What we're watching right now

Illustration by Laura Redburn 

There was a time a while back when we literally didn't watch TV. I would spend all evening working on things I couldn't do in the day when I was looking after Mabli so when the evening came around we'd have dinner, I'd do a few hours work and then I'd be so tired I'd just fall into bed. It took a while to realise the importance of having downtime and whilst I'm not advocating people spending their whole day watching screens I do think it's great to just switch off and watch a good drama!

So on that note I thought I'd compile a list of some of the things we've been loving lately (both us and the kids!).

Starting with my favourite and a series I can't stop raving about - Keeping Faith.
I have to admit I started watching this in the hope it would be as brilliant as everything else Eve Miles is in (I love love love her) and I wasn't disappointed. I find this show (and her) even more brilliant when you find it was recorded in both English and Welsh and that Eve had to learn Welsh in order to play it. We were so gripped each week watching the drama infold and I felt for the characters so much, especially how she keeps it together as a mum though everything thrown as her oh my gosh. Anyway, if you can still find it watch it on catch up ASAP!

My favourite thing the kids have been watching, and something I can also enjoy watching (finally!) it a Series of Unfortunate Events. I remember loving these books so much as a child and I actually didn't think the movie was too bad either but the series is amazing, especially as it has some brilliant actors and dark humour. There's a touch of the Wes Anderson about it too which is always a win for me.

A series I've been revisiting it good 'ol Greys Anatomy. I started watching it for the first time when I was pregnant with Wilf. I went off at 36 weeks (he was born at 39) so I had a good solid few weeks of getting through about 5 seasons. Weirdly I then left it until pregnant with Mabli to watch the rest (must be something about being pregnant and wanting to watch medical dramas. I actually thought I'd watched the finale after what happend to Mc Dreamy so I didn't realise I had a whole 2 new seasons to finish. I'm watching the last one tonight!

Back to kiddos and we are on the 5th Harry Potter book and fourth film. I'm finding as the books go on they don't seem too scary but just deal with a lot of subjects that probably don't interest Wilf so much (like Ron and Hermione getting together). The films are a lot simpler though so even though we are reading each book before the films I think some of it is going over his head now. Still Wilf is loving everything Harry Potter and its nice for me to revisit the books myself to be honest.

Lastly, we just finished watching the second season of Marcella. I usually end of watching them with Tom saying 'this is too far fetched' every 5 minutes or 'Isn't it weird how its always someone she knows' ect ect. Still he did enjoy it despite himself and I hope they do a third.

Let me know if you like these kinds of posts. I'm always interested in recommendations of good shows so if you have watched something brilliant lately, do leave a comment below! 

Watergate Bay the perfect Family UK break - Review

Those of you that have been following my blog for a little while might remember I visited Watergate Bay hotel this time last year for a weekend with some Instagrammer friends. It was my first night away from Mabli (she had just turned one) so was quite a big deal I guess but was such a wonderful trip I thought at the time how I would love to take the whole family back again in the future. Fast forward a year and as if they read our minds the lovely team there dropped us an email to ask us if we'd like to do just that. Of course I jumped at the chance!

In the interest of disclosure I want to write this at the very start of the post and make it clear that we were guests of the hotel in return for a review but of course all words, thoughts and pictures are all my own. 

Watergate Bay simply is THE most family friendly hotel we've ever stayed at. We are lucky enough that we've had the opportunity to review a few now and whilst they all have our plus points Tom and I have both said that we can see ourselves booking into this place year after year as it's just so perfect for all our needs. It helps of course to be set in beautiful Cornwall and we found our journey down to be so stress free. We travelled by train to Bodmin Parkway and the took a 30 min taxi over to the location. The hotel has a contract with a local taxi firm and we were told that it's really common for guests to arrange to be picked up this way. If you are travelling from London you could even jump on a plane as it's right by Newquay Airport too!

We stayed in a family suite which included a large room with king size bed plus a smaller room that had bunk beds for the kids. They loved this and immediately bagged their favourite bunk and popped on the cartoons whilst we unpacked (told you this was an honest review, we thought it was great their room had a small TV because we could already imagine how useful that would be at 6am when they wanted to get up ;)). That evening we went for dinner at the Beach Hut which is a couple minutes walk down from the hotel towards the beach. We ate early as Mabli has a 6ish bedtime and we didn't want to push it too much past this. The Beach Hut has a super chilled out vibe with views out to the beach and a brilliant cocktail menu. We found meals we all loved with a great choice for veggies and in between courses the kids played at the bottom of the restaurant looking out through the large windows out onto the ocean.

The next morning we headed down to breakfast first thing as I couldn't wait to show the kids the famous waffles (they really are SO good).

We had intended the previous evening to put the kids straight to bed but we peeked in at the kids club and once Wilf has seen it he was desperate to play in there for an hour. So Tom took Mabli up whilst he did some crafting and I had a hot chocolate in the Ocean room watching the waves crash in as it got darker. So perfect!

After breakfast we were first to the pool which is just as stunning as you might imagine from pictures, we had the place to ourselves and the children loved splashing about. It's so perfect for everyone as there are dedicated family swim times and adult swim times as well as a shallow pool for little ones. I didn't use it this time around but there is also a hot tub outside from the pool which in warmer weather you can hang out in watching the sea, we actually braved it in the rain last year which felt really amazing actually.

The kids zone was one of the reasons we barely felt like we needed to leave the hotel (we did pop down to the beach twice during our weekend). Wilf LOVES a kids club and always can't wait to get started on the craft actives so he went to each sitting (10-12) and then again (6.30-10) although he only stayed until about 8ish. His group was 3-7 year olds and they do hold a 6m-3 year old session but only in term time so Mabli wasn't able to join him for that however out of the supervised sessions families are welcome to use the rooms and all they have to offer as long as you are with them. We had SO many tea parties and both kids had to be dragged away as they loved it so much. The staff that work in the kids zone are brilliant and I can't thank them enough for how much they engaged with Wilf. We never felt anything but 100% happy with him in their care and I'm pretty sure he preferred having out with them over us tbh.

We ate at all the restaurants whilst we were there but my favourite is definitely the Living Space. On our second night Wilf went into the kids club and we ate there with Mabli at 6.30. We were a bit apprehensive to leave her despite the video baby monitor as she is such a light sleeper (and still wakes a lot during an evening). We took her down with us for this meal and no one bated an eyelid as it's such a chilled out space, there were also families eating at the same time with their children so it felt really relaxed even though we needed to get her to bed by about 7.30.

After our reservations about using a monitor our second full day was actually the day the clocks changed and just so happened that Mabli missed her nap. Knowing she would be knackered we tried to give a child-free meal a go in Zacry's and actually managed three courses and a glass of wine before she woke and Tom was up in the room within minutes. As well as a monitor you can also hire a babysitter if you feel more comfortable although this needs to be arranged before hand.

On our third and last night we moved to a slightly different family room that also had a balcony. It just so happened that this was the first day without rain (good old British weather!) so it was perfect. We were able to chill out outside whilst the kids played around us, you can see more of that space on my video at the end of this post.

The food at Watergate Bay is absolutely brilliant and as a veggie family we never struggled in any of the restaurants to find something everyone loved. The kids ate the carrot and cheese roll twice whilst we were there and they keep talking about it, I need to learn how to make carrot rolls.

I was lucky enough to be offered a massage at the Swim Club on the last day and I can't stop thinking about that too, oh my gosh, blissful.

I honestly can't rate Watergate Bay higher and in my opinion if you are looking for a UK break that's family friendly it's perfect. It offers everything you could want as both adult and child as well as being luxuries and relaxed. I find so often that hotels can either offer one or the other or if they are luxury then they are maybe less child friendly but Watergate Bay really has discovered the perfect mix and we can't wait to book in with them next year!

This post was a review of Watergate Bay, we were gifted a stay which meant we didn't pay for our trip but my opinion is always honest. 

Me and him dates

The transition between being an only child and a big brother was one that went remarkably smoothly. I was warned that him being our sole focus for so long (4 years when Mabli came along) he would struggle with sharing or be resentful but I actually found it to be the complete opposite. Wilf was old enough to understand and feel responsible for his tiny baby sister. Despite there being a few times I felt like I didn't have enough hands or enough time to give them both everything they needed (mum guilt always!) he always took it in his stride and was nothing but happy with his new role.

I've spoken a couple of times about how I try to make solo time for each child now I am a mum of two. Something that's a lot easier with Mabli when Wilf is at school but something that I think it so important to do with Wilf too. We started having 'mummy/wilfie dates' around a year ago and it's become one of my favourite parts of the week. After school on our date day he gets to chose (within reason!) what we get up to and his answer is usually something like going for a hot chocolate at our local supermarkets cafe ha! The best things in life are the little things right?

We're working with Fat Face in this post, one of my favourite brands for so many reasons. Their ethical standards are brilliant and their clothes are so easy to wear and perfect for everyday mum life. I love the colour palettes they chose for their lines and this mac I was gifted from them last year is one the items of clothes I get asked about the most (see more pics here).

It was drizzling a little when we took these photos with my friend Lauren so as you can see Wilf was a big fan of the mac too!

Fat Face also do the most brilliant line of childrenswear (starting from two) and I asked Wilf to pick out the items he wanted to wear for the shoot. I love the ones he's gone for.

The hoody is so soft and comfy and a brilliant fit for him, not too baggy or too tight. I find that Wilf is pretty happy to wear what I chose for him but he is quite particular over comfort so he won't wear a top that he feels is too scratchy for instance (some of my favourite woolly jumpers are now a no-go!). He's worn this top so much since it arrived and it's perfect for this weather we are having at the moment too.

I chose some new dungarees (you might have noticed I have another pair by Fat Face too, they are really the best fit) and paired them with these boots. Wilf chose this 'Creatures of the Deep' T-shirt and they also have some great dino t-shirts too in partnership with the Natural History museum.

We went for cake at the veggie cafe in Clifton called East Village which I'd def recommend (if you are veggie or not) they serve cake slices bigger then your head though so go with an appetite is my only advice.

Thanks so much to Fat Face for working with us again on this post, have you spotted any pieces from the new in range you have your eye on?

In partnership with Fat Face.

Should we stay or should we go?

I've lived in Bristol for almost ten years now (9 and a half to be exact) although I can also lay claim to have been born here, I was only a baby when we moved away. It's always been a place that has immediately felt like home, above no other. I have grown up in Bristol, into the person I am now and the life I now lead. My children were born here, in this very house I type in and in the last few years a slight lilt has effected my voice and the pronunciation of my 'R's' (or as someone I met in London said the other day 'I'm sorry I can't tell what you are saying! It's your accent!' haha

I've made friends here, have a support network. I still discover new places to visit or things to do on a weekly basis and when it's sunny and you're watching the harbour with a pint of cider (ok prosecco but I'm setting the scene) legs dangling over the steps by the cottage I think there is no where in the world I'd rather be.

Except maybe I would?

Last year we came to a decision to sell our house. We'd grown out of the area and house we live in (both literally and metaphorically) and needed a new start. We put it on the market for a few weeks whilst viewing other places, sometimes making offers (and realising that 'offers in excess of' meant minimum excess of about 40k). Work was so busy and exciting for me at that time but with thinking of moving and not having any childcare it was also completely draining and stressful and if I'm honest looking back I think I was probably on the verge of a breakdown.

We came to a point where we had the option of selling our home and moving or Tom giving up his job to work with me. We couldn't do both because we would have needed Tom to stay in his job for the mortgage or leave and focus on growing our business but having to stay in our house.

Although we had an offer on our house at this point we chose the later. We haven't regretted that decision because it's given us some amazing opportunities. For Tom to be at home with kids, to co-parent with me fully and for us to take on some really exciting jobs too. We couldn't have everything we wanted and moving house was something that had to give at this time in our life.

Somewhere along the line whilst playing the Rightmove game I extended my search area massively and came across Cardiff. I mentioned jokingly to Tom about moving there and he didn't laugh at the idea. To get super boring and middle aged the house prices in comparison to Bristol (which is crazy atm) are SO much better. We could afford to move to a much larger house in a much nicer area compared to our options here which are quite limited.

As well as the obvious benefits, Cardiff also has a definite pull for me, being that I spent a large apart of my teens and early adulthood growing up in Wales. I feel a loyalty towards the country and culture and I love the idea of my kids speaking two languages and feeling part of their heritage (my dad is welsh and most of my siblings). Although I don't know it super well it has a great feel to it and I know its a really family friendly city.

Neither of us are 'country people' (ha!) we need to live in a city even if it's a small-ish one. Its important to us to that the kids grow up somewhere with people from different countries or different cultures too. That was pretty lacking from a lot of my childhood in a seaside town and I don't really want the same for the kids.

So the next few weeks are kinda crucial for us I guess, to decide if we should stay or go. Part of me feels scared at the thought of leaving and part of me feels scared at the thought of never leaving (if that makes any sense!).

I'd love to know if you ever had to make a decision similar to ours and how you came to a conclusion!