Category:

Family

Manchester

by thelifestylelady May 23, 2017

I didn’t want to start this post with pleasantries, mainly because I don’t feel like it. I hadn’t planned to write but I felt I needed to. I am of course referring to Manchester, bizarrely being a Brit in the US meant due to the time difference I was aware of the attack before many of my friends and family, they were tucked up in bed blissfully unaware of the brutality occurring. During my lifetime there have been too many attacks in the name of terror, but something about this particular one has resonated with me. I think being a mother of a young daughter I could relate. Yes Little L is only 3 but I could see her and her friends wanting to see a music concert. It is a right of passage for a young girl to go to their first music concert, often to see a band or performer whom you slightly obsess over, for me it was Take That. I remember going with friends to see them, in fact I was probably aged 12 or 13 so very similar to many of the audience in Manchester. I think the motivation of attacking an event where the vast majority of the audience are young girls horrifies me. I am not sure why I feel shocked after all these young female concert goers represent everything so abhorrent to the terrorists. I have been through all the emotions, numbness, tears and anger. I cried this evening after a young lady Olivia Campbell (15) was pronounced dead, her parents had been looking for her all day. I heard her heartbroken mother on CNN on the night of the event when they could not find her. Now the unimaginable horror has been confirmed, how are they and others who have lost their children supposed to continue? It is not the natural order.

I had noticed today that my feelings were focusing on anger, who wouldn’t be angry? Life being taken to young and unnecessarily. I’m angry that these events make me question my parental style and shape what I might let my daughter do or behave in the future. As a mother I am one to push independence, I think I have mentioned before that I feel it is my role to give Little L the wings to fly. I want her to go to music concerts, travel and experience life in the ways that our society allows. I have to remember that anger breeds anger, hate breeds hate etc. If I remain angry I allow these monsters to win. It made me feel sick on Monday because I had just explained to Little L that monsters don’t exist, I lied, they do and they hide in plain sight. I don’t want to feel angry that is not justice for all those people who died or have been injured. I pray that the media do not continue to name the bomber or show his face, after all that promotes the infamous martyrdom that they so desire. I have to remember that as much as I want to hunker down, not go out and wrap Little L up in cotton wool that is not the answer. We must stand united, we must allow our girls the freedom to be who or whatever they want, after all that will bother them far more. They are not worthy of my emotion.

Instead I will spend my next days thinking of those affected, I can not imagine what those parents and loved ones are going through. There are no words. As a tribute to their angels I need to continue to raise Little L the way I want. I need to spend more time listening and being kind to others. I need to be a better and more present member of society, I should worry less about minutia and care more about what is going on around me. I should appreciate the small things, so today take a moment look around you at what is beautiful about the world. Take time to appreciate the moment and your loved ones because if this event has taught us anything it has shown us how precious and fragile life is.

To those affected I am so so sorry that mankind is so cruel.

Kate x

May 23, 2017 2 comments

Editorial Family

Monday Musings

by thelifestylelady May 22, 2017

Howdy Y’all,

Happy Monday! How was your weekend? Our weekend was relaxed although we are starting to get anxious as our moving date approaches. There is still much to do at our new place! It is in that state where everything looks started and nothing finished, I am not sure if that makes sense but it makes me feel a little uneasy. I finally got to see the color I have chosen for much of my living areas and I was relieved that it looked good. I will be honest and say that Little L’s pink bedroom might be a tad to pink for my liking and am inclined to get it toned down and then I think Champagne Problems – get a grip! She is only little for such a short time and she adores pink! I am really looking forward to writing or filming (do you have a preference?) all about our new place. I think it will look smashing when it is complete.

If you are a hardened TLL reader/subscriber you may notice a few changes around here. I was a little sick of my previous layout and although I am not sure that I love this either, you know what they say a change is better than a rest and since a rest seems unlikely in the next weeks I settled on the former. I do think it has a more contemporary feel, but as always would appreciate your feedback.

Gertie is settling in well and seems to have doubled in size! I will be honest a puppy and a three year old is a little challenging. Little L and Gertie adore each other, I am staggered at how well Gertie behaves with Little L (she can be a little rough at times) although Gertie seems to get her own back. Toddlers do not seem to have the knowledge to let sleeping dogs lie and likes to aggravate. We are facing a few potty training challenges, after surviving toddler training you would think this would be a walk in the park but little Gertie has taken a penchant to silk rugs for her number twos. Enough said. Mr L and I joked that our lives seems to radiate around piss and poop. Generally though she is a dream and the bond between our little family is strong she is a much loved and welcomed addition. I will be doing a video soon on all Gertie has taught me about being a doggie mama.

I often speak of homesickness, the longer you are away from home the easier it becomes or it is easier to manage I am not sure which. Britain will always be home it is in my blood and soul, I pride myself on being very British even when I look like a burnt lobster living in Texas. I love living in America and please hear me I love this country to, I am so fortunate to be making this place home. This weekend I felt homesick when I saw pictures of The Middleton Wedding, there is something so special about an English country wedding, it really resonated, bringing back memories of our special day 7 years ago. Didn’t they all look breathtaking. Whether you are pro or anti monarchy it was a beautiful affair. Pippa looked as a bride should, simply beautiful. The dress, veil, makeup was understated elegance and no contouring in sight (praise the Lord.) I will add that HRH The Duchess of Cambridge and her beautiful children looked classy and regal. Mr L and I had a very similar day (slightly downscaled!) but we married in the village church followed by a marquee reception in my family garden. I loved how beautiful the event was in a time where the news is well dark and sad. My brother is getting married next year and this has made me quite excited. I wish the new Mr & Mrs James Matthews every happiness for their future lives together.

This week I’m not sure how much posting I will get done, I am flying around preparing for the move, but I wish you all a happy week.

Ta ta for now,

Kate

May 22, 2017 1 comment

Editorial Family You tube

Life Update & Meet Our New Family Member

by thelifestylelady May 8, 2017

Howdy Y’all,

Goodness gracious me it feels like forever since I sat down to write, it has been a while, so sorry. Today’s video gives you a very brief explanation into what is going on at the moment and why I have been a little radio silent. How are y’all? What is going on in your world?

Enjoy

Tata for now,

Kate x

May 8, 2017 1 comment

Editorial Family

The Alternative Christmas Message

by thelifestylelady December 30, 2016

Howdy Y’all,

Happy Friday, are you enjoying the calm before the storm of New Year. Yesterday was the first down day Little L and I had since arriving in the UK and we really needed it. Most of the time was taken reorganizing for the next few days of visiting. I often find this time of year very reflective, you think about what the year has brought you, whether you have met the goals you set etc. I think I can quite honestly say that 2016 has been annas horribilis both personally and globally. I am not one to harp on the negative but try and see light through the dark times and I am making a conscious decision 2017 will be better. This morning while I was reaquaniting myself with the world and global affairs I sat and watched this video. I will reiterate the point I have made about this blog not being political this is not my motivation, but when I come across something which touches me and makes me reflect on humanity and our thoughts and deeds towards others I want to share with y’all. This video was the alternate Christmas message offering created by Channel 4. For those of you not from the UK or Commonwealth, each year on Christmas Day the Queen delivers a message to her subjects about the year, Channel 4 offer another message. This years message was delivered by Mr Brendan Cox, Mr Cox is the husband of MP Jo Cox (Member of Parliament) who was tragically murdered in June. She was stabbed and shot by a man shouting “put Britain first.” Mrs Cox has left behind her husband and two young sons, despite all the hardship and devastation this family has faced Mr Cox delivers to me a thought provoking, articulate and heartbreaking message about the world in which we now live and how we can make 2017 better. I urge you to take the two minutes required to watch the video and to consider his message.

To you my friend, reader, subscriber I wish you a very Happy and Healthy 2017.

Ta Ta for now.

TLL x

December 30, 2016 1 comment

Editorial Family

Happy Birthday Little L &Wth World?

by thelifestylelady November 7, 2016

Howdy Y’all,

Firstly happy Monday, this post is late today because I spent most of last week sick and this weekend was about my daughter and priorities. Yes she is another year older, three today,where have those three years gone? We have done lots I have aged what feels like a century,but bizarrely it feels like only yesterday I was driving with Mr L and Mummy L to the hospital. That little 7lb 3oz bundle of love is now a very sassy, independent, sweet, funny and bright young lady. She lives for Disney Princesses and Tutu’s but loves Lego and bricks. I feel this year acutely because we only moved a few months ago and don’t have the infrastructure that we have had in previous years. (It takes time to make friends!) This meant we didn’t have a party, although our great friends came for tea yesterday and she had a ball. This is the Debbie Downer for the way we live, it also hurts that she is far away from family and long term friends, but one has to “suck it up.”

I have been in a reflective mood this week, (which often happens in birthday season.) I am concerned about the world Little L is growing up in. It seems so apt I am feeling this way, when my daughter is celebrating her birthday the day before history could be made, with the US potentially electing its first female President. I have never made this blog political and I don’t wish to start. Those who know me personally will know I have held an elected political office during my lifetime, so it is a passion of mine. I have always welcomed healthy debate, differing opinions, educated and informed reason. I have dreamt of the time when being a women would not be noted in political office because it would be the norm. That has not come as quickly as I imagined, frankly I think it is disgraceful it has taken till 2016 for a major contender for President to be a women. I do not think the gender, ethnicity or sexuality of a person should determine whether they are fit for office, more their moral grounding, experience and work ethic. Here I face my problem. I want to be excited that potentially for the first time in my life and Little L’s young life we could see women running three of the major Western nations. I want Little L to see that the glass ceiling is smashed, I want her to see that the world is her oyster, but my problem is that I want her to see these things and be able to achieve these things not by degrading herself in a process which has no moral compass .

As a mother I work and try hard to teach Little L right from wrong, to be kind to others, be respectful and understand why someone is being mean. I try to teach her that often when people do something unkind it is because they are hurting or unsure. It is very difficult to teach these lessons when the potential leaders of her nation have such blatant disregard for these simple lessons. Honestly how low can people sink? I am very proud to be a guest of this country, I am often touched by the friendly and welcoming nature of my friends and neighbors, good people, people like us trying to teach their children decent values for which humanity should stand. I am genuinely disturb that my three year old hears the kind of vocabulary and slurs which have been used this campaign season in the regular media. Words and accusations that I can not even type they are so disgraceful. Even in my neighborhood (and it is a very decent one) there has been vandalism of peoples property which my daughter could see and heated dialogue about sign stealing. I think this has been the most hostile and angry campaign I have seen in my lifetime. Why can people not have healthy debate? Why is it not ok to disagree with each others ideas but still remain friendly and show each other respect? When did it become ok to vandalize, steal and shout abuse at people?

I hope after tomorrow whatever the outcome people can accept the result, move forward in peace and unity. I pray the same thing for my own country with Brexit, the country spoke and the majority rules, it may not have been my wish but part of being a grown up is accepting outcomes and moving forward. After all “you win some and you loose some.” For Little L’s sake I do hope we are not faced with another campaign of personal disrespect and anger. It is so disengaging. I believe so many people have been turned off by this constant news cycle of slurs. For young people this is not ok. I mentioned earlier I wanted to raise Little L to be socially responsible and interested in international development,it worries me that this sort of behavior will cause apathy and disinterest and ladies lets remember what women went through to get the vote. We want a youth engaged, energized and caring about the worlds future. So I pray perhaps naively that after tomorrow we can move forward together standing together, upholding the simple lessons which we teach our babies.

So sorry this turned into a little of a tirade, but it has been bubbling away. I’m off now to wrap the last of Little L’s presents and to fetch her from preschool, it is raining today and she has been so tired with all the fun of the weekend. I think we will curl up with a new movie on the couch, I am going to cuddle her (if she lets me) and try and relive this special time three years ago, when I was given my greatest blessing and teacher ever. I’m going to hug her and keep her warm safe and young for as long as possible, so that she doesn’t have to be exposed to some of the dark offerings which have been displayed in these past few months.

Ta Ta for now.

TLLx

November 7, 2016 4 comments

Family Travel You tube

Toddler Travel Essentials

by thelifestylelady October 19, 2016

Howdy Y’all!

Happy Wednesday, Today I am traveling and so this seemed the apt video to post. I do not profess to be an expert in many areas but traveling with a toddler, both internationally and domestically I have down to a fine art (if Little L lets me!) This video does not relate simply to flying it covers essentials for all areas of travel. I filmed this just before our recent vacation. If you don’t have children this video may provide some interesting gift ideas for children in your extended life.

For those of you interested I wish you a peaceful debate viewing this evening (is that even possible?!)

Wish me luck.

Ta ta for now.

TLL x

October 19, 2016 1 comment

Beauty Family Lifestyle You tube

Adult Summer Faves

by thelifestylelady October 17, 2016

Howdy Y’all,

Welcome to Monday. Trust your weekend was relaxed, restful and fun. Ours was just that, unfortunately they go too fast. On Saturday we went to a Taste of event in our village, it was small but effective as I got to see the local vendors. I found a dry cleaner who will collect and deliver from my home (win win.) Little L found a local cupcake shop which was delicious (not such great news long term -lol) What was interesting was Walgreens were represented (a drugstore to non US readers) by Boots (a U.K. drugstore.) They were foundation matching with a machine and giving samples away, being a beauty junkie I was happy to act as volunteer and honestly I was so surprised how accurate the machine was in selecting the correct tone for my skin. I gave a mini review of the product on Instastories and Snapchat. My names are @thelifestylelady and @lifestylelady respectively, if you want a giggle give me a follow.

Saturday night saw date night, firstly we braved that wild jungle called Toys R Us, we were looking for Little L’s impending third birthday (I am in complete denial.) We then recovered by watching Girl on the Train, Emily Blunt was superb but I preferred the book. We followed such darkness with Tapas and good red wine which was yummy. Today has been more relaxed as I was feeling a little under the weather.

So in Texas we are still in full summer mode, I dream of scarves, fleece and hot chocolate but today I share with you my adult summer faves. These are things I have loved, used and repurchased. Many of the things are not entirely summer specific, so please enjoy.

Have a good week.

Ta Ta for now.

TLL xx

October 17, 2016 5 comments

Decor Family Food Lifestyle

Birthday Party – Daniel Tiger Neighborhood

by thelifestylelady October 10, 2016

Howdy Y’all,

Happy Monday. I hope your weekend was great, mine was interesting as Mr L is away on business and I have been flying solo with Little L for the last week, she has been pretty good except for night waking. I have to tell you this mama does not do well on little sleep. I did try my first hip-hop class this weekend, yes you read this right and Beyoncé I am not although I had great fun. On Sunday evening my friend and I took our daughters to see Daniel Tigers Neighborhood which was performing in Houston and that inspired me for todays post. It was wonderful to see so many parents appreciating the value in taking their preschoolers to the theatre. I secretly hope Little L shares my passion for theatre, it is one of the things I miss most about my British life, I was spoilt with the West End on my doorstep. I was blessed with the variety of theatre I saw in my formative years, so whenever their is anything suitable for Little L I pounce. I was touched to see her actively participating in the audience, she was so upset when we left as she wanted more “Dan Dan.”

I have been meaning to share this post for a long while, but better late than never -right? Now Little L has started pre-school I find myself nostalgic about where the last (almost 3 years have gone -wth?) A wise person said “the days are long but the years short.” They definitely had toddlers. She turned two in the latter part of last year and Mr L and I decided to celebrate this milestone with a party at Gymboree. If you are not familiar with this establishment it is a program of classes for children from 0-5 available across the world. Little L had been attending our local classes since she was 8 weeks old and I have never underestimated how much she has benefited from attending. Like so many of the children’s facilities they offer parties, after all who wants to entertain a group of toddlers?

Gymboree do offer an excellent range of themes for their parties, at that time she had one great love and he came in the form of an animated tiger called Daniel or as she calls him Dan Dan. This is based on Mister Rogers Neighborhood. I appreciate my European readers will not be familiar with this cartoon but if you see it on Netflix or Amazon Prime and you have a toddler, download. If you need further convincing I was reading over the summer of some research by Texas Tech on preschoolers who watch Daniel Tiger and its affect on social skills development. (I link article here.) Little did I know when I purchased some very cute electronic invites of Daniel Tiger on Etsy, how little party merchandise there was. Disney and Nick Jnr seem to have all their characters covered but the PBS characters have a less commercial presence.(Although I think this is improving.) So this means that TLL had to spring into Pintrestmom and make and create things that would fit the theme. Below I wanted to share with you some of the photos of things that I made to give it the Daniel Tiger party it’s feel and make it a party for Little L to remember.

The majority of the party was a class of fun games and activities on the equipment and I knew that it was during snack time and home time is where I could create the theme feel.

The birthday girl. I purchased her adorable t-shirt from etsy.

Getting stuck into playtime

I opted for cupcakes this year, since the focus was on the toddlers, these are much easier to portion and don’t require a sharp knife. Little L also loves pink and insisted on pink frosting (didn’t she get the yellow and red Dan Dan theme – kids!) The cupcake topers I purchased from Etsy, I printed cutout, stuck to card both sides and attached to cocktail sticks. Each little one could choose which character they wanted to be.

This was the toddler tea, pre-toddlers, I made sure I took a photo. It is difficult to see but I bought small red paper plates and then stuck a Daniel Tiger images on each, I followed suit on the plastic cups. I even went more mad by making water labels with Daniel Tiger, I am insane. I made sure all food was finger related so it did not require silverware. (Less washing up.) I kept the table decorations simple with little Daniel Tiger figurines which you might be able to see. You will see at the back I made larger trollies for extra decoration.

I am really pleased I ordered the yellow and red ballon arrangement, they were relatively inexpensive and I think they added impact. I also seperated them and gave each friend a ballon with their favor/party bag at the end of the party. If you have super eyes you may also notice another large trolly I made on the gift table.

In this picture you can see the garlands I made to help decorate, I printed out, punched holes and thread string through. They looked great. You can see the larger trolley again. I keep mentioning these because they were the most difficult to make. I love these red table cloths that I bought from Dollar Tree. They hide a multitude of sins, under the table was boxes and bags which carried all these things from home to the venue.

I also printed these posters which I scattered around the venue.

These are the favor boxes. I made them individual trollies. You may see that better on the photo below. I used red favor boxes I found at Dollar Tree but all party places carry something similar.

You can see closer up in this photo, the face masks which the children loved I attached to straws, and they match the character on the trolley. Think I might be a little obsessive.

Here is a final photo of the favor boxes with the balloons attached. I was thrilled with how it all turned out.

Food Ideas

As I was serving a simple tea, I wanted the food to be light, relatively healthy and easy to transport. I made these pizza bites which I found through Pinterest. The kids loved them. I kept them veggie as I had vegetarian, they all went. I also made fruit salad and portioned them into small pots, similar to this, they were perfect to transport and the right size for toddler tummies whose eyes were on cupcakes. I also served raisins and veggie sticks. I was pleased as I was left with very little food and all the kids seemed to eat and enjoy. They sat for 20 mins eating and chatting which was super.

Favor Boxes/ Party Bags

You can see the favor boxes above, they did take a while to make but once you have made a few you can speed up. I think they look pretty effective and the kids loved them. Inside was a face mask as you can see. I also included a Daniel tiger crayon pack which I made, I bought sets of crayons placed them in a clear gift bag very similar to this. I added some coloring pages, a ball and a free pass to try a Gymboree class (thanks Gymboree.) Honestly it is a while since I packed them and I had none spare after delivering to some guests who couldn’t make it. I think there might have been one or two extra items.

Decorations

I will be honest and say I would have been “up a creek without a paddle” if I did not have access to this PBS site, they helped with printouts and inspiration. I did adapt and change some of the ideas but generally a super resource. Little L’s party invites came from NineLivesNotEnough via Etsy. They were perfect and set the tone. I also bought her thank you cards at the same time which matched. Looked super. The same shop provided many of the printouts I used to decorate everything. I urge you to take a look. Little L’s T-shirt came from littlemacboutique via Etsy, again this was great for the party gal.

We really had a super time and it created many happy memories. I was very impressed with Gymboree and how professional and fun they made the whole event (I am fussy.) In conclusion I want to thank my brother who helped me prepare some of the decorations when he was over visiting (who knew you needed to be an Engineer to make trolleys?!) TLL knows how to treat her guests well. I would urge you to check out dollar/pound shops for party supplies (I never thought I would write that!!) I was impressed with what was available and you don’t mind trashing after the event. The party also reinforced to me that the party is for the kids and not the adults who attend. Little L’s first birthday we had lots of adults and we catered more for them, this time we made the right decision with a Gymboree style option. We had a great time, lets hope we can make some new friends in this new location before November so I can plan another party, but Little L if you are reading this lets have a more commercial theme next time? Princess’ Frozen, Sophia the First, Thomas, any of those would be great!

Hope this was useful, I had fun.

Ta Ta for now.

TLL x

October 10, 2016 5 comments

Editorial Family

Sweet Dreams

by thelifestylelady September 14, 2016

Howdy Y’all,

My blog is seldom very personal, in fact I was so very reluctant to post this simply because it exposes me at my most vulnerable. I am doing it for several reasons. I want to preface that this is not for sympathy, that is not what I desire from you my reader, but more a sense of sharing feelings. Perhaps it is a subject with which sadly you are familiar, or perhaps one with which you have no experience and find it difficult to understand. I share this mainly because it is a topic I think very few people open up about. I feel I can share it not because I am healed but because I am healing and I believe this will help me move forward and I hope it might help others.

Two weeks ago (it will probably be longer by the time I publish this) I suffered a miscarriage. Finding out you are pregnant when moving several hundred miles is not something unfamiliar to me, it happened before I had Little L. The Lord seems to think that we can manage. I was shocked, but they say miracles happen when you least expect it. We were happy. It took those first few weeks to accept the idea; it was never that the baby was not wanted, it was more the added emotion on top of everything else we were going through. I felt different, my body was beginning to change and my mind was beginning to think about loving another child the way I do my daughter. You get carried away, of course you do. It is the private euphoria you feel as a couple: boy or girl? What about names? You make your first scan appointment, you start thinking of how you will manage the birth. You know there are risks, especially with my history, and you try to keep the excitement contained just in case the worst happens.

I had no cramping or pain, just bleeding. Sorry if that is TMI for some of you. As I drove myself to the hospital alone, knowing what was happening, I have never felt so alone. Mainly because I was alone – my husband was still working in our old city. I am so thankful for my friend K. She held my hand, she kept my spirits high and most importantly she cried with me, she listened as I selfishly thought “why me?” I will forever be in her debt, I will forever remember her total unconditional friendship. She is one of the few who has seen me at my most vulnerable. I also want to thank the other K – and she knows who she is – who stepped in and helped me with Little L while I was at the hospital. Thank you.

Since the physical event I have been healing. I have been through so many emotions, mainly guilt. Guilt, it is such a nasty emotion, could I have done something different? Did I push myself too hard? Did I move too many packing boxes? Did I get stressed over crazy pointless stuff? I feel guilt towards my darling husband, that my carelessness has deprived him of being a papa again. A kind and caring man who has hugged me and cared for me, told me to slow down and to think when my inclination is to carry on as before. A man who must be grieving himself. It is so hard for men, society suggests they are not really supposed to show emotions although I know he has felt them. I have moved through guilt to anger, I was briefly angry with the ridiculous notion of “why me?” Like I am a fifteen years old. Why the hell not me?? I got angry with life, I know that to most of the world I live a charmed life and you would be right, but when you relocate as regularly as we do, the solitude and the effort to start again and meet new people can be tough. I had moved to a place where I knew so few, my husband was working away, my little one was unhappy because I had torn her away from all her friends, plus my mother has lost her mother and I wanted to be there for her. How much can one person take before she cracks? I have moved past this anger, after all I have never held a pity party and I am not about to start.

Instead I have been healing by being positive and focusing on the good things, of which I am blessed with so many. I am very fortunate to be a mother to the most wonderful child, I have that bond and I am eternally grateful. I am so lucky to love and have that love returned by my husband, a good man, the best of men, whose life purpose is to make the world a better place for Little L and I. Sometimes I think isn’t that enough? Am I, was I greedy to want more? I am now in a passage where I am being more reflective and philosophical. Mr L the scientist tells me that perhaps it was natures way, things were not right. Of course whether science or religion is your recourse there is some truth in what he says. Does it help ease my guilt? Perhaps yes. I often think the Lord has a different plan for me. Maybe I am only meant to have one child? People say this is a process of grief. After all we cannot all have large families. The planet is struggling with the current population.

So for the sweet angel I carried for those weeks, know this: you were and are loved. You will forever be etched in my heart and soul. I will always be your mother. Although I never met you, I think of you often and imagine what could have been.

As life moves on which it naturally does, I feel more positive. If you know me at all you will know how unbearable this is for me to write, but I think sharing it will help. If you have stuck with me to the end of this emotional post, I ask this of you: please think before you might casually ask “are you having a second?” Or “isn’t it time you had another?” You sometimes have no idea how these words hurt. I am definitely philosophical about the future whether that is with another child or whether we decide to stay as the Three Musketeers. I do know that this experience has made me grateful for the love I have in my life and it has made me a better mother. I am trying to be more patient and tolerant and it has made me appreciate all the little things with Little L all the more. I still have bad days but they are fewer and fewer.

I promise no more sentimental things on the blog for a long while! If you have suffered a miscarriage, or know someone who has, I am so sorry but please know you are not alone.

Sweet Dreams Angel.

TLL x

September 14, 2016 9 comments

Family You tube

Toddler Summer Faves!

by thelifestylelady September 12, 2016

Howdy Y’all!

I hope you had a fab weekend! Ours was great but went too fast (why does that always happen?) It was lovely to reconnect with friends and hear about what is new in their lives. Today’s video is a brief collaboration with one of my favorite humans Little L, this is her first official debut (albeit brief I think she is a natural.) We are talking about her summer faves, things we have used over and over, either too look cute, keep cool, have fun or be safe. She was very much part of the selection process, she has a strong set of opinions (she takes after Mr L -lol.)