My name is Lauren and I am a wife, mother, friend and craft fanatic living in Durban KZN, which is located in beautiful South Africa.  My husband, Terry,  and I are both 30 and have been together since 2003, and married since 2010.  We currently live in a regular semi-detached complex home with our 3 staffies, running a mock in the garden, and our 1-year-old daughter Paige ruling the roost.

I have wanted to start a blog like this for almost 2 years but just never seemed to make the time to do it.  So, about a month ago, I sat down for half an hour with my pen and notebook and started jotting down some ideas and experiences that I wanted to share.

When I was pregnant (2012-2013) I searched for mommy blogs to follow, that shared all of the good the bad and the downright scary truths.  While I did find a few that covered the general stuff, I couldn’t find one that I could use as my sounding board for what I was experiencing, as well as ideas for how to deal and fun stuff that I could do to make the journey more interesting and personalised for Terry and I.

And so this blog was born (a year after my daughter was I might add).  During my pregnancy and the first year of Paige’s life, I made little notes of things that happened and things that I did, so that one day I could share them with someone.  The advice and insights that I received from friends and family was invaluable, and I don’t ever want it to be lost through the generations to come.

I have decided that I am just going to post about stuff as and when I think about it, or as they happen going forward.  My mother also passed on her flair for the creative so there are a few ideas that I will share with you along the way, of stuff that I have done myself, and of things that I have found on other blogs and attempted – whether success or dismal failure.

You will find that most of what I write about is somehow linked to my family and friends – I like to think of them as my most treasured collections.

Please feel free to comment and ask questions, and if I post about something that you can relate to, or that makes you think of a friend/family member in your life, then please share it with them and tell me about your experience too – it can only help us all going forward.

My ultimate goal for this blog is to one day share it with my daughter (and any future bean), so that she can read about all the laughter, tears and creative craziness – but until then, I look forward to sharing my stories with you.