November’s Meet, Make & Munch

Meet…

Some things never grow old…others do. But it certainly didn’t feel like it last weekend when I had a girly weekend away with friends I’ve known since playschool! That’s a lot of years. We may not speak often, and I’m the first to admit I’m absolutely rubbish at keeping in touch, but they’re the sort of friends with whom you simply pick up where you left off; the sort at whose house you could turn up crying in the middle of the night and be let in, given wine or hot chocolate and a bed to stay for as long as you want; the sort who you spent so much time with when you were young, know everything about you and you have a shared history.

Basically, the sort of friends who mean an awful lot.

Research has also shown that having friendship groups and spending time with those who you are not in a ‘relationship’ with, can have positive mental effects and make you happier! Friends “are a way to derive all the benefits of being in a relationship with someone without the enormity of it,” and that was definitely how it felt this weekend. It was certainly therapeutic, with no pressures…just good friends, mucking in together, and catching up. Just what the doctor ordered.

We (well, Claire) chose us the fabulous Pear Tree Cottage in the Cotswolds, booked through Character Cottages, and did most of the organising too. Thank goodness someone took the lead or we’d all still be checking our diaries! It was central to a beautiful village called Bourton on the Water. Now, you’d think, over 100 miles from home, we’d be out of reach of reality, but no, I managed to somehow bump into two other people I knew whilst there. I think it’s one of those places people come for a relaxed weekend away!

Our cottage was tucked just behind the main street and an easy walk to the pretty river, shops and pubs. With three bedrooms, two with two single beds and one double, a large dining room and separate living room and a long galley kitchen, it was perfect. We lit the fire every night and hunkered down, but in the summer it also has a beautiful courtyard garden. And when you’re sharing the cost between friends ended up at £110 per person based on 5 of us sharing.

Claire also organised for us to go clay pigeon shooting through Old Downs Pursuits on the wettest, coldest morning of the year so far! After dusting off our hangovers, and eventually finding the right gate and the right man, Sean, we had a good old chat about the Fosse Way whilst stamping our feet to keep warm and eventually had our first try at shooting at clays. Luckily, Sean has built a wooden shelter from which to fire so at least we were dry!

And it was brilliant fun…once we’d managed to put the earplugs in (Claire) and learnt how to stand with one foot just behind the other (Sita)! We had around 25 shots in bursts of 5 with each set coming from a different direction. The easiest came from afar straight towards us and I found the trickiest to be those that started near to us and disappeared straight away from us as it was so hard to judge the height and distance! I’d highly recommend giving it a go…once you get the hang of it, it’s a little bit addictive.

We had a good homemade lunch in The Mousetrap Inn, and cosied in there for a few hours, then meandered through the shops and, once again, retreated in front of the fire to play board games and chat. It was just great…and what we all needed I feel. We were even back home in time for a delicious afternoon Sunday Lunch at friends. A perfect way to round off a great weekend.

Make…

F had a friend round for the first time a couple of week ago. They get on really well and like similar things, so the play date was super easy. One thing requested, however, was ‘real’ cooking. Now, I’ll definitely be prepared for next time and they can help with the cooking, chopping etc. of their own dinner, but this time it was too late for that so I improvised.

They wanted to do some ‘science’ at the same time so out came ‘the big pan’ and a range of kitchen items: food colouring, sprinkles, oats, pasta, etc. They spent a good 20 minutes mixing, adding, stirring etc and the little girl even requested to take a pot home! Her mum was chuffed (!). In summer, this is a great outdoors activity. We use leaves, grass, seeds and berries and add a little eco-glitter and sparkle to make ‘fairy soup’.

Munch…

I was lucky enough to be given a pair of tickets to Taste of London winter edition this year and couldn’t wait to get booked and go. We’ve been previously and seen the event grow and grow, the first year being quite a niche event and gradually becoming busier and busier. However, we’ve yet to be disappointed. The food is stunning, but, almost above that, it marks the start of the festive season. Tobacco Dock is decked out gorgeously, there’s a piano bar area for sitting and chatting, cocktail and gin workshops, lots of independent retailers with some of the bigger ones too and Firepits dotted around the outside covered area serving charred meat and fish to perfection. Click on the Bon Appétit tab on the top menu to find out more about what we ate this year or look here!

So, there it is, November. It really does only seem like yesterday that I was wondering where January went and now we’re really nearly at Christmas! Eeeeek. Being a primary school teacher, it’s unlikely I’ll fit in an ‘early’ December post, so, if you dont see me til January, I’ll wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

See you the other side everyone!

September’s Meet, Make & Munch

September, the start to new things: new school year, season change (meteorological Autumn) and warmer clothes! And this year, the month seems to have whizzed by. No sooner was I ironing uniform, (actually, who am I kidding? I never iron anything, but it was all washed, clean and ready!) buying new water bottles and remembering routines, than we were celebrating mum’s birthday on the 30th and looking ahead to mine in October. Fortunately, everyone seems to have settled well back into school, nursery and work life, although I still long for the lazy summer mornings where we don’t have to get dressed if we don’t want to!

Meet…

At Marsh Farm. Having lived so close for so long, but never having been, we ventured down on the last day of the summer holidays for their Bubble ‘n’ Pop Kids Festival, and had a great time. We booked online for around £10 per person and spent all day there, with everything for free, even taking a picnic: The weather held and we had a great day. Both my 8yo and my 3yo were catered for…they both enjoyed the radio Essex Bubble and Glow disco and the music workshop, despite being a 10-15 minute queue. As soon as organisers saw this, they put another show on straight after the first to ensure people who had waited would get a place. Clever thinking and common sense applied…tick!

The free roundabouts, digging for gems, and glitter face paints as we entered were particular highlights. Trying to get them off the adventure playground was a struggle (we didn’t even go inside the play barn) but they were soon wooed with the aviary and birds to see next door. We didn’t really visit many other animals, which was a shame as, as the name suggests, it started off as a small farm with animals to ‘pet’ and feed, but with so many other activities to keep us busy, they sort of got a bit forgotten. The bouncy castle zone was brilliant fun for both ages and small enough to keep an eye on them both. My eldest loved the foam, the little one not so much and neither were that keen on the ‘pool and beach’ area…the water being cold and dirty (as it would be at the end of a summer-long kids festival). But it didn’t matter as there were so many other options to pursue!

We had a fantastic day out and left filled with fun and exhaustion! I’d definitely recommend these themed weeks from Marsh Farm, but have yet to go to an ‘event’ such as the Halloween or Christmas Experiences. I’ve heard they’re amazing but would like to see for ourselves sometime soon!

Make…

A seasonal display. I’ve been looking at ideas for these for ages, but the wooden ‘celebration rings’ and stands are so expensive, and you have to buy the figures to add to them, that I decided we’d have more fun making our own version. After seeing a lovely idea to make a ‘stick frame’ and hang found nature objects from the top stick to create a nature picture, I though we could use a similar idea as the focus of our display. Except I wanted it to be seen in the round and to be able to stand independently, so decided upon a tripod shape. We bound three sticks tightly at the top and splayed their ‘legs’, then wrapped twine around the top part only to act as a weaving frame for our found objects. F used her hand drills and conker clamp to bore holes through the horse chestnuts, then we threaded these on. Feathers, other seeds and skeleton leaves were also wound through the structure.

We used the Autumn colours of our Grimms semi-circles to create a base, a couple of pieces of the large Fire for stands and height and the small inner part for a central bonfire, and a silk scarf with autumnal colours to add a different texture. F then filled the bases with colourful leaves, acorns and hazelnuts. We added a few home-painted ‘amies’ (friend people), the Conker clamp as it’s a mushroom shape, and one gorgeous Ambrosuis figure…a boy with a hazelnut. As the season develops, I hope to change items around and update it, for example, adding spookier figures nearer the end of October and different seed pods. I also found a gorgeous little book, Around the Year by Elsa Beskow, which has poems and ideas about each month so we can read and turn the pages as the year progresses. I’m really hoping this will be a feature that stays and grows as the seasons change and the year continues. It’s been such fun doing it with F.

Munch…

On Herman! I’ve thoroughly enjoyed growing our German Friendship Cake, Herman, that F brought home a pot of from school. I’ve done one before, many years ago, but F hasn’t so it was a great chance to talk about yeast, starters, living things, etc and see how it grows and changes. She already knew about how the yeast uses the sugar and how it’s similar to the brewing process in alcohol! We’ve transferred a little to a small bottle and put a balloon over the top to watch it inflate with the gasses given off over the next few days too. Science in action!

We’re still ‘feeding’ Herman at the moment though, then F hopes to make him into a chocolatey version of the cake in a few more days’ time. If you can’t wait that long, have a look here to read my previous efforts with Herman!

With the months whizzing by, I’m looking forward to an Autumnal October.

January’s Meet, Make & Munch

Well, it’s the beginning of a new year and a new-style blog. I’m hoping to round up my month here, and hopefully include a little inspiration for you and your family too. It might be somewhere to visit, something to do or something to eat, but will be based around what we have done over the last few weeks. If you’re looking for food specifically, nip over to Bon Appétit where I’ll still post all my efforts, but I’ll also generally link to them from here too! Feel free to have a browse through the menus at the top of the home page for some of my more random musings too.

So, here goes…

Meet…

The new year began with a family trip to the Science Museum where we met my Sister-in-Law over from Mexico for the Christmas period, and her cousin. While we spent a lovely few days at various houses over the festive period with my Brother and Sister-in Law, it was nice to get out and about and actually ‘do’ something! I haven’t been to the Science Museum since I was about 6, where I distinctly remember the ‘interactive part’ being downstairs on the left on the way in. I made a bird in a cage – think a small picture of a bird with a picture of the cage on the reverse. These were then stuck onto opposite sides of the top of a straw, which you twirled in your hands, thus making the bird appear to be inside the cage! Well, things have moved on slightly in the intervening years and there’s now a huge hands-on interactive experience, Wonderlab, on the upper floors. You have to pay and book, then queue, but it’s well worth it. In fact, we didn’t have to time to look around the rest of the museum, so if you fancy doing both, go earlier in the day!

My 21 month old loved investigating the paper helicopter area where you make your own flying paper twirly thing then hold it over the air blowers to see if it is taken up to the sky! I think the idea is to change the power of the air jets to see what happens, but in truth, we were all having too much fun just watching them fly! My 6 year old thoroughly enjoyed it all, from capturing a water drop on a camera, to hoisting herself up using a pulley; investigating light to learning how lightning worked.

Make…

Those who know me will know we’re, albeit slowly, coming to the end of a rather long and stressful renovation period on our house. I can’t wait for it all to be finished, and the downstairs flooring is going in next week, but it’s getting to the stage where I can’t live without colour or gentleness. So this month I’m trying to ‘make it pretty’ and give back some of the 1930’s glamour and originality the house first had before we knocked it about. One of the new windows should have been frosted glass, but ended up being plain, so instead of changing it, we opted instead to cover it with a period window sticker from Purlfrost and are really pleased with the result. It still lets in light but restores a bit of originality to the house once more.

 

We have a new DunElm just round the corner and it’s one of those shops that you can’t leave without buying something! Anyway, I was seduced by the faux flowers and thought they’d add a bit of class without me having to weed out the dead ones, change the water, etc! So I invested in a few select’blooms’. I just couldn’t resist!

 

 

Munch…

I always begin the year by trying to ‘make ahead’ and this month has been no different. If I get an hour or two, I try to batch cook or batch prepare meals for the week ahead. I’ve found it makes school evenings so much less stressful, either just spooning it up and reheating, or doing all the prep. work, sealing in a bag, then throwing it all into the slow or pressure cooker on the day. This week’s choices have been a slow cooked Jamie’s Beef Brisket Chilli, made with chipotle paste instead of chillies which even CC ate in a toasted wrap, swiftly followed by a bowl of fresh and limey guacamole; Chicken Burrito Rice bowls; and a Beef Stew. These three meals will do for three evenings, plus leftovers for lunch with a quick addition of rice or wraps, and a more picnic style tea for the other evenings, such as sausages, wedges and beans, or chicken wraps. Have a look over on Bon Appétit for some other ‘Prep Ahead’ meal ideas too.