Last year I reviewed a lovely book by Sarahjane Funnell. We were invited to afternoon tea at the pet friendly hotel, The Athenaeum, for the launch of her second book – Phillipa Fairy Cake and the Secret Pets’ Tea Party. Afternoon tea at The Athenaeum First of all we enjoyed a really delicious afternoon tea with delicate finger sandwiches, fairy cakes and macaroons. The kids loved trying the sandwiches and pretty fairy cakes. We were all given lovely rosettes with our names on which I thought was a lovely personal touch. Phillipa loves fairy cakes. She loves them almost as…
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The Ella’s Kitchen: the cook book is packed full of 100 yummy recipes ranging from Speedy snacks to Dee-licious dinners and creative activities to make mealtimes fun for all of the family. We were sent a copy to review and really love it! This is a great cook book packed full of mouthwatering recipes. We always have a cupboard full of Ella’s Kitchen products and this is just what I imagined their cook book would be. There are 100 nutritious and delicious recipes for lunches, dinners, puddings and treats. There are some great time-saving ideas, such as using an Ella’s…
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Moving house has helped me re-discover all of my lovely crafty items which have been packed away during the whole house moving shenanigans. Everything is slowly coming together and I have a long list of things I want to make. A couple of weeks ago I was sent a copy of Vintage Revised Jewelry by Co-Co Nichole Bush to review. I’ve been reading through the 35 projects and already want to try so many of them. They combine my love of recycled treasures and handmade which is a brilliant match for me. Divided into four sections the projects cover Vintage…
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Have you heard of Zoe and Beans? My children love hearing about their adventures and were very pleased to receive copies of their brand new board books by Chloe and Mick Inkpen – perfect for little hands! How many pets? – Learn to count with Zoe and Beans! How many pets can you see? Join Zoe and Beans and their friend Oscar as they count the animals, from one to ten. There’s a hungry rabbit, a kitten, a duck, a puppy and even a cow! But will there be enough room for them all? This book is perfect for my…
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We’ve had an amazingly busy weekend. It was lovely to do some non-house related stuff and we had a great day out in London as well as a fun playdate with friends. Somehow I managed to finish the latest BritMums bookclub book – Ancient Lights by John Banville. It was the strangest book I’ve read in a long time. The main character of the book is a complete narcissist and I found him difficult to like. He was very wordy too…. Anyway, the premise is that in a small town in Ireland in the 1950s a fifteen-year-old boy has illicit…
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We love reading. Both children have recently started asking for two books at bedtime (the toddler told me that “Nanny said so”) which means I’m always happy to be sent books to review 🙂 We recently received two lovely new board books from award-winning author/illustrator Petr Horacek. Honk Honk! Baa Baa! and Time for Bed, both published by Walker Books, are fun, interactive board books designed and created with little ones in mind. Petr Horacek has been leading the way for over ten years, creating beautiful books for children and his board books are no exception. Full of striking illustrations,…
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The cold wet weather has kept us indoors the last few days. Fortunately we were sent a really fun craft book which has kept us busy and helped us explore new things. Craft it Up Around the World brings the great wide world into the home with 35 travel-inspired craft projects! The toddler and I enjoyed sitting down and looking through it together, we’ve already chosen a couple of fun projects to do. The authors, Libby Abadee and Cath Armstrong have created Craft It Up Around The World to inspire children to look at the world around them in a…
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The other day I wrote about needing inspiration for cooking family meals. I’m sure I can’t be the only mum who struggles to think up exciting meals to encourage my children to eat. I’m happy to admit I’m probably one of the 42% of parents with a repertoire of seven meals, which is why I was happy to review the latest recipe book from Annabel Karmel – Quick & easy toddler recipes. My children are both good eaters and usually demolish anything put in front of them. I often feel guilty about giving them dull meals and have been trying…
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It doesn’t look like we’ll be getting the warm weather over this Bank Holiday weekend that we enjoyed at the beginning of the month. If, like me, you haven’t packed away your winter woollies then I have the perfect craft book to share with you – Knitted animal hats by Fiona Goble. Knitted Animal Hats is a fun craft book containing 35 wild and wonderful hats and more for babies, kids, and the young at heart. The toddler and I have enjoyed choosing some projects to make from this book. It’s not just the cold weather but I think my…