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Napolina Homemade Pizza

Homemade Pizza

We were sent some goodies from Napolina to create our own pizzas and the girls were very excited; pizza is one of their favourite meals and if they can decorate it themselves, so much the better!

Napolina pizza bases and pizza sauce

Due to trying to stick to being on Slimming World, I decided not indulge in the pizza face making fun and let Daddy be in control of taking the girls to buy the extra toppings then making the pizzas with them for dinner.

I had a portion of Slimming World casserole from the previous night and although it was hard, I didn’t even have a nibble of any of the pizza!

Daddy, Kaycee and Ella
Ella thought it was very funny that the only apron left for Daddy, was one Kaycee had when she was very little!

Ella wanted to make a bunny face with it being Easter the following weekend.
Kaycee just wanted to make a random face 🙂

Decorating the pizza

Ella's bunny pizza

Ella used baby sweetcorn for the teeth, mushrooms, and tomatoes for the eyes, rosemary leaves for the whiskers and ham and chicken slices for the ears. She used prawns and Pepperami to make the nose and mouth.

Ella's pizza bunny

Kaycee used the baby sweetcorn for her teeth as well. Sheused pepperami for the nose and mushrooms and tomatoes for the eyes. The mouth is slices of ham and the eyebrows are mushroom stalks.

Kaycee's pizza face

When it had been cooked, she added some cheese string hair 🙂

Kaycee's pizza face

The girls had great fun creating their pizza faces 🙂

Please note: We were sent some goodies from Napolina so we could have fun making pizza faces 🙂

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Randomise – A fun family game

Randomise

We were sent a game to play with the family over Easter and I have to say, it was a big hit!

Nanny and Granddad were invited over for Easter dinner and while Ant did the cooking (which was absolutely delicious, by the way!) we played Randomise.

The grandparents thought it was a bit complicated when we first started playing but they soon got the hang of it.

Teams

Kaycee was on Nanny’s team and Ella was on Granddad’s team. Because we had an odd number, I was elected score keeper.

Randomise card game

You split the cards into three piles, A, B, and C.

Randomise card game

The team that is going first choose someone from their team to pick a card from each pile.
They have to decide whether they’re going to describe, act or draw the clues to help their teammate/s correctly guess the 3 different words. They pick whether they’re going to work from the hard or easy section.

The opposing team picks three numbers, for example, 3, 2 and 1 and the person who is going first, has to describe, act or draw the word at number 3 from card A which is Romantic on the easy section, the word at number 2 on card B and number 1 on card C so they’d have to describe, act or draw a Romantic Crab Playing The Saxophone.

Ella and granddad

Ella drawing

Ella’s Go

Ella drew on her first go.

Nanny and Kaycee

randomise-family-game-07

Nanny drew on her first go as well but everyone soon discovered that describing the clues was much easier!

You get different time limits for describing, acting and drawing the clues.

randomise-family-game-09

You get points for each clue you get right. If your team gets all three clues, you get bonus points, depending on whether you picked the easy or hard clues. The first team to get to 30 points wins. We didn’t have time to keep playing till 30 as dinner was ready. We just did the winner after both teams had an equal amount of turns.

Great Fun

It was great fun and everyone really enjoyed it. The girls wanted to play again after dinner but time was against us. I’m sure we’ll be playing it a few more times over the Easter holidays 🙂

Please note: We were sent the game in return for an honest review.

Recipes, Reviews & Adverts

Daily Fresh Bread

This is a collaborative post As a long time follower of Slimming World, having the kitchen smell of freshly baked bread on a daily basis can sometimes be a complete nightmare!When my willpower is low, that beautiful white bread sits there on the counter, calling […]

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Reviews & Adverts

Outdoor Lighting for Spring Summer Evenings

Outdoor Lighting for Spring Summer Evenings

Spring is finally here! Longer days and breezy evening’s
calls for a garden revamp. You may, like us, be the keen gardener and spring going into summer is the ideal time to be planting and prepping your allotment.
During spring and summer, you should be thinking about
planting your asparagus, potatoes and rhubarb as well as picking those
delicious raspberries for your seasonal crumble. In terms of flowers and bulbs, this is the perfect time of year to be planting foxgloves and sweet williams ready for the summer.
It’s not only the freshly planted bulbs and veg that revive
your garden after a long cold winter. There are other ways to make use of your green space now the weather is picking up including barbeques, picnics and soirees. British evenings can get cold so grab your blankets and check out these amazing outdoor lighting options to banish the chill:

Bring the outdoors in

For versatility and frugalness, you can use a multipurpose
floor lamp from Ares that can be brought outside once that BBQ has continued into the night and the kids are off to bed. This creates a subtle lighting option perfect for entertaining guests.

The spotlight’s on you

Spotlights can act as added protection against burglars, just one reason why they’re essential.
However, they are also perfect for strong and direct light when checking your allotment before bed, and also to deter wildlife from chomping on your crops.
However, wonderful British wildlife such as hedgehogs shouldn’t be deterred, but encourage with small plates of cat food.

Fly on the wall

Or lamp on the wall should I say! A floor lamp can be perilous
with small children running around. One trip over an exposed wire and you could be spending your summer evening in A&E. Opting for a selection of stylish wall lights placed around your patio or decking area frees up space and is a subtle approach to outdoor lighting.

Colour me blind

Colour is so important in your garden. Once the flowers
start to bloom and leaves begin to fill the trees, we can start decorating our gardens with bean bags, revamped dining set and vibrant mesh lampshades to complete your floor lighting. Mesh lighting is perfect when adding colour to your garden. It isn’t too bold and creates amazing shapes on your shrubbery.

Out of this world!

For traditional gardens, opting for contemporary clean
accessories can be extremely striking. I love chrome style tables and chairs which you can find at reclamation yards and rework into your own personal sense of style. In terms of lighting, you can get perfect modern floor lamps that look like something out of space!
Check out these designs from Artemide
Often small yet long panels sprouting out of the ground with a soft beam of light coming out of the top, these are perfect for subtle lighting at dinner parties, but also if you happen to keep chickens and other poultry.
Whatever you decide to go for in terms of lighting in the next coming months, make the most out of the sunny weather before it disappears again!

This post was written in collaboration with Lampcommerce

Reviews & Adverts

The Best Snacks For Your Party

Best Snacks

Four friends having a drink
Image © Stockimages at FREEDIGITALPHOTOS.NET

Throwing a party can be a whole lot of fun, but what about the responsibilities that come with it? You’ll need to ensure that your guests are comfortable, entertained and most importantly, that they are well fed. While you can certainly call a local caterer to have them handle this task for you, you can also use coupons to save money on a variety of snack ideas that can be accomplished on a low budget.

Cheesy Quesadillas

Mexican food does not always agree with every party attendant, but these cheesy quesadillas are bound to be a hit. You can whip up these bad boys in a mere 15 minutes and all you’ll need are some tortillas, salsa and eight ounces of grated Monterey Jack cheese. All of these ingredients can be purchased at a very reasonable price from your local supermarket, allowing you to put together a great meal for your guests with very little effort.

Tarragon Aioli and Shrimp

This dish may seem very time-consuming, but there is one trick that you can use to significantly cut down on the amount of preparation time that it will take: shrimp that has already been cooked ahead of time. Would you believe that this dish can be put together within 5 minutes? Mayonnaise, pickles, tarragon, salt, pepper, and cocktail sauce can all be bought on the cheap, along with your shrimp.

Avocado Canapés, With a Side Of Black Beans

Party throwers who are looking for a dish that can be scooped out with tortilla chips, have no fear. Your search is over. Simply grab some diced jalapeno peppers, chop up some avocado and mix with black beans for the finishing touch. We promise you, this dish will not take any longer than ten minutes to prepare and it can serve two dozen guests with ease. Add some olive oil, as well as salt and pepper.

Mini Grilled Cheeses (With An Assist From Chutney)

While chutney and grilled cheese may not sound like a natural mix, the fruity jam will bring out the warmth and the nutty flavoring in the cheese that you use for your mini sandwiches. The chutney also serves as a wonderful addition to the cheese’s richness. Just make six sandwiches and cut them before serving.

Rosemary Pecans

A party snack so simple, you’ll be stunned that you didn’t think of it first. Chop up some rosemary and use a little bit of sugar and cayenne pepper to create a snacking experience unlike any other. You’ll also need butter, salt and an oven. Once you’ve melted the butter and added the other ingredients (excluding the rosemary), you can roast the pecans until they have an even coat, bake them for 10 minutes, add the rosemary, flip them over one last time and you are ready to go.

 

This is a collaborative post

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Princes fruit juices

Princes 100% Pure Juice

We were sent some Princes fruit juices, 3 cartons to be exact and you’d think that the girls hadn’t ever had fruit juice with how happy they were when they saw them and with how fast they drank them!

 

Princes 100% Pure Juices

Ella had a friend staying for a sleepover, so, at dinner, the wine glasses came out to make serving the fruit juice, fancier!

Ella drinking Princes fruit juice
Yes, that is an undelivered Christmas present in the background!

The favourite flavour for the girls seemed to be the apple and raspberry. I preferred the apple flavour myself.

The juices contain 100% fruit, only naturally occurring sugars and no preservatives. They can be stored in the cupboard until they’re opened, after which, they need to be kept in the fridge and used within 3 days.

The juices are made from concentrate and provide one of your 5 a day.

At the time of writing, you can buy a litre of Princes pure juice at Morrisons for £1. A litre of Tropicana is £2.48 from Tesco, just for comparison 😉

We were sent some juice samples in return for an honest review

Reviews & Adverts

Aiden’s new coat

It’s not often Aiden gets things sent for him to review, unlike the girls who get lots of things! He was delighted with the new coat he was sent from Trespass and it came at just the right time, what with winter finally moving in!

New Coat

Aiden's new coat

He was sent the Edgewater Mens 3 in 1 Waterproof Jacket. It’s great for going over his school blazer. It keeps him warm and dry on the 3-mile bicycle trip to school and back he has to do every weekday.

Excellent Quality

The quality is excellent and I love how you can separate the fleece inner from the waterproof outer layer. The inner layer is zipped securely to the outer layer so it doesn’t move around. I’m told it’s very comfortable.

Aiden's new coat

It has lots of pockets, which he loves. Being able to take off the outer coat, leaving the fleece inner is great for when he’s just nipping out and doesn’t want a full coat on. You know what teenagers and coats are like; for some reason, they seem to resent having to wear them at all, no matter how cold they get!

Water Repellent

The zip is water repellent so the water can’t through.
The fabric is waterproof, windproof and breathable. All the seams have thermoplastic tape on them that seals the seams keeping you dryer and warmer.

Aiden's new coat
Aiden's new coat

This jacket gets a big thumbs up from Aiden and me 🙂

Please note: We were provided with the jacket in return for an honest opinion.

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Looking for the ideal family car

Ant had a Nissan Micra when we first met. Although it was a little small sometimes, (going on holiday was a bit of a nightmare) it was a brilliant family car. It was very reliable and affordable and suited us perfectly.

Close up of car steering wheel and wing mirror - family car
Image by Dan at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

Family Car

Ant had nipped home from work one day. He’d parked out the front of the house instead of in the car park around the back. Shortly after getting out of the car, we heard a smashing, crunching sound. Someone had crashed into the back of our poor little Nissan.
It was a write-off and since then we haven’t had a car we like nearly as much as we did the Micra.
We had an automatic Citroen for a while. The fuel and road tax costs were awful so we sold that and got a Citroen C5 from Ant’s friend.

The costs are much better but Ant hates driving it because you can’t see the front or back of the car when you’re trying to park. He’s worried the tow bar will hit the car behind when he reverses into a parking space. We want to sell it and buy something better but what to buy? That is the question!

New Car

He’s always liked estates. I’ve always liked the idea of a people carrier, however, I don’t drive, so I think the final choice must be left up to him!

He looked at a VW Touareg lease but even though it’s a lovely looking vehicle, he thinks it’s probably a little big for us.

I like the look of the VW golf estate or the Honda Civic.

Buying a new car is a big decision. We’re going to take our time, but on the other hand, I don’t know how much longer Ant can put up with our Citroen!





This is a collaborative post.

Reviews & Adverts

Snoopy and Charlie Brown – A Peanuts Movie Story Book

 Snoopy is timeless. I loved him when I was younger and my kids love him today 🙂

We received the storybook of the new movie that’s in cinemas now, Snoopy and Charlie Brown – A Peanuts Movie.
We haven’t seen it yet but I can’t wait till we do!

Book of the movie

The story is about a  new girl with red hair who moves into the neighbourhood. Charlie Brown likes her but he’s too shy to talk to her.
Lucy tries to help him by giving him some advice about girls not liking failures and she says Charlie Brown needs to become a winner.

He decides to try and win the school talent show by doing a magic act but on the day his sister ends up needing help with her act and Charlie’s doesn’t go very well.

In the end, of course, Charlie and the red headed girl become friends 🙂

It’s a lovely book with nice big pictures.

Here’s the official trailer

Please note: We were sent the book in return for an honest review

Reviews & Adverts

Buzzoole – Influencer marketing platform #buzzoole

I recently came across a website called Buzzoole. It’s an influencer marketing platform that shows bloggers their social influence and can help connect them to brands.

Of course I signed up!

After signing up to Buzzoole, you connect your social media channels to your Buzzoole account, such as Facebook, Twitter, G+ etc and the algorithm shows your online presence and helps you see the topics you’re most influential in.

From this information, you’re invited to take part in campaigns and can earn Buzzoole credits which can be exchanged for Amazon vouchers (I do love getting Amazon vouchers!) to spend on whatever you like 🙂

This is a really useful tool for bloggers who want to optimise their online presence and engagement because it shows the areas you’re not so strong in which means you can concentrate on those areas to increase your influence.

I’m still learning all that Buzzoole has to offer but from the short amount of time I’ve been using it, I think it’s going to be great for me. I’m a bit rubbish at being social on my social media sites so hopefully, this will help me get a bit better!

This is a collaborative post
Buzzoole

Buzzoole

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