Be in the Picture - March 2017

Welcome back to Be in the Picture which is a linky hosted by myself and Alana at http://www.baby-holiday.co.uk/. This is our 3rd month of the linky and we have loved seeing your pictures on our instagram hashtag and the posts you linked up last month. You can catch up with my last blog post for Be in the Picture here, Be in the Picture February 2017.

Be in the Picture puts you in the frame. We want to see any pictures featuring you. This linky has made me make the effort to get in the pictures as i'm usually the one taking them. I'm already grateful for the images i've managed to capture since we started. 

Here are some of my favourite pictures from March:

This was taken on our day out at East Gate Llanelli. Hubby managed to grab this shot of me when I wasn't aware of what he was doing. It's so natural. You can read more about the day on my blog post here, East Gate Llanelli.

This shot just makes me smile. I'm wearing some of my new Disney clothes ready for our trip to Florida next month (sooooo excited). You can read the Disney style post about this outfit here, Disney Style.

This was taken on a lovely sunny day after school. We went to the park and just had a lovely time.

This last picture of mine was taken on our recent trip to London. This was on Mother's Day. It just sums up all of our personalities. I love it.

Last month we had a couple of people link up. The wonderful Battlemum wrote a post which showcased some fab photos of her and Battlekid. This was my favourite one. 

Over 40 and a Mum to One  also joined in and showed some gorgeous pictures. This one was my favourite. I just adored the carpet of snowdrops as the backdrop. 

Now it's your turn to link up for this month. There's a couple of rules to linking up. 

• Share a post with one or more photos featuring yourself - the linky will be open for a week
• Comment on both hosts posts and a couple of others. Linky's work if we share the love
• Grab our badge so readers know where to find more posts. 
• Use #beinthepicture on twitter and instagram so we can find you and share your posts.

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An InLinkz Link-up

Peppa Pig My First Cinema Experience Review

Last weekend we were invited to London to watch the preview of Peppa Pig My First Cinema Experience which hits screens on April 7th which is just in time for half term.

Both of the girls are big Peppa fans. You may have read our review of Peppa Pig World which I published recently. If not you can read it and see our vlog of the day here, A day out at paultons park. Eva loves the cinema and going on weekends away so as you can imagine she was bursting with excitement at the thought of travelling to London to see the show.

The screening was held at Picturehouse Central which was very easy to find and literally a couple of minutes walk from Piccadilly Circus tube station.

Before the screening started the girls got to meet Peppa and George. For some reason Eva was too frightened to have her picture taken but Ophelia was straight in there. She laughed and bounced around and couldn't wait to get her hands on Peppa.

There were plenty of activities to keep everyone entertained. There were balloon models, face painting and a huge craft table with colouring in and crown decorating. There was also plenty of tea and coffee which hubby and I appreciated after our very early start.

Once we grabbed our drinks and snacks we headed into the cinema. We decided to sit in the front row so that the girls could have a run around if they wanted to.

The creators and animators of Peppa Pig introduced the show. It was great to see them and hear how long they had been working on it etc.

Peppa Pig My First Cinema Experience is about an hour long and is an interactive screening.  It features 9 new episodes along with sing along fun and games with Daisy (a real life character) and Peppa and George.

The episodes include a trip to London, a canal boat trip, a trip to the zoo, the police, move to the music and a holiday to Australia.

Both hubby and I really enjoyed the episodes. In fact I laughed out loud on quite a few occasions. There was plenty of adult humour hidden in each episode. Arwyn found the police episode particularly funny with the lines 'ello, ello, ello.' I really liked the Australian episodes with Kylie Kangaroo and her family.

The girls loved the screening. Not only did they enjoy the new episodes but they loved the interactive parts which included singing some of our nations favourite nursery rhymes. Eva was actually up dancing at one point. 

We all had a fab time, so much so I will definitely be taking the girls to watch it again when it is released in the UK next week. It will be the perfect easter half term, rainy day activity. I'll be sure to sit at the front again or the end of a row so that the girls can have a dance around.

15 Beauty and the Beast Quotes for Mindfulness

After the success of my Winnie the Pooh quotes for mindfulness post, I decided to start a series and use all of the Disney films. Disney is my happy place and there are always lots of strong messages hidden within each film.

If you didn't catch my last post you can read it here, 15 Winnie the Pooh Quotes for Mindfulness

This post focuses on Beauty and the Beast. There are many wise words said or sung during this film which are perfect for mindfulness.

1) You don't lose hope, love. If you do, you lose everything - Mrs Potts

2) You should learn to control your temper - Belle

3) If it's not Baroque, don't fix it! - Cogsworth

4) It'll turn out all right in the end, you'll see - Mrs Potts

5) Love doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be true

6) People think i'm odd, so I know how it feels to be different, and I know how lonely that can be -Belle

7) Love doesn't conquer all, but without love, nothing can be conquered

8) You don't have to be timid. You must be bold, daring

9) Don't I deserve the best? - Gaston

10) We're together now, everything's going to be fine  - Belle

11) If you're stressed, it's fine dining we suggest - Lumiere

12) Bittersweet and strange, finding you can change, learning you were wrong

13) We don't like what we don't understand, in fact it scares us

14) I want adventure in the great wide somewhere, I want it more than I can tell - Belle

15) That girl is strange but special



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The Best Places in South Wales to have Afternoon Tea

I absolutely adore going for Afternoon Tea as a special treat. We are very lucky in South Wales as there are plenty of venues that provide different and unique takes on the traditional Afternoon Tea. With Mother's Day coming up, I've listed the best places in the South Wales to treat your loved ones.

 1) The Vale Resort

We recently had the pleasure of reviewing afternoon tea at the Vale Resort which you can read here, An Overnight Stay at the Vale Resort. 

It is served in their restaurant and we were lucky enough to sit in their conservatory which has sweeping views across their beautiful grounds and golf course.

The sandwiches and cakes were all light and refreshing which is exactly what you want out of a spring afternoon tea. The Welsh Cakes were a fab touch, after all we are in Wales so it was lovely to see the items being Welsh themed.

My daughters also had their own smaller sized portion to share which they enjoyed.

It is priced at £35 for two people which I think is fantastic value for money. You can also add a glass of Champagne for £6 or Proscecco for £4.50.

To see more of the Afternoon Tea then take a look at my youtube video of our stay https://youtu.be/T_RGetX4Qlw.

2) The Celtic Manor

On Monday I was able to review the brand new Afternoon Tea menu at The Celtic Manor. The Celtic Manor is one of my favourite hotels in South Wales and is certainly one of my top picks for Afternoon Tea.

There was a great selection of savouries followed by hand made cakes and pastries and freshly baked scones.

The savoury selection was my favourite part of the Afternoon Tea. The whipped pate on brioche left my mouth salivating. The flavours were all perfectly matched for spring and were  light and refreshing on the palette. 

The sweet offering was lovely. There was a handmade chocolate on the plate that was divine. I bit into it and felt an explosion of orange and lime. I could've eaten about a 100 of them. 

We were also treated to a glass of Proscecco which made the Afternoon Tea even more special.

I haven't written my full review yet so pop back in a few days to read it. This is a very old review I wrote of a Christmas Afternoon Tea there if you'd like to read that one, Christmas Afternoon Tea.

This Afternoon Tea is £21.50 per person Monday - Friday and £29.50 on the weekend. I will be returning with hubby and the girls asap as I know they'd love it.

3) Park Plaza

Afternoon Tea at the Laguna Restaurant located in the Park Plaza hotel is wonderful. I've tried various menus here and none have disappointed. My favourite one at the moment is the Gentlemen's Afternoon Tea. The savoury offerings are a far cry from the traditional sandwiches but the selection is mouthwatering. Their Scotch Egg with Bloody Mary sauce is the best one i've ever eaten. This costs £19.95 per person Monday - Friday and £22.95 per person on the weekend.

Throughout the year they do themed Afternoon Tea's. One of their popular menus has been their Hendrick's themed Afternoon Tea. You can read a review of that particular one here by blogger 'Explore with Ed', Hendrick's Afternoon Tea.

Image taken by http://www.explorewithed.co.uk

4) The St David's Hotel

Tempus at Tides is not somewhere I have tried but I have heard fantastic things about their various Afternoon Tea menus. They currently offer a traditional, gentlemen's and a children's menu. 

I love the idea of going for a children's Afternoon Tea. It's very rare that i'm not with my children so to be able to take them for a themed tea catered for their needs would be ideal. This costs £14.50 per child. Local blogger Cardiff Mummy Says has reviewed this tea over on her blog which you can read here, Magical Marvellous Afternoon Tea. 

5) Llanerch Vineyard

I have only had the pleasure of this Afternoon Tea once and it was the beautiful setting that was the highlight for me. The weather was sunny and we were able to sit outside and enjoy the views of the vineyard whilst basking in the rays. 

You can read a review of their Afternoon Tea by blogger 'Porcelina's World' here, Llanerch Vineyard.

6) The Angel Abergavenny

I am ashamed to say I still haven't tried the Afternoon Tea at The Angel. As an Afternoon Tea lover this really is sacrilegious as their tea is legendary. I haven't come across anyone who hasn't enjoyed it. It's my birthday next month so perhaps i'll finally get to go then.

They also have a Mad Hatter themed Afternoon Tea on certain dates this year which I can imagine is spectacular. 

Blogger 'A Slice of my life Wales' has reviewed their tea on her blog which you can read here, Afternoon Tea at The Angel.

Image taken from http://asliceofmylifewales.com

What are your favourite places to have Afternoon Tea? 

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A day out at Paultons Park and Peppa Pig World

During the last half term we decided to have a day out at Paultons Park. We have visited once before but that was when I was pregnant with Ophelia so Eva would have been around 2.5 years old. Eva is now 4 and Ophelia is 15 months old. Both girls love watching Peppa Pig so we thought this would be the perfect family day out.

We chose to go on the Sunday during half term. We had all our fingers and toes crossed that it was going to be quiet. It's about a 2 hour drive from our house so we booked into a hotel close by the night before so that we could arrive early the next day.

We arrived about half an hour after it opened and decided we'd head straight to Peppa Pig World and do as many rides as we could there. Ophelia had been asleep but woke up once we got into Peppa Pig World and I wish i'd filmed her reaction as she woke up. It was priceless. I think she thought she was dreaming. It was a mixture of sheer happiness, shock and laughter. 

The first ride we headed to was George's dinosaur adventure ride. Ophelia was so desperate to go on but unfortunately she was too small. Eva thought it was fab.

Most of the rides in Peppa Pig World were tame and both girls were able to ride on them. Their favourite ride was the cars. 

After about an hour both hubby and I needed a rest so we took the kids into the indoor play zone. It was fairly chaotic in there as it had just started raining outside but it was a great place to take shelter and let the girls run wild. 

The girls really enjoyed having their photo taken inside the nursery. Their faces were super cute. 

Once it stopped raining Eva had a play in the outdoor play area which she thought was fantastic. She could've spent hours there. 

We took a packed lunch with us so we sat on a bench and watched the penguins whilst we tucked in. There were plenty of places where you could buy food and drink but we'd chosen to bring our own. 

We'd been on everything we wanted to in Peppa Pig World so we then headed over to the other areas in the park. The last time we visited we hadn't managed to get around the whole park so this was a new experience for all of us.

We finished the day in The Lost Kingdom which is dinosaur themed. Hubby took Eva on a ride called the dinosaur tour and she hated it and cried. Whoops bad parents!!! There were a couple of thrill rides there which Arwyn and I went on. It was nice to feel an adrenaline rush after all the tame rides we had already been on.

The last ride Eva went on was a digger ride. There wasn't any queue at all so she must've rode it about 10 times. 

Overall, we had a fantastic family day out. There are plenty of things there for young children. They enjoyed all the rides and indoor and outdoor play areas. The wet weather didn't stop us having a good time. 

It's a great park for children of all ages. I think it's particularly good for younger children but if you have a mixture of older and younger children then there are plenty of more fast paced attractions available.

We were able to see and get on everything we wanted to that day but I think that's because it wasn't during peak season. If you are going to go during the summer months I would recommend getting a 2 day ticket. 

Here's our vlog of our day there so you can get a better glimpse of the park.

*Thank you to Paultons Park for providing us with day tickets in return for our honest review*

A Mother's Day Treat at East Gate Llanelli

I was recently invited to receive a Mother's Day treat of a day out at East Gate Llanelli. Naturally, I decided it should be a family affair so myself, hubby and the girls all headed there to enjoy some time out. I couldn't wait for a day off from my mum duties of cooking dinner etc.

We were catching a morning film, then having a family lunch before finishing off with some ice cream.

There's plenty of parking available which is next to the Travelodge. It's very reasonably priced but you can only put a maximum limit of 4 hours on a ticket so we had to pop back and get another ticket when our time ran out. It's literally a couple of minutes walk away from the facilities so that wasn't an issue for us.

As a family we love a trip to the cinema. Even little Ophelia enjoys it. Odeon always have a great choice of kids films as they have current films and also older films showing during their  kids screening times. We decided to watch 'Ballerina'. The girls had a children's box and a pic and mix whilst hubby and I enjoyed a coffee and a cake from Costa.

The film was actually really good. All of us liked it especially Eva. All she's been doing since is dancing and singing the songs from the film and asking to watch it again.

Next we headed to Red 10 American Diner. As it's name suggests Red 10 serves a range of American inspired food such as burgers, wings and fried chicken. 

The diner has a relaxed and informal setting which is ideal for family dining. The staff were all attentive and friendly. The girls were given paper and colouring pens to keep them entertained whilst waiting for their food. Families are definitely made to feel welcome here which is fab as I do find eating out with the girls can be quite a stressful experience. This was such a chilled out environment with plenty of lights, sounds and features to keep the kids occupied. 

There was a lot to choose from on the menu. After much deliberation I decided to have fried chicken, Eva had corn dogs and Ophelia had macaroni cheese. Hubby chose the sloppy Joe burger which was made with bbq pulled pork. All of us really enjoyed our food. Both girls shared their dinner with each other (a first, they normally don't share). What's great about the diner is that the portion sizes are huge. You certainly get value for money. 

The diner has a great deal on for Mother's Day. If you prebook your table then mum can eat for free. There must be one other full paying person so that you qualify for the free meal. You can book by calling 01554 777628 or visiting their facebook page here, Red 10. This is such a good offer and it's an ideal place if you are looking for a good family meal this Mother's Day.

Last up we headed to Joe's Ice Cream. With our bellies full from our lunch we were worried if we'd actually fit anything else in but there's always room for ice cream. There is a lot of choice at the parlour from a traditional ice cream in a cone or tub to something more special like a sundae or a north pole.

I shared a tub of ice cream with Ophelia. Needless to say she ended up eating most of it. Hubby had his own and Eva had an ice cream in a cone. As you can see from the pictures, she loved it.

Overall, we had a lovely day out. It was fab to relax for the day and enjoying being a mum with my family.