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Father’s day Gift Guide 2017

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It feels like just a short while ago that I was writing up my Father’s Day gift guide for 2016, wow this year has really flown hasn’t it?? Anyway here we are again, the day of Dads is almost upon us. I have been incredibly lucky to have only known wonderful fathers in my life. I grew up with a dad I idolised and still do, we are very close and spent a lot of time together in my childhood and even now to this day. My girls are also so lucky to have an incredibly strong and supportive Dad and it makes me happy to see the kind of relationship they have with such a strong bond, just as it should be.

But what do you buy for these wonderful Dad’s? Not socks or a tie surely. Not again. Lucky for you I have some cool ideas for gifts that you can order online and get in time for the big day.

iFit Vue Does your dad have fitness goals? This iFit Vue is a really clever fitness tracker which also helps track your sleep patterns.

Braun have a multi groomer kit for the Dad who likes to look sharp but doesn’t want a hundred different grooming tools.

Gillette are the official sponsors of this years British Lions tour and they have released a commemorative razor, perfect for a rugby loving Dad.

Sous Chef have some really quirky gift ideas but my favourite ones at the moment are the Himalayan Shot Glasses and the Smoke’n Spice BBQ set. Perfect for foodies.

The Snaffling Pig have these fairly incredible gifting jars of Pork Crackling with a range of flavours to choose from. I love the Maple flavour.

A coffee lover dad perhaps? Would he enjoy these syrups from Monin?

BenQ have a fantastic gift option if you have a little more of a budget to play with. This BenQ camping projector is a great piece of equipment, I can say this quite confidently having had one in my home since last Autumn.

Huawei – I am a bit in love with Huawei as a brand and I highly recommend their MediaPad if you want a small, budget friendly tablet, it is ideal for Netflix binging sessions.

Menkind have a range of gifts and lots that can be personalised too like this Port:

Sticking with the alcoholic beverage theme Woodford Reserve is a small batch, craft bourbon made at America’s oldest and smallest working distillery. Currently available at Waitrose and Morrisons.

 

DO you have to deal with a snoring Dad? Get him this anti snoring pillow so you can all get some rest  Anti Snore Pillow

 

Hallmark as always have a selection of funny and thoughtful cards as well as this range of Itty Bitty superhero character toys:

Does your dad have any sleep problems or would he just like more of it? I know I would. This S+ by Resmed is a non contact sleep monitor which you place on your bedside table.It tracks the light, sound and temperature of your bedroom, lulls you to sleep with special harmonies and wakes you up gradually to get you refreshed for the coming day. I have just started using one myself and I am hoping it improves my pretty awful sleep habits.

If you leave it to late to get your online shopping then I recommend you pop to Homesense for all of your last minute needs, I have found some amazing gifts in there recently from unusual oils and condiments to leather bound notebooks and cool kitchen gadgets.

Zippo have a few cool gift ideas but I do think every dad needs a hip flask right?

Discount Supplements have a New Dad package with some products to help with sleep.

Finally I recommend this desk lamp from Lumie, I have been using one for about 6 months now and it makes such a difference to have the natural light brightening up my workspace.

And if all else fails, get baking or just make him a special meal. It is the thought that counts after all.

* Some items have been gifted for the purpose of this feature.

Where Is The Love?

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Where is the love? This line from a Black Eyed Peas song has gone over and over in my head tonight.

This is one of the times where I have debated with myself about what to say on here, whether I should even say anything at all. But I have this online platform that lots of you read and it feels almost wrong not to acknowledge what is happening in this world that we are living in.

What to say though? 

When both recent terrorist attacks occurred ( Manchester, May 22nd and London June 3rd ) I was getting ready for bed. I was tired and ready to curl up in bed with a book. I scrolled across social media and spotted the news, the worried tweets, the panicked FB posts. Both times exactly the same way, it was probably the same for a lot of you. Ten years ago, even five we would have perhaps been a little more protected from this news as it happens. We would have woken up the next morning, turned on our radios or televisions and been dumbfounded and full of sorrow but we wouldn’t have spent the night feeling like spectators. Was that a better time? In some ways I think yes. Yes, because I don’t know about you but I sat up until 1am this morning, waiting and watching for more horror to unfold. Waiting to hear the news that it was over, that they had caught the attackers and that the city was safe again. I cannot begin to imagine how that would have felt if I had known that a family or friend was out in London last night. The scrolling down, refreshing the page, searching hashtags and looking at every image to see if you can spot a loved one. How is that bearable? I don’t know and I know that I am one of the lucky ones, to not have been in that situation at any time.

But looking at the other side of the immediate news feed that is social media I see the benefits. The way that the people of London instantly knew what was happening. They knew an attack was ongoing, they could get somewhere safe, avoid those areas and try to protect themselves. The way that the general public pulls together at these times and shows how utterly amazing and full of love the majority of people are. The tweets which offer places to stay, lifts across the country and the messages of support you see pouring out.

The week following the Manchester attack I went a little quiet, I found that particular attack harder to bear than most. I guess because it seemed so targeted at young girls and as a mum of two girls I just couldn’t handle it. I stepped away a little from social media and the blog. Everything I wrote seemed trivial, every image I went to share seemed inappropriate but you see what I realised today is that by changing the way we behave in the face of these attacks surely we are giving the terrorists that they want. They want to defeat us in every way and we absolutely can’t allow it. So I sat this morning and thought about what had happened, I cried for people I don’t know and those I will never meet. For the world that I have brought my children into. Then I told myself to get on with my day and do exactly what I had planned for the day. To go to brunch, to tweet and share food photos, make people smile, get on with home improvements and to play loud music that cheers me. There is a line between being respectful of what has happened and letting life stop. The world cannot stop turning because of these acts and we must not let it.

Tonight I’ve sat with millions of others and watched some of the worlds top performers celebrate and sing about One Love.  I watched an incredibly brave and talented 23yr old woman face what must have been an extremely frightening event head on and not just manage it but show immense courage and spirit. It has made me smile and cry on a few occasions, mostly it’s made me feel proud to be of a generation of people who will not be beaten, who when the very worst happens can dust themselves down and spread love and joy. There is the love. One Love, yes for sure. One Life, definitely. Let us love and live. They will not win.

Filed Under: Life ·

11 Tips For Growing Your Instagram Organically

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I started writing this post a little while ago and I almost stopped myself, because I have only just over 5000 followers on Instagram which is small compared to many influencer accounts. Do I really have any valid tips? Should you listen to me? Well I will let you decide that for yourself. What I tend to find with every article like this that I read is that I will take away at least one bit of advice which helps even if the majority of the tips are old news to me. I hope that is the case for you reading this and that at least one tip will help you with your channel.

My Instagram account is here if you don’t already follow. I’ve been on Instagram for quite a long time now, over 5 years I think but I have only really started using it as a blog account over the past two years.

 

 

I have as of this moment 5100 ish followers, that number fluctuates quite a lot during any one day and sometimes the same people follow then unfollow then follow again.. I am sure this happens to lots of you and it is frustrating. After this happens a number of times I do tend to block these accounts as it gets a little annoying.  Anyway as I said my follower count isn’t huge but I have more than doubled it since this time last year. To me this is a massive leap and aside from a 2 day period using a follower app which was supposed to help automate my Instagram life it has all been done organically. The app was a bit of a trial and error thing, other Instagrammers were using similar services with great results but I quickly realised it was not for me. I like to know what I am liking and who I am following which is why I have decided that for me Instagram will always be a personal thing even for my blog account. I want to always have all of the control over my channel.

Instagram is a very different place now than it was even just 12 months ago, the algorithm has changed a few times and there are a lot more users posting similar content. Everyone seems to have improved the quality of their images ( probably due to better cameras on phones )  and it is harder and harder to get your posts seen. Most of my images have between 200-400 likes and a decent amount of engagement in terms of comments also, this is what is considered ( or so I’ve been told ) as a good percentage of likes to followers. After all having 100k followers is fantastic ( we can all dream )  but even if you are getting 1000 likes that is only a 1% engagement rate, this is one of the reasons why many brands and PR agencies are now choosing to work with micro influencers who may have a smaller following but a greater reach and therefore influence.

I do believe Instagram is going to continue to grow especially with the new updates to stories and the various features on there so as an influencer or as a brand you really need to be paying attention to it as a channel. A lot of the brands I now work with are especially interested in IG channel and some only want IG coverage rather than full blog posts as was previously the norm so for me it has to continue to be a focus.

I have put together a few tips that I have found have really helped me to grow not just my following but also improve my engagement and reach. Feel free to leave comments passing on your tips or questions if you have any. I am no Instagram pro but it is a channel that I love and work hard on.

Quality is key – now I am not going tell you to choose a niche, a theme or a special filter for all of your photos because I don’t do any of those things. My feed is a real mixture of life, food, travel and body positivity. A set theme can work for lots of people and I do like to look at the accounts that are oh so pretty but it is not really me. However if you just improve the quality of your photos then you will get more likes and follows and engagement. That means not posting that blurry shot even if it was of something cool, it doesn’t mean the actual content shouldn’t be real, post life as it is if that is what you want but try to make sure the image is bright and sharp. Not all of my photos are excellent quality ( I am working on it ) and I am not a natural photographer but for the most part they are a whole lot better than the images I posted a year ago. Can I tell you a secret? ALL of my Instagram photos from the last six months are phone shots, no DSLR, no fancy editing tools apart from the ones on my phone.
Let people see YOU. Sometime last year a friend commented that I didn’t post many selfies, which was true. 99% of my feed up until last Autumn was food content which is great as that is what I primarily blog about BUT you didn’t get to know much about me or see who I am. I now post occasional selfies, even though it still makes me feel kind of weird and the engagement is always dramatically increased. People like to see the person behind the account. It means they are generally less likely to unfollow you as they feel a more personal connection and also they will interact more often. Also get personal at times with your posts. My two highest posts for engagement and reach are photos of me relating to body confidence. I was amazed on both occasions at the reaction the photos they got and I realise it is because it is relatable.
Ask a question. Want people to engage? Ask them something, for advice or their favourite product or film etc. One of my most engaged posts was a post asking about whether I should cut my hair..yes it’s trivial but people like to get involved and it is a good way to start conversation with your followers. If you don’t have a question to ask perhaps you could write a longer, more interesting caption. Instead of saying look at my chocolate cake you could explain why you decided to make the cake that day or tell your followers a little about your day. Longer captions get more likes.. not pages long though, sometimes I have to stop myself as I like to ramble, can you tell?
Reply. Reply. Reply. I need to listen to my own advice on this as I don’t always do it but I try to. If someone has taken the time to comment on your post especially if it is something more than a standard great photo comment try and take the time to reply. It can mean a lot to people and it shows you actually appreciate the interaction so therefore they are more likely to do it again. At the very least like the comment so they get a notification to show you have acknowledged it. You could set aside a time each week where you answer your comments in bulk.
Be prepared to like lots of photos. If you want people to visit your feed then they need to know it is there. Use hashtags to find people with similar interests and then go and take the time to scroll through their feed, like a few of the photos and perhaps comment on one or two – this is the quickest way to get return visits to your feed. Make your comments meaningful. Yes I am all for using emojis at times but make sure you don’t look like a bot. Engage with fellow influencers as much as you can, you may find they will be your biggest supporters. Find your tribe as they say.
Start using stories. I didn’t get on the snapchat bandwagon when everyone else did and although I now have an account, I don’t actually use it very much if at all. I do however love IG stories and try to use them 5 out of 7 days out of the week if I can. I have made short cooking videos, shared my average day and also used it to highlight brands and destinations whilst on press trips. It is a great way for your following to get to know you and I get great results from it. I am not entirely sure how they get shown to people who don’t follow you but on the days I post a few stories I get more followers. I also get a lot of messages replying to my stories and I have also had work on the back of it via messages from brands.
Go Live. Kind of like IG stories but live so it is a little scarier but also kind of awesome. I have done 3 or 4 live chats now and I am hoping to start scheduling some regular ones in weekly. It is fun as your viewers can leave comments and then you can reply using your voice rather than having to type and my followers seem to love my accent, I am a little bit Welsh. My last live was whilst watching this rather spectacular sunset and I decided to go live spur of the moment to share it with my followers.


Don’t be afraid to follow people. I know a lot of influencers don’t like to follow lots of other accounts as they prefer the following/follower ratio to be more distinctive and I understand that but if you love IG as I do, follow people. I follow around 2000 people currently and if someone follows me and I like the look of their account or they engage regularly I always follow back.
Research. There are lots of articles on how to make IG work for you. Read them. I have found a lot of helpful tips and also follow the big influencers, watch what they do and learn. There are a lot of FB groups you can join for help with IG also, send me a message if you want any recommendations.

Timing is everything. If you have a business account you will get analytics which tell you when your followers are most active, try sticking to those times and see how it works for you. If you post at 3am and most of your followers are in the same time zone you are unlikely to get a decent response. If you don’t have a business account then you can figure it out yourself by keeping track of your times and when your posts do well and manually gauging it.
Enjoy it. As with most things when it is forced people can see it. Share content you like, don’t always accept brand collaborations if they won’t sit well with your following or go against your own values. I wouldn’t promote a diet pill or tea too for example and I have been asked to on a few occasions.

You can find more posts I’ve written about Instagram and the Instagrammers I love here.

Premier Inn Docklands Review

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In April I attended the Traverse Conference, it was the first time I’d attended and it was a fantastic experience. For those that don’t know, Traverse is a digital influencers conference held in different locations each year. It is primarily aimed at travel bloggers but most of the sessions centre around social media and growing your blog or channel and are great for all kinds of influencers. This year the conference was held at The Ravensbourne, next to the O2 arena in London. I had recently been invited to review a Premier Inn in London and so I opted to stay at the Premier Inn Docklands whilst I attended the conference and I was incredibly impressed with my stay.

It was the first time I’ve stayed at a Premier Inn in quite a few years and wow they have really changed. Although they are known as a budget hotel chain ( rooms at this particlular one start at just £44.50) they have the quality and consistency that you can expect at hotels that are far more costly. The Docklands hotel is clean, bright and has everything you need for a leisurely stay including a budget friendly restaurant which serves until 10pm. It is close enough to London that you can access everything easily enough via the DLR or connecting tube stations but can I make a confession…I used Uber the whole time I was there as I do on most of my trips to London. I visit London a lot but I’m not really London savvy and I am not the biggest fan of underground travel!

On arrival at the hotel the reception staff were friendly and helpful, I had a minor glitch at check in and they did the very British thing of grabbing me a cup of tea whilst I waited which of course always gets brownie points.

My room was clean and spacious with a super comfy kingsize bed with the softest yet most supportive pillows I have lain my head upon in a long time. In fact they are so famous for their comfort that you can now buy the beds and pillows via the Premier Inn website, a few of my twitter followers have done so and I am sorely tempted myself. I also had a spare single bed in my room which was handy as I had a gatecrasher in the form of my friend Karen from Mini Travellers on the Saturday night which was fun, like a teenage sleepover with sweets and crisps.

Breakfast at the hotel was a delight on both days, in fact it is one of the most decent hotel breakfasts I’ve had and by far the best from a budget hotel. It was mostly self service although you could order omelettes and poached eggs via a member of staff which I did for research purposes of course. There is a wide selection of both hot food as well as yoghurts, pastries, fruit and NUTELLA!  I also enjoyed the serve yourself Costa Coffee machine as I am a caffeine addict in the mornings.

My room overlooked  the DLR line and I expected it to be noisy but all I can say is that the room must be very well insulated as I am a light sleeper and wasn’t disturbed once. In fact I slept very well which is always a huge relief to me as I suck at sleeping, the beds really are  incredibly comfortable and the bedding crisp and cool and I can see why they offer a good nights sleep guarantee! I also enjoyed having a really long soak in the bath..TWICE ok..three times during my stay, I do love a good bath.

I would highly recommend a stay at Premier Inn Docklands on your next trip to London. Have you stayed at a Premier Inn recently? What did you think?

  • As stated I was invited to review the hotel and as such my stay including breakfast was complimentary.

Panasonic Slow Juicer Review

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My final product to test in my role as a Panasonic Ambassador is the Slow Juicer MJ-L500. I have been wanting to try out a juicer for some time now so it was fun getting to play about with this gadget.  I have always loved freshly squeezed orange juice and the citrus smell always reminds me of festivals where I tend to stroll the food and drink stalls in the morning always craving a glass of something cool and zingy after a late night.

I have always thought of making freshly squeezed juice at home as bit of a faff. Traditional smoothie makers only bits the fruit rather than juicing and juicing my hand takes way too long. This slow juicer is impressive. The stainless steel screw rotates pressing and crushing at the same time to extra maximum liquid and nutrition. The pulp and any peel or pith is funnelled into a separate container which you can pop straight into your food waste, compost or depending on what you are juicing perhaps you could even use it in a recipe. The carrot pulp works well straight into veggie soups or bolognese sauce. I used the frozen function to juice some berries and frozen pineapple I had into a sorbet which was incredibly refreshing but I mostly used fresh fruit and veggies to stop them going to waste.

My favourite combo was this one below:

Orange, Carrot & Lime Juice

1 large orange

2 carrots

1/2 lime

The machine is so easy to use, just cut your fruit into manageable chunks to feed into the tube at the top and watch as your juice slowly drips out below. This juice was zingy and fresh and I felt so good after drinking it. Adding some carrots in instantly makes me feel like I am giving myself a boost of veggie goodness.

Product highlights:

Low-speed compression
Pressed and squeezed slowly to retain nutrients and preserve the vitamins
Durable
Tough stainless steel blade provides perfect results
Frozen attachment – perfect for sorbets.
Innovative frozen attachment ideal for preparing iced drinks and frozen desserts.Another thing I liked about this product is how compact it is, it takes up the surface space of an average sized kettle. This means I was far more likely to use it over and over again as I didn’t feel I needed to pack it away every day. I found cleaning fairly simple which was surprising as these types of products can be a nightmare to clean. Yes there are a few components to this machine but each one is cleaned easily enough.

Priced at £200.99 I think this product could be a good addition to your kitchen, it has the quality I have come to expect from Panasonic and the ease of use along with the modern, sleek look.

 

  • All products are sent from Panasonic for me to test and I am compensated for my time.

The Food On My Plate – May 2017

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It has been a fairly food filled month for me so far and quite often I don’t get a chance to tell you all about everything I’ve eaten. And I know you need to know..don’t you? Well not everything of course, it is not entirely necessary for you to see the Nutella sandwich I ate for breakfast last Friday or the rather bland looking bowl of pasta I ate plain last week save for oodles of butter and pepper just because pasta is my favourite comfort food. I do however want to share with you some of the lovelier and occasionally more adventurous dishes I’ve been enjoying.

It may surprise you as I am a bit of a foodie, to learn that I have never really enjoyed seafood. Growing up, both of my parents had allergies or intolerances to shellfish and I guess it just wasn’t something that we ate or saw regularly during childhood. We ate tinned tuna and of course Cod ( fish fingers ) but prawns, mussels and even cockles which are a bit of a speciality in the area I live were all a bit unknown. I don’t think I was ever really a fussy eater but I guess I would call myself a late developer to certain foods, blue cheese and olives for example are both things I despised even as little as five years ago but now I love them. Coffee ( not a food I know ) is another ingredient I have only managed to introduce less than a year ago but seafood has been my biggest challenge. I often get invited to meals or events where there are tasting or set menus and there is nearly always a seafood element, I have always said that I will try any food that is served to me because one it is polite and two well you never know otherwise. So seafood has been an almost part of my life for the last three years or so but only in the form of me quickly trying it with an already set idea in my head that I would hate it..pretty childish right? There have been a few exceptions, deep fried cockles at Fairyhill, Gower and rather amazing scallops from Adam Whittle at The Newbridge On Usk but for the most part I just didn’t like it.

A recent press trip to Spain was a bit of a revelation. Fish or shellfish featured in every single meal over the 4 day trip, including in the giant paella shown below and I enjoyed it all. In fact the mussels were my foodie highlight of the trip or maybe the crispy prawns with a thai green curry foam..hmm decisions.

Aside from seafood I have indulged my sweet tooth, firstly with these amazing gluten free coconut waffles made by Lovely Appetite at a recent family dinner

Next up were these quite frankly outstanding cinnamon buns from The Nordic Bakery. They are fairly enormous and a real pleasure to eat and they serve delicious  coffee too.

At home I have been practising my usual mix of healthy and indulgent dishes. If I allow myself to eat what I like for the most part and balance it out with good, healthy dishes as well as a decent workout routine that I maintain my weight and a shape I am happy with ( well I’m guessing that as I don’t weigh anymore ). Cous cous is always a big part of my summer meal plans and well I am perfecting a fondant potato recipe for the Actifry and it is just so good!

Bread, olives, aioli and sangria. Anything better on a hot day? This was the best sangria I have ever had from a restaurant in Benidorm, it was filled with all kinds of fruit including Strawberries so was almost like Pimms.

At a press event a few days ago with BenQ to launch the GS1 projector I sampled the culinary delights of Cranble. Cranble is a new food website brought to you by the Media Team and fronted by Masterchef Professionals finalist Matt Healy. They were cooking for us on a Big Green Egg ( which I need in my life ) as well as a pizza oven and well we were certainly well fed. They do serve a good Pimms Summer Cup too!  A little sample of what we ate below..

And finally yesterday was my birthday so I just ate a LOT. I started it off with this rather amazing pork and apple sausage roll from my favourite local cafe Framptons.

So there you have just a snippet of my month in food. I hope to have some new recipes live for you later this month, hopefully one or two videos too! I am planning a well earned five days holiday next week so I may be a little quieter than normal.

Filed Under: Life ·

A Brief Taste Of Benidorm

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I’ve just returned from a rather incredible trip to Benidorm. Yes Benidorm. I never imagined taking a trip there and like a lot of you I had a lot of preconceived ideas of how it would be. I was wrong. You can read all about my trip over the next few weeks but I took an incredible amount of photos and right now I just want to share a few of those with you, a little taster if you like. Keep your eyes peeled for my full review:

 

From my review posts you can expect tips on where to eat and what to do in Benidorm as well as showing you the gorgeous resort I stayed at. If my photos have already whet your appetite then go check out Jet 2 Holidays and Visit Benidorm to get planning your own trip.

  • I was invited on a press trip and as such my hotel, flights and food and drink costs were covered.

 

Air New Zealand – A Better Way To Fly

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For someone who really adores travel I haven’t been to many far flung places. Growing up with parents who didn’t have the money for exotic trips and also a Dad who absolutely refused ( and still does ) to fly meant that all of my childhood holidays were UK based, I don’t regret this as I had amazing memories of those caravan trips. This did mean however that my first flight was at the age of 21 and was actually to Mexico  – yes my first flight was a 9 hour one. I have never been one to start things the normal way. I remember feeling so nervous but also enjoying the whole experience, from check in to take off and the pleasures of a long haul flight.  Since then I have visited Mexico once more but other than that my furthest destination has been The Gambia. For lots of reasons. the main one being that I became a parent, I have only travelled to countries within a few hours of the UK since that time. I am hoping that in the coming years that changes.

Last month I had an intriguing invite to attend an exclusive lunch hosted by Air New Zealand and Chef Peter Gordon in Soho. I knew that the food would be incredible and I was interested to find out more so of course I said yes.

Now perhaps like me you were fooled into thinking that Air New Zealand only flew to New Zealand? Well you would be wrong, here are just a few of the destinations you can get to with Air NZ:

Pacific Islands

USA

Canada

Europe 

Asia

Australia

Add to that they have a huge list of destinations you can fly onto with one of their partner networks.

I’ve never flown with a high quality long haul airline before so checking out the level of luxury on board an Air NZ flight was an interesting experience. I sat in the seats, checked out the onboard entertainment and even had a sneaky lie down. It was pretty much as comfy as any regular hotel bed..I was pretty tired but managed to drag myself out of the seats and down into the dining area where we were served the most incredible food by Chef Peter Gordon and team.

 

Peter Gordon has worked with Air New Zealand for 20 years now and it is a relationship which clearly works well. The food that you can expect on board an Air NZ flight is of the exquisite quality I imagine you would get at one of Peter’s restaurants. Care and consideration has gone into the menu which currently includes dishes such as:

Sumac Dusted Smoked Salmon ( which was so good I ordered Sumac on my return journey to try to recreate at home ):

Other foodie delights included Lamb with minted peas, braised lettuce and crushed new potatoes with THE most amazing mint jelly, Cod with slow cooked fennel and spinach confit and vegetarian paneer. Desserts were certainly not overlooked with Warm Treacle Tarts with clotted cream or an English Cheeseboard selection. Aside from main meals the refreshment menu includes amongst other treats, the famous Crosstown Doughnuts – if you are yet to try these there are several shops in London and you MUST go visit. The Apricot and lavender honey compote with lavender icing was just dreamy.

New Zealand is famous for its quality wines and wine pairing is something which Air NZ gave a lot of though to with a number of wine sections available on board.

I have to say I left the event feeling seriously satisfied with a full belly and impressed and desperately wanting to try a better way to fly.

For more information on the Air New Zealand pop up in Soho click here and to start planning a trip click here.

* I was invited to this event and compensated for my time.

Tefal Actifry – The Slimmer’s Secret

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Last month I attended an event hosted by Tefal and Frankie Essex ( of TOWIE fame ). The event was to unveil the new Actifry Smart XL and their Slimmer’s Secret campaign.

Now you will probably know that I am a fan of the Actifry, I have a number of recipes on the blog already that you can check out here. I am also working on some new ones coming up for you very shortly. Including these pretty special Fondant Potatoes:

Why do I love the Actifry so much?

I was sent an Actifry to try out about 3 years ago for a review on the blog, I get sent lots of gadgets and some I use a lot and others not so much. This is probably the product I use more than any other I have been given. When my oven broke down last year I used the Actifry for everything, from meat to potatoes to veggies and even frittata. It can be used for pretty much anything that an oven can be used for. It was also a great help when I was trying to lose weight last year as it meant I could cook all of my favourite foods such as fried chicken and super crispy chips with a fraction of the fat and calories. I hit my goal weigh some time ago but I continue to use the Actifry as it is so convenient and waist friendly. I received the new Smart XL version last week ( my mum is the lucky recipient of my older version ). What is the difference you may ask? Well..this is a bit cool. The new Smart XL has bluetooth connectivity. This means:

*Automatic transfer of cooking parameters from your application to your ActiFry
*Step by step cooking instructions.
*Live monitoring of the cooking process on the app.
*Control of the cooking process from a distance.

I am planning to try out this feature on the weekend so I will keep you posted on that!

The event itself was really good fun, we were split into pairs to create dishes for us all to enjoy at lunch. I was with the lovely Julie from Julie’s Family Kitchen and we were set the task of making a Chicken Tikka Masala which was something I hadn’t considered making in the Actifry. It worked so well and in just 25 minutes which is pretty amazing. We had an incredibly sumptuous lunch with various dishes made in the Actifry such as chips, chicken, salmon and frittata alongside some wonderful salads.

Do you have an Actifry? What do you like to cook in it?

  • I was invited to this event and compensated for my time, I have received a product for review.

The Instagram & Instagrammers I Love – May 2017

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Another month gone by in the blink of an eye. I have been so busy this last month that I have not focused on Instagram as heavily as normal but I am still seeing steady growth..in fact I hit the 5k mark! WOOP. At this time I have about 5095 followers which although small compared to many still seems pretty huge and is actually double what it was this time last year. It still seems a little crazy that 5000 people want to follow me and see what I do!? I know I said I wasn’t worrying so much about hitting that milestone but it still feels really good to do so. I have followed more people recently as well, I met lots of new bloggers and influencers via conferences and press trips this past month and it is nice to follow their feeds and enjoy fresh content.

I have so much Instagram content ready at the moment as I have just returned from a stay in the most Instagrammable hotel. All coloured walls and pretty swimming pools and I ate and shot the best food. It is worth noting as well that nearly all of my recent Instagram photos are taken on a phone. I have a really great new phone ( well I have had it since December ) and I really don’t feel the need for my DSLR so much anymore.

My top three posts of the past four weeks are all food related for once!

Starting with these Fondant Potatoes which seemed to get you all a little excited.

Next up was this gorgeous Sunday lunch dessert we had at a family lunch:

And finally the Nutella Cookies I made in tribute to a fellow blogger who passed away recently:

At the end of last month I attended the Traverse conference and I met lots of people including one of the speakers, Kash from Budget Traveller. I missed his talk as I had already joined another session but I heard lots of good things from it via fellow bloggers. On discovering his Instagram account I very quickly fell in love with it or lust..wanderlust to be precise. His stories are fascinating, filled with food and travel and his feed is beautiful. Go check it out. He has a superb blog too full of tips and stories from his trips around the world. You will be green with envy but he is very likeable so you won’t be able to hate him too much.

Hannah from Hannah and Fitness is a fellow food blogger that I met at an event hosted by Tefal, she mainly writes about food and fitness and has a really inspiring feed. She creates dishes which look incredible and are good for you but she never tells you to cut out entire food groups and still enjoys ice cream and pizza herself. I have serious AB envy when I look at her feed but I don’t find myself comparing and feeling I fall short as I have done with other fitness IGers I have followed before. She shows her workout routines regularly and I’ve picked up lots of tips. Plus she is really lovely in real life too.. bonus. I love this shot of these sweet potato nachos.

Kellie from Food_To_Glow is a food blogger I have known ( online ) and followed for some time now. She creates the most wonderfully beautiful and healthy food. Her feed is a joy to scroll through and I also recommend taking some time to check out her blog too. I love this shot she recently posted of the latest food trend, cloud eggs:

Mel from Le Coin De Mel is a French food and family blogger based in London. Her feed is fun and full of happiness and FOOD. She also has a child with allergies so I enjoy looking at her recipes. I listened to her speak at a blog conference some time ago and loved her passion for food and making free from food taste good and her accent is pretty awesome too. I love the shot of her no knead bread which instantly made me crave warm bread and butter.

A post shared by Mel (@lecoindemel) on

My final recommendation is Pip from Pip Says. I’ve followed Pip for ages now but we finally met at the recent Traverse conference. Her feed is a mix of food, travel and lifestyle – a bit like mine really. She travels a whole lot more than I do and I love seeing her pics pop up in my feed. I love this shot of the sunrise in Cardiff.

Who are you loving on Instagram right now?