I LOVE Christmas! There we go I've said it. There's probably people despairing as they read that, but this year as soon as we'd waved away the trick or treaters on 31st October I've been in full on Christmas mood. For me the moment that sealed it was sitting down with a mug of Henry Westons Mulled Cider that I'd been sent to review and my subscription copy of the Christmas issue of Country Living. Nice magazines are one of my guilty pleasures and whenever I open Country Living I'm always transported to the old village rectory that features in many of my dreams and a whole different ... read more
Review: Weston’s Wyld Wood Cider
There are some emails that you receive as a blogger that you end up reading and re-reading to check that they're really true. The one that came from Weston's Wyld Wood Cider asking if they could send me some cider to review was one such email. Some people may think me a bit queer, but to be honest when I go one a rare night out to the pub I'm someone who is much happier ordering a pint (or half pint) of something to drink than a glass of wine - although don't get my wrong, I do love wine too, but it's just a preference thing. When Mr C and I moved to St Albans years ago I discovered my love ... read more
Blackberry Muffins
Blackberries seemed to come really early here this year - back before the schools broke up for summer - so I've actually been sitting on this recipe for a while. One day after school the kids and I went foraging on the local heath and came home with a large bag full of blackberries. Neither of the kids are huge fans of crumble which is what I like to make most with blackberries - combining them with apples from our apple tree - so I went in search of a cake recipe or similar and actually failed to find anything that wasn't too complicated. I pulled together the following from several ... read more
Back to School – Retro lunchbox ideas
Dare I say the dreaded words "back to school yet"? By my calculations we're now past the halfway point in the school holidays and in my desperate attempts to be organised by September I'm starting to think about all the things that I need to do before Little Miss C goes back to school on 3rd September. There's more (bigger) uniform to buy and water bottles to name. A book bag to find and school shoes to polish. With her being at Infant School she qualifies for free school meals come September which will not only save us money, but also mean that I don't have to get a lunchbox ready every ... read more
#RealMumsAllBran 5-Day Challenge
http://instagram.com/p/p9d-M2xI-J/?modal=true I'll let you in on a bit of a secret. I'm a breakfast cereal addict. I love the stuff. The sweet ones. The healthy ones. The ones that turn the milk chocolately. The whole lot. When I'm home alone my guilty pleasure is a bowl before bed, and it's rare that a morning passes when I don't have a bowl of some cereal. When I heard that BritMums were looking for bloggers to take part in the #RealMumsAllBran 5-Day Challenge I stuck my hand in the air instantly. The way the challenge worked is that we were sent three All-Bran flavours (Golden Crunch, ... read more
Review: Vimto Squeezy
Who doesn't love Vimto? That fruity taste that you can't quite put your finger on just reminds me of childhood summers every time I have it. When I was emailed to ask if I wanted to try their new Vimto Squeezy I was therefore intrigued. I've seen the TV ads for these new "water enhancers" as they are called and I wondered what all the fuss was about. The main target market is people, in particular children, who just don't like the taste of water on its own. You can then carry with you one of the small bottles and add a squirt of it to water when you're out and about and hey presto it's just ... read more
Featured Post: When Paddington took over #Warbeartons
Just the mention of marmalade sandwiches and several generations instantly think of Paddington Bear. Has any one person (human or bear) ever had such a strong association with a specific food? He was always prepared for any adventure with his sandwiches packed carefully in his little brown suitcase and that's what makes him the perfect bear for Warburtons to team up with this summer. I fondly remember reading the Michael Bond books as a child and also enjoying the television adaptation of it. Strangely I still recall the phrase "Mr and Mrs Brown exchanged glances", which seemed to be used ... read more
Salmon, Shiitake and Mixed Mushroom Egg Fried Rice #MushroomMeals
It seems that Master C isn't the only picky eater in our family. As my mum is keen to remind me, I went through my own fussy patch when younger and for quite a while the only two things I would eat were mushroom soup and baked beans. Cold. Neither sound particularly great cold, but when you consider how fussy some kids can be about mushrooms also a surprising choice. We're still struggling to get Master C to put any non-bread food past his lips at meal-times, but luckily Little Miss C seems to have put her fussy days behind her (let's hope I'm not tempting fate by saying that!) and is ... read more
A woman’s world of whisky
About 12 years ago I had the pleasure of a week away in Scotland, staying on the small island of Easdale with friends. A lovely holiday and a great opportunity to get to know a part of Scotland that I hadn't visited before. One rainy day we headed over to the mainland and the town of Oban where we decided to kill a couple of hours visiting the Oban distillery. Up until that day I'd never really drunk whisky before, but a small glass there, followed by some more from the gift shop had me hooked. A love affair between me and whisky was born. Now, I should come clean here and say that I tend ... read more
Dinner at the Vitamin D-iner
Today was just like a return to November weather-wise. Grey, wet and significantly colder than it has been of late, making it appropriate to think about how little Vitamin D our kids are getting here in the UK. Vitamin D is crucial for the under 5s to ensure that they grow healthily and that their bones and teeth develop correctly. But with the weather the way it is here it can be very difficult for children to get enough vitamin D from the sun alone. Now, my kids spend a good amount of time outside every day. We walk to school every day, I walk to town with Master C about three times a ... read more