Author: Oana

Jamie Oliver’s carrot cake

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I have had a soft spot for Jamie Oliver(the cook!) ever since he ran his TV series on healthy eating. I used to watch him when he had his 30 minute-meal series, back in the day of no kids and plenty of time on my hands…Oh, those were the days… Anyway, to get back to reality, recently I have gone back to his recipes since I know they are always tasty and foolproof, especially the dessert ones, for a non-gifted baker like moi… A few weeks back we had dear friends over for dinner and I decided to go for a homemade sweet. I almost always buy my desserts as I have no confidence when it comes to presenting people with my own disasters creations but this time, I felt I could take on Jamie’s carrot cake as it looked simple enough to make and beautiful to present to guests. I actually managed to make a mess of the instructions and mix things in at the wrong time but, surprise, surprise, the cake turned out …

Magic Moments: Our Halloween break in Greece

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We were away for our Halloween break to Greece. Emma’s birthday is on the 6th of November and her grandparents and auntie were desperate to see her, especially since last summer they didn’t get the chance, and make memories with her. The trip was dedicated to Emma. I knew that it would be very taxing on me, emotionally and physically. As a bereaved parent, and so early on in the grieving process, I knew I would not enjoy much as the pain does follow, wherever we are. But I needed Emma to know she is loved and her life is celebrated and brings us joy, even more so after the loss of our precious baby boy. The relatives went to great lengths to make the trip magical for Emma. Especially her auntie, who lives on a small pension and has known grief as a child herself, having lost her father at a very young age. So Emma got to: – meet princess Maria and spend an hour of laughter and fun and magic tricks in …

On the first day of Christmas…

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“On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me: A Partridge in a Pear Tree.” 45 days to Christmas, hard to believe, isn’t it, where has this year flown? Today marks the beginning  of my blog’s Christmas advent calendar of posts and my invitation to share in the anticipation: the next month and a half will delight my readers with a variety of reviews of beautiful products and Christmas gift inspiration. Of course, for us as a bereaved family, this Christmas will be very difficult as it will be the first one without our Georgie. But I am trying very hard and making a conscious effort to see the beauty in this season, despite the anticipated pain. For Emma’s sake, most importantly. And for us, as a couple, as this could be a time to recharge and grow closer if we prepare wisely for it. Preparation, per definition, is “the action or process of making ready or being made ready for use or consideration”, “something done to get ready for an event …

Questions and Answers(Meme)

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Jen, the lovely mummy behind the Smiles and Trials blog tagged me last night for this meme. I have been dragging my feet,blogging wise, and I decided taking part in this challenge would be a nice way to shake some dust off my writing tools. Here are the questions the meme challenged us to answer. Please show grace as you read through my answers. 1. What was the last thing that made you cry? For a long time, I kept putting off sorting out the picture frames I have for the living room for Georgie’s pictures. Last night I managed to start the job but came across a picture of Georgie days before he died. I cried. Silently. With my back to Emma, who remained blissfully unaware of my struggle and continued to watch Frozen. The living room has been her den and her retreat during the very hard months before Georgie’s diagnosis and I didn’t want her to come to associate it with pain. So I cried silently for my boy while my girl …