Monday 30 September 2013

{Fabulous Finds: Christmas Card Ideas}

Glasgow Mummy

I know it seems a long while off, but Christmas will be here before you know it!

I'm a big fan of Christmas!! Like a little child, I get so excited!! I love to decorate the house, do lots of festive entertaining, create new traditions and spend time with friends & family.

One of my traditions is to do a photo Christmas card each year, and this year is no different. I've been scouring Pinterest already for ideas and thought I'd share some with you here as a Fabulous Finds post. I normally send my cards at the start of December, which means I need to have the photo session done, the cards designed and ready to be printed during October/November.

I'd love your thoughts... what should we do this year for our card? Which is your favourite?

Have your child blow paper shapes into the camera {image source}


Human snowflake {image source}

Fake graffiti {image source}


Chalkboard message {image source}

Giant text {image source}

Acrobatics {image source}

Blackboard antlers {image source}


Pavement art {image source}

Contemporary digital design {image source}

Photo booth {image source}

Bath tub bubble beard {image source}

Cut out props {image source}

Christmas tree car {image source}


Peaceful Christmas {image source}

Fairy lights {image source}

Wednesday 25 September 2013

{35 at 35: Move house, check!}


Item number 30 on my 35 at 35 list is to 'move house' and tomorrow is moving day. Eek!!!

This is the 12th item that I'll have ticked off my list. I was aiming to complete 7 items a year but this is only number 5 for 2013. I had better get a move on and get another two completed if I'm to stay on track!! (Hmmm... which one to do next I wonder!)

I've already started planning how I'd like the new house to look... here are the posts on my ideas for the Scottish themed living room and my son's superhero bedroom. It's all very exciting and I'm looking forward to the fresh start.


It's been 21 months since I separated from my husband, and it's only now that things seem to be moving in the right direction towards our divorce. This new house marks a big change for me and I'm ready for it... I think so anyway!!

P.S. Please bear with me as I have no idea when I'll be back online properly and my blog might be a bit quieter for a week or so.  

Monday 23 September 2013

{What's On: Glasgow}

I've spotted a few things that look interesting in terms of What's On in Glasgow over the next few months and I thought I'd share them with you.

First up is 'Live @ The Shed'... for £10 you can enjoy a pie/quiche, a drink and a show and there a variety of performances and dates available, right up until December. Have a peek at their Facebook page here for more info.


I also received an email the other day about the next Glasgow Street Feastival which is happening on 4th, 5th and 6th October at the Barras Art & Design Centre. I wasn't at the first one, so keen to get along to it this time. There's DJs, stalls with various food & drink on offer and entry is just £2.


Over to the West End now for the Halloween Drive-In Movies at Victoria Park, Glasgow. The park is being transformed over 31st October to 2nd November with the world's largest LED screen (yes, the world's!!). It's £25 per car and you can either see the family-friendly Ghostbusters (PG) or late-night scare-fests Halloween (18). You can buy tickets via Itison here.



Sunday 22 September 2013

{Sunday Roundup}

This week has gone by so quickly. I'm supposed to be moving house on Thursday this week, but the missives aren't concluded. I'm working on the basis that we are going to be moving though and as such I'm busy packing, organising and cleaning...so much do to!

I'm loving this glasses print t-shirt from Tesco. Picture is blurry I know, but you get the idea :-)

We went to Ruff & Tumble this week. The staff are lovely and we had a really nice lunch. I had their homemade soup and it was yum! This soft play is a nice size for babies and toddlers and I always feel quite relaxed when I'm there. Margaret, the owner, was lovely enough to share her chocolates with us too!



Part of moving house has involved a lot of decluttering and I've been going through all my stuff. Here's my own Primary 1 school report... "Slightly less mature than her peers"... quite harsh as I was a January baby and was much younger than the majority of them!!

Enjoying a Pizza Hut whilst I packed. Diet has completely gone out the window and I'm feeling terrible for it. I've hardly been exercising too. Must get back on it.

I was sent some tea, coffee and biscuits to review from Ringtons. More on this later...

How was your week?



Saturday 21 September 2013

{Smitten Saturday}

The other evening I downloaded the app CocoPPa and followed the tutorial on Super Messy Supermommy blog to pretty up my iPhone home screen.

How fab is this!! Think it's safe to say I'm smitten ;-)


What are you smitten with this week? Leave me a comment below or on my Facebook page!

Friday 20 September 2013

{Recipes: Fish is the Dish}

There are three recipes using fish that I make regularly for the kids, and I thought I'd share them with you here. They're really simple and very quick.

Parsley & Tomato Fillets of Fish

Spread some tomato sauce (I had basil & tomato pasta sauce in the kitchen cupboard!) onto your fillets of fish on some tin foil. Sprinkle with a touch of salt, pepper and parsley. Fling in the oven for 12-15 minutes and serve with vegetables. I try to always have those steam bags of veg in the freezer... super quick & they taste alright.


Fish Cakes

Poach some fish fillets in the microwave in milk (takes like 2-3 min!). Drain and then flake the fish. Mix with some cooked peas and mashed potatoes. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs (I have some ready-to-use breadcrumbs from Sainsbury's in my store cupboard) and fry for a few minutes on either side to brown. Serve with baked beans and veg



Tuna Pasta

Cook some pasta, toss through a cheese sauce (sometimes I make from scratch, other times I buy ready made!) and fling in a tin of drained tuna. You can also add some peas and sweetcorn if you so wish. Serve with garlic bread.

Easy!!

What are your regular mid-week meals?


Thursday 19 September 2013

{Review: cake, coffee & snuggles!}

I was very kindly invited along to try some of the cakes at Snuggle Muffin, Glasgow City Centre's newest cupcakery and coffee house. Any mention of cake & I'm in!!

Snuggle Muffin have been catering for weddings & parties for four years now providing amazing looking dessert tables that look too good to eat!! This is the first cafe that the brand have opened & they've been at their George Street premise for just 6 weeks.


From the name (which I love btw, so cute!), I had expected the interior to be cosy & kitsch but I have to say I was a little disappointed. I didn't get a snuggly vibe, at least not straight away. I'm guessing though that it must cost a fortune to set up a business like this. There's a kitchen to kit out (all the cakes, desserts & sandwiches are made on-site) plus shop front and I'm sure that with time the interior of the cafe itself will change & improve. I've been told that there are new display fridges coming soon for the drinks & sandwiches which will allow for the existing cabinets to be filled purely with cake....yum!!






























Anyway, the customer service & cakes more than make up for it. Juliane, the owner, was absolutely lovely & brought us a selection of cupcakes to try as well as tea & coffee. You can tell from talking to her that she is very passionate about what she does and she spoke really enthusiastically about the brand.

There was a wide selection of different cupcakes...here's what we had to try (from top left, going clockwise):

  • Pink Champagne, with a dusting of pink luster (the sponge was pink too!)
  • 24 Carat, in its gold cupcake case
  • Chocolate Temptation
  • Red Velvet, sprinkled in tiny little love hearts!
They all looked beautiful...






























My guest, a man!! *winks* (more on him later I'm sure), & I rated the cakes in the exact same order! Our favourite was the carrot cake (loving the name of this one too!) - it was lovely & moist. Followed by the red velvet, pink champagne & chocolate temptation.

I sometimes find that the cake to icing ratio isn't great with cupcakes & bakers like to put way too much icing on for aesthetic purposes and the cakes end up being far too sickly sweet. These were perfect, just the right amount I'd say. The sponge was also lovely, although we did find the Chocolate Temptation a little dry hence why it came last in our list.






























Juliane also brought us some chocolate fudge cake with a raspberry mousse heart in the middle that runs through the whole cake. It was amazing! Still trying to figure out how she makes it!! Definitely recommend you try this one! 






























Our tea (for me) and coffee (for him) each came with a gourmet marshmallow on the side. I could have happily eaten more of this delightful chewy mallow. Was yum!!

I'm not a coffee drinker but I'm told the coffee was surprisingly sweet, rich & delicious to the last drop. The tea (breakfast tea by teapigs) was nice & the teapot was a decent size - I had at least two full cups, maybe 3.

As you can imagine, we struggled to eat all the cake but we were given a little container of the leftover chocolate fudge cake to take away with us. The people we shared it with also loved it. You know I'm a sucker for packaging, well the Snuggle Muffin takeaway coffee cups & boxes are really cute!! 






























The sandwiches that we spotted in the display cabinets looked delicious - I'm just gutted that my office isn't nearer as the cafe would be great for a work day lunch (I only get a 30 min break...boo!)

I thought the food & drinks were reasonably priced too.

The pancakes & waffles took my fancy too, as well as the milkshakes...next time perhaps :-)


We received complimentary cakes and tea/coffee in exchange for an honest review.

Snuggle Muffin
120 George Street
Glasgow
G1 1RF
Tel: 0141 553 1100


Tuesday 17 September 2013

{Wonder World, Kinning Park}

Last week I took the kids to Wonder World for the first time (99 Middlesex Street, Kinning Park). Turns out they were pro's as their dad has taken them here before, but it was all new to me!

We were there on a Thursday afternoon, and parking wasn't an issue - I found a space easily right outside. I can imagine though that when it's busy that it could be an issue as it's on-street parking rather than a car park. I paid just under £10 for entry for the kids, which I think is ok given all the activities inside.


I literally couldn't believe the size of the place when we walked in - it's gigantic (just checked their website, and it's apparently the biggest soft play in Glasgow). The ceilings are so high and the space is immense. This is the type of venue that would panic me if it was busy - I'd be terrified of losing them (I know it's got a locked exit, but you just never know!).

Thankfully it was quiet and my friends and I picked a table that gave us quite a good view of the area.

Littlest enjoying the Moon Crater

My friends and their little ones in the Baby & Toddler Zone (just in case you think I'm taking photos of random strangers and their kids!)

The toilet facilities were clean enough...lots of cubicles and sinks with stools for the little ones!

Dora the Explorer even came out to say Hello! 

Can you see the yellow slide in the middle...I went down it with my eldest and it's steep when you're at the top!!! My heart was absolutely racing by the time I got to the bottom (I did do it a couple more times though!!).

Eek!!

There's one other drop slide which was an even steeper gradient, but thankfully it was shut!

I didn't have any food at the soft play, but spotted a family with a pizza, chips and nachos and it looked & smelt decent. You can have a look at the menu here. They also serve Starbucks coffee.

I really don't think I'd like to come here if it was busy and would make a point of avoiding it at the weekend. We timed our visit quite well and the children that were in the soft play were all of a similar age, but I can imagine it would be rougher if there were older ones about.

One negative point was the music. I heard the song Icona Pop, I Love It at least twice whilst I was there and it wasn't a radio edit. With lyrics including 'You're from the seventies, but I'm a nineties bitch' and 'I threw your shit into a bag and pushed it down the stairs', I just don't think it was appropriate for the age of the children that were there.

Have you been to Wonder World before, what were your thoughts?

Saturday 14 September 2013

{Smitten Saturday}

Glasgow Mummy

This week I stopped by the newly opened Lovestruck Cafe (Pollokshaws Road, Glasgow) to try their cheesecake! 

You will not be disappointed... it was amazing!!!! Totally smitten I am!! ;-)

Head on over to Yelp to read my full review.



Apple & Lavender cheesecake...mmmmmmmm!!


Friday 13 September 2013

{Cafe Ceramico}


Last weekend the kids and I headed to Cafe Ceramico (24 Albion Way, East Kilbride) to check it out. I'd been before, but that was when I just had one small baby in tow and it was to get some handprints done. This time I was hoping that both my toddlers could create a masterpiece for taking home :-)






























We arrived at 10.30am for it opening, and we were the only ones there. Ideal! The kids had a play in the small soft play area (there's a ball pit and a platform to climb up onto) whilst I sat observing with a cup of tea. We then chose our pottery shapes - eldest picking a car and the littlest a cat (£8 each) - before being settled at the table by one of the staff. We chose to use the acrylic paints which meant we could take our creations home the same day. The kids got help to put on their aprons, were instructed how to wash their brush in between the different colours and were then let loose.





A group of 5 year olds arrived for a birthday party shortly after we started painting, and my son ended up joining them for lunch (mortified to say the least!), but it kept him occupied. Otherwise I don't think we'd have stayed for as long as we did. I think we left around 1pm.










Whilst my son was off enjoying his birthday tea (!!) the littlest and I had a bite to eat ourselves. The food was alright - I had a cheese & Branston toastie and my daughter had a ham sandwich with crisps and juice.

The staff were lovely and the kids had a ball. They were delighted with their pieces that they took home with them and both proudly picked a spot to display them in the house.


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