A flashback to the 70s today as I’m sorting through old photos at my parents’ home. I have seen sepia, black and white and colour images but nothing quite beats the 70s for the colours and patterns. The curtains, the wallpaper, the dress, I think the carpet was bright and swirly too!!
For me Dippy the dinosaur is an iconic character. I have happy memories of childhood trips to the Natural History museum and he appears in so many stories and films that Dippy is a national treasure and the exhibit whom has captivated so many children. I was a little sad when he was retired from his London home, thinking my children would never get the opportunity to see him and to get the sense of awe and curiosity which generations have experienced on seeing the model.
However Dippy is on tour and this week we had a day trip to meet him. I was a tad worried that Dippy would be different to what I remembered, not so impressive or just a little tired, however I can happily report that he is just as captivating and interesting as I remembered. I was star struck! Fortunately it was not just me as the children loved him too. The hall he is in has two floors and to walk along the gallery is mind boggling as his body takes up the whole hall space and you really get the scale of the size of a dinosaur. Downstairs you can measure yourself against his leg and feel so tiny but for me the gallery view was incredible. At one end you come face to face to Dippy and it’s fascinating, his head seems quite small in comparison to the body.
It was great to see Dippy drawing in the crowds, I booked tickets in advance as many slots for the holidays are already fully booked. Entrance to the Dippy tour was free and it gave us so much pleasure and delight, a treat for all the family.
For Little Miss one of the delights of school holidays is painted nails. In the days before she breaks up Little Miss will be deciding on the shade and counting down the minutes until she can have her manicure and varnish.
Earlier this month I did a Body Shop order and needing to spend £1 to get free delivery I searched for a product at this price and discovered a nail art pen in the sale for this exact sum. OMG we are loving this tool and it’s becoming one of the best pounds I’ve ever spent!
After our first few experiments with dots and stripes, we progressed to a simple flower this holiday. We have our own nail art inspiration board on Pinterest and have big ideas for the coming holidays, special effects including marbling (bubble wrap, genius idea) a fruity theme for the summer, Halloween art for October etc..
I suppose nail art and make up are becoming the new crafting for tweens, with the skills being transferable experimenting with colour, textures etc.. I am embracing nail art because it gives me much cherished time with my daughter, music in the background, the gentle touch of a hand massage, manicure etc .. and the time to sit still and talk. I’m sure in the coming years it’ll be a routine done with friends over teenage gossip so I’ll enjoy every little manicure until then and yes I’m proud to wear my daughter’s designs on my nails.
Yes this really is an electric whisk. I’ve exhausted my Easter photos in the previous post and wanted something original in this series. Oddly, before January I had never owned an electric whisk and since I’ve had it my recipes have become more adventurous and technical, soufflés, meringues etc .. I love it and it’s made cooking just a little more fun.
With Easter falling so early, I felt that I had not quite had the build up and excitement to the season this year. Easter is one of my favourite times of the year, I find it a very spiritual time and to me the religious celebration is at the heart of our Easter. Easter is a time of homemaking, a spring clean, followed by decorating the house and a time to enjoy new recipes and menus. It has less of the pressure of Christmas and the lighter days and glimpses of spring make it a more inspiring holiday.
I have only bought a few new Easter decorations this year as I’ve not really had the time to shop for Easter as I normally do. I did discover HomeSense and am so pleased with the wreath, bunny plate and basket I purchased there, I also got a new Happy Easter garland in Waitrose. The wreath and garland are hung in my kitchen feature window and of all my Easter decorations this window is my favourite.
This year we have followed our family traditions, the Easter bonnet parade at school (recycled bonnets from last year, Easter simply arrived too early for inspiring craft times!) hot cross buns bought on Good Friday from our local baker and our Easter egg hunt with a hand drawn clue sheet by me. I’m a rubbish artist but I love doing this, I look back on every year’s sheet and am proud of the care and effort I made with each one. We’ve also tried new things this year. This morning, we rolled eggs at the Downs. I had experimented with the nail varnish marbled eggs flooding Pinterest boards, but they were a disaster and Little Miss and I still have the stains on our hands. We ended up decorating our eggs with Sharpies and they looked just fine. The fun of the activity was in the egg rolling, it was simple good fun and the children loved it, definitely one to do again nest year. I sent my mum a short video and she was reminded of her childhood Easters too. The other new activity was an Easter piñata. We do have the most amazing neighbours so this morning we discovered a bunny piñata hanging in our garden, a present from them. When we told Little Man there was a rabbit in the garden he wouldn’t believe us, thinking it was an April fools. Our neighbours came over this afternoon to see the piñata being bashed, it was so funny and again one to enjoy again.
I wanted to create a fresh, spring menu our Easter lunch. I will often make a nut roast, or pastry main course for special menus however Mr S asked for a simple Quorn roast. Initially I was a bit hesitant as it seemed a bit like cheating but it meant that I spent more time focusing on the flavours of the vegetables and a special pudding. The honey and nutmeg glazed baby carrots were stunning whilst fresh, perfectly cooked asparagus is always tasty and a star of any meal.
Little Miss and I set ourselves the little challenge of making a meringue dessert from scratch. Little Miss really enjoys cooking with me and we do like to try more demanding recipes; we got the meringue recipe from the Good Food website and it was a 5 star recipe rating from us. I am really proud how much of the recipe Little Miss was able to do independently, she is a great little sous chef and its lovely to be in the kitchen working together.
With Easter starting our holidays, we now have a fortnight to enjoy some spring sunshine and inspired activities. We’re off to see Peter Rabbit at the cinema this week and some local attractions have Easter themed trails for us to enjoy too. I’ve checked the calendar for next year and its a much later Easter in 2019, so we will have the time to prepare and be inspired by Easter.
Happy Easter x
Seaside Sparkles 