What it means to win NE Blogger of the year

I am still on a complete high from last night, so I apologise in advance if this post rambles a little bit! I just cannot believe the events of last night!

Last night the lovely people at OPR organised the very first North East Blogger Awards at Lane 7. I was delighted to find out I was a finalist in the 'Best Travel blog' category. Travel is one of my absolute favourite things to write about. On the night, Rachel from Life in Geordieland walked away with this trophy. I honestly did not mind at all as Rachel's blog is one of my favourite's. Her passion for Tyneside always shines through in her posts and she truly was a deserving winner.

At the end of the evening, the lovely Kari from OPR stepped onto the stage to announce the North East Blogger of the year. This could have been anybody and in no way did I think it could be me! 

Kari started saying lots of lovely things about the winning blog including 'Our blog of the year showcases the best the the North East has to offer', 'supports other North East blogs' and 'is fantastic at utilising social media'. I did think - hmmmm I do all of these things but still did not believe it would be me! Then Kari finally announced, 'The winner is North East Family Fun'. OMG! This is one of the few times in my life I have been in shock (I think only other was after I'd unexpectedly given birth at home). Thank goodness I didn't have to make a speech as I could barely walk never mind talk! The photographer was trying to direct us for a photograph and I just couldn't take in what he was saying which was weird.

The rest of the evening was over in a whirl, I was photographed, interviewed, hugged and lots of lovely people popped over to congratulate me and say I really deserved it. This really means a lot so thank you all!

When I was at school I was a straight A student across the board and if you are capable, you are pushed into more academic subjects. I ended up taking Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Maths A Levels and then onto a degree in Genetics (which I subsequently dropped out of). This just wasn't me. 

At school my favourite subjects were Media studies and English. I loved creative writing and have fond memories of pouring over classics such as 'To Kill and Mockingbird'. In Media studies my favourite ever project was creating our own magazine for our coursework and in fact it helped me win the 'best media studies' student prize. I really wish back then I had followed my heart and pursued a career in the media rather than wasting a good few years of my life!

Fast forward to now and I have been blogging for approximately two years. I do cringe when I read my first ever post (you can read it here) and will say I have come a long way since then. Blogging is my true vocation and it now actually consumes every part of my life. I am thankful for all of the wonderful opportunities I have been able to enjoy thanks to blogging, but it is a lot of hard work so it really means a lot to receive recognition.

I absolutely love blogging and think it is something I will probably do in some shape of form for the considerable future. It is my creative outlet, a place that challenges me, a place where I feel a strong sense of community, a place to record precious memories and photographs and definitely something I feel proud of. The North East plays a huge part in my blog and I will always shout loud and proud about our region. I'm pleased my blog gives me a platform in which to do this.

I feel in a constant state of having so much I want to see, do and write about - in the next year I hope to concentrate a little more on vlogging and I am launching a new #LoveNorthEast linky next month to share the best of the the North East from our talented local bloggers.

Thank you so much to everybody who reads my blog, to my family and friends who I drag along to countless blogging missions, my husband Steve who has to let me photograph his food before he can tuck in when we are eating out and who has to share custody of our beloved MacBook and to OPR, Lane 7 and all of the sponsors for such a wonderful evening.

I'll be blogging about the rest of the evening and all the gossip in a separate post but for now, you can check out North East family fun in The Journal and on Tyne Tees News.

Gidleigh Park: The perfect countryside retreat

I have wanted to write this post for so long as it has been one of the most memorable experiences of our life. For Steve's 30th birthday we had high hopes of going to Las Vegas. Then babies and mortgages came along and it was soon became apparent that this dream was never going to happen. We still wanted to do something that was really special and something that we would only really do once in our life (although now we've been, we do actually plan to return at some point). After lots and lots of research I finally decided on a weekend stay at Gidleigh park.

Gidleigh park is often described as a destination restaurant and while I do believe people will travel for miles to sample the fine cuisine of chef Michael Caines in the hotel restaurant which has now retained it's two michelin stars since 1999, I also think the hotel is something pretty special.

Nestled in the Devonshire countryside, our chauffeur (yes chauffeur) collected us from Exeter St David's train station and we enjoyed the country scenery for the 30 minute drive. Things do get a bit hairy on the approach to the hotel as the roads narrow to single lanes with lots of blind corners - not for the faint hearted! It all helps the anticipation to build for the first time you see the gorgeous Gidleigh park hotel.

I have yet to experience anything like the service you receive at Gidleigh park (which frequently tops various poll's as one of the best places to stay in the world). Gidleigh offer 5* luxury in such an informal way that you feel as if you are staying at a friend's house rather than one of the world's top hotels. All of the staff are prepped to know who you are which is the weirdest thing ever. Not once during our 2 night stay did we sign for anything, say who we were, say what time we had booked our table for - everybody just knew! Check in was swift and we were shown to our room and given a personal tour straight away.

Our room

We stayed in a delux garden room which was absolutely perfect. There were lots of luxury touches such as l'occitane products, spring water from the Gidleigh estate, a decanter of maderia, fluffy white towels and bathrobes, fresh fruit......I could go on. We specifically chose this room as it had a private balcony complete with it's own jacuzzi and stunning views over the gardens and beyond. Perfect!

Every morning we were brought fresh tea and coffee to our room to enjoy in bed before getting ready for breakfast. Such a treat! We also had access to the hotel's pantry where we could help ourself to a huge selection of gourmet tea and coffees, fresh fruit, luxury yoghurts and freshly baked biscuits at anytime of the day or night - all included in the room rate.

The hotel

When we weren't sipping champagne in our jacuzzi we made the most of our location and explored the beautiful grounds of the hotel. The water garden was breath-taking and the kitchen garden one of the best we've seen. We even ventured a little further afield into the Dartmoor countryside. The hotel staff could not be more obliging and we could borrow raincoats, oversized umbrella's, walking boots and maps. Nothing was too much trouble at all and we were always asked about our itinerary for the day and staff would go out of their way to make sure you got the most from your stay and would help in anyway they could - we watched them plan walking routes and prepare flasks of coffee for hikers, provide celler tours for those interested in wine and put up picnics for couples who wanted to enjoy the hotel gardens.

There are so many activities on offer at Gidleigh such as tennis, croquet or even in-room spa treatments should this be your thing. One of my favourite things to do though was to simply sit on the hotel's terrace, admire the view, drink some fabulous wine and spend time with my husband. We found a collection of games in the bar to play which is something we would rarely (if ever) get the chance to do at home.

 The food

Gidleigh Park is number one in the Harden's Sunday Times food list 2014, is consistently voted one of the best restaurants in the world and holds 2 michelin stars. Chef Michael Caines plays a very active role within the kitchen and we were very lucky to actually meet him while we stayed at the hotel. There are a choice of menu's to choose from - we dined from the a la carte one evening and the signature the next. Both menu's offered a dining experience like no other - the food on your plate is like a perfect piece of carefully crafted art work which also happens to be a taste sensation! Both myself and Steve cannot imagine what it would take for a restaurant to receive 3 michelin stars as in our book you could not get anymore perfect than Gidleigh.

Service throughout the evening is formal yet not at all stuffy. The team take the time to chat and ask you your thoughts on the dishes. We decided to add a flight of wine's to accompany the signature menu and again this did not disappoint. It was lovely learning about new wine's and the sommelier really took their time in describing the wines to us and finding out our preferences. 

There are lots of little treats included in the menu. Expect a tantalising selection of amuse bouche, perfect palette cleansing sorbets and beautiful chocolates with coffee after dessert. We have dined in many fine restaurants but absolutely nowhere has yet to come close to the food we experienced at Gidleigh park.

As you may imagine, this sort of indulgence does not come cheap. A two night gourmet getaway experience will set you back over £1000 for two people. For me though, this is 100% worth it. I would much rather spend this much on two night's at Gidleigh park and experience complete escapism and luxury then spend the same on a full week in a 3* hotel somewhere abroad with mediocre food. Gidleigh park is a really special place, if you ever do get the chance to visit, even if it is just for lunch or afternoon tea, make sure you do. I promise you will not be disappointed.

Visit www.gidleigh.co.uk to find out more.

Homemade Mini Strawberry Cheesecakes - Recipe

In order to save money, for variation and because homemade is just so much better, I am going to start baking homemade treats for the children's lunch boxes.

I started today with some mini strawberry cheesecakes. This recipe has been adapted from the Usborne very best baking for children cookbook.

Ingredients

175g digestive biscuits

75g butter

450g full fat cream cheese

125g caster sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsps vanilla essence

For the topping:-

1/2 lemon

4 tbsps jam of your choice (we used strawberry)

Fresh fruit to decorate

You also need a 12 hole muffin tin and muffin cases.

Makes 12

1. Pre-heat oven to 150C or gas mark 2. Put the muffin cases in the tray.

2. Put the digestives in a food bag. Seal and smash the biscuits into crumbs with a rolling pin

3. Melt the butter in the microwave for approximately 30 seconds. May need a little longer. When the butter has melted, stir in the digestive crumbs

4. Divide the mixture between to 12 muffin cases and press down firmly with the back of a teaspoon. Pop in the fridge to chill while you make the filling.

5. Put the cream cheese and sugar in a large mixing bowl and stir until evenly blended. Put the eggs and vanilla essence in a seperate smaller bowl and beat them with a fork.

5. Add the egg mixture the the cheese mixture a little at a time, beating well until smooth and blended. Once all the ingredients are combined, spoon the mixture into the cases.

6. Bake for 25 minutes. Once baked, turn the oven off and leave the cheesecakes in for a further 30 minutes. Then, take them out, place them on a wire rack and pop in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours.

7. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon into a bowl and stir in the jam until smooth. Spread it onto the chilled cheesecakes. Cut your fruit and use pieces to decorate your cakes.

8. Chill for a further hour then remove your muffin cases and serve. Delicious!

I'm really pleased with how they turned out and they taste delicious too. Bet they don't last long!

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Sunderland Illuminations 2014

When I read that the theme to this year's Sunderland Illuminations was to be Alice in Wonderland I just knew we needed to visit. So this Friday we headed over to Roker Park in Sunderland after school to have a look around. There ended up being so much to do that we ended up spending a good few hours exploring the park.

We arrived at Roker Park just after 5pm. It was still nice and light so we played in the two play parks for a while. It wasn't long before we spotted the white rabbit and the Queen of Hearts herself and they were happy to chat to us and pose for photo's. Heidi absolutely loved this!

As it started to get a little darker we headed over to the bandstand area in the centre of the park where we picked up an activity booklet and special illuminations pen (£1). The activity booklet contains special activities, a white rabbit trail, pages for autographs from your favourite characters and a mini map of the park. Very good value!

Heidi was so pleased with her autograph from the magic fairy

We decided to start the White rabbit trail and used the mini map in our activity book to hunt for 8 white rabbits placed around the park. This was lots of fun and brought out the competitive side to our family! We all took it in turns to lead the way and we were chuffed when we managed to find them all. We completed our details on the trail form and handed them back into the kiosk staff for our chance to win a family ticket to see Snow White and the Seven Drawfs at the Sunderland empire with an overnight stay at the Sunderland Marriot. Fingers crossed we're lucky!

Half way through our trail we decided to stop by the lake. I was very prepared and had packed some snacks and drinks however there are food kiosks available too. The lake is the perfect place to rest tired legs as there are plenty of seats and there is a light, water and music show to enjoy while you admire the view.

 After our re-fuel we continued to walk around the park and bumped into the Cheshire cat and Alice in Wonderland on our travels. The actor's are really very good and use lots of expression and comedy. They stay in character the whole time and our children loved them.

It was starting to get dark and the crowds were starting to increase. The lights were absolutely beautiful in the dark - we particularly loved the Fairy Dell which was a little cove of woodland all lit with magical fairy lights. I didn't manage to get a good picture that does it justice - just make sure you don't miss this part. Our children also loved being brave and crossing the fairy bridge to touch the (cardboard) troll.

There is a model railway in the park (£1 per ride) and there were craft activities on offer by the bowling green (they were making fairy wands today) plus a few fairground rides and a local choir were entertaining the crowds by the bandstand. The atmosphere was lovely but after two hours it was sadly past our little one's bedtime so after a final play in the park it was time to go home.

We walked back along the promenade to our car, admiring the lights along the road and trying to resist the amazing smell of fish n chips from the beach house as we walked past. We had a fantastic time at Sunderland illuminations and would highly recommend a visit before they end on 2nd November.

You can find out more about Sunderland illuminations, timings, what's on and their free park and ride scheme here. There are free craft activities available and family entertainment will be provided every day throughout October half term. Here is a list of scheduled activities:-

Free Half Term Week Activities

Every day throughout half term there will be a different craft activity taking place in the bowling club between 5pm and 8.30pm. These activities are FREE and you can pop along anytime.

Saturday 25th - Secret Book Box

Sunday 26th - Mini Fairy Gardens

Monday 27th - 'Eat Me' pretend cakes

Tuesday 28th - Fairy Lanterns

Wednesday 29th - Alice Story Stones

Thursday 30th - Fairy Chimes

Friday 31st - HALLOWEEN Cheshire Cat Door Hangers

Saturday 1st - Mad Hats

Sunday 2nd - Mini Alice/Hatter Figures

We made a little video of our visit too. We hope you like it.

Creating a Dinosaur Swamp Dessert with Angel Delight

Angel delight will always have a special nostalgic place in my heart. I remember coming home from school as a young girl, opening the fridge and always feeling happy when there were 5 bowls of Angel delight waiting in there for myself and my cousins to enjoy after tea. I wanted to re-create these happy memories for my own children and decided to create a Dinosaur Swamp dessert using Angel Delight for them as an after school treat.

This dessert looks impressive but is super easy and quick to make - it only takes about 10 minutes and can be made in the afternoon and then popped in the fridge ready for that evening.

How to make a Dinosaur Swamp Dessert

1. Assemble all of your ingredients together. 

• 1 packet of Bubblegum flavour Angel Delight
• 1 packet of Chocolate flavour Angel Delight
• 1 pint of milk
• Chocolate cake/muffin
• Animal shaped jellies (we used crocodiles)
• A dish (we used a tagine as it has a lid which creates lots of anticipation)
• Dinosaur props (make sure you wash these first)

2 - Our chocolate cake was square so we cut it into an island shape and then placed this into the centre of our tagine.

3 - In two separate jugs, make up the angel delight. This is very easy to do, simply measure 1/2 pint of milk into each jug, add the angel delight powder and whisk until combined. It is quite runny to start with so we popped ours in the fridge for a minute.

4 - After one minute, remove your Angel Delight mixes from the fridge and at the same time pour them both around the cake in your preferred dish. See video below for a demonstration.

5 - Decorate your 'island' and 'swamp' with dinosaur toys. 

6 - Add your jelly sweets. We opted for jelly dinosaur's swimming in the swamp which gave a great effect.

7 - Add tagine lid and pop into the fridge for at least 5 minutes to allow the Angel delight to set.

That's it! I honestly could not believe how simple it was to make such a super cool dessert. I just love Harry and Heidi's reaction:-

Harry and Heidi absolutely loved their Dinosaur Swamp Dessert. I just gave them both a spoon each and let them dig in. They commented that the new Bubblegum flavour, 'tasted just like real bubblegum and was delicious'. There wasn't much left by the time they'd finished.

Angel Delight have their own facebook page where you will find lots of other fun recipes, useful tips and news.