Mud and Sparkle- Port Eliot Festival 2017

Rain most certainly did not stop play at Port Eliot Festival, however those still standing on Sunday night deserved a medal for epic British spirit or at the very least a laminated certificate. At first we were all soooo cool, tipsy and glittery that it was fun to dance in the rain but then the biblical storms started and some of us stayed and some of us ran to Premier Inn which felt like a 5 star holiday resort in Barbados by comparison. 

We thought that folk would stick with their mega Sipsmith bloody Marys rather than brave the swamp to the Workshop Barns, but no, you came and we had a great time at our Liberty Print Workshops. The Grown ups made fabulous sequinned Liberty Print Corsages which glistened against the mud and the kiddos made regal feather headdresses adorned with jewels, liberty prints and beads. Everyone was fantastic, confirming that you can't keep a crafty minx down and  blinging accessories are part of an essential Quagmire survival kit. 

Poppy and Honesty were in such great company at Port Eliot.  Some of our highlights included modern calligraphy with A'Laise,  poetry from Lachlan Murray Young, food from the epic Bhangra  Bus and music from Son of Dave and Sister Cookie. We're already thinking about the gorgeous things we want to make with you next year and will let you know when the first wave of tickets are on sale. 

Yours with damp feathers and sparkly sequins,

Sophie xxxxx

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The school holiday fear and going cold turkey on screen time

I have fleeting Enid Blyton daydreams about the school holidays where my children go on wholesome adventures to catch butterflies with picnics consisting of homemade bread, jam and lemonade all wrapped up in a checkered tea-cloth. But then reality kicks in and I actually feel a bit sick. I meet lots of enthusiastic Mums in the playground who relish the school holidays' lack of timetable and ample pj time. I am most definitely not one of these Mums, what is the secret to their sparkiness?

I don't have a strategy other than booking the odd holiday programme. With Mr. P away for most of the hols (inciting giant green envy) I know that I will need a break to get on with Poppy and Honesty stuff. However I have my reservations about plugging the kids into devices as I am not sure the knock on effect is worth it. 

Just talking about screen time opens up a can of worms almost as wriggly as breast feeding or childbirth. I am certainly not going to judge anyone using screens to entertain, educate, or buy themselves some time to go to the loo alone or call the emergency plumber. However we've got rid of the screens for a while and the kids have been much nicer. They seem less reactive and more able to engage. Perhaps because they are not thinking about their next move on Clash of Twats or hilarious emoji to send to their pals? Also their testosterone levels appear to have slumped as they are no longer busy wiping each other out on computer games. They are having to do 'other things' and entertain themselves, even if this involves maiming each other with a tennis racket, surely it's better than watching a bored teen fidget spinning on You Tube?  Maybe this is just my own self fulfilled prophecy but family life certainly seems a lot more harmonious without the plug ins. 

We've been Device Cold Turkey for x 4 weeks and so far so good. Obviously I will probably break after Week 1, when I have to locate a Poppy and Honesty order that has gone awol. However, it has definitely been an eye opener and something you may want to consider for a while to change things up.

May the force, all the wine and deep breathing be with you for the next 6 weeks. If you are a sparky school holiday Mum, can you let me in on the secret, pleaaaaase?

Sophie xxxx

Liberty Print Duvet Cover in Betsy

Ice-cream Parenting- scoops to get you through the summer

During the summer Mr P and I adopt a very popular parenting strategy known as 'Icecream Parenting'. This involves bribery and threats based on icy treats and is typically manipulated very successfully by the little moppets. Last summer they managed to extort at least 1-2 cones a day, increasing to a rather shameful 3 whilst on holiday in Spain (how else do you get them around a Sevillian market?)  July is the official month of the ice-cream and so we thought we'd give you a couple of recipes that are marginally more healthy than the staple Fabs, Magnums and Feasts. They are so easy it's almost an insult to call them recipes, but when the kids are climbing the walls during the school hols (around day 2 for us), these icy treats might just provide 10 mins peace

Strawberries and Cream

As a nod to Wimbledon, this strawberry gelato is so yummy it may even heal Andy's hip. You will need : A fierce blender; a bag of frozen strawberries and 100 mls Double Cream. Shove all the ingredients into your blender and cone up. Top with more cream and strawberries.

Banana Choc Chip

This is a great recipe to use up the over-ripe bananas. Chop them into small chunks and put them in the freezer. You will also need 100mls nut milk and some dark chocolate chips. When you are ready, put all of the ingredients into your blender, blast it until the ice-cream is nice and smooth. Top with a splodge of peanut butter for extra scrumptiousness.

Don't have any cones? These ice creams will be just as delicious sandwiched between two biscuits. They will keep for a couple of days in the freezer before getting too frosty, but best scoffed immediately.

Happy scooping

Sophie xxx

We think this Emma and Georgina Liberty Print is Tutti Fruitti. Get your self some summery pillowcases from Poppy and Honesty here

Festivalling with the little moppets

Not been to a festival since your free and single days in the 90's? Neither had I. Let me tell you, taking the kids is a whole different ball game. I'm no Edith Bowman, but I have talked to my family festy friends and we've come up with some tips....

The Tent

Back in the day, you were all too pissed to get the tent up, so you slept underneath the ground sheet and it was surprisingly comfortable. We are terrible campers but the only camp craft you need at a festival is to be able to put the tent up. To avoid divorce proceedings, attempt this at home first and put it up immediately on arrival at the festival. As everyone has bought the same tent on sale at Halfords, it's a good idea to put a up a flag or something bright so you can find your tent again and the kids don't get too lost.

Food

Unlike Reading in the 90's when you lived off fags, booze and the occasional Ginsters pasty, you are going to need some real food this time around. Many of the family festivals have fancy schmancy food outlets (Fortnums at Port Eliot this year). Buying the kids aged-venison and gruyure waffles may feel like setting fire to your hard earned cash. As most festy meals cost around £8, we recommend packing a cool bag of rice cakes, peanut butter, muesli bars or whatever will keep your kids going, without having to partake in any camp craft cooking.

Sleep

The main flaw in family festivals is that the party doesn't stop until the wee hours and yet the kids are still up with the sun. Tip from the mama ravers, ear plugs for you so that you can get some kip, eye masks for the kids (put these on them after they have gone to sleep) and all the coffee in the entire world.

Planning

There's a lot of stuff for the precious moppets to do at family festivals. Some of it is free and some of it you have to pay for. To avoid meltdowns and being totally skint, look at the program with the kids beforehand and agree on a couple of things a day. You may need to book into workshops in advance.

Tired Little Leggies

It's often a long way between the different stages at festivals. Little leggies may benefit from a good robust buggy or a cart that can be rented from most festivals. You will inevitably end up carrying them at some point as well as lugging around the buggy/cart.

Other things you may want to bring along are loads of baby wipes (festival shower), head torches and ear defenders (even though our children make more noise than a death metal band).

Poppy and Honesty are going to be at Port Eliot Festival this year running workshops for big and little people. Please come and say hello and make yourself some Liberty Print Headgear.

Best tip of all, have tonnes of fun ..

Love

Sophie xxx

Liberty Print Cushions from £22

10 years on... advice I would give my younger Mummy self

Mr. P and I celebrated 10 years of parenthood last weekend. We've been chatting about the ups and downs and having a chuckle about the nutty stuff we did. If I was able to steal MJ Fox's time-machine and go back to 2007, these are some of the things I would tell my rookie parent self...

Choose your girl gang carefully

I felt a huge pressure to socialise my children regularly. If I wasn't attending playgroups. gymbaroo (?) or god awful singing in the library, my kids were definitely going to be sociopaths or psychopaths right? Subsequently I ended up hanging with some quite judgy women and through the fog of tiredness/PND and trying to navigate my way through the early years,  I didn't recognise that this wasn't a supportive or healthy place for me and the sprogs. Thankfully, I had a couple of amazing queens on my side. They always lifted my spirits and didn't give a monkeys if you bribed the kids into the bath with jelly babies. 

Always chose fun

I missed out on seeing the late George Michael sing Wake me Up Before you Go Go because I had to do the night feed. There is so much boring shit that you have to do as a parent. The housework is endless. Given another chance, unless the house was about to be condemned a slum,  I would  ditch the dishes in favour of drinks with the girl gang and give the babe a bottle so that I could shimmy on down to Club Tropicana with George. 

Mummy -  tummy? Whatever.

It is a bloody shock to see your post pregnancy stomach. I can liken it to the dimply party pasty available in our Cornish bakery. Tip to former self- don't look at it. There are so many more important things to do (like have fun) and you are so much more than a wobbly tum. 

Stop analysing the elusive 'bond'

I bought into the idea that I had to feel an automatic, unstoppable, all-consuming connection with my babies as soon as they were born. Subsequently I spent such a long time looking for this and became more and more anxious that it just wasn't there. Given the opportunity, I'd definitely tell my former self to take a step back, be patient and watch the relationship blossom over time.  My big kid was recently very poorly, we spent the whole time together watching telly and having fizzy drinks. There is no doubt in my mind that we go together like a good gin and tonic. 

There is suffering in parenting

An SAS soldier recently told me that sleep deprivation was the WORST part of his interrogation training (am not sure that included water boarding). Being kept awake by a baby for years is torture and so is being told to F*** off by children that have been your life's work. The only book I read as a Mum was Buddhism for Mothers. I'm not buddhist but totally subscribe to the idea that as a parent you have to accept a level of suffering. 

I can think of million more things,  but that will do for now. To all Poppy and Honesty's  pixelated young mummies, you're doing a fabulous job. We are bringing out a new grown up range just for you guys, Why should the moppets have all the good stuff when we do the school run with rice crispies in our hair ?

Big love 

Sophie xxxx

PS. Some great Mummy bloggers to follow. Peter and Jane: hilarious, tells it like it is. The London Mummy: Treats for Mummies and kids.  Mother Pukka- championing flexible working for parents. 

Free Your Lady Marmalade

Here at Poppy and Honesty HQ, we are obsessed with the colour orange. No, I'm not ranting about the President Elects skin tone (much), but the gorgeous and under-rated colour that will feature strongly in our next unisex collection. I have a Paddington-like enthusiasm for Marmalade, so it is only fitting that as a tribute to 'The Donald' we make a sticky orange mess to mark his inauguration.

If you have the time or the inclination, making Marmalade is a very satisfying way of passing a lazy afternoon - and the recipe below is pretty fool proof. Do make sure that you test the Marmalade properly for the elusive skin, which indicates that it has set.  You can get the darling moppets to help with the orange squeezing and the cutting if they are older too. They can also make pretty labels and think of imaginative names for their pots of gold (Donald's foundation?).

Yours with zestiness,

Sophie x

Recipe for Marmalade (makes 6 x 450g jars-ish)

800g Oranges (Seville if you can get them)

x1 Lemon

x1 Lime

x1 Pink Grapefruit

2kg Preserving Sugar

Method : Put a saucer into the fridge to cool. Wash and dry the fruit. Pour 2 litres of water into a big pan and add all the squeezed juice from the fruit. Chuck away the lemon but keep all the pith and skin of all the others fruit. Scrape the pith and pips into the centre of an old clean tea-towel.  Draw up the corners of the tea towel and secure with a good knot or a bit of string to make a bag. Pop the bag into the pan. Cut the fruit peel into small strips and add to the pan. Bring to the boil and simmer for 1.5 - 2 hrs. 

Squeeze your tea towel bag into the pan and discard the bag. Add sugar and heat until dissolved.  Bring the boil and boil rapidly for 15 mins. Get the saucer out of the fridge. Test that the marmalade has reached setting point by placing a teaspoon of it on the cold saucer. After a few seconds push the marmalade with your finger tip. If it wrinkles it has reached setting point, if not boil for a further 5 mins,  Leave the marmalade to rest for a 15 mins and then spoon into sterilised jars. 

YUM

Sparkly diggers and skateboarding unicorns

"Oh. she's soo gender neutral" says parent of girl climbing a tree. 'Really?' (my pal says) maybe she's just a girl who likes climbing trees'. ... World. Gone. Mad.  Why can't you be a girl that makes mud pies in the garden in a pretty dress, or a boy who likes a bubble bath after his rugby match? The uber trend for gender neutral parenting can sometimes seem ridiculas. Can't our kids just be girls and boys with wide and varied interests, talents and tastes, do we need to start labelling them gender neutral? 

The retail industry has very much made up their mind as to how our children should think, feel and behave based on their gender. The majority of the girls loot seems to be sugary pink with an emphasis on kittens, ponies and unicorns. The boys on the other hand get vehicles, dinosaurs and sometimes some rather macho slogans, apparently all boys and girls love these things... At the other end of the spectrum we have the teeny tiny gender neutral selection; mainly beige, yellow, brown, cream and nondescript. After some extensive market research (chin-wagging in the playground) I think what parents really want out there, is more choice for our children. C'mon retail land give us a pink T-rex, a skateboarding unicorn or sparkly digger, I dare you!

I may be wrong but it seems that within the girls retail section there seems to be a greater range these days. Whether this or not this is just a bigger selection of the sugary stuff I don't know. However on my last high street shopping spree, I was phenomenally underwhelmed by the khaki, grey and heavily branded micro- range for the chaps.  For me colour is a wonderful, joyful thing. Why would we deny our boys this? Lets face it, life can be grim enough sometimes. 

I know that this is a very first-world rant and I am grateful that my boys are warm and loved. But for those of you seeking fabulous and vibrant threads for your kids, check out the brands below. They are small independents leading the way in fun clothes for all. 

Stay colourful this January.  

Sophie xxxxx

PS Check out Poppy and Honesty new zingy kids range coming soon. 

Tootsa McGinty, Boys and Girls Shop, Hugo Loves Tiki, Eclectic Bambino

Ru and Charlie rocking their Tootsa jumpers.

Here's to a gentle 2017

Happy New Year you lovely lot. I hope that Christmas had some sparkly bits and that you kicked 2016 to the curb with all its crazy rubbish news. Hopefully 2017 will be more gentle; like a lazy afternoon with cups of tea and Radio 4 rather than the acid house party with casualties that was last year. In order to kick start its fabulousness, I have compiled a list of 'intentions'. No don't worry, they won't be chanted and have very little to do with drinking slime, it's just that the very words 'new years resolution' seem to set me up to fail. 

I have never really understood why we put restrictions on ourselves during the most miserable time of year. Unless of course its an important, health-related thing, do we really need to deny ourselves the goodies in January? It's the ideal month to stay in with comfort food and a box set (and you can call it hygge if you really need an excuse). I think that it would be much nicer if we could think of lovely things we would like to do more of the following year. Here are 7 of my intentions (as you will see they are most profound).

1. Eat quality calories: Bendicks Bittermints rather than cold fish fingers or Duchy Originals over custard creams.

2. Wear lots of sequin, feather, pompom outfits, while I can just about get away with it without looking like a drag queen/dried up lady of the night.

3. Digital Down Tool. Leave my phone off and at home as much as possible. 

4. Make hay whilst its not actually pouring with rain. February and March are notoriously terrible, so get out in the fresh air unless it's howling a hooler,

5. Sneak in plenty of cuddles and snuggles with my boys . They are getting much more stingy with their affections as they get older. Soon it will not actually be cool to speak to me, instead they will text demands on devices that I have previously forbidden.

6. Smile as much as possible at everyone especially if they are grumpy because a. This might make them feel better or b. it will really annoy them. Win, win.

7. Remember the golden rule: If the problem is not going to bother you in a years time, it's definitely not worth worrying about now. 

I am sure there will be plenty a soggy cold chip along the way but it's a start. What nice things will you be doing more of in the New Year? Whatever they are, I hope that 2017 is wonderful for you and your nearest and dearest.

Sophie xxxx

Christmas for overachievers - The Gingerbread House

This Gingerbread House is the pride and joy of my over-achieving husband, Mr. P. My previous attempts have resembled some kind of psychedelic World Heritage Site-cum Christmas morning. Apparently the roof couldn't handle 2 tonnes of smarties and candy canes. Obviously Mr P didn't let the kids near this one. In fact I came into the kitchen to discover two grown men discussing the structural integrity of The Gingerbread House with the kind of intensity that you may find at a conference on nuclear warfare. If you are a Christmas overachiever give it a whirl, that's if you're not too busy plucking your home-reared turkey or bungee jumping down the chimney.

Mr. P's top 5 tips:

1. Make sure the gingerbread dough is cooled before you roll it out. Then roll it out (in sections) between sheets of grease-proof paper to the same thickness! 

2. Allow the gingerbread to cool completely on wire racks prior to assembly.

3. Only use Mary Berry's icing meringue for the joins/glue. She knows what she is talking about!

4. Ask for help when building it! 4 hands are definitely better than 2.

5. Build the house in sections and let it set completely prior to adding more bits and pieces.

6. Use wine bottles to steady the Gingerbread walls and roof whilst they set.

Mr P roughly followed Mary Berry's gingerbread recipe, however the chimney was too much, even for a man with no mortal equal.

Bon courage

Sophie xxxx
PS. Don't forget to put a tea light inside - so pretty.