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The Aldi student living range

The Aldi student living range - in store now!

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Whether you’re sending your beloved offspring off to university for the first time, or whether, like us, you’re now old hands at the sad September send off, I’m in no doubt that the cost of everything has you reeling. Generally in the first year, students will be in halls of some sort, but even then the cost of bedding, kitchen equipment, clothes, toiletries, cleaning stuff, food and other essentials can really add up. If you’ve ever shopped at Aldi, you’ll have noticed they sell a whole range of amazing, great value things online and in store. These Specialbuys tend to be seasonal and cover everything from DIY to gardening, cycling, beauty and homeware. Happily, I’ve got news of the Aldi student living range, which hits the shelves today - I’ve given you an early heads up, because I know they can be popular, and I’ve even got a sneaky peek at what’s going to be available so you can plan ahead.

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Summer pet safety advice with Petplan

Summer pet safety advice with Petplan

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While the weather’s been so warm, I’ve been waking early to take Lyra out before it gets too hot for her, so when Petplan, the pet insurance experts, asked me to tell you about my ‘pawfect day out’ with her, I knew exactly what it would be: an early morning jaunt through the Chiltern Hills, stopping for a quick paddle in the quarry lakes and saying hello to a few new friends. I walk these pathways every day, but it’s amazed me just how different it is in the early morning: the rabbits are still out (the wild ones around here are black - who knew!), we’ve spotted deer and foxes (sadly I haven’t been quick enough to photograph any) and the light is absolutely magical. I thought you might like to come join us on a little wander…

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Mexican movie night - with chips and dips!

Mexican movie night - with chips and dips!

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Nothing beats chips and dips and a movie with your favourite people, so when the lovely McCoy’s asked me if I fancied coming up with a few delicious accompaniments to their lush new crispy Mexican tortilla snacks, Muchos, I knew exactly what everyone would love: Mexican movie night! These delicious puffy, crispy, folded half moons are packed with flavour and absolutely perfect for sharing (and dipping), so I laid on a big spread of the different flavour Muchos: Smoky Chilli Chicken, Cool Sour Cream and Onion and Nacho Cheese, and accompanied them with some of our favourite Mexican dips: a fresh, zingy salsa fresca, creamy guacamole and deliciously cheesy warm queso dip. So pile up the Muchos (happily for us, they come in big sharing bags), grab some beers or mix up those Margaritas (fizzy lemon with a sugar and lime zest frosting is perfect for the kids) and settle down for Mexican movie night. To accompany our chips and dips, we’ll be watching Pixar’s Coco, of course, and the completely hilarious Jack Black in Nacho Libre.

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Mindful Chef 15 minute meals

Mindful Chef 15 minute recipe boxes

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I’ve spoken about recipe boxes before, and one of my favourites is Mindful Chef - for lots of reasons, but mainly because the food is always really fresh and healthy, and the recipes always turn out really well. If you’ve not heard of them, they are a fab little company that delivers boxes straight to your door with all the ingredients - and step by step recipe - needed to create delicious meals at home. We tried one of the new Mindful Chef 15 minute recipe boxes, plus another box with the normal recipes (around 20 - 25 minutes’ cooking time). Here’s how we got on.

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Send a Prosecco subscription box this Christmas!

Send a Prosecco subscription box this Christmas!

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I’ve been talking quite a bit recently about why I believe that the best gifts are useable/consumable. We’ve all got enough ‘stuff’ in our lives, and I think a beautiful, useable, indulgent gift that we might not actually buy for ourselves is the way to go. Step forward, then, the gorgeous Princess Prosecco, a gorgeous gifting company with a conscience - so it pretty much ticks all my boxes. Here’s why I think you should forget the socks and the bad Chrimbo jumpers and send a Prosecco subscription box this Christmas instead!

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A Magical Christmas at Disneyland Paris. Pic: news.disneylandparis.com

A magical Christmas at Disneyland Paris

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It’s been a bit of a whirlwind weekend for my pal, Mickey Mouse, as he’s been celebrating a very special anniversary - it’s 90 years since Mickey first appeared in Walt Disney’s iconic cartoon, Steamboat Willie. This weekend was also pretty special at Disneyland Paris, because as well as celebrating Mickey’s 90th with a celeb-filled party, and an enormous cake baked by Pastry Chef and Chocolatier Pierre Hermé, there was a special celebration to mark the opening of Disney’s Enchanted Christmas. If you’re thinking of experiencing a magical Christmas at Disneyland Paris, I’ve teamed up with Isango.com, the specialist retailer of tours, experiences and Disneyland Paris Tickets to bring you all the latest news this holiday season.

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Disney Cruise Line to Sail from New Orleans in 2020

Breaking: Disney cruises from New Orleans announced!

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It’s all going on at Disney Cruise Line recently! Quite apart from the fact that they have three new ships in the pipeline, this week has seen a ton of announcements from DCL about some cracking new itineraries for 2020 and there are some BIG surprises when it comes to ports, including the wonderful news that Disney cruises from New Orleans will commence in early 2020, and that Disney Cruise Line will also be returning to Hawaii!

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The Weight Watchers lunchtime challenge

The Weight Watchers lunchtime challenge

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What do you have for lunch? A sandwich at your desk? I’m lucky enough to work from home so it tends to be egg on toast for me, but honestly, a lot of the time - especially if I’m busy - it’s a bowl of cereal, which I’m aware is not ideal. Some research recently carried out showed that one in three of us eat the same lunch every day* - how boring is that?! When the lovely chaps at Weight Watchers got in touch and asked if I’d be up for taking the Weight Watchers lunchtime challenge, I’ll be honest, I was initially a bit sceptical. We don’t really eat that many ready meals, but when faced with the delicious sounding menu of the Weight Watchers chilled prepared meals range, we decided to give it a go and spice up our lunchtimes!

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Our tips for making the leap to university (copyright vanessachampion.co.uk)

Our tips for making the leap to university

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This time last year, we were just beginning to get everything ready for Charlie to go to university. He was delighted to be offered a place at Leicester, and we were slowly ticking off items from the ‘to do’ list, from sorting out a student bank account, to shopping for bedlinen and essentials for his new uni accommodation. Making the leap from living at home is a huge undertaking and can be a really stressful time for even the most confident teenager. Student accommodation provider, Unite Students has recently released The Leap – a report about the challenges involved in making the transition to uni, and providing tips for making the leap to university from a range of experts, parents and students.

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Ocean Liners: Speed and Style at the V&A, sponsored by Viking Cruises

Ocean Liners: Speed and Style at the V&A

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Yesterday I went into London to catch up with the lovely folk at Viking Cruises (you might remember me mentioning that I wrote the recipes for their cookery book and also for the gorgeous Nordic Style book they have on board). Viking Cruises are the sponsors of a brand new exhibition at the V&A: Ocean Liners: Speed and Style, which opens this Saturday, and I really do recommend that you give it a visit. Whether your interest is history, engineering or fashion, the whole exhibition is a fascinating insight into the glamour of the golden age of cruising. Known for their cool, Scandi-inspired ships and attention to detail, Viking Cruises really are the perfect match for this exhibition.

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Festive fun with Love Layla Designs

Weekend wishlist: festive fun with Love Layla Designs

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One of the best parts of Christmas for me is choosing all the lovely wrapping paper and cards. For some people, obviously I’ll just choose the ‘robin in snow’ variety, but for my friends and family, I’m always looking for great quality, quirky cards and wrapping with a bit of a cheeky edge - and I’ve definitely found it in Love Layla Designs, a fab, family-run small business from Yorkshire who have the most original tongue in cheek, fun Christmas designs. For this weekend’s wishlist, step away from the boring snow scene and come and discover some of my favourite Love Layla Designs:

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Christmas shopping and a bit of pampering with Trainline's new voice app

Shopping and pampering with Trainline’s new voice app

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The run up to Christmas can be stressful. For most of us, it’s a whirlwind of online (and real life) shopping, cooking and planning, and of course my work doesn’t stop either (I’ve already cooked three Christmas dinners and it’s only just December). I decided to take a pre-Christmas pampering trip with a little help from Trainline’s new voice app. Here’s how I got on.

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Christmas lights with Trainline's new Price Prediction tool

Christmas lights with Trainline’s new Price Prediction tool

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You all know that I love everything to do with Christmas, and once the lights have been switched on in London, I’m always desperate to take a trip to go and see them. Mr E works really hard and we don’t get much opportunity to do things as a family, so I thought we’d plan a lovely festive trip up to London on the train to go and see the lights (and maybe grab some dinner and a cocktail or two) while we’re there. While we were planning our trip, I thought it would be a good opportunity to try Trainline’s new Price Prediction tool to get the best possible ticket price. Here’s how we got on.

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The perfect Christmas dinner

Planning the perfect Christmas dinner

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I’ve been writing about cooking Christmas dinner on this blog for ten years, can you believe that? When you’re thinking about cooking Christmas dinner (or indeed lunch) for everyone, it can seem a bit daunting, but I always say that it’s basically just a big roast dinner, and if you think about it like that, and make sure you’re really well prepared, it’s a piece of cake. The lovely team at Crisp ‘n Dry (remember I worked with them when they sponsored RNLI Fish Suppers?) have asked me to share my top tips and cook a little practice Christmas dinner - a ‘Crisp ‘n Dry run’ if you will - geddit?!), to show you that with a little love (and Crisp ‘n Dry), your ordinary Christmas dinner can really become the ultimate festive feast. Here are my top five tips for planning the perfect Christmas dinner.

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Alcohol Awareness Week, and a Drinkaware challenge

Alcohol Awareness Week, and a Drinkaware challenge

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How’s your relationship with alcohol? I’d say that mine’s… complicated. When we were younger, I was always the one who would volunteer to drive. I’m naturally quite chatty and happy, and it didn’t occur to me that I needed to drink alcohol to have a good time, therefore I was generally the designated driver, and happy enough with it. Now, we don’t tend to go out much, so our drinking is done at home, and this has increased steadily over time. Add to this the fact that we really love our wine, to the point that I write about it and we even invest in it, and you’ll see why our alcohol consumption has steadily grown. Next week, 13th to 19th November is Alcohol Awareness Week, and I’ve been thinking a little bit about how (and why) I drink. It’s been an interesting time…

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A cosy cottage Christmas in Dorset. Gold Hill, in Shaftesbury, North Dorset. Pic: dorsetcottages.com

Holiday bucket list: a cosy cottage Christmas in Dorset

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One year, when the kids were small and we were still living in Ireland, our whole family came over to spend Christmas with us. I remember it as the most magical time: loads of fun and laughter, walks to the pub snuggled up in hats and scarves, the kids opening their presents together on Christmas morning… Years later, we still talk about our lovely family Christmas together, and one of the things we’ve considered is renting a cosy cottage somewhere and decamping as a family for the festive period. I’m thinking The Holiday but with considerably more people. So why am I hankering after getting away from it all? Well, here are five great reasons why we should all be having a cosy cottage Christmas:

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