Something sweet...

I have become a real cafe junkie since becoming a Mum, due to my need for caffeine combined with a desperation to escape the house some days. This has led me to enjoy some great cafes around S11, including Eve's Kitchen... A beautiful little artisan kitchen and handmade doughnut shop. But these doughnuts are not your average doughnuts!

Eve's Kitchen makes doughnuts with amazing flavour combinations and the fluffiest dough I have ever tasted! (So light you could be forgiven for thinking it was healthy). With flavours such as matcha and white chocolate (this is my favourite at the moment!), lemon meringue and mango and passion fruit...

And when I heard that they make festive themed doughnuts at Christmas (for instance mince pie doughnut)... well I almost had a meltdown in excitement and anticipation. I know where I will be getting my lattes and sweet treats this winter.

While I wait for those coffee filled colder months they also offer iced teas for those rare sunny days. The other day I went in, needing a doughnut fix after a toddler-tantrum filled morning, and it was one of the very few sunny June days we have had. I was desperate for an iced tea. I had been dreaming of a delicious iced tea for a few days to be honest, and when I asked what cold drinks they offered I was silently pleading, please say iced tea. And they did!

The answer to my iced tea dreams were answered with this... (just wow)...

How can I not love a place that offers delicious doughnuts, pray answering iced tea and food that makes a blog look this beautiful!

I cant recommend this place highly enough.

Link to their website: http://www.evekitchen.co.uk/
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Evekitchen-372212209645336/
And twitter: https://twitter.com/eve_kitchen

Deliveroo: Good food straight to your door!

Have you ever had a day where you want something good to eat, but you don't want to cook and you don't want the typical take away? But going out seems like a big task. Especially if you are a parent!

As a new parent date nights are few and far between. Venturing out for a meal seems like an indulgent fantasy sometimes!

But after a day where a teething baby has terrorised me relentlessly sometimes I can't face cooking and a salad just isn't going to cut it. But I know that going out to eat, with a 3 month old baby, requires a level of preparation and dedication that I don't have the energy for.

Well, I may have received the answer to my prayers in the form of a flyer through my door.

A flyer from a company called Deliveroo!

This company delivers food from restaurants throughout Sheffield. (They also do this in other locations too including Manchester, London, Brighton and more. For details visit their website here). As I live in Sheffield I am going to focus on the Sheffield based restaurants they deliver from.

Deliveroo proves that not all "takeaways" are created equally, especially when they are offering delivery from restaurants such as the Wig & Pen, Milestone, Craft & Dough, Smoke and more!

I convinced my Hubby, after one pretty tiring day, that we should try out Deliveroo... for research purposes of course! We ordered burgers and a sharing platter from The Common Room.

The food was with us within 30 minutes, the delivery guy was professional and nice and the food was d.e.licious!

I was really impressed with the idea, service and generally the idea of what Deliveroo is offering. This autumn and winter I can eat delicious, restaurant quality food while watching Strictly Come Dancing in my onesie!

And with that in mind I had to share it on here, because there may be other parents out there that need this like I do. :)

This is not a sponsored post, image from http://techview.me/

GIVEAWAY: Afternoon Tea @ The Hidden Gem Cafe

You may have seen my recent blog about the Hidden Gem Cafe in Sheffield... If you haven't it is worth checking it out (click here).

Since I really enjoyed the experience I have teamed up with the Hidden Gem Cafe to giveaway a Cream Tea for 2!

Check out these pictures of the tempting treats...

The Cream Tea for Two includes:

• Scones, Jam and Clotted Cream
• Selection of patisseries
• Sandwich selection (for 2)
• English Breakfast Tea

All you have to do to get your hands on this giveaway is do one of the following three things:

• "Like" the Mama Lucy facebook page (click here to go to the page) then comment and share the post about the Afternoon Tea giveaway (really important you comment).
• Or go to the @mamalucyuk Twitter page and retweet one of the tweets about the competition (click here to go the page)
• Or comment on this blog post below.

You can visit the Hidden Gem Cafe website here: http://hiddengemcafe.co.uk/
And follow them on Twitter @hiddengemcafe1

The winner will be announced next week (on the blog, twitter and facebook). Good luck everyone!

Thank you to the Hidden Gem Cafe.

Smoking Hot!

Smoke in Sheffield: "Polished, industrial-chic restaurant with barrel tables, serving US-style ribs, steak and burgers."

I always love sharing places I have enjoyed visiting and one place I went to recently was Smoke in Sheffield.

It is a great place for a meet up with other Mums... Or "Mummy dates" as I like to call them... Because they offer delicious food in a relaxed setting, and are also very understanding about when a group of Mums take over an area with their prams (which is always important to me as I feel my pram is the size of a baby mammoth).

The food is the kind of American style burgers and meats that is popular these days... With a good twist. I had a burger (perfectly cooked) with twice cooked chips! Delicious!

I really liked the atmosphere and the waitress was friendly. They also have really nice touches; they give you BBQ flavoured popcorn as a free table nibble while you wait and the drinks are served in funky glasses!

I will be honest, I did feel their Banoffee pie wasn't as good as mine (still good though)... But I am very picky about my desserts (and maybe a little bias)! :)

Definitely a place I would recommend, especially for a city centre, family friendly place to have a good meal.

Here is a link to their website: http://smokebbq.co.uk/
(Check out the Man Vs Food Challenge... Wow).

Christmas in July... Summer Sale Haul

I am a big lover of all things Christmas related... I go a bit loopy over the festive season and recently discovered that Christmas in July is a "thing". I won't go as far as to celebrate it this July (to me Christmas has be in winter) but I do feel that now is the perfect time to start preparing my babies winter wardrobe.

To be honest I may have even purchased the odd Christmas outfit before he was even born!

Anyway, I wanted to share some of the wintery bargains I had got recently. One place that I have found to be excellent for reduced winter clothes is Next. If you go to their clearance section online they have a variety of winter clothes in many sizes. They are really well priced (reduced) as they are out of season. Now is a great time to bag some bargains!

Here are some of the bargains I got from Next online:

Cosy jumpers, Frozen themed long sleeve t-shirt, dinosaur themed hat and mittens and a cute shirt with reindeer on!

I have been buying items in larger sizes (the correct age range he will be in November and December). This seasonal sale buying is generally a great idea. I have managed to get some real bargains on coats for Archie too. He now has a coat for each age range from now until 12 months old. This is an essential item as well, because his nursery need him to have suitable outdoor wear for their outdoor activities.

Here is one I bought from M&S when they had a 20% off everything sale:

I have even bagged this beautiful Hatley coat from the b.biscuit sale (a local shop in Sheffield, just off Ecclesall Road)...

They also have a website which you can purchase items from (sale items are available online as well, so it is worth taking a peek). Even though Archie is only 2 months old I bought him a 6-12 month coat as it was such a good price. If I had waited and bought a Hatley coat in season it would have been more expensive.

I want to be Sharrowvale Chic!

Most people from Sheffield will know where I mean when I refer to Sharrowvale. For those of you who aren't familiar with the area, Sharrowvale is in the S11 area of Sheffield. Depending on who you ask it generally includes the popular streets of Ecclesall Road and Sharrowvale Road (as well as the smaller streets between these).

This is where I live and I love this area, it has an abundance of boutique shops, cafes, vintage inspired shops and restaurants offering tempting treats. Due to all that it has to offer it is a popular area for families, hipsters and students - and because of this, when walking around the area you will notice a few things. These include; high volumes of prams pushed by well manicured women, ladies at lunch, men sitting outside cafes looking lovingly at their parked Porsche as well as many well manicured beards.

When we moved into the area we quickly noticed the well maintained, lovely Mums of this area. Pushing their lovely prams and sitting outside the many cafes… Hence the term “Sharrowvale Chic” was born in our household. To us, Sharrowvale Chic is all about family life, beautiful mums, handsome beards and sitting in a cafe in/around one of the parks in the area (Endcliffe Park and Botanical Gardens). I especially wish I was as well put together as these lovely "Sharrowvale Chic" Mums!

I in no way consider myself to be “Sharrowvale Chic”but I really wish I was... I fear I never will be though. I am the type of Mummy that doesn't do my hair every day, have a large pile of washing to get through and constantly crash my pram (I really need a license for that thing, I am a menace on the pavements).

But in all seriousness this area is great for families, whether to live or just to enjoy for the day. These are some of my favourite things in this area:

Boutique shops, I cant get enough of the shops in this area. I never need to go anywhere else for my birthday or Christmas presents! Places like Mookau, Ora, bbiscuit and Jessica Flynn Jewellery Boutique sell the most beautiful items. Just walking around and window shopping can fill a leisurely afternoon.

Foodie heaven! From amazing bakeries to cafes and restaurants, this area has enough options to keep your cupboards stocked with delicious delicacies and your tummy full of amazing meals out. Top places are Couch (especially for their cakes), Nonnas, The Mediterranean and the Greedy Greek.

Beautiful parks: nothing beats a Sunday afternoon walk around Endcliffe Park or the Botanical Gardens. It is great for families and Endcliffe Park has a great kids area with a bouncy castle and carousel.

Family friendly events are plentiful in this area. Sharrowvale Road has regular markets on throughout the summer and one at Christmas. There is also lots of outdoor events that happen in Endcliffe Park and the Botanical Gardens. The Lescar also do relaxing Jazz nights!

This area is definitely somewhere worth enjoying!

The Hidden Gem Cafe in Sheffield

Okay, I admit it... I have a problem. I eat way too many afternoon teas. I am worried this blog may slowly turn into one all about afternoon tea. This is the last one for a while... I swear.

But I just had to share it as this one was at The Hidden Gem Cafe in Sheffield and they are such a great charity!

I am always trawling Groupon and LivingSocial for great deals, so when I came across one for afternoon tea at The Hidden Gem Cafe I had to get it for 3 reasons; I love afternoon tea (I know, shocking news), the voucher was to support Sheffield Children's Hospital and the cafe is linked to a small charity for young adults with learning difficulties... Well, how can you say no to cake and great charities?! (You can find out more about The Hidden Gem Cafe and the charity it is linked to here).

So yesterday I dragged my Nan and Archie off to another afternoon tea and it was definitely up there with one of the best I have had. I always say that the mark of a good afternoon tea is how good the scones are. To me they have got to be moist (I loath a dry scone.. yes, I am scone snob) and little bit crumbly and definitely melt in the mouth. I am pleased to report that The Hidden Gem Cafe's scones was all these things. Plus they offer proper clotted cream and strawberry jam (the jam has to be strawberry of course!).

All the food was delicious, I loved how it wasn't just the basics, it wasn't cheese and pickle sandwiches, you got speciality cheese with a tomato chutney! You can tell they put a lot of effort into their food.

Not only was the food spot on but the waitress was lovely and friendly. The whole atmosphere was relaxed and really enjoyable. It was very family friendly as well!

Also, the room was used to display some of the craft items they sell, these are items made by the students with learning disabilities that the Works Ltd teach (teaching them life skills and craft skills). They are all beautiful, well made items. In fact, my Nan and I have ordered some lovely beach hut style wooden blocks that will spell out ARCHIE for my son. They make such items to order and I just have to pop back when they are done... which is a great excuse to go back with my husband and enjoy more of the food they offer!

Click here for the link to the offer currently on Living Social.

5 Pregnancy and New Mummy Life Hacks (and advice)

I am by no means an expert at anything to do with pregnancy or being a Mum, but I have discovered a few things over the past 12 months. From trying to get pregnant to pregnancy, birth and eventually being a new Mum.

There is a few Mummy life hacks that I wanted to share. These are just basics, I plan on writing a blog for advice on each stage (conception, pregnancy and new mummy life) at a later stage.

Most of these are about what I did to save money on the costs involved with pregnancy and babies.

One: Pregnancy Vitamin Tablets
Firstly, I found that pregnancy vitamin tablets can be expensive (especially if you get unnecessarily drawn into brands). However, I found that Boots own brand pregnancy supplements did the job (it contains the important things like Folic Acid, Vitamin D and more), I had a healthy 8lb 15oz baby boy (and fingers crossed he will stay that way). I have two hints for the Boots vitamins (link to the ones I used here). The first one is that they have 2 options, a 90 tablet option at £9.84, or a 30 tablet option at £3.49. However, Boots always seem to have an offer on their vitamins, of 3 for the price of 2. So it is cheaper to buy 3 boxes of the 30 tablets, saving you £2.86 for 90 tablets!

In addition to this, I read that you can use pregnancy tablets after you give birth in place of expensive, branded breastfeeding vitamin tablets. I would always advise checking labels on tablets though and checking with your Doctor.


Two: Maternity Pads
Needing maternity pads after giving birth is inevitable and most women will need a decent supply of them! Mothercare do large packs of 30 which are usually £4.99, but they are currently on offer at £3.33 (link here).

Even at the regular price I felt they were inexpensive - but I found that they were also very handy for periods postpartum. Sorry to be going into detail but after pregnancy you may find that your periods are a lot heavier, and the heavy duty maternity pads were ideal for this (as well as being cheaper than many sanitary pads!).


Three: Baby Wipes
I know there probably isn't much sense in it, but I prefer the Pampers sensitive wipes over other wipes. They are just thicker, wetter and seem to be softer than many others. However, Pampers is generally one of the most expensive brands for nappies and wipes. So as a compromise I buy the Pampers sensitive wipes either in bulk or using a deal (Tesco currently have packs of 56 wipes for 2 for £2.00) and also buy cheaper supermarket own brand wipes (such as Tesco Everyday Value Fragrance Free Baby Wipes - 72 Wipes for 46p). I then use the cheap wipes for those really dirty nappies that seem to use 30 wipes to finally get your baby's bottom clean again, and only use the sensitive Pampers wipes to finish off and for nappies that are just wet. I find doing this keeps the cost down a little bit while also meaning I can use the wipes I prefer, most of the time.


Four: Breast Pads
I have two tips about breast pads, first of all I bought reusable ones and regret this. They were bulky in my bra and made my boobs look weird shapes and they would get lost in the wash (because they were so small). I would not advise buying them.

Secondly, you don’t need anywhere near as many disposable breast pads as you may think. I got given boxes and boxes of unused pads from female friends (recently given birth) who had bought loads of them and never used them. I barely used any of them myself!

Your milk (that leaks enough to need pads) comes in a few days after giving birth, and within a day or two I found that your milk is meeting the demands of your baby. So you stop leaking. This may be different for every woman but I believe it may be better to just buy 1 box of breast pads before giving birth, and then buying more in the unlikely event of needing more.


Five: Baby Bodycare
I have been given and bought so many baby moisturisers, soaps, shampoo and more. I just don't have enough bathroom space for it all and my baby barely uses any of them. We only use 3 items: sudocrem (for any nappy rashes), Johnson’s shampoo and Johnson’s baby soap with honey (you can buy a pack of 4 for £1.00 in many shops).

Basically my top tip here is not to go overboard on all the bodycare products for babies. Buy a couple of items to start with. Often soaps are bad for a newborn's skin as babies only have a thin layer of skin and soaps dry it out quickly. Some people even advise only using water to clean your baby for the first couple of months.

Aptamil Ready to Feed Bottles: Offer at Tesco

I am a big believer in sharing a bargain when I come across one. Even more so now that I am a Mummy, with all the extra costs that come with having a baby. We Mums need to stick together and share any bargains we come across!

In the spirit of this I wanted to share a current deal for formula milk. If you formula feed you may have come across the handy ready made formula bottles. I find these invaluable when going out. You can just pop the formula into a sterilised bottle and feed your baby. They are quick and easy to use!

Anyway, formula feed rarely has promotions on. From what I have read this is due to legislation where formula companies and suppliers can not actively promote formula because the government want women to breastfeed, believing of course that "breast is best" (and therefore prevent anyone promoting formula). This can make formula feeding expensive.

However I recently found a deal in my local Tesco on Ecclesall Road for the Ready to feed Aptamil bottles. They are usually around 80p a bottle but Tesco currently has 2 for £1.10 on Aptamil Hungry Baby and Follow On Milk bottles.

Although this offer isn't on the First Milk which you can give a baby from birth (I assume because of the legislation) you can feed a baby (from birth) the Hungry Baby milk that Aptamil makes (of course, always read the label thoroughly). So I bought a large batch of the Hungry Baby milk as my baby is 2 months old and on formula.

I hope this helps formula feeding Mums!

Afternoon (Tea) Delight: Fancie in Sheffield

Through the fog of long and sleepless nights, endless nappies and constant worry there can be real perks to being a Mummy.

One such perk is "Mummy dates" (meeting up with other Mums): leisurely strolls in the park, coffee and cake and watching your babies play together.

And one place I love having my Mummy dates is Fancie on Ecclesall Road, Sheffield. Firstly I was enticed by there pancakes and full English breakfasts and now I have recently discovered their new Afternoon Tea.

I have on one previous occasion tried their afternoon tea and it was good but I went back recently and was very impressed with the changes they have made.

My friend and I got a deal on LivingSocial for afternoon tea with prosecco for two, so we strapped the babies in their buggies on a sunny day and went off to Fancie.

The afternoon tea came with mini brownies, delicious berry and white chocolate style compotes, macaroons, scones (with cream and jam), profiteroles and sandwiches in delicious thick cut bread. As well as a mini milkshake, glass of prosecco and tea or coffee for each of us.

All this for just £15.95 on the Living Social deal! I felt like that was a real bargain for all this, and it was such a nice outing. Sitting in the seating outside, soaking up the sun in a July heatwave while we cuddled our babies.

Anyway... I love sharing a bargain and the afternoon tea at Fancie definitely is, especially if you can get a deal on Living Social (which they regularly have on there).

Links to Living Social and Fancie Website:
https://www.livingsocial.com/gb
http://fancie.co.uk/

This blog isn't sponsored. 

Fancie a good breakfast?

I am very sad and I have what I call baby dates with my son. On days where I have nothing planned but feel the need to get out the house I will often go and find a local cafe, have a nice breakfast or lunch and do a bit of window shopping.


 

One place that is the perfect place for such an occasion is Fancie, on Ecclesall Road Sheffield. This cafe/restaurant encompasses the cafe style culture of Ecclesall Road (if you live in Sheffield you will know what I mean), it has a stylish, relaxed setting offering everything from breakfast, afternoon teas, cakes, lunch and dinner. It also offers a variety of cupcakes which is what it first became well known for in Sheffield.
 

It's cupcakes are a deliciously extravagant treat, however it is their pancakes that offer a whole other world of sweet heaven. You can have them with berries and cream or maple syrup and bacon. They are made with almond flavouring as well, which really adds a whole other level of fluffy yumminess.

   

Having recently discovered these pancakes I am now marking Fancie down as a must for breakfast dates and wanted to let you know about it too. Especially as their full English breakfast also impressed me. 

If you are ever in the area and looking for somewhere to have breakfast I really recommend Fancie.
 

Link to their website:
http://fancie.co.uk/

This blog post isn't sponsored.

Let them eat cake!

Sometimes I feel like the only thing I eat as a Mummy is biscuits and cake. Mostly because of all the coffee mornings you can end up attending as a Mum. Whether they are baby and Mummy groups or just meeting up with a fellow Mummy, this has meant that cake and biscuits has become the staple of my diet.

Often that afternoon coffee and cake, during a meeting with a fellow parent, is the first chance I get to eat. It can take the whole morning to get ready and pack everything you need for just a few precious hours out of the house.

Anyway, because of this cake diet, when I find a good coffee and cake near me it is like gold dust. All these coffee mornings and Mummy meet ups make me feel like I have become a connoisseur of the humble Victoria sponge. 

Luckily I have a few places to pick from when the need for cake arrives and Couch on Ecclesall Road (in my home city of Sheffield) has a top selection. But the king of cakes, both in Couch and locally (in my opinion) has got to be their Salted Caramel Brownie.

This cake is our reward as mummies... Place it next to a large latte and I melt. This brownie is beautifully gooey in the middle and you can really taste the salted caramel flavour (it doesn't leave you wondering where they hid the caramel like so many other cakes can).

  

I have also tried some of their other sweet offerings and can report that they are delicious too including various brownie flavours, carrot cake and Victoria sponge. They do seem to have a flare for brownies though, as their snickers brownie is also another top treat!

And if the mood takes you, Couch also offers an array of delicious breakfasts, tasty treats, tapas and even cocktails. I love a place that you can take a pram into, get a cocktail in the evening and not feel like you are a bad parent in the middle of bar. The atmosphere is relaxed and it has that stylish look where none of the furniture matches.

It is also worth exploring for the offers they always have on; £1 coffee weekday mornings, 241 breakfasts on weekdays, happy hours and more. I am a sucker for a good deal and their full English breakfast is well worth trying, and if you can go with a friend and get 241 then it can be really good value.

If you are in Sheffield then I definitely recommend this place - they also have another Couch on Campo Lane in the centre of Sheffield too.

Link to their website:
http://couchstuff.co.uk/ecclesall-road/
 
This post isn't sponsored.