THIS LITTLE HOUSE WEARS // BLUE


I've shied away in the past from doing posts that are solely about style and fashion, even though it has to be one of the most requested blog topics readers email me about.

In my mind what business did I have doing style posts? I'm not a fashion blogger, surely if people want posts like that they head over to fashion blogs, not here, why would anyone care about what I was wearing??

Let me introduce you to my internal negative voice. You know the one? The voice that belittles you constantly and doesn't allow you to see your own potential. For whatever reason that voice has been pretty loud of late, in all areas of my life. It's a bitter pill to swallow when you realise you are your own worst enemy and all the obstacles in front of you are self-created.

I know there's no overnight solution to being your own worst enemy, but I do know that for my own sake and sanity I have to start making positive steps towards being kinder to myself, and actually more honest with myself too.

I think I shy away from a lot of creative challenges in my life because truth be told I'm scared of failing. If you don't try then you can't possibly fail, can you? A twisted logic I've been hiding behind longer than I'd like to admit. So this is me stepping out of my comfort zone, and instead stepping into the beautiful streets of Edinburgh doing some pretty awkward poses whilst hoping that I don't have a double chin, ha! 

You see it dawned on me that I was looking at this whole style blogging idea completely wrong. I was mainly shying away from doing such posts as I look at fashion blogs myself and think I couldn't possibly do that. I love what I love but I'm not fashion forward. I don't have an unlimited disposable income for clothing. and I'm not super skinny, tanned, and impossibly gorgeous looking. Now this isn't a pity party but actually my light bulb moment, because for those of you that are emailing me, that's not what you want nor expect from me. I'm just a normal mum of two young boys in her mid thirties who loves her clothes, and maybe that's what resonates with you? I'll never supply you with posts of me looking super glossy and high fashion, but I can bring you my love of the high street and smaller brands, and the occasional double chin ;). Seriously, it's a sad day when your realise your double chin is no longer caused by an unflattering angle it just happens to be a permanent fixture. Thankfully it doesn't stop the clothes I love from fitting though ;)

So thank you. Thank you for the emails and messages that have actually made me stop and reflect on why it is I shy away from certain things. Thank you for helping me step out of my comfort zone. 

Now enough of me banging on about my inner crazy voices. Let's talk clothes. For me my wardrobe has always been an extension of myself. I adore clothes and notice they have a huge impact on my general mood and attitude. For example if I dress like a slob then I feel like one, so for me wearing something I really like can set me on the right foot for the day. 


Take this gorgeous blue smock top from Next. I found this last month but it's still available and comes in red too. Trust me when I say I needed to use all my willpower to not buy it in both colours. I'm obsessed with the embroidered detailing and this is now a firm favourite in my wardrobe. It's such a easy go to look with jeans and slip on mules (possibly my favourite fashion comeback, yay!) when you're rushing out the door. I plan to pair it with cropped wide leg trousers once the weather warms up in Edinburgh. It's definitely feeling hopeful, spring is in the air.


You only need to look on the high street or scroll the Internet to see how huge blue is this season. Be it stripes, gingham or block colour. Blue's never been a colour I wear that much apart from the obligatory Breton stripe, but its safe to say I've caught the blue bug. Here's a few below that are on my lust list, and tick all the boxes for this spring/summer biggest trends, embroidery, bows, ruffles and cuffs galore.


Left, I love this Zara number, fun and vibrant for the summer.

Centre, Pretty much obsessed with this bow detailing on this Marks and Spencer top.

Right, ruffle and cuff perfection with this Mango beauty.

You can also find my jeans here, and they are currently on sale less than half price. My sunglasses are Ray-Ban, and my bag was a gift a few years back now but I love this one in a similar colour and I love the different carry options.
Wednesday, 12 April 2017 Comments: 12
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A MOTHER'S BOND with L'OCCITANE


With Mother's Day just around the corner the lovely team at L'Occitane asked me to share my feelings on a mother's bond. Are you ready for a bit of an emotional ramble? I hope so ;)

One word springs to mind. Powerful.

From my own relationship with my mum, to the bond I have with my boys.

For everyone it's different, with me it was instant. The minute both of my over nine pound (!) boys were plonked on my chest, their swollen, puffy, perfect faces rooting for milk I was overcome with the most intense feeling of love and belonging.

I say belonging because I've always felt a little bit lost in life. Not in a sad, dramatic way, just in a I'm not sure what my purpose in life is sorta way. Before the boys I'd not found a career I loved, and it sometimes worried me that without finding my direction I would just drift through life not ever feeling truly fulfilled.

Then I became a mum, and ironically through the chaos and craziness I found an inner peace with myself. The bond I have with my boys has grounded me and given me a greater sense of myself. A fact I used to get embarrassed about, as though I felt I needed to apologise for how much being a mum defined me. I no longer feel like that, nor should any mother who doesn't feel like motherhood defines them. The pressure to have it all is our generation's curse.

It's okay to say, I love my job. It's okay to say, I love being a stay at home mum. It's okay to say, the juggle is hard, all day everyday at home with my children is hard. I'm still learning that motherhood is a personal journey with our children and is not to be compared. Easier said than done at times.


With Caleb turning five and Archie, three, this year I'm starting to feel a huge shift happen. They're becoming so independent and their confidence shines now when they're away from me. A bittersweet moment but something I'm so proud of.

The bond we had in those early baby years was very much a physical one. My presence, my touch, the sound of my voice cemented that. Now I feel like our bond is this invisible force, something which gives them the confidence to go out in the world, and even when I'm physically not there they know that they are loved and supported.


With their growing independence and them both starting school and nursery this August, for the first time in a long time I'll be able to shift a little bit of the focus back on me. A somewhat scary notion, but one I'm going to embrace.

If the bond I have with my boys can send them out to be confident in the world I'm going to take a leaf out of their book and do the same. I want them to be proud of me too.

So, I plan to dedicate some proper time to this blog. Most of my blogging happens late at night or when a daytime nap will allow. I'm so excited about having time to really work on and expand this space. I also want to take better care of myself too. I feel the most unfit I've ever felt in my life and I think exercise will not only help with that but also help with my constantly feeling tired.

Talking of tired, oh my poor skin. It's true what they say, one day you wake up and the glow of youth is gone. gone. gone. As a lovely Mother's Day treat, L'Occitane sent me the most beautiful gift set from their Immortelle range. The creams have a beautiful rich feel but are so light on the skin, which is ideal for my skin as it clogs easily but lacks the moisture I need. A perfect pick me up for a tired mama who neglects herself for the little people in her life.

Men, if you're reading this there's lots of lovely Mother's day gift sets for the ladies in your life which you can find here. Ladies, if you're reading, drop the hint, hell treat yourself, and of course your own dear mum too.


To all the mama's out there I hope you have a lovely Mother's Day doing whatever it is you wish to do. Staying in bed all day being waited on hand and foot is surely allowed, isn't it?! I think I'll drop that hint to the little gentlemen and the big gentleman in my life ;)

Now I will leave you with two of my favourite pictures ever. Why? Because Caleb asked for them to be taken and chose what pose he wanted us to do. I've created a monster!!! A very, very cute monster ;) Check out our matching poses just below!


* this is post was kindly sponsored by L'Occitane, as always my thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you for continuing to support the select brands we work with that help make our blog possible.
Wednesday, 15 March 2017 Comments: 12
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HAVING TWO


I remember being pregnant with Caleb unable to imagine what life would be like once he was born. I just couldn't picture it no matter how hard I tried. Then there he was in my arms and soon I couldn't imagine (nor barely remember) a life without him.

When we fell pregnant with Archie, although I could picture a life with a newborn, I couldn't picture life with two babies to love. How on earth was that going to work?! Would I love this baby as much as Caleb? Would Caleb still love me the same now he had to share me?? Would I be able to cope with two under three? These questions circled my mind the entire pregnancy.

A guilt started to creep in too, because second pregnancies get nowhere near the attention you gave your first pregnancy. I actually missed not one but two midwife appointments!! A fact that seems unfathomable when pregnant with your first, but heavily pregnant with your second and a toddler to run after....well like I said, I missed not one but TWO. I cried the second time my midwife rang to ask where I was. How would I take care of two when I couldn't even remember important appointments for my unborn child?!

Then Archie arrived. In that instant my heart literally doubled in size. It's true what people say, your heart grows bigger. Just when you think you couldn't love any more than you already do, your heart grows this infinite amount of love for your whole family, and for me at that point it felt like I could have a million more babies and there would be enough love to go around.

If you want to read about the boys meeting for the first time you can find that here, and how we found having two in those first tentative few months here.

Oh and a little tip a friend shared with us for when the boys first met, in the pictures you will see that Archie was in a bouncy chair. We purposely did that so when Caleb first met Archie he wasn't in either mine or Michael's arms. We didn't want his first experience meeting his little brother to be filled with jealousy or by the feeling he was being replaced. It worked wonders and it was Caleb (or at least in his mind) to be the first to hold Archie. Seeing the pride burst from a two year old is a seriously beautiful thing.

We have our fair share of tears and arguments but jealously isn't a huge thing in our house. I think that's largely down to Caleb's easy going nature but I also wonder if their first meeting has anything to do with it too. I guess we'll never truly know, but I really do feel like it set a good tone to their relationship from the get go.



So how is life now with two?

Well with just 26 months between them there is never a dull moment. Caleb will turn five (five!!!) in April and Archie will be three in June. It's been surreal watching the gap close between them physically and mentally, it used to be Caleb who was naturally in charge but now the hierarchy switches and every day they become more like equals.

I remember when Archie was a baby, people would spot him and then Caleb, running around like any crazed two year old would do, and the first thing they would say to me is, 'You have your hands full'. They were right, I did. Yet funnily enough life with two felt much easier to me in many ways, less intense than just having one child, and seriously, I found late pregnancy with a toddler super hard. After that two under three and even two lots of nappies didn't seem so bad ;)

It feels like now is where the pay off really starts though, for every double nappy change there was, now there is double the laughs, double the trouble, and a really beautiful friendship forming between the boys. There's very little now that Archie can't do that Caleb can, which instantly makes life so much easier. It isn't always roses, but nor should it be, through each other they're learning the most important social skills. A fact I remind myself of on those tough days when you're more referee than mother.

Now for the question every mother of two will be asked, 'Will you have a third?'

Honestly, I don't know, but someone is certainly keen. Caleb asks every morning when will I have a baby in my tummy! We asked if he realised what another baby in my tummy meant, another brother or sister. 'Yes, I want that!', he replied, 'I would take care of the baby and share my toys and read the baby stories.'

Talk about selling the idea of number three to me, and a larger age gap. The eldest pretty much brings up the third baby, right?! ;)


For those interested in furniture details, you can find our bed here. It was a really easy build too which was a bonus.

Our wall lights can be found here, they're an absolute steal for the price and a lovely alternative to a bedside lamp.
Saturday, 4 March 2017 Comments: 2
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PINK JUMPERS, PERFECT EGGS & DATES WITH MY BOYS


I'm not a big fan of Valentine's day. Red roses don't float my boat, and all of a sudden decent restaurants everywhere start to serve substandard food just because their set menu is covered in hearts. I'll give it a miss, thanks.

But when you've got three boys wanting to take you out how could I say no? When two of those dates happen to be under five your fancy schmancy restaurants are out of the question and so a leisurely lunch date it is. No set menu but a place that sells brunch all day long. Now you're talking.

Plus when you wear your favourite pink jumper, and you never wear pink, it feels like romance is in the air ;)

Thanks to a friend's suggestion I was recently introduced to The Pantry, located in Stockbridge. It boasts great food and great coffee, but there's more. Their piece de resistance is a little kid's corner it has set up full of books and toys, which just happens to be gated!! So after your little ones have demolished (or ignored) their food they have a space of their own to keep them busy which means lunch in peace for us adults, and even HOT coffee. Now there ain't nothing more romantic than that ;)


I went for shakshuka eggs, while Michael tucked into the braised beef quesadilla. The portions aren't huge but were perfect for us on that day. If you're really hungry I would suggest another dish to share or you can tuck into some cake afterwards. It's not super cheap, but considering the location and the gorgeous food I'd say totally reasonable.


With date night mostly a thing of the past it was so nice to have a little date vibe going on, with our two sidekicks happy in the play corner. I still find it astounding you can see someone daily yet never really get to chat properly. Family life for ya, conversations stop being about yourselves and are all about little people.

So it was nice to sit there and talk about work, the year ahead, and just life in general. It was a conversation that lasted a whole hot coffee, a win in my books. Once the boys started getting restless we decided to go for a walk before home


I don't know if it's because Caleb is soon to turn five but he just seems to have grown up so much in the last few months. He's my little gent who when he saw me ready to go out on our little lunch date told me how pretty I looked! Talk about boosting at mama's confidence because at the moment when I look in the mirror I just see a tired and rapidly aging me, but if in the eyes of my son I'm pretty, well that is good enough for me.


Then there's this little fire cracker, who's smile is infectious, the cheekiest of all, and loves so fiercely he will pounce and kiss at any time.


One of my favourite Valentine days to date. Three boys vying for my attention is pretty awesome ;)

You can find my pink jumper here. Be warned you will mop up everything around you with the cuffs, but when cuffs look that good, who cares, right?!

Also, if like me you struggle to get jeans (I've got thighs and a bum but a smaller waist, the worst combo for good fitting jeans) I'm obsessed with these Joules Monroe jeans. The fit is lovely and doesn't make me feel like sausage meat squeezed into it's skin, because where is the romance in that ;)
Thursday, 16 February 2017 Comments: 8
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WHEN INSTAGRAM FRIENDS BECOME REAL LIFE ONES


If you told me a few years back I would go on a weekend away with friends I'd never actually met in person before then I would have said you were mad. Crazy. Don't be so ridiculous!

Yet there I was packing my whole family off for a weekend doing just that, and all thanks to a little app called, Instagram.

So how does a person make friends on Instagram you may wonder? This was me a few years back. What I originally thought was just an app to edit and slap a few filters on your photos has turned out to be so much more, enter a few relevant hashtags onto your pics, and it's like a whole new world opens up.

A world that at first I admired from afar not daring to comment on other peoples pictures. I mean wouldn't they think I was weird for commenting?? We were strangers to each other. Stranger danger and all that ;). I was however spurred on to make my account public by a picture-a-day project. Soon I was chatting back and forth with other people taking part in the project. From there it was like a knock-on effect, through commenting and chatting on other accounts you would connect and find even more accounts to follow.

Now everyone will use Instagram differently but for me it's a creative outlet and a place where I can pour my heart out, so not surprisingly they're the accounts that have best resonated with me. Therefore the friendships I've made there have become special as without even meeting we know so much about each other and our daily lives. We've championed each other in the good times, and offered our support through the bad. In the beginning it was mostly people overseas I was chatting with but soon I started to find people closer to home.

Which brings me to these three gorgeous girls, Sally, Lauren and Jules, who I was about to spend a whole weekend with, without so much as a little coffee date beforehand. A weekend away may seem a little extreme when it comes to meeting people in real life for the first time but after years of friendship and sharing our love for our families, photography, Instagram and blogging, it seemed like the most normal thing in the world to do.

Now it became the task of finding somewhere big enough to house us all. Eight adults and six children, the place would need to be big, and of course it would help if the settings and surroundings were Instagramable of course. Pretty sure that word will make it into the Urban Dictionary soon ;) Ha! just googled, and guess what? It is!

Sally found the perfect place and more in Holmthwaite, a beautiful three-storied Victorian townhouse boasting six bedrooms, four bathrooms, roll top bath, woodburner and plenty of living room space, nestled in the lovely village of Coniston. I'd never been to Coniston before but I adore the Lake District so I knew we'd be in for a treat, and I wasn't wrong.

So was I nervous about meeting people in, 'real life' for the first time after chatting for years? Strangely no. I just felt excitement at finally getting to give these girls a big squeeze in person, with the mental note to not be overly familiar with their children to the point of scaring the little guys! Did they not realise though that I've known them since birth??! Hi, it's Aunty Claire, ya know, from Instagram ;)

Now I could wax lyrical about these girls all day long, but I'll save you that. What I will say is that they are even more gorgeous and lovely in real life. Spending time with them was like spending time with some of my oldest and dearest friends. The chat flowed endlessly, all the children played happily, and our men found their very own Instagram husband support group ;)

To see how truly gorgeous the settings were I did a little two minute vlog about our stay below.


A Weekend with Friends at Holmthwaite, Coniston from Claire Stewart on Vimeo.

As you'll have seen in the vlog the lovely people over at HelloFresh supplied us with the most delicious meals for the weekend. If you've not heard of HelloFresh yet, they're a meal subscription company that take the hassle out of deciding what's for dinner and instead deliver fresh recipes to your door with the exact ingredients and quantities you will need.

I've heard amazing reports about how good their food is and I was not disappointed, each dish is restaurant standard and packed with so much flavour. Perfect for a foodie, a busy lifestyle or for someone who hates the whole shopping and cooking process, as their recipes are super easy and straight forward to follow.


Now it's not an Instagrammer/blogger weekend without a few cheesy shots! Thankfully, Lauren's partner, Colin was overseeing the cooking whilst we found ourselves hilarious in front of the camera ;). Thanks, Col! 


With our bellies full of food we had the perfect settings to walk it off, Coniston was looking it's finest on this cold and sunny winter's day.


After our long walk there was nothing better than going back to warm up in front of the woodburner with a glass of wine, and plenty of space for the kids to run about.

I'm still kicking myself for not taking advantage of the roll top bath we had next to our room, another visit me thinks!


An amazing weekend, with wonderful friends, beautiful settings, and delicious food. More of this, this year please. It is good for soul, that's for sure.

If you're interested in booking Holmthwaite for a family gathering or a weekend with friends everything you need can be found on their website here.  We found the owners so helpful and went above and beyond, especially when poor Jules and her husband had to abandon their car due to a flat tyre, on a sunday of all days, it was really lovely to have a local point of contact throughout our stay.

*A big thank you to Holmthwaite for hosting us all, and HelloFresh for providing all the food. All thoughts and opinions, as always, are my own.

Thursday, 9 February 2017 Comments: 6
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