Christmas Hampers from Interflora – a perfect prezzie for the one that’s really hard to buy for

My parents are sooooo difficult to buy for.
To be fair this is partly because my Dad’s birthday is in December and my Mum’s is in January. If I just had to think of a gift each it would be fine, but it’s two gifts, and while my Mum is a little easier to please [...]

The best chocolates in the world ever – I dare you to disagree

Me:  ”What did you have for dinner today girlies?
Miss E:  Cement.
Miss M:  Rice bum.
Hmmmmmmmmmm…
Having spent a fab day at The BBC Good Food Show yesterday  with my friend Nic as well as Madame Taralara,  fabulous Christine Mosler,  gorgeous Rebecca TwoBecomeFour and the smiley and so so lovely Coralie from Teatime in Wonderland, I was looking for [...]

Good food, good friends

I am so excited.
Tomorrow I’m off to The Good Food Show with one of my bezzie mates, AND @tara_cain and @christinemosler will be there.
Good food and good friends.
Can’t wait.

The Idealo Christmas Challenge

I’ve been issued a challenge.
Can I do Christmas for one of my girls on a budget of £75?
According to research by price comparison site Idealo, the average child’s Christmas goodies came to £168 in 2010 compared to £75 in 1995, so we’ve more than doubled our spend in the past 15 years.
To be honest I [...]

Great big enormous Christmas Competition

COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED
Congratulations to Hannah Bartram who wins all the goodies.  :D
This year has gone so fast and yet again you’ve been a lovely lot supporting me and my family through some mad times, including a new home, a burglary,  health and heart stuff, a new woman in the life of my Ex and [...]

Toto Knits – Christmas cards and gifts with a difference

When I started this blog I was married to Mr B. We’d been together 14 years and had two beautiful little girls.
Four years on and we’re no longer together.  We’re friends, and things are going well, but I am now a single mum with all the extra responsibilities and challenges that title precludes.  (NB We [...]

I am so so mad

Today at school, an 11-year-old, not very tall, really kind of shy, very very sweet, naive and unassuming, inoffensive little girl, hit the concrete after a big boy, taller than her Mum, taller than her Dad, much much taller than her, decided it would be a good idea to just stick his leg out as [...]

And then I made a lasagne – Brabantia Review

Since moving house and having our lives pretty much in one room, the things we have around us have suddenly become more important.  It’s not that my taste has suddenly improved, I’ve always liked nice things, I suppose it’s more that as we have a very small kitchen and not a lot of storage, more [...]

Truth Day 6 – Never

You walk past averted eyes down a badly lit corridor.  Strip lights buzz and flicker flares of static down your spine.  Adrenalin speeds you on while your mind battles to slow things down, to drag time out, to stop this.
A door opens and sterilised people will you into a sterilised room. One steps forward and [...]

The one where we visited The Somme

They tell you there are poppies.
As if nature has reclaimed the land and attempted to sooth away the lines of pain and destruction.
And there are.  Huge, beautiful bright red poppies, but not just poppies.  A myriad of brightly coloured wild flowers have scattered themselves across the fields of Picardy.

As we approach the British War Memorial [...]