Festive Outfit Inspiration From Bonprix

It's that time of year when not only do we girls have to ensure that we produce a Christmas lunch worthy of Nigella for the family and presents to satisfy the most discerning, but we're supposed to look stunning at the same time.

I don't know about you but finding time to plan a spectacular outfit is a bit tricky - not to mention factoring in the extra cost.

Happily, the Bonprix stylists have done the job for me - and at a very reasonable price too.  Here are their suggestions for four rapidly approaching Christmas events.  See what you think.

The Work Christmas Party

I'm hoping you'll be treated to a fabulous meal somewhere swanky.  Drinking champers out of your footwear might be a slightly career limiting move though.  The last Christmas party at the Law Firm involved a tray of sausage rolls from the sandwich bar downstairs and some perry.  How the other half live, eh?

Sequin Bodice Mermaid Dress - £49.99

Satin Diamante Sandals - £39.00

Lace Print Clutch - £17.99

Christmas Jumper Day - Friday 18th December

Friday 18th December is Christmas Jumper Day for ITV's Text Santa which this year is supporting Macmillan Cancer Support, Make-A-Wish UK and Save the Children UK.  You can find out more here.

Just text SANTA5 or SANTA10 to 70760 to donate £5 or £10 to these great causes.

Wearing a Christmas jumper is rapidly becoming a Christmas tradition but there are some tasteful ones out there!

Christmas Reindeer Jumper - £24.99

Over-the-knee Boots - £39.99

Flattering Jeggings - £24.99

 Christmas Day

If you're going to be in the kitchen cooking (or supervising whilst nursing a glass of wine), you might not want to wear anything too elaborate.  These separates are the right combination of practical, chic and sparkly.

Sequin Trim Cape Jumper - £24.99

Slim Pleather Trousers - £29.99

Hollywood Earrings - £14.99 (not shown)

Kitten Heel Ankle Boot - £29.99

New Year's Eve

These days our New Year's Eves tend to involve watching Big Ben and the fireworks on the BBC and then switching over to Jools Holland (if you get the chance to see him live, go!).  That's no reason not to dress up though, is it?

Shimmering Wrap Dress - £34.99

T-Bar Glitter Sandals - £39.99

Bead Choker - £14.99

All clothes are available from size 6 - 24 and there's currently 25% off and free delivery with your first order when you open an account.

Have a stylish Christmas.

Further information at www.bonprix.co.uk.

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Experiencing Italy On A Plate With Expedia

In celebration of all the fabulous places to which you can travel with Expedia, they have thrown down the gauntlet and launched a culinary competition - the "World On A Plate Challenge".

Multi toned socks are an integral part of the Roman look apparently.

The aim is to try your hand at the local cuisine of one of their package holiday destinations.

Now, as readers of this blog know,  although there's nothing I can't do with a baked potato, the kids are, shall we say, ever so slightly discerning when it comes to 'grown up food' and Ieuan can take three weeks to finish one mouthful of carrot.

Nevertheless, not daunted by this fact nor by the loving moniker the Husband has given me ("Queen of The Reheat"), we decided to reproduce a beautiful sea bass dish from Italy.  I say "we".  Obviously I mean "under maximum supervision by the Husband".

Many years ago, I visited the wonderful city of Rome and then travelled to Amalfi and Portofino. Gazing at Mount Vesuvius across the Bay of Naples is a view that will always stay with me; as will the sheer scale of the Forum and the Colosseum in Rome.

The Colosseum in Rome Credit:  telegraph.co.uk

And of course, I had to throw the famous "three coins in the fountain" at The Trevi Fountain.

The Trevi Fountain:  Credit trevifountain.net

It's only taken me 4 years but I have finally renewed my passport so I can now legally travel further than Devon and as a family we can begin to introduce the kids to the World's wonders.

Part of the charm of Italy, of course, is its food and much has been written about the health giving properties of the Mediterranean diet with its high proportion of fresh fruit and vegetables, fresh fish, olive oil and red wine.  Then there is also the legendary Sophia Loren's claim that "everything you see I owe to spaghetti".

Actually, many of us beleaguered parents owe a debt of immense thanks to pasta as it is frequently one of the few food groups which can be spooned into a protesting child without too many repurcussions.

We did, bizarrely, manage to get Ieuan to eat spinach recently when the Husband told him that the role of spinach was to protect carrots and it was also known as "carrot guardian" and had superpowers. Sadly,  that moment has never been repeated.

So, to create our homage to the beauty of Italy (with me hinting rather largely that Rome would be such a nice place to be taken for my next birthday, particularly the River Palace Hotel), we began our creation.

Since the kids have had pasta twice this week already in their school dinner, we adapted a recipe by Giada De Laurentiis called Sea Bass Alla Fiorentina.

You just can't get the staff, can you?

Ingredients:-

4 x Sea Bass fillets
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly chopped baby tomatoes
Baby Bell Peppers
3 Garlic cloves
Fresh chopped Parsley
Sea Salt & freshly ground Black Pepper

Freshly chopped tomatoes, peppers and garlic

Instructions:-

Season both sides of the fish with salt and pepper.

Heat the 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat in a frying pan and cook the fish until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side.

Transfer fish to a plate.

The Sea Bass fillets

Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat.

Add the garlic, tomatoes, peppers, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook at a simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the parsley and the fish and heat for 2 minutes.

We served the fish with baby potatoes sautéd in olive oil and a heavy dose of optimism.

To add to the fun, the kids 'went Roman' - although the combination of tomato and bed-sheet is probably not to be recommended.

OK, so I can't tie a toga either

Over dinner, we talked about the ancient Roman civilisation which the kids are currently studying in school.  We recently visited the Roman Baths in Bath and Caitlin's school trip was to the Roman remains in Caerleon.

The flavours of Italy never fail to inspire - although the combination of fava beans and a nice Chianti is probably one to be avoided.

Sea Bass Alla Hobbis

I'm hoping 2016 will be the year I can revisit Rome.  In the meantime I will channel my inner Sophia and build my strength up with spaghetti.

But my chances of getting Ieuan back in a toga are slim.

Like what you've read?  Why not join me on the Mother Distracted Facebook page, tweet me on @lindahobbis or follow me on Instagram.

*collaborative post

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Do You Know Your Flood Risk? Free downloadable ‘Homeowners Guide to Flood Resilience’ Launched.‏

With the Government this week announcing an additional £51 million to support households and businesses affected by last weekend’s devastating floods in Cumbria and Lancashire, the Know Your Flood Risk campaign has launched a new ‘Homeowners’ Guide to Flood Resilience’.

"The Homeowners Guide To Flood Resilience"

The free guide provides advice on how to determine your flood risk, how to plan against flooding, as well as offer guidance on flood resistance measures, appropriate property level flood products and community-based measures.

Know Your Flood Risk is a campaign raising awareness of the risk of flooding from all sources - not just from the river, sea, or a visible water course. The majority of flood insurance claims are for surface water flooding where there is no obvious water to alert a homeowner to the potential risk.

The campaign provides essential practical guidance to enable homeowners and property professionals mitigate against and prepare for the risk of being flooded.

This guide, which is written especially with the homeowner in mind, hopes to reduce the worry about what property level flood products to use, and illustrates the variety of ways a home can become resilient to being flooded.

The campaign also supplies a property-specific flood report for £24 which can be used by homeowners to help identify the potential risk, as well as confirm whether they will be able to obtain insurance at standard terms.

Mary Dhonau OBE HonRICS HonDSc, Chief Executive of the Know Your Flood Risk campaign said: “This time exactly 15 years ago, I had flood water in my home – the second flood in only just a few weeks – so I know exactly how dreadful being flooded is, and to be flooded at Christmas time makes it all the more appalling.

With the announcement of grants for those newly flooded, this guide will be an excellent resource for those thinking about trying to reduce their risk. The prospect of trying to reduce flood risk to your home can be a baffling one, with many people not knowing how to go about this other than resort to the humble and extremely inefficient sandbag. This Homeowners’ Guide is here to help. In addition, for those thinking about installing flood resilient repair, we have an excellent case study, which details the types of interventions that can be made.”

Concludes Mary: “Sadly, flooding is set to get worse and it is essential that we not only know our own flood risk, but prepare in advance and take moves to make our homes more resilient to being flooded. We hope that by launching the new guide it will help inform homeowners as to what can be done to reduce the impact a flood can have and in turn reduce the misery that being flooded brings with it.”

The Know Your Flood Risk Campaign’s mission is to raise awareness of the risk of flooding from all sources. It is one of the UK’s leading online resources for helping people find out the flood risk related to their current or future homes.

To download a copy of its free guide click HERE.

A free-to-download Flood Risk mobile app is also available to quickly assess whether a postcode is considered to be at risk of flooding.

To download the app from iTunes, click on: https://itunes.apple.com/app/id941612469.

For more information, visit www.knowyourfloodrisk.co.uk or follow the Know Your Flood Risk campaign on Twitter.

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My Sunday Photo - 13/12/2015

Ieuan rocking out!

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Refresh & Rehydrate Your Kids With Robinsons

Kids do everything at 100 miles an hour and, in their haste to pursue the next shiny thing, or toy, or chance to make a mess, sometimes things like drinking enough fall by the wayside.

We know that staying hydrated is vital for our health.  In fact just a slight drop in hydration levels affects our brain and our performance.

Robinsons Sparkling Orange & Ginger

And, for school age children, staying hydrated is even more important to give them the best chance to learn as much as possible.

So how do we encourage our kids (and the rest of our family!) to drink more?

Ideally, of course, the drink of choice would be water but, having regularly had to remove barely touched cups of water, it's good that there is another weapon in the parenting arsenal.

Robinsons Squash is a regular item on the shopping list with eleven flavours including no added sugar varieties. Caitlin's favourite is orange whilst Ieuan is an Apple & Blackcurrant fan.  They have to be different, don't they? But there's also Lemon & Mango, Orange & Raspberry and the more exotic Mango & Passion Fruit.

I drank Robinsons as a child too (yes I know that's a few years ago), although I'm afraid it never improved my tennis.

Caitlin about to make her grown up drink

This year Robinsons have a new recipe and are encouraging us to be a little more creative with their squash to encourage us all to drink more water in a tasty, easy to prepare way.  All their squashes are now 'no added sugar' too.

So why not indulge your inner mixologist and see if you can come up with something a little more exciting than straight squash?

How about Warming Lemon & Ginger?  Robinsons Lemon with fresh lemon juice and finely grated ginger, served with warm water from the kettle?

Or, just right for Christmas, Mulled Apple & Blackcurrant? Apple & Blackcurrant squash with cloves, black peppercorns, star anise and ground allspice?  Just warm in a pan, simmer for 3 minutes and then set aside for 3 minutes to infuse.

Don't Worry - I Was Supervising!

Caitlin's new twist on her favourite orange squash was to combine it with ginger ale for a bit of sparkle and a touch more zing. Well, actually it was Robinsons' idea but I hadn't the heart to discourage her.

Adding the squash

We used approximately 50 ml of Robinsons orange per glass and topped it up with sugar free ginger ale and sliced of orange.

Adding the ginger ale - other brands are available!

The drink was really refreshing and Caitlin really enjoyed having a hand in making a drink she found a little more exciting.

You could add a few extra touches if you wanted to with coloured straws, glace cherries on sticks (I'm going back to the 70's here) or even a cocktail umbrella.  Strangely the latter seem to have vanished from supermarket shelves.  Can't think why.

Caitlin's "Orange Fantasy"

We're looking forward to mixing up some more combinations - next on the list is a St. Clements with orange and sparkling lemonade and I'm looking forward to warming some lemon squash and adding some honey the next time someone has a sore throat.

Why not give some of your own blends a try?

To find out more about the Robinsons range you can visit www.robinsonsquash.co.uk.  Alternatively you can talk to them on Facebook @RobinsonsDrinks or Twitter @DrinkRobinsons.

Like what you've read?  Why not join me on the Mother Distracted Facebook page, tweet me on @lindahobbis or follow me on Instagram.

*collaborative post

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12 Tips To Avoid All Out War At The Christmas Table

Christmas is a potential minefield for arguments; with family, with partners, with children, with the cat, with shop assistants and probably with yourself.  

If you’re the sort of person who could start an argument in a phone box, and if you’re hosting Christmas this year, channel your inner Kirstie Allsopp and consider the following.

Christmas seems to be a real flashpoint for some people

It does not all have to be perfect.  You do not have to greet people looking like an extra from a 1950’s retro greeting card in a twinset and pearls.  

You do not have to have place cards inscribed with perfect calligraphy, table confetti, ice cream sparklers or anything else you’ve longingly coveted in the Lakeland catalogue.  

It is a good idea though to adhere to some basic etiquette.  Either that or employ a bouncer.

Hospitable Hosting

Set time frames

There’s nothing worse than the embarrassment of having to turf out guests who overstay their welcome. If you can, send out written invites – e.g  “Coffee & Mince Pies, 4 – 6 pm".  Or then there’s that helpful phrase “would you like a coffee before you go home?” 

This has to be delivered with a certain amount of aplomb lest you come over like a Christmas curmudgeon and you probably won’t get away with it with close family and definitely not on Christmas Day. 

Avoid flashpoints

You know, I’m sure what topics are likely to start World War III but a couple of glasses of fizz and the urge to start talking about them is hard to resist.  

Think of it this way. Christmas Day is 24 hours. Even during World War I, the opposing sides took a day off at Christmas. Surely you can avoid talking about your ex, that outstanding loan, and why your children are never invited to Aunty Flo’s house for just a day. Stick your fork in your hands. Bite your tongue. Otherwise you’ll regret it.

Do not remark upon half-finished plates 

Annoying if you’ve slaved in the kitchen all morning but they’ve probably had too many Quality Street before turning up.

Eat your own food

It sounds weird but there’s nothing worse than a host who loads everyone else’s plate to the rafters and then eats half a potato and a pea because they’re on a diet.

Don’t get sloshed 

Alcohol and a stove whacked on to full power plus igniting the Christmas pudding is a recipe for disaster.

And, if you’re lucky enough to be a guest at someone else’s festive lunch this year….

Gracious Guest-ing

Bring a gift 

At the very least turn up with a bottle of something decent.

Curb your urge to flirt... 

....with your sister’s boyfriend, the next door neighbour or anyone else you know full well is off limits. 

And if you see someone flirting with your partner, try to ignore it and not cause a scene – at least till you get home! Tell yourself you must have made a good choice if someone else is after your partner.

Wear the paper hat

If everyone else is wearing their cracker hat, don’t be a mardy guts and refuse to on the grounds that “it will ruin my hair”. 

If Lady Gaga can go out wearing a meat frock, you can manage to balance a few grams of coloured paper on your head for half an hour.

Try the food 

You’re not 12. A mouthful of Brussel Sprout won’t kill you. And make sure you’ve told the host / hostess about your wheat allergy / gluten intolerance / fear of scallops well in advance of the day.

Join in 

Yes I know you hate party games but unless it’s “strip Twister” or someone’s suggesting throwing car keys in an ash tray, at least give it a go. 

Why not bring a pub quiz book with you or Trivial Pursuit so you can steer the post meal fun in a generally less embarrassing direction. You can’t go wrong with Charades, can you?

Don’t talk through the Queen’s Speech

In some houses, watching the Queen’s annual address is de rigueur and even if you think the French had the right idea with their guillotine, Christmas Day is not the best time to mention that. Keep your jokes about corgis and an annus horribilis for another time.

Know when to go home 

As a general rule, when your host’s eyes have glazed over and if anyone has started to snore, it's time to leg it.

In all seriousness though, if an argument does break out, the best thing to do is to try not to get involved. 

A dignified silence usually works well, as does “shall we discuss this another time? We don’t want to spoil the party”. 

Or there’s one of my favourite anti-argument techniques learned from Agatha Christie’s legendary Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. On hearing anything vaguely insulting, Poirot would raise his eyebrows and utter just one word in a questioning tone – “Indeed?”.

Happy Conflict-Free Christmas!

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Let The Bells Ring Out For Christmas - Except If You've Got Tinnitus

Spare a thought this Christmas for those of us whose ears are musical all year round.

We hear crickets chirping, kettles whistling, bells clanging, strange voices and a whole cacophony of sounds which the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra would struggle to replicate at full pelt.

Tinnitus sufferers don't want to hear bells at Christmas!

Add to this the problem that, for many Tinnitus sufferers, they are isolated by the fact that very few people understand how soul-destroying and draining a condition it can be.

Many Tinnitus sufferers live in a permanent state of heightened anxiety just waiting for something to set off their particular collection of sounds.

We travel with earplugs in our bags in case shop music is too loud.  We cannot attend a concert with 'naked' ears. Or, if we are brave enough to do so, we sit there just wondering whether we will pay for it tomorrow by a ramped up buzz (known to sufferers as a spike).

Car radios are a no-no.  The sound of a pneumatic drill or an ambulance siren when we are out and about may make us cover our ears.  Hairdryers, coffee machines, grass cutters, balloons popping - there is literally no end to the sounds which can set our ears off.

Simple things like attending a carol concert, a school nativity play or a pantomime become a sort of aural Russian Roulette.

Because the condition is so isolating, Tinnitus sufferers need to mix and socialise but the very thing they need the most can be the trigger for days of anxiety afterwards.

The great irony is that many sufferers are prescribed antidepressants to help them cope with their anxiety - and the tablets they are prescribed have been heavily implicated (at least anecdotally) in the increase or even causation of Tinnitus.  If you think I am exaggerating, a quick search of, for example, "Citalopram (a SSRI) and Tinnitus" brings up reams of stories from people who wish they'd never taken the stuff.

It is symptomatic of the fact that Tinnitus is so little understood by the medical profession, so infrequently acknowledged and so under-researched that sufferers are left to their own devices to seek for endless homeopathic or alternative cures, and fall prey to every quack who comes up with a 'miracle cure'.

We are left to cope with our problem alone and that, at Christmas, can be pretty miserable at a time when music is so important and such a part of the festivities.

So please be kind to those with this miserable condition.

And remember, they'll want fewer jingle bells and more of a silent night.

Further information:  if you suspect you have Tinnitus, please talk to your GP and contact the British Tinnitus Association who have lots of helpful information.

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