Christmas 2015 in Pictures

Christmas this year has been a bit of a whirlwind, well, when isn't Christmas like that? To make sure I don't forget those precious moments, I have put together a post of just some of the pictures I took of just some of the things we got up to over the past few weeks.

Yummy star mince pies, they made the perfect treat for Santa and our guests over Christmas.

Simple Star Mince Pies

I do love mince pies, they are great to leave out for Santa, to serve to guests over christmas or just to relax whilst you have a cup of tea, however you enjoy them, it is important to get the correct mincemeat to pastry ratio.

So, on a mission to find the perfect combination and delight both to the eye and the taste buds, I set about searching the internet for inspiration. By combining the results of my internet searching, with my mum's recipe for sweet crust pastry, I created my very own star mince pies, you can enjoy them too by following the recipe below.

Hare and Tortoise at the Nottingham Playhouse - Review

This weekend, we were invited to review the Hare and the Tortoise, which is currently playing in the Neville Studio at the Nottingham Playhouse.

An adaptation of the classic Aesop Fable, this story tells of the forever in a hurry Hare and the slow and thoughtful but much slower Tortoise 

We had never been to the Neville Studio before, it is a small intimate theatre, which meant that the children could sit on the cushions at the front and we could sit a bit further back in the seats. Being sat on the cushions so close to the actors meant the children felt like they were part of the show.

A Barbie Christmas Wish List

We have been lucky enough to review some wonderful Barbies this year, from a mermaid to a superhero and a rockstar to a ballerina, there have been many to keep us occupied, and so that you can see them all in one place, here is our Christmas Barbie wish list.

We loved dressing up as superheros earlier this year, we had a party to celebrate the release of this wonderful and thought inspiring doll. My daughter has loved dressing up and believing in herself since the day we had our party, dressing up as superhero Barbie for Children in Need, it has inspired her to believe she can be anything and it proves that just because she loves pink doesn't mean she can't be super.

A Great Sprout Alternative

I love sprouts, they are a wonderful source of vitamins and minerals and I could eat them with every roast. But my family are not so keen, my son will eat brussels but only one or two, so when I was asked to try Flower Sprouts I was intrigued to see whether I could get the whole family to give them a go, by incorporating them into every day meals.

First of all what is a Flower Sprout? 

"The inspiration behind the idea for flower sprouts came from a desire to create a Brussels sprout with a more subtle flavourwhich was versatile and looked great. The result - a brand new vegetable which looks a little like a tiny cabbage with green frilly leaves and streaks of purple. Just 100g of Flower Sprouts® contain double the amount of vitamin B6 the vitamin that helps us use and store energy from the food we eat and twice the amount of vitamin C than standard Brussels sprouts."

Bringing Birds into Your Garden

Even though we used to live in the city boundaries, our garden had lots of trees and was always teaming with wildlife, from foxes to squirrels and many different birds. However, since we moved and only have a hedge behind us before fields, the amount of wildlife we see in our garden has dropped dramatically. For me and the children, this is somewhat of a loss. I had seen a few birds moving about in the hedge but with a few cats next door, they seemed reluctant to come down onto the garden to eat some mealworms we had put out for them.

So when we were at the local garden centre and spotted some suet blocks, we decided to get some to put on the fencing at the back of the garden. The idea came from when we visited Center Parcs last year and one of their wildlife experts gave us some to put on the window of our lodge. It was an instant hit with the birds who would fly up to the corner of the window and eat the suet. The children and the adults loved to watch the birds and it was a great feeling to be able to feed these wonderful little creatures.