Oven pride event :

I was invited to a cooking event by Ovenpride at the The Cheshire Cookery School and well I cant cook to save my life. I burn oven pizzas , I undercook fish and chips.

Cooking is such an important skill that has just passed me by and well its just not fair on G . I want him to be proud of his mum ( me) and the meals I cook. 

We have just moved house and now have a big new kitchen well I thought this would be an excellent opportunity to learn some skills.

The master class was taught by Kurt Thomas who has had 35 years experience in the cooking industry so if he could not teach me how to cook - there really was no hope for me. 

 

first we were shown the amazing power of oven pride - which reminds me we need to clean the oven in our old house !

  I was amazed how easy it was to use :)

The meal we were given as our task - should we chose to accept ( think mission impossible ) was Kurt's chicken and Tuscan bean stew ( with chorizo ) and a quick sour dough bread.

 

We arrived promptly at 6.30 had a quick cuppa and a chat from Kurt who explained the meal would be easy to make and prepare - this helped to put my mind at rest - just a little.

He then gave a demonstration on how to make the soda bread which we all had a taste of and it was amazing not what I expected

 

Kurt then started on the Tuscan bean strew and then I started to panic big time - we had to chop onion - now having had two strokes my co-ordination isn't the best and I usually end up with plasters all over my fingers so I was really worried.

this was his finished dishes

 

 

Then it was our turn and every one else worked in pairs and just like high school I was all on my own - I looked around for my other mummy blogger friends but they had all paired up .

 

So I had twice the work and so this was going  to be more fun than I thought :(

 

 We were given a recipe card to follow to make it a bit easier.

 

I was that busy baking bread, preparing veg I forgot to take photos of me pounding my dough lol

so i took a photo of the bread in the oven.

 This is my finished soda bread and it was really yummy.

 

So the peeling and chopping began and well i still have both hands and all my fingers and still attached and not one cut in site - that's a good sign :)

 

don't know if you can see from my photos but we used one of these new fangled induction hob which was very space age :)

 Hear it is my finished dish :)
I was so proud of my dish especially as i had cooked it all by my self.

 Hear are some of the other bloggers enjoying there meals.

 

 

All that was left to do was the washing up, which the lovely people at the cookery school did for us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were provided with a goody bag for attending this event my review of the items will be coming to my blog soon.

Linen loft

what is linen loft I hear you cry !
think luxurious bedding and towels think  boutique think high end products at affordable prices.

linen loft is a small company which do in home parities  parties and online - for the parties think Tupperware and Ann Summers Jamie at home and you will get the idea . they also sell online at thelinenloft.co.uk   and now sold in a delightful small shop just outside Knutsford Cheshire. Which is just 10 miles down the road from our new home so me and G were delighted to be asked to attend the store opening a few weeks ago.

When we arrived it was not what I expected at all

 

but when I walked in I was amazed

 

As we have just moved house I really enjoyed looking at every thing they had to offer. New bedding towels. We have just gone up to a king size bed and I loved this grey colour and it would work so well in our bedroom. If I had an unlimited budged I would have gone nuts and brought out the whole shop.

Not only do they do amazing bed linen they also have fantastic lounge ideas.

The quality is high but with prices which are more affordable than similar high street shops. Joanne Napier who founded the company explained that she tries to find smaller local or family suppliers to give her products that something special.



One of Joanne's new lines includes a stunning children's range which I think G approved of. Lots of gingham strips with beautiful throws

I could have spent a fortune in hear but with paying two mortgages I don't think H would have been best pleased so I got 2 items

 

A beautiful owl door stop and a Christmas tree candle holder both can be found at www.linenloft.co.uk

todays the day ......

Todays the day we sold our house :)

Its been on the market since December 2012 , 6 weeks after we got married.

We have been in our new home exactly a month. So on this day we have sold our old house I feel relief because paying two mortgages was a little bit tricky to say the least. Cash flow has been a real issue of late and with the new house boiler on its last legs we were really starting to feel the per strings pulling.

On the other had I feel quite sad as it was my first home apart from my parents , the first Home G has know bringing G home for the first time , our first married home - its where H struggled to carry me over the threshold.  We fed G his first meal , G took his first steps in the lounge.

What we have now is a lot better and we are happy hear. G has even started a regular playgroup.

 

Our old house is now a distant memory and we have to look forward but there is just a slight hint of sadness that comes with it.

G's granddaddy peter helped to do a lot of the decorating and so it H feels a slight attachment to it.

 

Onwards and upwards .

 

 

What did you get up to this Halloween ?

Halloween for us this year for us was a little different as we had just moved house and not really knowing anyone we didn't think it was right to take G trick or treating.

So instead we stayed in brought a tone of swizzels-matlow.com sweets and waited for the trick or treaters to arrive and boy they arrived . We did try to watch a film a new Scooby doo movie but we kept getting disturbed so that's one for this week.

 

We must have had about 30 familys knock on the door which was really nice. Everyone in the new area is so nice and the children are so polite - they all said thank you.

Swizzles mellow would really like know what you got up to this year .

Please could you fill in this short survey, which takes only 3 minuets to fill in and you get the chance to win a prize - this amazing Christmas bundle could be yours.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MumMumHeart

 

 

AT last .........

At last we have a back garden . Somewhere to relax and run barefoot across freshly cut grass on a hot sunny day -  know its cold and wet right now but im so looking forward to next summer. A back garden all to ourselves and were not overlooked at all.

They say its the little things in life which make you smile and been able to do that is one of them for me.

I grew up with a massive 80 foot by 20 foot garden at my mum and dads so when I moved in to H's place I was well slightly disappointed when I moved in to his place and there was nothing in the back apart from flags but now we've moved house we have a decent size garden and me been me I have plans !

G has 3 cousins one is 15 and will so be enrolled for baby sitting duties as we  now live much closer to her. He also has to other cousins J who is 9 and A Who is 7 A & G love playing together and I'm just so please we now live within 5 miles of A & J, its going to be a lot easier playing together for playdates and just fun times !

hear it is .....

 

Tots 100 asked us to think about our dream gardens and well this is it but I want some huge play centre for G and cousins to play with .

 

So for my dream garden we get  £750 to spend at http://www.activitytoysdirect.com/

 

this is so hard cus theres so much I want for G but I want it to last and be suitable for A & J too

 

 

 

I would start of with something like this its a plum first climbing set http://www.activitytoysdirect.com/plum/my-first-play-centre-wooden-climbing-frame/p1068

 

its £199

 

and then

 

a swing slide set , as a child I only had a very basic swing - think a frame with a very cheap seat - I couldn't share with friends this next item is amazing as its got everything G will ever need

Soulet Vintage Livarde Play Set- £357

 

which can be found at

http://www.activitytoysdirect.com/soulet/vintage-livarde-play-set/p1079

 

 

so my total is now £556 -

 

every man needs a shed and this little play house is perfect for G

 

 

http://www.activitytoysdirect.com/axi/noa-playhouse/p1143

 

Perfect at £185 it would leave us with £15 to spend on some bedding plants so next the garden will be full of blooms and a very happy G

 

 

 

“This blog post is an entry into the Tots100/Activity Toys Direct garden makeover competition”

 

 

 

 

What does your SMILE mean to you ?

I love to smile I smile when i'm happy and I try to

smile when I'm sad. This photo was taken on the happiest day of my life last year. I never smiled so much as I did on that day, and not just for the photos

 I'm a firm believer in a smile can change your mood in an instant.

 

4 and a bit years ago back in 2009 2 weeks before I met my husband I had braces put on my teeth - as ive never been happy with my smile my bottom teeth were really squished and it the fact they were so squished was causing discoloration.& my top teeth stuck out a bit.

 So I made the brave and expensive decision to get braces. It was so painful, it was close to childbirth ! I couldn't eat solid food for a month so our first few dates consisted of milkshakes and soup. Its a good job he loved me from the start lol      

 

Now I'm a mum I love to smile my little G makes me so happy :-)

I'm so please G has a nice smile and hopefully he wont need braces.

 

Now I'm a mum its extra important for me to keep my teeth and gums clean. Keeping my gums clean is extra important to me because I have had heart operations - this increases my risk of having endocarditis which is an infection of the heart. One of the causes of endocarditis is having bad gums.

So when I saw britmums were asking for reviews I jumped at the chance to test this premium gum protection tooth paste as part of oral Bs campaign. When I was pregnant I brushed my teeth after every meal to keep my teeth and gums in tip top condition as one in two women will develop gum problems during pregnancy, with my medical history there was no way I wanted to risk that so H  brought me an oral B electric toothbrush he really is so thoughtful :)

My smile means everything to me and I intend to keep it sparkling clean


“This post is an entry for BritMums’ #ORALBLoveYourGums Challenge sponsored by Oral-B, promoting healthy gums – something especially important for pregnant women. Get tips and advice on www.oralb-loveyourgums.com.”  

All change

so tomorrow is my birthday and ill be the grand old age of 34 and I thought it was time for a hair cut as i'd not had one since June - I know its a long time but well we have been so busy preparing for the house move and everything else that's been going on.

My hair was looking tired and needed a colour and a cut in desperate need of some papering.

so hear it is my new hair :)

 

 

its very blond but I think I like it - what do you think ?

 

 

yes that's a dinosaur behind my head lol