Laura Crichton

Museum of Flight

If you’re looking for an activity to entertain the kids, the National Museum of Flight should not be ruled out. Granted, it may attract a number of plane spotter types but it actually is a great day out and the kids love it.

Occupying an old air field, numerous hangers provide hours of entertainment. The kids have space to run and there is little fear of them ‘touching’ things.

Our last visit began in the civil aviation hanger, which is full of planes for the kids to gaze upon. Whilst they can’t climb over the planes, there is nothing to request them not getting up close. Read More »Museum of Flight

The Royal Yacht Britannia

This week I FINALLY got round to visiting the Royal Yacht Britannia and actually had the nicest time with Katie. Despite hearing about it from my Mum, I had never fully appreciated how much there was to see and do. I had wrongly assumed it would be like a museum and not that suitable for young children. But it actually made for a brilliant day out.

We started off being greeted by an incredibly welcoming guide. He took lots of time to chat to Katie (and encouraged her to put her coat back on!). Katie was instantly beaming at the extra attention and was raring to get going with her audio handset. She was given a specific one for children and received an explanation of exactly how to use it. The guide also explained that a number of Corgis were hidden around the yacht for Katie to count. Read More »The Royal Yacht Britannia

Top ideas for Edinburgh when it’s cold outside

Every time Summer arrives I think to myself isn’t life wonderful: life is a whirlwind of picnics, visits to the park or beach, and lots of time is spent chasing the kids on their scooters. I always promise myself that things won’t change in Winter: we’ll just bundle up warm and all the kids will play out. A bit of ice won’t stop us!

Obviously, my promise has been broken. As the temperate is hovering around 5 degrees – we are happily snug at home with bikes left neglected in the garage.

Edinburgh ‘outside’ over Christmas is pretty fabulous – the Christmas lights are always worth a gander, the market is manic but magical in it’s way, and you can always stalk Santa at the Botanics. But as January rolls by, these activities disappear and sometimes staying home just doesn’t quite cut it. With that in mind, I give you ideas for Edinburgh in bad weather:Read More »Top ideas for Edinburgh when it’s cold outside

Design: How to Revamp your Hallway

Last March, I wrote about my intentions for re-vamping our hallway. Over the years we had completely neglected it as a space, and it had slowly filled with clutter.

I wanted to have a space that was more welcoming and give a better first impression for guests. As a room that visitors are guaranteed to see, it made sense that is should get some attention.

It’s actually been ‘re-vamped’ for several months now. I would love to say that was under our own steam but I finally caved and hired a decorator. N.B. Any Edinburgh people looking for a painter decorator – I can thoroughly recommend Billy of Cedar Décor!Read More »Design: How to Revamp your Hallway

Food: Café Milk

The first time I went to Cafe Milk at the Edinburgh Sculpture workshop there was a lot I liked: I thought the lighting was amazing – even though there’s a limited amount of windows and the ceiling is low it still feels spacious. The use of dark paint on one wall works really well and I just really liked the feel. The tables are well spaced apart so we weren’t intruding on anyone else’s space. People were constructing things in the courtyard outside so the kids were entertained and I could just relax.

What I wasn’t sure about was the food. I remember I had something with avocado but it felt like everything was caked in some spice or other. My Mum had porridge with every kind of trendy substance going. The cakes were amazing in terms of an adult palette but there wasn’t anything really for the kids – who were then pretty miserable. It was kind of a let down and wasn’t somewhere to beat my usual sources of brunch.

However, given that I really liked the location, décor and staff – I decided to go back and I am beyond glad that I did.Read More »Food: Café Milk

Food: Immune building soup

Over the last few months we’ve been taking part in a local fruit and vegetable delivery scheme. This has resulted in Fridays being the day that lovely box of fresh produce appears at our door. I simply asked them to fill it with ‘local and seasonal’ food rather than dictating exactly what I wanted. Whilst this gives us a nice variety and means we’re eating beautiful fresh food – there have been a few things that I would have never have bought. Partly because I didn’t have a hope of identifying them!

One of our most recent discovery has been celeriac. You can actually eat it in any number of ways and it’s pretty good just simply grated it in salads. But we’ve also had it mashed, roasted and in soup. Nutritionally it also has its advantages – 100g holds just 42 calories and yet it’s a really good source of Vitamin K, Iron, Calcium, and Manganese. Fresh, it also provides a moderate about of Vitamin C – which in cold season is crucial for me. I’ve already had antibiotics twice since the summer so I’ve been keen to build my immune system; and it made sense to try and do this through our normal diet!

With that, I give you my immune building soup:Read More »Food: Immune building soup

Activities: Christmas Craft with Nature

Today was a day when I was rudely reminded that life is not always ‘Pinterest perfect’. Sometimes things do not go to plan and it’s at that point I find patience is really tested. You have to decide whether to take a deep breathe and keep smiling or completely flip your lid. I decided on a combination of the two…

A few weeks a go, I spied these little Christmas trees made from lollypop sticks and thought it would work really well with twigs. It would be more rustic but thought it would fit in well with our general theme at Christmas which has quite a lot of natural decorations.

We had a lovely time gathering sticks before having a late brunch at Cafe Milk. Katie was sold on the idea that we’d be using them for craft. I remembered to dry the sticks out before home AND we had a playdate planned in which the craft could be completed. Perfect or what?!Read More »Activities: Christmas Craft with Nature

Food: The Ultimate Breakfast Smoothie

If you’re anything like me in the morning, breakfast is a total drag. Each morning entails of a mammoth list of things to get done: The kids need to be dressed and fed – this is usually a battle of wills. I need to shower, find suitable work attire, and get through my make up routine. All whilst CBeebies is blaring in the background. I know I’m running late if I can hear the Furchester Hotel theme tune playing whilst I’m applying my foundation. It’s all pretty hellish.

I am a HUGE fan of breakfast/brunch when I have the time. I am more than happy to frequent any number of local Edinburgh establishments for brunch. I could in fact recommend any number to you if you so required. But on a weekday – I will not be sitting down to eat unless a snow storm has hit the city and closed all routes to work.

My compromise is to take a smoothie in my travel mug. I’ve refined a recipe that is not only delicious, but super good for you as it’s packed with antioxidants and high in vitamins and minerals. Maybe I am winning at the breakfast game after all?!Read More »Food: The Ultimate Breakfast Smoothie