Food Ideas, Healthy Living Tips, Decorating Advice and much more :: All About You

Food buy of the week: perfect pots

Mon, 04 Apr 2011 09:00:00 GMT

...

Discover the Origin

Mon, 04 Apr 2011 08:00:00 GMT

This is an advertisement feature When it comes to food we've come a long way from the days when convenience and sustenance were all that we cared about. Increasingly the food we eat reflects a desire to try more and more exciting dishes that we are happy to cook from scratch, taking pride in our cookery skills and an understanding of where the ingredients we are using have...

The lazy gardener's guide to April

Sat, 02 Apr 2011 10:05:00 GMT

● Sow easy edibles - borage, nasturtium and marigold - in a spare patch of ground. Even iceberg lettuce looks glamorous next to a few colourful petals. Read: how to grow borage ● Grow salad leaves in an old fruit crate or wine box against a sunny house wall. For colour, plum-edged Lettuce Quattro Stagione; for crunch, Little Gem; for flavour, annual rocket or Giant Red Mustard. Read:...

Sew appliquéd egg cosies

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 13:00:00 GMT

Enlarge template to approx 13cm high. Cut two egg-cosy pieces each from plain fabric, polyester wadding and printed fabric. Trace heart on to Bondaweb. Iron on to reverse of printed fabric and cut out. Iron heart on to one egg-cosy piece and zigzag stitch in place. Cut a 3.5cm x 8cm strip from printed fabric for loop. Press under 5mm along both long edges, fold in half lengthwise...

Make a cute Easter bunny card

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 13:00:00 GMT

Enlarge template to required size. Trace body shape on to a piece of plain-coloured card and cut out. Trace ears and tummy onto reverse of pretty wrapping paper. Arrange bunny on a blank card and spray-glue in place. Glue on two goggle eyes. Cut a small nose from card, glue in place and hand-draw whiskers with a fine black pen. Card, Paperchase (0161 839 1500). Wrapping...

Make Easter egg-hunt bags

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 13:00:00 GMT

Enlarge templates to required size. Trace on to Bondaweb. Iron on to reverse of printed fabric and cut out. Sew on a tiny black bead for chick’s eye. For each bag, cut two 24cm x 23cm pieces of plain fabric. Iron chick or bunny on to one piece. Zigzag stitch in place. With right sides facing, stitch bag pieces together at sides and bottom. Neaten seam allowances. Press under 1cm then...

Gardening jobs this month: April

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 07:05:00 GMT

From Country Living gardening editor Stephanie Donaldson: ● Check for emerging self-seeded plants and transplant or pot up before weeding and mulching borders.● Place saucers under container plants to conserve moisture.● Dead-heading naturalised bulbs will keep them vigorous and healthy.● Prick out and pot on seedlings before they become overcrowded,●...

Time to plant summer bulbs

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 06:50:00 GMT

Given their tender nature, summer bulbs are safest grown in pots, then lifted and stored inside for the winter, in a frost-free shed or garage. Begonia will brighten up a shady corner, while the scented blooms of Hymenocallis x festalis are always an intoxicating talking point in sun or shade. Despite its dazzling blooms, the flame lily, Gloriosa superba...

Sew Easter chick and bunny decorations

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:00:00 GMT

Enlarge templates to required size and cut out from oddments of fabric. Trace chick wings on to Bondaweb, iron on to reverse of fabric and cut out. Iron on to chick pieces and zigzag stitch in place. Stitch on tiny black beads for the eyes and tack a string loop to right side of top of chick. Instead of beads, you could work French knots in black thread for eyes. With right sides facing,...

On the go with SHE

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 11:11:00 GMT

Finger on the pulseSummer looks set to be a scorcher with Nubar's latest nail colours, available at beautyshed.co.uk. Choose from the bright pinks, pastel blues and, our personal favourite, Costa Rica Coral. And the best part is that, at £8 a bottle, you can update your summer look without breaking the bank. We have 10 Costa Rica Corals to give away to the first 10 SHE readers to email...

Shake up mealtimes with Colman's Season & Shake

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 09:00:00 GMT

This is an advertisement Children say the funniest things, especially at mealtimes. If there is something on their plate they dislike, they don't hold back! And if it isn’t hard enough to please the entire family at...

How to keep hair and scalps healthy

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 08:00:00 GMT

This is an advertisement feature It's said that 'prevention is better than the cure' and that goes for healthy hair and scalps, too. Every family wants a household full of happy heads, and this is where Vosene can help. ...

All About You is getting a makeover

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 11:19:00 GMT

We've been working hard behind the scenes at All About You on a new-look website for your enjoyment. Our new redesign will make it easy to find all of our great new content - and there are some brilliant new tools as well. Where to find us? Don't worry we'll still be at www.allaboutyou.com. However if you have bookmarked specific pages, in the forums for example, you may...

Food buy of the week: bags of flavour

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 09:00:00 GMT

...

Colour yourself beautiful

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 17:02:00 GMT

‘Home colouring has advanced a great deal, but achieving a salon-style colour still requires you to think like an expert,' says Scott Cornwall. ‘The biggest mistake people make is forgetting they're using chemicals on the hair. It's easy to just slop the product on, but you'd be horrified if a colourist did the same, so why should the principles be any different when you're...

The Cornwall Hotel Spa & Estate, St Austell

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 10:31:00 GMT

What is it? The Cornwall Hotel Spa & Estate comprises 43 acres of sprawling woodland and manicured gardens, a 65-room hotel and spa, and a recently restored Victorian mansion housing a further nine rooms and suites. There are also 22 "woodland homes" within the grounds that are available to buy, with more being built. What's it like? With its rural setting, I...

House Beautiful eco advice: 'I use too much paper!'

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 00:00:00 GMT

'We seem to get through a lot of paper at home, printing the children's homework, leaving phone messages for each other, and we also get an awful lot of unsolicited junk mail every week. I'm concerned about our impact on the environment. Can you suggest a few tips for cutting down waste?' House Beautiful's eco expert Colin...

On the go with SHE

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 15:01:00 GMT

A Mother's Day Treat Lime Wood, the luxury boutique country house, set in the heart of the New Forest National Park has created a special Mothers Day's menu in its Scullery restaurant. The menu includes dishes such as Lavender Cured Loin of Pork or Chicken Liver and Foie Gras Parfait to start with; Trio of Lamb, Courgette Gnocchi and Candied Tomatoes or Dover Sole for the...

Five best family holidays

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 12:16:00 GMT

25 best seaside holidays: see the other 20 here...Five best wilderness holidaysFive best luxury holidays Five best lighthouse holidaysFive best working holidays For cyclists Ride the Suffolk coastline What grown-ups will love Freedom Treks offers a six-day Heritage Coast cycling holiday, including accommodation in high-quality hotels. Luggage is transported by...

Five best wilderness holidays

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 12:16:00 GMT

25 best seaside holidays: see the other 20 here...Five best family holidaysFive best wilderness holidaysFive best luxury holidays Five best lighthouse holidays For solitude seekers Sample ‘wild' camping at Glenbrittle, Isle of Skye How far from civilisation? Glenbrittle on Skye's west coast combines a back-to-nature location with washrooms, a shop and electric...

Five best luxury holidays

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 12:16:00 GMT

25 best seaside holidays: see the other 20 here...Five best family holidaysFive best wilderness holidaysFive best luxury holidays Five best lighthouse holidays For gourmands Take a Dorset foodie break The glam factor Michelin-starred chefs are homing in on the county like comets, and hardly a month goes by without a must-visit restaurant opening up. For a taste of the...

Five best lighthouse holidays

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 12:16:00 GMT

25 best seaside holidays: see the other 20 here...Five best family family holidaysFive best wilderness holidaysFive best luxury holidays Five best lighthouse holidays For wildlife spotting Lundy island lighthouse Can you sleep in the tower? No, but the imposing granite lighthouse on Beacon Hill, built in 1820, incorporates two comfy holiday apartments. Opt for Old...

Five best working holidays

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 12:16:00 GMT

25 best seaside holidays: see the other 20 here... Five best wilderness holidaysFive best luxury holidays Five best lighthouse holidaysFive best working holidays For conservationists Clean a Cornish beach Roll up your sleeves and... help keep Cornwall's beaches beautiful by gathering the litter that threatens its wildlife. What's involved? Participants...

25 best seaside holidays

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 12:16:00 GMT

Have you planned this year's seaside break yet? How about staying in a lighthouse, meeting a whale or sailing a tall ship. Read on for more... Five best family holidays Five best wilderness holidays Five best luxury holidays Five best lighthouse holidays Five best working holidays ...

Seaside icons: Southend pier, Essex

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 10:59:00 GMT

Southend is where Essex townships meet the sea. It's suburban life on the ocean wave. It's where Metroland goes maritime. With an infinitely touching poetic symbolism, the streamlined electric trains installed on Southend Pier in 1949 were built, and finished in a swish livery of dark green with cream flashes, by AC Cars of Thames Ditton. The very same firm provided rolling stock to the...