Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

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Do you love it or loathe it?

Personally I can take it or leave it. Is it bad that I'm not that bothered? I've bought Rick a card and a present, but I don't know if he's bought me anything. I honestly don't think I'd be upset if he didn't. We sort have already celebrated, as we were sent a Donald Russell Ultimate Valentine's Box to review. It was seriously the most amazing steak that I've ever had at home!

This year we're kiddie-free for the Valentine's weekend, and with all the driving and visiting family that I did last weekend for half term, I'm just looking forward to a relaxing day in the house! We've got to take the kittens to the vet (the poor wee things have been neutered/spayed and have to go for a check-up) and then I'll be coming home to lounge in my PJs!

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In the past, I'd have been making little favours for my children's friends to celebrate Valentine's Day, but I've just not had the time (or the spare money). 

My son chose a card (with chocolate cupcakes on the front) to give to one of his girlfriends at school and he also decorated a few envelopes to hand out to some of the boys, which he did yesterday. I don't think any of them realised it was to do with Valentine's Day though! It was nice to see the reaction of one of the boys who was on the receiving end of an envelope. He was so pleased, and after my son had disappeared round the corner, he was waving it about to one of the other boys shouting 'look what I was just given by xxx'. I think he felt quite special. Very cute - it was just an envelope! It was my very own 'Secret Life of 5 Year Olds' moment. (I've just finished watching Secret Life of 4 Year Olds on 4oD and it was rather amusing - my daughter is going to be 4 in April and I can already relate to show!)

Anyway, have a lovely day regardless of what you're up to!

Review - Donald Russell Ultimate Valentine's Box

When I was asked if I'd like to review the Donald Russell Ultimate Valentine's Box, I jumped at the chance. Yes please!!

For parent's it can be tough to get out for a nice meal, so the thought of being able to prepare a gourmet dinner in the house for Valentine's Day (or any other occasion for that matter!) really appealed to me, as I'm sure it will for many of you.

Donald Russell are Britain's leading mail order meat supplier, and they're based near Aberdeen, my home city. Only the best producers qualify to supply their meat and this was evident in the food that we were sent.

I received a box to my door that contained vacuum packets of fish pie, chateaubriand, potato rosti and chocolate brownies, kept cold with dry ice. I then popped these into the freezer until required. All of the items can be cooked from frozen except the steak. You'll need to remember to defrost this.

There are clear instructions on the website about preparing your dinner, and it really was quite straightforward. 

Starter - Fish Pie

The fish pie was baked for 30 minutes in the oven from frozen and it was presented beautifully in a scallop shell. The portion size for the fish pie was good (it's bigger than it looks!) and we both thoroughly enjoyed it (although Rick didn't eat his prawns - they were passed to me!). The mash was creamy and smooth and the plaice, scallops and prawns in the pie were delicious.

Main - Chateaubriand with Potato Rosti

Most of the time when I've attempted to cook steak at home it's been a bit 'meh'.

This time, I followed the instructions on the Donald Russell website for pan to oven roasting and we both were so impressed with the end result. Rick was a bit unconvinced on the 'resting' but we went with the step-by-step guide and rested the steak whilst we cooked the rosti (cooked from frozen in 15 minutes).

Wow, just wow!

This is without a doubt the best steak I've ever cooked at home. It just goes to show you that it is worth choosing a quality piece of meat. 

The rosti were also lovely and we added some broccoli for a bit of colour.

Dessert - Chocolate Brownie

The dessert was a chocolate brownie, and if I'd thought this through I'd have made sure we had some ice cream for serving, but we didn't so we had ours with custard. Fail on my part - oops! Again, this was cooked from frozen in about 15 minutes and it was seriously so good. Gooey in the middle and crispy on top. The portion size was really generous too.

I'm super impressed with the customer service and quality of food in this gourmet meal in a box. I think it's definitely worth it's price tag (£54.50). You can enjoy an amazing dinner in the comfort of your own home... no babysitters required! Ticks all the boxes for me :-)

We received a complimentary Ultimate Valentine's Box in exchange for this review. All opinions are honest and are my own.

{When Glasgow Mummy met #luckydick}

This weekend I stopped by House of Fraser on Buchanan Street to check out the Valentine's pop-up shops, Dick Winters and Gilda & Pearl.

Quintessentially British Boxer Shorts

House of Fraser is continuing with their Scottish Design programme and have introduced the luxury lingerie brand Gilda & Pearl and the heritage male underwear brand Dick Winters for two weeks only. 

The backing of the two brands sees the concept of "House of Fraser Presents..." evolve and the company continues to embrace its home grown talent.

I met briefly with Claire and Emma, the duo behind the brand Dick Winters, which is based in Glasgow. We spoke briefly about the company, the boxers and the clever marketing campaign. I had a feel of the material (not on the model, I hasten to add!)... a smooth British microfibre - an Actisystem textile which is apparently very comfortable and breathable. #Luckydick Ryan has also said the boxers wash really well. And at £28 a pair, I think they're reasonable for such a quality product. On the signature waistband at the back there is an silk woven label personalised with the 'dick'.... choose from 'clever dick', 'lucky dick', sporty dick', 'rock dick' and 'old dick'. I think the play on words is rather amusing and really clever! I'm a sucker for packaging as regular readers will know!

I believe both #luckydick and #cleverdick are going to be in store on Friday 14th, so do go in and say Hello!

Glasgow Mummy & #luckydick! (properly embarrassed - look at my red cheeks!!)

Up a level takes you to the luxurious pink pop-up shop of Gilda & Pearl - lingerie to love, made and handfinished in the UK. Again, another Glasgow-based brand, which has been growing considerably since it's launch in 2008.

I had a short interview with Diane, the designer, and I'll share this with you shortly on the blog. Her pieces are beautiful, my favourite is the 'How to Marry a Millionaire' range (again, very clever marketing!) and I adore the big silk bows.

How to Marry a Millionaire Bow Knicker, £69

For those of you that are yet to choose Valentine's Day gifts for your other halves... pop into House of Fraser and you'll be sorted!

{January Joy - 22nd Jan}

Today's #JanuaryJoy prompt from Florence Finds is to 'make something crafty'.

I'm always pinning amazing craft ideas and have great intentions of actually making stuff, but life kinda gets in the way and I always have other things that take priority on my to-do-list.

My current project is Valentine's Day favours for my kids to give their nursery friends.

I'm copying this idea:

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I've designed a tag to seal the bags on my computer and have personalised it with a message from my kids. I purchased the cute milk & cookies clipart from Etsy and I also bought the most adorable paper heart straws from Pipii.

Tag, designed by me :-)

Red Heart Straw from Pipii

I was going to bake heart shaped cookies, but this is very much time dependant and I'm not sure I have any! So I might just buy little snack packs of Oreos or other similar cookie.

Does that count as crafting? I hope so! 

The favours look like I've gone to a lot of effort, when they're actually really simple. I shared my Snowman Kisses tag as a printable before Christmas and if I have time I will share this one also. Watch this space!

You can find other Valentine's Day ideas in my previous posts here and here.