So as you know, I’m currently in the process of getting a tattoo removed. Melissa, my lovely therapist, is taking it nice and slow, taking care of my skin, making sure I don’t get any burns or blisters (I’ve heard horrific stories) and minimising the pain with a cold air thingy that really takes the edge off.
I still feel the urge to cook a ‘proper’ Sunday lunch, even though a full on roast dinner seems a bit at odds with the time of year (although it seems to have done nothing but rain recently). This tomato-based braised beef feels a bit lighter than my normal beef stew and dumplings, especially with the addition of some spring greens just before the end of cooking.
Are you considering relocating from America to England?
It takes a lot of courage to move from one country to another, but the experience doesn’t have to be negative. This guide will show you how to move across the pond without losing your mind. These strategies show you how to save money, time and effort, so you can transition from one home to the next with minimal stress.
Ratatouille is one of our favourite films. For some reason it’s become a bit of a Christmas tradition - we adore Rémy, and feisty Colette is so fab - I always get a bit teary when she falls in love with Linguini (I know - I cry at everything)…
Our day in Barcelona still rates as one of my very favourite travel experiences. We’ve earmarked it for a return journey very soon, but until then, every time there’s a sunny day, my mind races back to the gorgeous restaurant at the very top of the Arenas shopping centre (the old bullring) where we sat and had enormous buckets of gin and tonic with scoops of sharp lemon sorbet.
We’re big fans of Prezzo and pop in quite regularly for dinner, or occasionally Mr English and I will pop in for a quick lunch and a glass of wine. They’ve just launched some lovely new Summer menu items, and we went along to try a few.
So regular readers will know that I’m a HUGE fan of cruising. From my very first cruise on the frankly fantastic Disney Dream…
We’re lucky enough to live about a half hour train ride outside of London. I visit the capital quite a lot and during the summer months the big tourist attractions like the London Eye, the Tower of London and Buckingham Palace are obviously the perfect places to visit. But what if you want to strike out and see a bit more while you’re visiting, take advantage of easy car hire in London with Avis, or head off on the train? Here are my top five places just outside of London that are perfect for a day trip:
Mr English and I are currently house hunting. We spent this weekend in a blur of visits, offers, exhilaration, anticipation, despair and frustration. We are the classic home buying couple, with me dreamily imagining candles on fireplaces and fairy lights draped across gardens, and him pacing out the sizes of rooms and eyeing up double glazing and central heating (I suspect it’s just as well that one of us is practical).
Woohoo! Summer really feels like it’s here today! The garden chairs are out and I was pottering in the garden, sipping fresh mint tea this morning at 7.30 in my shorts. Unbelievable.
As you know, I’m a huge fan of Farmers Choice - they’re a small, family run business selling nothing but great quality, free range meats from hand-selected farms across the UK. I’m delighted that they’ve agreed to run another giveaway with me. With perfect timing, the prize is their really wonderful BBQ Essentials pack, containing all manner of scrummy things like kebabs, burgers, chump steaks, drumsticks and chicken wings.
This weekend, I was invited down to Bluewater shopping centre in Kent for a bit of sandcastle fun with the team from the gorgeous Atlantis, The Palm. The beautiful resort, located on the incredible man-made island, The Palm in Dubai, was recreated in sand by some very clever people. And pretty impressive it was too. Here I am checking out the mahoosive sand sculpture: Read more →
New Fantasyland is fast becoming one of my favourite places at the Magic Kingdom. Last time I was there it was for the official opening, and last week, I was over in Florida again for the official press event to celebrate the imminent opening of the new Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. We were lucky enough to get exclusive access to the ride during a fabulous party at Epcot (there’s NO party like a Disney party!) where we hung out with the likes of Elsa, Anna and Olaf!
We parents have many things to worry about when it comes to preparing our kids to live in the real world. We have to educate them about alcohol, illicit drugs, and other things that could be potentially harmful. And now we have to talk to them about electronic cigarettes.
So as you’ll see from part one of my cruise diary from my trip aboard the NCL Breakaway, we were mightily impressed with all the facilities on board. A big part of ‘cruising like a Norwegian’ is the amount of flexibility in the choices you have: gone are ‘formal nights’ and, indeed, formal dressing for most of the restaurants, and instead you’ll find informal dining at a time that suits you. That’s not to say you can’t push the boat out, dress up and have a proper evening out, oh no - they even have a name for it: Norwegian’s Night Out is your chance to get dolled up in your favourite outfit and have some fun, but if you want to wander to the buffet in your shorts, that’s fine too. Read more →
Regular readers will know that I’m a huge yogurt fan, so when the lovely chaps at the Yogurt Council asked me to join in next week with yogurt week, the UK’s first celebration of everything yogurty, I knew EXACTLY what I was going to cook.
Yogurt is great for tummies, bones and muscles (it’s full of protein, calcium and vitamin B2), plus it’s a healthier alternative to cream in loads of recipes. It’s available in a vast array of variants: low fat, Greek, fat free, fruity, chocolaty, you name it. In fact, it’s so popular that one in five of us eats yogurt every day!
So if you follow me on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook (and frankly, why wouldn’t you? There’s cake, beaches, ships and the lunatic whippet of mass destruction makes the odd appearance too), you’ll know that I’ve been visiting Walt Disney World, Florida. I have loads to tell you - there’s news of the opening of the new Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, a review of the frankly beautiful Disney’s Wilderness Lodge resort, and masses of food, fun and breaking Disney news (Avatar!!).
When I first got the email asking me if I’d like to review the Norwegian Breakaway for Cruise International Magazine (I know!!), the name Norwegian Cruise Line initially made me think of slipping through icy fjords and gazing at a skyful of Northern Lights. Although that would have been amazing, and is still something I want to do, I couldn’t have been more wrong. Our itinerary was incredible: starting from New York (NEW YORK!!), we would sail to Port Canaveral in Florida, then Great Stirrup Cay, NCL’s own private island in the Bahamas, and then to Nassau, before heading back to New York.
What era were you born in? I was born in the seventies, home of the flared trouser and the enormous collar. The photos of my childhood aren’t exactly ‘cool’, if you get my drift. My teenage years spanned the eighties, the time that style forgot, so basically every photo I have of my youth is me dressed in really terrible clothes with permed hair. Not a good look.
So I’m very lucky to be here in Orlando at the moment. I’ve got all sorts of amazing new things to share with you very soon, but last night I went to the Rock Your Disney Side party at the World ShowPlace at Epcot. The party was absolutely amazing and the venue out of this world. Check it out…
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