Author: Oana

Kitchen Trotter – A Review

I have always had this desire to learn about new cultures, places and countries and this includes learning about their food as well. Emma has inherited my love of discovery so when we were offered the chance to review the new Kitchen Trotter cooking kits and learn more about Indonesia, I knew it would be something we would both enjoy. The cooking kits by Kitchen Trotter are unique in their concept: they offer a culinary world tour in a box. With authentic products, carefully selected and sourced, the box delivers an explosion of fresh and novel tastes, each month different and enticing! Although the boxes are primarily designed for the foodie and the connoisseur, I found out that they are perfect as an introduction to new tastes for small children too. Tonight, Emma and I decided to cook a noodle dish from the booklet that accompanies the box and it has been a very pleasant experience for both of us. Not only the bonding and the spending time together but also the chance to sniff, …

The half-term holiday…that wasn’t!

If you follow us on Instagram or read our posts regularly here, you know how excited we were about our half-term break and a trip to Greece to see relatives. But things have a way of not happening as we expect them to and last Saturday, the day before we were supposed to travel, Emma started running a fever. We took her to Dalriada and explained the situation but the doctor on call reassured us it was only a viral thing and it would probably pass within a few days. Last Sunday was a total nightmare in my books. We travelled from 11 a.m till 11 p.m., 12 hours straight; a lot of driving, changing two flights and getting lost in Athens upon arrival. All with a feverish child who needed carried and pumped with Paracetamol and Ibuprofen every two hours or so. She was very good and never complained but rest eluded us as the same scenario continued at night. I had to be up every two hours, checking her, offering drinks and fever …

#SummerLove with James Villas

How do you choose a favourite from a host of beautiful summer holiday memories, created over the course of over 9 years? I suppose condensing is the name of the game, but how do you bottle up and concentrate millions of happy moments and fragments made of evenings spent with friends chattering away; splashing in the sea way past sunset; tens of cones of delicious ice-cream and too much tiropita, the delicious yet so fattening Greek cheese pie ? For Alex, who is originally from Greece and who suffers from severe SAD (seasonal affective disorder) during the winter months, a perfect holiday will always mean loads and loads of sunshine, getting tanned and looking like a berry by September. His ideal habitat would have two common elements, the blue sky and the even bluer sea. Holidays are, for him, designated to recharging batteries, enjoying loads of yummy, fresh food and catching up with friends and relatives we hadn’t seen for a whole year. Emma is her father’s daughter and LOVES the sun and the water …

Kaya Jewellery – A Perfect Mother’s Day Gift

One of the reasons I LOVE blogging is that I get to work with so many wonderful brands and unique companies! Take Kaya Jewellery, for example, the latest of the brilliant companies I have had the privilege to work with recently. Not only do they design stunning jewellery for any occasion (I will give you a round-up in a wee second) but they have also a strong penchant for charity work and support actively the Eduki Foundation and through them, the education of 10 beautiful children in Gambia! Where do I start now, the Kaya jewellery is so beautiful and diverse, I am afraid I won’t be able to do it proper justice in a blog post! First of all, and down to the nitty gritty, I love the fact that delivery is free and fast (our order arrived within 24 hours) and that orders come presented in beautiful and again, in a choice of two options of beautiful, FREE gift wrapping! Their jewellery ranges from occasions (like the fast approaching Valentine’s Day) to children’s …

Half-term fun with Joules!

I am very excited writing this blog post. For several reasons, which I will hurry to jot down for you, so you can cheer along! First of all, we are going on holidays to Greece on Sunday! If you have read my previous post, you would know that travelling created tonnes of enthusiasm in our family, so we are all sorts of giggly these days! Secondly, and I still cannot believe Emma’s luck to have been chosen to try out some of the new spring-summer collection as we will be featuring Joules in Greece, ladies and gents! Well, this mummy will only be featuring her slippers and matching pyjama bottoms she got at Christmas in the outlet in Kildare Village 🙂 but Emma gets a makeover for spring with beautiful items from the new collection! Greece is still sort of cold at the moment, with similar temperatures like here and the weather forecasts did show rain for when we arrive, so Emma will be able to wear proudly her new rain coat. We did try …