myrealfairy.com

#guestpost week featuring Blissful Domestication

Today on #guestpost week we have the lovely Kerry from Blissful Domestication She has made this wonderful chocolate mug cake that looks totally scrummy. Over to you Kerry…..

Chocolate Mug Cake

I think these would make a great novel dessert for a dinner party, and as they only take 5-10 minutes to rustle up, you can impress your friends with minimal effort. I will be buying some prettier mugs for this very purpose!

As an added bonus of having chocolate cake in less than 10 minutes (as if one is needed!), because all the ingredients are mixed in the mug there is very little washing up to do- it’s win win really!

Ingredients

30g butter
4 tbsp hazelnut chocolate spread
1 egg
3 tbsp light brown sugar
4 tbsp plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder

Method

Put the butter and 3tbsp of the chocolate spread in the mug, and microwave for 30 secs to melt. Mix together well.
Allow to cool slightly, then add the egg and beat well using a fork.

Add the sugar, flour and baking powder and mix in well with the fork until all the ingredients are incorporated.

Cook in the microwave for 30-40 seconds.
Spoon the last tbsp of chocolate spread into the middle, and cook for a further 40 seconds.
The top of the mug cake may look a bit moist, but if it is firm underneath it is done. Don’t be tempting to cook for longer as it can dry out the middle.
Sometimes the cake can spill over the edge, just wipe away any spilt cake mixture with a clean damp cloth whilst it is still warm.
I chose to just sprinkle the top of mine with icing sugar, but you could get more inventive and use cream, chocolate chips, nuts, anything you fancy really.
Enjoy!

NB. I am a home cook, and have had no formal training in preparing food. So these are just recipes that I use at home for the family. Whilst I have taken time to try and be as accurate as possible, some of the quantities are approximate. I am always keen to learn, so if you think the recipe can be improved upon please take the time to comment below.

Thank you Kerry for being involved in this #guestpost series. Brilliant to have you featured here and I cant wait to try cake in a mug – genius. You can find out more about Kerry by visiting her social media sites below:

Twitter: @blissfulkerry

Facebook: blissfuldomestication

I'd love you to let people know about the #guestpost week here on the blogClick To Tweet

Subscribe to Blog via Email

#guestpost week featuring Natalie from Hello Cuppies

I’m delighted to have Natalie guest posting today and joining in with the #guestpost week on my blog.

Natalie is a happy, and in her own words “late-twenties *cough* mid-30’s *cough*” 🙂 baker, blogger, veggie and Mum. Natalie established Hello Cuppies in 2012 and what started out as a baking and recipe blog has evolved into a lifestyle and personal blog sharing insights on the life of a Northern girl living down south. Natalie has been baking professionally since 2011 and picked up the caking bug after baking some cupcakes for a friend’s daughter. She is completely self taught and has developed her skills by experimenting, reading and testing recipes whilst creating lots of new flavours and combinations along the way. Natalie really dislikes over the top recipes and techniques so will try to keep things simple, but still as effective as possible.

Here’s her great post, over to you Natalie…

Healthy Homemade Granola Bars

Mainy from myrealfairy was kind enough to have me on-board with writing a family friendly recipe to feature as a guest post on her blog. I’d also recently received a few emails and spotted some comments on my Instagram photos with regards to creating a recipe for something healthy, and for something with a little less sugar so I thought this was the ideal opportunity to share a healthy(ier) recipe.

I’m so used to baking cakes and biscuit type desserts that actually coming up with something reasonably healthy was difficult. I struggled, not gonna lie! I scratched my head, did a little bit of googling for inspiration but couldn’t really find anything that was healthier but still scrummy. It then dawned on me that I needed to stick with what I know – fruit and natural flavours – and to set myself a bigger challenge – NO ADDED SUGAR – none… nada…zilch!

So here you have it, these protein packed granola bars are healthy and yummy! They store well, last well and taste even better a day or so after they’ve been baked. Oh, and they are gluten free too. Actually, thinking about it, if you could find a honey substitute (maple syrup maybe?) they could easily be vegan – challenge for ya there!

INGREDIENTS

This recipe yields 16 to 20 granola bars and shouldn’t take you longer than 15/20 minutes to pull together.

65g pecan pieces & 65g almonds (loosely chopped or blitzed in a food processor)
45g pumpkin seeds
85g dried cranberries
130g of quick-cook oats (I used gluten free)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of ginger
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon orange zest
100g of smooth peanut butter (Whole Earths is my favourite)
175g of runny honey
5 tsp of vanilla extract

METHOD

Line a 8-inch tin with parchment paper (you could use a bigger tin if you didn’t want them so chunky)
Pour the oats into a large mixing bowl and then add both nuts, pumpkin seeds, cranberries, cinnamon, ginger, salt and orange zest. Mix to combine.
In a smaller bowl, mix together the peanut butter, honey and vanilla extract until all combined and smooth.
Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix them together until the two are evenly combined and no dry oats remain. This will be tough – if it’s too easy and too smooth add a few more oats.
Transfer the mixture to the prepared tin and use your spoon to press down and make sure the mixture is even and packed together. I used my hands too as it was easier to tell if it was all compact.
Cover with cling-film and chill for 1 hour in the fridge.
Bake bars at 200 degrees (fan) for 30 minutes (conversions are here if you need them)
When cool lift out of the tin using the parchment paper edges and slice in to bar type shapes.

If you make these do let me know!

Thanks to Natalie for these yummy treats and for being part of our #guestpost series. You can read and find out more about Natalie and her work through her media sites below:-

Blog: http://hellocuppies.com

Orders: www.cuppiesncream.co.uk

Twitter: here

Facebook: here

I'd love you to let people know about the #guestpost week here on the blog.Click To Tweet

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Chalkola Chalk Markers Giveaway, Review & Discount

We had lots of fun this weekend trying out these new chalk markers from Chalkola. We were pleased to review these to try out some fun crafts and get in touch with our creative side. I also have a great giveaway plus a discount code to share with you all.

We were excited to try out the brand new launch of 21 markers which has 15 chalk markers + 6 metallic markers in the pack. We also tried the jumbo markers.

First things first was reading the instructions. Big M was involved in this review as he wanted to see how these markers were used and what design project he could be involved in. I set him the task of first understanding how to use them and more importantly, what we could use them on safely. We’ve recently decorated and I didn’t want to mark things and find out that we couldn’t get it out.

The markers are only to be used on non porous surfaces such as; whiteboards, glass, plastic and windows.

The reason being that porous surfaces have small holes which can absorb the liquid chalk ink and you would then sometimes find it difficult to completely erase them. You must use a test area before starting just to make sure. I tried a small area on Big M’s bedroom door which had white satin paint on it and when we rubbed it off there was a little mark still showing through which took a bit of getting off so I was so pleased we did carry out a test. On most other surfaces you are fine and its really easy to just wipe off.

To prepare the markers we had a plain piece of paper and pushed the nib up and down about 10 times until the chalk ink was flowing smoothly. They are also odour free and non toxic so I felt safe using them around the boys.

I had a little chalk board which I had picked up at the pound shop and I wanted to use for reminder notes which I needed. Big M set about helping out to create our blog design. The colours are so vibrant on the board and the pens flowed nicely. There wasn’t any blobs of colour spilling out and it was very easy to use, easier than we thought they would be. We were so pleased with the result that we have still left it as it is, my reminder notes will stay on scraps of paper until we get another one!
A bit of a grown ups idea but Big M let his cheeky side out and decorated a bottle of Prosecco I happened to have! I loved it and thought what a fab idea if you were giving a bottle as a present, very personalised and adds that little extra glam touch to something fairly normal. I thought that it would also be great to write peoples names on the side of water glasses, if you had a few people round the table at christmas or parties. It’s a funky alternative to seating plans or placecards.

These were a really good product, easy to use, they had a quality look to them and were well packaged. We had fun and now that I have them I know that they will be sneaking their way into more little touches around our home.

I have a pack of 21 markers with 15 chalk markers + 6 metallic markers to giveaway in the rafflecopter review below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Open to Worldwide entrants subject to Chalkola shipping countries. Prize distributed by the Chalkola. Please see my contacts page for giveaway general guidelines.

Please checkout Chalkola social media sites and website for more details and information of their other products.

Facebook: Chalkola

Twitter: ChalkolaChalk

Pinterest: Chalkola

I also have a 15% discount code which Chalkola have also offered all of my readers. Just enter the code: 15OFFSTR at the checkout

You can order and redeem your discount through their website here or on Amazon here

I was sent the chalk markers used in this review. All comments and thoughts are honest and my own.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

#guestpost week featuring Kayla from Kayla Loves

Todays guest post blogger is Kayla who has created this delicious recipe for us all to indulge in. I’ve recently come across Kaylas blog and love the way she writes and has very creative ideas. Enjoy……

My name is Kayla and I run the blog kaylaloves.com. I’m a 23 year old mum from Tasmania, Australia. I have been blogging for just over a year. I love baking and creating delicious food for my husband and son. I’m very excited to bring you this recipe! It’s one of my favourites as my mum would make it for my siblings and I when we were little.

My mum was always baking when I was a kid and still bakes now for all her grandkids! My all time favourite thing that she would bake were melting moments! Since these are my favourite I thought they’d be perfect to share! These are extremely easy to make with just 5 ingredients in total!

Lemon Melting Moments

Ingredients

Biscuits:

200g of butter (softened)
½ cup of icing sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 ½ cups of plain flour

Lemon Buttercream:

50g of butter (softened)
1 cup of icing sugar
1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Method

Preheat your oven at 150℃
Cream your butter with an electric mixer until pale
Add in the icing sugar, vanilla and plain flour and mix until it looks like popcorn
Combine to a dough with your hands
Make 16 small balls with the dough
Press a fork into the top of each of them to flatten them out
Let them set in the fridge for about 5 minutes then put them in the oven and bake until the edges are a golden brown

While you wait for your biscuits to cool you can make your lemon buttercream.

Cream your butter with an electric mixer until pale
Add in the icing sugar and lemon juice and mix until smooth

Putting your biscuits together can be really fun! I like to put my buttercream into a piping bag and pipe the buttercream in using a star tip so it looks extra fancy, but you could always just use a knife and spread it on!

If you make these I hope you enjoy them as much as my family and I do and let me know what you think of them!

Huge thanks to Kayla for writing this piece for this guest post series – be sure to leave her some lovely comments and check out her social media sites below:

Instagram: kaylaaloves

Twitter: @kaylaloves_

I'd love you to let people know about the #guestpost week here on the blogClick To Tweet

Subscribe to Blog via Email

#guestpost week featuring Tracey at One Frazzled Mum

Thanks very much to Tracey for joining in this week of guest posts here. Tracey was one of the first people I really got to know when I started blogging and she has always been supportive and encouraging to those bloggers around her. Tracey is a single mum to 10 year old Olivia. She says she is permanently on the go, always confused and never without coffee! Over to Tracey now for a bit more about herself and her guest post.

Hi, One Frazzled Mum is my outlet to get the words out of my head that keep me up late at night whilst allowing me to indulge in my passion of writing my own short pieces of fiction.

Why I Like My Daughter To Feel Uncomfortable

These days it’s very rare I watch adverts on TV. Very rare. Mostly thanks to an ever so slight addiction to Greys Anatomy hence I am getting my money’s worth on my box set subscription with Sky. There are hardly any adverts on the box sets. So if I do end up having to watch them it is because of Olivia. The Disney Channel and Greys Anatomy are pretty much the only things to grace our screens so far this year, so you could be forgiven for thinking the only ones I have seen are all baby and toy-related. But actually, they aren’t.

As we were sat in my bedroom, watching Disney Channel of course, before bed. I looked up from my laptop and Olivia was looking undoubtedly uncomfortable. I could hear what was on TV and I watched her shift in her position perched on the end of my bed with a felt tip in her mouth and colouring in page in front of her. She wanted to watch but I could see her squirming ever slightly. Eventually, her eyes found their way back down to what was in front of her.

It wasn’t the first time this had happened. I had seen it before many a time and I welcomed it. Yes, I know how awful that sounds. I welcomed my child feeling and acting uncomfortable. Do I derive pleasure in this? Is it a form of punishment and I force her to do it on a regular basis? Yes and No. No I don’t force her nor is it punishment, but sometimes yes. I like to see her feel a little uncomfortable at times. Watching her, and from my perspective at least, being exposed to things she may never encounter in her lifetime personally.

What on earth did she see you are thinking? A charity advert. You know the type. Where the narrator tells you of the story of the young child on screen who walks all day to fetch water for their family bare foot and the water isn’t clean. Designed with the shock factor at the forefront to grab your attention and want to help. To make you feel something, anything about what you have just watched and be compelled to do something about it. 30 seconds is all they have to reach you. So it’s a short sharp tug at your conscience (and heart strings) in the hope you will donate to their cause.

For some adults, the general consensus is that this way of fundraising has lost the aforementioned shock factor and maybe you think so too, but to a 10-year-old? A 10 year old who lives worlds away from the poverty endured by the children in these plights, the shock factor is well, it’s pretty shocking and hits right in it’s intended spot.

And I welcome it. Is it wrong for her live in complete oblivion to what is happening in the world around us? Should I leave her, living in a first world country as she is, to be protected from the harsh realities of the outside world and be left to live happily in ignorance thinking it’s not her life so it’s not really her problem? Is that the type of daughter I want to raise in today’s world? No, it’s not. Yes, the images are a little disturbing. The topics slightly uncomfortable for some. But does that mean we brush it under the carpet and shy away from it.

Because in my experience ignorance breeds ignorance and by sheltering our children from the world around them it gives them an unrealistic view of how others live their life. Sure I have limits, I mean I’m not going to start letting her watch Crimewatch or regularly tune into the crime and investigation channel. But how do we expect our children to learn about other countries. About other ways of life if they have no experience of it? No knowledge, no frame of reference. Even if all they know comes from just a TV advert.

How do I know sitting at my laptop on this day in 2017. That that TV advert didn’t just have some fundamental effect on her. One which could change the way she thinks about the world good or bad? Could it be the catalyst to propel her away from wanting a future lived in front of a video camera to one of a more caring selfless nature? Because if she is unaware of the issues faced by many people every single day of their lives, how can she fully explore the world around her.

So as her mum I welcome this advert and those like them. In an age where children are molly coddled and protected from anything and everything more than ever before, I do welcome this. The more they make her think and feel. Act and react to what she sees around her the better in my opinion. For there is a big wide world out there and she is part of its future.

Huge thanks to Tracey for writing this piece especially for this series – be sure to leave her some lovely comments and check out her social media sites below:

Twitter: @frazzledmumblog

Facebook: one frazzled mum

I'd love you to let people know about the #guestpost week here on the blog.Click To Tweet

Subscribe to Blog via Email

When Mainy met Piers …well…sort of….

….well not really at all! However there is a little story I’d like to share with you……. Yesterday I had a slightly different thing happen to cut through the day-to-day school run, work type of thing. I got retweeted by Piers Morgan …not the biggest thing to happen I agree but to me it added some excitement, a bit of a laugh and certainly an eye-opening experience to my day.

Here’s what happened…. I like to watch Piers and Susanna on Good Morning Britain in the morning as I think the whole ‘thing’ they have going on is pretty compelling and takes me back to the type of chemistry of Johnny and Denise on the channel 4 Big Breakfast sofa years ago (too early for some and a throw back memory for others). To be fair I think the whole team has a good balance and it suits me to have it on while I’m doing all the things I need to do to get the family ready for the day ahead. Yeah it’s sort of yelling, telling the boys to hurry up and putting my make-up on in the dark with normally tango faced horror results….normal stuff.

So, later in the day while I was scrolling through my phone, after work and waiting for my car to get sorted I came across a link to an article. It was about how Ewan McGregor had left the GMB studios where he was scheduled to be interviewed by Piers and Susanna because he found out it would be Piers interviewing him. Now apparently he then left because he disagreed with some comments Piers had made about a recent rally in America where people had flooded the streets of Washington in protest to the Trump administration. This link then took me to an article Piers had written in the daily mail in response to this.

Now, by this time I am stressing in the garage because the kids are due to come out of school in 20 mins and the garage I’m in is 15 mins away from there and my car is nowhere to be seen. I had already given the receptionist the story of how I needed the car quickly because of the kids etc but nevertheless the car is not there. I decided to read this one article so that I could divert my stress and give them another couple of minutes to produce my car and set me on my way. The article was really pretty good, a little direct and clearly taking a swipe at Ewan McGregor but it was direct and made some good points about pointing the finger and being able to debate if you feel strongly about something. It also made me smile in the ‘oh my goodness this will set the cat amongst the pigeons’ sort of way. So, because I enjoyed it I tweeted it and tagged Piers Morgan in – just because I felt like it at the time.

I then leapt up and made another plea for my car which by sods law was being driven round to greet me just as I was starting to huff and puff at the receptionist. I didn’t think anything of the earlier tweet until I stopped outside school, amazingly still having a couple of minutes to spare and checked my phone. To my surprise Piers Morgan had decided to retweet my tweet! Now bearing in mind he has over 5 million followers it has the potential to get quite a bit of coverage. I smiled at that and though it would be a good story to tell the boys when they came out of school, a little bit of fun to add to the ‘what we all did today’ stories that we fill up our home run with.

When we got home I had another quick little look and realised that there were a few comments coming through that were OK and people were retweeting which was ok but I started to see that some were being really rude and offensive. I just stood there and was really taken aback. What was strange was the strength of either love or hate towards Piers Morgan and now me by association. Any real message was getting lost, pushed aside by people’s twitter relationship with the man himself.

When I wrote “Great and interesting read, spend 5 minutes and have a look” In my naive head I meant just that, that I thought it was interesting and because it had fitted right in with the 5 minutes I had I tweeted words to that effect. No more – No less.

What people seemed to read into that was…. 1. I think everything Piers Morgan says is true. 2. I agree with everything Piers Morgan has said, did say and will ever say, whenever that may be. 3. I’m an awful person for reading anything that he writes.

Such an eye opener because shock, horror but I don’t know him and he doesn’t know me and I’m sure that there would be many things to disagree on. Exactly the same as my own nearest and dearest to me have different views which we can all talk about and get an understanding of even if we don’t agree.

What I did learn from this merest of delicate brushes with the wider twitter world outside of my cosseted blogger circle? Well, First and foremost I learnt that I need to think before I tweet. Secondly there are loads of people just waiting to pounce and shout their views, however mean or bitchy they come across they seem to revel in that outlet. But thirdly….. and on the flip side – look at this photo!!!

The one and only time I’ll see stats like that! Now it’s back to the world of being happy with 3 retweets for me!

Subscribe to Blog via Email

caketoppers review, giveaway and discount code.

I love cake and I love personalised gifts too so personalised cakes are perfect for me. I was so happy when the opportunity came up to work with caketoppers in reviewing their wonderful cupcakes and to be able to offer my readers not one but two amazing offers. We have a fab 10% discount code below and a giveaway where you can win 9 love heart cupcakes (RRP £17.49) In addition – my review gives you the chance to see the type of quality and service you can expect from caketoppers.

I was so pleased with how the picture of my boys came out on the cakes. It was a lovely moment when they picked them up and were grinning away so happy with seeing themselves on the top of these lovely treats. I think that they were quite surprised that I then said they could eat them…it was a good day in the myrealfairy household!

The cupcakes are packaged really well which minimises the chance of any damage to the cakes and ours were perfect when they arrived. You can have next day delivery if you order by 2pm for weekday deliveries or by 12 noon on a friday for a saturday delivery. This is great if you are doing something a bit last minute because of all the other things you have going on. They come with a full storage instructions and full ingredients with allergenic ingredients in bold.

They are super friendly at caketoppers and you can contact them to talk about any special requirements.

I have got a great 10% discount for all of my readers, just quote the code MRF10 when ordering.

The cupcakes were really delicious and I was lucky to get a taste as the boys didn’t really want to share as they were enjoying them so much! caketoppers guarantee them to stay fresh for us to 5 days but say that they often keep for much longer. The icing is great tasting too and has a thick and creamy texture.

Now for your chance to win a box of 9 love heart cupcakes like these ones pictured here using the rafflecopter entry form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway open to UK entrants only. Full guidance on my giveaways can be found on my contact us page.

If you would like to see more of their super products then please pop along and say hi at their social media sites:

Facebook: caketoppers

Twitter: @caketoppersltd

Instagram: Caketoppersltd

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Garçon Wines are nearly here!

I really wanted to let you know about a great new subscription service that will deliver wine through your letterbox – no I haven’t been on the wine before writing this, it’s true…wine through your letterbox!

The service offers a selection of wines and Garçon Wines aims to revolutionise the way wine lovers across the UK source their favourite tipple!

Garçon Wines are going to be the next big thing. They have identified and removed the problems of missed deliveries, depot collection cards and having to wait in for hours on end for a courier.

By creating a unique alternative to traditional wine bottles, which are not only functional and aesthetically pleasing, but are also designed to fit through a conventional letterbox, the brand is opening up a refreshing new way to have wine delivered at home.

There will be more to come from me shortly when I hope to be able to offer you some tasters!! Stay tuned and check back soon….

Let others know about the new service...Click To Tweet

Subscribe to Blog via Email

EasySMX Headphones Review and Discount Code

As a mum with children who use their various devices to listen to music and watch films, I have tried a couple of different headphones to see which suit them best. I was pleased to be able to review these EasySMX headphones to see how they shaped up. One of the best features of these headphones is that they have a built-in volume limiting feature to protect your kids’ hearing. The volume is pre limited to a maximum 85DB. This feature along with safe practices by the adults i.e. limiting time spent on devices can have a huge benefit for children’s hearing.

I loved the fact that they have the padded ear covers so they are protecting the little ones ears. They were shipped straight from amazon and were well packed and arrived without any dents or scrapes and I got next day delivery too so there wasn’t any waiting around.

As you can see here the recommended age is 3-12 and I had the willing assistant of my eldest son big M who has just turned 11 to try them out.

When we opened them up his first words were ‘oh cool!’ so that was music to my ears as I find that my boys are very sure of what they like and what they don’t like.

The jack which fits into the devices is 3.5mm which means it fits into most things, for example, ours fits into the mini iPad, iPad and kindle.

I have a great discount of 15% off a pair of these headphones in either pink or blue. Just follow the link by clicking here which will take you to the website and click buy on amazon where you can then enter your code which is: 490023OF

I am pleased to say they were a great success and big M soon zoned me out and carried on with watching his movie with his new headphones on. I can rest easy knowing that he cannot blast the sound up too high.

You can find out more and keep updated on their latest products by connecting to them at:-

Facebook: EasySMX

Twitter: @EasySMXofficial

Instagram: easysmx_official

I’d love to know your thoughts after seeing these. Please let me know in the comments section below.

Would you like to share the news with your friends? You can by clicking here!Click To Tweet

I was given one set of headphones for the purpose of this review, there are no affiliated links with this post and all views are mine and big M’s 🙂

Subscribe to Blog via Email

What does your fairy form look like?

While I was writing a piece this morning I was attaching a picture when my son squealed that the picture looked like me as a fairy!

Not only was this very flattering, I also think it was through those gorgeous rose tinted glasses that only your children could have. The exuberance of youth is wonderful.

This got me thinking about what forms our fairy avatars would take. It’s a fun little game that you can do and have a little bit of fairy tale fantasy to break up your day. How would you look and what would you do if you were a fairy for a day? I would really love to hear from you to see what form yours takes.

Comment here or tweet me @myrealfairy using the #fairyform hashtag to join in. You may already be very clear on how your fairy looks or this may get you thinking and creating, either way, enjoy and I can’t wait to see and hear from you ✨

click here if you want people to join in #fairyform what would you look like?Click To Tweet