Cooking with Tilly Ramsay at Bread Street Kitchen, London

My eldest enjoying making pizza at Bread Street Kitchen in London My eldest loves getting creative in the kitchen, one of his favourite things to do is baking and helping make things like homemade pizza and smoothies. I also find as he is a bit of a picky eater he is far more likely to eat something he has made himself which makes family cooking a win win all round. So it was really exciting when we were asked to come along for a fun cooking session with Tilly Ramsay who if you don't know is the daughter of Gordon Ramsay and currently has her own fun foodie show "Matilda and the Ramsay Bunch on CBBC. So we got up bright and early one morning and took the high speed train from Cardiff to London, I've done this trip a few times with my eldest and he is such a fantastic traveller. It was also wonderful spending the whole day just with him as these moments are rare since his younger brother hit the scene. We arrived at Bread Street Kitchen very excited (and a li......

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Sand and Simplicity at Llantwit Major

Even though we have been very busy this summer holidays our main focus has been on simplicity, especially when we are home and not travelling or in the city. Personally I tend to avoid crowds, busy and over stimulating places and find that we always have the best time when we strip things back, get outside and just enjoy nature.  A day at the beach is a summer stable but even that can be overwhelming and stressful and it's easily to find yourself bombarded by all the noise of a busy beachfront which is why we opted for more rugged and quieter parts of the Welsh coastline. One of our favourite beaches in Llantwit Major especially if you time the tide right and exposes an array of rock pools in which to spot some crabs and fishes as well as a large sandy beach and inspiring coastal walks.  We headed down just after lunchtime with little more than some towels and a bucket and spade. Despite it being a dry and fairly sunny day it was Wonderfully quiet mea......

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My MacBook Battery Exploded and other Life Stories

So you may have noticed it's been a little quiet on the blog of late, this is purely down to the fact earlier this month I was sending a couple of emails from my MacBook, having a work catch-up session, minding my own business when suddenly my laptop started hissing quickly followed by loads of black smoke and fire. According to the repair technicians my laptop suffered a catastrophic technical malfunction, basically the battery exploded and caused unrepairable damage to MacBook, melting a few of the keys, scorching the back and battery acid going everywhere. Many asked me if it was plugged in at the time, it was not,  it also had not been on very long and there was no warning - it literally burst into flames. It was on my lap at the time and luckily I threw it off me straight away but that meant our carpet was burnt and scorched! You can see where it melted and burnt our carpet The thing is it couldn't of happened at a worst time! It took two weeks to sort a repla......

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Perfect night away in Cardiff with Aaron Wise Apartments

I love being a tourist in my own *adopted* city of Cardiff so being invited to come and check out the newly opened Aaron Wise Apartments, in the centre of Cardiff, I couldn't wait.  It's rare having a child-free evening in the city and it's been a while since I have been right in the heart of Cardiff later than 9pm. I was really excited to not only to enjoy some good food but also stay at the luxury Aaron Wise Apartments which look out across the river Taff and only a stones through from St Mary's street and an abundance of eateries and bars. The apartment was really easy to find and you are sent a secure pin to access the building, there are a few different one and two-bedroom luxury apartments to choose from, we stayed in a one bedroom and it consisted of a spacious lounge and kitchen area, separate double bedroom with luxurious linen, large flatscreen tv, plenty of storage and space to set up your laptop, en-suit to this is a very stylish bathr......

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Food and so much more at The Big Welsh Bite

  Earlier this month was the The Big Welsh Bite, an annual Welsh Food festival held in Pontypridd Park each year and while we of course expected loads of great food there was also a whole lot more on offer. So my eldest and I set off with our bikes on the Taff Trail to Ynysangharad Park to find out more and of course tastes a few local delights. The last time we went to the Big Welsh Bite was when my eldest was a toddler and the new lido had yet to be built so I didn't really know what to expect this time around. Despite the on and off heavy showers in between moments of warm sunshine, it was wonderful to see such a good turn out for an event that helps showcase local and independent food and homemade goods. As we had planned our day to arrive around lunchtime so our first thought was to find a bite to eat, after having perused what was on offer we started out with a Vegan Oreo milkshake made with almond ice-cream and it was amazing! We followed this up with a wood f......

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Moving? Here are some budget saving tips

Moving at the best of times can become quite expensive, especially if you are moving to a new part of the country. Having done a fair amount of moves myself, including moving fro Edinburgh to Cornwall in my pre-child days I have learnt a few things along the way. The good news is that you don't have to settle for the originally calculated price tag. There are many ways to reduce the cost of your move by using substitutes, doing price comparisons or doing some of the work on your own. Lighten the Load For many people, just the thought of emptying their house can bring on a feeling of anxiety as it's simply such a big task. If you've lived in your house for a number of years chances are good that you've acquired a lot of items along the way. In order to get a written estimate from movers that's as accurate as possible you need to decide what you want to keep and what you're willing to part with. If your new home is in a different style or era to your......

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Creative Meal Planning with HelloFresh

Let’s talk family friendly meals for a moment, I know it’s exhausting right, getting the balance of quick, creative and tasty meals the kids will actually eat as well as hit the spot for adults as well. As the cooking lies completely on my shoulders it can be quite hard putting together a meal plan that fits into my busy life of juggling looking after the kids, working from home, trying to get the house ready to sell and provide nutrient packed meals for my boys. I love to cook but lately I have been time pressured more than ever but I refuse to opt for ready meals which means I need to be as organised as possible when it comes to supper time and have meals that are quick to prepare. I’m really grateful that my children in most respects eat a well balance diet, they love broccoli, carrots, olives, hummus and are happy to dig into a big bowl of stir-fry, regardless there are some weeks were I just draw a blank with what to cook. Never fear however because HelloFresh, th......

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A weekend exploring London's West End with Kids

I still remember like it was yesterday my own excitement as a child heading into London to see Starlight Express on the West End with my parents, it was a big deal and I was captivated from start to finish, it is one of my favourite childhood memories and I was thrilled to be reliving this experience with my kids. We boarded the train early in the morning and I'm not sure who was more excited, me or the kids about our trip to the Capital, either way I knew it was going to be a fantastic weekend away and  wasn't wrong. As soon as we arrived at Paddington station we made our way to the Lyric Theatre in the West End, picked up our tickets and stood in line as the atmosphere started to build as more families joined. August is the best time to introduce the wonderful world of theatre to your kids as it's Kids Week in London, a month long initiative that allows kids to go to an array of West End productions for free with a full paying adult. Being Julia Donaldson......

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