June 2016

Monday, 27 June 2016

Prosecco Anti Gravity Cake

The Prosecco anti gravity cake is perfect for most celebrations and has the added bonus of being easy to make too! When my husband came home from Tesco the other week with a bag of Peppermint dream popcorn, I was quite excited. I have been thinking of making a anti gravity cake with a Prosecco bottle for a while but wasn't sure how I was going to make the "bubbles" pouring from the bottle. Then I found some white chocolate popcorn and my problem was solved.

Anti gravity cakes are actually quite easy to make and you don't need to be a great baker. You can find my Minstrels anto gravity cake here. If you can bake a sponge cake then you can do it.

You will need:

8oz self raising flour
8oz butter
8oz caster sugar
4 eggs
1 tub of vanilla frosting (or make your own buttercream)
Strawberry jam
3 packets of white chocolate fingers
white chocolate
white chocolate coated popcorn
A piece of dowel (I used 3 cake pop sticks tied together but a wooden BBQ skewer would work well too .)
A small bottle of Processco

Start by baking the sponge cakes. Mix the flour, sugar butter and eggs together and share equally between two 23cm cake tins. Cook at 180C for 15-20 mins.

Allow to cool.

Sandwich the cakes together with jam and frosting.

Cover the cake with frosting and stick the white chocolate fingers around the sides of the cake.

Tie a piece of ribbon around the cake.

Next you need to melt some white chocolate. Dip the cake pop sticks into the chocolate and then into the middle of the cake.

Use melted chocolate to stick the popcorn around the stick. I then put one small piece of popcorn on the top of the stick which the bottle could rest on. To make the structure more stable, pour the remaining melted chocolate over the popcorn.

popcorn bubbles on prosecco anti gravity cake

Allow the chocolate to harden and then rest the bottle on top. It is worth noting that if it is likely to be a hot day you are better off using a long wooden skewer which will support the whole bottle incase the chocolate melts. You can't see this from a distance and it will support the bottle better.

prosecco popcorn bubbles on prosecco anti gravity cake

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Easy to make Prosecco anti gravity cake perfect for a celebration

Why not follow my Awesome Anti Gravity Cakes board for more inspiration:

Friday, 24 June 2016

Through The Eyes Of A Four Year Old.

A friend with a newborn once asked me "what is the nicest age?"

I replied it was when they go to school. I didn't mean it in a flippant way. There is a turning point between the age of 4 and 5 where things become easier. You realise that in a blink of an eye your baby is growing up. Faster than you would like. They are becoming their own little person. Someone that you can talk to rather than at. Yes babies are cute, but you can't have a conversation with them. For me, the nicest age is just before they start school where they are inquisitive and innocent.

Little man is four and a half. He starts school this September. Gone are the tantrums of the terrible twos and the threenager behavior has ebbed recently. He is taking in the world with every step (or skip) he makes and his positivity puts me to shame. I know I can be a bit of an Eeyore. My glass is usually half empty and it really is something I want to change. Little man's glass is over flowing and the excitement that brings is contagious.

There I am on the school run, complaining it is raining. Again.

"But Mummy it is good. It will help all the flowers grow." All I can do is smile and agree as he skips along.

He sees a feather on the floor and picks it up. Before I have chance to tell him to drop it as it's dirty, he starts telling me how he could use it as a quill to write a poem. My heart just wants to explode. My head wants to see if he is any good at poetry.

He soaked himself watering the flowers and I asked him if he wanted to get changed as he was so wet. No because it will dry was his reply.

Whilst it is easy to mourn that my baby is getting bigger, in true little man style I will embrace positivity and look forward to watching him grow and become more independent. There will be lots of smiles on the way. He brightens up my day. Especially when my husband texts to say he asked little man what he would like to do.

His answer?

Eat, sleep, rave, repeat.

What is your favourite age? Do you mourn the past or embrace the future?

Friday, 17 June 2016

Malteaser and Crunchie Tiffin

This Malteaser and Crunchie Tiffin is quite frankly amazing. With the weather being less than summery this week, little man was keen to make something in the kitchen. The idea was it would be a treat for Father's Day as Daddy likes Tiffin. It hasn't made it. It was too yummy, but Daddy did get some.

Malteaser and Crunchie Tiffin

200g chocolate
100g butter
2tbsp golden syrup
Malteasters
Crunchie
8 Digestives

Takes 10 Minutes, serves twelve people.

Start by melting the chocolate in a a bowl over boiling water.Melt the butter and mix this in along with the golden syrup.
Put 8 digestives, a Crunchie and a handful of Malteasers into a plastic bag and bash with a rolling pin.
Mix this into the melted chocolate mixture and pour into a lined loaf tin
Top with Malteasers and leave on the fridge for a couple of hours.

Cut into pieces and enjoy!

Tuesday, 14 June 2016

Decorating Your House With Scandinavian Prints

Giving your house a fresh look with some Scandinavian prints does not need to be expensive. When Desenio asked me if I would like to review some posters in their range, a number of things popped into my head. Firstly I really liked their posters. They are simple and stylish. Secondly, they are great value. Prices start from as little as £2.29 for a small print. Tastes change, so I don't want to spend hundreds on a piece of art that I will go off in a few years. Lastly, I have a lot of photos of my children. Don't get me wrong, I love having photos of the boys, but it had got to a stage where we had large canvases of them as babies. They are out of date. They are growing up and it is time to say goodbye to some of those pictures and replace with some fresh new designs.

The hardest thing about choosing the posters was deciding which ones to go for as there are so many nice designs. I had a look at the children's prints as little man's room needs updating. I absolutely love the Batman poster, so chose this plus a few extras that would work well.

I love the new posters for our dining room. It is amazing how a new print can totally transform the feel of a room. Desenio have a lot of motivational quote posters which are great for keeping positive,

The posters themselves were packaged in a tube and the frames well wrapped so they wouldn't get damaged. The frames have clips to secure that are easy to use.

I really do like the fresh new look they have given our home. The website also gives you some inspiration as to which prints work well together. If you are looking for a fresh new look for your house then Desenio offer a great selection of prints at good prices and I will certainly be looking at their site in the future.

Which is your favourite scandinavian print from Desenio?

Monday, 13 June 2016

Star Wars Mini Builds For Father's Day & Giveaway!

Stuck for Father's Day ideas? Yes me too. But luckily Egmont came to the rescue with these Star Wars activity books. Whilst I still haven't made it through a whole episode of Star Wars, the men in my house think it is fantastic. My husband was over the moon that he could take big man to the cinema to watch The Force Awakens earlier this year.

Daddy and big man have been bonding this weekend with the Star Wars: Smuggler's Starship: Activity Book and Model (Star Wars Construction Books) (Don't let on but he will be receiving the Star Wars: Battle Stations: Activity Book and Model (Star Wars Construction Books) where they can build a mini ATAT for Father's Day.)

As you can see, they took the the mini build very seriously. Big man popped out the foam shapes and then arranged them into similar sizes. Then they carefully read the instructions, both with the same look of concentration.

The instructions were easy to follow and parts fitted well together.

All of a sudden, however, disaster occurred. Piece "O" was missing. Cue a scrabble around the floor to find it. Big man located the missing piece and was rather proud. Daddy and son were very happy with the build. Here it is close up.

In addition to the mini build, there is an activity book with a variety of puzzles including wordsearches, mazes and sequences. Luckily the answers are in the back too! If this sounds like something that your Star Wars fan (young or old) might enjoy then you can purchase these books from Amazon.

I am also delighted to be able to offer a copy of the Star Wars Smugglers Activity Book as a prize. Just complete the Gleam entry below. Good Luck!

Star Wars: Smuggler's Starship: Activity Book and Model

ThePrizeFinder - See more at: http://www.theprizefinder.com/content/star-wars-smugglers-starship-activity-book-and-model#sthash.rK8OkVz4.dpuf

This is a commissioned post.

This blog has been verified by Rise: R5ac04792721b046cc4840ef6c7d7af56

Friday, 10 June 2016

The Rollercoaster Restaurant Alton Towers

I am one for gimmicks, so when I saw that Alton Towers were opening a Rollecoaster Restaurant, I wanted to go. It seems I was not the only one, as they were already really booked up! We ended up choosing to have a late lunch on the first day that we visited the park. You need a park ticket to visit the Rollercoaster Restaurant in the day, however, if you book when the park is closed in the evening you don't.

The Rollercoaster Restaurant is situated in the Forbidden Valley area of the part, next to Galatica and near Nemisis. We had our reservation for 4.00pm. Whilst the restaurant looked quite empty, they weren't allowing people in without a booking as they were preparing for the dinner shift.

We were seated and given an explanation as to how everything works. Each seat has a number. You order your food from an ipad and send it to the kitchen. We were told that it comes pretty quickly so we ordered our drinks first, to get an idea of what it is like.

It is really run watching your food come to you on a mini rollercoaster! All the plates, glasses and cutlery you will need are on a spinning disc in the middle.

There is a reasonable choice in the lunch menu. The kids menu is good and the boys were pleased with their meals. Big man had sausage and mash and the other two had macaroni cheese with garlic bread. I was disappointed that they were out of the chicken curry that I had been looking forward to. I instead opted for a chicken burger, which was nice enough.

For dessert, we got the boys a sharing chocolate fondue. The chocolate did get a bit shaken on the ride!

There are big screens playing all the time, and remind you of the rollercoasters from days gone by which is really nice. My first experience of a rollercoaster was in the front row of the corkscrew at Alton Towers. I also have some happy memories of the Black Hole from my youth!

The Rollercoaster restaurant is on the pricey side. Mainly the drinks, as they are around £3 for a bottle of Coke. However, if you have a Merlin pass then you get a discount, bringing it to a much more reasonable price. Either way, it isn't somewhere you would go every day so I would recommend it.

It was a shame that the restaurant wasn't busier when were were there as it is great fun watching other people get their food. We particularly liked the tables that had a coaster with a loop the loop. A Capri Sun seemed to have escaped earlier in the day!

Here is a little video so you can get the idea of what it is like.

Have you visited the Rollercoaster Restaurant yet? What did you think?

Wednesday, 8 June 2016

Beaded Snake Craft #BostikBloggers

This month's Bostik Blogger challenge was the Jungle. I was really excited when I saw some Glu dots in the box. We have used them before making our button and bead flowerpots. They are so easy to use and mess free! Little man decided he would like to make some snakes.

To make a beaded snake you will need:

A pipe cleaner
A selection of beads
Goggly eyes
Some green card
A red lollipop stick
scissors
Bostik Glu Dots
A pipe cleaner

Start by cutting a snake head shape out of the green card. Using glu dots attach half a lollipop stick to the under side of the head and two eyes on the green side.

Take a pipecleaner and slide beads onto it. Double fold each end so that they don't come off. Attach one end to the head of the snake using a glu dot.

A lovely little craft for a pre schooler which helps in fine motor skills.

You can check out more jungle crafts by looking for the #bostikbloggers on twitter.

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Saturday, 4 June 2016

Ricciarelli Soft Sienese Biscuits

If you have been to Tuscany then you may have tried Ricciarelli. You may remember that a few weeks ago I went on a Red Letter Days Tuscan Cookery Class in London. We made an array of wonderful dishes, but I knew it was the Ricciarelli soft Sienese biscuits that my boys would love the most. After the course we were emailed the recipes from the day. All I can say is that it is amazing how quickly you forget things and the recipe seemed like it was written in another language. Rather than using bitter almonds I added some almond extract as I remember that being an option. Whilst they may not have looked quite as good as the ones we made on the course, the boys loved them and scoffed them immediately, so I must have been doing something right!

If you would like to try them, then here is the recipe.

100g ground sweet almonds
a drop of almond extract
85g icing sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
13g caster sugar
2 large egg whites

Preheat the oven to 150°C. Cover the baking sheet with greaseproof paper and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the caster sugar, flour, almonds, half the icing sugar and baking powder.
In a medium sized bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff adding the icing sugar as you go. Fold into the almond-sugar mixture.

Take 2 spoons and form quenelles by pushing the mixture between two spoons and then dropping them gently into a bowl of the remaining icing sugar to coat them. This was so much easier when I did it on the course!

Remove each quenelle and place on the baking sheet, spaced apart.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack before serving.

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Wednesday, 1 June 2016

Meeting Little Man

Little man's pregnancy was filled with worry. Numerous tests. It was my last pregnancy and not one I was able to enjoy. At 38 weeks I was booked in for a section. At last we would get to meet out little man and for the first time be reassured that everything was ok. For the first time, we were excited and wanted to show him to the world.

Top of the list was for him to see his big brothers. Big man was nearly 4 and was excited about meeting his new baby brother. Middle man was only 21 months. A baby himself really. We read him books about the arrival of the new baby. We let him feel my bump.

As I couldn't go straight home, my parents bought the boys up in the afternoon. So we could proudly show them their little brother. I couldn't wait to see their faces. Their interest and intrigue. A picture of our three boys together.

Yes you are correct. There are not 3 young boys in this photo. Things weren't quite as perfect as I had imagined they would be. Whilst big man was overjoyed by the arrival of his brother, middle man was less convinced. So much so he ran out of the ward muttering "No, no, no, no, no!"

Instead of getting to know his baby brother, he decided to look in the other cots instead.

Luckily my sister's excitement lifted my spirits.

Once home though, I am pleased to say that middle man warmed to the idea of having a baby brother. He even decided he would cuddle his little brother in a photo. Well as long as he could wear his Bob the Builder hat.

Not quite the magical moment that I had planned in my head, but it certainly made the first time little man met his brothers a memorable one. One that we can now chuckle over.

How did your little ones react to their new arrival? What milestones are special to you?

This is my entry to the Tots100/WaterWipes Baby Milestones challenge.

Pages

Monday, 27 June 2016

Prosecco Anti Gravity Cake

Friday, 24 June 2016

Through The Eyes Of A Four Year Old.

Friday, 17 June 2016

Malteaser and Crunchie Tiffin

Malteaser and Crunchie Tiffin

Tuesday, 14 June 2016

Decorating Your House With Scandinavian Prints

Monday, 13 June 2016

Star Wars Mini Builds For Father's Day & Giveaway!

Friday, 10 June 2016

The Rollercoaster Restaurant Alton Towers

Wednesday, 8 June 2016

Beaded Snake Craft #BostikBloggers

Saturday, 4 June 2016

Ricciarelli Soft Sienese Biscuits

Wednesday, 1 June 2016

Meeting Little Man

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