Five minute microwave mug cake

. What? Yes dear reader.   You heard me.   In just five minutes you can be eating warm freshly made cake.   From a mug.   And it couldn’t be more simple.   I made a couple yesterday and took one round to my granny for tea.   Let me tell you, it takes some explaining to a granny who is used to doing things properly.   “In the

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Ranty Friday — Band Aid 30

It’s back Baby.   Ranty Friday has been brought back for a couple of weeks.   I actually planned to bring it back this week as I saw something in the paper last weekend that made me rage.  And then, as often happens, something else came along to supercede it and so the original idea is parked. A few people have also told me they missed my Ranty Fridays so

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The Gallery — Being a parent

Another great theme for The Gallery this week and one that will no doubt be filled with lots of shots of book bags, dinners and really cute children.  Or parents freezing on rugby touchlines on a Sunday morning.     Sadly none of those scenarios really feature on my parenting radar these days.   Driving round the M25 to an event that includes the teens though, well that does. Increasingly

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It’s the small things

The older I get the more I realise it is the small things that really make me happiest.   No longer is it the grand gestures or events that have taken months to organise.  Nope.   It is the little every day things that make my heart sing. This was really brought home to me this weekend when I bought the little milk bottle above.  An insignificant little thing, that cost

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Micro Scooters are for grown ups too

I am a huge fan of Micro Scooters and have written about them before, most notably here:   Micro Scooters and the humble apology where I had to apologise after I was a tad disparaging. Since then I have come to love everything Micro Scooter do and they have been huge supporters of Team Honk.     When they approached me this year and asked if I would like to

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My favourite luxury Advent Calendars

Technically I am not allowed to mention Christmas at home until after Ellie’s birthday tomorrow, 16th November.   But this post is not being written at home, it is being written at my inlaw’s house so I am not actually mentioning Christmas at home and therefore, well I think I get away with it, don’t you? Do you remember when advent calendars were a single flimsy piece of cardboard and very

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888,246

That is an awfully big number isn’t it?  And if you know anything about what is going on in the world at the moment you will know the significance of it.   The number of lives lost in the First World War and therefore the number of poppies planted in the Tower of London Moat.    Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red began being planted back in August and continued

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So called plus sized models

This weekend there was a bit of a furore on social media about something that Elle US tweeted, in case you missed it:   Plus Size?!!!  What?  On what planet is Myla Dalbesio a plus size model?  You can see her ribs for crying out loud. Planet fashion industry, that’s who, and it drives me mad.   But more importantly than that, I think it is dangerous.   Myla is,

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National Fountain Pen Day

Did you even know that such a day as National Fountain Pen Day existed?  I didn’t until recently. There does seem to be a National Day for everything these days so it is hardly suprising.  And if you are as bigger lover as stationery as I am there is even a whole week to celebrate the love. So when I was asked what I wanted to choose to spend my

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Lemon and Thyme Chicken risotto

You can’t beat a great food partnership.   Fish and chips.   Tuna and sweetcorn.   Rice and peas.   Spaghetti and Bolognese.  To name but four.   And Oxo are well aware of that and have now come up with something rather clever to add a little mealtime magic partnership to some old family favourites.    A little something to give dinner a magic jooz.   how do you

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The Gallery — Spectacular

That’s an odd picture for The Gallery theme this week, I grant you.  Not particularly spectacular.  Though rather lovely, I agree.   You will have to forgive me for being a bit self indulgent because it’s been a funny year for me as a blogger, and an odd week. I think this year as I get some time off over Christmas and New Year I will be in quite a reflective

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Stuffing your stocking with Sage Appliances [AD]

Stuffing your stocking with Sage Appliances Last Saturday I co-hosted an event with Harriet from Sage Appliances in their test kitchen in Chiswick.   Mr B, myself and half a dozen other bloggers got to play with all of their fabulous kitchen gadgets whilst preparing a backwards lunch.   It wasn’t meant to be backwards but we got a bit excited about the ice cream maker and made Oreo ice

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