Tag: cooking

Festive Inspiration

| November 29, 2013

It’s less than four weeks now until the big event of the year and it’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas! Festive decorations adorn the shops and Christmas trees are a plenty. This year we couldn’t resist putting our Christmas tree up a little earlier than normal as Imogen loved visiting the Christmas trees in our local John Lewis store and we knew it would be a lot of fun to have one to decorate and admire at home.

So let’s deck the halls with boughs of holly. Here’s some festive inspiration for you and your family from the great range at John Lewis Home.

I love these Le Creuset sets from the John Lewis Cookware range. Bright and colourful stoneware that’s perfect for cooking a family feast and preparing Christmas dinner with.

le creuset

Image courtesy of Le Creuset

As the temperature is dropping these Winter Warmers will ensure you stay cosy over the next few months. It’s easy to brighten things up by adding a splash of colour and texture to rooms with the addition of Throws, Blankets and Bedspreads.

If you’re looking to decorate your little one’s bedroom or playroom there’s everything you need in the Children’s Room range with bedding, furniture, storage, curtains, cushions, towels and accessories.

It was around Christmas last year that we bought the John Lewis Classic Table and Chairs for Imogen to use for drawing and playing on. They’re beautifully finished and made from 100% sustainable lacquered rubberwood which is smooth and natural. This set has been used almost daily since we bought it plus there’s still plenty of room for growth.

john lewis

Imogen playing last Christmas at the John Lewis Classic Table and Chairs. This table and chairs is also great for painting fun and viewing our collection of Autumn leaves on.

You and your family will love indulging in a John Lewis Christmas Hamper. Christmas Hampers make perfect gifts, providing tasty treats for everyone and are wonderful for sharing with friends and family over the Christmas holiday. We received a John Lewis Christmas Hamper last year as a present and feasted on its contents for almost a week. It was truly delicious!

Homemade Advent Calendar

| October 19, 2013

Christmas is approaching and I’m already thinking of some wonderful ideas to fill Imogen’s homemade advent calendar. This year I’ll be making a personalised advent calendar with a little treat for each day. And there won’t be any chocolate in sight (aside from the sugar content, Imogen doesn’t like chocolate).

I’ve bought some small striped paper candy bags that will be numbered 1 to 24. These will be strung up in the style of bunting and inside each bag will be a little surprise to count down the days to Christmas.

I found a set of gorgeous free printable numbers on the blog NoBiggie which is all about crafting, cooking and thrifting. These would look great used on the advent calendar.

free printable table numbersImage of free printable number courtesy of NoBiggie.

Some ideas to include in an alternative advent calendar are recycled mini cards (cut outs of old cards we have) with a special message inside tied to some ribbon so they can be hung on the Christmas tree as decorations and printed colouring pictures (there are plenty for free on the internet that you can print out). Other little treats could include a bouncy ball, crayons, a mini tub of Play Doh, hairclips, a cookie cutter, marbles, a Christmas decoration for the tree and a selection of dried fruit (which is sweet but without the refined sugar).

I will also be making some healthy flapjacks to include in some of the advent calendar treat bags as a natural, yummy and chewy surprise.

Afternoon Tea with Annabel Karmel

| July 12, 2013

Last Saturday I was invited to attend the launch of Annabel Karmel’s new App Annabel’s Essential Guide to Feeding Your Baby & Toddler at the Apple iStore in Regent Street.

annabel karmel

The event was hosted by TV and radio presenter Jenni Falconer. Annabel talked about being a mother, coping with fussy eaters and how she began writing recipe books. Her career takes her all over the world as she continues to educate and encourage millions of parents on how to create simple and healthy meals for baby, toddler and child.

annabel karmel

Annabel gave a demo of her new App which includes 200 healthy recipe ideas, handy meal planners that you can personalise to suit your family, a shopping list feature and videos showing how to prepare food. This App ensures you’ll never be stuck for ideas at mealtimes. There’s a handy section on Tips and Advice covering everything from foods for babies and toddlers to allergies and batch cooking.

annabel karmel

Since Imogen was a baby I’ve read the range of Annabel Karmel Booksand found them helpful as easy reference guides to weaning and now for generating toddler meal ideas.

I met a wonderful group of bloggers at this event and after the launch we all sauntered in the London sun to 5th View in Piccadilly to have afternoon tea with Annabel Karmel and her lovely team.