Blog As You Are

Blog as you .

Power to your hands (paws)

Leaving behind those I've lost, with a clear conscience and I wish those who have wronged me one as well. Putting my mistakes behind me , learning to let go.

Friends quality over quantity and if you've made the grade then you are friend indeed.

I'm making good choices here on in, I don't do resolutions more revolutions.

I will be back to recipes and picture taking , I'm still getting over an awful virus , people have it worse than me so woeful I won't be.

Good cheer to you all and hope you'll be with me for year 4

The Hidden House Westfield Stratford City

Yesterday I went along with my family down to London to the Westfield shopping centre Stratford City right by the Olympic park and having left at 8 am form Derby were were able to have breakfast in Giraffe. Setting down for breakfast we had a good view of the Olympic park with the shelter skelkter structure which was used as a media centre during the Olympics  but of which now you can ascend and achieve magnificent view overs London.

Christmas along with a time of festivities has had a long tradition of ghost stories and the alike challenging our fears and giving us a jolly dossier along the way. With my family I was very much appreciative of being invited to 'The Hidden House' at the Westfield Stratford City to discover the secrets that lie within.


What is the hidden house ?

The hidden house is a thrilling brand new scare maze inspired by The Grimm Tales .


How long does it take ?


This immersive experience takes 15 minutes and you are interacting from the word go with the  use of actors, technology and drama to create a unique one of a kind experience . It is sure to make you laugh  ( well my husband and son did as one of the actors came up to up and sniffed me and said in a slightly menacing voice


"Fresh meat mmmmmm"


Both in equal measure you will have goosebumps and you will laugh !



What ages is is suitable for ?

Ages 8 and above an adult is not required for either the Hidden House session or The Hidden House : Darkest secrets secrets. I think it is better to go with your child unless they are utterly fearless but that is just my parental point of view.


I would say don't wear stilettos or teeny tiny skirts or your poshest outfit as you 'may' have to crawl a small way.

The experience was till the 4th January 2015


Disclosure I was provided with tickets for Hidden House and a gift card all view , words and opinions are my own.

What To Get A Marvel Fan For Christmas

My son is a Marvel fan and really big this one and this year I have been tasked with finding gifts that are different , unique there are plenty of comic gift are the market. You have to have deep pockets for some of the comic memorabilia that I have seen , such as signed Stan Lee art work etc which I have to say is a little out of my price range.

I happened upon a company called Bombus who mix vintage,modern design to create handmade bespoke personalised gifts, home accessories and one off art piece. The first item I picked were bookends in his initials and they are covered in comics , you can ask for what ever character you want they will do their up most to find it for you .

 I then thought abut all the nick naks he has , what it  it with boys and keeping things so I thought a bespoke marvel covered box would hide all the little bits and bobs he insists on keeping. 

The box is again covered in a comic that you request and I think it is rather funky and I hope he likes it !  ( sure he will )

My son has posters on his wall but I thought that it would be nice to add a more depth to this room and I thought that a trio of the circles covered in Marvel comics would do just the job. You can of course buy more but as the rest of his wall are covered in his beloved posters alas there is no room.


If you are looking for an alternative to a needle dropping tree or sigh at the thought of putting up an artificial one again and you are a Mavel comic book lover what about this alternative tree ?! My son has a small version of this tree  in this room and again he loves it.

Disclosure : This is not a review and I paid for all this with my own fair money , well I have a join bank account so is suppose we went halves  , no all the money is mine I have just decided.

I'm Not One To Be Truffled With

I am coming up for my 4 th year of blogging , would you believe that it started with my cat , I now blog not just my cat but my whims , sometimes serious , happy sad whatever I want. I have and always will do what I want , no longer do reading myself too thin. No longer I'm out for me but I'll help my friends , you see that's me.

You wouldn't have guessed it but I do rather like my own company , getting away from it all , suppose this comes from being a combination of factors . I have and always well wonder why folk like me , yet at one time I wanted to be liked, I'm the blogging enigma I'll not go away . I'll be there to help, support and talk and develop myself as I go.

And as I set here again wondering why to write , I again peel the cat off the kettle so I can sit down with my trusty cup of tea.

So I'll be with my pink truffles if you need me.

These are blogging truffles it is what powers bloggers.

Some Tops Tips For Saving Up For A Wedding And House

It is 17 years since my wedding day and the time has certainly gone fast , I know have my own home and one child and 2 cats , I still can't look after house plants but I still remember the tips and tricks I learnt when I was saving up for my wedding and house which are still relevant today.

Scrapbooks and board moods are a great visual aid in your wedding planning , for those inclined towards technology there is Pinterest.

I decided to get married in January of 1997 and by the 18th October 1997, I was married, it was fast and furious but worth every minute. I cannot stress enough that this is the time to get yourself a notebook and write down what you'd like it might seem that pie in the sky , for me the more you thrashed an idea out the clearer an idea of what you wanted got ! Below are a few tips and tricks to help you get the best out of your wedding ideas and for saving for a new house.

1. Decide on your budget and prioritise :

You could book one location for your ceremony and reception this will save on transportation costs from one place to another. If your heart is set on  a church wedding or a licensed venue then you can do one of several things a recommendation is always worthwhile, I had the same cars that my sister in law did. I know a friend of mine her daughter had a camper van as her wedding car so anything is possible even friends and family may be able to chip in.

The day you get married on can vastly impact upon your budget with many places charging a premium for a Saturday night , you could even have your an afternoon wedding on a Sunday -night event.

Be frugal with your guest list , you can always have a get together for other friends a few months later.

2. Your wedding photography is a record of your day :that you will want to last forever so don't necessarily  trust a friend who say they will do it , again this is where to ask for recommendations and for me I asked my sister in law and I was very estastic with the outcome. Nowadays everything is digital , you can cut down on the time your photographer stays at the reception by scheduling the toasts, the cake cutting and the bouquet toss for after the dinner, so the photographer can take these moments and leave.

3. Your wedding clothes and decorations:  there is no shame to looking on eBay , or even if the sales of wedding dress shops , there is a strong second hand market. I remember selling my dress and it was brought by a lady who was going to get married in Toronto Canada the very place that I went for my honeymoon  where I combined it with seeing Niagara Falls. Another place worth looking is somewhere like T K Maxx who says it has to be traditional wedding dress , you could be having a themed wedding for example. The friend I mentioned whose daughter had the VW camper as her wedding car  also had Vr camper van bunting .There was  a lot of sewing of bunting involved in the VW camper van bunting , how unique is that . SO you see anything goes I always believe there is a cheap solution to a expensive thought ( and cheapness doesn't necessarily equate to letting go of quality) If the cost can be spread out amongst friends and family then go for it don't let your imagination get in the way.

4.  Serve cocktails at your wedding for a difference  as venues do charge for every bottle opened ( called corkage) though I went down to my local supermarket and brought some fizzy stuff ( ooh yes champagne) 6 bottles of white and red and usually there is a discount for doing so. I then as previously mentioned just paid corkage for the bottles that were opened , what I did with the bottles that weren't opened I allowed the DJ to give them away to adults over the age of 18 as spot prizes for the dancing ( sure fire  way to get people onto the dance floor)

5. Add your own touches for example have fake flowers into mixed with real ones and as they say less is more. You could even get your wedding cake form M & S as one of my sister in laws did and very nice it was as well, for me this was where personal recommendation came in from another sister in law again. There is a fashion as well to have a cupcake display instead of one big wedding cake and many aren't fussed abut marzipan anyway , the cupcake displays I have seen are very impressive.

You could skip the dessert at your meal and have the cake as your dessert ! Buy disposable cameras and put some on the tables, people gets all sorts of fun shots. Haggle with your prices where you can there is always room for discount when buying in bulk. For me recommendation saved me money and I also brought my sister in laws veil off her as well , and with my bridesmaids shoes I brought white ones that I had dyed to match their bridesmaid dresses.


Saving up for a house 

Saving up for your first  house should be becoming easier but is still a major financial challenge I remember saving furiously for the deposit when I was buying my first house, I saved up in the way of ISAs and and building society accounts etc.

As soon as I became engaged I made sure I planned ahead you might not think it is relevant but I assure you if you can save pounds here and there , then these saving allow you do to what is essential to make your home comfortable when you move in. I for example when I did have my house made sure that some of the money I had saved up went on paying my household insurance for the year and this was one less bill going out.

I am pleased to have written this post in conjunction with TSB.I have been compensated for my time, all thoughts , words  pictures and opinions are my own.