Cafe Rust, Brighton - review by Bex

Last week I took the twins to Brighton to visit Laura and her daughter, Arla.  We went to a soft play first so the toddlers could burn off a bit of energy before we decided it was time for lunch.  The original cafe Laura had planned to take us too was already full so we went to Cafe Rust on Preston Road which she'd planned on trying and we're so glad we did!  It was absolutely gorgeous!  As soon as we walked in and saw the door at the back opening out onto a garden we headed straight through and walked out into a beautiful little walled garden full of flowers and blue chairs and wheelbarrows.  It was lovely!

Freddie's Flowers - review by Bex

While at Foodie's Festival I was taking photos of the Freddie's Flower's bicycle with the beautiful rose lilies in the basket and got talking to Kieran.  I had thought about signing up to regular flower deliveries before but had thought when I looked at the website, that you had to get a delivery every week and at £22 a pop that adds up pretty quickly!  Not having £88 to spare a month, I left it but I've since discovered that you can choose entirely how often you receive your flowers.  You can set it to fortnightly deliveries and even then can edit so you only get them once a month if you prefer and you can un-tick all deliveries for the next 6 weeks if you'll be away for a while too.

They're supposed to last well and £22 a month is much more manageable so I signed up.  I love having flowers in the house although I'm a sucker for a £3 bunch of Alstromerias (which last forever!), they're not the same as having a delivery of a proper big bunch of varied and well chosen flowers.  A properly designed bouquet every few weeks will be lovely and I can still get my Alstromerias in between deliveries.  Also, with a referral code from my in-laws, I got my first bouquet free!

(Read on for my code which can also get you a free bunch if you decide to try them out!)

Columnist for Uckfield News

If you haven't already seen it on social media, I have some super exciting news to report!  Following a meeting on Tuesday morning with Cathy, I can confirm that I will be writing a monthly column for Uckfield News!

For those of you who might not know, Uckfield News is our local news website.  Run by Cathy who
has a journalism and PR background, it's a very popular site to find out about all the goings on in and around Uckfield.  I will be writing a summary column of all the places and events we've been enjoying as a family each month along with sharing my photos.  Hopefully it will inspire other local families to discover everything our amazing local area has to offer.

If you're new here, welcome to the blog!  Please check out my About page to learn more about us and I hope you enjoy reading about everything we get up to.

Thanks for the opportunity Cathy, I can't wait to get started!

Blackheath Foodies Festival - Days Out by Bex

I was invited to attend the Foodies Festival in Blackheath over the weekend but we had so much going on in and around Uckfield on Saturday and Sunday that I could only make it on the Friday.  I drove the twins there on Thursday evening and we had a lovely al fresco dinner with Ma in her beautiful garden and a nice lazy (if a bit too early) morning eating plums from the tree before we all headed out to the Festival.

Jam-packed July weekends - Days Out by Bex!

Well July has been off to an amazingly busy start, I can barely keep up with life never mind the blog but I just have SO many awesome things I want to share!  There's so much going on in July, I'm struggling to fit them all in/choose where to go.  This weekend alone I've been to Foodies Festival in Blackheath with the twins and Ma, Uckfield Festival Big Saturday, The Hurstwood Artisan Market and Brighton Kite Festival with Nik and the twins!  

Priya getting her serious "Paint Face" at Foodies Festival

England's Medieval Festival Ticket Giveaway - competition by Bex

I am thrilled to be attending England's Medieval Festival in August this year!  Following the success of taking the twins to Elderflower Fields Festival, we're super excited to be camping at the Medieval Festival over the bank holiday weekend at the end of August.  It's sure to be amazing since it's also the festival's 25th anniversary!  And I'm even more excited to be able to give away a family day ticket to one of my lovely readers!  Keep reading to find out how to enter...

Necklace Storage Cabinet of Dreams!

I am utterly in love with my new jewellery cabinet.  I waited 2 years for it.  After we moved here from Glasgow, I left the majority of my necklace collection packed between sheets of bubble wrap in a small suitcase until I found somewhere to hang them.

As I have so many, I prefer to hang them so they don't get tangled and I can see them all more easily.  I used to store them hanging on the back of a built in cupboard door in our bedroom.  That wasn't an option here so I had to come up with something else.  I have always wanted a specially designed cabinet to store them but I wasn't sure where I could fit one in.

Elderflower Fields family festival - review by Bex

I cannot be more excited to tell you about Elderflower Fields family festival!  This blog post has taken me many hours to put together because of the sheer awesomeness of the event and the number of photos I just had to share to show you all how pretty and fun and exciting and varied and colourful it was!  I mean we really, really loved it!  We were so lucky with the weather, it was

Cooking with Children Course - review by Bex

Last week we started a 4 week course at a Children's Centre nearby.  It's free (government funded surprisingly since our old twin group there had to close due to lack of government funding!) and teaches us simple recipes using healthy foods and is a great way to get the young ones involved in food preparation early.  Our teacher, Hayley, runs a local forest school, Natural Connection Sussex, which I'll be checking out too!  She has a background working with children and various educational activities.  The recipes are

Pig & Butcher - Review by Bex

One of our local village pubs, The Pig & Butcher, has changed hands a few times since we moved here 3 years ago.  I've mentioned it before but I don't think I've written a proper review.  Over the last 18 months we've noticed a significant improvement in both the decor and food since the latest landlord took over.  The restaurant is much brighter since being re-painted and although it still has that old pub carpet, it's generally more modern and I've since learned they have plans to continue updating it and get rid of the dingy carpet.

Last night we tried some more food from the main menu and it did not disappoint!  We shared the