This Is Life

My First Mother's Day Gift

2012-03-05T16:59:00.003Z

Alright alright. This key ring locket wasn't given to me by my babies. I chose this myself out of a selection of mothers day gifts shown to me by find me a gift and I love it.

About the product:

£19.99 rrp
Holds 2 3x3 circular photos
Can be personalised with a message up to 48 characters over 4 lines in the front
Approx. 4.2 x 4.2 x 1.2cm

My review:

Not only do I love the personalisation and the pretty engravements, I also love the perfect size and solidness.

The pictures aren't hard to put in either. You just place the picture on and then the metal ring on top that will hold it in place. I used to have one that needs to slip a picture inside. Ended up with a crumpled picture!

So what it's not really given to me by my babies, it's got their names on and I really like it. So I'll keep it as their gift to me! Hopefully next year I'll get something really from them hehe.

Disclosure: I was given a locket to review; all opinions are honest and my own

Easter Cupcakes

2012-03-04T10:30:00.000Z

Made these cupcakes for hubby to bring back to work. The company has grown so much that a dozen of cupcakes won't do anymore. Next time I think I'll have to make 3 dozen to satisfy everyone hehe.

This is the same recipe I used for Abby's birthday cupcakes, and they are equally moorish!

The Five Fs Birthday Meme

2012-03-03T10:30:00.001Z

My fellow blogger Kate from The Five Fs, who also live in the nearby area, has tagged me in her new Birthday meme, aiming to get at least one blog post for each day on the calendar. At the end of this post, I'll be tagging a few other bloggers to participate. But you don't have to be tagged to join in, simply pop over to Kate's Birthday meme post and add your own!

The meme is to answer some questions about my birthday, let's see what happens on my big day!

When is your birthday? 16th April

Pick three people who share your birthday and share what you know about them.

Shu Qi - Chinese actress who was in the film The Transporter with Jason Statham

Pope Benedict XVI - O. M. G!

Nick Pickard - Hollyoaks' Tony Hutchinson

Now if there is a movie starring the actor and actress in the Vatican City...

Is anyone listed as being born on the same day as you (ie the same year)? If so, what do you know about them?

Paul London - He's an American professional wrestler. Well, at least he isn't a criminal!!

List three people who died on your birthday and tell us what you know about them.

Seung-Hui Cho - American student, perpetrator of the Virginia Tech Massacre << He died on my birthday, which is great. But he also tainted the day with other 32 innocent lives

Iqbal Masih - Pakistani child slave labourer, activist << I don't mind to share my big day with your death.

Marie Tussaud - founder of the Madame Tussauds wax museum

List three notable events that took place on your birthday.

The Treaty of Accession is signed in Athens admitting 10 new member states to the European Union in 2003.

2 different American civil wars in 1862 and 1863. What's so special about this day for them to hold their civil war?!

Tell us about a holiday that falls on your birthday.

It's the birthday celebration for a Queen in Denmark, Christian Feast Day (couldn't understand what this is), and Emancipation Day in Washington D.C.

And now it's your turn! Give it a go, you'll be surprised with what you'll find by wiki-ing your birthday!

I'm tagging the following bloggers to participate in Kate's quest:

Cat from Perfectly Polished

Heather from Note from Lapland

Kelly from Preston Precious

Lindy from Squidgyboo

Gemma from HelloitsGemma

Please don't hate me lol. x

You can find the badge code and linky at Kate's :)

Giveaway Easter 2012

2012-03-02T10:30:00.000Z

Image from http://bit.ly/zlGgA3

Easter can have a lot of different meaning, depending on your beliefs. I wanted to explain where Easter bunny came from, but I don't want to upset others. So lets stick to Easter being a time to celebrate birth and everything Spring!

I heard that some families have a tradition to give gifts in Easter. Or perhaps you are like me who just want to give ourselves excuses to shop! Whoever you are, here is a selection of gifts I think you and your loved ones would be thrilled to have!

I am also giving away 2 boxes of these fantastic and yummy Jelly Belly jelly beans Spring edition, each containing 250g of gourmet jelly beans in 20 assorted flavours!

Categories:
Gifts Ideas
Jelly Belly Jelly Beans Giveaway

Gift Ideas

Baby Sheep Bunting (£12.00)

Colours available - blue, green, purple, yellow pink, orange, red
120cm
Handmade using real wool in the UK

If you are having a baby, or know a baby that's going to be born around Easter time, then a baby sheep bunting would make a lovely gift. It looks really cute in the room!

Disney Mickey and Minnie Chocolate Scented Bunnies - 45cm (£10.00)

Available from Disney Stores
Mickey and Minnie mouse soft plush toys
Dressed as Easter bunnies
Chocolate scented beads embedded in their belly
Approx 45cm (H) x 26cm (W)
Suitable for all ages

These chocolate scented plush are so soft and smells heavenly! When I saw them, especially Minnie mouse, I just wanted to keep them! They are absolutely adorable (look at that bunny face!) and I had a hard time keeping them away from Abby! I'm very tempted to pop in the shop and buy one!

Divine & Comic Relief Dubble Easter Egg Hunt Kit 108g (£4.00rrp)

6 milk chocolate hollow eggs in a coloured egg box
Comes with a set of instructions to create your own Easter Egg Hunt
Fairtrade Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Mass and Vanilla

Love the packaging for a start, and the cute instructions will make egg hunt at home or in your garden extra fun! You can also explain to the little ones the importance of supporting fairtrade, and even sign them up as a Dubble agent!

Divine Luxury Dark Chocolate Easter Egg 260g total (£10.00 rrp)

160g dark chocolate hollow Easter egg
100g bar of Divine's bestselling ginger & orange chocolate
Fairtrade

A beautifully presented quality chocolate egg, that comes with a bar of luxurious dark chocolate bar with a hint of ginger and pieces of orange jellies. I love it how the flavour lingers in my mouth! I would buy this for..... myself!

Jelly Belly Jelly Beans Hello Kitty Ceramic Jar (£13.30 rrp)

18.5cm (H)
Will hold up to 650g Jelly Belly jelly beans
Comes with 4 x 10g packets of Jelly Belly jelly beans

A very cute Hello Kitty jar! It's not an Easter edition, but it looked just like an egg shape! Imagine a jar full of jelly beans.. oooo!

Kent & Fraser Chocolate Chip Cookies 125g (£2.29 Waitrose)

Contains no egg, wheat nor gluten
Made with fresh butter, Muscovado sugar and chocolate chips

A must for those who only eats free from products! These cookies are really crunchy, and has a generous amount of chocolate chips all over them. I normally don't go for free from products as I keep thinking that they'll taste different, but these are just as good as any other chocolate chip cookies!

Personalised Easter Bunny Basket with Cadbury's Mini Eggs (£19.99 rrp)

Comes with basket and Cadbury's chocolate mini eggs
Personalised jumper embroidered with child's name, followed by 'Easter Bunny' and the current year
Can be personalised with blue or pink text
20cm x 33cm x 20cm

Another fluffy bunny, but this one can be personalised, and comes with a basket as well as some mini chocolate eggs! Would be cute to collect one for each year!

Pillow Pets - Cuddly Bunny (£19.99 rrp)

Original Pillow Pets Easter edition
Made with chenille fabric, machine washable
Available from Toys R Us and Amazon
Age 3+

This is one soft squishy toy! Not only can you use it as a pet, or a pillow, but you can use it as a cushion or a hand warmer too! It will be perfect for travelling! The Vicro strap can be covered after the pillow-pet is opened so it's perfectly safe for those delicate skin.

Abby used it as a pillow the same night and when I checked on her, she was hugging her pillow with a smile (well, not in the above picture, which was just bad modelling lol)!

Disclosure: I was given all the above products to review. I was also compensated for reviewing the Mickey and Minnie scented bunnies, which I had to return, with a plush toy; all opinions are still honest and my own

Jelly Belly Jelly Beans Giveaway

Thanks to Jelly Belly, I have 2 of these 20 flavour Spring Sleeve Gift Boxes (each weighing 250g) to giveaway for Easter!

- To enter, simply leave me a blog comment below, telling me which of the above gift idea is your favourite.

- For an extra entry, follow me on Facebook, and leave a comment telling me what your Facebook name is

- For another extra entry, please tweet the following (excuse the extra long hashtag!), and copy the link of the tweet into a comment below:

I have entered @Ang_Thisislife 's #AngThisislifeEasterGiveaway to win @JellyBelly_UK 20 Flavour Spring sleeve Gift Box http://bit.ly/wDVoXd

The deadline for this giveaway is Sunday 18th March, 2012 at 23:59pm, and 2 winners will be picked randomly within 3 days after the deadline.

Terms and Conditions:

UK residents only
Please leave a way for me to contact you should you win
If by 21st March, 2012 4pm the winner hasn't responded, I will pick another winner.

This competition is also listed on:

ThePrizeFinder - UK Competitions
Loquax Competitions

Updates

2012-03-01T22:41:00.001Z

Just a quick message to those who have subscribed to this blog through RSS feed. I'm currently working on 2 updates, so some old posts might pop up. Apologies and thank you for bearing with me!

Love,

Angela x

MacLaren Universal Expandable Footmuff

2012-03-01T10:30:00.000Z

You can unstrap the base of the top layers to open them fully

Last week I wrote a review for the MacLaren Techno XT stroller that we bought recently. Not only did the lovely PR at MacLaren gave me additional information for my post, she also gave me MacLaren's new universal expandable footmuff to review.

The footmuff is not available for buying yet, but I definitely recommend you to keep an eye out for it!

Length extended by unrolling the base

About the product:

£65.00 RRP
Provides luxurious padding for entire length of seat
Centre zip front panel for easy, quick access to baby
Small side mesh pockets for ventilation
Fleece inner lining

My review:

When I first touched the footmuff, the first thing that came to mind was a really cosy sleeping bag. It was thick, warm and so comfortable I wanted one for myself! In fact, Clay slept much longer in his buggy with this footmuff!

It's really easy to strap the footmuff on the buggy, and it fitted perfectly on our MacLaren stroller. The straps on the top ensure that the footmuff won't slide down, which many others do.

Velcro straps at the top that sticks to the back of the stroller, holding it in place

Strap around the side bars to hold the base in place

The footmuff zips up to just under Clay's chin, keeping him warm, which was exactly what I was looking for. I had two footmuffs before and they only zipped up to under the baby's arm, which did nothing to the upper body!

It's very easy to expand at the bottom as well, if your baby has grown out of the current length. Another product that will keep for years!

If you are looking for a soft, comfortable and warm footmuff that covers the upper body and will last for years (value for money!), this is definitely the one you should go for.

Disclosure: I was given a footmuff to review; all opinions are honest and my own

Next Children Team GB Outfit

2012-02-29T10:30:00.000Z

The Olympics games are almost here. Although I'm Chinese, but I am living in the UK, so I should support team GB shouldn't I?

While browsing through Next's clothes for children, I came across their team GB collections. I saw this outfit and how tempted am I to buy every piece home!

Sequin T-shirt £9 - £10 (3 months to 6 years)

I love the GB sequin heart, very trendy!

Mid Wash Western Denim Skirt £8 - £9 (3 months to 6 years)

This skirt, although not with the team GB logo, matches the set perfectly well. I love the mid washed effect. And I can mix and match it with other clothes too.

Flag sequin Boots £16 - £17 (size 3 to 12)

Abby have a pair of sequin boots that she called 'Bling Bling Shoes'. They are pretty worn out now and one of them have a hole somewhere near the base (ie not puddle proof). I bet she'd love these to replace her old Bling Bling shoes!

Stripe Hooded Sweat £17 - £18 (3 months to 6 years)

I love this sweater, but it's probably a bit too warm for Summer days, provided that we are gonna have a hot (or at least warm?) Summer this year. But then again, you'll never know with the weather nowadays!

I think the whole outfit is really cute! I can imagine Abby wearing these shouting: Team GB!!!

MoneySuperMarket.com Cocktails Class

2012-02-28T10:30:00.000Z

Picture courtesy of Sarah

Last Saturday I went to a cocktails class at Stock Restaurant, held by moneysupermarket.com (MSM), and had a fantastic time with Sarah (communities manager at 3monkeys), Emma and Lauren from MSM, and the lovely bloggers - Lindy, Cat, and Gemma. Apparently MSM do deals and vouchers as well. We always thought that they are just like any other comparison websites!

It's nice to receive a glass of bubbly on arrival after getting lost for 15 minutes! *No sense of direction*

I forgot what canape this was but it's absolutely delicious! I was gutted I missed the meal after the class, but I had to get back to hubby and my babies, whom, on a side note, took me an extra 30 minutes to get to as I got lost again. I blame it on the cocktails this time!

First cocktail we learnt - Cosmopolitan

It's very professional of the bar tender. He chucked away his initial attempt as the cranberry juice wasn't fresh and red enough. The result he was looking for was this:

This Posh Lemonade was created by the bar tender himself. It's a layer of syrup, then limoncello, freshly squeezed lemon juice, topped up with champagne. If you look carefully you can actually see 5 layers, where the 5th layer being the limoncello mixed with the freshly squeezed lemon juice. It was very impressive and delicious! It tasted just like lemonade with alcohol.

I had a chance making this behind the bar and it was not easy! Although you don't have to shake it in a cocktail mixer, you still need a steady hand to slowly pour each layer in the glass without mixing them together.

I actually spilled a shot worth of alcohol on the table, and the girls teased me, saying that I should have another glass on the side and I would have made 2 in one go!

Margarita

As cocktails can be quite expensive, I never really got the chance to try them. The only ones I've tried was Snowball which was quite nice, and some with lots of colours but tasted horrible. I was glad that I came to this event as I've tried some classics and some new ones, and found out that I quite like tequila! Well, not in a large quantity, but it's quite sweet. Unless it was something else in the Margarita?

Mojito

It was quite funny watching them make Mojito, as it's basically just crushing everything in the glass. I'm not quite sure I dare to be so rough to my glasses like that! This is actually my least favourite, maybe because I wasn't very keen in mint. I normally use it to garnish my dishes only!

Amaretto Sour

A very interesting drink. It contains Amaretto Almond Liqueur and juice, but it ended up tasting like cherry sweets!

Shot of Catania

One of the bartender was from Sicily. When I asked about drinks containing a blue liqueur, she made a shot of Strawberry Liqueur, Vodka and Bols blue liqueur. At this point I already felt the alcohol in my head, so I chickened out as I am still breastfeeding. But all the others who tried said that it was really nice and didn't taste like alcohol at all. I must try this after I stopped breastfeeding!

We also tried Tom Collins, and the bartender told us that the 2 gins on the right are the best. Tips in our pockets!

The bartender made up a cocktail on the spot with grapefruit vodka, lychee liqueur (which he didn't fancy) and pineapple juice. When he told us he was gonna put pineapple juice in the drink, I kinda felt disappointed as lychee is such a delicate fruit, you just don't mix it with strong flavours like pineapple (or mango. I think Twinings made a tea with the 2, tut tut). The outcome was a very easy to drink but on the sugary side cocktail. No lychee flavour in it hehe.

Beautiful ceiling features

The cocktails class wasn't part of their deal, but they have a deal for Stock restaurant on MSM website now. Wish I went for the meal!!

Disclosure: I was invited to moneysupermarket.com's blogger event; all opinions are honest and my own

Claire Clark's Shortbread with Rose Flavoured Sugar

2012-02-27T10:30:00.000Z

This shortbread recipe from Claire Clark's Indulge - 100 Perfect Desserts has been on my to do list for a while now, and when I was given these organic fairtrade rose flavoured sugars by Steenbergs, it gave me a good opportunity to make them.

It is really easy to make, and it's absolutely scrumptious! It's buttery and the hardness is just right. The store bought ones are too hard, while this one still gives the right amount of crumbs. I made one before with another recipe where it fell apart after one bite, and it's just not as satisfying.

I added rose petals in the dough, which gives an added texture to the shortbread.

£2.25 for 90g, £3.50 for 200g

I sprinkled rose sugar on top of the cookies. The rose is really subtle, but if you focus, you will notice the rose flavour. And I really love the colour of the petals, so pretty!

Disclosure: I was given a sample of rose sugar to review; all opinions are honest and my own

Silent Sunday

2012-02-26T13:22:00.002Z

MacLaren Techno XT Stroller (Basic Comparison with MacLaren Quest Stroller)

2012-02-25T10:30:00.000Z

When I was pregnant with Abby, one of the exciting thing to do for me was shopping. The only things I steered clear from was car seats and push chair. I had absolutely no idea how to choose them. So hubby had his fair share of fun, hunting down for something suitable and within our budget.

We decided to go for a travel system, and we have been using it for 4 years now. Don't get me wrong, we stayed with it for so long not because it's that good. In fact, it has annoyed us a lot since it's bulky, heavy, and very hard to steer (people get stuck around us all the time, waiting for us to move). We just didn't want to waste money by buying another one.

The MacLaren Quest we bought (image from http://bit.ly/xMAsxD)

4 years later, after we had Clay, hubby decided that he has had enough. He did an online research, and decided that we should go for MacLaren Quest, as it was one of the best stroller out there (After all the trouble we had with our travel system, we didn't want to go back to an expensive, heavy and bulky pushchair again), with all these that we'd love:

5 point harness
4 reclined position
Easy to attach rain cover
Light weight (approx. 6kg)

We checked it out in a shop, and loved how smooth it was to steer. I could steer it with just one hand, turning around corners without getting stuck once. And that's with a 4 year old Abby in it as well!

It is very light in weight, and it has a strap where you can hang the folded stroller on your shoulder. It has a big pocket at the back for you to put things in, which we never had before. For me, the more pockets the better!

Using Techno XT to demonstrate

When hubby showed me how to attach the rain cover, I was really impressed. All you had to do was to hook the cover on the front edge of the waterproof hood from one end to another. No more fiddling around with a giant piece of plastic, trying to cover it over the whole pushchair and getting confused all the time with where the front is.

The MacLaren Techo XT we eventually went for

We bought it straight away in the shop, but then hubby had a dilema when we got home. He saw the MacLaren Techno XT that was on display next to the Quest. He checked it out online and pointed out that, for another £50.00 we can have everything (well, almost) a Quest provide us, and with the following as well:

4 reclined position, with the lowest position allowing baby to lie flat
Wheel suspensions
UVA protected sun-visor
Expandable handles
Back pouch has 2 stretchable compartments

Travelling tag

Bag with 2 stretchable pockets

Expandable handles

I loved how the chair reclined all the way back. Clay has slept in that position a few times already and he looked so comfortable!

The hood design is really clever. The waterproof hood itself is expandable and big already. You can then pull out the sun-visor from under the hood and it'll completely shade Clay's face from the harmful sun.

The XT is still as easy to steer as the Quest, even if it's slightly heavier. I can avoid any supermarket trolleys now with a breeze!

The wheel suspensions are definitely a must for us. The road to our GP, which is also the same way to a potential primary school Abby might go to this September, is so bumpy I felt everything in my arms even with the suspensions. Lets just hope that the buggy will last through this 4 times a day, and fingers crossed it won't affect Clay's physical development!

We found one of the back wheel squeaking on its second ride. Apparently it's a common issue if you hang heavy bags on a buggy. As a busy mum of two, it's quite hard not to drag a heavy bag with me. So for now we'll just stick to lubricating the wheels. If you have the same problem, remember to use silicon based lubricant only.

The only thing we miss from the previous pushchair is a cup holder. MacLaren has a universal cup holder coming out this year, we'll keep an eye out for it!

The Techno XT we bought has a round hinge design, to protect fingers from being hurt while folding the buggy. For older models you can request free hinge bags to cover it up.

Old design for reclining seat - requires 2 hand operation
and need to squat down to reach the 2 hinges

Recently MacLaren has improved their buggies to meet their global safety standard. So the latest Techno XT has head and feet barriers, a handle tether strap, and you can now recline the seat with one hand operation.

So far, we are quite happy with the buggy, and hubby is thrilled with how much boot space he has freed up in his car!

How to fold umbrella strollers safely

Request for free MacLaren hinge covers

Abby's 4th Birthday Cupcakes

2012-02-24T10:30:00.000Z

As I mentioned in Abby's birthday cake post, I didn't want to fiddle around with cake slicing just to shove mushy cakes into the party bags. So I decided to make cupcakes for the little kids to bring home.

I knew from Hong Kong food bloggers that there are individual cupcake holders out there for this kind of occasion, or for wedding favours. I Ebayed and found loads! They only cost about 30p each (for 50 cases), and made life so much easier for me and the kids. And you can reuse them as well!

I think while designing these cupcakes I got a bit carried away. Do they look a bit like wedding favours? Hehe. But it matches the birthday cake and the kids were happy. (And I was super happy!) Abby loved them very much as well and has been asking for them. Although she was mainly after the cream cheese topping and the chocolate decorations!

Before I made these cupcakes, I tested out 4 different cupcake recipes. Why the fuss? Because I hate muffins or cupcakes that falls apart right after the first bite. I always ended up with crumbs all over my clothes (or the floor if I was standing). To me, they are supposed to be fuss free. You open the paper case without needing to dirty your hands, then take a bite without crumbs falling all over. It should be suitable for ladies at events without embarrassing themselves. (Not me. I avoid eating them to save me the hassle.)

As I was saying, I tested out 4 different recipes. One not sweet enough, one so dry hubby almost choked on it. Then one became stodgy the next day (Ahhh! Of course I made sure that it's fresh for the day the kids ate them!) and we had a winner.

They don't crack much. I accidentally poked a hole out of one while testing

I adapted it from Mary Berry's perfect Victoria Sponge, which was recommended to me by a lovely local blogger Claire Jackson (@cjplus4). The end result was a really fragrant (vanilla), soft and moist cake that is light yet holds together when you take a bite from it.

We were quite upset at the beginning as I thought I only made 4 extras for ourselves (it was that good!), forgotten the fact that I only had 17 kids to give these to (I made 24).

This will be my favourite sponge recipe! If I ever open a cupcake shop I'll definitely use this for my cupcakes. Order, anyone?

Moulding chocolate roses in the making; melts right onto your fingers!

Miners Cosmetics 2012 Lipstick and Cream Face Sticks

2012-02-23T10:30:00.000Z

I love receiving parcels from Paul Murray Plc, as I never know what they will be sending me each time! I have loved their Miners Cosmetics lip glosses as they were so moist and smells gorgeous. This time, I get to try their lipsticks, and their new cheek sticks!

About the products:

Moisture Effect Lipstick - £3.99 each
Colours (above picture, left to right) - Hush Hush, English Rose, Kiss me Quick (New), Moulin Rouge (New)
Infused with Aloe Vera and Jojoba

My review:

Miners Cosmetics lipsticks smells as lovely and cute, like sweets, as their lip glosses. The moisture effect lipsticks are very easy to glide on, but not oily at all. The colour is still intense, without needing to apply several layers.

About the products:

Lip Colour Lipstick - £3.99 each
Colours (above picture, left to right) - Dreamer (New), Glamour Girl (New), Icon (New), Seduction (New)
Also in another 4 colours

My review:

Lip Colour range are still easy to glide on, but the colour is more intense than the Moisture Effect range. The Dreamer I tried on my lips was a bit rough, but could be because of the glitter particles in the lipstick. (This is the only lipstick that has glitter particles out of the 12 I was given)

About the products:

Matte Effect Lipstick - £3.99 each
Colours (above picture, from left to right) - Barely Buff, Fiesta (New), Wonderland (New), Vixen

My review:

This range is definitely thicker than the other two, with a really intense colour. Although thick, my lips stayed soft. Have you seen adverts with models wearing matte effect lipsticks, where the colour is highly saturated? These lipsticks can definitely give you that effect.

Overall, my favourite is the moisture effect range, as I love how easy it glides on. Knowing that it has Aloe Vera and Jojoba is a plus to me, and the colour comes through easily too. My favourite colour, however, is Dreamer from the Lip Colour effect range.

About the products:

Cheek of it Cream Face Sticks - £3.99 each
From left to right: Bronze Stick, Blush Stick, Highlighter Stick

My review:

I really like the cream face sticks. They are all very subtle, meaning that it's very easy to build up the colour to the intensity you want instead of overdoing it. I used a brush to brush it on and the application was very easy.

I normally don't use bronzer, but I use this one as a low light. The pink blusher is exactly the shade I am using, but because there is only one shade, I'm not sure whether it is everyone's cup of tea?

Abby's 4th Birthday Cake - Raspberry Buttercream Cake

2012-02-22T10:30:00.000Z

For the past don't know how many weeks, I have been planning, designing and testing recipes for Abby's 4th birthday cake. I think mainly because I love baking so much, that cakes for her birthday became a chance for me to make something special. In my defense, I did provided Abby a party she loved!

Anyway, back to the cake. Originally I wanted to make stained glass butterflies, without the cookie frame around it. But I failed and failed, and then decided to make them with white moulding chocolate, and dust them with edible moon dust. I'm quite glad that they turn out well, although they turn soft easily! I was so nervous when butterflies started to drop off from the cake while the kids sang happy birthday to Abby lol.

The flowers were made from pink strawberry flavoured moulding chocolate as I ran out of the white ones. I kneaded purple and blue food colouring paste in them. I loved the moon dusts so much I dusted the flowers as well!

The cake is made with 600g Raspberry Puree and Custard made with 7 eggs, mixed with 900g Unsalted Butter! It was so smooth and creamy. I love the custard flavour that comes through the sharpness of the raspberry. Mmmmm!

I made lady finger cake base that went really well with the raspberry buttercream.

Whipped Egg White

Stiff!

Folding Strong Flour

The cake was delicious, but I didn't put enough cake base in the cake otherwise it would be perfect! (That means that we had lots of left over buttercream hehe)

Although this is Abby's birthday cake, I didn't want to mess around with cutting the cake at the party and shove the slices into the kids' party bags where they will just get squashed with melting butter. So this cake was eaten by us and the family who has kindly popped over to help and attend Abby's party.

I made some cupcakes for the kids instead to bring home in lovely cupcake cases. Will post about it later!

By the way, apologies for not including a recipe. I've used the buttercream and lady finger recipe from this book. Although it's mainly in Chinese, the recipes are also translated in English in the book with clear steps and pictures to follow.

Blog Camp UK 2012 Meet and Greet

2012-02-21T14:52:00.002Z

I'm heading to BlogCamp this April in Birmingham, and am participating in the meet and greet prior to it. So, hello everyone who will be going, and can't wait to see you there!

Had to 'heart' over hubby and family as I haven't got their permission yet to post their faces up on my blog. Abby? Well... wait until she starts to complain hehe!

Name: Angela

Blog: This is Life

Twitter: @Ang_Thisislife

My Blog’s About: my children, recipes, reviews and giveaways

Likes: Blogging, baking, food, teasing my children, trying new things, gossip

Dislikes: Mess that's not done by me, being controlled, pushiness

Hot Chocolate Sticks (and How to Temper Chocolate)

2012-02-21T10:30:00.000Z

One of the things I made for Abby's birthday party bag is a hot chocolate stick. They normally cost around £2.00 for each stick. Why pay that when you can make your own for under 10p each?

For little children, you don't really need to use high quality chocolate. These were made with Morrisons value range Milk Chocolate, which cost 30p per 100g bar. 3 bars make approx 21 chocolates. I wouldn't say that the chocolate taste as nice as the branded ones, but when melted in a warm cup of milk, it tasted just as good as any other hot chocolate. Besides, kids are normally less fussy. I checked the ingredients and they are just that, chocolate. No palm oil and such that you'd find in fake ones.

On a side note as I found this really funny. I went to Morrisons to grab these chocolates. They were so cheap I was standing there thinking of how many I needed. I was holding 9 chocolate bars at the end, and this guy, he was so 'fascinated' by the sight of it, circled around the isle and came back to see how many I ended up buying.

Although cheap, after some chocolate tempering, they'll still look as shiny as the good quality ones!

Note: Even for good quality chocolate, if you want it hard and shiny, you must temper it, or it will be dull looking and melt very easily. Each chocolate has different tempering temperature:

Dark Chocolate: Cool to 27-28 C (Step 5); Working Temperature is 31-32 C (Step 6)

Milk Chocolate: Cool to 27-28 C ; Working Temperature is 20 C

White Chocolate: Cool to 27 C; Working Temperature is 28 C

(Make approx. 21 chocolates)

Ingredients:

300g Milk Chocolate, finely chopped

Mini Marshmallows

Lollisticks

Chocolate (or Jam) thermometer

Chocolate or ice cube mould

Method:

1. Melt 2/3 of the chopped chocolate in a big bowl (if possible, bigger than the chocolate mould you will use later) over a simmering water bath on low fire, until 80% of the chocolate has melted. Be very careful not to let the steam or any water get into the chocolate. They are unusable once they get wet.

2. Remove the bowl and place it on top of a tea towel, to prevent it from moving around. Slowly and gently (to prevent air bubbles), stir the chocolate until it's completely melted.

3. Add a tablespoon of the reserved chopped chocolate. Again stir gently and slowly until they've completely melted. This step is called Seeding.

4. Keep repeating step 3 until the chocolate has stopped dissolving, or you have used up all the chopped chocolate. (Ideally you don't)

5. Leave the bowl of chocolate in room temperature, and place a thermometer inside the chocolate. Drop the temperature of the chocolate to between 27-28 C. This takes approx. 15 -20 minutes, depending on how warm your room is.

6. Place the bowl of chocolate over the hot water bath again and raise the temperature to EXACTLY 30 C (workable temperature). If it goes above, repeat step 5.

7. If you have done everything right, you should now have tempered milk chocolate to use. To test, simply dip a clean knife into the chocolate and leave it aside to set. Tempered chocolate should look clean without streaks, and sets really quickly.

8. Use a big spoon, or a ladle, scoop the chocolate mixture and pour it straight into the chocolate mould, over the chocolate bowl. Make sure that each mould is filled without air bubbles stuck inside. If there are air bubbles, try to remove them with something like a cocktail stick as quickly as possible, before the chocolate sets.

9. Use a chef's knife and carefully point it in a 45 degrees angle to the mould, and scrape off the excess chocolate from the mould. You are aiming to clean up the mould so that only the holes are filled with chocolate.

10. Leave to set until the top has hardened.

11. Now, gently stick a lollistick in the middle of each chocolate, and gently but firmly press marshmallows around the stick.

12. Use cling film to gently wrap the whole thing up and leave in the fridge for over an hour (I finished making these in the evening, and left them in the fridge until before I was heading to bed).

13. Remove from the fridge and bring them back to room temperature. If the chocolates are done, they should remove easily from your mould. The worst ones require a slightly firmer nudge. So gently wriggle the lollistick and see if it will come out. If it doesn't, try the other ones. If they won't come out, leave it in room temperature for longer before you try again.

To serve:

1. Warm a small cup of milk (if you use only 1 lollistick. For bigger mug, you need 2-3 sticks) until it's hot enough to melt the chocolate but cool enough for a child to drink.

2. Let the child stir the stick in the milk and watch it dissolve, while the marshmallows floats. Enjoy and have fun!

Abby's Birthday Weekend

2012-02-20T15:37:00.000Z

For the last 3 years Abby has been celebrating her birthday with family only, as she didn't go to any schools or groups until she became 3 years old, ready for pre-school. Although we have been helping my sister-in-law out with her children's birthday party, we still had no experience in organising one, so we decided to hold Abby's birthday party in an indoor soft play. We thought that we can just go there, sit back and relax and watch the kids go crazy. We were definitely too optimistic!

First I was very confused as the children labels we were given didn't have names on. By the time I thought of writing my own names on them, it was already too late as the first few stickers already went out.

Then there were the odd moments where you spot one of the little friends wandering around with a sad face, because they couldn't find the other ones. It happened to Abby when she was at others' party so I made sure Abby is looking after the ones that are alone. Imagine looking for one child in a room full of children and toys! A few times Abby missed her own party announcements and we had to go ~~hunt her down~~ look for her when everyone was waiting.

Seriously, most of the time I just found myself standing there like a mother duck glancing across the room, making sure all the ducklings were having fun and playing with someone.

I also made the wrong decision by saying yes to party games. Most of the kids weren't interested, because the party hosts weren't really exciting and encouraging. So we decided to release the kids earlier to play again.

I was going to let Abby give the party bags and cupcakes one by one to her friends when they queue up for leaving. But the party host decided to lay out the party bags and cupcakes on the table. At first I thought it was alright, as they do look lovely on the table that way. But I had no idea he was gonna put Abby on the spot in front of everyone by asking her to choose a little girl or boy to give a bag and cupcake to.

The kids already sat around the table playing with the bags and cupcakes, what's the point on confusing everyone by asking her to take it from the table and give them out again? She was frustrated and confused, not knowing who she should give the party bag to. I felt so sorry for her I told the party host to just let the kids grab the bags and cupcake themselves, which they have already done anyway.

Abby was fine again while I was a tad annoyed by the host. Then, I realised that one of her friend who said would come actually wasn't at the party at all. Right at the end of the party! When there was an extra bag on the table! How bad was that! I think the little girl couldn't make it last minute but they couldn't find my contact number. Ah well...

The highlight of the party was definitely when Cheeky Monkey came out and danced with all the kids in the disco area. The music was upbeat and fun, and the kids had fun following the moves.

We all looked about 10 years older after the party. I had no idea it was so hectic, even when we had family's help, party hosts, entertainments and toys! But since Abby, her cousins and friends all enjoyed the party so much, it was all worth it!

It has become a family tradition that we would pop into KFC for lunch after a kiddy party. That made up for all the hard work hehe.

After my family saw my previous post about the Bento dinner I made, they've requested Bento this weekend. I didn't have any new ideas so I made the same thing, with different faces this time, and some flowers and Hello Kitty vegetables. Good I had help from my sister-in-law, as making 8 took much longer than just 3!

The next day we all slept till very late, and took everything easy. We started watching some new TV series - The River, Homeland and Walking Dead. Awesome and gripping!

Thanks again to my family for coming over this weekend to help us out. Without you guys, Clay wouldn't be napping at the party, there wouldn't be any balloons, and all these lovely pictures of Abby and the party! We had a fab time and missing you guys already! x

Artisan Chocolate - Rococo Chocolate

2012-02-17T10:30:00.000Z

As I've said many times before, I'm always on the hunt for great artisan chocolate. I recently discovered Rococo Chocolate that has been awarded Chocolatier of the Year 2011. Of course I must try them! The PR from Rococo Chocolate has generously sent me 4 chocolate bars of different flavours to try.

Orange & Geranium Organic Dark Chocolate Artisan Bar (70g) £4.50

- 65% dark chocolate with crystallised orange peel and geranium essential oil, with a touch of orange essential oil for sweetness

Me: My favourite dark chocolate is around 65-68%, not too bitter and not too sweet, and still has that attractive shiny and crisp dark chocolate quality to it. This chocolate has all the above, with a strong fragrance similar to roses. And then there are the pieces of slightly chewy and sweet crystallised orange peel. Very unique!

Sea Salt Organic Milk Chocolate Artisan Bar (70g) £4.50

- 37% house milk chocolate with pieces of Mon Anglesey Sea Salt; won the Academy of Chocolate Gold award for Best Flavoured Milk Bar 2011

Me: We absolutely love this chocolate bar. I always know that salt goes well with caramel dessert, as it enhances the flavour. But so far I haven't tried this combination.

The milk chocolate they've used for this artisan bar has a distinct caramel flavour and the little bursts of sea salt that comes through in my mouth are a pleasant surprise, cutting through the strong sweetness of the caramel. I think it's the sea salt that tempted me to keep going back for more, just so that I can experience another burst of saltiness.

Earl Grey Organic Dark Chocolate Artisan Bar (70g) £4.50

- 65% dark chocolate with finely grounded Earl Grey tea and a touch of bergamot essential oil for a citrusy lift

Me: I like the subtle fragrance of the Earl Grey tea blended in the velvety smooth dark chocolate. Occasionally I'll get a tiny piece of ground tea, although some bits can be a bit too gritty

Chilli Pepper Organic Dark Chocolate Artisan Bar (70g) £4.50

- 65% dark chocolate with birds eye chilli oil

Me: At first I didn't really notice anything, just a lovely velvety smooth dark chocolate. Slowly I started to feel the chilli tingling the top of my mouth (I suppose it's because I 'grind' the chocolate to the top of my mouth to make it melt faster, lol), then the tip of my tongue. The more chocolate I put in my mouth and let it melt, the stronger the kick.

I'm quite impressed with Rococo Chocolate. Looking at their artisan chocolate bars (18 flavours) alone (there are other type of chocolates and confectioneries), you can tell that they are constantly experimenting with different flavours, creating unique combinations.

Disclosure: I was given 4 bars of chocolates to try and review; all opinions are honest and my own

MAM Hold Me - Bottle

2012-02-16T15:43:00.000Z

Ever since I started weaning Clay, he's been showing much interest in water. Every time he drinks water from the baby milk bottle, he'll drink a lot in one go and then let out a big sigh, like it has really quenched his thirst and that he was very satisfied. And then he'll start to chew on the teat. Glad he doesn't do that to me!

The problem we have is that he always ended up soaking himself with water so we had to change his clothes.

MAM UK was kind enough to send me a Hold Me - Bottle to try, which should solve my problem.

About the product:

270ml Bottle - £6.50
Pink or Blue with berries pattern
BPA Free
Spill free
Extra fast flow Silk Teat
Also includes soft spout
Removable easy to hold handles suitable for little hands
Won Mother & Baby Bronze award for Best Weaning product in 2010/11
6 months +

My review:

This bottle is definitely the one we needed! Absolutely spill free even when I turned the bottle upside down and shaked it vigorously. We He chucked it on the floor and the floor stayed dry. The only time water came out was when Clay either sucked or chewed on the teat while the bottle was upside down.

The handle is great as well and Clay can hold the bottle on his own without help. The only thing to teach him now is how to lift the bottle up on his own so he can drink the water!

I like it that the bottle comes with a soft spout to slowly train him to drink instead of suck. The bottle will last twice as long than normal bottle that way and that is definitely value for money.

Disclosure: I was given a bottle to try; all opinions are honest and my own

Valentine's Day: Royal Icing Iced Cookies

2012-02-15T13:43:00.000Z

The last time I made royal icing iced cookies was for Abby's 3 years old birthday. It didn't go very well as the cookies has gone soft after icing them. And I suspect that the cookie recipe wasn't very suitable for icing cookies as the cookie wasn't flat on the top but a bit dome-shaped.

The only icing cookies recipe I know that turns out flat and sharp looking tasted a bit more like short pastry than a cookie, so I haven't been making these since.

I found Red Ted Art's guest post by Biscuit Village on Pinterest, and not only did the cookies look amazing, there is a very detailed step by step guide on how to ice the cookies, and a cookie recipe that is scrummy as well! Not only that, but it didn't require any eggs at all! I remember times where I wanted to bake cookies but had no eggs at all at home. Wish I saw this recipe then!

So I made these heart shaped iced cookies the day before Valentine's Day, hoping to post the result up by then. But Monday night turnt out to be hectic and by the time we've finished dinner and put Abby to bed, I lost the motivation to finish off decorating the cookies. Ah well, next time.

I think my icing for lining the cookies was a bit too hard, so you can still see the lining. Plenty of room for improvement!

Anyway, for the recipe and some beautiful pictures, pop over to Red Ted Arts' royal icing iced cookies post :)

Review: Urbanista Beauty Tools

2012-02-15T13:19:00.002Z

About 2 weeks ago I've received a parcel from Murrays Health & Beauty (Paul Murray Plc). I was really happy as the parcel was a surprise and I was just about to buy new tweezers and nail clippers!

Urbanista is a new beauty tools collection from Murrays.

About the products:

Beauty tools with vibrant coloured silicon-type material that provides a good grip
Designed for comfort and precision
Collection includes Nail Foils (£2.99 pack of 6), Nail Clippers (small £3.99, large £4.99), Tweezers (£3.99), Nail (£3.99) and Foot (£4.99) Files, Cosmetic Brushes (£3.99 - £5.99) and Hair Brushes (£7.99 - £12.99)

My review:

Out of all the samples I was sent, my favourite was the 'Lay the Foundation' Cosmetic Brush. It's as good as the more expensive branded ones - soft, doesn't 'shed hair' and blend the foundation well and evenly. For just £4.99 I think it's better than the big branded ones. The pouch it came with is resealable so you can keep the brush in there as well.

I also like the tweezers. It's as good as any good tweezers, but the silicon-type material that wraps around the them gives it a good grip so I don't have to hold it as tight as the normal ones (in case it slips!)

The nail file has a rougher side and gentler side for different need. It would be perfect if the pointy tip was slightly sharper as my nails are quite short and I can't quite reach the bottom of my nails where they meet the finger.

The hair brush is quite interesting. You use a hair dryer to heat up the brush. When the brush turns white (See above picture) it means that it's just hot enough for brushing your hair. This way it minimises the heat damage done to your hair while styling.

The foot file is more for smoothing down rough skin than removing them.

The nail clippers were a bit of a disappointment to me as they don't clip very well.

Overall, I think Urbanista is quite quirky, and I love the grip. It's definitely value for money.

Disclosure: I was sent several samples to try; all opinions are honest and my own

Rose Flavour Milk Pudding

2012-02-13T18:20:00.001Z

One of my childhood memory from Holland (Yes, I was born there, didn't I say? Oh well, now you know!) was Vla. If my memories has served me right, it was one of my favourite pudding.

Years later, when I came to the UK, I had milk pudding, and it very much reminded me of Vla. Although Vla is a type of custard, it's milkier, runnier and lighter. So I love milk pudding very much, although the stuff you get from the supermarket normally tasted more artificial or powdery.

Some time last week, Steenbergs contacted me with some of their lovely Rose products. I was looking at the samples and thought, cookies? But I've done Rose Butter Cookies before. Macarons? Erm, lets take a break from those. Jelly? Hmm why not.

So I got on with the jelly recipe, but thought that a transparent rose jelly isn't as attractive as a milky one. I'm glad I changed the recipe last minute! It was as I expected, delicate, milky, rosy, and reminded me of Vla very much! (Although I've never had Rose flavoured Vla before)

In this recipe, I've used both the rose petals (unfortunately you can't see it from this picture) and the rose water.

Rose flavour Milk Pudding:

Ingredients:

400ml Milk

100ml Single Cream (or double for that extra luxurious creaminess)

35g Sugar

10g Rose Water

Pink Colouring

5 Gelatine Leaves, soaked in cold water (check packet instructions, and add 1-2 extra leaves for a hard set)

Method:

1. Add everything apart from the gelatine in a non stick pot, dissolve the sugar and heat until it started smoking, with milk foam on top, but not boiling. Keep adding food colouring bit by bit until you are happy with it. You can add it in step 3 instead as well.

2. Remove from fire. Quickly squeeze excess water from the gelantine leaves and stir them into the milk until completely dissolved.

3. Sieve the milk into a jug, and skim off the foam on the top.

4. Pour the rose milk into a container and leave to set in the fridge, preferrably overnight.

I was going to decorate the top of this milk pudding with the rose petals I've got. I even poured one thin layer of milk pudding in the mould to let the petals set in them. But when I poured in the rest of the still warm milk pudding, the rose petals started floating away and ended up at the bottom!

About the products:

Rose Petals - Edible (4g) £2.15

From India

Organic Rose Water (100ml) £3.75

Made through a simple water extraction of classic Persian Damask Rose blossom

Unsweetened and clear (ie no added colouring)

My review:

The rose petals are a fantastic idea. I have packets of rose flower buds but they came with the 'cup' which I had to remove for baking (unless I use them to make tea). They would have been great for decorating this pudding if they didn't float away to the 'bottom' (top before I turned it out of course). When you open the jar, it smells strongly of rose tea.

I love the organic rose water. I used to buy rose water from a supermarket and it was just water enhanced with rose essence. This pure rose water smelled much stronger, and it's not expensive either comparing to the one I bought before.

If you don't like rose flavour, why not try this milk pudding recipe with other flavours such as the classic vanilla, chocolate and strawberry, or go for lemon, banana, raspberry, almond, mango, etc. So what flavour do you like for a milk pudding?

Disclosure: I was given a sample of rose petals and rose water for reviewing; recipe and honest opinions are my own

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

2012-02-13T10:30:00.000Z

Back in 2009 I made my first lot of Chocolate Covered Strawberries. They were almost perfect, with the fact that I didn't temper the chocolate, yet it looked so shiny and smooth. They also tasted perfect as I mixed 80% and 50% dark chocolate to get the right balance.

Three years on, and I kind of failed my 2012 batch. I don't know whether it was because the chocolate was heated too fast (how fast can you heat chocolate up over a bowl of boiled water though?!), or it was slightly expired (*cough*) but they just won't melt into that shiny, velvety runny chocolate. Instead, it stayed as a thick gloop.

So I had no choice but to smear the chocolate on my strawberries, thinking of not bothering with pictures. Interesting enough, they have set with a unique pattern, and they still taste as delicious as they should be.

I have used Green & Black's Milk Chocolate to coat these strawberries, although I still prefer a good 60%+ Dark Chocolate for them.

Recipe:

200g 60%+ Dark Chocolate, broken into pieces in a bowl

1 box (approx. 450g) of big Strawberries, washed and pat dried

Small pot of simmering water

Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper

Method:

1. Place the bowl of chocolate on top of the pot of simmering water and let the chocolate melt, stirring gently occasionally. (Avoid steam getting into the chocolate, and stir very gently to prevend air bubbles occuring)

2. Hold the base of a strawberry, and dip into the melted chocolate. When you lift it out, let the excess chocolate drip back into the bowl. Place it gently on the lined baking sheet.

3. Dip all the strawberries and let them set on the baking sheet.

4. If you have extra chocolate, you can chop some bananas and apples and toss them into the chocolate, or place the fruit on the baking sheet and dribble chocolate on them.

5. Serve once set.

Why don't you give these Chocolate Covered Strawberries a try for tomorrow!

Silent Sunday

2012-02-12T11:06:00.002Z

What Goes on Behind the Silence - Abby's 4th Birthday

2012-02-08T16:34:00.003Z

I've decided to give up on Wordpress! I just don't have the time to fiddle around with codes and such. Now that I've put a new banner on, it feels a bit more homely so I'll just stay for a bit longer :)

I have also been having a headache planning Abby's 4th birthday. I wish things happen as I pictured it!

Anyway, here is what I have been up to.

Playing with Sugar

My plan: Stained glass butterfly without a cookie outline

Fail: I couldn't find any blue hard boiled sweets (yet I see them all over other people's blogs!), so I tried to make my own by:

1. making my own coloured sugar and melt the sugar into one piece

Coloured sugars are quite fun and easy to make. You just need to add a touch of colour to the sugar inside a bag, tie the bag up and knead the colour in. Then dry them in a warm dry place.

They were the perfect colours I wanted on the butterflies, but then

I don't know whether there are other methods to melt sugar, but torching them like you torch a Creme Brulee certainly doesn't work.

So I tried making my own hard boiled sweets, but they have crystallised and couldn't be used. I had no choice but to give up on the blue. When the stained glass butterfly came out from the oven though, it has melted into something that looked a bit more like a moth with broke wings.

Now I've got another plan in mind, which is quite dangerous as it melts on the touch. Fingers crossed...

Playing with chocolates

My vision: Pink edible mini roses

Success: So far so good! I shall reveal what I use these for after her birthday ;)

Cupcake bread

No they aren't for Abby's birthday, but I didn't think they were good enough for me to post a recipe up. They looked alright but I wish they were tastier. Love the cupcake method as I didn't have to worry about how round the buns should be. I just had to wrap, shove them in the mould and they happily grew like cupcakes!

Tomorrow if all goes well I'll be meeting up with a few Northern mummy bloggers for lunch! Can't wait!

Lovely Day Out - Preston Mariners Way

2012-02-03T16:21:00.000Z

I've been trying to work out how to move my blog from blogspot to Wordpress. Blogspot has been giving me lots of problems, although it's easy to use. Wordpress on the other hand is customisable, but there is much more to get involved with. And then there is the issue where I'll have to think of how to minimise your problem for following me again.

So while I get on with that, and Abby's birthday preparations, I wanna show you our lovely day out along Preston's Mariners Way (Lancashire).

We took Abby cycling along the river. She's getting much better at it now!

It was an absolutely beautiful day, even though it was freezing!

Found pink berries along the river. Shame I couldn't work out how NOT to focus on the background!

The moss on the edge of the walkway was so thick it looked like a minature garden.

Abby got tired from cycling, so we took her to the pub nearby to play.

Travelling by Car with Easily Bored Child

2012-02-01T10:30:00.000Z

(Contains sponsored link; everything else is me)

I used to live with my eldest brother A while I was studying in Uni, which was quite close to where my second eldest brother F live, until hubby found a job up North. So now every time we wanted to meet up, we would take a 2 hours drive down to A's, and occasionally 4 hours to F's. It used to be so much easier before we had kids.

Now that Abby is close to 4, she started to complain a LOT in the car:

(5 minutes after we left the house) "Muummmyy!!! Why does it take sooo long to go to the shopping centre (which is 20 minutes away from our house) ???"

(10 minutes after we left the house) "Is that (point at random house by the traffic lights) the restaurant we are going to?"

If you have spoken to a child before, you'll know how frustrating it is to try to explain to them why shops, restaurants and family aren't just around the corner. Once, she suggested to walk to Hello Kitty (aka Sanrio) Land that is in Japan. So the easiest way to keep peace in the car, especially for a long journey, is to keep her (very looking forward to when "her" becomes "them". Not.) entertained.

I know a lot of people will opt for TV screen or whatever Pad in the car to keep the little ones occupied at the back. But I'm sure they are extremely bad for the eyes, let alone the possibility of car sickness (not that Abby has shown any sign of it yet), so it's not an option for us.

The first thing I'd normally do is to pack her favourite snacks, hoping that it will keep her occupied for long enough until she fell asleep. We'd also play music in the car. She loves to sing along to slow music, and on most occasions they lulled her to sleep.

A few times she woke up before we hit our destination, we'd chat to her, make her sing for us (songs she created herself), or distract her with anything we can see outside, for example, sheep, sunset, traffic lights, emergency lights, etc. It's really educational, and it kept her mind occupied. For us, it's amusing to see how her brain functions while we chat!

And when all has failed, we resort to stopping over at the next service station to give her a stretch.

Just the above has kept her out of mischief for us. I suppose we are blessed that she falls asleep in the car easily!

I do wonder though: how fab would it be if we upgrade to a seven seat car, and let others such as grandparents do the entertaining, while we enjoy our car ride?!

Tots100 Campaign for British Parent Bloggers: Time to Share

2012-01-31T17:23:00.001Z

Are you a parent blogger from the UK? If so, please read on:

Tots100, the largest network of active parent bloggers, has started a new charity campaign - Time to Share, to provide a new way for helping your favourite charity by sharing one hour or more of your time to do volunteer work for them near your home.

About the campaign:

When: during March and April, 2012

Who can participate: bloggers, whether you are part of Tots100 or not

Which charity: Local charities in need of volunteers

How long: One hour or more

What does it involve: Everything from planting trees, handing out drinks to marathon runners, and talking to schools about depression

Why should I get involved: A fantastic opportunity to support a a charity that's close to heart as well as home. You get a chance to meet new people and make a real difference to your community, and be inspired by your experience that you can share with your readers, friends and family.

How to get involved: Register here

What's Next: Tots100 will match suitable bloggers with the charities in the next few weeks. In the meantime you can display one of their badges to show support, blog about a good cause that is close to heart and can benefit from Time to Share, and spread the word about Time to Share through Facebook, Twitter (#TimetoShare) and other social networks

Aim of the campaign:

- Give bloggers, and their readers, a real insight into the work being done by charities across the UK, and the vital role played by volunteers. We hope that the programme will inspire more people to get involved in volunteering in their communities!

- Provide an insight into the wide range of volunteering opportunities available in the UK, by promoting blog posts about Time to Share volunteers on the Tots100 website, and across other websites and networks

- Give charities (especially smaller groups with limited resources for media relations) the opportunity to raise awareness of their work by connecting with the hugely popular and influential parent blogging community

Valentine's Day with BakingMad

2012-01-31T10:30:00.001Z

image from www.BakingMad.com

(Sponsored post)

When I wrote my Valentine's Day feature, I realised that I only had a handful of recipes that's slightly related to Valentine's day, which is kinda embarrassing seeing that I bake so much! This year, Abby's birthday will be celebrated during the weekend after Valentine's day, so perhaps I have enough time to make something to celebrate V day.

I was introduced to BakingMad by their PR. It is a website packed full of inspiring recipes for baking. They cover everything from biscuits and cakes, to bread, pies and pizzas. Their recipes are all tried and tested by their own home-baking experts, and they've provided tips and advice, even 'how to' videos, to help bakers create the desired results.

I had a look at their Valentine's day section and they've got some lovely choices: Valentines cupcakes, white chocolate fudge, mini meringue with chocolate fondue, etc.

The above cupcakes look really cute, and their recipe has provided all the ingredients you'll need for the decorations as well. More so, they also tell you which brand of ingredients they've used, so you don't have to look high and low for the decoration that makes the cakes so pretty in the pictures!

Come to think of it, I haven't baked a chocolate cake for a while. I might just give this a go this Valentine's day!

(See recipe for the above Valentines Hearts Cake)

The Garlic Farm - Horseradish Mustard with Garlic

2012-01-30T15:56:00.002Z

In the past I used to hate putting garlic in my cooking. That and onions. It's ingredients with a distinct flavour and smell I rather not have in my mouth while I enjoyed my meals. But the older I get, the more I was willing to experiment with my cooking by using different ingredients. I noticed the difference they make to a dish - more fragrant and tasty.

So when I was offered to try The Garlic Farm's Horseradish Mustard with Garlic condiment, which is suppose to go well with beef according to their PR, I was happy to give it a try. I think as long as you say the word beef, I'll most likely say yes to anything!

About the product:

£2.90 (100g)
Old Isle of Wright Condiment to go with beef and smoked fish
Made by the UK's renowned garlic specialist The Garlic Farm
One of The Garlic Farm's most popular products

My review:

When I was offered the sauce to try, the first thing that came to my mind is that I can try marinate my steak with it. Hubby disapproved and had his sauce on the side. To me it's a tad bitter to eat as a condiment, but I was never too keen in mustard apart from those in American style burgers. (Why does those mustard taste different than English or French?)

However, I actually enjoyed the sauce as a marinate. Not sure whether it was the steak or the sauce, it was succulent and tender and really delicious! Even hubby was surprised with the result! I'll definitely have my steak cooked this way again.

Disclosure: I was given a jar of mustard to try and review; all opinions are honest and my own

Bento Night

2012-01-28T10:30:00.000Z

Abby's bento

The last time I made a Bento dinner was about 2 years ago when we were still living in the old flat. I was tempted by all the lovely Bento boxes Hong Kong food bloggers made. I then decided that I'd be making Bento boxes every day for Abby when she goes to Primary school. I even bought all the cute Bento box stuff - Hello Kitty lunch box, little animal forks and picks, sushi rice moulds and apple soya sauce container, etc.

The older she gets, however, the more doubt I have about the whole idea of making it every day. It just seems like an aweful lot of work.

Mine cos hubby came home late haha

Recently (a year?) Bento boxes are all over the media in the UK, and when I browsed through Pinterest and saw some really awesome Bentos, I got tempted again!

Hubby's

So here they are, our Bento dinner. Surprisingly, it didn't take that much time to make them. It took me a bit longer because Clay wanted his nap. Abby has finished everything and you can tell that she really enjoyed her dinner!

Abby's bento:

Chic rice dumpling (coloured with tumeric powder) filled with tuna, sweetcorn and mayo
Re-constructed egg (mashed yolk mixed with mayo)
Pearl grapes
Heart-shaped and flower sausages
Choi Sum flowers (worst bit really but it's something interesting for her to eat)

Mine and hubby's:

Heart rice dumpling (coloured with ketchup and tomato puree) filled with sushi rice seasoning powder
Re-constructed egg
Heart shaped sausages
Choi sum leaves
Soya sauce in apple container

I suppose I could put more effort and use carrots and other things to decorate the faces, better than all black. But yea, we weren't too bothered and Abby loves seaweed anyway.

I also made some tuna and sweetcorn sushi but was too hungry so I stopped half way and chucked everything else in the fridge. Good I stopped, the rice dumplings were really filling!

Valentine's Day 2012 Giveaway - CLOSED

2012-01-27T09:36:00.000Z

Update: 06/02/2012

Thank you all for entering my Valentine's Day Gifts Giveaway. The winners are:

Phyllis Ellett - Celliana Necklace
Vicky Robinson (Twitter entry) - Miners Cosmetics Mascara
Emma Lowe - find me a gift Red Rose Compact Mirror
Lisa Annie (Twitter entry) - from you to me card journal

Congratulations all, I'll contact you asap. Please respond by Wednesday 8th. If no response I'll have to pick another winner.

Ang x

The last time me and hubby celebrated Valentine's Day was in 2008. We shared the best, most beautiful gift we've ever had for V Day - Abby. Yup. Abby chose to (a week early) present herself as a V Day gift to us. It was the best. And the last (well, one still have hope that one day...).

Ever since we had her, V Day is just not V Day anymore. It's all about her. In fact, we never spend any events on our own anymore. Not that we are complaining, as a lovers day is just not a lovers day to us without Abby and Clay.

But we still do the small things, chocolate coated strawberries, sharing our love by giving chocolate and wine to others, etc.

Anyway, just because we are spending our V Day this way, doesn't mean that I have nothing to make yours better.

Hope you'll have a lovely Valentine's Day! <3

Categories

Recipes

Valentine's Day Menus and Hotel Packages

Flowers Ideas

Gifts Ideas

Giveaway

Recipes

Starter

Baked Soup with Puff Pastry

- Soup of your choice, let it cool a bit in an oven-proof bowl.

- Cover with ready-made puff pastry and brush with egg glaze.

- Bake it at 220 C until lightly golden (mine was over baked)

Main

Grilled steak and mushrooms served with boiled vegetables mixed with a touch of butter. Heart shaped steak anyone?

Venison Steaks with Port and Plum Jus

Dessert

Heart Shaped Macarons

Creamiest Creme Brulee made with Mascarpone Cheese

Chocolate Coated Strawberries

- Wash and pat dry strawberries. Gently stick a cocktail stick in each strawberries.

- Melt 65% dark chocolate (or mix part of 70% or above dark chocolate with milk chocolate) over a water bath or in a microwave

- Dip the strawberries in the chocolate and leave to set

Valentine's Day Menus and Hotel Packages

County Durham

Wynyard Hall Country Hall Hotel

Welcome drink, dinner, small gift for the ladies

£45.00 per person

plus bed and breakfast

£55.00 extra per person (ie total £100.00 per person)

Devonshire

Devonshire Arms at Beeley (Derbyshire's Gastropub of the Year 2011)

Bottle of Champagne, red rose, dinner, Bed & full Derbyshire breakfast

£99.00 per person

Devonshire Fell

5-course Gourmet Dinner, glass of champagne each, Bed & full Yorkshire breakfast

from £175.00 per couple (room upgrades available)

Hampshire

The Master Builder's at Buckler's Hard (Located in Lord Montagu's Beaulieu Estate in the New Forest National Park)

6-course dinner, a glass of bubbly, red rose for the ladies and chocolates, plus bed a breakfast

£195.00 per couple (£40.00 per person for the dinner alone)

Gloucestershire

The New Inn at Coln St Aldwyns

4-course dinner, including their signature Lover's Lobster Dish (served with champagne and caviar), rose petals on the bed and chilled bottle of bubbly in the room plus breakfast

£185.00 per couple (£30.00 per person for the dinner alone)

Kent

Walpole Bay Hotel ft The Ambrette Restaurant in Margate (Michelin star chef patron Dev Biswal's restaurant)

8-course Aphrodisiac menu, 4 poster suite, breakfast

£135.00 per couple (upgrades available)

For an extra £30.00 you can arrange to be collected by the hotel's chauffeur-driven Rolce Royce Silver Spirit from Margate Station

(£39.99 per person for the 8-course menu alone, booking through www.theambrette.co.uk/home/booking_form.aspx)

Lancashire

Northcotte (Michelin-starred)

Champagne and canape, 5-course gourmet dinner for two, V Day Gift

£170.00 per couple

Disclosure: Information provided by PRs; please confirm the details with the restaurant/ hotel

Flower Ideas

According to Kirsty Pritchard at Bumblebeez Florist in Cheltenham:

Classic red Roses:

image from http://www.ozbv.com/

Dozen luxurious long stem red roses combine with berries and green foliage, or

Single stunning bloom

Different colour roses become increasingly popular, especially hot colours like pink, orange and yellow:

image from (L to R) http://bit.ly/zbg6kf , http://bit.ly/xpa1IF,http://bit.ly/yXucH5

People are opting for Spring arrangements:

image from (L to R) http://shutr.bz/wsRqb9, http://bit.ly/AlvdAa, http://bit.ly/wSBNuO

Hand-tied bouquets of red, purple and cerise Tulips with vibrant colour clashes, or

Unparallelled elegance of green and white parrot and fringed tulips

image from (L to R) http://bit.ly/wXNbRb, http://bit.ly/y3WPRI

For those who prefer modern, minimalist styles - red Amaryllis (above, right) left long or cut short, mixed with foliage and berries

If you want to make a statement:

image from http://bit.ly/xXfJd5

Vibrant scarlet or red Anthurrium - a modern trendy flower presented with large tropical leaves or combined as part of a mixed bouquet

Flowers for the gents:

image from http://bit.ly/z4y16z, http://bit.ly/wwYHbi

Masculine choice - hand tied of deep burgundy red Gerberas with a black velvet centre

Heady scent - large bunch of deep indigo blue Hyacinths

Disclosure: Ideas were given by Bumblebeez; I searched on the net for the images

Gift Ideas

Balloon in a Box - Romantic Man £18.99 rrp (£17.09 at the moment)

approx 45cm H x 15cm W, handmade to order

Me: How cute is this?! Imagine opening a box and this is inside, it will make my week let alone day! In fact, I can't stop smiling by just looking at the picture!

Note: I haven't seen this product myself but this Balloon in a Box is just too cute not to include in the feature!

Build-a-Bear Friendship Hearts Series £5.99 rrp (launch on 9th February, 2012)

4" mini bear with a heart and outfit to decorate

Me: A cute mini version of 1 of 12 best selling bears from Build-a-Bear Workshop, adorable enough for a Valentine I think! Check out more for the preview here.

Divine Chocolate Hearts - White Chocolate & Strawberry £4.50 rrp (100g)

Also comes in 70% Dark Chocolate Hearts and Milk Chocolate Hearts

Me: Not only are they cute, but I absolutely love the creamy white chocolate that has crispy strawberry crisps that are made with real strawberries all over. It looked so pretty as well with the pink blended in the white. Needless to say, nothing left here for V day!

It looks pinkish here but the colour is darker
like a ripe cherry

Essential Care Lipstick - Cherry Tart (16) £18.00 rrp

100% natural, 86% organic, Soil Association and Fairtrade certified, 100% organic plant oils, Fairtrade shea butter, fruits and flowers extracts

Check out the Giveaway section below for a 10% off discount code just for this blog!

Me: If you hate fake colours and worry about crushed beetles (I never heard of it until now!!) in your lipstick, this will be the one for you. The colour appears instantly and it's very moisturising as well.

Godminster Organic Cheddar Cheese - Heart £14.95 rrp (400g)

Organic Vintage Cheddar in Godminster's distinct burgandy wax

Me: Hubby took just a tiny bite and he's completely hooked. If it wasn't because he really cherished it (he refused to share with Abby and wondered why I gave her a big piece) he would have finished it within 3 days (we were given a 200g sample I think). He was looking for the cheese everywhere but the closest farm shop that stocks it is still miles away from us. I guess eventually he'll just have to fork out for the postage hehe.

The cheese is really salty and a little actually goes a very long way. But when that small bit of cheese melted in your mouth into a creamy puddle, and you have finished nibbling on the tiny bits of vintage cheese crystals, you'll start to salivate for more.

Henry Herbert's Online Bespoke Shirt £145.00 (excluding £10.00 p&p)

Or check out their accessories from cuff links to leather bags

Me: Don't need to say much. It's hubby's favourite shirt and he refused to wear it for normal days, said he wanted to save it for special occasions! I've also done a review on the online bespoke shirt service a few weeks ago if you are interested in knowing how it works.

Your Collage - A1 sized Poster £24.00 rrp (£12.00 January Sale)

Up to 100 of your chosen digital photos to be put together in a collage and printed in either poster or canvas format

Me: The hardest thing to do is to choose 100 photos. The uploading doesn't take long and you still get a say on how you want the collage look like by choosing layout, resizing photos, putting them in the front or back. The outcome is impressive and definitely a centre of attention. Now we just need to laminate it!

Disclosure: I was given a packet of Divine Chocolate, an Essential Care lipstick, a (200g I think) Heart shaped Cheese and an A1 collage poster for this feature to review; all opinions are honest and my own

Giveaway

Here are some gifts from me to you <3

Discount Code:

10% off Essential Care Organic Skincare and Makeup www.essential-care.co.uk - thisislife (valid from 1st February 2012 until 29th February 2012)

Raffle Gifts:

Update: I was using Rafflecopter for this giveaway but realised that you can enter the giveaway without leaving a blog comment, or just paste any twitter URL. Now that's not very nice to the others is it?

So until Rafflecopter can fix their issue, I'll have to reserve back to the traditional method.

Anyway, if you fancy winning yourself one of these lovely gifts, just follow the instructions below:

Celliana - Reversible Bling Heart Pendant (25" long) £14.00

- Wooden heart pendant featuring high quality crystal stones on one side, plain wood on the other

- Metal silver finish chain and lobster claw ending

- This gift will be posted by Celliana's PR

Miners Cosmetics - Voluptulash Mascara in Extra Black £3.99 (9ml)

- Unique hour-glass shaped brush, designed to sculpt and volumise
- Smudge-proof mascara
- This gift will be posted by me

find me a gift - Red Rose Compact (Pocket size) Mirror £3.99

- Velvety soft to touch

- One normal and one magnified side

- Approx 6.2x6.2x1cm when closed

- This gift will be posted by find me a gift

from you to me - 'I Love You' Card Journal £3.99

- Enables you to say more than you would with a standard greeting card

- 5 key prompts to help you write your card journal that will capture memories and share experiences

- This gift will be posted by from you to me

To enter:

1. Simply leave me a blog comment, telling me what you'd WISH to win. Please remember to leave me a way to contact you should you win.

2. For a second chance to win, 'Like' my Facebook page, and let me know that you've done so.

3. For a third chance to win, tweet ' I have entered @Ang_thisislife Valentine's Day giveaway http://bit.ly/x5Ryxl' #AngthisislifeGiveaway ' on Twitter.

Deadline - Sunday 5th February, 2012 11:59pm

Announce winners - before Wednesday 8th February, 2012

T&C:

Open to UK residents only
I'll only use your contact details to contact you should you win
Your shipping details will be passed on to the relevant company should you win their gift, for them to post it (apart from the mascara)

Thanks to Celliana, Miners Cosmetics, find me a gift and from you to me for donating gifts for this giveaway x

This competition is listed on:

ThePrizeFinder - UK Competitions
Loquax Competitions

Divine Chocolate

2012-01-26T14:11:00.002Z

If you have been following my blog, you will probably know by ages ago that I love chocolate. I love them so much I even went the extra mile and bought myself enough equipment to make my own homemade moulded chocolate.

Thing is, I got myself a bit spoilt and normal chocolate bars just couldn't fix my need anymore. I just want that luxurious texture and taste only good quality chocolate can provide me. (I bought some supermarket brand value range stuff for an occasion. Seriously? Never again.)

So when Divine Chocolate contacted me, you can't blame me for jumping up on my chair and quickly said 'Yes please!' before I know what they were offering me. They generously sent me three different flavours to try, even if I humbly (not that I really meant to, I want everything from their shop!) asked for just the one.

I have listed the White Chocolate & Strawberry Hearts on tomorrow's Valentine's Day feature, as it fits there perfectly.

About the products:

70% Dark Chocolate with Raspberries and Orange Milk Chocolate
£2.00 rrp (100g)
Suitable for vegetarians, entirely natural ingredients
Fairtrade chocolate company that's also co-owned by cocoa farmers
Has won multiple awards

My review:

Hmm... I went through all my pictures and it appeared that I was indulging myself too much with their chocolate, I've completely forgotten to take a pic of how it looked like inside.

The orange milk chocolate was velvety smooth and didn't irritate my throat at all like many milk chocolate does. The orange flavour was just right and not too overpowering (which I find most orange chocolates are). The whole bar disappeared in no time (I shared! I had to...)

At first I didn't quite like the 70% Dark Chocolate with Raspberries. I made a mistake by chewing the piece of chocolate instead of letting it melt in my mouth. But when I did, it was quite amazing. The raspberries' sourness balanced the bitterness from the dark chocolate perfectly. It looked lovely as well as the base of the bar is covered with lots of red pieces of raspberries, which for some reason fizzes in my mouth a bit, creating a new sensation! This chocolate bar went down slower as I didn't have to share, hubby wasn't keen in dark chocolate hehehe!

Disclosure: I was given a couple of chocolate bars to try and review, with a packet of chocolate hearts to review on tomorrow's Valentine's day feature; all opinions are honest and my own

Heart Shaped Macarons

2012-01-26T10:30:00.000Z

Made some heart shaped macarons, can do with better shaping, some even looked rude!

Anyway. You can find my Macarons recipe with tips here and the most successful batch of Macarons here.

Creme Brulee with Mascarpone Cheese

2012-01-25T15:55:00.000Z

Yesterday on Twitter someone mentioned Creme Brulee. It immediately reminded me of last year's Valentine's Day where we had Creme Brulee for dessert.

They are one of those desserts that are easy to make, hits that tiny spot which makes a meal 10 out of 10, and entertaining for everyone as well by letting your guests caremalise their own topping.

In the past I've never managed to make a successful Creme Brulee. For some reason none of the recipes I followed got the timing right for me. Perhaps my ramekins are a different size to everyone else's?

Anyway, I found this recipe from one of my 5 favourite food blogs and not only did I succeed in making them, they were also the creamiest, makes you want to slip in PJ and take this heavenly pud to bed with you' Creme Brulee I ever had.

Mascarpone Creme Brulee (Recipe adapted from L'Atelier Vi)

(Serves 4 - 6)

Ingredients:

175g Mascarpone Cheese, softened

175g Double Cream

95g Full Fat Milk (it's all about the fat!)

90g Egg Yolks

45g Sugar

1-2 tsp Vanilla Essence

1-2tsp Caster Sugar each ramekin to caramelise

Preheat oven to 140 C

Place ramekins on a roasting tin

Prepare boiling water to fill the roasting tin

Method:

1. In a bowl, whisk yolks, sugar and vanilla essence together until light and creamy.

2. Add the Mascarpone cheese and whisk until combined and smooth.

2. Boil cream and milk in a non-stick pot over a medium fire until it's simmering.

3. Bit by bit add the cream to the cheese mixture, whisking continously.

4. Strain the mixture into a measuring jug, and skim away any foam on top.

5. Pour boiling water into the roasting tin up to half way up of the sides of the ramekins.

6. Pour the Brulee mixture slowly and gently into each ramekin, and remove any left over bubbles at the top for a smoother finish.

7. Bake the Brulees in the oven for about 35 to 40 minutes until they have set, but still wobble slightly in the middle when shaken.

8. Remove ramekins from the hot water bath and let them cool.

9. Wrap them up with cling film and leave them in the fridge until you are ready to serve (at least 3 hours)

10. Before serving, sprinkle 1-2 tsps of caster sugar evenly on top of each brulee, and let your guest use a blow torch to caremalise the top themselves.

Note - How to use the blow torch:

Melt and caremalise the sugar toping by moving your flame in a circular motion, carefully not to stay on one spot for too long. It's done when all the sugar has melted and turned into a golden colour.
Beware of guests who aren't watching what they are doing, accidents happen to both people and table! Yes! You! Hahaha!

Built-a-Bear - Friendship Hearts Bears Preview

2012-01-25T10:30:00.000Z

Last week I did a review on Moshi Monsters Clay Buddies. The same PR sent me these cute Build-a-Bear Workshop's new collection - Friendship Hearts Bears that are about to launch on 9th February, 2012. I chose to post them this week as I'm about to upload my Valentine's Day feature, and I think that these friendship hearts bears are so adorable they could be a lovely gift for a Valentine too!

About the product:

£5.99 RRP each
12 to collect
4" mini versions of the Build-a-Bear Workshop's bestsellers
Pack includes a 4" mini bear, a heart, an outfit, stickers to decorate the outfit;
trading cards, activities, collector's guide, online code that allows you access to special interactive content at www.bearville.com

Gift set £14.99 RRP (available on 29th March 2012)
Heart shaped tin
Includes a 4" mini bear, 2 BFF necklaces (1 for you, 1 for the mini bear), special heart that lights up when placed inside the bear, a delux outfit, stickers to decorate the outfit;
trading cards, activities

My review:

Like the full sized version, you are suppose to 'put magic' into the heart and then place the heart inside the bear to bring them alive. Each colour has a different meaning, for example, the orange one in this picture means 'Honest'.

You can then put the outfit on your bear and decorate it with the fabric stickers.

What stood out was the quality of the bears. Normally for around £5.00 you get the same sized bear but with much lower quality. The eyes won't be aligned and the nose would probably appear on one side. This doggy looked really cute!

Abby loved decorating the chocolate bear (she said doggy is for Clay), and I was fascinated by her creativity. She actually suggested to place the paw stickers on each paw (it didn't occur to me to decorate anything else apart from the outfit!). She loved it so much she even took the bear out shopping, which I think is the perfect size for a toy to take out.

Disclosure: I was given a couple of bears to review; all opinions are honest and my own

RedHot World Buffet - Manchester

2012-01-23T10:30:00.000Z

Last Sunday was Chinese New Year's Eve. We decided to go to Red Hot World Buffet in Manchester, which we booked to go for New Year but cancelled at the end as we were feasting too much during Christmas.

We love buffets in Asia. They do all sorts of themes and are normally quite expensive (over £20 per person) but the experience are always fantastic. Red Hot claimed to be the best and biggest in Europe with 40 chefs prepping and cooking their food, and since they are always quickly booked up, we were really looking forward to it.

Big queue to get in for 5pm booking

Lounge/ Bar area

Lounge sofa - Bling!

We got there a bit early (wish shops don't close so early on Sunday nights!) so hubby and the kids waited in the lounge area while one of the manager kindly showed me around.

He told me the reason for doing an international buffet instead of the usual single cuisine buffet is to provide a good selection of food to a group who has different ideas on what cuisine they want for lunch/ dinner. It's the way forward and to stay competitive. Good thinking!

The restaurant offers Chinese, Japanese, Italian, Mexican, Indian, Thai and English cuisines, and has several live stations (cook to order) including Tepanyaki, Sushi & Seafood, Pasta, Mediterranean, American Pancakes & Belgian Waffles, and Ice-creams.

Healthier starters including: salads, hummus, tomato and mozarrella, etc

Broccoli & Cauliflower Cheese

Braised Pork

English section. I gave Abby some of the above, but because I had my eyes on Japanese and desserts, I saved my tummy for those instead. Abby did ate most of her Brocolli and cauliflowers though.

Crab Claws

Not many buffet places serve crab claws. Although these are made with the same stuff they made crab sticks with, it's still one of the starter I kept going back for. Loved it!

Right: Shredded pork pancake served with Clay's finger;
middle front: Spring roll; Left front: crab claws;
back: prawn, salmon, pickled mooli sushi , salmon hand roll

My first plate. My favourite was salmon hand roll and crab claws. The salmon used for hand rolls are from the better cut, and both me and hubby kept going back for them!

Sushi station

Their sushi is quite good. We reckon that it's even worth it to just come here for Sushi! Think about it, £13.99 per person for unlimited sushi in two hours! Beat any Sushi bars any day! Even the soya sauce is good! I recently went to a famous Sushi Bar chain and their soya sauce was a big disappointment to me. It's just not a soya sauce for Sushi in my opinion.

Hubby's plate of British selection and Mediterranean pancake I think

The BBQ wings and Peri Peri wings are not bad. I loved the burger (the big round brown piece of meat underneath I think a piece of braised pork hehe), very tasty. If it wasn't for Clay who needed a feed I would have gone to grab some for myself.

Tepanyaki

Tepanyaki in action

Teriyaki beef, onions and beansprouts with rice noodles

This is the most popular station, closely followed by Sushi, according to the manager. We were slightly disappointed that the beef were precooked, and I think they use Olive oil for the Tepanyaki as I can smell and taste the distinct flavour of it, which kind of ruined the dish for me.

Baked stuffed mushroom

Lamb chops with cous cous

Found these 2 really cute dishes at I think the Italian or Mexican counter. They were not bad. Loved the way they served these!

Part of the dessert corner

Completely forgotten to take a picture of the Waffles & Pancakes and Ice-cream station! Half an hour before our session is finished, the dessert area was packed with people, and there were very long queues for ice-creams, pancakes and waffles.

Left to right: Apricot Financier, Espresso Mousse, Creme Brulee,
Strawberry something (forgot), Passion fruit Cheesecake, Walnut Brownie
Lemon Posset

A shame that the financier wasn't fresh anymore. The espresso mousse was lovely and smooth, but very strong as well! Perfect for those who needed a coffee kick! Loved the Lemon Posset, and cheesecake was also not bad. The brownie was okay, but the strawberry dessert was umm err mmm...

I was surprised by the Creme Brulee as i read that one of the customer's only disappointment of her entire meal was the Brulee. It wasn't as good as homemade (hell yea!) but it really isn't bad at all. In fact, we quite liked it.

Left to right: Coconut and Raspberry Cake, Raspberry Panna Cotta,
Mango and Prune Cake, Eton Mess, Tiramisu

I wasn't very keen in the Coconut and Raspberry cake, but hubby loved it. I loved the Panna Cotta, Mango & Prune Cake (I kept thinking that Prune's should be purplish so I was looking for the purple tint lol) and Tiramisu.

I think the Tiramisu was the customers' favourite as I kept seeing the 3 Tiramisu (yes, 3 big containers of Tiramisu at any time!) being refilled. I do think that there is more whipped cream on it than Mascarpone Cheese, but it also made it lighter to eat.

Top left: Belgian Waffle, Bottom: American Vanilla Pancakes

Both me and hubby agreed that the best dessert of the night was the Belgian Waffle. It was so fresh! Crispy on the outside, soft in the middle. Initially I was looking for jam and cream to go with it, but I was glad I kept it plain!

And yes I went for seconds for the Panna Cotta, Mango & Prune cake and Tiramisu. In my defense, I only took thin slices to sample! I missed out on ice-creams as there was a long queue for them. I did try hubby's Lychee Sorbet, it's nice but we both think that it tasted more of Rose than Lychee.

Breastfeeding means no cocktails. So I got one of their mocktails to try out - Safe Sex On The Beach! It was a touch too sweet for us, but it tasted great when we diluted it a bit with a glass of ice. I think this would be fantastic if served with ice shavings, like a Virgin Frostini! Hmmmm!

Overall, it was a pleasant meal. There was a good selection of choices, unfortunately I couldn't try them all (even harder when your favourites are so yummy! Suuuusshhiiii!).

We both think that we would enjoy it even more if we weren't restricted to the limited 2 hours time. I think, even if it does only take 2 hours to eat, when you are told that your session finishes in 2 hours, you do feel a bit rushed. And the fact that there are so many dishes (300 including 30 plus desserts, according to Red Hot) and queues for desserts, you do need some extra time to browse, to think of what you should try next.

We both think that we would definitely come back, going especially after our favourites - Sushi, waffles and other odd dishes in between.

Mini sofas in the Lounge

Restaurant information:

Red Hot World Buffet - Manchester
48 Deansgate
Manchester
M3 2EG

0161 819 1240

Booking (phone or online) is recommended

See their buffet menu online

Disclosure: I was offered a complimentary meal; all opinions are honest and my own

The Best Melt In Your Mouth Cookies

2012-01-19T12:28:00.000Z

These are by far the most evil cookies I've ever made. Not only is it full of butter, sugar and nuts, but it's just sooo crumbly that even if you eat it the next day, it'll still crumble and melt straight in your mouth.

I was in a rush when I took the picture otherwise I would have shown you one with the crumbs. I made them into bite sized as I didn't think biting them into half was a good idea, they'll just fall apart all over me!

Anyway, these are Chef Bo's Hazelnut Cookies (recipe from this blog), extremely easy to make, just don't get too addicted to them!

(Make approx. 24 cookies)

Ingredients:

125g Unsalted Butter, softened

35g Sugar

85g Ground Hazelnuts

150g Strong Flour

1g Bicarb of Soda

Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper

Method:

1. Sieve strong flour and bicarb of soda together.

2. Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy.

3. Fold the ground hazelnut and flours together into the butter until just combined.

4. Press the dough together to form a log shape. Wrap it tightly with cling film, and twist both short ends until it's really tight. Make sure the 'sausage' is evenly shaped.

5. Rest the dough in the fridge for over 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 180 C

6. Remove cling film and use a hot (but dry) knife to slice approx 24 slices of discs, placing each on the lined baking sheet.

7. Decorate each cookie by pressing a hazelnut on top in the middle right into the dough (so the nut won't fall out)

8. Bake the cookies for 12 minutes until golden.

9. Cool for 5 minutes before removing them from the baking sheet, and cool the cookies completely on a cooling rack before storing them in an air-tight container.

Notes:

I didn't have enough hazelnuts, so I made up the amount with Pecan nuts and ground them together. Still yummy, but if it's pure hazelnut the nutty flavour will be stronger and better.
The original Chef Bo's recipe called for 70g of sugar, which the author of the recipe I translated has deducted into half the amount. I think she's done the right thing. I tried 40g and even that's too sweet.
Unless you have a really good rolling and slicing skill, cookies made in the original recipe's way doesn't look good at all. The author of this recipe rolled her dough flat and used a cookie cutter to cut the cookies out. I just split the dough into 24 equal portions, rolled each piece into ball shapes and pressed them flat on the baking sheet.
If you rather roll and press your cookies like I did, you only need to refrigerate the dough for maximum 30 mins.
Do try not to store them in a plastic bag like I did (brought them out to keep Abby busy), the cookies crumbled into dust.

EMU Australia Water Resistant Boots

2012-01-18T14:15:00.003Z

Last week I went to EMU Australia's Fall/ Winter 2012 launch event, and blogged about my experience. It was a lovely surprise that they offered me a pair of their water resistant Stinger Mini boots as a thank you gift for supporting EMU Australia! When the boots arrived I was overly excited like a puppy!

Sooo warm, and cosy, and soft! And these are much lighter than the tall boots I've tried that night! Size was a perfect fit, first time I got a pair of shoes/ boots without trying them out!

Thanks again EMU Australia!

Disclosure: The boots were a gift from EMU; it was my own decision to blog about them; all opinions are honest and my own

Moshi Monsters Clay Buddies

2012-01-18T12:37:00.001Z

A while ago, Abby was introduced to Moshi monsters by her cousins while they were playing it. I must admit that the game is really cute and much more secure than many other online games. And now Abby has 2-3 accounts because I refused to let the little addict play at home, so she created a new one when she got a chance at her cousins'.

Soon every time we shop, she'll say: 'Loook!! Moshi!!!!' because there are a lot of merchandise, and one of the latest one is Moshi monsters Clay Buddies.

About the product:

Blind Foil Pack (£2.99 RRP)
To make one of 50 moshlings (the one you grow from the garden, if you have played the game before)
2 Cardboard pieces (1 for the moshling's features, the other for background decoration)
3 Clay pieces
1 Adoption book that includes instructions and information
The combination of seeds you use to grow the moshling in the packet in the Moshi monsters game
1 Velcro sticker (12 small squares)

About the product:

Box Set (£5.99 RRP)
To make 1 of 6 moshis
4 Cardboard pieces (2.5 for the Moshi's features, 1.5 for background decoration)
6 Clay pieces
1 Adoption book
1 Cardboard backdrop scene
2 Velcro stickers

My review:

We started off with the blind foil pack, and had some problem understanding the instructions. I only understood what we should be doing when I opened the box set that explained the instructions in more details. So this is what you do:

If you are provided with a long thin piece of cardboard, you stick that in the main body with a bit poking out to join up with another body part. You use it to join the body to the green base as well.

The velcro provided is for you to stick the cardboard pieces on the clay. So stick the sticky bit on the cardboard face, for example, and then stick the card board face on the clay.

The box set has enough materials for you to make 2 Moshis, the second one in blue. They also include 2 extra faces and a cape to turn your Moshi into a Super Moshi.

Although not very easy, it provided much fun for both kids and adults. Kids as young as Abby had fun even by just sticking the features on the clay. After Abby has finished making them, she started doing role play, kinda cute I think!

Disclosure: I was given a few blind foil packs and box sets to trial and review; all opinions are honest and my own

Henry Herbert's Unique Service & Online Bespoke Shirt

2012-01-17T13:38:00.002Z

A month ago Henry Herbert contacted me about their Savile Row by Scooter Service. I must admit I had no idea what to expect: are they tailors, or are they selling scooters?! I had a look at their advert that was very amusing to watch, and immediately thought the service they offered are innovative, clever and that they are very considerate.

About Henry Herbert:

Tailors based in central London
Over 20 years of hand tailoring experience
Tailors from Savile Row (a street in central London famous for their traditional men's bespoke tailoring) branch ride in Vespa scooters to meet their client any time any place between Monday to Saturday from 8am to 8pm

My review:

Even though I don't live in London, I can still understand the need of their scooter service. Scooters can go through any small streets, which guarantee them to be on time for your appointment, and they can meet you at your home or office, without you trying to squeeze an appointment out of them in the evening or on a Saturday.

Thing is, I live in Lancashire, so unfortunately I wouldn't get a chance to try out their service. (Would love to see a tailor riding on a scooter and park in front of my house!) But then Charlie, the chief of Henry Herberts Tailors, pointed out that they also do an online bespoke shirts service for us who live outside London. Online? Bespoke?

About Henry Herbet's Online Bespoke Shirts service:

£145.00 (excluding £10.00 P&P)
Guaranteed to fit
100% luxurious Italian cotton
Mother of Pearl buttons
Video measuring guide to guide you through measuring for Collar, Shirt length, Sleeve length, Shoulders, Chest, Tummy, Hips and Cuff
For men or ladies
49 Fabric Choices
10 Collar designs
2 Cuff designs
3 different fittings (standard, slim or comfort)
Optional embroidery (£15.00 extra for up to 5 letters) with your choice of colour, 2 font style (serif or no serif), either on the chest or cuff

My review:

When I told hubby that I needed to measure him up for a bespoke shirt, he was impressed by the idea of having it done online, and excited as he loves shirts but because of his built (wide shoulder, Asian height), he never managed to find a shirt that was a perfect fit.

The video measuring guide was very easy to understand and follow, and it took about 20 days plus Christmas and New Years holidays from the day I ordered for it to arrive.

After I've placed the order, Charlie came back to me asking me whether I was certain about the measurements, just to make sure that I've sent them the correct ones. I really appreciate their professionalism, and impressed with his sharp eyes!

The shirt came well packaged with instructions on how to look after it, and it also came with 2 brass collar bones which is to be used for special occasions.

We chose the Italian Stripe pattern. The fabric is really smooth and extremely easy to iron. Hubby mentioned that it felt a bit like our 250 count bedsheets. I'll hug him anytime with that shirt on!

The shirt was a perfect fit. I was really impressed that, with my measurements, the shoulders can fit just right. The sleeves start exactly where they should start. I can't make anything fit with my own measurements, let alone others!

The downside is, hubby thinks that the shirt is very precious and refused to wear it on a normal day!

Apart from their bespoke service, they also sell ready-to-wear shirts for £85.00 (both men and ladies) where you can still choose the collar size and cuff design.

All in all, a fantastic service and high quality product I'd definitely recommend. If you live in London, try out their scooter service and let me know how it went!

Follow them on Twitter or Facebook

Disclosure: We were given a bespoke shirt to trial and review their service; all opinions are honest and my own

Chinese New Year - Tradition & Food

2012-01-16T17:26:00.003Z

This blog post is a bit hard to write, because I don't know a lot (thank goodness for the invention of the Web) and I have no relevant pictures that are taken by myself. So, apologies and thanks to those I stole your pictures from!

I've blogged about things to do with younger children, and tradition surrounding red pockets and decoration, and thought that I should share a bit more information on other Chinese New Year (CNY) traditions, as well as food we eat during this time of the year.

Chinese has a very complicated and colourful culture, and there are a lot of traditions. But for a slightly more modern Chinese family, most of these traditions are forgotten. It's even possible that we know less than westerners who are interested in them.

Take us for example, we had no idea that Chinese zodiac sign starts NOT on the 1st day of Chinese New Year, but around 3rd to 5th February - 立春 (Lap Chun) the 1st day of Chinese Spring. And to prove that we aren't alone, I asked on my Facebook, and most of us had no clue! So for all of you who doesn't know, the Dragon year officially starts on 4th February this year! (Luckily I got Abby's sign right lol)

The main CNY traditions, that even us western-influenced Chinese know (but not necessary follow) are:

28th of the 12th Lunar month: Spring cleaning
- Not just cleaning the house, but yourself as well, to remove all dirt and bad luck before welcoming the new year to arrive which hopefully bring better luck and prosperity.

30th of the 12th Lunar month: Chinese New Year Eve
- The night where all family members gather together for a lavish Chinese banquet. After dinner, we will have a walk in what we call a 'Flower market', which sells mainly CNY related flowers, as well as stalls selling all sorts of things.

Chinese see husband's side of family as the first family, so when families gather for dinner, if you are a woman, you'll be joining your husband's side of family for Chinese New Year Eve's dinner.
In 2012, this day will be missing according to the Lunar calendar. A bit complicated to explain so I won't bother.

1st of the 1st Lunar month: Chinese New Year

- We greet the older generations (see more on greeting tradition here) by giving (or shouting) our blessings. And in return the younger generations get a red pocket with money inside from the older generations.

- We meet up with the father or husband's side of family and greet each other.

2nd of the 1st Lunar month:

- We visit mother's or wife's side of family and greet each other. Again, another opportunity for children to collect their pocket money, and adults to lose theirs.

3rd of the 1st lunar month: 'Red Mouth' (direct translation)

- We don't visit anyone on this day as it's believed to be a day full of arguments.

7th of the 1st Lunar month: 'Human Day' (direct translation)

- The day where it's 'everyone's day' (a bit like birthday but not quite for birth). We tend to just joke around and say Happy Birthday to each other, but not celebrate it

Picture from this blog

15th of the 1st lunar month: Chinese Valentine's Day

- Marks the end of CNY celebration

- We eat a bowl of glutinous Rice Balls filled with different filling, soaked in ginger and cane sugar soup

Clothes: Brand new and Red (or pink)

- For good luck and happiness; of course it doesn't have to be traditional costume, you can be as modern and fashionable as you want to.

Snacks: 'Complete' Box (South China tradition)

- A box each family keep at home for visitors, filled with traditional sugared snacks (e.g lotus seeds, Winter Melon), roasted melon seeds, and sweets

Wedding banquet pic from this blog; this is posh and for wedding
But it'll give you a general idea

Chinese New Year Eve Dinner: Banquet or Hotpot

- Banquet

Traditionally, since it's a big family gathering, the banquet is quite lavish and there will be several dishes (not quite courses) depending on how many people there are. Typically there could be around 8 (for the meaning of Rich) or 9 (for the meaning of Ever Lasting). It can also be as grand as a wedding banquet where there will be over 12 dishes.

It is quite hard to explain what's on the menu. We use ingredients for the meaning, and even we don't understand the menu most of the time by just reading the names. For example, a dish is named 'Great Fortune & Grand (Stock) Market', which is a stew with fine hair-like seaweed and dried oysters. Also it depends on how grand your banquet is. But typically you can see the following on the table:

Soup
Roasted Piglet Belly
Fresh scallops
Whole chicken (can be fried or boiled, and again with the chicken head as deco)
Steamed whole fish (yes, with the head)
Fresh Shitake Mushrooms, Dried Oysters, hair-like seaweed
Fried and baked pastry balls
Sweet soup

-Hotpot

Sometimes we go for hotpot instead, when the group is smaller. Hotpot is literally a cooking pot we put on a portable stove, which can be put in the middle of the dining table. We lay out different types of raw ingredients, e.g Chinese Leaves, fresh Shitake Mushrooms, Tofu, Glass Noodles, Prawns, thinly sliced Beef/ Pork, Eggs, Fish-Meat Balls, etc, and cook the ingredients in the hot soup in the pot.

Chinese New Year - For The Pre-schoolers

2012-01-16T13:49:00.002Z

It's almost Chinese New Year (CNY), and I thought perhaps we should promote it a bit and get Abby's school friends involved.

We first thought of giving out 利是 (Lei Si) - Red Packets. Traditionally, these little red envelops contain a piece of red paper with blessing words written on them, for example, 祝你身體健康 (Chuk Nei San Thai Kien Hong) - wish you good health. They are given during special occasions such as CNY or weddings, mainly from the married to singles.

Nowadays, these red pockets contain money, again given to singles and mostly children from the married. It's the time of the year where children 'earn' their pocket money by wishing people well (whatever blessings they can come up with).

We are putting a gold chocolate coin into each red pocket instead.

福 upside down

Then I thought, perhaps we can make it more fun for the kids to get involved, instead of just receiving a red pocket.

I drew and printed some simple 揮春 (Fai Chun) - CNY traditional decoration, with blessings written in black or gold on a piece of red paper, for the kids to decorate and bring home. 福 (Fook) means blessing. It's to be hang upside down to mean 福到 (Fook Dough) - Blessing arrived. (I know I know, stop swearing now)

There was a lot of red paper left and I suddenly remembered making Chinese fire crackers at school. I made 2 bunches for the nursery to hang up in the pre-schoolers' room as decoration.

To make:

If you are interested in making these (never thought of doing craft on my blog by the way), all you need is squares of red card paper, curl them up and staple both ends. Then staple one end of each on a string as close together as possible.

Abby in her Qi Pao

Since I've been talking about greetings:

Abby on the right shows the posture to greet in CNY (shaking hands up and down while saying the greetings).

Typical greeting is: 恭喜發財 (Kung Hei Faat Choi)! , which means 'Wish you a prosperous New Year!' (not a direct translation). And the cheeky version is 恭喜發財! 利是逗來 (Lei Si Tau Loi)!, which directly translates to 'Lei Si has been asked for!' Whole thing means 'Give me a red pocket now that I have wished you well!'

And since I showed Abby's Qi Pao:

Top Left: Chinese Endless knot, is a Buddhism logo, meaning infinity, and brings good luck as well as fulfilling your wishes.

Bottom Left: Chinese Phoenix and Dragon

Bottom Middle: Chinese traditional copper coin, now a sign/ logo for protection

I was talking to a fellow blogger about CNY food, I'll probably post about that seperately.

This Is Life

My First Mother's Day Gift

Easter Cupcakes

The Five Fs Birthday Meme

*Giveaway* Easter 2012

Updates

MacLaren Universal Expandable Footmuff

Next Children Team GB Outfit

MoneySuperMarket.com Cocktails Class

Claire Clark's Shortbread with Rose Flavoured Sugar

Silent Sunday

MacLaren Techno XT Stroller (Basic Comparison with MacLaren Quest Stroller)

Abby's 4th Birthday Cupcakes

Miners Cosmetics 2012 Lipstick and Cream Face Sticks

Abby's 4th Birthday Cake - Raspberry Buttercream Cake

Blog Camp UK 2012 Meet and Greet

Hot Chocolate Sticks (and How to Temper Chocolate)

Abby's Birthday Weekend

Artisan Chocolate - Rococo Chocolate

MAM Hold Me - Bottle

Valentine's Day: Royal Icing Iced Cookies

Review: Urbanista Beauty Tools

Rose Flavour Milk Pudding

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Silent Sunday

What Goes on Behind the Silence - Abby's 4th Birthday

Lovely Day Out - Preston Mariners Way

Travelling by Car with Easily Bored Child

Tots100 Campaign for British Parent Bloggers: Time to Share

Valentine's Day with BakingMad

The Garlic Farm - Horseradish Mustard with Garlic

Bento Night

Valentine's Day 2012 *Giveaway* - CLOSED

Divine Chocolate

Heart Shaped Macarons

Creme Brulee with Mascarpone Cheese

Built-a-Bear - Friendship Hearts Bears Preview

RedHot World Buffet - Manchester

The Best Melt In Your Mouth Cookies

EMU Australia Water Resistant Boots

Moshi Monsters Clay Buddies

Henry Herbert's Unique Service & Online Bespoke Shirt

Chinese New Year - Tradition & Food

Chinese New Year - For The Pre-schoolers

Giveaway Easter 2012

Valentine's Day 2012 Giveaway - CLOSED