As I write, Dimples is asleep (touch wood!) clutching what is currently the most precious thing in the world to her. Thanks to a kind word from Him Up North, Entertainment One made her year by sending her a Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom Magic Mirror Wand, and since the moment I got it out of the box, it has gone everywhere with her. I even found myself putting a name label on it this morning so that she could take it with her to nursery. My … [Read more...]
T for Thanksgiving Turkey
Although Thanksgiving is not a British holiday, we have American family. To help LBG and her Dimpled sister keep an association with them, we made some turkeys this week. It was clear autumn day and The Girls and I picked up some leaves from the garden, which put me in a mind of a turkey craft I had seen around the internet somewhere. I drew around each girl's foot onto the inner side of a carton of some kind, then cut them out. This would … [Read more...]
Angelic Christmas Cookies in a Jar
I'm probably going to curse myself now, but I seem to be doing reasonably well with my Christmas preparations. That said, things have been slightly complicated of late by the fact that the Dimpled Assassin, who is famed for her bad sleeping habits, has adopted the guest bedroom as her bedroom of choice. She spent the night there recently when Lord and Lady M to stay, and had a miraculous night's sleep. DH and I have since embarked on a test-run … [Read more...]
Reindeer Cookies and Gingerbread men
I bet you didn't know what you get if you turn a gingerbread man upside down (and no, it's not a smutty joke.) I didn't either until I was cruising pinterest one day. Invert a gingerbread man and you get a very convincing reindeer cookie. Allow me to demonstrate. First, you will need some gingerbread men. Although I made a dozen ginger-free men. Once your men are baked and cooled, turn them upside down. The head is still the head, it's just … [Read more...]
How I love Hotel Chocolat
There is nothing that I wouldn't do for Chocolate. Actually that's no longer true. Because once you've tasted the delights of Hotel Chocolat, over-the-counter chocolate no longer has power over you. And when the utterly divine baubles that caress your tongue and smooth the rough edges of your soul as they melt in your mouth come beautifully presented in a teeny pink mansion bursting with pink tissue paper, I promise you that you may … [Read more...]
Our Fairy Platinum Clean Your Own Experience
When an invitation to lunch at the restaurant where you first fell in love, you don't read the small print. At least DH didn't, so I may have waited until the Domestic Goddesque Travelling Circus had arrived at the OXO2 Michael Caines pop-up restaurant before I mentioned that there may be some work involved in return for our meal. As Dimples was fast asleep in her pushchair, LBG and Daddy got straight to work in the children's play area, … [Read more...]
Cranberry and Chocolate Croissant Pudding
Do you ever have that moment of panic when you realise that you are leaving for a friend's house in 45 minutes and you are meant to be bringing dessert. Except you haven't bought or made one. There's nothing like that kind of pressure to get your adrenaline pumping. Lets just say I have a better understanding of the phrase "necessity is the mother of invention." Fortunately for me I had been making my annual batch of Cranberry Sauce earlier in … [Read more...]
