Blogmas #22 - 5 minute mince pies!

Ok these are not technically mince pies as such. But they are made from pastry and mincemeat so they're the same really (and they look prettier in my opinion)

I stole the idea for these mince pie swirls from a friend of mine. They take 5 minutes to prepare, taste delicious and make the house smell amazing. They're basically the perfect mummy-friendly Christmas bake. 

Ingredients: 

- Ready rolled puff pastry

- Jar of mincemeat 

Unroll the pastry so it's laid out flat and spread the mincemeat evenly across it. 

Then roll it back up, cut into half inch pieces and place the swirls on a baking tray. 

Brush with milk and bake at 180ºC for 15 minutes. Dust with icing sugar and voila --- perfect mince pie swirls! **

If you give these a go, be sure to post a picture on Instagram and tag me @nearlyyummymummy. 

Happy Blogmas! X

**DISCLAIMER** these are very more-ish and you may find yourself accidentally eating the whole plate full before anyone else gets a look in. 

Blogmas #21 - Favourite Festive Blogs

As I am doing Blogmas this year, I have found myself being drawn to all the Christmassy blog posts as I scroll through Twitter and visit various blogs. So I thought I would share with you some of my favourites, incase you fancy some festive reading to get you in the Christmss spirit!

The top of my list has to be this wonderful Merry Christmas from Rhyming with Wine. As always, her writing made me chuckle and I found myself in hysterics after finding out that her 3 year old calls it Pissmass! If you fancy a giggle you must have a read. To be honest if you like wine and hysterical laughter then you should probably read most of her stuff!

I also love It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year by Sophie Ella & Me. Reading this made me feel so festive and started to get me really excited about Christmas. Great if you're feeling a bit bah humbug and need reminding why Christmas is so wonderful. 

Another one if you need a hand getting in the Christmas spirit is one from Mum Muddling Through. It's an A-Z of what she loves about Christmas and as I scrolled down the page, I got more and more excited about the big day. By the end of it I felt like an overexcited child and couldn't wait another day for Christmas!  

(Plus I have a soft spot for anyone who shares my love of The Muppet Christmas Carol)

And finally a gem from The Unmumsy Mum. She of my all time favourite bloggers and never fails to crack me up. Her 'Why Is Christmas So Fancy These Days' post was wonderful to read, made me chuckle and after a day of getting caught up in the whirlwind of Christmas excitement as I flew round the shops, it brought me back down to reality a bit.(Thank god because if I had come home with the 6ft tree covered in chunky gold glitter that I very nearly bought, I think Pete would have promptly left me...!) 

Those are a few of my favourites from this year, head over and have a read. 

Happy Blogmas! X

Blogmas #20 - Our Week in Pictures

Another week has flown by and there is now only one more to go until Christmas! I can't believe how quickly it has come around and how much I still have to do! 

This week it's more of a 'My' week in pictures really. It has been a week of Christmas parties, celebration and lots of prosecco! 

I had my work Christmas party this week at Goldbrick House in Bristol which was amazing and I would highly recommend. I wore my new dress and felt a million dollars the whole night. The food was delicious and the meal ended with one of he best chocolate brownies I have ever tried. 

We had a festive rhyme time too this week which involved Christmas nursery rhymes, carols and Christmas jumpers! 

I also had a mummy Christmas this week with some of my favourite people in the whole world. It was a prosecco filled night of giggles and something we should definitely do more often! 

Other than that our week had mainly been filled with Christmas shopping and cuddles. Luke's been recovering from being poorly, so I have been running round like a headless chicken trying to pick up the last few presents and find the right ribbon to match my wrapping paper! 

Next weeks 'week in pictures' will, I'm sure, be filled with pictures from our first Christmas Day as a family. I can't wait to share them with you!

What have you all been up to this week? 

Happy Blogmas! X

Blogmas #19 - A baby-less Christmas...

I am hugely lucky to be blessed with an amazing group of mummy friends. These gorgeous ladies are there for me whenever I need, to peel me off the floor when I'm having a meltdown, talk things through when marital bliss isn't feeling quite so blissful and make me laugh like I've never laughed before. In short they are very special ladies and I don't know quite what I would do without them. 

A few weeks ago, we decided we needed a well deserved baby-less Christmas. So last night we checked the boys into daddy daycare, put on our highest heels and headed off to the local pub. Prosecco was flowing, the food was delicious and we had several cases of absolute hysteria and uncontrollable giggles. 

It was a truly lovely evening and I walked through my door at 11 o'clock filled with a warm fuzzy feeling (although there's a small chance that was down to the prosecco...). So thank you ladies, not only for a wonderful night, but for being my rocks through my most challenging adventure yet. You mean the world to me and I love you all <3 

Happy Blogmas! X

Blogmas #18 - Dear Santa...

Dear Santa,

I know I have only been in this world a short while compared to a lot of children. However in my opinion, I have been really really good the whole time. 

I started off the year in mummy's tummy and made sure I kicked her lots and lots to make sure she knew I was there. I've kept her entertained all year (sometimes from 5 o'clock in the morning I am such a good son). I have thrown up on her when she has made dodgy fashion choices so she's had to change. I've given her cuddles at 2am so she isn't lonely tucked up in that enormous bed of hers. And I feed the dog from my highchair every evening so she doesn't have to. 

All in all I have been a great son, so here are a few of my favourite things that I would like this year in my stocking. 

First on my list is a sponge. For some reason, mummy thought I'd like lots of lovely expensive toys to play with when I have my bath. Actually I'd just like a sponge to chew. Admittedly most of the time I soak it with water and almost drown myself, but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it eventually... 

I would also like a years supply of breadsticks. I have no idea why mummy thinks I'd like to eat these - it's much more fun to use them as drumsticks on my highchair. It makes mess, but mummy loves cleaning so that's fine. 

Next on my list is a new discovery for me but it's so much fun! Wrapping paper! It makes a lovely sound and it's great to rip and crumple up, especially when mummy has laid it out nice and neatly ready to wrap presents. To be honest any paper is great, but wrapping paper is glittery and it definitely tastes better. 

My next request is a bit grown up, but mummy has one so I should be allowed (that's how it works isn't it?) I want an iPhone. This is by far my favourite thing ever. Mummy is going to try and palm me off with a babyish plastic one for Christmas but I'm having none of it. I want the real deal. 

Mummy won't be impressed with my next request. I know I'm only 8 months old AND I'm allergic to dairy. But chocolate is the thing I want to try most in the whole world. I always try my very hardest to get some of mummy's - I scream and cry and throw tantrums, but she's mean so won't let me have it. 

Say Hi to Rudolph for me - he is on Daddy's jumper and I am a huge fan of his nose. 

Happy Christmas! 

Love from Baby Luke X

Blogmas #17 - A Christmas Sing Song!

I think out of the whole week Thursday's is probably my favourite day, and that's because it is Rhyme Time day! 

Every week at our local library, they have a free nursery rhyme sing-a-long session. Myself and a group of my favourite mummies in the whole world meet before hand for much needed coffee (usually accompanied by a large slice of cake for breakfast!) and then head over to sing our hearts out! 

Today was an extra fun Rhyme Time as it was the last one before Christmas, so we got to sing festive nursery rhymes and Carols! Such classics as the wheels on the bus were changed to the skis on the sleigh, while other songs were given a Santa related twist. We dressed the boys up in their various ebarassing jumpers, elf outfits and Santa hats and they all looked absolutely adorable! 

I'm not sure how I'm going to cope without my weekly sing song over the Christmas period, but I can guarantee I will be back in January and I'm already excited! 

Happy Blogmas! X

Blogmas #16 - Mummy in mourning

This is it - I have officially had my last set of Christmas nails for another whole year :-( but on the up side, they are gorgeous and I get to enjoy them for 2 whole weeks!

I mentioned last time that I was planning on going gold and black for Christmas Day. 

Due to an utterly gorgeous dress I accidentally bought for my work Christmas party, this has now had to change. As the dress is navy and beaded, I decided to get matching nails with silver snowflake stamping and all the extra glitter I could possibly squeeze in. Although not typical Christmas nails, I am totally in love with them and they look amazing with my dress. 

I am however still quite taken with the idea of gold and black nails, so these may have to be my New Years nails - any excuse for a little extra sparkle :-)

Happy Blogmas! X