Summer Drinks for All Weathers - We Are Tea & Ugly Drinks Review

It's the first day of summer and currently it is raining, it's a difficult decision as to whether or not to head to the fridge or put the kettle on.

It's good to have a choice though and with We Are Tea and Ugly drinks I have that option, in fact I believe it was Peter Kay's mum who said that having a cup of tea will cool you down, so these are both perfect for summer days.

We Are Tea make award winning loose leaf tea, which, if you like proper tea like I do then, is perfect. Along with their fabulous Simpicitea infuser, it couldn't be easier to make yourself a wonderful cup of tea.

I have messed about for years with tea infusers, forgetting to use the tea strainer and ending up with several cups of tea that i've had to sieve, so for me this is a genius piece of tea making kit which has made tea making that much easier.

You pop your tea leaves into the Simplicitea pot and then fill with water to the desired level, leave to stew for 2-3 minutes and then when you are ready you place the pot onto your cup and push gently down, the water comes out of the bottom, filtering any leaves and bits of tea.

This is such a clever idea, and whilst it won't ever replace the decadence of having a teapot, cups, saucers and a tea strainer, for every day easy proper tea drinking it is ideal, great for home and work.

It costs £18 which is probably more than you might pay for a cafetiere, however if you love fresh leaf tea then it is an investment in good tea.

The tea itself from We Are Tea was delicious, they sent me a gunpowder green tea, I am not a huge caffeine drinker anymore so this was ideal for me, it was tasty and I loved watching the tea unfurl in the water.  They do a small selection of teas including good old English Breakfast and Early Grey both loose leaf and bags, the bags are biodegradable and with enough space to ensure the tea infuses properly.

For those warmer days, which I am sure will happen soon but as I sit here watching the rain I am not so sure, there is Ugly, a new drink which offers fizzy pop but without the sugar and sweeteners, which personally I am not a fan of.

As a former drinker of a certain caffeinated fizzy pop I have missed having a fizzy drink at times, and there is only so much water you can drink before you feel a bit like a fish. So when I heard about Ugly I straight away though i'd like to give it a try.

Firstly I understand the name is a bit odd, I mean can you imagine asking for an Ugly Grapefruit and Pineapple drink, but I suppose thats what makes it stand out.

My husband loves fizzy water but I am not usually a fan of it on it's own so I was intrigued to try the Ugly drink to see how it faired.

The lemon and lime is very subtle and you certainly get the smell more than the taste, it is a very light taste and if you love fizzy water but want a little hint of something then this would be great, the grapefruit and pineapple is definitely my favourite with the pineapple coming through without being a sweet and sickly aftertaste.

This is the perfect drink for summer, fresh summer smells make you just want to sit and chill out in the garden.

So on that note, who is now singing U G L Y you ain't got not alibi?

NB: We were sent samples of both products to form this review, all words and opinions are my own.

An Autumn Walk at Rufford Abbey

My son school has a two week half term break in October and as for the first few days of it there was such terrible weather, once it cleared up on the Wednesday, we decided to head out in the morning to Rufford Abbey.

We have been there many times before, it is the perfect place to let of steam and whether its summer or winter it's a favourite for us.

Firstly, there was something we had expected to see, a community archaeology project were digging up part of the grass. This looked interesting, so we made the little detour to check it out, the volunteers had dug up old tiles, brick work and some pottery. If you look closely you can see a paw print on the tile in this picture.

The main reason I took the children to Rufford was because I wanted them to run and play in the leaves and I knew there would be plenty there. We looked at the leaves in the light to see their veins, so it was educational too.

A rather friendly goose trying to eat my wellies and some obligatory leaf finding.

The house looked beautiful eerily beautiful against the dark sky and surrounded by beautiful burning trees, autumn really is a beautiful season. There were some halloween treats about, including a witch in a tree, we also played on the park and dug in the sand.

After the park we went and found some more leaves to play in, we spent ages kicking and chucking leaves and then sadly it started to rain. But we got to see some wonderful colours and had a fabulous time. We didn't have to pay for any of the fun we had, well, expect a hot chocolate for me and a snack each for the kids.

So if you are looking for something to do this half term and are local to Nottingham I can highly recommend Rufford Abbey, they have a halloween trail during half term so perfect for getting into the halloween spirit

Black & White Photography Project Week 3

We visited our local park this week and there is a tropical house (I know a tropical house when it's nearly 30c we are mad). But it was actually quite cool as the doors were open and we got to see some lovely plants.

Linking up to the Black & White Photo Project on POD cast blog

Dinosaur Messy Play in the Garden

My daughter loves getting messy in the garden so last week when it was just too nice to be inside I got out the Tuff Spot and filled it with mud, sand, shells, leaves and dinosaurs and she got to get messy and play.

She absolutely love doing this and spent at least two hours getting in there with the dinos!

Not sure about getting in but soon getting down with the dinos...

Lots of fun, it didn't stay looking this near and tidy, by the end of it there was just a mass of sandy mud which I think means it was lots of fun.

It is the perfect activity for getting them to explore and learn about different textures.

Linking up to Magic Moments with The Olivers Madhouse

Things to do with the children!

We have all been full of cold this last week and it hasn't exactly be great weather so we have been doing a lot of indoor activities.

I thought I would share a few and if you have any posts with your ideas or favourite things to do then please feel free to leave a comment with your link.

On Saturday we made gingerbread men, you may have seen my Silent Sunday well this was the outcome. The ones with the smartie eyes all went first though I am afraid, the recipe was a simple one from my trusty, battered and well used Be-ro book!

I am not a fan of gingerbread so we made some fairy cakes yesterday, again a simple victoria sponge recipe from the Be-ro book and then we added some lemon flavoured glacé icing and some vanilla buttercream I had left over. These are great for the kids as they can help to make the cake mix, set out the cases and then decorate them.

Ready for icing

Can you tell which one I did? Just practising my piping skills!

Next we have been up the garden this afternoon to collect some leaves, we are just waiting for them to dry off a bit and then will either paint them and do some printing or just stick straight onto a sheet of paper for an autumnal picture.

This time last year we made some Christmas cards for family, we traced my sons hand round some felt and then cut out and made into pictures of Santa or Robins using the hand as the beard or body. You could use paint but at the time I was heavily pregnant and couldn't be bothered with the mess!

I will probably do something similar this year but not sure what yet :)