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Review – Frankie and Benny’s Specials Menu

By Mum's the Word on June 12, 2013 in Food, Review

Last week, we visited Frankie and Benny’s to try out their new Specials menu. I called during the day to see if we’d need to book a table but we were told to just come along as it was a Tuesday evening. We arrived at 6.30pm and were seated straight away. The restaurant was fairly empty but filled up throughout our visit and was almost full by the time we left at about 8pm. We were a party of four, Husband, Sausage and I and my mother-in-law, Lin.

We were seated in a booth at the back and Sausage was immediately presented with a kids pack, which included a pencil, activity book and a ‘Guess Who’ type game with headband and cards. The first pack she was given had actually already been written in but it was replaced by our waitress as soon as we told her. Drinks were served within minutes of us sitting down and our starters were served around 10 minutes later. Husband and I both opted for the same thing, the pulled pork potato skins:

The portion was an adequate size and although Husband and I agreed that there could have been a little more pork in the skins, the dish was tasty, if a bit sloppily presented.

Sausage and Lin didn’t have a starter but our main courses turned up no more than about ten minutes later, which meant that they didn’t have to wait too long to get some grub in their bellies!

Here’s what we had:

(meals, clockwise from top left: Sausage’s pizza from the Kid’s Menu, my Meatball Siciliana Calzone, Lin’s Ranch Burger and Husband’s Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich)

Sausage throughly enjoyed her pizza which was absolutely huge and far too much for her to manage, but we’d rather she left some than left hungry. My calzone was absolutely delicious. It was full of tasty meatballs and pepperoni and the sauce was rich and lightly spiced, all wrapped in a well-cooked pizza dough. Husband’s Philly cheese steak sandwich was surprisingly tender and a generous portion (although he did have one french fry on his plate which was still entirely frozen!). Lin loved her Ranch burger, which was laden with bacon and Ranch sauce and the portion was so generous that she had trouble finishing it all herself!

Next came dessert; we ordered dessert after we finished our mains as we weren’t sure we’d have enough room for it, but Lin and I battled on and Sausage had her heart set on a strawberry ice cream.

Sausage was thrilled to get not only a strawberry ice cream in a very grown-up sundae glass but a packet of chocolate buttons on the side, too! I opted for the salted caramel cheesecake, which was out-of-this-world delicious, however, and this is a WHOLE new experience for me, but the portion was actually too big! I’m never one to be beaten by food, especially not cheesecake, but I was struggling after eating half! Lin had the mint choc waffle, which was a little bit hit and miss. The warm waffle was served with hot chocolate sauce and ice cream, which made it a bit of a melty mess and the cinnamon waffle didn’t go very well with the mint of the ice cream. The waffle was also a bit chewy and thick.

All in all, our trip to Frankie and Benny’s was a great success. The dinner for four of us (two starters, four mains, three desserts and five drinks) came to £47, which we thought was really reasonable. Our server was attentive and efficient and we felt comfortable in our booth. There were plenty of families there, as well as couples and mixed groups so we didn’t feel like we had to ‘shush’ Sausage if she was loud (as almost-5-year-old girls are prone to be!). We’d definitely go back to Frankie and Benny’s and would recommend it to other families with young kids.

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Chessington World of Disappointments

By Mum's the Word on June 4, 2013 in Review

This post was written by my lovely Husband, Tony.

We boarded the car and headed for Chessington World of Adventure in April, with a view to treating the wee one to a nice day-out on her Easter holidays and despite the cost of tickets we thought it would be a day to remember. Of course, we were right, but it turned out to be memorable for all the wrong reasons.

Seeing as it was sausage’s first experience of a theme park we went through the motions in advance of our visit, checking on the CWA website for height requirements for the rides that she was keen to experience (it was a ‘Zufari’ advert that had piqued her interest) and after a short session with the tape measure we found that she was above the required limit – hooray!

With the formalities taken care of we packed the car on a damp and grey morning and made for Surrey.

Upon arrival we weren’t terribly surprised to see a large queue of cars as it was a school holiday and quickly made our way in and up to the parking area. But the queuing, which was manageable outside, was a nightmare on the wet field which the park employs as a car-park. Having been directed down one of the sloped lanes to park our car we were shocked to find very little space for people to disembark, forcing both children and adults to mill around in the path of oncoming vehicles.

On a metalled surface that would have been bad enough, but this was a churned up field, with only plastic duck-boards spread out to offer cars traction. Stopping and maneuvering was tough and the constant worry of a child straying into the path of our car got our visit to the park off to an unpleasant start which was immediately worsened by Sausage slipping on her arse in the mud mere feet from parking cars. This dangerous game may have been a little (a little) easier to swallow had we not been charged to park on top of the £81 cost of visiting.

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Next Swimwear Review

By Mum's the Word on May 10, 2013 in Fashion...that's what I want., Review

So, in my want to shape up, I’ve taken up swimming.

I know, no big deal, right?

WRONG.

This is a very big deal for two reasons:

1. I am scared of sharks. I am WELL aware of the fact that my local leisure centre isn’t in the habit of letting their pool be used by the local tiger shark swimming team nor am I under the illusion that a creature with gills could live in such heavily chlorinated water. I didn’t say it was a rational fear. But the fact is, although I am a decent enough swimmer, I panic in water and feel like there’s something chasing me, regardless of whether it’s an indoor Olympic training pool or not.

2. Swimming costumes. ACK.

I should probably elaborate on that last part.

If you’re overweight, the thought of donning what is essentially a very tight-fitting piece of shiny material doesn’t fill you with huge amounts of glee. If you have a bosom that’s so ample that the word ‘ample’ itself doesn’t even do it justice, as well as being overweight, then those two words – swimming costume – are enough to make you break out in a cold sweat. Which is not a good look when you’re wearing a swimming costume. SELF PERPETUATING NIGHTMARE.

I have a costume that I bought very cheaply last year so that I could take Sausage swimming but it’s not the most flattering garment. There’s zero support for boobage and it more or less makes me look like a mummy orca. So here’s what I did; I threw myself at the mercy of a few different clothing companies and asked if they could help. Next was the first to say yes and here’s the costume I chose (£34):

This isn’t me, but I look ALMOST identical to this in it…*ahem*

The material that the costume is made from is reassuringly good quality and the double-layered tummy control did a valiant job of holding in my paunch. There’s enough fabric covering your bottom that you don’t feel too exposed and the internal wired cups did a far better job of supporting my bust and keeping everything in place while I did my lengths. I felt confident in a swimsuit for the first time in years, which is no small achievement, and it felt nice enough to be worn on the beach or poolside, if you were looking for a flattering, well-covering suit for a holiday.

If I had a minor negative comment it would be that the halterneck, whilst flattering and pretty, meant that the full weight of my boobs were carried around my neck, but it’s one of those things that’s probably only an issue to me and let’s face it, the weight has to be distributed somewhere!

I’m thrilled with my new swimming costume and would definitely buy from Next again. Their E-G cup range is full of flattering suits and separates that offer comfort and style and they’re all reasonably priced too.

I received a free swimming costume for the purposes of this review, however all words and opinions here are honest and unbiased.

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Cinco de Mayo with a Healthy Twist!

By Mum's the Word on May 8, 2013 in Food, Review

turkey fajitas

Last week, I got an email from the delightful ladies at BritMums, who had partnered up with Discovery Foods to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, asking if we’d like to try some of their range. For those who aren’t familiar, Cinco de Mayo literally means ’5th of May’ and is, according to Wikipedia (oh, font of all knowledge…) “ a way to commemorate the cause of freedom and democracy during the first years of the American Civil War, and today the date is observed in the United States as a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride”

We’re huge fans of Mexican food in the Mum’s the Word household and we make fajitas quite regularly, but we’re on a health kick lately so I thought we’d try them with turkey. Lean turkey can contain less than 3% fat, which makes it healthier than chicken. We also added a couple of handfuls of chopped mushrooms which gives extra nutrition and bulks the mixture out, which means you effectively need less meat. We used a yellow and an orange pepper as they’re our favorites and they add an element of sweetness to the flavour combination.

Accompanying our fajitas was Discovery’s Soured Cream topping which really helped to cool things down for Sausage, who’s pretty good but not able to take a whole lotta heat, and some shredded lettuce. The perfect fajita!

The Discovery Fajita seasoning gave a lovely smokey flavour with a hint of heat and actually worked really well with turkey. We’re thrilled with the result of our experiment and happy to know that we can continue to enjoy a favourite meal but with a healthy twist. We’ve also been sent the Cajun Season and Sauce to try and I’m really looking forward to giving this a go. We may even use turkey again, so that we can enjoy it without diet guilt!

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Build-a-Bear Workshop Review

By Mum's the Word on April 5, 2013 in Family, Review

Yesterday we had the privilege of being invited to our local Build-a-Bear Workshop with Sausage so that she could build her very own bear and see what the overall experience is like. Our appointment was at 3pm and because nothing is ever simple in the Mum’s the Word house, right around 11am, it started snowing heavily. Not to be deterred, I phoned the shop and asked if we could put it back by an hour to give ourselves plenty of time to get there and off we went.

The front of the store is bright, open and welcoming and we were greeted by the store manager Jackie and our lovley bear-builder Sophie who took Sausage and got started right away.

First, she chose her bear

Then, she chose a heart and something that played a jingle

Then came the stuffing!

Then the bear was fluffed up and brushed

Then an outfit was chosen…and boy was there a lot to choose from!

Then she was named and a birth certificate was created

Then a decree was made to the whole of Lakeside that Sausage would love her bear and protect her forever

And so…Sofia was born!

I can honestly say that Sausage was treated like absolute royalty, the staff were attentive and engaging and guided her through the whole process. The lady who was helping us, Sophie, really made the whole experience magical for Sausage and for that we cannot thank her enough. Our daughter came away from the Build-a-Bear Workshop one seriously happy little girl!

For the sake of giving a fair review, I eavesdropped a little bit onto another little girl who was being served while we were in the store and can say that she was getting the same treatment of us, so I don’t think for one minute that the red carpets were rolled out because we were there for a review. All of the staff were happy and helpful.

The bear itself would have cost around £45 if we’d not been receiveing Sofia for free and that covers the bear and all of the clothing and accessories. Now, this may seem like a lot but for a special occassion, this would make an amazing birthday or Christmas treat for any little girl or boy. They offer football kits, Star Wars characters and more, as well as the girlier options, so there’s something for all kids.

As a side note, I should also add that one of my friends had a Build-a-Bear made for me when I was about 15, a cow in a pink satin outfit and I STILL have her to this day, almost 15 years later and she is in pristine condition, so these bears really do last and are WELL worth the money.

We want to say an enormous thank you to everyone at Build-a-Bear Worshop for giving Sausage what she keeps describing as the ‘best day of my life’ and can say from Sausage, Husband and I that these shops have the full Mum’s the Word seal of approval and recommendation.

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Mens Skincare by Audaca – Review and Giveaway

By Mum's the Word on March 5, 2013 in Giveaway, Men Stuff, Review

A few weeks ago, I was browsing through some press releases (as you do…) and I noticed one from men’s skincare brand Audaca. Phrases like “aromatherapy principles” and “modern science” pinged off the page at me and immediately made me think of the man in my life. Husband has long suffered with sensitive skin and often keeps a beard rather than shave as it has such a horrible effect on his skin. Just recently, he’s started using a traditional shaving system of solid soap, shaving brush and safety razor (you know, like the one your Grandad used with a metal or Bakelite handle and disposable blades) which is much better for the face and I thought that the Audaca products with their natural ingredients would be a great accompaniment to his new routine.

Here’s what he thought of what we were sent:

I recently returned to traditional wet shaving after 10 years in the wilderness of electric razors and dry skin, and so far I’ve been enjoying some great results thanks to my newly acquired Merkur 23C DE razor and both Derby and Feather blades. But when you’re altering your grooming regimen it helps to experiment, in order to find the perfect combination of items for your skin and beard type, so when my Wife asked me if I was interested in trying these new, premium grooming products from Audaca I leapt at the chance.

First up I used the Audaca Scrub for my pre-shave wash and found it to be very effective without being unnecessarily abrasive. The aroma’s subtle and the pumice felt particularly good, leaving my face feeling clean but not sore – which is important before it undergoes the trauma of shaving.

The deed itself was done with Audaca’s Shave and I had mixed results. Initially I was pleased with the muted scent and rich feel of the cream, but when I applied it to my face I found it to be thin and it didn’t generate any sort of lather, which was a red flag.

The shave wasn’t good. My face felt largely unprotected by the cream, at times feeling like I was running the razor over bare skin. It didn’t reduce friction (on my beard type, at least) and left me with quite a few nicks where I wouldn’t ordinarily have any.

By the time I had finished I was feeling pretty sore and was keen to experiment with the Audaca Soothe, and I’m very glad I did. I applied a small amount to my face while it was still damp and it spread evenly, calming the burn which had been caused by the shave. Importantly (to me at least) it wasn’t at all greasy and the slightly woody aroma was nice too.

Overall I was pleased with the Scrub and the Soothe. They’re products which I’ll be adopting into my daily routine from here on in and if, like me, you have sensitive skin then I’d recommend you take a look at them too.

The cream, on the other hand, wasn’t up to muster in my humble opinion and it certainly won’t be replacing my usual soap but it might be worth trying if you have a lighter or less dense growth on your face and the scent is definitely appealing.

Now, you can win an Audaca gift set for the male-type in your life (apologies if you are a male-type, you’d obviously win it for yourself…) by entering via the Rafflecopter widget below. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

ThePrizeFinder – UK Competitions

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Book Review: Nightingale Woods by Kathryn Brown

By Mum's the Word on March 3, 2013 in Review

I’ll be honest with you; I’ve not reviewed a book since senior school, so this may not be the most polished of efforts, but do bear with me!

Brief synopsis: Rachel Phillips, mid twenties, a little naive, rather gullible, has fallen for a married man. The thing is, he’s also fallen for her. In too deep, Rachel and married man Steve, begin an affair and develop intense feelings for each other, knowing what they’re doing is wrong. But after nine months of lies and deceit, Steve’s wife Olivia finds out and gives him an ultimatum. It was inevitable that someone’s heart would get broken, but Rachel truly believed it wouldn’t be hers and certainly not twice within a matter of days.

Seventeen years later, Rachel has been married, widowed and moved on to a new life in a little Scottish village in Perthshire. But one day her life comes crashing down around her when she spots Steve and Olivia in a nearby town, looking happy and very much together. So sure she’d got over Steve, she soon realises she’s never been able to move on since falling in love with him and when Steve sees her and follows her home, Rachel has to make it clear that she’s no longer the naive twenty-something he once knew.

But is she? Does the flame reignite when they meet again after seventeen years? And is Steve still in love with Rachel, or has he moved on?

Kathryn is a fellow blogger (You can find her blog, Crystal Jigsaw, here) and someone I consider to be a friend these days, so I thought it was only right to honour her hard work and read Nightingale Woods. I bought it from Amazon on my Kindle and got stuck in. Right from the off, it was one of those books that really gets its claws into you. I try to read as often as I can, but on a good day that can be limited to ~~reading on the loo~~ a couple of minutes here and there, but I really didn’t want to put Nightingale Woods down. It’s definitely what you’d call a ‘page turner’. Kathryn artfully gives you enough to keep you intrigued without giving it all to you on a plate, which for me is the mark of a great author.

I must say, the premise of Nightingale Woods was something new for me as, if I’m honest, I didn’t really like either of the main characters. Rachel comes across as naive and a little bit selfish and Steve is a philanderer who wants to have his cake and eat it, but their story is still irresistible in its way. You do get the feeling that there’s a love between them, even if it’s not the most traditional form of love, and that in itself leaves you aching to know how it all turns out. As the first half is written in diary form, you really get an insight into the personal feelings of Rachel and I think that’s part of what makes it so addictive.

Even when we skip forward seventeen years, despite Rachel having had life experience and being a middle-aged woman, the spell that Steve casts over her is clear to see, you get sucked into her excitement and the passion that she feels for him is palpable. If I’m completely honest, I’m not usually a fan of raunch in books – I tend to find that the authors use patronising words like “womanhood” when they really mean vagina or make it a little bit too ‘candles and rosepetals’ so that it’s adequately homogenized for the delicate female reader *rolls eyes* but the sex scenes in the book didn’t make me cringe at all, which may not sound entirely positive, but believe me, that’s a huge compliment!

The real stars of this book, for me, are the supporting cast. Rachel’s friends are great characters and even though they only feature in a small way, they offer a sense of stability and success to the story which is much needed. They’re probably the only thing that stop the book from being a truly tragic lovestory as Rachel is, essentially, a very solitary and lonely person, but her friends even out the balance somewhat.

I don’t want to say too much else as I don’t want to give any of the plot away, but I can highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the work of Marian Keyes, Sophie Kinsella, Maeve Binchy and the like (it holds it’s own against any of these well-established authors, in my humble opinion), though this has a slightly more grown-up and less sugar-coated feel to it, making it accessible to just about everyone. Kathryn is as brilliant as I hoped she would be and I’ve already downloaded Discovery at Rosehill for my Kindle to read next!

I give ‘Nightingale Woods’ by Kathryn Brown FIVE stars

(As a footnote, I know we aren’t supposed to judge a book by its cover, but I absolutely love the cover art for the book too, pictured above)

Nightingale Woods and Discovery at Rosehillare both available on Kindle.

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Domino’s Gluten Free Pizza Review

By Mum's the Word on February 11, 2013 in Review

Last Friday, we were offered the chance to try Domino’s gluten free pizza, and being fans of Domino’s pizza delivery we thought we’d give it a try. Husband actually suffers with certain food intolerances and we’ve often wondered if gluten is one of them, so it was interesting to see how meals containing gluten could be replaced in his diet.

Our local store only offers gluten free pizzas in the small size, so we ordered a regular Texas Barbeque for all of us and a small gluten free Margarita to see how it measured up.

The first thing we noticed is that the crust actually looks a little different, less dense and slightly drier than the normal crust. The taste wasn’t massively different but the texture was definitely a noticeable change, though not necessarily in an unpleasant way. Kudos to Domino’s for making an effort to offer a truly decent substitute; we’ve often commented in the past that things like lactose-free alternatives aren’t ever really up to scratch and never seem to provide a decent match in terms of flavour or texture, so this was a pleasant surprise.

Given that up to 1 in 100 people in the UK are living with coeliac disease and countless others with a gluten allergy or intolerance, it’s great that Domino’s have taken steps to accommodate gluten-free diets and I feel that their offerings are a decent substitute for anyone to whom takeaway pizza has been off the menu because of issues with gluten. I’d have no problem switching over to their gluten-free pizzas if I had to, and as a pizza-lover, that’s quite a grand statement!

You can find more details on Domino’s gluten free range here and more information on wheat and gluten intolerance on the Allergy UK site.

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A Warner Bros. Christmas!

By Mum's the Word on December 15, 2012 in Review

Last week, we were lucky enough to be sent a special Christmas stocking by Warner Bros. containing some lovely candy canes for our tree, our fave kind of chocolate (Lindt, in case you’re wondering!) and most importantly of all, a selection of Blurays to keep us entertained over the Festive period. It couldn’t have turned up at a better time as Sausage was at the height of her poorlyness, and a day in bed watching films was in order!

Perfect for this was Polar Express

The blurb says “It’s Christmas Eve, and you’re about to roller-coaster up and down mountains, slip-slide over ice fields, tetter across mile-high bridges and be served hot chocolate by singing waiter more astonishing than any you can ever imagine. You’re on The Polar Express! Tom Hanks stars in and Robert Zemeckis directs this instant holiday classive filmed in dazzling performance-capture animation that makes every home magical.”

I’d never seen this before but it really was magical. Sausage was absolutely enthralled, we both were, and it really was a perfect Christmas film, with just the right amount of drama, action, mystery and happy ending. If you’ve not seen it before, I highly recommend it and it’s one to watch with the WHOLE family, I can imagine grandparents, parents and kids alike all enjoying Polar Express. Also, if you have a Bluray player or PS3, I can highly recommend opting for the Bluray version rather than the DVD, although the version we were sent contained the 3D Bluray, regular Bluray, as well as the DVD AND a digital copy, which pretty much future and past proofs you for a timespan of about 20 years in each direction!

The next film in the stocking was The Dark Knight Rises .

I only saw this film recently as I didn’t get a chance to see it at the cinema, but I’m a big fan of the Batman films and absolutely LOVE what Nolan has done with them. The Dark Knight Rises did not disappoint. In fact, and this is not something I thought I’d say about a Batman film, I cried for about the last half an our of the film. It is AMAZING.

Honestly, I was blown away by the entire film and think it was the perfect ending to the three movies that Nolan was signed up to make. The Bluray copy was brilliant and really added to the viewing experience, because although this film wasn’t as visually dark as the first or second one, it was very striking and really benefited from the higher definition. I’m going to shut up about this film now because I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who hasn’t seen it, but if that’s you, I demand that you watch it!

The final film we were sent was ‘New Year’s Eve‘ and I have to confess, I haven’t actually watched this yet. That’s because it’s well and truly a ‘chick flick’ so I’m saving it for in case Husband has a night out at any point and I can have my own girlie night in. I’m guessing this film would be well accompanied by chocolate and maybe a Crabbies Alcoholic Ginger Beer (my fave!) or two, as it’s described as an American Love Actually. I’m really looking forward to giving this a watch – while I like to think I have good taste in films, I do love a good girlie film now and again. There’s nothing wrong with a bit of heart-warming girl-power, I say!

Not to do the film a disservice though, I feel I should point out that it has some incredible actors in it, such as the beloved Sarah Jessica Parker, my current idol Sofia Vergara and *drum roll please* Robert DeNiro, who takes my breath away!

Thanks to Warner Bros. for sending us these Blurays and our sweet treats!

(This post contains Amazon Affiliate Links, which means if you click through and buy these films, I earn a small percentage of the sale, which doesn’t affect the price you buy it for)

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Handmade Christmas – Stamped Gift Tags

By Mum's the Word on December 12, 2012 in Christmas, Review

Last year, just before Christmas, I spent an inordinate amount of time on Etsy, looking at all of the lovely rubber stamps and wishing I was crafty enough to make some handmade Christmas cards. Well, this year, I thought “That’s it, I’M DOING IT!”, so I’ve thrown caution to the wind and indulged my fantasies. Luckily for me, the lovely Blossom Stamps and The English Stamp Company were kind enough to send me some samples of their wares. Here’s what we did with them (click on one of the photos to open a gallery where you can see the photos up close. Loving the new features, by the way, WordPress!):

: Yuletide Greetings

: Handmade Gift Tags

: Adding a personal touch to the class Christmas cards

: Let it Snow!

: To, From

All we used were some blank cardboard tags, some metallic felt pens, our rubber stamps and ink pads and some glitter glue, all of which, other than the stamps, we had lying around the house (mainly raided from Sausage’s art supplies!). I had had lofty plans of using the stamps to make both my Christmas cards and wrapping paper, but I’m not sure if time will permit this year as I’ve had Sausage home from school for four days now, having been very poorly. However, I think the tags will make a really nice handmade adornment to our wrapped gifts and I’m sure I’ll find ways to use them on other things in the next couple of weeks.

If I were more organised, I’d have like to have made handmade gifts too, but it’s just not worked out that way. Here’s to next year…!

(If I do make anything else with my lovely stamps, I’ll be sure to post about it and let you know)