I had a wander round Paignton today whilst the husband, toddler and grandad went on the Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway to Kingswear. We go on this beautiful heritage line every year and I always get left in the carriage looking after the bags whilst they rush to take photographs at every halt and stop. This year I decided I would have some time with my 6 month old and explore the shops. The station at the Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway has recently been restored and is a great place to start a visit to Paignton. We walked to the sea…
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Our holiday was going quite well until my husband slipped and twisted his ankle. This meant that yesterday I had to entertain the children whilst my husband went to A&E. After exhausting the possibilities of the play park, beach and pier I thought I deserved a treat. Teignmouth is brilliant for charity shops and I never leave without some bargains. There are at least 8 charity shops which is pretty good for a small seaside town. They are all within easy walking distance of each other and can be visited in under half an hour. I started off by visiting the Rowcroft…
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Today was the first full day of our holiday and my husband kindly agreed we could go to a car boot sale! I was really excited about this as there are never any near us in London and I always hear about people picking up great bargains. The car boot sale was at Newton Abbot Racecourse and opened at 9am. The children never sleep well when we’re away from home so we were all up and out the door and arrived at the Racecourse just after 9. I was surprised to see people were already leaving with armfuls of stuff…
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We are very happy members of the Tots100 Film Club and our latest review is of the humongous Looney Tunes Big Faces Box Set. The box set contains 10 discs: Daffy Duck, Tweety Pie, Taz, Porky Pig, Speedy Gonzales, Bugs Bunny, Tom & Jerry x2, ROad Runner and Wile E. Coyote. Each disc contains about 15 episodes which are perfect for little people with small attention spans. We’ve been working our way through the set, the toddler picking a disc by the character on the front of each box. This has been great for learning new words although he’s still…
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Are you looking for the perfect gift for Father’s Day? I have a wonderful giveaway which the winner will receive in time for Father’s Day. Sussex based model-makers, Chisel & Mouse, handcraft iconic buildings in miniature. By blending state-of-the-art techniques with traditional model making skills they have created an inspired collection of high-quality models which are beautiful to the eye and touch. Forget about the mug, magnet and key ring! Football-loving Dad’s can have their own souvenir of Arsenal, Craven Cottage or Ibrox Stadiums – the ultimate stylish memorabilia. There are also some wonderful models of iconic buildings, including Battersea Power…
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I don’t seem to write about my children as much as I used to. I’ve been getting bogged down with offers of lovely items to review which means my blog often goes a way I don’t really want it to. So, I’m going to concentrate on the things I’m actually interested in – like my children, baking, and crafts – and review less irrelevant products! My 6 month old has changed so much. I feel bad that, unlike with her brother, I just haven’t made a note of those silly milestones that are only important to a mother. Life is…
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I’ve been having a bit of a bake-fest lately. The Jubilee has been inspiring me in lots of ways – sewing, baking, and even a letter to the Queen! Our holiday coincides with the Jubilee weekend so I’ve been making some treats we can all enjoy to get us in the mood. I thought some patriotic biscuits would be nice so made biscuits using the easiest biscuit recipe from my new Biscuiteers book. The biscuits are lovely with just the right crunchy texture and taste. I made a mixture of shapes, some crowns, flags and hearts. I decorated them using…
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Did you know today was World Baking Day? World Baking Day is all about sharing the joy of baking cakes, and what better way to share the love than #caking! I have been very busy baking but I wanted to share this vintage Nutbrown Party Time Cutter Gingerbread Man. I love the original packaging which proudly says “For use in making super Gingerbread Biscuits, highly popular with young people”. Eek, that makes me feel old! The cutter was made in England by Thos. M. Nutbrown Ltd and the cover shows a freaky gingerbread man with scary eyes, buttons and belt…
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Yesterday I received an email from my mum, asking if I’d seen the latest Banksy which had apparently appeared on the wall of our local Poundland overnight. I instantly googled to find out more, inwardly cursing the fact she knew what was happening in my own neighbourhood before me! We went down to take a look as it’s not every day modern art appears on the doorstep! The graffiti has been stencilled on the side wall of the shop just off Wood Green High Road. It features a small child at a sewing machine making bunting, some plastic union jack…