Red Riding Hood Purse from Totally Funky

I am currently immersing myself in the excellent series Once Upon A Time on Netflix and loving every minute of it!  It is a great story involving all the favourite fairytale characters from the stories of our childhoods, who have been cursed and sent into the 21st century with no memory of their true pasts or identities. It is pure escapism and dark fantasy at its very best. 

With my new found love of fairytales, I was delighted to receive a brilliant delivery from Totally Funky, the online gift store selling cute, quirky and unique gifts that are bound to make you smile. 

I received a Red Riding Hood wallet from the Once Upon A Time range of bags (no relation to my new favourite TV show however!), featuring characters from the story of Little Red Riding Hood.

The design features simple, doodle style drawings of the characters from the story, Granny, Red Riding Hood, the Huntsman and the Big Bad Wolf. I love the simplicity and how effective the design is at conveying the story. There are some lovely details including use of phrases from the story, Granny and Red zip attachments and the Once Upon A Time tag. The 'What big teeth you have - all the better to eat you with!' motto, adds a little element of darkness, a nod to the sinister edge of the original fairytale that has inspired the design.

The wallet has a zip fastening, opening up to reveal two compartments, each with several slots for cards and notes, with a zipped compartment for coins in the centre and a popper down flap covering a handy front pocket, all with an illustrated fairytale lining. 

The purse is 20 cm long, making it spacious and a good size for everyday use. It is just so pretty and really unique. I love it. There is a matching handbag as well, which is equally cute and quirky with added bows, tags and patches. The Once Upon A Time range also includes Snow White, Hansel and Gretel and The Gingerbread Man bags, each made with the same delightful attention to detail. 

The purse is made from PVC with a cotton lining and costs £21.99.

You can find this gorgeous purse, the other Once Upon A Time products, along with a great selection of other cool items and great gift ideas from www.totally-funky.co.uk.

Vegan Apple and Ginger Cake Recipe

This Apple and Ginger Cake is a lovely moist, fruity and gently spiced cake perfect for a teatime treat. Or serve warm with ice cream or custard for a comforting pudding.  It is very quick and easy to prepare, is egg-free and dairy-free, suitable for vegans and doesn't contain too much added sugar.

Apple & Ginger Cake

Ingredients

1 can of unsweetened sliced apple

2 1/2 cups of SR flour (I used half whole wheat and half white SR)

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1/4 cup of Stevia Half & Half brown sweetener (or 1/2 cup of sugar)

1 mashed banana

1 cup almond milk

1/4 cup oil (I used Rice Bran oil)

1 tbspn lemon juice

2 tbspn Duerr's Chunky Ginger Preserve

2 tsp raw cane sugar to finish

Method

Chop the sliced apple and set aside.

Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl.

In a separate bowl mix the wet ingredients together , including the mashed banana and the ginger preserve.

Gently combine the wet and dry ingredients.

Fold in the apple pieces.

Pour into an 8" square prepared cake tin.

Sprinkle 2 tspns of raw cane sugar over the batter.

Put into centre of a preheated oven at 180 degrees for about 45 - 50 minutes.

Once cooked and cooled cut into squares.

I developed this recipe to utilise the Duerr's Ginger Preserve that I was sent to review. It is a lovely preserve filled with chunks of soft, warming ginger. It can be found in Asda and is £1 for a 454g jar.

http://duerrs.co.uk/

BBQ Carrot Dogs Recipe

Whilst browsing online, I discovered there was a trend in America among the vegan community for using carrots instead of hot dog sausages. After laughing at the idea of a carrot in a bun instead of a Quorn sausage, I decided I'd give it a go myself. I'm always up for trying something new. It seemed that the trick was to marinate the carrot overnight to infuse it with the smoky flavour of hot dogs, using something called Liquid Smoke. I have never seen that product in the UK so decided to improvise.

I was sent a bottle of Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey Barbecue Glaze to try out. Now, this isn't a vegan product as it contains honey, but as vegetarians this is OK for us to use. It seemed like the perfect starting point for creating my own BBQ Carrot Dogs. (Make them vegan by using a vegan barbecue sauce.)

Ingredients

6 whole carrots, peeled and with ends removed (I looked for the most sausagey shaped carrots!)

1/4 cup water

1/8 cup white wine vinegar

2 tblspn dark soy sauce

1/2 tsp garlic granules

1/2 tsp smoky paprika

1 tblspn Jack Daniels Honey Barbecue Glaze

Method

Place the carrots into a pot of water and bring to the boil.

Simmer over a low heat until they are just starting to soften (until a knife can just pierce them).

Make the marinade by combining the ingredients together.

Put cooled carrots into marinade and cover with cling film.

Keep overnight in fridge.

Once marinated, remove the carrots and cook them in a lightly oiled frying pan over a medium heat.

Cook for about 10 minutes until heated through.

Serve in a burger bun with fried onions and relish.

The overall effect of the process creates something like a barbecue flavoured hot pot carrot, with a firm texture and deep flavour.  The experience is quite mind blowing - the taste and presentation of a hot dog, made using a humble carrot!

http://jackdanielsbbqsauces.com/

On my 18th Wedding Anniversary - 18 Things I Love About You

• I love you for giving me so many good things in my life. My wonderful children and a home filled with love, laughter, music and fun. And for the relationship we share.
• I love you for making me want to be the best version of myself that I can be. You really do make me a better person. I only found myself through looking through your eyes.
• I love you for the way you make me feel. You make me feel beautiful, valued and cherished. When I'm in your arms I feel young again. 
• I love that you know you don't have to buy me expensive gifts or lavish me with material things. You know that I value a homemade card more than a designer handbag, or a day spent together more than any amount of fancy jewellery.
• I love that we are a team, facing every challenge together with our family's best interests at heart. In that we are unswerving.
• I love that even after 18 years I still miss you when we are apart and treasure the time we spend together. We like the same things so spending time together is just so easy.
• I love that our relationship is built on solid foundations of friendship, similar values and absolute trust. You truly are my soul mate. We have no secrets. 
• I love that we have overcome obstacles and struggles, but have stuck together throughout everything, emerging stronger and more united. 
• I love you because you are a wonderful human being. You are a hands on dad who puts me and the kids first. You cook, you do housework, you do DIY. You are loving, giving, caring and affectionate. You are the kindest, most thoughtful person I know. You are literally the most amazing human being I have ever met.
• I love you because I know that life without you would only be half a life. You complete me.
• I love that you are an excellent role model for my sons, and an example to my daughters of how a man should be. Through you they know unconditional love, a calm, reasoned approach  and total respect.
• I love that I am still massively physically attracted to you. You tick all my boxes. And you indulge me when I tell you about my latest cougar crush on a Hemsworth brother. We can laugh together and cry together.
• I love you because you never give up on me. You hold your hands up when you have done something wrong, and never judge me for my mistakes. 
• I love the way your beard is turning grey and the fact that you have laughter lines around your eyes and that you need glasses for reading. The passing of time reminds me of how long you have been a part of my life and that we are indeed growing old together, which is something you always promised me.
• I love that I am proud to be your wife and to share your name. I am honoured to be a part of this marriage that we have shared for 18 years.
• I love you, because even though you have seen me at my very worst, your love has never wavered. I can't believe how lucky I am to have a man like you loving me in the way that you do. I would do anything you asked of me without question, as I know you would for me.
• I love you because you support everything I do, giving me the courage and the confidence to be myself.
• I love you because I know you...everything about you...and there is nothing I'd want to change. I can't imagine being with anyone else. I can't imagine what I would have become without you. Yet you think you are the lucky one.

Getting My Feet Ready for Summer

With today's weather being so lovely, I can almost believe that summer really isn't too far away. This means that it will soon be time to put away my winter boots and get out my sandals. This also means that I will once again be exposing my feet to the world!

Feet are such a sorely neglected part of the body for most of the year, hidden away under socks or tights, kept in the dark and taken for granted. Getting my feet summer ready gives me the excuse to indulge myself with some DIY pedicures and paint my toe nails in some colourful nail polish. Then like some shy creature, crawling out from its hibernation spot, my feet will emerge ready for the summer sandal season ahead.

Scholl have a great foot care  range, which is just perfect for preparing poor, tired feet for their seasonal debut. From smoothing off callouses to soothing aching party feet to freshening up smelly shoes, Scholl really do have it covered.

I received some Scholl goodies to try out and it was almost like I could hear my feet breathe a sigh of relief. At 46, my feet have endured more than four and a half decades of everyday abuse. Factor in the time spent in my teens when I squeezed my poor toes into inappropriately shaped winklepicker 80's style stilettos, and it's no surprise that I suffer with a few foot related issues.

Armed with the Scholl Velvet Smooth Express Pedi and a bottle of Scholl Velvet Smooth Intense Serum, I embarked on a session of pure foot loving indulgence. After all, my hard working feet deserve their own beauty regime and a chance to shine.

The Express Pedi comes complete with batteries so I was ready for action straight away. Using lightly applied pressure and even movements, you can use the spinning, diamond crystal exfoliating roller to gently remove dry skin from the foot, leaving the feet feeling smoother and softer. Judging by the amount of dead, skin dust I generated, this is a really effective, painless, quick and easy tool for removing all those ugly areas of dry skin. It is an excellent gadget and one that will receive regular use in my battle for beautiful feet.

Afterwards, I applied the thick, jelly-like Velvet Smooth Intense Serum to my feet. It felt lovely, soaking in and adding to the smoothness of my newly exfoliated feet. What a nice feeling it is to feel so soft and smooth in the foot department!

An application of red nail varnish is such a confidence boost and looks so pretty when wearing some peep toed summer footwear!

With a spring in my step and feeling smooth footed, I am now officially ready to get my toes out wherever and whenever this summer. So at the pool, on the beach, running barefoot through the grass or when wearing a pair of flip flops, my feet are summer ready and looking as pretty as a pair of 46 year old feet can!

Dino Time Film Review

Dinosaur mad, adventure loving Ernie has a list-loving, controlling and overprotective mum, whose rules he is constantly trying to bend, getting him into some trouble along the way!

Ernie, his tag along, tale telling sister Julia and best friend Max soon end up in some major prehistoric trouble when they accidentally activate a time machine by spilling soda on the controls and get sent 65 million years back in time right into the middle of a nest of dinosaur eggs. Thankfully, they are accepted by mummy T-Rex Tyra as family and not food. She looks after motherless dinosaurs and takes the kids in as her own. Meanwhile, the evil Sarco Brothers are looking to destroy Tyra and take over the Upper Valley where she lives. This leads to a 'Di-Normous' adventure.

Ernie's mum and Max's inventor dad work together on their rescue plan (with the help from a little message from the past) and join forces with the children to help save the day and defeat the evil Sarco brothers before they are all history! Everyone learns something about themselves during their prehistoric adventure: Ernie realises the importance of honesty and thinking of others, while his mum learns to let go a little.

Dino Time is nicely illustrated with quirky characters. There is some great dialogue from the dinosaurs that appear in addition to the main characters. the film boasts an all star cast with Melanie Griffiths, Stephen and William Baldwin and Jane Lynch among the voice talents. There are some exciting animated sequences and some scenes featuring mild peril during the adventure, which kept Freddy on the edge of his seat. He also loved the humour and giggled his way through some scenes (the farting creature was quite predictably a big hit and raised a full on belly laugh!) Dodger was his favourite character and the very last scene of the film, featuring this cheeky, little dinosaur, made Freddy give out a little cheer!

        

Dino Time comes to cinemas from May 22nd, 2015 and DVD and digital platforms from June 1st, 2015 courtesy of Signature Entertainment.

Certificate PG

Running time 86 minutes

Healthy Snacks from The Co-Operative

The Co-Operative recently sent us some of their new 'Loved By Us' healthy snacking range to enjoy. I was really impressed by the fact there was such a great choice of really interesting products to try:

Spiced Ginger Popcorn

Triple Berry Rice Cakes

Chorizo Rice Cakes

Jaffa Fruit and Nut Mix

Strawberry Brulee Fruit and Nut Mix

Cinnamon Pecan Pie Fruit and Nut Mix

Trail Mix

Oriental Crackers

Hazelnut Latte Fruit and Nut Mix

It is so nice to find snacks that contain lots of good stuff such as pecans, almonds, cashews, brazil nuts, dried cranberries, hazelnuts, coconut, dried papaya and raisins. The addition of yummy treats such as chocolate covered coffee beans and white chocolate buttons add a little indulgence to the mixes. The rice cakes and popcorn are good lower calorie treats, deliciously flavoured, low in fat and high in fibre. If I want a snack, I'd much rather enjoy something good for me than fill up on empty calories. Some of the individual products are better for you nutritionally than others, so you can choose between something naturally healthy like the dried fruit and nut mixes or the more indulgent Triple Berry Rice Cakes.

These are grown up snacks, ideal for sharing, very satisfying and so much more nutritious than a chocolate bar or a regular bag of crisps. The variety is excellent and the flavours and mixes are really well conceived. They are all vegetarian, even the Chorizo Rice Cakes, which are flavoured with smoky paprika.

My favourite was the Cinnamon Pecan Pie mix filled with tangy, cinnamon dusted cranberries, crunchy almonds and pecans. Half a pack contains 116 calories and was a very filling, wholesome snack and a really tasty treat.

The packs have clear labels with the nutritional information displayed, so you can make an informed choice.  Find the range in your local Co-Operative Food shop.