• Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam: The Spooky School
    baking - book review - competition

    Win 1 x 3 new Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam chapter books

    October 21, 2016 - By 

    I love this time of year. The weather and early evenings bring us indoors more but it also means more time for reading! Luckily my two are little bookworms and love to receive new titles to review. Have you heard of Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam, everyone’s favourite robber-dogs-turned-bakers? They are the stars in a successful picture book series which my 4 year old always picks up at the library. So I was delighted to hear that a new first chapter book for readers aged around 6-9 years has just been published. Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam: The Spooky School Shifty…

  • Easy Gingerbread Halloween mummies - the gingerbread house
    baking - gingerbread - Halloween crafts

    Easy Gingerbread Halloween mummies

    October 19, 2016 - By 

    With both my children at school our crafts now take place after school and at the weekends. I have perfected the art of setting up an invitation to play which helps them both unwind from school and bring out their creativity. This week we had fun with our Easy Gingerbread Halloween mummies and I’m going to let you into a little secret – I didn’t bake my own gingerbread! Easy Gingerbread Halloween mummies This is a super quick and fun craft activity because it uses shop bought gingerbread men! I love making my own but sometimes you just need to…

  • Easy Halloween Spider Pizza
    baking - crafts - Halloween crafts

    Easy Halloween Spider Pizza

    October 8, 2016 - By 

    It is pretty easy to please my children. They love Halloween, although my 4 year old won’t stop singing Christmas carols! So I thought it would be fun to give them a Halloween-themed dinner and they had fun helping me make Halloween Spider Pizza. This is so simple to make and is perfect for a Halloween themed feast. You will need: Garlic Pizza Bread Jar of Tomato Pasta Sauce Jar of black pitted olives Freshly grated cheese How to make Easy Halloween Spider Pizza I wanted to make this as easy and fun as possible so I used ready-made ingredients.…

  • Decorated Trolls gingerbread biscuits
    baking - gingerbread - homestyle

    Decorated Trolls gingerbread biscuits

    September 15, 2016 - By 

    We’ve been taking inspiration from those cute little Trolls recently. We’ve seen the trailer for the new Trolls film a few times and enjoyed playing with the new Poppy Style Station which we recently reviewed. I thought it would be fun to bake and decorate Trolls gingerbread biscuits so found a cookie cutter online and got everything ready. Decorated Trolls gingerbread biscuits You can probably guess that I made a batch of my favourite gingerbread dough (using this gingerbread recipe here). They spread a little whilst baking as I hadn’t chilled it for long enough, but they were still recognisable…

  • Gruffalo Crumble and Other Recipes
    baking - book review

    Cooking with the Gruffalo {Gruffalo Crumble and Other Recipes}

    September 4, 2016 - By 

    With the Bake Off recently starting again and a sniff of Autumn in the air we have been looking for baking inspiration. Gruffalo Crumble and Other Recipes is packed full of sweet treats, healthy snacks and simple meals – all based on the best-selling picture book The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. The book contains twenty-four recipes specially designed for adults to use with children, easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions and lots of hints and tips on what to do next The book is spiral bound with wipe clean pages in case of any spills! As well as the expected recipes for…

  • The Lyric Theatre
    baking - Cath Kidston - days out - London - mindfulness

    Monday Happy List – Week 94

    July 11, 2016 - By 

    Another busy week for us and now we really are counting down until the school holidays. This week both children had their Sports Days and Class Swap Days. They are really tired and in need of the holiday. I am so proud of them for getting good reports but this term has felt long so the holidays can’t come quickly enough now. This weekend was pretty special as we enjoyed a family trip to the theatre to see the Gruffalo Live. My children can pretty much recite any Julia Donaldson story word for word so we were excited to see…

  • Cath Kidston Teatime book cover
    baking - book review - Cath Kidston - What I'm reading

    Cath Kidston Teatime: 50 cakes and bakes for every occasion

    July 2, 2016 - By 

    My book shelves are pretty full, and double stacked in places, but when I heard about Cath Kidston Teatime I really wanted to treat myself to a copy. I have all the Cath Kidston books as I love looking through them, but so far they’ve all been craft books. Cath Kidston Teatime: 50 cakes and bakes for every occasion is a baking book and I was excited to see a copy. Teatime is a British tradition that has become a staple the world over. Afternoon tea brings people together over sumptuous scones and sponges, elegant sandwiches, marvellous macarons and delectable…

  • Biscuiteers biscuit tin
    baking - Father's Day - Handmade gifts

    Biscuiteers biscuits for Fathers Day {Classic Car Show Biscuit Collection review}

    June 2, 2016 - By 

    So it’s not so long ago that I wrote a post about getting a gift for the man who has everything. I always find Father’s Day a little bittersweet as I lost my own Dad a few years ago. However I am lucky to be married to the most amazing man and love to treat him when I can. I’ve already told you about the little personalised gifts the children have made for him but I thought he might like something a little more grown up too from Biscuiteers. My wonderful husband bought me my first and only (so far!)…

  • BKD mini bakers box showing contents
    baking - crafts - Kids crafts

    BKD Mini Bakers Club review

    May 13, 2016 - By 

    My children enjoy receiving subscription boxes as much as I do. We’ve already tried some crafty ones but were excited to hear about BKD Mini Bakers Club, perfect for my little mini Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood. The boxes are personalised which is a lovely touch and come filled with activities. We received the gingerbread biscuit kit which my daughter really enjoyed opening. Each baking box is personally addressed to your child and include a different flavour BKD artisan baking mix (100% Natural) along with a beautifully illustrated baking guide full of exciting baking themed craft projects. There are instructions…