Ella & Otto

Morning! Sleepy eyes this morning so actually looking forward to going to help in school as a break from my computer screen is needed.  Actually I would like to snuggle back under the duvet but sadly I don't have this option!  I know it's not just me either, as we head to half term all of my children are tired and grizzly and could probably do with catching some extra zzzzz's.

Lollipop Tearose

Perhaps you are a sleep deprived parent of a small child loking for a way to keep them in bed and maybe stylish and fun bedding is the answer.  I recently discovered Ella & Otto who design the most fabulous bedding and accessories for children I have seen in a long while.  As a fabric addict I do love a good print and I know lots of you will agree that Ella & Otto designs are perfect for children and meet our need for great prints.

Beep Beep

Having grown up in Sweden and Germany, Tania grew up to study and work in fashion in the fashion worlds capital cities, Paris, New York & London.  Having settled in London with her husband and young family Tania started Ella & Otto in 2008 and her designs are now stocked at selected retailers as well as exhibiting at trade shows around the world. 

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With seven collections and several products within each collection I am sure there is something for everyone.  The thing I love most about Ella & Otto collections is that you can have PJ's that match your bedding.  How often have you had a great duvet cover that you wish was also available in PJ's, or is it just me?!

Lollipop Sea

To view all the collections and products from Ella & Otto visit their website - www.ellaandotto.com

Have a great day, stay warm.
Zoe
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Book Review - The Cake Stall from The Australian Womens Weekly

Morning, hope you aren't too cold this morning.  I'm not sure I really want to know how cold it actually was last night, but I know it was several numbers below zero!  Today Drew has kindly agreed to share a book review from his wonderful world of Dad's Cooking Tonight and what better than a recipe book full of sweet treats.

image from Amazon

The Cake Stall is one of those books where you just want to reach into the pictures and pick things out to eat. With chapters such as 'The Lemonade Stand' and 'Gifts for Mum' it soon becomes clear that there are plenty of treats and sweets within the pages of this book.

Happily many of these recipes are quite simple and the instructions are clear and concise. Joyously all of the recipes are given in dual measurements, US and metric, something which is often missing in other publications.

I always make an effort to try out a few recipes from every book review on my blog, sometimes this involves careful thought, but with a book full of treats it was more a matter of filtering through the multitude of requests from my children, who certainly seemed keen on some of the sweeter ideas within.

Shown above are the Lamingtons that we rustled up, which are a kind of cake bar enclosed in chocolate icing and coconut. These were very simple to make and dunking the cake into a bowl of liquid chocolate was a firm favorite, if a bit messy.

On the request of one of my daughters we also made Vanilla Whoopie Pies, although the photo does not really do justice to the end product. Once again these were easy to make, although make sure you leave plenty of space between them on the baking tray as they get a lot bigger.

Both of these recipes turned out pretty well and were very tasty, the Whoopie Pies disappearing in one sitting. The only problem I have with the book is that the kids are always looking through it and making new suggestions, read demands, for what they would like next. Thoroughly recommended, lots of fun and full of great ideas, a very nice book.

Thanks Drew, those lamingtons were yummy and I could eat them as the icing was made with cocoa powder and water not real chocolate.  I also wanted to add that this book is perfect if you do lots of baking for school fairs or cake stalls and would be a great addition to your cookery book collection this year as we all prepare for street parties to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee.

Happy baking,
Zoe & Drew

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Family Days Out - Eden Project

Morning! Hope you're all well and surviving in this snow.  I have to admit I am a little bored with it now and would like to leave the house without wearing wellies!  Today I am thrilled to welcome Fiona of Coombe Mill as our guest blogger, sharing her family day out at Eden Project.  Every week Fiona has a 'Country Kids' linky she hosts on her blog, for others to share their family fun outside from the past week.  So if you have been having some fun outside and have blogged about it, be sure to pop over and add your link to Fiona's post.  I will pass youover to Fiona to share her families afternoon out at the Eden Project in Cornwall.

We left it till the afternoon to visit with the main intention being to go ice skating, but it is very easy to use the whole day up. Facilities for children are excellent with a great educational building now open. It is interactive and really captures the imagination of children. Throughout the year they also have special activities indoors and outside for the children to get involved with, so well worth checking out on our free wi fi if you are staying with us.  Also if you visit Eden Project once you get free entry for the rest of the year!

Fun for our children began as soon as they left the car. Who could miss out on running up and down the grassy slopes on the way in, or playing around the huge driftwood horse! We sorted the tickets whilst the children watched the automated eco theatre production and then it was off to explore. There are plenty of natural wood built play stations and my children could have been happy with just this for the day!

This is one of my favourite sculptures, he is a recycled alien called "Wee Man" made out of all the domestic waste from a typical household in a year. It does make you question where it all goes and what we are doing to our planet!

We finally made it inside to the education and science building to discover more treats instore. There are plenty of models and displays to see, a trumpet to blow and a huge mechanical nut cracker to operate.

We were keen to find the St Breward 'seed' sculpture. Mined from our village and carved from a massive 160 tonne granite block over 4 years, it is the centre piece with a whole room dedicated to it and a great write up!  Alistair took the photo and missed the top off! It does make an impressive cone shape (trust me).

 With only minutes to spare we had a quick venture into the tropical biome. The colourful array of plants, waterfall and tropical shelters will be fun for a return visit, just a few snaps and our time was up for skating in the big outdoor tent.

It was dusk as we made our way to the tent and the children were full of excitement. We were the last skate of the day and it was surprisingly quiet on the ice, perfect for us. I left Nick with the camera, since he was convinced he would break a leg attempting to skate, and joined the children on the ice. It certainly didn't disappoint, a fabulous 40 minutes, well worth the £5 per person! If you are staying with us at Coombe Mill for February half term or before, I can thoroughly recommend a skating trip to Eden before the big tent is dismantled ready for the summer months.

Thank you Fiona, it looks like you all had a fantastic day out.  My own chidlren are yet to try ice skating as there isn't a rink nearby, but they are all desperate to try!

Join us for more great guest posts with ideas for family days out and I will be adding my own ideas too.

Stay warm

Zoe

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Family Holidays - Rosevine

Morning! Have you got snow? I hope it's not causing too much disruption if you have.  Today I am going to send you all some warm thoughts with our weekly family holiday post.  Although todays destination can be enjoyed all year!

image courtesy of Rosevine

Rosevine is a beautiful Georgian house set moments from the beach in Portscatho, Cornwall.  Having worked closely together at Fowey Hall, Hazel and Tim decided to create this wonderful family retreat four years ago.  Set just two minutes from the beach Rosevine offers the benefits of self catering accommadation aswell as the benefits of a large house, with catering options, a fabulous playroom close enough to the dining room for children to sneak off and play whilst mum and dad finish supper.  The Family Den has a large television, an X-Box, a well stocked toybox and games cupboard.  Grown ups can relax in their own drawing room away from the noise or perhaps you prefer to all play together in the den!

image courtesy of Rosevine

As if all this wasn't enough to tempt you Rosevine also has an indoor heated swimming pool, a large lawn for relaxing or playing on, a trampoline, a wooden playhouse, climbing frame with rope ladders and swings, a Little Tikes climbing frame and table tennis. 

There is a selection of accommadation at Rosevine, offering families studio or apartment accommadation and they also have available this year, a 3 bedroomed house available for larger families.  Rosevine is also available for your exclusive use, perfect if you are planning a party for a certain birthday, a family reunion, a wedding or just to have a beach holiday with lots of friends. 

image courtesy of Rosevine

Starting next week until 31 May 2012 Rosevine have a special package available for families with young children.  Short breaks are available for Monday to Thursday stays in their selection of studios and apartments including two evening meals, one night in the dining room, 'a night out' and one night a deli dish for a relaxing 'night in', giving you the opportunity to choose on the third night to eat in the dining room, cook for yourselves or explore the nearby towns.   So why not creep out from under that cosy blanket and go and explore the cornish coast and enjoy the beautiful accommadation at Rosevine.  Wrap up warm and play on the beach, enjoy hot chocolate when you return and with a heated indoor pool, even rainy days can be fun! 

Tiny & Toddler packages for three nights start at £495 for a studio, sleeping two adults and a baby or small child, including two evening meals.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and stay warm

Zoe

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PS This is NOT a sponsored post, just another great idea for a fmaily holiday.

Fantastic Wallpaper for Childrens Room from Hibou Home

Morning! It's brass monkeys here and I will need extra cups of tea today just to stay warm and several jumpers and some cosy slippers.  I want to share with you today the fantastic wallpaper for children from new design company Hibou Home.  Of course I wish my sons were younger to appreciate these designs but at least my daughters are still young enough to want them. 

Cactus Cowboy from Hibou Home

Hibou Home was created out of necessity, a need to have sophisticated and contemporary wallpaper for children that didn't only come in a palette of primary colours.  In soft muted shades inspired by Scandinavian design Hibou Home's designer wallpapers deserve to be a feature in any childs bedroom or playroom.

Enchanted Wood from Hibou Home

There are currently four collections available, Enchanted Wood, Cactus Cowboy, Gymkhana and Pirate Seas.  Three of the four collections are available in a choice of colourways and you are able to order a reasonably sized sample to ensure you achieve a perfect colour match.

Pirate Seas from Hibou Home

Since launching in October last year Hibou Home have already secured several stockists, including Liberty of London.  I am sure we will be seeing their collections stocked in many more shops in the coming months and can't wait to see future collections.  Lucy thinks elephants or giraffes would work well, whilst Jack thinks helicopters!

Gymkhana from Hibou Home

All the Hibou Home collections are available to buy from their website

www.hibouhome.com

Stay warm everyone

Zoe

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Junior Grew Up

Morning! I know I should probably write about my lovely trip to Bubble yesterday but something else got my attention so I wanted to see what you all thought too.  Whilst travelling on the train yesterday I caught up with reading last months Junior when I realised that there was not a glossy magazine for parents of teenagers, or children beyond the age of 8 or 9! I love Junior and have read it since Connor was born in 1998 but yesterday I realised that most of my children were beyond the age Junior is aimed for.  There is a gaping hole at the newstands for a magazine for parents of children beyond the age of 8!

Johnnie b from Boden

Whilst at Bubble I realised that alot of childrenswear brands are for smaller children and even display samples in the tiniest sizes to make them even cuter.  Although I know there are some brands that offer chidlrens clothes for ages 11 or 12 years.  Later on whilst killing time between train and bus journeys I wandered around GAP who offer childrens clothes up to age 13, which comfortably fits Connor and Jack.  Debenhams also offer clothes in the 'designers' collections in ages 15 and 16.  But where else can teenagers shop without succumbing to adult ranges which also bear 20% vat in their price tags.  Well it is generally the parents footing the bill, so paying vat on clothes for children is a bugbear.

Yesterday evening I pondered a little more and realised that there are some beautiful and fun interiors collections for children but what happens when these children grow into teenagers?  I know teenagers are renowned for their messy bedrooms, interesting fashion adventures and grumpy moods but surely they and their parents deserve a magazine that offers fashion, interiors, parenting advice and even product, game and book reviews aimed at this age range.  I think it is about time Junior grew up!

Jack Wills clothes are popular with Connor and Jacks friends

I know I can't just start a glossy magazine as fantastic as Junior but I can share ideas and brands that offer ideas for teenagers.  Over the coming weeks I will try and do this and I may even share some parenting ideas for dealing with teenage angst or just trying to choose GCSE options! So move over Junior, here comes 'Junior Grew Up'!

I would really love to know what you think, is there a gap for a glossy magazine aimed at parents who have outgrown Junior?  What would you want from such a magazine?  Please share your ideas and thoughts in the comments or send me an email, I'm really interested in what you all think about this.  I would also love to be proven wrong and that there is actually a magazine for parents of chidlren over the age of 8!

Have a fab day

Zoe

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Chocolate Cake

Morning! Hope you all had a fab weekend.  We had a bit of a gastronomic feast, well not quite but we ate very well this weekend.  All of our children love to bake and take turns each weekend. This weekend was Ambers turn and she chose to bake a chocolate cake that she could ice using Drew's rather cool piping tool.  After getting through several piping bags I invested in a really good set for Drew's birthday last year, which is proving a great buy.  If I remember who it is made by I will let you know!

Anyway I digress, chocolate cake.  I have made sponge cake so many times over the years that a fab all-in-one recipe is firmly etched into my memory  and is versatile enough to be used for fairy cakes or victoria sponge cakes.  It can also be flavoured really easily and can be iced or filled with buttercream or fresh cream and strawberries or....the list goes on.  Anyway I thought I would share this recipe with you today and also share Ambers rather yummy choccy cake for the photos!

Ingredients
180g Self Raising Flour
180g Caster Sugar
  50g Cocoa Powder
180g Soft Magerine or butter (I use Stork magerine)
3 eggs

This would make a 7" victoria sandwich or about 18 fairy cakes.

1. Preheat the oven to 180C or 160C fan oven for sponge cake or 200C or 180c for fairy cakes.

2. Grease your sandwich cake tins or place fairy cake cases into trays.

3. Weigh all ingredients and place together in to a large mixing bowl.

4. Mix ingredients together until combined, using either a wooden spoon or electric mixer.

5. Share mixture equally into two sandwich tins or spoon into cake cases.

6. Bake in the oven for 20 mins for sandwich cake or 15 mins for fairy cakes.  Cakes should spring back if lightly pushed in middle.

7. Leave to cool in tins for 15 mins then place on a wire rack to cool completly.


Amber chose to spread strawberry jam in between the two sponges and use vanilla buttercream to ice the top of the cake. 

Try other flavours

Add the zest of an orange or lemon or both!

Add a tablespoon of strong coffee.

Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Add a teaspoon of almond extract and then make a thick glace icing for the top and pop glace cherries on for a cherry bakewell cake!

Add a teaspoon of ground ginger or cinnamon.

Add chopped glace cherries or chocolate chips.

The list is endless. Let me know what you try, I also love to try new flavours.

Have a yummy day

Zoe

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