Baby William James has made his arrival...

© Victoria Smith Photography

Our little bundle of joy has finally arrived. We are over the moon and so in love. Had to stay in the hospital for a few days due to some labour complications, but I'm now recuperating nicely at home. Turns out that having a newborn is a very tiring business who knew, so it maybe a little while before I do a new post. 

© Victoria Smith Photography

© Victoria Smith Photography

Polka dot crazy...

I love polka dots. I may have fads with my clothing, but one thing that stays a staple of my wardrobe is polka dots. Here's some of the wonderful polka dotty items out there that I like...

1. Spotty tights from Tights Please.

2. Polka dot skirt from New Look. 

3. Polka dot wedges from Tesco.

4. Polka dot teapot from John Lewis.

5. Polka dot dress from Next. 

6. Polka dot bag from Tesco. 

7. Polka dot mug from Matalan.

8. Polka dot swimsuit from Asda.

9. Polka dot umbrella from John Lewis.

10. Polka dot swimsuit from Next. 

1. Polka dot dress from Dorothy Perkins.

2. Polka dot mug from Matalan. 

3. Polka dot dress from Oasis.

4. Polka dot dress from New Look. 

5. Polka dot bag from Debenhams. 

6. Polka dot jumper from John Lewis.

7. Polka dot skirt from Oasis.

8. Polka dot jumper from Oasis. 

9. Polka dot ballet pumps from Zara. 

10. Polka dot top from Dorothy Perkins.

Snowy walks and Father-to-be gifts

We managed to have a little walk at Yorkshire Sculpture Park over the Easter weekend. It was really pretty, as there was still a dusting of snow about. The latest exhibitions look amazing. We had a quick walk through the Fabric-ation exhibit. I'm planning lots of nice picnics in the Sculpture Park this summer, so I'll take lots of pictures of the artwork when we next visit.

I have been creating a couple of Father-To-Be gifts for my husband, as I know that the Mummy tends to get more attention. I got a big basket from Matalan for £5 (similar ones here) and filled it with all things to remind him of his childhood. (I asked his family and friends for some ideas) These included Wrestling and Thundercats figures, his favourite books as a child, some DVDs of programmes he used to watch, his favourite childhood movies, some Tizer (He used to have Tizer nights with his best friend, where they would pretend this was alcohol - Bless!) etc. I also decided to create some T-shirts and Baby vest sets.

These were really simple to make. 

I bought two cheap T-shirts and baby vests, and some fabric pens from Ebay. I had bought the fabric pens for people to decorate baby grows at my baby shower

Fabric pens bought for £3.39 from here

On a piece of paper I wrote out what I wanted on the T-shirt. You could print this out for it to look more accurate and professional.

I then placed this under the top layer of the T-shirt, and placed a piece of cardboard underneath this. To be honest, the pens did not actually go through as far as the cardboard, but I still think that it is worth taking precautions. Once I had traced over my design, I left this to dry for half an hour and then ironed on the reverse to lock the colour, so it is machine washable. My husband's unfortunate nickname is 'The Big Dog', so I thought it would be cute to do a play on this too. 

These fabric pens were so easy to use and didn't bleed into the fabric. I'm looking forward to doing some different T-shirt and baby grows for Halloween and Christmas this year.  I think I'm better dressing my child up before they can answer back and I'm sure my husband will be thrilled to wear them! I have got some fabric paints, so I may make some stencils and be a bit more creative next time.

Cheering yourself up on a snowy day...

I'm still awaiting the birth of our first child. I'm unsure when I will be induced due to my liver condition, so just playing a waiting game of sleepless nights and itchy feet! As the days are starting to drag, I decided to use some sure fire ways of cheering myself up.

I really got a strong craving for some chocolate cake, but only had one egg left in the house. I found this recipe on the internet and it made a really moist lovely cake. I topped with some Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge Icing. 

There's nothing like some girly movies to cheer you up, so I have been watching Clueless, Mansfield Park and the BBC series of Pride and Prejudice. I can not imagine that there's anything in the world that a bit of Darcy would not fix!

I've been enjoying sitting in a snuggly chair, cuddling up to a teddy and imagining life with our new little baby. At the moment our nursery is in neutral taupe and cream colours. I love the soft feeling in the nursery, especially in an evening when the lamps cast a beautiful warm light. I often go up for a little quiet ponder throughout the day.

Whilst up in the nursery, I love getting out all of the baby clothes and imagining the little being that will soon be filling these. My mother-in-law has been busily knitting and created more clothes that the baby could ever wear. My husband has decided that he is in charge of dressing the baby, as he fell in love with the cute little baby socks. 

My Auntie and cousins came round to see me and brought me some lovely Champneys pregnancy toiletries. My skin has been in a very bad condition due to the constant scratching, but a nice long soak and some of the rejuvenating lotions have definitely improved my mood. I love having a long soak in the bath. As we have a television in the wall above the bath, I often time my baths with something good to watch. My husband wonders how I can possibly stay in so long. I am trying to make the most of these, as I'm guessing with a newborn baby I wont get much chance for a leisurely dip in the tub. 

Well after that I do feel a lot more cheerful. Let's hope the weather improves, so I can venture out.