Asda is supporting Children in Need 2017 with a huge range of fun Pudsey clothing for kids, and even adults. They’ve been partners since 2000, raising over £17m for the charity.
You can shop this year’s Children in Need merch, including light up Pudsey ears which are exclusive to Asda only.
I adore Grey Gardens, and everyone knows someone who loves the Edies, Big & Small. Now you have the chance to buy official Grey Gardens items, lovingly curated by family members, including Eva Marie Beale.
There are gift ideas for everyone in the beautiful online store. Whether you want to wear your Grey Gardens appreciation loud & proud, with one of these Alli Arnold Little Edie Scarves, or more subtly in your home with the Sea Spray or Lily Pond Lane scented candles.
There is a Grey Gardens jewellery collection, featuring Little Edie’s Famous brooch, but also other carefully made reproductions of the pair’s vintage pieces. The range is handcrafted in 14k gold, with diamonds and semi-precious stones. I’ve only shown Little Edie’s brooch above, but if you click through you can browse the whole collection.
The store even has Grey Gardens wine (sadly out of stock right now) and a Sadler Teapot and Grey Gardens tea for your ‘Tea For Two’ moments.
I’ve featured the Grey Gardens Scrapbook, by the Maysles Sisters previously, but the other must-have book for fans of the documentary is this gorgeous, coffee table, photo book by Eva Marie Beale. ‘Edith Bouvier Beale Beale of Grey Gardens- A Life in Pictures’ has a selection of photos of Little Edie growing up, that you just can see anywhere else. It would make a lovely Christmas present.
Lastly, there is a preorder for this fabulous Alli Arnold designed Little Edie stationery.
Visit the Official Grey Gardens store for more, bags, cushions, fragrances, everything your heart could desire!
I love a good veggie burger, and often pick them over regular burgers when eating out cause they are just so delicious. I make them at home too, but they are always the regular same tasting recipe wherever I buy them.
Marks & Spencer has just launched a new Veggie Range, with products us meat eaters will be coveting, including three different fresh veggie burger varieties. Lentil & Beetroot, Edamame Bean, and Sweetcorn & Chickpea.
I had the Lentil & Beetroot for lunch and they are incredible. I would challenge you to make them for someone who is anti-Veggie, and see if they even notice it’s not meat. The texture is spot on for a high quality beef burger. The only clue might be the Beetroot pink tinge!
They've also launched some tempting falafel products, the beetroot variety looks so cool it’s almost worth buying for the Instagram-Factor.
It’s a great time to try the new products as the whole range has 20% off. Because the items are vegetable based and not meat, it means the packs of burgers are really great value, at £2.20 and up.
Another must-Instagram newbie is the Sweet Potato & Red Pepper Sausage.
Along with the meal ingredients range, they also have relaunched their veggie meal products like lasange, stroganoff, pasta bakes etc. Those can be found in the Ready meal aisle alongside the Asian takeaway dishes, whilst the other Veggie products are alongside the fresh and veg at the entrance of your local store.
My other super hipster, impress your mates cool Veggie product to buy is the Sweet Potato Steak. I can’t wait to try everything out over the weekend.
Lastly, don’t forget there are Veggie Percy Pigs, and a whole range of Veggie Colin the Caterpillar sweets.
Smix turned ten this week, so we took a surprise trip to Disneyland. He had no idea we were going until the morning of the trip!
The park was super misty and spooky but it stayed dry, so we had a great day.
My favourite ride in any Disney Park is the Haunted Mansion, Phantom Manor in Paris. Smix loved it this time too.
I’ll maybe do a guide to the cheapest way to do the trip soon, but for now, some snaps.
I was starting into the BBC documentary where Chris Packam talks about his Aspergers, but had to pause and hit Google when I spotted this glorious Wire Fox terrier print on his wall.
The artist is Magda Archer, and perusing their other prints at Jealous Gallery only confirmed that they are right up my street.
Enjoy.
Today Smix has a surprise day off school. We got a text at 11pm last night from the school, all schools over the whole of Ireland are closed today. We are set to be battered by the worst storm in 50 years in a couple of hours. Already we’ve had one huge gust that sent the plastic post box flying down the steps.
We went first thing this morning and bought snacks and fire logs. We are charging up our iPads and getting cosy. I also brought out the Halloween decorations for the living room. It’s a mix of pound shop light up treasures, and TK Maxx, American import pieces. The tobacco candles are also from TK Maxx and my absolute favourite. I always buy them up when I spot them in a store.
The knitted decorations were bought about eight years ago from my local Oxfam.
Tree ghost spooks cat.
These gorgeous sugar skull plates were a gift from my brother & sister-in-law.
Lastly, I just had to show you my class, old phone. We recently got WiFi in (we were living in the dark ages) and my Dad brought us this old phone to use as a landline.
This time next month the Marks & Spencer Christmas takeaway food will be in store, and I got a chance to see what’s coming when I visited the Xmas launch party last month in London.
Once again M&S are teaming up with the homeless charity Shelter, giving them a percentage of sales of takeaway food and drinks.
There is one very colourful, exciting addition this year- their first ever fully vegan Christmas wrap. It looks so cool that everyone I’ll wll want to try it, roast chestnut with grape & cranberry chutney.
With offerings of Lobster & Prawn Thermidor, and Mustard Crusted Beef, I’m really looking forward to these ranges arriving in store.
I’ve noticed a few Christmas items sneaking into the Bloomfields Bangor store already, so you can see what’s on the way in my video tour of the food launch last month, below.
There’s a whole new range of rustic, British artisan breads in store at the M&S Bakery counter. Paired with their wide range of cheeses, they make for a homely comforting afternoon snack.
As heard on BBC Radio 6's Lauren Laverne Show.
