Halloween at the Market

Originally we had planned to take the boat to Greenwich for the Halloween Fair at the market there, however, since Emilia is still not 100% recovered from the flu, we had to change plans yet again. Instead, we took a lovely stroll to our own Borough Market where the stalls were all dressed up for the occasion. We have been having a quite mild Autumn but the weather was particularly good today, the sky was blue, the sun was shining and it was hot hot hot (21 degrees!). Emilia was happy to go out after a full week being locked inside the flat, so she dressed up (doesn't she look cute in this dress and boots?!) and took pirate George with her for the ride. All in all it was a fun day out! And when we were not out we played in the flat with all the various pumpkins and the special edition Peppa's Halloween activity book, always a favorite in this house! What did you do? Did you go out trick or treating? 

Last Minute Indoor Halloween Fair

Yesterday we were supposed to go to the Horniman Museum and Gardens for an Halloween Fair. We love that place and when I saw that they had organized an Halloween Fair, I didn't hesitate a minute to tell Rob and Emilia. We were all very excited to go. Sadly, on Saturday evening Emilia got sick, with a very bad sore throat and a bit of temperature too. We had been talking for weeks about the Halloween Fair and now we couldn't go, how disappointing! In order to keep everyone sane spending an entire day at home with a sick and grumpy toddler, I brought the Halloween Fair home! We decorated pumpkins, made woodland inspired artworks and baked a delicious cinnamon bread with a super yummy chantilly cream. All in all it was a sweet Sunday full of family activities and fun! 

Happy Halloween

Last year Emilia was only a couple of months old for Halloween and we didn't do too much. You may remember, however, that we dressed her up as a little lady-bug and walked all around our area to take some pictures. London was sunny and warm that day. Today, instead, it was all rainy and grey.

In the morning, we took some pictures with the pumpkins that we have in the flat and played with them for a little. The weather wasn't very good and also we were waiting for uncle Rich and aunt Donna to arrive all the way from Baltimore. So, we stayed home.

 

 

Uncle Rich and aunt Donna not only had lots pf sweet gifts for Emilia but they also brought the Halloween costume that we had bought from Pottery Barn. This year, we opted for a giraffe costume, how cute is it??! Look at this picture below from their website.

Sadly, Emilia didn't like it. In fact, she only kept the hat on for about five seconds and kept pulling the top off. Not sure why but she hated it. What a shame. Rob and I really loved it. So much that we may try again in a couple of months for Carnevale. We will see...

 

 

 

In this last picture she is literally screaming: GET THIS THING OFF MEEE! NOOOOWWWW!!!

Happy Halloween!

Today Emilia has celebrated her first Halloween! Originally, we were set to go to an Halloween Festival in Greenwich but unfortunately we were given three appointments with the doctor for today afternoon, so we had to cancel our plans. Emilia is very little so perhaps she would have not appreciated all the Halloween costumes and games, but still, it would have been fun for us. Even if we didn't have anywhere to go to celebrate the holiday, we still decided to dress her up and take a stroll in our area. It was quite tough to find an outfit for a two-month old baby, everything was so big. After a bit of online research, Rob and I were undecided among the following costumes: lady bug, strawberry, owl and spider. In the end, we opted for the lady bug, we thought it was the cutest one. The costume is 0-6 months, so still a bit big for Emilia but we think she looks adorable anyway :)

The morning was a happy morning, the afternoon not so much. As I mentioned above, we had to go to our baby clinic where Emilia was first weighed (she is now 5.31kg! - she is growing well!), checked by the health visitor and then received her 5 in 1 immunisation, which she didn't like. It was so painful to watch her crying. Emilia was peacefully sleeping when the nurse asked me to take her leggings off and put the first needle in. At first Emilia didn't really react, I suppose she was in deep sleep, but when the second needle touched her leg, she realised what was going on and started screaming and crying. For the first time I saw real and big tears coming out of her eyes. 

Since we got home she has been a bit grumpy and we can see that she is in pain. Oh I wish I could have taken the needles for her! 

Happy Halloween everyone, and for our friends in the east coast of the United States, stay warm and safe!

October Giveaway

Can you believe it's already October? Where did Summer go? I want it back!!!
Today the sky in London could not be grey-er and more depressing and it has been raining since early this morning. I need something to cheer me up!

As promised a little while ago, it is now time for another valeasc giveaway.
It's almost that time of the year again and since I am getting ready to go to The States, I thought it would be appropriate to devote this month giveaway to halloween.
So here it is for you: a set of six happy halloween cards. from my little shop . The cards feature an original valeasc design, printed both on front and back, while the inside is left blank for your own message.

Not so much into ghosts and monsters but still a big fan of halloween? These cards may be for you then!

For a chance to win please do one (or more) of the following things:
1) follow my blog
2) leave a comment to this post
3) follow me on twitter (valeasc)
4) tweet about it (and let me know!)

All by Wednesday 6th. The winner will be randomly selected and announced on Thursday morning.

Good luck!!

And the winner is...

photo found on flickr

It's time to announce the winner.......
...........Ilaria, congratulations!!, you won a set of 5 *happy halloween* cards!
You have been a huge fan of valeasc since the real beginning, glad you won!

The cards are otherwise available in my etsy shop in sets of six.

Next giveaway in a month time!

September Giveaway

As promised, it's time for the second valeasc giveaway!

This time, valeasc is offering a set of 5 *happy halloween* cards + 5 purple C6 envelopes.
The cards measure 210 X 148 mm (open size) and are alcohol-free printed on a 350gsm card stock.
The retro-inspired design is printed on both front and back of the cards.
The inside is left blank for your own message.

*go to my flickr album for more pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/valeasc/

To enter the competition, leave me a comment and tell me what you are going to do for Halloween by tuesday the 6th of october.

I will be going to the States, Baltimore to be precise...my first truly American Halloween experience and I can't wait! I need outfits ideas for me and Rob, please help!

Please don't forget to leave your email address as well. I will contact the winner on Wednesday the 7th.

Spread the word and good luck!!

If you are not lucky this time and love the cards, they are available in my etsy shop in sets of 6.