All-in-One Mum

People always referred to 'the terrible 2's' and I now honestly understand what they meant by that and partially empathise with parents who had gone through the toddler stage. My daughter is (of course!) actually the most pleasant, amazing, fun loving, wonderful child you will ever meet.  It's all a part of growing up and everyone goes through this but if we as adults know how to deal with it and help little one get to grips with their feelings, the journey will be a great deal happier and smoother for all. All that said, and as sure as death and taxes, when your toddler hits 2 they will inevitably have a tantrum of sorts. Some may only have one, some...well, just a few more than that.  They will also inevitably learn the word 'no' and repeat this like a broken record.  My daughter has learnt to think about what I've just said to her and then answer with a drawn out but clearly annunciated 'n-ooooooo'.  I do sometimes get a 'yes' or ...

In December last year I had the pleasure of sharing my 30th birthday celebration with close friends and family at the fabulous Darcy's Restaurant  in St Albans. Darcy's is one of my favourite local restaurants and so when it came to planning my party, there was no question as to where it would take place and as I couldn't be in South Africa for my birthday I decided to bring a taste of Africa to my birthday in the UK, and so my "Out of Africa" theme was born. Anna, the Restaurant Manager at Darcy's and David, the Head Chef, worked with me to create a delicious menu that tied in with my theme.  The flavours and selection were absolutely perfect and I can safely say that every single one of my guests had a wonderful time and loved their amazing meal filled with flavours of home as most of my guests were South African. For those of you who are curious, this is the  mouthwatering 3 course menu we had on the night Starters White onion sou...

I think I have fallen in love.   Completely head over heels in fact!   A very routine shopping trip turned into a rather fabulous outing today!   I stumbled across the  most wonderful, fabulous and amazing kitchen storage ranges at my local Marks and Spencer.   With collection names like Circus, Geisha, Animal Print, Retro and Cherry Heart, how could they go wrong?   The spring cookware collection is also completely gorgeous and simply on first sight would inspire anyone to cook and bake in an utter frenzy of food happiness!   The snaps you see are of a couple of the Circus tins that anyone who loves to bake should, in my humble opinion, own.  I will definitely have to buy them and once they are filled with scrummy cakes and bakes, I will post the photos for all to see. My store also stocks La Crueset and with Valentine's Day just around the corner, what better excuse to buy the collection of 3 gorgeous  h...

This is by no means a regular Friday/Saturday occurence.  My life is anything but boring but it isn't extravagant or over the top.  I am very happy and content sharing my two work free days with my immediate family unit, friends and other family members.   Throw in a good meal here and there, a fabulous movie and a beautiful bottle of vino, and you have a pretty good of idea of what my weekends are usually about! Below is a short and sweet account of the past few days in my simple but wonderful life. Friday day Royal Albert Hall most of the day.  Extremely privileged to be seated in the Queen's Box.  Watched two of the many scenes from the current Cirque du Soleil show (tears in eyes experience), "Totem" and listened to interesting and inspirational speeches from a number of major public figures - Sir John Major, Seb Coe, Phillips Idowu to mention a few. Experienced the mastery of International Emmy Award winner Gareth Malone  in a...

Not much beats the smell and taste of freshly popped popcorn as an after dinner/late night snack. Throw in a fabulous movie and excellent company and you have a near to perfect evening! A x

While some parents struggle to get their children to eat fruits and vegetables, I have the complete opposite problem. I once made the rookie mistake of letting Isabella hold a packet of clementines while we were shopping. I knew I could smell oranges but I wasn't sure where it was coming from? I turned around to see Bella trying to eat one right through the net packaging! She had managed to nibbled through the outer flesh of the fruit through the netting and was sucking on the juicy inside. I now have to buy things without her looking and sneak them into the fridge as soon as we get home. Pure craziness I tell you. With a mom like me though, I guess that's enough to drive anyone slightly loopy! A x

I think that toddlers are programmed to know when their dad needs to get up very early in the morning.  To cut a very long and tiresome story very short, always make sure your children have a really good meal at dinner time and if they still drink milk, make sure they have that too! Isabella had eaten well during the day and often doesn't have a big meal at dinnertime so I honestly thought nothing of it when she wasn't all that interested in her dinner and only had half of it.  After many tears (from toddler not parents), hugs, cuddles and trips to and from her room it transpired at 3.00 a.m. that she was actually hungry.  So at 3.00 a.m. this morning I sat in my bed whilst my husband had a restless and very uncomfortable sleep on the couch (he had moved there very wisely a few hours before) watching Isabella eating cream crackers and drinking water.  If it wasn't for the fact that she was talking away so beautifully in her little toddler language and was fin...

I was given the most wonderful cookery book by a friend for my birthday called "Simple Japanese". Trust when I say that I was simply salivating when I was looking through it! Watch this space for a simply delicious dinner inspired by this simply amazing and mouthwatering book. A x