Finding joy in every day life
Hello, I am Dina, a mom, a wife and a person who loves life. This blog is my virtual jar of notes on what brings me joy in day to day life. It includes time with kids, time without kids, food recipes and much more.
Perfect Lips Care Tips
When we think about skincare we focus on the face, maybe hands, and body but rarely remember about lips. Yet a little care for lips goes a long way. It’s amazing how much prettier a lipstick looks on nourished lips and how much longer it stays and even more importantly how soft and sensual the nourished lips feel!
Becoming Best Friends with Our Children
It’s easy to be best friends with our children when they are babies and toddlers. But as they grow they have the mind of their own and relationships with them need attention and nurture like any other family relationship. This post is about what helps us with my daughter to feel connected and stay best friends.
Books about Strong Women for Girls and Boys
I was excited to stumble across these books. I love to read them with my girl and talk about strong women in this world. And I hope you will too!
3 Most Helpful Parenting Books for Baby and Toddler Years
As a busy Mom, I don’t get a chance to read a lot. So when I do sit down with a book I want this book to be helpful and fun and enjoyable to read. Here is the list of 3 parenting books I found most helpful for baby and toddler years.
Cabbage Stew and Cabbage Pies
I want to share with you two meals I make from cabbage. Both easy and delicious. I usually buy one cabbage, slice a piece of it off for the cabbage pies stuffing and then make the cabbage and pork stew with the rest. Cabbage pies are brilliant to make with toddlers and kids. Cabbage stew is so delicious that will keep even fuzzy eater happy.
Best Products for Pregnancy and Baby’s First Year
It’s an award night! For best pregnancy and baby’s first year products. I have picked products that are not as widely featured in media and are likely to be overlooked, but at the same time, I found them outstanding during my pregnancy and maternity years.
Movie night: “Downsizing” Review
Home date night for Valentines’ doesn’t have to be boring. Here is a review of the movie “Downsizing”. It’s a perfect movie for a date night. Especially if you want something lighthearted yet captivating and unusual.
Fun Games For Siblings of Different Age
Great ideas for easy games that can be enjoyed by siblings of different ages, as young as a baby and an elder brother or sister. And also fun for the whole family!
“Plov” - Perfect Meal for Toddlers and Families
Winter, lockdown, and rainy (or snowy!) days are calling for some comfort food. Since all of us are home (and we like to eat!), my husband and I try to cook meals in large quantities and store them for a few days. “Plov” or “Pilaf” is ideal for that. My daughter loves loves loves the Plov. She never failed to enjoy it from the first time she tried. It’s one of the very few meals she didn’t get tired of and always gets excited seeing it on her plate. This is also a very easy meal to make!
9 Ideas for Winter Walk
if, like for us, the winter is cold, rainy, and grey, with no snow, read on for ideas on making walks with kids fun. In our family, we are staying extra careful and avoid playgrounds because of the pandemic. So we had to get creative to make our walks fun. Here are 9 ideas we came up with to enjoy winter walks.
Postnatal Recovery in 5 Steps
During my recovery journey in the first year, I was surprised to find that the key elements to the recovery don’t seem to be common knowledge. I was lucky enough to have a brilliant postnatal pilates teacher and also to have access to general and specialist physios to guide me through the journey. Here is a summary of what I learnt, my recommendation for the 5 recovery streps, and the discount code for the best program I have tried!
Entertaining Kids At Home with Internet
Feeling tired? Overwhelmed? Demotivated? You are not alone! The start of 2021 is a tough one, and in the UK we have a “stay at home” order for the winter. In this post, I compiled Internet resources that are educational and entertaining for kids. These resources helped me to get through the first lockdown in 2020 while working, looking after a toddler, and being heavily pregnant.
Winter Fashion: Hats, Perfume, and Tips on Haircare
Winter is here. And so is a fresh lockdown in our part of the UK. We only leave our home to go for a little walk in the neighborhood. We wear the warmest coats, and no one knows what else we wear underneath. So how do we keep ourselves feeling stylish and beautiful?
Fantastic Christmas Performances to Watch at Home
It’s Christmas at home for millions of people in the UK and around the world. 2020 has been a tough year and it’s not ready to give us a break just yet! To brighten the mood and bring the festive atmosphere back, I collated a list of fantastic Christmas performances to watch at home for kids and adults.
Christmas Decoration Craft
I love to have little rituals while waiting for Christmas, like opening the advent calendar every day, decorating the Christmas tree altogether as a family, or making a Christmas tree decoration ourselves. This year we made a little house with a thatched roof and a tea light inside, and both my daughter and I were excited to put it on the Christmas tree!
In this post, I describe what we used and the steps we followed.
Baking Made Simple
The festive season is perfect for baking. It’s a great activity with little ones as well. I prefer to choose simple recipes with delicious results, where my daughter can help and not run out of patience. In the search for a simple solution, I made a wonderful discovery…
Three Must-Have Skincare Masks
Christmas is just around the corner, twinkling lights are on, Christmas trees are up, and I can’t wait for a break and a magical season. As well as preparing presents and decorations, I like to prepare my skin for the festive season too and to help it to glow. Here are my three must-have skincare masks that take care of cleansing, moisturising, soothing, and nourishing my skin.
Toys for Babies, Toddlers and Beyond
In this post, I want to share three toys that proved to be a great success with my daughter. All three toys appeared in our house during the first year of her life. Now she is three and still plays with them fondly. These toys make a wonderful Christmas gift.
Gadgets For Christmas
Christmas is fast approaching and Santa is reading our letters to him. What have you asked for? Maybe a new gadget? Or are you thinking about what to give to a loved one for Christmas? Here is the list of my favourite gadgets I would recommend.
Autumn Craft with Kids
Autumn is such an inspiration with the bright coloured leaves and berries everywhere. There are so many fun things that can be done with the leaves. Here is what we’ve done this autumn.