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How To Give Your Home A More Complete Look

February 9, 2017 by Erica Hughes 1 Comment

Everyone has different tastes when it comes to renewing and restyling interior décor but there are basic things you can do to give your home a more complete lookgive your home a more complete look. Naturally you want to create a home that’s comfortable, luxurious even, and well suited to your lifestyle.

Creating your new interiors needn’t be difficult and it doesn’t have to be very expensive, depending on exactly what you decide to do and the size of budget you can allocate. Here are a few ideas for you to consider as you work towards that ultimate goal – a house that has a complete look.

Take the time to plan

It may sound obvious but planning the details of what you want to do in each room means you’re unlikely to get part way through something and then decide it’s not really what you want. The planning process can unlock creative ideas and suggestions that might otherwise remain hidden. Discuss plans with a partner, and if you have kids involve them too. If their input is taken on board it helps give them a sense of ownership and they will learn to appreciate and look after their surroundings.

Develop your colour palette

When you’re planning a home makeover your colour scheme is the essential starting point. Walls and ceilings that are cream or magnolia effectively give you a blank canvas on which to draw out your ideas. It means you can use colorful furniture with cushions and throws – think oranges, yellows and blues – and vibrant artwork to complement the feel of a room.

You could consider having a feature wall that’s a different colour or develop different colour schemes for each room. A mix of blues and greens can work well in many rooms to help create calm and comforting atmospheres and you can create stripes by mixing one batch of the paint much lighter than the base color, 50% is a good rule of thumb, and another batch 150% darker.

Look to your windows

Often your windows provide an opportunity to add real style to your house. It’s not so much the shape or size, though feature windows can add a touch of elegance, but what you cover them with that can set them apart. Curtains can look great, but don’t give you a lot of control over your light, whereas wooden shutters make an up to date and modish addition to your home.

There is a wide range of window shutters styles that can be individually measured to fit your windows and with a choice of materials that include basswood and hardwoods such as poplar or elm. You can choose colors and styles to suit, full length or café style that cover the bottom half of the windows. You can also get them tiered so you can open one half whilst keeping the other half closed. Shutters with louvers that open and close give you excellent control over how much light you want to let in, and they add an additional layer of insulation.

Remove the clutter

Rooms, especially surfaces, have a tendency to get cluttered if you don’t keep things under control. You want to be able to see the lines of your furniture, not bundles of papers and piles of kids’ toys. You can judiciously place small ornaments and mementos from holidays on surfaces that won’t leave space for dumping clutter.

Light up with drama

The best hotel lobbies have dramatic and opulent lighting and there’s no reason not to work to create a similar ambience in your rooms. If you have a high enough ceiling look to put in a dropped chandelier, otherwise install flush or semi-flush light fittings to help add to the wow factor. Carefully placed mirrors can add to the sense of space in a room and good lighting complements this.

Accessorize your furniture

You can add a luxurious touch to your couch and armchairs by using plenty of cushions and throws, setting the furniture off and creating an attractive visual picture as well as providing extra comfort. Always go for a good-sized couch so that there’s plenty of room to snuggle down into the soft cushions.

The complete look

Giving your home a makeover lets you consider exactly what you want for your personal comfort. Whether it’s the color schemes, the lighting, the window coverings or any other aspect you can plan, and design, you will emerge at the end satisfied you have given your home the complete look.

A Layered Salad with Cypriot New Potatoes

February 8, 2017 by Erica Hughes 8 Comments

Now that spring is on the way, I hope, it’s nice to break away from all those hearty stews and go for something a little lighter, maybe a bit more seasonal. I love when new potatoes come into the shops and I was pleased to see some in Tesco nice and early this year. The Cypriot New Potatoes are just the thing to give you a taste of spring.

These new potatoes are the ‘spunta’ variety and have been grown in sunny Cyprus. They are very easy to work with and are ideal for boiling or steaming, roasting and even baked. Preparation is minimal too as they don’t need peeling or scraping, so it’s just a quick rinse that’s needed. I love the creamy colour of the flesh and the earthy taste due to the mineral-rich, red alluvial soil in which the potatoes are grown. Available in 750g packs or loose, Cypriot New Potatoes are available from Tesco.

I made a favourite of mine for when I have friends round as it’s perfect for a informal lunch and it can be prepared in advance. I usually make a loaf of home-made bread in the breadmaker to go with it and the meal is complete. It’s a layered salad, so if looks good and it’s very easy to make.

Ingredients:

750g Tesco Cypriot New Potatoes (thickly sliced)

1/2 iceberg lettuce (shredded)

250g grated carrots

330g tin of sweetcorn

2x200g tins of tuna in spring water

4 tablespoons of mayonnaise

Preparation

Steam or boil the potatoes until cooked, then place in cold water to cool.
Place a layer of new potatoes at the bottom of a large bowl (ideally a glass or pyrex one so you can see the layers).
The next layer is the shredded lettuce and then the grated carrots go on top.
Drain the tuna and the sweetcorn and mix together with the mayonnaise. This forms the next layer.
Finish with another layer of potatoes.

This post is my entry into the Foodies100 / Tesco Cypriot New Potatoes recipe challenge. Full details can be found here. Tesco kindly sent a £10 voucher towards the cost of ingredients for this blogpost.

Win with Campbell’s Soup

February 7, 2017 by Erica Hughes 126 Comments

This time of year is very much soup season for me. On a cold, grey day a bowl of warming soup is just the thing to pep me up and keep me going. Campbell’s Soup is one of my favourite brands and I try to keep a can or two of their soup in the cupboard for a quick and easy lunch. I often use soup as the basis of a main meal too and there are a whole host of recipes available on the Campbell’s website if you are in need of inspiration.

In fact, soup fits in very nicely with some of my plans to be a bit healthier this year. It’s easy to fit more veggies into your diet if you go with a vegetable based soup. I also like that soup fills me up and means that I don’t go looking for snacks too.

We’ve teamed up with Campbell’s in a soup season giveaway. The prize is some soup (of course), in fact 4 different varieties so you can try out a range of flavours. There’s one of Campbell’s fab aprons too in that big bold Campbell’s red. If you’d like to try to win this great giveaway, enter via the Gleam widget below.

Competition Terms and Conditions

1. No bulk, third-party or automated entries.

2. Entrants must be UK residents aged 18 years or older.

3. The winners will be chosen by a random draw.

4. The winner will be notified by email and will have a week to claim their prize. Should they fail to respond within this time, an alternative winner will be selected.

5. Promoter is responsible for fulfilling the prize and full contact details of the winner will be passed onto the promoter.

6. Competition closes on 26th February 2017.

Campbell’s Soup

January Degustabox

January 28, 2017 by Erica Hughes 11 Comments

It’s always a bit of a thrill to receive the latest Degustabox and explore the latest selection of goodies. This time there were quite a few snacks. Popchips are a snack we’ve tried before and enjoyed, so we were happy to see this latest flavour, Smoky Bacon, in the box. Yushoi are another snack we’ve tried before and the Coconut & Chilli flavour is very much my thing. The Chia Co specialises in positive, plant-based nutrition and these chia shots are perfect for adding to your morning muesli or smoothie. For those times when you need a more substantial healthy snack, Finn Crisp seems to provide the solution. High in fibre and low in fat, the crunchy thin crispbreads hit the spot, but you can feel virtuous too. Also, on the healthy side of the scales is the Quinola Mothergrain, this is a handy addition to the store cupboard and is great for accompanying a meal. I used it to help bulk out some leftovers I was eating up and it was very easy to prepare. For those with a sweet tooth, you want to keep the sugar levels down, Fruitella 30% Less Sugar seems like the answer. They are made from fruit juices and contain only natural flavours and colourings, no sweeteners either.

Aspire Drinks are a healthy energy, calorie free, sugar-free drink. Their drinks include active ingredients like green tea, ginger and guarana. If you are exercising or just working hard, Protein Boost could see you through the day. One of these drinks contains 20g of protein. Natvia is a natural sweetener that is a good sugar substitute without artificial nasties as it’s made from stevia and natural nectar. I’m looking forward to trying out the gourmet live yoghurt from The Collective: this month’s box contained a 100% voucher to try it. There’s We are Little‘s vanilla flavoured coffee to try too. I’m lovely the Crabbie‘s Ginger Beer, which has been crafted for 6 weeks using real ginger and spices. The Scottish Raspberry flavour is the perfect match for a ginger beer.

Tom’s Kitchen Comes To The Mailbox

January 21, 2017 by Erica Hughes 7 Comments

A new restaurant opening in town is always an event to celebrate and Tom’s Kitchen coming to Birmingham is certainly worth raising a glass to. The Birmingham branch of Tom’s Kitchen is located in the heart of the The Mailbox in Birmingham city centre. It’s not just a restaurant either, as there’s a bar and a deli (situated outside the restaurant in The Urban Room and perfect for a quick meal or snack).

Foodies will be very aware of Tom Aikens as he is one of the UK’s top chefs. As part of his development he worked in top restaurants, including the legendary Pierre Koffman’s La Tante Claire. At the early age of 26 he became the youngest British chef to be awarded two Michelin stars. Tom’s Kitchen currently has five sites across London, two international outposts in Istanbul and Dubai, as well as the new Birmingham restaurant.

The restaurant is open daily, the restaurant and serves Tom’s take on British classics with an emphasis on seasonality and ethically sourced ingredients. With a relaxed, informal feel, the restaurant looks like the perfect spot for a relaxed lunch, dinner or maybe the weekend brunch (I am so tempted by this menu with breakfast favourites like Eggs Benedict and a Seasonal Berry Pancake).

But a restaurant is all about the food and Tom’s Kitchen doesn’t disappoint there. We tried quite a range of dishes served as canapés, which was ideal as we got to sample quite a few dishes like the Poached Monkfish and the Steak Tartare. I particularly enjoyed the sweetness of the Chicken Liver & Foie Gras Parfait with its topping of chutney which set the dish off nicely. The Seven Hour Confit Herdwick Lamb with Mashed Potato melted in the mouth. I think my favourite of the desserts was the Blackberry Cheesecake: very moreish.

Win a Month’s Supply of Vitamin Water

January 18, 2017 by Erica Hughes 76 Comments

I think after the excesses of the festive season, we are all looking to get a little more healthy. One of the things I’m looking at doing is trying to drink more water to keep me hydrated and to hopefully improve my health. Last year when I was at a blogging conference called BlogOn I had the chance to try out Get More Vitamin Drinks. These handy drinks are perfect for keeping you topped up with water when you are out and about, but they are great to have at home too. As well as water, you get some extra vitamins to give your body a bit of a healthy boost and it’s good to know that they don’t contain any sugar. They are low in calories too, so you can feel good about the diet too if you’re on one. I like the taste too – I’ve tried a couple of flavours and they are very pleasant to drink.

Readers can win a month’s supply of Get More Drinks by entering the giveaway via the Gleam widget below.

Competition Terms and Conditions

1. No bulk, third-party or automated entries.

2. Entrants must be UK residents aged 18 years or older.

3. The winners will be chosen by a random draw.

4. The winner will be notified by email and will have a week to claim their prize. Should they fail to respond within this time, an alternative winner will be selected.

5. Promoter is responsible for fulfilling the prize and full contact details of the winner will be passed onto the promoter.

6. Competition closes on 5th February 2017.
Get More

Win a New Year Cleaning Bundle from Astonish

January 13, 2017 by Erica Hughes 147 Comments

A new year, a new broom! I often feel that new year is a good time to clean instead of spring. After Christmas I usually have the urge to declutter and tend to clean as I go along too. There are a couple of downsides as some bits of spring cleaning are best done when the weather is warm enough to have windows open or to have good drying weather outside. Winter though is a time when our houses can get dirtier as we bring in mud on our feet and I’m afraid my feline friends do the same – I have a nice line of muddy paw prints across the kitchen floor right now.

Being an animal lover, I like to make sure that the products I use are cruelty free. Astonish, the British manufacturer of cleaning products, has a line of over 70 cleaning, laundry and personal care products that are Vegetarian Society Approved, as well as Vegan Society and Cruelty Free International registered. So I’m very glad to say that I’ve teamed up with them to offer readers the chance to win a pretty comprehensive bundle of cleaning products to help get your new year clean off to a sparkling start.

Enter via the Gleam widget below.

Competition Terms and Conditions

1. No bulk, third-party or automated entries.

2. Entrants must be UK residents aged 18 years or older.

3. The winners will be chosen by a random draw.

4. The winner will be notified by email and will have a week to claim their prize. Should they fail to respond within this time, an alternative winner will be selected.

5. Promoter is responsible for fulfilling the prize and full contact details of the winner will be passed onto the promoter.

6. Competition closes on 5th February 2017.

Astonish

King Cake Breadmaker Recipe

January 2, 2017 by Erica Hughes 17 Comments

Often in the run up to Twelfth Night or the Epiphany we make a king cake. It’s a cake associated with the arrival of the three wise men, kings or magi to visit Jesus. It’s a type of cake that’s very popular over Europe (especially France and Spain) and many countries associated with European settlers. It’s a sort of cakey-bread, if you know what I mean, think hot cross buns or brioche. Sometimes the cake features some sort of thing to find inside the cake like a little figurine or a trinket, a bit like a Christmas pudding. The idea being that whoever finds it is ‘king for a day’.

Ingredients

85g citrus candied peel, chopped
100g raisin
50g Pine Nuts
50g glacé cherry
5 tbsp rum, sherry or brandy (whatever you have in the house is fine)
7g easybake yeast
500g strong white bread flour
50g golden caster sugar
0.5 teaspoon of salt
2.5 teaspoons of ground mixed spice
85g of (softened) butter cut into small pieces
1 egg
250ml milk

For the glaze

2 tablespoons apricot jam
1 tablespoon water

For the sugars

Granulated Sugar
Food colourings

Soak the peel, raisins, pine nuts and cherries in alcohol either overnight or for a few hours at least. You can miss this section out if you don’t want the alcohol, but I’d suggest soaking for a while in fruit juice instead to make the fruits nice and juicy.
Put your ingredients into the breadmaker pan (except the soaked fruits and nuts) in the correct order for the machine. My machine like the wet ingredients first.
Select the dough setting that allows you to add raisins part way through the dough process if there is one. Otherwise add the fruit mix towards the end of the dough kneading, so they are mixed in, but the texture isn’t destroyed by the kneading blade. Alternatively add them yourself when you do step 4.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knock out the air and knead a little.
Shape the loaf – often King Cakes are ring-shaped. Place on a lightly buttered baking sheet. Cover with oiled cling film and leave in a warm place for 30 minutes or until it has roughly doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 170 degrees (fan oven) or 190 degrees or Gas Mark 5.
Bake for around 45 minutes.
Get the cake out of the oven and place on a cooling tray.
Make some coloured sugars by mixing granulated sugar with a drop or two of food colouring in an empty jam jar. Shake till the colour is well mixed – add more sugar or more colouring to get the shades you want. Purple, green and gold (yellow) are traditional, but I use whatever I have to hand.
Heat the apricot jam with the water and brush this on as a glaze.
Sprinkle the sugars over the glazed cake. This is usually done in blocks of colour to create a sort of striped effect.

Winter Degustabox

December 23, 2016 by Erica Hughes 4 Comments

With winter storms raging and cold weather on the way, it feels good to be stocked up with some Degustabox goodies for a bit of a treat. This month’s winter box is perfectly suited to the season too. I tried some of the Hoots Snacks for my lunch: the Salt and Pepper flavour. They were very filling; healthier as they are baked not fried; and a bit different to the usual potato crisps, but I found the pepper part of the flavouring a bit strong, but the Salt and Vinegar variety went down better. Another ideal snack were the Bite+ Multi Grain Flakes in a yummy Sour Cream & Onion flavour. I’d neglected to buy and Lebkuchen for Christmas (part of my Christmas tradition since I worked in a Swiss ski resort one winter), the Bahlsen Lebkuchen Mischung are the perfect combination of gingerbread and chocolate and perfect for sharing.

I’m looking forward to some Nutri-Brex for my breakfast with its gluten-free coconut and crispy rice flavour. It sounds like the perfect healthy start. To go with it I have my a2 Milk, which is easier to digest than ordinary cows’ milk, and it comes in a handy long life pack which is great for any milk emergencies over the Christmas period (I always seem to run out when I have unexpected visitors). Maggi 3 Minute Noodles are the perfect lunchtime food: quick and tasty. Gallo’s Italian Four Cheese Risotto is another quick and easy meal to try.

Some nice drinks are always very welcome over the festive season. We love the refreshing taste of Newton’s Appl Fizzics with its blend of apple juice and sparkling water. If I’m driving over Christmas I’l be on the non-alcoholic wine and Eisberg is a brand I’ve enjoyed before. This time I have their Sauvignon Blanc to look forward to. Getting healthy in the new year will be easier with What a Melon, a watermelon water that hydrates like coconut water, but contains extra anti-oxidants and the muscle loving amino acid citrulline.

Ciao Gusto

December 6, 2016 by Erica Hughes 12 Comments

When Ciao Gusto got in touch and suggested I try their range, I had so many ideas about what I could make as I love Italian food and often cook it at home. In the end though I found my inspiration in Venice and used that lovely city as my muse. My first visit to the city was during my university days when I was taking some art history courses (initially inspired by the fact that those courses involved some overseas trips, but soon I loved the art for itself). I studied Venetian Art and Architecture during the Renaissance and we visited some stunning buildings and wonderful art galleries, as well as some spectacular churches. Venice isn’t just a feast for the eyes though, it’s got a lot to offer the foodie. I can remember gifts of balsamic vinegar for the ladies at a restaurant we ate at quite a few times and Venice is where I discovered the Bellini cocktail.

So inspired by Venice I decided to create a special brunch. I wanted to keep it simple, but still bring in genuine ingredients and showcase those distinctive Italian flavours. I picked out a really good Parmareggio Reggiano cheese and grated a little to sprinkle on my toast, before finishing under the grill. Meanwhile I soft-boiled some eggs, to create an Italian twist on the old favourite eggs and soldiers.

Next up was a very special drink: Bellinis. This refreshing cocktail is made from peaches and prosecco wine. As it’s a wine based cocktail, it doesn’t pack too much of an alcoholic punch, so it’s more suited for an early drink and to my mind, it’s a lot nicer than Bucks Fizz.

Ciao Gusto is a family of famous Italian food and drinks brands, working together to tell their stories and to spread the love of Italian food and culture around the world. Every member of Ciao Gusto is acclaimed, a brand leader in Italy. Large or small, they all share a common heritage and devotion to quality. That’s why they’ve come together, sharing knowledge, passion, and their favourite Italian recipes. You can discover Ciao Gusto now at Ocado in their Italian Shop in Shop http://goo.gl/9ExTcV there’s a wonderful selection of products with many famous names and some new favourites.