I love Newcastle, it has so many hidden depths and gems to discover, and despite living here for 13 years now I am still finding new places to go. One of our favourite free places to visit with Zoe at the moment is Jesmond Dene. She can safely toddler about, and loves chatting to the chickens and…

Zoe is totally animal crazy at the moment, her favourite book is this little board book which has a different animal on each page. We read it roughly 100,000 times a day, doing the sounds for each. Although according to Zoe all animals say "quack quack". Oh and also, what sound does a gi…

I have this idyllic idea of baking with my daughter, all mini aprons and tiny wooden spoons, like something from a Cath Kidston advert. I can tell you that at 15 months, this is simply not the reality, not even a little bit. Sadly I feel like Zoe is a little too young to understand the concept o…

Hello, my name is Nelly and I am a spa-virgin. Before last week I had never set foot in a spa, I didn't get it. I've never been a super girly girl, or felt the urge to be rubbed by strangers. Also, the fear of new situations that involve swimwear is real. Well thanks for the wonderful tea…

We are not really stay at home types here, we are very much out and about, meeting for coffee, soft play, lunch, play date sort of people. I find it quite difficult to spend a full day in the house and inevitably we end up a little bored and restless and shouty. I do wish I was more of a homebody,…

This weeks posts are taking on a bit of a Mother theme, my Mum has been on my mind a lot lately. Its been nearly 5 years since we lost her, which is just crazy. I still go through a range of emotions each day, from sadness that she's missing things, to anger that she's not here, to warmth…