Why Everybody Needs An Apron, and an Easy Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Whether you're four or forty four, there's nothing more pleasurable than shoving your hand in a bowl of sweet smelling, sticky cookie dough. 

This is why children need aprons.

Yes, I realise I should have rolled their sleeves up...

But why does everybody need an apron?

Surely as an adult you can keep yourself clean?

Hmm. Maybe. There are three reasons why I need an apron:

1. I have, erm, a large shelf on my front that collects drips and crumbs from whatever I'm eating, and I eat while I'm cooking... 
2. I have two children who enjoy baking, and cookie dough and Nutella will transfer from them to me, even though they deny touching anything with mucky hands.
3. These beauties, designed by Henry Holland and worn by yours truly, are available from Home Sense or online and are raising money for a good cause, for Comic Relief.
4. 
   

I now wear my apron from the second I start cooking, until I've loaded the dishwasher and washed up the bits that aren't allowed in it. It's no exaggeration to say that it has changed my life and saved my clothes.

Easy Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Ingredients

125g Butter, at room temperature

100g Sugar (any soft brown sugar will do, you can even use caster)

1 Egg, beaten

1 tsp Vanilla Essence

225g Self Raising Flour (or Plain Flour with 1tsp Baking Powder)

200g Chocolate Chips

Method

1. Heat the oven to 160 fan.
2. Mix the butter and sugar with a wooden spoon (or your hands, if you're four).
3. Add the egg and vanilla essence, mix.
4. Add the flour, mix.
5. Add the chocolate chips (some may fall into your mouth at this stage).
6. Form the cookie dough into small balls by rolling a lump around in your hands.
7. Place on a baking tray, leaving room for the cookies to spread.
8. Bake for about 10 minutes until golden brown.

We decorated ours with Nutella and white chocolate stars, but you can use anything you fancy or just leave them plain. Either way, they won't last long.

Disclosure:

This is a sponsored post, although I will be giving my fee to Comic Relief for Red Nose day. The Comic Relief Danceathon is only one month away.

If you would like also to sponsor me for the Danceathon, that would be amazing. I will be dancing for six hours to raise money that really makes a #LastingChange.

.

Why Everybody Needs An Apron, and an Easy Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Tesco is backing the Pampers UNICEF campaign in the global fight against Maternal and Newborn Tetanus.

This is a sponsored post.

From October to December, Pampers and UNICEF, the world’s leading children’s organisation, come together for the eighth year to launch the “1 pack = 1 vaccine” campaign. This year, Tesco has upped the stakes and set the challenge to its shoppers to help raise the cost of one vaccine every second of the campaign period – that’s nine million life-saving vaccines helping to protect the lives of 3 million women and their newborns! 

A team from Tesco and Pampers visited Senegal, West Africa, to see the success of the UNICEF vaccination programme and meet those who have witnessed the devastating effects of MNT first-hand:

Ami Seck tragically lost her first baby boy to tetanus;

“After a few days, we noticed the child was trembling excessively,” Mame Touty, Ami’s mother-in-law says, “We spent nine days in hospital, but the boy died on the tenth day. When it happened we were very dejected. After the regretful incident, Ami became pregnant again, but we learnt lessons, we had an antenatal care package, and everything went smoothly. Everyone knew that our baby boy died but we are a living example of how you can get out of the maze.”

Moussa Pouye is the Chief Nurse at Dabaly Health Post, Nioro District, Senegal talk about dealing with a case of tetanus;

“I had to deal with a case of tetanus where the lady had no antenatal care or tetanus vaccinations. I met with the Supervisor of the Health Centre and he gave me 200 doses of tetanus to do an immediate campaign in the area to avoid another case. We made sure all other women in the village were protected. The village, Touba Saloum, now has its own Health Hut and all the women are subscribing.”

Ways you can help:

Visit your local Tesco today and pick up your pack of Pampers or buy online at Tesco.com:

1 Pack = 1 Vaccine

During October – December 2013, for each Pampers^®- UNICEF pack purchased, Pampers^® will donate the cost of one tetanus vaccine to support UNICEF in the fight against Maternal and Newborn Tetanus.                                                                              

UNICEF Pledge Donations

By becoming a monthly donor to UNICEF today you can join thousands of other parents who donate every month to improve the lives of these vulnerable children. Visit www.supportunicef.org/Pampers to see the difference that you can make.

Tesco is backing the Pampers UNICEF campaign in the global fight against Maternal and Newborn Tetanus.

Pampers unveils their giant Baby Blanket – knitted with the nation’s good wishes for the new Royal Baby!

This is a sponsored post.

As mentioned recently on Baby Baby, to celebrate the birth of the new royal baby, Pampers has knitted a giant baby blanket made from the good wishes of love and support from the UK public, in aid of family support charity Home-Start UK. I hope you got involved too?

The campaign has received overwhelming support from all over the world – including Canada, China and Australia - with thousands of parents sharing their wishes of love and support for the royal couple. And for every message received, Pampers has donated a nappy to family support charity Home-Start UK with a final donation of 100,000 nappies being made.

On Thursday, Pampers invited mums and babies to see the unveiling of this giant blanket and continue the nation’s celebration of the new arrival!

Now that the blanket has been unveiled, Pampers will be donating framed sections of the blanket to neonatal units and children’s hospitals across the UK to display on their walls.

Every little baby is a prince or princess to their mum and dad, and Pampers wishes them nothing but love, sleep and play. To find out further information visit www.pampers.co.uk.



.

Pampers unveils their giant Baby Blanket – knitted with the nation’s good wishes for the new Royal Baby!

One of My Recipes is in The Hallmark Advent Calendar

I was delighted to be asked to contribute something Christmassy to the Hallmark Advent Calendar.

Behind every door is a top tip, craft idea or a recipe. You'll have to wait until 21st December to see my contribution, but I can tell you it's a simple recipe for something that your child could make for Santa. My boys love putting cookies and carrots on a plate for Santa on Christmas Eve. Last year they thought the big man would like a glass of milk as well. This year we may make some boozy suggestions, after all it is freezing at night.

There are some great ideas hiding behind the doors for the first couple of weeks of Advent, you may recognise some of the names of the contributors. I can't wait to see what's behind the other doors.


Disclosure: I was paid for my contribution to the calendar and to publish this post.

One of My Recipes is in The Hallmark Advent Calendar

How To Do... Super Speedy Wrapping

Have you always wanted to know how to become a super speedy wrapper?

Watch this:




The PTA Christmas Shop, 700 presents wrapped using handbands:

3M Products used in this vlog:
Scotch Pop-up Tape Handband Dispenser
Scotch Comfort Scissors 20cm

If you like stationery take a look at the 3M shop. I've been trying out loads of different products recently, the double sided tape dispenser is perfect for card making.

Scotch currently have a weekly mystery gift giveaway on their Facebook page. For all the info and for some clues to the answers check out my It's a Wrap post.

Disclosure: Scotch are paying me to wrap my Christmas presents (on video). I have to wrap my Christmas presents anyway, so yay.

How To Do... Super Speedy Wrapping

How To Do: A Good Night's Sleep

Sponsored Post

This is a lovely video from Johnson's Baby, it's called How To Do: A Good Night's Sleep. It's one of a range from their YouTube channel, Baby & You. All the videos give simple guidance on the basics of looking after your new baby.

Enjoy and don't get broody now... oh too late!

How To Do: A Good Night's Sleep

Mmm McVitie's Jamaica Ginger Cake

Sponsored post

Oh McVitie's Jamaica Ginger Cake in your shiny new packaging.
How do I love thee, let me count the ways:
A huge slab with a cup of tea
A little slice - just one more tiny piece
The scrapings round the edge of the paper
The bottom layer of a posh trifle...

Hold on, I've said too much. I've nearly given away my dinner party secret weapon, posh ginger and pear individual trifles.

I don't want you to enter the McVitie's Jamaica Ginger Cake competition by 14th August to win a fabulous dream holiday to Jamaica. I want to win it. No, don't you dare click on the link to their Official Jamaica Ginger Cake page and tell them your Ginger Cake serving suggestion. Oh no.

If you love McVitie's Jamaica Ginger Cake as much as I do, you'll love this recipe from Rustie Lee:

Mmm McVitie's Jamaica Ginger Cake

New Nivea Sun Kids Pure & Sensitive

This is a sponsored post

We all like to have fun in the sun, especially children, but it amazes me how many parents don't feel the need to protect their children's skin.

I was on holiday in Cyprus a few years ago. Holidays, remember them?! I have fair skin and burn easily so I always pack plenty of sun lotion. I'd rather be pale and interesting than burnt to a blistered peeling crisp. Sadly not everyone is as diligent as I am in this area.

Back to Cyprus (I'd love to go back to Cyprus)! A family arrived in our hotel one morning and hit the swimming pool straight away. The parents took advantage of the all-inclusive bar while the children played in the pool. By lunchtime the whole family were bright pink. Like pigs. They chose chocolate cake and chips from the buffet. After lunch they went straight back out in the burning sun. We nicknamed them the pigs for the duration of our holiday, they didn't get any less pink! Now I am a mother I don't think I could stand by and watch those children burn. I also hate to see babies in prams in direct sunlight. I shout at their parents (from the safety of my car, obviously) 'put some sun cream and a hat on that on that baby, you...'

Factor 50+ sun protection is vital for children. My boys know that they must always wear a hat and sun lotion when it's sunny. It doesn't take long to apply, the new Nivea range includes a lotion and a spray, and you know that your children are protected against sunburn and long-term skin damage.

I'm looking forward to some sunshine so I can try the new Nivea Sun Kids Pure & Sensitive range as it is 100% free from perfume, colourants and preservatives helping to reduce the risk of skin alergies and it has been especially developed for kids' sensitive skin. I am allergic to many so-called skin care products and I worry that my boys have inherited my sensitive skin. I've had a little spray and this product is as gentle as you would expect.

Now let's just hope we have a decent summer!


.

New Nivea Sun Kids Pure & Sensitive

A Look at Tuiss

This is a sponsored post

How can you quicky update your home? New curtains or blinds can transform any room in your house.

When we moved into our house, Presley was just three months old. About 5 minutes later I was pregnant again with Cash. Having two children so close together meant that decorating was pretty low down on our list of priorities. The whole house still needs decorating. We inherited someone else’s dubious taste in interior décor and their blinds and curtains. As we are not overlooked we have removed some of the more frilly and velvety window coverings, but hadn’t replaced them. Going to a DIY shop at the weeked is not our favourite thing to do, so we’d left it.

I was asked to take a look at tuiss.co.uk, the online blind company and I was impressed. I think if I’d known about this website we may have a more modern home by now.

From traditional, neutral roller blinds to funky roman blinds Tuiss.co.uk offers all types of window covering. They also stock those all important blackout blinds for children’s rooms (and your room if it has a streetlight outside of it) and stylish wooden blinds.

The website is easy to navigate. You can browse by style, then by colour or feature. You add in your measurements and you can see the price instantly.

I virtually updated my kitchen window with a 65x58cm roller blind in Holiday Stripe Brighton rock. The price, just £39.93. The website even tells you how much light the blind will let through. Blinds are delivered within 5-7 working days.

I love the Foglia Nero luxury curtains. I would team them with some Concept Silver 25mm venetian blinds to create a stunning dining room window.

The range is huge. I particularly like the idea of energy saving blinds. They reduce heat loss and look good too.

We’re going to leave our house as it is though. When we move I’ll definitely be trying out Tuiss I can’t wait!

A Look at Tuiss

Flip me! It's nearly pancake day.

This is a sponsored post.

I love pancakes, or to be more specific I love my mum's pancakes. Thick, crispy, with the zing of fresh lemon juice and the sweet crunchiness of sugar. We only had them once a year on Shrove Tuesday. This year Shrove Tuesday falls on 8th March.

Every year I try to emulate my mum's pancakes, but I just can't make batter. It's a similar story with Yorkshire puddings. Mum comes over here for a holiday once a year and I always get her to cook them for me. She's never been over for pancake day though.

This year though, my problem may be solved. I was in the supermarket yesterday and saw Betty Crocker shake and make pancake mix. I made a mental note to buy some for pancake day, then today I was asked whether I would like to write about it. Spooky!

I'll be checking out Betty Crocker's Facebook page and the hints and tips on how to make the perfect pancake.

There's also a video featuring Stunt Mum Kati:


Untitled from Launch Group on Vimeo.


Hopefully this year my pancakes will be yummy!








.

Flip me! It's nearly pancake day.

Clairol Nice 'n Easy Colour Blend Foam: Before and After Vlogs

This is a sponsored post


Before

Look at the grey!





After


That's better!





Thank you, Clairol.


.

Clairol Nice 'n Easy Colour Blend Foam: Before and After Vlogs