Ginger Bisquite | Page 9 of 30 | Lifestyle, DIY, Family & Food

July 28, 2013
by Jenni Clutten
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Center Parcs Venture Cove

A few weeks ago we were given the very exciting opportunity to be one of the first families to visit the new Center Parcs Venture Cove at the Elveden Village.

As we all know the weather has been absolutely amazing recently, and water is always the first thing I think of to help me cool down and relax. It also has an amazing ability to entertain even young children for long periods of time, ahh peace at last!

So, after my very special invitation arrived, a Center Parcs Venture Cove Map in a bottle, we were very excited to head over to Elveden ready for a fun filled day.

Center Parcs Venture Cove

The Venture Cove area is divided into two distinct areas, Venture Bay for children four and under and Venture Harbour for anyone over 4, including sneaky parents old and young!

As you can probably tell, Nye and I had an awesome time! Nye is now 18 months old and really wants to be independent so to have a water play area that allows him to be free was such a great idea. Independence is so important to him and that’s exactly what Venture Bay allows young children the opportunity to be. In Venture Bay there are some fantastic water troughs where the children can control the water flow which he loved, a great little slide and lots of exciting water fountains to entertain and surprise.

Venture Bay

And that’s without mentioning the amazing pirate ship on the other side of Venture Cove, (the area called Venture Harbour). It’s a fantastic mixture of imaginative play, water shoots, slides, cascading water and fountains. If I had been there with Neil I think I would have been sneaking off to have a play myself!

Many thanks to Center Parcs for inviting us to Venture Cove and taking such wonderful photos of us there, we had a fantastic day and can’t wait to head back.

Disclosure:
I am writing this post in my capacity as a Center Parcs Family Blogger, all thoughts, words and opinions are my own. If you wan’t to be in with a chance of becoming one too, you can by entering one of the monthly competitions hosted by tots 100.

July 24, 2013
by Jenni Clutten
0 comments

New baby girl clothes

The time has come, the moment is now, to make the most of having a baby girl and purchase some new baby girl clothes. The sales are in full swing and there are some wonderful bargains to be had. I have been scowering charity shops so I can stock up on a few of the essential sleep suits and baby grows but also the high street. Of course, we have already had one baby, and have most of the essentials but as we only have a very small house I only kept around half of Nye’s stuff, recycling and donating the rest.

I also think it’s nice to prepare for the new arrival by buying a few special pieces. Most of the basics can be picked up for well under a pound in any charity shop but we fell in love with these special things.

New Baby Girl Clothes SONY DSC

I must admit, that dress above has me head over heels. It was reduced from £22-£10 and I had to follow a family around who were considering whether to get it. They eventually decided against (phew) and so it was mine. Neil is particularly taken with the little sister sleep suit which we are hoping to bring the new baby home in. I can’t wait until Nye is a big brother!

What do you think? Have you managed to nap any great buys in the sales? Feel free to share!

p.s I wasn’t paid or perked for this post, this is simply some of my favourite things from the shops.

July 17, 2013
by Jenni Clutten
3 Comments

We Like To Read – Lucy Cousins: Hooray for Fish

I have been meaning to join in with the We Like To Read linky on TigerLilly Quinn blog for months. Problem is, every time I have a free moment to blog, Nye’s favourite books are trapped in his nursery while he is sleeping. As this book is his most favourite one without flaps and has great illustrations I sneaked it out after bedtime yesterday and photographed this morning.

We like to read SONY DSC The lovely illustrations and fantastically fun rhyming words make for an interesting combination. Proper picture books like this don’t usually hold Nye’s attention but the Lucy Cousins collection he recently received from his Nan seem to be different. I find them really fun and friendly, and even though I read this one at least once a day I still enjoy it too.

SONY DSC

July 14, 2013
by Jenni Clutten
0 comments

Liberty Print Shoes – Stylish Sunday

We made a quick pit stop to the shops today to run some errands and whilst I was there I thought I would take a peak in the Clarks Sale. It was a mistake as I spotted the Clarks Liberty print shoes. A collaboration which is simply stunning. How have I only just found out about this!?

I’ve had a look on their website in the hope that they had a wider selection than my local shop but unfortunately not. These shoes are gorgeous and a bargain in the sale so if you like, I’d recommend hot footing it off to your local store. I tried a pair of the courts on and they were really comfy, I convinced myself that I have nowhere to wear them. I’m now thinking of heading back to the shop tomorrow!

p.s This is not a sponsored post, I just wanted to share this great find with you.

July 11, 2013
by Jenni Clutten
1 Comment

Summer Holiday Planning

It’s been a busy few days here as we finally wind down for the summer holidays. My husband is a teacher, so our lives revolve around school timetables. This year for the first time Neil hasn’t arranged other jobs for him to do so we have been able to plan exciting things with a full 6 weeks ahead of us to spend just the three of us (plus bump).

The first summer activity we booked was the The Big Feastival. We won tickets to it several years ago when it was held on Clapham Common, pre baby, and had such a relaxing and memorable time. This year it is being held in the Cotswolds on Saturday the 31st August and Sunday 1st September. We have decided to go on the Sunday which is actually the last day of the holidays before school starts again. I’ll be interested to see what it’s like going with a child, rather than as a couple, but really it looks perfectly set up for Children with the Little Dudes Den and access to the Cotswolds Farm Park. Oh and did I mention that Justin, aka Mr Tumble will also be there on the Sunday! (I think a part of the 25 year old inside me just died as I typed that…) Needless to say the food and music will keep Neil and I happy whilst Nye can dance, draw and be entertained by all the activities going on.

I am also ecstatic to have finally booked our first family holiday abroad. In late August we will all be heading off to Normandy in the company of great friends, to stay at my dads wonderful house there. It only works out as 4 days but the idea of showing Nye new places and emersing him in new languages and food is really exciting. I can only hope, as I look our the window on todays sunshine that the weather will be kind to us. Our last holiday was our wonderful Center Parcs weekend break, and before that our babymoon. So I’m pleased to see regular holidays coming back in to our lives. Holidays are certainly a luxury for us, we’d never enjoy ‘getting away’ from everything if we knew we couldn’t afford to do it. So, here’s to hoping we can keep saving those pennies.

France 2010 112

The house is based in a small village in the Calvados region and I am already planning a trip to the zoo I went to with my dad many many years ago. However, my main focus will just be lovely food (lots of patisserie shopping), in relaxing and sunny surrounds.

Fingers crossed that we’ve sorted the summer holiday planning. I just can’t wait for the end of term!

July 5, 2013
by Jenni Clutten
0 comments

Photo Canvas Review from Photobox

Photo Canvas Review

As I have mentioned before, I love photos, so when I was contacted by Photobox about doing a photo canvas review I was very excited to order.

I have been using Photobox for years to print my photos but I had never ordered a photo canvas from them. As always it was very easy to use the website, I simply selected the classic photo canvas option, chose the size and then I was ready to choose the photo. As I have previously ordered some much smaller canvases I was keen to see what the quality of a larger one would be, so I chose the 61cm x 40.6cm size.

One of the great things about Photobox is that once you have uploaded your photos you can see the picture quality on each image, indicated by happy and sad faces. As this was a big canvas I specifically asked my wonderful photographer friend Danielle Benbow if she could send over some of the pictures she took of us when Nye was born. Luckily she was happy to oblige and I was so chuffed with the results as the image really captures a moment I don’t ever want to forget.

When the canvas arrived I couldn’t wait to get it open to have a look, and I was particularly impressed with how quickly the canvas was delivered. When I have previously ordered a photo canvas from a different supplier, they took months to arrive. This arrived in less than 7 days and was perfectly packaged in a double layered cardboard box that was made to measure for the canvas itself. The delivery and tracking service was also fantastic as I was given a specific day and time slot in advance with the opportunity to change this, if it was not suitable.

Overall we are really pleased with the canvas, I was quite surprised by just how large it was, but thankfully found the perfect spot for it in our hallway. Now all you have to do is visit PhotoBox for a photo canvas of your own!

DISCLOSURE: Photobox credited by Photobox account with the full fee of the photo canvas and postage for the purpose of providing a review of their product. The content of this post is my own and you can be certain that all reviews are 100% honest.

How Does Your Garden Grow – July

July 4, 2013 by Jenni Clutten | 12 Comments

Elderflower Cannopy

Whoops, I managed to miss last weeks how does your garden grow, but I am back this week and typing and editing furiously as nap time reaches it’s impending end. Thanks again to Mammasaurus for letting us all link up.

This week I have taken a few snaps of the front and back garden which I hope you will enjoy.

Come on Carrot.

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Raspberry Leaves

Anybody know what this is? It came with the house!

Although lots of flowers have been out and blooming heavenly, there are some still some much anticipated arrivals, including the passionflowers which I started training through our front garden wall last year. Once they bloom, and the buds tell me this may be imminent, I think they will look awesome as you walk up to the house.

collage.

Thanks for dropping by, here’s my previous How Does Your Garden Grow post which you might also enjoy!

July 4, 2013
by Jenni Clutten
2 Comments

It’s a girl!

It’s a girl

Today I am ecstatic to tell you all that it’s a girl!

We had our second scan this morning and after our lady like lady had finished crossing her legs the sonographer was happy to tell us she was 95% sure it was a girl. All the measurements look just fine, hitting the 50th centile for everything at this point.

Now I’m just bursting to head into the loft to leaf through all the clothes I packed away this time in my last pregnancy, deemed to girly for my darling boy. This basically means dresses, as I have been happy to put him in flowers and pink!

So here’s to our little girl who will have a doting big brother to look out for her and walk with her to school on her first day. We can’t wait to meet you and shower you with kisses.

xox

Organix Finger Food Video & Giveaway!

July 1, 2013 by Jenni Clutten | 15 Comments

Last week I was contacted by Organix asking if I would like to see a preview of a new they have put together on the many benefits of Organix finger foods in the weaning process. The video is called ‘Learning to love food is as easy as ABC…’ and informs parents about social skills, and how mealtimes can help babies’ development in this area.

We have been enthusiastic baby led weaners so Nye has had fingers foods from 6 months old. At first just simple things so he could get used to a range of different flavours and textures and then gradually moving on to a broader range of meals that we already eat at home. So, I was really keen to see the video as someone who already offers Organix snacks when Nye and I are out and about. I was particularly happy to see the have been so impressed with Nye hand eye coordination development and general social skills, so it’s interesting to see how these things may well link up.

To celebrate today’s video release Organix are offering 3 lucky readers the opportunity to win a sample pack of their two new finger foods , Strawberry Rice Cakes and Multi Grain Hearts with Strawberry.

new finger foods

To enter, just use the rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

June 30, 2013
by Jenni Clutten
4 Comments

Update Your Front Garden – Stylish Sunday

Hello and happy weekend to you all. I’m back with another Stylish Sunday post and this week it’s a lovely collection of items you can buy to update your front garden.

Last week I shared a few pictures of my front garden and all the lovely comments and pins of the image of my made me think it might be a good idea to share some tips on how to make a quick, easy and cheap transformation.

Update Your Front Garden

Sources

The mood board I’ve put together gives a general idea of some of the ways that you can play with colour and texture in a front garden and the fun thing is to add something every few months which therefore spreads out the costs.

Thrifty places to buy great front garden stuff:

Supermarkets (Sainsburys and Morrisons)
Local Market Stall
Poundland and 99p store
Homesense / TK Maxx
Freecycle
Discount Section in Garden Centre’s
The Range (those with a gardening section)
Dunelm Mill
Ikea
Argos

Front Garden

Grow, grow grow:
I haven’t always been the most natural gardener, but climbing plants I would recommend as good value for money are the passion flower, which grows like a weed and has the most exotic flowers and the Jasmin which is equally beautiful, smells heavenly and grows without fuss. (I bought mine on a 3 for 2 at Homebase.) I like to buy perennials for the flower beds as these grow back year on year and my favourite has been lavender, (ours has grown about 8 x it’s original size in 2 years) and the Hebe, which has beautiful purple flowers. (Also from Homebase) I also have lots of bulbs as these too grow back but are only around for short periods of time, daffodils and gladioli are striking and I want to try tulips but haven’t got round to it yet. (So far I’ve bought my bulbs from Poundland and The Range)

Paint the town:
Another thing that has made a massive difference has been masonry PAINT! I managed to convince my husband that we didn’t need to knock the 1970′s wall from the front of the house but instead painted it and it has been money well spent. Even though the paint itself was nearly £20, just freshening up the exterior can make the curb appeal massively improved.

Accessorise:
Like with any room inside the home, what makes each room personal is the finishing touches and these can be hard to find on a budget for the garden. We have a wicker heart on our front door which really makes the house will like a home. I got this from Primark for £1.99 but you can find nice ones at Dunelm Mill. My tip would be avoid going to garden centres for the accessories as they tend to be hugely marked up, try the less obvious places like Primark or the 99p store instead.

p.s This post is not sponsored, I’m just sharing my tips for great places to buy garden goods without breaking the bank.