Thursday 26 March 2015

Haven Holidays, Lots Of Family Fun And Games...


I have to say, I'm a tad excited at the moment.

Why?

Well...

~ It's Friday tomorrow

~ It's the last day of work before I have a whole fantastic two weeks off for Easter

~ It is only four days before I'm setting off on my little holiday

~ Just four days ~

I really can't wait...although by actually writing it down I have just highlighted to myself just how much I still have to do in such little time...

... e e e k ...

I think I had better get myself into gear - and quickly

Anyway, more about this fab holiday.

Well, myself, my son, my little sister and my son's friend are heading over to North Wales...yes...I am the one driving us there (but lets not dwell on horrors such as that for too long...) and we will be staying at the very lovely looking Presthaven caravan site
(for more details, look here)

Yep - A Haven Holiday

~ Yay ~

I'm looking forward to it so much, I can't wait to introduce my son to all the delights of a caravan holiday - especially one at Haven.

My childhood was filled with visits to various Haven Holiday Parks.

I used to go with my Grandparents, my Auntie, Uncle and cousins and I think we must have headed to one at least once every couple of years, maybe more



Check out little me in the middle

I can't actually remember the holiday from this photograph - but that doesn't mean I don't have lots of other brilliant Haven-Esq memories tucked away...

~ I remember whizzing around the site on our hired bicycles, myself and my cousin always wanting to sit up front and take charge of the steering

~ I remember I had to go to the kids club every single day without fail, I loved it so much

~ I remember meeting my very first pen friend...I just wish I could find the letters we used to send...

~ I remember learning the dance routines to the Haven theme song and performing it every evening of our holiday, standing slap bang in the middle of the dance floor and feeling so proud to have all the adults watching us from their tables.

~ I remember purchasing my very first cassette tape - one of the Tiger Club theme song of course - I loved that tape to death...

~  ...and then I remember playing it extra loud to my Mum as soon as I got back home, making her sit through rounds and rounds of me singing and showing her every single dance move I had picked up during my time away

" Running through the jungle, climbing up a tree
See a big orangutan staring down at me
Swim across the river, crocodiles to see
There's so much fun here for you and me...."

~ Ah - mazing ~

I really hope this trip will be the start of many more Haven family trips to come - I want to make sure my son has all of the brilliant experiences that I had growing up, allowing him to form fab memories which will literally, last him a lifetime

Haven, I'm coming to get ya...
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Wednesday 25 March 2015

TShirt Creation Time


Having a nine year old son means that there are often days when we need to make extra effort to stop him feeling all huffy and bored, particularly on those wet, miserable, no-money weekends.

Getting all arty and creative indoors on days such as these can often be a real test, especially when you are really trying your hardest to fight off the boredom and not allow hours of computer access.

Personally, the days we tend to struggle with are most commonly found at the very end of the month, just before pay-day, or are slotted in the middle of a school holiday - and any help is very greatly appreciated at these times.

So imagine how happy I was when buytshirtsonline (find here) sent me a little kit to get all tshirt creative with my son on one of these wet and rainy weekend afternoons

~ Very pleased indeed ~

Now buytshirtsonline are a printing company, established in 2007, who specialise in providing a vast array of items...

~ printed tshirts
~ embroidered tshirts
~ sportswear
~ footwear

Simply all sorts

And the set they very kindly sent me included one of their plain tshirts from the kiddies wear range.

It was a plain white, Fruit Of The Loom, softspun tshirt which was fantastically soft to touch and was all ready for us to get our creativity going with.

Now the kit was fantastically tailored around my son's preferences...and his main preference at the moment revolves around anything associated with WWE...so he was delighted to find an iron on transfer of the "Yes Man" himself, Daniel Bryan, along with some fab fabric paint pens for adding lots of lovely detail.


We set to work last weekend and followed the instructions included exactly.

I placed the transfer face down onto the front of the super-soft tshirt and ironed over the top of it for about a minute and a half and made sure I focused on the edges



I left it to cool - which seemed to take blooming ages...
(never good with an impatient child stood there raring to go!!)

...but once it had, the backing paper peeled away quickly and easily leaving a fab printed WWE tshirt behind


My son was so pleased, and even though I did the all-dangerous ironing part myself, everything was just so easy to do.

We pulled out the fabric paints and it was over to my son.

I really expected some huge multi-coloured masterpiece to flow from his art-loving hands, but he had his own ideas of what he wanted.

He told me that he didn't want to spoil the brilliant picture on the front and with this in mind I guess he opted for a minimalistic touch



He was certainly happy with his finished item - he's bugged me to let him wear it every day since he created it.


Thanks for the fab activity package buytshirtsonline - not only did we end up with a brilliant tshirt but we have one that is super-soft, unique and fits perfectly.

What more could we ask for!

*item sent for reviewing/activity purposes. Words and photographs are all my own
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Saturday 21 March 2015

Rola Wala - Fab Indian Streetfood In The Heart Of Leeds


I'm definitely a lady who loves her grub.

Which is why I tend to find myself constantly watching what I eat - it's certainly a case of "once I pop I can't stop" when I'm surrounded by all things calorific.

Buffet tables are my nemesis!

But what can I say?

I love good food.

And because I live in Bradford and have done all of my life - the Bradford which was once labelled "Curry Capital Of Britain" - I reckon it's only natural for me to love a good spicy dish or two.

Hmmm....and enjoy them I certainly do.

So...well...I must admit that I was a tad jealous when the Hubby bagged himself a fab sounding visit to Rola Wala - which means "The Man That Rolls" in Hindi -  in Trinity Kitchen, Leeds very recently.
(find details here)

Rola Wala, the people who provide yummy food...

....yummy Indian food at that...

* cue grumpy sigh from me *

But then the Hubby told me that both myself and my son had been asked to tag along too and partake in some of the lovely grub tasting...yep, I'm not gunna lie, my mood notably improved immediately.

(And they say food is the way to a man's heart...)

So last weekend we popped on over to Leeds to tantalise our taste buds.


Rola Wala first opened, temporarily, in Leeds in April 2014 but because they were so popular they were asked to come back to the city and set up their very first permanent restaurant in the ever popular Trinity Kitchen.

Fab Eh!

It was in October 2014, in an attempt to provide the people of Leeds with fast, fresh, Indian street-food, that they opened their amazing, not-going-anywhere doors, and I reckon they did so very successfully too.

As we arrived, we were met with some really friendly staff who talked us through the very easy ordering process and set us off straight away.


Rola Wala have a choice of three meat fillings and three vegetarian fillings, so there is plenty of choice whatever your preference without over-facing you with a vast array of choices.


Fewer, better executed choices help speed up the ordering process - which is exactly what you want on a busy, need to rush lunch-time.


The filling options can be served either wrapped up in a naan bread or sat on a bed of lovely steamed wild rice which is then accompanied with yummy fresh salad and a choice of various different sauces



~ Yum ~

The Hubby and the son both opted for the naan bread wraps whilst I decided to try out the rice bowl


Steaming rice, kashmiri chicken, pickled onion, carrots and cabbage, garnished with fresh coriander, lemon juice and then drizzled in chilli and yoghurt sauces, I was all set to go


Oh, and I also tried out a little of the charred paneer cheese...which is very holoumi-like...from the vegetarian option too...

...well, why not eh...

And let me tell you, it was all blooming amazing.

The chicken was so tender and spiced beautifully.

The chilli sauce added a real hot, spicy kick to the dish but then the yoghurt sauce was there to help tone it all down a little
(not that I minded - I do love a bit of spice)

I managed to snaffle a little bite of both the Hubby and son's wraps, and they were both out of this world too


All of the different flavours really complemented each other perfectly.

I could easily visit Rola Wala for lunch every day..but luckily for my waist-line I live a tad too far away to make this an actual reality...but if I could, I really, really would...

We also tried a few of the yet-to-be-launched, made in house beverages too - my lemonade was so tasty, refreshing and definitely more-ish.

The boys enjoyed a rather strange, fruity combo of mango, lime and turmeric...which they loved and I - obviously - tried too and I found it really nice, a tad strange - but in a good way - it was certainly a flavour combo I hadn't expected but it really worked.

I can see it being a huge hit.

I'm definitely a fan of Rola Wala and will be back again.


Thanks for the brilliant hospitality guys - we certainly felt very welcome and the food was simply ah-mazing

See you again soon!

*meal provided free of charge for the Hubby to review - I liked it that much I gave an honest review too!
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Saturday 14 March 2015

The Amazing Handmade Burger Co.


I know I'm pritty much obsessed with trying to loose weight, eat healthily, exercise regularly and look a certain way, but it's not an easy thing to want to strive to be to successful at.

Certainly not if you're really a total foodie like I am.

I just can't help it.

I blooming love lovely food.

And, no matter how many amazingly healthy/good-for-you/low-calorie recipes I follow, make and totally enjoy, the food I love the absolute most is always the calorie laden, yummiest of the yummy kind of food that certainly isn't meant to be enjoyed if partaking in any kind of healthy eating plan.

But what can I do?

Well - sometimes (even if the guilt does kick in a little bit) - I make sure that I do eat it and that I blooming well enjoy it as I'm doing so.

A few weeks ago I attended a fab event in Sheffield hosted by the lovely Billie at I Am Billie (find post here) and it was here that I had my first experience of The Handmade Burger Co.


Oh my goodness

What a good food day that was...

I began enjoying everything about the restaurant as soon as I wandered in.

It had a real laid back, friendly feel to it - totally my kind of place.

The decor was really modern, un-cluttered and made for a really nice place to just sit, eat and enjoy.



I was a little in awe of all of the fabulous sounding burgers on offer and I must admit I totally changed my mind about a zillion times before placing my final order.

There were just so many options


My first inclination was to go with a peanut butter and bacon infused beef burger, then my second choice was to opt for a Hawaiian burger crammed with juicy pineapple...but that was until I spotted an amazingly sounding onion bhaji burger on the vegetarian menu...
(Yep - there are lots of yummy vegetarian options available too!)

I just couldn't decide at all.


Whilst I was being all difficult and fussy, I did notice that the restaurant offer a separate kiddies menu which, for a Mum like me, is always an amazing thing to find


In the end, I opted for a peppered beef burger which sounded too good to miss out on - crammed with onion rings, a flat mushroom, caramelised red onion, tomato and peppercorn sauce...

Well, it would have been rude not to give it a whirl wouldn't it.

And I wasn't disappointed in my choice at all


The burger arrived and I actually didn't know quite what to do with it.


It was seriously massive - so much so that I had to cut it in half and then attempt to tackle it that way


But not even that could help me...it was just so jam-packed full of tasty filling...so I gave up and had to use my knife and fork...

I know, I know - scandalous - but I was that desperate to get it in my mouth and it was the fastest way for me to be able to get the yumminess in my belly.

It was delicious - cooked to total perfect.

All of the flavours totally complemented each other, providing a really hearty, filling, very tasty burger.

And then if the burger alone wasn't enough to satisfy, we had so many yummy sides presented to us too, it was almost too much choice...

...but we managed - somehow...


Everything was fab - from the onion rings to the sweet potato fries, to the coleslaw - I seriously couldn't get enough.

We also had "normal" fresh cut chips and rosemary salted chips - and I think that at my end of the table, we had a resounding "Sides Winner"

The Rosemary Salted Chips were just out of this world.

Highly recommended - I could have very easily eaten everyone's share of them, they were so good.


I certainly left a very satisfied lady.

I am so grateful to Billie for introducing me to Handmade Burger Co, and I am so grateful to Handmade Burger Co for being such amazing hosts and for making such fantastic food.

I will undoubtedly be back!

*meal provided free of charge as part of a blogger meet up.Thoughts, pictures & words all my own
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Wednesday 11 March 2015

Mother's Day Treats From Lush


I do love me a little bit of a scene-setting back-story to a blog post.

And never one to want to disappoint, naturally this little post has it's own tale to tell too.

One evening, just a week or so ago, I came home from work feeling totally and utterly -

* U R G H *

- there is no other way to describe it really.

It was so bad in fact that I could have quite easily stepped out of my own skin for a while - if that makes any sense at all...

...I just felt so irritated and unsettled and I couldn't stop myself from moaning...
(well, that bit is nothing new really...)

I think I drove the Husband past any kind of toleration point, but rather than tell me to "Bloody Shut Up" (as he usually would) he uttered a slightly shocking sentence instead...

"Why don't you go and have a Lush bath and I'll sort tea out."

I haven't shifted my backside up the stairs as fast - ever!

~ Winning on all accounts wasn't I there ~

So into the bathroom I went, pulling out one of the newest Lush treats to land in my possession as I went.

It was the rather huge Ultraviolet Bubble Bar which I was very kindly given - after a demonstration of all of it's bubbly goodness - at the Lush Meadowhall event (see here)


What's even better about this is that it is from the current Lush Mother's Day range, and being a Mum myself, I was very impressed I had an opportunity to try it out first hand.

At the Lush Meadowhall event we were even allowed to play with it a little bit - which was really rather brill!


It was all paired with the Gorilla Perfume Kerbside Violet...for...well - for very obvious reasons really - they are both crammed full with lots of lovely violet.

We were shown it, encouraged to give it a sniff, we made lots of bubbles with it and then took a peek at all of the lovely purple water packed with shimmery glitter it made - very appealing and pretty.


Just what Mum's want on their special day - relaxation and a bit of sparkle.


And with this having a price tag of just under five pounds I can't fault it's value for money either.

I mean it is pritty huge - palm sized for me - so I know I'll be getting a lot of bubble baths for my money from it.


Now on a "normal day", I personally don't go for floral scents of any kind when it comes to my beauty products really, but I really did like this a lot.

Perfect for pulling me out of my crazy mood.

I ran myself a lovely hot bath and crumbled a section of the bar under the running water.
It immediately began to bubble up, turning the water a fab colour and filling the bathroom with such a beautiful scent.

It was so relaxing and calming - I felt better before I was even in the water.

And then once I was submerged, oooh, it was pure bliss.

I felt better immediately and my skin felt amazingly soft.

I was so relaxed and chilled out and felt much more like myself again.

A little miracle in purple is this one I think...

Lush has certainly done it again!

*Item gifted after a PR event.All words and photographs are my own
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Saturday 7 March 2015

A Fabulous Osmo Hair Straightening Kit


~ Hair Washing Day ~

Oh - what an enticing post intro that is...

So thrilling in fact, I'm surprised you've actually managed to read on any further...

(...but I'm really glad that you did...)

Anyway - hair washing day - yes, it's not my favourite kind of day I must admit, but every once in a while it's certainly a necessity of a day and one that I must endure - no matter how much I try and put it off.

There's only so many dry-shampoo days even I can get away with.

But I suppose it's not all bad.

Especially not now that I have this fantastic little set in my very grateful possession, all ready and waiting to de-fuzz and clean my mane


Looks rather salon professional doesn't it - much too posh to be gracing my bathroom...

But in my bathroom it is - and I'm so impressed with it - in my bathroom it shall be remaining.

I know you will have heard me say this before, but for me, having to wash my hair is really no fun at all.

I think even my hairdresser must inwardly groan whenever I ring up for an appointment.

My hair is really thick you see, and despite having a little bit of a hair cut and some of the length taken off, it is still fairly long.

Don't get me wrong, I really do love it...but only when it's all done, styled and is looking all lovely and pretty.

But at times these hygiene things can't be helped and I simply have to face the pain of a home hair-wash.

And it is on days such as these - like today for example - when having amazing products like these shine and straightening enhancing lovelies from Osmo come in very handy.

Osmo offer a professional and controversial range of hair styling products which will "manipulate and corrupt your head"...

...sounds like something worth trying out eh...

My son actually uses products from Osmo's hair styling range on his hair everyday to create that all important "perfect nine year old style", so I knew the products were great even before I opened these...but even so, I still couldn't wait to try my own little selection out.

I've used these products a few times now - with me only really washing my hair once every "few" weeks, they are going to last me quite a while - and this does make me happy.

~ There's something to be said for being a little bit of a scruff after all ~

So, when I did wash my hair, I began by washing and conditioning with the Blinding Shine Shampoo and Blinding Shine Conditioner set.


Both of these products contain extracts of Ceaderwood and Rosemary and really help to boost the hairs natural shine and vibrancy whilst also helping to purify and revitalise it too.

They really helped my hair feel lovely and clean and really moisturised too.

I found the scent of these really subtle but it was really nice and rather fresh.

I'm certainly a fan.

Now, once I have washed my hair I can guarantee that I will always, always, always have lots of tangles and knots galore.

Brushing my damp hair through is an absolute nightmare and I loose so much hair each and every time, it really does surprise me that I'm not bald if I'm honest.

So before I even attempted using a brush I decided to rub a fairly big blob (yes - a blob) of the unscented Straightening Fluid through my damp hair and I found that this really helped reduce the amount of effort I had to put in to simply pull a brush through my hair


And for this alone - I adore this product.

I do think that the Straightening Fluid would have worked fine on it's own at smoothing my tresses during styling, but I decided that as I had it in my possession, it was only right that I also pop on a little of the Blinding Shine Serum too


I found that I only need two pumps of this for my masses of hair as it has a really oily consistency and rubbed through my hair really well.

I concentrated this on the ends of my hair rather than putting it at the root - I mean I don't wash my hair all too often as it is, I really didn't want to risk an oil slick appearance straight after this wash and then have to do it all over again.

What a total waste of a wash that would have been...!

The scent of this was lovely - again really subtle and not overpowering at all and ever so slightly musky.

~ Really rather nice ~

So I was all washed, conditioned, brushed and heat protected - both the serum and straightening fluid contain properties which help protect against heat damage, with the serum also packing in UV filtering products too - I was ready for the arduous task of blow-drying.

But, it would seem, that after using this little Osmo kit, this task wasn't all that arduous after all.

Drying time seemed to be a whole lot less than usual, and rather than drying and creating a huge ball of fuzziness, I was left with hair that was almost perfectly straight and fuzz-free.

~ Fantastic ~

A quick straightener session once it was all dry finished my straight and sleek look off perfectly.

My hair looked great - exactly how I like it and almost as great a result as I would get after a salon visit.

I was really impressed with these Osmo products and am really pleased to have them in my bathroom.

My hair loves them and I love the fact that hair faffing time (yes - faffing) is reduced to an absolute minimum now.

Thanks lots Osmo

Your products certainly are fab

*items sent to test & review. Words, thoughts & pictures are all my own
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Tuesday 3 March 2015

A Bit Of A Sheffield-Based #bloggersfunday


What could be better than having a good old catch up with a group of lovely ladies?

Not much, eh?

How about a good old catch up combined with lots of amazing food and then add lots of lovely new faces into the mix too...

Yep - that sounds pritty great to me.

And that is exactly how I found myself spending a recent Saturday afternoon when I popped along to Sheffield to be a-part of Billie's #bloggersfunday.

Something that initially made this day a very fun day for me is the fact that my Hubby (who is a fairly new blogger) bagged himself an invite too and then Billie - very brilliantly - allowed our nine year son to come along and enjoy the day with us too

(We have found that now, with two bloggers in the one household, a whole load of childcare issues are presenting themselves a little bit...)

~ It was a real family affair indeed ~

And certainly a fun day was had by all three of us.

We pulled up at our venue - Handmade Burger Co - (more on that little place of fabulousness in a later post!) and were welcomed by Billie who encourage us to take a seat, relax, enjoy a lovely pink, homemade cupcake and grab a drink (or five) on Handmade Burger Co - thanks guys!!


 So we mingled, wandered around taking lots of photographs and just chatted away really whilst we waited for everyone to arrive - and then it was down to the all important serious stuff - checking out the menu and making that almost impossible decision of picking one burger out of the amazingly packed menu.


 After lots of conferring with each other, orders were finally placed, more drinks were collected and then those lovely ladies from Lush Meadowhall set up shop in preparation to give us a little introduction into some of their brilliant new products



And if that wasn't enough, they even treated as many of us as they could to a soothingly relaxing arm massage


Relaxation whilst waiting for food arrival - could things actually get any better...?!

Well...yes actually they could...


...the arrival of the food was out of this world brilliant...and it was very, very plentiful...

Seriously - how many yummy sides do one group of people need - there was a lot of food...and it was so delicious

~ Brilliant ~

Many of the other bloggers then planned to continue their fun day - after the food was long gone - at the local bowling alley, however we unfortunately couldn't take part in this and we said our goodbyes and headed off home
(tired out child and all)

Before we departed, Billie presented us with a fab goodie bag and what totally impressed me was that she had gone out of her way and bought lots of sweeties and chocolate to present my son with a bag of treats all of his own.

We certainly had one very happy little boy in the car on the way home that's for sure.

#bloggersfunday was great and I hope to meet up with everyone again really soon.

There are certainly lots more Bloggers Fun Day's to be had
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