Meal Inspiration Monday- King Prawn and Courgette Curry

- cupsofcharlotte Leave a comment

Its Monday again which means it’s time to share with you another meal which I have been cooking recently. I actually have made this one a couple of times due to the fact that I have found myself with courgettes left over from other meals I have made. I do not like waste and I would rather turn left overs into a meal than throw them away. One of the meals which I have made is the courgette and king prawn curry. When I made this one it actually made the whole house smell amazing and like an Indian.  Just for the scent alone I would make this meal again.

Ingredients- Serves 2

2 tbsp Olive Oil

500g Courgette thickly sliced

½ tsp cumin seeds

2 tbsp ginger

6 crushed garlic cloves

1 red chilli, deseeded and finally chopped

1 tsp ground coriander

¼ tsp ground turmeric

500g chopped tomatoes

150ml hot vegetable stock

225g peeled frozen king prawns

½ small bunch coriander, roughly chopped

Items you need-  frying pan, wooden spoon and sharp knife and a chopping board.

Method
  1. Heat the oil in a large wok and stir-fry the courgettes for 5-6 mins until softened. Lift from the pan with a slotted spoon, leaving the oil behind.
  2. Add the cumin seeds to the pan and toast for a few seconds.
  3. Put the ginger, garlic, chilli and spices stirring for 1-2 mins.
  4. Add the tomatoes into the pan and cook for a few minutes more.
  5. Pour in the stock and simmer to make a thicker sauce, then add the courgettes and prawns.
  6. Cook gently until the prawns change from grey to pink and the courgettes are tender, but not too soft.
  7. Stir in most of the coriander, saving some to sprinkle over the top.

You can serve this with rice which is something which I did. Yes I have frozen rice and I know this is something which you are not meant to do at all. I think when I take this out of the freezer I may add some nan bread to go with this.

Have you every tried making a curry using courgette or king prawns?

 

Charlotte xx

Book Review- The Women Who Went To Bed For A Year

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This is a book which has been on my to be read pile for a long time. I think I actually purchased it not long after the women who went to bed for a year when it came out in 2012. That is how long I have been waiting to get around to reading it. I see to remember that there was a huge hype about the book when it came out. After reading it I am unsure why this was the case.

This is the first book which I have read of Sue Townsend. For sure after reading his book it has not made me want to go and find all of her back catalogue of books and read them. After doing more research after finishing this book apparently, I am not the only one who feels like this.  The women who went to bed for a year is a book which is not Sue Townsends greatest book. Anyway on with the review.

The Blurb

The day her twins leave home, Eva climbs into bed and stays there. For seventeen years she’s wanted to yell at the world, ‘Stop! I want to get off’. Finally, this is her chance. Her husband Brian, an astronomer having an unsatisfactory affair, is upset. Who will cook his dinner? Eva, he complains, is attention seeking. But word of Eva’s defiance spreads. Legions of fans, believing she is protesting, gather in the street. While Alexander the white van man brings tea, toast and sympathy. And from this odd but comforting place Eva begins to see both herself and the world very, very differently.

My Thoughts

This is a book which I had to read to the end because I thought it had to get a lot better. However, I am sad to report it never did and this was a disappointment for me.  The women who went to bed for a year actually won a 2012 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for comedy. I do not see how this happened because for sure I did not find it a funny book at all.

I found that there was a lot of characters who we were introduced to randomly but then we never heard any more about them. There was a lot that could have been built on because this is one trick which I think the author missed. For example, Poppy, Ho’s and Sandy Lake. The only character I felt like we got to know was Alexander and Eva and I liked Alexander. I actually grew not to like Eva because, because she was so totally unrealistic. She was been selfish expecting people to do everything for her.

I actually found this book to be quiet depressing and not in a good way at all. I understand that Eva want a pure while room to find peace but then to block all the light out seemed very strange to me. There were other elements of the women who went to bed for a year which I found very strange as well. For example, I am unsure why nobody stood up to Eva and told her to grow up and get out of the bed. Instead they were bringing her food and water up in bed when they remembered to.

We never actually find out the real reason why she is in bed at all we are just kind of told it is because she has had enough of the world. He husband even moves out of the house when she tells him to it seems like nobody actually wants to upset Eva.

I wanted to know what happened to her children in the end but we never seem to get an answer. Overall, I would not recommend spending your time reading this book there are a lot of books which are a lot better than this one. I struggled to finish it and only did because I do not like not finishing books.

If you have read the women who went to bed for a year what are your thoughts about this book?

 

Charlotte xx

Instagramable Cafe In Wakefield- The Hepworth Cafe

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A couple of weeks ago I was kindly invited to The Hepworth Cafe in Wakefield. In order to, test out their new menu which has been changed to tie in with the change of the exhibition. At the next door Hepworth Art Gallery. You may be shocked to find such a instagrammable cafe in Wakefield. From the drinks menu which looks like a cinema listing board , to the views out of the windows which let so much light in. Who could also forget about all the plants and decor which The Hepworth Cafe is home to.

There drinks menu is a wide selection of hot drinks which are available. With over 95 different selections and blends of tea available this is heaven if you are a tea drinker. If like me and coffee is more you thing there is a wide range of different types of coffee available. They even are home to some amazing coffee art which impressed me so much. Then The Hepworth Cafe is somewhere which you really need to visit. They also have a wide selection of cake to go with your coffee.

Of course, the Hepworth Cafe does a wide selection of food including vegan, vegetarian and also gluten free options. No matter your needs you will be able to find something delicious to fill your stomach. From lighter meals ranging from salads to Pulled Pork burgers for sure they is going to be something which wets your appetite.

Salads

If you do not fancy a whole lot to eat at lunch time the salads could be the perfect option. I found that they were full of flavour. For sure some of the salads may not have been something which I would have chosen if I had been visiting. The Hepworth Cafe have orange, beetroot and goats cheese and roast cauliflower and lentil salads. I found both actually very pleasant to consume at £7 the portion size does justify the price combined with the taste.

 

Beetroot Fritters and Avocado Stack

Truthfully, this was one of my least favourite meals.  I think this was due to the texture of the beetroot it was something which I was not used to. I would order something else of the menu instead of this if I was to visit again. It was packed with flavour which you may not expect from a meal which has beetroot as the main ingredient.  I am sure that there will be a lot of people who will enjoy this meal but its just not for me.

 Yorkshire Rarebit

Cheese on toast if you know me is one of my favourite meals full stop. So when we got to try Yorkshire Rarebit which was made with Wensleydale cheese I was over the moon. This was packed with flavour which can be hard to get when you are making a posh cheese on toast. The bread was fresh which was a huge plus as you know some of the cafes food is not always the freshest. At The Hepworth Cafe everything is made to order so you know it is going to be super fresh and of the best quality it can be. This was one of the tastiest Rarebit I have tried for sure I could just demolish some right now.  I might have to make a another trip back just to make sure that I can have this again.

Spanish Tortillia

The Spanish tortilla for sure was one of those meals which shocked me. I actually did not have high expectations for this meal for some reason however, it was beautiful. It is such a simple dish but I found it to be so light. In my head I thought it was going to be more stodgy. This is is one which I would order again it is so simple but a dish which works. If you are not overly hungry this is one which I can imagine you wanting to order. This would make a great lunch and of course it does not break the bank which is always a bonus. Next time I may add chorizo to the meal because if you know me it is one of my favourite things.

Sweet Potato and Three Bean Chilli.

Chili is something which I adore at the moment for me it is a go to comfort food. I have had it in so many different ways however, I never have had a vegetarian chilli. This is until now where at the Hepworth cafe they do a sweet potato and three bean chilli which is to die for. It has all of the spices which you expect in a chilli it comes with the tortillas. This is one which I could have consumed the whole portion of due to it been so tasty. This has made me want to try more veggie meals as they can be packed with flavour and still be filling. I would say that this is one which you need to try if you are feeling hungry as the portion size is pretty large. This does mean that is it very good value for money though at £8.

BBQ Pulled Salt Brisket Burger

I would order normally because pulled pork is something which I find so tasty. However, I have had it before where it has been too dry and lost its flavour. This is not the case with this offering I found it was packed with flavour and sauce. This is what I prefer in a burger to be honest.  Sweet potato fries are standard with this burger which makes a change as usually they are extra. If you are not too hungry you could share this meal by cutting the burger in half. For sure if I took Jess I could do this. I know Joe would not actually share because he could consume the whole burger himself. At £9 this is so reasonably price for a burger of the quality. I think this is going to be one which I have to take Joe to try because I know how much he likes a burger.

Smoked Haddock Tart

Again this is a meal which had I been visiting myself is one which I would not have chosen. It was one which I thoroughly enjoyed. It is so full of flavour of the ingredient which is has within this tart you may not expect. As it only has leek and smoked haddock in it. Leeks are not one of those vegetables which gives a lot of flavour but combined with the haddock was beautiful. This was not too heavy at all which is great because I find this is something that I do not want at a lunch time. The potato salad which this comes with is not too big either and I find this a great accompaniment.  This is one meal I would recommend should you take a visit to the Hepworth.

Apple, Cinnamon Pancakes with Salted Caramel and Ginger Ice Cream

I will be the first to admit I do not have a hugely sweet tooth so this may affect my views. The topping of apple and cinnamon really work. To me this makes me think of Christmas on top of a pancake which is never a bad thing in my eyes. The pancakes are so light and fluffy which is what I think a pancake should be however, the stack is large. I would recommend sharing or actually ordering the children’s portion. The ice cream works so well and is one which I could eat scoops of it I was allowed and I am not a huge fan at all of salted caramel which says a lot. For a sweet treat for you to share or eat alone if you have a sweet tooth and are hungry these are amazing.

Black Forest Cherry Compote, Dark Chocolate and Cream Pancakes

Again the portion size of these pancakes are huge.  For sure, I know Joe and I could actually share these because they are so larger. I think of the two stacks of pancakes I tried these were my favourite because I am addicted to all things black forest. These for me are a winner the whole flavours work I and could happily share these with a friend over coffee while watching the world go by. These are not too sweet which is what I expected them to be instead I found them to actually be very tasty. For £6 these are amazing value and if you do not have a huge sweet tooth or you are visiting alone I would recommend the mini portion.

Thank you so much to the team at the Hepworth cafe for inviting me to taste the new menu. To find out more about the cafe, go to: thehepworthcafe.co.uk and more about the executive chef at popupnorth.co.uk . This opportunity was through BlogUpNorth.co.uk – a leading influencer network in the north of England.

 

Will you be visiting the Hepworth Cafe?

 

Charlotte xx

I was gifted this experience in order to share my views with you.

Meal Inspiration Monday’s- Tomato Soup

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I know what your thinking making your own tomato soup seems very pointless. You can purchase it in the supermarkets very cheap in tins. I used to be like this as well however, I found myself with a lot of tomato’s which would have otherwise had to be thrown away. Instead of doing that I created a tasty tomato soup I could not believe the amount of flavour. I think this is because I expected to have to add a lot of seasoning to get flavour. Today I am going to share with you the recipe.

Ingredients- Serves 4

1KG Ripe Tomatoes

Medium Onion

1 Small Carrot

1 Celery Stick

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 Squirts Tomato Puree

Pinch Sugar

1.2L Hot Vegetable Stock/ 2 vegetable Stock cubes

Things you will need:

Deep Pan with a lid, Knife, Chopping board and also blender

Method
  1. Cut the tomatoes in quarters removing any hard cores as these do not soften when you cook. Peel 1 medium onion and 1 small carrot and chop them into small pieces. Chop 1 celery stick roughly the same size.

2. Heat in a low heat pan 2 tsbp of olive oil until you can feel the heat rising from the pan. Add the onion, carrot and celery and mix them together with a wooden spoon. Cook the vegetables until they’re soft and faintly coloured. For 10 minutes and you should stir them two or three times so they cook evenly and don’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

3. Squirt in two squeezes of tomato puree this will turn the vegetables red. Add the tomatoes into the pan with a sprinkle of sugar and a little amount of black pepper. Stir to mix everything together, put the lid on the pan and let the tomatoes stew over a low heat for 10 minutes until they shrink down in the pan. Do shake the pan gently over the time this makes sure that everything keeps mixing instead of sticking to the pan.

4. Pour the boiling hot vegetable stock into the pan. Make this with boiling water and two vegetable stocks. While you do this stir to mix with the vegetables. Turn the heat up high and wait for everything to bubble. Then turn down the heat to low and add the lid on the pan. Cook gently for 25 minutes stirring a couple of times. At the end of this the tomatoes will be very slushy looking.

5. Remove the soup from the heat. Ladle the soup after a couple of moments into the blender. Blitz it until it is smooth for me I did it for a couple of moments and that was long enough. Pour it back into the pan if you are eating straight away. If you are planning on freezing it add it to containers and let it cool down before you add it to the freezer.

I served the portion of Tomato Soup I had with crusty bread however, you could have it alone. The amount of ingredients I used made 4  portion and I have frozen some of it. I will take it out to defrost and this can be a tasty lunch or a starter even at Christmas. For sure this would be a tasty starter on Christmas day without breaking the bank.

Have you ever made your own Tomato Soup?

 

Charlotte xxxx

 

 

Talking PANTS with Pantasaurus

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A few days ago when I was dropping Jess off at nursery I was informed that they were going to be talking PANTS. I was very confused to what this was all about.  They told me that it was a campaign with the NSPCC and it was to teach children to stay safe from abuse. The children were going to be speaking about this at circle time and may have some questions. This is something which since that conversation I have researched more myself. I could not believe that this is a campaign which I had not heard of.

PANTS is a campaign which is fronted by Pantosaurus who is a friendly dinosaur. Using a dinosaur is friendly is going to encourage children to engage and interact with the campaign. PANTS is a campaign which has been going for a over a year which I have not heard of. It is important because we do not want the young children to be subject to sexual abuse.

PANTS actually stands for privates are privates, always remember you body belong to you, No means No, talk about secrets which could be upsetting you, and finally speak up someone can help.

Privates are Privates.

Which means that you do not need to show them to anyone else. Your private parts are something which only you should see. It encourages children to keep their genitals in their own pants so they are not going to be flashing. This is something important because you do not want your child flashing all because it is not socially acceptable.

Always remember your body belongs to you.

This means that you do not have to do things which others tell you. If you are asked to show some private areas which you do not feel comfortable in doing you can say NO. Your child needs to know that they can tell someone who you actually trust if they are in this situation. For example they need to know that they can tell you because this is important . It means that you can actually deal with the situation in the way you feel most appropriate. This may include going to the relevant authorities if you feel this is required.

No means No.

This means that people have consent to see anything private. If for some reason you do not want them to see you can say NO. For example if they wanted you to show something private you do not have to show them at all.  It’s important that your child knows that they can say no if they do not feel comfortable doing something. They are in control of their own body if they do not want to do something they do not have to which is very important. It is also important to make sure that they know there is sometimes times when they will have to do things which they may not like. For example show an area to a doctor, nurse or an adult who has responsibility for them.

Talk about secrets that upset you.  

This is going to help you because the child to know that they can speak to you about anything which could be upsetting them. This could be anything it does not have to be anything to do with sexual abuse. It could be anything which is upsetting them all children want to know that someone cares about them. If they have any worries that want share with you they need to feel comfortable in been able to do this.  This will hopefully easy any worries which you have as a parent because they can talk to you about things which may be worrying or upsetting them. This can be even things which may seem really small to them like they have had a rough day at nursery because someone has not wanted to play with them or something like this.

Speak up, someone can help.

This is be about anything no matter how small your child may think the issue actually was. If your children are feeling sad, anxious or frightened they know they are going to be able to speak to people. It does not have to be you who your child speaks to. We all know it can be hard to speak to your own parents when something is the matter. However if, the person they speak to is a teacher, someone at their nursery or a family member. Children and for that matter adults should not have to worry about things there is always people that you can speak to and they are not going to judge you for how you are feeling.

I feel like the PANTS campaign is something which should be spoken about more because we do not want children been scared. Sexual abuse is one of the worse things which can happen to you and it is not pleasant so been able to protect more people is key. Talk to your children or other children who may trust you about the PANTS campaign and keep them safe. They are never too young to learn about things like this.

Have you heard about the PANTS campaign?

 

Charlotte xx

 

October 2018 Favourites

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It has been a long time since I last did a monthly favorites actually it was only July but it seems a lot longer than that. This is because I have been so busy I have not had time to use products religiously or blog. However, for the 6 weeks there has been some products which I have been using constantly and I love. So today I thought I would share with you my favourite products of October 2018.

Carex Chocolate and Orange Handwash

The first one is a is the Carex Chocolate Orange scented hand wash. I have been doing more washing up and hand washing since we moved house so I need a hand wash which I love. We have two different hand washes both are Carex but I wish we only had the chocolate and orange one. It cleans your hands well as well as leaving the scent lingering for a while. This is great if you are like me and addicted to the smell of the hand wash. I may have to stock up on this because it looks like it could be an exclusive Halloween scent due to the packaging.

This product can be slighlty drying which means you may have to apply some hand cream. If you are anything like me you will have plenty of this.  I am sure I picked the handwash up for around 75p at poundstretcher or B&M.  For sure I will be trying to find it before the end of the Halloween Season.

Wickford Co Halloween Candle

The next item which I have been loving is also a Halloween item technically. It is this Wickford Co Halloween candle these are available in Home Bargains. Despite having a pumpkin on the front the scent is more of a candy scent without been too sweet. This candle if I remember correctly is around the £2.50-3 mark. For this price it has a huge scent I can have it burning in my lounge and it can be smelt all throughout the house. This is something which I have had more expensive candles fail to do. I think I might have to go back and check out some of the Christmas Candles. For sure if you love candles check out Home Bargains.

The Circle

If you have not heard of this show where have you been?. TV is not something which I watch a lot of because I have barely had a tv for a year so it does not bother me. The Circle is a show which we ended up watching every single night even if I did get bored towards the end. Maybe it was half a week too long for me. If you have not seen the show it was on channel 4 and it saw players live in an apartment block with each other. However, they could only speak to other players through the circle.

It was like an experiment to show social media works  there was people catfishing and others choosing not to share everything about themselves. For example Freddie was playing it straight when in fact he is a gay man. There was a lot of game playing going on as they could win 50K if they did not get blocked by the other players. You only got blocked if you were not deemed popular enough by the other players.  It just showed how people did not always appear who they said they were on social media. I would recommend watching this on All 4 if you can.

Fitbit Alta HR

I have owned my fitbit since April but I only used it till about June and then managed to lose it .  A few weeks ago I managed to find it in a box and have been using it ever since. I think I am going to do a full review on it in a couple of weeks time. I am one of those people who move a lot in a short period and then not move for couple of hours. Maybe because I am busy working on my blog and getting sucked in or something similar. One of the features which I love is having a reminder if I have not done the 250 steps in an hour. This does make sure that I do not have too much time which I have not moved for.

I am also able to track my sleep which is something which interests me because I aim to try and get 7 hours but usually fail and then wonder why I am so tired. My fitbit is motivating me to go to sleep and move 10,000 steps a day which is always a bonus. It also makes me on a weekend want to move more when sometimes it can be hard to find the motivation.

Blankets/ Throw

Blankets, well actually a throw which I use as a blanket because it is so big it means that I can get super snuggly. I have it wrapped around my legs the majority of the time when I am on the sofa.  I do not always want to put the heating on. More so while it is just me in the house and Jess is upstairs in bed.I find there is nothing better than been snuggled in the blanket with the lamp on and a candle burning. I usually am either watching the TV, reading a book or even blogging.

As I write this I am snuggled up in my blanket  the one which I have at the moment is one of the extra large throws from Primark.  I think they are around the £16 mark but could be wrong as it is a year ago. They even stay super soft after you have washed them this doesn’t happen with all throws. I would recommend Primark and Dunelm for blankets and throws they seem to have the best quality ones for a reasonable price.

Hello Fresh

Hello fresh is a subscription recipe box which gives you the recipes which you are going to cook. You choose the meals which you have. We have the box which is 5 meals and we have it for two people you can have it for up to 5 people. Jess does not have food at home which is why we have it for 2. Along with the the recipe cards you get the exact amount of the indigence you need. For example say you need 1tbsp of chilli flakes this is what they will send you. This does mean that you do not have to purchase lot of different spices which you may only use once.

I have found that I am making a range of different meals ones which I would not normally be thinking about.  It has also made me want to cook more  even when I am having a break from Hello Fresh. It is so easy to skip a week for example if your not going to be home. This is something I am having to do at the moment regular. I am cooking the meals for two and freezing the other portion. Meaning I have to take a break in order to eat up some of the food. I had one problem with Hello Fresh and it was sorted very quickly which I am so happy with the service. For more about Hello Fresh see their website and you can get £20 off your first box with my link here.

Quidco

Quidco is another one of my favourites this month I have been doing some of my Christmas shopping . I have the quidco widget on my laptop meaning if I can get cashback on a site which I am looking on it will tell me. Then I have to go to quidco which allows my purchase to be tracked and then I get the cashback. Sometimes you do have to wait months to get the physical cash.  I know I have some which is now going to be released in March next year.  You can get cashback on a range of sites which you may order from all the time for example Superdrug and Boots. I have gained about £100 this year which I can put towards presents. Any cashback which does not get confirmed before Christmas I will use next year as a bonus.

What items have you been using this month?

 

Charlotte xx

 

Meal Inspiration Monday- Pork, Feta and Courgette Burger

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Today I am going to share with you a new series which is called meal inspiration Monday’s. I sometimes struggle with ideas of what food I am going to create for meals for me and my family. I have been searching online for some new recipes because we all get bored of the same meals. Each Monday I am going to share with you a meal which I have created recently for my family and how I did it, and one day you may want to create similar meals. When you do not know what to create.Today I am going to share with you a meal which I created which is a Pork, Feta and Courgette Burgers. I like burgers but I get bored of normal beef burgers and sometimes I want something different. Instead, I have taken a twist on burgers and a similar recipe which I found on the Good Food website.

Here are the ingredient which you need in order to create the pork, feta and courgette burgers. The following will allow you to make 4 burgers.

Ingredient:
  • 500g Pork Mince
  • 100g Feta Crumbled
  • 1 Large Courgette
  • 2 Garlic Cloves Crushed
  • 1/2 Chilli Flakes
  • Zest of Lemon
  • 1 Large Egg
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • Black Pepper
  • Salt
Things you need
  • Knife
  • Fork
  • Mixing Bowl
  • A Plate
  • Grill
Method
  1. Crush the garlic, zest the lemon and also chop the courgette into small chunks.
  2. Beat the egg.
  3. Mix the pork mince, feta, courgette, crushed garlic, chilli flakes and zest of lemon and beaten egg into a mixing bowl everything but the olive oil.
  4. Add a pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper into the mix
  5. Round the mix into the a burger shape making sure you have 4 if you have used the same ingredient as above
  6. Put the pork, feta and courgette burgers into the fridge for at least 15 minutes. This will allow the burgers to firm up as at the moment they are not the consistency of raw burgers
  7. If like me you are going to some freeze your pork, feta and courgette burgers now is the time.
  8. Preheat your grill to the highest it can go, I actually use my George Foreman Health Grill instead.
  9. Coat both sides of the burger with Olive Oil this will prevent it from sticking.
  10. Cook for between 8-10 Minutes till golden brown.

I served my pork, feta and courgette burger naked which means it did not have the bread. The reasons why mine is not golden burn and more burnt looking is due to using the George Foreman. I decided that I was going to have some oven chips and salad with mine however, you could have anything to accompany your burgers. This is a healthier alternative to a takeaway burger and also for a fraction of the price if like me you are trying to save some pennies.

Please let me know if you try the Pork, Feta and Courgette Burgers.

 

Charlotte x

Give Books to Get Books You Want With Bookmooch

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Ever read a book and then not know what to do with it when you have finished it. You maybe like me and not have a great number of friends who are readers. So swapping and sharing books with them would not really work. I can not keep hold of them because I have close to 200 books on my to be read pile. Giving them to the charity shop would work but it does mean you have to spend money getting new books. It also can be hit and miss if they have books which you fancy reading in stock.  This is where Bookmooch come in.

Bookmooch is a website which allows you to give away old books which you have finished with. While recieving those which you have your eye on to read.  This means no more reading books which you do not want to really read. Those ones which you are only reading because the charity shop had a poor selection and you was unwilling to spend the amount at a bookshop. You may be thinking but if I use bookmooch it means that I get a book off the person who I am sending to and they may not have something I want to read. This is not a problem when you are using bookmoch because you get points for books that you send and you can use them on any book.

For books which you send in the same country as you +1 is received so if you are like me +1 will cost you £2.95 as this is how much second class is usually for books. The same happens if you want to get a book from someone else in the same country  you spend 1 point.

Bookmooch is not limited to the country which you are in at all.  You can mooch from other countries if the user will send to your country. Some people do not like sending abroad which I full understand as postage is more expensive. It is slightly different if you do a international you receive 3 points however, this does mean you can get 3 books from your country. You do not have to spend the points all at once.  I have had my bookmoch account for around 3 years now and have 188 points to spend.  I am saving them until my to be read pile goes down.

With bookmooch you have to accept the mooch which means that the person who has the book may reject. So there is no guarntees you get the book which you want. However, they are thousands of users which means the book is likely to be listed again soon by someone else. I have found that bookmooch moves books fast usually my books are only on there a couple of weeks.  I think the reason behind this is because if you have a book on your wish list and someone add it you do get an email.  You do even get 1/10th of a point for adding books which soon adds up.

Have you used bookmooch?

 

Charlotte xx

 

 

Life Update- October 2018

- cupsofcharlotte Leave a comment

As you might notice I have not been around a lot, both on my social media along with my blog there is a couple of reasons why I have been so quiet.  As you know only a couple of weeks after graduating we started to take the our search to purchase our first family home up a gear. We did put the offer in way back in June and we should have been set to move at the end of July/ start of August as I think I mentioned previously.  There had been so many hold ups which meant that Jess had actually changed nursury at the start of September, this did mean that I had to  commute with her. In total I think I had to catch 7 trains in order to be able to get her there and back while I made use of the time. Of course, this meant to a large potion of the day I had no wifi so I could not really blog that much to be honest.

We finally managed to get the keys on the 13th September which I was so glad about because of the fact that it was driving me insane commuting. I was basically leaving at 6.30am to do the drop off getting back around 11am and then having to go again at 3.30pm and getting back between 8-8.30pm we all know how hit and miss trains in this country can be. It was shattering for me let alone Jess even though she did not have to do the walking thanks to her micro trike. So we spend the majority of September up till the move making sure that it was all boxed ready and the rest of it making sure that things had homes in the new house. Of course within 2 days of getting the keys to the house Jess turned 3 and the house had it’s first birthday.

We have spent at close to two weeks waiting for deliveries and building flat pack don’t worry I did my fair share of helping as well it was not all Joe. I have spent time putting things on the walls and making it feel a little bit more like our home than some others persons which is what it felt like when we moved in September. There is some rooms which I do need to finish like my office but when I feel like I am happy with it I might do some room tours. We have not managed to paint or change carpets yet maybe this will be a next year thing when we feel like we a little bit more settled and have time to do things.

Speaking of time to settle in due the fact that it took us so long to get the keys and it was the middle of September when we finally did it meant we have only had two weeks in the house as a family. That may sound strange to you because as you are reading this we have been moved in about a month but yes Daddy has gone away with work.   We have to now deal with been apart for 8 weeks however, as you do read this it may be just over 5 weeks till he is back not that we are counting down at all. I know that I am going to be doing a lot of solo time been part of a military family however, we are just trying to keep as busy as we can because we have found that this makes the time pass even faster. Soon, before we know it I am sure it will be the end of November and Daddy will be home.

We have some very exciting things coming up in the next few weeks we do have so many fun things coming out which we are going to be sharing on here. I hopefully am going to be able to post more on here now we have working wifi and everything has happened. I really have missed posting because I think since I have not blogged properly since August and it is something which I have a huge passion for.

What has been going on with you recently?

 

Charlotte xx

 

 

 

 

Tackling Sleeping In Own Room As Toddler With Gloclock

- cupsofcharlotte Leave a comment

As, I am sure you know by now we have just moved into our first family home which has meant there has been a lot of changes around here.  One of those changes has been Jess getting her own room for the first time, this is something which I was semi worried about. I know this may sound really silly as she is 3 years old and she has been sleeping through the night since she was very small. However, I was scared that the whole change of moving into an new area, getting a big girl single bed instead of a cot may be all too much for her. Jess usually is pretty good at going to be and always has been an early riser even on a weekend on the whole.

I decided that because I have seen so many people on blog or instagram use the glo clock which is a sleep trainer for toddlers. Jess in the few weeks before the move had been pushing and pushing her bed time to the stage that I was asleep before he for example some nights could see her still awake at close to 11pm. The constant battle to get her to sleep was something which was wearing me out and of course due to the fact she was not going to sleep on a night it impacted the time she woke up. Regular I would have to go and physically wake her up in order to make sure she did not miss too much nursery.

I knew when we got the house which would mean she got her own space this was going to have to change. I wanted her in a routine as such more during the week to make sure that she was less grumpy and had the energy to be able to complete tasks throughout the day.  Jess now goes to bed usually happily between 7-7.30pm on a week day of course sometimes, she does get longer on a weekend, we find she wakes around 7am. This does mean that she is getting the recommended 12 hours for her age group because she is not napping at nursery any longer.

Can I put the change and the increase in sleep down to the gloclock? Well it does make Jess want to go up the stairs to see if the blue Mr Star is on which indicates that it is bed time. You set the gloclock to night mode which turns it blue in turn the brightness goes down which of course you want because you do not want your child awake all night due to the distraction. When it goes into night mode it also has the starts around the edges which indicates to your child how many hours it is till they have to wake up again, for example if they woke at 4am and the sun was set to tell them they can wake from 7am it would have three stars. We have found that it does promote Jess to stay in bed a bit longer instead of trying to sneak out at 6am she will wait until it goes Yellow and Mr Sun rises.

We have found in the time which we have been using the groclock that Jess will sit and play in her room, reading stories or something similar till the time that she is allowed out. I have even debated setting it later on a weekend so I can have a lay in because she is still waking up around 7am when she does not need to be. I do wonder if she would notice if I did this?

You do not have to worry that the gloclock is going to run out of battery due it been connected to the mains, there would be nothing worse that it running out of battery during the night to be honest. The gloclock is so lightweight that it does mean you would be able to take it on sleepovers to grandparents houses or even if you go on a weekend away if this is something you would like to do it’s so easy to set up I think it took me under 5 minutes to do.  Another feature it does have is the option to add a nap time on it so this would be used if your toddler still naps this is something we have not done because she is out all day at nursery and then on a weekend she naps if she wants.

I found them so reasonably priced around the £20 mark because who can put a price on your toddler’s sleep, however, I regular find them on local facebook selling pages if you do not know how much use you will get out of one but fancy trying it.

Have you tried the gloclock if so what are you thoughts?

 

Charlotte xx