Sweetbird Syrups Turn You into a Home Barista

/

I'm not a huge plain coffee fan. What I do like is coffee from huge chain cafes, the ones with syrup and cream & sprinkles.

I've looked for coffee syrups before, but they seem quite hard to track down.
www.hellosweetbird.com has everything you could want to transform a filter coffee into a barista's masterpiece. 

There are various chocolate flavours, but check out the giant list of flavours above you can pick from! Cherry, Coconut, Gingerbread, Cinnamon- you can make your own 'Red Cups' all year round, at a fraction of the price.

www.HelloSweetbird.com sent me some syrups from the range to try, which made some delicious coffee, but then I had a cool idea.

My friend Claire fromwww.LilyPinkBakery.com makes the top cupcakes in all of Belfast, and I thought she could work some magic with a few squirts of Sweetbird.

Claire made these drool-worthy Pink Lady Toffee Apple cupcakes, using the Sweetbird syrup. 

If you are close to Belfast watch out for The Lily Pink Bakery at St. George's Market, you might get to try some Sweetbird inspired buns over the coming weeks.

If you want to try using Sweetbird for more than just coffee or milkshakes, they also have a recipe section with dozens of drink options and step by step instructions.

Groovy Beatles' Fan Gypsy Child Painting

/

Sean emailed me with his eBay listing of this Jolyelle print he's selling. It's in perfect condition, despite living in a house with 450+ cacti! A collecting family after my own heart.

Unfortunately I can't add to my collection, so if you would like to adopt the Beatles' Fan, here is the listing.


A Wishlist of the Kitsch, Retro, Fancy & Fabulous from Littlewoods.ie Spring Collection

/

LittlewoodsIreland.ie invited me to have a little nosy around their new Spring range on their website, Ireland's leading online department store.

 

I put together a wish list of my favourite pieces from their new collections.

Littlewoods have some very cool, sleek design rugs. These are my picks.

Contour Rug 159 Euros

Corsage Rug 329 euros

Estaban Rug. This one is amazing. 329 euros

 

Next a browse through the wide selection of mirrors.

Princess Perfect Mirror 84 euros

Sunburst Mirror 154 euros. A modern spin on the classic seventies' sunburst clocks.

 

There are also a wealth of bright and colourful soft furnishings which is an easy way to update a room without having to paint the walls yellow of a Sunday afternoon.

Estaban Wool Pouffe

Dog Bust I absolutely adore this. One for the kitsch cabinet.

 

Lastly, if you do fancy getting the wallpaper paste out, you couldn't get more kitsch than this, Flamingo print wallpaper.

 

Curious Candy Go Global- American Candy for us in the UK, British & Irish Treats for my American Readers!

/

My latest American candy haul from Curious Candy, an old fashioned sweet shop, Aladdin's Cave of candy, here in Bangor by the sea.


Don't feel left out though, Curious Candy have just transferred every jar of sour suckers, every chocolate bar & delcious candy onto their new Internet store. 

So you can visitwww.CuriousCandySweetShop.co.ukwhether you are in Southampton or Sydney, Newcastle or New York. Simply browse, pick your treats, pay by Paypal & await a fun package in the post.

Lots and lots of American goodies at very reasonable prices, given the price of importing cases of these beauties.

American readers- don't feel left out!www.CuriousCandySweetShop.co.uk has some Irish candies you can order and try.

They also stock my favourite of all the gummy sweets, beer bottles. If you've never tried them before, make sure you pick some for your online basket.

Eggnogg Colouring In Tableware- Doodley Fun for All Ages

/

Do you want to know what I have in common with Paris Hilton? No, I haven't made a cheeky video, but we do share a love of colouring in. Don't knock it until you've tried it, it's terribly relaxing.

www.EggNogg.co.uk have the novel idea of producing colour in tablecloths, bunting and notelets for every occasion. 

They sent us some Easter treats to get busy with, not in the Paris Hilton sense of 'getting busy' mind.


I thought the little notelet packs were a good idea, especially for stuffing in your bag to bring along to restaurants that don't already provide colouring in sheets.


Now, I'm not going to lie to you, once I start colouring in, it's hard to get me stopped. My GCSE Art kicked in and I ended up colouring the tablecloth after my son had gone to bed. www.Eggnogg.co.uk know there are folks like me though, and as well as doing colour in tablecloths for weddings (how cool would that be?) they even do a naughty adults only tablecloth £7.99 (hey! Paris Hilton that ones for you!)


Other products include colouring tablemats (£3.99 for a pack of two), birthday banners and masks. Keep an eye on The World of Kitsch as I will be running a competition to win some Eggnogg goodies later on this year.

Mashfest 2013- A Delightfully Potatoey Afternoon Courtesy of Mash Direct

/

Just before Christmas I developed a bit of an embarrassing addiction to Mash Direct Green Cabbage. I'm talking about a pack a day, sometimes more. Then in late December they produced these beautifully sweet Brussel Sprouts with bacon, and I got myself a sprouts habit too.

Being a nosy sort, I thought to myself, 'I must start pestering www.MashDirect.com via social media, and see if I can get a little tour of the farm, to see where my vegetable vice comes from'.
Luckily, Jack who's job at Mash Direct partially includes the Twitter side of things, didn't write me off as a nosy pants, and invited a selection of food bloggers from all over Ireland, and myself, to visit the family farm in Comber, not too far from where I live, here in Northern Ireland.

We were well fed, with lots of freshly prepared dishes from the Mash Direct range. I also am now a sort of mash expert, after learning all about the history of the family business from Tracy, Jack & Clare.


Started nine years ago by Martin & Tracy Hamilton and their neighbour Tony Reid, they started producing fresh champ to sell at St. George's Market in Belfast. The business has grown and grown, with Mash Direct now available all over Ireland, the UK and as far flung as New York and Dubai, but always fresh of course.

We got to test out some new recipes for their wonderful Mash Pots. These microwaveable, preservative-free pots are a hot and more appealing lunch time choice than sandwiches or wraps. My favourite from the current range available in Tesco etc. is the bacon and carrot pot.

The Mash Pots are up for an Innovation Award at the end of this month, but it won't be the first time Mash Direct have been foodie champions. They have so many awards they've literally run out of wall space to hang them, making them the Mo Farah of mash potatoes, winning any competition you enter them in. Deservedly too, Mash Direct is different from other pre prepared brands in that there are no added preservatives or fake flavours. The mash is mash, the turnip is turnip. It's so natural it can be used for weaning babies. They use a seed that originates from the seventies to get the best tasting potatoes for their mash (RETRO POTATOES- see, very World of Kitsch relevant).


My own son loves the Carrot & Parsnip and requested it for dinner when I returned home with my hamper (this is the foodie equivalent of a London Fashion Week goodie bag, fashion bloggers).

Although he was equally excited by the blue hairnet I brought home from the top secret factory tour, and also hijacked my Mash Direct 'kitchen dress' for himself pretty sharpish.

Thank you to Tracy, Jack and Clare for the lovely day, and I have to share with you the cake Leah from www.cakesandbakesni.wordpress.com made for the occasion, it's amazing.

Finally, if you see Mash Direct on your supermarket shelves this week, please do give them a try. I promise you won't be disappointed, and you'll soon be a mash fan girl or boy like me.


If you are already a Mash addict, you can chat to Jack & let him know your favourites on Twitter www.Twitter.com/MashDirect03 or Facebook www.Facebook.com/mashdirect