Christmas Mini Hama beads

We are still loving Hama beads in this house! I only recently found out that you can also buy Mini Hama beads, with a suggested age range of 10 years+. The standard size are the Midi beads, and it's a little harder to find somewhere selling a good selection of the Mini beads. I found the best selection of kits online at Craft Merrily and I bought two packs. I chose a Christmas set because I thought they would make nice Christmas decorations, and a second set with sweet little roses and other flowers.

When they arrived I was very surprised with how small the beads were after working so much with the Midi beads - they are about a third of the size, and really, really tiny! Really the only way to manoeuvre them on to the peg board is by using tweezers, and it's very fiddly. More than once I managed to knock the board and send them scattering, and I found out that it is very important to keep them out of reach of fascinated small children!

They looked a bit uneven when they were on the board, but once they were ironed (very carefully!) they became a lot smoother. I've started with the Christmas set, and made a lovely little Angel and Father Christmas. I've made one of each and there are plenty of beads left over, definitely enough to make another set. I've just propped them up in the Christmas tree for now, but I might attach some ribbon to them so that they can hang up. 

I think that I particularly like them because they resemble cross stitch, which I love to do but it takes me a long time. It's very satisfying to complete a picture in one go. If you love Hama beads too I'd recommend having a look at the Mini beads, they are a grown up version of a children's craft!

Book review - Recipes from an Indian Kitchen

I'm a Parragon Book Buddy, and each month I receive a lovely recipe book to review. This month I have been sent Recipes from an Indian Kitchen, part of the Parragon range of Love Food cookbooks.

This recipe book contains 100 simple and authentic recipes. It begins with an introduction which explains the history of the Indian kitchen, not only for cooking but also as the essential hub of the home. There is also a brief history of Indian cuisine, and a reminder about the huge variety that exists in Indian cooking as well as a look at some of the different regional dishes. A helpful glossary of ingredients is packed full of interesting and useful information.

The book is beautifully illustrated throughout, with photographs of the dishes and ingredients alongside scenes from across India. There are also step by step images of some of the more complicated processes.

The recipes themselves cover a huge variety of dishes, ranging across main meals, breads, chutneys and desserts. Some of the dishes were familiar to me from Indian celebrations that I've attended, they are definitely traditional recipes. I'm more used to eating vegetarian Indian food, but there are plenty of meat dishes in this book too.

Most of the recipes are fairly simple, and although some of the ingredients may not be readily available at home, with some forward planning you would be able to build up a store cupboard which would enable you to keep the key ingredients to hand. In particular there are some great ideas here for main meals which look extremely appetising and also pretty healthy, with plenty of fresh vegetables. This would be a great cook book for someone with an interest in Indian cookery that wants to move away from the Anglo-Indian curries and try out something a little more authentic.


I was sent this book to review, Amazon links are affiliate.

Ladybird Tuesday - The Story of Ships

I'm not quite sure why this Ladybird book appealed to me, I don't have a particular interest in ships. But there was something about it when I saw it in a charity shop recently, and so I picked it up.

The Story of Ships comes from Series 601, the 'Achievements' series. It was first published in 1961, alongside other titles such as The Story of Flight and The Story of the Motor Car.

It's an extremely comprehensive look at ships and shipbuilding over the years. The book begins with the very first boats - a hollowed out log which led to the first canoe. These boats became ships when the sail was developed, meaning that they could travel far longer distances. The book suggests that the very first ships were build more than five thousand years ago, by the ancient Egyptians. There are some lovely illustrations of early ships from countries across the world, similar and yet with their own distinctive features.

It's fascinating to follow the history of shipbuilding through both the words and pictures. The final page of the book hints towards the ships of the future, in particular those that will use atomic power to enable them to sail for long periods of time without refuelling. Although talked about in the book as an exciting, and imminent, development I don't think this is something that has really taken off. There is also only a very brief mention in the book of using ships for transporting cargo, and only in reference to the Royal Merchant Navy. Also only a couple of ocean liners are mentioned - The Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth, with no hint at how cruise ships would increase in size and popularity over the next few decades.

Another fascinating book from Ladybird which has taught me a lot! I'm joining in again with Ladybird Tuesday over at Being Mrs C, you can see all my previous Ladybird Tuesday posts here.

Save the Children's Christmas Jumper Day

Christmas Jumper Day on Friday 13th December

Friday 13th December sees the return of Save the Children's Christmas Jumper Day. Save the Children is calling on people across the UK to put on their best kitsch Christmas jumper in exchange for a £1 donation to the charity on the Christmas Jumper Day website.

All the money raised from Christmas Jumper Day will help to save the lives of the world's most vulnerable children across the world. Even a small contribution can make a big difference, as very simple solutions like vaccines and mosquito nets save lives. The official retail partner of Christmas Jumper Day is John Lewis, where £25 from the sale of each jumper in the Save the Children range will go directly to the charity.

On 13th December, Save the Children are also going to attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the most people wearing Christmas jumpers in one space. The attempt will be led by Arlene Philips, who will be providing a twist by choreographing a Christmas Jumper Day dance routine to Kelly Clarkson's brand new track "Underneath the Tree" and leading participants in the dance on the day. If you want to come along to Westfield London and join in, sign up to take part at http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/christmas-jumper-day/worldrecord (only pre-registered participants will be given access to the area on the day).

Woolly Wonderland at Westfield Stratford City, E20

Wooly Wonderland is a 10 day Christmas pop-up for Save the Children's Christmas Jumper Day. It launched on the 5th December and will be open until the 13th December. If you are close by it's well worth popping down as there is absolutely loads going on for the whole family:

John Lewis jumper customisation:

• ·         Friday 6 December 6-7pm; Wednesday 11 December 6-7pm; Friday 13 December 12-1pm

Gruffalo reading and activities:

• ·         Saturday 7 December 12-1pm; Sunday 8 December 12-1pm; Monday 9 December 12-1pm; Monday 9 December 3-4pm; Wednesday 11 December 3-4pm

Elmer in the Snow reading and activities:

• ·         Friday 6 December 12-1pm; Friday 12 December 12-1pm

Debbie Bliss knitting:

• ·         Tuesday 9 December 6-7pm; Tuesday 10 December 12-1pm

Sue Stratford knitting:

• ·         Tuesday 10 December 3-4pm

Wool and The Gang Gets their Knit on:

• ·         Thursday 5 December 3-4pm; Thursday 5 December 6-7pm; Friday 6 December 3-4pm; Saturday 7 December 3-4pm; Sunday 8 December 3-4pm; Sunday 8 December 6-7pm; Tuesday 10 December 6-7pm; Thursday 12 December 3-4pm; Friday 13 December 3-4pm

You can sign up for the workshops at http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/woollywonderland, and read more about the jumper customisation workshops over at Me and My Shadow.

Image credit James Newall/Save the Children

Follow @savethechildrenuk on Twitter to find out more, and use the hashtag #xmasjumperday to tweet a photograph of yourself in your Christmas finery! You can also see more information on the Save the Children Facebook page.

Will you be wearing your favourite Christmas jumper on Friday?

Whisked away to Paris!

I've known for a little while that Ram was planning something for our anniversary this week. He told me to keep a few days free in my diary, and when Harry came down with chicken pox last week and he was starting to fret, he admitted to me that we were going away for a night. He'd organised for my parents to come down to look after the children, and a friend to do the school run. He has also been planting seeds in my mind for the last few months which led me to believe that we were going to Nottingham, where we first met.

So even on Tuesday, when we arrived first thing at Ebbsfleet International station, I was still convinced that we were taking the train up through St Pancras to Nottingham. Even when he took me over to the Eurostar desk and took out the passports - I still thought he was winding me up! So I think I was still in shock as we sat in the departures lounge a few minutes later poring over a map of Paris!

I've been lucky enough to visit Paris a few times in the past, and it's also where we spent our first holiday together, although that was quite some time ago! My favourite art gallery is the Musée d'Orsay, and Ram had booked us tickets. It's a magnificent art gallery, housed in a former railway station and home to the largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist masterpieces in the world. We spent quite some time here, visiting all my favourites. 

Then we took a walk down the Champs-Élysées, currently playing host to a vast Christmas market. Christmas markets in the UK tend to be based around the traditional German model but the Christmas markets in Paris had a definite French feel, with meat and cheese alongside luxurious soaps and cashmere. We walked all the way to the Arc de Triomphe and climbed to the top for some fantastic views across Paris. Then we headed to our hotel, stopping to see the Eiffel Tower on the way which was very close by. I think that you can still see my stunned expression in this photograph!

After a rest we headed to La Défense, the business district of Paris, for an early dinner at Vapiano. Vapiano is a pasta and pizza restaurant chain that we discovered on our recent trip to Berlin, and this time we had the luxury of a lovely meal without small children in tow! We enjoyed some delicious pizza, then headed down the steps to explore the Christmas market in the square below.

We finished the evening by returning to the Champs-Élysées Christmas market at night. This time we walked down the other side of the road, where there were fewer stalls and more entertainment, like ice-skating rinks and animated scenes as well as more food and drink.

On our second morning we enjoyed a lovely lie-in before heading to the Louvre. Again it's a while since my last visit, and it seemed to have doubled in size! Something I don't remember seeing in the past was the fascinating medieval foundations of the Louvre palace, all preserved underground. 

I do like a mosaic, the impressive one below is a floor mosaic from the Church of St. Christopher in Lebanon, from AD575. You can't possibly see everything that the Louvre has to offer in one visit, and even if you just concentrate on the areas that interest you most it can still be quite a trek, we certainly felt as though we'd had a workout by the end of the morning! 

Then it was lunch, and after some lovely pasta we went for a wander. We went into Galeries Lafayette, the large and beautiful department store, popped by the Paris Opera and took a trip to visit Notre Dame. We ate waffles near the Pompidou Centre, then it was time to head for the Gare du Nord and catch our train home. 

We had two brilliant days in Paris, and I think that I'm still in a daze! I was sat at toddler group on Thursday, hardly able to believe that the morning before I had been wandering around the Louvre. Thank you so much to Ram, what a fabulous anniversary surprise!

Review - Katsuma, the Moshi Monsters Trunki

As regular readers will know, we travel quite a lot with our little ones, and when Harry was three we bought him a Trunki. Both children love it, and so I was delighted when I was asked if I would like to review one of the new Moshi Monsters Trunki suitcases, as it meant that Mia would be able to have one of her own.

I chose the Katsuma Trunki, which is bright orange and based on a monster which is a cross between a cat and a satsuma. I was very pleased when I first opened the Katsuma Trunki to find that the opening catches are different on this newer model and are much easier to open than on our old Trunki. You just need to squeeze in the button to release the catch.

We have found our Trunki fantastic when used as hand luggage. In most cases a Trunki fits within the size guidelines for plane hand luggage, although it is recommend to check with the airline before flying. The appeal of the Trunki lies not so much in its usefulness as a suitcase, but in the way that it can be used by a child. It can be used as a seat while you are standing around waiting, it can be propelled across the floor by the child, and you can use the sturdy strap to pull a small child along. The long strap also makes it comfortable for an adult to carry for longer distances.

Airports are vast places, generally with smooth floors, which makes them ideal for Trunkis. Harry's Trunki has been particularly invaluable on our trips to the US, where you can easily spend over an hour waiting in a queue at immigration with jet lagged, exhausted children that have been cooped up in a plane for an entire day. It's so nice to have somewhere that they can sit and rest as you pull them along a few centimetres at a time.

I must admit that when actually flying I don't really use the Trunki for things that need to be accessed during the flight, as a reasonable amount of space is needed to open it fully and aeroplanes are cramped. Instead we use it to pack things for the children that we will need when we arrive, such as pyjamas, cups and spare clothing. Harry has always loved helping to pack it, and will happily fill it with some of his favourite toys. Because it has hard sides it's also very useful for keeping our own things in that we don't want to get squashed, like small electronic devices.

When we are travelling by car we let Harry pack his Trunki himself, so that he can keep all his things separate from ours. It gives him a sense of independence, and he loves being given a list of things to pack, like four t-shirts or two pairs of trousers. There are a couple of hidden compartments in the Trunki too which really appeal to little ones and a handy elasticated pocket which is perfect for a few cars or small toys. One side of the Trunki has elasticated straps which hold everything in place.

Having had a Trunki for a few years now, I can attest that they are very durable. Our older Trunki has been pulled about across airports and roads and it's in excellent shape. I would definitely recommend one if you travel with small children, and I know that Mia will be very excited on our next holiday when she has a Trunki of her very own!

We received a Katsuma Trunki to review, and I have also based this review on our use of our original Trunki that we bought a couple of years ago for Harry. Amazon links are affiliate.

Win £100 of Zalando UK vouchers!

I am delighted to announce that I have a fantastic prize to give away to one of my readers - a £100 voucher to use at Zalando UK.

Zalando UK is an online fashion boutique, stocking over 1,500 luxury and high street brands from all over the world. There is so much to choose from, whether you are looking for Christmas gifts for the family or maybe something to treat yourself. Zalando offer a great range of clothing and also some lovely things for the home, from textiles to storage and accessories.

Entry is via the Rafflecopter form below. This giveaway closes at midnight on Friday 13th December 2013.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms and conditions - The prize is a £100 voucher to be used on the Zalando UK website. The winner will receive a voucher code which is valid until the 6th June 2014. The give away closes at midnight on Friday 13th December 2013. All entries to the giveaway must be received via the Rafflecopter form above. Invalid entries will be removed. If the winner does not respond within 14 days I will redraw and reallocate the prize. One entry per person, no third party or automated entries. There is no cash alternative.