Afternoon Tea with Twinings!

  

A few weeks back I was very kindly sent some tea to try and review from Twinings, as part of their afternoon tea range. This is not something I have done  before on my blog, but as soon as I received these lovely tin tea caddies I couldn't wait to get tasting.....any excuse for a little afternoon tea party!!

We love a cup of tea in the lee household....in fact I think I'm pretty much running on it at the moment. English breakfast, being my favourite.  I have to say I am a little safe with my tea drinking sticking to what I know...so Peppermint and Earl Grey were a new thing to me, but I like to try new things and was open minded.

As soon as the girls heard about an afternoon tea party they wanted in on the action. They do love to get the tea cups and cake stands out. Such girlie girls.

Cheese and cucumber sandwiches, classic victoria sponge, bake well tarts, and a family favourite cornflake cakes make the perfect treats to accompany a lovely pot of tea.

 

 

 Dress up time!!!

Adorned in pearls, flowers, sparkle and frilly dresses the girls couldn't wait to tuck in...I had to be especially speedy to get a picture before everything had been consumed!! lol!

 

 

 

So down to business, the tasting.......

 

English Breakfast Tea:

As soon as you open the tin the smell that greets you is instantly relaxing and this is only emphasised as the boiling water hits the bag.

It has a lovely warm orangey colour and is full of flavour. I like my tea quite strong and with some other brands of tea I can find I'm left with a bitter taste if the bag is in too long. I didn't find this with the Twinings English breakfast tea, its very robust in flavour and also refreshing.

This tea is lovely on its own but I like to drink mine with a dash of milk and a spoonful of sugar.......with three munchkin's, a mountain of washing and a house to keep the sugar is keeping me going!!!

 

This is definitely my personal favourite tea, its simply delicious and i'm drinking it morning, noon and night!!

The girlies enjoyed it too!

Peppermint tea:
Wow, the smell when you open the tin! intense minty freshness hits you immediately.
I am really surprised how much I have been enjoying  this tea. I've wanted to try peppermint tea for a while now, and this doesn't disappoint. 
Peppermint tea is very versatile and can be drunk hot or cold, and after experimenting I have found that I really enjoy it once it has cooled. Obviously it is minty to taste, which I found it very strong and therefore preferred it when it hadn't been infusing for too long. I also love a little bit of honey in mine. ( can you tell I have a sweet tooth at the moment??!!)
Not only does peppermint tea taste fab but it is good for you too, helping with relaxation, sleep and digestion.  Even more reason for it to become one of my everyday drinks.

and last but not least....
 

Earl grey :
Well i'm going to start by saying I think Earl grey may be an acquired taste...its a very different taste.

It's almost impossible to explain what it tastes like, because Earl Grey tea is black tea flavoured with bergamot,  which is rarely used in anything else so its hard to relate the taste to something. The bergamot gives a mild flowery, perfumery taste its very aromatic. Its not a strong tea its mild and I found it most refreshing lightly infused with only a little, or no milk. 

 

I've really been enjoying these teas and will definitely be more adventurous with my tea tasting in the future, but it is hard to top a cup of English Breakfast tea.

family days!

#latepost

 

these pictures are from a few weeks back...somewhere in-between colds, temperatures and ear infections.

the munchkins had been saving up their pocket  money to take a trip to the Disney store in bluewater, so as promised we surprised them and made a day of it.

 

pizza is always lunch of choice for these little ladies, so pizza we eat. followed by some seriously decision making as their little eyes scanned shelf after shelf of Disney toys. i think we must of been in there about an hour before they made there final choices. by this point i had lost the will to live.....i think its the hottest shop in the world.

 

anyway we left with two happy little girls and a lovely family day out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

so many germs about!

 

sorry for the lack of posts this week. after the four of us just getting over horrible colds the lee house was hit by another concoction of germs, high temperatures, chesty coughs and an ear infection.

 

i have totally lost all concept of time having been stuck in for what seems like forever and actually can't believe its the 11th of feb already.

 

poor ruby had to have a week off school with an ear and chest infection...which i must add she was so distraught about, to the point that she went to school on the tuesday morning only for me to be called two hours later to collect her! bless her. 

and just as she was perking up a bit and the antibiotics started to kick in my little munchkin  number two went down hill. and it continues.

 

ruby went back to school today but eliza-grace is still not right.....so I may be in the doctors again tomorrow.

 

i hate my little munchkin's being under the weather but it makes me feel very thankful that we are generally a very healthy bunch with only the normal winter bugs to worry about.

roll on warmer weather.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you and all your little ones are all well, and have avoided all these germs that are about.
x

right now!

 

happy sunday everyone!!

i hope the sun is shining on you today.

x



diy: mini books





i love to make thing, as do my girls...crafting projects are a big part of our life but so far i haven't been sharing this. 

mainly because we get stuck in so fast that before i know it we're half way through and haven't taken a single picture or documented what we have been up to!.

so this year i am determined to share more little diy projects that we enjoy.

 

with all this snowy weather we have been bit reclusive and finding different things to keep the munchkins amused is a must.

my girls LOVE to draw and are constantly making books. so here is a fun little project to keep them busy:

 

diy mini books...because kids love miniature (well i mean who doesn't?).

 



* a few sheets of drawing paper,

* wrapping/coloured paper, or mini envelopes for the cover,

* scissors,

* things to decorate the front cover...i used my alphabet stampers,

* a sewing machine.

 

 



 

step 1:

take the paper you are going to use for the inside and cut or tare into equal sized strips. 

 

 

step 2:

then cut the strips in half or to the desired size, group in fours and fold. making your books inner pages.

step 3:

take what ever you are going to use a cover..in my case some brown wrapping paper and using your inner pages as a template measure out the cover and cut to size.

 

i also used some small brown envelopes as a cover, folded down the middle and cut the top seal off. this gives them little pockets at the back and front of the books.

 step 4:

lay your inner pages inside their cover and sew straight down the centre crease with your sewing machine then trim the thread.

 

 

 



step 5:

 use what ever you like to decorate...be as creative as you like. or let the little ones decorate their own.

 

and there you have it mini books ready to be filled with drawings and secrets.............hours of fun!!

 
 



we've been keeping a secret..............

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

......and we're so excited!!!

x

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE.

bring on 2013!

 

 



Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

 

and a happy new year!

 

lots of love from the lee's. x x x x

 

beside the sea

a spot of lunch and some drawing by the sea.

new wellies

long walks and new wellies!

{i'm still having trouble posting my pictures properly, so sorry for the mismatch of sizes....but i am getting a back log of posts so i will go back and fix it when i can!}

birthday wishes and fishy kisses!

yesterday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!

 and thank you sunshine, for coming out to play.