Category / Feature

by jo

It’s a Dog’s Life in Disney’s Superbia

Superbia Logo

From January, fans of Superbia, the popular online game for kids and tweens themed around hit Disney Channel shows, will be able to adopt and care for their own virtual cats and dogs, chosen from a range on offer in a brand new Pet Shop. Superbia has experienced a record breaking launch, with one million players logging in since it launched in February.

Whether or not tweens receive a pet this Christmas, they will be able to practice caring for one in Superbia, where pets’ happiness depends on how clean, well fed and nurtured they are. Players will be able to buy a range of toys and accessories for their pets, and spend time grooming them. In return their pets can be entered into special competitions to win prizes for their owners, or be sent on missions to dig up treasure.

Boel Ferguson, Vice President & General Manager, Disney Channels and Disney Online UK & Ireland, commented:
“We know it’s been a dream come true for many Disney Channel viewers to get the chance to move into Superbia and live side-by-side with characters from their favourite shows. Now, as well as dressing up and making friends, players can visit the Pet Shop and practice caring for animals. What better place to teach kids how important that is, when they’ll be directly rewarded by their happy, well nurtured pets with hidden treasure and competition prizes!”

Disney Channel LogoLaunched in February 2011 and based on the hugely popular Disney Channel Italy game Fun and Friends, Superbia is a colourful virtual world of Disney-inspired places, from the Austin & Ally music store to the Shake It Up dance studio. Following a record-breaking launch, a million players have moved into town, creating their own Disney Channel persona, dressing up, shopping and decorating their new virtual homes. Superbia residents are guided through the game by their new neighbours, Ella and Max who help them to complete quests to unlock new rooms and content.

Players can make friends with each other, send gifts and emoticon messages and visit and ‘like’ other people’s rooms, in a safe environment with no free text chat, or display or exchange of personal information, giving parents complete peace of mind.

Superbia is the latest addition to Disney’s successful raft of digital environments – which includes BAFTA-nominated Club Penguin.

Superbia Activity page

by jo

What On Earth Is Aussiemite?

I was in my local Waitrose on Thursday and got to my favourite yeast extract section (I have a fine selection of Marmite, often referred to as ‘the archive’ in the cupboard, as well as Vegemite to keep Shaun happy), when I stumbled across a classy looking tub of the black stuff; Aussiemite.

Aussiemite

I’ve never heard of it, so had to buy it for that reason alone, primarily for Shaun to try out and share his opinion, but also because I bet he’d never heard of it either, and well, he’s Australian you know – I like to help him feel less homesick.

It’s quite pricey – £5 (where Marmite and Vegemite are much cheaper), but needs must so off I trotted to the till and duly paid.

So – the taste test. It reminded me of Promite (which I’ve not yet been able to find in the UK) – a fruitier taste than Marmite, and less dull than Vegemite (I’m not a fan, though the song is good) – if you can afford it, I’d recommend you try it.

The big plus points? It’s GM-free, gluten-free and vegetarian too – also the nutritional information is identical to Marmite and Vegemite. (I’m not so sure about the website’s claim about Australia pioneering yeast based spreads, as Marmite came first, I thought? So Vegemite was a response? But that’s me thinking too much) Anyway, more importantly of all, Aussiemite is Australian-family owned and they want it to stay that way. Aussiemite has been sold in independent shops down under for around ten years, and was relaunched last year as a gourmet spread. It’s also not to be confused with a new spread launched by Dick Smith last year, for the record. Okay?

Anyway, it’s available over here now in all Waitrose and Selfridges stores so I’m officially going to declare it posh. It’s pretty yummy too, and gets the thumbs up from us – could it be the middle ground in the battle of the yeast extract in our house?

by jo

Activity – Painting Stones

I don’t know about you, but every time we go anywhere H comes home with pockets full of stones. We were at home on Wednesday, our last day of the holidays before nursery and work kicked in again, so decided to do a spot of painting.

Painting stones, that is. It’s a really simple idea, messy enough it’s fun and allows your child (or you) to get creative.

I used watercolour paints (the ones in tubes) as they seem to take a better colour on the stones and wash off your hands easily. We did some one-colour ones, and some dual colour, and even a ladybird which was fun. (the large black one with red spots is H’s seal)

We’ve run out of our paints now, so I’ve more on order arriving next week, so here’s what we did the other day – and even better, we both worked on all of the stones. Now H has a train set to play with, we decided she should paint some stones golden, for the ‘Gold Rock’ station – now I’ve just got to build a station…

Painting Stones

by jo

Achica Love

We were introduced to Achica a few months ago by Rachel, and I was immediately drawn to the things they have for offer. We rent (rather than own) our house, and always have done (though all furniture is our own) – which means when we move we have a mish-mash of things which don’t quite match, which I like to think has some kind of charm.

Which is where Achica comes in – they have loads of homeware items, and what with the new year being here I’ve been browsing and dreaming of my ideal bedroom and living areas – after all, our decor is neutral with only our various settees and beds that don’t quite match – I feel like we need some colour!

So I had one of those imaginary spending things I do from time to time – have you ever done that? You browse online, add all the things you want to your shopping cart, but don’t check out… sort of like you’re spending, and then you’re left admiring a hefty shop which you have to sadly let go.

I chose some really nice things and got a bit excited by it all!

I’m a sucker for spots and stripes, and this jumped out at me – it’s grown up without being too grown up – it sits with what I like (and what Shaun has to put up with!) and is still quite grown up looking – a Mocha and Cream super king size duvet set. Mmmmm.

Achica Mocha and Stripe Super King Size Duvet

Our two settees don’t match at all – they’re from different places, so I tend to cover them with a throw or two to blend them in a bit – however, one thing you can never slack off on is bright colourful cushions – you need something that jumps out a bit, fits in with our style (or lack of) and looks good. In fact, the only downside is that it is dry clean only, so will be kept well away from the three-year old…

Achica Spot Cushion

Finally, way back when H was born, she was sent a gorgeous quilt cover/throw for her bed for when she gets older – it’ll be perfect for the summertime, and is almost identical to this cushion I spotted. We didn’t get a pillowcase to match (though to be fair, I think a cushion would suit it better than a pillowcase), but I can see this on H’s bed with the other cover – while I look on jealously at how lovely it looks.

Extra bonus – it’s machine washable, so perfect for the three-year old! (then again, maybe I should just keep it for myself…)

Achica Patchwork Cushion

Now, earlier I did say about a hefty shop that I’d be doing, adding these to my shopping cart – but actually, all of these come in at £46.98!! Which when you consider most super king size duvet sets can cost more than that, is a really good bargain.

So I window shopped a bit more and drooled over the Pantone dining things on offer, dreamed about them a bit but knew as we bought new plates not that long ago that it’d be silly to buy more. Well, maybe just a Tangerine Tango cup… swoon…

What I like about Achica are the brands they offer – and the discounts. I don’t like paying full price for something if I feel it’s a lot of money – whereas with Achica I feel like I’m buying good quality goods at a fantastic price. This must therefore mean that I win!

I received a voucher for this feature, all opinions are my own.

by jo

Ice is a nice crowd puller for Polesden

Mrs Greville would have been so proud… Not only did the National Trust welcome more than 11,300 people into her former home over four Edwardian Christmas weekends, a welcome this inveterate hostess stipulated when she bequeathed Polesden Lacey to them, but they followed this with the creation in the grounds of a 2m high ice statue of the lady herself!

Hamilton Ice Sculptures, the first professional ice sculpting company in the UK who have worked for many famous clients including Elton John and Justin Timberlake, were invited to come to Polesden on the last weekend of 2012 to create two unique pieces in front of visitors.

“Many of our sculptures are created behind closed doors” said Jack Hackney, one of just four expert craftsmen on the Hamilton Ice Sculptor team, “so it was refreshing to be able to showcase how we work and to be able to answer questions. Working in the outdoors after all the rain we’ve had lately also presented a lot of challenges, but I was really pleased with the results.”

Ice Sculptures at Polesden Lacey

Andrea Selley, Polesden’s General Manager, was also very pleased “There was so much interest before the event, and Ben and Jack certainly didn’t disappoint. We moved the ice sculpting point up to the Stable Courtyard so that visitors could enjoy watching the team at work from under our canopy. The weather hasn’t been on our side, but we still wanted to allow as many people to enjoy the experience as possible.’’

Following the success of the Christmas weekends, Santa’s elves have also been busy the past few weeks replying to the nearly 1,200 letters sent to him by children whilst visiting Polesden. It was heart warming to see that the most popular presents requested were traditional favourites, the top three being: dolls, lego and remote control cars.

by jo

Wreck-It Ralph Challenge! – Sponsored Video

We went to see the new Tinker Bell movie today at the cinema, and got to see the Wreck-It Ralph trailer – which looks like a lot of fun, and appealing to us old school game types (I’m not sure H is quite there yet, she’s a sensitive soul, but we may try…) as well as featuring voices from Sarah Silverman and Jane Lynch.

BUT!

Ralph has escaped!

 

If you head to Find Ralph to complete the missing Ralph poster, you have a chance to win a Galaxy Note II and some exclusive goodie bags.

You can also find some games and videos to learn more about the Wreck-It Ralph characters (our favourite has to be Clyde the PacMan ghost) – there are loads of things to check out.

Wreck It Ralph Challenge

Disclaimer: Prizes are available in UK, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Brazil.

This is a sponsored post

by jo

Smart Gift Ideas From Morphy Richards

Christmas may be over, and we’re heading into a new year, and already I know it’s one I’m going cooking much more – and when the weather is dreary then what better to do than a spot of cooking?

Morphy Richards have loads of smart gift ideas (and a new app so you can let others know what you fancy too). If I could choose just three things, my list would be this:

The Intellisteam Food Steamer – this sounds great – two compartments to steam your veg, with different settings so you can have several vegetables on the go at the same time – plus it looks easy to clean and is dishwasher safe – and isn’t too big to store either. I need more gadgets where you can add food and leave them to cook so I can spend more time with H in the evening – and this sounds ideal – plus it means I’d be saving on washing up pots and pans which are possibly the most boring things to wash by hand. Oh, and it’s also quite good for pasta and rice dishes, so that is a huge thumbs up from me – anything that means I get a bit of time with my daughter is a good thing.

I really like the Yellow Hand Blender set – I had to buy a food processor over Christmas as smoke came out of my hand blender when I was making some biscuits (this is when I realised I was doing it wrong and needed something bigger). I’ve not dared switch on the little old one yet, but I fear its days are numbered… and besides, I love a kitchen that doesn’t match, this colour yellow is nice and bright and adds some colour to the room. So I’d add this to the wishlist as it isn’t expensive – and looks bright and retro. Also: a whisk! I could make meringues and pavlovas!!

Morphy Richards Soup Maker

Finally, I’d add a Soup Maker to my wishlist. I have one already (as I’ve already gushed about a gazillion times on here), but I’d gift it to a friend who was envious of mine but hasn’t get one. I won’t say who.. but I know she’d use it as much as I use mine – and I’d be happy to pass it on.

So yes, my wishlist there. I’ll be working on more recipes this year, and hopefully H might help me…

(and disclaimer – I’d have added a kettle and toaster as our old ones were on their last legs, but they both blew before Christmas so we’ve already bought new ones!)

 

Foodies100 Index of UK Food Blogs

 

 

by jo

Merry Christmas!

A big thank you from us all here for all your support and comments on Mum Friendly in the last year! We’ve had a brilliant year and long may it continue into next year – we’ve lots of features to come in the New Year, including Shaun’s Couch to 5K writeup (yep, I’ve persuaded him to write more!) – all manner of things. But most importantly for now, have a brillant, fantastic Christmas – and thank you again!

tree2012.jpg

by jo

Knitting a Tea Cosy

Every month us Hooky Knitters of Carshalton meet in our local pub and knit – and the pub set us a task. Make them a tea cosy or two for their warmed up Pimm’s Winter, which is to be served in teapots.

Pouring Pimm's Winter

We found what they wanted and gulped. It looked like it was crocheted, and we’re dwindling in crocheters, though do have some. Fortunately Shaun’s mum came along with a brilliant knit for a simple tea cosy using two colours and just the one stitch.

Incredibly, I’ve finished it in just over two weeks (this is incredible as I’ve never followed a pattern before and I’ve never knitted with two colours before, and I’ve never finished a pattern or a project before).

My Pimm's Tea Cosy

So, what to do? You’ve two colours – we chose orange and white as they’re quite Pimm’s-y.

Cast on 72 stitches.
Knit 5 rows plain then knit 3 (colour one) and knit 3 (colour two).

Keep this going for as long as necessary – and remember at the end of each row to twist your two colours around so you don’t get gaps in the knit – it helps keep it tidy.
Keep it neat!
Remember which side you’re knitting from and where your unused wool goes, so that each colour change is neat at the back.
When you get to lid height start to decrease by knitting one then knit two together for each colour for four rows and when long enough cast off. Sew both sides up (and don’t forget to leave a space for the handle and spout!) Gather in the top and attach the pom-pom. You can also put some wool around the bottom to gather it in – I didn’t, but Karen did, so you get an idea of how it’ll look.
You’ll end up with something that looks like this :
Karen's Pimm's Tea Cosy
Karen added a white knitted rectangle to the front of hers with a cross-stitched Pimm’s on there – I think it looks ACE!
by jo

Where To Buy Clothes?

Christmas is almost here, and I’ve hit a dilemma. I have clothes, just none that fit me any more – they’re all loose. I tried on some jeans today in Dorothy Perkins and found that I’ve dropped quite a few sizes – jeans which used to be a weird fit are now a good fit. I’ve not bought anything (yet!), as I was confused.

I know there’s a discrepancy with all the clothes stores and their sizings, and how on earth am I to know where to start?

THEN I remembered this website – What Size Am I?. It would appear that my size goes well with New Look – I can live with that! Oh, and if I wanted to shop in The Gap I’d probably be a Size 14. LORDY!

Anyway, just passing the link on, as maybe some of you reading may find you’re in a similar position – it’s a great resource!