When I was asked if I wanted to review some chocolate from Hotel Chocolate it was a bit of a no-brainer. In fact I think my email response was typed out without me even having to think about what I was writing! They sent me their 2012 Milk Chocolate Advent Calendar which is a lovely treat. An advent calendar is one of those things that you have as a child, but then forget about somewhat as an adult, until you have children yourself. The last couple of years Little Miss C has had one and I've bought them for Mr C, but not had one myself. I was delighted to have my own this year - but it ... read more
Archives for November 2012
How?
When you have a toddler people always ask if they've reached the "why stage" yet. All toddlers are inquisitive and learning how to question things is a natural development step for them. As a result they all seem to go through a period where they have the need to ask "why" with reference to everything they see and do. People had warned me about the why stage and I had even started to mentally prepare myself for the why questions that I might get. But, being a bit different as always, Little Miss C instead seems to be asking "how"! It all started one morning ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: Things to Make
It seems that the kick off of Ladybird Tuesday appealed to quite a few of you last week and I'm delighted that Lemon Layer Cake and Mrs Fox are also hoping to join in - check out LLC's post on Florence Nightingale from last week. This week's book is probably one of the most well known of the old Ladybird titles - The Ladybird Book of Things to Make. The cover of this has been reproduced on notebooks, mugs and even as a gift activity tin in the past few years. The orginal book was first published in 1963 and was the first title in ... read more
Return of the missing mojo
I seem to recall that after Little Miss C was born it took me a while to regain my craft mojo, and the same seems to be the case after Master C's birth. Obviously there have been plenty of other things going on here too this time round (including having a toddler to entertain) but this last week or so the need to create has returned. Before I can start any new projects though there are so many around the house that need finishing off. My plan, certainly for the next 6 months or so, is that I'm not allowed to buy anything for any new craft projects and instead need to concentrate on ... read more
The Raymond Blanc Lunch at Brasserie Blanc
One thing I really miss since having children is being able to go out for dinner or a weekend lunch on a whim with Mr C. We were very lucky in that we could just phone each other in the afternoon and decide where to meet for dinner that night - a big luxury indeed. I was thrilled therefore when a weekday lunch for local bloggers was organised on a date that I could actually do and on a day of the week when Little Miss C was in nursery. The venue was the newly opened St Albans branch of Brasserie Blanc and we were all invited to try the November version of their seasonal fixed price menu - The ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: ‘People At Work’ In a Hotel
This post on People at Work In A Hotel has now moved to Penny Reads and can be read here. ... read more
How to keep a toddler amused…
... whilst having to wait for the Doctor's appintment that is running 40 minutes late. Hand over your camera and ask them to take photographs of the things they like. The result is some slightly blurred pictures and ten minutes peace and quiet at the time. Little Miss C was so pleased with herself that I thought I ought to share some of the best pictures. Some friends from In The Night Garden. Mummy waiting patiently. And a rare in focus one - LMC's friend and constant companion. What pictures has your little one taken? ... read more
Three hours
I'm sure I can't be the only person who gets to the end of the day and wonders what I've actually acheived that day. When you're at home with little ones it can be quite easy to just concentrate on "surviving" and it can be easy to lose track of what has kept you busy all day. Realistically though, stay at home parents usually acheive loads, but they simply don't have the time to step back and take stock of just what they have done. This morning Mr C went out to a first aid course so I thought I'd keep track of just what I got up to in that time - admitedly, ... read more
Sponsored Post – Fenton: 4GEE Remaster
If you spend any time on social media then you can't have missed the wonderful Fenton video that was released on YouTube last year. Twelve months on and a remastered version has been released by EE as part of the advertising for their new 4G service. If you're a fan of all the amazing BBC nature programes then some of this may seem familiar... Viral video by ebuzzing ... read more
Toddler cupcakes
After the scathing comments about "mummy bloggers" that appeared courtesy of Ms Jones in yesterday's Daily Fail (I refuse to link to them and give them any SEO credit at all for this) I felt slightly bad about today's post being about cupcakes, but still. I may be one of these parents who stays at home knitting and baking whilst blogging and bringing up my children, but that's completely fine with me. And also with my husband who gets to eat the fruits of my baking activities when he comes home from work. Little Miss C has really got into baking recently and one of the ... read more