Bloom- Cloth Nappy reviews

If you are a newbie in cloth its hard to know what to buy. I've been using Cloth Nappies for 16 months with my first born, and am preparing to have two in cloth when my daughter arrives in May. You could say I'm somewhat of cloth nappy pro. I've moved on from my start up stash, and invest in nappies that will see us through til froggy potty trains, and ideally ones his baby sister can use afterwards too! Pocket nappies are great for this purpose and this week I'm reviewing the little bloom nappies You can grab little bloom nappies on amazon from as little as £2.89 delivered. So they are a cheap option but are they cheerful enough to do the job?

Starting our kitchen garden

Growing our own food has been an ambition of my husband and I. We both really value locally sourced produce, and enjoy spending time outdoors. In our first home together (a basement flat in the city centre) we planted anything and everything we could in planters on the windowsill. I had green beans trailing up the bars of our windows. They bolted and twirled up the bars but never got enough light to produce anything edible. Then we moved into our first pub which had masses of outdoor space, unfortunately, all car park and no dirt. We managed to sustain some hanging baskets with strawberries and a few herb planters, but that was about it. Now we are in our new home. A lovely country pub in the new forest, whiich offers a private garden just for our little family. We moved here when I was 8 months pregnants and ever since, I've been desperate to make the most of it. Since the new year we've been planning what to do with this neglected space. I found this

Sowing in January- kitchen garden and allotments

What can I grow this January? After the business of December, January has hit me like a sledgehammer. I'm bored. I need a new project, and what I really want to do is get on top of my allotment and kitchen garden.

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