Blog - Munchies and Munchkins

The Vale Resort – Supper, Sleep & Spa Review

June 25, 2015 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 1 Comment

When we were invited to review The Vale Resort in the Vale Of Glamorgan I was really excited. My parents had stayed there along with my sister a few years ago and had a fabulous time so I expected it to be good but it far exceeded my expectations.

We have stayed in some amazing hotels over the past few years and this is right up there amongst the best of them. Let’s have a bit of hotel info to start us off:

The Vale Resort is a four star hotel and leisure resort which will not definitely not disappoint. Tucked away in 650 acres of stunning Welsh countryside the resort has 143 bedrooms as well as two championship golf courses, Wales’ largest spa, an award-winning restaurant and quality sporting facilities making the Vale Resort one of the UK’s most desirable golf and leisure break destinations.

Each room has been designed with comfort and convenience in mind. Many have balconies with superb views over the golf courses and surrounding countryside.

On arrival to the hotel you are welcomed by their super friendly staff and shown to your room. I was really impressed with our room which had a balcony overlooking the beautiful grounds. It was modern and airy with dark wooden floors, a luxurious bathroom and a rather fantastic chandelier. Each room contains robes and slippers for each guest as well as bottled water, tea and coffee.

The toiletries in the bathroom are from The White Company which immediately put a smile on my face as I love The White Company. We made a cup of tea and sat on the balcony to enjoy the afternoon sunshine before heading down to the pool for a quick dip then onto the spa for our massages.

The pool is large and although there was an aerobics class on there was still plenty of room for us to swim in peace, we had a relax in the jacuzzi and sweated it out in the sauna before showering and heading upstairs to the spa. The spa is beautifully calm and has a chai cafe just outside the treatment rooms too.

The masseuse had her work cut out with me and my super tense shoulders and the knottiest back she had worked with in a while – I guess the hours of being sat up rocking Chloe haven’t helped that much! I felt quite tender after my massage but incredibly loose and relaxed and I felt that way for days which is a sure sign of how good the massage was. Back to the room for a long luxurious bath and some pampering with the fabulous toiletries.

That evening we ate dinner in the AA Rosette award winning restaurant The Vale Grill and enjoyed a superb three course meal. Here are some photos to whet your appetite:

Every course was considered and well balanced with incredible flavours and presentation, I enjoyed a glass of Rose with mine whilst Andrew had a beer.

After dinnerware we had a stroll before heading off to sleep in the super comfy and huge bed. I lay in bed a while gazing at this gorgeous chandelier in our room:

Breakfast was served the next morning in The Vale Grill and there were plenty of options available. I never want to eat much first in the morning but I made myself a small breakfast from the buffet as it looked so good and I was not disappointed. Plenty of juice options and fruits as well as the standard cooked breakfast and pastries were on offer as well.

Check out wasn’t until 11am so we had a dip in the pool and then lounged around on the balcony reading and enjoying the peace until we reluctantly left.

A dinner, bed and spa stay can be booked from as little as £99 per person and let me tell you – that’s an absolute steal for what you get. If you want a budget friendly break in a high quality hotel with all the trimmings of a 5 star hotel I certainly recommend this.

This post is part of a series of reviews and articles about Wales. You can find more in The Wonders Of Wales.

*We were invited to review the dinner, spa and stay offer and as such our stay was free of charge.

Win A Personalised Crate Of Lindeman’s Wine & Goodies Worth £100

June 24, 2015 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 146 Comments

You have probably heard me talking about Lindeman’s wine on the blog a few times. We really enjoy it, it’s budget friendly and tastes fabulous.

Each bottle from the Lindeman’s Bin Range has recently been spruced up with the new logo, which is focussed on the brand’s Australian background. The phrase ‘In Life Happiness’, which appears on the bottle in Latin, reflects Dr. Henry Lindeman’s words ‘the one purpose of wine is to bring happiness’.

I know wine makes me happy. I only ever drink a glass or so but a crisp glass of wine with good food. Sunshine right there.

Lindeman’s Bin 95 Sauvignon Blanc is perfect for dinner parties. This variety has a distinctive finish, with fruity tones of green apples, which complement salads and make it an idealchoice for barbecues.

Talking of barbecues..

When the sun is shining we enjoy Lindeman’s Bin 35 Rose. Its a soft, fruity wine which is delightful, particularly when enjoyed lying in the garden on a giant bean bag with a plate of cheese and olives. I mean seriously that is the only way you can drink it 😉

Those are our favourites but there are lots more to choose from and yes you get to choose in this great competition. You will receive all of the following if you are the lucky winner:

Personalised storage crate with your name engraved on the lid
2 bottles of Lindeman’s wine from the Bin Series ( your choice)
A pair of John Lewis wine glasses
Chalk board wine stopper
Disposable camera with a vintage design
Packet of sunflower seeds with Lindeman’s personalisation

Good luck.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

6 Reasons Forest Holidays Are Great For Kids

June 24, 2015 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 1 Comment

You may remember that we recently went on a review break to Forest Holidays in The Forest of Dean, a full review of our stay will be up next week but first up I wanted to share six reasons why Forest Holidays are great for kids. These were answers given to me by Izzy when I asked what her favourite parts of the holiday were:

1. Going on the special bikes.

Both our girls loved the special bikes ( adult bikes with a tag along trailer attached ) that you could hire at Forest Holidays and their shouts of delight when Andrew whittled through the forest with them attached to his bike could be heard for miles.

2. Going on a mini beast adventure and colouring the trees.

During our stay we went on a Forest Ranger experience which involved going out for a walk through the forest with the really helpful and friendly ranger ( I wish I could remember his name as he was fab ) hunting for mini beasts ( bugs ) and doing a little tree rubbing ..obviously we didn’t actually draw on the trees 😉 The children collected leaves, twigs and pine cones to create a face mask when we returned to the lodge reception. Both girls had a ball. Can’t recommend this experience enough.

3. Making Dens with Daddy.

There are lots of little dens all strewn about the forest and of course you can create your own from scratch too. Izzy and Chloe both enjoyed running around finding the best sticks to build up the den which someone had started outside our lodge.

4. Our swimming pool bath…and the duck. Definitely the duck.

By swimming pool bath she means the hot tub. This was a favourite for all of us. It was so incredibly relaxing and as it was literally outside our back door we could run in with the girls bundled up in towels so they didn’t get cold. There is a forest holidays rubber ducky on top of each hot tub lid when you arrive and Izzy fell a bit in love with ours. In fact I had to sneak it out of her bag before we packed up to leave.

5. Running around and playing on the big swing.

They ran around all day every day. Tiring themselves out, getting rosy cheeked and loving the fresh air. In fact we all felt pretty good and a lot worn out each evening. The big swing is the large swing in the park which comfortably sat me and both girls while Andrew swung us higher and higher.

6. The Ice Cream.. The one with chewy bits.

There was only supposed to be 5 reasons but Izzy kept talking about the ice cream so I thought we had to make it 6. She is talking about the Marshfield Farm toffee ice cream which she loved and you could buy from the shop at reception. Chloe even tried the lemon sorbet..possibly a little too sharp for her 😉

Camp Bestival: What To Take – Part 1

June 23, 2015 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 1 Comment

Camp Bestival is a highlight of our summer. It’s not easy to find a holiday which suits all generations of a family. Because Camp Bestival is a holiday not just a festival. You can arrive on the Thursday lunchtime and depart on a Monday morning..definitely a mini break if not a full blown holiday.

And when you go on holiday..you need to PACK.

Packing is an important part of the lead up to Camp Bestival because there’s a bit of a walk from the car park to the camping or glamping areas so you don’t want to take too much BUT there are things you need to take. Things which will make your time more comfortable, things to fill your belly ( bacon ) and things to numb the pain if your child won’t sleep.. ( wine ) but today we are starting off this three part post with:

Things to pack which will save you money:

Festivals can get expensive. Your child will want or even NEED everything that they see other children with. You will be hungry all the time, being outside does that to you ( it’s not just me ..is it? ) and you know ..there’s the bubbles so let’s start there.

1. Bubbles – big shiny bubbles are everywhere at CB and your child will want to be a part of it. Of course bubble guns and bubble mixtures are more expensive at festivals than say off Amazon or in your local supermarket. Plan ahead. Buy the best bubble wands and guns you can find within your budget and take back ups of mixture. Then pack some extra mixture ..just in case. Don’t worry about lugging it all from the car – this is what I consider an essential item. It will save you oodles of pounds and a good chunk of your sanity.

2. Face Paint – every child is wandering around with glitter tattoos and funky face designs. Don’t be the poor fool who pays £5 to have a princess design for this to be angrily smudged off and a lion demanded within seconds – I actually saw this happen last year. I think I saw tears form in the mothers eye. Buy
some good quality face paints, a pack of wipes and doodle away.

3. Fancy Dress and/or an animal like onesie:

Fancy Dress because it’s just fun. There is a theme each year with this being CB Goes Wild. But any fancy dress will go down well at this festival. Izzy loved running around in her tinkerbell dress last year and her furry bear onesie. On the onesie topic .. There are so many onesies. Bright ones, furry ones..rather snug ones hmmm. Take a onesie (at least for the kids).

4. Snacks:

Now I’m not saying don’t buy food there because the food at CB is extremely awesome and actually one of my very favourite parts of the festival but take snacks. Things like cereal bars, crackers, boxes of raisins, fruit etc for your children and also for you because you do a lot of walking and you get really hungry. Save your money for actual meals, ice cream and Jamjar cocktails ( obviously for you and not for the kids ).

Camp Bestival Grub:

5. Batteries/ rechargeable power packs for cameras, phones and torches:

Just because it’s sensible. OR you could be even more sensible and just take new batteries in your devices. If like me you don’t like to be phone less then buy a power pack before you go as if you have to charge while you are there ( in standard camping at least) you will need to pay and also queue to charge your phone. Just take back ups. Simple.

And that’s that for part 1. Next week I’ll be focussing on what you need in your tent. Any questions please comment or drop me an email.

The Wonders Of Wales

June 22, 2015 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 1 Comment

If you didn’t already know I live in Wales. Truly one of the most beautiful places in the world. The land of green and song and more importantly ( kind of ) some of the best restaurants and hotels I’ve been to.

Then there are also castles..and theme parks. Rivers and national parks and much more besides.

I would not be doing my duty if I didn’t share them with you so starting this week I’ll be sharing my Welsh gems with you on a regular basis.

You don’t have to wait for the first post as you can already read previous reviews of the marvellous Hammet House in Pembrokeshire, one of the best family holiday resorts Bluestone near Narberth and a gorgeous holiday cottage in Llanbister from Sykes Cottages.

I invite you to drool over the foodie delights, gasp at the beauty of our beaches and relax as you take a glimpse into some spectacular hotels. It’s Wales but not as you think you know it.

Coming up we have reviews of The Vale Resort and Fairyhill hotel as well as some of my favourite cafés, restaurants and places to visit.

I’m hoping I’ll tempt some of you to come visit.

After School Snacking

June 22, 2015 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 1 Comment

A little while ago I chatted with a few people on social media about the amount of food my 3yr old eats in the afternoon. Leaving school she is ravenous even though she has had a filling lunch before she leaves and is only there for 2.5 hours and also has fruit in school! It seems this is far from unusual in fact lots of people replied to my tweet saying their children were exactly the same.

At least three days a week we like to take a trip to the park straight from school so I always make sure we take a pack of snacks to munch while playing otherwise I have a happy girl for 30 minutes of playtime who quickly becomes extremely hangry ( angry due to hunger ) and it takes ages to swing her out of her grumpy mood. I prefer to give her fruit or cheese/yoghurts over biscuits and sweets but taking a yoghurt pot and spoon is sometimes a bit of a faff when we are in a rush to get out of the door.

We have recently been trying these new Petit Filous pouches. Chloe can’t have them as she’s still dairy free but Izzy loves them. She has always enjoyed pure fruit pouches so these are pretty much the same in her eyes plus she adores Petit Filous in the usual plastic pots.

We sampled them on a day out in the park straight from school and enjoying the sunshine:

No mess, easy to just pop in your bag and then the whole thing can be popped in the bin straight after. I find pouches mean less sticky hands too – always a bonus.

The pouches are priced at approximately 80p each and are 2 for £3 in a few major supermarkets. Available in apricot,strawberry and raspberry flavours – strawberry is a fave here.

* We were sent a voucher to purchase the pouches for the purpose of this review.

What Is A Dad?

June 21, 2015 · by munchiesandmunchkins · Leave a Comment

In my life I am happy to say I have wonderful men. My Dad and Andrew are both incredible fathers. My Dad has been supportive of everything I do since I was a child. It’s amazing to know that I can depend on him. To know he loves me and to know how much he loves my mother. To marvel in their long and loving relationship. To see the way my girls adore him, even when he teases them so.

This quote is so incredibly true:

We never know the love of a parent until we become parents ourselves. – Henry Ward Beecher

When you are a teenager and your parent says you wait until you have children..you laugh it off but looking back you wonder how they got through every stress you and your siblings have put them through and it makes my heart ache a bit.

Andrew is such an amazing Dad to our girls, loving, kind, generous and strong. He spends hours playing games with them, rough and tumble in the mud or enduring his two girls offering him endless plastic cups of tea. He gets up in the night when they cry, is their protector when they take a fall.

I thought it may be hard for him being a man surrounded by females but it cannot be a bad thing to be adored by his daughters as he then in turn adores him.

A daughter may outgrow your lap but she’ll never outgrow your heart – originally posted on Pinterest.

Happy Fathers Day to all you Dads who try every day to raise your children in the right way.

Fresh Pea, Sage & Mozzarella Fusilli – A Stoves & Phil Vickery Recipe

June 17, 2015 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 3 Comments

Last week I went to another amazing BBC Good Food Show where I ate, drank and sampled a lot of great food. One of the best parts of the show is being able to watch celebrity chefs up close and learn the tricks of the trade..being so close that you can smell the food BUT you can’t taste it.

I came away with a million ideas as I always do when leaving foodie events and wanting to recreate all the recipes I’ve seen like Tom Kerridge’s beef with savoury brandy butter and shoestring fries as well as this summer pasta dish below as demonstrated over on the Stoves Live Cook Stage. The stage hosted some great chefs including Phil Vickery, Shelina Permaloo, Michael Caines and Cyrus Todiwala to name just a few. Stoves are also the kitchen appliance supplier to all the BBC Good Food Shows in 2015.

This dish screams summer to me, fresh peas, sage and melt in the mouth mozzarella come together to create a simple yet elegant dish with no need for accompaniments. I recreated it at home today and it was just as good as I anticipated.

You can get the recipe yourself here.

For once I didn’t amend the recipe at all other than throwing in a few sage flowers as they look pretty and taste good too..also I have a few thousand ( or so it seems ) in my garden. Sage is a seriously underrated herb in my opinion..it smells so incredibly good and you don’t need an awful lot for a great burst of flavour.

Here are some photos of my finished dish, I highly recommend you try it:

This recipe is simple to create and a flavour sensation.

* I was provided with supermarket vouchers to recreated this recipe at home.

The Upcycle Revolution With Gumtree

June 16, 2015 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 1 Comment

A little while ago I was invited to take part in an Upcycling challenge with Gumtree UK. This interested me as I’d started Upcycling various bits of furniture around the house already as I am a bit of a hoarder and hate throwing things away so it appeals to that side of me. I love seeing something old and shabby being given a new lease of life.

The challenge was this:

* Buy something from your local Gumtree site.

* Upcycle the item.

* Take it to London for the Upcycle Revolution event to be judged by expert upcycler Max McMurdo.

* Sell it on using Gumtree.

After MUCH deliberation I chose a rocking chair which I managed to get for a bargain £15 as it was a bit of a mess and was missing a spindle. I contacted the seller using the Gumtree mobile app which we have used for selling other items from our home – it’s also great for listing free items that you just want to get rid of. Our old sofa which was very much broken and battered was collected within an hour of listing it! I did obviously disclose the condition of the sofa in the listing.

This is the chair I purchased in its original state:

I firstly gave it a coat of white paint:

Before painting various parts of it in orange and blue shades ( I used tester pots of Valspar paint from B&Q – tester pots are great for Upcycle projects ):

This is the best final image I could get. I washed the old cushion pad to give it a facelift but I did intend to reupholster in a bright yellow fabric. However my sewing machine packed up on me and the courier arrived a little early to collect the chair leaving it like this but I still love it:

Thanks to Gumtree for inviting me to be part of this challenge. I really enjoyed it and I found it strangely therapeutic painting all the fiddly bits..also thanks to Andrew my other half who helped me or I helped him ha.

* I was given a payment with which to purchase my item and Upcycle it.

Hilton Birmingham Metropole Review

June 15, 2015 · by munchiesandmunchkins · Leave a Comment

Last month we stayed at The Hilton Birmingham Metropole for a short break before travelling to Alton Towers for a special party. On arrival at the hotel we were greeted by a rather odd sight.. Hundreds of furry characters. There was a conference at the hotel while we were there called Confuzzled – over 1000 people were attending it and most in a fur suit of some kind. The girls were a little wary at first but soon were in love with it all and it certainly made our stay a little more interesting!

After checking in, which considering the sheer volume of people staying there that day was an absolute breeze, we headed up to our family room which consisted of a large king size bed and a sofa bed. They had also provided a travel cot for Chloe and the children spent a good 20 minutes bouncing around the room on the various beds and chairs.

Soon after we headed downstairs for Afternoon Tea and a chat with head chef Paul.

This is an area of the service and reflection of the hotel which truly shone for me. As you probably know at the moment Chloe is dairy, gluten, egg and soya free and not only did one of the chefs email me the night before to advise what they were preparing for her but they actually created an entire new afternoon tea just for her. This included peanut butter cookies, chocolate cake, ham sandwiches, hummus sandwiches and a selection of fruit. The look on her face to see such an array of food just for her was a delight to see.

I don’t think she could quite believe it was all for her.

Paul ( the head chef ) chatted to us about his role in the hotel and how it felt to cook for so many people each day. He also explained how working in such a large hotel meant that they were easily able to cater for people with allergies as they have separate pastry teams etc.

Our afternoon tea was just as good as the girls, served in a unique way which showed off each aspect of the meal. The miniature cakes and sandwiches were delicious and we pretty much inhaled it in 30 minutes. Oops.

Next up was a wander around the hotel looking at the various characters strolling about followed by a dip in the warm and spacious hotel pool. The girls had a ball splashing about.

We headed up to our room after that and we relaxed reading books while the children watched a film on the TV. Bliss.

As the hotel was fairly busy we opted to have room service that night and once again the hotel kitchen went out of their way to prepare a meal which was suitable for Chloe and still appetising which is no mean feat! The girls thought it was great to have a meal in the room and treated it like an indoor picnic sat on the floor.

I had a roasted veg tartlet to start followed by Lemon and thyme chicken.

Izzy enjoyed chicken nuggets & chips whilst Chloe ate a Chicken burger & chips made especially for her.

We all enjoyed, I’m not sure why but I didn’t expect room service food to be of such a high quality and it was really lovely to be able to eat at leisure without worrying if the girls were disturbing other guests!

When they started to get sleepy I enjoyed a sneaky dessert which was rather awesome:

Chocolate honeycomb teardrop.

Long luxurious baths followed by two rather excitable girls who were thrilled at us sharing one room.. This meant sleep was delayed by a few hours but when they did sleep it was quite soundly so we were well rested the following morning.

Breakfast at a Hilton is always plentiful with a wide variety of options and the Birmingham Metropole did not disappoint. Lots of cereal options, cooked breakfast as well as continental style with hams, cheeses and Izzy was most excited to see cucumber batons as well as her favourite blueberry muffins. There was also fresh fruit, lots of different teas and coffee as well as yoghurts, pastries and toast.

It was with reluctance that we checked out after a wonderful stay. It’s not always easy planning a night away with two small children ( especially one with allergies ) but the Hilton managed to make it simple and straightforward for us from the travel cot provided to the adapted afternoon tea and the family changing facilities in the pool. This was our second visit to the Birmingham Metropole and I couldn’t pick a fault with either stay. Thanks to the Hilton for inviting us. I’m sure we will be back.

* Our stay was complimentary for the purpose of a review, all meals and drinks were gifted.

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