Vegetarian food: Riverford recipe box review

Recently, after a few months of eating some (good, well-sourced) meat and fish, I've changed tack and gone back to pure vegetarianism. Although it was convenient to eat the same as my kids and family, it didn't feel right to be eating even small amounts of chicken or salmon. 

How I gave up my car

My Orla Kiely bike and Halfords trailer

That title makes it sound like it was intentional. It wasn't. My car for the past few years has been a right old banger. Yes, it was on its last legs but I'd come to really rely on it both for schlepping the kids to school but also as a way of feeling free and independent. Spontaneity is a big thing for me. Four wheels enabled it. So what happened when my car failed its MOT and proved to be too pricey to fix?

Halloween tea party ideas with HomeSense

It's that orange time of year, isn't it? The shops are pumpkin-ed up to the max and spooky costumes and decorations are beginning to emerge...

For a bat obsessed boy, it's better than Christmas. And setting him loose in HomeSense, with its massive range of brilliant Halloween outfits, interiors ideas and edible treats, was a delight to watch.

Instagram: 3 new hashtags & accounts to follow

After my mini rant a few months back, I confess to really enjoying Instagram at the moment. Plenty of people have bemoaned the changes they've seen as a result of the new algorithms and timeline kicking in, but this has felt freeing to me.

Freedom = creativity, which has led to a few new accounts and hashtags. Hooray!

Comedy: Tom Allen & Suzi Ruffell

One of my total guilty pleasures is watching 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown. A few weeks back I watched an episode where Tom Allen was in dictionary corner and his jokes made me cry. So I did a bit of Googling, watch a few clips of his stand up, and discovered he's on a UK double headline tour with Suzi Ruffell. Read on for an interview with these two.