Santa hasn’t been the only one making personal appearances and ‘ho, ho, ho’-ing about the place lately. So has this big guy …
As we posted last month, the Green Giant paid a visit to the Trafford Centre, Manchester, in October, where families – 193 of them, to be precise – got to ‘high five’ him on a huge screen.
Accompanying the man in green was world champion hurdler Colin Jackson, who met the audience and, at one point, demonstrated his hurdling skills over a giant sweetcorn (don’t try this at home) …
Love this: all the fun of those press-out doll’s dressing-up books you played with as a child (or your own little princess now adores!), courtesy of Boden …
Check out the online Outfit Maker option, which lets you dress and accessorise the model in pieces of your choice at a click of your mouse.
Tell yourself you’re doing it for research purposes. Or because you’re avoiding That Job That Has To Be Done and this is much more fun.
Given that American nonstopmamas are celebrating Thanksgiving Day, a couple of foodie posts today with a star-spangled twist …
First up, the lovely Sally Bee tweeted nonstopmama last week to tell us that advance orders of her new book, Have Your Cake & Eat It Too, have already been ordered by The White House (Michelle Obama is a big fan of Sally’s heart-healthy recipes and her previous books, The Secret Ingredient and The Recipe for Life) …
Sally’s new book, as the cover suggests, is packed with “delicious and healthy desserts that break all the rules” (early birds can snap up a signed copy at Sally’s website, to be sent hot-off-the-press on 6 January 2012. If you’re giving the book as a Christmas gift, a voucher will be sent in the meantime to put under the tree, or slip into a card!).
Meanwhile, we can’t wait to try making our first whoopie pies, armed with American pastry chef Claire Ptak’s new book, Whoopie Pie Fun …
Originating Stateside, whoopie pies are, in Claire’s words, “not a cookie or a typical cake, and definitely not a pie … somewhere between a cupcake and an ice cream sandwich, with ‘icing’ in the middle”.
Claire moved to the UK in 2005 and now runs Violet, a buzzing baking company based in East London.
Loving the sound of the Mocha-Orange Whoopie, a “truly grown-up whoopie pie” with Espresso Cream filling.
Definitely not one for the school cake stall, then …
Nonstopmamas need BIG mugs of tea to get us going in the morning. (Or green tea/hot water and lemon if they’re being super-healthy. Right now, it’s anything red label and fully caffeinated for us).
And this has to be the most perfect mug in which to have your preferred ‘rocket fuel’ over the coming weeks …
Love a Cath Kidston mug. Big. Bottomless, almost. And this one (£5.00) is so fabulously festive …
We. Love. It!
And while we’re on the subject, tell us – what’s your wake-up drink of choice? …
And it works!! A treat. From fabulous-o make-up brand Pixi, the Fake Awake Kit (£19) contains the cleverest of beauty essentials to slick on and get you out the door feeling, dare we say it, kind of glowy. Fresh-faced. Not like you’ve just spent the last half an hour pulling your hair out trying to get packed lunches and small people ready after everyone overslept …
Trust us, this is a goodie. I slicked on a combo of the underye concealer (much needed), rosy cheek stain (maybe not so, am always flushed with lateness) and the prettiest of illuminating eye shimmers just this morning, pre-school run. It took seconds, and a fellow mama asked ‘What have you got on your face?’. But in a good way.
Not surprisingly, there’s a canny nonstopmama behind the genius: Pixi founder Petra Strand.
I interviewed the Swedish born but London-based co-founder of the company for The Daily Telegraph just after they’d launched in the UK. From the offset, Petra and her two sisters have been all about creating lovely products that provide a truly natural-looking beauty boost.
These days, the brand is a hit on both side of the pond – and it’s easy to see why. Great formulas, wonderfully wearable colours, cutely packaged and well priced.
Too perfect for nonstopmamas, no?
