The Ladybird Tuesday post on The Story of Newspapers can now be found over on Penny Reads. You can read it in full here. If you have a collection of old Ladybird books then please feel free to join in with Ladybird Tuesday. There are no formal rules to follow, just leave a link to any post you write in the comments below and if you're feeling kind link back to my Ladybird Tuesday category here on Being Mrs C. Thanks! ... read more
TASSIMO Hot Chocolate with a caffeine kick!
It's time for another TASSIMO Blogger Challenge and this month I'm embracing the cold. Whilst autumn and winter may not be everyone's cup of tea there's actually something I quite like about wrapping up warm in a scarf and hat, or under a blanket on the sofa. I like how cosy you can make it at home once you've drawn the curtains and everyone is in from work and school. I also like winter warming meals and in my mind nothing beats wrapping your hands round a hot mug of something when there's a chill in the air. We were asked to use our TASSIMO machines to come up with a ... read more
Yikes, Stinkysaurus! – Pamela Butchart and Sam Lloyd
"My favourite dinosaur book ever mummy!" That's exactly how Little Miss C described Yikes, Stinkysaurus! after a couple of days of reading it, and for a child that's going through a bit of a dinosaur obsession at the moment that's pretty high praise indeed! The fact that this is apparently going to be the first in a series of dinosaur themed books makes it even more exciting. Stinkysaurus is the smelliest dinosaur there is. He refuses to take a bath and as a result all the other dinosaurs can smell him wherever he goes. He soon becomes the scariest dinosaur ... read more
Take a seat workshop
Back on what I think was the last day I felt vaguely normal before taking to my sick bed I had an amazing child-free day cashing in my birthday present from Mr C. Rather than buying things I asked for an experience gift and he came up trumps by paying for me to attend a workshop at local shop Lavender Blue. The workshop I chose was one in which you take an old chair, very much like this one... ... and then use Annie Sloan paints and fabric to turn it into something quite special. Before attending the workshop I'd got visions that much of my day would be spent sandpaper in hand ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: Levers, Pulleys and Engines
I've blogged before about my love of Ladybird series 621 (Junior Science) and Ladybird Tuesday has already featured Magnets, Bulbs and Batteries and Light, Mirrors and Lenses from that series. I'm on a mission to try and collect the whole series, both the originals and the updated versions from the 1980s, and I was therefore delighted when my sister picked me up a copy of Levers, Pulleys and Engines. This book is a perfect introduction to so many aspects of physics and tries to align them with things that are familiar to children. There are also some lovely little ... read more
Things I’ve learnt this week…
Pneumonia is not fun. Modern medicine is fantastic. The new series of Borgen is fantastic. Trying to look after kids when ill is hard work. Daytime naps are great and do aid recovery. Having time to read books is lovely. Sod's law will always kick in when you don't want it to. Series 2 of Last Tango in Halifax is also pretty damn good. It is possible to be too ill to even have the energy to pick up knitting needles. Pneumonia can help you finally shift those post baby pounds. My husband is fantastic. Normal service here will resume once I'm better. ... read more
Review: Tesco Chocolates
When the email came in asking if I wanted to review some chocolates for Tesco I think my response was something along the lines of "is the Pope a Catholic?" I am a self-confessed chocoholic, but what I hadn't counted on was a nasty dose of the flu coming along which forced even a well-practiced chocolate lover like me to completely lose my sense of taste and desire to eat anything for over a week. Apologies therefore for this review being somewhat later than planned. Tesco have brought out a new range of festive chocolates this Christmas, created by master chocolatiers behind ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: A Second Ladybird Key Words Picture Dictionary
I was delighted to be given a couple of fantastic additions to my Ladybird Collection by my sister last week. One from the Junior Science series which I will be featuring soon and also a rather exciting copy of A Second Ladybird Key Words Picture Dictionary and Spelling Book. Now Mrs Fox's featured a 1966 version of this back in March, but it's fascinating to see how different a later edition looks. This version was published in 1980 and the illustrations really do have that late 70s / early 80s look about them - especially with the purple cover. It seems that the written ... read more
North Riding Loaf
As a follow on from the Great Bloggers Bake Off those of us that were involved whilst the Great British Bake Off was on telly are continuing to bake and blogging about it. I'm very much playing catch up, but finally this last week have found time to use some gorgeous smelling mixed spices that I was sent by Steenbergs. After having a look at the recipes on their website I was rather taken by their recipe for North Riding Loaf (which seems to have now been renamed on there as North Riding Bread). Now this isn't a bread in the true sense of the word, but more of a tea cake. What really ... read more
Thrifty Mrs C Review: Wilko Cleaning Range
I should start this review by telling you that I am a HUGE Wilko fan. My family has lived near their HQ for years and my mum even lived in the same village as one of the Wilkinson Family for quite a few years. I've been to their shops all over the country and I love the range they sell and the quality of their own brand lines. Here in St Albans we have quite a large branch which I probably go into about once a week and buy everything from chocolate bars, to moisturiser, to cold and flu treatment, to fish food to kids craft materials. Where else can you get all that under one roof and at ... read more