Holly Made Life - Reviews Archives

Spring Spectacular at Hatton Country World

This is a review of the Spring Spectacular event at Hatton Country World, which ran from 13 – 28 April 2019, our visit was organised through Coventry Bloggers.

Last week, I booked Tuesday off work more out of necessity than anything else (my Dad usually looks after Pickle on a Tuesday but they were instead having a wonderful time on a canal boat holiday!), and decided it was the perfect day for a bit of farm based fun. We’re no strangers to Hatton Country World, although our visits are usually during school term weekdays to make the most of the quieter times and often reduced entrance fees, so I know we’d be almost guaranteed to have a lovely time. read more

Aged 2+, Countryside, Days Out, Days Out, Parenting, Reviews
/ April 28, 2019
Afternoon Tea at Laura Ashley The Tea Room, Solihull

This is a review of Laura Ashley The Tea Room, organised through Coventry Bloggers.

This month, Jim and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary. Although I try not to buy into the hype about celebrations like this (I’ve learned from the past… if I get my hopes up for grand romantic gestures, I usually end up disappointed – Jim is amazing at a lot of things, but being romantic isn’t generally one of them!), I do think it’s good for us to have a reason to prioritse spending quality time together. It’s a guilt-free excuse (I know, we shouldn’t need an excuse but the pschology and reasoning behind that is a blog post for another day!), and this year, we thought what better way to toast to another year of wedded life than a good old afternoon tea in the town where we legally became man and wife. read more

Dining Out, Lifestyle, Reviews
/ April 25, 2019
Easter Egg Painting with Little Brian Paint Sticks

This post contains items that have been sent for review.

When I was pregnant, I had all these visions of being a really crafty, always-baking, house proud mother. I’d spend our Sunday mornings whipping up a batch of brownies with Pickle, skipping out to feed the ducks, and then coming home to the smell of roast beef before bath, book and bed. The truth is… I do sometimes do these things, but it takes me about a fortnight to properly clean up the aftermath. Fun things with toddlers are MESSY- because for it to be fun, you’ve got to let go a little bit… you need to embrace the mess and let it happen. But I’ve learned this week, that there are ways to do memorable, fun crafts without destroying the house. Interested? Read on. read more

Parenting, Reviews
/ April 15, 2019
Hogsdown Farm Caravan and Campsite, Gloucestershire
For the past two May Day Bank Holidays, we’ve spent our weekend at the gloriously named Hogsdown Farm Caravan and Campsite in Dursley, Gloucestershire. I’ve been meaning to write about it after both trips, but imposing work deadlines always forced me to push it to the bottom of the to-do list.

Where is Hogsdown Farm?

GL11 6DD

The farm is not far from Dursley, between Gloucester and Bristol near the A38 and M5 – making it an easy to get to option for families based in the Midlands, the Cotswolds or the South West. read more
Camping, Reviews
/ April 14, 2019
Ice Age: The Lost Kingdom at Birmingham Botanical Gardens

I’ve a lot of love for the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. It’s such a beautiful expanse in amidst our bustling city, offering lots for little ones to explore, a brilliant park area and so much gorgeous photography opportunities. This week, we ventured down with some friends to see the new Ice Age exhibition: a trail of over 40 installations of animated life-sized beasts, including a Sabre Tooth Tiger, Mastodon and the centre piece Woolly Mammoth.

Our Day Out

I’d first heard about the Ice Age exhibition from a new friend at work. Our boys are both very similar in age and she had planned on going, sending me the details as she correctly guessed that it sounded up my street! A few days later, I had an email invitation to check out a preview of the attraction, and I knew just who would make for the perfect companions on our trip. read more

Days Out, Parenting, Reviews
/ April 7, 2019
Storytelling with Moonlite Projector

This post contains items that have been sent to us for review purposes.

I was a complete book worm as a child. It wasn’t teddies and soft toys that adorned my bed at night: it was books. I always had a pile at the foot of my bed, and often several underneath my pillow, stashed away for safe keeping once my eyes had gotten too heavy to read another page. It’s a joy I really looked forward to sharing with my own child whilst pregnant, and I am so glad that as he’s gotten older, Pickle is showing more and more that he’ll be just the same. He loves a good story and I’m always up for story time. read more

Aged 2+, Parenting, Reviews
/ March 6, 2019