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Travel Diary – 21st June 16 – Paris Day Five

July 5, 2016 by Bel Leave a Comment

Day Five was the last of our holiday and really just a short day as it literally consisted of heading home. We were awake early, as the shuttle bus from our hotel was 7.15am and we didn’t want to miss it. We had already backed the night before, so really it was a case of tugging on some clothes and tumbling out of the hotel. Though we made it on time for the shuttle bus, it was very full and so another bus charter was send to take a second load. We were in this one and it wasn’t a problem as we didn’t need to be at the airport until 8am.

After arriving at the airport, we made our way to check-in. We were nice and early which was good as we didn’t have to rush. It was also Nat’s first time flying and she was a bit nervous, so rushing would definitely have made that worse for her. Once we had checked in and gone through security, we took a walk around the shops. Nat had some Euros left to spend and so she bought some gifts for her boys and then we both raided another vending machine for some water and chocolate to take on the plane. Eventually we just headed for our gate and sat there waiting until we were called. We were some of the first to check-in at the gate, but actually this just meant waiting on another shuttle bus to be taken to the plane. However after about a fifteen minute wait, we were on our way to the plane and then we got off and boarded the plane from the tarmac.

The plane was one of the smallest I have ever traveled on and also it was only about a third full. This made for a very quiet plane ride though so I can’t say I was complaining. Nat and I settled into our seats, with really no one that near to us. It was actually really nice, again especially as she was a bit nervous. Once we were up in the air, items from the cafe and duty free were offered and Nat and I got very excited at the prospect of a cup of tea. Having only been able to find Earl Grey or Mint tea, we had gone almost five days without a cuppa and this was really becoming a struggle. Despite tea being £2.50 a cup on the plane, we still paid it and enjoyed it. The tea wasn’t even that great – but it was so needed.

The plane took just over an hour and then we were back in Doncaster. This was much nicer than if we’d traveled into London as it felt like we were almost home. My mum was there to meet us at the airport and she drove us back to Retford where I had left my car. Nat and I then drove home to Gainsborough, were we drank tea and pretty much collapsed. This was basically the end of our trip. We had a really great time for the most part, though being/getting ill and then getting soaked were really some lows of the holiday. I think we’d both agree there were more highs than lows but I was definitely glad to be home and seeing the girls and Chris was definitely a great moment.

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My 37th Birthday

May 30, 2016 by Bel Leave a Comment

On the whole I avoid putting the actual age I am, on my blog. It’s not that it particularly bothers me (turning 30 never did) but I have to admit that inching closer to 40 does somehow make me feel old. However I’m sucking it up this year and trying to embrace it – and I’m going to let you know what a great birthday I had!

For a start, it was a Saturday (May 28th). Amy and Olivia came down to visit for the weekend, Chris was off work and even Amy’s O.H. was coming to spend the day with us! Though technically my birthday had started at midnight where Amy and I were still up and sitting in the dinning room, we soon headed to bed and started again properly in the morning. Chris sadly woke me at 7am when he got up and though I had hoped for a lie-in, it wasn’t to be! I got up and was greeted by many “happy birthday”s and Amy kindly made me a cup of tea! I sat down on the sofa to open cards and gifts from them all, which was really lovely.

The girls got me the Evil Queen from Snow White, in hag form. This is a Disney Tradition that I’ve been after for a while and I’m not sure why as she’s ugly as hell, but I love it regardless! Chris got me Seven Dwarves on a Log – again another Disney Tradition that I have loved for literally as long as I can remember. It was always far too expensive to consider getting but now it’s mine, yay! Finally Amy and Liv got me a box of goodies, including an Ursula decoration, Regina in Pop Funko, an art print of Belle and the Beast and a Tinker Bell scarf (I put it on straight away, so forgot to photograph it). There was also a limited edition print that Amy had found in a charity shop, which is literally amazing!

After this we sat around for a while relaxing, but the kids started to get hungry so I put on some breakfast. We had freshly baked croissants and pain au chocolat, along with margarine, nutella and chocolate/peanut butter spread. We actually didn’t even manage it all which was a surprise between six of us.

Everyone went off their separate ways then, to get dressed, to have another cup of tea etc. My mum arrived around lunch time to give me her gift and then Amy’s O.H. arrived too. After a while we headed out to Nottingham with the plan to play mini-golf but it actually turned out that we went shopping and ate at Five Guys. We headed home, got the girls to bed and then my friend Nat and her O.H. came around. We spent the evening chatting, laughing and drinking wine until about 1am.

While it maybe doesn’t sound like the most spectacular of birthdays, the evening was everything and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Thankfully its a whole year now until the next one but I’m glad this one turned out pretty great.

Brewers Fayre – Half Term Fun

February 2, 2016 by Bel Leave a Comment

During half term its always nice to find an excuse to get out for the day, even if it’s just for dinner. We heard that Brewers Fayre were offering some extra activities this coming February half term and so last week we decided to go and visit, so we could get a feel for the place. Our nearest Brewers Fayre is in Lincoln, a pub called Gateway Park. We’d been a few times before, especially for kids parties, but it had been a while. Since mum was going away for the whole of February, we decided to meet up with her too and enjoy lunch as a family.

When we arrived, the car park was really full and we actually couldn’t find anywhere to park there. We headed back out and managed to park further into the estate, luckily not too far. As we headed into the pub, we were greeted and seated within a few minutes, despite the fact it was busy. We all decided what to eat and Chris and I headed to the bar to order. We were served by a really lovely guy, who was great to deal with and friendly too.

Our food arrived within maybe 15-20 minutes, but it felt even quicker than that. The service was lovely and the food was great. We genuinely had no complaints. Despite struggling to finish, I let the girls have dessert and I had a coffee. We all had a lovely lunch and will definitely be heading back. The kids menu was great value at £3.99 with only an extra 50p for a starter or 50p for a dessert.

Brewers Fayre has a built in play area, that you can let the kids play in and view from the outside. It’s a good place to relax while still letting the kids play. During half term, Brewers Fayre nationwide are offering extra activities including colouring, puzzles and activity sheets. The theme is Beano (like the play area and menu) and kids will even get to leave Beano balloon.

For extra entertainment during Half Term, Brewers Fayre will be featuring fun discos on both Friday 19th and Saturday 20th February at selected Brewers Fayres. The Toddlers disco will run from 9.30am – 3pm while the Kids will run from 3.30- 7.30pm at a cost of £3 per child.

So if you have a Brewers Fayre somewhere local to you, why not give it a try? They offer good value for money, great food and somewhere to let both you and the kids unwind.

5/52

January 31, 2016 by Bel Leave a Comment

Mum is away for the WHOLE of February, so we went out for lunch on Saturday with her. This week’s picture is taken at the Gateway Park where we had a lovely meal.

Week 41 – Monday Round-up

October 12, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

As you maybe know, I’m knocking this round up nonsense on the head, come the end of the year. I would stop it now, but I feel like that would be a shame with only 11 weeks of the year left. However I do hate doing it, so those 11 weeks can’t come soon enough.

This week has mostly been one of illness. I began to feel ill on Monday, it peaked on Saturday and then began to die off. As I write this, I’m still ill but I think I’ve over the worst of it. Not only that but Chris came down ill a few days behind me, Megan had stomach ache Saturday and Lily had my sore throat the whole weekend. Other than that, its been a week filled mostly with sewing – of course. Tuesday I walked with Lily’s class to church and back, plus dragged the kids a long way for a fabric run! Chris had a friend called Jon around Monday night and I had Nat around on Tuesday night. On Wednesday the girls and I went to mum’s house for dinner. And on Friday, mum picked up the girls from school for me as I wasn’t feeling well. Honestly, other than that, there wasn’t a whole lot else going on!

Sad to say, it was a boring week. It should have been filled with Run or Dye too, but unfortunately we had to bail out on that. So this is it. Sewing and ill. My life this week, haha!

Mother’s Day and Father’s Day

March 12, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

Special days like Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are always a little strange in our household. I lost my dad over 10 years ago, so I no longer need to buy Father’s Day cards or presents (except for my kids and their dad of course). However my partner needs to remember – getting a gift and card for his dad. Mother’s Day is equally weird as while I’m busy inviting my mum around for lunch and buying her a gift and present, my partner Chris lost his mum before we even met and started dating, over 15 years ago.

My mum and our family

A few months ago I started watching a show called “Long Island Medium“. Its a funny story really as I first saw Theresa Caputo on another show called “Next Great Baker” and thought she was mental. However her show airs right after “Judge Judy” on TLC (honestly, Chris and I are obsessed with Judge Judy) and several times, “Long Island Medium” just came on afterwards and I let it play. After that I often chose to put on her show, intrigued by her spirit encounters and genuinely moved to tears with a lot of the stories that feature on the show. While Theresa is most definitely a “crazy American” to some extent, she is the first person to really make me believe in a spirit presence, an afterlife and the ability to contact people once they’ve passed away. I’ve always been very much a skeptic but recently I’ve been wondering about contacting a medium to see if talking to my dad is possible. It’s even crossed my mind as to whether or not it’s something Chris would want to do for talking to his mum.

Realistically I don’t know if its a step I want to make or not. I miss my dad of course, but for the most part it’s not on my mind every day. I watch the stories on TV and I’m deeply touched, to the point where it makes me cry. Would being in that position myself, be too emotional? Maybe one day it’s something I’ll do, but at the moment I’m definitely on the fence about it. I would love to speak to my dad one more time, as I’m sure Chris would with his mum, but whether it’s something we’ll ever do anything about – I don’t know!

In the meantime, this weekend is Mother’s Day and I’m looking forward to it. Not only do I get to tell my mum how special she is (though I try to tell her that more than once a year), but I also get to cook lunch for her. On top of that I’ll be celebrating as a mother myself, spending the day with my two beautiful daughter’s – who one day will no doubt be mother’s themselves.

Week 10 – Monday Round-up

March 9, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

Well it’s been a busy week, I can tell you! I can’t quite believe it’s gone past already! Anyway, here is my brief run down of the week – as I remember it!

Monday to Friday was school and work for the girls and Chris. I don’t honestly remember what I did most days but I’ll give it a bash when something sticks out! I do remember that I won a competition on Twitter on Monday, with BooHoo.com – getting me an outfit worth £100 that arrived later in the week. Otherwise I think it was probably just a day of housework and blogging. The girls had singing stars after school and so it was late when we all got home and had dinner. The girls and I made a Queen of Hearts bow before Lily had to go to bed and Megan and I worked on her cake. We’d started it on Sunday but knowing we only had a couple of hours each day, meant we had to do a little bit every day.

On Tuesday again the girls were at school and when they got home we had to fit in two Disney tasks as they were busy the following night. We watched The Princess Diaries and read some of the new Never Girls book, all before Lily went to bed. After she did, Megan and I worked on Lily’s cake again. Next day Chris was off work and the girls were going to their dad’s after school. This meant a really leisurely day because I didn’t really need to be anywhere at any particular time. I don’t remember an awful lot of what we did but I do know we were naughty and had takeaway for dinner, just before the kids came home! Again, after Lily was in bed, Megan and I worked on her cake. We got it finished and I was really proud of it!

Megan wrapped Lily’s presents and then headed to bed, while I also wrapped Lily’s presents and wrote her card. For once I felt pretty organised which is a nice change these days! Thursday was Lily’s birthday and she woke us all at 6.30am. We opened presents in bed before getting up and having breakfast, then getting ready for school. The girls were both going dressed up for World Book Day and they were also both going as Harry Potter characters. Megan was Luna Lovegood and had Ravenclaw robes, while Lily was Hermione Granger and had Gryffindor robes. From what I can gather they had a good day! After school I picked them both up and we went for dinner at Pizza Express. The food was delicious but the girls were tired and I wasn’t feeling very well, so there was definitely a disappointing vibe.

After that we went to Sainsbury’s though and the girls had their savings with them and I’d emptied out my weightloss savings box in order to change the money into dollars. We all did ours individually – Megan having the most, Lily next and then me (no surprise!). We then headed home and Nat arrived for a visit just a little while later. I let Lily stay up so she could open her present and then both girls went to bed. Nat stayed for quite a while but not too late as I was feeling a bit rough and was dying to go to sleep!

On Friday neither girl really wanted to go to school but I packed them off, knowing it was only one more day to get through. At midday I took Chris to work, called at Morrisons and then went to see my mum. She had been away in Israel for a week and a half so it was really nice to see her. I picked the girls up from school but we all had dinner with mum before heading home. When we got back there were quite a lot of parcels waiting for us which was pretty exciting. One of them was my BooHoo delivery which was my outfit worth £100. There was a dress, a handbag, some shoes and a shirt. The next day was Saturday and we had a trip to Leeds and X Factor planned, but in the morning we tidied the girls room and sorted out some more packing for Florida. Another parcel arrived from BooHoo which also went with my parcel from the day before, this time a pair of black trousers. Over lunch we watched Sleeping Beauty and then we got ready for going out. We finally left the house around 4pm but we needed to call at Tesco and also get some petrol. We had a fairly uneventful journey to Leeds and got there around 6pm. However traffic was horrendous and it took half an hour just to do 3 miles. We eventually parked, found McDonalds and had something to eat. Afterwards we made our way to First Direct Arena and settled in for the show.

At first I think it was a bit loud for the girls but they soon settled in and began enjoying themselves. Lily spent most of the second half stood up and dancing so that was lovely to see. It was 10pm by the time we left and we rushed back to the car as we’d been warned it could be a long wait afterwards. Unfortunately we didn’t miss the queues and instead sat still in the car for almost an hour, without even moving an inch. Finally at around 11pm we got out of the car park and headed home. I missed a few turnings and sadly put about 10 minutes on our journey and it was 12.20am before we got back. The girls went straight to bed and Chris and I sat for a while before we did too.

On Sunday we managed a bit of a lie-in but I also had to get up and get on as I was spending the day at mum’s. Chris needed to be at work for 12pm and as there are no trains back in time, I arranged to stay at mum’s and wait for him, while the girls went to bed there too. As such we needed everything to occupy us for the afternoon, along with school clothes etc for the next day. It was a pretty hectic morning making sure we had everything and then we needed to leave around 11.30am. Mum wasn’t in when we first got there but eventually she turned up and we had lunch. The afternoon was spent with Megan doing her homework and Megan and Lily making a Lego Rapunzel tower with mum – all while I dozed on the sofa. Later Lily had a bath while mum made dinner and then we all sat down to a roast chicken dinner. Afterwards Megan had a shower and I put Lily to bed. Megan went to bed about an hour later and it wasn’t long after that before I headed out to get Chris. Together we headed home, watched some TV together and then I blogged while he went on his Xbox. We eventually headed to bed at just gone 12am.

It’s been a good week but its gone by so fast. As of today it’s 23 days until we go to Florida and I honestly don’t even know where the time is going! This coming week and the next are going to be busy so I apologise in advance if my blog posts are lacking!

Megan’s Birthday

December 15, 2014 by Bel Leave a Comment

I’m going to post later on today with my weekly round up but I felt like Megan’s birthday (and the celebrations generally) deserved a post of their own. Megan turned 10 last week and it feels like we were celebrating all week! The first sign of her birthday came on Saturday 6th, in the form of her birthday mystery party.

If you read my blog regularly, you’ll know I have been working on Megan’s party for quite some time. Not only did I agree to write her a murder mystery (without the murder) but I also ended up making four out of the eight costumes (four and a half if you count the costume my mum and I part shared). The first week in December was crazy busy – with the first 3-4 days being filled with writing the party and the rest being spent finishing off costumes that I’d been working on for weeks.

Though Lily’s didn’t quite get finished, Megan and Lily were young Anna and Elsa. I was pleased with their costumes and while I have a few additions to make, the girls were really happy to have “young” costumes, instead of the standard shop bought ones.

For Nat’s costume we had the great idea to do her costume part pink and part blue. It wasn’t quite how I pictured it but it turned out okay. Sadly Nat’s definitely didn’t get finished as it was missing sleeves, collar and the waist band. However it still gave the effect and I have promised I will finish it for her!

As Amy’s was the first I started, it was also the most finished. Missing only the collar piece, Amy’s dress for Snow White was otherwise complete. I was really pleased with it, especially the sleeves and I hope she was too!

Finally, my mum and I shared costumes. For Nat’s birthday, I had been the Evil Queen – knowing she would be the Evil Queen a week later for Megan’s. As such I was responsible for getting the cape, crown, balaclava etc. I didn’t really make any of it, except for ironing on white for the collar, to cover up the purple.

I didn’t get as much time to work on the food as I’d wanted – but we had a rough theme. There were Anna’s sandwiches, Anna and Elsa’s chocolate stack, Olaf”s carrot dip etc etc. Anything without a theme, feel under Sleeping Beauty’s bites. Megan asked if we could put blue food coloring in the lemonade and so that was our drink. As a “party bag” we bought Disney themed mugs for everyone (since everyone was a Disney character) and then placed a lottery scratch card in each. Sadly there was only one win and that was for £1. Megan’s Uncle Chris was nice enough to give it to Megan too.

The party went well and while it didn’t go quite as smoothly as I hoped, Megan and Lily enjoyed it and that was the main thing! That saw the end to Megan’s party, but certainly not the end to her celebrations.

On Thursday of last week, it was Megan’s actual birthday. Despite giving her free reign to wake me whenever she woke, it was only 6.45am when we got woken and we’re usually up at 7am anyway. Chris and I got Megan an electric keyboard, some Frozen loom bands, a Where’s Wally book and a Hidden Mickey’s book. Though it didn’t arrive until later in the day, we also got her a new set of headphones and a bag for her iPad. Lily bought Megan a Ravenclaw scarf and honestly she’s barely taken it off since.

As well as that, she got quite a lot of money from people, largely in dollars – ready for our Florida trip. I think at last check she had just over $200. On top of that she got a year’s membership to Movie Star Planet, a new dress, a novel, £20 for Next, £20 for Toys R Us, a board game and £10 in cash (I think that’s everything!!).

The day was spent at school and work but afterwards we all went out to Pizza Hut for a family meal. There was ten of us in total and actually it was really nice.

That saw the end of Megan’s birthday itself, but the celebrations still weren’t over!

On Friday night, Megan had her friend Katai over for a sleepover. Katai recently moved to Zambia, but she is back for Christmas. As such it was Megan’s one request, to have Katai over for the night and then spend the day with her on Saturday. The weekend started with popcorn, crisps, chicken strips, cheese bites and cherry coke, while watching movies. First we watched Enchanted and then The Game Plan. After that the girls went to bed. The next day we had a very chilled out morning and finally around lunch time I sent everyone upstairs to get dressed. God knows how, but it took them an hour to get ready and it was about 1.30pm before they were ready to go! We headed over to Lincoln with the plan to get dinner and then go bowling, but in the end it didn’t work out that way.

We went to a pub called Woodcocks for lunch and even though it was 2pm, the pub was still incredibly busy. It took an hour to get food and then because we ordered dessert too, it took almost two hours in total. When we eventually left, we went over to my mum’s for a little while, just so Megan could have longer with Katai. However we headed back after that, dropping off Katai on the way home. This officially saw the end to Megan’s birthday celebrations and now we’re moving on to Christmas! I can’t believe its only a week and a half away now!

Mum’s Tiramisu Cake

August 16, 2014 by Bel 4 Comments

Do you know that I’ve been meaning to post about this cake since April, when Mum had her birthday? I guess I’ve just made so many cakes in between that I never got around to it. Anyway, with last week’s GBBO having the theme of cakes, its spurred me on to actually get this posted about.

My mum is not a fan of icing on cakes. She doesn’t want something decorated with a geeky theme or thousands of sweets. Instead when I asked her what kind of cake she would like, all she requested was fresh cream. However this was my mum and I wanted to make her something special. So the more and more I thought about it, the more I knew I wanted to make it something she would love. As her favourite dessert is Tiramisu, I had the brainwave to make a sort of Tiramisu Cake – and this is what I came up with.

Tiramisu Birthday Cake

Cake:
2 packets of sponge cake mix
1 tsp instant coffee powder/granules
60ml coffee
1 tbsp coffee liqueur
Filling:
1 container of mascarpone cheese (approx 250g)
120g icing sugar
2 tbsp coffee liqueur
Frosting:
500ml double cream
60g icing sugar
2 tbsp coffee liqueur
Decorate:
a Flake, cocoa powder, grated chocolate etc.

Now if you read the ingredients before you read the instructions, you might be gasping that my recipe features two packets of sponge cake mix. I don’t want to lie to you.. this is what I used. They were about 20p from Tesco and saved so much extra hassle! However if you really want to make the sponge mix yourself, there is nothing stopping you. You’d need enough mix for 3, 9 inch tins.

1. Make up the cake mix, according to the instructions. Divide the mixture into thirds, two of which can go straight into the cake tins (greased/lined, 9 inch tins) and the other should remain in a bowl. Add the instant coffee to the last lot of cake mixture. Stir and then add to the final cake tin. If you do not have a coffee to use, check this coffee that supports animal rescue.

2. Bake in a preheated oven (180°C ish, Gas Mark 4/5) for approximately 20 minutes – until the cakes are cooked. Leave to cool, turning out onto a cooling rack after 10 minutes or so.

3. While the cakes are cooling, you can do three things.
– In a small bowl or cup, mix the 60ml coffee (i.e. filter coffee, or coffee made up from instant powder) and 1 tbsp of coffee liqueur – set to one side.
– In a slightly larger bowl, mix the mascarpone, 120g icing sugar and 2 tbsp coffee liqueur. Whisk until smooth and slightly thicker (preferably with an electric whisk). Refrigerate once done. This is the filling.
– In another bowl, add the double cream, 60g icing sugar and 2 tbsp coffee liqueur. Whisk until stiff (preferably with an electric whisk). This is the topping. Take about 8 tbsp of this mixture and add to the filling mixture. Refrigerate once done.

4. When the sponges are cooled, you’re ready to assemble the cake. Place one plain sponge onto a serving plate, cake board etc. With a skewer or cocktail stick, poke holes at random intervals throughout the sponge. Carefully pour some of the coffee/liqueur mixture over the sponge, so that it soaks into the holes. Next, add a layer of filling mixture, then top with the coffee sponge layer. Add another layer of filling mixture and finally add the last plain sponge. Poke holes in the top sponge and pour the remaining coffee/liqueur mixture over the cake so it soaks into the holes.

It’s not pretty but you get the idea!

Your cake is basically made, so its now just a case of decorating it and making it look nice. Of course its pretty much up to you, what you do now, but this is what I did.

5. Taking the topping mixture, spread over the top of the cake and down the sides to smooth and neaten the look. While I had originally intended to completely cover the top and sides in the topping, I ended up deciding to leave some of the brown sponge showing as I thought it looked nice. Once you’re completely satisfied with the covering of your cake, sieve some cocoa powder over the top and/or sprinkle some grated chocolate or pieces of broken up Flake.

And that’s it, you’re done! An amazingly tasty, Tiramisu Cake.

Obviously if you’d prefer, you can make without the coffee liqueur and its just a fancier coffee cake. However as Tiramisu traditionally has alcohol in it, that’s why I went with the liqueur. At all stages, make sure you keep tasting. More icing sugar can be added for a sweeter taste or more coffee could be added for a stronger coffee flavour.

My mum loved it, as did everyone else who tried a piece. While its wickedly filled with calories, its great for a treat – especially a birthday. The recipe is so simple and can be easily adapted. Why not give it a try yourself?