Buxted Fun Day & Oast Farm Cafe

Monkey Business in Lewes - soft play review

I'd only been to Monkey Madness once before, soft plays can get pretty expensive when you have two kids to pay for plus an adult entry, then inevitable snacks, drinks, etc as you can't bring your own in.  Luckily, when a friend suggested it on a recent blustery day, they had a deal on so it was only £9 for me and the twins to get in.  The last time we went they were only one so it was a very different experience now they're four and can properly climb and go off and have fun on their own in the giant climbing frames!  Plus it was a term-time Tuesday so it wasn't too busy and there were no big kids charging around to be fearful of.

We stayed there all morning and for a while after lunch too.  Kalyan has been asking to go back to "hotplay" ever since so we'll have to check when their next deal is on.

Up Country garden centre & cafe - review

We had a really fun day out at Up Country garden centre near Haywards Heath.  I've driven past it so many times but never ventured in until my friend suggested we meet there for the kids to play on the bus.  I had no idea they could play in the old bus in the back, I always thought that was the cafe as it has a big cafe sign on it, lol.  Turns out the cafe is inside the shop and the bus is just there for fun!

Cuckoo Trail - the ultimate bike ride

I'd never been to The Cuckoo Trail before so was really excited when we had a lovely sunny day in February and my friend suggested we meet there with the kids and bikes for the afternoon.  For those of you who don't know (hi Mum!), it's a path than runs for miles starting in Heathfield and going all the way to Eastbourne.  We obviously didn't go that far with our 4-year-olds but still had a jolly good ride along the sheltered fairly flat  path, having parked for free in the car park opposite Waitrose.  We found a small park part-way along too during one of the road crossings and stopped there for a little while on our way back to let the kids get a run about too.  Of course, it was finished off perfectly with ice-cream in the Waitrose cafe when we got back with 4 tuckered out little ones and two tiddly ones!

Wilderness Wood with new friends on NYE

You might be getting bored of seeing Wilderness Wood on my blog but I never will, I love it there and we went back again on New Year's Eve with new friends we met at a school visit so hopefully the kids will be starting the same school together in September and the twins are managing to expand their friend circle already as am I.

Of course I took lots of photos again and loved seeing Kalyan hit it off with William as he's been left out of the fun a little when Priya gets together with Bella.  They're mutual friends with each other too so that's great for future play dates too :)  Since Christina's husband was also working on NYE, we met up for some company outdoors to tire the kids out, it worked perfectly and I had a lovely morning!

Trampoline party at Fun Abounds

I'm ashamed to say this was our first visit to Fun Abounds in Uckfield!  I have always fancied taking the kids but their special toddler sessions always landed on the wrong day/time for us and so we just never went.  Luckily we were invited along there for a birthday party recently and had an awesome time celebrating the twins' friend and having lots of bouncy fun!

Tulley's Farm Spook Fest 2018 - review

A Halloween festival, hell yes!  I was so excited to visit Tulley's Farm for their annual Spook Fest (the family friendly daytime version, not to be confused with the terrifying looking Shocktober Fest which is on in the evenings for older kids and adults).   I'd never been before but had heard it was good and was excited to spend a Halloweeny day with the twins since Nik and I were away for Halloween itself.  You know how much I love Halloween and when my friend Steph asked us to join her family there for the day I was even more excited, Priya adores her eldest daughter Bella and they are all so cute together, holding hands and generally being cute!

Cafe Coho Brighton - brunch review

I went along to Cafe Coho for brunch with Diana and Laura before our day at Photography Farm conference in Brighton and absolutely loved it!  They have two in Brighton, one up by the train station and one in Ship Street down in the Lanes.  We went to the one in Ship Street and sat outside as it was a bit too warm inside.

The whole menu sounds amazing, I honestly struggled to choose what to have!  I need to go back so I can sample more of their food.  In the end I chose the brioche french toast with blueberries, banana and bacon - a great combo, especially with mascarpone cream (this was just a drizzle which was a little disappointing, I would have liked a good dollop).  It was amazing - so soft, fresh and tasty.  Diana had one of the other things I was eyeing up, the tarragon mushrooms on sourdough - she let me have a taste and it was awesome too so I might get that next time!

Laura had one of the avocado on toast options which also looked amazing.  I had a Bloody Mary as I really fancied one but it was WAY too spicy for me so as much as I hate to, I went back in and asked for another, less spicy one.  They were fine about it and made a fresh one which still had a good kick but was drinkable, I couldn't cope with more than a sip of the first one.

They have a great ethos, using "specialist dairy, meat and vegetable suppliers to put together some amazing dishes."

"We constantly look for great producers who share our passion for quality. Along with a delicious and varied all day breakfast/brunch menu you will find a counter packed with homemade cakes, artisan sandwiches, freshly made juices and any time treats. Many of our dishes are vegan and gluten free."

I also couldn't resist their salted caramel chocolate brownies so I went back later in the day to buy some to take home, they were a hit with Nik too!

Baking with Hemina - Cheese & mustard scones recipe

As I mentioned in my Fuego Lounge review, my friend Hemina kept us occupied one weekend when I was feeling very down.  On the Saturday she came over to bake with me and the kids, Priya especially had a blast and the scones were so easy to make and tasted amazing!  We had them hot for lunch with some truffle salami from Aldi (highly recommended by the way).

Fuego Lounge brunch review

A few weeks ago I was having a really tough time and my lovely friend Hemina seemed to instinctively know what I needed and came round to bake with me and the kids on Saturday and invited us all out for brunch on Sunday.  It was lovely and really took my mind off everything!

Nik's breakfast complete with homemade sausage patty.

PYO Pumpkins at Tulley's Farm, Sussex - review

I've been thrilled that more and more Halloween trends have been making their way across the pond in the last few years!  I love that Americans go all out at Halloween, I've always loved it (and been super jealous of the Halloween section in Pottery Barn) and with the new (as far as I'm aware, or maybe its just a recent Insta-trend) pumpkin patches popping up everywhere, there is even more seasonal fun to be had over here.

This is the first time we've actually made it to one and it was after a full day of Halloweening!  We went along to review Tulley's Farm Spook Fest (the family friendly daytime version of their super scary Halloween Festival) and had to stop at their pumpkin patch on our way home to grab some gourds.

Luckily as it was the end of a sunny day, we were lucky with the light too and I, of course, took a fair few photos of our fun and frolics as the twins and their friend had a whale of a time!

Rainbows are my happy place.

Image found on Pinterest, can't find original source.

Amira's Kitchen - New cocktail bar

I love the new look bar in Amira's Kitchen, it now looks more like a bar than an extension of the restaurant with new stools and tables.  The stools are super comfy too and along with the makeover is a new cocktail menu.  There are five options at the moment but they're planning on expanding this.  They currently offer:- Pina Colada, Cosmopolitan, Mango Daiquiri, English Garden Gin Cocktail and Pomegranate Bellini.

I love the Bellini with a twist and the Mango Daiquiri is made with real mango puree so is lovely and refreshing with the crushed ice and a twist of lime.  My favourite was the English Garden one though, so delicious and I do like a nice gin cocktail served in a big bowl glass.

The cocktails are £7.50 each and we also enjoyed some poppadoms & chutneys (£5) to nibble on as the perfect accompaniment to our tasty drinks.

We had a lovely evening chilling in the bar enjoying a few drinks, the atmosphere was lovely with the bright colours of the bar and others enjoying some drinks before heading up to the main area of the restaurant for dinner.  I took some photos of the bar when I was there with my family recently for dinner.

You don't have to have to be eating there to enjoy the bar area though, just pop in for a few drinks and maybe enjoy some of their delicious street food during the week.

Hemina and I received drinks and nibbles in return for my honest review.  As always, all opinions are my own.

Cuckfield Recreation Ground (& paddling pool) - review

We made an awesome discovery this summer, Cuckfield Rec Ground has a lovely park with a big paddling pool!  It wasn't too busy either despite being the holidays so was a good hidden find about half an hour drive away from Uckfield, we had a little trouble finding the way in but if you manage to get there it's worth taking a picnic to spend the whole day.

Wilderness Woods - review

We've been to Wilderness Wood plenty of times but I thought I'd write a little update about our latest visit as we had so much fun and there was a new cake too which I'm hoping will make a regular appearance as it's my favourite ever (I don't even have a photo of it, it was wolfed down too quickly)!  The cookies went down well with the kids though - they were as big as their heads!

Observatory Science Centre at Herstmonceux

On the early May bank holiday Monday we met up with some new friends at Herstmonceux for the "Bubbletastic Weekend" event at the Observatory Science Centre.

Wassailing at Oast Farm Buxted

We'd never heard of wassailing before we moved here.  You'll probably already know how much we love visiting Oast Farm shop & cafe and it's there we first heard about the wassail.  Until now, it's always clashed with Nik's weekend at work or the twins' nap time but this year we made it along and we loved it!

If, like us, you haven't heard of this ceremony before, it's basically a way to bless the orchard to ensure a good harvest come autumn.

The awesome Bob in his crown, excited to get wassailing

The Greatest Showman - review by Bex

On Wednesday night I had a spontaneous night out with my friend Zoe.  She had a 2 for 1 voucher for the cinema and wanted to see The Greatest Showman before it finished showing in our local cinema, Uckfield Picture House.  I hadn't been that bothered about seeing it but no-one else could go with her and I thought it would be nice to spend some time with her sans kids as we'd never managed it before.

I also had new boots and sequins I hadn't had a chance to wear on a night out yet so I figured it would be fun to get a bit dressed up ;)

Blackberry Farm birthday party

The twins were invited along to a birthday party at Blackberry Farm last weekend and had a great time (in between tantrums and clinging to me that is)!  It wasn't our party so I'm not going to "review" it but I will say it was awesome and the twins and all the other kids had so much fun!  I have permission from the Mum to share a few photos with you of her little boy's awesome day out with his friends.

We started off meeting by the cafe before all heading through to the petting area with rabbits and guinea pigs.  Most of the little ones were great, sitting down patiently waiting for their turn to hold or stroke the animals.  The twins were in a bit of a funny mood (possibly related to my stress dealing with a poorly timed tantrum as we left the house - all Priya's fault declaring that it was HER birthday and no one else could have any cake, setting Kalyan off crying and complaining to me that Priya said he couldn't have cake, me telling her it was Eliot's birthday and his cake to share triggering her meltdown - the joys!) so they didn't want to touch the animals and were pretty clingy with me so I didn't get many photos here as Daddy was at work so my camera was swiftly tucked away again.

Raystede Centre for Animal Welfare review - Adventures with Toddlers

On Thursday we met up with friends for a play date at Raystede near Halland.  If you don't know it, Raystede is an animal rescue centre with animals ranging from bunnies to horses and it's a lovely place to visit with the kids.  Entry is free but you can make a donation or become a sponsor to give continued help to one specific animal section if you wish or become a Friend of Raystede for just £3/month and as well as helping the animals you also get perks like Friends Only events and discounts.  It's good to have some free activities available in the holidays as it all adds up with various trips out but even if you can't afford to make a big donation, I'm sure everything helps and if you visit the cafe, you're also helping to support the centre.