Family Archives - Page 7 of 9 - Relentlessly Purple

Baking Fun Using My Cupcake Toppers

christmas / 9 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

The girls had some baking fun yesterday making cakes after I was given a £15 off code to try out some of the Toppers from MyCupcakeToppers in exchange for a review of them.

After looking through MyCupcakeToppers site I picked out some lovely Minnie Mouse & Disney Prince Real Icing toppers (12 for £6) that I knew the girls would love.

For our Minnie Mouse & Disney Princess cakes the girls made a mix for 12 chocolate chip cakes each. They quickly got their mixes made up, poured into the cases and into the oven.. so they could lick the bowls of course!

We loved the cakes and all helped ourselves to a few since we made 24 in total. The real icing cupcake toppers were amazingly yummy, even the Mr who isn’t keen on cake toppers really enjoyed it and munched through quite a few cakes!

The real icing toppers are absolutely brilliant and the printing is amazingly clear, they make the girls messy (but tasty) cakes look lovely.

I will definitely be ordering again in future for special occasions. I love how many design choices were available on the site. If you can’t find a design you like you can upload your own images or fill out a form with details of what you would like and the in-house design team can see what they can do for you too!

Want to make some too? Check out our recipe below.

You will need:

110g(ish) Caster Sugar

110g(ish) Butter

2 eggs

110g(ish) Self-raising flour

1tsp(ish) Vanilla extract/flavouring

2ish handfuls of milk chocolate chips (plus a few to ‘test’)

1 tub of chocolate frosting

A pot of sprinkles you completely forget to add

Method:

1. Preheat oven 180°c. Cream butter and sugar and add vanilla extract. Beat in 2 eggs.

2. Fold in the flour & throw in the chocolate chips.

3. Fill 12 cases halfway and bake for 10ish minutes until brown.

4. Let cakes cool (and sit on your hands to stop yourself eating them warm) before adding the frosting.

5. Pop the Real Icing sheets in the oven (once it’s cooled/cooling so it’s just warm) until the icing is easily removed from the sheets.

6. Add toppers to your cakes and ENJOY!

What do you think of our recipe will you be trying it out or do you have one of your own we could try?

How lovely are the cupcake toppers? What design would you go for?

Eva’s Blanket Is Finally Finished (For Now)

Crafts / 9 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

You may have seen me crocheting Eva’s Blanket if you’ve been following my blog or especially my Instagram. I’ve been crocheting a colourful granny square blanket, letting Eva choose each colour/shade as I go. I’ve been working on it for quite some time now doing a few stitches most evenings, even taking it on the bus with me to work on!

The finished product –

We ended up adding 16 different colours/shades to Eva’s blanket and she is absolutely over the moon for it to finally be finished (for now) and able to use it around the flat and on her bed. Last year I knitted Izzy a soft fluffy blanket but it took quite a bit of time and hurt my hands although I did enjoy it. Crochet seem’s much easier, faster and calming to be honest.

I had one very happy girl last night, Eva settled pretty quickly snuggled up under her blanket and when she woke up this morning it was the first thing she grabbed to bring through to the living room where she snuggled up on the sofa until breakfast!

Eva's blanket - in bed — Sneaky photo of Eva snuggled up falling asleep

I’m feeling quite pleased with myself to be honest. It’s such a lovely feeling finally completing such a big project and seeing Eva so happy with the result! Eva wants me to continue adding on to it as she grows so I haven’t added a border.. yet!

I’ve already started on my next project too! A colourful scarf for Eva using the same wool she asked me to finish her blanket with. I tried knitting the scarf but was unhappy with how it looked. Instead I’ve gone back to my trusty hook and crocheting her a scarf!

Have you finished a project lately or are you currently in the middle of one? If you love crafting don’t forget to link up with #CraftingIsMyTherapy too.

The Hoxton Street Monster Supplies Cookbook Review & Giveaway!

christmas / 9 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

Most of you know we’re an oddball family and love all thing’s weird and wonderful so when I had the opportunity to review The Hoxton Street Monster Supplies Cookbook I couldn’t wait to see what it was all about! It looks rather interesting with the front cover stating ‘Everyday recipes for the living, dead and undead!‘ I have a feeling this one will be working it’s way into my brother’s stocking once I’ve noted down my favourite

This Cookbook is full of all kinds of gruesomely gory recipes for all the monster’s out there! It’s just like any other recipe book with specific sections for recipes such as Biscuits & cookies, Jams & Preserves, Savoury Snacks for Entertaining Monster’s, anything and everything you can think of that you will need for entertaining monster guests or just a little home baking is in this book!

For hundreds of years, the Hoxton Street Monster Supplies shop has been supplying quality goods for the monster community – and this, it’s classic recipe book, has been in use for just as long.

Now, for the first time, it has been adapted for use by humans as well as monsters. So wherther you’re entertaining trolls, hosting a vampire soiree or expecting zombie round for tea, you can make delicious treats to suit every occasion.

It’s so difficult to choose a recipe to start with, do I go for the Fairy Brain Fudge? Some Dragon Fuel for my beloved dragon friends? Gingerdead men look soo delicious too, then there’s the Strawberry Shortdeads.. argh it is just soooo hard to decide and we haven’t even got to the cakes yet! *Drools* Don’t they all sound scrumptious!? Think of all the Monster Tea Parties you could hold to show off your baking skills!

Along with all the monstrously delicious recipes there are also pages full of Advice & Wisdom full of all the important stuff, Golden Rules For Entertaining, Seasonal Humans (This one’s been a great help, now I know which Humans to go for during which months!), Common Ailments & Recommended Cures, How to Carve a Human and more!

I was totally unaware of The Hoxton Street Monster Supplies shop existing in London so I will definitely be taking my brother & the girls along to visit & pick up some Icky ingredient’s to help us as we work through the recipes! Head on over to the Monster Supplies website to find out more.

Do you like the sound of this Cookbook for yourself or know a Monster who would? Well I have 3 copies for my Monster readers, just enter the giveaway to get your claws onto one of these delicious cookbooks!

Family Dinners

Family / 9 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

To most people sit down family dinners is the norm. To my brother & I it’s something quite new, awkward, yet exciting.

Growing up it was rarely done, don’t get me wrong we did sit down occasionally, even at a table but it never felt like a family meal.. You know where you all sit chatting pleasantly, passing things around to each other, laughing and joking. Instead it was generally quite stressful and awkward.

My brother had a few more sit down meals than me growing up, whilst in children’s homes he says it was fun chatting to the other kids but not the same as a family dinner, in foster homes it was awkward sitting with a family he barely knew so he wasn’t keen on them and like me struggled with eating in other peoples homes in general.

So of course we HAVE to change that and with the Mr always happy to play chef we worked out the Sunday between our pay day and Alex’s pay day was the perfect day to turn into our family day. We started the weekend before last with a lovely beef roast as my brother hadn’t had a proper roast in over 5 YEARS! I know right, how disgusting is that!? Well that was quickly changed and we had an absolutely amazing day!

My favourite – Uncle Alex reading Jungle Jam to his Nieces 😍💜

With Alex around to keep the girls occupied it was much easier for the Mr and I to get on with bits in the kitchen & having a quick tidy up so it was also lovely for us that it was less stressful. We all worked together getting everything ready to sit down as we have no dinner table so instead we use the girls small tables & Alex decided he was more comfortable eating at the Mr’s desk.

Normally Alex is as awkward as I was a few years ago when it comes to eating around others but this time he was really relaxed, stopping every now & then to have a chat and it was just a lovely day & meal all round. My brother was really grateful which was lovely but sad at the same time.. I felt guilty thinking how many of his favourite meals he hasn’t had since I last cooked them when he was around 6/7.

After chatting to Alex this Thursday and finding out how much our family dinner day had meant to him and how comfortable he really felt, I couldn’t wait for today! Hearing how it gave him a sense of normality & being part of a family rather than an outsider looking in honestly nearly had me in tears, I had to keep tidying to hide them.

I’m calling him at 10.30am to make sure he’s awake and then once he’s ready the girls are going to come with me to meet him at the bus station. We are having Chicken Tikka Masala tonight and will be working through all his favourites letting Alex pick what he wants each time. It’s definitely something we will be continuing so I need to really get a wiggle on finding a decent table with 5/6 chairs so we can really do it properly!

Do you have sit down family meals? Is it something you all enjoy? Who decides what your eating? Also.. Any budget table and chair recommendations?

Eva’s Crazy Moves For The #FrubesMoves Challenge

Family / 9 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

Eva loves all kinds of dancing and is often dancing around the flat whether there is music playing or not! She has some seriously crazy dance moves but she would love to do ballet or street dance so we are looking out for classes and hopefully we can afford a few terms for her next year. She was really excited to get involved when I told her about the #Frubesmoves challenge and that she could make a video of her dancing! I received £9 worth of Yoplait vouchers to spend on Frubes and keep our fridge stocked up with a healthy snack that contains vitamin D and calcium which helps children build strong bones!

Of course we decided to try out the purple pack first 😉 which contains 3x Strawberry, 3x Red berries and 3x Peach flavoured Frubes which the girls very quickly demolished which is fine by me since they contain 50% of a child’s daily Vitamin D. Frubes are currently running a promotion in connection to the new Angry Birds movie which runs until October 31st so each pack has a promotional code inside which you can enter on the Frubes website for a chance to win prizes including a trip to the Bahamas!

You can also practice your #FrubesMoves whilst your there too selecting different Angry Birds/ Pigs, their dance moves, the music & the scenery which Eva spent quite some time playing on creating different dance off’s. Her favourite music style was Funky, no surprise there!

A squawksome dance off!

Eva really enjoyed playing on the website and couldn’t wait to show you all her #FrubesMoves which you can view on my Instagram here. Did you take part too? Who did you want to win the dance off?

This post is an entry for BritMums’ #FrubesMoves Linky Challenge, sponsored by Frubes

Jungle Jam Book Review

Family / 9 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

We were really excited to receive such a captivating & colourful story book aimed at children aged 0-5 years to review with the girls, Written by Louise & Noam Lederman & it’s called Jungle Jam.

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We recieved the book, a magnet & a puzzle, I was impressed with the bright and colourful cover, it’s eye-catching but not too in your face, even the Mr agreed it looked good!
As it arrived whilst Eva was at school, I decided to see what Izzy thought of it first as it’s mostly aimed at her age group.

We sat and read it to see what Jungle Jam was about. We met Mikey the Monkey who was off on an adventure to make it big! Along the way he meets several friends in the Jungle but refuses to join them, intent on making it big by himself until eventually he decides to join them all and make it big together!

Izzy (2) sat and listened intently, pointing out all the new characters we met along the way, with her favourite being Ella the elephant and her drums.

Izzy spent the rest of the afternoon looking through the pages & claiming the magnet as hers and adding it into her magnet collection on the storage heater haha..

Eva (6) was just as impressed when she got home and loved that she was able to read it to her sister who sat & listened to the story again..several times!

The book is beautifully illustrated and the girls really loved reading it over and over and over… Eva loved it so much that she wanted to talk about it on her first video! She was a bit sniffly as she’s coming down with a cold & unsure of what to say but she wanted to do the video so badly, so here it is.

We definitely recommend ordering yourself a copy of Jungle Jam here on Amazon for just £5.99 to add to your bookshelf. It’s such a fun book to read with all the colourful pictures and characters and the lovely storyline, I can see this book being a favourite for quite some time! The last few pages have some awesome musical craft’s for you to make too!

#WorldMentalHealthDay

Awareness Campaigns / 9 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

#WorldMentalHealthDay

Today is of course #WorldMentalHealthDay. I wanted to join in and share a few things with you all to help raise awareness and help those struggling to see that they are not alone, such a huge percentage of the population struggle & feel so, so alone & that really needs to change. We need to reach out to one another & share our stories!

Mental Health is something I heard a lot about as a child as a lot of the adults I grew up knowing had depression, anxiety, bipolar & schizophrenia, so it is something I’ve learnt a fair bit about different issues over the years. I was going to look into statistics and figures but honestly I don’t feel there is any need, so many of us don’t say a word which leads me to believe the statistic’s are unrealistic.

I myself struggle with depression & anxiety and for quite some time I struggled massively with ED’s which I’ve slowly discovered has contributed to my Chronic pain which of course has caused me to feel quite depressed, I also struggle with how my Scoliosis makes my ribs stick out but sharing my stories in my blog has meant I’ve had a lot of support and encouragement from other people and that has made such a difference!

I talk openly on my blog about all these things, NOT for sympathy but to connect with other’s who feel the same, it can be very lonely and stressful when you feel worthless & too scared to ask for a little help and I truly hope that the blogging community sharing their stories helps anyone struggling.

My brother has Aspergers & PTSD amongst other things & yes he can be difficult to be around at times but that ISN’T his fault. He had very little support growing up and felt very alone, being pushed from one foster home or care home to another as a child and being sectioned as a teen and then suddenly being all alone in a tiny bedsit has been very stressful and hard for him.

He spiralled out of control turning to alcohol and drugs to numb the pain, he was EXTREMELY difficult to be around during that time BUT the Mr and I made it our mission to help him turn himself round. And you know what? With a bit of persistence, love and a little bit of a kick up the bum he has become a totally different person over the past year.

Now he is dealing with his issues and facing them in counselling he is coping much better. Knowing he IS part of our family & our home is his home has helped him relax and realise he is loved and cared for. He still has bad days especially because of his past but now instead of trying to numb the pain & destroy himself he picks up the phone and calls me or jumps on a train and distracts himself or talks his problems through and bit by bit he has turned his life round completely.

Talking about our problems can help us more than most things especially if we feel someone is actually listening, we know people may not fully understand but it’s nice to be heard and it makes us feel less alone.

What’s your story? What are you struggling with? What do you do to cope?

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If you need to talk please do, my DM, email etc is always open to ANYONE that needs to talk, day or night! If you prefer there are plenty of charities to help, whether its over the phone, by email or on-line chat, whatever method you prefer there is ALWAYS someone waiting to help you and talk through your problems, PLEASE DON’T SUFFER IN SILENCE!

If you do need to talk to someone here is a small list of contacts:

The Samaritans are a well known organisation who are always there for a chat whether your just having a low day or you feel thing’s are much worse, get in touch!

Whatever you’re going through, call us free any time, from any phone on 116 123.

We’re here round the clock, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. If you need a response immediately, it’s best to call us on the phone. This number is FREE to call. You don’t have to be suicidal to call us.

Another brilliant organisation is Togetheruk.org although I have no personal experience myself they offer a range of services around the country .

Together is a national charity working alongside people with mental health issues on their journey towards independent and fulfilling lives.

MIND is an amazing organisation that offers counselling & they have helped both my and my brother. My brother still currently has counselling with them and I can honestly say that has played a HUGE part in his recovery. They offer a range of services and support too.

Contact us

Our lines are open 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday (except for bank holidays).

0300 123 3393

info@mind.org.uk
Text: 86463

Even if you find ways to cope and manage and feel you have recovered well there may still be days you need a little chat to help you keep on top, please do ask for help if you feel thing’s are slipping again.

If you know someone struggling, make them a cuppa & share some cake & just be there to listen when you know they are feeling low. Sometimes just being there can mean so much, we don’t need to be told what to do or to just cope we just need a little love & understanding to help us through the bad days so we can fully enjoy the good days.

Out-Smarting A 2 Year Old With SmartMotion

Family / 9 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

The Samsung SmartThings SmartMotion!

I reviewed the Samsung SmartThings Starter pack and won it last year. I still use the SmartPlug’s to control the Pump & Light on our fish tank (Can you Phone the Fis h?)which is an absolute life saver especially if we aren’t home & forgot to turn on their pump!

I also use the Multi-purpose sensor to send me a notification on my phone if something comes through the letterbox.

The SmartMotion Sensor however I hadn’t really managed to come up with a good use for yet.

Izzy has recently started getting out of bed and coming in to the living room at night. She plays a bit of a game with it making sure to cover the monitor with a blanket or teddy so we can’t hear her sneaking out of bed.

She rarely wants something, she just wants to know what we are up to and with Eva making sure to keep her awake after we have put Izzy back to bed, we become yo-yo’s trying to get her to stay in bed. If we manage to catch her at her door she will generally go back to bed and go to sleep. If she gets any further though she thinks she’s winning and keeps trying.

Secret weapon: SmartMotion

Now it’s set up in the girls room so when they pass their chest of drawers (the range is pretty good too!) I get a notification on my phone. So as Izzy gets out of bed we can race her to their door and get her back into bed quickly and stop her little game. We’ve been using it for the last week now and she has learnt rather quickly WE KNOW and she cant (yet) find away to open that bedroom door without setting off the sensor Muahahah!

Now she will actually call through the monitor ‘poo bum!’ or ‘Melp pweeeeaaaaase’ when she wants something and doesn’t get up and down just because she can.

This could also be useful for potty training too as I will be woken up if she leaves her room to head for the toilet/potty. Samsung SmartThing’s Motion Sensor finally has a purpose. It also let’s me know the room temperature which means as the colder months draw in closer we can make sure there room is kept at a good temperature too!

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How do you outsmart your kids when they are playing around at bedtime? Do you have a sensor? A video baby monitor? Do you have a SmartHub at home? Which one? Let me know

🙂

Making Packed Lunches Easy With #FloraLunchbox

Awareness Campaigns / 9 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

A packed lunch is somewhat dreaded by most parents. With children’s fussiness & guidelines to follow it can be difficult putting together a healthy nutritious packed lunch that your child will actually eat. With #FloraLunchbox packed lunches have never been easier!

Flora Distributed 631,000 Lunchboxes and healthy meal planners throughout the UK in light of recent research.

Did you Know only 1.6% of packed lunchboxes in primary schools across England are actually meeting food based standards for school meals!? I know.. it shocked me too! Children’s Lunchboxes have only improved by 0.5% in the last 10 years and only 1 in 5 lunchboxes (17%) contain ANY vegetables or salad.

Those are some pretty sad statistics and clearly this needs to change, Flora understands Parents don’t need telling off & just need a little help, especially with fussy eaters so with the Flora website full of tips & recipes anyone can put together a healthy and nutritious lunchbox for their child.

Eva is VERY fussy when it comes to food and putting together a packed lunch for her can sometimes be quite a difficult task but with the Flora Planner & Recipes on-line it has never been easier!

The Lunchbox Builder makes it easier to put together a healthy lunch for your child as it gives you healthy options containing easy-to-make plant-based recipes alongside Flora spread, giving you Mains, Snacks and Fruit & Veg ideas to choose from and of course a selection of Flora Spreads you can use.

Every Flora tub contains plant oils, such as sunflower, rapeseed and linseed oils. Flora is lower in saturated fats than butter* and provides a source of healthy Omega 3 and 6. These essential fats contribute to the maintenance of normal blood cholesterol levels and are also needed for normal growth and to support the development of children. Flora also recently launched Flora Freedom. This is a 100% dairy free product, which is free of preservatives, artificial colours and flavours, and like the rest of the Flora range is approved by The Vegetarian Society.

Eva loved pointing out things she likes & things she’d like to try (Mini pretzels!) on the Lunch Builder but came up with her own idea’s based on the builder where she is very fussy. She went for a Grilled chicken & Cucumber Flat bread using Flora original as her main, Raspberry Rice cakes & a Fruit Jelly for her Snack along with a choice of Banana, Apple or raisins. (I give her a few choices as she WILL change her mind several times across the school day & this prevents a meltdown).

Eva’s usual packed lunch isn’t much different from this but we tend to give her a variety of breads such as bagels, crusty rolls, pitta’s, sandwich thins etc.. Occasionally mixing it up with different pasta & noodle dishes with lots of hidden veg in. 😉

Bread sticks with dips & rice cakes are a big favourite lately along with crackers & crisp breads. Eva absolutely loves fruit so we always give her a variety, she loves apples, grapes, bananas, blueberries and melon. What’s your child’s favourite packed lunch?

If your struggling for idea’s don’t forget to head over to the Flora website to see some yummy nutritious dishes even for the fussiest of children! Florasaurus is full of fun facts & tips & recipes.

This post is an entry for the #FloraLunchbox Linky Challenge, sponsored by Flora. Check out their lunch planner and recipe ideas here

#MamiasDaysOut

Days Out and Events / 9 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

When I saw the opportunity for the #MamiasDaysOut on the @britmums website I signed up and crossed my fingers. I was pleasantly surprised when this amazing hamper showed up a few days later. I am a great fan of Aldi Mamia products having tried a lot of different products with both my girls. Aldi Mamia has proven to be the best for us time and time again. Good quality and value and 100% organic, what’s not to love?

Our Hamper contained:

Mamia Juniors Apple Mini Rice Cakes 7months+
Mamia Juniors Raspberry Mini Rice Cakes 7months+
Mamia Organic Apple & Blackcurrent Juice 4months+
Mamia 4 pack of Apple & pear fruit pots 4months+
Mamia Organic Banana’s & Apples Squeezy Pouch 4months+
Mamia Organic Apple & Strawberry Squeezy Pouch 4months+
Mamia Organic Mango, Apple & Banana Squeezy Pouch 4months+
Mamia Organic Apples, Carrots & Parsnips Squeezy Pouch 4months+
Mamia Organic Apple, Sweet Potatoe, Butternut Squash & Blueberry 4months+
£5 Aldi Voucher to spend on Mamia Nappies & wipes.

We have used Aldi a lot more since Izzy was born, it’s only a 10 minute walk from ours. I love the quality of their nappies and they are such brilliant value! I love that I can get 2 packs of size 6 Mamia nappies and a 4pack of wipes for less than £10. I was spending double that with Eva just on nappies alone!

I decided to spend the £5 voucher on the Mamia easy-pants as Izzy is showing an interest in using the potty and toilet recently. At only £1.85 for a pack of 16 you really cant go wrong! Izzy absolutely loves them and finds them much easier to pull up and down than other brands we have tried.

I also bought my usual 4 pack of Mamia sensitive fragrance free baby wipes as the girls & I have quite sensitive skin and suffer Eczema. These wipes are so soft and gentle on your skin and for 59p per pack or 2.39 for 4 packs you just cant beat them.

Trying something new

We decided to give the Mamia Fabric Softener a try as we hadn’t noticed it before & for a 40 wash bottle at 99p it beats the current deals we’ve been picking up elsewhere!

We gave it a go and I am pretty impressed as it’s left our towels lovely and soft & all the girls clothes are coming out softer too and we haven’t had a problem with skin irritation which limits what we can use quite a bit! I think it’s safe to say we will be sticking with the fabric softener too!

When I recieved our hamper Izzy spotted the rice cakes which are one of the few products from their Mamia food range that she hasn’t tried yet. She sneakily grabbed the pack of Apple Mini Rice Cakes and got munching. She did share them with Eva too who said they were delicious.

Izzy has loved the Mamia Apple and Pear pot’s since she was around 4/5 months old. I haven’t bought them in a while, yet Izzy couldn’t wait to get stuck in again and demanded a pot when she saw them in the cupboard a few days later.

How pleased does she look to have gotten her own way!?

Although I haven’t managed to snap any pictures as I haven’t gone with them, Izzy has been demolishing the Mamia Puree pouches whilst whizzing about town on her trike with daddy! She still loves all the different flavours but Apple & Banana is still her favourite and lasts about 5 seconds flat!

Our #Mamiasdaysout

I decided to brave baby rhyme time at Grays Library so Izzy could get out & do something fun and spend time with little ones around her own age. She decided afterwards to head upstairs to the Thurrock Museum

She absolutely loved it all but after all the excitement she was very hungry & made me stop halfway home for a snack.
Luckily I had taken the Mamia raspberry rice cakes and organic juice with us so Izzy sat on a bench & had a quick munch & a juice when she eventually let go of the bottle!

She wasn’t too impressed with the wind & really didn’t want to let go of the bottle!

We absolutely love the Aldi Mamia range and would definitely recommend it to anyone with a little one. Whether it’s the nappies, wipes, food or juices it is well worth a try. They have so many healthy food options & are so handy on the go!
Mamia makes parenting that little bit easier and cheaper too!

This post is an entry for BritMums #MamiaDaysOut Linky Challenge, sponsored by Aldi Mamia.

Relentlessly Purple

Category: Family