It has been pouring with rain here and we all have the sniffles. But we managed to get out for 10 minutes, armed with a leftover canister of coloured hair spray from Halloween. Small boy is a master at pointing to his nose but anywhere else forget it! So we tried big brother school! Big boy was trying to teach him all the different features of your face with our spray man!

The spikey hair was to look like Dada!

I kept the spray well out of their reach and it will wash off in the rain!

We did a few rounds of the face game and then played with the basketball! All with big boy in a pair of pink wellies left over from small boy's welly throwing race at his birthday party in the summer!

I have been searching for inspiration for our new orange and grey theme dining room, which centres around the painted sideboard. Little did I know but the perfect accessories were hiding in the giant land of orange and grey! B&Q! I am not normally a fan of the 'home' catalogues from the bigger DIY chains but the Indoor Style magazine is bursting with products that are right up my street! The styling and presentation of the magazine is fresh too and I love their use of texture and props in the photographs.

This checked pattern cushion jumped straight out and will be perfect on the toddler dining chair in the corner of the room.

I also picked up these striped curtains. They are in a soft cotton fabric and the grey is light enough not to depress our small space.

I found an antique cream/grey curtain pole at Dunelm Mill which adds to softness to the harsher grey tones.

I think as long as you don't replicate an entire page from a home styling catalogue (as your room can end up a little soulless without your personal stamp on it) then picking some choice accessories is a great idea! Affordable too!

What do you think of orange and grey? Brave or stupid?! Here's my inspiration.

I can't wait to have it finished so you can see!

Because we had a family party on Sunday we missed one of the boy's special friend's 5th birthday party. Our best friends held what sounded like a fab party in the local village hall (my favourite kind of party) and I asked if I could share my friend's amazing idea!

Forget your everyday party bags, they had a balloon tree!

Take a helium balloon and place a plastic weight on the end. Place it in a party cup and pour your party bag fillers and sweets over the top. Arrange the cups on a cake stand and ta daa! A stunning and simple idea that is a show stopper!

ps I'm going to join forces with my best pal and post our top tips for a village hall party so watch out for it!