Archie and The Lawlor Cat Hotel | Book Review

[Ad- gifted Product] Often we wonder what our pets get up to when we are away. I personally only have one pet, a British Shorthaired cat called Pancake, but when you have an entire hotel full of cats, only mischief can be found when the humans go home to sleep! Archie and The Lawlor Cat Hotel is a children’s chapter book, for eight years and older, that tells tails of Archie, the head cat running a hotel.

Written from the point of view of Archie, this book does a fantastic job of looking at humans from their perspective. Noting various humanistic interactions, Archie tells you what he thinks of them (humans are staff) and how he sees cats in society (royalty, basically). He also takes you on all of the nighttime adventures that the other cats at the hotel have. From gambling to going out fishing, there is a lot that happens when the lights are switched off. This hotel is full of rotating customers, appearing whenever their humans go on vacation, so you are getting a look into one week of the cat’s adventures, with quite a few regulars at the hotel and a few newbies in the form of young kittens.

Archie and The Cat Hotel

Continue reading “Archie and The Lawlor Cat Hotel | Book Review”

Night Out at Shackleton’s Carpenter – A one man play

My brother really likes going to plays. This was something I did not know until he came to visit me in England – he’s become so cultured. Who knew. So, when searching through The Stage Stortford’s booklet that comes through our door every month, he picked out a few plays that caught his eye, the first one being Shackleton’s Carpenter. I didn’t know much about the play, but grabbed some tickets and set out with him and Dann to attend.

I’ve not actually been to a local play or a larger London based play since coming to England. In school, we use to take big trips to bigger cities, in order to see large plays around Christmas. These always had tons of actors, loads of scenes, different backgrounds, etc. Going to a local play, I had no idea what to expect. Shackleton’s Carpenter is a play done entirely by a single actor – which is already an amazing feat. Talking to ghosts and random members of the audience, Harry McNish tells his tale of being the only man who challenged the boss who manned their ship on the Antarctic ice floes.

Continue reading “Night Out at Shackleton’s Carpenter – A one man play”

Good Soul CBD-Infused Dark Chocolate Balls | Review

[Ad- gifted product] Everyone feels stress and anxieties in day to day life. For some, it’s more than others – but the idea that a lovely chocolate ball could help reduce that stress and anxiety is something that I can very much get behind trying out. Good Soul have produced a CBD-infused dark chocolate candy that feels like a little treat, meant to help you out as you stress about the latest deadline or feel nervous about going to social functions.

As someone who has not tried foods infused with CBD oil which is supplied from https://organiccbdnugs.com, I was initially curious about the hemp taste that this chocolate might have. It’s 64% cocoa, gluten and dairy free and vegetarian, so there’s not much actually in the chocolate to mask the taste. When trying these dark chocolate balls, however, there isn’t a big hemp taste at all – just a slightly hemp after taste that does dissipate fast. The dark chocolate isn’t chalky and doesn’t dry out my mouth completely. Good Soul is a very nice quality chocolate that really feels like a little treat. They have a bunch of studies and research which shows that these chocolates do help anxiety, sleeping and stress, as well as a few other issues that people do have.

Good Soul CBD-Infused Chocolate

Continue reading “Good Soul CBD-Infused Dark Chocolate Balls | Review”

The Smeds and the Smoos – Children’s story book | Review

Reading to children before bed is always a good way to wind down and talk a bit before it’s time to finally go to sleep. We’ve always read stories each night before bed, but that means getting more and more new books to bring new adventures into our home. The Smeds and the Smoos is written by Julia Donaldson, who has written fantastic children’s books. After seeing the book advertised on the London Underground, I went and ordered a copy.

The Smeds and The Smoos

Continue reading “The Smeds and the Smoos – Children’s story book | Review”

Mushroom Ramen Bowl with Mushroom Ketchup | Recipe

[Ad- gifted product] As the days have grown colder, my stomach has been wanting more and more warm foods. Soups are perfect for autumn and my favorite type of soup, apart from classic chicken noodle, is ramen bowls! I love all of the toppings that go into ramen – the way you can customize them are fantastic. I teamed up with Geo Watkins’ Mushroom Ketchup to create and share this vegetarian mushroom ramen bowl!

But first… Mushroom Ketchup?

Continue reading “Mushroom Ramen Bowl with Mushroom Ketchup | Recipe”